"You sound scared" -- Power-ranking Media Day quotes

The vast majority of teams held media day yesterday, when players and coaches trotted out to face interviews and perform cutesy, PR-driven segments for the fans at home.

Most of the day was spent listening to those same players and coaches give cookie-cutter answers to whatever was asked, but every so often, a crumb of insight or shred of personality escaped the counter and fell onto the floor.

Here are a few responses that I found particularly interesting, power-ranked according to my whimsies.

1. “You sound scared”

— Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, when asked about other teams in the East getting better

That’s a pretty badass quote. Jimmy Butler showed up with “no shenanigans,” much to everyone’s dismay, so Spoelstra had to deliver the goods.

Perhaps more interestingly, Spoelstra claimed the Heat need to “innovate” on offense, which is undoubtedly true. The Heat regularly shoot too many midranges and not enough layups (they’ve been bottom-four in the last three seasons in share of shots at the rim), and while injuries and limited personnel are partly to blame, Miami’s leadership is too analytically inclined to love their shot maps from the last few seasons.

Bam Adebayo discussed the need for his outside shooting, which could be one avenue to better floor spacing, but Spoelstra will keep his cards tight to his chest until the games get going. If nothing else, media day has me believing we might see something new from a stagnant Heat offense.

2. “I’ve lost 25 to 30 [pounds]”

— Joel Embiid, when asked how he was feeling physically

Embiid, by his own admission, has never been 100% for the playoffs. He did look noticeably slimmer during media day even to my untrained eye, something that has to help reduce the burden on his bones, joints, ligaments, soul, etc. (Not falling down fifteen times per game would help, too.)

The 76ers’ ceiling is as high as anyone’s, including Boston’s, but Embiid and new teammate Paul George have been two of the league’s most star-crossed playoff performers when it comes to health. Anything that keeps them shipshape when spring rolls around is vital.

But losing weight isn’t purely about health, either. If Embiid really did drop the poundage of an English Cocker Spaniel, it could be a sign that he finally took his offseason conditioning seriously and could be more effective in fourth quarters. He posted just a 41% FG% in fourth quarters last season, the only quarter in which he shot under 52%, and there were many games where he looked to be laboring by the end.

That, mind you, was in a season where he averaged more points per minute than Wilt Chamberlain did in his record-breaking 50-point season, so we’re nitpicking. But to win a championship, you have to delouse.

3. “I would use the word rebuilding. That's the right word”

— Raptors president Masai Ujiri, when asked how he’d describe the upcoming season

Finally, clarity for the Toronto Raptors.

Toronto has been stuck in the middle since their 2019 championship, making short-sighted trades like the one for center Jakob Poeltl despite not having enough talent to make a real playoff run.

There’s still something of that nature here, as last year’s trade for Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett to partner with budding superstar Scottie Barnes gives the Raptors too high a floor to really tank. But with flattened lottery odds, the Raptors don’t have to be the worst team in the world to get a high pick.

For the first time in a while, this year’s goal seems clear: prioritize youth, develop their young core, and ignore how the wins and losses stack up. Toronto needs to figure out which players will be keystones in two or three years. Barnes and Quickley are the only sure-fire answers right now, but guys like Barrett (who played arguably the best basketball of his career after joining Toronto last season), second-year player Gradey Dick, and rookie Ja’Kobe Walter should be given plenty of runway to see what they’ve got.

4. “I have despised Chris for many years”

—Gregg Popovic, on new arrival Chris Paul

I don’t have any insight here, I just thought it was hilarious. Preach, coach Pop, preach.

5a and 5b. “We’ve got a lot of starters…we’re gonna instigate competition”

and

“I know everyone thinks I was joking, but Luka is gonna have to guard somebody”

Jason Kidd, when asked about the team’s apparent starters and on replacing Derrick Jones Jr.’s defense

This is hardly the first time that Kidd has directly called out Luka’s defense (say what you want about Kidd, but he’s never hesitated to hold his stars accountable to the public), but these two quotes in parallel suggest opposite things.

The world, myself included, operates under the assumption that Klay Thompson walked into Dallas to be a starter. But the world, myself included, also has no idea how a starting trio of Thompson/Doncic/Irving will guard anyone at the point of attack. Kidd’s comments suggest that it may be a matchup-by-matchup thing, and he might not hesitate to put Doncic on strong offensive players. Does Kidd also have the chutzpah to bench Thompson when a stronger defender like Naji Marshall or Quentin Grimes is needed? Not in the beginning, no; not sure anyone has that kind of testicular fortitude. But if the team does sputter from the gate, a quick shake-up might be in order.

I’m not predicting that Dallas will struggle early, to be clear. Their offense should be nearly bullet-proof with that trio, outweighing their defensive issues. But the NBA world will hold a magnifying glass to the Mavericks’ starters when the regular season begins.

6. “For about three or four years, it got stagnant for me. I was just going through the motions. But I am the motion now.”

— Myles Turner, reflecting on his 10-year tenure with the Indiana Pacers

I got big Captain Phillips vibes from that quote, and even though I’m only 64% sure I understand what Turner is saying, I love the energy that the entire Pacers squad had on media day.

The Pacers are a popular pick to be the next 2021 Atlanta Hawks, a team that exceeded expectations by making the Eastern Conference Finals before falling back to Earth like a careless Icarus. I’m not convinced. Their offense largely held up even against the dreaded Boston defense in the playoffs despite an injured Tyrese Haliburton, and they brought back nearly the entire (mostly quite young) rotation. There’s a lot to like here, and if an offseason to cobble together a coherent defensive plan comes together, Indiana could come out roaring.