WEBVTT - Should there be unwritten rules in the NBA? Most Improved Player Bets! 0:00:00.760 --> 0:00:01.400 You're killer. 0:00:01.680 --> 0:00:07.440 You're listening to the Hottest the Hottest India podcast out here. 0:00:07.720 --> 0:00:10.959 I said what I said, it's the heat Check, the 0:00:11.119 --> 0:00:16.200 heat Check check. On this episode of the Heat Check, 0:00:17.160 --> 0:00:23.320 is the NBA turning into Major League Baseball unwritten rule 0:00:23.560 --> 0:00:28.000 getting salty at running up the score? That's some bullshit. 0:00:28.360 --> 0:00:30.920 Who are some sleepers for the most improved player of 0:00:30.960 --> 0:00:33.919 the ward? We get into some mostly good news from 0:00:33.960 --> 0:00:35.839 around the league, and we even have a nice interview 0:00:35.840 --> 0:00:39.880 with K and T and NBA TVs Jared Greenberg. Nice 0:00:39.880 --> 0:00:44.479 little additional bonus interview. Lots popping around the league. So 0:00:44.560 --> 0:00:47.640 let's get right into it. William drop that motherfucker beat 0:00:47.680 --> 0:00:55.840 that should be Rihanna. So I do another radio show, 0:00:56.320 --> 0:01:00.200 uh and I have talked Major League Baseball on New 0:01:00.280 --> 0:01:05.319 York Sports wfa N and I am acutely aware of 0:01:05.360 --> 0:01:10.000 how old school baseball fans are. They have these unwritten 0:01:10.120 --> 0:01:14.440 rules that like never pimping when you do have when 0:01:14.480 --> 0:01:16.080 you have a home run, which I would always do. 0:01:16.120 --> 0:01:18.360 I would pimp a home run every time, I would 0:01:18.360 --> 0:01:22.080 twist and flip that bat every single time I went yard, 0:01:22.560 --> 0:01:26.720 don't crowd the plate, and never ever ever run up 0:01:26.760 --> 0:01:29.680 the score. All this, all of it, every single piece 0:01:29.680 --> 0:01:32.160 of it is bullshit, by the way, absolute garbage. It 0:01:32.240 --> 0:01:37.440 is designed to make bad teams and bad players look mad, yoker, 0:01:37.840 --> 0:01:42.160 just like not as bad as they probably are. And now, folks, 0:01:42.360 --> 0:01:45.080 we are dealing with the same damn thing in the 0:01:45.160 --> 0:01:50.240 league that I thought was progressive, in a league where 0:01:50.320 --> 0:01:55.000 I thought they led the charge in being ahead of 0:01:55.040 --> 0:01:58.520 the curve. We are now dealing with something I didn't 0:01:58.560 --> 0:02:03.680 even really think exact unwritten rules of basketball, and I 0:02:03.720 --> 0:02:06.320 have some thoughts. I am fired up about it. Let's 0:02:06.360 --> 0:02:11.440 start by looking at the shining example of how a 0:02:11.560 --> 0:02:16.600 league should function as it relates to fandom, the NFL. 0:02:17.280 --> 0:02:19.960 One of the reasons that people all love the NFL, 0:02:20.440 --> 0:02:21.840 not all of them, but the people who love the 0:02:21.960 --> 0:02:24.080 NFL love the NFL is because the games are meaningful. 0:02:24.320 --> 0:02:27.520 We know that every single week teams are going to 0:02:27.680 --> 0:02:31.600 compete to the best of their ability. Every single seventeenth 0:02:31.880 --> 0:02:37.000 games are exactly unless you're I guess in the seventeenth 0:02:37.000 --> 0:02:39.600 game and you're already made it in But no, every 0:02:39.720 --> 0:02:42.799 week is a meaningful game. When you're down twenty one 0:02:42.840 --> 0:02:46.280 points with three minutes to go, everyone is trying to 0:02:46.320 --> 0:02:49.920 win and anything can happen. There is a level of 0:02:50.000 --> 0:02:53.920 competitive spirit that you can feel. And did you see 0:02:53.919 --> 0:02:57.640 what Miami did not too long ago? Did the Denver 0:02:57.680 --> 0:03:02.239 Broncos put up? Put up seventy points on their dome piece? 0:03:03.400 --> 0:03:09.680 The MPa. Largely, I feel many fans have become a 0:03:09.720 --> 0:03:12.679 little less enthused by the regular season because we don't 0:03:12.680 --> 0:03:15.200 know who's in. We don't know who's out. We don't 0:03:15.240 --> 0:03:17.880 know how long they're gonna be in all. Khizon like, 0:03:18.000 --> 0:03:20.280 is he playing twenty minutes? Is he playing thirty minutes? 0:03:20.360 --> 0:03:22.519 Is he playing at all? We had Jokic get late 0:03:22.560 --> 0:03:26.200 scratched last game, we had mb get late scratched. You're 0:03:26.280 --> 0:03:29.840 kind of just like, why should I care? Why do 0:03:29.919 --> 0:03:34.040 I care about the regular season? The Playing Tournament came 0:03:34.080 --> 0:03:36.480 along and they made the end of the season more meaningful, 0:03:36.840 --> 0:03:40.040 But it actually made probably the beginning in the middle 0:03:40.080 --> 0:03:42.280 of the season less meaningful because teams are like, oh, 0:03:42.360 --> 0:03:43.960 I have to do is get to the ten steam. 0:03:44.600 --> 0:03:49.160 But the problem remains regular season doesn't matter, and with 0:03:49.320 --> 0:03:52.760 low management, we don't even know what players are their 0:03:52.800 --> 0:03:55.800 their competitive spirit is going to be when they do play. 0:03:56.680 --> 0:03:59.000 Does this game matter to them? Are the bulls gonna 0:03:59.000 --> 0:04:02.760 cover against Milwaukee because they're crosstown rivals. I don't fucking know. 0:04:03.720 --> 0:04:06.880 And the truth of the matter is, outside the TNT games, 0:04:06.880 --> 0:04:08.800 which we know players get up for because they love 0:04:09.040 --> 0:04:12.840 the national TV shine and largely they know that they're 0:04:12.840 --> 0:04:18.840 gonna get straight clowned by Shaq Kenny Charles Barkley if 0:04:18.880 --> 0:04:21.960 they don't show up and act right. And that, Folks, 0:04:22.120 --> 0:04:25.080 is what we have now with the ND Season Tournament. 0:04:25.360 --> 0:04:28.640 I didn't expect it when the N Season Tournament was created, 0:04:28.960 --> 0:04:35.320 but this point differential thing has brought back the intensity 0:04:35.640 --> 0:04:39.719 the competitive fire where we know on a Tuesday, on 0:04:39.760 --> 0:04:44.480 a Tuesday and on a Friday, everybody is looking to 0:04:44.760 --> 0:04:48.560 embarrass the other opponent. I don't care. I don't care. 0:04:48.600 --> 0:04:51.479 If you're a team that we should beat by fifteen 0:04:51.560 --> 0:04:54.000 in a regular night, we're beating you by thirty tonight. 0:04:54.279 --> 0:04:56.360 Why because we need to beat you by twenty six 0:04:56.440 --> 0:04:59.480 to get into the next stage, into the knockout round. 0:05:00.000 --> 0:05:03.200 And in real regular season games, if you're a team 0:05:03.680 --> 0:05:07.599 that's dog shit and you're like the Wizards, you should 0:05:07.760 --> 0:05:10.880 lose by forty every night. Because the truth of the 0:05:10.920 --> 0:05:13.919 matter is, we should be we should be aware of 0:05:14.000 --> 0:05:17.400 how bad you are, and it should be completely illuminated 0:05:17.440 --> 0:05:20.360 to the point where things happen and accountability takes place, 0:05:20.440 --> 0:05:23.120 like we've talked about with the Detroit Pistons recently. But 0:05:23.240 --> 0:05:26.640 in the spirit of the game in the third quarter, 0:05:27.400 --> 0:05:29.239 the other team that's beating the shit out of the Wizards, 0:05:29.279 --> 0:05:32.520 they might rest their starters. We might get guys that 0:05:32.600 --> 0:05:34.960 you've not even heard of that are on two way 0:05:35.440 --> 0:05:39.560 G league type contracts that are getting ten, fifteen to 0:05:39.640 --> 0:05:42.560 twenty minutes because we don't want our guys to get 0:05:42.560 --> 0:05:45.279 injured and we don't want to embarrass the poor old 0:05:45.520 --> 0:05:51.240 Washington Wizards. Fuck that, seriously, Fuck that. This was now 0:05:51.279 --> 0:05:53.400 on full view in the n season tournament between the 0:05:53.400 --> 0:05:57.359 Celtics and the Hawks right this point differential Celtics and 0:05:57.400 --> 0:06:00.640 the Bulls. Due to the point differential that the Celtics 0:06:00.680 --> 0:06:03.320 needed where they had to win by twenty six points 0:06:03.880 --> 0:06:06.479 with five minutes left in the game and up more 0:06:06.520 --> 0:06:11.320 than twenty Joe Mizula decided he would make a substitution, 0:06:12.080 --> 0:06:16.080 and instead of substituting his starters out, he substituted his 0:06:16.200 --> 0:06:20.520 starters back in. In goes Tatum, in goes White, in 0:06:20.720 --> 0:06:24.400 goes Horford, in, goes Jalen Brown and Drew Holiday. Why 0:06:24.760 --> 0:06:28.240 because we need to win by as many points as 0:06:28.360 --> 0:06:30.880 humanly possible. We don't know what other teams are gonna do. 0:06:31.279 --> 0:06:34.479 They not only played their starters. They say, you know what, 0:06:34.800 --> 0:06:37.960 it's the playoffs, baby, We're hacking Andre Drummond. We know 0:06:38.040 --> 0:06:40.920 he's a forty five percent lifetime free throw shooter. Let's 0:06:40.960 --> 0:06:43.880 go to hack a shack on Andre Drummond every time 0:06:43.920 --> 0:06:47.320 that motherfucker touches the ball. And Billy Donovan, head coach 0:06:47.360 --> 0:06:50.120 of the Chicago Bulls, was irate. He came up to 0:06:50.200 --> 0:06:52.640 Joe Mazuli. He's like, what are we doing here? What 0:06:52.960 --> 0:06:55.200 is this? And Joe's like, why, I need to beat 0:06:55.200 --> 0:06:57.360 you guys by twenty six points or more in order 0:06:57.400 --> 0:06:59.479 for me to go to the next round. So I'm 0:06:59.480 --> 0:07:04.960 not taking chances. And this is what Joe explained. And 0:07:04.960 --> 0:07:08.280 and actually Billy Donovan came out and said some things 0:07:08.320 --> 0:07:09.720 after the game as well. 0:07:10.240 --> 0:07:13.440 No, I just you know, Andre is a veteran guy, 0:07:13.680 --> 0:07:16.960 and I you know, tonight I told him, I'm like, 0:07:17.000 --> 0:07:20.119 what are we doing here? You know, Like I'm totally fine, 0:07:20.160 --> 0:07:23.320 Like I get it on keeping. 0:07:23.080 --> 0:07:24.800 Your guys in wanting to. 0:07:24.720 --> 0:07:27.600 Get in the leagues, made a big deal, but they 0:07:27.760 --> 0:07:30.040 also in fantasy to them, they got to deal with 0:07:30.080 --> 0:07:31.960 the rules too, you know, if they're trying to get 0:07:31.960 --> 0:07:34.679 into you know, Vegas, there's. 0:07:34.520 --> 0:07:36.160 Things that they do do, you know. 0:07:36.560 --> 0:07:39.680 And for me, it was just the fouling. 0:07:39.880 --> 0:07:41.560 And Joe was Greatman talked to him. 0:07:41.640 --> 0:07:43.440 I mean, he understood, you know, he didn't want to 0:07:43.520 --> 0:07:45.240 he wasn't trying to do anything. But I also understand 0:07:45.280 --> 0:07:47.760 the situation he's in in terms of they're trying to 0:07:47.800 --> 0:07:50.880 get to Vegas. So like, it's just a tough situation, right, 0:07:51.000 --> 0:07:53.040 And I'm not gonna I said this before, I'm not 0:07:53.040 --> 0:07:55.520 gonna you know, necessarily, he's got to coach his team 0:07:55.560 --> 0:07:57.840 and do what he feels, right, you know. I just 0:07:57.840 --> 0:08:00.680 thought like, okay, great, keep Tatum and keep moment. I've 0:08:00.760 --> 0:08:02.760 never ever play all the way to the end. I'm like, 0:08:02.840 --> 0:08:05.200 I got no problem to you know. But I just 0:08:05.200 --> 0:08:07.520 thought it was putting Andre in a tough spot in 0:08:07.600 --> 0:08:10.320 a thirty point game. I just I didn't I didn't 0:08:10.400 --> 0:08:12.720 like that, you know, but he was great when we talked. 0:08:12.800 --> 0:08:15.720 There's no I understand what they were trying to do 0:08:15.760 --> 0:08:18.040 and trying to get there. And listen, the league is 0:08:18.240 --> 0:08:20.800 this is for the league, right, you know, so like 0:08:20.880 --> 0:08:23.440 I understand this, but this is what the league's done. 0:08:23.520 --> 0:08:26.400 You know that they've made this point differential thing, and 0:08:26.480 --> 0:08:28.680 I feel bad for them from this standpoint. God, the 0:08:28.800 --> 0:08:32.640 bid in a game like that, Yeah, that's that that 0:08:32.760 --> 0:08:34.080 you know. And again, you know, as a coach, are 0:08:34.080 --> 0:08:36.000 always up against that gear. You're up by ten points, 0:08:36.000 --> 0:08:37.719 it's two minutes to go, do you start stubborn? You 0:08:37.840 --> 0:08:40.600 not because you've seen you know, leads, but when you're 0:08:40.720 --> 0:08:44.040 up thirty and there's five minutes to go in a 0:08:44.040 --> 0:08:46.080 game and you have all your main guys in there, 0:08:46.559 --> 0:08:49.800 and potentially someone gets hurt over you know, the playing tournament, 0:08:49.920 --> 0:08:52.720 I mean, excuse me, the in season tournament because of 0:08:52.760 --> 0:08:56.480 points man, you know, And but I also understand, like 0:08:56.640 --> 0:08:58.440 the league's been a big deal of it. Everybody's trying 0:08:58.440 --> 0:09:01.160 to take it serious and for them to get to Vegas, 0:09:01.200 --> 0:09:03.800 there's a point difference. And I understand the situation. Joe's in, 0:09:03.960 --> 0:09:06.200 you know, so there was no hard feelings and he's 0:09:06.280 --> 0:09:08.520 the coaches teamn do it best. I just felt bad 0:09:08.520 --> 0:09:11.160 for Andrea in that situation is how I felt. 0:09:11.480 --> 0:09:14.240 You can tell Billy Donovan is old school. He doesn't 0:09:14.280 --> 0:09:17.600 believe in keeping your starters in. He doesn't believe in 0:09:17.679 --> 0:09:21.679 Andre Drummond getting hacked because oh it's embarrassing for Andre. 0:09:22.040 --> 0:09:26.120 They're up thirty and they put Andre in a tough spot. Honestly, 0:09:26.200 --> 0:09:29.480 it's not Joe Missoula's job to protect Andre Drummond. It's 0:09:29.480 --> 0:09:32.480 not Joe Miszula's job to protect Billy Donovan in the 0:09:32.520 --> 0:09:37.240 Chicago Bulls. It's Joe Miszula's job. And I've never been 0:09:37.280 --> 0:09:41.040 a huge Joe Missoula fan, but his mindset in terms 0:09:41.080 --> 0:09:44.640 of staying competitive and finding out ways to win games 0:09:45.040 --> 0:09:47.680 and figuring out what the rules are and playing in 0:09:47.679 --> 0:09:51.280 the gray areas, this is this. This comment that he 0:09:51.360 --> 0:09:55.400 made put me firmly feeling a little bit more respect 0:09:55.679 --> 0:09:56.360 for him. 0:09:57.000 --> 0:09:59.040 Though it was the right thing to do, actually reminded 0:09:59.040 --> 0:10:00.880 me of a story. My dad played in Chile for 0:10:00.880 --> 0:10:03.840 five years and they played the same aggregate best of 0:10:04.160 --> 0:10:06.800 best of two scored differential. My dad's team was up 0:10:06.800 --> 0:10:09.280 two seconds and the other team thought they needed to 0:10:09.320 --> 0:10:12.200 win by six. My dad's team was winning, so they 0:10:12.240 --> 0:10:14.280 purposely scored on their own basket so they could force 0:10:14.320 --> 0:10:16.760 it into overtime and try and win by six. And 0:10:16.880 --> 0:10:20.680 so to me, it's like you by any means necessary 0:10:20.720 --> 0:10:21.360 within the rules. 0:10:21.640 --> 0:10:24.560 That's what I say you do. Just tell you what 0:10:24.600 --> 0:10:25.160 the rules are and. 0:10:25.160 --> 0:10:28.040 You will play within that structure and trying gray areas. 0:10:27.679 --> 0:10:32.880 Along the way and find gray areas along the way. Yes, 0:10:33.000 --> 0:10:37.120 Joe Missoula and if coaches were split on this, so 0:10:37.240 --> 0:10:39.599 were the players. Josh Hart of The Knick says, I 0:10:39.679 --> 0:10:42.079 don't really like it. Kind of messes with the integrity 0:10:42.120 --> 0:10:45.240 of the game. Donovan Mitchell says it's different, but at 0:10:45.280 --> 0:10:46.839 the end of the day, you're playing to win. You're 0:10:46.840 --> 0:10:48.960 trying to get to Vegas, get to the tournament. But 0:10:49.000 --> 0:10:53.720 it's definitely a little weird. Jalen Brown says it's tough 0:10:53.720 --> 0:10:56.880 because that's not how the game is supposed to be played. 0:10:57.440 --> 0:11:02.840 You've got to respect your opponents. But Devin Booker my man. 0:11:03.360 --> 0:11:06.040 If Kobe was alive for the n Season tournament, he 0:11:06.120 --> 0:11:08.880 was in his heyday, he would be basically saying what 0:11:08.920 --> 0:11:13.240 Devin Booker said, which is this, I've seen teams upset 0:11:13.280 --> 0:11:15.679 about it. I don't know why. I've seen players upset 0:11:15.720 --> 0:11:20.200 about it. I don't know why. I mean honestly, I 0:11:20.240 --> 0:11:22.720 wish every game was like that, where you could play 0:11:22.760 --> 0:11:24.800 to then and you know it wasn't few. 0:11:24.880 --> 0:11:27.839 That's disrespectful, just. 0:11:27.840 --> 0:11:35.000 High competition, Just high competition. Unwritten rules are in place 0:11:35.160 --> 0:11:40.720 largely to make mediocre teams and mediocre players look better 0:11:40.800 --> 0:11:44.240 than they are. I am against that. I am against 0:11:44.520 --> 0:11:48.640 finding ways to not embarrass the players or teams that 0:11:48.679 --> 0:11:52.000 you're going up against. I'm sorry, I'm here to win. 0:11:52.840 --> 0:11:56.480 This isn't gold stars and participation trophies. I'm not here 0:11:56.520 --> 0:11:59.240 to make you feel better about yourself. You don't want 0:11:59.240 --> 0:12:02.600 to lose by third, then fucking stop me, stop me 0:12:02.720 --> 0:12:06.360 from scoring. Who cares if a power hitter pimps a 0:12:06.400 --> 0:12:09.559 five hundred foot dinger against the scrub. Who gives a 0:12:09.640 --> 0:12:12.680 shit if Tyreek Hill gives you the bye bye or 0:12:12.720 --> 0:12:15.120 flips the deuces as he runs away from a DV 0:12:15.520 --> 0:12:19.520 who is like blown coverage? Who cares that the Timberwolves 0:12:19.679 --> 0:12:22.040 run the Pistols off the floor by thirty six instead 0:12:22.040 --> 0:12:24.680 of sitting their starters and winning by fourteen? Who cares? 0:12:25.080 --> 0:12:29.480 Losers care? That's who you know? Who cares? People who 0:12:29.520 --> 0:12:34.360 were afraid to get exposed, That's who cares. The ist 0:12:34.559 --> 0:12:37.920 I fucking love it. Why because it tells you exactly 0:12:37.960 --> 0:12:41.160 who's who in the NBA, who's with it and who's 0:12:41.200 --> 0:12:43.600 not with it. And you know what, I am not 0:12:43.760 --> 0:12:47.880 shocked that Jalen Brown is respecting opponents out here. He 0:12:47.960 --> 0:12:50.880 respected the Golden State Warriors a little bit too much 0:12:50.960 --> 0:12:52.959 when he decided he didn't know how to dribble a 0:12:53.040 --> 0:12:55.559 damn basketball in the finals two years ago. Maybe you 0:12:55.559 --> 0:12:58.400 should focus on that, Jalen Brown, instead of the unwritten 0:12:58.440 --> 0:13:02.440 rules of the game. I want more knockout. I want 0:13:02.480 --> 0:13:05.400 more group play. I want an entire season of group play. 0:13:05.800 --> 0:13:12.240 I want four group play tournaments, last two standing like 0:13:12.320 --> 0:13:14.680 hunger games play in the finals. I don't give a 0:13:14.720 --> 0:13:17.920 fuck about the conference. I don't care about the history. 0:13:18.320 --> 0:13:20.560 I don't care about how it used to be. I 0:13:20.600 --> 0:13:24.160 want the best, most competitive basketball on every single night. 0:13:24.280 --> 0:13:27.520 And I am like, inject the n season tournament into 0:13:27.600 --> 0:13:30.920 my fucking veins. And I think there's really something to 0:13:31.000 --> 0:13:33.240 be said for not just the five hundred thousand dollars, 0:13:33.280 --> 0:13:35.199 which I think a lot of us overlooked that it 0:13:35.320 --> 0:13:37.480 was going to be meaningful. A lot of players make 0:13:37.600 --> 0:13:40.040 less than four million dollars, and not five hundred thousand. 0:13:40.040 --> 0:13:42.360 If you could get twenty five percent of your salary 0:13:42.440 --> 0:13:45.440 as a bonus for a couple of extra things that 0:13:45.480 --> 0:13:47.600 you're already doing in your job, you would want to 0:13:47.640 --> 0:13:49.880 do them. But the thing that I think people are 0:13:49.920 --> 0:13:54.440 really overlooking, or they did overlook. The NBA didn't overlook it. 0:13:54.480 --> 0:13:56.680 That's why they did it is the fact that everybody 0:13:56.720 --> 0:13:59.160 says they're not saying I want to win the Cup. 0:13:59.600 --> 0:14:01.760 Through that. Have you heard anyone say I want to 0:14:01.800 --> 0:14:06.240 win the Cup? No, they're saying, we're just trying to 0:14:06.360 --> 0:14:08.320 get to Vegas. 0:14:08.320 --> 0:14:11.880 Oh yes, yes, you don't think they want to break 0:14:11.960 --> 0:14:16.000 up the monotony of going to Memphis and Minneapolis to 0:14:16.080 --> 0:14:18.720 go to Sin City at a time where all. 0:14:18.559 --> 0:14:21.480 The other fledgling teams have to play their regular season 0:14:21.560 --> 0:14:24.520 gross ass games. They want to go to Vegas. They 0:14:24.560 --> 0:14:28.560 want to see Michael from the Sopranos. They want to 0:14:28.600 --> 0:14:31.600 play craps. They want to go to Tao, they want 0:14:31.600 --> 0:14:36.680 to parlay, they want to enjoy Sin City. Give me 0:14:36.800 --> 0:14:40.320 more n season tournament, give me more months of playing 0:14:40.400 --> 0:14:45.359 hard and entertaining games and embarrassing your opponents. I personally 0:14:45.680 --> 0:14:53.840 am all for it. Let's move forward, Let's talk about 0:14:53.920 --> 0:14:59.880 the most improved market in the NBA. It is for 0:15:00.520 --> 0:15:02.160 you know what time, it is time to check in 0:15:02.200 --> 0:15:04.960 on the NBA futures market. Today we are looking at 0:15:04.960 --> 0:15:07.920 the most Improved Award, which is kind of a sleeper 0:15:08.320 --> 0:15:11.400 future bet. I love the Most Improved Player Award because 0:15:11.400 --> 0:15:13.960 it tells you that there are players on the come 0:15:14.040 --> 0:15:16.640 up that you need to keep an eye on. In 0:15:16.720 --> 0:15:19.280 some ways, the Most Improved Player Award is the best 0:15:19.280 --> 0:15:23.480 predictor of NBA success. Here are the last ten winners 0:15:23.480 --> 0:15:27.840 in a row. Paul George twenty twelve, twenty thirteen, twenty thirteen, 0:15:28.080 --> 0:15:33.720 Goran Dragicch twenty fourteen, Jimmy Butler hell Ya twenty fifteen. CJ. 0:15:33.840 --> 0:15:39.680 McCollum twenty sixteen, Yannis Who twenty seventeen, Victor Oladipo rip 0:15:39.840 --> 0:15:44.520 that knee twenty eighteen, Pascal Siakam twenty nineteen, Brandon Ingram 0:15:44.800 --> 0:15:48.600 twenty twenty, Julius Randall twenty twenty one, John Morant twenty 0:15:48.640 --> 0:15:53.120 twenty two, Lorie Markinen not a dud in the bunch. 0:15:54.040 --> 0:15:57.880 Very impressive list. Even Oladipo was a bucket before he 0:15:57.920 --> 0:16:01.680 got hurt. Goran Dragicch not sleep on Goreon Dragitic and 0:16:01.720 --> 0:16:05.120 how he used to be just Gordon Dragic in the bubble, 0:16:05.520 --> 0:16:07.840 how he was before you were in so that man 0:16:07.920 --> 0:16:10.840 could give you forty on your dome piece, especially in 0:16:10.920 --> 0:16:15.200 international play. Do not sleep on Goron Drogas this year, though. 0:16:15.240 --> 0:16:18.840 The market is absolutely crowded. But here's who I'm looking 0:16:18.880 --> 0:16:21.200 at right now. I've got two favorites that I like, 0:16:21.280 --> 0:16:23.320 and i like two long shots. Let's talk about the 0:16:23.320 --> 0:16:26.000 favorites first. I will start with the rocket Ship, the 0:16:26.080 --> 0:16:29.480 presumable favorite in the all of the markets, plus one 0:16:29.560 --> 0:16:35.720 hundred Philly Tyrese Maxi. Tyrese Maxi was about eleven to 0:16:35.800 --> 0:16:38.720 one until the moment James Harden got traded and he 0:16:38.760 --> 0:16:42.640 went from eleven to one to plus one ninety five overnight. 0:16:43.120 --> 0:16:46.240 He is currently sitting at plus one hundred, which means 0:16:46.480 --> 0:16:49.880 you're just barely getting even money to bet somebody who 0:16:49.920 --> 0:16:52.480 you get your money back in six months from now. 0:16:52.720 --> 0:16:55.800 That tells you how they're feeling about Tyrese Maxey. If 0:16:55.800 --> 0:16:58.320 he continues to play as well as he has, which 0:16:58.360 --> 0:17:01.280 he's been balling, putting up thirty night to night basis, 0:17:01.360 --> 0:17:04.399 shooting like eight threes a game, getting his teammates involved 0:17:04.440 --> 0:17:07.879 Philadelphia's winning. He will continue to be the favorite and 0:17:07.960 --> 0:17:11.359 probably will win this award. My other favorite that is 0:17:11.400 --> 0:17:14.800 no longer really a sleeper that is just incredible. I 0:17:14.800 --> 0:17:17.359 would prefer him to win this award over Tyrese Maxey 0:17:17.480 --> 0:17:21.840 is Alpern Shangoon because why shang Goon. As much as 0:17:21.840 --> 0:17:26.639 I like Tyrese Maxey was just absolutely slept on, disrespected, 0:17:26.880 --> 0:17:29.800 left for dead in Houston. Not only did he go 0:17:29.840 --> 0:17:33.200 to a terrible situation for multiple years, they were ready 0:17:33.240 --> 0:17:36.719 to discard this man. He's now plus three hundred, by 0:17:36.720 --> 0:17:38.520 the way, he went from plus twenty five hundred to 0:17:38.520 --> 0:17:44.400 plus three hundred. But Maxi last offseason was off limits 0:17:44.560 --> 0:17:47.439 to any trade. You couldn't even trade him for Damian Lillard. 0:17:48.160 --> 0:17:50.679 Do you think you could have gotten Alpern Shangoon for 0:17:50.800 --> 0:17:54.400 Damian Lillard. I'm saying yes, I think yes. I think 0:17:54.480 --> 0:17:57.959 em Udoka would be like deal, Fine, you can have him. 0:17:58.480 --> 0:18:01.280 Shang Goon was seen as a potential trade piece from 0:18:01.280 --> 0:18:04.400 the moment he got to Houston. Just Steven Salas didn't 0:18:04.400 --> 0:18:06.440 know what he was doing. Bless his heart, he didn't 0:18:06.440 --> 0:18:08.359 want to use him. There was this quote from the 0:18:08.359 --> 0:18:11.399 Houston chronicle where he said, I'm not gonna run plays 0:18:11.680 --> 0:18:15.240 for albern Shangun. He's getting the first play of the half, 0:18:16.320 --> 0:18:18.520 in the first play of the second half, We're not 0:18:18.760 --> 0:18:22.920 running anything for him. If he can't stay engaged without 0:18:23.000 --> 0:18:25.840 the basketball, then that's on him. And by the way, 0:18:25.920 --> 0:18:28.040 that man can't play a wick of defense, so we 0:18:28.119 --> 0:18:31.600 don't even know if he fits. That same Houston Chronicle article, 0:18:31.640 --> 0:18:34.600 we're like, hey, maybe Albrin Shangoon should just come off 0:18:34.640 --> 0:18:40.240 the bench for who for Bruno Fernando. Okay, this man 0:18:40.640 --> 0:18:44.000 is now plus three hundred doing most improved. What is 0:18:44.119 --> 0:18:51.440 Alprin Shangun doing. He currently joins Jokic, Lebron James Joel 0:18:51.480 --> 0:18:56.800 Embiid as the lone players, averaging twenty points, eight rebounds 0:18:56.800 --> 0:19:01.320 and five assists per k this season. He went from 0:19:01.720 --> 0:19:05.359 We're not even sure what you are, how you fit, 0:19:05.840 --> 0:19:10.359 whether we should keep you here too. He's the number 0:19:10.480 --> 0:19:14.040 one player on a team that as the best defensive 0:19:14.160 --> 0:19:18.280 rating a bunch of guys that are veterans and buckets, 0:19:18.520 --> 0:19:22.160 lottery picks, etc. Etc. And not only that, he's much 0:19:22.200 --> 0:19:26.199 fucking must fucking watch. He is Jokic, baby Jokic, and 0:19:26.320 --> 0:19:30.080 don't ask me, asked Nikola Jokich himself, who says he 0:19:30.160 --> 0:19:32.000 kind of looks like me out there, which is why 0:19:32.040 --> 0:19:35.640 it is no surprise that Albern shanghu aka alpi aka 0:19:36.320 --> 0:19:39.040 just the yur. He's not doing Dirk moves. By the way, 0:19:39.200 --> 0:19:41.760 it's over for the league. It's over. The league is 0:19:41.760 --> 0:19:44.400 in such a good spot. It is the golden era 0:19:44.560 --> 0:19:46.879 of the big man that can do everything that a 0:19:46.920 --> 0:19:49.920 guard can do, but much taller onto the long shots. 0:19:50.760 --> 0:19:53.240 Someone that I like, someone that I feel like probably 0:19:53.280 --> 0:19:56.520 won't win this award, but definitely could win this award 0:19:56.880 --> 0:20:00.720 is Tyrese Halliburton. Tyre's Halliburton gets traded in Indiana. He 0:20:00.760 --> 0:20:03.040 has a good year last year. I think they kind 0:20:03.040 --> 0:20:06.240 of just like pity put him into the All Star Game. 0:20:07.040 --> 0:20:08.800 He was good enough to be in there, for sure, 0:20:08.800 --> 0:20:11.760 but like I feel he was more of like a 0:20:11.920 --> 0:20:15.399 last second deal. Yeah, he was not at the top 0:20:15.440 --> 0:20:18.280 of the All Star He was a reserve. So the 0:20:18.320 --> 0:20:20.560 fact that he was an All Star doesn't really bug 0:20:20.680 --> 0:20:23.040 me a lot. Some people think the All Stars shouldn't 0:20:23.040 --> 0:20:26.359 win Most Improved, but man, is he a lot better 0:20:26.400 --> 0:20:29.320 than he was last year. He's averaging twenty six points, 0:20:29.359 --> 0:20:34.560 four rebounds, and twelve assists. The man is averaging twelve 0:20:34.760 --> 0:20:39.879 assists and he's shooting forty five percent from three. And 0:20:40.000 --> 0:20:44.520 remember this man had his three point shot critiqued by 0:20:44.600 --> 0:20:46.760 every scout in the league. They were like, he can't 0:20:46.760 --> 0:20:49.040 make it in this league with that push shot. And 0:20:49.119 --> 0:20:52.000 he's putting up forty five percent from deep. He is 0:20:52.080 --> 0:20:54.600 lifting the Pacers in a way where they are now 0:20:54.680 --> 0:20:57.640 the number one scoring offense in the league. He has 0:20:57.720 --> 0:21:01.560 found a way to Mike Miles Turner not only usable, 0:21:01.840 --> 0:21:05.640 but valuable to the Indiana Pacers. He's gone from plus 0:21:05.720 --> 0:21:07.800 seventy five hundred, which is seventy five to one, to 0:21:07.920 --> 0:21:10.399 thirty five to one in the last month due to 0:21:10.480 --> 0:21:13.040 these ridiculous stat lines where he is putting up thirty 0:21:13.119 --> 0:21:15.440 on your dome piece, thirty five on your dome piece, 0:21:15.560 --> 0:21:20.879 and like seventeen assists. He is the offense and he's 0:21:20.920 --> 0:21:23.840 not like remember when James Harden just the other day 0:21:24.000 --> 0:21:26.280 was like, oh, I'm not a system player. I'm a 0:21:26.320 --> 0:21:32.040 system player. No, Like Tyrese Haliburton is the Indiana Pacers offense. 0:21:32.960 --> 0:21:36.520 Everything runs through him, every bucket. He's the Caitlin Clark 0:21:36.520 --> 0:21:38.840 of the NBA, and they're the number one offense in 0:21:38.880 --> 0:21:42.080 the league. Give that man the damn Award, which is 0:21:43.040 --> 0:21:46.639 already true. Also this like, oh, you're too good to 0:21:46.720 --> 0:21:49.400 win Most Improved, but you probably should win Most Improved. 0:21:49.520 --> 0:21:51.280 This other player I think could win it too, but 0:21:51.320 --> 0:21:53.840 I don't think. I think he's more likely to win 0:21:53.880 --> 0:21:57.240 an MVP in the future than Most Improved now because 0:21:57.280 --> 0:22:01.240 everybody already is on the hype train. However, he's sneakily, 0:22:01.760 --> 0:22:07.439 very consistent, not missing games, and really really good. Zion 0:22:07.560 --> 0:22:10.000 is a beast. We know that if he stays healthy 0:22:10.040 --> 0:22:13.520 this year he's only missed four games, he could potentially 0:22:13.560 --> 0:22:16.600 steal this award. No one's talking about the Pelties yet, 0:22:17.160 --> 0:22:19.840 no one's talking about him. They just got CJ. McCollum back. 0:22:20.240 --> 0:22:21.960 I'll talk to you about this in a bit. They're 0:22:22.000 --> 0:22:24.720 about to get Trey Murphy back. Dyson Daniels has emerged. 0:22:24.880 --> 0:22:27.880 Heard Jones is a defensive specialist. I tell you what. 0:22:28.040 --> 0:22:32.040 The New Orleans Pelicans, they're just hanging in the grass 0:22:32.119 --> 0:22:34.399 like a lion waiting for their prey, and all the 0:22:34.440 --> 0:22:37.160