WEBVTT - EPISODE 12: KD is back, LeBron is out ... and that's only the beginning for a jam-packed show 0:00:03.400 --> 0:00:07.040 Welcome to this League uncut in the world of twenty 0:00:07.040 --> 0:00:10.680 four hour NBA news. Just do you lose Chris Haines, 0:00:10.920 --> 0:00:16.959 it's time, Mark Stein, It's show time Loop shakalaka Chris 0:00:16.960 --> 0:00:21.119 Hanes and Mark Stein. This line, uncutt is underway and 0:00:21.280 --> 0:00:27.480 on fire. This should be a good one. Stein and 0:00:27.560 --> 0:00:31.560 Haynes back again with you on this league uncut. We're 0:00:31.600 --> 0:00:34.880 recording on a Wednesday night. It'll be out Thursday morning, 0:00:35.560 --> 0:00:41.400 but it means given when we're actually at the MIC's here. 0:00:41.520 --> 0:00:44.280 Kevin Durant just made his long awaited debut for the 0:00:44.320 --> 0:00:48.960 Phoenix Suns tonight. Nice little twenty three points in twenty 0:00:48.960 --> 0:00:51.840 seven minutes. Kadie always does this. This is the third 0:00:51.880 --> 0:00:57.720 time he's come back from this kind of knee brain injury, 0:00:57.960 --> 0:01:02.360 and you know, he always he seems to make these 0:01:02.400 --> 0:01:05.680 things look like they didn't even slow him down when 0:01:05.760 --> 0:01:07.760 he when he gets back on the court so quickly. 0:01:07.800 --> 0:01:10.120 And look, I don't I don't think we want to 0:01:10.160 --> 0:01:12.720 read too much into it when they're playing a Charlotte team, 0:01:12.720 --> 0:01:16.440 even though Charlotte had won a few games in a row. Here, 0:01:16.640 --> 0:01:20.199 no LaMelo Ball, Obviously, LaMelo ball season is over. After 0:01:20.319 --> 0:01:25.160 the ankle injury he just sustained and had to undergo surgery. 0:01:25.160 --> 0:01:26.640 So I don't I don't want to make too much 0:01:26.680 --> 0:01:30.200 of it. But for a first look at the Phoenix Suns, 0:01:31.040 --> 0:01:36.360 Durant looked great, Devin Booker looked great, and I think 0:01:36.400 --> 0:01:40.840 they gave us a glimpse of why everybody is not everybody. 0:01:40.880 --> 0:01:44.240 But so many people think that the Suns can win 0:01:44.280 --> 0:01:48.240 the West now because I mean, their two main guys 0:01:48.360 --> 0:01:52.720 are just absolutely dangerous. What were you looking for tonight 0:01:52.760 --> 0:01:55.560 out of Kady? Oh? What was I looking for from Kady? 0:01:55.960 --> 0:01:59.520 I don't think I was looking anything related to Kady. 0:01:59.560 --> 0:02:02.840 I was looking at how the other guys were going 0:02:02.880 --> 0:02:05.840 to play and how they were going to mess with him. 0:02:06.400 --> 0:02:08.880 That's what I was looking forward to. I think you 0:02:08.919 --> 0:02:12.360 saw early on guys were kind of deferring to KD, 0:02:12.560 --> 0:02:14.680 trying to get him acclimated and get on some shots 0:02:14.680 --> 0:02:17.520 early on, and they did a good job. But you know, 0:02:17.560 --> 0:02:20.560 I'm not surprised by anything. KD was the last person 0:02:20.639 --> 0:02:22.520 I was looking at to try to see if he 0:02:22.639 --> 0:02:24.800 was going to be into form or not. He was 0:02:24.800 --> 0:02:26.600 going to be ready. Like you said, this is not 0:02:26.680 --> 0:02:28.600 the this is not the first time he's gone through 0:02:28.639 --> 0:02:30.880 something like this. But you know, I think that you know, 0:02:31.080 --> 0:02:34.320 they showed again it is Charlotte Hornets, but you know, 0:02:34.400 --> 0:02:36.640 they they're still trying to get a field for one another. 0:02:36.680 --> 0:02:39.440 And I think, you just they just have really smart guys. 0:02:39.520 --> 0:02:41.960 I'm talking about the star players, Chris Paul, Devin Booker 0:02:42.000 --> 0:02:44.600 and KD. These guys are too smart not to figure 0:02:44.600 --> 0:02:46.760 it out. And I think once they figure it, figure 0:02:46.800 --> 0:02:48.799 it out, man, And I think the only thing that's 0:02:48.840 --> 0:02:50.760 going to be able to stop them is an injury. 0:02:51.680 --> 0:02:55.280 So you know, so far, so good. It looks good. 0:02:55.360 --> 0:02:58.440 Chris Paul didn't have that a good game offensively, but 0:02:58.480 --> 0:03:01.440 he still had eleven assists and so he's still going 0:03:01.480 --> 0:03:04.079 to be effective. And you know, they're just still getting comfortable. Man, 0:03:04.160 --> 0:03:07.040 They're right now. I still I feel like they're going 0:03:07.080 --> 0:03:10.200 to be the team to be for sure. Yeah. Well, 0:03:10.240 --> 0:03:12.880 I remember we had Jamal Crawford on not that long ago, 0:03:12.919 --> 0:03:15.760 and Jamal was saying that he thinks KD will get 0:03:15.760 --> 0:03:19.560 acclimated here in record time because these guys are all 0:03:20.200 --> 0:03:23.080 so skilled. But I mean, it is it is a 0:03:23.120 --> 0:03:26.840 pretty fascinating contrast that the Suns are really gonna get 0:03:29.200 --> 0:03:31.280 not even twenty games, because I'm sure there's going to 0:03:31.360 --> 0:03:34.760 be a game here too down the stretch where you know, 0:03:34.800 --> 0:03:37.760 they don't have all three, they don't have Chris, Paul 0:03:37.880 --> 0:03:40.840 and Book and Kad. I'm sure one of them is 0:03:40.840 --> 0:03:42.920 going to miss at least one game here for down 0:03:42.960 --> 0:03:45.640 the stretch, So they're not even gonna get twenty games 0:03:45.680 --> 0:03:51.280 together until the playoffs. And the other three teams that 0:03:51.360 --> 0:03:53.800 I think are recognized as the best in the league 0:03:54.320 --> 0:03:57.000 Denver in the West, Boston and Milwaukee in the East, 0:03:57.040 --> 0:03:59.080 and even if you want to throw Philly in there, 0:03:59.240 --> 0:04:01.760 all these teams have a lot more continuity. So it 0:04:01.920 --> 0:04:06.240 is such a contrast to see how the Sons can 0:04:06.280 --> 0:04:12.480 they you know, can they mesh super quick and become 0:04:12.480 --> 0:04:16.159 an instant factor and they're going to have to overcome 0:04:17.240 --> 0:04:22.080 top contenders who have so much more time together. But 0:04:22.360 --> 0:04:24.600 I mean, you know, I live in Dallas. Obviously, the 0:04:24.680 --> 0:04:28.400 Kyrie Irving trade has not worked anywhere close to what 0:04:28.440 --> 0:04:31.520 the MAVs had hoped coming off the bat. They're you know, 0:04:31.600 --> 0:04:35.680 one and four when Kyrie and Luca both play, and 0:04:36.640 --> 0:04:38.559 you know that win was the only win was against 0:04:38.560 --> 0:04:42.359 San Antonio. But the anticipation for Sunday's game here in Dallas. 0:04:42.760 --> 0:04:44.920 I'm actually surprised I'm going to be at a big 0:04:44.960 --> 0:04:47.800 game and you are not, unless you're planning on making 0:04:47.800 --> 0:04:50.120 a surprise trip here Sunday. That I don't know about 0:04:50.560 --> 0:04:53.600 that Suns MAVs game. The Sons and MAVs already hate 0:04:53.640 --> 0:04:57.080 each other after last season seven game playoff series. But 0:04:57.160 --> 0:05:00.919 now to see k d in here with all those 0:05:01.040 --> 0:05:06.560 familiar Sons faces and taking on Luca and Kyrie, that 0:05:06.560 --> 0:05:10.360 that that is going to be a wild Sunday afternoon Sunday. 0:05:10.440 --> 0:05:13.440 So that's not going to be a nationally televised game there, huh. 0:05:13.480 --> 0:05:15.000 I think it is. No, it's I mean, it's a 0:05:15.040 --> 0:05:17.440 noon start, so it has to be. I think it 0:05:17.520 --> 0:05:19.279 has to be on national TV. It's a great question. 0:05:19.320 --> 0:05:22.839 I haven't I haven't looked. I just assumed at noon 0:05:23.200 --> 0:05:25.440 that it is a national TV game. I'm actually gonna 0:05:25.520 --> 0:05:27.800 check now, but I think it's got to be if 0:05:27.800 --> 0:05:30.320 it's that, because a noon tip off in Dallas is 0:05:30.360 --> 0:05:33.360 really early. You know, you say, you know the Lakers 0:05:33.440 --> 0:05:36.800 MAVs last Sunday was two thirty. Yeah, it's ABC. It's 0:05:36.839 --> 0:05:40.840 an ABC game. Okay, that's going to be a real 0:05:41.080 --> 0:05:43.240 You know what, Stein, if I didn't have to fly 0:05:43.360 --> 0:05:46.320 to Minnesota the next day, I probably would be at 0:05:46.360 --> 0:05:49.320 that game. I probably would be at the game. That's 0:05:49.320 --> 0:05:51.600 going to be a very interesting game. But you talk 0:05:51.680 --> 0:05:55.120 about Steyn, you talk about guys still mashing and teams, 0:05:55.200 --> 0:05:57.440 you know, still trying to figure things out, trying to 0:05:57.760 --> 0:06:01.280 implement these new guys. I just I'm covering the Clippers 0:06:01.279 --> 0:06:06.400 this week. So I had the Clippers Timberwolves Tuesday for TNT, 0:06:06.760 --> 0:06:10.720 and now I have the Clippers Warriors Thursday, which is 0:06:10.760 --> 0:06:16.000 tonight for T and T as well. And Russ is 0:06:16.040 --> 0:06:18.960 not to blame for sure, but they have yet to 0:06:19.000 --> 0:06:21.159 get a win since Russ has been on board. They're 0:06:21.200 --> 0:06:24.120 O and three, so they're still trying to figure things out. 0:06:24.279 --> 0:06:27.520 Kyrie still trying to figure things out with Dallas. Who else? 0:06:27.560 --> 0:06:29.880 This seems like somebody else is going through a bit 0:06:29.920 --> 0:06:35.520 of a process here since being DEALT dropped the Clippers 0:06:35.600 --> 0:06:37.840 up because we were talking before we started what else 0:06:38.000 --> 0:06:39.760 we did we want to get into, and I forgot 0:06:39.800 --> 0:06:42.839 I did want to bring up the Clippers since you 0:06:42.440 --> 0:06:44.440 you you are seeing them, So do you think are 0:06:44.480 --> 0:06:47.520 they you know? I think you summed it up well, 0:06:47.560 --> 0:06:50.000 they're oh and three since since Russ joined them. But 0:06:50.240 --> 0:06:51.919 you know, Russ has played well and he's done what 0:06:51.960 --> 0:06:54.760 they want him to do. I mean it's not just him. 0:06:54.800 --> 0:06:57.159 I mean he had seven turnovers in his Clipper debut, 0:06:57.200 --> 0:07:00.839 but he also add what I think seventeen seven, seventeen, 0:07:00.920 --> 0:07:03.080 fourteen and five, and I mean they are a high 0:07:03.160 --> 0:07:06.800 turnover team. That's not just on him. How do you 0:07:06.839 --> 0:07:11.560 think they're kind of coping with the slow start because 0:07:12.240 --> 0:07:17.560 they were playing well before they got him. They were, um, look, 0:07:18.360 --> 0:07:20.120 they're a high turn I'm glad you mentioned that they 0:07:20.120 --> 0:07:23.760 are a high turnover team. And last night for Tuesday Night, 0:07:23.960 --> 0:07:26.040 Paul George will turning the ball over. They all were. 0:07:26.040 --> 0:07:28.520 I think they had twenty five turnovers in that loss 0:07:28.560 --> 0:07:33.000 to the Temples. And Russ looks good. Russ looks good 0:07:33.040 --> 0:07:34.920 with them. I don't know what it is with this 0:07:35.040 --> 0:07:39.720 spadum ty Lou. You know, I spoke to him at 0:07:39.720 --> 0:07:42.040 the end of the third quarter and he was talking 0:07:42.040 --> 0:07:45.760 about guys playing with heart and effort, and you know, 0:07:46.560 --> 0:07:49.280 talking like that this late in the season, that's not 0:07:49.320 --> 0:07:52.880 really encouraging. You know, if you're a team that's trying, 0:07:53.040 --> 0:07:55.640 if you're a team that has aspirations of winning the championship. 0:07:55.720 --> 0:07:58.680 So they got some things to figure out. Man. That 0:07:59.240 --> 0:08:02.360 definitely did some twitter noise that that in game interview 0:08:02.400 --> 0:08:04.600 you had with ty Lu because basically he I mean, 0:08:04.600 --> 0:08:06.320 he said they weren't playing hard enough, right, I mean 0:08:06.320 --> 0:08:09.040 that's basically what he said. Yeah, you don't You don't 0:08:09.040 --> 0:08:10.800 hear that. Again, you don't hear that this late in 0:08:10.800 --> 0:08:15.480 the season from a team that we expect, or we 0:08:15.480 --> 0:08:18.800 we think has a legitimate shot to be amongst the 0:08:19.480 --> 0:08:23.600 final two. But I don't know. This is not a 0:08:23.680 --> 0:08:27.559 rust thing. It's not a rust thing for sure. But God, 0:08:27.680 --> 0:08:30.200 they gotta figure they gotta figure something out. You know, 0:08:30.240 --> 0:08:34.160 they got the Warriors. You know, here tonight in Golden State. 0:08:35.040 --> 0:08:37.880 I'm here. The water is beautiful, by the way, beautiful weather, 0:08:38.040 --> 0:08:41.720 beautiful weather. Oh loo. I love the bay. I love 0:08:41.840 --> 0:08:43.600 the base. I don't know if I told you that. No, 0:08:43.679 --> 0:08:47.120 it's not in the come on now, well we don't 0:08:47.160 --> 0:08:51.320 get much snow in the base time. It's beautiful, man, beautiful. 0:08:51.400 --> 0:08:54.400 So you know, they got their work cut out. They 0:08:54.440 --> 0:08:56.640 definitely have they work cut out. The Clippers that is. 0:08:57.400 --> 0:09:00.360 And look, let's not forget that the Warriors here with 0:09:00.559 --> 0:09:03.600 no Steph. Draymond's been banged up a little bit recently, 0:09:03.960 --> 0:09:07.000 they've actually managed to win a few without these guys, 0:09:07.920 --> 0:09:12.880 and they've creeped back up into the top six. And 0:09:12.880 --> 0:09:16.160 it's really what they did the first time Steph got 0:09:16.360 --> 0:09:21.440 hurt with a long term absence this season. I remember 0:09:21.480 --> 0:09:24.320 talking about it with him when I caught up with 0:09:24.360 --> 0:09:26.280 the Warriors on the road and had a chance to 0:09:26.360 --> 0:09:29.960 visit with him in January. And this is now the 0:09:30.040 --> 0:09:32.320 second time this season that the Warriors have managed to 0:09:32.360 --> 0:09:36.080 string some wins together in the face of injury, and 0:09:36.160 --> 0:09:38.960 it sounds like Steph's coming back next week and suddenly, 0:09:39.800 --> 0:09:43.160 finally we've been waiting for them to, you know, turn 0:09:43.240 --> 0:09:48.880 it on and look like some semblance of the defending champions. 0:09:49.760 --> 0:09:52.560 But I'm sure that there's I mean, they have to 0:09:52.600 --> 0:09:55.400 be feeling good right now too. I mean, a three 0:09:55.440 --> 0:09:58.160 game winning streak normally wouldn't be caused for celebration when 0:09:58.160 --> 0:10:01.760 you won four championship in eight years, but in this 0:10:01.880 --> 0:10:04.600 season's West, you win three in a row and you 0:10:04.640 --> 0:10:09.160 go skyrocketing up the standings, which is what's happened. Yeah, 0:10:09.240 --> 0:10:11.120 that's what that's the situation. A lot of teams in 0:10:11.120 --> 0:10:14.920 the West, you know, see themselves in right now. Three 0:10:14.960 --> 0:10:17.520 game losing streak could really put you down. Three game 0:10:17.600 --> 0:10:21.199 winning streak could really take you up. There's still a 0:10:21.240 --> 0:10:23.040 lot of time, and that's why this race is gonna 0:10:23.080 --> 0:10:25.880 be really it's gonna be really good, you know, as 0:10:25.880 --> 0:10:28.760 we get you know, towards the latter part of this 0:10:28.880 --> 0:10:31.520 regular season. I think it's gonna make it for a a 0:10:31.600 --> 0:10:33.320 great TV. There's gonna be a lot of teams in, 0:10:33.400 --> 0:10:35.839 a lot of teams out. The play in is gonna 0:10:35.880 --> 0:10:38.280 be that much more I wasn't a fan of play 0:10:38.320 --> 0:10:41.040 in implementation a few years ago. I think it's going 0:10:41.120 --> 0:10:43.760 to be that much more compelling now, you know, with 0:10:44.120 --> 0:10:46.240 how tight the race is with these teams, and so 0:10:46.520 --> 0:10:48.079 they go to State Wars. You're looking at st I'm 0:10:48.080 --> 0:10:49.880 looking at the schedule for to go to State Wars, 0:10:49.920 --> 0:10:52.559 and you know, they got the Clippers Thursday, they got 0:10:52.600 --> 0:10:58.240 New Orleans Friday, then they're at Lakers Sunday and at 0:10:58.280 --> 0:11:04.079 Okac Tuesday. I'm thinking about I don't have any intil 0:11:04.160 --> 0:11:07.120 on this right now, but if I'm Steph and the 0:11:07.160 --> 0:11:12.200 word is he could come back next week. Uh, that 0:11:12.360 --> 0:11:19.280 March seventh game against Okac. OKC looks pretty good. You 0:11:19.320 --> 0:11:22.360 know you think about like when when when star players 0:11:22.400 --> 0:11:26.920 like to come back from long hiatus, is from an injury. 0:11:27.760 --> 0:11:29.960 You know, you look at you look at some of 0:11:29.960 --> 0:11:34.120 those games, look at the schedule, you look at the UH. 0:11:34.160 --> 0:11:37.320 You just look at the UH the competition of what 0:11:37.360 --> 0:11:41.360 that team presents. And I think OKAYC makes a lot 0:11:41.400 --> 0:11:44.200 of sense. Again, don't have any intail, but I just 0:11:44.240 --> 0:11:48.480 see OKAYC on the March seventh Tuesday. Then after that 0:11:48.559 --> 0:11:51.760 they got Memphis, Milwaukee, Phoenix. It's it's tough. They gotta 0:11:52.240 --> 0:11:58.439 the Warriors got a tough schedule. Okay. Oh they well, 0:11:58.440 --> 0:12:00.640 they're they're gonna they're they're gonna cut They're gonna cut 0:12:00.679 --> 0:12:03.600 off right before you said that, so they're not gonna 0:12:03.800 --> 0:12:06.520 get that warning. One more thing about the clip. Since 0:12:06.520 --> 0:12:08.360 again you just saw them with your own eyes, I 0:12:08.400 --> 0:12:10.960 have not seen them yet since Russ joined them. Does 0:12:11.080 --> 0:12:17.320 Russ look comfortable to you? He's looking good, man, He 0:12:17.400 --> 0:12:21.640 looks good stuff. He looks really good. He's not he's 0:12:21.720 --> 0:12:24.640 more in control right now. And I think he's probably 0:12:24.679 --> 0:12:26.560 more in control now because they have a lot of 0:12:26.559 --> 0:12:29.160 guys who hand to the ball with Lakers. It was 0:12:29.200 --> 0:12:31.559 pretty much him and Lebron. You know, here you got 0:12:31.600 --> 0:12:33.920 Paul George handles the ball a lot, Kawhi handles the 0:12:33.960 --> 0:12:36.160 ball a lot. Ye Terence Man who comes off the 0:12:36.200 --> 0:12:38.319 bench and handles the ball a lot, so he doesn't 0:12:38.320 --> 0:12:41.120 have to do as much. But he's looked he's looked 0:12:41.160 --> 0:12:44.120 really good. You know. I overheard him, you know, as 0:12:44.320 --> 0:12:47.480 as a sideline reporter, you're allowed to, you know, go 0:12:47.640 --> 0:12:51.000 behind the team's bench during the time out huddles, and 0:12:51.120 --> 0:12:52.679 at one point, and I said it on the air, 0:12:52.760 --> 0:12:55.400 at one point he was like the real vocal guy 0:12:55.480 --> 0:12:58.760 telling everybody to get back in transition and explain to 0:12:58.880 --> 0:13:01.640 him to how, you know, I half court defenses is great, 0:13:02.000 --> 0:13:04.960 but Minnesota is getting their their points because we're not 0:13:05.040 --> 0:13:07.120 getting back in transition and we're not finding a guy. 0:13:07.240 --> 0:13:08.880 So he was really vocal. And if you look at 0:13:08.920 --> 0:13:11.959 that Clippers roster, they don't have a lot of vocal 0:13:12.000 --> 0:13:15.240 guys on that roster, and so that that that's a 0:13:15.400 --> 0:13:18.040 void right there that I think, you know, he takes 0:13:18.080 --> 0:13:20.800 care of and I think it's a good addition. I 0:13:20.880 --> 0:13:23.960 definitely think it's a better fit for him with the Clippers. 0:13:25.120 --> 0:13:27.839 I do got a question. Play started as I looked 0:13:27.840 --> 0:13:30.040 this up. It's pertained to rush total. Me. Let me 0:13:30.040 --> 0:13:39.120 look up this stat real quick. Okay, this season Russ 0:13:39.120 --> 0:13:42.640 has started, damn that's it. He started a total of 0:13:42.760 --> 0:13:45.640 six games total, and he's played in a total of 0:13:45.720 --> 0:13:49.040 fifty five fifty two with the Lakers, three for the Clippers, 0:13:50.160 --> 0:13:51.959 and it looks like he's going to be the starter 0:13:52.040 --> 0:13:56.599 from here on album Does this eliminate him from the 0:13:56.760 --> 0:14:01.160 six men a year? Candacy? The rule is, the official 0:14:01.240 --> 0:14:05.040 rule is as if he plays as long as you've 0:14:05.240 --> 0:14:07.560 as long as you've come off the bench one more 0:14:07.600 --> 0:14:12.040 game than you start, you're eligible. So even if he 0:14:12.120 --> 0:14:15.000 starts every game he plays for the Clips, he's going 0:14:15.080 --> 0:14:18.040 to be way under fifty percent. And so he's good. 0:14:18.400 --> 0:14:20.680 But I guess the biggest way to explain is if 0:14:20.680 --> 0:14:23.760 he had if he had played seventy games, if he's 0:14:23.800 --> 0:14:26.400 played thirty six off the bench and thirty four as 0:14:26.440 --> 0:14:30.760 a starter, he's eligible. All right with you saying that? 0:14:30.840 --> 0:14:33.080 And I'm not trying to start something here, but what 0:14:33.240 --> 0:14:36.840 you saying that, Stime? You know, I spoke to somebody 0:14:36.880 --> 0:14:39.680 from the Clippers yesterday and I was asking, you know, 0:14:39.720 --> 0:14:42.080 how teams start to towards the end of the year, 0:14:42.920 --> 0:14:46.440 they start to send out these packets or these gifts 0:14:46.480 --> 0:14:50.520 to media members to get you to vote for whatever 0:14:50.640 --> 0:14:53.960 candidate that they're trying to promote, whether that's MVP or whatever. 0:14:54.560 --> 0:14:56.880 And so I asked about what the Clippers, will you 0:14:56.920 --> 0:15:00.560 guys be trying to advocate for run to get six 0:15:00.640 --> 0:15:03.280 man a year even though he's not going to be 0:15:03.320 --> 0:15:08.880 a six man prospect for you guys, And what I 0:15:08.960 --> 0:15:13.080 was told was no, they would likely only do it 0:15:13.120 --> 0:15:19.880 for Norm Powe. Well, look, I mean the reality is 0:15:20.880 --> 0:15:22.840 he's not going to come off the bench for them, 0:15:23.600 --> 0:15:25.640 so I guess I could see it to a degree. 0:15:26.320 --> 0:15:28.840 But on the flip side, yeah, like he is their 0:15:28.880 --> 0:15:32.440 player now, and if that's the award Russ is eligible for, 0:15:32.640 --> 0:15:34.080 I mean it would be I think it would be 0:15:34.160 --> 0:15:37.240 weird if the Clippers are sending out all this And 0:15:37.320 --> 0:15:39.480 like you said, you know so many teams send us 0:15:40.480 --> 0:15:43.880 paraphernalia to try to get us to vote a certain way. 0:15:44.000 --> 0:15:46.680 I have not been an active voter since twenty seventeen. 0:15:47.200 --> 0:15:49.880 I still make my picks public, but they're not official picks. 0:15:49.920 --> 0:15:53.080 It's just the ballot that I do for publishing purposes. 0:15:53.120 --> 0:15:55.840 So I haven't. I haven't actually voted on anything since 0:15:56.280 --> 0:15:59.240 since twenty seventeen, which was the year that Russ won MVP. 0:15:59.480 --> 0:16:01.840 And yes I did vote for Russ. And no, I'm 0:16:01.840 --> 0:16:04.600 not taking that one back. I think he deserved the 0:16:04.720 --> 0:16:06.720 MVP that year. But we'll get into that one. We'll 0:16:06.720 --> 0:16:11.680 get into that one another for Russ that year as well. Um, 0:16:11.800 --> 0:16:13.920 the Rockets were mad at me. The Rockets were mad 0:16:13.920 --> 0:16:17.120 at me that year about because I told him, No, 0:16:17.280 --> 0:16:20.080 I told him because Russ wanted the last few weeks 0:16:20.080 --> 0:16:23.000 of that season. You know, I had hardened, Like I 0:16:23.360 --> 0:16:25.240 was telling people, you know, look like Harden is gonna 0:16:25.280 --> 0:16:27.880 get it. That's where my vote is gonna go. And 0:16:27.880 --> 0:16:32.320 and Russ just had a crazy two weeks span. Has 0:16:32.400 --> 0:16:35.280 has some game winners in that last two weeks. You know, 0:16:35.360 --> 0:16:38.520 that's a that's a different topic for the day. But yeah, no, 0:16:38.640 --> 0:16:41.400 same thing. I thought that that was the season that 0:16:41.520 --> 0:16:44.800 Kevin Durant went to the Warriors, and I thought Oklahoma 0:16:44.800 --> 0:16:46.480 City was going to fall off the face of the 0:16:46.600 --> 0:16:50.360 NBA map. They I think, won forty seven games, and 0:16:50.480 --> 0:16:54.800 Russ average the first triple double since uh since Oscar 0:16:55.040 --> 0:16:59.560 And for me, forty seven wins with that team after 0:16:59.720 --> 0:17:02.720 losing in k D and the Oscar Feet. To me, 0:17:02.960 --> 0:17:05.920 it was close enough to fifty wins that Russ got 0:17:05.920 --> 0:17:07.959 my vote. And that's always been the standards, you know, 0:17:08.040 --> 0:17:10.960 since since I've been covering the league. You got to 0:17:10.960 --> 0:17:13.399 go all the way back to Moses Malone in the 0:17:13.440 --> 0:17:17.840 early eighties with Houston for the last MVP from a 0:17:17.920 --> 0:17:21.520 non fifty win team except the two exceptions. I'm doing 0:17:21.560 --> 0:17:23.399 this off the top of my head, so if if 0:17:23.480 --> 0:17:25.480 I'm wrong, I'm sure someone will correct me. But I 0:17:25.520 --> 0:17:29.879 think the only two MVPs we've seen since Moses with 0:17:30.040 --> 0:17:33.439 less than fifty wins were Russ and Yokich last year, 0:17:36.440 --> 0:17:39.040 So I do I'm with you. I thought he deserved it. 0:17:39.080 --> 0:17:42.080 But again that I'm sure now we're gonna get a 0:17:42.119 --> 0:17:43.960 We're gonna get a lot of a lot of a 0:17:43.960 --> 0:17:45.639 lot of people who don't like either one of us 0:17:45.680 --> 0:17:48.640 after we can rebrought We brought that back up. But look, 0:17:48.680 --> 0:17:50.879 it's a tough six man field. Powell certainly in it, 0:17:50.920 --> 0:17:54.160 Malcolm Brogden certainly in there, Tyrese Maxie certainly in there. 0:17:55.440 --> 0:17:57.359 But that was a great question that you asked the Clippers, 0:17:57.400 --> 0:17:59.639 because that's kind of a that is kind of uncomfortable 0:17:59.680 --> 0:18:02.080 for them, Like Norman Powell is he's been a Clipper 0:18:02.080 --> 0:18:04.520 all year, but Russ is a Clipper now, so it's like, 0:18:04.960 --> 0:18:12.119 do they just not promote him? And that was you know, 0:18:12.280 --> 0:18:14.560 I didn't get the chance to talk to Russ. We 0:18:14.880 --> 0:18:17.960 you know, we said what's up before the game, but 0:18:18.240 --> 0:18:19.960 I didn't get the chance to talk to him about 0:18:20.160 --> 0:18:22.359 I'm curious to see how he feels about it, Like, 0:18:23.000 --> 0:18:25.800 is that an award? He really wants it because it 0:18:25.880 --> 0:18:28.120 took a lot for him to buy into that role 0:18:28.760 --> 0:18:31.080 and then he bought into it and he excelled. So 0:18:31.720 --> 0:18:33.400 you know, I'm interest in the scene and how how 0:18:33.400 --> 0:18:36.480 he feels about it. Does he feel like that that's 0:18:36.480 --> 0:18:40.040 an award that he should still be in the running 0:18:40.080 --> 0:18:42.000 for it, even though he's like he's going to be 0:18:42.040 --> 0:18:45.480 a starter. Maybe you'll get that chance to ask him 0:18:45.520 --> 0:18:49.399 before Thursday's game to work at India, to work at 0:18:49.440 --> 0:18:54.840 India coverage. I'm sure he's gonna be glad to see you, Russ. 0:18:54.960 --> 0:18:57.160 You know, Russ's hitting this man. You never know what, Russ. 0:18:57.560 --> 0:19:01.200 I'm absolutely furious. I can't believe you're doing that game 0:19:01.240 --> 0:19:03.840 instead of the game that's in my city. You could 0:19:03.840 --> 0:19:05.639 have been you know, you could have been on you 0:19:05.640 --> 0:19:11.600 could have been on Sixers, MAVs six things. What day? 0:19:11.640 --> 0:19:14.760 What day is that? That's that's the first game of 0:19:14.800 --> 0:19:19.640 the doubleheader. Wow, Sixers, Sixers, MAVs than Clippers, Warriors. They 0:19:19.720 --> 0:19:21.520 I mean, you're a West Coast guy. Let's face it, 0:19:21.560 --> 0:19:26.920 you're they sent me. They're sent to me to Minnesota Monday, 0:19:27.440 --> 0:19:32.560 Minnesota Sixers. I love Minnesota. Minnesota for a visit. Now. 0:19:32.600 --> 0:19:35.160 I don't know if I could live in Mines in Minneapolis, 0:19:35.840 --> 0:19:43.520 but I love visiting Minneapolis. Yeah, it's I've gravitated to 0:19:43.600 --> 0:19:46.520 it more of the last few years. But no, typically 0:19:46.600 --> 0:19:51.520 I prefer to get away from the snow. Start. I 0:19:51.520 --> 0:19:57.440 got a snow story, Can I say it? Now? Start? Yeah, yeah, 0:19:57.480 --> 0:20:02.000 we got we all we're always ready for a story. 0:20:02.200 --> 0:20:03.600 You know. It's like an old bad I got a 0:20:03.640 --> 0:20:08.880 story to tell. So when I I'm from California, born 0:20:08.880 --> 0:20:12.520 and raised Fresno, California. Never really lived outside of California 0:20:12.640 --> 0:20:16.040 until I took the Cleveland Cavalier. No excuse me when 0:20:16.040 --> 0:20:18.119 I moved to Portland. Moved to Portland when I was 0:20:18.160 --> 0:20:22.320 like twenty seven. But then When I moved to Cleveland 0:20:22.359 --> 0:20:25.600 to cover Lebron, I was what thirty and this was 0:20:25.640 --> 0:20:30.160 twenty fourteen, So that was my first time really outside 0:20:30.200 --> 0:20:32.840 the West Coast. Spent about three to four years in 0:20:32.880 --> 0:20:35.920 Portland before that, but California my whole life. So so 0:20:36.080 --> 0:20:39.440 I don't know if you noticed, but in California, if 0:20:39.520 --> 0:20:42.240 you if you come up in the hood, right, we 0:20:42.920 --> 0:20:45.840 tend to have beat up cars. You know, we tend 0:20:45.880 --> 0:20:50.800 to buy cars for around five hundred a thousand dollars 0:20:51.200 --> 0:20:54.159 and you know it's not the best of shape, but 0:20:54.240 --> 0:20:56.600 they get you from point A to point B. And 0:20:56.720 --> 0:21:00.800 for a lot of our cars, we ten to fill 0:21:00.880 --> 0:21:08.159 the radiator up with water opposed to something else that 0:21:08.240 --> 0:21:10.479 I will talk about later. But so you know a 0:21:10.480 --> 0:21:12.639 lot of times you know your car may be leaking, 0:21:13.200 --> 0:21:17.359 and you know with with uh maybe leaking in you know, 0:21:17.440 --> 0:21:20.399 we put water in your your car's over heating, we 0:21:20.440 --> 0:21:22.320 put water in it. Put water in it. Pull up 0:21:22.320 --> 0:21:26.480 to pull up to your homeboys porch, get the water holes, 0:21:26.840 --> 0:21:29.800 put water in the radiator to take you where ever 0:21:29.840 --> 0:21:32.239 you need, wherever you need to go. All right, So 0:21:32.280 --> 0:21:35.720 that's always been my philosophy. So now I'm in Cleveland Star. 0:21:36.280 --> 0:21:40.720 And I just moved to Cleveland and I'm there for 0:21:40.760 --> 0:21:44.120 a few days and I had to go to Brazil. 0:21:44.720 --> 0:21:48.680 The Calves were playing the Miami Heat. Uh preseason. Did 0:21:48.720 --> 0:21:51.399 you go to that too, Star, No, you didn't go 0:21:51.440 --> 0:21:56.040 to that? Okay, all right, So win Horse was there. 0:21:56.119 --> 0:21:59.639 Win Horse was there. So anyways, I leave my car, 0:22:00.240 --> 0:22:05.320 which I drove from Portland to Cleveland. Leave my car 0:22:05.359 --> 0:22:09.240 to the airport. From Portland to Cleveland. No problems. Yes, 0:22:09.359 --> 0:22:11.440 car made it all the way from Portland to Cleveland. 0:22:11.560 --> 0:22:13.560 It's a little it's hoopedie. I have made it all 0:22:13.560 --> 0:22:17.200 the way from Portland to Cleveland. So I'm at the 0:22:17.400 --> 0:22:19.800 I'm at I'm in Brazil. And while I'm gone for 0:22:19.840 --> 0:22:23.879 that week's time, a snowstorm happened in Cleveland. It's like 0:22:23.920 --> 0:22:28.840 one of the coldest periods and in a while. So 0:22:28.960 --> 0:22:31.880