Speaker 1: Injury updates from all over the NBA, map, the best
Speaker 1: race to watch in both the Western and Eastern Conference,
Speaker 1: And why is Chris Haynes recording a podcast with two
Speaker 1: trophies obscuring his microphone. All of that explain next on
Speaker 1: a new edition of This League Uncut.
Speaker 2: Welcome to This League Uncut in rule of twenty four
Speaker 2: hour NBA.
Speaker 3: News, This news you'll.
Speaker 2: Chris Haynes. It's no time, works time, it's so time.
Speaker 2: This League Uncut is underway and on fire. This should
Speaker 2: be a good one.
Speaker 1: Hey, everybody, Welcome in to the latest edition, an all
Speaker 1: state side edition of This League Uncut. Mark Stein with
Speaker 1: Chris Haynes and now both of us operating within American borders.
Speaker 1: I am back from my trip to England where I
Speaker 1: watched a load of soccer, and honestly, if we ever
Speaker 1: needed this show to be on YouTube or with some
Speaker 1: sort of camera presence, this would have been the one.
Speaker 1: You guys can't see it. You're just gonna have to
Speaker 1: trust me, Chris Haynes. Chris Haynes has joined us. Producer
Speaker 1: Ryan is already laughing. Chris Haynes has joined us with
Speaker 1: a trophy obscuring most of his face and that basically
Speaker 1: he's trying to coerce us. I am gonna take de bait, Chris.
Speaker 1: Why do you have a trophy sitting in front of
Speaker 1: you as we tape on this Tuesday afternoon and while
Speaker 1: we are taping a brand new edition of this league uncut?
Speaker 1: Why is there a giant piece of dunking basketball hardware
Speaker 1: on your ask?
Speaker 4: Well, A couple things, first and foremost. First and foremost,
Speaker 4: it's just a coincidence that these this trophy is here
Speaker 4: sit in front of me as we record this podcast.
Speaker 4: Second of all, there yeah, Second, it's plural, Stein. There
Speaker 4: are two trophies. This is the championship trophy right here,
Speaker 4: this is the MVP trophy. And lastly, third, we won
Speaker 4: the championship in the Filipino League this past weekend. We
Speaker 4: went from last to champs. We were the last seed
Speaker 4: to get into the playoffs. We made it to the
Speaker 4: uh we made it to the final four. We had
Speaker 4: two games this past Saturday. We had to win the
Speaker 4: first game in order to get to the championship. We
Speaker 4: did and I just so happened Stein to have the
Speaker 4: stats of the final four so in the game to
Speaker 4: get us to the championship. We won seventy eight to
Speaker 4: seventy two. Your guy, yours truly. Chris Haynes led the
Speaker 4: way with twenty six points. Then we got to the
Speaker 4: finals and I had help. I had help. This was
Speaker 4: a tough one. I actually sprained my ankle, my right ankle,
Speaker 4: in the first game that day, and I sprained it
Speaker 4: again in the second. But stein we were in the
Speaker 4: championship game, there was no way I was coming out.
Speaker 1: No load management for Chris Haynes.
Speaker 4: Not on the last game. No, this is where you
Speaker 4: leave it all out on the floor, and I did,
Speaker 4: and I had help. Lea, who's one of the best
Speaker 4: young Filipino players in the California, helped us out.
Speaker 1: Not just Sacramento, in all of California.
Speaker 4: I'm going on a limb and saying all of California.
Speaker 4: This kid is fifteen years old and as a stud
Speaker 4: led the way with thirty two points. I had twenty
Speaker 4: three points, eight rebounds, eight assist. We won the championship
Speaker 4: eighty three to eighty one. The team shot a last
Speaker 4: minute corner three to win the game. In and out
Speaker 4: Buzzer Champs on Finals MVP the I'm the Champ. We
Speaker 4: did it. I took my team out for barbecue, the
Speaker 4: whole nine. It was beautiful weekend, beautiful fans, the trophies. No,
Speaker 4: just just me and just me as a couple of
Speaker 4: friends that that came to see the game came and
Speaker 4: watched me out. I appreciate their support. Uh, it was
Speaker 4: a It was a true team effort, truly.
Speaker 1: Produce producer, Ryan, Are you getting this? Stephen Curry currently
Speaker 1: out with an ankle injury. Lebron James has been in
Speaker 1: and out of the lineup with an ankle issue. Devin
Speaker 1: Booker has been in and out of the lineup with
Speaker 1: an ankle issue. Chris Haynes sprains his ankle, plays on it,
Speaker 1: refuses to come out, and is now co hosting this
Speaker 1: league uncut with more trophies than he can fit into
Speaker 1: the screen window.
Speaker 5: One thing can't be denied. I had seen, you know,
Speaker 5: there were rumblings from northern California all the way down
Speaker 5: here in LA and the Southern California region. Some are
Speaker 5: calling it his flu game, and I think there's no
Speaker 5: denying That's exactly what we have to consider. This performance
Speaker 5: by Chris Haynes is an MVP performance despite an injury
Speaker 5: and then showing up on this league gun cut. This
Speaker 5: man can do it all.
Speaker 3: And the name of your team again is.
Speaker 4: Is team Genebra. What does that mean? I have no clue. Hey, y'all, y'all,
Speaker 4: I want y'all once everybody is listening, please tweet at us, Instagram, Twitter,
Speaker 4: or x whatever you want to call it. Now tell
Speaker 4: me what that means. I know it's a you know
Speaker 4: Filipino names.
Speaker 1: Give me some of your teammates and start getting some
Speaker 1: gossip from inside the locker room to see if all
Speaker 1: of these tales check out out. What do you think, Ryan,
Speaker 1: We need the sourcing.
Speaker 5: We need some exclusive this league, uncut sourcing to find
Speaker 5: out if these trophies, I mean they they're real trophies.
Speaker 5: But the framing of this shot, you know, I'm not
Speaker 5: seeing any name engraved on any plates.
Speaker 4: You know, I name it.
Speaker 5: I can't well for deny that these are actual trophies
Speaker 5: that come from the league or not.
Speaker 4: Well. Listen, I've never claimed that I that I play
Speaker 4: in a real, a really good finance league. But what
Speaker 4: I can say is it shows it right here. MVP Finals.
Speaker 4: The name of the league is to mock bow nor
Speaker 4: Cal League Season three twenty twenty four MVP of the finals.
Speaker 4: So no name, they don't have my name on there.
Speaker 4: But this is the championship trophy. It says champions to
Speaker 4: mock bow nor cal League Open League Division season three,
Speaker 4: twenty twenty four.
Speaker 1: And just just to clarify before we merclee move on
Speaker 1: to coverage of the NBA.
Speaker 3: Just to clarify one last thing.
Speaker 1: So your league with Aaron Haynes is a different league,
Speaker 1: and that is still ongoing.
Speaker 4: That is Sunday's league. That is the West Sacramento League. Yes,
Speaker 4: that is that is different. I need Aaron for that league.
Speaker 4: I don't need Aaron for this league.
Speaker 3: Yeah, you got your co star.
Speaker 4: No disrespect he hold on, No disrespect to my Filipino
Speaker 4: competition out there, you know what I mean, no disrespect,
Speaker 4: But I don't need a six eighth guy in this league.
Speaker 4: We don't. We don't. We don't need that.
Speaker 1: So we've clarified that your co star his name is
Speaker 1: actually pronounced Liam and not Liam.
Speaker 4: If that's what you're saying, we'll know.
Speaker 3: I'm asking.
Speaker 1: Last last week, I think we said it wrong, and
Speaker 1: I said we need to make sure we get it right.
Speaker 1: So I was hoping you having been the only one
Speaker 1: of the three of us who knows him could clarify that.
Speaker 4: You know what, Listen, we have an actual commissioner of
Speaker 4: this league. He's the commissioner. He runs the whole thing.
Speaker 4: His name is Robert Pascal. That's a great We got
Speaker 4: to bring him on. He's the commissioner. We got to
Speaker 4: bring him on.
Speaker 3: All right.
Speaker 1: I think we've probably done a little bit too much
Speaker 1: on this, but we had to give We had to
Speaker 1: give Chris Haynes his flowers and give him ala.
Speaker 4: I don't know why y'all brought that up. We didn't
Speaker 4: have to.
Speaker 1: There was no reason because, as you pointed, I didn't
Speaker 1: even notice the second trop there. There are legit two
Speaker 1: trophies in the picture. I didn't even notice the first one.
Speaker 1: So that's why I think you. I think I think you. Well,
Speaker 1: we know I can't see and I can't hear.
Speaker 3: I'm I'm old.
Speaker 1: I'm a lot older than both of you, and I'm
Speaker 1: aging by the day faster than I would care to admit.
Speaker 1: So I fully admit that I'm washed. But I think
Speaker 1: you kind of you kind of left us no choice
Speaker 1: here that we had to talk about this hardware collection.
Speaker 3: In front of you.
Speaker 4: Okay, well listen, you know it happens, but uh, let's
Speaker 4: get to the NBA so can we can we please
Speaker 4: get everybody's.
Speaker 3: Class, let's get to the end.
Speaker 1: Well, look, I think also the reason we needed this diversion.
Speaker 1: I mean, it is not the happiest time in the NBA.
Speaker 1: We're basically down to a month left, I think thirty
Speaker 1: two to thirty three days left in the regular season,
Speaker 1: and it's it's rough right now, and there's so much
Speaker 1: focus on injuries. Karl Anthony Towns. The Wolves just denounced
Speaker 1: shortly before we started recording this pod that Karl Anthony
Speaker 1: Towns has undergone surgery on that left lateral meniscus. He'll
Speaker 1: be reevaluated in four weeks. The Wolves say no other
Speaker 1: details from the Wolves on specificity on exactly what sort
Speaker 1: of surgery this was, which always matters when we're dealing
Speaker 1: with a meniscus. All we know is what the Wolves
Speaker 1: say about reevaluating him in four weeks. I think it's
Speaker 1: pretty well a established at this point. The Wolves know
Speaker 1: they're going to have to get to the rest of
Speaker 1: the regular season without him and hope he can make
Speaker 1: it back in the playoffs.
Speaker 3: In Philadelphia.
Speaker 1: We still don't know when the Sixers will get Joe
Speaker 1: lmb back. The Cavaliers are playing without both Evan Mobley
Speaker 1: and Donovan Mitchell as we speak. The Suns did get
Speaker 1: Devin Booker back last night, making it twenty four games
Speaker 1: now for the super team trio of Kevin Durant, Devin
Speaker 1: Booker and Bradley Beal. They have played together in just
Speaker 1: twenty four games, but at least the Suns they are
Speaker 1: finally whole, at least in terms of their star trio.
Speaker 1: The Knicks tonight playing against Philadelphia. After we finished recording
Speaker 1: this pod, Ogannobi is expected to return for the Knicks
Speaker 1: after missing tons of time.
Speaker 3: And remember, the Knicks.
Speaker 1: Went fifteen and two in the imediate aftermath of acquiring
Speaker 1: og Anobi, but he's been out since late January with
Speaker 1: this elbow injury, so more than six weeks the Knicks
Speaker 1: have had to cope without og Anoby. They're supposed to
Speaker 1: get him back. Remains unclear though how soon Julius Randall
Speaker 1: can come back for the Knicks. Stephan Curry I was
Speaker 1: supposed to see him tomorrow night here in Dallas. Stephan
Speaker 1: Curry will not be playing in that game in Dallas,
Speaker 1: but the Warriors say he is expected to practice Friday
Speaker 1: in LA with a team, and that would suggest that
Speaker 1: a return Saturday against the.
Speaker 3: Lakers is possible.
Speaker 1: And then there's just the horrible looking injury that Alpera
Speaker 1: and she Gun suffered in Houston. Thankfully, it sounds as
Speaker 1: though the extent of the injury that Sheng Goon has
Speaker 1: suffered is a Grade three right ankle sprain, no tears,
Speaker 1: nothing with the knee. The reality is he's probably gonna
Speaker 1: miss the rest of the regular season. But if he
Speaker 1: can avoid surgery and needs time to heal, that would
Speaker 1: be a huge, huge relief for the Rockets, because that
Speaker 1: thing looked so nasty. I guess the summation of all
Speaker 1: this is just it sucks that we're down to this
Speaker 1: last month of the season. What should be the stretch
Speaker 1: run and what should be a time when we're focused
Speaker 1: solely on the standings, and sadly, so many injuries intruding
Speaker 1: on so many teams. I didn't even mention Benedict Mattarin
Speaker 1: in Indianapolis, who's now out for the season. So injuries
Speaker 1: in the NBA this time of year they always make
Speaker 1: a huge impact and it's just an undeniable. It's a
Speaker 1: downer to see how much we're dealing with right now
Speaker 1: on the injury front.
Speaker 4: But we're getting there, Stan, We're getting there. Steph is
Speaker 4: soon on the way. And for the Minnesota Timbos, who
Speaker 4: had a phenomenal season. You want to see teams whole,
Speaker 4: especially for the playoffs. So there's a shot that Karl
Speaker 4: Anthony Towns, you know, will be back for the postseason.
Speaker 4: And so you know, Julius Randall, that's the one that
Speaker 4: I'm kind of trying to monitor right there to see
Speaker 4: if they can get him back at some.
Speaker 3: Point another you know, another big deal.
Speaker 1: You just you just you just actually kind of got
Speaker 1: me thinking, because I know you're going to see the
Speaker 1: Bucks in Sacramento this week.
Speaker 3: Maybe you're even going to bring the trophies to.
Speaker 1: The game just to show, uh show Damian Lillard and Joanna.
Speaker 4: They both saw pictures already. It's so good. It's all good.
Speaker 1: Yeah, my bad. I should have I should have known that.
Speaker 1: I should have assumed that Chris Middleton. I mean, the
Speaker 1: Bucks have played so much better lately, but we're still
Speaker 1: waiting on the return of Chris Middleton, which is a
Speaker 1: huge huge potential X factor for the Bucks because they've
Speaker 1: looked so much better here lately and they're doing it
Speaker 1: without Chris Middleton.
Speaker 4: Yeah, they are, and right now I think, so what
Speaker 4: we a little bit under twenty games left and Chris
Speaker 4: Milton still They were hoping that he will be back
Speaker 4: tonight for the against the Sacramento Kings, but that's not happening.
Speaker 4: So yeah, I mean, you gotta he has to come
Speaker 4: back and find the groove. And how would he find
Speaker 4: that groove once he gets back? Will he come in
Speaker 4: as a starter? Will he start off on the bench.
Speaker 4: He's being a minute restriction most of the season, so
Speaker 4: there's a lot of unknown when it comes to Chris Milton.
Speaker 4: But when he was playing, he was pretty consistent. So
Speaker 4: you know the Bucks are hoping to get hold as well.
Speaker 3: What's the general vibe you get from the Bucks?
Speaker 1: How optimistic are they that Middleton is going to come
Speaker 1: back and look like the Chris Middleton we expect?
Speaker 4: You know, I don't know, I don't know. I think
Speaker 4: you know, first of all, they just want him back
Speaker 4: into the fold so they can have some games under
Speaker 4: their belt together with Doc Rivers. You know, they got
Speaker 4: some new sets you know, it's a lot more two
Speaker 4: way game going on with Giannis and Dame, and so
Speaker 4: they want to be able to integrate Chris. That you
Speaker 4: don't want to be in a great and Chris in
Speaker 4: the playoffs. You want to have some games under their belt.
Speaker 4: So you know, you never know how the player is
Speaker 4: going to come back. You know, if they're going to
Speaker 4: come back and just pick up what they left off,
Speaker 4: or it's going to take some time. But this had
Speaker 4: to have been a really serious ankle spring because Chris
Speaker 4: is missed I believe it's fifteen or sixteen games because
Speaker 4: of it. So this is something that they're you know,
Speaker 4: they're going to try to be cautious about.
Speaker 5: All right, Well, we obviously hope that whether it's Chris Middleton,
Speaker 5: Karl Anthony Towns, the various injuries we've seen across the league,
Speaker 5: that all these players are healthy come playoff time. But
Speaker 5: what in the standings are you watching closest as we
Speaker 5: move into the last month of the season. Stein, Let's
Speaker 5: start with you.
Speaker 1: I would say, and maybe this is geographical bias based
Speaker 1: on where I live, but this battle in the West,
Speaker 1: who gets to six, who gets out of the plane,
Speaker 1: or will I mean, New Orleans has quiet New Orleans
Speaker 1: has very quietly just been monstrous since the start of February.
Speaker 1: And I want to say the Pels are on a
Speaker 1: thirteen and four or even a fourteen and four run.
Speaker 1: I mean, they look like a very solid number five
Speaker 1: right now. And the Pelicans are whole and functioning as
Speaker 1: well as a team really as we've ever seen since
Speaker 1: Zion Williamson has been a Pelican. And so I would
Speaker 1: say the Pelicans right now they look like they're gonna
Speaker 1: stay at number five at worst. So it's really this
Speaker 1: battle from six on down. And the reason to me
Speaker 1: it is, look, it's already critical for all these teams
Speaker 1: because you obviously want to be six. You don't want
Speaker 1: to be seven through ten because then that means you
Speaker 1: have to go through the play and round. But it
Speaker 1: isn't just that, which is significant enough with what's going
Speaker 1: on with Minnesota. You know the Wolves, it's an amazing stat.
Speaker 1: Alan Horton, their radio guy, keeps this stat. It's truly amazing.
Speaker 1: In the Wolves franchise history, they had only held the
Speaker 1: best record in the West for ten days in the
Speaker 1: first thirty four seasons of Timberwolves basketball, whereas this season.
Speaker 1: The Wolves have been number one in the West for
Speaker 1: almost one hundred days. But now when we woke up
Speaker 1: on this Tuesday, the Wolves were down to number three
Speaker 1: in the West, a game and a half back of
Speaker 1: West leading OKC, And we know they're going to have
Speaker 1: to get to the rest of the regular season without
Speaker 1: Karl Anthony Towns, and even if Towns can come back
Speaker 1: for the start of the playoffs, you'd have to think
Speaker 1: there is going to be some sort of reintegration period
Speaker 1: and just for Towns himself to play and feel like himself.
Speaker 3: So suddenly.
Speaker 1: Being number six, there's not only the carrot of you
Speaker 1: get out of the plane, but the very real possibility
Speaker 1: that you play a Wolves team that is not the
Speaker 1: Wolves team that we've seen all season and that has
Speaker 1: led the West for so much of this season, because
Speaker 1: either they're not gonna have Towns for the start of
Speaker 1: the first round, or they're gonna be bringing Towns back
Speaker 1: and have to do it on the fly in the
Speaker 1: first round. So as we awoke on this Tuesday, Phoenix
Speaker 1: was number six up a game on Sacramento. But look,
Speaker 1: all these teams are bunched up here. Dallas is in
Speaker 1: that mix as well, you know, the Lakers and Warriors,
Speaker 1: they've got more ground to make up. So I don't
Speaker 1: know if the number nine Lakers and the number ten Warriors,
Speaker 1: I don't know how much higher up the board they
Speaker 1: can move. But just who gets that's number six in
Speaker 1: the West, to me is fascinating because that first round series,
Speaker 1: all the pressure is going to be on Minnesota. Minnesota
Speaker 1: has had this incredible regular season, but they've had to
Speaker 1: live with they got to prove it to us in
Speaker 1: the playoffs because as a franchise, they don't have that
Speaker 1: playoff success.
Speaker 3: So that that would be the one for me.
Speaker 4: Yeah, definitely, They're They're a team. I haven't heard anything,
Speaker 4: but I would think that the Timbules are a team
Speaker 4: that is on the radar of those teams that's fighting
Speaker 4: for that six spot. I think you want it probably
Speaker 4: out of Denver and Oklahoma City and Minnesota. Minnesota probably
Speaker 4: be the team that you want to face. Considering Karl
Speaker 4: Anthony Towns's injury situation. I'm in the fact that Timbles
Speaker 4: have to do in the playoffs. Like you said, every time,
Speaker 4: I wouldn't say every time, but most of the times
Speaker 4: when there's a young emerging team that catches people by surprise,
Speaker 4: and usually in the playoffs they may falter in the
Speaker 4: first or second round, but you know, usually they have
Speaker 4: to go through the rigors of a season like that
Speaker 4: to take that next step. And that's not every team,
Speaker 4: but you know, we'll see, you know, I think Phoenix
Speaker 4: they will feel I'll have to think if Phoenix faced Minnesota,
Speaker 4: they they will feel pretty good about their first round chances.
Speaker 4: So I get what you're saying on.
Speaker 1: That one, and they look they have to feel that
Speaker 1: way because again, the two things that worry me about
Speaker 1: the Phoenix Suns A have we seen their main three
Speaker 1: guys play enough? And I'm sure they're gonna say, we're
Speaker 1: battle tested, we're veterans, we know what we're doing. We'll
Speaker 1: be fine in the playoffs, don't worry about it. We're
Speaker 1: all mid range masters. The game gets tougher and slower
Speaker 1: in the playoffs, and we're gonna you know, no team
Speaker 1: is used to dealing with three of us who can
Speaker 1: all hit Midi's We're gonna be fine. That's what the
Speaker 1: Sons would say say if they were speaking directly to us.
Speaker 1: But if you're a Phoenix fan or a Phoenix Sun,
Speaker 1: you can't love the idea of having to go on
Speaker 1: the road three straight rounds to get to the NBA Finals.
Speaker 1: And you know, obviously in the finals you wouldn't have
Speaker 1: home court advantage either. So if Phoenix finishes sixth and
Speaker 1: gets a match up against the uncertain Minnesota Timberwolves, you
Speaker 1: know that will be a fascinating contrast of styles.
Speaker 4: And we'll see.
Speaker 1: We'll see if Phoenix can turn it on like they
Speaker 1: believe they can. But I know in Dallas, you know,
Speaker 1: they're desperate to get up to number six as well,
Speaker 1: and they had a recent one in five wobble.
Speaker 3: They just played.
Speaker 1: An unreal game in Chicago on Monday night, right after
Speaker 1: I got back to town. They just, i mean, one
Speaker 1: of their best road performances of the season. So we'll
Speaker 1: see if Dallas can keep that going. Dallas playing likely
Speaker 1: playing Golden State on Wednesday night without Stephen Curry, and
Speaker 1: the Warriors are only one and four this season without Steph,
Speaker 1: I believe. But right after that, Dallas has to go
Speaker 1: to Oklahoma City to play the Thunder and on Sunday
Speaker 1: they've got Denver in here. So big week for the
Speaker 1: Mavericks and everybody's jockeying for number six, and you know, I'll.
Speaker 3: Be interested to hear.
Speaker 1: I know you're gonna be seeing the Bucks in Sacramento,
Speaker 1: but I'd love to get a pulse check from you
Speaker 1: in our next pod on the Kings because they've been
Speaker 1: so up and down and such a difficult team to
Speaker 1: get a handle on. Probably better on the road this
Speaker 1: season than at home.
Speaker 4: So yeah, they're in a little bit of danger right there.
Speaker 4: You know, it's not out of the rim of possibility
Speaker 4: that the Kings could end up finding themselves in the
Speaker 4: play in situation, So you know, that's that would be
Speaker 4: devastating for them for the most part, considering that the
Speaker 4: way that they started. But yeah, it'd be good to
Speaker 4: catch up with them for sure.
Speaker 3: Yeah. Look, this just ain't last year. I mean last year.
Speaker 3: Last season. We've talked about this before.
Speaker 1: Last season was an anomaly in the West where the
Speaker 1: Kings not only had good health, really good health during
Speaker 1: the regular season, but forty eight wins could get you
Speaker 1: the third seed in the Western Conference.
Speaker 3: Forty eight wins ain't gonna.
Speaker 1: Get you close to the third seed in this Western Conference.
Speaker 1: So I mean that's really the issue. It's not like
Speaker 1: the Kings are miles away from the basketball.
Speaker 3: They played last season.
Speaker 1: They awoke on this Tuesday on a forty seven win pace,
Speaker 1: so only one win shy of what they did last year.
Speaker 1: But they're scrapping along with Phoenix and Dallas and the
Speaker 1: Lakers and the Warriors just to try to get into
Speaker 1: the top six because the West is that much tougher.
Speaker 1: So now I'm gonna flip it and turn it to you,
Speaker 1: mister Haynes. What in the standings are you looking at
Speaker 1: the most? What jumps off the page for you when
Speaker 1: you look West or East?
Speaker 4: Well, since you took care of the West already, let's
Speaker 4: go to the east. And when I go to the East,
Speaker 4: there's an intriguing matchup that could take place in the
Speaker 4: first round that I think could be the most high
Speaker 4: profile first round matchup in the Eastern Conference, had the
Speaker 4: most intrigue, maybe even in all the playoffs. In that
Speaker 4: first round, I'm going with the Milwaukee Bucks the Indiana Paces.
Speaker 4: Right now, the Bucks are standing at the second seed.
Speaker 4: The Pacers are at the seventh seed. And just to
Speaker 4: remind people or even inform people if they don't know,
Speaker 4: the Pacers and Bucks have had some history this year.
Speaker 4: They've played five games already the season, which that does
Speaker 4: not happen. But we have to remember with the N
Speaker 4: Season Tournament now to get an extra game, and the
Speaker 4: Pacers and Bucks were in that, and the Pacers eliminated
Speaker 4: the Bucks in the N Season Tournament. And in five games,
Speaker 4: the Pacers have defeed the Bucks four of five. They've
Speaker 4: had their number. And let's not forget Ballgate. Don't remember that,
Speaker 4: stut remember that try to take what they claim to
Speaker 4: have take. Took Giannis after Cooper's ball after Gianni's had
Speaker 4: a career high of I forgot how many points you score,
Speaker 4: but it was a career high. It was a Bucks,
Speaker 4: it was a franchise. It was sixty four points, okay,
Speaker 4: sixty four points, and we saw, you know, all the
Speaker 4: drama that ensued after that. I have Malie Beasley on
Speaker 4: my let Me See. It was on My Bleach Report
Speaker 4: live stream show a couple of months ago, and he
Speaker 4: talked about how he wants to see the Pacers, how
Speaker 4: the team the Bucks wants they want to face them
Speaker 4: to show them that the regular season is nothing. And
Speaker 4: he said they're going there, they're going to be in
Speaker 4: for a surprise if they if they get them in
Speaker 4: the playoffs. So I'm judging by that the Bucks will
Speaker 4: definitely welcome that matchup in the first round. That would
Speaker 4: definitely be an intriguing matchup for sure. And don't forget
Speaker 4: in that playing game, Tyrese Halliburton, even Mock Dane did
Speaker 4: the Dame time watch gesture, you know, after I believe
Speaker 4: hitting one of his dagger threes in the game, and
Speaker 4: Dame after that play in said hey, you know you
Speaker 4: got to be humble. Learn to be humble at some point.
Speaker 4: So that is a matchup right there that I definitely
Speaker 4: will have a lot of intrigue. And it's shaping up,
Speaker 4: you know, it's getting to the point where we think
Speaker 4: that might end up being the two to seven matchup
Speaker 4: right there because the Bucks are playing some good ball.
Speaker 1: Well, look there is I'm with you one hundred percent
Speaker 1: in terms of I would love to see the Bucks
Speaker 1: and the Pacers hook up in the first round. That
Speaker 1: would be very spicy given what's happened between the teams already.
Speaker 3: That again, you know, in the new NBA with an n.
Speaker 1: Season tournament, we get these situations where teams play more
Speaker 1: than four times. Four times used to be the regular season, Max,
Speaker 1: But as you said, the Pacers and Bucks have already
Speaker 1: played five times this season because of the nd season tournament,
Speaker 1: and then to see them in a best of seven
Speaker 1: series would be great theater. However, I would just caution
Speaker 1: and say the Miami, both the Pacers and the Heat
Speaker 1: right now are in the play in zone, and Philly, Orlando,
Speaker 1: the Knicks. They're all right there in that mix. But
Speaker 1: the Heat have hit another wobble, and Miami has just
Speaker 1: had a really rough regular season. There was the bizarre
Speaker 1: seven game losing streak shortly after Eric Spoulster got a
Speaker 1: contract extension. They appeared to bounce back from that, but
Speaker 1: now they've lost three in a row again, including a
Speaker 1: loss to the Wizards, which is just I wouldn't have
Speaker 1: imagined any scenario at this stage of the season when
Speaker 1: Miami knows it's got to start tightening up and getting
Speaker 1: its playoff approach in sync. To lose a home game
Speaker 1: to a team that has been as bad as Washington
Speaker 1: has been all season, that was a shock to the system.
Speaker 1: But I guess what I'm trying to say here is
Speaker 1: the Heat could end up eighth again. I don't think
Speaker 1: that's where they're gonna end up. But if Miami finished
Speaker 1: eighth again and played Boston and we had another eight
Speaker 1: to one matchup like we did last season when Miami
Speaker 1: stunned Milwaukee and then went all the way to the finals,
Speaker 1: only the second number eight seed in the history of
Speaker 1: this sixteen team playoff format to do that, Boston Miami
Speaker 1: would just be another crazy first round series that has
Speaker 1: us all wrapped up. So there's there's gonna be a
Speaker 1: lot of I mean, there will be a lot of
Speaker 1: playoff intrigue this season. I think right from the jump
Speaker 1: in round one, the West because there seems to be
Speaker 1: so much quality depth, and then the East. If we
Speaker 1: get one or two of these matchups where you know,
Speaker 1: Boston Miami would be an insane first round, and I
Speaker 1: think so would Milwaukee and India, And you know what,
Speaker 1: it'd be interesting. How does TNT use Chris Haynes. Does
Speaker 1: he end up getting thrown onto even though he's usually
Speaker 1: a Western Conference guy? Would he get thrown onto Bucks
Speaker 1: Pacers to be there for the potential chaos?
Speaker 4: Intention stime? Before I answered that, I just had to
Speaker 4: take a deep breath. They had to calm down. I
Speaker 4: was just on the verge of booking a flight to London,
Speaker 4: and I'll explain why I said that after this my
Speaker 4: next game. My next game is the twenty fifth or
Speaker 4: twenty six is the Bucks and Lakers in Milwaukee. So
Speaker 4: usually the playoffs, they usually do take me out towards
Speaker 4: the East or or Minnesota. That's probably the fart well,
Speaker 4: so I do get out more so during the playoffs
Speaker 4: than I would during the regular season. So I wouldn't mind.
Speaker 4: With that being said, Stein, the reason I had to
Speaker 4: take a deep breath my daughter. My family is in
Speaker 4: London right now. They're visiting my daughter who is studying
Speaker 4: abroad this semester. So my thirteen year old daughter, Jada,
Speaker 4: she called me. She was facetiming me right now, and
Speaker 4: I had to decline it. And I told her, hey, babe,
Speaker 4: I'm sorry, I'm on the pod right now. I'll call
Speaker 4: you right back. She texts back, okay, MF. I said, what, okay, MF,
Speaker 4: like what And then like as I'm getting furious and
Speaker 4: my blood is boiling, she puts a asterisk my fault.
Speaker 4: That's what the MF meant. So I had to calm down. Starn.
Speaker 4: I see that's why these youngsters nowadays, man spell spell
Speaker 4: it out, spell it out. Stop this MF stuff.
Speaker 1: MF what else does m F mean? I know I
Speaker 1: was waiting to see maybe she learned some cool new
Speaker 1: London slang that we didn't know.
Speaker 4: But I guess come on now, no, okay, m F okay,
Speaker 4: MF what what? And she knew like she had to
Speaker 4: have felt something to to text back like pretty quickly
Speaker 4: asterix my fault. She had to have felt something. She
Speaker 4: knew I was coming. I was like, damn, this bucks
Speaker 4: Kings game tonight, I'm going to London to handle some business.
Speaker 4: Hell no, we ain't talking like that, so I have
Speaker 4: I'm cool now, I'm my bad, I'm cool. My apologies
Speaker 4: every ding.
Speaker 1: One other topic I did want to mention before we go,
Speaker 1: because I think this is a story we're going to
Speaker 1: be talking about more and more as the rest of
Speaker 1: the regular season plays out. Because while I was in England,
Speaker 1: even though I was five thousand miles ish away from
Speaker 1: the NBA, the hubbub back home did not escape me.
Speaker 1: It reached me about a rising belief in various corners
Speaker 1: of the league that referees have been instructed to call
Speaker 1: fewer shooting fouls, let more contact go because the numbers.
Speaker 1: The numbers definitely bear inspection. Before the All Star Break,
Speaker 1: teams league wide this season we're averaging one hundred and
Speaker 1: fifteen point five points per game and twenty two point
Speaker 1: seven free throws per game. The one hundred and fifteen
Speaker 1: point five points per game league wide average was the
Speaker 1: highest seen in hashtag this league since the nineteen sixty
Speaker 1: nine to seventy season. When we're talking about at the break,
Speaker 1: but since the break, I asked my fellow substacker, Justin Kubotko.
Speaker 1: I asked Professor Kubatko to run the numbers for me,
Speaker 1: and he he tallied.
Speaker 3: It up for me on this Tuesday.
Speaker 1: Since the break, the league's scoring average has dipped almost
Speaker 1: four points per game, all the way down to one
Speaker 1: to eleven point seven points per game league wide, free
Speaker 1: throws down to nineteen point nine per game, So scoring
Speaker 1: has dropped almost four points per game since the All
Speaker 1: Star Break. Free throws per game have dropped almost three
Speaker 1: three fewer free throws per game league wide since the
Speaker 1: All Star Break. So this has led to some claims
Speaker 1: that the league is now facing that the referees have
Speaker 1: been quietly told behind the scenes to let more contact
Speaker 1: go when the assumption is that this would have been
Speaker 1: a reaction to all the criticism that the league got
Speaker 1: in late January and early February for the offensive explosion,
Speaker 1: so many players scoring sixty and seventy points, how hard
Speaker 1: it's gotten for defenses to counteract offenses.
Speaker 3: So I think this is a.
Speaker 1: Story that we have to monitor and something that I
Speaker 1: think we will continue to be taking stock of and
Speaker 1: potentially discussing further. I sought formal comment from the league
Speaker 1: office upon getting back in the States, and an NBA
Speaker 1: spokesman told me on Monday there has been no directive
Speaker 1: from the league office to referees to call games differently.
Speaker 1: So we'll see how that explanation lands with people around
Speaker 1: the league, coaches teams that feel otherwise. But again, like
Speaker 1: I said, this is a story that I think is
Speaker 1: evolving in something that we will continue to monitor and
Speaker 1: potentially get into further on upcoming editions of this league.
Speaker 1: Uncut because I wanted to make sure I gave the
Speaker 1: floor to Chris Haynes one more time before we go.
Speaker 4: Very interesting Staran. I know players this year have been
Speaker 4: complaining about I can't I can't remember, but if it
Speaker 4: was farther back as before the All Star break, but
Speaker 4: they've been complaining about not getting the continuation calls that
Speaker 4: they're accustomed to getting in previous seasons. So, you know,
Speaker 4: I don't know, I don't know what to make of that,
Speaker 4: but definitely that's definitely something.
Speaker 1: One more interesting thing to note on that front. Remember,
Speaker 1: between January twenty second and February third, five players scored
Speaker 1: at least sixty points in NBA game. Joel Embian went
Speaker 1: for seventy, Karl Anthony Towns went for sixty two, Luca
Speaker 1: Don went for seventy three, Devin Booker went for sixty two,
Speaker 1: and Stephan Curry went for sixty. We're six weeks removed
Speaker 1: from Steph's sixty point game. Obviously there was an All
Speaker 1: Star break in there as well, but no one in
Speaker 1: the NBA since February third has even scored fifty points
Speaker 1: in a game. So that's why you have people asking
Speaker 1: has something changed?
Speaker 3: What has changed?
Speaker 1: So again something we need to keep our eye on here,
Speaker 1: all right, I think that's gonna do it for this
Speaker 1: edition of this league uncut, and since I am back
Speaker 1: within NBA borders, I will be seeing the Warriors in
Speaker 1: Dallas Wednesday night, Chris Haynes, I know you're gonna see
Speaker 1: the Bucks and the Kings shortly after we finished recording
Speaker 1: this episode. So hopefully both you and I will have
Speaker 1: some good tales from the hardwood to share the next
Speaker 1: time we're together for the next episode. Mode, and by
Speaker 1: tails from the hardwood, I mean the NBA hardwood, not
Speaker 1: the Sunday Sacramento rec League or can't.
Speaker 4: I can't make any promises.
Speaker 1: Yes, we'll see if the next time we do this
Speaker 1: you have new hardware from your other league. We'll see
Speaker 1: if you can beat out Aaron Haynes for MVP honors.
Speaker 1: I don't know, can you?
Speaker 4: No, I can't, but I definitely should win something from recruiting.
Speaker 4: I'll tell you that for sure. But yeah, exactly the
Speaker 4: year is something like that. Yeah, for sure. That season.
Speaker 4: I still think we got like two or three regular
Speaker 4: season games left before into the playoffs, so we still
Speaker 4: got a while until I get the chance to collect
Speaker 4: some more hardware. Until then, these two trophies will rest
Speaker 4: on my chest. I'm in my celebration tour mode right now.
Speaker 4: I've been I've been going to the gym this week.
Speaker 4: There's a gym that about thirty of us frequent throughout
Speaker 4: the week, and most of these guys are in that league.
Speaker 4: And so every day this week, I've been bringing both trophies,
Speaker 4: not playing. I haven't been playing. I've been going because
Speaker 4: I'm letting my ankle rest because this new the new
Speaker 4: Filipido league starts in two weeks. So I've been bringing
Speaker 4: this trophy, letting everybody know and reminding everybody who champ
Speaker 4: and who the MVP is. I told you not let
Speaker 4: me get this win.
Speaker 1: You probably messed up the ankle by playing pick up
Speaker 1: all the night before, like I told you not to do.
Speaker 1: I strongly advised you to not you play pickup ball.
Speaker 4: And then I thought about that you.
Speaker 1: Played pickup ball the night before you had a doubleheader.
Speaker 1: I mean, I admire your I admire your spirit. I
Speaker 1: admire that out of the two of us, you are
Speaker 1: in far better shape as we both grow older, and
Speaker 1: you take much better care of yourself than me. But
Speaker 1: three games in two days might be a touch too
Speaker 1: much for you at this point.
Speaker 4: I thought about that stime. But remember I was in
Speaker 4: Denver all week, so the last time I was able
Speaker 4: to shoot a basketball was Monday, so I couldn't play
Speaker 4: in a final four having not shot since Monday, so
Speaker 4: I thought about that. That probably played a factor. But
Speaker 4: at the end of the day, Stein, as you see,
Speaker 4: the hardware rest on my chest and I don't regret anything.
Speaker 4: I would do it all over again.
Speaker 1: There you have it, world, Chris Haynes as candid as ever.
Speaker 1: All right, that's gonna do it. We will be back
Speaker 1: before the week is out. Like I said, hopefully with
Speaker 1: tails from the NBA hardw we might have taken the
Speaker 1: Sacramento Rec League bit as far as we can.
Speaker 3: At this point, I'm a little worried.
Speaker 1: I'm a little worried that we've overdone it. All right, everybody,
Speaker 1: Thanks to mil for joining us, and remember, as always,
Speaker 1: please follow the show, rate the show, review the show,
Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever you get your podcast. Signing off
Speaker 1: for Chris Haynes, producer Ryan Music.
Speaker 3: He's insisting we call him Champ. Is this for real?
Speaker 3: Is this on right now? No?
Speaker 1: I'm signing us off for Chris Haynes, for producer Ryan Music,
Speaker 1: and for me, Mark Stein, Champless Mark Stein.
Speaker 3: That'll do it for this edition of this League uncut.
Speaker 2: And that'll do it for us. See you next time.
Speaker 3: This League.
Speaker 2: Uncut is an iHeartRadio production
Speaker 3: Chris Haines and Mark Stein