NBA Power Rankings: Ja Morant's RETURN makes Grizzlies DANGEROUS | Hoops Tonight

[@samuelmiller6376]

I'm so happy just to have an hour of memphis talk

[@mzwandilencube7800]

A video based on the Grizzlies has comments complaining about the Lakers 😂😂😂 can’t even keep them out your mouths and then complain about Jason feeding the algorithm.

[@sideactivist]

this is hilarious lmao

[@lucascoelhoveloso6425]

Man, you the goat for real. One of the best videos that I saw that off-season

[@boubadiallo2757]

As a grizz fan it’s cool to see some love after last year. I knew they were really good in those 9 games but with your analysis I understood how and how much so good work man keep it up !! 👍 I have a mailbag question for you how do you think Memphis should use Edey in a matchup against Denver ? There are reasons not to play him because of the nuggets ball and player movement but you could also play him to negate jokic’s post up attack with his size and build. What do you think ? P.S : You had me crying there 44:33 cus it’s so true 😂

[@Jewdah18]

The most obvious thing is to post Edey up on Jokic and force doubles or fouls. There is nothing Jokic can do to defend Edey.

[@UkHoopz]

I think Edey can guard Joker pretty well. Obviously Jokic is going to do Jokic things but he’s not fast so edey can just keep a body on him, not let him get points in the paint atleast

[@boubadiallo2757]

@@UkHoopz Yeah Jokic is not fast but he does run a lot in transition and if he gets his jumper back that’s gonna be tough for Edey but I agree that he could guard him well + he’s gonna have JJJ behind him to help

[@UkHoopz]

@@boubadiallo2757 Joker has proven that he’s near impossible to guard. I think Edey just pure size will shut down his inside game a little. That’s all you can hope to do. You know he’s going to find passes and make tough buckets but edey can slow him down maybe 😂

[@UkHoopz]

@@boubadiallo2757 But yeah JJJ will thrive with edey in the paint. I expect another DPOY-esque season

[@RRRRRRP]

First time here, quality video mate. Will be dropping in during the season

[@KamHoopMan]

Awesome breakdowns as always

[@taylor7264]

great show nbs. one of my favorite episodes

[@KogaDevv]

Are we seriously putting the Lakers in the top 10…

[@kalenmarshall8692]

Your actually a hater and casual if you don’t think the lakers is a top 10 team.

[@waded2678]

Top 10 is only top third of the league. Not a super high bar to clear

[@JFraser426]

they record wise were tied for 12th best in the league and they were behind the pels cavs and magic who they are better than, the bucks and clippers who you could make a case for them being better than. not to mention then went 3-10 stretch that kept them back in the standings as well.

[@closite9097]

@@JFraser426you are not taking none of those teams over the lakers in a 7 game series

[@JFraser426]

@@closite9097 if u read what i said you would have seen that im supporting the lakers

[@Golden_PJ]

Love the Film Study portion of the video. Keep up the great work!

[@tylercastanedaiii5651]

As per usual another on point assessment 💯. My Top 1 NBA contest creator. More power to your channel Jason 💪💪

[@A1LlamaBoy]

Lakers in the top 10 because “AD + Lebron are top of the Top 5 best players in the league” but then scratching a the bottom of the west for a play in spot 🤡 Jason really let his fandom of Lebron get in the way of better judgement. Disappointing tbh

[@clint3868]

Putting the lakers ahead of the grizzlies isnt that crazy. Both are in the same tier of teams with good talent and big questions

[@A1LlamaBoy]

@@clint3868 it is that crazy. The decline has been apparent the last 3 years. Theyre not doing any better and not getting any more talent. What big offseason move did they make that will change the trajectory of the team???

[@clint3868]

@@A1LlamaBoycoaching change will probably help a little bit. Don’t get me wrong, the lakers aren’t contenders but neither are the grizzlies. This Grizzles group has only made the 2nd round once since 2020 and the roster changes may help but they also may hurt. Relying so much on a rookie center and a superstar recovering from injury is a serious risk. I could see both teams missing the playoffs or making it to the 2nd round

[@closite9097]

@@clint3868and last time they faced each other lakers won it 6

[@jedkyle5873]

Lakers have been a top 5 team talent wise the past 2 years. They just can't match up with the nuggets

[@carltonberry137]

regarding the grizzlies, Smart was not a starter with boston when we traded for him. Now the grizzlies don't have a proper starting three because the team wants to start smart - so undersized Bane play the Sf. Small ball with two big men in J3 & Edey. They will be a better team when Smart comes off the bench and they move guys like Kennard and Konchar and make a decision if it's a traded player, GG, LaRavia or Wells as to who will stat at SF. That will make the team stronger.

[@chrisstfort7]

Thank you for answering the question on Randle. He altered his shot diet last season taking less step backs from distance and more bully ball and kick outs. Now he has even more spacing to operate, especially if Thibs chooses to go 5 out for some stretches of a game. I believe in Julius and think it will be a redemption year. His stock has fallen way too low for an all nba player of his caliber. He was on his way to another all nba last season before he got hurt. He was miscast as a #1 option in the Hawks series, and his second best player was an old Derrick Rose. And in the Heat series he was injuries and required surgery on his ankle so his rhythm was off. If he’s healthy entering the playoffs I believe he will thrive.

[@cmac392]

Vegas has the Lakers firmly in the Warriors/Grizzlies/Heat tier pretty far behind all the teams below Anything beyond that shows Timpf's biases. I predict he will have the Lakers at #6 Here is my expectation of Timpf's preseason TOP 10 (~Vegas odds of winning) Boston (1) OKC (2) Denver (5) Minnesota (6) Dallas (7) Lakers (11) NYKnicks (4) 76ers (3) Suns (9) Bucks (8) He will claim that the Lakers would be the 2nd best team in the EC. But Vegas has the Lakers so low because they play in the WC. He was alluding to that last year when they were a play-in team that got swept out of Round 1. He can no longer underrate Boston, since they were so dominant last season. Instead, he will now bash the EC as a way of building up the LaLakers. Nothing quite like Laker delusion, it's predictable if nothing else.

[@ephraimuzorchukwuozabor836]

Lakers top 10 is outrageous big bro 😭

[@1kingzeus]

This about the Grizz let’s stay focused

[@taylor7264]

the grizzlies lineups will be fascinating this yr bc: - the defensive scheme showed on film allows them to flex their elite ball pressure but the cover-up rotations on the backside are only possible w a mobile c/pf combo. as mentioned its unlikely eady does well in that scheme. last time we saw clarke play he fit the role, but starting clarke x jjj might hurt them on the boards n a little w overall rim protection. clarke is coming off of injury too, but that style of play wrked well for okc last yr. - if they start eady next to jjj i think its more likely eady is guarding pnr actions in a drop bc jjj is much better roaming than defending the pnr. n they should have enough at the poa to force teams off the line n into inefficient 2pt looks. - if they bring eady off the bench i can see him playing the roamer n clarke defending pnrs. problem there is thats two real non shooters in the front court, which could make it tough on ja/bane when theyre commanding the 2nd unit. - the roster has a ton of interesting young guys without a lot over overlapping skillsets. it gives the grizzlies optionality to address specific weakness in certain lineups. but the question is are the young buhls solid enough ; will jenkins' system dictate which yb plays, or will the ybs force jenkins hand depending on how valid they are or arent???

[@taylor7264]

grizz remind me a lot of the pels in that they both have a lot of moving parts but also a ton of talent. high on both squads. i think its a matter of time before they both figure it out

[@Whyypreeeeeeeeee]

The Lakers should not be in the top 10 whatsoever. They had to fight each of the last 2 seasons in the play-in tournament and in 2022 they missed the playoffs entirely. I get it, the bench isn't that good, but if you were to get better players and it still doesn't work out, then what's gonna be the excuse then? If ya were to trade for a trae young or a Brandon Ingram and BOTH players don't work out well, it's gonna be on them, right? LBJ and AD are both a year older now and LBJ taking games off is not an option, but a necessity at this stage of his career. There are 7 teams in the west alone that are above the Lakers 🤷🏿‍♂️. At best, they are 16th or 17th in the league at BEST

[@rory4690]

Bet lakers will be top 6 lol (Love the video/series)

[@bkelly625]

Yup and they shouldn’t even be ahead of the Pacers lol

[@nnam2397]

@@bkelly625the Lakers have 2 superstars. Haliburton not even top 15

[@rory4690]

That being said, really excited to see Memphis this year

[@nickjones5495]

Wrong video bub ​@@rory4690

[@bkelly625]

@@nnam2397 He could be this year he played at that level first half of last season before injuries and Siakam is top 30 and their role players are way better than the Lakers

[@andrewabraham5109]

If the rockets make it back to the playoffs which they had a chance last season, what excites you about Alperen Sengun in a playoff setting and what are your concerns for Sengun in the postseason? Thanks for providing good content Jason and looking forward to more NBA analysis!

[@A1LlamaBoy]

Lakers in the top 10 is horrendous

[@williamroper5422]

Yet completely predictable

[@Shhh11.]

The Grizzlies had the most injury riddled season in NBA history... and they were still a top 10 defense.

[@esanwellington7179]

This pod is losing credibility. This lakers obsession is crazy.

[@taylor7264]

i take your point abt slomo being better in gsw's system than in min. i agree! so i understand why you talked abt him differently in the respective contexts. i still think youre underrating slomo's offensive impact. heres why: for context: you said you didnt like slomo in advantaged situations v the mavs bc they packed the paint and forced him to shoot over the top.. 1. when dallas packed the paint after already putting 2 on the ball, slomo could attack 4 on 3, meaning he had a guy open. so, esp in the non rudy minutes, he wasnt forced to shoot over the top. theoretically he always had an efficient c&s/closeout guy open. kyle n rudy are the only non-shooters in the rotation so they played together as little as possible. so obv that meant slomos minutes were somewhat capped by rudy's minutes. but kyle was great when he did play 2. EVIDENCE -->> in the wcf, kyle anderson per 36: 12ppg/5rpg/5.5apg w .6tov on 52%fg. thats almost a 6:1 ass/tov ratio! in 35.6mpg derrick white averaged 4.1apg n .8tov over the playoffs. "only" a 5:1 ass/tov ratio 3. slomo caan shoot over the top OK. he shot 46% from the midrange in the reg szn. in the playoffs he was 54% from 10-16ft. that was 23% of his shot diet - his 2nd most frequent shot below short mid-range where he only shot it 43%. the problem is he struggles v rim protection as he gets closer to the basket - shot it 40% inside 3ft in the playoffs, 15% below his already low reg szn average. but in an advantaged situation he should never have to challenge a shot blocker. some1 is open. just like draymond on the back side of a steph curry blitz.

[@taylor7264]

additional context : you said ant struggled in the mavs series bc his teammates were " defensive specialists that lacked playmaking." specifically slomo, naw, mcdaniels, rudy rudy, ofc. but "defensive specialist" is a bit unfair to the other 3. mcdaniels shot 54% from 3 on 5 attempts/game in that series. for two full szns hes been a guy that you cant just leave open from 3. n here are some of naw's numbers: reg szn per36: 12ppg/3rpg/4apg w 2.8ass/tov on 56%efg playoffs per36: 11ppg/3rpg/3.5apg w 2.5ass/tov on 47&efg those are rly good playmaking numbers for a guy in his role. slomo even more so. i dont think secondary playmaking was the wolves issue. imo it was: 1. they couldnt guard luka in pnr. mainly bc kyle anderson n naw are their only good screen navigators n neither start. kyle couldnt play when rudy played bc of the the shooting thing. n naw couldnt play much bc his shooting fell off a cliff in the playoffs overall but esp that series (18% from 3) both guys played almost 10mpg less than in that series v reg sz 2. kat couldnt hit a shot 3. ant couldnt create efficient offense inside the arc. sure ant was getting blitzed a lot but not all the time, and he often got it back after the blitz. he found a way to get almost 14 2pt fga per game. when he got his opportunities he struggled to finish at the rim v the big in drop n in help. he struggled to create from the midrange in iso. he struggled to punish the help w lobs n kick out passes - thats the playmaking improvement we want to see. its not abt him handling doubles n blitzes. i thought he did that part well enough. 4. coaching - i think finch could have played better lineups n run more 5 out actions - less pnr w ant tatum went through similar things v gsw in '22 (they couldnt stop steph in pnr, n tatum needed to take a playmaking leap n finish inside the arc better) and v miami in '23 (got the WORST 3pt variance luck o n both ends) Overall point is that ant DESERVES some criticism just like it was warranted when after the ‘22 finals w jt

[@playboi._.dj1]

not jason referencing a jxmyhighroller video in the mailbag 😭

[@cehovah]

I know you have some low key hate for my sixers and Embiid in particularly. So I am excited to see you rank them around 8 when I believe they are top 5.

[@Holdemnicely6969]

Grizzlies are deep but that GG Jackson news sucks .. I do like at the wing Vince Williams Jr how he played last year having Smart back healthy will help but at every other position they deep in

[@nickgtv_]

Lakers in the top 10 is a joke

[@nnam2397]

@@nickgtv_ lakers are better than people think but they shouldn’t be higher than 8-9

[@RWor1d]

I’m not a fan of the Lakers, but honestly who is better than the Lakers that he has listed so far? In terms of winning a championship

[@thejewishpeople1970]

@@RWor1dthe grizzlies and pacers for sure. They finished 8th in the west for a reason

[@AlmightyJagg]

@@thejewishpeople1970that’s insanity. Lakers already beat the Grizzlies in the playoffs albeit Ja was injured, but LeBron was on that messed up foot as well. Pacers are fortunate to have had an easy playoff run this year. You can’t convince me both of those teams would beat them in a playoff series

[@thejewishpeople1970]

@@AlmightyJagg and the Lakers got worse while the grizzlies added to their depth without losing anything besides a season to injury. The Lakers added a rookie and some end of bench guys to a roster that is desperate for quality nba players. To think they’ll be any better than last year off the current roster is silly. That Grizzlies team was a 2 seed playing their first playoff series with their best player hyrt

[@jeffreyvalentyn6815]

Lakers better be 10. It’s already bad enough having the Grizzlies below them, don’t make it worse

[@8345brothers]

Yeah, having the grizzlies below them is bad enough. Last time they met in the playoffs grizzlies got ousted in 6 and lost by 40 points 😂 Keep your hate towards the lakers or lebron going.

[@jeffreyvalentyn6815]

@@8345brothers yeah bro blow outs happen, am I the first one to tell you this? And losing in 6 when you’re injured isn’t that bad, now they’re a better team and healthier.

[@8345brothers]

@@jeffreyvalentyn6815 think you forgot that lebron was also hobbled that entire playoff run, most teams have to deal with injuries in april, it’s part of the game.

[@jeffreyvalentyn6815]

@@8345brothers I think you forgot that the series almost went 7 games with game 4. I don’t even care abt that series tho, my point is the Grizzlies are a much better team than in 2023 and the Lakers have not improved at all since then. If u still disagree you should actually watch the vid rather than trolling in the comments

[@Error-zg4po]

People finally talking about the Grizzlies and the comments are talking about the Lakers 😭😭

[@ptyten9718]

Mailbag question: Who do you think is the most creative offensive coach in the league?

[@andrewkraft2586]

I’m saying it now. OKC hasn’t won at all yet and should not be top 5. Top 5 are teams that have proven they can beat other top teams in the playoffs: 1. Boston 2. Dallas (hate them but they’ve earned it) 3. Wolves 4. Knicks 5. Denver

[@williamroper5422]

Suns fan?

[@SAMMIEJONESJUNIOR]

The number one luck for every team is health.

[@zhechen7372]

Ja Wick is back

[@chancebaker6042]

Wow you really never watched any of Edey or listen to any of his coaches and showed in pre season. He is way more athletic than people think and he can just really good. He is going to absolutely dominate the NBA and the best part he doesn't shoot because HE LIKE TO BE LIEK SHAQ AND JUST PUT HIS BIG GUY TO THE GROUND!!!!

[@ptyten9718]

Being more athletic than ppl think doesn't mean he's athletic enough to handle what comes with being a starting center in this league. Players are faster than they've ever been, most of em can shoot and guarding in space is crucial, I think Edey will do fairly well cause he's talented but you out your mind if you think he'll just come into the league doing Shaq shxt lol.

[@logann2619]

Go grizz!

[@tako4mvp719]

Thank you for recognizing ja’s defensive improvement. Idiots still think Trae young is just as good 😂

[@cmac392]

do people think LeBron James and Steph Curry were great in the Olympics? The competition was meh and those two barely played D. They had a phenomenal quarter of basketball but other than that they were OK in the Olympics

[@popadicm7021]

LeBron barely played D? He guarded JOKIC in 4th quarter and did an amazing job

[@ptyten9718]

Bron was mostly great throughout

[@cmac392]

@@popadicm7021 1 Quarter of defense did the trick...barely. Nice exhibition series against hoop gawds like Bojan Bogdanovich & Yabusele. A cold-shooting Joker basically carried a bunch of fringe NBA players.

[@gangstervision7266]

@@cmac392jokic wasn’t doing anything. Others hitting 3s left and right were the problem

[@Hunned1000Trill]

No way u did an hour vid on the grizzlies, and they are #11

[@ptyten9718]

They have a super interesting team and one of the most popular players in the league, not surprised at all.

[@jac23mj]

The last time the Lakers and Grizzlies and Lakers played in the playoffs, the Lakers won pretty handily. And the Lakers have gotten better since then. It’s not crazy to have them ahead of the Grizzlies. I’m not a Laker fan but yall Laker haters are just as bad as the glazers. Jason has explained why the Lakers have been a really good team in the 2024 calendar year

[@taylor7264]

adams and clarke didnt play in that series. ja also missed games n played hurt when he did play. n he was coming off a long absence in the regular season. n how did the lakers get better ?? their rotation is exactly the same except for gabe vincent who is abt as impactful as schroder who they lost. n bron is 2 yrs older jason loves blaming that 3-10 stretch on darvin ham but bron was pretty trash for his standards over that run esp defensively. go check it out. felt like he let down after the ist. jason called it b4 it happened so it couldnt have been that unexpected. i mean we've seen 4 seasons of the lakers being a play-in team or missing the playoffs completely. jason needs to take his own advice....when some1 shows you who they are over a large sample, believe them!

[@jac23mj]

@@taylor7264 the Lakers are a top 4 team regularly in the East, that term “play in” is non sensible. The west is gauntlet. They were in the ECF 2 years ago. That 3-10 stretch is a legit thing that happened. Teams have low points. You just completely skipped over the fact that they were objectively a very good team and solidly top 10 team this calendar year. I know you just saw LeBron win MVP of the Olympics less than 2 months ago. And AD is a better player now than he was during the ECF run

[@taylor7264]

@@jac23mj my brother its just a fact lakers have been in the play-in two yrs strait so they are a play-in team. n they might be a little better in the east but 7 teams in the east won at least as many games as lakers did last yr n lakers were healthier than normal. conversely cle ind n phi all had significant injuries and still won as many games or more. so i dont think they're a stamped top 4 team in the east but they prob avoid the play-in more often ecf was a fluke. grizz were hurt. dubs are also a play-in team yee the 3-10 stretch was legit. it counts! we cant just throw that section out when evaluating them. it happened bc of lebrons endurance issues. he HAS to take stretches of the season off. should be no diff this yr olympics were a short sprint of games. including the exhibition games it was less than two 7 game playoff series. bron played 20 min a night n had wayyy more help w usab v lakers. even then he averaged like 6tov/game n fatigue peaked its head out here n there agree ad has been better recently. hes still not a guy that can lead a championship offense. they still need bron to do that. bron is their greatest stregnth n bottleneck at the same time

[@OFFICIALARTBOI]

Dude Steven Adams and Brandon Clarke, BOTH CENTERS for Memphis DID NOT play in that series! Anthony Davis was at a HUGE advantage! That was the entire narrative and reason why everyone wanted Lakers to go against Memphis at that 2 matchup because they had no interior.

[@Maxx-w9b]

Stop saying Right every other sentence, please

[@theg.o.a.ttrevor6640]

😂😂😂

[@ericmmelin]

Got something better to do?

[@gersonmontoya8264]

W

[@rarered7856]

I’m reading these comments and some of yall casual need to understand the Lakers are a good team and one of the only teams with 2 all nba players. You got idiots that think that Tyrese Haliburton or Ja Morant would out play Bron and AD in a playoff series like can y’all be serious, snap out of this delusional hate.

[@mzwandilencube7800]

They not like us 😎

[@taylor7264]

bruh first of all teams arent just 2 guys. n you talmbout 2 all-nba guys like ja n jjj or siakam n haliburton arent all-nba. 13 of the the 20 teams on this list have 2 all-nba guys. thats not including gsw w steph n dray. okc n den only have 1 n are def better. i could argue cle n orl are more talented top to bottom. thats 17 teams as if not more talented as the lakers n the prob is the nba szn isnt 1 playoff series. the playoffs alone arent just 1 playoff series. lakers ceiling is 2nd round imo

[@rarered7856]

@@taylor7264 you just said 13 of the 20 teams on this list have all-nba players wtf are you talking about?? Suns and the Lakers are the only teams that have 2 players that made the all-nba team last season. KD and D book, Bron and AD. I’m talking actually facts, you are just talking nonsense 🤦🏽‍♂️

[@taylor7264]

​@@rarered7856 im talking facts too. 14 teams have 2 guys that have made all-nba teams in the past. 13 teams have 2 of those guys in their prime/still playing at a high level. you gonna act like those guys arent like that based on a technicality?? embiid was unanimous mvp b4 he got hurt missed too many games. kyrie was 26/5/5 on 50/40/90 but also didnt qualify bc he missed too many games. are they not all-nba caliber. lakers arent more talented than damn near all these teams in the top 20

[@rarered7856]

@@taylor7264 the Lakers have plenty of talent on the roster it was definitely misused we can agree on that, I agree all of not most of these teams on the list have a better head coach than Darvin Ham let’s be honest, his inability to adjust the game plan lack of awareness when to call timeouts, challenges etc. That being said they were 3 games away from a 50 win season. Out of all the playoff teams Lakers had the worst head coach by far. My point is JJ Redrick and the veteran coaching staff around him will do a better job with this roster. The Lakers being a top 10 team is not a hot take I promise my brotha.

[@iljavija]

Ja will not make it in NBA, it is a matter of time until he does something crazy. He is not a smart person sadly and does not learn from mistakes.

[@taylor7264]

wym by will not make it?? hes already made almost 237m. thats better than 99% of us ever will. n hes been in trouble off the court like 1/5 years in the league. i think its more likely than not he has a long nba career

[@iljavija]

@@taylor7264 I was saying he will end up in jail.

[@deedivabrown1033]

Let it go. Yall stick in the past! No news on him in two years.

[@taylor7264]

@@deedivabrown1033 dont lump me in w his nonsense