WEBVTT - The NBA shuts down the G-League Ignite; Keith Smith stops by 0:00:10.080 --> 0:00:12.400 On this episode of the Heat Check, We've got a 0:00:12.520 --> 0:00:16.959 special Monday episode featuring my guy, Keith Smith is foke track. 0:00:18.040 --> 0:00:19.680 Keith's like one of the best in the business by 0:00:19.720 --> 0:00:21.479 the way. He breaks down the latest on the NBA, 0:00:21.520 --> 0:00:24.720 from what's popping with the Celtics to where a Malik 0:00:24.880 --> 0:00:27.520 Monk might actually fit best in free agency? 0:00:27.640 --> 0:00:29.080 Isn't the Kings? Is it the Kings say? 0:00:29.120 --> 0:00:32.280 It's not the Magic A nice way to start your week. Also, 0:00:32.320 --> 0:00:32.920 we get into. 0:00:32.760 --> 0:00:36.280 A little news from around the league. So Anthony, do 0:00:36.440 --> 0:00:37.760 me a favor of my guy. I know you're just 0:00:37.760 --> 0:00:39.919 coming back from Vegas, but we gotta we. 0:00:40.040 --> 0:00:42.920 Gotta do it like the Omnia drop that motherfucking beat 0:00:42.960 --> 0:00:43.760 that should be Rihanna. 0:00:57.120 --> 0:01:00.279 Okay, So we've got all eyes on March mad next. 0:01:00.520 --> 0:01:02.800 For the past four days, not a lot popping in 0:01:02.840 --> 0:01:03.280 the NBA. 0:01:03.640 --> 0:01:05.440 We're gonna break, except for the fact that the Warriors 0:01:05.520 --> 0:01:10.600 might miss the playoffs all together. But that's popping Draymond 0:01:10.600 --> 0:01:13.920 Green's hand. That they're quiet, they don't have any good habits. 0:01:13.920 --> 0:01:16.640 Steph saying I'll play fifty fucking minutes if I have to, 0:01:16.800 --> 0:01:20.720 Steve Kerr saying no, you fucking want, won't everything's going 0:01:20.760 --> 0:01:24.319 to disarray for our dubs anyway. Not else is happening 0:01:24.319 --> 0:01:26.320 other than that. So we're gonna break down on the 0:01:26.400 --> 0:01:28.880 NBA prospects played out inn Attorney in a week or so, 0:01:29.760 --> 0:01:31.480 but we can touch on a little news before we 0:01:31.520 --> 0:01:34.559 get into this interview with Keith Smith from Spoke Track. 0:01:34.840 --> 0:01:39.479 So Adam Silver and the League front office apparently come 0:01:39.560 --> 0:01:44.240 to what we already knew. The G League Ignite is 0:01:44.240 --> 0:01:47.600 not is not working. It's not working. It's not putting 0:01:47.640 --> 0:01:50.560 out pros. I know that there's been a few. It's 0:01:50.600 --> 0:01:52.760 not much of a shocker since the entire reason that 0:01:52.800 --> 0:01:54.720 it started was to give eighteen year olds a path 0:01:54.800 --> 0:01:58.120 to the NBA that did not involve d one vow 0:01:58.280 --> 0:02:02.560 of poverty. Now that's kind of folks, because last time 0:02:02.600 --> 0:02:07.360 I checked, we got Homie with the with the Val 0:02:07.520 --> 0:02:13.160 Kilmer top gun haircut doing Buffalo Wild Wings commercials straight 0:02:13.200 --> 0:02:16.760 off of a ten to three performance in the lobby 0:02:17.200 --> 0:02:23.919 of his hotel room, immediately getting paid wax on. 0:02:23.880 --> 0:02:24.600 Wax on wax. 0:02:24.840 --> 0:02:30.320 We've got random kids from Yale doing commercials. Oh I 0:02:30.360 --> 0:02:35.200 think Creighton doing commercials for super Cuts. Okay, that's happening, 0:02:35.400 --> 0:02:37.880 So you don't need the G League Knight anymore. I 0:02:37.880 --> 0:02:39.520 don't even know what the G League Knite guys are 0:02:39.520 --> 0:02:42.600 getting paid right now, give me a give me a second, Anthony, 0:02:42.680 --> 0:02:45.919 I gotta know how much they're getting paid. Five hundred 0:02:45.919 --> 0:02:49.560 thousand dollars? Oh my god, are you fucking joking me? 0:02:49.880 --> 0:02:52.799 Caitlin Clark makes that in about one semester. 0:02:53.440 --> 0:02:57.480 Okay, this is not yet. It like G League Knight 0:02:57.919 --> 0:03:01.080 are two and thirty this season, two and thirty. 0:03:01.360 --> 0:03:04.720 Even if they project to put Ron Holland and Matas 0:03:04.960 --> 0:03:08.239 Boozellis into the lottery of this season, it is disgusting. 0:03:10.240 --> 0:03:11.519 Just didn't work. 0:03:12.080 --> 0:03:14.320 One alumnus who had nothing but good things to say 0:03:14.440 --> 0:03:17.760 is Scoot Henderson, my guy last year's number three picking 0:03:17.800 --> 0:03:19.560 the draft. He said, I really thank the people at 0:03:19.600 --> 0:03:21.840 ack Night, the little people that you don't see. They 0:03:21.840 --> 0:03:24.080 don't get enough credit for how much they have to 0:03:24.160 --> 0:03:26.480 pour into us. The coaches, they don't get enough credit 0:03:26.520 --> 0:03:28.160 for having to get guys from high school to get 0:03:28.160 --> 0:03:29.760 them up to speed in a few weeks to play 0:03:29.760 --> 0:03:31.880 some grown men that have children to feed. 0:03:32.080 --> 0:03:34.600 You don't see that. You see them getting beat a. 0:03:34.520 --> 0:03:37.120 Lot and having a horrible record. You don't see the 0:03:37.160 --> 0:03:39.480 things that they go through day to day. From my viewpoint, 0:03:39.480 --> 0:03:40.920 they helped me in a huge way to be where 0:03:40.920 --> 0:03:45.480 I am right now. I can't thank them enough. How 0:03:45.520 --> 0:03:52.400 about maybe instead of these guys struggling, clawing, scraping their 0:03:52.400 --> 0:03:56.560 own eyes out to get children to play against grown 0:03:56.560 --> 0:04:00.960 men that have children, maybe just roll them out in 0:04:01.000 --> 0:04:03.640 the college game. I don't know, you can't put him 0:04:03.640 --> 0:04:07.080 out against hungry grown men. Imagine that a guy who 0:04:07.120 --> 0:04:09.400 should be in high school right now trying to keep 0:04:09.440 --> 0:04:14.560 Isaiah Thomas MVP from eating his lunch. How about Kenny 0:04:14.560 --> 0:04:17.680 Lofton Junior's cases two lunch who had fifty the. 0:04:17.720 --> 0:04:20.200 Other day in the G League? Good luck? Good luck 0:04:20.240 --> 0:04:20.760 that to that? 0:04:21.040 --> 0:04:25.000 So anyway, rip G League, ignite good idea in theory, 0:04:25.200 --> 0:04:28.560 and then all of a sudden, NCAA came around and 0:04:28.600 --> 0:04:32.919 made you completely irrelevant. Scoot Jalen Green, Jonathan Kaminga, Jayden Hardy. 0:04:33.680 --> 0:04:34.880 I don't know why I said his name like that. 0:04:35.040 --> 0:04:38.000 Dyson Daniels, Isaiah Todd is alumni. 0:04:38.320 --> 0:04:43.239 The legacy is mixed reviews, not gonna lie. It's mixed. 0:04:43.720 --> 0:04:45.800 We'll see how it all ends up working out. 0:04:45.920 --> 0:04:49.599 Jonathan Kaminga, Jalen Green, and Scoot Henderson are probably the 0:04:49.640 --> 0:04:53.360 best ones, but rip. 0:04:54.440 --> 0:04:56.240 We now move on to the college game. 0:04:56.279 --> 0:04:59.000 Moving on Saturday night, the Portland Trailblazers did something that 0:04:59.000 --> 0:05:04.120 hasn't happened since nineteen. They started five count the five 0:05:04.480 --> 0:05:09.840 rookies too, Monti Kamara, Chris Murray, dwarp Wreath, Scoot Henderson 0:05:10.080 --> 0:05:11.560 and Ryan Rupeer. 0:05:12.279 --> 0:05:14.360 What a squad, What a little rookie squad. 0:05:14.400 --> 0:05:17.040 And you know what? They started against the NBA champs, 0:05:17.680 --> 0:05:20.960 the Denver Nuggets, albeit without Jokic, so you know it 0:05:21.040 --> 0:05:21.600 is what it is. 0:05:21.880 --> 0:05:24.080 Still we're ten and a half point favorites and the 0:05:24.160 --> 0:05:25.120 team were rookies. 0:05:25.200 --> 0:05:25.880 Would you know it? 0:05:25.960 --> 0:05:27.360 They held their own? They did. 0:05:27.640 --> 0:05:30.360 They lost by three. The game was close the entire time. 0:05:30.400 --> 0:05:33.200 Pretty amazing for the rooks. Scoot had twenty two ten 0:05:33.240 --> 0:05:36.000 and six, Dwap had twenty four eight and two with 0:05:36.080 --> 0:05:37.279 two with three stocks. 0:05:38.080 --> 0:05:38.919 My goodness. 0:05:39.800 --> 0:05:42.520 If you're looking for things to be encouraged by in 0:05:42.640 --> 0:05:44.320 terms of the Blazers for the next I don't know, 0:05:44.400 --> 0:05:47.200 three to five years, you should feel good about these 0:05:47.320 --> 0:05:51.200 little moral victories. Finally, a couple of a couple of 0:05:51.279 --> 0:05:54.440 somewhat disturbing injury updates for the two best teams in 0:05:54.480 --> 0:06:00.280 basketball out West. Jamal Murray second nasty ankle sprain in 0:06:00.320 --> 0:06:02.279 this season in the closing minutes of the game against 0:06:02.279 --> 0:06:06.040 the Knicks. He missed the Blazers game. So the Blazers 0:06:06.120 --> 0:06:09.239 kept it close against Jamal Murray. Against the Jamal Murray 0:06:09.279 --> 0:06:12.200 lists and a yogic list Nuggets, they said, fuck the Blazers. 0:06:12.200 --> 0:06:14.800 We don't care about what they're talking about anyway. According 0:06:14.839 --> 0:06:18.320 to coach Michael Malone, please say the Michael, the injury 0:06:18.360 --> 0:06:20.000 will cause a short term. 0:06:19.839 --> 0:06:24.320 Absence, but it could be longer. The team definitely needs 0:06:24.360 --> 0:06:25.360 a healthy Jamal Murray. 0:06:25.360 --> 0:06:29.840 We know that without Jamal Murray, this team is almost 0:06:29.880 --> 0:06:32.360 as bad as this team without Jokic. If it wants 0:06:32.360 --> 0:06:36.040 to defend their championship, they need to get him back 0:06:36.080 --> 0:06:39.960 on the court asap. Rocky of equal gravity, though, the 0:06:39.960 --> 0:06:42.960 Celtics have some horrible news about Drew Holliday, who has 0:06:42.960 --> 0:06:45.480 been absolutely awesome for them this season, one of the 0:06:45.560 --> 0:06:47.359 reasons that they have the best record in the NBA. 0:06:47.520 --> 0:06:48.760 I think he's actually. 0:06:48.400 --> 0:06:50.480 Shooting like forty one percent from three right now. 0:06:51.360 --> 0:06:54.360 Drew has now missed three state straight games, and now 0:06:54.440 --> 0:06:58.440 we have clarity on why let me tell you this. 0:07:00.080 --> 0:07:02.720 When I tell you why, you're gonna be like, don't 0:07:02.760 --> 0:07:09.320 like the sound of that dead arm? No, no, say 0:07:09.360 --> 0:07:12.680 it ain't so all I know is dead. Any insert 0:07:12.760 --> 0:07:15.440 bodied part after that is fucking I'm out. 0:07:15.760 --> 0:07:24.120 Okay, dead ankle, dead leg, dead torso what the fuck? 0:07:24.200 --> 0:07:25.119 None of it is good. 0:07:25.240 --> 0:07:27.600 He had a sprained right shoulder that leaves him with 0:07:27.720 --> 0:07:32.080 dead arm, which sounds like you probably can't lift it 0:07:32.560 --> 0:07:33.280 if it's dead. 0:07:33.920 --> 0:07:34.040 Uh. 0:07:34.600 --> 0:07:37.080 We have to wait for Drew Holliday's arm to rise 0:07:37.080 --> 0:07:39.360 from the crypt in order for him to get back 0:07:39.400 --> 0:07:41.840 on the court. Like Jamal MraY, there is no timetable 0:07:41.880 --> 0:07:44.720 for his return, no idea of when he returns he'll 0:07:44.720 --> 0:07:48.120 be back to one hundred percent. This is also his 0:07:48.240 --> 0:07:51.720 shooting arm, which I said forty two from three. If 0:07:51.720 --> 0:07:54.320 it doesn't heal quickly, we might be in for a 0:07:54.360 --> 0:07:58.559 Mark Helfolt situation, and we don't want that. We'll definitely 0:07:58.600 --> 0:08:00.760 be keeping our eye on these developing stories. 0:08:00.440 --> 0:08:03.040 As we move forward. But in the meantime, we have 0:08:03.080 --> 0:08:03.480 one of my. 0:08:03.440 --> 0:08:06.880 Favorite guests, Keith Smith of spot Track, who's here to 0:08:06.880 --> 0:08:09.080 give us the latest update on the NBA with a 0:08:09.160 --> 0:08:10.120 touch of March madness. 0:08:10.200 --> 0:08:11.800 Talk thrown in as well. 0:08:12.280 --> 0:08:15.080 Keith is joined on my other show at MGM and 0:08:15.120 --> 0:08:17.440 tonight where I'm joined by my co host, Ryan Horvat 0:08:17.480 --> 0:08:19.760 because my other co host had the flu. Because Ryan 0:08:19.800 --> 0:08:22.800 had the flu two weeks ago, BETAMGM tonight airs seven 0:08:22.840 --> 0:08:23.720 to eleven Eastern. 0:08:24.040 --> 0:08:26.040 Maybe I'll get the flu this week in. 0:08:26.040 --> 0:08:28.720 Most major radio markets, I live on YouTube and Twitch 0:08:29.080 --> 0:08:30.520 fun Interview, So let's jump. 0:08:30.320 --> 0:08:34.480 In to talk to the NBA. We're going to do 0:08:34.559 --> 0:08:36.320 with the best right now, Keith Smith, Like you said, 0:08:36.320 --> 0:08:39.800 contributor over at spow Track Front Office Show as well. Keith, 0:08:40.160 --> 0:08:42.760 how you been Mann and how are you enjoying March 0:08:42.800 --> 0:08:44.520 Madness so far? Did you fill out a bracket? 0:08:45.400 --> 0:08:47.520 Yeah? I did. I filled out a bracket for sure. 0:08:47.600 --> 0:08:50.560 We did a little contest with the Front Office show 0:08:50.640 --> 0:08:56.280 listeners and we let whoever wins within reason and appropriateness 0:08:56.679 --> 0:08:59.240 come on and give a little rant or question or 0:08:59.240 --> 0:09:01.199 thought or whatever want to do. So yeah, I have 0:09:01.280 --> 0:09:02.720 a lot of fun with it. I mean, I watch 0:09:02.880 --> 0:09:06.080 mostly for the NBA prospects, but don't get me wrong, 0:09:06.120 --> 0:09:09.040 if an underdog, if a fourteen or fifteen seed is 0:09:09.280 --> 0:09:11.559 putting up a fight, you better believe I'll be all 0:09:11.600 --> 0:09:12.520 in on that underdog. 0:09:12.760 --> 0:09:14.319 That's what I wanted to ask you, man, Like, who's 0:09:14.320 --> 0:09:16.200 the guy that you have your eyeballs on. You know, 0:09:16.280 --> 0:09:18.480 maybe if it's somebody that everybody's talking about or not 0:09:18.559 --> 0:09:20.920 talking about, but like as an NBA prospect, is there 0:09:20.920 --> 0:09:24.360 anybody that you have some interest in in this tournament 0:09:24.360 --> 0:09:24.800 this week? 0:09:25.160 --> 0:09:27.720 Yeah? There is. I mean, Kentucky's getting ready to tip 0:09:27.760 --> 0:09:30.480 off here. They're guys. You know, they've got a ton 0:09:30.480 --> 0:09:34.600 of guys. They've got nine legitimate NBA prospects on that ross. 0:09:35.080 --> 0:09:38.079 So there's a whole bunch. Start with Dillingham and Shephard, 0:09:38.120 --> 0:09:40.720 the two guards who actually both come off the bench 0:09:40.840 --> 0:09:43.680 for this team because they're just that deep in guys. 0:09:43.679 --> 0:09:46.000 Those are guys that might be top five picks. And 0:09:46.040 --> 0:09:48.280 then the other guy I'm really interested to see if 0:09:48.320 --> 0:09:50.280 he can bounce back. Did not play well in the 0:09:50.320 --> 0:09:54.920 first four game. It's coming off an injuries to Colorado. Yeah, 0:09:55.000 --> 0:09:58.440 he needs to have a better game than this next 0:09:58.440 --> 0:10:01.440 one out against Florida tomorrow. You're gonna have some teams 0:10:01.440 --> 0:10:03.640 I think we're gonna start to question, all right, what 0:10:03.800 --> 0:10:06.320 we see doesn't match up to where we want him 0:10:06.360 --> 0:10:07.480 to be as a prospect. 0:10:07.640 --> 0:10:10.160 Yeah, Keith, because he was ozerver four from the field 0:10:10.280 --> 0:10:13.880 last night and I was pumping Colorado's tires pretty much 0:10:14.200 --> 0:10:17.560 the entire week about how far Colorado can go and 0:10:17.640 --> 0:10:22.880 he's a big reason why, and then just didn't really deliver. 0:10:23.240 --> 0:10:26.920 Wasn't in the game during crunch time. How much of that, though, 0:10:27.120 --> 0:10:29.360 is the fact that he's trying to push back from 0:10:29.400 --> 0:10:31.320 injury sooner to. 0:10:31.240 --> 0:10:33.880 Help his team make a run. I mean, obviously he 0:10:34.080 --> 0:10:35.160 hurt his face as well. 0:10:35.200 --> 0:10:37.880 He's got an ankle injury that he's nursing. He probably 0:10:37.880 --> 0:10:40.800 wouldn't have to come back if he was really caring 0:10:40.800 --> 0:10:43.640 about his draft stock, but he's trying to figure out 0:10:43.640 --> 0:10:44.720 a way to cut it out. 0:10:45.760 --> 0:10:48.360 Yeah, and that's a tough thing right now. He'll definitely 0:10:48.360 --> 0:10:51.200 get credit from a lot of people for pushing through 0:10:51.240 --> 0:10:53.240 and trying to play, because a lot of guys would 0:10:53.240 --> 0:10:55.680 have said, hey, I'm a likely top ten pick. I 0:10:55.679 --> 0:10:58.320 don't need to push through an injury here, and you 0:10:58.600 --> 0:11:01.440 risk messing up anything for me with the draft and 0:11:01.520 --> 0:11:04.720 anything like that. But he's gotta be better than he 0:11:04.920 --> 0:11:07.600 was in that game. He just he was never really 0:11:08.000 --> 0:11:10.640 like overly engaged in that game. He was just kind 0:11:10.640 --> 0:11:15.040 of out there, So I expect he'll bounce back against Florida, 0:11:15.080 --> 0:11:16.800 but a lot of it's gonna come down to really 0:11:16.920 --> 0:11:19.400 is he healthy and ready to go. That's gonna be 0:11:19.720 --> 0:11:22.600 the big question mark with him tomorrow when they play 0:11:22.600 --> 0:11:23.320 the Gators. 0:11:23.840 --> 0:11:27.920 So Oregon my team eighty seven seventy three over South Carolina. 0:11:28.440 --> 0:11:30.280 I thought that there were a couple of players for 0:11:30.360 --> 0:11:34.360 Oregon that really showed out first and foremost. You had 0:11:34.640 --> 0:11:38.560 Kuznard who had forty former South Carolina game Cock and 0:11:39.040 --> 0:11:42.600 Nefali Dante. Are any of those two players like legit 0:11:42.880 --> 0:11:44.160 NBA guys in your mind? 0:11:44.880 --> 0:11:48.680 Yeah, I don't know about Qsnard. It seems like he's 0:11:48.720 --> 0:11:51.320 not a guy we've heard a lot of, but sometimes 0:11:51.320 --> 0:11:53.439 the guy has or run like that. Not only did 0:11:53.440 --> 0:11:56.080 he have the forty points, but he also had six assists, 0:11:56.120 --> 0:11:58.760 which is a good number in an NCAA game, especially 0:11:58.760 --> 0:12:01.920 when you're putting up forty. So we'll see with him. 0:12:01.960 --> 0:12:05.200 Sometimes those type of performances can put you on the radar. 0:12:05.720 --> 0:12:08.280 But Dante and Evans, those are the two guys who 0:12:08.320 --> 0:12:11.800 are more I think on the radar for NBA guys. 0:12:11.880 --> 0:12:14.880 Dante he's somebody I think a lot of teams liked 0:12:14.920 --> 0:12:17.960 coming into the year, and then Oregon didn't have as 0:12:18.040 --> 0:12:20.160 strong a year I think as some people thought they 0:12:20.280 --> 0:12:23.640 might have. They really went on that great run in 0:12:23.679 --> 0:12:27.840 the final Pac twelve tournament which really kind of lifted them. 0:12:27.920 --> 0:12:30.240 So I think he's a kid who can play, and 0:12:30.280 --> 0:12:32.760 I think there's a chance. You know, it's as much 0:12:32.800 --> 0:12:36.360 as we love to talk about positionless basketball and wings 0:12:36.360 --> 0:12:39.080 and perimeter players, there's still the old axiom holds true 0:12:39.080 --> 0:12:40.080 of you can't. 0:12:39.920 --> 0:12:42.920 Draft size Keith the Western Conference? What am I missing 0:12:43.000 --> 0:12:45.160 right now? I know Karl Anthony Towns is injured, but 0:12:45.200 --> 0:12:47.680 the Timberwolves are fourteen to one to win the West, 0:12:47.720 --> 0:12:50.000 the same price as the Mavericks, and I think that's crazy. 0:12:50.040 --> 0:12:50.800 I think they're for real. 0:12:50.840 --> 0:12:52.640 What do you think about Minnesota in the West. 0:12:52.800 --> 0:12:55.360 Yeah, I think it's been impressive without Karl Anthony Towns 0:12:55.360 --> 0:12:57.960 and even without Rudy Gobert this week, that they're still 0:12:58.000 --> 0:13:00.079 hanging in there and still doing what they're doing. I 0:13:00.120 --> 0:13:02.960 thought that Denver game, even though they lost, it was 0:13:03.080 --> 0:13:06.000 really kind of instructive for all right, the team can 0:13:06.280 --> 0:13:09.560 can can do some stuff even without their main guys, 0:13:09.559 --> 0:13:11.680 and we all hope you know go bearably back. We 0:13:11.760 --> 0:13:14.679 know that, but we all hope Towns can get back. Ideally, 0:13:14.760 --> 0:13:16.320 you want to see him get back for a week 0:13:16.440 --> 0:13:18.320 or so to go in the season and give him 0:13:18.320 --> 0:13:20.600 a couple of games to you know, get his timing right, 0:13:20.640 --> 0:13:22.760 to get his rhythm back, and then you go into 0:13:22.800 --> 0:13:26.360 the playoffs. I think the NBA, maybe more so than 0:13:26.440 --> 0:13:30.120 any other league, we have this thought of you have 0:13:30.160 --> 0:13:32.160 to prove it to me, right, And they went in 0:13:32.480 --> 0:13:35.959 last year. They were an unexpected playoff team. They played 0:13:35.960 --> 0:13:39.360 okay against Denver, really gave Denver a couple issues, but 0:13:39.640 --> 0:13:41.760 they lo Austin. There's no shame in that the Nuggets 0:13:41.760 --> 0:13:44.280 are the champs. But now I think this year it 0:13:44.440 --> 0:13:46.240 is all right, Well, now they've proven it could be 0:13:46.280 --> 0:13:48.760 a really good regular season team, but he's gonna come 0:13:48.800 --> 0:13:50.720 through when it really matters, because that's what we want 0:13:50.760 --> 0:13:53.120 to know. So I think a lot of it's gonna 0:13:53.120 --> 0:13:55.200 intend who do they get in their first round matchup 0:13:55.280 --> 0:13:57.560 or the n spot where they can really do some stuff. 0:13:57.600 --> 0:14:01.160 But I'm a believer within eason, I think they can 0:14:01.200 --> 0:14:04.120 advance around maybe even two rounds. I just don't see 0:14:04.120 --> 0:14:05.920 them getting out of the West agad of the finals 0:14:05.920 --> 0:14:08.559 because I have a hard time seeing anybody beating den Bark. 0:14:08.920 --> 0:14:11.200 You mentioned the play in tournament a little bit in 0:14:11.280 --> 0:14:13.959 terms of like who the Timberwolves could potentially play. I 0:14:14.040 --> 0:14:16.120 actually think them being in the three seed is probably 0:14:16.120 --> 0:14:18.640 the best case scenario if the Kings kind of hold 0:14:18.679 --> 0:14:22.880 that spot. Teams like the Lakers, Sons, even Mavericks kind 0:14:22.880 --> 0:14:25.240 of a tougher matchup for the for the Wolves. But 0:14:25.320 --> 0:14:27.400 in terms of the Mavericks, last year, we saw them 0:14:27.440 --> 0:14:30.320 in the play in mix and they decided to punt 0:14:30.320 --> 0:14:34.600 on the season, risking pissing lukeoff, but making sure that 0:14:34.640 --> 0:14:36.760 they got their first round pick that was top ten 0:14:36.840 --> 0:14:39.360 protected that they would owe to the Knicks if they 0:14:39.400 --> 0:14:42.400 stick around in that play in mix. Again, what do 0:14:42.440 --> 0:14:43.800 you think the MAVs do this year? 0:14:44.680 --> 0:14:46.800 Yeah, I think they've got a good chance to advance 0:14:46.840 --> 0:14:48.520 out of it. The thing is, if you look at 0:14:48.520 --> 0:14:52.080 it right now, Dad Holds, You're gonna have Phoenix and 0:14:52.120 --> 0:14:54.440 all their guys. You're gonna have the MAVs, You're gonna 0:14:54.440 --> 0:14:57.040 have the Warriors, You're gonna have the Lakers. It's like, 0:14:57.720 --> 0:15:02.120 you know, incredibly you know, star power packed playing tournament 0:15:02.160 --> 0:15:04.440 and and for all as much as I'd like to think, 0:15:04.480 --> 0:15:07.400 you know, the NBA and their TV partners are like, man, 0:15:07.440 --> 0:15:09.480 this is gonna make for a great play in tournament. 0:15:09.720 --> 0:15:11.520 Then they're gonna wake up the next morning and be like, 0:15:11.520 --> 0:15:13.440 wait a minute, A couple of these teams are gone, 0:15:13.600 --> 0:15:16.280 Like I don't know that that's what we really wanted. 0:15:16.360 --> 0:15:18.840 So I think that's a tricky thing. But I think 0:15:19.200 --> 0:15:22.720 Dallas is one of those teams with Luca and with Kyrie, 0:15:23.080 --> 0:15:26.040 they're gonna go into any matchup no matter who they're playing, 0:15:26.080 --> 0:15:29.000 except for maybe Denver feeling like, hey, we might have 0:15:29.040 --> 0:15:31.800 the best and second best player on this team. You know, 0:15:31.840 --> 0:15:34.400 why why not us? You know, why can't we beat 0:15:35.040 --> 0:15:37.280 you know, beat these other teams? Why can we not 0:15:37.520 --> 0:15:40.200 win you know, this series? And that that's a huge 0:15:40.240 --> 0:15:42.520 thing to have because those guys are that good. 0:15:42.800 --> 0:15:44.360 What do you think about Orlando right now? 0:15:44.360 --> 0:15:44.520 Man? 0:15:44.600 --> 0:15:46.760 I mean, like, if you're better the best team against 0:15:46.800 --> 0:15:48.600 the spread, they're forty one and twenty eight, but they're 0:15:48.640 --> 0:15:50.840 only getting better. They're eight and two in their last ten, 0:15:50.840 --> 0:15:53.680 they've won four straight. I don't obviously, I don't think 0:15:53.680 --> 0:15:55.680 they could like make a run to the conference finals, 0:15:55.680 --> 0:15:58.280 But how far off is Orlando this season or you know, 0:15:58.360 --> 0:16:02.200 like in the future, do you think, Yeah, he were. 0:16:02.000 --> 0:16:04.520 Only probably a couple of years away from them making 0:16:04.600 --> 0:16:09.120 a real serious run deep into the playoffs because they're 0:16:09.160 --> 0:16:12.280 set up to add this offseason to the team that 0:16:12.320 --> 0:16:14.640 they have and then we've got it one more year 0:16:14.680 --> 0:16:17.480 before they're going to start to get expensive when extensions 0:16:17.520 --> 0:16:20.360 will start kicking in and guys like Paula Bankero is 0:16:20.360 --> 0:16:23.400 taking a major leap, and we all kind of knew 0:16:23.440 --> 0:16:25.920 this was gonna come because he was acted as a rookie. 0:16:25.960 --> 0:16:29.200 But he's been really efficient this year. He's eliminated a 0:16:29.200 --> 0:16:30.120 lot of the bad shots. 0:16:30.160 --> 0:16:30.280 Now. 0:16:30.320 --> 0:16:32.600 A lot of that has come from he's not having 0:16:32.600 --> 0:16:34.840 to run the offense as a rookie in the league 0:16:34.960 --> 0:16:37.520 because every single guard on the team is hurt like 0:16:37.600 --> 0:16:40.160 it was for about a third of last season. So 0:16:40.480 --> 0:16:43.640 he's really good. From Slagner's good, They've got pretty good depth. 0:16:43.640 --> 0:16:45.760 They've got a whole bunch of guys who can really play. 0:16:46.120 --> 0:16:48.560 So I think they're they're close. And the big thing 0:16:48.600 --> 0:16:51.520 that they do what they can't lose sight of moving 0:16:51.600 --> 0:16:54.080 forward is for me, one of them is the way 0:16:54.080 --> 0:16:56.920 they defect. You have to continue to give that effort 0:16:56.960 --> 0:17:00.280 and get after it that way repeatedly. Then the other 0:17:00.320 --> 0:17:05.720 part is I think they're in a spot where they cannot. 0:17:06.119 --> 0:17:08.119 We all want to rush to bring in the next 0:17:08.480 --> 0:17:10.840 great player to kind of lift a young team, and 0:17:10.920 --> 0:17:13.399 sometimes when you do that, you take away from the 0:17:13.440 --> 0:17:15.679 guys you already have, And Orlando has to be very 0:17:15.680 --> 0:17:17.560 carefully you don't bring somebody in who takes the ball 0:17:17.600 --> 0:17:20.720 out of Benkara On Wagner's hands too much, because those 0:17:20.720 --> 0:17:23.560 guys are such special players. You want them to continue 0:17:23.560 --> 0:17:24.960 to have the ball to kind of key and lead 0:17:25.000 --> 0:17:25.600 your offense. 0:17:25.800 --> 0:17:28.160 Yeah, that's such a great point too, because the thing 0:17:28.200 --> 0:17:31.320 that sometimes Orlando struggles with is scoring. Obviously, such a 0:17:31.320 --> 0:17:33.800 great defensive team. And I was going to ask you 0:17:33.840 --> 0:17:37.439 about Malik Monk because he's been linked to the Orlando Magic. 0:17:37.760 --> 0:17:40.960 Do you think that's a fit Because one, Orlando has 0:17:41.040 --> 0:17:44.080 so many guards already, like almost a plethora of too 0:17:44.119 --> 0:17:47.080 many guards. They have Gary Harris at the shooting guard position, 0:17:47.320 --> 0:17:49.679 so he could certainly step in, But like, do you 0:17:49.720 --> 0:17:52.080 think that makes sense for them? Do you think that 0:17:52.080 --> 0:17:55.520 that kind of like maximizes what they want to do, 0:17:55.640 --> 0:17:56.919 or do you think it takes the ball out of 0:17:56.920 --> 0:17:58.720 Franz Wagner and Palo's hands too much. 0:17:59.160 --> 0:18:02.040 Yeah, that's a great, great thought with Milik Bunk because 0:18:02.080 --> 0:18:04.320 I think he's the kind of guy who could really 0:18:04.320 --> 0:18:07.679 fit in well with this team because he is somebody 0:18:07.760 --> 0:18:10.440 who is he's good with the ball in his hands, 0:18:10.440 --> 0:18:13.040 He's good when he comes off the bench, which could 0:18:13.080 --> 0:18:16.280 ultimately still be his role in Orlando. We just talked 0:18:16.280 --> 0:18:18.840 about him on Front Off the show today and it 0:18:18.880 --> 0:18:22.200 seems like there's still sometimes this stigma attached to well, 0:18:22.240 --> 0:18:24.919 you're a bench player. Well, the reality is guys like 0:18:24.960 --> 0:18:28.400 Jamal Crawford and Lou Williams had basically twenty year careers 0:18:28.760 --> 0:18:31.879 of great years coming off the bench, and there's no 0:18:31.960 --> 0:18:34.440 reason a guy like Malik Monk couldn't do that. And 0:18:35.400 --> 0:18:38.199 I think for a team like Orlando, because Monk is 0:18:38.240 --> 0:18:41.280 in a spot where he knows how to play off 0:18:41.359 --> 0:18:43.520 of other guys. He does a great job playing off 0:18:43.560 --> 0:18:46.800 of Darren Fox and especially in two man games with 0:18:47.240 --> 0:18:50.600 a bigger compass like some bonus, he'd fit in perfectly 0:18:50.720 --> 0:18:53.360 with Ben Caro and Wagner. So yeah, I think he's 0:18:53.400 --> 0:18:55.240 the kind of guy who could fit in and yes, 0:18:55.280 --> 0:18:57.320 the Magic could do have a lot of guards, but 0:18:57.640 --> 0:19:00.320 there's some transition that's gonna come with that position. Gary 0:19:00.359 --> 0:19:02.919 Harris is a free agent, Markel Foltz is gonna be 0:19:02.920 --> 0:19:05.600 a free agent. We're gonna see what happens at that position. 0:19:05.640 --> 0:19:08.520 I think Cole Anthony is you know, he's here to 0:19:08.520 --> 0:19:11.360 stay because he's signed, and then Jalen Suggs as somebody 0:19:11.359 --> 0:19:13.960 who's taking major steps forward this year. But the rest 0:19:14.000 --> 0:19:16.440 of that guard's position is a little bit in flux. 0:19:16.760 --> 0:19:19.480