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Speaker 1: Hey, I'm tas Mellis and this is what you need

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Speaker 1: to know in the NBA for Monday, January fourth. The

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Speaker 1: first thing you need to know is that Steph Curry

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Speaker 1: had a career high sixty two points versus Portland on Sunday.

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Speaker 1: His previous career high was fifty four. And I love

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Speaker 1: the answer he gave on the broadcast after the game

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Speaker 1: when he was asked, did you know how many points

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Speaker 1: you had while you were playing the game? Of course?

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Speaker 1: Of course was his answer. Then bat night, Yeah, I

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Speaker 1: was going for it. And that's what Warriors fans want

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Speaker 1: from Steph Curry, especially since Klay Thompson went down with

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Speaker 1: the Achilles injury. They've wanted Steph to shoot and shoot

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Speaker 1: and put the team on his back, and he's done that,

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Speaker 1: bringing them back to a respectable three and three record

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Speaker 1: after a pretty slow start to the season. What a

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Speaker 1: show he put on. Another guy putting on a show

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Speaker 1: is Jalen Brown of the Celtics, and it's veering into

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Speaker 1: historic territory. He's tied for six in the NBA at

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Speaker 1: twenty eight points per game. That's not the historic part.

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Speaker 1: It's like he never misses, which would be very historic.

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Speaker 1: He had thirty one points on thirteen of sixteen shooting

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Speaker 1: Sunday versus Detroit, and he's shooting fifty nine point eight

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Speaker 1: percent from the field this season six out of ten

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Speaker 1: shots from the floor for a wing is ridiculous. His

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Speaker 1: field goal percentage is twelve best in the NBA. Ten

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Speaker 1: of the eleven guys ahead of them are Bigs Expected,

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Speaker 1: and the other is Sterling Brown, who is bound to

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Speaker 1: come back to Earth. He's a guard that just hasn't

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Speaker 1: shot much this season. Golden State and Portland played twice

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Speaker 1: in row this weekend, as did Detroit and Boston. These

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Speaker 1: two game baseball like series are a result of COVID nineteen.

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Speaker 1: Same two teams played twice in a row a couple

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Speaker 1: days apart in the same city to reduce travel. And

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Speaker 1: I think this kink in the new scheduling is here

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Speaker 1: to stay. Teams are fresh. The eight series we have

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Speaker 1: seen so far have been really, really fun. There's little

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Speaker 1: adjustments in between the two teams, they start to dislike

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Speaker 1: each other. I think this kink is here to stay.

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Speaker 1: Like Steph is known to do, Lebron James hit a

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Speaker 1: logo three in a win over the Grizzlies, on Sunday Given. Admittedly,

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Speaker 1: the throwback Grizzlies logo at center Court, honoring their Vancouver

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Speaker 1: days is huge. Its oversize Lebron hid it from the

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Speaker 1: bear claw, so the term logo shot can be misleading.

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Speaker 1: But just like Steph, I'm trying to appreciate one of

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Speaker 1: the best that has ever done it while he's still playing.

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Speaker 1: Bron turned thirty six last week and will likely go

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Speaker 1: down as the NBA's all time leader in points scored.

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Speaker 1: It's amazing to say, although, as our Trey Kirby likes

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Speaker 1: to point out, Bron's best attribute is his passing. Of course,

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Speaker 1: just like Mini, the Brooklyn Nets have come back to Earth.

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Speaker 1: When the new look squad led by Kyrie Irving and

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Speaker 1: Kevin Durant started this season two to zero, many fans

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Speaker 1: and Punnets alike were already putting them in the NBA Finals.

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Speaker 1: I was on Toronto Radio after their first victory of

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Speaker 1: the season and the host was already saying they're the

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Speaker 1: Eastern Conference champs. Undoubtedly, and I will be very surprised

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Speaker 1: if those two teams aren't meeting in the finals. Sorry

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Speaker 1: to call you out, Joey Vendetta, but since the Nets

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Speaker 1: have come back to earth. They've lost four of five

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Speaker 1: since starting two to zero, including a loss to Washington

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Speaker 1: on Sunday. Last three games, they've given up one hundred

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Speaker 1: and forty one points, one hundred and fourteen and one

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Speaker 1: hundred and twenty three rebounding problems, turnover problems, but they

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Speaker 1: almost won. That's how good they are. Kevin Durant Kyrie

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Speaker 1: Irving had shots to beat Washington on Sunday. It was

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Speaker 1: really fun to watch Durant up against his old teammate

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Speaker 1: Russell Westbrook, just a few years older than they're okac days,

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Speaker 1: two Chicago Bulls have contracted COVID nineteen. Bulls head coach

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Speaker 1: Billy Donovan revealed that Tomas Satoranski and Chandler Hutchison have

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Speaker 1: the virus, and that's in addition to two other Bulls,

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Speaker 1: Lowry Markinen and Ryan Archie Diacono, who are sitting games

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Speaker 1: because of contact tracing. The league has taken the virus

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Speaker 1: extremely seriously. Several players around the league are sitting because

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Speaker 1: of they've come in contact with and that's the reason

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Speaker 1: the league increased the number of active players per team

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Speaker 1: to fifteen from thirteen. So with four players out, the

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Speaker 1: Bulls aren't in danger of having one of their games postponed.

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Speaker 1: Just a side note, only one game has been postponed

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Speaker 1: because of the virus so far this season, a Houston

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Speaker 1: OKC game. In fact, the Bulls played without those guys

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Speaker 1: on Sunday versus Dallas, and this game isn't particularly noteworthy,

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Speaker 1: but Luka Doncic's absence was he sat with a thigh contusion.

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Speaker 1: His play has been notable for the wrong reasons early

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Speaker 1: this year. Although his counting stats are good, that's how

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Speaker 1: good he is twenty four points, seven and a half rebounds,

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Speaker 1: six and a half assists. He's shooting sixteen percent from

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Speaker 1: three sixteen, not sixty one to six. I wonder if

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Speaker 1: the MAVs sitting him is also due to him trying

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Speaker 1: to get back in shape. Luca has acknowledged his conditioning

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Speaker 1: isn't up to snuff after entering camp overweight, and the

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Speaker 1: MAVs did keep Dirk Novitsky out of games twenty twelve

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Speaker 1: to get him into better shape while also dealing with

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Speaker 1: his injuries. Dallas was open about Dirk's conditioning problems back then,

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Speaker 1: although they haven't said a thing regarding Lucas Christops Porzingis

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Speaker 1: remains out, so Dallas is relying heavily on the twenty

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Speaker 1: year old Luka Doncic and MAVs are now two and

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Speaker 1: four after losing to Chicago on Sunday. Luca's status unknown

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Speaker 1: for Monday's game versus Houston. Some sad news. Hall of

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Speaker 1: Famer Paul Westfall has died after battle with brain cancer.

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Speaker 1: We won a championship as a young player with the

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Speaker 1: Boston Celtics, then went on to star for the Phoenix Suns.

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Speaker 1: Hall of Fame career, five time All Star, four time

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Speaker 1: All NBA player, then went on to coach the Phoenix

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Speaker 1: Suns to an NBA Finals that Charles Barkley led team

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Speaker 1: in the early nineties. Paul Westfall was seventy years old.

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Speaker 1: Are condolences to the west Fall family. And last thing,

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Speaker 1: the Rockets James Harden has still not been traded. Okay,

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Speaker 1: not news, but when he was a late scratch on Saturday,

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Speaker 1: it felt like he was being shipped out of Houston.

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Speaker 1: I also just wanted to mention that game because Houston's

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Speaker 1: John Wall looked very good in his second game in

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Speaker 1: two years, scoring twenty eight for the Rockets. You'll be

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Speaker 1: sure to get an emergency No Dunks podcast. If and

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Speaker 1: when Harden is moved, he's questionable versus Dallas. That is

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Speaker 1: what you need to know in the NBA. If you

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Speaker 1: want more, check out the No Dunks full length daily

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Speaker 1: show for Monday. I will be back with you tomorrow

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Speaker 1: to give you the goods as fast as I possibly can.

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Speaker 1: I'll talk to you there