WEBVTT - Why is no one paying attention to the Pelicans? 0:00:10.119 --> 0:00:13.160 On this episode, they eat check. Let's look at three 0:00:13.240 --> 0:00:17.400 Western Conference teams who need to prove that they belong. 0:00:17.960 --> 0:00:20.880 I'm talking about the Pelicans, I'm talking about the Warriors. 0:00:20.960 --> 0:00:23.680 I'm talking about the Sacramento Kings. Baby. We also get 0:00:23.680 --> 0:00:26.000 into ale bit of news from around the league. Nice 0:00:26.000 --> 0:00:29.560 little interview with CBS Sports Radio and NBA insider Bill 0:00:29.680 --> 0:00:32.239 Ryder from writer than You. We get a lot to 0:00:32.280 --> 0:00:35.680 get into. My guy, Anthony, so drop that muther hucking 0:00:35.680 --> 0:00:51.319 beat and should be real. Today's Western Conference standings are 0:00:51.479 --> 0:00:55.560 very tight, and I was looking in the standings and 0:00:55.600 --> 0:00:58.240 there's one team that my eyes just seemed to glaze 0:00:58.320 --> 0:01:02.240 in gloss over. Is there a team more easy to 0:01:02.320 --> 0:01:06.520 ignore than the New Orleans Pelicans, Because unless you're living 0:01:06.520 --> 0:01:08.960 in the Bayou or watching League past twenty four to seven, 0:01:09.600 --> 0:01:11.119 good for you, by the way, it would be very 0:01:11.120 --> 0:01:13.280 easy to miss. Not the buyo part, but the league 0:01:13.280 --> 0:01:15.920 pass twenty four is also. New Orleans is pretty sick too. 0:01:16.000 --> 0:01:19.039 I wouldn't hate living there outside of the humidity. The 0:01:19.080 --> 0:01:21.319 Pelicans are in fifth place right now in the West, 0:01:21.680 --> 0:01:24.280 in a very difficult West, and they are chasing down 0:01:24.319 --> 0:01:27.240 the Clippers for the fourth spot. The Clippers by the way, 0:01:27.440 --> 0:01:30.679 who just vomited a lead away to the Milwaukee Bucks. 0:01:30.959 --> 0:01:33.160 They are ten and four the New Orleans Pelicans in 0:01:33.160 --> 0:01:36.120 the last fourteen games. So the question that I have 0:01:36.280 --> 0:01:39.559 is why doesn't anybody take them seriously? Why aren't people 0:01:39.560 --> 0:01:44.000 paying attention? Why are we saying, eh, Pelicans, I don't know. 0:01:44.880 --> 0:01:47.720 They've been basically top six in the West the entire 0:01:47.880 --> 0:01:53.080 season and no one gives a fuck. Part of it 0:01:53.200 --> 0:01:54.960 might be the fact that they play in New Orleans 0:01:55.000 --> 0:01:57.880 and their their team name is the Pelicans, and they 0:01:57.920 --> 0:02:01.760 have eight nationally talized game games this year. Part of 0:02:01.800 --> 0:02:03.600 it has to do with the fact that this team 0:02:03.600 --> 0:02:05.560 has been up and down over the past three years. 0:02:05.560 --> 0:02:08.600 So it's a case of hey, show me state. I 0:02:08.639 --> 0:02:10.640 need to see it to believe it. And there's not 0:02:10.720 --> 0:02:13.560 a lot of believers in those Pelicans, at least not nationally. 0:02:14.280 --> 0:02:15.920 But there are a lot of reasons to like this 0:02:16.000 --> 0:02:18.920 Pelicans team. I was digging into the deats and it 0:02:19.000 --> 0:02:23.080 starts with Zion. For the first time in ages, Zion 0:02:23.160 --> 0:02:26.960 is healthy ish right. He's played in forty nine games 0:02:26.960 --> 0:02:29.520 this year. That is like for Zion, that's one hundred 0:02:29.520 --> 0:02:31.920 percent of the games. We have not been paying attention 0:02:32.000 --> 0:02:34.120 to Zion. He's been going below the radar. Nobody's been 0:02:34.120 --> 0:02:36.560 talking about him, except for Stephen A. Smith when he 0:02:36.800 --> 0:02:40.600 just lazily decided to use the same old narrative about 0:02:40.720 --> 0:02:45.000 Zion because Zion is a close representation of the team 0:02:45.000 --> 0:02:49.320 as a whole. In Zion's last eighteen games, he's averaging 0:02:49.600 --> 0:02:52.880 twenty three point seven points, four point eight rebounds, and 0:02:52.919 --> 0:02:57.440 five point eight assists, shooting fifty six percent from the field. 0:02:57.680 --> 0:02:59.720 And because of the fact that they don't have a 0:02:59.720 --> 0:03:02.320 ton of playmakers on this team, Zion has returned to 0:03:02.360 --> 0:03:06.520 playing the point points Zion points. Zion has responded. In 0:03:06.520 --> 0:03:09.480 his last ten He's averaged seven assists per game, up 0:03:09.480 --> 0:03:10.960 for four and a half a game in the last 0:03:11.040 --> 0:03:14.160 In the first fifty Pelicans games this year, the Pelicans 0:03:14.200 --> 0:03:16.560 assist rate and turnover rate both on the bottom half 0:03:16.600 --> 0:03:19.000 of the league, and none of their players are elite passers, 0:03:19.000 --> 0:03:25.320 so it's very important that Zion facilitate this offense effectively, 0:03:25.560 --> 0:03:30.000 and when he does, the Pelicans cook. And of course, Zion, 0:03:30.320 --> 0:03:33.320 as he always has been when he's healthy, is unstoppable 0:03:33.320 --> 0:03:35.320 in the paint. He is number two in the NBA 0:03:35.360 --> 0:03:38.320 in points in the paint this season, and that includes 0:03:38.320 --> 0:03:41.280 the fact that he's not getting any calls. He's averaging 0:03:41.360 --> 0:03:43.560 just six point seven free throw attempts per game, which 0:03:43.640 --> 0:03:47.040 is a career low. Remember when who was it, Stan 0:03:47.120 --> 0:03:50.640 Van Gundy, David Griffin. There was a whole hullabaloo about 0:03:50.760 --> 0:03:52.600 Zion not getting calls. There were some calls to the 0:03:52.680 --> 0:03:55.120 league office, there were some articles written about it. People 0:03:55.120 --> 0:03:58.240 were pissed. So Zion just doesn't get calls because he's 0:03:58.280 --> 0:04:01.720 so big, so strong, it's so powerful that you don't 0:04:01.720 --> 0:04:04.920 really know how to call his games. There's a short 0:04:04.920 --> 0:04:06.800 list of players though, who operate in the same amount 0:04:06.800 --> 0:04:11.920 of physicality as Zion and it does not result in 0:04:11.960 --> 0:04:15.720 foul shots as much as it should. Shay Gilgis, Alexander Janni, 0:04:15.800 --> 0:04:20.280 Santa Ta Kumpa Luka Doncic, to name three peers, are 0:04:20.360 --> 0:04:24.320 each above eight point nine attempts this season. So what 0:04:24.360 --> 0:04:27.000 do I like about the Pelicans? The fact that they're 0:04:27.000 --> 0:04:31.200 so deep, I think is an incredible asset for them. 0:04:31.440 --> 0:04:33.800 There is any statistic I want to share. In their 0:04:33.880 --> 0:04:38.239 last fourteen games, the Pelicans have had six different leading 0:04:38.279 --> 0:04:43.480 scorers of the game, Zions four, Brendan Ingram, four, Jonnis 0:04:43.560 --> 0:04:47.440 Valanciunis one, Nice CJ. McCollum two, Trey Murphy one, and 0:04:47.480 --> 0:04:51.760 Herb Jones one. Only the Boston Celtics number one team 0:04:51.800 --> 0:04:56.440 in basketball and the Pacers with the perennial all the 0:04:56.760 --> 0:05:00.839 NBA level assisting Tyrese Halliburton. So the Celtics and the 0:05:00.839 --> 0:05:03.760 Pacers spread the wealth around almost they're the only ones 0:05:03.760 --> 0:05:05.400 in the league that spread the wealth around as much 0:05:05.400 --> 0:05:09.640 as the Pelicans do. And there's not really an easy 0:05:09.680 --> 0:05:12.120 path home in the West because there's just so many 0:05:12.160 --> 0:05:15.599 good teams. But at least the Pelicans aren't facing any 0:05:15.600 --> 0:05:18.680 tougher road than anyone else. They have Detroit, Brooklyn, and 0:05:18.680 --> 0:05:21.080 Atlanta out of the East for the six worst teams 0:05:21.080 --> 0:05:23.720 in their conference. They play against Portland twice and San 0:05:23.800 --> 0:05:26.839 Antonio once in the West, So that's six teams against 0:05:26.880 --> 0:05:28.960 grave dwellers, teams that we know are at the bottom 0:05:28.960 --> 0:05:32.280 in the basement. No Tree, Young, these teams suck. If 0:05:32.320 --> 0:05:35.160 they finish five hundred against the rest of the league 0:05:35.240 --> 0:05:38.800 and five and one against the bottom basement dwellers, they 0:05:38.800 --> 0:05:41.400 will have fifty wins and will be fighting for the 0:05:41.400 --> 0:05:45.880 four spot. And I promise you teams like the Suns 0:05:46.200 --> 0:05:49.440 are terrified, are shook of playing the Pelicans. We saw 0:05:49.480 --> 0:05:52.360 them take the Suns to seven without Zion. What are 0:05:52.360 --> 0:05:53.679 they going to be able to do if the Suns 0:05:53.680 --> 0:05:55.400 creep in and they play each other in a play 0:05:55.400 --> 0:05:58.560 in tournament, or they play each other in the second round. 0:05:58.839 --> 0:06:01.479 I know Sons probably getting to the second round, but 0:06:02.080 --> 0:06:04.239 I know that this is a team not being taken 0:06:04.320 --> 0:06:08.000 lightly and a team that no contender really wants to 0:06:08.000 --> 0:06:10.359 play in the first round, especially a team like the Kings, 0:06:10.680 --> 0:06:13.400 the Suns, and maybe even the Nuggets as long as 0:06:13.400 --> 0:06:16.720 they're healthy. The Pelicans could be a problem, but they 0:06:16.839 --> 0:06:24.159 still have a lot to moving on to a second 0:06:24.200 --> 0:06:25.960 team that I think has a lot to prove, a 0:06:26.000 --> 0:06:28.560 team that people have been waffling and wavering on all 0:06:28.600 --> 0:06:33.360 season long, including myself. But I have a message as 0:06:33.400 --> 0:06:35.960 a lifelong fan of our Dubs. I'm here to tell 0:06:36.040 --> 0:06:40.480 dub Nation, do not panic. Do not panic, dub Nation, 0:06:40.920 --> 0:06:44.039 It's gonna be okay. I know that the fifty point 0:06:44.400 --> 0:06:47.680 plus beat down on Sunday at the hands of the 0:06:47.680 --> 0:06:50.679 Boston Celtics in TD Garden was a tough pill to swallow. 0:06:51.160 --> 0:06:52.760 I know that the fact that you put together a 0:06:52.800 --> 0:06:55.680 defensive game plan fifteen minutes before the game. Probably not great. 0:06:56.000 --> 0:06:58.640 I realized Steph coming out out after one of the 0:06:58.680 --> 0:07:01.359 worst games of his career and say in a dejected voice, 0:07:01.960 --> 0:07:05.080 that's what we used to do to teams. Stings. I 0:07:05.120 --> 0:07:07.279 know that's stings. I know it's absolutely become a joke 0:07:07.320 --> 0:07:12.200 on Monday morning radio. I know it sucks. But let's 0:07:12.240 --> 0:07:17.760 look at this dispassionately. No Pods in this game. No 0:07:17.880 --> 0:07:20.640 Brandon Perjemski, the rookie, the guy who has found a 0:07:20.680 --> 0:07:24.600 way to get significant minutes. This game illustrated completely why 0:07:24.720 --> 0:07:27.600 PODS is so important in this iteration of Golden State, 0:07:27.640 --> 0:07:31.160 this part of the timeline. Since February first, Pods has 0:07:31.160 --> 0:07:33.880 put up eleven seven and six with a plus seven 0:07:33.920 --> 0:07:37.360 point four per game net rating. The Warriors went eleven 0:07:37.360 --> 0:07:39.720 and three in those games before you got Sideline two 0:07:39.760 --> 0:07:42.920 games ago. That's pretty damn good. Eleven and three. Second 0:07:42.960 --> 0:07:44.880 of all, it was the final game of a very 0:07:44.960 --> 0:07:48.320 long ass road trip. Fifth game and eight days. You're 0:07:48.360 --> 0:07:51.400 down two starters in the toughest building to win against 0:07:51.440 --> 0:07:53.960 the historic offense at its peak one hundred and twenty 0:07:53.960 --> 0:07:59.160 seven point rating in our last ten with really bulletin 0:07:59.160 --> 0:08:01.760 board material. Hey, hey, we fucking hate them. They beat 0:08:01.840 --> 0:08:04.720 us on our own home court and they won the championship. 0:08:05.840 --> 0:08:08.960 So fans are probably overreacting to the massacre and saying, oh, 0:08:09.080 --> 0:08:11.920 Warriors are probably not even gonna make the playoffs. Not me, though, 0:08:12.440 --> 0:08:16.080 Warriors ran into a perfect store. They just did long 0:08:16.120 --> 0:08:18.440 before Steph went O nine in the first half. The 0:08:18.480 --> 0:08:20.840 team just felt like it took the night off right. Like, 0:08:20.920 --> 0:08:23.119 of course, no one loves to say that, but Steve 0:08:23.200 --> 0:08:25.400 Kurz said last week this Steph was already tired. There 0:08:25.440 --> 0:08:27.200 was a chance Steph wasn't even gonna play in this 0:08:27.280 --> 0:08:31.320 game until no Boston. Boston had no kristavs Porzingis, and 0:08:31.360 --> 0:08:33.040 they're like, oh, maybe we go win this one. No, 0:08:33.720 --> 0:08:37.079 you can't. It was a bad loss, historic loss, fifty 0:08:37.120 --> 0:08:40.160 two point loss, was not even remotely close. Ever, the 0:08:40.200 --> 0:08:42.920 Celtics were up eighty two thirty eight at half. Actually 0:08:42.960 --> 0:08:44.920 I think they tied. They were tied twenty one to 0:08:44.920 --> 0:08:48.240 twenty one, and then from there on it was an 0:08:48.320 --> 0:08:52.439 absolute blood bath. Boston is cruising right now. They've won 0:08:52.520 --> 0:08:56.040 thirteen to fourteen. One of the highest rating offenses in 0:08:56.080 --> 0:09:01.319 all of history, the highest net rating sense our dubs 0:09:01.520 --> 0:09:05.160 in twenty seventeen, So to lose even badly to Boston's 0:09:05.200 --> 0:09:08.679 not the worst thing. So yeah, I know that the 0:09:08.760 --> 0:09:11.880 Warriors have issues. Andrew Wiggins is supposed to be coming 0:09:11.920 --> 0:09:14.679 back after missing four games for a very serious family emergency. 0:09:14.920 --> 0:09:17.839 But that ass whipping at the hands of the Seas, 0:09:18.000 --> 0:09:19.960 you can put that in your rear review mirror. It's 0:09:20.000 --> 0:09:23.000 like no sense in dwelling on it. As they say 0:09:23.400 --> 0:09:25.959 and used to say in Golden State, it's next man up, 0:09:26.320 --> 0:09:29.079 next game up. And if this team can sneak into 0:09:29.120 --> 0:09:31.160 the playoffs, they're gonna fuck a team up like the 0:09:31.160 --> 0:09:35.040 Minnesota Timberwolves. You can just count on that. Let's move 0:09:35.040 --> 0:09:39.160 on to the third team that needs to get their 0:09:39.160 --> 0:09:42.720 shit together, a team that we don't know what to 0:09:42.840 --> 0:09:46.079 make of, a team that can look incredible on one 0:09:46.160 --> 0:09:49.800 night and absolute buns on the next. What the fuck 0:09:50.000 --> 0:09:53.559 is happening with the Sacramento Kings, Folks, our Kings. They 0:09:53.600 --> 0:09:57.360 blew another huge leadership at home and I think it 0:09:57.400 --> 0:10:00.080 was at home. Kings were at the crib, Yes, if 0:10:00.120 --> 0:10:02.920 they were in at home at Golden One blew another 0:10:03.040 --> 0:10:07.320 huge lead at the crib. Bulls storm back from twenty two, 0:10:07.400 --> 0:10:11.640 down one thirteen to one oh nine. Kobe White was 0:10:12.480 --> 0:10:16.319 putting up almost forty. Things are not okay in Sacramento, 0:10:16.559 --> 0:10:20.080 as Kenny Carroway of Sacramento's Dilo and Casey Show, which 0:10:20.120 --> 0:10:22.079 I love, I go on there every Tuesday, by the way, 0:10:22.120 --> 0:10:25.360 so check that out five pm Eastern Standard time Tuesday, 0:10:25.520 --> 0:10:28.320 he said, plan and simply put this shit is unacceptable. 0:10:29.000 --> 0:10:31.320 It's true. The Kings were up eighty nine to sixty 0:10:31.360 --> 0:10:34.440 seven with three minutes left in the third, got outscored 0:10:34.480 --> 0:10:36.520 forty six to twenty the rest of the way. Bulls. 0:10:36.559 --> 0:10:40.880 Let Kobe White, Kobe, what listen. I know Kobe White's good, 0:10:41.200 --> 0:10:42.960 like I know Kobe WIT's having a great year. But 0:10:43.000 --> 0:10:45.000 you can't let Kobe White put thirty seven on your 0:10:45.080 --> 0:10:48.440 dome piece. You let de Margarros and put up nineteen 0:10:48.480 --> 0:10:52.240 in the fourth quarter alone. De Aeron Fox guarded Ioed 0:10:52.240 --> 0:10:54.680 de Summu most of the game. Let him go off 0:10:54.679 --> 0:10:59.720 for twenty. That's just unacceptable. Foxy twice his season average. 0:10:59.720 --> 0:11:02.840 He's averaging ten points per game, puts up twenty and 0:11:02.920 --> 0:11:05.840 according to the NBA, the Kings had a ninety nine 0:11:05.880 --> 0:11:08.760 point six percent chance of winning the game. And somehow 0:11:08.800 --> 0:11:11.960 found a way to lose. The Rosen outscored the entire 0:11:12.040 --> 0:11:18.400 Kings team by him self, just disgusting stuff. The loss 0:11:18.440 --> 0:11:21.480 to the Bulls follows the Kings blowing an eighteen points 0:11:21.480 --> 0:11:24.000 second half lead to the Clippers and double deep digit 0:11:24.120 --> 0:11:25.839 leads to both the Nuggets and the Heat in the 0:11:25.920 --> 0:11:28.760 last two weeks alone seventh in the West. Now the 0:11:28.840 --> 0:11:31.320 Kings are out of the playoff picture and in the 0:11:31.320 --> 0:11:34.080 play in with the MAVs, Lakers, and Warriors, which is 0:11:34.120 --> 0:11:36.640 like being thrown into an empty swimming pool with the 0:11:36.720 --> 0:11:38.480 hungry lion. I tell you what, they don't want to 0:11:38.480 --> 0:11:41.959 play any of these teams in one game set. MAVs 0:11:41.960 --> 0:11:45.040 are big, they're strong, to got Luca, Lakers, got Lebron 0:11:45.800 --> 0:11:48.720 and AD tough matchup. Warriors. We already know what time 0:11:48.720 --> 0:11:51.439 it is, our dubs, gross, you don't want this. How 0:11:51.440 --> 0:11:52.439 do the Kings fix it? 0:11:52.559 --> 0:11:52.719 Oh? 0:11:52.840 --> 0:11:55.480 Time's running out. You gotta get the fuck on. You 0:11:55.520 --> 0:11:57.800 gotta make sure that the Suns slide down the rankings 0:11:57.880 --> 0:11:59.560 and they go to the play in tournament and you 0:11:59.640 --> 0:12:02.200 end up the sixth spot and hope to God that 0:12:02.320 --> 0:12:05.400 Oka See makes the three spot. Hope to God you 0:12:05.400 --> 0:12:08.720 don't want to see Denver in the first round. Kings 0:12:08.720 --> 0:12:12.280 are currently twentieth in defensive rating, fourteenth in offensive rating. 0:12:12.360 --> 0:12:14.360 I think Kings were number one in the offensive rating 0:12:14.440 --> 0:12:16.720 last year. A lot of it is that they're very 0:12:16.800 --> 0:12:20.920 sloppy with the ball. Kings rate thirteenth in turnover percentage. 0:12:21.600 --> 0:12:23.920 I mean, this is just not this is just not 0:12:24.000 --> 0:12:25.800 a team that you really want to back right now, 0:12:25.840 --> 0:12:28.240 These are not contending stats. They need to turn up 0:12:28.679 --> 0:12:32.400 the noise right now before it gets early late, before 0:12:32.440 --> 0:12:34.800 it gets late early, right before it gets late early. 0:12:34.920 --> 0:12:37.400 You know what I'm saying. Anyway. Bill Ryder also joins 0:12:37.480 --> 0:12:39.240 us later in the show. He dropped this factoid in 0:12:39.280 --> 0:12:42.880 our interview. No NBA team has won a Chip this 0:12:43.040 --> 0:12:47.679 century without being a top ten defense and a top 0:12:47.760 --> 0:12:50.719 ten offense. So the Kings have to change a lot. 0:12:50.760 --> 0:12:52.920 They want a legit chance to do anything come playoff time. 0:12:53.640 --> 0:12:57.280 The real issue is that the Kings just cannot shoot 0:12:57.520 --> 0:13:00.840 at all. They're eleventh per in field goal percent dead 0:13:00.920 --> 0:13:04.240 last though an NBA free throw percentage, which is an 0:13:04.240 --> 0:13:06.520 even bigger problem because two of their worst free throw 0:13:06.520 --> 0:13:09.360 shooters are their marquee guys, the guys that actually have 0:13:09.400 --> 0:13:11.000 the ball in their hands when it's like, I don't know, 0:13:11.160 --> 0:13:13.840 brunch time. Fox and sabonas two guys that get to 0:13:13.880 --> 0:13:16.120 the line a lot. I tweeted this out. In his 0:13:16.200 --> 0:13:18.760 last nine games, Darren Fox is shooting sixty two point 0:13:18.760 --> 0:13:21.240 five percent from the free throw line, and in his 0:13:21.360 --> 0:13:24.360 last nine Domas is shooting seventy percent from the free 0:13:24.360 --> 0:13:26.800 throw line. Pretty hard to close out wins when your 0:13:26.840 --> 0:13:30.800 two best players aren't good from the charity stripe. NBA 0:13:30.920 --> 0:13:34.360 guru John Hollinger quote tweeted it with this, hadn't really 0:13:34.400 --> 0:13:37.400 internalized how much the Kings suck from the line this year, 0:13:37.760 --> 0:13:41.080 nearly twenty percentage points worse than number twenty nine Toronto 0:13:41.440 --> 0:13:44.040 cost them about one point one points per game relative 0:13:44.080 --> 0:13:46.520 to the league average. And there's no shock here. It's 0:13:46.600 --> 0:13:49.720 just Fox and Sabonis are seventy percent and nobody else 0:13:49.840 --> 0:13:54.360 draws fouls. That folks is an issue, and it's not 0:13:54.480 --> 0:13:58.000 one that's easily solved. It's just not Since two thousand 0:13:58.040 --> 0:14:00.400 and six, no team has won a chance beian ships 0:14:00.400 --> 0:14:03.400 shooting free throws below seventy three percent. I'm not saying 0:14:03.400 --> 0:14:05.400 that we thought that the Kings were gonna win a 0:14:05.480 --> 0:14:08.199 championship this year because we don't think that, but I 0:14:08.280 --> 0:14:10.720 mean God got to get better at that along the 0:14:10.800 --> 0:14:13.959 way to get to be a contender. It is very 0:14:13.960 --> 0:14:16.160 critical to make free throws in close games that you're 0:14:16.240 --> 0:14:18.800 bound to play in the playoffs. Remember, like the Warriors, 0:14:18.920 --> 0:14:21.240 all those games were close. We're gonna know everything about 0:14:21.240 --> 0:14:23.920 this King's team. In the next two weeks they played 0:14:24.080 --> 0:14:27.520 nine games. Only two of those games against top four teams. 0:14:27.640 --> 0:14:30.160 For those games are against bottom eight teams. The way 0:14:30.160 --> 0:14:32.960 that the Kings have been doing with bad teams. This 0:14:33.040 --> 0:14:35.360 is a do or die moment for the Kings. Let's 0:14:35.440 --> 0:14:37.200 move on just a little news from around the league. 0:14:37.240 --> 0:14:43.360 Starting in Brooklyn, Ben simmons saga continues to unfold on 0:14:43.400 --> 0:14:48.040 the bench, getting his fits off, looking like a runway model. Yes, 0:14:48.080 --> 0:14:52.880 Ben Ben Simmons has played in fifty seven of one 0:14:53.000 --> 0:14:57.320 hundred and eighty one possible games in Brooklyn. He has 0:14:57.400 --> 0:15:01.080 been getting murdered in the streets. Agent has stepped up 0:15:01.120 --> 0:15:04.040 to the line of the fire and taken responsibility. Yes, 0:15:04.280 --> 0:15:08.000 right now Ben is being protected by Bernie Lee. Then 0:15:08.040 --> 0:15:11.320 Bernie Lee also represent Jimmy Butler. At one point, he 0:15:11.400 --> 0:15:14.280 is definitely seeing the road rising up to meet him 0:15:14.320 --> 0:15:17.680 because Ben's Monster contract runs out next year. Bernie Lee 0:15:17.720 --> 0:15:21.440 basically said, hey, don't blame Ben, play me. Blame me 0:15:21.640 --> 0:15:24.400 for this. He said this. When I began working with Ben, 0:15:24.440 --> 0:15:25.880 I made a commitment to him that I would do 0:15:25.920 --> 0:15:27.880 everything that I could to find the right answers and 0:15:27.920 --> 0:15:29.920 specialists for him to work with in order to move 0:15:30.000 --> 0:15:33.200 forward from the issues he has been having. Clearly it 0:15:33.240 --> 0:15:36.800 hasn't happened, and that's my responsibility. He then, of course 0:15:36.840 --> 0:15:38.880 went on blah blah blah. Don't you see Ben in 0:15:38.920 --> 0:15:41.360 the gym, He's working, he's sweating. Don't you see him 0:15:41.360 --> 0:15:44.400 in the off season his rehab. He's only taken seven 0:15:44.480 --> 0:15:46.000 days off in the past calendar year. 0:15:46.400 --> 0:15:47.160 Eh. 0:15:47.360 --> 0:15:50.360 He then said this, come the off season, we're going 0:15:50.400 --> 0:15:55.560 to implement some processes and outside input that allow him 0:15:55.600 --> 0:15:59.280 to finally move forward from this ongoing issue and resume 0:15:59.320 --> 0:16:03.160 his career at the level he's established prior to being injured. Guys, 0:16:03.560 --> 0:16:06.440 I just don't buy it. Someone's already laying the groundwork 0:16:06.520 --> 0:16:10.440 for a new contract bet on Ben to have a 0:16:10.480 --> 0:16:13.160 monster bounce back here next year. I don't think so. 0:16:13.800 --> 0:16:17.240 I don't think Ben will ever play meaningful basketball again. 0:16:17.760 --> 0:16:22.000 That's that's that's just not gonna happen. Unfortunately for Ben, 0:16:22.120 --> 0:16:24.080 I'm sorry to hear it, sorry to hear that his 0:16:24.160 --> 0:16:28.320 back issues continue to flare up. But for Ben, it's 0:16:28.360 --> 0:16:30.160 a wrap. All right, Let's move on. We got a 0:16:30.160 --> 0:16:32.120 little breaking news, tiny bit of breaking news out of 0:16:32.120 --> 0:16:36.239 Miami where the Heat signed Patty Mills. Oh my god, 0:16:36.280 --> 0:16:38.800 what in the gort drugage is happening right now? He 0:16:38.840 --> 0:16:42.080 gets bought out by Atlanta and landed on the North Beach. 0:16:42.440 --> 0:16:45.360 He's shooting thirty eight Really, South Beach, they're shooting thirty 0:16:45.360 --> 0:16:48.440 eight percent from three. Another valuable vet off the bench. 0:16:48.440 --> 0:16:50.720 You can fill in for those Gabe Vincent minutes that 0:16:50.720 --> 0:16:53.480 they've been lacking, those Kyle Lowry minutes that they were 0:16:53.520 --> 0:16:56.560 hoping to get. Terry Rosier and Patty Mills, of course, 0:16:56.560 --> 0:16:59.320 are not damn lollard at all, but they might be 0:16:59.440 --> 0:17:02.440 enough for the Heat to become real serious threats moving forward. 0:17:02.440 --> 0:17:04.560 You know what time it is. Eric Spotzer finds a 0:17:04.560 --> 0:17:07.000 way to win with the players that he has. Although 0:17:07.040 --> 0:17:11.520 I have a love hate relationship with Miami, I just 0:17:11.560 --> 0:17:14.199 hate the Celtics so much more so I'm counting on 0:17:14.240 --> 0:17:17.520 them I'm counting on them to take the Celtics out 0:17:17.520 --> 0:17:20.520 in the playoffs, and a sniper like Patty Mills makes 0:17:20.520 --> 0:17:23.359 it just a tiny bit more likely, even though he 0:17:23.480 --> 0:17:27.680 is old as me. Moving on a little injury update, 0:17:27.880 --> 0:17:31.639 Scottie Barnes, who broke his finger last week, underwent surgery 0:17:32.200 --> 0:17:35.840 to fix the broken digit. Ryan Wollstatt, friend of show. 0:17:36.080 --> 0:17:40.040 He tweeted, I'm not doctor Waws, but that should mean 0:17:40.119 --> 0:17:44.320 his season is done, damn, which is sad. Really, Scotty 0:17:44.359 --> 0:17:46.760 Barnes was playing awesome. He took another step forward this year. 0:17:46.800 --> 0:17:49.359 He was an All Star, the team became one hundred 0:17:49.359 --> 0:17:52.040 percent his after Sakham trade. He goes down for the year. 0:17:52.359 --> 0:17:54.520 Not a serious injury, but still not a great injury 0:17:54.520 --> 0:17:56.160 for a Toronto team that was trying to figure out 0:17:56.160 --> 0:17:58.399 a way to sneak into the play in picture, no 0:17:58.440 --> 0:18:00.960 reason to watch the Toronto Raptors now at all besides 0:18:00.960 --> 0:18:04.879 Emmanuel Quickly, which is pretty sad. Also, Russell Westbrook had 0:18:04.920 --> 0:18:08.520 hand surgery for a fractured left hand. Unlike the Raptors, 0:18:08.520 --> 0:18:10.960 the Clippers are gonna be playing for a playoff basketball, 0:18:11.000 --> 0:18:14.320 so there's hope that he might turn around. But honestly, like, 0:18:15.200 --> 0:18:17.680 how good has Russell Westbrook really been? He's been turning 0:18:17.680 --> 0:18:20.639 the ball over a lot. We might seem optimistic in 0:18:20.680 --> 0:18:24.360 his timetable, but listen, Rusk gets back in record time 0:18:24.400 --> 0:18:27.840 because he's such a freak physical marvel. It's not gonna 0:18:27.840 --> 0:18:31.520 surprise me if he is back by game two, game three. 0:18:31.880 --> 0:18:35.600 Moving forward, on another injury, Donovan Mitchell. He's had knee 0:18:35.600 --> 0:18:38.639 issues that have sidelined him for thirteen games this season, 0:18:38.880 --> 0:18:43.560 and this week Donovan had PRP treatment. Platelet rich plasma 0:18:43.760 --> 0:18:47.960 treatment is a simple but very painful process. Doctor draws 0:18:48.000 --> 0:18:51.159 blood which is then put into a centrifuge, which is 0:18:51.200 --> 0:18:54.320 a spinny thing, and then that makes the PRP. It 0:18:54.400 --> 0:18:57.920 spins it really really fast. And then I'm like, because PRP, 0:18:58.600 --> 0:19:04.720 that's scientific term. PRP contains a mixture of concentrated platelets 0:19:05.040 --> 0:19:08.199 including cyto kens and growth factors, which helps as an 0:19:08.240 --> 0:19:12.080 anti inflammatory. Kobe used to do this in Germany a lot. Essentially, 0:19:12.400 --> 0:19:16.800 it expedites the healing process. He is going to miss 0:19:16.800 --> 0:19:19.159 at least three more games, which means he's not going 0:19:19.200 --> 0:19:22.240 to be eligible for all NBA, but more importantly, he 0:19:22.320 --> 0:19:24.560 might be out longer as he won't be reevaluated for 0:19:24.600 --> 0:19:29.160 an entire week. Cleveland without Donovan very beatable, very beatable. 0:19:29.280 --> 0:19:32.600 Sooner he gets back, the better. Now we turn to 0:19:32.680 --> 0:19:35.960 an interview with my friend Bill Ryder CBS sports radio 0:19:36.040 --> 0:19:40.160 show Righter Than You, which airs ten am to noon Eastern. 0:19:40.920 --> 0:19:43.200 That's seven am his time. Wow, he's getting up early 0:19:43.280 --> 0:19:46.280 on the CBS Sports radio network. Bill appeared on my 0:19:46.400 --> 0:19:49.119 radio show bet MGM Tonight, joined by my co host 0:19:49.400 --> 0:19:52.440 Nick Ashew. You can find my show BETMGM Tonight from 0:19:52.480 --> 0:19:56.040 seven pm to eleven pm Eastern in most major markets, 0:19:56.160 --> 0:19:58.680 as well as YouTube and Twitch and the Odyssey app. 0:19:59.000 --> 0:20:01.440 Let's jump right into it, Bill, as as sharp as 0:20:01.440 --> 0:20:05.840 they come and as plugged in as they come. All right, 0:20:06.119 --> 0:20:10.639 let's get into it. I think you and I are 0:20:10.680 --> 0:20:13.879 both somewhat cynical about what we see in basketball, and 0:20:13.960 --> 0:20:16.919 you just know the psychological element's gonna come into play 0:20:17.280 --> 0:20:20.840 with the Timberwolves. We saw though, Bill, there's been a 0:20:20.880 --> 0:20:25.240 lot of anti Nuggets slander this year. Was it a 0:20:25.280 --> 0:20:29.120 flash in the pan. They don't do anything right statistically, 0:20:29.200 --> 0:20:32.320 They're like, you know, like only top ten but not 0:20:32.480 --> 0:20:35.800 top five in anything. But we saw this week against 0:20:35.840 --> 0:20:38.159 the Lakers, in winning time that when they want to 0:20:38.200 --> 0:20:42.119 turn things on, nine ozer runs just like that. Celtics 0:20:42.359 --> 0:20:44.679 they go up against the Warriors, all of a sudden 0:20:44.680 --> 0:20:47.639 they're up fifty. Who do you like and like, what 0:20:47.680 --> 0:20:49.600 did you get out of those two games this weekend? 0:20:49.800 --> 0:20:52.080 Is it feeling like just a crash course in those 0:20:52.119 --> 0:20:54.679 two ending up against one another in the finals? 0:20:54.920 --> 0:20:56.679 Yeah? Look, I love the Nuggets. 0:20:57.040 --> 0:20:59.680 I actually like I have more confidence in Denver making 0:20:59.720 --> 0:21:02.359 the fire than I do the Celtics. That's probably the 0:21:02.400 --> 0:21:05.080 wrong take. I just have more skepticism. And we could 0:21:05.119 --> 0:21:08.320 get into why on Jason Tatum in big games and. 0:21:08.440 --> 0:21:09.919 It's a question mark, it's not a certainty. 0:21:09.960 --> 0:21:12.240 People had question marks about Joker last year and he 0:21:12.240 --> 0:21:14.840 answered him And I've got questions about Missoula. For me, 0:21:14.960 --> 0:21:17.439 Denver is what what did parcels say? People tell you 0:21:17.480 --> 0:21:21.040 who they are. Listen, Djokovic has told us for forever. 0:21:21.240 --> 0:21:23.400 He has told us for his entries. I say joke, 0:21:23.520 --> 0:21:25.840 I was thinking about tennis for his entire career that 0:21:25.920 --> 0:21:27.560 he doesn't care about the regular season. 0:21:27.680 --> 0:21:29.960