Speaker 1: Welcome to the What's Burning Mid Season Awards, where Jack
Speaker 1: and I will tell you are m v P up
Speaker 1: to this point Rookie of the Year, Most Improved Player,
Speaker 1: Surprise Team, Coach of the Year, and second half Rise
Speaker 1: on the Radars, presented you by DraftKings. But we'll be
Speaker 1: talking about the mid season m v P. Who is
Speaker 1: your m v P up to this point right now? Man?
Speaker 1: With Katie being out, I got him beat. He'd been
Speaker 1: playing well, He's dominating the paint. He has the seventy
Speaker 1: six is at the top of the East, so right
Speaker 1: now I'm going with him beat. I like that. Joel
Speaker 1: is at plus three hundred. Um. I'm taking the favorite
Speaker 1: Lebron right now, which is at one seventy five. But
Speaker 1: I just think for various reasons, but more than anything,
Speaker 1: he should have more under his belt than he already
Speaker 1: has as far as MVP goes. So he's at an
Speaker 1: m v P caliber this year playing great basketball. Although
Speaker 1: they had a little loll with a d out, Lebron
Speaker 1: has still been able to, you know, maintain his level
Speaker 1: of accidence. Who's your dark horse in this m v
Speaker 1: P races? Now? I bet on Donovan Mitchell. You know,
Speaker 1: he has a great chance with crazy odds being able
Speaker 1: to finish the season at the top of the Western Conference.
Speaker 1: He has a great shot of winning the m v P.
Speaker 1: And uh, I think if they continue to win games
Speaker 1: and continue to keep that spread and let the wins
Speaker 1: away from everybody else, he has a good shot. Well.
Speaker 1: Donovan Mitchell's at plus six thousands, which you know, for
Speaker 1: the people who are doing this space, that's sixty to
Speaker 1: one odds. So you put a dollar down, you win sixty.
Speaker 1: You put ten down, you get six dred you do
Speaker 1: the math. Uh. My dark horses, James Harden, although Katie
Speaker 1: coming back, my effect that James hardness plus four thousand, uh,
Speaker 1: and what he's been able to do with that team
Speaker 1: has been tremendous, you know, and he definitely picked up
Speaker 1: his defense. Offense goes without saying his playmaking ability is
Speaker 1: off the charts. Although those guys are long shots, if
Speaker 1: you're confident in Donovan Mitchell or a James Harden, put
Speaker 1: your money where your mouth is, because those odds right
Speaker 1: now were great. You'll definitely be able to make some
Speaker 1: bread if one of those guys come out and end
Speaker 1: up winning m v P. Next up, Jack Rookie of
Speaker 1: the Year. Who you got up to this point. I
Speaker 1: got Anthony ll was Man. I had him at the
Speaker 1: beginning this season. I think as he to get teams
Speaker 1: to play, he would continue to grow on this team.
Speaker 1: They're starting to give him, uh the keys to the team,
Speaker 1: let them do more things with Russell being out, you know,
Speaker 1: and I think this is somebody that they can grow
Speaker 1: with and help build this organization. You don't want to
Speaker 1: let this kid go. He's gonna continue to get better.
Speaker 1: And as you see the plays he's making, You've never
Speaker 1: seen some of these players made by rookie. So I'm
Speaker 1: excited to see see him grow. I got him for
Speaker 1: a Rookie of the Year right now. Definitely dunk of
Speaker 1: the year at this point. What he did to that
Speaker 1: poor here from Toronto. Um, I'm sticking with my choice
Speaker 1: from the beginning season two. LaMelo his numbers as a
Speaker 1: starter or up, you know, around the eight team point
Speaker 1: of game range and across the board, rebounds and assist.
Speaker 1: He looks great to me. It's just about the excitement
Speaker 1: he's brought to that team, and obviously Gordon Hayward come
Speaker 1: in and doing what he does has been great for
Speaker 1: that team. But LaMelo plays with so much confidence and energy,
Speaker 1: and I think that's contagious. And he has those young boys.
Speaker 1: You know, it is a key reason why Charlotte is
Speaker 1: in the playoff. Funts So I got my pick, original pick.
Speaker 1: You got your original pick. We'll see what happens come
Speaker 1: into the season. Who's your surprise team? Uh? My surprise
Speaker 1: team is definitely Utah. I didn't expect Utah to be
Speaker 1: at the top of the league. I didn't expect them
Speaker 1: to be the play to where they're playing. I knew
Speaker 1: they had a great team and knew they had a
Speaker 1: great coach of Coach Schneida, but I didn't expect them
Speaker 1: to be at the top of the West coming halfway
Speaker 1: midway point of the season. So they definitely surprised me.
Speaker 1: And boys are playing great. Their ball moving and their
Speaker 1: ability to shoot the threes is gonna keep them uh
Speaker 1: at the top of the West. UM. I have the
Speaker 1: Phoenix Suns, a team that's been struggling since Devin booker
Speaker 1: Um has been drafted there. UM. I always thought Dev
Speaker 1: was wasting his talent there, but James Jones went out
Speaker 1: and got Chris Paul, which is completely revamped. The franchise
Speaker 1: put some new energy in life in him. Devin Booker
Speaker 1: was recently named an All Star UM, replacing Anthony Davis. UM.
Speaker 1: But I love with CP has been able to bring
Speaker 1: to that team. I love that what Monty Williams is
Speaker 1: doing with that team, and they've just been a fun team.
Speaker 1: And if you think at the very beginning of the season,
Speaker 1: I said this was gonna be my surprise team, so
Speaker 1: not necessarily so uh surprise now after seeing how consistent,
Speaker 1: uh and well they've been playing of late. But um,
Speaker 1: I love to see the Chris Paul effect over there
Speaker 1: in Phoenix. Next up, Coach of the Year, Who do
Speaker 1: you have for your coach of the year. Well, I'm
Speaker 1: pretty sure we're gonna get agree on this. Money Williams
Speaker 1: and my coach of the year. You just said everything
Speaker 1: that I need to say, what it's done in Phoenix,
Speaker 1: the moves they were able to make, that been able
Speaker 1: to bring this team together in a short time. I
Speaker 1: salute Money Williams. He's always would have been one of
Speaker 1: my guys who I wish had was a head coach
Speaker 1: in this league, and he got another shot and he's
Speaker 1: doing a great job. So salute to Mintey Williams. That
Speaker 1: was definitely my coach of the year as well Monty Willims.
Speaker 1: I mean, you can look at Quinn Snyder and what
Speaker 1: Utah has done, and he's gonna get a lot of looks.
Speaker 1: You can look at Doc Rivers and went Reilly has done.
Speaker 1: But I think you know, to bring this team, you know,
Speaker 1: from the depths of the Western Conference to a top
Speaker 1: four team starting on the defensive end um and then
Speaker 1: like I said, well Chris brings on the offensive end um.
Speaker 1: You know, salute to Monty Williams and what he's been
Speaker 1: able to do along with Chris Paul and Devin Booker
Speaker 1: turning the Phoenix Suns franchise around last but not least
Speaker 1: a team on the second half you think will be
Speaker 1: on the rise. Where we talked about it earlier. I'm
Speaker 1: going with the Celtics, they're gonna get smart back at
Speaker 1: the at the beginning of March. They're gonna they're gonna
Speaker 1: have a full team, They're gonna be healthy, and things
Speaker 1: are gonna start roll. This move. Kimba was just coming back.
Speaker 1: He's not all the way back in shape, So I
Speaker 1: see the self is coming back to the team they
Speaker 1: were last year, Jaylen Brown and Tatum gonna come out
Speaker 1: and continue to lead this team back to the Eastern
Speaker 1: Conference somewhere closer to the finals, if not definers. So
Speaker 1: I think they'll be on the rise come second half. Agreed,
Speaker 1: Completely agreed. You know this is the dog days of
Speaker 1: the season and there's some slippers normally, normally this happens
Speaker 1: then you know, early to mid January leading up to
Speaker 1: All Star Break. All Star Break has been changed this year,
Speaker 1: so it just flipped months and you know, now it's
Speaker 1: mid February leading into March, where this is just guys
Speaker 1: are ready for a break. You know, guys have been
Speaker 1: hurt for Boston. As we mentioned earlier, their core guys
Speaker 1: have only played two games UM together in Kimba, Smart,
Speaker 1: Tatum and Brown. So I definitely think there's no need
Speaker 1: to panic in Boston. UM. Although I would start Williams
Speaker 1: at center, kids athletic rebounding machine, block shots, jumping guy.
Speaker 1: But you know, I think second half of the season
Speaker 1: this team will be fine and look for them to
Speaker 1: finish strong. UH to close the season now, well, closing
Speaker 1: are are what's burning. Mid season awards. We have our
Speaker 1: fan questions jack List, get to it. First question from
Speaker 1: Cody dot coppinger, what is the biggest adversity you had
Speaker 1: to overcome in your career in the league and how
Speaker 1: did you both overcome the odds and end up on top.
Speaker 1: I think me just being labeled. I was labeled so
Speaker 1: many things in my NBA career that I was not.
Speaker 1: You know, I just had to continue to play basketball
Speaker 1: and continue to show them that I belong in this game.
Speaker 1: So many people tried to make it about other things
Speaker 1: about basketball, and uh it kind of it kind of
Speaker 1: put a dug cloud over me throughing my career of times,
Speaker 1: but I kill I stayed positive. I kept playing basketball
Speaker 1: and one thing about it. They couldn't take that away
Speaker 1: from me. So I kept playing the game, uh the
Speaker 1: way I could, and that kind of got me back
Speaker 1: to to where I needed to be. Obstacle, I would
Speaker 1: say it was just getting an opportunity early in my career. Um,
Speaker 1: you know, being called up to the Clippers, playing well
Speaker 1: there and then decided to go to Sacramento and then
Speaker 1: being a Chris Webber trade kind of put me on
Speaker 1: the carousel where you know, for three or four years
Speaker 1: I didn't really get a chance to play, and uh,
Speaker 1: you know some doubt crept in, but you know, I
Speaker 1: just kept grunting and believed in myself and ended up
Speaker 1: making a fourteen year career out of it. So you know,
Speaker 1: we definitely both overcome adversity and similar with you, you know,
Speaker 1: overcoming labels was it was something that at the end
Speaker 1: of the day I used, I got labeled, but I
Speaker 1: just embraced it. I was like, all right, you motherfucker's
Speaker 1: want me to be the bad guy. I'm gonna show
Speaker 1: you a bad guy. So I was able to embrace
Speaker 1: my label and ride out with it. You were over
Speaker 1: to overcome your label and show people who you really are,
Speaker 1: and that's why we're both here. Next step, Next fan question,
Speaker 1: DEMI spec sado in your opinion, why does the league
Speaker 1: forget about supreme veteran bucket getters like Jamal Crawford and
Speaker 1: Isaiah Thomas who can still help a team today. That's
Speaker 1: a good question, and I really wonder the answer as well.
Speaker 1: You know, the only thing I could point to is
Speaker 1: the league is young, now very young. You know, you
Speaker 1: see Steph Curry being the oldest player on the Warriors
Speaker 1: at thirty two. When Jack and I came in the league,
Speaker 1: there was vet vets guys thirty six forty sometimes and
Speaker 1: whether they were contributing to the team still or not,
Speaker 1: they were still contributing to the team, whether their numbers
Speaker 1: showed it or not, with their veteran leadership and their
Speaker 1: ability to mentor younger guys and just help organizations out.
Speaker 1: From that standpoint, Uh, they've gone away from that, in
Speaker 1: particular with you know, Jamal Crawford and Isaiah Thomas, guys
Speaker 1: that can definitely still put the ball in the hole,
Speaker 1: and for some reason or not, you know, they don't
Speaker 1: get the out anymore. So all I would say to
Speaker 1: that is it's just it's the league age is a
Speaker 1: lot younger now and that is going to eliminate a
Speaker 1: lot of veterans and veteran leadership. I think they both
Speaker 1: should be in the game. Um, they can't make excuses.
Speaker 1: You used to always be aboy Jamal Craft's defense. Nobody
Speaker 1: plays defense in the league now if you put anyone
Speaker 1: these guys in fund of Jamal Craft, but he could
Speaker 1: score anyone of them. So you know, it's it's just
Speaker 1: the way they they play in the game right now.
Speaker 1: But we all know it's bullshit. Agreed, agreed, agreed, the
Speaker 1: last question from hydro Plane, which five young players do
Speaker 1: you think will take the top spot once Lebron and
Speaker 1: or k D are gone? Whose league is it? Uh? Man,
Speaker 1: it's kind of hard to say. I mean, we don't
Speaker 1: know how long Katie's gonna play. I mean, I really
Speaker 1: think it's gonna be Katie's league when Lebron steps down.
Speaker 1: But then you've got guys like James Harden, Greek Freak.
Speaker 1: You know, you never know who might arise. Kyrie might
Speaker 1: take over. You've got guys like Zion, Zion might explode.
Speaker 1: You know, it's so many Luca guys, Luca, you know
Speaker 1: what I mean. But that's a that's something that's hard
Speaker 1: to predict. Barr and Andree barring, anything could happened. Uh,
Speaker 1: you just gotta wait and see how plays out. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean, you just know the league is in good
Speaker 1: hands obviously, once Lebron steps down, and who really knows
Speaker 1: when he's gonna step down. You know there's tips of
Speaker 1: him playing into his forties. He's only thirty six, So
Speaker 1: you know it's Lebron's league right now. It'll be his
Speaker 1: league until he's done. I think next in line or possibly,
Speaker 1: I can't say, it will be his league before until
Speaker 1: he's done, because, like I said, I think once Katie
Speaker 1: is healthy, Katie was on the having having it to
Speaker 1: be his league before he tore his achilles, and I
Speaker 1: don't care what no one says, and that's no disrespect
Speaker 1: to Lebron. Lebron's greatness speaks for herself. But Katie is
Speaker 1: at that level now and if he's able to get
Speaker 1: a percent healthy, uh, I think it'll be Katie's league
Speaker 1: sooner than later. And then after that, like he has
Speaker 1: a crap shoot, whether it's Greek Freak, whether it's Luca,
Speaker 1: whether it's you know, Tatum and Brown are on on
Speaker 1: the rise, Zion is on the rise. You know you
Speaker 1: mentioned Harden and Kyrie are two of the best players
Speaker 1: we've ever seen. So tough question. We're gonna have to
Speaker 1: wait and see, but I definitely think next in line
Speaker 1: is Katie