13 Rules: Knicks Struggles, Lakers Dominance, and Key Injuries Impacting Series

Untitled project from SquadCast === Jose: ​[00:00:00] All it's time to talk basketball. I'm Jose Salviati, Editor at thePeachBasket.net. He is Steve Purciello, a longtime high school basketball coach, athletic director, and also, oh, and I should say longtime educator and vice principal. Sorry, I left that out. I see this every single week and somehow I messed that up. But he is also the host of Celtic Chalk Talk. Celtic Chalk Talk is a part dedicated to the latest news and opinion surrounding. Boston Celtics from a lifelong fan, Steve. That pod drops new episodes every Monday, but this is the Shock Clock Pod, the best 24 minutes of random NBA thoughts Online Anywhere. This podcast was born outta the content in Steve's 13 rules random NBA Thoughts articles which he publishes weekly. Steve and I have exactly 24 minutes to discuss what's on his mind around the MBA today. We'll discuss his latest 13 rules, random MBA thoughts article where he shares his random thoughts after the [00:01:00] first week. Of the 20 25, 26 NBA playoffs. All right. Now, if you've gotten this far, we're grateful. I just wanted to spend a little bit of time to tell you that we are an independent, fan driven show that's available on the Peach Basket Podcast Network. We're not owned by a big media company, which means what you hear come straight from real fans like Steve and I. We live the game every day just like you do. If you believe voices like ours not just Steve and I, but everybody on the Peach Basket Podcast network need to be heard. The best way to support us is simple. Keep listening. Tell a friend comment share when this episode ends, head to the peach basket podcast network.com and the peach basket.net. Check out more fan run podcasts and help this independent network grow the way it started organically. One hoops fan at a time. We're grateful you found us. Thank you, Steve. Are you ready? Let's do it. I'm gonna start the timer now. Now, you wrote about a bunch of different [00:02:00] topics, as you always do. Today we're gonna do things just a little bit differently though. I wanna get your thoughts and we could go a little bit or we can go along on each of the playoff series that are going on right now. You wrote about some others you didn't write about. Okay. So we're gonna start in the West. The number one thunder against the number eight suns. The OKC Thunder are dominating. They're up three. Oh. They don't seem to be challenged at all by the suns. My only. Kind of key point here, and you didn't write about them this week, and I understand why it's a boring series, but to me it looks like the thunder's path to the west got a lot clear now, with Weby hurt and now Ant being out, which is horrible. I hate injuries. But it sounds like they're the they're the def facto western representative. What do you think? Steve: Lemon Yama is probably gonna be back soon, so I think that. It's not completely done, but I do see that, they're going to at least be in Eastern Conference finals unless somebody gets hurt and you don't want to [00:03:00] see that on Oklahoma. Jose: Yeah. Steve: Williams is out, but they're, and they're the best team anyway in the west, it, it'll be easier and you like to see what you don't like to see. But teams usually get taxed in the playoffs. They're not gonna be taxed at all if they get to the finals. Maybe Jose: Yeah. Steve: In, in the conference finals. But that'll be the only, th this what Phoenix. Phoenix has had a great year and they should be happy because they overachieved. Jose: Yeah. Steve: it's a tough way to go out when you get swept by a team, but Jose: Yeah. Steve: happen probably. Jose: I think it's a very strong likelihood that it happens. And then of course, if the thunder do get past the suns they've got, right now, it looks like the Lakers are up three zero against the rockets in a bit of a shocker. Honestly, I'm in la we're shocked. Steve: No. The thunder would play the Lakers would play the Spurs. They're in third. They came in third, Jose: no Lakers came in forth. Steve: I thought they Oh, okay. You are right. I thought they were in third.[00:04:00] Jose: Yeah, no they would go up against, they'd go up against the thunder, which is obviously a tough metric for anybody. But if the Lakers get back Luca and they get back Austin Reeves, that kind of changes things. Now, you did write a little bit about the Lakers. You called out that LeBron James deserves a ton of credit, and he does. But the one guy that you know, some folks are talking about, and I'm glad that you called him out here. Marcus Smart. He single handedly won that third game for them. I think. He's just been great. Steve: He's a winner. He is always been I thought the last two years he's been hurt often after Boston traded him. But I'm glad to see him come back like this. But he's a winner and if you get him healthy he can help you. Smart does nothing. defends real well, but he's one of them players that offensively gives you nothing except he and he figures out how to make himself effective in every game. nights he can't shoot, but then he'll do other things. But Jose: Yeah. Steve: always making the right play.[00:05:00] Jose: Marcus Moore is the type of player that every NBA champion has on their roster. That. Steve: the thing that's the negative with Marcus Smart is he'll wear down a coach. Because he's a very strong person and a very opinionated person. I think with LeBron there that might have muffled him Jose: Yeah. Steve: 'cause I'm sure he defers to LeBron. But, in, in his past with Boston particularly, he was strong. And sometimes coaches don't, love that. Or, the security they feel that, they're being undermined. So that's the one negative of Marcus Smart. But he's a great player. Jose: Yeah. You and you also called that JJ Reddick. And we've talked about him before. You said, effectively, it's hard to believe he's in his second year as an NBA coach. He's absolutely been the right pick. And remember, he wasn't even the first pick. They won early. He turned him down, and then JJ Reddick got the job. Steve: Yeah. Yeah. Jose: It's been a lucky find for the Lakers Steve: it's a great fund. If they can get it all together, [00:06:00] we don't know what the iteration of them is going to be next year, but if they get it all Jose: right? Steve: they could be a problem. The big problem is the fact that you got and you got Wendy, and that's gonna be hard to beat Jose: Yeah. Steve: in the long haul. Jose: Let's assume the Lakers get past the rockets. Let's assume the thunder get past the suns. Lakers versus Thunder. How do you see that playing out? Steve: Five or six, I would think Thunder. I don't I, give them the benefit. Six. But I, unless it's one of them 1969 Mets or something where it just Karma is all over and they just rolling. I just don't see the Lakers matching up to them. Oklahoma just goes so deep. They just wear you down with these guys just keep coming, and if you think about this, Kenard is playing. He's a good shooter, the thunder's eighth player is Isaiah Joe, who's a pretty good shooter too. Jose: Yeah.[00:07:00] Steve: you start looking at it and saying, oh my God, they've got, yeah, they've got Cason Wallace on the bench. There, there's so much that it just, wow. And it's impressive. Jose: Yeah, no. Undeniably impressive. Let's see if that's the way it plays out or if the rockets make history and come back from a first team in NBA history to come back from oh three. I don't see it happening, but let's see how it plays out. Let's move to the east. This is a bit of a shocker. Number one, pistons against the number eight magic right now. The magic lead two to one. You've been a fan of the magic at the start of the season. You called them out when they weren't good. Are they peaking at the right time? Steve: Something happened when they, won their game against Charlotte last week. Something clicked in. All of a sudden Ben Carroll is become, is playing like the all NBA player he is. the rest of the team, Jalen Suggs has been healthy. And that's always a key for them. 'cause he's such a. He's a Marcus Smart. He's a, he does the right things at the right time and makes the right place. [00:08:00] But something kicked in, I don't know what it is, because I think Jamal Mosley was probably close to standing on the unemployment line, and now if they win the series, Jamal Mosley will be around for a while. Jose: Yeah. Steve: I, I don't quite know, because it's, it appeared that Bank Caro didn't wanna play for him, and now all of a sudden everything's working nice and. It's really remarkable to see, and Detroit's really on the run and they're in a must game, I guess tomorrow night. Jose: For sure. Steve: If they lose then, I think the, I saw a statistic down three to one 4% of the time has that team gone on to win the tour, win the series. Jose: Wow. Steve: You don't wanna fall behind three to one, Jose: that's. Steve: for Detroit. If they do fall behind three to one, they got two of the three last three games if it went at home. So they have a, an outside, they could pull it off, but Jose: yeah. Steve: I don't know if they have it to pull it off. Jose: Yeah. Very interesting series. I think a number eight [00:09:00] seed has defeated a number one seed in playoffs NBA history playoffs six times. Be wild if this happens, and this is number seven. Stay in the east. We got the calves and the raptors. Now you did write about this one and you didn't say anything nice about the Cavaliers. They looked great in the first two games and they looked okay in the third game up until apparently the fourth quarter. What happened to the calves and are they gonna, are they gonna escape the raptors? Steve: up 43 points is what happened. Jose: That's crazy. Steve: don't think, I don't think raptors are good enough to pull it off. But it told you something about the Cavaliers. This was the fourth quarter. when you're breaking down, that's not a good thing. It's just not good. And the other thing too, now, is Harden gonna play well in the playoffs? Has always been a question. I don't, I, again, I don't see the Cavaliers. If they lose this series, my goodness, people will lose jobs. Jose: Yeah. Steve: I don't see it. I, the raptors have been terrible against good teams [00:10:00] all year, so I don't see it changing. Jose: Yeah. Yeah, I was surprised to see to see them pull off that win, honestly. And that game just tipped game four. So that's something I know you and I be watching win as soon as we finish up this show. Now, I hate to do this, but I'm gonna backtrack because we talked a lot about the Lakers with the Lakers and the Rockets, but you wrote about the rockets. And the headline is, rocket's Facing Tough Questions. And it's true. Who's to blame here? Is it the coach? Is it the general manager? Is it the players? Is it all three? What? What's your take? Steve: I think it goes around all over the place. We could start with the general manager. It's been well publicized, but he took Reed Shepherd and the guy that was chosen right after that in the draft was Stef on Castle. Jose: Wow. Steve: if he had Castle, I think, they'd be singing a different tune right Jose: Yeah. Steve: So he takes some blame. Takes some blame because his [00:11:00] act is interesting. When they lose, it's not his fault. it's always someone else's fault, and that's what he's doing now. And you know what I'm sure the players aren't happy about their situation, but they really aren't happy about, being denigrated by the coach who's drawing them under the bus while he says he's clean. So that's a problem. And players at some point say to how old him, if they know he's on ready to get fired they won't play. Jose: Yeah. Steve: that's a problem. And then you have Kevin Durant. I guess this is the curse of Durant because wherever he goes outside of Golden State is a problem. Jose: Yeah. Steve: And I think he, I think when he did the burner phone thing with the, criticizing teammates, I don't quite understand it. This guy's got the whole world at his fingertips, and he's gonna knock his teammates, even if you feel that way, just shut up and play. Jose: Yeah. Steve: And you wanna go out. He's gonna go out a great player, naturally top 10, top 20 all [00:12:00] time. But he's also gonna go out as people wondering about what kind of character he, he Jose: Yeah. Steve: And that's not real good. And I'm gonna use LeBron. I'm sure he is, got strong opinions, but I would think he, he's not really quick on knocking anybody and he's beloved by his teammates always. Jose: Yeah. Steve: There's a difference here and that's a really interesting thing. Jose: Yeah, let's dive into that a little bit. We got more to talk about, but I think it's an interesting topic, number one. I, and I call this out too myself, I'm calling myself out here. I thought, when I think of Duran, I thought the only success he had at Golden State, but he did take that OKC Thunder team to the finals, so he had some success there. But then since then it's been a whole lot of. Nothing unfortunately, but you called out character. And I know we chatted a little bit about this before I, if I'm building a team, I would think character is low in the totem pole, right? I want somebody who can pass. I want to, I want a baller. I want somebody who [00:13:00] can play the game. But character is important, isn't it? Steve: Of course you want, the talent. everybody in the world who coaches in any, on any level, thinks they can take the pain in the neck and make them play for them. Jose: You are right. Steve: person has a piece on everybody. In other words, everybody gets tired of that act and it wears people down. Jose: Yeah. Steve: I think, like sometimes you got a character but not as good a player, but a very talented player. I go for that character guy because when you build a team, you look and you want a team that's all together in it together. If you watch the NBA playoffs now. Paid particular notice when somebody does something good on a team, what the teammates are doing from the bench. Because it'll, you'll learn a lot if you see it more subdued. It's not a together team. If you see everybody up and it, and the camera often pans to that, Jose: Yeah. Steve: Realize team, they buy [00:14:00] in and then also watch what at the end of a game or whatever, any time. If a star player has the ball and he's doubled or whatever, does he force to shot or kick the ball if he kicks it? He trusts his teammates, and I'm sure the teammates know that and Jose: Yeah. Steve: that want guys that demonstrate that, that ability to trust their teammates and like their teammates, and you want teammates who are all in it with that guy. Jose: Yeah. Steve: to me, that's where the character comes in. And I don't think you can get enough of character. And I'm gonna use Shea Gils Alexander, he's beloved by his teammates. Jose: Yeah. Steve: and think that goes a long way. And he's the first one to point out somebody else who's done well on the team and not looking for press and all that about himself. And I think that's so important for players Jose: Yeah. Steve: in building teams. I think that's important, especially, particularly with bench players. And that's why guys like [00:15:00] Jared Dudley, who's still in the NBA or Garrett Temple because they, and Joe Les is a perfect example. Those are people. That are supportive and good teammates. That's why they stick around a guy's talented, but is a bit of a pain. As soon as that talent starts slacking off, he's outta the NBA and Jose: Yeah. Steve: you can take notice to that. You know I said Dudley and people don't even probably know he is still in the league, nor do they know Joe Ingles is, but they are because and you know what the beauty of that, they're making a couple million dollars a year for sitting around. And Deandre Jordan is another one I think about. So acting correctly, and I don't know many jobs. I think if Deandre Jordan retired, I don't know many jobs out there that'll pay him a couple million dollars a year. So he's, because he's a good person, he's sticking around. Jose: Yeah, the first person that comes to mind, was rattling off [00:16:00] those names was Yodon. Haslam, right? Who is, a good player. Actually had a really nice sendoff and played really well in his last game, but, he was there. Because of who he was, not because of who his not because of his talent necessarily. And there are a lot of players like that. And you hope you can see them go the route that Jared Dudley did, to coach. And I think that, I don't know if Deandre Jordan. Famous Los Angeles Clipper has that in him. But I think that that's what you'd like to see for players like that. Who are really good, who have a great mindset and are well liked. Let's see them move into coaching. Alright, let's, Steve: just one more. One more Jose: oh Steve: One more Jose: yeah. Steve: that a lot of people my age are from a generation where the coach told you and you did it. Jose: Yeah. Steve: not in that anymore. Jose: Yeah. Steve: And if you're star player 50 years ago was told to, to do something different, he did it. Jose: Yeah. Steve: Today, [00:17:00] if you ask your star player to do something different, he needs to approve. And we can complain about the ages and all, but things change Jose: Yeah. Steve: need to understand things change and accept that. So the most important thing a coach can do is not draw X's and O's, but make sure everybody likes each other and works together. Jose: Yeah. Steve: means he's gotta be the leader and players have to respond to that. Jose: Yeah, no easy task. And I firmly believe that shift started when Magic Johnson didn't like Paul Westhead and made it known. Next thing west Head's out Riley's in changed everything that gave the green light to players to say, I can push back a little bit. Is wasn't, isn't that it? Steve: I don't know. Yeah. Probably was but I, you're totally right. You're totally right. And I think that's where things change and older people think it's 50, 60 years, whatever it is, years ago where Red Rrb a c is saying, you do the, and everybody's [00:18:00] doing it. Jose: Yeah. Steve: happening. Jose: No. Steve: And now it's a whole different game. And basically a coach is partners with a star player. Jose: Yeah. Steve: the first thing you think about as a coach is how do I get along with that guy? Because, if I don't, he's gonna poison it well, and I'm done. Jose: Yeah. Phil Jackson actually commented on that and said a big part of his job was just mental. Just connecting with these guys mentally, which is so wild because do you think Red Rback ever cared The mentality or how anybody was feeling? Steve: But don't forget, in our back's time, nobody made a lot of money. Jose: True. Yeah. Steve: now, Jose: Yeah. Steve: You are making a couple million a year and you're gonna tell a guy making 30 million a year. There's a little difference. With three more Jose: Yeah. Steve: his contract, there's a little difference. And that's where the thing has changed. Jose: No doubt. Alright, let's stay in the east and talk about what I think is an interesting series. One that is a little bit more competitive than I thought it was gonna be, and that's Nick's versus the Hawks. Right [00:19:00] now it's tied to two and you called out in your article the impact that Minga has had. He's been really good. Now he's a little bit of up and down guy. He obviously had his troubles with Golden State, but he's been a difference maker in this series. Do you see he and the hawks. Pull it off. The upset. Steve: First of all, last night he came back to the other side. He was terrible. Jose: Yeah. Steve: so what do I see? I, the hawks are the hawks. They're going to do what they do. The whole series is about the Knicks. Jose: Yeah. Steve: play basketball? Or do they revert back to their bad tendencies? If they play basketball, they're in a much better team and they'll win. they revert back like they did twice in this series and did during the season where they played a couple games, oh my God, here they come and then they fall apart and they play poorly. gonna see a series, meaning it'll go seven, but I don't see it. I just think the Knicks are just. Much better than the Hawkes. The Hawkes are relying on a 34-year-old [00:20:00] man who's scoring a ton and has really been great, Jose: Yeah. Steve: and when he was with Washington a couple months ago, anybody could have gotten them if they wanted to Jose: Isn't that crazy? Yeah. Steve: It's a little different. And one more piece on the Hawks. Everybody is anointed Jalen Johnson to become the next superstar. And you could tell me an enobi is guarding him and he's great on the know what? A star's a star and a star figures it out and figures out how to become effective and score. I'm watching Jalen Johnson turn shots down. I'm watching him, kicking the ball, not looking to take it. If you're the star, you gotta, you've gotta come up big and he Jose: Yeah. Yeah. Pretty good segue to I think the other series, and that's the nuggets Timberwolf series. You've got. Arguably one of the best players in the NBA over the last five years being guarded by the defensive player of the year. Now [00:21:00] yo Gobert has, is getting his props, but when you look at Yoko's numbers, he's still averaging pretty much a triple double in this series. So that's where, the stars are still gonna do it no matter who is guarding them. They find a way to do it, but Minnesota's up. To one. Now they, they've got Dante DI's out now, unfortunately ant is gonna be out several weeks. Do the nuggets come back and win this now or, how do you see this playing out? It's just a tough break for the wolves. Steve: thought Alex Gordon was a key in this thing and he's out or he's playing, but he's hurt. I, and then the other thing too, YOIC might be getting his numbers, but he's really not shooting at high percentage Jose: Yeah. Steve: and he's making him work. What's really surprising though, didn't Minnesota try this with Gobert before and it didn't work? How come it's working all of a sudden Jose: Try what? Steve: have Gobert guard, YOIC. Jose: Oh yeah. Steve: And now it's working. I don't, I don't know why, but that's the really [00:22:00] surprising piece to this. And they do need Mary to step up and. Play like Murray it's not happening. You can up with a lot of answers. Are they worn out from a long season? I don't know, but it just it's Aura is maybe Yage starting to show a little bit of wear. He is getting a little older, so there's a lot of things you think about because to me, yo, in his method methodical way is unstoppable Jose: Yeah. Steve: He's been stoppable in this, so Jose: Yeah. Steve: that's my, my take. Jose: Yeah. And you called out Aaron Gordon, right? That, that is, he's an important piece for these for this team. And he's hobbled. It seems every year when we talk about the playoffs, we talk about injuries and it's so unfortunate. Steve: Yeah. Jose: And the only team right now when I look at 'em even the Thunder, I was gonna call it the Thunder, but even Nate you mentioned Jaylen Williams is out. Is out. So there is no healthy team. It's just gonna be the team that hobbles to the finish line like every year. Steve: Crazy thought. [00:23:00] Are these a, are the athletes of today in all sports so big, so strong Jose: Yeah. Steve: that injuries are just gonna happen. Jose: I. Steve: Soft tissue or whatever, Jose: Yeah. Steve: they're going to happen because their body. The players weren't as big and strong 40 years ago, 50 years ago. Is that a problem? And that why the wear and tear is just so much and you go back, I'm gonna guess, 15 years ago, would play four games in five nights all the time. Now that's, they can't do, they don't do that on the schedule so they've tried to make the schedule easier. And do a lot of things but guys are just, they're not, their bodies aren't handling Jose: Yeah. Steve: of games they're playing. Jose: Yeah. And LeBron gets a lot of, publicity for spending millions of dollars on his body. And what we've seen is amazing, right? 41 years old dominating a playoff, which is just mind boggling. [00:24:00] But, even he right is hurt and Mrs. Time. So I think it's all of that plus the fact that we're asking them to play 82 games in a compressed time. And I wish we, I wish the NBA would do something about that, but money's gonna dictate. How long the season is, we're not gonna shorten the season. And it's unfortunate 'cause you're just never gonna get a true NBA champion. And by true NBA champion, I just mean this. Every team healthy. That would just be amazing. I, Steve: It's Jose: think that's, yeah, we'll never see that, unfortunately. Steve: just the way it is. These guys are just such strong physical athletes, and this isn't all sports. It's happening, in baseball you watch if a guy. a night game. He's a catcher. He doesn't play the next, if it's an afternoon game. And there, there's just so much more sitting out where years ago guys just played every day. So it, it's changing in all sports. I. Jose: Yeah. It is sad to see and it's, it is sadder still when you know that, you know the right fix. [00:25:00] Shortening the season is just not on the table, but that's it. You heard our buzzer go off. Our time is up. We didn't get to talk Spurs, trailblazers, Steve wrote about it. We didn't get to talk Celtic Sixers, and I'm sure that's gonna come up in Celtic Chalk talk tomorrow. So make sure you follow along there. But that is it. Our time is up. We have yet another shock clock violation. It's what we do. Thank you for listening. Thank you for watching. Make sure to read Steve's entire 13 rules random NBA Thoughts article. We'll link it wherever you're watching or listening to this right now and join us next week for more NBA Random Thoughts as we recap the second week of the 20 25 26 NBA playoffs. We'll talk next week. Thanks, Steve. Steve: Take.