Hardwood Knocks

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⬇️

MAIL TIME. Our latest trip around the NBA covers LaMelo Ball's return and the impact it has on the Charlotte Hornets; the futures of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Sacramento Kings; All-NBA picks; Devin Booker's defense; the viability of the Washington Wizards; the threat level of the Miami Heat; Rudy Gobert's defensive value; Nikola Jokic's dominance; the Denver Nuggets' ability to contend without Jamal Murray and much, much more! TIMESTAMPS⬇️

POSITIVITY SEASON. Adam and Dan roll through their picks for the most underrated player on every Western Conference team. If you haven't listened to our Eastern Conference edition, you can find that here! TIMESTAMPS⬇️

Adam and Dan rank the future outlooks for all seven NBA teams with sub-1 percent chances of making the playoffs this year: Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons, Houston Rockets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Oklahoma City Thunder, Orlando Magic and Sacramento Kings. After that, they answer questions from listeners that cover the New York Knicks, Stephen Curry, Charlotte Hornets and LaMelo Ball, Toronto Raptors, Miami Heat, Portland Trail Blazers and much more. TIMESTAMPS⬇️

Let's spread some positivity shall we? Adam and Dan discuss their most underrated player for all 15 of the Eastern Conference teams. 

MAIL TIME. This week, our wonderful listeners had us discuss the Eastern Conference playoff race, the Denver Nuggets' future post-Jamal Murray injury, the New York Knicks, Julius Randle's outlook, Kristaps Porzingis, the Charlotte Hornets, Richaun Holmes, Myles Turner, the Portland Trail Blazers and much, MUCH more. TIMESTAMPS⬇️

First, Dan discusses Jamal Murray tearing his ACL and the impact it has on on the star point guard's career, the Nuggets' 2021 title push and the team's future. After that, Katie Heindl (@wtevs) from Dime UPROXX and Basketball Feelings, among many other places, joins Dan to talk about the challenges of the 2020-21 NBA season, how the league has often operated in opposition of its own supposed image and the impact this year could have on the Association long term. From there, she takes us through the Toronto Raptors' outlook, including the future of Kyle Lowry, Masai Ujiri and what she expects the team to do after this season. TIMESTAMPS