On the NBA Beat

Freshly returned from Cuba, fellow Trojan Adena Andrews, who has written for ESPNW, NBA.com and CBS Sports, talks about her New York Knicks and her life-changing trip. Despite falling to the bottom-feeding Wizards (our interview was recorded before the game), the new-look Knicks have been showing signs of improvement. During the Knicks discussion, Adena addresses the team's integration process given so many offseason changes, Kristaps Porzingis' burgeoning New Yorkness and what the Zen Master brings to the organization, occasional controversy and all. Later, her enlightening journey to Cuba provides extraordinary insight into historical events and how they've impacted today's Cuba. Adena also explains her newfound closeness with the foreign land and many of its people. Enjoy some excerpts below: Knicks 1:56-2:25: “I think I’m kind of like every other Knicks fan. We start the season and we’re like, ‘Oh yeah! We’re gonna win the chip! It’s gonna be ours!’ I think that’s what New Yorkers do best: we overreact. Especially because the Knicks are really good at getting great names and getting us excited. That’s where I’m at. I’m at the ‘Bring on the second round of the playoffs because we haven’t seen it in so long’ place.”  2:42-2:56: “It seems like every year we have a new unit, and that’s our excuse. It’s like ‘We’re in a building year. We’re in a building year.’ We’ve built enough buildings here to populate downtown Manhattan.” 7:03-7:36 “[Porzingis] is a foreigner, and I really, really feel like he’s getting his official New York license right now. The other day on the court, he mouthed the words ‘F- outta here,’ and I was like, ‘That’s what New Yorkers say all the time’… I know at home, Porzingis is wearing Timbs and a Yankee fitted at all times. He is coming of age in his New York self and I’m loving it.” Cuba  24:49-25:14: “I felt like I was a part of history because I get to come back and be on a podcast or come back and tell all my friends and my coworkers just what a wonderful of a country Cuba is, how wonderful the people are. I’ll hopefully write my legislator and keep the conversation open between the countries and show that our ‘enemy’ (quote-unquote), what we used to think they were, they’re not so bad at all.” 25:56-26:52: “The culture experience that I really enjoyed the most, being an African American here, was learning about the African diaspora and how it exists in Cuba. In the triangle trade of slavery, Cuba and the Caribbean was just one stop and the U.S. South was another stop. And how much I actually had in common with the Cubans. For example, I saw some Cubans who were doing stepping, and I’m part of a historically black sorority and one of our traditions is we step. It’s called body percussion. They were doing the same exact steps that I learned at USC in college. It just makes you feel more connected, it makes you feel not so lost in this world and not so without culture. So it was humbling, and it was enlightening to see that kind of stuff."  27:52-28:02: “At the end of the day, we’re just all so similar, it’s not even funny. Everyone, black, white. If we saw that in each other, the world would be a better place honestly.” 32:13-33:20: “As an African American, unless you read up on your history, all you’re gonna get is Martin Luther King, and not even Harriet Tubman in school… And then you feel just disconnected. You wonder, ‘Who am I and what am I made up of?’ So when you go to these places, you actually get a better sense of self, and know that there’s something larger than you, that you can withstand the harshest atrocities that are put up against you. You feel grounded and you feel connected to something definitely. I was in Jamaica once and this guy told me: ‘I and I is one people. You may not be my neighbor, but you’re my brother.’ You may be oceans away from me, but you’re still my brother

The 2-5 Minnesota Timberwolves may be on the cusp of something very promising, but they’re awfully young. Under new head coach and president Tom Thibodeau, that inexperience has likely already contributed to three losses by a combined 10 points. Close losses notwithstanding, the offense, led by Andrew Wiggins, Zach LaVine and Karl-Anthony Towns, all 21 years old or younger, has been electric, as has the 3-point shooting in particular. Timberwolves expert Patrick Fenelon was gracious enough to join the show to discuss these three phenoms, the prospect of Minnesota improving its team defense, rookie point guard Kris Dunn’s strengths and weaknesses, and a whole lot more. Get teased with some excerpts below:     2:53 - 3:21: Fenelon begins by explaining what has been causing the Timberwolves to blow leads in the third quarter of games: "You wonder if it's just a weird quirk of youth thinking that they can just sit back and play prevent defense. It's just a layup line really is what happens in that third quarter. If you look at shot charts, you'll see that one guy is coming in there and getting layups over and over again. They just stop playing defense. And then turnovers happen."   5:46 - 6:22: Kris Dunn has captured Fenelon's attention as a defensive force, but our guest acknowledges where the rookie must improve: "I've been really impressed with [Dunn] defensively. He's held his own right away. He just doesn't know exactly what to do on the offensive end...It's a really steep learning curve for point guards. When Dunn is on the court, their offense is [heavily] based on trying to be scrappy on defense, get a turnover and run the other way. Their pace is a lot faster with Dunn out there."   9:08 - 9:28: Fenelon also gushes over Zach LaVine, comparing him to arguably the best shooter in the league and placing him firmly in contention for NBA's Most Improved Player award: "He just needs to be not a huge liability on defense, because he's just such a flamethrower on offense. He's not going to shoot 50 percent from 3 for the year, but it'll be Klay Thompson-level. He's that good of a shooter. He was hitting them at about that clip for the whole second half of last year."   11:30 - 12:29: Lest we forget Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins, our guest clarifies who is now and will always be the leader of the Timberwolves: "In terms of his mentality and charisma on a roster and in a locker room and being outspoken, he's always going to be secondary to Towns. Towns might be President of the United States for god's sake...Wiggins is by nature very shy... Wiggins is not a playmaker at this point. He's really, at this point, just a scorer and a solid individual defender. And he's getting better as a team defender."   18:31 - 19:23: But with all these freak athletes, why aren't the Timberwolves better on defense? And how is new coach Tom Thibodeau ensuring progress in this crucial area? Tell us, Patrick: "They have the talent to actually be a good defensive team. They're just young and inexperienced and weren't coached within a decent structure...What you can tell with Thibodeau is that he's got a long leash and there's definitely a system in place. He's supposedly such a good teacher and will stop a practice if you're out of position and break down where you have to be."   21:22 - 21:49: Fenelon cautions that reaching the playoffs this season is not necessarily the most important goal: "You can get frustrated when you have expectations. This team hasn't made the playoffs for 12 years, so I really want wins. And I have to calm myself down and (remember) that this is a process. If a championship is the eventual goal with the core, you have to focus on the long term of everything and not just getting to the playoffs by any means this year."   Music: "Who Likes to Party

Four games into the season, the Philadelphia 76ers are again winless, and the franchise hasn’t won a pre-December regular-season game since the 2013-14 season. This time, however, Sixers fans are enjoying the process marveling at Joel "The Process" Embiid rather than commiserating about tanking. Jake Fischer of  SB Nation's Liberty Ballers and SI.com joins the show and raves about Embiid's impressive debut and transformative potential. Along with 2016 No. 1 overall pick Ben Simmons, whose highly anticipated debut will have to wait, last season's NBA All-Rookie First Team member Jahlil Okafor and rookie Dario Saric, Embiid's emergence brings optimism back to Philadelphia basketball. Fischer also examines the Sixers' glut of similar bigs and identifies the likely odd man out. Not since Iverson and Iguodala respectively crossed over opponents and soared through the sky has there been so much unbridled joy and passion around this fan base. Peep the excerpts below: 1:59-2:23 Fischer starts out describing the aforementioned new aura of positivity around the 76ers faithful: “It’s a complete 180 from the last couple years. There’s still the good-hearted humor of ‘Oh, I wonder which new way we’ll find out this team can lose a game tonight,’ but at the same time there’s an optimism now I think that fans truly have thought, at least in these first four games, that the team has a shot at winning every night just because Embiid’s out on the floor.”     5:52-6:31 “One of the biggest criticisms of Sam Hinkie’s rebuild was that he was just plugging away with assets and roster turnover and hiding behind a calculator and it was not basketball-related and it was just faux analytics. But the fact that this team now has a personable face who can stand in front of reporters or fans at the Beach Bash in August and actually be a walking, talking, breathing product of this scheme, and you compound that with the fact that he’s absurdly talented. It’s the pillar this team needed to pivot toward true contention, let alone respectability.” 7:30-8:37: But apparently all is not is well in the City of Brotherly Love according to our guest, who does not envision Nerlens Noel remaining a 76er for long: “I honestly don’t expect him to ever play a game for the Sixers again…I don’t know what flipped the switch, but some time in August him and his agents decided that he needed to get out of there. I think that’s gonna be the ultimate conclusion as much as I think that he’s a more valuable piece next to Joel Embiid, and just he’s a better basketball player than Jahlil Okafor in general.”    18:23-18:47: Fischer points to the evident shift toward finally accruing some wins this season compared to the previous brand of old-fashioned tanking: “They literally entered that year [2015-16] without a point guard, so that was by design. Brett Brown and his players, like you said, were always going to try to win, but Sam Hinkie strategically built the roster in a way that it was virtually impossible to win every single night. That’s not the case anymore. And that’s not an indictment of Hinkie at all. I personally think it was an ingenious strategy.” 23:00-23:27: Given this enhanced on-court product, he sees a prime opportunity for coach Brett Brown to showcase his ability to game plan in more competitive situations: “I think he has the tools to grow into possibly one of the best coaches in the league. He certainly is a leader of men. You see it in the way he talks and his charisma and the way players play for him defensively. He’s got that quality about him, but so did Scott Brooks and Mark Jackson and other guys, and they just didn’t have the acumen to get it done. So when it comes to those late-game situations…I really am paying attention to that.”      Music: "Who Likes to Party" by 

As expected, three games into the 2016-17 season, Anthony Davis is putting up monster averages of 37.7 points, 12.3 rebounds, 3.0 blocks and 2.7 steals per game, including an almost unfathomable performance in the season opener where he racked up 50 points, 17 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 blocks, and 5 steals against the Denver Nuggets. Unfortunately, for all his effort, the Pelicans still have no wins to show for it. Mason Ginsberg of ESPN Truehoop's Bourbon Street Shots takes us through what the Pelicans need to do over the course of this season to turn that around. Additionally, he expounds on the disappointment of last year's injury-filled season, the many roster moves made in the offseason and need for a sense of urgency around the team. 5:12-5:26 on how Quincy Pondexter's injury last season affected the team and his uncertain timetable to return this season: "Quincy [Pondexter] was their only plus defender who could really stretch the floor and [needed to be] defended from the 3-point line and missing him was just huge. Again, it’d be really helpful to get him back, but no real certainty on when that’s going to happen." 10:13-11:05 On his feelings about Anthony Davis's still developing game and the myriad of injuries he has suffered over his career: "He's only 23 years old still. He’s developing into more of a stronger figure. That’s going to help him play more minutes at the 5, which he vocally did not want to do at the start of his career… I think now he’s realizing where the NBA game is going; he’s been playing more and more 5 every year. I’m optimistic about AD from an injury perspective. There’s been nothing that really sticks out as a major red flag… All things considered, I’d rather have him have a bunch of random injuries than keep injuring the same thing over and over again" 15:23-15:46 Setting expectations for Buddy Hield's rookie season: "Watching him play, from what I’ve seen so far, it’s almost ironic because it seems as much a confidence issue than anything. He’s timid, he’s not playing with the same kind of confidence that you saw at Oklahoma or even sometimes in the preseason. I think he’s going to be fine, again, small sample size, but he’s also a rookie. He’s going to struggle on defense. He’s going to turn the ball over. He’s going to help space the floor for the Pelicans, but he’s also going to hurt them too." 18:00-18:42 On the many offseason acquisitions for the Pelicans: "The additions they’ve had this offseason are to really shore up that defense and give Darren Ermon, who they brought in basically as their defensive coordinator, some tools to work with. The number of times last season I saw him just throw his hands up in the air in disgust on the sideline was too many to count. It was rough. Now they have guys who can defend multiple positions, who can switch on screens a little more." 22:25-22:58 On the future role for Tyreke Evans: "It just really seems like all of the Pelicans moves this offseason were made with the thought of Tyreke not really being a factor for the Pelicans this year. I don’t think Tyreke is going to play in the starting line-up, I just don’t see it. I think if he comes back, it’s going to be as a sixth-man type role off the bench. I just don’t think he fits with Gentry’s style at least with the starters. And then him and Lance Stephenson are very redundant players, so I’m not sure how you could use both of those guys."   25:23-26:03: "It seems like people keep talking about and piling on that AD has no help and tha

In the first team-focused interview of the season, Slice Miami’s Josh Baumgard makes On the NBA Beat history by becoming the first guest to appear three times, and the third time was certainly a charm (as were the first two). In this Miami Heat-themed episode, he gushes about the monstrous numbers Hassan Whiteside has the potential to post as the focal point of Miami’s offense. Baumgard also waxes nostalgic and practical about the ramifications of Dwyane Wade’s departure after 13 seasons as the franchise cornerstone. Plus, along with a range of other timely topics, he explains how Miami’s already stout defense can be even stronger this upcoming season. Scan some scorching excerpts below:  2:58-3:10 As the episode title suggests, second-year wing Justise Winslow will make or break Miami’s season, according to Baumgard: “I think he’s the key to the whole season. I think he’s the difference between whether they’re gonna be a 35-win team or a 45-win team. You’ve got to see some offensive improvement out of him, and I think with the increased role he’s ready for it.” 5:50-6:22 “That’s gonna be huge, because if he can develop a consistent jump shot, the defense is gonna play closer to him; that’s gonna open up driving lanes. And as we saw in the preseason, he’s a pretty good ball handler and he’s a very underrated passer. I think he can find guys in the corner for those open 3s, so, again, I think it goes back to Winslow. If he’s able to create some offense behind Goran Dragic, it’s gonna ease the burden on them scoring, because they’re likely not gonna be a great offensive team, but if they’re at least better than average, I think that bodes really well for their playoff chances.”    10:26-10:55 While our guest is quite enthusiastic about Hassan Whiteside’s individual projections, he expresses concern over the team’s lack of front-court depth: “Outside of that [Hassan Whiteside and backup center Willie Reed], it’s really, really thin. Josh McRoberts, he can’t be depended on to go home and take a shower and come back healthy the next day…you have Udonis Haslem who’s approaching like 50 years old, so they’re really thin at the 5 spot. So if anything happens to Whiteside or Reed, we’re gonna see Justise Winslow playing some 1 through 5 just like he did in the playoffs.”   17:08-17:58 Dwyane Wade’s impact on the Heat over the past 13 years was tremendous, admits Baumgard, but he also contends that Wade’s output no longer equated to what he would have been financially owed going forward: “Wade had a great playoff run, and he had a sensational series against Charlotte; if he didn’t have that series, they lose. But when you’re looking overall at what he brings at this stage of his career, I’m not sure he would have been the best fit for the Heat. I think you’re better off paying Dion Waiters $3 million than paying Wade 20+. If you look at last year’s numbers, Miami’s defense allowed eight points per 100 possessions more with Wade on the court, and then you consider the fact that he’s gonna hog the ball, put in a high usage and take it away from Dragic and Whiteside and some of these more consistent, efficient players, and a case could be made that they’re going to be better over the long haul without Wade. Now that might just be the homer in me, it might be the bitter fan coming out, saying he left us. But the numbers don’t lie when you look at it, and Dwyane Wade is not the player he was five, 10 years ago.” 20:37-21:03 He sees free-agent acquisition Dion Waiters as something of a wild card who can be highly effective if he comes in with a balanced mental approach: “Waiters, in certain spots of the preseason, when he’s not trying to do too much, when he’s not trying to be a scorer first and he’s actually trying to facilitate and pass for others, he’s somewhat effective. He can get in the paint, he’s athle

On this episode, James Herbert, NBA Writer at CBSSports.com, joined us to run through the most compelling storylines for the fast approaching 2016-17 NBA season. After an offseason filled with player movement and coaching changes, James helps us navigate the new landscape of the NBA, including which teams he thinks improved their chances and which he has lower expectations for. He also opines on possible breakout players, gives his season award predictions and offers his thoughts on the increasing social activism among NBA players and in professional sports in general. 1:40-4:38 Herbert is very high on the Utah Jazz’s prospects for the season. Here’s a taste: “I just think they’re gonna be a monster this year. I think a lot of people really expected them to be that breakout team last year -- some thought it would even happen the year before, they’d make it to the playoffs -- but I think this is really the year that it’s going to happen. They should have been a playoff team last year. They just barely missed out, and that was when they didn’t really have a point guard for the whole season...so I’m a bit more bullish on them than I think even most NBA hipsters are…I think they’re seen as this big team, this enormous team that plays power basketball because of [Derrick] Favors and [Rudy] Gobert, but they can put Trey Lyles and Boris Diaw there as their frontcourt with their bench unit, and they can match up with small teams too. I think it’s really about versatility in the modern NBA, not just going small, and the Jazz have the pieces to play pretty much any way.” 11:03-11:50 Like many analysts, Herbert sees a significant drop-off after the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors. Here’s what he had to say concerning the near-inevitability of another Cavs-Warriors Finals: “I know that’s kind of a bummer. I know most people going into a season would like to think that there’s some sort of chance that we don’t already know who’s going to meet in the Finals. But to me, I’m just like, ‘Alright, the Finals are gonna be awesome.’ I want to see these two super-teams go at it again for the third straight time when now the Warriors have what looks like the best roster I’ve ever seen constructed in my whole life.” 13:30-13:40 Good news, Houston. Our guest believes the Rockets will show considerable improvement this 2016-17 campaign “Watching them in the preseason, the way that they’re spreading the floor, the way that they’re pushing the pace, the way that they’re empowering James Harden. I think he’s become a popular MVP pick going into the season for a reason. He’s just got the perfect setup for him to have a huge year. And I think just based on the talent they have on the roster there’s no way they should have been as bad as they were last year, so I think they were naturally going to rebound anyway. And now you put Harden in a [coach Mike] D’Antoni offense and you add Ryan Anderson there to stretch the floor. Yeah, this might still be a bad defensive team, but I think they’ll for sure be one of the best offensive teams in the NBA.” 18:45-19:38: Regarding the Atlanta Hawks, Herbert can envision many scenarios in the wide-open Eastern Conference: “So I think you look at the Hawks, and you can make an argument, ‘This is the fourth-best team in the East,’ and then you can also go, ‘Well, what if it just doesn’t work, and they lack chemistry like Dwight’s team in Houston did last year? Maybe they have to go a totally different direction. Maybe they have to consider trading Millsap.’ Who really knows? Atlanta’s the No. 1 team like that, but I think what I sa

In the inaugural episode of Season 2, Aaron and Loren go over last season's podcast highlights while unveiling the names of the first three interview guests of 2016-17.    Music: "Who Likes to Party?" by Kevin MacLeod

The knowledgeable and passionate Sam Vecenie of CBS Sports checks in to review the 2016 NBA Draft. He discusses the uniquely unpredictable nature of the picks, No. 1 overall selection Ben Simmons, Buddy Hield's pairing with Anthony Davis in New Orleans, the under-appreciated Malcolm Brogdon and so much more.   9:28-10:59: “(Drafting and stashing) certainly shook up the first round in a lot of ways. The thing with all these international kids is that none of them really wanted to be stashed outside of a few of them. So, basically, the reason you saw (Guerschon) Yabusele go 16 - he’s willing to be stashed in all likelihood…The factor that all of these teams had multiple picks, and the factor that everyone kind of thinks this draft sucks in terms of domestic prospects made teams going into this uncertain free agency period want to say, ‘OK, we want to keep our rosters as clean as possible and have as few of these guys over here now as possible,’ so I think that that’s where you saw quite a few stashes come into play.”    11:18-12:56: “I would say that Skal (Labissiere) and (Dejounte) Murray particularly both had pretty volatile draft stocks…Skal was a weird one, where the teams that I think did the most homework on him ended kind of going in different directions…so I think that a lot of the teams in that 10,11, 12, 13 range ended up moving their picks and deciding to go different directions. It’s kind of the way that trades shake up the draft process, because you can only predict so much going into it, and then once you predict it, it might just go off the rails really quickly.     13:31-13:57 (on the impact of Thon Maker’s age, which is currently in question): “If he’s 23, it throws off his development cycle pretty substantially and throws his performance to this state pretty heavily in question. So, last year, Skal Labissiere and he were at Hoops Summit, and Skal just destroyed him day after day in practice and really just kind of dominated him in a way that would be very concerning if Thon was 22 at that stage.” 16:22-17:42 (on Ben Simmons): “I’m a pretty big fan of his game. He’s No. 1 in a weak draft; I think that that’s fair to say. He’s a really solid, really athletic prospect, who can get to the rim whenever he wants. Obviously, he’s a terrific passer, really good rebounder. One thing I will note is he does have a propensity to pick up some garbage-time stats from time to time, almost like Rondo-ian in terms of chasing stats and doing that, which is a little bit worrisome. It kind of reflects on his defensive game, which is quite substandard at this stage despite him having a ton of potential in the modern NBA, and it kind of reflects on the fact that he hasn’t really improved his game all that much while he was at LSU. I think if you put him on the floor, he’s gonna play hard. He really does want to be great as an NBA player.”     21:29-21:58 (on the Celtics’ disappointing draft): “I would have just taken Kris Dunn at No. 3 and continued to be able to negotiate with Chicago and with Philadelphia, who clearly both wanted Kris Dunn. I think that you call their bluff, and, if worse comes to worse, you end up with a guy, in Kris Dunn, that is really good at basketball and who I had at No. 3 on my board. Obviously, the Celtics felt differently. And I think that the second critical mistake is taking Guerschon Yabusele at 16, and then, third, they end up moving 31 and 35 with good players still on the board.” 23:03-23:31: “No. 17 is Memphis. You look at what they do: They get Wade Baldwin, who is a really tremendous fit for what they want. They have questions still with what Mike Conley is going to do in free agency. Baldwin fits really well, because Baldwin could be Mike Conley’s replacement if Conley leaves, or he could play next to Conley due to his size – he’s 6-foot-4 with a 6-11 wingspan. He can kind of shoot a little bit. Ther

Despite Oklahoma City's Game 6 collapse and squandering of a 3-1 series lead, Welcome to Loud City's Marina Mangiaracina explains why the Thunder stand a legitimate chance of upsetting the mighty Golden State Warriors in a decisive Game 7. Her prescription? Lots of minor adjustments, which include extra shots for Dion Waiters and Serge Ibaka, smarter defensive switching and Andre Roberson logging more court time to help counteract Klay Thompson's explosive scoring. Below are some noteworthy excerpts: 1:59 –2:26: “I think the No. 1 key is getting more shots for Serge Ibaka and Dion Waiters. Waiters had about the same amount of shots (in Game 6) – five or six – that (Andre) Roberson and (Steven) Adams had, and given his offensive abilities, it’s an embarrassment that he’s getting so few opportunities…(Kevin) Durant and (Russell) Westbrook were just taking too many bad shots. When you move the ball around more, it helps out.” 4:06 –4:48: “There was tons of personal adversity for this team in this calendar year of 2016. Mo Cheeks had to go away from the bench due to hip surgery, the wife of Monty Williams was killed in a car accident and Monty Williams had to leave the team, the young brother of Dion Waiters was killed in a violent shooting in Philadelphia, Aubrey McClendon, the 20 percent owner of the team, died in a single-car crash…You could kind of see how they all rallied together and galvanized each other.” 7:47 –9:04: “Billy Donovan just came into this coaching job with the right mindset…He really came in with an open mind and realized that he needed to learn a whole new profession from entirely different people. And his work ethic was amazing – he watched two seasons of Thunder basketball before he even came into the job, literally every single game. He toned down his demeanor – he’s not as intense as he was in college - he’s constantly revealing new plays, and he toned down the complexity of his offense once the players weren’t getting it…As far as using the regular season as a lab, literally every single player that could have possibly contributed got minutes. He toned down the minutes for Westbrook and Durant during the regular season, keeping them fresh for the playoffs. He tried wacky lineups with multiple point guards, centers…He just really has been one of the best success stories of the season as a head coach.” 11:03-11:21: “I think that (foul trouble) is the only reason that (Anthony) Morrow got extended minutes is because Roberson was out of the game. And we really need to keep Roberson out of foul trouble. We really need to keep him in the game as long as we can just to get that defense on Klay (Thompson) because he’s the only defender that has the length and energy to do that.” 13:00-13:35: “He (Waiters) kind of came into his own during the playoffs, because he’s focused primarily on defense, and that really works against the Warriors. He’s a great defender in one-on-one situations, because he’s so low to the ground, he’s so stout, he doesn’t give room and can really get into players physically…I also think that he has a lot of confidence when he shoots. Beyond Durant and Westbrook, I think he’s the best end-of-game shot maker. He has a really high percentage in clutch situations when he’s given space.” 16:49-17:15: “He’s (Draymond Green's) not at his highest level against the Thunder, because KD’s just so long, and whenever Green has to match up against KD, it’s a problem. But Green isn’t matched up against KD a lot, and I think there’s definitely opportunities for him to get open 3-pointers, and if his shot’s on, then that opens up things for him driving to the basket because he’s skilled that way. Adams is a good rim protector, but I think he’ll (Green will) get his in Game 7. I don’t think we’ve had anything figured

The mighty, 73-win, defending champion Golden State Warriors squandered a 13-point halftime lead, as the Oklahoma City Thunder stole Game 1 at Oracle Arena Monday night. While Golden State of Mind's Andy Liu admits the Thunder are playing their strongest basketball at the most ideal time, he believes the Warriors and Stephen Curry will have enough to get through to the Finals. He does, however, express concern over the MVP's health, Golden State's shot selection and which coach is currently doing the better job. Entertaining, informative segments have been transcribed below: 1:46-3:22: “They (the Warriors) should probably panic - like a controlled panic obviously. We don’t want (head coach) Steve Kerr to suddenly start making wholesale schematic changes. It’s not like they lost by 30… If Steph was 100 percent healthy, I think that he would’ve bailed them out last night, which would’ve been fine, but moving forward I don’t think he’s gonna get to 100 percent for the rest of the playoffs. So it’s a matter of ‘Can he play at 80, 85 percent and still carry this offense when it counts throughout the rest of the series?’”   4:30-4:49: "It’s just a matter of ‘How are they going to do it (start strong) again in Game 2, and then when OKC comes back and hits them, are they gonna lose composure again?’ You would believe that a championship team like this wouldn’t lose composure like that again, but, hey, OKC’s already done this to the Spurs three straight games; that was super-impressive." 7:46-8:22: “I’ve covered the team for about 3.5 years now, and that crowd in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals was by far the worst that I’ve heard. That one was bad. That one was regular-season level – like a random November regular-season game against the Orlando Magic. It was that bad. It didn’t get loud until the fourth quarter when the Warriors were making a run, IN the (first) game of a Western Conference Finals.”     10:45-11:42: “I think the Warriors need to go small more. I think whenever the Warriors struggle, whenever they go down in a series, the best cure that they have is just to put Draymond Green at center; speed everything up. Draymond Green is one of those rare, or maybe only, guys that can play 3, 4 and 5 and rebound as well…A lot of that second half was played in the half court, and in the half court OKC out-rebounded them, got to the line with free throws and then were able to lock down Steph Curry off the ball…just because the other team’s going big, doesn’t necessarily mean you have to.”    16:52-17:45: “(Russell Westbrook was) very good with the quick double on the pick and roll. And Steph has a tendency to - he still does after all these years – just throw careless passes out of pick and rolls. When he gets doubled, for some reason, either he just gets flustered or he throws it thinking it’ll work. He tries to throw it through four arms, or he tries to throw it through three people, and he did it like five, six, seven, eight times last night…This isn’t to say that OKC wasn’t playing good defense; they were. They were playing really good defense. But I’ve seen Steph do this a lot. And him cleaning up just means 'be smarter.' That’s basically it. It’s not some magical thing that he has to figure out.”     21:28-21:43: “I do expect a better shooting game from KD (Kevin Durant), do expect a better overall performance, maybe, from Westbrook. But then on the flip side of that, you do expect less turnovers from the Warriors, more focused defense in crunch time and a lot better shooting from Steph Curry.” 23:37-23:50: “All in all, the Warriors were a mess on offense last night (Game 1). And they just weren’t moving, weren’t playing, as Steve Kerr says, within the flow of themselves, and it was just a lot

Although the Hawks put a mighty scare into the Cavaliers after storming all the way back from 18 down, Cleveland ultimately hung on to take the series opener. In a tantalizing rematch of last year's Eastern Conference Finals, our crack guests lead us through this iteration's nuances. Checking in for the Hawks is Atlanta sports expert and NBA.com writer and podcaster Lang Whitaker. And out of Akron, Ohio, we have Jacob Rosen, who's an MBA student at the University of Oregon's Warsaw Sports Marketing Center. Rosen's also a longtime sports analytics writer for Hardwood Paroxysm, Nylon Calculus and Waiting for Next Year. Excerpts below: Lang Whitaker (5:07-5:23): “[Kent] Bazemore’s a little bit more dynamic offensively than DeMarre [Carroll] was last year. There’s that saying ‘The best defense is a good offense.’ I think if you make LeBron work a little bit harder on that end, maybe that helps you in the long run as well.” LW (5:25-5:45): “[Coach Mike] Budenholzer was trying a lot of different things. He had one lineup where Paul Millsap was playing center, where he went really small. I think he has a little more versatility with [Thabo] Sefolosha being healthy. He can go to these lineups where there’s two or three small forwards in there at the same time.” LW (7:22-8:07): “Mike Budenholzer said after they beat Boston in Round 1 that in Round 2 there was going to be a role for Kris Humphries with the Hawks, and then he didn’t play in Game 1. To me, it seems like that might be a spot where you put in Humphries and ask him to just go after rebounds, just crash the boards time after time and get a body on Tristan Thompson. Humphries averaged double-figure rebounds a couple years ago. That’s something maybe where you say, ‘Look, we need you. This is what you’re here for. Come out and contribute to the team in this way.’ They’ve got to find some answer, other than just letting Cleveland out-rebound them by 10 or 15 rebounds a game.” LW (11:06-11:34): “[Dennis Schroder’s] aggressive. That’s something he pretty much has every night. With [Jeff] Teague, sometimes that’s what he doesn’t have…When Teague doesn’t play that aggressively, that’s when you bring in Schroder, and the other way around. That’s also why you don’t trade one of those guys during the season. It’s kind of a unique combination, but they really complement each other very well.” LW (14:24:15:01): “The thing that makes LeBron [James] so good is his passing. Last night, there were five or 10 different plays where they got the ball out of his hands, but LeBron made passes that most players in the NBA can’t make… When you play great defense and you leave this tiny little thing (opening) and that happens, you’ve just got to tip your hat to the guy.” Jacob Rosen (20:29-20:41): “The encouraging thing for the Cavs is that they can lollygag for a few minutes here and there. They obviously can’t do that against the Western Conference teams, but in the East, it still seems that they have the ability to pull away when they really need to.” JR (24:55-26:32): “With [Dennis Schroder and Kent Bazemore] they have the athleticism on the wing that the Cavs can sometimes struggle against, and they were getting open looks. Schroder was just picking them apart with the dribble-drive and Kyrie [Irving] and—other players, it wasn’t just Kyrie— the Cavs were not prepared for it. ..So when they go back to the drawing board, the Cavs just have to strategize a solution where they’re not sagging off those guys, where they’re not letting the Hawks run around them on the offensive end…So when they look at playing these Hawks and they look at playing the Raptors or the Heat next round or one of the

With the Toronto Raptors and Indiana Pacers deadlocked at two games apiece, there's ample anxiety around the Raptors and their fan base. And it's only natural for a franchise that has struggled mightily in recent postseason play. Paul George's stifling defense and explosive offense have certainly not made life easy for the No. 2 seed. However, both our guests, The Score's Lead Basketball Editor, Joseph Casciaro, and Ben Gibson, Assistant Editor for Pacers blog 8 Points, 9 Seconds, agree that the Raptors will emerge victorious and go on to explain why. Delectable excerpts can be found below:  2:14-2:37 Joe Casciaro on DeMar DeRozan’s struggles on both sides of the ball: “They’ve gotta to get something from DeMar DeRozan, because right now they’re literally getting nothing. He’s been awful offensively; Paul George has dominated him on that end with his defense. The other thing, too, is DeMar’s been very inattentive on the defensive end. He’s never been a great defender. He’s not the kind of guy that you’re gonna put on the opposing team’s best player, but he’s also not usually this bad, and he’s just been atrocious on both ends of the floor.” 2:54-3:29 on overcoming DeRozan's poor play by moving theball: “I think, even outside of DeMar, this team can win with DeMar not playing well if they’re generating good looks for everyone else, if they’re moving the ball…As much as the ghosts of playoffs past haunt this team, I just think they’re such a better team than the Pacers that at some point in this series it has to show, and I think it will over the next couple games.” 5:39-6:10 JC on George's stifling of DeRozan:  “The only other player I really remember doing this to DeMar consistently is Jimmy Butler whenever the Bulls play the Raptors. Paul George has just completely shut him down. He’s in his face. DeMar doesn’t have a lot of space...I don’t know if it’s the screens not being set right or what it is, but George is having no problem getting through them and just sticking with DeMar. They cannot get DeMar away from Paul George no matter what they try."   10:17-11:43 JC on Toronto's history of playoff woes: “The last couple years, the Raptors have embraced that with the whole “We, the North” thing and using the outsider mentality as a source of strength, but at the back of everyone’s mind is still this angst about the playoff ghosts and the demons and ‘Are they truly relevant, can they be relevant unless they make a deep run?’ and ‘Are they even good enough to make a deep run?’ Despite the regular-season success – and they have been one of the more consistent teams over the last three years – if you can't get out of the first round after all this, something with the fabric of your team is obviously wrong.” 15:18-15:49 JC on Jonas Valanciunas' quest to limit foul trouble: “You’ll notice, a lot of times with Jonas, it seems to be kind of brain farts, I guess you’d call them. Don’t get me wrong… there’s been a lot of bad calls against him this series. But there’s also been a lot of times where the hands will be up and he’ll be practicing the art of verticality, and then at the last second he kind of slaps down to try to swipe the ball and those are when they call them. So for him, I guess he has to just be more disciplined, stick to the principles…and also hope that the refs give you the benefit of the doubt.”    17:47-19:36 on the Pacers needing more offensive help for George:  "The defense has essentially done what they were supposed to do. We knew going into the series that the Raptors needed the 3 ball and that the Pacers defended it well, and so far that’s been the case. I think the problem, as

Coming off a Game 1 shellacking, the Charlotte Hornets could really use a Game 2 upset against the talented Miami Heat, who are clicking on all cylinders. Nick Denning, writer for SB Nation's At the Hive and managing editor of The Lottery Mafia, discusses, from the Hornets' perspective, what needs to be done to make it a competitive series. But first, Josh Baumgard of Slice Miami handles the Heat side of things.  Josh Baumgard (4:15-4:34): “I think they’re really gonna come at (Hassan) Whiteside. They know he has a tendency to let his temper flare. I think you’re gonna see next game Jefferson’s gonna pound him. They might even bring (Tyler) Hansbrough in for a little longer, just to kind of be that goon, because we all know he can get under players’ skin." JB (5:48-6:13): “I think the Heat are a better team. I think they’ve got more firepower in the playoffs. They’ve got multiple guys who create. And as long as these guys play together, which they have. As long as Dwyane Wade doesn’t try to be the man, which he’s an unselfish guy (who) buys into the team aspect. As long as he tries to not do too much hero ball and they’re moving the ball, that’s the key with them. When they’re moving the ball and they’re playing hard defense, they can pretty much hang with anybody, at least in the Eastern Conference.” JB (8:38-9:18): “Kemba (Walker)’s one of those guys that’s very inconsistent, and I think the Heat really enjoy playing those guys. They’d much rather play a ball-dominant guy like Kemba that’s flashy and a high-volume shooter than one of these lights-out 3-point shooters. So I think the Heat are gonna do everything they can to contain him. And I think you’re gonna see a lot of Winslow on him, especially in the second half…Winslow’s got such amazing defensive agility, and I think he could really give Kemba some issues. Kemba’s got to be lights out for them to have a chance to beat them, especially tomorrow (Game 2).”   JB (10:10-10:24): “I think Jefferson’s got a 30-point game in him, and if I were the Hornets, I would dump it into him on Whiteside just all day. He might block some shots for sure, but if you can get Whiteside in some foul trouble, the Heat are a different team defensively when he’s out of the game.” JB (12:22-12:54): “This group, outside of (Chris) Bosh, they really thrive playing small ball, especially Luol Deng. It’s like Luol Deng was reborn when he was moved to the 4. He’s just a completely different player. When he was playing the 3 and he was really on the outside, he looked washed-up. He looked done. I said to trade him to China, bring back Michael Beasley. But ever since he’s gone to the 4, it’s just reinvigorated everything, like Goran Dragic has been more aggressive, has gotten more shots. They’ve just stepped up in his (Bosh’s) absence.”  JB (14:27-14:34): “I hope he (Bosh) is (able to return to the NBA). But there’s a part of me that hopes he retires, because he’s got his money’s worth. He's got nothing left to prove.” Nick Denning (17:24-17:54): “I haven’t quite hit the panic button yet; I know some have. But I’d say the biggest thing that needs to change is really they have to get back to their identity, specifically on the defensive rebounding side of things. Miami got a ton of offensive rebounds in Game 1, and Charlotte ranked as the best defensive rebounding team in the league, so that was very unlike them…That’s got to improve, and I think part of that is containing Whiteside, which they had real trouble doing in Game 1.” ND (21:43-22:22): “It won’t be good if the role players don’t step up and start hitting shots, because people talk about Kemba’s improved shooting percentages this year. Part of that is he adjusted his relea

A flurry of activity surrounded the Philadelphia 76ers front office during the final week of the regular season, beginning with the resignation of GM Sam Hinkie, a figure beloved by some and misunderstood and hated by others. Michael Levin, editor of SB Nation's Liberty Ballers and co-host of the Sixers podcast "The Rights to Ricky Sanchez," joins us to discuss the trials and tribulations of covering the Sixers during Hinkie's tenure and why throughout the unprecedented amount of losing, he still trusted the process and remained optimistic about the future. Now that former chairman Jerry Colangelo has installed his son Bryan Colangelo as the new GM and President of Basketball Operations before stepping down himself, who knows what that future may hold for Philadelphia? Choice excerpts below: 1:40-1:50 on Sam Hinkie's 13-page resignation letter: "I could have done with 13 more pages. I would have liked 50. I would have liked a novel." 3:55-4:25 on why diehard Sixers fans were so accepting of Hinkie’s “process”: “It’s what we wanted for years and years and years because the foundation they were building on for so long was flawed and faulty and totally capped: at best, a scrappy playoff team that would win maybe a round, and at worst just a terrible team. We all were very excited when Hinkie came in. We’ve been very supportive of the process… we never really lost a tremendous amount of faith." 5:20-5:40 on trusting "the process" espoused by former GM Sam Hinkie: "The national narrative became: 'They're just trying to lose forever, and there's no hope to it.' But you can see that what they were doing made sense and that the people that supported the plan were on board with pretty much everything." 12:00-12:15 on head coach Brett Brown: "Ultimately, we all landed on 'Look, he doesn't have the talent yet, so let's not start to poke holes.' We're all very happy with how Brett has managed the team and managed personalities and been the face of the organization for three years." 13:37-14:15 on the legacy of Sam Hinkie on 76ers' basketball: "Hinkie comes in and prioritizes restocking, not just picks, but young players and trying to develop them and give them the time and the platform they need to improve and to prove whether they are worthy of sticking on the team long-term. They have a ton of picks -- as many as four first-round picks in this draft -- and you add in Joel Embiid...and Dario Saric, who, by all accounts, seems to be coming over this coming season." 18:47-19:08 on the circumstances surrounding Hinkie's departure: "The party line of ownership and the Colangelos is 'We expected Sam to be here. We're totally surprised that he quit,' but if you demote someone twice, what the hell do you think they're going to do? It's not worth it." 22:45-23:10 on Carl Landry's team impact: "This was the first year where there was not a veteran in sight. And Carl Landry coming in and then eventually Ish Smith,started getting people where they should be on offense, created spacing, and opened up lanes. And lately, the last month of the season, he (Landry) was just on fire. It was nice to be able to get him the ball at 19 feet, and you know he's gonna make it." 24:05- 24:50 on the Sixers' recent draft strategy of drafting the best avail

As the Houston Rockets battle for a postseason berth, it's the perfect time to bring on Houston Chronicle sports editor Randy Harvey. Of course, the Rockets have wildly underperformed, just a season after their thrilling Western Conference finals appearance. Much uncertainty surrounds the team, including Dwight Howard's future in the Space City and a likely vacancy at head coach. Choice highlights can be found below: 3:27-4:19 on James Harden’s role in the team’s defensive regression: “You’ve got to start with Harden. One thing that a lot of people forget is that before last season, he was coming in off a World Championship team, so he worked all summer and came in in shape and played really well defensively, played very well at both ends of the court. This year, there was no national team endeavors in the offseason, and he came in really out of shape, and he’s never really caught up. So you start with that defensively.” 8:15-9:18 on the importance (or lack thereof) of Houston making the playoffs:  “I think it would be better for them not to make the playoffs, get the lottery pick, than it would be for them to play San Antonio or Golden State in the first round, and you’re basically four games and done. And what’s the point of that? I really don’t see any real advantage for the franchise. I will say this though: Les Alexander has always, even when they weren’t very good going back two and three years ago, never was a tank guy.They were never gonna tank for a draft pick or for a lottery pick…He’s gonna be demanding that they make the playoffs.”   10:11-10:44 on the Ty Lawson acquisition and his miserable fit: “Nobody here who knows basketball thought that was a good (move). That was a head-scratcher to everybody. Daryl Morey is usually better than that, and I don’t know what he was thinking, because both of those guys have similar games. They both have to have the ball. One or the other was going to be less effective because they were playing next to each other. That made no sense, and it was no surprise when it didn’t work out.”  15:09-15:45 on the relationship between Harden and Dwight Howard: “The strained relationship with Harden? You hear that, but I really haven’t heard it from either player, and I haven’t heard it from anybody in the locker room. So if there’s something going on there chemistry-wise, and it certainly seems from the outside that there is, it hasn’t really come to light…Here, it’s just been kind of speculated based on more their body language than anything else.” 20:36-21:17 on the team’s lack of sense of urgency under coach J.B. Bickerstaff “I don’t think he’ll (Bickerstaff) come back even if they make the playoffs. I think they’ve been very unimpressive, and he really hasn’t been able to get the utmost effort out of them. And they have these real lapses at times. The other night, they were up by 13 on a really bad Phoenix team, and then they lose by nine. And that sort of thing has been happening all season, where they just don’t play with that sense of urgency. I think they know he’s a lame-duck coach, and so I don’t think they play all that hard for him.” 26:49-27:15 on Kevin McHale vs. Bickerstaff on handling Josh Smith and others “McHale just knew how to handle him (Smith). McHale had a real knack for handling players, and I’m not sure J.B. has sort of earned that gravitas, where all the players look up to him. And they could look at Kevin and see his championship rings, and they knew he’d been through what they’d been through. I thought he was a good coach for them.” Music: "Who Likes to Party" by Kevin MacLeod