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Playoff Pressure: Who's Feeling the Heat in the NBA?

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We dive into the most pressured NBA playoff entities of 2024, ranking players and teams based on expectations, past performance, and future implications for their legacies.

• Honorable mentions include the Houston Rockets (young team exceeding expectations), Miami Heat (post-Jimmy Butler questions), Austin Reaves (overhyped by fans), and former champions Jalen Brown and Nikola Jokić
• The Knicks rank 8th due to high expectations despite Brunson's injury
• Giannis and Dame face pressure to succeed or risk Giannis potentially leaving for another team
• Jimmy Butler needs to prove he was worth trading for after his Miami Heat drama
• Jason Tatum must win Finals MVP if Boston wins again to avoid being permanently second to Jaylen Brown
• Donovan Mitchell faces questions about being a true #1 option on a championship team
• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander risks Joel Embiid comparisons if his regular season success doesn't translate to playoffs
• Ja Morant's off-court antics and celebrations create extra pressure to perform
• LeBron, Steph, and KD tie for most pressured due to their ongoing chase of Jordan's legacy

Please like, subscribe, comment, and tell anyone who's anyone about the show. I'm curious what you think, so share your answers in the comments.


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Speaker 1:

What's up everybody? It's your favorite show's favorite show Get a Buck Stupid. I wish the signal would be better, bro. Fuck, just ask. All right, what's up everybody? It's your favorite show's favorite show Get a Bucket. I'm your host, trayton, as usual. Hope you're all having a wonderful, wonderful day Now.

Speaker 1:

Today we're going to talk about the NBA players or, I guess, entities, whichever one you want to classify it as most pressured in the NBA playoffs. All right, but before we talk about them, please make sure you hit that like and subscribe button. Comment, tell anyone who's anyone about the show, try and get the ratings up a little bit. You know just a little bit. But like I said, ladies and gentlemen, we're going to talk about the NBA's most pressured players, or at least entities, however you want to classify, and again, we're talking about, for the playoffs, specifically 2025. So, with that being said, let's go ahead and mention my honorable mentions. Right, and for full disclosure, there are 16 NBA playoffs teams. So I got 16 entities to talk about, but we're going to talk about them kind of quickly, not going to him at all. So, with that being said, let's bring up the honorable mentions and with that, let's start it off with the Houston Rockets. Ladies and gentlemen, now the Houston Rockets, we got to talk about them because of their Western seeding, their top three seed in the Western Conference. That's a tough task right there. That's pretty stout. And keep in mind, this Western Rocket squad ain't bad, especially considering that they're young and that's the actual biggest gripe about them. They're young, they're inexperienced, so there's a little bit of pressure on them. But also because they're young, we extend a little grace. We're not expecting them to be contenders right now, just a little pressure. But at number eight, god put them there. Well, these numbers 16, eight honorable mention, y'all know the vibes.

Speaker 1:

But we're going to move on now to the number 17 honorable mention, which is the Miami Heat and the reason why I have him here, ladies and gentlemen Jimmy Butler, the trade. I understand why we trade Jimmy. I genuinely, wholeheartedly do. But the problem is, when you trade Jimmy Butler now the eyes are on you. Ok, what are we going to do? Who are we going to be the guy? And I have some heat fans that have some question marks. So again, the Jimmy trade did put more pressure on this heat team. Are you all still relevant? Relevant end of day? We'll find out.

Speaker 1:

But we'll move on down to the number six honorable mention, which is Austin Reeves. Hear me out, ladies and gentlemen, this is kind of a troll. But I also blame his stands as well, because Austin Reeves' stands act like he's the second coming of a Larry Bird, like they act like he the next superstar and that's cool, buddy, cool, buddy Cool. But now there's pressure on Austin Reed and keep in mind, if it wasn't for his stance, I wouldn't put him up here. But if he plays similarly to how D'Lo played, I remember how people went at D'Lo, so you got to go at Austin Reeves the same way and keep in mind, it was only one team that D'Lo played bad against. So if Austin Reeves had a bad series, you kind of got to talk about him in a similar breath. So there's going to be a little pressure on Austin Reeves but, again, mainly put him up here because of his stance. It is somewhat of a troll.

Speaker 1:

So let's move on up to the next player, which is jalen brown, someone who should be up here honorable mention. Reason why he's up here finals mvp. He's the reigning finals mvp. I'm not putting all the pressure on him, but you still got to perform, you still got to execute. You can't slack off really. So again, jalen brown. If he doesn't win a championship this year, we can't say he's, but there's a little bit of pressure on him to make sure he performs at all times, at least most times. But again, finals MVP champion, he's earned some grace. Similarly to the next person, which number four for me, nikola Jokic Chip. Relevancy is the real reason why the pressure is on him. And if we look at someone like a Steph Curry Steph won in 2022 and then hasn't won since 2024, I started to basically hear people saying he fell off Right. Well, if Jokic don't win this year, can we say the same thing about Jokic too, even though he's been dominating? Steph was hooping too now. So I'm looking to see what that conversation is for yoki, but pressure not that much because, again, finals mvp champion, relatively recent, just so.

Speaker 1:

Let's move on up to the next team, the next person, I think edward's at number three, ladies and gentlemen, now, right now, he's in that grace phase where he's still young and we kind of give him grace because he's not winning a championship, but eventually we all want to expect you to start winning a championship. So again, Anthony Edwards, right now, don't expect him to win. If he does win, that's cool, but I wouldn't expect him to win a championship at a certain point in time. They're still trying to build up his team around him. It's cool. He's in that great space, like I said. So no pressure for real honorable mention, but he will be coming up pretty soon, if I'm be honest with you. Maybe two more seasons I'd say uh. But let's move on up now to number two, luca. I'm curious if luca didn't get traded, where I would have put him. But because he just got traded, I can't say he has the most pressure out of everybody in the NBA Because, again, he just got traded. Our team is not built around him completely. We still got to figure out the pieces, like I said earlier. So again, luca at number two, for me not putting that much pressure on him, but there is still some pressure because you're on the leg, because you're playing with Braun. You did just get to the finals with perceived a worse team roster, a lot of people might say. Some might try to argue the Mavs were better. But again, because you're on a team with Braun, it's going to be a little pressure. So I'm not putting all the pressure on Luka just yet Starting next year, he probably will be in my top eight Right now.

Speaker 1:

Honorable mention and number one for honorable mention. This one was terrible, but it was Philly and I would put them higher. But they out the damn playoffs, which is piss poor. But again, injuries happen. So I understand that. Mb, paul George, I get you tommy's max even had a little injury. They got dismantled, even more so than their stars as well. To jerry jerry mccain got injured, bro, like come on now, like everybody got injured. So I'm gonna give a little grace, just a little grace. But there is pressure, especially this team comes back next year. There's definite pressure. They could be the most pressured entity in the NBA.

Speaker 1:

But again, ladies and gentlemen, these are my top eight honorable mentions Philly, luka, anthony Edwards, nicola Yoki, jalen Brown, austin Reeves, miami Heat Houston Rock. Maybe I should put Austin Reeves down to number eight. Reeves the Miami Heat Houston Rock. Maybe I should put Austin Reeves down at number eight. I don't know, the stands really matter that much. I promise you, they're really that annoying and you know what you might not like this. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, but again, ladies and gentlemen, those are my honorable mentions. So let's go ahead and talk about the top eight officially. I think it might be a good one.

Speaker 1:

So we have here the Knicks at number eight. Let's talk about it, shall we? Because y'all could be wondering why the Knicks are here. You got Brunson's injury plus the organization. They've been trying to hype up this team for the longest right. There were expectations of them getting to the finals.

Speaker 1:

So pressure on this Knicks team. You got to put it up there and I would throw them higher. I'm not going to lie to you, but they have a lot of pieces up there. This is a star-studded team. At least on paper. It should be a star-studded team. There's a couple of teams up there, though A. There's a couple teams up there, though other couple situations that matter a little bit more. And that's kind of shocking because, again, a lot of talk was about these knicks this offseason. So it's very shocking, very shocking. But they trying to get this championship. That's what they trying to do. I don't know if they're gonna get, so expect to hear some gripes during this whole season. But let's go ahead and move on up to the next team.

Speaker 1:

I'm sure y'all want to know who I'm talking about next, and that's Dame and Giannis. Dame and Giannis. And the reason why I have Dame here is because of the Damian Lillard acquisition. Remember, he wanted out of Portland. Everybody was giving him grace because he was still in Portland trying to get it out the mud. Right, you pair with Giannis. I understand. You got the calf issue, the blood clot, even. Still there's pressure on the Bucs getting somewhat decently far in the playoffs because you got to think about yannis leaving. He wants one of these. He's had all of these, like, come on now. He's had the championship rings, he's had the mvps, all that stuff. Bro, like he is star studded out here. Will he get that with the bucks sos? So again, that Damian Lillard acquisition, that was the expectation. So if we can't get that, that's tough because Giannis could leave, potentially going to Mount Lakers and forming the most international or the best international duo in NBA history with Luka. That could happen. Just saying so again, ladies and gentlemen, giannis and Dane, not the bucks, yannis and dane that they could shake up some stuff.

Speaker 1:

But let's move on up to number six, someone who is kind of familiar with with yannis and dame, actually jimmy butler, that's right. He's with some boys that have gotten this hardware. You know, I'm saying he, they've had all of these. I gotta throw jimmy at number six because, hey, when you look at jimmy, the season antics that he had, you gotta prove that you trade worthy and trade worthy for the. For the warriors mean, hey, you winning championships or at least getting to the finals or looking competitive, and jimmy butler with steph going up against the celtics, that's good entertainment right there. So again, ladies and gentlemen, jimmy butler does have some pressure on him because of the antics that he had with the, with the miami heat, and now you're on the warriors just saying you got to make it work, you got to make it work, you got to make it work, brother.

Speaker 1:

Now let's go ahead and talk about my top five, because my top five most pressured, they are really trying to get this championship here and they got a lot of eyes on them, ladies and gentlemen. So I got to make sure I talk about these five players. All right, number five at Jason Tatum. I'm sure y'all knew JT had to be in the top five because, again, jalen Brown already won the finals MVP. So if they win again and JT don't win, you have to talk about the Celtics.

Speaker 1:

Stars as Jalen Brown number one. Stars as Jalen Brown, number one, jason Tatum, number two. And keep in mind, jt got a ring Boom. He come from good stock. He got a championship. All he missing is the finals MVP. That's it. Or an MVP too, I guess a league MVP, but that's another discussion for another day.

Speaker 1:

But most pressure for playoffs. Jt at number five. You got to say that His team's solid. He got to hoop too. That's the problem, bro. He got to hoop his tail off. Woo. Best of luck to you, champ, best of luck to you. But that's what pressure breathes.

Speaker 1:

Anyway, number four Donovan Mitchell. Here's the problem. All right, I don't necessarily believe in Donovan Mitchell as your one option on a championship team. I think it's a little shaky if you go, if you bank it on him being the one option. Right, yes, the Cavs have been playing well. They look nice. I hear you. People said the same thing about Utah. Oh well, this Cavs team is better than Utah. I hear you. I got to see it to believe it, man. So again, there's pressure on Donovan Mitchell, because last year I was hearing well, the Cavs team didn't do well. They have enough talent on this squad. They have enough depth on this squad to make it so that it's now on Donovan Mitchell.

Speaker 1:

And if he doesn't, I'm going to be curious what a lot of people that I know say about Donovan Mitchell. I'm going to be curious what a lot of people, a lot of fans, say about Donovan Mitchell. Are y'all finally on my wavelength with saying Donovan Mitchell maybe needs to be a second option on a championship team? Just saying, but again, maybe he can prove me wrong. But let's see what happens.

Speaker 1:

Until then, let's move on up to the third most pressured player, and that is Shea Gildress, alexander, ladies and gentlemen. Listen, he's at the MVP season yet again. His team is number one in the West yet again. So if you don't go far in the playoffs yet again, we're going to be talking about you a little bit differently going into the future. Now. You might have another MVP season next season, right, and you could very well win it. Look at Joel Embiid, for example. The fear is, if you don't start winning further in the playoffs, people will probably start trying to compare you to Joel Embiid, which is tough. There are some similarities, there are some differences between your games, but there's pressure on Shea Gildress, alexander, ladies and gentlemen, this season. So, again, if they don't go far. Look for maybe one more season until people start falling off the Shea Gildress Alexander bandwagon. Maybe I'm being a little too early, a little too premature, but it's him being the guy that can start to waver as early as after next season. But let's see what happens though. Let's see what happens Because we got to talk about another player number two on my list and, ladies and gentlemen, that's John Moran, keep in mind.

Speaker 1:

All right, I don't expect Memphis to be a contender, right, like they probably will lose to the Warriors If they don't, cool, but like I'd be a little surprised if they beat the Warriors. But here's the thing, because John's doing all the guns and all that stuff and the right you know what I'm saying. Like I hear you, they're cool sellies. They're cool sellies, the grenade one. That one's cool Problem is the antics that we had just last season would prevent you from doing that.

Speaker 1:

If we're talking about a marketing purpose and again, remember the NBA is a business, you got to remember that. So, if we need you to stop doing certain stuff because you put the spotlight on yourself, champ, and you're now saying, nah, I'm going to double down and do more sellies, all right, cool. That means you got to dominate, that means your team got to beat the Warriors, because if, because, if not, brother, you're not going to be as relevant as people as you're trying to make yourself the scene. I mean good talent, but if your team don't win, you're going to be viewed as tradable real quick and I already said you probably could be traded. Keep it stacked with you, but it'd be tough to trade you to a similarly design on it's similarly designed. You want to keep them, but at the same time, I understand you're trading them, but again, there's pressure on john morant, ladies and gentlemen. So I'm paying very close attention to how john morant performs, because you got a lot of pressure on you this playoffs, but the most pressured players or entities, however you want to classify for me, ladies and gentlemen, number one and it's a three-way tie. And it's disgusting too, because one of these boys ain't even in the playoffs, but it's steph braun and kevin and kevin durant ad, you know I'm saying like you might be wondering why in the world is ke Durant?

Speaker 1:

Kevin Durant is not anywhere close to a championship this season, so why is he on this list? Well, him, braun and Steph right now are technically the closest things to chasing MJ's legacy that we have in today's game. So because of that, those three are on this list, keep in mind. Let's say I don't expect this to happen. But let's say Kevin Durant rattles off a three-peat right quick. Now we're talking about five rings, two losses, and that's all right. That changes a lot, right there. So again, technically I'm going to keep him up there, but y'all see, he at the end it's Steph and Braun, and Steph and Braun ain't in no specific clean. I'll keep him up there, but y'all see, he at the end it's steph and braun, and steph and braun ain't in no specific order. I just typed them in there as such.

Speaker 1:

But they got pressure again because we're chasing braun, because we're chasing jordan. Imagine if we can't win, imagine if steph gets out in the play, and that's going to be tough on the legacy. Because, again, you just acquired jimmy. Y'all got a good squad, should be able to win. Hell, the, the grizzlies just fired their coach. How can you not win?

Speaker 1:

Y'all have more cohesion. Y'all been playing better recently. I expect y'all to win. And then, when braun and you got luca, austin reeves has been snapping. Like we got a squad right, like we have a contending squad. Both teams are contenders. That should breed some pressure, especially if we're champions.

Speaker 1:

If there was champion, if there a squad right Like we have a contending squad Both teams are contenders that should breed some pressure, especially if we're champions. If there was pressure when Kobe Bryant was on the Lakers in 2010 and 09 and 08, how come we can't have pressure on these boys now? Let's stop being soft, ladies and gentlemen. Let's put these boys right here as number one for pressure. When they retire, cool, we can move them off the list, but until then they got the most pressure they do. If they win another one, maybe we can drop them down again, because y'all saw how I treated Jokic and Jalen Brown. Hell, jt ain't ahead of Donovan Mitchell and Shea and John Moran. So again, can't be too too soft with these boys, can't be?

Speaker 1:

We talking about championships, not the regular season, not the regular season. We talking about championships. But again, ladies and gentlemen, y'all heard the listing for the most pressure. Y'all heard the most listing, or y'all heard the listing for the most pressure players or entities in the NBA for the playoffs. So with that, that does conclude the episode, and I'm curious what you all think. So definitely comment below and make sure you share me your answers, but also please like, subscribe, comment. Tell anyone who's anyone about the show. My name is Trey. I'm the host of Get a Bucket. Hope you all are having a good one. Take care.