Speaker 1: Basically one month into the NBA season, and so today
Speaker 1: we're gonna go up and down that crowded, jumbled Western
Speaker 1: Conference ladder, talk about as many different teams as we can,
Speaker 1: what we've seen through this first month, all that's next
Speaker 1: here on this League Uncut.
Speaker 2: Welcome to this League Uncut.
Speaker 3: Can you rule a twenty four hour NBA.
Speaker 4: News this's you, Chris Haynes. It's no time, Mark Stein,
Speaker 4: it's some time. This League Uncut is underway and on fire.
Speaker 2: This should be a good one.
Speaker 1: Welcome in everyone to a Thanksgiving week edition of This
Speaker 1: League Uncut. Mark Stein here with Chris Haynes. I've pulled
Speaker 1: him away from his extensive Thanksgiving family Thanksgiving preparations because
Speaker 1: Chris Haynes is on record is telling everyone who listens
Speaker 1: to this pod this is his favorite holiday. Yes, it
Speaker 1: is a full on family wide undertaking to put your
Speaker 1: Thursday extravaganza together.
Speaker 5: Mm hmm.
Speaker 1: So I apologize for pulling you out of your prep
Speaker 1: time to we got we gotta talk. We gotta talk
Speaker 1: some Western Conference today. But real quick, everything is that,
Speaker 1: as you know, we're recording this on a Monday afternoon
Speaker 1: Pacific time. Everything on track for your Thursday festival.
Speaker 5: Yep. I have my two daughters. They're flying in tomorrow,
Speaker 5: my two oldest daughters that go to Clark Atlanta. Shout
Speaker 5: out to the a sbcus out there. And I have
Speaker 5: my niece. I'm flying my niece in from Virginia, so
Speaker 5: she's coming tomorrow as well to stay with us. Stay
Speaker 5: with us. My two youngest daughters are cleaning up as
Speaker 5: we speak right now, getting the house off speaking span
Speaker 5: because the extravaganza this year is at my house. So
Speaker 5: we're going to have probably upwards to thirty five to
Speaker 5: forty here starting Wednesday, and so yeah, everything's going good.
Speaker 5: I went grocery shopping yesterday. The last thing I have
Speaker 5: to do is get one of the most important items
Speaker 5: the Thanksgiving, the ham dam and specifically honey baked ham stein.
Speaker 5: I don't know if you had a honey baked ham stein,
Speaker 5: but it's sliced up for you and it has just
Speaker 5: this hard this hardened honey that's on the outside surface
Speaker 5: of the ham, and so in every bite Steyn, it's
Speaker 5: just a beautiful sensation and a feeling in your taste.
Speaker 5: Buds Man, when you taste this ham, you can eat
Speaker 5: it cold, you can warm it up whatever. But I'll
Speaker 5: talk about what's on the menu later. But yes, I'm
Speaker 5: getting ready to.
Speaker 1: Save some of that for Wednesday's pot. But in short,
Speaker 1: I mean, you haven't been a Sacramento resident for a
Speaker 1: long time, so but you know where to go to
Speaker 1: get what you know what, you already got your spot
Speaker 1: picked out, where you're gonna go and where to get what.
Speaker 5: I'm getting all my food. Yeah, that's that what you're
Speaker 5: talking about.
Speaker 1: If this ham is so well, no, I mean, if
Speaker 1: the ham is so special, you got to have a
Speaker 1: special place to get it from, don't you.
Speaker 5: It's the Honey Baked Ham Company. I don't they don't
Speaker 5: have that in Dallas.
Speaker 3: Maybe they do. I told you, I'm I am not.
Speaker 1: You know, my Thanksgiving is completely different this year. Our
Speaker 1: family is I'm I am in La. I'm going to
Speaker 1: see two Laker games and then I'm going to have
Speaker 1: a Thanksgiving dinner with my oldest son who lives out here,
Speaker 1: and I am just it's it's just gonna be he
Speaker 1: and I. But I am pumped, psyched, and uh but
Speaker 1: there you know we're you know, we don't We're going
Speaker 1: to a restaurant, so I know, I know you don't
Speaker 1: love that idea. I know you don't believe in that.
Speaker 1: I don't want to get you all riled up again.
Speaker 5: But uh, well, you're on the road. You're on the road,
Speaker 5: so I guess that would suffice. And if you can't,
Speaker 5: if you can't get premium food cooked, then I you
Speaker 5: know it's okay to But.
Speaker 3: You know I'm not looking for it.
Speaker 1: I'm not looking for a traditional Thanksgiving meal that I
Speaker 1: know that is your favorite meal of the year. But
Speaker 1: I'm just gonna have to live vicariously through you on
Speaker 1: that one.
Speaker 5: Well, let's you know, everybody, everybody have a well, no,
Speaker 5: we're gonna do another part. I was gonna say, everybody
Speaker 5: have a great Thanksgiving, but I hope you have a
Speaker 5: great Thanksgiving prep because also this is also the worst
Speaker 5: time of year for a lot of people. And the
Speaker 5: reason for that, Stein is you're bringing everybody together and family.
Speaker 5: But I don't know how your family is, Steine, But
Speaker 5: everybody doesn't get along in your family. You don't like
Speaker 5: everybody in your family, But you have to act like
Speaker 5: you do for at least two or three days. And
Speaker 5: so I hope there's no fights, there's no arguments. I
Speaker 5: hope there's no memugs. I hope you're able to get
Speaker 5: along with all your family and your loved ones for
Speaker 5: these two to three days. Because Steyn, growing up as
Speaker 5: a kid, I see some of the best fights doing Thanksgiving. Man,
Speaker 5: ain't nobody fighting at my house. I'll tell you that
Speaker 5: right now, Tell you that right now. But hey, I
Speaker 5: wish y'all nothing but peace during this Thanksgiving preparation and
Speaker 5: on things.
Speaker 1: Fire alarm is fixed, air conditioning is fixed.
Speaker 3: You're ready to go.
Speaker 5: The hotel, hands is ready, We're ready to go.
Speaker 3: All right? You know what?
Speaker 1: Let's you know this Thanksgiving is also basically the one
Speaker 1: month marker for the NBA. We're basically this week is
Speaker 1: when we have seen a month of regular season play,
Speaker 1: and I think when you look at the East, there
Speaker 1: is a lot of order and expectancy at the top
Speaker 1: of the standings. Even though the Bucks have looked much
Speaker 1: more Milwaukee like since, as you discussed on a recent pod,
Speaker 1: their players went to new coach Adrian Griffin lobbied him
Speaker 1: for a return to the more familiar drop coverage schemes
Speaker 1: of recent Bucks seasons that are naturally centered around Brook Lopez.
Speaker 1: They've been much better defensively here recently and for all
Speaker 1: the ups and downs, you know, they're nine and four
Speaker 1: as of Monday as we record this, and you know,
Speaker 1: not far off the pace set by Boston and Philly
Speaker 1: top four in the East when we woke up today. Boston, Philly, Milwaukee, Miami.
Speaker 1: So that's you know, not too surprising.
Speaker 3: Go ahead and.
Speaker 5: Sign hold on and the last I believe it was
Speaker 5: our last pod. Remember I told you about Dame getting
Speaker 5: his minutes back to where he where he was comfortable
Speaker 5: at in Portland. Remember I brought that up that his
Speaker 5: minutes were changed. Now he plays the entire first quarter.
Speaker 5: That's that's what he's familiar with. That way, he's able
Speaker 5: to get comfortable throughout the quarter, doesn't feel like he
Speaker 5: needs to rush anything. And so I said that before
Speaker 5: it was even made known. And I think two days
Speaker 5: later Dame comes out and says, yes, I went to Griffin,
Speaker 5: So y'all need to y'all need to keep checking. I'll
Speaker 5: throw some things out there here, here and there. You
Speaker 5: know what I mean, y'all, y'all listen, I'm trying to
Speaker 5: I'm trying to help y'all out. Give y'all a little
Speaker 5: bit something before it becomes public knowledge. If you would,
Speaker 5: if you were listening to this league uncut last part,
Speaker 5: you would have known about a potential conversation that Dame
Speaker 5: had with Griff before Dame even acknowledged it. So you know, hey,
Speaker 5: just try and make them aware.
Speaker 1: Just to show you my top flight, top shelf sharp
Speaker 1: as attack memory. I don't even remember that, So there
Speaker 1: you go. Man, I am aging so badly. It's really really,
Speaker 1: really painful. When I used to, I used to, I
Speaker 1: used to love my memory, and now I just can
Speaker 1: I remember what happened yesterday.
Speaker 3: I don't.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I'm with you there, Stile. I can't fault you
Speaker 5: for that. I'm the type of person now, especially for
Speaker 5: the last few years. Again, I'm forty two. It's like
Speaker 5: the last two years. I've just taken a stance that
Speaker 5: if something comes to my mind, I'm just saying it
Speaker 5: right there because this is going to be gone the
Speaker 5: next two minutes. I'm not gonna remember anything. So whatever
Speaker 5: comes to your mind, say it if. If you're at
Speaker 5: that point, you're officially washed as Stein like Stein's favorite word,
Speaker 5: washed and old. And that's okay.
Speaker 1: I get in tu when I you know, when I
Speaker 1: jokingly say that I'm washed, and I hear.
Speaker 3: But you know, missus Stein will say, stop saying that.
Speaker 1: I have a friend from my buddy from high school,
Speaker 1: my dear friend from high school. Dave says, don't say that,
Speaker 1: So I gotta stop. I gotta stop doing that. Anyway,
Speaker 1: that's a long winded way of saying. You know, the East,
Speaker 1: the top of the East it you know, Indiana, Indiana
Speaker 1: has been a pleasant surprise. Cleveland seems to be turning
Speaker 1: around a slow start, big win for the Cabs Sunday
Speaker 1: night to be Denver at home. But the East, you know,
Speaker 1: it essentially looks I think like a lot of people
Speaker 1: would have projected it for the most part to this point.
Speaker 1: The West is kind of the one where we're going
Speaker 1: to zero in on the West today because you know,
Speaker 1: the West has its share of early surprises. The Denver Nuggets,
Speaker 1: they have lost a few on the road, they do,
Speaker 1: Miss Jamal Murray. They're not just gonna know. They still
Speaker 1: haven't lost a home game seven to zero at home,
Speaker 1: but they've lost They've lost a couple here in a
Speaker 1: row on the road. So I mean the Denver Nuggets,
Speaker 1: the defending champions, they clearly need and miss Jamal Murray.
Speaker 1: I don't think anyone in Denver is too deeply concerned.
Speaker 1: But when you look up and down the standings, I
Speaker 1: mean they're we get going all kinds of crazy directions
Speaker 1: in the West. Golden State in the midst of a
Speaker 1: six game losing streak, a lot of factors that have
Speaker 1: led to that six game losing streak for Golden State.
Speaker 1: But at the other end, at the top of the West,
Speaker 1: Sacramento has won six in a row. Oklahoma City Producer
Speaker 1: Ryan's Thunder, they've won five in a row. They're not
Speaker 1: really Producer Ryan's Thunder, but he asked me about them
Speaker 1: this morning, so we will get to them. But I
Speaker 1: mean they're you know, the Lakers got off to a
Speaker 1: slow start. They've bounced back here. Houston's been a surprise.
Speaker 1: Dallas got off to the nine and three start and
Speaker 1: just lost a home or a road home back to back,
Speaker 1: lost in Milwaukee, lost at home Sunday night to Sacramento.
Speaker 1: Minnesota has been really impressive. I mean, the West has
Speaker 1: been full of surprises, and I think we're still kind
Speaker 1: of getting a handle on all these teams. Can you
Speaker 1: pinpoint who is probably who has impressed you the most
Speaker 1: out of this diverse group of teams.
Speaker 5: For me, it's easy. I didn't expect this at all.
Speaker 5: I have to go with the Oklahoma City Thunder, I
Speaker 5: mean I was that. I can't remember if it was
Speaker 5: their first or second game. It might have been their
Speaker 5: first game in Chicago. Chicago's first game for sure, because
Speaker 5: that's when they had their players only meeting after the
Speaker 5: first game, which is pretty much it's unheard of. And
Speaker 5: I've just seen just the the talent that they have.
Speaker 5: I knew they have to have talent, but they're putting
Speaker 5: it all together. You know, s g A. We know
Speaker 5: how great and special he is. But they's got a
Speaker 5: lot of talent. Man check, you know they you see
Speaker 5: what check that that three check hit on Golden State
Speaker 5: to send the game to overtime. Man so much poised
Speaker 5: turn around three that's that's a tough shot, the seven
Speaker 5: foot of doing it at that, man. And so they
Speaker 5: just have a bunch of weapons. And you know, I
Speaker 5: can't lie. I didn't think they'd be putting it together
Speaker 5: this soon. I mean it's still early. They're ten and
Speaker 5: four right now is earlier in the year. Things can change,
Speaker 5: But you know, ok C for sure. For me, that's
Speaker 5: the probably the most surprising start for me in the
Speaker 5: in the entire NBA. S g a is you know,
Speaker 5: I had you know, when we talking we talked to
Speaker 5: Davion Mitchell the Kings, he said SGA was the toughest
Speaker 5: point guard to guard in the league. That's over Steph,
Speaker 5: that's over Dame, over Kyrie Irving. And a large part
Speaker 5: of it the reason, a large part of the reason
Speaker 5: why he said that, he said, because s J. Sga
Speaker 5: is lyft. You know, he's six ' five. But yeah,
Speaker 5: I have to give all the props to Okay see
Speaker 5: and what they're doing this far. I don't want to
Speaker 5: jump the gun and say they're going to be there
Speaker 5: at the end, but uh, this starter is really impressive.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 1: Look, I can't sit here and pretend that I thought
Speaker 1: they were going to start ten and four, but I
Speaker 1: you know, Producer Ryan asked me this morning, do you
Speaker 1: believe in the Thunder now? I honestly I believed in
Speaker 1: them coming into the season because, as you said, SGA is,
Speaker 1: I mean, first team All NBA last season, and you know,
Speaker 1: he is a you know, he's a closer, he's a
Speaker 1: finisher in crunch time in tight games, the Thunder know
Speaker 1: exactly where they want to go.
Speaker 3: Their pecking order is very clear.
Speaker 1: And then Chet Holmgren with all this attention on Victor
Speaker 1: Webman Yama, and obviously Chet is a red shirt rookie.
Speaker 1: Last season should have been his rookie season. This is
Speaker 1: officially his rookie season because injury prevented him from playing
Speaker 1: last season. But he has been fantastic early and doing
Speaker 1: it as a center. They've been able to play him
Speaker 1: as a center, and it just makes everything line up
Speaker 1: very nicely for the Thunder. And the question with these
Speaker 1: guys is because they have so many trade assets, I
Speaker 1: think that question kind of always lurks in the background
Speaker 1: with the Thunder.
Speaker 3: Will they make a big move?
Speaker 1: Will they use the stacks and stacks of draft picks
Speaker 1: amassed by Thunder president Sam Presty.
Speaker 3: When will they use it?
Speaker 1: Will they will they dive into that stack and try
Speaker 1: to go make a trade to bring in another established player,
Speaker 1: But you know they there mantra has always been patients.
Speaker 1: I don't think they're gonna bow to any external pressures
Speaker 1: about trying to speed this up and you know, trading
Speaker 1: for some making some sort of win now trade. I
Speaker 1: don't see that as being a target for them.
Speaker 3: Things are going.
Speaker 1: Really well the way it is, with the way SGA
Speaker 1: is developing. Chad Holmgren, you've got giddy there obviously, Lou
Speaker 1: Dort one of the best and most physical defenders in
Speaker 1: the league. Ken Rich Williams is back now, Jalen and
Speaker 1: Jalen Williams, Like we could go on and on and on.
Speaker 1: I mean, all these guys are developed. You know, they
Speaker 1: they it's just they they are doing it at their
Speaker 1: pace and you know it's already working, and you know
Speaker 1: they're a team. I think, look to me that I
Speaker 1: the four, I would say the foremost surprise, I would
Speaker 1: still probably give it to Minnesota, just because I think
Speaker 1: Minnesota also has mixed in some real quality wins early
Speaker 1: in the season to you know, the start that they've had.
Speaker 1: I mean, this is you know, this is a franchise
Speaker 1: that I mean, they haven't won a playoff series in
Speaker 1: twenty years, and so there is a lot riding on
Speaker 1: this season for Minnesota. They have a very expensive payroll,
Speaker 1: They have the pressures that carry over from last season
Speaker 1: when they gave up so many trade assets for Rudy Gobert,
Speaker 1: and last season didn't go great and didn't come anywhere
Speaker 1: close to what they were hoping for.
Speaker 3: But now you know the Wolves.
Speaker 1: You know, nine and three to start the season, and
Speaker 1: again some real quality wins to this point. They beat
Speaker 1: Miami early, they gave Denver their first loss, they gave
Speaker 1: Boston their first loss. They won the two games back
Speaker 1: to back in the Bay Area that sent the Warriors
Speaker 1: into their current six game spirals. I mean, they've made
Speaker 1: some early season statements. I mean, Anthony Edwards, I think
Speaker 1: everybody in the league was expecting him to play at
Speaker 1: this level after what we saw with Team USA. But
Speaker 1: Rudy Gobert looks just miles better and more mobile this
Speaker 1: season than he did last season. And so we're now
Speaker 1: kind of getting, at the very least, we're getting the
Speaker 1: Timberwolves that we expected last season when they made the
Speaker 1: trade for Rudy Gobert, because Rudy Gobert's presence that's supposed
Speaker 1: to make you, if nothing else, a strong team in
Speaker 1: the regular season.
Speaker 3: And with the defense that Minnesota is playing, the.
Speaker 1: Wolves are quickly establishing themselves as a team that has
Speaker 1: some serious playoff aspirations. And I think I think. Look,
Speaker 1: I think deep down they know they got to win
Speaker 1: a series for starters for people to really take them seriously,
Speaker 1: because again, it's been so long, not since the run
Speaker 1: to the Western Conference Finals in two thousand and four
Speaker 1: have the Wolves won so much.
Speaker 3: As one round in the playoffs.
Speaker 1: But you know what, I probably shouldn't have been surprised
Speaker 1: because on my own sub stack, again, my pals at
Speaker 1: stratumatic with that simulation they did. They told us the
Speaker 1: Wolves were gonna be good, and they look like right now,
Speaker 1: they look like the smartest guys in the room.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I mean I was always suspect on if it
Speaker 5: would work with Towns and Rudy Gobert playing significant minutes together.
Speaker 5: I just didn't know. I still view Towns as a center.
Speaker 5: I know he wants to be I know he wants
Speaker 5: to be label a position other than that. So it's
Speaker 5: been surprised. I mean, you got to give Definitely Anthony Edwards.
Speaker 5: We knew or had a feeling he would take the
Speaker 5: next step up, and he is averaging about twenty six
Speaker 5: points a game right now thirty five minutes. But Mike
Speaker 5: Conley man like he's doing a really good job of
Speaker 5: just being a general and a floor spacer. You know,
Speaker 5: he's shooting forty two percent from three this season, so
Speaker 5: that's a really good attribute to have with this personnel.
Speaker 5: And you know, so right now, look they're looking good.
Speaker 5: You know, Jay McDaniels is a long wing defender who
Speaker 5: who's going to pay huge dividends down the road. He's
Speaker 5: going to have the toughest assignments out there, and so
Speaker 5: they it looks like they have the personnel. I'm still like,
Speaker 5: I'm not completely sold, Steyn. I know they're number one
Speaker 5: in the West right now at nine to three. Not
Speaker 5: completely sold yet, but it definitely looks like they've taken
Speaker 5: a leap. But yeah, I'm still I'm still I'm intrigued
Speaker 5: by them. They got They've got my attention.
Speaker 1: Do you have any Wolves on your upcoming TV schedule?
Speaker 5: No, no Wolves on my upcoming TV scaled, So let
Speaker 5: me let me see off the top right quick. My
Speaker 5: next games I have next week is Golden State at Sacramento.
Speaker 1: The Oh, that's right, that was the home game that
Speaker 1: you were upset about.
Speaker 5: Yeah, yes, unfortunately. Yeah. Then I have in season tournament,
Speaker 5: so I got a few in season tournament games. I
Speaker 5: don't know the matchups. Now after that mid December Lakers
Speaker 5: at Dallas and hoping to run into you there.
Speaker 3: Lakers at Dallas. Well, I will be there, I.
Speaker 5: Promise, yep. And then in January Phoenix at Lakers. Next
Speaker 5: week Oklahoma City at Clippers. After that Lakers at Clippers,
Speaker 5: then after that Philly at Golden State. So that's that's
Speaker 5: my schedule.
Speaker 1: And you are all westy, you are living in the West.
Speaker 5: No complaints, colts whatsoever.
Speaker 3: So I have not.
Speaker 1: This week will be my first in person look at
Speaker 1: the Lakers. As I said, I'll be there Tuesday and
Speaker 1: Wednesday night when they play Utah and Dallas and a
Speaker 1: home back to back for the purple and goal. So
Speaker 1: I'll probably have more to say about the Lakers after that.
Speaker 1: But I mean, I think Lebron is forcing us to
Speaker 1: talk about him, whether we've seen him or not, because.
Speaker 3: I mean, he is just.
Speaker 1: What he you know what he's doing, you know his
Speaker 1: he's a month away from birthday number thirty nine, season
Speaker 1: number twenty one, and he's as dangerous as ever.
Speaker 5: Let me tell you something about that, Stu. Let me
Speaker 5: this is this is going off with basketball a little bit,
Speaker 5: as it pertains to Lebron James Stein. Lebron is probably
Speaker 5: the best at responding to texts, which I would think
Speaker 5: he would be the worst ever in responding to texts.
Speaker 5: And what's surprising, like he's good at responding text Like
Speaker 5: he gets back in a timely fashion. I'm trying to
Speaker 5: think who is bad at responding to text Joelan b
Speaker 5: is good responding text. But he'll get back to see it.
Speaker 5: Probably he'll reply probably a week or two weeks later.
Speaker 5: Lebron is pretty quick. And what makes it even more
Speaker 5: remarkable he gets back and responds to your text, even
Speaker 5: on his birthday. On his birthday, Stein, it may be
Speaker 5: it may be later in the day when he respond,
Speaker 5: but he'll reply something. Lebron is an amazing texter. He
Speaker 5: will respond back in a prompt fashion. I was very
Speaker 5: surprised when I found that out.
Speaker 3: Very So you're gonna text him on his birthday?
Speaker 5: I'll text, I text month, I'll text months birth I'll
Speaker 5: give him half a birthday shout out for sure. Thirty nine.
Speaker 3: You guys are almost the same age.
Speaker 5: Thirty nine. I'm forty. I'm three years older than him.
Speaker 5: Thirty nine. That's man, what he's doing at this age man,
Speaker 5: I mean, we keep saying, we keep saying this, and
Speaker 5: it's becoming seems like it's becoming cliche. But like I thought,
Speaker 5: stein when I went to cover Lebron as a beat
Speaker 5: writer in Cleveland, this was twenty fourteen, I thought I
Speaker 5: will be covering like him on the downslide. That's what
Speaker 5: I thought. I thought. Obviously he was still gonna be great,
Speaker 5: still have his great moments. But I thought I was
Speaker 5: gonna be covering him on the downturn. This is twenty fourteen.
Speaker 5: We're in twenty twenty three, and yes, and you know,
Speaker 5: he might not be a top two player anymore, be
Speaker 5: still still a top ten in twenty twenty three. He
Speaker 5: was drafted in two thousand and three. Like this, this
Speaker 5: this is crazy, man. So uh, you know, you have
Speaker 5: to appreciate, love them or hate him. You have to
Speaker 5: appreciate the greatness, the memories, the moments that he's given
Speaker 5: the NBA, He's given so many basketball fans and the players,
Speaker 5: the up and coming players that he's that he's inspired.
Speaker 5: You know, he's he's really one of the greats, one
Speaker 5: of the true greats. Man. So you know, it's been
Speaker 5: a pleasure covering that guy.
Speaker 3: And look, let's be honest.
Speaker 1: Lebron turns thirty nine soon, Kevin Durant just turned thirty five,
Speaker 1: Steph will turn thirty six in March, and all three
Speaker 1: of them have been sensational, not just good sensational to
Speaker 1: start the season, and all three unquestionably still top ten
Speaker 1: players in this league. Like, we could do hours and
Speaker 1: hours arguing trying to argue who is the specific top five,
Speaker 1: and you know it's probably not even worth doing that
Speaker 1: because you know, no two people will ever agree exactly.
Speaker 1: But just let's just broaden it out a little bit
Speaker 1: and just say top ten. And there is no question
Speaker 1: that all three of these guys in their mid to
Speaker 1: late thirties are all still top ten.
Speaker 3: Forces in this league, which is.
Speaker 1: You know, you have to marvel at all of them.
Speaker 1: And one one little note I will add about the Lakers,
Speaker 1: because they've been mentioned as a team that would have
Speaker 1: trade interest in Zach Levine. I touched on this in
Speaker 1: my Monday notebook that I published on my sub stack.
Speaker 1: I think Philly's interest in Levine to this point has
Speaker 1: been overstated. I've already written about why, and we've discussed
Speaker 1: that on it here as well, and I think the Lakers.
Speaker 1: I think the Lakers at most when we talk about
Speaker 1: Zach Levine classify them as that's TBD at most because
Speaker 1: for starters, even if the Lakers wanted to go after him,
Speaker 1: you know, Austin Reeves and Ruey Hatchemurr, who they don't
Speaker 1: want to trade either one, but they couldn't trade either
Speaker 1: one if they wanted to before mid January. They've got
Speaker 1: several other free agents who aren't even tradable until mid December,
Speaker 1: which is still a good three weeks away. And the
Speaker 1: message I've gotten on the Lakers and I think they
Speaker 1: are at this point really counting on internal improvement to
Speaker 1: bounce back from a slow start.
Speaker 3: They've had it on the defensive end.
Speaker 1: The defense has been been much better here over the
Speaker 1: last week plus, and I think that's why you're seeing
Speaker 1: them win more. But you know, again, they they've had
Speaker 1: to do a lot of this without Vanderbilt, without Gabe
Speaker 1: Vincent through injury, so I think they want to see
Speaker 1: what their team looks like when those guys are both
Speaker 1: functioning fully. And I'm I'm definitely I'm really looking forward
Speaker 1: to seeing seeing the Lakers play twice in the span
Speaker 1: of two days and getting my own look at these guys.
Speaker 5: I can't believe you, Stey, and that's why I text
Speaker 5: you the other day. I told you I was appalled
Speaker 5: by your decision not to watch that Dallas Mavericks Milwaukee
Speaker 5: Bucks game, four superstars going at it. You missed it.
Speaker 1: I mean, it wasn't It wasn't a decision. I was
Speaker 1: on a plane and I didn't have made my decision.
Speaker 5: You made a decision to book that flight at that time.
Speaker 1: There's a reason, but because Saturdays I had, you know,
Speaker 1: I host a radio show in Dallas, so I had
Speaker 1: to I had to choose a flight that was after
Speaker 1: my radio show so I could get in studio and
Speaker 1: host the Saturday Steinline on ninety seven to one the
Speaker 1: Freak in Dallas. I hope you guys check that out
Speaker 1: online or check out the podcast version of that as well.
Speaker 1: But I had to get a flight that was suitably
Speaker 1: separated from the show so I could do the show
Speaker 1: with no issues. And yeah, in retrospect, it was a
Speaker 1: bad decision because I missed. I missed an absolute shootout
Speaker 1: in real time. But you know I caught up. You
Speaker 1: watched every dribble from your palatial Sacramento Estate.
Speaker 5: Yeah, of course, you know, I don't miss there's a
Speaker 5: few teams I don't miss it. I don't miss a game.
Speaker 5: I don't miss a Bucks game. I don't miss a
Speaker 5: Lakers game. I don't miss a Philly game. I don't
Speaker 5: miss a Like trying to think, what else teams I
Speaker 5: just watched I have missed, have missed a Clippers game.
Speaker 5: I haven't missed a Clippers game, Warriors, and there's one.
Speaker 1: Okay, Clippers, Warriors. Fix those teams? How do you fix
Speaker 1: those teams?
Speaker 5: Then? Well, Clippers, I mean, look, they just they're coming
Speaker 5: off of that victory. They move. We've touched, we have.
Speaker 5: We haven't had the chance to talk since a report
Speaker 5: about Westbrook's move to the bench. The last conversation we
Speaker 5: had the pot I was talking about, like there's there's
Speaker 5: going to be an ugly shift, an ugly change, and
Speaker 5: players are going to have to adapt. Then, you know,
Speaker 5: I touched on that the game that I covered the
Speaker 5: Clippers at Denver in which Westbrook didn't play the last
Speaker 5: six five or six minutes of that game and he
Speaker 5: only came in for a defensive possession and what's up
Speaker 5: right back out and you know, you just knew the
Speaker 5: writing was on the wall. Then two days later, you know,
Speaker 5: I got worried that he requested to come off the bench,
Speaker 5: and so that happened.
Speaker 3: That was a nice one. That was a nice scoop.
Speaker 5: And you know how I know, how's that stun?
Speaker 1: Nobody followed up on it till there was no There
Speaker 1: was no There was very little chatter until.
Speaker 3: Tyler confirmed it.
Speaker 5: Yeah, yeah, you were.
Speaker 3: You were well ahead on that one.
Speaker 5: It was all it was always good to get and
Speaker 5: you know, Clippers won that won that game. James Harden
Speaker 5: had a really forgot who was the team they played?
Speaker 5: Producer Ryan he was Houston. Yeah, it was Houston and
Speaker 5: James Harden hit the clutch three. James Harden looking really good. Uh,
Speaker 5: And he would have something to say to you Stein.
Speaker 5: You you mentioned players that's thirty five plus that still
Speaker 5: playing well. He would have something to say about that.
Speaker 5: I know, you know, people feel like he might have
Speaker 5: took a season off or wasn't himself. He would has
Speaker 5: something to say about still being on top of his
Speaker 5: game at this age. But the Clippers, they they I
Speaker 5: believe they felt like this needed to happen. I really do,
Speaker 5: I really do feel like they need this need to happen.
Speaker 5: But I think they were willing to go a few
Speaker 5: more games throughout this process to really see and really
Speaker 5: evaluate and to really give players a chance to earn
Speaker 5: their worth. And so by Russ doing is going to
Speaker 5: the bench and sacrificing that allows them to bring in
Speaker 5: the guy that they've wanted all along Stime for Remember,
Speaker 5: I told you we were talking about this all summer.
Speaker 5: They resigned Russ, but they were always flirting or trying
Speaker 5: to bring in another point guard all this time. You know,
Speaker 5: whatever it was, Malcolm Brogdon, Damian Lillard, Drew Holliday, like,
Speaker 5: they kept trying to bring in another point guard. And
Speaker 5: you know, even when James Harden came aboard. That's the
Speaker 5: one thing that that kind of shocked me is we
Speaker 5: were talking about they need James Harden playmaking ability, they
Speaker 5: need the leadership at that position. And I'm like, damn,
Speaker 5: like what do y'all saying? Y'all got a Hall of
Speaker 5: Fame point guard right there, But James Harden is a
Speaker 5: different dynamic. He's somebody who could space the floor, and
Speaker 5: you probably want another spacer around guys like Kawhi and
Speaker 5: Paul George, so you know, the move makes sense. So
Speaker 5: they feel like they might be able to put this
Speaker 5: thing together now that they got the shift in the
Speaker 5: rotational lamps that they wanted.
Speaker 1: Well, look, there are so many more teams in the
Speaker 1: West that we can laser in on. I mean, we
Speaker 1: can't talk about all fifteen in this discussion, but I
Speaker 1: mean the Warriors not only got off to the six
Speaker 1: and two start, they got some road wins in there,
Speaker 1: which of course everybody members. Last season, they took the
Speaker 1: preseason trip to Japan, started zero to eight on the road,
Speaker 1: and were just a terrible road team last season. Stephen
Speaker 1: Curry is mentioned off to this tremendous start, but Steph
Speaker 1: with a knee injury that cost him a couple of games,
Speaker 1: the Draymond Green suspension, Klay Thompson struggles which have been
Speaker 1: covered all over the place ad nauseum, Andrew Wiggins, who's
Speaker 1: struggling even worse, and it's it's it's stunning, really, because
Speaker 1: the Warriors six game homestand concludes tonight after we record
Speaker 1: Warriors playing host to the surprising Houston Rockets. If the
Speaker 1: Warriors don't win that game, it's an o and six
Speaker 1: home stand. Which just you know, unfathomable to just say
Speaker 1: that out loud, the prospect of Golden State losing going
Speaker 1: ohen six on a six game homestand and you know,
Speaker 1: we could talk about Houston and just what an impact
Speaker 1: ema Udoka has had as their new coach, Fred van Vliet,
Speaker 1: Dylan Brooks, the way shng Goon is playing, I mean,
Speaker 1: the Rockets certainly deserve more of our attention. And Sacramento
Speaker 1: de Aaron Fox has come back, just named Player of
Speaker 1: the Week. When Deeron Fox is on the court, the
Speaker 1: Kings are six and one and just an absolute handful,
Speaker 1: and Sabonus has been playing so well off him, just
Speaker 1: diming it up on top of all the rebounds he grabs.
Speaker 3: I mean, they the Kings.
Speaker 1: You know, the Kings are doing what Dallas dreams of
Speaker 1: doing to this point. And you know, teams like the
Speaker 1: Kings and the MAVs, you know they're gonna be offensive
Speaker 1: monsters and top three potentially offenses in the league. When
Speaker 1: you have that much offensive firepower, it's just can you
Speaker 1: be average defensively? And Sacramento they woke up today, I
Speaker 1: believe it was fourteenth in defensive ratings, So they are
Speaker 1: in the top half of the league. I'm sure Mike
Speaker 1: Brown is giddy about that, because if Sacramento is a
Speaker 1: top half team defensively, they're going to be better than
Speaker 1: they were last season because they they've their offense has
Speaker 1: probably gotten even more dangerous with just the older these
Speaker 1: guys get expanded role for Keegan Murray.
Speaker 3: I mean, so Mike Brown will be thrilled.
Speaker 1: I think if the Kings can stay in the top
Speaker 1: half defensively, and that's been the MAVs issue. The MAVs
Speaker 1: got off to a nine and three start, which was
Speaker 1: hugely surprising, but there was a lot of schedule help
Speaker 1: in there. I mean, the nine teams Dallas has beaten,
Speaker 1: their cumulative record is only forty and seventy four, and
Speaker 1: the Mavericks have all kinds of issues defensively interior, on
Speaker 1: the perimeter, there's a size deficit, rebounding shortcomings. So the
Speaker 1: MAVs are really all offense, and the MAVs are nowhere
Speaker 1: near the top half of the league defensively, and that's
Speaker 1: their goal. Can they finish top half, because you know,
Speaker 1: if you have Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, you're gonna
Speaker 1: have a top three offense almost automatically.
Speaker 3: But the last team I want to hit.
Speaker 1: On before we go in, before we let you resume
Speaker 1: your Thanksgiving preparations, and we will expect a full update
Speaker 1: Wednesday on Thanksgiving.
Speaker 3: Eve on how that's all going.
Speaker 1: What about Phoenix Durant again, like Steph and Lebron, you know,
Speaker 1: defying age, he's I mean, playing ridiculous amount of minutes
Speaker 1: doing it all for them. When it's Durant and Devin Booker,
Speaker 1: they've looked great. But no Bradley Beal for three more weeks.
Speaker 1: I mean, we still have not seen the three of
Speaker 1: these guys together, you know how I mean to me,
Speaker 1: that is a that is that is very concerning.
Speaker 3: It's not a small thing.
Speaker 1: But you know, I know you cover that team closely
Speaker 1: and you know all those guys well, And what was
Speaker 1: your reaction when you heard that Beal's going to miss
Speaker 1: another three weeks?
Speaker 5: Yeah, I'd inspect them of this. That that much time
Speaker 5: a back injury is nothing to play with. And obviously
Speaker 5: you know they've been taking precautions this whole time, and
Speaker 5: you know, you just wonder how serious this is, you know,
Speaker 5: even even if he comes back in three weeks, like
Speaker 5: is this something that will linger. I've had back issues
Speaker 5: before in basketball, and you know, those things can those
Speaker 5: things can pop up on you again. So I don't
Speaker 5: know what I will say about the sun Stein is
Speaker 5: we all know their makeup. They're very top heavy, and
Speaker 5: they have some pretty good complimentary pieces, Eric Gordon, you know,
Speaker 5: Josha Kogi. But they're still you know, they got a
Speaker 5: lot of guys in Na's little that they're trying to
Speaker 5: still figure out, you know, what they have in him
Speaker 5: and others, and so you know, you don't know, like
Speaker 5: they're seven and six right now, and I think everybody
Speaker 5: feels like everything will come together once the big three
Speaker 5: plays together. I don't know if it's I don't know
Speaker 5: if that is going to be that easy. I don't
Speaker 5: And so if I'm a Sons fan, I'm a little
Speaker 5: I'm a little concerned with them. You know, they got
Speaker 5: to double overtime victory over Utah. You know, barely got
Speaker 5: that game, and so you know it's this is the
Speaker 5: Sons are playing for championships. This is a championship, Like
Speaker 5: they don't have years to waste. So this is definitely
Speaker 5: not the start to everybody envision.
Speaker 1: All right, that is going to do it for us
Speaker 1: on this edition of This League Uncut. But I don't
Speaker 1: really consider this an ending this week. It's almost like
Speaker 1: you can almost say it's a two part episode because
Speaker 1: again this week, Thanksgiving week, it is when the NBA
Speaker 1: regular season reaches it's one month in stage. And so
Speaker 1: today we looked at the West and we did pretty good.
Speaker 1: We got to basically two thirds of the conference in
Speaker 1: fairly substantial fashion, and we are going to continue the
Speaker 1: dialogue about what we've seen league wide through this opening month.
Speaker 1: We will do that Wednesday, will record another episode Wednesday afternoon,
Speaker 1: the idea being that we'll have it out Wednesday afternoon
Speaker 1: and that way on your commute Wednesday night or Thursday,
Speaker 1: wherever you're headed on this Thanksgiving even if you did
Speaker 1: not score a prized invitation to the Haynes Hotel for
Speaker 1: his celebrations, wherever you're going, you'll be able to take
Speaker 1: us with you and get the latest on what's happening
Speaker 1: in this league. Hashtag this League as always, friends, Please,
Speaker 1: if you haven't already, rate, review, and subscribe to the
Speaker 1: show wherever you get your pods, and yes, indeed, Wednesday afternoon,
Speaker 1: Chris Haynes and I will be back with you. Not
Speaker 1: a long wait for the next episode of This League Uncut.
Speaker 3: Talk to you soon.
Speaker 2: Everyone, and that'll do it for us. See you next time.
Speaker 2: This League Uncut it is and iHeartRadio production Chris Haynes
Speaker 2: and Mark Stein. I can't