WEBVTT - Wild West Still Unsettled With Less Than Two Weeks To Go

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<v Speaker 1>You're tuned into Heat Check, But just a quick.

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<v Speaker 2>On this episode of the Heat Check. Oh boy, we

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<v Speaker 2>have never in an NBA season had twenty six teams

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<v Speaker 2>that could make the playoffs with ten games or less

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<v Speaker 2>to go. Well, we've eliminated a few teams, but it's

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<v Speaker 2>still mass chaos. We're here to fill you in on

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<v Speaker 2>where it stands right this second. We also get into

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<v Speaker 2>CJ McCollum saving the Warrior season our dubs, you don't say.

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<v Speaker 2>We also go into a ton of info around the league,

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<v Speaker 2>including more referee drama, the latest Tim bontent, straw Pole,

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<v Speaker 2>which is the MVP race, newest votes are out, and

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<v Speaker 2>Lebron James doing more for his community. Damn, there's so

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<v Speaker 2>much to go over right now. Nick, It's exciting times

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<v Speaker 2>Opening Day in baseball. Not that bat matters for this podcast,

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<v Speaker 2>but there's lots to be excited about. Drop that generic

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<v Speaker 2>as beat. That should be all right, So we gotta

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<v Speaker 2>start the episode with where things stand in the West.

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<v Speaker 2>It is chaos. It is time for the cleaning lady

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<v Speaker 2>to come over and take out our trash. There's two

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<v Speaker 2>weeks left. There's twenty six teams that can make the

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<v Speaker 2>play in of the playoffs, which is just surreal, and

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<v Speaker 2>all these arbitrary rules could possibly stop these teams from

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<v Speaker 2>tanking and they have the biggest event, of course, that

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<v Speaker 2>has changed recently. The biggest update is the Sacramento Kings.

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<v Speaker 2>Sacramento Kings, for the first time in a gajillion years,

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<v Speaker 2>put a herding on the Blazers G League line up

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<v Speaker 2>to the tune of a forty point win for the

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<v Speaker 2>first time in sixteen years. The Kings clinch on that

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<v Speaker 2>beam as the three seed were me up on that

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<v Speaker 2>bean baby. As everyone knows, we've been talking about the Kings,

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<v Speaker 2>been excited about the Kings all year. A lot of

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<v Speaker 2>people thought that they would falter, but they did not collapse.

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<v Speaker 2>They actually got better as the season went on, and

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<v Speaker 2>now they're not just only going to the playoffs or

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<v Speaker 2>the play in they'll host at least the first round.

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<v Speaker 2>It speaks to one how good Mike Brown has been.

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<v Speaker 2>He's obviously Coach of the Year hands down, but really

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<v Speaker 2>just how the ownership has changed, and how that ownership

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<v Speaker 2>has changed the entire dynamic of this franchise. Veck Rando v.

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<v Speaker 2>Randy Vay. It's hard to say learned a lot, obviously,

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<v Speaker 2>as an owner, he had Luke Walton, got Luke Walton

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<v Speaker 2>the fuck out, made sure to get a competent head

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<v Speaker 2>coach to come in for him, put the organization in

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<v Speaker 2>the hands of a bunch of people who knew what

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<v Speaker 2>they were doing, like Monti McNair, and all of a sudden,

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<v Speaker 2>couple of good trades, couple of good draft picks, and boom,

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<v Speaker 2>you are a good team, just like that playoff time.

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<v Speaker 2>So Tom Ziller, the thing that I think is really

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<v Speaker 2>interesting is because people talk about, oh is a sixteen

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<v Speaker 2>year playoff drought, but it's sort of and Tom Ziller

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<v Speaker 2>check him out if you don't know him. Tom Ziller

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<v Speaker 2>wrote an article about just how that under sells understates

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<v Speaker 2>how bad the Kings have had it in the last

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<v Speaker 2>sixteen years, because it's not that they just missed the

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<v Speaker 2>playoffs for sixteen straight years. Seven of those sixteen years

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<v Speaker 2>they were under siege the maloof organization, the maloofs as

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<v Speaker 2>a family, as an ownership group of the Kings, try

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<v Speaker 2>to actively move the Kings out of Sacramento for like

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<v Speaker 2>almost a decade, seven straight years. You had mayors getting involved,

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<v Speaker 2>you had the city's rioting fan base, putting up flyers.

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<v Speaker 2>Seven years. This dude tried to move the team, tried

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<v Speaker 2>to move it to Anaheim. They wouldn't sell to an

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<v Speaker 2>owner that would say on purpose, we're gonna keep it

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<v Speaker 2>in Sacramento. Move wouldn't sell to that person. So to

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<v Speaker 2>call it just a playoff drought is sort of spinning

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<v Speaker 2>in the face of how bad it was. Then you

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<v Speaker 2>enter the VEC. He has this plan to rebuild the team,

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<v Speaker 2>even though we all know it didn't work. At first,

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<v Speaker 2>hired Luke Walton, get some mullion. He looked like he

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<v Speaker 2>was gonna be a good coach. Obviously was under Steve

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<v Speaker 2>Kerr Tutelich. The VEK obviously likes some Steve Kerr Mike

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<v Speaker 2>Brown coming from the Steve Kerr tree as well. But

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<v Speaker 2>when we look back, things started to turn around when

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<v Speaker 2>a Vek built Gold One in twenty sixteen. Here's what

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<v Speaker 2>he said about what gold one means. Listen, We're not

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<v Speaker 2>just gonna build an arena. I want to build the

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<v Speaker 2>best that's ever been built. He told this to Carmichael

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<v Speaker 2>Dave recently in an interview. He explained he got the

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<v Speaker 2>idea of the purple beam from airplanes. What if we

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<v Speaker 2>add purple light. It's on the roof. When I'm flying,

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<v Speaker 2>then I can tell that the Kings are in the house.

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<v Speaker 2>What a baller. He just wanted like a bat signal

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<v Speaker 2>to know whether the Kings were in the building or not.

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<v Speaker 2>He said, I had this idea that people used to

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<v Speaker 2>gather around a fire in the Middle Ages. They used

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<v Speaker 2>to gather around cathedrals. The arena is the twenty first

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<v Speaker 2>century cathedral. So the purple beam is an outgrowth of

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<v Speaker 2>making the Golden One the center of Sacramento. That's incredible,

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<v Speaker 2>What an amazing analogy. Dearon Fox also the Golden One Center.

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<v Speaker 2>We've talked about this before. I just want to stamp

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<v Speaker 2>it again. Top three arena in the NBA. If I

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<v Speaker 2>could create an arena that wasn't Madison Square Garden, because

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<v Speaker 2>Madison Square Garden is just different. Let's be honest. Madison

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<v Speaker 2>Square Gardens also pretty old. But if I could create

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<v Speaker 2>an arena from scratch, Golden One would be the blueprint.

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<v Speaker 2>Purple beam in all the glass, atrium, the bar up top,

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<v Speaker 2>it's standing room only, down to the court, the fact

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<v Speaker 2>that you can see the court when you enter the building,

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<v Speaker 2>like stadium vibe, like Roman Colisseum Vibe lit. Anyway, deeron

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<v Speaker 2>Fox explains what it was like to snap this playoff drought.

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<v Speaker 1>It feels great, man, Like I said, I think just

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<v Speaker 1>coming into it knowing that that was kind of a

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<v Speaker 1>burden that she wanted to just get off your chest.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm definitely grateful to be a part of that. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>like I said, ever since Mike's gotten here and just

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<v Speaker 1>the talent that we brought in, the guys that we

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<v Speaker 1>brought in, everybody has bigger aspirations than that. But it

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<v Speaker 1>definitely feels great. It definitely feels great to be a

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<v Speaker 1>part of that.

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<v Speaker 2>So Sacramento's in top three seeds are in Nuggets one,

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<v Speaker 2>Griz two, Kings three. Right. Rest of the West completely unclear,

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<v Speaker 2>complete chaos. Let's look at what's going on currently and

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<v Speaker 2>what's going on with the remaining schedules. First and foremost

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<v Speaker 2>of the Phoenix Suns. They have a half a game

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<v Speaker 2>lead right now for the final home playoff spot. Kevin

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<v Speaker 2>Durant is back. Kevin Durant for as an aside, had

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<v Speaker 2>sixteen and twenty nine minutes last night, big win over

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<v Speaker 2>the Minnesota Timberwolves. But it is a brutal schedule for

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<v Speaker 2>the Phoenix Suns down the stretch. They have six games

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<v Speaker 2>left against the Nuggets, two games against the Nuggets, game

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<v Speaker 2>against the Thunder, game against the Clippers, a game against

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<v Speaker 2>the Lakers and the Spurs. So just one gimme game

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<v Speaker 2>against the San Antonio Spurs. Brutal number five Clippers currently

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<v Speaker 2>in the five spot, half a game behind the Suns,

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<v Speaker 2>nipping on their heels, playing really really good basketball right now.

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<v Speaker 2>Tylu just moved Nick Batoum to the five spot. He

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<v Speaker 2>just brought one of the Morris brothers from the starting lineup,

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<v Speaker 2>bringing his ass onto the bench. They're seven and three

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<v Speaker 2>in their last ten. They just had an amazing win

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<v Speaker 2>against the Memphis Grizzlies without Paul George and without Kawhi

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<v Speaker 2>Leonard Russ for whatever reason, has taken on a new role,

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<v Speaker 2>not the the bench one. It's a new new rule,

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<v Speaker 2>it's a rebounding role. Five left with the griz Pels, Lakers, Blazers,

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<v Speaker 2>and Suns rough except for the Blazers number six spot Warriors.

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<v Speaker 2>There are one game behind the Clippers for the fifth seed,

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<v Speaker 2>one and a half games behind the Suns. Unlikely to

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<v Speaker 2>catch the Suns, they could steal the five seed. There's

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<v Speaker 2>five games left to go for the Warriors, the Nuggets, Kings,

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<v Speaker 2>Okse Thunder, and then you've got two Cupgate games Spurs

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<v Speaker 2>and Blazers, hm Wolves currently at nowhere in the seventh spot.

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<v Speaker 2>Remember we thought they might even miss the play in

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<v Speaker 2>One game behind Golden State for the sixth seed and

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<v Speaker 2>to avoid the play in five left easiest schedule of

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<v Speaker 2>the bunch Lakers, Blazers, Nets, Spurs, and Pelicans. Lakers one

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<v Speaker 2>and a half games behind Golden State with six left

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<v Speaker 2>to play, So their teet are tottering on missing the

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<v Speaker 2>playoffs and being a play in t two times against

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<v Speaker 2>the Jazz, Wolves, once Rockets, once Clippers, once Suns once.

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<v Speaker 2>Rough feels like the Lakers are a playing team, doesn't it.

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<v Speaker 2>It really does, At least if they're the eight seed

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<v Speaker 2>or the seventh seed. They only have to win one

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<v Speaker 2>game in order to get in The nine seed. Pelicans

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<v Speaker 2>a half a game behind the Lakers, one behind the Wolves,

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<v Speaker 2>which is why that Pelicans lost last night to the

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<v Speaker 2>Warriors are so stunning. They need every win they can

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<v Speaker 2>get every team in the West. He's every win they

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<v Speaker 2>can get. They've got six games left. They face the Clippers,

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<v Speaker 2>the Warriors, but also four bad teams Spurs, Hornets, Rockets,

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<v Speaker 2>and Blazers. Actually, I think they've got the easiest schedule

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<v Speaker 2>of the bunch. They can win four of those six

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<v Speaker 2>games pretty easily, and they're gonna want probably some revenge

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<v Speaker 2>against the Warriors. And then the ten spot the Thunder

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<v Speaker 2>half a game behind the Pels. They've got five games remaining, Pacers, Sons, Warriors, Jazz,

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<v Speaker 2>Grizz Probably two easy games out of those. I could

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<v Speaker 2>see them beating the Warriors. I could see them beating

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<v Speaker 2>actually all of these teams, but not every single one.

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<v Speaker 2>And then if you want to talk about the outside

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<v Speaker 2>looking in, the Mavericks, whoa game out of eleventh or

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<v Speaker 2>a game out of tenth, excuse me. And in the eleventh

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<v Speaker 2>spot they face the Heat, Hawks, Kings, Bulls, and Spurs,

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<v Speaker 2>so it's close for them too. And finally in the

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<v Speaker 2>twelfth spot is Jazz. They're at one and a half

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<v Speaker 2>games out of the tenth spot. They face the Lakers twice,

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<v Speaker 2>the Celtics, Ones, the Nets Ones okay see Ones, and

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<v Speaker 2>Denver Ones. It feels like the Jazz are done. I

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<v Speaker 2>think we can kind of put them in a suitcase,

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<v Speaker 2>pack them up and send them home. It is absolute chaos.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm really really looking forward to see how this all

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<v Speaker 2>shakes out. The first round is gonna be a doozy.

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<v Speaker 2>There's gonna be fireworks every day. You have to google

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<v Speaker 2>NBA standings. I've never done that in my life. Every

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<v Speaker 2>day something changes. The Thunder sitting there in the ten spot,

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<v Speaker 2>I think they were six two days ago. One win

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<v Speaker 2>with a couple of losses for your cohorts boosts you

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<v Speaker 2>up the standings, and vice versa as well. Will the

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<v Speaker 2>Warriors move up to five? Will the Lakers get a

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<v Speaker 2>home game in the play in? Will the MAVs miss

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<v Speaker 2>the playoffs? All these are such crazy questions and we

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<v Speaker 2>probably won't know the answers until the very last day

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<v Speaker 2>of the season. And NBA fans, that is exactly what

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<v Speaker 2>Adam Silver wants, and it's pretty damn awesome. There's a

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<v Speaker 2>there's a reason I don't speak ill of the Warriors.

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<v Speaker 2>There is. I don't know if you think that I'm

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<v Speaker 2>some sort of lifelong Warriors fan and all I do

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<v Speaker 2>is big them up and talk about how good Steph

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<v Speaker 2>Curry is and how Draymond Green's a Hall of Famer

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<v Speaker 2>or don't worry about what Andrew Wiggins has got going

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<v Speaker 2>on in his personal life. Stay out of it. Steve Kurz,

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<v Speaker 2>one of the best coaches of our generation. Like, I

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<v Speaker 2>don't say that because I want them to succeed. You

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<v Speaker 2>don't think I haven't noticed that they haven't been playing

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<v Speaker 2>well all season. You don't think I'm watching these games.

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<v Speaker 2>You don't think I haven't seen that they have one

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<v Speaker 2>of the worst records on the road in basketball. Like,

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<v Speaker 2>you don't think I think that's a problem. You don't

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<v Speaker 2>think that. You don't think I don't see it. You

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<v Speaker 2>think I just want them to know. The reason that

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<v Speaker 2>I praise them is because I want them to stay asleep.

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<v Speaker 2>Complacency is the enemy of excellence, and I don't want

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<v Speaker 2>the Warriors to be excellent. That's facts. And I know

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<v Speaker 2>that me talking badly about them is only gonna give

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<v Speaker 2>them motivation. Did somebody not tell CJ McCollum that because

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<v Speaker 2>CJ McCollum acts like he's never been on the receiving

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<v Speaker 2>end of Warriors vitriol. Before Little rewind Machine, CJ. McCollum

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<v Speaker 2>and the Portland Trailblazers were up fifteen points every single

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<v Speaker 2>game in the Western Conference Finals against the Warriors, and

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<v Speaker 2>they lost every single one of them. They were swept.

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<v Speaker 2>CJ McCollum should know fucking better. They have been peacefully

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<v Speaker 2>slumbering all year. They are razor thin to being mathematically

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<v Speaker 2>eliminated from the playoffs, and they against the Pelicans were

0:14:00.320 --> 0:14:04.720
<v Speaker 2>twenty in a crucial game and they didn't seem to mind.

0:14:05.760 --> 0:14:09.840
<v Speaker 2>So why the fuck did CIJ McCollum decide he wanted

0:14:09.880 --> 0:14:14.640
<v Speaker 2>to start chirping at Draymond Green and Steph Curry and

0:14:14.720 --> 0:14:20.120
<v Speaker 2>Dante DiVincenzo when he was up twenty. The best revenge

0:14:20.240 --> 0:14:23.680
<v Speaker 2>on the Warriors is to say absolutely nothing pound them,

0:14:24.000 --> 0:14:26.360
<v Speaker 2>tell the world how good they are and how they're

0:14:26.400 --> 0:14:28.840
<v Speaker 2>going to be. Okay, pack up your shit and call

0:14:28.880 --> 0:14:31.520
<v Speaker 2>your wife and be like, yo, we're about to eliminate

0:14:31.560 --> 0:14:38.720
<v Speaker 2>the Warriors. Okay. So this is what happened Wednesday night.

0:14:38.960 --> 0:14:42.800
<v Speaker 2>Like I said, they're up twenty, Pelicans are hidding threes,

0:14:43.040 --> 0:14:48.920
<v Speaker 2>Golden State sleepwalking seasons on the brink. Sij's chirpin, and

0:14:48.960 --> 0:14:52.240
<v Speaker 2>now Marcus Thompson breaks it down like this. McCollum might

0:14:52.280 --> 0:14:56.800
<v Speaker 2>have saved the Warriors season because Draymond became a madman

0:14:57.080 --> 0:15:00.000
<v Speaker 2>and woke the Warriors up on a run you've never

0:15:00.160 --> 0:15:03.320
<v Speaker 2>scene since I don't know last year when they did

0:15:03.320 --> 0:15:05.520
<v Speaker 2>it a million times. The Warriors were on the brink,

0:15:05.600 --> 0:15:08.240
<v Speaker 2>so it felt a few admitted it so much after

0:15:08.280 --> 0:15:11.400
<v Speaker 2>the game. Two nights after brutal mistakes down the stretch

0:15:11.600 --> 0:15:14.440
<v Speaker 2>cost them a critical game against Minnesota, they were down

0:15:14.480 --> 0:15:19.480
<v Speaker 2>twenty to New Orleans. What are you doing, CJ? So

0:15:19.600 --> 0:15:24.080
<v Speaker 2>he's chirping. Drey decides enough is enough. He starts hammering

0:15:24.280 --> 0:15:29.080
<v Speaker 2>the Pelicans left and right, body checks Brendan Ingram like

0:15:29.160 --> 0:15:34.480
<v Speaker 2>he's playing hockey, gets a flagrant one heart foul away

0:15:34.480 --> 0:15:37.480
<v Speaker 2>from being tossed. So why did he get so mad

0:15:37.960 --> 0:15:41.320
<v Speaker 2>at the point, I'm gonna put myself out there and

0:15:41.360 --> 0:15:43.560
<v Speaker 2>then I hope that the guys will back me up,

0:15:43.600 --> 0:15:46.160
<v Speaker 2>he said. And if they don't back me up, are

0:15:46.240 --> 0:15:51.080
<v Speaker 2>season's over? Anyway? That was the most important game for

0:15:51.200 --> 0:15:55.120
<v Speaker 2>the Warriors season, and CJ. McCollum decided to give them

0:15:55.160 --> 0:15:59.800
<v Speaker 2>extra motivation like he was some muse I've been amused

0:15:59.800 --> 0:16:03.880
<v Speaker 2>before for the Warriors, remember nine to one. It doesn't

0:16:03.920 --> 0:16:07.160
<v Speaker 2>feel good when they used your content or you're chirping

0:16:07.480 --> 0:16:13.040
<v Speaker 2>to motivate them to excel. In your face. Desperate times,

0:16:13.040 --> 0:16:16.280
<v Speaker 2>call for desperate measures. Draymond and at halftime lit a

0:16:16.280 --> 0:16:19.400
<v Speaker 2>fire under the Warriors. Most notably, Steph comes out in

0:16:19.440 --> 0:16:26.480
<v Speaker 2>the third quarter like vintage Steph Curry. All of a sudden,

0:16:26.600 --> 0:16:29.440
<v Speaker 2>a twenty point lead turned into a four point lead

0:16:29.640 --> 0:16:33.320
<v Speaker 2>in like a minute. That's what they do. You piss

0:16:33.360 --> 0:16:35.760
<v Speaker 2>them off. You turn around and the lead is gone.

0:16:35.960 --> 0:16:39.080
<v Speaker 2>Not only is the lead gone, now you're down and

0:16:39.120 --> 0:16:41.680
<v Speaker 2>they're still talking shit. They were talking shit down twenty

0:16:42.200 --> 0:16:46.680
<v Speaker 2>and now they're talking shit up five and now you're quiet.

0:16:48.000 --> 0:16:52.160
<v Speaker 2>Steph hit three threes in seventy five seconds. Think about that.

0:16:52.880 --> 0:16:55.440
<v Speaker 2>Three threes in seventy five seconds at the end of

0:16:55.480 --> 0:16:58.800
<v Speaker 2>the third quarter. A twenty eight footer, a thirty two footer,

0:16:59.040 --> 0:17:02.520
<v Speaker 2>and a twenty seven footer. Those are really long threes.

0:17:03.000 --> 0:17:06.000
<v Speaker 2>There's really long ones, and all of a sudden, just

0:17:06.119 --> 0:17:11.040
<v Speaker 2>like that, your elite is gone. Stop talking shit to

0:17:11.080 --> 0:17:15.040
<v Speaker 2>the Warriors, and that was that. When Steph does that,

0:17:15.040 --> 0:17:18.639
<v Speaker 2>they're not beatable. And the funny thing is like not

0:17:19.040 --> 0:17:22.679
<v Speaker 2>brandon Ingram coming at Draymond or CJ chirping Steph. That

0:17:22.800 --> 0:17:27.359
<v Speaker 2>was the tipping point. It was actually CJ barreling through

0:17:28.960 --> 0:17:34.720
<v Speaker 2>New player on the team, Dante DiVincenzo. Fine player, fine player,

0:17:34.800 --> 0:17:38.719
<v Speaker 2>but not him like he was a straight blocking dummy.

0:17:39.480 --> 0:17:42.879
<v Speaker 2>That sealed the deal. Dante very mild mannered kid, doesn't

0:17:42.880 --> 0:17:45.440
<v Speaker 2>want any smoke, just wants to play basketball. He looks

0:17:45.440 --> 0:17:47.960
<v Speaker 2>at a column. He's like, yo, why are you taking

0:17:47.960 --> 0:17:50.320
<v Speaker 2>this out on me? I wasn't even trying to be

0:17:50.359 --> 0:17:53.199
<v Speaker 2>the tough guy. I'm just trying to hoop. I'm just

0:17:53.200 --> 0:17:57.199
<v Speaker 2>trying to win games. He runs over to Draymond's like, Yo,

0:17:57.240 --> 0:18:00.359
<v Speaker 2>let's get these guys. I was ready to just be

0:18:00.400 --> 0:18:02.880
<v Speaker 2>a part of this. Now I'm leading the charge as well.

0:18:03.160 --> 0:18:06.120
<v Speaker 2>And you know what, everyone rallied around Dante DiVincenzo because

0:18:06.119 --> 0:18:08.480
<v Speaker 2>you're not about to body our guy. You're not about

0:18:08.480 --> 0:18:14.360
<v Speaker 2>to bully our role player. Insane. Now the sleeping Giant

0:18:14.560 --> 0:18:20.600
<v Speaker 2>has been awoke with I'm sorry, CJ. It's all your fault.

0:18:20.720 --> 0:18:23.240
<v Speaker 2>When they win the title, it will be because of you.

0:18:23.440 --> 0:18:27.119
<v Speaker 2>They will probably give you an honorary ring because you

0:18:27.240 --> 0:18:30.680
<v Speaker 2>helped save the Warrior season. You're more important right now

0:18:31.080 --> 0:18:37.720
<v Speaker 2>than our man twelfth on the bench, Anthony Lamb. You

0:18:37.800 --> 0:18:40.720
<v Speaker 2>are Bill Freakin Simmons. The story yesterday was that the

0:18:40.720 --> 0:18:43.280
<v Speaker 2>Warriors are going to ditch Draymond and he's gonna go

0:18:43.280 --> 0:18:45.880
<v Speaker 2>to the Dallas Mavericks. By the way, that's a lie,

0:18:46.240 --> 0:18:49.159
<v Speaker 2>just a straight lie. But also we need to really

0:18:49.280 --> 0:18:53.760
<v Speaker 2>step back and say if Draymond or Jordan Poole are

0:18:53.840 --> 0:18:56.359
<v Speaker 2>leaving this team. By the way, Jordan Poole had an

0:18:56.359 --> 0:19:00.680
<v Speaker 2>excellent game last night, it's Jordan Poole. Raymond Green is

0:19:00.680 --> 0:19:04.480
<v Speaker 2>the second most important player on this Warrior's team. If

0:19:04.480 --> 0:19:08.359
<v Speaker 2>you're a car, Warriors are a car. Traymont Green is

0:19:08.400 --> 0:19:12.920
<v Speaker 2>the engine of the car. Steph Curry is the transmission

0:19:13.040 --> 0:19:19.000
<v Speaker 2>of the car. What is Klay Thompson the tires? What

0:19:19.080 --> 0:19:24.200
<v Speaker 2>is Jordan Poole the sunroof? Jordan Poole is the sunroof.

0:19:25.640 --> 0:19:29.720
<v Speaker 2>Awesome to have. Definitely a luxury that you want. Do

0:19:29.760 --> 0:19:34.080
<v Speaker 2>you need a fucking sunroof? Absolutely not? Am I paying

0:19:34.119 --> 0:19:38.160
<v Speaker 2>fifteen thousand dollars more for this car because of a sunroof? No.

0:19:39.600 --> 0:19:44.040
<v Speaker 2>If the sunroof doesn't get along with the engine, sorry sunroof.

0:19:44.160 --> 0:19:48.520
<v Speaker 2>You gotta go. Championship back on, folks, thanks to CJ. McCollum.

0:19:49.000 --> 0:19:52.040
<v Speaker 2>Can't you just leave good enough alone? Our dubs are

0:19:52.040 --> 0:19:55.840
<v Speaker 2>gonna be just fine, just like I said, championship caliber team.

0:19:56.200 --> 0:20:14.639
<v Speaker 2>I'm the only one that's been riding with them so

0:20:14.680 --> 0:20:17.280
<v Speaker 2>out in Boston. We talked last week, I think about

0:20:17.400 --> 0:20:21.760
<v Speaker 2>Jaylen Brown. He did an interview with Logan Murdoch. Logan

0:20:22.160 --> 0:20:26.320
<v Speaker 2>Murdoch works for The Ringer in It JB. Obviously we

0:20:26.440 --> 0:20:28.960
<v Speaker 2>talked about this. Talked to a lot of shit about

0:20:29.000 --> 0:20:32.840
<v Speaker 2>his teammates, about just the world in general, about the

0:20:33.000 --> 0:20:35.960
<v Speaker 2>organization as a whole. He wasn't really shit talking his teammates,

0:20:35.960 --> 0:20:38.919
<v Speaker 2>but he was definitely talking about the organization. He was

0:20:38.920 --> 0:20:43.600
<v Speaker 2>a little salacious. There were pointed barbs launched at some

0:20:43.640 --> 0:20:45.520
<v Speaker 2>of the coaching decisions that have been made, some of

0:20:45.520 --> 0:20:49.360
<v Speaker 2>the organizational decisions that have been made, whether Jason Tatum

0:20:49.560 --> 0:20:52.719
<v Speaker 2>was hanging out with Kevin Urant too much when his

0:20:52.800 --> 0:20:56.119
<v Speaker 2>name was circulating in trade rumors and now, which is

0:20:56.200 --> 0:21:00.640
<v Speaker 2>very surprising to me because Jaylen Brown is the type

0:21:00.680 --> 0:21:03.120
<v Speaker 2>of player and person that I thought would stand ten

0:21:03.200 --> 0:21:07.080
<v Speaker 2>toes down on his comments and say yeah, I said it.

0:21:07.560 --> 0:21:12.240
<v Speaker 2>He is now walking it all back. Very disappointing. He

0:21:12.359 --> 0:21:14.600
<v Speaker 2>was asked in his postgame presser about some of the

0:21:14.640 --> 0:21:17.159
<v Speaker 2>comments coming out of the article, and if you recall

0:21:17.200 --> 0:21:20.480
<v Speaker 2>and included lots of quotes from other people, including teammates

0:21:20.520 --> 0:21:24.119
<v Speaker 2>like Tatum, friends like Kyrie very detailed, very well sourced

0:21:24.480 --> 0:21:27.440
<v Speaker 2>article and apparently not well enough sourced for Jaylen Brown.

0:21:28.200 --> 0:21:32.800
<v Speaker 2>Jalen Brown had this to say, Uh, in terms of speculation, etc.

0:21:33.840 --> 0:21:37.359
<v Speaker 2>I can't speculate on anything above what I'm doing right now.

0:21:37.800 --> 0:21:41.200
<v Speaker 2>I think sometimes when people write articles, they get taken

0:21:41.200 --> 0:21:44.600
<v Speaker 2>out of context, especially when writers of their own agendas

0:21:44.680 --> 0:21:48.000
<v Speaker 2>or whatever. For me, personally, I'm thinking about clarifying some

0:21:48.040 --> 0:21:50.320
<v Speaker 2>of the things that have been recently said. But other

0:21:50.400 --> 0:21:53.159
<v Speaker 2>than that, I'm just focused on my team. I'm focused

0:21:53.160 --> 0:21:57.920
<v Speaker 2>on playing basketball and winning games. Oh boy, what exactly

0:21:58.760 --> 0:22:03.320
<v Speaker 2>are you looking to clarified? Nothing right now, he says.

0:22:03.680 --> 0:22:05.879
<v Speaker 2>Right now, the only thing I want to clarify is

0:22:05.920 --> 0:22:08.760
<v Speaker 2>that the Celtics need to play better and win more games.

0:22:08.920 --> 0:22:10.800
<v Speaker 2>If I want to say something in the future about

0:22:10.800 --> 0:22:13.160
<v Speaker 2>the kind of things that have been floating around, I will.

0:22:13.400 --> 0:22:15.760
<v Speaker 2>But in terms of right now, I like when people

0:22:15.840 --> 0:22:17.680
<v Speaker 2>hear things from the horse's mouth and you can see

0:22:17.680 --> 0:22:20.080
<v Speaker 2>my reaction, my face and everything, how I feel about

0:22:20.119 --> 0:22:23.240
<v Speaker 2>how I'm saying. Sometimes those things can get lost in translation,

0:22:23.440 --> 0:22:25.439
<v Speaker 2>you know, So if I feel the need to do so,

0:22:25.600 --> 0:22:28.359
<v Speaker 2>I will I keep in constant communication with my teammates

0:22:28.720 --> 0:22:31.480
<v Speaker 2>and my organization, and we've got to have everybody on

0:22:31.560 --> 0:22:33.760
<v Speaker 2>board if we want to do what we say we

0:22:33.800 --> 0:22:37.000
<v Speaker 2>want to do, so right now I'm focused on that.

0:22:38.920 --> 0:22:43.240
<v Speaker 2>It's almost like Jalen Brown doesn't know how the media works. Hey,

0:22:43.680 --> 0:22:47.400
<v Speaker 2>we're gonna get your thoughts from your mouth in spoken

0:22:47.440 --> 0:22:50.440
<v Speaker 2>word form. Those are gonna come out in written word form.

0:22:50.600 --> 0:22:53.320
<v Speaker 2>And when you say things, even if they sound nice,

0:22:53.400 --> 0:22:59.000
<v Speaker 2>when you put them in print, they definitely sound worse. Always, always, always, always.

0:22:59.640 --> 0:23:01.800
<v Speaker 2>This is a guy who maybe should do some more

0:23:01.840 --> 0:23:05.240
<v Speaker 2>interviews so he knows how articles are going to come out. Yes,

0:23:05.440 --> 0:23:07.560
<v Speaker 2>they get spun in the direction that a writer wants

0:23:07.600 --> 0:23:09.440
<v Speaker 2>to write. You think they're just gonna put your quotes

0:23:09.480 --> 0:23:11.959
<v Speaker 2>up and be like, hey, here's what Jylen Brown has

0:23:12.000 --> 0:23:17.040
<v Speaker 2>to say. Boom, that's it. Nothing, no opinions, no contexts,

0:23:17.080 --> 0:23:23.760
<v Speaker 2>no set up, no conclusion, no substantiating information, nothing. You

0:23:23.800 --> 0:23:26.680
<v Speaker 2>don't think he's gonna point out that Kanye West did

0:23:26.720 --> 0:23:28.480
<v Speaker 2>all this crazy shit and that you were aligning with

0:23:28.560 --> 0:23:32.080
<v Speaker 2>him and you didn't want to fire him. Yeah, he

0:23:32.119 --> 0:23:35.640
<v Speaker 2>did that. So it also sounds like a guy who's

0:23:35.680 --> 0:23:38.320
<v Speaker 2>like getting a lot of advice from people being like, hey,

0:23:39.080 --> 0:23:41.800
<v Speaker 2>if you want that Supermax deal, if you get all

0:23:41.920 --> 0:23:44.040
<v Speaker 2>NBA and they don't offer you that Supermax deal, you

0:23:44.119 --> 0:23:46.920
<v Speaker 2>better pack your bags and think about going to Atlanta

0:23:47.040 --> 0:23:49.280
<v Speaker 2>or wherever is the other teams that you think about going,

0:23:49.320 --> 0:23:52.720
<v Speaker 2>because if they don't think you're all in, they're not

0:23:52.800 --> 0:23:56.919
<v Speaker 2>all in. He also did not feel the need to

0:23:56.920 --> 0:24:02.320
<v Speaker 2>say that anything reported was false, so that's interesting. Including

0:24:02.359 --> 0:24:04.359
<v Speaker 2>his disappointment with the way that he was dangled as

0:24:04.400 --> 0:24:07.720
<v Speaker 2>trade bait, he didn't say anything about that. All of this, though,

0:24:07.800 --> 0:24:09.720
<v Speaker 2>just puts more pressure on the Celtics in the offseason

0:24:09.760 --> 0:24:12.480
<v Speaker 2>and in the postseason. If they get flamed out early

0:24:12.800 --> 0:24:15.840
<v Speaker 2>and he doesn't get all NBA and he doesn't get

0:24:15.840 --> 0:24:20.840
<v Speaker 2>that Supermax deal, the patients from Jalen Brown might just

0:24:20.920 --> 0:24:24.680
<v Speaker 2>wear out and shit might just hit the fan. One

0:24:24.720 --> 0:24:28.520
<v Speaker 2>of the main themes of the second half of this

0:24:28.600 --> 0:24:35.040
<v Speaker 2>season is charting just how very, very angry players are

0:24:35.080 --> 0:24:37.359
<v Speaker 2>against the referees. That's the theme of the year I

0:24:37.359 --> 0:24:41.879
<v Speaker 2>Think twenty twenty three, twenty two, twenty twenty three, the

0:24:42.000 --> 0:24:44.920
<v Speaker 2>Year of I Hate Refs, the Year of refs Done

0:24:45.000 --> 0:24:47.480
<v Speaker 2>fucked up. The year of do we need to take

0:24:47.520 --> 0:24:50.600
<v Speaker 2>this to robo ref The year of let's call out

0:24:50.640 --> 0:24:54.080
<v Speaker 2>refs by name? The year of do we need to

0:24:54.119 --> 0:24:57.920
<v Speaker 2>be finding refs and looking into their bank accounts to

0:24:57.960 --> 0:25:01.000
<v Speaker 2>see if they're betting on games. It reached the tipping point,

0:25:01.000 --> 0:25:03.360
<v Speaker 2>of course, when Fred Vanfleet called out Ben Taylor by name,

0:25:03.680 --> 0:25:05.800
<v Speaker 2>saying that he was terrible. It then went to a

0:25:05.840 --> 0:25:10.440
<v Speaker 2>new place when Mark Dagnio called out refs. Donovan Mitchell

0:25:10.480 --> 0:25:13.560
<v Speaker 2>called out refs, Marcus Smart called out refs. The league

0:25:13.600 --> 0:25:16.960
<v Speaker 2>obviously ref problem. The latest now to weigh in, and

0:25:17.000 --> 0:25:20.680
<v Speaker 2>I'm starting to come around on him, is Rudy Gobzilla

0:25:20.960 --> 0:25:26.800
<v Speaker 2>Gobar the best nickname. After a very sketchy night of

0:25:26.880 --> 0:25:30.000
<v Speaker 2>refereeing where the Wolves lost to the Suns, if you

0:25:30.080 --> 0:25:35.040
<v Speaker 2>saw it, it looked very one sided. He unloaded after

0:25:35.080 --> 0:25:38.640
<v Speaker 2>the game. He said, it's not fair. It's really not fair.

0:25:38.720 --> 0:25:40.600
<v Speaker 2>Every night. I've been in this league for ten years

0:25:40.640 --> 0:25:42.720
<v Speaker 2>and I always try to give the benefit of the doubt.

0:25:42.920 --> 0:25:46.840
<v Speaker 2>But it's hard for me to think they're not trying

0:25:46.840 --> 0:25:49.840
<v Speaker 2>to help the Suns win tonight. It's hard for me

0:25:49.960 --> 0:25:52.200
<v Speaker 2>to think they didn't try to help the Warriors win

0:25:52.240 --> 0:25:56.159
<v Speaker 2>the other night or Sacramento the other night. It's just

0:25:56.280 --> 0:25:59.080
<v Speaker 2>so obvious a basketball player that's been in the league

0:25:59.080 --> 0:26:03.200
<v Speaker 2>for this long. It's disrespectful. It's almost like Rudy Gobert

0:26:03.200 --> 0:26:07.840
<v Speaker 2>believes that the NBA does not want a small market

0:26:07.880 --> 0:26:11.800
<v Speaker 2>team like the Minnesota Timberwolves in the playoffs and they

0:26:11.840 --> 0:26:15.679
<v Speaker 2>would prefer teams like Sacramento. Nice feel good story Phoenix

0:26:15.760 --> 0:26:20.639
<v Speaker 2>Suns with Kevin Durant, LA Lakers with Anthony Davis, Warriors

0:26:20.640 --> 0:26:26.320
<v Speaker 2>with Steph Curry to be in over them. Yeah, I

0:26:26.359 --> 0:26:28.760
<v Speaker 2>think that's probably true. This also came on top of

0:26:28.840 --> 0:26:31.440
<v Speaker 2>a rant earlier this month where he told the Athletic Yeah,

0:26:31.480 --> 0:26:35.240
<v Speaker 2>I get hit in the face every night and no

0:26:35.280 --> 0:26:39.879
<v Speaker 2>one ever gets a flagrant called on them. It's crazy. No,

0:26:40.440 --> 0:26:45.200
<v Speaker 2>it's not crazy, because Rudy Gobert got called for five fouls,

0:26:45.480 --> 0:26:48.960
<v Speaker 2>four of them on the offensive side, which helped the

0:26:49.000 --> 0:26:54.000
<v Speaker 2>Suns overcome a ten point plus deficit and then win

0:26:54.119 --> 0:26:57.600
<v Speaker 2>a game in a as we said, a very very

0:26:57.640 --> 0:27:00.600
<v Speaker 2>tight Western Conference. And he laid it all out at

0:27:00.680 --> 0:27:03.640
<v Speaker 2>the end of the press conference. He said, we understand

0:27:03.800 --> 0:27:06.920
<v Speaker 2>we're not the biggest of markets, and we're a team

0:27:06.960 --> 0:27:09.080
<v Speaker 2>that I think you want to see Kevin Durant in

0:27:09.080 --> 0:27:11.800
<v Speaker 2>the playoffs, Steph Curry in the playoffs. You want to

0:27:11.800 --> 0:27:14.679
<v Speaker 2>see Lebron James in the playoffs. The Timberwolves are just

0:27:14.680 --> 0:27:18.439
<v Speaker 2>not there yet. How many players are going to have

0:27:18.440 --> 0:27:22.960
<v Speaker 2>to say something before the league does something. The answer

0:27:23.080 --> 0:27:25.600
<v Speaker 2>might not be what we want it to be, because

0:27:25.640 --> 0:27:28.080
<v Speaker 2>Gobert and Fred Van Fleet are right. The league maybe

0:27:28.080 --> 0:27:30.680
<v Speaker 2>does want big market teams in the playoffs that are

0:27:30.680 --> 0:27:33.720
<v Speaker 2>not named the Toronto Raptors in the Minnesota Timberwolves at

0:27:33.720 --> 0:27:37.399
<v Speaker 2>the expense of them. Stranger things have happened, but I

0:27:37.400 --> 0:27:40.920
<v Speaker 2>think that's probably right. All right, let's move on. Probably

0:27:40.920 --> 0:27:50.440
<v Speaker 2>the biggest storyline other than refs that's not happening on

0:27:50.520 --> 0:27:54.359
<v Speaker 2>the court this year has to do with the MVP race.

0:27:55.200 --> 0:27:58.520
<v Speaker 2>There are six games left and no one seems to

0:27:58.560 --> 0:28:02.120
<v Speaker 2>know what they want to do with the MVP. We

0:28:02.160 --> 0:28:06.880
<v Speaker 2>are probably headed towards the closest MVP vote in the

0:28:06.920 --> 0:28:10.399
<v Speaker 2>history of the award, and it's not close. It's not close.

0:28:11.000 --> 0:28:14.239
<v Speaker 2>I think twenty two right now, twenty two votes is

0:28:14.280 --> 0:28:19.280
<v Speaker 2>the slimmest margin between MVP winner and MVP runner up.

0:28:19.840 --> 0:28:22.760
<v Speaker 2>So the latest straw pole came out today and that's

0:28:22.800 --> 0:28:27.920
<v Speaker 2>Tim Bontemps from ESPN, and just when we all kind

0:28:27.960 --> 0:28:32.480
<v Speaker 2>of thought Embiid was going to overwhelmingly take it, we

0:28:32.680 --> 0:28:35.840
<v Speaker 2>got a wrinkle because emb sat out a couple of

0:28:35.840 --> 0:28:40.800
<v Speaker 2>big games and the Sixers lost some big ones. James

0:28:40.880 --> 0:28:42.960
<v Speaker 2>harden as we'll talk about it a little later, has

0:28:43.040 --> 0:28:46.000
<v Speaker 2>been injured, and for all intents and purposes, we now

0:28:46.040 --> 0:28:48.680
<v Speaker 2>have a dead heat on our hands. So the straw

0:28:48.720 --> 0:28:53.000
<v Speaker 2>pole is ESPN's informal polling of votes on the MVP race,

0:28:54.000 --> 0:28:57.600
<v Speaker 2>and right now, if you can believe it, there are

0:28:57.680 --> 0:29:03.280
<v Speaker 2>just two points separate and beat in Jokic seven ninety

0:29:03.680 --> 0:29:09.920
<v Speaker 2>and seven eighty eight. That's insane. That is crazy to

0:29:10.040 --> 0:29:11.840
<v Speaker 2>think that we can get this far in the season

0:29:11.880 --> 0:29:14.160
<v Speaker 2>and that people still don't know who they think that

0:29:14.200 --> 0:29:18.160
<v Speaker 2>they want to vote for. And this actually they talked

0:29:18.160 --> 0:29:20.600
<v Speaker 2>about this with Tim Bonteps. They said, hey, maybe you

0:29:20.640 --> 0:29:24.120
<v Speaker 2>should just ask me after the season is over, because

0:29:24.560 --> 0:29:28.200
<v Speaker 2>a lot can change in six games. Jokic actually leads

0:29:28.200 --> 0:29:32.880
<v Speaker 2>in first place votes forty two to forty. But the joker,

0:29:33.480 --> 0:29:39.080
<v Speaker 2>the wild card in this race is Yannis. Yannie is

0:29:40.160 --> 0:29:43.000
<v Speaker 2>the fly in the as oointment. Jannie is the third

0:29:43.080 --> 0:29:47.840
<v Speaker 2>party candidate, the Ralph Nader. If you will fucking with

0:29:47.880 --> 0:29:50.880
<v Speaker 2>the two thousand presidential election all over again. He's got

0:29:50.920 --> 0:29:55.240
<v Speaker 2>eighteen first place votes. Does anyone actually think Janie is

0:29:55.240 --> 0:29:58.120
<v Speaker 2>gonna win this award? No? Stop voting for y honest,

0:29:58.120 --> 0:30:00.840
<v Speaker 2>then you know it's a two man award. Okay, don't

0:30:00.920 --> 0:30:05.720
<v Speaker 2>vote for Jason Tatum, don't vote for Yannis. That is

0:30:05.840 --> 0:30:08.560
<v Speaker 2>enough to swing it in either direction for sure. If

0:30:08.560 --> 0:30:11.600
<v Speaker 2>those eighteen votes had to be decided and sent to

0:30:11.640 --> 0:30:14.360
<v Speaker 2>either Embiid or Yokic, maybe it would be a little

0:30:14.400 --> 0:30:19.040
<v Speaker 2>bit more clear. Embiid finished second on forty five ballots

0:30:19.440 --> 0:30:23.520
<v Speaker 2>as opposed to thirty nine ballots for Jokic, which is

0:30:23.560 --> 0:30:26.440
<v Speaker 2>why he has such a narrow lead. And personally, I

0:30:26.480 --> 0:30:28.080
<v Speaker 2>don't have any idea how it's going to shake out.

0:30:28.080 --> 0:30:31.280
<v Speaker 2>I don't think Vegas knows. Vegas keeps changing the lines

0:30:31.320 --> 0:30:34.240
<v Speaker 2>every single day, depending on which player has the more

0:30:34.280 --> 0:30:38.440
<v Speaker 2>dominant performance night to night. But I do know one thing.

0:30:38.760 --> 0:30:44.600
<v Speaker 2>Yannis will play spoiler. Are we headed for a recount?

0:30:45.120 --> 0:30:48.560
<v Speaker 2>Are we headed for We're only voting for these two?

0:30:48.920 --> 0:30:51.040
<v Speaker 2>Is the Supreme Court going to have to step in?

0:30:52.280 --> 0:30:54.960
<v Speaker 2>So many questions? The one thing that we know for

0:30:55.040 --> 0:30:57.120
<v Speaker 2>sure is that this thing can still be won. By

0:30:57.200 --> 0:31:03.480
<v Speaker 2>Jokic or embiid. Maybe we'relph dater, maybe even be honest,

0:31:03.640 --> 0:31:08.080
<v Speaker 2>they said. Maybe either way, closest, most entertaining, most controversial,

0:31:08.560 --> 0:31:14.120
<v Speaker 2>most heated MVP race in league history. That's all the

0:31:14.160 --> 0:31:15.840
<v Speaker 2>time that we have for this episode of the Heat Check.

0:31:15.920 --> 0:31:18.000
<v Speaker 2>Check back Friday for an all new episode. Do not

0:31:18.040 --> 0:31:21.800
<v Speaker 2>forget to peep the feed for past interviews and episodes.

0:31:22.000 --> 0:31:24.959
<v Speaker 2>Bonus episodes do drop unexpectedly throughout the week, so make

0:31:24.960 --> 0:31:28.440
<v Speaker 2>sure you're checking your feed. Please follow us we are

0:31:28.440 --> 0:31:32.360
<v Speaker 2>almost to the playoffs. Download subscribe. Tell all of your

0:31:32.400 --> 0:31:36.800
<v Speaker 2>friends rate review, Tell any friend that you know that

0:31:37.440 --> 0:31:40.480
<v Speaker 2>is okay with cursing and wants to hear about the NBA.

0:31:40.680 --> 0:31:43.680
<v Speaker 2>Follow us on the social at this heat Check and

0:31:43.720 --> 0:31:47.320
<v Speaker 2>at Trister Crieck on TikTok, Instagram and Twitter. Heat Check

0:31:47.840 --> 0:31:51.000
<v Speaker 2>is not sleeping, and neither should you. We'll talk to

0:31:51.040 --> 0:31:51.360
<v Speaker 2>you soon.