J. Kyle Mann

But ultimately, if you're Detroit, I get not swinging too hard under the circumstances.

I would even advocate for them welcoming the risk a little bit more.

But if you're already this good and you're this young, sometimes you just talk yourself into a more conservative outcome.

I don't agree with it.

I'm with you that I think that ultimately there are so many teams kind of like in it in the East, even though none of them is individually like exceptional right now.

Just like the sheer volume of teams that like could talk their way into being in a conference final at this point would make me a little bit nervous.

But Detroit is very good.

Maybe they'll make us look foolish and just kind of take care of everybody.

I think there are so many James Harden criticisms that are 100% valid and well-earned and well-deserved on his part.

In particular, the playoff track record is checkered at best.

Who he has been, especially defensively, take your shots, deserving of that criticism.

Setting up other ISO scores, like, he's always been good at that.

And I don't, like, we just pretend as if the James Harden nets weren't good.

And if, like, he didn't make Kevin Durant's life easier and he, for the brief time that they played together, didn't make Kyrie Irving's life easier, like, he was more than willing to just play playmaker with that group.

And this is a different build where, yeah, it's not Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, but to see Donovan Mitchell have the kind of performance he did in James Harden's debut, I think is huge.

Like the rolling big stuff we know is going to be there.

Making Evan Mobley's life incrementally better, we all expected.

But this is also a thing he can do.

Like he's just a good passer and a good reader of offense.

And that's going to include setting up Donovan Mitchell for some of the easiest looks he's frankly ever gotten as a pro.