Speaker 1: We're gonna get started with the National Basketball Association, or
Speaker 1: as they say, the Association, where I want to talk
Speaker 1: about a few teams that may moves before the trading
Speaker 1: deadline and their chances of making a deep run.
Speaker 2: In the playoffs. We'll start with the Lakers.
Speaker 1: Who snapped a nine game losing streak to the Denver
Speaker 1: Nuggets on Saturday, beating them one twenty three to one hundred.
Speaker 1: Luka Doncic dropped thirty two points on the Nugget's home floor,
Speaker 1: putting up his best game by far as a Laker,
Speaker 1: And on top of that, Los Angeles never trailed, winning
Speaker 1: in Denver for the first time since April of twenty
Speaker 1: twenty two. In case you forgot, the Lakers had lost
Speaker 1: thirteen to their previous fourteen games against the Nuggets. So
Speaker 1: let's not forget that. There's two things that I'm noticing.
Speaker 1: Number One, Lebron James. Listen, Michael Jordan.
Speaker 2: Is my goal. But I will openly confess with the.
Speaker 1: Kind of stuff that you're seeing from Lebron James at
Speaker 1: age forty, his twenty second season in the National Basketball Association,
Speaker 1: the brother's just phenomenal. Okay, you got to give it
Speaker 1: up where it's due, and considering how he looks his
Speaker 1: physical prowess, the speed, the athleticism, the agility and everything
Speaker 1: that comes with it, there's no denying his greatness and
Speaker 1: what he brings to the table. And that's the reason
Speaker 1: why I can say what I'm about to say, and
Speaker 1: that is that the Lakers are not a team to.
Speaker 2: Ignore in this championship equation.
Speaker 1: Because now that they got Luka Dungis, we assumed that
Speaker 1: they were gonna be potent offensively.
Speaker 2: We assumed that ultimately Luca would get loose.
Speaker 1: We assumed that with those things going on, that the
Speaker 1: Lakers would win more than they lost because of what
Speaker 1: they're doing offensively. Here's what we didn't assume. We didn't
Speaker 1: assume that they would elevate defensively. We thought they were
Speaker 1: undersized with their front line. And you see, whether it's
Speaker 1: hatchamor whether it's at Austin Reeves, whether it's Dorian Finney
Speaker 1: Smith or anybody else, they've got size on the wing.
Speaker 1: So they got enough big bodies to front opposing big bodies, okay,
Speaker 1: or to at least create some kind of impediment along
Speaker 1: with the speed and the letism and agility, to get
Speaker 1: out to defend against perimeter and three point shooters.
Speaker 2: As quickly as possible.
Speaker 1: It's made than one of the top defenses in the
Speaker 1: game over the last ten games.
Speaker 2: And that's the team that showed up against Denver on
Speaker 2: Saturday night. If that team.
Speaker 1: Shows up for the rest of this regular season into
Speaker 1: the playoffs, the Lakers are gonna be a top four
Speaker 1: seed in the West. They're gonna have home court advantage
Speaker 1: in the first round of the playoffs. They're gonna have
Speaker 1: a shot to advance.
Speaker 2: To the conference finals. There.
Speaker 1: I say, ladies, gentm, we gotta pay attention to Los
Speaker 1: Angeles Lakers because with the ball being in Lucas hands
Speaker 1: as it was Saturday night in Denver, Lebron James was
Speaker 1: freeing the room, freeing the cut, free to cut, free
Speaker 1: to roam, free to do a lot of different things
Speaker 1: that his athleticism and his superior talents would allow.
Speaker 2: He can be off the ball and do major, major damage.
Speaker 2: And Luca is better with the ball.
Speaker 1: In hands because we know he ain't cut into the basket.
Speaker 1: We know he's not gonna have a lot of movie
Speaker 1: without the basketball. So if they found that formula, and
Speaker 1: that's something that Lebron James is willing to embrace like
Speaker 1: he did Saturday Night. Ladies and gentlemen, the Lakers are
Speaker 1: officially a problem.
Speaker 2: A problem.
Speaker 1: Now, let's get to the Golden State Warriors, who acquired
Speaker 1: Jimmy Butler before the trading deadline. The Warriors beat the
Speaker 1: Dallas Mavericks last night one six to one oh two
Speaker 1: and are now five and one since trading for Jimmy Butler.
Speaker 1: By the way, Butler made his home debut in that game,
Speaker 1: scoring eighteen points. He continues to make a difference for
Speaker 1: the Warriors with his ability to get to the free
Speaker 1: throw line. Butler was eight for eight from the line
Speaker 1: and has attempted fifty five foul shots through his first
Speaker 1: six games with the Golden State Warriors. See that's the
Speaker 1: key element right there, because listen, y'all think about this.
Speaker 1: Steph Curry is the greatest shoot of God ever created.
Speaker 1: He can dance on you and create his own shot
Speaker 1: off the dribble and launch from.
Speaker 2: Thirty forty feet with ease. This is who we're talking about,
Speaker 2: the great Steph Curry.
Speaker 1: Having said all of that, is very very important to
Speaker 1: point this out. One of the greatest attributes he has
Speaker 1: is his conditioning. You've had people that have had to
Speaker 1: go to the hospital after games just to get some
Speaker 1: oxygen because of having to defend against this brother, because.
Speaker 2: He got them running around all day every day. Here's
Speaker 2: the difference. He is approaching thirty seven years of age.
Speaker 1: He's not the youngest spring chicken anymore. And so when
Speaker 1: you take that into consideration, you have to understand that
Speaker 1: you need to give him a break any chance you get.
Speaker 2: Well, guess what.
Speaker 1: Sometimes that means going out and getting another body and
Speaker 1: getting the other body that could sell for him, so
Speaker 1: you could bring him on a bench and give him
Speaker 1: some rest.
Speaker 2: Well, guess what the Golden State Warriors did they.
Speaker 1: Want up that because by getting somebody like Jimmy Butler
Speaker 1: and making him the second most used offensive player, his
Speaker 1: usage rate is at twenty three percent compared to Steph
Speaker 1: Curry's usage rate which.
Speaker 2: Is at twenty nine percent.
Speaker 1: Because it's like that, Jimmy Butler's in a situation where
Speaker 1: he's getting his looks as the secondary offensive option, but
Speaker 1: he gets to the fren throw line. So you talk
Speaker 1: about sixty to ninety seconds, it may take you to
Speaker 1: finish your free throws if you're Jimmy Butler, and when
Speaker 1: that happens, that's exactly the kind of break that Steph
Speaker 1: Curry needs to stay in a game without coming out
Speaker 1: of the game.
Speaker 2: Which means that the Warriors are able to utilize him
Speaker 2: even more so as a threat.
Speaker 1: That's what Jimmy Butler does for them. That's one of
Speaker 1: the reasons they're five and one.
Speaker 2: That's one of the reasons you have to look at them.
Speaker 2: With the other teams in the Western Conference.
Speaker 1: Maybe not Okay see, maybe not Denver.
Speaker 2: Because of your kitchen, but you got La, Yeah, you
Speaker 2: got the Clippers. Yeah you got Dallas.
Speaker 1: When Dallas comes back with Anthony Davis healthy and Daniel
Speaker 1: Gafford healthy, look out for Dallas.
Speaker 2: Let's not forget them.
Speaker 1: But if you're Memphis, if Houston, if you're Phoenix, Sacramento,
Speaker 1: stuff like that.
Speaker 2: You can you get interesting. You can get interesting.
Speaker 1: It's gonna be real interesting to see what Golden State
Speaker 1: is going to do, especially since Draymond Green said we
Speaker 1: are going to win the NBA Championship.
Speaker 2: I gonna hold him to that.
Speaker 1: At the very least, all he has to do is
Speaker 1: make it interesting. Make sure they don't get bounced out
Speaker 1: in the playing or the first round. Golden State worth
Speaker 1: a look. Unfortunately, I got to talk about my New
Speaker 1: York Knicks, who lost yesterday to the Boston Celtics. Final
Speaker 1: score was one eighteen to one oh five. Look y'all,
Speaker 1: this team doesn't have a chance to make a deep
Speaker 1: run in the playoffs. Yes, the New York Knicks are
Speaker 1: the third best team in the Eastern Conference and they
Speaker 1: don't have a chance of or should I say, they're
Speaker 1: not gonna be both to the Cleveland Okay, I'm gonna
Speaker 1: admit it.
Speaker 2: They're just not gonna do it. Cleveland.
Speaker 1: Kick there, It's Friday night. It's pretty damn bad. I mean,
Speaker 1: they busted their living ass, just romp them, and that
Speaker 1: was without I mean, I'm just looking at them.
Speaker 2: Donovan Mitchell just doing what he wants to do. And
Speaker 2: they picked up DeAndre Hunting.
Speaker 1: They still got Mobley, and Mobley and Allen are so
Speaker 1: formidable defensively, and then you could take Hunty and put
Speaker 1: him out on the wing. They still got Max Strews.
Speaker 1: They're gonna have Darius Garland, who is out over the weekend.
Speaker 1: I'm just saying, here's the interesting thing to say about
Speaker 1: the New York Knicks. The New York Knicks from a
Speaker 1: talent perspective, is better than what they were last year.
Speaker 1: They don't have the same grit, they don't have the
Speaker 1: same dog in them.
Speaker 2: They don't have that.
Speaker 1: Carl Anthony town is the best shooter, shooting big man.
Speaker 2: In basketball, without question.
Speaker 1: I hate seeing the brother put the ball on the
Speaker 1: floor because his knees are high and every time he jumps,
Speaker 1: he comes down and it's awkward and then all of
Speaker 1: a sudden, you see those knees hurting. I just don't
Speaker 1: trust it. He needs to be in the post with
Speaker 1: his back to the basket or away from the basket,
Speaker 1: catching and shooting.
Speaker 2: He does not need to be putting the.
Speaker 1: Ball on the floor because he's six to eleven.
Speaker 2: He's putting the ball on the floor. All of those legs.
Speaker 1: Being exposed, and he's gonna get They gonna low bridge
Speaker 1: and they're gonna cut up under Himna, he's gonna get hurt.
Speaker 2: And we don't need that problem. Somebody.
Speaker 1: I don't know if he wants me to tell y'all
Speaker 1: list he's a superstar. He's very famous person in America,
Speaker 1: in Hollywood, and I won't tell you who he is
Speaker 1: but I want to say, he hurt my feelings. And
Speaker 1: when I tell you what he said, he knows who
Speaker 1: he is when I repeat it, because he knows what
Speaker 1: the hell he said to me this morning.
Speaker 2: It really hurt my feelings.
Speaker 1: It really made me want to question our friendship, considering
Speaker 1: the fact that he knows how much of a diehard
Speaker 1: Knicks fan I am, and he would say something like
Speaker 1: this to me, because it really hurt me.
Speaker 2: It hurt my heart. You know what he said when
Speaker 2: a New York Knicks traded.
Speaker 1: Julius Randall and Dante'svencenzo, even though they ain't doing so
Speaker 1: great with that trade. E my friend said to me,
Speaker 1: the New York Knicks traded.
Speaker 2: Two dogs for a cat. That shit hurt. Because Carl
Speaker 2: Anthony Towns is a bad brother.
Speaker 1: He can play, and I'm happy to have him as
Speaker 1: a New York Knick, But when I see the personality transplant,
Speaker 1: the grit that was there last year that there was
Speaker 1: no longer there. See the New York Knicks last year,
Speaker 1: don't get blown out like they did this weekend. Them
Speaker 1: brothers were scrappy. Knicks are talented, and you know how
Speaker 1: you know that's true? When did we ever think we
Speaker 1: would see a Tom Thibodeaux team have one of the
Speaker 1: worst defenses in basketball and the absolute worst against the
Speaker 1: three points. When did we ever believe we would see that?
Speaker 1: I'm just asking a legitimate question. There's no way around it.
Speaker 1: We have to we have to pay attention to that. Okay,
Speaker 1: we just do