Hot take: Fans get mad at their franchise for not aquiring nonexistent players. They use all the buzz words, like 'we need a stretch big', but you need an actual real person for that. Any stretch big who doesn't have a major weakness like being a cone on defense is very much employed, and is either not going anywhere or would take a ton of assets to get
Holy shit, W take. People really do be making up imaginary players. Cone had a great video on how "stretch big" is such an overused term when only about 10 players truly fit that, and only about 2 are really moveable. Yall should check out that vid, very informative
Hot Take: Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren will be one of the greatest rivalries in the sport in the coming years/decades barring injuries for both. Those two are must see TV.
@@urbaindelva7869fr, think there’s gotta be a lot higher stakes and more “chippiness” between them, for a lack of a better word. It doesn’t have to be beef or something, but the atmosphere between them has to be more than just centers happening to match up a ton that are compared to each other often.
@@IDontKnow-fr3vs Feels a bit one-sided. Like Wemby has a chip on his shoulders from his first encounter with Chet in the U19 World Cup. I don't think Chet has that same animosity
Hot take: this era is the most balanced era since the 90s, if not all of nba history. Even if the west is still stronger, both conferences has so many playoff/championship contenders that it’s honestly impossible to fully predict how this season could turn out playoff wise on either side
@ Yeah but it’s not like a guaranteed lock that this will be the finals, plus I meant more like there are at least 10 different teams on either conference that could realistically make the playoffs and and all of them are really good compared to other eras
Giannis’19-20 mvp is the most underrated mvp season in modern nba history. He should have been unanimous mvp that year, he put up 30, 13, and 6 playing the arguably the best defense of his career while the bucks were the first seed. The reason it gets overlooked so much is because of what happened in the playoffs. Nobody was particularly close to Giannis in the 19-20 regular season.
Feel like everybody was and still is aware of that mvp and his dominance as a whole, not to mention at the time there was heavy controversy out of lebrons camp stating he was snubbed.
@ for sure but if you remember that was the year where he reallllyyyy went crazy with the washed king shit on twitter and skip and shannon where having debates on who deserves it more it was a real conversation, not saying he was snubbed just saying the MVP was definitely talked about and still is
Hot Take: Nikola Jokic is to centers what Steph Curry is to point guards. The way they can space the floor and facilitate to teammates creates an offensive engine for any team to play around .Difference is Jokic pulls everyone into the paint instead of pullling them out to the 3 point line.
Hot take: If Joel Embiid was on a poverty franchise who never surrounded him with sufficient talent, he could’ve been regarded well by fans like Demarcus Cousins has been. People wouldn’t bring up his playoff underperformances because he’d have none and they’d appreciate his game for what it is, and wonder what could have been on another team.
Unrelated to the current NBA, but here is my hot take. The people who compare the Basketball Hall of Fame to the American Football and Baseball Hall of Fames fail to realise just how much more global basketball is in comparison. If you want to have a strictly NBA Hall of Fame, go ahead. But for basketball as a whole, Oscar Schmidt, Sergei Belov, Kresimir Cosic, Dino Meneghin and many others belong here for their contributions to basketball outside the US
we have players in the hof and outside of it that are NBA players that have 10x more impact on basketball globally and how it’s viewed simply because they’re in the NBA. The nba brings more attention to these foreign players and by proxy their home country supports them and brings more attention to basketball in their country and the surrounding areas they represent. Jokic for russia, Kobe was big in japan, yao, dirk, manu, etc. the list goes on
@kozymontana7509 Sure, but look at the names I have given for instance. They got the ball rolling in their countries. They were the first to have major impacts, not the NBA that didn't become that global until the 90s. And even in the modern day, I would argue someone like Dennis Schroder will get in the HOF strictly off his FIBA contributions, for leading the greatest German team ever, and helping the sport get more popular there hopefully. Guess time will tell on that. I guess for Jokic you mean ex-Yugoslavia/Eastern Europe because he ain't Russian. Either way, I get it, international stars in the league today help the game globally. But they are not the only ones, not in the past and not now.
@ I see what you mean and I do understand your statement I guess I was saying the NBA because if it’s eyes it gets will always be the leader for global impact not saying those guys don’t just saying they oftentimes are stuck to national teams which don’t get the kind of views that a nuggets game would. And for your schroeder points I am probably the biggest fan of Denny but i don’t think his HOF case will be built on FIBA impact being as though that takes place outside the NBA. Sadly every player i could compare for this situation is in the HOF but not because of olympics or fiba contributions but because they’re champions or high scorers (melo and manu) so they don’t fit the comparison
Hot take: age doesn't matter for development nearly as much as people make it seem. You see many players develop from roleplayers into All stars after they turn 25
I love the content lately man! Everything is high quality and entertaining. I am happy for you and hope your struggles with depression and addiction are improving
Hot take: The Cavs have a LEGITIMATE shot at upsetting the Boston Celtics making it to the finals this year, Kenny Atkinson has made this team arguably a top 8 offense and top 2 defense in the league
Hot Take: Both sides of the GOAT Debate need to stop pretending either player would be trash switching eras. LeBron and Jordan literally played in the early 2000s where hand checking (Hand checking was finally fully outlawed in the 04-05 season if I'm not mistaken) and zone defense with terrible spacing was a thing all at the same time. Both at the weakest points in their careers (Jordan being 39-40 and LeBron being 18-19 years old) and both averaged 20 on the same FG%. Anyone thinking Jordan would be "Average" in today's era and anyone thinking LeBron wouldn't "survive" the 80s and 90s are delusional and only want to see their generation as superior.
This fact never gets brought up for some reason, and Idk why. However, if you are correct, the outlawing of hand checking was done right after LeBron's rookie season.
@@urbaindelva7869 I swear man Like people act like the NBA magically became 10x better or worse as soon as Jordan retired and LeBron came in the league
Exactly. They nearly identically played and performed like almost clones in years right next to eachother. Think the league really changed from the Lakers vs Nets to the Lakers vs Pistons? I don’t think so
SGAs team circumstances remind me a lot of curry’s early years in golden state. He was good for a few years on a rebuilding team and the first time they had a competent roster was the 2012-2013 when they went to the 2nd round to the team that made the finals
Hot take: If Jokic was on the Warriors instead of Curry they would be a championship level roster. Jokic has such a high IQ, can score, and can get everyone involved and the warriors have the perfect supporting cast. They have shooters in Hield Waters and Wiggins, good defenders like draymond and melton, smart players in podziemski and moody, and kuminga can even play the Aaron Gordon role on offense, as well as a good backup big for Jokic in TJD.
Don't forget that everyone keeps going on about the Warriors having no 2nd option, and in this case it would still be true. They have a lot of depth but no established top players, sort of the opposite to what Denver won with. What makes this more interesting is that the Warriors do need a stretch 5 in order to play JK and Draymond together effectively, so Jokic could definitely elevate them that way by slotting everyone to more suitable roles (That's a reflection on roster construction more than it is a reflection on Jokic or Steph individually)
To be honest no the warriors team is no where near a championship level roster or team. And also the fact that the warriors team don’t even have a real 2nd level star like Jokic did in Murray when they won the chip. Also the fact that people like draymond has problems even playing and keeps getting suspended.
Hot take #1: Pascal Siakam is an undermentioned playoff performer. Outside of the bubble, he has been good to great in almost every playoff series/run that he has played in. Since he broke out as a player, at least. Hot take #2: If Bradley Beal's contract was much less than it is, he would not be getting so much flak right now. I see a lot of people making up narratives about him that simply are not true just because they don't like his contract. He is not in the best position right now, but he is trying to make it work; he has not complained or made excuses as far as I know. When he played well against the Clippers and bailed the Suns out in OT, very few people talked about it. He shot 1-7 from 3 against the Lakers, and damn near everybody was on his head. It's pretty ridiculous. Hot take #3: Luka did NOT "carry" the 2021-22 Mavs to the WCF. There was no point during that run where he "carried" or "dragged" them anywhere. His teammates all stepped their game up come postseason time: Jalen Brunson led them to a 2-1 lead in the first round against Utah while Luka missed the first half of that series. DFS, Reggie Bullock, and Kleber all shot the lights out from 3 while anchoring the defense. That Game 7 ass-kicking of the Suns that Luka gets all the credit for? Spencer Dinwiddie had 30 on 73/71/100 splits, and Brunson had 24 and 6 on 58% shooting, but that does not get mentioned. If Luka had tried to carry them, they would not have made it that far.
1. I don't know that much about Pascal, so yeah he definitely is unmentioned. 2. I agree to an extent. He disappeared in their last game against the Wolves last year which is what most people will remember. 9 points in awful efficiency while fouling out on the process of getting swept will get someone flak (especially for a starter like Beal) regardless of contract. Still, his massive contract definitely doesn't help his reputation.
Hot take: The NBA would benefit from less games (as few as 50% or more) in the regular season for a few reasons. For one, the stakes and thus intensity of games would increase. One must look no further than the dramatically lower game count and higher revenue stream of the NFL (double that of the NBA) for evidence of this claim, as well as the NBA giving credence to this problem by introducing the in-season tournament. Furthermore, the whole issue of load management would be remedied. This is self-explanatory. Lastly, injuries would assumedly decrease, as less mileage on players' bodies as well as simply less opportunity to get injured would occur. The dip in streaming numbers and total ticket revenue I think would over time be remedied by the increased popularity this new format would garner.
It could have some success, but that would mess with record books and just so many things way too much. I could maybe see a season, but it’s not enough basketball I think. That’s like 1-2 games a weak, as opposed to usually 3
There was a reddit post about how Melo would be regarded as today and the hot take I had there was that he wouldn't be regarded a lot better than Zach Lavine. At his best, Melo was a very one-way, "give the ball to him and forget about getting it back" type of player. I checked his fga % and oddly, on his best year of 12'-13' where he was 3rd on MVP voting, his 3p fga% was higher than his 0-3 and 16-3p fga% but even then, he was just a scorer. He had no playmaking and he was a passable defender at best. Today, I can't think of many who have a similar one-way skillset in any playoff teams. I'm glad his ego accepted the reality towards the end of his career and became a sparkplug kinda player.
In other words Melo was a good volume scorer but lacked in all around game. That kind of player probably had more value in Melo’s prime because scores were lower to begin with.
Hot take: AD is currently better than LeBron, and has been for the last 2-3 years. Not a diss on bron because after all he is like 70 years old, but it seems like the thing where we have to act like every teammate he has sucks has transferred to AD, and it's stopped everyone from seeing what's actually going on
It hasn’t been like that for the past 2 or 3 years I think that’s a narrative people are starting to make but ad is better than lebron at least on the lakers this season tho
What you were saying about only being good at one thing, being a defensive wing vs a 3 and D wing is the difference between Mattis Thybulle and Jalen Suggs. Starter on a playoff team vs deep rotation player on the Blazers
Hot take: Firing Bud was the right choice. His half court sets aren’t great and his rotations were messy - truthfully, the only reason why held onto the job for as long as he did was that 2021 chip, prior to that his career with the Bucks was on unstable waters. Now, even though firing him was the right choice, the bucks did an awful job replacing him. It felt like they fired him without a plan on even the type of coach they needed to replace him with. So the Bud firing in itself wasn’t a bad choice, it was how things were handled afterwords.
Thank you! I've been saying this since he got fired. Now, he did have the sentiment of his brother passing during the Miami series (condolences to him and his family), but even before that, his decision-making was always costing the Bucks. I don't think that firing him would be viewed as poorly as it is now if they had hired Nick Nurse when he was available or kept Adrian Griffin.
Hot take number three options don’t exist. This is why certain big threes work and others don’t. When you’re clearly not a top two option it matters more what you can do without the ball then what you can do with it.
100%. You need your best player to do his thing, and then your second best player to do his thing when your best player sits. And then everyone else needs to fit in around that.
Rusty has expressed before that he dislikes the TNT crew mainly because of their lack of real basketball analysis. I would say that's the point of them as a group, they may not be hoop heads but they are entertaining/funny. The hot take I have is that in terms of expanding the brand and increasing engagement, the comedy focus TNT brings is way more valuable then if they were to really break down basketball with the X's and O's. In terms of bringing in new viewers, a Shaqtin a Fool segment or clip of Chuck talking about San Antonio women works way better than a J.J. Redick style of really breaking down what's happening on the court. A comedy aspect also works better for die hard fans as well. If you're really that invested in the X's and O's then you don't need a talking head to repeat back to you the information you already figured out, that's just redundant. One could argue maybe there is a middle point between pure comedy and pure information, but I don't think that would make anyone happy. For those interested in pure entertainment, there would now be less of it and more of the "boring" talking points. For those interested in the analytical aspect, it would have to be watered down to allow for more comedy. Essentially what I'm saying is what we have now is already thd perfect system. Halftime show on TNT provides you with entertainment, and if you want to hear more high level conversations about the game, you come to TH-cam. No need to change something if it's not broken
hot take: nba fans’ love for effective scoring has not only led to the rise in free throw searching play styles + the cause for “shot chuckers”. Players like JR smith, cam thomas, and zach lavine :) get this label now but in the 90s- early 2010s this kind of player was needed on every team for success .
HOT TAKE If teams in the 80's learned the modern way to play basketball slow paced, low volume 3 point teams would be left behind This is for the old heads. basketball is being maximised not overblown
Hot take: the addition of Kenny Akinson on the Cavs is way more impactful that any trade or move we could have made to acquire a wing. We could and probably should still add a 3 and D wing or maybe someone develops, but Kenny’s new system and emphasis on Mobley specifically as well as more off ball actions from the gaurds is wayyyyy better than bickerstaff plus fill in the blank 3 and d wing would ever be. Might be a sneaky ecf team
Hot take: If Giannis can’t synergize with dame he won’t be able to synergize with most if not every of team and their star player/players. Not saying dame is the most versatile player but Giannis refuses to set real screens and do big man stuff off the ball when if he did if would vastly improve his off ball play and make him much more versatile. People talk about how bad players like Trae and Luka are off ball when realistically all Giannis is off ball is a decent lob threat.
Hot Take: John Wall will sign with an NBA team this season and then might retire or will retire this season. Kemba Walker will get his number 15 jersey retired by the Hornets.
if tatum had continued to be apart of a more heliocentric system like he was in 22-23 people would be viewing him in a entirely different light, vs now where hes just apart of the celtics system and isn't the main focus, if you watch the games you'll notice he is often out of rhythm when he trys to self create because he has to go outside the flow of the system causing for inconsistencies in his game. The celtics system helps him wins games but also holds down his production levels, but even when he does win he doesnt get credit. Truly the tim duncan of our era.
@@GOlone9597both are rich in won a championship PG James harden none of y'all fav have one 💩 y'all jealous of Tatum cause he nice looking and don't kiss LeBron James ass
Hot take: Amen Thompson should've have gone 2nd or 3rd overall over Scoot or Brandon Miller. We allowed players like Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz to scare us into thinking not having a Jumper = will never reach true star potential, but i think you saw over NBA opening weekend (I also watched his rookie season) that the the freak athleticism combined with a MUCH better mindset of self improvement is the true key. Markelle and Ben Simmons could've actually still had relevant careers, had they the same mentality and drive as Amen Thompson to leverage their athleticism to make up for their lack of shooting form. If Amen never develops a true jumper, I still think he can be an menance, essentially carving out a Russell Westbrook type of playstyle that can legit carry this rockets team in ways we haven't seen since prime James Harden.
No. Amen cannot shoot. You’re going to have to be so good at everything else in order to make up for the lack of being a good shooter in today’s nba. Brandon miller is easily on pace to being the 2nd best player in that draft he has the traits to be a very good to great scorer, is a good playmaker and has the traits to be a good defender as well. Amen has a ways to go to catch up to that
While I understand your point, I disagree. If Amen has the drive and mentality that you say he does, developing a reliable jump shot should not be an issue for him. He has already proven to be really good without it, but having a jumper in his repertoire, even if he doesn't use it consistently, would benefit him a lot.
Then why did the magic not pick him back up. Theres clearly something that didnt add up if he couldnt convince them to keep him on a roster with cole anthony and anthony black @meep7895
@urbaindelva7869 Amen is focused on his jumpshot. Its one of the first things he talked about during his rookie season signing, he already knew who the rockets shooting coach was during his intro press conference, and he has still made it an emphasis of something he wants to actively work on. My whole point was that I still think even if he somehow didn't work on his jumper (which he is), he has shown a lot of potential to be a defensive/athletic menace, and he was already know for being a good playmaker.
Hot take: the method of comparing players where you stack up each individual aspect of the game (shooting, finishing, perimiter D etc.) and the player who wins in the most aspects is better is dumb and leads to questionable takes like prime westbrook or kyrie > steph. A player can be good at everything but still worse than someone who is elite at one or two things, ultimately the only aspect that should be compared is impact on winning.
Not really a hot take. It's even worse when each attribute is decided so subjectively. For example, people would jump to say Kyrie is a much better finisher than Steph. While he might be in some ways, the stats don't necessarily support that efficiency wise, and even eye-test wise, it's debatable. Sure, Kyrie does crazy things no one else does, but if it goes in, it doesn't matter if it's pretty. And it's not even like Steph isn't crafty himself. It's just all these built-in narratives that are based on nothing concrete.
@@tiredbasketballfanThe stupid thing is that the people who make that claim act like Steph CAN'T do it because he DOESN'T. I'm sure that if Steph wanted to or NEEDED to, he would do the same things that Kyrie does offensively. He doesn't need to because of his shooting ability and the impact it has, which eclipses what Kyrie does.
Hot take: Ant has that "can get to the rim at will but takes pull up 3s" problem much worse than Tatum. Tatum is a system player where the team tries to hit more 3s than anyone, but Ants the most athletic player in the league and a great finisher on a team that can't win off 3s (not to mention all his historical comparisons are slashers) yet he's taking more 3s than Curry this season. There's no reason Ja Morant should be putting more pressure on the rim night in night out
@@ChibiMalzahar"System player" implies that Tatum is only as good as he is because of the Celtics' system whereas he would not flourish in any other system. Tatum's game could definitely translate to other teams.
Hot take: most people who say potential is overrated don’t really understand how most teams, especially small market teams, construct their rosters. Obviously when you see a team like OKC or Atlanta (in this past draft), who’s already loaded with whatever stars they think they need to be a championship contender, they will prioritize picking high end role players with their picks (like Cason Wallace and Zaccharie Risacher). But teams like the Jazz, 2019 Cavs, and last year’s Rockets need to draft for potential with their lottery picks, as they don’t yet have their true number 1, and you can’t win in this league with just a few good role players, no matter how good they are.
Hot take : deni avdija is one of the only players that are also one pf the most underrated players and one of the players that every team would just love to have
Hot Take? Don't know how hot this one is, but the NBA finals go on for too long. They need to make it a 1 day break instead of 2. To me it's kind of silly that the finals can go on for a month.
That’s just not good. Sometimes it makes sense, especially when they stay in that area for another game or two, but travel logistics along prevent this. *maybe* for teams close to eachother, like if Minnesota and Milwaukee went to the Finals, but you can’t do that for Lakers vs Celtics, Warriors vs Cavs, Lakers vs Nets, etc.
Not sure how hot of a take this is, but with how shaky the Nuggets are looking rn, I think the 4th seed in the West could go to any of the Suns, Lakers, Grizzlies, Warriors, Nuggets at least. Top 3 should still be OKC/Wolves/Mavs in some order
if luka doesn’t get it together he might drop to 5 with his mavs. I could see OKC at 1, Lakers at 2, and the Suns jumping to 3 over both dallas and denver
If Gradey Dick for the Toronto Raptors keeps playing how he is right now, I believe he is in contention for a year 2 Most Improved Player award. Going from 8 ppg to 19ppg over an offseason is Gilbert Arenas type of goat
Hot take: Cade isn't a number one option type of player and will be regarded as Wizards Beal unless the Pistons manage to draft somebody better that he can play as a 2nd option next to
It's easy to say that because the Pistons suck with Cade as their leader right now. However, it's hard to determine that for sure right now because the Pistons suck for reasons outside of his control. Idk how many other players would do much better in his situation. Also, how do you know that that hypothetical somebody would do much better than Cade? They would be in the same situation as Cade, just replacing him as the leading man.
@urbaindelva7869 I'm saying despite all that, I don't think Cade is going to be that guy. Plenty of guys have put up big stats as the number one option despite not being that option. Zach Lavine, Beal, and hell, even MCW's rookie year. Plenty of guys can be tge number one option and can produce amazing stats, but not all of them will lead a team to success. Do I think that it's written in stone and destined to be? No. Can I see it happening? Yes. It's like Rusty said. People focus so much on the word "potential" that the have blinders on and I'm wondering if that will happen to Cade.
Hot take: the last 2 championship teams (2023 nuggets and 2024 Celtics) are the two best teams since the super team warriors. I predict an iteration of the Thunder will join those teams, probably either 2025 or 2026.
Hot take: Ivica Zubac makes the all star team and is the only clipper to do so. With all the injuries to start the season, there will be a lot of the main guys to miss the game due to injury, and he will be good enough to make it as a replacement
Hot take: the hate people (including you Rusty) give to Sochan is undeserved and should instead be directed towards Keldon Johnson. I love KJ as a person but holy shit he’s been the same player since he was drafted. He has plateaued as a Spur, there is no offensive or defensive leap coming, atleast not until he is on another team. Meanwhile, Sochan has shown improvement each season and from his start this season he’s already significantly better (and more important to winning) than KJ.
Hot take: the nuggets have become UNDERRATED, and are still contenders in the west. I understand that teams like the Mavs and okc have gotten better, but the nuggets still have their 4 best players from the championship team, and they have underrated depth. People act like teams like the Mavs and Timberwolves are levels ahead, which is not the case.
Well, only 2 of their 4 best players look great right now (one of them just got hurt), and their bench has been ineffective. They could turn it around, but until then... 🤷🏾♂️
I don’t agree with the way the SGA take was phrased but it is now time to have playoff success from both him and the Thunder. You can’t get on SGA for not having success in the past as Rusty laid out but going forward he should be held to the same standards as Tatum, Book and Luca.
Hot take: LeBron's 13 year run from the 2011-12 season through 2023-24 is a better continuous stretch of basketball than the careers of Larry or Magic (13 and 12 years long respectively). LeBron during these years: 26.7/7.8/7.7 on 52.7/36.0/72.8 splits, 4-4 in the Finals, 4x FMVP, 2x MVP, 2x All-Defensive First Team, 1x All-Defensive Second Team, 7 total top 3 finishes in MVP voting, 28.6/9.3/7.3 on 51.4/33.6/73.7 splits in the postseason. Larry's career: 24.3/10.0/6.3 on 49.6/37.6/88.6 splits, 3-2 in the Finals, 2x FMVP, 3x MVP, 3x All-Defensive Second Team, 8 total top 3 finishes in MVP voting, 23.8/10.3/6.5 on 47.2/32.3/88.9 splits in the postseason. Magic's career: 19.5/7.2/11.2 on 52.0/30.3/84.8 splits, 5-4 in the Finals, 3x FMVP, 3x MVP, 0x All-Defensive, 9 total top 3 finishes in MVP voting, 19.5/7.7/12.3 on 50.6/23.7/83.8 splits in the postseason. The regular season is debatable, but the postseason stuff is clearly superior. I don't see how so many people can justify ranking those two over him and continue to harp on 2011 when what he did AFTER THAT, not even counting his two MVPs before then or his 2009 run, is a top 5 career OAT
@@itsmeflacko1618In my book if you’ve made top five in the MVP vote then you were probably at minimum one of the best 10-15 players in the league, and even if you weren’t you still probably had a career year or one of outsized impact (ex: Joakim Noah in 2014 wasn’t that caliber but if I’m not mistaken stepped up after Rose got hurt and was a DPOY). Just about every player who we consider top 30-35 all time by consensus finished top five in an MVP vote at least once in their career.
Hot take: Talking about great players and teams as a “problem” the way so many NBA TH-camrs do is… a problem. It’s probably not great for the overall enjoyment of basketball if we talk about greatness in negative terms, even if it is meant as a compliment.
Hot Take: This current Brooklyn Nets team is ridiculous deja vu from the 2018-19 Nets and I wouldnt be surprised if they make the play in, especially if Ben Simmons can become like 60-75% of what he was at his best. The team is sneaky deep, Cam Thomas should have an All Star season, and Nic Claxton is a walking double-double and one of the better defensive anchors out East.
Video Discussion - “Do all NBA players work hard?!” There is alot said about how hard players work. People say there are players who made it to the league due to talent alone. How do we define talent, if someone makes the game look easy and nonchalant. Are they not putting in effort, then you have a person like T.J McConnell who due to his physical ability. Couldn’t have made it to the league if not for hard work. I struggle to find good examples of non hard working players. People say Zion because of his weight, Embiid because of his injuries and jokic cos of his size and laid-back character. But it takes so much effort to make it to the league then from that, move hard work to become top players within the top players. I don’t understand the criticism around it all and would like your opinion on it. Just a lot of questions.
The NBA should get rid of charges. If a 6'2 guard who's never blocked a shot in his life stays outside of the restricted area, he can become a sort of shot blocker so to speak. We should stop punishing bigs/forwards for being big, and just let them shoot. (Not saying offensive fouls, just charges) Peace 😄
HOT TAKE - “Aesthetics are Overrated” Within my group of basketball watches, they are all obsessed with the idea of players who are “buckets”. It became I big deal when I said my opinion that Naz Reid isn’t one my favourite players. Not that I hate him, but now I find it annoying how a lot of people hype up the “guard in a big man body” because of a highlight real of perimeter spin moves and “bucket”. I think aesthetics and culture is overrated. Kobe isn’t top 10 Allen Iverson should never be in the top 10 conversations There is a reason Naz Reid doesn’t start
HOT TAKE: Clippers will have a 2015 hawks kind of run this year, their defense will make them a team to be feared in the playoffs yet the lack of top talent won't let them get too far
Jj Reddick 3 or 4 games into his career is already a much MUCH better coach than Doc rivers at his peak (P.S Love your content congrats on every form of success you've had you deserve it I've been watch since around covid you're pretty cool beans)
hot take: all time scoring should not be used to consider how good a player is at scoring, instead their scoring titles or their placement in league scoring should be used.
all time scoring should be used less then scoring titles when comparing players. or at least, their scoring in regards to the leagues best, even if they don’t win the title.
If you mean the raw point totals, then players going forward would be inevitably sold short because they would have played when load management was more of a thing. If today’s load management was around in the 1980’s, 1990’s, and early 2000’s, then Kareem and Karl Malone would probably not have played 75+ games into their late 30’s.
Hot Take: The Warriors have the deepest team in the league, and if they make a trade for any all-star calibre player they’d be runaway favorites this year.
@@winter9242 They barley got experience and it’s just two dudes. It’s overrating clearly. People saying “70 wins”. Bs. They’re good, but not at or at least above the level of the 2012 Thunder
@@Jonathan-A.C. SGA and dort already had prior experience before last year plus they got caruso who's a reliable vet and already a champion. I'm not one of those people saying they'll reach 70 wins because it's ludicrous but they have improved significantly with their development and key additions
Idk. Luka is a better offensive player, but Bird was also just as great while being a better off-ball threat. Equally good rebounder, better defender, equally good passer/playmaker, etc.
Hot take: the best two-way player is just the best player. Period. Take Luka and Tatum for instance. Even if Tatum is really good on both ends, Luke's offensive impact is so large that it makes up for his defensive shortcomings so in the aggregate he's the better player. I know it feels like I'm being pedantic and it's on purpose because I think the whole two-way player is a useless distinction. Just say which player is better
hot take: teams should stop drafting players (especially very high overall picks) for “fit” purposes. sometimes it’s just better to pick the best player available and trade him later on for a player who fits on that team if you’re trying to contend.
I disagree. If teams always drafted the best player available, they would have a lot of players that they don't need on their roster. Also, let's say that that best player does not pan out; how much value would they get for them if that happens?
Hot take: The east's Timberwolves. The cleveland cavaliers will make be 3rd in the east & the ECF if they are healthy at PO time. They are currently 5 - 0 with solid wins against the Lakers and Knicks. Bickerstaff gone I think they will take a big offensive leap & still maintain their strong defence.
Hot Take: i think curry is the greatest offensive player of all time, his dribbling is top 5 all time, he is extremely efficient in the paint i think that get over looked bc of how great of a shooter he is, his playmaking is amazing and he utilizes his gravity to help him draw defenders to kick out to open teammates or a easy pass to the rim. he is the greatest off ball player of all time consistently moving to scramble the defense. and everyone already knows he’s the greatest shooter of all time. i just don’t think he has one flaw in his offense game.
Hot take: Trae Young is the best PG in the East, even better than Brunson. He’s lead his team to the ECF including dropping 48/7/11 in the ECF against a defense of Jrue Holiday and Giannis. He also averaged 29/10 against the 2023 Celtics in the playoffs and took them to 6
Nah. I think that Brunson has surpassed Trae even though he hasn't had much playoff success himself. His game translates to the postseason much better.
Hot take: PJ Washington is more vital for team success than kyrie. What he provides as a quality 4 fills a lot of gaps this team would have otherwise (rebounding, defense, physicality)
Personally, I don't think that he's being used in the correct offensive role. He is being used as a catch-and-shoot specialist despite being much better at slashing and finishing at the rim, getting into the paint for floaters, or posting up.
Hot take: people need to press the brakes on wemby. He is a great player, probably in the top 20 but people claiming him to be TOP 5 is too much in this league with so much talent.
Hot Take: Pistons’ new POBO, Trajan Langdon, will make significant changes to the core roster after the team’s disappointing start to the season. Ivey, Sasser, and Duren may find themselves on new teams before the season ends. Ivey’s fit next to Cade remains shaky, although he could stay due to the potential for a breakout into stardom. Sasser, on the other hand, no longer has a solid role, especially with the person who drafted him no longer with the organization. Duren could be traded as well-three years in, he still hasn’t developed into a competent defender, and Langdon may look for someone who can contribute immediately rather than waiting for Duren to improve on that end.
Hot Take : The NBA should reinstitute the 3 year out of high school rule. the NBA would be more popular and get better TV ratings if players had to play in college for 3 years since they would get more famous. Also, drafting older players should mean more guys can contribute right away. And since college players can make money through NIL now, there's no moral arguement that they need to go to the NBA to make money.
Luka landed in a better situation than SGA? Haven’t people been saying for years that the Mavs failed to support Luka until like 9 months ago when the Kyrie trade turned out okay rather than being completely insane as predicted?
The Mavs have been trying to build around Luka since they got him. Did they have missteps? Yes, but that comes with the process of trying to build around a superstar. They have clearly proven to be able to make smart decisions, at least since Nico Harrison took over. Shai became part of a rebuild after one playoff appearance in OKC.
The Nuggets have to make a move by the deadline or their championship hopes will be out the window. Russell Westbrook and the improvement of Christian Braun don't nearly make up the hole that was left by losing KCP and Bruce Brown. On top of that the west has improved drastically since 2022-2023.
Hot take: Bam Adebayo is just as good as bill russell excluding rings and all of that I would even say better than him
Bill kills him on rebounds tho
The divorce thing is because of the sadness in your eyes. There’s a world-weariness to you. Maybe it’s the Bulls’ fault.
Y'all are so mean. 😅
LMAOOOOO
or the mustache idk
facts, he has a certain tiredness to his look
It's the whole pissed off dad demeanour .... Like he's not in a bad mood all the time, he jus talks like that
Hot take: Fans get mad at their franchise for not aquiring nonexistent players. They use all the buzz words, like 'we need a stretch big', but you need an actual real person for that. Any stretch big who doesn't have a major weakness like being a cone on defense is very much employed, and is either not going anywhere or would take a ton of assets to get
This 100%
Exactly saying shit like we need a playmaking shooter like huh? Who??
Holy shit, W take. People really do be making up imaginary players. Cone had a great video on how "stretch big" is such an overused term when only about 10 players truly fit that, and only about 2 are really moveable. Yall should check out that vid, very informative
W
@
Yeah I watched that. W vid indeed
Hot Take: Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren will be one of the greatest rivalries in the sport in the coming years/decades barring injuries for both. Those two are must see TV.
Disagree. Forced rivalry. Let them meet in the playoffs first
They play tonight. Thunder up ⛈️⛈️
It's not really a rivalry. They will be compared to each other a lot throughout the rest of their careers, but I don't think that it's a rivalry.
@@urbaindelva7869fr, think there’s gotta be a lot higher stakes and more “chippiness” between them, for a lack of a better word. It doesn’t have to be beef or something, but the atmosphere between them has to be more than just centers happening to match up a ton that are compared to each other often.
@@IDontKnow-fr3vs Feels a bit one-sided. Like Wemby has a chip on his shoulders from his first encounter with Chet in the U19 World Cup. I don't think Chet has that same animosity
Hot take: this era is the most balanced era since the 90s, if not all of nba history. Even if the west is still stronger, both conferences has so many playoff/championship contenders that it’s honestly impossible to fully predict how this season could turn out playoff wise on either side
The Celtics and Thunder are both obvious favorites out of both conferences
@ Yeah but it’s not like a guaranteed lock that this will be the finals, plus I meant more like there are at least 10 different teams on either conference that could realistically make the playoffs and and all of them are really good compared to other eras
Brother. The 90s were NOT balanced
Bro used the second most dominated era as an example of a balanced era
@@5starileyDominated does not that it wasn't balanced.
Giannis’19-20 mvp is the most underrated mvp season in modern nba history. He should have been unanimous mvp that year, he put up 30, 13, and 6 playing the arguably the best defense of his career while the bucks were the first seed. The reason it gets overlooked so much is because of what happened in the playoffs. Nobody was particularly close to Giannis in the 19-20 regular season.
Robbed one from Harden as well
Feel like everybody was and still is aware of that mvp and his dominance as a whole, not to mention at the time there was heavy controversy out of lebrons camp stating he was snubbed.
@@kozymontana7509 LeBron was not snubbed
@ for sure but if you remember that was the year where he reallllyyyy went crazy with the washed king shit on twitter and skip and shannon where having debates on who deserves it more it was a real conversation, not saying he was snubbed just saying the MVP was definitely talked about and still is
were*
Hot Take: Nikola Jokic is to centers what Steph Curry is to point guards. The way they can space the floor and facilitate to teammates creates an offensive engine for any team to play around .Difference is Jokic pulls everyone into the paint instead of pullling them out to the 3 point line.
Hot Take… Shaq was Steph Curry for Centers.
Hot take: If Joel Embiid was on a poverty franchise who never surrounded him with sufficient talent, he could’ve been regarded well by fans like Demarcus Cousins has been. People wouldn’t bring up his playoff underperformances because he’d have none and they’d appreciate his game for what it is, and wonder what could have been on another team.
Woah woah, chill out. Cousins is far from the player Embiid is
@@kjjr3270 Is he?
The sixers without Embiid are basically nothing though
@@delanotownsend8297 yes, boogie was a fun player but wasnt in the same stratosphere as joel
@@TheRogueGiraffe They're probably closer than you think, but not close.
Unrelated to the current NBA, but here is my hot take.
The people who compare the Basketball Hall of Fame to the American Football and Baseball Hall of Fames fail to realise just how much more global basketball is in comparison.
If you want to have a strictly NBA Hall of Fame, go ahead. But for basketball as a whole, Oscar Schmidt, Sergei Belov, Kresimir Cosic, Dino Meneghin and many others belong here for their contributions to basketball outside the US
Fs. Basketball is the 2nd most worldwide sport
we have players in the hof and outside of it that are NBA players that have 10x more impact on basketball globally and how it’s viewed simply because they’re in the NBA. The nba brings more attention to these foreign players and by proxy their home country supports them and brings more attention to basketball in their country and the surrounding areas they represent. Jokic for russia, Kobe was big in japan, yao, dirk, manu, etc. the list goes on
@kozymontana7509 Sure, but look at the names I have given for instance. They got the ball rolling in their countries. They were the first to have major impacts, not the NBA that didn't become that global until the 90s. And even in the modern day, I would argue someone like Dennis Schroder will get in the HOF strictly off his FIBA contributions, for leading the greatest German team ever, and helping the sport get more popular there hopefully. Guess time will tell on that.
I guess for Jokic you mean ex-Yugoslavia/Eastern Europe because he ain't Russian. Either way, I get it, international stars in the league today help the game globally. But they are not the only ones, not in the past and not now.
@ I see what you mean and I do understand your statement I guess I was saying the NBA because if it’s eyes it gets will always be the leader for global impact not saying those guys don’t just saying they oftentimes are stuck to national teams which don’t get the kind of views that a nuggets game would. And for your schroeder points I am probably the biggest fan of Denny but i don’t think his HOF case will be built on FIBA impact being as though that takes place outside the NBA. Sadly every player i could compare for this situation is in the HOF but not because of olympics or fiba contributions but because they’re champions or high scorers (melo and manu) so they don’t fit the comparison
From a guy who’s a baseball and football fan more, I agree.
You da man, Rusty!
5:35 to be fair they gave griffin a contract the offseason before they traded him too lol
Hot take: age doesn't matter for development nearly as much as people make it seem. You see many players develop from roleplayers into All stars after they turn 25
Hello, Rusty Ballsack.
I love the content lately man! Everything is high quality and entertaining. I am happy for you and hope your struggles with depression and addiction are improving
Hot take: The Cavs have a LEGITIMATE shot at upsetting the Boston Celtics making it to the finals this year,
Kenny Atkinson has made this team arguably a top 8 offense and top 2 defense in the league
Hot Take: Both sides of the GOAT Debate need to stop pretending either player would be trash switching eras.
LeBron and Jordan literally played in the early 2000s where hand checking (Hand checking was finally fully outlawed in the 04-05 season if I'm not mistaken) and zone defense with terrible spacing was a thing all at the same time. Both at the weakest points in their careers (Jordan being 39-40 and LeBron being 18-19 years old) and both averaged 20 on the same FG%. Anyone thinking Jordan would be "Average" in today's era and anyone thinking LeBron wouldn't "survive" the 80s and 90s are delusional and only want to see their generation as superior.
This fact never gets brought up for some reason, and Idk why. However, if you are correct, the outlawing of hand checking was done right after LeBron's rookie season.
@@urbaindelva7869 I swear man
Like people act like the NBA magically became 10x better or worse as soon as Jordan retired and LeBron came in the league
Exactly. They nearly identically played and performed like almost clones in years right next to eachother. Think the league really changed from the Lakers vs Nets to the Lakers vs Pistons? I don’t think so
A actual hot take that shouldn’t be a hot take good job 👍🏽
Good take, shame it isn't a cold take
SGAs team circumstances remind me a lot of curry’s early years in golden state. He was good for a few years on a rebuilding team and the first time they had a competent roster was the 2012-2013 when they went to the 2nd round to the team that made the finals
Hot take: If Jokic was on the Warriors instead of Curry they would be a championship level roster. Jokic has such a high IQ, can score, and can get everyone involved and the warriors have the perfect supporting cast. They have shooters in Hield Waters and Wiggins, good defenders like draymond and melton, smart players in podziemski and moody, and kuminga can even play the Aaron Gordon role on offense, as well as a good backup big for Jokic in TJD.
Jokic would raise their floor to a playoff team I believe but they would be nowhere near a championship
Don't forget that everyone keeps going on about the Warriors having no 2nd option, and in this case it would still be true. They have a lot of depth but no established top players, sort of the opposite to what Denver won with.
What makes this more interesting is that the Warriors do need a stretch 5 in order to play JK and Draymond together effectively, so Jokic could definitely elevate them that way by slotting everyone to more suitable roles (That's a reflection on roster construction more than it is a reflection on Jokic or Steph individually)
To be honest no the warriors team is no where near a championship level roster or team. And also the fact that the warriors team don’t even have a real 2nd level star like Jokic did in Murray when they won the chip. Also the fact that people like draymond has problems even playing and keeps getting suspended.
Hot take #1: Pascal Siakam is an undermentioned playoff performer. Outside of the bubble, he has been good to great in almost every playoff series/run that he has played in. Since he broke out as a player, at least.
Hot take #2: If Bradley Beal's contract was much less than it is, he would not be getting so much flak right now. I see a lot of people making up narratives about him that simply are not true just because they don't like his contract. He is not in the best position right now, but he is trying to make it work; he has not complained or made excuses as far as I know. When he played well against the Clippers and bailed the Suns out in OT, very few people talked about it. He shot 1-7 from 3 against the Lakers, and damn near everybody was on his head. It's pretty ridiculous.
Hot take #3: Luka did NOT "carry" the 2021-22 Mavs to the WCF. There was no point during that run where he "carried" or "dragged" them anywhere. His teammates all stepped their game up come postseason time: Jalen Brunson led them to a 2-1 lead in the first round against Utah while Luka missed the first half of that series. DFS, Reggie Bullock, and Kleber all shot the lights out from 3 while anchoring the defense. That Game 7 ass-kicking of the Suns that Luka gets all the credit for? Spencer Dinwiddie had 30 on 73/71/100 splits, and Brunson had 24 and 6 on 58% shooting, but that does not get mentioned. If Luka had tried to carry them, they would not have made it that far.
1. I don't know that much about Pascal, so yeah he definitely is unmentioned.
2. I agree to an extent. He disappeared in their last game against the Wolves last year which is what most people will remember. 9 points in awful efficiency while fouling out on the process of getting swept will get someone flak (especially for a starter like Beal) regardless of contract. Still, his massive contract definitely doesn't help his reputation.
@@arkclirefFair point about Beal.
Hot take: The NBA would benefit from less games (as few as 50% or more) in the regular season for a few reasons.
For one, the stakes and thus intensity of games would increase. One must look no further than the dramatically lower game count and higher revenue stream of the NFL (double that of the NBA) for evidence of this claim, as well as the NBA giving credence to this problem by introducing the in-season tournament. Furthermore, the whole issue of load management would be remedied. This is self-explanatory. Lastly, injuries would assumedly decrease, as less mileage on players' bodies as well as simply less opportunity to get injured would occur. The dip in streaming numbers and total ticket revenue I think would over time be remedied by the increased popularity this new format would garner.
It could have some success, but that would mess with record books and just so many things way too much. I could maybe see a season, but it’s not enough basketball I think. That’s like 1-2 games a weak, as opposed to usually 3
you forgot that it's a business
more 🏀🏀🏀
more 💰💰💰
simple as that
This isn't a hot take at all.
7:57 bro still can’t get over his hate for the Celtics. 😂😂.
There was a reddit post about how Melo would be regarded as today and the hot take I had there was that he wouldn't be regarded a lot better than Zach Lavine. At his best, Melo was a very one-way, "give the ball to him and forget about getting it back" type of player. I checked his fga % and oddly, on his best year of 12'-13' where he was 3rd on MVP voting, his 3p fga% was higher than his 0-3 and 16-3p fga% but even then, he was just a scorer. He had no playmaking and he was a passable defender at best. Today, I can't think of many who have a similar one-way skillset in any playoff teams. I'm glad his ego accepted the reality towards the end of his career and became a sparkplug kinda player.
In other words Melo was a good volume scorer but lacked in all around game.
That kind of player probably had more value in Melo’s prime because scores were lower to begin with.
Hot take: AD is currently better than LeBron, and has been for the last 2-3 years. Not a diss on bron because after all he is like 70 years old, but it seems like the thing where we have to act like every teammate he has sucks has transferred to AD, and it's stopped everyone from seeing what's actually going on
Hot take to literally nobody tf you on about
@@Logany5 wdym hot take to nobody? Most people I see and know still think LeBron is better. A hot take can also be a correct take.
@@Logany5bro they put LeBron in the top 10 and ad wasn't in there
every teamate he has sucks? lmao i never seen a superstar get the amount of help lebron had trough his career...
It hasn’t been like that for the past 2 or 3 years I think that’s a narrative people are starting to make but ad is better than lebron at least on the lakers this season tho
As I like to say “Goodbye Andre Roberson, hello Jared Vanderbilt” 😂
Hottake/not really a hottake if you think about it: Ryan Dunn wins rookie of the year and will be Booker’s co-star for years to come.
I think that Booker will be traded before Dunn reaches his full potential.
The “trade Bam” take was definitely an “oh yeah, this guy is shooting his shot” kind of take
What you were saying about only being good at one thing, being a defensive wing vs a 3 and D wing is the difference between Mattis Thybulle and Jalen Suggs. Starter on a playoff team vs deep rotation player on the Blazers
Hot take: Firing Bud was the right choice.
His half court sets aren’t great and his rotations were messy - truthfully, the only reason why held onto the job for as long as he did was that 2021 chip, prior to that his career with the Bucks was on unstable waters. Now, even though firing him was the right choice, the bucks did an awful job replacing him. It felt like they fired him without a plan on even the type of coach they needed to replace him with.
So the Bud firing in itself wasn’t a bad choice, it was how things were handled afterwords.
Thank you! I've been saying this since he got fired. Now, he did have the sentiment of his brother passing during the Miami series (condolences to him and his family), but even before that, his decision-making was always costing the Bucks. I don't think that firing him would be viewed as poorly as it is now if they had hired Nick Nurse when he was available or kept Adrian Griffin.
*Hot Take:* Magic have the potential to realistically be the number 2 seed and they *will be the number 3 seed bare minimum.*
Hot take number three options don’t exist. This is why certain big threes work and others don’t. When you’re clearly not a top two option it matters more what you can do without the ball then what you can do with it.
100%. You need your best player to do his thing, and then your second best player to do his thing when your best player sits. And then everyone else needs to fit in around that.
He said he's thankful for the NBA to be back at the end because the alimony and child care for 3 kids was getting too hard for Jacob
Dennis Schröder gonna be an all star this season.
Ight dawg ☠️
@@speaks3023let him cook hater
Bruh don't do him like that 😭@@speaks3023
No.
Rusty has expressed before that he dislikes the TNT crew mainly because of their lack of real basketball analysis. I would say that's the point of them as a group, they may not be hoop heads but they are entertaining/funny. The hot take I have is that in terms of expanding the brand and increasing engagement, the comedy focus TNT brings is way more valuable then if they were to really break down basketball with the X's and O's. In terms of bringing in new viewers, a Shaqtin a Fool segment or clip of Chuck talking about San Antonio women works way better than a J.J. Redick style of really breaking down what's happening on the court. A comedy aspect also works better for die hard fans as well. If you're really that invested in the X's and O's then you don't need a talking head to repeat back to you the information you already figured out, that's just redundant. One could argue maybe there is a middle point between pure comedy and pure information, but I don't think that would make anyone happy. For those interested in pure entertainment, there would now be less of it and more of the "boring" talking points. For those interested in the analytical aspect, it would have to be watered down to allow for more comedy. Essentially what I'm saying is what we have now is already thd perfect system. Halftime show on TNT provides you with entertainment, and if you want to hear more high level conversations about the game, you come to TH-cam. No need to change something if it's not broken
hot take: nba fans’ love for effective scoring has not only led to the rise in free throw searching play styles + the cause for “shot chuckers”. Players like JR smith, cam thomas, and zach lavine :) get this label now but in the 90s- early 2010s this kind of player was needed on every team for success .
HOT TAKE
If teams in the 80's learned the modern way to play basketball slow paced, low volume 3 point teams would be left behind
This is for the old heads. basketball is being maximised not overblown
AD will win MVP
Lakers gotta be a Top 6 seed AT LEAST.
@ I think they will be. Like 3 or 4 seed
How? Mavs will be better and Luka will have a higher chance at his first
Hot take: the addition of Kenny Akinson on the Cavs is way more impactful that any trade or move we could have made to acquire a wing. We could and probably should still add a 3 and D wing or maybe someone develops, but Kenny’s new system and emphasis on Mobley specifically as well as more off ball actions from the gaurds is wayyyyy better than bickerstaff plus fill in the blank 3 and d wing would ever be. Might be a sneaky ecf team
Hot take: If Giannis can’t synergize with dame he won’t be able to synergize with most if not every of team and their star player/players. Not saying dame is the most versatile player but Giannis refuses to set real screens and do big man stuff off the ball when if he did if would vastly improve his off ball play and make him much more versatile. People talk about how bad players like Trae and Luka are off ball when realistically all Giannis is off ball is a decent lob threat.
Hot Take: John Wall will sign with an NBA team this season and then might retire or will retire this season. Kemba Walker will get his number 15 jersey retired by the Hornets.
Hornets better retire his jersey!!
Well duh of course Kemba will get his jersey retired
The Hornets owe Kemba that for wasting his time for so long.
@@urbaindelva7869 Absolutely 💯.
Hot take: people would be intrested in overseas basketball content. Like once every month or two. Especially Euroleague.
if tatum had continued to be apart of a more heliocentric system like he was in 22-23 people would be viewing him in a entirely different light, vs now where hes just apart of the celtics system and isn't the main focus, if you watch the games you'll notice he is often out of rhythm when he trys to self create because he has to go outside the flow of the system causing for inconsistencies in his game. The celtics system helps him wins games but also holds down his production levels, but even when he does win he doesnt get credit. Truly the tim duncan of our era.
If Tim wasn’t as good, I agree
Tim is a great player because he is a great system player.
@@GOlone9597 Tim was the system
@@GOlone9597Tatum still rich
@@GOlone9597both are rich in won a championship PG James harden none of y'all fav have one 💩 y'all jealous of Tatum cause he nice looking and don't kiss LeBron James ass
Hot take: Amen Thompson should've have gone 2nd or 3rd overall over Scoot or Brandon Miller.
We allowed players like Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz to scare us into thinking not having a Jumper = will never reach true star potential, but i think you saw over NBA opening weekend (I also watched his rookie season) that the the freak athleticism combined with a MUCH better mindset of self improvement is the true key.
Markelle and Ben Simmons could've actually still had relevant careers, had they the same mentality and drive as Amen Thompson to leverage their athleticism to make up for their lack of shooting form. If Amen never develops a true jumper, I still think he can be an menance, essentially carving out a Russell Westbrook type of playstyle that can legit carry this rockets team in ways we haven't seen since prime James Harden.
No. Amen cannot shoot. You’re going to have to be so good at everything else in order to make up for the lack of being a good shooter in today’s nba. Brandon miller is easily on pace to being the 2nd best player in that draft he has the traits to be a very good to great scorer, is a good playmaker and has the traits to be a good defender as well. Amen has a ways to go to catch up to that
markelle got screwed over by injuries which affected him mentally, nothing to do with his actual play
While I understand your point, I disagree. If Amen has the drive and mentality that you say he does, developing a reliable jump shot should not be an issue for him. He has already proven to be really good without it, but having a jumper in his repertoire, even if he doesn't use it consistently, would benefit him a lot.
Then why did the magic not pick him back up. Theres clearly something that didnt add up if he couldnt convince them to keep him on a roster with cole anthony and anthony black @meep7895
@urbaindelva7869 Amen is focused on his jumpshot. Its one of the first things he talked about during his rookie season signing, he already knew who the rockets shooting coach was during his intro press conference, and he has still made it an emphasis of something he wants to actively work on.
My whole point was that I still think even if he somehow didn't work on his jumper (which he is), he has shown a lot of potential to be a defensive/athletic menace, and he was already know for being a good playmaker.
Hot take: the method of comparing players where you stack up each individual aspect of the game (shooting, finishing, perimiter D etc.) and the player who wins in the most aspects is better is dumb and leads to questionable takes like prime westbrook or kyrie > steph. A player can be good at everything but still worse than someone who is elite at one or two things, ultimately the only aspect that should be compared is impact on winning.
Not really a hot take. It's even worse when each attribute is decided so subjectively. For example, people would jump to say Kyrie is a much better finisher than Steph. While he might be in some ways, the stats don't necessarily support that efficiency wise, and even eye-test wise, it's debatable. Sure, Kyrie does crazy things no one else does, but if it goes in, it doesn't matter if it's pretty. And it's not even like Steph isn't crafty himself. It's just all these built-in narratives that are based on nothing concrete.
@@tiredbasketballfanThe stupid thing is that the people who make that claim act like Steph CAN'T do it because he DOESN'T. I'm sure that if Steph wanted to or NEEDED to, he would do the same things that Kyrie does offensively. He doesn't need to because of his shooting ability and the impact it has, which eclipses what Kyrie does.
@@urbaindelva7869
I mean he’s not equal to him, but he’s better overall
Hot take: Ant has that "can get to the rim at will but takes pull up 3s" problem much worse than Tatum. Tatum is a system player where the team tries to hit more 3s than anyone, but Ants the most athletic player in the league and a great finisher on a team that can't win off 3s (not to mention all his historical comparisons are slashers) yet he's taking more 3s than Curry this season. There's no reason Ja Morant should be putting more pressure on the rim night in night out
Tatum is not a "system player." There is nothing about his game that says that he is a system player.
@@urbaindelva7869 wym
I think ANT's problem is that the team has terrible spacing.
@@ChibiMalzahar"System player" implies that Tatum is only as good as he is because of the Celtics' system whereas he would not flourish in any other system. Tatum's game could definitely translate to other teams.
@@shorewallNot terrible, just not great. Their spacing is hit or miss sometimes.
Hot take: most people who say potential is overrated don’t really understand how most teams, especially small market teams, construct their rosters. Obviously when you see a team like OKC or Atlanta (in this past draft), who’s already loaded with whatever stars they think they need to be a championship contender, they will prioritize picking high end role players with their picks (like Cason Wallace and Zaccharie Risacher). But teams like the Jazz, 2019 Cavs, and last year’s Rockets need to draft for potential with their lottery picks, as they don’t yet have their true number 1, and you can’t win in this league with just a few good role players, no matter how good they are.
Hot take : deni avdija is one of the only players that are also one pf the most underrated players and one of the players that every team would just love to have
Hot Take? Don't know how hot this one is, but the NBA finals go on for too long. They need to make it a 1 day break instead of 2. To me it's kind of silly that the finals can go on for a month.
No one would agree to this. Players want more rest and tv networks want more ads.
Horrible take. Why risk injury/fatigue when players are playing at their peak?
Nah not it
Bro teams that make it to the finals play a minimum of 94 games and you’re tripping over an extra day of rest?
That’s just not good. Sometimes it makes sense, especially when they stay in that area for another game or two, but travel logistics along prevent this. *maybe* for teams close to eachother, like if Minnesota and Milwaukee went to the Finals, but you can’t do that for Lakers vs Celtics, Warriors vs Cavs, Lakers vs Nets, etc.
Not sure how hot of a take this is, but with how shaky the Nuggets are looking rn, I think the 4th seed in the West could go to any of the Suns, Lakers, Grizzlies, Warriors, Nuggets at least. Top 3 should still be OKC/Wolves/Mavs in some order
if luka doesn’t get it together he might drop to 5 with his mavs. I could see OKC at 1, Lakers at 2, and the Suns jumping to 3 over both dallas and denver
If Gradey Dick for the Toronto Raptors keeps playing how he is right now, I believe he is in contention for a year 2 Most Improved Player award. Going from 8 ppg to 19ppg over an offseason is Gilbert Arenas type of goat
Did he really improve, or is he just finally getting more opportunities?
@@urbaindelva7869 hes improved a lot. he was so bad in his first stint on the raptors he was sent to the g league LMFAO
Hot take: The Cavs win the east and Evan Mobley wins MIP, averages 22 9 and 4, and becomes an all-star
Hot take: Cade isn't a number one option type of player and will be regarded as Wizards Beal unless the Pistons manage to draft somebody better that he can play as a 2nd option next to
It's easy to say that because the Pistons suck with Cade as their leader right now. However, it's hard to determine that for sure right now because the Pistons suck for reasons outside of his control. Idk how many other players would do much better in his situation. Also, how do you know that that hypothetical somebody would do much better than Cade? They would be in the same situation as Cade, just replacing him as the leading man.
@urbaindelva7869 I'm saying despite all that, I don't think Cade is going to be that guy. Plenty of guys have put up big stats as the number one option despite not being that option. Zach Lavine, Beal, and hell, even MCW's rookie year. Plenty of guys can be tge number one option and can produce amazing stats, but not all of them will lead a team to success. Do I think that it's written in stone and destined to be? No. Can I see it happening? Yes. It's like Rusty said. People focus so much on the word "potential" that the have blinders on and I'm wondering if that will happen to Cade.
Hot take: the last 2 championship teams (2023 nuggets and 2024 Celtics) are the two best teams since the super team warriors. I predict an iteration of the Thunder will join those teams, probably either 2025 or 2026.
Hot take: Ivica Zubac makes the all star team and is the only clipper to do so. With all the injuries to start the season, there will be a lot of the main guys to miss the game due to injury, and he will be good enough to make it as a replacement
Hot take: the hate people (including you Rusty) give to Sochan is undeserved and should instead be directed towards Keldon Johnson. I love KJ as a person but holy shit he’s been the same player since he was drafted. He has plateaued as a Spur, there is no offensive or defensive leap coming, atleast not until he is on another team. Meanwhile, Sochan has shown improvement each season and from his start this season he’s already significantly better (and more important to winning) than KJ.
Hot take: the nuggets have become UNDERRATED, and are still contenders in the west. I understand that teams like the Mavs and okc have gotten better, but the nuggets still have their 4 best players from the championship team, and they have underrated depth. People act like teams like the Mavs and Timberwolves are levels ahead, which is not the case.
Well, only 2 of their 4 best players look great right now (one of them just got hurt), and their bench has been ineffective. They could turn it around, but until then... 🤷🏾♂️
@ completely agree
I don’t agree with the way the SGA take was phrased but it is now time to have playoff success from both him and the Thunder. You can’t get on SGA for not having success in the past as Rusty laid out but going forward he should be held to the same standards as Tatum, Book and Luca.
Fair enough.
Hot take: Rusty could as easily pass as a high school senior and a 42 year old divorced dad of three
Technical fouls should be strictly prohibited. They should only be allowed if a player is straight up yelling in a refs face or getting physical
The cavs could very well have four all stars
6:56 EXACTLY
Hot take: LeBron's 13 year run from the 2011-12 season through 2023-24 is a better continuous stretch of basketball than the careers of Larry or Magic (13 and 12 years long respectively).
LeBron during these years: 26.7/7.8/7.7 on 52.7/36.0/72.8 splits, 4-4 in the Finals, 4x FMVP, 2x MVP, 2x All-Defensive First Team, 1x All-Defensive Second Team, 7 total top 3 finishes in MVP voting, 28.6/9.3/7.3 on 51.4/33.6/73.7 splits in the postseason.
Larry's career: 24.3/10.0/6.3 on 49.6/37.6/88.6 splits, 3-2 in the Finals, 2x FMVP, 3x MVP, 3x All-Defensive Second Team, 8 total top 3 finishes in MVP voting, 23.8/10.3/6.5 on 47.2/32.3/88.9 splits in the postseason.
Magic's career: 19.5/7.2/11.2 on 52.0/30.3/84.8 splits, 5-4 in the Finals, 3x FMVP, 3x MVP, 0x All-Defensive, 9 total top 3 finishes in MVP voting, 19.5/7.7/12.3 on 50.6/23.7/83.8 splits in the postseason.
The regular season is debatable, but the postseason stuff is clearly superior. I don't see how so many people can justify ranking those two over him and continue to harp on 2011 when what he did AFTER THAT, not even counting his two MVPs before then or his 2009 run, is a top 5 career OAT
Adding in top 3 in MVP voting is nasty work plus numbers have no context
@@itsmeflacko1618In my book if you’ve made top five in the MVP vote then you were probably at minimum one of the best 10-15 players in the league, and even if you weren’t you still probably had a career year or one of outsized impact (ex: Joakim Noah in 2014 wasn’t that caliber but if I’m not mistaken stepped up after Rose got hurt and was a DPOY).
Just about every player who we consider top 30-35 all time by consensus finished top five in an MVP vote at least once in their career.
Hot take: Bobby Portis should be the Bucks starting center with Brook Lopez coming off the bench
Hot take: Zach Lavine is top 5 all time in having the prettiest/smoothest scoring game
Hot take: Dwight Howard is top 30 all time (#28-30)
Hot take: East and Western conferences both have a equal level of competition in them. The difference has been overstated even last season
For the East, it's more so the top half. For the West, it's the top to the middle.
Hot take: Talking about great players and teams as a “problem” the way so many NBA TH-camrs do is… a problem. It’s probably not great for the overall enjoyment of basketball if we talk about greatness in negative terms, even if it is meant as a compliment.
Hot Take: This current Brooklyn Nets team is ridiculous deja vu from the 2018-19 Nets and I wouldnt be surprised if they make the play in, especially if Ben Simmons can become like 60-75% of what he was at his best. The team is sneaky deep, Cam Thomas should have an All Star season, and Nic Claxton is a walking double-double and one of the better defensive anchors out East.
I can see that.
Video Discussion - “Do all NBA players work hard?!”
There is alot said about how hard players work. People say there are players who made it to the league due to talent alone. How do we define talent, if someone makes the game look easy and nonchalant. Are they not putting in effort, then you have a person like T.J McConnell who due to his physical ability. Couldn’t have made it to the league if not for hard work. I struggle to find good examples of non hard working players. People say Zion because of his weight, Embiid because of his injuries and jokic cos of his size and laid-back character. But it takes so much effort to make it to the league then from that, move hard work to become top players within the top players. I don’t understand the criticism around it all and would like your opinion on it. Just a lot of questions.
American vs The World as the NBA all star game will make it competitive.
The NBA should get rid of charges. If a 6'2 guard who's never blocked a shot in his life stays outside of the restricted area, he can become a sort of shot blocker so to speak. We should stop punishing bigs/forwards for being big, and just let them shoot.
(Not saying offensive fouls, just charges)
Peace 😄
HOT TAKE - “Aesthetics are Overrated”
Within my group of basketball watches, they are all obsessed with the idea of players who are “buckets”. It became I big deal when I said my opinion that Naz Reid isn’t one my favourite players. Not that I hate him, but now I find it annoying how a lot of people hype up the “guard in a big man body” because of a highlight real of perimeter spin moves and “bucket”. I think aesthetics and culture is overrated.
Kobe isn’t top 10
Allen Iverson should never be in the top 10 conversations
There is a reason Naz Reid doesn’t start
HOT TAKE: Clippers will have a 2015 hawks kind of run this year, their defense will make them a team to be feared in the playoffs yet the lack of top talent won't let them get too far
Jj Reddick 3 or 4 games into his career is already a much MUCH better coach than Doc rivers at his peak (P.S Love your content congrats on every form of success you've had you deserve it I've been watch since around covid you're pretty cool beans)
hot take: all time scoring should not be used to consider how good a player is at scoring, instead their scoring titles or their placement in league scoring should be used.
all time scoring should be used less then scoring titles when comparing players. or at least, their scoring in regards to the leagues best, even if they don’t win the title.
If you mean the raw point totals, then players going forward would be inevitably sold short because they would have played when load management was more of a thing.
If today’s load management was around in the 1980’s, 1990’s, and early 2000’s, then Kareem and Karl Malone would probably not have played 75+ games into their late 30’s.
Hot Take: The Warriors have the deepest team in the league, and if they make a trade for any all-star calibre player they’d be runaway favorites this year.
Hot take: if the celtics win the in-season tournament you should shave your beard and show us because it would be entertaining
Hot Take: In about 15-20 years, all famous NBA TH-camrs gonna be lifestyle vloggers/skit creators.
OKC was not SIGNIFICANTLY worse last year. That is hilarious. Yea they are better this year but relax
I'd say they are. They were a young team with minimal playoff experience and now the young ones learned more and developed plus key additions
@@winter9242
They barley got experience and it’s just two dudes. It’s overrating clearly. People saying “70 wins”. Bs. They’re good, but not at or at least above the level of the 2012 Thunder
@@Jonathan-A.C.They have other guys who developed outside of J-Dub and Chet.
@@Jonathan-A.C. SGA and dort already had prior experience before last year plus they got caruso who's a reliable vet and already a champion. I'm not one of those people saying they'll reach 70 wins because it's ludicrous but they have improved significantly with their development and key additions
@
Additions? Yes. Experience? No. That to me is how I look at it
Hot take: Luka as a player right now is better than prime Larry Bird
Idk. Luka is a better offensive player, but Bird was also just as great while being a better off-ball threat. Equally good rebounder, better defender, equally good passer/playmaker, etc.
Hot take: the best two-way player is just the best player. Period. Take Luka and Tatum for instance. Even if Tatum is really good on both ends, Luke's offensive impact is so large that it makes up for his defensive shortcomings so in the aggregate he's the better player. I know it feels like I'm being pedantic and it's on purpose because I think the whole two-way player is a useless distinction. Just say which player is better
Hot take: I’m ranking Moses Malone above KD all time
Hot take: Giannis’s 2021 finals and Curry’s 2022 finals don’t get enough credit as all time level performances.
Hot take: Tyrese Maxey will lead the league in scoring. With PG and Embiid in and out all season, he’ll be free to shoot whenever he wants
Hot take: Dennis Schroder is the current MIP
hot take: teams should stop drafting players (especially very high overall picks) for “fit” purposes. sometimes it’s just better to pick the best player available and trade him later on for a player who fits on that team if you’re trying to contend.
I disagree. If teams always drafted the best player available, they would have a lot of players that they don't need on their roster. Also, let's say that that best player does not pan out; how much value would they get for them if that happens?
the same value as a player who fits the team but doesn’t pan out. at least the better player has less chances of panning out.
Hot take: The east's Timberwolves. The cleveland cavaliers will make be 3rd in the east & the ECF if they are healthy at PO time. They are currently 5 - 0 with solid wins against the Lakers and Knicks. Bickerstaff gone I think they will take a big offensive leap & still maintain their strong defence.
Hot Take: i think curry is the greatest offensive player of all time, his dribbling is top 5 all time, he is extremely efficient in the paint i think that get over looked bc of how great of a shooter he is, his playmaking is amazing and he utilizes his gravity to help him draw defenders to kick out to open teammates or a easy pass to the rim. he is the greatest off ball player of all time consistently moving to scramble the defense. and everyone already knows he’s the greatest shooter of all time. i just don’t think he has one flaw in his offense game.
Hot take: cleveland can come out the east as the 1 seed, this team looks insane w Atkinson
Hot Take - The Cavs will be top 3 this seaosn, DG and Mobley look much better than last season
Atkinson is actually giving Mobley the ball more, and he's actually making Garland more visible in the offense.
It's always "Divorced Dad" because you're an NBA fans. We're all depressed from a stressful ass 82 game season 💀
Hot take: Trae Young is the best PG in the East, even better than Brunson. He’s lead his team to the ECF including dropping 48/7/11 in the ECF against a defense of Jrue Holiday and Giannis. He also averaged 29/10 against the 2023 Celtics in the playoffs and took them to 6
Nah. I think that Brunson has surpassed Trae even though he hasn't had much playoff success himself. His game translates to the postseason much better.
Hot take: PJ Washington is more vital for team success than kyrie. What he provides as a quality 4 fills a lot of gaps this team would have otherwise (rebounding, defense, physicality)
Personally, I don't think that he's being used in the correct offensive role. He is being used as a catch-and-shoot specialist despite being much better at slashing and finishing at the rim, getting into the paint for floaters, or posting up.
Hot take: people need to press the brakes on wemby. He is a great player, probably in the top 20 but people claiming him to be TOP 5 is too much in this league with so much talent.
Hot Take: Pistons’ new POBO, Trajan Langdon, will make significant changes to the core roster after the team’s disappointing start to the season. Ivey, Sasser, and Duren may find themselves on new teams before the season ends. Ivey’s fit next to Cade remains shaky, although he could stay due to the potential for a breakout into stardom. Sasser, on the other hand, no longer has a solid role, especially with the person who drafted him no longer with the organization. Duren could be traded as well-three years in, he still hasn’t developed into a competent defender, and Langdon may look for someone who can contribute immediately rather than waiting for Duren to improve on that end.
He should. They can not keep going on like this.
Hot Take that shouldn’t be one. Buddy hield is one of the best 3pt shooters ever.
Hot Take : The NBA should reinstitute the 3 year out of high school rule. the NBA would be more popular and get better TV ratings if players had to play in college for 3 years since they would get more famous. Also, drafting older players should mean more guys can contribute right away. And since college players can make money through NIL now, there's no moral arguement that they need to go to the NBA to make money.
Luka landed in a better situation than SGA? Haven’t people been saying for years that the Mavs failed to support Luka until like 9 months ago when the Kyrie trade turned out okay rather than being completely insane as predicted?
The Mavs have been trying to build around Luka since they got him. Did they have missteps? Yes, but that comes with the process of trying to build around a superstar. They have clearly proven to be able to make smart decisions, at least since Nico Harrison took over. Shai became part of a rebuild after one playoff appearance in OKC.
I don't think Kawhi is getting traded Clippers have given up too much for him
The Nuggets have to make a move by the deadline or their championship hopes will be out the window. Russell Westbrook and the improvement of Christian Braun don't nearly make up the hole that was left by losing KCP and Bruce Brown. On top of that the west has improved drastically since 2022-2023.