Hot Take: Giannis and Jokic are already top 20 and arguable top 15 players of all time ahead of players like Kevin Durant. Giannis has surpassed Dirk by being a far more consistent playoff performer and defender, and also edges out KG as a higher volume scorer with similar playoff success. Duncan is the only PF in history better than Giannis, and if he can somehow manage to win another title or two he could close the gap (somewhat unlikely but let me dream). Jokic meanwhile has surpassed every center not named Kareem/Bill/Wilt/Hakeem/Shaq. As the best passing bigman ever who has taken his scoring game to another level this year, I won’t be surprised if in just another few seasons we are debating his entry into the top 10.
Dirk was a shooter. Giannis is a thin (taller) version of Barkley. He dominates inside, but you can't compare him to Dirk because they have completely different games. Jokic is already better than Russel, Hakeem, and Shaq. He hasn't accomplished as much, but none of those 3 could touch Joker in terms of offensive production or the way he dissects the other team's offense and defense through sheer basketball IQ. And anyone trying to cheer-lead for Russel, he wasn't as good a rebounder OR scorer OR passer as Joker. He also couldn't do as much to carry his team because he was a mediocre offensive player (even against inferior competition). The only centers Joker can't surpass is Wilt and Kareem. They had too many years with huge production and leading their team. He might be better than them, but it's impossible to establish it so the best you get is he is on their level.
@@SDesWriter U know... I read ur comment and it got me thinking about how somehow, getting more help seems to diminish a ring's value. Bill Russell should ideally be in the top 10 conversation. He has a 12-1 playoffs record. Yet his accomplishments are only used as some kind of foil primarily by Jordan and Wilt detractors. Bill Russell's 11 rings are partly dismissed because he had a killer squad around him which allowed him to not HAVE TO be the greatest rebounder scorer or passer. He just did enough for the team to win. Larry Bird's rings are never questioned, yet he had the exact same benefits as Bill in having a completely stacked roster. One of the hot takes suggests Celtics will 3-Peat as there isn't currently a roster deep healthy or organized enough to take them on in 7 games. Suppose that happens, will JT's rings be respected, or will they be dismissed because of the excellent roster around him? I guess what I'm trying to ask is; At what point does getting enough help become a detriment? We hate LeBron for stacking Superteams, well how would Kobe be viewed if his attempt at a superteam actually worked and they won 1 or 2 chips?
@ it’s a good question. Luka finally has a good team around him and despite the best 7 game stretch in the league (and a 3rd place team), he’s fallen completely out of the MVP discussion. I honestly don’t know but I agree with your point. It SHOULD go to the guy whose team is the worst without him, but half the voters think it’s the best player of the best team (while others just treat it as a popularity contest). That’s why I have no respect for the award. It doesn’t really mean anything when Luka was CLEARLY the best player last season (at least offensively) and carried a team with changing lineups and injuries to 50 wins and the NBA Finals, yet finished 3rd.
Hot take: the issue isnt the 3s its the way people watch basketball. a lot of people watch and tend to ball watch and/or think mostly abt the shot and not watch the entirety of the play. if u watch the celtics knicks opening night game it wasnt like the celtics were taking a million heat checks a lot of the 3s before they hunted the record were just open shots from well worked plays. if the nba had a more nfl like discussion where plays were talked about at large that wouldnt be the issue. obviously that goes back to the whole whos on tv and who watches the game discussion but at large, people need to stop focusing on where the shot is taken from and more on how they got the shot
That might be true, but there's not really enough time from play-to-play in the NBA for commentators to discuss, at least live (less excuses with after game commentating), especially compared to the NFL.
The way the Celtics are playing this and last year is closer to the Spurs in 2014 than the Warriors in 2017. Set up plays for basically anyone on the floor that makes sense in the moment and trust that this individual will be able to hit the open shot. Sometimes those shots will be contested, but that is what you have superstars like Jayson Tatum for. Who can make those as well. It's f***g beautiful to watch. The people who are saying the Celtics are just chuckers and are boring to watch are not actually watching any of their games.
Hot Take: The NBA Cup is not pointless and actually gives players a golden opportunity to make a statement and possibly even swing votes for awards. Having success in a playoff-like atmosphere will leave a good taste in voters mouths and show that they actually care about the regular season. Not the biggest deal in the world but something that will stay in the back of people’s minds for sure. It also has the potential to start rivalries which is a good thing for the league imo.
Hakeem is objectively a better player than Kobe. You can rank Hakeem anywhere in the top 10, but in my opinion he should always be above Kobe. Hakeem had a very similar offensive skill set to Kobe (consistently above average tough shot making in the mid to low post) which is inherently more valuable at the center position as it opens the floor up for the rest of his team on the perimeter. It's also a lot easier to build the team around Hakeem by spacing the floor with four shooters and perimeter defenders than building a team around a 2 who almost entirely plays inside the arc. That's all on top of providing DPOY defense at the more impactful position.
Hakeem had maybe a better peak than Kobe, but he is NOT "objectively better" if we are talking careers. Kobe, imo had better longevity and overall accolades/winning. Hence why I have Kobe over Hakeem all time.
Nice, I finally made a Hot Takes video. Appreciate it, Rusty. Also, I meant "eras" when I typed "ears" and didn't notice it until I saw you liked my comment but I liked how you used it to segue into an excellent analogy.
Hot Take: Adam Silver's bad eye for aesthetics is part of why the league is getting worse. From the new MVP trophy to the hideous NBA Cup courts and the terrible Nike jerseys, this all adds up to one of the many reasons modern NBA is getting worse.
Don't flatter adam silver. Uglification seems to be a universal thing these days. It applies to everything really. Architecture, vehicle design, fashion and other consumer goods, beauty standards, and apparently nba courts, jerseys and trophies. No matter what you're into, odds are it's been getting uglier for a while now. It's definitely not just the nba and adam silver did not come up with it.
@@WadaMalone a lot of it is intentional branding. Whether we like it or not, these big businesses bog down their aesthetics in order to enhance the brand through simplicity and unfortunately it works. Like in soccer for instance, all the largest and richest clubs watering down their logos to make them as easy to mass produce as possible and new age consumerism eats ts tf up.
Love hearing the take that Tatum is an underrated defender. Especially pointing out his defense on bigs in the finals vs the Mavs. That’s a huge part of why the Celtics switching almost everything on D works. I’m a Celtics fan so am def biased but JT’s defensive improvement consistently flies under the radar
the whole “take x player off this team and look how bad that team gets” is a lazy argument for an mvp case, of course if you take the best player off of a team they’ll get worse, you can apply this to all 30 teams yet not all 30 teams have a player worthy of mvp
The same applies to taking a co-star away from a team with a superstar. "MJ never won without Scottie!" "Steph can't win without Klay!" well yeah? Take the 2nd best player away and the team gets worse
It's doable with context. The MVP frontrunners will have worse teams if they're not on the court but Jokic's absence actually hurts the Nuggets the most more than the rest, by the rest, I mean arguably just as worse or worse than Wizards.
Not really. In Shai and Tatum's case they still have multiple top 30 players in the league on the team and are still gonna probably win near 50 games a season without those 2 guys.
@@vin8754 that's just like saying in 2013, melo should've won MVP rather than bron because knicks would be worse with melo than heat without bron. It's a lazy argument
Hot take: Evan Mobley has been a top 20 player (with a chance to move higher) in the league this season. He is one of the best & most versatile defenders in the league. He is shooting 40% on three on low but respectable volume and opposing defenses are starting to take notice. He has been a menace inside through contact where he is basically unguardable by smaller defenders or bigger, slow-footed opponents. He is a bonafide all-star in the East and the biggest reason why the Cavs have propelled themselves solidly into contender status this season.
Hot Take: The fix to the intentional fouls to force (seemingly endless) free throws is to remove the requirement to shoot free throws. If you're not fouled on a shot attempt, regardless if they're over the foul limit or not, free throws should be an option (with the other option just taking the ball out of bounds). This would also negate the hack a shaq tactics and speed up the game. Strategy around which players should shoot free throws or not would be an interesting dynamic.
Hot Take: Being clutch is the worst determination of effectiveness in basketball. Being clutch is inherently being Lucky in a basketball game. millions of little decisions are being made all the time on the court, leading to a moment where someone looks really cool and impactful. But in money situations, a clutch decision going wrong is not the fault of the player but instead luck just not being on their side. Yet so often, a player is deemed as not effective if they don't have these cool moments on their resume. I prefer a player who, most of the time, can lead to sustained winds rather than a player who can occasionally win a really competitive game. (I completely understand if anyone disagrees though)
Hot Take: Damian Lillard will be remembered the same way Carmelo Anthony is remembered when looking back at his game and career. A great player in their prime, good offensive players that were fun to watch but terrible on the defensive end. Fairly one note players. In the end their game didn’t impact winning championships All aura, little impact
15:30 I would counter to say defensive skills are underrated and under appreciated. Effort is 100% a major factor, but being able to combine movement skills, understanding offensive scemes and playstyles, is more important. Effort is what happens when we star plays show random flashes of good defense, but some players don't know how to implement the same skillsets on offense onto defense.
Statistics should always be observed in the context of the era the player was in when you look at stats in a vacuum it erased how much that person's number contribute to the game like when people try to compare Chris Paul averaging 20pt/10ast to Haliburton 20pt/10ast
Hot Take: If the NBA brought back the Sonics they’d have something they’ve lacked outside of Lakers-Celtics, and maybe Sixers-Celtics: A team on team rivalry that is very likely to be paid attention to by both fanbases for more than one generation of players (in this case with OKC). Correct me if I’m wrong but most others seem to be only in the eras of particular players (ex: Who talks about Bulls-Knicks these days?)
The reason the OKC defence is so good is because they take advantage of the fact that the shooting guards are all now playing point guard but they can't really dribble/pass good enough to handle the suffocating defence.
A good way to make the NBA in-season tournament competitive is give the winner all their wins in the tournament added to their regular season count, boosting their chances of getting into the play offs by alot
I like the point on lazy eras very true. But the one thing people over look and Rusty has touched on this is how the rules heavily affect what we determine to be skill. If you can lift your pivot foot off the ground to gain extra space or cup the ball to basically pick up your dribble, only to then continue dribbling. Which allows the offensive player to have an massive advantage as the refs no longer call these things as violation there even in the rules basically but were not before.
Classic 2 guards are wings. Wings classically were the 2 and the 3 positions. Also i would like anyone to make a detailed account on how players today are better then their predecessors. I say this as a guy who has watched ball since the 80s and went back to watch tapes of full games from 60s and 70s. If you want to say schemes are better ... yeah maybe i could see that but the rules and coaching tolerance have a lot to do with that. And definitely training techniques and equipment have improved and benefitted modern players a lot. But i think the players themselves are much more comparable. Case in point if you look at track numbers at a glance it would seem like Jesse Owens could not even compete at the collegiate level today however some did a breakdown of how the equipment of today helps that and that if you account for that he could still compete for Olympic medals today. No one but the most casual fans think that Joe Montana could not compete in todays NFL as one of the best QBs in the league. Why would the NBA be any different has never been explained or shown to me.
Hot Take: Using LeBron for the "Bigger stronger and faster" argument in the GOAT debate pretty much props up the 2000s NBA more than anything since LeBron is about to 40 and even the 2010 draft is barley hanging on by a thread. Yes there's select players in the 2010s that could be in the Top 10 all time by the time they retire but for the most part, Players drafted 2010 and beyond sit more and get hurt constantly.
It is actually nuts. PG is the only one in that draft class who’s still playing, and besides a couple stars, there’s 20 or so players left, and they range from productive role players to helpful vets
Nba players only care for the money when they compete for the cup they aren't thinking about legacy and what it does for their career, they don't care for that
You have to talk about Jayson Tatum this season. I don’t think anyone thought he could get any better but here he is having what would be considered and MVP season if we didn’t have Giannis and Jokic… Coming from a Miami fan
Ik this is not basketball related but the nba over promoting gambling has kinda took the joy out of the watching experience. (and that’s coming from someone that loves his parlays). I don’t wanna hear sports analysts take about there draftkings picks. In the end of the day gambling is still gambling and being advertised to kids is gross.
Hot take: It’s easier to rebuild in the west due to the amount of competition. While in the east below average teams get stuck in playoff contention because of how few contenders there are, out west a team that needs to reset will naturally have a worse record due to the number of good teams and the number of teams with an above .500 records will ensure you get a low seed.
Hot take: new Alex's Caruso contract might not be great, but paying him big is actually a win-win for OKC, because they either have AC (great defender and guy who leads by example) or they can trade him + draft picks for a better option if they won't win in the next 2 seasons.
Hot Take: Jamison battle is one of the most underrated role players in the nba. He competes on both ends being a way better defender than what one may think. He can space the floor pretty well on offense and he is a bigger body which is always a luxury. Since he came from the g-league he is also very under payed. One of the best contracts in the nba
Hot Take: Every team in the NBA will eventually win a title. It will be certainly in this century but some might be in 20, 30 or 40 years. It is a matter of time and circumstance.
20:20 This is indeed true, the bad stuff is magnified when a career is ongoing. MJ was FAR from beloved as he is today. Hakeem Olajuwon was something of a diva. I'm fairly certain the actions Air Canada aka Vince Carter did to get out of Toronto were disliked, and I will never forget the time Kobe literally tried to take a shot over 4 PLAYERS. But at the end of their careers, if u mention that MJ was a bully, Hakeem wasn't a very good leader on his team, VC has a comparable number of first round exits to Embiid, and Mamba Mentality is actually a net negative when it comes to a team sport, you will be seen as a hater or u trying to nitpick. Death, whether it be the death of a career or actual death, has a way of purifying someone's actions. Lebron is hated now, and social media may make it harder to forget the bad, but in decades to come they will be minimized and we'll only have good to say about him.
I was talking about 86-87 and thank you for reading my take but here’s another one, HOT TAKE-I think Magic is better than I’d rather have Steph on my team, bc his shooting is more valuable then Magic’s playmaking
You're unironically the only channel I watch on yt at this point how did this happen why are you so dope As for the MJ stuff, steroids were widely available in AAA baseball which helped MJ recover from the first 3 peat and he also had a very public SA charge that became less public by him exiting the limelight.
Hot take: pretty much the only way to build a sustainable contender now is retaining your first round draft capital. The primary reason why the Nuggets couldn’t maintain championship level play is because they didn’t have enough young, cost controlled players to replace the vets they couldn’t afford with the new CBA. In contrast, teams with abundant draft capital (OKC, Houston, Orlando) will be much better positioned to maintain roster depth, while teams like the Knicks will inevitably find themselves in a similar situation to Denver a couple years from now.
In regards to the "Jordan social media" take, I would agree that there is a good amount of Jordan fans that go to bat for him but didn't really watch him play to any significant degree but it is definitely not ore than half. Conversely, there are tons of LeBron fans that trash Jordan that never watched him play to any significant degree as well. They just go off the media pundits and what they say about Jordan as well as the older fans that did watch Jordan and still trash him but very likely hated him even back then.
Hot take fans heavily overate all star appearances when making a case for when someone is/isn’t a hall of famer for example even though I’m a huge Joe Johnson fan from a skill and numbers perspective he shouldn’t have been in 7 all star games even though in his 18 season long career he only ever made 1 3rd all nba team
Hot Take: rebounds as a stat have lost significance. In older eras before the 3pt revolution, rebounds were much harder to get because there were always more bodies packed within the arc and the lane, and there were far less long rebounds off of three point attempts. Today, because of the rate at which players are chucking up 3’s and the extreme spacing even big men have had to adapt to, getting 8-10 rebounds in a game is wayyy easier then getting 8-10 rebounds in the 00’s or 90’s etc.
There's a video of LeBron rebounding, its hilarious. LeBron never plays defense, he just stands by the baseline with his hands on his knees and never moves. Anyhow in the game he gets 10 rebounds, all uncontested and he never jumped.
In the older era, steals and blocks weren't counted on the stat sheet. That may have played a part in it. People had to recount those numbers manually via a mental note or pencil and paper at the game because no official would do it for them.
Hot Take: Apparently, Paul Pierce is underrated. He has a Celtics. I don't think he was a generational talent or anything, but he was an elite SF through the 2000s. He was a good defender and scored well, taking his era into consideration. Not to mention he was pretty clutch in many of the games I watched him play.
The way Jason and Jaylens contracts work, they are eventually going to take up more than 50% of the teams salary, I honestly think at some point over the next 3-4 seasons one of them is going to be traded to free up some money and get some picks to reload
Hot Take: If the NBA does Expand by 2 teams, both expansion teams should be Western Conference Teams and 2 of the Timberwolves, Pelicans, or Grizzlies should become Eastern Conference Teams. This makes geographical sense and would somewhat balance the disparity between the Eastern and Western Conferences.
This isn't even a hot take but already existing common discussion on the expansion. This is like saying "if Wemby reaches his ceiling then he would be an all time player" is a hot take.
I suppose that makes sense. But it would have to be related to where these new teams were. Somewhere like Seattle makes sense that a Midwest Western team gets sent East, but if a Kansas City team comes in, then it’s a harder call. Frankly though, we need Eastern teams in terms of the populace and culture of these areas, and if you factor Basketball and Football and even Baseball, you’re already covered in almost any big city. But there are places like Nashville or an Alabama or Louisiana city. They could do a lot with more Canadian cities
@@SleeperGuy23 Quite a lot of people would just commit to adding one new one for each, and not switching teams and their locations they’ve had for a long while
OKC does have eye catching steals and blocks... Lu was snubbed last season,yes, but i really feel like Lu must be on the first team All -Defense this year. I don't see how he doesn't make the team, other than injuries ofc
Hot Take: Jokic would be in the GOAT debate if his career was extrapolated (or by the time he retires), depending on rings but this is largely out of his control and more with Denver's front office. His game doesn't require athleticism and therefore could have a long career if he wishes; The US media generally underappreciates both his game and his accolades, e.g. him and Embiid previously being argued as who is the better center, but I also believe when all is said and done, he will be seen as better than Luka Doncic, since his defence is better for his position and their offence is comparable, with his maybe even being slightly better.
I still feel like the or at last one of the main reasons that there isn’t a face of the young nba is that all the best teams are deep and not heavily reliant on one or two player. Celtics have like near 6 all star level players, Cavs have 4, rockets have 2-3, Thunder have 3, grizzlies have 3, etc. The two best players are in mid af teams. And it doesn’t help that they are European and both kinda weird. If Ant or Tatum were clearly the best players in the world they would be the faces of the league but they aren’t and that’s just not how the league works anymore with how good and impactful role players are now.
"The two best players are in Mid-AF teams....." He's not playing 2nd best this season so far, but Luka is still the 2nd best player in the league and even slumping is at worst the 3rd best. Dallas is anything but "Mid". They're a 1/4 step below OKC right now, but have more talent than the Thunder so just need to get everyone into their roles at an efficient level. When they're playing on all cylinders, they will be the best team in the West.
Hot take: Johnathan Isaac a much better defender than Bam or but because Bam has a better offensive game he gets more credit. Johnathan Isaac can switch 1-5 but can also block shots much better than Bam can. In my opinion Isaac is prob a top 3 defender in the nba
Hot Take: a substantial contributing factor to the loss of viewership is the generalization of skills and loss of traditional positions. People like watching teams with distinct roles that are relatively simple to explain. Everyone doing a bit of everything means play styles become less distinguishable as time goes on. teams dont have as much unique identity. All of which leads to repetitive games. Its not that everyone literally is the same. But too many players have too much overlap. Hardcore fans focus on the differences between players and we might be more impressed by someone who can do everything. But casual viewers arent really concerned with that, they're just seeing the same playstyle over and over again.
Hot take: The complacency of stars and/or former stars has risen exponentially, or maybe it's just become more apparent. Specifically, Zion and to a lesser extent Embiid, who had a genuine All-star level floors and had limitless ceilings, have and are straight up wasting there potential it's genuinely sad but also unbelievably insane.
Hot take: the NBA is not boring the NBA just had a change in audience. Ever since I fell in love with the NBA back when wade won his first title, I’ve notice that my NBA friends has change to a more StarWars-est type of cult where NBA nerds can visualize the result of good/bad physical conditioning and can also gain a level of dopamine by analyzing statistics (trust me im one of those nerds). With that being said the NBA should follow the marvel/starwars route and cater more to us nerds then eventually go after a wider audience
hot take: whatever team LeBron plays on eventually becomes very toxic yes he might bring you a championship or two but playing with him must be draining and toxic. the only franchise he played for that wasn’t toxic was the heat cus they have a culture and with pat riley, spo and d.wade he was never gonna be in control like he was in cleveland and LA
@ jimmy’s ruining them how? i think the only problem with him is that he doesn’t take the regular season seriously and thinks he can always turn it on during the playoffs and it has worked for him a couple times but i think his disinterest in the regular season is one of the reasons why miami is trying to move him
This doesnt matter. If you have the chance to get a prime Lebron, you do everything to build a good roster around him. Thats just what you do with a player like him. Most organizations would risk a potential championship, even if that means falling of for the next few years if Bron leaves
@@kjjr3270 not saying you don’t do everything to get a prime Bron because like i mentioned he’ll bring you a championship or two. my whole point is that the environment eventually becomes toxic. lmaooo READ
@@kjjr3270It would be easier without all of that extra baggage, though. Imagine how many more titles LeBron could have won if he had stayed out of the front office affairs and just played basketball.
Since there has been so much talk about the nba tv ratings stuff, I think the problem is pretty clear. Simply, fans don’t feel connected to the players anymore. The nba is basically a long running tv show, and if you stop feeling connected to characters on your favorite show, you’ll stop watching. In my opinion, the contributing factors to this are not letting players show genuine emotion on the court, players sitting out games for no reason, not marketing individual players well enough, two of the most popular basketball media figures (Shaq and Chuck) constantly shitting all over the modern game, and LOCAL BLACKOUTS ON LEAGUE PASS. I talked to my dad the other day (lifelong Suns fan), and he told me he hasn’t watched a single Suns game this season because it’s blacked out on league pass and he doesn’t know how to get the games. Making games harder to watch is the dumbest thing the league has ever done.
Counter Hot Take:Blaming the fragmentation of cThe current perception that declining NBA TV ratings are due to changing media consumption habits is misguided. In fact, there is less competition for live sports now than there was in the past. During the 1990s and early 2000s, non-sports television programs regularly achieved high ratings for networks. Today, however, TV networks and streaming services are actively pursuing lucrative contracts with live sports leagues, even as the NBA struggles with low ratings. On the other hand, leagues such as the NFL and WNBA are witnessing record TV ratings. This increase can be largely attributed to the recent inclusion of additional households, like bars and gyms, in Nielsen TV ratings for sports.
@@kevincampbell4708 Competing with other shows? They still are. It’s to a lesser degree, though Competing with other ways to watch their content? They’re doing that far more than they’ve ever done it
@@Jonathan-A.C.No sitcom, drama series, or other TV program can compete with live sports. The rise of streaming services has diminished the reasons for consumers to watch their favorite shows as they air, since they can now view them at their convenience. This is why TV networks are eagerly offering sports leagues long-term contracts. You can not replicate the experience of live sports if you want the game later.
@@kevincampbell4708 Right but then, that means it equals out or at least changes a lot to something where both things are on streaming services, so it’s just a matter of TV not being the big thing, as opposed to the sports ratings dropping
The reason no one knows how to rank the nba cup and if it matters or not is for 2 main reasons in my opinion. 1 this is only its second year of being around which is pretty self explanatory 2 because the nba cup counts towards the standings for the finals it doesn’t really feel like a separate competition, it feels like just another game and if they advance then they take it slightly seriously. The incentive isn’t really there for players to get money because they’re already on millions and millions each year
Hot take: awards such as mvp, fmvp, dpoy, 6moy, are overrated not saying they don’t matter to the players but in terms of comparing players it doesn’t matter because awards are voted and are opinion based their is never a truly right or wrong answer like when arguing for top 10 we go off award but when arguing for 102 and 103 players how we gonna argue bout them
Your take about how the dpoy should always be a big is very flawed and misunderstands the point of defensive lineups. Defense should be thought of more in terms of relative to replacement. The average 3rd string center will technically be better at defense than the average guard but that just isn’t how it works. Yeah the center anchors great defenses but those defenses generally will not just collapse when they leave the game. The greatest defender should be the player best at disrupting the opponents offensive scheme. I think of the clip where LeBron gets mad when he sees Kawhi enter the game.
Hot take : Rudy Gobert is one championship away from having a similar impact as Stephen Curry on modern basketball. Curry changed the league with his three point shooting and was accompanied by three other guys to do so (Klay Thomson, Damian Lillard and James Harden) together they proved that three point shooting was efficient and could be taken even after a few handles and they also improved its range. Now Rudy came at the beginning of this era and is the biggest reason why the legue didn’t turn full smallball he (with Jokic and Embiid) is the one who lept the center position alive by showing how it could be impactful on the floor. Rudy is one of the few superstar center. He also has had a significant impact on the defense through his carreer his 4 DPOY show how a rim protector can adapt to the league and if he wins a championship with the Timberwolves there would be no doubt that he is the defensive superstar that jept defense alive during the most offense oriented era.
Literally most metrics of TV are down. I see these arguments in wrestling discussions all the time. While yeah, viewership is down for the nba, you can say that about most stuff on TV.
Exactly I feel like every community of entertainment always make these weird ass breakdowns on viewership. In reality it’s like why do you even care? Just shut tf up and enjoy what you want. People have waaaaay more options on what they want to watch so just on basic logic having the discussion is stupid
On the face of the league take, you can lump it into the same convo as TV ratings. The rise of the internet, some random on any team can have a stanbase
HOT TAKE: they should limit three pointers to the final 3-4 minutes of each quarter, which may result in less chucking from long range. Teams will be forced to work to the basket more, and it’ll create a more competitive and attractive game.
Hot take: NBA fans are underestimating the value of 2nd round picks in trade talks. We’re at an NBA peak in skill level and there are so many SOLID role players that were 2nd rounders. NBA fans see 2nd round picks in trade talks and they act like they’re useless
Hot take: the longer Russel Westbrook's career went on the more KD leaving OKC seemed like a fair choice (not necessarily to the Warriors but leaving in general)
Hot take: The reason NBA ratings are down has nothing to do with European players entering the league at a high clip, it's the perception of how three pointers affect the game. If you're shooting a lot of threes and making most of them, people will say there is no defense. If you're missing most of them, people will say it's a soft shot chucking team and it seems like there is no happy medium, hence why less people watch now.
In comparison to what time period? If the highest point of ratings were closer to the pandemic than almost any form of entertainment experience entered its peak retention of popularity because people weren’t able to go outside consistently.
Kyrie Irving has always dominated the narrative of who has the most “aesthetic” offensive game, or a style of play that most ‘hoopers’ would consider fundamentally perfect, but I think Jalen Brunson should be considered in that narrative. He might not have the flashy handle, but it’s more than serviceable, and he uses his combination or strength and footwork to where he rarely looks like he’s shooting a shot he doesn’t want.
If jordan had played point guard he would have been the undisputed goat in his time as a pg he had 10 triple doubles in 11 games and averaged 33.6 points,11.4 rebounds,10.8 assists and 3 steals with a block while winning alot
But he said he was exhausted after doing it for a couple weeks and was happy to go back to being a SG. People have NO IDEA how difficult it is to play their position offensively and play tough defense. Jordan did both at the top of the elites and then facilitated on top of it (for a short time). It's completely exhausting and he couldn't have continued doing all 3 at the same time. It's a nice lesson for the casuals out there they should learn about Luka. He scores at Jordan's level (#3 all time), is 10th all time in assists per game, and is a top 10 rebounder in the league, and shockingly, tries to rest on defense and play passing lanes as a cheat. It's not him being lazy or out of shape, it's not physically possible to do everything. On a better team (this year being the first time it's close), he could play 32-34mpg and expend more energy playing both sides of the ball. But when he's in the top 5 of minutes played, he's obviously not going to be able to sustain everything he does with any level of efficiency.
Teams going for records during the regular season decreases their playoff chances. The 2013 Heat, for example, were much better than the Spurs, yet they almost lost that series. Mind you, they went for 27 wins straight that regular season, which exhausted the players. Same thing for the 2016 Warriors going for 73 wins. The Celtics will chill, win around 52-55 games, get the 2nd or 3rd seed, and go into the playoffs being fresh, while teams like OKC or CLE will be exhausted by April.
The rockets shouldn’t trade for De’Aaron Fox or Jimmy Butler, they should trade for both of them, they could easily make it happen with Vanvleet, Dillon Brooks and Steven Adams Contracts, and there treasure chest of assets, Both players will maintain there defensive identity while also being complete upgrades over the other players offensively , also gives flexibility for what your going to do with Jalen Green next summer
Hot Take: any comparison of two teams from different eras is doomed to fail. This is true with players too, to a certain extent, but specifically with teams. So much of a team's success depends on the circumstances that they arose from that comparing them, even on a year-to-year basis, almost seems foolhardy to me.
Especially when it pertains to 3 point percentages when the league shortened the line for 3 seasons. Steve Kerr and Michael Jordan took most of their 3s during that era inflating their career percentages. Playing 2K with their inflated numbers really is disengaging since the basketball courts aren’t adjusted to that reality.
Not a hot take but just fyi- I see a lot of people talking about how difficult it is to watch your fav NBA team because of different streaming services and geo ban on league pass so u have to buy other subscriptions etc In my country I get to watch all 1250 regular season games and playoffs on a yearly subscription of 🥁 🥁 🥁 $18 dollars
I think he was talking more so regarding the rudimentary nature of especially early Beatles music. Not helped by the fact that none of the Beatles were significantly talented at their instruments. John Paul and George are mainly remembered as great songwriters
@ianardell4660 Now Id almost agree with this, except Paul was very talented at playing bass. George was great on guitar and Ringo was great on drums, but Id agree they werent like technically that proficient, but they were perfect for the band. However Paul was one of the best bassists of his time. But overall yeah, what made them special was the songwriting, and thats why I made the comment. Beatles' compositions are still night and day with most of the stuff that came after them
Hot Take: The bulls 3 peating twice in the same era was a result of how less competitive the league was at time versus Jordan being an “unbeatable menace” We’ve had teams like the kd warriors fail to get one and you’re telling me the bulls did it twice. You can build the perfect team today and they’re not achieving that.
8:05 MJ literally had the media saying he was involved in his father’s death. I think that is objectively worse than modern nba players opening up insta or twitter seeing a bunch of hateful comments about lost parleys n such
In regard to that Celtics take, I’d still be interested in a Celtics versus Nuggets series. At one time that was the expected matchup but we ended up with Heat V Nuggets. I don’t think the Celtics have been challenged with a truly unstoppable force like Jokic, since 2018 LeBron. Just curious what kind of shock to the system it would be to face a guy that they have 0 answers for.
Well, we have seen the Nuggets lose without Jokić having to be neutralized that much. The Wizards managed to beat them despite a 56-point performance from Jokić.
@ true! However, I think it’s fair to put limited stock into regular season games. Especially when the nuggets (cough cough Jamal Murray) seem to turn up the intensity in the playoffs. I’d consider that wizards game far more of a blight than something to take seriously.
Jordan was the most scrutinized player ever in his early days. He had his fans but old school guys hated him and thought he was a ball hog. He shut them all up once he started winning championships and made himself undeniable more than any athlete ever. This idea that jordan had it easy cause "no twitter" gives twitter way to much credit. The media coddles lebron and they looked to kill Mike.
The Celtics could realistically 3peat, but there could be easily be roadblocks. KP injury status on the playoffs especially could really hurt them even though they can win without him. Horford aging out (he'll be 40 for the 3rd chip), even Jrue Holiday becoming much more pedestrian because he'll be like 36 or 37 by the 3rd chip is a real concern. Tatum and Brown have basically been iron men their whole careers and it could be that bearing their 30's could see them missing more than he's due to injury (Tatum almost never misses games and Jaylen only missed one playoffs run for wrist surgery he decided to get because the team was .500 and they punted on the playoffs to have Jaylen back for the start of the following year). They really could just plow through all that and 3peat because they have their whole team under contract for at least a couple more years so they don't need to add this or move that, so they could just be destined to be the best team since the warriors in the 2010's.
I genuinely dont know why you think the 2 is just going to die lmao. Is it because they are being asked to have slightly more ballhandling capabilities? Idc what you classify Payton Pritchard as since hes listed as both, but he plays just as much like a 2 as anyone in history. I agree that D Book and Ant will probably become 1s or combo guards at the least but thats when they need a new primary ball handler, and because those two have the necessary skills, but I have a feeling there will still be plenty of guards that can shoot but lack the dribbling or footwork to ever run point.
Hot take #1: OKC is still a couple of years away from truly contending. Their current core only has one postseason run under their belts, meaning that they still lack the necessary experience that teams usually go through before getting over the hump (i.e. The Jays' Celtics). I believe that they can win (a) championship(s) in the near future, but they still having growing pains to go through. Hot take #2: Hypothetical arguments about past occurrences are too one-sided. "The Rockets would've beaten the Warriors in 2018 if CP3 didn't get injured." "The Heat would've won the 2011 Finals if LeBron had played better." The arguments that people make for occurrences such as these only talk about what would've happened on one side, but not the other side in reaction. There are two sides to every story.
Hot take: wanna know why viewership declining? it’s the coach rotations. ppl pay money to come see stars play, not a bench, regardless of blowout. public getting tired of seeing players they don’t give a damn about because coaches don’t let the stars play at all in the fourth and then what can really be considered a blowout too in today’s age of ball?
Why do people lay to themselves like a legit 7ft center doesn’t matter? There has been any roster to win a championship with out a 7ft on the roster even if they don’t start. Undersized centers are not a winning formula.
![How Anthony Edwards RESPONDED To The Critics! [NBA NEWS]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/diqYe9xjWWk/mqdefault.jpg)
Hot Take: Giannis and Jokic are already top 20 and arguable top 15 players of all time ahead of players like Kevin Durant. Giannis has surpassed Dirk by being a far more consistent playoff performer and defender, and also edges out KG as a higher volume scorer with similar playoff success. Duncan is the only PF in history better than Giannis, and if he can somehow manage to win another title or two he could close the gap (somewhat unlikely but let me dream). Jokic meanwhile has surpassed every center not named Kareem/Bill/Wilt/Hakeem/Shaq. As the best passing bigman ever who has taken his scoring game to another level this year, I won’t be surprised if in just another few seasons we are debating his entry into the top 10.
Dirk was a shooter. Giannis is a thin (taller) version of Barkley. He dominates inside, but you can't compare him to Dirk because they have completely different games. Jokic is already better than Russel, Hakeem, and Shaq. He hasn't accomplished as much, but none of those 3 could touch Joker in terms of offensive production or the way he dissects the other team's offense and defense through sheer basketball IQ. And anyone trying to cheer-lead for Russel, he wasn't as good a rebounder OR scorer OR passer as Joker. He also couldn't do as much to carry his team because he was a mediocre offensive player (even against inferior competition). The only centers Joker can't surpass is Wilt and Kareem. They had too many years with huge production and leading their team. He might be better than them, but it's impossible to establish it so the best you get is he is on their level.
@@SDesWriter U know... I read ur comment and it got me thinking about how somehow, getting more help seems to diminish a ring's value. Bill Russell should ideally be in the top 10 conversation. He has a 12-1 playoffs record. Yet his accomplishments are only used as some kind of foil primarily by Jordan and Wilt detractors.
Bill Russell's 11 rings are partly dismissed because he had a killer squad around him which allowed him to not HAVE TO be the greatest rebounder scorer or passer. He just did enough for the team to win.
Larry Bird's rings are never questioned, yet he had the exact same benefits as Bill in having a completely stacked roster.
One of the hot takes suggests Celtics will 3-Peat as there isn't currently a roster deep healthy or organized enough to take them on in 7 games. Suppose that happens, will JT's rings be respected, or will they be dismissed because of the excellent roster around him?
I guess what I'm trying to ask is; At what point does getting enough help become a detriment? We hate LeBron for stacking Superteams, well how would Kobe be viewed if his attempt at a superteam actually worked and they won 1 or 2 chips?
@ it’s a good question. Luka finally has a good team around him and despite the best 7 game stretch in the league (and a 3rd place team), he’s fallen completely out of the MVP discussion. I honestly don’t know but I agree with your point. It SHOULD go to the guy whose team is the worst without him, but half the voters think it’s the best player of the best team (while others just treat it as a popularity contest). That’s why I have no respect for the award. It doesn’t really mean anything when Luka was CLEARLY the best player last season (at least offensively) and carried a team with changing lineups and injuries to 50 wins and the NBA Finals, yet finished 3rd.
Hot take: the issue isnt the 3s its the way people watch basketball. a lot of people watch and tend to ball watch and/or think mostly abt the shot and not watch the entirety of the play. if u watch the celtics knicks opening night game it wasnt like the celtics were taking a million heat checks a lot of the 3s before they hunted the record were just open shots from well worked plays. if the nba had a more nfl like discussion where plays were talked about at large that wouldnt be the issue. obviously that goes back to the whole whos on tv and who watches the game discussion but at large, people need to stop focusing on where the shot is taken from and more on how they got the shot
Tbh, not a very hot take
@@Spawnamvs he spitting tho
That might be true, but there's not really enough time from play-to-play in the NBA for commentators to discuss, at least live (less excuses with after game commentating), especially compared to the NFL.
The way the Celtics are playing this and last year is closer to the Spurs in 2014 than the Warriors in 2017. Set up plays for basically anyone on the floor that makes sense in the moment and trust that this individual will be able to hit the open shot. Sometimes those shots will be contested, but that is what you have superstars like Jayson Tatum for. Who can make those as well. It's f***g beautiful to watch.
The people who are saying the Celtics are just chuckers and are boring to watch are not actually watching any of their games.
@@gpearce11
Even if they just say what sets or play they ran, it would be more helpful. Or emphasizing parts of how a player got open
The warriors didn't even 3 peat man there are just too many factors at play with a very talented league
It’s almost like it’s a hot takes video
That 3rd ring was so close, everything that could’ve gone wrong did lol so many injuries in 2019
@@kodytichenor4150u can have a good hot take but "guaranteed to 3peat" is ridiculous
they didnt 3-peat due to injuries but that core won 4 championships, and that is a better feat
@krsnavigliotti4611 yeah but thats kinda part of my point, one of the many factors contibuting to my point along with a more competitive league
Hot Take: The NBA Cup is not pointless and actually gives players a golden opportunity to make a statement and possibly even swing votes for awards. Having success in a playoff-like atmosphere will leave a good taste in voters mouths and show that they actually care about the regular season. Not the biggest deal in the world but something that will stay in the back of people’s minds for sure. It also has the potential to start rivalries which is a good thing for the league imo.
Hakeem is objectively a better player than Kobe. You can rank Hakeem anywhere in the top 10, but in my opinion he should always be above Kobe. Hakeem had a very similar offensive skill set to Kobe (consistently above average tough shot making in the mid to low post) which is inherently more valuable at the center position as it opens the floor up for the rest of his team on the perimeter. It's also a lot easier to build the team around Hakeem by spacing the floor with four shooters and perimeter defenders than building a team around a 2 who almost entirely plays inside the arc. That's all on top of providing DPOY defense at the more impactful position.
If we talk pure skill, yeah Hakeem is better than Kobe by quite a margin
You can NOT rank him anywhere in the Top 10🤦♂️, just stop it. He ain't getting into the Top 5, even if you tried to.
@@kjjr3270 dont tell me you are talking about hakeem?
Hakeem is in my top 3
Hakeem had maybe a better peak than Kobe, but he is NOT "objectively better" if we are talking careers. Kobe, imo had better longevity and overall accolades/winning. Hence why I have Kobe over Hakeem all time.
Nice, I finally made a Hot Takes video. Appreciate it, Rusty. Also, I meant "eras" when I typed "ears" and didn't notice it until I saw you liked my comment but I liked how you used it to segue into an excellent analogy.
Hot Take: Adam Silver's bad eye for aesthetics is part of why the league is getting worse. From the new MVP trophy to the hideous NBA Cup courts and the terrible Nike jerseys, this all adds up to one of the many reasons modern NBA is getting worse.
Don't flatter adam silver. Uglification seems to be a universal thing these days. It applies to everything really. Architecture, vehicle design, fashion and other consumer goods, beauty standards, and apparently nba courts, jerseys and trophies. No matter what you're into, odds are it's been getting uglier for a while now. It's definitely not just the nba and adam silver did not come up with it.
@@WadaMalone a lot of it is intentional branding. Whether we like it or not, these big businesses bog down their aesthetics in order to enhance the brand through simplicity and unfortunately it works. Like in soccer for instance, all the largest and richest clubs watering down their logos to make them as easy to mass produce as possible and new age consumerism eats ts tf up.
Love hearing the take that Tatum is an underrated defender. Especially pointing out his defense on bigs in the finals vs the Mavs. That’s a huge part of why the Celtics switching almost everything on D works. I’m a Celtics fan so am def biased but JT’s defensive improvement consistently flies under the radar
As a mavs fan, it's precisely the switchability of the Celtics defense that pissed me off in that series 😅
That's true. Most watchers are more focused with on ball defense which is why JT will always go under the radar because of his better off ball defense
the whole “take x player off this team and look how bad that team gets” is a lazy argument for an mvp case, of course if you take the best player off of a team they’ll get worse, you can apply this to all 30 teams yet not all 30 teams have a player worthy of mvp
The same applies to taking a co-star away from a team with a superstar. "MJ never won without Scottie!" "Steph can't win without Klay!" well yeah? Take the 2nd best player away and the team gets worse
btw it determines the impact of the player on that team and the more the team sucks without them the more valuable they are
It's doable with context. The MVP frontrunners will have worse teams if they're not on the court but Jokic's absence actually hurts the Nuggets the most more than the rest, by the rest, I mean arguably just as worse or worse than Wizards.
Not really. In Shai and Tatum's case they still have multiple top 30 players in the league on the team and are still gonna probably win near 50 games a season without those 2 guys.
@@vin8754 that's just like saying in 2013, melo should've won MVP rather than bron because knicks would be worse with melo than heat without bron. It's a lazy argument
Hot take: Evan Mobley has been a top 20 player (with a chance to move higher) in the league this season. He is one of the best & most versatile defenders in the league. He is shooting 40% on three on low but respectable volume and opposing defenses are starting to take notice. He has been a menace inside through contact where he is basically unguardable by smaller defenders or bigger, slow-footed opponents. He is a bonafide all-star in the East and the biggest reason why the Cavs have propelled themselves solidly into contender status this season.
Hot Take: The fix to the intentional fouls to force (seemingly endless) free throws is to remove the requirement to shoot free throws. If you're not fouled on a shot attempt, regardless if they're over the foul limit or not, free throws should be an option (with the other option just taking the ball out of bounds). This would also negate the hack a shaq tactics and speed up the game. Strategy around which players should shoot free throws or not would be an interesting dynamic.
It was pretty cool to see you reference Drew Gooden’s SNL video. I love that video as well for how he talks about how we look at the past
Hot Take: The goat conversation will not be decided on stats or rings but rather hundreds of well crafted edits
Hot Take: Being clutch is the worst determination of effectiveness in basketball. Being clutch is inherently being Lucky in a basketball game. millions of little decisions are being made all the time on the court, leading to a moment where someone looks really cool and impactful. But in money situations, a clutch decision going wrong is not the fault of the player but instead luck just not being on their side. Yet so often, a player is deemed as not effective if they don't have these cool moments on their resume. I prefer a player who, most of the time, can lead to sustained winds rather than a player who can occasionally win a really competitive game. (I completely understand if anyone disagrees though)
But being clutch is also staying coolheaded in big moments
@@ChesLow611being clutch is, statistically, not a thing.
@ ofc it is, it’s staying focused and consistent in the biggest moments
@@josephrafferty6763 true but people do bring it up a lot in conversations
Being clutch isn't being lucky, being clutch is coming through in high impact important moments
Hot Take: Damian Lillard will be remembered the same way Carmelo Anthony is remembered when looking back at his game and career.
A great player in their prime, good offensive players that were fun to watch but terrible on the defensive end. Fairly one note players. In the end their game didn’t impact winning championships
All aura, little impact
15:30 I would counter to say defensive skills are underrated and under appreciated. Effort is 100% a major factor, but being able to combine movement skills, understanding offensive scemes and playstyles, is more important. Effort is what happens when we star plays show random flashes of good defense, but some players don't know how to implement the same skillsets on offense onto defense.
Statistics should always be observed in the context of the era the player was in when you look at stats in a vacuum it erased how much that person's number contribute to the game like when people try to compare Chris Paul averaging 20pt/10ast to Haliburton 20pt/10ast
Hot Take: If the NBA brought back the Sonics they’d have something they’ve lacked outside of Lakers-Celtics, and maybe Sixers-Celtics:
A team on team rivalry that is very likely to be paid attention to by both fanbases for more than one generation of players (in this case with OKC).
Correct me if I’m wrong but most others seem to be only in the eras of particular players (ex: Who talks about Bulls-Knicks these days?)
The reason the OKC defence is so good is because they take advantage of the fact that the shooting guards are all now playing point guard but they can't really dribble/pass good enough to handle the suffocating defence.
That is truly a hot take. Just out of curiousity i have to ask, are they only doing that against OKC in your opinion? If not, how is this a OKC thing?
@@konzzawhat?
As a Celtics fan they would need to be extremely lucky to 3 peat because how talented the league is but back to back is possible.
We need a repeat before a threepeat. Anything’s possible, but let’s take things one at a time.
A good way to make the NBA in-season tournament competitive is give the winner all their wins in the tournament added to their regular season count, boosting their chances of getting into the play offs by alot
I like the point on lazy eras very true. But the one thing people over look and Rusty has touched on this is how the rules heavily affect what we determine to be skill. If you can lift your pivot foot off the ground to gain extra space or cup the ball to basically pick up your dribble, only to then continue dribbling. Which allows the offensive player to have an massive advantage as the refs no longer call these things as violation there even in the rules basically but were not before.
Classic 2 guards are wings. Wings classically were the 2 and the 3 positions. Also i would like anyone to make a detailed account on how players today are better then their predecessors. I say this as a guy who has watched ball since the 80s and went back to watch tapes of full games from 60s and 70s. If you want to say schemes are better ... yeah maybe i could see that but the rules and coaching tolerance have a lot to do with that. And definitely training techniques and equipment have improved and benefitted modern players a lot. But i think the players themselves are much more comparable. Case in point if you look at track numbers at a glance it would seem like Jesse Owens could not even compete at the collegiate level today however some did a breakdown of how the equipment of today helps that and that if you account for that he could still compete for Olympic medals today. No one but the most casual fans think that Joe Montana could not compete in todays NFL as one of the best QBs in the league. Why would the NBA be any different has never been explained or shown to me.
Hot take - there is no top 5 ball handler who isn’t currently playing
Kyrie?
Thanks for the unbiased Celtics talk it’s hard to find
Hot Take: Using LeBron for the "Bigger stronger and faster" argument in the GOAT debate pretty much props up the 2000s NBA more than anything since LeBron is about to 40 and even the 2010 draft is barley hanging on by a thread. Yes there's select players in the 2010s that could be in the Top 10 all time by the time they retire but for the most part, Players drafted 2010 and beyond sit more and get hurt constantly.
It is actually nuts.
PG is the only one in that draft class who’s still playing, and besides a couple stars, there’s 20 or so players left, and they range from productive role players to helpful vets
Nba players only care for the money when they compete for the cup they aren't thinking about legacy and what it does for their career, they don't care for that
3 peat? I'm from Boston. I bleed green. But 3 peat? They have one. Let's get 2 before we talk about 3. Love the confidence, though. Go C's
Chet, Caruso and Hartenstein are all in the top 5 of Defensive EPM
You have to talk about Jayson Tatum this season. I don’t think anyone thought he could get any better but here he is having what would be considered and MVP season if we didn’t have Giannis and Jokic… Coming from a Miami fan
Ik this is not basketball related but the nba over promoting gambling has kinda took the joy out of the watching experience. (and that’s coming from someone that loves his parlays). I don’t wanna hear sports analysts take about there draftkings picks. In the end of the day gambling is still gambling and being advertised to kids is gross.
9:35 (the "question" underneath LOL)
Hot take: It’s easier to rebuild in the west due to the amount of competition. While in the east below average teams get stuck in playoff contention because of how few contenders there are, out west a team that needs to reset will naturally have a worse record due to the number of good teams and the number of teams with an above .500 records will ensure you get a low seed.
Hot take: new Alex's Caruso contract might not be great, but paying him big is actually a win-win for OKC, because they either have AC (great defender and guy who leads by example) or they can trade him + draft picks for a better option if they won't win in the next 2 seasons.
Hot Take: Jamison battle is one of the most underrated role players in the nba. He competes on both ends being a way better defender than what one may think. He can space the floor pretty well on offense and he is a bigger body which is always a luxury. Since he came from the g-league he is also very under payed. One of the best contracts in the nba
Anyone who calls a threepeat after one title is tripping it’s the nba anything can happen these next two years
Hot Take: Every team in the NBA will eventually win a title. It will be certainly in this century but some might be in 20, 30 or 40 years. It is a matter of time and circumstance.
That’s not really a hot take, over a long enough period of time it’s guaranteed every team will eventually have things go right
There are 30 NBA teams and many of them aren't really looking like they be sniffing a title. This is not happening.
Every team will have a period where things go pretty right, but maybe not quite right enough. There will always be hard luck teams.
Idk, what if they added more teams in the league then
20:20 This is indeed true, the bad stuff is magnified when a career is ongoing. MJ was FAR from beloved as he is today. Hakeem Olajuwon was something of a diva. I'm fairly certain the actions Air Canada aka Vince Carter did to get out of Toronto were disliked, and I will never forget the time Kobe literally tried to take a shot over 4 PLAYERS.
But at the end of their careers, if u mention that MJ was a bully, Hakeem wasn't a very good leader on his team, VC has a comparable number of first round exits to Embiid, and Mamba Mentality is actually a net negative when it comes to a team sport, you will be seen as a hater or u trying to nitpick.
Death, whether it be the death of a career or actual death, has a way of purifying someone's actions. Lebron is hated now, and social media may make it harder to forget the bad, but in decades to come they will be minimized and we'll only have good to say about him.
I was talking about 86-87 and thank you for reading my take but here’s another one, HOT TAKE-I think Magic is better than I’d rather have Steph on my team, bc his shooting is more valuable then Magic’s playmaking
You're unironically the only channel I watch on yt at this point how did this happen why are you so dope
As for the MJ stuff, steroids were widely available in AAA baseball which helped MJ recover from the first 3 peat and he also had a very public SA charge that became less public by him exiting the limelight.
Thanks BRDR you’re truly a loyal viewer and I appreciate you - Rudy
Hot take: pretty much the only way to build a sustainable contender now is retaining your first round draft capital. The primary reason why the Nuggets couldn’t maintain championship level play is because they didn’t have enough young, cost controlled players to replace the vets they couldn’t afford with the new CBA. In contrast, teams with abundant draft capital (OKC, Houston, Orlando) will be much better positioned to maintain roster depth, while teams like the Knicks will inevitably find themselves in a similar situation to Denver a couple years from now.
In regards to the "Jordan social media" take, I would agree that there is a good amount of Jordan fans that go to bat for him but didn't really watch him play to any significant degree but it is definitely not ore than half. Conversely, there are tons of LeBron fans that trash Jordan that never watched him play to any significant degree as well. They just go off the media pundits and what they say about Jordan as well as the older fans that did watch Jordan and still trash him but very likely hated him even back then.
that last take made me loose braincells lmaooo
18:27 They didn't get swept. It was a 6-game series.
Yep. THEY swept the Magic the next year
2:55 correction: he’s only 19
Hot take fans heavily overate all star appearances when making a case for when someone is/isn’t a hall of famer for example even though I’m a huge Joe Johnson fan from a skill and numbers perspective he shouldn’t have been in 7 all star games even though in his 18 season long career he only ever made 1 3rd all nba team
Hot Take: rebounds as a stat have lost significance. In older eras before the 3pt revolution, rebounds were much harder to get because there were always more bodies packed within the arc and the lane, and there were far less long rebounds off of three point attempts. Today, because of the rate at which players are chucking up 3’s and the extreme spacing even big men have had to adapt to, getting 8-10 rebounds in a game is wayyy easier then getting 8-10 rebounds in the 00’s or 90’s etc.
Facts
There's a video of LeBron rebounding, its hilarious. LeBron never plays defense, he just stands by the baseline with his hands on his knees and never moves. Anyhow in the game he gets 10 rebounds, all uncontested and he never jumped.
You guys really need to learn what tf a hot take is
In the older era, steals and blocks weren't counted on the stat sheet. That may have played a part in it. People had to recount those numbers manually via a mental note or pencil and paper at the game because no official would do it for them.
Forgot to mention how pace has increased, but that only adds to your argument
Hot Take: Apparently, Paul Pierce is underrated. He has a Celtics. I don't think he was a generational talent or anything, but he was an elite SF through the 2000s. He was a good defender and scored well, taking his era into consideration. Not to mention he was pretty clutch in many of the games I watched him play.
The way Jason and Jaylens contracts work, they are eventually going to take up more than 50% of the teams salary, I honestly think at some point over the next 3-4 seasons one of them is going to be traded to free up some money and get some picks to reload
Hot Take: If the NBA does Expand by 2 teams, both expansion teams should be Western Conference Teams and 2 of the Timberwolves, Pelicans, or Grizzlies should become Eastern Conference Teams. This makes geographical sense and would somewhat balance the disparity between the Eastern and Western Conferences.
This isn't even a hot take but already existing common discussion on the expansion. This is like saying "if Wemby reaches his ceiling then he would be an all time player" is a hot take.
You would only move 1 team from the West to East but yeah this makes total sense.
I suppose that makes sense. But it would have to be related to where these new teams were. Somewhere like Seattle makes sense that a Midwest Western team gets sent East, but if a Kansas City team comes in, then it’s a harder call. Frankly though, we need Eastern teams in terms of the populace and culture of these areas, and if you factor Basketball and Football and even Baseball, you’re already covered in almost any big city. But there are places like Nashville or an Alabama or Louisiana city. They could do a lot with more Canadian cities
@@SleeperGuy23
Quite a lot of people would just commit to adding one new one for each, and not switching teams and their locations they’ve had for a long while
I would move the Grizzlies first, since they're further east than Milwaukee is.
OKC does have eye catching steals and blocks... Lu was snubbed last season,yes, but i really feel like Lu must be on the first team All -Defense this year. I don't see how he doesn't make the team, other than injuries ofc
Hot Take: Jokic would be in the GOAT debate if his career was extrapolated (or by the time he retires), depending on rings but this is largely out of his control and more with Denver's front office. His game doesn't require athleticism and therefore could have a long career if he wishes; The US media generally underappreciates both his game and his accolades, e.g. him and Embiid previously being argued as who is the better center, but I also believe when all is said and done, he will be seen as better than Luka Doncic, since his defence is better for his position and their offence is comparable, with his maybe even being slightly better.
I still feel like the or at last one of the main reasons that there isn’t a face of the young nba is that all the best teams are deep and not heavily reliant on one or two player. Celtics have like near 6 all star level players, Cavs have 4, rockets have 2-3, Thunder have 3, grizzlies have 3, etc. The two best players are in mid af teams. And it doesn’t help that they are European and both kinda weird. If Ant or Tatum were clearly the best players in the world they would be the faces of the league but they aren’t and that’s just not how the league works anymore with how good and impactful role players are now.
"The two best players are in Mid-AF teams....." He's not playing 2nd best this season so far, but Luka is still the 2nd best player in the league and even slumping is at worst the 3rd best. Dallas is anything but "Mid". They're a 1/4 step below OKC right now, but have more talent than the Thunder so just need to get everyone into their roles at an efficient level. When they're playing on all cylinders, they will be the best team in the West.
Hot take: Johnathan Isaac a much better defender than Bam or but because Bam has a better offensive game he gets more credit. Johnathan Isaac can switch 1-5 but can also block shots much better than Bam can. In my opinion Isaac is prob a top 3 defender in the nba
Hot Take: a substantial contributing factor to the loss of viewership is the generalization of skills and loss of traditional positions. People like watching teams with distinct roles that are relatively simple to explain. Everyone doing a bit of everything means play styles become less distinguishable as time goes on. teams dont have as much unique identity. All of which leads to repetitive games.
Its not that everyone literally is the same. But too many players have too much overlap.
Hardcore fans focus on the differences between players and we might be more impressed by someone who can do everything. But casual viewers arent really concerned with that, they're just seeing the same playstyle over and over again.
Hot take: The complacency of stars and/or former stars has risen exponentially, or maybe it's just become more apparent. Specifically, Zion and to a lesser extent Embiid, who had a genuine All-star level floors and had limitless ceilings, have and are straight up wasting there potential it's genuinely sad but also unbelievably insane.
Hot take: the NBA is not boring the NBA just had a change in audience. Ever since I fell in love with the NBA back when wade won his first title, I’ve notice that my NBA friends has change to a more StarWars-est type of cult where NBA nerds can visualize the result of good/bad physical conditioning and can also gain a level of dopamine by analyzing statistics (trust me im one of those nerds). With that being said the NBA should follow the marvel/starwars route and cater more to us nerds then eventually go after a wider audience
hot take: whatever team LeBron plays on eventually becomes very toxic yes he might bring you a championship or two but playing with him must be draining and toxic. the only franchise he played for that wasn’t toxic was the heat cus they have a culture and with pat riley, spo and d.wade he was never gonna be in control like he was in cleveland and LA
Jimmy is ruining the Heat more than Lebron ever could.
@ jimmy’s ruining them how? i think the only problem with him is that he doesn’t take the regular season seriously and thinks he can always turn it on during the playoffs and it has worked for him a couple times but i think his disinterest in the regular season is one of the reasons why miami is trying to move him
This doesnt matter. If you have the chance to get a prime Lebron, you do everything to build a good roster around him. Thats just what you do with a player like him. Most organizations would risk a potential championship, even if that means falling of for the next few years if Bron leaves
@@kjjr3270 not saying you don’t do everything to get a prime Bron because like i mentioned he’ll bring you a championship or two. my whole point is that the environment eventually becomes toxic. lmaooo READ
@@kjjr3270It would be easier without all of that extra baggage, though. Imagine how many more titles LeBron could have won if he had stayed out of the front office affairs and just played basketball.
Since there has been so much talk about the nba tv ratings stuff, I think the problem is pretty clear. Simply, fans don’t feel connected to the players anymore. The nba is basically a long running tv show, and if you stop feeling connected to characters on your favorite show, you’ll stop watching. In my opinion, the contributing factors to this are not letting players show genuine emotion on the court, players sitting out games for no reason, not marketing individual players well enough, two of the most popular basketball media figures (Shaq and Chuck) constantly shitting all over the modern game, and LOCAL BLACKOUTS ON LEAGUE PASS. I talked to my dad the other day (lifelong Suns fan), and he told me he hasn’t watched a single Suns game this season because it’s blacked out on league pass and he doesn’t know how to get the games. Making games harder to watch is the dumbest thing the league has ever done.
Hold up, they have to win #2 first. The Mavs are currently putting belt to ass.
Counter Hot Take:Blaming the fragmentation of cThe current perception that declining NBA TV ratings are due to changing media consumption habits is misguided. In fact, there is less competition for live sports now than there was in the past. During the 1990s and early 2000s, non-sports television programs regularly achieved high ratings for networks. Today, however, TV networks and streaming services are actively pursuing lucrative contracts with live sports leagues, even as the NBA struggles with low ratings. On the other hand, leagues such as the NFL and WNBA are witnessing record TV ratings. This increase can be largely attributed to the recent inclusion of additional households, like bars and gyms, in Nielsen TV ratings for sports.
I think it’s important to note that it goes both ways. But, one of the ways it was more popular back then, was how important the TV was
@ But live sports today are not competing with anyone. Therefore, the NBA ratings should be better than it is right now.
@@kevincampbell4708
Competing with other shows? They still are. It’s to a lesser degree, though
Competing with other ways to watch their content? They’re doing that far more than they’ve ever done it
@@Jonathan-A.C.No sitcom, drama series, or other TV program can compete with live sports. The rise of streaming services has diminished the reasons for consumers to watch their favorite shows as they air, since they can now view them at their convenience. This is why TV networks are eagerly offering sports leagues long-term contracts. You can not replicate the experience of live sports if you want the game later.
@@kevincampbell4708
Right but then, that means it equals out or at least changes a lot to something where both things are on streaming services, so it’s just a matter of TV not being the big thing, as opposed to the sports ratings dropping
The reason no one knows how to rank the nba cup and if it matters or not is for 2 main reasons in my opinion.
1 this is only its second year of being around which is pretty self explanatory
2 because the nba cup counts towards the standings for the finals it doesn’t really feel like a separate competition, it feels like just another game and if they advance then they take it slightly seriously.
The incentive isn’t really there for players to get money because they’re already on millions and millions each year
Hot take: awards such as mvp, fmvp, dpoy, 6moy, are overrated not saying they don’t matter to the players but in terms of comparing players it doesn’t matter because awards are voted and are opinion based their is never a truly right or wrong answer like when arguing for top 10 we go off award but when arguing for 102 and 103 players how we gonna argue bout them
What should the bulls expect back in a vucevic trade
Minus 7 first rounders and diddy
Your take about how the dpoy should always be a big is very flawed and misunderstands the point of defensive lineups.
Defense should be thought of more in terms of relative to replacement. The average 3rd string center will technically be better at defense than the average guard but that just isn’t how it works. Yeah the center anchors great defenses but those defenses generally will not just collapse when they leave the game.
The greatest defender should be the player best at disrupting the opponents offensive scheme. I think of the clip where LeBron gets mad when he sees Kawhi enter the game.
Hot take : Rudy Gobert is one championship away from having a similar impact as Stephen Curry on modern basketball.
Curry changed the league with his three point shooting and was accompanied by three other guys to do so (Klay Thomson, Damian Lillard and James Harden) together they proved that three point shooting was efficient and could be taken even after a few handles and they also improved its range.
Now Rudy came at the beginning of this era and is the biggest reason why the legue didn’t turn full smallball he (with Jokic and Embiid) is the one who lept the center position alive by showing how it could be impactful on the floor.
Rudy is one of the few superstar center.
He also has had a significant impact on the defense through his carreer his 4 DPOY show how a rim protector can adapt to the league and if he wins a championship with the Timberwolves there would be no doubt that he is the defensive superstar that jept defense alive during the most offense oriented era.
Literally most metrics of TV are down. I see these arguments in wrestling discussions all the time. While yeah, viewership is down for the nba, you can say that about most stuff on TV.
Exactly I feel like every community of entertainment always make these weird ass breakdowns on viewership. In reality it’s like why do you even care? Just shut tf up and enjoy what you want. People have waaaaay more options on what they want to watch so just on basic logic having the discussion is stupid
On the face of the league take, you can lump it into the same convo as TV ratings. The rise of the internet, some random on any team can have a stanbase
HOT TAKE: they should limit three pointers to the final 3-4 minutes of each quarter, which may result in less chucking from long range. Teams will be forced to work to the basket more, and it’ll create a more competitive and attractive game.
11:00 bro that was really funny you should have done another take
Hot take: NBA fans are underestimating the value of 2nd round picks in trade talks. We’re at an NBA peak in skill level and there are so many SOLID role players that were 2nd rounders. NBA fans see 2nd round picks in trade talks and they act like they’re useless
Hot take: the longer Russel Westbrook's career went on the more KD leaving OKC seemed like a fair choice (not necessarily to the Warriors but leaving in general)
Yeah, but KD has not done much better than Russ since leaving OKC outside of the Warriors.
Hot take: The reason NBA ratings are down has nothing to do with European players entering the league at a high clip, it's the perception of how three pointers affect the game. If you're shooting a lot of threes and making most of them, people will say there is no defense. If you're missing most of them, people will say it's a soft shot chucking team and it seems like there is no happy medium, hence why less people watch now.
In comparison to what time period? If the highest point of ratings were closer to the pandemic than almost any form of entertainment experience entered its peak retention of popularity because people weren’t able to go outside consistently.
Kyrie Irving has always dominated the narrative of who has the most “aesthetic” offensive game, or a style of play that most ‘hoopers’ would consider fundamentally perfect, but I think Jalen Brunson should be considered in that narrative. He might not have the flashy handle, but it’s more than serviceable, and he uses his combination or strength and footwork to where he rarely looks like he’s shooting a shot he doesn’t want.
Hot take: Raymond Felton is incredibly underrated and might (IS) be the greatest pg (arguably player in general) of all time
If jordan had played point guard he would have been the undisputed goat in his time as a pg he had 10 triple doubles in 11 games and averaged 33.6 points,11.4 rebounds,10.8 assists and 3 steals with a block while winning alot
But he said he was exhausted after doing it for a couple weeks and was happy to go back to being a SG. People have NO IDEA how difficult it is to play their position offensively and play tough defense. Jordan did both at the top of the elites and then facilitated on top of it (for a short time). It's completely exhausting and he couldn't have continued doing all 3 at the same time. It's a nice lesson for the casuals out there they should learn about Luka. He scores at Jordan's level (#3 all time), is 10th all time in assists per game, and is a top 10 rebounder in the league, and shockingly, tries to rest on defense and play passing lanes as a cheat. It's not him being lazy or out of shape, it's not physically possible to do everything. On a better team (this year being the first time it's close), he could play 32-34mpg and expend more energy playing both sides of the ball. But when he's in the top 5 of minutes played, he's obviously not going to be able to sustain everything he does with any level of efficiency.
19:00 96 finals??
Teams going for records during the regular season decreases their playoff chances. The 2013 Heat, for example, were much better than the Spurs, yet they almost lost that series. Mind you, they went for 27 wins straight that regular season, which exhausted the players. Same thing for the 2016 Warriors going for 73 wins. The Celtics will chill, win around 52-55 games, get the 2nd or 3rd seed, and go into the playoffs being fresh, while teams like OKC or CLE will be exhausted by April.
Matching up with the cavs should be Boston roster makeup priority put jrue on the bench
The rockets shouldn’t trade for De’Aaron Fox or Jimmy Butler, they should trade for both of them, they could easily make it happen with Vanvleet, Dillon Brooks and Steven Adams Contracts, and there treasure chest of assets, Both players will maintain there defensive identity while also being complete upgrades over the other players offensively , also gives flexibility for what your going to do with Jalen Green next summer
Hot Take: any comparison of two teams from different eras is doomed to fail. This is true with players too, to a certain extent, but specifically with teams. So much of a team's success depends on the circumstances that they arose from that comparing them, even on a year-to-year basis, almost seems foolhardy to me.
Especially when it pertains to 3 point percentages when the league shortened the line for 3 seasons. Steve Kerr and Michael Jordan took most of their 3s during that era inflating their career percentages. Playing 2K with their inflated numbers really is disengaging since the basketball courts aren’t adjusted to that reality.
Not a hot take but just fyi-
I see a lot of people talking about how difficult it is to watch your fav NBA team because of different streaming services and geo ban on league pass so u have to buy other subscriptions etc
In my country I get to watch all 1250 regular season games and playoffs on a yearly subscription of 🥁 🥁 🥁 $18 dollars
12:50 The Beatles dont got shit on Tyler? Bro thats a crazy comment lol. Love Tyler tho fr
I think he was talking more so regarding the rudimentary nature of especially early Beatles music. Not helped by the fact that none of the Beatles were significantly talented at their instruments. John Paul and George are mainly remembered as great songwriters
@ianardell4660 Now Id almost agree with this, except Paul was very talented at playing bass. George was great on guitar and Ringo was great on drums, but Id agree they werent like technically that proficient, but they were perfect for the band. However Paul was one of the best bassists of his time. But overall yeah, what made them special was the songwriting, and thats why I made the comment. Beatles' compositions are still night and day with most of the stuff that came after them
13:00 let this man cook
Hot take: Whos better all time Dmamien Lillard, or Kyrie Irving, ive said Dame is better all time, and apparently thats a hot take
Hot Take: The bulls 3 peating twice in the same era was a result of how less competitive the league was at time versus Jordan being an “unbeatable menace” We’ve had teams like the kd warriors fail to get one and you’re telling me the bulls did it twice. You can build the perfect team today and they’re not achieving that.
Am i just making shit up or wasnt there one season in minnesota where dlo was a pretty good defender
If Wemby didn’t exist I think Dyson Daniels should and would be in the top conversation for DPOY and at this rate even win it
"They game gets better as time goes by". Ratings say otherwise my guy
3:02 What r u talking about he's 19...
8:05 MJ literally had the media saying he was involved in his father’s death. I think that is objectively worse than modern nba players opening up insta or twitter seeing a bunch of hateful comments about lost parleys n such
In regard to that Celtics take, I’d still be interested in a Celtics versus Nuggets series. At one time that was the expected matchup but we ended up with Heat V Nuggets. I don’t think the Celtics have been challenged with a truly unstoppable force like Jokic, since 2018 LeBron. Just curious what kind of shock to the system it would be to face a guy that they have 0 answers for.
Well, we have seen the Nuggets lose without Jokić having to be neutralized that much. The Wizards managed to beat them despite a 56-point performance from Jokić.
@ true! However, I think it’s fair to put limited stock into regular season games. Especially when the nuggets (cough cough Jamal Murray) seem to turn up the intensity in the playoffs. I’d consider that wizards game far more of a blight than something to take seriously.
Jordan was the most scrutinized player ever in his early days. He had his fans but old school guys hated him and thought he was a ball hog. He shut them all up once he started winning championships and made himself undeniable more than any athlete ever. This idea that jordan had it easy cause "no twitter" gives twitter way to much credit. The media coddles lebron and they looked to kill Mike.
The Celtics could realistically 3peat, but there could be easily be roadblocks. KP injury status on the playoffs especially could really hurt them even though they can win without him. Horford aging out (he'll be 40 for the 3rd chip), even Jrue Holiday becoming much more pedestrian because he'll be like 36 or 37 by the 3rd chip is a real concern. Tatum and Brown have basically been iron men their whole careers and it could be that bearing their 30's could see them missing more than he's due to injury (Tatum almost never misses games and Jaylen only missed one playoffs run for wrist surgery he decided to get because the team was .500 and they punted on the playoffs to have Jaylen back for the start of the following year).
They really could just plow through all that and 3peat because they have their whole team under contract for at least a couple more years so they don't need to add this or move that, so they could just be destined to be the best team since the warriors in the 2010's.
I genuinely dont know why you think the 2 is just going to die lmao. Is it because they are being asked to have slightly more ballhandling capabilities? Idc what you classify Payton Pritchard as since hes listed as both, but he plays just as much like a 2 as anyone in history. I agree that D Book and Ant will probably become 1s or combo guards at the least but thats when they need a new primary ball handler, and because those two have the necessary skills, but I have a feeling there will still be plenty of guards that can shoot but lack the dribbling or footwork to ever run point.
Need myles turner type
Hot take #1: OKC is still a couple of years away from truly contending. Their current core only has one postseason run under their belts, meaning that they still lack the necessary experience that teams usually go through before getting over the hump (i.e. The Jays' Celtics). I believe that they can win (a) championship(s) in the near future, but they still having growing pains to go through.
Hot take #2: Hypothetical arguments about past occurrences are too one-sided. "The Rockets would've beaten the Warriors in 2018 if CP3 didn't get injured." "The Heat would've won the 2011 Finals if LeBron had played better." The arguments that people make for occurrences such as these only talk about what would've happened on one side, but not the other side in reaction. There are two sides to every story.
Hot take: wanna know why viewership declining? it’s the coach rotations. ppl pay money to come see stars play, not a bench, regardless of blowout. public getting tired of seeing players they don’t give a damn about because coaches don’t let the stars play at all in the fourth and then what can really be considered a blowout too in today’s age of ball?
Why do people lay to themselves like a legit 7ft center doesn’t matter? There has been any roster to win a championship with out a 7ft on the roster even if they don’t start. Undersized centers are not a winning formula.