Fair to say Donovan Mitchell is healthy now?
Today’s Panel:
First Half
Monologue: 76ers are still figuring it out & that’s okay
Fast forward to this fall…
Ben Simmons put it just as: “We just had fun”
Is 76ers first road win a turning point in the season?
“No. I don’t think so. Did they sign [Marco] Belinelli back? Did they bring back [Ersan] Ilyasova. This is my worry about this team: Not getting better in the off season. They’ve actually gotten worse. They took a step back” – TMac
“We all know that you get signature wins throughout the season that can boost your confidence and this was a signature win for them. This could be that game [the win over the Pacers] for them” – Pierce
Simmons and Fultz not a good fit?
“They just need more shooters around them” – Pierce
“They can’t work right now because they don’t have shooting” – TMac
Tyson Chandler enough to keep Lakers afloat?
“That was a huge pickup and it was right on time. His ‘veteranism’ in the locker room. He’s a champ” – Pierce
“Having somebody like Tyson with the championship pedigree, has been a defensive player of the year in this league knows how to get extra possessions which he showed last night on the offensive end. That’s what propelled them to a win” – TMac
Was Derrick Rose fouled on final attempt?
“He did get fouled. You clearly can see he wasn’t able to follow through on his shot” – TMac
“How many times do you get a call at the end of the game, with the game on the line? The ref lets you play through some things and that’s the good part” – Pierce
November 8, 2002 – Ricky Davis (Cavs) goes between his legs and dunks it home!
Tributes; Gordon’s mailman dunk better than the original?
Ankles; Did Trier’s crossover deserve a better bench reaction?
Instincts; Do the Raptors practice no-look steals?
Effort; Someone unplug Jabari’s controller?
Air Lithuania; Think Domantas made Arvydas (His father) proud?
Let’s…
Best lefty dunks of all-time:
2009: Manu on Hilton Armstrong
2010: James Harden on JJ Hickson
1993: John Starks on Horace Grant
Honorable mention:
2009: TMac dunks on Tyrus Thomas!
Moving on…
Coach Pop calls Spurs “Soft” after loss to Heat
But before that, TMac wanted to give some praise to Heat center, Hassan Whiteside:
“Monster game last night. Where’s the consistency? This is what he can do and that’s why people always getting on him because this is his potential and he doesn’t show it”
“The guys in the locker room, they should get over this quote. This is first of many that they’re going to hear throughout this season from Pop” – TMac
“No one in the NBA wants to be considered soft” – Pierce
“He knows when to push his guys buttons and they didn’t play great basketball last night” – TMac
“They got the ‘veteranism'” – Pierce
Second Half
Shocked by Nikola Jokic attempting only one shot?
“He’s really feeling himself or he just wasn’t really feeling himself. He’s gotten to the point ‘I’m so good, we can win a game with me just out here as a distributor and getting rebounds'” – Pierce
“Something has gone on with this man where he’s checked out because he’s not aggressive” – TMac
Nuggets will make Western Conference Finals (Via NBA Countdown)
“They’re built similarly to the Celtics with this roster. They are deep and well coached” – Pierce
Does Anthony Davis look healthy to you?
Stat line: 32 points, 15 rebounds, 7 assists, 4 blocks vs Bulls
“They miss Rondo tremendously” – Pierce
“Their frontcourt is pretty damn explosive” – TMac
“You are a supermax player. This is what you are capable of doing night in and night out. He can do this against the best of the best. If he miss games, they’re not going to win it’s just that simple” – TMac
November 8, 2002 – Metta World Peace (Ron Artest) steals the ball and dunks it!
ESPN’s NBA Senior Fantasy expert, Andre Snellings joined the show!
How to climb out of the fantasy basement:
Step 1: Set weekly lineups on ESPN fantasy app
“That is a problem. You choose your players and you don’t set your lineup. You don’t pay attention to who’s got more games in a given week” – Snellings
Step 2: Identify trade targets & FA pickups
“You have to realize that those are guys that are playing better than their value was at the start of the year” – Snellings
Step 3: Pay attention to injury updates
“Guys that have been not able to play because of injury, but they will be getting back onto the court in the next month or so” – Snellings
“People tend to think about fantasy basketball like it’s ‘Other.’ It’s just hoops” – Snellings
Can Rockets unlock “Olympic Melo” after OKC’s failed experiment? By Tim MacMahon and Royce Young
Domantas Sabonis on Joel Embiid
Pierce: 9 | McGrady: 9
Aaron Gordon does the Mailman pose!
Pierce: ‘910’ (9 & 10 combined) | McGrady: 10
Donovan Mitchell on Maxi Kleber
Pierce: 10 | McGrady: 10
Reminder: Pierce used to throw it down too!
Pierce: 10 | McGrady: 8
Can Rockets still unlock “Olympic Melo”?
“They’re going need him to be consistent and knock down shots. Be a threat at the end of the game” – Pierce
“They need him to be ‘Olympic Melo’ I saw it in the Brooklyn Nets game. He’s a knockdown shooter” – TMac
Celtics at Suns – 9pm ET | “If you know me, I’d never be one to complain about playing time” – Terry Rozier (Via Bill Simmons and The Athletic)
“This is just the media trying to divide a team” – TMac
“This team needs to stay together and see what they can do this year in the playoffs. Nobody should think about any trades for the Celtics” – Pierce
The definitions of ‘Veteraness’ and ‘Veteranism’ by Paul Pierce:
Veteraness: A veteran who has been around the block a few times, who has an influence in the locker room
Veteranism: The veteran who’s also been around the block a few times, has respect and comes through in clutch situations
