Hoops Tonight X Nerd Sesh - Will Warriors or Lakers survive play-in? Celtics or Bucks? Nuggets inevitable?

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varies by jurisdiction, Voyden, Ontario. Bonus bets expire one hundred and sixty eight hours after issuance. See dkang dot com slash b ball for eligibility and deposit restrictions, terms and responsible gaming resources. All right, welcome to hop tonight. You're at the volume. Happy Friday, everybody. We're actually releasing this on Saturday, but we're recording it on Friday, which is very important for the standings that we're going to be

discussing today. We're having the guys from NERD Sesshona, so I'm very very excited about. We're going to do a deep dive into the play in tournament in both conference. I'm gonna give you guys some numbers just based on the strength of schedule and where teams are in the standings, and then we'll have a little bit of a discussion on where we expect things to land and where we

hope things to land. After that, we're gonna do a little bit of a touch on the contenders at the top of the league, and then after that, I have a fun game for the nerds at the end of the show where we're gonna go over some of my favorite bad takes from this season. So this a little bit of an early start for you guys this morning. You gen z Ors, I could tell you're a little sleepy. I can see it in your eyes. Carson, I could see it in the energy.

of their Skins schedule as well. They are at twenty seven losses, ninth toughest remaining schedule, fifty two percent opponent winning percentage. Then we have the Mavericks, the Sons, and the Kings. They're all tied with twenty nine losses, so

two more than the Pels. The MAVs have a forty eight percent opponent winning percentage in their remaining schedule, which is the ninth easiest, The Suns fifty seven point four percent toughest remaining in the entire league, and then the Kings at fifty six percent opponent win percentage is the third toughest remaining schedule in the league. So the Sons

and Kings both really tough schedules. Probably worth mentioning though that this time of year, the toughness in the schedule, a lot of it has to do with where it's loaded, because once you get into that last week or so, even some of the top teams in the league start

sitting guys. Then we go to the Warriors and the Lakers at thirty two losses, so three behind the Mavericks, Sons and Kings, both of them at thirty two, seventeenth and eighteenth toughest remaining schedules, respectively, with the forty eight percent opponent win percentage. So let's get started here are

with you, Carson, What is your best guess for how the standings land from here in the play?

a really good version of Zion lately. So I think just for this very short stretch, with the advantage they have in the standings, they can probably hold on.

and then the Kings. I just don't think they've consistently shown a high enough level defensively, a high enough level in terms of effort for where I'm like, yeah, they're gonna overcome being a couple games back from New Orleans and climb up with that sort of schedule in.

this point. And I think that we've seen with the Warriors again, they've obviously risen to a higher level, but if they were able to just magically flip a switch and then start reeling off a whole bunch of regular season wins, I think that they probably would have done so before getting to this point where now they are just a few games above five hundred, and they have been in that nine to ten range for so much

of this season. So I think that we're still headed for Lakers Warriors in the nine ten.

games against San Antonio. Any game against Wenby, I feel like, isn't just a wash, you know what I mean, It's always a tough out. So I would probably take Sacramento to lock up seven to eight. And then I agree with you, man, I just think the Lakers and Warriors are in too big of a hole. And if any of those teams, I'm not predicting this by any means, if either of those teams slip up. I mean, Houston has been surging, dude, seven straight wins, Like, I wouldn't

pick them to leapfrog or get in there. But the Warriors of Lakers fall asleep at the wheel for a couple of games and the last week of the season could get really grimy for both of those teams.

in Indiana. Now Steph shot him out of the building when they played in Indiana about a month ago, But that's a tough perimeter matchup. Then you go to Orlando, they have one of the best guard defenders in the league, and Jalen Suggs. You go to obviously Minnesota professional, you know,

perimeter defense team. Those types of teams have typically given the Warriors some issues, and the Lakers, while they're about to head into a tougher schedule in a little bit, they're in a little bit of an easier stretch right here. So like, I actually think that it's more likely than not that the Lakers end up at nine and the Warriors end up at ten. I agree with you guys as it pertains to the plan. I think we're gonna

get MAVs and Pelicans out of the plan. It's a risk with the Pels because they're in a little bit of a tougher stretch and obviously Bi being out and he's been so so good for them on both ends of the floor as of late, sliding really nicely into that secondary role behind Zion as they've kind of shifted, and then also just everything he's been doing defensively, which has been one of the better defensive seasons of his career,

and so like, obviously there's some risk there. But the same reason why I don't think the the Pelicans will drop is the same reason why I don't think the Lakers and Warriors will pass the Suns or the Kings. It's the same reason why I don't think the Houston Rockets will pass the Warriors or the Lakers. It's just that three losses is just way too much to make

up in this short piece period of time. Like again, like to put it simply, imagine like a fifteen game sample and you went and you happen to go, you know, twelve in three, they would only have to go what's that nine and six to hold their ground, right, So like, it's just not that it's not that difficult to hold that ground over that period of time. And again you're gonna get into that final week and it's gonna be

a lot of automatic wins. Who do you, guys think has the best chance to survive the play in tournament between the Lakers and the Warriors. We'll start with you, Logan.

D's praise is enough, man, that kid is awesome. I just can't bring myself to take Golden State. Jason. You did a breakdown a couple of days ago about Steph and their reliance on him offensively, and that's really what it comes down to me. I just think the Lakers have more secondary shot creation, more guys they can pull

their weight on any given night. You know, I think the Lakers are really well equipped to withstand an off night from a Lebron James and off night from an Anthony Davis because they have Dangelo Russell, because they have Austin Reeves, because they have these other guys that can pull their own weight and create their own shots offensively. And then you get into the fact that we always harp on the Lakers physical one athletic advantages. It's just something I can bank in on more. I really want

to say Golden State. I think Golden State is the more esthetically pleasing team. They're more fun to watch in my opinion, But that's not what it comes down to. I think the Lakers still have those physical one athletic advantages, and there's just more shot creation up and down the roster. Also, you add in the fact that I don't know, man, I think this team has a legit chip on his shoulder.

They still got Lebron James. I still think that when this team it was ironic because last year, right guys, it was like the Lakers at any given night in the playoffs would just boot a game and they'd say, Ah, you know what, we'll just win tomorrow night. We'll punt on this game. We'll win tomorrow night. I still have that feel with this Lakers team where I think that if they really want to crank the dial up in intense environments, in big game scenarios, I think the Lakers

will show up. So it pains me to say it because I've been trying to offload my Lakers stock for so long, but I will side with LA and I want to take Golden State. Man. I want to see Golden State get it done. I'm rooting for that, But

my gut says LA is going to get through.

younger Warriors team, it's a more athletic Warriors team. But the ultimate insurmountable advantages that the Lakers had last year, to me, were the fact that they had the two superstar talents on the floor, the two guys who could be top ten players throughout a series, and the Warriors only had the one, that being Steph Curry, and they are very overwhelmingly reliant on him as that lone star

shot creator. Shout out to Kaminga and what he has done as a mismatch attacker, weaponizing his athleticism out of the post in transition, he's been so good, but there's still obviously a gap, and I think in that playoff environment he needs to prove that he can sustain this level. And so that's a real advantage that the Lakers are just gonna have two guys on the floor who are head and shoulders above everybody else except for Steph Curry at all times. I do prefer their secondary shot creation,

as Logan laid out. I mean, especially with the level that we've been getting from D'Angelo Russell. I don't want to be the guy who banks on d Low because obviously he melted down against the Nuggets last year, and he is just kind of inherently erratic because of his shot selection, because he relies on those tough pull ups and he can take the offense out of rhythm when it's not falling. But he is playing at a level that we haven't seen from him in quite some time.

I mean, has just been so impressive for this last month plus now, and so I'm at least optimistic about what he can bring in stretches, what Austin Reeves brings in stretches, and so I think it comes down to a combination of two of the three best players by far on the floor in this series, overall athletic and really massive size advantages. Like Anthony Davis is just a brutal matchup for the Warriors. We saw that last year in terms of how he was able to dictate the

series defensively. Kevon Looney did a really good job of battling him on the glass, but he's still eight up boards in that series was over fourteen a game, I believe, And I love TJD. And he is bawling out, but the Lakers just don't have a physical answer for Anthony Davis. They didn't have a center who was athletic enough last year.

Now they do have an athletic center in TJD. But he's still undersize for that matchup, and if you get dialed in AD, he's just a problem, and he's really a problem against a small team like Golden State.

return this season. So even with that allowed, I think I'd picked the home team between those two regardless, like I would have a hard time picking against Steph at home in a single elimination game. That said, I think when Jared Vanderbilt's healthy on the Lakers, I think the Lakers are just better than the Warriors. I think he's that when he's out of the lineup, that specific position group is such a devastating weakness for the Lakers that Steph can get comfortable all game long, and that's a

real problem. Like literally Austin Reeves draws the staph assignment when when Jared Vanderbilt is out of the lineup, and we've seen how that's been a problem. But with Vanderbilt healthy, they're just more built for that sort of thing. That said, I still think just with the way the schedules are set up, even though they have similar remaining strength of schedule, the Lakers tougher parts of their schedule are later on, whereas the Warriors toughest parts of the schedule are earlier on,

and I think that that benefits LA. They also have a head to head matchup on April ninth, where the Lakers will be at home, which I think is an advantage towards the Lakers. So, even though again I think you'd be foolish to count steph Out, I think if Golden State did get the nine seed, I would be I would lean towards picking them to win that nine

to ten game. I just think it's more likely than not that the Lakers win the nine seed, and if Jared Vanderbilt is healthy, I think the Lakers have a better chance of winning a road game in Oracle than the Warriors have a chance of beating the Lakers in Crypto dot Com Arena in the event that there are the ten seeds, So I think I leaned towards the

Lakers there. As far as the seven to eight matchup goes, I really like the Kings are definitely a tougher matchup for the Lakers than either the Suns or the Kings.

The Lakers take are one of the lowest volume three point shooting teams in the league. There one of the most frequent paint scoring teams in the league. They have an ability ability to scale up in terms of their physical in position when they get into those matchups. A big example for me would be like Game six last year, Lakers Warriors, Lakers at home. They get their butt kicked in Game five. Now, as Logan pointed out earlier, that's kind of was their theme last year's they would just

punt specific games. But in that Game six, what happened. Lebron came out in the first quarter and was like, I'm bigger and stronger than all these dudes, and for one night, I can bury them all in the rim. And he went out and he did that. And so again, like I think, I think, when when we really zoom in on it, the both teams have a decent chance. But I'd say I give the Warriors a little bit less than a fifty percent chance of escaping the plane and the Lakers a little bit more than a fifty

percent chance, and so I'd leaned towards the Lakers. So one last note on that before we head out to the Eastern Conference playing. If you're the Lakers, and we're gonna do both of these rapid fires, so we'll go through both of you and then we'll go to the Warriors. If you're the Lakers, who's the one team you want to avoid in a road playing game. Let's start with you, Carson.

the year. We've seen Dallas improve so much as a rebounding team, just improve their overall big situation, and then I just think the offensive ceiling that they have with Luca and Kyrie when they're going can be really overwhelming. And so I just think they're the scariest team. The Kings have been a tough matchup, specifically for the Lakers, with the quickness of their guards and the whole Sabonis ad battle, but I still like the Lakers in that matchup.

Golden State by any means. Like if Steph does go crazy in a one game scenario and Clay is still a swing factor in a one game scenario where if he's hitting big shots and his shot is on, he is the kind of guy that can swing a single game, right if Anthony Davis has an off night shooting, like, there's a recipe for Golden State to win a game. Because I consider Dallas kind of out of this conversation, I would definitely say that I lean LA, but Golden

State still scares scares the hell out of me. If I'm LA, Man, they can They've got all the recipe, you know what I mean, And we've seen it before, so Golden State still terrifies me if I'm Los Angeles.

and AD would be able to scale up physically against Dallas. I think they'd be able to scale up physically against Golden State. Mean what I mean by that is like, I don't think I don't think PJ. Washington and Daniel Gafford or Prej Washington and Derek Lively are going to be able to hold up well under a Lebron James Anthony Davis onslaught in a single elimination game that the Kings really they're The Kings are a bad defense, but they have defensive strengths, and they've had moments this year

where they've been a really good defense. And the King's two defensive strengths both play specifically into Laker offensive weaknesses, which is, the Lakers guards struggle against ball pressure, good physical ball pressure, and the Kings have a ton of quickness at the guard position to cause those sorts of problems. And secondly, Anthony Davis is an inconsistent over the top shot maker, and so Bonus is quicker and stronger than him, so you can beat him to spots and force him

to make shots over the top. Some Knights, Anthony Davis makes all his hooks and jumpers, and some Knights he just can't make him to save his life, and that can be a problem. And then on the other end of the floor, it's just a simple matter of like I actually like the Lakers against over the top shot makers, which is your Luca, You're Kyrie obviously looking at even the Suns guys, even looking at the Clippers guys, even

looking at the thunder guys. Like, the Lakers have done really well this year defensively against teams that rely on over the top shot making, because they have good positional defenders that can get contests on shots, and because the Lakers do so much damage in the paint on the other end of the floor, it brings a physical wear and tear element that can sometimes lead to jump shots missing.

I've seen a lot of complaints from people who don't like the Lakers this year, being like, oh, they got lucky, this team misshots. Oh they got lucky, this team misshots, and they don't realize it keeps happening because the Lakers play bully ball and that can have a wear and tear effect on the game, whereas like with the with the Kings in particular, obviously Darreon Fox is having a great pull up shooting year. Obviously we know Milik Monk

can hit pull up jump shots. Obviously we know Harrison Barnes and Keigan Murray and Kevin Herder and these guys can shoot. But they're the primary driving force behind their offense is actually a downhill force element. It's it's Darren Fox and Malik Monk. It's it's Demonisa Bonus in his power game. So like they're they're a team that I think plays more directly into the Lakers weaknesses on both ends of the floor. All right, quickly, Warriors, starting with you, logan,

who's the one team you want to avoid? If you're the Warriors.

prospect breakdowns the other day. It's like they don't have a big Zoo, they don't have a Hartenstein, they don't have a Robinson, and like just having a big kind of a big body like I think if Golden State could somehow swing it like a Donovan Klingen or somebody like that, like an immediate impact, big body center would be really effective. I think for a team like Golden State, where you could run different types of defensive coverages, you just have a you know, you just have a physical answer.

A guy that just matches up well against any big body in Golden State has not had that. With Looney slightly tailing off this year, you know what I mean, he's not the same guy that he once was. I think they could get physically overwhelmed. Again. I'm not counting them out, and this isn't a shot it Sacramento is a Kings fan. I just kind of have a sinking feeling that Sacramento is not going to get it done. And then Phoenix. I don't know about you, guys, Phoenix

doesn't really scare me at all. I just think they can't play defense. So ironically, I think the kryptonite for both of these teams is a matchup against each other, and it kind of seems like that's the collision course that we're headed on. So for both teams, i'd say it's LA Golden State.

La Again. I think it's the star advantage. I think it's the physical advantage. I do think Vandal coming back is a real problem at the point of attack, just able to hassle Steph off ball. I think we saw

how effective they're pick and roll coverages were with both him and a d against Steph last year in the playoffs, and so I think it's pretty clearly the Lakers who the Warriors want to la Void.

with Derek Lively. I actually I go back and forth with Gafford and Lively, but I think in that specific matchup, I'd really like doing some of the stuff that a lot of teams have done against the Warriors where you top lock in funnel and basically just count on Derek g Lively to be kind of a deterrent at the rim, you know, playing off of the non shooters. So yeah, I'd probably lean towards Dallas in the event that they escape the Lakers. But I agree with you that the Lakers.

To me, the Lakers are when healthy win Jared Vanderbilt the best team out of that play in group overall, even including the Pelicans, just when they're actually healthy. But that again, like I think, I think Jared Vanderbilt being out has made the Lakers look so physically overwhelmed at the on the perimeter, but like little things like when Vando's in there, it just slots everything so much better.

Now Austin Reeves is guarding the second best perimeter player, which is something he actually can handle as opposed to being in a struggle position. Jared Vanderbilt is one of their best defensive rebounders at the forward position. He's so much better offensively this year than he was last year,

mainly because of the system that they're using. Like I think, I think the Lakers are very much just in the pack right now, But when Vanderbilt is healthy like they're they're legitimately and I look at him more in that tier with the teams below Denver at the top when they're actually healthy. Moving on to the East Plan, and we won't say as long on this one just because it's not as interesting and some of the stuff is more set. The nine and ten seeds are set, Chicago's

at the Atlanta's at the ten. That's most likely not going to change. We do have three teams tied at thirty one losses, though, the Pacers with a thirteenth toughest remaining schedule fifty one percent opponent win percentage, the seventy six ers twentieth toughest remaining schedule forty eight percent opponent winning percentage, the Heat fourth easiest remaining schedule forty seven percent in opponent winning percentage. So on this one, what I'd like to see is just for fun, and we'll

start with you, Carson. What with number one being Boston to Milwaukee, three being Cleveland, what's your ideal set of matchups for the first round? Just as a basketball fan, what would you prefer to see in the Eastern Conference first round as the survivors from the plane?

I would like to see Celtics heat in the first round, just because I think that would be a fantastic test for this Boston team, see how different they really are than previous iterations. And I think that they are for what it's worth, I think they're significantly better than last year. But if anybody's gonna make them uncomfortable, it's Miami, and I would just love to see that rematch. There's just a pretty fun history in recent years between those teams

and these high stakes playoff matchups. Then I would like to see buck sixers, and these are both very plausible. I mean, Miami and Philly are both in that play and range right now. I just think that seeing mbiid Giannis would be a super fun first round matchup. I think seeing what Tyrese Maxi could do against a Bucks point of attack defense that obviously still has its issues would be fun. I think seeing the Dame Maxi matchup

overall would be really exciting. And I think getting two of the top five players on the planet, two huge physical guys like Embiidiannis matched up, that would just be really exciting. And those are two really good teams. I think Philly's obviously much better than their seed this year.

see Akham fit. But when he is nothing close to himself, when he can't get a step, when he's settling for all these brutally tough pull up threes, like, the Pacers aren't that fun and they just aren't that good because they need that offense to be great. And then I have Orlando against New York because I think that would be a really fun, defensive minded matchup that would be a kind of throwback series just in terms of the grittiness, the physicality.

take New York. I think healthy New York is a really scary playoff team, But I think that would be an interesting matchup for both these teams, and I think it would just present some discomfort inherently by their play styles.

I think a rematch of Cavs Knicks would honestly be really fun saying if Cleveland can make adjustments, and just the fact that New York that battle of the interior guys man Allen and Mobley versus Robinson and Randall Hartenstein. That was awesome last year watching those guys bat Like you talk about a throwback series, we kind of got it last year, and I'm I'm honestly down to the double down and get that again this year and see if Cleveland can make adjustments, if the Knicks can just

go in there and handle business. I like, I really like Philly versus Milwaukee. I think that. I mean, what Tyrese Maxie has done in the absence of Joel Embiid this season has been like astounding. You know, I knew Maxi was great, but seeing him this year without having a guy to rely on like Embiid, Maxie's pull up shooting, his command of the offense, the way he's controlled the game, I've been super impressed with him. So I think I

think it would be an offensive showdown between them and Milwaukee. Obviously, I'm gonna take Milwaukee if Embid's not healthy. And then on the Miami point, I want to ask you, guys, I think Miami matches up because they just got the heat culture. I think they're better than last year with the improvement of guys like Triple j Yovich they had in Terry Rozier. Is it wrong to me to question if Jimmy Butler is gonna be good to go for this playoff rund? Like it's it's rubbed me the wrong way.

We haven't and I know Jimmy and Miami doesn't do this every year, but Jimmy's just been so consistently out, like you know, missing games. If it's I don't know, is it wrong of me to be concerned if Jimmy Butler is gonna be good to go come playoff time?

and then just further exacerbate the narrative surrounding him. Like I think Embiid is eventually going to break through in a big way in the postseason, and I'd almost rather have him just sit out the rest of the season than manage his knee more diligently next year, stop worrying about regular season awards and just get to to April healthy and then and then and then have him try to make a run at that point. But that said, obviously i'd have fun seeing Milwaukee Philly in the event

that Philly misses the playoffs. The team that I think would be really fun to see against Milwaukee is a fun first round opponent is Chicago. They have a elethora of perimeter defenders to throw Damian Lillard to make to make work extremely hard. They have a lot of perimeter speed in general, which is a weakness for Milwaukee. Their set of perimeter shot creators, between guys like Kobe White and Demarta Rosen, they would be comfortable most of the

series going against Milwaukee's perimeter options. And then, like Chicago with Andre Drummond Nicola Vucevich, they actually have a decent amount of interior size, which I think would help in terms of the building of the wall type of stuff going on when you're trying to defend Giannis in a playoff series. So obviously i'd pick Milwaukee to win that series. But talking about a fun first round matchup, obviously that'd be a good one.

before it finally got healthy. And I like, literally there was a lengthy stage where I just didn't trust it at all to like really take aggressive steps. And with Tyrese Haliburton specifically when it comes to beating switches, he needs to take those like really aggressive long steps to get to his spots. And I just don't think he's in a good place physically right now. And I think it's starting to hurt his confidence, which is starting to hurt even his wide open jump shooting. And I like,

I'm with you, Carson. I'm a big believer in Haliburton in the big picture, but he's just not close to form right now, which is which is which is unfortunate. And then Orlando New York, like, you could not script a better just old fashioned nineteen nineties ass kicking of a series that would just be that would just be

a ton of fun. All right, Moving on to the top of the conference, though, I'm interested in kind of talking about Boston and Milwaukee as it pertains to the future, because both of these teams, with exception of a player option for Drew Holliday which he may or may not pick up, we'll see, but both of these teams, their starting fives are more or less locked up or for the next season, and more for some of the other guys. So, with that being the circumstance, who has more urgency to

win a title this year? Boston or Milwaukee? We'll start with you.

wonder if it's just a time thing. I think it's a personnel thing with Milwaukee, the fact that they don't have point of attack defense that they don't have have you know, they got a lot of aging guys on their roster that they're getting older. I also do think it's a chemistry thing and something that may improve with time. I think Boston has more pressure, but I think the team that needs to get it done more is probably Milwaukee with their aging superstars. That being said, I don't

really see a path from Milwaukee. I've kind of been off Milwaukee for a while. I think it would take a serious injury to another team. I honestly think the Knicks are probably my second favorite team in the Eastern Conference, including Milwaukee. I would say urgency wise, I think there's probably more pressure on Milwaukee just because they have so many older guys on their team that you know, I could see Brook Lopez taking even a further step back.

I could see Damian Lillard maybe taking another step back next season. I'd say urgency wise, you know, Boston's younger. There's a ton of pressure on Boston, man because they keep hitting their freaking head on the ceiling, man, and it's you just you keep wondering, like, when are they finally gonna breakthrough. You know, twenty eighteen, you go seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals against Lebron, twenty twenty, you losing six to the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals.

You collapse in the NBA Finals against the Warriors in twenty two and then Miami slams the door in your face again, and so you know, it's frustrating, and I think there's a lot of pressure mounting for Boston, but they're not going anywhere. They've got a culture, they've got the players locked up, They've got a ton of talent. They're gonna be back here probably the next couple seasons. So I think Boston has more pressure, but I think

there's gotta be a lot more urgency for Milwaukee. Man, they're just older, and I mean, I can see this and I didn't even mention Middleton. You know, Middleton's another guy with health concerns with aging, with him potentially losing a step. It's just I can see Milwaukee definitely knows diving. After this season, Boston's probably a perennial contender. Despite how frustrating they are there, They're gonna be back.

this point. With the point of attack defense, the Dame thing logan you talk about if it's fit, I absolutely think that that is a factor. I think that we still have not seen Dame and Yannis unlock the potential that they have with their two man game. I think that there's still a really high ceiling there. But there's just a bit of synergy and feel between the two

of them that they haven't totally tapped into. And just the volume at which they run Jannis Dame pick and roll has not been high enough, in my opinion, and so then you have Dame running a bunch of pick and roll with Brook Lopez and it's very stagnant, and you know that he's popping every single time, and so Dame shot quality has gone down. I think if he we're running more pick and roll with a legitimate rim, threatening athletic big that would just be better for everybody involved.

I also think Dame has lost a bit of a step this year, though, I think in terms of quickness, and he's getting to the rim at a career low rate, like he's been on a really good stretch these last three games, and I think he's capable of exploding. But this is not the Damian Lillard that was advertised. This is not the Damian Lillard that we saw last year,

who had maybe the offensive season of his career. And so that's just frightening when you consider that's what you've gone all in on, and that was supposed to be like the miracle drug, that was supposed to be the thing that would solve everything, fix your half court offense, and from that point, your backline defense is good enough, you're gonna contend. You have Damon Giannis, you have the

best duo on the planet. If that formula isn't great enough, then Milwaukee's in a really tough spot because the rest of this roster just isn't even close to up to par with what Boston has. Boston has this team of super soldiers man, this starting five.

gotten a ring. But if you are talking about actual, circumstantial urgency, like if you guys don't do it this year, you're gonna have to start asking some big questions like maybe Boston would be so disappointed that the city eats itself alive and they burn down Boston, then that's a problem. But we know that they could come back next year

and still be the most talented team in the league and Milwaukee doesn't have that luxury.

would believe it until they actually hoisted the trophy. The breakdown of the age that you the ages of the starters that Carson kind of went over, is something that I think a lot of people don't realize. Like, as of next year, all five of Milwaukee's starters will be in their thirties, and this is a team that already has a certain amount of a lack of foot speed, and like even Giannis is starting to succumb to some injuries, which has become a little bit more prevalent over the

last few years. This hamstring thing he's dealing with, there's been a little tricky as he's been not as vertically athletic as we're accustomed to seeing with Giannis. So yeah, like in terms of the urgency, it really is that simply you look at Boston, both of the Jays and chrisops Porzingis are still firmly in the heart of their prime in their late twenties. Of next year, both Derek White and Drew Holliday will be in their thirties. But they both look really good physically right now and are

more or less, you know, reliable in that regard. And so just with Milwaukee, to put it simply, there's just a shorter window. Even as you look at Boston, they're still improving. Jalen Brown is playing the best basketball of his career right now. Jason Tatum is since January first, in a thirty five game sample size, is taking six pull up threes per game and shooting over forty percent on them. So all those conversations, just by the way,

we're legitimate. This is new information. We always have people that are like, oh, take back everything you said about Tatum. It's like, actually, he used to miss them. Now he makes them. It's a difference. But like literally, for three years, Tatum was a high volume pull up three point shooter and couldn't make them at a high enough clip. He was in the low thirties. And now he's hitting them at forty percent. And so Tatum's getting better. Jalen Brown's

getting better. Christops Perzingis in the last two three years has made significant leaps as a player. Derek White has gone from being like an interesting young guard prospect to like a useful role player to like a borderline fringe star in terms of his overall impact on both ends of the floor, and then Drew Holliday as a fifth starter. You really can't do much better than that, and so

Boston just has more groom to grow. That's what's so funny is even if Boston loses this year, everyone will roast them, everyone will have fun at their expense, and then they're going to be right back next year kicking everybody's ass again. On the Milwaukee front, though, I want to be clear, even though they're under more urgency and even though they're not as good as Boston, there's a

lot of encouraging stuff there as well. Like some of the issues with the two man game you had mentioned, some of that has to do with the fact that as Dame is starting to kind of figure it out, Giannis has been dealing with some injury issues. Chris Middleton has been out of the lineup for a good chunk of this year, and now he's finally back. Damian Lillard you mentioned it. Carson back to back to back thirty point games for just the second time this season, but zooming in on.

of that come together. And so I think Milwaukee is still every bit as potent and capable as we thought they were to begin the season. It's just been a disappointing season because Dame was so bad for so much of it, and because honestly, the Adrian Griffin issue as well has to be factored in there. So I definitely think Boston has more pressure, but Milwaukee definitely has more urgency moving out west. So Nikole Jokic polishing up the jumper,

getting ready for the postseason. Jamal Murray obviously has been playing in an all star level the Nuggets have lost just twice since the All Star break, and both of those losses involved a last second shot that either sent it to ot or ended the game. They have had multiple, probably about a half dozen, just ridiculous half court ass kicking sessions that they've put on at the end of games to put things away. I Denver just seems like

a freight train to me. And so I'm gonna present this question to you guys like this, and I'll start with you, Carson. Would you take Denver or the field at this point to win the NBA title.

flame throwing runs from deep. They lead the league in three point volume in their second in terms of their percentage there. So the ceiling that they have is incredibly high. I do still think that Denver is a bit more reliable though, because their offensive brilliance is truly inevitable. They are never going to break down in terms of process. They are never going to experience the swings in terms

of perimeter shot making. That although Boston's ceiling is very high, we saw the difference maker in their matchup, and Boston fans may say, oh, well, we had a just miserable shooting game from deep, but so did Denver. Denver made four threes in that game. They could not knock down

a shot from the perimeter. And they have one advantage that nobody else in the league does, which is that that offensive machine just keeps churning because of Niko Ajokic's in dominance offensively, because of his ability to create quality shots in and around the paint for cutters, for Aaron Gordon in the dunker spot. Jamal Murray's mid range shot making, like Denver, is less susceptible to shot variants than anybody

else in the NBA. They won two games in the finals last year where they made five to three pointers or fewer. Nobody else did that in the entirety of the postseason. Nobody else can survive off shooting nights like Denver. And by the way, they're a really good shooting team, but they don't need to be to win every single game, and I think that that's a huge advantage. I think there are top three offense of this century. I mean, particularly in the clutch, the shot quality they can create

with either Aniko Jokic's post up. Obviously, I think he's the best post score on the planet, in the best scorer period, and he can get to any of those touch shots and make sixty five percent of them no matter who's on him. But if you dig, he's going to create a good shot for a shooter, if you

double from the paint. He and Aaron Gordon have maybe the best two man chemistry that I've ever seen, and so there is an inevitability there, whereas Jason Tatum, yes, has been on a really good pull up shooting run. But you can see these stretches from Boston where the decision making from Tatum and Brown isn't great and they are susceptible to just downstretches in terms of perimeter shot making. And Denver's a really good defensive team too. I think

that obviously, particularly on the perimeter. They have some good athletes, They're not a team that is at all easy to pinpoint mismatches with. I think about that a lot, where you see it in the MAVs game recently, for example, where Luca is like trying to hunt switches and go at Jamal Murray late in that game, and it's still not super easy, like Jamal's still a six to four compact,

pretty athletic guard. So I think they're underrated defensively, and they're the best offense in the league, the offense that I trust the most by a good bit. But I just can't act like they are head and shoulders above Boston because I know what Boston is capable of. Boston has the most talented starting five that we've seen, certainly since the peak Golden State Warriors. I think this is a team that, in most post Warriors years, like would

be better than the champion. I'm interested in your guys' thoughts on that because I think Denver is the strongest champion we've seen since those Warriors. I think if you dropped this Celtics team against the twenty nineteen field well Toronto, just because Golden State was hurt that year, the twenty twenty Lakers are tough, but the twenty twenty one Bucks

twenty twenty two Warriors. I think this Boston team is so overwhelmingly talented that I would take them against most of those teams, and I think that that's a testament to how strong both these teams are.

The Celtics leader is Jason Tatum, and Tatum is susceptible to bad pull up shooting runs, settling for a lot of threes, and so that's what his team does a lot. I'm not putting that on on Jason Tatums shoulders, but by and large, they have assumed the identity of Jason Tatum. And there's no team more in the NBA that I think has assumed the identity of their leaders than the

Denver Nuggets. Jokic's impact, his unselfishness not only creates open looks and open opportunities for his teammates, but it makes his teammates more unselfish. Like watch a Nuggets game and it will blow you away when you're watching Aaron Gordon kick it to MPJ and MPJ will swing it, and it's just it's beautiful basketball. Carson, you talk about them being one of the greatest offenses of this century. It's the most beautiful basketball. It's like the twenty twentyds and

twenty ten Spurs. It's like the twenty tens Warriors. The ball movement is unreal, and that's what it comes down to me, Like the entirety of the Nuggets team has assumed part of Jokic's identity is We're gonna play unselfish, beautiful basketball. We're gonna make that extra pass and it's

gonna kill you. It's part and why the Nuggets are so infallible when it comes to clutch offense, because they are looking for that extra pass, because they are looking to play make for their Their team is just so unselfish because their leader is. And that's the beautiful thing about the Nuggets, and that's why I can't pick against them. I do think the Celtics are probably the most talented team we've seen since the Warriors, even with like and

the twenty twenty Lakers are probably the closest. But there's a depth advantage that the Celtics have that the Lakers don't have when you're comparing those teams apples to apples. So I don't want to undersell Boston. But what it comes down to me is the fact that both of these teams, you know, buy into their identity, their culture, their leader. I trust Denvers culture and their leader more, and I think it is permeated to the rest of the roster in a way that you seldom see with teams.

Man Like their unselfishness is unreal, and that's that's ultimately why I buy in and can't bet against Denver. Also the fact, like you mentioned, Carson, you got MPJ just banging nails on contested threes. Every one of their players has something that they can kill you with. Man if it's an Aaron Gordon dunkor spot lob, if it's it's coming. I do think the Nuggets are inevitable and I would really be surprised if they didn't win the title.

boston ceiling is higher. Carson, I thought the bit you did on their lack of a life on variants was super super interesting. That stat about the five May threes in the finals. That's absolutely crazy, and I mean that I think that reflected in the Celtics games. They got outshot by Boston in both games on jump shots in terms of jump shot efficiency, and both of those teams

are good jump shooting teams. They're both top ten jump shooting teams in the league by a point per shot efficiency, and so like their ability to weather that kind of storm. And again then I think like one of the big ones too, is just Denver knows exactly like their hierarchy in big situations. Boston can get a little bit finicky on that end, and they they don't really know what they want to run, which I think is part of the reason why they get inconsistent. That said, winning four

championship rounds is really really hard. And even though I would put I would pick Denver over the field in the Western Conference, I think once you throw in that Boston variable, I think, like I think that it's just a it's a lot to say Denver winning over anybody else as an option. And so even though more confident Denver or in Denver than I have been at all this season, I still think like there's a less than fifty percent chance that they win, just because of all

of the variables that go into it. I would pick them. I will pick them in every series. I will pick them against Boston if they get to the finals. I agree with you, Carson, I think it's going to be an all time great series. That said, I think there's there's obviously, like just a ton of variants in the NBA. I mean, even just looking back to the simple fact that we haven't had a repeat conference finalist in the last five years just goes to show you the stuff

that you can run into in a postseason series. Not to mention the injury risk along the way too, Like it's just there's just always a chance that maybe Jowell Murray will go down or Michael Porter Junior will go down before you get there. And obviously, as we know, Denver synergy depends so much on all five of those guys being healthy. And so yeah, I think I think

Denver fans should feel very confident. But if I was forced to pick Denver the field, I'd pick the field just because I think the field is all unless you're picking like Tiger Woods in his prime, UH to win a major like it's hard to it's hard to go against the field in these sorts of situations. All right, before we get out of here today, we're gonna have a fun game. We're gonna go rapid fire style. We're gonna start with Logan. I'm gonna give you I have.

and forth. We'll go rapid fire style. I just want you, guys to give your initial reaction, like what your what your basketball mind screams when you see something like this when you're scrolling through your phone in the morning over some coffee, like the spit take, and then and then what comes next? All right, So Logan, you're up first. This is from the famous Hooper Twitter account ball Don't stop.

The three highest scoring players ever, meaning Kareem Abdul Jabbar and uh A, Karl Malone and Lebron James wouldn't really be considered pure scorers, but their durability was insane, and they're scoring arsenal just worked so well and efficiently. They really outlasted everyone from their era and the era after their era. Logan, how do you feel about Karl Malone, Lebron James, and Kareem Abduljabbar not being considered pure scorers by the Hooper community?

sets of all time. Lebron with the fact that he's one of the greatest rim pressures and most unstoppable athletes ever, and then Kareem would just one of the most immaculate postgames and shots of all times. So I don't really understand. I wouldn't consider them like pure scorers because they do everything else else, but to not call them scorers is ridiculous. They're two of the greatest of all time. That's kind of ridiculous to me.

Like what does pure mean that you also don't excel in the other aspects of the game, Like is that something that we want to be lauding? Do we love Cam Thomas because all he does is take tough shots? And like, yeah, I like Cam Thomas when he's on, Like, you know, he's got a really shifty movement style, and he's got a deep bag and he's a tough shot creator. But there's a reason that there's not a lot of

teams banging on the door to get Pam Thomas. There's a reason that Jamal Crawford wasn't as good as he was fun to watch a highlight tape of, Like these dudes who may have these awesome dribble combinations and may

be great, difficult shot makers. Like, if you aren't getting to your spots, if you aren't making life easy on yourself offensively, and especially if you aren't doing the other things that matter in a basketball game, playmaking, defending, rebounding, et cetera, then you're just not gonna be that effective in an NBA game. So I see this sort of

thinking all the time. To me, it just doesn't make sense, Like there is value in having a tough shot making skill set, right, Like if you are going to try to run clutch offense through Giannison Tantakoupa, who may be a super effective scorer, you're gonna have issues because if teams just fully commit to hey, we're walling off the rim. In this specific situation, he doesn't have the requisite counters.

But for most of the game, I mean, he's just going to be able to get thirty efficiently because he has these unstoppable traits. And I think many people overvalue just how does it look when you score?

his career. But also like bully ball is the most effective and reliable form of scoring when you get to the later form of later rounds of the playoffs. That's just a fact and lastly, before we move on, Like, the funniest thing to me is like the sixteen dribble combination pull up jump shot is also like one of the hardest things to play alongside as a teammate. Like

it's a rhythm disruptor. And what's so funny is like all these guys, the karl Malons, the krim Abduljabbars and Lebron's, their scoring came in a way that allowed other people to score well around them. And like, then you get these guys like Kyrie or not, Kyrie's more lumped in with just the way that Dallas plays. But let's talk

about Luca for instance. Like Luca, like you have to put play finishers around him because if you put other guys who can dribble, shoot and pass around him, they would never be in rhythm because they'd be watching Luca take seventeen dribbles on every single possession. And so like, what's so funny is the specific type of style of scoring that he is referencing here is probably the kind that is like least it has a value, but it's less valuable than the other forms of scoring that exist

out there. Okay, next one, this is not a quote, but it's come from several Miami Heat players, so I'm just gonna kind of reference it vaguely or start with du Carson. A few Miami Heat players have said that Chris bosh was the most important player on the heatles because he was a stretched big, even though he was on the same team with Lebron James, what's your reaction, Yeah.

his career. His ability to play multiple styles like I think the super heliocentric ball dominant Lebron that we got in the second Cleveland stint, Like his mastery of the game intellectually was incredibly impressive, but his ability to play off ball as well in Miami with just that sort of freak athleticism. I mean, the best combination of his explosiveness from those first Cleveland years and his strength and

then he was at his defensive peak. I mean, Lebron was at one of the highest peaks we've ever seen from a basketball player ever, And so I'm very happy that Chris Bosh was able to stretch the floor. And obviously he was a very good basketball player. But you take Lebron off those teams, you see what happens like in the subsequent years. And obviously d Wade had diminished at that point, and Chris Bosh obviously had all of

his health issues. But like they were an okay playoff team after Lebron left, and I think it's very obvious that they would not have been tending. And it's like

giving Iggy the Finals MVP in twenty fifteen. Sometimes we look at people maybe exceeding their value or doing one specific thing that is super valuable. Oh my god, he guarded Lebron and he shot the ball really well, and we want.

what I mean. Chris Bosh had to sacrifice his role, his numbers, his view of you know, his stance as a player in the league, legacy wise, to go win championships. That's what championships take sacrifice from guys, you know, taking a lesser role and doing that role to perfection. And I'll give Chris Bosh a ton of credit for doing

that and being a really underrated player. I think he's probably underrated now, especially you know, combined with the fact that he took a lesser role and the fact that you know his career was shortened because of blood clot issues. That's got to be one of the most hyperbolic takes or ridiculous, Like, what are we doing here?