Speaker 1: Well, well, well, Jimmy Harden has finally moved on, and
Speaker 1: we got to see Katie and Wemby. Just take it
Speaker 1: down to the wire.
Speaker 2: What is like Christmas? Early and Lucas starts on a
Speaker 2: tear and we're gonna talk about the league in general,
Speaker 2: obviously the Lakers two.
Speaker 1: With Sports Better Extraordinaire and NBA analyst Jamison Welsh on
Speaker 1: today's episode, I'm Miles Gray.
Speaker 3: Then I'm Jack O'Brien, and this is Miles Jack Rah Davis.
Speaker 3: Gop here your Jammy driving Spinnyky.
Speaker 4: Curry a three stop Curry from the tell again, be honest,
Speaker 4: the tailors look out shows.
Speaker 2: What Yes, Okay, we're back. The NBA is back.
Speaker 1: We're about four games in, give or take depending on
Speaker 1: when your listen to this.
Speaker 2: Uh and things are things are? Things are going well.
Speaker 3: I think they're happened in Miles. They're happening out here, Miles.
Speaker 3: I'm in the streets of Philadelphia, reporting live from the
Speaker 3: City of Brotherly Love, where James Harden has been traded.
Speaker 2: Oh yes, and before.
Speaker 1: We get into that, we got to introduce our guests,
Speaker 1: Jamison Welsh, thank you so much.
Speaker 5: Stop by the show. What's up?
Speaker 2: Jamison. Of course, of course, of course.
Speaker 3: I mean the last time you were on, I told
Speaker 3: you that I put money on okay see to win
Speaker 3: the title. You thanked me for my contribution to the
Speaker 3: city of Los Angeles or in the city of Las
Speaker 3: Vegas County clerk.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's the parts.
Speaker 3: Well, who's laughing now? Oh you're still laughing? Okay, Yeah,
Speaker 3: I was. Actually that was a genuine question. I was
Speaker 3: just asking if okay telling me?
Speaker 2: Who laughing?
Speaker 3: All right? Should we get right into the James hard
Speaker 3: In trade.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean this has been something that's definitely been
Speaker 1: on our minds, the collective minds.
Speaker 2: Of the show or a mine.
Speaker 3: You told me about it when we started recording. I
Speaker 3: just found out about it when you just mentioned it
Speaker 3: at the top of the show. Never heard a little
Speaker 3: space I'm giving. Yeah. Now, I'm nominally a Philadelphia seventy
Speaker 3: six ers fan. This is a lot of people are saying,
Speaker 3: all they just got role players. I think those picks
Speaker 3: are going to be valuable. I think they're I think
Speaker 3: they've got some value on the open market on those
Speaker 3: those dang picks. So if they're if there's still moves
Speaker 3: to be made, I think this could be interesting. You know,
Speaker 3: there are some people were saying that they might be
Speaker 3: trying to get Zach Levine in Martin, Philly. Yeah, you know,
Speaker 3: og Anobi potentially, So I don't know. I don't know
Speaker 3: because otherwise, yeah, otherwise, this does feel like the move
Speaker 3: you make before you trade Joe l Embiid for picks
Speaker 3: to the Knicks, you know, right, so we'll see. I mean,
Speaker 3: MAXI has looked amazing so far this year, so you know,
Speaker 3: I don't think they should blow it up. I think
Speaker 3: they should try and use those picks to get a
Speaker 3: third star. A lot of people are saying to match
Speaker 3: a star with Embiid. How about add to the two
Speaker 3: stars that they have in Philadelphia including.
Speaker 2: This is from a nominal Sixers fan, right.
Speaker 3: Yeah, just just not nominally a Sixers fan, but Jamison.
Speaker 3: The the odds have not been favorable in response to
Speaker 3: this trade. The Sixers odds to win the title have
Speaker 3: gone down, the Clippers odds have gone up. How are
Speaker 3: you viewing this trade?
Speaker 6: Oh?
Speaker 4: I don't think neither of these trades matter. These moves
Speaker 4: matter for either team. Like you mentioned, Philly's in a
Speaker 4: situation or where they can add a piece somehow, some way,
Speaker 4: either using the picks or the expirings or whatever it
Speaker 4: might be. H you mentioned Ojoby, I think Pascal Sap
Speaker 4: would be the guy.
Speaker 3: Guy.
Speaker 4: I'm gonna go for a guy one him and Duel
Speaker 4: and Beata from the same country. That's the first thing.
Speaker 4: If I'm trying to keep Joel in town, That's one
Speaker 4: of my.
Speaker 6: Angles is trying.
Speaker 4: Secondly, I do think that if you're gonna end up
Speaker 4: playing Boston in the playoffs, you do as many big
Speaker 4: wings as possible, You as many guys that can defend
Speaker 4: Brown and Tatum as possible Adam Lavigne. That ain't gonna work,
Speaker 4: Like because it's on defense that ain't gonna work. I
Speaker 4: think that you can get Ojonoby or Pascal. I think
Speaker 4: that would be a better move. But right now, yeah,
Speaker 4: odds of for Philly. I mean I would be cautiously.
Speaker 4: I would be costly get out the first round right now,
Speaker 4: and not because they're bad and like that is just
Speaker 4: because as season goes on, we know Joelle it is
Speaker 4: conditioning not great for whatever reason it might be. But
Speaker 4: he gets injured some time and he comes back is
Speaker 4: not the same, and they don't have that other guy
Speaker 4: that's that main score. You know, Maxill's and all took
Speaker 4: its start. They don't have that other guy that's gonna
Speaker 4: get you twenty points a night consistently. I don't know
Speaker 4: about this team currently right now. Now, like you mentioned,
Speaker 4: I probably gonna make moves. We'll see, but right now,
Speaker 4: the odds though they are and I would bet they
Speaker 4: not be the gallther the first round if by at
Speaker 4: to today the Clippers they got.
Speaker 3: Sorry, I do just want to remind you that the
Speaker 3: Sixers are incapable of not losing in the second round.
Speaker 2: That's almost it's almost nailed on.
Speaker 3: It's nailed on.
Speaker 1: You're saying they can't even do the norm, which is
Speaker 1: going wow, yeah, Because.
Speaker 4: Here's the thing too, we all know how this works.
Speaker 4: The press that goes on, hey they made a trade.
Speaker 4: Now the whispers are going to become loud with the
Speaker 4: Knicks talking other teams trying to get well. It's tough
Speaker 4: to come through when it's like pressure going on, you
Speaker 4: know to Biston last year of a de deal. There's
Speaker 4: a lot going on with the Sixers and they need
Speaker 4: to do something as quickly as possible or else it
Speaker 4: might be a reveil situation. However, with that being said,
Speaker 4: I do think they have some moves they can make
Speaker 4: to put them out in the conversation with Milwaukee and Boston,
Speaker 4: but they got to make them quickly. But the Slippers,
Speaker 4: they're trusting four guys over thirty Yeah, I believe thirty two.
Speaker 6: That's rough.
Speaker 3: Believe the NBA calls that a sweet spot. Thirty yeah, yeah.
Speaker 6: I mean Russell Westbrook I believe turns thirty five.
Speaker 2: In a week or so.
Speaker 4: So's it's kind of you're asking a lot and then
Speaker 4: you're asking a lot of players to do things.
Speaker 6: That they normally don't do.
Speaker 4: So either Russell or James Harden is going to be
Speaker 4: off the ball and in a secondary playmaker role and
Speaker 4: that's not what they're good at. Why they're both really
Speaker 4: good with the basketball in their hands. When it's not
Speaker 4: their hands, they're not the same player. Not saying they
Speaker 4: can't adjust, but we have yet to see it at
Speaker 4: a high level thus far. It can be very interesting
Speaker 4: to see what happens. And also injuries. James Harden has
Speaker 4: not been the same since the hamstring in twenty one.
Speaker 4: He aurn't a hamstring and Brooklyn he has not been
Speaker 4: the same player since, and no really talks about that,
Speaker 4: but he's.
Speaker 6: Not the same guy.
Speaker 4: He's still really good, he's not the same guy. But also,
Speaker 4: what happens when you got four dolls on a contract year?
Speaker 4: What happens when there's somebody versity and you have a
Speaker 4: coach in the contract year too. But I'm really very
Speaker 4: kissed that it's all works out.
Speaker 2: Yeah, a lot of.
Speaker 3: People are bringing up the Westbrook thing as like the
Speaker 3: fourth guy, but it does feel to me like Westbrook
Speaker 3: is not like it, both contract wise and just like
Speaker 3: how he was being thought of when they acquired him
Speaker 3: last year and how he was used as like kind
Speaker 3: of all right, he comes in for energy, Like that
Speaker 3: doesn't seem to be the concern to me as much.
Speaker 3: But maybe I'm underestimating, like once now that he's a
Speaker 3: part of the team, Like is it will it be
Speaker 3: a problem? Will it be a fit? Ish you? Yeah,
Speaker 3: that that that makes sense to me, But it does
Speaker 3: feel like, I don't know, if you just have those
Speaker 3: three guys in the starting lineup and then Westbrook coming
Speaker 3: in to like just give you energy off the bench,
Speaker 3: that could be interesting.
Speaker 2: But I've heard I've heard this one before.
Speaker 6: I be that it's.
Speaker 4: Very it's very difficult because once you come off the bench,
Speaker 4: it's very hard to become a starbird game like once
Speaker 4: you out that's at that age where you know you're thirty.
Speaker 6: Five, hey, just who you are now?
Speaker 4: At the same time helping the team win games, it's
Speaker 4: really tough the winma that you get put in. With
Speaker 4: that being said, uh, the rust well, the Clippers fit
Speaker 4: was great, Like the fit was really good because he
Speaker 4: did the things that the other two wings just didn't
Speaker 4: want to do or aren't able to do. Now with Harden,
Speaker 4: I just don't know if you have a guy that
Speaker 4: defenses aren't going to always rotate to, especially when you
Speaker 4: have the close game of the playoff game. It's hard
Speaker 4: playing four and five at times, and it's very difficult
Speaker 4: when you don't have a lot of guys that can,
Speaker 4: you know, get to the basket consistently. So it's gonna
Speaker 4: even say to see but talent wise beats where they
Speaker 4: overwhelmed people. Absolutely, there's definitely nights where there's just a problem.
Speaker 4: But I'm just kissed to see if you have that
Speaker 4: many guys.
Speaker 6: Kind of pass their pond. They're still good players.
Speaker 4: They're all kind of past their home finds in the
Speaker 4: Saints can they stay healthy, can they make one run
Speaker 4: towards him?
Speaker 3: Right, yeah, Kawhi, Like I still think back, Like as
Speaker 3: much as it seems like Kwi has passed his prime,
Speaker 3: there was there were two games in the playoffs last
Speaker 3: year where he was the best player and the like
Speaker 3: seemed like he was the best player in the playoffs.
Speaker 3: Like that's so I don't like, I don't I feel
Speaker 3: like there's still something there for sure, if big, if
Speaker 3: he can stay healthy. But it does feel like these
Speaker 3: the move on these odds seems I don't know, like
Speaker 3: the Sixers odds from plus two thousand last Tuesday at
Speaker 3: bet MGM to like plus twenty eight hundred, like you
Speaker 3: can the entire city of Philadelphia could hear a collective
Speaker 3: slide whistle, is what I'm hearing from on the streets.
Speaker 3: And the Clippers are climbing like up to plus twelve hundred,
Speaker 3: which feels like, I don't know, it feels you know,
Speaker 3: that's in the contender category, which feels it feels like
Speaker 3: maybe we should we should wait and see a little
Speaker 3: bit here.
Speaker 4: Well, the reason why the Clippers are that is for protection,
Speaker 4: Like you want to make sure that if a lot
Speaker 4: of people bet them and they somehow win a championship.
Speaker 6: You don't get killed like that's that's the.
Speaker 4: Sports book and the people who set the lines they
Speaker 4: want to make sure they protect the book because at
Speaker 4: the end of the day, if something happened to where hey,
Speaker 4: everyone be'st the Clipper at twelve to one or fifteen
Speaker 4: to one.
Speaker 6: And everyone, hey, it can be pretty much.
Speaker 4: A bankrupt a sportsbook as you get on like that.
Speaker 4: So that's why they keep the lodds lower than you
Speaker 4: would beIN it's not all based off of champs.
Speaker 6: A lot of it also has been business as well.
Speaker 1: Right, Like you know, from my neutral perspective, not being
Speaker 1: a Clippers or a Sixers fan, and just Jack seeing
Speaker 1: the way you talk about James Harden, just observing how
Speaker 1: I see James Harden everything. It's just like, Kause, what
Speaker 1: this is fourth team in almost two years, Like, honestly,
Speaker 1: what is it about him that so many teams are like,
Speaker 1: you know what.
Speaker 2: I can, I can fix them.
Speaker 1: It'll be different here, It'll be different here, like or
Speaker 1: this will be the situation that brings the best out
Speaker 1: of him, because I just feel like he's to your point,
Speaker 1: jamis and it's like he hasn't been right for a while,
Speaker 1: Am I missing something with like like what what's the
Speaker 1: Clippers strategy here? Like where like what holes is he
Speaker 1: feeling or what do they what's the most optimal outcome
Speaker 1: for them?
Speaker 4: So it's very interesting because in the situation like this,
Speaker 4: the owner is like, Hey, if we're paying forty million
Speaker 4: towards three guys, we're not playing that much. Why don't
Speaker 4: we pay forty million towards a guy like James Harden.
Speaker 6: Also, James Harden does give them.
Speaker 4: Insurance on having at least a name going into the
Speaker 4: new arena just case things don't work out and other
Speaker 4: guys go out the directions something that's gonna happen. But
Speaker 4: you know, you just never know how things work out.
Speaker 4: So had that guy James Harden the name is a
Speaker 4: local guy at least buys you time and it gives
Speaker 4: you some sort of star power. And I think he's
Speaker 4: the biggest star, but it gives you some star power.
Speaker 4: If things go Left of that being said, it's not
Speaker 4: the best to fit. Why you're adding another guy that
Speaker 4: needs the basketball to be effective, and when he doesn't
Speaker 4: have the basketball, things can go.
Speaker 6: You know, it can get bad.
Speaker 4: Now the one thing I will get in the slack
Speaker 4: on is this Houston situation ran its course. Why you know,
Speaker 4: it was what it was. They had their window, it closed.
Speaker 4: It was time for everybody to move on.
Speaker 6: They did.
Speaker 4: Those are Brooklyn all right? The Brooklyn thing is weird
Speaker 4: because the whole COVID and you know, people playing some
Speaker 4: people not that one. I think everyone is like, hey,
Speaker 4: there was so much going on there. I don't really
Speaker 4: fall to for Brooklyn outside of not signing the big
Speaker 4: contract that he was offered. I think the biggest situation
Speaker 4: is one the Philly one. I think that's the one
Speaker 4: where it's like, hey man, you made a decision. You
Speaker 4: you forced stuff to go to Philly. You go with
Speaker 4: Drylmore and to play with the b and it didn't
Speaker 4: quite work out. And then you pull this done and
Speaker 4: it's like, hey man, when I'll see situations, we kind
Speaker 4: of gave you the benefited out. And like you mentioned,
Speaker 4: it's a short period of time. It's not like it's
Speaker 4: been eight years. This is all within two years, two
Speaker 4: calendar years of stuff, and it's like, hey man, we
Speaker 4: can't keep doing this. So that's why it's like, hey,
Speaker 4: it's common enough is enough and you're not the same
Speaker 4: player as you once were.
Speaker 6: Why if you're why hearing your PyME? You could do
Speaker 6: almost whatever you want.
Speaker 4: In this league, but once you started pining, we start
Speaker 4: to look at you sideways.
Speaker 6: Right.
Speaker 3: He had some moments in the playoffs last year too,
Speaker 3: like that's it. It ended badly obviously game seven. Uh,
Speaker 3: I'm not recalling whether he attended or not, but he
Speaker 3: you know, he had a couple of games in the series,
Speaker 3: the Sixers Celtics series where he looked like he had
Speaker 3: probably his best professional games in playoff games. Ever, so
Speaker 3: I can see, you know, they're thinking there, you know,
Speaker 3: it's also it ended badly, but so like we like
Speaker 3: that's a cognitive bias, is you know, the like how
Speaker 3: it ends is what dominates our thinking about a thing
Speaker 3: instead of like but yeah, but I had those moments,
Speaker 3: and if he's not the main guy that you're relying
Speaker 3: on in the playoffs, he can do a lot of
Speaker 3: good things, which he had to be because mb it
Speaker 3: wasn't uh wasn't healthy basically.
Speaker 4: And also there's also off the court too. You know,
Speaker 4: it gets hard as a guy likes to have a
Speaker 4: good time.
Speaker 3: But now I've never heard.
Speaker 4: This, Yeah, he's where he's from, which is like a
Speaker 4: forty minute flight, and he's well known out here. He
Speaker 4: goes and rains a lot and other establishments.
Speaker 6: So garrit see what.
Speaker 4: Happens and how that comes about. Well, yeah, I can't
Speaker 4: wait on awfully, I can't wait to see. I'm really
Speaker 4: curious to see how this works out.
Speaker 3: See, this is the thing where I realized that I've missed,
Speaker 3: like I really should have been in the NBA, because,
Speaker 3: first of all, never go to clubs at all. Would
Speaker 3: have been an amazing candidate for that. Second of all,
Speaker 3: I am a player who thrives with the ball out
Speaker 3: of my hands, like you don't want to give me
Speaker 3: the ball at all, like I should. I shouldn't touch
Speaker 3: the ball at all. It's going to be a problem
Speaker 3: for the team if I do. So, you know, I
Speaker 3: can fit in very easily. There's a lot of touches
Speaker 3: left to go around because I when people pass me
Speaker 3: the ball, I passed it right back to them as
Speaker 3: quickly as possible. Otherwise, Yeah, what.
Speaker 2: Are you doing? No, these guys are so good. Yeah,
Speaker 2: I can like Tyler hero out here.
Speaker 1: Okay, well let's take a quick break and we'll be
Speaker 1: right back to talk about one of our first big
Speaker 1: matchups we've been looking for, looking forward to, uh in
Speaker 1: the Sun's Verse Spurs game.
Speaker 2: That just happened.
Speaker 5: So we'll be right back, and we are back.
Speaker 3: And that's wild that the Sun's Verse Spurs is a
Speaker 3: one of the big matchups we were looking forward to.
Speaker 3: But I know I was checking for it.
Speaker 2: Of course, we want to see Wemby, we want to
Speaker 2: see KD. We want to see just something.
Speaker 1: We just want to see what it looks like, what
Speaker 1: these sort of matchups begin to look like.
Speaker 2: Uh.
Speaker 1: And it did not disappoint the I mean at least
Speaker 1: in turn like there were some great moments. It was
Speaker 1: a thrilling end to the game. I think I think
Speaker 1: the Neutrals definitely won that one.
Speaker 3: Watching along, Yeah, James, and I do want to just
Speaker 3: note because one of the other things I pointed out
Speaker 3: or I put out there was wembing Yama for deepoy
Speaker 3: as a possibility deep in the summer when he was
Speaker 3: like in the twenties, like he was, you know, the
Speaker 3: twentieth best odds for that year. He is now seventh
Speaker 3: for defensive Player of the Year, even though it does
Speaker 3: like his numbers haven't been gaudy, but it does feel
Speaker 3: like there is a gravitational force and teams are having
Speaker 3: to play, you know, do drills with a person who
Speaker 3: has stilts on and broomsticks on their arms in order
Speaker 3: to just like get their mind around what it's like
Speaker 3: to play basketball when he's on the court. So I
Speaker 3: am excited about that. I'm excited first of all, just
Speaker 3: all around about webbing Yama, but the second of all
Speaker 3: about him potentially making me look smart and his name
Speaker 3: is starting to get involved in the DePoy race.
Speaker 4: I mean, it's not necessarily stocks with him, It wasn't
Speaker 4: gonna be impact. That's why we have to watch the
Speaker 4: basketball games. That's why I've impressed that, you know, everyone
Speaker 4: watched the sun Spurs last night because Suns are like
Speaker 4: twenty plus at the time. I think in the third quarter,
Speaker 4: I'm not mistaken, and then they came back and end
Speaker 4: up still in the game that they're partially foul call,
Speaker 4: but it wasn't. But it is what it is that
Speaker 4: you know, who cares at this point. That being said, though,
Speaker 4: you have to watch them be and the reason why
Speaker 4: is because there's certain things he makes players do that
Speaker 4: normal people cannot don't have the same effect people make.
Speaker 4: Guys either pass it early or try to make plays
Speaker 4: they normally don't make, so when that happens, it's usually
Speaker 4: an error of some sort. So that's where it's like, Man,
Speaker 4: he may not get the block or the steel, but
Speaker 4: he's causing players to do things.
Speaker 6: That are not comfortable and doing, or.
Speaker 4: He's causing guys to rush and get either on pace
Speaker 4: and there's a lot to that. And when they get
Speaker 4: better players and when they get better defensive system, he's
Speaker 4: gonna win to the Player of the Year because the
Speaker 4: stats will come. But he's amazing, Like he's really amazing.
Speaker 4: He's nowhere close to scratching the surface season. That's the
Speaker 4: beautiful part why he's so far away. But defensively, I
Speaker 4: remember we talked about the summer. I think it was
Speaker 4: like forty to one or thirty somewhere.
Speaker 6: That range, which is really high, I think.
Speaker 4: And now it's like what tend to one or fourteen
Speaker 4: to one, So yeah, yeah, it's in that ransom. Yeah,
Speaker 4: you just have an equity in your bet from two
Speaker 4: months ago was huge and there's a there's a legit
Speaker 4: possibility he played sixty five games when they were there's
Speaker 4: a lot honest pathway that happening.
Speaker 6: So it's gonna happen, but there is a way of
Speaker 6: it happening.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's good value, and I'm glad that I did
Speaker 3: not take that bet, but I know people who did,
Speaker 3: so I'm happy if anybody makes money off of my
Speaker 3: lucky guess, some of them being on'm his stats though
Speaker 3: like that. So he has twenty nine points on twelve
Speaker 3: of fifteen shooting. So we've talked a lot about as
Speaker 3: a defense, and you know, there are these flashes of
Speaker 3: brilliance on offense, but I didn't realize like he was
Speaker 3: really closing games strong. He's twenty nine points on twelve
Speaker 3: of fifteen shooting in the fourth quarter through the first
Speaker 3: four games of his NBA career, which makes him the
Speaker 3: most efficient scorer of the eighty four players who have
Speaker 3: at least ten field goal attempts in the final frame
Speaker 3: this season.
Speaker 6: It's very impressive, and.
Speaker 4: They're going to him like. The only thing I don't
Speaker 4: like is that at times it feels like his teammates
Speaker 4: are freezing him out, which is wild because he's the
Speaker 4: best player on the team already.
Speaker 6: Yeah, but.
Speaker 4: Basically featuring him every time down before court like every
Speaker 4: time he should get the ball wherever he wants to, because
Speaker 4: he is the best option was the jumper, whether it's
Speaker 4: the dunk or lea, whatever it is, he should least
Speaker 4: touch the ball before anyone else gets a touch. But
Speaker 4: with that being said, he's delivered this first week, been
Speaker 4: very impressive outside the Clipper game because they got blown out.
Speaker 6: Well every other game he's been very impressive.
Speaker 4: And I said, he's not even close to being what
Speaker 4: he's going to be, which is very scary because right
Speaker 4: now he's a huge problem.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean Kevin Durant said the same thing.
Speaker 1: Basically, he was like, it's like this guy's just getting
Speaker 1: started and it's only going it's going to going straight
Speaker 1: up from here.
Speaker 3: Yeah, the point you made about like looking like he's
Speaker 3: getting like frozen out or something. I don't think it's
Speaker 3: like getting frozen and out, but like it just feels
Speaker 3: like people aren't ready to defer to him at all
Speaker 3: on that team and where maybe they should be. And
Speaker 3: it's hard for me to determine, is it because I
Speaker 3: just want to see him have the ball every time,
Speaker 3: right Like it like I'm a parent watching their kid
Speaker 3: and be like, get him the ball. Yeah, yeah, but
Speaker 3: it does. I don't know, it does feel like they
Speaker 3: could be looking for him a little bit more.
Speaker 2: I mean, like there's plenty of game.
Speaker 1: I'm sure maybe on some level psychologically it's like you
Speaker 1: can slowly increase the burden.
Speaker 2: But yeah, I mean every time you see him with.
Speaker 1: The bar, like I think it's gonna okay, the jump
Speaker 1: shot is wet, okay, you should.
Speaker 3: Also be could also be a conspicuous decision on the
Speaker 3: Spurs part to be like if you're not putting him
Speaker 3: putting him in any but the best of positions to
Speaker 3: score in crunch time, like then he's going to shoot
Speaker 3: twelve fifteen, and so they're you know, trying to build
Speaker 3: his confidence and create ease for him where he can
Speaker 3: like kind of step in uh and feel the flow
Speaker 3: as opposed to you know, so maybe that's a conscious
Speaker 3: decision by popping sure and their staff.
Speaker 6: There if another monitoring ad minute.
Speaker 4: I'm just glad they're not just playing them in the
Speaker 4: first and third quarter and let him sit the bench
Speaker 4: in the fourth. I'm glad they're actually letting them play
Speaker 4: in the last six statements in the fourth quarter where
Speaker 4: the big game actually.
Speaker 6: Matters, because a lot of times.
Speaker 4: You'll see gut in a minute in restriction and they're
Speaker 4: playing in the third quarter and they're to set up
Speaker 4: the whole fourt and they're.
Speaker 6: Like, what as good as that? But first I know
Speaker 6: what they're doing.
Speaker 1: Right, Let's move on to a segment producer Jabbari just
Speaker 1: very accurately described as the Lakers road.
Speaker 2: To number eighteen. Uh, we're doing too right now.
Speaker 1: But we've I know, Jack and I in our text threads,
Speaker 1: we've been giving some stick to Jabari because he's like, look,
Speaker 1: Christian Wood, just go like, U, this is gonna be it.
Speaker 1: And at first we're like, this is your guy, now,
Speaker 1: joke down. But now Jabari hits us with every Christian
Speaker 1: would highlight that. That's you know, I gotta say, I'm
Speaker 1: pleasantly surprised with where Christian Wood is at for the Lakers.
Speaker 2: And at first I wasn't quite sure.
Speaker 1: But you know, we're starting to see something, you know,
Speaker 1: something percolate.
Speaker 2: A little bit.
Speaker 6: Christian Wood's interesting player. He is a guy that went from.
Speaker 4: Not being able to shoot once upon a time j
Speaker 4: almost being a spot up points here, which is very interesting.
Speaker 4: He doesn't have the greatest awareness the defense struggled at times,
Speaker 4: but for what the Lakers need him to do, it's
Speaker 4: a pretty good fit. And when you added he's on
Speaker 4: a minimum contract and he rebounds the ball very well,
Speaker 4: in which they struggle with doing as a team, he's okay,
Speaker 4: like he fits for certain matchets and he's very one
Speaker 4: of the bright spots of the first week of.
Speaker 6: The season for them.
Speaker 4: We look at the team and the roster, he's been okay.
Speaker 4: He has not been an issue. Their issue in the
Speaker 4: back court. They got to get consistency in the back
Speaker 4: court with Damslo Russell, Austin Reeves, Gabe Vincent I need
Speaker 4: to play match Christy Moore, cam reddis running the passport.
Speaker 6: And a multen ball.
Speaker 4: They are a situation to where they need more consistency
Speaker 4: from the back court because we know what a D
Speaker 4: le Bron gets you.
Speaker 6: We know everyone knows.
Speaker 4: I know the jokes about throughout a D but he's
Speaker 4: best playing team to starts backing up the first him.
Speaker 4: Yeah yeah, so I don't want to hear it like
Speaker 4: anything else. But in terms of the actual like consistency,
Speaker 4: the back quarter is so hot and cold, you can't
Speaker 4: really go anywhere with that. You're gonna need some sort
Speaker 4: of consistency and if you're not gonna get from this group,
Speaker 4: then you may have to make a trade later on
Speaker 4: the season, because you know, Lebron's window is now. There
Speaker 4: is no next year or two years from now. This
Speaker 4: is the window. He just turned thirty. His window is
Speaker 4: now too, so you gotta make some moves if it
Speaker 4: comes down to it. I think Austin Reason will get better,
Speaker 4: but I would like to see Max Christie play some.
Speaker 4: I think he's I think he's warranted some point in
Speaker 4: time for what his ability.
Speaker 6: To show, So we'll see for sure.
Speaker 1: Yeah, And like with Di lo it is it's so funny,
Speaker 1: like in the beginning in the offteine and they're like, okay, yeah,
Speaker 1: you know, let's let's let's see what we can do again,
Speaker 1: and when we saw glimpses and then yeah, just we
Speaker 1: were sort of right back to where we started. There
Speaker 1: are times I'm like this he's the truth. I'm I'm glad,
Speaker 1: I'm glad he's wearing the jersey. And then other times
Speaker 1: I'm like, what what happened to you? Like for the
Speaker 1: ice in your veins, You've seen ice cold in the
Speaker 1: not good way sometimes, so it's been really jarring for sure,
Speaker 1: and man, my boy, Austin, please please, let's let's get
Speaker 1: back to it, sir, we need you.
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, yeah, d Lo. Man, I don't know. I
Speaker 3: don't even want to. I already have fight with Sea what.
Speaker 1: Like.
Speaker 3: I don't know, man. I love the Lakers, I'm a
Speaker 3: I love Lebron. I don't want to see the season squandered.
Speaker 3: I'm hoping that they make moves or stop playing de
Speaker 3: Lo or yeah, because I don't know, it just feels,
Speaker 3: it feels like not a fit.
Speaker 1: Well, let's talk about somebody who is consistent, just really quickly.
Speaker 1: I do want to talk of just there was a
Speaker 1: there was some some real fun in the Houston Golden
Speaker 1: State game with Dylan Brooks and Steph Curry.
Speaker 2: Uh and I for.
Speaker 1: A second, I wasn't sure if I was watching an
Speaker 1: actual highlight or if this was like some kind of
Speaker 1: two K recreation. But there was just this one exchange
Speaker 1: they had where Steph Curry, I don't know how many
Speaker 1: times did he have him just slipping like three times
Speaker 1: in that one possession. It was like a crossover a
Speaker 1: pump and it was like anyway, I again, we were
Speaker 1: starting to see the entertainment value that Dylan Brooks does
Speaker 1: bring to the league, and I and I do appreciate
Speaker 1: that that was that was there was a sight to
Speaker 1: behold and it was nice to see Steph Curry just
Speaker 1: give him the screen face after he hit that three.
Speaker 3: Yeah, the what was that? He was like, I still
Speaker 3: remember what you said about me? What do you know
Speaker 3: what that was? In reference to there there was like
Speaker 3: some lip reading happening about what Steph said to Dylan
Speaker 3: Brooks before he went and did that to him.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm not sure. I don't know, Jamison, do you
Speaker 2: know what he was talking about? What specifically he was
Speaker 2: made referencing.
Speaker 4: I don't know specific I don't know Doyling Brooks talking
Speaker 4: about everybody?
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's right. Great to have a long memory and
Speaker 3: books talked about everyone, you know.
Speaker 6: It was probably when they played in the series and
Speaker 6: a couple years ago.
Speaker 4: That's the only thing I think, But I thinking recently
Speaker 4: because most of it it's been like about bron and
Speaker 4: other people. But yeah, I can't think of anything. But
Speaker 4: it didn't matter, didn't matter well, And.
Speaker 3: That's just like another thing that a lot of people
Speaker 3: are talking about. Terry's Maxie through three games, thirty points,
Speaker 3: six rebounds, six assists, splits of fifty to fifty six
Speaker 3: and ninety one. Probably going to be able to keep
Speaker 3: up those splits. So a lot of people mentioned him
Speaker 3: as an MDP candidate, which would be wild, you know,
Speaker 3: to have MVP come from Philly two years in a row.
Speaker 3: But he's he's played really well. Embiid is branding into shape.
Speaker 3: Philly has the highest point differential in the East. Again,
Speaker 3: three games, so pretty definitive. I think we have the
Speaker 3: best team in the East.
Speaker 2: Is I think we can stamp that one, yeah for sure.
Speaker 3: So done done.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 1: And also the Nuggets are just continue to man, they're good.
Speaker 1: Just I really appreciate them because look, our first game
Speaker 1: against them just reminded us again we're we're pretty much
Speaker 1: where we left off.
Speaker 2: But I love the Nuggets for allowing that.
Speaker 1: They're truly like a barometer to be like, Okay, how
Speaker 1: do we stack up against them? And then you find
Speaker 1: out very clearly where your weaknesses are. So for that,
Speaker 1: I do appreciate the Denver Nuggets. But Mike, yeah, Jokic
Speaker 1: is not he has no off switch.
Speaker 2: It looks like.
Speaker 6: No.
Speaker 3: And they're point differential is fourteen point three a game
Speaker 3: which is better even than Philly the point differential Kings
Speaker 3: of the East as they're being referred to.
Speaker 6: Yeah, it's way different.
Speaker 3: Man.
Speaker 4: They window case the other night on Saturday or Sunday
Speaker 4: night and just destroyed it. Was It wasn't fair like
Speaker 4: it looked like literally the champs versus it's another team
Speaker 4: in O case.
Speaker 6: He's good.
Speaker 4: Why Yeah, you guys throw the show like you know
Speaker 4: there's a chance of them catching a ticket maybe, but yeah, nah,
Speaker 4: it was different on Sunday.
Speaker 3: Yeah, did not look like the past champs versus the
Speaker 3: future champs, which is what my money is saying. It is,
Speaker 3: are you seeing any anyone who's like underrated or who
Speaker 3: you think has good value at this point? Any teams
Speaker 3: to win the title? Any like MVP candidates who you
Speaker 3: think like people aren't paying attention to yet but should be.
Speaker 4: Literally candidates are always tricky because it's always be the
Speaker 4: same guys in top ten, Like there's no one by
Speaker 4: tyres match is not gonna win MVP like you might
Speaker 4: some food, Well you're not gonna And even if you
Speaker 4: have a remember even he has thirty at night like
Speaker 4: Shay average thirty last year right, you know what I mean.
Speaker 4: So it's not even in that conversation. So it's just
Speaker 4: the MVP is basically the top five guys on the
Speaker 4: top three or four teams in the league, and that's kind.
Speaker 6: Of how it goes.
Speaker 4: So it would be you really have a lot of
Speaker 4: value they're here, unless it's before the season.
Speaker 6: I think your best.
Speaker 4: Value is going to be like storing Champ, like rebounding Champ.
Speaker 4: Uh those, I think you're probably about the deep player
Speaker 4: of the year. I think that's where you probably get
Speaker 4: your most value from. But the team wise, New Orleans
Speaker 4: is interesting, Like if they're fully healthy, that's the one
Speaker 4: team that has a lot by talent and a lot
Speaker 4: of different matches they can throw at people. So that's
Speaker 4: the one team that I would keep an eye on. Okay,
Speaker 4: he's still a little little young, but they have a
Speaker 4: lot of assets where they feel they're close, they can
Speaker 4: make a boop or two. They have all the pits,
Speaker 4: so it's not like they can't make any trades. They
Speaker 4: can really trade for anyone who is somewhat available and
Speaker 4: make whatever offen they need to make. So that's always
Speaker 4: a key. But I just don't know what timetrame. They're
Speaker 4: on I don't know, Okay, so he's on the five
Speaker 4: to six year plan and they're saying, hey, let's go
Speaker 4: for now. The league is kind of in a weird spot,
Speaker 4: let's go for it. So it just depends on that.
Speaker 4: But those are the two teams out West.
Speaker 6: I would keep a close eye on.
Speaker 2: All Right.
Speaker 3: One MVP candidate that I think people should keep an
Speaker 3: eye on, all right, you ready, sure, because he's been
Speaker 3: out with an injury, but he had that one game,
Speaker 3: that first game when he was running point for the
Speaker 3: Phoenix Suns, Devin Booker looked incredible. He's currently eight. I'm
Speaker 3: just saying, there is a world where he comes back
Speaker 3: looks as good as he did in that first game
Speaker 3: and they are on a tear that I don't know.
Speaker 3: He's so good man, Devin Booker, Like I could, I
Speaker 3: could see him getting some momentum as the season wears on,
Speaker 3: especially if they have him. They're leaning on him to
Speaker 3: run point and he's like piling up assists on top
Speaker 3: of like thirty point games.
Speaker 1: Yeah, but they say the best ability availability, oh you know.
Speaker 6: There's no to come back.
Speaker 2: That's what just kind of wild too.
Speaker 1: Like I was like, oh, you know, I saw the
Speaker 1: first game and I was like, Okay, clearly we're gonna
Speaker 1: see this big three get together at some point. But
Speaker 1: the fact that it's still kind of up in the air,
Speaker 1: I'm I don't I don't like that for Devin, But.
Speaker 3: Hey, I don't think that's as important because it gets
Speaker 3: in the way of the thing that I just said.
Speaker 3: So I'm gonna discount that.
Speaker 6: The sixty five gamble of this year or is it
Speaker 6: next year?
Speaker 3: I don't know. Right, all right, should we take a
Speaker 3: break and come back with the fastest segment of podcasting?
Speaker 6: Yeah?
Speaker 2: I think we should.
Speaker 3: Yeah, Yeah, I think so. Actually, yeah, I think all right,
Speaker 3: we'll be right back and we're back. We're back, yeah,
Speaker 3: jameson Welsh, Yeah, I think we're back, Jamison. And this
Speaker 3: is the fastest segment of podcasting. We're giving you just
Speaker 3: quick questions. You got to hit us with the first
Speaker 3: answer comes to your mind.
Speaker 6: Yep.
Speaker 3: It has to be both quick and correct and well
Speaker 3: thought out too and well react like just it should
Speaker 3: be very well thought out.
Speaker 1: We want people to say, my gosh, the truths that
Speaker 1: came out in that fourth quarter.
Speaker 2: Rapid fire around a question from Jamison Welsh.
Speaker 1: I have not considered the game, and that's that first thought,
Speaker 1: best thought.
Speaker 3: We want both of them your first thought, and it
Speaker 3: has to be the best thought that we've ever heard.
Speaker 2: All Right, all right, jameson for you.
Speaker 3: Okay, yeah, here we go, Miles as the clock started,
Speaker 3: I guess that would be to Brian start the clock.
Speaker 3: All right, Okay, you want to kick it off.
Speaker 5: Yeah, let's do it.
Speaker 1: Okay, Jamison, give us your bad hot take or takes
Speaker 1: for the NBA season based on just the very little
Speaker 1: data we have.
Speaker 2: Now, take a big swing, Now take it, take it
Speaker 2: home with this one run swing.
Speaker 3: I want this take to make me say that's a
Speaker 3: spicy meat to ball.
Speaker 2: Yeah, exactly, get weird on this.
Speaker 4: Come on, now, there will be a trade that will
Speaker 4: swing will win the title this.
Speaker 3: Year, and it's yet to come.
Speaker 4: It's yet to happen, the deadline that will swing the
Speaker 4: title race.
Speaker 3: Okayang bad news for Nuggets fans, bad news for Celtics.
Speaker 2: Yeah right, it's good news for everybody else potentially.
Speaker 3: Okayse is going to trade all those picks away for
Speaker 3: James Harden and he's gonna come in. No, that's probably
Speaker 3: not gonna happen. All right, you can watch a movie
Speaker 3: with one of the following players, and I've done some research.
Speaker 3: I need you to tell me who you're gonna pick. Okay,
Speaker 3: and this is courtesy NBA Film Tweets, an account that
Speaker 3: you can follow that just finds interesting NBA players. Yeah,
Speaker 3: with their movie takes. All right, you can watch a
Speaker 3: movie with Nick van Exel, Anthony Morrow, Jalen Brunson, or
Speaker 3: Jimmy Butler.
Speaker 6: Oh, Nick van Exel easily.
Speaker 3: Nick van Exel, Nick van Excellent. Nick van Exel multiple
Speaker 3: times in the past three years, has just tweeted the
Speaker 3: phrase any given Sunday with multiple exclamation boots, you are
Speaker 3: watching any given Sunday, not a bad one. I do
Speaker 3: have to say, I do want to read Jimmy Butler's
Speaker 3: because that would have been my pick. I'm kicking with
Speaker 3: Jimmy Butler.
Speaker 2: Sure.
Speaker 3: Jimmy Butler back in twenty fourteen tweeted Transformers for was
Speaker 3: crazy good, crazy in all caps. Everybody has to go
Speaker 3: see that at Movie of the Year.
Speaker 2: Oh, that's big, that has big.
Speaker 4: I remember niggas being ice coffee though, right, is gonna
Speaker 4: charge you for coffee bringing the ice coffee?
Speaker 3: That's right? Yeah, to the day. Also, Klay Thompson responded
Speaker 3: to that by saying Transformers is two hours forty five
Speaker 3: minutes too long. Thompson shots fire.
Speaker 2: So are you in any given Sunday fan though? Oh yeah, absolutely,
Speaker 2: Willy Beman, Willy Stephen Beman. Okay, I'm Willie.
Speaker 6: It's for children, but.
Speaker 2: It's no, no, but suitable for was is it Oliver Stone?
Speaker 2: Is that Oliver Stone movie? That was a wow? Hey
Speaker 2: great soundtrack though too.
Speaker 1: Anyway, next question, Jamison, because we got to keep this
Speaker 1: moving and I'm sorry that you didn't tell us to
Speaker 1: keep it moving, and I'm.
Speaker 2: Happy to tell you that we have to do it. Jamison,
Speaker 2: who is the best player you have ever witnessed in person?
Speaker 2: And what? What? What did they do?
Speaker 1: What were they what were they demonstrating when you were
Speaker 1: seeing that in life with your with your raw eye.
Speaker 6: That's a great question.
Speaker 3: It's going in raw with those eyeballs.
Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, that was a really good question. I've seen
Speaker 4: almost everyone in person.
Speaker 3: So it's wow.
Speaker 4: All the performance at the time it was Dame's career
Speaker 4: high yet like fifty either.
Speaker 6: Fifty four or fifty one versus the Warriors in Portland.
Speaker 4: This was joined the the Warrior Super Team Era. So
Speaker 4: it was a big deal and he was just unconscious,
Speaker 4: like he was hitting everything do whatever he wanted to do.
Speaker 4: That was part of the best game I've seen from
Speaker 4: a player that game that night, is that he was unstoppable,
Speaker 4: like he was literally he beat them by himself.
Speaker 6: Basically he was that good. Still that good.
Speaker 2: But yeah, I heard, I hear that guy's pretty good.
Speaker 2: I hadn't seen him play, but I heard it. I
Speaker 2: keep saying that he's good. Okay, is it?
Speaker 3: Do you feel like he's a person you need to
Speaker 3: see in person to fully appreciate just how quick quick
Speaker 3: he is, how.
Speaker 4: Yes him and stuff because you see the shots on TV.
Speaker 4: He doesn't do it justice when you see a guy
Speaker 4: pull up from like thirty feet basically two steps from
Speaker 4: half pour off the pick and roll and get splashed on.
Speaker 6: Your repeatedly, yes, personally, it doesn't do.
Speaker 4: It justice watching on the on the TV or fun
Speaker 4: game cast or whatever.
Speaker 6: It doesn't. You gotta see a lot.
Speaker 3: Got Yeah, you can't tell how far it is. It's
Speaker 3: just really far.
Speaker 4: Because once they shoot it from that far, the crowd
Speaker 4: is there's a sound on the crowd like, oh, I
Speaker 4: don't love expecting that and then we starts making them.
Speaker 4: Then yeah, the other sounds are going on, so yeah.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 1: Me, yeah, yeah yeah Jack. Sorry, yeah, we got tams
Speaker 1: and we got to keep this movie. You should have
Speaker 1: told Jack that it's the next question.
Speaker 6: Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's all good.
Speaker 2: I mean you're bad. Sorry, all right.
Speaker 3: You can take two players from all of history to
Speaker 3: create your Mad Boosty's Edition NBA Jam Team Wish. Two
Speaker 3: players are you taking?
Speaker 4: Wow, that's the horri a question. That's a very good question.
Speaker 4: Give me KD and give me a shock KD and.
Speaker 3: Shock Wow and touch and then just absolute demolition derby.
Speaker 6: Yeah.
Speaker 4: We can figure out the matchups whatever like, and the
Speaker 4: personalities too.
Speaker 6: But the person is a.
Speaker 4: Cool like you know what I mean. So it's not
Speaker 4: like you got two hard asses like na. Yeah, they
Speaker 4: both for cool personality hasn't get along the games comping
Speaker 4: to each other, like I think we'll good. That would
Speaker 4: be the that'd be the two KT.
Speaker 3: Is an underrated pick for that, like Kate we we've
Speaker 3: had actually is great because he's tall, so you're gonna
Speaker 3: be able to goaltend a lot. Oh yeah yeah. And
Speaker 3: then just the touch.
Speaker 4: For me, like I'm taking like I get to some
Speaker 4: fos one does one to do everything else? So yeah,
Speaker 4: I'll take my chancewers All.
Speaker 1: Right, Jamison, And how about this if you could have
Speaker 1: any NBA players physique? Okay, for like if you were
Speaker 1: trying to play basketball, You're like, this is this is
Speaker 1: the body I'm going to hop into and then go
Speaker 1: to l a fitness.
Speaker 2: Who are you picking? And why current?
Speaker 6: They are like of all time, of.
Speaker 2: All time, of all time, of all time, of all time,
Speaker 2: it has to.
Speaker 4: Be brown, right, like it have to be like, well,
Speaker 4: I don't want to get a I don't want to
Speaker 4: be a foot give me prime kg oh because I
Speaker 4: got the everything? Really do you can move? You can?
Speaker 4: You can play the post?
Speaker 6: He can?
Speaker 4: You know outside you can guard everyone? Like yeah prime
Speaker 4: prime seven footg you know you know he never said
Speaker 4: it seven foot, but give me Prime.
Speaker 6: Why are we? Why are we strong? Kevin Garnett?
Speaker 1: Right, and make sure that you have rubber bands as
Speaker 1: your jewelry.
Speaker 4: I get all the customers too, right, Like I get
Speaker 4: to do all That's.
Speaker 6: Part of it.
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, yeah, part of his physique. An indelible part
Speaker 3: of his physicus is the curse words coming out of.
Speaker 2: His poisonous tongue. Yeah, his legendary Yeah for sure.
Speaker 3: All right. And finally, jameson Jack or Miles.
Speaker 6: The last time you got mad? I mean, it's a boat.
Speaker 6: I can't do that. M I gotta go with Miles.
Speaker 2: No, you heard it here, you heard it here, You
Speaker 2: heard it here, you heard it here.
Speaker 6: And because he's a fellow like the fan.
Speaker 2: See, and that's what it is. Sometimes Jack, I.
Speaker 4: Can't abandon him. I have a lot of love from
Speaker 4: the US. I don't like the process, but I love
Speaker 4: love for the Sichus. They're fans and compassive fans while
Speaker 4: the times. But I fellow like the fan that's not
Speaker 4: crazy and some sense I gotta roll with him.
Speaker 2: Well, hold on, I never said I was saying, But.
Speaker 3: Miles and Jabbari leave the Lakers recap section titled Lakers
Speaker 3: Road to eighteen.
Speaker 2: I didn't even games in four games.
Speaker 3: Lakers Road to eighteen.
Speaker 2: So it is what it is.
Speaker 1: You know what it's what it's and Jamison, you are
Speaker 1: what is And that was our guest.
Speaker 2: Thank you so much for being here today.
Speaker 1: Where can people find you and follow you and and
Speaker 1: and be blessed with your wisdom?
Speaker 6: Did you man well?
Speaker 4: I appreciate that. I'm on Twitter's the best spot at
Speaker 4: the Jamison. You know, you'll see me on there ESP
Speaker 4: eleven hundred in Vegas, Nay season. You'll hear me at
Speaker 4: least once a week, you know, just talking about NBA
Speaker 4: and whatnot. Not necessarily a lot of gambling goes into
Speaker 4: more NBA breakdowns, but I'm going to be help with
Speaker 4: some gambling and some tips as well. We don't have
Speaker 4: draftings and bandu out here yet. I hope we do
Speaker 4: get those uh later, But yeah, I'm always here, always
Speaker 4: to make money if possible.
Speaker 3: I like to hear that, to hear that, make sure
Speaker 3: make money? Who doesn't?
Speaker 2: Who doesn't? This isn't Maria.
Speaker 3: Do you want to make more money? Sure we all do.
Speaker 1: And of course that's I have it tatted on my back.
Speaker 1: And make sure you guys follow us on Twitter. You
Speaker 1: can find me at Miles of Gray.
Speaker 3: I'm Jack Underscore O'Brien.
Speaker 1: Ah yes, and make sure you also follow hashtag mad
Speaker 1: Boosti's b W O S d i e s for
Speaker 1: show links and updates. Thanks to everybody that's listening. Hey,
Speaker 1: please make sure you hop in there, rate and review
Speaker 1: the show and subscribe and do all that to support
Speaker 1: Miles and Jack got mad boosties and we will see
Speaker 1: you next week.
Speaker 3: Bye bye,