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Dunc'd On Basketball NBA Podcast

8 in 78 (Eastern Conference Mailbag 12.9.25)

Dunc'd On Basketball NBA Podcast

Nate Duncan

Sports

4.5 • 2.9K Ratings

🗓️ 9 December 2025

⏱️ 78 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Nate and Danny take questions on Indiana through Washington in the Eastern Conference.   Pacers — 0:13 What explains the divergence between the Boston Celtics and the Indiana Pacers despite their seemingly comparable losses in talent? Did the Pacers truly “miss” on Ryan Nembhard given their existing guard depth with Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, and T.J. McConnell? Do the Pacers have a starting-caliber center on the roster (Jay Huff, Isaiah Jackson, Tony Bradley), or will they ultimately need to upgrade? What should Bennedict Mathurin’s next contract and long-term role look like? Heat — 11:01 Why has the Bam Adebayo–Kel’el Ware starting lineup struggled defensively and in transition? What is going on with Nikola Jović, and was his extension an overpay? Can Jaime Jaquez Jr. eventually become a starter and primary handler, or is he capped as a high-end sixth man? Why is Kel’el Ware playing so few minutes despite his flashes? Which current Heat players are most likely to remain on the roster by opening night 2027? Bucks — 24:58 If Giannis Antetokounmpo is traded, should the Bucks keep Myles Turner or move him next to replenish assets? How much of Milwaukee’s struggles stem from coaching and scheme—offensive rebounding philosophy, defensive rebounding, transition issues, and rotation decisions involving Myles Turner, Andre Jackson Jr., and Amir Coffey? Knicks — 31:27 What has happened to Guerschon Yabusele compared to last season? Will the triangle offense ever make a comeback in the modern NBA? Is Miles “Deuce” McBride a starting-caliber guard on most teams? Magic — 40:47 How can the Magic realistically get under the tax—moving Jet Howard, Tyus Jones, Jonathan Isaac, or others? If the Magic truly believe in Paolo Banchero’s ceiling, should they consider trading Franz Wagner now while his value is highest? Should the Magic be considered the favorites in the Eastern Conference? With Moe Wagner returning, should the Magic increase minutes for Penda and consider moving Jonathan Isaac? Sixers — 51:55 What do we make of VJ Edgecombe’s rookie season so far? Did Tyrese Maxey deserve more All-NBA consideration given how he has carried the Sixers? Raptors — 59:09 What do Jamal Shead’s playmaking numbers and on/off data suggest about his long-term role? How much of Toronto’s improvement is due to Scottie Barnes’ development versus shooting and Immanuel Quickley’s influence? How should the Raptors manage R.J. Barrett’s future given his contract and offensive importance? Wizards — 1:09:00 Can Cam Whitmore turn things around after being benched for not meeting on-court standards? What should Wizards fans look for when evaluating Brian Keefe—player development, stylistic identity, or broader organizational signals?

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

All right, it is Monday evening.

0:02.0

We have to finish out our 15 and 60 mailbag from yesterday.

0:06.6

And let's just get right to it because we have a lot of great questions to address.

0:12.0

Where are we starting, Danny?

0:12.9

The Indiana Pacers, who defeated the Sacramento Kings on Monday to go to 6 and 18 on the season,

0:18.6

a completely respectable 4 and 4 since the last 15 and 60.

0:22.5

Still rough in net rating, negative 8.5 is 25th in the league, 28th on offense,

0:29.6

22nd on defense, and BBI projections to finish with 26 wins, which would be the third

0:36.0

worst record in the east. And I want to start

0:38.5

with this one from True. What explains that a vergence so far between the Celtics and the Pacers

0:43.6

despite comparable losses and talent? And I want to start with questioning the question,

0:47.2

which is the losses and talent are not comparable other than the guys who are out for the season,

0:51.5

because one of the big differences between the Celtics and the Pacers was the additional

0:57.0

absences that the Pacers had.

0:58.5

And so Andrew Nemhard missed the start of the year, Neesmith has missed about half the season,

1:03.7

T.J. McConnell's missed about half the season.

1:06.3

And so, and those guys have some overlap not only with each other, but also with Terry Salberton.

1:11.3

So part of the reason the Pacers are 28th in offense is that they just didn't have enough

1:15.6

guys that could initiate possessions and that could handle pressure and all those sorts of things.

1:20.7

The other thing to consider with the Pacers is that they have the second worst three-point point make percentage 34% this year they're

1:30.2

well below the average in the league and so some of that is available talent but some of that is

1:36.3

also something that you would expect to at least partially rectify they don't have terry's

...

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