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© Sean Jones 2022
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Here to discuss all the latest around the NBA world.
95 Episodes
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In order to preview the upcoming 2025-26 NBA season, let's discuss all 30 teams by grouping them into 10 tiers based on their prospects to contend this season. This is the second episode in the 6-part Contender Tiers series, discussing Tier 9: No Man's Land, which includes the following teams:26) Chicago Bulls (2:23)25) Phoenix Suns (13:33)24) New Orleans Pelicans (27:06)23) Sacramento Kings (37:18)22) Toronto Raptors (46:46)21) Miami Heat (57:05)
In order to preview the upcoming 2025-26 NBA season, let's discuss all 30 teams by grouping them into 10 tiers based on their prospects to contend this season. This is the first episode in the 6-part Contender Tiers series, discussing Tier 10: Ping Pong Ball Hopefuls, which includes the following teams:30) Utah Jazz (2:32)29) Brooklyn Nets (12:11)28) Washington Wizards (24:43)27) Charlotte Hornets (34:22)
Let's discuss the 2025 NBA draft, starting with a brief overview of some historical draft data (1:06). Then, I'll go through each of the lottery picks with a scouting reports, team fits, and will decide if each player will be a Bust, Role Player, or All-Star:1. Cooper Flagg (4:46)2. Dylan Harper (10:21)3. VJ Edgecombe (16:51)4. Kon Knueppel (23:27)5. Ace Bailey (29:58)6. Tre Johnson (37:08)7. Jeremiah Fears (43:29)8. Egor Demin (48:51)9. Collin Murray-Boyles(53:31)10. Khaman Maluach (58:33)+ the Mark Williams Trade (1:05:51)11. Cedric Coward (1:10:38)12. Noa Essengue (1:16:47)13. Derik Queen (1:20:36)+ the Hawks/Pelicans Trade (1:25:33)14. Carter Bryant (1:29:03)Lastly, I will wrap up with a few players outside of the lottery that I am higher on than most (1:32:46) and lower on than most (1:37:17)
It's officially the NBA offseason which means teams are ready to make some deals! Let's discuss Kevin Durant being dealt to the Rockets, including how KD fits in Houston and if this pushes them to contender status (0:58), plus, how did the Suns do in their return for Durant? (...not well) (13:39). Next, the Celtics started their massive sell off to reset their cap sheet while Tatum is out, including shipping Jrue Holiday out to Portland for Anfernee Simons (21:01), plus, does the deal make sense for the Blazers? (27:51). Lastly, the Hawks get aggressive in adding Kristaps Porzingis (31:43), the Celtics get under the second apron (38:22), and the Nets join the party in their effort to hoard assets (41:35).
Let's discuss the Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals in which the Oklahoma City Thunder won their first NBA championship since moving to OKC, as an awesome 2024-25 season finally comes to a close. We'll start with a quick recap of the game (0:55), before diving into Halliburton’s devastating Achilles injury early in the game (5:08). Then, the Thunder's keys to victory, including their all-time dominant defense (7:16), SGA’s historic season (13:45), the rest of the OKC supporting cast (17:46), a historically great Thunder season (25:46), and if this might be a dynasty in the making (28:26). Lastly, why the Pacers lost (34:42), an appreciation of their unexpected playoff run (41:20), and if they can make it back to the Finals eventually (47:29).
Let's discuss Game 5 of the NBA Finals in which the Thunder win a huge one over the Pacers to go up 3-2 headed back to Indiana. We'll start with a recap of the game (0:55), before diving into THE Jalen Williams game (9:14) and other keys to OKC's victory (15:55). Then, Haliburton is injured (23:03), the Pacers turn it over like crazy (26:01), and Indiana's defense hits a slump at the worst possible time (28:53). And lastly, I'll discuss if the series officially over (32:48).
Let's discuss Game 4 of the 2025 NBA Finals in which the Thunder took down the Pacers to even the series at 2-2. We'll start with a quick game recap (0:58), before diving into how Indiana blew their golden opportunity at a championship (7:22), how OKC was able to win a weird statistical game for them (11:18), some things for the Pacers to clean up moving forward (20:46), and who has the upper hand headed into Game 5 (26:38). Then, Desmond Bane was traded to the Orlando Magic, so we'll discuss the trade from both the perspective of Orlando (30:56) and Memphis (48:26).
Let's discuss Game 3 of the 2025 NBA Finals in which the Pacers protected home court and beat the Thunder to take a 2-1 lead in the series. We'll start with a quick game recap (1:02), before diving into how Indiana was able to pull this one out, including Haliburton's increased aggressiveness, Mathurin's big game, Indiana's great defensive performance, attacking SGA defensively, and more (4:58). Then, we'll discuss some potential adjustments for the Thunder to make (26:30), if OKC should be concerned being down 2-1 (35:21), and if the Pacers can really win this series (38:37).
Let's discuss Game 1 of the NBA Finals in which the Pacers' voodoo magic continued as they stole another game to take a 1-0 series lead against the Thunder. We'll start with a quick game recap (0:53), before diving into Indiana and Tyrese Haliburton's all-time great clutch playoff run (5:46), how the Pacers survived their massive turnover numbers (14:04), Nembhard's big game (19:10), Oklahoma City's stagnant, isolation-heavy offense (22:26), the questionable Thunder big man rotation (26:07), some adjustments the Thunder can make in Game 2 (30:00), and if Indiana really has a chance to win the series now (33:32).
Let's give a full preview of the upcoming 2025 NBA Finals matchup between the Indiana Pacers and the Oklahoma City Thunder. First, I will set the stage with summaries on the different paths that Indiana (1:15) and Oklahoma City (6:09) took to reach this year's Finals. Then, I will run through six "swing factors" that could decide the outcome of the series (11:36), starting with the turnover and transition battle (12:05), the Pacers' ability to hit corner 3s (19:28), Tyrese Haliburton's aggressiveness as a scorer (23:52), Rick Carlisle's willingness to shorten/adjust the rotation (27:13), how OKC balances their one-big vs. two-big lineups (32:28), and how often the games find themselves in clutch time (40:38). Then, I will take a look at what a Finals win (44:48) and loss (56:26) would mean for the Pacers and what a win (58:31) and loss (1:15:14) would mean for the Thunder. And lastly, of course, I will give my formal series prediction and justification (1:18:22).
Let's discuss the Pacers and Thunder advancing to the 2025 NBA Finals, starting off with the Pacers' improbable run to the Finals, including Haliburton's ascension, Rick Carlisle's brilliance, and another unbelievable comeback win (1:03). Then, the Knicks' defensive struggles, who is to blame for the loss, and their inherent roster flaws (24:33), followed by where the Knicks go moving forward in a wide open East (41:01). Next, the Thunder win the West, including their historically good defense, their stars showing out, and where this team ranks on the all-time list (47:25). Then, the Wolves getting manhandled by OKC's defense, Ant's disappointing series, and the differences between this series and previous ones for the Wolves (1:09:05), followed by where the Wolves go moving forward with a lot of moving parts this offseason (1:18:38).
Let's discuss the second round of the NBA playoffs wrapping up, starting with the Thunder taking down Jokic and the Nuggets in 7 hard fought games (1:14), the Knicks outlasting the Jayson Tatum-less Celtics in 6 games (21:50), the Pacers shocking the one-seeded Cavs in a quick 5-game route (44:29), and the Wolves taking advantage of Steph Curry's injury by beating Golden State in 5 games (1:02:34). Then, a preview of both conference finals matchups, with Knicks vs. Pacers (1:16:48) and Wolves vs. Thunder (1:26:22), including predictions for both.
Let's discuss all four favorites starting their second round series down 0-1 (and one starting down 0-2). We'll go through each series and see what the level of panic should be for the Cavs against the Pacers (2:08), the Wolves against the Warriors (+Steph's injury) (12:23), the Celtics against the Knicks (24:21), and the Thunder against the Nuggets (34:29).
Let's discuss each first round playoff series and pick a winner, including Thunder vs. Grizzlies or Mavs (1:38), Rockets vs. Warriors (8:16), Lakers vs. Wolves (20:28), Nuggets vs. Clippers (29:24), Cavs vs. Hawks or Heat (37:56), Celtics vs. Magic (42:49), Knicks vs. Pistons (47:22), Pacers vs. Bucks (53:33), and then I make my NBA Finals picks (1:04:14).
Let's discuss the stunning news that the Nuggets have fired both head coach Michael Malone and general manager Calvin Booth, including a deep dive into the recent mismanagement of this franchise and the failure to build a sustained contender around prime Nikola Jokic.
Let's start by discussing Memphis' shocking firing of Taylor Jenkins (1:25), before doing a stock up, stock down exercise on some of the hottest and coldest teams in the NBA right, including stock up on the Pacers (14:07), stock down on the Cavs (21:25), stock up on the Celtics (25:21), stock down on the Nuggets (30:48), stock up on the Wolves (38:32), stock down on the Grizzlies (44:30), stock up on the Warriors (53:04), stock down on the Bucks (1:01:16), stock up on the Clippers (1:07:13), and stock up on the Rockets (1:14:35). Then, we'll get into who I think the MVP should be and the truly historic season that the Thunder are having (1:22:13). Lastly, a quick victory lap on the Josh Giddey trade (1:29:57).
Let's take a step back and discuss the championship contention landscape as a whole by ranking and tiering all 30 teams into groups based on their current likelihood of contending. The tiers are as follows:Tier 8 - Duke Season Ticket Holders (1:52)Tier 7 - To Tank, Or Not To Tank (13:37)Tier 6 - The Ceiling Is The Floor (26:17)Tier 5 - Year From Hell (37:17)Tier 4 - Probably Still A Year Away (52:09)Tier 3 - Flawed, But Can't Rule Out (1:10:28)Tier 2 - Fully In The Mix (1:36:32)Tier 1 - The Favorites (2:02:13)
Sean is joined by Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports to discuss everything surrounding the Phoenix Suns and the disaster season they've had so far, coming from someone that's covered the Suns for many years. Starting with why the Suns have been so much worse this season despite appearing to be better on paper than last year (1:32), some potential adjustments to the rotation that we'd like to see (11:55), if there is any level of optimism for the rest of Phoenix's season (22:02), and what changes the Suns should consider in the offseason, including weighing a potential KD trade (26:20). Then, Victor Wembanyama has been ruled out for the rest of the season due to a rare blood clot condition, so Sean will discuss the implications of that (34:10).
Sean is joined by Harrison Faigen of SB Nation to discuss everything surrounding the Lakers and early returns on the Luka Doncic addition coming from someone who has covered the Lakers for many years. Starting with Harrison's initial reaction to the deal (1:58), what we've seen fit-wise out of the small sample of Luka playing next to LeBron (11:46), the Mark Williams trade that was rescinded and has left the Lakers center-less (23:57), if the Lakers can legitimately contend this season as currently constructed and what their ceiling might be (36:09), if it would be a mistake to treat this season as a transition or throwaway year (45:43), and some potential offseason targets to address their hole in the front court (55:35). Then, we discuss our thoughts on the new All-Star game format and throw out some potential ideas on how to fix the product even further (1:09:01).
Let's discuss all the (non-Luka Doncic) moves that happened at this year's NBA trade deadline, including De'Aaron Fox joining forces with Wemby in San Antonio (0:58), Jimmy Butler finally getting moved to the Warriors (15:07), the Lakers adding Mark Williams to round out their rotation (27:42), the Bucks shipping out Khris Middleton for Kyle Kuzma (37:30), Brandon Ingram to the Raptors (47:11), De'Andre Hunter to the Cavs (54:27), Bogdan Bogdanovic to the Clippers (57:39), and the Suns dumping Nurkic and shopping--but keeping--Kevin Durant (1:03:44).
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