On this episode of the Bob Ryan & Jeff Goodman NBA Podcast, Bob Ryan and gary Tanguay take a closer look at the power rankings in the Eastern Conference ahead of the 2024-25 season. Bob and Gary give their thoughts, who they think might be overrated, and what teams may surprise some people. All that, and much more!
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00:00Bob Ryan and Gary Tanguy podcast here on CLNS Media is brought to you by PrizePix, the exclusive
00:23daily fantasy partner of the CLNS Media Network.
00:25Pick more, pick less with PrizePix.
00:28Okay, Bob, here we go.
00:30I can't wait for this season to start.
00:32I really want to have some games to talk about.
00:35But we are in preview mode and the NBA put out their power rankings.
00:38As expected in the Houston conference, no surprise with the top three, with the Celtics,
00:43the Knicks number two, Philadelphia because of the changes with the Knicks.
00:46We can understand that.
00:47But they got the Pacers ranked number four and they actually have the Pacers ahead of
00:51the Milwaukee Bucks.
00:53So let's talk about those two teams because, you know, and what you expect from them and
00:57what questions they have to answer.
00:59First, let's start with Indiana.
01:02I am bullish on them.
01:04Yes, I can see this happening, if all goes well.
01:09First of all, Kyle Burton, he tailed off a bit.
01:14He started off great.
01:17And that's really, yeah, but he's going to have, he didn't, he was, he was the one really
01:22smoked in the Olympics.
01:23If, you know, if you want to use that.
01:26But if you want to look, if you want to go down that road, you can.
01:29And he was the one who got, you know, dissed the most, more than Taylor.
01:35OK.
01:36He's going to be motivated.
01:37There's no question.
01:38And he is a talented, very, very talented player.
01:40But they've got a, he's got a big back with me and Andrew Nembhard, by the way, and he's
01:47getting better and better.
01:49They got a very underrated guy, Miles Turner.
01:53I needed time to get appreciate that what he brings to the table and the guy that, you
01:59know, should be bucking for an All-Star birth for them is Pascal Siakam.
02:02He's at the peak of his career.
02:05He's a good player.
02:06And just know that they got this kid, Benedict Mathurin, who was hurt last year, but had
02:12a very nice year the year before.
02:14They got Obi Toppin and they just re-signed one of the most valuable utility players in
02:19the NBA, D.J.
02:21McConnell.
02:22He is, he is, if you, you know, he is what he is, he's a third guard, but he's a good
02:27one.
02:28He knows who he is.
02:29And I always pay great respect for him when I play them.
02:36I think it's a good roster and I think they're, they're, they're solid, they're very solid,
02:41you know.
02:42They're not flashy, but they're very solid.
02:43I think.
02:44And they have a guy who's a, you know, borderline superstar, if you will, in Halliburton.
02:49So I think that, and I think as opposed to Milwaukee, I just think people are wondering
02:54if the door hasn't kind of closed in a sense, you know, with them.
02:59And you always worry about Giannis' health.
03:01Obviously, when Giannis is healthy, he's, he's phenomenal because he's one of the most
03:06interesting players ever.
03:09But Middleton gets hurt.
03:12You know, I think that people, and Brook Lopez is still important, but he's 37 this year,
03:18I think.
03:20By the way, he's had a, I want to pay something.
03:22I wouldn't have been at all, in fact, I would have advocated, I did, that he was on the
03:26Olympic team because we needed a real, a legitimate big man.
03:30He's a, he's got, he's not going to the Hall of Fame, but he's one of those Hall of Pretty
03:35Good Guys for career.
03:36Oh yeah.
03:37I mean, look, when he was with the Nets.
03:38And of course his, his reinvention is the story, is the model for all the big men in
03:44the world.
03:45Literally, that if you want to be a modern NBA player and be a five, you better be able
03:50to face up the basket as well, or even more than you have it, you're back to it.
03:55And here's a guy that for the first X years of his career, probably didn't take double
04:02digit attempts in the first five or six years of his career.
04:05And now he's a dangerous three point shooter.
04:07He's absolutely made himself into a very legitimate shooter.
04:11And he's also a rim protector that you don't really realize what he is.
04:15So anyway, I like him, but he is getting up there.
04:20So I just think Milwaukee's depth is questionable as well.
04:23Well, you, you may, you raised the point about the depth because with Lillard and, and the
04:27Freak.
04:28Oh, I forgot.
04:29I knew I forgot an important component.
04:30Right.
04:31But yeah, but with Lillard and when Lillard and Antetokounmpo are off the floor, they're
04:35done.
04:36You know, that's where you look at what Brad Stevens has done with the Celtics and you
04:39go, that's the deal.
04:41The depth, you know, Brown and Tatum are off the floor for what, I mean, obviously they're
04:45not as good, but there's some real depth there.
04:48I mean, Milwaukee's a two man team, especially if Milton's not healthy.
04:51Right.
04:52Where, where, where's their house?
04:53And where's their protrude?
04:54Where's their Al Horford?
04:55Yeah.
04:56Where's their white?
04:57Where, you know, you're right.
05:00That's why I can see that I am.
05:02I am bullish on Indiana and, uh, you know, so.
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06:33What about Cleveland at all?
06:34I mean, Dave kind of fizzled a little bit.
06:37I thought they would, I don't expect them to, you know, be in the top three, but I thought
06:41they would cause more problems.
06:42Yeah, I agree.
06:43But I think, yeah, two years ago, you would have really tried to, it just still comes
06:50down to the New York and Philly thing, you know, and right, right, right, right, right.
06:57No, you're right.
06:58And I'm going to say it a thousand times, I'm so happy to have the Wild Boobies back.
07:01It's going to be a lot of fun.
07:03Now we look at the West and the West in the NBA Power Rankings, they have OKC, which did
07:09not do well in the playoffs, but they have them ranked number one.
07:12And then Denver, and then you have Dallas, and then you have Minnesota.
07:17To me, Bob, Phoenix is number five, but we know that's kind of the senior citizen home.
07:24Of the top four in the West, I mean, they're all the same to me.
07:29Maybe Dallas.
07:30I mean, Dallas has to be healthy.
07:31But you take those top four teams, I mean, you could put them in a slot, to me.
07:35You could.
07:36I mean, Minnesota's got a lot to offer.
07:38They all have something to offer.
07:39Yeah, they could all be number one.
07:41Absolutely.
07:42Yeah, yeah.
07:43I mean, it happened to be Dallas that came through last year, and there's going to be
07:47an expectation on them.
07:48And, you know, history as a guy, don't get carried away if you're a Dallas fan to think
07:55that this means you're coming right back.
07:57Yeah.
07:58It's just not the way it works in any sport, and it doesn't, especially when you have such
08:03a, as we both agree, such parity in the West at a, not an ultra high level, but at a pretty
08:11high competitive level, where those teams are.
08:14I'm glad you said that, Bob.
08:16I'm glad you said parity, you know, because you're right.
08:21But it's not great.
08:22Look, I'll break, you know, obviously we saw what the players have with OKC, and Denver
08:27is a two-man team.
08:29We know that.
08:31And you take a look at, the Mavericks were a two-man team, maybe one and a half during
08:35the finals.
08:37And then you go to the Timberwolves, and there was a lot of expectation played on them.
08:42And when you really take a look at those rosters, they don't, they've got highlights.
08:48You know what I mean?
08:49They got highlights.
08:50They don't blow anybody out of the water.
08:51They don't scare you.
08:52You know, you're absolutely, in totality, no, they're good teams, and one of them's
08:59going to be playing in the finals.
09:01That's all we know.
09:02Now, to me, right now, the intriguing team beyond them is the Lakers.
09:09And because, you know, LeBron, he's going to be 40 on the 30th of December.
09:13We know that.
09:14But he's 40 going on, now what, 33, maybe, the way he's been playing?
09:18And it's Anthony Davis, as he proved in the Olympics, is a terrific player.
09:25You know, he was the indispensable man, in my opinion, on the floor for them, overall.
09:31They had to have him out there, both ends of the floor.
09:33Stay healthy.
09:34He can stay healthy.
09:35He's 31 now.
09:36And he's never been consistently healthy.
09:40Boy, is he good.
09:41Don't ever underestimate how good he is.
09:43Their big next factor guy is D'Angelo Russell.
09:47You know, he can score 20 points easy.
09:50And I've added some other shooting, and you know, Hachimura can shoot, and I know this,
09:59I'm thinking of a young player, Christie.
10:02But they could be better than people think.
10:06But then again, it's all precarious when you're depending on a 40, a soon-to-be 40-year-old,
10:10and a relentlessly unhealthy, you know, star.
10:15But if they could get lucky in that regard.
10:18And get healthy.
10:19I mean, look, if Davis is healthy, if Davis is healthy through the playoffs, we got to
10:23think about it.
10:24I mean, they can play with anybody out there in that regard.
10:25Right, we got something.
10:26No, it's been a big hit.
10:29But so I would just say, hey, let's see how it goes.
10:31Keep your eye on the Lakers.
10:32Don't discount the Lakers.
10:33Keep your eye on the Lakers.
10:34In the mix there.
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11:59Okay, I love going back in the time machine with Bob Ryan because when I fell in love
12:03with the NBA, just up the road from where you are right now, you know, 1974 was the
12:11first year I remember in, you know, the Celtics won the title that year and I remember in
12:17detail.
12:18And I remember watching on Sunday afternoons, you know, and Dick Motta was either coaching
12:23the Chicago Bulls or he was coaching in Washington and he was just one of those guys that was
12:28just always around.
12:29He's 93 years old.
12:30Bob, when you told me that Dick Motta is not in the Hall of Fame, I was shocked.
12:34Dick Motta, it's a very unfortunate oversight and he's 93 years old now and, you know, it
12:42better get done.
12:43Now, the first thing somebody will say, well, he wasn't even 500.
12:47He wasn't.
12:48I just double checked it.
12:49He wasn't 500 as a winner, as a coach.
12:53He lost more games than he won.
12:54Part of that was at the end of his career, he was at Sacramento.
12:57He went a little too long.
12:59Right?
13:00Yeah, I mean, Washington, I mean, he coached very good teams in the 70s.
13:04But, you know, and then, of course, when he was the inaugural coach of the Mavericks,
13:09which means you're going to have two or three big loss years to start right off the bat.
13:13Well, guess what?
13:14That's what he had.
13:15And he turned them around, you know, a bit gradually, and they became with him a very
13:20good, a good team.
13:21Dick Motta is one of the most interesting guys.
13:24He's the guy, he truly coached at every level, coaching high school in Utah, he's from Utah.
13:30And coaching at high school, he coached junior college, he coached Weaver State for eight
13:38years, and he was identified as and was hired to coach the Bulls by Jerry Krause, I believe
13:46he was in charge at that time.
13:47And, but he was hired by the Bulls at an age when it was all very much in vogue to hire
13:53college coaches.
13:54There was a, it all began with Butch McGradockoff, going from Princeton to the Lakers.
13:58But then the Cotton Fitzsimmons came in, and Bill Fitch came in, and I'm thinking of some
14:05others that came in that were college coaches, he was one of them.
14:10His Bulls teams in the early 70s were most, I was kidding, if there weren't a 24 second
14:15clock, they would have won a couple of championships.
14:17No team milked it better.
14:20They were a defensive oriented team with a very precise offense.
14:24And that starting five, a Boerwinkle, Chet Walker, Bob Love, Norm Van Leer, and Jerry
14:30Sloan was a damn good team.
14:32The one problem is they couldn't get by the Lakers, or the Bucks.
14:36They were stuck in the West End with them.
14:38But they were fun, fascinating, and every time, when you played them, when the Celtics
14:44played them, who want to run, and the Bulls don't want you to run, it was a matter of
14:48whose will was going to be imposed on the other.
14:51And they were fascinating games.
14:53But they were, and it was fun to go to the Chicago Stadium, and it was really good stuff.
14:57Mata was a, you know, a very interesting man, a very fascinating guy.
15:03Very much a man of the West.
15:05Very much, you know, loyal to the small schools and everything, the background that he came
15:11from.
15:13He was, he was just, those teams were grinding to play.
15:21He made them into a, it was a toothpull to play them.
15:23They were really good.
15:25And then he goes to Washington, and they win.
15:27And he gets in, and they win one, and they get to the finals the second year.
15:32And that's when he went to the Mavericks and got them off the ground.
15:36But I think he was a-
15:37Well, when you look at the NBA Hall of Fame, Bob, and we can have discussions about each
15:43of the Hall of Fames.
15:44I mean, when you take a look at the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and, you know, it's not that
15:48hard to get in.
15:50The NBA Hall of Fame, while I am a huge fan, and I adore it, and I appreciate the fact
15:54that you and a number of your colleagues are contributors in the Hall, it's not like the
15:59NBA Hall of Fame is that hard to get into.
16:02So like, damn it, I would, if you can't put Dick Mata in, what the hell?
16:07No, it's just, it never comes up.
16:09I mean, sometimes I feel like I'm the last one who remembers him or something.
16:12Yeah, I don't get it.
16:13Because I remember when he won the title.
16:14I mean, that was, I mean, if you win, if you coach in the NBA and you win an NBA title,
16:19I don't see how you don't get in the NBA Hall of Fame.
16:21I'm sorry.
16:22I just, I don't get it.
16:23He-
16:24Or the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
16:25Yeah, he had a good long run, he was terrific.
16:29But I just feel bad about it, because I just think he was special in his own way, very
16:36much so.
16:37Yeah, he was a fun guy to talk to, fun guy to hang out with, you know, and he was, but
16:43I just, you know, would hope something could happen while he's around, and he's still around,
16:50he's 93.
16:51But I can't stress how unusually, how specific those Bulls teams were, how much, how interesting
16:58it was.
16:59Every night, and by the way, Sloan and Van Leer, I continue to insist, the toughest backcourt
17:06I've ever seen in the NBA, the two of them together.
17:09And Jerry Sloan was fascinating, because he did both.
17:14He was a master flopper, and a guy willing to stand in front of a Mack truck.
17:19He'd do both.
17:20You couldn't win with him, because he would take the charge, he would charge better than
17:23anybody.
17:24You didn't know which one you were going to get.
17:26No, Sloan was great, one of the great characters in the league.
17:29All right, Bob, go for a swim in the lake behind you.
17:34Bob Ryan, Gary Tanguay, brought to you by PrizePix, the exclusive Daily Fantasy partner
17:38of the CLNS Media Network.
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17:41Special thanks to the Dan Smith Studios for helping us out today.
17:45Bob, we'll talk to you next week.
17:46Take good care.