Hoops Tonight - NBA Power Rankings: Jayson Tatum & Celtics DYNASTY loading? Boston's top challengers

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at the volume. Happy Friday, everybody, hope a if you guys have had a great week. Got a jpack show for you today we are hitting number one on our

preseason power ranking. Season previews. The Boston Celtics obviously very little changing year over year for them, but we'll talk a little bit about their outlook and then one of the things we're gonna do to kind of try to find more talk about with the Celtics is kind of focus on some specific matchups with them playoff series style against some of the teams at the top of the league, which teams I think have a realistic path to try

to upset Boston versus teams that I don't. And then at the tail end of the show this morning, I tweeted out asking for some mailbag questions to just kind of hit on a bunch of preseason topics. We're going to be bouncing all around the league. You guys know the Joe. Before we get started, subscribe to the Hoops and Out YouTube channel so you don't miss any more of our videos. Follow me on Twitter at underscore JSNLTS.

You guys, don't miss you announcements. Don't forget about our podcast feed where you get your podcast and our Hoops Tonight. Don't forget it's helpful if you leave a rating and a review on that front. And the last but not least, keep dropping mail bag questions in those YouTube comments so we can keep hitting them throughout the remainder of the season. Also, before we get started, I want to talk to you

guys about game time today. Now is a great time to get out and actually see some of these events in person. Obviously, we have the NBA season starting up, college basketball starting up. College football is in full swing, NFL is in full swing, NHL starting up pretty soon, right we have the Major League Baseball playoffs. We also have concerts and comedy shows all around the country. There are countless events that you guys can go to, and there is no better experience out there right now than

game Time to buy tickets. They've started this new programme called game Time Picks where they curate the feed. Normally, when you look at a show or an event to go to, there's thousands of tickets that you can choose from, and a lot of people are just you know, trying to see if they can't get a good little paycheck from their tickets, right But there are good deals in there too, and game Time Picks curates that so that you're only looking at the best deals, so you can

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game Time. Take the guess work out of buying tickets with game Time. Download the game Time app, Create an account and use code hoops for twenty dollars off your first purchase terms apply again, create an account, redeem code hoops. That's hops for twenty dollars off. Download game Time today. What time is it? Game time? All right, let's talk some basketball. So number one in this year's power ranking

season preview style is the Boston Celtics. Not really much to say in terms of an offseason recap, only changes to the back end of the roster. Baylor Shireman, their draft pick at shot the ball poorly in preseason, but I don't think he'll be in the rotation much. You know, we might see a guy like Lonnie Walker, who had some impressive driving kick possessions. We might see him make the roster and see some opportunities but none of it really matters. The core eight for the Boston Celtics is

the core eight. Derek White, Drew Holliday, Jaylen Brown, Jason Tatum, Chrisopsporzingis, Al Horford, Peyton Pritchard, and Sam Houser. That's their player rotation. I think it's the best top eight in the NBA. My friend Sam Vessini was saying on the show yesterday that he thinks Minnesota's top eight is the best in the NBA. I think I disagree with him, Like, Yeah, Dante DiVincenzo, Nikhil, Alexander Walker and nasried are a better trio than Al Horford, Peyton, Pritchard and the same Hauser.

But the top five are just so much better for Boston. As a matter of fact, I think I'd take Oklahoma City's top eight before I would take Minnesota's top eight. But I think boston That top eight rotation is rock solid. Pritchard and Howser both really flashed defensive upside in the postseason. Upsides the wrong word. They held up well off in the postseason. They got hunted consistently as you would expect, and they held up well. Porzingis brought everything that we

in the brief stints where he was actually available. He brought everything that we knew that we were that Boston needed from him in terms of rim protection and matchup attacking on switches and ball screens. It all just came together perfectly in a dominant playoff run. They've looked completely locked in and ready to go in the preseason. They're

four and one. They have the best offense in the league one twenty one offensive rating that's five point seven points better than the second best offense in preseason insane. They're averaging fifty three three point attempts per game. They have a sixty one percent for shooting. As a team. Boston's offensive system is just the best that we have in the league right now, most talented that we have in the league right now. It's like a well oiled machine.

The defense has been fined in preseason. They have a plus sixteen point three net rating in preseason that's the best in the league by five point three points. So just continuing their dominance. Jason Tatum looks great, as Jumper looks.

I just kind of reconfigured and just it's almost like he just took a moment to reset and just kind of find his foundation, find his base again as a jump shooter one point one to three points per jump shot in preseason, one point two points per catch and shoot jump shot, one point zero eight off the dribble, all really good. I think the Celtics will face some substantially tougher playoff competition this year, and I'm going to get into that concept a little bit more here in

a second. But I also think that they'll have a substantially better version of Jason Tatum at their disposal in the playoffs than they did last year, and I think that that is going to put them in a position to handle a tougher playoff run. Think like the twenty

sixteen Golden State Warriors team. You know, I've seen a lot of There's been a lot of like kind of like argument among basketball fans between Celtics fans and the rest about like how to regard last year's team, And part of the disconnect is like a lot of Boston fans want that team to be regarded as all time great, and my point of view on that is there's no such thing as an all time great team until you've won multiple championships. That to me is like the baseline, right.

And one of the things that happens is when you on the course of a run to a championship, you need some luck, right, And there are lots of teams in NBA history that have benefited from luck on their way to an NBA championship. But that is why the all time great teams we typically look at multiple championships because it's as circumstances change, as things go different, you have to legitimize your championship when things don't go the way that you want them to, right. Like just take

most recently the twenty seventeen and twenty eighteen Warriors. Now they had a massive talent advantage, even to a greater extent than the Celtics, but they went in twenty seventeen beat the shit out of everybody. They went fifteen straight playoff games. Right. But the next year it's like, all of a sudden, there's this Houston Rockets team. It's really interesting.

They take a three to two lead in the series. Now, obviously they benefit from more luck in the form of Chris Paul getting injured, but inevitably what happens is you see some different circumstances and it's about overcoming adversity. You look back at the Warriors dynasty and like there are some easy ones in there, right, Like there's the two in twenty seventeen, in twenty eighteen where they just kicked

everybody's ass with talent. But it's like then we have twenty fifteen where they came back from two separate tow to one deficits. Right, we go back to the twenty twenty two series against the Celtics where they're down to one on the road, they need a big win. You look at the totality of their success, it looks different going back previously to the previous Heat champion, the Miami Heat, right twenty twelve, they kind of handle everybody. Even in the finals, they end up getting out of there in

five games. There's like a little bit of a brief kind of thing with the Boston Celtics in the conference was that in the finals. I think it was in the conference finals, but there was a little bit of adversity there, but they kind of kick butt. Then you get into the twenty thirteen season, it's like this grueling seven game series against the Pacers, this grueling seven game series against the San Antonio Spurs, and by the time they win the title, it's just like it just kind

of adds like a different layer to it. Right, So think like the twenty sixteen Golden State team, Right, they get super lucky in a bunch of different ways in that playoff run. Every single team they play as guys hurt.

Now of the lineup, they end up going into that gold that Cleveland Cavaliers series, and Kyrie Irving gets hurt in the first game, Kevin Love had his shoulder dislocated in the first round, and it's like Golden State wins, and then outside of the Golden State fan base, there's just a lot of like people talking like like, yeah, they got lucky this, Yeah they you know, let's see him do it ag next year. They come out next

year and they just start beating everybody's ass. And then yeah, we obviously had that weird kind of NBA Finals series where they end up losing. But as we zoom out from the Warriors dynasty, it's clearly legitimate. There's four championships, Steph Curry as all these big moments. It just has this like kind of aura in retrospect that legitimizes everything that they do. And so that's the thing like, was

there some luck for the Celtics last year. Yeah, Like there was the five best teams in the league, they didn't have to play any of them, right, And that's just kind of part of how basketball goes. This year will be tougher, go kick everyone's ass and shut them all up. I've seen a lot of people say things like, well, we're all time great because of the advanced metrics. No one cares about the advanced metrics in an Eastern Conference where you're beating the shit out of really bad teams

a lot of the nights. Multiple trophies is where you get that respect. That is the opportunity that lies before Boston. As we look back to previous champions, look at how all of them are regarded. Denver one, but then they didn't get an and so now a lot of people are already right in Denver off and no one's going to regard Denver as an all time great team unless they win another one here in the next year or two. Right.

Going back to that Warriors team into twenty twenty two is really cool, but they kind of fell off again the next year, so no one views that twenty twenty two team as some sort of all time great team. Right, going back to twenty twenty one with the Milwaukee Bucks, like impressive team, there hasn't been anything after that to legitimize it. I thought that Lakers team in twenty twenty was really good, but then they got started to run into some injury stuff, and then they fucked up their

roster doing some stupid stuff in the front office. Right, the Raptors end up losing Kawhi Like. There is the only way that a championship team can truly resonate on a level that lasts is to get multiple That's the way it goes. When we look back at the great teams in NBA history, who are they. It's the Warriors

they won four. It's the heat they won two. It's the Lakers in the twenty tens they won two, The Spurs they won five, the Kobe, the shack Lakers they win three, the Bulls they win six, the Rockets they win two, the Pistons they win two, the Lakers and Celtics in the eighties. Like, you've got to put together multiple iconic playoff runs in order to truly resonate on that level. But that said, this team has that potential.

So let's get into it a little bit more and talk about what a repeat would look like for this particular team. First of all, I want to address one weakness, the one specific weakness that this team has. They're a little bit thin at the center position and a little bit old and frail in their best player group, right with Horford and Porzingis. How Horford turns thirty nine before the NBA Finals this year. Porzingis gets hurt every year, and he's hurt all ready to start this year from

an injury suffered last year in the postseason. But Brad Stevens has done a really nice job at building out like a deep rotation of backup centers. They have five centers that are going to be on their season opening roster right like Luke Cornett, nimas Queda, and Javier Tillman are all going to get the like the majority of the center minutes to start the year. I think they're going to manage Al Horford very carefully to start the year.

I don't think they're going to compensate for Porzingis being out by just riding Al Horford into the ground. They're gonna run off of these backup centers and playing center for the Celtics is an easy job. They're always flanked by excellent perimeter defenders and athletes who could shoot, and they just make life easier for them. Right. Will they drop a few regular season games here and there because

they're running a week drop coverage with a week center. Sure, they're going to drop some games, But the most important thing for this team is to manage their health so that Porzingis and Horford are ready to go in April. Because when Porzingis is healthy, they look like far and away the best team in basketball. So here's my prediction for the season. I think they'll run away with the

best record in the league. Again, they're built for regular season basketball, just with the depth and the way that their system kind of generates shots in the way that they defend. I think they're gonna end up with a large margin over the number two seed in the East. Again, I think they'll end up several games ahead of Oklahoma City. Like I think Oklahoma City is at least relatively close to Boston and Talent now after the acquisitions of Hartenstein

and Caruso. But the East has seven bad teams. Like I looked at the Celtic schedule this year, they have four games against the Hawks, four games against the Nets, four games against the Bowls, four games against the Hornets, three games against the Pistons, four games against the Raptors, three games against the Wizards. Like they might drop a game or two there, but they're going to go like twenty five and one against that set, or twenty four

and two. Like last year in that same set of teams, they dropped three really close games to Charlotte Atlanta, two of them went to overtime. You could argue they should

have gone undefeated against that group. So like that I think will keep a good, healthy gap between them in Oklahoma City because o the Oklahoma City has to play that Western Conference schedule, they're not playing any of those Eastern Conference teams more than twice, and the West has thirteen teams that legitimately think they can make the playoffs and be good. So like I would imagine that Boston is going to end around sixty five wins with a healthy advantage in the East and a little bit of

an advantage over the West. My guess is that they'll be the runaway number one overall seed. As for the playoffs, I think there are teams that are capable of taking them out, But I would pick Boston in each matchup. Like the Knicks, I'm having a really hard time getting there. I've looked at it a lot in light of the Karl Anthony Towns edition. I just think the Celtics are a better version of the Knicks. I don't think there are enough matchup advantages there for the Knicks to potentially

swing that series. Obviously, with the Sixers, it's like what if embiid is just healthy in April and finally has this breakout playoff run. But that feels like a long shot. We've been talking about that for years. Right the Bucks, I think they're too slow on the perimeter. I also think that they have the personnel to switch the Damiannis pick and roll when things really slow down, which most

teams don't have. Like I think you put Jalen Brown on Dame and you put Tatum on Giannis and you just switch that action, and I think that puts them in an advantageous position and slow down half court environments. I have a really hard time seeing Boston lose out East. Like, I think that it's far more likely than not that Boston wins the Eastern Conference. Now there are two teams out west that I think have more straightforward paths to

beating Boston because Boston just can't guard Jokic. Like put it very simply, the only team that Boston couldn't beat last year was Denver, and it was the same thing. It's just they can consistently generate great shots off the back of Jokic because Boston just doesn't have anybody on the roster that can remotely make him feel uncomfortable. But even then, I think Boston's a little better now than they were last year. I think Tatum will be better than he was last year, and I think Denver's a

little bit worse. So in a way that I would have picked Denver by a smidge over Boston last year, I think I'd picked Boston over Denver this year. But at least if you're a Denver fan, there's a straightforward path there, right like Jokic picks him apart, they go cold from three, you can kind of like see the vision, so to speak. But I would pick Boston and then Oklahoma City. They have true five out spacing. All five of those players that are in their small ball group

are excellent defenders in space. Shay Gills as Alexander would be the best player in the series. But even then, I think I'd picked Boston because Jalen Williams is Oklahoma City's second best player and the guy who's going to be determining so many important possessions, and he's twenty three years old, so like Boston just has a substantial experience advantage there. So my prediction, I think this is the year that Boston finally breaks the trend of teams not repeating.

I think they cement themselves in the ranks of the all time great teams. I think they'll have some more memorable playoff moments because I think they're going to face some tougher teams and they're going to have to overcome a little bit of adversity on their way there. And I think that when we come to this point next year, Boston will finally have the respect that they're seeking, being viewed as one of the all time great teams in

NBA history. All right, let's get to our mailbag. First question, a lot of good ones from you guys today, thank you for participating. Is always, did the Knicks sacrifice their identity gritty offensive rebounds TIBs guys to appear better on paper. This is a really interesting question. There's no doubt that their identity will look a little bit different this year.

I think that goes without saying I still think a good chunk of last year's identity is there though, right with Josh Hart Ognnobi Duce McBride is a guy that just kind of brings that same mentality. Jalen Brunson is a tough minded guy. Mitchell Robinson when he's healthy, I think McHale Bridges kind of fits that mold and will add to that this season. But the reality is is they had a certain ceiling last year. Too much was on Brunson's play offensively to actually win four playoff rounds.

I didn't think that they had enough aggregate talent to really capitalize on the advantages that Jalen Brunson was creating as well, like they capitalize on attention devoted to Brunson on the offensive glass as guys would break free and

crash as they were in rotation. But I actually think they have enough talent this year to have a little bit more of a driving kick look, a little bit more of an advantage extending look, meaning like when Jalen Brunson draws a heavier preponderance of the defense in his direction. Guys that can drive closeouts and turn good shots into great shots. I think that was something that was missing

last year. And then obviously just the true five out spacing that they can accomplish with Karl Anthony Towns at center. It's a look that they just didn't have in the past. So, yeah, look at it this way. Anytime you make substantial roster changes, there's a certain amount of risk. And yes there's a version of this where this team just isn't as tough as they are last year and they underachieve and it doesn't go well, right, But last year's team had no

championship ceiling. This team actually does, And so it's about the risk. Anytime you want a real reward in life, you've got to put yourself out there and take some risk. That's what the Knicks are doing. Yes, it could go south, but there's also a version of this that works out. Do you think Dalton connect will eventually play his way into the starting lineup for the Lakers? A lot of folks thought he could eventually take Rui's spot, although I disagree.

I would like to hear what you have to say about it. Definitely not this year. With the way that this Laker starting lineup is constructed, they really need Rui's size, especially on the defensive glass. Lebron in just some of his inconsistent defensive engagement at this phase in his career. It's also part of them just kind of leaning into offense. But maybe a future version of the Lakers, you could see that. And this is where it gets interesting because

let's say we think about life post Lebron. So you have your foundational pieces, right, you have I think we can I think we see like the Lakers would see their like three four years from now backcourt as Austin Reeves and Max Christy. Think that goes about saying and I think that's a nice natural fit, right, skill guard athlete guard primarily defense and attax closeouts. Right. Then you

have Anthony Davis. But then there's this two or the three to four spot that you're looking at, right, and the obvious choice is like, oh well, Ruy slots down to the four when Lebron is gone, and then you put in Dalton connect at the three. This is where it gets tricky though. That has one good defensive athlete at the two. In Max Christie right, I don't think Dalton could start at the three for an NBA team unless the four man and the two man and the

five man were all excellent defensive players. Do I think Dalton Connects will eventually become somebody that is functional on defense. We'll see it's definitely he has the athleticism too. It's just a question of whether or not he puts in the work and picks up the instincts and commitment to

attention to detail to actually make that happen. But just in terms of who he in terms of his natural abilities as a basketball player, I don't think you could start him alongside another week defensive forward like Ruey Hotcha Mura.

So in terms of the long term goals for the Lakers, if you're looking at as Austin Max Dalton, that four man next to ad is going to have to be another big, strong athlete who is an excellent defensive rebounder, an excellent defensive player, and so more likely than not, I almost see Dalton connect at this kind of point in his correct because this is the other part of it. Two, you better be damn good on offense. If you are starting for an NBA team and you're a mediocre to

below average defender. So like, so much of this is like, maybe Dalton Connect never really has starting potential. He's more of like a sixth man type of guy, right than maybe Ruy is the or and they look for a long term option at the three. But in terms of future version of the Lakers, do I think Dalton Connect could eventually become a starter. Sure, but I see almost I see it basically a zero percent chance of that

happening this year. He might get a spot start here or there because of injuries, but I don't see that being part of the vision for this particular season. If the Thunder get a lottery pick from the Clippers this year, what should the Thunder do with the pick? Easy decision. You hang onto it and you see if you can get Cooper Flag. This is a team like if you're looking at the build, the one guy they're missing is

a legitimate four man two flank Chet. They went with a different direction this summer, opting for a look with Chet at the four next to a center, which maybe that ends up being what this looks like in the long run anyway, But if you have an opportunity to get Cooper flag. You wait to see if you can

get Cooper flag. Now, if you can't get Cooper flag and you can't get any of these guys at the top end of the draft that everyone's kind of keyed in on, then I would start looking at potentially trading that pick and looking for that forward more through the trade market, because there's a timeline things starting to take shape here as you look at the age of these guys, they're actually starting to enter into legitimate championship contention and

continuing to develop prospects for the future may not be the best path. The other thing they can do. This is something that I wouldn't be surprised if we see more teams do as we enter into this next phase of the CBA with some of the limitations surrounding the aprons.

But we might actually see a team like Oklahoma City let guys go when they need to get paid, because, like, if you think about it from the same point of the payroll, if you got to pay three max guys and let's say that's chet, JDub and Shay, then you

can't afford to have expensive role players around them. And so maybe It's one of those things where you use a higher draft pick that typically would be used on a player that has upside long term on more of a guy that is not as heavy on the upside but is ready to go right away and actually try to target discount rotation pieces through the draft. I think that's something that you might see a team like Oklahoma

City look to do as well. Not related to preseason, but you recently said Lebron's argument for being the goat is his longevity and that MJ has a better peak for sure. How are you so sure about MJ's peaking higher if your argument is only six to eight years, that is more of a team stat. That's kind of the point, like MJ's peak is clearly more dominant in terms of the actual accomplishments of him and his basketball team. The best individual basketball player that I have ever personally

watched was twenty eighteen Lebron. He was basically like Luka Doncic as a surgical half court shot creator who could pass every single read, who could make every single shot from every single spot on the floor. But he was also one of the best athletes in the league who brought a ton of downhill rim pressure, which is something that Luca doesn't bring, and at that phase end of his career, Lebron was still able to leverage himself as a defensive player at a level near the top guys

in the league when he needed to. That was the best basketball player that I've ever seen personally, But that team lost in the finals in large part because the team had a lot of limitations and there's a lot of subjectivity there. It's hard to argue with six championships in eight years with respect to what was going on in the world of basketball at that point in time, You're not going to be able to argue Lebron's peak

beyond the realm of subjectivity. So like that's the thing, Yeah, do I. I'm also a big believer the basketball players are always getting better. Like twenty eighteen, Lebron's the best basketball player I've ever seen. I have a feeling I'm going to see a player that I think is better at some point in the next ten years. But it's not going to be because Lebron wasn't the best player in the league at the time. It's going to be

because basketball players keep getting better. Just look at how much better the shooting is now compared to where it was. Guys are better at shooting further away from the basket, Guys are better at shooting off of more complicated dribble combinations. As a league, we're getting so much better at advanced passing, reads, advanced pick and roll shot creation. We're getting better defensively as well, Like the league is just getting better. Basketball

players are getting better. And so yeah, I tend to think that the six ' nine super versatile point forward who could dribble and shoot better than most players in the league was better than the six to sixth scoring guard who was also one of the best perimeter defenders in the league, like MJ in his era, was far and away the best, and all players have gotten better, and Lebron is the best of a better group of players, and Wemby will probably be the best of an even

better group of players, right, And that's just kind of how I see. It's not perfectly linear, but generally the league is advancing and players are getting better. What percentage of the league matches up well enough with Boston to make us believe anybody but Boston can win? And do you think it makes the season less enjoyable? If you know that there's no team that can keep up the good work. Really enjoy your content. Thank you for supporting the show. I you know, I did feel that way

about the KD. Staph Warriors. I legitimately didn't think anybody could beat them, even when they would lose. I thought it was mostly about like just kind of like playing down to their competition. This is something I've said many times on the show. But even if Chris Paul didn't get hurt in the twenty eighteen Conference final series against the Rockets, I still think the Warriors win that series. Yes, they won up three to two, and obviously Chris Paul

getting hurt helped things. But let's just put it on a real basic level. Does Golden State go home and get Game six at home? I think they do, even if Chris Paul plays. Then there's a Game seven, and yes it's in Houston. But who are you taking? Are you taking KD, Steph Draymond Clay and Andre Gudala? Are you taking those Rockets dudes? I'm taking those I'm taking the Golden State Warriors, dudes. So like, I didn't think

anybody could beat that team. It was basically like this Boston Celtics team, except for instead of Tatum and Brown, it was Katie and Steph, the second and third best players in the league. That to me is the greatest

basketball team ever assembled, and it's not particularly close. Boston to me, is a special basketball team with regard to recent NBA history, but they just don't quite have that like otherworldly top end talent that like nobody can mess with, and that to me makes them at least beatable even though they're the best team in the league. That I think keeps this season very interesting. As I mentioned, I have a hard time discussing I talked about this in

the actual Celtics segment. I have a hard time really conceptualizing an Eastern Conference team to beat them, just from a basketball perspective. But Oklahoma City and Denver are two teams out west that I think could present Boston with some real issues. Particularly Boston can't guard Jokich. We've seen that just too many times over the last few years.

And then Oklahoma City has five I can put together five man lineups with real two way athletes on at all five positions, which is something that Boston can do and part of what makes Boston so difficult to play right, I would still pick Boston in both of those matchups now because Denver's declined a little bit, I think Boston's better,

and then I think Boston is more experienced than Oklahoma City. However, those there are teams that have punchers chances to beat Boston, I do think they are a risk for an upset, and that is something that I think makes them a more legitimate, like kind of like parody concept favorite compared to teams like Golden State, you know. And an interesting way to look at it would be like, would I take Boston or the Field? If I had to pick the KD STEPH Warriors of the Field, I would take

the KD STEPH Warriors every single time. I just there's no version of that where I think one of those other teams are going to win. If I had to choose between Boston and the Field this year, it'd be

more of a toss up for me. And even though I do think Boston is demonstrably the favorite, it's more of a toss up for me in terms of them or the Field, And I think that's kind of the big difference in terms of I think that's the big difference in terms of the parody and just how much people can kind of look forward to Boston potentially getting upset on a real basic level. I'm pulling up the stat right now when I remember when the KD Staph

Warriors were assembled after they won in twenty seventeen. I can't remember the exact I can't remember the exact odds, but they were negative odds to They were negative odds to win the title before the season in that twenty eighteen year for good reason. They had won fift teen

straight playoff games in the previous year. So like for good reason, I want to say they were like minus one seventy to win the title, meaning you'd have to bet one hundred and seventy dollars before the season started to win one hundred if Golden State won the title. I can't remember exactly what the number was, but they had negative odds to win the title. This year, Boston's plus three to ten. So if you bet one hundred dollars on the Celtics to win the title right now,

you'd win three hundred and ten bucks. For the record, I think that's a great bet because I think that it's probably a little closer to fifty to fifty than they're letting on. So I think that's that's a bet that would be worth looking at. But I do think that there's a lot more parody in the league right now than there was at that point in time. Julian Strawther has had an amazing summer in preseason. How does

him excelling affect Denver's outlook? So so far, on twenty six jumphot attempts this preseason, he's getting one point five points per jump shot. The only real difference though, is like he's hitting all of his catch and shoot attempts, but he's struggling off the dribble, and he's struggling creating

shots off the dribble. And I think that is ultimately the thing that is going to be what makes him a legitimate secondary shot creator or a guy that they could potentially slot in for Christian Brown to increase the productivity of the starting lineup and so and then obviously we got to see how he develops defensively as he picks up more high leverage assignments and bigger minute loads. Right, But obviously that potential's there. But everything with these young

guys with Denver is up in the air. At this point, and I really need to see some regular season basketball before we start making those those stances. Thoughts on the Warriors and how they will do this season. Is the dynasty officially over? I would never say it's over over. I do think that there's some similarities to the twenty twenty one offseason where they kind of brought in some more functional role players that will will immediately make them better.

I do think the Warriors will be better than last year. I think Kyle Anderson, Buddy Heald, and d Anthony Melton are all shoe and fits. Young players get a little bit better. I think Steph's going to have a bounce back season from where he was at the tail end

of last year. Right The big difference between this right now and what the twenty two Warriors became off the back of that twenty twenty one offseason was you could make the case that Steph was the best basketball player alive at that point in time in twenty twenty one, before they made those offseason additions, he was barbecuing the entire league. He's coming off a pretty substantial slump to

end last season. I do think he'll be better. I still think he's a top ten ish player in the NBA, but Steph is not on the true top tier superstar tier anymore. That's the main reason that I can't see them going over the top into real championship contention this year. To put it simply, it's Stephan a bunch of role players. And if it's Stephan a bunch of role players and he's not the very best player in the league, he's not going to beat other teams around the league that

have more star talent and better role players. And so, yeah, I think the Warriors are good. I think they're fisty. You think they're gonna better than last year. I think they'll be in that you know, somewhere in that six to six to eight range, probably maybe six to ten, depending on how their health goes. But yeah, I don't see championship intention from this team unless they hit on a trade during the season. Even though the MAVs made the finals last year, do you see them as contenders

next year? With the players they've picked up in Kyrie turning thirty three, I have them as the best of the teams in that second tier. So I'm at top four teams right, I have Boston, Denver, Oklahoma, city in New York. Those are my true top tier championship contenders that I think all should feel really good about their chances. Then there was a small gap, and then from five to eleven, I've got seven teams that I classify as if things go right, contenders. Dallas is for me, in

the top of that tier. That's where I had them last year going into the playoffs. If you remember last year, going into the playoffs, I had Boston and Denver and then a gap, and then I had Dallas at number three as the best of the second tier championship contenders going even going into the finals, I never saw them as a true top tier contender. Those are you. Guys who watched my NBA Finals preview will remember me saying I didn't just pick Boston. I specifically said I expected

Boston to kick their ass. I said they'd win multiple games in blowout fashion. They ended up winning. I think they led by twenty plus and three of their four wins they led by like twenty one twenty six, and like it was crazy. They kick their ass. So like I like Dallas, I think they're a really good team. I think they're the best of the second tier contenders. But to me, there's a firepower difference between them and

the teams that are in that top tier. Do you think Moses Moody will have a breakout season this year or be subjected to his typical limitations imposed by Steve Kerr. The thing is Steve Kerr is always like playing guards that he trusts to run his system, and so guys liked Anthony Melton and Buddy hild are just going to get a lot of minutes. And I think that just directly interferes with Moses Moody and his opportunities. He'll get his opportunities, but inevitably this is going to end in

a consolidation trade. They have thirteen guys that could realistically play in the rotation and that's just not good for anybody. It's not good for their goals for the season because it's a waste of talent. It's an inefficient way to use talent. It's not good for the talent development because guys aren't getting the reps that they need. So inevitably there will be a consolidation trade. Maybe it includes Moody, but if it doesn't, then that'll be where he gets

his opportunity. Thoughts on a Brandon Ingram from Michael Porter junior trade mid season. Denver gets a consistent playmaker who doesn't fit perfectly but supports Jamal Murray staying healthy with less responsibility. New Orleans gets a confident three point shooter for Zion with very questionable consistency, but a great fit.

This is an interesting idea because the idea would be okay, if Jamal Murray struggles, then you would need somebody that can help run perimeter action and be a shot maker for Denver. Brandon fits that role pretty well right. For the Pelicans, so much of their driving kick offense is going to be initiated by Zion and Dejantey Murray, So having a guy that's more of a catch and shoot off ball player maybe it's a more seamless fit. Although Brandon Ingram has looked sharp to start the year, so like,

here's my thing. It's interesting, but it's high risk, So I'd want to see how Jamal Murray looks first. If Jamal Murray comes out and he looks like Jamal Murray after you know, thirty games or so, then don't fuck with it. Jamal Jokic, Aaron Gordon, Michael Porter junr. They won a title and got close to winning a title, close than people think last year, so don't mess with it.

But if you get out into the season in thirty forty games in Jamal Murray looks like you did last year in the playoffs, then it's one of those things where you have to start looking at trying to capitalize on Nikolea Jokic's title window here, and in that case you have to take on a little bit more risk. But don't take on risk if you don't have to. Let's wait and see how Jamal Murray looks. Why are you so strong fisted on Jokic and the Nuggets title odds?

Why is it always they were up twenty in Game seven and not they blew the lead to the better performing team. It wouldn't be the first time the best in the world wouldn't have a big chance to win the chip. We've seen Braun and Steph in thirty four. Here's why I'm still bullish on the Nuggets. They won the title the year before last, and then last year they were a couple of minutes away from making the conference finals. You'd be foolish to write those guys off.

I just don't. I don't know how else to put it. Do the Suns have a legit chance to come out the West where they have to upgrade over Nurkic. It's hard to say. I mean, Ryan Dunn developing, as Sam Vssini was saying yesterday, into a legit three and D weapon for them would be huge because he's just one of the most dynamic athletes that was in that draft class. My thing with the Suns is it goes beyond just

Nurkic as a roster. They're not very physically imposing, and just in the playoffs, especially with the way the rules have changed, everything is just so physical and it's so much about grabbing and holding and winning these rock fights, and I don't think Phoenix has set up well to win rock fights. That said, everybody in that tier has issues.

From Dallas, Minnesota, Philly, Lakers, Bucks, Sons, all those teams have issues, and so all it takes is a couple favorable matchups here and there, a young guy popping like Ryan Dunn hitting on a key trade one of the top tier teams gets upset something like that could open up that door and then they could shoot through that gap. All right, Well, last question, then we're done for the day. Is there anywhere that screams Zach Levine trade doesn't feel it to me? And when they traded for Giddy, do

you think they knew Lonzo was coming back? Seems very redundant to have so many ball dominant guys, incredibly poor team building in my opinion. The thing with the Lavigne pieces, He's just hard to trade because of how big his salary is. Like, on a very basic level, there are a lot of teams out there that I think are looking at the situation going like, man, if we could bring Zack in here, this would actually be really good

for us. But on the flip side, it's like, yeah, but we would have to send out fifty million dollars worth of salary as soon as we set out that could be three really high level role players. And there are just too many examples in NBA history, most recently the Russell Westbrook trade, where it's like, Okay, you bring in this guy, but it's the Russell Westbrook trade was not what killed Russell Westbrook is not what killed the Lakers.

The Russell Westbrook trade killed the Lakers because they gave up KCP Kyle Kuzma and in the ensuing salary crunch lost Alex Caruso. So like that's the real issue is it's just hard for them to get rid of zach Lavine. But the best thing he can do to start this season is just you got to feed him and help him bump up his numbers and see if he can't drive up his value so that you can make a deal.

As far as Giddy goes to me a Lonzo, Lonzo's more of like a connective point guard throwing kickhead passes and being a connective passer. He's not a guy that I like to run a ton of action, So I don't think that that necessarily clashes with Giddy. And you got to give good Giddy a good hard look because you just traded Alex Crusoe for him instead of for draft compensation, and so you damn will better have a plan to see if Josh Gitty can do anything. One

last thing before we get out of here. Actually, I wanted to quickly hit I just had a quick thought on the I just had a quick thought on the Clippers. This Kawhi Leonard things. Khi Leonard is going to miss the start of the season. A lot of people are talking about the Clippers, And here's the thing. It's really easy to make those types of opinions known in retrospect. So, for instance, yeah, the Clippers basically set Oklahoma City up

for success. All this draft compensation, Shay Gils, Alexander fourth best player in the league, you know, obviously getting off of Paul George. All of this just just spoon fed Oklahoma City a contender. Right, But let's we can't operate in twenty twenty four with what we know now and pretend like we would have made a different decision back then. In twenty twenty, remember where you were when the Kawhi news came down. I remember I was in Mexico with

some friends. I remember getting the it was late at night, getting the tweets coming through from Wojanowski, and I'm like, oh my god, they got Paul George and Kawhi Leonard on this team that already has all of these good role players. Overnight, they became the championship favorite. At various points over the last four years. They looked like the best team in the league in twenty twenty at various points in the regular season. In twenty twenty one, before

Kawhi Leonard got hurt in that playoff run. Right last year, in the middle of the regular season, they were playing better basketball than Boston. Over the middle third of the season, they looked like the best team in the league. So, like, as I talked about earlier, you've got to take risks to win the championship. And there was a big risk there taken by the Clippers. It was the right risk.

They had legitimate chances to win. It didn't work out, and like, yeah, on the tail, every time you give up young players, it's like it's like with the Pelicans and the Lakers. Yeah, like they happen to win a title, So it it all gets talked about differently if the Lakers did not win the championship in twenty twenty, can you imagine how different that deal would be talked about

with everything the Pelicans got out of it. Like, if you have to give up young talented players in draft compensation, there's a good chance that those guys are going to turn into good basketball players and it's going to affect the outlook of your of the of that deal. But you've got to be aggressive to give yourself a chance to win the championship. It's really unfortunate what happened to

KWHI Leonard. It's really unfortunate what happened to the Clippers, But every one of us would have done the exact same thing. Put yourself in those shoes summer of twenty nineteen. Hey, all you got to do is give up Shame's good young player has potential to be really great but not yet. And a bunch of draft compensation you get Paul George Kwi Leonard and really good role players, your overnight championship favorite yes or no every day and one of us is saying yes every day, and one of us stop

pretending you wouldn't so like that. That's where it gets silly in retrospect to talk about it that way. All right, guys, that's all I have for today is always a sincerely appreciate you guys for supporting the show. I hope you all have a great weekend, and we'll be back next week. On Monday, I'll do like a probably some kind of like predictions pod or something along those lines, and then we'll get into it with the instant reaction on Tuesday night after the first light of games is always I

appreciate you guys, and I will see you then. The volume