Speaker 1: Welcome to Bullyball. I am Rachel Nichols, joined by DeMarcus Cousins,
Speaker 1: and each Monday we're going to be talking about everything
Speaker 1: going on in the NBA, and you know you're gonna
Speaker 1: get the straight talk with my friend over there. Welcome
Speaker 1: mister Cousins.
Speaker 2: Hey, what's up, Richard? How you doing?
Speaker 1: I am ready all right. There's so much going on
Speaker 1: already in this young season, and you know, first up,
Speaker 1: we got to talk about James Harden, set to make
Speaker 1: his Clippers debut tonight at Madison Square, Garden of all places. So, boogie,
Speaker 1: how do you think Harden is going to fit in
Speaker 1: with Russ, with PG, with Kawhi Man.
Speaker 3: You can look at it from you know, two perspectives. Obviously,
Speaker 3: it's one basketball. There's four guys that all enjoy shooting
Speaker 3: the basketball. But you gotta also look at the intangibles
Speaker 3: that each player. Knowing that this team is built around
Speaker 3: Kawhi and PG, those are going to be your man
Speaker 3: and two guys scoring the ball.
Speaker 2: So adding two playmakers.
Speaker 3: Obviously with Russ last year now James this year, I
Speaker 3: think it could be a recipe that could work, and
Speaker 3: it also could be one it could be a complete disaster.
Speaker 3: I do have confidence in t Lou and you know,
Speaker 3: making this thing work. I think he's the perfect guy
Speaker 3: to put this mix together and make these guys you know,
Speaker 3: exist for this season. So it's a lot of things
Speaker 3: in the air for the Clippers this season. I think
Speaker 3: three of the guys contracts are up at the end
Speaker 3: of this season, so this is almost like a you know,
Speaker 3: do or die type situation.
Speaker 2: It can also determine the future.
Speaker 3: Of the Clippers, So I think adding those two playmakers
Speaker 3: to those two scores, it could work. How bad in
Speaker 3: all these guys with you know, championship aspirations. Obviously, James
Speaker 3: has been dealing with you know, off the court issues
Speaker 3: for I would say the past four years. It's rumors
Speaker 3: that he's dealing with you know, personal issues with his
Speaker 3: family this season, and that's part of the reason he
Speaker 3: wants to be closer to home being in LA. So
Speaker 3: you know, I'm thankful that he is able to get
Speaker 3: closer to home so he can handle those at home situations.
Speaker 3: Hopefully it puts them in a better mental space to
Speaker 3: you know, come out and complete and be focused on
Speaker 3: just basketball this year. So it depends on if we
Speaker 3: have a bought in James Harden, or we're going to
Speaker 3: see what we saw in the past with you know,
Speaker 3: being out of shape, you know, the pouting, you know,
Speaker 3: all of the above.
Speaker 2: When it comes to the negative things he can bring
Speaker 2: to the court.
Speaker 3: So if he is bought in, this is going to
Speaker 3: be a very, very tough team to beat. But we
Speaker 3: also know how he can be when he's not bought in.
Speaker 3: So I think this all falls on James Harden and
Speaker 3: how he approaches this season.
Speaker 1: I think we probably agree, right, he's going to be
Speaker 1: bought in at the beginning at least, right. He wanted
Speaker 1: this trade. He worked for it all summer, talked about
Speaker 1: it a lot. They've all said the right things to
Speaker 1: each other. Tyler had a long talk with him before
Speaker 1: he even landed in LA and you know, PG and him,
Speaker 1: we're talking, you know, all the way through really the
Speaker 1: off season, the beginning of the season. He and Russ
Speaker 1: have a much better relationship than I think people think
Speaker 1: that they do. You know, as James said, they go
Speaker 1: back to the Boys and Girls Club in LA. This
Speaker 1: goes a lot deeper with them between what happened in
Speaker 1: a year on the Houston Rockets. So all of that
Speaker 1: to me tells me they're going to start out in good,
Speaker 1: good order. And by the way, James looks like he's
Speaker 1: in great shape right now, and they're all saying and
Speaker 1: thinking the right things. We will see, as you point out,
Speaker 1: if we get three months in, four months in and
Speaker 1: James does not like the role he has on this team,
Speaker 1: if we see some of the other James Harden come out.
Speaker 1: But tonight, at least, I think it's going to look good.
Speaker 1: I would start all four of them tonight just to
Speaker 1: sort of give Russ that mental space that he likes.
Speaker 1: He doesn't like coming off the bench. He talked about
Speaker 1: in the past that you know, that's part of what
Speaker 1: caused his hamstring injury last year, and it just resks
Speaker 1: his whole routine. And we know that Russ is such
Speaker 1: a creature of routine, right, So I'd start all four
Speaker 1: of them and then I platune them around. And I'm
Speaker 1: not sure i'd finish with all four of them. What
Speaker 1: would you do?
Speaker 3: I would start off four, but obviously it doesn't really
Speaker 3: matter who you start with is who you finish the
Speaker 3: game with. And yep, I could see a situation where
Speaker 3: James is on the floor and Russ is off the floor.
Speaker 1: Yeah, at the end, right.
Speaker 2: At the end of the games.
Speaker 3: Obviously, james play making ability and his ability to make
Speaker 3: shots from the outside, that that kind of compliments PG
Speaker 3: and Kawhi closing out the games, and you would finished
Speaker 3: with two other defenders besides beside those guys. So I
Speaker 3: could see that being the case. But I can also
Speaker 3: see it being the case we're all four finishing the game.
Speaker 3: I can see Russ being in a position that he's
Speaker 3: coming off the bench towards the ends or being on
Speaker 3: the bench, and it may be in a signon where
Speaker 3: Russ has to be a main defender on the point
Speaker 3: guard and you have to take James out. So it
Speaker 3: just it's it's almost a gift and a curse for
Speaker 3: this Clippers team because there's so many different options they
Speaker 3: could go with to finish and start games. But like
Speaker 3: I said, it's all going to go back to how
Speaker 3: Baldy and these guys are to just winning games and
Speaker 3: with being he's gonna take each guy's sacrifice in a
Speaker 3: little bit that they're not used to doing. So let's
Speaker 3: see how baught in these guys are this season.
Speaker 1: I mean, look, they've got thirty two All Star appearances
Speaker 1: between them. I mean, that is sick, and obviously they're
Speaker 1: going to have to each sacrifice, each change their role.
Speaker 1: Russ's usage, by the way, it is already way down
Speaker 1: this season. He's been playing great, but his usage usage
Speaker 1: has been way down. It's in the teens and that
Speaker 1: is not what he's used to. He's going to then
Speaker 1: have it cut further by James, But this season tells
Speaker 1: me he's kind of bought into that. I mean, but
Speaker 1: you know, when guys get sort of toward the end
Speaker 1: of their career, they can see the light that they're
Speaker 1: not going to be in the game for that much longer.
Speaker 1: You start to be okay. I mean, look at Chris
Speaker 1: Paul upright at Golden State. You start to be okay
Speaker 1: with things you might not have been okay with even
Speaker 1: a year or two ago. I don't think Chris Paul
Speaker 1: would have consented to come off the bench a couple
Speaker 1: of years ago, but he knows that's the right role
Speaker 1: for him right now, and I think Russ has that
Speaker 1: same feel right now. I think Russ knows that if
Speaker 1: he cuts bait from this Clippers team, I'm not sure
Speaker 1: there's anywhere else for him to go. I'm not sure
Speaker 1: there's anywhere else for James to go if this goes poorly,
Speaker 1: if he shows up the way you do it. You
Speaker 1: were talking about the other flip side in three months
Speaker 1: or something, So I think that's going to help guys
Speaker 1: kind of do what they're supposed to do. What do
Speaker 1: you think is that mentality part of it?
Speaker 3: I think with the way Russ has handled the past
Speaker 3: three years of his career, he's been nothing but a professional.
Speaker 3: He's been dragged through the mud, he's been his name
Speaker 3: has been, his character has been assassinated.
Speaker 2: All of the above.
Speaker 3: When it comes to just the negativity that's been spoken
Speaker 3: on this guy's name and for what, I'm not really sure.
Speaker 3: Russ is an incredible teammate. Russ is going to show
Speaker 3: up to play every single night. He's going to give
Speaker 3: one hundred and ten percent every single night, and you
Speaker 3: know he'll jump through the wall of any teammate. Yeah
Speaker 3: on that floor. So with that mindset, I think Ruskin
Speaker 3: ended up anywhere. I think more so, Russ's situation ended
Speaker 3: up becoming about the money that he was making in
Speaker 3: the past, and that's kind of what put him in
Speaker 3: a position but as far as him joining other teams,
Speaker 3: I think any NBA team would be welcoming and had
Speaker 3: that type of energy effort on any of their team.
Speaker 3: He's a winning player, he has a winning attitude and
Speaker 3: he makes everybody around him better. He's shown that throughout
Speaker 3: his entire career. Now when it comes to James on
Speaker 3: the other hand, yeah, I think James is a winner.
Speaker 3: He's proven that throughout his career. He's He's always in
Speaker 3: the playoffs every single year with that which with every
Speaker 3: team he's gone to. But we also know how James
Speaker 3: get when things don't go his way. So I believe
Speaker 3: at this point moving forward with the Clippers, their success
Speaker 3: falls on James Harden's mindset. I think everybody else is
Speaker 3: balled in. I think everybody else knows their role. This
Speaker 3: is about James Harden and who he wants to be
Speaker 3: as a teammate and what his legacy is going to
Speaker 3: be pertaining to being a champion moving forward. If his
Speaker 3: mindset is in the right place, they have a great
Speaker 3: chance at, you know, winning the championship. If not, we're
Speaker 3: just gonna see another disaster and another team that he's unhappy.
Speaker 1: Do you feel that this ceiling for this team. If
Speaker 1: everyone does what they're supposed to do, that they can
Speaker 1: compete with or some of the other top teams in
Speaker 1: the West or Boston even in the East.
Speaker 3: Absolutely, I think you look at them on paper, they
Speaker 3: basically have two starting fives, and I don't think it's
Speaker 3: many teams in the NBA built the way this Clippers
Speaker 3: team is built. Obviously, Bomber has invested in this team fully.
Speaker 3: He doesn't care about the money he spends, and that's
Speaker 3: always a great thing because if you want to win
Speaker 3: in this league, you have to spend money.
Speaker 2: That's just how it goes.
Speaker 3: So obviously his mind is on winning the championship, so
Speaker 3: that's taken care of. But like I said, it just
Speaker 3: falls back to what is this mind what's the mindset
Speaker 3: of this team going to be this season? I see
Speaker 3: the championship or bus or you could see this Clippers
Speaker 3: team being blown up. I think I think that's the case.
Speaker 1: Well, look, you mentioned Tyler, I totally agree with you.
Speaker 1: I don't think there's many coaches in the NBA that
Speaker 1: have the particular mix of skill set of the ex
Speaker 1: and no genius that he has, plus the player relationships
Speaker 1: he has that could make this work as well as
Speaker 1: he has the potential to make this work. And he
Speaker 1: was asked the other day about sort of if he's
Speaker 1: coached a team or been on a team that had
Speaker 1: this kind of offense before where it was distributed among
Speaker 1: these four guys, and he brought up the Celtics teams
Speaker 1: he was an assistant coach on where they had KG,
Speaker 1: Paul Pierce, Ray, Allen, Rajon Rondo. I think with Rondo
Speaker 1: and Westbrook kind of being the comp there position wise,
Speaker 1: and I don't know, do you see similarities there.
Speaker 3: I see similarities as far as talent and offensive firepower,
Speaker 3: but the mindset of that Celtics team and how they
Speaker 3: embraced sacrifices for one another that I think that that
Speaker 3: kind of goes unnoticed. With how great that team was
Speaker 3: and how much they put into making that a winning situation,
Speaker 3: they could have all easily been you know, egotistical and
Speaker 3: said this is my team or I wanted to go
Speaker 3: my way. Paul Pierce had every right to feel a
Speaker 3: certain type of way with him being the longest tenured
Speaker 3: Celtic on that team and just things of that nature.
Speaker 3: But it still goes back to what I said earlier.
Speaker 3: It's all about the mindset. Those has had the mindset,
Speaker 3: we want to sacrifice for one another. We want to
Speaker 3: win championships. And it doesn't matter who's who's scoring the
Speaker 3: most points, who's getting the media attention, who's in the
Speaker 3: MVP run, and who's an All Star who's not an
Speaker 3: All Star.
Speaker 2: None of that mattered.
Speaker 3: It was about winning the championship and that's what helped
Speaker 3: that team get there. So it's going to fall into
Speaker 3: the same place for this Clipper team. The All Stars,
Speaker 3: the MVPs, the points per game, none of that matters
Speaker 3: right now because all of you done it at a
Speaker 3: certain point in career. All that you have accolades, individual
Speaker 3: team accolades. Now it's about winning a championship. So what's
Speaker 3: the mindset going to be.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean you're saying note for note what Harden
Speaker 1: kind of said at one point during his press conference. Obviously,
Speaker 1: there are some other things that people took issue with,
Speaker 1: but he did say over and over he said, we've
Speaker 1: all done the individual stuff to your point book, he said,
Speaker 1: you know, we've done this before. What we want is
Speaker 1: a title. So if that really does be the mind
Speaker 1: if that that maintains and that is the mantra. I
Speaker 1: think that they could have a lot of potential there.
Speaker 1: And the spacing I think is something that people are
Speaker 1: underrating a little bit that he's going to provide for
Speaker 1: PG and Kawhi. Here's a great stat Last season, Harden
Speaker 1: was double teamed on nearly nineteen possessions a game, which
Speaker 1: is second only to Luka Doncic in the entire NBA.
Speaker 1: So that tells you how much gravity he still has
Speaker 1: and the way that's going to let PG and Kawhi
Speaker 1: move around like they really haven't been able to before.
Speaker 1: And they haven't had a point guard that has this
Speaker 1: kind of creativity since Chris Paul left, and I'm very
Speaker 1: interested to see what happens with this team. And a
Speaker 1: good good detail from Omyang Niska ESPN reporting that PG
Speaker 1: and Harden play video games on the plane the entire
Speaker 1: way from LA to New York, so they're already they're
Speaker 1: already getting their off court on. Exactly there you go.
Speaker 1: I got to move on to the other side of
Speaker 1: that trade with Joel Embiid and the Sixers. They are
Speaker 1: four and one as we sit here today, despite all
Speaker 1: the craziness having to adapt to a new coach new
Speaker 1: offensive style. What do you think of the team they
Speaker 1: have right now, and now that they have all those
Speaker 1: draft picks that they kind of scooped up in these
Speaker 1: trades and everything, what do you think they need to
Speaker 1: add to make them like a true contender for an
Speaker 1: NBA title.
Speaker 2: I think the Sixers are in a good place.
Speaker 3: Obviously, they picked up some draft conversation in the trade,
Speaker 3: Tobias Harris being at the end having I believe one
Speaker 3: year left on his deal, so he has an expiring deal.
Speaker 3: Obviously that will open up some money for the team
Speaker 3: this summer. I think they're in the perfect position. MB
Speaker 3: is still playing the best basketball of his career right now.
Speaker 3: You have another solid foundation in Tyrese Maxi. So now
Speaker 3: it's about finding that that that three or four, possibly
Speaker 3: even a two man that can help get them over
Speaker 3: the hump and put them back in the conversation to contending,
Speaker 3: you have guys like the Martin Rosen out there. You
Speaker 3: have guys like u Zach Lavine that could come in
Speaker 3: and be a big impact for that team.
Speaker 1: So are you saying the Chicago Bulls might not make
Speaker 1: it through the season, Boogie, I'm just shot, shot, shot.
Speaker 2: I don't think they make it to December, to be honest.
Speaker 3: Uh, if you haven't all players meeting one game into.
Speaker 2: The season, yeah, that speaks us.
Speaker 3: That speaks volumes the fact that it's frustration, anger, hostility,
Speaker 3: anything one game into the system.
Speaker 2: That's sick.
Speaker 1: So, like I said that, you play on some contentious
Speaker 1: Sacramento teams, did you ever have a team players.
Speaker 2: I've been on some.
Speaker 3: Times of teams, but never all players meeting by game,
Speaker 3: and I've never seen that, and I don't think I
Speaker 3: never will. Yeah, but uh, but uh, I think I
Speaker 3: think Philly's in a good position they can add to
Speaker 3: that team. Obviously, they have a good team coricder going
Speaker 3: with James now being removed from the picture. Like I said,
Speaker 3: the Zach Lavin or Demarta Rosen, maybe even a Donovan
Speaker 3: Mitchell if they can pull off a trade or something
Speaker 3: for that. So I think, like I said, they're in
Speaker 3: a good position to move forward. They have two good
Speaker 3: foundational pieces in MAXI and MB so it's just about
Speaker 3: adding that third piece, and I think they're in.
Speaker 2: A good position to be successful moving forward.
Speaker 1: You don't think the Donovan Mitchell experiment in Cleveland.
Speaker 3: Is going to quite take I just don't think Donovan
Speaker 3: Mitchell wants to be there. I think Donovan Mitchell is
Speaker 3: looking for a bigger market and that's just not something
Speaker 3: Cleveland can provide.
Speaker 1: We'll be interesting to see who shakes loose because you've
Speaker 1: also got up in Toronto. You've got Ojan Nanobi and
Speaker 1: Pascal Siakam, who could both become free agents this summer.
Speaker 1: And Philly has been very smart. Daryl Morey has cleared
Speaker 1: out a ton of cap space for this coming off season.
Speaker 1: They could absolutely get a big, huge star if one
Speaker 1: becomes available. Also, now he's got all these draft capital
Speaker 1: that he scooped up with some of his recent trades,
Speaker 1: and then of course the big one with James Harden,
Speaker 1: where he will now with his own pick, have three
Speaker 1: first round picks he could offer someone. So they're kind
Speaker 1: of in position either before the trade deadline or the summer,
Speaker 1: or a combination of both to do something pretty big.
Speaker 1: They could go the other way and just make sort
Speaker 1: of smaller adjustments. But I don't know, in the modern
Speaker 1: NBA boogie, do you think embiid needs someone like, really
Speaker 1: really significant to come in and be next to him
Speaker 1: in order to contend.
Speaker 3: I need I think I think with every championship team
Speaker 3: there has to be a very very solid third option,
Speaker 3: I think, and be obviously being your first MAXI stepping
Speaker 3: up into that second option. Who's going to be you know,
Speaker 3: your Chris Middleton to you know, kind of fill out
Speaker 3: that team. You mentioned some good names and Siakam could
Speaker 3: be that person. I can go back to Zach Lavine,
Speaker 3: Demarto Rows and I think all those guys kind of
Speaker 3: fit that that narrative of what they're trying to do
Speaker 3: moving forward. But I think the Sixers are in the
Speaker 3: perfect situation to improve this team. You know, just got
Speaker 3: to kind of close through, still be successful with what
Speaker 3: they got, still winning games, and I think, you know,
Speaker 3: after All Star Breaker, before All Star Break, we could
Speaker 3: we could see a really big splash and they add
Speaker 3: something to the mix and put them at the top
Speaker 3: of the East.
Speaker 2: Possibly well, you.
Speaker 1: Know, other gams around the league are eyeing what happens
Speaker 1: with Embiid and the idea that maybe, possibly, perhaps maybe
Speaker 1: maybe he'd want to switch teams and ask out of there.
Speaker 1: You know, you've got Miami where he's got such a
Speaker 1: great relationship with Jimmy Butler. New York wants him and
Speaker 1: could definitely make the moves to make that happen Toronto.
Speaker 1: By the way, I know they've got free agency coming
Speaker 1: up for those guys, but there is a close relationship
Speaker 1: between Masai U, Jerry and Joel Embiid. And on the
Speaker 1: other side, I mean, look, we've been talking about James
Speaker 1: Harden and PG and Kawhi and Russ are all from
Speaker 1: southern California and that they've all talked about that that
Speaker 1: that makes a difference to them, that that unites them
Speaker 1: a little bit. And you know, Pascal siakam Ojinaobi, Joel Embiid,
Speaker 1: they're not all from the same city or even the
Speaker 1: same country, I need to add, but there is a
Speaker 1: unity among African basketball players right now, and so to
Speaker 1: have that relationship possibly and you know, have one or
Speaker 1: two of those guys come into Philadelphia could be something
Speaker 1: that makes him beat happy in the way. It might
Speaker 1: not appeal to some of the other guys, but he
Speaker 1: feels like a closeness with those guys that might get
Speaker 1: them good chemistry right off the bat. So I'll have
Speaker 1: to see. I don't know, but I'm watching that one
Speaker 1: because they still have moves to make for sure, all right, well,
Speaker 1: but you We're gonna have a segment every week here where, yes,
Speaker 1: we will be lifting up the overreaction meter. This is
Speaker 1: where we look at some of the stories fans have
Speaker 1: been overreacting to the most right now, because come on,
Speaker 1: that is what Twitter is for, right sports radio is for.
Speaker 1: We're gonna get your personal overreaction meter where that is sitting.
Speaker 1: And first up, I want to talk to you guys
Speaker 1: about the Grizzlies one in six so far this year.
Speaker 1: And look, Steven Adams is out all year. But given
Speaker 1: that and the jaw is only seven games into his
Speaker 1: twenty five game suspension, where are you on the overreaction meter?
Speaker 1: I'm gonna give you the choices here right, you got
Speaker 1: chilling monitoring the situation, queuing up the trade machine or
Speaker 1: deaf con one? What do you got? Butug, where are you?
Speaker 2: Uh? I'm queuing up the trade machine? Right about that?
Speaker 3: And the reason I say that your big your former
Speaker 3: defensive player of the year in Jaron Jackson is averaging
Speaker 3: seven point six a game. You lost your your starting
Speaker 3: big man seven point six rebounds per game, you lost
Speaker 3: your starting center and Steven Adams, so you're depending on
Speaker 3: Jaron Jackson to fill a role even bigger than what
Speaker 3: he's accustomed to. When it comes to rebounding and being
Speaker 3: a big man, that only the only thing that goes
Speaker 3: into that is effort. So if you can't get effort
Speaker 3: from your starting big to average a double double per game,
Speaker 3: it's it's not it's not looking good. So Jared Jackson
Speaker 3: has the ability to dominate the pain. We kind of
Speaker 3: saw him struggle in USA against the foreign bigs, another
Speaker 3: watching him struggle this season against you know, the NBA bigs.
Speaker 3: It has to be more effort when it comes to
Speaker 3: rebounding the ball, simple as simple as that. Also with
Speaker 3: also with John Morant being out fifteen plus games or whatever, Yeah,
Speaker 3: with him being out for that long, it could it
Speaker 3: could get ugly for the Grizzlies. They don't really have
Speaker 3: a scorn punch that they're used to, they don't have
Speaker 3: a playmaking that they're used to, And to be quite honest,
Speaker 3: the games just aren't as exciting as they are when
Speaker 3: Ji's on the floor, So the energy is dead. It's
Speaker 3: just not the same enthusiastic Grizzlies group that we've seen
Speaker 3: at the past. So I think it's definitely, I definitely
Speaker 3: think they should be overreacting at this point, and they
Speaker 3: got some things they have to figure out moving forward.
Speaker 3: So the Grizzies got a rough year coming up in
Speaker 3: my opinion, So let's see how this plays out.
Speaker 1: Well, Look, this definitely shows, to your point, Jazz impact
Speaker 1: on this team way beyond what he does in a
Speaker 1: basketball sense. On the statuet, he is such the energy
Speaker 1: heartbeat of this team, pushing guys to play harder than
Speaker 1: they do usually, having the crowds all whipped up so
Speaker 1: guys get worked up along with it, and missing that
Speaker 1: element has been just as important to me as what
Speaker 1: they've been missing on the floor without him there. I
Speaker 1: also think it's interesting because when that suspension came down,
Speaker 1: there are a lot of people who thought it needed
Speaker 1: to be higher. Right, this was his sort of second
Speaker 1: big strike and the idea that he had some other
Speaker 1: incidents going on. People were like, it's only twenty five games,
Speaker 1: how much is that really going to impact him? How
Speaker 1: much is it really going to impact the Grizzlies. But
Speaker 1: it is almost a third of the season, and if
Speaker 1: they're struggling this much for a third of the season,
Speaker 1: I don't know if they make the playoffs. I mean,
Speaker 1: I don't know that suspension is looking like it is impactful.
Speaker 1: Whether it has an impact on him personally or not,
Speaker 1: it's certainly impacting the team. So all right, next we
Speaker 1: got to talk Lakers. But Lebron has had to do
Speaker 1: a lot of work to push the Lakers to wins.
Speaker 1: He's busting through his minutes limits. He played thirty five
Speaker 1: minutes over the weekend and a loss by nineteen to
Speaker 1: Orlando AD. He's playing terrific. He's averaging twenty six and thirteen,
Speaker 1: leading the league in blocks. But he's playing thirty nine
Speaker 1: minutes a game too. So for now, the overreaction is
Speaker 1: centered around the role players. Where are you on the
Speaker 1: overreaction meter? When we look at what these guys are
Speaker 1: doing and what needs to be done next.
Speaker 2: I think it be an overreaction. And the reason I
Speaker 2: say that.
Speaker 1: You're monitoring the situation, You're you cuing up the trade machine?
Speaker 1: Where are you?
Speaker 2: Man?
Speaker 3: This is tough to say. I want to go death
Speaker 3: con one? What and the reason I say death con one?
Speaker 3: I believe this is Lebron james last year to actually
Speaker 3: compete for a championship.
Speaker 2: He'll be thirty nine in December.
Speaker 3: The fact that you're depending on a thirty nine year old,
Speaker 3: regardless of how great he is, regardless of his legacy,
Speaker 3: regardless of his legend, thirty nine years old and you're
Speaker 3: depending on him to play forty minutes a night and
Speaker 3: also be the main guy and the main factor if
Speaker 3: you win the games. That's just not a good sign
Speaker 3: for this team. I do think they have the talent
Speaker 3: to step up to take less of a load off
Speaker 3: of Lebron James, but that's on the supporting cast to
Speaker 3: do so. I think Christian Woods has to be put
Speaker 3: into a better position to add to a better position
Speaker 3: to add to the offensive firepower that that team could have,
Speaker 3: and that's something that the coaching staff will have to
Speaker 3: figure out. But I think it's too much on Lebron's
Speaker 3: shoulders that this later his career and at this big
Speaker 3: age for him to be the basically the factor of
Speaker 3: if you win or lose games.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, he definitely is right now, You're completely.
Speaker 2: Right, D'angela Russell.
Speaker 3: He's been playing, you know, he's been playing pretty good,
Speaker 3: but I think he still has to take his game
Speaker 3: to another level. Austin Reeves has been struggling as of lately.
Speaker 3: I think he's more so just out of rhythm going
Speaker 3: from USA. I'm sure he took a break in between
Speaker 3: before training camp, so he's probably still finding his rhythm.
Speaker 3: But he has to step his game up. It has
Speaker 3: to at least be sixteen to eighteen a game from
Speaker 3: Austin Reeves for this team to really really be successful.
Speaker 3: So they got to figure it out. But at the
Speaker 3: end of the day, if you're living in dying by
Speaker 3: if Lebron James is winning games for you, just laying
Speaker 3: his career, it's not gonna look good for this team.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm gonna have faith Austin Reeves is going to
Speaker 1: even out and go back to the player they expected
Speaker 1: him to be. You're right right now, he's only averaging
Speaker 1: twelve a game. Can't be doing that thirty nine percent
Speaker 1: on field goal shooting. Can't have that either from a
Speaker 1: guy who's supposed to provide that shooting. But yeah, he
Speaker 1: had a pretty busy season last year, not just you know, physically,
Speaker 1: but emotionally changing his role so much and stepping into
Speaker 1: the spotlight. Then he went to write to Team USA basketball.
Speaker 1: He was asked to carry a lot there. He did
Speaker 1: really well, which kind of raised his notoriety. He has
Speaker 1: a shoe deal, He's a shoe with his name on it.
Speaker 1: There's a lot going on, and teams have a more
Speaker 1: of a defensive book on him this year. So I
Speaker 1: think all of that is going to be an adjustment
Speaker 1: for him. He's shown me to be the kind of
Speaker 1: player who can handle that and who eventually is going
Speaker 1: to be able to sort of even himself out. But
Speaker 1: get he's got to get there. And these minutes they're
Speaker 1: not nothing. I mean, they said going into the season,
Speaker 1: Lebron should be averaging twenty eight to thirty minutes. And
Speaker 1: I was with the Lakers the other night and I
Speaker 1: asked him, and I asked Darvin Ham, what are you
Speaker 1: doing here with this? And Darvin was like, we're so competitive,
Speaker 1: me and him that I have a plan through three
Speaker 1: quarters and then the fourth quarter and I'll get through
Speaker 1: out the window because we know we need to win
Speaker 1: this game. And the medical staff and the training staff
Speaker 1: is unhappy with both of us. The next day and
Speaker 1: Lebron kind of said the same thing. I don't know
Speaker 1: how important is it for a guy turning thirty nine,
Speaker 1: who is, by the way, one of the most physically
Speaker 1: gifted humans we have ever seen in professional sports. But
Speaker 1: even with him, how important is it? Do you think, Boogie,
Speaker 1: that his sort of mileage doesn't get up as high
Speaker 1: as it's been getting per game, so he's got it
Speaker 1: at the end of the season. Is that a huge
Speaker 1: factor for you?
Speaker 2: I think it is a huge factor.
Speaker 3: And I'm gonna go off and say the whole plan
Speaker 3: of playing twenty eight that's just that's complete bullshit. That's
Speaker 3: I don't even think it's possible with the way this
Speaker 3: team is constructed. I just don't see that happening. It's
Speaker 3: been seven games into the season. They've already scrapped that plan.
Speaker 3: So can you imagine what happens thirty games in? Forty
Speaker 3: games in We also have to keep into account that
Speaker 3: Lebron has been injured every season since he's been a Laker,
Speaker 3: maybe outside of the championship, so obviously that the mileageist
Speaker 3: is starting to have an effect on his body, regardless
Speaker 3: of how physically gifted he is or how physically gifted
Speaker 3: he's been in the past. Father Tom is undefeated and
Speaker 3: it happens to everybody. So with that being said, they
Speaker 3: have to put it a real plan, actually realistic plan
Speaker 3: in place to help this guy make it to the
Speaker 3: end of the season, so he can't be fresh for
Speaker 3: the playoffs and for a championship run. If not, you
Speaker 3: might as well scrapped his team because it's not gonna
Speaker 3: It's not gonna happen. It's just not gonna happen.
Speaker 1: Well, look, I have to think some of the other
Speaker 1: role players getting healthy will help. I have to think
Speaker 1: Austin Reeves is going to be able to find his level.
Speaker 1: But that being said, if that's not enough to push
Speaker 1: his limit minutest limit back down, if those guys can't
Speaker 1: get into the game and step up the way they
Speaker 1: need them to, I agree with you. I'm not a
Speaker 1: deaf con one yet.
Speaker 2: But deaf gone one. Deaf gone one.
Speaker 1: You got a lot of Lakers fans who after that
Speaker 1: Orlando loss, we're at def Con one. The Magic are
Speaker 1: a good team by the way, or they're they're improving
Speaker 1: or whatever. It's not the Magic of Ole. But still
Speaker 1: like I get it, I get where people's concern is.
Speaker 1: I want to move you on to the Phoenix Suns though,
Speaker 1: because their health definitely prime and right for the overreaction meter.
Speaker 1: We are seven games into this season, Bradley Beal still
Speaker 1: hasn't played a single game. Devin Booker has only played
Speaker 1: two games. Definitely the other night you saw when he
Speaker 1: came back in against the Spurs, had to get his
Speaker 1: rhythm back and all that stuff, even though he shot
Speaker 1: really well. Bradley Beale, by the way, Big Picture, has
Speaker 1: only played in more than sixty games for four seasons
Speaker 1: of his career. So he is a guy who you know,
Speaker 1: misses games. And obviously we've seen KD miss some games
Speaker 1: over the last couple of years. Devin Booker generally has
Speaker 1: been healthy, although he's had those stretches where he's had
Speaker 1: injuries where he's missed games. So should we be overreacting
Speaker 1: to the Sun's health? Where are you? Are you just
Speaker 1: chilling you monitoring you cune up the trade machine or
Speaker 1: are you going all the way to deaf kond Won
Speaker 1: like the Lakers.
Speaker 2: No, I'm chilling on this situation.
Speaker 1: Okay.
Speaker 3: Obviously it's early in the season for this Phoenix Science team.
Speaker 3: I think they did a great job of putting his
Speaker 3: team together. It's so much fire on this team. If
Speaker 3: you have two out of three of those guys and
Speaker 3: Bradley Beal, Devin book and Kevin Durin. I think you're
Speaker 3: going to always be in a situation to win. I
Speaker 3: think they did a great job putting bigs in place
Speaker 3: to complement these guys. The Nirkish move was incredible, I do.
Speaker 3: I think that's a great move for them of playmaking
Speaker 3: big they can finish at the rim, play some defense,
Speaker 3: A big body can make the correct reads out of
Speaker 3: the pick and roll. And I think Drew you Banks
Speaker 3: coming off the bench with the high energy, I think
Speaker 3: that's the perfect combination for them. Obviously, health is the
Speaker 3: only thing that I see that I can see stopping
Speaker 3: this team. Is still early in the season, which gives
Speaker 3: them plenty of time to get one hundred percent healthy.
Speaker 2: But like I said, with two.
Speaker 3: Out of three of those guys on the floor, they
Speaker 3: have a great chance in winning games, all right.
Speaker 1: So just chilling, I agree with you. I think that, Look,
Speaker 1: they got to find their rhythm, they got to find
Speaker 1: their way. All these teams that just sort of came
Speaker 1: together over the summer. That's the point. That's why Denver
Speaker 1: is playing so well. That they have all that chemistry
Speaker 1: and all that time together, that doesn't just happen. You
Speaker 1: got to build it so I'm interested to see what
Speaker 1: they build in Phoenix. I like the DeAndre Ayton Nurkic trade. Also,
Speaker 1: I'm a little worried about him defensively and what that's
Speaker 1: going to mean is they progress through the playoffs. He
Speaker 1: has played great team defense before up in Portland. It
Speaker 1: doesn't shock me that the last season or two, when
Speaker 1: things were the way they were, he wasn't buying in
Speaker 1: in that same way. So I think he's going to
Speaker 1: try to get back up to that level again, but
Speaker 1: they need him to. I will say though his attitude,
Speaker 1: he's such a positive guy. He's one of the more
Speaker 1: like sort of positive, cheerful players I've been around. Teammates
Speaker 1: really love him, and that's not a knock on DeAndre Ayton.
Speaker 1: I actually really like DeAndre and he can be very
Speaker 1: sunny too. But the situation had gotten so negative there
Speaker 1: between him and the team and management and everything else
Speaker 1: and other players that it just was uncomfortable. And so
Speaker 1: I think removing that from the locker room, having a
Speaker 1: guy come in who's just sort of all smiles is
Speaker 1: definitely going to help them too. So I'm with you,
Speaker 1: I'm just chilling. We'll see what happens. Just chilling. All right,
Speaker 1: I want to get to our new segment, set a reminder.
Speaker 1: This is for you to set a reminder to the
Speaker 1: biggest game in the NBA this week, and I want
Speaker 1: to look at the week ahead. So bug, what game
Speaker 1: are you setting a reminder for? Celtics Sixers that's Wednesday,
Speaker 1: Warriors Nuggets, that's Wednesday. I'm actually gonna be up in
Speaker 1: Denver this week. Spurs Nicks. That's Wenby's debut at Madison
Speaker 1: Square Garden. And you know that guy likes to see
Speaker 1: that you We've already seen that kid. He loves him
Speaker 1: a big moment. He's there Friday, You've got Lakers Suns.
Speaker 1: These are some of the n season tournament games and
Speaker 1: Clippers maps, which is going to be great too because
Speaker 1: they've had some great playoff matchups recently as well. So
Speaker 1: that's a lot of good games. What are you looking
Speaker 1: forward to?
Speaker 3: Man, it's hard, it's hard to pick just one. Obviously,
Speaker 3: I'm excited to see the young kid Wenby play.
Speaker 2: Uh.
Speaker 3: He's going to play on the big stage Wednesday, so
Speaker 3: I think that's gonna be a big test for him. Obviously,
Speaker 3: going to add to the legend that he's already creating
Speaker 3: for himself super talent. The kid, he's already exceeded expectations.
Speaker 3: I spoke on this before. I think the Spurs could
Speaker 3: sneak into the playoffs just off his talent alone, the impact,
Speaker 3: And you know most rookies are judged by for some reason,
Speaker 3: only judge by what they can do on the offensive
Speaker 3: side of the ball. This kid is shown he can
Speaker 3: be a two way player and impact the entire game
Speaker 3: without having to score thirty at night. I think he's
Speaker 3: Tim Duncan on steroids, which is crazy to say, yes,
Speaker 3: crazy to say. His talent is through the roof. So
Speaker 3: I'm excited to see that game. And Friday, that Clippers
Speaker 3: MAVs game. I'm excited to see that one as well.
Speaker 3: You know the past history between those two teams, it
Speaker 3: always goes down to the wire. Luca always shows up,
Speaker 3: PG Kawhi always show up. So I think it's gonna
Speaker 3: be a lot of firepower in that game. Obviously, the
Speaker 3: new addition in James Harden to be playing that night,
Speaker 3: so we'll get to see that team against another good
Speaker 3: team in the MAVs, and we'll see what they're made up.
Speaker 2: So I'm excited for that game. As well.
Speaker 1: Look, I love the idea of Wenby at MSG. I
Speaker 1: am one thousand percent all in on this kid right now.
Speaker 1: If you look at the skill set, it is literally
Speaker 1: something we have never seen before. So when you look
Speaker 1: at some of the names that his first five games,
Speaker 1: his first six games, the records that he's setting for
Speaker 1: his start, you're talking about names like Shaq, You're talking
Speaker 1: about names like David Robinson, talking about names like Lebron James.
Speaker 1: And he has a skill set frankly that is more
Speaker 1: complete than any of those guys. And that doesn't mean
Speaker 1: he is going to become Lebron. But I don't know.
Speaker 1: I think this ceiling, the ceiling for him is as
Speaker 1: high as any player who has ever played in the NBA.
Speaker 1: And we don't know what's going to happen with health.
Speaker 1: That is, of course the biggest factor. We've seen Grant Hill,
Speaker 1: who is supposed to be the next Michael Jordan, completely
Speaker 1: derailed by what happened to him. So that could happen
Speaker 1: to Wemby and then we'll never get there. But I
Speaker 1: have to say, this kid has already shown he's got
Speaker 1: a killer instinct. Again, I don't know as we sit
Speaker 1: here in this particular second, and it'll change as people
Speaker 1: listen to this all week, but I know that as
Speaker 1: of over the weekend, he had the best fourth quarter
Speaker 1: numbers not for rookie in the entire league, in the
Speaker 1: entire league. This kid knows the big moment. He's been
Speaker 1: a pro frankly since he's for years. Right as a
Speaker 1: young teenager, he was already playing on professional teams, already
Speaker 1: playing in the euro Cup. So he knows about big moments.
Speaker 1: He's won a championship, he knows what all that requires
Speaker 1: at the end of the game when all the pressure
Speaker 1: and everything is on him, and he has been not
Speaker 1: just running into the fire, he's been leaping into it.
Speaker 1: With that giant wingspan and the defense book, he is
Speaker 1: a future defensive player of the Year. To me again,
Speaker 1: you know barrn Helson, all of that this year, it's crazy, right, Yes, yes,
Speaker 1: guys are talking about that wing. It's an eight foot wingspan,
Speaker 1: and so what players I've talked to have played him
Speaker 1: so far have said, they're like, there's nowhere to physically go,
Speaker 1: like that takes up a lot of court, and that's
Speaker 1: before you get to the shop blocking. He's block Kd's
Speaker 1: shot He's blocked Claye Thompson's shot. These are guys who
Speaker 1: are snipe bers, and he has been able to just
Speaker 1: get in front of them. And with Klay Thompson, I
Speaker 1: don't know if you saw that clip, he batted his
Speaker 1: shot out of the air, grabbed it and then went
Speaker 1: to the other end inducted because of course he can.
Speaker 1: He can do any of that stuff and straight up
Speaker 1: around the basket. I mean, is a big. You've got
Speaker 1: to like the way he's defending around the basket.
Speaker 2: Too, right, I mean, you can't even label this kid
Speaker 2: a big.
Speaker 3: I can see him at a chance that win the
Speaker 3: Defensive Player of the Year as well this season.
Speaker 2: He's that impactful in the game.
Speaker 3: He's on both sides of the ball, his offense and
Speaker 3: the scary part, I don't even think he's really found
Speaker 3: this offensive game yet. These are just intangibles that he's
Speaker 3: He's a raw player right now in my eyes. Once
Speaker 3: he finds his offensive game, he knows where his go
Speaker 3: to spots are, he has his go to moves, He
Speaker 3: has a first, second, and third option on every move
Speaker 3: he made. This kid, this is something we've never seen before.
Speaker 3: We'll probably never see anything like it. Again and being
Speaker 3: able to guard Steph Curry on the wing at seven
Speaker 3: seven like somptant.
Speaker 1: You guys see, you've never seen those more. That's the thing.
Speaker 1: I mean, Look again, I'm taking big leaps here, but
Speaker 1: I'm talking about ceiling, right, I'm not talking about what's
Speaker 1: gonna happen. I'm just talking about the ceiling for him.
Speaker 1: This ceiling for him is that this whole MJ. Lebron
Speaker 1: debate we've been having for the last ten years, the
Speaker 1: ceiling for him is that by the time Wemby's done,
Speaker 1: or even fifteen years into his career, is that he
Speaker 1: could be rendering that either or discussion. He could be
Speaker 1: rendering it.
Speaker 2: Mood.
Speaker 1: I mean, we just don't know. He has the potential
Speaker 1: for so much and now we're gonna have to see
Speaker 1: if he pays it off. But I'm so excited. That's
Speaker 1: my game of the week because him in Madison Square Garden,
Speaker 1: I think is going to be the Jews. I don't know,
Speaker 1: all right. I want to get to some odds here,
Speaker 1: all the Radar presented by DraftKings, the only sportsbook you
Speaker 1: need for this basketball season. I want to take a
Speaker 1: look at the odds to win the Western Conference, So
Speaker 1: we want to look at the dark horse team out
Speaker 1: west that could have throne defending champs because Denver is
Speaker 1: still the favorite, right plus two sixty, The Suns are
Speaker 1: right there, the Warriors are there, the Lakers are there,
Speaker 1: the Clippers making a push here, and the MAVs. Then
Speaker 1: you got the Kings too on the outside, your old
Speaker 1: club there. So what do you think? I mean? I
Speaker 1: know Sons and Warriors has been kind of what people
Speaker 1: have been leaning toward. Do you still go with one
Speaker 1: of them is the best chance to knock off Denver?
Speaker 1: Or do you see what all the sleepers there?
Speaker 3: I think the Sons have a great chance at being
Speaker 3: a team that can defeat the Denver Nuggets. The Denver
Speaker 3: Nuggets are just so well constructed. There's like a Will
Speaker 3: Oil machine. They know how to play every single night,
Speaker 3: they know what they're looking for every single night. They're
Speaker 3: so unselfish, yolkish. Right now, I believe it's the best
Speaker 3: player in the entire NBA, So you know what you're
Speaker 3: getting thirty, ten and ten from him every single night.
Speaker 2: Their Will Oil machine.
Speaker 3: But if there's any team I could see knocking them off,
Speaker 3: it would probably be the Suns. The three head of
Speaker 3: monster they have in Devin Booker, Bradley Beilt and Kevin
Speaker 3: Durant is a nightmare for any team. I just don't
Speaker 3: really see any team being able to match up defensively
Speaker 3: to stop that. Having down low, him being a somewhat,
Speaker 3: him being able to somewhat, you know, bother Yokic a
Speaker 3: little bit. With his size and his physicality. I can
Speaker 3: see the Suns being a team that can that can
Speaker 3: do that. Obviously, health is a factor, but if this
Speaker 3: team can get healthy, I think they have a chance
Speaker 3: at being Denver.
Speaker 2: For sure.
Speaker 1: They're gonna have to shoot a lot. I mean, that
Speaker 1: offense is going to have to be an over over,
Speaker 1: overdrive because you know Denver is going to score, and
Speaker 1: you know that that Yokic can just bullyball his way
Speaker 1: in there. Speaking about pod here, So I don't know.
Speaker 1: I think I think it's me interesting. I'm so impressed
Speaker 1: with Denver. I came into the season picking them just
Speaker 1: because I don't like to pick against the defending champs
Speaker 1: unless they've given me a reason, and they have given
Speaker 1: me no reason. They look there's no hangover. Yokic looks
Speaker 1: as good as ever, Jamal looks as good as ever
Speaker 1: that supporting cast. I know theyre you know, Bruce Brown
Speaker 1: was a great addition to that team and a great
Speaker 1: ingredient last year. But they don't seem like they've missed
Speaker 1: a beat. Aaron Gordon is playing lights out. I mean,
Speaker 1: they look so good. I cannot wait to see what
Speaker 1: havepen this season in a stack west by the way,
Speaker 1: because Steph Curry, by the way, it's also scoring a
Speaker 1: million points a game. So we don't like going on.
Speaker 1: We got to get to doom scroll our social media element.
Speaker 1: No need, you don't need to fall into the endless
Speaker 1: scroll of our social apps. We've got you. We're gonna
Speaker 1: give you the good stuff. So tons of conversation on
Speaker 1: social boogie about the new City edition courts. And I
Speaker 1: want to show you the Miami Heat court. And this
Speaker 1: is a pat Riley quote we think and it says,
Speaker 1: hardest working, best conditioned, most professional, unselfish, toughest, meanest, nastiest
Speaker 1: team in the NBA. I think there are times when
Speaker 1: that has been true about the Heat. Do you feel
Speaker 1: that it's true about the Heat right now?
Speaker 3: I love Jimmy Butler, and I believe everything that's said
Speaker 3: in that quote fits Jimmy Butler. I feel the same
Speaker 3: way about BAM. I don't see that with everybody on
Speaker 3: that team, or that being the identity of this team.
Speaker 3: That's just not the identity of any team in the
Speaker 3: NBA these days.
Speaker 2: Toughness, meanness, that.
Speaker 3: Like, that's that's the old school style of basketball. Playing
Speaker 3: with that grid every night, that's old school. So I
Speaker 3: don't really see that fitting any team in the NBA.
Speaker 3: But it is characteristics of certain guys on that team,
Speaker 3: and basically the hard and souls of the team, which
Speaker 3: is Jimmy Butler and Bam.
Speaker 2: So in a way yes, and in another way hell no.
Speaker 1: I mean, it's been so hard with them because they
Speaker 1: haven't gotten off to a great start. But they didn't
Speaker 1: get off to a great start last year, they didn't
Speaker 1: get off to a great middle, they didn't get off
Speaker 1: to a great finish. They won their second playing game
Speaker 1: and went all the way to the NBA Finals. So
Speaker 1: they're just a team where it's hard to gauge this
Speaker 1: earlier in the season, But I think court may be
Speaker 1: a goal. Maybe that court is a goal more than
Speaker 1: a description. Also a big topic going on as you
Speaker 1: scroll is, of course, the Ncason tournament's featuring a cash
Speaker 1: prize for players and staff. I think that's really important
Speaker 1: to note. Why should fans can though, because even some
Speaker 1: of the players have come out and said Bones Higland
Speaker 1: came out the other day and he was like, I
Speaker 1: don't even know what's going on here. I couldn't even
Speaker 1: explain this tournament to you. Jimmy Butler saying, I don't
Speaker 1: really get I'm supposed to win more now when I
Speaker 1: step on the court on this particular Friday night, I
Speaker 1: want to win every game. I don't want to win now.
Speaker 1: I want I'm supposed to want to win. So you've
Speaker 1: had some guys not really seeming to buy in. You've
Speaker 1: got Steph Curry who's been buying in. He said after
Speaker 1: that great game they played against Oklahoma City, he was like,
Speaker 1: these tournament games hit different. So you got guys buying
Speaker 1: into a different degree. Where are you on it?
Speaker 2: I think that season tournament is just complete bullshit.
Speaker 3: I'm gonna just feel if you want to get back
Speaker 3: to you know, competitive basketball, let's bring defense back to
Speaker 3: like real defense, Like let's bring the touchdown. Let's bring
Speaker 3: the physicality of the nineties early two thousands back into
Speaker 3: the game, I think. I think that's when basketball was
Speaker 3: at his peak. I think that's when you really got
Speaker 3: to see both sides of the ball being played on
Speaker 3: a nightly basis. I think guys care more back then.
Speaker 3: We want to see the superstars of the league go
Speaker 3: through at first. We want to see a defensive player
Speaker 3: actually put the clamps.
Speaker 2: On a superstar. We want those things to happen.
Speaker 3: I think now the game it's becoming where it's two stage,
Speaker 3: like they want to stage the superstar scoring thirty instead
Speaker 3: of letting them go out and get thirty, you know
Speaker 3: what I mean. So if you want real competitive basketball,
Speaker 3: let's put real defense back into the game. And I
Speaker 3: think those things, those issues that we're dealing with through
Speaker 3: this eighty eighty plus game season, I think those issues
Speaker 3: slowly creep out and we'll get back to the product
Speaker 3: that we're accustomed to seeing.
Speaker 2: No.
Speaker 1: I love that perspective because I think the n season
Speaker 1: tournament could be fun. I'm all for like more fun things.
Speaker 1: I think the NBA has been really creative over the
Speaker 1: last twenty years, and that's something that other leagues haven't
Speaker 1: been willing to change in the same way. I think
Speaker 1: the NFL could use some more of that change, Baseball,
Speaker 1: could you some more of that change? So I like
Speaker 1: thinking about these things. Obviously, these nd season tournaments are
Speaker 1: hugely popular with soccer over in Europe, so there's a
Speaker 1: model there. But I think you're right, it's not going
Speaker 1: to really make the regular season feel that much more important,
Speaker 1: which is the goal here, because they feel like that's
Speaker 1: slipped away over the past few years. And they're trying
Speaker 1: to negotiate these television contracts where they're trying to get
Speaker 1: networks to pay total of seventy five billion. That is
Speaker 1: the aimed goal here. Seventy five with a b billion dollars,
Speaker 1: right like that? That is so much money. And these
Speaker 1: narraks are looking at them and they're seeing regular season
Speaker 1: ratings go down and down and down every year, so
Speaker 1: they need to juice this up. And the thought has
Speaker 1: been book like, let these guys score more. Our fans
Speaker 1: love it. They're watching Steph Curry score forty, they're watching whatever.
Speaker 1: But you're right, it's gotten to the point where a
Speaker 1: bunch of guys are scoring forty. That's not even as
Speaker 1: big a thing anymore.
Speaker 3: Thirty guys averaging twenty five plus, Right, it's just not realistic. Like,
Speaker 3: it's not good for the game. It's not enjoyable to watch.
Speaker 3: Like I want to see guys go out and compete.
Speaker 3: I want to see guys getting into it. I want
Speaker 3: to see guys frustrated with one another. I want to
Speaker 3: see guys actually go out and compete on a nightly basis.
Speaker 3: It was good when it was drama in the game.
Speaker 3: It was good when players didn't like each other. You
Speaker 3: knew when they met up it was going to be
Speaker 3: a great matchup. Now everybody's friends, everybody gets along, it's
Speaker 3: coom by guys. It's like a big summer camp or
Speaker 3: something like. This isn't This isn't what The competitive nature
Speaker 3: of this game is completely going away from what we're
Speaker 3: accustomed to, and we need to get back to that foundation.
Speaker 3: And like I said, I feel like with that foundation,
Speaker 3: everything else to clean itself up.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Look, and it starts with on the court. You're right,
Speaker 1: because I don't care that these guys work out together
Speaker 1: over the offseason or their friends. They're allowed to be friends.
Speaker 1: They're professionals who work in the same business, right, But
Speaker 1: the idea of that nastiness coming in, that pat rally
Speaker 1: nastiness he was just talking about on that court. That
Speaker 1: comes from defense, that comes from on court battles, that
Speaker 1: comes from that grit of the playoffs that you're talking about,
Speaker 1: where guys just do not like each other, and that
Speaker 1: is You're right, that is what would get people into
Speaker 1: the regular season a little more because those matchups happen
Speaker 1: four six times a year if they're done right, and
Speaker 1: then boom, you've got people paying attention to every single
Speaker 1: one of those games. So all right, Commissioner Cousins, we're
Speaker 1: gonna work on that for you.
Speaker 3: All right.
Speaker 1: Before we go, we've got a question from our producers
Speaker 1: to close out the show, which team has the best
Speaker 1: duo or trio twenty three or younger? So we're looking
Speaker 1: for really the best young collection of talent in the NBA.
Speaker 1: We're going to rotate this question every week. It's gonna
Speaker 1: be different question every week. But this week we got
Speaker 1: the magic right, we got Paolo and from Wagner. I'm
Speaker 1: very proud of my pronunciation. They are Thunder, Jalen Williams,
Speaker 1: not that Jalen Williams, the other Jalen Williams, Yes, that
Speaker 1: Jalen Williams, chet Holmgrin and Josh Gitty, they're all under
Speaker 1: twenty three. On the Pistons, you've got Kate Cunningham, Jalen Duran,
Speaker 1: on the Spurs Wenby of course, you've got Vassel, You've
Speaker 1: got Sohan, You've got on the Hornets, Lamela Ball, Brandon Miller,
Speaker 1: Rockets Singlin, Jalen Green, Jabari Smith and on the Pelicans
Speaker 1: of course, I am still only twenty three people. Trey
Speaker 1: Murphy as well. Brendan Ingram doesn't quite fit into the
Speaker 1: twenty three and under, but he's still young. So where
Speaker 1: are you on the best young young core in the NBA.
Speaker 3: Outside of me being a huge fan of Wemby, obviously,
Speaker 3: I love the Spurs organization and everything they do as
Speaker 3: far as developing players, But I'm gonna have to go
Speaker 3: with the Thunder, Jalen Williams, Chet and and Giddy. That's
Speaker 3: that's a great found out, a great foundation to have
Speaker 3: with those young guys.
Speaker 2: Obviously, you adding shade to that picture.
Speaker 3: Chet might be the closest thing we have to winby
Speaker 3: and well.
Speaker 1: That's a Rookie of the Year. That's the Rookie of
Speaker 1: the Year race clearly is.
Speaker 3: Obviously, I think Chet is a very, very talented player.
Speaker 3: I was a big fan of him coming out of
Speaker 3: Gonzaga as well. Like I said, I think he's the
Speaker 3: closest thing to winby we we're ever gonna see. And
Speaker 3: I think their games are still kind of different, but
Speaker 3: just as far as the size and athleticism and intangibles,
Speaker 3: it's somewhat of a similarity. But I think Chud is
Speaker 3: also one of those special type players, something we'll never
Speaker 3: see again. Jayleen Williams, being young and talented as he is,
Speaker 3: I think he's a dynamic player that fits the mold
Speaker 3: of that team. And then Josh Getty being the playmaker
Speaker 3: that he is, putting that combination of players together and
Speaker 3: adding shade to the mix. I think you got a
Speaker 3: bright future with that Thunder team. And obviously Sam Presty
Speaker 3: leading the way. He's been great throughout his career with
Speaker 3: just building teams, developing teams. We saw him put the
Speaker 3: young core group of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden together.
Speaker 3: We see what those guys turned into. So I think
Speaker 3: this Thunder group can be special and I'm excited to
Speaker 3: see what happens as this team of folks.
Speaker 1: Sam Presty knows his way around the draft, and they
Speaker 1: have so many picks coming up. They've been so smart
Speaker 1: and making all these deals for draft picks. This young
Speaker 1: core is all going to be on the same timeline.
Speaker 1: They're going to add another couple of players this year
Speaker 1: and over the next year. They've got picks from all
Speaker 1: over the league, so they don't challenge right, well, they
Speaker 1: don't have to bet a thousand.
Speaker 2: I mean, it's.
Speaker 1: Actually it's actually the concept of the process in Philadelphia,
Speaker 1: but without sucking to get draft picks. It's about making
Speaker 1: smart moves to get draft picks. But the whole point
Speaker 1: of the process was drafting is inexact science. No matter
Speaker 1: the best people, the best people in draft history, the
Speaker 1: best GMS in front office people. You don't bet a thousand.
Speaker 1: You don't even bat five hundred, like you can't predict
Speaker 1: at seventeen and eighteen what these kids are going to be.
Speaker 1: So the more picks you have, the more bites at
Speaker 1: the apple, the better team you can end up with.
Speaker 1: And Philly got there by having historically bad seasons. Sam
Speaker 1: Presty is getting there by basically being super savvy about
Speaker 1: players he's traded away, starting of course, with Russ MPG trades,
Speaker 1: and I think that Josh Giddy is somehow underrated. So
Speaker 1: I love this group too, and I'm excited to see
Speaker 1: what they do. I think there's like a tick and
Speaker 1: time bomb where everyone knows it's ticking. Everyone in the
Speaker 1: NBA knows what this team is going to be in
Speaker 1: five years, and we're just watching it happen like that.
Speaker 2: Wait for boom.
Speaker 1: All right, friend, I love doing this with you. I
Speaker 1: love talking to you. This is going to be so
Speaker 1: much fun every week. We got a lot to come.
Speaker 1: I'll see you next Monday and I'll see how you
Speaker 1: out there too.
Speaker 2: All Right. I appreciate your regard. This is great, and.
Speaker 1: Remember you can get Bullyball wherever you get your podcasts,
Speaker 1: in the air, on the ground, on YouTube as well.
Speaker 1: We'll be there. Thank you for being in this first
Speaker 1: edition of Bullyball. There'll be more