The Shot Clock Pod - Are the Cavs, Knicks, and Magic Better After a Wild NBA Offseason?

The Shot Clock Pod - August 24th_ 2025 === Speaker 4: [00:00:00] And in she goes, Chamberlin charges and shoots outside. Good. There's somebody going through the middle. Nobody goes. Speaker 5: Wil takes in any himself, Speaker 6: puts it in there. Wil did not go in and bump and dislodge people. That was not his Speaker: After a three week break it is time, once again to talk basketball. I miss this. I'm glad to have you back, Steve. Hope you enjoyed your vacation. I'm Jose Salviati, Editor at thePeachbasket. He's Steve Purciello, longtime educator, vice principal, high school basketball coach and athletic director. And this is the shot clock pod, the best 24 minutes of NBA random thoughts online. That's right. If you've been listening for a while, you know that we used to be the best 15 minutes, but we never really made it. So we're expanding the shot clock and it makes sense, right? Players have 24 seconds to shoot, so it makes sense that we have 24 minutes to chat. So that is what we're gonna do. This podcast was born out of the content in Steve's 13 Rules, random NBA Thoughts articles, which he publishes weekly. Steve and I now have [00:01:00] exactly 24 minutes to discuss what's on his mind around the NBA today. We'll discuss his latest 13 rules, ran an NBA thoughts article where he shares his thoughts on the seven most interesting teams in the Eastern Conference. As we get ready for the 20 25, 26 NBA season, let's talk about each of those seven teams. Steve, are you ready? I'm ready. Let's do it. All right. I'm gonna start the clock. And we're off. We're gonna do this in reverse order. So from the seventh most interesting up to the most interesting, about three minutes per team to make that shot clock work for us. We'll start with the Raptors. This is a team. That you've been a little negative on in the past weren't sure what they're doing, but they've collected some good talent. What do you see for the Raptors, Speaker 2: just as you said? I don't think, I think they just tried to get as much talent as possible and they really never thought about how it fits. Because if you think about it, you got Ingram, [00:02:00] you got a bunch of players besides Ingram, quickly and Barrett, they all need the ball. You really don't have, outside of per Jaipur, you really don't have, people who are willing to do the other things on the court besides score. They just amassed a bunch of guys that could put the ball in the basket and then they're just gonna let it and see what happens and hand it over to their coach and say, go ahead, figure it out. I think. Going back Toronto after he traded on an Obi, that's Messiah Uri. After he traded these people on an Obi and Pascal, aka, he had to figure something out and he just started just bringing players in. He since lost his job just, and he bought players and last year trading for Ingram, Brandon Ingram, who's a good player, if he can stay on the court. Is a good move. It's a gamble, but if it works, they're just gonna get better. [00:03:00] But I just don't see how that all fits. I don't who's gonna be the defender who's gonna play go out Grady Dick isn't gonna, he's a shooter. RJ Barrett isn't who quickly isn't who's gonna do this stuff that, that's gonna, help a team. They do have hurdle and get rebounds, but, they just. They're not a good fit to me. I think there's talent enough to become a playing team, but I think that's, unless something miraculous happens or they make a good trade to bring some role players in, this is where it ends up. Speaker: We've been talking basketball together for a long time. 'cause you asked, you answered the question I was about to ask what's their ceiling. So we see them as a playing team. I, I'd agree, but everything's gotta go right for even that to happen. Let's move to the number six. Team you listed is the six most interesting in the East. And this is a team that I think could surprise some folks. And that's the Atlanta Hawks. They've added Pingus Luke Kenard, former Clipper, good shooter, Ika, Alexander Walker. They're all in. And what do you see for the [00:04:00] Hawks? What makes them interesting? Speaker 2: First of all, to do, they do have a Congo as a big but. The unknown is pingus. And when I say unknown, everybody knows he's talented, but is he gonna be on the court? Boston lost in the playoffs last year. You have to wonder if Pingus were healthy, might, would it that have changed it? Again, with Tatum going down, who cares? But you have to wonder about that. But Pingus is a key. And the other key is Trey Young. Trey Young didn't shoot well from three last year, about 34% I believe which isn't real good. He's gotta be a little perturbed because he didn't get a contract. So there's a lot of things going on now, how do you react from that? Do you react by coming out and saying, I'm gonna be the best guy in the league, or do you react saying I'm mad and I don't want to be here anymore? So those are the two, like unknowns, but they did pick up some talent. Dyson Daniels is a hell of a [00:05:00] player. They and Jaylen Johnson is healthy, so they're gonna be, they're gonna be a pretty good team. They're really gonna be a nice team. And they'll get, they'll do better if they can keep Pingus on the court. And Trey Young comes back and has something to prove. Supposedly he and Quinn Snyder have a very good relationship. And if that were the case, maybe Snyder can get something out of him. And I just wanna mention something about Quinn Snyder. I know he's highly recognized as an outstanding coach. The clock's ticking. When are you gonna win? If you're, he was with Utah, they didn't quite get there. Now he's here and the clock's ticking. It's a couple years now. And where are you going? You're barely making the playoffs when you do make it. Yeah. Speaker: Yeah, coaching is so difficult. You have some coaches who, let's say, stumble into a championship and then live off of the, live off of that IE doc Rivers, for decades and decades. Or you get somebody like Quinn Snyder [00:06:00] who is, by all accounts, a really good coach, but just can't seem to get over the hump. That's tough. Hoping for good things in Atlanta. I'm intrigued. I think that's a very interesting team. Let's move to number five. I just realized my, yeah, my, my numbering in your article is off. I'll fix that. But number five, team, most interesting team, the Milwaukee Box. This is a world championship team. They've got one of the best players in the world on their team for now. What makes the box interesting? Speaker 2: First of all, I think the dark rivers. He did win a title. He did win a title. He's not a dumb man. And I think if he looks at that team, he realizes one thing and he found it later in the year. Last year. Put the ball in Gianni's hands, get out of his way, let him play. Speaker 3: And Speaker 2: in other words, like a point forward or whatever you might wanna call 'em the pieces around them. Kyle Uzman never really. He was terrible for them. [00:07:00] Porter you never know because he's got his own problems. They did go out and get Miles Turner and they got rid of Damien Lillard. Miles Turner is a nice basketball player. Miles Turner is not a very great basketball player. He's a nice player. I don't see him changing the complexion meaning I, I see them as like a 45 to 50 win team on a good year. And the only hope they have as Giannis takes it and runs away with it and has one of the best years of his life and that makes them a little bit better. I don't see. I just don't see enough there. I don't see, they lost Lopez. They lost Damien Willard. I just don't see them being real good and I see them as like on the other side of the mountain. And it's only that mountain. You're going down the mountain and it's not getting better. You're getting, you're going into a valley really. And they're gonna have some decisions after this year about what to do about [00:08:00] Giannis. 'cause I'm sure he's gonna realize. It ain't working. Speaker: Yeah, and despite all that, it's a lot of doom and gloom there, but you've got them winning 45 to 50 games that, that puts them probably in the, you know what, top four, top five for sure. Each, I say Speaker 2: five or six. But don't forget you're not dealing with a great conference. This isn't a real strong conference. So you're going, with just the strength of Giannis alone is gonna get you some wins. Because, there's a lot of teams that just, they're just not that good. So Giannis should bring it. There's one other piece that I just wanna mention. Doc Rivers earned his bones on defense. I don't know how good a defensive team Giannis can defend, but I, Porter's not a defender. Kyle Uzma, is not, I don't know how the mix works. Meaning, what rivers are these the type of players that rivers would want? To [00:09:00] win with. Speaker: We've talked a lot about, the right fit. And we talked about Toronto and maybe we will see how those fit together. It does make sense and sounds like there's a little bit of a mishmash in Milwaukee, but there's, Giannis is so good that it eliminates some of that Speaker 2: When a team has gone past its peak. And they're trying to hold it up. What happens is general managers or whatever, vice president, whatever they are, they go out and they just get talent. They forget. Speaker 3: Yeah. Speaker 2: If it's going to fit because they're trying to keep the talent, keep the talent level good. And that's what Toronto, Milwaukee they're just bringing in people. They're not thinking about how that'll fit. And I'm gonna use the Boston Celtics. When the Boston Celtics bought Drew Holiday and Pingers in. It was apparent they needed both of those things and they bought those players and they fit perfectly with what the Celtics were trying to do. Speaker: Yeah. [00:10:00] Speaker 2: In this case, I don't know if Mile Miles Turner was probably the best player out there, so they went out and got him at a decent price, but they went out and got him figuring that's the best player we can bring in. Not thinking, will this work. And that, that's, the problem. I can make a comparison with the Lakers, with Deandre Aton, same idea. Is he gonna fit with Luca? I don't know. But that's the best guy you can get right now. Speaker: We'll see the, we'll see how things work out in Milwaukee. The Bucks on their way down as a franchise, as this put together team. The Pistons though. If they're going in the other direction, they're on the way up. You've got them as the next most interesting team in the East, and I'm a big fan. I love watching Detroit play basketball. What's going to be interesting about them in the new season? Speaker 2: If you're a basketball fan, they are the latest edition of the Bump and Grind Memphis teams of [00:11:00] the, 15 years ago. They defend bicker staff does a great job with him. They defend, he's got them playing hard, I think. They're a little bit away. They need to develop a second star. Jay Nevy could be it. Who else? Holland is a nice player. I don't think he's a star. O Sar Thompson is a great defender. He's not a great shooter. But they need a second guy that can go out and get them 20 at night every night. Cade Cunningham's real good. He's really good, and to me, for them to do well, you need a second. He needs a running mate. A good running mate. Yeah. There's a lot of teams. The Clippers are a good example of a bunch of decent players, although they do have Kauai when he's healthy, but they have a bunch of decent players. Decent players don't play well every night, and you're gonna have those nights where you don't have it when you have it. Kate [00:12:00] Cunningham's gonna bring it every night. Who else is gonna bring it every night for them? I don't, yeah know. I think Jalen Duran is another one. Could be on the verge, but I don't know if they really are there. And that's why I think they're going to be a disappointment to a lot of people this year because they're not gonna be as good as everybody. In other words, they might become a real good team in the next couple years. But instead of slowly going up the ladder, this could be a year where no, we gotta reconsider and rethink. And last year might have been way more successful for a lot of reasons. A, the league, the Eastern Conference wasn't strong and they snuck in. That's a big reason. And they defended and they played hard every night. Not every team that's a good team, plays like that every night. So they snuck up on a bunch of people. I don't know if they're gonna sneak up on people this year. So all factors all come into it. They are a great watch because they defend and they play hard. Yeah. [00:13:00] But that might not work 'cause I don't see them sneaking up on anybody. Speaker: Yeah. Alright. Interesting. I, I'm all in with the Pistons, but yeah, it's, they're at that point now, a fork in the road. They either make that move or, they don't, Speaker 2: No, they're gonna be fine, but I don't know if it's right away. And you being all in, you're all in with the Lakers. So then what does that mean? No, just because Speaker: I'm all, I'm in LA doesn't mean I'm all in with Lakers. Speaker 2: Oh, come on. That's all you got. That's not a Speaker: line you can draw. Speaker 2: Look, I brought it up today. 'Cause I waited 15 minutes for you to bring it up. You'll bring up the Lakers at some point. I haven't brought up the Lakers. Speaker: I didn't, I bring up the Lakers, the Clippers. I didn't bring up the Lakers. Okay. Let's talk about a team that made a big splash in the off season. And that's the Orlando magic. This is a team that I can't remember the last time they made a big splash like this. Bring it in. Desmond Bain. Big splash. You've got them as the fourth most interesting team. This is a good young team. What do you see for the magic? Speaker 2: I could see them getting to the conference finals. Really [00:14:00] I think if Ben Carro and Wagner continue to improve and they're only gonna get better if they continue to improve Lookout League. Ben Carroll's gonna be a top 10 player. Wagner's good. This is a nice duo. And now you had a Desmond Bain who's tough and a good player. And don't forget, Jalen Suggs was out. The playoffs last year, Jalen Suggs was the heart and soul of that team. So now you're bringing those two back with the o, with those two, with the two stars. You are good. And Suggs provides the defense on the court that is pretty good. And they have a pretty good guy coming off the bench. Jonathan Isaac, who's not a bad defender is as well, so they've got some talent. And Wendell Carter's another they've got talent. They're legit. I don't know if the league realizes that they are, don't forget, Ben Carroll's only been playing two years in the league. How long did it take adjacent Tatum to [00:15:00] become what he was? It took him a lot longer than two years. And this guy's already climbing that ladder and Franz and Wagner, he's a player. He's legit. So they're good. And Desmond Bain, of course, was, and they got three legit scores that are gonna go out every night. And people can't, you can't lose sight of how good they can be. Yeah, that's, my, my Tencent Speaker: take no and I butchered the ordering. You've got them as the third most interesting team, and this is a team. I'm surprised to hear you say they could reach the finals or the con conference finals. That would be great for Orlando. That'd be great. For the NBAI, I would love to see a, a team, we talk about this before, right? As a gm, it's such a tough decision. You get good people from the draft. You either keep 'em, nurture them, watch them grow, or you trade 'em off for somebody else. And I like watching teams stick with the, the people they brought in and that's what they're doing in Speaker 2: hardest thing. The hardest thing for them is going to be. [00:16:00] Do they wanna pay the money? Because in a couple years, those guys, they're gonna be well into the second apron. Yeah. Are they willing to do that? Orlando's never been known to spend a lot, so that would be the biggest thing. And you're hoping or would bank car. He's gonna make ridiculous money in a couple years. It, it's early. It's early in his career, and you're looking you're gonna be spending a lot of money. Speaker: Yep. Yep. Let's see how things play out in Orlando. Let's move on. We're the shuck clock is winding down. This is a very interesting team. The team hasn't won anything, I think since 1970, the New York Knicks. But this team looks good. They've got a star. What do you see for the Knicks? Speaker 2: First of all, it was 73. And I think they beat who the heck? Oh, it was the Lakers in the finals that year. Okay. They beat the [00:17:00] Lakers, but hockey, I think they're a pretty good team. They made some great additions with Clarkson and Elli. Now they have a bench. They have to decide if they're gonna start Mitchell Robinson or Josh Hart. One way or the other is a big decision 'cause. Carl Anthony Towns probably better as a four than a five. So maybe Robinson, but that's a decision that Mike Brown has. I wouldn't wanna be Mike Brown because a lot of pressure. Tim's got him to the finals conference finals. He's gotta, he's gotta do. But putting aside in the Eastern Conference, I'd make them the favorites. However, I don't think. There's something not there that they need one more piece of something to get them over the top as a true championship team. Now, that's not to say somebody doesn't get hurt in a play, during the season and pushes them up, but I don't, when you compare them with previous champions over the years, I don't see 'em [00:18:00] as, as good as some of those championship teams. That's why I say that, but. In a week Eastern conference. They definitely could, are the best team in the conference. It's an interesting situation to, to and it's gonna be interesting to see how Mike Brown plays it. And the other thing too, that they need to do, they've got two pretty good offensive, great offensive players in towns and brunson. Yeah. A lot of times teams get these two good, they never learn to play together. They play. In other words, my turn your turn. Sure. And Nicks have to bridge that and then they have to figure out how they can get them together to play. And that's an important piece. And the other thing too, defensively, again, you've got two bad defenders on the court at the same time in Brunson. And that's not a positive, that's why I think they're a little bit short of [00:19:00] being a true, great team, but they're good. Speaker: Yeah, so you're mi you're saying that they're missing something. You can't quite put your finger on it, but it might just be, maybe an Alex Caruso type energy guy, maybe a wing defender. Something's missing, but they're like really close. Is that what I'm hearing? Speaker 2: I think they're close, but I don't, I just think they need something. I don't, here let me give it in a different direction. Carl Anthony Towns is a great offensive player. Brunson's a great offensive bru. Brunson's probably a top 10 player in the league. Towns the top 20. This is like crazy, but if they were able to trade a towns for a defensive big, who can score? They get hurt so often they play drop coverage and towns can't defend anybody and he's dropping into the paint and they get hurt off of that. So often when he does come out and they don't play the drop, he just gets blown [00:20:00] by so there's just something that just, you know they, the old adage, you need, you can't have too bad defenders on the court. There's so many things there that are just not right. In that way. Alright. Speaker: Alright, let's let's wrap this up with the number one most interesting team in the Eastern Conference. This is a team that just absolutely dominated the NBA regular season for most of the season, and then fell apart in the playoffs. The Cleveland Cavaliers. What do you see for the calves in the new season? Speaker 2: There's so many interesting things. First of all, they lost two good players and Caris Lavert and Ty Jerome. Ty Jerome was exposed in the playoffs 'cause he couldn't defend. Caris T's a good bench player. They lost them. They put some money at the Sam Merrill, who's a pretty good shooter as your guard. You have to remember, Garland gets hurt a lot. Mitchell's out a lot. So those are problems that they're going to have with that. Max Stru a nice third, third wing [00:21:00] or whatever. Nothing great but good. But then Mobley is just getting better and better. I think the biggest issue here very simply is Donovan Mitchell Donovan Mitchell he's great offensive player. However, when we get to the playoffs. It's been in Utah and now with Cleveland. Yeah. He hasn't really come through. And I think the question becomes is Donovan Mitchell he's a star, but is he a real star? He's gotta produce The betting is against him. I'll bet against him. So I don't know what the Cavaliers will do, but I don't, it'll surprise me if they're talented, but it'll surprise me. If they get, to the NBA finals. Speaker: Interesting common denominator now. We went back to Utah twice first with Quinn Snyder. And that kind of gorilla on his back. And Donovan Mitchell's got the same gorilla. It's the same thing on his back. They can't win the big games. Speaker 2: Yep. And this year for Cleveland, even if they [00:22:00] got beat in the conference, finals getting beat in the second round. Indiana is not good after they won all those games. It just it didn't, it just didn't look good for them. And again, you can get beat in the, it just, it looks like they didn't come through. Now, I know Darius Scarlin was hurt, but they still should have beaten Indiana, to be honest with you. Judging from the regular season. Speaker: Yeah. So what do you see for the Cavs in the new season? Speaker 2: I would hope they get to the conference finals, but I'm not, I wouldn't put much money on that, okay. Cautiously optimistic, cautiously pessimistic. Speaker: Oh, okay. Okay. Speaker 2: It's almost a situation. You gotta prove it. You gotta prove it. Yeah. Speaker: All right. Now check this out. The buzzer, [00:23:00] this is the first time since we've been doing this show and I don't know how long it's been now that we literally got done with everything, but we beat the buzzer. We beat the buzzer. This is the first time I'm standing Speaker 2: it. It's kinda longer time. That's why. Speaker: Yeah we could never do 15 minutes, but 24 maybe. That's our sweet spot. Outstanding. You heard the buzzer go off. We hit all seven teams. That was an interesting conversation. This is gonna be an interesting conference this season to be sure. Maybe next time we'll talk about the West. I don't make sure. Week, next week. There we go. Perfect. Make sure that you like subscribe, chat, follow, do whatever y you can. All that stuff helps us a ton and we enjoy it. We enjoy hearing from you. Make sure also to read Steve's entire 13 rules around MMB, thoughts, article, this, that's basically, not basically, but exactly what this is based out. Once that posts, you'll know where his seven most interesting Western conference [00:24:00] teams land before the show. Now, next week happy to announce that in addition to the shot clock pod, Steve and I are gonna be hosting we did this last off season as well. 13 rules over time. And that's our off season show. Last season, we were able to chat with, world Champion. We were able to chat with an NBA referee. This season we're gonna discuss the off season acquisitions and expectations for certain NBA teams. Next week we're gonna talk about the San Antonio Spurs, and we hope to have some San Antonio Spurs experts from the Spurs. ~From the Spurs~ Podcast. We'll share more ~with that, share, share more~ about that as we get closer. To~ to ~next week, but please stay tuned for that as well. Until then, thanks for joining Steve. Appreciate the time. We'll talk next week. Take care.