The Indiana Pacers are putting themselves in the conversation for the top half of Eastern Conference with great play from Paul George, Myles Turner and Jeff Teague. We look at how it's been happening in the latest episode of The Step Back's Day-to-Day NBA Podcast, hosted by Jason Mann. 

Ben Gibson, contributor to 8 Points, 9 Seconds, joins the program to talk about the team's changes from last year, whether George is holding back a little bit, Turner's progress and whether belongs in the conversation with the other crop of exciting young bigs like Joel Embiid and Kristaps Porzingis, Teague's improved playmaking and great play after a rough start, what Thaddeus Young has brought to the table, and how Nate McMillan has performed as a coach so far replacing Frank Vogel.

We also discuss Glenn Robinson III's slam-dunk contest potential, CJ Miles spreading the floor, the Monta Ellis experience, the Al Jefferson three-seasons rule, possible needs coming into the trade deadline, frosty feelings from fans about Jermaine O'Neal and whether the Pacers are a real threat to be a top 3 seed in the Eastern Conference.

We look at how far the Utah Jazz can go this season and whether Gordon Hayward was the right Jazz player chosen for the All-Star Game in the latest episode of The Step Back's Day-to-Day NBA Podcast, hosted by Jason Mann.

All That Amar, editor of SLC Dunk, joins the show to talk about how the Jazz has finally caught up with expectations despite dealing with injuries, Hayward's excellent season and embracing a go-to role, Rudy Gobert's penchant for using snubs as motivation and his case for the All-Star Game, Derrick Favors' disappointing season and reduced role on the team, George Hill bringing savvy point-guard play to a mostly young team, Joe Johnson and Boris Diaw finally being on the same team, Rodney Hood stalling and Joe Ingles' corny sense of humor.

We also look at whether the Jazz should make any moves at the trade deadline and how dangerous they could be as a playoff team, especially if Favors gets healthy.

Miss this week’s episodes of The Step Back’s Day-to-Day NBA podcast? Catch up with the Weekend Review, a compilation of what we talked about during the week. It’s ideal for weekend listening.

This week we looked at the longest NBA games ever, made sense of the latest NBA trade rumors, dove into the suddenly hot Miami Heat, daydreamed about the best NBA Finals stories, and considered Carmelo Anthony leaving the Knicks.

First, Jason Mann and his Over and Back Classic NBA podcast co-host Rich Kraetsch talk about last weekend's four-overtime classic between Atlanta and New York and discuss the other 13 games in NBA/ABA history that have gone four overtimes or more.

Next Bryan Toporek joins us to figure out which NBA teams might be buyers and sellers and look at the trade talk surrounding Carmelo Anthony, Jimmy Butler, Dwyane Wade, DeMarcus Cousins, Serge Ibaka, Nerlens Noel, Paul Millsap and Ricky Rubio before the Feb. 23 trade deadline.

Then David Ramil, co-host of the Locked on Heat podcast, joins the program to look at how Miami, in the Eastern Conference cellar just weeks ago, has won nine in a row and is in the postseason hunt. We also examined the recent trade sending Miles Plumlee to the Hornets and Roy Hibbert and Spencer Hawes to the Bucks.

Then Matt Rutkowski of The Step Back looks at what potential matchups we think would be most interesting in the NBA Finals, from likeliest to literally impossible, and the various storylines we might expect in Cavaliers vs. Warriors Part 3.

Finally, Jared Dubin, host of the Locked on Knicks podcast, comes on to talk about the seemingly realistic possibility of Carmelo Anthony being traded by the New York Knicks and the top three Eastern Conference teams being subpar on defense.

The Miami Heat, in the Eastern Conference cellar just weeks ago, have won nine in a row and are in the postseason hunt. We look at why it's happening in the latest episode of The Step Back's Day-to-Day NBA Podcast, hosted by Jason Mann.

David Ramil, co-host of the Locked on Heat podcast, joins the program to discuss why exactly this dramatic turnaround has taken place, the excellent play of reigning Eastern Conference Player of the Week Dion Waiters, how Goran Dragic makes the most of what he's given, Hassan Whiteside playing more disciplined basketball, James Johnson being a versatile playmaker, the Heat finding more diamonds in the rough like Rodney McGruder and Okaro White, and whether Miami should be in the trade market.

Speaking of trades, we also discuss the recent deal between Milwaukee and Charlotte sending Miles Plumlee to the Hornets and Roy Hibbert and Spencer Hawes to the Bucks, what (if any) difference it might make at the bottom of the Eastern playoff race, and if it's a tasty enough appetizer for the NBA's trade-deadline season.

With plenty of NBA teams clustered on the fringes of the playoff hunt or the lottery, it's harder than ever to guess who might be a buyer or seller before the Feb. 23 trade deadline. We attempt to make sense of it all in the latest episode of The Step Back's Day-to-Day NBA Podcast, hosted by Jason Mann.

Bryan Toporek joins us to look at trade talk surrounding Carmelo Anthony, Jimmy Butler, Dwyane Wade, DeMarcus Cousins, Serge Ibaka, Nerlens Noel, Paul Millsap and Ricky Rubio. Will the Clippers or Cavs make a deal for Anthony without giving up a star? Will the Celtics or someone make a huge offer to get Butler? What would the Suns have to give up to get Cousins?

We also look at: Would the Raptors give up enough to get Ibaka or Millsap for a rental? Are the Sixers still motivated to trade Noel or Okafor now that they are playing better? Are there any other NBA teams who should be looking at improving or blowing things up?

The Hawks and Knicks dueled in a four-overtime classic Sunday, with Paul Millsap giving an iron-man performance in 60 minutes with 37 points and 19 rebounds and Carmelo Anthony scoring 45 and twice forcing extra periods with clutch shots. With only 14 games in NBA/ABA history that have gone four overtimes or more, we thought it appropriate to look back at who stood out in these battles in the latest episode of The Step Back's Day-to-Day NBA Podcast, hosted by Jason Mann.

Who better than Rich Kraetsch, co-host of the Over and Back Classic NBA Podcast, to lend some historical expertise to the proceedings? We start with the only six-overtime game in NBA history (Indianapolis vs. Rochester in 1951), a 75-73 pre-shot-clock yawner in which future legendary Knicks coach Red Holzman reportedly played 76 minutes and scored 3 points. We also discuss the only two five-OT games: Dolph Schayes leading Syracuse past Anderson (Ind.) 125-123 in the newly merged NBA's first season in 1949, and Dale Ellis scoring 53 points for Seattle in a 155-154 loss to Milwaukee.

We also look at a 1953 Boston-Syracuse battle with Bob Cousy scoring 50 points, Bill Walton's first NBA game between Cleveland and Portland in 1974, Julius Erving with a career-best 63 for the Nets against the San Diego Conquistadors in 1975, Cleveland giving Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar everything they could handle in 1980, Fast Eddie Johnson coming through in the clutch for Atlanta vs. Seattle in 1982, Jim Paxson scoring 41 for Portland over the pre-Jordan Bulls in 1984, Joe Barry Carroll caring a lot for Golden State against New Jersey in 1987 and Phoenix (with Jason Kidd, Kevin Johnson and Steve Nash) topping Isaiah Rider's Trail Blazers in 1997.

In addition, we discuss more recent four-overtime thrillers: Joe Johnson and the Hawks topping Millsap and the Jazz in 2012, and Detroit getting the better of Chicago in 2015.

We're at the point in the NBA season where we can't help daydream a little. So we're looking ahead a few months at what potential matchups we think would be most interesting in the NBA Finals, from likeliest to literally impossible, in the latest episode of The Step Back's Day-to-Day NBA Podcast.

Matt Rutkowski of The Step Back joins the program to look at the various storylines we'd expected in Cavaliers vs. Warriors Part 3 or LeBron James vs. Spurs Part 4: James chasing Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant in number of rings, Kevin Durant battling James in the Finals again, Golden State attempting to rebound from blowing a 3-1 lead, Steph Curry attempting to have a better Finals, and the Spurs proving they could win a championship without Tim Duncan.

We also look at storylines involving the Rockets (redemption for James Harden and Mike D'Antoni), the Raptors (Canada's team and the friendship of Kyle Lowry and Demar DeRozan), the Clippers (from loved to hated to loved?), the Jazz and Celtics (superstar-less crews) and the Thunder (Westbrook dominates all). Plus some scenarios that possibly bend the laws of time and/or space.

Miss this week’s episodes of The Step Back’s Day-to-Day NBA podcast? Catch up with the Weekend Review a compilation of what we talked about during the week. It’s ideal for weekend listening. This week we looked at 2017 NBA Draft prospects, the surging Washington Wizards, parity vs. mediocrity, and if the NBA needs to speed up its games.

First, host Jason Mann talks with Chris Stone about Markelle Fultz’s athleticism and complete offensive game, Josh Jackson’s outstanding wing defense but weird shooting motion, Lonzo Ball’s incredible court vision and why he is so fun to watch, and much more.

Next, Chris Barnewell joins the program to look at the distribution of NBA teams in tiers in 2017, finding major changes in the number of teams between .501 and .600 winning percentages and between .301 and .400 from a season ago. We contrast those numbers with averages for the past five years and see if we find any patterns.

Then, Jen Julie Smith of WizOfAwes.com joins the show to talk what explains the Wizards’ turnaround, how John Wall and Bradley Beal are gelling on the court, Otto Porter having a career season, and more.

And finally Ian Levy, editor in chief of The Step Back, joins the show to talk about whether crunch time is really that much of a drag and examine some proposals that might speed up the NBA.

We discuss the seemingly realistic possibility of Carmelo Anthony being traded by the New York Knicks and the top three Eastern Conference teams being subpar on defense in the latest episode of The Step Back's Day-to-Day NBA Podcast, hosted by Jason Mann.

Jared Dubin, host of the Locked on Knicks podcast, joins the program to talk about signals that Anthony is willing to waive his no-trade clause and that Phil Jackson is willing to trade him, looking at the trade possibilities with the Los Angeles Clippers, whether the Knicks are better without Anthony no matter the return, why other rumored deals to Boston and Cleveland aren't likely, how bad the Knicks have been at trades and free agency during the Melo era, and what is Anthony's legacy in New York.

We also talk about Jared's recent piece at The Step Back about how Boston, Cleveland and Toronto, the top three teams in the East, are struggling on defense. We discuss how much the Cavaliers really need a playmaker (as requested by LeBron James), how unprecedented it would be for the top three teams in a conference to finish below average in defense, how Cleveland is allowing more wide-open looks, and how Boston's rebounding has cratered since acquiring Al Horford.

The Washington Wizards have quickly gone from what looked like another lost season to contending for the upper half of the Eastern Conference playoff picture. We examine why on the latest episode of The Step Back's Day-to-Day NBA Podcast.

Jen Julie Smith of WizOfAwes.com joins the show to talk what explains the Wizards' turnaround, how John Wall and Bradley Beal are gelling on the court, Otto Porter having a career season and sparking the team with his shooting and cutting, Kelly Oubre breaking out over the past month, what Scott Brooks is doing differently than Randy Whitman, and how Markieff Morris is fitting in.

We also discuss what was up with the all-black funeral clothing vs. the Boston Celtics and what the Wizards' needs might be before the trade deadline.