The Double Double

The 2021 NBA Draft has looked very promising this year. In this episode, we review the first-round picks from the 2021 Draft, and discuss how they've played so far for their teams, and what improvements they need to make for next year. Not every rookie has played enough minutes in the NBA to fully gauge their talent, and we discuss some of those guys and what they need to improve on. There have also been a couple of pretty noteworthy second-round picks this year, and we make sure to give them their dues. Enjoy!

Kyrie Irving has been promoted to Full-Time again, after a change to the vaccine mandate in NYC allowing performers and athletes the chance to play in their stadiums unvaccinated. Ben Simmons seems to be out for the season, but Kyrie and KD getting more reps together will surely be a nightmare for whatever team they end up facing in the play-in tournament. The Suns are now at a league high 60 (!) wins, many of these while missing booker, Cp3, Ayton, and other solid members of the team. This team deserves a lot of credit, and they are certainly the team to fear in the West. The Celtics have made a turnaround unlike any we have ever seen. After starting the season 18-21, the celtics are 23-4 in their last 27 games, and currently sit 1 game back from the first seed. Now is the time where some teams try to pick their matchup going into the playoffs, and we think everyone is going to want to avoid Boston. We've also got some Bulls Talk, unfortunate as it may be that this team is unable to beat a really good team, and some Cavs Talk, with some equally unfortunate losses recently that have put Cleveland at risk for falling into the play-in. Enjoy!

The Boston Celtics needed a statement win. They had been dogpiling on bad teams for about a month and a half, and needed to prove to the NBA that they can beat legit talent. After a win against Memphis and Brooklyn, they have proved themselves as a legitimate playoff force. The Denver Nuggets have been carried by Nikola Jokic through the entire season, and he just put up a statline of 46/12/11/3/4 in an OT win vs a red-hot Pelicans team. Jalen Green and Cade have also been very solid recently, which gives their teams much more hope as they push for another high lottery pick. Finally, we end this episode with a tier list of all of the top 10 teams in each conference, and our thoughts on how legitimate their chances at going anywhere in the playoffs are. Enjoy!

The Boston Celtics have had a dominant start to 2022. Their defense has been the best in the league over the past 2 months, and they find themselves tied for 5th place with Cleveland. We have had some disagreements about how real Boston's chances are at making a playoff run this year, but these games have been convincing. The Cavs are now 1-5 in their last 6 games, and their typically stellar defense has been nowhere to be found. James Harden has played 3 games for the Sixers, and the trio of Harden, Embiid, and Maxey have been unstoppable. Some other top teams, like the Grizzlies and Suns, deserve some recognition for their great play, and we take a look at how the Haliburton-Sabonis is looking so far. Enjoy!

The All-Star Weekend this year had some very big highs and lows. The All-Star game itself was incredible, and Steph Curry was amazing to watch from behind the 3pt line. The 3pt contest is always fun, and watching the Rising Stars compete against each other was great. Unfortunately, the dunk contest this year was possibly the worst of our lifetimes. The dunks weren't incredible, and the constant barrage of ad breaks and missed attempts made it very hard to sit through the whole performance. All in all, it was a very solid weekend for the NBA. Zion Williamson is currently rehabbing his right foot surgery and has not stepped foot on the court for the Pelicans this season. During that time, he has practically been M.I.A. We're both pretty concerned about his durability and how long he'll stay in New Orleans, and we cover that on today's episode. I hope you enjoy!

As of 3 pm today, the NBA's trade deadline has officially passed. And with that, the most anticipated trade in the league has actually happened. Ben Simmons will now be a member of the Brooklyn Nets, and James Harden will reunite with Daryl Morey in Philly to join Joel Embiid. We are pretty split on how this is gonna work for both teams. Both of these guys have very questionable playoff history and really need to prove themselves immediately if they want to reclaim any of that respect. Simmons is now surrounded by shooters, and Joel Embiid has one of the best pick and roll partners in the NBA as his teammate. Only time will tell how well each team actually gels. On the Celtics end, Josh Richardson and Dennis Schroder have been traded away, among other players, for Derrick White and Daniel Theis. The reacquisition of Daniel Theis is something I'm definitely happy with, but the gaping hole we now have at the wing position is something that will need to be addressed quickly. A few other impactful trades went down across the league, and we also gave our thoughts on Levert and Sabonis' first games with their new teams. Enjoy!

The Trade Deadline is this Thursday, which means teams are scrambling to find the right trades for their players, and bring in the talent that they need for their futures. A few big trades happened over the past week, with Portland Shipping CJ McCollum to NOLA and Norm Powell and Rob Covington to the Clippers, which would be good for them if they were able to bring in talent back (Which they weren't...). The Kings, in an unsurprising fashion, traded the only player in the NBA that wants to play in Sacramento for Domantis Sabonis and some role players. Some of these trades seem really baffling, but time will tell how they end up faring. Maybe Sabonis is the next Jokic, and the Kings can finally end their nearly 2-decade playoff drought. Personally, I doubt it. There will likely be some more trades in the next 48 hours, and we will be here to update you on our thoughts once those go down. Also, no episode is complete without us arguing about the Celtics. Enjoy!

The All-Star starters have been announced! Most of the names that made the list are pretty obvious choices, with the biggest exception being first-time all-star Andrew Wiggins. As crazy as that selection might seem, the injuries in the western conference have stopped their best forwards (Kawhi, PG, AD), from being able to play in the first place. The MVP race is also as wide open as it has been in a long time, and there really isn't any single player that could be considered a lock for the award. Jokic and Embiid are putting up 2 of the best seasons from a center that we've ever seen, but neither team is high enough in the standings to guarantee either of them getting this award. We end this episode with some debate on whether or not Ayton is worth the max, and if Cade's scoring numbers through the second half of the season could be enough for him to pass Mobley in ROTY voting. Enjoy!

The Trade Deadline of February 10th is approaching very quickly, and there are a lot of players that will be eligible to be traded within the week. With that, we thought it would be a good idea to go over some of the trade rumors that have been going on around the league, as well as some mock trades involving the guys that we think make the most sense for each team to move. Someone like Ben Simmons is a guy we both think needs to be moved immediately, and there have been some rumors about where he could go and who could come back in a return trade that would seriously help boost the Sixers' championship aspirations. The Celtics also desperately need a shake-up, and we both think Goran Dragic could be that guy to help swing the offense in a better direction. There are tons of players around the league that could end up on new teams very soon, so we will be sure to cover those trades as soon as they happen. Enjoy!

We have made it almost to the halfway point of the regular season, and with that, it is time to give out some awards to deserving teams and players, Oscars style. We made a list with a bunch of superlatives, including Best Leading Role, Best Supporting Cast, Most Overrated, etc. This episode will be a breakdown of all of our picks for these awards, as well as some honorable mentions for different players and teams that deserve recognition. If anyone has any disagreements with our picks, find us on Instagram and let us know! Hope you all enjoy!