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Join my private Sorare league to compete against me and have the chance at prizes in future Game Weeks, you'll also get 20 free Common Cards if you use the link to sign up: http://sorare.pxf.io/oejROb Steph Curry T-Shirt: https://heatcheck.info/ Out of all the champions in NBA history, 87% have been the number 1 or the number 2 seed in their conference. 66 out of the 76 winners were top 2. This blew my mind, and as crazy as it sounds, the NBA champions are often the clear and obvious choice with very few surprises. So the fact that nobody is afraid of the top 2 teams in the west which are the Denver Nuggets and especially the Sacramento Kings, and instead teams in the 5th, or 6th seed, or even in the play in right now see their chance at a championship run- makes this season, and the coming playoffs one of the wildest rides in NBA history. And we’ve seen some insane things like this happen before. Let me show you. We all remember Dirk’s heroic title run with the Mavs in 2011. Well that Mavericks team was 1 of only 8 teams that won it all as a 3rd seed. And you know a few of the others. In fact Golden State did it just last season. Giannis with Milwaukee is also in this group. And another one that you may remember is that Detroit Pistons team with Billups, Hamilton, Prince and the Wallace duo. There are only 2 other champions that won as a lower seed. The Celtics in 1969 who were number 4, and the lowest seed to ever win it- the 1995 Houston Rockets who went back to back as a 6th seed. This is especially difficult to do. First, they would have to go against great teams, like Stockton and Malone’s Utah Jazz, then Charles Barkley, Kevin Johnson and the Phoenix Suns, Pop’s Spurs led by David Robinson, and in the finals against Shaq and Penny Hardaway. Not only that, but they didn’t have home court advantage in any of those series, since of course they were the lower seed in every round of the playoffs. This is almost impossible to accomplish. The New York Knicks came incredibly close to it in 1999 when as the 8th seed, they made a sensational playoff run, upsetting the number 1 team in the east, the Miami Heat, and went all the way to the finals. And based on everything that we’ve seen so far in the West, I feel like this year has the potential to bring us surprises similar to the ones from 95 and 99. Let me explain why. But first We already know that the East runs through Milwaukee and Boston. Philly is lurking behind but we have 2 legitimate favorites there. But the west…it’s chaos over there. Literally nobody is trusting the clear number 1 seed the Nuggets. The Lakers are not even a lock to make the play in- let alone the playoffs and people are still picking them over Denver. Right now. This sounds ridiculous as I’m even saying it, but on the other hand, do you think a hypothetically healthy Lebron and AD with this new Lakers roster fear Jokic and Denver? Honestly I don’t think so. Then, Kyrie and Luka as a potential 7 seed going up against the young and inexperienced Sacramento roster appearing in the playoffs for the first time in 16 years. Who you got? You got the most dangerous 6 seed ever, probably in the Golden State Warriors. Do you know that Klay Thompson is officially back? Yes he had that awful start and we all said that he was done. Well, ever since the 25th of December, for the last 2 and a half months Thompson is averaging 25.5 points per game, on 46% from the field and 43.4% from downtown. That’s lights out. And if he’s just now gearing up, then how hot can he get in the playoffs. So are you betting against the reigning champions, with the splash brothers in full rhythm? Didn’t think so. Oh and btw, currently sitting at number 4 we got a superteam with 3 of the best midrange scorers in NBA history. With KD, Booker and CP3, the Suns are definitely not fearing any team in the west. But this brings us to yet another variable. And that is player availability. Starting off with Memphis, we don’t know if and when Ja Morant will return, and how this whole situation will impact him. This is taking away the main guy from the number 3 seed. KD all of a sudden could miss the rest of the regular season with his ankle injury, and who knows if Kawhi Leonard will stay healthy enough. He always misses games. These are all additional factors that could impact the title race and bring even more unexpected results. With about 15 games remaining, not a single one of us has a basic idea of who will win the west. And that’s the perfect scenario for the 6,7 or even an 8 seeded team to get hot at the right time, make a run and do the unthinkable. Let me know in the comments who’s your pick. Is it this guy? Get this t-shirt in the link in the description and Talk to you in the next one. Peace out.

Join my private Sorare league to compete against me and have the chance at prizes in future Game Weeks, you'll also get 20 free Common Cards if you use the link to sign up: http://sorare.pxf.io/oejROb Kenneth Faried went from signing a 50 million dollar contract to being out of the league in just a few seasons. His rise and the tragic downfall are still being discussed and people are asking what happened to him, and how did he disappear so quickly. In this video we’ll unravel the series of events that happened for Faried to go from a key player on a 57 win team, all the way to being out of the league. So, let’s get into it. In the aftermath of the Carmelo Anthony trade, the Nuggets went from a title contender and a conference finals team, to a dynamic roster full of interesting young players. Ty Lawson, Danilo Galinari, Corey Brewer, Aaron Aflalo, Rudy Fernandez. All exciting to watch, despite being far from a championship level quality. So there was no pressure of competing for a title. Denver added Kenneth Faried with the 22nd pick in 2011 and they immediately saw what they got: These are literally the first 2 points of Faried’s NBA journey. He left a great first impression and became a fan favorite right from the jump. The crowd quickly got used to his top 10 worthy dunks, and the monster blocks that showcased his insane athleticism. The nickname Manimal seemed fitting for a player looking and performing like this. One thing that everyone especially loved about him tho, was his effort. Even as an undersized big man at 6-8 (203), Faried battled on both ends and often got double digit rebounds. In the best game of his rookie season against Golden State, he exploded for 27 points and 17 rebounds in only 24 minutes of action. These are unbelievable numbers for basically 1 half of basketball. His energy and effort, helped the Nuggets secure the 6th seed and go head to head in the playoffs against the Lakers. The Manimal averaged a double double for the series and to everyone’s surprise, Denver came back from 0-2 and forced a game 7 against Kobe, Pau and Bynum. But the talent as well as the size of the Lakers prevailed at the end. However, despite the loss-admittedly to a better team, there was a lot of hope in this promising squad. That summer, the front office pulled the trigger on a trade to get Andre Iguodala, a big boost to an already solid roster. Faried started off great. He had some monster games including a 16 point and 20 rebound explosion, a season best for him, but also a 19 and 19 spectacle. He was posting phenomenal numbers. And as a sophomore, he even won the MVP of the All Star rookie challenge game scoring 40 points and 10 rebounds, and of course a lot of highlight dunks. So things were going great for him. But the Nuggets as a whole took some time to get in rhythm, as they found themselves at the number 8 spot in the middle of January. But then, Denver went on an unbelievable run of 31-6 steamrolling through the entire league. They looked unstoppable, especially at home with an astonishing record of 38-3 in Denver, the absolute best home court advantage in the NBA. Ending the season as the number 3 seed, suddenly the appetite grew, and they were aiming for a deep playoff push. But the young Golden State Warriors team shattered their dreams, upsetting them in 6 games. Faried was solid for the series, but also struggled defensively against the lightning quick playing style of the Warriors, and was often in foul trouble. 2 games with 5 fouls, and even fouled out once. It was tough. The loss prompted a lot of changes for Denver. They fired George Karl, who won coach of the year just a month earlier- for the great season that he had with the Nuggets. They also couldn’t re-sign one of their leaders in Andre Iguodala who went to Golden State as a free agent. Corey Brewer, another 12 point per game scorer, left and signed with Minnesota. And an injured Galinari missed the entire season. So this was bound to be a down year for Denver. In a situation like that tho, Faried thrived and had the best season of his career. Averaging 13.7 points per game, 8.6 rebounds, and some more absolutely monster games. 24 points and 21 rebounds along with 5 assists against Utah, a complete all around takeover from him. And against the Pelicans Kenneth had 34 points, 13 rebounds and 3 blocks. A career high in terms of scoring in another absurd display of his talent. Then, against Golden State… Despite Denver not making the playoffs, the entire league already noticed Faried, and that summer he even had a spot on team USA for the World Cup, alongside superstars like Steph Curry, James Harden and Kyrie Irving. The Manimal won the gold medal with team USA, but there was another life changing experience for him that offseason.

Follow Jarred Vanderbilt here, as he’s going to crash the glass on the shot and as we freeze it right here, you see that he snatches the ball away from 5 Dallas players. And on the other end he hounded Luka and came up with some clutch stops at the end. Vanderbilt single handedly kept the Lakers in the game with his effort and helped them make a huge comeback from down by 27 to keep the playoff hopes alive. So let’s break down exactly what he did. This statline is impressive, but then watch these rebounds. Jarred had 8 offensive boards, and look at how he always follows the shooter and times the exact moment when to cut inside and go up for it. Look at where he is on the shot here and how he weaves his way inside through the entire defense to get the rebound and ultimately get fouled. This is an incredible effort for extra possessions and points, this should not have been Lakers ball. And watch the insane energy that he showed on defense. First, he picks up Luka from under the basket, pressing him all over the court and with that disrupting the Mavs offense. And on the high pick, Vando anticipates the pass and turns on an extra gear to get this steal, and a transition opportunity for LA. Again, watch the fight on the screen as Jarred gets the deflection and then the extra effort to save it right into an easy layup for Brown Jr. Everything we’ve seen so far are points strictly based off of his effort and attitude to keep fighting even while being down by 27. Not only that, but he had a big impact on Doncic defensively, as Vanderbilt was the most successful in matching up against him, since Luka was only 1 for 5 on possessions where Vando was the primary defender. And you see why on these clips. To top things off, Jarred sealed the victory with this deflection on the inbound at the end, and put the Lakers just 1 game out of the play-in tournament. Buut their playoff hopes will depend on the health of Lebron who twisted his ankle and you could hear him on the broadcast repeatedly saying “I heard it pop”. Even tho he finished the game, the way he’s limping right here on his way out is a scary sight for Lakers fans, and we’ll see if he’s going to miss some games because of this. Nevertheless, this is why I was so high on the trade, they got a playmaker who can shoot in D-Lo who btw isn’t even playing right now due to injury, a legitimate three point threat in Beasley, and a defender, rebounder, and all around effort guy in Vanderbilt. Let me know in the comments if you think that the Lakers can make the play-in, and even the playoffs. Talk to you in the next one. Peace out.

Sign up for Sorare now: https://sorare.pxf.io/3P6RRn and get 20 free common cards 2000 - Baron Davis This list of the most disrespectful NBA dunks starts off with Baron Davis who was unstoppable in the open court. BOOM! 2001 - Tracy McGrady T-Mac gets the ball inside and stuffs it over Harrington. Then he hangs on the rim a little longer for aesthetic points. 2002 - Amare Stoudemire Amare Stoudemire gets the ball on the pick n’ roll, and explodes over the Clippers big man for one of his signature poster dunks. 2003 - Kobe Bryant Kobe Bryant drives along the baseline past Garnett, before throwing down one of the sickest reverse dunks in NBA history. 2004 - Kobe Bryant A year later, Kobe splits the defense and posterizes Howard as he nearly jumps over him. Number 8 had some crazy hops. 2005 - Vince Carter & Tracy McGrady Vince Carter saved the loose ball, behind the back dribble and took off on Mourning, cocks it back and powers it down on Big Zo. We gotta include T-Mac’s poster over Shawn Breadley here because it’s impossible to choose only one from these dunks. 2006 - LeBron James LeBron James circles around the Spurs defense before dunking the ball over the outstretched arms of the Big Fundamental himself. 2007 - Baron Davis Baron Davis shows up again, this time going mano a mano with Kirilenko and puts him on his poster. 2008 - Stromile Swift Stromile Swift was practically Shawn Kemp reincarnated. Pump fakes and then destroys the rim along with the player who decided to jump. 2009 - Dwyane Wade After LeBron’s miss D-Wade runs in transition, sees the opening in the middle and attacks Varejao with the sledgehammer dunk. And the step over him at the end rounds up the best dunk of 2009. 2010 - J.R. Smith With time winding down J.R.Smith gets a head of steam and jumps off of one leg to crush the world on Gary Neal’s head. Then, Kevin Harlan gave us the iconic line. 2011 - Blake Griffin In 2011 Blake Griffin bested the Mozgov dunk when he threw this monster jam over Kendrick Perkins. 2012 - Harrison Barnes & LeBron James Harrison Barnes showed his bounce as he posterized the big and mean looking center - Nikola Pekovic. LeBron James jumped over the whole vertical of John Lucas on this alley-oop dunk which makes it a must on this list. 2013 - Terence Ross, DeAndre Jordan, LeBron James Terence Ross grabs the loose ball, runs the break and slams the ball with one hand on the Manimal’s head. This CP3 lob for DeAndre Jordan’s iconic dunk is inevitable when it comes to humiliating dunks. 2013 gave us too much to handle as we gotta insert Bron Bron over the Jet as the 3rd dunk. 2014 - Jeff Green & Blake Griffin Jeff Green penetrates after the pump fake and detonates the slam dunk over Kevin Seraphin. Prime Blake Griffin was a walking highlight as we see him again, this time throwing it down on Kris Humpfries. 2015 - Derozan over Gobert Demar Derozan blows past Hayward, jumps and pauses mid-air before dunking on Rudy Gobert. 2016 - Victor Oladipo & Zach Lavine Oladipo gets the ball in the corner, drives and throws down the double pump jam over Dwight Howard. 2016 also gave us one of the first posters of Zach Lavine’s illustrious dunk career. 2017 - Giannis Antetokounmpo Giannis Antetokounmpo went Superman mod for this iconic dunk over Tim Hardaway JR. 2018 - Paul George But the Greek Freak was on the receiving end in 2018 as Paul George dumps it in his face. LeBron too got posterized in 2018 by none other than Jayson Tatum. 2019 - Demar Derozan This was Demar Derozan’s revenge on the Raptors for the trade, and boy was it nasty. 2020 - Derrick Jones Jr. Check out this throw in by Derrick Jones Jr all over Jonas Valanciunas. 2021 - Anthony Edwards Anthony Edwards shook Yuta Watanabe as he launched all over him and threw the hammer right on his head 2022 - Ja Morant Last year in the playoffs, Ja Morant baptized Malik Beasley with this insane cockback and throwdown. 2023 - Ja Morant And again, the dunk that rocked the NBA world, even though it’s not even the end of the season, Ja Morant definitely takes this one home.

Merch: https://heatcheck.info/ This is Kobe Bryant completely disinterested in a game 7 a must win situation against the Suns in 06. The Mamba stands way out here for the entire possession watching Smush Parker brick a fadeaway jumper. The very next possession, they’re down by 17, Kobe is taking over right? Naaah, he’s clearing out to the opposite corner and when the ball gets to him, he quickly passes away. And look at this: Bryant is not even in frame on this play. After scoring 23 points in the first half of a do or die game, he attempted just 3 shots in the final 24 minutes of their season, and literally watched the Lakers lose the game and the series. So why did he do it, why did he have to then explain himself on national TV, and how did this debacle ultimately lead to them winning the championship. The most underrated Kobe story deserves a flashback. So let’s get into it. These are your 05-06 Lakers. Lamar Odom, Brian Cook, Kwame Brown and Smush Parker. Wow. Now you understand what Kobe had to do to drag this team into the playoffs. And no, Bynum and Vujacic are non-factors this season as the big man was a 17 year old rookie scoring 1.5 points per game, while Sasha was a sophomore with a 3.9 point per game average. To keep the Lakers afloat, not only did Bryant lead the league in scoring that season but he also had iconic games of 62 points in 3 quarters against the Dallas Mavericks, and of course the legendary 81 point game against the Raptors. Kobe’s heroics were just enough to make it to the postseason as a 7th seed. Their opponents were Mike D’Antoni’s Phoenix Suns and their revolutionary playing style for that era. The Suns had the back to back MVP Steve Nash, were missing their leading scorer Amare Stoudemire who missed the entire season with an injury. This is where the Lakers saw their chance in this first round matchup. And they were right. With a 2-1 series lead, game 4 at home in Staples Center was one for the ages, and they wanted to win at all costs. So, down by 5 with 12 seconds to go an unlikely hero emerges. Parker cuts it to 2 and then you all know what happens. And in overtime the most legendary jump ball in NBA playoffs history. A commanding 3-1 series lead for LA taking them just 1 step away from the second round. And after losing in Phoenix, game 6 at home, it was time to seal the deal. So in a tight game, and a thriller ending, Kobe delivers the final blow with half a minute to go. All the Lakers need now is just one final stop and they will complete the upset over the number 2 seeded Suns. Tim Thomas with the most clutch shot of his entire career, ties the game and the Suns rise again like a Phoenix from the ashes. In overtime Nash is the ultimate puppet master pulling all the strings and securing a win and a game 7 at home, back from being down 3-1. Getting so close to the win and seeing it slip away, the emotions are high and there’s always the need to point out a scapegoat, somebody to blame for this. And despite an unbelievable 50 point game by Bryant, he was the one that was being blamed for the loss- for not trusting his teammates more. And nobody could have ever imagined the way that Kobe would respond to this in the final game. At the start it was Mamba mentality, as he takes and makes some crazy shots looking unstoppable for the defense scoring 23 points in the first half. But his team is trailing. Still, Bryant is pumped up and engaged as he even responds to the crowd chanting Kobe sucks. So you expect that there’s a storm coming in the second half. But in a shocking turn of events, the complete opposite happened. Bryant would just throw an entry pass and would literally stand way out here watching the rest of the Lakers fighting to get a bucket. Look he’s nowhere near the action for this entire possession. Again, another entry pass and heading back. And again, look. Only 4 offensive players are battling here. Bryant is out of it. The lead ballooned to 20, and even tho we’ve seen many comebacks from down 20 in the third quarter, it was obvious that it wouldn’t happen in this game, as Kobe wanted to make a statement and prove to everyone who criticized him that they were wrong. However, in the aftermath of that game 7 loss, even harsher criticism followed as Charles Barkley went off on him. When Kobe saw this, he was absolutely furious. And went ballistic towards Chuck, cursing him out in text messages. The very next show, Chuck revealed all of this to the public and basically told Kobe if you got something to say come on the show. And a few days later Bryant came to the studio to tell his side of the story. This is not how you get the others involved. Just throw them the ball and watch them fight against the other team.

Merch: https://heatcheck.info/ Luka Doncic doing crazy circus acts, Tatum vs Brown going 1 on 1 with everyone else looking on the side, and some loooong range bombs. This all star game was action packed so let’s go through all the best moments. Starting off with Lebron and Giannis picking the teams like we did it on the playground. Giannis came out old school with a full on notebook and everything handwritten. Can you make up the combinations here? Let me know in the comments. The reserves were picked first to avoid the uncomfortable situation of a player getting selected last and I like the execution. Although we saw that Jaren Jackson Jr was the last one, it got kind of lost in the shuffle since the starters were up next. So this is a win for this live format. BTW, Antetokounmpo had a bit of an embarrassing moment when he picked the reserves: Anyway he eventually got him on his team, because Lebron after all the love-hate rollercoaster recently was pretty excited to pick Kyrie on his team. Here are the full teams and on paper in a real NBA game James’s team would destroy the Greek Freak. Am I right? However the playing time and the intensity isn’t the same in the all star game as we saw right from the start. Gianis gets his 2 points and immediately subs out to protect the slight injury to his wrist so he did not return. Lebron on the other hand looked like he was 26. Check out this monster jam off of the assist from Jokic. Then just moments later, take a look at this self alley oop off the backboard. Dude is still in his prime. This is ridiculous. But the very next possession Tatum immediately responds with the exact same dunk on the other end. And not only that but he went directly at the king on this drive. James at the very last second made a smart business decision and got as further as possible from this poster, but couldn’t completely escape it as you can see. But look at Ja Morant with this nasty double clutch reverse. He had an even crazier one, as he runs past his teammate and takes off for a 360 throwdown. Luka Doncic was right in front of the action for the first dunk and watch what he said to Morant. Turns out he really can-and he put his name down for the slam dunk contest. Keeping the same vibe with the jokes, Doncic also showed us that he can do some tricks outside basketball. Moving on, Jokic had a few great assists. Here's some big man to big man action on this alley oop. And another connection between these 2 as Nikola throws a quarterback pass on the money for the easy layup. And watch him acting like he’s super mad that he didn’t get the alley oop pass. Seriously, he is hilarious. And just seconds later a casual no look pass right to the corner for the three. Amazing. What’s not amazing is that when he got an alley oop pass- this is how that ended. What kind of jump is thiiiis?! Maaan Jokic is a treasure. Anyways, you could see that Kyrie was aggressive early on and showed off his flashy layup package on multiple occasions. He led everyone at halftime with 18 points. And speaking of halftime, at the break, the NBA got the 3 players with the most points in NBA history all in 1 place. Karl Malone, Kareem Abdul Jabar and Lebron James. We also got this wholesome moment of Lebron showing some love to the little mambas, Kobe Bryant’s daughters. But right before the second half, we got news that Lebron will not continue as he suffered a minor injury going up for a block. Even without him however, there was a ton of action. First Donovan Mitchell took some heat check shots from way downtown, and look at this one from the logo nothing but the bottom of the net. He had 4 long range bombs in the third quarter. Speaking of these shots, you know that Damian Lillard would not be outdone here, as he casually fires away from his own half and splashes the three. Unbelievable. But, the third period belonged to Jayson Tatum as he went god mode. Check out these 5 threes in a row- in a span of only 2 and a half minutes. He was unstoppable. Shot after shot Jayson could not miss and was stuck on automatic And watch this sequence. At the end of the period Jaylen Brown attacks him, the stepback and the swish. And says that Tatum is too little. Jayson then has to go at Brown, and gets him on the crossover buuut loses the handle. Jaylen’s turn again on the other end as he hits him with the fancy dribbles, and knocks down the three over his teammate, so at this point Jayson is down bad and has to take this one. Thankfully for him, the shake and bake creates space for the shot and swishes it. At this point, 8 of the best players in the world are just walking up and down the court, watching these 2 go at it. Look at the positioning on the final possession. This was a true 1 on 1 battle. And at the end Tatum gets a stop here as we go to the 4th quarter.

Dame Time T-Shirt: https://heatcheck.info/ All Star Saturday night in 6 minutes let’s go. Jumping right into the important stuff, Jayson Tatum with a unique pump fake on an uncontested 3, as he gets hot late and finishes with 20, a respectable score to open things up. Tyrese Halliburton and his shooting form which is far from the prettiest but he’s a 40% shooter for the season and his career so he lights it up in the first round finishing with 31 tying Steph Curry’s record in this new format. Buddy Hield got sizzling hot in the middle, knocking down 2 full racks for a total of 23 points and things are definitely getting more competitive. Tyler Herro started getting hot towards the end, but it was too little too late as he only hit 2 shots from the first 2 racks and ended with 18 points and was immediately eliminated. Why was Julius Randle a 33% downtown shooter in this competition is beyond me. And completely expected he bricked shot after shot which was tough to watch for his son. And as a Knicks fan, it was tough for me to watch as well. If you watched this video, then you know that even ya boi would have done better. 13 for Julius at the end needless to say eliminated. Lauri Markannen, the home crowd favorite, started off really well, and at the last rack which is his money rack he comes in with 18. But Lauri only made 1 shot here and barely avoided elimination at least for a few minutes. Although he was one of the favorites, Kevin Huerter had an embarrassing performance ending in single digits and there’s no need to go any further than that. Damian Lillard however came ready to win it shooting in his college jersey and of course he’s going to hit this one from way out, as he finishes with 26 points and goes to the final round along with 2 of the Pacers in Haliburton and Hield. And when it matters the most, Buddy starts off hot, and even though he wasn’t able to hit a single 3 point ball off of those special racks, he also ends on a hot streak on his money rack and puts the pressure on the other 2 with 25. Dame Dolla on the other hand knocks down both of these 3 point shots to put him in a position to fight for it on the last rack. But as he misses the first one he now needs all of these. So what does he do? Lillard comes up clutch yet again, and 26 points proved to be too much for Tyrese in the final round as we see once again that it’s Dame Time. First win for Dolla in his third time competing. And you know I gotta represent with this Dame Time shirt from my merch line. Click the link in the description and get yourself one. Moving on to the dunk contest, Trey Murphy got some help from Grand Theft Alvarado who steals the ball from him and sets up the assist for a 360 dunk off the catch. A solid first dunk, and he got it on first try. Jericho Sims showing off his ridiculous bounce here on this dunk and on the slow motion- look at where his head is. Insane. But you can also see here that the execution wasn’t clean at all. KJ Martin struggled on this dunk and finally got it to go on the last attempt. It looked good at the end but of course some points deduction for the attempts. And last but definitely not least, Mac Mcclung stops right here and actually stacks these 2 guys vertically, and not only did he clear them, but he touched the backboard as well and threw down a reverse dunk. The crowd explodes as we’ve never seen this dunk before in the dunk contest. Needless to say this was an automatic 50. In the second round KJ brought out his dad but he again struggled and needed 3 attempts, and Jericho Sims did sort of a similar dunk, absolutely nothing special. He kind of botched it and the prop got destroyed, overall not an impressive dunk, so let’s focus on the guys that actually did something on their second dunks. Trey Murphy asked the crowd whether they wanted a windmill or a tomahawk, and then got up and did both at the same time while throwing down a reverse dunk. Another super creative and difficult dunk which puts him in the finals. And again to close this round, Mac Mcclung catapults again for a 360 2 handed windmill. Another dunk that I don’t think I’ve seen. Great execution again on his first attempt, and I don’t understand why Lisa Leslie gave him a 49 on this and ruined a perfect 50. Nevertheless he goes to the finals and his opponent does a nice between the legs throw, and without a bounce goes up to get it and jam this windmill. I gotta give a shoutout to these 2 guys for doing their dunks on their first try, but this wasn’t a special dunk, so he gets a 48.8. Which sets the stage for Mcclung who does another previously unseen dunk jumping over and double clutching this reverse. Unbelievable. And it looks even crazier in slow motion. This is another automatic 50 for Mac. For Trey’s final dunk, he does this which is nice, but honestly I’ve seen PG do it in a game and if you’re chasing a deficit in points, you need something more impressive, but maybe these are Murphy's limits.

Sign up for Sorare now: https://sorare.pxf.io/3P6RRn and get 20 free common cards This is by many considered to be the worst dunk attempt in the history of the dunk contest. But there’s a deeper story behind it. We’ll go over it later in the video, but first, check out a few more epic fails starting off with this chaos of a dunk by Michael Finley in 97. Check out the awkward stutter step, the horrible form on the cartwheel, and to top things off, he misses the dunk. 33 points is a lot for this. Moving on. We got Allan Houston with the most bizarre alley oop attempt off of his head. The reactions from the crowd tell you everything that you need to know. This was a bad dunk. Look, there’s nothing special about this. Even I can do this. Watch this hilarious attempt by Baron Davis to fake a no look dunk by poking holes in the headband. But you can see right away he’s having trouble finding the holes. So this ends up looking like a circus act as he completely misses the entire basket. This is insane. He gets nothing but air on this attempt. Speaking of that, Antonio Harvey does the same thing in 95 as he completely loses himself in time and space, and misses everything on this 360 attempt. And I don’t even know what Nick Anderson was thinking here as he dunks and touches his head. He got a 43 for this basic looking finish. John Collins tried to pay tribute to North Carolina’s aviation history by jumping over a model plane. But it ends badly as he literally destroys half of the plane. A forgotten blooper from the dunk contest is this James White attempt as he loses the dribble on the run up. Not once but twice actually. James White could definitely jump but I guess he couldn’t dribble. And who could forget Nate Robinson taking 15 tries on this dunk. 15 times he ran up and down all the way to half court as he tried everything as if he was alone in a practice gym, while the crowd just stood there and watched. This awkward situation lasted for an entire 5 minutes, as it was obvious that he was supposed to win that year. The dunk at the end was very nice actually, but not after that many attempts. Chris Andersen did a similar thing but never gets the same mention as Nate. He was just a bit quicker with his execution tho as he only needed 9 tries to dunk it. Same as Robinson the end result looked great, but all the back and forth running ruined it. Ok let’s now go back to Darryl Armstrong and the worst attempt in dunk contest history we have to expose the truth. REKLAMA Ok, in the 96 dunk contest, the players had 90 seconds to complete as many dunks as possible which would be then rated as a whole. So as you can see Darrel opens up with this nasty looking slam that gets the crowd fired up. Buuut then he goes for that infamous dunk running all the way to the other end and back- basically doing the suicide drill. Miss after miss, Armstrong was stubborn to complete this exact dunk, and completely exhausted from it, in the final seconds he didn’t even have the energy to jump so we got this iconic footage of the one and only layup during a dunk contest. But it’s not just the contestants that fail. Judges especially did that throughout the years. Especially on this Dennis Smith Jr dunk. Up, all the way down and back up to dunk it. This is incredibly hard to do. And all he got was 38. 38, that’s like 6 more than some missed dunks. Insane. This is also how Arron Gordon lost the legendary faceoff against Zach Lavine. He got a 47 for this and lost the battle. Serge Ibaka has possibly the strongest case of an underrated dunk as he executed the perfect free throw line dunk. This is further than any other player has done it. Michael, Doctor J, you name it. They all stepped over the line and Serge didn’t. But he only got a 45. Ibaka also had this super creative dunk of taking the toy off the rim with his mouth. The height, the creativity, the execution, everything was nice but at the end he once again got a 45 for it. JR Smith was the first ever to do this behind the back dunk in 05, but he as well only got a combined score of 45. Then this is the highest that anyone has ever touched the backboard. The physical abilities, the dexterity, concentration, and the creativity of this dunk deserved way more than 42 points. And last but definitely not least, we gotta put Dwyane Wade and his colleagues on blast here for single handedly ruining the 2020 dunk contest. That’s it for now, get yourself a cool T-shirt from my merch line, link in the description and talk to you in the next one. Peace out.

Merch: https://heatcheck.info/ We gotta start this infamous list with this brutal elbow hit by Andrew Bynum completely knocking JJ Barea to the ground. His teammate Derek Fisher sent Luis Scola to the floor with this hockey-like attack, except Scola didn’t wear any protective uniform. And Bruce Bowen really kicked Wally in the face.. On the fastbreak Marvin Williams literally grabbed Rajon Rondo and slammed him down to the ground. Rondo was evidently in shock and pain as we see this again. Robert Horry went a step further and bodied Nash who was sprinting down the court, which resulted in him crushing into the scorers table. This turned into a bigger incident after which Stoudemire and Diaw were suspended 1 game for leaving the bench. The Spurs went on to win the series 4-2. Jeff Teague body slammed Ricky Rubio who was caught off-guard and went crashing into the first row. Dwyane Wade took all of his frustration out on Darren Collison shoving him from behind in the open court. That’s an unpleasant surprise to say at least. Mike Dunleavy first pushed Giannis Antetokounmpo on this play, then ran to the other side to knock down the 3 but then got knocked out himself.. After a made free throw P.J. Brown lifted Charlie Ward like he was his son and flipped him over into the stands. It’s hard not to laugh at this one. JJ Barea got hit again, this time with a slap in the face by none other than Ron Artest. He flew in clumsily enough to hurt his teammate, Lamar Odom as well.. But at least he made sure that Barea’s fine by rubbing him on the back. And after this dunk against the Thunder, Metta World Peace was so fired up that he struck James Harden in the head with his elbow. Not the most peaceful celebration I guess.. On this drive Kawhi Leonard got pulled down hard by Draymond Green before hitting the ground. Demarcus Cousins obviously had enough of Smart’s chippiness, grabbed him by the jersey and threw him on the hardwood. This time Marcus is the one that pushes Embiid to the floor. And these two apparently can’t stand each other as we see them again. J.R. Smith pushes Big Al from behind while in the air trying to catch the lob.. Do you recall about Josh Jackson the promising rookie for the Suns, this dirty foul is probably and sadly the highlight of his career.. Kyle Kuzma did the same thing to Blake Griffin on the break while he was attempting to dunk. You can cause a serious injury by pushing people like this, and Blake didn’t want to do anything with Kuz afterwards.. Mathew Dellavedova shows his wrestling moves on Bradley Beal as he drags him down after which Bradley stands up all fiery, wanting to fight everyone, including the ref. Isaiah Thomas was ejected after he smacked Andrew Wiggins in the neck, and Jimmy Butler made sure to check his pulse to see if he’ll survive. And Marcus Morris should’ve been suspended for this awful hit from behind.. Remember this iron screen from Nene? Caris Levert was pretty shaken afterwards and had to leave the game. As he was running along Chris Paul he never saw this wall nearing.. Boom. Pat Bev ran into a wall himself, as Steven Adams stood rock solid in his way. After this missed dunk attempt or whatever this was by Marquesse Chris, Jared Dudley somehow decided that Ricky Rubio is the one to blame, and Marquesse joined him. Brandon Ingram was ejected after he smacked Roby’s head instead of the basketball. In game 4 of the 2018 playoffs, down 3-0 Demar Derozan probably wanted to go home as fast as he could, so he slapped JC on the forehead. Bobby Portis literally smacked down KCP on this transition layup attempt, even his headband fell off from the hit.. Moore thought he had an open layup but CJ sneaked from behind and hugged him around the neck not so gently I might add. McCollum did the same dirty foul on Gordon Hayward a couple of years earlier, sending him to the parquet floor on the open fastbreak. But nothing compares to this blow Isiah Thomas got by Malone. It’s pretty rare to see LeBron James getting fouled hard, but Jonas Valanciunas didn’t really care who that was as he got his arms around James while he was going to the rim. And I really don’t know what to say about these final 2 clips.

Sign up for Sorare now: https://sorare.pxf.io/3P6RRn and get 20 free common cards Kevin Durant just got traded to the Phoenix Suns for Bridges, Cam Johnson, Crowder and 4 unprotected first round picks. I mean look at this lineup. CP3, Booker, KD, Ayton, and pick whoever, either TJ Warren, Torey Craig or Landry Shammet. This is a legit superteam and just like that they became the favorites to go to the finals. Only thing is, the West became a bloodbath as now all of a sudden the Lakers also have a scary team that nobody would like to see- in the play-in or the playoffs. So let’s break down all significant trades, from this insane day. Kevin Durant got his wish granted. Remember last season he asked for a trade and basically his only team on the list was Phoenix. And after the Kyrie trade- despite the Nets trying to calm everyone down saying that they will move forward for the rest of the season with Durant, I knew that the Suns would once again come knocking on the door and Brooklyn would have to do something. The pressure was huge. So now, good luck to the rest of the league stopping Booker and KD. 30 and 27 point scorers respectively. Guys that are deadly from any position on the court but especially phenomenal operating in the mid-range, and if you add Chris Paul to this as well, you have a legendary group of mid range scorers. In playoff games this is basically deadly and unstoppable. Watch these pick and rolls. You think this is easy? Imagine putting Kevin freaking Durant right here. Who do you help off of? How do you defend this? And going under screens against these 3 assassins is a recipe for disaster. To me, it’s going to be a lot of switches and either CP3 is toying around with a big man, or just dropping it down to Ayton which will be barbeque chicken against a smaller guy, or an open shot for Booker off of a help, or just get the ball to KD and chill while he’s doing his thing. Seriously you know that you’d have to double Durant at times, and in this offense that’s one of the best in the league with tons of ball movement and player movement, and interesting sets that I’ve covered on this channel a thousand times, this is literally unstoppable. Ok, so is there any downside to this deal for Phoenix? Well, it would be nice for them to add some guys on the bench for the playoffs. Also, Chris Paul and KD are up there in age, but the way KD is playing that doesn’t seem to matter. What does matter however is that the West became a bloodbath overnight as the Lakers as well got exactly what they needed and all of a sudden transformed into a scary team that nobody would like to face. So let’s break down just what this trade does for them. Moving on, now check out the Los Angeles Lakers new starting 5. D’Angello Russell, Malik Beasley, Rui Hachimura, Lebron James and Anthony Davis. In a move that’s almost magical, Rob Pelinka somehow got rid of Russell Westbrook while also building a scary team and on top of that only spent 1 of the 2 draft picks. Seriously, how the Lakers got away with this is baffling to me. Great move. Let’s start off with D-Lo. Now I personally have never really liked him and considered him to be a streetball type of chucker, but this season he’s been absolutely on fire shooting the ball. Check this out, Russell is shooting 39% from downtown which is in the 82nd percentile, meaning that it’s better than 82% of the guards in the league. Then 47% from mid-range which again is in the 81 percentile, and 70% at the rim which again is at the very upper echelon of players at his position. So my personal opinion can not impact my objective view of this trade- especially comparing him to Russell Westbrook, his inefficiency, and the tough personality to deal with. Just before the trade there was a report about things becoming unbearable with him in the Lakers locker room. So this is an upgrade at this position in every aspect. But it doesn’t end there. The Lakers also finally got a nice shooter in Malik Beasley who is a career 38% three point threat. He can play with and especially without the ball running through screens for a catch and shoot. With all the attention on the rest of the guys I feel like Beasley will feast in LA and the slight slippage in shooting that he’s experiencing after a nice start, will come right back and the Lakers will benefit tremendously off of that.

Merch: https://heatcheck.info/ Out of the 38 390 points as the NBA’s all time leading scorer, this is Lebron’s deepest shot. An 80 footer from 2007. Do you know what his personal favorite bucket is? Sit back for some interesting plays and facts that you didn’t know from Lebron’s historic journey. Let’s get into it. By surpassing Kareem on a record that nobody thought that it would be broken you would think that this is it, that Lebron beat the final boss and won the game. But this is not the case. There is still 1 thing to unlock and I’ve been waiting for him to do this for a long time. Check this out: His career average is 27 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists, but he’s never actually had a game with these exact numbers 27/7/7. Isn’t that crazy?! To average this for like 20 years, but never have 1 single game with this statline. He’s had 28/7/7 and 26/7/7 but never the elusive number in between. But look, last season he had it right at this moment with 3 seconds to go. The exact statline of 27/7/7 He could have collected all the stones like Thanos, but James shot a meaningless 3 at the buzzer and ended with 30 points. Unbelievable. But what’s even crazier and speaks about his greatness is this graphic. You see the top 10 all time leading scorers and their ranking in assists. Lebron is also at the top in assists as well. Number 4 all time. And look where everyone else is. The closest one is Kobe at 33. The gap between James and everyone else is astonishing. This truly speaks about the overall greatness of the king. Both his scoring and assisting are top notch. Speaking of assists, the king himself needed some assists to get all those points. Dwyane Wade assisted him the most, but the rest of the top 5 is pretty interesting. You would never guess that number 2 is none other than Eric Snow. Snow played with Lebron for 4 seasons and connected on 292 assists with the king including this thunderous dunk. Number 3 is Mario Chalmers who caught Lebron in his prime so it was easy to just give him the ball and watch him do magic. Although Rio had some tricks up his sleeve as well, as you can see this sneaky pass between the defender’s legs. Then we got another guy from Lebron’s first stint with Cleveland and that is Mo Williams. He also benefited from playing with young Lebron and funny enough, one of his assists is James’s memorable moment against the Magic as he’s the one inbounding the ball. And rounding out the top 5 is Kevin Love, so a strange list honestly, and understandably so since Lebron has never played with a Hall of Fame point guard who was in his prime. And what better way to celebrate this iconic achievement than with this Lebron T-shirt which is part of my merch line. Does this make Lebron the GOAT? Let me know in the comments. Talk to you in the next one. Peace out.

Ever since this shot here’s Kyrie Irving’s career path: A trade request from Cleveland, then a promise that he will stay in Boston only to request a trade from there as well landing in his hometown, along with his best buddy and once again saying that he’s going nowhere to now finally request a trade from there as well. So what are the Mavs doing? And did they get better with this trade? I think they actually got worse. And this is why. What up everybody, my name is Stefan and this is Heat Check. Let’s get into it. Ok so the Mavs traded away their best defender in Finney Smith, who guarded the most dangerous perimeter player on the opposing team as well as Dinwiddie who’s also decent on that end of the floor, and brought in Kyrie Irving- a below average defender realistically. Dallas was bad enough on defense even before this move. They rank 24th in the league and got worse. Just imagine that. I don’t care how good of offensive players these 2 are, you’re not winning any playoff games against teams constantly scoring 120+ points. This tells me that hopefully the Mavs are not done and will look to bring in some defensive presence. Now I know that the chances for this are slim because the Raptors have a high asking price involving a lot of picks, but IF Dallas somehow manages to get a guy like OG Anunoby as well, this will instantly catapult them as the favorites in the West. But if not him, we should also be on the lookout for guys like Jarred Vanderbuilt, or Bojan Bogdanovic. But back to the current roster- The fit is going to be interesting to watch. Kyrie did play off the ball in Brooklyn when James Harden was there and was great in that role, but Luka holds the ball even more than the beard, leading the league in this category in the last 3 seasons. If the ego doesn’t get in the way for Kyrie, there is room for a nice partnership there. Doncic finally gets another guy that can break down the defense forcing help, double teams and rotations. He’s never had a teammate like that in his career. And Luka desperately needed help in terms of scoring. I mean look at this boxscore. Dude has been holding the entire offense on his back. So when the team asked for his opinion on this move, Doncic himself gave the green light according to reports, and honestly I fully understand him, despite the possible drama that Irving brings with him everywhere he goes. This is possibly the reason why Dallas hasn’t promised a new contract to him. And this is where things get really interesting. We know that the reason why Kyrie asked for a trade from the Nets was because they didn’t offer him the 4 year max extension. Now on the Mavs because of NBA regulations he can only sign a 2 year contract if it’s offered until June, or if he plays out the season and Dallas doesn’t give him anything, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent. So you would assume that Cuban has to re-sign him right? After all he initially saw Brunson go, then he traded away Dinwiddie and Finney Smith and to not re-sign Kyrie as well would be like he imploded the team. So why the hesitation? Well, on 1 side- they can see how the 2 guys fit, and how this team holds up in the playoffs and if they’re convinced- give him the contract. But if not- they could have a max spot this summer and really be aggressive in building a championship roster. This is both a smart move but a risky one as well. The downside and the potential risk to this is the fact that the free agent market this summer is pretty weak and Luka’s patience could end soon. The Brooklyn Nets and their fit are a whole different story and a separate future video. So stay tuned. The Slim Reaper is by himself now. Link in the description for this shirt plus other cool designs from my merch line. Talk to you in the next one. Peace out.

Merch: https://heatcheck.info/ The voting for the All-Star reserves this year was scandalous! And James Harden seems to agree apparently. But snubs happen every year so that’s not really the problem. The real issue is that this season you could clearly pinpoint which player should have been in the All Star, and which should not have. So buckle up. What up everybody, my name is Stefan and this is Heat Check. Let’s get into it. And we gotta start off with the most controversial case of the only guy that’s averaging 27 points and 10 assists per game. Let me put it like this. Trae Young is clearly posting better numbers than both Demar Derozan and Tyrese Halliburton while also being above them in the standings. So to have them two in the roster, and Young out, to me this is unfathomable but there’s an underlying reason for this. Players and coaches really don’t like Trae. Which is in contrast to the love that he receives from the fans. Check this out: In the voting for the All Star Starters Young was top 5 in votes from the fans and #6 from the media. Which makes the player voting really strange and by far the most disproportional out of anyone on the list. We already know stories about Trae beefing with his coach which made Mcmillan wanting to resign. We’ve also heard that players don’t enjoy playing with Young and Kevin Huerter kind of confirmed that. If he gave this answer live on a podcast, and didn’t even try to sugarcoat things, we can imagine the answer that he would give in a private conversation. So it’s obvious that Young rubs players and coaches the wrong way. So since the coaches had a huge role in picking out the All Star reserves, it becomes obvious why despite the better individual and team success Trae is left out while Derozan and Haliburton are in. You could also put Jrue Holiday here despite having a better record than Trae. There is a huge difference in numbers in favor of Young. Before moving on to the West, I as a Knicks fan wanted to make a case to flip Jalen Brunson for Julius Randle. Watching the Knicks often it’s clear to me that the way Brunson is orchestrating the entire offense, the fluidity, the pace with which they’re playing is far more valuable than the difference in dry numbers that Randle has over him. In the western conference, there is also an obvious swap that needs to happen as De’aaron Fox has comparable to slightly better numbers than Paul George but with better team record and way more games played. It’s an even bigger difference with Jarren Jackson Jr both offensively and especially in games played. Jackson has only played in 35 games so far this season. 12 game difference is a lot. You could also make a case for Aaron Gordon or Jamal Murray as the second guy from the best team in the conference, while ANT has great numbers and has played by far the most games out of the bunch, but none of them has a strong case like De’aaron Fox and I have to emphasize, he absolutely should have been there. If I have to take a player out - it’s Paul George for me. Enough with the negativity tho, going on a positive note, I am very happy that guys like Sabonis and especially Lauri Markannen are being recognized for their efforts and we’ll see them in the All Star game as they absolutely deserved it. Let me know in the comments who’s your snub this year, and get yourself this Giannis T-shirt or other cool designs from my merch line. Link is in the description. Talk to you in the next one. Peace out.

#shorts

Merch: https://www.heatcheck.info/ Watch how sneaky Lebron is. As Thomas Bryant sets the pick, James signals that he wants it on the other side. And now, with everyone expecting him to attack left, the king goes behind his back fooling the entire defense, the bounce pass to Bryant and the dunk. Everything happens in the blink of an eye and this is unstoppable. He does a similar thing right here as Davis screens for him, naturally the switch waits for him right here. But he goes opposite, and on the first dribble you see how the defense shrinks to stop the penetration, with Brunson in particular sliding to the paint. So Lebron rifles a bullet pass in traffic all the way to the corner, where Schroder has all the time in the world to knock down this shot. James used his entire bag of tricks to save the Lakers and we have to analyze a few more plays. What up everybody, my name is Stefan and this is Heat Check. Let’s get into it. First of all, I love the chemistry that James is developing with Rui. Look at the easy points right here, and the same outlet pass in the fourth quarter. Lebron was looking for Hachimura both in transition as well as in the half court with these simple swings to him and the newest Laker capitalized on these great looks. 5 of James’s 11 assists were handed off to Rui, so we can see that he likes this target. But how he dissected the defense in the pick and roll was the most impressive to me. Watch him right here as he penetrates, and bumps Randle to stop the recovery, then fakes a jumper and with Bryant’s man engaging on the contest, he drops it off at the very last second and Thomas is able to finish plus the foul. Madison Square Garden the mecca of basketball and the Knicks fans witnessed another historic Lebron performance, along with the iconic powder toss. Speaking of that, I’m super excited to announce that this powder toss T-shirt is part of the Heat Check merch line. We have some great designs including the Greek God and look at all the detail that’s on here. Then, check the clock because you know that it’s Dame Time baby. And with this shirt, everyone who watches basketball will immediately know who this is. And my personal favorite design, the sage is burning, the third eye is open, the ball handling is impeccable. Guys, I’ve never asked anything from you, but if you like my work and wanna support, check the link in the description at heatcheck.info and get yourself a great looking T-shirt. And when you get it, send me a picture on instagram so that I can feature you in a video. Ok back to the video, and you see Lebron bumping and keeping Randle on his back similar to the previous clip, but this time he finishes himself with the floater. And once more, almost the exact same situation, the bump, goes inside, floats it up and in. I love the patience in this sequence. You see that the screen is already set, but Lebron doesn’t rush to use it, instead surveys the floor while keeping the defense guessing. And finally, goes left, the slight hesitation before penetrating inside and yet another floater from the paint and he gets the foul as well. With this amazing all around game, not only did James help the Lakers get a much needed win, but he also climbed all the way to the number 4 spot on the all time assist list. The fact that he will end up as the all time leading scorer in NBA history and at #4 in assists is an astonishing accomplishment. All he needs to complete this are just 89 points and that is bound to happen in the next few games. That’s it for now, click the link below and get yourself a T-shirt. Peace out.

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Not only did Julius Randle get denied by the rim against Milwaukee, but he drove Knicks fans insane by chucking up 7 threes in the first quarter despite clearly not being able to hit one. The forced up shots continued throughout the entire game as he finished 9 for 29 from the field and 1 for 12 from downtown. He needed 29 shots to barely get to 25 points and Donovan Mitchell needed just 5 more shots to drop 71 points. Let me show you how Julius Randle is driving Knicks fans completely insane. And that includes ya boi. What up everybody, my name is Stefan and this is Heat Check. Let’s get into it. First of all it wasn’t just this one. Randle had a 9 for 26 debacle as well, 8 for 24, 7 for 19, 7 for 18, basically a bunch of games where he shot the Knicks out of it. And when you look at these shots, you know exactly what makes Knicks fans furious. There is no motion here, no teammates involved, the ball doesn’t move. If this was Desmond Bane for example missing shots, I’d be ok. A great 3 point shooter so we’re waiting for him to get back in rhythm. But Julius Randle as a power forward has fired away 320 threes so far on a bad 34%, while taking only 200 shots from the restricted area. The high percentage ones. And not to mention these types of extremely tough fading shots with a hand in his face. If you’re not Kevin Durant or Demar Derozan, this is a bad possession. Randle’s entire game is dependent on if he’s hot that night. And for a guy that prides himself on being the franchise leader, that’s a horrific variable to count on. Now the crazy thing is that he’s been good for the Knicks this season. Tho a lot of that comes from playing with a solid point guard like Jalen Brunson who I credit for most of this team’s success this season. He unlocked not just Randle, but also accelerated the growth of the young players. Similarly like 2 seasons ago when Julius had a healthy Derrick Rose, you see what playing with a quality floor general does to his game. 24.4 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists. Those are some terrific numbers. Actually he was an all star with almost the same numbers back then. But it’s going to be a hot and cold story with him from game to game unfortunately. For every game where he is lights out, there is an awful one like yesterday. This tweet by Rob Perez, a great follow on twitter btw, summarizes everything about Julius Randle’s game, and the emotions of New York fans. It’s like…I want him to take more shots when he’s on his best behavior, and attacks the rim, the simple pick and pop game…Sure have at it. But then when I see him forcing up threes, and wrestling with a defender before a fadeaway with a hand in his face, that’s some TV breaking material. And the Knicks are stuck in an awkward position since they have him under contract until 2026. He is set to make 29 million 4 years from now, and that is something that no team in the league would want to touch. So New York will be stuck in this mediocrity of the 6 spot or the play-in for a while, unless they somehow hit the jackpot similarly to how it happened for Brooklyn. Until then, we’ll enjoy the good game- bad game by Randle and Brunson’s late game heroics trying to keep this team alive. Tim Hardaway JR does almost the exact same thing as Randle and I made a video about it so check it out. Talk to you in the next one. Peace out.

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How do you go from down by 16 with just a minute left to play, to a sensational comeback forcing overtime. Last night was so insane that it wasn’t just this, but also a bunch of genius game winning plays drawn up and we have to break it all down. Buckle up cause this is going to be fun. What up everybody, my name is Stefan and this is Heat Check. Let’s get into it. Starting off with this masterful trick action by Steve Kerr to tie the game. Klay and Lamb go for this split, Klay goes out to the 3 but Lamb continues inside and all the way to the corner with the lob pass going towards him. This is just a misdirection, since now all the attention is over there, especially by Stewart who gets completely lost and dives absolutely nowhere. In the meantime the real action is this off ball screen for Thompson who gets open, the pass and the three to tie the game. Chase center explodes as they think this is going to overtime, but this is what the Pistons run for the win. Sadiq Bey will immediately run to the wing to post up right here, and as we let it roll, at the same time Bogdanovic is running downhill, and he goes there as well. Bojan bumps Sadiq’s defender just enough to create separation for Bey who now runs out and gets the ball for an open three for the wiiiin BANG! A three at the buzzer to stun Golden State and the entire arena. Meanwhile in Cleveland, on the last play of the game, Donovan Mitchell has the ball up top as Caris Levert comes to set a screen and while going inside the paint he pushes away Mikal Bridges forcing the switch. With Spida penetrating from the left side past Shamet, Bridges went after him for the double team and left Torey Craig in charge for both Levert and his initial match-up Evan Mobley on the far wing. Mobley notices that no one is watching him so he curls inside right on time, gets the pass and check out what the Cavs got for the win, a wide open jumper inside the restricted area, butter. The Cavs take the lead and hold on to win it at home. And lastly, watch the time and score as the Raptors are down by 16 with just 1:17 to go. But what followed was an absolute explosion by Toronto, who you can clearly see are not giving up and still fighting with full court press on defense and quick plays offensively, still trying to claw back into what looked like an obviously lost game for them. This is still a double digit- 11 point lead with less than 40 seconds left in the game. But first they score and then completely lock down Milwaukee to force a 5 second violation. To make matters even worse, moments later the Bucks foul on a three point shot, and not only that but it’s a flagrant. Meaning a free throw AND they retain possession. This is like a movie script, since off the inbounds Barnes goes inside and lays it in to cut the deficit to just 3 points. And look at the hounding defense all over the court, which admittedly culminated with a foul here that wasn’t called, but hey, fortune favors the brave I guess, which allows Toronto a chance for the tie. And in a scramble situation that lasts about 10 seconds, Gary Trent Jr gets a mismatch against Lopez, so he fires away to force overtime…and nails the three pointer. An unbelievable comeback, an 18-2 run by the Raptors in the final 70 seconds. And the drama continued in OT as well, but unfortunately for the home team, Giannis drives and look at how he attracts literally the entire squad on him, and we see Grayson Allen in the corner all alone. As we let it roll, Antetokounmpo makes a phenomenal pass and Allen knocks it down delivering the final blow that the Raptors couldn’t get back from. Nevertheless this was an amazing lesson for everyone why you fight to the end. And we’re not even done yet as Indiana had a 4 point lead and the ball with under a minute left, but gave it away for cheap, as you see the turnover and the easy layup, and then just moments later, Harden forces another one, and quickly throws it ahead, leading to a fast break and eventually the bucket. So all of a sudden we have a tie game and with poor execution at the end this goes to overtime as well. And once they got there, the experience of the Sixers prevailed as they were able to pull off an improbable win at the end. This was a wild night in the NBA, and we seem to say this often this season. You know what else is wild? This thing that players are shamelessly doing. You need to check it out. Talk to you in the next one. Peace out.

Kyrie Irving knew, and whether you choose to believe him or you think he’s copying Lebron back from Kobe’s record, one thing is for sure, that Mitchell’s preparation for a great performance, was to play some call of duty with Kyrie before the game. Here’s a few more overlooked things from Donovan’s 71 point explosion. What up everybody, my name is Stefan and this is Heat Check. Let’s get into it. Mitchell’s buckets and assists contributed to 99 out of the 145 total points for Cleveland. That’s 68%, more than 2 thirds of the total output from the Cavs. This is the definition of carrying the team. No wonder why Cedi Osman did this at the end. In fact, not only is this the 8th best scoring record in NBA history, but Donovan is the only one out of those players to score more than 70 points and have 10+ assists. And when Kevin Durant saw it, he had to praise Mitchell. Speaking of his peers, Spida broke Luka’s season record of 60 points, also broke Lebron and Kyrie’s 57 as the previous franchise record in Cleveland. And lastly, he dethroned Devin Booker and his 70 for the best scoring performance in the last 17 years. Ever since the day that Lebron knew: Last night was so wild that there were 5 players with over 40 points. This is only the second time in NBA history that 5 players exploded like that in one night. And funny enough it happened just about a week ago. The NBA is just now ramping up and hopefully we get to see much more of these crazy nights. What was your favorite moment from last night’s spectacle? Let me know in the comments. That’s it for now, subscribe and talk to you in the next one. Peace out.

In his heyday, Andre Roberson was possibly the best defender in the entire NBA. Clamping up the hottest offensive superstars, Roberson was a starter on a western conference finals team despite averaging a whole 4.8 points that season and infamously being incapable of hitting a jump shot. Still, despite his limitations on the offensive end, he was an extremely valuable piece to the Oklahoma City Thunder. That is, until disaster struck and he literally disappeared from the league. Many of you will be surprised if I showed you this footage of Andre in a Brooklyn Nets uniform from 2 seasons ago, and many are still wondering where he is and what happened to him? The tragic downfall of Andre Roberson deserves a deeper look, and in this video, we’ll do just that. What up everybody, my name is Stefan and this is Heat Check. Let’s get into it. The loss of James Harden opened up a gigantic hole at the shooting guard position for the Thunder that they desperately tried to cover. Thabo Sefalosha, a defensive minded guy who could hit a few shots here and there, was the team’s first attempt. Then there was Kevin Martin with his quirky release, a nice shooter actually. Derek Fisher at the tail end of his career also spent some time in OKC. Needless to say, none of these players were the perfect piece that superstars like Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook needed for a championship. This is how Roberson as well got a chance in 16 in the starting lineup as the 26th pick in the draft. The Thunder were testing out players and although he started getting regular minutes towards the end of the season, for the playoffs they knew they needed the experienced guys to make a deep run. So Andre did not play any meaningful minutes in the postseason. In his sophomore year however in 2014-15 he got much more playing time and started in 65 games. Unfortunately, this was mostly because of Kevin Durant’s injury that forced him to miss a large portion of the season, as well as some missed games by Westbrook. Still, Roberson used the opportunity that was given to him to showcase his defensive potential and his overall willingness to do all the dirty work on the court. Against Denver he would have a game with only 8 points but also 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks. Or against Brooklyn when he scored only 4 points but dominated defensively with 2 steals and 4 blocks in just 21 minutes. Despite barely missing out on the playoffs due to all those injuries, the Thunder sensed that they finally found the right starter to play along with Russ and KD. One that would do all the screening, cutting, rebounding and especially defending the best player on the opposing team. So that the 2 superstars can focus on what they do best- putting the ball in the basket. And that’s exactly what happened in 2015-2016 as they both exploded. Durant would get buckets on everyone and anyone. He was unguardable. Russ did everything and had 17 triple doubles that season, the beginning stages of the Westbrook supremacy that we know. With all the attention on them, Andre Roberson had some of the easiest points of his career. The Thunder would also run this action for him every single game. A misdirection pick and roll and with everyone focused on that, Andre cuts from the weak side for the alley oop dunk. This was their bread and butter, as it offloaded the main guys, provided some points for a non shooter, and the fans absolutely loved it. But that couldn’t mask the fact that Roberson struggled offensively. As a career 25% three point shooter, that season he had some of the most wide open looks as everyone would double Russ and KD off of him. Even in this perfect scenario, he only slightly improved to 31%. There were times when he would even pass up an open shot, so his teammates would get mad at him. And the situation was even worse when it came to free throws. Andre is a career 46.8% shooter from the foul line. An absolutely miserable percentage, that would mess with him so much that he would sometimes run around the court to avoid getting the hack a shaq treatment. It was ugly watching his shooting woes. But despite all of that, OKC still looked unstoppable that season. They got all the way to the brink of the finals and it took an iconic game, a superhuman effort from Klay Thompson in game 6, to deny them the chance to compete for a championship. Shortly after, Durant infamously left and everything changed for this team. This fully unlocked Russell Westbrook who went nuclear in that 2016-17 season and won the MVP. Seemingly it unlocked Andre Roberson as well, who played the best defense of his career and earned a spot on the second team all defense. A lot of people think that there was a point where Roberson was up there with Kawhi Leonard as the best on ball defender in the league. But because of his quiet persona, he didn’t attract too much attention and didn’t get selected more often.

Tim Hardaway Jr went from bricking completely wide open shots, and being invisible in the first half, to prime Larry Bird in the second, shooting lights out and putting the Lakers away as Dallas got the Christmas win. Last night’s hot and cold streaks were just a microcosm of his utterly inconsistent career, and why he’s the most infuriating player to have on your team. What up everybody, my name is Stefan and this is Heat Check. Let’s get into it. So far this season in 32 appearances, Hardaway had 9 games with 20+ points which is a great accomplishment obviously, but on the other hand he also had 9 games where he scored only 6 points or less. That’s like having 1 great game, and one terrible game from a valuable piece on your team. You cannot set any type of expectations before the next game. As we can see from the game logs. In one game he scores 21 and in the very next game he goes 1-9 FG and only 3 points. Against the Clippers in November he didn’t manage to score a single point in 22 minutes of action, just to explode the next day against the Rockets for 28 points. You simply can’t count on him getting a certain contribution every night. You either get Hardaway the flame thrower, or the average Tim who can’t hit anything. And yesterday, we saw both versions of him in one game. We’ve been aware of Hardaway’s ability to get hot in a split second ever since his rookie season and that memorable showcase against Dion Waiters back in 2014 Rising Stars Battle, as Tim scored 4 straight 3’s in that outing. But the thing is, this is actually his problem. Despite his athletic build and quickness, Hardaway doesn’t exactly utilize any of that, and relies heavily on just his jump shot, even tho he’s not great at it. A career 35.7% three point shooter, this is just average, but Tim has been jacking up more than 7 threes per game as if he’s the elite of the elite. And this season it’s amplified to the point where he attempts so few 2 point shots, that he’s basically acting like Matt Bonner on the court. Like a slow spot up shooter. Completely wasting away all that athleticism, quickness and ball handling ability. No drives to the basket, not getting to the foul line, as he never did actually…nothing. Back when he wore the Knicks uniform and earned his current contract, Hardaway attacked the rim for 1 third of his total points, while almost just as many came from behind the three point line. This is a well balanced diet of shots. Ever since then however, especially this season, has been the complete opposite. Almost 2/3 of his points come from downtown, and only 15% are points at the rim. And an inconsistent shooter who all he does is jack up threes, equals to an inconsistent player overall with huge point discrepancies from game to game. Sure, playing with Luka in this offense, requires some type of adjustment, as he has the ball most of the time, but on the flip side, the double teams on him generate some great wide open looks, which Hardaway hasn’t been able to knock down consistently. And I’m not sure which team likes a player with those attributes who btw will cost them 19 and a half million for this season, 18 for the next one, and 16 million in 2024. The Mavs are pretty much stuck with him, so their only hope would be that he somehow starts shooting lights out similar to how he was 2 seasons ago. And that’s Tim Hardaway Jr in a nutshell. You just hope that he’s going to have a great game. Can the Mavs win the championship with him as one of the key pieces on the team? Let me know in the comments. That’s it for now, subscribe and talk to you in the next one. Peace out.