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Speaker 1: John Wall gets some sweet sweet revenge on his old team,

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Speaker 1: The Jazz win ugly to stay the league's hottest squad,

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Speaker 1: and Basketball loses a beloved member of the NBA family,

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Speaker 1: Saiku Smith. Hey, I'm Tasmellis and this is what you

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Speaker 1: need to know in the NBA for Wednesday, January twenty seventh,

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Speaker 1: and we have to start with the loss of one

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Speaker 1: of the staples in the NBA media world, Saiku Smith,

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Speaker 1: who passed on Tuesday. Saiku was a writer, podcaster and

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Speaker 1: TV analysts for such a long time in the NBA

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Speaker 1: media world. When I thought NBA dot Com, I thought

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Speaker 1: Sakhu Smith, because he was. He was the website. He

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Speaker 1: truly was. And it's not because I'm just in the media.

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Speaker 1: He touched so many people. I was getting texts from

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Speaker 1: friends who just read about the NBA and were touched

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Speaker 1: by his loss. And it's clear it's not just you know, fans.

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Speaker 1: How many people Saiku Smith touched was evident in the

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Speaker 1: outpouring on Tuesday. Adam Silver issued a statement players like

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Speaker 1: Klay Thompson and Chris Paul issuing their condolences. And I

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Speaker 1: mentioned players because it's clear that he was respected by them.

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Speaker 1: Because of his tact, the way he went about his business.

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Speaker 1: He wasn't a hot take artist. Players wanted to talk

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Speaker 1: to him. He knew so many players. He started the

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Speaker 1: Hangtime podcast because he had so many connections due to

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Speaker 1: the way he went about his writing. He just loved

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Speaker 1: basketball and he was a great writer. And he got

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Speaker 1: to his position at NBA dot Com and Turner Sports

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Speaker 1: the right way, starting as an intern back in Michigan,

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Speaker 1: his hometown of Michigan or his home state of Michigan,

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Speaker 1: Grand Rapids where he's from, always representing Michigan, and then

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Speaker 1: working his way around the country to a few newspapers,

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Speaker 1: and then settling in here in Atlanta at NBA dot Com,

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Speaker 1: NBA TV, and Turner Sports. I was lucky enough to

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Speaker 1: have a few one on one conversations with him, and

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Speaker 1: as great as a writer as he was, I know

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Speaker 1: people say this about people who pass all the time, Well,

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Speaker 1: he was a better person. There's no freaking doubt. Saikhu

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Speaker 1: Smith was an incredible person and his family obviously must

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Speaker 1: be distraught, but they are definitely better for Noa Seku

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Speaker 1: because he was an incredible guy. The conversations I had

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Speaker 1: with him were just about you know, the hardships of,

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Speaker 1: you know, covering the NBA, the benefits of covering the NBA,

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Speaker 1: because he just kept it real. He was just he

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Speaker 1: was Saku. He was he was totally real. But he

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Speaker 1: was obviously as you can tell by that smile if

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Speaker 1: you never knew him. He was an exuberant man. He

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Speaker 1: his smile was contagious and he'll be missed. And NBA

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Speaker 1: writing will not be the same without Saku Smith. And

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Speaker 1: you can tell that NBA writers and the media world

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Speaker 1: is they're they're they're getting after it. After Seku passed away,

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Speaker 1: their stories are a little bit crisper, a little bit tighter,

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Speaker 1: And I think that's in honor of Seiku and how

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Speaker 1: he went about his business. So the podcasting world, the

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Speaker 1: NBA world won't be the same. Condolences to his wife,

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Speaker 1: Heather and his three kids, who I'm sure had an

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Speaker 1: incredible pops uh guide him or guide them. I should say,

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Speaker 1: let's keep this moving because Seku would want it that way.

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Speaker 1: Let's talk a little ball. John Wall playing his first

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Speaker 1: game against his old team ten years he spent in

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Speaker 1: Washington until they traded him to Houston. It was just

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Speaker 1: two months ago, so obvious. He wanted to beat his

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Speaker 1: old team real bad, especially because he was told right

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Speaker 1: before he was traded that Washington was going to see

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Speaker 1: what they had with him in Bradley Beal. Post injury,

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Speaker 1: he spent two years recovering from an achilles injury. He

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Speaker 1: thought he was going to get another shot to play

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Speaker 1: for the only franchise he's ever played for, the city

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Speaker 1: that he gave a lot to, a city that will

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Speaker 1: always treat him as a member of their team because

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Speaker 1: of what he did for that franchise. And he was hurt,

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Speaker 1: and he's been vocal about how much he has been

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Speaker 1: hurt by the trade. So it was impossible not to

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Speaker 1: root for him in this game up against the guy

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Speaker 1: that he was traded for with Russell in Russell Westbrook.

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Speaker 1: So his team came out there wanted to win this

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Speaker 1: game bad. This was a really really good game, and

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Speaker 1: we saw some really really good John Wall. The slithery

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Speaker 1: John Wall into the lane behind the back layup. That's

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Speaker 1: the John Wall we all know in love. He had

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Speaker 1: twenty four points on twenty one shots. He's getting his legs,

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Speaker 1: he is starting to feel good, and it was fitting

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Speaker 1: that the game turn on a John Wall play midway

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Speaker 1: through the fourth This game was close. It was a

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Speaker 1: six point game. John Wall looked to have score. It

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Speaker 1: looked like he scored a bucket, but it was a

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Speaker 1: charge call. Went back the other direction. But on the

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Speaker 1: way back up the floor, John Walls gave the old

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Speaker 1: video review signal, the old home run signal. Hey challenge

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Speaker 1: that rookie head coach Steven Silas. Now Stephen Stallas maybe

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Speaker 1: would have thought twice in other circumstances, maybe we just

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Speaker 1: save this for the end of the game in another situation.

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Speaker 1: But this was John Wall's night. You had to go

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Speaker 1: to the video review and good thing he did challenged it, overturned.

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Speaker 1: It went from six points to nine points after the

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Speaker 1: end one and that was it. That was the game.

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Speaker 1: The momentum swung right there. Although there was some more

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Speaker 1: fireworks afterwards. John Wall and Westbrook jowed a minute later.

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Speaker 1: It was fantastic to watch Russell Westbrook. You know, he

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Speaker 1: dropped John Wall and scored John Wall. I think the

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Speaker 1: fire was still burning in him toward his old team,

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Speaker 1: so he had to take it out on the guy

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Speaker 1: he was traded for, of course, and the fire burned

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Speaker 1: until after the game. On the podium when he talked

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Speaker 1: about the Wizards not wanting him. DeMarcus Cousins chipped in

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Speaker 1: nineteen points for his old Kentucky bro four threes for

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Speaker 1: DeMarcus Cousins, who filled in admirably for an injured Christian Wood.

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Speaker 1: He's out with an angle injury, and on the other side,

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Speaker 1: Bradley Beal shaking his head at the end of the game.

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Speaker 1: Many people saying on Twitter, oh, he doesn't want to

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Speaker 1: be there. Who knows about his future long term in Washington.

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Speaker 1: But let's be optimistic for the Wizards for a second,

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Speaker 1: because it hasn't been very optimistic around that franchise this year.

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Speaker 1: They're only three to ten, sure, but because they've had

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Speaker 1: so many games canceled this season, at least they have

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Speaker 1: a chance to make them up a little bit later

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Speaker 1: in the year. They've only played two games in sixteen days,

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Speaker 1: and maybe when they make those games up. Russell Westbrook

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Speaker 1: will be playing better. He is recovering from a quad injury.

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Speaker 1: He's just not playing to his capabilities right now. He

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Speaker 1: wasn't All Star last year. He gotta expect that Westbrook

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Speaker 1: will bounce back. He's only shooting thirty seven percent from

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Speaker 1: the floor, thirty from three and sixty two percent from

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Speaker 1: the free throw line. And the Wizards are doing this

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Speaker 1: without a bunch of their guys still who were out

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Speaker 1: because of COVID related protocol, Damas Burton's rheash Mura, Danny Avdia,

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Speaker 1: so many guys sitting out for the Wizards. Hopefully they

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Speaker 1: get it back on track like the Utah Jazz. The

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Speaker 1: Jazz have won nine games in a row, but it

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Speaker 1: didn't look good against the Knicks on Tuesday, who came

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Speaker 1: out scorching hot, mainly Austin Rivers. Austin Rivers came off

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Speaker 1: the bench in the first half and scored twenty five

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Speaker 1: points in twelve first half minutes. What he took ten shots,

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Speaker 1: didn't miss, five threes, and five to two, so the

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Speaker 1: Knicks were up thirteen at the break. It looked like

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Speaker 1: Austin Rivers was going to break Jalen Brown's mark that

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Speaker 1: he set a couple days ago for points scored in

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Speaker 1: under twenty minutes of playing time. Jalen Brown had thirty three. Well,

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Speaker 1: Austin Rivers was well on his way there, but then

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Speaker 1: the Jazz decided now Royce O'Neil go shut him down.

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Speaker 1: Royce O'Neil, a big reason why Austin Rivers didn't score

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Speaker 1: in the second half and a big reason why they won.

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Speaker 1: He scored a career high twenty points for the Jazz

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Speaker 1: on a night when they needed all the points they

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Speaker 1: could get because Donovan Mitchell had only nine. But I

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Speaker 1: would give the game ball to Jazz head coach Quinn Snyder,

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Speaker 1: who took Mike Conley aside at half and said, yeah,

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Speaker 1: I know you didn't hit a shot in the first half,

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Speaker 1: but keep being aggressive. We need you. We're down thirteen points. Well,

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Speaker 1: Conley came out twelve points in the first five minutes

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Speaker 1: after half, and the Jazz they took momentum from there.

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Speaker 1: They win nine in a row. The Jazz are thirteen

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Speaker 1: and four, the Knicks are eight and eleven quickly. The

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Speaker 1: last game of the night, the Hawks took care of

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Speaker 1: the Clippers, who didn't have Kawhi Leonard or Paul George

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Speaker 1: due to Corona related protocol. They didn't have Patrick Beverley,

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Speaker 1: who was injured in this game, so there was no

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Speaker 1: one to slow down Trey Young, although would it have mattered.

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Speaker 1: Trey Young has been feeling phenomenal recently, and you can

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Speaker 1: tell by the location of his shots he's shooting from deep.

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Speaker 1: He had thirty eight points against the Clippers, coming off

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Speaker 1: a game where he had forty three, coming off a

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Speaker 1: game where he had thirty eight before that, averaging nearly

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Speaker 1: forty over his last three games. Two of those are wins.

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Speaker 1: And yes, there are good shooting percentage nights as well.

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Speaker 1: I'm sure you were wondering another guy feeling good. On

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Speaker 1: the other side, it was Reggie Jackson filling in very

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Speaker 1: admirably for Patrick Beverley his best game of the season

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Speaker 1: twenty points, seven rebounds, and eight assists. And maybe this

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Speaker 1: is speculation by b but maybe it was because there

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Speaker 1: are reports according to Scham's Shiranya of The Athletic and

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Speaker 1: his Inside Pass article, you have to read it that

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Speaker 1: the Clippers are interested in acquiring Derek Rose from the Pistons,

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Speaker 1: which would be interesting. They've got a billion ball handlers

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Speaker 1: that would be interesting for him to join that mix.

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Speaker 1: And then Knicks are interested in Derek Rose as well,

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Speaker 1: which makes sense. Tom Tebeau and Derek Rose go way

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Speaker 1: back to their Bulls days. Hiranya. One more rumor, the

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Speaker 1: Pelicans are open to trading Lonzo Ball and JJ Reddick.

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Speaker 1: They're taking calls and they are listening. Last piece of

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Speaker 1: news before we go, Pacers Kris Lavert under went surgery

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Speaker 1: to treat renal cell carcinoma of his left kidney, something

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Speaker 1: which was discovered during his physical after being traded two

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Speaker 1: weeks ago. Lavert expected to make a full recovery. Good

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Speaker 1: news to end this edition of What You Need to Know.

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Speaker 1: Thank you so much for joining me. I'll be back

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Speaker 1: tomorrow to give you the news as fast as I

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Speaker 1: possibly can. I'll see that