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Speaker 1: Welcome to the best of the week for What's Right

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Speaker 1: with Nick Right the best takes and moments from this

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Speaker 1: week on the show. Enjoy Tim McMahon, who is as

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Speaker 1: plugged into the MAVs as anyone with respect to Mark Stein.

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Speaker 1: Telegraph this a bit yesterday on The Great Hoop Collective podcast,

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Speaker 1: with he and Wendy and my pal timbon Temps talking

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Speaker 1: that Nico Harrison could be fired and Nico Harrison, Now,

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Speaker 1: I don't want to incorrectly report this as we record

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Speaker 1: live or we broadcast live at ten thirty four am Eastern,

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Speaker 1: Nico Harrison has not yet been fired. In a truly

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Speaker 1: mortifying end to a truly indefensible nine month reign of terror.

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Speaker 1: Nico Harrison has a meeting with MAVs ownership in twenty

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Speaker 1: five minutes where he will be fired. I gotta tell you,

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Speaker 1: I'm not sure I'd show up to that. Meaning if

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Speaker 1: Shams has it and the whole world knows that, you

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Speaker 1: know what guys with, this can be assumed. So the

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Speaker 1: impacts and implications of this are far reaching. Most notable

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Speaker 1: is the following. And this might sound shocking, this might

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Speaker 1: sound drastic, but I believe this to be true. Teams

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Speaker 1: around the league should immediately call Dallas and ask about

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Speaker 1: Anthony Davis's availability. Certainly teams around the league that would

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Speaker 1: be interested. And this probably is going to have to

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Speaker 1: be something far later once you see him if he

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Speaker 1: returns pre trade deadline, should ask about Kyrie Irving. And

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Speaker 1: that is because the Dallas Mavericks are now in total

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Speaker 1: build around Cooper Flag try to rebuild our draft capital.

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Speaker 1: To keep in mind, they do not either have they

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Speaker 1: either don't have well, they either don't have a pick

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Speaker 1: or don't have their own pick. In the next four drafts,

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Speaker 1: they had gone all in around historically great superstar Lukadancic,

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Speaker 1: and then, because of ego and hubris, Lukadanciic was traded

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Speaker 1: in the middle of the night in the type of

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Speaker 1: move that if there were ever cause for a fan

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Speaker 1: base to file a class action lawsuit against management, this

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Speaker 1: would be it. You had one of the greatest players

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Speaker 1: ever at the very beginning of the prime of his career,

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Speaker 1: and I said it at the time and I will

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Speaker 1: say it again, And because of nothing more than power

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Speaker 1: and ego, you lit the franchise on fire. Power and ego.

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Speaker 1: Everyone was searching for why Nico would have done this,

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Speaker 1: and the only logical and it's not logical, but the

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Speaker 1: only reasonable explanation was he did. I didn't like the

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Speaker 1: fact that someone within the organization had more power than him,

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Speaker 1: and that someone was Luca, So we got him out

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Speaker 1: of there. And it will go down in the annals

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Speaker 1: of sports history as one of the single greatest gaffs

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Speaker 1: in a front office has ever made. That is not

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Speaker 1: an overreaction, that is not an overstatement. That is simply

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Speaker 1: what it was the moment it happened, and now is

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Speaker 1: being exacerbated night in, night out as Luca instead of

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Speaker 1: coming off an injury as he was last year, reminds everyone. Yes,

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Speaker 1: I am the guy who dragged a Dallas Mavericks team

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Speaker 1: to the conference finals when I was twenty two and

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Speaker 1: to the NBA Finals when I was twenty four, And

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Speaker 1: now I'm twenty six, and I have more first team

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Speaker 1: All nbas under my belt than Steph Curry does, and

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Speaker 1: you got rid of me and I don't. I also

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Speaker 1: don't think this is an overstatement. Nico Harrison will never

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Speaker 1: work in an NBA front office again. He's gonna have

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Speaker 1: to work for Nike or an agency or something. But

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Speaker 1: this is you cannot recover from something like this and

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Speaker 1: the arrogance that less than you know. We are a

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Speaker 1: dozen games into this season and Nico after they spun

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Speaker 1: a one point eight percent lottery ball chance into Cooper Flag,

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Speaker 1: the fact that he said do you see the vision

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Speaker 1: now was one of the most tone deaf, ludicrous statements.

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Speaker 1: And I'm not a MAVs fan. Hell, I'm an adopted

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Speaker 1: I guess Laker fan because that's who Bron plays for.

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Speaker 1: So the Lakers getting Luca, who's my second favorite player,

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Speaker 1: was and he and Bron playing together was a true dream.

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Speaker 1: And I'm still mad about this trade on behalf of

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Speaker 1: mav fans. I can't imagine what this is. This was

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Speaker 1: a sports felony inflicted upon a fan. And yes, now

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Speaker 1: the villain has been captured and is facing justice, but

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Speaker 1: it doesn't change the havoc he reeked and the long

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Speaker 1: term impact on your fandom. So I I want to

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Speaker 1: just revisit before we get to last night's game, before

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Speaker 1: we get to football, what I set off the top,

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Speaker 1: and credit to Tim Bond, TIMPs. He's been talking about

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Speaker 1: this for a while, but now it is to me

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Speaker 1: a more because it was never gonna happen with Nico

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Speaker 1: in charge, but the Dallas Mavericks have to consider a

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Speaker 1: fire sale the so let me, let me. I want

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Speaker 1: to give everyone the actual draft pick situation for Dallas.

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Speaker 1: In twenty twenty six, they have their pick, so my apologies,

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Speaker 1: I said that wrong. Twenty twenty six, they have their pick.

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Speaker 1: This year, they have their pick, and maybe that's good

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Speaker 1: because right now they're terrible. In twenty twenty seven, their

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Speaker 1: pick basically totally unprotected, protected only for spots one or two,

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Speaker 1: so unprotected goes to Charlotte. In twenty twenty eight, Jesus,

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Speaker 1: the rich get richer. The Thunder can swap with them.

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Speaker 1: In twenty twenty nine, their pick goes somewhere in a

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Speaker 1: swap and they do have the Lakers pick. And in

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Speaker 1: twenty thirty, my god, the Spurs can swap with them.

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Speaker 1: So first of all, in twenty twenty eight and twenty thirty,

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Speaker 1: the Mavericks first round pick is gonna go to the

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Speaker 1: Thunder and then the Spurs. Holy shit. In twenty twenty nine,

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Speaker 1: their pick goes somewhere. I can't figure it out. It

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Speaker 1: says two most favorable of Dallas, Houston, Phoenix to Houston

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Speaker 1: and then other to Brooklyn via Dallas and Phoenix to

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Speaker 1: Brooklyn via Dallas, or Phoenix to Houston via Houston. Swap

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Speaker 1: for Dallas or Phoenix. I don't get it, but whatever,

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Speaker 1: the MAVs will not after this coming year's draft. They

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Speaker 1: do not have control of their their first until twenty

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Speaker 1: thirty one until Cooper flag is in the midst of

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Speaker 1: his second contract, so they need to recoop picks they

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Speaker 1: need to figure out like Klay Thompson's contract is fully underwater.

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Speaker 1: Kyrie's an interesting one, and I it's just and by

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Speaker 1: the way, they're three and eight and I think, let

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Speaker 1: me check. I think they have literally the worst offense

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Speaker 1: in the NBA. I know, so let's just check in

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Speaker 1: real quick defense wins championships, because that's all we heard

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Speaker 1: from this this guy. All we heard from him. Their

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Speaker 1: offense is, oh, is it no longer dead last? The

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Speaker 1: hold on? Let me, I had it. I thought they

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Speaker 1: were dead last. Maybe I'm wrong because that says they're

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Speaker 1: fourteenth right now, so oh that's last year. I'm looking

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Speaker 1: at last year. It's like, hold on a second, this

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Speaker 1: can't be correct. They can't be the Mavericks having the

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Speaker 1: fifteenth offense. No chance, All right, here we go? Oh no,

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Speaker 1: if fair's fair, they don't have the worst offense in

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Speaker 1: the basketball. They have the second worst offensive basketball to

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Speaker 1: the Pacers. Who's best player Torre's Achilles in Game seven

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Speaker 1: of the finals and second best or third best player

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Speaker 1: left the team. Now, I mean this is just perfect,

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Speaker 1: just chef's kiss. Perfect defense wins championships. The Dallas Mavericks

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Speaker 1: are three and eight. They fired Nico Harrison. They currently

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Speaker 1: have the third best defense in basketball. Maybe that was

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Speaker 1: a miscalculation because you have the second worst offense in basketball.

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Speaker 1: Good luck, MAVs fans. I feel sick for you. Today's

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Speaker 2: Yeah, so, as you know, we don't usually get too

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Speaker 2: deep into basketball until Christmas, but we got to talk

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Speaker 2: about some things going on in the NBA. Wimby yesterday

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Speaker 2: apparently was crazy. I didn't catch this one, but I

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Speaker 2: saw the highlights. Is it possible that this guy is

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Speaker 2: already the best player in the league.

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Speaker 1: I mean, here's the thing. Demon's eight. No, no shame

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Speaker 1: in not catching it live Oh yeah.

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Speaker 2: I was watching vij edge Combe welcome himself to the NBA.

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Speaker 1: Oh you were watching? You were watching a different game.

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Speaker 2: I was watching.

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Speaker 1: Okay, Oh that's I thought. I assumed you meant you were.

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Speaker 1: Oh good for you, buddy. Yeah, yeah, that's a VJ.

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Speaker 1: Edgecombe all time record for points. Take you and the

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Speaker 1: Sixers won that game despite him being.

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Speaker 2: Show and the almost got bad for VJ with him

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Speaker 2: missing those two free throws at the end of the

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Speaker 2: Celticspense pulled through. That would have been a damn That

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Speaker 2: would have been a.

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Speaker 1: Great win for them. Yeah. Yeah. And and Maxie, our

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Speaker 1: guy Maxie had forty cooked, but someone else had forty

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Speaker 1: and he's a seven foot five problem. So I I

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Speaker 1: was a gog at what I saw last night from

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Speaker 1: Victor WindMan Yama. So he is the best defensive player

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Speaker 1: in basketball. We knew that was going to be the case.

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Speaker 1: And he had three blocks, but that doesn't really explain

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Speaker 1: it because he just dissuaded so much action because of

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Speaker 1: his length that I don't know what the advanced stat

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Speaker 1: is for, like shots not taken because you're scared this

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Speaker 1: guy's gonna swat it into the first row. But he

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Speaker 1: crushes in that so we had. So here's a good

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Speaker 1: comp we had on the show yesterday, A kim Olajuan

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Speaker 1: all right, and A Keem was never the best offensive

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Speaker 1: player in the league. But there was a two year

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Speaker 1: period when Jordan was a year and a half when

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Speaker 1: Jordan was retired, and the those two years when A

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Speaker 1: Keem was the best player in the league because he

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Speaker 1: was far and away the best defensive player. And those

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Speaker 1: couple of years probably like the fifth or sixth best

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Speaker 1: offensive player, and those two things can combine to make

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Speaker 1: you the best player. He usually goes in the other direction,

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Speaker 1: the best player in the league. Joker is far and

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Speaker 1: away the best offensive player, and then just for average defensive. Right,

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Speaker 1: And to deal with it with you know, it's very

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Speaker 1: rare you get prime. I shouldn't say it's very rare.

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Speaker 1: It's just special prime Giannis prime, Bron prime, Jordan, prime,

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Speaker 1: Kobe Kawhido. Also, I think was never the best offensive offense. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: I'm talking about a guy who can win the scoring

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Speaker 1: title while being the best defender in the league. Right,

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Speaker 1: it's only a handful of guys. If Wimby's gonna give

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Speaker 1: you forty let me put it like this. Here's why

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Speaker 1: it's so scary Tomanse and I loved that he only

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Speaker 1: took two threes, that he is stronger, his handles better.

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Speaker 1: I think Wimby. If Wimby averages twenty five points a game,

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Speaker 1: he might be the best player in the league like

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Speaker 1: that because of what he is defensively and if he's

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Speaker 1: gonna put up thirty. I I'm sorry to Joker and

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Speaker 1: I'm sorry to Shay, but I just I am. I'm

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Speaker 1: ready to have the conversation that this guy might just

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Speaker 1: be the best, like the best player in the league

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Speaker 1: right now.

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Speaker 2: In the beginning, well, here's what I was probably more

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Speaker 2: on the injury side.

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Speaker 1: It was two things. It was two things. One was

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Speaker 1: the injury stuff, which still anybody that size it worries me.

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Speaker 1: But that's about it. Was my skepticism on Wimby. I

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Speaker 1: guess was here were the three different levels of it.

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Speaker 2: I think it was him shooting too.

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Speaker 1: Yes, so I didn't like the style he was playing.

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Speaker 1: To me, he was trying to be Durant, and it's like, bro,

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Speaker 1: you're a half foot taller than Durant and Durant is

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Speaker 1: one of the greatest pure shooters ever. You're like the

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Speaker 1: So I didn't love that. The injuries potential concerned me

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Speaker 1: because literally every player in the history of the league

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Speaker 1: seven four or taller has dealt with injuries, and I

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Speaker 1: don't consider the blood clot an injury. I do, though,

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Speaker 1: I I'm gonna say it's.

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Speaker 2: Really I feel like that they're more prone to though,

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Speaker 2: just because they're larger guys.

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Speaker 1: I was about to say that exact same thing. I

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Speaker 1: was like, maybe this is dumb. Maybe a doctor's listening

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Speaker 1: is like, that's not how that works. But in my head,

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Speaker 1: that's how it works. It's like, I don't know, there's

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Speaker 1: more there's more error, you know, mileage for there to

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Speaker 1: be clots, like I don't know. But so that part,

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Speaker 1: and then the other part was I just thought we

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Speaker 1: were setting him up to be a disappointment by saying

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Speaker 1: if he's not better than a Chema LaJuan, he's underachieved.

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Speaker 1: I'm like, jeez, Louise Man, like he walks into the

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Speaker 1: league and it's if you're not one of the ten

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Speaker 1: greatest players of all time, you've you have failed. Yeah.

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Speaker 1: With that said, I mean I kind of get it.

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Speaker 1: I mean, this is fascial. This is really really special

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Speaker 1: and I don't know what you're gonna do with him,

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Speaker 1: and it does. He has become after one game Demanse

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Speaker 1: must watch every night and it makes me at least

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Speaker 1: with Len leaving, well, yeah, there's that, but yeah, but

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Speaker 1: also and so a couple things. It makes me take

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Speaker 1: the Spurs seriously. I mean, they obviously didn't even have

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Speaker 1: Fox and they beat the third and well, so that's

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Speaker 1: the other piece of it. If you were to ask

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Speaker 1: me going into yesterday, okay, if you are if you

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Speaker 1: can have any player in the league to try to

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Speaker 1: slow down Wimby on the defensive end, who is your

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Speaker 1: number one draft pick? It would have been a d.

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Speaker 1: Like that's the other problem, Like the is there anyone

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Speaker 1: in the league demands a better in theory equipped to deal.

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Speaker 2: With Wimby on the Celtics. I think it's the last

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Speaker 2: name is Vet someth Vet.

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Speaker 1: Okay, all right, you're I don't I don't know who

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Speaker 1: you're talking about, and you're being ridiculous. There is the

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Speaker 1: the I mean, maybe you're not the I don't know.

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Speaker 2: Nobody's guarding the van. Nobody can go the He's a

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Speaker 2: freak of nature.

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Speaker 1: Hold on, who are you talking about you're talking about Queta. Okay,

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Speaker 1: all right, yeah, okay, you were being silly. Uh No,

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Speaker 1: I'm just saying like a d is seven feet can

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Speaker 1: play on the perimeter, can play down low. It has

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Speaker 1: been one of the of his era. Yes, and Wmby

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Speaker 1: made him look silly. I don't so so, like who

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Speaker 1: is the Spurs? What's the Spurs next game? So the

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Speaker 1: Spurs next game is? Their next three games are New Orleans, Brooklyn, Toronto.

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Speaker 1: The hell is anybody gonna do? Like? Who on New

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Speaker 1: Orleans is gonna be? Like it's Trey Murphy It I

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Speaker 1: don't think New Orleans. I guess MESI I don't know, man,

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Speaker 1: this is so I do think. I do think Demonde.

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Speaker 1: It's on the board that he's the best player in

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Speaker 1: the league this year, and that would.

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Speaker 2: Be mind is right too, Like I just don't see

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Speaker 2: it's like he's going to do everything possible to stay afloat.

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Speaker 2: I see him taking care of his body, taking care

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Speaker 2: of himself and the.

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Speaker 1: Off Yeah, oh yeah, we haven't had a guy be

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Speaker 1: in the argument for there's only been I just want

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Speaker 1: to make sure I get this right. The only no

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Speaker 1: one since Broun has had a real argument that they

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Speaker 1: were the best player in the league. In year three,

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Speaker 1: like Broun in your was second in MVP voting. He

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Speaker 1: had a real argument. Tim Duncan in year three might

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Speaker 1: have been the best player in the league, but he

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Speaker 1: was a four year college player. Shack in year three

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Speaker 1: was I think, let me, I want to see if

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Speaker 1: I have this, had an argument he was second in

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Speaker 1: MVP voting and Jordan was retired, and they made the

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Speaker 1: finals but lost to a team those are best player

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Speaker 1: in the league argument? By year three, it's just the

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Speaker 1: holy grail of NBA guys, really, and this is this

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Speaker 1: is something else. This is really really something else. I'm

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Speaker 1: amazed by it, and I I I'm lost of words.

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Speaker 1: I didn't understand what I was watching last night. And

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Speaker 1: we'll see how it continues. Oh wow, what's the MVP Hodds.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, so he climbed the top two in MVP odds

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Speaker 2: at plus two seventy five, and he was around plus

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Speaker 2: twelve hundred in the preseason. So do you see you

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Speaker 2: see after these three games him potentially being the favorite?

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Speaker 2: I mean, I don't see.

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Speaker 1: I mean, maybe here's the thing. The thing is this,

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Speaker 1: I just, in principle, if yesterday I could have gotten

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Speaker 1: to bet at twelve to one. I can't bet it

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Speaker 1: today at less than three to one.

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Speaker 2: And here's a lot of those tickets out there. I

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Speaker 2: feel like one us. Yeah, I feel like there's a

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Speaker 2: lot of those out there.

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Speaker 1: Oh yeah. And I would have told you. I would

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Speaker 1: have told you one day ago those are dumb tickets,

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Speaker 1: just because I would have said, you know this injury Fling, Well,

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Speaker 1: he's coming off an injury. He might not play enough games,

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Speaker 1: and it's so hard to win MVP if you're not

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Speaker 1: a top three seed and you know how many games

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Speaker 1: are the Spurs really gonna win. By the way, if

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00:27:22,720 --> 00:27:26,240
Speaker 1: you're thinking about upgrading to the all new iPhone seventeen Pro,

341
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Speaker 1: designed to be the most powerful iPhone ever, but you're

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353
00:28:05,000 --> 00:28:13,800
Speaker 1: course do apply Lebron's back and I have a lot

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Speaker 1: of takes. So no athlete in my lifetime has generated

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00:28:28,800 --> 00:28:42,200
Speaker 1: more idiotic and immediately self refuting opinions than Lebron. And

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Speaker 1: it's because I think it's because he's been for basically

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Speaker 1: as long as daily sports television has existed, Lebron has

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Speaker 1: been one of, if not the main character, and because

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Speaker 1: he has played, you know, throughout the entirety of this medium,

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Speaker 1: and because he has been at the eye of the

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Speaker 1: NBA storm, which while the NBA has never in his

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00:29:11,920 --> 00:29:16,600
Speaker 1: career been the country's most popular sport, but it has

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Speaker 1: been at various times in his career the country's most

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00:29:22,200 --> 00:29:25,960
Speaker 1: talked about sport. When it comes to sports debate and

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Speaker 1: sports TV and sports talk radio, Lebron is the Lebron

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Speaker 1: commentariot has spawned just some truly ridiculous and upon reflection,

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00:29:43,080 --> 00:29:48,080
Speaker 1: hilarious moments. And these are for me, friends and foes alike.

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Speaker 1: I mean, we are twelve twelve? Is that right? No,

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Speaker 1: it's not right. Eighteen years ago, my dear pal Dan

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00:30:04,880 --> 00:30:10,719
Speaker 1: Lebtard announced Lebron was on the downside and Miami had

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Speaker 1: gotten the best of him. That was thirteen years ago.

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Speaker 1: And I'm gonna talk about guys that I love an adore,

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Speaker 1: so it doesn't seem like I'm trying to take cheap

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Speaker 1: shots here. Famously, the owner and founder of this company,

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Speaker 1: my mentor Colin, eight years ago said Lebron hanging up

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00:30:38,000 --> 00:30:42,000
Speaker 1: whenever you want. We've got the NBA's got it from here.

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00:30:42,480 --> 00:30:48,120
Speaker 1: It was actually nine years ago, and that's an all

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Speaker 1: time clip. A because Lebron would go on to win

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Speaker 1: multiple championships after that, but b because he was saying

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Speaker 1: that Ben Simmons is gonna take over. I listen, Colin,

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Speaker 1: I was as high on Ben Simmons just about anybody.

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Speaker 1: I have to hold that l as well. And there,

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00:31:05,520 --> 00:31:07,880
Speaker 1: of course is all the skip stuff with the clutch

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Speaker 1: and then the latest stephen A stuff with the real

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00:31:10,600 --> 00:31:14,520
Speaker 1: personal I don't like that guy so much of it

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00:31:14,840 --> 00:31:21,440
Speaker 1: just outright silliness. And then we got an unexpected dose

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00:31:21,520 --> 00:31:24,520
Speaker 1: of it in the week's leading in the week or

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Speaker 1: so leading up to Lebron making his debut, which was

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Speaker 1: Hey Will Lebron be able to fit in with the Lakers,

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00:31:37,040 --> 00:31:39,800
Speaker 1: even though we saw Luca and Lebron and Austin Reeves

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Speaker 1: play together last year. Hey, will Lebron actually make the

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Speaker 1: Lakers worse? Will he screw up what they have going on?

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Speaker 1: These were real conversations, real discussions about the most malleable,

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Speaker 1: most uh flexible as far as how he can help

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Speaker 1: your team player in NBA history, about arguably the only

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Speaker 1: guy in the history of the league that can legitimately

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Speaker 1: and has literally made an All NBA team at all

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Speaker 1: five positions on the court. Check his Basketball reference for

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00:32:29,320 --> 00:32:34,600
Speaker 1: that was an All NBA center one year for the

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00:32:34,680 --> 00:32:38,400
Speaker 1: Lakers and an All NBA point guard the year after

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00:32:38,480 --> 00:32:44,120
Speaker 1: that for the Lakers. Late stage, Lebron was an All

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00:32:44,200 --> 00:32:48,120
Speaker 1: NBA shooting guard as a young player early and then

403
00:32:48,200 --> 00:32:52,040
Speaker 1: obviously All NBA small forward and power forward throughout his career.

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00:32:52,640 --> 00:32:57,920
Speaker 1: That that guy that can play all five, and certainly

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00:32:57,960 --> 00:33:00,160
Speaker 1: the younger version of him, and to a degree the

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00:33:00,160 --> 00:33:03,440
Speaker 1: older version of him can guard all five, that that

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00:33:03,560 --> 00:33:10,000
Speaker 1: guy was gonna screw up a team. And then Lebron

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00:33:10,120 --> 00:33:17,320
Speaker 1: comes in keeps his double digit point streak alive, which

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00:33:17,480 --> 00:33:20,760
Speaker 1: is going to be a very fun and funny thing

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00:33:20,840 --> 00:33:27,520
Speaker 1: to watch this year because it's obviously an untouchable record

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Speaker 1: and we'll get more on the Lebron untouchable record stuff

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00:33:34,560 --> 00:33:38,560
Speaker 1: in a moment, but he wants to keep it going.

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Speaker 1: But he is, I believe, going to play a very

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Speaker 1: different style this year. That game Tuesday Night, that's the

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00:33:48,720 --> 00:33:51,400
Speaker 1: fewest shots he's ever taken in a game he didn't

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Speaker 1: leave with injury. And speaking of the double digit point streak,

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00:33:58,400 --> 00:34:02,640
Speaker 1: one of those games that he left with injury, because

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00:34:02,680 --> 00:34:04,720
Speaker 1: there's only been two games in his career he took

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00:34:04,760 --> 00:34:08,040
Speaker 1: fewer than seven shots, which is what he took Tuesday night.

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Speaker 1: One he didn't play the second half because he took

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00:34:12,000 --> 00:34:14,839
Speaker 1: an elbow from to Kim Bae Matumbo, and one he

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00:34:14,960 --> 00:34:20,160
Speaker 1: left early when Solomon Hill fell into his ankle and

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00:34:20,360 --> 00:34:25,520
Speaker 1: derailed the Lakers title defense in the twenty twenty one season.

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00:34:27,640 --> 00:34:31,880
Speaker 1: But that game involves one of my favorite Lebron moments

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Speaker 1: of all time, which is Solomon Hill falls into his ankle,

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00:34:39,520 --> 00:34:47,600
Speaker 1: Lebron recognizes he has suffered the first truly significant injury

427
00:34:47,719 --> 00:34:54,279
Speaker 1: of his entire career up to that point and is

428
00:34:54,360 --> 00:35:00,800
Speaker 1: going to be out months and his city at seven

429
00:35:00,880 --> 00:35:06,839
Speaker 1: points and the streak is dead, and despite suffering an

430
00:35:06,840 --> 00:35:09,600
Speaker 1: injury that is going to knock him out for the

431
00:35:09,640 --> 00:35:15,960
Speaker 1: next two months, he pretends he's not hurt badly, stays

432
00:35:16,120 --> 00:35:23,560
Speaker 1: in the game, gets the ball, takes a corner, three hits,

433
00:35:23,600 --> 00:35:27,879
Speaker 1: it keeps the double figure point streak alive, and then

434
00:35:28,160 --> 00:35:30,280
Speaker 1: is out for the majority of the rest of the season.

435
00:35:34,160 --> 00:35:41,400
Speaker 1: But that's sidebar Lebron being dropped in as a team's

436
00:35:41,719 --> 00:35:47,560
Speaker 1: ultimate Swiss Army knife and Lebron taking pride in that ability,

437
00:35:49,120 --> 00:35:56,960
Speaker 1: and Lebron then saying after the game with a smile, Yeah,

438
00:35:57,040 --> 00:36:00,279
Speaker 1: I heard what was being said. I've been a you know,

439
00:36:00,360 --> 00:36:02,759
Speaker 1: you could put me on any team and I would

440
00:36:02,800 --> 00:36:09,160
Speaker 1: make it work. Is just obviously true. And people's you know,

441
00:36:09,239 --> 00:36:12,680
Speaker 1: people say that about Kevin Durant all the time, like, oh,

442
00:36:13,000 --> 00:36:20,200
Speaker 1: you just drop him in anywhere, And yes, that's true

443
00:36:20,360 --> 00:36:25,080
Speaker 1: about other players, great players, You drop them in and

444
00:36:25,120 --> 00:36:32,279
Speaker 1: they would make any team better. The distinction is can

445
00:36:32,400 --> 00:36:37,040
Speaker 1: you drop a player in and can they instantly do

446
00:36:38,120 --> 00:36:42,240
Speaker 1: at a high level the exact thing that team needs

447
00:36:42,320 --> 00:36:47,040
Speaker 1: them to do. This Lakers team right now might need

448
00:36:47,120 --> 00:36:57,360
Speaker 1: Lebron to be more facilitator, cutter, screener than score unlike

449
00:36:57,440 --> 00:37:00,600
Speaker 1: some of the other great players in this league, he

450
00:37:00,680 --> 00:37:08,279
Speaker 1: has the skill set at forty in year twenty three

451
00:37:08,640 --> 00:37:12,319
Speaker 1: to be excellent all at anything. Now, is he the

452
00:37:12,360 --> 00:37:14,719
Speaker 1: best player in the league anymore? Of course not. Is

453
00:37:14,760 --> 00:37:17,640
Speaker 1: he a top five player in the league anymore? No?

454
00:37:18,719 --> 00:37:24,640
Speaker 1: But is he still have a legitimate shot at being

455
00:37:24,760 --> 00:37:29,800
Speaker 1: right around top ten? And is he, assuredly when he's healthy,

456
00:37:30,360 --> 00:37:34,799
Speaker 1: still a top fifteen guy in the league. Yes? And

457
00:37:34,840 --> 00:37:40,759
Speaker 1: that guy with that malleyability helps any team in the

458
00:37:40,840 --> 00:37:45,799
Speaker 1: history of basketball. Now, is it all right? Now a

459
00:37:45,880 --> 00:37:51,400
Speaker 1: moot point for the whole NBA because of who and

460
00:37:51,480 --> 00:37:57,320
Speaker 1: what OKC is. Maybe everybody might be playing for second

461
00:37:57,320 --> 00:38:06,319
Speaker 1: this year, but we'll see things happen. And there's an

462
00:38:06,400 --> 00:38:13,280
Speaker 1: element of, I don't want to say lack of appreciation,

463
00:38:14,120 --> 00:38:23,640
Speaker 1: but numbness to what we are seeing at this moment.

464
00:38:24,760 --> 00:38:28,040
Speaker 1: And this is something that you know I've said before,

465
00:38:28,280 --> 00:38:34,440
Speaker 1: but I don't know that people like fully take it in,

466
00:38:36,440 --> 00:38:40,640
Speaker 1: and especially because you know Steph is playing at such

467
00:38:40,640 --> 00:38:44,760
Speaker 1: a high level at an advanced age. Durant is playing

468
00:38:44,800 --> 00:38:49,319
Speaker 1: at such a high level at an advanced age. But

469
00:38:53,840 --> 00:38:57,240
Speaker 1: see whether you want to focus on the age forty

470
00:38:57,320 --> 00:39:04,839
Speaker 1: part or the year twenty three. Part the it being

471
00:39:04,880 --> 00:39:12,520
Speaker 1: without precedent is such a wild understatement, Like Kobe Bryant,

472
00:39:13,080 --> 00:39:19,920
Speaker 1: the late great Kobe Bryant. How old do you think

473
00:39:20,080 --> 00:39:25,279
Speaker 1: Kobe was when he played in his final playoff game

474
00:39:25,360 --> 00:39:29,960
Speaker 1: with the Lakers. I'm gonna give it a pause so

475
00:39:30,040 --> 00:39:33,280
Speaker 1: you can actually think about it. How old was Kobe

476
00:39:34,120 --> 00:39:40,359
Speaker 1: in his final career playoff game? Are you shocked when

477
00:39:40,400 --> 00:39:44,080
Speaker 1: I tell you the answer to that is thirty two.

478
00:39:45,880 --> 00:39:55,319
Speaker 1: Kobe Bryant did not play in a playoff game with

479
00:39:55,440 --> 00:40:00,680
Speaker 1: the Lakers after the age of thirty two. Like a

480
00:40:00,719 --> 00:40:11,200
Speaker 1: little context to that, Lebron joined the Lakers when he

481
00:40:11,560 --> 00:40:25,000
Speaker 1: was thirty four. So obviously, Jordan Fit, you know, stop

482
00:40:25,080 --> 00:40:27,160
Speaker 1: what that was done with the Bulls at thirty five

483
00:40:27,320 --> 00:40:32,319
Speaker 1: thirty six. Obviously, we've never seen a player play in

484
00:40:32,360 --> 00:40:34,520
Speaker 1: a year twenty three, and the only one to get

485
00:40:34,560 --> 00:40:40,920
Speaker 1: to a year twenty two was Vince It's I said

486
00:40:40,920 --> 00:40:45,719
Speaker 1: this a couple of years ago and people laughed. I

487
00:40:45,800 --> 00:40:50,400
Speaker 1: think we are now seeing it in real time. He'll

488
00:40:50,440 --> 00:40:56,040
Speaker 1: simply never be bad and he could easily play at again,

489
00:40:57,600 --> 00:41:03,800
Speaker 1: not an MVP level, but a high level throughout his forties.

490
00:41:05,200 --> 00:41:09,000
Speaker 1: Barring again, barring, you're always at this age of a

491
00:41:09,040 --> 00:41:13,520
Speaker 1: catastrophic injury away, but he's ducked that up to this

492
00:41:13,600 --> 00:41:19,920
Speaker 1: point in his career, and people can have the argument

493
00:41:19,960 --> 00:41:24,719
Speaker 1: about the greatest player of all time that is going

494
00:41:24,760 --> 00:41:28,880
Speaker 1: to age so well on my end and so poorly

495
00:41:29,040 --> 00:41:32,120
Speaker 1: for so many other folks, because it is when it

496
00:41:32,200 --> 00:41:36,120
Speaker 1: does come to And this isn't the whole discussion, but

497
00:41:36,200 --> 00:41:40,080
Speaker 1: it is at least a piece of it. The record books.

498
00:41:41,400 --> 00:41:46,040
Speaker 1: With the way things are going right now as far

499
00:41:46,120 --> 00:41:51,520
Speaker 1: as injuries, load management, guys not being able to make

500
00:41:51,560 --> 00:41:58,440
Speaker 1: it through a full season, Lebron's longevity records are going

501
00:41:58,520 --> 00:42:02,240
Speaker 1: to win. People look back on him in forty years.

502
00:42:02,800 --> 00:42:06,080
Speaker 1: It's going to be like if you look at complete

503
00:42:06,200 --> 00:42:10,480
Speaker 1: games in baseball right now and you're like, wait, a

504
00:42:10,520 --> 00:42:18,840
Speaker 1: guy had forty in one year. Like all of these games, minutes, points,

505
00:42:19,160 --> 00:42:25,480
Speaker 1: the playoff records are going to be Chamberlain esque, untouchable

506
00:42:25,960 --> 00:42:35,240
Speaker 1: and farcical in the numbers to future generations. And I'm very,

507
00:42:36,200 --> 00:42:43,440
Speaker 1: very interested to see the full role Bron takes on

508
00:42:43,600 --> 00:42:48,319
Speaker 1: with the Lakers, because in Game one of year twenty three,

509
00:42:49,120 --> 00:42:54,080
Speaker 1: he was like, Okay, I'll be late stage Magic Johnson,

510
00:42:55,600 --> 00:43:02,040
Speaker 1: and that's pretty damn good. There's one other Bron adjacent

511
00:43:04,000 --> 00:43:07,319
Speaker 1: thing I wanted to talk about, And this is one

512
00:43:07,360 --> 00:43:10,960
Speaker 1: of those things that I imagine will do well on

513
00:43:14,080 --> 00:43:19,360
Speaker 1: social media or YouTube or and might cause me a

514
00:43:19,400 --> 00:43:26,279
Speaker 1: little grief, but I just I can't leave it unaddressed,

515
00:43:27,760 --> 00:43:31,640
Speaker 1: and I don't. I'm not I'm not trying to start anything,

516
00:43:32,120 --> 00:43:35,480
Speaker 1: but this is so it was maddening when I heard it.

517
00:43:37,880 --> 00:43:44,239
Speaker 1: So the greatest sports podcaster of all time, the guy

518
00:43:44,280 --> 00:43:50,120
Speaker 1: who in some ways invented the medium, and a guy

519
00:43:50,200 --> 00:43:55,839
Speaker 1: I like a lot, Bill Simmons, brought the mail bag back,

520
00:43:56,480 --> 00:44:00,960
Speaker 1: which is awesome. It's vented Simmons. It's part of the

521
00:44:01,000 --> 00:44:05,120
Speaker 1: reason that he's who he is, and it's awesome, and

522
00:44:05,560 --> 00:44:12,000
Speaker 1: because I'm a fan who's listening. And he gets asked

523
00:44:12,960 --> 00:44:21,040
Speaker 1: about the biggest sliding doors moments in NBA history, and

524
00:44:21,280 --> 00:44:30,000
Speaker 1: he goes to the Draymond Groin shot of Lebron in

525
00:44:30,080 --> 00:44:37,000
Speaker 1: Game four of the twenty sixteen Finals, which is a

526
00:44:37,239 --> 00:44:42,279
Speaker 1: legitimate sliding doors moment, there's no doubt about it. And

527
00:44:42,320 --> 00:44:45,720
Speaker 1: he talks about how if the Warriors win that title,

528
00:44:45,840 --> 00:44:51,040
Speaker 1: Durant can't go, you know, to Golden State. So then

529
00:44:51,080 --> 00:44:54,000
Speaker 1: who wins the next two does Lebron ever win in Cleveland.

530
00:44:54,040 --> 00:44:58,239
Speaker 1: Does Lebron ever go to the Lakers. There's that is

531
00:44:58,640 --> 00:45:02,040
Speaker 1: you know, what does it mean for death? Back to

532
00:45:02,120 --> 00:45:05,399
Speaker 1: back championships? He and Lebron then at that moment would

533
00:45:05,440 --> 00:45:08,319
Speaker 1: have been two to two. He would have had back

534
00:45:08,360 --> 00:45:12,480
Speaker 1: to back league MVPs, including a unanimous There are it's

535
00:45:14,600 --> 00:45:17,160
Speaker 1: He's Simmons talks about all of it, and he's correct

536
00:45:17,160 --> 00:45:21,800
Speaker 1: about that being a sliding doors moment. But there's two

537
00:45:21,840 --> 00:45:30,359
Speaker 1: pieces of that commentary that are just one is enraging

538
00:45:30,480 --> 00:45:32,960
Speaker 1: and it's not about Bill, and the other one is

539
00:45:34,200 --> 00:45:38,840
Speaker 1: I he just must talk to very different NBA people

540
00:45:38,920 --> 00:45:48,440
Speaker 1: than me, because what Bill said was the conspiracy theory

541
00:45:48,520 --> 00:45:53,719
Speaker 1: that people believe more than any other conspiracy is that

542
00:45:53,880 --> 00:46:00,680
Speaker 1: the NBA suspended Draymond because they wanted Cleveland to win

543
00:46:00,840 --> 00:46:07,840
Speaker 1: the title. And I've literally never heard that. Now. I

544
00:46:08,160 --> 00:46:14,560
Speaker 1: certainly have heard the conspiracy that they suspended Draymond because

545
00:46:14,600 --> 00:46:19,120
Speaker 1: they hoped the series would go longer than five. But

546
00:46:21,760 --> 00:46:28,000
Speaker 1: the idea that in real time, anyone outside of the

547
00:46:28,080 --> 00:46:34,879
Speaker 1: Calves locker room, me and Zach Lowe, we're all on

548
00:46:34,920 --> 00:46:42,640
Speaker 1: the record during this, everyone's doing media, nobody else when

549
00:46:42,680 --> 00:46:46,960
Speaker 1: that suspension came down said, oh, well, now I think

550
00:46:47,000 --> 00:46:51,000
Speaker 1: the Calves are going to win. That Warriors team was

551
00:46:51,040 --> 00:46:55,399
Speaker 1: considered the greatest team of all time and had dominated

552
00:46:55,440 --> 00:46:57,920
Speaker 1: the Calves through the first four games of that series.

553
00:46:58,880 --> 00:47:02,960
Speaker 1: So the first the first point is the idea that

554
00:47:03,040 --> 00:47:09,480
Speaker 1: it is widely thought in NBA circles that the Draymond

555
00:47:09,560 --> 00:47:17,560
Speaker 1: suspension was going to lead to the Calves winning the championship.

556
00:47:19,000 --> 00:47:22,120
Speaker 1: We were all there in real time that was not

557
00:47:22,200 --> 00:47:22,560
Speaker 1: a thing.

558
00:47:24,680 --> 00:47:29,640
Speaker 3: And then and then to the opinion piece of it,

559
00:47:33,880 --> 00:47:35,360
Speaker 3: nothing is more.

560
00:47:36,640 --> 00:47:43,760
Speaker 1: Maddening for me as a Bron fan. Then the fact

561
00:47:43,800 --> 00:47:52,960
Speaker 1: that when that happened, and then the Calves win Game

562
00:47:53,120 --> 00:48:03,959
Speaker 1: five by fifteen and Lebron scores forty one points, the

563
00:48:04,200 --> 00:48:14,440
Speaker 1: entire media asserts that would have never happened if Draymond

564
00:48:14,560 --> 00:48:18,880
Speaker 1: was there. The Calves winning by double digits and Lebron

565
00:48:19,000 --> 00:48:27,319
Speaker 1: scoring forty plus never happened if Draymond's there. And then

566
00:48:27,360 --> 00:48:33,240
Speaker 1: in Game six, when Draymond is there, Lebron scores forty

567
00:48:33,280 --> 00:48:40,240
Speaker 1: one and the Calves win by fifteen points. Game five

568
00:48:40,320 --> 00:48:45,680
Speaker 1: of those finals, no Draymond Bron scores. Bron goes. I'll

569
00:48:45,680 --> 00:48:48,759
Speaker 1: give you his exact stat line, just so we all

570
00:48:48,800 --> 00:48:53,080
Speaker 1: are on the same page. Forty one, sixteen and seven

571
00:48:53,880 --> 00:48:57,920
Speaker 1: on fifty five percent from the field, sixty three percent

572
00:48:58,000 --> 00:49:02,960
Speaker 1: from three and the Calves win by fifteen. So again,

573
00:49:03,360 --> 00:49:08,520
Speaker 1: forty one sixteen seven fifty five sixty three splits, fifteen

574
00:49:08,560 --> 00:49:14,120
Speaker 1: point win. Game six of the Finals forty one eight

575
00:49:14,360 --> 00:49:19,880
Speaker 1: eleven on sixty five seventy five splits and the Cavs

576
00:49:19,920 --> 00:49:29,920
Speaker 1: win by fourteen Like, what are we talking about? What

577
00:49:30,040 --> 00:49:33,040
Speaker 1: are we talking about? Oh? Hold on, I gotta do that,

578
00:49:33,239 --> 00:49:37,160
Speaker 1: because I'm sure I have to fix that. I have

579
00:49:37,239 --> 00:49:39,520
Speaker 1: to fix that. I apologize. I gave you the wrong

580
00:49:39,600 --> 00:49:42,600
Speaker 1: field goal percentages. Let me let me do that again,

581
00:49:42,640 --> 00:49:45,040
Speaker 1: because I want this to be accurate. I gave you.

582
00:49:45,400 --> 00:49:52,719
Speaker 1: So Game five of the Finals, No Draymond forty one,

583
00:49:52,920 --> 00:49:59,319
Speaker 1: sixteen and seven on fifty three fifty splits in a

584
00:49:59,360 --> 00:50:03,840
Speaker 1: fifteen pl point When Game six of the Finals with

585
00:50:04,080 --> 00:50:08,680
Speaker 1: Draymond forty one to eight to eleven on fifty nine

586
00:50:09,719 --> 00:50:19,000
Speaker 1: fifty splits in a fourteen point win, it's just revisionist history.

587
00:50:20,480 --> 00:50:28,640
Speaker 1: And it's the the only other reason that's relevant to

588
00:50:28,719 --> 00:50:41,840
Speaker 1: me right now is that game happened ten seasons ago

589
00:50:41,960 --> 00:50:49,400
Speaker 1: and this guy's still playing. It's just a a career

590
00:50:49,480 --> 00:50:58,120
Speaker 1: that will never be even remotely approached. And it's if

591
00:50:58,120 --> 00:51:03,040
Speaker 1: you're if you're listening to this right now and a

592
00:51:03,120 --> 00:51:09,920
Speaker 1: sports fan of this era. The fact that we got

593
00:51:09,960 --> 00:51:19,560
Speaker 1: to experience Tom Brady going more than twenty years of

594
00:51:19,719 --> 00:51:28,520
Speaker 1: elite in the mix every single year, ten super Bowl

595
00:51:28,640 --> 00:51:42,400
Speaker 1: appearances across multiple teams, while experiencing Lebron doing the exact

596
00:51:42,480 --> 00:51:48,360
Speaker 1: same thing in the NBA, it's just unreal, just unreal,