@@jonathansykes4986the league was significantly worse during those times. Mentioning Bill is crazy when they were 8-12 teams. When Jordan got drafted there were 23. Look at the league in the 80s magic and bird usually had like 1 real series on their way to the title
i dont think that is not a hot take. the roster is terrible and no answer at coach. their previous failures will probably discourage superstars from joining them for the forseeable future, too
Hot take: the fact that Rob Pelinka still has a job doesn’t make sense. He completely fumbled the roster after the 2020 championship and the Russell Westbrook deal single handedly destroyed the Lakers championship window with Lebron and AD. People excuse him by saying that Lebron had a heavier influence on these decisions than he did, but at the end of the day, he’s the GM and the buck stops with him.
It feels disingenuous to me to claim lebron and only lebron has gm powers on any of his teams. I highly doubt even if that is the case, that lebron would be the only one in history.
So u want to forget that he created that roster, just like the one of the western conference run last year and this year's squad (which honestly is pretty good, they just took part of the season off). The only gripe I'd really have with him is getting and keeping Ham but I think if your superstar demands a trade, especially Bron, there's no gm that would say no.
He’s certainly been bad. You’re the GM. Obviously your superstars have influence, but you have the final say…you and the owner(s). Any sane person would’ve moved Kuzma for Buddy Hield instead of KCP Kuzma Harrell and a FRP for Russ. Then letting Caruso walk was NUTS. LBJ wanted him back, Caruso was willing to take less than Chicago gave him, and he still let him walk. They ended up spending more $ on signing minimums then waiving them, TMLE to Lonnie Walker, Kendrick Nunn, MLE to Gabe Vincent, etc. Then in the AD trade, their pick shot from like 8 to 4 or w/e and they gave up the same package they would’ve if it stayed at 8. At least get something back, maybe no deferral right on that last pick? Then the mismanagement of the cap to where they had to dump Zubac etc. There are way more bad moves, obv signing second rounders to the min instead of using part of TMLE or MLE inspired an entire rule 🤣.
The fact that he hasn't been fired, and the Jeannie and he have been saying NO to LeBron, indicates it was LeBron that pushed for Russ. Sure, Pelinka let Caruso go, but Russ isn't Pelinka's doing and him still being there confirms it.
It’s *Lebron* though. Besides, weren’t Lakers fans saying Pelinka had a masterclass trade deadline last year? And a masterclass offseason? Such an emotionally volatile fanbase
Hot take: just because you average a lot of assists doesn’t make you an elite playmaker there is more to it like how often you turnover the ball or how difficult are the passes you are making to get the assist understanding what the defense is giving you to find openings within the defense to set up opportunities for your teammates also seeing the game 1 step ahead of everyone else to set up teammates for efficient shots and controlling the pace of the game
Also it sounds weird but i feel like there’s also a difference between assists that generally elevate the team and assists that are there for stats. Like some people’s playmaking is meant to get everybody involved on offense and put strain on opposing defenses and other’s its like “I’m just trying get a double double” and doesn’t create that same uptempo pacing and spacing
Can you give an example of who averages loads of assists but isn't a good playmaker? And I don't see how making harder passes=elite playmkaing, like it can but its not one for one, you can be an elite playmaking and do simple passes majority of the time
@@itshurtt395Westbrook trip-dub years. Russel isn’t good at setting the table for others, but he was good at passing out of the double team. He also was good at finding Steven Adams while driving. At that point in time, and before it tbh, when Russ had the ball his goal was to score, not find ways to get it to teammates. We can look at the Durant years and see that Russ’ mentality has been “score, but pass if necessary”. I don’t mean to insult or takeaway from him with that, bc it’s a different skill set to be that much of a scoring problem that you draw the attention he does that allows that space for occasional passes.
@@dwilliams380 I mean russ role wasn't to be a "pass first" typa point guard like a tyrese hali. He still had insane gravity, kicking out to an open man (good look) because he caused a double team, is setting the table for others, you don't need flashy passes or do crazy jokic shit to be a playmaker that's just my take
@sufyaankhan4686 wolves fan here, gobert and the way he screens is unbelievable. He is one of our most important pieces offensively and it sucks that screening isn't really considered when talking about offense.
@@TsdsxSansTSSunStone yeah, NB university kind of talked abt how these guys are statistically the best screeners in the league and how many screen assists they generate. Gobert is near the top of the list
Hot take: 50/40/90 is (slightly) overrated. Here’s what I mean: FG% includes 3PA, so players with higher volume of 3s, even at insane efficiency, will tank their FG%. As a result, the 50/40/90 club rewards players with lower volume on 3s. KD and Bird got it twice while only putting up like 3 3 point ATTEMPTS per game. Meanwhile, Steph Curry, the best 3pt shooter ever and one of the best finishers ever only shot 50% from the field once just because he jacks up WAYYYYY more 3s, like literally more than double anyone else in the 50/40/90 club
@@trentward2725 yes and no, I prefer curry shooting 10 3s than 10 layups for ex, he is gonna make less, but is gonna give me more points, his fg % Will drop tho...he is more efficient, but his fg% Will drop and he not gonna get to 50% because of that, and guys that take less shots get more credit by being closer to that 50/40/90, that's pretty much what og is saying
I think it has to do with the human bias towards round numbers. Shooting 60 38 80 (closer what Jokic or sabonis is at) would totally be comparable. It is kinda similar to the triple double thing, when I’d say 8 rebounds and 11 assists is more impressive
Shout out to rusty for giving explanations instead of shitting on the guy for not understanding what those things mean. Most nba fans will attack someone for not knowing ball instead of actually trying to educate them
Tatum has had quite possibly the most blessed roster for the early years of a career I’ve ever seen; the fact he hasn’t converted to a championship is astounding. If any player he’s compared too was put in his position they probably would have won one with one of these teams.
Are you talking about the people he’s compared to now in their current forms, or those guys when they were the same age as JT. JT has been good enough to be a #1 on a championship team for this year and last year. BOS has TRULY underperformed expectations ONCE since JT was drafted. Not sure why people like to make the case that they’ve been favorites every year. -Favorites 2024 hasn’t happened -Favorite 2023, underperformed -13th in title odds in ‘22, made the finals, with Robert Williams(our most important defensive player injured) -Play-in team in ‘21, lost to BKN with no JB -9th in title odds in ‘20, made the ECF 2019, 4th seed, bad fit, too many mouths to feed, lost in 2nd round -2018, made game 7 of CF with a rookie JT and sophomore JB as our leading scorer. (No Hayward nor Kyrie) Which ones do you disagree with?
He’s been the number 1 option for what now his 4th season … it was kyries team in 2018/2019 , and kembas team in 2020 , tatums been to the finals and was a ankle twist away from potentially making back to back finals in 3 seasons , he’s also been 22-25 so most guys his age would not win in his situation if not all of them he’s compared too lol
@@saveligulas5847 in 2022 I agree with you, Bron was better that season. But last year JT was MORE than good enough to be the #1 on a title team, it was the others that failed him.
I think for international players, their achievements with their national teams matter a lot, and Argentina's 2004 gold medal is the greatest international achievement of at the very least 21st century, and possibly ever
Agreed. Although I will admit in Carmelo Anthony's case I do value that he has multiple gold medals with Team USA. but Argentina gold against USA is worth like 5 USA golds against everyone else.
Hot take: Using championships as a measurement for how good a player is individually is completely stupid and rarely ever accurately determines how truly great a player is/was and we need to use actual in game/other historical statistics to determine how good they are instead of relying on championships as a testament. Players like Steve Nash, Chris Paul, James Harden, TMac, Stockon, Malone etc. Get completely undervalued and their legacy tainted because they didn't win a chip but in reality that doesn't take away from their skill at all and it's much more of a team accomplishment
With all due respect to cp3(was rooting for him in 2021) it's not so much the fact he doesn't have a ring but more so it took him 13 years to make it out the 2nd round, 16 to make it out the west and look at all the blow 2-0 leads
@@trevmorin yeahhhhh and I get it but like the CP0 Rings joke is stupid because everyone knows the inconvenience of him not making it out of the second round was rarely ever his fault. It was always a drop off in skill from the people around him (clippers) or a terrible inconvenient injury (rockets, Suns)
My hot take is that Jalen Brunson has cemented himself as a fringe top-ten player towards the back half of this season. Knicks have been very turbulent and he’s been an incredible leader. Not to mention the fact that he’s been averaging 30 points in the 2024 calendar year.
Hot take: Kawhi and KD should be ranked pretty close to each other all-time. Both have similar accolades and both have similar peaks. Me personally, I’d take prime Kawhi (the year Zaza took him out when he was beating the KD warriors) over prime KD. KD somehow always gets ranked 15-20 spots higher in all-time lists
Hot take- Pacers got fleeced in the Siakam trade. Brown was playing well, and giving up 3 first rounders was far too much imo. Could come back to bite us big time, especially if the team is bad in 2024 or 2026, when the picks are. Plus the team hasn't even gotten better we're just fading into mediocrity in true indiana fashion
Hot take- We give way more weight to Jokic’s efficiency and certain advanced stats that don’t have a Huge impact on the game. Luka is the MVP this year. Only argument for Jokic is the nuggets record. Rusty Explain This- Luka leads the NBA in points generated (points + assisted points) He also leads Jokic in points from assists each game (labeled as appg below) Luka- 59.1ppg generated (34ppg + 25.1appg) Joker 48.5ppg generated (26.1ppg + 22.4appg) Someone in the comments helped me calculate that Jokic’s efficiency leads to 8.82ppg extra in comparison to Luka from his offensive efficiency (shooting efficiency, rebounding, difference in turnovers, etc) But even when including all of those points from his efficiency and adjusting for Luka’s extra turnovers, (58.59ppg generated) Luka is still ahead in his points generated and offensive production. Another factor to this is that Joker plays less minutes a game than Luka . Joker averages slightly more points generated per minute on the floor. In theory if they played the same minutes Jokic total production would be greater than Luka. The problem is that this is in THEORY. In Reality, Jokic doesn’t play enough minutes to beat Luka’s production each game. In THEORY, joker WOULD be more productive if he played more minutes, but in REALITY, Luka has simply been more productive each game and the stats show it. This is why I say that we give too much weight to Jokic’s efficiency, especially when comparing him to Luka. Luka statistically has been more productive this season than Jokic. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.
@@TyWill23I’m not saying it’s not important, I’m saying it doesn’t have as big an Impact as everyone thinks As you can see above, even with the efficiency factored in, Luka has STILL been more productive
@@xlamb7460 experience is everything. Luka is one of those players where I cant help but bet on his team to win any given playoff series. Their last fully healthy matchup this year was a nasty blowout
My hot take: Domantas Sabonis is the most consistent player in the NBA right now. He’s rarely ever injured, and basically guarantees you a near triple double every game he plays. His only real flaw is his turnovers, which is listed as the most in the league as a center. Other than that, he’s essentially a top 3 center on any given night, dominates AD, makes Jokic try, outplays wemby, and scores heavily on Gobert.
Hot take: leadership is the most underrated skill in basketball because there is nothing numbers wise to show it concretely. The main sign of it is winning when not the favorite, but it mostly relies on eye test and other knowledge on the player. It is the main reason why so many mvps win the championships later than their actual mvp season. Notable times leadership beat talent: 2023 Jokic vs suns 2023 Jimmy vs east 2022 curry vs Celtics 2022 Luka vs suns 2021 Giannis vs nets 2018 Lebron vs east 2016 Lebron vs warriors 2011 dirk vs heat 2006 Wade vs mavs 2003 Duncan vs everyone 1995 Hakeem vs everyone 1994 Hakeem vs everyone
Hot take: people underrate a teams staff for winning, as a good head coach is important however a good assistant coach and staff could be just or more important
Hot take: it has become inherently more difficult to build championship level teams around wings than around guards and bigs due to the wings rarely being able to have as much impact on the game as guards and bigs. a championship level team built around a guard sees that guard control almost every intricacy of that team’s offense, and teams built around a star big usually have a big that is an elite scorer, great defender, playmaking hub, controls the glass, and dominates the paint. wings are supposed to be a middle ground on the spectrum between guard and big, but now the furthest ends of that spectrum are what the modern game favors the most.
Nah, I think it’s that embiid and jokic are outliers. I seriously doubt that it can become the norm. Elite court vision is the key talent to these players, and it just happens to have been given to bigs this generation.
@@27泓佑劉idk man, embiid and jokic (and giannis) are the best you can get but there are a lot of great playmaking big men in the league today whose teams just aren’t contending/built around them (sabonis, sengun, bam, wemby, even kat, ad, and porzingis are solid). i think that the modern game is starting to realize the utility of big man playmaking more than ever and now star bigs are either great scorers and playmakers or straight up elite on defense (or all three)
Mavs* had the best playoff run ever. Dirk was amazing and basically unstoppable, but let's not forget Mavs had amazing team chemistry and perfectly assembled roster.
Hot take: the infamous Ben simmons passed up layup was a good play from his perspective and was the pretty smart choice. Also both Doc and Embiid should receive more hate for throwing ben under the bus publicly.
I agree with this , it’s simply basketball, help/ double comes so you give up the ball to the cutter , the real mistake was maybe giving the pass too early
Hot Take: If Kevin Garnett never won a ring he would be the most disrespected NBA player of all time due to the ring bias of a lot NBA fans. This would lead to people overlooking one of the most skilled players of all time and one of the greatest peaks simply because he didn’t win a championship.
HOT TAKE: Rusty you really should look at players international accomplishments when doing all time rankings. Don't get me wrong, nba accomplishments will matter the most, but most Serbians will tell you Jokic isn't the greatest Serbian player ever because he hasn't accomplished anything on the international level yet. These things do matter. Manu's gold medal is a GREAT example. Its arguably more valuable to his legacy then any of his individual nba championship wins.
Hot take: The Lakers should be talked about in a similar light to the Miami Heat when it comes to the playoffs despite their uneventful regular seasons. The Lakers with LeBron and healthy AD have won a title, made it to the conference finals, and were up on the number 2 seed Phoenix Suns before AD got hurt. They aren’t top tier contenders in the west but they should be serious candidates to make it to the conference finals.
Hot take: Rusty putting the timestamps for the takes in the description is the best part of hot takes (that and not using Elon’s Nazi website as the main source)
Hot take, the way to curb the incessant 3 point shooting and takes of “modern basketball doesn’t allow defence” takes is to introduce a midrange 2.5 line or some such to increase motivation for greater shot variety
Hot take: this one's been going through my friendgroup so it might be future old head revisionism, but the last shot of the game I'd take prime Russ over prime Harden. I don't know what happens to Russ but there are so many clutch threes he has where you have no idea why it's going in, but it does. Harden is a better shooter, a better clutch shooter, and probably a better offensive player, but the absolute last shot of a random regular season game there's maybe like 4 people I'd take over prime Westbrook to hit that shot.
The way Shaq talks about the game rly shows how little he had to worry about technique. When listening to LeBron in his podcast it is so technical and he sounds like an NFL quarterback, while all Shaq reminisces on is bodying and posting up 6’8” white guys.
European here, the "Avengers" assembly for Paris 2024 is not going to have the impact many assume. The main issue in recent years wasnt a lack of talent and only bringing the "B-team", but rather poor team composition, a fundamental missunderstanding of the priorities in a FIBA ruleset and mediocre coaching. The lack of offensive rebounding, the missing discipline while boxing out, the importance of size, coaching schemes and many more issues wont get fixed by simply bringing more talent, like team USA wasnt the most talented to begin with. Statements like "we want to beat everyone by 40" by KD are ludicrous and appear like the players are not prepared whatsoever of what it would take to win a medal.
I agree but there is a point where a team with and OVERWHELMING amount of talent just is too good. All team usa needs is a few weeks of practice with the “god squad”. Since 1992 their worst placement is Bronze and it was the biggest deal ever at the time so much that they made the “redeem team”. This is exactly what is happening rn, but their poor result was at the world cup instead of the biggest stage.
Other hot take: Montreal should have a team next. Smaller market, but the French twist creates instant rivalries with Boston and Toronto (who we share hockey rivalries with) and we have like 3 players from Montreal alone (Benedict Maturin, Chris Boucher and Lu Dort). We also already have the arena/stadium ready. It would also be hilarious to see NBA players try to pretend they’re gonna learn French like the Hockey players do
I’ll go even hotter, he’ll retire as the greatest defender of all time when all is said and done and likely a top 5 player all time barring career altering injuries
Hindsight makes every trade and "what if" seem like it would be better or more interesting than they actually would be. The Dame trade is the perfect example of how duos that seem like layups can be disappointing.
The reason wemby has bad efficiency is because of the pieces around him, as he is being double and tripple teamed. People fail to realize that Chet and wemby have different contexts to how good or bad their efficiency has been
If the nuggets don't win the title this year because of depth (their only issue in my opinion) they need to trade Mpj. He earns too much and fills cap space that could be used to get some role players in return of a 3 point shooting that comes and goes too much
Your jokic defensive take was music to my ears. Ive been saying this for a while, almoat verbatim to your take. Thank God someome said it like this on a popular podcast.
Bigs, wings, and guards sounds about right. I could take it further and say the NBA is well on its way to solely fielding taller wings and shorter wings. Wth the occasional short guy who can shoot well enough to be out there and sometimes a quick shifty short guy to switch things up and a quick short guy to guard the shifty short guy...
Couple of hot takes: the nba should get rid of confrences and make teams play each other twice. It would make the seeding more fair because teams will get the seed they deserve and less games will make each game more important and less games and longer rest period between them will make it easier for players to stay healthy.
Yeah but then you can say good bye to the longevity record of total points, assists, steals , blocks. The top 20 off each of these categories would be locked forever after that
@@shorewallOffensive inflation helps, but load management (as well as prospectively reducing games) would hurt people’s odds of putting up all time totals.
I agree with that final take. The front office did a poor job of evaluating the respective play styles of Russ and Harden and seeing which one of them would've been a good fit next to KD. But to add on, hot take: Questionable roster construction and coaching also prevented KD and Russ from getting OKC over the hump. KD mentioned before that the front office did not equip the roster with enough floor spacing or offensive skill outside of himself and Russ. Putting them in a starting 5 with non-offensive threats like Ibaka, Adams, and Roberson with predictable coaching from Scott Brooks and then Billy Donovan? Sure, they always had really good defense, but that wasn't good enough. That turned out to be a bigger problem than a lot of people realize(d), especially at the time.
Hot take: the knicks would have made the ecf last year if they made the og annunoby trade last year, that would have proabibly improved randles game, the knicks defense, and would also make the raptors a play-in team this year.
Hot take: There isn’t more “talent” in today’s NBA. Due to social media, every player gets their own platform to showcase their abilities meaning more people see it. To the regular fan, any NBA player looks incredible (which they are). That also makes a lot of guys who are otherwise average NBA players get a lot of support that they are top players in the league.
Hot take: The new CBA will dramatically raise the value of players that attend college for multiple years at the draft, as teams with two trusted max contracts and good emerging role players that they will not be able to extend will prefer taking a more experienced win now player on a rookie contract over developing a 'raw project' in hope of getting a super star in 3 or 4 years. Jaime Jaquez is the prototype
Hot take: after the playoffs people will realize that Jonathan Isaac is still a top 3 defender in the NBA when he plays, he has been on a minutes restriction forever now, but if he can play 20-25 minutes per game in the playoffs then I have no question that he will be on Gobert's and Davis's level defensively. His on-off numbers are currently laughably good. I wouldnt even be suprised if he plays better in the playoffs than Franz.
Hot take: suns are the scariest team in the playoffs solely due to possible favorable seeding and unpredictably this team has that I think some of the newer younger teams will overlook and will get punished.
@@MS-ns2pj this suns team matches up better then the suns team a couple of seasons ago. Would be a tight series tho. Mavs are in the same predicament as the suns
Dominance: totally agree with your takes, but even though I love steph I almost think dominance should be reserved for more athletic or bigger (e.g. Jokic) players who just can't be guarded on offense or can't be schemed against on defense. Basically offensively dominant players are so good that they make iso ball look like a good, highly efficient brand of basketball and defensively they not only can guard 1-5 but they can lock up 1-5. These are the players that play well without a good team but play at an all-time level with a good roster. Superstar: I think of this more like a popularity contest and that the scope widens as a sport gets more popular but eventually has to retract before it loses all meaning. I think superstardom should basically be reserved for players who are known by people who don't pay attention to that specific sport. I like hockey and want to eventually get into it but I can only name wayne gretsky because i don't currently and have never watched hockey. Greatness: When dominance meets popularity. Basically a dominant player with a narrative who meets stardom or superstardom through their accolades within context of their career. Playmaking: Totally agree with Rusty, but even though I agree with the take on gravity, I wouldn't hate if someone thought this was more about ball handling and passing (as long as they take flashiness with a grain of salt e.g. kyrie's playmaking versus jimmy or kawhi)
hot take: some of the the warriors success is attributed to bending rules such as carrying, moving screens, and blatant traveling. i’m not talking about traveling on step backs and whatnot. just last night vs dallas klay got the inbound towards the end of a tight game and traveled so hard. i understand much of the league does these things from time to time but watch any warriors game any season they were a contender and i guarantee you that at least 25% of the time on offense there’s a moving screen or a shameless curry carry. - houston’s residential warriors hater
With regards to playmaking, you can also be a defensive playmaker. That’d be more getting deflections, steals, forcing TOVs, etc. You don’t have to be an elite defender to be a good playmaker on DEF, and not all elite defenders are great DEF playmakers. Steals can be very overrated on the box score if you’re getting blown by and can’t do anything else. Also some of the best defenders that are great at defending numerous positions, navigating screens, etc. may not force a ton of steals. JMO.
Jokic used to be a terrible defender, but he's actually slightly above average the last 2 seasons. Dude seems to have taken a page out of Marc Gasol's playbook.
yeah right now jokic ranges from okay to "good" as a defender... hes not a defensive centerpiece, but hes far from a liability, also his rebound game is severly overlooked
Hot Takes: 1. Tim Duncan is Top 5 player All-Time. Dude has same amount of FMVP as Magic, more than Kareem. Not to mention he beat two top 10 players all-time in their peak Shaq/Kobe, with a decent roster. He also has the second underrated MVP season right behind 94 Hakeem. His arguably a top 3 defender all-time. As well as being an underrated playmaker for a Big Men. Lastly, his the only player in the top 10 not named MJ/Russell with him and his team with a finals record of 5-1 better then most beside the two mentioned. 2. Kevin Durant isn’t Top 15 All-Time, in theory/talent wise yes, but reality as a first option isn’t Better than Guys such as Wade, Dirk and M. Malone, who all had a success as first options. Which doesn’t help KD’s case for being ranked above and beyond this guys. 3. The Top 5 Players All-Time should in reality coexist of the best at each position. Magic, MJ, Bron, Duncan, Kareem. 4. Moses Malone is a Top 15 All-Time 5. 2012-13 is Peak Bron 6. Kobe (1999-2003) is the greatest second option of all-time. The best two-way guard during this period. Dude was arguably a top 3 player by 2001 and by 2003 surpassed his first option. Runner ups are Kareem (82’-87’), Pippen (91’-98’). 7. SGA has the potential to be a Top 3 PG/SG if he continues his success and wins a couple of championships and potentially an mvp/FMVP .
Hot take: Russell westrbook effort has always been mid. He got a reputation as the hardest working player because he's quick and fast, so it's looks like he is playing hard. He often falls asleep on defense, doesn't always sprint back, and off ball movement is often minimal even as a role player. He's only been top 10 in distance travel per game once
The Tim Duncan over Kareem take might be one of the worst things ive ever heard. How is the longevity pushing Kareem's case over Duncan while Duncan also played like 20 seasons???
Maybe the person argued that Kareem’s later years weren’t as impressive as some suggest. Granted Duncan’s later career (aside from the 2014 season) isn’t exactly the best longevity there is either.
@@fortynights1513Tim was 37 when he won his last championship. Kareem was 38 when he won his LAST FMVP! See the difference. Also Kareem had a higher individual peak when he was a Buck than any 6 yrs span in Duncan’s career. Or if you wanna go team success, Kareem 1979-1985
@@manamongstboyz8956Don’t get me wrong, I could totally see Kareem being viewed as having better longevity than Duncan. In addition to the performance that led to the 1985 Finals MVP, Kareem also was a first team all NBA center in the 1985-86 season. If you want to argue higher peak, I could totally see it too. Though the one thing I will say about the Lakers’ team success is that I typically hear that Magic was better than Kareem by Magic’s third season. Not sure if I’d agree, but it’s what Ive heard.
Hot take: If Boston don't win the east (esp. If they lose to an 8th seed with a 3rd of the team being undrafted players), we need to admit they need to blow it up!
Yes, blowing it up with a 26 year old top 10 player and a bunch of quality players under contract is VERY smart. BOS also has nearly all of their picks. Regardless of title or not, being good is quite valuable. They are some franchises who would KILL to have the Celtics’ last two regular seasons. They’ve only underperformed in the playoffs once since JT was drafted, so underachieving isn’t some pattern.
Playmaking should include big time defensive stops such as steals and blocks considering that playmaking should account for points created and for points denied
Hot take: The idea that the Warriors don't win another ring if they don't sign KD is insane. They would have at least 3 championships today even if KD never joins them, as long as they upgraded from Barnes. They win one in 2015/2016, maybe win another between 2017-2019, and then win again in the early 2020s. If Klay never gets injured, they don't waste two seasons away after 2019 either, and Steph probably has a 3rd MVP as well. They were the best team in the NBA with arguably the best player before injury. Not saying they would've went to the finals every year and been unstoppable in a tough west without KD, but they definitely would've been contending regardless like the Spurs in the 2000s.
@@fortynights1513 That's fair too. I just don't see a world where they don't win at all after KD. They were still a great team. They probably go in and out of finals like the Spurs as I mentioned, rather than appearing in 5 straight. Also hard to say what the league would've looked like too considering CP3 may not go to Houston, does Kyrie stay or leave Cleveland, does Horford sign with OKC, etc. Either way I think the Warriors still win another 2 rings from 2015 to now.
Lebron and the warriors have ruined the perception of doing well in the regular season. People would dismiss the regular season since at the end of the day you have to get through the warriors in the west and get through lebron in the east.
hot take: kyrie would not be considered better than dame if the cavs didn’t win that 2016 ring. dame has consistently been the better player with far less talented supporting players, with this season being the only exception. lillard’s best yrs in portland were mvp worthy, meanwhile kyrie has never reached that level, even without injuries. edit: dame has also led teams just as talented if not worse than kyrie’s early years in cleveland to impressive runs in the post-season, meanwhile irving has not proven himself to be a competent leader. peak dame could be the #1 option on a championship team, can’t say the same for kyrie
I still believe the evolution of the SG position will be the combo guard. I refuse to believe the NBA will streamline to only having one shot creator when teams like the Celtics, Mavericks, and Thunder have multiple guys who can play on/off ball offemsively. The SG of the future will likely look like what Kyrie Irving is doing this season.
Carmelo Anthony does not deserve to have his jersey retired by the Denver Nuggets. Jokić wearing #15 aside, Melo’s exit and the shade he’s thrown at the organization since should cost him that honor.
Hot take, the G League should expand to multiple countries to allow a different avenue for aspiring foreign talent to not only enter the league but adjust to the differences in the game. At the end of every season the top 3 teams from each continent(well just say the Americas, Europe, and Asia) will be grouped into 2 seperate 6 man groups drawn at random to play 4 BO1’s to decide seeding into a playoff bracket.
They could do a gimmicky team of mostly European, Asian and African players the way the Mexico City Capitanes is mostly made of players from Latin America, specially now that the NBA G League Ignite has been disbanded.
Hot take: the NBA media will eventually start moving away from the traditional box score metrics, just like they did with field goal percentage an start using objectively superior metrics such as rebounding and block percentage. Maybe one day we will even see better creation metrics.
Steph and lebron has a similar rivalry to duncan and kobe, both are top ten players of all time and both have won 4 titles during a 10 year stretch 2012-2022, and both have Crazy records that will be hard to break if ever, lebron with 40k points and steph with 3 point shoots
Hot take: if the thunder won odds for victor this year they would have the best record in the league and be the team to beat despite how young they are
@@fortynights1513 I’d say no. They’re really important to modern offenses so removing it would change the game completely. It’s the most efficient 3 so perhaps also moving it back a little bit making it a tougher shot.
I actually kinda disagree slightly with the first hot take- although I think the 08 Celtics Big 3 was really fearsome, all those dudes were past their primes and had injuries while now Celtics everyone’s coming up to their prime and the team as a whole is really good all around too
If Kawhi stayed with the Raptors they win in 2020 and possibly 2021 too. Looking back at that team they had 2 all stars in Lowry and Siakam, a borderline All Star in Fred Vanvleet, a great defender in OG, high volume scoring in Norm Powell and some solid bigs in Ibaka, Gasol and Boucher + a top 3 coach in the league. Real Raptors fans know how special that team was as the second best team in the NBA record wise and I could have easily seen a path for them to make it to the finals if Siakam does not play like trash.
shouldnt be a hot take: the nba and to some extend nba community has a problem of sweeping offcourt issues under the rug, there should be way more consequences for players like josh giddey and joshua primo
@Derrick.Rose.Fan23Ja lowkey deserved that suspension(although 25 games was a little too much) but I agree the NBA needs to stop picking favorites Draymond should have already had at least a 40 game suspension by now he's literally out here playing a different sport
You can’t call someone who gets targeted on defence a good defender. If any team goes into a playoff series with the game plan to pick and roll x player to death because they aren’t good enough to stop it then they are disqualified from being called a good defender.
Hot take: De'Aron Fox is overall the more valuable and better player than Sabonis because he's better equipped for playoff basketball. He can get to a level of scorer that Sabonis simply can't reach and doesn't have any really exploitable weaknesses now that he's become a good three point shooter unless he just happens to be missing shots that he normally makes. Sabonis has a shaky jumpshot, can't use his right hand, and doesn't have any post moves aside from shoulder checking and going left which only works on smaller defenders. Because of this teams will force Sabonis to try and beat them 1v1 which will mitigate much of his playmaking and thus will tank his value as a player.
The obsession with championships has ruined any and all NBA discourse because no matter how great a player was, if they lack a ring, they're suddenly bums
(Possibly not very) Hot take: nikola jokic is the most complete offensive player we’ve ever seen. Between his three level scoring (at least with his playoff 3p shooting), elite passing, screen setting, cutting and rebounding there is nothing he can’t do on offense to the degree that he is the most lethal offensive weapon the game has ever seen.
Hot take: perkins absolutely helped embiid win mvp by saying the voters were racist because jokic is the first white guy to win mvp since.....2007!!!! Perkins race baiting and embiid crying have put a stain on embiids mvp for the rest of time
LeBron and the Warriors have ruined people’s perception of how hard it is to actually win a title.
Jordan literally had 6 in 8 years, Magic 5 in 9 years. Russell 11 in 13 years.
Compared to those 3, Warriors and Lebron (??!?!) is nothing!
@@jonathansykes4986 I was referring more to recency bias playing a huge role in the perception of players’ playoff success (or lack thereof).
@@jonathansykes4986 they played against trash
@@jonathansykes4986the league was significantly worse during those times. Mentioning Bill is crazy when they were 8-12 teams. When Jordan got drafted there were 23. Look at the league in the 80s magic and bird usually had like 1 real series on their way to the title
@@jonathansykes4986Wait a minute jordan only played 8seasons?
“I just gotta haircut… anyways” 😂😂
Hot take: the next few years for the nets have the potential to be as bad if not WORSE than the years following the KG, Paul Pierce trade.
i dont think that is not a hot take. the roster is terrible and no answer at coach. their previous failures will probably discourage superstars from joining them for the forseeable future, too
As a Rockets fan im praying on this
No franchise deserves this fate more than this one. They are the hypebeast franchise of the league.
That’s not even a hot take. That’s just good basketball analysis lol
That's a pretty lukewarm take, most people agree that they have the worst future in the NBA.
Hot take: the fact that Rob Pelinka still has a job doesn’t make sense. He completely fumbled the roster after the 2020 championship and the Russell Westbrook deal single handedly destroyed the Lakers championship window with Lebron and AD. People excuse him by saying that Lebron had a heavier influence on these decisions than he did, but at the end of the day, he’s the GM and the buck stops with him.
It feels disingenuous to me to claim lebron and only lebron has gm powers on any of his teams. I highly doubt even if that is the case, that lebron would be the only one in history.
So u want to forget that he created that roster, just like the one of the western conference run last year and this year's squad (which honestly is pretty good, they just took part of the season off). The only gripe I'd really have with him is getting and keeping Ham but I think if your superstar demands a trade, especially Bron, there's no gm that would say no.
He’s certainly been bad. You’re the GM. Obviously your superstars have influence, but you have the final say…you and the owner(s). Any sane person would’ve moved Kuzma for Buddy Hield instead of KCP Kuzma Harrell and a FRP for Russ. Then letting Caruso walk was NUTS. LBJ wanted him back, Caruso was willing to take less than Chicago gave him, and he still let him walk. They ended up spending more $ on signing minimums then waiving them, TMLE to Lonnie Walker, Kendrick Nunn, MLE to Gabe Vincent, etc.
Then in the AD trade, their pick shot from like 8 to 4 or w/e and they gave up the same package they would’ve if it stayed at 8. At least get something back, maybe no deferral right on that last pick? Then the mismanagement of the cap to where they had to dump Zubac etc. There are way more bad moves, obv signing second rounders to the min instead of using part of TMLE or MLE inspired an entire rule 🤣.
The fact that he hasn't been fired, and the Jeannie and he have been saying NO to LeBron, indicates it was LeBron that pushed for Russ. Sure, Pelinka let Caruso go, but Russ isn't Pelinka's doing and him still being there confirms it.
It’s *Lebron* though. Besides, weren’t Lakers fans saying Pelinka had a masterclass trade deadline last year? And a masterclass offseason?
Such an emotionally volatile fanbase
Hot take: just because you average a lot of assists doesn’t make you an elite playmaker there is more to it like how often you turnover the ball or how difficult are the passes you are making to get the assist understanding what the defense is giving you to find openings within the defense to set up opportunities for your teammates also seeing the game 1 step ahead of everyone else to set up teammates for efficient shots and controlling the pace of the game
Also it sounds weird but i feel like there’s also a difference between assists that generally elevate the team and assists that are there for stats. Like some people’s playmaking is meant to get everybody involved on offense and put strain on opposing defenses and other’s its like “I’m just trying get a double double” and doesn’t create that same uptempo pacing and spacing
Can you give an example of who averages loads of assists but isn't a good playmaker?
And I don't see how making harder passes=elite playmkaing, like it can but its not one for one, you can be an elite playmaking and do simple passes majority of the time
@@itshurtt395Westbrook trip-dub years. Russel isn’t good at setting the table for others, but he was good at passing out of the double team. He also was good at finding Steven Adams while driving. At that point in time, and before it tbh, when Russ had the ball his goal was to score, not find ways to get it to teammates. We can look at the Durant years and see that Russ’ mentality has been “score, but pass if necessary”. I don’t mean to insult or takeaway from him with that, bc it’s a different skill set to be that much of a scoring problem that you draw the attention he does that allows that space for occasional passes.
@@dwilliams380 I mean russ role wasn't to be a "pass first" typa point guard like a tyrese hali. He still had insane gravity, kicking out to an open man (good look) because he caused a double team, is setting the table for others, you don't need flashy passes or do crazy jokic shit to be a playmaker that's just my take
@@itshurtt395 John Stockton.
Hot take: setting screens is an underrated skill, while it may be as important as an assist but is not analyzed
Who’s the best at it now?
@@fortynights1513 Jokic, Bam, AD, Gobert, those names come to mind tbh
@sufyaankhan4686 wolves fan here, gobert and the way he screens is unbelievable. He is one of our most important pieces offensively and it sucks that screening isn't really considered when talking about offense.
@@TsdsxSansTSSunStone yeah, NB university kind of talked abt how these guys are statistically the best screeners in the league and how many screen assists they generate. Gobert is near the top of the list
@@sufyaankhan4686Looney? (Even though he doesn't really play anymore)
Hot take: 50/40/90 is (slightly) overrated.
Here’s what I mean: FG% includes 3PA, so players with higher volume of 3s, even at insane efficiency, will tank their FG%.
As a result, the 50/40/90 club rewards players with lower volume on 3s. KD and Bird got it twice while only putting up like 3 3 point ATTEMPTS per game.
Meanwhile, Steph Curry, the best 3pt shooter ever and one of the best finishers ever only shot 50% from the field once just because he jacks up WAYYYYY more 3s, like literally more than double anyone else in the 50/40/90 club
50/40/90 can allude to efficiency. If you have to jack up 3s that prob a lack of shot selection and efficient shot taking.
@@trentward2725 yes and no, I prefer curry shooting 10 3s than 10 layups for ex, he is gonna make less, but is gonna give me more points, his fg % Will drop tho...he is more efficient, but his fg% Will drop and he not gonna get to 50% because of that, and guys that take less shots get more credit by being closer to that 50/40/90, that's pretty much what og is saying
I think it has to do with the human bias towards round numbers. Shooting 60 38 80 (closer what Jokic or sabonis is at) would totally be comparable. It is kinda similar to the triple double thing, when I’d say 8 rebounds and 11 assists is more impressive
@@BzBuck it's because of how hard it is... You have to be elite from everywhere... If u shoot 80%ft is not elite neither is 38% from 3...
@@reimixoI think it would be still be great,Kd,Harden,Ai & MJ put up similar percentages
Shout out to rusty for giving explanations instead of shitting on the guy for not understanding what those things mean. Most nba fans will attack someone for not knowing ball instead of actually trying to educate them
Tatum has had quite possibly the most blessed roster for the early years of a career I’ve ever seen; the fact he hasn’t converted to a championship is astounding. If any player he’s compared too was put in his position they probably would have won one with one of these teams.
Are you talking about the people he’s compared to now in their current forms, or those guys when they were the same age as JT.
JT has been good enough to be a #1 on a championship team for this year and last year. BOS has TRULY underperformed expectations ONCE since JT was drafted.
Not sure why people like to make the case that they’ve been favorites every year.
-Favorites 2024 hasn’t happened
-Favorite 2023, underperformed
-13th in title odds in ‘22, made the finals, with Robert Williams(our most important defensive player injured)
-Play-in team in ‘21, lost to BKN with no JB
-9th in title odds in ‘20, made the ECF
2019, 4th seed, bad fit, too many mouths to feed, lost in 2nd round
-2018, made game 7 of CF with a rookie JT and sophomore JB as our leading scorer. (No Hayward nor Kyrie)
Which ones do you disagree with?
Put lebron in JT shoes and they have b2b championships
He’s been the number 1 option for what now his 4th season … it was kyries team in 2018/2019 , and kembas team in 2020 , tatums been to the finals and was a ankle twist away from potentially making back to back finals in 3 seasons , he’s also been 22-25 so most guys his age would not win in his situation if not all of them he’s compared too lol
@@saveligulas5847I would hope so , he’s at worst the 2nd best player of all time lmfao
@@saveligulas5847 in 2022 I agree with you, Bron was better that season. But last year JT was MORE than good enough to be the #1 on a title team, it was the others that failed him.
I think for international players, their achievements with their national teams matter a lot, and Argentina's 2004 gold medal is the greatest international achievement of at the very least 21st century, and possibly ever
Agreed. Although I will admit in Carmelo Anthony's case I do value that he has multiple gold medals with Team USA. but Argentina gold against USA is worth like 5 USA golds against everyone else.
Hot take: Using championships as a measurement for how good a player is individually is completely stupid and rarely ever accurately determines how truly great a player is/was and we need to use actual in game/other historical statistics to determine how good they are instead of relying on championships as a testament. Players like Steve Nash, Chris Paul, James Harden, TMac, Stockon, Malone etc. Get completely undervalued and their legacy tainted because they didn't win a chip but in reality that doesn't take away from their skill at all and it's much more of a team accomplishment
With all due respect to cp3(was rooting for him in 2021) it's not so much the fact he doesn't have a ring but more so it took him 13 years to make it out the 2nd round, 16 to make it out the west and look at all the blow 2-0 leads
@@trevmorin yeahhhhh and I get it but like the CP0 Rings joke is stupid because everyone knows the inconvenience of him not making it out of the second round was rarely ever his fault. It was always a drop off in skill from the people around him (clippers) or a terrible inconvenient injury (rockets, Suns)
Rings take luck too and no matter how well he performed in some of the series he was in, it doesn't matter if nobody else elevates their game too
Saying Jaylen Brown is NOT a top 25 player is absolutely insane
There's been a lot of great players over the years bro..
@@Nontoxicz I think they mean currently not all time
My hot take is that Jalen Brunson has cemented himself as a fringe top-ten player towards the back half of this season. Knicks have been very turbulent and he’s been an incredible leader. Not to mention the fact that he’s been averaging 30 points in the 2024 calendar year.
not hot at all.
Hot take: Kawhi and KD should be ranked pretty close to each other all-time. Both have similar accolades and both have similar peaks. Me personally, I’d take prime Kawhi (the year Zaza took him out when he was beating the KD warriors) over prime KD. KD somehow always gets ranked 15-20 spots higher in all-time lists
Man got an haircut mid video. Dude is the goat
Hot take: You previous hair before the haircut fit you pretty damn well
Hot take- Pacers got fleeced in the Siakam trade. Brown was playing well, and giving up 3 first rounders was far too much imo. Could come back to bite us big time, especially if the team is bad in 2024 or 2026, when the picks are.
Plus the team hasn't even gotten better we're just fading into mediocrity in true indiana fashion
Hot take- We give way more weight to Jokic’s efficiency and certain advanced stats that don’t have a Huge impact on the game. Luka is the MVP this year. Only argument for Jokic is the nuggets record. Rusty Explain This-
Luka leads the NBA in points generated (points + assisted points)
He also leads Jokic in points from assists each game (labeled as appg below)
Luka- 59.1ppg generated (34ppg + 25.1appg)
Joker 48.5ppg generated (26.1ppg + 22.4appg)
Someone in the comments helped me calculate that Jokic’s efficiency leads to 8.82ppg extra in comparison to Luka from his offensive efficiency (shooting efficiency, rebounding, difference in turnovers, etc)
But even when including all of those points from his efficiency and adjusting for Luka’s extra turnovers, (58.59ppg generated) Luka is still ahead in his points generated and offensive production.
Another factor to this is that Joker plays less minutes a game than Luka . Joker averages slightly more points generated per minute on the floor. In theory if they played the same minutes Jokic total production would be greater than Luka. The problem is that this is in THEORY. In Reality, Jokic doesn’t play enough minutes to beat Luka’s production each game. In THEORY, joker WOULD be more productive if he played more minutes, but in REALITY, Luka has simply been more productive each game and the stats show it.
This is why I say that we give too much weight to Jokic’s efficiency, especially when comparing him to Luka. Luka statistically has been more productive this season than Jokic.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.
Luka Doncić for MVP 👑
Efficiency doesn’t have a huge Impact🤣 L take
@@TyWill23 did you even read the whole thing
this is a good argument but the nuggets are too good for it to be luka, plus Jokic on /off numbers are much better
@@TyWill23I’m not saying it’s not important, I’m saying it doesn’t have as big an Impact as everyone thinks
As you can see above, even with the efficiency factored in, Luka has STILL been more productive
Hot take: The Mavs would wash the Thunder in a 7-game series
@Espi1125 nah Lu Dort would have Luka on Lockdown again and Shai would lock up Kyrie mavericks would be cooked
The video is about hot takes not freezing cold ones
@@sarsfien8625took the words out of my mouth 😂😂
Why
@@xlamb7460 experience is everything. Luka is one of those players where I cant help but bet on his team to win any given playoff series. Their last fully healthy matchup this year was a nasty blowout
Damn. That first take was spot on!
My hot take:
Domantas Sabonis is the most consistent player in the NBA right now. He’s rarely ever injured, and basically guarantees you a near triple double every game he plays. His only real flaw is his turnovers, which is listed as the most in the league as a center. Other than that, he’s essentially a top 3 center on any given night, dominates AD, makes Jokic try, outplays wemby, and scores heavily on Gobert.
@Derrick.Rose.Fan23 no fr. His partnership with De’ Aaron fox as well makes that kings team single handedly competitive.
Hot take: leadership is the most underrated skill in basketball because there is nothing numbers wise to show it concretely. The main sign of it is winning when not the favorite, but it mostly relies on eye test and other knowledge on the player. It is the main reason why so many mvps win the championships later than their actual mvp season.
Notable times leadership beat talent:
2023 Jokic vs suns
2023 Jimmy vs east
2022 curry vs Celtics
2022 Luka vs suns
2021 Giannis vs nets
2018 Lebron vs east
2016 Lebron vs warriors
2011 dirk vs heat
2006 Wade vs mavs
2003 Duncan vs everyone
1995 Hakeem vs everyone
1994 Hakeem vs everyone
This man can see the future
2010 Kobe vs Celtics
@@trevmorin yeah I forgot about that one
Hot take: people underrate a teams staff for winning, as a good head coach is important however a good assistant coach and staff could be just or more important
What team is the best in that regard now?
Hot take: it has become inherently more difficult to build championship level teams around wings than around guards and bigs due to the wings rarely being able to have as much impact on the game as guards and bigs. a championship level team built around a guard sees that guard control almost every intricacy of that team’s offense, and teams built around a star big usually have a big that is an elite scorer, great defender, playmaking hub, controls the glass, and dominates the paint. wings are supposed to be a middle ground on the spectrum between guard and big, but now the furthest ends of that spectrum are what the modern game favors the most.
I agree. Its a big reason why the kawhi-george duo has failed and why clippers regret losing SGA
Nah, I think it’s that embiid and jokic are outliers. I seriously doubt that it can become the norm. Elite court vision is the key talent to these players, and it just happens to have been given to bigs this generation.
@@27泓佑劉idk man, embiid and jokic (and giannis) are the best you can get but there are a lot of great playmaking big men in the league today whose teams just aren’t contending/built around them (sabonis, sengun, bam, wemby, even kat, ad, and porzingis are solid). i think that the modern game is starting to realize the utility of big man playmaking more than ever and now star bigs are either great scorers and playmakers or straight up elite on defense (or all three)
@@27泓佑劉 Lol, don't add Embiid in there like he's a proven winner. :D
Well, I know of a person who made a video on his main channel discussing this same point, I wonder if you heard of him 😁
Dirk had the best playoff run ever.
I'd go with Dream's 95 one considering who he beat.
@@franciscoduran4618 for sure, the mavs were tied for the second seed while the rockets were the sixth and the mavs had a much better roster
@@crystalizedExposed And against 4 57+ win teams with at least one HOF in it's prime.
Mavs* had the best playoff run ever. Dirk was amazing and basically unstoppable, but let's not forget Mavs had amazing team chemistry and perfectly assembled roster.
@@franciscoduran4618don’t forget he came back 3-1 too that year
Hot take: Brandon Miller has a higher ceiling then Chet
Hot take: the infamous Ben simmons passed up layup was a good play from his perspective and was the pretty smart choice. Also both Doc and Embiid should receive more hate for throwing ben under the bus publicly.
I agree with this , it’s simply basketball, help/ double comes so you give up the ball to the cutter , the real mistake was maybe giving the pass too early
6:18 I literally thought you were calling me, I was confused why I heard my name here lol
Hot Take: If Kevin Garnett never won a ring he would be the most disrespected NBA player of all time due to the ring bias of a lot NBA fans. This would lead to people overlooking one of the most skilled players of all time and one of the greatest peaks simply because he didn’t win a championship.
depends what determines "disrespect". but i know if karl malone had won a ring he would be viewed much differently
@@vulcanraven9701 disrespect as in not getting the due respect that he deserves because of factors like not having a championship
@@xlamb7460Could the same be said of Dirk if 2011 never happened?
modern-day Bill Russel is just Rudy Gobert
HOT TAKE: Rusty you really should look at players international accomplishments when doing all time rankings. Don't get me wrong, nba accomplishments will matter the most, but most Serbians will tell you Jokic isn't the greatest Serbian player ever because he hasn't accomplished anything on the international level yet. These things do matter. Manu's gold medal is a GREAT example. Its arguably more valuable to his legacy then any of his individual nba championship wins.
Hot take: The Lakers should be talked about in a similar light to the Miami Heat when it comes to the playoffs despite their uneventful regular seasons. The Lakers with LeBron and healthy AD have won a title, made it to the conference finals, and were up on the number 2 seed Phoenix Suns before AD got hurt. They aren’t top tier contenders in the west but they should be serious candidates to make it to the conference finals.
they just can’t beat the nuggets the same way miami can’t beat anyone out the west 😂
I used to love your what if videos. I know you don’t do them anymore, but if you could do that OKC what if with trading Russ instead, I’d go nuts
Hot take: Rusty putting the timestamps for the takes in the description is the best part of hot takes (that and not using Elon’s Nazi website as the main source)
Hot Take not really : Better call Saul > Breaking Bad
I just finished _Better Call Saul._ Too soon to tell. Have to rewatch both in a few years when I've got critical distance.
Maybe overall but I think breaking bad season 5 is much better than better call Saul s6
Nah Breaking Bads better
No
Definitely aspects better call soul is better at, such as writing. But overall, breaking bad is better. Both shoes are 10/10 perfect tho
Hot take, the way to curb the incessant 3 point shooting and takes of “modern basketball doesn’t allow defence” takes is to introduce a midrange 2.5 line or some such to increase motivation for greater shot variety
Hot take: this one's been going through my friendgroup so it might be future old head revisionism, but the last shot of the game I'd take prime Russ over prime Harden. I don't know what happens to Russ but there are so many clutch threes he has where you have no idea why it's going in, but it does. Harden is a better shooter, a better clutch shooter, and probably a better offensive player, but the absolute last shot of a random regular season game there's maybe like 4 people I'd take over prime Westbrook to hit that shot.
The way Shaq talks about the game rly shows how little he had to worry about technique. When listening to LeBron in his podcast it is so technical and he sounds like an NFL quarterback, while all Shaq reminisces on is bodying and posting up 6’8” white guys.
6:20 😂 Luka lobbing up oops for Yokozuna 😂
European here, the "Avengers" assembly for Paris 2024 is not going to have the impact many assume.
The main issue in recent years wasnt a lack of talent and only bringing the "B-team", but rather poor team composition, a fundamental missunderstanding of the priorities in a FIBA ruleset and mediocre coaching. The lack of offensive rebounding, the missing discipline while boxing out, the importance of size, coaching schemes and many more issues wont get fixed by simply bringing more talent, like team USA wasnt the most talented to begin with.
Statements like "we want to beat everyone by 40" by KD are ludicrous and appear like the players are not prepared whatsoever of what it would take to win a medal.
I agree but there is a point where a team with and OVERWHELMING amount of talent just is too good. All team usa needs is a few weeks of practice with the “god squad”. Since 1992 their worst placement is Bronze and it was the biggest deal ever at the time so much that they made the “redeem team”. This is exactly what is happening rn, but their poor result was at the world cup instead of the biggest stage.
Other hot take: Montreal should have a team next. Smaller market, but the French twist creates instant rivalries with Boston and Toronto (who we share hockey rivalries with) and we have like 3 players from Montreal alone (Benedict Maturin, Chris Boucher and Lu Dort). We also already have the arena/stadium ready. It would also be hilarious to see NBA players try to pretend they’re gonna learn French like the Hockey players do
Next years Allstars game should be 1st 2nd year team vs 10+ year team.
Hot Take: Wemby is already the best defender in the league
I’ll go even hotter, he’ll retire as the greatest defender of all time when all is said and done and likely a top 5 player all time barring career altering injuries
Hindsight makes every trade and "what if" seem like it would be better or more interesting than they actually would be. The Dame trade is the perfect example of how duos that seem like layups can be disappointing.
The reason wemby has bad efficiency is because of the pieces around him, as he is being double and tripple teamed. People fail to realize that Chet and wemby have different contexts to how good or bad their efficiency has been
get wemby a good pg and some 3 and d teammates and the spurs are going deep into the playoffs next year....
If the nuggets don't win the title this year because of depth (their only issue in my opinion) they need to trade Mpj. He earns too much and fills cap space that could be used to get some role players in return of a 3 point shooting that comes and goes too much
Your jokic defensive take was music to my ears. Ive been saying this for a while, almoat verbatim to your take. Thank God someome said it like this on a popular podcast.
Bigs, wings, and guards sounds about right. I could take it further and say the NBA is well on its way to solely fielding taller wings and shorter wings. Wth the occasional short guy who can shoot well enough to be out there and sometimes a quick shifty short guy to switch things up and a quick short guy to guard the shifty short guy...
Couple of hot takes: the nba should get rid of confrences and make teams play each other twice. It would make the seeding more fair because teams will get the seed they deserve and less games will make each game more important and less games and longer rest period between them will make it easier for players to stay healthy.
Yeah but then you can say good bye to the longevity record of total points, assists, steals , blocks. The top 20 off each of these categories would be locked forever after that
@@paquinraino8180 The Offensive inflation is gonna destroy all those records as is.
@@shorewallOffensive inflation helps, but load management (as well as prospectively reducing games) would hurt people’s odds of putting up all time totals.
I agree with that final take. The front office did a poor job of evaluating the respective play styles of Russ and Harden and seeing which one of them would've been a good fit next to KD. But to add on, hot take: Questionable roster construction and coaching also prevented KD and Russ from getting OKC over the hump. KD mentioned before that the front office did not equip the roster with enough floor spacing or offensive skill outside of himself and Russ. Putting them in a starting 5 with non-offensive threats like Ibaka, Adams, and Roberson with predictable coaching from Scott Brooks and then Billy Donovan? Sure, they always had really good defense, but that wasn't good enough. That turned out to be a bigger problem than a lot of people realize(d), especially at the time.
Hot take: the knicks would have made the ecf last year if they made the og annunoby trade last year, that would have proabibly improved randles game, the knicks defense, and would also make the raptors a play-in team this year.
Hot take: There isn’t more “talent” in today’s NBA. Due to social media, every player gets their own platform to showcase their abilities meaning more people see it. To the regular fan, any NBA player looks incredible (which they are). That also makes a lot of guys who are otherwise average NBA players get a lot of support that they are top players in the league.
Hot take: The new CBA will dramatically raise the value of players that attend college for multiple years at the draft, as teams with two trusted max contracts and good emerging role players that they will not be able to extend will prefer taking a more experienced win now player on a rookie contract over developing a 'raw project' in hope of getting a super star in 3 or 4 years. Jaime Jaquez is the prototype
Hot take: after the playoffs people will realize that Jonathan Isaac is still a top 3 defender in the NBA when he plays, he has been on a minutes restriction forever now, but if he can play 20-25 minutes per game in the playoffs then I have no question that he will be on Gobert's and Davis's level defensively. His on-off numbers are currently laughably good. I wouldnt even be suprised if he plays better in the playoffs than Franz.
Hot take: suns are the scariest team in the playoffs solely due to possible favorable seeding and unpredictably this team has that I think some of the newer younger teams will overlook and will get punished.
Mavs.
suns have no defense. first round exit written all over their team.
@@jonathansykes4986 it’s not they aren’t good it’s just they don’t try believe it or not lol
@@MS-ns2pj this suns team matches up better then the suns team a couple of seasons ago. Would be a tight series tho. Mavs are in the same predicament as the suns
Thanks Nick
That first take aged extremely well
Wow that first take aged perfectly
Two Faces of Greg Popovich was a great video.
Dominance: totally agree with your takes, but even though I love steph I almost think dominance should be reserved for more athletic or bigger (e.g. Jokic) players who just can't be guarded on offense or can't be schemed against on defense. Basically offensively dominant players are so good that they make iso ball look like a good, highly efficient brand of basketball and defensively they not only can guard 1-5 but they can lock up 1-5. These are the players that play well without a good team but play at an all-time level with a good roster.
Superstar: I think of this more like a popularity contest and that the scope widens as a sport gets more popular but eventually has to retract before it loses all meaning. I think superstardom should basically be reserved for players who are known by people who don't pay attention to that specific sport. I like hockey and want to eventually get into it but I can only name wayne gretsky because i don't currently and have never watched hockey.
Greatness: When dominance meets popularity. Basically a dominant player with a narrative who meets stardom or superstardom through their accolades within context of their career.
Playmaking: Totally agree with Rusty, but even though I agree with the take on gravity, I wouldn't hate if someone thought this was more about ball handling and passing (as long as they take flashiness with a grain of salt e.g. kyrie's playmaking versus jimmy or kawhi)
hot take: some of the the warriors success is attributed to bending rules such as carrying, moving screens, and blatant traveling. i’m not talking about traveling on step backs and whatnot. just last night vs dallas klay got the inbound towards the end of a tight game and traveled so hard. i understand much of the league does these things from time to time but watch any warriors game any season they were a contender and i guarantee you that at least 25% of the time on offense there’s a moving screen or a shameless curry carry.
- houston’s residential warriors hater
With regards to playmaking, you can also be a defensive playmaker. That’d be more getting deflections, steals, forcing TOVs, etc. You don’t have to be an elite defender to be a good playmaker on DEF, and not all elite defenders are great DEF playmakers. Steals can be very overrated on the box score if you’re getting blown by and can’t do anything else. Also some of the best defenders that are great at defending numerous positions, navigating screens, etc. may not force a ton of steals. JMO.
Jokic used to be a terrible defender, but he's actually slightly above average the last 2 seasons.
Dude seems to have taken a page out of Marc Gasol's playbook.
yeah right now jokic ranges from okay to "good" as a defender... hes not a defensive centerpiece, but hes far from a liability, also his rebound game is severly overlooked
Hot Takes:
1. Tim Duncan is Top 5 player All-Time. Dude has same amount of FMVP as Magic, more than Kareem. Not to mention he beat two top 10 players all-time in their peak Shaq/Kobe, with a decent roster. He also has the second underrated MVP season right behind 94 Hakeem. His arguably a top 3 defender all-time. As well as being an underrated playmaker for a Big Men. Lastly, his the only player in the top 10 not named MJ/Russell with him and his team with a finals record of 5-1 better then most beside the two mentioned.
2. Kevin Durant isn’t Top 15 All-Time, in theory/talent wise yes, but reality as a first option isn’t Better than Guys such as Wade, Dirk and M. Malone, who all had a success as first options. Which doesn’t help KD’s case for being ranked above and beyond this guys.
3. The Top 5 Players All-Time should in reality coexist of the best at each position. Magic, MJ, Bron, Duncan, Kareem.
4. Moses Malone is a Top 15 All-Time
5. 2012-13 is Peak Bron
6. Kobe (1999-2003) is the greatest second option of all-time. The best two-way guard during this period. Dude was arguably a top 3 player by 2001 and by 2003 surpassed his first option. Runner ups are Kareem (82’-87’), Pippen (91’-98’).
7. SGA has the potential to be a Top 3 PG/SG if he continues his success and wins a couple of championships and potentially an mvp/FMVP .
Ice cold take: Getting a cut mid video is tuff 🥶🥶🥶
Hot take: Russell westrbook effort has always been mid. He got a reputation as the hardest working player because he's quick and fast, so it's looks like he is playing hard. He often falls asleep on defense, doesn't always sprint back, and off ball movement is often minimal even as a role player. He's only been top 10 in distance travel per game once
Biggest hot take funny enough was from YOU on your podcast saying you’d pick SGA over Luka for MVP. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing 😂
The Tim Duncan over Kareem take might be one of the worst things ive ever heard. How is the longevity pushing Kareem's case over Duncan while Duncan also played like 20 seasons???
Maybe the person argued that Kareem’s later years weren’t as impressive as some suggest.
Granted Duncan’s later career (aside from the 2014 season) isn’t exactly the best longevity there is either.
@@fortynights1513Tim was 37 when he won his last championship. Kareem was 38 when he won his LAST FMVP! See the difference. Also Kareem had a higher individual peak when he was a Buck than any 6 yrs span in Duncan’s career. Or if you wanna go team success, Kareem 1979-1985
@@manamongstboyz8956Don’t get me wrong, I could totally see Kareem being viewed as having better longevity than Duncan. In addition to the performance that led to the 1985 Finals MVP, Kareem also was a first team all NBA center in the 1985-86 season.
If you want to argue higher peak, I could totally see it too.
Though the one thing I will say about the Lakers’ team success is that I typically hear that Magic was better than Kareem by Magic’s third season. Not sure if I’d agree, but it’s what Ive heard.
Hot take: If Boston don't win the east (esp. If they lose to an 8th seed with a 3rd of the team being undrafted players), we need to admit they need to blow it up!
Same with Milwaukee, right?
Yes, blowing it up with a 26 year old top 10 player and a bunch of quality players under contract is VERY smart. BOS also has nearly all of their picks. Regardless of title or not, being good is quite valuable. They are some franchises who would KILL to have the Celtics’ last two regular seasons. They’ve only underperformed in the playoffs once since JT was drafted, so underachieving isn’t some pattern.
Playmaking should include big time defensive stops such as steals and blocks considering that playmaking should account for points created and for points denied
Hot take: The idea that the Warriors don't win another ring if they don't sign KD is insane. They would have at least 3 championships today even if KD never joins them, as long as they upgraded from Barnes. They win one in 2015/2016, maybe win another between 2017-2019, and then win again in the early 2020s. If Klay never gets injured, they don't waste two seasons away after 2019 either, and Steph probably has a 3rd MVP as well. They were the best team in the NBA with arguably the best player before injury. Not saying they would've went to the finals every year and been unstoppable in a tough west without KD, but they definitely would've been contending regardless like the Spurs in the 2000s.
That’s fair.
Though I would argue that no single team they had would be considered as good as 2017 is without Durant.
@@fortynights1513 That's fair too. I just don't see a world where they don't win at all after KD. They were still a great team. They probably go in and out of finals like the Spurs as I mentioned, rather than appearing in 5 straight. Also hard to say what the league would've looked like too considering CP3 may not go to Houston, does Kyrie stay or leave Cleveland, does Horford sign with OKC, etc. Either way I think the Warriors still win another 2 rings from 2015 to now.
Lebron and the warriors have ruined the perception of doing well in the regular season. People would dismiss the regular season since at the end of the day you have to get through the warriors in the west and get through lebron in the east.
hot take: kyrie would not be considered better than dame if the cavs didn’t win that 2016 ring. dame has consistently been the better player with far less talented supporting players, with this season being the only exception. lillard’s best yrs in portland were mvp worthy, meanwhile kyrie has never reached that level, even without injuries.
edit: dame has also led teams just as talented if not worse than kyrie’s early years in cleveland to impressive runs in the post-season, meanwhile irving has not proven himself to be a competent leader. peak dame could be the #1 option on a championship team, can’t say the same for kyrie
The Tatum take has aged really well for now!
ngl Rusty been slowly turning into a light skin but with the haircut you can't hide it
I still believe the evolution of the SG position will be the combo guard. I refuse to believe the NBA will streamline to only having one shot creator when teams like the Celtics, Mavericks, and Thunder have multiple guys who can play on/off ball offemsively. The SG of the future will likely look like what Kyrie Irving is doing this season.
Carmelo Anthony does not deserve to have his jersey retired by the Denver Nuggets. Jokić wearing #15 aside, Melo’s exit and the shade he’s thrown at the organization since should cost him that honor.
“i just got a haircut. 😐 anyways”
Hot take, the G League should expand to multiple countries to allow a different avenue for aspiring foreign talent to not only enter the league but adjust to the differences in the game. At the end of every season the top 3 teams from each continent(well just say the Americas, Europe, and Asia) will be grouped into 2 seperate 6 man groups drawn at random to play 4 BO1’s to decide seeding into a playoff bracket.
Screw the G-League, the NBA should let the Euro Academies take over the training of NBA players.
They could do a gimmicky team of mostly European, Asian and African players the way the Mexico City Capitanes is mostly made of players from Latin America, specially now that the NBA G League Ignite has been disbanded.
Hot take: the NBA media will eventually start moving away from the traditional box score metrics, just like they did with field goal percentage an start using objectively superior metrics such as rebounding and block percentage. Maybe one day we will even see better creation metrics.
Steph and lebron has a similar rivalry to duncan and kobe, both are top ten players of all time and both have won 4 titles during a 10 year stretch 2012-2022, and both have Crazy records that will be hard to break if ever, lebron with 40k points and steph with 3 point shoots
Hot take: if the thunder won odds for victor this year they would have the best record in the league and be the team to beat despite how young they are
Hot take: the nba should push the 3 point line further back
Should they remove the corner three?
@@fortynights1513 I’d say no. They’re really important to modern offenses so removing it would change the game completely. It’s the most efficient 3 so perhaps also moving it back a little bit making it a tougher shot.
Yall are forgetting how important PJ Tucker was for the bucks was defensively. We had a legitimately really good defense then lost Tucker
Nuggets-Celtics could be the new Cavs-Warriors if things pan out
NAW and Naz Reid are the best bench duo in the league
Title of the video is crazy...
Dirk got sumn to say, son...
Hot takes, for sure...
I actually kinda disagree slightly with the first hot take- although I think the 08 Celtics Big 3 was really fearsome, all those dudes were past their primes and had injuries while now Celtics everyone’s coming up to their prime and the team as a whole is really good all around too
If Kawhi stayed with the Raptors they win in 2020 and possibly 2021 too. Looking back at that team they had 2 all stars in Lowry and Siakam, a borderline All Star in Fred Vanvleet, a great defender in OG, high volume scoring in Norm Powell and some solid bigs in Ibaka, Gasol and Boucher + a top 3 coach in the league. Real Raptors fans know how special that team was as the second best team in the NBA record wise and I could have easily seen a path for them to make it to the finals if Siakam does not play like trash.
shouldnt be a hot take: the nba and to some extend nba community has a problem of sweeping offcourt issues under the rug, there should be way more consequences for players like josh giddey and joshua primo
@Derrick.Rose.Fan23Ja lowkey deserved that suspension(although 25 games was a little too much) but I agree the NBA needs to stop picking favorites Draymond should have already had at least a 40 game suspension by now he's literally out here playing a different sport
Josh giddey reported his mistake as soon as he was made aware of it and the girl lied to him.
You can’t call someone who gets targeted on defence a good defender. If any team goes into a playoff series with the game plan to pick and roll x player to death because they aren’t good enough to stop it then they are disqualified from being called a good defender.
Hot take: De'Aron Fox is overall the more valuable and better player than Sabonis because he's better equipped for playoff basketball. He can get to a level of scorer that Sabonis simply can't reach and doesn't have any really exploitable weaknesses now that he's become a good three point shooter unless he just happens to be missing shots that he normally makes. Sabonis has a shaky jumpshot, can't use his right hand, and doesn't have any post moves aside from shoulder checking and going left which only works on smaller defenders. Because of this teams will force Sabonis to try and beat them 1v1 which will mitigate much of his playmaking and thus will tank his value as a player.
The obsession with championships has ruined any and all NBA discourse because no matter how great a player was, if they lack a ring, they're suddenly bums
Hot take Rusty’s new haircut is better than his old one
Hot take: herb jones is the best defender in the league aside from Rudy and Wemby
Rusty your are not considering that luka and jokic names sound similar, we wanna see that!
(Possibly not very) Hot take: nikola jokic is the most complete offensive player we’ve ever seen. Between his three level scoring (at least with his playoff 3p shooting), elite passing, screen setting, cutting and rebounding there is nothing he can’t do on offense to the degree that he is the most lethal offensive weapon the game has ever seen.
Hot Take: Wembanyama will be the Lebron vs Jordan debate ender if he can keep his trajectory
Magic and Kareem are the best duo of all time, Kobe wasn’t even in his prime yet when he played with shaq.
Hot take: perkins absolutely helped embiid win mvp by saying the voters were racist because jokic is the first white guy to win mvp since.....2007!!!! Perkins race baiting and embiid crying have put a stain on embiids mvp for the rest of time
Fax. This ain't that hot of a take tbh (maybe a bit controversial 🤔)
It’s only a stain for people who already had hate boners for Embiid or weirdos who think the NBA is too woke
@@princejellyfish3945 What the fuck are you even saying right now?
22:58, is that a jjk reference?