• 2 days ago
Transcript
00:00Uh, Anthony Slater, The Athletic, joining us on the River Islands guest line.
00:04Hey, Anthony, what's going on, man?
00:05How you doing?
00:06What is up, fellas?
00:07How are you?
00:08Uh, we're good, man.
00:09What's the, uh, what's the cominga scoop?
00:11When do you think we're going to see him?
00:14Mid to late road trip would be my tentative guess.
00:17It's, they're, they're being careful.
00:18Uh, you know, it was, if you want the timeline here, I'm trying to do the math, but they
00:23played Nick Friday, right?
00:24It was their first game out of the break Thursday.
00:27He did like a two-on-two.
00:28Um, and then they, they really, that was probably his really highest intensity day
00:33on the ankle.
00:34Um, they gave him Friday completely off Saturday, five-on-five scrimmage, which was a big step
00:39full contact.
00:40Um, you know, I think, I mean, they've already ruled them out of tomorrow again, like I said,
00:45I don't expect to see him to start the road trip.
00:48Um, he's getting there, uh, from what I've heard though, like, you know, some swelling
00:52as he's kind of gotten back into contact, it was a really bad ankle injury.
00:56Um, and then, you know, he's still kind of trying to get his full burst off the ankle
01:00and especially considering how he plays.
01:01I think that is important to him and to them.
01:04Is it easier for them to slow play his return and also to kind of tamp down his minutes
01:08based on the fact that they've played so well without him?
01:11Yeah.
01:12I mean, you know, you don't, it doesn't feel like you have to have them tomorrow to, you
01:17know, save your season, right?
01:19Or you don't have to have them in the next week.
01:21You don't need to rush him back and ease him in just because you got to solve something
01:25as quick as possible.
01:26I would say the only urgency is like, you know, this, it's a short runway to the playoffs.
01:31Um, and, and, and there is going to be a reintegration process of him, but I think part of the hope
01:36with, with holding him, you know, being very careful with him is that he can kind of hit
01:40the ground running.
01:41He doesn't come back feeling rusty and then maybe his game, you know, devolves into it.
01:46We've seen such streaks from him of like, you know, six games of incredible play, six
01:51games of kind of, he's out of it play.
01:52And I just think they want him to feel his best, uh, before they drop them in to a team
01:58right now, that's kind of really, you know, it's like dropping them in, into a river that's
02:02really kind of suddenly rushing with water.
02:04Uh, I think they want him to feel his best.
02:07Anthony, uh, let's get some straight talk here, man.
02:10Did you think that it was going to look like this with, uh, with Jimmy Butler?
02:14Not this good, but I mean, you know, as I was reminded plenty, especially from the front
02:20office who was very much at the front of this move, Mike Dunleavy, I would say top
02:23of the list.
02:24Like this is a really good basketball player and as long been a really good basketball
02:27player.
02:28Uh, and, um, you know, the stuff that was going on my, in Miami, which was very real
02:33and I think blame on both sides, there wasn't necessarily going to happen with the warriors
02:37because if he did come here, clearly now he's going to get some type of a, um, dollar amount
02:44of an extended contract that was going to satisfy him and a satisfied, motivated Jimmy
02:49Butler is a really good basketball player.
02:51So I was pretty confident if they had made the trade, there would be some agreement and
02:55Jimmy was going to come in happy and he was going to play really well.
02:58Now I didn't think it was, you know, going to mess it.
03:02Maybe five and one was realistic, but this has been a five and one.
03:05This looks so steady and, uh, with, with a real runway here.
03:09So I'm probably better than I thought, but, but he's not necessarily better than I thought.
03:14It seems like everyone else is better than they were at least, you know, the role guys,
03:19when you watch this team through six games, who is the biggest benefactor from the Jimmy
03:23Butler era?
03:24Yeah, I mean, we could probably go down the list, but I think, and I, he has a lot to
03:30do with it.
03:31Right.
03:32Like, like he definitely has a trickle down effect that puts people in their specific
03:34roles and when he's playing, you know, the way he has, uh, I think it helps Brandon for
03:38Jessica.
03:39I think it helps Moses.
03:40I think it helps Steph Curry.
03:41We know it helps Steph Curry, Draymond Green.
03:42I think you just see in there a reinvigorated mindset from Draymond Green.
03:46And you know, if he has that, he's a terror defensively.
03:49So, uh, it helps Steve Kerr, I think just the consolidation aspect of the trade for
03:53guys out the door, one guy in, it makes his rotation choices a lot easier.
03:56Um, but I think you kind of mentioned it within your question.
04:00Guys are playing better.
04:01Some of it isn't necessarily just Jimmy Butler related that Brandon Podjemski is like really
04:06getting gained a rhythm in his second year and turned his season around.
04:09I just think he's, uh, this is a time of the year that he's found himself.
04:12Uh, he's an unbelievable, uh, lately, you know, he's plus one Oh nine in the last six
04:17games.
04:18Uh, and again, he was, he was like the plus minus King last year, right?
04:21It was part of why he was protected this year.
04:23They were saying, look, every lineup he was in was succeeding.
04:26Uh, that didn't happen early in this season, but suddenly because he's plus one Oh nine
04:30last six games, he now leads the team again for a second straight season and plus minus.
04:33And again, I know that's like, not everybody loves that stat, but, uh, it die test backs
04:38it up.
04:39Right.
04:40Hey, you know how good he's been playing lately.
04:41And I do think that is some Butler, but I also just think like, he's just, you know,
04:44finding himself.
04:45Like I said, same with Moses Moody.
04:46Really too.
04:47Uh, glad you brought up Moody.
04:48Anthony Slater joining us here on a Willard and dibs.
04:51Let's, let's go back to the coming a factor and ask it from that standpoint, what happens
04:55to Moses Moody when Jonathan coming, uh, gets back.
04:58I think most of the way he starts at least, uh, you know, in the immediate, if it keeps
05:03going safe, correct.
05:05Like if this is a succeeding starting lineup and it's a succeeding rotation, uh, he's going
05:09to stick with it as, as best he can.
05:11Um, but that doesn't mean Moses Moody's minutes won't go down.
05:14I think they will.
05:15Cause I think coming is going to eat up all of the geese on those minutes.
05:19And then I think several of the Moses Moody minutes, um, including potentially closing.
05:24I think ideally for this team to have its highest ceiling, I think it's closing lineup
05:29on most nights is Steph Curry, Brandon Pajewski, Jonathan Kameka, Jimmy Butler, Draymond green.
05:34Uh, and that means Moses Moody's on the sideline in moments that he hasn't been lately.
05:38Um, but that doesn't have to be every night.
05:39Uh, and you know, we'll see if his spacing is so imperative to this and maybe coming
05:45is rusty and maybe that isn't the choice that season makes on every night basis.
05:50It's interesting when you think about the four with Moses and coming and I'm kind of
05:54fascinated by the five spot where Steve has already said that he's going to go with Draymond
05:59at the five a lot.
06:00But beyond that, is there a real role for Quentin post or is this just kind of a regular
06:05season experiment where when you get down to like March and April, they're going to
06:10go with more veterans?
06:11No, I mean like Quentin post is, is going to play those, uh, you know, start of the
06:16second, start of the fourth quarter minutes right now.
06:18And he's changed what three games so far, I think in the last six where Chicago, he
06:23got really hot from three and kind of ended that game Milwaukee.
06:26He did the same.
06:28And then the Sacramento game the other night, I thought he had a, you know, a really big
06:30spurt.
06:31Um, cause they're developing him.
06:33I think he matters to their pipeline.
06:34They've given him a, you know, a guaranteed contract.
06:37Uh, he's playing over Trey Jackson Davis.
06:40He provides an element they obviously don't have.
06:42So I think they're going to keep trotting him out there in the second unit, uh, spurts,
06:46which you know, gives Draymond at least, you know, nine, 10, 11 ish minutes per night where
06:51he's at the four.
06:52Uh, and then as far as your question, you know, come, come April, it's going to be dependent
06:57on, um, Quentin post, you know, they, they started them against the thunder.
07:00For example, when the thunder came in and the thunder smartly, cause that's what they
07:04are as an organization, put Jalen Williams on him to put heart and sign on.
07:08I think it was Gary Payton.
07:09I can't remember exactly who was starting that night, but you know, they put a wing
07:12on Quentin post.
07:13He couldn't dribble.
07:14He couldn't operate near Jalen Williams.
07:16They were getting killed in his minutes.
07:18SGA was dragging them into every action.
07:21He was dropping too far back in SGA.
07:23Y'all remember that first quarter for Jacob?
07:25Yeah.
07:26That was very quick.
07:27Very cool.
07:28That was very Quentin post related, especially early in that game.
07:30Um, so if you see that and you get the thunder in a playoff series, I, I believe it's probably
07:35going to be very hard to have a rookie center like that on the floor, but I think they're
07:38going to give them every opportunity to show he's improving.
07:41Cause I've seen some defensive improvement.
07:43He's every time I walk in a shoot around, he's sitting over there with Terry Stocks,
07:47breaking down film or a last night I saw him talking to Zaza Pachulia, like he's mentioned
07:51how many times he talks to Zaza about, you know, being a kind of a slower footed, big
07:56in the league and kind of how to operate in that sense.
07:58So I, they love his makeup and I think they want to see him grow.
08:03Um, but I do think they are going to have a quick trigger with him in the class, especially
08:07against pick and roll guards.
08:09You know, they didn't start them against Milwaukee, they said, because they were afraid to have
08:13them on the floor with Damien Lillard.
08:14And that's why I do think you're seeing him at the start of the second, start of the fourth
08:17quarters, because that's usually when a star score from the other team is not on the floor.
08:22Anthony, just because you're around the team so much, I wonder how you would put this into
08:26words, because everyone can see better vibes, but like, how would you compare just being
08:31around the team two weeks ago versus now?
08:34I mean, there's a level of confidence that they're winning, you know?
08:37I mean, like if I want to get good content and have good conversations post game and
08:44generally get good access, it's easier when they're winning because they're in a better
08:47mood and they're more willing to talk, right?
08:49It's not a solemn, uh, environment.
08:52And there was like, when they won the season, like it was a happy environment, you know,
08:57everybody, but they just, how many, for how many months were they, you know, winning two
09:01out of every six or seven games?
09:04I mean, there was a long stretch where they were as bad as like the Brooklyn Nets and
09:07the Toronto Raptors.
09:08And like, it does not matter the type of guys you have in that locker room.
09:12You're just not going to be a happy NBA team.
09:15And it wasn't infighting.
09:16It wasn't some hidden, you know, behind the scenes issue or punch or this or that, that
09:21we didn't report on.
09:22It was just like a kind of, you know, fading, uh, you know, unconfident team, right?
09:28How many times did you hear crisis of confidence or something, you know, that elk from Steve
09:31Kerr, that's what it was.
09:33And this Jimmy Butler thing, he just brings in winning.
09:36They've won their, you know, five out of the six locker rooms I've been in post game with
09:41Jimmy Butler.
09:42It's been a really happy locker room, um, mostly because they just dominated the opponent
09:46or, you know, won a game that they shouldn't there.
09:49And I just, it's not only the fact that they won on that given night, but as Draymond has
09:54voiced plenty of times, it's this belief that like, Oh, now we can go make a playoff run.
09:58And that just changes.
09:59Like everybody's getting more credit.
10:01Everybody's getting more, uh, you know, praise.
10:04Um, we stopped looking at some of the blemishes on the roster.
10:06We start talking about how, what a move by Joe Lake, uh, you know, or, you know, how
10:11willing he is to pay him and Mike Dunleavy made the right move.
10:13And now Steve Kerr is pushing the right buttons.
10:15It's just winning makes everybody happier.
10:17So the vibes are better.
10:19And the vibes will continue to be better as long as they keep winning.
10:22And Anthony, I can't help but wonder where you think the ceiling is for the regular season
10:27because they're up to nine and they're one and a half games out of the six and the five
10:31feels like maybe it's a stretch with your five games back with 25 to go.
10:36But do you look at a path where they could get past the Clippers and get to six?
10:40Yeah, for sure.
10:41Cause you just look at the teams like right now, the Clippers are about to play in an
10:44hour or whatever.
10:45I think less than that in Detroit, second night of a back to back.
10:49No Kawhi, no Norman Powell.
10:50They lost last night in Indy.
10:51They're kind of in a, in a tailspin of like I'm starting one, it seems, especially from
10:55a health perspective.
10:56Um, if they lose tonight, which they're not favored, uh, they have two Lakers games coming
11:01up like they're, they can very easily if the, by the way, the Warriors are about to play
11:04the Hornets, uh, twice in the next three games, the magic, the nets, like to me by middle
11:10of next week, the Warriors could be up at the six or up at the five.
11:14Oh yeah.
11:15Six.
11:16You know, elsewhere in that bracket, Timberwolves lost last night.
11:19They're at Oklahoma city on the second, I have back to back tonight, you know, Warriors
11:22can be tied with the Timberwolves by the end of tonight, a Mavericks, another team, they're
11:26not going to have a center for, for basically how long, I mean, the Warriors just blew them
11:30out.
11:31They could be tied with them by, by the end of this week.
11:33Let's look below the Warriors, the Kings, their nose diving, the Suns, their nose diving,
11:37the Spurs, no Wimby.
11:39I think the Warriors are the favorite for the six at this point.
11:42And, and I would say maybe the Clippers would be equal to them depending on how their health
11:47goes.
11:48That's a big statement.
11:49You're listening to 95, seven, the game KGM, ZFM and HD one, San Francisco, an odyssey
11:53sports station.
11:54Always live on the free odyssey app, Twitch and YouTube powered by first NorCal credit
11:57union for a low rate auto loan apply online or just ask for first NorCal financing at
12:01the dealer.
12:02We're giving away a Jimmy Butler Jersey.
12:03More on that in just a few standby, because it's going to be this hour, Anthony, if I
12:07took away health, what's the biggest concern?
12:12Offense.
12:13I think scoring at the rim, uh, you saw in that Dallas game that they did a lot of lose.
12:19I'm talking about the one at Dallas, um, probably miss eight, you know, uh, shots at the rim
12:24in the first half.
12:25So the spacing is still not ideal for a 2025 team.
12:28Uh, and then I just still think against really good defensive teams that, that scheme well
12:35and force them into more uncomfortable spots where it's going to be a lot of like Draymond
12:39trying to hit floaters and Jimmy Butler, as great as he's been, you know, you gotta see
12:43his offense gets that next level and he's shown it.
12:45They probably will, but his field doesn't seem to be there from three, even from the
12:49mid range or even, you know, on layups, he, I keep seeing him get mad at himself when
12:53he's missing down there.
12:54So to me, biggest concern is just like, can they score enough against the best defenses?
12:59And if you were looking at possible matchups, which team then would be the most difficult
13:03one for them considering how good they are defensively?
13:06I mean, I think the Thunder is awesome.
13:09I mean, I think they're the best team in the West.
13:10I understand some of the skepticism and, you know, I covered their, their second round
13:14series loss to the Mavericks, uh, last year where to me, like Jalen Williams and Shet
13:18Holmgren just weren't ready to be number two type scorers against, you know, a Luka Kyrie
13:23team, but they probably should have won that series anyways.
13:25They almost did.
13:26They, they had game five at home that they kind of kicked away.
13:29They should have won game six in Dallas.
13:30So, and that was a young Thunder team that was like trying to fit Josh Gideon and he
13:34was a massive negative in that series.
13:36All they've done is replace him with Alex Caruso.
13:38They've signed Isaiah Hardenstein, Jalen Williams has leaped into an all-star, Chet Holmgren
13:43is now coming back.
13:44They're healthy.
13:45Shea Gildess Alexander's taking this game into another stratosphere.
13:47Like I think they're like monster favorites in the West.
13:51Uh, and so I don't get as the doubt that I think is kind of out there if you're going
13:56beyond that.
13:57And we're just talking first round, because if the Warriors get up to six, like who would
14:00you want at three or who don't you want at three?
14:02I probably, yeah, I'd probably say you don't want Denver just cause of the Jokic.
14:07And they have been playing a lot better over the course of the last couple of months.
14:11And then the other one's steaming up to three, like you want the Lakers in the first round.
14:14I mean, it's Luka and LeBron, that's a concern, but they're thin beyond that particular center.
14:19Uh, those are the two I would probably say you, you would rather have a Memphis or rather
14:24have a Houston.
14:25The, the Lakers matchup for the Warriors has obviously been a difficult one, but it, it
14:30often has felt that way because Anthony Davis would get dominant against the Warriors.
14:36So yeah, I'm, I'm, I want to go deeper into that.
14:39Like are the Lakers still a bad matchup for the Warriors or no?
14:43Yeah.
14:44The only thing that would make me say yes is because like Luka Doncic motivated potentially
14:50now and like you saw him the other night against Denver and if he like gets himself in this
14:53like killer mode, which most people that know him know that that kind of is how he
14:57operates when he's like, you know, doubted, uh, I'd be concerned about what he may look
15:02like come mid April.
15:04And while he may have like Mavericks blood in his eyes, if the Warriors are the team
15:07in front of him, uh, you know, he's really hard to beat in the playoff series and the
15:11Warriors have done it before.
15:12Um, but he's also going to have LeBron James next time.
15:15So like, you know, theoretically you're going into that series potentially, you know, you
15:19have staff and now Jimmy Butler, like it's intriguing, like two versus two star type
15:23thing.
15:24But, uh, that's, that's kind of that series, by the way, would start in LA number one and
15:29two.
15:30If it's a six, three series, that would mean the Lakers had a really good final month,
15:33right?
15:34If they get a three seed.
15:35So that would also be of concern.
15:36Yeah, no, that's fair.
15:37All right, Anthony, you didn't have vacation plans in may.
15:40Did you?
15:41Oh, well, you know, I'd probably, my, yeah, I did.
15:44My plans were to go cover the thunder in the second round again because the Warriors are
15:47going to be out.
15:48My thought is maybe now I'll just cover Thunder Warriors, you know, and say, yeah, two birds,
15:55one stone.
15:56I get it.
15:57Perfect.
15:58All right.
15:59Slates.
16:00Thanks, man.
16:01All right.
16:02There he goes.