WEBVTT - The Kings??? THE KINGS!!! 0:00:10.080 --> 0:00:13.320 On this episode of The Heat Check, We're back, baby. 0:00:13.440 --> 0:00:19.080 I'm fully moved into my childhood home in Portland, Oregon. 0:00:19.400 --> 0:00:24.400 I apologize for miss last week. I am really sorry. However, 0:00:24.600 --> 0:00:26.320 I don't even know how that would have worked. It 0:00:26.400 --> 0:00:28.440 was stressed. But now we are back. We are ready 0:00:28.440 --> 0:00:30.400 to cook. We talk in this episode. 0:00:30.080 --> 0:00:34.600 About the resurrection of the Gangs, the Sacramento Gangs. We 0:00:34.680 --> 0:00:37.920 talk about the latest and the Jimmy Butler Saga Zion 0:00:38.040 --> 0:00:40.640 getting suspended after just one game back, even though he 0:00:40.680 --> 0:00:42.560 looks really good in a bunch of news from around 0:00:42.600 --> 0:00:45.720 the league. Anthey, my man, drop that motherfucking beat should 0:00:45.760 --> 0:01:05.280 be real. Welcome back, Welcome back, Welcome back. First and foremost, 0:01:06.440 --> 0:01:10.000 you're not following me and subscribing to me on Instagram 0:01:11.160 --> 0:01:12.039 for the feet photos. 0:01:12.040 --> 0:01:14.080 I don't know what you're doing. I'm just kidding. 0:01:14.959 --> 0:01:17.959 Welcome to the first episode back in the Heat Check 0:01:18.120 --> 0:01:18.960 on the West Coast. 0:01:19.000 --> 0:01:22.280 I finally moved back home to Portland to help out 0:01:22.319 --> 0:01:22.760 my mom. 0:01:23.080 --> 0:01:26.640 I will be more consistent from here on out. We 0:01:26.720 --> 0:01:31.640 have a lot to cover, and I think number one 0:01:31.720 --> 0:01:34.880 to me in the news is the I think it's 0:01:34.920 --> 0:01:40.120 a complete turnaround. I'm not ready to call it that exactly, 0:01:40.400 --> 0:01:43.520 but it's close of the Sacramento Kinks. 0:01:43.840 --> 0:01:46.800 Less than two weeks ago, the team parted with. 0:01:46.760 --> 0:01:49.360 Mike Brown, who remember, just two years ago was the 0:01:49.400 --> 0:01:51.640 Coach of the Year so and they replaced him with 0:01:51.760 --> 0:01:55.600 interim coach Doug Christie. Now, Doug Christie seems to have 0:01:55.640 --> 0:01:59.120 reinvigorated these boys. To be fair, I did not have 0:01:59.160 --> 0:02:01.200 a lot of hope for the Kings this year after 0:02:01.240 --> 0:02:04.720 that move. Not no shade did Doug Christie and the 0:02:04.760 --> 0:02:07.880 photo that was surfaced after he got that job with. 0:02:07.920 --> 0:02:10.119 Him on a leash with his wife. 0:02:11.840 --> 0:02:15.320 I thought maybe the issue with the Sacramento Kings was 0:02:15.320 --> 0:02:17.680 more roster related, and I think maybe it still is. 0:02:18.080 --> 0:02:19.959 I wasn't sure any coach would be able to help 0:02:20.000 --> 0:02:22.760 team chemistry was in the toilet. Shooting from three was 0:02:22.840 --> 0:02:27.000 erratic at best. The team was not able to defend 0:02:27.040 --> 0:02:29.280 a park car. Their three point. 0:02:29.040 --> 0:02:30.079 Defense was really bad. 0:02:30.440 --> 0:02:32.799 So I was wondering, like, how is a coach going 0:02:32.800 --> 0:02:36.160 to be able to fix all of these issues? Somehow, 0:02:36.680 --> 0:02:41.880 some way, Doug Christie seemingly has, and after losing his 0:02:41.919 --> 0:02:44.120 first game as head coach, the Kings have now reeled 0:02:44.160 --> 0:02:46.160 off seven straight wins. 0:02:46.400 --> 0:02:48.240 They are now the hottest team in the NBA. Can 0:02:48.280 --> 0:02:50.520 you even believe it? So? How have they done it? 0:02:51.080 --> 0:02:53.720 Friend of show Will Easy we have to have him 0:02:53.720 --> 0:02:58.519 on soon has broke this down on Sports Illustrated. First 0:02:58.600 --> 0:03:00.960 of all, they have improved their three point shooting under 0:03:01.000 --> 0:03:03.760 Doug Christie, raising it from thirty four to thirty seven percent. 0:03:04.240 --> 0:03:09.120 The correlation, though, is that they're now holding their opponents 0:03:09.200 --> 0:03:12.079 from to thirty six from deep as well, down from 0:03:12.120 --> 0:03:16.480 thirty eight percent. Very subtle shift, but that's important because 0:03:16.560 --> 0:03:20.040 it means that they are now shooting higher quality threes 0:03:20.639 --> 0:03:23.400 nineteen open threes on average under Doug Christie compared to 0:03:23.440 --> 0:03:27.000 thirteen only under Mike Brown, and they're defending the perimeter 0:03:27.160 --> 0:03:31.160 much better. Fourteen open opponent threes to sixteen a game 0:03:31.240 --> 0:03:34.079 under Mike Brown doesn't seem like a lot, but shit 0:03:34.160 --> 0:03:36.080 adds up, especially when you're only losing by a few 0:03:36.080 --> 0:03:40.240 points per game. Second, they're playing up to their competition 0:03:41.040 --> 0:03:43.720 instead of down to it. During the seven game winning streak, 0:03:43.880 --> 0:03:47.320 they've beaten the MAVs without Kyrie and Luca, the Grizzlies 0:03:47.360 --> 0:03:50.520 without Jaw, the Warriors stephf did play in that game, 0:03:50.640 --> 0:03:53.920 the Heat without Jimmy Butler the Boston Celtics fully loaded 0:03:54.000 --> 0:03:57.280 on the road by seventeen points. I know I'm downplaying 0:03:57.320 --> 0:03:59.360 who was playing in that game, but these were big 0:04:00.080 --> 0:04:03.200 teams to beat regardless of whether they had stars out. 0:04:03.440 --> 0:04:05.480 I think under Mike Brown, and this is no shade 0:04:05.480 --> 0:04:08.480 to Mike Brown, they would have lost those games even without. 0:04:08.200 --> 0:04:09.280 The stars playing in it. 0:04:09.600 --> 0:04:11.560 And to top it off, this team is now doing 0:04:11.640 --> 0:04:14.800 it without Dearon Fox and his twenty seven points per game. 0:04:15.080 --> 0:04:19.400 Damar DeRozan and Demonis Bonis are both averaging twenty one 0:04:19.400 --> 0:04:22.760 points per game now. More importantly, Keegan Murray is averaging 0:04:23.360 --> 0:04:27.520 fifteen a game since coming back from injury, up from 0:04:27.640 --> 0:04:30.600 eight to game in the six games before that. In 0:04:30.640 --> 0:04:34.359 those three games, he averaged a plus thirteen net rating 0:04:34.400 --> 0:04:35.000 as opposed to. 0:04:35.000 --> 0:04:35.960 A negative eight before. 0:04:36.040 --> 0:04:38.000 So I don't know what's going on with Keegan Murray, 0:04:38.160 --> 0:04:43.080 but that's pretty incredible. The big news is that Sacramento 0:04:43.200 --> 0:04:45.880 is now ninth in the West. They are a game 0:04:45.920 --> 0:04:49.560 over five hundred. More importantly, the Kings are just two 0:04:49.600 --> 0:04:52.400 games out of the fifth spot in a very loaded West, 0:04:53.040 --> 0:04:56.839 and on top of that, the Mavers are just falling 0:04:56.960 --> 0:04:59.040 off of a cliff without Luca, who knows how long 0:04:59.080 --> 0:05:02.120 they're gonna be without him. Kyrie is injured as well, 0:05:02.240 --> 0:05:05.360 so there's open spots for the Kings to make a 0:05:05.400 --> 0:05:10.599 move against the odds. Our Kings are Sacramento Kings. Their 0:05:10.680 --> 0:05:12.160 season is back on. 0:05:12.680 --> 0:05:18.120 Warm me up on that bean baby moving forward. 0:05:18.400 --> 0:05:21.880 Another team that I am enjoying watching right now is 0:05:21.920 --> 0:05:25.080 the New York Knicks. Despite the fact that this team 0:05:25.120 --> 0:05:28.080 is third place in the East twenty six and fourteen 0:05:28.880 --> 0:05:32.200 six point fifty winning percentage, which is absolutely bizarre and insane, 0:05:32.360 --> 0:05:36.200 there are some doubters still, mostly because they went through 0:05:36.200 --> 0:05:38.680 a rough stretch where they lost four or five OKAC, 0:05:38.839 --> 0:05:41.560 which is fair Chicago, which like Chicago, is. 0:05:41.760 --> 0:05:42.960 Very, very tough. 0:05:43.400 --> 0:05:46.799 There were those teams that BAITCHA or Orlando and OKAC 0:05:47.000 --> 0:05:49.200 again losing twice to Thunder. 0:05:49.200 --> 0:05:52.120 Though like I don't really blame them for that. It's 0:05:52.160 --> 0:05:53.080 not a big deal. 0:05:53.160 --> 0:05:56.920 Almost everyone is getting trucked by the OKAC Thunder unless 0:05:56.960 --> 0:06:01.440 they're the Cleveland Cavaliers. They lost to Chicago by thirteen, 0:06:02.080 --> 0:06:05.200 Orlando by nine, and now everybody is losing faith. 0:06:05.400 --> 0:06:08.080 Everybody is thinking, oh, the Knicks are not good. The 0:06:08.160 --> 0:06:08.960 Knicks up now. 0:06:10.640 --> 0:06:13.760 Carl Anytown's bald Anyway, People forget that the Knicks had 0:06:13.800 --> 0:06:16.760 won nine in a row before that little skid, So 0:06:17.080 --> 0:06:23.320 Sunday's game against Milwaukee had this added interest. Everyone was like, ooh, 0:06:23.440 --> 0:06:26.480 how are they going to perform against Jannie and Dame. 0:06:27.600 --> 0:06:29.640 Turns out pretty looking good. 0:06:29.839 --> 0:06:35.640 The Knicks put a straight boot a black air Force 0:06:35.760 --> 0:06:41.640 one to the Buck's throat, curb stomping them, curb American history, 0:06:41.720 --> 0:06:44.040 exing them to the tune of one. 0:06:44.000 --> 0:06:45.920 Forty to one oh six. 0:06:47.120 --> 0:06:51.640 Jalen Brunson scored forty four on five to ten from three, 0:06:52.640 --> 0:06:57.799 Kat scored thirty on shooting ten for sixteen, campaign scored 0:06:57.839 --> 0:06:59.120 eighteen off the bench. 0:07:00.320 --> 0:07:02.160 Just a complete performance. 0:07:01.680 --> 0:07:04.880 By a Knicks team and a good reminder that Brunson 0:07:04.920 --> 0:07:05.760 can win games. 0:07:05.600 --> 0:07:06.360 All by himself. 0:07:06.520 --> 0:07:10.000 Also, Josh Hart has had some awesome games here and 0:07:10.040 --> 0:07:12.280 there throughout the season. It feels like they're the whack 0:07:12.320 --> 0:07:14.600 a mole team in the East where on any given 0:07:14.680 --> 0:07:16.840 night somebody could go off and we're not really sure 0:07:16.840 --> 0:07:21.560 who that is. As for the Bucks, they've now I 0:07:21.640 --> 0:07:24.640 love it. They've fallen back to earth. They are now 0:07:24.680 --> 0:07:27.560 at twenty and seventeen. They've moved Chris. 0:07:27.320 --> 0:07:28.560 Middleton to the bench. 0:07:28.720 --> 0:07:32.560 They've brought Torrian Prince into the starting lineup, who contributed 0:07:32.600 --> 0:07:36.480 a total of checks notes three points in twenty three 0:07:36.520 --> 0:07:40.720 minutes and negative twenty eight net rating, and Chris Middleton, 0:07:40.760 --> 0:07:43.840 by the way, was the only Bucks player with a 0:07:43.880 --> 0:07:48.840 positive net rating. So the Bucks are kind of in 0:07:48.920 --> 0:07:52.200 a little bit of trouble. As for the Knicks, they're 0:07:52.240 --> 0:07:54.679 gonna have spills where they dip for a few games 0:07:54.680 --> 0:07:56.920 and then they write the ship. I think what's very 0:07:56.960 --> 0:08:00.360 interesting is the comment that Josh Hart made on the 0:08:00.440 --> 0:08:03.400 Roommates podcast not that long ago, where he said, listen. 0:08:03.720 --> 0:08:06.640 It's only a few minutes. 0:08:06.240 --> 0:08:09.920 Per game where maybe you get a bad call or 0:08:09.960 --> 0:08:12.480 a great call, or maybe you go through a little 0:08:12.480 --> 0:08:14.480 bit of a shooting slump or a hot streak, and 0:08:14.800 --> 0:08:19.200 that decides everything these games. When we slump, people think 0:08:19.240 --> 0:08:21.560 that we're going to change things or change everything. 0:08:21.560 --> 0:08:23.560 We're not changing anything, uh. 0:08:23.760 --> 0:08:25.680 And we're so glad to have a fan base that 0:08:25.760 --> 0:08:28.600 cares about us and rocks with us whether we're losing 0:08:28.680 --> 0:08:31.280 or winning, but also presses us to be better. It's 0:08:31.320 --> 0:08:33.080 better than a fan base that doesn't care at all, 0:08:33.160 --> 0:08:33.720 And I think. 0:08:33.600 --> 0:08:34.439 That's very fair. 0:08:34.800 --> 0:08:37.360 The Knicks are gonna have downturns, They're gonna have upswings. 0:08:37.400 --> 0:08:39.320 But what matters is how they play in the playoffs. 0:08:39.880 --> 0:08:42.640 And this team with n Kelbridge is playing at a 0:08:42.679 --> 0:08:45.000 pretty damn good level, which we've talked about him before. 0:08:46.120 --> 0:08:47.319 I think they're dangerous. 0:08:48.360 --> 0:08:51.120 The issue, obviously with the TIBs team is will they 0:08:51.240 --> 0:08:57.760 be fresh coming off so many forty minute games? Their 0:08:57.960 --> 0:09:02.880 rotations are eight men at most even a thirty point 0:09:02.960 --> 0:09:06.000 blowout Rent win, Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart, and Karl Anthony 0:09:06.000 --> 0:09:09.240 Towns all put in thirty five or more minutes. As 0:09:09.240 --> 0:09:12.600 someone said about Tibbs all the way back in Chicago, 0:09:12.840 --> 0:09:17.720 the only thing holding the Tibbs team back is Tibbs Cat. 0:09:18.000 --> 0:09:20.000 Karl Anthony Town's Okay, Cat. 0:09:19.800 --> 0:09:23.080 Dismiss this claim of being overworked, but I think it 0:09:23.200 --> 0:09:29.319 is something to monitor moving forward. Okay, since we last talked, 0:09:29.640 --> 0:09:34.640 the Jimmy Butler saga has gotten even more strange. Not 0:09:34.679 --> 0:09:36.480 only has Butler said, Hey, I don't. 0:09:36.280 --> 0:09:38.560 Want to be here anymore. I'm out of here. Trade 0:09:38.559 --> 0:09:41.200 me right now, get me out of here. I'm not happy. 0:09:41.480 --> 0:09:44.040 I've lost my love for the game off the court, 0:09:44.080 --> 0:09:45.720 I'm happy. On the court. I'm miserable. 0:09:46.320 --> 0:09:49.679 Then, the Heat suspended them for ten games, and they 0:09:49.760 --> 0:09:54.400 sent a full memo to the NBPA outlining all the 0:09:54.440 --> 0:09:58.600 ways the Butler has just continued to tank the Heat 0:09:58.720 --> 0:10:01.680 so far, including lying to the team about being injured 0:10:01.920 --> 0:10:03.280 while partying at night. 0:10:04.240 --> 0:10:06.880 It is getting ugly the truth of the matter. 0:10:07.000 --> 0:10:09.640 By the way, Also, Jimmy Butler going to Unrivaled and 0:10:09.720 --> 0:10:13.199 hanging out working out with some of the players was awesome. 0:10:13.320 --> 0:10:15.040 That was like a good feel good story. But the 0:10:15.080 --> 0:10:15.559 truth of the. 0:10:15.520 --> 0:10:19.440 Matter is there's not much interest in taking on Jimmy Butler. 0:10:19.760 --> 0:10:22.079 You're gonna need to pay him one hundred million dollars. 0:10:22.280 --> 0:10:25.079 He's thirty five years old. Even when he's not lying 0:10:25.080 --> 0:10:28.880 about his injuries, he's injured. Even when he's not going out, 0:10:29.120 --> 0:10:31.080 he's still got things that he wants to do off 0:10:31.120 --> 0:10:35.560 the court. And Jimmy Butler is an awesome playoff performer, 0:10:35.760 --> 0:10:38.040 that's what we know he does well, but his regular 0:10:38.080 --> 0:10:41.840 season stuff is not great. On top of that, he's 0:10:41.880 --> 0:10:45.680 a bit mercurial and sometimes. 0:10:45.160 --> 0:10:46.840 Can just decide I don't really want to play for 0:10:46.880 --> 0:10:49.559 you anymore. So he's difficult at best. 0:10:50.160 --> 0:10:54.600 The teams that could hypothetically take on his salary, like 0:10:54.640 --> 0:10:57.760 the Brooklyn Nets or the San Antonio Spurs don't really 0:10:57.800 --> 0:10:59.760 want him. They don't have any interest in adding him 0:10:59.760 --> 0:11:02.720 to the roster, and why would they really, And he 0:11:02.800 --> 0:11:06.079 has zero interest in playing for them or any non contender. 0:11:06.400 --> 0:11:07.479 He even has. 0:11:07.200 --> 0:11:10.640 No interest in playing for some contenders. He said to 0:11:10.679 --> 0:11:13.720 the Milwaukee Bucks, do not trade for me. I don't 0:11:13.800 --> 0:11:16.520 want to play for you. I'm not playing for Doc Rivers. 0:11:17.280 --> 0:11:19.679 The only team that is interested in Jimmy and the 0:11:19.679 --> 0:11:22.560 only team that Jimmy is interested in, are the Phoenix Suns. 0:11:23.559 --> 0:11:28.800 He wants Phoenix bad the big roadblock, Bradley Beial. Bradley 0:11:28.800 --> 0:11:31.280 Buial has a no trade clause. Bradley Bial is the 0:11:31.320 --> 0:11:35.360 only piece that they can conceivably trade for Jimmy Butler 0:11:35.480 --> 0:11:38.960 without looking like complete buffoons. He has one hundred and 0:11:38.960 --> 0:11:41.160 ten million dollars left on his contract and a no 0:11:41.280 --> 0:11:44.079 trade clause that he will not wave wherever he goes next. 0:11:44.360 --> 0:11:46.840 So why would the Miami Heat want to do that? 0:11:47.520 --> 0:11:49.440 So then the Sons in the Heat need to find 0:11:49.440 --> 0:11:52.520 a third team to send them. 0:11:52.559 --> 0:11:54.920 And how difficult is that going to be? 0:11:55.360 --> 0:11:58.400 That's not gonna be easy, I really think, And I 0:11:58.400 --> 0:12:02.160 said this before Jimmy Butler gonna end this season on 0:12:02.240 --> 0:12:05.760 the Heat. He is going to pick up his player 0:12:05.760 --> 0:12:07.160 option and do. 0:12:07.000 --> 0:12:07.800 This shit again. 0:12:08.520 --> 0:12:11.680 It's like when a team is so physical all game 0:12:11.760 --> 0:12:15.480 long that eventually refs just stopped calling fouls. If Jimmy 0:12:15.520 --> 0:12:18.840 Butler is tanking all year long in Miami, They're not 0:12:18.880 --> 0:12:22.439 gonna suspend them the whole season. There's just no way 0:12:22.480 --> 0:12:24.400 that they would do that. There's no way that the 0:12:24.520 --> 0:12:28.520 NBPA would do that. And personally, though, outside of the 0:12:28.559 --> 0:12:31.720 semantics around Jimmy Butler and whether he's doing the right 0:12:31.760 --> 0:12:34.840 thing or whether he's handling this in the appropriate way, 0:12:35.320 --> 0:12:39.800 this is exposed a lot of my Heat brethren, my 0:12:39.920 --> 0:12:44.560 Heat fans, my Heat fan brothers and sisters, y'all look 0:12:44.720 --> 0:12:49.040 like hypocrites right now. I'm just gonna say my mentions. 0:12:49.440 --> 0:12:53.079 When Damian Lillard asked for trade to the Miami Een 0:12:53.280 --> 0:12:57.720 and the Miami were in shambles, people were so mad 0:12:57.720 --> 0:13:01.400 at me. They were commenting, Trista, the Trailblazers just need 0:13:01.400 --> 0:13:04.160 to do right by Dame. Trade him to a contender, 0:13:04.240 --> 0:13:06.440 trade him to where he wants to go. Allow that 0:13:06.559 --> 0:13:11.239 man who's been loyal to get to his destination, regardless 0:13:11.240 --> 0:13:14.920 of what the package pause looks like for Damian Lillard 0:13:14.960 --> 0:13:17.920 from the Miami you take that Heimi Hawk as Tyler Hero, 0:13:18.080 --> 0:13:21.040 Nikola Jovich and two first round picks in twenty seven 0:13:21.080 --> 0:13:23.120 and twenty thirty one or whatever it was, and. 0:13:23.040 --> 0:13:25.959 You fucking eat that and swallow it and like it. 0:13:26.280 --> 0:13:27.280 And I was like no. 0:13:28.040 --> 0:13:30.760 And then my comments were, Oh, well, you're just a 0:13:30.800 --> 0:13:33.360 poverty franchise and nobody's gonna wanna come there if you 0:13:33.400 --> 0:13:36.080 don't do right by Dame blah blah blah blah blah 0:13:36.120 --> 0:13:39.800 blah blah. And now look at you, and now you're saying, 0:13:40.440 --> 0:13:42.679 we just need to get something back. 0:13:42.720 --> 0:13:45.200 Good for Jimmy. We're not gonna send him wherever he 0:13:45.280 --> 0:13:45.880 wants to go. 0:13:46.160 --> 0:13:51.480 It's a different tune all together, Heat fans. But one 0:13:51.480 --> 0:13:54.560 thing is for sure, this is not gonna have a 0:13:54.600 --> 0:13:58.400 happy ending. This will end badly for everyone involved. No 0:13:58.400 --> 0:14:00.920 one's gonna get what they want. And I don't think 0:14:00.960 --> 0:14:10.000 this ends anytime soon. Zion's back returning, but the honeymoon 0:14:10.240 --> 0:14:11.280 lasted just one game. 0:14:11.400 --> 0:14:12.920 Zion also looked bomb. 0:14:13.040 --> 0:14:16.360 He looked really good against the Timberwolves. Yeah, he actually 0:14:16.360 --> 0:14:19.080 looked like he was pretty fit. Twenty eight minutes he played, 0:14:19.640 --> 0:14:22.920 reminded everyone that he is, in fact still a superstar 0:14:23.000 --> 0:14:26.120 when healthy, drives I think the third most in the 0:14:26.240 --> 0:14:29.760 NBA per game. Most of the discourse was all about 0:14:29.760 --> 0:14:32.160 how good it was to see him back, how fit 0:14:32.240 --> 0:14:35.840 he looked, and then all of a sudden, the Pelicans 0:14:35.840 --> 0:14:41.360 suspended Zion for conduct detrimental to the team after one game. 0:14:42.400 --> 0:14:44.680 You can't make this up. You really cannot make it up, 0:14:45.400 --> 0:14:50.080 Chris Haynes reported the following. New Orleans Pelicans stars Zion 0:14:50.160 --> 0:14:55.080 Williamson has been late for multiple practices this season, on 0:14:55.160 --> 0:14:58.640 top of being late for the team's flight to Philadelphia. 0:14:59.160 --> 0:15:02.640 These incidents led to a one game suspension. 0:15:04.080 --> 0:15:06.760 Bruh, you can't get How do you get fired on 0:15:06.800 --> 0:15:07.480 your day off? 0:15:08.040 --> 0:15:10.960 How are you late when you haven't even been here 0:15:11.040 --> 0:15:14.840 the whole season? Bro, this is a bad look. Zion 0:15:14.880 --> 0:15:17.760 took accountability. He said, this is on me. I shouldn't 0:15:17.800 --> 0:15:19.120 have done it, and this is a bad look for 0:15:19.200 --> 0:15:23.920 me the franchise. But like Zion, you're kinda you kinda 0:15:23.960 --> 0:15:25.120 ain't shit right now. 0:15:25.240 --> 0:15:25.560 Really. 0:15:26.080 --> 0:15:29.440 Zion ended up missing two games before coming back Sunday night, 0:15:30.080 --> 0:15:32.440 losing to the Celtics, where he put up sixteen seven 0:15:32.480 --> 0:15:35.680 and three, he had five steals in limited action. The 0:15:35.760 --> 0:15:40.200 trade rumors are now even heating up more honestly, because 0:15:40.200 --> 0:15:42.560 people are saying, well, while he still looks fit and 0:15:42.600 --> 0:15:44.400 he's still healthy, they might as well get rid of 0:15:44.480 --> 0:15:47.600 him to somebody who wants him, like a San Antonio 0:15:47.720 --> 0:15:52.320 Spurs type. But if the Pelicans continue to play terribly 0:15:52.720 --> 0:15:56.240 and Cooper Flag continues to ball out, does he want 0:15:56.240 --> 0:15:58.640 to play for the New Orleans Pelicans with Zion on 0:15:58.720 --> 0:16:00.400 it and brandon ingram on it. 0:16:00.680 --> 0:16:01.280 I don't know. 0:16:02.600 --> 0:16:04.480 Hopefully this is just a blip on the radar and 0:16:04.520 --> 0:16:06.160 we zee Zion on the floor for the rest of 0:16:06.160 --> 0:16:10.080 the year. But knowing Zion strap in folks, it's gonna 0:16:10.080 --> 0:16:13.720 be a bumpy, lumpy ride again. 0:16:14.760 --> 0:16:16.000 Okay, some news. 0:16:15.680 --> 0:16:19.600 From around the league. I would be remiss not to 0:16:19.680 --> 0:16:25.040 mention just the devastating fires that have plagued LA. The 0:16:25.080 --> 0:16:28.760 place that I used to live, the Pacific Palisades, was 0:16:28.800 --> 0:16:29.040 like a. 0:16:29.000 --> 0:16:29.880 Second home to me. 0:16:30.200 --> 0:16:33.440 They used to spend a lot of time there and 0:16:33.560 --> 0:16:37.040 to see it disappearing in real time has just been crushing. 0:16:37.800 --> 0:16:41.320 And the NBA community, as you imagine, was hit hard 0:16:41.320 --> 0:16:45.520 as well. JJ Reddick, head coach of the LA Lakers 0:16:45.720 --> 0:16:48.640 lost his rental home, but he also lost all of 0:16:48.680 --> 0:16:49.520 his belongings. 0:16:49.640 --> 0:16:50.400 He said, I. 0:16:50.360 --> 0:16:55.440 Wasn't prepared for what I saw. It's devastation and total destruction. 0:16:55.880 --> 0:16:57.240 I had to go a different way to get to 0:16:57.320 --> 0:16:59.160 the house, but I went through most of the Palisades 0:16:59.240 --> 0:17:02.000 village and it was just all gone. I don't think 0:17:02.080 --> 0:17:05.399 you can prepare yourself for something like that. Our home, 0:17:06.119 --> 0:17:11.760 it's gone. Other Lakers personnel tragically lost homes include the 0:17:11.800 --> 0:17:16.040 team's legal director, Dan Grisby, Josh Green, the Lakers general counsel, 0:17:16.720 --> 0:17:20.280 who lost homes in the Palisades, and Rohan Ollie, the 0:17:20.320 --> 0:17:23.400 team cameraman who lost his home in Altadena. 0:17:24.320 --> 0:17:26.360 As for the Clippers, Kawhi Leonard, after just. 0:17:26.320 --> 0:17:29.000 Coming back from injury, he is stepping away from the 0:17:29.040 --> 0:17:31.159 team to take care of his family who had to 0:17:31.200 --> 0:17:34.920 evacuate as well. Doe to the fires. We've got games canceling. 0:17:35.160 --> 0:17:37.639 LA Laker games and the Clipper games were canceled through 0:17:37.680 --> 0:17:40.520 the fires. Probably gonna resume soon, but the fires are 0:17:40.640 --> 0:17:46.119 raging on. More homes in the valley are starting to 0:17:46.119 --> 0:17:49.679 go up in flames, Evacuations are more taking place. Attendance 0:17:49.760 --> 0:17:51.760 is probably going to be spotty because of so many 0:17:51.800 --> 0:17:52.679 displaced people. 0:17:53.080 --> 0:17:53.639 It's tough. 0:17:54.040 --> 0:17:58.760 My heart goes out to everyone that is affected by this. 0:17:58.960 --> 0:18:03.520 It's been gratifying to see community outreach and support and 0:18:04.200 --> 0:18:08.440 a pouring of just embracing one another, you know, and 0:18:09.080 --> 0:18:13.679 getting supplies and shelters opening up for the animals that 0:18:14.560 --> 0:18:16.359 needed to be evacuated as well. 0:18:16.440 --> 0:18:18.240 And it's just a lot. 0:18:18.440 --> 0:18:23.000 And to see people help others in distress when government 0:18:23.080 --> 0:18:26.399 programs and insurance companies aren't doing what they need to 0:18:26.440 --> 0:18:31.600 do in times where it's very dire was heartwarming, honestly. 0:18:33.000 --> 0:18:35.720 So I hope everybody's staying safe out there in LA 0:18:35.800 --> 0:18:40.480 and I wish I could do something more anyway. Moving 0:18:40.520 --> 0:18:45.520 on to some other NBA news, turns out that those 0:18:45.520 --> 0:18:47.399 big plans that the Sixers had to build a new 0:18:47.440 --> 0:18:52.080 stadium at Market Street are dead. Instead, the organization said 0:18:52.080 --> 0:18:54.200 they're going to build a new stadium in South Philly, 0:18:54.800 --> 0:18:57.440 although the details have not been released. The change of 0:18:57.520 --> 0:18:59.680 venue is tied now to a new deal of the 0:18:59.720 --> 0:19:06.000 six signed with Comcast Spectacor. What's surprising though, is that 0:19:06.040 --> 0:19:08.959 the news is that the Philadelphia City Council just approved 0:19:08.960 --> 0:19:11.159 the project, and now the Sixers are being accused of 0:19:11.200 --> 0:19:14.600 acting in bad faith by supporters of the original project, 0:19:14.800 --> 0:19:18.520 which promised to revitalize a huge swath of the city's downtown. 0:19:19.600 --> 0:19:23.320 The plan was not without opponents. It was slated to 0:19:23.320 --> 0:19:27.879 basically remove Philadelphia's Chinatown from existence, which is not good, 0:19:28.240 --> 0:19:31.119 and create an enormous gridlock in the center of the city. 0:19:31.520 --> 0:19:35.080 Councilman Jimmy Harridy, who supported the downtown plan, he is 0:19:35.920 --> 0:19:37.520 he is pissed, folks. 0:19:38.119 --> 0:19:38.560 Quote. 0:19:38.640 --> 0:19:42.040 I am so livid right now. I don't even know 0:19:42.119 --> 0:19:44.919 what to say. I feel as though I was used 0:19:45.000 --> 0:19:49.960 as a pawn, no, sir, more like stalking horse. It's 0:19:49.960 --> 0:19:52.159 more of what it feels like to me. Since the 0:19:52.200 --> 0:19:56.159 Sixers rent out their Curnerina from Comcast Spectacre, it is 0:19:56.240 --> 0:19:59.679 almost certain that they may be updating venues and they 0:19:59.680 --> 0:20:04.280 will not be changing locations. All right, And finally we 0:20:04.359 --> 0:20:08.080 got a DeMarcus Cousins Boogie Cousins Sighting Boogie signed a 0:20:08.119 --> 0:20:11.920 deal with Sey Lang Gay bo Don Soup Bar. 0:20:11.960 --> 0:20:14.520 Tar whooh, okay. 0:20:14.600 --> 0:20:18.200 I don't know if that's correct exactly, but who They're 0:20:18.240 --> 0:20:21.520 a team in the Mongolian Professional League. Get your money, Boogie, 0:20:21.760 --> 0:20:24.120 get your fucking money. I would do the same thing. 0:20:24.800 --> 0:20:28.919 I was unaware that Mongolia, the country north of China 0:20:28.960 --> 0:20:31.000 with the population of just three and a half million people, 0:20:31.040 --> 0:20:33.320 had a professional league, But in fact they do. They 0:20:33.359 --> 0:20:39.320 have a ten team Professional Basketball Association and Selangey stands 0:20:39.320 --> 0:20:41.920 in second place at ten and five. They are contending, 0:20:42.160 --> 0:20:45.240 trailing the zach Broncos who are off to a hot 0:20:45.280 --> 0:20:46.640 fifteen and dudes dart. 0:20:46.960 --> 0:20:49.600 As they say, can't stop the zach Broncos. You can 0:20:49.680 --> 0:20:52.280 only hope to contain them, you know. That's what my 0:20:52.320 --> 0:20:53.240 mama always says. 0:20:53.480 --> 0:20:56.280 Some detailed research shows that there are at least twenty 0:20:56.359 --> 0:21:00.320 American players though right now Mongolia, including some for Mirria. 0:21:00.320 --> 0:21:01.280 Your names that you might know. 0:21:01.440 --> 0:21:04.600 Lance Thomas played a duke, played briefly for the Knicks. 0:21:04.840 --> 0:21:08.480 Orlando Johnson man. Orlando Johnson had a lot of promise 0:21:08.520 --> 0:21:11.440 from Santa Barbara, who played with the Pacers diamond Stone. 0:21:11.480 --> 0:21:14.600 He got drafted fortieth overall. He played with the Clippers. 0:21:14.920 --> 0:21:19.399 Other college stars excuse me, Chamori Pond's out of Saint John's, 0:21:19.440 --> 0:21:22.760 Kenny Wooton, junior of my Oregon Ducks, all of them. 0:21:22.359 --> 0:21:23.520 Playing in Mongolia. 0:21:24.520 --> 0:21:27.119 I am happy that men are able to make a 0:21:27.160 --> 0:21:29.320 living somewhere doing what they love. 0:21:29.760 --> 0:21:31.440 Thirty four years old, Boogie Cousins. 0:21:31.520 --> 0:21:33.520 He should probably still be in the league right now, 0:21:33.760 --> 0:21:36.600 but at least he's out getting his bread. I would 0:21:36.640 --> 0:21:38.600 love to sit down and get some stories about what 0:21:38.600 --> 0:21:40.440 it's like in Mongolia to play basketball. 0:21:40.840 --> 0:21:43.040