00:00The 76ers, John, we know the 76ers.
00:03We knew that would happen.
00:047-1, best in the East.
00:06They've looked the part.
00:07They've looked exactly how we kind of expected.
00:10Pistons, 6-1.
00:11They're doing it without Jalen Dern at this point with his hamstring injury.
00:14The Lakers, 6-2 behind.
00:17Luka's averaging 38.8 points per game.
00:20They have the number one offense.
00:22Their defense is middle of the pack, but they've been awesome.
00:24So out of that group, John,
00:26are there any teams that have surprised you so far?
00:30I would say the Lakers' offensive outburst has surprised me
00:33to the tune in which they're doing it.
00:35Not that they're doing it.
00:36It's to the tune in which they're doing it.
00:38I think with the Rockets, I don't believe in the Rockets.
00:41I kind of don't either.
00:42I'm kind of there with you.
00:45It doesn't feel sustainable in a playoff series what they're doing.
00:49The Rockets have been great,
00:51but their greatness right now is being fueled by Jabari Smith Jr.
00:54Yes.
00:55He can't keep that up.
00:57To me, he's in the same basket as Ty Jerome.
01:00Ty Jerome's amazing right now.
01:02Ty Jerome's not going to keep that up for 82 games.
01:04Neither is Jabari Smith Jr.,
01:05so then you're going to fall right back into the situation you felt before
01:08where you need Kevin Durant to bail you out at the end of shot clocks
01:12and at the end of games.
01:13And at his age, we don't know if KD can still do that
01:15because he couldn't last year.
01:17Fred Van Fleet coming back has really made a difference
01:20on their organization and where guys are getting their shots from.
01:24I think that's been the biggest difference so far.
01:27But the Rockets don't really do anything for me.
01:29The Lakers offense, I expected that because of the moving of LeBron
01:33and how it had to look right out the gate.
01:35To me, I'm surprised that this thing in Philadelphia, it looks smooth.
01:42Not that they're winning.
01:43It's how they're winning.
01:45Defensively, they're on the string.
01:46And offensively, LeBron, and I said this,
01:49this is the best team LeBron's ever been on.
01:51And at this age that LeBron is at, he's just playing quarterback.
01:55I think Jay LeBron said this the other day too.
01:57He's just finding guys.
01:58And he's getting the team in a rhythm right off the bat.
02:01If they start slow, then he kicks it in.
02:03And when everybody else catches up,
02:05then he goes back to passing and back to facilitating.
02:07That Bron on that team, you're not going to beat that team.
02:11You're not going to beat that team.
02:12Yeah, they're playing so phenomenal.
02:15It just feels like everything is in synergy.
02:18Guys know where they're supposed to be.
02:20And I think that this team could get even better,
02:23as scary as that sounds.
02:24Because, again, you've got to figure,
02:25they're still trying to figure things out.
02:28They're still trying to.
02:28The connectivity.
02:29Yeah, the connectivity, right?
02:30They're basically playing right now just based off their all-NBA talent
02:34that they have collectively.
02:35It's not really a team yet.
02:37And they're still at 7-1.
02:39And you've seen that.
02:39They've had a few games where they're behind
02:41and they've got to come back or they've got to win close.
02:44That's just what happens with some of these teams
02:45that are coming together like this when you add so many new pieces.
02:49But then you look at the Knicks, right?
02:51The Knicks are 3-4.
02:52They started 0-3.
02:54They've had as many losses in a week as their whole 2026 playoff run.
02:59Then you go to the Spurs, who they played in the finals.
03:01They started 0-2.
03:03They've won five in a row now.
03:05They kind of look like the Spurs that we expected.
03:08And then the Thunder, I mean, they have been decimated by injuries.
03:11And we didn't talk about this.
03:13Chet Holmgren is now out with a patellar injury.
03:16And he's going to be out for 8-10 weeks.
03:18So now they're missing J-Dub and Cason Wallace and Chet Holmgren
03:22for significant periods of time here.
03:25When you look at that group, John,
03:27those are kind of the preseason favorites.
03:29And they've had, I wouldn't say slow starts,
03:32but just kind of weird starts.
03:34Like, what do you think of that group right there?
03:37But from that group,
03:39and correct me if I'm wrong or if you don't agree with the sentiment,
03:42I don't care what those teams do in a regular season.
03:45I completely agree.
03:46I don't care.
03:48Get in, entertain me while you get in.
03:50But I'm not expecting either of those three teams to be the number one seed.
03:53I don't think there's no value in it for these teams now.
03:56It might be for San Antonio, but they know where they're going.
04:00They know what they need to do.
04:01They're trying to win a championship.
04:03Oklahoma City, they've got to put the pieces together
04:06and just kind of find out how do we get to the playoffs
04:08in a comfortable situation, which I don't think will happen.
04:11This will take a Shea MVP year,
04:14unlike the other previous Shea MVP years we've seen.
04:17And he's going to have to go nuclear
04:18for them to even get in the top five.
04:20And I just don't, I don't think that
04:21with the way the refs are calling the game now,
04:23he's going to be able to do that.
04:25And so I think the injuries for those teams have,
04:28with the exception of the Spurs,
04:30the injuries have really taken a win out of the sails
04:32at the revenge season for the Thunder.
04:34And I think from the Knicks,
04:35I really don't care about what they do in the regular season.
04:38And I don't really care what the Spurs do in the regular season
04:41because they will be playoff teams.
04:42And those are teams I expect, again,
04:44to compete for a championship.
