these guys<\/a> could easily be MVP in any other year. They\u2019re all putting up historic numbers and leading title contenders. But only one player can win. So, for the players who don\u2019t win it, it doesn\u2019t mean they didn\u2019t have an MVP-caliber season. They just had to compete against all-time great MVP candidates.<\/p>\nWhich Play-In team would be the toughest first-round matchup? \u2013 from Michael in Ann Arbor, MI<\/p>\n
In the West, I\u2019ll go with the Warriors and Suns. No team wants to see Steph or Devin Booker in the first round.<\/p>\n
In the East, Orlando and Charlotte. I think the Magic, and especially Paolo Banchero, will play with a different rhythm when the game slows down in the playoffs. And the Hornets are so connected, and they play the right way for a young team. That\u2019s a combination you don\u2019t want to face.<\/p>\n
Who is the most underrated player in the NBA right now? \u2013 from Jack in Denver, CO<\/p>\n
I\u2019ll go with Stephon Castle. I think people are underestimating how much he\u2019s developed this season.<\/p>\n
How far do you think the Lakers will go with a healthy squad? \u2013 from Joe in New Zealand<\/p>\n
The Lakers are built for the playoffs, so they\u2019re interesting. There are no back-to-backs to worry about, which will help LeBron a lot. And they have different guys who can be playmakers and the leading scorers when needed. They can go on an impressive run. I\u2019m just not sure they have enough to get past OKC, San Antonio, or Denver.<\/p>\n
The Pistons are the talk of the East, but history says youth struggles in May. Is their \u2018hoop chemistry\u2019 enough to overcome the veteran \u2018IQ\u2019 of the Celtics in a 7-game series? \u2013 from Snow in San Francisco, CA<\/p>\n
The last champion, OKC, had youth on its side. Sometimes it\u2019s good to not know what you don\u2019t know. You just go out there and play with a certain freedom.<\/p>\n
So I would never rule a team out just for being young. But the Celtics have a great understanding of who they are and how to handle playoff situations, which can be tough for a young team to overcome \u2026 especially if Cade remains sidelined.<\/p>\n
Which team is the best first-round matchup for the Nuggets? \u2013 from David in the Bahamas<\/p>\n
As long as they\u2019re healthy, the Nuggets don\u2019t care who they play.<\/p>\n
I actually asked their coach the other day, \u201cAre you guys comfortable playing anybody? Like, does it matter?\u201d Without hesitation, he said, \u201cNo, I don\u2019t care who we play.\u201d<\/p>\n
What do you think the ceiling is for the Hawks this postseason, and what is their potential ceiling for the next two years? \u2013 from Adam in Harvard, MA<\/p>\n
Maybe they can go on a run like the 2007-08 Hawks did when they pushed the Celtics to seven games in the first round before Boston went on to win the championship. This Hawks team could bring more of that excitement to Atlanta.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s your take on the Mavs next year? \u2013 from Evan in Kissimmee, FL\u00a0<\/p>\n
They can be really good with Cooper, Kyrie, Lively and the rest of the young pieces. They could definitely be a surprise team next season. I think they\u2019ll be a playoff team.<\/p>\n
Who has a better handle: you or Kyrie? \u2013 from Parker in Lexington, KY<\/p>\n
If I had a dollar for every time I\u2019ve been asked that \u2026.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m always going to take myself, but if I couldn\u2019t pick myself, it would be Kyrie. He has all-time great handles.<\/p>\n
Any players out there who need their flowers for having an underappreciated handle? \u2013 from Blake in Tampa, FL<\/p>\n
I\u2019ll go with Steph. He shoots so well, we forget the way he handles. And it\u2019s so connected to his shot. It\u2019s not just him catching and shooting.<\/p>\n
He\u2019ll give you the hesitation. Or he\u2019ll quickly look up to make you think he\u2019s shooting, and then blow by you for a floater or something. His handles are a major reason why he\u2019s so unstoppable.<\/p>\n
At what age did you realize your handles were some of the best ever? Was there a specific moment or game that made you realize it? \u2013 from Shri in Charlotte, NC<\/p>\n
I would say when I was 16. I was playing, and it just felt like \u2013 and I\u2019m saying this so humbly \u2013 I could do anything on the court with a ball. It was like I could tell the ball what to do and it would do it. It was like in \u201cLike Mike\u201d when he put on the shoes and he became a great player. That\u2019s how my handles became at 16.<\/p>\n
I always dribbled a ball throughout childhood. But at 16, that\u2019s when I owned it. That\u2019s when things really changed.<\/p>\n
And it was weird because I was criticized for the way I was playing. They were like, \u201cThat And-1 stuff\u2019s not going to get you to college.\u201d Well, I guess it got me further than that.<\/p>\n
If you were an undersized guard, what would your handle look like, and how would you protect the ball? \u2013 from Ryan in Florida<\/p>\n
I think my handle would be the same, actually. And that\u2019s why it\u2019s unique.<\/p>\n
At times, I can dribble like I\u2019m 5\u201910, but I\u2019m 6\u20195. So it probably wouldn\u2019t look the same, but I think it would feel the same for me. In ninth grade, I grew from 5\u20199 to 6\u20192 over the summer. And then I grew an inch each year after that. So my handle was initially developed as a smaller guard.<\/p>\n
When you\u2019re doing a crossover, what part of your body do you exaggerate the most in the attempt to move the defender? \u2013 from Sean in Edmond, OK<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a mix. I can use my feet, hands, shoulders or eyes. It\u2019s not simultaneous, but it\u2019s all connected. Two movements might occur together, and then the other two come right afterwards, which freezes them for a second. And then I can read where their top leg is after that.<\/p>\n
For example, I could use my feet to do a baby cross, but they don\u2019t move. So then I may do something with my hands to get them to lift up because they think I\u2019m going to shoot. That gets them off balance, and I read them from there.<\/p>\n
If you had a chance to go 1-on-1 or play a game of HORSE with any current NBA player, who would it be and why? \u2013 from Jake on Facebook<\/p>\n
LaMelo Ball or Anthony Edwards.<\/p>\n
Who is\/was your favorite player in this year\u2019s March Madness? \u2013 from Chris in Munich, Germany<\/p>\n
Sarah Strong at UConn. She can do everything on the court, and she\u2019s always so calm, which allows her to think more clearly than most players out there.<\/p>\n
Who was harder to guard and why: prime Harden or prime D-Wade? \u2013 from Harry in Florida<\/p>\n
Wow, both for different reasons.<\/p>\n
D-Wade could get to the basket whenever he felt like it. He was splitting double teams with the push dribble, like a running back, and then dunking off a sidestep on defenders.<\/p>\n
And Harden had so many moves he could set you up with and put you in a trick bag.<\/p>\n
They were both ridiculously hard to guard. And I obviously didn\u2019t do a good job guarding either one of them.<\/p>\n
What do you look at when you announce a game? \u2013 from Tony in Vacaville, CA<\/p>\n
I watch all the little things during the flow of the game, like how a player is warming up. I try to put myself where they\u2019re at mentally and pay attention to how they\u2019re interacting with their teammates.<\/p>\n
These moments help me validate what I see on the court.<\/p>\n
Like, for example, there was a game in the playoffs two seasons ago during the Lakers-Nuggets series. AD and LeBron were the first players on the court at halftime, and they were working on a certain pick-and-roll. Like just the pocket pass, the timing of it, and where he was going to shoot from. When the 2nd half started, that was the first play they ran. And then they did it again the next time down.<\/p>\n
So I\u2019m always trying to find small details like that, which might not be seen by fans watching at home.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s the most exciting game you analyzed this season? \u2013 from Jerry in Glendale, CA<\/p>\n
I\u2019ll say the first one. I was so nervous during the open because I grew up watching NBC. So the fact that it was back on NBC, and that I had the chance to be on the call with the legends Reggie Miller and Mike Tirico, was a lot to take in. I knew the whole world was watching.<\/p>\n
So, yeah, I was nervous in the opening, but I settled in as the game continued.<\/p>\n
You built a career on creativity in a league that increasingly values efficiency and analytics. But was there ever a move or style you stopped using because the numbers said it wasn\u2019t \u2018optimal,\u2019 even if it felt unstoppable in the moment? \u2013 from Rupert in Singapore<\/p>\n
No, I was always my true self, and I take great pride in that. I know we have a lot of numbers out there, but when I was growing up, I wasn\u2019t watching Jordan\u2019s efficiency or Iverson\u2019s field goal percentage, to be honest with you.<\/p>\n
I remember more about how they made me feel when I watched them play. And to me, that\u2019s more important than any number you could ever put up. So that\u2019s what I tried to give people when I was playing.<\/p>\n
Also, shoutout to Singapore. I\u2019ve never been there, so the fact that you\u2019re asking a question from there is the coolest thing.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s your estimate on how many ankles you\u2019ve broken in your career? \u2013 from Lucy in New Mexico<\/p>\n
Millions!<\/p>\n
When did you get a non-BlackBerry cell phone? \u2013 from Jackson in Atlanta, GA<\/p>\n
Oh my gosh, when I went over to TNT in 2022. I had to start posting videos and doing stuff in that space, so I needed the right equipment to do it. I still miss my keyboard, though.<\/p>\n
Have A Question For Jamal?\u00a0Submit It Now<\/a>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Association breaks down the top contenders in the Western Conference. The NBA Mailbag is open with NBA…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":371626,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[85,46,178623,178624,178622,178621,105],"class_list":{"0":"post-371625","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-il","9":"tag-israel","10":"tag-jamal-crawford","11":"tag-nba-mailbag","12":"tag-nba-play-in","13":"tag-nba-playoffs","14":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371625","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=371625"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371625\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/371626"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=371625"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=371625"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=371625"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}