Page 16 of 21

Josh Baumgard: Miami Heat’s Justise Winslow “Is the Key to the Whole Season”

October 25, 2016 / Joshua Fischman / 0 Comments

Expectations for 20-year-old forward Justise Winslow are soaring. Can he live up to them in 2016-17 (Erik Drost/Creative Commons)?

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In the first team-focused interview of the season, Slice Miami’s Josh Baumgard makes On the NBA Beat history by becoming the first guest to appear three times, and the third time was certainly a charm (as were the first two). In this Miami Heat-themed episode, he gushes about the monstrous numbers Hassan Whiteside has the potential to post as the focal point of Miami’s offense. Baumgard also waxes nostalgic and practical about the ramifications of Dwyane Wade’s departure after 13 seasons as the franchise cornerstone. Plus, along with a range of other timely topics, he explains how Miami’s already stout defense can be even stronger this upcoming season. Scan some scorching excerpts below:

2:58-3:10 As the episode title suggests, second-year wing Justise Winslow will make or break Miami’s season, according to Baumgard: “I think he’s the key to the whole season. I think he’s the difference between whether they’re gonna be a 35-win team or a 45-win team. You’ve got to see some offensive improvement out of him, and I think with the increased role he’s ready for it.”

5:50-6:22 “That’s gonna be huge, because if he can develop a consistent jump shot, the defense is gonna play closer to him; that’s gonna open up driving lanes. And as we saw in the preseason, he’s a pretty good ball handler and he’s a very underrated passer. I think he can find guys in the corner for those open 3s, so, again, I think it goes back to Winslow. If he’s able to create some offense behind Goran Dragic, it’s gonna ease the burden on them scoring, because they’re likely not gonna be a great offensive team, but if they’re at least better than average, I think that bodes really well for their playoff chances.” Continue reading

Previewing the 2016-17 NBA Season With James Herbert

October 19, 2016 / Loren Chen / 0 Comments

James Herbert picked the rise of the Utah Jazz as his most compelling storyline of the NBA season (sixersphotos/Flickr).

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On this episode, James Herbert, NBA writer at CBSSports.com, joins the show to run through the most compelling storylines for the fast approaching 2016-17 NBA season. After an offseason filled with ample player movement and coaching changes, James helps us navigate the new landscape of the NBA, including which teams he thinks improved their chances and which he believes regressed. He also opines on possible breakout players, gives his season award predictions and offers his thoughts on the increasing social activism among NBA players and in professional sports in general.

1:40-4:38 Herbert is very high on the Utah Jazz’s prospects for the season. Here’s a taste:

“I just think they’re gonna be a monster this year. I think a lot of people really expected them to be that breakout team last year — some thought it would even happen the year before, they’d make it to the playoffs — but I think this is really the year that it’s going to happen. They should have been a playoff team last year. They just barely missed out, and that was when they didn’t really have a point guard for the whole season…so I’m a bit more bullish on them than I think even most NBA hipsters are…I think they’re seen as this big team, this enormous team that plays power basketball because of [Derrick] Favors and [Rudy] Gobert, but they can put Trey Lyles and Boris Diaw there as their frontcourt with their bench unit, and they can match up with small teams too. I think it’s really about versatility in the modern NBA, not just going small, and the Jazz have the pieces to play pretty much any way.”

11:03-11:50 Like many analysts, Herbert sees a significant drop-off after the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors. Here’s what he had to say concerning the near-inevitability of another Cavs-Warriors Finals: Continue reading

Welcome Back: Season 1 Highlights, Season 2 Preview

October 18, 2016 / Joshua Fischman / 0 Comments

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After 54 episodes of On the NBA Beat and an offseason hiatus, the show is back in advance of the 2016-17 campaign. In addition to briefly discussing the first three interviews of Season 2, Aaron and Loren recap the highlights of Season 1.

Among those highlights, Andy Liu’s “The Warriors Are ‘Cocky as Hell'” (Dec. 2, 2015) was the most downloaded episode of the inaugural season. Andy was one of three guests to appear multiple times last season. Lang Whitaker (Episodes 6a and 34a) and Josh Baumgard (Episodes 18a and 32a) were the others, each coming on to dispense insight during the regular season as well as the playoffs. Rounding out the podcast’s top five (determined by Podbean downloads), there was Michael Levin (31a), Frank Madden (26a), Joseph Casciaro/Ben Gibson (33a) and Holly MacKenzie (15a). When breaking it down by state, California, New York and Massachusetts led the way, while Canada, Australia and the U.K. led countries other than the United States.

Music: “Who Likes to Party?” by Kevin MacLeod

Sam Vecenie: Celtics Should’ve “Taken Kris Dunn and Continued to Negotiate With Bulls, 76ers”

June 28, 2016 / Loren Chen / 0 Comments

The New Orleans Pelicans selected Buddy Hield with the 6th overall pick of the 2016 NBA Draft. (christopherm01/Flickr)

Vecenie likes Oklahoma Sooner Buddy Hield’s potential but sees specific room for growth with the No. 6 overall pick (christopherm01/Flickr).

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The knowledgeable and passionate Sam Vecenie of CBS Sports checks in to review the 2016 NBA Draft. He discusses the uniquely unpredictable nature of the picks, No. 1 overall selection Ben Simmons, Buddy Hield’s pairing with Anthony Davis in New Orleans, the under-appreciated Malcolm Brogdon and so much more.

6:28-7:02: “All of those players [within the four respective tiers] were essentially interchangeable. That got difficult. This draft was so unpredictable. I don’t even know how it even got to where it got to. I don’t know how we ended up with Giorgios Papagiannis going 13th overall, Thon Maker going 10th overall. There were so many surprises, even going outside of the tier ranking system. There were just so many shockers. Guershon Yabusele at 16. It was a weird night.”

9:28-10:59: “(Drafting and stashing) certainly shook up the first round in a lot of ways. The thing with all these international kids is that none of them really wanted to be stashed outside of a few of them. So, basically, the reason you saw (Guerschon) Yabusele go 16 – he’s willing to be stashed in all likelihood…The factor that all of these teams had multiple picks, and the factor that everyone kind of thinks this draft sucks in terms of domestic prospects made teams going into this uncertain free agency period want to say, ‘OK, we want to keep our rosters as clean as possible and have as few of these guys over here now as possible,’ so I think that that’s where you saw quite a few stashes come into play.”

Marina Mangiaracina: Thunder “Need Roberson Out There to Stop Klay” in Game 7 vs. Warriors

May 30, 2016 / Joshua Fischman / 0 Comments

Foul trouble limited Andre Roberson to 29 minutes in Game 6, as Klay Thompson erupted for 41 points (Erik Drost/Creative Commons).

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Despite Oklahoma City’s Game 6 collapse and squandering of a 3-1 series lead, Welcome to Loud City‘s Marina Mangiaracina explains why the Thunder stand a legitimate chance of upsetting the mighty Golden State Warriors in a decisive Game 7. Her prescription? Lots of minor adjustments, which include extra shots for Dion Waiters and Serge Ibaka, smarter defensive switching and Andre Roberson logging more court time to help counteract Klay Thompson’s explosive scoring. Below are some noteworthy excerpts:

1:59 –2:26: “I think the No. 1 key is getting more shots for Serge Ibaka and Dion Waiters. Waiters had about the same amount of shots (in Game 6) – five or six – that (Andre) Roberson and (Steven) Adams had, and given his offensive abilities, it’s an embarrassment that he’s getting so few opportunities…(Kevin) Durant and (Russell) Westbrook were just taking too many bad shots. When you move the ball around more, it helps out.” Continue reading

Andy Liu: Warriors Should “Put Draymond Green at Center, Speed Everything Up” vs. Thunder

May 18, 2016 / Joshua Fischman / 0 Comments

Andy Liu advocates for more use of the small ball that got the Warriors this far to begin with (Keith Allison/Creative Commons).

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The mighty, 73-win, defending champion Golden State Warriors squandered a 13-point halftime lead, as the Oklahoma City Thunder stole Game 1 at Oracle Arena Monday night. While Golden State of Mind‘s Andy Liu admits the Thunder are playing their strongest basketball at the most ideal time, he believes the Warriors and Stephen Curry will have enough to get through to the Finals. He does, however, express concern over the MVP’s health, Golden State’s shot selection and which coach is currently doing the better job. Entertaining, informative segments have been transcribed below:

1:46-3:22: “They (the Warriors) should probably panic – like a controlled panic obviously. We don’t want (head coach) Steve Kerr to suddenly start making wholesale schematic changes. It’s not like they lost by 30… If Steph was 100 percent healthy, I think that he would’ve bailed them out last night, which would’ve been fine, but moving forward I don’t think he’s gonna get to 100 percent for the rest of the playoffs. So it’s a matter of ‘Can he play at 80, 85 percent and still carry this offense when it counts throughout the rest of the series?’”

4:30-4:49: “It’s just a matter of ‘How are they going to do it (start strong) again in Game 2, and then when OKC comes back and hits them, are they gonna lose composure again?’ You would believe that a championship team like this wouldn’t lose composure like that again, but, hey, OKC’s already done this to the Spurs three straight games; that was super-impressive.” Continue reading

The Hawks’ Tall Task Against the Cavaliers Featuring Lang Whitaker, Jacob Rosen

May 4, 2016 / Loren Chen / 0 Comments

Jeff Teague, a possible x-factor for the Hawks in this series, struggled with his shooting in Game 1 against the Cavaliers. (Keith Allison/Wikimedia Commons)

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Although the Hawks put a mighty scare into the Cavaliers after storming all the way back from 18 down, Cleveland ultimately hung on to take the series opener. In a tantalizing rematch of last year’s Eastern Conference Finals, our crack guests lead us through this iteration’s nuances. Checking in for the Hawks is Atlanta sports expert and NBA.com writer and podcaster Lang Whitaker. And out of Akron, Ohio, we have Jacob Rosen, who’s an MBA student at the University of Oregon’s Warsaw Sports Marketing Center. Rosen’s also a longtime sports analytics writer for Hardwood Paroxysm, Nylon Calculus and Waiting for Next Year. Excerpts below:

Lang Whitaker (5:07-5:23): “[Kent] Bazemore’s a little bit more dynamic offensively than DeMarre [Carroll] was last year. There’s that saying ‘The best defense is a good offense.’ I think if you make LeBron work a little bit harder on that end, maybe that helps you in the long run as well.”

LW (5:25-5:45): “[Coach Mike] Budenholzer was trying a lot of different things. He had one lineup where Paul Millsap was playing center, where he went really small. I think he has a little more versatility with [Thabo] Sefolosha being healthy. He can go to these lineups where there’s two or three small forwards in there at the same time.”

How Do Raptors Overcome “Ghosts of Playoffs Past” With Joseph Casciaro, Ben Gibson

April 26, 2016 / Loren Chen / 0 Comments

Both experts agree that Paul George has been the key for the Pacers, both offensively and in limiting DeMar DeRozan on defense. (joshuak8/Flickr)

Both experts agree that Paul George has been key for the Pacers, both offensively and in limiting DeMar DeRozan on defense. (joshuak8/Flickr)

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With the Toronto Raptors and Indiana Pacers deadlocked at two games apiece, there’s no shortage of anxiety for the Raptors and their fan base. And it’s only natural for a franchise that has struggled mightily in recent postseason play. Paul George’s stifling defense and explosive offense have certainly not made life easy for the No. 2 seed. However, both our guests, The Score’s Lead Basketball Editor, Joseph Casciaro, and Ben Gibson, Assistant Editor for Pacers blog 8 Points, 9 Seconds, agree that the Raptors will emerge victorious and go on to explain why. Delectable excerpts can be found below:

Joseph Casciaro (2:14-2:37): “They’ve gotta to get something from DeMar DeRozan, because right now they’re literally getting nothing. He’s been awful offensively; Paul George has dominated him on that end with his defense. The other thing, too, is DeMar’s been very inattentive on the defensive end. He’s never been a great defender. He’s not the kind of guy that you’re gonna put on the opposing team’s best player, but he’s also not usually this bad, and he’s just been atrocious on both ends of the floor.”

JC (2:54-3:29): “I think, even outside of DeMar, this team can win with DeMar not playing well if they’re generating good looks for everyone else, if they’re moving the ball…As much as the ghosts of playoffs past haunt this team, I just think they’re such a better team than the Pacers that at some point in this series it has to show, and I think it will over the next couple games.”

How Hornets Bounce Back Against Heat, Featuring Josh Baumgard & Nick Denning

April 20, 2016 / Joshua Fischman / 0 Comments

Even though his game has seen better days, both guests believe Al Jefferson’s play will be critical for Charlotte (Keith Allison/Creative Commons).

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Coming off a Game 1 shellacking, the Charlotte Hornets could really use a Game 2 upset against the talented Miami Heat, who are clicking on all cylinders. Nick Denning, writer for SB Nation’s At the Hive and managing editor of The Lottery Mafia, discusses, from the Hornets’ perspective, what needs to be done to make it a competitive series. But first, Josh Baumgard of Slice Miami handles the Heat side of things.

Josh Baumgard (4:15-4:34): “I think they’re really gonna come at (Hassan) Whiteside. They know he has a tendency to let his temper flare. I think you’re gonna see next game Jefferson’s gonna pound him. They might even bring (Tyler) Hansbrough in for a little longer, just to kind of be that goon, because we all know he can get under players’ skin.”

JB (5:48-6:13): “I think the Heat are a better team. I think they’ve got more firepower in the playoffs. They’ve got multiple guys who create. And as long as these guys play together, which they have. As long as Dwyane Wade doesn’t try to be the man, which he’s an unselfish guy (who) buys into the team aspect. As long as he tries to not do too much hero ball and they’re moving the ball, that’s the key with them. When they’re moving the ball and they’re playing hard defense, they can pretty much hang with anybody, at least in the Eastern Conference.” Continue reading

Michael Levin: Sixers’ Jerry Colangelo “Emerged as a Tremendous Snake”

April 15, 2016 / Loren Chen / 0 Comments

Michael Levin, during the live broadcast of last year’s Liberty Ballers NBA Draft Lottery party.

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A flurry of activity surrounded the Philadelphia 76ers front office during the final week of the regular season, beginning with the resignation of GM Sam Hinkie, a figure beloved by some and misunderstood and hated by others. Michael Levin, editor of SB Nation’s Liberty Ballers and co-host of the Sixers podcast “The Rights to Ricky Sanchez,” joins us to discuss the trials and tribulations of covering the Sixers during Hinkie’s tenure and why throughout the unprecedented amount of losing, he still trusted the process and remained optimistic about the future. Now that former chairman Jerry Colangelo has installed his son, Bryan Colangelo, as the new GM and President of Basketball Operations before stepping down himself, who knows what that future may hold for Philadelphia? Choice excerpts below:

1:40-1:50 on Sam Hinkie’s 13-page resignation letter:

“I could have done with 13 more pages. I would have liked 50. I would have liked a novel.”

3:55-4:25 on why diehard Sixers fans were so accepting of Hinkie’s “process”:

“It’s what we wanted for years and years and years because the foundation they were building on for so long was flawed and faulty and totally capped: at best, a scrappy playoff team that would win maybe a round, and at worst just a terrible team. We all were very excited when Hinkie came in. We’ve been very supportive of the process… we never really lost a tremendous amount of faith.”

On The NBA Beat

Page 16 of 21

Josh Baumgard: Miami Heat’s Justise Winslow “Is the Key to the Whole Season”

Previewing the 2016-17 NBA Season With James Herbert

Welcome Back: Season 1 Highlights, Season 2 Preview

Sam Vecenie: Celtics Should’ve “Taken Kris Dunn and Continued to Negotiate With Bulls, 76ers”

Marina Mangiaracina: Thunder “Need Roberson Out There to Stop Klay” in Game 7 vs. Warriors

Andy Liu: Warriors Should “Put Draymond Green at Center, Speed Everything Up” vs. Thunder

The Hawks’ Tall Task Against the Cavaliers Featuring Lang Whitaker, Jacob Rosen

How Do Raptors Overcome “Ghosts of Playoffs Past” With Joseph Casciaro, Ben Gibson

How Hornets Bounce Back Against Heat, Featuring Josh Baumgard & Nick Denning

Michael Levin: Sixers’ Jerry Colangelo “Emerged as a Tremendous Snake”

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