Part 2 of our bi-weekly look at the East: Toronto Raptors - 0:22 Boston Celtics - 8:10 Cleveland Cavaliers - 14:27 Indiana Pacers - 25:46 Orlando Magic - 32:26 Chicago Bulls - 38:43 Charlotte Hornets - 44:11 Atlanta Hawks - 49:49

Part 1 of our bi-weekly look at the East starts with a few of the teams du jour: Miami gets right at the expense of reeling Philadelphia. Are there any reasons for optimism in Philly right now with Joel Embiid? The Pistons finally get a blowout win at the expense of the Wizards, whose young players are struggling at the moment. 27:38 Is this Cam Thomas’ breakout with the Nets? 46:53 New York is struggling defensively because they aren’t getting enough from KAT and Bridges, but maybe the...

Victor Wembanyama's 50-point game - 1:06 News - 14:28 Inspired by the Cavaliers, longshot NBA champions - 37:40

Our bi-weekly look at the 15 teams in the West. DEN–Nikola Jokic is proving why he’s still the best in the world. HOU and OKC–The Thunder blew out the Rockets in a clash of styles, but the Thunder now face months without Chet Holmgren. 8:41 GSW–36 year-old Stephen Curry has passed some big tests against great perimeter defenses. 27:20 SAS vs UTA–The Jazz get their second win in Devin Vassell’s return. 34:09. PHX vs DAL–The Suns burnished their clutch credentials against Dallas’ highly-ranked...

The Rockets get a surprising win in Dallas. Why the Rockets have a high night-to-night floor this year, and is there any reason to be concerned about Dallas’ offense? Victor vs Chet wasn’t close in the end, as OKC’s dominant team defense was the story. 25:30 We go through our opinions on the team option decisions like Jalen Hood-Schifino and Jake LaRavia. 52:38 Paolo Banchero is out for at least a month, so what will the Magic do to compensate? Plus the rest of the injury news around the...

The Athletic’s Anthony Slater joins for a postgame look at Warriors/Pelicans, and then we zoom out with our key takeaways from the Warriors’ 4-1 start.

Locked on Rockets host Jackson Gatlin dives into perhaps the most fascinating team of 2024-25. How good was this Rockets team last year? Were they “better without Sengun?” Will the opponent 3-point shooting fall back to Earth? What can the Rockets expect from Reed Sheppard this season? With Sengun and Jalen Green extended, can they take steps forward to All-Star level? Why Jabari Smith, Jr. is one of the most underrated players in the league. How does Amen Thompson fit into the mix as a...

Nate and Danny give their team and individual award predictions for the 2024-25 Season. West season win predictions West playoffs predictions (19:45) East season win predictions (23:29) East playoffs predictions, NBA Champion and championship contenders (28:42) MVP (39:30) Coach of the Year (44:18) First coach fired (46:30) Defensive Player of the Year (49:28) Breakout defensive players (52:09) Sixth Man of the Year (53:38) Rookie of the Year (56:50) Sophomores of the Year (59:41) Biggest...

Tim Cato of All City is our guest to discuss the Mavericks’ attempt to return to the NBA Finals. What drove their Finals run last year, and is it a formula for regular season success this year? What kind of shape is Luka in? How will the Mavs use Klay Thompson? And will he start/close games by the end of the year? Who will emerge as this team’s defensive stopper on the perimeter? Can Kyrie Irving keep it going as a 33 year-old? Is this the deepest team Luka has ever played on? What are the...

Derek Bodner of PHLY is our guest to discuss one of the most anticipated seasons in Sixers history. Can Joel Embiid be the same player after knee surgery? Is there even more in the tank from Tyrese Maxey this year? What exactly are the Sixers getting with Paul George at this stage of his career? How will Nick Nurse build out the rotation behind the big 3? Can any of their less-heralded players emerge? What should the Sixers be looking for in a trade at midseason? What are the major strengths...

Bucks beatman Eric Nehm of the Athletic is our guest to break down Milwaukee’s quest to return to the league’s elite. What we can take away from last year, as injured as it was? How much do the 4 core players (Giannis, Dame, Lopez, and Middleton) have left to carry a limited roster? Why Gary Trent, Jr. is such an important piece Is Damian Lillard on the downside or can he bounce back with a better offseason? Whether the Bucks depth is improved over last year and if it can provide enough...

The man who knows the Nuggets better than anyone else, Adam Mares of DNVR, is our guest to break down Denver’s hopes for bouncing back in 2024-25. What went wrong in the Minnesota series? Was it personnel, or the failure of that personnel to play to their potential? How Jamal Murray has looked in camp after a rough 6 months The pressure on Michael Malone and Calvin Booth this season Who needs to step up in the absence of KCP? The starting shooting guard competition Russell Westbrook’s impact...

The Athletic’s Jovan Buha guests to discuss the dawn of the JJ Redick era in LA. How much of an upgrade will Redick be on Darvin Ham? What are the prospects for the return of Jarrett Vanderbilt and Gabe Vincent? Will the lack of depth sink this squad? Under what circumstances will the Lakers make a trade to bolster their playoff chase, and what are the holes they need to fill? Should Austin Reaves be untouchable in trade talks? How do the Lakers get to be a top-5 offense? Can LeBron and AD...

A late-night pod on the blockbuster Wolves/Knicks deal involving Karl-Anthony Towns, Julius Randle, and Donte DiVincenzo. We go through the salary cap math as it stands now, how good this Knicks team is, and whether we’d have done the deal as New York. We disagree on the impact of this deal for Minnesota, in which Nate likes it a lot more for the Wolves than Danny. Caitlin Cooper of Basketball She Wrote joins to look ahead to a highly-anticipated season in Indiana. What part of last...

Dan Feldman and Danny Leroux are the teams and Nate Duncan the player agent to negotiate deals for the rookie scale players eligible for extensions. Jalen Green 4:29 Jalen Suggs 16:04 Josh Giddey 24:20 Jonathan Kuminga 32:00 Davion Mitchell 40:20 Ziaire Williams 42:32 Moses Moody 45:22 Corey Kispert 50:00 Alperen Sengun 53:49 Trey Murphy III 1:01:46 Jalen Johnson 1:06:31 Isaiah Jackson 1:09:04 Quentin Grimes 1:11:40 Cam Thomas 1:13:18 Day’Ron Sharpe 1:15:09 Santi Aldama 1:17:34 Caleb Houstan...

Blake Murphy of Sportsnet is our portal into a new kind of Raptors season having fully moved on from the old guard. What Blake thinks of this tack in the Raptors’ rebuild Can we take anything away from the limited minutes the new big 3 of Barnes, Barrett, and Quickley played with the Raps a season ago? 4:00. What to make of Darko Rajakovic after a chaotic season. 12:49. Jakob Poeltl’s ability to anchor the defense, and how the rest of the talent projects on that end. 17:26. Scottie Barnes’...