Yep, the shortest All Star break in recent memory is already over.

Play starts back up again tonight as the NBA begins its all out sprint toward the post season.

And there are a lot of questions out there, some very basic like will each team actually play its schedule this year?

Even with the docket reduced to just 72 games, it's going to take some serious work to get in everything that was postponed in the first half of the season.

The Grizzlies and the Spurs each have 40 games left to play in a span of just 68 days.

And that's only with what we're dealing with as of now.

What if there's a whole new Covid outbreak in one of those franchises?

At some point, the NBA can't keep postponing games and may just have to cancel some since the playoffs have to start on time so they can end on time before the Olympics.

That pressure on the calendar it's a big deal and it's one of the reasons you are starting to hear.

NBA officials talk so much more about the Covid vaccine As Adam Silver noted this past weekend, the new guidance from the C.

D.

C.

Is that people who are vaccinated don't have to quarantine, even if they are directly exposed to someone who has the virus.

Which means that players who do get the shot won't have to sit anymore for contact Tracing, which in turn would lead to more available players and fewer postponements and maybe even relatively full arenas by the time we get to the playoffs.

Still, covid hardly the only question.

As we push into the second half here.

The trade deadline is just a couple weeks away, and it promises to be a weird one.

More teams will hit the deadline in playoff contention than ever before, thanks to the new play in games that keep even the conferences 10th seeds in the mix.

That means fewer sellers and more buyers, plus chum in the water in the buyout market that is, frankly already started.

Yes, that was Blake Griffin and Steve Nash having coffee in Brooklyn yesterday as the Nets welcomed their newest teammate.

So will Brooklyn romp through the second half of the season and enter the playoffs as the clear favorite in the East.

Where does that leave Janice?

And what will Joel Embiid have to say about it as he also tries to win his first M v p?

Yes, brace yourself this second half, we will have a lot of debate over the M V P as it is shaping up to be one of the more competitive races in years.

There's also going to be a lot of talk about whether seeding matters in the West.

Will the Jazz stay atop the conference?

They sure could, with the easiest schedule in the league for the rest of the way here.

How much more bubble wrap with the Lakers decided to keep Anthony Davis in, even if it hurts when they sit where they sit in the bracket?

Well, that will also be a factor.

Well, the Sun's be able to keep up the good vibes.

What about the Knicks, who've got one of the NBA's tougher seven half schedules?

Personally, I've noted the whole way here I am less focused on the Knicks actual win loss record than I am on the team, finally starting to feel like a competent franchise.

If they can keep turning the ship in the right direction.

It's going to be a successful season, even if they don't make the playoffs.

The same, of course, can't be said for Boston or Denver or Miami, which have each underperformed expectations so far.

Will they all improve in the second half?

The answer, of course, is we don't know which is part of what makes sports so fun in the first place.

So hopefully you got some snacks during the very briefest of intermissions here because it's time to follow your rushers and settle back into your seat.

The curtain goes back up tonight.

So, Robert, what team do you think is under the most pressure in the second half of the season?

With the addition of Blake Griffin?

It has to be the Brooklyn Nets because you already had the three headed monster with KD Harden and Kyrie with them now, getting this guy Blake Griffin, who was an All Star dunk champ.

All these things that come along, there's got to be a lot of pressure on you guys because now you think about this.

Katie and James already been to the finals and lost, so that's more pressure on them than it is Kyrie.

Kyrie has won the championship.

Blake hasn't even been in the running to be in the conference finals.

So there's a lot of pressure on the on the Brooklyn to get to the finals and winning, not just get there, because getting there doesn't mean anything.

They have to win it with that crew.

Katie, of course, one, but not when he was playing with Harden.

Absolutely about you.

What's your second half pressure cooker team?

Yeah, well, they're similar storylines going on in the East and in the West.

But there's more pressure in the West on the Lakers and LeBron James for an answer that my guy Robert said on first take earlier today because of health, even though they are without, you know, Kevin Durant Right now, they still have a lot.

They're getting Blake Griffin.

You know, they already have James Harden, who has, you know, massive really changed roles.

And then you've got Kyrie Irving.

Who does LeBron James have?

He has a supporting cast that we're trying to figure out.

Will they step up?

Their really missing Anthony Davis is 22 points and eight rebounds a game, and so I think especially in a year where two seasons are wrapped into one for LeBron James.

Your number one star is 36 years old.

You're waiting on a D to come back.

They're feeling the pressure, even if it doesn't amount and changing in the standings.

And your girl always comes with some nuggets since the 2020 you know, Bubble restart.

No player has logged more minutes, scored more points, handed out more assists, made more shots, taken more shots or finished off more fastbreaks then LeBron James.

He's literally doing it all since the bubble started, and now we have that 71 day turn around.

And so it's two seasons wrapped into one.

A lot of pressure on LeBron James.

The cool thing Rachel is he's built for it, right?

But the question is, will he have enough?

Will there be enough synergy to sort of repeat once again?

Hopefully when 80 comes back.

Robert, you were with the Lakers almost every night.

What do you think?

You know, she's totally right.

Uh, we always talk about load management and how he wanted to load manage LeBron.

He got mad at everybody.

But this is why we want to Lo manager because you've done so much.

I think about it 36 years old, been in the league, going to the finals so many times.

That's a lot of miles on your body.

So we're not saying that you cannot do it.

We're saying Just take the time so we can get the best performance out of LeBron in the finals because he's going to the Finals.

There's nobody in the West can really start to accept the Clippers.

And I don't think you gotta start.

Yeah, but the Clippers giving up Montreal's heroin Guys like that.

They don't have the punch off that bench like they used to.

So LeBron has to take a step back.

I think this All Star break was great for him because he didn't play as many minutes as All Star Game as he probably would have been like So, with all the Laker fans are like, Yeah, which was amazing.

That's LeBron, you know, doing this thing and always gonna be there for you.

Then he's He's amazing.

He's a machine.

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