Contending Spurs + Who wants Ja Morant? | Slam N Jam
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What were the highlights of the NBA week?
Welcome to the Saturday Slammin' Jam here on the Athletic NBA Daily. On today's show, we're going to do the good, the bad, and the what? We're back. We're going to have Jared Weiss on to talk about the San Antonio Spurs, who are a very good team, and we're going to do some trivia. But before we get to all that, Al, tell me what happened in the NBA this week.
Well, Andrew, our top story this week was the first trade of the NBA season. After months of listening to NBA fans wonder whether the Hawks would be better off without face of the franchise Trey Young, Atlanta decided they were also kind of wondering the same thing. In a move that involved zero draft assets on either side, the Hawks sent Trey Young to the Washington Wizards for CJ McCollum, who was on an expiring contract, and Corey Kispert, Now there were reports that the Hawks tried to get the Wizards to include beat writer Josh Robbins in the deal, but Washington refused, telling the Hawks, hands off America's sweetheart. Now Robbins tweeted after the deal that he would be surprised if Trey plays much, if at all, the remainder of the season for the Wizards.
The highlight of Trae Young's time in Atlanta was, of course, the Eastern Conference Finals run in 2021, which included the infamous second round series with Philadelphia and Ben Simmons. The Hawks were never able to capitalize on that run, however, never winning more than 43 games in the subsequent seasons. The Hawks are currently 18 and 21, but Sham Sharana reports that the Hawks see this as the first domino intending to pursue a trade for a large salary player with Anthony Davis as the prime target. As one high-level league source told The Athletic, quote, every team in the East believes they're an Anthony Davis away from making the finals. Of note, Anthony Davis left the Mavericks Thursday night game against the Jazz in the fourth quarter with a left-hand injury.
While the East does seem quite wide open right now, the Detroit Pistons keep trying to tell us that they're very good. After a stretch where they lost three of four, the Pistons got back on track this week, winning three in a row, including one of their biggest statement wins of the season, a 121 to 90 win over the New York Knicks. This was the first time these two teams had played each other since that first round series last season. and the Pistons were ready. Cade had 29 and 13 assists. Jaden Ivey put up his highest scoring game of the season, scoring 16 off the bench. The Pistons are 28 and nine, first in the East and four games up on the Knicks. Now for the Knicks, those 90 points they scored against the Pistons, fewest they've had in a regular season game since March, 2024, when they lost a game to the Sixers by the score of 79 to 73.
That was in March 2024. That is the lowest scoring NBA game in the last decade. Now the loss to the Pistons was also the Knicks' fourth straight loss, though they did finally get back on track by beating the Clippers on Wednesday night. And while beating the Clippers would not have been that impressive the last time we did an episode of Slamma Jam, Three weeks later, that's a quality win because the Clippers have started to figure things out. The Clips are 7-2 in their last nine, a stretch that included a six-game winning streak with quality wins over Detroit, Houston, the Lakers. Kawhi has been on an absolute tear, putting up 34-8-4 over that nine-game stretch.
What are the implications of Trae Young's trade?
He's shooting 50-38-94. He's taking over nine threes per game and getting to the line almost nine times per game. 2.6 steals, 1.3 blocks, generally one of the best runs by any player this season, and it included the first 50-point game of his career, a 55-point masterpiece, against those same Detroit Pistons that held the entire Knicks team to 90 points. Now, despite this run, the Clips still face an uphill battle due to their early season woes and another injury to Jarek Jones Jr. that's going to keep him out at least six weeks. They are closing in on that final playing spot only two and a half games back of the Grizzlies in 10th.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What were the highlights of the NBA week?
0:05–3:26
2
What are the implications of Trae Young's trade?
3:26–6:52
3
How are the San Antonio Spurs performing this season?
6:52–7:42
4
What is the significance of Victor Wembanyama in the Spurs' success?
7:42–8:42
5
What challenges are the Oklahoma City Thunder facing?
8:42–10:48
6
What are the latest updates on Ja Morant's trade rumors?
10:48–12:40
7
What is the current status of the Boston Celtics?
12:40–15:56
8
What fun trivia games did the hosts play at the end?
15:56–1:16:01