With the 2020-21 season in the books, we reflect on Milwaukee's championship, Giannis' staggering Finals performance, the roadblocks and roster holes the Bucks overcame en route to their vindicating title, the challenges the Suns will face in returning to this stage, and why it doesn't make sense to expect other stars to follow the one-franchise route Giannis is being celebrated for taking to this point. Then we turn our attention to the offseason and examine the questions facing the Sixers, Warriors, and Raptors.

Pound The Rock

Finals takeaways and 4 big offseason questions

The Bucks are on the verge of the franchise's first championship in 50 years, thanks to an all-time performance from Giannis Antetokounmpo, and some redeeming showings by Khris Middleton, Jrue Holiday, and Mike Budenholzer. Also, why it makes sense for Damian Lillard to ditch the Trail Blazers.

Milwaukee on the cusp of glory, Dame wants out

The GyroStep Podcast's Ti Windisch joins the show to talk about how Giannis Antetokounmpo's star teammates are letting him down in the NBA Finals, and whether the Bucks have any chance of stopping Phoenix's run to a championship.

Do the Bucks have any hope of stopping the Suns?

NBA Twitter legend 'Sreeky Shooter' joins the show to talk everything Suns.

Catching Suns fever with Sreekar 'Sreeky Shooter' Jasthi

Ben Simmons and the Philadelphia 76ers have reached the point of no return, Giannis and the Bucks survive an epic Durant series, and unlikely heroes propel the Clippers to new heights. Also, welcome back, Paul George.

Sixers at a crossroads, Bucks survive, Clippers reach new heights

We sift through a barrage of NBA news, including Chris Paul's positive COVID test and Kawhi Leonard's knee injury, before marvelling at Kevin Durant's Game 5 masterpiece, trying to pinpoint the ongoing issues with the Bucks, and wondering where the Sixers-Hawks and Jazz-Clippers series go from here.

A dispiriting news dump, a KD masterpiece, and more Bucks foibles

Was the way this season unfolded the beginning of the end for LeBron's reign over the NBA? Plus early series takeaways from Nets-Bucks, Suns-Nuggets, and Hawks-Sixers, and we preview the West semifinal between the Jazz and Clippers.

The Lakers' future, and taking stock of the 2nd round

On a jam-packed episode, we take stock of a whiplash-inducing Clippers-Mavericks series in which Luka Doncic is evoking LeBron in '07 (:025), before assessing the state of LeBron in '21 and the odds that he and the Lakers can stave off elimination against the phenomenal Suns (17:30). Then we talk about why Nuggets/Blazers is the best show in basketball (32:18), reflect on the Danny Ainge era in Boston after the Celtics' unorthodox front-office shakeup(53:31), and marvel at Trae Young's stage presence and Clint Capela's defense (1:02:55), before looking ahead to the East's second-round series: Sixers-Hawks(1:12:20) and Nets-Bucks (1:20:25).

The L.A. teams are on the brink, and the East semis are set

Luka Doncic has the Clippers on the ropes, plus we catch up on some takeaways from Games 1-2 between the Lakers and Suns, the Bucks and Heat, and the Nuggets and Blazers.

Luka stuns the Clippers, Lakers-Suns, Bucks-Heat, and Nuggets-Blazers

With the play-in tournament half over, we take stock of the NBA's hugely successful experiment, before breaking down what we saw in Lakers-Warriors (7:34) and looking ahead to Pacers-Wizards (19:23) and Warriors-Grizzlies (25:09). Then, we preview the six series that have already been set in stone: Suns-Lakers (34:00), Bucks-Heat (44:26), Knicks-Hawks (53:00), Nets-Celtics (1:08:32), Nuggets-Blazers (1:10:52), and Clippers-Mavericks (1:19:39)

Play-in takeaways and 1st-round series previews

Picking the NBA's best 2021 award candidates among players who won't actually end up on the ballots.

Off the board NBA Awards Picks

On this week's episode, we react to recent reports that Nate Bjorkgren, Terry Stotts, and Mike Budenholzer are on the hot seat. We try to parse what's gone wrong in Indiana, how much of Portland's stagnancy can be blamed on Stotts, and what a successful playoff run for Milwaukee would look like. Then, we take stock of the Bucks-Nets mini-series, and wonder how much it can tell us about a likely playoff matchup. And finally, with the Lakers reeling, we reassess the pecking order atop the wide-open Western Conference.

Coaches in trouble, Nets-Bucks thoughts, and the wide-open West

The Wizards, Bulls, and Raptors - plus the Hornets and Pacers - are fighting for the Eastern Conference's final play-in spots. Who makes it, who gets left behind, and where does each team go from here?

Breaking down the East play-in race

We're back from a brief hiatus to check in on an NBA season that feels like it's been in the dog days since opening night. On this week's episode, we wonder whether it's time to start worrying about the availability of the Nets' Big 3, whether the Heat can recapture their bubble magic, what the Lakers' rotation will look like when they're whole again, and whether Nikola Jokic can swing a playoff upset on his own.

Reeling reigning finalists, and a languishing NBA season

On this week's episode, we close the book on Paul Pierce's tenure at ESPN, wonder whether Playoff Rondo is ready to ride again, discuss the state of the Bucks now that Jrue Holiday is locked in for another four years, and sort through our feelings about Aleksej Pokusevski and the egregiously transparent tank job going on in Oklahoma City.

The Bucks lock in their core, and the Thunder tank transparently

theScore's Joseph Casciaro and Joe Wolfond break down the biggest storylines and hot topics in basketball.

hubhopper

Pound The Rock

hubhopper