WEBVTT - Sacramento Kings End 16-Year Postseason Drought

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<v Speaker 1>All right, so we gotta start the episode with where

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<v Speaker 1>things stand in the West. It is chaos. It is

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<v Speaker 1>time for the cleaning lady to come over and take

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<v Speaker 1>out our trash. There's two weeks left. There's twenty six

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<v Speaker 1>teams that can make the play in of the playoffs,

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<v Speaker 1>which is just surreal. And all these arbitrary rules could

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<v Speaker 1>possibly stop these teams from tanking, and they have the

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<v Speaker 1>biggest event. Of course, that has changed recently. The biggest

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<v Speaker 1>update is the Sacramento Kings. Sacramento Kings, for the first

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<v Speaker 1>time in a gajillion years, put a herding on the

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<v Speaker 1>Blazers G League line up to the tune of a

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<v Speaker 1>forty point win for the first time in sixteen years.

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<v Speaker 1>The Kings clinch on that beam as the three seed

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<v Speaker 1>were me up on that beam. Baby. As everyone knows,

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<v Speaker 1>we've been talking about the Kings, been excited about the

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<v Speaker 1>Kings all year. A lot of people thought that they

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<v Speaker 1>would falter, but they did not collapse. They actually got

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<v Speaker 1>better as the season went on, and now they're not

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<v Speaker 1>just only going to the playoffs or the play in,

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<v Speaker 1>they'll host at least the first round. It speaks to

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<v Speaker 1>one how good Mike Brown has been He's obviously Coach

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<v Speaker 1>of the Year hands down, but really just how the

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<v Speaker 1>ownership has changed and how that ownership has changed the

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<v Speaker 1>entire dynamic of this franchise. Veck Rando v. Randy Vay.

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<v Speaker 1>It's hard to say. Learned a lot obviously as an owner.

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<v Speaker 1>He had Luke Walton, got Luke Walton the fuck out,

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<v Speaker 1>made sure to get a competent head coach to come

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<v Speaker 1>in for him, put the organization in the hands of

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<v Speaker 1>a bunch of people who knew what they were doing,

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<v Speaker 1>like Monti McNair, and all of a sudden, couple of

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<v Speaker 1>good trades, couple of good draft picks, and boom, you

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<v Speaker 1>are a good team, just like that playoff time. So

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<v Speaker 1>Tom Ziller, the thing that I think is really interesting

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<v Speaker 1>is because people talk about, oh, is a sixteen year

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<v Speaker 1>playoff drought, but it's sort of and Tom Ziller check

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<v Speaker 1>him out if you don't know him. Tom Ziller wrote

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<v Speaker 1>an article about just how that undersells understates how bad

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<v Speaker 1>the Kings have had it in the last sixteen years.

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<v Speaker 1>Because it's not that they just missed the playoffs for

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<v Speaker 1>sixteen straight years. Seven of those sixteen years they were

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<v Speaker 1>under siege the maloof organization, the maloofs as a family,

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<v Speaker 1>as an ownership group of the Kings, try to actively

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<v Speaker 1>move the Kings out of Sacramento for like almost a decade,

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<v Speaker 1>seven straight years. You had mayors getting involved, You had

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<v Speaker 1>the city's rioting fan base putting up flyers. Seven years.

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<v Speaker 1>This dude tried to move the team, tried to move

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<v Speaker 1>it to Anaheim. Wouldn't sell to an owner that would say,

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<v Speaker 1>on purpose, we're gonna keep it in Sacramento. Move wouldn't

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<v Speaker 1>sell to that person. So to call it just a

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<v Speaker 1>playoff drought is sort of spinning in the face of

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<v Speaker 1>how bad it was. Then you enter the Vek. He

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<v Speaker 1>has this plan to rebuild the team, even though we

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<v Speaker 1>all know it didn't work. At first, hired Luke Walton.

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<v Speaker 1>Everybody gets a mullion. He looked like he was gonna

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<v Speaker 1>be a good coach. Obviously was under Steve kerrz Tutelich.

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<v Speaker 1>Vivek obviously likes some Steve Kerr Mike Brown coming from

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<v Speaker 1>the Steve Kerr tree as well. But when we look back,

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<v Speaker 1>things started to turn around when Vivek built Gold one

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<v Speaker 1>in twenty sixteen. Here's what he said about what gold

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<v Speaker 1>One means listen, We're not just gonna build an arena.

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<v Speaker 1>I want to build the best that's ever been built.

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<v Speaker 1>He told this to Carmichael Dave recently in an interview.

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<v Speaker 1>He explained he got the idea of the purple beam

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<v Speaker 1>from airport lanes. What if we add purple lights on

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<v Speaker 1>the roof when I'm flying, then I can tell that

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<v Speaker 1>the kings are in the house. What a baller. He

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<v Speaker 1>just wanted a like a bat signal to know whether

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<v Speaker 1>the kings were in the building or not. He said,

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<v Speaker 1>I had this idea that people used to gather around

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<v Speaker 1>a fire in the Middle Ages. They used to gather

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<v Speaker 1>around cathedrals. The arena is the twenty first century cathedral.

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<v Speaker 1>So the purple beam is an outgrowth of making the

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<v Speaker 1>Golden One the center of Sacramento. That's incredible, What an

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<v Speaker 1>amazing analogy. Dearon Fox. Also, the Golden One Center. We've

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<v Speaker 1>talked about this before. I just want to stamp it again.

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<v Speaker 1>Top three arena in the NBA. If I could create

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<v Speaker 1>an arena that wasn't Madison Square Garden, because Madison Square

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<v Speaker 1>Garden is just different. Let's be honest. Madison Square Gardens

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<v Speaker 1>also pretty old. But if I could create an arena

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<v Speaker 1>from scratch, Golden one would be the blueprint, purple beam

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<v Speaker 1>at all, the glass atrium, the bar up top, it's

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<v Speaker 1>standing room only down to the court, the fact that

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<v Speaker 1>you can see the court when you enter the building,

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<v Speaker 1>like stadium vibe, like Roman Colisseum vibe lit. Anyway, deeron

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<v Speaker 1>Fox explains what it was like to snap this playoff drought.

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<v Speaker 2>It feels great, man, Like I said, I think just

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<v Speaker 2>coming into it knowing that that was kind of a

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<v Speaker 2>burden that you wanted to just get off your chest.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm definitely grateful to be a part of that. Well,

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<v Speaker 2>like I said, ever since Mike's gotten here and just

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<v Speaker 2>the talent that we brought in, the guys that we

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<v Speaker 2>brought in, everybody has, you know, bigger aspirations than that.

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<v Speaker 2>But it definitely feels great. It definitely feels great to

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<v Speaker 2>be a part of that.

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<v Speaker 1>So Sacramento's in top three. Seeds are in Nuggets one,

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<v Speaker 1>GRIZ two, Kings three right. Rest of the West completely unclear,

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<v Speaker 1>complete chaos. Let's look at what's going on currently and

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<v Speaker 1>what's going on with the remaining schedule. First and foremost

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<v Speaker 1>of the Phoenix Suns. They have a half a game

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<v Speaker 1>lead right now for the final home playoff spot. Kevin

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<v Speaker 1>Durant is back. Kevin Durant for as an aside, had

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<v Speaker 1>sixteen and twenty nine minutes last night, big win over

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<v Speaker 1>the Minnesota Timberwolves. But it is a brutal schedule for

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<v Speaker 1>the Phoenix Suns down the stretch. They have six games

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<v Speaker 1>left against the Nuggets, two games against the Nuggets, game

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<v Speaker 1>against the Thunder, game against the Clippers, a game against

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<v Speaker 1>the Lakers and the Spurs. So just one gimme game

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<v Speaker 1>against the San Antonio Spurs. Brutal number five Clippers currently

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<v Speaker 1>in the five spot, half a game behind the Suns,

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<v Speaker 1>nipping on their heels, playing really really good basketball right now.

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<v Speaker 1>Tylu just moved Nick Batoum to the five spot. He

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<v Speaker 1>just brought one of the Morris brothers from the starting lineup,

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<v Speaker 1>bringing his ass onto the bench. They're seven and three

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<v Speaker 1>in their last ten. They just had an amazing win

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<v Speaker 1>against the Memphis Grizzlies without Paul George and without Kawhi

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<v Speaker 1>Leonard Russ for whatever reason, has taken on a new role,

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<v Speaker 1>not the the bench one. It's a new new rule,

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<v Speaker 1>it's a it's a rebounding role. Five left with the grizz, Pels, Lakers, Blazers,

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<v Speaker 1>and Suns Rough except for the Blazers number six spot Warriors.

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<v Speaker 1>There are one game behind the Clippers for the fifth seed,

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<v Speaker 1>one and a half games behind the Suns. Unlikely to

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<v Speaker 1>catch the Suns, they could steal the five seed. There's

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<v Speaker 1>five games left to go for the Warriors, the Nuggets, Kings, Okse, Thunder,

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<v Speaker 1>and then you've got two Cupgate games Spurs and Blazers

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<v Speaker 1>hm Wolves currently at nowhere in the seventh spot. Remember

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<v Speaker 1>we thought they might even miss the play in. One

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<v Speaker 1>game behind Golden State for the sixth seed and to

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<v Speaker 1>avoid the play in five left easiest schedule of the

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<v Speaker 1>bunch Lakers, Blazers, Nets, Spurs, and Pelicans. Lakers one and

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<v Speaker 1>a half games behind Golden State with six left to play.

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<v Speaker 1>So their tee are on missing the playoffs and being

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<v Speaker 1>a play in team two times against the Jazz, Wolves, once, Rockets,

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<v Speaker 1>once Clippers, once Suns once. Rough. Feels like the Lakers

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<v Speaker 1>are a playing team, doesn't it. It really does. At

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<v Speaker 1>least if they're the eight seed or the seventh seed.

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<v Speaker 1>They only have to win one game in order to

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<v Speaker 1>get in the nine seed Pelicans a half a game

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<v Speaker 1>behind the Lakers, one behind the Wolves, which is why

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<v Speaker 1>that Pelicans lost last night to the Warriors. Are so stunning.

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<v Speaker 1>They need every win they can get, every team in

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<v Speaker 1>the West. He's every win they can get. They've got

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<v Speaker 1>six games left. They face the Clippers, the Warriors, but

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<v Speaker 1>also four bad teams Spurs, Hornets, Rockets, and Blazers. Actually,

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<v Speaker 1>I think they've got the easiest schedule of the bunch.

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<v Speaker 1>They can win four of those six games pretty easily,

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<v Speaker 1>and they're gonna want probably some revenge against the Warriors.

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<v Speaker 1>And then the ten spot the Thunder half a game

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<v Speaker 1>behind the Pels. They've got five games remaining, Pacers, Sons, Warriors, Jazz,

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<v Speaker 1>Grizz probably two easy games out of those. I could

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<v Speaker 1>see them beating the Warriors. I could see them beating

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<v Speaker 1>actually all of these teams, but not every single one.

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<v Speaker 1>And then if you want to talk about the outside

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<v Speaker 1>looking in, the Mavericks, whoa game out of eleventh or

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<v Speaker 1>a game out of tenth, excuse me. And in eleventh

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<v Speaker 1>spot they face the Heat, Hawks, Kings, Bulls, and Spurs,

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<v Speaker 1>so it's close for them too. And finally in the

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<v Speaker 1>twelfth spot is Jazz. They're at one and a half

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<v Speaker 1>games out of the tenth spot. They face the Lakers twice,

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<v Speaker 1>the Celtics Ones, the Nets ones Okay see ones, and

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<v Speaker 1>Denver Ones. It feels like the Jazz are done. I

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<v Speaker 1>think we can kind of put them in a suitcase,

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<v Speaker 1>pack them up and send them home. It is absolute chaos.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm really really looking forward to see how this all

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<v Speaker 1>shakes out. The first round is gonna be a doozy.

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<v Speaker 1>There's gonna be fireworks every day. You have to google

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<v Speaker 1>NBA standings. I've never done that in my life. Every

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<v Speaker 1>day something changes. The Thunder sitting there in the ten spot,

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<v Speaker 1>I think they were six two days ago. One win

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<v Speaker 1>with a couple of losses for your cohorts boosts you

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<v Speaker 1>up the standings, and vice versa as well. Will the

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<v Speaker 1>Warriors move up to five? Will the Lakers get a

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<v Speaker 1>home game in the play in? Will the MAVs miss

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<v Speaker 1>the playoffs? All these are such crazy questions and we

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<v Speaker 1>probably won't know the answers until the very last day

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<v Speaker 1>of the season. And NBA fans, that is exactly what

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<v Speaker 1>Adam Silver wants, and it's pretty damn awesome.