Cleveland Cavaliers are FAVORITES in the Eastern Conference. NBA SEASON PREVIEW

Cleveland Cavaliers are FAVORITES in the Eastern Conference. NBA SEASON PREVIEW

On today’s Locked on NBA squad show, East season preview. The season is back. Where does the East run through if the Celtics and Pacers are both down? We’ll tell you. Today’s lock squad show starts now. You are talking ball with the NBA Quad Show, sponsored by Game Time. From the Warriors to the Lakers, the Knicks to the Heat, and everyone else in the league, the local experts of the Locked On Podcast Network bring you all the scoops, breakdowns, and the most comprehensive look across the league. Trash talk and big takes included. No holding back, we’re giving the green light. It’s time to talk NBA Quad Show. And welcome to Lock NBA Squad Show East. The NBA season is back. My name is Nick Angstead, host, locked on NBA, locked on Mavs, and this is the squad show where we take over the feet of your favorite show. And we’re going to talk all about the Eastern Conference. Anything that we think of that we talk about, we’ll probably talk about Giannis. We probably talk about Desen Bane and the Magic. We’ll probably talk about what the Heat are doing. We’ll talk about uh the Knicks and the Cavs and the Pacers and the Celtics and I don’t know if they’re in the East, we’ll probably talk about them at some point. Joining me today from locked on Knicks, Gavin Shaw, locked on Pacers, Tony East, locked on Magic, Philip Rossman Reich, locked on heat, David Rmill. Somebody else may join in, somebody may leave, somebody may go down with an Achilles injury or an ACL injury or something, but we will carry on. Gentlemen, let’s start here. We may end up somewhere completely different, but with the Celtics and sorry Tony, the Pacers both down with some major injuries this season. Where does the Eastern Conference go through? Like who’s the team that you’re like, “All right, it goes through this team.” Well, I don’t know if it’s one team, but I would say that all of us would probably say that there’s a heavy heavy favorite for the conference finals, and it’s the Knicks and the Cavs. Is would we all agree with that? Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. And then that it just they’re both so good and we’re good. Last year, the Knicks made the conference finals, the Cavs only losing to the buzzsaw that was the 51 Indiana Pacers last year, right? And they’re both maybe better, right? We’ll see what the injuries look like in Cleveland, but the coaching change in New York, they made tweaks at the back of their roster. Like the fact that the Pacers and Celtics fell off so far, we could talk about Orlando and Atlanta maybe sneaking up and like making things interesting, but it just seems like since the two of the top four last year fell off and the other two got a little better. I don’t know how it can’t be those two. The problem is, for the question asked, picking one of those two is quite challenging because the Cavs are the better regular season team. They always uh poop all over their leg when the playoffs start. Hey, look, Dan Danny Cunningham didn’t show up today, right? I think the Knicks win it by default. That’s because this is past the second round. Yeah, I think the Wow. Um I think the the argument for the Knicks, which I think I’m contractually obliged to make. Um is that they were just far from optimized last year under Tom Thibido. I I’ve said this stat a million times, Tony. I know you’re tired of hearing it, but the starting five played 500 more possessions than any other fiveman group in the league and was a net negative after January 1st. They had like a minus 1.5 net rating. We’re minus 50 I think over 13 playoff games. Like just either even bad though. What? Sorry, what is that even bad? Like I mean it’s not good. It’s it’s for for a group that’s like your best lineup that you’re pouring a ton of money in. That’s like talentwise, right? Jaylen Brunson, Josh Hart, OG Anobi, Male Bridges, Carl Anthony Towns. That should be a great lineup. And it wasn’t a great lineup both due to fit and due to Tom Thibido’s inability to maximize it. I I was of the opinion that Cleveland, at least in the regular season, was going to be the runaway one seed. And after seeing three games of the Knicks in preseason, maybe it’s an overreaction, but just the way Mike Brown has shifted their rotation, has leaned into five out lineups, has sped up the offense both in transition and in the half court. It’s basically everything Tom Thibido didn’t lean into to make things easier on everyone on this team. And you just get the feeling that they’re actually going to be able to play up to their talent this year, which I think even in making the Eastern Conference Finals and even being within two games of the NBA Finals, they weren’t last year. The counter-argument to that is Cleveland kicked their butt four times last year in the regular season. One time without Donovan Mitchell and Jared Allen, so they might have bragging rights for now. The Knicks beat them in the 2023 playoffs. I think I just buy into the Knicks as a playoff team and that level of competitiveness and just cutthroat ability to win a game late with Jaylen Brunson just to drop more. But there was such a gap between the two in the regular season. I don’t I don’t think it’s crazy for anyone who thinks Cleveland is the favorite coming. Is Is that all sustainable? Like we’re we’re talking about Mike Brown like he’s some kind of coaching savant that’s going to be able to get the most of this team and it’s Mike Brown. And at the same time, I just don’t get he did get the Kings to the playoffs. He got the Kings to the playoffs. Dave, I mean, you got to remember that that season they had statistically the best offense in NBA history. And he he was doing that with sorry, not great talent in Sacramento. I just has Mike Brown ever as a head coach like even the LeBron teams given their lack of depth like worked with this type of talent? I’m not saying he’s the best coach in the NBA. I just think tactically he is a pretty drastic upgrade over top dividend. I think if we sustainable the Kings one more time, Matt George will show up in this. So just we’re looking at these changes. Light the beam. Light the beam. Yeah. I mean Yeah. I think it’s a it’s a fair question to say like can they play the way they’ve played so far while also leaning into Brunson ball because that that’s where they’ve excelled in the postseason and they’re going to have to marry those two things. To me, it’s just like it feels like there is access to easy offense and easy points that just wasn’t there. And in the playoffs and years past, it just all had to be on Brunson creating against three, four guys. And now they’re tapping into the fact that like Male Bridges, OG, Anovi, Carl, Anthony Towns are not like elite shot creators, but they’re all very capable with the basketball and talented offensive players. And Male in particular just looks like a completely different guy than he looked like last season. Like the speed he’s playing at, the comfort with his shot. he was weirdly messing with his form to start last year. Like he just looks far more engaged and that that by itself makes just a dramatic difference for the Knicks. I think I think the biggest difference in the East and and just why it feels so wide open is just that these teams are so unproven. Like Boston and Indiana had, you know, back-to-back conference finals. Boston had the long run before they finally won the title. It feels like the guy the teams that we know the most about are taking a gap year. They’re taking the off. And you know, who knows? Maybe Jason Tatum’s back and Boston’s a lot scarier in March and April than they are today sitting here in October. But with New York, they had this golden ticket to the finals last year. No offense, Tony, but Indiana was the four seed. The Knicks had the homecourt advantage. Like it felt like they had the path and they hit this roadblock against Indiana that everyone in the East seems to hit. Cleveland obviously out of the gates like crazy last year. One of the best offenses, one of the best defenses. they they felt like they finally solved the problems that kept them from getting through and they hit the roadblock. And so it just feels like, you know, yes, Cleveland and New York are should be and are the two favorites, but it feels like they have these these playoff scars, these hurdles to get over that we just don’t know. And the other problem in the East is every other team we just don’t know. Orlando hasn’t been out of the first round since 2010. Um, you know, Indiana Boston are down. Detroit is super young. Atlanta, you know, yes, Trey Young’s been in the conference finals, but that’s a completely different team, and they’ve got contract stuff hanging over their head with Trey Young’s extension. You know, Giannis is probably the best player in the Eastern Conference. I think we we would all agree on that, but Milwaukee seems like they’re a team in a bit of turmoil because of the way their books are are situated and and the roster that they have. It just feels like everything is is wide open. Not because there’s not necessarily bad teams in the East. I I think the East the top of the East, not as good as the West, but is is a lot better than people give it credit for. We just don’t know what all of these teams are going to do and what they’re going to look like in the spotlight. And and it’s just a thing of you don’t know till you know. You don’t know. No. Pick one. Pick one, Philip. Where where does the East go through? I think it still goes through Cleveland. like I Cleveland like Cleveland the the the reason you know again Indiana beat them but I think the big thing for Cleveland has always been how do we get our smallest guards to the playoffs healthy and it just seems like something always pops up between their two guards that just slow them down just enough to make them mortal and if they’re if they’re healthy in the playoffs they’re they’re they’re going to be as tough as any team to beat in the entire playoffs not just the East I think we have forgotten one key point that I would like to add into the reason I will pick the Knicks. The last time the Knicks and Cavs played each other in the playoffs, granted it was the Julius Randle Knicks, the Cavs got panced, embarrassed, laughed out of town. Like they looked horrible. They looked truly horrible. The lights are too bright. I get that it’s a different coach and a different team, but like yeah, that exactly like Jared Allen still has to live with the the meme reaction to that series. So, I get that they’re very different teams than them, but I I know how tested the Knicks have been in the playoffs and they’ve come out of some tough series. The Cavs have yet to come out of a tough series against a good opponent. Their one win, no offense, Philip the Magic that could not score points. Gavin, how different is this Cavs team compared to that Cavs team the Knicks faced that last time in the playoffs we were just talking about? I I think they’re just they’re far more optimized offensively. like that was that was year one for Cleveland and and JB Picker staff has obviously done a great job in Detroit was was not the I mean it feels very similar honestly as the Knicks going from Tom Thibido to Mike Brown right just like Kenny Atinson coming from that Golden State coaching tree and and Atinson just brought this like beautiful ball movementheavy spacing heavy offense but it was optimized by the fact that all those guys had taken another step forward. I think we saw the best version of Donovan Mitchell last year. Evan Mobley was was a baby in that Knicks series and now he’s like bullying guys under the rim, dunking in their face. My my big question about Cleveland, I think Tony was was kind of hinting at this and David as someone who faced Cleveland in the playoffs last year. I’m I’m really curious your take on this is like for my money and I think Danny has said this much like I don’t know if they’re optimized with Evan Mobley at the four and Jared Allen at the five. I would want to see what they look like with Moy at the five, with his newfound ability to shoot threes that presumably is only going to get better this year because Allen, for as good as he is, legitimate all-star, just a hyperskilled center, like there is a just distinct lack of physicality that is pervasive throughout that team. And I think I I don’t think it’s Evan Mobley’s fault. I think he’s figured that out. To me, that starts with Jared Allen. And that was the reason Mitchell Robinson was arguably the best player in that series. The Knicks still have that trump card. And I’m curious if Cleveland, if they look a little bit shaky to start the year, if they try to pivot off Jared Allen, maybe add yet another wing to that group because every other part of that team is is pretty terrified. 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Get organized, refreshed, and ready for the holidays for way less. Head to wayfair.com right now. Shop all things home. That’s wayfair w afir.com. That’s wayfair every style, every home. [Music] Speaking of the Knicks and uh a rumor, we may not know what the Knicks would look like by the end of end of the season. Does anyone believe that Giannis won’t finish the season on Milwaukee? Anybody? I think he’s on the Bucks the end of the season. I think he waits. I think he waits for the offseason. And I think his personality is unless like Milwaukee says we have to do it. When’s the last time someone this good even got traded off a good team mid-season that granted me finish let me finish that wasn’t the either a stud for stud trade or just the most insane Nico Harrison you what are you doing I was say there you go trade like it it doesn’t they it’s not like unheard of but it it’s just so hard with how many contracts have to be involved that it actually happens and so that and the Bucks will I’d be like in fifth place and be like, “Oh, if we break if the bracket breaks the right way, we get it’s like, okay, like does Marge Simpson run the Bucks now?” To that point, Tony, like let’s say Milwaukee is the five seed. Are they terrified by playing Atlanta in the first round? Are they terrified by playing Detroit in the first round? I mean, the old saying is if you have the best player in the series, you have a chance to win like Milwaukeee’s got still got. They still got Miles Turner. think they got a lot of questions with their guards and and I think that’s ultimately why we we don’t have them in that championship tier and we’re talking about the Bucks as a team that is in this transition period with their star who’s saying very loudly I still want to compete for championships but you know if I’m Milwaukee yeah I might be worried about a second round series against a Cleveland or New York or may I’ll go ahead and say Orlando just because I’m I’m the Orlando guy but if I’m Milwaukee I’m not terrified of anyone I could face as long as I’m not in the playin tournament, but this all assumes win. I’m not saying they’re going to win, but I’m not terrified by it. This also assumes that Milwaukee is a playoff team. What if they’re not? Like, how bad do the Bucks have to be before he starts making a public stink and demanding to be traded? Like, what if they’re competing for a playin seed or maybe even worse than that? I mean, anything’s possible. He could misend time. I mean, Miles Turner might not work out. So, I mean, there’s a lot of different possibilities there. And if they’re that bad, does he just make a public state? Because I mean, we’re talking about his personality, but I’ve always thought that was a little bit exaggerated. Like the reality of Giannis is different than the public persona of him, you know, loving smoothies and being this cheerful guy and everything else like that. He’s a lot more cutthroat, I think, than we give him credit for. And I I think he’s he’s enough is enough. If he gets to that point and he’s looking around and he’s going, “What the hell am I doing here? I want to be able to go and and maximize my opportunities to compete for a championship.” Why wouldn’t he force his way out in the middle of the season? Especially the jury thing got the jury thing got overblown because they always were so good. Like he had awesome teammates. It’s like Yeah. Okay. I’m so I’m so psyched that he said he’s committed to the Bucks, don’t get me wrong, like small market, keep your star, but uh it’s easier to say that when you think you might be good. Well, and he like and he came out of nowhere in a way. Like we all we all saw him coming in a way, but like he was also like the happy to be here guy for a long time too, right? And now he’s like established, won MVPs, won a title, been been here, done that. How many games of Kevin Porter Jr. and Kyle Koozma starting in the starting lineup next to him? zero chance Koozma starts. Yeah, I think they’re I think they’re going to lean into like him and four shooters, which I I think is the way they should play. And I think to David’s point, that’s a lot of weight on Miles Turner. But I do think that’s maybe a better team even without Dame than they’ve had in recent years. And I think Turner defensively over Brook Lopez who would just get torched over and over again and drop coverage is a meaningful upgrade. I think on the like same token like Giannis knows what this team is, right? Like he’s like one of the smartest players in the NBA. I don’t think he has any illusions that this group can win a championship. I I think he knows that the the ceiling like barring like a whole bunch of injuries to like either Cleveland or New York or even Orlando is probably the second round of the playoffs. And that’s why I think the timing of the story like obviously this comes out of Giannis’s camp like you saw all the sources um Shams was fighting where we’re like like oh his new his American agent his Greek agent like this is a Giannis driven story and Giannis saying well I might change my mind in six or seven months like dude what is going to be different like you know what this team is you knows what the situation is I think it’s more so that Milwaukee is unwilling to move him right now like Ian Begley reported like and who knows if this is true or not obviously he’s the Knicks guy but that the Knicks did make a legitimate offering did make a legitimate push for Giannis and I don’t think the Knicks made their best offer and I don’t think any team is going to make a legitimate Knicks offer is still not close to enough for Giannis. What is the legitimate point? I mean offer there is no good enough offer for Giannis. He’s one of the Yeah, but there wasn’t a good enough one for Luca either. So like that’s fair. It would have What makes it tricky is it would have to involve a third team, right? Like there’s no unless the Knicks throw Jaylen Brunson in there, which I don’t think any of us think is going to happen other than something else. No, it would be Cat and OG for Giannis and Koozma would be the quote, but I don’t know what that does for Milwaukee because you’re presumably just trying to turn OG and Cat into picks then. So, you might as well involve a third team and get that done directly. Koozma and New York like wake him back up and like he become a viable NBA player again or send him all the way back down. That ship has sailed. I I my final point here is like I think this comes down to like Milwaukee does not want to trade him before they have to because they don’t have their own pick and they have no incentive to tank. So, unless it’s the Hawks and they’re getting that pick back, why are they going to do this before they have to? And I think this summer is when it gets to the point where Giannis is publicly saying, “I want out.” It it feels like a situation declined an extension, etc. Yeah. It feels It feels like a situation where Milwaukee kind of knows inevitably that this is going to happen. Yeah. But they can’t be in the position like a Dwight Howard at some point. It’s No, it’s literally the same situation as Dwight Howard in 2012 where, you know, there’s a lot of scars in the franchise. Like they traded Kareem. Like that was that that is a thing. the Milwaukee Bucks franchise in. I know that was 50 some odd years ago now, but they traded Kareem and they were never the same. They’re ne they are not going to get another player of Giannis’s capabilities and and abilities for the ne for the next 20 25 years. He’s a generational star for a market like Milwaukee. They’ve got to figure out what does what how what does our franchise do to move forward and how far back can we tumble and and how can we maximize the the return? At the end of the day, the way to maximize return is to act early. It’s to make the deal before Giannis is ready and maybe sour him a little bit, but do right by him rather than holding on to him and trying to make this thing work if it’s eventually going to fall apart. And and again, it just it just feels like especially with the money that’s on the books for Dame and the dead money that’s on the books in Dame, it’s going to be really really hard to build a championship level roster with Giannis Antennao on the Milwaukee Bucks right now. It it ju it does feel like it, you know, hey, there’s there’s smoke, there’s fire, there’s there it’s going to happen. It’s inevitable at this point. Kareem was traded on June 16th, 1975. Like quite literally 50 years ago. Quite literally 50 years. The other thing that for the Bucks that I hope that hits them at some point is the Thunder just won the championship. Traded away stars. Got to get the stuff that won the championship. The Celtics before them traded away stars to get the stuff that won them the championship. the Nuggets, albeit to a different extent because of the Jokic pick. Trade it away, Melo, Jamal Murray and that like it does help you if you do it right. You just, you know, it’s not that’s easier said than done because if you mess up the star trade, you’re just like screwed and wandering for forever. But like it, we have seen it very recently that it can go well if it goes well. So, they do need to look at that. Can we talk about who else at the top of the East could actually be good because I don’t think the Bucks can be good. The the my next question was going to be is Orlando the clear number three because because we talked a lot we talked a lot about the Knicks and the Cavs. Is it Orlando three or is there somebody else? Yeah, Philip, I’ll let you cook on this, but I I would have Orlando in their own tier behind those top two teams. Would you agree with that? Wow. But you would have them three though. Yeah. Yeah. I say Nick Knicks and Cavs in one, Orlando alone in two, and then Atlanta, Detroit, I guess Milwaukee probably in three. That’s that’s that’s kind of how I sort things. I I I might throw Boston into that third tier when Tatum’s healthy depending on what Tatum looks like because like I feel like I feel like the Jason Tatum is already dunking and could be back from an Achilles tear in March is a reckless and I don’t think that Yeah, March got like 15 games left. But but but if I’m if I’m if I’m the two seed New York Knicks, I don’t want to see Jason Tatum in a in a first round series in a first round series like that. No one wants that. It’s it’s the same thing with the Sixers. If like Embiid is able to get to the end of the season, I don’t want to see Embiid as the seven seed or the eight seed. Like I don’t want I don’t want that. Like Boston Boston was complaining about having to play Orlando as the seven seed because they’re just so physical and and wore them down heading into that series against the Knicks. Like you want to get out of that first round as as cleanly as possible. But I I do think the Magic are the third best team in the East. I I think that people underrate how tough it is to play the Magic and and kind of last year because of all the injuries because they ended up 41 and 41 and the seven seed people kind of I feel like the national media just kind of forgot that they were there and and felt like they hit this wall that they can’t overcome. This is still a really good team. If as long as their defense is still top five in the league, their offense can be mediocre and they will win a lot of games, you know, especially with how uncertain the East is. The Magic can win individual games. The question for the Magic, of course, is can they win in the playoffs with an with an offense that at best might be mediocre right now. They still got a lot of young guys, you know, Fran Fran Vagner, Palo Beno have to take another step into stardom. They’ve been given the tools with a player like Desmond Bane to help spread the floor. Like everybody else in the league, they’re trying to play a little faster. The offense looks a little refreshed in the preseason for whatever that’s worth. It’s two games. Um, but if the Magic can find just a little bit of offensive clarity, that team is really, really, really dangerous. Now, dangerous enough to compete for a championship, that’s going to be the ultimate question that they have to face with the books that they have and and the salary that they have laid down. But Orlando is a team nobody wants to face in the seven game series. You can ask Cleveland, you can ask Boston about that. It’s not fun. And if their offense is just a little bit better, they’re they’re that much more dangerous. Tony, you’re not buying the Magic. Well, I want David is also not buying the Magic. So, I would like him to go first. No, no, no, I’m not. But are we collectively overlooking Philadelphia? Like, is that just not a team that exists anymore? Because I mean, they still have an MVP level player there. The team that half the GM said are the toughest to predict this season, but that’s our job, right? That’s what we do. So, I mean, are we just o kind of overlooking that they exist because we’re talking about Joel Embiid will not be healthy this year in its entirety like he’s not going to play at all or they don’t have a timeline for him already. We we’ve just never seen him get through a playoffs and he’s older and his leg is seemingly more unstable and he had another procedure done. Fresh legs. Fresh legs. That’s what that is, right? Did he get a leg transplant? Is it a different leg? Where would you get a leg like that to transfer to him? And it’s not laugh like it sucks. Like we’re laughing about it, but like it’s it’s miser. Like he for my money like he is one of the five most talented guys to come into the NBA in the last 30 years. Maybe maybe that’s too high. Maybe if we actually made the list like it wouldn’t be there, but like his combination of like like size, skill, athleticism, aptitude for like like you’ve heard just stories about him watching videos of like of someone shooting a jumper and then immediately replicating that or watching the dream shake and immediately replicating like he is a basketball savant and even as a Knicks guy like it sucks that we’re not going to get a healthy playoffs for him. I just don’t think we have any track record to predict it and if you can’t I just don’t see the depth on that team to supplement. I think they can be fine. I think they can be competitive in games where Embiid doesn’t play because that guard rotation is so good. But you look at their wings beyond Paul George, VJ Edgecomb, there’s just not a lot there. So I I just I just cannot put any kind of faith in that team. They are team guard certainly. Uh look, a year look, I agree generically with everything you just said. A year ago today, everybody was talking like, “Well, I can’t believe in the Clippers. Kawhi never plays in the playoffs.” And then Kawhi played in the playoffs. Like sometimes it just happens sometimes. Like it, you know, you just never know with these unhealthy dudes. I still think like they’re going to be so bad at rebounding and probably pretty mediocre on defense that even the best Sixers are like the fourth or fifth best team. When I did Eastern Conference rankings, I said here’s the top 14 and then here’s the Sixers. I don’t know what the hell’s going to happen with the Sixers. They could be fourth, they could be 10th, they could be a out of the whole thing again, but like e they have a healthy all-star guard all the time. Like Tyrese Maxi means that and they have reasons to try because they don’t have their pick this year. Like I think they’re going to be decent but not awesome. Guys, guys, the Atlanta Hawks are going to be stupid good. What are we doing? The Atlanta Hawks are probably going to be granted pride the back end of this. I think the Atlanta Hawks are going to be top 10 in offense and defense this year. They’re going to be good. I I do think people are sleeping on how good Atlanta can be. I I really loved their off seasonason. Going after Christophs Porzingis, I think, gives them uh just another dynamic weapon. Just to just to play five out with Trey Young just puts so much stress on on a defense. And so I do think they’re a lot more dangerous than than people think. It’s just going to be a question of well how how good is Jaylen Johnson is coming off of the injury. Like is is he the future all-star that he looked like last year before his injury and can he get through a season? Can Christopheringis get through a season and get to the playoffs? It’s Trey Young who I think is a lot more unselfish than people give him credit for. He plays a specific type and style of basketball. He’s going to have to sacrifice to make that team better. Is he going to be able to do that? And so I do wonder, you know, yes, Jaylen Johnson’s a good player, Christopher is a good player. I think Dyson Daniels can take a leap offensively as well. Do they have enough offensive diversity to to be a real threat or is it just going to be the Trey Young show? And and the Trey Young show can get you pretty far, especially with the talent they have now because again, Trey Young is probably going to lead the league in assists again. Um, but do they have enough? And you know, when you get into a playoff series, can Trey Young overcome his def do they have enough defense around Trey Young to overcome Trey Young being a mediocre defender at best? And that’s probably No, they don’t. No, they don’t. Yes, they do. Where who are you counting on to be there? All these players mean nothing to you. You’re hinging your your faith in Atlanta on Chris Porzingis. Like, I mean, name four other players besides Chris Porz. I get it. Is that enough? Like what’s the right team to build around Trey? Like I think that’s it honestly not a great like granted probably like a tier better player at every spot but like this stylistically is it right now basically. I mean Dyson Daniels like at this point right like as good of a point of attack defender as there is in the NBA. That’s kind of step one. Jaylen Johnson Zachary Rishet like flying around behind him. KP when healthy like if not an elite rim protector a very good one. Like I I do think manu is awesome. I think I don’t like about is that it hides a congru. Yeah. And uh oh, what’s that? Is that It’s the music of Matt Moore. Oh, brother. He He needed to come in. He was He was here early for the West one and he demanded that he come in and weigh. I’m I’m an hour off because Nick Angstat uses central time like the only with the West group. I used central. I should have used Pacific on the only time. I just want to drop this and go ahead and leave. You’re talking about Chris Porzingis. Look back at the history of what happens when the Boston Celtics are done with you. Go look back and see how often that works out well. Like Kyrie Irving is you they’ve let go of somebody and then that person goes to the shadow realm. So you need to be very aware when you talk about Porzingis that he will not be around. Is it is it like the the box from from Game of Zones back in the day where that is it now? I’m out of here. Get me out of here. And we and we don’t know what his illness was last year still like do doctor like a postviral infection. I don’t know elbow from he looked good in international ball over the summer. No like he looked like himself. Yeah, he did. We’re still in we’re still all in the Hawks. I I I think they’re very good. I I have them at tier. They’re good value if you’re if you’re if you’re with our friends. I think they’re going to be better than probably a good value bet to me. Today’s episode of Lockdown NBA Squad Show, NBA preview is brought to you by FanDuel. FanDuel sports books, all kinds of props, nods, things that you can use to get in on the action. NFL season is here and NBA season is around the corner. FanDuel has a deal that you won’t want to miss. If you’re a new customer, you can bet just $5 and you get $300 in bonus bets if you win to use across the app anywhere. So, put it on something that you absolutely think is going to happen. So, check out like a game where you think, “Oh, maybe put the money line on like the Thunder that opening night game against the Rockets in on ring night.” or maybe the opposite because teams don’t usually win on ring night. You can also look at some of the overunders on the regular season wins. So like my Dallas Mavericks 40 and a half is their overunder. I’m taking the over on that. You think Anthony Davis, Cooper Flag, and all them are not going to be over 500 this season. Come on. Even if Anthony Davis is misses like 20 games or something like that, which I I get it. I get it. Rockets also 52 and a half over under. I know they lost Fred Van Vleet, but you add Kevin Durant to a team and they’re not going to go over the wins that they had last year. That’s interesting. Go check it out on FanDuel. What are you waiting for? Visit FanDuel.com to download the FanDuel app today and get started. FanDuel.com. Please gamble responsibly. I just like that Matt got his own intro music. I’m just a little skit. Phillip Jayen Suggs is still hurt. I love Desmond B. He’s from Indiana. I don’t think he’s quite like the offensive additive that everybody says he is. Even though he’s a great shooter, which the Magic specifically need, I just don’t think the Magic’s offense is going to be good enough to have them in a tier by themselves. I still think they’re a top four team of the East. So, I But they’re going to be top 20 at least this year, right, Philip? Top 20. They’re going to do that. They can do that. Yes, I still for everyone listening. Philip, when’s the last time they were top 20? Uh Dwight Howard was on the team in uh Philip, you you you were the one who told me this stat, but I also just want to point this out. Last season, they had the second worst three-point shooting percentage as a team in the last 25 years in the NBA. So, they can only go up from there. And I know I asked you this like when we when we did a little crossover, but to me, like this is the swing factor. Like what what’s the latest on Fron Vagner’s jump shot? Because to me, like if he is the three-point shooter he was early in his career and you have Desmond Bane, like I actually don’t I I I know historically they should be a below average offense. I don’t really see why beyond like PTSD they should not be a top 15 offense next year. Yeah, I mean the hitch is gone. That’s that’s the good news. Um he didn’t shoot the ball particularly well at Euro Basket, but it it was just very streaky. He like like I think in the in the group play he was 6 for 13, six for 14 from three, which was like super encouraging. And then in the knockout rounds he was like three for 15, three for 16, something like that. So I I I I think that a the Magic don’t need Fron to take a ton of threes anymore. Like last year him and Paulo led the team in three-point attempts per game. Like they had to take all the threes for the team. It was just it was just the only way they could function. I think the benefit of having Desmond Bane is a they get another playmaker. Think I think the part of Desmond Bane that everyone’s been underrating and even I underrated but now watching him through two preseason games I’ve been really impressed with. He’s going to attack downhill and make passes and plays. And so I do think Paulo and Fron will get more kind of higher quality spot up attempts where last year they’re taking a lot of like pull-ups and Fran loves his little step back. I don’t think that’s going away but they don’t need Paulo and Fron to take six, seven threes. They took I think they averaged five or six last year. They don’t need them to take five or six threes. can settle in at four, three, four, five threes per game and probably be enough for this Magic team to be successful. Um, and so I I think that’s that that is the bigger shift. Um, I think Fron will probably settle in in the low30s, which considering he was under 30% the last few years was was is would be a huge step up for him. Um, not where he was his first two years, obviously. Um, but I think he’s going to be real streaky streaky. I think you’ll have like a two week stretch where he’ll shoot like 40% from three, 41, 42% from three and everyone will be like, “Oh, he’s back.” And then you’ll have another two, three week stretch where he’s shooting 25% from three and it’s just like, “Oh, same problems as always.” It’s it’s just it’s going to be a little bit of a roulette wheel when you get to the playoffs, which I think is the scarier part for this Magic team. Can we all rapid fire to end this? I love Detroit. I like Toronto. I’m very down on the Boston Celtics. We should give Detroit more love than we’re giving them. Um I like I I Fire, Philip. Three things. Three things. Three things. Hey. Hey. We’re going. We’re going until this is not fun anymore. That That was my That was my Oh, I didn’t realize that. We’re slacking. I’m sorry. No, we’re good. No. You’re You’re a good employee, Tony East, but we’re we’re going. No, no, no, no, no. I I I I I like my my quick thing is we are not talking enough about Detroit. Um I I do I don’t think they’re like I’m sorry. To do what? To to be a threat to to get to I mean, I think there’s a chance that they’re the fourth team that gets to the second round. I think they they could be the four seed. I think they built a lot of really good things. Jaylen Duran took a huge leap last year. I don’t think enough people are talking about how good he is and talking about him among the best certainly the best young centers in the league, but one of the best centers in the league. They get Jay Nivey back. Um I I I I’m a little bit questioning the swapping out of some of their shooters. I think their defense will take a little bit of a hit, but I I think you you overlook Detroit at your own. You haven’t watched Duncan Robinson grow as a one-on-one defender. What the hell? I mean, honestly though, compared to Malik Beasley and Tim Hardaway Jr., I think that that I’m almost more I’m more worried about the offensive end where Malik Beasley put together like in terms of volume and accuracy a three-point season that oh Jesus Christ that that only Steph Curry and Klay Thompson have done in NBA history like I don’t know if Malik Beasley could have done what Malik Beasley did last year. So that that that part of it interesting. I’m also intrigued like in the Ivy element because they took even though Ivy was playing well and he was shooting better than he ever had. They took off the second he got hurt. They started playing like a top six or seven team in the NBA right down the stretch last year. Final 50 games, top 10, top 10 offense, top five defense. Like, does Ivy mess that up? Because I think the formula they found of like Cade doing literally everything plus size and defense and athleticism is what worked for them. If they pivot away from that even a little bit, do the pieces fit the same even if the guys individually are better? Yeah. Well, wasn’t that because they didn’t have any downhill like attacking at all? Like Well, they added Shruder, but other than that, it was it was just Kade in the starting lineup. Detroit is the team we should all be watching for. Like, we t we talked about the honest stuff a while back. We didn’t really get into like which teams actually would pursue him and which teams can actually get him. Detroit is the team that’s best set up to make the next big trade. I know the Ringer had their big story about them going after Lori Markin and saying Lori Markin would be perfect for this team, another kind of shooter. They got that big Tobias Harris contract that they can move around. And obviously like that’s not big enough to go after Giannis, but Detroit should be a team that we’re talking about in the conversations for that next big trade. And when they make that next big trade, just like the Magic did with Bane, that’s that’s when we start taking Detroit more seriously as as a title contender in the East. And it would not shock me if come February, Detroit’s sitting there pretty, you know, pretty at like the four or five seed and they make a big move to really propel them and try and compete with the Orlando with Atlanta to to climb a little bit higher and take advantage of this Eastern Conference. Is Tobias Harris’s sorry Tobias Harris’s lasting legacy being imminently tradable? Like I mean Detroit to Milwaukee CJ McCollum twice Detroit to Milwaukee two times. That is that’s crazy. My favorite thing this entire podcast has been people say something and David’s just shaking his head no the whole time like what are you talking about? David has embraced the video medium. What is happening upon Mount Riley with the with the Miami Heat? They’re waiting for a spo to woo Anthony Edwards when he coaches the Olympics. Hey, there it is. That’s right. Get in there. Three years down. Yeah. I would just Sorry, David. I want to talk. I’m underwhelmed and let you roll. I’m underwhelmed by the East. Sorry. I’m I’m totally underwhelmed. Well, it is an underwhelming I mean, is there going to be even three 50 win teams? Probably not, right? Like, I think it’s going to be 250. There was only four last year and by like one win. Yeah, exactly. I don’t Yeah, Phil, I don’t think the Magic are going to win 50. I think they’re going to win like 48 and the Hawks are going to win 49. I think they’re a 48 to 55 win team. Like, like the Magic are not nine wins better with hopefully Health and Desmond Bane. Yeah, I think I think Orlando’s like nine wins. Nine wins. That’s a ton of with with the match. Okay. Two of the teams above them are definitely going to be below them now. Like they’re they’re they’re really like last year they were really a 46 47 win team. Like the injuries cost them. Oh, of course. Silly me. I I see 41 when I look at their record, but my bad. That’s one one thing I’ll note because just because Philip mentioned Detroit, Atlanta, uh thanks God God thanks Joe Dumars. um has that uh New Orleans pick to trade, which is like up there for the most valuable asset that a contending team has to move off of. Like if they’re looking really good and want to go all in, like I mean they’re they’ve been a team that’s talked about making a Giannis type move. But even even if it’s one step below that and they just get like one final two-way rotation piece, that could push them ahead of Orlando and into that Knicks Cleveland tier. It would have to be a really big move, I think, to hit that top tier, but they they have the optionality to go and do that. Man, I’m gonna buy a Hawks t-shirt after this. You guys are is Kate like here’s like this is I think the ultimate question with Detroit. Is and and Coup will love me for saying this. Is Kade like a dark horse to be like top five and MVP voting this year? Yes. Like is is he is he gonna make that kind of No. No. I’m old enough to remember when when Noah was third in MVP. He He should have been top five last year. What kind of help did he have? Wow. Dude, he carried them. He was the octopuses. You don’t take that. Can you just tell me the team that would like outside of Joic obviously? Like what team would have had a bigger drop off without their top player than Detroit last year? They would have been one of the worst teams in the NBA without Kate Cunningham. Kade was tied for seventh in MVP voting. So it’s not like he wasn’t he wasn’t that far off. Yeah, I would have had him top five. I don’t know. He’s really good. It was It was SGA, Joic, Giannis, Tatum, Mitchell. Who do you put him above? Mitchell. Well, Tatum’s out. No. No. For last year, he said he had been Mitchell. I would have I would have had him added Donovan Mitchell last year. And he’s jumped LeBron James, which I am. That’s fine. Bro, I’m going to be Donovan Mitchell’s new PR person apparently. What is going on? He’s awesome. He’s awesome. Hey, from from our group chat, is he better than Deon Booker? Donovan. Yeah. Yeah. Clearly I say that as there was one there was one host that had a real problem with that. I won’t say who it is but though. So the the Pistons case to me is honestly like comically simple. Their whole team is young. Like every player could be better next year. And if everything else like even if everything else is exactly the same and they have like very similar style and everything like that alone is three four wins. Like that’s that’s a that’s that might be a 50 win recipe. I don’t think it is but it might be. David, you keep shaking your head. Do you like anybody at all? Are you having any fun, David? Are you Are you excited about the season or I don’t know the season? Yes. But I’m not like I’m not glowing about the East chances or any team in the East. Like I think they all have such glaring weaknesses and and unanswered question. David David now his team has been to the finals. They’ve won championships. Now he’s on the other side of it and the players have been traded and he’s the old guy from from the NBA on on his rocking chair on the front porch going back in my day the Eastern Conference was a real conference. It is an even number. So the Heat are due. Do for what? For what? Yeah. Whatever you No, I don’t know. I What’s the best case scenario for the Heat this year, David? Uh Bam pops to another level. Hero plays well. Powell plays well. and Khil Wear winds up uh actually caring about basketball despite just growing into being an NBA player. I mean, he looked good. He looked good. He looked good for one game. He has to be point like Spo has never done this with with the exception of two other players in the past where he says to the media, “This guy kind of sucks.” And uh he’s not really trying that hard. It’s Assan Whiteside and Michael Beasley and that’s it. Like he just doesn’t do that. No, it’s not. It’s talented. Crazy. He like gathered yourself up at summer league to do that. Yeah. Well, he was just kind of talking and then he was like, “You know what? Let me offer my thoughts unprecedented or had asked for.” Like, you know what? I’ve been noticing this guy. I don’t even coaching this team. Yes. Except when you’re sitt watching from the sidelines. He’s not even coaching the team. And he’s like, “You know what? K’s got to try harder. I’m watching him. I don’t see the effort.” And there he is actually coaching him now in training camp. He’s like, “We don’t like what we see from him.” It’s like, “Wow, damn. Really?” So, uh, yeah, I don’t think he’s a much of a believer, but it’s just takes him lighting a fire under Wears’s ass in order for him to kind of have these monster games. We know he’s capable. We know he has the potential. He’s got the size and skill. Like, he made Webyama look really mediocre. He looked better than Webyama. And and so, um, if there’s absolutely potential there, and yet I don’t know that he’s going to always be motivated unless he gets called out by his by his coach publicly. So, Tony, you cover the WNBA. If Asia Wilson joined the Heat, how much better would that make them right now? Oh. She’s quite good. Were David, were you cracking up like I was when I was watching that heat preseason game and they were like, “Yeah, bam out of bio. He mentors Azer Wilson and you he has helped her so much with her game.” And I was like, I what would he even teach her? The other way around. That’d be really helpful. This is the first time that they actually have like addressed it with him like on the record. Like he hasn’t talked about it at any other point. Like it’s just one of those wellkept poorly kept secrets. I was at the Fever’s fourth home playoff game. They’re playing the Aces. It’s Sunday, the day before me today. And Bam is right behind me in a suite. I’m like, “Ah, this is just the NBA money, man. He can get to Miami easily. No problem. He’ll be ready for me today.” Sure enough, there he was. 10 a.m. in Miami. Let’s do some of the Let’s do some of the random teams at at the end here. Um, the Toronto Raptors have five players in the locked on top 100. Five. There’s only like six teams that had five in the top 100. What? Who believes in the in the Raptors? Tony is in in to do what? To make the play in to make the playoffs. Offs, baby. Top six. Top the finish. Top six. Yes. Who do they Who are you kicking? Get kicked out. We already talked about them. The the fighting Giannis Milwaukee Bucks. I think the Raptors are better than them. The Raptors are better than the Bucks. Yep. The Raptors were sneaky good on defense to end last season. Like they were the best defensive team for like two months to end last season. and they have a ton of size and like their floor. Knock on wood cuz this never has happened but like Gavin knows when he was on the Knicks I loved loved loved this player like if Emanuel Quickley just plays 60 games that’s like 10 more win that’s a that’s a stretch but like that’s way more wins for them. They had they had no ball handling last year. All their guards were bad or hurt. Like they their talent is great and Ingram is just the there’s very few teams I’m like oh Ingram can actually make them pop. This is one of them. I think they’re going to be really good. I don’t think a lot of people remember I don’t think a lot of people remember he played zero games for them last year. None of None of their five projected starters I think went over 55 games I think was the number. Maybe it was 60 last year. So that that that’s like a key for a big jump. I just don’t think their starting lineup makes any sense as currently constituted. If they were to move RJ Barrett off the bench and start maybe like Grady Dick or Oiagbaji like like that would make more sense to me. Like throw another shooter in there, make R.J. your sixth man. Um there’s just like too many guys who nominally would need to have the ball in their hands. Like Scotty Barnes and RJ off ball watching uh Brandon Ingram dribble, it just feels like doom to me offensively. Those are two guys you just don’t have to guard off the ball very seriously. So I’m I’m curious to see how they make it fit together. Like I I’m with Tony that like nominally there are a lot of good players on that team. I just don’t really know how they fit together. This this Jamal shed disrespect will not stand. Tony will not stand. They have a guard. Um, just one, but they have a guard. Um, but but uh what about Emanuel Quickley that was supposedly the best player in the OG Anobi trade. Yeah. What? That was a joke. Give me a break. Um, I was I was like half arguing that with Shawn and when we did the trade and then I watched OG for five games, I was like, “Oh, that was really stupid. I shouldn’t deserve that.” I I love the hat again, baby. Emanuel quickly, but yeah, he’s not he’s not that every hooer except Romeo Langford in the NBA is a good player. I mean, I think when you look at Toronto, like it just comes down to this with especially compared to like the bottom of the East. How many actual NBA players are on the team? Like we do have five top 100 players on this team. What Toronto is lacking is like that star that like ties everything together. Like maybe it’s Scotty Barnes. It probably isn’t. It’s probably not Brandon Ingram. It’s they got to be healthy, which is a huge deal uh for that roster as we mentioned. But they’ve got NBA players. Like I they they are to me at minimum a playing team. like they should be in that seven eight game at minimum if they’re healthy because they’ve got the they’ve got the top end talent to win games during the regular season. They just don’t have the talent the top end talent to win games at a high level and be like a consistent winner. Especially when you get into the playoffs, they just don’t have that elite level of guys, but they they’ve got NBA players. Like you can’t say that about a lot of the teams at the bottom of the East. They just need one of Mobbo, Dick, or whoever they drafted as these young wings to like if one of them is in their rotation and like good enough this year. They have like 10 legitimately good players every single game. So I I like it. Uh the Heat I think are the same case too though. Like Heroes injury is scary. Heroes injury is scary, but like their whole team is good real players. Like that that’s a recipe in the East to be like at least threatening and annoying. Do the same thing? Oh, go ahead. No, no, no, no. Uh the Bulls. No, I don’t see that. I mean, we’re Yeah, the Bulls are not being a basketball team in February when they trade. Is that right about the heat though, David? Right. Like real their their depth is probably their biggest strength, but again, you’re kind of looking for somebody to pop and I don’t think it can be Hero. I don’t think he can be the best player on your team. Like, I’m curious to see how the pairing between him and Pal works out. Um, you don’t have a clear designated ball handler, initiator. you know, hero by de facto, but uh it has to be Bam. Like Bam has to be the guy who take that leap. And like fans are already frustrated with him. You know, fan fans being fans, they they hate the contract, etc. He’s just a glorified role player. It’s just that he does so many things well, they kind of overlook those little things and then he just doesn’t score enough. And so they need him to be more productive. And I think that’s where he can really carry this team. It’s his team now. No Jimmy Butler. There’s no other excuses here. You had the the emotional hangover from last season. You’ve got to be able to find a way to to kind of move on past it and he has to be the one to kind of take this team to the next level, whatever that level might be. So I mean they could be the Raptors though, right? It’s like they need Bam Scotty to be what they’re paid to be, right? And then they’ll be good. Absolutely. The Hornets, is it the same thing for LaMelo? They need him to be who he’s paid to be. No, I think he’s gone. They’ve gone to full lame of experience. I don’t know what you’re talking about. I kind of want to believe in the Hornets, but I can’t. I just can’t. They’re not. It’s it Charlotte I mean LaMelo needs to be a winning basketball player like that. That’s like he needs to actually I mean he’s got to fill up a stat sheet. He’s going to play well. Can somebody drop a 67 reference? I was I was I was hold I was holding one in David but now no I won’t do it. What about future want to mention it? What about future team USA member Coniple? He’s a rookie. You guys heard you guys heard the Bill Simmons. Bill Simmons was like, “I’m predicting that Conan will make Team USA in 2028.” I was like, “In 28?” What a weird prediction and also so funny. Cooper, I thought I thought like in the 2030s or so, three years from now. Khan Khan was pissed about it. He was like, “Why why would he why would he say that? I I don’t need that pressure.” It was It’s crazy. I love I love Duke goes to Cooper. Oh, I mean that but by then there’s a bunch of old guys are gonna be out by then. But I mean it’s you’re still gonna have Cade, Paulo, Bam, Chat, Jaylen Williams will probably be on that team. Tyrese Tyrese will probably be on that team. Is anybody I think Jaylen’s out. Anybody buying into the Wizards taking a little step forward? a step forward in that they have like serious veterans that are going to help young players play better, but they’re still way too young to do anything of consequence. And like like these other teams, they I I really like the talent of Washington. Like I love Bal Koulali before his injury. I thought he took some really big steps. I thought Sar got better. The four times that I saw the Wizards during the season with the Magic, I thought Sar got better every time I saw I saw them play. they were held back by just like the Jordan poolness of that team. Um I think I think they’re a team that needs that like like so many of these other teams we’ve talked about for the last 10 minutes. They need that like clarifying star to make everything make sense and and I don’t think they have that. I wasn’t a big fan of Trey Johnson coming out of the out of the draft process. Um I I like having CJ McCullum. I like having Chris Middleton. Those are serious vets. are going to teach those kids um you know how to be pros in ways that Kyle Kousman and Jordan Pool certainly were not. Um they they they need they need that clarifying star but but I like the direction Washington’s going. That was that was your introduction to the NBA your vets Jordan Pool and Kyle Koosma. They had Mark Marcus Smart Malcolm Brogden for part of the season. There were some other guys. Oh my. Is there a team we haven’t talked about? The uh the Brooklyn Nets. Boo. One of us is going to be getting a 10day from them at some point this season. So yeah, they’re really bad. That’s your third team. That’s your third team in all these trades we’re talking about though. Like they are going to be praying that any one young player looks a little better than last year. That’s it. That’s pretty much the whole season. Yeah, but they they should they should be a third team, but they messed that up this off seasonason. Like they could have been a third team a couple times. I don’t know what what they get this off seasonason for all their caps. They got Trey Man and two really good picks. That seems they got five rook They got five first round picks. Five rookies. Yeah, they’re none of none of whom are good apparently. None of them are. Yeah, their draft specifically was bad. They’re all baby rotation level. Yeah, they’re they’re Brook Brooklyn’s going to be the worst team in the East. Let’s Can we all agree on that? Easily. Yeah. No, I think I think Charlotte could be worse. Charlotte could be worse than No, Charlotte has got players. Real NBA players like Brandon Miller. Brandon Miller. They also won 19 games last year. The Bulls are going to lose every game. Injuries are the only thing that we missed. We got everybody right. Space injuries. They they fall apart completely and then they tank because they don’t, you know, it’s valuable for them to sit guys instead of trying. The Brooklyn there’s there I I can’t think of one interesting thing about Brooklyn. Wow. Wow. Other than other than End it. End it. Other than Yeah. No, I can’t think. I I even like Cam Porter like being unleashed to not care in Brooklyn. Think about all the Uber rides that are going to be taken by Michael Porter Jr. this year. All of those will be interesting. That’s like the 10th most insane thing he said in the last two months and it was like ridiculous. It was like the most innocuous thing he said on like all the leadup to the season. He said it on media day. So dumb. All right, that’s what the East goes through. There’s a link in the description where you can find all these great shows locked on Nick Knicks, locked on Pacers, locked on Magic, locked on heat, any single team with going all throughout and is local experts like you’ve heard here all the time on it. Um, if you disagree with some of us, go back to those shows and and report back and see and see what those hosts say about everything that we just said here. Guys, thanks so much for hanging out with us on lock and be squad show

Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks, Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks, Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland Cavaliers, Karl-Anthony Towns, Desmond Bane, Orlando Magic, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, Boston Celtics, Indiana Pacers, and Atlanta Hawks headline this Locked On NBA Squad Show episode previewing the Eastern Conference.

The local experts from the Locked On NBA Channel kick off the Locked On NBA Squad Show East by breaking down which team the Eastern Conference runs through after major injuries to the Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers. Join Nick Angstadt, Tony East (Locked On Pacers), Gavin Schall (Locked On Knicks), Philip Rossman-Reich (Locked On Magic), David Ramil (Locked On Heat), and a cameo from Matt Moore (Locked On NBA) as they debate if the New York Knicks or Cleveland Cavaliers are the true favorites, analyzing their playoff track records, roster upgrades, and coaching changes. The conversation explores how Orlando Magic, with Desmond Bane, fits into the East’s hierarchy, and whether the Atlanta Hawks’ revamped roster can climb into the contender tier. They also discuss Milwaukee’s current scenario with Giannis Antetokounmpo and if a mid-season trade is possible, consider the competitive outlook of other squads like Detroit Pistons and Philadelphia 76ers, and share insights on projected playoff matchups and depth across the conference. Throughout the episode, the hosts offer spirited analysis and big takes about the evolving landscape of the NBA’s Eastern Conference.

0:00 East Preview: Knicks vs. Cavs Favorites
9:16 Cleveland Roster Optimizations
12:04 Giannis’ Future and Milwaukee’s Playoff Scenarios
16:43 Knicks Trade Assets and Giannis Value
19:31 Orlando Magic: True #3 in East?
22:09 Sixers & Embiid Health Doubts
25:26 Atlanta Hawks’ Offseason Moves
33:45 Detroit Pistons: Underrated Threat
36:15 Heat’s Best-Case Scenario
42:06 Toronto Raptors’ Depth and Playoff Potential
46:04 Charlotte Hornets: Lamelo’s Development
48:32 Wizards’ Youth Movement and Veteran Influence

49:55 Brooklyn Nets: Worst Team in East?

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