Hall of Famer Chris Webber Breaks Down the Latest in the NBA Playoffs

Chris Webber's quick read on the NBA Playoffs covered three series and one MVP candidate that the basketball world is not taking seriously enough.

Start with the candidate. Webber wants Cade Cunningham in the conversation, full stop, and the Pistons' first-round comeback against Orlando was his proof of concept.

"There's no reason we shouldn't take him serious for the MVP," Webber told Rich. "He's definitely, in my opinion, top five."

Webber walked through Cunningham's burden in that series. He came back from a 3-1 hole. He shot a high percentage. He played point guard. He checked the best player on the floor. Webber added that Paolo Banchero was incredible in the series too, but Cunningham was the through line, and he hopes the league argues about it because even the argument elevates him.

On Detroit's second round, Webber was measured. A one-up series, he said, never feels like a real advantage. Cleveland will get hot. Coaches will get heat at home. Players get hurt. He likes the Pistons' mental place coming off the Orlando comeback, but he expects it to go six or seven games.

The Knicks pulled the longest section of the breakdown, and the point Webber wanted to make was about Mike Brown.

"This is the moment that you wait, that Mike Brown has an impact," Webber said. "The reason why he has an impact is because guys and players can control their own effort."

He pushed back on the framing that the current Knicks are not a Tom Thibodeau-style defensive team. Thibodeau, he said, is one of the greatest defensive minds ever, but defense is not really a scheme question. It is an effort question.

"It's only so many defensive strategies," Webber said. "It's about your effort and do you commit to your coaches' ways."

What Brown has added, in Webber's view, is offensive movement. Less standing around for Jalen Brunson trying to take tough shots. More pace off rebounds. More attempts at easy buckets. Sometimes it looks ugly. Most of the time it is efficient.

Webber wanted the basketball audience to know Brown's pedigree. He comes from the tree of Bernie Bickerstaff. He worked with Webber in Washington. He worked alongside Gregg Popovich and Steve Kerr. His offensive acumen, Webber argued, is being slept on.

Then there was LeBron James, who, against a long and athletic Thunder team, has spent the week reminding Webber what efficient looks like on an aging body.

"It's funny that the old man is the most consistent and the most efficient," Webber said. "And we're talking about all these young guys and potential. Potential don't mean nothing until you prove it over a period of time."

Webber's call on the Lakers series was blunt.

"They're just out, man."