Hardwood Knocks: An NBA Podcast · HardwoodKnocks: An NBA Podcast

The NBA's Most Interesting Underdog(s) & NBPA's Tanking Solution

April 1, 2026·1 hr 22 min·5 clips

Charlotte’s offense and defense have both been top six or seven since Thanksgiving.

1. Hardwood Knocks: An NBA Podcast centers this episode on the East’s play-in underdogs and the NBPA’s tanking proposals. 2. Dan Favalli hosts with Mort Jensen, and their names matter because they anchor the Raptors, Hawks, Hornets, and 76ers debate. 3. The episode asks which East underdog can actually threaten a playoff series and which Board of Governors tanking ideas matter most. 4. Toronto comes up first because Brandon Ingram, Scottie Barnes, Jakob Pöltl, R.J. Barrett, and Emmanuel Quickly have pushed the Raptors to better results than expected. 5. Dan Favalli says he is now intrigued by Toronto because injuries have hit R.J. Barrett, Quickly, Pöltl, and Colin Murray-Boyles, yet the team keeps winning. 6. Mort Jensen focuses on Toronto’s crunch-time offense, the need for healthy frontcourt minutes, and how Jakob Pöltl’s screening helps a team that already lacks shooting. 7. The Raptors discussion also tests Toronto against Cleveland, New York, Boston, and Detroit as possible first-round matchups. 8. Atlanta gets the strongest statistical case, with the hosts citing a 17-3 run since the All-Star break, a top-seven offense, and a top-three defense. 9. CJ McCollum, Dyson Daniels, Jalen Johnson, Nikhil Alexander-Walker, and Onyeka Okongwu are treated as the key pieces in Atlanta’s half-court and spacing puzzle. 10. The Hawks discussion turns on whether their transition-heavy offense still works once opponents force them into slower possessions. 11. Dan Favalli says Jalen Johnson is the team’s best player by a wide margin, and Mort Jensen calls him an All-NBA lock. 12. They spend time on Johnson’s 23-10-8 production, 45 percent three-point shooting, and the question of whether he should run the offense or play more off the ball. 13. Mort Jensen notes that Dyson Daniels and Jonathan Kuminga can be awkward together, and that Atlanta’s best-player combinations have produced rough offensive numbers in a small sample. 14. The Hornets segment turns on LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller, Condonipple, Kobe White, Josh Green, Sion James, Grant Williams, Moussa Diabate, Ryan Kalkbrenner, and P.J. Hall. 15. The hosts point to Charlotte’s top-six offense and top-six or top-seven defense since Thanksgiving as the reason the team no longer looks like a punchline. 16. Charlotte’s biggest concern is whether it can keep scoring when threes stop falling, because the roster still lacks a clear foul-drawing engine. 17. Philadelphia is treated as the most talented but least trustworthy team in the group, with Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, Paul George, VJ Edgecombe, and Kelly Oubre Jr. at the center of the discussion. 18. The tone stays conversational and skeptical, with long back-and-forths, jokes about Mort Jensen turning 40, and repeated lineup-level analysis rather than hot-take framing. 19. Fans who like NBA roster construction, playoff matchup talk, and East conference evaluation will get the most from this episode. 20. Listeners wanting general NBA news without lineup or metrics talk should probably skip it.

As heard by us

A sharp look at play-in leverage and tanking policy, with just enough skepticism to keep it honest.

Dan Favalli and Mort Jensen spend the episode on two linked questions: which East play-in underdogs are actually worth worrying about, and what the league can do about tanking without making the incentives worse.

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Why you'd press play

You want the East play-in underdogs and tanking debate without the hand-wringing.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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