The Real Jonathan Smith Podcast

The NBA conference semifinal rounds are in full swing. This has been one of the best NBA Playoffs we have had in a long time. The 8 seeded Miami Heat are probably going to play in the Eastern Conference Finals. The 7 seeded Lakers are probably going to play in the Western Conference Finals. The 76ers and Celtics are tied 2-2 and so are the Nuggets and Suns. The subplots have been great as well. Shooting the Shmitt host, Jonathan Smith, breaks it all down. 

In this episode of Shooting the Shmitt, Jonathan Smith and Eddie Garrison discuss everything going on in the world of sports. They cover the NFL Draft and everything happening in the NBA Playoffs. It's a loaded show. Check it out.

In this episode of Shooting the Shmitt, host Jonathan Smith discusses the NFL Draft that is set to start tonight. Why is this quarterback class interesting, what are the Texans doing at 2, and who will be selected in the first 10 picks? He answers all of these questions in a loaded pod. We hope you enjoy.

In this episode of Shooting the Shmitt, Jonathan Smith talks Aaron Rodgers to the New York Jets and the NBA Playoffs. Specifically why the Bucks shouldn't panic after going down 3-1 to the Miami Heat.

In this episode of Shooting the Shmitt, Jonathan Smith ranks all 16 of the NBA Playoff teams. Some teams should've tanked for Wemby, some are inconsistent, some are just a couple pieces away, and some are ready to win an NBA Championship. It's a loaded podcast. If you want to hear more from Jonathan, click the links below.

YouTube: Shooting the Shmitt - YouTube

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Hurts new deal makes him the highest paid quarterback ever. Don’t worry the market will reset, but this is a similar deal to what Lamar Jackson turned down. 

The Nets don’t have the offense or the bodies to beat the 76ers. As good as the 76ers look they’re still the third best team in the East if Giannis is healthy

I like Bridges' game, but he doesn’t look like a one.

Draymond Green’s stomp was dirty, but Sabonis deserved it. Have you ever played pickup basketball? If anyone not named Draymond Green had done it we wouldn’t be talking about it like this.

The Warriors aren’t going to win this series. 

JVM Discusses the NFL Draft for the Indianapolis Colts

JMV host of “The Ride with JMV” on 107.5 and 93.5 The Fan here in Indianapolis.

Who do you like at quarterback?

Levis or Richardson?

Why not Lamar?

I know the Ravens signed OBJ, but I think Lamar would rather make more than $32 million than play with OBJ.

Do the Colts have to draft a quarterback? Why draft Levis or Richardson if you don’t love them? Take Will Anderson (Edge) or Peter Skoronski (OT). Two guys who are going to play 10+ years at vital positions. 

The Colts are currently 0/5 in terms of the most important positions needed to win a Super Bowl.

They don’t have a QB, OT, dominant pass rusher, cornerback, or a legit number one wideout.

Hawks vs Heat

Trae Young played well. 25 points, 7 assists, 8 rebounds. He was better in the first half than the second, but the 8 straight points in the 3rd quarter was huge. 

Jimmy Butler didn’t show up. He had 21, but he was 6/19 from the field. He missed multiple shots around the rim that you would expect him to make. 

Kyle Lowry and Tyler Herro were the only consistent offensive guys for the Heat. 

The reason why the Hawks won though was because of Clint Capella and the balanced scoring. 

Capella had 21 rebounds. 8 of them were offensive. As a team the Hawks outrebounded the Heat 63 to 39. They had 22 offensive rebounds to the Heat’s 6. That led to 26 second chance points for the Hawks compared to the Heat’s 6.

They shared the ball well. They had 26 assists on 45 made shots. They had 7 guys in double figures. When any team shares the ball that well, rebounds that well, and gets excellent rim protection from Capella and Okongwu it’s going to be tough to lose to anybody.

Timberwolves vs Lakers

Anthony Edwards didn’t show up on offense. KAT went cold on offense and that led to the downward spiral. Mike Conley hit three big free throws to send it to overtime, but they couldn’t figure out their offense. The Lakers defended at a high level in the second half. Lebron made big plays down the stretch and Anthony Davis played consistently through the entire game. 

NBA Play-in games

Hawks vs Heat: MIA -5

Twitter: @ZGthagrapevine

Miami covers the 5 easily. Jimmy Butler always rises to the occasion in the playoffs. Plus. Trae Young sucks against the Heat. 

In 17 careers games Young is averaging: 21.4 points on 40.2 percent shooting, including 32.8 percent on 3-pointers. In four games this season, Young averaged 19.8 points on 35.6 percent shooting, including 20.8 percent from deep.

On March 4, for example, Miami held Young to eight points on 2-for-13 shooting

Eric Spolstra has figured out how to limit Young. If they can continue to do that, which it seems like they will, Miami should win this game handily.

T-Wolves vs Lakers: LAL -7.5

No Gobert, which will surprisingly hurt the Timberwolves. Gobert is simply an overpaid role player who should only play against teams that have offenses that involve big men, like Anthony Davis and the Lakers. 

The interesting thing is I like Minnesota’s offense more when Gobert isn’t in the way. He clogs up the lane, which makes it tougher for ANT to get going. When he isn’t in the game they can go 5-out and spread the floor. This allows KAT to shoot and ANT to create off of his penetration. 

BUT, the Lakers are really good defensively, and AD looks like a top 5 player in the league right now. Lebron looks good off the injury. I don’t know how people couldn’t take the Lakers here to win and cover. 

Bulls vs Raptors: TOR -5

Give me the Bulls. I’m surprised that Toronto is -5. The Bulls are more talented offensively between Derozan and Lavine. Lavine has been on a tear recently. He’s averaging just under 27 ppg. 

Beverley and Caruso defensively are going to give the Raptor’s backcourt problems. Vucevic has been good defensively this year. 

If Lavine and Derozan can be solid defensively then the Bulls should win. 

Thunder vs Pelicans: NO -5.5

I want to take the Thunder. I have loved watching them all year long, but the Pelicans are experienced. The Pelicans have two go to guys on offense in Ingram and McCollum. Outside of SGA I don’t trust anyone else to get me a bucket on the Thunder. 

This Pelicans team was the 1 seed earlier this year, then injuries derailed them. They’ve figured it out, and I fully expect them to win tomorrow night and to beat the Timberwolves for the 8 seed. 

They’ll give the Nuggets all they can handle with or without Zion. 

STS 4-7-23

NBA in season tournament:

• Teams will start in pool play and then eight will go to a knockout stage

• Players and coaches on the winning team will win cash prizes

the in-season tournament will be part of the NBA regular season standings

Teams would be eligible to advance based on their performance in pool play.

Similar to the Champions League

The winning team each player get 500K

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Positionless All-NBA Teams

Not good, it should look like a basketball team. We have the MVP award

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1* --Milwaukee Bucks

2y --Boston Celtics

3x --Philadelphia 76ers

4x --Cleveland Cavaliers

5x --New York Knicks

6Brooklyn Nets

7y --Miami Heat

8pb --Atlanta Hawks

9pb --Toronto Raptors

10pb --Chicago Bulls

e --Indiana Pacers

e --Washington Wizards

e --Orlando Magic

e --Charlotte Hornets

e --Detroit Pistons

The MVP race isn’t over despite Joel Embiid having a monster game

The case for Giannis: He’s the best player in the world.

He’s the best player on the best team in the NBA record wise.

They have the best record in the NBA despite Khris Middleton, their second best player, missing 47 games. Part of that is because of Jrue Holiday’s play, but a lot of it is because of Giannis. 

Between him, Embiid, and Jokic he is the best defender. He can guard the 1 through the 5. He is a difference maker on the defensive end. Did you see the block against the Wizards last night?

He’s averaging 31, 11, and 6. He’s the best player on the team with the best record. Giannis could easily win the MVP.

The case for Embiid: He’s been the most dominant.

When he catches the ball at the free throw line or below it’s an automatic two points every time. 

He’s leading the league in scoring, while shooting 55% from the floor. He has been insane and recently he’s been on an absolute tear. 

He has similar numbers to Shaq when he won the MVP in the 99-2000 year. Embiid’s scoring is a little higher, but Shaq averaged a few more rebounds. 

He’s not just doing it offensively though, his defensive presence is important for this 76ers team. When he isn’t on the floor they look so much worse defensively. It’s a large part of why when he wasn’t on the floor last night the 76ers were outscored by 15.

He’s been dominant all year. There is nobody who can stop him, let alone matchup with him.

The case for Jokic: He’s won the MVP 2 years in a row and he’s better this year than those last two years. He also leads in all of the advanced stats.

Player efficiency rating he’s first with 31.7

True Shooting percentage he’s first with 70.2%

Total rebound percentage he’s sixth, but he’s in front of Giannis and Embiid

Assist percentage he’s second behind Tyrese Haliburton

When you see these numbers you would think that he’d have a super high usage rate, but he doesn’t he’s 32nd. Giannis is first and Embiid is third. 

He has a greater impact on offense than Giannis and Embiid despite having the ball less. 

If you want the best player vote Gianns

If you want the most dominant player vote Embiid

If you want the most efficient player vote Jokic

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Western Conference 4,5, and 6 seeds:

I don’t know who the best team in the Western Conference is. 

Phoenix is the most talented, but they haven’t played together long.

The Lakers look great post All-Star break, but I don’t trust AD to stay healthy

GSW hasn’t been consistent.

Phoenix is going to be the 4 seed. If I was them I wouldn’t want to play the Lakers. I’d rather play the Warriors. 

I know Andrew Wiggins is supposed to be back, but he’ll be out of game shape and I don’t think his impact will be as great as normal. 

Mainly though, the Lakers look really good right now.

Anthony Davis is locked in and when he’s locked in there aren’t many players better. 

Austin Reaves has stepped up.

Lebron is back. The jump shot isn’t great right now but the more he plays he’ll eventually find the rhythm again.

They finally have guys who can defend and shoot the ball. Combine that with the level AD is playing at and Lebron it’s a team that no one wants to see right now.