Austin Rivers expects Nikola Jokic & the Nuggets to return to CHAMPIONSHIP FORM 📈

Can you believe that the playoffs are just over a month away? And we all know that the NBA world has their eyes on the race in the wild, wild rest. I mean, it is rodeo season down in Houston, Texas. So let's take a ride really quick. Let's start with the Suns versus the Cavs. Now, this is the third quarter Cavs up 75-69. And KD, that's his spot, Ramona. I mean, everywhere is his spot. He is Mr. Efficiency. He is. Now, it's not just the Middie, the mid-range. We've also got KD from three. He's been shooting a really great number, almost career best from three. And this was Durant's fourth straight 35-point game, the longest streak of his career. The Suns win 117-111. Durant had 37-8-6. Now to the Mavs versus the Bulls. 40 seconds left in the first quarter. Mavs up big. Luka Doncic, talking about signature shots, his step back. That step back. And he, I mean, you can't even get close to him because he's got his elbow out there. And also, you can't get close to him because he knows how to throw a dime to Gafford for the lay-in. Gafford made 28 straight field goals in the past four games. That's the longest streak in play-by-play history, Ramona. Now, check this pass out, though. Okay, Luka's got it. Touchdown! That straight up was unsettling. It is. Doncic recorded his seventh straight triple-double, tying the longest streak in NBA history, as the Mavs won 127-92. Doncic, 27-14-12. Light work, triple-double. Let's head to the Nuggets versus the Raptors. The Nuggets were down 17 points at the half. Ooh, just imagine that. The most at home this season. And then there's the hook shot. You know something's cooking. Yeah, Michael Malone probably had something to say about that during the break. Very true. And someone who also has Jokic's back, Jamal Murray. Nice little bucket over there. Now we're checking in where the Nuggets are up 110-107. Okay, defense. Jokic with the block. You know, that reputation on him as not a defensive player is way outdated. Ooh, look at that pass. He's been flying around the last couple of years. Nuggets win 125-119. An insane stat from Jokic. Get this, 35 points, 17 rebounds, 12 assists, and 6 steals. Plus the win and the comeback. Yes, that's crazy. Now, the Nuggets, the Suns, and the Mavs all won last night. So here's how the West currently stands. Denver remains a half game out of the top spot, while Phoenix is hanging on to sixth. As for the Mavs, they're in eighth. Only a game back of the Suns, though. Now, remember, the team seated 7-10 will be in the play-in tournament. So let me kick it up the court, since we saw so many great passes to Austin. The playoffs are literally a month and two days away. When you look at where the Nuggets are, do you think that they go up? Do you think that they go down? Or do you think that they stay in second? I think the Nuggets close out strong here. You know, we're talking about a championship-caliber ball club. This is a team that has experience. This is a team that knows when to turn it on, when to turn it off. And now that we're past all-star break, I expect Nuggets to get back in that championship form. When we talk about the best starting lineups in basketball, we always reference the Celtics and this team right here, the Nuggets, who we've seen have their way with the Celtics both meetings this season. They are the favorite, in my eyes, to win the championship, to go back and repeat. They're just that sound. And their best player is the most sound player in basketball. So when we talk about catching a young OKC team, I think it's very, very possible. And I think this is a team that can come back to tenfold and end up the season number one spot. Yeah, today, I really do agree that I believe the Nuggets are the favorites. And I think that they could really get that top spot in the West. Now, Ramona, switching over to the Suns, they're hanging on to sixth. Only a game away from entering the play-in situation. Where do you think that they finish? You know, it's interesting. They finally got all their big three back. Devin Booker, Bradley Beal, Kevin Durant. And one of the issues that they've been working on all season long is defense. We know that those three guys can score. We know they can put the ball in the hoop. But defensively, they've had issues all year long. And I think Frank Vogel has felt that they can actually be a much better defensive team if they get their guys back, they play on a string. Part of good defense, though, is not turning the ball over. They are one of the worst teams in the league at turning the ball over. And he was asked last night, is that because you don't have a traditional point guard? And he said simply, nope. Which is him saying, we all need to take much better care of the ball. Because we know those big three when they're all together and they score. That's never going to be their problem. It's defensively, can they lock down enough? That is true. Now, looking at where Phoenix is at the sixth spot, that is a sweet spot. But I mean, same amount of losses as the teams below them. Yeah, but if you're sixth, does that mean you play the Nuggets in the first round? If the Nuggets get to one, do you really want to be in that 4-5 game and have the Nuggets in the second round? It'll be interesting last week as everyone starts to jockey for position. Look, I would want to try to create as much buffer as possible, no matter who I play against. But Zach, let's talk about the Mavs, because they have fallen into the play-in situation at eighth. Where do you think that they land in the grand scheme of things? I think they've got a good chance to go up just because their schedule is easy and Phoenix's schedule is brutal. And it may come down to those two teams for the sixth spot. And think about the stakes. You're talking about two teams who have traded so much stuff to go all-in right now, trying to get out of or stay out of the play-in. Also, as Ramona said, match-ups are paramount. If you get up to sixth, not only do you escape the play-in, you might draw Minnesota trying to figure out life without Karl-Anthony Towns in the first round if Oklahoma City and Denver go one and two. That is a world of difference from sixth to seventh. And Dallas, much like Phoenix, all-world offense, just good enough defense. They're a very dangerous team on a game-to-game and short-series basis, because their offense is just that good. Luka is just that good. We just haven't seen consistency on defense or consistency from the role players. Some nights they're popping, like last night when they can't miss. Sometimes it feels like Luka and Kyrie are kind of going it alone. Hard to see them making a deep, deep run in the playoffs, but nobody wants any part of these dudes for one series. It must be look good, feel good, play good, because Zach just said, what's popping? I love that. That sixth seed is looking like a precious commodity, especially in the Western Conference. But the Wolves currently sit one and a half games out of first place and currently have the 13th most difficult remaining schedule. But tonight they face off against the fourth seed, the Los Angeles Clippers, right across the street. And both teams are five and five in their last 10 games. Not exactly where they want to be, but both squads have held a top four spot throughout the majority of the season. But tonight's matchup is a clash of two titans and also a clash of two totally different styles. Anthony Edwards is young and restless, while Kawhi Leonard has been dominant as the world turns. You see what I did there? And how they score echoes that. I mean, Ant ranks ninth in transition scoring this season, while Kawhi is ninth on scoring from the mid range, the middie. And I'll show you exactly how they get it done right here, starting with the hero, the Ant man. You love how he has embraced defense here. He's able to get a steal. And Anthony Edwards, 227 transition points. He scores before the defense gets set up. Now on the other side though, Kawhi Leonard, I mean, what? It's against my Houston Rockets. A little show and go. Dylan Brooks, great defender, comes in to send the double. Doesn't matter, he gets to his spot. 251 mid range points so far this season. So it's really safe to say that tonight's Wolves and Clippers game, that is a huge one. Both teams were missing their stars in the last game. Now, Cat is obviously clearly out for the longer term. But for the Clippers, PG and Kawhi will likely return from what coach Tyloo said was extreme scheduling based off of their back-to-back. And when those two suit up again together, that will actually mark the most games either has played in any season with the Clippers. So Zach, who do you think goes further in the playoffs? It's gotta be the Clippers. They're veteran tested. They're ready. And most of all, they're healthy. Until we see when and where Carl Anthony Towns comes back or what it looks like, it's hard to see the Wolves offense being good enough and consistent enough to win one, two, three rounds. The competition is just too good. And in Kawhi, the Clippers have one of the all-time great playoff performers, a Terminator who can control games on both ends of the floor. So I'm going Clippers, but I'll say this, we don't talk about them much, but that four or five series, if five is the Pelicans, the way they're playing, that ain't no picnic. Watch out for the Pelicans. That's not an easy series for either of these teams. You know, I was thinking the same thing, Zach, when I looked at those standings all the time and it feels like the Clippers are sort of locked into that spot, the top three feel like they're set. But the Clippers in that four or five game, nobody wants to see the Pelicans in the first round. That team is long, they have depth, they have these young guys who you've seen them do this in the playoffs before a couple of seasons ago. And so I think that I would also say I like the Clippers because they have so much more invested in this team. These guys are ready to win. They've really gone all in with the veterans on this team this year. And I like that their makeup, I like that Kawhi Leonard feels healthy this year and is in shape to make a playoff run. But I don't like that matchup in the four or five game at all. Let's go to a former Clipper who has one of the best backgrounds. I think you can actually see his jersey in his background. Austin, which team can make a bigger statement tonight? What do you do if you play for another team, by the way? I've been wondering that the whole time. I like that Houston is in front, Austin. Is there room for another Austin Rivers jersey in there? I don't know. I'm running out of room, I can tell you that much. Listen, if we're talking between the two, you gotta go Clippers. I'm gonna agree with Zach. They have the makeup, they have the experience, especially with questions about Carl's health. We don't know what's gonna happen there. But I love the makeup of this Clippers team, especially for the postseason. I usually don't try to judge them too much on the regular season. This is a team that's built to make a run in the postseason. We talk about Kawhi Leonard, we see what he's done with San Antonio and Toronto. He doesn't have nearly as much pressure on those teams as he does with this team, considering he has Paul George with him. We always talk about playoff James Harden. This is the most simple position he's ever been in. He doesn't have all that pressure on his soldiers. He gets to go out there and really just be a playmaker because he has two closers next to him. They got a variety of guys that can help score. They have some inside presence with Plumlee coming back healthy and Zubak down there and also adding Daniel Tice. I like that team to go contend in the playoffs. I think they're one of the few teams that actually can give Denver a run. But it's kind of crazy because when you look at them head-to-head, they've had very similar seasons, but clearly we all go based off of maybe the veteran loading Clippers lineup, right? With Kawhi, Paul George, James Harden. I think people, I mean, I've been one of those people that have picked the Clippers since early. And they'll probably get Westbrook back at some point. He's hopeful to come back from his hand injury at some point, whether it's by the end of the regular season or in the playoffs. So maybe we should just stand on business really quick because it's now time for setting the pick brought to you by ESPN. Beth, the official sports book of ESPN. So here's who we've got tonight. Ramona, Austin, Zach. And I'm gonna throw myself in there. We're all saying the Clippers, which means, ah, it could be setting one up. I mean, we just sat there and watched Nas read go for 31 points because he can shoot the three like nobody's business. But what happened in those games, Ramona? They lost, they lost. The more the merrier though.