13 Rules: Heat Injury Controversy, Hawks Strategy, Suns Redemption, and Warriors Dynasty Questions

Untitled project from SquadCast === ​[00:00:00] Jose: Alright, it's time to talk basketball, specifically playing and playoff basketball. I'm Jose Salviati, Editor at thePeachBasket.net. He is Steve Purciello, longtime educator, vice principal, high school basketball coach, athletic director, tired of making decisions, and the host of Celtic Chalk Talk. Celtic Chalk Talk is a pod dedicated to the latest news and opinions surrounding the Boston Celtics. From a lifelong fan, Steve, the pod will drop new episodes every Monday, but this is the Shot clock Pod, the best 24 minutes of random NBA thoughts online anywhere. This podcast was born outta the content of Steve's 13 rules random NBA Thoughts articles which he publishes weekly. Steve and I have exactly 24 minutes to discuss what's on his mind around the NBA today. We'll discuss his latest 13 rules ran NBA Thoughts article. Where he shares his random thoughts after the playing games and the start of the 20 25, 26 NBA season. Now, before we get into it. If you're listening, if you're still here, we're grateful and we [00:01:00] want you to know that this is an independent, fan driven show, which is a part of the Peach Basket podcast network. We're not owned by a big media company, which means what you hear comes straight from real fans who live this game every day. If you believe voices like this should be heard, the best way to support us is simple. Keep listening. Tell a friend when this episode ends. Head over to the Peach basket podcast network.com. Head over to the peach basket.net. Check out more fan run podcasts and help this independent network grow the way it started organically. One hoops fan at a time. We're grateful for your support. Thank you. Steve. Are you ready? Steve: Let's do it. Jose: Let's go. Clock is. Going. Alright, we're gonna bounce around today a little bit. You've got some great content like you always do, and we're gonna talk about it, but we also had the start of the playoffs and I wanna talk about that too. But I wanna start with probably the biggest news coming out of the play in and it's unfortunate news. And [00:02:00] different people see it different ways. You seem to have a clear cut opinion. And this is the La Mellow takedown of Bam out of bio. I didn't see it live. I saw the replays. And when you slow things down, I think you'll lose context a little bit. So I don't have an opinion, but you do. What did you see? What should have happened? Steve: It's interesting. I don't consider what Mellow ball a dirty player. People get in situations like he was, you see a lot, and he was on the ground and he just reached out and tripped out of, grabbed his ankle and tripped him. Jose: Yeah. Steve: it was a dirty play. was a The NBA has a thing where if they stop action at that point, they can go to the. And look, go and see if he, what was going on. But the game went on, it went down the court and so on. And with Adebayo down, Miami had a, call Time out, I believe, and so on. And then [00:03:00] they couldn't look at it. So Adebayo is gone 'cause he's hurt. Jose: Yeah. Steve: Melo plays the game and ironically, he makes the winning shot win the game. Jose: Yeah. Steve: I understand, and I think the NBA probably in the off season will look at that rule and say, they have a right to go back if something like this happens because the NBA the next day said he should have been thrown outta the game and so on. Which the NBA being canned, it doesn't help them. Jose: Yeah. Steve: I just, I don't think Mello, I think he's harmless. I think he's a kid and he, he plays, but it didn't show well on him. it was not part of the game, let's put it that way. So I was disappointed in him, would be the best way. And my take is, I believe he cost Miami a chance to move on. Jose: Dang. Yeah. And it, it's hard to hear. I get it. I understand it. Listen, I played, you played, obviously, we've never [00:04:00] played at that level, but I can't remember in my life playing every, any sport really where I didn't intentionally. Make a move, everything is thought through, things happen quick, of course, but every thought is intentional. And I just can't imagine that wasn't, I don't know what his intent was. But he intentionally reached his hand out, that's for sure. No intent to hurt him. But what was the idea there? Just it, it baffles me. I can't make sense of it. And I'm trying to. Steve: We're going off of it. I can tell you what I'm about and I can tell you what I believe in, but when it's that split second. And you're doing something without thinking about Jose: Yeah. Steve: in or what I'm like, tells you everything about that person. I lost a lot of a great deal of respect for Noah Ball, who I Jose: Yeah. Steve: was beginning to play with the team and do all the right things, but that just, it was uncalled for and he should [00:05:00] have been out of the game. Jose: Yeah, that's a deep, the old adage is whenever you know, there's pressure, the real you comes out and maybe that's a little bit of something La Melo has to deal with. Who incidentally was involved in an odd, accident where he just left and, we don't need to go down that rabbit hole, but, alright, that's over Miami heats and we'll talk about them. Hopefully we'll get to them a little bit 'cause you've got some thoughts on the heat down the line. But now let's pivot. And let's talk about the playoffs. We'll see if we can go back and forth. We're gonna just take a series and then go back to one of the things in your your article. Let's start with the Raptors in the Cavaliers. Now, to me, the raptors are a feel good story. This is a team that wasn't supposed to be good. They're good. They're in the playoffs. Do they have a shot? They're down. Oh one. The calves beat 'em in in, in game one. What do you see in that series for specifically for the raptors? Steve: I don't see a shot. Jose: At all. Okay. Steve: no I five games maybe. I just. you said it's a, it is a feel good story if you're a Toronto [00:06:00] fan, 'cause it's a good city and a good place for basketball. However, they've been building this for a couple years now. Take a look at what they have. Tell me how much better that's gonna get. I don't see much better. Jose: Yeah. Steve: And that tells me something. Unless there's major change, they just ha they just resigned Pearl for big money. Nobody wants him big money, meaning 25 or so, and for a couple more years, and he's always hurt. So that's your big man. It just it's not a great situation. In the second half yesterday, and this, I questioned your coach. Because in the second half, Ingram took one shot. Brandon Ingram's the best offensive player. Jose: Yeah. Steve: what are you doing? And Ingram said he was supposed to be the screener and so on. Are you kidding? Are you kidding? It's like the Lakers taking LeBron last night and saying, you don't shoot you. You're going to like a decoy. Come on. That's all we got. We gotta use it. [00:07:00] But so I just don't, I don't see it. Jose: Yeah. Interesting. All right. So we've got our first prediction. You're thinking five games, CALS over raptors. Okay, fair enough. Let's go back and talk about a team that we've talked about quite a bit over the course of this season. This is a team with high aspirations, didn't quite meet 'em, limped into the playoffs but they're there. That's the Orlando Magic. You had some nice things to say about them. Are the Orlando magic back and do you see a run in them in the playoffs? Steve: First of all, if you're paying any attention to my predictions you'll realize I thought good things were gonna happen to Orlando. So that tells you Jose: Yep. Steve: The I think the series is gonna be just, it's going to, there'll be long games, a lot of whistles. They're just, unless the referees let 'em go, because they're just gonna beat the hell out each other. It's gonna be physical. I it's gonna be, back in the nineties type games, 95, 90 type games, I believe met the magic half talent. of talent, [00:08:00] but I don't know if it's all in the same direction, I guess would be the best way to put it. And I just, because of that, I just think if they didn't straighten out, straighten themselves out over 82 games, I dunno if they're gonna straighten it out in seven. Jose: Yeah. Steve: I'm using logic, which sometimes doesn't work, but that's why I just think Detroit will win. Jose: Let's spend a little bit of time on this. Let's call this bonus topic, because it fascinated me when Cade went down. I think we talked about it briefly last week when Cade went down. That was supposed to be the start of the end for the Pistons not the end of their season. But the end of their rise. The end of their owning the east. They not only owned the east, they won the east and they got better. How did that happen? Without their best player? Steve: What's his name? Dennis Jenkins played well Jose: Yeah. Steve: and they real, they lost of course, Cade's grade, so they lost something but he was able to fulfill that position and do it well. and the rest of those guys are decent basket and Jalen dur is gonna be a max player [00:09:00] probably. But the Those guys are decent players. good players to some extent. And not great, not stars, but good players and they've all Jose: right. Steve: well, so that I think did it. And they go 10 deep. If of their players isn't playing well, he got plenty of other people to choose from. Jose: Yeah. Steve: they have probably he and his brother are the best two man defensive combination Sarah Thompson. He could shut people down they're not, they're not bereft of talent, I guess would be the word to Jose: Yeah, I gotta tell you, I got chills and I'm over emphasizing it a little bit, but I got chills when you said they're not great. They're not stars. They're the Detroit Pistons. Flashbacks to 2004, right? Not great, not stars, but they're the Detroit Pistons and they mocked their way, and I shouldn't say mocked. They legitimately beat. Steve: But that's what goes on in those games. you are looking to watch [00:10:00] basketball, where guys go up and down the court, shoot, not many whistles play. You are watching the wrong series because there will be whistles to, Orlando does the same thing. They muck it up. Van Carro, who's been a disappointment this year. Tries to go to the basket all the time. There's gonna be whistles on that. There's just so many things going on where everything comes down to physical. If you think of the two teams, the only good three point shooter on both teams is Desmond Bain. Think about that. So you, what Jose: Wow. Yeah. Steve: might have a hot night, Overall, probably Bain. So what are you gonna have? You're gonna have a lot of mucked up games. And that's Jose: Yeah. Steve: did all year. And they did it well. Jose: How likely are the, I'm sorry, I stepped on you there. How likely are the 2026 Detroit Pistons to match the 2004 Detroit Pistons? Steve: If I remember right, they beat they had an easy finals, so they didn't really have it that rough, Detroit, [00:11:00] 2014. I don't think. They got lucky. They get Cleveland next round. I think they should be able to beat 'em. It'll be a tough series. It'll become a game where finesse against physical basketball and who's gonna win out. But I don't think the Knicks of Boston would lose to them in a series. Jose: Okay. Alright, outstanding. Let's go on now. We talked about your topic. Now let's. Pivot back to the playoffs. I think probably the toughest matchup in the west is the nuggets and the Timberwolves. We talked about the Timberwolves last week. They check every box in terms of what past champions have had. And there is an account on TikTok that's predicting. Based on analytics alone, that the Timber Worlds are gonna win it all because they're, top defense. They've got one of the top players, top offense, top three point score, all in the top 10, which every champion in the past, we went over this last week, [00:12:00] but they lost to the Denver Nuggets. How do you see that series playing out? Steve: You are gonna learn everything in the second game if Minnesota's competitive and if they win, they lose. I think it'll probably go six. If they win, it could be a long seven game slog. I thought going in the two teams, six good teams in the West, I thought the two teams that would be out would be Houston and Minnesota in the first round to get it down to the four teams. Reason being, I think Houston just hasn't put it together all year. They've struggled and Minnesota struggled as well. They could beat anybody on any night and then on another night they can lose to anybody. It's not a consistent team and there's some talent. So that's why I looked at it and thought that, and I still believe that, Houston is lucky. They're playing the Lakers and the Lakers are beat up and Denver Minnesota's beaten Denver. So I think there's a belief that they can beat them [00:13:00] in there, so it's an interesting. Situation, but I just I think Denver will prevail. Jose: Six. In six or seven. Steve: I'd say six. Jose: Six. All right. Alright. Outstanding. Yeah I I'm not sure about that one. There's always a first round matchup where you hate to see a team lose, because these are two good teams that should be meeting this early. But that's just the west has got good teams and that's how it, that's how it plays out. Alright. Speaking of good teams. I'm staying in the West. You wrote about this, we wrote an article about it on the Peach Basket as well. And that is the apparent probably with 99% certainty, end of the Warrior's Dynasty. And anytime something like this ends, it's hard to watch. It they dynasties tend to. Wait or fade out. They don't just end. And we've seen the slow fading out of the Warrior's Dynasty. I was surprised that they couldn't be Phoenix, frankly. But they're done. So what do you [00:14:00] see in the future? And let's take a little minute to appreciate what they did. This is a phenomenal team that changed basketball really. Steve: Curry's is just a great player. Draymond Green is probably. One of the best role players that has ever played the game. And a tremendous defender. Look at the job he did on Ka Kauai the other night cur. Be interesting to see if he does want to come back. I think he will of Curry. But I think you know that's, nothing's definite on that. But I, it was a great, it was a great run. They're a great team. championship, when they beat Boston was nice. It was at 23, I don't know what year it was, but they, when they beat Boston was a nice bow where everybody played. The one thing that bothered me through all this, they haven't mentioned much about the third guy along with green and and curry. who's that? it's Clay Thompson and that bothers me 'cause he was just Instrumental as the other two. [00:15:00] Maybe not as much as Curry, but as instrumental as Draymond in his day. Don't forget, I think he set the record for points in a quarter, all that good stuff. You realize I, I wish he would, begin to get some of the credit and being a sentimental. Person, I'd love to see them bring him back for if those guys come back, him come back for his last year of his contract. Jose: Yeah. Yeah. It's the, I get what you're saying. I think it's one of those tough situations where, he's on another team, so you're just not gonna get into love right now. These are the kind of things that you tend to appreciate after, 10 years from now when they have everybody back in for this great big reveal of a statue or something. I, KD might be back clay will be back and that's when San Francisco can rise up and really appreciate him. Steve: The future though is interesting because Butler's probably gonna be back next year. Jose: Yeah. Steve: about LeBron. Meaning they're gonna, they're gonna get the old gang riding again Jose: come on. Steve: Play the playoffs and play well. But the problem is, as we've talked [00:16:00] about many times when guys are in their thirties playing 60 games in the season's big 'cause If they're have prominent roles on their team, they, meaning they're getting over 30 minutes a night they're not, they're just not healthy. They can't stay healthy. Jose: Yeah. The LeBron rumors to Golden State. I get it. The idea of watching LeBron and Steph play together, it is cool. Undeniably cool, but I Don't know, man. Steve: would've been great 10 years ago. Jose: Un undeniably amazing 10 years ago. Alright, let, what we're gonna do now is we're gonna mesh together two things. One article that you or a snippet in your article that you wrote and a game, this is what I mean by that you wrote that the Atlanta Hawks tanked wrong. And I'll let y'all read the article to to get the details of what Steve's thoughts were there. But they got. The New York Knicks and you surmised that it might be because of one particular player, that player, a Congo, had a good game [00:17:00] against the Knicks, but they ended up losing. How do you see that series playing out? Nicks versus Atlanta Steve: I think it's a tough series. I think Atlanta's good. They Jose: really? Steve: They do need to sign CJ McCollum but they will get better. But they do need, and they also need a big ocon was six nine. When I thought about this going into Sunday last week, I said, wait a minute. Why is it Atlanta sitting everybody out? They need to win to play Cleveland? wanna play the Knicks? And I thought about it a while. I said what reason would you want, they just got beat at home by the Knicks about a week or two before. What would make you wanna do that? And the only thing I can come up with O Cargo is six nine. He can shoot he, he could do certain things on the court, but he's six nine and we'll keep coming back. He's six nine and Jock Land, Dale is their only. Big that's in reserve and he's out. He's got a bad ankle and he's out. So [00:18:00] now you are going against towns and Robinson. Are you picking that because Townsend Robinson rarely play together, although they did last night, Play together. Are you choosing that because there's only one on the court at the time as opposed to Cleveland having Mobley and Jared Allen. How the hell are you gonna guard it? I don't know. So are they choosing it for that reason? I don't quite know. And the thing about the silliest thing is lot of guys sit out on, on the Sunday, last Sunday, outside of somebody getting hurt in that game, they've got a week off. Why not play? So I just it thought about it. I don't think Atlanta's good enough to beat the next, I think they can give 'em a problem or two, but I don't think they're good enough to beat them. But it just doesn't, I, I couldn't find any other reason in my mind why you would do that. Jose: Somebody somewhere saw an advantage. An advantage they had against the Nicks that they didn't have against the calves. Steve: But the thing I keep [00:19:00] thinking about is two weeks ago they played in Atlanta a lot better than playing in New York. And Jose: Yeah. Steve: by about five, three points when McCollum shot the ball at the buzzer and went in, but it But they lost at home. So if you're losing at home, you gotta beat the next once in New York to win that series. sounds pretty rough to me, but. Jose: Yeah. Steve: Maybe the thought is we're on a, we're an upstart team and let's think about the future. One last thing too. I think Is a tremendously talented player and a good player. But you know what he needs to do? He needs to take over a game in the fourth quarter. That, then we'll say he's a star. He Jose: Yeah. Steve: done that. He's consistent throughout the game, could shoot the three, could do everything, he puts up great numbers every night. What, if you are the star, remember going back when Atlanta beat the Knicks, Trey Young was a star Jose: Yeah. Steve: just took those games over, and that's what Jalen Johnson has to do. Jose: One of the cool benefits of the [00:20:00] playoffs is you get to start to see who's gonna rise up, right? Who's gonna take that star mantle? We had a guy who led his team in scoring yesterday. Hopefully we'll get a chance to talk about this. The only game we haven't talked about yet, Lakers and Rockets, but that player's likely not a star. There's a distinction there and it's really clear. But let's see if we get to that. If we don't, that's okay. But I do wanna talk about not that game, but instead the Miami Heat. We started talking about them. Let's circle back to these guys, because you think they are a very realistic landing spot for Giannis Satina Cumbo. Why? Steve: think I think it'll be a big mistake for both parties. Wants, he likes Miami. In fact, he just made a comedy. He doesn't like la he likes Miami, I don't, I forgot. He gave some reason but the point, he likes Miami, I would think Milwaukee, all things being equal would, will send him where he wants to go. Jose: Yeah. Steve: If you think about it what's it gonna take to [00:21:00] get Younis? Probably hero, maybe Col ware and a couple draft picks. Okay. Now what do you have left? If you're Miami Jose: Yeah. Yeah. Steve: and you're gonna win with Giannis? No, because don't much around. He might the weather's good and his family might be happy in Miami. It's a good place to be, but by the same token, that might not, you wanna, he wants to, if he wants to win a title, which he says he does, and I believe him, Jose: Yeah. Steve: to a team that's got a lot of depth that can trade some of that depth and still be pretty good. Miami doesn't have a lot of, they've got a lot of nice role players, is what they have. And you know that's him and Bam are not good enough to win it. And then we look at Factor is Giannis misses a lot of games. Now he gets hurt easy. He's getting Jose: yeah. Steve: so you know Jose: I. Steve: gonna have him for 50, 60 games. What are you gonna finish in the [00:22:00] division? So Jose: yeah Steve: it's interesting and I know last thing I'll say in that Pat Riley believes you gotta have a star to win. Jose: sure. Steve: he's gonna be hunting for Giannis if he's not Jose: Yeah. Steve: for Giannis. Jose: If that is the criteria, I need a team with lots of role players that can get rid of half of 'em, but still have enough leftover, to, for Giannis to be good. The only team. And challenge me on this. The only team that can do that are the Oklahoma City Thunder. Who else can give up half their team of role players and still have enough to really sustain the championship? Steve: too. San Antonio probably Got some players. Jose: Yeah. Steve: They got guys like Kelton Johnson on the bench. So they probably could. I didn't think about it deeply. Jose: I. Steve: but I, yeah, there's not many, there's not many Jose: There's not many. That's my point. Steve: Yeah. Jose: And those teams are already really good. Steve: You gotta wait till the playoffs because if one of them has a disappointing finish, Jose: a good point. Yeah. Steve: [00:23:00] is another team that might be able to give away enough to keep winning. with Giannis. It depends on if they wanna give up a Thompson or a Shang Goon, one of them. Jose: Yeah. Steve: that's a big loss. But they've got a lot of talent that. Yoka hasn't really meshed or they haven't meshed. Jose: Yep. You heard the buzzer go off. Just as Steve was finishing his final thought, this would be an absolute perfect way to end it, but we're not gonna end it there. We got one more game to talk about. That is the Lakers, the unbelievable Los Angeles Lakers taking on the the champion aspiration rockets, and they defeated the rockets. And LA is celebrating game one. What do you see in that series? Steve: Why did I think he'd bring up the Lakers? I try and understand. Yeah no. I just Jose: A game. Steve: I'm just trying to understand, the Lakers, were home, Houston. Has [00:24:00] talent, as I just said, but they haven't figured it out all year. They're playing Reed Shepherd who could score, and everybody gets tantalized by his ability to score. I don't know if he can guard me and that's a problem, And Udo is a defensive orient, a defensive. Minded coach. Jose: Yeah. Steve: I think it's gotta be bothering him that, the defense they didn't give up a lot of points last night, but is the defense could be better. I think that bothers him. His initial plan was more or less Shang go would be a four, and Stephen Adams would be to beg he's out. Fred Van Leet would be the point, van Fleet would be the point. And he's out. So got. Something that hangs hat on saying, look, everybody's hurt. So what Jose: Yeah. Steve: But the point isn't so much that the point is, thought Houston would be out. Them in Minnesota wouldn't figure what the other four six teams, [00:25:00] maybe the first doubt. But this series gets interesting with LeBron and so on and Kenard. What I really am surprised about how they left him wide open so often, Kenard. Canards really a one trick pony wide open shoot, Jose: Yeah. Steve: You gotta take that away and, or try to take it away and they didn't. so I think Houston's got too much talent. They'll win the series Jose: Yeah. Steve: earn it unless Don Chick comes back in. Jose: That changes everything. Sure. But yeah, game one is always a game of adjustments, if your coaching staff is doing it right. Game two is a game of adjustments, right against what you saw in game one. So I don't think you're gonna see Luke Kenard. He's the guy we talked about earlier. He led the team with 27. He's not gonna have 27 again. I think Houston Rocky was a good defensive team with good defensive players. They're probably gonna figure out a way to, to lock him down, Steve: You watch a game, if you watch a game and there an outstanding shooter on the court. You learn a lot about preparation by the other team. If you [00:26:00] begin to see him get wide open now naturally on a rebound and a kickout, he's gonna get wide open on that kind of thing. But I'm just talking about when they're running the offense. If they're running the screen and roll for that shooter and they're in drop, the defense is in drop. So that shooter's getting wide open. You like, what are you doing? And I'm gonna use even a, a star, Sam Houser, who's a tremendous three point shooter. I watch a game and I see him getting wide open around the perimeter what? You can't let that guy get off because there's a guy who should get six or seven points and all of a sudden he's getting 15. You got a problem. And so you watch a game and you're looking, and if Kenard is getting wide open. Wait a minute, he lead the league in three point percentage? What are we doing here? What's going on? Did we prepare for however the Lakers might get him open off screens or whatever it is. Are we gonna switch that or how are we going to do it? [00:27:00] So that that's a very important point to consider when you're watching this. Jose: Yeah. And he comes back right to adjustments is if Luke Kennard's gonna go off the same way in game two, that he went off in game one, that's a problem. That's a problem for the Rockets. Steve: Yeah, Jose: Yeah. And yeah, he did. Wow. 47.8. He almost 50%. He's been a good shooter his whole career. Steve: don't Jose: Yeah. Steve: was the first round pick for Detroit, going Jose: Detroit. Steve: believe, when Stan Van Gundy was there, but Jose: Yeah. Steve: a first round pick and why? Because of that shooting ability. And obviously he still got it. In fact, during the year, at the end of the year, the Lakers were down by two with about five, two seconds or whatever left. And Martin, Marcus Smart was taking the ball outta bounds, under the basket. He got wide open, hit a three to win the game. I forgot who it was against, but I'm saying to myself. This isn't Marcus Smart shooting, this is a legit shooter. What are you doing? And I don't wanna take away from Marcus Smart 'cause he does so many things [00:28:00] really well in the court. He's just not a great shooter. Jose: Yeah. Alright. But despite all of that, you're still picking the rockets over the Lakers. Steve: Yeah. I think Duran will be back and I think, everything will get back to normal. Jose: All right. Steve: just aren't good enough to really. This team, not without the other two just don't Jose: Yeah. Yeah. I don't think anybody would argue that some people would argue it, but I'm not. Steve: Probably prob No, I figured you would because you're a Jose: No, no argument from me. But yeah, that's another shot Clock violation. This one is all on us 'cause we had a perfect ending, but we had to talk about the final game. But that's it. Time is up. Thank you for listening. Thank you for watching. Make sure to read Steve's entire 13 rules random NBA thoughts article. We will link it wherever you're watching or listening to this today. And join us next week for more NBA random thoughts as we recap the first round of the NBA playoffs as we march towards the 20 25 26 NBA Champion. We'll talk next week. Steve: See.