WEBVTT - BONUS: Interviews with Sean Little and Robin Lundberg 0:00:00.480 --> 0:00:02.920 You're tuned into Heat Check with Triste Quick. 0:00:06.200 --> 0:00:08.560 On this episode of the Heat Check, We've got a 0:00:08.680 --> 0:00:11.320 very special treat for you a couple of interviews that 0:00:11.360 --> 0:00:13.880 I recorded on my nightly betting show bet MGM The Night, 0:00:13.920 --> 0:00:16.880 which I co host every night Monday through Friday, seven 0:00:16.920 --> 0:00:20.320 to eleven pm Eastern with my co host Ryan Horvat 0:00:20.480 --> 0:00:23.479 and PJ Lasser. On this episode, we talked to NBA 0:00:23.600 --> 0:00:26.079 insider Sean Little of the MSG Network and the No 0:00:26.200 --> 0:00:29.560 Ketchup Podcast. He breaks down his thoughts on the NBA 0:00:29.640 --> 0:00:32.040 season so far, and we follow it up actually with 0:00:32.080 --> 0:00:35.519 an interview with Robin Lundberg of SI who gives some 0:00:35.640 --> 0:00:38.600 great insight into the league as well. There's one team 0:00:38.640 --> 0:00:43.919 that he is surprisingly low on and it rhymes with 0:00:44.520 --> 0:00:49.720 Smiladelphia Sixers. Double interviews mean double bonuses for you, Nick, 0:00:49.840 --> 0:01:00.040 do me a favor and drop that beat. In this 0:01:00.120 --> 0:01:02.920 first clip, I asked Sean his thoughts on the New 0:01:03.000 --> 0:01:06.280 York Knicks, who lost their opener to the Grizzlies but 0:01:06.400 --> 0:01:09.360 managed to claw back and force overtime. They showed a 0:01:09.360 --> 0:01:11.880 ton of grit, and since he's a Chicago guy now 0:01:11.920 --> 0:01:14.240 living in New York City, I had to ask him 0:01:14.280 --> 0:01:15.280 about the Bulls as well. 0:01:15.440 --> 0:01:18.560 Listen in Yeah, I mean I live. I live out 0:01:18.600 --> 0:01:21.039 here half the week now and majority of the week. 0:01:21.080 --> 0:01:23.280 I went back and forth from New York and Chicago, 0:01:23.520 --> 0:01:26.039 and everybody I talked to this morning was very encouraged. 0:01:26.080 --> 0:01:29.319 I know, I was watching them. Yeah, that was easily 0:01:29.360 --> 0:01:31.520 a game that they could have. You know, opening night 0:01:32.200 --> 0:01:34.880 kind of got tucked in early, were down big, and 0:01:34.920 --> 0:01:38.040 they could have folded up. But I think they showed 0:01:38.040 --> 0:01:41.840 a lot of fight Julius. It's such it was so 0:01:41.920 --> 0:01:45.240 important for Julius Randall to get going and be involved 0:01:45.280 --> 0:01:48.600 early like he was, because when he's not, everything snowballed 0:01:48.600 --> 0:01:50.960 and it starts to snowball from game to game. I 0:01:51.000 --> 0:01:53.440 also think it was major that, you know, they went 0:01:53.480 --> 0:01:56.920 and got Jalen Brunson to handle the rock so Julius 0:01:56.920 --> 0:02:00.120 doesn't RJ. If RJ didn't play is bad as he 0:02:00.160 --> 0:02:02.720 did last night, they win that game about five, six, 0:02:02.880 --> 0:02:05.720 maybe even seven points. So yeah, I was encouraged. They 0:02:05.720 --> 0:02:08.480 have a big home stretch coming up here that they 0:02:08.520 --> 0:02:10.440 have to play really well. They play, they play some 0:02:10.560 --> 0:02:13.440 of the bottom teams in the league, Detroit being one 0:02:13.480 --> 0:02:18.160 of them. They kick off tomorrow with the opener, But yeah, 0:02:18.520 --> 0:02:21.480 very encouraged. Everyone I talked to in New York is 0:02:21.639 --> 0:02:24.560 very encouraged. Memphis is supposed to be, you know, a 0:02:24.680 --> 0:02:27.440 top flight Western Conference team, and they went head up 0:02:27.440 --> 0:02:27.960 in the opener. 0:02:28.560 --> 0:02:32.160 Let's talk about the Chicago Bulls because first and foremost, 0:02:32.320 --> 0:02:35.639 very impressive win against the Miami Heat, even though the 0:02:35.680 --> 0:02:38.480 Miami came back, made it a game, just a I 0:02:38.480 --> 0:02:41.399 would say, very impressive. More impressive than even last year, 0:02:41.400 --> 0:02:43.520 considering that a bunch of your guys are not really 0:02:43.600 --> 0:02:46.560 right and secondarily you know your thoughts on that. But 0:02:47.240 --> 0:02:48.720 what's up with Pat Williams. 0:02:50.600 --> 0:02:52.760 Yeah, let's be clear. The only people that I want 0:02:52.760 --> 0:02:56.080 to know are Io Desumu and Jamar Jarroz and everybody else. 0:02:57.520 --> 0:03:01.639 They can't even take credit for that WU yesterday. But yeah, 0:03:01.760 --> 0:03:05.680 it's it was a very encouraging win. They looked good. Jamar, 0:03:06.400 --> 0:03:11.320 It's just ridiculous. I I tweeted out yesterday, looked for 0:03:11.600 --> 0:03:16.720 look to take his point total, attent total, all that 0:03:16.800 --> 0:03:20.040 stuff over. When Levine's not in his use is great. 0:03:20.120 --> 0:03:23.600 Skyrockets by like five or six percent. His attempt shot 0:03:23.639 --> 0:03:26.120 to go up by five or six, He scores six, 0:03:26.160 --> 0:03:29.519 seven points more a game. He's sensational when Levine's out, 0:03:29.960 --> 0:03:32.359 So yeah, it was a it was a great win. 0:03:32.960 --> 0:03:36.200 I don't know just what's going on with Pat Williams. 0:03:36.240 --> 0:03:40.720 I it's it's very nauseating because at the very least 0:03:41.000 --> 0:03:43.920 for a guy that's his friend, six's a you know, 0:03:44.040 --> 0:03:46.520 but you know the whole story, perfect frame for a 0:03:46.560 --> 0:03:49.200 young hooper. He doesn't even clean He doesn't even clean 0:03:49.280 --> 0:03:51.760 up the glass. He makes no impact in the game. 0:03:51.840 --> 0:03:54.320 Whatso everyone he's out there and I know he got 0:03:54.400 --> 0:03:56.400 hurt and missed the majority of the year last year, 0:03:56.440 --> 0:03:58.120 but even in like the ten or twelve games that 0:03:58.200 --> 0:04:00.400 he did play, it was very similar the way you 0:04:00.400 --> 0:04:04.360 saw it last night, not really making an impact. He's 0:04:04.480 --> 0:04:08.160 kind of just a guy out there jumping around and 0:04:08.200 --> 0:04:11.360 playing a little bit of defense, but he just doesn't 0:04:11.360 --> 0:04:13.240 make an impact on the game. And I don't know, 0:04:13.640 --> 0:04:15.280 you hate to give up on a dude that's so 0:04:15.480 --> 0:04:18.560 young like he is, but you also have to look 0:04:18.600 --> 0:04:22.920 for something that gives you a spark, a flash of something, 0:04:22.960 --> 0:04:24.599 and I haven't seen it at all. 0:04:25.160 --> 0:04:28.839 In this clip. I asked Sean his candid thoughts about 0:04:28.880 --> 0:04:31.000 a couple of teams from the West who could surprise 0:04:31.080 --> 0:04:34.880 for different reasons. The New Orleans Pelicans and the Phoenix Suns. 0:04:35.480 --> 0:04:38.560 The Pelicans are awesome. I won't jump out and say 0:04:38.560 --> 0:04:41.599 they're a legit contender to go on and win the West, 0:04:41.640 --> 0:04:45.359 but they're loaded. Man, Zion is awesome. He's literally a 0:04:45.440 --> 0:04:49.080 walking twenty five plus every night. Ye whan when he 0:04:49.120 --> 0:04:51.800 wants to walk on the court and he's healthy. I 0:04:51.839 --> 0:04:54.039 was joking around in the group chat. One of my 0:04:54.080 --> 0:04:57.279 boys says, man, make Zion go right, and it's like, man, 0:04:57.680 --> 0:05:00.840 you can't. It's impossible to make him go right. He's 0:05:00.880 --> 0:05:03.240 going to go left whenever he wants, and he's going 0:05:03.279 --> 0:05:05.320 to get to the basket and try to finish at 0:05:05.320 --> 0:05:08.719 the rim. I mean they're awesome. Zion can score, Ingram 0:05:08.760 --> 0:05:11.880 can score Herbs. The big question mark right, is who's 0:05:11.920 --> 0:05:14.240 going to play defense. Well, Herb Jones will play D. 0:05:14.680 --> 0:05:16.640 You got Alvarado who will come off the bench and 0:05:16.720 --> 0:05:20.120 bring energy and play D. You got Balanceonis who will rebound. 0:05:20.400 --> 0:05:23.280 Davonte Graham off the bench, is not afraid to get 0:05:23.279 --> 0:05:26.600 shot up. He'll get his shots up. Larry Mantill run 0:05:26.680 --> 0:05:29.479 the floor. I really I'm with you, guys, I really 0:05:29.480 --> 0:05:32.080 really like the Pelicans, and I didn't even namc delacull 0:05:32.120 --> 0:05:35.880 him who when a big bucket is needed, jump shot 0:05:35.960 --> 0:05:37.839 or otherwise, he's shown that he can get it done 0:05:37.839 --> 0:05:41.120 for you. Yeah, I really really like this squad. They're young, 0:05:41.200 --> 0:05:43.320 they'll have a lot of energy. They'll be fun to lost. 0:05:43.880 --> 0:05:46.360 My number one leak past squad right now for sure. 0:05:46.480 --> 0:05:46.680 Yeah. 0:05:46.800 --> 0:05:50.320 Absolutely another team that I think some of us thought 0:05:50.360 --> 0:05:52.560 maybe would take a big step back just because of 0:05:52.600 --> 0:05:56.880 all the drama issues with the contract of DeAndre Ayton, 0:05:57.279 --> 0:05:59.560 you know, Chris Paul getting another year older, and some 0:05:59.600 --> 0:06:02.520 of this that he has with teammates. Just generally speaking, 0:06:02.960 --> 0:06:07.279 what a gritty, gritty comeback win for Phoenix against the 0:06:07.320 --> 0:06:10.080 mass They could have just laid down and died, and 0:06:10.200 --> 0:06:13.599 yet somehow, some way, Monty Williams decides, Okay, well, I'm 0:06:13.680 --> 0:06:16.120 actually going to bench Chris Paul that my guys who 0:06:16.160 --> 0:06:19.320 were on microwaves finish this game out. What were your 0:06:19.320 --> 0:06:21.840 thoughts just on that game and whether we can take 0:06:21.880 --> 0:06:25.400 anything from that in terms of how good Phoenix can 0:06:25.440 --> 0:06:25.919 actually be. 0:06:26.520 --> 0:06:28.839 Yeah, you know what it feels like to me that 0:06:29.240 --> 0:06:32.320 Dallas is just a bad matchup for them. Overall. They 0:06:32.360 --> 0:06:35.360 have a lot of trouble with Dallas. That's obviously been 0:06:35.400 --> 0:06:37.960 seen in the playoffs and we saw and you saw 0:06:37.960 --> 0:06:40.440 it last night in the majority of the game. But yeah, 0:06:40.560 --> 0:06:44.040 it was awesome. They locked in and did what had 0:06:44.080 --> 0:06:46.720 to be done. I think when you get in situations 0:06:46.760 --> 0:06:48.640 like they were down last night, in a little momentum 0:06:48.680 --> 0:06:51.279 starts to come back. As they're getting back into the game, 0:06:51.480 --> 0:06:54.000 we're not thinking about like the off the field stuff 0:06:54.000 --> 0:06:56.080 we're not talking are off the court stuff we're not 0:06:56.080 --> 0:06:59.480 talking about. Aden's not wanting to be there. He's already 0:06:59.480 --> 0:07:01.560 on the floor doing this thing. I think it was 0:07:01.600 --> 0:07:05.440 a very gritty win. It was encouraging to see. It 0:07:05.480 --> 0:07:09.000 was encouraging to see, you know, those guys get rolling. 0:07:09.320 --> 0:07:13.320 Ayden was efficient, Devin led the way. I was watching 0:07:13.360 --> 0:07:16.800 the show and I heard Bill Ryder crush Chris Paul. 0:07:16.600 --> 0:07:18.040 When you were interviewing. 0:07:18.200 --> 0:07:21.240 I thought he crushed him, and I thought that was 0:07:21.280 --> 0:07:23.560 a little over the top, right, I'm like, man like, 0:07:23.760 --> 0:07:27.400 he's shown year in and year out, and as recently 0:07:27.480 --> 0:07:30.480 of last year, that he's still one of the best 0:07:30.640 --> 0:07:33.680 clutch basketball players in the world. He would close out 0:07:33.920 --> 0:07:36.680 games for the Sun night in and night out, and 0:07:36.800 --> 0:07:41.120 basically tough teams away and he was a non factor yesterday. 0:07:41.160 --> 0:07:43.680 It was almost like they realized they had to move 0:07:43.720 --> 0:07:46.840 on without him. So, yeah, you're right, they left Paul 0:07:46.920 --> 0:07:49.880 on the bench and when he did that thing. 0:07:50.320 --> 0:07:53.840 Finally, I asked Sean about the Los Angeles teams and 0:07:53.840 --> 0:07:56.640 his thoughts on the Clippers and Lakers. They are very, 0:07:57.080 --> 0:07:58.320 very well worth listening. 0:07:58.600 --> 0:08:02.000 After all the law of that the Clippers got in 0:08:02.040 --> 0:08:05.080 the offseason. We know who's coming back and apparently who's 0:08:05.080 --> 0:08:08.120 coming up, who's coming off the bench. We can have 0:08:08.160 --> 0:08:11.840 a whole other conversation about how these injuries are are 0:08:11.920 --> 0:08:14.400 dealt with nowadays, Like people strain a calf and they're 0:08:14.400 --> 0:08:17.240 out forty games. It's like it's kind of insane. But 0:08:17.280 --> 0:08:19.160 we can talk about that the other time. But the 0:08:19.240 --> 0:08:22.000 Lakers are they still have the rocks. But I also 0:08:22.120 --> 0:08:24.200 think that number was a little fishy to five and 0:08:24.240 --> 0:08:26.400 a half the point spread for all the love that 0:08:26.600 --> 0:08:28.800 the Clippers gott and how deep they are, because they 0:08:28.880 --> 0:08:32.920 are incredibly deep. You start talking about take because a 0:08:32.920 --> 0:08:35.480 ad looks great. Last night, he was moving really well. 0:08:35.520 --> 0:08:37.719 I like the way he looks. Lebron is Lebron. He 0:08:37.800 --> 0:08:40.880 scored twenty nine or thirty last night. But then okay, 0:08:40.960 --> 0:08:43.480 we know about the deal with Russell Westbrook, but the 0:08:43.600 --> 0:08:46.600 who's the fourth best player? Kendrick Nunn is that the 0:08:46.640 --> 0:08:48.880 fourth best is that the fourth best player on the team, 0:08:48.960 --> 0:08:51.880 Kendrick Nunn is it Walker the fourth like who? Like that? 0:08:51.880 --> 0:08:54.480 That's where he gets really really spooky, right, So if 0:08:54.480 --> 0:08:57.000 you pull those two guys and then there's questions around 0:08:57.040 --> 0:09:01.280 the third best player. So, I mean, it's just a 0:09:01.320 --> 0:09:05.080 really tough situation that it just seems like Lebron is 0:09:05.200 --> 0:09:08.320 just internally has kind of, you know, has accepted, like 0:09:08.360 --> 0:09:10.000 I have a lot of other stuff going on. I'm 0:09:10.040 --> 0:09:12.160 going to try to go get Kareem's record, like I 0:09:12.200 --> 0:09:14.520 think deep down, you know, if there's no titles coming 0:09:14.559 --> 0:09:15.200 anytime soon. 0:09:15.640 --> 0:09:17.679 Yeah. The thing about the sun, Sean, I don't know 0:09:17.679 --> 0:09:19.680 if you've ever lived in la is that it just 0:09:19.800 --> 0:09:22.200 makes you forget all your ambition. When it's seventy two 0:09:22.280 --> 0:09:25.440 in sunny every single day, you just like you're like, 0:09:25.520 --> 0:09:27.920 I don't really even care. I said this really quickly, 0:09:27.960 --> 0:09:30.160 and I'd like to get your thoughts. Is it possible 0:09:30.280 --> 0:09:32.600 Lebron James as a Laker never makes it to the 0:09:32.600 --> 0:09:33.360 playoffs ever? 0:09:33.440 --> 0:09:34.800 Again, Oh, I. 0:09:34.720 --> 0:09:39.360 Mean to the league. Yeah, it is possible. It definitely 0:09:39.400 --> 0:09:41.720 is possible. I think with the play in kind of 0:09:41.800 --> 0:09:45.240 changes that a little bit. But I don't see unforseeably 0:09:45.600 --> 0:09:48.160 competing in the NBA. You don't want to be the 0:09:48.200 --> 0:09:50.480 team scratching and clawing to get the eight and then 0:09:50.520 --> 0:09:53.280 get bounced like that's the worst place in the entire 0:09:53.360 --> 0:09:54.920 world that you want to be. And that's kind of 0:09:54.920 --> 0:09:57.160 what I'm afraid of for my bulls. If this whole 0:09:57.240 --> 0:09:59.320 of beam thing continues to happen, we might have to 0:09:59.360 --> 0:10:01.920 rip it down once again really quick. What happened to 0:10:01.960 --> 0:10:04.320 Lebron last year? He realized they weren't going to do 0:10:04.360 --> 0:10:08.400 anything and the roster that they assembled wasn't going to compete, 0:10:08.520 --> 0:10:10.000 so he just went out every night and tried to 0:10:10.040 --> 0:10:12.280 score thirty second and scoring in the league. 0:10:12.440 --> 0:10:12.680 Yep. 0:10:13.000 --> 0:10:16.120 I think something like that can happen once again this year, 0:10:16.120 --> 0:10:18.240 where he just looks around, He's like, man, this isn't it. 0:10:18.400 --> 0:10:20.800 I'm going to go get Kareinge record and the score 0:10:20.800 --> 0:10:24.559 a toront of points and I'll pull a handy. I'll 0:10:24.559 --> 0:10:26.840 sit a bunch of games if I need to, and 0:10:27.080 --> 0:10:29.360 we'll just continue the way for Brownie to show up 0:10:29.440 --> 0:10:31.760 and I'll do movies and I'll do all that other stuff. 0:10:31.880 --> 0:10:34.200 So to answer your question, I think he'll get back 0:10:34.240 --> 0:10:36.600 to the playoffs. Will he ever actually have a chance 0:10:36.640 --> 0:10:39.120 to compete again and even make it to the Western 0:10:39.120 --> 0:10:41.640 Conference finals at this rate, I would say no. 0:10:42.360 --> 0:10:45.600 We also had on Robin Lundberg, senior host of SI, 0:10:45.800 --> 0:10:47.960 to get his thoughts on the opening week. In his 0:10:48.000 --> 0:10:50.920 first clip, he gives a very savage opinion on a 0:10:50.920 --> 0:10:54.040 couple of teams with very myopic fan bases, the LA 0:10:54.120 --> 0:10:57.439 Lakers and the Philadelphia seventy six ers. How does he 0:10:57.480 --> 0:10:59.080 think they're going to fare this year? Do they have 0:10:59.080 --> 0:11:00.000 any chance to contend? 0:11:01.000 --> 0:11:04.960 Listen in, the Lakers still have Lebron James, and they 0:11:05.160 --> 0:11:07.880 still have Anthony Davis. But beyond that, who's the third 0:11:07.880 --> 0:11:11.480 best player. It's probably Patrick Beverley, right, So there's always 0:11:11.480 --> 0:11:14.240 a little extra when it comes to Lebron, when it 0:11:14.240 --> 0:11:16.400 comes to the Lakers and some of the criticism that's 0:11:16.440 --> 0:11:18.640 probably lobbed their way, and everyone knows that they got 0:11:18.679 --> 0:11:20.120 to get it out of the way now, especially if 0:11:20.120 --> 0:11:23.559 it spirals downhill. Plus, there's a whole Westbrook dynamic, and 0:11:24.000 --> 0:11:27.040 he's the punching bag. But the problem is that the 0:11:27.080 --> 0:11:29.800 construction of the roster in a few ways. One, they 0:11:29.800 --> 0:11:31.959 don't have the three point shooting, which Lebron pointed out 0:11:31.960 --> 0:11:33.560 the other day. And if Lebron's going to be the 0:11:33.600 --> 0:11:36.080 basis of your team, you're gonna need shooters. That's been 0:11:36.120 --> 0:11:39.760 the blueprint basically, you know, the entirety of his career, 0:11:39.880 --> 0:11:42.480 especially you know, since he went back to the calves 0:11:42.920 --> 0:11:46.600 and became, you know, the older version of himself as 0:11:46.600 --> 0:11:48.840 he evolved a little bit. And then one thing I 0:11:48.840 --> 0:11:52.360 think is also interesting is everybody talks about the bubble 0:11:52.520 --> 0:11:55.080 and they like to say TJ. Warren, or they like 0:11:55.120 --> 0:11:57.520 to point out whoever, you know, a random player that 0:11:57.760 --> 0:12:00.920 went off in the bubble. Perhaps the biggest bubble anomaly 0:12:01.360 --> 0:12:04.120 was the shooting of Anthony Davis, who looked like Kevin 0:12:04.200 --> 0:12:06.120 Durant in the bubble and has been the least efficient 0:12:06.200 --> 0:12:09.120 jump shooter in the NBA over the last two years. 0:12:09.160 --> 0:12:14.120 So yeah, without some sort of influx of athleticism in shooting, 0:12:14.559 --> 0:12:17.080 I do think it's probably gonna be a long season 0:12:17.440 --> 0:12:20.800 for the Lakers. They'll win some games, you know, Lebron 0:12:20.800 --> 0:12:23.440 will get thirty five forty points, in some of these games, 0:12:23.840 --> 0:12:26.200 and I'd actually give them a better chance in a 0:12:26.320 --> 0:12:29.520 series against some teams than I would over the course 0:12:29.559 --> 0:12:32.000 of a long eighty two regular season when depth comes 0:12:32.000 --> 0:12:34.680 into play, because if you get into a short, truncated series, 0:12:34.800 --> 0:12:36.960 you can get carried by a couple of heroic efforts. 0:12:37.000 --> 0:12:39.480 But I just don't see the personnel on this team 0:12:39.520 --> 0:12:42.600 for the Lakers to be anything better than average, because 0:12:42.679 --> 0:12:44.520 they might have the worst roster in the league three 0:12:44.520 --> 0:12:45.120 through fifteen. 0:12:45.320 --> 0:12:49.160 That's facts. Joe l Embiid said after they lost to 0:12:49.200 --> 0:12:52.800 the Heat they needed some dogs, and he specifically named 0:12:52.800 --> 0:12:55.160 PJ Tucker. What I'm saying is, we don't have a 0:12:55.160 --> 0:12:58.040 PJ Tucker. So they go out and get PJ. They 0:12:58.080 --> 0:13:00.120 go out and get a bunch of other guys that 0:13:00.240 --> 0:13:03.800 James Harden played with in Houston. And the question that 0:13:03.840 --> 0:13:06.880 I have is, even with those dogs, do you trust 0:13:07.160 --> 0:13:11.200 the Philadelphia seventy six ers to be a real championship 0:13:11.280 --> 0:13:14.240 contender or is this just a cute team that ends 0:13:14.320 --> 0:13:16.400 up racking up some regular season wins. 0:13:16.559 --> 0:13:18.840 Absolutely no trust. I don't think the Sixers have any 0:13:18.920 --> 0:13:21.200 chance to win a championship. You know, when you talk 0:13:21.240 --> 0:13:24.320 about the flaws on the Sixers. They're also a team 0:13:24.559 --> 0:13:28.679 with some depth issues beyond their top four or five guys. PJ. 0:13:28.760 --> 0:13:31.760 Tucker is a dog and I love PJ. Tucker. I 0:13:31.760 --> 0:13:35.000 also loved Tyrese Maxie. Big fan of Maxis games. But 0:13:35.080 --> 0:13:37.720 the real problem with the Sixers is their stars. Joel 0:13:37.760 --> 0:13:40.160 embiid It's about time we start pointing the finger at him. 0:13:40.200 --> 0:13:43.040 It's always somebody else's fault with Joel Embiid. On's he 0:13:43.160 --> 0:13:45.440 been passed the second round of the playoffs. I don't 0:13:45.480 --> 0:13:48.280 trust either of their stars when it comes to crunchdown. 0:13:48.280 --> 0:13:50.480 And I'll give James Harden a little credit. He's played 0:13:50.520 --> 0:13:52.720 well to start this season and he's hit some like 0:13:53.120 --> 0:13:56.439 little quasi mid range jumpers, which are interesting because he 0:13:56.480 --> 0:13:58.840 hasn't really taken those. But still at the down the 0:13:58.840 --> 0:14:01.679 stretch of this game, and he had the last shot 0:14:01.679 --> 0:14:04.480 attempt there to try and get Philly back the lead, 0:14:04.800 --> 0:14:06.520 he didn't look to make a shot. He looked to 0:14:06.600 --> 0:14:09.400 draw a foul. And that's a problem with Harden. When 0:14:09.400 --> 0:14:11.680 it comes to crunch time, it's either a step back 0:14:11.720 --> 0:14:14.760 three or flailing for a foul. It's not actually trying 0:14:14.760 --> 0:14:16.920 to make a bucket. And I don't trust drawling beat 0:14:16.960 --> 0:14:19.080 at all. When it comes to crunch time, he's flow 0:14:19.520 --> 0:14:21.640 up and down the court. He needs somebody to get 0:14:21.720 --> 0:14:23.920 him the ball to create his shown shot. He often 0:14:23.920 --> 0:14:26.720 looks like he's laboring in those situations to get back 0:14:26.760 --> 0:14:29.440 on D. So I just don't think Philly Stars are 0:14:29.520 --> 0:14:32.080 good enough. And I'm not even sure, you know, over 0:14:32.080 --> 0:14:35.480 the course of the regular season, I trust Boston and 0:14:35.520 --> 0:14:38.560 I trust Milwaukee. Beyond that, we'll see, you know, Miami, 0:14:38.880 --> 0:14:41.680 They've earned a degree of trust with their consistency. I 0:14:41.680 --> 0:14:44.080 wouldn't write the Nets off after one game, though. They 0:14:44.080 --> 0:14:46.400 really have to prove they aren't the softest team in 0:14:46.440 --> 0:14:49.200 the league. The Cavs should be better, that the Hawks 0:14:49.320 --> 0:14:51.640 should be better. I put Philly in the mix with 0:14:51.680 --> 0:14:54.080 those teams, but regardless, when it gets to the playoffs, 0:14:54.280 --> 0:14:56.160 I think they're stealing at the second round. 0:14:57.000 --> 0:14:59.400 We also ask Robin what team would surprise him the 0:14:59.440 --> 0:15:01.840 most a lot of people. He went with the very 0:15:01.880 --> 0:15:05.040 trendy New Orleans Pelicans. He also gave his opinion on 0:15:05.080 --> 0:15:08.200 his very favorite rookie to watch this year, and of course, 0:15:08.560 --> 0:15:11.680 because I have to ask everyone, what was his thoughts 0:15:11.800 --> 0:15:14.960 on the Suns beating the Dallas Mavericks. Listen in. 0:15:15.760 --> 0:15:17.760 I'll say, because I was at this game, I'll say 0:15:17.800 --> 0:15:22.560 the Pelicans. There's something about seeing Zion in person, especially 0:15:22.560 --> 0:15:24.440 if like you have a certain perspective where you can 0:15:24.680 --> 0:15:27.680 see from the side a little bit, where when he 0:15:27.720 --> 0:15:30.920 gets the ball anywhere between let's say eight and ten 0:15:30.960 --> 0:15:35.240 feet of the rim and has any sort of forward momentum, 0:15:35.400 --> 0:15:39.080 the defenders are hapless. There's nothing they can do. He 0:15:39.120 --> 0:15:41.960 can't be stocked. He's just too strong. And then he 0:15:42.440 --> 0:15:44.840 has good touch. If he misses, he has a good 0:15:44.880 --> 0:15:47.840 second jump, so he's right in there. So with that 0:15:48.400 --> 0:15:51.520 aspect added to their team. If he's healthy, you throw 0:15:51.560 --> 0:15:54.800 in Brandon Ingram, who has won me over in recent times. 0:15:54.960 --> 0:15:56.800 I wasn't always the biggest fan of his game, either 0:15:56.880 --> 0:16:00.400 Brandon Ingram and c. J McCollum, who are both pickled 0:16:00.480 --> 0:16:03.600 shot makers. So when it gets into like a bailout situation, 0:16:03.880 --> 0:16:06.000 they got two knyes who can make shots like that, 0:16:06.240 --> 0:16:08.440 and then they got a pretty deep roster. You know 0:16:08.520 --> 0:16:11.280 that they can switch around the physical. So I would 0:16:11.280 --> 0:16:14.360 say my biggest takeaway from the you know, it's hard 0:16:14.360 --> 0:16:16.960 to make preseason predictions right because you're just kind of like, 0:16:16.960 --> 0:16:19.400 all right, do I want to be different or you know, 0:16:19.600 --> 0:16:23.000 you haven't seen stuff from stuff I've seen. The Pelicans 0:16:23.040 --> 0:16:25.280 are the one team that I went, oh, maybe they're 0:16:25.360 --> 0:16:26.320 championship contenders. 0:16:26.360 --> 0:16:28.120 Yeah, if you look at them right now, I think 0:16:28.160 --> 0:16:31.200 when they open they were just to win the West. 0:16:31.600 --> 0:16:34.400 I want to say they were plus twenty eight hundred. 0:16:34.440 --> 0:16:37.560 Let me see what they are I win. Yeah, let 0:16:37.560 --> 0:16:39.320 me see what they are right now? Yeah, to win 0:16:39.360 --> 0:16:41.880 the West, it looks like they're twenty to one. To 0:16:42.000 --> 0:16:44.040 win it all right now is thirty to one, So 0:16:44.080 --> 0:16:46.360 it's actually moved down a little bit. That's really interesting. 0:16:46.560 --> 0:16:48.240 You know another player that when you see him in 0:16:48.240 --> 0:16:51.840 real life, he just seems way more physically imposing than 0:16:51.880 --> 0:16:54.760 he does on TV. Very similar in some ways to 0:16:55.240 --> 0:16:58.720 zion Is Palo. Ben Carol put on an absolute show 0:16:58.800 --> 0:17:00.520 last night. I'm not sure if you had a chance 0:17:00.560 --> 0:17:03.520 to watch that game. It wasn't a game that necessarily 0:17:03.600 --> 0:17:06.320 was nationally televised, so for those who didn't have League Pass, 0:17:06.560 --> 0:17:09.000 tough to watch. But he looks like he's going to 0:17:09.040 --> 0:17:11.280 be sensational. What do you think about some of these 0:17:11.359 --> 0:17:13.400 rookies Pallo included. 0:17:13.080 --> 0:17:15.960 Yeah, yeah, it's a good rookie class, right, Murray and 0:17:16.560 --> 0:17:20.800 Matherin and Ivy, but Palla is another one of these examples. 0:17:21.160 --> 0:17:23.919 It's so weird how college basketball could be such a 0:17:23.960 --> 0:17:27.560 different sport, for sure than professional basketball. I guess maybe 0:17:27.560 --> 0:17:30.160 it's because the coaches of the stars in college, so 0:17:30.359 --> 0:17:31.600 they're almost micromanaging. 0:17:31.600 --> 0:17:31.679 Now. 0:17:31.680 --> 0:17:33.399 I don't want to say that so much about Shachefki, 0:17:33.480 --> 0:17:35.840 who proved what he could do with pro players. You know, 0:17:36.240 --> 0:17:38.320 he earned a lot of respect from me for that. 0:17:38.760 --> 0:17:40.760 I know everybody's easy to win with those guys, but 0:17:41.119 --> 0:17:43.960 it wasn't exactly like they were in Great States when 0:17:43.960 --> 0:17:47.520 he took over the United States basketball team. But in college, 0:17:47.680 --> 0:17:49.720 the one thing you saw about bn Cao is that 0:17:50.080 --> 0:17:53.720 he had that NBA ready body and almost moves set 0:17:53.760 --> 0:17:56.840 off the bounce, and that stuff opens up at the 0:17:56.920 --> 0:17:59.639 NBA level. So yeah, I mean, I think you're not 0:17:59.680 --> 0:18:02.159 even counting chet Holgren, right. So this is one of 0:18:02.200 --> 0:18:04.159 those rookie classes where I don't think we're going to 0:18:04.240 --> 0:18:06.080 look back and say it was mid I think you'll 0:18:06.320 --> 0:18:08.560 look back and you'll be able to look at three, 0:18:08.640 --> 0:18:10.960 four or five kind of guys who were impact players 0:18:11.000 --> 0:18:11.600 in the league. 0:18:11.760 --> 0:18:13.720 You know, I think a lot of people are sort 0:18:13.720 --> 0:18:15.280 of saying that the Suns are going to have a 0:18:15.280 --> 0:18:17.720 big regression this year. A lot of that has been 0:18:17.840 --> 0:18:20.919 because of the drama surrounding the franchise with Starbar and 0:18:21.280 --> 0:18:25.359 obviously all that contract issue with DeAndre Ayton. Last night 0:18:25.480 --> 0:18:27.560 showed me that this team obviously has a lot of 0:18:27.600 --> 0:18:30.560 grit in that Monty Williams is committed to still you know, 0:18:30.800 --> 0:18:34.760 making adjustments including benching Chris Paul like, where do you 0:18:34.840 --> 0:18:37.040 see and does this game you play into it at all? 0:18:37.119 --> 0:18:39.320 Is where do you see Phoenix ending this year? 0:18:39.640 --> 0:18:41.280 Well? I mean they got a good team, right. They 0:18:41.320 --> 0:18:43.760 won a lot of games last year. Their collapse was 0:18:44.080 --> 0:18:46.639 kind of startling, not because we thought, you know, this 0:18:46.800 --> 0:18:49.720 was some sort of dynastics sort of squad, but just 0:18:50.080 --> 0:18:52.520 you didn't expect the wheels to come off the way 0:18:52.560 --> 0:18:55.560 they did. I think that the biggest challenge they'll they'll 0:18:55.600 --> 0:18:59.160 face Christy and you just mentioned Chris Paul is how 0:18:59.480 --> 0:19:02.000 you know us can he stay for how long? It 0:19:02.040 --> 0:19:04.800 feels like as the season goes on, whether it's wear 0:19:04.840 --> 0:19:07.840 and tear or you know, a variety of injuries that 0:19:07.920 --> 0:19:10.760 he winds up nagging injuries that he's not as strong 0:19:11.000 --> 0:19:13.520