Chapter 1: What happened in the NBA Cup Quarterfinals?
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily for December 10th, 2025. I'm Dave DuFour and coming up, we had NBA Cup quarterfinals action last night. The Magic beat the Heat. We got Wes Goldberg here to talk about that. The Knicks beat the Raptors. S was in Toronto, so we're going to talk to him. And I get to say the seven most exciting words on this podcast. Josh Robbins is going to Las Vegas.
Good morning, everybody. Good morning, Wes.
Chapter 2: How did Desmond Bane perform in the game against the Heat?
Not a great night for the Miami Heat, who Eric Spolstra said on the bench, you guys aren't trying hard enough to get to Las Vegas. I don't know if it was an effort thing, man. Like the magic really just they had a little bit of magic last night.
They did, and they are starting to look like the Orlando Magic that we expected them to look like after a slow start. I thought what really stood out about the Magic early in the season that they weren't playing with that level of physicality, that snot factor that they just had last year that really powered their defense, and their defense obviously powered their offense. That's back, man.
That is back with the Orlando Magic team. They had Miami, the older brother in Florida, at home in their arena, and they didn't let them get punked, right? This is a team, a Magic team, that is 3-0 against the Miami Heat so far this season, and a lot of the games have looked like this.
Yeah, and look, the game final score was Magic 117, Heat 108. The Magic, they are moving on to Vegas, so we're going to see them Saturday night. This game did not start the way it finished at all. I mean, the fourth quarter and the first six minutes of this game could not have been more completely opposite.
The game started, Miami goes on this 15-0 run, and all of a sudden, you know, I'm sending the yikes chat to the, you know, little text to the group chat saying we might have a blowout here in an NBA cup. Maybe it doesn't mean more, but the magic really like they clawed back.
the bane and bench units changed the game i thought john john isaac remembering that he's a really really high level defender uh really helped them there especially in second and third quarters um like what's your take on the magic man um bane has been so great at stirring the drink while paulo was out and and i felt like they really started to get their legs under him during that stretch and then immediately franz wagner is out but
This team has been resilient, you know, the last couple seasons now through injuries. And I'm just curious, like, what's your read on them covering a rival?
Yeah, in some ways, they have started to model the Miami Heat, right? I mean, Jamal Mosley has done such a great job completely revamping the culture of that Orlando Magic team. That is a team that is tough, that, like I said, had this little brother syndrome for years, not just in the state of Florida. They were one of the newer franchises.
They made finals with Dwight Howard, and they've definitely had some success, but it's been a long time. And there was always a kind of it never works out for us type of mindset with the Orlando Magic. And Jamal Mosley walked in there and said, not anymore. We're not doing that. We're going to be tougher. We're going to be we're going to be harder working.
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Chapter 3: What adjustments do the Miami Heat need to make?
We're going to do all that stuff here. And I think in a lot of ways. They drew inspiration from their in-state rival and over the last few years have even bested them in some of those things, especially in the regular season. So that's been great.
And then the Desmond Bain factor, first of all, hand and glove fit, obviously, with all the culture stuff and then the three-point shooting, you know, all that stuff is obvious. But what I find really interesting and kind of game-changing for the Magic in having acquired Desmond Bain, they now have a guy who could be their best offensive player on any given night that isn't Franz and isn't Paolo.
where they didn't have that over the last few years. It was Palo or Franz or bust. And as you know, with Palo and Franz, it's usually one of the other, they still haven't quite figured out how to do it at the same time.
And frankly, they just haven't been on the court that much at the same time, the last couple of years, but with all the injuries, but with Bain, they have a guy who like tonight and go off for 37 points and didn't say, you know what? Don't worry about it, guys. Don't worry about figuring that stuff out. I got us.
He's also an elite shooter, though. Right. So the actual gravity and geometry on the court is different for him than it is when Paolo and Franz are the guys who are initiating the actions. Right. Bane, it was so good playing opposite to John Morant because he could be that second side guy when you get the clear out and you've got, you know, a weaker defense.
You know, you've got two guys on one side. He can actually go to work. But now what we're seeing is how good of a pick and roll ball handler he is. How I mean, in the elite shot making that fourth quarter run that he went on. I mean, that that really put the game away for Orlando. I don't feel like the heat challenged after Bain just went off to start the fourth.
And he has that sort of like microwave energy as well. Um, it just seems like this has kind of been his role as the secondary guy next to John and he just excels at it. So right now, you know, he will play off guys, but I'm not surprised to see him in the bench trigger this offensive explosion that we got to see last night.
Yeah. He goes, he makes six, three pointers. He goes six for nine in this game against Miami. And by the fourth quarter, he had that heat defense in a blender, right? I mean, they were just all over the place and yeah. he opens up to your point with the spacing and the shooting, he's opening up these slip cuts for guys like Wendell Carter jr.
And go, go, but Todd's a, and all these guys kind of slip into the basket in crunch time. Yeah.
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Chapter 4: What contributed to the Magic's victory over the Heat?
If you want to know like the story of the game, just keep the box score. That's it. Like they just did not make shots and the magic really got hot.
um how do you feel about this team like we're we're looking at them now like quarter of the way mark i've been trying to get an assessment from as many people as i can about individual teams and when you look at this heat team they're 14 and whether they're in now they're 14 and 11 now they're right behind orlando in record how do you feel about how they stack up in the east like are they are they going to be competitive come playoff time
Yeah, I think they will. You still see the pace and the tempo create advantages enough where that's going to be there. And they're already starting to layer in some new stuff. They're adding some pick and roll sets and things like that. Not just because of Tyler Hero, but because of other things, too. And their defense travels. This is a good team.
They just they can't beat their Orlando Magic this season for whatever reason. But this is overall a very good basketball team. Yeah. And the shooting is the big story here.
Chapter 5: What was the Knicks' performance like against the Raptors?
They go they they make their first six shots in this game. And then after that, they based they shot less than 40 percent overall. That's tough. Right. You're not going to win a lot of basketball games. You know, it's cool going. It's cool shooting 100 percent for five minutes.
Right. Yeah.
Less than 40 percent for 43 minutes. It's going to be a tough way to win a basketball game. Tali Hero and Simone Fentechio, who are their primary three point shooters going over nine.
Well, they had some bad. It's a bad formula. Like I will say this.
Chapter 6: How did Jalen Brunson impact the Knicks' game?
This is and this is a thing I think when you play basketball the way that the Heat are playing. you are settling for some okay looks a lot of the time. And some of those Fontecchio looks, he's on the wing and he's kind of floating to his left. I mean, these are not good shots for a normal basketball team.
I thought Hero passed up some ones that could have otherwise been quality looks.
I agree with that, too. There's a shot selection issue happening there, and I don't think this is systemic. These guys are getting shots up under the prescription of the coach. They're doing exactly what they're told. But I wonder if they need to maybe rein that in just a little bit.
Chapter 7: What are the current challenges facing the Raptors?
And and I know it goes against what they're trying to do, but sometimes, man, the good and great look is worth it, especially down the stretch of games. I just don't I don't know if it's sustainable. You know, when you get to minute 42, 43, 44 to to just say, all right, we're going to get these shots up in the first five or six seconds when, you know, your legs aren't fully under you.
These are not going to be great looks. And the defense is going to be more locked in because you just aren't going to go as fast, right? So I wonder if we won't see them maybe pull the reins in a little bit. I mean, have you noticed anything like that recently?
No, they're still number one in pace. They're really gunning for it. But it's a good point, right? As much as it takes other teams by surprise, it still feels like sometimes it takes...
themselves by surprise this is so it catches me it's worth repeating how different this is for this roster Mitchell just walking up into a three at the top of the key I mean that is an odd thing to watch from this team you know like there's no cut there's no nothing happening and guys are you know I don't want to say they're doing cardio because they're actually like they're trying to get open but it is weird to see you know like Wiggins did a lot of that in Golden State and so it has translated I think pretty well like you see him quick trigger he doesn't care
But it is odd to watch it happen with so many of these guys. Davion Mitchell is the one that really sticks out to me. Every time he sticks one of those, I'm just like, wow, where did that come from?
Yeah, I mean, he's in very many ways been the engine of this offense, not just with the pull up threes, but he's one of the guys that can get downhill, get two feet in the paint and kick out the shooters. It's when they get away from that downhill attack where I think they start to get into trouble. I think they're still trying to figure out the balance of when do we get downhill?
When do we try to put the defense into rotation and then kind of get into our wheel that they've always talked about? Right. Where guys are moving around or when do we just take this quick like Phoenix Suns, you know, seven seconds or less type of shot? I still think they're trying to figure out the balance of that, honestly.
And then adding Tyler Hero into the mix midstream just sort of added another element there. I think if they do figure it out, they'll be better for it. It's why you that my answer to you is no, I don't see them. pulling the reins in anytime soon because I think they want to explore this. But I also know this, Eric Spolster has things up his sleeve, right?
We know that he's got some pick and roll sets. There's ways that they could slow it down. Tyler Hero, Norm Powell, and Bam Adebayo and Wiggins to a degree have all shown the ability to get to the free throw line. If they need to slow the game down and play it that way, they can. They've won games that way this season too.
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Chapter 8: What does the future hold for the Knicks and Heat this season?
It was grift. Try to get to the free throw line as much as possible. And they were constantly down a guy because he didn't play very often. Right. And so at least now, like they're mostly healthy all the time. Like these guys go so hard. And then the style of play. I think it is also kind of appealing to watch. Am I just picking up on the wrong stuff here?
Does it feel like there's maybe just a little bit more joy in the building? Like, I don't know what it is. It's not just that they're playing faster. It feels like they're playing more connected.
You're picking up on the number one storyline that people are talking about here in Miami. This team is so fun to watch. I talk not just to people around the team to season ticket holders and people are over overjoyed with the way this team is playing. The pace is great. They're playing with joy. They're playing for each other. It was a splintered locker room last year.
Jimmy Butler was forcing his way out. That's not news. We all knew it. Everybody could see it.
um this is very different right this is a team that is rallying in the wake of all of that for sure but also is enjoying kind of the process of learning this new scheme and playing up tempo it's a young team all of a sudden you're looking around it's like jimmy's gone kevin love is gone kyle lowry is gone like that group that went to the finals in 2023 this is a young team that is built through the draft with a lot of athletes now
And this is the way that this roster ought to play. And I think Eric Spolster figured that out. And there was a lack of joy last year that was palpable. I think you're absolutely right and spot on on that. And I think that's a strategy for Eric Spolster.
I think that was part of devising the scheme was, yeah, we obviously have to juice the offense after being in the bottom 10 in offensive rating for the last three years. But we also have to have some freaking fun around here. Right. And that carries through in the regular season and kind of sets the tone for whatever this next era is of Miami Heat basketball post Jimmy Butler.
I think it's a big part of it. One last thing I'll say about that. The Miami Heat, we always know, are on the list of potential destinations for superstar players, right? It's Miami. It's the Heat organization, the track record of maximizing superstars. All of that is true. They're always mentioned in those rumors. But now they have a third selling point.
This is a style of play that a lot of players like to play.
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