00:00Over to the Association, 7.30 tonight.
00:02Could we see an Eastern Conference Championship preview?
00:05It's the New York Knicks taking on the Detroit Pistons.
00:07This line overnight had the Pistons as a favorite.
00:10Wake up this morning, the New York Knicks are now a favorite at minus one and a half.
00:14The streaking Knicks taking on maybe the best record here in the Eastern Conference as it sits.
00:19Detroit Pistons, what's your spread line for this one tonight, Joe?
00:22Well, we got some injury concerns here, Donnie.
00:25It appears with the Pistons, who lost at home to the Washington Wizards last night, 126-117.
00:33Now they've got to host the Knicks, who have won eight straight here.
00:36So key injuries, Jalen Duren missed the second half last night because of a right knee issue.
00:43Tobias Harris was out with left hip soreness.
00:47So all of a sudden, not a healthy Pistons team.
00:50Wonder if this is going to affect Duren's appearance in the slam dunk contest.
00:55Right back here on the early lawn on a football Friday on the Sports Grid Network.
00:59Why is it a football Friday?
01:00Well, it's the last football Friday and Super Bowl Sunday coming up Super Bowl 60
01:03between the Seahawks and the New England Patriots.
01:05But a lot went down in the NBA this past week.
01:08Why?
01:09Because it was the trade deadline.
01:10It's Donnie Wright said it's Joe Ranieri.
01:12Now we're going to bring in our coach, James Young, to break it all down for us.
01:16Happy post-trade deadline day, coach.
01:19Happy post-trade deadline day to you guys as well.
01:22A lot of trades went down.
01:25Yeah.
01:25But a lot we'll talk about is maybe the guys that weren't moved, mainly Giannis and John.
01:32Let's get right into it here because the hottest topic over the past two and a half weeks was,
01:36could we be changing the actual landscape of who can win a championship if they got Giannis Antetokounmpo?
01:42The word on the street, yep, his agent's ready.
01:44He's ready to move on.
01:45Let's see if we can make that deal.
01:46Coach, no deal was made.
01:48So let me ask you two questions.
01:49Were you surprised by that at the deadline and also what happens this summer with Giannis?
01:54Yes, I was surprised because it seems like to me, guys, I don't even know if they were really interested in moving Giannis
02:01unless you would have moved the moon and the stars to get him.
02:05So now you sit yourself in a situation where if you're Milwaukee, I actually think they're going to try and make one more attempt
02:11to make him happy through a free agency and the draft.
02:15And I just don't know how it's going to get done, if you'll be honest with you, especially a guy going into his walk year.
02:21Why do I say walk year?
02:22Because to me, guys, I think they lost all leverage.
02:26If Giannis goes to them in the summer and says, I want to go to New York or I want to go to Miami
02:31and the last year of the deal, that's all they have left.
02:34So to me, I think Milwaukee missed the boat.
02:37They're not going to contend and not will ever contend because they have no draft capital or nothing to trade to get anyone else.
02:43So I think it was a monumental mistake by the Milwaukee Bucks.
02:48Yeah, and good luck trying to even get Morant out at some particular point because he's like kryptonite right now.
02:55Nobody wants him there, coach.
02:56But somebody wanted James Harden.
02:59Wait, what?
02:59Somebody wanted James Harden?
03:01Yes.
03:01What is that going to look like, you think, the rest of the way for the Cavs?
03:05I don't see it working, guys.
03:07And I'm going to explain to you why as a coach.
03:09You have a ball-dominant point guard playing with a ball-dominant two-guard.
03:15Neither one of them strong defensively.
03:18So people are saying, whoa, no, no, James Harden's a great passer.
03:21Ready?
03:21Two bigs.
03:22I think Mobley and Allen may benefit from this a little bit.
03:26But not Donovan Mitchell.
03:28Go look at his track record.
03:30Don't count OKC.
03:31Goes to Houston.
03:32Anybody that's a ball-dominant player, he runs them off the team, can't play with them.
03:36Then he goes to the Clippers or the Nets.
03:39Don't sell me Kyrie.
03:40Play with Kyrie for 10 games.
03:42That's basically all he played with them with.
03:44Don't sell me on Durant to catch-and-shoot shooter.
03:46Don't send me on Paul George, catch-and-shoot shooter.
03:49So to me, this is not going to line up very well for a team that I think should have kept Garland
03:55and obviously with Spider Mitchell.
03:56And I would have moved one of the bigs, more likely Jared Allen, to move Evan Mobley to the five.
04:03Coach, let me ask you a question here.
04:04Because starting the season, a lot of question marks on the Los Angeles Clippers.
04:08It felt like they were finally getting their footing, like, hey, could maybe the Clippers
04:11make a run, as we talk about every year at this point, as long as they can stay healthy.
04:15And then it felt like overnight, James Harden didn't like the situation because he wasn't
04:18going to get paid.
04:19They also traded Vika Zubac.
04:20Coach, what is going on with the Clippers, and what's the future of the Clippers?
04:24It's not good.
04:25I mean, listen, they're an old roster that went for it this year, and they imploded halfway
04:30during the year.
04:31And that leads me to Kawhi Leonard.
04:34Why hold on to Kawhi Leonard?
04:36Kawhi Leonard is playing his best basketball over the last year that he's played the last
04:41five, six years.
04:41He's been healthier than he's been in the past.
04:44If I'm going to full rebuild, guys, I'm full rebuilding.
04:48I'm getting rid of Harden.
04:50I'm getting rid of Zubac.
04:52And I'm getting rid of Kawhi Leonard.
04:54You're already into the Intuit Dome.
04:55You've already sold all the tickets.
04:57Steve Barber's got a ton of money.
04:59So you don't worry about fans in the seats.
05:01They should have did the full rebuild and traded Kawhi as well.
05:03Well, maybe the summer.
05:04Yeah, well, don't hate it for the Pacers next year, though, Coach, because they did
05:10replace, you know, Miles Turner there now.
05:12I think he's still, what, 29, Zubac?
05:15I mean, it's not a bad move for Indiana looking forward now, is it?
05:19No, it's not.
05:20It's not a bad move at all.
05:21And this is a guy that, unlike Miles Turner, is not afraid to go in there and go get some
05:26rebounds.
05:27Now, the thing that it does, too, is now we put Zubac in what we call the dunker spot
05:32next year, where you go high, pick and roll, that's the problem.
05:35He's not a pick and roll guy, so you have to put him in a dunker spot and allow Halliburton
05:39when he comes back healthy to space the floor with shooters, right?
05:43So to me, I think it helps them.
05:46But if you're going to run pick and roll with Zubac, that's not going to be it.
05:50You got to put him in the dunker spot like Rudy Gobert, maybe throw him a post-entry
05:53once in a while.
05:54But pick and roll stuff, that's not Ivanka's game.
05:58Talking here with Coach James Young here about the NDA deadline, which certainly was fascinating
06:01any business, one of those topics that we talked about, maybe it seems like for a full
06:04year.
06:05Coach, what was the disconnect between Jonathan Kaminga and the Golden State Warriors where
06:10it just never could work out?
06:12Yeah, guys, it's just an odd situation, right?
06:15This was a guy that we thought was going to be a star.
06:17And then you looked at towards the end of last year, he's not playing at all.
06:22Then all the injuries happen in the playoffs.
06:24Then he comes in towards the end of playoffs and he starts going off.
06:28So we're like, OK, everything's solved.
06:30So now they start playing.
06:32Then they put him to the bench.
06:33Then they need him.
06:34Then he doesn't want to play.
06:35It's just a matter of fact that a guy wanted a contract and it sets up an interesting dynamic.
06:40Guys, if there's a team that every year we looked at in the past, Orlando when they
06:44made their jump, right?
06:46Detroit when they made their jump.
06:47Guys, the team to watch next year, if they can figure it out, play consistently, is going
06:52to be Atlanta.
06:53Because of that backer with Dyson Daniels and Nikola Alexander-Walkers had a great year.
06:58You look at Richer Shea in the front court, obviously with Jalen Johnson.
07:01You get rid of Porzingis.
07:03You got Okonga who's throwing great.
07:04And then you got a bench with Buddy Heal, with Jonathan Kaminga.
07:08Oh, that's right.
07:10They also have the top pick for the New Orleans Pelicans.
07:13So this gets even crazier if you get someone like a DiBanza and you can move a Richer Shea
07:20or you get a Derrick Peterson and you move someone like Nikola Alexander-Walkers to the
07:25bench.
07:25Atlanta guys could be that team to watch for in the 26-27 season to make that big jump.
07:33Coach, the Johnnies are in the guard tonight to take on UConn, which means the New York
07:37Knicks are on the road to take on the Detroit Pistons tonight.
07:40Overnight, the Pistons were a favorite.
07:42Now we're finding ourselves seeing the Knicks as a favorite tonight, Coach.
07:46Knicks, Pistons.
07:47How about this one?
07:48Well, the last time the Knicks played the Pistons early in the year, they lost by 31.
07:52Their defense is much better.
07:53Now there's Frank.
07:54They're keeping the ball out of the middle, pushing pick and rolls to the sidelines, simplifying
07:58the defense.
07:59Look under.
08:00Knicks will try and make this a dogfight.
08:01Defense has been much better the last 10 or so games.
08:04Last night, I told you.
08:05Nobody wanted to bet Golden State.
08:06We didn't even know if Steph was going to play or whoever's even going to be available.
08:09They were getting six and a half.
08:10They went out right yesterday because nobody wanted them except your boy DRS.
08:14We'll do it again tonight, Joe.
08:15How about a 10 o'clock start?
08:17Who likes the Sacramento Kings?
08:18Nobody likes the Sacramento Kings.
08:20They're going to take on the Clippers here.
08:21They're at home.
08:22They're getting three and a half.
08:23This line opened up overnight at three and a half.
08:25Still sits at three and a half today.
08:27But how about this?
08:27Only 35% of the total ticket count coming in on the Sacramento Kings.
08:32Simple handicaps here.
08:34Nobody wants the Kings.
08:35Your boy DRS wants the Kings.
08:37And we're looking for another great night in the NBA.
08:40Kings, Joe.
08:41King me.
08:42Plus three and a half.
08:44Listen, if it ain't broke, Donnie, we ain't fixing it, right?
08:47It's just that.
08:48It works in the NBA.
08:50No reason to stop betting that way now, Donnie.
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