Speaker 1: Welcome to What's Burning. I'm here at Matt Barnes Steven Jackson. Guys,
Speaker 1: we've had all kinds of technical problems this morning. I
Speaker 1: think the moral of the story is we all just
Speaker 1: have to hang out in the same place from now on.
Speaker 1: All right, guy, we got to talk about the Knicks
Speaker 1: to start, because they are red hot nine straight wins
Speaker 1: as we sit here today. Only the Bucks, Nuggets, and
Speaker 1: Sixers have a hotter record since the start of twenty
Speaker 1: twenty three. Julius Randall said, this is a better, more
Speaker 1: talented team than the Knicks team that caught fire in
Speaker 1: the spring two years ago. You guys remember it was
Speaker 1: like a huge thing. Everyone was like, oh my god,
Speaker 1: Nick's tape, Nick's Mania. They made it to the first
Speaker 1: round against Atlanta, and then they only won one basketball
Speaker 1: game in the playoffs. So do you guys think that
Speaker 1: we can expect more from this Knicks team this year?
Speaker 1: The way Julius Randall says, we're looking at maybe them
Speaker 1: playing Cleveland in the first round, Maybe I do. I
Speaker 1: really like this team. And I gotta give Jathen Brunsons
Speaker 1: some more props because I didn't think he would have
Speaker 1: this act on the team. Not only is he playing
Speaker 1: his best basketball, but in the process, I feel like
Speaker 1: he's helping slowly but surely change this culture. And I
Speaker 1: think Jalen's Brunson's arrival not only on the offensive end
Speaker 1: the defensive end. In his leadership is also free Julius
Speaker 1: Randall of any kind of playmaking that he has to do.
Speaker 1: I mean, right now, if he's just focused on scoring,
Speaker 1: and this guy's a bucket, they're one of the best
Speaker 1: one two punches in the league. The only thing that
Speaker 1: worries me about this team, and obviously Brunson is out
Speaker 1: right now. All tips teams, he always plays his stars high,
Speaker 1: long minutes the entire season. He can't really go too
Speaker 1: much in his big so I hope that that doesn't
Speaker 1: affect this team's run. But I really like this next team.
Speaker 1: I have to say, I'm surprised like everyone else, but
Speaker 1: they're playing really good basketball and there's a good team. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I think I think they could possibly make it out
Speaker 1: the first round. I don't think sego round, and then
Speaker 1: that depends on the matchups who they play. You know,
Speaker 1: this is a young team that they're peaking at the
Speaker 1: right time. You want to be playing like this going
Speaker 1: into the postseason. You want to have a good field
Speaker 1: about just seven. Have everything healthy. I mean, have everybody healthy.
Speaker 1: I like Matt said, playing a lot of minutes. You know,
Speaker 1: those guys could be drained in the first round and
Speaker 1: not make it out because the basketball level goes up
Speaker 1: way up another Knights, right, So I just it really
Speaker 1: depends on who they match up with and how those
Speaker 1: guys feel going to to their first round. But the
Speaker 1: way they're playing right now, this is definitely the way
Speaker 1: you want to play going into the playoffs. Yeah, I
Speaker 1: mean the offense that they're laying out there, it's not
Speaker 1: so typical Tips. I mean, first of all, they're sixth
Speaker 1: in the league in their offensive rating. That's interesting. And
Speaker 1: they're not doing it with a lot of three pointers.
Speaker 1: They're twentieth in the league in three So what they're
Speaker 1: doing it is every other way. They're rebounding great, they're
Speaker 1: getting to the line great, They're getting those timely contributions
Speaker 1: from people in the right moments that They've had some
Speaker 1: great play in the clutch during this streak. I will
Speaker 1: say they have tightened up the rotation. I think it
Speaker 1: was back in December. Tips tightened the rotation to nine,
Speaker 1: and that gets it exactly what you're talking about. Matt
Speaker 1: is a lot of minutes. Julius Randall second amount of
Speaker 1: minutes in the league this season. Jalen Brunson has been
Speaker 1: playing a lot. He's a little on the smaller side.
Speaker 1: What I mean he's listed at six two. I don't know.
Speaker 1: I mean everyone's taller than me, so who knows. But
Speaker 1: to me he does not appear to be six two
Speaker 1: on the court. How much is that going to be
Speaker 1: an issue during the playoffs because we know what happens
Speaker 1: to smaller guards. His heart is six eight. I buy that. Yeah,
Speaker 1: but you know we saw him have success with Dallas
Speaker 1: last year in the playoffs, so I don't really put
Speaker 1: too much into his height. He's just he's just a
Speaker 1: really smart player. He's a three level scorer. He's someone
Speaker 1: who at however, six one, he can post guards up
Speaker 1: that he's stronger than He's got a nice mid range,
Speaker 1: he shoots the ballwell. He makes plays for his team. Also,
Speaker 1: I think another person who's come and I love the energy,
Speaker 1: has brought as his form of Villanova teammate Josh Hart.
Speaker 1: He's brought up a ton of energy, hitting big shots.
Speaker 1: I mean, Quigly is playing really well too, so I'm excited. Obviously,
Speaker 1: I agree with Jack. I think it's all on the
Speaker 1: matchups and I don't want to get caught in the moment.
Speaker 1: But if it is Cleveland and New York earlier in
Speaker 1: the season, I would have thought Cleveland, you know, would
Speaker 1: handle him easily. But I really don't know right now.
Speaker 1: So I'm excited to see how they finished down this
Speaker 1: stretch and who their first round matchup is. But I
Speaker 1: wouldn't be surprised to see them make the second round.
Speaker 1: You know, it's gonna be spicy if it's calvs. Nicks,
Speaker 1: especially with Donovan Mitchell on the whole subplot of last
Speaker 1: summer and which team was he going to go to
Speaker 1: and all of that. Look, I love Jalen Brunson. I'm
Speaker 1: with you, guys, and I want to just read you
Speaker 1: some of his numbers over the past two months, averaging
Speaker 1: twenty eight points a game, shooting fifty one percent forty
Speaker 1: five percent from three. Obviously, he's just gotten better and
Speaker 1: better each year. Stack what do you think Brunson's ceiling is? Like?
Speaker 1: What do you how good a player can he be?
Speaker 1: I think you can be an All Star, especially in
Speaker 1: the easy to be staying the East. He can be
Speaker 1: an All Star for for multiple years. The way he's
Speaker 1: leading the team, the way all the guys are buying
Speaker 1: in and letting him control the pace of the game.
Speaker 1: Definitely when the game's on the line and the player
Speaker 1: needs to be made, the ball is in his hand.
Speaker 1: So just just a confidence he's brought to the team. Raage,
Speaker 1: I know the heart the heart of this kid has
Speaker 1: because I know his pops and uh making that bringing
Speaker 1: that to the to the Knicks and making everybody buy
Speaker 1: in and and feel that same energy and passion for
Speaker 1: the game and hunger. I think that that says a
Speaker 1: lot about this kid. And uh, he has a high
Speaker 1: setting race. He can be asked off for multiple years.
Speaker 1: I think he's playing with a lot of confidence too.
Speaker 1: And New York is one of those places where you
Speaker 1: can feel the energy and feel the vibe and be
Speaker 1: playing on a whole other planet. So I think his
Speaker 1: biggest thing right now is his confidence. Obviously, very talented player,
Speaker 1: but he's very confident right now, and it's a it's
Speaker 1: a very silent confident leadership. Can get where he wants
Speaker 1: on the court, can control the game, like Jack says,
Speaker 1: So I'm really happy for this kid. And to think,
Speaker 1: you know, going into the summer, people thought, you know,
Speaker 1: the Knicks overpaid. I can easily say right now he's
Speaker 1: definitely underpaid because I feel like he's playing at an
Speaker 1: all NBA level. May not be a first team, but
Speaker 1: he'll find himself on possibly that second or third team.
Speaker 1: I do think he is underpaid considering what he's contributing
Speaker 1: and the effort. I mean, first of all, the whole
Speaker 1: team was playing hard as hell, like they are fun
Speaker 1: to watch if you caught any of these games this
Speaker 1: last couple of weeks, they are just fun. But Brunson,
Speaker 1: in particular, they were playing a game against the Nets,
Speaker 1: and there was less than five minutes to go, and
Speaker 1: I think that the Knicks were up by like twenty
Speaker 1: six points. Jalen Brunson is not only still in the
Speaker 1: game because you know Tom Thibodeaux, but he goes to
Speaker 1: take a charge and he didn't get the call. He
Speaker 1: starts arguing Tibbs actually did a coach's challenge less than
Speaker 1: five minutes to go up twenty six and he won.
Speaker 1: Because that is what's going on with this team right now.
Speaker 1: So the heart of this team is so much fun
Speaker 1: and Matt, You're right, the way New York responds to
Speaker 1: them is incredible. I hope, I hope that they there's
Speaker 1: to me. I used to live in New York for
Speaker 1: a long time, a couple decades, and there's nothing to
Speaker 1: me like the Garden. When that team is on a
Speaker 1: role we've been waiting so long for it to happen again,
Speaker 1: I just I can't wait to see it. I hope that.
Speaker 1: I hope this continues to some degree and gives us
Speaker 1: some good playoff matchup, so we will see. We have
Speaker 1: no we're getting good playoff matches in the West because
Speaker 1: KD and Phoenix has been a movie. Guys, the sons
Speaker 1: are three and oz with him. Durant's numbers since he
Speaker 1: arrived twenty seven points a game. Seven is says fifty
Speaker 1: three from three point percentage. We're talking with the producer
Speaker 1: Nate over here. Do you think he is the most
Speaker 1: plug and play superstar ever? Because you could put him anywhere.
Speaker 1: We know that, but compare him to guys in the past. Absolutely,
Speaker 1: I don't think and I've been saying this for a while.
Speaker 1: You know now the days where superstars are changing teams.
Speaker 1: It normally takes time for not only the superstar to
Speaker 1: kind of fight his footing, but you know, playing with
Speaker 1: the superstar as either you know, a sidekick or a
Speaker 1: role player sometimes sometimes difficult. But I think Katie's efficiency
Speaker 1: is what makes him so easy to just plug and play.
Speaker 1: His ability to get to a spots when he wants.
Speaker 1: And this kind of reminds me, Rachel and Jack of
Speaker 1: when he went to the Golden State the first time,
Speaker 1: where he kind of just fit in and played his role,
Speaker 1: and then when the playoffs came, that's when he showed
Speaker 1: up when the finals came. I mean, he showed up
Speaker 1: the entire season, but he put the Cape on come
Speaker 1: playoff times. So I really just think his arrival is
Speaker 1: obviously gonna help Devin Booker. Book's not going to see
Speaker 1: the same looks he's seen as far as double teams, traps,
Speaker 1: shifts because he has Katie on the other side of
Speaker 1: the floor. It's gonna help Chris Paul because we all
Speaker 1: know Chris is my dog, but he's just getting older.
Speaker 1: You know his numbers, right, I think at nine points
Speaker 1: and eight assists since Katie's joined the team. But I
Speaker 1: know in the playoffs, those will go up and then
Speaker 1: we can't forget about Eton. I mean eighton is one
Speaker 1: of you know, this is not a game of biggs anymore.
Speaker 1: There's a handful of very good bigs. But aiden you know,
Speaker 1: to me is that next tier behind Joker and Beat
Speaker 1: as far as bigs that is versatile, can pick and pop,
Speaker 1: rebounds like a monster, and protects the paint. So I
Speaker 1: really like, obviously it's only been three games, and you know,
Speaker 1: we don't know what is to come, but if this
Speaker 1: team is healthy, with Booker and KD and CP orchestrating things,
Speaker 1: Phoenix is going to be very scary to me in
Speaker 1: the Western Conference. Yeah that Matt. I mean Katie, you
Speaker 1: can put Katie innywhere the probably he's gonna win everytire.
Speaker 1: He's gonna probably be the most efficient player to touch
Speaker 1: the game as you see. You know what I'm saying,
Speaker 1: to continue to get over thirty points to up to
Speaker 1: get other Knights shooting twelve or seventeen, like, that's just
Speaker 1: that's just crazy efficient and he's been doing it his
Speaker 1: whole career. Um, I think I think, to echo, Matt,
Speaker 1: the person who's going to get them the most out
Speaker 1: of it is not aiding to me. It's Chris Paul
Speaker 1: because if you see, if you see in the Dallas
Speaker 1: Mavericks game, um, they was doubling a Kadi and helping
Speaker 1: off Devin Book and Chris Paul got a lot of
Speaker 1: wide open threes. If he can knock those shots down,
Speaker 1: his arrabs can go up from nine to fifteen eighteen
Speaker 1: in the heartbeat because he's gonna get a lot of
Speaker 1: open shots and he can knock them down, and he
Speaker 1: and they're gonna need him to knock them shots down
Speaker 1: in the playoffs because that's definitely what they're gonna do.
Speaker 1: They're gonna make somebody else beat them besides Katie and Bookle.
Speaker 1: But it's super scary. There's no reason for not put
Speaker 1: them not to be playing at the end of the season.
Speaker 1: Rage you know, in the league where it's either three
Speaker 1: points or paint scoring and they want to give up
Speaker 1: that mid range. You have three of the most efficient
Speaker 1: midrange shooters in the game and CP, Book and KD
Speaker 1: So again, there's no holes in this offense and if
Speaker 1: they can stay healthy, it's gonna be scary. Well, it's
Speaker 1: interesting though about Chris right because that one hundred percent
Speaker 1: is going to be the book on this team. Defensively,
Speaker 1: we saw Dallas lay it out this past weekend. You're
Speaker 1: going to have to help help help on Durant and Booker,
Speaker 1: and they have decided, Hey, Chris Paul, Look, he's shooting
Speaker 1: forty two percent this season, which I think is his
Speaker 1: second worst shooting percentage of any season of his career,
Speaker 1: not to the standard he's used to or he likes
Speaker 1: to put out, and I think teams are going to
Speaker 1: lay off him a bit to see make him prove
Speaker 1: them wrong. We saw, especially from deep, if you were
Speaker 1: a Phoenix Suns player not named Durant or Booker in
Speaker 1: that Dallas game, those guys were just eight of twenty
Speaker 1: six from three. So I think that we are going
Speaker 1: to see teams try to do that more for Chris
Speaker 1: Paul specifically, though, to me, his competitiveness is going to
Speaker 1: come out when he has presented with that, and we
Speaker 1: saw that in the Dallas game too, right, did not
Speaker 1: have a great first three quarters. They were laying off him,
Speaker 1: and then the fourth that man came out, hit two three,
Speaker 1: scored eight points total and had a lot of savvy
Speaker 1: IQ moves, not just moving guys around the court, dealing
Speaker 1: with the officials, all that kind of stuff. Matt, you
Speaker 1: know Chris better than almost anyone else. You played with him.
Speaker 1: You guys are good friends, your neighbors, your kids play together.
Speaker 1: What do you know about Chris, especially in the postseason
Speaker 1: if this continues, if if guys do lay off of
Speaker 1: him defensively, well, he's got to be ready, Rache. You know,
Speaker 1: obviously he's a Hall of Fame point guard and you know,
Speaker 1: coming down to the tail end of his career, and
Speaker 1: you know, I definitely would like to see him have
Speaker 1: another opportunity to win a ring. But you know, as
Speaker 1: both you guys said that the game plan is going
Speaker 1: to be book and CEPR, book and KD. So what
Speaker 1: is Chris gonna be able to give you? You know?
Speaker 1: And I have confidence, like I said, I think the
Speaker 1: window is really shutting. You know, it's coming towards an
Speaker 1: end on a Hall of Fame career. But I know
Speaker 1: he's still asked some left in the tank and with
Speaker 1: this team right now, I think right now he's just orchestrating.
Speaker 1: I think, you know, has come playoff time. He's gonna
Speaker 1: have to up his average, you know, at least five
Speaker 1: or six points to really be a threat out there,
Speaker 1: and then again along with Aiden and you know, some
Speaker 1: of those guys on the bench, they're gonna have to
Speaker 1: do their job. But you know, I'll take a problem
Speaker 1: all day if you know you're telling me that, you
Speaker 1: know we're gonna have to see what you know CP
Speaker 1: is going to give us. Like I said, he's not
Speaker 1: the CP of old, but I'm sure he still has
Speaker 1: something left in the take because he knows it's coming
Speaker 1: down to the end. I think it's fascinating with Durant too,
Speaker 1: with the idea that he's gotten all this criticism stack
Speaker 1: of oh you joined this team, you joined that team,
Speaker 1: you joined that team. You're kind of fitting into someone
Speaker 1: else's team. In the end, that could end up being well,
Speaker 1: that could be end up being the strength, right, That
Speaker 1: could be the thing in the end that we remember
Speaker 1: his career for as a strength that he's the guy
Speaker 1: who could fit in anywhere. He is the guy who
Speaker 1: could go to any team and be a major player
Speaker 1: and the best player on the team. I just think
Speaker 1: it's interesting that the thing that like the Internet has
Speaker 1: has criticized him over could end up being one of
Speaker 1: the like elite hallmarks of his career. Well, I mean, Rachel,
Speaker 1: I'm not nowhere close to the player Durant was, But
Speaker 1: for a while, I was known as that player that
Speaker 1: a lot of teams was one player away. I got
Speaker 1: to San Antonio, I was that player to get a championship.
Speaker 1: I went to Indiana and they were saying I was
Speaker 1: that one player getting the Golden State. I said, you
Speaker 1: know so, I was always that guy, but not on
Speaker 1: the level with KD. But the way that he's able
Speaker 1: to go anywhere and play the same game with the
Speaker 1: same greatness, of the same efficiency, Rachel, I mean that
Speaker 1: that's that that that's greatness, and there's nowhere else you
Speaker 1: can you can explain that. Yeah, I think I think
Speaker 1: it's fascinating. You know it. You know it. And by
Speaker 1: the way, anyone's still hating on Kevin Durant needs to
Speaker 1: get their eyes checked and made different sport. Just sank Um,
Speaker 1: we were talking about the Mavericks leaving some players open,
Speaker 1: including Chris at the end of that game. Over the weekend,
Speaker 1: speaking of leaving people open, Russell Westbrook, ladies and gentlemen,
Speaker 1: we saw what Draymond did to him last week. We
Speaker 1: got to take a look at how this Clippers experiment
Speaker 1: is working. Because they were ten and four before they
Speaker 1: added Russell Westbrook. They were on that fourteen game streak
Speaker 1: where they were really cooking the starting lineup. Seemed like
Speaker 1: ty Low had finally gotten guys playing together, found his rhythm.
Speaker 1: They I think were the number four seed in the
Speaker 1: West and now they are one and five with Rustbrook
Speaker 1: in the starting lineup, and they have tumbled down into
Speaker 1: the play in section of the bracket. Their only win
Speaker 1: that number, that one and five. Their only win was
Speaker 1: a Grizzlies team without John Morant that was in the
Speaker 1: middle of a lot of turmoil. What do you guys,
Speaker 1: I mean, I guess, I don't know. Match just start
Speaker 1: with what do you think the biggest issues are here?
Speaker 1: And what do you think they should do about them?
Speaker 1: I don't know. It's tough race because his numbers aren't bad,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean, outside of his turn of
Speaker 1: its every thing fifteen, eight and four. But he's averaging
Speaker 1: four turnovers, so that obviously you want to cut down
Speaker 1: on that. But it's hard because sometimes number cann't be deceiving.
Speaker 1: And I never got a chance to play with the Russell.
Speaker 1: I don't know what his presence is like. And I
Speaker 1: don't mean in a negative way, but I mean on
Speaker 1: a court from a standpoint of guys that are used
Speaker 1: to having, you know, the Norman Powell you know could
Speaker 1: be you know, he's a top three contender for six
Speaker 1: and Man of the Year. Terrence Man has shown to
Speaker 1: me he's kind of struggled all you're kind of trying
Speaker 1: to find his footing. But then you bring someone in
Speaker 1: such as a Russell Westbrook, who on paper looks like
Speaker 1: you can definitely help the team because this team needs playmakers.
Speaker 1: But again, I don't know how those two guys that
Speaker 1: I just mentioned are gonna able to blend with Russ
Speaker 1: because outside of Kawai and PG, you know, Russ is
Speaker 1: going to be the next guy with the ball in
Speaker 1: his hands and most and that's obviously gonna take away
Speaker 1: from Pal. That's obviously going to take away from Terrence
Speaker 1: Man's ability to score and make play. So I don't
Speaker 1: know what it is. You know, the record tells you, oh,
Speaker 1: this is not working, but I don't. You know, me
Speaker 1: playing basketball long enough, I know that may not be
Speaker 1: the case. But I don't know whether it's bringing him
Speaker 1: off the bench or just maybe they're in a bad
Speaker 1: funk right now and they can turn the corner. But again,
Speaker 1: Russ's numbers are solid. It looks like he's making you know,
Speaker 1: he's making a positive impact. The record hasn't shown that.
Speaker 1: But I wonder if his ball dominance outside of their
Speaker 1: two superstars, how's that gonna affect Norman Pale and Terrence
Speaker 1: Man and the other guys that are used to having
Speaker 1: the ball in their hands a little bit. I'm not
Speaker 1: gonna panic right now, Rache. I panic when the season
Speaker 1: is over and they don't make the playoffs right when
Speaker 1: they when they get into that position, well, that would
Speaker 1: be bad because some people pick them to win this year.
Speaker 1: So that would be that would be a big fault. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and I understand that, you know, because they should be
Speaker 1: at the top of the West, you know, with with
Speaker 1: being there before he got there. But I'm just saying
Speaker 1: my point is that they played five got five six
Speaker 1: games with him and they haven't been winning. Okay, they
Speaker 1: still have enough time to turn the stick around and
Speaker 1: put themselves in a great position come playoff time. But
Speaker 1: if they don't do it, then you got to look
Speaker 1: at it as a problem. So they you know, That's
Speaker 1: why I'm not really panicking you because it's still new
Speaker 1: when they have time rates, but if they don't, yeah,
Speaker 1: we're gonna be talking about it in a different way.
Speaker 1: It's right, it's it's just hard because, as you say, Matt,
Speaker 1: some of his numbers are really totally workable. The turners,
Speaker 1: they have not just been a problem, but they've been
Speaker 1: at bad times. So I think that has kind of
Speaker 1: put the spotlight on those as well. His decision making,
Speaker 1: as we know, is just not as strong as some
Speaker 1: of the other people in his positions, so that has
Speaker 1: come into play as well. And in the end, chemistry
Speaker 1: is a tough thing. Like sometimes it's hard to point
Speaker 1: to the reason, but we just know that that team
Speaker 1: was cooking before he got there. Him in the starting
Speaker 1: lineup has not had them cooking. I don't know if
Speaker 1: the Clippers had to tell him he would start, so
Speaker 1: that he picked them over say Chicago or DC or
Speaker 1: any other places that might have been looking for him.
Speaker 1: I'm not sure if that was a good decision. If
Speaker 1: that did happen, I'm not reporting anything. I've no idea
Speaker 1: if that's what happened. I was surprised to see him
Speaker 1: in the starting lineup as much as he's been, considering
Speaker 1: that he really found success with the Lakers playing off
Speaker 1: the bench, so you would think that that is how
Speaker 1: he would be for the Clippers, and that's sort of
Speaker 1: what I thought that they needed. We will see if
Speaker 1: they go back to that at some point with him.
Speaker 1: The Clippers do have some practice days coming up, which
Speaker 1: they haven't had a lot of this season, but the
Speaker 1: schedule is going to get a little looser for them.
Speaker 1: I know tylu is looking forward to that. The stretch
Speaker 1: that they have played with us has been some tough
Speaker 1: games that played some good opponents, so I don't know
Speaker 1: if that factors into it, but to me, this is
Speaker 1: a real interesting situation. And you said it, Matt, that
Speaker 1: how these last twenty games are so go for us
Speaker 1: is going to really impact how people see him for
Speaker 1: the rest of his time here in the NBA. And
Speaker 1: I'm very curious how this marriage is going to be.
Speaker 1: We'll see. We gotta talk legendary moments presented by top
Speaker 1: Shot friends. The scoring surge in the NBA this season
Speaker 1: has been wild wild. I tell you, six players averaging
Speaker 1: thirty a game, ton of huge stat lines. So I
Speaker 1: want to bring you back to a couple of particular
Speaker 1: big nights. Right, we had Dame and Donovan both dropping
Speaker 1: seventy one, Luca had that sixty twenty one ten back
Speaker 1: in December, and Bead was absurd. Do you remember that
Speaker 1: fifty nine eleven eight with seven blocks? That monster performance
Speaker 1: is stack? Which of these guys generated the most memorable
Speaker 1: moment stat line moment? What would you want to see
Speaker 1: on a top shot? For me? Um, I just like
Speaker 1: the way in Bees looked for me. Yeah, just just
Speaker 1: just just the way. I just love the way he plays.
Speaker 1: You know, he's one of the by like a Chemolijah one.
Speaker 1: He's one of the most killed big man that we've
Speaker 1: ever seen. And to see the way he puts up
Speaker 1: those big numbers and then the dominant fashion is what
Speaker 1: I love to see because you don't see that much.
Speaker 1: You know, you have him in Yokichen and Greek Free
Speaker 1: putting up those type of numbers, but to do the
Speaker 1: way he does it, you know, with the step backs
Speaker 1: to fade aways as a big man, I think it's
Speaker 1: beautiful to see. Give me Luca. I love Luca, I
Speaker 1: love a game. I love how how young he is
Speaker 1: and to me to think that this guy's only going
Speaker 1: to get better. It's crazy what he's able to do
Speaker 1: with his body type in in lack of athleticism, Uh,
Speaker 1: to still be as effective as he is on the court.
Speaker 1: This guy is a genius on the court. And uh,
Speaker 1: you know he must watch basketball for me. So give
Speaker 1: me a top shot of Luca, maybe spoken a cigarette
Speaker 1: or something. I want him. I want him with his
Speaker 1: recovery beer. That would be the top shot. Does him
Speaker 1: drinking the recovery beer? I don't know, Guys. Damian Lillard
Speaker 1: seventy one points I think was the most efficient seventy
Speaker 1: point game ever. I mean, he he has been just
Speaker 1: out of hand this season. But Stack, I want to
Speaker 1: go back to the Mbid thing for a second only
Speaker 1: because the statline we were talking about that particular night,
Speaker 1: the thing that made it special to me was that
Speaker 1: he also had the seven blocks. And this gets into
Speaker 1: that larger conversation about how we see Joel Embiid and
Speaker 1: how we see defense in the league in general. Right now,
Speaker 1: is that when you look at say the MVP candidates,
Speaker 1: which has been you know, kind of back into the
Speaker 1: discussion now that we're getting closer to voting time, how
Speaker 1: much do you put stock in the fact that this
Speaker 1: guy is a monster on the other side of the floor.
Speaker 1: And when you talk about these great performances, the fact
Speaker 1: that he's doing it at both ends, how much does
Speaker 1: that matter to you? Guys? Does that push his performance
Speaker 1: where he's fifty nine to eleven and eight because he
Speaker 1: had the seven blocks versus a guy like Luca who
Speaker 1: did as you said, it was incredible that night. It
Speaker 1: was incredible. But it's not like phenomenal defense, right, go ahead, Jack,
Speaker 1: how do you see it? We Well, I mean, I
Speaker 1: think we look at guys a different way to do everything.
Speaker 1: Race that it's called it's called basketball. It's not called offense.
Speaker 1: It's called basketball. You're right. And a lot of people
Speaker 1: the way the game is playing right now, people are
Speaker 1: going they're not going to watch basketball, They're going to
Speaker 1: watch offense. So when I played and Matt played, we
Speaker 1: were two guys that loved and and and took pride
Speaker 1: and playing defense in both sides of the ball. So
Speaker 1: to see a guy that magnitude the way he can
Speaker 1: and he can be, you know, close to Greek Freaker
Speaker 1: being dominant every night, one of the most dominant players
Speaker 1: in the game. To see him take pride to defense
Speaker 1: and the block shots, and that says what he That
Speaker 1: says um a lot about what he feels about his
Speaker 1: team and how how much pride he takes and the
Speaker 1: load he's putting on his own shoulders to make sure
Speaker 1: this team succeed. You gotta love that in one of
Speaker 1: your star guys to give that effort. A lot of
Speaker 1: guys don't give up that effort. They just want to
Speaker 1: score up points and little good on one end. But
Speaker 1: the game of the name of the game is basketball,
Speaker 1: and in b gets that rage it's too I mean, look,
Speaker 1: you guys appreciate great scoring. I know that you guys
Speaker 1: played defense at a level. I mean watch you guys
Speaker 1: played defense. You guys played defense at the level we
Speaker 1: don't see with a lot of guys today. How much
Speaker 1: would you take it into account? How much when you're
Speaker 1: like again, when we get back into this MBP discussion,
Speaker 1: And by the way, Nikola Yokich, his defense has improved
Speaker 1: so much, he plays completely solid defense. Is just not
Speaker 1: Joel Ebid level defense. And I don't think that's arguable,
Speaker 1: but yo, just offensive dumbers are better, Like, how much
Speaker 1: are you taking both of those things into account? As
Speaker 1: former players. I think it should be taken into account,
Speaker 1: and I think unfortunately, because of the way the game changed,
Speaker 1: it's not taken into account. It's both sides of the
Speaker 1: ball is not taken into account anymore, you know what
Speaker 1: I mean. And it's unfortunate because Ebid is someone who
Speaker 1: you could say the last few years is right there,
Speaker 1: could have won one, could have won both, but has
Speaker 1: won none. And then you look at this year where
Speaker 1: his lashes and what he's able to do for his
Speaker 1: team and continuing to you know, hit their stride at
Speaker 1: the right time. He's right in the mix, you know
Speaker 1: what I mean. So he definitely does more on the
Speaker 1: defensive end than Joker. Granted Jokers got better, but at
Speaker 1: the same time, I don't even think people give a
Speaker 1: shit about defense anymore, to be honest with you, when
Speaker 1: it comes down to accolades, unless it's because ave Player
Speaker 1: of the year stack, what would you when you were
Speaker 1: if you were voting what we how much would you
Speaker 1: take defense into account? It's everything to me, Rachel. I
Speaker 1: mean it's everything because like so that's that's a decider
Speaker 1: for you. Yes, I mean, it's it's part of it
Speaker 1: because you know that that's the part of playing the game,
Speaker 1: you know, and I don't know how to explain it, Rache.
Speaker 1: You've been around a game a long enough. You know
Speaker 1: how we played the game and how and how we
Speaker 1: take pride in the game and stopping your man that
Speaker 1: that that feels. Stopping a guy at the end of
Speaker 1: the game, Rachel h at the end of the buzzer
Speaker 1: from hitting the shot feels just as good as a
Speaker 1: guy hitting hitting the buzzer beat. It's the same thing
Speaker 1: so for us, for us as a different feeling. All right,
Speaker 1: So next week I'm going to challenge our producers to
Speaker 1: find an NBA tie shot amazing moment centered on defense.
Speaker 1: We'll see if we can get that done. I don't
Speaker 1: know if you give you one right now. Ra Lebron, Okay,
Speaker 1: what Lebron? Yeah, lebrono Angladalla. That was a that was
Speaker 1: a big block and didn't know of course, but I
Speaker 1: mean from this season, from this season? Yeah, okay, Well,
Speaker 1: at I got good. I got some nominees. You guys
Speaker 1: can start your NBA Top Shot collection today at NBA
Speaker 1: top shot dot com. Get closer to the game and
Speaker 1: players you love. Sign up today. All right, let's get
Speaker 1: to the on the Radar segment presented by Draft Kings
Speaker 1: Coach of the Year Odds here Mike Brown, Joe Missoula
Speaker 1: being in the top two? All right, which ones to you?
Speaker 1: Guys have put these teams in their best position? Who
Speaker 1: do you think the favorite is? Stack? I got to
Speaker 1: go with my guy Mike Brown. I wouldn't have had
Speaker 1: the NBA career. I got a shout at San Antonio
Speaker 1: or Indiana. Uh if it wasn't from my guy Mike Brown.
Speaker 1: He gave me some key words when I was in
Speaker 1: New Jerry's my first year, and that's how I was
Speaker 1: able to keep my mind right that season. When I
Speaker 1: went Byron's got instantly stopped playing me. He kept me
Speaker 1: focused from another team and he let me know that
Speaker 1: he was coming to give me. So Mike Brown's my guy.
Speaker 1: What he was able he's able to do in Sacramento,
Speaker 1: it's really just bring that championship experience, that composure, that
Speaker 1: understanding the defense, how you have to be on the string.
Speaker 1: Everybody's responsible for their own job on defense, but you
Speaker 1: have to, you know, be on the string with your brothers.
Speaker 1: And they showing that and that's why they have a success.
Speaker 1: So I gotta give kudos to my guy, Mike Brown.
Speaker 1: He definitely deserves it to me. Hats off to Missoula,
Speaker 1: but definitely gonna go Mike Brown. And you know, Rachel
Speaker 1: and Jack. At the beginning the season, I didn't know
Speaker 1: if this was the right higher because we had him
Speaker 1: in LA and it didn't go good. It was ugly.
Speaker 1: But I really think that pit stop in Golden State
Speaker 1: completely changed him, bettered him, seasoned him, and what he
Speaker 1: brought to Sacramento is a foundation, a leadership. And then,
Speaker 1: like Jack said, he's a tremendous teacher. I mean, you know,
Speaker 1: obviously I worked for them. And he calls those quick
Speaker 1: early timeouts that veteran teams might go crazy for, like
Speaker 1: what the fuck you calling this time out for this
Speaker 1: younger team. This younger team adapts to it because he'll
Speaker 1: take it. He'll call the time out thirty six into
Speaker 1: a game just to teach Keegan Murray or or Deer
Speaker 1: and Fox how to get over screen or where they're
Speaker 1: supposed to be. And I really appreciated that now seeing
Speaker 1: that because we had a veteran team with LA and
Speaker 1: that ship didn't fly at all and no one was
Speaker 1: really going for But again, this young Sacramento team who
Speaker 1: was looking for an identity, who was looking for a
Speaker 1: leader and a coach. Mike Brown has provided all that.
Speaker 1: These guys are a half game out of second and
Speaker 1: all the self inflicting, you know, trauma that Memphis has
Speaker 1: caused themselves. I think Sacramento is going to slide into
Speaker 1: that second. Spotted to think this team hasn't been to
Speaker 1: the playoffs in sixteen years. First year head coach in
Speaker 1: Sacramento has got the best. He produced two all stars,
Speaker 1: has a team played at a very high level. Milely
Speaker 1: thing with them, but they need to be able to
Speaker 1: pick their defense up if they want to make any
Speaker 1: noise in the playoffs. But definitely has off to Mike Brown.
Speaker 1: And it was a great hire that the King's made
Speaker 1: by bringing Mike Brown in. Yeah, and I mean look
Speaker 1: the fact that he faced adversity, that he had some
Speaker 1: stumbles and then actually took the time to not be
Speaker 1: stubborn but say I can learn something here in Golden State.
Speaker 1: You know, we spent a lot of time with him
Speaker 1: during that run, especially when he had to take over
Speaker 1: for Steve for a little bit when Steve is having
Speaker 1: all those back issues and I really think that it
Speaker 1: did change him and he was always I mean, look,
Speaker 1: he's always been a great guy. I mean, he's always
Speaker 1: been one of the all time good guys around the league,
Speaker 1: and such a great defensive coach, and so many strengths.
Speaker 1: But the fact that he has been able to put
Speaker 1: it all together to a degree that he has here
Speaker 1: in Sacramento, he is my Coach of the Year choice
Speaker 1: for sure. I will say all of the recent Joe
Speaker 1: Missoula slander, especially coming out of Boston, I know Celtics fans,
Speaker 1: you're very You're very wrapped up with the team, and
Speaker 1: anytime there's a stumble, there's an issue. He did not
Speaker 1: play the right lineup the other day. There have been
Speaker 1: some at the end of game, some mistakes, but come on,
Speaker 1: I think Missoula has done a really really strong job
Speaker 1: all season in a situation where he stepped in at
Speaker 1: the beginning of the season cold, and I think that
Speaker 1: team has done so many good things and I think
Speaker 1: that they will write themselves by the time the playoffs
Speaker 1: get started, even though they've had like a micro stumble here.
Speaker 1: So I don't like all the Joe Missoula slander. I've
Speaker 1: been here in the state of Massachusetts. But I will
Speaker 1: say Mike Brown coach of the year. All right, I
Speaker 1: want to get to our closing thoughts here, because we
Speaker 1: do got to talk about the other team in la
Speaker 1: Anthony Davis has played a wild last five games, thirty
Speaker 1: points a game, twelve, three pounds a game, two and
Speaker 1: a half assist a game. They're three and two in
Speaker 1: the stretch run of must wins. They don't have Lebron
Speaker 1: for at least the next three weeks, probably maybe a
Speaker 1: little longer. They are both not anywhere near the play
Speaker 1: in and yet also five games out of fifth place.
Speaker 1: I don't know. Is a d under the most pressure
Speaker 1: of any of these stars around the league right now
Speaker 1: because he could possibly get his team into the postseason
Speaker 1: on his back. We've got Dame Lillard, Kawhi, Jimmy Butler,
Speaker 1: Luca Kyrie all in these pressure positions. But is AD
Speaker 1: the most sort of the scrutiny under him? I think
Speaker 1: I think Ad is under pressure. Um, what can he
Speaker 1: do with this team without Lebron? I think he's showing
Speaker 1: that again. But the only thing that is we've ever
Speaker 1: questioned Anthony Davis about this, his availability when he's on
Speaker 1: the court, he's one of the best players in the world.
Speaker 1: He is under pressure, But I think someone who needs
Speaker 1: to be under more pressure, who hasn't been under any pressure,
Speaker 1: is the two time MVP and the person who possibly
Speaker 1: could be the three time MVP in Joker. You know,
Speaker 1: how many times can you be MVP but not really
Speaker 1: take your team to the next level? And I say
Speaker 1: this with all the respeccy. We all know he's a
Speaker 1: tremendous talent, but you know, why isn't he under the microscope?
Speaker 1: He's number one in the West, He's won two MVPs
Speaker 1: in the road. They're talking about this will be his
Speaker 1: three PET but I think that'll be the first time
Speaker 1: since Larry Bird if I'm not mistaken. But when is
Speaker 1: the pressure going to be put on him to Hey,
Speaker 1: you got to get your team over. You know, we've
Speaker 1: you know, you've earned these, but you see your team
Speaker 1: hasn't really done what they're supposed to do or you know,
Speaker 1: to me, the bubble Western Conference appearance to me doesn't
Speaker 1: very much weight. Um, they got to do it now,
Speaker 1: you know, And we've talked about this. You know, Jack
Speaker 1: and I used to were never high on Utah. Utah
Speaker 1: was a great regular season team and a handful of
Speaker 1: years ago we never did anything in the playoffs. I
Speaker 1: think the most pressure this year is going to be
Speaker 1: out Luca. Great talent, deserving if he is giving the
Speaker 1: third MVP, deserving of the MVP. But there's at this
Speaker 1: point with everyone healthy, he has to give his team
Speaker 1: to that next level, right, Jackie, you just want to
Speaker 1: pick it back that about either Yoka trade d Yeah,
Speaker 1: I go. I kind of go Yokis too. And that's crazy,
Speaker 1: you know me? Right, that's just crazy. All the people
Speaker 1: that came to came through the league, leave Bird and
Speaker 1: Yokas are going to be the aut two to three
Speaker 1: p the MVP. That's crazy. There's a few more, but
Speaker 1: he's the first one in so long. Yeah, Yeah, that's crazy.
Speaker 1: That's that's crazy. But I've been saying this, I've been
Speaker 1: on that. I think that they've they've been going around
Speaker 1: and putting pressure on him. You know, ever says the bubble.
Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying. They made it to they
Speaker 1: made it to play the leagas in the bubble, you know.
Speaker 1: And uh and really it wasn't him who showed up.
Speaker 1: It was Murray. Murray had those fifty point games when
Speaker 1: they counted. So, you know, I just I just feel
Speaker 1: like he's a great regular season player. But after two
Speaker 1: years in a row, you give I mean even after
Speaker 1: a year you give a guy MVP and the next
Speaker 1: year you give it to him again and he don't
Speaker 1: go for on the playoffs. You got it. You gotta
Speaker 1: start thinking about that third year because that it has
Speaker 1: to say you have to give it to a guy
Speaker 1: who's well, what do you say to a guy rache
Speaker 1: that dominates all year, then dominates all regular season? Like,
Speaker 1: what do you say to him? You know what I mean? Like, like,
Speaker 1: I think he deserves that award two. You know, and
Speaker 1: we know a lot of guys that come into this
Speaker 1: season that dominate all regular season and we know what
Speaker 1: their teams are going to do in the playoffs. They
Speaker 1: we know, we know what's expected, then they do it.
Speaker 1: So I think those guys should be rewarded too. Well, look,
Speaker 1: I am going to buy in on yoga until he
Speaker 1: shows me. I shouldn't only in that. Look, that Nuggets
Speaker 1: team is number one in the West. They have held
Speaker 1: on to number one in the West. You can't ask
Speaker 1: them to be better than that. Right now. You can
Speaker 1: only play the games in front of you right now.
Speaker 1: It's the regular season, so that's what he's doing. His
Speaker 1: numbers are great. I did say earlier in this show,
Speaker 1: I would like to see a little bit more of
Speaker 1: the defensive discussion come into play, just because I do
Speaker 1: believe that. I want to say, I was about to say, stack,
Speaker 1: I believe it's a two way game. But I think
Speaker 1: that's also when you said, it's not called basketball, it's
Speaker 1: called offense. It shouldn't be a two way game. It's
Speaker 1: a game. A game involves both ways. It's just ridiculous
Speaker 1: to me that we make that distinction. But that being said,
Speaker 1: I think Yokich has done what we have asked him
Speaker 1: to do so far. That team's made it to the
Speaker 1: Western Conference finals. I just do think he's at the
Speaker 1: point where they do need to get to the finals.
Speaker 1: I think a lot of people think that he needs
Speaker 1: to win before we can continue to keep this regular
Speaker 1: season stuff. And we saw this same discussion with James
Speaker 1: Harden by the way, people saying, oh, great, he's great
Speaker 1: in the regular season, what are you doing for me
Speaker 1: in the playoffs? So I do think it's interesting. I
Speaker 1: do want to say Anthony Davis should be given a
Speaker 1: lot of credit for what he's doing right now, but
Speaker 1: he is under a lot of pressure to move that
Speaker 1: Lakers team as we get toward the postseason without Lebron James,
Speaker 1: and that will not be end Let you leave here,
Speaker 1: Stack without asking you about a recent tweet from on
Speaker 1: as long as we're on the subject, he tweets the
Speaker 1: other night man Bronnie definitely better than some of these
Speaker 1: cats I've been watching on League Pass today. This ship lightweight, hilarious. So, Stephen,
Speaker 1: does Labron have too much free time at home with
Speaker 1: that injury? Or do you think possibly his twelfth grade
Speaker 1: son is better than some of the guys in the NBA. Hey,
Speaker 1: I mean, well two things. One only he can get
Speaker 1: away with that too. Yes, on the yside, he should
Speaker 1: be a sign as big as fan. So I ain't
Speaker 1: ad at a Forday, Yes, one hundred percent. Absolutely, And
Speaker 1: we could actually kind of guess from the timing of
Speaker 1: the tweet which game he was watching. I'm not gonna
Speaker 1: say it out loud, but I do kind of know
Speaker 1: who he was talking about. Anyway. What's Burning Friends available
Speaker 1: every week on Showtime Basketball YouTube, on Twitter, Instagram, and
Speaker 1: TikTok at show basketball, Thank you all. We'll see you
Speaker 1: next week.