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Speaker 1: Welcome to a little bonus edition of the No Dunks podcast.

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Speaker 1: I'm skis here in Atlanta with Tassie. We got the

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Speaker 1: Bearded One, Trey Kirby, and super producer JD. No Leley

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Speaker 1: for this one. He's off trying to find the latest

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Speaker 1: and greatest kombucha deal. This week, guys, we officially reached

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Speaker 1: the halfway point of the NBA season. Most teams have

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Speaker 1: hit that magical forty one games played mark, so it's

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Speaker 1: time to take stock of each team's first half in

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Speaker 1: an effort to prepare for what lies ahead. So we're

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Speaker 1: gonna do this a little differently than some of the

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Speaker 1: other podcasts, some of the other blogs out there. We're

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Speaker 1: not gonna hand out grades like a lot of people do.

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Speaker 1: We're not gonna lump teams into tiers or debate the

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Speaker 1: award leaders. What we're gonna do here is we're gonna

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Speaker 1: take turns sharing one word or phrase to best describe

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Speaker 1: the team's season so far. We're association. All right, We're

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Speaker 1: gonna try and do all thirty teams here, But in

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Speaker 1: the interest of time, I'm gonna try and keep a

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Speaker 1: nice little pace going, trying to dress each team two

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Speaker 1: to three minutes tops get all thirty teams in here

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Speaker 1: on this podcast. We'll tackle these by conference alphabetically. So

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Speaker 1: let's start in the East with the Atlanta Hawks, who

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Speaker 1: just reacquired Jeff Tigue in a little mini trade today.

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Speaker 1: But task you're gonna get a start to here. What's

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Speaker 1: one word or phrase to describe the Hawks season so far?

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Speaker 2: I think bittersweet is perfect for them. Bitter because they're

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Speaker 2: at the bottom of the East, but so so sweet

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Speaker 2: finding Trey Young and all that talent and watching it

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Speaker 2: grow and blossom. And I wish the word was sweet bitter,

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Speaker 2: because I think the sweet overrides the bitterness. I you know,

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Speaker 2: I couldn't find a word that that flip flopped those

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Speaker 2: two terms. But I think Trey's growth kind of overrides

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Speaker 2: how poor the rest of the team has been, right

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Speaker 2: and the rest of the season, which also includes John

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Speaker 2: Collins suspension due to the hg H situation, Kevin Herder

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Speaker 2: being her You know, there's a lot of young guys

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Speaker 2: on this team that haven't really evolved the way they

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Speaker 2: thought they would. But either way, I think it's overridden

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Speaker 2: a little bit by Trey Young. The acquisition of Jeff Teague.

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Speaker 2: I think it's going to help them a bit. I

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Speaker 2: think it's gonna help them get out of this bitter place.

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Speaker 2: They are in the fifteenth spot in the Eastern Conference

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Speaker 2: of the worst team in the East. And I think

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Speaker 2: also just sort of the health coming altogether along with

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Speaker 2: Jeff Tea's not just gonna be the Jeff Teage show

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Speaker 2: out there, but he's decent, and they're gonna try and

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Speaker 2: improve it and get a decent team around Trey Young.

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Speaker 1: You think tigue helps because when Trey goes to the

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Speaker 1: bench as it is, they completely completely fall apart and

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Speaker 1: can't do anything.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, and this team two through fifteen is struggling. Yeah, logically,

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Speaker 2: like on the court, tangible, Yeah, he's gonna help. But

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Speaker 2: also he's not terrible. No, no, you know, he did

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Speaker 2: start for a playoff team and the Timberwolves, and he's fine.

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Speaker 3: And he's literally a point guard. The Hawks basically haven't

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Speaker 3: had a backup point guard all season. Brandon Goodwin has

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Speaker 3: been their backup point for a little bit, and he's

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Speaker 3: on a two way contract. The only other guy who's

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Speaker 3: even listed as a point guard on their roster is

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Speaker 3: Evan Turner, who has been in and out of the lineup,

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Speaker 3: hasn't been able to stay on the floor and probably

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Speaker 3: isn't really a point guard to begin with. So yeah,

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Speaker 3: Jeff Tigue, just from a competent standpoint, he's definitely gonna help.

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Speaker 3: But you're right, task this is sweet bitter because the Hawks,

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Speaker 3: you know, if everything would have played out perfectly, maybe

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Speaker 3: they could have made a run at the eighth seed.

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Speaker 3: Everything played out almost anti perfectly, except for Trey Young

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Speaker 3: being clearly a superstar and a charismatic, fun to watch guy.

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Speaker 3: When the Hawks were at their best in the past

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Speaker 3: couple of seasons, Horford and millsp they were good, they

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Speaker 3: were making All Star teams, but they weren't as exciting

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Speaker 3: as Trey Young is in only his second season.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I think for the second half of the year

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Speaker 1: with the Hawks, you're gonna just really want to hope

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Speaker 1: as a Hawks fan, you know, hurt her healthy and playing.

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Speaker 1: You know, same with Collins getting back to what he

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Speaker 1: looked like a year or so ago. And then the

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Speaker 1: rookies either Reddish or a Hunter or her, yea Hunter,

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Speaker 1: I heard her and Hunter always confessing problem one of

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Speaker 1: those guys. Both of those guys and at times have

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Speaker 1: showed little flashes, but really putting it together for a

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Speaker 1: string of games or weeks there in the second half.

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Speaker 1: But yeah, you're right, I mean they look nine to

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Speaker 1: thirty two. It's we knew they were gonna be amazing,

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Speaker 1: but I no one thought they were gonna be that bad.

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Speaker 1: So that is rough. All right, let's keep it moving here.

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Speaker 1: Our next team it is the Boston Celtics.

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Speaker 3: Hard not to pick beans as my word for the

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Speaker 3: Boston Celtics, but I went with collegiate because I love

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Speaker 3: the chemistry with this Boston Celtics team. After the last

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Speaker 3: the last two years, the Kyrie Irving experiment, it didn't

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Speaker 3: end well, but things look good now. You know, they

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Speaker 3: had four guys on Team USA over the summer and

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Speaker 3: everybody say, ooh, this could pay off down the line.

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Speaker 3: We'll see if it actually works. And guess what, it

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Speaker 3: did work because the team just fits together very well

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Speaker 3: right now. They got three guys scoring twenty points per game.

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Speaker 3: They've got five and double figures. They've got five with

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Speaker 3: usage rates in the twenties. So it's a pretty even

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Speaker 3: distribution amongst the teams. Look at their counting stats for

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Speaker 3: the season, it's like their sixteenth in field goal percentage,

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Speaker 3: eighteenth and three point percentage. They're not a great team anywhere,

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Speaker 3: but it all adds up to be a top ten

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Speaker 3: offense and a top ten defense. Brad Stevens has them

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Speaker 3: playing the right way if you will, has him playing

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Speaker 3: like a college team. The ball moves, everybody touches it,

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Speaker 3: everybody gets shots, and it's working.

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Speaker 1: What's considered a successful Celtics season this year, I can't

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Speaker 1: wrap my head around it.

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Speaker 3: It's conference finals.

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Speaker 1: Right, and then the flip side of that is it's

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Speaker 1: a disappointing season if they at least don't win.

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Speaker 3: Around yeah, yeah, yeah, the first round loss would be bad.

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Speaker 3: They haven't lost in the first round since twenty sixteen.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, they're Uh, it's funny. I don't know. Is it

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Speaker 1: a part of it just being the whole Kyrie's gone

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Speaker 1: and there's not all the you know, like dissecting of

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Speaker 1: his quotes and him dragging the team down, and the

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Speaker 1: mood around the young guys with him and everybody clashing

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Speaker 1: Like feels like we haven't talked a ton about the

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Speaker 1: Celtics this year. That's right, yeah, and that's probably how

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Speaker 1: they like it.

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Speaker 2: I would assume it's a neat to see guys, young

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Speaker 2: guys just get better. And that's what Jaylen Brown has done,

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Speaker 2: and that's what Jason Tatum has done. And Gordon Hayward

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Speaker 2: is having a career high in field goal percentage, which

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Speaker 2: is which is odd, but he's the I don't know,

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Speaker 2: fourth best player on their team. It's neat and it's

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Speaker 2: always the question of can a team win in the

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Speaker 2: playoffs without a soupy dupe star. They're on the verge.

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Speaker 2: They're on the verge. I you know, it's got to

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Speaker 2: be that collegiate mentality where they all sort of play

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Speaker 2: well at the exact same time. But I kind of

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Speaker 2: believe and at.

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Speaker 3: Least you have guys who are going to be able

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Speaker 3: to get shots and take shots in Kemball, Walker in

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Speaker 3: Jason Tatum. Hayward as well is able to create his

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Speaker 3: own shots. Jalen Brown a bit more of a finisher

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Speaker 3: of plays to me. But between the other three, as

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Speaker 3: long as one of them has it going, maybe you

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Speaker 3: don't have the souper dupes, but you've got some decent stars,

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Speaker 3: all right.

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Speaker 1: I've got the Brooklyn Nets. You guys, remember remember Lord

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Speaker 1: of the Rings.

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Speaker 3: I've heard of them.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, yeah, read the books. Maybe the nets to me,

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Speaker 1: the rugly nets to me are Gimley role playing as Gandalff.

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Speaker 1: Excuse me, short staffed. Think of think of Gimley the

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Speaker 1: Dwarf being Gandalff. So he's short staff. He actually has

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Speaker 1: a short little staff because look, Kevin Durant not playing,

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Speaker 1: he's recovering from the ruptured right Achilles Tenant. We knew that,

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Speaker 1: we knew that comment in he wasn't gonna play this season.

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Speaker 1: That's fine, but we didn't maybe expect Kyrie Irving to

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Speaker 1: miss what twenty four to twenty five games there, and

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Speaker 1: Kerith Lavert, oh yeah him as well to miss the

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Speaker 1: twenty five plus games. It's like those two guys. So

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Speaker 1: it's been rough. Now, I will say the twelfth ranked defense,

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Speaker 1: that's a pleasant surprise. You know, they do a really

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Speaker 1: good job, the Nets do Kenny Atkinson's defensive plan. They

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Speaker 1: force you into bad shots. You know, they're one of

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Speaker 1: the elite teams at where they're making you sort of

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Speaker 1: take your shots, of coaxing your offense into those mid

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Speaker 1: range looks and stuff like that. So that's good, but

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Speaker 1: they've disappoint in a way just their overall wrecord, and

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Speaker 1: now you've got Kyrie. Suddenly Kyrie's back, maybe making some

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Speaker 1: waves questioning the roster construction. Did he really mean that?

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Speaker 1: Did he not? You know, that's what we do with Kyrie.

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Speaker 1: But it's to me, I always said, I always looked

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Speaker 1: at this season as it's it really is a mulligan.

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Speaker 1: I mean, they maybe shouldn't be this bad, but I

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Speaker 1: wasn't expecting much, and they're gonna be one hell of

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Speaker 1: a lot of different team when Katie is back and

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Speaker 1: hopefully full health. So didn't Winnie dollars probably happening? Sure,

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Speaker 1: I got Eagle and Coustock on the call. That's fine.

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Speaker 1: I like that weird Pleasantville court. But yeah, they're short

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Speaker 1: staffed and there's those those injuries to Kyrie and LeVert,

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Speaker 1: really putting behind the eight ball.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, but last year it was a five hundred team

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Speaker 2: and now they're sub five hundred, even though they added Kyrie.

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Speaker 2: It's got to be disappointing if you're in that locker room. Hey,

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Speaker 2: we had a good thing going and now we're worse. Yeah,

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Speaker 2: you know, I took the forty four line as a

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Speaker 2: as an over I assume that Kyrie irving would learn

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Speaker 2: from last year and figure things out. And you know,

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Speaker 2: they had some heartbreaking loss is the beginning of the year.

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Speaker 2: They could easily be back to five hundred, but they're

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Speaker 2: in a real down swing here the dinwitty dollars are.

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Speaker 2: It's not a bye bye bye. I mean, it is

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Speaker 2: a bye bye bye right now. Yeah, you should buy

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Speaker 2: when they're low because they probably will get better. But

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Speaker 2: I don't like I don't like the feeling of that

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Speaker 2: locker room.

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Speaker 1: I'll tell you that, I don't think they're doing much

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Speaker 1: this year, even if they get into the playoffs. I

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Speaker 1: guess Kyrie could scare a team for sure for a

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Speaker 1: game or two. But yeah, it's a it's just gonna

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Speaker 1: be so weird. It's like, oh, yeah, now they're adding Durant.

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Speaker 1: Durant like maybe the best player in the game on

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Speaker 1: the short list, And how many wins does he suddenly add.

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Speaker 3: And how good is he still? How good is he

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Speaker 3: going through a massive injury and then sitting out for

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Speaker 3: a year like you have to do?

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Speaker 1: And then how good is is Kyrie potentially as not

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Speaker 1: the lead guy and sort of as the second guy

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Speaker 1: again to a lebron We've seen him flourish in that role.

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Speaker 1: So yeah, this is their short stuff. They're gimli.

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Speaker 3: Even if Durant next season only brings three point shooting

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Speaker 3: and he's not quite as explosive with the ball in

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Speaker 3: his hands, that's a huge help. I think getting twenty

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Speaker 3: nine games combined from Kyrie and Kris Lvert is a

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Speaker 3: huge detriment to the Nets. Both of those guys can

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Speaker 3: shoot threes. They're twenty eighth and three point percentage, and

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Speaker 3: this is a team that is built around shooting a

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Speaker 3: lot of threes and making a decent number of them,

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Speaker 3: not a bad number of them. But so yeah, Kyrie,

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Speaker 3: Karris stay on the court. Kevin de Durant allso be

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Speaker 3: there next year and then then we'll see what happens.

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Speaker 3: And then if Kyrie's complaining, then that's a serious.

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Speaker 1: Problem, all right. Task word Association Charlotte.

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Speaker 2: Hornets, Charlotte Hornets. I think it's found money because the

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Speaker 2: expectations very very low with this team. I thought I

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Speaker 2: didn't have a lot of expectations, like the Nets built

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Speaker 2: around three point shooting. And then a guy in DeVante

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Speaker 2: Graham comes along, he played for them last year. All

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Speaker 2: of a sudden, he turns his four point seven points

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Speaker 2: a game into eighteen point seven points per game. That

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Speaker 2: guy came out of nowhere, and maybe a few Charlotte

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Speaker 2: fans looked at that bench and said, that guy's going

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Speaker 2: to be something next year in his second year. But

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Speaker 2: I had no idea. And he's taking monster shots, Monstros

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Speaker 2: three after monsters three. And if you developed a star

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Speaker 2: from within, even though he's, you know, sort of an

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Speaker 2: older star, he's gonna be twenty five years old soon,

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Speaker 2: and you got to be extremely pumped to go along

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Speaker 2: with PJ. Washington as a rook I think where they

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Speaker 2: are right now, those two young stars, I think I

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Speaker 2: can call PJ. Washington a star. Sure everybody's a star

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Speaker 2: of these days. That's found money and that's a great

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Speaker 2: start for the Charlotte Hornets as a baseline at this point,

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Speaker 2: even though you know they're sitting down at whatever they are,

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Speaker 2: fourteen twenty nine, fifteen twenty nine, that's a good year.

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Speaker 2: It's crazy to say that, but finding a guy like

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Speaker 2: DeVante Graham is a good year for them.

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Speaker 3: And anytime there's an Eastern Conference team, particularly on the

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Speaker 3: Eastern seaward of the country, you gotta be happy that

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Speaker 3: they're watchable because you're going to tune into a lot

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Speaker 3: of those games just because they're early on the night,

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Speaker 3: and like we had the Wizards for a long time,

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Speaker 3: is the only team it seemed like they played at

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Speaker 3: seven o'clock and they were just dull to watch. At

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Speaker 3: least the Hornets are fun to watch. I got Davonte

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Speaker 3: Graham and PJ Washington pretty high on my list of

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Speaker 3: NBA JAM duos that I would play if they came

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Speaker 3: out with a twenty twenty game. PJ Washington, I think

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Speaker 3: is going to be a really good player for the

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Speaker 3: rest of his career. He can shoot threes, he can

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Speaker 3: post up. That's what you need to do if you're

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Speaker 3: gonna be playing in the pick and roll as a

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Speaker 3: big four man.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, even though expectations were low, it's still disappointing a

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Speaker 1: fifteen to twenty nine record, But they're lumped with a

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Speaker 1: lot of those teams in the East that are in

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Speaker 1: the exact same boat, be it the Pistons or the Bulls.

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Speaker 1: You know, the Nets and the Nets not that much

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Speaker 1: better than them, but it's just they're just all there,

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Speaker 1: you know, not playing up to their capabilities, or at

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Speaker 1: least maybe some of the expectations we had coming in.

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Speaker 1: But you're right, I mean, even Terry Rozier, who you know,

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Speaker 1: we knocked the deal that he got the money that

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Speaker 1: they threw out him at the point guard position, He's

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Speaker 1: played well. He actually has. Again, not a ton of

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Speaker 1: people are watching Hornets games night in, night out, but

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Speaker 1: him and Graham and then like you said, Pja, they

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Speaker 1: are they are and he's even I I'm not the

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Speaker 1: huge Terry Rozier fan had sure had the vibe of

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Speaker 1: a Reggie Jackson like deal to me. But he's been good.

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Speaker 1: He has, I have to admit that.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, he's turned you'd think after he backed up Kyrie

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Speaker 2: Irving and wanted his own starting role going to Charlotte.

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Speaker 2: He may be a little upset that DeVante Graham came

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Speaker 2: and joined him in the starting lineup, but he's handled

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Speaker 2: it like a champ.

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Speaker 1: Yep.

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Speaker 2: And they have miles of bridges as well. You said

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Speaker 2: that it's disappointing for them maybe fifteen to twenty nine.

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Speaker 1: It's just that's that's a really bad record.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, but you would have also come into the season,

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Speaker 3: people would pick the Hornets as the worst team in

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Speaker 3: the league. They were in the next for one of

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Speaker 3: the worst teams in the league because nobody had any idea.

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Speaker 3: Yeah who DeVante Graham was? Yeah, and I guess he's

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Speaker 3: put He's on the map.

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Speaker 1: Now, all right, next one, Trey, Wow, it was meant

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Speaker 1: to be. You got the Chicago Bulls go bolls.

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Speaker 2: Uh.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, came. Went through a lot of words disappointing, blown,

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Speaker 3: a lot of fourth quarter leads, infuriating, also blown fourth

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Speaker 3: quarter leads, hampered by their coach, lurking in the playoff picture.

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Speaker 3: But ultimately, I think the word is inconclusive because now

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Speaker 3: I look at every Bulls player and I have no

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Speaker 3: idea if they're actually any good. Jim Boylan is a

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Speaker 3: terrible head coach. He is gonna survive the season, but

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Speaker 3: he has the players in positions that don't make sense.

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Speaker 3: So now you look at the two guys who were

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Speaker 3: potential first time All Stars coming into the season, Zach

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Speaker 3: Lavine and Lowry Markinen. Are they any good? Could they

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Speaker 3: play for a winning team? I don't know. At this point.

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Speaker 3: The only guys I feel comfortable saying are gonna be

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Speaker 3: winning basketball players are Wendell Carter and maybe Kobe White.

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Speaker 3: Other than that, it's just really hard to say. Lowry

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Speaker 3: Markinen is having his worst season of his career, scoring

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Speaker 3: less than he scored as a rookie, shooting worse. The

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Speaker 3: Big Argnata had a decent December. He's just so up

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Speaker 3: and down, up and down. And that's just how it

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Speaker 3: is with the Bulls. They can't seem to figure out

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Speaker 3: how to put a team away when it comes to

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Speaker 3: the fourth quarter, which is the mark of a young team.

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Speaker 3: But this is not that young of a team anymore.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, and then Classic Otto Porter injured, you know, not probably,

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Speaker 1: I was very excited for the Bulls. Look, you know,

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Speaker 1: coming into the season, you and I were talking abot

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Speaker 1: the Bulls. I like what we saw. I like boiling

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Speaker 1: for coaches the year. And it's like, because I was

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Speaker 1: excited about Sataransky and like Thadeus Young being out of

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Speaker 1: his team, I was especially thinking Lowry market it would

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Speaker 1: go to the next level. You know, Zach Levine could

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Speaker 1: be you know, your you're sort of all star and waiting.

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Speaker 1: And he's played great, he really has. He's hitting the

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Speaker 1: three with unbelievable consistency. Wendell Carter, I was excited about

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Speaker 1: Kobe White, but it's just like, yeah, it's like they

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Speaker 1: get leads and they can't take care of them. They've

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Speaker 1: lost a ton of games where they were leading in

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Speaker 1: the fourth quarter and could have a very, you know,

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Speaker 1: very very decent record had they pulled out half of those.

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Speaker 3: And then you look at the defense, they're like, whoa, whoa,

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Speaker 3: you're eleventh and defense you've been top ten for most

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Speaker 3: of the season, forcing the most turnovers in the league.

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Speaker 3: But that's because the Balls play other bad teams half

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Speaker 3: the time. The bad teams can't handle it. When the

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Speaker 3: Bulls are pressing and trapping the pick and roll, they

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Speaker 3: make bad passes, just like the Bulls do on offense.

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Speaker 3: But then you play against the team that's in the

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Speaker 3: upper half of the league, they know, all we have

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Speaker 3: to do is make two passes and we're getting one

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Speaker 3: of the most efficient shots in basketball, a wide open

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Speaker 3: corner three or a dunk at the rim. That's what

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Speaker 3: it feels like. The Balls can beat up on the

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Speaker 3: bad teams sort of, or can at least hold their

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Speaker 3: own against the bad teams, and then against the good

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Speaker 3: teams that's a disaster.

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Speaker 1: Okay. You always are joking that the Bulls are going

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Speaker 1: to make the playoff You're always like the Bolls making

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Speaker 1: the playoffs and making the playoffs. Do you really truly

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Speaker 1: believe they will this year? You really do? That's those

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Speaker 1: four games out man, So you think they're what I

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Speaker 1: guess in theory, there are going to be a better

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Speaker 1: second half team than the Nets, as we've seen carry

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Speaker 1: Irvings shipping everybody out. Hey, maybe maybe.

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Speaker 2: I think the nine through fifteen they can still make

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Speaker 2: the playoffs. In the Easter regarders, I think it's starting

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Speaker 2: to it's starting to separate. It's it's weird to say

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Speaker 2: that that the Eastern Conference playoff picture might be starting

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Speaker 2: to get set. But uh, I think everybody, I think

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Speaker 2: everybody give me Bulls, Piston, Sun, It's Wizards, Cavs, Knicks, Hacks.

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Speaker 1: Not everybody. Because I've got the Cleveland Cavaliers here. They

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Speaker 1: are not making the playoffs. So I'll bet, I'll bet

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Speaker 1: you whatever you want.

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Speaker 2: Now they're not.

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Speaker 1: But my one my one word or my phrase, I mean,

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Speaker 1: I'll keep it simple. I'll just go slug life, shut

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Speaker 1: out to be lying there. Look, really it's in shambles.

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Speaker 1: This has been a disaster of a season. The twenty

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Speaker 1: nineteen to twenty Calves here. It's wild to think they

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Speaker 1: started four and five. They beat the Pacers in their

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Speaker 1: second game, the Calves did. Then they beat the Bulls,

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Speaker 1: they beat the Wizards, they beat the Knicks. All early

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Speaker 1: they were four or five. They're scrappy little bunch here,

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Speaker 1: and you know, it's it's gone to hell since then.

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Speaker 1: Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson. We're just waiting for them

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Speaker 1: to get traded one both of them maybe, and you're

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Speaker 1: seeing really what they could get in return. I will

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Speaker 1: say Colin Sexton and Darius Garland has slowly started to

383
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Speaker 1: improve a little bit over the last couple of weeks.

384
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Speaker 1: The sex Land backcourt, slowly slowly, but really, will coach

385
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Speaker 1: Bline be there to start the next season? You know

386
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Speaker 1: something we debated after those after the thug slash slug

387
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Speaker 1: comments that he made in a practice session. I don't

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Speaker 1: know who knows is this sixty six year old man

389
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Speaker 1: the guy that's gonna lead them back into the playoffs

390
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Speaker 1: and have some success for the first time.

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Speaker 2: And I sent some agism, Yeah.

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Speaker 1: Maybe there was maybe. Well it's it's what I get

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Speaker 1: what they were trying to do. They're like, well, we're

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Speaker 1: basically a college team. With some of our guys, so

395
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Speaker 1: maybe a college coach is best suited to, you know,

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Speaker 1: build them up. But then the problem was the whole

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Speaker 1: time was well, no, they have these vets. I mean

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Speaker 1: there are these loves, and there's Tristan Thompson's and there

399
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Speaker 1: was the j R. Smith And it's like, what are

400
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Speaker 1: we doing here? What's the game plan? Are some guys

401
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Speaker 1: being told, oh, we're going to go for the eight

402
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Speaker 1: seat or some saying like no, no, it's all about

403
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Speaker 1: building for the future.

404
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Speaker 2: And he's not maximizing those young players. He's not getting

405
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Speaker 2: he's not coaching them in a way where they are

406
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Speaker 2: playing like a college team. I mean they're they're playing

407
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Speaker 2: a lot of io ball, of course, right right, that's

408
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Speaker 2: not that's not conducive to getting along with the veterans

409
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Speaker 2: number one, And it's not conducive to winning games. And

410
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Speaker 2: it's uh, it's it's ice so heavy, you know, it's

411
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Speaker 2: it's like it's I watched Collin Sex and it's kind

412
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Speaker 2: of like watching Zach Lvine in a weird way, like

413
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Speaker 2: they just want to make it happen themselves and numbers

414
00:19:00,080 --> 00:19:05,240
Speaker 2: are put on the board, but the offense is terrible. Overall,

415
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Speaker 2: and you know, Trey Hung is in that category too.

416
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Speaker 2: There's unfortunately, there's not executing all the Well Trey's got

417
00:19:12,680 --> 00:19:16,080
Speaker 2: an excuse, But the Calves really don't, you know, because

418
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Speaker 2: they have a guy who's made a billion All Star

419
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Speaker 2: teams and Kevin Love. They have talented guys that should

420
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Speaker 2: be winning more by basketball games, I think with better coaching.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, at least they have a guy named Dean Wade.

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Speaker 3: At least they have Dean Wade.

423
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Speaker 1: That's the one cool part of the Cavs season.

424
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Speaker 2: You know.

425
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Speaker 3: Again, you're just hoping some of these guys get traded.

426
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Speaker 3: I hope not Tristan Thompson though, I don't that guy.

427
00:19:37,240 --> 00:19:39,719
Speaker 3: I think that guy should be a calve for life.

428
00:19:40,119 --> 00:19:42,000
Speaker 3: Seems like a culture setter there, and he seems like,

429
00:19:42,000 --> 00:19:43,720
Speaker 3: at least the guy who's professional is going to be

430
00:19:43,720 --> 00:19:46,120
Speaker 3: giving an effort every single night on the court. That's

431
00:19:46,119 --> 00:19:48,119
Speaker 3: not the case for everybody else that's on the Cavs.

432
00:19:48,119 --> 00:19:51,080
Speaker 1: All right, Detroit Pistons tests Titanic.

433
00:19:52,040 --> 00:19:54,520
Speaker 2: Everyone on board knows it's sinking, but they're just getting

434
00:19:54,520 --> 00:19:56,359
Speaker 2: to the front hoping that they're going to be one

435
00:19:56,400 --> 00:20:00,840
Speaker 2: of the fifteen hundred survivors or No. Nine survivors. Whatever

436
00:20:00,880 --> 00:20:05,280
Speaker 2: it is, they're they're just they're trying to they're they're

437
00:20:05,320 --> 00:20:07,359
Speaker 2: they're pulling the rows at the front. Maybe it's Andre

438
00:20:07,440 --> 00:20:11,240
Speaker 2: Drummond throwing his arms out, trying trying something to look good.

439
00:20:11,280 --> 00:20:17,359
Speaker 2: So somebody saves him. Uh and uh, you know, Doombuya

440
00:20:17,400 --> 00:20:19,880
Speaker 2: has come out of the woodwork, sick. Their their first

441
00:20:19,920 --> 00:20:24,240
Speaker 2: round pick. But it's just it's it's a dismal situation.

442
00:20:24,320 --> 00:20:27,360
Speaker 2: You talk about watching Eastern Conference games in the Eastern Seaboard,

443
00:20:27,760 --> 00:20:30,320
Speaker 2: the Pistons are always slotted in at a seven o'clock

444
00:20:30,400 --> 00:20:34,520
Speaker 2: Eastern start, and it's crazy because their front court is

445
00:20:34,560 --> 00:20:36,800
Speaker 2: a couple of all stars in Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond,

446
00:20:36,960 --> 00:20:42,800
Speaker 2: and the ball just it's just it's not good basketball.

447
00:20:43,160 --> 00:20:45,480
Speaker 2: You know, it's sometimes Derek rose Io ball is okay,

448
00:20:46,119 --> 00:20:48,840
Speaker 2: but they just have nobody to really create on a

449
00:20:48,880 --> 00:20:52,480
Speaker 2: regular basis. Luke Canard was supposed to be that guy

450
00:20:52,520 --> 00:20:54,600
Speaker 2: in a way, but he hasn't really panned out. Now

451
00:20:54,600 --> 00:20:58,320
Speaker 2: he's also injured. I think everybody knows that this experiment

452
00:20:58,560 --> 00:21:01,399
Speaker 2: is over and it's going to implode at some point.

453
00:21:01,480 --> 00:21:08,879
Speaker 2: And there she goes seven hundred and five people survived fifteen.

454
00:21:10,240 --> 00:21:12,760
Speaker 1: We are up to seven teams here in the Eastern Conference,

455
00:21:12,840 --> 00:21:15,760
Speaker 1: with the Pistons there as the seventh team. Only one

456
00:21:15,800 --> 00:21:17,760
Speaker 1: of them that we've talked about is above five hundred

457
00:21:17,760 --> 00:21:18,760
Speaker 1: in the Boston Celtics.

458
00:21:18,840 --> 00:21:22,760
Speaker 3: Yeah, it can be a brutal stretch alphabetically to start

459
00:21:22,840 --> 00:21:24,040
Speaker 3: off the rat Conference.

460
00:21:24,880 --> 00:21:28,480
Speaker 1: Yeah, we talked about it on today's show, on the

461
00:21:28,560 --> 00:21:31,639
Speaker 1: Daily Show here on Thursday. At least right now for

462
00:21:31,720 --> 00:21:36,119
Speaker 1: the Detroit Dudes, they've got Seku looking like a potential

463
00:21:36,160 --> 00:21:39,800
Speaker 1: steal at fifteen and him starting here is being forced

464
00:21:39,800 --> 00:21:42,560
Speaker 1: in there because of all the injuries, and he's playing really,

465
00:21:42,640 --> 00:21:45,600
Speaker 1: really well, so that's good. He's hitting the three, and

466
00:21:45,640 --> 00:21:48,240
Speaker 1: he's obviously super athletic and same.

467
00:21:48,400 --> 00:21:50,680
Speaker 2: Something that the Detroit Dudes may not be looking forward

468
00:21:50,720 --> 00:21:53,000
Speaker 2: to in the immediate future, but it's probably a good plan.

469
00:21:53,119 --> 00:21:55,840
Speaker 2: Is that Tom Gores, the owner, looks like he's finally

470
00:21:56,160 --> 00:21:59,120
Speaker 2: going to rebuild, and it's probably they should have something

471
00:21:59,160 --> 00:22:01,240
Speaker 2: they should done two years ago when they traded Tobias

472
00:22:01,240 --> 00:22:04,160
Speaker 2: Harris for Blake Griffin. They got a Playoff round out

473
00:22:04,160 --> 00:22:06,080
Speaker 2: of it. They did get an appearance, but it didn't

474
00:22:06,080 --> 00:22:09,520
Speaker 2: really turn the franchise around, didn't really fill the arena.

475
00:22:10,760 --> 00:22:13,240
Speaker 2: They need to start from the bottom up, and Saku's

476
00:22:13,240 --> 00:22:17,760
Speaker 2: a good start. But that's only one man who's surviving

477
00:22:17,800 --> 00:22:22,080
Speaker 2: on this Titanic. That that's really anyone should be excited

478
00:22:22,080 --> 00:22:24,200
Speaker 2: for on this roster. Is there anyone else on this

479
00:22:24,320 --> 00:22:27,600
Speaker 2: roster you should be excited for? Maybe lu Kennard, maybe.

480
00:22:27,359 --> 00:22:30,560
Speaker 1: Christian Woods played all right, it looks like a player.

481
00:22:30,840 --> 00:22:33,800
Speaker 1: It's a I mean, what would the record be if

482
00:22:33,800 --> 00:22:36,600
Speaker 1: Blake was healthy, if Reggie Jackson had played more than

483
00:22:36,600 --> 00:22:37,159
Speaker 1: two games?

484
00:22:37,240 --> 00:22:38,520
Speaker 2: I mean, they'd be a playoff team.

485
00:22:38,560 --> 00:22:40,480
Speaker 1: I think so too. I think they're like they would

486
00:22:40,600 --> 00:22:43,560
Speaker 1: have a very magic like or nets like record. I

487
00:22:43,600 --> 00:22:44,200
Speaker 1: think they would.

488
00:22:44,560 --> 00:22:47,120
Speaker 2: But yeah, they knew what they were training for and

489
00:22:47,240 --> 00:22:49,800
Speaker 2: that this could happen with Blake Griffin. It's not shocking.

490
00:22:49,960 --> 00:22:52,200
Speaker 3: But you might get a first round pick for Andre Drummond.

491
00:22:52,320 --> 00:22:54,320
Speaker 3: I think it's pretty likely that somebody will come off

492
00:22:54,359 --> 00:22:57,399
Speaker 3: one of those, maybe Derek Rose, maybe at least a

493
00:22:57,480 --> 00:23:00,199
Speaker 3: high second round pick. I would think so. I mean,

494
00:23:00,400 --> 00:23:03,760
Speaker 3: Dumbuya and the Piston's own pick probably will be pretty

495
00:23:03,760 --> 00:23:05,920
Speaker 3: good this year. Then you add whatever you're getting from those,

496
00:23:06,119 --> 00:23:08,040
Speaker 3: the rebuild could at least be on the way.

497
00:23:08,080 --> 00:23:11,119
Speaker 1: Yep, that's right, all right. Finally another good team here,

498
00:23:11,160 --> 00:23:12,520
Speaker 1: Indiana Pacers.

499
00:23:12,520 --> 00:23:16,160
Speaker 3: My word for the Indiana Pacers foolish, because I feel

500
00:23:16,200 --> 00:23:18,960
Speaker 3: foolish for picking them under forty six and a half wins.

501
00:23:19,000 --> 00:23:21,240
Speaker 3: They're on pace for fifty two wins right now. Because

502
00:23:21,280 --> 00:23:24,919
Speaker 3: the pieces fit oh so nicely. It was easy to

503
00:23:24,920 --> 00:23:28,800
Speaker 3: come into this season. Say no, Victor Oladipo. We haven't

504
00:23:28,800 --> 00:23:31,399
Speaker 3: seen Malcolm Brogden being a number one guy. We're not

505
00:23:31,440 --> 00:23:34,320
Speaker 3: sure if Sabonis and Turner even fit together. TJ. Warren

506
00:23:34,359 --> 00:23:37,040
Speaker 3: hasn't played for a winning team in his career. They

507
00:23:37,119 --> 00:23:40,920
Speaker 3: got so many holidays. Doug mcdermot's there, but they've looked great.

508
00:23:41,080 --> 00:23:44,960
Speaker 3: You know. They have six players scoring in double figures,

509
00:23:45,880 --> 00:23:48,760
Speaker 3: and the team just seems to make so much sense

510
00:23:48,760 --> 00:23:51,440
Speaker 3: and seems to always do the right thing. The Brogden

511
00:23:51,440 --> 00:23:55,080
Speaker 3: and Sibonis pairing, it's it's almost inseparable. I go every

512
00:23:55,080 --> 00:23:56,920
Speaker 3: ten games, I flip between which one of these guys

513
00:23:57,000 --> 00:23:58,360
Speaker 3: is going to be an All Star for the Pacers.

514
00:23:58,600 --> 00:24:00,760
Speaker 3: At the beginning, I thought Brogden and the bonus. But

515
00:24:00,800 --> 00:24:02,879
Speaker 3: now Brogden has been balling again and sa bonus is

516
00:24:02,880 --> 00:24:05,480
Speaker 3: of course they'll racking up the numbers. Yeah, they have

517
00:24:05,600 --> 00:24:09,440
Speaker 3: been a surprisingly fun team to watch, and almost every

518
00:24:09,480 --> 00:24:11,720
Speaker 3: player on their roster has exceeded my expectations.

519
00:24:11,800 --> 00:24:15,160
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think if you're making, you know, your Coach

520
00:24:15,200 --> 00:24:18,880
Speaker 1: of the Years at the halfway point list, Nate McMillan

521
00:24:18,960 --> 00:24:21,000
Speaker 1: has to be, you know, in the top three. I

522
00:24:21,040 --> 00:24:22,920
Speaker 1: think it's I think there's a case to be made

523
00:24:22,920 --> 00:24:24,520
Speaker 1: for Nick Nurse with what he's done with the Raptors

524
00:24:24,560 --> 00:24:27,159
Speaker 1: and their injuries. I think definitely Nate McMillan with the Pacers,

525
00:24:27,200 --> 00:24:32,639
Speaker 1: maybe even is it Jenkins in Memphis with them exceeding expectations,

526
00:24:32,640 --> 00:24:35,320
Speaker 1: But yeah, he's just he's got them play an incredible ball.

527
00:24:35,320 --> 00:24:37,359
Speaker 1: They're one of those teams that's pretty good on both sides,

528
00:24:37,400 --> 00:24:41,199
Speaker 1: you know, offensively and defensively. They're sort of Spurs like

529
00:24:41,240 --> 00:24:43,399
Speaker 1: where they have a great three point percentage but they

530
00:24:43,440 --> 00:24:46,560
Speaker 1: barely shoot them, which is we've seen the Spurs do

531
00:24:46,600 --> 00:24:49,920
Speaker 1: that in the past. Yeah, they're they're a good and man,

532
00:24:49,960 --> 00:24:52,119
Speaker 1: they get to add an All Star. I mean, I

533
00:24:52,160 --> 00:24:53,960
Speaker 1: think I keep hearing wind Horse say it, like he's

534
00:24:53,960 --> 00:24:56,560
Speaker 1: saying the move of the deadline is really going to

535
00:24:56,600 --> 00:24:59,199
Speaker 1: be the Pacers adding an All NBA guy back in

536
00:24:59,240 --> 00:25:01,479
Speaker 1: they're injured. It's not going to be any of these

537
00:25:01,520 --> 00:25:04,960
Speaker 1: teams trading for for love for drumming or or something

538
00:25:05,000 --> 00:25:08,520
Speaker 1: like that. It's it's this and that's the potentials there.

539
00:25:09,280 --> 00:25:11,640
Speaker 2: Yeah, we talk about a lot of east As have nots,

540
00:25:11,760 --> 00:25:15,679
Speaker 2: but this Indiana Pacers team without a star just comes

541
00:25:15,720 --> 00:25:18,879
Speaker 2: to the gym every day and they are playing the

542
00:25:18,880 --> 00:25:21,159
Speaker 2: game player, following the game plan of Nate McMillan. So

543
00:25:21,240 --> 00:25:23,480
Speaker 2: it's it's a good story there, even though you know

544
00:25:23,480 --> 00:25:25,640
Speaker 2: it kind of flies under the radar because they are

545
00:25:25,680 --> 00:25:28,520
Speaker 2: the Indiana Pacers. But they better get somebody in the

546
00:25:28,560 --> 00:25:31,040
Speaker 2: All Star Game representing them on a national stage, on

547
00:25:31,080 --> 00:25:33,000
Speaker 2: a bigger stage. They need one guy there.

548
00:25:33,440 --> 00:25:35,840
Speaker 1: Yeah, I hope that. I hope think it will be Sis.

549
00:25:35,880 --> 00:25:37,040
Speaker 1: I really do. Well.

550
00:25:37,440 --> 00:25:39,200
Speaker 2: You know, the coaches are going to get their ballots,

551
00:25:39,240 --> 00:25:41,080
Speaker 2: and I wonder if some give it to Brogden, some

552
00:25:41,160 --> 00:25:44,000
Speaker 2: give it to Sabonis, and maybe that they kill each

553
00:25:44,040 --> 00:25:47,040
Speaker 2: other off a little bit. But Sabonis has been doing

554
00:25:47,080 --> 00:25:49,680
Speaker 2: it a little bit more steadily because his Trey mentioned

555
00:25:50,240 --> 00:25:53,399
Speaker 2: Brogden was down and out, he was hurt. But you

556
00:25:53,400 --> 00:25:54,240
Speaker 2: can pick either guy.

557
00:25:55,200 --> 00:25:59,040
Speaker 1: I've got the Miami heat, my word association for them,

558
00:25:59,080 --> 00:26:02,280
Speaker 1: I got two sort of it's the classic culture, right,

559
00:26:02,680 --> 00:26:05,119
Speaker 1: they've got that embedded in them. But I'm actually gonna

560
00:26:05,160 --> 00:26:08,760
Speaker 1: go with this year's Miami Heat as the twenty eighteen

561
00:26:08,880 --> 00:26:13,760
Speaker 1: nineteen Raptors like they really are because we figured both

562
00:26:13,760 --> 00:26:16,159
Speaker 1: teams last year's Raptors, this year's Heat, they're gonna be good,

563
00:26:16,160 --> 00:26:20,119
Speaker 1: They're gonna be solid teams. But they've both exceeded expectations.

564
00:26:20,600 --> 00:26:21,920
Speaker 1: You know, the Reps went on to win the title

565
00:26:21,920 --> 00:26:23,480
Speaker 1: for crying out Loud and the Heat here are twenty

566
00:26:23,520 --> 00:26:26,240
Speaker 1: eight and twelve. They're tied for the third best record

567
00:26:26,280 --> 00:26:30,040
Speaker 1: in the entire association. But the comparisons really are there.

568
00:26:30,119 --> 00:26:32,840
Speaker 1: I think you got the new alpha dog, that closer

569
00:26:32,880 --> 00:26:35,760
Speaker 1: guy for the Heat, Jimmy Butler. Well that was Kawhi. Obviously.

570
00:26:36,119 --> 00:26:39,440
Speaker 1: You suddenly have a second star All Star potential guy

571
00:26:39,560 --> 00:26:42,960
Speaker 1: in bam Adebayo for the Heat. That was Siakham growing

572
00:26:43,000 --> 00:26:46,239
Speaker 1: into that last year, you know, as a borderline All

573
00:26:46,280 --> 00:26:49,120
Speaker 1: Star guy, vet point guard, sort of trying to prove

574
00:26:49,160 --> 00:26:51,760
Speaker 1: the doubters always wrong. In the Heat's case, it's Gordon

575
00:26:51,800 --> 00:26:54,760
Speaker 1: Druggit's coming off the bench but really playing well. That

576
00:26:54,880 --> 00:26:57,280
Speaker 1: was of course Lowry and still is to some extent.

577
00:26:57,440 --> 00:27:00,240
Speaker 1: And then all these like hidden jams contributors that that

578
00:27:00,320 --> 00:27:03,520
Speaker 1: they uncover. Both of these franchises do through the draft

579
00:27:03,560 --> 00:27:05,840
Speaker 1: through their farm system. So all the Rooks on the

580
00:27:05,920 --> 00:27:09,679
Speaker 1: Heat with Harrow and Nunn and then Robinson, you know,

581
00:27:09,760 --> 00:27:11,440
Speaker 1: that was sort of Van Vliet, no g like in

582
00:27:11,520 --> 00:27:13,439
Speaker 1: these guys and even Norman Powell to something's not like

583
00:27:13,480 --> 00:27:15,520
Speaker 1: these deep rosters, and they're good on both sides of

584
00:27:15,520 --> 00:27:18,280
Speaker 1: the ball, and they're well coached and the respected front offices.

585
00:27:18,600 --> 00:27:20,280
Speaker 1: I see. I'm not saying the Heat are going on

586
00:27:20,320 --> 00:27:23,640
Speaker 1: to win the title here, but I see the comparisons.

587
00:27:23,680 --> 00:27:25,959
Speaker 1: I really do, and it's a big part of why

588
00:27:26,000 --> 00:27:28,960
Speaker 1: they're twenty eight and twelve so eighteen nineteen raptors.

589
00:27:28,680 --> 00:27:30,479
Speaker 3: Like for me for the Heat, I don't mind. It

590
00:27:30,520 --> 00:27:33,440
Speaker 3: has been pretty impressive to put together a season like this.

591
00:27:33,920 --> 00:27:36,400
Speaker 3: Considering Jimmy Butler is having a good but not great year.

592
00:27:36,440 --> 00:27:39,400
Speaker 3: He's at twenty points, seven rebounds, and six assists the game,

593
00:27:39,440 --> 00:27:42,119
Speaker 3: but he's shooting twenty seven percent from three. If he's

594
00:27:42,119 --> 00:27:44,240
Speaker 3: shooting thirty five percent from three, which he's kind of

595
00:27:44,240 --> 00:27:47,040
Speaker 3: been at for the past few seasons of his career,

596
00:27:47,280 --> 00:27:50,080
Speaker 3: they're even better. But he doesn't seem to be pressing

597
00:27:50,119 --> 00:27:51,840
Speaker 3: at all to me, Jimmy Butler. He's just happy to

598
00:27:51,840 --> 00:27:54,359
Speaker 3: fit in, which is not something you expect from Jimmy

599
00:27:54,400 --> 00:27:57,400
Speaker 3: Butler either. So, yeah, I'm with you the Heat. They

600
00:27:57,440 --> 00:27:59,760
Speaker 3: are a good team, and I mean they're gonna be

601
00:27:59,800 --> 00:28:03,680
Speaker 3: tough come playoff time, assuming that all these fines show

602
00:28:03,760 --> 00:28:05,280
Speaker 3: up in the playoffs like they did for the Raptors

603
00:28:05,359 --> 00:28:05,719
Speaker 3: last year.

604
00:28:05,840 --> 00:28:07,760
Speaker 1: Yeah, that is a good point. You're asking some of

605
00:28:07,800 --> 00:28:10,280
Speaker 1: these young kids to continue to play well in a

606
00:28:10,720 --> 00:28:11,719
Speaker 1: tight playoff series.

607
00:28:11,880 --> 00:28:13,880
Speaker 2: Yeah, but the first half of the season, I mean,

608
00:28:13,880 --> 00:28:16,680
Speaker 2: those guys have been awesome. And Duncan Robinson and Kendrick

609
00:28:16,760 --> 00:28:18,879
Speaker 2: Nunn and Tyler Herro. All I can see is a

610
00:28:18,920 --> 00:28:22,399
Speaker 2: gym where those three guys they're ready to jump on

611
00:28:22,400 --> 00:28:24,600
Speaker 2: the floor while a couple of the other guys who

612
00:28:24,720 --> 00:28:27,399
Speaker 2: behave badly, the bad boys are red shirted and are

613
00:28:27,440 --> 00:28:30,640
Speaker 2: sitting there and James Johnson and Dion Waiters and they're

614
00:28:30,680 --> 00:28:31,720
Speaker 2: not allowed to get on the floor.

615
00:28:31,760 --> 00:28:33,879
Speaker 1: But that's culture too, right, Well, that's.

616
00:28:33,720 --> 00:28:37,119
Speaker 2: All it is. Yeah, those guys fell in line and

617
00:28:37,200 --> 00:28:40,240
Speaker 2: Kendrick Nunn and Tyler Hero and Kendrick Nun's been a

618
00:28:40,360 --> 00:28:42,840
Speaker 2: hungry guy ready for his opportunity, sort of an older,

619
00:28:43,480 --> 00:28:46,880
Speaker 2: older rook and hero. I don't know how how the

620
00:28:46,920 --> 00:28:49,640
Speaker 2: heck he's been playing like this, And Duncan Robinson, same

621
00:28:49,680 --> 00:28:53,520
Speaker 2: thing for him. So yeah, I mean the supporting cast

622
00:28:53,640 --> 00:28:57,360
Speaker 2: has been above expectations big time, big time. But it's

623
00:28:57,400 --> 00:29:00,640
Speaker 2: definitely Yeah, it's all about the discipline that a front

624
00:29:00,640 --> 00:29:02,600
Speaker 2: office and training staff has.

625
00:29:02,720 --> 00:29:05,040
Speaker 1: Yeah, because like half the other franchises in the league,

626
00:29:05,040 --> 00:29:08,440
Speaker 1: I'm telling you, they're waiters is playing and James Johnson

627
00:29:08,600 --> 00:29:11,560
Speaker 1: is playing. It's like because they've been around, they've vet

628
00:29:11,600 --> 00:29:13,520
Speaker 1: and been vats and like they just don't they do

629
00:29:13,600 --> 00:29:16,920
Speaker 1: things differently like you're you're you're held accountable in Miami

630
00:29:17,520 --> 00:29:21,040
Speaker 1: and and that's obviously pretty damn impressive. And it's working

631
00:29:21,120 --> 00:29:23,320
Speaker 1: because what a record twenty and twelve. No one saw that.

632
00:29:23,480 --> 00:29:25,600
Speaker 1: No people again, they thought they he would be good.

633
00:29:25,640 --> 00:29:28,080
Speaker 1: I thought they would be solid, not twenty and twelve.

634
00:29:28,120 --> 00:29:30,480
Speaker 1: Not one of the best looking teams in the league.

635
00:29:30,480 --> 00:29:32,880
Speaker 1: All right, keep moving the Lackey Bucks.

636
00:29:34,200 --> 00:29:37,720
Speaker 2: Vault. All summer long, the talk about the Bucks was

637
00:29:37,760 --> 00:29:41,680
Speaker 2: who they lost in free agency. But this team came

638
00:29:41,720 --> 00:29:46,280
Speaker 2: into the came into the air and blocked everything out.

639
00:29:46,600 --> 00:29:49,120
Speaker 2: They kept everything internal. They said, we're going to do this,

640
00:29:49,160 --> 00:29:52,600
Speaker 2: and that's why they are the ultimate vault. They just

641
00:29:52,600 --> 00:29:56,320
Speaker 2: shut everything out, sort of spurs like they other than

642
00:29:56,440 --> 00:29:59,200
Speaker 2: John Horst their GM saying that you know Stantakupo, yeah,

643
00:29:59,200 --> 00:30:01,000
Speaker 2: we're gonnaive them a long contract. That was the only,

644
00:30:01,040 --> 00:30:04,920
Speaker 2: maybe only little slip up that they had outside of

645
00:30:04,960 --> 00:30:07,360
Speaker 2: the locker room. But they just yeah, they keep everything internal,

646
00:30:07,360 --> 00:30:10,640
Speaker 2: and they just have all gotten better and locked down

647
00:30:10,760 --> 00:30:13,080
Speaker 2: on what their mission is. And that's why they're scary.

648
00:30:13,560 --> 00:30:15,920
Speaker 2: They are very, very scary for the rest of the league.

649
00:30:16,520 --> 00:30:19,360
Speaker 2: No one really expected a seventy win pace out of

650
00:30:19,400 --> 00:30:21,760
Speaker 2: this team, and no one should out of any team

651
00:30:22,640 --> 00:30:25,120
Speaker 2: because that's very, very hard to do. And I don't know.

652
00:30:25,120 --> 00:30:27,440
Speaker 2: I wouldn't put it past them. They're they're gonna be

653
00:30:27,480 --> 00:30:31,880
Speaker 2: in the high sixties. And that's because of Jannis as

654
00:30:31,920 --> 00:30:34,560
Speaker 2: a leader. And and even though he's you know, he's

655
00:30:34,600 --> 00:30:37,400
Speaker 2: he's having a baby, and he goes on some some

656
00:30:37,520 --> 00:30:40,920
Speaker 2: birthday trips with Eric Bloodsone, they have some fun. It's

657
00:30:40,960 --> 00:30:44,680
Speaker 2: mostly that's all. That's all for camaraderie building, and I

658
00:30:44,720 --> 00:30:47,520
Speaker 2: think it's all gonna be about the game these next

659
00:30:47,560 --> 00:30:50,520
Speaker 2: four months. It's gonna be all about winning like it

660
00:30:50,560 --> 00:30:53,000
Speaker 2: has the first four months. They've been amazing.

661
00:30:53,760 --> 00:30:57,400
Speaker 3: Jannis has a Westbrook like ability to show up for

662
00:30:57,440 --> 00:31:00,400
Speaker 3: every game and have intensity and when you're star is

663
00:31:00,440 --> 00:31:02,360
Speaker 3: there playing as hard as you can every single night.

664
00:31:02,400 --> 00:31:04,680
Speaker 3: That filters down to the rest of the team. They're

665
00:31:04,680 --> 00:31:07,400
Speaker 3: gonna need that Vault mentality though, because the vultures are

666
00:31:07,440 --> 00:31:09,920
Speaker 3: circling with the honesty. You saw him talking to Steph Curry.

667
00:31:10,000 --> 00:31:11,400
Speaker 3: They're like, oh, what are they talking about? He said,

668
00:31:11,440 --> 00:31:13,400
Speaker 3: let's do it. Apparently they just want to play the

669
00:31:13,440 --> 00:31:16,720
Speaker 3: same video games together. But this is gonna be something

670
00:31:16,760 --> 00:31:19,040
Speaker 3: different for the Bucks to have a superstar that is

671
00:31:19,080 --> 00:31:23,520
Speaker 3: going to be in rumors for two straight years pretty much,

672
00:31:23,600 --> 00:31:26,080
Speaker 3: you know, will walk Giannis leeve. Are they gonna be

673
00:31:26,120 --> 00:31:27,320
Speaker 3: able to put enough? Are they gonna be able to

674
00:31:27,400 --> 00:31:29,080
Speaker 3: keep him in Milwaukee? That is going to be something

675
00:31:29,120 --> 00:31:32,840
Speaker 3: different for a small market team to deal with exactly?

676
00:31:33,160 --> 00:31:34,680
Speaker 1: Yeah, Well I think that's it.

677
00:31:36,240 --> 00:31:36,920
Speaker 2: Win title?

678
00:31:37,000 --> 00:31:37,200
Speaker 3: Yeah?

679
00:31:37,280 --> 00:31:39,480
Speaker 1: Is winning a title? Yeah? And I with them too.

680
00:31:39,680 --> 00:31:42,040
Speaker 1: I mean, I think he's gone the whole team. There

681
00:31:42,120 --> 00:31:44,719
Speaker 1: is no doubt has gone under the radar. There are

682
00:31:44,720 --> 00:31:46,600
Speaker 1: not a lot of headlines about the Bucks, despite like

683
00:31:46,680 --> 00:31:49,920
Speaker 1: tast said being goddamn on pace to within seventy games,

684
00:31:49,920 --> 00:31:52,320
Speaker 1: Like that's if this is like basically any other team,

685
00:31:52,320 --> 00:31:54,320
Speaker 1: people are going, oh my god, what's going on on there?

686
00:31:54,760 --> 00:31:57,320
Speaker 1: But again it's like, well, they were amazing last year

687
00:31:57,360 --> 00:31:58,840
Speaker 1: and then we saw what happened in the playoffs, so

688
00:31:59,000 --> 00:32:01,760
Speaker 1: you know, none of those matters until they can get

689
00:32:01,800 --> 00:32:04,480
Speaker 1: to the finals and when win a championship. But because

690
00:32:04,480 --> 00:32:06,600
Speaker 1: they've been so under the radar, I mean, Chris Middleton.

691
00:32:06,720 --> 00:32:08,200
Speaker 1: You know, we keep talking about the All Star Game,

692
00:32:08,400 --> 00:32:09,920
Speaker 1: like guys that should be in there, Oh, what about

693
00:32:10,080 --> 00:32:13,200
Speaker 1: some of these guys on losing teams, Zach Levine, Bradley Beal. Well,

694
00:32:13,560 --> 00:32:17,120
Speaker 1: we barely even whispered Chris Middleton's name, who was an

695
00:32:17,120 --> 00:32:21,360
Speaker 1: All Star last year and is playing better this year.

696
00:32:21,400 --> 00:32:23,360
Speaker 1: You know, he's been more efficient from the floor, shooting

697
00:32:23,400 --> 00:32:27,280
Speaker 1: forty nine percent forty from three ninety at the line.

698
00:32:27,960 --> 00:32:30,800
Speaker 1: He's averaging nineteen point three points per game in less

699
00:32:30,840 --> 00:32:33,240
Speaker 1: minutes than he was even playing last year. I mean, look,

700
00:32:33,280 --> 00:32:35,360
Speaker 1: I'm just as guilty as this. We just don't talk

701
00:32:35,400 --> 00:32:38,960
Speaker 1: about Chris Middleton, and he's a huge reason. It's not

702
00:32:39,080 --> 00:32:41,760
Speaker 1: just honest that they build these fifteen to twenty point

703
00:32:41,840 --> 00:32:43,680
Speaker 1: leads and then the guys can rest in the third quarter.

704
00:32:43,880 --> 00:32:46,120
Speaker 2: Yeah. The one thing mentioned about Chris Middleton this season

705
00:32:46,200 --> 00:32:48,120
Speaker 2: is that he was injured, and he was only injured

706
00:32:48,160 --> 00:32:52,640
Speaker 2: for seven games. Yeah, and so who cares. Yeah, it's true,

707
00:32:52,680 --> 00:32:54,600
Speaker 2: It's true. I've definitely been guilty of it as well.

708
00:32:54,800 --> 00:32:57,240
Speaker 2: You know, I'm waiting to see who their two, three,

709
00:32:57,280 --> 00:32:59,959
Speaker 2: four or five guys are when it comes to crunch time.

710
00:33:00,040 --> 00:33:03,480
Speaker 2: I'm along with Giannis in the postseason because, as I said,

711
00:33:03,520 --> 00:33:06,440
Speaker 2: the only talk was about Malcolm Brogden leaving. That's basically

712
00:33:06,480 --> 00:33:08,320
Speaker 2: was the only talk about the Milwaukee Bucks. Who's it

713
00:33:08,360 --> 00:33:11,920
Speaker 2: gonna be to replace Malcolm Brogden? But it's gonna be

714
00:33:12,080 --> 00:33:16,880
Speaker 2: a better Giannis, I assume. And baby Joe Johnson as

715
00:33:16,920 --> 00:33:19,440
Speaker 2: is Chris Middleton's nickname on Basketball Reference.

716
00:33:19,880 --> 00:33:22,800
Speaker 1: That's amazing. Yes, And can George Hill continue to not

717
00:33:22,840 --> 00:33:24,680
Speaker 1: miss a three point or when it gets playoff time?

718
00:33:24,880 --> 00:33:27,720
Speaker 1: Can Eric Bledsoe not turned into playoff Eric bleddsone and

719
00:33:27,760 --> 00:33:30,760
Speaker 1: completely disappear? Those are you know? And when Giannis has

720
00:33:30,960 --> 00:33:32,760
Speaker 1: three guys, four guys f talking to him, how do

721
00:33:32,840 --> 00:33:35,600
Speaker 1: they react to that? That's it. It's like this, just

722
00:33:35,680 --> 00:33:38,080
Speaker 1: like Giannice is gonna win MVP. I think, you know,

723
00:33:38,200 --> 00:33:40,280
Speaker 1: especially God if they're in the high sixties, I think

724
00:33:40,280 --> 00:33:43,640
Speaker 1: it's a no brainer, and deservedly so, I might add,

725
00:33:43,640 --> 00:33:46,800
Speaker 1: because his numbers are stupid too. And again it's like, eh,

726
00:33:47,080 --> 00:33:48,960
Speaker 1: let's talk about Luca, let's talk about Harden, and let's

727
00:33:48,960 --> 00:33:51,239
Speaker 1: talk about these other guys. But it none of it

728
00:33:51,320 --> 00:33:53,800
Speaker 1: really matters. It just it's weird, but it doesn't. The

729
00:33:53,840 --> 00:33:56,200
Speaker 1: regular season doesn't matter to this Bucks team. It's just

730
00:33:56,360 --> 00:33:58,360
Speaker 1: all about what they can do in a playoff series,

731
00:33:58,680 --> 00:34:01,160
Speaker 1: in four playoff series hopefully. All right, let's keep it

732
00:34:01,200 --> 00:34:03,959
Speaker 1: going here our next team, oh baby, from the Bucks

733
00:34:03,960 --> 00:34:05,920
Speaker 1: to the Knicks. What do you got, Trea?

734
00:34:06,280 --> 00:34:08,799
Speaker 3: Perhaps the word that would be most insulting to the

735
00:34:08,800 --> 00:34:13,360
Speaker 3: New York Knicks irrelevant. They're not the worst team in

736
00:34:13,360 --> 00:34:15,160
Speaker 3: the league. They're not the best team in the city.

737
00:34:15,600 --> 00:34:18,120
Speaker 3: There's zero buzz about the Knicks. They make no waves.

738
00:34:18,200 --> 00:34:20,080
Speaker 3: They fired their coach and we haven't talked about him

739
00:34:20,080 --> 00:34:22,440
Speaker 3: since they were okay for a minute there, you know,

740
00:34:22,480 --> 00:34:24,359
Speaker 3: there were six and six when Mike Miller took over.

741
00:34:24,520 --> 00:34:27,360
Speaker 3: Not that Mike Miller. Now they're just bad and the

742
00:34:27,400 --> 00:34:29,839
Speaker 3: Knicks are kind of just there waiting to see are

743
00:34:29,840 --> 00:34:32,200
Speaker 3: we gonna trade Em Morris? Does anybody want Toaj Gibson?

744
00:34:32,200 --> 00:34:37,440
Speaker 3: Wayne Ellington's here if anybody's interested. Zach Zach Randolph, Julius

745
00:34:37,520 --> 00:34:41,120
Speaker 3: Randall is putting up those Shay Gilgers Alexander All Star numbers,

746
00:34:41,120 --> 00:34:45,560
Speaker 3: but nobody cares. The Knicks are a small market team.

747
00:34:45,680 --> 00:34:47,800
Speaker 3: Basically this season they're just happening.

748
00:34:49,080 --> 00:34:50,200
Speaker 1: I can't argue that really.

749
00:34:50,239 --> 00:34:52,239
Speaker 2: I mean I had to google there. There were six

750
00:34:52,320 --> 00:34:53,920
Speaker 2: and six when Fizzdale go fired.

751
00:34:54,400 --> 00:34:56,400
Speaker 1: So I don't know he's saying when when Mike Miller

752
00:34:56,440 --> 00:34:58,160
Speaker 1: took over, I believe is what Tray was saying, Like

753
00:34:58,200 --> 00:34:59,680
Speaker 1: they go ahead, they had a pretty solid little r.

754
00:34:59,760 --> 00:35:03,399
Speaker 2: Yeah they yeah, that makes sense, that makes sense. Yeah,

755
00:35:03,800 --> 00:35:06,920
Speaker 2: so sitting at eleven and thirty, Yeah they are. They

756
00:35:06,920 --> 00:35:09,520
Speaker 2: are what Kevin Durant said when he said I'm not

757
00:35:09,560 --> 00:35:12,600
Speaker 2: coming to New York. They're irrelevant. They've been irrelevant my

758
00:35:12,719 --> 00:35:17,759
Speaker 2: whole life. Kevin Durant said, it's pretty accurate for this season. Man.

759
00:35:18,040 --> 00:35:21,640
Speaker 1: I just want you know, is Kevin knock Good? You know,

760
00:35:21,920 --> 00:35:25,000
Speaker 1: is Frank Nelly Keina good? Is? I mean Mitchell Robinson

761
00:35:25,040 --> 00:35:27,239
Speaker 1: I like, I like, but is it because what he

762
00:35:27,360 --> 00:35:30,640
Speaker 1: is in that NYC sort of bubble that he's made

763
00:35:30,640 --> 00:35:32,560
Speaker 1: to be like he's so much better player than he

764
00:35:32,600 --> 00:35:34,359
Speaker 1: maybe is, maybe not, I don't know, maybe not. I

765
00:35:34,480 --> 00:35:37,239
Speaker 1: like him, But that's that's why it's always tough to

766
00:35:37,360 --> 00:35:40,400
Speaker 1: sometimes to assess some of these Knicks players shouldn't be

767
00:35:40,400 --> 00:35:42,400
Speaker 1: moved to be made. I do think of the deadline

768
00:35:42,400 --> 00:35:45,319
Speaker 1: here too. You've listed a couple of them. Dennis Smith

769
00:35:45,360 --> 00:35:47,640
Speaker 1: Junior could be gone to I can't imagine he is

770
00:35:47,640 --> 00:35:49,719
Speaker 1: their long term sort of one of their long term

771
00:35:49,760 --> 00:35:50,960
Speaker 1: cards for the future.

772
00:35:51,120 --> 00:35:57,560
Speaker 2: But it was untouchable maybe r J. Barrett, Yes, And

773
00:35:57,560 --> 00:35:58,719
Speaker 2: and Mitchell Robinson I.

774
00:35:59,200 --> 00:36:03,080
Speaker 1: I think so. And then I can't think of anyone

775
00:36:03,080 --> 00:36:06,600
Speaker 1: else that wouldn't be untouchable, untouchable at all. All Right,

776
00:36:06,680 --> 00:36:07,320
Speaker 1: Nicks are relevant.

777
00:36:07,360 --> 00:36:07,520
Speaker 3: Yeah.

778
00:36:07,560 --> 00:36:08,799
Speaker 1: The most we talked about the Knicks was a guy

779
00:36:08,880 --> 00:36:11,440
Speaker 1: hitting a half court shot and only got one thousand dollars.

780
00:36:11,080 --> 00:36:13,920
Speaker 3: In Yeah, exactly. That's like the two biggest pieces of

781
00:36:14,000 --> 00:36:16,960
Speaker 3: news in Knicks Land recently, where the scratch off tickets

782
00:36:17,000 --> 00:36:19,600
Speaker 3: and r. J. Barrett wore a headband and decided to

783
00:36:19,600 --> 00:36:21,640
Speaker 3: wear it for the next game as well. Those are

784
00:36:21,680 --> 00:36:23,640
Speaker 3: the only two things that I remember happening it's.

785
00:36:23,480 --> 00:36:26,359
Speaker 1: So funny because with the Knicks, maybe this goes back

786
00:36:26,400 --> 00:36:28,359
Speaker 1: to like that debate we had the long time of like,

787
00:36:28,719 --> 00:36:31,080
Speaker 1: actually it's great that the Knicks are bad. When they're bad,

788
00:36:31,120 --> 00:36:33,200
Speaker 1: that's actually good for the league, because it is funny

789
00:36:33,200 --> 00:36:36,520
Speaker 1: that the Knicks have been somewhat competent since they got

790
00:36:36,560 --> 00:36:39,000
Speaker 1: a new coach, Like they've got a decent record, like

791
00:36:39,080 --> 00:36:41,840
Speaker 1: not world beaters, but decent record. But we we actually

792
00:36:41,880 --> 00:36:45,640
Speaker 1: talked about them less when they're average than when they're garbage.

793
00:36:45,760 --> 00:36:47,040
Speaker 3: You don't want to be in the middle.

794
00:36:46,840 --> 00:36:49,400
Speaker 1: Right, Yeah, it's a very very strange, all right. I

795
00:36:49,400 --> 00:36:52,640
Speaker 1: got the next team, Orlando Magic. My word for the

796
00:36:52,719 --> 00:36:59,040
Speaker 1: Orlando Magic season so far there as in yep, Orlando

797
00:36:59,120 --> 00:37:03,440
Speaker 1: Magic are just there. I got a double check sometimes

798
00:37:03,440 --> 00:37:05,239
Speaker 1: to make sure they are still there, like they are

799
00:37:05,280 --> 00:37:08,279
Speaker 1: still a franchise. I emailed Tim Frank and everything checks out.

800
00:37:08,360 --> 00:37:11,680
Speaker 1: Magic's still an NBA team. They're good. They're good. They're

801
00:37:11,719 --> 00:37:15,680
Speaker 1: not great, They're but they're not super bad. They're just there.

802
00:37:15,719 --> 00:37:18,080
Speaker 1: They're twenty and twenty one. They're actually better than they

803
00:37:18,080 --> 00:37:20,440
Speaker 1: were last year at this point because they went on

804
00:37:20,440 --> 00:37:23,319
Speaker 1: that second year the second half tear. Yeah, they were

805
00:37:23,360 --> 00:37:25,560
Speaker 1: seventeen and twenty four after forty one games last year,

806
00:37:25,760 --> 00:37:27,719
Speaker 1: but twenty twenty one. Like I said, so, you know,

807
00:37:27,760 --> 00:37:30,160
Speaker 1: they play, they have an identity to somebody's down. They

808
00:37:30,200 --> 00:37:33,239
Speaker 1: play slow defense. Top five Steve Clifford won hell of

809
00:37:33,239 --> 00:37:35,680
Speaker 1: a defensive coach. Yeah, he's proven that time and time again.

810
00:37:35,719 --> 00:37:38,400
Speaker 1: Here the knee injury to Isaac was a real bummer.

811
00:37:38,719 --> 00:37:41,040
Speaker 1: You know, I thought his development had been fun to watch.

812
00:37:41,800 --> 00:37:45,080
Speaker 1: But we talked about it. Markel Foltz competent player, you know,

813
00:37:45,120 --> 00:37:47,480
Speaker 1: throwing up the triple double in La keeping the jersey. Sure,

814
00:37:47,520 --> 00:37:49,520
Speaker 1: hang it, that's good. It's a feel good story. But

815
00:37:49,880 --> 00:37:53,919
Speaker 1: they're just the Magic are a playoff lock. Yes, lock

816
00:37:54,000 --> 00:37:57,719
Speaker 1: them in, yep, but they sort of struggle to take

817
00:37:57,760 --> 00:38:00,920
Speaker 1: any tangible, real steps forward. They're gonna win forty to

818
00:38:01,000 --> 00:38:03,160
Speaker 1: forty five games and they're gonna lose in the first round.

819
00:38:03,480 --> 00:38:05,480
Speaker 1: I mean, you can sort of see it now, and

820
00:38:05,560 --> 00:38:07,719
Speaker 1: I don't know what. I really don't know what they

821
00:38:07,760 --> 00:38:09,879
Speaker 1: even do outside of like trying to make a move

822
00:38:09,880 --> 00:38:11,000
Speaker 1: at the trade owl. I don't even know what that

823
00:38:11,000 --> 00:38:13,120
Speaker 1: would be. Yeah, they've got some injuries. They're good. They're

824
00:38:13,160 --> 00:38:15,160
Speaker 1: just good. Great defensive team will win you a lot

825
00:38:15,160 --> 00:38:17,960
Speaker 1: of games, but they don't it'll strike fear.

826
00:38:17,880 --> 00:38:20,759
Speaker 3: Into anyone, definitely not. But they'll probably pile up wins

827
00:38:20,800 --> 00:38:22,319
Speaker 3: in the second half of the season again, you know,

828
00:38:22,400 --> 00:38:24,000
Speaker 3: as some teams kind of tuck it in for the

829
00:38:24,000 --> 00:38:26,040
Speaker 3: rest of the year, and they're the Magic continue to

830
00:38:26,040 --> 00:38:28,040
Speaker 3: play defense like you're saying, they're gonna make the playoffs,

831
00:38:28,040 --> 00:38:31,040
Speaker 3: so they'll be playing hard. They somehow have eight guys

832
00:38:31,080 --> 00:38:34,160
Speaker 3: scoring in double digits. One of them is named Gary Clark,

833
00:38:34,160 --> 00:38:36,319
Speaker 3: who played one game but got ten points of that one.

834
00:38:36,640 --> 00:38:39,200
Speaker 3: Not too bad. Nonetheless, though, I mean seven guys scoring

835
00:38:39,239 --> 00:38:41,919
Speaker 3: in double digits. That just goes to show you, yeah,

836
00:38:41,960 --> 00:38:43,560
Speaker 3: they're all out there, they're all doing something.

837
00:38:43,640 --> 00:38:45,080
Speaker 1: Yeah, And I don't I don't want to make this

838
00:38:45,160 --> 00:38:47,520
Speaker 1: sound like they shouldn't be doing this and they should

839
00:38:47,560 --> 00:38:50,160
Speaker 1: blow it up. I actually don't think a franchise that,

840
00:38:50,280 --> 00:38:52,960
Speaker 1: especially after the Dwight Howard move, couldn't even sniff the

841
00:38:52,960 --> 00:38:55,000
Speaker 1: playoffs for a long time. I actually think this is

842
00:38:55,040 --> 00:38:57,600
Speaker 1: sort of what they should be doing, getting in there,

843
00:38:57,920 --> 00:39:01,200
Speaker 1: you know, you know, you know, building an identity, trying

844
00:39:01,239 --> 00:39:02,560
Speaker 1: to get some of these young guys. Be a fault

845
00:39:02,640 --> 00:39:04,680
Speaker 1: that they obviously took a flyer on and maybe hit

846
00:39:04,760 --> 00:39:07,000
Speaker 1: on and Isaac looked great before the injury, Like that's good,

847
00:39:07,040 --> 00:39:10,759
Speaker 1: that's the right move. It's just they're just there, man.

848
00:39:11,960 --> 00:39:13,560
Speaker 3: They need to figure out a way to get a

849
00:39:13,600 --> 00:39:15,279
Speaker 3: star and how do you do it?

850
00:39:15,360 --> 00:39:15,480
Speaker 2: Right?

851
00:39:15,520 --> 00:39:15,880
Speaker 1: Yeah?

852
00:39:16,080 --> 00:39:19,160
Speaker 2: Yeah, They've got a bunch of guys after last year's

853
00:39:19,200 --> 00:39:23,600
Speaker 2: forty two and forty year that aren't going to move

854
00:39:23,640 --> 00:39:27,160
Speaker 2: into another stratosphere. It might be interesting for some hoop

855
00:39:27,200 --> 00:39:30,480
Speaker 2: heads to watch the growth of Aaron Gordon see what

856
00:39:30,960 --> 00:39:33,640
Speaker 2: he can become or Jonathan Isaac, who's you know, been

857
00:39:33,680 --> 00:39:36,280
Speaker 2: out in all fairness of them, maybe he can develop

858
00:39:36,320 --> 00:39:37,160
Speaker 2: into more of a star.

859
00:39:37,560 --> 00:39:41,160
Speaker 1: He's the one that is the maybe. Yeah, and that's

860
00:39:41,200 --> 00:39:43,920
Speaker 1: a real stretch. Maybe. To be honest, I think he's

861
00:39:44,120 --> 00:39:46,560
Speaker 1: a really good player, but I'm not sure he screamed

862
00:39:46,600 --> 00:39:47,480
Speaker 1: superstar to me.

863
00:39:47,800 --> 00:39:50,680
Speaker 2: No, he looks like his ceiling will be a great

864
00:39:50,719 --> 00:39:55,040
Speaker 2: complimentary player, yes, yes, and defensive player. But yeah, but

865
00:39:55,120 --> 00:39:57,680
Speaker 2: just a bunch of guys and Evan Fournier, Mark l Foltz.

866
00:39:57,800 --> 00:40:00,680
Speaker 2: The superstardom is not going to happen. But they sort

867
00:40:00,719 --> 00:40:04,200
Speaker 2: of chose this direction when they chose Nikolovucevich to sign

868
00:40:04,239 --> 00:40:08,040
Speaker 2: him long term. Yep, they as well. Yeah, that's true.

869
00:40:08,120 --> 00:40:10,640
Speaker 3: So so is that the right move then you think

870
00:40:10,800 --> 00:40:12,959
Speaker 3: bringing those guys back, because that was the big talk

871
00:40:13,280 --> 00:40:15,640
Speaker 3: kind of this time last year, was should they move

872
00:40:15,680 --> 00:40:17,960
Speaker 3: off Vouch and Terrence Ross because maybe you could get

873
00:40:18,000 --> 00:40:18,799
Speaker 3: some sort of pick back.

874
00:40:19,680 --> 00:40:22,800
Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah, unless you you'd have to get obviously pretty

875
00:40:22,840 --> 00:40:26,200
Speaker 1: damn lucky with that pick, you know, turning into a

876
00:40:26,239 --> 00:40:28,000
Speaker 1: top three pick, let's say, and then you got to

877
00:40:28,040 --> 00:40:30,840
Speaker 1: hit that pick. I mean, I hear what you're saying, like,

878
00:40:31,160 --> 00:40:33,200
Speaker 1: and should they be doing that? Like just take as

879
00:40:33,200 --> 00:40:35,680
Speaker 1: many bites at the apple as you can, But they

880
00:40:35,719 --> 00:40:37,719
Speaker 1: maybe just have too many good players as it is,

881
00:40:37,800 --> 00:40:40,600
Speaker 1: and they're too well coached that they still wouldn't be

882
00:40:40,640 --> 00:40:43,879
Speaker 1: as bad as you gotta really be. And look, they've

883
00:40:43,960 --> 00:40:46,120
Speaker 1: hit the lottery before, They've had some lot there before

884
00:40:46,160 --> 00:40:49,880
Speaker 1: in the past, so you know, with obviously the weird odds,

885
00:40:49,920 --> 00:40:51,520
Speaker 1: if they were to fall out, maybe they hit it.

886
00:40:51,560 --> 00:40:53,600
Speaker 1: But I don't know. I guess I just understand why

887
00:40:53,640 --> 00:40:55,960
Speaker 1: they do this. It's it's just you again, You're not

888
00:40:56,080 --> 00:40:58,560
Speaker 1: all that excited of them upsetting somebody in a first

889
00:40:58,640 --> 00:41:01,359
Speaker 1: round series. I'm not, at least if they're a seven seed.

890
00:41:01,360 --> 00:41:03,359
Speaker 1: I just don't see them outside of taking a game

891
00:41:03,480 --> 00:41:05,520
Speaker 1: or two taking four.

892
00:41:06,040 --> 00:41:09,120
Speaker 2: Yeah, I guess that they hope to be a Brooklyn

893
00:41:09,160 --> 00:41:11,400
Speaker 2: Nets in a way where they build a strong culture

894
00:41:11,480 --> 00:41:15,919
Speaker 2: and then some way, somehow some superstar lands in their lap.

895
00:41:16,120 --> 00:41:19,000
Speaker 2: Or two of them there are two of them be

896
00:41:19,040 --> 00:41:22,440
Speaker 2: fun so weird though, Yeah, because I wanted to bang

897
00:41:22,480 --> 00:41:25,400
Speaker 2: on that over as my luck before the season started.

898
00:41:25,400 --> 00:41:27,680
Speaker 2: They're over under A line was forty one and a half.

899
00:41:28,280 --> 00:41:31,399
Speaker 2: But I think they're gonna hit it. They're gonna They're

900
00:41:31,400 --> 00:41:33,400
Speaker 2: not gonna They're somehow gonna go forty one and a

901
00:41:33,400 --> 00:41:36,160
Speaker 2: half and forty one forty and a half. I guess

902
00:41:36,160 --> 00:41:40,440
Speaker 2: the math would be Okay, I'm up the Philadelphia seventy

903
00:41:40,440 --> 00:41:45,120
Speaker 2: six ers. They're oil and water. They're different components that

904
00:41:45,239 --> 00:41:48,359
Speaker 2: do their jobs really well. But there's no harmony about them.

905
00:41:48,640 --> 00:41:53,239
Speaker 2: It's just it's not happening in synchronicity. It's just there's

906
00:41:53,280 --> 00:41:55,960
Speaker 2: no they can't do it together. They can't do it's

907
00:41:55,960 --> 00:42:00,160
Speaker 2: not harmonious. They just are good and they get by

908
00:42:00,200 --> 00:42:05,839
Speaker 2: and somehow they get w's but it's ugly, and some

909
00:42:05,880 --> 00:42:07,400
Speaker 2: of their parts go in and out of the lineup

910
00:42:07,440 --> 00:42:10,600
Speaker 2: and others excel. Joel Ebid sits down, Ben Simmons excels

911
00:42:10,680 --> 00:42:12,560
Speaker 2: Joel and Beads sits down. Tobias Harris gets more of

912
00:42:12,560 --> 00:42:15,480
Speaker 2: a role, and I guess that that's really what it

913
00:42:15,480 --> 00:42:18,439
Speaker 2: comes down to, is that Tobias Harris Josh Richardson haven't

914
00:42:18,480 --> 00:42:21,839
Speaker 2: been thriving in that three to four role and Al

915
00:42:21,840 --> 00:42:23,640
Speaker 2: Horford has not been thriving in his five role. And

916
00:42:23,680 --> 00:42:25,200
Speaker 2: sometimes it looks better if they were in a two,

917
00:42:25,239 --> 00:42:27,399
Speaker 2: three four role where they move up when somebody goes down.

918
00:42:28,080 --> 00:42:33,920
Speaker 2: But they're good enough, and they're good enough to probably

919
00:42:33,920 --> 00:42:37,560
Speaker 2: win a playoff series. That being said, my other word

920
00:42:37,600 --> 00:42:39,640
Speaker 2: I was thinking about was something a little bit more

921
00:42:39,680 --> 00:42:43,360
Speaker 2: of the dramatic, the you know, like the sort of

922
00:42:43,400 --> 00:42:47,160
Speaker 2: the I don't know, it's kind of tabloidy sometimes with

923
00:42:47,200 --> 00:42:51,399
Speaker 2: these Philadelphia seventy six ers and Joel Embiid it's it's

924
00:42:51,440 --> 00:42:53,960
Speaker 2: not fun. It's not fun. I don't think it was

925
00:42:53,960 --> 00:42:56,080
Speaker 2: supposed to be a team that took another sort of

926
00:42:56,120 --> 00:42:58,839
Speaker 2: professional step, and it just really hasn't happened, even though

927
00:42:58,840 --> 00:43:02,839
Speaker 2: they got more talent this year. Also, another word could

928
00:43:02,840 --> 00:43:05,919
Speaker 2: be ugly. Sometimes the offense is bad, they're just getting

929
00:43:05,960 --> 00:43:07,320
Speaker 2: each other's way.

930
00:43:07,360 --> 00:43:10,160
Speaker 1: But then it's so weird with them. Every time I

931
00:43:10,200 --> 00:43:12,319
Speaker 1: watch them, I go I could see this team going

932
00:43:12,360 --> 00:43:14,360
Speaker 1: to the finals in the East. You know, they are

933
00:43:14,400 --> 00:43:17,200
Speaker 1: a bad matchup to some extent for the Bucks. I

934
00:43:17,239 --> 00:43:19,840
Speaker 1: mean they're they're a good maship. I mean for the

935
00:43:19,880 --> 00:43:23,800
Speaker 1: Sixers against them, I feel. But it's like Tobias Harris

936
00:43:23,800 --> 00:43:26,440
Speaker 1: has one awesome game, he's going for thirty and then

937
00:43:26,480 --> 00:43:29,560
Speaker 1: it's like, okay, two games later, it's oh, it's Richardson,

938
00:43:29,560 --> 00:43:32,200
Speaker 1: that's his game. Oh Simmons for a half. Oh of

939
00:43:32,239 --> 00:43:34,640
Speaker 1: course when Embid's there, it's like, oh, yeah, he's a monster,

940
00:43:34,960 --> 00:43:38,279
Speaker 1: but it's very like he's It's like it is that

941
00:43:38,320 --> 00:43:40,680
Speaker 1: weird puzzle thing. It's like does this well, does this

942
00:43:40,760 --> 00:43:43,080
Speaker 1: damn thing fit together? I mean it looks like it does.

943
00:43:43,239 --> 00:43:46,080
Speaker 1: It makes sense here sort of, But I'm trying to

944
00:43:46,160 --> 00:43:47,800
Speaker 1: jam this one in here and it's not working.

945
00:43:48,680 --> 00:43:52,280
Speaker 3: And it's tough to figure if it's gonna be exacerbated

946
00:43:52,320 --> 00:43:53,880
Speaker 3: in the playoffs or if it's gonna be okay in

947
00:43:53,920 --> 00:43:56,080
Speaker 3: the playoffs. Because they've got a very good defense. They're

948
00:43:56,200 --> 00:43:58,920
Speaker 3: number six in defense right now as expected. You know,

949
00:43:58,960 --> 00:44:01,280
Speaker 3: they've got a lot of size that where and Embiid

950
00:44:01,360 --> 00:44:03,840
Speaker 3: is a huge impact guy when he's on the court.

951
00:44:04,920 --> 00:44:06,719
Speaker 3: So when the game slows down, they're gonna be able

952
00:44:06,719 --> 00:44:08,880
Speaker 3: to play defense. That's gonna show up, no doubt about it.

953
00:44:08,960 --> 00:44:12,680
Speaker 3: But how will they come bat the teams attacking them

954
00:44:13,080 --> 00:44:16,439
Speaker 3: on the offensive end? Right? Like Embiid, he's not gonna

955
00:44:16,440 --> 00:44:17,719
Speaker 3: be able to get the ball every time. He's not

956
00:44:17,760 --> 00:44:20,040
Speaker 3: gonna there are games where he's gonna be taken out

957
00:44:20,080 --> 00:44:22,759
Speaker 3: of it. And then it's gonna be imperative on Richardson

958
00:44:22,800 --> 00:44:25,040
Speaker 3: and Harris to show up every single night. And that's

959
00:44:25,360 --> 00:44:28,760
Speaker 3: a question mark. So I don't know. I'm with you, skeets.

960
00:44:28,800 --> 00:44:30,600
Speaker 3: I think that they could make it to the finals,

961
00:44:30,680 --> 00:44:33,760
Speaker 3: no doubt about it. But I wouldn't be happy betting

962
00:44:33,760 --> 00:44:34,440
Speaker 3: on them, that's for sure.

963
00:44:34,520 --> 00:44:34,719
Speaker 2: Yeah.

964
00:44:34,760 --> 00:44:37,120
Speaker 1: What is more likely with the Philadelphia Sixers at the

965
00:44:37,160 --> 00:44:39,879
Speaker 1: halfway point of the season right now? Is it more

966
00:44:39,960 --> 00:44:42,279
Speaker 1: likely they lose a first round series or they go

967
00:44:42,320 --> 00:44:42,920
Speaker 1: to the finals?

968
00:44:44,000 --> 00:44:44,400
Speaker 2: I don't know.

969
00:44:44,480 --> 00:44:46,840
Speaker 3: I was just checking the splits zero and two against

970
00:44:46,840 --> 00:44:49,360
Speaker 3: the Orlando Magic. Oh, hopefully.

971
00:44:50,680 --> 00:44:52,840
Speaker 1: It's a they're a weird team and your tabloidy is

972
00:44:52,960 --> 00:44:57,319
Speaker 1: a great one there actually, because it's it's it's fun

973
00:44:57,320 --> 00:44:59,960
Speaker 1: for us to all play sort of you know, are

974
00:45:00,080 --> 00:45:03,120
Speaker 1: armchair coach and try and go oh maybe or armchair

975
00:45:03,160 --> 00:45:05,040
Speaker 1: GM even like you got trade one of these guys.

976
00:45:05,040 --> 00:45:06,480
Speaker 1: And I don't know if Simmons and b is gonna work.

977
00:45:06,560 --> 00:45:08,319
Speaker 1: I don't know, or you got or Horford you gotta

978
00:45:08,360 --> 00:45:10,440
Speaker 1: move him. I don't know if that's gonna work. With

979
00:45:10,440 --> 00:45:12,240
Speaker 1: with Chwell and Bid there those two guys in the middle.

980
00:45:12,320 --> 00:45:14,920
Speaker 1: It's like everybody's got an answer, but I don't know.

981
00:45:14,960 --> 00:45:18,360
Speaker 1: Maybe maybe it is enough with what they have. We'll see.

982
00:45:18,400 --> 00:45:20,600
Speaker 2: And the other part of it is the other really

983
00:45:20,680 --> 00:45:23,319
Speaker 2: strange part of it is they're nineteen and two at home.

984
00:45:23,400 --> 00:45:25,480
Speaker 2: That's awesome and seven fourteen on the road. Doesn't that

985
00:45:25,480 --> 00:45:27,759
Speaker 2: speak to a team that gets by on talent and

986
00:45:28,239 --> 00:45:30,520
Speaker 2: isn't all together on the same page. I know that's

987
00:45:30,560 --> 00:45:34,160
Speaker 2: just those are just numbers. But if you're gonna get something,

988
00:45:34,680 --> 00:45:37,799
Speaker 2: it's definitely something. If you're gonna say, if you if

989
00:45:37,840 --> 00:45:39,799
Speaker 2: you had to answer that question about making it to

990
00:45:39,840 --> 00:45:42,560
Speaker 2: the finals, sure it's possible. But I think the first

991
00:45:42,640 --> 00:45:45,799
Speaker 2: round upset is wouldn't even be an upset because they're

992
00:45:45,800 --> 00:45:47,879
Speaker 2: in the six seed. You know, they they'd be going

993
00:45:47,920 --> 00:45:50,320
Speaker 2: on the road somewhere, right and that's not gonna be

994
00:45:50,320 --> 00:45:50,799
Speaker 2: easy for them.

995
00:45:50,880 --> 00:45:53,480
Speaker 1: Yeah, And there was one more point to that before

996
00:45:53,520 --> 00:45:56,400
Speaker 1: we move on here, that whole terrible road record. That

997
00:45:56,600 --> 00:46:00,200
Speaker 1: is a big differentia, differentiating marker between the really really

998
00:46:00,239 --> 00:46:02,520
Speaker 1: good teams and maybe the pretenders, right, the contenders and

999
00:46:02,560 --> 00:46:05,919
Speaker 1: the pretenders, because it's it's nuggets like in years past

1000
00:46:05,960 --> 00:46:07,640
Speaker 1: where you're like, oh yah, they're money at home, but

1001
00:46:07,680 --> 00:46:09,600
Speaker 1: then they go on the road and you're like, they

1002
00:46:09,640 --> 00:46:11,440
Speaker 1: can't get it done. And it's tough to always take

1003
00:46:11,440 --> 00:46:13,719
Speaker 1: those teams that struggle on the road to go, oh yeah,

1004
00:46:13,760 --> 00:46:15,680
Speaker 1: I could see them going into somebody's barn in a

1005
00:46:15,680 --> 00:46:17,920
Speaker 1: playoff series and picking up a big win or two

1006
00:46:17,960 --> 00:46:19,799
Speaker 1: to win a series. It's just the way it is.

1007
00:46:19,800 --> 00:46:23,000
Speaker 1: It doesn't mean they're not a bad team, but you

1008
00:46:23,080 --> 00:46:25,200
Speaker 1: gotta win on the road. The elite teams do, and

1009
00:46:25,239 --> 00:46:27,600
Speaker 1: they're not there right now, and that's crazy. They're in

1010
00:46:27,600 --> 00:46:29,240
Speaker 1: the sixth seed ey as of today.

1011
00:46:29,400 --> 00:46:33,320
Speaker 2: Wow wow, And I don't see them, you know. With

1012
00:46:33,400 --> 00:46:35,440
Speaker 2: the Pacers above them and the Raptors above them, those

1013
00:46:35,480 --> 00:46:37,840
Speaker 2: teams aren't going to falter anytime soon either or the

1014
00:46:37,840 --> 00:46:38,840
Speaker 2: Celtics or the Heaps.

1015
00:46:38,880 --> 00:46:41,319
Speaker 1: So if you were a betman, it sounds like you

1016
00:46:41,360 --> 00:46:43,680
Speaker 1: would put that money on it's more likely they would

1017
00:46:43,880 --> 00:46:44,680
Speaker 1: lose in the first round.

1018
00:46:44,760 --> 00:46:47,640
Speaker 2: Yeah, I would be betting on them as a finals

1019
00:46:47,640 --> 00:46:50,040
Speaker 2: team is as it's risky. As Trey said, the odds

1020
00:46:50,040 --> 00:46:52,400
Speaker 2: would be a lot juicier. I think to make the

1021
00:46:52,400 --> 00:46:54,600
Speaker 2: finals rather than be a first round loser.

1022
00:46:54,719 --> 00:46:57,120
Speaker 1: Well then, and then if they lose in a first round,

1023
00:46:57,200 --> 00:46:59,600
Speaker 1: I mean, what happens that? What is Elton Brandon sixers

1024
00:46:59,640 --> 00:47:00,000
Speaker 1: front off?

1025
00:47:00,440 --> 00:47:00,680
Speaker 2: Then?

1026
00:47:00,880 --> 00:47:02,880
Speaker 1: Then I mean there, you almost have no choice but

1027
00:47:02,960 --> 00:47:06,280
Speaker 1: to make it. You gotta go a different direction in trading,

1028
00:47:06,320 --> 00:47:09,400
Speaker 1: probably one of your sort of elaite guys. I would think. Anyway,

1029
00:47:09,440 --> 00:47:11,799
Speaker 1: let's keep it moving here. Toronto Raptors.

1030
00:47:11,840 --> 00:47:15,200
Speaker 3: My word for the Toronto Raptors honorable with the EU

1031
00:47:16,360 --> 00:47:18,880
Speaker 3: because this is a good defending champion. For a team

1032
00:47:19,200 --> 00:47:21,440
Speaker 3: that lost their best player, would have been easy for

1033
00:47:21,480 --> 00:47:23,560
Speaker 3: them to say, all right, we're gonna shit these guys out.

1034
00:47:23,600 --> 00:47:25,800
Speaker 3: We won a title. It was awesome, everybody had a

1035
00:47:25,840 --> 00:47:28,680
Speaker 3: good time. But they didn't. They never give up. They

1036
00:47:28,680 --> 00:47:31,560
Speaker 3: never give in. This is despite the fact that their

1037
00:47:31,719 --> 00:47:33,960
Speaker 3: entire starting lineup from opening night has missed at least

1038
00:47:33,960 --> 00:47:36,400
Speaker 3: ten games each and they're still able to be putting

1039
00:47:36,480 --> 00:47:39,759
Speaker 3: up a twenty six and fourteen record, fourth in the East.

1040
00:47:39,800 --> 00:47:42,359
Speaker 3: Right now, they got the number two defense in the league.

1041
00:47:43,080 --> 00:47:46,160
Speaker 3: Everybody they play is good. It's amazing. They're like good

1042
00:47:46,200 --> 00:47:50,800
Speaker 3: basically one through twelve and then they're Stanley Johnson the Raptors.

1043
00:47:50,880 --> 00:47:53,040
Speaker 3: You gotta tip, you gotta tip your tupe to them,

1044
00:47:54,520 --> 00:47:57,640
Speaker 3: because you know, it's a question, now, should they trade

1045
00:47:57,719 --> 00:48:00,840
Speaker 3: Kyle Lowry, Should they trade Markcosol? Should they trade serge

1046
00:48:00,840 --> 00:48:03,480
Speaker 3: A Baka? And you know it could have gone the

1047
00:48:03,520 --> 00:48:06,600
Speaker 3: other way. They could have easily been celebrating the championship

1048
00:48:06,600 --> 00:48:09,839
Speaker 3: and saying, yeah, we did it, and that's all it's

1049
00:48:09,840 --> 00:48:12,040
Speaker 3: gonna be. But that is clearly not all it's gonna

1050
00:48:12,040 --> 00:48:14,200
Speaker 3: be for the Raptors. You can never underestimate the heart

1051
00:48:14,239 --> 00:48:14,840
Speaker 3: of a champion.

1052
00:48:15,760 --> 00:48:20,040
Speaker 1: It's like it's so cliche, but it is semi true.

1053
00:48:20,080 --> 00:48:23,080
Speaker 1: Like this idea of like they're using that everybody thinking

1054
00:48:23,080 --> 00:48:26,239
Speaker 1: they're gonna stink after Kawhi leaves. There's no doubt they're

1055
00:48:26,320 --> 00:48:29,399
Speaker 1: using that as motivation. Sure, like no, we're we're also good.

1056
00:48:29,920 --> 00:48:32,640
Speaker 1: We helped him get a championship just as much as

1057
00:48:32,640 --> 00:48:35,120
Speaker 1: he helped us, and you know we're gonna try and

1058
00:48:35,200 --> 00:48:37,319
Speaker 1: prove that, and you know, obviously they're well coached. We

1059
00:48:37,320 --> 00:48:39,640
Speaker 1: talked about in comparing them to the Heat. Yeah, it's

1060
00:48:39,680 --> 00:48:42,120
Speaker 1: been a it's actually, I think a lot of Raptors fans,

1061
00:48:42,400 --> 00:48:46,600
Speaker 1: despite all the injuries, which have been weird, very like

1062
00:48:46,680 --> 00:48:50,279
Speaker 1: an oddly enjoyable season so far, just uh, with all

1063
00:48:50,360 --> 00:48:52,879
Speaker 1: of this sort of this new blood be it Terence

1064
00:48:52,960 --> 00:48:55,399
Speaker 1: Davis or Bouchet and stuff like that, playing well and

1065
00:48:55,920 --> 00:48:58,120
Speaker 1: still racking up the wins and putting up fights even

1066
00:48:58,120 --> 00:48:58,640
Speaker 1: in losses.

1067
00:48:59,440 --> 00:49:03,160
Speaker 2: It's been a extremely enjoyable especially to shoot down the

1068
00:49:03,520 --> 00:49:06,759
Speaker 2: haters and the naysayers for Toronto Raptors fans, people not

1069
00:49:06,920 --> 00:49:11,520
Speaker 2: picking them in their playoffs selections. Come on, so they're out. Yeah,

1070
00:49:11,520 --> 00:49:13,719
Speaker 2: they're doing extremely well. If they can finish top four,

1071
00:49:13,760 --> 00:49:16,919
Speaker 2: which I don't see why they shouldn't, that's a it's

1072
00:49:16,920 --> 00:49:19,520
Speaker 2: a win for for them. And yeah, I think I

1073
00:49:19,520 --> 00:49:22,320
Speaker 2: think that championship swagger is real. I think it's dripping

1074
00:49:22,360 --> 00:49:25,360
Speaker 2: off Kyle Lowry and Fred Van Vliet big time, uh

1075
00:49:25,520 --> 00:49:28,760
Speaker 2: in their backcourt. And uh. Yeah, I think the surprise

1076
00:49:28,840 --> 00:49:32,400
Speaker 2: has been their sort of their G League monsters coming

1077
00:49:32,400 --> 00:49:34,840
Speaker 2: off the bench and and and supporting everybody and like

1078
00:49:34,880 --> 00:49:37,120
Speaker 2: even a normal Powell, it's stripping off of So those

1079
00:49:37,120 --> 00:49:40,200
Speaker 2: are the questions, Those are the questions. If they can

1080
00:49:40,280 --> 00:49:42,800
Speaker 2: if Pascal Siaka can be a superstar in the playoffs,

1081
00:49:42,800 --> 00:49:45,520
Speaker 2: if Fred van Vliet can be a e lead guard

1082
00:49:45,560 --> 00:49:48,120
Speaker 2: in the playoffs. Really you know that he wasn't last year.

1083
00:49:48,120 --> 00:49:50,160
Speaker 2: And then all these bench guys can they be for reals?

1084
00:49:50,239 --> 00:49:53,799
Speaker 2: But but I think they're taking it like RAPS fans

1085
00:49:53,840 --> 00:49:56,080
Speaker 2: won't really even care, Like if they were to lose

1086
00:49:56,120 --> 00:49:57,799
Speaker 2: in a first round, four or five series or something,

1087
00:49:57,840 --> 00:50:00,719
Speaker 2: I mean they would kah, but it's like, no, that

1088
00:50:00,760 --> 00:50:05,120
Speaker 2: would be big time found money for them. But I

1089
00:50:05,160 --> 00:50:08,360
Speaker 2: think you know, the RAPS fans are gonna they're gonna

1090
00:50:08,400 --> 00:50:10,759
Speaker 2: be feeling it. They're gonna feel like they can win.

1091
00:50:10,800 --> 00:50:13,120
Speaker 2: And that's a yeah. It's a nice feeling.

1092
00:50:13,480 --> 00:50:16,239
Speaker 1: Final team here in the East. Washington Wizards. I'm going

1093
00:50:16,320 --> 00:50:20,680
Speaker 1: Taco Bell no Dunks. Fan Johnny unknowingly sent this in

1094
00:50:20,719 --> 00:50:23,640
Speaker 1: on the Last Beat Step In podcast to describe the Wizards.

1095
00:50:23,640 --> 00:50:27,240
Speaker 1: Taco Bell. That's what they are. They're all offense, no defense.

1096
00:50:27,280 --> 00:50:29,839
Speaker 1: They're great tasting on one end, terrible on the other end.

1097
00:50:29,840 --> 00:50:33,840
Speaker 1: The old poop shoot the Wizards. They've only won thirteen

1098
00:50:33,880 --> 00:50:37,239
Speaker 1: games when they have the league's tenth best offense. They

1099
00:50:37,239 --> 00:50:40,239
Speaker 1: play fast, they take care of the ball. They do

1100
00:50:40,280 --> 00:50:42,560
Speaker 1: a fairly average job of hitting shots and getting to

1101
00:50:42,640 --> 00:50:45,440
Speaker 1: the line. Even you got Bell scoring like twenty eight

1102
00:50:45,440 --> 00:50:48,160
Speaker 1: a game, you got eight other Wizards like chipping in

1103
00:50:48,200 --> 00:50:50,640
Speaker 1: over ten a game. But it's on the other end,

1104
00:50:50,680 --> 00:50:53,160
Speaker 1: they just don't stop anyone. It's a glorified pickup game.

1105
00:50:54,640 --> 00:50:58,360
Speaker 1: They're dead lasting defensive efficiency. It looks optional at times

1106
00:50:58,440 --> 00:51:00,919
Speaker 1: if you want to play it. Oh yeah, so yeah,

1107
00:51:00,960 --> 00:51:02,680
Speaker 1: their Taco Bell will keep it at that. I do

1108
00:51:02,880 --> 00:51:04,919
Speaker 1: like that Garrison Matthews to me, has sort of turned

1109
00:51:04,960 --> 00:51:07,560
Speaker 1: into the new Tim Legler. It's like we got another

1110
00:51:07,640 --> 00:51:12,000
Speaker 1: Leglar here with Matthews. But they are they're a fun

1111
00:51:12,080 --> 00:51:15,680
Speaker 1: watch because it is like watching pick up ball. So

1112
00:51:15,800 --> 00:51:17,920
Speaker 1: then they're always one of those weird early starts too,

1113
00:51:17,920 --> 00:51:19,040
Speaker 1: and it's at least it's high scoring.

1114
00:51:19,520 --> 00:51:19,719
Speaker 2: Yeah.

1115
00:51:19,760 --> 00:51:22,600
Speaker 3: The most likable Wizards team in ages, I would say.

1116
00:51:22,800 --> 00:51:24,919
Speaker 3: And you know, now we're seeing clips of John Wall

1117
00:51:25,040 --> 00:51:27,880
Speaker 3: in practice. Wow, this guy still looks fast in practice.

1118
00:51:28,480 --> 00:51:31,560
Speaker 3: Could he return this season another shot in the arm

1119
00:51:31,600 --> 00:51:34,920
Speaker 3: for a playoff push from the Wizards. I don't think so,

1120
00:51:35,640 --> 00:51:37,400
Speaker 3: But at least it'll be interesting.

1121
00:51:37,520 --> 00:51:40,800
Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah, John Wall goes with that Taco Bell comparison

1122
00:51:40,800 --> 00:51:42,160
Speaker 1: to and Taco Bell's got to be one of the

1123
00:51:42,160 --> 00:51:43,200
Speaker 1: fastest fast foods.

1124
00:51:43,680 --> 00:51:46,920
Speaker 3: Oh yeah, that's coming to you very quickly, wrapping those

1125
00:51:46,920 --> 00:51:48,160
Speaker 3: tortillas quick.

1126
00:51:48,560 --> 00:51:50,759
Speaker 2: You can't get your wallet in your pocket before you

1127
00:51:50,760 --> 00:51:55,319
Speaker 2: got to pick up thrown at you go get your

1128
00:51:55,320 --> 00:51:59,680
Speaker 2: hat set. But has been an incredible story for them too,

1129
00:52:00,000 --> 00:52:02,880
Speaker 2: although he's been injured. He's uh, he's part of the

1130
00:52:02,880 --> 00:52:06,439
Speaker 2: super fun club. Plays hard, he's I guess he plays

1131
00:52:06,480 --> 00:52:08,960
Speaker 2: too hard to be wanted to be a working at

1132
00:52:08,960 --> 00:52:10,879
Speaker 2: Taco Bell, though you know he plays a little bit

1133
00:52:10,880 --> 00:52:13,360
Speaker 2: on the defensive end. He's the one guy. He is

1134
00:52:13,400 --> 00:52:18,400
Speaker 2: the one I guess izak Is also plays a little defense.

1135
00:52:18,440 --> 00:52:20,880
Speaker 2: But yeah, they've got a bunch of little water bugs

1136
00:52:20,920 --> 00:52:24,600
Speaker 2: and Ish Smith and Isaiah Thomas. Yeah, they have interesting

1137
00:52:24,719 --> 00:52:26,040
Speaker 2: characters up and down their line.

1138
00:52:26,360 --> 00:52:28,360
Speaker 1: And Damas Burton's the way he should we all I

1139
00:52:28,600 --> 00:52:30,160
Speaker 1: would expect we're going to see him in a three

1140
00:52:30,160 --> 00:52:33,239
Speaker 1: point People love talking up him. So yeah, all right,

1141
00:52:33,320 --> 00:52:35,280
Speaker 1: let's keep it going. Let's move over to the Western

1142
00:52:35,400 --> 00:52:38,680
Speaker 1: Conference first team. In the West, It's always always blew

1143
00:52:38,800 --> 00:52:40,840
Speaker 1: my mind as a kid that the first team in

1144
00:52:40,880 --> 00:52:43,480
Speaker 1: the West started with a D and it was Dallas,

1145
00:52:43,680 --> 00:52:46,120
Speaker 1: a Dallas Mavericks. I mean, look at all those teams

1146
00:52:46,160 --> 00:52:49,040
Speaker 1: in the East, the eight of Sea's there's like six

1147
00:52:49,080 --> 00:52:52,080
Speaker 1: of them. It's it's it's pretty incredible, pretty crazy.

1148
00:52:52,200 --> 00:52:55,080
Speaker 2: And yeah, Dallas Ryan as a kid blows my mind

1149
00:52:55,120 --> 00:52:58,719
Speaker 2: every month when I write them all down. Yeah, okay, yeah,

1150
00:52:59,239 --> 00:52:59,920
Speaker 2: it's a boggler.

1151
00:53:01,080 --> 00:53:02,840
Speaker 3: I guess that's my word, moggler.

1152
00:53:02,960 --> 00:53:06,560
Speaker 2: I guess the Western settlers didn't like ABC names.

1153
00:53:06,680 --> 00:53:07,840
Speaker 1: They're like, they're all taken.

1154
00:53:08,000 --> 00:53:11,160
Speaker 2: Yeah, if only there's a team in albu Querkie, they

1155
00:53:11,200 --> 00:53:16,560
Speaker 2: probably play in the West. The Dallas Mavericks. They're blessed.

1156
00:53:16,920 --> 00:53:20,000
Speaker 2: It's like they've been sprinkled with fairy dust and they're

1157
00:53:20,520 --> 00:53:23,360
Speaker 2: they're rising up to the heavens. They're all just lifting

1158
00:53:23,480 --> 00:53:28,520
Speaker 2: up because they have been giving a superstar essentially at

1159
00:53:28,560 --> 00:53:32,840
Speaker 2: the number five pick in the twenty eighteen draft, Luka

1160
00:53:32,880 --> 00:53:36,600
Speaker 2: Doncic is the best player in that draft. Even though

1161
00:53:36,760 --> 00:53:38,520
Speaker 2: you know when it happened and the trade happened, I

1162
00:53:38,520 --> 00:53:40,879
Speaker 2: wanted to say, you know what, you know what, Trey

1163
00:53:40,960 --> 00:53:43,439
Speaker 2: Young plus another player who turned out to be Cam

1164
00:53:43,480 --> 00:53:47,600
Speaker 2: Reddish could equal Luka Doncic. Whatever, maybe that's true, but

1165
00:53:48,000 --> 00:53:51,520
Speaker 2: you've got a superstar, super super super super superstar and

1166
00:53:51,680 --> 00:53:54,759
Speaker 2: Luka Doncic. That's not going away. There's still gonna be

1167
00:53:54,840 --> 00:53:59,080
Speaker 2: questions about Trey Young fair, but there's zero questions about

1168
00:53:59,160 --> 00:54:01,719
Speaker 2: Luka Doncic, just especially in the way today's game is

1169
00:54:01,760 --> 00:54:04,960
Speaker 2: played where you can barely barely get physical with a

1170
00:54:05,280 --> 00:54:09,960
Speaker 2: perimeter player, and he's got all the skills. Like there

1171
00:54:10,080 --> 00:54:14,239
Speaker 2: was he threw a ball, real shocked in moment, real

1172
00:54:14,280 --> 00:54:17,640
Speaker 2: weekend whoopsie moment in Wednesday's game into row forty two.

1173
00:54:17,960 --> 00:54:20,239
Speaker 2: It was a bomb. He threw it, and then he

1174
00:54:20,280 --> 00:54:24,319
Speaker 2: comes down and then he throws a hook pass as

1175
00:54:24,520 --> 00:54:27,240
Speaker 2: a skip pass. That was he was on one sideline,

1176
00:54:27,280 --> 00:54:29,600
Speaker 2: he threw it to the corner of the other sideline.

1177
00:54:29,719 --> 00:54:33,319
Speaker 2: It was amazing. He is, He is so good. And

1178
00:54:33,360 --> 00:54:35,440
Speaker 2: the way he's got that, like the step back jumper,

1179
00:54:36,440 --> 00:54:39,680
Speaker 2: he must have worked on in the summer, because that

1180
00:54:39,680 --> 00:54:41,160
Speaker 2: that wasn't really part of his game, the way he

1181
00:54:41,200 --> 00:54:43,000
Speaker 2: could step back and hit three balls. But you know,

1182
00:54:43,120 --> 00:54:45,320
Speaker 2: to you know, put that along with the passing and

1183
00:54:45,360 --> 00:54:48,960
Speaker 2: the dribbling. Superstars are what this game is all about,

1184
00:54:49,000 --> 00:54:51,640
Speaker 2: and they are hashtag Bliss.

1185
00:54:51,320 --> 00:54:57,600
Speaker 1: And one of the greatest offenses we've ever seen.

1186
00:54:57,040 --> 00:55:00,560
Speaker 2: And it's because of one guy, I mean really dry

1187
00:55:00,640 --> 00:55:02,600
Speaker 2: pal is a good, very good rim runner. He has

1188
00:55:02,600 --> 00:55:06,239
Speaker 2: developed he's good at that. But it's then around them,

1189
00:55:06,280 --> 00:55:07,680
Speaker 2: it's just a bunch of guys who are ready to

1190
00:55:07,680 --> 00:55:09,719
Speaker 2: shoot and drive a bit. You know, they have, they

1191
00:55:09,719 --> 00:55:12,759
Speaker 2: have raised their game a little bit and some of

1192
00:55:12,800 --> 00:55:13,600
Speaker 2: their guys.

1193
00:55:13,760 --> 00:55:16,839
Speaker 1: They play a lot of competent players, no doubt, they

1194
00:55:16,840 --> 00:55:19,239
Speaker 1: don't play a lot of bad guys. The mild Stallions

1195
00:55:19,239 --> 00:55:22,200
Speaker 1: were dominating and are continuing. If you told NAS fans

1196
00:55:22,239 --> 00:55:24,160
Speaker 1: at this point at the halfway season, you know, before

1197
00:55:24,200 --> 00:55:25,360
Speaker 1: the start of the season, that they were gonna be

1198
00:55:25,400 --> 00:55:29,080
Speaker 1: twenty six and fifteen six in the West, Porzingis would

1199
00:55:29,080 --> 00:55:32,400
Speaker 1: not he's gonna miss ten games or so, he's not

1200
00:55:32,400 --> 00:55:34,360
Speaker 1: even gonna be all that great when he is playing.

1201
00:55:35,200 --> 00:55:36,839
Speaker 1: They would be like, yeah, right, we're gonna be twenty

1202
00:55:36,880 --> 00:55:39,440
Speaker 1: six to fifteen, like like that's the truth. Yeah, they

1203
00:55:39,520 --> 00:55:41,759
Speaker 1: have exceeded expectations. I think people thought they'd be maybe

1204
00:55:41,760 --> 00:55:43,640
Speaker 1: a playoff team in the in the in the mix.

1205
00:55:44,280 --> 00:55:46,280
Speaker 1: But I think most people when they thought that probably

1206
00:55:46,320 --> 00:55:49,239
Speaker 1: thought Porzingis was gonna be also dominant, and he hasn't been,

1207
00:55:50,560 --> 00:55:52,080
Speaker 1: and a part of that is the injury. But Luca

1208
00:55:52,120 --> 00:55:54,799
Speaker 1: has been that special. It's it's wild to watch.

1209
00:55:54,640 --> 00:55:58,160
Speaker 3: And it's fun to watch now while he is making

1210
00:55:58,200 --> 00:56:00,520
Speaker 3: his mark on the league because he's shooting thirty one

1211
00:56:00,600 --> 00:56:02,920
Speaker 3: percent from three pointers, but you think this guy's shooting

1212
00:56:02,920 --> 00:56:05,160
Speaker 3: fifty percent with the way people talk about him. It's

1213
00:56:05,200 --> 00:56:07,560
Speaker 3: good to be good, but it's even better to be

1214
00:56:07,719 --> 00:56:10,000
Speaker 3: young and good because people are willing to give your

1215
00:56:10,880 --> 00:56:13,919
Speaker 3: your deficiencies a bit of a pass. You know, James

1216
00:56:13,960 --> 00:56:16,440
Speaker 3: Harden is shooting like fourteen threes a game, but he's

1217
00:56:16,440 --> 00:56:18,200
Speaker 3: shooting thirty eight and people are like, you're shooting too

1218
00:56:18,200 --> 00:56:21,360
Speaker 3: many threes. I don't think somebody, but uh yeah, Luca,

1219
00:56:21,560 --> 00:56:23,920
Speaker 3: he's almost averaging a triple double. People are gonna like

1220
00:56:24,040 --> 00:56:26,359
Speaker 3: when somebody averages a triple double. Again, now that it's

1221
00:56:26,400 --> 00:56:30,319
Speaker 3: not Russell Westbrook. Luca is a critical darling, and you

1222
00:56:30,320 --> 00:56:30,879
Speaker 3: can see why.

1223
00:56:30,960 --> 00:56:33,120
Speaker 1: I'll say one thing about that. I've noticed it in

1224
00:56:33,160 --> 00:56:34,640
Speaker 1: the last week or two and it's starting to get

1225
00:56:34,680 --> 00:56:38,400
Speaker 1: to me and maybe it's just me projecting the Lucas

1226
00:56:38,440 --> 00:56:41,040
Speaker 1: stands out there need to tone it down a little bit.

1227
00:56:41,120 --> 00:56:44,040
Speaker 1: I'm with you okay. And that's what I mean by this.

1228
00:56:44,120 --> 00:56:46,640
Speaker 1: I really see it when I post a whoa boy? Okay,

1229
00:56:47,120 --> 00:56:50,200
Speaker 1: Like Tobias Harris gets Wednesday Night's wo boy, great line,

1230
00:56:50,280 --> 00:56:54,240
Speaker 1: super efficient line. They beat the nets. But then Lucas

1231
00:56:54,239 --> 00:56:56,640
Speaker 1: got like he's got the triple double. It's the Westbrook like,

1232
00:56:56,680 --> 00:56:59,080
Speaker 1: you know, it's seventeen to fifty. It's an awesome line.

1233
00:56:59,120 --> 00:57:01,440
Speaker 1: He does it occasionally, but it wasn't, you know, his

1234
00:57:01,520 --> 00:57:03,680
Speaker 1: greatest shooting game and stuff like that, and there's turnovers

1235
00:57:03,680 --> 00:57:06,200
Speaker 1: and stuff like that. But the Lucas stands like they

1236
00:57:06,280 --> 00:57:08,680
Speaker 1: just go crazy. He's like, how can it not be?

1237
00:57:08,760 --> 00:57:10,919
Speaker 1: Luke Helpan and it starts to Irri team. He starts

1238
00:57:10,920 --> 00:57:12,600
Speaker 1: to get to me a little bit because I love them.

1239
00:57:12,680 --> 00:57:15,080
Speaker 1: I wouldn't love watching this guy play. He's like Larry Bird,

1240
00:57:15,239 --> 00:57:19,560
Speaker 1: you know, two point zero about there, but just chill

1241
00:57:19,600 --> 00:57:22,560
Speaker 1: a little bit. We know he's amazing guys, like there's

1242
00:57:22,600 --> 00:57:25,640
Speaker 1: just going overboard. I think already he's always his second year.

1243
00:57:25,800 --> 00:57:28,640
Speaker 1: If it worries me, it worries me for years three,

1244
00:57:28,680 --> 00:57:30,520
Speaker 1: four and five with them. But the other that's a

1245
00:57:30,520 --> 00:57:33,000
Speaker 1: small minor complain by me. Maybe again that's me projecting

1246
00:57:33,040 --> 00:57:36,280
Speaker 1: that says something about Skeetsy here. I don't all right.

1247
00:57:36,320 --> 00:57:38,360
Speaker 1: Denver Nuggets our second team in the West.

1248
00:57:38,400 --> 00:57:42,680
Speaker 3: I word for the Denver Nuggets is oatmeal doesn't look good,

1249
00:57:43,160 --> 00:57:46,720
Speaker 3: but oatmeal is very good. And also oatmeal is very

1250
00:57:46,720 --> 00:57:50,200
Speaker 3: good for you. Nicola Jokic didn't look great through the

1251
00:57:50,200 --> 00:57:52,080
Speaker 3: first month and a half of the season. He's been

1252
00:57:52,120 --> 00:57:54,920
Speaker 3: doing all right now, yep. Jamal Murray has been underwhelming

1253
00:57:54,920 --> 00:57:56,640
Speaker 3: now he's hurt. Millsap has been in and out of

1254
00:57:56,640 --> 00:57:59,360
Speaker 3: the lineup. But somehow the Nuggets are a top ten offense.

1255
00:57:59,600 --> 00:58:01,600
Speaker 3: The defense was top ten for a lot of the season.

1256
00:58:01,600 --> 00:58:03,560
Speaker 3: They've fallen off a little bit. They've got a top

1257
00:58:03,600 --> 00:58:06,120
Speaker 3: ten margin of victory. They're gonna have home court advantage

1258
00:58:06,200 --> 00:58:08,480
Speaker 3: in the Western Conference playoffs, and right now they're second.

1259
00:58:08,920 --> 00:58:11,480
Speaker 3: It hasn't always looked good at They haven't lived up

1260
00:58:11,480 --> 00:58:14,720
Speaker 3: to expectations, I don't think. But they're still producing. They're

1261
00:58:14,720 --> 00:58:17,280
Speaker 3: still putting that protein in your belly. They're keeping you

1262
00:58:17,320 --> 00:58:20,480
Speaker 3: full from breakfast till dinner. I'm loving the Denver Nuggets,

1263
00:58:20,480 --> 00:58:21,320
Speaker 3: and I love oatmeal.

1264
00:58:21,720 --> 00:58:23,560
Speaker 1: How do you make your oatmeal? That's the big thing.

1265
00:58:24,360 --> 00:58:25,440
Speaker 1: What are you putting in it?

1266
00:58:25,920 --> 00:58:28,880
Speaker 3: Standard? I got a brown sugar. I got a butter,

1267
00:58:29,040 --> 00:58:33,120
Speaker 3: and I got a pumpkin pie spice. And you know,

1268
00:58:33,320 --> 00:58:35,480
Speaker 3: if we got the fresh produce in the house, throw

1269
00:58:35,520 --> 00:58:36,480
Speaker 3: some bloobes in there.

1270
00:58:36,800 --> 00:58:40,240
Speaker 1: Yeah that's nice, got to Yeah. No, you know, Nora's

1271
00:58:40,280 --> 00:58:43,520
Speaker 1: been whipping together some nice oatmeals for me over the

1272
00:58:43,600 --> 00:58:46,280
Speaker 1: last couple of weeks, and it's like it is night

1273
00:58:46,320 --> 00:58:49,120
Speaker 1: and day to the oatmeal that I make myself. Like it,

1274
00:58:49,120 --> 00:58:50,960
Speaker 1: it's like a completely different meal.

1275
00:58:51,160 --> 00:58:53,880
Speaker 2: We're talking steel cut, we're instant.

1276
00:58:54,640 --> 00:58:56,080
Speaker 3: We are talking.

1277
00:58:55,680 --> 00:58:58,640
Speaker 1: Instant, but the way I make an instant and I'm

1278
00:58:58,640 --> 00:59:00,600
Speaker 1: not putting anything else in it. I mean, it's like

1279
00:59:00,640 --> 00:59:03,560
Speaker 1: I'm eating a slop like I'm on Big Brother. You know,

1280
00:59:03,640 --> 00:59:06,400
Speaker 1: it's like it's just there. It's just new trans like

1281
00:59:06,600 --> 00:59:08,720
Speaker 1: get it into me to you know, try and get

1282
00:59:08,720 --> 00:59:10,960
Speaker 1: me to lunch, get in here, record a podcast, and

1283
00:59:11,000 --> 00:59:13,680
Speaker 1: I need something for lunch. But yeah you get yeah,

1284
00:59:13,720 --> 00:59:16,560
Speaker 1: you get some banana and there's some blueberries in there,

1285
00:59:16,920 --> 00:59:19,280
Speaker 1: some oh some nice chopped up pecans.

1286
00:59:19,560 --> 00:59:22,520
Speaker 3: Oh my god, I gotta have gotta have crunch.

1287
00:59:23,040 --> 00:59:26,480
Speaker 2: Otherwise it's pablum. It's just yeah, it's so gross a

1288
00:59:26,520 --> 00:59:27,680
Speaker 2: text here. I can't, I can't.

1289
00:59:27,920 --> 00:59:30,080
Speaker 3: Yeah, for you though, Okay, how about this, Jeremy Grant

1290
00:59:30,120 --> 00:59:31,760
Speaker 3: can be the crunch. They needed a little bit of

1291
00:59:31,800 --> 00:59:34,320
Speaker 3: a defensive press. They got Jeremy Grant. He's out there,

1292
00:59:34,320 --> 00:59:37,280
Speaker 3: he's smashing his body, he's dunking on guys. He's your

1293
00:59:37,360 --> 00:59:38,200
Speaker 3: chopped pecans.

1294
00:59:38,440 --> 00:59:41,320
Speaker 1: Yeah, no, that's good. It's like the Nuggets are like

1295
00:59:41,360 --> 00:59:44,080
Speaker 1: a comparable Western Conference version a little bit to me

1296
00:59:44,840 --> 00:59:46,920
Speaker 1: of the Sixers at times, but they don't have those

1297
00:59:46,960 --> 00:59:50,280
Speaker 1: tabloid head headlines with them that follow them everywhere outside

1298
00:59:50,280 --> 00:59:52,080
Speaker 1: of the Yeah. I guess when Yokich was struggling, like

1299
00:59:52,120 --> 00:59:53,920
Speaker 1: what's wrong with him? He just always sucks in November.

1300
00:59:53,960 --> 00:59:56,920
Speaker 1: That's all we figured out for whatever reason. But there,

1301
00:59:56,960 --> 00:59:59,240
Speaker 1: You're right. It's like they still win a lot of games.

1302
00:59:59,360 --> 01:00:01,200
Speaker 1: You still can come mens yourself. They could go deep.

1303
01:00:01,200 --> 01:00:04,160
Speaker 1: But there's something, there's just something you struggle to put

1304
01:00:04,160 --> 01:00:06,720
Speaker 1: your finger on with them that they're either missing or

1305
01:00:06,840 --> 01:00:08,720
Speaker 1: just don't have the experience yet. I don't know what

1306
01:00:08,760 --> 01:00:12,120
Speaker 1: it is. Despite the really really good record. Is that fair?

1307
01:00:12,440 --> 01:00:16,120
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's fair. There's hopefully Jamal Murray comes back from

1308
01:00:16,160 --> 01:00:19,080
Speaker 2: that ankle injury. And I mentioned him because I think

1309
01:00:19,080 --> 01:00:21,760
Speaker 2: he is the swagger that that could turn that oatmeal

1310
01:00:21,920 --> 01:00:25,720
Speaker 2: oatmeal from slop to a fancy schmancy meal you can

1311
01:00:25,800 --> 01:00:28,919
Speaker 2: sell for ten or eleven dollars. You know, it's it's

1312
01:00:28,920 --> 01:00:32,280
Speaker 2: one of those things. And then oatmeal probably emulates looks

1313
01:00:32,400 --> 01:00:36,920
Speaker 2: like the slop variety probably looked like Nikola Yokich's gut

1314
01:00:37,440 --> 01:00:40,760
Speaker 2: in the month of November too. It's a little little spotty,

1315
01:00:40,760 --> 01:00:47,000
Speaker 2: little cottage cheesy, you know. Cool. But now he's steal cut.

1316
01:00:46,960 --> 01:00:48,280
Speaker 3: Now he's steal cutouts.

1317
01:00:48,360 --> 01:00:52,600
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's right when people say steel cutouts. JD. Can

1318
01:00:52,640 --> 01:00:55,440
Speaker 2: you tell, Oh, yeah, you can tell. It's like a

1319
01:00:55,560 --> 01:01:01,160
Speaker 2: chunkier Yeah, it's better, it's chewier. That's Costco. You better believe.

1320
01:01:02,080 --> 01:01:04,240
Speaker 3: I can't imagine the size of oatmeal container you can

1321
01:01:04,280 --> 01:01:05,400
Speaker 3: get out of Costco.

1322
01:01:05,280 --> 01:01:06,120
Speaker 2: A year's supply.

1323
01:01:06,200 --> 01:01:08,480
Speaker 3: At least it's like a fifty five gallon barrel.

1324
01:01:09,200 --> 01:01:11,000
Speaker 1: You know, a great record with the nuggets. We will

1325
01:01:11,040 --> 01:01:12,840
Speaker 1: see though the injury bug may have caught them a

1326
01:01:12,880 --> 01:01:13,200
Speaker 1: little bit.

1327
01:01:13,200 --> 01:01:13,360
Speaker 3: Here.

1328
01:01:13,400 --> 01:01:15,160
Speaker 1: You said, Murray rolling his ankle, he's going to be

1329
01:01:15,240 --> 01:01:17,520
Speaker 1: day to day. You got millsap with the knee contusion,

1330
01:01:18,680 --> 01:01:20,439
Speaker 1: Gary Harris, I think he's even day to day still

1331
01:01:20,480 --> 01:01:23,720
Speaker 1: there with the adductor sort of strain. But they got

1332
01:01:23,720 --> 01:01:25,360
Speaker 1: a lot of guys. Yeah, that's it. They can just

1333
01:01:25,440 --> 01:01:27,360
Speaker 1: roll them in. And Michael Porter Junior that's a big one.

1334
01:01:27,400 --> 01:01:30,400
Speaker 1: So maybe, sure, yeah, maybe it is that little Jamal

1335
01:01:30,520 --> 01:01:32,400
Speaker 1: Murray playing a much better than he has because he's

1336
01:01:32,440 --> 01:01:35,520
Speaker 1: had a bad season. He needs to improve for the

1337
01:01:35,560 --> 01:01:36,960
Speaker 1: Nuggets be able to go to the next level. And

1338
01:01:37,000 --> 01:01:39,320
Speaker 1: then maybe Michael Porter Junior is that guy that suddenly

1339
01:01:39,320 --> 01:01:42,640
Speaker 1: it's like a like a secondary star. He is like

1340
01:01:42,680 --> 01:01:45,200
Speaker 1: a Siakam you know, in waiting and stuff like that.

1341
01:01:45,360 --> 01:01:47,960
Speaker 1: It's very possible because when you see the highlights from him,

1342
01:01:48,120 --> 01:01:50,640
Speaker 1: it's tough not to get excited with his size and

1343
01:01:50,680 --> 01:01:57,160
Speaker 1: his ability. Golden State Warriors my word for them relieved.

1344
01:01:57,760 --> 01:02:02,000
Speaker 1: Here's why it has been a nice change to completely

1345
01:02:02,040 --> 01:02:05,840
Speaker 1: ignore them, you know, like to completely ignore a team

1346
01:02:05,880 --> 01:02:10,440
Speaker 1: that we covered so intensely over the last what five

1347
01:02:10,640 --> 01:02:14,720
Speaker 1: six years yep, night in, night out, and the storylines

1348
01:02:14,760 --> 01:02:18,400
Speaker 1: with them and the unbelievable achievements and all of it.

1349
01:02:18,400 --> 01:02:20,720
Speaker 1: It's actually been sort of nice to me. Maybe this

1350
01:02:20,800 --> 01:02:24,320
Speaker 1: is just me, but like to not really have to

1351
01:02:24,360 --> 01:02:26,960
Speaker 1: watch a ton of Warriors games think about the Warriors

1352
01:02:27,000 --> 01:02:29,760
Speaker 1: all that much. And that's where I'm at with them.

1353
01:02:30,080 --> 01:02:33,720
Speaker 1: It's I'm relieved. I've actually there's been talk of even

1354
01:02:33,800 --> 01:02:37,480
Speaker 1: if sounds like they are also like that, that sort

1355
01:02:37,480 --> 01:02:39,280
Speaker 1: of that pressure from the night in, night out trying

1356
01:02:39,280 --> 01:02:41,240
Speaker 1: to live up to it. That it's obviously a different

1357
01:02:41,280 --> 01:02:43,640
Speaker 1: year with all the injuries to Kurry and Clay and

1358
01:02:43,720 --> 01:02:47,200
Speaker 1: Katie Gunn that it's like, Hugh, this is maybe maybe

1359
01:02:47,320 --> 01:02:51,280
Speaker 1: nice for a change. So I'm going with that relieved. Yeah.

1360
01:02:51,320 --> 01:02:53,160
Speaker 3: Maybe that's something they should do, is that when your

1361
01:02:53,240 --> 01:02:54,760
Speaker 3: dynasty comes to an end, you just get to sit

1362
01:02:54,800 --> 01:02:58,040
Speaker 3: out the season. You just just chill, recuperate and then

1363
01:02:58,080 --> 01:03:00,480
Speaker 3: get ready for the next season. Because I mean, Klay

1364
01:03:00,520 --> 01:03:02,760
Speaker 3: Thompson is talking maybe I'll come back this year. No,

1365
01:03:02,960 --> 01:03:06,000
Speaker 3: that would be silly if that happens. But you know

1366
01:03:06,040 --> 01:03:08,480
Speaker 3: he'll come back for next season. Steph Curry will come

1367
01:03:08,480 --> 01:03:10,920
Speaker 3: back for next season. Maybe he'll be back towards the

1368
01:03:11,000 --> 01:03:12,960
Speaker 3: end of this year as well, And that's when you

1369
01:03:13,040 --> 01:03:15,000
Speaker 3: got to make your second run. It's pretty crazy, though,

1370
01:03:15,040 --> 01:03:17,880
Speaker 3: to think that they finally moved into their new building

1371
01:03:18,360 --> 01:03:21,080
Speaker 3: and their team is terrible. Yeah, and I don't think

1372
01:03:21,120 --> 01:03:22,360
Speaker 3: that people really care too much.

1373
01:03:22,440 --> 01:03:24,600
Speaker 1: No, it is gonna be weird in a sense when

1374
01:03:24,640 --> 01:03:26,800
Speaker 1: Kurrey and Clay come back and whatever moves they make,

1375
01:03:26,840 --> 01:03:28,760
Speaker 1: if they move Russell and get somebody else or who

1376
01:03:28,800 --> 01:03:31,800
Speaker 1: knows move Draymunger, who knows that they could like it

1377
01:03:31,920 --> 01:03:34,240
Speaker 1: like they'd be almost in a weird way, resetting to

1378
01:03:34,440 --> 01:03:38,360
Speaker 1: like becoming I think potentially like the likable, lovable Warriors again,

1379
01:03:38,600 --> 01:03:40,560
Speaker 1: where a lot of people would be, like the casual

1380
01:03:40,600 --> 01:03:42,560
Speaker 1: fam would maybe be rooting for there. I think that

1381
01:03:42,680 --> 01:03:44,920
Speaker 1: might happen a sort of I'm talking about at the

1382
01:03:44,920 --> 01:03:48,240
Speaker 1: forefront of their building up to their dynasty there, you know,

1383
01:03:48,280 --> 01:03:50,760
Speaker 1: obviously to winning that title before Katie even joined them.

1384
01:03:50,840 --> 01:03:53,320
Speaker 1: I think that could be in play, but relieved right now,

1385
01:03:53,480 --> 01:03:55,760
Speaker 1: nice to you know, nice to sort of remove, especially

1386
01:03:55,760 --> 01:03:57,800
Speaker 1: now with the Lakers and Clippers remove one of those

1387
01:03:57,920 --> 01:04:02,480
Speaker 1: West Coast late night teams. I'm catching the highlights. I

1388
01:04:02,640 --> 01:04:06,160
Speaker 1: bet you I've watched, like for a good significant amount

1389
01:04:06,200 --> 01:04:08,520
Speaker 1: of a game of a Warriors game like three two.

1390
01:04:08,640 --> 01:04:11,560
Speaker 1: Maybe I have not watched them a ton outside of highlights,

1391
01:04:11,800 --> 01:04:14,360
Speaker 1: and maybe like the old ten minute condensed version just

1392
01:04:14,400 --> 01:04:17,240
Speaker 1: the way it is, you gotta have some of those teams.

1393
01:04:17,040 --> 01:04:20,800
Speaker 2: No doubt. What they give me is a I look

1394
01:04:20,800 --> 01:04:23,280
Speaker 2: at the TV I'm like, whoa, that guy's hair is blonde.

1395
01:04:25,440 --> 01:04:25,919
Speaker 2: Yeah cool?

1396
01:04:26,000 --> 01:04:27,640
Speaker 1: Maybe, yeah it must be.

1397
01:04:27,760 --> 01:04:29,800
Speaker 2: It must be great for them. I mean, you guys

1398
01:04:30,160 --> 01:04:33,200
Speaker 2: got up Wednesday, got your run in. It's I think

1399
01:04:33,240 --> 01:04:35,120
Speaker 2: that's what Draymond Green is doing. Like he's just staying

1400
01:04:35,200 --> 01:04:37,760
Speaker 2: in shape, being able to run up and down the

1401
01:04:37,760 --> 01:04:39,960
Speaker 2: court for a year, just be pretty cool for them.

1402
01:04:40,640 --> 01:04:42,920
Speaker 1: And then sometimes he's like sometimes he's like I'm not

1403
01:04:42,920 --> 01:04:46,160
Speaker 1: feeling it, so he just gets tossed. He's like, yeah, sure,

1404
01:04:46,160 --> 01:04:47,600
Speaker 1: I don't keep your rep I don't want to hang

1405
01:04:47,600 --> 01:04:48,360
Speaker 1: around in this one.

1406
01:04:48,560 --> 01:04:51,400
Speaker 2: Yeah, they've been flexing. They've been flexing on us for years.

1407
01:04:51,480 --> 01:04:53,400
Speaker 2: The only flexing they're doing this year is with the

1408
01:04:53,400 --> 01:04:57,000
Speaker 2: schedule because they've been being flexing out of those ten

1409
01:04:57,080 --> 01:04:58,720
Speaker 2: thirty spots. Get him out of there.

1410
01:04:58,760 --> 01:05:01,760
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's the right move, definitely, all right, Houston Rockets task,

1411
01:05:01,840 --> 01:05:02,800
Speaker 1: This could be an interesting.

1412
01:05:02,560 --> 01:05:07,560
Speaker 2: One where you're going carousel or Merry go Round and

1413
01:05:07,600 --> 01:05:12,080
Speaker 2: it's at the fastest speed setting possible. Everybody's getting flung off,

1414
01:05:12,120 --> 01:05:14,320
Speaker 2: but they're just holding on for dear life. Like Chris

1415
01:05:14,320 --> 01:05:18,040
Speaker 2: Paul was flung off last year, Russell Westbrook thrown on there.

1416
01:05:18,040 --> 01:05:21,680
Speaker 2: Everybody's holding on for one more run. Maybe maybe if

1417
01:05:22,040 --> 01:05:26,280
Speaker 2: they can all hang on, they could have a championship window. Perhaps,

1418
01:05:26,800 --> 01:05:28,600
Speaker 2: but I think this is the end of it. I

1419
01:05:28,600 --> 01:05:30,200
Speaker 2: think this is the end of the ride this year

1420
01:05:30,320 --> 01:05:34,880
Speaker 2: because gosh, it's not pretty. And you mentioned James Harden

1421
01:05:34,880 --> 01:05:37,520
Speaker 2: in comparison to Luka Doncic. Those two teams basically have

1422
01:05:38,400 --> 01:05:42,440
Speaker 2: the same records, and you would bet a billion dollars

1423
01:05:42,480 --> 01:05:45,000
Speaker 2: I would on more so of the Dallas Mavericks having

1424
01:05:45,040 --> 01:05:48,400
Speaker 2: playoff success, even though James Harden is an All World player,

1425
01:05:48,480 --> 01:05:52,919
Speaker 2: just because of the team structure. And I think it's

1426
01:05:53,280 --> 01:05:56,400
Speaker 2: it's time that this team, even though you know they've

1427
01:05:56,440 --> 01:06:00,680
Speaker 2: got two superstars with long term contracts just hanging on

1428
01:06:00,760 --> 01:06:03,600
Speaker 2: here in Russell Westbrook and James Harden, I think it's

1429
01:06:03,640 --> 01:06:06,200
Speaker 2: time after this season to do something. I don't know

1430
01:06:06,240 --> 01:06:09,280
Speaker 2: if you can trade Russell Westbrook, but you know, championship

1431
01:06:09,320 --> 01:06:13,080
Speaker 2: windows close. And that's we just talked about the Warriors.

1432
01:06:13,120 --> 01:06:16,200
Speaker 2: It's been basically at the exact same time, the exact

1433
01:06:16,240 --> 01:06:19,600
Speaker 2: same length that the Rockets have been sort of very good,

1434
01:06:20,680 --> 01:06:24,800
Speaker 2: and there were the Warriors obviously were They're kryptonite. And

1435
01:06:24,880 --> 01:06:27,400
Speaker 2: now I don't know, I don't know how long how

1436
01:06:27,400 --> 01:06:29,800
Speaker 2: long can this thing keep turning and turning?

1437
01:06:30,160 --> 01:06:33,040
Speaker 1: I'll say, like in their defense, I guess of this season,

1438
01:06:33,080 --> 01:06:35,400
Speaker 1: which has sort of felt a little disappointing, it's been fine.

1439
01:06:35,440 --> 01:06:38,320
Speaker 1: I mean, the records solid. I haven't had Eric Gordon

1440
01:06:38,400 --> 01:06:40,120
Speaker 1: for a massive chunk of it, and he is a

1441
01:06:40,240 --> 01:06:43,360
Speaker 1: pretty instrumental part to what they do. Yep, so's I

1442
01:06:43,360 --> 01:06:45,160
Speaker 1: think he's only played like sixteen games from them, sixteen

1443
01:06:45,200 --> 01:06:47,760
Speaker 1: seventeen games, so not a ton of the season so far.

1444
01:06:48,320 --> 01:06:52,160
Speaker 1: The Westbrook pairing with Harden has been maybe better than

1445
01:06:52,200 --> 01:06:54,920
Speaker 1: some people thought it might be, right, Yeah, only it's

1446
01:06:54,960 --> 01:06:57,960
Speaker 1: a stretch. I think Westbrook has actually played fairly well.

1447
01:06:57,960 --> 01:06:59,360
Speaker 1: He still can't hit a three to save his life,

1448
01:06:59,360 --> 01:07:01,120
Speaker 1: which is weird on a team that does nothing but

1449
01:07:01,560 --> 01:07:02,240
Speaker 1: shoot threes.

1450
01:07:02,760 --> 01:07:05,440
Speaker 2: But it feels like it feels like we're reaching we're

1451
01:07:05,480 --> 01:07:08,480
Speaker 2: at peak Westbrookly, he's not getting any better. Yeah, yeah,

1452
01:07:08,520 --> 01:07:10,560
Speaker 2: and there's three more years of him, and it's a

1453
01:07:10,560 --> 01:07:13,760
Speaker 2: top heavy team like care Gordon. Yeah, he's important, but

1454
01:07:14,440 --> 01:07:17,960
Speaker 2: you know, beyond that, they can't play a lot of guys.

1455
01:07:18,000 --> 01:07:20,560
Speaker 2: They don't take pressure off James Harden. James Harden just

1456
01:07:20,560 --> 01:07:22,160
Speaker 2: had a night on Wednesday night where he shut the

1457
01:07:22,160 --> 01:07:25,400
Speaker 2: ball thirteen times and looked gassed, and we're in the

1458
01:07:25,400 --> 01:07:28,200
Speaker 2: middle of the season. Yeah, yeah, it's It doesn't bode

1459
01:07:28,200 --> 01:07:30,160
Speaker 2: well for the playoffs, doesn't bode well for their future

1460
01:07:30,240 --> 01:07:34,520
Speaker 2: if they're only getting older and Darryl Moore's built a

1461
01:07:34,560 --> 01:07:40,000
Speaker 2: team around superstars, but it's not deep, and I just

1462
01:07:40,040 --> 01:07:41,800
Speaker 2: don't see it going on much longer.

1463
01:07:42,120 --> 01:07:46,400
Speaker 3: Yeah, they're in the same boat with me as the Sixers,

1464
01:07:46,440 --> 01:07:48,800
Speaker 3: where maybe you think, if things work out right in

1465
01:07:48,840 --> 01:07:50,960
Speaker 3: the playoffs, they can make a run to the finals.

1466
01:07:50,960 --> 01:07:53,240
Speaker 3: But I'm thinking less and less that that is the case.

1467
01:07:53,720 --> 01:07:55,720
Speaker 3: Westbrook has been all right. You know, it's weird to

1468
01:07:55,760 --> 01:07:58,080
Speaker 3: look at a team that has James Harden and Russell Westbrook,

1469
01:07:58,120 --> 01:08:00,440
Speaker 3: one scoring thirty seven, one scoring twenty five and thinking,

1470
01:08:01,040 --> 01:08:02,400
Speaker 3: I don't know how it's gonna work in the playoff.

1471
01:08:02,400 --> 01:08:03,560
Speaker 3: I don't know if they're gonna be able to score

1472
01:08:03,680 --> 01:08:06,080
Speaker 3: enough to beat other teams. But that's kind of the case.

1473
01:08:06,160 --> 01:08:08,720
Speaker 3: The defense does tend to turn around for the Rockets

1474
01:08:08,760 --> 01:08:10,840
Speaker 3: at the halfway point of the season, so maybe that

1475
01:08:11,200 --> 01:08:13,280
Speaker 3: gets them a little bit more fired up to come

1476
01:08:13,480 --> 01:08:17,679
Speaker 3: to heading down into April and March or April and May.

1477
01:08:17,680 --> 01:08:21,760
Speaker 3: But I'm just underwhelmed. Underwhelmed is the right word for me.

1478
01:08:22,000 --> 01:08:25,000
Speaker 1: All right, the Rockets, Let's go to the Clippers.

1479
01:08:26,040 --> 01:08:33,479
Speaker 3: Clippers word young Brad Pitt. What looks good, looks really good? Yeah,

1480
01:08:33,680 --> 01:08:36,519
Speaker 3: no substance there yet. What are the Clippers about?

1481
01:08:39,520 --> 01:08:42,800
Speaker 1: I'm still trying to around the young Basically, you're saying

1482
01:08:42,840 --> 01:08:49,360
Speaker 1: young Brad Pitt obviously a sexiest dream boat, but maybe

1483
01:08:49,400 --> 01:08:53,320
Speaker 1: not he's not. He's not the greatest. Yeah, yeah, that's right.

1484
01:08:53,360 --> 01:08:54,840
Speaker 1: He's not the greatest actor at that time. He so

1485
01:08:54,960 --> 01:08:57,280
Speaker 1: maybe gotten a little better as he's aged.

1486
01:08:57,360 --> 01:08:59,880
Speaker 3: Okay, well that's the thing. It's young Brad Pitt. But

1487
01:09:00,280 --> 01:09:03,679
Speaker 3: the Clippers, you look at him, Kawhi, Leonard, Paul George,

1488
01:09:03,840 --> 01:09:07,040
Speaker 3: all these guys from last year looks great. Yeah, but

1489
01:09:07,080 --> 01:09:09,240
Speaker 3: they didn't become great. They're not great yet. Just like

1490
01:09:09,320 --> 01:09:10,840
Speaker 3: Brad Pitt back in the day, he was there for

1491
01:09:10,920 --> 01:09:13,880
Speaker 3: his looks. But like you said, Brad Pitt, he became

1492
01:09:13,880 --> 01:09:17,000
Speaker 3: a great actor and one of the greats. And the Clippers,

1493
01:09:17,000 --> 01:09:19,080
Speaker 3: you would think, are going to do the same thing.

1494
01:09:19,120 --> 01:09:22,000
Speaker 3: They should mature into their looks and be what we're

1495
01:09:22,000 --> 01:09:23,840
Speaker 3: expecting them to be. In the second half of the season.

1496
01:09:23,880 --> 01:09:27,720
Speaker 3: They're playing it slow, you know. But that's contrasted with

1497
01:09:27,760 --> 01:09:30,120
Speaker 3: the Lakers, who have been full bore this entire season.

1498
01:09:30,160 --> 01:09:32,880
Speaker 3: Their fit looks perfect. The Clippers fit doesn't look perfect.

1499
01:09:33,120 --> 01:09:35,120
Speaker 3: We thought maybe we would hear stories from the locker

1500
01:09:35,200 --> 01:09:37,280
Speaker 3: room with the Lakers. Not really. We had the Kyle

1501
01:09:37,320 --> 01:09:40,160
Speaker 3: Kuzma trainer thing. But with the Clippers, you have their

1502
01:09:40,200 --> 01:09:43,559
Speaker 3: actual players saying stuff about their other players. If it

1503
01:09:43,600 --> 01:09:45,639
Speaker 3: wasn't the Clippers, if it wasn't Kawhi Leonard, a guy

1504
01:09:45,880 --> 01:09:47,360
Speaker 3: who tends to get a little bit of a pass

1505
01:09:47,400 --> 01:09:49,559
Speaker 3: from the media because he never says anything, if it

1506
01:09:49,640 --> 01:09:52,080
Speaker 3: was Lebron in that situation, it would have been a

1507
01:09:52,200 --> 01:09:54,479
Speaker 3: much bigger deal. The Clippers are lucky to be flying

1508
01:09:54,520 --> 01:09:57,280
Speaker 3: under the radar, considering they haven't been as impressive as

1509
01:09:57,280 --> 01:09:57,760
Speaker 3: they should be.

1510
01:09:58,560 --> 01:10:01,559
Speaker 1: Yeah, but they'll Yeah, when Kawhi and Paul George are

1511
01:10:01,560 --> 01:10:05,360
Speaker 1: out there together, they're damn near dominant. So it's like

1512
01:10:05,560 --> 01:10:08,360
Speaker 1: if they're there in a playoff series. Those two guys

1513
01:10:08,400 --> 01:10:10,760
Speaker 1: are awesome on both ends of the floor. They're like

1514
01:10:10,760 --> 01:10:13,320
Speaker 1: a plus eleven in their whatever their net rating, and

1515
01:10:13,360 --> 01:10:14,200
Speaker 1: plus eleven they're there.

1516
01:10:14,320 --> 01:10:16,160
Speaker 3: This team has never played in the playoffs together.

1517
01:10:16,000 --> 01:10:19,680
Speaker 1: No, I know, I know, I'm still very high on

1518
01:10:19,720 --> 01:10:22,920
Speaker 1: the Clippers, and maybe it is because I've just experienced

1519
01:10:22,920 --> 01:10:25,760
Speaker 1: the old Kawhi, you know, taking a team on his

1520
01:10:25,880 --> 01:10:28,760
Speaker 1: back for some of those series and games and straight

1521
01:10:28,840 --> 01:10:30,680
Speaker 1: up winning them himself. And then my god, he's got

1522
01:10:30,680 --> 01:10:33,920
Speaker 1: Paul George there too. You're not wrong, though, young Brad Pitt.

1523
01:10:33,960 --> 01:10:35,320
Speaker 1: It's a fascinating comparison.

1524
01:10:35,439 --> 01:10:37,479
Speaker 3: They're looking at the abs, man, You're looking at Kawhi

1525
01:10:37,560 --> 01:10:40,240
Speaker 3: Leonard and Paul George. Those are the abs of the Clippers.

1526
01:10:42,439 --> 01:10:43,360
Speaker 2: That's exactly right.

1527
01:10:44,760 --> 01:10:48,439
Speaker 3: But they will be better. They will win an Oscar eventually.

1528
01:10:49,320 --> 01:10:52,000
Speaker 2: It really is. It's two lines of thinking with the Clippers.

1529
01:10:52,040 --> 01:10:56,080
Speaker 2: Either they have it one together, which is totally true,

1530
01:10:56,120 --> 01:10:59,080
Speaker 2: and I think a lot of basketball dudes who have

1531
01:10:59,120 --> 01:11:02,160
Speaker 2: played in the league see a group that hasn't won,

1532
01:11:02,280 --> 01:11:04,920
Speaker 2: and no, you know that it takes just to be

1533
01:11:05,040 --> 01:11:06,840
Speaker 2: all together at the same time and understand that. And

1534
01:11:06,880 --> 01:11:09,160
Speaker 2: then there's the other side. He says, you talked about

1535
01:11:10,280 --> 01:11:13,240
Speaker 2: you can rely on Kawhi Leonard being there as your

1536
01:11:13,320 --> 01:11:15,719
Speaker 2: number one guy, but you know, midway through the season,

1537
01:11:15,760 --> 01:11:19,920
Speaker 2: it's yeah, it hasn't been convincing. But at the same time,

1538
01:11:19,960 --> 01:11:22,559
Speaker 2: their half came from being the two seed, and the

1539
01:11:22,600 --> 01:11:24,360
Speaker 2: only team above them in the Western Conference would be

1540
01:11:24,400 --> 01:11:26,760
Speaker 2: the Los Angeles Lakers, who they've beaten twice already. They're

1541
01:11:26,760 --> 01:11:28,920
Speaker 2: t too and zero against them, and I don't think

1542
01:11:28,960 --> 01:11:33,519
Speaker 2: they're scared of the of Lebronathan and Anthony Davis at all.

1543
01:11:34,600 --> 01:11:40,560
Speaker 1: The Lakers. I got the Lakers. Yeah, I'm going focused. Yeah,

1544
01:11:40,640 --> 01:11:42,519
Speaker 1: they are locked in. There is no doubt you could

1545
01:11:42,560 --> 01:11:44,439
Speaker 1: go drama free too, which is a shock to a

1546
01:11:44,479 --> 01:11:46,559
Speaker 1: lot of people. With a new coach and Lebron James

1547
01:11:46,640 --> 01:11:49,280
Speaker 1: and new pieces and some of those characters that they

1548
01:11:49,280 --> 01:11:51,920
Speaker 1: had added, you thought there might be some drama. It

1549
01:11:52,000 --> 01:11:58,280
Speaker 1: has been daisies in a daisy It's been great. But

1550
01:11:58,400 --> 01:12:01,439
Speaker 1: I'm gonna go focus because this is amazing. Thirty three

1551
01:12:01,479 --> 01:12:02,880
Speaker 1: and eight, number one in the West by a good

1552
01:12:02,880 --> 01:12:04,759
Speaker 1: four and a half games. That is huge. Their rocks

1553
01:12:04,760 --> 01:12:07,200
Speaker 1: on both sides of the ball. Top four offense, pair

1554
01:12:07,240 --> 01:12:09,559
Speaker 1: of the top three defense. Come on, no one saw

1555
01:12:09,640 --> 01:12:12,000
Speaker 1: that coming either. Yeah, okay, they might be great with

1556
01:12:12,040 --> 01:12:15,639
Speaker 1: Ad and Lebron offensively, sure, yeah, and some shooters there, yeah, okay,

1557
01:12:15,960 --> 01:12:18,320
Speaker 1: but the top three defense, I mean, out of nowhere.

1558
01:12:18,760 --> 01:12:21,080
Speaker 1: Lebron's playing, He's only missed two games ad has been

1559
01:12:21,080 --> 01:12:23,439
Speaker 1: pretty healthy. You know, recently he's missed some games, but

1560
01:12:23,479 --> 01:12:26,280
Speaker 1: he's up to six that he's missed. They're far from

1561
01:12:26,280 --> 01:12:30,479
Speaker 1: perfect this squad. They need more ball handling, they need

1562
01:12:30,640 --> 01:12:32,800
Speaker 1: maybe even more shooting. Every team needs more shooting. But

1563
01:12:32,840 --> 01:12:35,600
Speaker 1: they could use it. They might get it though. There

1564
01:12:35,600 --> 01:12:37,360
Speaker 1: are you know, guys that they can just straight up

1565
01:12:37,439 --> 01:12:40,760
Speaker 1: sign into their space. Maybe there's a deal to be

1566
01:12:40,800 --> 01:12:43,639
Speaker 1: made is Akuzma. Who knows. But they got seven guys.

1567
01:12:43,680 --> 01:12:45,800
Speaker 1: This team is focused because they've got seven guys that

1568
01:12:45,840 --> 01:12:48,320
Speaker 1: have played in this league for a very long time.

1569
01:12:48,640 --> 01:12:50,479
Speaker 1: They're all on the same page. They all want to

1570
01:12:50,479 --> 01:12:54,759
Speaker 1: go either win another championship or their first one. Lebron, Dwight, Rondo, Javail,

1571
01:12:54,880 --> 01:12:57,720
Speaker 1: Danny Green, Jered Dudley, and Avery Bradley. I've played a

1572
01:12:57,760 --> 01:13:00,360
Speaker 1: decade plus in this league. That's a lot of events.

1573
01:13:01,000 --> 01:13:04,080
Speaker 1: And with Lebron as your main leader there then they're

1574
01:13:04,120 --> 01:13:06,320
Speaker 1: and they're just you know, as much fun as they

1575
01:13:06,360 --> 01:13:09,599
Speaker 1: are appearing to have jumping on Caruso, Dunks and Dwight,

1576
01:13:09,800 --> 01:13:12,479
Speaker 1: you know, being somewhat silly Dwight at times, and Lebron too.

1577
01:13:12,760 --> 01:13:16,559
Speaker 1: They are definitely sort of all business when the game

1578
01:13:16,640 --> 01:13:20,720
Speaker 1: starts and it's uh, you know they've they've squeaked out

1579
01:13:20,720 --> 01:13:22,240
Speaker 1: some wins. But that's fine, that's gonna happen in a

1580
01:13:22,240 --> 01:13:24,680
Speaker 1: playoff series. You got Lebron for that reason. Adan and

1581
01:13:24,760 --> 01:13:27,720
Speaker 1: Lebron there. You know their synergy has been unbelievable when

1582
01:13:27,720 --> 01:13:31,559
Speaker 1: they're both playing their connection. So I pray we get

1583
01:13:31,560 --> 01:13:34,000
Speaker 1: a Clippers Lakers series. I do not care if it's

1584
01:13:34,000 --> 01:13:36,479
Speaker 1: second or third round, but we have to get it

1585
01:13:36,520 --> 01:13:39,000
Speaker 1: to see to really put this to the test. Yeah,

1586
01:13:39,240 --> 01:13:41,400
Speaker 1: what was better the one team that locked in all

1587
01:13:41,600 --> 01:13:43,960
Speaker 1: year with that goal to winning championship and took it

1588
01:13:44,000 --> 01:13:45,920
Speaker 1: so seriously or the other one that slow played it

1589
01:13:46,000 --> 01:13:48,000
Speaker 1: like the Clippers. You take a game off, you take

1590
01:13:48,080 --> 01:13:50,200
Speaker 1: game off, Hey, don't worry about it. When we need

1591
01:13:50,240 --> 01:13:52,559
Speaker 1: to come together, we will and we'll get it done.

1592
01:13:52,720 --> 01:13:54,840
Speaker 1: That's I want to know. I want to know which

1593
01:13:54,880 --> 01:13:59,040
Speaker 1: one prevails. But focused right now for the Lakers.

1594
01:13:59,120 --> 01:14:03,759
Speaker 2: All right, Memphiskers going into some old ass movies as well,

1595
01:14:03,800 --> 01:14:11,040
Speaker 2: Trey Mighty Ducks. They're inspirational, inspirational group of young men,

1596
01:14:11,520 --> 01:14:14,760
Speaker 2: very young men in uh in the Mighty Ducks case,

1597
01:14:14,920 --> 01:14:20,040
Speaker 2: but these these are they are like twelve definitely can't

1598
01:14:20,040 --> 01:14:26,160
Speaker 2: call them men, but uh, these Grizzlies are just they're

1599
01:14:26,240 --> 01:14:31,840
Speaker 2: just fun. Well they're they're lovable. They're cut of yelbowl, cutiable,

1600
01:14:40,080 --> 01:14:40,439
Speaker 2: no one.

1601
01:14:40,840 --> 01:14:45,000
Speaker 1: Very How does that cuddle? Wow, that's not easy.

1602
01:14:48,080 --> 01:14:51,679
Speaker 2: But cuddleable is a word too able to be cuddled,

1603
01:14:51,960 --> 01:15:01,400
Speaker 2: pleasant to cuddle too much, I said synchron sicity early

1604
01:15:01,520 --> 01:15:05,599
Speaker 2: to this show. Yeah, I'm a little tired. Anyway, They're

1605
01:15:05,680 --> 01:15:08,280
Speaker 2: great and we've we've talked about it's Thursday today. We

1606
01:15:08,400 --> 01:15:11,360
Speaker 2: talked about the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday show and on

1607
01:15:11,479 --> 01:15:16,400
Speaker 2: Wednesday show this week in an extensive fashion, which is nuts.

1608
01:15:16,560 --> 01:15:18,519
Speaker 2: You know, one of the smallest markets in the league

1609
01:15:19,200 --> 01:15:22,439
Speaker 2: and uh rising because of a star that they picked.

1610
01:15:22,680 --> 01:15:25,519
Speaker 2: And we all you know, don't know a ton about

1611
01:15:25,560 --> 01:15:29,000
Speaker 2: college ball, but John Morant really, you know, he was

1612
01:15:29,080 --> 01:15:31,840
Speaker 2: it was fun to watch in the tournament and before that,

1613
01:15:32,000 --> 01:15:33,760
Speaker 2: just there's the highlights of him and well, this guy's

1614
01:15:33,800 --> 01:15:36,120
Speaker 2: going to be this really really, really really skinny guy's

1615
01:15:36,160 --> 01:15:38,080
Speaker 2: got to be a number two pick or you know

1616
01:15:38,240 --> 01:15:43,920
Speaker 2: up there. And he has obviously fulfilled all expectations and

1617
01:15:44,200 --> 01:15:49,080
Speaker 2: much more because he is, he's got superstar written all

1618
01:15:49,120 --> 01:15:50,800
Speaker 2: over him. That's and that's all you.

1619
01:15:50,920 --> 01:15:53,800
Speaker 1: Hear these retired players and even current players say that's

1620
01:15:53,840 --> 01:15:55,840
Speaker 1: all you hear them say, now, like this guy's this

1621
01:15:55,920 --> 01:15:59,040
Speaker 1: guy's future MVP, Like I think Jase mcgriddy just said that, Like,

1622
01:15:59,320 --> 01:16:01,760
Speaker 1: and he's not a low They're like, MVP is very

1623
01:16:01,800 --> 01:16:04,000
Speaker 1: far but like, this guy is a superstar.

1624
01:16:04,640 --> 01:16:08,200
Speaker 2: It's not scared of any matchup against any player.

1625
01:16:08,760 --> 01:16:10,840
Speaker 1: And it's not just him too. You're right, because we

1626
01:16:10,880 --> 01:16:13,519
Speaker 1: talked about all these other guys, Triple J and Dylan

1627
01:16:13,600 --> 01:16:16,479
Speaker 1: Brooks and Brandon Clark. Maybe the true steel the draft.

1628
01:16:16,600 --> 01:16:19,599
Speaker 1: Like me, I asked it. I threw it out there

1629
01:16:19,760 --> 01:16:21,640
Speaker 1: is can you look at any other team in the

1630
01:16:21,720 --> 01:16:24,960
Speaker 1: league and say they have better young talent than the

1631
01:16:25,000 --> 01:16:29,799
Speaker 1: Grizzlies appear to have? I don't like, is it the Hawks?

1632
01:16:31,040 --> 01:16:33,479
Speaker 2: I doubt it because you know, you got Triple J

1633
01:16:33,640 --> 01:16:37,360
Speaker 2: as a a good player for the rest of his career,

1634
01:16:37,479 --> 01:16:39,800
Speaker 2: along with the superstar and Morant and Brandon Clark looks good.

1635
01:16:39,840 --> 01:16:42,120
Speaker 2: I mean, those are the three guys that really stand out. Yeah,

1636
01:16:42,680 --> 01:16:43,759
Speaker 2: and Brooks is solid.

1637
01:16:43,840 --> 01:16:45,360
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, it looks like he'll be a player for

1638
01:16:45,400 --> 01:16:45,720
Speaker 1: a long time.

1639
01:16:45,800 --> 01:16:48,400
Speaker 2: Yeah. If there's three or four trying to compare that

1640
01:16:48,520 --> 01:16:55,000
Speaker 2: to another roster in the league. Celtics, you know, Jaalen

1641
01:16:55,040 --> 01:16:58,599
Speaker 2: Brown ad Jason Tatum are a little surprisingly young because

1642
01:16:58,600 --> 01:16:59,840
Speaker 2: it feels like they've been around, so.

1643
01:17:00,280 --> 01:17:02,960
Speaker 1: There's not many so uh yeah, we've talked about them

1644
01:17:03,000 --> 01:17:04,760
Speaker 1: a ton. You're right there. Must watch if you're not

1645
01:17:04,800 --> 01:17:06,439
Speaker 1: watching Grizzlies games at this point. I don't know what's

1646
01:17:06,439 --> 01:17:06,760
Speaker 1: wrong with you.

1647
01:17:06,840 --> 01:17:09,080
Speaker 2: They're fun as hell, but they're also built like a

1648
01:17:09,200 --> 01:17:11,240
Speaker 2: movie cast. To get back to the Mighty Ducks because

1649
01:17:11,240 --> 01:17:13,160
Speaker 2: they've got everything And I tweeted this out, but I

1650
01:17:13,200 --> 01:17:16,240
Speaker 2: don't care. I'm going to read a tweet. You know,

1651
01:17:16,320 --> 01:17:19,920
Speaker 2: they've got just everything you want to watch in a

1652
01:17:19,960 --> 01:17:22,120
Speaker 2: basketball team and sure a movie as well. Must watch

1653
01:17:22,160 --> 01:17:24,800
Speaker 2: player in Morant, the exciting, the exciting guy though, the

1654
01:17:24,920 --> 01:17:28,200
Speaker 2: modern day big man. Oh I think I read this.

1655
01:17:28,280 --> 01:17:29,880
Speaker 2: I already said this on Monday Show too.

1656
01:17:30,040 --> 01:17:31,960
Speaker 1: Yeah, okay, this is one of those ones I think

1657
01:17:32,000 --> 01:17:35,120
Speaker 1: you said. Then you tweeted, yeah, full circle, you are tired.

1658
01:17:35,800 --> 01:17:40,240
Speaker 2: Mighty Mighty Ducks three one was on Monday, by Ducks

1659
01:17:40,280 --> 01:17:43,280
Speaker 2: two was on Wednesday. Anyways, it's a fun team. It's

1660
01:17:43,320 --> 01:17:45,559
Speaker 2: fun team. They gots it all. Can't wait for Mighty

1661
01:17:45,640 --> 01:17:46,400
Speaker 2: Ducks four tomorrow.

1662
01:17:47,280 --> 01:17:49,400
Speaker 3: What a crazy story for the Mighty Ducks. They were

1663
01:17:49,520 --> 01:17:51,880
Speaker 3: just like a youth hockey team in Minnesota in the

1664
01:17:51,920 --> 01:17:53,800
Speaker 3: second in the first one, in the second one they're

1665
01:17:53,800 --> 01:17:56,960
Speaker 3: the US representative, just their team, and then the third

1666
01:17:57,000 --> 01:17:58,800
Speaker 3: one they're just a JV high school team.

1667
01:17:59,400 --> 01:18:02,680
Speaker 1: So they went like they were nothing, went to basically the.

1668
01:18:02,960 --> 01:18:06,920
Speaker 3: Best country to them just being sort of whatever, couldn't

1669
01:18:06,920 --> 01:18:07,599
Speaker 3: even make varsity.

1670
01:18:07,760 --> 01:18:08,880
Speaker 2: Wow, I know that.

1671
01:18:09,360 --> 01:18:11,439
Speaker 1: Now you're a Big duckskuy ooh D.

1672
01:18:11,560 --> 01:18:13,599
Speaker 3: Two I would say is probably my favorite sports movie

1673
01:18:13,600 --> 01:18:14,080
Speaker 3: of all time.

1674
01:18:14,360 --> 01:18:21,639
Speaker 1: Who's actually older too, Gordon Bombay or Taylor Taylor interstings Hmmm,

1675
01:18:21,920 --> 01:18:22,479
Speaker 1: great question.

1676
01:18:23,479 --> 01:18:26,240
Speaker 2: Well, well, well look that up Amelia o'sen probably.

1677
01:18:26,720 --> 01:18:27,479
Speaker 1: Probably all right.

1678
01:18:28,120 --> 01:18:34,679
Speaker 3: Timberwolves grifters, grift. The Timberwolves are grifters. They fooled people,

1679
01:18:34,760 --> 01:18:39,479
Speaker 3: man had people believing that things had changed. People were

1680
01:18:39,520 --> 01:18:43,800
Speaker 3: told of a mythical Wiggans Island with so many businesses.

1681
01:18:44,000 --> 01:18:45,200
Speaker 1: Come, what's open?

1682
01:18:45,360 --> 01:18:49,280
Speaker 3: We got a subway there, We're putting in all kinds

1683
01:18:49,320 --> 01:18:52,080
Speaker 3: of new restaurants. We're ten and eight to start the season,

1684
01:18:52,840 --> 01:18:56,439
Speaker 3: and then the Timberwolves had an eleven game losing streak,

1685
01:18:56,600 --> 01:18:59,560
Speaker 3: and now they're fifteen and twenty five and they're the

1686
01:18:59,600 --> 01:19:02,320
Speaker 3: timber Wolves again. We were fooled there for a second.

1687
01:19:03,600 --> 01:19:06,800
Speaker 3: And now they're talking about Garson Rosas is talking about

1688
01:19:07,200 --> 01:19:10,519
Speaker 3: kind of subtweeting Tom Thibodau. He's saying, we're not gonna

1689
01:19:10,720 --> 01:19:12,599
Speaker 3: play it fast here. We're not trying to just make

1690
01:19:12,640 --> 01:19:15,920
Speaker 3: the playoffs one time and then never return. Well, you

1691
01:19:16,040 --> 01:19:18,360
Speaker 3: know what, you hadn't made the playoffs for fourteen years

1692
01:19:18,400 --> 01:19:21,360
Speaker 3: before Tom Thibodeau showed up. He made the playoffs, you lost,

1693
01:19:21,400 --> 01:19:23,680
Speaker 3: and then Jimmy Butler left, and now you're still not

1694
01:19:23,840 --> 01:19:27,320
Speaker 3: back in the playoffs. I think Lee's a little premature

1695
01:19:27,360 --> 01:19:29,479
Speaker 3: and saying Karl Anthony Towns is gonna want out, but

1696
01:19:29,800 --> 01:19:32,000
Speaker 3: if it continues like this, Carl Anthony Towns is gonna

1697
01:19:32,000 --> 01:19:32,320
Speaker 3: win up.

1698
01:19:33,280 --> 01:19:36,000
Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah, especially in a year in the Western Conference

1699
01:19:36,040 --> 01:19:37,920
Speaker 1: where it's like, damn, you could be a playoff team

1700
01:19:38,080 --> 01:19:41,760
Speaker 1: accidentally hmmm. And they're sort of I mean they're there there,

1701
01:19:41,920 --> 01:19:44,720
Speaker 1: didn't striking distance, but not a lot of confidence in them.

1702
01:19:45,320 --> 01:19:47,400
Speaker 1: It's been rough. I can't believe how long Towns has

1703
01:19:47,439 --> 01:19:48,080
Speaker 1: been out here too.

1704
01:19:48,160 --> 01:19:48,479
Speaker 2: For real.

1705
01:19:49,200 --> 01:19:51,400
Speaker 1: I just don't remember it at the time being that

1706
01:19:51,640 --> 01:19:54,439
Speaker 1: serious of sounding an injury unless I was just forgetting

1707
01:19:54,479 --> 01:19:57,639
Speaker 1: it wrong. I just don't remember he's gonna miss twenty

1708
01:19:57,680 --> 01:20:01,920
Speaker 1: games or something like that. But there, Yeah, I got

1709
01:20:01,960 --> 01:20:04,720
Speaker 1: nothing else to add to that one. It's a disappointing.

1710
01:20:05,280 --> 01:20:07,439
Speaker 1: Disappointing it's a team I really want to root for. Two.

1711
01:20:08,040 --> 01:20:11,519
Speaker 3: I agree. I think Towns is I mean, he's missed

1712
01:20:11,560 --> 01:20:13,280
Speaker 3: a lot of games, obviously, but I think he can be.

1713
01:20:13,479 --> 01:20:15,400
Speaker 3: He's a franchise player. He's one of the best scoring

1714
01:20:15,439 --> 01:20:19,880
Speaker 3: big guys in the league. Wiggins. You know, the beginning

1715
01:20:19,880 --> 01:20:21,680
Speaker 3: of the season, it was so encouraging to see him

1716
01:20:21,960 --> 01:20:25,160
Speaker 3: taking over and creating for others and doing things besides

1717
01:20:25,320 --> 01:20:27,479
Speaker 3: just scoring. And when he was scoring, at least he

1718
01:20:27,600 --> 01:20:30,719
Speaker 3: was driving inside and getting foul calls and honestly taking

1719
01:20:30,760 --> 01:20:33,960
Speaker 3: over during fourth quarters. But now it's like Towns get

1720
01:20:34,000 --> 01:20:36,719
Speaker 3: on the court, Wiggins do something else besides score.

1721
01:20:37,320 --> 01:20:39,760
Speaker 2: They're sending themselves up here three weeks from the trade

1722
01:20:39,760 --> 01:20:43,920
Speaker 2: deadline to make a move though the minor trade. By

1723
01:20:43,960 --> 01:20:46,600
Speaker 2: trading Jeff Tigue for those couple other parts. It just

1724
01:20:46,680 --> 01:20:49,439
Speaker 2: gives him a little bit of flexibility into how many

1725
01:20:50,080 --> 01:20:51,960
Speaker 2: those two guys that they got back. They can also

1726
01:20:52,080 --> 01:20:54,559
Speaker 2: deal wherever they want or no, I'm sorry, they got

1727
01:20:54,600 --> 01:20:57,680
Speaker 2: one player, have an open spot, right, excuse me, And

1728
01:20:57,840 --> 01:21:01,160
Speaker 2: so they're ready, they're ready to make that's gonna happen.

1729
01:21:02,240 --> 01:21:04,240
Speaker 1: So I assume like I could move for a point guard,

1730
01:21:04,320 --> 01:21:09,560
Speaker 1: right yeah? Who who D'Angel Russell? Is there any possibility

1731
01:21:09,600 --> 01:21:11,519
Speaker 1: or is it gonna be more like Dennis Smith Junior?

1732
01:21:13,200 --> 01:21:15,280
Speaker 1: We'll see, we'll see, all right. I got the Pelicans

1733
01:21:16,040 --> 01:21:20,240
Speaker 1: my word for them through the halfway point. Survived. I

1734
01:21:20,320 --> 01:21:23,000
Speaker 1: think they've survived, all right. Zion Williamson has yet to

1735
01:21:23,000 --> 01:21:25,559
Speaker 1: play a single minute. He is coming back next week.

1736
01:21:25,640 --> 01:21:30,240
Speaker 1: Everybody's pumped about that. Lonzo Ball, Drew Holiday, Derek Favors,

1737
01:21:30,720 --> 01:21:35,799
Speaker 1: all really solid players. They missed significant time. Basketball Reference

1738
01:21:35,800 --> 01:21:38,800
Speaker 1: says the Pelicans had the league's toughest schedule to date,

1739
01:21:39,080 --> 01:21:40,839
Speaker 1: so it's only going to get a little bit easier.

1740
01:21:41,439 --> 01:21:44,639
Speaker 1: And here they are within striking distance. There are four

1741
01:21:44,760 --> 01:21:47,040
Speaker 1: games back of a playoff spot. They are holding on

1742
01:21:47,240 --> 01:21:49,160
Speaker 1: to the side of that mountain by their damn fingernails.

1743
01:21:49,320 --> 01:21:53,200
Speaker 1: But they are still there. They are surviving. Brandon Ingram

1744
01:21:53,240 --> 01:21:55,560
Speaker 1: He's played like an All Star. He might make the

1745
01:21:55,600 --> 01:21:57,840
Speaker 1: All Star Game. He's gonna get a Max deal. He

1746
01:21:57,960 --> 01:22:00,120
Speaker 1: has looked like one hell of a score that you

1747
01:22:00,160 --> 01:22:03,040
Speaker 1: could build around years down the line, Lonzo's turned a

1748
01:22:03,080 --> 01:22:04,720
Speaker 1: little bit of a corner, and again, Favors has been

1749
01:22:04,800 --> 01:22:06,599
Speaker 1: very important when he's playing. Drew got it going after

1750
01:22:06,960 --> 01:22:10,599
Speaker 1: a very very slow start. Look, that little Zion injection

1751
01:22:10,720 --> 01:22:14,120
Speaker 1: could be all they need to really string together, Like

1752
01:22:14,200 --> 01:22:16,200
Speaker 1: the Grizzlies did a six game wing streak, something like

1753
01:22:16,200 --> 01:22:19,320
Speaker 1: that could happen, especially with the schedule getting a little easier,

1754
01:22:19,320 --> 01:22:21,040
Speaker 1: and then you're right there in the playoff Nick, So

1755
01:22:21,960 --> 01:22:24,479
Speaker 1: they hasn't been great. That thirteen game losing streak.

1756
01:22:24,720 --> 01:22:25,120
Speaker 2: That was rough.

1757
01:22:25,200 --> 01:22:27,160
Speaker 1: That that was very very bad because you've got three

1758
01:22:27,200 --> 01:22:29,360
Speaker 1: more wins out of that. Let's say instead you're ten

1759
01:22:29,920 --> 01:22:32,479
Speaker 1: and three and ten over that thirteen games, and you're

1760
01:22:32,560 --> 01:22:35,080
Speaker 1: right there with the grizz But this is good. They

1761
01:22:35,120 --> 01:22:37,479
Speaker 1: have survived enough, they're not out of it.

1762
01:22:37,640 --> 01:22:40,040
Speaker 3: And their record is good enough that they're bringing Zion back.

1763
01:22:40,120 --> 01:22:41,800
Speaker 3: That was a question we had not too long ago,

1764
01:22:41,840 --> 01:22:43,720
Speaker 3: were like, is this going to be so far gone

1765
01:22:43,720 --> 01:22:45,680
Speaker 3: that we're not even gonna see Zion this season? At

1766
01:22:45,760 --> 01:22:47,200
Speaker 3: least we get to see him. That's exciting.

1767
01:22:47,320 --> 01:22:49,920
Speaker 2: Yeah, Smoothie King sales are going to be going way.

1768
01:22:50,840 --> 01:22:52,360
Speaker 1: Yeah, You're you're not wrong.

1769
01:22:52,560 --> 01:22:56,040
Speaker 2: Yeah, and this is we've talked about it before. This

1770
01:22:56,240 --> 01:23:00,559
Speaker 2: is good for their obviously their their ticket sales department

1771
01:23:00,640 --> 01:23:03,519
Speaker 2: that sold so many tickets for this season for Zion

1772
01:23:03,600 --> 01:23:06,120
Speaker 2: Williamson and could have easily fallen off if he didn't

1773
01:23:06,160 --> 01:23:08,280
Speaker 2: come back for a small market team. That would have

1774
01:23:08,360 --> 01:23:11,080
Speaker 2: hurt if a lot of people didn't renew. I don't

1775
01:23:11,120 --> 01:23:13,600
Speaker 2: want to get into the dollars and cents, but this

1776
01:23:13,800 --> 01:23:16,759
Speaker 2: is going to be very good if he returns.

1777
01:23:17,360 --> 01:23:19,200
Speaker 1: Thunder Okay, see what do you got?

1778
01:23:19,880 --> 01:23:24,280
Speaker 2: Defiance Expectations were that, yeah, they're going to be an

1779
01:23:24,320 --> 01:23:26,200
Speaker 2: okay team, but that they were going to play well

1780
01:23:26,640 --> 01:23:29,080
Speaker 2: really only to increase their trade value and be dealt

1781
01:23:29,160 --> 01:23:33,400
Speaker 2: and then move on. But they're like, they're the bad boys.

1782
01:23:33,479 --> 01:23:35,679
Speaker 2: There's bad boys in the league. They should do. Speaking

1783
01:23:35,720 --> 01:23:38,320
Speaker 2: of movies, they've got to do a little collaboration with

1784
01:23:38,439 --> 01:23:41,559
Speaker 2: Bad Boys for Life coming out soon, coming out.

1785
01:23:43,680 --> 01:23:46,439
Speaker 1: There's been a lot of advertisements. Jeez, I just see

1786
01:23:46,479 --> 01:23:47,040
Speaker 1: it everywhere.

1787
01:23:47,520 --> 01:23:50,840
Speaker 2: It's quite integrated. This year. Things are becoming more and

1788
01:23:50,960 --> 01:23:56,960
Speaker 2: more integrated. Anyway, I don't want to get into the advertising.

1789
01:23:57,280 --> 01:23:59,760
Speaker 2: Not a bad rating and running tomatoes for a bad

1790
01:23:59,760 --> 01:24:00,880
Speaker 2: boys I heard.

1791
01:24:00,920 --> 01:24:02,599
Speaker 3: The only problem with it is that it came out

1792
01:24:02,720 --> 01:24:05,680
Speaker 3: seven years too late. It should have happened ten years ago.

1793
01:24:05,960 --> 01:24:06,200
Speaker 1: Seven.

1794
01:24:07,520 --> 01:24:10,840
Speaker 2: I'm gonna watch it. But the Thunder have been that

1795
01:24:10,960 --> 01:24:13,320
Speaker 2: they're also sort of a bunch of bad boys on

1796
01:24:13,400 --> 01:24:16,120
Speaker 2: the team. Then a shrewder former Atlanta Hawk didn't get

1797
01:24:16,120 --> 01:24:18,679
Speaker 2: a good rep. Chris Paul doesn't have a great rep

1798
01:24:18,800 --> 01:24:21,360
Speaker 2: around the league. There's there's there's a few of those

1799
01:24:21,400 --> 01:24:25,200
Speaker 2: guys on the roster, but they have sort of all

1800
01:24:25,280 --> 01:24:29,200
Speaker 2: galvanized together and they're they're kind of a special bunch.

1801
01:24:29,240 --> 01:24:31,040
Speaker 2: I think when you start analyzing them one by one.

1802
01:24:31,120 --> 01:24:34,640
Speaker 2: Shay Gills Alexander is really fun to watch and uh,

1803
01:24:35,880 --> 01:24:38,679
Speaker 2: I don't know, they're they're they're enjoyable again, which is strange.

1804
01:24:38,680 --> 01:24:41,280
Speaker 2: And we just had the m n O s here,

1805
01:24:42,200 --> 01:24:45,680
Speaker 2: Memphis Grizzlies, the New Orleans Pelicans, Oklahoma City Thunder all

1806
01:24:45,760 --> 01:24:49,160
Speaker 2: in a row, all small market teams, all thriving in

1807
01:24:49,280 --> 01:24:51,679
Speaker 2: their own ways, and the Pelicans hopefully will join that bunch.

1808
01:24:51,720 --> 01:24:54,599
Speaker 2: But it's cool to see the small market teams make

1809
01:24:54,680 --> 01:24:56,960
Speaker 2: it a go because it's fun watching Thunder games, and

1810
01:24:57,000 --> 01:24:59,679
Speaker 2: it's fun watching for Billy Donovan, who can finally coach

1811
01:24:59,680 --> 01:25:02,400
Speaker 2: a backkeball team for his first time. You know, he's

1812
01:25:02,439 --> 01:25:04,000
Speaker 2: been in the NBA for a long time, but it

1813
01:25:04,080 --> 01:25:06,720
Speaker 2: was really the Russell Westbrook show. And now he's got

1814
01:25:06,760 --> 01:25:10,240
Speaker 2: guards making things happen, and it's fun basketball up and

1815
01:25:10,280 --> 01:25:12,080
Speaker 2: down the roster, and they have options.

1816
01:25:12,320 --> 01:25:14,800
Speaker 1: That's what's intriguing to me with it. They can go

1817
01:25:15,160 --> 01:25:18,040
Speaker 1: a number of different ways here. And not only are

1818
01:25:18,080 --> 01:25:21,639
Speaker 1: they winning, but then they have still you know, you've

1819
01:25:21,680 --> 01:25:24,720
Speaker 1: got what appears to be a potential All Star in

1820
01:25:24,840 --> 01:25:27,720
Speaker 1: Shay Gilders Alexander he's playing twenty one. Maybe not that far,

1821
01:25:27,920 --> 01:25:30,000
Speaker 1: six or seven years downline, it'll be like bad Boys

1822
01:25:30,040 --> 01:25:33,320
Speaker 1: for like coming on. But you have him, and then

1823
01:25:33,320 --> 01:25:35,200
Speaker 1: you have, of course all these picks that they have

1824
01:25:35,960 --> 01:25:39,479
Speaker 1: accumulated after trading their guys in Paul, George and Westbrook.

1825
01:25:39,520 --> 01:25:41,800
Speaker 1: So and then there's people that could be moved for

1826
01:25:41,880 --> 01:25:45,599
Speaker 1: even more young talent or picks in Gallinari and yeah,

1827
01:25:45,640 --> 01:25:47,920
Speaker 1: maybe it's not Chris Paul because of the massive deal,

1828
01:25:48,000 --> 01:25:51,320
Speaker 1: but Truder is an option. It's there are decisions to

1829
01:25:51,439 --> 01:25:54,439
Speaker 1: be made there, but that's that's fine. You'd rather be

1830
01:25:54,520 --> 01:25:56,840
Speaker 1: in this position than playing behind the eight ball where

1831
01:25:56,880 --> 01:25:58,960
Speaker 1: you're you know, you have a bad record and you're like, well,

1832
01:25:59,040 --> 01:26:01,519
Speaker 1: now what now, Well, now we are forced to trade

1833
01:26:01,560 --> 01:26:03,280
Speaker 1: these guys, maybe maybe they're not so quick to do that.

1834
01:26:03,479 --> 01:26:06,439
Speaker 2: I don't remember a team being in the scenario where

1835
01:26:06,479 --> 01:26:09,600
Speaker 2: they were. It feels like they could either be a

1836
01:26:10,040 --> 01:26:13,960
Speaker 2: buyer or a seller sort of equally like it. It

1837
01:26:14,040 --> 01:26:16,639
Speaker 2: felt like one more way was logical for most teams

1838
01:26:17,280 --> 01:26:19,800
Speaker 2: in NBA history, but this one. I guess Chris Paul

1839
01:26:19,880 --> 01:26:21,360
Speaker 2: a little bit. Yeah, I mean, that's why we had

1840
01:26:21,400 --> 01:26:23,600
Speaker 2: the trade Deadline Court episode a few weeks ago and

1841
01:26:23,760 --> 01:26:26,640
Speaker 2: had them in there. I guess with Chris Paul, I

1842
01:26:26,680 --> 01:26:30,960
Speaker 2: would still lean towards Cell if I'm looking, you know,

1843
01:26:31,160 --> 01:26:32,479
Speaker 2: if I am Sam Presty.

1844
01:26:32,680 --> 01:26:35,400
Speaker 1: But so you're selling high mean right now?

1845
01:26:35,640 --> 01:26:38,479
Speaker 2: Yeah yeah, instead of having Chris Paul around for until

1846
01:26:38,520 --> 01:26:41,080
Speaker 2: he's thirty seven making forty million dollars three years from now.

1847
01:26:41,520 --> 01:26:44,560
Speaker 2: Yeah yeah, that's that's that's yeah, this is this is

1848
01:26:44,640 --> 01:26:47,120
Speaker 2: the ultimate scenario for them to be where they are.

1849
01:26:47,160 --> 01:26:48,439
Speaker 2: That's why they're so defiant.

1850
01:26:48,880 --> 01:26:51,120
Speaker 1: Phoenix Suns trending up.

1851
01:26:52,320 --> 01:26:54,920
Speaker 3: You know, the Suns had a spark at the beginning

1852
01:26:54,960 --> 01:26:58,280
Speaker 3: of the season. They started off pretty hot, ended up

1853
01:26:58,320 --> 01:27:01,240
Speaker 3: seven and four, I think was their best and they've

1854
01:27:01,240 --> 01:27:04,719
Speaker 3: been bad ever since then. But but they had nineteen

1855
01:27:04,760 --> 01:27:07,040
Speaker 3: wins last season. They've already got sixteen this year. This

1856
01:27:07,200 --> 01:27:09,360
Speaker 3: is the first time since Devin Booker has been in

1857
01:27:09,439 --> 01:27:12,000
Speaker 3: Phoenix that the team is actually improving. They went from

1858
01:27:12,000 --> 01:27:15,719
Speaker 3: twenty three wins to twenty four wins after his rookie season,

1859
01:27:15,920 --> 01:27:17,840
Speaker 3: but after that it was twenty one to nineteen and

1860
01:27:17,920 --> 01:27:22,240
Speaker 3: now they're gonna finish shot No. Thirty something wins. If

1861
01:27:22,280 --> 01:27:24,360
Speaker 3: they get into the thirties, that's a good season.

1862
01:27:24,600 --> 01:27:26,720
Speaker 1: Exactly what we said in the preseason, did we not

1863
01:27:26,880 --> 01:27:28,719
Speaker 1: when we were talking about the Sun He was like, yeah, exactly.

1864
01:27:28,760 --> 01:27:31,600
Speaker 1: Thirty wins would be a great benchmark for them to hit.

1865
01:27:32,000 --> 01:27:34,000
Speaker 3: And it seems like they have an identity, you know,

1866
01:27:34,160 --> 01:27:36,519
Speaker 3: Monty Williams, has him playing hard, has him at least

1867
01:27:36,640 --> 01:27:39,560
Speaker 3: trying on defense. That the team makes sense now that

1868
01:27:39,640 --> 01:27:41,879
Speaker 3: they have a real point guard in Ricky Rubio DeAndrea

1869
01:27:42,000 --> 01:27:44,559
Speaker 3: eight and missed the big chunk with his suspension. Perhaps

1870
01:27:44,640 --> 01:27:46,360
Speaker 3: the record would be even a little bit better if

1871
01:27:46,400 --> 01:27:50,200
Speaker 3: he were around. But the Suns at least finally seem

1872
01:27:50,240 --> 01:27:52,439
Speaker 3: to be pointing in the right direction. They have a direction,

1873
01:27:52,560 --> 01:27:53,160
Speaker 3: which is huge.

1874
01:27:53,360 --> 01:27:56,680
Speaker 1: They made smart moves it looked like during the offseason

1875
01:27:56,880 --> 01:28:02,240
Speaker 1: with you know, even Baanzyski who's out obviously with the

1876
01:28:02,280 --> 01:28:05,720
Speaker 1: injury now and Rubio and and then during last year

1877
01:28:05,720 --> 01:28:08,040
Speaker 1: with the Kelly Ubrey. I mean, yeah, you're right.

1878
01:28:08,160 --> 01:28:08,800
Speaker 3: I love it.

1879
01:28:08,880 --> 01:28:10,640
Speaker 1: As a Devin Booker fan, I like to see him

1880
01:28:10,640 --> 01:28:12,880
Speaker 1: at the least playing on a somewhat more competent team,

1881
01:28:13,280 --> 01:28:16,120
Speaker 1: which they are. They're not, they're not elite yet, but

1882
01:28:16,439 --> 01:28:18,200
Speaker 1: hopefully a step in the right direction. Is basically what

1883
01:28:18,280 --> 01:28:21,559
Speaker 1: you said, moving upwards, it's a good one. Any thoughts

1884
01:28:21,600 --> 01:28:22,840
Speaker 1: on the sun, so that was stupid.

1885
01:28:22,840 --> 01:28:25,320
Speaker 3: I just had have said rising rising in the sun.

1886
01:28:25,760 --> 01:28:29,920
Speaker 3: Rewind it rewind it rewind. My word is rising like

1887
01:28:30,040 --> 01:28:31,160
Speaker 3: a sun, just.

1888
01:28:31,240 --> 01:28:36,080
Speaker 2: Like a sun. Actually, a little little news breaking here

1889
01:28:36,200 --> 01:28:40,000
Speaker 2: story going up on the Athletic Thursday afternoon here. We

1890
01:28:40,160 --> 01:28:42,479
Speaker 2: just talked about the Wolves looking to try and acquire

1891
01:28:42,479 --> 01:28:47,599
Speaker 2: a point guard, intensifying talks according to uh To Scham's

1892
01:28:48,680 --> 01:28:51,120
Speaker 2: for D'Angelo Russell. Oh oh, there you go.

1893
01:28:51,360 --> 01:28:53,360
Speaker 1: I mean a lot of people after that team movie, right,

1894
01:28:53,520 --> 01:28:56,639
Speaker 1: thought there's something to be there's another move here. It's

1895
01:28:56,680 --> 01:28:58,880
Speaker 1: like they're not just doing that, They're not just getting

1896
01:28:59,000 --> 01:29:05,880
Speaker 1: Ellen krabb in here to improve their shooting. Okay, that

1897
01:29:06,000 --> 01:29:07,799
Speaker 1: would call for an emergency podcast.

1898
01:29:07,960 --> 01:29:09,920
Speaker 3: Oh, D'Angelo Russell.

1899
01:29:10,400 --> 01:29:12,559
Speaker 1: Ah, I mean that's pretty cool.

1900
01:29:12,680 --> 01:29:13,599
Speaker 3: He's a raining All Star.

1901
01:29:14,000 --> 01:29:16,280
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's that's pretty close. All right, we'll keep our

1902
01:29:16,320 --> 01:29:18,519
Speaker 1: eye on that one. Okay. A couple more teams left,

1903
01:29:18,640 --> 01:29:22,799
Speaker 1: not many. I got my Blazers. I'm going with a phrase,

1904
01:29:24,120 --> 01:29:28,000
Speaker 1: not just so straight upward. When it rains, it pours, Okay,

1905
01:29:28,080 --> 01:29:31,240
Speaker 1: a fitting term probably for the not so sunny Portland.

1906
01:29:32,439 --> 01:29:35,200
Speaker 1: They've just been ravaged by injuries. The nurkices yet to play.

1907
01:29:35,479 --> 01:29:37,600
Speaker 1: I mean, who knows if he's even coming back and

1908
01:29:37,680 --> 01:29:39,560
Speaker 1: what he'll even look like when he does return, and

1909
01:29:39,600 --> 01:29:41,200
Speaker 1: they think he will, but what will he look like?

1910
01:29:41,560 --> 01:29:43,360
Speaker 1: Zach Collins? Okay, then we were excited for him, all right,

1911
01:29:43,360 --> 01:29:44,800
Speaker 1: he's gonna get a chance. Well, he played three games,

1912
01:29:45,120 --> 01:29:47,960
Speaker 1: he dislocated his left shoulder. Ronnie Hood had been actually

1913
01:29:48,120 --> 01:29:50,600
Speaker 1: somewhat solid for them. He played half the half the

1914
01:29:50,680 --> 01:29:52,240
Speaker 1: year so far, twenty one games, and he's out for

1915
01:29:52,280 --> 01:29:58,120
Speaker 1: the rest torn achilles. You know, it happens, It sucks.

1916
01:29:58,560 --> 01:30:00,960
Speaker 1: It's a real bummer too, because it feels like it's

1917
01:30:01,040 --> 01:30:02,800
Speaker 1: sort of a wasted Lillard.

1918
01:30:02,520 --> 01:30:03,799
Speaker 3: In his prime season affinitely.

1919
01:30:03,920 --> 01:30:06,600
Speaker 1: That's the part that really stinks. He's still been you know,

1920
01:30:06,720 --> 01:30:09,840
Speaker 1: his brilliant self for the most part, but this he's

1921
01:30:09,920 --> 01:30:12,600
Speaker 1: right in the middle of his prime and there, you know,

1922
01:30:12,680 --> 01:30:15,040
Speaker 1: they just get killed with the injuries. Like Mellow turns

1923
01:30:15,080 --> 01:30:17,040
Speaker 1: out to be like literally one of their saviors. And

1924
01:30:17,120 --> 01:30:19,519
Speaker 1: he's been alright as a thirty five year old guy

1925
01:30:19,520 --> 01:30:21,599
Speaker 1: who couldn't even get on any other roster for a year,

1926
01:30:22,080 --> 01:30:24,120
Speaker 1: and he's asked, you know, being asked to play a

1927
01:30:24,200 --> 01:30:26,880
Speaker 1: ton of minutes to be a clutch guy. It's just

1928
01:30:27,000 --> 01:30:29,479
Speaker 1: it is what it is. It's a bummer. They might

1929
01:30:29,560 --> 01:30:32,000
Speaker 1: make a second half push here, I would not be shocked,

1930
01:30:32,080 --> 01:30:35,240
Speaker 1: especially with Lillard as a leader. Maybe they do. I

1931
01:30:35,439 --> 01:30:38,040
Speaker 1: don't see them winning a first round series regardless, even

1932
01:30:38,080 --> 01:30:39,600
Speaker 1: with Lillard's antics and what we know he can do

1933
01:30:39,640 --> 01:30:41,320
Speaker 1: in a series like that or in a playoff series.

1934
01:30:41,360 --> 01:30:44,240
Speaker 1: But it's a bummer. It's just like they they've sort

1935
01:30:44,240 --> 01:30:46,519
Speaker 1: of just because of these injuries, or they's just the

1936
01:30:46,600 --> 01:30:47,519
Speaker 1: Sheldon for his helse.

1937
01:30:48,040 --> 01:30:50,120
Speaker 3: Yeah, exactly right. There have been so many times when

1938
01:30:50,160 --> 01:30:52,080
Speaker 3: they haven't even really been able to run a center

1939
01:30:52,120 --> 01:30:54,479
Speaker 3: out there, and it's like, isn't there just a Zeller

1940
01:30:54,600 --> 01:30:56,360
Speaker 3: or a plumb Ley. We can give him for tonight.

1941
01:30:56,600 --> 01:30:58,280
Speaker 3: There's got to be a spare one around somewhere who

1942
01:30:58,320 --> 01:31:00,400
Speaker 3: can just be tall in the middle of the court.

1943
01:31:01,000 --> 01:31:02,960
Speaker 3: But yeah, I mean McCollum has turned it around. He

1944
01:31:03,000 --> 01:31:05,479
Speaker 3: had a slow start to the season. Lillard is obviously producing.

1945
01:31:05,560 --> 01:31:08,559
Speaker 3: Mellow has been fine, but that's not enough to compete

1946
01:31:09,160 --> 01:31:12,320
Speaker 3: and too bad because Damian Lillard is getting older, and

1947
01:31:12,600 --> 01:31:14,280
Speaker 3: I mean, I don't think he's in a hurry to leave.

1948
01:31:14,280 --> 01:31:17,800
Speaker 3: I think he's gonna be Blazer for life. But he

1949
01:31:18,000 --> 01:31:19,920
Speaker 3: would you could lock it in that he's going to

1950
01:31:19,920 --> 01:31:21,599
Speaker 3: be a Blazer for life if you continue to put

1951
01:31:21,680 --> 01:31:22,840
Speaker 3: competitive teams around him.

1952
01:31:22,880 --> 01:31:25,519
Speaker 2: Yeah right, Yeah, if you're sort of just a casual

1953
01:31:25,640 --> 01:31:28,080
Speaker 2: fan of the league, you just would see the Blazers,

1954
01:31:29,400 --> 01:31:31,360
Speaker 2: you know, outside the playoff picture after making a conference

1955
01:31:31,439 --> 01:31:35,439
Speaker 2: finals and say, Damian Lillard wouldn't enter your brain really

1956
01:31:35,680 --> 01:31:39,519
Speaker 2: that he is performing to this same level or even

1957
01:31:39,560 --> 01:31:41,880
Speaker 2: a tiny bit better. He's been great, and it's just

1958
01:31:41,960 --> 01:31:43,560
Speaker 2: kind of flying under the raidar because the story is

1959
01:31:43,640 --> 01:31:47,240
Speaker 2: that they're beat. But it's odd for a conference finalist

1960
01:31:47,280 --> 01:31:49,599
Speaker 2: to turn over so much of their roster, and then

1961
01:31:49,640 --> 01:31:54,000
Speaker 2: the injuries hit and I think finally, finally, those twenty

1962
01:31:54,160 --> 01:31:56,920
Speaker 2: sixteen contracts that they handed out are kind of starting

1963
01:31:56,960 --> 01:31:59,360
Speaker 2: to bite them in the butt with their depth lacking

1964
01:31:59,439 --> 01:32:02,320
Speaker 2: what it is, So they have to turn that around somehow.

1965
01:32:02,360 --> 01:32:04,960
Speaker 2: And maybe it's just let Baysemore and Whiteside expire and

1966
01:32:06,600 --> 01:32:08,840
Speaker 2: find other ways to use your cap space, or maybe

1967
01:32:08,880 --> 01:32:12,200
Speaker 2: it's a trade, or maybe it's they are a second

1968
01:32:12,240 --> 01:32:14,160
Speaker 2: half team, so they could turn this thing down. They

1969
01:32:14,200 --> 01:32:17,720
Speaker 2: have been traditionally, historically a team that's decent in the

1970
01:32:17,720 --> 01:32:22,080
Speaker 2: second half. Sacramento kinks they're a jigsaw puzzle with pieces

1971
01:32:22,360 --> 01:32:25,559
Speaker 2: from other puzzles in that same box. There's too many

1972
01:32:25,760 --> 01:32:28,840
Speaker 2: parts in that box. You start putting the puzzle together,

1973
01:32:28,920 --> 01:32:31,040
Speaker 2: and then you get this thing from another puzzle, and

1974
01:32:31,080 --> 01:32:33,160
Speaker 2: it's just you try and jam it in. No, it's

1975
01:32:33,160 --> 01:32:36,200
Speaker 2: not gonna work. The flick it away. They have too

1976
01:32:36,240 --> 01:32:40,360
Speaker 2: many good players for this team to be great, and

1977
01:32:41,040 --> 01:32:45,679
Speaker 2: they don't fit all together. And it's been a strange

1978
01:32:46,560 --> 01:32:51,880
Speaker 2: experiment to see young and old guys coming in at

1979
01:32:51,920 --> 01:32:55,080
Speaker 2: the end of their careers trying to propel a young

1980
01:32:55,160 --> 01:32:57,559
Speaker 2: team to be a better team. But it's all they're

1981
01:32:57,560 --> 01:33:00,360
Speaker 2: also taking away minutes from guys who need to evolved

1982
01:33:00,439 --> 01:33:04,960
Speaker 2: like bug Dan Bogdanovic and Marvin Bagley and you know,

1983
01:33:05,120 --> 01:33:08,080
Speaker 2: even even their their guards to a certain extent, and

1984
01:33:08,120 --> 01:33:12,320
Speaker 2: Buddy Healed and Daron Fox. So it's strange. It's just

1985
01:33:12,439 --> 01:33:14,720
Speaker 2: a strange combination of pieces that they put together and

1986
01:33:14,720 --> 01:33:16,840
Speaker 2: it's obviously not working. And I don't think it's any

1987
01:33:17,960 --> 01:33:20,439
Speaker 2: anything to do with Daron Fox, who is probably their

1988
01:33:20,520 --> 01:33:22,840
Speaker 2: brightest star. I think he's been working his butt off.

1989
01:33:22,880 --> 01:33:26,000
Speaker 2: I think he's been playing through injury, and he was

1990
01:33:26,080 --> 01:33:28,519
Speaker 2: injured for a good chunk of the season, and injuries

1991
01:33:28,560 --> 01:33:32,439
Speaker 2: have hurt them. But yeah, the locker room hasn't been great.

1992
01:33:32,439 --> 01:33:34,240
Speaker 2: It's got to fall in Luke Walton to some degree,

1993
01:33:34,439 --> 01:33:36,600
Speaker 2: sitting at fifteen and twenty six not being able to

1994
01:33:36,640 --> 01:33:37,759
Speaker 2: bring all those parts together.

1995
01:33:37,920 --> 01:33:40,479
Speaker 1: It does. And the way they play too. They played

1996
01:33:40,560 --> 01:33:43,240
Speaker 1: super fast last year and it worked. It was better

1997
01:33:43,320 --> 01:33:44,960
Speaker 1: than this. Now they're one of the slowest teams in

1998
01:33:44,960 --> 01:33:46,840
Speaker 1: the league, the twenty eighth and pace they were fifth

1999
01:33:46,880 --> 01:33:47,240
Speaker 1: last year.

2000
01:33:47,400 --> 01:33:48,160
Speaker 3: What's better than this?

2001
01:33:48,360 --> 01:33:50,519
Speaker 1: I mean they should they should That's how they should

2002
01:33:50,520 --> 01:33:52,519
Speaker 1: be playing. I mean, yeah, okay, Fox wasn't there, and

2003
01:33:52,560 --> 01:33:55,320
Speaker 1: he's an instimrale part of that, but him there, they

2004
01:33:55,520 --> 01:33:58,320
Speaker 1: that's exactly how they should play, and I do think

2005
01:33:58,400 --> 01:34:01,040
Speaker 1: that falls on Walton a little bit, ye along with

2006
01:34:01,160 --> 01:34:03,599
Speaker 1: thee not maybe you'll get all the pieces to fit together.

2007
01:34:04,400 --> 01:34:07,760
Speaker 1: They're another disappointing team. Another team I love. Yeah, I

2008
01:34:07,880 --> 01:34:09,479
Speaker 1: love Fox. That's why I would like to see him

2009
01:34:09,520 --> 01:34:10,679
Speaker 1: have a successful team.

2010
01:34:10,680 --> 01:34:13,320
Speaker 3: Similar to the Trailblazers. It's just been a stalled season,

2011
01:34:13,400 --> 01:34:16,080
Speaker 3: like they haven't been able to get healed. Fox and

2012
01:34:16,160 --> 01:34:18,160
Speaker 3: Bagley on the court together. And that's your nucleus, that's

2013
01:34:18,160 --> 01:34:21,240
Speaker 3: the guys who were successful for you last year. That

2014
01:34:21,280 --> 01:34:23,479
Speaker 3: would theoretically have been the same guys doing it this

2015
01:34:23,560 --> 01:34:25,840
Speaker 3: year if they're playing fast. But they haven't even been

2016
01:34:25,880 --> 01:34:26,960
Speaker 3: able to be able to court together.

2017
01:34:28,000 --> 01:34:31,479
Speaker 1: So bummer for them, all right, we got two teams left,

2018
01:34:31,920 --> 01:34:33,720
Speaker 1: The Spurs, Trey flipflops.

2019
01:34:35,160 --> 01:34:35,600
Speaker 2: Excuse me.

2020
01:34:35,840 --> 01:34:38,040
Speaker 3: Everything you think you knew about the Spurs, you don't

2021
01:34:38,040 --> 01:34:40,120
Speaker 3: know it anymore. They used to always make the playoffs.

2022
01:34:40,120 --> 01:34:41,880
Speaker 3: They might not this year. They used to be really

2023
01:34:41,880 --> 01:34:43,800
Speaker 3: good on defense, they're not anymore. They used to be oak.

2024
01:34:44,000 --> 01:34:45,760
Speaker 3: They used to shoot a lot of threes, now they don't.

2025
01:34:46,000 --> 01:34:49,400
Speaker 3: But they're still good on offense. But they're doing it

2026
01:34:49,520 --> 01:34:52,240
Speaker 3: with these outdated modes of scoring. They don't shoot a

2027
01:34:52,280 --> 01:34:54,799
Speaker 3: lot of threes, but they make them. They're letting LaMarcus

2028
01:34:54,840 --> 01:34:57,240
Speaker 3: Aldridge has decided, Hey, somebody's got to shoot threes around here.

2029
01:34:57,280 --> 01:34:59,280
Speaker 3: I'm going to do it. So that has been helping.

2030
01:35:00,080 --> 01:35:04,680
Speaker 3: I still hesitate to pick against the Spurs, uh what

2031
01:35:04,920 --> 01:35:08,120
Speaker 3: not making them exactly like, how can you how can

2032
01:35:08,200 --> 01:35:10,759
Speaker 3: you have any confidence in the teams below them compared

2033
01:35:10,800 --> 01:35:12,880
Speaker 3: to the Spurs, despite the fact that this is not

2034
01:35:13,000 --> 01:35:15,280
Speaker 3: the Spurs that we are used to. I don't know,

2035
01:35:15,720 --> 01:35:19,360
Speaker 3: They're just they're very like Lee said, meeting potatoes and

2036
01:35:19,400 --> 01:35:22,360
Speaker 3: then he didn't really explain why they're just meeting potatoes.

2037
01:35:23,080 --> 01:35:24,599
Speaker 3: They are, they're just meeting potatoes.

2038
01:35:27,320 --> 01:35:31,320
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's a it's like they're playing literally just to

2039
01:35:31,400 --> 01:35:34,040
Speaker 1: keep the streak alive. Yeah, it's that that that uh

2040
01:35:34,280 --> 01:35:38,080
Speaker 1: what would be what twenty three I think consecutive playoff appearances.

2041
01:35:38,800 --> 01:35:40,680
Speaker 1: That's what it's. That's what it is, and maybe that

2042
01:35:40,760 --> 01:35:44,040
Speaker 1: will be enough, uh, you know, to get in there

2043
01:35:44,160 --> 01:35:45,600
Speaker 1: to keep it alive. You don't want to be that.

2044
01:35:45,800 --> 01:35:47,080
Speaker 1: You don't want to be on that one team that

2045
01:35:47,520 --> 01:35:49,760
Speaker 1: has it snapped. I'll tell you that, right, And a

2046
01:35:49,800 --> 01:35:51,080
Speaker 1: lot of these guys were on a lot of those

2047
01:35:51,080 --> 01:35:53,240
Speaker 1: teams anyway that we're already in some of the vets.

2048
01:35:53,280 --> 01:35:56,519
Speaker 1: So yeah, it's I think what's weird with them is

2049
01:35:57,560 --> 01:35:59,000
Speaker 1: there was a lot of hype around some of their

2050
01:35:59,040 --> 01:36:03,240
Speaker 1: young guys heading into the season, and there's been the

2051
01:36:03,280 --> 01:36:07,639
Speaker 1: odd flash of brilliance from from your Murray's and stuff

2052
01:36:07,760 --> 01:36:13,240
Speaker 1: like that, and Forbes. It's like, but and Walker, I mean,

2053
01:36:13,360 --> 01:36:15,479
Speaker 1: like all these guys. Everyone got very excited about some

2054
01:36:15,520 --> 01:36:17,000
Speaker 1: of these young guys and maybe they will pan out,

2055
01:36:17,040 --> 01:36:18,720
Speaker 1: but then it's just not there consistently.

2056
01:36:19,439 --> 01:36:23,080
Speaker 2: A guy who has been consistent recently is Demarta Rosen,

2057
01:36:23,120 --> 01:36:27,080
Speaker 2: which is it's odd to see him like really be

2058
01:36:27,240 --> 01:36:29,760
Speaker 2: thriving and really being great when you know we're all

2059
01:36:29,800 --> 01:36:32,160
Speaker 2: sort of ready to be Like, Okay, Deamar might fall

2060
01:36:32,240 --> 01:36:34,840
Speaker 2: off a little bit, but here in a year number eleven,

2061
01:36:34,840 --> 01:36:38,200
Speaker 2: he's been ballowing twenty seven points on sixty five percent

2062
01:36:38,240 --> 01:36:41,560
Speaker 2: shooting over his last twelve games. Some boring end of

2063
01:36:41,680 --> 01:36:45,080
Speaker 2: podcast trivia for you. He is, though, just the fourth

2064
01:36:45,160 --> 01:36:47,559
Speaker 2: player over the last twenty seasons to average twenty five

2065
01:36:47,640 --> 01:36:50,880
Speaker 2: on sixty five plus percent shooting over twelve game span.

2066
01:36:51,400 --> 01:36:53,640
Speaker 2: Who are the other three players.

2067
01:36:53,320 --> 01:36:56,560
Speaker 3: Over the last how many seasons twenty twenty five on

2068
01:36:56,880 --> 01:36:59,479
Speaker 3: sixty five percent over no.

2069
01:37:01,840 --> 01:37:06,280
Speaker 2: Shack, yeah, no, wow, kind of surprising. Sixty five percent. Yeah,

2070
01:37:06,840 --> 01:37:09,519
Speaker 2: it's a huge percentage. So you think you're staying with

2071
01:37:09,640 --> 01:37:11,960
Speaker 2: the bigs. Same with the biggs for a couple of them. Yeah,

2072
01:37:12,120 --> 01:37:13,679
Speaker 2: two of the three players that are big.

2073
01:37:13,720 --> 01:37:15,320
Speaker 3: What's the time frame ever?

2074
01:37:15,880 --> 01:37:17,559
Speaker 2: No, twenty years year, two thousand.

2075
01:37:18,360 --> 01:37:19,200
Speaker 1: Did he have a stretch?

2076
01:37:19,800 --> 01:37:20,519
Speaker 2: Lebron did yeh?

2077
01:37:20,560 --> 01:37:20,760
Speaker 1: Yeh?

2078
01:37:21,800 --> 01:37:23,840
Speaker 2: In twenty thirteen he had a good.

2079
01:37:23,960 --> 01:37:26,360
Speaker 1: Yeah, I remember that that crazy field.

2080
01:37:27,120 --> 01:37:29,519
Speaker 2: One guy has done it a lot and one guy

2081
01:37:29,600 --> 01:37:30,200
Speaker 2: did it once.

2082
01:37:30,760 --> 01:37:31,599
Speaker 1: One guy he's done a lot.

2083
01:37:31,800 --> 01:37:33,439
Speaker 2: I'm going so he's a big big man.

2084
01:37:33,600 --> 01:37:35,880
Speaker 1: Twenty five a game, big man. Dwight.

2085
01:37:36,320 --> 01:37:40,200
Speaker 2: Dwight, Dwight one said that very hesitantly.

2086
01:37:40,200 --> 01:37:42,160
Speaker 1: I didn't think it was going to be And then

2087
01:37:42,560 --> 01:37:43,720
Speaker 1: then this guy did it a lot.

2088
01:37:44,240 --> 01:37:47,360
Speaker 2: No, No, Dwight did it a lot. Last guy is

2089
01:37:47,640 --> 01:37:51,440
Speaker 2: people compare him to a young player in the association

2090
01:37:51,600 --> 01:37:56,280
Speaker 2: who's nowhere near this guy. This guy not going to

2091
01:37:56,320 --> 01:37:59,519
Speaker 2: get to the Hall of Fame, but injuries set him back.

2092
01:38:00,040 --> 01:38:02,639
Speaker 2: Oh grand quite athletic.

2093
01:38:02,800 --> 01:38:03,439
Speaker 3: Derrick Rose.

2094
01:38:04,040 --> 01:38:07,479
Speaker 2: No, no, no, no, no, no. Neither of those guys

2095
01:38:07,560 --> 01:38:11,880
Speaker 2: is very athletic, very very large man, big athletic, played

2096
01:38:11,920 --> 01:38:15,280
Speaker 2: on one of the twentieth or twenty first century's most

2097
01:38:15,520 --> 01:38:17,840
Speaker 2: favorite teams Darling teams.

2098
01:38:18,640 --> 01:38:19,880
Speaker 1: Sean Kemp No.

2099
01:38:20,120 --> 01:38:21,720
Speaker 2: Twenty first century.

2100
01:38:25,640 --> 01:38:26,280
Speaker 1: Camp was close.

2101
01:38:27,120 --> 01:38:27,960
Speaker 2: Yep, very close.

2102
01:38:28,040 --> 01:38:29,520
Speaker 1: Ooh nice trivia.

2103
01:38:29,280 --> 01:38:31,920
Speaker 2: Anyway, through a little trivia and there DeMar has been great.

2104
01:38:32,240 --> 01:38:35,840
Speaker 1: Yeah he has, he has. Wait, we saw that at times,

2105
01:38:35,880 --> 01:38:37,679
Speaker 1: definitely with the Raps. So it was that one start

2106
01:38:37,720 --> 01:38:39,719
Speaker 1: of the season where he was putting up stupid numbers

2107
01:38:39,720 --> 01:38:42,120
Speaker 1: for a couple of weeks. He's locked in right now

2108
01:38:42,400 --> 01:38:44,760
Speaker 1: and trying to make his All Star case. I got

2109
01:38:44,800 --> 01:38:50,120
Speaker 1: the Utah Jazz Final team. Guys, my word is actually

2110
01:38:50,160 --> 01:38:56,639
Speaker 1: a name to sum up the Jazz season. Usain Bolt. Okay,

2111
01:38:56,840 --> 01:39:01,960
Speaker 1: excuse me. Let me explain that Saint Bolt was, despite

2112
01:39:02,000 --> 01:39:05,000
Speaker 1: being the fastest man in the world for years, he

2113
01:39:05,200 --> 01:39:08,800
Speaker 1: was generally slow out of the blocks compared to the

2114
01:39:08,880 --> 01:39:11,720
Speaker 1: rest of the field because he's a six foot five guy.

2115
01:39:11,760 --> 01:39:14,800
Speaker 1: That's exactly right. Trey took Usain Bolt a lot longer

2116
01:39:14,880 --> 01:39:16,680
Speaker 1: for him to get up out of the blocks, to

2117
01:39:16,960 --> 01:39:19,800
Speaker 1: unfold and to get going, especially compared to his more

2118
01:39:19,920 --> 01:39:23,760
Speaker 1: compact competitors. He was he was in a weird way

2119
01:39:23,840 --> 01:39:27,320
Speaker 1: always starting from behind. Right, he was starting from behind

2120
01:39:28,000 --> 01:39:29,439
Speaker 1: fifty to sixty meters later.

2121
01:39:29,360 --> 01:39:30,240
Speaker 2: Though, whoa.

2122
01:39:30,880 --> 01:39:33,240
Speaker 1: When Bolt was hitting top speed, it was peace out.

2123
01:39:33,320 --> 01:39:33,760
Speaker 3: He was gone.

2124
01:39:33,880 --> 01:39:36,120
Speaker 1: I mean he literally was having to then take less

2125
01:39:36,120 --> 01:39:39,400
Speaker 1: strides than the competition right and would just blow by them.

2126
01:39:39,439 --> 01:39:41,840
Speaker 1: And usually in the final twenty meters was like, you know,

2127
01:39:42,360 --> 01:39:43,720
Speaker 1: so far ahead of them, and he was looking around

2128
01:39:43,720 --> 01:39:44,240
Speaker 1: at cameras and.

2129
01:39:44,240 --> 01:39:44,720
Speaker 2: Stuff like that.

2130
01:39:45,040 --> 01:39:47,000
Speaker 1: Well, that is the Utah Jazz. They are Usain Bolt.

2131
01:39:47,479 --> 01:39:51,320
Speaker 1: They started very very slow out of the blocks, very disappointing,

2132
01:39:51,960 --> 01:39:54,759
Speaker 1: but they have found I believe their Bolt like stride

2133
01:39:54,840 --> 01:39:58,120
Speaker 1: right now. Big part of that Ingles, who I can't

2134
01:39:58,160 --> 01:40:00,320
Speaker 1: imagine will be fast out of the blocks either, but

2135
01:40:00,720 --> 01:40:03,719
Speaker 1: him being in the starting lineup it has unlocked that offense.

2136
01:40:04,000 --> 01:40:06,360
Speaker 1: Him and Gobert pick and roll. It's a thing of beauty.

2137
01:40:06,720 --> 01:40:09,519
Speaker 1: Mitchell has had somewhat of a sort of under the

2138
01:40:09,600 --> 01:40:11,760
Speaker 1: radar type of season two where he's putting up the

2139
01:40:11,800 --> 01:40:13,880
Speaker 1: points and he has taken over games. They made that

2140
01:40:13,960 --> 01:40:17,639
Speaker 1: little minor trade with bringing in Jordan Clarkson. He's helped

2141
01:40:17,680 --> 01:40:20,400
Speaker 1: breathe some life into that bench. And you know, they

2142
01:40:20,439 --> 01:40:22,840
Speaker 1: obviously have had a softer part of their schedule, but

2143
01:40:22,920 --> 01:40:25,120
Speaker 1: they're crushing it. Ten game win streak as of now,

2144
01:40:25,600 --> 01:40:30,519
Speaker 1: and this is the Jazz that we expected. I think

2145
01:40:30,560 --> 01:40:32,360
Speaker 1: a lot of us coming to the season. They're starting

2146
01:40:32,400 --> 01:40:33,880
Speaker 1: to find their stride. Now. The weird part is the

2147
01:40:33,920 --> 01:40:38,120
Speaker 1: whole Conley thing. He's not there, and I'm still convinced

2148
01:40:38,120 --> 01:40:39,599
Speaker 1: if they want to go to a finals and try

2149
01:40:39,640 --> 01:40:42,920
Speaker 1: and knock off the clipser Lakers, they need Conley as

2150
01:40:42,960 --> 01:40:45,439
Speaker 1: sort of playoff Grizzlies Conley, that's an important piece to

2151
01:40:45,520 --> 01:40:48,479
Speaker 1: add to that bunch. Maybe it happens, but Bogdanovich has

2152
01:40:48,479 --> 01:40:50,599
Speaker 1: been great. Look that's who they are. You staying bold

2153
01:40:50,600 --> 01:40:53,000
Speaker 1: to me. They're getting it going now. Now. Are they

2154
01:40:53,040 --> 01:40:55,639
Speaker 1: gonna run away from the rest of the pack. Probably

2155
01:40:55,720 --> 01:40:59,479
Speaker 1: not so Maybe they're more of an Andre Degratz doesn't

2156
01:40:59,479 --> 01:41:01,320
Speaker 1: work at all working always a smaller guy. He's quick

2157
01:41:01,320 --> 01:41:01,800
Speaker 1: out of the box.

2158
01:41:01,880 --> 01:41:04,880
Speaker 2: But he was. His name is Degrass and Drake was

2159
01:41:04,880 --> 01:41:07,360
Speaker 2: on Degrass. He so he's the Toronto Raptors.

2160
01:41:09,280 --> 01:41:09,599
Speaker 3: Perfect.

2161
01:41:11,640 --> 01:41:14,479
Speaker 1: I can tell we've gone a little too long, but

2162
01:41:14,600 --> 01:41:17,080
Speaker 1: there it is. There it is, guys. That concludes our

2163
01:41:17,360 --> 01:41:19,960
Speaker 1: NBA mid season report. Let's hear from you, guys, what

2164
01:41:20,120 --> 01:41:24,439
Speaker 1: words or phrases would you use to describe your favorite

2165
01:41:24,479 --> 01:41:27,360
Speaker 1: team at the halfway point? Or what did you think

2166
01:41:27,760 --> 01:41:29,679
Speaker 1: of what we chose maybe for your favorite team?

2167
01:41:29,800 --> 01:41:30,240
Speaker 2: Let us know.

2168
01:41:30,520 --> 01:41:33,559
Speaker 1: Tweet at us at No Dunks, Inc. Or email us

2169
01:41:34,000 --> 01:41:36,400
Speaker 1: No Dunks at the Athletic dot com. Thanks so much

2170
01:41:36,439 --> 01:41:42,360
Speaker 1: for joining us today. Guys, have the season A goat

2171
01:41:42,520 --> 01:41:44,880
Speaker 1: fall asleep. We got test the bed all right, we'll

2172
01:41:44,920 --> 01:41:45,519
Speaker 1: talk to you guys soon.

2173
01:41:46,160 --> 01:41:53,719
Speaker 2: You could stay every day and be happy every minut

2174
01:41:56,840 --> 01:41:58,280
Speaker 2: It's been so long that.

2175
01:42:00,120 --> 01:42:03,600
Speaker 3: Inform it's happened already.

2176
01:42:05,080 --> 01:42:06,360
Speaker 2: It's gonna be grippy.