Real Deal

Kidd had a really great run with the Nets, where he took them to two consecutive NBA Finals. He had a 19/6/9 season with elite defense, leading the Nets to the Finals against a dynasty in the Spurs, where they fell in six games. Did J-Kidd deserve an MVP? Who would he have won it over?

He's still putting up nice numbers coming off the bench (13.4 PPG and shooting 41% from downtown), but it's almost time to ride into the sunset. Does he have a couple years left in him, and if so, will they all be with the Blazers?

Back in December of last year, the Magic gave Jonathan Isaac a four-year, $80 million extension...as he sat home with a broken leg. He's a great defender, averaged 12/7 in 34 games last season...but the problem is that, over three years in the league, he has played just 136 games. He's still young (24 years old), so he could fully recover, but still...it's a lot of money, extending him through the 2024-25 season. Is he worth it?

The Thunder have drained their roster down to basically SGA and Dort. They are the only team in the league with a total salary of under $100 million. They owe money to guys that have never played on the team before, and guys that are no longer there...29 players this year. One is TJ Leaf. With a lot of cap space ahead, and 467 draft picks, how long will it take for the Thunder to rebuild? Will they be a playoff team in 3-5 years, or will they see a long drought lasting 10+ years? What about having time to do it all, or being sold and moved back to Seattle or to Vegas before it's accomplished?

There's no denying that Julius Randle is at the core of the Knicks' offense. Then, you have six more double-digit scorers, including D-Rose, who is coming off the bench. Offense, defense, and leadership considered...is D-Rose the second-most valuable player on the Knicks? He is clutch, hard-working, inspirational, and still a very good player with experience to share with the young guys (basically the entire team). Who else could it be?

We have been hearing about the "Mickey Mouse ring" for a while now, with people saying that the season really shouldn't have counted. That Miami's run was a fluke. That the Lakers should have an asterisk by their championship. Do you believe the Heat's run through the East was a fluke? Why or why not?

How many of you have noticed Jonas Valančiūnas' game over the last few seasons? How about since he was drafted? This year, he averaged 17/13 on a super-efficient 59% from the floor. A couple years back, he put up a very quiet 20/11. Has anyone ever considered him a borderline all-star? Strictly numbers, those are similar to Pau Gasol's, just more efficient. Ja, Dillon and Jonas are all averaging 17 PPG, with Ja and Dillon having very similar numbers across the board. I just can't believe how little I hear about Valančiūnas, since he really is a very good big man, which is hard to find these days.

The Clippers landed the 4-spot, intentionally, to face the Dallas Mavericks...knowing that Luka Doncic is unstoppable. Over 7 playoff games so far, against the Clippers, he has averaged 31/10/9. That's against Kawhi and PG. Last year, they choked a 3-1 lead against the Nuggets. Playoff P was in full effect. After just one year, they panicked and fired Doc Rivers, and hired Tyronn Lue to take his place. They lost Montrezl Harrell...to their rival, the Lakers. What is going on with the Clippers?

Anthony Edwards is putting up 19/5/3 as a rookie, and it looks like he has a decent amount of room to grow. He does take a lot of threes for shooting just 33%, and given how aggressive he can be, he could get to the line a lot more. With him, KAT and D-Lo, can Edwards help the trio achieve a top 8 seed in the conference and make the playoffs? With all the talent in the world (including Jarred Vanderbilt, who can be a permanent starter on this team), I don't see how they went just 23-49. The last time they weren't in the bottom 10, defensively, was 2013-14 (12th). The last time they were in the top 10? Back in 2005-06, and of course, that's when they had KG. He may not be a franchise player, but he could be good enough to help them gain some ground on their quest to become a playoff-caliber team. Is he the guy?

"Shaq and Kobe-like" - Charles Barkley Not quite, but the break-up factor may be similar. Will Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid break up down the road, or stay together until they win a championship? Simmons is on his way to being a superstar, if he ever gets a jumpshot. At that point, he becomes a top five player in the NBA. Embiid is already an MVP candidate. I wouldn't give him the "best player" moniker over guys like Kevin Durant or LeBron James, but he's close. Shaq was Superman. Keeping with the DC theme, Kobe was the Flash up until the second championship, when he and Shaq averaged 29 together, and Kobe was on a tear. He became Batman. Right now, Embiid and Simmons are nearly in the same boat together, in regards to who is leading the team. One is a monster down low, and a good defensive player...and the other facilitates the offense and is an elite defender (arguably the DPOY), an all-around player w/out a jumper. Efficient, but he's not averaging 30, either. Is a break-up imminent?

Could this current Suns squad (Off Rtg: 117.2 (5th of 30) & Def Rtg: 111.3 (9th of 30)) hang with the 2005-06 Phoenix Suns (Off Rtg: 111.5 (2nd of 30) & Def Rtg: 105.8 (16th of 30)) in a seven-game series? Chris Paul Devin Booker Deandre Ayton vs. Steve Nash Shawn Marion Boris Diaw Remember, Amare only played three games that season, so he was out. Current Suns ended the season 51-21 (0.708) and the 2006 Suns were 54-28 (0.659). Current Suns are one of the slowest teams in the league, ranked 26th in Pace...while Nash's Suns were obviously the fastest, ranked 1st. One staggering difference? We all know how different the game is, and why. The 2006 Suns were ranked 1st in 3PT attempts, at 25.6 a game. Today's Suns are ranked 15th...at 34.6. For future reference, the Jazz lead this season, at 43 a game. Who wins a seven-game series?

Currently, Sacramento has a nice core of young guys + a vet (Barnes) that has a decent all-around game and a good amount of experience to be able to mentor the young crew with. De'Aaron Fox (25/4/7) Harrison Barnes (16/7/4) Buddy Hield (17/5/4) Richaun Holmes (14/8/2) Tyrese Haliburton (13/3/5) Holmes, who I knew nothing about because I don't watch the Kings much, surprised me when I watched highlights of his game. He has improved his FG% year after year, until he hit the mid-60's. With it, his PPG increased, so that tells me it's not a fluke: he's getting better. Fox is something else. I didn't think he would be this big of a scorer, and hitting 48% of his shots at that. My guess for 25+ PPG would've been Buddy, although he's creeping up on 20. What's next for the Kings? Do they look to the draft to pick up a defensive big? They are the worst defensive team in the NBA right now. How about the issue they will eventually face with Fox, Haliburton and Hield all deserving of that starting role? What about a head coach?

Houston was 17-55 this season, the worst team in the league. Only TWO players played more than 45 games: Jae'Sean Tate (70 games, 58 starts) and Sterling Brown (51 games, 14 starts). That's it. Tate averaged 11/5/3 and Brown put up 8/4/1. They also brought in a rookie head coach, Stephen Silas, who spent most of his assistant coaching career with the Hornets and the pre-Curry Warriors...in other words, he spent most of his career losing. Clearly, the Rockets need to rebuild. That means they first need to make a decision as to who to build around. Are Wood and Wall (Wood 'en Wall?) the duo to build around? Wood surprised me, probably like he did everyone else...putting up a 24/19 game against the Clippers, and two 24/18's against the Spurs and Wolves. He averaged 21/10 and shot 37% from three (which is decent). If he keeps it up, Wall may be a great player to pair him with. Who else would be up for it? I'm sure they'd have takers for Wood, but Wall may be a different story.

Right now, the Warriors have the 17th pick in the draft. It's their only pick in both rounds. Who would be a good fit? What position should they look to draft? The real question, IMO, is: how do they NOT draft Johnny Juzang, out of UCLA? He's a pure shooter, plays the three, and he's a clutch player (see him in the tourney?) that would fit in really well with the Warriors. No, he's not Durant, but he would probably see a few shots a night if he became a starter down the road. Other than drafting a forward, I don't see the need to get a big man. Wiseman is there, and Draymond plays big. They may need a backup, if Looney decides to leave, but the 17th pick could still bring you an eventual starter, so I don't know if you waste it on that. Oubre is a free agent. So is Bazemore. Hard to say, but Juzang just seems to fit the mold.

Why didn't Detroit just start D-Rose, instead of trading him to the Knicks for absolutely nothing (Dennis Smith, who shot 34% and averaged like 5 points in the season prior to the trade, and a second round pick). Rose just came off a season averaging approx. 18/2/6 on 49% FG, where they only played him as a starter for 15/50 games he was in. Then, the following season, they played him just 15 games (no starts) before dealing him. Detroit, who won 20 games this year, really thought they could throw Killian Hayes to the wolves, when really, they should've brought him in slowly behind Rose, who deserved to start. Delon Wright? Saben Lee??? I just don't get it.

Who is more important to Denver's success: Jamal Murray or Michael Porter Jr? One is already an all-star, who was shining in last year's playoff run (especially in his dogfight with Donovan Mitchell). The other came out of left field and instantly thrown into the mix as the #2 option when Murray was injured. Murray may be the better player for now, but does MPJ have a higher ceiling and is his development more important? Who's your guy?

Move over, Dirk. Luka's coming. How good is he? For me, he's top three in the league right now, and I'm shocked he wasn't a finalist in the MVP race. With Porzingis hurt on and off, missing 29/72 games, Luka essentially took it upon himself to drag the Mavericks through the mud and into the 5th seed of the playoffs. And they beat the Clippers in Game 1 (so far, so good). Even if they lose to the Clips, the season was a success, IMO, especially since Kawhi and PG are supposed to be leading their team to a ring this year. Luka will surpass Dirk as the greatest Maverick of all-time. Unless, of course, he leaves. He doesn't seem as loyal as someone like Dirk. Just saying.

Are Collin Sexton's numbers a product of a bad Cavaliers roster? He's averaging 24 a night, but on a good FG% for a guard (47.5%) and he shoots okay from three (37.1%) AND from FT (81.5%). With his shooting numbers, it's difficult for me to say his scoring is inflated. You see it a lot on bad teams, but typically, the players scoring a lot of points (those you've never really heard of before, and they come out of nowhere) are usually also shooting poorly, sometimes in the very low 40's or upper 30's. I don't see him as a future #1 option on a contender (I don't have a crystal ball to look that far into the future), but I wouldn't be shocked if he ended up being one on a decent playoff team someday. Probably not in Cleveland, lol.

If D-Rose had stayed healthy and in Chicago, does he lead the Bulls out of the East while LeBron is in it? Basically, if he had a decent all-star teammate, was a healthy, prime D-Rose good enough as a first option to get the Bulls to the Finals?

Saw this on Twitter and thought it would be an interesting topic. Who's the first player that comes to mind when you see this logo?

Can the duo of Young and Collins stay together and one day, lead this Hawks franchise into an ECF? They've been there just once since 1970 (!), and it was actually in 2015, which surprised me. Horford, Teague, Millsap, Schroder and Korver were on that squad, and they ended up losing to LeBron and the Cavs in the ECF. Will Young and Collins make it, or will they split up before then? Does Young need a better sidekick?

DeRozan is a free agent after this season, no PO/TO. Unrestricted. Do the Spurs let him walk and take the $28 million cap space, or use him in a sign-and-trade? Or...do they try and bring him back on a new deal, and show they want to win with him by bringing in more talent? Personally, I don't believe DeRozan would ever be a #1 option on a championship team, or even a contender, for that matter. I know he had a couple of years in Toronto where they won 50+ games, one season they were second next to the Cavaliers, but I never really felt like they were contenders. Maybe that was from the LeBron Effect in the Eastern Conference...everything was a cakewalk. Toronto nearly lost their first and second round match-ups that year. So what do I do? I probably shoot for a sign-and-trade. The cap space probably doesn't help me at all, because I doubt a big-name FA will come through that door...not for the Spurs, not with Pop having one foot out the door and the franchise nearing a reboot.

Haha...well, I didn't expect that from the Clippers in the first game of the series. Doncic is something else, and what about Tim Hardaway's son?!?! I love the fact that Kawhi dunked on Kleber, and Kawhi, PG and Morris stared him down. And they ended up losing, lol.

Julius Randle! I hate that the Lakers didn't keep him as our future franchise player, but I understand the "win now" approach. We have always had that mindset. Anyway, Randle is going to have a huge series against Atlanta, but I do want to see how Capela works his magic against New York. His defense, this season, has been on par with guys like Gobert and Draymond. If the Hawks had any defense from anyone else on the roster, they'd be far better than 21st in the league, lol. The Knicks will look to shut the door on Trae Young, obviously, and they could do it. He shot under 40% in two of their three games this season, and 41% in the other. All Knicks' wins. Randle had two 40+ point games against the Hawks, and the third was 28/17. I'll take the Knicks in 5 games. Atlanta will get one, probably an OT game where the Knicks just take their foot off the gas a little and can't get back into rhythm.