- 1 day ago
NBA Insider Zach Harper joins the show to preview the rest of the NBA Finals and the Wizards NBA Draft.
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00:00We're excited, going to jump right to the Rude Guest Hotline.
00:03Welcome in, Zach Harper from The Athletic.
00:06Zach, what's up, man?
00:06Thanks for making time for us.
00:08How are you guys doing?
00:09Doing good, man.
00:10Dude, we're fired up for ball night, man.
00:12Game one was excellent.
00:14I was really blown away by the guts the Knicks showed.
00:19Down 14 midway through the third quarter,
00:21and they just flipped everything upside down.
00:25What stood out to you most from game one?
00:28I mean, you think, obviously, Jalen Brunson in the fourth quarter was ridiculous, right?
00:32And he really, I know people are going to push back at this because,
00:36oh, it's too early, they haven't won anything.
00:38He's one of the best clutch scorers we've seen.
00:40Like, he really is.
00:41Like, he just finds ways to get to the angles he needs to,
00:44get to the spots he needs to.
00:45So, obviously, J.B. was fantastic.
00:48But it's this Knicks defense, especially in clutch situations.
00:51I was looking at the numbers yesterday,
00:53and their offense is, like, pretty good in the clutch during this postseason.
00:58Their defense is, like, Detroit Pistons of the 2000s level locked out.
01:03Like, they just shut off the water completely.
01:06And, you know, this is a young Spurs team.
01:08They're still trying to figure things out, even though they've had incredible success.
01:11But that defense in the clutch by New York was just unbelievable.
01:15And it's something they've done all season.
01:18It's something they've done throughout this entire postseason.
01:21And I know it's been like, ah, they played the Hawks.
01:24They played the Sixers.
01:25They played the Cavs.
01:26They haven't played anybody.
01:26Well, they played the Spurs, and they did it to them, too.
01:29And when you watch that game, I think, like, you talk about Jalen Brunson down the stretch.
01:34They had a body on Wimby the whole time.
01:36They didn't allow him to just sit there.
01:37They made him have to fight over the top and do different things.
01:40And if they do that, and him trying to play extra minutes,
01:43that's going to work against, I think, the Spurs.
01:46Yeah, I mean, it's interesting because the Spurs were so careful with their guys all year.
01:51You know, Wimby only averaged 29 minutes a game, a bunch of guys like under 30 minutes a game.
01:56And the idea is, well, we want their legs to be fresh when they're playing heavier minutes in the postseason,
02:02which is a great strategy.
02:03The thing is, and I think you're seeing this with especially the younger guys trying to figure out how to
02:08manage that energy,
02:09is you may have fresh legs for it, but are you conditioned for it?
02:13Because those are two very different things, and I think we've seen a couple of times in this postseason
02:17that conditioning for the Spurs, you know, maybe not being completely used to playing 40 minutes
02:22in a high-leverage game like this.
02:24So I'm with you.
02:25I think, you know, they're going to have to figure out ways to, I would say, like, attack quicker.
02:29They like a faster pace than what the Knicks like, so I think that's a big thing of controlling the
02:34pace of the game,
02:35which is tough to do in an NBA Finals matchup because things usually slow down.
02:38But if they can get to, you know, Wemby coming off a screen and, you know, getting the ball
02:43and taking two dribbles into a shot instead of three, four dribbles to try to find maybe a better shot,
02:48I think those quicker strikes will help the Spurs manage that stuff.
02:52Talking with Zach Harper here on the Rude Guest Hotline.
02:55You can follow Zach at Talk Hoops.
02:57Read all his work in the athletic.
02:59You know, what's interesting with the Spurs trying to get going more is I think it will help Wemby.
03:07He looked gassed by the end of that game.
03:10But I don't know.
03:11I almost think you might have to slow Castle down a hair.
03:15Like, he's seen, like, I love his basketball game because it's so borderline reckless.
03:20Like, he's just so fast and aggressive.
03:23But, like, I don't know how maybe you get him to calm down a little.
03:28Like, maybe take a CBD pill before the game or something.
03:30Like, relax.
03:31Yeah, maybe, like, some kind of zen music in the locker room right before, you know.
03:35Like, he would create, like, a spa center.
03:36Yeah, I'm with you.
03:37Like, I love his pace of play in the open court.
03:41Him getting out and running after a rebound, I want to see that all night long because that's when he's
03:46at his best.
03:47When they get into the half court, they were miserable in the half court in game one.
03:52I want to say they scored, like, 85 points per 100 possessions in the half court, which is just, I
03:57mean, that's like, that's not even tanking levels of inefficient offense.
04:00It's like, that's something even lower.
04:02But when he gets in the half court, he's someone where he does want to go full speed.
04:07And you just, you can't necessarily do that against this Knicks defense.
04:10One, their hands are so good.
04:12Josh Hart digging in.
04:13Kale Bridges digging in.
04:14OG Ananobi digging in.
04:15All in help.
04:16They're going to get deflections.
04:17But also, you know, you kind of have to, you get into the paint.
04:22You got to know where you're going with it.
04:23Are you pulling up for a jumper?
04:25Are you getting to the basket the whole time?
04:26Are you looking for the kick out to the corner?
04:28And I think he's just rushed through a lot of those things.
04:31So he'll, he'll slow it down at some point.
04:33He'll get up to the speed of this finals game tonight.
04:36But I, I'm with you.
04:37Like, I want to see him go full bore in the, in the, you know, the, the transition opportunities.
04:42Half court, you got to slow it down just a little bit.
04:46The game against Oklahoma City.
04:49I noticed that Castle and, and, and Vassell, those guys, when they started to play, they get, they, they, they're
04:55emotional guys.
04:56They didn't get much pushback against OKC.
05:00Against the Knicks, they, those guys have the same mindset as they do.
05:04And I watched Castle in one game.
05:05I told JP, I said, listen, he lost it.
05:08When they started to do the same things he was doing, he couldn't handle it.
05:12And I believe that his mental psyche is going to be, it can either push them over the top or
05:19make them crumble.
05:21So, yeah, I mean, like, I think we saw that, you know, they got away with it in game one
05:25against Oklahoma City because that double overtime game.
05:27But, you know, he had 11 turnovers in that game.
05:29He had nine turnovers in the next game.
05:31And then he, and then he calmed it down.
05:32Right.
05:32And part of that was De'Aaron Fox getting back into the, into the rotation with his ankle injury.
05:38And that's just take some of that responsibility, some of that pressure off of Castle to create.
05:43He can pick his spots a little bit better.
05:45Fox was so bad in game one against the Knicks, though.
05:48I think he was like three of 13.
05:49And he took some good shots.
05:50It's just, those shots don't get in, guys start pressing.
05:53Yeah.
05:54Like, you know, you start pressing in those situations.
05:56And now everyone, it's like, ooh, Fox has missed three, four in a row.
06:00I got to go get a bucket.
06:01Right.
06:02And I think the young guys, they, it's, it's a little more panic than it is urgency.
06:06And they need to figure out that line between panic and urgency.
06:10So, Zach, what do you, I want to kind of switch to the NBA draft here, but what do you
06:14think happens tonight?
06:15What do you think happens in the series?
06:17I think the Spurs even it up tonight.
06:19Like they've responded well after losses pretty much the last like four months.
06:23Right.
06:24Like they, like they don't, they haven't lost too many games, you know, two games in a row.
06:28And, and I think Wemby, he had, you know, he had a stinker in game one.
06:31He always comes back with a good game.
06:33So I think they even it up.
06:34I picked the Knicks in six before the series.
06:36I still feel pretty good about that, but I mean, this first team's legit.
06:41So I, you know, I'm going to take the coward's way out and say anything could happen.
06:44Dude.
06:45I think you're right though.
06:46Like, like, you know, we were in media business and you're supposed to have a take.
06:50I don't know what's going to happen in this series.
06:52I know.
06:52Oh, yeah.
06:54It's not great.
06:55It's not great.
06:55Now it's like, all right, so what do you think?
06:57I was like, I don't know, man.
06:58We have opinions just like they do.
07:01Just because we work in the industry.
07:02No, me, we know.
07:03Because they damn sure don't tell us nothing.
07:06No, you can look at my record.
07:07I barely know anything.
07:09The same stuff we tell y'all is what they tell us.
07:12It's not like they tell us that we're holding it.
07:14Right.
07:16Talking with Zach Harper here from the Athletic NBA Insider.
07:19Make sure you give him a follow at Talk Hoops.
07:22So transitioning, obviously, the NBA Finals are the biggest thing in sports right now.
07:27But in Washington, there's so much focus around the number one pick.
07:31You kind of have the presumptive number one pick feels like A.J.
07:35DeBansa.
07:36But we've had more and more of these analytical dudes come on the show with us and tell us why
07:40it should be Cam Boozer.
07:42Where do you feel like number one's going?
07:45No offense to Cam.
07:46I think Cam Boozer's going to be a really, really good NBA player.
07:49I can't believe it's between A.J. DeBansa and Cam Boozer.
07:52It should be between A.J. DeBansa and Darren Peterson.
07:55Like, to me, it's DeBansa.
07:57Like, I think A.J. is the best prospect.
07:596'9", he can score.
08:01He can defend.
08:01He can do a little bit of everything.
08:03And he still has so much room to grow, obviously, because he's so young.
08:06But his skill set, you can see, like, ooh, that handle will improve going to his left.
08:11That handle will improve pulling up with a jumper to his right.
08:13Like, oh, he'll be able to learn how to, like, take an extra dribble, get into the paint, dunk that,
08:18right?
08:18Like, he is, to me, just, like, that's the prototypical number one pick you want for a guy that isn't,
08:24like, necessarily ready to be great right now.
08:27But will be that within, like, two years.
08:30So, to me, DeBansa's a guy.
08:31But if you're going to kick another guy around, it's Peterson.
08:34Now, yeah, the injury stuff and the coming out of games, the not playing games.
08:39Like, I have a lot of questions about that from his year at Kansas.
08:41I also just, look, the NBA is way different than college, even with the NIL now.
08:47So, I don't hold too much of that.
08:50That might have been bad advice he was getting.
08:52Whatever that was, you know, I talked to certain, you know, experts, people have watched these guys in high school.
08:57And I'm like, hey, DeBansa's a guy.
08:59And the Peterson people are always like, I don't know, Darren Peterson was giving it to him in high school.
09:03And that's hard to ignore.
09:04So, I do think there is a conversation for it.
09:08But, to me, DeBansa's got to be the number one, especially for this Wizards team.
09:12Do you think, I'm a lifelong Wizards Bullets fan.
09:17Like, I remember rooting for Tom Gugliotta as a kid, right?
09:21Oh, Gugliotta.
09:22Like, I've lived this.
09:24And it's not often been fun.
09:26But whatever, this is where we're at.
09:29How far away from competing are they?
09:31Like, do you think there's a world this season where the Wiz, Davis actually plays for them, Trae Young plays,
09:38DeBansa?
09:39Like, they do have some good young talent.
09:41How far away is this thing?
09:43I mean, like, if these guys play next year and, you know, play a decent amount of games, like, that
09:49should be a playoff team.
09:50Like, that could be, you know, the sixth seed.
09:53That could be at least a play-in tournament and get into the playoffs.
09:56But, like, I like this young core a lot.
09:59They needed veterans to kind of help things flesh out.
10:02You bring in Trae Young.
10:03You bring in Anthony Davis.
10:04They both have their problems, but they're both also, like, all-NBA, all-star players.
10:09And so, if they give those guys, you know, 60-plus games, that should be – there shouldn't be an
10:14excuse.
10:15Like, yes, you still have to iron out a lot of the youth with this roster.
10:19I'm a big Kulibaly guy.
10:21I'm a big Bub Carrington guy.
10:23I love Keyshawn George.
10:24Like, Alex Sard, I thought, took a very encouraging leap in year two.
10:29There's a lot to like here.
10:30But it is still very young.
10:32I think we can get a little trick by looking at, you know, the Thunder team, the Spurs team,
10:36and being, oh, young guys can win.
10:38That's not the norm.
10:39Like, that's very atypical.
10:41And so, it takes more than just talent.
10:44But, you know, you maybe add one or two more veterans to this roster.
10:47Yeah, they should be in the playoffs if they have those two guys leading them.
10:50You think Davis plays here?
10:53That's a great question.
10:57I heard some things, you know, and it's all hearsay,
10:59but I heard some things, you know, right after the trade of like,
11:03oh, they may be trying to reroute them.
11:04I'm like, they're not going to reroute them.
11:05That's crazy.
11:05And then it was like, you know, Chris Haynes reported that, you know,
11:09he wasn't going to play the rest of the season with, you know, the hand injury,
11:12whatever it was.
11:14And some people around the Wizards were like, oh, no, he'll play.
11:16And I was like, I don't know.
11:17Chris Haynes is pretty plugged into this stuff.
11:18I don't think, like, if the guy's not playing the rest of the season,
11:22it makes me wonder, is he trying to find a way out?
11:26But at least right now he's on the team,
11:27and I think he said some of the good things you want to hear.
11:30I didn't even see him dress out, so he didn't play.
11:32Right.
11:34I think he's legally an employee.
11:36I don't know if he's on the team.
11:37He's legally an employee.
11:38He got paid.
11:39He didn't play.
11:40He got paid, though.
11:41Yeah, yeah.
11:42Like, jump together, say it back to the day.
11:45Pay me.
11:45Don't play me.
11:47I think the absolute best definition of the Anthony Davis,
11:51Washington Wizards scenario right now, he's legally an employee.
11:56He's legally an employee, man.
11:57He's collecting checks.
11:58He's on the, you know, he's in the whole system.
12:00I agree.
12:01Zach, this was great, dude.
12:02Maybe we can circle back draft week if you got time.
12:05Hey, anytime, guys.
12:06All right, man.
12:06Appreciate it.
12:07Thanks so much, dude.
12:07Appreciate it.
12:08All right.
12:08Zach Harper from The Athletic.
12:10Give him a follow at Talk Hoops.
12:12Anthony Davis, legally an employee.
12:14Yeah.
12:151130.
12:15Kenny Blakeney, Howard coach, will join us in studio.
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