Ten NBA Playoff X-Factors: Aaron Gordon, Tobias Harris, Rajon Rondo & more
Open Floor: SI's NBA Show
SI NBA
4.7 • 2.4K Ratings
🗓️ 13 April 2021
⏱️ 68 minutes
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Summary
Ben Golliver and Michael Pina catch their breath during the dog days of the NBA's regular season to look ahead to the 2021 NBA playoffs. Which players are looming as X-factors in the title chase? Can LaMarcus Aldridge hold up against big centers or will size be the Nets' undoing? Is Bojan Bogdanovic the key to a properly-balanced offense for the Jazz? Can Aaron Gordon transform the Nuggets from very good to great? How heavy will Donte DiVincenzo's load be in Milwaukee's new backcourt? Can Rajon Rondo step forward for the Clippers in ways that Patrick Beverley and Reggie Jackson can't? Is Deandre Ayton ready for primetime? Will Tobias Harris finally show up? Why has less Kemba Walker been more for the Boston Celtics and should that continue? Can the Hawks win a first round series if Bogdan Bogdanovic shows up big?
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | What's up open floor globe this has been Galver with the Washington Post I'm joined on the other line by Michael the Pod |
| 0:07.5 | Pina from Sports Illustrated Michael. I don't know about you, but I think this was the weekend |
| 0:13.0 | I snapped and arguably you probably think I snapped when you first met me years ago |
| 0:17.1 | But I really feel like this was the weekend where it went off the rails |
| 0:20.8 | That Lakers netgame where there's no LeBron no Anthony Davis no Kyle Kuzma no James Harden |
| 0:27.9 | Kyrie and Schroeder get ejected early and Katie only plays 24 minutes and so this prime time Saturday night game |
| 0:36.3 | boils down to Andre Drummond versus LaMarcus Aldridge and a battle of the buyout guys and I'm just sitting there thinking okay |
| 0:43.8 | NBA I |
| 0:44.7 | Understand we took 10 games out of this regular season to take it from 82 down to 72 |
| 0:49.3 | Maybe we should have taken another 15 or 20 games out of this season because clearly they bid off a little bit more than they can shoot |
| 0:55.9 | I'm I'm just looking at the quality of play right now in the league |
| 0:59.1 | I mean, it's definitely the dog days whatever you want to call it |
| 1:01.8 | We're all sort of in countdown to playoff mode so rather than dissect Andre Drummond's double double too much or that |
| 1:09.7 | Flukey Boston Celtics win over the Denver Nuggets this weekend. I thought we thought we'd look ahead to the playoffs |
| 1:17.3 | What do you think Michael? Yeah, I mean I've been ready for this for a while |
| 1:21.1 | So I'm right there with you so good. So here's the way I want to do it |
| 1:25.2 | I mean, it's kind of a simple concept playoff X factors the guys were circling whether it's for lineup reasons whether it's for matchup |
| 1:32.3 | Reasons whether it's because they're new guys. We don't know what to expect just kind of question mark players |
| 1:38.5 | You know to kind of keep your eye on as we get closer and we're about five weeks out from the playoffs now |
| 1:44.0 | Which sounds like a lot, but I do think it's gonna go fairly quickly |
| 1:47.1 | And I just think that we should maybe start with with the matchups that I was describing earlier which is LaMarcus Aldridge |
| 1:53.3 | You know for the Brooklyn nets. I mean to me when I'm looking at the nets being the favorites coming out of the Eastern Conference |
... |
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