WEBVTT - NBA Over/Under Win Totals (Part 2) | Western Conference Locks 0:00:05.640 --> 0:00:07.280 So I made a short cut on my mom's phone, 0:00:07.320 --> 0:00:10.160 so every time she types dirty clothes, it says acid. 0:00:10.320 --> 0:00:12.920 Do you have any acid? Acid? 0:00:13.680 --> 0:00:14.160 Acid? 0:00:14.960 --> 0:00:20.960 Acid? Acid? Mom? Acid. I'm not meaning to say acid. 0:00:21.280 --> 0:00:27.440 I mean acid. No, not acid, acid acid, Mackenzie, I'm 0:00:27.480 --> 0:00:31.920 not meaning to say acid, I mean acid. What the 0:00:31.960 --> 0:00:39.040 hell athid? Mom, Mackenzie acid. Come here and help me 0:00:39.080 --> 0:00:42.839 figure out why it's saying acid. I'm trying to say acid, 0:00:42.880 --> 0:00:48.680 but it's saying apid. 0:00:49.520 --> 0:00:54.200 Good morning, Sweel and welcome to the Nodong's podcast on 0:00:54.320 --> 0:00:58.560 the Athletic Network. It's Tuesday, October seventeenth, twenty twenty three. 0:00:58.640 --> 0:01:00.760 I'm Jisk. It's here in the class Factory, and to 0:01:00.840 --> 0:01:03.000 my left it's the Bearded one Matatsha hop boy, Trey 0:01:03.080 --> 0:01:08.119 Kirby el Hey over yonder the man making the magic happens, 0:01:08.120 --> 0:01:11.280 super producer GD there is and here we are. Shout 0:01:11.280 --> 0:01:13.440 out to the stream team joining us live right now 0:01:13.480 --> 0:01:16.720 on YouTube. Smash that like button and make sure you 0:01:16.720 --> 0:01:20.360 subscribe as we slowly inch our way to one hundred 0:01:20.440 --> 0:01:24.000 thousand subs. After you're done with today's classic, make sure 0:01:24.000 --> 0:01:29.000 you fire up yesterday's Eastern Conference over under Podcasts, where 0:01:29.000 --> 0:01:31.720 Trey and I went through all fifteen Eastern Conference team, 0:01:32.080 --> 0:01:34.440 looked at their overwind totals and locked in a few 0:01:34.440 --> 0:01:35.560 of our favorite bets. 0:01:35.880 --> 0:01:40.839 You're gretting anything from yesterday, every single one nice all of. 0:01:40.760 --> 0:01:45.640 Today's win totals just like yesterday by way of bet MGM. 0:01:45.760 --> 0:01:49.280 Before we get into it, Hollinger had an article up 0:01:49.280 --> 0:01:50.840 on The Athletic Go to the Athletic dot com slash 0:01:50.920 --> 0:01:52.960 nod Downes, get yourself a subscription. He made a good 0:01:52.960 --> 0:01:55.520 point about the Western Conference. He said, quote, there are 0:01:55.680 --> 0:01:59.240 at least eleven teams legitimately aspiring to make the playoffs 0:01:59.280 --> 0:02:01.600 this year. Three of them are gonna end up in 0:02:01.640 --> 0:02:05.320 the draft lottery, and even the bottom looked stronger. Last season. 0:02:05.360 --> 0:02:08.200 Houston and San Antonio both lost sixty games, but the 0:02:08.280 --> 0:02:11.840 Rockets completely overhauled their roster and the Spurs got Wemby. 0:02:12.400 --> 0:02:14.040 There's a lot of truth to that, because I looked 0:02:14.040 --> 0:02:17.520 at the lines here. There are nine teams in the 0:02:17.560 --> 0:02:21.440 Western Conference that have over underlines between forty four and 0:02:21.480 --> 0:02:23.799 a half wins and forty eight and a half wins. 0:02:24.720 --> 0:02:28.480 That's a four win window. That's crazy. Nine of the 0:02:28.560 --> 0:02:31.800 fifteen teams are all bunched up like that, which I 0:02:31.800 --> 0:02:35.240 think is gonna make this maybe the more difficult conference 0:02:35.280 --> 0:02:37.520 to decide whether they're over or under. 0:02:37.800 --> 0:02:40.079 We were doing the Eastern Conference yesterday and at one 0:02:40.120 --> 0:02:43.480 point I was in my brainstorm, Sash, I was thinking, 0:02:44.000 --> 0:02:45.880 I gotta get some unders in here. I'm being a 0:02:45.919 --> 0:02:48.799 little bit too positive. I felt almost a complete opposite 0:02:48.840 --> 0:02:51.519 for the Western Conference today because I'm like, how is 0:02:51.560 --> 0:02:53.600 any team gonna win a lot of games this season? 0:02:53.639 --> 0:02:56.440 Because every team is competing. I guess you would maybe 0:02:57.280 --> 0:03:00.600 say that Portland isn't sending their best considering the past 0:03:00.639 --> 0:03:03.880 couple of seasons. But even they have like NBA veteran 0:03:03.919 --> 0:03:05.880 talent who is gonna be on their team. So yeah, 0:03:05.919 --> 0:03:09.040 the Western Conference, it's gonna be tough. A four win 0:03:09.200 --> 0:03:12.799 window we call win Butler, that's right, it's the four 0:03:12.840 --> 0:03:13.720 win window here. 0:03:14.080 --> 0:03:16.160 Okay, We're gonna go through every team and at the 0:03:16.240 --> 0:03:18.640 end we will make some of our favorites our locks 0:03:18.919 --> 0:03:21.200 here in the West. But let's start with the Pacific Division. 0:03:21.600 --> 0:03:25.440 JD all over the graphics once again. Golden State forty 0:03:25.480 --> 0:03:27.640 eight and a half wins, the Clippers forty six and 0:03:27.639 --> 0:03:30.280 a half wins, the Lakers forty seven and a half wins, 0:03:30.320 --> 0:03:33.160 the Suns fifty one and a half, and then the 0:03:33.280 --> 0:03:35.880 King's forty four and a half. There's that window I 0:03:35.960 --> 0:03:36.680 was talking about. 0:03:36.760 --> 0:03:37.840 This is a sick division. 0:03:37.960 --> 0:03:43.680 These are all similar lines. The Golden State Warriors last 0:03:43.680 --> 0:03:47.640 October a year ago, you know, close to the day 0:03:48.240 --> 0:03:52.800 Draymond Green's fist connected with Jordan Poole's jaw during training 0:03:52.800 --> 0:03:56.600 camp and sort of just like that, the Warriors repeat quests. 0:03:56.880 --> 0:03:59.720 It was on the mat for a ten count that 0:03:59.800 --> 0:04:01.880 was only a year ago. I like a little bit 0:04:01.880 --> 0:04:03.680 more than a year ago. That sounds weird to. 0:04:03.600 --> 0:04:06.800 Me, right, that's very, very weird. And then in our 0:04:06.880 --> 0:04:10.839 preseason podcast last year, it was like, ah, don't even 0:04:10.880 --> 0:04:13.360 worry about it. Teammates punch each other in the face 0:04:13.480 --> 0:04:17.039 all the time. There should be no repercussions for this, right, 0:04:17.320 --> 0:04:20.240 I'm gonna start twenty and five. Guess what rap percussions 0:04:20.279 --> 0:04:22.400 the entire season to the point they ship Jordan Poole 0:04:22.440 --> 0:04:25.000 out said go to Washington as far away as possible. 0:04:25.200 --> 0:04:28.520 Yep, Jordan Pool is gone, Dante de Vincenzo is gone. 0:04:28.760 --> 0:04:32.920 And the big addition is Chris Paul. Chris Paul on 0:04:33.040 --> 0:04:36.400 the Warriors. I will admit that one looks the weirdest 0:04:36.400 --> 0:04:38.800 to me of any of the new guys or the 0:04:38.800 --> 0:04:40.680 guys in New Jerseys. And I know he's played for 0:04:40.680 --> 0:04:42.479 a lot of teams, so it shouldn't be that perplexing, 0:04:42.520 --> 0:04:45.520 but it just looks odd putting, like a future Hall 0:04:45.560 --> 0:04:49.320 of Famer with the you know, the three stars there 0:04:49.800 --> 0:04:51.880 older stars in Golden State. I don't know if your 0:04:51.880 --> 0:04:52.599 thoughts are the same. 0:04:52.880 --> 0:04:55.440 Well, it's not just that Chris Paul, as an older guy, 0:04:55.560 --> 0:04:57.800 is hopping on trying to get a ring at the 0:04:57.880 --> 0:05:00.560 end of his career. He's been like an antag for 0:05:00.640 --> 0:05:04.599 specifically the Golden State Warriors for almost ten seasons. The 0:05:04.640 --> 0:05:06.680 Clippers at one point in time were the last team 0:05:06.680 --> 0:05:10.040 to beat the Warriors before they went on their championship 0:05:10.120 --> 0:05:16.039 run there. So from Los Angeles to Phoenix, he was 0:05:16.080 --> 0:05:19.120 like a thorn in the side of Steph Curry and 0:05:19.320 --> 0:05:22.240 the Warriors. I mean just the thorn, you know. I 0:05:22.240 --> 0:05:25.520 guess that they were the rose bush all things considered. 0:05:25.560 --> 0:05:29.640 But yeah, Chris Paul plays a pretty specific style of basketball. 0:05:29.680 --> 0:05:32.760 He plays a lot slower than the Warriors do. There's 0:05:32.800 --> 0:05:35.800 always question marks of is it gonna work, is it 0:05:35.839 --> 0:05:38.400 gonna fit. Is there gonna be enough basketballs? There always 0:05:38.400 --> 0:05:40.360 seems to be enough basketballs when it comes to Chris Paul, 0:05:40.400 --> 0:05:42.320 and it always seems to work when he joins with 0:05:42.360 --> 0:05:44.120 the team, just because he's such a smart player. We 0:05:44.160 --> 0:05:46.520 saw I don't know, I got hyped off a stupid 0:05:46.520 --> 0:05:50.320 Instagram video of Chris Paul and Steph Curry running a 0:05:50.360 --> 0:05:52.520 pick and roll together. But guess what. They each passed 0:05:52.560 --> 0:05:54.680 to each other and hit the three. It's practice, they 0:05:54.720 --> 0:05:57.320 should make it, but you can see the outline of 0:05:57.320 --> 0:05:58.560 how it's actually gonna work out. 0:05:58.680 --> 0:06:01.640 So forty eight and a half do you think bet 0:06:01.760 --> 0:06:04.120 MGM slash Vegas sort of have this line in the 0:06:04.160 --> 0:06:06.479 right spot. Did you struggle with this one? And ultimately 0:06:06.760 --> 0:06:07.680 where are you leaning? 0:06:08.440 --> 0:06:10.320 I didn't struggle with this one too much. I think 0:06:10.320 --> 0:06:12.920 this number is too high. Forty nine wins for the 0:06:12.960 --> 0:06:15.279 Warriors seems like too many because they are one of 0:06:15.320 --> 0:06:18.200 many teams I'm gonna call the heat wave, just like 0:06:18.240 --> 0:06:21.800 the Miami Heat. They prioritize the postseason, so maybe the 0:06:21.880 --> 0:06:24.720 regular season they're gonna be watching their health. They're gonna 0:06:24.760 --> 0:06:27.440 be obviously trying to figure out the chemistry between Chris 0:06:27.480 --> 0:06:29.440 Paul and the rest of the Warriors who have been 0:06:29.440 --> 0:06:31.200 there for a while. They want to be at their 0:06:31.200 --> 0:06:35.159 best in April and May, which means I'm going under 0:06:35.200 --> 0:06:38.000 here just because I think the Western Conference is tough 0:06:38.040 --> 0:06:40.120 to stack up a ton of wins. There will probably 0:06:40.120 --> 0:06:42.640 only be two fifty win teams even if we get 0:06:42.640 --> 0:06:45.279 to that many. And secondly, they just want to be 0:06:45.320 --> 0:06:46.600 in the top six. They don't want to have to 0:06:46.640 --> 0:06:48.600 go through the play in tournament. But they're not gonna 0:06:48.640 --> 0:06:49.840 care too much about seating. 0:06:50.160 --> 0:06:52.640 Yeah, They're also probably gonna continue to focus on I 0:06:52.680 --> 0:06:56.000 know they've shipped out some of the young guys, Jordan Poole, 0:06:56.440 --> 0:06:58.919 James Wiseman, you know last year he was gone, but 0:06:58.960 --> 0:07:01.560 they do have some still in Kaminga who has looked 0:07:01.600 --> 0:07:05.040 great here in preseason action, and then Moody. I think 0:07:05.080 --> 0:07:07.960 that's going to be a vital part of their playoff success. 0:07:08.000 --> 0:07:10.000 I need that one or both of those guys to 0:07:10.160 --> 0:07:13.440 like sort of catch up to the stars on this 0:07:13.520 --> 0:07:16.480 team again, the elder stars. And then Andrew Wiggins. I 0:07:16.560 --> 0:07:18.360 like the game he's talking too. He's talking like, Hey, 0:07:18.400 --> 0:07:20.040 I want to be an all Star game. I want 0:07:20.040 --> 0:07:23.440 to be all defensive minded guy. And in the running 0:07:23.480 --> 0:07:25.760 for some of those awards and accolades. He's talking about 0:07:25.760 --> 0:07:28.960 playing for Team Canada in Paris, so that's great stuff 0:07:28.960 --> 0:07:32.520 to hear. But yeah, this this feels like a perfect line. 0:07:32.560 --> 0:07:35.160 I'm with you. I'm like, I'm like, forty six, forty seven, 0:07:35.280 --> 0:07:37.760 forty eight. Could they win forty to fifty? Of course 0:07:37.800 --> 0:07:40.240 they could. But the health with the older guys is 0:07:40.240 --> 0:07:43.800 a bit of an issue, be it Curry, Clay or Draymond, Like, 0:07:43.800 --> 0:07:46.800 how many combined games will they play and will they 0:07:46.840 --> 0:07:49.080 even care to play as long as they're in and 0:07:49.240 --> 0:07:51.400 out of a play in situation, which is you're right. 0:07:51.440 --> 0:07:53.960 I mean, all these teams with aspirations to go far, 0:07:54.040 --> 0:07:55.880 you don't want to be in that. Even if we 0:07:55.880 --> 0:07:57.120 saw the heat get out of it and go to 0:07:57.160 --> 0:07:58.640 the fine you don't want to be in that type 0:07:58.680 --> 0:08:01.560 of heat wave. But yeah, it's very risky, So good 0:08:01.600 --> 0:08:03.480 line here. But I'm gonna lean with you. It's not 0:08:03.520 --> 0:08:05.080 gonna be a lock by any means, but I would 0:08:05.200 --> 0:08:06.760 lean like a little. 0:08:06.520 --> 0:08:08.640 Under Yeah, I said, I think there's only going to 0:08:08.680 --> 0:08:11.200 probably be two fifty win teams in the Western Conference. 0:08:11.200 --> 0:08:13.880 But when you look at the actual personnel and the talent, 0:08:13.960 --> 0:08:16.400 on these teams and how they're probably gonna play in 0:08:16.440 --> 0:08:19.400 the postseason. It's like the Warriors are a fifty win 0:08:19.480 --> 0:08:21.640 team easily with the personnel that they have around. The 0:08:21.680 --> 0:08:24.240 Lakers as well, the Clippers, if things are perfect, sure 0:08:24.280 --> 0:08:27.000 the sons of things are perfect, they're winning fifty plus games, 0:08:27.000 --> 0:08:29.760 the Pelicans. There are so many teams. I think that 0:08:30.880 --> 0:08:33.600 in a regular like you know, ten years ago, if 0:08:33.600 --> 0:08:35.760 you're trying to be the team that finishes on top 0:08:35.800 --> 0:08:38.880 of the standings, they could easily get there. I don't 0:08:38.920 --> 0:08:40.760 know if that's the case anymore. And maybe the player 0:08:40.800 --> 0:08:48.560 participation policies and program it's program, player participation program. No jeez, yeah, 0:08:49.120 --> 0:08:51.839 I'll lock this in before the season starts here because 0:08:51.840 --> 0:08:54.760 it's gonna come up. But I just think that teams, 0:08:55.360 --> 0:08:57.920 these older teams don't care as much about the regular 0:08:57.960 --> 0:08:59.840 season as long as they can win in the playoffs. 0:09:00.000 --> 0:09:02.840 That's obviously the goal for most of these older squads. 0:09:02.880 --> 0:09:05.720 All right, let's move to the Los Angeles Clippers forty 0:09:05.760 --> 0:09:09.360 six and a half wins. Besides bringing Russell Westbrook back 0:09:09.400 --> 0:09:11.600 on a two year deal, most of the Clippers' summer 0:09:11.640 --> 0:09:15.640 activity was fairly minor. I guess they re signed backup 0:09:15.679 --> 0:09:19.679 center Mason Plumley, they traded for kJ Martin, they drafted 0:09:19.720 --> 0:09:23.040 Kobe Brown with the number thirty pick, and then they're 0:09:23.120 --> 0:09:25.480 waiting I guess to see if they're trading for James Harden. 0:09:25.960 --> 0:09:29.640 But otherwise, yeah, yeah, not a whole lot. My issue 0:09:29.640 --> 0:09:31.760 with this line, just like it was last year, is 0:09:32.480 --> 0:09:35.600 how do you handicap a team whose stars have played 0:09:35.880 --> 0:09:38.240 one hundred and forty two games together since they became 0:09:38.240 --> 0:09:42.079 teammates Kawhi and PG. It's been four seasons of them 0:09:42.080 --> 0:09:44.520 being teammates here. Really, they're ninety six and forty six 0:09:45.040 --> 0:09:47.880 when they play, they're very very good. They're eighty six 0:09:47.960 --> 0:09:51.160 and eighty when one or both of them are out. 0:09:51.480 --> 0:09:55.480 Sean Pewell at NBA dot Com NBA dot Com he 0:09:55.559 --> 0:09:59.320 labeled them the brittle brothers. I've never heard that. I've 0:09:59.320 --> 0:09:59.920 never seen that. 0:10:00.160 --> 0:10:04.040 I was like, damn, Sean Bell believe it. 0:10:04.360 --> 0:10:07.560 But it is difficult to obviously get a read on 0:10:07.600 --> 0:10:10.559 this team. But maybe maybe now like their their win 0:10:10.640 --> 0:10:14.320 totals have been higher over previous years. Yep, and this 0:10:14.400 --> 0:10:16.760 one is I actually think it might be the lowest 0:10:16.840 --> 0:10:19.040 or tied for the lowest in the Kawhi pg Era, 0:10:19.720 --> 0:10:21.680 So maybe that has you leaning over. 0:10:21.720 --> 0:10:24.240 I don't know, what do you think, Well, forty four 0:10:24.360 --> 0:10:27.200 wins for the Clippers last season, and that's what the 0:10:27.240 --> 0:10:33.640 Brittle Brothers plague. That's an amazing nickname. Fifty six games 0:10:33.720 --> 0:10:37.520 last season though for Paul George, fifty for Kawhi Leonard. Like, 0:10:37.520 --> 0:10:40.760 if you're getting almost sixty games from Paul George and 0:10:40.800 --> 0:10:44.520 fifty from Kawhi, that's about what you should expect. They 0:10:44.559 --> 0:10:47.560 had barely a positive point differential, which tells you they 0:10:47.600 --> 0:10:51.120 were pretty successful in clutch games last year, which kind 0:10:51.120 --> 0:10:54.040 of tipped their win total a little bit over that 0:10:54.080 --> 0:10:56.840 five hundred mark, which you would expect it at. I 0:10:56.840 --> 0:10:59.480 don't know. It's just so hard to go over on 0:10:59.520 --> 0:11:02.120 a Clipper team because you're expecting their guys not to play. 0:11:03.559 --> 0:11:06.160 But the talent is there and that's why they're also 0:11:06.200 --> 0:11:08.160 the Brittle Brothers. Just like it's hard to get Peanut 0:11:08.200 --> 0:11:10.760 Brittel out of your teeth, it's hard to get the 0:11:10.800 --> 0:11:13.160 best of Kawhi Leonard and the best of Paul George 0:11:13.200 --> 0:11:15.520 out of your mind. Yeah, because when you see Kawhi 0:11:15.800 --> 0:11:17.720 playing at his peak, the guy looks like a top 0:11:17.720 --> 0:11:19.920 five NBA player. Still, do you remember what he was 0:11:19.960 --> 0:11:23.240 doing against the Suns unbelieving in the playoffs? His stat 0:11:23.240 --> 0:11:25.920 lines were insane only well, he only played two games 0:11:25.960 --> 0:11:28.080 in the end. Yeah, and Paul George missed the series. 0:11:28.120 --> 0:11:31.120 Like, yeah, if they're out there, sure, yeah, you can 0:11:31.200 --> 0:11:34.040 even still convince me they're a championship contender. But come on, 0:11:34.640 --> 0:11:36.719 they're never out there. They're never out there, So this 0:11:36.760 --> 0:11:39.079 will be the season they're coming in healthy. I guess 0:11:39.080 --> 0:11:41.640 that's good better than the other way. Yeah, right, right, 0:11:41.720 --> 0:11:44.800 that's exactly right. So you're gonna go under over here 0:11:44.880 --> 0:11:46.440 or which way are you leaning? There's no way of 0:11:46.520 --> 0:11:47.480 touching this one as a lock. 0:11:47.559 --> 0:11:50.480 Yeah, definitely not a lock on this one, but I'm under. 0:11:51.080 --> 0:11:52.839 But I still think the Clippers are gonna be a 0:11:52.840 --> 0:11:54.760 pretty solid team. They could get back to forty four 0:11:54.800 --> 0:11:57.000 wins or you know, be in the forty one to 0:11:57.040 --> 0:11:59.400 forty five range. I suppose they're kind of like Noah's Ark. 0:11:59.559 --> 0:12:01.920 They got two of everything. They got two star wings 0:12:01.920 --> 0:12:04.280 who are hurt a lot, and Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. 0:12:04.280 --> 0:12:07.040 They got two really wild point guards in Russell Westbrook 0:12:07.080 --> 0:12:09.720 and Bones Highland. They got two versable stretch forwards who 0:12:09.720 --> 0:12:12.520 are pretty old Nick batoum Robert Covington, and they got 0:12:12.559 --> 0:12:14.360 two big old white centers and. 0:12:14.600 --> 0:12:16.000 It beats the zoo and. 0:12:17.880 --> 0:12:20.880 Get on the arc boys and a clipper. You know what, 0:12:20.960 --> 0:12:23.480 it's a ship, as is the arc. This is good. 0:12:23.920 --> 0:12:27.240 Did you see their leaked new jerseys too? Clips the 0:12:27.240 --> 0:12:28.800 little basketball. 0:12:28.440 --> 0:12:30.800 I did, the little basketball on the eye. It's like 0:12:30.840 --> 0:12:33.880 putting a heart on your eye when you're writing a 0:12:33.880 --> 0:12:37.880 note to a potential paramore. So you're leaning, I'm under here, 0:12:38.040 --> 0:12:39.199 I'm under yeah. 0:12:39.480 --> 0:12:42.440 Ooh, forty six and a half. It feels like they're 0:12:42.440 --> 0:12:44.640 gonna win forty six games, So I guess I'll go 0:12:44.800 --> 0:12:47.720 just under that. One's a tough one. That is a toughy, toughy, 0:12:47.800 --> 0:12:52.080 tough The other team in LA, the Lakers forty seven 0:12:52.160 --> 0:12:54.000 and a half. Let me go through what they did. 0:12:54.080 --> 0:12:59.040 Contract extensions for Austin Reeves, Rui Hachimura, D'Angelo Russell. They 0:12:59.040 --> 0:13:03.400 added Gabe Vincent, they added Christian Wood, Jackson Hayes, Torrian Prince. 0:13:03.440 --> 0:13:05.800 I think Cam Ruddish is a Laker. They lost in 0:13:05.880 --> 0:13:09.960 a shrewder Malik Beasley, and they drafted combo guard Jalen 0:13:10.000 --> 0:13:13.560 Hood Schapino. He was taken I believe, seventeenth overall in 0:13:13.640 --> 0:13:18.160 the first round. He's gonna probably not be cracking any 0:13:18.200 --> 0:13:19.480 of the rotation here. They got a lot of guys. 0:13:19.520 --> 0:13:21.520 He'll probably be stashed sort of away as player development, 0:13:21.520 --> 0:13:23.760 but that was their pick. So they did a lot. 0:13:24.320 --> 0:13:26.040 Have they done enough to convince you that they are 0:13:26.200 --> 0:13:29.080 forty eight win plus team? 0:13:29.600 --> 0:13:31.679 Well, that's interesting. Like I said, I think they are 0:13:31.720 --> 0:13:34.000 a forty eight plus win team. I think the talent 0:13:34.120 --> 0:13:36.280 is there. I think the continuity is pretty good. They 0:13:36.320 --> 0:13:38.600 did a lot this offseason, but they also basically brought 0:13:38.640 --> 0:13:43.360 everybody back after the trade last trade deadline. They've got 0:13:43.440 --> 0:13:46.160 better depth, no doubt this season. Guys like Jackson Hayes, 0:13:46.480 --> 0:13:52.160 Christian Wood, Torrian Prince probably show their shortcomings come playoff time, 0:13:52.200 --> 0:13:54.439 but in the regular season it's all about getting wins. 0:13:54.480 --> 0:13:57.040 You look at their record last season forty three and 0:13:57.200 --> 0:13:59.760 thirty nine, sixteen and seven post All Star when they 0:13:59.800 --> 0:14:01.839 were really hitting the gas, making sure that they can 0:14:02.200 --> 0:14:04.600 make it to the play in tournament, try and scratch 0:14:04.640 --> 0:14:06.520 their way out of it, which didn't happen. They're not 0:14:06.559 --> 0:14:10.480 going to be battling against Russell Westbrook in the locker room. 0:14:10.760 --> 0:14:12.920 They don't have to worry about Lebron trying to set 0:14:12.960 --> 0:14:15.120 the scoring record through the first half of this season. 0:14:15.960 --> 0:14:18.200 But they also were really good in the in the 0:14:18.240 --> 0:14:20.440 second half of last year because they had to be. 0:14:20.560 --> 0:14:23.840 They had to like be ten games over five hundred 0:14:23.920 --> 0:14:26.640 over the last twenty five because that's how they got 0:14:26.680 --> 0:14:29.040 into the playoffs. So I think this is another team 0:14:29.040 --> 0:14:30.600 that's part of the heat wave. They will be better 0:14:30.600 --> 0:14:33.320 in the playoffs. I'm going under for the regular season, 0:14:33.840 --> 0:14:35.640 so I think they could easily be one of the 0:14:35.640 --> 0:14:36.920 top three teams in the Western Coast. 0:14:37.080 --> 0:14:39.480 Yeah, that's why I am going to lean towards a 0:14:39.520 --> 0:14:42.360 slight over. I think forty eight to forty nine, maybe 0:14:42.400 --> 0:14:45.560 even that magical fifty could be in play with this team. Now, look, Lebron, 0:14:46.040 --> 0:14:47.880 he's going to miss games, as he should. What's he 0:14:47.880 --> 0:14:50.960 in his twenty first season. Yes, Like it's unreal. When 0:14:50.960 --> 0:14:53.120 he's been with the Lakers, he's played fifty five games, 0:14:53.120 --> 0:14:55.560 sixty seven games, forty five games, fifty six games and 0:14:55.600 --> 0:14:59.320 fifty five games last year. Came off the bench in 0:14:59.360 --> 0:15:02.320 a game last year. I'd forgotten about that. Weird little 0:15:02.400 --> 0:15:05.360 it is weird. So just one game, So yeah, you'll 0:15:05.360 --> 0:15:08.400 probably put him down for about that as well, unless 0:15:08.480 --> 0:15:13.160 he's really well taking you know, these all NBA selections. Still, 0:15:13.160 --> 0:15:14.880 if he's gonna get one of those, you're gonna have 0:15:14.920 --> 0:15:17.320 to play more than that. Who knows if the chairs 0:15:17.360 --> 0:15:20.520 at all about that, that's it the top guy I 0:15:20.520 --> 0:15:21.000 would care. 0:15:21.880 --> 0:15:24.680 I mean, I assume Lebron has been All NBA since 0:15:24.720 --> 0:15:27.600 his second season in the league. I haven't. I don't 0:15:27.600 --> 0:15:29.760 know off the top of my head, but it's gotta be. 0:15:29.880 --> 0:15:32.000 But he also hasn't played sixty five or more games 0:15:32.000 --> 0:15:34.720 since the nineteen twenty season. That's the number you got 0:15:34.720 --> 0:15:37.440 to get to, so he'll probably get to exactly sixty 0:15:37.480 --> 0:15:38.440 seven games somehow. 0:15:38.640 --> 0:15:41.560 Wow. Yeah, I hadn't really thought about this until right 0:15:41.600 --> 0:15:43.520 the second. He's a nineteen time All NBA player. 0:15:43.640 --> 0:15:45.200 Yeah, it didn't make it as rookie year. That makes sense. 0:15:45.240 --> 0:15:46.760 So he's going to keep that. He wants to keep 0:15:46.760 --> 0:15:49.080 that going, So he has to play what'd you say 0:15:49.120 --> 0:15:49.280 it is? 0:15:49.320 --> 0:15:49.880 Sixty seven? 0:15:49.960 --> 0:15:50.040 Right? 0:15:50.120 --> 0:15:51.440 Yeah? Yeah? Wow? 0:15:51.840 --> 0:15:54.240 Fifty five games last year, fifty six the year prior to, 0:15:54.400 --> 0:15:57.000 forty five the year prior to that. 0:15:58.120 --> 0:16:01.520 That's something to watch here. Okay like that? Okay, talking 0:16:01.520 --> 0:16:03.600 this out, I'm even more confident with the over. Lebron's 0:16:03.600 --> 0:16:06.200 gonna have to play more games to hit this, sort 0:16:06.200 --> 0:16:09.520 of like baseline Mark. Obviously, Anthony Davis, you're gonna hope 0:16:09.520 --> 0:16:11.960 he's healthy. There's a lot of talk on the idea 0:16:12.000 --> 0:16:14.800 that this guy could be, you know, in the MVP conversation. 0:16:15.040 --> 0:16:16.720 He should be. That's the thing. If he if he 0:16:16.760 --> 0:16:19.360 plays and puts up the numbers he can and they win. Yeah, 0:16:19.360 --> 0:16:21.440 he would be in the running, though always difficult if 0:16:21.520 --> 0:16:23.400 Lebron is on your team. It's that weird sort of 0:16:24.160 --> 0:16:25.720 you know, interesting, is a little set up there with 0:16:25.760 --> 0:16:26.840 this squad. But I'm going over. 0:16:27.040 --> 0:16:30.320 What'd you think of Darvin ham saying he wants Anthony 0:16:30.360 --> 0:16:32.000 Davis to take six threes a game. 0:16:33.120 --> 0:16:34.360 Honestly, I don't mind it. 0:16:35.440 --> 0:16:41.760 Get inside, buddy, I mean, well, well, well, that's the thing. 0:16:39.760 --> 0:16:43.520 We get a window where he could shoot threes. There 0:16:43.560 --> 0:16:47.080 was a small, small window. Now you're right, he's not 0:16:47.200 --> 0:16:49.400 Jokic from three. I feel a lot more confidence in 0:16:49.480 --> 0:16:53.840 and he's not taking that many. I also, I'm not 0:16:53.880 --> 0:16:56.600 the biggest Christian Wood fan in the world. I don't 0:16:56.600 --> 0:16:58.880 know if there's anyone out there that is uh so 0:16:59.040 --> 0:17:04.000 defensively in I mean, if Ad goes down, that'll be Yeah, 0:17:04.040 --> 0:17:06.240 that'll be tough. But you know they're hoping they get 0:17:06.240 --> 0:17:08.560 some minutes SOPs up, some minutes from Wood and Hayes 0:17:08.640 --> 0:17:10.399 and these guys that they're big. But I'll go just 0:17:10.440 --> 0:17:14.120 over Phoenix Sun's fifty one and a half, the biggest 0:17:14.240 --> 0:17:18.080 over underwin total here in the Pacific Division. They came 0:17:18.119 --> 0:17:20.040 within two wins of a title in twenty twenty one. 0:17:20.560 --> 0:17:23.840 They stumbled in twenty twenty two again last season despite 0:17:23.880 --> 0:17:27.480 bringing in Kevin Durant. So they got this newest sh owner, 0:17:27.520 --> 0:17:30.919 Matt Ishpia. He has pledged basically to do whatever he 0:17:30.960 --> 0:17:33.399 can to keep the Suns in contention. So they stayed 0:17:33.440 --> 0:17:36.000 busy in the offseason. First off, they fired Monty Williams. 0:17:36.119 --> 0:17:39.080 They brought in defensive minded Frank Vogel to lead this 0:17:39.200 --> 0:17:42.960 overhauled roster. And what I mean overhauled. Wow, Bradley Bel's in, 0:17:43.160 --> 0:17:46.840 Eric Gordon, Nurkic Grayson Allen, Jordan Goodwin, Drew you Banks, 0:17:46.840 --> 0:17:49.760 Bull Bull Watanabe. There's a few other names that may 0:17:49.840 --> 0:17:52.359 or may not hit. Chris Paul, Out, DeAndre eight and 0:17:52.440 --> 0:17:55.920 out Shaman out Paying out, Jocklandale out, so outside of 0:17:56.000 --> 0:17:58.840 Kadian Booker, I mean this is like it really is 0:17:58.880 --> 0:18:00.000 a complete overhaul. 0:18:01.560 --> 0:18:03.960 Yeah, Kadie's like a long tenured player at this point. 0:18:04.000 --> 0:18:06.320 He played eight regular season games last year. Really for 0:18:06.359 --> 0:18:06.680 the Suns. 0:18:06.800 --> 0:18:09.439 That's crazy. Ah, So fifty one and a half. How 0:18:09.440 --> 0:18:10.879 do you feel about this? Is this one of the 0:18:10.920 --> 0:18:13.480 teams that you think is the fifty plus win team 0:18:13.600 --> 0:18:14.200 in the conference. 0:18:14.280 --> 0:18:16.040 This is a fifty plus win team for me. I'm 0:18:16.080 --> 0:18:18.879 going over for the Phoenix Suns only forty five and 0:18:18.920 --> 0:18:21.439 thirty seven last year, but it's like throw out the 0:18:21.480 --> 0:18:24.000 last two seasons. Really for the Suns. They're completely different. 0:18:24.240 --> 0:18:27.320 They are so top heavy that it's concerning. But I 0:18:27.320 --> 0:18:30.119 think that can be I don't know if beneficial is 0:18:30.119 --> 0:18:31.480 the right word, but I think it can work out 0:18:31.520 --> 0:18:35.640 okay for the Suns because even if Devin Booker misses time, 0:18:35.680 --> 0:18:37.520 even if Bradley Beal misses his time, even if Kevin 0:18:37.560 --> 0:18:39.720 Durant miss his time, as long as it's only one 0:18:39.760 --> 0:18:42.280 of them, they're gonna have two thirty point per game 0:18:42.320 --> 0:18:44.520 scorers out there. And then they've got all their role 0:18:44.520 --> 0:18:48.679 guys who were hoping some of them hit during the 0:18:48.680 --> 0:18:51.560 regular season. It's more likely that that's the case playoffs. 0:18:51.600 --> 0:18:53.480 Who knows who actually holds up, but that's a long 0:18:53.520 --> 0:18:58.080 time from now. There are significant depth concerns though for 0:18:58.119 --> 0:19:01.640 the Suns because Booker's miss time. We know that Kad 0:19:01.880 --> 0:19:04.200 and Beale have missed time recently. Nurkic is a guy 0:19:04.280 --> 0:19:06.800