Now that the NBA restart and playoffs are drawing near, it’s a great time to start discussing potential award candidates.

While the MVP debate between Giannis and LeBron has gotten all the headlines, Antetokounmpo is involved in another award debate: Defensive Player of the Year. Rudy Gobert is the two-time defending DPOY and was asked this week if he deserves the award this year. Gobert is seeking to be the second ever player to win the award three times in a row and believes he should be “in the conversation.” However, he’ll have to overcome presumptive favorites Antetokounmpo and Anthony Davis.

Paul Pierce believes Rudy, who was an All-Star again this year, is right there in the next tier behind those two.

“Yeah, he’s in the mix,” said The Truth. “He’s established himself as a perennial Defensive Player of the Year candidate. Will he get it this year? I don’t think so. I think Giannis should be the lead candidate for Defensive Player of the Year, but he’s going to be in that conversation every year.”

In other news, the main NBA court for the games to be played in the bubble was recently revealed. “Black Lives Matter” is displayed prominently on the court and auxiliary benches have been setup to maintain social distancing, and other precautionary measures. Paul was also asked his first impressions on this court and if players should be expected to maintain social distancing guidelines during the actual games.

“This is my thing. If you’re going to be in the game, doing all this pushing and tugging and touching, what about in timeouts, Rachel? How are the timeouts going to go? We’re used to huddling and coming together. I’m not sure it’s going to be possible.”

Listen to the whole discussion between Pierce, Kendrick Perkins, and Rachel Nichols down below.