Pro Basketball Talk On Nbc Sports Podcast

Scott Brooks is now coach, the roster got younger and more athletic, but did John Wall's Wizards get better? Can Wall and Beal get along? Kurt Helin of NBC is joined by J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic to talk Wizards, plus Dwight Howard in Atlanta, the young Magic, and the rest of the SouthEast Division. #NBA #NBApreview #Wizards #Heat #Magic

Kobe who? The Lakers new era begins for real this year with D'Angelo Russell and Brandon Ingram front and center. Kurt Helin of PBT and Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News talk Lakers and the Pacific Division: Can anyone beat Golden State? #Lakers #Warriors #NBA #PBTPodcast

USA Basketball = Olympic Gold. That will be the case in 2016 where Team USA are beyond heavy favorites to take home the gold in Rio. Which is why I spend the first part of this podcast speaking with Bill Leopold and Ben Teitelbaum of NBCOlympics.com about their oral history of Team USA at the 2004 Olympics. Then Dan Feldman of NBCSports and I break down the 2016 Rio games and who else might medal.

Kevin Durant chose Golden State — and that wasn't the biggest shock in free agency. Dwyane Wade left the Heat for the Bulls, which was shocking but still left Miami in a better spot than Chicago. Kurt Helin and Dan Feldman of NBC break it all down, plus talk about the big winners during free agency. #KevinDurant #DwyaneWade #Warriors #Bulls #NBA

Al Horford chose Boston. Mike Conley stayed in Memphis — and brought Chandler Parsons with him. Bradley Beal, Nicolas Batum, Hassan Whiteside, and DeMar DeRozan all get maxed out. In this latest PBT Podcast Kurt Helin and Sean Highkin of NBC's ProBasketballTalk break it all down. This podcast was recorded before Kevin Durant made his call (and before Jamal Crawford made his, so that part of the podcast is dated).

Thanks to an unprecedented spike in the salary cap, we are just days away from the most unpredictable, head-scratching free agency in NBA history. It's far more than just the summer of Kevin Durant. Sean Deveney of The Sporting News stops by to break down free agency with Kurt Helin of NBC Sports. #KevinDurant #NBAFreeAgency #NBA

From Ben Simmons and Brandon Ingram through the trade of Serge Ibaka to Orlando, Kurt Helin and Dan Feldman of NBC Sports break it all down in detail. Also, they discuss the Derrick Rose to the Knicks trade. #NBADraft #Sixers #BenSimmons #BrandonIngram #SergeIbaka

Ben Simmons will go first to the Sixers, followed by Brandon Ingram second to the Lakers. The NBA Draft gets interesting at No. 3: Will Danny Ainge and the Boston Celtics take? Kris Dunn? Dragan Bender? Marquese Chriss? Kurt Helin of NBC's ProBasketballTalk and Rob Dauster of NBC's CollegeBasketballTalk put their heads together and talk NBA Draft, from Simmons and Ingram down through guys who should be rated a little higher, such as Tyler Ulis and Gary Payton II.

It's been a rough first two games of the NBA Finals for the Cleveland Cavaliers, who lost those games by a record combined 48 points. And that's without the Splash Brothers going off yet. What do the Cavaliers plan to do at home in Game 3? What do they need to do? Kurt Helin and Dan Feldman of NBC Sports break it all down. #NBAFinals

How much trouble are the Cleveland Cavaliers in? Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson combined for just 20 points on 27 shots, and the Golden State Warriors still won by 15. Kurt Helin and Sean Highkin of NBCSports.com break it all down from Oakland and look ahead to Game 2 of the NBA Finals.

LeBron James got what he probably wanted deep down — a second chance at Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors. It's a chance for revenge from last season and to knock Curry off his pedestal. Except this is a difficult matchup for the Cavaliers and their current style of play, something Kurt Helin and Dan Feldman of NBC Sports get into in this breakdown of what's to come. They both foresee a long couple of weeks coming for Kevin Love.

The Oklahoma City Thunder went small and blew out the Warriors. After looking completely overmatched for two games, the Toronto Raptors have evened the series with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Yet all anyone wants to talk about is Draymond Green kicking Steven Adams in the nether regions, and how the league handled that. So Kurt Helin and Dan Feldman of NBC Sports start with Green's kick, move on to his poor play in general in Game 3, and discuss Game 4 and the rest of that series. Also covered is Toronto and Cleveland, plus a little talk about Nate McMillan to Indiana and Frank Vogel to Orlando.

Stephen Curry is the MVP, which was a foregone conclusion, but would he be the NBA's first-ever unanimous MVP was up in the air. He was, and Kurt Helin and Dan Feldman of NBC Sports discuss why Curry could get that consensus when LeBron James and Shaq couldn't in the past. The pair also talk all four playoff series — especially focused on Spurs/Thunder — and the coaching changes in Sacramento, Indiana, and Memphis.

Friday night sees some big Game 6s across the NBA playoffs — Indiana has the best chance of forcing a Game 7 — but everyone is looking ahead to Oklahoma vs. San Antonio in the next round. Kurt Helin and Dan Feldman of NBCSports.com discuss those series, the Friday night Game 6 matchups, and if Portland could beat Golden State if the Warriors do not get Stephen Curry back.

Stephen Curry's sprained knee seems to have change the feeling of inevitability around the NBA playoffs. If the past and soon to be again MVP misses a chunk of the second round series, can the Clippers upset the Warriors? Can the Clippers get past the Blazers to even find out? Kurt Helin and Sean Highkin of NBC Sports discuss that and all the playoff series around the league in this podcast. They also talk about the Lakers' coaching search.

The Chicago Bulls were in the running for most disappointing team in the NBA this season — some pundits thought they were the one team that could challenge Cleveland, but they didn't even make the playoffs. Injuries, chemistry problems, disinterested players that were poor fits for the new coach's system, and a new coach all combined in a perfect storm. Kurt Helin of NBCSports.com talks with Vincent Goodwill of CSNChicago about the Bulls season and future, as well as discussing what is going on in the rest of the Eastern Conference playoffs.

It doesn't feel like there is a lot of drama in the first round or the Western Conference playoffs this season — the Warriors, Spurs, Thunder and Clippers are expected to advance. Fairly easily. Kurt Helin and Sean Highkin of NBC's ProBasketballTalk discuss these series, including whether Portland can push Los Angeles a little bit. The two also get off topic at points and talk Lakers and Bulls going forward.

Can anyone knock off the Cleveland Cavaliers in the East? Probably not. But that doesn't mean the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs is without drama. Can Toronto finally get out of the first round against the Pacers? Then there are two very interesting chess matches between teams that all won 48 games: Boston vs. Atlanta, and Charlotte vs. Miami. Kurt Helin and Dan Feldman of NBC Sports' ProBasketballTalk break it all down.

MVP? Stephen Curry. Rookie of the Year? Karl-Anthony Towns. But some of the NBA's end of season awards are not so clear cut this season. Sixth Man of the Year could go a lot of directions. Can you vote Steve Kerr coach of the year if he only coached half the year? Kurt Helin and Dan Feldman of NBC Sports and ProBasketball talk discuss all the major end of season awards in this podcast.

LeBron James is sending out cryptic tweets, unfollows the Cavaliers on Twitter, is longingly talking about joining up with his buddies 'Melo/Wade/CP3 — he is clearly sending a message. That message is not "I'm leaving Cleveland" but it is a message. Kurt Helin and Dan Feldman of NBC Sports discuss what is driving LeBron's clear frustration. They also talk Warriors going for 73 wins and the playoff races at the bottom of both conferences.