Who is Defensive Player of the Year? + Pacers up to speed?
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What are the top NBA stories this week?
Welcome to the Saturday Slammin' Jam here on the Athletic NBA Daily. On today's show, we're talking NBA Cup aftermath, Defensive Player of the Year odds, and Scott Agnes joins the show to talk about the Indiana Pacers. But to start us off, Al, tell me about the top stories this week.
Well, Andrew, our top story this week was the crowning of the 2024 NBA Cup champion, the Milwaukee Bucks. The Bucks were led by two-time NBA MVP and one-time NBA Cup MVP, Giannis Anetokounmpo, who put up a 26-19-10 line with Three blocks in the 97-81 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. That's right, 97-81. The Thunder shot 34% from the field and 15% from three. The last time OKC had that bad of a game, me and Andrew were arguing about whether Alexey Pokushevsky would be a Hall of Famer or just a multi-time All-Star. For the Bucs, it wasn't just another memorable elimination game performance for Giannis. It was also the second NBA Cup championship for summer free agent signing Torian Prince and assistant coach Darvin Hamm.
Will we get a Hamm man three-peat next season? Speaking of three-peats, the Chicago Bulls have won three in a row, including a shocker on Thursday night, a 117-108 win over the Celtics in Boston. After losing only four home games all of last season, the Celtics have already lost four this season, and it's not even Christmas. Zach Levine led the Bulls with 36 points, another strong performance in what has been a bounce-back season for him. Could that bounce-back lead to a trade? Well, this week, the athletic Sam Amick reported that the Denver Nuggets have expressed significant interest in Levine, a deal that would likely involve Michael Porter Jr. In the meantime, the Bulls are now 13-15, 9th in the East, with the 12th-ranked offense and 23rd-ranked defense per Cleaning the Glass. Now, potential trades are fun, but what about real trades? Well, we had two this week. First, kind of a minor one in Indiana as the Pacers sent a 2031 second round pick swap to the heat for Thomas Bryant. Not super exciting.
A second, more exciting trade, though, followed with the Golden State Warriors sending DeAnthony Melton, Reese Beekman, and three second-round picks to the Brooklyn Nets for Dennis Schroeder and a 20-25 second. Now, the Warriors are in need of some offensive help in those non-steff minutes and also just in need of help more generally because since starting 12-3, the Warriors have lost 11 of their last 13 innings. including a 144-93 destruction at the hands of the Grizzlies in Memphis on Thursday night. The 51-point loss was the fifth biggest loss in Warriors franchise history. And in his first game as a Warrior, Dennis Schroeder did get the start, but he went 2-of-12 for five points. The Grizzlies, meanwhile, are 19-9, second in the West. Now, in a week without many basketball games and not a lot to talk about, it was a particularly bad time to publicly steal a PlayStation 5 from a child. But that's exactly what the Charlotte Hornets decided to do.
So glad you're bringing this up. During a loss to the Sixers, Hugo the Hornet, dressed as Santa Claus, a character best known for giving presents and not committing theft, gave a child a PS5. Shortly after the child had exited the court, the PS5 was taken away and replaced with a jersey that cannot play video games, such as the 2024 Game of the Year Bellatro. I love Bellatro. Anytime you hear Andrew talking on the podcast, I'm playing Bellatro. The Hornets were widely criticized. and in response have pledged to give the kid a PS5 and a VIP experience to a future Hornets game. The Hornets have lost 13 of their last 15. From a franchise acting like they're broke to a franchise showing how easy it is to get fans to like you,
phoenix suns owner matt ishbia announced this week that the suns would be implementing a two dollar value menu for just two dollars you'll be able to buy a hot dog a water a soda a bag of chips or even some popcorn what a deal at a time when franchise values are soaring into the multiple billions it's nice when it doesn't feel like your billionaire owner is trying to extract every last dollar out of you suns fans
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What are the top NBA stories this week?
0:11–12:51
2
Who are the top contenders for Defensive Player of the Year?
12:51–53:49
3
How are the Indiana Pacers performing recently?
53:49–1:02:26
4
What trades are the Pacers considering?
1:02:26
5
What is the significance of LaMelo Ball's usage this season?
40:17–59:55
6
Who are the most improved players in the NBA right now?
59:55–1:08:02