Speaker 1: You're tuned into Heat Check with Crystal Quick.
Speaker 2: Welcome to a bonus episode of the Heat Check.
Speaker 3: Today, We've got a special interview with NBA insider Bill Ryder.
Speaker 3: We conducted this interview last night with my co host
Speaker 3: Ryan Wrbot and PJ. Glasser on bet MGM tonight to
Speaker 3: my other show. Bill hosts a show called Writer Than
Speaker 3: You on CBS Radio weekdays from ten to noon and
Speaker 3: is an award winning journalist who has covered the Association
Speaker 3: for many years. He's really good, and shockingly, he agrees
Speaker 3: with me a ton So do me a favor, Nick
Speaker 3: and drop that fucking beat. In this first clip, Bill
Speaker 3: decides to give his opinions on who he likes to
Speaker 3: come out of the East. I knew we were on
Speaker 3: the same wavelength as soon as he started saying mean
Speaker 3: things about the Brooklyn Nets.
Speaker 1: I do not believe in the Brooklyn Nets. I will
Speaker 1: fade them at every chance and take the risk they
Speaker 1: do come to and figure it out. I like the
Speaker 1: Milwaukee Bucks. I know that's kind of chalk once they
Speaker 1: get healthy. I just think it's so easy to look
Speaker 1: past because they're in the Midwest. I think we take
Speaker 1: Giannis really just for granted how well run that organization is,
Speaker 1: how dominant Giannis is, but I saw a lot of
Speaker 1: Cavaliers this year, just bopping around talking to various folks
Speaker 1: and various teams that just happen to beat a lot
Speaker 1: of their games. And I'm starting to talk myself into
Speaker 1: at least Cleveland overachieving. I know I'm not the only
Speaker 1: person in the country doing that. But if you think
Speaker 1: the drama's going to pull down the Celtics and the
Speaker 1: Nets and there might be some injuries elsewhere, If like me,
Speaker 1: you love the Sixers but think Doc Rivers is a
Speaker 1: walking postseason disaster, I think Cleveland's interesting.
Speaker 3: We also asked Bill about his thoughts on my dark
Speaker 3: horse pick to come out of the East the Toronto
Speaker 3: Raptors listen in.
Speaker 1: I'm with you guys on Toronto. I don't have a
Speaker 1: bet on it, but I was talking to a couple
Speaker 1: buddies that we pool our resources and bet a little
Speaker 1: larger than we should every year. We're nibbling on the
Speaker 1: edges there. I think the Nets are like, look that
Speaker 1: the Brooklyn Nets could win the whole thing. They're talented enough.
Speaker 1: I think the likely outcome is they're going to be
Speaker 1: really underwhelming. We've seen this story before. What a Bill
Speaker 1: Parcells say. People tell you who they are, Kyrie Irving, unreliable.
Speaker 1: I mean, you guys know all the drama that leads
Speaker 1: the Sixers. I think they can be great. I love
Speaker 1: the moves they made Addison three and d guys was
Speaker 1: around that organization for several days last week. They're actually
Speaker 1: legitimately confident. But if you think things can go wrong,
Speaker 1: if you think MB can get hurt again, if you
Speaker 1: think Doc Rivers is the wrong guy, I do, and
Speaker 1: that manifests itself maybe in the regular season instead of
Speaker 1: the postseason. I think Toronto's really interesting. Nick Nurse is
Speaker 1: one of the three or four best coaches in the game.
Speaker 1: They've got a pretty good core. If things go right
Speaker 1: for them and have to go badly for those other teams,
Speaker 1: there's certainly value there.
Speaker 3: One of the teams that had a very rough offseason
Speaker 3: was the Phoenix Suns tons of drama. I asked Bill
Speaker 3: his thoughts on what we might expect from them this
Speaker 3: season and if they can overcome some of those issues.
Speaker 1: I'm personally fading those Suns. I'm in that and group
Speaker 1: think makes me nervous and when everybody thinks something, that's
Speaker 1: where you find some value, right if you're actually putting
Speaker 1: money down. Here's my thing. I think the eight and
Speaker 1: thing is a real issue with my Williams because Mani's strength.
Speaker 1: They're one of his strength. He's a great x as
Speaker 1: and O's coach. But his ability to connect with the
Speaker 1: locker room is really important. And the fact there is
Speaker 1: an openly discussed cold war between a guy that didn't
Speaker 1: want to be there anyway and they gave him a
Speaker 1: contract after he thought he was gonna get a chance
Speaker 1: to go somewhere else in the head coach, that's a problem.
Speaker 1: And I think for me the big thing is, you know,
Speaker 1: I'll just be candid. I know Chris Paul gets celebrated
Speaker 1: as a leader. I understand that's the narrative. It's just
Speaker 1: it's just not true or it's more a lot more
Speaker 1: complicated than the idea that he's this incredible leader he does.
Speaker 1: I mean, guys, I've done reporting on this. A lot
Speaker 1: of guys can't stand Chris Paul, who play with him,
Speaker 1: her He grinds him down, He gets on guys, he
Speaker 1: talks smack. He can be really hard on dudes. And
Speaker 1: when he was had to play to back it up.
Speaker 1: That would not only sometimes be the glue that would
Speaker 1: make it work. I've talked to a couple of gms
Speaker 1: this year from a distance. Right, these guys aren't with
Speaker 1: the Suns who think Chris Paul amazing player, blah blah blah,
Speaker 1: might be washed. Right, Just he's almost forty, he's getting
Speaker 1: an eighty. He's five years past when a point guard
Speaker 1: of his stature in physical, his build should play the
Speaker 1: level that he has. He's a great player, whatever, I
Speaker 1: think that's over, and if it is, I think his
Speaker 1: approach to leadership, the DeAndre Ayton thing, even Sarvard being
Speaker 1: forced out, there's just too many question marks for me
Speaker 1: to put money on the Suns. If the number got
Speaker 1: good enough, if they got out to like a really
Speaker 1: bad start, and the number dropped, how might I put
Speaker 1: some money on him like I did a few years ago,
Speaker 1: to go all the way and then probably start fading
Speaker 1: them in a conference finals if they got there. But
Speaker 1: I just I'm in that group of people that think
Speaker 1: that there's too many question marks on and off the
Speaker 1: floor to really believe in Phoenix.
Speaker 3: My co host Ryan is a huge Chicago Bulls fan
Speaker 3: like massive, So of course we had to ask Bill
Speaker 3: his thoughts on Chicago this season and whether they can
Speaker 3: actually compete for another playoff spot.
Speaker 2: Turns out he's a Chicago fan.
Speaker 1: Too, So I'm from the Chicago area. Like back and
Speaker 1: forth between Chicago and Iowa, and I was I'm a
Speaker 1: Chicago sports fan, hard to be a Bulls fan because
Speaker 1: I covered the sport right, so it sort of changes things.
Speaker 1: I really wanted to believe in him, and you know
Speaker 1: that as the fan. Ball is so important to what
Speaker 1: they do. And if you look at their record last
Speaker 1: year when he played last year, it was small sample size,
Speaker 1: but big enough that it matters. I mean, their winning
Speaker 1: percentage was good enough to be the second best team
Speaker 1: in the East. They were in first when he got
Speaker 1: injured last year. I think in January he just praised
Speaker 1: the defensive energy and effort that I think actually raises
Speaker 1: the defense of the rest of the team. And you're right,
Speaker 1: I mean DeRozan was a statistical anomaly last year. It's
Speaker 1: like betting the tails was gonna come up forty out
Speaker 1: of fifty times. Awesome that it happened, probably not gonna
Speaker 1: happen again. So I think Chicago's going to struggle to
Speaker 1: be in the top six. I think the East is
Speaker 1: that crowded, but they fooled me last year, and if
Speaker 1: ball can somehow get healthy and get back earlier than
Speaker 1: we expect, maybe there's some optimism. But I think the
Speaker 1: combination of a regression for tomorrow and the fact that
Speaker 1: they don't have the defense that they need, and then
Speaker 1: East that I think is markedly better. I don't think
Speaker 1: it Bowes well.
Speaker 3: Another team that had a share of drama this year
Speaker 3: is the Golden State Warriors. Really, in the last couple
Speaker 3: of weeks with Draymond Green and Jordan Poole, Bill gives
Speaker 3: his opinion on what we might expec from them this year.
Speaker 2: Give it a listen.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's a great question. It's amazing. The six betting
Speaker 1: favorites to winning the NBA Championship this year, four of
Speaker 1: them are dealing with seriously self inflicted drama on an
Speaker 1: extreme level. The Sun's, the Celtics, the Nets because they're
Speaker 1: the Nets, and the Warriors with the punch of Jordan Poole.
Speaker 1: I think those four storylines are going to greatly impact
Speaker 1: what happens. I think I don't know is the answer
Speaker 1: to your question. But my guess is the most likely
Speaker 1: organization where it's gonna be okay of those four teams
Speaker 1: as the Warriors, because Steph Curry really is a beloved
Speaker 1: leader in that locker room. Because the guy that was wrong,
Speaker 1: Jordan Poole, not just got paid, which helps, but has
Speaker 1: handled this with such class, right sort of quiet class,
Speaker 1: put the team first. And because I think Draymond Green,
Speaker 1: for all of these shortcomings that were on display, is
Speaker 1: going to be like Kobe Bryant when he had his
Speaker 1: own personal stuff. I know, different situation, but Draymond's the
Speaker 1: kind of guy that goes on the floor and that's
Speaker 1: a recipite, that's a place he can escape. So I think,
Speaker 1: like I'm on the Warriors big. It's not I mean,
Speaker 1: it's not an amazing bet, right because the odds aren't great.
Speaker 1: But I think that they're the favorite in a big
Speaker 1: way in the Western Conference because I do think the
Speaker 1: sons of regrets and will be impacted.
Speaker 2: I could go the Clips huh yeah.
Speaker 1: The thing I love the Clippers and I've got the
Speaker 1: Clippers in the conference finals. I think that's two things,
Speaker 1: like do you really believe that Kawhi Leonard is going
Speaker 1: to be healthy for I don't know, sixty regular season
Speaker 1: games in the playoffs. To me, that's a coin flip.
Speaker 1: I want it to be true, but it wasn't when
Speaker 1: he was younger, and he's no longer younger. And do
Speaker 1: you think Paul George can play at an exceptionally high level
Speaker 1: of the playoffs if that happens, which, again to me
Speaker 1: is a coin flip. So Clippers have a ton of ceiling.
Speaker 1: I just worry about their ability, well in pg's case,
Speaker 1: to play at a high level, and really in the
Speaker 1: case of Kawhi Leonard, just to be on the floor
Speaker 1: consistently enough.
Speaker 3: We gave Bill a choice of who among the Knicks
Speaker 3: and MAVs might actually have a better season.
Speaker 2: Turns out Bill doesn't like either of them.
Speaker 1: So I am not high on the Knicks. I was
Speaker 1: not a fan of that Galen Bruns in contract. I
Speaker 1: I'd love to be wrong. So I think it's the MAVs,
Speaker 1: Like I don't love their roster construction, and I think
Speaker 1: out sid of Luka Doncics, there's a lot to be desired.
Speaker 1: But assuming the guy really comes in, like in great
Speaker 1: shape and great focus and he looks good, I mean
Speaker 1: he is a top what guys three player in the NBA.
Speaker 1: He's the betting favorite to be the MVP. He can't
Speaker 1: be the MVP if you're not a top four team,
Speaker 1: especially after the terrible vote for Westbrook several years ago
Speaker 1: when he had that triple double silliness that shouldn't have
Speaker 1: gotten him that hardware. So I think the odds are
Speaker 1: the MAVs, at least in the regular season, have a
Speaker 1: much better season the next time. We've seen what Luca
Speaker 1: can do when he goes full sort of solo hero
Speaker 1: mode in the playoffs.
Speaker 3: Finally, since we are a gambling show, we couldn't let
Speaker 3: Bill go without asking for some of his thoughts on
Speaker 3: NBA future bets, So I've got a few.
Speaker 1: I can't bet on some of these because I'm actually
Speaker 1: an NBA voter and so I don't really know what
Speaker 1: the rules are, but I think Mbat's gonna win the MVP.
Speaker 1: For you bought that I got you, guys. I think
Speaker 1: there's a few things to play here. I think the
Speaker 1: Sixers is going to be really good in the regular season.
Speaker 1: I know Mbat's angry as hell about the fact he
Speaker 1: didn't win last year, but I think the main thing
Speaker 1: is psychology. And I'm not insulting my fellow NBA voters.
Speaker 1: It's just the truth in that world. In the NBA
Speaker 1: in particular, guys are the men and women who vote
Speaker 1: are so worried about NBA Twitter and how they're going
Speaker 1: to be viewed and whether people are gonna think that
Speaker 1: they're idiots when they go out to dinner on the Beat,
Speaker 1: and I think they're very impacted by what they're supposed
Speaker 1: to do and this idea of getting things wrong. I've
Speaker 1: heard people already that vote talk a lot socially about,
Speaker 1: you know, M Beats. They don't have a great year,
Speaker 1: which is code for I should have voted for him
Speaker 1: last year, and I can hear him still complaining from
Speaker 1: last year's vote. So I think there's a lot of
Speaker 1: value on M Beat. I love Kobe Alman to be
Speaker 1: executive the year in Cleveland, like if you believe in Cleveland,
Speaker 1: but you're not really sure like how that plays itself
Speaker 1: out because you don't think Cleveland's gonna make it that
Speaker 1: deep in the playoffs because it's a regular season vote.
Speaker 1: I think Kobe Altman as executive years are really, really,
Speaker 1: really good bet And I'm trying to I'm trying to
Speaker 1: talk myself into the under on the Lakers total because
Speaker 1: Lakers numbers are always enhanced because people in La go
Speaker 1: to Vegas all the time. They just get a lot
Speaker 1: of help. Now, if you think Andy Davis is gonna
Speaker 1: willingly play the five and or stay healthy, I don't
Speaker 1: think either of those will happen. That's why we call
Speaker 1: him humpy Dumpty on.
Speaker 2: Our radio day to Davis.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean Anthony Humpy Dumpy Davids. I like the
Speaker 1: under on the Lakers because it's always too much. I'm
Speaker 1: a little worried Lebron's gonna go beast mode at the
Speaker 1: end of his career. Those are the ones that I
Speaker 1: have money on, or that I would if I weren't
Speaker 1: an actual voter.
Speaker 3: That's all the time that we have for this bonus
Speaker 3: episode of The Heat Check bet MGM. Tonight airs Monday
Speaker 3: through Friday, seven pm to eleven pm Eastern Time.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a shitload hours every single night.
Speaker 3: It's also available on demand on the Honesty app and
Speaker 3: is in podcast form wherever you find your podcasts. A
Speaker 3: million thanks to my co hosts PJ. Glasser and Ryan
Speaker 3: Horvot and super producer Cameron Gray. Check back tomorrow for
Speaker 3: an all new episode. We're gonna have many episodes all
Speaker 3: the time, So keep checking the feed every damn day.
Speaker 3: Something is popping, folks, and follow us follow the heat
Speaker 3: Check as we cover the twenty twenty two twenty twenty
Speaker 3: three NBA season, which I am so excited for.
Speaker 2: I can't even begin to tell you.
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