Hardwood Knocks: An NBA Podcast

Latest Episodes:

The Lakers are Taking LeBron James for Granted, Plus the Struggles of Ben Simmons Oct 29, 2022

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Dan delves into the issues plaguing the Los Angeles Lakers and who's most to blame. Are they taking LeBron James for granted? Is this his fault? Should they trade Russell Westbrook already? After that, it's on to the Brooklyn Nets, who have a Ben Simmons problem. Is it time to panic, or will everything be fine? TIMESTAMPS⬇️ 1:30 - INTRO 2:25 - Los Angeles Lakers/LeBron James 13:32 - Brooklyn Nets/Ben Simmons JOIN OUR DISCORD: bit.ly/discordhwk SUBSCRIBE TO OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL: bit.ly/31z7eyI FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL⬇️ TWITTER/IG: @danfavale / @danfavale TWITTER: @gt_hughes TWITTER: @fromal09 TWITTER/IG: @HardwoodKnocks / @hardwood_knocks TIKTOK: @hardwoodknocks TWITTER: @SportsMathNet Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

MAILBAG: Time to Worry About the Timberwolves?, Is RJ Barrett Overrated?, Assists!, More Oct 28, 2022

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MAIL TIME, PART 2. Dan plows through the second half of some truly amazing questions from our ever-awesome listeners. This batch of basketball queries takes us through the Minnesota Timberwolves defense following the Rudy Gobert trade, the potential for anti-tanking measures, an RJ Barrett vs. Wendell Carter Jr. debate and MORE! TIMESTAMPS⬇️ 1:15 - INTRO 2:33 - Can the NBA do anything else to prevent tanking? Is relegation a real option? 5:23 - The Lauri Markkanen-Era Dynasty in Utah 6:08 - The Minnesota Timberwolves defense 13:53 - Imagining Victor Wembanyama on the Orlando Magic? 17:55 - Is there any world in which Scoot Henderson gets drafted over Victor Wembanyama? 20:22 - F*ck, Marry, Kut from the team: Luka Doncic, Ja Morant and Trae Young 21:37 - With Chris Paul reaching 11,000 assists milestone, which player under the age of 25 is most likely to reach that benchmark next? 23:25 - Is Dan a monster for ranking RJ Barrett ahead of Wendell Carter Jr. in his "Top 25 NBA Players Under 25" article for Bleacher Report? 28:54 - R.I.P. Tony Brown/Favorite NBA referees JOIN OUR DISCORD: bit.ly/discordhwk SUBSCRIBE TO OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL: bit.ly/31z7eyI FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL⬇️ TWITTER/IG: @danfavale / @danfavale TWITTER: @gt_hughes TWITTER: @fromal09 TWITTER/IG: @HardwoodKnocks / @hardwood_knocks TIKTOK: @hardwoodknocks TWITTER: @SportsMathNet Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

MAILBAG: Future of the Suns/Devin Booker, Logo and Mascot Rankings, Russell Westbrook/Lakers Oct 27, 2022

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MAIL TIME, PART 1! In the first mailbag for the 2022-23 NBA season, Dan tackles questions that cover the future of the Phoenix Suns and Devin Booker without Chris Paul, his own personal logo and mascot rankings, player evaluation and, of course, Russell Westbrook trade rumors. TIMESTAMPS BELOW⬇️ 1:15 - INTRO 4:05 - Devin Booker/Future of the Phoenix Suns 15:46 - Best and Worst NBA Logos 18:10 - Best and Worst NBA Mascots 21:36 - How should we evaluate young players on bad teams? 29:48 - The case for the Los Angeles Lakers to NOT Trade Russell Westbrook 33:01 - Will any team trade for Russell Westbrook and ACTUALLY KEEP him? JOIN OUR DISCORD: bit.ly/discordhwk SUBSCRIBE TO OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL: bit.ly/31z7eyI FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL⬇️ TWITTER/IG: @danfavale / @danfavale TWITTER: @gt_hughes TWITTER: @fromal09 TWITTER/IG: @HardwoodKnocks / @hardwood_knocks TIKTOK: @hardwoodknocks TWITTER: @SportsMathNet Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ranking Top 25 NBA Players Under 25 *RIGHT NOW* Oct 26, 2022

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Dan goes through his *personal* rankings of the top 25 NBA players under 25 right now. Please notice the emphasis on right now. We're not doing any sort of projection here...at least not on purpose. If you want to go into further detail with this pecking order, you can check out the full article published on Bleacher Report. Everybody ready to get really mad? Awesome. Let's do this. TIMESTAMPS⬇️ 1:15 - INTRO/CRITERIA 4:40 - No. 25 5:41 - No. 24 6:52 - No. 23 8:07 - No. 22 9:36 - No. 21 11:01 - No. 20 14:20 - No. 19 16:03 - No. 18 17:14 - No. 17 18:33 - No. 16 19:54 - No. 15 21:07 - No. 14 22:12 - No. 13 23:27 - No. 12 24:48 - No. 11 26:15 - No. 10 27:28 - No. 9 28:49 - No. 8 30:12 - No. 7 31:37 - No. 6 32:41 - No. 5 33:52 - No. 4 35:12 - No. 3 36:25 - No. 2 37:29 - No. 1 JOIN OUR DISCORD: bit.ly/discordhwk SUBSCRIBE TO OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL: bit.ly/31z7eyI FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL⬇️ TWITTER/IG: @danfavale / @danfavale TWITTER: @gt_hughes TWITTER: @fromal09 TWITTER/IG: @HardwoodKnocks / @hardwood_knocks TIKTOK: @hardwoodknocks TWITTER: @SportsMathNet Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NBA Truth or Trash?! 2022-23 Season Edition Oct 25, 2022

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Dan and Grant reconvene for an annual tradition unlike any other: NBA 'Truth or Trash?!' Sure, some might call this rebranded 'Fact or Fiction?' But those people suck. 'Truth or Trash?!' is super creative and unique and something no one else has ever thought to do. Anyway...Our cool, hip, trendier 'Fact or Fiction' will focus on some of our earliest observations for the 2022-23 NBA season. Are the Los Angeles Lakers doomed, even if they trade Russell Westbrook? Are the New Orleans Pelicans title contenders already? Is Doc Rivers on his way out of Philadelphia? We tackle all this...and more! TIMESTAMPS⬇️ 1:15 - INTRO 4:37 - Los Angeles Lakers/Russell Westbrook 19:05 - Cleveland Cavaliers 26:06 - Doc Rivers/Philadelphia 76ers 31:02 - Back to Russ for a sec 33:14 - New Orleans Pelicans 41:45 - Julius Randle 47:02 - Devin Booker 53:09 - Bennedict Mathurin, Paolo Banchero 55:59 - Charlotte Hornets, Portland Trail Blazers, Washington Wizards 58:03 - Lauri Markkanen/Utah Jazz 1:02:13 - Tyrese Haliburton 1:07:05 - Dallas Mavericks JOIN OUR DISCORD: bit.ly/discordhwk SUBSCRIBE TO OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL: bit.ly/31z7eyI FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL⬇️ TWITTER/IG: @danfavale / @danfavale TWITTER: @gt_hughes TWITTER: @fromal09 TWITTER/IG: @HardwoodKnocks / @hardwood_knocks TIKTOK: @hardwoodknocks TWITTER: @SportsMathNet Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Waaaaay Too Early 2022-23 NBA Season Takeaways for Every Team Oct 21, 2022

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Dan bounces around the entire league for some good ol' NBA takeaways. Who cares that pretty much every team is only one game into their schedule? He sure doesn't! This was a fun one, and every batch of takeaways is delivered in roughly 60 seconds or less. TIMESTAMPS⬇️ 0:30 - BLOCKBUSTER TRAILER DROP 1:07 - INTRO 4:22 - Atlanta Hawks 5:05 - Boston Celtics 5:37 - Brooklyn Nets 6:46 - Charlotte Hornets 7:29 - Chicago Bulls 8:14 - Cleveland Cavaliers 8:51 - Dallas Mavericks 9:43 - Denver Nuggets 10:25 - Detroit Pistons 13:41 - Golden State Warriors 14:20 - Houston Rockets 15:19 - Indiana Pacers 16:27 - LA Clippers 17:27 - Los Angeles Lakers 19:37 - Memphis Grizzlies 20:24 - Miami Heat 21:17 - Milwaukee Bucks 21:59 - Minnesota Timberwolves 23:07 - New Orleans Pelicans 24:19 - New York Knicks 25:41 - Oklahoma City Thunder 25:45 - Orlando Magic 27:37 - Philadelphia 76ers 28:58 - Phoenix Suns 30:30 - Portland Trail Blazers 31:27 - Sacramento Kings 32:42 - San Antonio Spurs 34:22 - Toronto Raptors 35:48 - Utah Jazz 38:43 - Washington Wizards JOIN OUR DISCORD: bit.ly/discordhwk SUBSCRIBE TO OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL: bit.ly/31z7eyI FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL⬇️ TWITTER/IG: @danfavale / @danfavale TWITTER: @gt_hughes TWITTER: @fromal09 TWITTER/IG: @HardwoodKnocks / @hardwood_knocks TIKTOK: @hardwoodknocks TWITTER: @SportsMathNet Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

2022-23 NBA Lookaheads: Memphis Grizzlies Oct 19, 2022

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Dan is joined by Keith Parish from the Fastbreak Breakfast (@fastbreakbreak) and Grits and Grinds (@grizzliespod) podcast for a deep dive into the 2022-23 Memphis Grizzlies. They start out by covering the Grizzlies' decision to lean further into development over the offseason and getting into the impact of Jaren Jackson Jr.'s absence, as well as his offensive development. After that, they discuss the next frontier for Ja Morant, expectations for Desmond Bane and Ziaire Williams, the revelation that is Santi Aldama, the rotation, trade possibilities and MUCH more. TIMESTAMPS⬇️ 0:30 - INTRO 2:46 - The offseason direction 9:49 - The next frontier for Ja Morant 16:19 - Timeline return for Jaren Jackson Jr./Defensive impact of his absence 21:30 - Jaren Jackson Jr.'s offense 24:41 - Year 3 expectations for Desmond Bane/Half-court initiation 29:57 - The development of Ziaire Williams 33:45 - Buy or sell Santi Aldama as an impact player 37:00 - Roles for Jake LaRavia and David Roddy 39:04 - Will Kenny Lofton Jr. get minutes 41:26 - Is the bench worse? 45:46 - Underrated strengths 50:16 - The 10-man rotation 51:40 - Go-to crunch-time lineup 54:36 - Weirdo lineups we want to see 58:20 - Over/under predictions, Where do the Grizzlies land in the Western Conference? 1:01:05 - Are the Grizzlies ripe for a trade? 1:05:21 - Brandon Clarke extension JOIN OUR DISCORD: bit.ly/discordhwk SUBSCRIBE TO OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL: bit.ly/31z7eyI FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL⬇️ TWITTER/IG: @danfavale / @danfavale TWITTER: @gt_hughes TWITTER: @fromal09 TWITTER/IG: @HardwoodKnocks / @hardwood_knocks TIKTOK: @hardwoodknocks TWITTER: @SportsMathNet Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why I'm Picking the Denver Nuggets to Win the 2022-23 NBA Title Oct 18, 2022

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Dan hops on for a solo pod to discuss why he's picking the Denver Nuggets to win the 2022-23 NBA title. After that, he makes his predictions—complete with a rankings ladder—for who will win Coach of the Year, Sixth Man of the Year, Most Improved Player, Rookie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and MVP. TIMESTAMPS⬇️ 0:30 - INTRO 2:01 - Why I'm picking the Denver Nuggets to win the 2022-23 NBA title 22:10 - Coach of the Year 27:16 - Sixth Man of the Year 31:59 - Most Improved Player 41:07 - Rookie of the Year 46:32 - Defensive Player of the Year 52:51 - MVP JOIN OUR DISCORD: bit.ly/discordhwk SUBSCRIBE TO OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL: bit.ly/31z7eyI FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL⬇️ TWITTER/IG: @danfavale / @danfavale TWITTER: @gt_hughes TWITTER: @fromal09 TWITTER/IG: @HardwoodKnocks / @hardwood_knocks TIKTOK: @hardwoodknocks TWITTER: @SportsMathNet Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

2022-23 NBA Lookaheads: Utah Jazz Oct 18, 2022

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Dan is joined by Tony Jones (@Tjonesonthenba) from The Athletic for a deep dive into the 2022-23 Utah Jazz. They discuss the organization's decision to trade Rudy Gobert, Donovan Mitchell, Bojan Bogdanovic and Royce O'Neale over the offseason, and what it means for the future. Then, they get into how the Jazz will play this year, the early rotation, expectations for Walker Kessler and Ochai Agbaji, trade candidates and much more. TIMESTAMPS⬇️ 0:30 - INTRO 2:22 - THE OFFSEASON 5:59 - Was keeping Donovan Mitchell ever on the table? 7:35 - Play style under Will Hardy 9:05 - Will the Jazz tank? 15:59 - Collin Sexton's long-term value 20:08 - How to measure progress for the Jazz? 24:41 - Early impressions of Walker Kessler 27:56 - The value of Jarred Vanderbilt/Can he play with Walker Kessler? 29:12 - Will Ochai Agbaji be in the rotation? 31:10 - Nickeil Alexander-Walker vs. Talen Horton-Tucker 37:16 - Underrated strengths 40:34 - The future of Jordan Clarkson 41:41 - The 10-man rotation 42:37 - Go-to crunch-time lineup 44:28 - Weirdo lineups we want to see 47:56 - Trade over/unders, The future of Mike Conley 51:55 - Over/under predictions, Where do the Jazz land in the West? 56:34 - The importance of getting this rebuild right JOIN OUR DISCORD: bit.ly/discordhwk SUBSCRIBE TO OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL: bit.ly/31z7eyI FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL⬇️ TWITTER/IG: @danfavale / @danfavale TWITTER: @gt_hughes TWITTER: @fromal09 TWITTER/IG: @HardwoodKnocks / @hardwood_knocks TIKTOK: @hardwoodknocks TWITTER: @SportsMathNet Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

2022-23 NBA Lookaheads: Los Angeles Lakers Oct 17, 2022

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Dan is joined by Jabari Ali Davis (@JabariDavisNBA) from the Miles and Jack Got Mad Boosties (@MadBoosties) and NBA Finals File podcasts for a deep dive into the 2022-23 Los Angeles Lakers. They discuss Russell Westbrook, his role and the potential for a trade. After that, they dig into the Lakers' new addition, what to watch from Austin Reaves, a potential revenge season from Anthony Davis, the 10-man rotation, potential lineups and MUCH more. TIMESTAMPS⬇️ 0:30 - INTRO 2:51 - The Russell Westbrook situation 9:27 - Russ to the bench? 12:19 - Best/worst offseason additions, The fit of Lonnie Walker IV, Importance of Juan Toscano-Anderson 20:15 - Impact of Kendrick Nunn 21:45 - Who gets squeezed out of the guard rotation? 26:48 - Anthony Davis revenge season incoming? 29:23 - Anthony Davis-at-the-5, Roles for Damian Jones and Thomas Bryant 34:42 - Year 2 expectations for Austin Reaves 36:50 - Underrated strengths 39:20 - The 10-man rotation 42:31- Go-to crunch-time lineup 43:54 - Weirdo lineups we want to see 47:17 - Over/under predictions, Where do the Lakers stack up in the Western Conference? 48:58 - Will LeBron James play fewer minutes? JOIN OUR DISCORD: bit.ly/discordhwk SUBSCRIBE TO OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL: bit.ly/31z7eyI FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL⬇️ TWITTER/IG: @danfavale / @danfavale TWITTER: @gt_hughes TWITTER: @fromal09 TWITTER/IG: @HardwoodKnocks / @hardwood_knocks TIKTOK: @hardwoodknocks TWITTER: @SportsMathNet Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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