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Hoops Rumors Live Chat: 3/22/2022
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Luke Adams
12:00
Welcome, everyone! Thanks for the questions you've submitted so far. Keep 'em coming and I'll get to as many as I can.
Aris B.
12:00
If the Nuggets drop to the 7th seed, how would that affect Jokic's MVP chances?
Luke Adams
12:02
Not favorably, that's for sure. Some voters won't weigh a team's place in the standings as heavily as others, but in an MVP race as close as this one, I wouldn't be surprised if it becomes a deciding factor for at least a few.
Eastern Conference 6th spot
12:02
As both teams stand now, do the Cavs or Raptors have a better chance of claiming the sixth spot and avoiding the play in tournament with their remaining schedules?
Luke Adams
12:02
The Cavs have a one-game lead and hold the tiebreaker, but I'm still leaning toward the Raptors. They've been playing a little better in recent weeks and only have two more road games.
12:03
Thursday's Cavs at Raptors game will be pretty crucial. If Cleveland can get a win there, I'd feel a lot better about their odds.
Doug McDermott
12:03
Approximately how much money do you believe Popovich cost Thaddeus Young to lose on his next contract by only playing him a total of 370 minutes while on the Spurs this season?
Luke Adams
12:05
Not a ton. Young was very good last year, but he'll be entering his age-34 season in 2022/23 and is getting a chance to show what he's got left now for the Raptors in a playoff race. His minor role in a half-season with the Spurs won't have drastically changed teams' opinions on him.
Joe
12:05
better bet to win an nba championship for a long shot. Mavericks or lakers
Luke Adams
12:06
I'll take the Mavs.
Matt
12:06
What is likelihood bulls lose lavine
Luke Adams
12:07
It's still a little too early to get a real sense of which free agents are a lock to re-sign and which ones will be more open to testing the market. But I haven't gotten the impression LaVine is eager to leave -- I'd put the odds of him re-signing at least at 75-80%, and maybe even higher.
Mikel Fratello
12:08
Is Brandon Ingram coming back fully healthy this week against the Spurs? Pels Will need him at full strength to try to ensure the 9th place...
Luke Adams
12:11
The Pelicans haven't been overly forthcoming with news on Ingram recently, and they have a couple days off now, so we may not get our next update until tomorrow. I got the sense entering this past weekend that he was getting close, since the Pels didn't rule him out for their entire road trip right away. Reading the tea leaves, I wouldn't expect him to be out much longer.
John Konchar
12:11
How far can the grizzlies realistically go?
Luke Adams
12:13
I think it's reasonable to expect a playoff series win. It wouldn't even shock me if they made it to the Western Conference Finals. I would be pretty surprised if they made it to the NBA Finals though -- Phoenix just looks like a more complete team.
Warriors doughnut in the Middle
12:13
How much Blame does the Warriors Front Office deserve for under-Resourcing the Center position?  From Opening Day, they only filled the Roster with 1 7 Foot tall player, and he has not played 1 Minute this year for the team.  Now they are in Big trouble if something happens to their only healthy Big Man, Kevon Looney.   Why not give Willie-Cauley Stein a Call ?
Luke Adams
12:15
They have a full 15-man roster, so they'd have to waive someone to sign Cauley-Stein, and there are no obvious candidates, which is why they haven't made a single change to their 15-man group since October. I guess maybe you could view Juan Toscano-Anderson or Nemanja Bjelica as expendable, but I'm not convinced any current free agent center (including Cauley-Stein) would be worth using at all in the playoffs.
Mikel Fratello
12:16
What's your opinion on both play-in tournaments? Which teams Will become 7th and 8th Seed in each conference? I reckon Denver & Pelicans in the west and Nets & Cavs in da East
Luke Adams
12:18
Honestly, as much as I like the play-in format, this seems like one of those years when the top eight teams in each conference are clearly the eight teams best qualified for the playoffs. So, assuming you have the Wolves and Raptors moving into the top six, I'll agree with your choices but replace the Pelicans with the Clippers. Even though they probably won't be at full strength, I like the Clips' chances of winning at least one of two play-in games.
David Fizdale
12:18
What are your thoughts on Tom Thibodeau's performance this season?  And what are your thoughts of Knicks' fans' thoughts on Tom Thibodeau?
Luke Adams
12:21
I view Thibodeau's job performance more favorably than I think most Knicks fans do. They exceeded expectations last season in a weak Eastern Conference and were more in line with what I'd expect in a tougher East this year. It was never realistic to expect Randle to maintain last year's level of play. The Rose injury and Kemba's struggles also killed them at PG.
That's not to say that Thibs is blameless, but I don't think replacing him would do much for next year's team without some personnel changes.
Rambis
12:21
What team are you most surprised by this season? In terms of both under and overachieving. Aside from Lakers
Luke Adams
12:22
They've fallen off lately, but I really didn't expect the Cavs to be a playoff team this year. They and the Grizzlies have been the most pleasant surprises.
12:23
As for biggest underachievers... if we're throwing out the Lakers, I think the Hawks have been the biggest surprise for me. I didn't necessarily expect them to get back to the Eastern Finals, but I thought they'd be a pretty solid playoff team this year.
sean
12:24
Sixers don't have any picks in the draft? Should they try to trade in?
Luke Adams
12:25
I imagine the cost of a mid-to-late second-rounder won't be too high, but I also see guys like Paul Reed, Charles Bassey, and Isaiah Joe hardly playing and question if the Sixers would be all that interested in another second-round addition -- they'd probably be better off just filling out the roster with minimum-salary vets.
DC
12:26
Who remains w LAL after season ends???
Luke Adams
12:27
LeBron and Anthony Davis are the only guys who are anything close to locks. Virtually everyone else is a free agent or a trade candidate. Weirdly, I almost feel like Stanley Johnson might be the third-most likely Laker to stick around. The team has a minimum-salary option on him.
12:28
THT should be back too if the Lakers can't find a viable trade for him. Same with Nunn -- maybe if he's healthy, he can rebuild his value. I also expect the team to try to re-sign Malik Monk, though there will be cap constraints that make it tricky.
Mikel Fratello
12:29
Can you foresee which teams Will be playing both conference finals?
Luke Adams
12:31
I can't remember many years where the playoffs will be so wide open. I have a lot of belief in the Suns and I'd feel OK penciling them into the Western Finals, but they won't have an easy path there, and I don't feel super-confident picking another West team to join them. The East is even more challenging.
I'll tentatively take Suns/Warriors and Heat/Bucks, but I don't feel great about either!
GSW
12:31
You should already know who the Warriors should've waive, Chiozza. The Warriors should have signed Cousins.
Luke Adams
12:32
Chiozza is on a two-way contract, so if they waive him, they'd have to replace him with a player who has no more than three years of NBA experience and is willing to play on a two-way salary (that player also wouldn't be playoff-eligible).
Andrew Paul
12:32
OKC has played without Dort, Giddey, Kenrich Williams, Derrick Favors, Mike Muscala, Ty Jerome, and Robinson-Earl since the All Star break. Does OKC need a new medical staff and/or strength and conditioning coach?
Luke Adams
12:33
I have to think that if the Thunder were a contending team, at least half of those guys would still be playing.
Nutsaroni
12:33
Think Zion is staying and extending this summer, or will the Pels ship him out?
Luke Adams
12:35
I'm coming around more and more to the idea of an offseason Zion trade being a real possibility. The Pelicans have had some positive developments this season -- Valanciunas has been a great pickup, the Herb Jones pick has been a huge success, CJ's fit in nicely. Theoretically, Zion could push them over the top, but if you're not sure he wants to be there or if you're not sure he can ever stay healthy, making a huge financial commitment to him is a major risk. They might ultimately be better off getting what they can for him on the trade market and continuing to build.
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