- 5 minutes ago
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00All right, welcome back to Newswire here on Sports Grid.
00:02Always great to catch up with Gilbert McGregor,
00:03who we're going to be catching up with quite a bit
00:05after the NBA's All-Star break
00:07and get into everything in the NBA each and every week.
00:10He's covering the Phoenix Suns out West
00:12and certainly is weighing in on the NBA with us.
00:14Gilbert, great to have you back here on Newswire.
00:16Very big win, I thought, last night for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
00:19James Harden hasn't asked for a trade from there yet,
00:22so I guess he'll finish the season with Cleveland.
00:24They win 119-117 over the Denver Nuggets,
00:28and it didn't come easy.
00:29It was a comeback win for them,
00:30but it definitely shows that Cleveland, I think,
00:33has gotten through that mid-season slump at this point.
00:36Absolutely, and adding James Harden
00:38has injected a little life into this franchise.
00:40You mentioned the comeback when they trailed by 11 points
00:42in the fourth quarter there,
00:43and they had a quote post-game,
00:45so they haven't even practiced together yet.
00:46They're just kind of playing basketball off of vibes
00:48and learning how to play with one another in real time,
00:51so to see James Harden and Donovan Mitchell
00:52display that chemistry and for them to get that win,
00:55I know the Nuggets were shorthanded,
00:56but the Cavs were also without Evan Mobley in that game.
00:59So I think the Cavs should feel confident
01:01about what they have going forward.
01:03I know that James Harden doesn't necessarily have the best
01:05track record in the postseason,
01:07but they're doing something a little different
01:08than they have in years past,
01:09and last night is another example of the peak
01:11and what this team could potentially achieve
01:13during the rest of the season.
01:14Donovan Mitchell last night and also James Harden
01:17a combined 55 points, 17 assists, 11 rebounds,
01:22and five three-pointers, a combination
01:24that they'll be looking forward to get deep
01:25into the postseason as James Harden
01:27going back over to the Eastern Conference,
01:30and by the way, their win total sits at 52.5 for the season,
01:34and for them to win the Eastern Conference,
01:36their odds are plus 340, deeper odds
01:39to win the NBA Finals as well.
01:41All right, so Gilbert on social media last night
01:43as I was scrolling through after my son's baseball game,
01:45I see Gilbert say something about
01:47what's going on in the NBA tonight.
01:49We got all this craziness going on,
01:51and I guess there was a big fight last night
01:53between the Pistons and Hornets,
01:55and look, I mean, in this day and age,
01:58all I can think about is the malice in the palace
02:00and that documentary that I saw.
02:02I mean, this wasn't that because the fans weren't involved,
02:06but I mean, Bickerstaff said that it wasn't his guys
02:09and they shouldn't be responsible.
02:11I don't know how he could possibly say that, Gilbert.
02:13I mean, it takes two to fight, doesn't it?
02:15Absolutely does, and I've been watching that game live,
02:18and there's some history between the Hornets and the Pistons.
02:21They've been going back and forth for several years now.
02:23People just hadn't been paying attention
02:24because they were both bottom dwellers
02:25in the Eastern Conference,
02:27but now the Hornets had that nine-game win streak
02:29they had going on,
02:30and Jalen Dern is a guy who was actually traded
02:32by the Hornets on draft night,
02:33and he had been talking a lot,
02:35and it was physical between he and Musa Diabate,
02:37and things kind of escalated pretty quickly,
02:39and you saw, you know, Miles Bridges
02:41and Isaiah Stewart coming off the bench.
02:44It was a melee, a mess as far as that goes.
02:46It kind of took away from the game that it was.
02:49I'm sure some suspensions will be coming down
02:50on both sides of that,
02:52but, you know, when you look at it,
02:54the Pistons have been holding down the one seed
02:55in the Eastern Conference.
02:56The Hornets could be the eighth seed
02:58in the Eastern Conference,
02:59so this could be a playoff preview
03:01between two teams who have some bad blood,
03:03so I'm sure people will be paying attention
03:04very closely the next time the Hornets
03:06and Pistons play one another.
03:08Never a good thing to lose your best player,
03:11but if there is a silver lining for the Thunder,
03:14the Thunder can look at that win against the Lakers
03:16and say, this is the model we can use
03:18just in case SGA has to miss a game,
03:20which he doesn't miss very often,
03:21but obviously he's out for a couple of weeks,
03:23and you talk about contributions here.
03:25Jalen Williams, 23 points.
03:27Okay, that's fine.
03:28Joe, Caruso, Holmgren, Wallace, Williams,
03:31Hartenstein, all in double figures.
03:33I know they're extremely well-coached team, Gilbert,
03:36but this just kind of goes to show
03:37how deep the Thunder are
03:39and why they're favored to win the NBA title.
03:42Absolutely.
03:43The Thunder have incredible depth,
03:44and as you saw last night,
03:46Jalen Williams' first game back from injury
03:48and he was able to have that type of impact,
03:49and Cason Wallace has been a guy
03:51who stepped up very well
03:52in Shea Gillis-Alexander's absence,
03:54and Isaiah Hartenstein,
03:55you look at that,
03:56kind of floated with a triple-double.
03:57I think he had six of those assists
03:58in the first half,
03:59so a lot of these guys on the Thunder
04:00are stepping up.
04:01A.J. Mitchell's another player
04:02who hasn't been available for them,
04:04and you're LeBron James to say it post-game.
04:06The Thunder are a team
04:07who are a championship contender for a reason.
04:09They play all 48 minutes
04:11and make you work for all 48 minutes.
04:13There's never a night off,
04:14regardless of who's available
04:15or who isn't available for this Thunder team.
04:17That's exactly why they're still favored
04:19to win it all this year.
04:20Last night, Anthony Edwards
04:23had a big game for the Minnesota Timberwolves
04:25in their 138-116 win.
04:2730 points, six rebounds, six assists,
04:31and certainly the Hawks
04:32a little bit up against it at the moment,
04:34still in that, of course, playing range
04:35like they all always are,
04:37but Minnesota's one of those teams
04:38to be reckoned with.
04:39Their odds are the fourth shortest
04:40or the fifth shortest, excuse me,
04:41in the West.
04:43Absolutely.
04:43The Timberwolves, I think,
04:44are a team who we don't talk about enough
04:46the fact that they've gone
04:46into the Conference Finals
04:47two consecutive years.
04:49Obviously, have not gotten over the hump,
04:51but previously in franchise history,
04:53they had only gone once.
04:54So you think about where they are right now,
04:55what Anthony Edwards has done for them,
04:57bringing in Julius Randle
04:58and still finding ways to win.
05:00And last night, it was Io DeSumo
05:01who had a big game off the bench for them,
05:03and he was acquired at the trade deadline.
05:05So he kind of answers that need they had
05:07for more backcourt help,
05:09a little more of a true point guard presence for them.
05:11And I think the Timberwolves are going to benefit
05:13from adding him to what they have already,
05:15and I think that they will be
05:16a team worth watching out for
05:18in the Western Conference
05:18because they've done it before back-to-back years.
05:22Big spread night in the NBA, Gilbert.
05:24Let's run through three of them.
05:25The Rockets, minus eight and a half
05:26against the Clippers,
05:27total of two, ten and a half.
05:308 p.m. Eastern start.
05:31Clippers, certainly, with Kawhi Leonard
05:33and their cast of characters.
05:35I thought it was a little strange of a trade,
05:37but, you know, obviously getting Darius Garland,
05:39not the worst thing in the world for them.
05:40Do they have enough to keep this game close
05:42tonight against Houston?
05:43I actually do think the Clippers
05:44can keep this game close to Rocket.
05:46The Clippers have been going through
05:47a little bit of a phase lately.
05:48I watched them play over the weekend
05:50against Oklahoma City,
05:51and they ended up winning the game,
05:52but they had a lot of sloppy moments
05:54in which they could have been much better.
05:56And the Clippers on Sunday
05:57looked really good against the Timberwolves.
05:59Kawhi Leonard had that 41-point performance.
06:01So I think the Clippers,
06:01regardless of who's available for them,
06:03I think they're going to get
06:03their new guys,
06:04or some of the new guys they acquired,
06:06Benedict Mathurin,
06:06a guy they got from Indiana.
06:08I think he might be available tonight.
06:10So those guys will fight and claw.
06:11I think they will at least
06:12keep it close in Houston.
06:14Spurs take on the Lakers,
06:16and I see a spread like this,
06:17and I wonder,
06:18is somebody out tonight?
06:19Because San Antonio's
06:20eight-and-a-half-point road favorites
06:21at L.A.,
06:22total 228-and-a-half.
06:23Obviously, it's a back-to-back
06:25for L.A.
06:2610.30 p.m. Eastern.
06:28Got to check the starting lineups,
06:29I guess, in this one.
06:31That's one to continue to monitor
06:32closer to game time,
06:33but I do like the Spurs in this one.
06:35You mentioned the Lakers
06:35being on the second end
06:36of a back-to-back, Craig.
06:37This is an older team
06:39without Luka Doncic,
06:40and the Spurs are a younger team,
06:42and young teams have typically
06:43given the Lakers fits this season
06:44because of their ability
06:45to get up and down the floor.
06:46So Victor Wimanyama,
06:47Stephon Kassel,
06:48those guys will definitely be
06:50a lot for the Lakers to deal with,
06:52and I just don't know
06:53if they have enough firepower.
06:55The Indiana Pacers
06:56can't wait for the season to end
06:58and get the ping-pong balls going.
06:59That's just all I can say about them.
07:00The Knicks are 12-point favorites
07:02tonight, 224-and-a-half.
07:04I would imagine the Knicks
07:05will probably win this game
07:06at the Garden,
07:06but can they cover
07:07the big number, Gilbert?
07:09Whew, 12 really does feel like a lot.
07:11The Knicks looked really good
07:12on Sunday against the Celtics,
07:13so if they're building
07:14on that momentum,
07:15I do kind of see a way
07:16that they do it,
07:17but just because it's so much,
07:19it kind of feels like one
07:20to stay away from,
07:20but if you want to side
07:22and believe in the fact
07:23that this Knicks team,
07:23I believe, has won nine
07:24of their last 10 games
07:25save for a game in Detroit
07:27last Friday,
07:28they looked really good
07:29as of late,
07:30and as you mentioned,
07:30the Pacers are focused
07:32on the future.
07:32They're dealing with
07:33a lot of injuries.
07:34They just lost Johnny Furphy
07:35to a torn ACL,
07:36so it's a Pacers team
07:39that, like you said,
07:39they're just ready
07:40for this season to be over,
07:41so if you believe in that
07:43and think that this Knicks team
07:44can truly take care of business
07:45and want to continue
07:45to build this momentum
07:46going to an all-star,
07:47then they can cover
07:47the 12 points.
07:49Gilbert, Pandora's box
07:50opened up a little bit
07:51last night
07:51between the Utah Jazz
07:53and Miami Heat,
07:54a very strange
07:56coaching decision
07:57where the Jazz decide
07:58to not play
07:59their best players
08:00in the fourth quarter
08:02in a game
08:03that they win
08:04with a coach
08:05afterwards saying
08:06he had no intention
08:07of bringing them
08:08back into the game
08:09and a player
08:10on the other side
08:12saying that basically
08:13the team is tanking
08:14without saying tanking.
08:15What gives in the NBA?
08:17I mean,
08:17this seems to be a box
08:18that has never been open
08:19before,
08:20at least verbally
08:20from a coach
08:21and a player.
08:23Right.
08:24It's pretty incredible
08:25to see it kind of
08:25come to this
08:26and the Jazz,
08:27I think,
08:27have been doing this
08:28pretty recently
08:28that last game as well.
08:29They lost
08:30and Jaron Jackson
08:31and Larry Markkinen
08:32didn't play
08:33in the fourth quarter.
08:34I'm curious to see
08:34how the league responds
08:35to this
08:36because ultimately
08:36you can't really
08:37tell a coach
08:38how to sub his players
08:39in and out
08:40and how to do his rotations,
08:41but I will be interested
08:42to see if this is going
08:43to be the new
08:44advanced way
08:46of tanking
08:46or being future focused
08:48however way you want
08:49to place it
08:49or put it,
08:50but the fact
08:51that they still won
08:52in the game
08:52says a lot
08:53about the basketball gods,
08:54the Jazz,
08:55and where the Heat
08:55are right now.
08:56So I'll be very curious
08:57and I'll have my eye
08:58on what's going on
08:59with the Jazz
08:59moving forward,
09:00especially like that
09:01and other teams
09:01that might decide
09:02to do the same thing.
09:03All right, Gilbert,
09:04as always,
09:04great stuff.
09:05I'm sure we'll catch up
09:06next week.
09:06Thanks for coming on Newswire.
09:07I really appreciate it.
09:08Absolutely appreciate having me.
Comments