WEBVTT - What's Wright - Best Of: Luka & Lakers own Nuggets, Suns are doomed, Bengals big mistake 0:00:00.320 --> 0:00:02.520 Welcome to the best of the Week for What's Right 0:00:02.600 --> 0:00:05.240 with Nick Right the best takes in moments from this 0:00:05.320 --> 0:00:07.040 week on the show. Enjoy. 0:00:09.240 --> 0:00:12.160 So since the start of February, they are seven and fifteen, 0:00:12.280 --> 0:00:14.560 and like you just said, they have no injuries, so 0:00:14.600 --> 0:00:15.240 it's kind. 0:00:15.080 --> 0:00:16.800 Of weird whatever's going on over there. 0:00:16.920 --> 0:00:20.599 Their preseason projected win total was set at forty six 0:00:20.640 --> 0:00:22.600 and a half games, and it seemed like they might 0:00:22.600 --> 0:00:25.040 miss the play in. Do you think that you think 0:00:25.079 --> 0:00:26.799 the Suns are going to try to actually go on 0:00:26.840 --> 0:00:28.479 a run or are they going to tank here? 0:00:29.000 --> 0:00:34.279 Well, the coach and the owner want them to go 0:00:34.320 --> 0:00:37.680 on a run. I think the players might be over. 0:00:38.360 --> 0:00:41.680 Yea, I see him just seems more and more pissed 0:00:41.680 --> 0:00:42.320 these days. 0:00:42.720 --> 0:00:46.320 He see. Yeah, Katie doesn't seem happy. Coach Bud told 0:00:46.520 --> 0:00:48.960 Devin Booker basically to shut up the other day. That 0:00:49.000 --> 0:00:53.000 didn't go over well. I mean, they are not trying 0:00:53.360 --> 0:00:57.080 at all. On the defensive end, Luca was miked up 0:00:57.640 --> 0:01:00.360 against the Suns, and Luca just said, I had kind 0:01:00.360 --> 0:01:03.560 of been passing. I've never had so many open looks 0:01:03.600 --> 0:01:07.000 in my life. Look, I've been playing professional basketball since 0:01:07.000 --> 0:01:10.119 he's fifteen. He's like the worst defens I've ever seen, 0:01:10.640 --> 0:01:13.759 and Lebron wasn't even out there to open stuff up. 0:01:14.280 --> 0:01:20.360 And so uh, but the Suns, I don't know that 0:01:20.440 --> 0:01:26.400 this is a hot take. The Suns are in the 0:01:26.440 --> 0:01:32.800 worst position moving forward of any team in the league 0:01:33.120 --> 0:01:40.280 because Mattishpia came in and bought the team and traded 0:01:40.319 --> 0:01:44.800 away everything for Kevin Durant and then traded away everything 0:01:44.840 --> 0:01:48.800 they had left for Bradley Beal. Beal has a no 0:01:48.960 --> 0:01:55.360 trade and is not good. Durant is approaching thirty seven 0:01:55.560 --> 0:01:58.320 and not going to get you a ton in return 0:01:59.200 --> 0:02:03.080 and is gone this summer. And then you have Devin Booker, 0:02:03.120 --> 0:02:07.800 who's a real asset. But it doesn't really make sense 0:02:07.840 --> 0:02:12.960 to trade Booker because you would then be tanking and 0:02:13.080 --> 0:02:16.680 you don't demonse. They do not have their own pick 0:02:17.919 --> 0:02:24.760 until twenty thirty two. Twenty thirty two, it's twenty twenty five, 0:02:25.480 --> 0:02:29.280 so they they traded their picks away, and then they 0:02:29.480 --> 0:02:33.240 swapped picks, and then as part of the Beal trade, 0:02:33.760 --> 0:02:38.680 they swapped the swaps. This is like a mortgage crisis, 0:02:38.720 --> 0:02:43.400 but in the NBA. So they over the next seven drafts, 0:02:43.840 --> 0:02:48.400 they either simply give their pick away or they are 0:02:48.400 --> 0:02:53.040 in a three way swap with other teams, where of 0:02:53.080 --> 0:02:57.400 the three teams they get the worst draft pick, so 0:02:57.520 --> 0:02:59.040 even if they're the worst team in the league, that 0:02:59.320 --> 0:03:02.160 doesn't help them. And they traded away most of their 0:03:02.240 --> 0:03:07.280 second round picks. So it was again I used to 0:03:08.760 --> 0:03:11.840 this is sorry for all these kind of non sequiturs. 0:03:11.880 --> 0:03:15.200 Today's a show. I'm gonna be totally honest. Today's show 0:03:15.680 --> 0:03:19.920 that is not necessarily going to go viral for a 0:03:19.919 --> 0:03:23.320 lot of things, but real folks that are real what's 0:03:23.440 --> 0:03:27.120 right or as awkward as this is to say, like 0:03:27.240 --> 0:03:30.400 Nick Wright fans are going to really be enjoying today 0:03:30.400 --> 0:03:33.440 because we talked hard cap, softcap, I did my basket, 0:03:33.520 --> 0:03:35.880 my March madness rant. I'm now going to talk about 0:03:35.880 --> 0:03:39.200 Ted Steppien for a second. So Ted Stepien was an 0:03:39.200 --> 0:03:42.800 owner in the NBA in the eighties, and he was 0:03:43.000 --> 0:03:48.120 so bad and so disastrous for the Calves. The NBA 0:03:49.000 --> 0:03:53.280 made a rule that's called the Stepian rule. That's about 0:03:53.560 --> 0:03:57.040 how many draft picks you can and cannot trade. You 0:03:57.120 --> 0:04:02.560 can't trade draft picks in consecutive years. That's why teams 0:04:02.600 --> 0:04:04.560 have to, like, you know, I'll trade you my twenty 0:04:04.600 --> 0:04:07.200 five and my twenty seven because you can't just trade 0:04:07.200 --> 0:04:11.160 away all your picks and you can only trade draft 0:04:11.160 --> 0:04:14.680 picks like six years out. You know, those seven years out. 0:04:14.720 --> 0:04:17.920 Those are the rules they put in to prevent an 0:04:17.920 --> 0:04:22.360 owner from just destroying a team. And there has been 0:04:22.400 --> 0:04:25.760 a lot of frustration from GM since then of like, man, 0:04:26.360 --> 0:04:34.080 I would like full flexibility to uh, you know, run 0:04:34.160 --> 0:04:36.760 my team as I see fit and not have these 0:04:36.800 --> 0:04:39.600 guardrails in there. And I think at one point there 0:04:39.640 --> 0:04:42.000 was a little momentum in the league like all right, 0:04:42.360 --> 0:04:44.880 we're not in the tape delayed ear of the eighties. 0:04:45.360 --> 0:04:48.960 It's smarter people running the teams. It's big money. Maybe 0:04:49.000 --> 0:04:52.320 we don't need to, you know, have these guardrails in. 0:04:53.640 --> 0:04:58.000 And then Mattishbia came along and is like Ted Steppi 0:04:58.040 --> 0:05:01.800 and hold my beer. I'm gonna show you. I'm gonna 0:05:01.960 --> 0:05:09.799 speed run, absolutely wrecking a decade of a team that again, 0:05:09.880 --> 0:05:13.000 the Suns right before he took over, made the finals 0:05:13.440 --> 0:05:16.440 and then where the number one seed sixty four wins 0:05:16.600 --> 0:05:20.640 or sixty some win team, and then Luca eviscerated him, 0:05:21.560 --> 0:05:24.320 and then they trade for KD. Then they trade for 0:05:24.400 --> 0:05:28.359 Beal and now they're just ruined, absolutely ruined to a 0:05:28.400 --> 0:05:33.040 point to where they even though the Mavericks are two 0:05:33.120 --> 0:05:37.640 to eight in their last ten, don't have any healthy players, 0:05:38.560 --> 0:05:41.320 their fans have turned on them. The Mavericks still have 0:05:41.360 --> 0:05:46.719 a cushion in the standings. It's really a remarkable, remarkable 0:05:46.760 --> 0:05:47.160 turn of. 0:05:47.120 --> 0:05:49.719 Events month away from the playoffs. Who do you see 0:05:49.760 --> 0:05:50.720 avoiding the play in. 0:05:51.760 --> 0:05:57.400 So this is where our friends at tankathon are super helpful, 0:05:58.080 --> 0:06:02.279 So where we can look at most difficult or easiest 0:06:02.960 --> 0:06:07.960 strength of schedule left. So as a for instance, Phoenix, 0:06:08.720 --> 0:06:11.159 who we're gonna get to in a minute, has far 0:06:11.200 --> 0:06:16.760 and away the hardest schedule remaining. Phoenix has games left 0:06:16.800 --> 0:06:22.160 against the Calves, the Thunder, two against Boston, the Knicks, 0:06:22.200 --> 0:06:26.080 the Rockets, and the Warriors, with only two like layup 0:06:26.160 --> 0:06:29.720 games the Spurs and the Bulls. So Phoenix, if they 0:06:29.720 --> 0:06:32.040 were fighting for something, you'd be like, oh, they're in 0:06:32.120 --> 0:06:39.080 rough shape. Here's why it matters. Minnesota has the third 0:06:39.680 --> 0:06:45.159 easiest schedule remaining. Minnesota. Now, it's a bad loss last night, 0:06:45.600 --> 0:06:49.920 but Minnesota is at you know, the teams they're up 0:06:49.920 --> 0:06:53.640 against have a combined winning percentage of four thirty, and 0:06:53.680 --> 0:06:57.320 they have games remaining against New Orleans, two of them, 0:06:57.839 --> 0:07:01.960 the Jazz, two against the net that's one against the Sixers. 0:07:02.440 --> 0:07:06.040 So you have five games remaining, no, I'm sorry, two 0:07:06.120 --> 0:07:08.520 against New Orleans, two against the Nets, one six Ers, 0:07:08.520 --> 0:07:13.120 one Jazz. Six games remaining against teams that actively want 0:07:13.160 --> 0:07:18.720 to lose. So that's super helpful for Minnesota. The Warriors 0:07:19.080 --> 0:07:22.920 are right at league average as far as their schedule remaining. 0:07:23.520 --> 0:07:30.440 Their easiest games are New Orleans, Toronto, two against San Antonio, 0:07:30.920 --> 0:07:34.720 Miami and Portland. Here's why it's to me somewhat noteworthy 0:07:35.480 --> 0:07:40.360 that's they they own as far as teams that want 0:07:40.400 --> 0:07:44.920 to lose. It's really only four for the Warriors as 0:07:44.920 --> 0:07:47.520 far as the games they have left, and it's six 0:07:47.600 --> 0:07:52.800 for Minnesota. So that plays in Minnesota's favor significantly. They 0:07:53.080 --> 0:07:57.120 you know that Minnesota has two fewer games left than 0:07:57.160 --> 0:08:02.680 Golden State. They have won more law Golden State. When 0:08:02.720 --> 0:08:08.560 I heard Steve Kerse say, you know we are you know, 0:08:08.640 --> 0:08:14.200 Steph's worn down, and that essentially we're going to take 0:08:14.280 --> 0:08:19.880 care of Steph down the stretch and rest him tomorrow 0:08:20.040 --> 0:08:24.160 or tonight, pardon me. Against Milwaukee. Now they don't have 0:08:25.040 --> 0:08:27.920 the Warriors don't have many In fact, they only have 0:08:28.000 --> 0:08:31.200 one No. Two back to back's left. They have a 0:08:31.240 --> 0:08:33.800 back to back at the Lakers and then home for 0:08:33.840 --> 0:08:35.880 the Nuggets, and then they have a back to back 0:08:35.920 --> 0:08:38.000 a week later at Phoenix and then a home for 0:08:38.080 --> 0:08:46.640 San Antonio. Right now, I would and this is not 0:08:46.720 --> 0:08:51.880 going to be where Vegas would have it, but right 0:08:52.000 --> 0:08:59.000 now I would anticipate that the Western Conference standings and 0:08:59.080 --> 0:09:02.520 mark this down and see how this ages. But I 0:09:02.559 --> 0:09:06.240 think the Western Conference standings are going to end up 0:09:07.760 --> 0:09:16.600 Minnesota six, Golden State seven, Clippers eight, with the Kings 0:09:16.640 --> 0:09:21.559 being the nine seed and then that ten seed being 0:09:21.920 --> 0:09:26.840 just the saddest competition ever between Dallas and Phoenix, just 0:09:26.960 --> 0:09:30.920 two teams who did not ever think this is where 0:09:30.920 --> 0:09:33.280 they were going to end up, but it's where they 0:09:33.320 --> 0:09:37.040 have ended up. And I talk one of the reasons, Actually, 0:09:38.200 --> 0:09:41.640 what's that might need you? Oh yeah, well, they might 0:09:41.679 --> 0:09:45.520 have to forfeit games. It's in so if people don't 0:09:45.520 --> 0:09:48.920 to understand the forfeiting games things with the MAVs, let 0:09:48.920 --> 0:09:54.040 me explain it. This is super nerdy, but I'll do 0:09:54.080 --> 0:09:58.720 my best to explain it. The NBA has Here's okay, 0:09:59.160 --> 0:10:03.200 I'm gonna have to talk about a few things here 0:10:03.640 --> 0:10:10.120 hard cap, softcap. Okay, hardcap is the NFL where the 0:10:10.240 --> 0:10:15.000 salary cap is a number and you must from the 0:10:15.040 --> 0:10:18.240 first day of the league year until the last day 0:10:18.280 --> 0:10:23.160 of the league year be under it at all times. 0:10:23.960 --> 0:10:27.720 You cannot go a dollar over the hard cap. Now, 0:10:28.160 --> 0:10:31.719 because of the way NFL contracts are structured, you can 0:10:31.920 --> 0:10:39.360 always manipulate that year's cap guys cap figures by turning 0:10:39.400 --> 0:10:43.040 salaries into signing bonuses, spreading them out over multiple years, 0:10:43.520 --> 0:10:45.800 so it can feel like a soft cap at times. 0:10:45.840 --> 0:10:49.199 But the cap is the cap, and however you need 0:10:49.240 --> 0:10:52.760 to manipulate it. You can manipulate your own guys' salaries, 0:10:52.920 --> 0:10:55.920 but you can't ever be over it. That's why the 0:10:56.040 --> 0:11:00.320 NFL doesn't have things like a luxury tax, because chery 0:11:00.440 --> 0:11:04.439 tax is for a soft cap sport like the NBA, 0:11:04.960 --> 0:11:08.520 where we have a cap, but you can go over 0:11:08.559 --> 0:11:12.360 it for various reasons. You can go way over it 0:11:12.400 --> 0:11:16.079 at times. You just pay a penalty in luxury tax. 0:11:16.400 --> 0:11:18.560 And one of the reasons the NBA kind of has 0:11:18.600 --> 0:11:22.000 to work like that is because NBA player contracts are 0:11:22.040 --> 0:11:25.640 guaranteed for the most part, you can't really manipulate a 0:11:25.679 --> 0:11:28.320 player's contract like oh, we're turning your salary into a 0:11:28.360 --> 0:11:30.960 signing bonus. It's not how it works. So they need 0:11:31.000 --> 0:11:36.360 a soft cap. Except and of course, there are certain 0:11:36.559 --> 0:11:45.520 things NBA teams can do transactionally which triggers an actual 0:11:45.760 --> 0:11:50.840 hard cap. So if you're an Apron team and do 0:11:50.920 --> 0:11:53.240 a sign in trade, all of a sudden, you have 0:11:53.280 --> 0:11:57.360 a hard cap. If there's certain things, we need Bobby 0:11:57.400 --> 0:11:59.600 Marts to really explain all of it. But there are 0:11:59.640 --> 0:12:02.680 certain things that can happen where oh no, now you 0:12:02.920 --> 0:12:08.880 do have an NFL style hard cap. The MAVs are 0:12:08.920 --> 0:12:12.200 a team with a hard cap. So here's why you're 0:12:12.240 --> 0:12:17.000 hearing about the MAVs potentially having the forfeit games. You 0:12:17.120 --> 0:12:24.720 must have eight healthy players ready and able to play. 0:12:25.280 --> 0:12:32.080 The MAVs are close to exhausting their limit on two 0:12:32.200 --> 0:12:34.559 way guys, guys from their G league team that can 0:12:34.600 --> 0:12:37.959 call up, send down, call up and send down. They 0:12:37.960 --> 0:12:41.320 have had all these injuries, and because of the hard 0:12:41.400 --> 0:12:47.760 cap demons, they are not allowed to sign another minimum player. 0:12:48.960 --> 0:12:54.480 They can't go over the hard cap. They are running 0:12:54.520 --> 0:12:59.680 out of two way guys' eligibility. Even they are so 0:12:59.840 --> 0:13:02.679 close to the hard cap, they don't have the space 0:13:02.800 --> 0:13:06.319 for another minimum guy they can't sign their version of 0:13:06.640 --> 0:13:09.360 and Alex Lynn just be like, hey, come off the 0:13:09.360 --> 0:13:10.840 street and play for us. 0:13:12.120 --> 0:13:15.520 So to be a perfect situation for Browny right. 0:13:16.040 --> 0:13:19.000 Oh yeah, or for any young player or any draft 0:13:19.000 --> 0:13:22.320 pick right to get some burn. But they they suited 0:13:22.440 --> 0:13:26.440 up eight healthy guys the other day. Yeah, So it 0:13:26.520 --> 0:13:31.880 would be I've never in my life watching the NBA, 0:13:32.000 --> 0:13:34.080 I've never seen a team have to forfeit games because 0:13:34.120 --> 0:13:39.520 they didn't have eligible players. It would be kind of 0:13:39.559 --> 0:13:44.120 the crowning achievement of what has been six weeks of 0:13:44.360 --> 0:13:49.800 just a fever dream of terror for MAVs fans, starting 0:13:49.800 --> 0:13:55.880 with the Luca trade, then the added pain of Ad 0:13:55.960 --> 0:14:00.160 getting hurt, then the real pain of Kyrie blowing out 0:14:00.200 --> 0:14:03.000 his knee, then the like, oh, you've got to be 0:14:03.120 --> 0:14:06.280 kidding me. Quinton Grimes all of a sudden is a 0:14:06.320 --> 0:14:09.040 star player in this league. We gave him away for 0:14:09.200 --> 0:14:13.120 Caleb Martin for no reason whatsoever, and now we're gonna 0:14:13.120 --> 0:14:17.640 have to maybe forfeit games. Unpresced in it, just unpressed 0:14:17.679 --> 0:14:21.760 in it. But flip side of that is AD's ramping 0:14:21.880 --> 0:14:24.360 up and they might make the playoffs or the play 0:14:24.400 --> 0:14:28.080 in Over the damn suns who desperately want to win 0:14:28.320 --> 0:14:35.520 and are incredibly healthy. This episode of What Trait is 0:14:35.520 --> 0:14:39.840 brought to you by Daya Pizza featuring dairy free cheese 0:14:39.840 --> 0:14:42.600 made with their Newdaya Oak cream blend. Dairy free cheese 0:14:42.600 --> 0:14:44.960 has come a long way. Deaya's leading the charge. Their 0:14:45.000 --> 0:14:49.160 pizzas offer the melton stretch of traditional cheese without any dairy. 0:14:49.240 --> 0:14:51.800 Each day of Pizza starts with a perfectly crisp crust, 0:14:52.160 --> 0:14:55.720 layered with savory, satisfying toppings, and finished with cheese that 0:14:55.800 --> 0:14:59.400 melts and stretches beautifully. 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What do you think 0:16:06.680 --> 0:16:08.240 about the Nuggets resting their guys again? 0:16:08.280 --> 0:16:13.120 Though, so listen, Joker plays as much as anybody. Michael 0:16:13.200 --> 0:16:16.280 Malone was correct that Jokers played I think the second 0:16:16.320 --> 0:16:18.560 most games of any player in the last decade, So 0:16:19.000 --> 0:16:21.880 I'm not going to kill him for it. I'm not 0:16:22.160 --> 0:16:26.600 certain exactly why Jamal Mury, you know, Jamal Murray couldn't play. 0:16:26.640 --> 0:16:31.240 Maybe because Jamal Murray without NIKOI Jokic, you know, doesn't 0:16:31.320 --> 0:16:34.360 quite look like the Jamal Murray that a lot of 0:16:34.400 --> 0:16:39.320 folks like to believe. He can be. I I will 0:16:39.360 --> 0:16:43.400 say this, the Nuggets are no longer a bad matchup 0:16:43.440 --> 0:16:46.800 for the Lakers. The Lakers are a bad matchup for 0:16:46.800 --> 0:16:50.920 the Nuggets. And that's with or without Joker. And there's 0:16:51.040 --> 0:16:56.640 multiple reasons for this. Uh. I understand Daniel, our producer, 0:16:56.680 --> 0:16:59.240 saying Jamal was hurt last game two. I get it, man, 0:16:59.680 --> 0:17:06.679 I'm the I'm not accusing anyone of anything, do I 0:17:07.240 --> 0:17:10.760 Does anybody think that if this were a playoff game, 0:17:11.200 --> 0:17:13.960 Joe Kitchen Murray wouldn't wouldn't have played. Of course not 0:17:14.040 --> 0:17:17.720 They're not that injured, But that's totally fine. You want 0:17:17.760 --> 0:17:20.439 them to be rested and healthy. You'd prefer it not 0:17:20.520 --> 0:17:23.119 happen on a national TV game. You'd prefer it not 0:17:23.240 --> 0:17:27.159 have to happen in back to back games. But it 0:17:27.240 --> 0:17:29.760 is what it is, so to speak like, you deal 0:17:29.800 --> 0:17:32.199 with it, and you, you know, you move forward. I 0:17:32.200 --> 0:17:36.440 think a lot of people assumed that the Nuggets, because 0:17:36.480 --> 0:17:39.440 they rested those guys or they didn't play against the Warriors, 0:17:39.840 --> 0:17:43.040 that they would play in the next game. But whatever. 0:17:43.440 --> 0:17:45.480 I'm not going to kill him for that. What I 0:17:45.520 --> 0:17:47.399 am going to talk about is if this is a 0:17:47.440 --> 0:17:52.439 playoff matchup, it favors the Lakers heavily because here is 0:17:52.480 --> 0:17:55.360 the thing. The Lakers scored one twenty last night, could 0:17:55.359 --> 0:17:59.840 have scored one forty, and I said it on the 0:17:59.840 --> 0:18:04.040 TV show. I will say it again with this question 0:18:05.600 --> 0:18:10.960 in the playoffs, if you get Lakers Nuggets, if Aaron 0:18:11.080 --> 0:18:17.080 Gordon is primarily matched up on Lebron, who is guarding Luca? 0:18:17.840 --> 0:18:21.520 They tried some Peyton Watson last night, how'd that work? 0:18:21.880 --> 0:18:26.960 Luca had twenty before you turn the game on, and okay, no, no, no, 0:18:27.240 --> 0:18:31.160 Aaron Gordon's gonna guard Luca? Then who is guarding Lebron? 0:18:32.080 --> 0:18:35.119 It ain't Michael Porter Junior in his bad back, It 0:18:35.160 --> 0:18:40.119 ain't Russell Westbrook. It certainly ain't Christian Brown. Who are 0:18:40.119 --> 0:18:44.840 we talking about? Concr He ain't doing it, Gonna dust 0:18:44.880 --> 0:18:50.240 off Dario, sorrych he ain't doing it. It's it's certainly 0:18:50.240 --> 0:18:52.200 not the two guys who were missing last night and 0:18:52.280 --> 0:18:56.920 Joe Kitchen Murray. The Nuggets are a bad defensive team 0:18:57.000 --> 0:19:01.120 at this point, and having you go Kitchen Murray out 0:19:01.160 --> 0:19:04.119 doesn't hurt their defense. And the Lakers scored at will 0:19:04.480 --> 0:19:08.280 without Lebron. Now, the Lakers, I think are going to 0:19:08.400 --> 0:19:11.719 actually end up being the best offense in the league, 0:19:12.040 --> 0:19:18.000 and you're starting to see it where they are generating 0:19:18.600 --> 0:19:24.840 so many great looks from three, so many wide open threes, 0:19:25.200 --> 0:19:28.240 and that's without Lebron on the court. And here's the 0:19:28.280 --> 0:19:31.960 other thing about the Lakers Nuggets matchup. The best thing 0:19:32.040 --> 0:19:34.879 the Nuggets had going for them in these playoff matchups 0:19:34.920 --> 0:19:38.280 is Joker, no question. The second best thing they had 0:19:38.280 --> 0:19:42.000 going for him was Di'angelo Russell minutes. And the third 0:19:42.040 --> 0:19:45.000 best thing they had going for him was Darvin Ham's coaching, 0:19:46.000 --> 0:19:50.080 which is why there was nobody that was a bigger 0:19:50.200 --> 0:19:54.280 Darvin Ham defender than Michael Malone. Michael Malone out there 0:19:54.280 --> 0:19:59.320 defending Darvin Ham, like Darvin Ham owes him money and 0:19:59.359 --> 0:20:01.639 he needs him to stay employed to get it. He's like, 0:20:01.680 --> 0:20:04.120 this is unfair that guy took him to the conference final. 0:20:04.320 --> 0:20:08.879 There is an outrage and Michael Malone now of a sudden, 0:20:08.920 --> 0:20:11.879 Lakers got real coach. And by the way, are we 0:20:11.960 --> 0:20:15.040 done with that demands? I haven't checked the scoreboard. Is 0:20:15.119 --> 0:20:17.720 JJ Reddick now just Lakers head coach? Or is he 0:20:17.840 --> 0:20:21.840 still you know Lebron's podcast buddy, or now that everybody 0:20:21.840 --> 0:20:23.679 knows he's a great coach, or we just saying no, 0:20:23.720 --> 0:20:25.840 he's a Lakers head coach, because I know if he 0:20:25.920 --> 0:20:28.439 wasn't a great coach, it would be Lebron's podcast, Buddy. 0:20:28.960 --> 0:20:31.760 It'd be like, I'm I just again, I'm not sure 0:20:32.920 --> 0:20:34.760 the exact rule, right, and I'm not sure about the 0:20:34.800 --> 0:20:36.639 rules of any of this stuff. What I do know 0:20:36.720 --> 0:20:39.840 is this Nuggets are in real, real trouble and the 0:20:39.920 --> 0:20:41.639 Lakers are real, real dangerous. 0:20:42.080 --> 0:20:45.760 You don't think, Anya, you're just like resting there guys strategically, 0:20:46.359 --> 0:20:49.159 like the same thing Golden State did with Steph Curry. 0:20:50.000 --> 0:20:55.480 I think that's a game they wanted to win that 0:20:55.600 --> 0:21:01.199 you're fighting for seating. I I don't right now. The 0:21:01.240 --> 0:21:06.760 Western garment standings go like this, Oklahoma City has locked 0:21:06.800 --> 0:21:12.200 the one seed. It's so bananas they they have lock 0:21:12.560 --> 0:21:18.800 locked up the well, I guess technically they're their magic 0:21:18.920 --> 0:21:21.960 number for locking up the one seed is one game 0:21:22.720 --> 0:21:27.160 with fifteen or how however we eat thirteen games remaining. Uh, 0:21:27.320 --> 0:21:30.159 they have fifty seven wins. No one else in the 0:21:30.200 --> 0:21:33.919 conference can get to fifty eight. So Oklahoma City's locked. 0:21:34.480 --> 0:21:39.640 And then it gets interesting. The Rockets have twenty five losses. 0:21:39.720 --> 0:21:43.119 The Lakers have twenty five losses. The Nuggets have twenty six, 0:21:43.480 --> 0:21:47.040 the Grizzlies have twenty seven, the Warriors have twenty nine, 0:21:47.800 --> 0:21:53.840 Clippers thirty, Timberwolves thirty one. So four five six, I'm sorry, 0:21:54.080 --> 0:21:59.320 two three four five two games apart, two three four 0:22:00.640 --> 0:22:08.159 one loss apart, and I don't think the Nuggets want 0:22:08.280 --> 0:22:11.600 to give these games away. Say it again, it would be. 0:22:11.600 --> 0:22:13.080 In their best interest being one game. 0:22:13.119 --> 0:22:15.440 I mean they were tied before last night and then 0:22:16.040 --> 0:22:17.000 not absolutely. 0:22:18.000 --> 0:22:18.200 Yeah. 0:22:18.920 --> 0:22:22.840 And the other piece of it is because of last 0:22:23.720 --> 0:22:27.040 With a win yesterday, they would have locked up the 0:22:27.080 --> 0:22:31.520 season series three to one, which would have given them 0:22:31.560 --> 0:22:33.399 the head to have tybreaker if they finished with the 0:22:33.400 --> 0:22:35.159 same record. Now it's two to two, so I'm not 0:22:35.160 --> 0:22:37.720 even sure what tybreaker it goes to. Now the Nuggets, 0:22:37.760 --> 0:22:43.800 do they get Portland next, then Houston Chicago? Like I'm 0:22:43.840 --> 0:22:46.680 just looking at their easy, tough games. I think they 0:22:46.880 --> 0:22:51.280 When we went to Tankathon before and we checked it, 0:22:51.680 --> 0:22:56.560 I thought the Nuggets were league average essentially remaining strength 0:22:56.680 --> 0:23:00.359 strength of schedule. They have a little tougher than league average. 0:23:00.520 --> 0:23:03.680 They have the eleventh hardest strength of schedule left the 0:23:03.760 --> 0:23:05.920 Lakers by the way of the third hardest strength of 0:23:06.000 --> 0:23:10.359 schedule left Houston tenth hardest. I'm just doing the teams 0:23:10.359 --> 0:23:14.280 fighting for this seed, Memphis seventh hardest, Golden State with 0:23:14.320 --> 0:23:17.560 the easiest of the group with the eighteenth hardest. So 0:23:19.240 --> 0:23:21.360 but here's the other piece of it. For the Lakers, 0:23:22.240 --> 0:23:25.520 as I said the other day, you can now kind 0:23:25.520 --> 0:23:29.359 of definitively say, even though they lost those first three 0:23:29.440 --> 0:23:36.960 without Lebron, they have survived his injury. They I said, 0:23:37.080 --> 0:23:40.840 if you miss ten games, going six and four would 0:23:40.880 --> 0:23:44.240 be a great result. And six and four is now 0:23:44.520 --> 0:23:46.440 very on the board, and I don't know that he's 0:23:46.480 --> 0:23:49.840 gonna miss four more. But the Lakers are three and three. 0:23:50.520 --> 0:23:55.040 Lost to Brooklyn, bad loss, lost to Milwaukee, lost to Denver, 0:23:55.119 --> 0:23:57.840 and what would have been an unbelievable win when Denver 0:23:57.920 --> 0:23:59.800 had all its guys and Lakers without six of their 0:23:59.840 --> 0:24:05.320 time eight and then blue out Phoenix, blew out San Antonio, 0:24:05.359 --> 0:24:08.960 blew out Denver. And now the next four home for Milwaukee, 0:24:09.040 --> 0:24:16.560 tonight home for Chicago at Orlando, at Indiana. Can you 0:24:16.640 --> 0:24:18.879 go three to one in those four You should be 0:24:18.920 --> 0:24:22.159 able to even if Lebron's not back. And that's the 0:24:22.200 --> 0:24:26.000 other piece of last night, the blowout being awesome Luca 0:24:26.080 --> 0:24:29.920 only played thirty two minutes. Reeves probably played a little 0:24:29.920 --> 0:24:33.320 more than he needed to, but so be it. And 0:24:33.400 --> 0:24:38.200 so the Lakers are really well positioned. Houston keeps winning. Houston, 0:24:38.359 --> 0:24:44.160 to their credit, has really taken advantage of the absolute 0:24:44.440 --> 0:24:48.840 softest stretch of their schedule imaginable, and they have won 0:24:48.960 --> 0:24:54.520 more soft game Friday against Miami. But their schedule during 0:24:54.560 --> 0:24:57.120 this winning streak has been the following teams for Houston, 0:24:57.520 --> 0:25:03.320 New Orleans, New Orleans, Orlando, Phoenix, Dallas, Chicago, Philly, Orlando. 0:25:04.040 --> 0:25:06.920 So those are the worst, like some of the worst 0:25:06.920 --> 0:25:09.440 teams in the league, plus Orlando, which has been really 0:25:09.440 --> 0:25:13.360 bad for months, and Phoenix, which hates itself, and now 0:25:13.359 --> 0:25:17.360 you have Miami, and then it gets way tougher for Houston. 0:25:17.480 --> 0:25:22.640 So I because after Miami, Houston goes Denver, Atlanta, Utah, Phoenix, 0:25:23.160 --> 0:25:27.280 Lakers Utah Oka see Golden State Clippers Lakers Denver. What 0:25:27.480 --> 0:25:31.520 a final stretch for Houston final five games Oka see 0:25:31.560 --> 0:25:35.399 Golden State Clippers Lakers Denver. I wonder what OKAC is 0:25:35.440 --> 0:25:37.280 gonna do down the stretch because they will have locked 0:25:37.320 --> 0:25:40.320 up the one seed and with the Cavs losing all 0:25:40.359 --> 0:25:42.159 of a sudden as of Lake, they won't you know, 0:25:42.200 --> 0:25:44.280 they're gonna be in a good position for the number 0:25:44.359 --> 0:25:48.280 one overall seed. But I expect Houston to drop back. 0:25:49.040 --> 0:25:51.040 And I am the Lakers got a real shot at 0:25:51.040 --> 0:25:55.199 the two, a real shot at the two, and so 0:25:56.520 --> 0:26:01.400 I you know, I think And Daniel tells me LA 0:26:01.560 --> 0:26:05.680 is the tiebreaker because they win win their division. Oh, 0:26:05.760 --> 0:26:09.320 the stupid divisions are the next tiebreaker. Oh well, then 0:26:09.400 --> 0:26:13.520 last night's game was even bigger for Denver because now 0:26:13.600 --> 0:26:16.320 if they finished with the same record, Lakers have the tiebreaker. 0:26:16.720 --> 0:26:20.480 That's noteworthy. That's really really noteworthy. All right, Ask what 0:26:20.560 --> 0:26:21.439 are the follow ups here? 0:26:21.520 --> 0:26:23.880 Pal, Well, who do you think needs to adjust more 0:26:23.880 --> 0:26:26.360 when Lebron does come back, because you know, Lucas obviously 0:26:26.400 --> 0:26:31.040 getting into a groove. So Lebron Luca, Oh, Lebron's Lebron. 0:26:32.840 --> 0:26:37.800 Lebron can do more different things. Lebron can play so 0:26:37.960 --> 0:26:41.359 many different ways, So it wouldn't make sense to ask 0:26:41.440 --> 0:26:43.560 Luca to adjust because Lucas not going to be great 0:26:43.600 --> 0:26:46.520