Hardwood Knocks: An NBA Podcast

Dan is joined by Salman Ali (@SalmanAliNBA) from Red Nation Hoops to discuss the Houston Rockets hiring Ime Udoka, reflections from the 2022-23 season, biggest roster needs, free-agency targets, the James Harden rumors, trade possibilities and much more. TIMESTAMPS BELOW⬇️ 0:00 - INTRO 1:26 - The Ime Udoka hire 3:33 - Ime Udoka's introductory presser 15:54 - What to expect from Ime Udoka's impact...

MAIL TIME. This week's journey down You Asked, Dan Answered Lane covers the Milwaukee Bucks, Mike Budenholzer and Giannis Antetokounmpo, Paul George trade destinations and the future of the LA Clippers, a Brooklyn Nets and Portland Trail Blazers hypothetical, random NBA beefs, a Herb Jones trade idea, the drawn-out genesis of Dan's NBA fandom and MUCH MORE. TIMESTAMPS BELOW⬇️ 0:00 - INTRO 2:26 - W...

Dan and Grant react to the Toronto Raptors firing Nick Nurse and then go through their EARLY 2023 NBA playoffs winners and losers so far. TIMESTAMPS BELOW⬇️ 1:35 - INTRO  2:51 - Raccoons invaded Dan's life 13:07 - Toronto Raptors fire Nick Nurse 24:09 - Mike Brown/Sacramento Kings 28:15 - Minnesota Timberwolves 32:27 - Denver Nuggets defense/Jamal Murray 34:35 - Trae Young 46:32 - Brook Lopez, Mil...

Dan is joined by Matt Modderno (@MattModderno) from the Bleav in Wizards podcast (@BleavinWizards) to discuss the future of the Washington Wizards following their decision fire general manager Tommy Sheppard. Full list of topics include: —Was Tommy Sheppard's dismissal a surprise? —Will the Wizards be open to rebuilding? —Evaluating Wes Unseld Jr. —What would it take for the Wizards to rebuild? —T...

MAIL TIME. Dan answers an array of questions that cover the Draymond Green suspension, Ja Morant's injury, the Philadelphia 76ers-Brooklyn Nets series, overreactions for every playoff team, win-win trades, player archetypes and much more. TIMESTAMPS BELOW⬇️ 1:35 - Draymond Green suspension 5:04 - INTRO 6:39 - Walker Kessler or Jaden McDaniels? 8:35 - Should the Utah Jazz trade for LaMelo Ball? 11:...

Dan and Grant wrap up their 2023 NBA playoffs primer with extend thoughts on the first-round matchup between the Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat as well as the Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves. TIMESTAMPS⬇️ 1:35 - INTRO 3:52 - Milwaukee Bucks vs. Miami Heat 23:40 - Denver Nuggets vs. Minnesota Timberwolves JOIN OUR DISCORD: bit.ly/discordhwk SUBSCRIBE TO OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL: bit.ly/31z7eyI...

BONUS POD. Dan is joined by The Kings Herald's Greg Wissinger (@gwiss) to discuss the wave of doubt engulfing the Sacramento Kings as they prepare to end their 16-year postseason drought and take on the Golden State Warriors in Round 1 of the 2023 NBA playoffs. Is the skepticism warranted? Are the Kings better than they're viewed nationally? Is the defense really that bad? Which matchups should we...

Dan and Grant preview all six first-round series that already set for the 2023 NBA playoffs. TIMESTAMPS BELOW⬇️ 1:35 - INTRO 6:05 - Philadelphia 76ers vs. Brooklyn Nets 17:01 - Boston Celtics vs. Atlanta Hawks 26:48 - Cleveland Cavaliers vs. New York Knicks 42:41 - Sacramento Kings vs. Golden State Warriors 55:20 - Memphis Grizzlies vs. Los Angeles Lakers 1:13:09 - Phoenix Suns vs. LA Clippers 1:2...

Grant and Dan drop their picks for All-NBA, All-Defense and All-Rookie teams. Be sure to check out our awards pod here: https://bit.ly/hwkx886 TIMESTAMPS BELOW⬇️ 0:00 - INTRO 3:07 - Rudy Gobert Suspension 6:16 - CRITERIA 9:37 - All-NBA Guards 19:05 - All-NBA Forwards 29:07 - All-NBA Centers 33:33 - All-Rookie teams 45:28 - All-Defense teams JOIN OUR DISCORD: bit.ly/discordhwk SUBSCRIBE TO OUR YOUT...

Grant and Dan go LOOOOONG on their 2022-23 NBA awards ballots. TIMESTAMPS BELOW⬇️ 1:35 - INTRO/CRITERIA 9:31 - MVP/More Criteria 34:16 - Executive of the Year 43:06 - Coach of the Year 52:31 - Defensive Player of the Year 1:06:26 - Rookie of the Year 1:17:45 - Clutch Player of the Year 1:19:24 - Sixth Man of the Year 1:26:27 - Most Improved Player JOIN OUR DISCORD: bit.ly/discordhwk SUBSCRIBE TO O...

MAIL TIME. This week's batch of FANTABULOUS questions have us talking about the future of Dallas Mavericks and Luka Doncic, why the Sacramento Kings #justwork, Deandre Ayton's role on the Kevin Durant-era Phoenix Suns, free-agency targets for the Indiana Pacers, the value of Trey Murphy, Nick Nurse and the Raptors and SO. MUCH. MORE. TIMESTAMPS⬇️ 1:15 - INTRO 2:28 - The difference between the Dall...

Dan is joined by the legendary Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) from Spotrac to cover the ins and outs of the new NBA collective bargaining agreement. Topics include: games-played minimum for awards, the luxury tax, the "super tax," the midseason tournament, players investing in NBA and WNBA teams and sports betting companies, unintended consequences of new items and MUCH MORE. TIMESTAMPS⬇️ 1:15 - INT...

Dan and Grant revisit their NBA preseason win-loss predictions and take ownership of their biggest misses and explain their logic, what went wrong and so much more. We talk about more than half the league, so buckle up! TIMESTAMPS BELOW⬇️ 1:15 - INTRO 6:11 - Oklahoma City Thunder 9:15 - Utah Jazz 12:46 - Sacramento Kings 17:31 - Indiana Pacers 20:52 - Boston Celtics 24:17 - New York Knicks 27:47 -...

MAIL TIME, PART 2. In the second mailbag of the week, Dan discusses the Julius Randle injury, playoff offenses, the future of Jaylen Brown on the Boston Celtics, NBA revenue sharing, teams best positioned to trade for Luka Doncic and MORE. TIMESTAMPS⬇️ 1:15 - INTRO 2:23 - Can the New York Knicks survive without Julius Randle 12:23 - Which team would Victor Wembanyama help the least? 17:49 - Will o...

MAIL TIME. Dan goes through questions that cover Evan Mobley and the Defensive Player of the Year race, the growth of Jaden McDaniels and his next contract, the future of Jaylen Brown, Jalen Williams, playoff basketball, LaMelo Ball and MUCH MORE. TIMESTAMPS⬇️ 1:15 - INTRO 4:45 - The development of Jaden McDaniels 19:20 - LaMelo Ball's value 25:49 - Where would Jalen Williams go in a 2022 NBA re-d...

Dan discusses the collapse of the Dallas Mavericks, the prospect of their tanking this season and what the current state of affairs means for their season. After that, he's got five *reasonably bold* predictions to drop into your mindholes. TIMESTAMPS BELOW⬇️ 1:15 - INTRO 2:12 - State of the Dallas Mavericks 19:02 - Prediction #1 25:04 - Prediction #2 29:46 - Prediction #3 33:10 - Prediction #4  3...

Dan goes LONG on the Paul George injury and its impact on the short- and long-term future of the LA Clippers. Then, while nobody asked for this, Dan offers one 2023 free agent every NBA team should already be thinking about— in the name of changing pace. CHAPTERS BELOW⬇️ 1:15 - INTRO 2:50 - The LA Clippers without Paul George 24:02 - Atlanta Hawks 24:59 - Boston Celtics 25:24 - Brooklyn Nets 26:15...

Dan and Grant are trading big-picture observations for that will define the rest of the NBA season, potentially the 2023 NBA playoffs and definitely the 2023 NBA offseason. This journey includes the future of the New Orleans Pelicans, the Philadelphia 76ers, the New York Knicks, Jalen Williams and more! TIMESTAMPS⬇️ 1:15 - INTRO 4:45 - The future of the New Orleans Pelicans is complicated 15:32 -...

MAIL TIME. In Part 3 of our three-part mailbag, Dan and Grant dive into the future of the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets, the latest Lonzo Ball injury news, Jayson Tatum's slumping MVP case, the Denver Nuggets' title chances, the Golden State Warriors' transition into the post-Stephen Curry era, the best clutch players who don't score and MORE. TIMESTAMPS⬇️ 1:30 - Who gets more wins over the ne...

MAIL TIME. In Part 2 of our three-part mailbag, Dan and Grant react to Bogdan Bogdanovic signing an extension with the Atlanta Hawks before tackling the free-agency outlooks for Cam Johnson and Hamidou Diallo. After that, they talk about Kawhi Leonard's All-NBA candidacy, as well as the battle for the final center spot. TIMESTAMPS⬇️ 1:30 - INTRO 4:46 - The Bogdan Bogdanovic extension  17:51 - How...

MAIL TIME. In part 1 of this week's mailbag, Dan discusses the Denver Nuggets' recent struggles, player evaluation, the long-term future of the Miami Heat, Kyrie Irving's next contract, the most important role players of the NBA playoffs and MUCH more. TIMESTAMPS⬇️ 1:30 - INTRO 3:26 - Are the Denver Nuggets in trouble? 17:28 - Who will be the Portland Trail Blazers' next head coach? 23:26 - What m...

Dan is joined by Greg Wissinger (@gwiss) of The Kings Herald to discuss—YOU GUESSED IT—the rise of the 2022-23 Sacramento Kings. From what makes them tick to their biggest flaws to breaking down potential playoff matchups, they get into it all. TIMESTAMPS⬇️ 1:30 - INTRO 3:31 - How surprising is this Kings team? 9:22 - The defining factors of the NBA's best offense 10:58 - Domantas Sabonis' better-...

Dan goes long on one question, which was inspired by Discord user ItsAllen: Why do basketball fans care about the NBA MVP award so much? JOIN OUR DISCORD: bit.ly/discordhwk SUBSCRIBE TO OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL: bit.ly/31z7eyI FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL⬇️ TWITTER/IG: @danfavale / @danfavale TWITTER: @gt_hughes TWITTER: @fromal09 TWITTER/IG: @HardwoodKnocks / @hardwood_knocks TIKTOK: @hardwoodknocks TWITTER: @...

Dan and Grant revisit all the biggest deals from the 2023 NBA trade deadline and discuss where their impressions of each transaction stand exactly one month later. Part 2 covers the D'Angelo Russell mega trade, the Toronto Raptors getting Jakob Poeltl, the New York Knicks landing Josh Hart, Jae Crowder going to the Milwaukee Bucks and MUCH MORE. TIMESTAMPS BELOW⬇️ 0:45 - D'Angelo Russell trade 14:...

Dan and Grant revisit all the biggest deals from the 2023 NBA trade deadline and discuss where their impressions of each transaction stand exactly one month later. Part 1 will cover the Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Wiseman moves. TIMESTAMPS BELOW⬇️ 0:30 - Intro 3:01 - Kevin Durant trade 11:46 - Kyrie Irving trade 23:03 - James Wiseman trade JOIN OUR DISCORD: bit.ly/discordhwk SUBSCRIBE TO...