March 28, 2023
Pacers exciting surprises and future plans, Nembhard and Nwora ball out! 🏀
In this episode, Rahj and Preston Reed discuss the Pacers' chances of making the playoffs, the possibility of shutting down key players, and the future of George Hill. They also discuss the specific players, such as Daniel Tyce and Chris Duarte, who may not be on the team next year. Duarte has been inconsistent and has had his ups and downs, while Nimhard and MatherIn have been producing well and could potentially take his place. The Pacers want to create a team that is improved and well-matched, and this could mean making changes to the current roster.
Rahj and his father, Mr. Reed, discussed the potential for the Pacers to obtain the number 10 spot in the playoffs, based on their current performance. Rahj expressed his doubts about the team's ability to do so, but Mr. Reed believes their chances are improving. They also discussed the possibility of shutting down key players like Tyrese to improve their draft prospects. Mr. Reed believes that letting the players continue to play and develop their chemistry with the team might be beneficial. Ultimately, they concluded that the team's performance will determine their chances of making the playoffs and what course of action they should take.. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thefinalword/support
Transcript
0:00:00
Rahj
You. Welcome back to another episode of The Final Word, the number one Patriots podcast on the web. I'm your host, Raj, and with me again is my co host for the evening, my dad, Mr. Reed. We have another great show lined up for you guys today, but before we get to that, please make sure you like share and subscribe to The Final Word. But most importantly, hit that bell icon if you're watching on YouTube, so you never miss a show.
0:00:27
Rahj
Plus, it would really help the production of the show. So, dad, the pacers right now are in a position to potentially, depending on how they play the rest of these games, I believe they have six games left to potentially move themselves into a playing spot, which would probably be the number ten spot, if at all possible. Right now, they haven't really been playing at their best, so I don't know how you think this is going to end up for them.
0:01:02
Rahj
What do you think their chances are of actually attaining that number ten spot?
0:01:09
Mr Reed
Well, the way they're playing right now, I think their chances are actually improving.
0:01:18
Rahj
Okay.
0:01:19
Mr Reed
I often say we want to cheer for them. Of course we like seeing them win. But when you're just out class right now, they're just in a position where they're just out class against their opponents. You look, they have a lot of points of players, starters that are actually right now, just on the bench, injured. They can't come in, so they're going to struggle. And they have quite a few turnovers, too.
0:01:56
Mr Reed
That's something that's really hurt them. But at the same time, as we look at their possibilities in the draft, they're actually increasing their possibilities of having a good draft.
0:02:16
Rahj
Yeah, I actually agree with that. And that kind of leads into my next question and concerning the draft, and this is something that fans have kind of been thinking about, and this is things that most people's, fans, no matter what organization you're with, will think about from time to time, depending on how well or how terrible you're doing late in the season. Should you actually shut down your key players like Tyrese, or should you continue to let them play and continue to build chemistry with the team and see what kind of different rotations would work with Tyrese? What do you think about that?
0:02:59
Mr Reed
Well, I think really, right now, I think they're looking at the chemistry that players have with one another because we got so many different combinations that you have to look at, and at the same time, even looking at those combinations, you realize that you can't quite keep everybody that you already have. Because when the draft comes about, in order to go through the draft, that means you got to add people and you need to be able to gauge performance and how well people are able to blend in and to once again create a situation where they're matched up in an improved light.
0:04:02
Rahj
Yeah, I agree. There are some players that come to mind. You go through the draft, like you said, you're going to have to add players. Some players are going to have to probably be moved. There's definitely at least one or two players I can think of that I think will probably be moved. One would be Daniel Tyce. I don't think he's going to be here next year. And then potentially another one, which apparently I've been on some Pacers groups, and this one's controversial.
0:04:33
Rahj
How people feel about Chris Duarte. So obviously this is Chris Duarte's second year with the Pacers, and he's had his ups and his downs. He's been injured, seems like most of this year. And when he gets back into the rotation, he still has ups and downs. He's not very consistent. He looks like even when he's playing, he's kind of in his own head. So I'm not really sure if he'll be on the team next year just because he can see the production coming from players like Andrew Nimhard and Benedict MatherIn, which are rookie players.
0:05:14
Rahj
And he's in his second year, so he might be feeling like because he's also an older player because he's 26, that he could be getting kind of wedged out, kind of moved to the side. What do you think about that?
0:05:28
Mr Reed
Well, really, I just agree with you when it comes to Daniel Tyce. I never really thought that Daniel Tyce would remain with the Pacers. It's just a matter of time before he's gone. But the other thing is, as you look at Chris Dorte, he looked like he's struggling, just trying to fit in and show everybody that he can be productive. And unfortunately, he tends to be injured quite a bit, so making it hard for him to actually get a balance there where people can see that he's a balanced and reliable player.
0:06:21
Rahj
Yeah, I agree 100%. Yeah, if he can stay healthy. And that's another concern. He's 26 and he's having injury issues. He's being injury prone at 26, and he still needs to be able to develop. So normally, maybe if you're 20 or 21 and you're in a position to where maybe you're a little injury prone or maybe you're having issues like that and you need to develop, people maybe look a little more favorable towards you to an extent. Like, for instance, with Zion Williamson.
0:06:57
Rahj
Zion Williamson, he was the number one pick, and he's been having all kinds of issues with being able to stay on the court. I think he's only played like maybe 60% of his games while he's been in the NBA. But if he came in and he was 25, like Chris D'orte, and now your second year, you're having similar issues and you still need to learn how to play with the team and develop chemistry and play NBA ball and all that good stuff.
0:07:26
Rahj
That just doesn't really sound like a good combination for you, even though 25 obviously isn't old, but when it comes to being an NBA, it's a little different. So would you agree with that?
0:07:39
Mr Reed
Well, I'd say 25 is not old at all. We're looking at people that are in their mid 30s that are still playing and going strong. But once again, that means when it comes to injuries, you have to be able to show that your body is able to actually take the I'd say the pressure of playing different number of games per week that's required and once again, being able to get recovery in there. So I think as we look at people, they may like them, maybe things you like, but I think to me the bad outweighs the good.
0:08:37
Rahj
The bad outweighs the good. With Chris Darte?
0:08:42
Mr Reed
Yeah, with Chris Dorte, the bad outweighs the good because ever since his injuries he's really struggled to be an effective scorer.
0:09:00
Rahj
Yeah. And it's really sad because I remember near the beginning of this season, they were kind of marketing Matherine, Halliburton and Darte as being like two of the main key pieces for the future for this team. Because of what we saw from Darte last year, because of the expectations from Matherine from the summer league and just his overall personality, obviously, his pick, his position. And then, obviously, having Tyrese Halliburton come over here for that trade with Sabonus and seeing what he did last year with the team.
0:09:41
Rahj
So people just kind of thought he was going to be one of those pieces going forward, but it's seeming like at this point he's not even going to be if he stays on the team. I just don't feel like his role is going to be what we thought it was going to be, but he may not remain just depending on how things work out. But that being said, it is what it is. Now one person who me and you talked about this earlier, hopefully George Hill, because I love George Hill, hopefully he can somehow stay on the team. Like I was telling you earlier, he has a desire to retire with the Pacers because obviously he's from Indiana, he's from Indianapolis and he said he'd like to have a Udonis Haslan type role.
0:10:28
Rahj
So do you think that's something possible, the Pacers would maybe work out for him or do you think they might just kind of ship him off somewhere else?
0:10:37
Mr Reed
Well, I'm thinking that they'll probably ship him off somewhere else.
0:10:44
Rahj
Oh man.
0:10:50
Mr Reed
It just is.
0:10:53
Rahj
And it was like he was begging to stay almost with some of his interviews because he mentioned Udonis Has them and everybody knows you. Donna Sadler.
0:11:02
Mr Reed
Well, I mean, you can understand his desire to be with the Pacers, to stay home and to close out his professional career. I think it would be a good thing, a good feeling for him to experience. But I think even if he were to stay with the Pacers, the close out will come rather fast.
0:11:32
Rahj
Yeah, the close out will probably come fast. It probably would. But do you think maybe he would have a desire to work within the organization even after he retires?
0:11:45
Mr Reed
That's a good question. And I think when you look at it, having a desire, a certain loyalty, having put in so much time in the Pacers and building relationships, being able to be home, I think it would be an ideal situation. Because one thing about players, I know as an athlete, when you love to do the thing that you're doing, you can still be part of the Pacers and possible coaching and assisting from different various positions.
0:12:34
Mr Reed
So I think, yeah, being home and being able to participate and work at building and contributing to the Pacers and their future endeavors, I think that would be a great idea.
0:12:48
Rahj
Yeah, hopefully he can, and he might be able to teach them some of that good old school Indiana Pacers defense that him and Paul George and David West and Roy Hibbert put on people. So I don't know, maybe he can. Maybe he can't. But moving on to the next topic, I did want to talk about a few other things. So one thing actually I wanted to talk about, which we didn't get a chance to really discuss yet, is Benedict Matherine coming back so quickly after that injury.
0:13:20
Rahj
That was honestly shocking for me just because I saw how that he came down on his ankle and then also comparing him to Kevin Durant, who had something similar when he was warming up and slipped a little bit, he got up by himself, but he was out for three weeks during that warm up. So are you a little shocked that Benedict Matherine came back so quickly?
0:13:39
Mr Reed
Well, yeah, of course. You have to keep in mind that Benedict MatherIn is something to be said for being young. The younger you are, the more able you are to bounce back from injuries. A lot of times you look at and you think about players today, they're so fast, they jump so high, and a lot of times you see them come down in different positions, they'll land on the court end and you think, oh, man, that's got to be a killer.
0:14:17
Mr Reed
But the younger guys, they just sort of bounce up and go on about the game. And so I think that's one thing. And Mather, he's a fighter, he's a competitor. And in sort of ways, you talk about Buddy Hill. Buddy, up until today, had not missed the game. Being on the court and playing basketball is his life. That's what he loves, that's what he feeds off of. And so I think Matherine is actually the same way.
0:14:57
Mr Reed
But once again, because of the youth, he's able to spring back and he's going to continue to grow. He's actually, for his age and his time in the game, he is actually a lot farther along than a lot of players.
0:15:16
Rahj
Oh, definitely. He's definitely a lot farther along. And just being excited to see him grow with the team is going to be really something to see what he can do in the next few years and the type of player he does become. So some people compared him this could be seen as blasphemous to some people compares him to Michael Jordan. Already. I heard some people say he's the second coming to Michael Jordan. I don't know if he's necessarily that.
0:15:44
Mr Reed
I don't think I go.
0:15:49
Rahj
No, I wouldn't necessarily go there either. But he definitely has a lot to probably contribute in the future. I imagine maybe not the second coming of Michael Jordan, but maybe just the first coming of Benedict Mather and we'll just say that, but I was really shocked he kind of came back. But then, obviously, I did have to think about how quickly he bounced back in relationship to his youth, because I believe he's only 19 or 20 years old.
0:16:19
Rahj
But yeah, so him he's doing great still this year. I was hoping that he wasn't rushed back too early, but I imagine maybe the trainers have a good hold on that, depending on what they need to make sure they need to look out for. So that being said, I did have another thing I wanted to discuss. Andrew Nimhard. So this last week, he had a great game. I believe he had 25 points in the first half against the team. I'm not sure what that team was, but what do you think the ceiling is for Andrew Nimhardt?
0:16:58
Mr Reed
Well, I think as you look at Andrew Nimhardt and you look at him playing with Tyrese, you got to give him room to grow. Of course, he's getting plenty of opportunity to grow. That's why he's in the position he's in now. With Tyrese sitting down, he's actually given more of an opportunity to develop. And so I think he's developing. He's getting stronger. He's actually, as far as competitiveness, is really a real strong competitor.
0:17:45
Mr Reed
He's emotionally not moved very much, at least not to the point that it affects what he does in the game. And I think you look at him when we look, you can see the potential. He shoots. He's really got a real good shot. He just needs to be a little bit more aggressive in taking that shot and looking for the shot. Then once again, if you look at how do you blend the talents, because really he's a point guard, but he can be a shooting guard.
0:18:28
Mr Reed
Of course, then again, when you're playing buddy and buddy's on the court and you have to move the ball around, you can only get so many touches right. But I think he'll get stronger. He'll make fewer and fewer mistakes. So as he goes along between him, his growth and Tyrese is once again, when you talk about it, he's still a young guy. And of course, he's developing, too, so I think you're going to have some really steady, consistent golf card.
0:19:11
Rahj
Yeah, I agree. I wasn't really too high on Andrew Nimhardt earlier in the season. I mean, obviously he's had some really good games, so I definitely won't take that away from him. But at the same time, he's made some what I say some some bonehead turnover mistakes that I pointed out a few different times. But he is a rookie, so I'll give that to him. But some of those passes he was making were just very ill advised.
0:19:45
Mr Reed
Well, you got to remember, though, he's a rookie, and so coming in, it's a big adjustment to make, moving from college, being a college player to being a professional player. Yeah, I think, once again, getting adjusted to the speed of the game and pacing, all of that's really important. And so I think the more he plays, the more he's adjusting and things are starting to slow down, which means when they slow down, he thinks his thoughts are smoother and he's more consistent in the choices that he'll make.
0:20:34
Rahj
Right, and I agree, but yeah, I will agree with you. He doesn't seem like he gets into his head too much. It seems like he makes really good adjustments to different things the coaching staff wants him to do. So it looks like he'll be pretty level headed going forward. So between him and Matherine, definitely. Obviously we know they were on the Rising Stars team, but we definitely have something good to look forward to.
0:21:02
Rahj
And it makes you wonder what the ceiling would be for this team, even if we really didn't get any really great draft picks in the future. Do you think it was possible that maybe the team that we have right now with some of the guys, like Matherine and Nimhard and also Jordan Mora, which we didn't really talk about yet, but Jordan Warra, he seems like he's maybe a little bit of a surprise to some people as far as his ability to score.
0:21:38
Rahj
Do you think with this team, if they develop chemistry going forward, that they could actually be even a better team next year?
0:21:48
Mr Reed
I really do. When we talk about Jordan War, I think no one really expected him to be as talented offensively as he is, but he's a bucket getter. Yeah, you give him the ball, he's going to find a way to get it in there. He's going to be aggressive. He doesn't make a whole lot of turnovers. I just see him getting better and better. Now, the other thing I think is the Pacers are going to have at least three first round draft picks.
0:22:31
Mr Reed
They're going to be able to add some real talent to the team. It doesn't matter if they don't get to number one draft, they're still going to be able to add some significant talent to the team. And let's see, who was it didn't play tonight.
0:22:53
Rahj
Well, Dorte didn't play well.
0:22:55
Mr Reed
No, Dorte didn't play, but.
0:23:01
Rahj
Miles didn't play. Obviously. Buddy Hills didn't play. Tyce didn't play, but he hasn't been playing. Who are you thinking of? What position?
0:23:19
Mr Reed
That guy that they interchange at the forward position.
0:23:25
Rahj
Tell my percent.
0:23:28
Mr Reed
Yes. Yeah, he didn't play tonight, so I don't know. I don't remember seeing him on the court, actually.
0:23:39
Rahj
Tell you, I think he did play.
0:23:42
Mr Reed
Did he?
0:23:43
Rahj
I think he did play. Pretty sure he did.
0:23:48
Mr Reed
He didn't do too much, but then again, he pretty much provided a pretty solid support when they needed when they needed shooters or someone to get to the basket, to get rebound. But even as I look at him, I wonder when you figure they're going to get three first round draft picks, they'll pick pretty strong that it's a possibility he could be one of the players that actually could be moving on.
0:24:30
Rahj
Yeah, he could be. And it's not because he's a bad player. He's definitely not. Whatever team he would end up on, I believe would get a good quality player. But yeah, I agree with you. I think maybe they believe they've seen as much as they're going to see out of him. They kind of know what he is, so they'd probably be willing to take a chance on moving him. I think he could be moving on. I like Brusette, but, yeah, he could be moving on.
0:24:59
Rahj
But about Jordan Warra, I did want to say mention this. So I'm in the Pacers reddit community, and somebody actually mentioned that Jordan Warra reminds them of TJ. Warren as far as his ability to score. And I could kind of see that a little bit. What do you think?
0:25:21
Mr Reed
That's what I kind of see.
0:25:23
Rahj
Oh, that's what you saw, too.
0:25:25
Mr Reed
Yeah, that's what I see also.
0:25:28
Rahj
Yeah. So that's what it seems like to me. But I think he's a little bigger than Warren. I think he is.
0:25:37
Mr Reed
I think actually it's giver an inch or two one way or the other.
0:25:44
Rahj
Maybe it's his hair. His hair makes him seem bigger, but he definitely seems a little more solid than TJ. Warren.
0:25:52
Mr Reed
Yeah. And then once again, he's still young and physically still needs some filling out to do. So I think there he's going to get stronger and as he gets stronger, once again, when it comes to getting buckets, he's good at it.
0:26:15
Rahj
Yeah, he's definitely good at it. Definitely looking forward to seeing what he can do in the future. But yeah, the Pacers tonight, they lost to the Dallas Mavericks. They got some revenge on the Pacers when they came in town. So 107 or not 107. 127 to 104. Kyrie and Luca both played.
0:26:42
Mr Reed
Well, realistically, and you have to accept the fact is the Dallas Mavericks, that's a good team. If Kyrie and Luca are on and people in the corners are hitting their threes, they're going to be really a challenge for, I think a lot of people, even in the west.
0:27:10
Rahj
Oh, yeah, I agree. They definitely have that ability to challenge anybody. But this year has been such a tight run race anyways, as far as positioning in the west and I believe in the east as well, as far as a few wins can put you up or a few losses can put your way down, it's going to be pretty interesting. I believe this is the Titus has been in quite some time, I believe. I think Rick Carlyle made note of it. As far as the parody in the league right now, it hasn't been like this, and I think he mentioned like, over 20 years, like, normally the teams that are bad are out of the playoff race, are really bad, and the teams that are good are really far ahead. But then you got the Kings and the third spot with just a little bit over 40 wins.
0:28:09
Rahj
That's crazy. A little bit over 40 wins and you're in the third position right now. So that's really strange because you could have a little bit over 40 wins in the past and barely make it into the playoffs.
0:28:29
Mr Reed
Yeah, there's a lot more parity in the NBA this season. That's why we look and we see some good games. Of course. Then again, sometimes you wonder about the officiating in the NBA this year. Number one, sometimes the calls by the official are so questionable. Sometimes they call games. It's like lopsided in the way the calls go. But then again, the replays and the challenges and all those things that you get in the NBA now tend to actually slow the game down, and sometimes it actually upsets the flow, I think.
0:29:24
Rahj
Yeah, it does. And I'm sure they probably use those challenges sometimes for that purpose, maybe. But at the same time, I'd rather they get the call correct than to have a call that wasn't called. Or I mean, I'm not sure how they exactly use all the challenges all the time or the different replays. And things like that. But I just think there should be a little more accountability in regards to some of the plays that are called, some of the challenges or some of the fouls that are called that maybe occurred or didn't occur out of bounds, traveling, things like that.
0:30:08
Rahj
What are you going to say?
0:30:10
Mr Reed
Yeah, well, another thing, though, you have to look and think about the game, and the speed of the game has gotten so much faster. And once again, they used to say basketball was a non contact sport, but now physically, you got to be strong because you're going to be challenged.
0:30:34
Rahj
Yeah, that's true. I agree 100%. Well, dad, thank you for this. Another episode of The Final Word with me. That being said, guys, I want to make sure you guys are aware that on Spotify we are going to start having a poll and let us know if you agree or disagree with this, but I guess the poll we'll do right now will be in concerning to Tyrese. Should they shut Tyrese down for the rest of the season, or should they let him play as long as he's healthy?
0:31:13
Rahj
We'll have a yes and a no, or we'll figure that out. But guys, check that out and we'll tell you what the results are going to be. But, dad, thank you for joining me for another episode of The Final Word. So that being said, dad, what is your final word?
0:31:31
Mr Reed
Final word is future.
0:31:35
Rahj
That's a good one. You want to expound on that?
0:31:41
Mr Reed
Yeah. Well, I think we have to keep in mind as we look at the Pacers play that now, even in the play, even in playing Tyrese, it's all looking towards the future. So you're looking at being able to make choices of who blends well in what situations, because you got to know what you really have when you look at that bench and you look at the different lineups. I don't really think they should shut Tyrese down.
0:32:20
Mr Reed
I think they ought to use him while they can use him, as long as he's healthy, because he'll continue to grow and the rest of the team will continue to grow.
0:32:31
Rahj
I agree 100%. And my final word is going to be draft. As far as hopefully we draft somebody really good.
0:32:46
Mr Reed
Well, I mean, that would be the goal of every team, I'm sure, to draft somebody who's going to be really good.
0:32:55
Rahj
Yeah. And I think if we do shut Tyrese down, our chances of drafting somebody really good go up. Maybe, possibly. That could be how that works out. We'll see. You never know.
0:33:09
Mr Reed
Well, yeah, you're right. You never know, but we'll see.
0:33:18
Rahj
All right, guys, well, thank you for joining me and my dad for another episode, The Final Word. Make sure you, like, share and subscribe and share the Final Word with a friend, family member. Just share it with somebody and we'll catch you guys on the next episode. Take it easy. Bye bye.
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