Speaker 1: Break was breaking down all the biggest NBA storylines.
Speaker 2: So the heat Check.
Speaker 1: The Heat Check was just a cry the best podcast
Speaker 1: covering all the drama around the association. Let's move on
Speaker 1: to some hoop stuff because I know that so Pittsburgh,
Speaker 1: So what's the NBA team?
Speaker 3: Which? What was the NBA team for you growing up?
Speaker 4: You know, it's so unfortunate we don't have an NBA team.
Speaker 4: Pittsburgh loves basketball. No one talks about this, and people
Speaker 4: laugh when we get mentioned for an expansion team, but
Speaker 4: Pittsburgh loves its sports so much. We would do so
Speaker 4: well with an NBA team.
Speaker 2: We have the arena.
Speaker 4: It's relatively new PPG where the Penns play. They host
Speaker 4: March Badness. There's plenty big enough, but I've never had
Speaker 4: a team there.
Speaker 2: And as a kid, I always was just a fan
Speaker 2: of the league.
Speaker 4: You know, the closest I came to becoming a fan
Speaker 4: of an actual team was as a kid, we'd always
Speaker 4: go visit my grandparents in Cleveland, and you know, as
Speaker 4: a young kid, it was tied up perfectly with Lebron's
Speaker 4: first stint in Cleveland, So it was the coolest thing
Speaker 4: my grandparents would get as tickets once a year to
Speaker 4: go see Lebron, and I got to see you know,
Speaker 4: the other team too, Like I saw Ming in person.
Speaker 4: We saw young t Mac and we went to a
Speaker 4: couple games versus the Bulls, and you know, young Lebron.
Speaker 4: People kind of forget this now, but was like the
Speaker 4: most electric player ever to watch, like just crazy athletic,
Speaker 4: worth the price of admission every single time. So I
Speaker 4: like the Calves back then, but I never really built
Speaker 4: like such a connection with them.
Speaker 2: I can't. I can't explain it. But like I'm wearing
Speaker 2: like a PSG shirt right now, hoodie.
Speaker 4: I bought this and I was like, maybe I'll become
Speaker 4: a PSG fan, you know, like that'd be nice, right
Speaker 4: like they got that, they got Naymar, like Neymar Trista.
Speaker 4: It never works for me. I can only be fans
Speaker 4: of the teams that are in Pittsburgh. I tried to
Speaker 4: become a Cavs fan. I tried to be a PSG fan.
Speaker 4: It doesn't work. It just doesn't work. I try to
Speaker 4: be a Warrior too.
Speaker 3: Dubs, Yeah, hard Doubs.
Speaker 4: They're my favorite team to watch, but I can't really
Speaker 4: have that connection with them.
Speaker 2: I need the team to be in Pittsburgh.
Speaker 3: Yeah, there's something about the local vibe.
Speaker 1: I'm an Oregon Duck fan, went to Oregon Blazer span
Speaker 1: through and through. There's just but I'm also a Cowboys
Speaker 1: fan because you know, there's no NFL team there, and
Speaker 1: it's just a different feeling.
Speaker 3: You know, there's just a when they lose, you're upset, but.
Speaker 1: Not really as much as when it's like, oh okay, it's
Speaker 1: Washington Oregon. Last few seconds that that heart is in
Speaker 1: your chest. So I get that with the local flavor.
Speaker 1: So in terms of like the news, we talked about
Speaker 1: this when I come on your podcast, what is the
Speaker 1: most like you caught me off guard? So I decided
Speaker 1: not to catch you off guard. Most she under the
Speaker 1: radar signing pick up in the NBA.
Speaker 4: I think this season, okay, I think a lot of
Speaker 4: people forgot about the Christops move. That was a big
Speaker 4: deal when it happened, and now that the Celtics have
Speaker 4: made another move, it's like totally forgotten. I haven't heard
Speaker 4: any articles or any talk about it, but I think
Speaker 4: it's important here, and you know, we're talking about a
Speaker 4: team that's a title favorite, so I'm kind of surprised.
Speaker 3: Yeah, me too.
Speaker 1: I think a lot of that's because he's just not
Speaker 1: been healthy.
Speaker 3: Right, and so we're wondering, is he a five?
Speaker 4: Is he a four?
Speaker 3: How's the fit? And then the Drew thing came in.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean he's always an injury risk and you
Speaker 4: know whatever, But that's that's gonna make the team look
Speaker 4: so much different. I'm not particularly a huge Christops fan.
Speaker 4: I think his game has always been kind of weird
Speaker 4: ever since he got the first injury in New York. Unfortunately,
Speaker 4: he definitely didn't work in Dallas. That was ugly watching
Speaker 4: him alongside with Luca. So I'm not saying this is
Speaker 4: gonna be a good move, but it's definitely one worth
Speaker 4: keeping tabs on.
Speaker 2: That's not getting any balls.
Speaker 1: Favorite off the court plot line or plot lines this season.
Speaker 4: Okay, it's gotta be James Harden right, Like we talked
Speaker 4: about this when you came on. He had another quote
Speaker 4: the other day where he was like, all right, so update,
Speaker 4: he's at camp, and then they ask him again He's like, situation,
Speaker 4: relationship is beyond repair.
Speaker 2: He compares it to a marriage being done.
Speaker 4: I'm like, okay, so what so what like you're gonna
Speaker 4: like be on the team still, or how are we
Speaker 4: doing this here?
Speaker 2: Because you're still at war with the team.
Speaker 1: It's like when you live with your boyfriend or girlfriend
Speaker 1: and you guys are broken up, but you're still like
Speaker 1: you still have a one bedroom and you're just sleeping
Speaker 1: in this like twin band together. You like look over,
Speaker 1: You're like, yeah, I don't want to be here, but
Speaker 1: I have nowhere else.
Speaker 3: That I can go.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean pretty much.
Speaker 4: It's like, so if Daryl Morey was the woman here,
Speaker 4: she's like bringing back other dudes to the apartment. He's like, oy,
Speaker 4: he has to just like sit through it. It's like
Speaker 4: I need to find a different place to live.
Speaker 1: He needs to go. He's gotta go soon. I saw
Speaker 1: this that Zach Low.
Speaker 3: I like Zach Low a lot, but.
Speaker 1: This is maybe the most disrespectful league past list I've
Speaker 1: ever seen.
Speaker 3: Where you've got like Toronto's got to be the hardest
Speaker 3: watch this year.
Speaker 1: So who are your top league pass teams and who
Speaker 1: are your like absolutely switching away from the TV when
Speaker 1: this team is on.
Speaker 4: Let's start with the team I want to watch. I
Speaker 4: still think the Kings were a League pass team.
Speaker 3: Absolutely.
Speaker 4: They were so fun to watch last year, and I
Speaker 4: know how many games are they on national TV list
Speaker 4: always comes out, but I didn't review it. I'm guessing
Speaker 4: they don't have very many. They're still in Sacramento, so
Speaker 4: it's going to be a lot of league pass for
Speaker 4: me for the Kings. And it's the West Coast, so
Speaker 4: those games are they're usually like a sneaky late night watch.
Speaker 4: That was always the Blazers for me. They're in the
Speaker 4: Blazers spot now. So I like the Kings. I mean,
Speaker 4: they're just exciting.
Speaker 2: They run it up.
Speaker 4: I think they scored like one hundred and twenty five
Speaker 4: points a game last year.
Speaker 3: And then worst team to watch. You can't use the Raptors.
Speaker 3: They're really bad.
Speaker 2: They're really bad.
Speaker 4: I want to go with Charlotte. There was just news
Speaker 4: again the other day about Miles Bridges.
Speaker 2: Can anything go right in Charlotte?
Speaker 4: Like they made I saw someone make a list of
Speaker 4: like the police reports on their team. It is so bad.
Speaker 4: And then you add in LaMelo, who doesn't have a
Speaker 4: police report. I don't want to, you know, misreport anything here,
Speaker 4: but it doesn't seem super interested in being like an
Speaker 4: NBA player.
Speaker 2: I think everything goes wrong for them.
Speaker 4: I have almost no hope for this team, and I
Speaker 4: think it's going to be a lot of selfish me
Speaker 4: first basketball, which I hate seeing.
Speaker 3: Yeah, what team do you think has the biggest drop
Speaker 3: off this year?
Speaker 4: The biggest drop off? Unfortunately? I think it might be
Speaker 4: the Warriors.
Speaker 2: They're still and I really like the Warriors.
Speaker 4: I love watching them play basketball, but I think a
Speaker 4: lot of things can go wrong.
Speaker 2: In a lot of different directions for them.
Speaker 1: Yeah, we talk about on your pod that Chris Paul
Speaker 1: fit will have to see.
Speaker 4: It wouldn't totally surprise me if they end up being
Speaker 4: like a nine or a ten seed in missing the playoffs,
Speaker 4: up being a playing team.
Speaker 2: They're just really old at this point. I don't think
Speaker 2: there's any way around that.
Speaker 4: They're probably going to be some injuries there, They're going
Speaker 4: to be short on depth. Don't love it, but you know,
Speaker 4: Steph is He's gonna find a way. If Steph remains
Speaker 4: healthy the whole year, he's still gonna be Steph Curry.
Speaker 4: But yeah, I don't want to I don't want to
Speaker 4: redo the whole thing about Chris Paul.
Speaker 2: I just don't see how he fits in.
Speaker 1: You'd still think Nuggets win the whole thing or who's
Speaker 1: your title favorite as of now October seventeenth.
Speaker 4: I think it's Boston. It's hard to pick against the
Speaker 4: Nuggets in the West though, really it's really hard. Remember
Speaker 4: when those Jokic retirement rumors came out. I think that's
Speaker 4: I think that's the only thing that can stop them
Speaker 4: is if he just like becomes disinterested in playing basketball,
Speaker 4: which I think it's a I think it's a lie.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it could be like the greatest bit ever in history.
Speaker 1: But you have been Thank you so much for making
Speaker 1: the time. We're gonna have to do it again. I
Speaker 1: am coming out to Pittsburgh. I'm gonna see a game
Speaker 1: with you again. Like you guys, If you guys don't
Speaker 1: follow Frank Michael Smith on every platform and you're not
Speaker 1: getting storytelling from him on a daily basis, you must
Speaker 1: do it again. TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter. His Twitter thread's
Speaker 1: low key, very insightful as well the hook at the end.
Speaker 1: If you like this thread, please follow, just like Nuggets
Speaker 1: after Nuggets and he doesn't care about divulging him because
Speaker 1: he knows you're not gonna do him because you're way
Speaker 1: too fucking lazy. So thank you so much to Frank
Speaker 1: Michael Smith for coming on the podcast.
Speaker 3: We'll have to do it again soon.
Speaker 4: Trista, it's been a pleasure. I'm excited for Pittsburgh and
Speaker 4: everyone out there. Definitely follow the Twitter. I'm trying to
Speaker 4: grow on there, so good stuff coming on there.
Speaker 3: Absolutely, thanks so much,