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NBA is coming up! (Say your prayers for Keyontae Johnson)
11 Plays1 year ago
Eli talks how much Keyontae Johnson means to the Florida organization. Then, he talks about who he thinks will make the NBA playoffs.
December 16, 2020
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Transcript
Introduction & Keyontae Johnson Update
00:00:00
Speaker
Hello welcome to the 17th episode of ELS studio sports Today we will be going over the NBA's The teams that I think will be in the playoffs before we get started with that um I want to talk about a big story that's been going around college basketball Chianti Johnson one of the best players in my opinion in all of college basketball He was having a great year before um the for what happened in the game against Florida State. And his work ethic, it's unbelievable.
00:00:40
Speaker
It's inspired lots of people. And I mean, he was a great leader for that Florida basketball team. And he meant a lot to this Florida basketball team, provided a lot of points for them. And score he got a lot of rebounds, he could block shots. so If you can, send say your prayers for Kiante Johnson that he's OK and that hopefully he'll be able to play basketball um sooner rather than later so.
Eastern Conference Predictions Part 1
00:01:11
Speaker
um So now we're going to go over the NBA. um The teams that I think will make the playoffs and the teams that could easily miss out so. I think we're going to start off with the Eastern Conference so.
00:01:29
Speaker
ah Number one, I've got the Bucks Giannis Middleton I mean that's a big duo to all-stars right there and a potential all-star in my opinion in Drew Holliday can easily help the team out and then you got you know DJ Augustine and Brooke Lopez helping the party out and if you didn't if you can remember Brooke not burlippa sorry Bobby Portis was he's also a decent backup center that can easily help the team and I know he's not great. um He wasn't doing great with the Knicks last year, but he could tell, you know, it's going to make it small difference on the team. So. At number two, we have the Brooklyn Nets. So they, as most people know, got Kevin Durant and Tyree Irving um a couple off seasons ago, and I think ah these two players have not played together, but.
00:02:26
Speaker
They won their first preseason game against the Wizards, although didn't mean too much since the Wizards didn't have um Bradley Beal or um Russell Westbrook, but you know, they won the game. um They still have ah a big team behind them. They didn't have Carousel invert with them and um They have Spencer Dinwiddie. He's been playing great. And then, uh, Joe Harris, former three-point contest champion, um, Dinwiddie, um, don't forget was a former skills challenge champion. Then you have Jared Allen right next to them, you know, blocking shots and he block LeBron James's dunks before. So, you know, it can't underestimate this Nets team. It's good.
Eastern Conference Predictions Part 2
00:03:12
Speaker
Number three at the Celtics. um A lot of teams like what they've done the past few years. No championships, though, since 2008, so. But they have a nice point guard duo with Kemba Walker and Marcus Smart. You know, the defense is coming from Marcus Smart, even though he's a point guard. He's probably the best defensive point guard in the league. If not, then then he's second behind Patrick Beverly. He's such a great defensive point guard. Then you have Jason Tatum and Jaylen Brown, the young duo.
00:03:45
Speaker
They are great defensive young duo add with the offense. I could easily compare Jason Tatum to Keontae Johnson. I think those two can compare well. um I think um I would compare Jaylen Brown to I think he's kind of like a Drew Holiday in my opinion. I know they have a little bit of a different style, but I think they're a little bit alike. And then you have Jeff T coming off the bench, a great third point guard, maybe the best third point guard in the league. And then you have Tristan Thompson, a decent backup center that can rebound well and block decently. Number four, I've got the Miami Heat.
00:04:23
Speaker
And this is a good team, you know, we've seen it. They made the NBA finals and took six against the number one seed in the West. And they have a great and a great all-star duo in Jimmy Butler and Bam out of bio. So it's not like they don't have anyone and they're barely made it. No. And then you have Goran Dragic and Avery Bradley. That's a decent.
00:04:46
Speaker
you know, point guard duo. And then you also have the young trio, the young shooting trio in Kendrick Nunn, Tyler Hero and Duncan Robinson. That's, that's a great trio, especially on the shooting end. So, you know, high hopes for this heaped teen.
00:05:03
Speaker
Number five, we've got the Hawks. They've had a great offseason so far, you know, getting Bogdan Bogdanovich and Danilo Gallinari. So I know people are saying these guys and are not going to help, but I think they're going to make a big difference on the Hawks performance this year. um they Those two made big big impacts on their teams last year. And then you have Trey Young, John Collins, Clint Capella also on that team. And then you add Kevin Werder, great sixth man.
Western Conference Predictions Part 1
00:05:36
Speaker
So I like the way this Hawks team is going. Number six, we got the Philadelphia 76ers. All right. They have the young duo in Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid. They've got the shooting in Danny Green and Seth Curry.
00:05:53
Speaker
and actually Tobias Harris too, they have the defense in Dwight Howard. So they have a decent team, but the defense is just, you know, they have Dwight Howard. Sometimes Joel Embiid can be good, but I mean, they just don't have enough defense. That's the problem. You you can talk to Brad Stevens. You can talk to Brad Stevens and all those all those coaches from the good defensive teams.
00:06:22
Speaker
They know that the defense helps you win games. If you don't have it, you could lose some games that could make or break your season. At the seventh seed, I know this seems a little bit low for such a great duo, but we have the Washington Wizards. I mean, come on, they got Westbrook and Beal. That's crazy. I know John Law and Bradley Beal had a big relationship over there in Washington, but this duo is insane.
00:06:52
Speaker
Then you add Davis Bretons, former three-point contest finalists. Then you have the power in Thomas Bryant and Ruby Hachimura. Then you have toy Troy Brown and Ish Smith coming off the bench and, you know, playing a decent role for the team. So I like the way that I like the direction in which this Washington team is going. Unfortunately for them, I don't think they're having a championship season. and Anytime in the next five years, but if they can you know build the team to being a good team They need to take these few seasons to build off and then later get stars that want to be on a good team and come over there Number eight leave the Toronto Raptors So the last playoff team in my opinion we got Kyle Lowry and Fred van Lee at the point guard duo Then you got a great shooting guard
00:07:45
Speaker
um in Norman Powell coming off the bench, but he shouldn't be, but he is. Then you have O.G. Adanobi, a great shooter. Unfortunately for them, however, Serge Ibaka and Marc Gasol both left to the l LA teams. And then you got Aaron Baines. So he's probably your starting center, unless if you like want to play small ball and not start a center, but I don't think they're going to go that direction. So I mean, I have Aaron Baines at starting center. He's not bad. He's a great shooter.
00:08:15
Speaker
He's a great, uh, center shoot. The team that's going to miss out the, that will be the closest will definitely be the Indiana Pacers. Uh, you know, they got all the depot broad, and then you have all bubble first team member TJ Warren. Then you have to Montes, a bonus miles Turner, Jeremy lamb. I just don't think that's going to be enough. Like you saw it in the bubble. It was not enough. And it's, it just wasn't. And they didn't have a big splash and free agency like the sons.
00:08:45
Speaker
So I don't think that's gonna work out. So now we move on to the West. ah This one's actually really close, but let's
Western Conference Predictions Part 2
00:08:56
Speaker
get started. I got number one. I got the Lakers. I mean, I got the James Davis duo. And then you add another center in Montrez Harold. And you add another center in Marcus Sol. And you have a backup point guard behind LeBron.
00:09:12
Speaker
and That's not Ray John Rondo because I forgot he's on the hot snap. You sure can just absolutely blow by you and Score and then you got Kyle Kuzma who can shoot from deep and make the close shot So, you know, that's a pretty stacked team in my opinion and they saw more I didn't I'm not done and number two we have the Clippers They got another big duo with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George then you add my Marcus Morris and Uh, Patrick Beverly and Lou Williams to the equation. And you have a powerful center in Yvika Zubak. And not just that, they got Serge Ibaka in free agency, who's a great shooting center and can play the post game. So, um, that's a big team right there. I can see them at the one seed too. Number three, we have a team that last year was the seventh seed in the West. Okay. We got the Dallas Mavs. All right.
00:10:10
Speaker
You know, they swept the Milwaukee Bucks in preseason. I know preseason, you know, put in their best players, but that's promising. Means their bench is better than Milwaukee's bench. Luca Doncic and KP. Oh no. KP's out for December and in some of January. Oh, no worries. Josh Richardson.
00:10:31
Speaker
They traded Seth Curry. Every Mavericks fan's like, oh, why did you trade Seth Curry? Once you read into the articles, you say, oh wait, they got Josh Richardson. Great for them. And then you have Tim Hardaway, a great shooter, and then two great defenders in Finney Smith and Powell, and Jaylen Brunson coming off the bench and scoring some points for them. So I like what the matter the direction the Mavericks team's going. And I think with a good coach and Rick Carlisle can all go any good way. Number four, we have the Houston Rockets.
00:11:01
Speaker
um So they have a great trio with James Harden, John Wall, and DeMarcus Cousin. Now, the reason the reason why I think they're number four, because the current roster would not get them number four, because if they're smart and they trade James Harden, they'll get enough pieces to complete an equation that can actually get them far into the playoffs. So like if you get, let's for example, he goes to Brooklyn.
00:11:28
Speaker
and they gave you Caris Lavert, let's say, and so Spencer Dunwiddie and DeAndre Jordan. That's enough to get you decently far into the playoffs. And you add Eric Gordon and PJ Tucker, so that's like, that's definitely enough to go far into the playoffs, assuming they trade James Harden.
00:11:48
Speaker
And trade him to a team where you can get enough pieces that your roster gets complete and you can make it run into the playoffs and possibly get a good record in the regular season. At number five, I have the Golden State Warriors there. They got Kelly Oubre coming back. They got him from Oklahoma City. He was traded from Phoenix to Oklahoma City in the offseason. Two days later, he was traded to the Warriors.
00:12:16
Speaker
um So decent shooting duo with curry and ooh brave and got you know, you got Damien Lee ah Andrew Wiggins Eric Pascal the rising rookie um They have a decent fender and dream on green and then you add James Wiseman to the equation on the number two overall pick It's a great dunker. I'll say that and you know, he can play the post game and he can play defense so I You know, you're adding a lot when you say the name of James Wiseman. All right. He's a great player, but watch out if you're the NBA, because you might have a rising center in the league.
Teams with Potential & Conclusion
00:12:58
Speaker
Number six, we got the Denver Nuggets. So you got you got you got Will Barton, you got Gary Harris, but two rising stars on this team.
00:13:10
Speaker
First, the least surprising one, Jamal Murray, you know, he was absolutely incredible in the playoffs, scoring like 50 points consistently against the Jazz. Then he was like going off against the Clippers and forcing that seven and then playing decently against the Lakers. So then this is the one, all bubble second team, Michael Porter Jr. Man,
00:13:38
Speaker
yeah Last the season before last he had a big injury. He was out for the season and Look at what he's done I mean come on give the dude some respect and then you add Nicola Jokic to that duo dang because this team in Denver It's pretty darn good At number seven we had the Portland Trailblazers you got dame dollars CJ McCollum and Juice of Nurkage. Great trio over there, but I'm not done. They got Melo with them. They also have Gary Trent, who's who's a breakout player in the bubble, um making a lot of threes. And you got Garrett Jones Jr. and you got rid of a bad contract with Trevor Ariza to get Robert Covington. Actually, I know ESPN says they're not gonna make the playoffs.
00:14:34
Speaker
I think the 7th seed is low for them, I know the west is always stacked, I can easily see them go ahead, the Warriors, Rockets, and Nuggets, and possibly even Mavericks, they could easily be the 3, 2, or maybe even the 1 seed. And number 8, we have the Utah Jazz, so technically the last playoff spot in the west. ah You have the Mitchell Go Bear duo. The only concern with that would be that, you know, their relationship is falling apart, but hopefully they can get over that on the court. And then you have um ah Mike Conley, and then you have Bo, not Bo dumbbo Don, Bo Bo John Bo Donavich. And he's he's a great three point shooter. He made, he's made some game winners before.
00:15:22
Speaker
You know, he can do a lot for you. And then you have Joe Ingles, who's also a decent shooter. So the ninth team in the West I had was the Phoenix Suns. They're going in the right direction. I know they got Chris Paul and Jay Crowder. They also have Dario Sarich, but the big duo out there to me is Devin Booker and DeAndre. and I know they have Chris Paul and Jay Crowder. I think the ninth team is possibly low for them.
00:15:48
Speaker
I just don't know about the West every year the Superstacks, so I don't know what's gonna happen in the West And then actually I'm gonna go with the 10 seed it was the Grizzlies And they're they're like a great 10 see they probably be the best 10 seed ever I think cuz like I Think the 11th seed in the West might even have a winning record or at least a 41 41 um So actually I meant the Tennessee being the pelicans and they're definitely I think the sons and pelicans are going to have winning records. I mean, come on. The pelicans have Eric Bledsoe, Lonzo Ball at point guard. Then you have i'm Brandon Ingram and Zion. You add Steven Adams. Yeah, Jackson. ah Jackson Hayes is rising up to be.
00:16:40
Speaker
and Justin Winslow and Titus Jones shooting great. So, you know, I like what Memphis is doing. So thank you so much for listening to Eli Studio Sports. And I remind you, please send your prayers to Keontae Johnson. Thank you so much for listening to this episode of Eli Studio Sports. See you in the next.