On the NBA Beat Ep. 185: Alex Kennedy Winds Through the West

On the NBA Beat

Alex Kennedy, Chief Content Officer at BasketballNews.com and host of Running Up the Score, a biweekly live sports show airing every Tuesday and Friday night, stops by to wind through the Western Conference just as the league readies for tipoff. The Nuggets are Alex’s leading squad but far from the conference’s only contenders. Oh, and he has firmly taken a seat aboard the Wemby Train. Who’s coming with him?

2:44-4:03: “This is a [Nuggets] team that has been together, this core has been together for years, and they have so much chemistry. And I think that’s one of the most undervalued things in sports. We tend to get excited about these big, blockbuster moves and player movement, but chemistry and continuity really, really help and go a long way when you’re trying to contend for a championship. … There are a handful of contenders: Denver, Phoenix, the Lakers, and then, I think, to a lesser extent you go and look at Sacramento, Memphis, Golden State, Clippers.”

9:52-13:19: “We haven’t seen a player like [Victor Wembanyama], ever. … LeBron James said he’s an alien. He was like, ‘I don’t want to use the word ‘unicorn.’ That gets thrown around too often. He’s an alien.’ Giannis said he could be the best player in the NBA. I mean, these are superstar players that are raving about him and talking about him coming in and just dominating the league. Giannis even said, he was like, ‘I need to start winning some championships now because Victor Wembanyama’s coming.’ … It was interesting; in the first preseason game that Victor Wembanyama played, we saw [Chet] Holmgren and Wembanyama match up against each other, and it almost feels like the future of the NBA a little bit – these huge guys with crazy length that are kind of position-less that can do a little bit of everything and are super-skilled.”

17:49-18:13: “I still think there is a coming-out part to be had for Anthony Edwards, and I’m a huge fan of his game. I saw a ranking today. I think it was in Sports Illustrated. They were ranking the top five shooting guards in the league, and they had him at No. 3. I wouldn’t be surprised if after this season we’re talking about him as No. 2 and up there with Devin Booker, who I think is easily the top shooting guard in the league.”

33:09-34:13: “Everyone’s on the same page now. They really came together, and I think some of the drama that existed there…they’ve all acknowledged their role in what happened, and it seems like they’re ready to move forward. … This team has a ton of talent. They’re one of those teams that you kinda put the question mark, like, ‘OK, well, if they stay healthy, they can be very special. I hope that Zion [Williamson] can be healthy and have a full season. He’s so much fun to watch; we’ve just kinda been robbed of that as of late.”

36:00-36:43: “I think the question is can they take that next step? Can they become a legitimate championship contender? And if not, we could see this be the last year where this core is together. Guys could leave in free agency. The organization could decide to blow it up and make a ton of different changes. So, yeah, I’m very curious. The Clippers have a ton of pressure on them to kinda make it work. … There were reports toward the end of last season that the Mavericks were starting to worry that if they don’t put a contender around Luka [Doncic] that he’s going to want to go elsewhere, and that’s so common in today’s NBA.”

*The Steven Adams injury news broke after the recording, as did the Antetokounmpo extension.