Hardwood Knocks

Dan is joined by Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes (@gt_hughes) to discuss their biggest takeaways for the Phoenix Suns and Milwaukee Bucks two games into the 2021 NBA Finals—a conversation that includes a long-term view of the Bucks' roster, and whether Devin Booker is a top-10 NBA player. After that, Dan and Grant each give their three most interesting teams of the NBA offseason. TIMESTAMPS ⬇️

Tara Bowen-Biggs (@tcbbiggs) from the We Have A Take podcast returns to Hardwood Knocks to discuss the Portland Trail Blazers' complicated offseason and the terrible start to which it's off. First, Tara and Dan talk about the decision to hire Chauncey Billups, Neil Olshey's tactlessness, the tokenism of Becky Hammon, and the message this all sends to the fanbase. After that, they get into Damian Lillard's future and what a Dame trade could look like; Jusuf Nurkic's value; Norman Powell's free agency (and dogs!); C.J. McCollum trades; other potential Blazers trades; free-agency targets; Derrick Jones Jr.; Robert Covington; and sooooo much more. TIMESTAMPS⬇️

MAIL TIME AGAIN. Hardwood Knocks drops our second mailbag of the week to discuss the Hawks-Bucks series immediately following Game 5 and take a look at what Atlanta needs long term to solidify its place as a contender. After that, we get into Dejounte Murray's value, the Myles Turner vs. Domantas Sabonis debate, an Indiana Pacers trade idea, Memphis Grizzlies trade ideas, Julius Randle's leap, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's future, underrated free agents and much more. TIMESTAMPS ⬇️

MAIL TIME. This week's listener-driven trip around the NBA includes the Phoenix Suns-Los Angeles Clippers series; a playoff-discourse rant; Damian Lillard's unhappiness; Chauncey Billups joining the Portland Trail Blazers; a look at the New York Knicks' expectations for next season; Russell Westbrook Trade destinations; Jarrett Allen's value to the Cleveland Cavaliers; scouting reports on Cade Cunningham and Evan Mobley; Utah Jazz trade targets; a Sacramento Kings stat; and much more. TIMESTAMPS⬇️

Dan begins the episode dealing with the fallout from the 2021 NBA draft lottery. Will the Toronto Raptors consider trading the No. 4 pick? Can the Golden State Warriors trade for a star using No. 7, No. 14 and James Wiseman? Will there be a lot of moves at the back of the lottery and on draft night? After that, Andrew Claudio (@AndreJClaudio_) and Jonathan Macri (@JCMacriNBA) from Knicks Film School join the pod to discuss—you guessed it—the New York Knicks' future. They tackle Julius Randle's value, RJ Barrett's ceiling, potential free-agency targets and just where the Knicks are generally headed from here. TIMESTAMPS ⬇️

MAIL TIME. Hardwood Knocks' latest trip to ListenersAskQuestionsville covers the Utah Jazz's future, the Kemba Walker trade, the Boston Celtics' future, Marcus Smarts' contract extension, Denver Nuggets trade and free-agency targets, the Philadelphia76ers and Atlanta Hawks, the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Clippers, injuries and much more! TIMESTAMPS⬇️

Hardwood Knocks tackles the fallout from the Philadelphia 76ers' epic collapse(s) against the Atlanta Hawks; asks whether a Ben Simmons trade is inevitable; discusses the injuries to Kawhi Leonard and Mike Conley; breaks down the impact of Chris Paul entering the NBA's health and safety protocols; addresses LeBron James' comments about this season and the seeming uptick in injuries; takes stock of the New Orleans Pelicans' decision to fire Stan Van Gundy; and breaks down the league's most attractive coaching openings following Scott Brooks' exit in Washington. TIMESTAMPS ⬇️

MAIL TIME. Hardwood Knocks' latest bag was FULL of mail. We talked Nikola Jokic; Jokic vs. Joel Embiid; Milwaukee Bucks-Brooklyn Nets; the Phoenix Suns' success; the Utah Jazz's performance vs. the Los Angeles Clippers; possible Buddy Hield and Malcolm Brogdon trades; efficient rookies; Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves; an off-beat build-your-team exercise; and much, MUCH more. TIMESTAMPS⬇️

Dan talks with the GOAT, Caitlin Cooper (@C2_Cooper) from Indy Cornrows, about the Indiana Pacers' future. They discuss everything from Nate Bjorkgren's failures and the LIVE reaction to his firing, to the makeup of the roster and Caris LeVert's play post-trade from the Nets, to T.J. McConnell, Doug McDermott, T.J. Warren, Domantas Sabonis, Myles Turner, potential trades and much, much more. TIMESTAMPS⬇️

MAIL TIME. Dan brings on Alex Kungu (@Kungu_NBA) to discuss the state of the Boston Celtics, including Danny Ainge's legacy, Brad Stevens' promotion, head coaching candidates, Marcus Smart's value, Kemba Walker trades, Aaron Nesmith, Romeo Langford, Payton Pritchard, Robert Williams III, the direction of the franchise and much more. After that, Dan dives into a mailbag that covers Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum, the New York Knicks, Utah Jazz, Milwaukee Bucks, Brooklyn Nets, Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Clippers and more! TIMESTAMPS⬇️

The NBA news cycle rages on, so Hardwood Knocks does, too. First, Adam and Dan discuss the Boston Celtics' front office overhaul, offering their thoughts on Danny Ainge, Brad Stevens, the head coach search and the future of the franchise. After that, they dive into Joel Embiid's latest injury and what that means for the Philadelphia 76ers-Atlanta Hawks series. From there, they offer up some closing thoughts on the New York Knicks season.  TIMESTAMPS⬇️

MAIL TIME! Our latest listener-directed shindig covers the Atlanta Hawks and New York Knicks first-round series; Julius Randle's future; John Collins' free agency; the Lakers-Suns series; Anthony Davis' injury; LeBron James; a look at how the Milwaukee Bucks stack up against the New York Knicks; Collin Sexton; DeMar DeRozan; and the San Antonio Spurs. TIMESTAMPS⬇️

Adam and Dan zoom out on the 2021 NBA playoffs with some big-picture takeaways for the Los Angeles Clippers, Ty Lue, Paul George and Kawhi Leonard; Dallas Mavericks; New York Knicks; Atlanta Hawks and Trae Young; Boston Celtics; Milwaukee Bucks; and Miami Heat, Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro and Jimmy Butler. They also kick off the pod with some thoughts on the fans who hurled racial slurs at Ja Morant's family, poured popcorn on Russell Westbrook and spit on Trae Young. TIMESTAMPS ⬇️

MAIL TIME. Our latest AMA covers Anthony Davis, Andre Drummond, Nikola Jokic, the Memphis Grizzlies, the Utah Jazz, Matisse Thybulle, the Boston Celtics, the Golden State Warriors, the Milwaukee Bucks, the Miami Heat and much more! TIMESTAMPS ⬇️

Seven of the eight first-round NBA playoff series are set: Sixers vs. Wizards, Nets vs. Celtics, Bucks vs. Heat, Knicks vs. Hawks, Suns vs. Lakers, Nuggets vs. Blazers and Clippers vs. Mavericks. Dan is joined by Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes (@gt_hughes) to preview ALL OF THEM. We also discuss the Jazz's potential first-round matchup with the Warriors or Grizzlies, and how we expect that to shake out. TIMESTAMPS⬇️

Dan and Adam drop their officially official All-NBA and All Defense picks. Officially. And let's just say, some tough cuts were made. TIMESTAMPS⬇️

It's NBA awards time! With the regular season officially in the books, Adam and Dan go through their final picks—not to be confused with predictions—for MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Most Improved Player, Sixth Man of the Year, Coach of the Year and Executive of the Year. While some of these races are fait accompli—thanks to Nikola Jokic, Rudy Gobert, LaMelo Ball, Julius Randle and others—the second part of our ballots proved to be ultra-difficult.  TIMESTAMPS⬇️

Who needs All-NBA teams when you have All-Hardwood Knocks teams? Sure, we'll still discuss all the big names, a la Giannis Antetokounmpo, LaMelo Ball, Zion Williamson, Stephen Curry and others. But we're not necessarily looking to identify the *best* players at each spot. Instead, we’re looking for the players who excited and entertained us—AND YOU—most during the 2020-21 season. TIMESTAMPS⬇️

Hardwood Knocks drops their officially official 2021 NBA All-Rookie teams, an exercise that gets super interesting after going over LaMelo Ball, Tyrese Haliburton and Anthony Edwards. Then, it's on to our weekly mailbag. This latest dive into listen questions covers the future of the Memphis Grizzlies, Julius Randle's improvement, Michael Porter Jr.'s stardom, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Denver Nuggets, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, historical MVP data, tanking, the MIP discussion and more! TIMESTAMPS⬇️

Dan is joined by Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes (@gt_hughes) to discuss the turmoil with the Indiana Pacers; the Phoenix Suns' chances of winning the Western Conference; the Devin Booker-Chris Paul debate; the Denver Nuggets' ceiling; the Los Angeles Clippers flying under the radar; the Chicago Bulls' precarious future outlook; Kyle Lowry's free agency; Kristaps Porzingis' future with the Dallas Mavericks; Kevin Porter Jr.; Damian Lillard; Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors; and much more. TIMESTAMPS⬇️