Pound The Rock

We check in on the increasingly moribund Pistons after a winless November, before turning our attention to the NBA Cup now that the eight-team field for the knockout stage has been set. Has the in-season tournament been a success in year one? What can or should change in the future? How do people around the league feel about it? And which matchup are we most excited about? After that, we take stock of the teams that have confused us most so far this season, including the Bucks, Clippers, Lakers, Pelicans, Cavs, Spurs, and Hawks.

We check in on the state of eight rebuilding teams around the league, assess where they're at in the present, and rank their long-term outlooks. How bleak or rosy do things look in Detroit, Washington, Portland, Houston, Utah, Orlando, San Antonio, and Oklahoma City?

We open with some thoughts on how the in-season tournament is going so far, and how it can be further legitimized, before turning our attention to some under-the-radar storylines that have caught our attention during the first three-plus weeks of the season. We hit on Tyrese Haliburton and the Pacers' historic offense, the Celtics' wacky cross-matching defense, Anthony Edwards' newfound mid-range mastery, the sorry state of the Warriors' starting lineup, the Knicks' hellacious rebounding and gargantuan possession differential, the Thunder's 3-point shooting, the Heat's 7-game win streak, and more.

How and why the Bucks, Austin Reaves and the Lakers, the Grizzlies, Julius Randle, Trae Young, and the Cavs have disappointed us, and how those teams and players can bounce back as the season rolls on. Plus, some encouraging signs from Pascal Siakam and the Raptors, Rudy Gobert and the Timberwolves, the Rockets, and the Pacers.

Don't call it an emergency pod, but we do offer our takes on the James Harden trade, breaking down what it might mean for the Clippers and Sixers. Then we go around the league and extol the players and teams that have impressed us most through the first week of the season, including the Suns' defense and depth pieces, the Nuggets' well-oiled machine, some young Pistons, a new dynamic duo in Philly, a new Russ, Cam Thomas, Luka, Chet and Wemby, LeBron, Jalen Johnson, and the enduring Warriors.

With opening week finally here, we go through 10 bold predictions - and our regular predictions, too - for the NBA's 2023-24 season.

With the new season on the horizon, we convene for one of our favourite annual traditions: picking the teams we expect to overachieve or underachieve relative to expectations in 2023-24. We explain why we're higher or lower than consensus on the Suns, Thunder, Grizzlies, Cavs, Wolves, Hawks, Knicks, Kings, and Nets.

The NBA says resting doesn't necessarily lead to healthier players, and we dive into some of the most interesting players of the coming season, including Chris Paul and Jordan Poole, Austin Reaves, Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren, Evan Mobley, Jaden McDaniels, and Scottie Barnes.

With training camps set to get underway, we start to prepare for the season by breaking down the implications of the Jrue Holiday for the Celtics, the Blazers, and the rival Bucks. Then we turn our attention to some Eastern Conference teams with less to be excited about. In short, we're bracing for whatever chaos James Harden is about to unleash on the 76ers, and struggling to understand what exactly the Raptors are doing.

Where the Bucks, Blazers, Suns - and Heat - stand after Milwaukee swooped in to acquire Damian Lillard.

Reunited to kick off Season 7 of the show and the unofficial end of summer, we unpack some news from the dregs of the offseason, including our thoughts on the new Player Participation Policy, Kelly Oubre reportedly signing with the Sixers, the ongoing Damian Lillard impasse, why the Raptors still make the most sense as a Blazers trade partner, and why Giannis decided now was the best time to start hinting at leaving the Bucks.

Pacers writer/analyst extraordinaire Caitlin Cooper (Basketball, She Wrote) joins the show to discuss the fascinating season ahead in Indiana, including how starting lineup changes might impact the team, how or if Bennedict Mathurin can take the next step, the extent to which "feel" can be learned, Myles Turner's offensive growth, the big power forward question, and how roster context can change everything for a player. Then we zoom out to explore some leaguewide stylistic trends, and talk about some ways defenses can adapt and innovate to keep up with today's explosive offenses. Subscribe to Caitlin's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/basketballshewrote/posts

TrillBroDude of the You Know Ball podcast joins the show to discuss the state of the 76ers. Has this team's championship window already closed? How will the James Harden standoff end? Will the Clippers blink first? Would Philly have been better off just giving Harden the new contract he wanted? Is Tyrese Maxey ready to step into a lead-guard role right away? Are the Sixers doing the right thing by not extending him? What might they do with the cap space they're trying to carve out for next summer? What kind of stylistic changes might be in store for the team this year? We hit on all those topics, and much more!

After a brief tangent on Jaylen Brown's record-breaking extension, the Rose Garden Report's Sean Highkin joins the show to discuss the ongoing Damian Lillard saga in Portland and Miami.

The NBA got it right when it comes to how to format an in-season tournament. Plus, we check in on Atlanta and Dallas. Are the Hawks ready to go all-in? Did Dallas improve enough to keep Luka Doncic happy?

We break down the trade requests issued by Damian Lillard and James Harden, why neither player may be able to get where he wants to go, how the Blazers are doing right by Dame no matter where they send him, why the Raptors make sense as a Lillard destination, and why returning to Philly might be the best outcome both Harden and the Sixers can hope for. Then, with the dust mostly settled on free agency, we discuss some of our favourite and least favourite deals, featuring the Lakers, Pacers, Kings, Rockets, Nuggets, Timberwolves, Raptors, Pelicans, and Suns.

On this post-draft episode, we try to figure out what Hornets GM Mitch Kupchak is trying to say, before digging into how the seven teams that made draft-day trades involving active NBA players made out. Breaking down the Celtics, Grizzlies, Wizards, Warriors, Mavericks, Kings, and Thunder.

We dive into the implications of the Suns-Wizards blockbuster, including how Beal fits in Phoenix, whether this was the best move the Suns could've made, why trading Deandre Ayton might not make sense, the challenges the Suns face in filling out the roster and fortifying their defense, a depressing rebuild ahead in Washington, the Wizards as a cautionary tale, the problem with the supermax, and more.

In this post-Finals episode, we dig into how the Nuggets won the franchise's first NBA championship and why Denver looks poised to reign supreme again, where the Heat go from here after another Finals loss in the Jimmy Butler era, and a closing note - or parting shot - on Joel Embiid.

With Cash back from Denver, we break down the first two games of the Finals, which resulted in a split after Miami's rousing Game 2 win. We hit on how the Nuggets' defense fell apart, how the Heat's offense helped make that happen, the impact of the Kevin Love adjustment, adjustments both teams can make moving forward, and much more.