«The Hoop Collective» podcast, hosted by ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, releases episodes every Monday, Wednesday and Friday during the NBA season. Windhorst and his guests break down what’s happening on and off the court, evaluating the trends you need to know and examining the latest news from across the NBA.
Listen to ‘The Hoop Collective’:
ESPN | Spotify | YouTube | Apple | Amazon | iHeartMedia | TuneIn
Latest episodes:
Dec. 10 | Dec. 8 | Dec. 5 | Dec. 3 | Dec. 1 | Nov. 26
‘The Hoop Collective’ episodes
Brian is joined by Tim Bontemps and Tim MacMahon to talk about the New York Knicks‘ and Orlando Magic‘s big wins in Tuesday’s Emirates NBA Cup quarterfinals and if the Knicks have a chance to take control of the Eastern Conference. The trio then moves on to preview Wednesday’s NBA Cup games (Phoenix Suns at Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs at Los Angeles Lakers) before discussing the Thunder could potentially win 70-plus games this season.
Topics
2:11: Knicks advance to NBA Cup semifinals
10:37: Desmond Bane leads Magic to NBA Cup semifinals
22:19: Wednesday’s quarterfinal preview
22:13: Do the Suns have any hope vs. the Thunder?
31:40: Suns improving the organizational culture
36:58: Expectations for Spurs at Lakers
48:33: Difficulty of the NBA schedule
Bontemps on the Knicks’ momentum in the East: «OG Anunoby is back healthy. … you look up and down the East, there’s either main stars out like [Jayson] Tatum obviously in Boston or these other teams are a MASH unit. And that’s again like the Knicks have a chance right now if they can have a good month or six weeks. Now, I think they could get some real separation at the top, and that could wind up making a really big difference for them, especially when a couple weeks ago when they were scuffling, it didn’t look like they were going to have a chance. They might be right in the mix with all these other teams [now].
«And I think they’ve got a chance to really go on a run here. We’ll see if Vegas can be a springboard for them.»
Bontemps on whether the Thunder can win 70 games: «Of course, they can win 70. The question isn’t ‘can they win 70?’ The question is ‘will they win 70 and will they win 74?’ I think at this point that’s honestly the real question that we should be having… can they stake a claim to be the best team we’ve ever seen potentially? Because if they go 74-8 or 75-7 and they win the title — which obviously the late the Warriors did not do the latter part… they’re going to have an argument to be the best team ever, which is why I hope that they fully embrace this and go after it as the season goes on.
«Because… yes, I understand that the main thing is the main thing and you want to lift the trophy at the end. But there are very few teams in the history of any sport that have the ability to credibly say they’re the best team ever. And this team through 24 games is on pace to have that kind of argument.»
MacMahon on San Antonio potentially trading young guards: «Those guys are going to be in San Antonio, I believe, for a long, long time. I think they’ve got this generation’s version of Duncan-Parker-Ginobili.»
Brian is joined by ESPN’s Tim Bontemps and Tim MacMahon to talk about LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers‘ bounce–back performance against the Philadelphia 76ers and why the Boston Celtics‘ recent success has opened the door for a potential Jayson Tatum return. They then discuss Pat Spencer‘s recent run with Golden State, the Chicago Bulls‘ current slump and the Memphis Grizzlies‘ turnaround before closing on the latest updates from the Terry Rozier situation.
Topics:
2:27: LeBron and the Lakers get a clutch win
15:34: Celtics starting to figure things out/Tatum return?
28:54: Spencer stepping up for the Warriors
32:17: Bulls’ downturn
36:27: Memphis’ recent form
44:00: The latest on the Terry Rozier situation and what it means for the Heat
1:06:41: «Where in the World is Windy?»
MacMahon on LeBron’s role with the Lakers: «They need LeBron to be a really good third option, which tonight, [Austin] Reaves stunk and LeBron picked up the slack but I think it’s silly to judge LeBron based on the standard that he’s set over the previous two decades. He’s not going to be that player. Honestly, the Lakers don’t really need him to be that player. I would say, you know, they need defensive upgrades more than anything else at this point.
«But if LeBron is a good third option, then the Lakers are one of the league’s more potent offensive teams, as long as Luka [Doncic] and Reaves stay healthy.»
Bontemps on the possibility of Tatum’s return: «The Jayson Tatum question becomes more interesting by the day if they continue to win games and look like they could be a team that could be a factor in the playoffs without him. And I think that like I said, I think that’s more a symptom of the weakness of the top of the East. But these guys have proven playoff experience.
Basically none of these other teams do.»
Bontemps on the Rozier situation: «I think if they believe that Terry Rozier were not able to be traded, they would just use the roster spot on somebody else.
I think the fact he’s on the roster leaves open a pretty decent possibility that now maybe they will find a trade they like [or] maybe they cut him the next day and then they go after the trade deadline to go do something else with the roster spot. But my hunch is that if they find a deal they like, it’ll probably work out.»
Brian is joined by ESPN’s Vincent Goodwill and Anthony Slater to discuss the likelihood of a Giannis Antetokounmpo trade in Milwaukee, including what teams would make the most sense for the two-time MVP and why a deal could be hard to make. Then the trio talks Cooper Flagg‘s continued improvement in Dallas, Chris Paul’s untimely exit from the LA Clippers and Chet Holmgren‘s evolution since his injury last season in Oklahoma City.
Topics:
1:44: Latest on Giannis trade possibilities
7:02: Flagg impressing each day
8:26: Will Giannis leave Milwaukee?
23:22: Paul’s unique Clippers exit
32:36: Injured Warriors limping along — any hope for offensive improvement?
39:43: Holmgren’s next steps in Oklahoma City
Windhorst on why a Bucks trade is difficult: «What I’m telling you is that when I talk to executives and these executives are not in trade talks with the Bucks or another for a star player right now, the mood in the NBA right now is not give up four first-round picks for anybody. … This is how teams are thinking right now. They’re a little freaked about the aprons. There ain’t going to be no five first-round pick trades. I know that we saw those for a while. That’s just not going to happen.»
Windhorst on the Giannis trade market: «I can hear somebody out there listening to this podcast saying, ‘What are you talking about? This is Giannis. Giannis will go for two star players and six firsts.’ Maybe that will happen. I am just telling you, I talk to the guys who make these trades every day, all day long, and the appetite is just different.
«Everybody is feeling a certain way. I’m just telling you I could end up being wrong. I’m just reporting back.»
Goodwill on the Paul fallout in LA: «I think it shows maybe the desperation of how they wanted to get out of the Chris Paul business. Like, one thing that I was that I was told was they had talked to him as much as maybe 10 or 11 times throughout the season about the stuff that he had been doing or saying or trying to hold like Shams Charania said in his report yesterday about holding everybody accountable.
«Can you imagine how to some degree insufferable someone has to be in your eyes for you to say, you know what, we’re stuck here in Atlanta. You could just go home, like we’re not even going to wait. It’s not like Chris Paul is playing 30 minutes a night. Like it shows you the level of exhaustion that the Clippers have felt from this.»
Brian is joined by ESPN’s Tim Bontemps and Tim MacMahon to talk over the latest concern levels with LeBron James‘ recent struggles and if the Los Angeles Lakers roster fits together defensively, including Dillon Brooks‘ notable game against them. The crew then discusses the LA Clippers‘ bleak start to the season and the injuries stacking up for the Denver Nuggets before MacMahon hands out his monthly award.
Topics:
0:45: Brooks instilling physicality in Phoenix
8:17: Concerns with LeBron’s play?
13:33: Can Luka, LeBron and Reaves defend as a trio?
16:07: Disaster continues for the Clippers
18:52: Youth leveling up in Dallas
24:43: Denver defense lacking with injuries
26:46: Cojones Factor Player of the Month
34:37: Challenge for OKC keeping talent
36:21: Danilo Gallinari’s unique career
42:24: Jimmy V Week
Bontemps on LeBron’s current play: «I was pretty taken aback at how old he looked on the court and he didn’t look like you ever ran at any point in the game. Look, he was mostly just jogging, and I thought the moment of the night, frankly, was Dillon Brooks goes up for a layup, LeBron loads up to come flying in and do his patented block off the backboard and it looked like he had a parachute attached to the back of him and he just didn’t get there in time.»
Bontemps on the Lakers’ defensive struggles: «Well, the other thing too, it’s only five games. And yes, obviously, last night they got smacked by Phoenix. So the numbers are going to be a little twisted. But 91 minutes in five games, Luka, Austin [Reaves] and LeBron together getting outscored by nine points per possessions — defensive rating 120.6. That would rank 28th in the league ahead of only Brooklyn and Washington.
… Last year, those three guys on the court had a defensive rating, 117.7 across the course of the season. That ranked 20[th] and would rank 27th ahead of Brooklyn, Washington and Utah, who obviously was not doing a lot of attempting to win in games last year.»
MacMahon on the Denver injuries and defensive woes: «It’s ‘ -enver’ — ain’t no ‘D.’ It is the ‘Enver Nuggets’ right now, fellas.
And look, it sucks that Christian Braun went down and then that especially Gordon got hurt and and they’re both going to be out for a while.
Gordon is a Grade 2 hammy that’s reevaluated in four to six weeks. In the five games since Aaron Gordon suffered that hamstring strain, they are first in offense, the Denver Nuggets, and dead last in defense, 127.3 points allowed per 100 possessions. With Gordon on the floor this year, 105 is the defensive rating — that would rank second in the league. When he’s not on the floor it’s 119.4. And they got to figure it out because he’s not going to be on the floor for a while.»
Brian is joined by ESPN’s Tim Bontemps and Tim MacMahon to discuss the wild ending to the Atlanta Hawks–Philadelphia 76ers game, Joel Embiid‘s return and the Hawks’ lineup without Trae Young. The trio then moved on to the potential lottery lineup, including Oklahoma City’s lottery future and a 2003 NBA draft oral history before closing out on the Cleveland Cavaliers‘ latest struggles, the Minnesota Timberwolves‘ slow start and the San Antonio Spurs‘ week without Victor Wembanyama.
Topics:
1:26: Wild drama in Hawks-76ers ending
5:58: How did Embiid look in his return?
8:12: Hawks’ length without Trae unique
12:09: Potential lottery pick madness (OKC could have multiple lottery picks)
21:29: Epic award story time with Windy
25:32: Oral history of 2003 NBA draft
27:12: Cavs’ struggles continue to linger
43:42: Concerned with Wolves’ start yet?
50:28: Big week for Spurs with no Wembanyama
Bontemps on Embiid’s return to the lineup: «But he’s still a guy that the defense really respects when he’s out there. He’s drawn people to him. They can run, dribble, handoffs with him and Paul George and him and Tyrese Maxey and then Quentin Grimes and [VJ] Edgecombe and all these guys.
But the question is going to be, and I wrote about this in a story about the Sixers on Friday, can the defensive mobility and can that trust in his knees get to the point where he can move around more fluidly and better on the defensive end? If he can, then the Sixers are really in business and if he can’t, then it’s going to be a challenge to navigate that because he’s been somebody that teams have been able to go at from a mobility standpoint. And the Hawks had success doing that today.»
MacMahon on the Hawks’ roster without Young: «But the Hawks are, I would assume, in the process of figuring out would they rather move forward with Trae as an offensive engine and have to protect him defensively or looking like they are right now where, if Jalen Johnson is looking like this, they’ve got some serious firepower still offensively.»
Bontemps on the Timberwolves’ struggles: «The point guard thing is going to be an issue, and I think the loss in [Nickeil] Alexander-Walker hurts. They could really use him. They don’t have him. Like we’ve talked about, the Rob Dillingham experiment has not worked.»
Windhorst on the Timberwolves’ potential moves: «Are they going to be a buyer? They’re hard up. They don’t have much apron space, but they do have some contracts that they could move if they wanted to …
«You’ve got a number of young players they could offer up. I mean if they wanted.»
