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Speaker 1: Can the Nuggets make up for the loss of Jamal Murray.

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Speaker 1: The Lakers are finding away without Lebron James and Anthony Davis.

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Speaker 1: The two most recent players of the week continue their

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Speaker 1: hot runs. And we had our fortieth wedgie of the season.

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Speaker 1: Wooo oh yeah. And Anthony Edwards doesn't know who Alex

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Speaker 1: Rodriguez is. Hey, I'm Tasmellis and this is what you

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Speaker 1: need to know in the NBA for Wednesday, April fourteen. Hey,

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Speaker 1: what's up everybody? We start with those two reigning players

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Speaker 1: of the Week, two guys I often link because of

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Speaker 1: their playing styles and their wiry frames, Jason Tatum and

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Speaker 1: Paul George. They are both balling. Starting with the Celtics

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Speaker 1: Jason Tatum, who hit the game ceiling shot against the

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Speaker 1: Blazers with the slippery side step three ball. His paton

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Speaker 1: did side step three in an entertaining National TV game

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Speaker 1: over the Blazers. It was a back and forth. It

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Speaker 1: was a delight lot of offense in this one. The

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Speaker 1: Celtics have won four in a row in six of seven,

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Speaker 1: Tatum averaging twenty nine over his last ten. Looking like

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Speaker 1: that super duper star, Tatum said after the game, though

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Speaker 1: he still isn't one hundred percent after the COVID nineteen

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Speaker 1: effects on his body. He still uses an inhaler before

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Speaker 1: games to open up his lungs, and he's been back

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Speaker 1: playing for three months now. Tatum was the difference in

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Speaker 1: this game. Portland just didn't have an answer. Portland got

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Speaker 1: enough scoring, just not enough in the end. The Celtics

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Speaker 1: have their clear pecking order, So is it time to believe?

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Speaker 1: I say I can't do it. Even though they've won

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Speaker 1: four in a row and they're playing well, They're gonna

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Speaker 1: have to do it for a longer stretch to be

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Speaker 1: a threat to the East Elite. That's just the way

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Speaker 1: it is, especially when they're starting such a young player

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Speaker 1: at center in Robert Williams. They gave away some of

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Speaker 1: their depth by trading Daniel Tye. Not ready to do it.

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Speaker 1: I'm more ready to buy into the Los Angeles Clippers. Yes,

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Speaker 1: you heard me. Paul George continues to be the Clippers superstar.

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Speaker 1: He goes out and he flamed like a superstar, taking

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Speaker 1: twenty five shots in a win against the Pacers, and

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Speaker 1: those shots continue to go down. Just give him the ball.

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Speaker 1: He had twenty one points in the first half thirty

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Speaker 1: two after three. The line thirty six points, eight assists,

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Speaker 1: seven rebounds, and two steals. Gosh, he looks good throwing

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Speaker 1: down on guys. This smooth shooting. It's looking like an

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Speaker 1: old Jason Tatum out there. Even the defense that we

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Speaker 1: know Paul George for is still happening as well. The

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Speaker 1: Clippers didn't have Kawhi Leonardy, it a sore right foot,

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Speaker 1: Sergeabaka has missed sixteen games. No Patrick Beverly right now,

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Speaker 1: and there's still the NBA's hottest team having won six

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Speaker 1: in a row. Paul George is getting it going here

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Speaker 1: at the right time. If anyone's gonna believe in the

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Speaker 1: Clippers like I do at this point, then he's gonna

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Speaker 1: have to have it going going into the postseason where

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Speaker 1: they will be ridiculed and picked apart because they are

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Speaker 1: the Clippers. Moving on to the Denver Nuggets. Ah, people

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Speaker 1: were starting to believe in the Nuggets that they could

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Speaker 1: do it, that they could have a run like last

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Speaker 1: year when they went to the Conference finals and lost

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Speaker 1: to the Los Angeles Lakers. But then Jamal and Jamal

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Speaker 1: Murray got hurt, tearing his left acl It was confirmed

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Speaker 1: on Tuesday he will be out well into next season.

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Speaker 1: At least he's twenty four years old. Just got to

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Speaker 1: feel terrible for the guys in the year five after

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Speaker 1: what he did in the playoffs last year. That runs

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Speaker 1: twenty six and a half points, six and a half

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Speaker 1: assists in the postseason with an improved NICOLEA. Jokic beside him,

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Speaker 1: the MVP candidate in Nicola Jokic, you had to be

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Speaker 1: excited to watch these two go into the postseason. You

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Speaker 1: had Michael Porter Junior and Aaron Gordon to flank those two.

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Speaker 1: They just were on an eight game winning streak and

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Speaker 1: Murray was quietly having his best season and it kind

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Speaker 1: of flew under the radar because of Jokic and everything

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Speaker 1: they're they're doing there in Denver. But a career high

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Speaker 1: in three point shooting. Two point shooting is his most

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Speaker 1: points per game get, averaging over twenty one points per game.

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Speaker 1: So the question is now for the Denver not gets

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Speaker 1: on the floor, can they do it without Murray? I

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Speaker 1: say no. In Yokich's minutes this season, without Jamal Murray

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Speaker 1: on the floor, the Nuggets are being outscored by two

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Speaker 1: points for every one hundred possessions Jokic turns it over

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Speaker 1: a lot more when Murray sits. He also doesn't shoot

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Speaker 1: it as well. Murray just makes too much happen out there,

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Speaker 1: and if you're looking for Michael Porter Junior to do

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Speaker 1: it well, his effectiveness is just so much better playing

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Speaker 1: as a catch and shoot guy rather than creating himself.

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Speaker 1: We saw what Aaron Gordon has become since going from

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Speaker 1: a creator, being a creator in Orlando to playing off

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Speaker 1: the ball with Jokich and Murray. The additional load I

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Speaker 1: think is going to go on Jokich's shoulders, but I

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Speaker 1: think they fall in the standings where the Lakers are

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Speaker 1: waiting for them. If they do fall, the Lakers have

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Speaker 1: been able to hold the fort without Lebron James and

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Speaker 1: Anthony Davis. They ended a seven game trip all without

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Speaker 1: those two guys at four and three. Even with those

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Speaker 1: two that would still be pretty respectable. They missed those

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Speaker 1: offensive weapons, but they can still play championship defense. They

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Speaker 1: did that against Charlotte to wrap up their trip. They're

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Speaker 1: one half games back of Denver for fourth. Kuzma led

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Speaker 1: them with twenty four. He was flinging those shots. He

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Speaker 1: had eight straight going into the half Davante Graham led

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Speaker 1: Charlotte with nineteen because of those major injuries a couple

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Speaker 1: guys who probably shouldn't be in lead roles in high

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Speaker 1: volume situations, but the Lakers were able to ride Kuzma

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Speaker 1: to a w as well as Dennis Shrudter's fiery personality.

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Speaker 1: He had nineteen for the Lakers. Lakers dropped their first

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Speaker 1: three after Lebron got injured, but have since gone six

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Speaker 1: and four. Brooklyn and Minnesota. The game was delayed day

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Speaker 1: because of the Dante Wright shooting in the Minneapolis suburb

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Speaker 1: of Brooklyn. Center. Kevin Durant had his best game since

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Speaker 1: missing two months with a hamstring injury. Durant had thirty

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Speaker 1: one points, eleven to fifteen shooting in just twenty seven minutes.

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Speaker 1: This was one of those games who was just watching

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Speaker 1: KD get whatever shot he wanted, because in theory, the

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Speaker 1: Timberwolves should have guys to be able to guard Kevin

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Speaker 1: Durant if three six to nine guys that they tried

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Speaker 1: to throw out them. Jaden McDaniels, who was their best defender,

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Speaker 1: looking very solid here early in his career. Jared Vanderbilt,

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Speaker 1: who they call V eight because he's got an eight

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Speaker 1: on the back of his jersey and his last name

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Speaker 1: starts with V and then even one. Her name Gomez

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Speaker 1: was given it a shot, but no Kevin Durant get

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Speaker 1: whatever shot he won. But the great thing about the

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Speaker 1: Brooklyn Nets they have thirty one assists on forty six

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Speaker 1: baskets in a route over Minnesota. But they're also great

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Speaker 1: at that ISO ball, so they've got it all. The

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Speaker 1: Wolves on the other side are in the process of

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Speaker 1: being sold to a group led by Alex Rodriguez, but

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Speaker 1: the rookie Anthony Edwards, has no idea who that is. Listen,

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Speaker 1: do you have any thoughts about him or you an

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Speaker 1: Arod fan at all growing up or anything like that

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Speaker 1: when you think about what he might bring to the team.

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Speaker 1: Man the baseball player dox Rigaz, Yeah, I don't know. Okay,

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Speaker 1: I know he's going to be the owner, but I

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Speaker 1: don't know know about baseball. See the shock the thing

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Speaker 1: is Anthony edwardsid he played baseball as a kid. He

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Speaker 1: was great, pitched third base, shortstop where Alex Rodriguez did

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Speaker 1: his nag. You'd think even though he's born in two

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Speaker 1: thousand and one, you know that his fandom, his formative

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Speaker 1: years he'd be watching Alex Rodriguez play baseball. Anyways, that's

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Speaker 1: about it, Hawks, Raptors. We got some FOEBA bogged down

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Speaker 1: Bogdanovich out there for the Hawks. Looks like he's playing

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Speaker 1: for Serbia a couple of years ago, and he's going

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Speaker 1: scarching hot for that FEBA World Cup team. Credit to

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Speaker 1: coach Nate McMillan for letting him go off since he's

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Speaker 1: taken over Coming off a thirty two point night, Bogie

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Speaker 1: had twenty three against the Raps. The Reps didn't have

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Speaker 1: their starting back court, but the Hawks didn't have Trey

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Speaker 1: Young either, and even without Trey Young, the Hawks were

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Speaker 1: a well run machine, getting their shots they were supposed to,

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Speaker 1: mainly because of bug Dan Bogdanovic the same camp. He

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Speaker 1: said for the Raps, though they needed Kyle Lowry, but

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Speaker 1: he was resting. Maybe like MAVs owner Mark Cuban, Lowry

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Speaker 1: could hate the idea of the play in tournament because

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Speaker 1: the Raps are gonna need him if they want to

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Speaker 1: sniff it. Got to get out there, Kyle, if you

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Speaker 1: want that playing tournament. Maybe doesn't like it. Maybe he's said,

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Speaker 1: all right, we're done here in Toronto, this season. It's

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Speaker 1: been a horrible year. Anyways, enough about that, Okay, see

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Speaker 1: Utah lou Dort had a career high forty two points

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Speaker 1: for OKC, but the Jazz were able to overcome and

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Speaker 1: get a victory Miami Phoenix. The Suns keep bolstering Monty

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Speaker 1: Williams Coach of the Year chances. They had four guys

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Speaker 1: in double figures off the bench. They won despite only

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Speaker 1: getting a combined seventeen points from Chris Paul and Devin Booker.

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Speaker 1: Their defense was stellar, holding Miami to eighty six points

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Speaker 1: and incredible news, we had our fortieth wedgie of the season,

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Speaker 1: a rebound in the Lakers Hornets game. You'd think with

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Speaker 1: the shortened season, we'd have our lowest weggie total ever,

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Speaker 1: but we've now hit the weggie floor in the modern

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Speaker 1: era since we started tracking seven seasons ago. This is

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Speaker 1: how the wedges have gone. Forty seven wedgies in our

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Speaker 1: first year of tracking in fourteen to fifteen. Then we

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Speaker 1: had forty five weggies the year after that. Then we

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Speaker 1: had the high water mark of fifty one wedgies in

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Speaker 1: sixteen seventeen. What a year that was. Then we hit

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Speaker 1: that floor of forty wedgies the following season. Then we've

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Speaker 1: gone forty eight, forty four last year, which was also

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Speaker 1: a shortened season, and then forty this season, and we

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Speaker 1: still have the possibility of cracking our all time high

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Speaker 1: in the modern era. We have two hundred and eighty

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Speaker 1: regular season games left. We're getting them every twenty games

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Speaker 1: or so, so we should get ten more and get

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Speaker 1: to fifty by the end of the regular season. I

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Speaker 1: know I'm looking ahead here, but we get another eighty

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Speaker 1: five playoff games on top of that, we're gonna hit fifty.

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Speaker 1: We're gonna blast through it. Maybe we can get Shack

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Speaker 1: back here to give Skeets another wedgie like we did

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Speaker 1: when we got to that fifty one and sixteen seventeen. Wow. Wow, Wow.

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Speaker 1: I'm getting ahead of myself, But when you hit the

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Speaker 1: forty mark, you got to get excited. All right. That's

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Speaker 1: it for me. Make sure you check out the full

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Speaker 1: Nodunk's episode here on Wednesday. I'll be back tomorrow and

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

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Speaker 1: I'll talk to you that