What is kracklacin fellow thermonuclear a efforts. I am Dana Valley coming at you
with my certified fantabular's co host, mister Grant Hughes. We are podcasting for
the first time with regular season NBA basketball sample sizes in the bag, and
because we are an incredibly long two whole days into the regular season, it's
time for Grant and I to provide our overreactions to the start of the year.
You may have watched the third night of basketball by the time this happened,
but there's only two games. We did not take into account those so
we were sorry that we're not sorry, I guess before we dive in the
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And I think, I think what am I forgetting? Oh join our
discord the link to that's in the podcast and YouTube description. You could have
joined the over under competition to where you try and beat Grant and I.
We had a bunch of sign ups, so that'll be fun to see how
many people beat us, because I assume there will be quite a few.
And I think that's it. And so Grant, I have but one question
for you. What did you think of the new blank on eighty two album?
What the heck are you doing? Actually? Psych everybody, That's what
we're going to talk about today. Actually, I've lately I've been listening to
the California album with Matt Skiba from Alkaline Trio Overreaction Slash Hot Take. I
think that's one of their best albums. But I'm in the bag for Alcline
Trio, so I'm not the best to judge of that. I actually thought
nine their second album. I guess they tepically did three because they released like
a B sides of California. But I thought nine with matt' skiba was actually
a really good album. I don't know if I still think I'm titled or
I love their new ones spoiler alert for anybody, but I thought it was
great. And everyone's like, when you read all the reviews on this album,
it's like after two throwaway albums with Matt ski But I'm like, I
really enjoyed, though, Sir, How dare you? How long would we
have to talk about this to lose our entire audience? Should we get into
how Matt Skiba's songwriting is like clearly influences those albums in a positive way?
Should we look? We have an emo emo af channel in our Discord,
so if anyone wants to come talk about you know, rock, punk pop,
whatever, punk rock, I'm all for it. Yeah. Discord members
rank the Blank Win eighty two albums, divided into eras first and then sub
tiers within each ara. I'm doing well, uh, and actually you know
what I'm doing? The best I've ever done in my whole entire life.
And that's because we're overreacting so that I'm trying to stick with the conceit of
this episode. I told you this offline. I'm already like feeling anxiety because
there were a million games on last night and I could not watch more than
one at a time, and I feel behind already. So that's like an
emotional overreaction that I'm having to the season starting. I forget every year that
feeling. It's the first big Slate game of the year, and it had
I mean, like and it crops up throughout the season, like you know
that the night before Thanksgiving Slate like that's another one that always, you know,
I devolve into descend into existential crisis. So yeah, I feel the
same way right now. I bounced around, like I watched the two nationally
televised games just because like I wanted to see Nick Celtics. I wanted to
see Wemby against the MAVs. Spoiler alert, we didn't get see too much
of Wemby until the fourth quarter because of foul trouble. And then I bounced
around because knew we were doing this and you and I had a project,
but it's that first I understand it's it's great and we're lucky to be able
to cover it the way that we do. But I'm also just like flustered.
That's the word. I'm flustered right now. That is that is correct.
We so we're gonna do some overreactions slash slightly unhinged takes slash predictions slash
just kind of getting out in front of the season and basing some of our
opinions on what we've seen so far in pre season and just kind of feelings
with thoughts and ideas we haven't really put out there quite yet. But how
would you I always struggle with this, like we're you know, these are
overreactions. We're saying at the outset that you know, these all of these
ideas kind of fall somewhere between somewhere on the possible plausible likely spectrum, but
they're closer to the less, you know, the improbable end of that is
how I think of it, Like, it's probably, let's put it to
you over under fifty percent, you know, likelihood. When you're talking about
takes like we're gonna give today, it's under. It's about it's about pulling
the Jordan pool and taking enough shots that some of them will go in is
how you need to be. And it's stuff that you believe really could happen.
It's not coming out here though the bucks you're gonna trade Giannis or some
shit, which they now can't do. But it's you know, you have
to step out on a limb. They're overreactions, but we actually do believe
in their plausibility. Their likelihood is just different. I mean we should have
ascribed like confidence levels to each of these. Mine would have been you know,
if we were to do on a scale of one to ten, they
all would have been below Most of them would probably be below five. Yeah
yeah, oh yeah, no, I think that's right. But the upside
of all that is if you hit on any of them and hopefully well,
because no one will ever confront you with your wrong takes down the line,
there don't even I'm just this is the I for the first time in my
career, I predicted a title winner that I don't think anyone else was.
Most people weren't in the nuggets, No one like circled back and like the
victory lap was. I didn't even take one. It was just so not
fulfilled. It was unfulfilling. And when I'm wrong, and it could be
about the slightest, people will come back and be like, ah, like
you didn't think Jalen Brunt it was gonna be one of the you know,
the fifteen best players in the NBA last year would have turd and it's look,
that's fair game. I just wish it was the same way when you
were right about something. You know, that's not how it works, unfortunately.
So yeah, so just I guess we've we've preambled and tried to shield
ourselves from criticism enough to this point. The first thing I was going to
talk about, and it's kind of a newsy thing, it is because Steven
Adams is out for the season. We you and I what Yeah, I
know, right, a great overreaction by you. You're really we're nailing this,
uh thematically right now? Out for the season. I guess, correct
me if I'm It seemed like they were trying to see, if you know,
it's that old thing where let's see how rest and rehab does for this
knee injury that cost him what, like you know, I was out in
like it was pretty deadline. Yeah, yeah, so he missed a ton
of time last year, did not have surgery and it just didn't respond,
I guess, And so now he's gonna have surgery. Whenever that happens.
I always like, I get it, you don't want to have surgery on
anything unless you absolutely must. But it always feels like it's always surprising to
me that so this, this isn't an infrequent thing, right where we try
rest, we try like Lonzo Ball, I think, is another example,
just you know, more repetitive and more extreme. But you just like,
so now he's gone for the season, whereas if you'd had surgery when he
originally you know, was missing time last year, maybe he comes back,
you know, a couple months in or whatever. But anyway, he's out
for the season. And one of my unhinched takes is that, you know,
combined with John Moran missing twenty five games, I think Memphis could have
a bottom ten offense and like the floor for them offensively is really low,
and that might seem I guess it's qualifies as like an overreaction because you don't
think of Steven Adams as this critical offensive piece, but just like he's the
best offensive rebounder in the league. I guess Mitchell Robinson would have something to
say about that. But for a Memphis offense that lives on second chance opportunities
and has generally like not a great half court offense, losing him as a
second chance guy and as a screener is just, I mean, is huge.
And they they shot against the against the Pelicans in their opener forty one
percent from the field, just under twenty eight percent from three, had only
eight offensive boards. Like, I think you've got a pretty good picture of
what you know might be in store this season in that game. So Memphis,
I think is I think we both had them. Well, you went
over for the first time ever on their window total. That should have been
the first harbinger of doom you did. This is what I'm saying, is
this is your fault. Any thoughts on Adams or the or just you know,
that might almost be like not hot enough of an overreaction, just because
I think it's pretty clear how much Adams matters. I do think it states
properly his importance to what they do, though, and now they're gonna be
Look, the offense was pretty good after the Luke Canard trade last year,
and John Moran had missed some time with that, like following that deal as
well. I'm just I'm with you on the Jeff Stotts in street clothes on
Twitter. I believe said that with the injury that he had, you normally
do wait before going to surgery. It's just I find it bizarre that it
took this long for them to understand that he would need surgery and wasn't just
until you really simulated like closer to live game action or got to live game
action that you weren't gonna know about, or did did discomfort did everything seem
like it was going well and then this discomfort was sudden? I do think
knowing that this risk was there because you got to at least know this was
a possibility. It surprised me a little bit that they, like weren't a
little bit more like Brandon Clark's already out, Like why were why didn't you
try and bring in another big or at the very least, yes, he's
here right now. But it does increase the importance of a bunch of guys.
Santi al Dama. People thought about Kenny Loft and I didn't watch any
of Pelican's Grizzlies aside from uh there was Herb Jones was running pick and roll.
They were using their two non shooters and then having three shooters round pick
and roll, which made so much sense as I went and looked at that.
However, uh, like Xavier Tillman is, why didn't you decline his
team option and get him at a good number moving forward because of how important,
like you don't know what Steven Adams is gonna look like after this injury.
You don't know what Brandon Clark's gonna look like after his injury, and
so now you know that you need Exavier Tillman. And I think a lot
of people thought the move was curious. Then, given how flexible Memphis' books
still are, I'm even a little bit more surprised that that wasn't something that
seemed like it was on the table for them, because this had to be
a possibility in the Grizzlies' minds that Steven Adam maybe he didn't expect him to
miss the year, or maybe his your rehab and rest was going so well
they didn't consider it. But just again based off what in Street closed,
like Jeff Stotts had said, yes, you go this route, the Grizzlies
didn't do anything wrong here, but that this can happen. Yeah, you
know what concerns me as much as anything about this is, like I think
Desmond, we love Desmond Bain. We're both confident that he's gonna have a
great year, but a lot of that was based on the idea that,
like, he can do more. Right he showed last year he's not a
spot up guy, or not just a spot up guy. He can do
a bunch of stuff on the ball, so you know, he can make
up for Moran's absence, and then you know you've got Marcus Smart. But
now it's like, now Bain just has to do more on top of more
and the likelihood of Marcus Smart having to you know, kind of one of
the problems with Marcus Smart is he will just take hero shots sometimes and the
Celtics bristled at that, I think, and now maybe he's kind of gonna
look at this as I also I Marcus Smart also have to do more,
and that's typically not great on offense. So it just like it just strains
everybody, you know a little bit more, especially with Moran out and no
Tyas Jones anymore. And yeah, it's just it's you know, Memphis was
nineteenth in effective field goal percentage last year. I think that should be viewed
now as like about where their offense will be if things go right. You
know, it's like I think that is there. That's but how come he
bounces around so much? And how come he know even him take enough?
He eventually he'll come in, he'll take the amount of threes that you want,
and then he'll stop and like, well, Luke Canard, what do
we like? What? Whil to your ear? Another example of like,
now Luke Canard matters, probably a little more than Luke Canard should matter.
And and maybe you know it just you know, I don't feel like this
is a super hot take, but but yeah, well here is an offense
for the Grizzlies. Feels like I don't I can't remember who in our discord.
By the way, joined our discord because you get to see conversations like
this someone proposed and I found it interesting and maybe this is the hot take.
If you're Memphis, would you move picks and salary right now to get
Robert Williams the third? I mean, he's got to be gettable, right,
like DeAndre eight not a team without any proven table setters. Is quite
the experience. So that's true. There's there is It's not even a non
zero chance there's a distinct, maybe bonus hot take that interlopes with this grisly
thing. Robert Williams the third is more likely to be the long term big
in Portland than DeAndre Well, I don't trust anything long term about Like long
term for Robert Williams is playing ten games in a row without missing time.
So I don't I don't know. I mean, I I don't know why
I feel this way, but I'm I'm sort of and maybe we can.
I don't want to hijack this thing and go with my Portland thoughts, but
I kind of like, I get that DeAndre Aden is super frustrating and kind
of viewed as someone that just is not quite serious enough about the whole basketball
thing to really be reliable. But I kind of like him as a change
of scenery all star type, you know, it's it's there's not a lot
of thoughtful analysis going into that, but like not actual not an actual All
Star. I want to make that clear. But I think he will.
I think he could be better, just just because he's in a different place
and if he's not then we know all we need to know about DeAndre Ayton,
and like we can stop waiting for him to deliver on his promise.
But I just I want to be I'm gonna believe that deandret and can can
improve until he shows me that that's not gonna happen. I don't want to
be too hard on him because there's in the back of my mind and I
love CP three is just like what he does in the basketball court, but
just the idea that could he have actually potentially broke DeAndre Ayton and the Blazer
are trying to piece him back together, and I want to weigh that seriously.
At the same time, there were also issues with Monty Williams. It
doesn't really seem like he was on the same page with a Devin Booker either,
and who was what was his relationship like with Frank Vogel. Maybe it
just deteriorated so much with that organization. Robert Williams right now, and I
know people maybe for a season when the Sun's made the finals, like Deanders
maybe been better than Robert Williams the third once in some he has availability has
been better. That is the what other than availability, which is a skill
so it counts. I'm not dismissing it. What does DeAndre Ayton do better
than Robert Williams the Third? And no, you can't say turn around,
fadeaways and transition then I don't have one. Uh No, I think I
think, yeah, yeah, right, finding a way to shoot an eight
footer uh in a one on one against a guard on the run. Uh,
I would say Aiden. I think Aiden's offensive package is like just deeper,
like you could face him up at the elbow and he could do something
there. And I think he actually can make a jumper, you know,
not out to any significant depth. But no, I take your point.
Like Williams, he's a piece of a winning team. Williams kind of fits
in a way that makes a lot more sense than a center that you need
to give the ball to that refuses to dunk and won't get fouled despite having
a more limited offensive package. I think the other thing you could say about
it is maybe he's the better stand still passer. Like if you need Robert
Williams the Third to make a dis decision on the move, I would trust
him more. But I think Ayton can find holes when he's surveying. But
like do you want eight, Like, what does your offense look like if
eight and is surveying the defense or an extended period of time? Yeah,
I don't like it. So yeah, I'm still hopeful for Aighton. But
when we're talking, so if you're the Grizzlies, though, you're like,
if it was two first, still they're protected. Whatever, I'd do it.
I mean, could you imagine time Lord and Jared Jackson Junior in the
same front court and not huge but whatever? Really could play those two together
without much of an issue too, because I mean that would be interesting,
because which could you reprise like some of the Celtics stuff where they just stuck
him on a shooter in the corner for RW three and like he's swooping in
and Jackson's your primary pick and roll guy, or do you reverse that?
Or I mean the help the help side shop blocking on that team would be
unbelievable, and Jackson's spacing on offense makes it. You know that fits fine.
If you can play Jackson and Steven Adams together, you can sure us
help Williams and Jackson's Again, the problem is is not neither of them have
ever averaged even thirty minutes a game for their career and so well, you
know, how many minutes do you actually get? And then there's the availability
stuff for both. But I think Memphis' timeline is urgent enough. I don't
think they would make this deal because they're gonna want to see what what are
we? John Morant comes back? How does this sort of work out?
I would absolutely make a Robert Williams trade if I could, if I'm just
just to put like a bow on it. If I gave you the who
says no for two firsts for Robert Williams and salary or whatever. Who is
not doing that deal? Is it Memphis and they're Memphis first? At this
point? Honestly, it's not bad. No. I think it's probably Portland,
because I'm going on if they were, if you told me that they're
you know, the first, if it's you know, lottery, the first
one's lottery protected and the other ones like kind of loosely protected, I might
say that Memphis says no just because their future feels a little bit rickety a
little right little, which is weird because you have jaw and Jaron Jackson Junior
and Desmond Main they're not and yeah, at the end, those guys aren't
going anywhere. So even if you're concerned about their offense, what is Marcus
smart Age Like, I think it's probably Portland. Yeah, that doesn't know.
But the fact that it's hard to figure that out quickly is it's like
that's a there's a there's a framework there that makes some sense. Did you
say you had another Portland take that you wanted to get on. I just
I just thought, and this looks way worse now after their debut, which
is like, oh, this is another thing. I don't think we should
have just almost any of our priors based on each team's first game or two.
Like I found myself watching podcast this. I know, I just broke
broke the rule of we're gonna totally embrace these takes. But I but this
is no to that end. As I'm watching these games last night, I'm
thinking like, oh, well, this take is wrong clearly, like the
Bulls aren't going to be five hundred look at this mess, you know.
Uh, but that's we can't do that yet except for right now in the
next like forty five minutes or so, which in which we will I just
thought on Portland, like there was a if you just go down the line
and say, Scoot Henderson is supposed to be and believed to be by many
people that are smart about basketball. You know, pick the guy the best
point guard prospects since you know, if you really want to get nuts about
it, Chris Paul or just like Scoot is regarded by many as he's going
to be like a guy like a legit make tons of All Star games,
be a phenomenal floor general for like fifteen years whatever. If you think that's
true, then maybe he's like a break even rookie, which is a rare
thing. And then maybe Anthony Simon's levels up. And then maybe Shaden Sharp
gets you twenty off the bench and keeps taking steps, and then Jeremy Grant
is overpaid, but he's okay. Butte Seybalken guard eighton might be a change
of scenery All Star. Like I already said, you know, you've got
Robert Williams behind him. There's like a seven man rotation here. That's not
awful. If you believe that Scoot can be capable as a rookie, which
his first game did not indicate that, but years old, like what do
you want? So I was just kind of zagging on. Oh, Portland
is awful, and the idea was that Portland may have to deliberately tank late
for the third straight year because they'll kind of Utah jazz it and be you
know, semi respectable for a little too long. That's that's all I was
getting into with Portland is that, like, there's definitely a scenario where they
have to shut it down, and they're more than comfortable doing that because they've
done it before. Whereas I think the conventional wisdom on the Blazers is they're
just gonna start out looking like a twenty win team and stay that way the
whole year. Based off how this podcast is going, I'm thinking that we
should keep going with the West and maybe I'll split it into East. West
is the best like podcast, So I'm gonna stick with the West, and
I know we both this is gonna be I think a joint one because we
probably have. I don't think any of them should be scintillating. I'm trying
to think my most scintillating Denver Nuggets take right now, and I'm gonna say
this, Michael Porter Junior probably won't but should end up on the Most Improved
Player ballot. This the first game I know you watched the shot was not
like it just wasn't there for him. Do you know what he did?
He fucking killed it anyway, because he wasn't playing outside of the offense his
he was fighting on the glass. His defense for the most part was I'm
overreaction, immaculate, And yes there was a there was a moment where I
thought it was by design because Austin Reeves got by him so easily, but
Jokic had had an early foul already and it was just, well, what
is kind of doing there? There were some breakdowns this dude is defending,
like the amount of time he was spending, like kind of switched down the
perimeter to Austin Reeves and like Austin Reeves is not getting by him. The
efforts we've kind of seen from him as a help as a helper or just
the floor awareness where even if you're not seeing him kind of rotate over as
the low man a bunch because the Lakers aren't getting to the basket enough.
Outside of like those Lebron James layup lines at points like he was super duper
impactful, I think think in a very good way, despite not having one
of his better offensive games. And this is someone where I'm not trying to
single out like there's look at DeAndrea and look at Jordan Poole. There's been
a bunch of questions about their roles and how they're earlier in their careers,
they were playing for contenders at one point spoiler alert, they're not anymore.
Uh, Could they put aside with their individual aspirations were to fit into the
larger context? And I think it became clear no, And the assumption was
no, they'll be fine. They got paid, It'll be okay. You
know what, Michael Porter Junior got paid. He went out and won a
title, and he is doing what they have not like in other players.
It's not just I don't mean to single out them, but those are two
of the more recent examples. This is someone who's just fitting into the larger
context of the best team in the NBA, perhaps really them and the Celtics.
And that would be the overreaction. They're only two great teams in the
NBA, and it's the Nuggets are one. They're not, they're not two,
but and it'd be Boston because they're terrifying. But we'll get to the
East at some point. So I his offense, He'll never get in this
on this team, this iteration of the Nuggets. He will never have the
agency necessary to make the Oh look at everything that Shay Gilgess Alexander did.
I don't think MPJ has that vision. But his role is not going to
materially change a bunch. They're probably never They're never gonna have him just run
bench units on his own, even but because of how far he has come
as a defender, and just as someone who understands his role finds ways to
contribute within it even when his shot isn't falling, and that Calvin Booth said
that he was one of the best shooters in the league, and that part
of the reason that they got rid of Bones Highland is because of just the
the offense. First, I'll put it kindly overlap of Bones and MPJ.
MPJ is not that guy anymore. He wasn't for much of last season.
He certainly wasn't in the playoffs. And so maybe this isn't an incendiary take.
That's why I'm framing it in the sense of, you know, getting
on the top ten of the most Improved Player ballot is hard. If we
go and look at uh who finished top ten just last year alone, and
there was another player I was going to talk about with regards to this way,
I do have them sort of pulled up here, but like it was
Larry markin and wins Shake Gill just Alexander I believe was two, and then
you had Jalen Brunton at three, Mcal at four, Nick Clackson at five,
Tyresee at six, Trey Murphy att seven, Diaron Fox and Kavonloney were
tied at eighth. Shout out Kavan Looney, and then Austin Reeves at ten.
Like, that's not an easy list getting one third played vote, third
place vote, and this is hard. I don't you know what I'm gonna
say it. He will get votes for most improved Player. He will finish
in the top ten, and it's not it won't have anything to do with
just what he's doing on offense most likely. I like that take a lot.
I think it's interesting that Denver sort of has a weird like perfect storm
brewing developmentally, because I think you're right if MPJ is someone that does not
need to go. You know, seven of twelve from the field and like
four of six from three to impact the game. That's that's massive because because
he's doing all the other stuff that he really didn't do early in his career,
and there have always been concerns that he just won't do that stuff.
So if if he can do if he can play that way. And then
on the other side, you have Peyton Watson and Christian Brown that do all
the stuff that Denver wants MPG to do. They just need to be able
to make shots. If if you know, if two of two of the
three, say, you know, do develop the skill or the mindset.
I guess in an mpg's case that you need to impact a game when your
best stuff like isn't working or it's It's not a perfect analogy because in theory,
Watson and Brown should their defense should be consistent and their effort should be
consistent. But like if you get a couple of those three, you know,
developing their weaker skills, then it's like no one's gonna I mean sorry,
but like no one's gonna miss Bruce Brown and Jeff Green. Like we
spent a lot of time over Okay, yeah, Kelvin Booth, I just
had a conversation with him and he told me that I should mention that that
we we don't Peyton Watson is going to be an All NBA player. No,
I think that's a good, good point, And my nuggets thought is
that it's it's even less you know, overreacting than that is just I think
Jamal Murray is just Jamal Murray's never been an All Star. Jamal Murray did
not get a single All NBA vote last year. Like, I think he's
gonna be an All NBA player this year, and that's just you know,
the trajectory, while interrupted by the injury, the ACL injury, is just
like it's so clear to me that he's perfectly set up to just have a
monster year like Jokic. You know, my I don't know how Yokic can
be like ineffective. It's kind of not possible, but he might just chill
and like facilitate a little more. The playoff numbers for Murray are always just
absurd, and if he can just be like close to that level during the
year, then he's an All NBA player basically, just he doesn't have to
do anything else. And being a couple of years removed from the injury,
now there's just it just feels like he's been like kind of close, and
I always thought of him Devin Booker and Donovan Mitchell like elopmentally is kind of
linked. And then you know, Booker to a great extent left that crew
behind, and then Mitchell last year, you know, kind of almost got
there, and Murray was just kind of not It's kind of you know,
not in their dust, but not on that level. I think at the
end of this year, I think we probably look at Murray as you know,
at least from a national perspective, as like right there with Mitchell and
maybe better and more complete because of his playoff resume, and certainly he won't
be like he won't we won't think of him as someone that just you know,
got surpassed by those two other guys if you thought of them as like
a package deal at one point when they were younger, Yeah, I would
agree with most of that, aside from a Koliokic chillin. He just casually
dropped the triple double. That's the thing. He doesn't. There's no like
he can't have a bad game. Basically, he look my first thought was
the reason that they gave Reggie Jackson another contract is because they knew that kolok
was going to get him paid anyway, and that he was going to decline
his player option and have to sign a bigger deal next year. So yeah,
I saw some weird Jamal Murray this course that oh if he didn't have
Jokic his game. I can't even remember what the comp was like. I
don't know if it was like Jordan Poole. Basically, it's just not true.
And you want to see some of the non Yolkic minutes stabilized, and
we saw points of that, like Denver's bench during the first like Calvin Booth.
Definitely, I was like, I know, this is a family podcast.
We definitely took some tissues in a bottle of lotion during like part of
that first quarter during those bench units. Is this a family podcast? We
were asked. I was asked to curse less, which is the genesis of
thermonuclear af so, but yeah, oh it's a family part that was family
friendly. His hands were dry, which I guess would be not family friend
anyway. So this is like All Star l NBA. I think he gets
more consideration there. And by the way, I did not look at this,
which is the reason I'm circling back. Michael Porter Junior had the second
highest plus minus in that Lakers game of aunt and he was a plus He
was a plus twelve, and Yokic surprise applies was a plus fifteen. Reggie
Jackson was a plus eleven, like I said, and contagious Call of Pope
plus ten. I know Murray was only a plus three, but part of
that's some of the bench units that he was running with at points, maybe
a little bit of too much time overlap with uh, maybe Zeke Nagy on
the court without Jokich. So I'm just yeah, I'm I'm we were all
in on the Nuggets. I'm even more all in after watching them there there's
gonna be adventures on the bench. But this is just this is the team
Actually Yoku dopped questions. This is the team of the league with the least
amount of questions totally, and which is wild to say because of how reliant
it's. Well, there's Zeke Nagy and Peyton Watson, Like, those are
two guys that need to play, and Reggie Jackson needs to play. She's
like, yeah, whatever, their top six is what it is, and
they're they're really fucking good. Stop cursing, Dan, It's a family Popcort,
So, uh, I got a I got another West one. I
don't know if I have a strong enough feelings on all the West teams to
hit all of them. But this is one we talked about this before we
started recording. It's if you're in like the Warriors social media sphere or they're
your team, like, sorry, this will not be is not is not
going to knock your socks off, but maybe for a national audience, this
will come as a surprise. I think, and and by the way,
I thought about this and had this ready to go before the Warriors first game.
I think Jonathan Kaminga is gonna close over Klay Thompson or Andrew Wiggins like
a lot. That is bisy. You think Andrew Wiggins being looped into that.
I know he was bad to open. It's it's what happened in game
one. And like, so here's we could really could I well, actually
know my follow up question will have to come after please go ipond. I
was gonna say this is a tangent already, but we could really have an
Andrew Wiggins discussion and kind of talk about how like everything anyone's ever thought about
him is actually true. At the same time, which is to say he's
immensely talented. He can be, you know, arguably the second most important
player in a final series. And also he can just disappear and just not
affect games for like weeks at a time like this is a which is the
criticism of him. I think for a lot of his Minnesota tenure is he
sometimes it's just like he's just not there, and he was just not there,
yeah, in the opening game for the Warriors. And combine that,
like Wiggins is gonna float in and out, you know, all year.
That's just kind of what his deal is. And hopefully he'll be totally engaged
and impactful in the playoffs for the Warriors. And Klay Thompson, Like Dan,
we got to talk about Clay Thompson, he just and like, look,
you have two injuries like that, this is gonna happen. And you
get to the stage of your career that he's at, this is gonna happen.
His mobility is so compromised that like the defensive stuff we've you know,
has been pretty obvious. Like he's not the guy that you put on Tony
Parker anymore like he was as a young player. Now he's gonna guard fours,
It's fine, Okay, Well, he's not a good rebounder. And
on offense, this is the thing no one seems to be talking about.
Like his shot selection got shit on like all year last year because he was
just heat checking and taking tough ones off the dribble and stuff. I think
the reason he has to do that is because he doesn't move well enough to
get open off the ball like he used to, and so the really clean
looks that he used to get just there are fewer of those, and so
I think a lot of his shots will continue to be difficult shots, and
I think he's gonna continue. He did a good job in the opener against
Phoenix of not forcing too many. But I think Thompson, like if he's
not hot, like you know, normal Clay, old school Klay Thompson,
like you everyone's freaking out if he touches the ball because it's probably going up
and it's probably going in. If he's not gonna have that kind of night,
I think Kaminga gives you more in almost every other regard than he does,
especially if Kaminga is gonna make an open three and have to be guarded
out there, because he's a better rebounder, He's a way better defender.
I mean, you know, I don't we can have a discussion about who's
a better passer. I don't think that's a huge part of either of those
guys games. But most nights, I think either Wiggins or Thompson is going
to be not giving you the stuff that Kaminga can give you. Certainly,
like athletic, he's there with Wiggins. He's above Wiggins athletically, which is
crazy. As an on ball defender, he can be as good, certainly's
better than Thompson, So I think, and I just think Kaminga is someone
that is going to be in the closing lineup way more than people anticipated.
And I think that includes being over Chris Paul sometimes, and maybe that's over
Kavon Looney sometimes. I just think that this is the year that Kaminga and
I've probably been way early on this. I don't know, probably since like
the second age I drafted and I saw a Summer League minute from the moment
he came out of the wom that guy, he's Paul George, but more
athletic. I think Kaminga is going to close tons of games for the Warriors,
and it's going to be kind of like tricky to navigate that because he's
going to be playing over a guy that is making forty million and a guy
that was huge in the finals a couple of years ago. But I have
one thought and two questions. My one thought, and is mostly in agreement
with you, that if you did sub out Clay for Kaminga, even with
Kaminga's if he rebounding, he has a ceiling as a rebounder, whereas like
Clay, the ceiling is the basement basically for him there. And I'm wondering
if that's just a way of We talked about how small the Warriors might be.
We talk about how Chris Paul could tactually be a necessity if you want
to kind of manage the game, and they didn't commit a ton of turnovers
for most of that first game of the season. I think Steve curR even
mentioned him in one of his sideline interviews, So that would be an interesting
way to I mean, just politically diplomatically. Benching Clay Thompson is huge,
and all that money on the bench is a big deal, but like that
could be one way to kind of combat some of the Warrior's size defficiencies while
getting to the lineups where it would have to be I think you're not playing
comingo with Raymond Green and Looney, so then Loony's on the bench as well.
But having him and Draymond like you're you're you're a little like Comina is
not massive, but you're just bigger. And so then does that allow you
to play CP three in closing lineups more comfortably? So I guess that's one.
Is that that that would be I have three questions. Then do you
agree with that is the one that he could play over Loony? No,
that it would be a way of including him as kind of a way to
say, we're we're battling against our size deficiencies in a way that allows CP
three to play, But it doesn't. It's still it doesn't crimp our offense
as much as necessarily. Like even Looney's not unversatile, it's not a word.
He's not super limited on offense, but he is. Yeah, yeah,
no, I think that's right. I think I So my answer is,
yeah, I think I think that is the case. And like,
look, you know, if you want to go all the way back,
like how much different like Kaminga is like the original death lineup involved Harrison Barnes,
and like Kaminga is a better athlete than even young Harrison Barnes was,
and he's a better rebounder, and he's a better on ball defender, and
like as a three point shooter. If he's gonna settle in where he's kind
of been at, like he's not thirty seven percent last year, if that
volume goes up and he stays at thirty five thirty six, you're gonna have
to guard him. And that's not that far off what Harrison Barnes used to
do. Now the guys around that spot in the rotation are diminished, like
we're not talking about twenty fourteen Steph Curry and Clay Thompson and Draymond, but
like there's proof of concept I think for him being in that spot. So
yeah, I think I think that is a justification right now. Then what
will end up being the Warriors most used closing lineup this year? That's I
think their most used closing lineup will be last year's starting lineup, which is
the Steph Clay Wiggers. No not, I don't think Kaminga will be their
most used closing lineup. But I do think, ah, that's tough because
I gotta I don't want to get too nuts about it. I do I
have to put him in there. See, I can't do it because I
think I'm not keep your legit like this doesn't have to be the overreactive answer,
given we've got your overreaction. Yeah, Legitimately. I think it's just
hard because I think he'll close over Clay. Sometimes, he'll close over Wiggins
sometimes just depending on how stuff's going. So I guess if you said will
cominga close forty? Who who these four players rank? How many crunch time?
I mean maybe Draymond, No, Draymond is Draymond and Staph for the
locks right now? Okay? These four players maybe okay five players? Rank
them in terms of minutes logged in the clutch dition CP three, Clay Thompson,
Andrew Wiggins, Kevon Looney. Okay, I would say I gotta clip
this, I'm god, because I think it's like a pretty close to an
even split. I will say I think Chris Paul should should probably not close
if you can avoid it, But I'll say I'll just go with Clay won
KMINGA two tied with Wiggins, Can I do ties? No? No,
and then uh CP three and Looney? I think, I think because Looney
is the one you can take They've talked about it all off season. Loony
is the guy you can take out and not worry about. You know,
is he gonna stew about it? Is because it's just happened forever, even
though I think there's a case to be made that Looney should just always play
because of what he can contribute defensively. So what did I say? Clay
Wiggins kaminga Looney? CP three and Looney. That's my order of most closed
games if I have to not be overreactive about it, because Clay is the
guy, is the guy that if you bench him, I don't think that's
gonna go great, especially since he did not get the extension he seems to
want. That also, like no one in their right mind would give him
MAXI money anyway, but uh, he sound someone who might sign for less
than that if it's any consolation. So if Draymond just signed for four for
one hundred and Wiggins is making in the twenties, Clay Thompson has no business
making more than either of those guys, right, Like, do we agree
about do we agree on that? Yeah, Wiggins just so the vanishing acts
feel like they could be. But he's already been the second best player or
the third best player on the four from them in the finals, which Clay
used to be. And look, he's come back from a serious injury.
I'm not trying. Yeah, two serious injuries. So my final question then
on this subject, way too long on the Warriors, My god, they
not deserve this much. If you're getting to a point where Kaminga is consistently
a part of your closing units and you're in the dilemma of what do we
even bother playing Clay or Wiggins or maybe CP three, shouldn't you look at
trading one of those three dudes. I've had the thought of, like if
Kaminga just becomes an elite on you know, just great defender, knocks off
the dumbfouls, like the over aggressive fouls, which he had some of in
the opener. I think, like Clay, I don't think you're gonna get
like great value for because he's expiring and he makes a ton of money,
and I think the arrow is aiming down like career trajectory wise, Wiggins is
someone you could probably get something for the weird thing is like, well what
does everybody need, Well, we need a three and D, so let's
trade Wiggins for one of those. It's like, well, he sort of
is that when he's playing. Well, so yeah, I think I think
that's something you could especially if like the plan is to bring Clay back next
year at a discount that's not you know, a heist of a discount.
Then you got to figure out where the money trim is gonna come from beyond
CP three just you know, thirty million dollars evaporating and Wiggins getting off.
Wiggins might might be that. I don't know. I think I think yes,
if Kaminga is who the Warriors think and hope he becomes, you do
look at moving somebody so he can just be a thirty eight minute guy,
like just play him to death basically because he if Kaminga is going well,
he doesn't really take anything off the table if he can shoot it, because
he's gonna get to the foul line, he's gonna guard he's been rebounding well,
like there's there's not a lot that he you know, can't do.
If if he continues to look like the guy he's been, you know,
in the preseason, and even even though the opener wasn't his best game,
like, he still was impactful. He still was like obviously just like an
overwhelming athlete that you know, his upside is still super high. I still
think Kama could be really, really good. That is probably your most level
headed Jonathan Minga in Constellation next team in the West that I think dessert and
a player specifically on the West I think deserves some shine. We both made
predictions officially for for him Pianta Georgie of the Utah Jazz, and you have
you said that he's going to start more games at point guard than anybody else
on the roster. I think correct, that was your take. I would
agree. I want once that person said he's going to finish first team All
Rookie, I almost said all NBA. That would have been that would have
been no reaction. I actually don't think this. Both of these qualifies an
overreaction relative to the Jazz is first game, but I watch him, and
first team All Rookie is going to be tough because Wemby, Chet and probably
Scoot are just there. And so now you're saying like he's gonna beat out
one or both of the Thompson brothers, just as like that's the one that
stands out the Yeah, he's gonna get there. He is already their best
passer. He's already I think they're most threatening off the dribbled jump shooter and
even you know, just a couple plays against Sacramento of yes, the Jazz,
I think fans it was kind of an awakening for Okay. This season
probably not going to be like last season, but you just saw like there's
a game management, there's a vision there, and there's gonna be rookie mistakes,
but he's he's kind of even if the ball's in his hands, he's
not a ball stopper, Like there's still gonna be ball and body movement.
I am all the way in on what he is doing. And like we
already did our all rookie predictions and I had him on this podcast. I
put him in first team All Rookie. Nothing's changed since then, big shocker.
I just I wonder if people realize, and we were talking about this
off air, and it's not meant as an insult, is that we probably
don't cater on this podcast enough to just the casual fan where It's like if
the Utah Jazz are gonna listen to a segment on Keyante George, it like
it's Utah Jazz fans that are gonna be interested in that. And I just
don't know that he has popped up on the just the national radar quite enough.
We're no, I don't think he's one of the you know, ten
best point guards in the NBA right frickin' now. But relative to the Jazz,
options and opportunity is such a big part of making these all rookie teams
that you don't even necessarily always need to be relatively efficient or sniff the galaxy
of efficient. You can struggle, but if the opportunity is there, you're
good that volume, you're gonna have a chance to really make waves. And
just after Game one, the things that Will Hardy was saying about him afterwards
as well, the opportunity is gonna be there. He what did he ended
up finished with? It was only nineteen minutes, but like those minutes are
gonna shoot up, They're going to skyrocket by I would be let's throw it
this way. If he is not the most played or the Jordan Clarkson's there,
if he's not one of the most played guards by Thanksgiving, I'll be
floored. Yeah, I think that the surrounding talent or the guys that are
quote unquote in his way are kind of what pushed me towards the idea that
he like, why isn't this guy gonna start more games than anyone else at
the point because like the knock I think, you know, was coming into
like say summer League, was you know, talented, but then you know,
maybe a little heavy and can't shoot. Well, he lost the weight
and he made us shit town of threes in summer league, and so suddenly,
if you are you know, just more of a national NBA fan,
you probably were aware at some point of this Kante Georgia guy was really really
good in summer League and looked like a draft steal. But like if the
question is, I don't you know, can't he make threes consistently because he
didn't prove it in college and you know, hot summer league stretches are you
know, not worth a whole lot? Well, Taylor Horton Tucker can't shoot,
Chris Dunn can't shoot. So like if the if the spacing is your
concern, like none of those three guys are going to you know, scared,
defense is a ton and if you've got to pick one, I'm gonna
play George because like where are we as the jazz right, Like, where
where are we developmentally? Who where's our cornerstone piece? Where's our guy that
we're sure is going to be around for forever? Like Walker Kessel probably is
that guy market in Maybe is that guy although front which is a fairly big
maybe maybe, but Danny Angel might trade Laurie Marketing and tomorrow zero fs yest
zero. So if you're developed, and you're in a developmental phase and maybe
like losing games isn't the worst thing. Playing a rookie point guard is a
decent way to go about achieving a lot of your goals if they include finding
a cornerstone, improving lottery position, et cetera. And it's just like Horton
Tucker and Dunn are not you know, long term pieces. They just aren't
even you know, they're both young ish, and Horton Tucker is always like
it's always like shocking how young he is, Like he's still twenty? How's
that possible? Is this fifth NBA season? I just think you played George
over both of those guys, and it's not a complicated decision just because he
matters more in the grand scheme for Utah and he might just be better today,
Like that's we should we should just think of it that way, Like
he might just be the best point guard on the roster even though he's the
youngest, Like why why why can I just ask, like what is the
might be? I'm not saying that you're hedging what are we afraid to?
Who are we defra who are we afraid to crown him over? Yes?
Could you say, Okay, Colin Sexton, Jordan Clarkson are better player.
And look Jordan Clarkson, he's made strides just looking off last season then based
off what I saw from him during that that game against the Kings, like
he's made strides as a passer, so he like he is the candidate unless
you're saying, well, look at what Chris Done could do defensively. I
don't want to say point guard defense doesn't matter, because it absolutely does.
But like you're gonna do a lot of heavy lifting on defense as Chris Dunn.
If you're better, if you're a better overall point guard than Keante George,
if we're isolating it to offense. Is Jordan Clarkson is the only candidate.
Oh, just because con Section doesn't have the level of vision or like
decision making that either of these two guys. And he's a terrible defender,
Like that's that's why Collin Sexton, you know, he has where it looks
like he could be a good defense where it's just like he's not even doing
the right thing sometimes and he might still get blown by or miss something,
but he just looks really locked. He's got no concext hastics. Yes,
Consexton has the appearance and mannerisms of a great defensive player right until he just
gets toasted like that is the first team almost likely to get blown by while
he's smashing the floor to prove that he's defensively absolutely correct. Let's see,
I think I should pick one here? Can I put you on the spot?
Yes? For one? That of yours? Okay, So I had
I thought this was bold when I predicted it that Victor woman Yama would be
good. Sure, I said. My prediction for him, and I've made
a lot of Wemby predictions, was that he would average twenty plus points,
two point five blocks and one made three per game. That doesn't sound now,
it sounds stupid. Joel Ebiid, No one's ever done that. Joel
Embiid came the closest as a rookie in twenty sixteen. Twenty seventeen. He
averaged two point five blocks on the money, and I said Wemby would get
one plus three two point five plus blocks and twenty plus points. Joal Bean
only playing thirty something games that year, so I thought, I thought it
was fairly spicy. You went ahead. Oh, he came from the top
ropes. Are you willing to talk about that? So this is where I
was going anyway, because we've gone too long with some Wimby content. I
think when Victor women Yama is going to average over four blocks per game as
a rookie this year, four four point zero. Maybe Brothers does not think
so. Yeah, I was gonna say, if he continues to pick up,
you know, enough fouls to keep his minutes in the low twenties,
this will be tough. I still wouldn't rule it out. I just think
this ties into the more women Yama I watch, the more I think he
is one of those players that is going to force us, not forces the
wrong word but like cause us to reevaluate sort of how the game is played
and like what's possible on the floor, because and you could encapsulate that thought
in like a single play from a preseason game where when ben Yama is at
the elbow, either I think he's got both feet in the paint and he's
a little below the foul line. He's guarding Andrew Wiggins, who is on
the left wing, and when ben Yama takes the ball swings to Wiggins,
Wiggins loads up for an open shot against literally any other defender on planet Earth.
And when ben Yama takes like a step and a half and blocks this
shot, this three point attempt. I don't know, like you've seen the
still photo of it, probably because it's circulated on social media. But like
I think when ben Yama is getting the ball at like thirteen feet off the
ground or something like, just like it's absurd because and Wiggins is not a
high arc shooter, but he puts some arc on this, and when ben
Yama is still up there just palm on the ball like done. So I
think the fact that he's gonna get a handful of blocks, you know,
every week of that variety where it's just like he closed out from the restricted
area and blocked the corner three, or he you know, helps and recovers
and goes and gets a turnaround jumper from something like just like absurd blocks that
no one else can get. He's gonna get those. And then I think
as he figures out, like because I think even in his best games,
I think his processing speed is really good for where he's at, but like
he's still gonna get better at diagnosing like when to go for shot blocks and
when to you know, how to play the pick and roll if he's going
to be involved in some of those, because I think offenses are going to
have to start trying to get him into the action sometimes just to keep him
from floating around and causing so much havoc. So, yeah, the four
point zero is like a wild number. I'm trying to Yeah, Matumbo average
four in ninety five ninety six, and Wemby in his first four priests and
games average four point seven blocks per thirty six minutes. So the thirty six
minutes tumble play that season that I don't know, probably like that was the
era of guys are all playing. You know, there were twenty five guys
playing plus forty plus probably getting to thirty six minutes might be tough. But
if you told me when mien Yama's gonna average thirty four minutes a game,
I would feel even better about this. I don't know if the like,
I just think he's gonna have Oh this is another one. Uh, I'm
not gonna spoil it. I have some stat padding when mien Yama stuff.
But like, let's just say I looked up, like what the record for
blocks in a game was, and it was seventeen I think, And I
had to have some thoughts about, like should I just predict that he's gonna
set the all time blocks record in a single game this year because he's how
about this? Do you think? Nope, I'm not gonna step on stat
padding. I was about to step on a Wemby stat padding thing. You
don't want to spoil it for the listeners, or you're worried that I'm gonna
get something correct you? No, No, I don't I want to spoil
it. I just think like he's gonna have a lot of uh ten block
games like in his career, and he's probably gonna get some this year.
Wow, ten block games. I wonder how many of those there have been.
That's not a stat I would know offhand throughout NBA history how many there
have been. It's funny. I don't have anything to add other than what
you're saying sounds so fucking absurd, and I'm just like, nah, I
get it. It's I can't even sometimes I can't. You know, you
mentioned how sometimes we can't step out of our NBA silo when we're trying to
frame the conversations for wider audiences. I can't. I do the same thing
where I'm trying to be bold, and it's I look back and I'm like,
twenty plus points, two point five plus blocks and one made three.
After seeing how he was used, I just thought he was gonna be on
ball a lot more like he No, he's just gonna jack like he'll probably
finish. What do you want to put the over under on? How many
threes? Like point at times he's gonna average this year? If I said
it at five? Are you just gonna smash the over that now? I
might? I mean they said on the broadcast that Popovich just basically said,
like play free, you know, do what you want. I think his
first shot of his career was kind of like a pull up three from the
top. So it's just like, clearly he's gonna be allowed to explore the
space. Yeah, and I mean, look, he took oh, he
took exactly five and twenty three minutes of action, so I would hit the
over if it's on five, and I just my head was like, well,
he's gonna probably be inefficient. There he goes, he hits three of
his first five three pointers. That was I will say that game specifically.
I mean, the MAVs are actually the MAVs are the next team I wanted
to talk about, but they're they're probably gonna be a train wreck defensive,
Like those are the shots that they were just gonna concede because they're worried about
him, what he might do off the dribble. So it just I couldn't
be bold enough. So I'm glad that you took it. There. I
think it was. It was your prediction was necessary. Can I ask you
this, because we can't really talk too much about him, do you have,
like, you know, very casual or not at all NBA fans in
your life that have asked you, like, what's the deal with this?
Win? Benyama guy like, what like have you do you? How do
you describe him? I can give you my answer if that hasn't come up
for you. But like you know, someone's like, oh, who's this,
who's that? Who's this tall guy? I keep hearing about, like
what is he gonna be? Any good? Do you have you had those
conversations with people? Yeah? For sure, what what do you say?
I say, I've always framed it and our listeners are probably gonna unsubscribe if
they hear me say this one more time. I frame it as the summer
League conversation where everyone was so concerned after his first game, and I say
I came away having not seen a lot of him before that point, thinking
that he's going to be one of the best players of all time and that
is and that was my best way to frame it. And then there's invariably,
well what if he's you know, not healthy? And I'm just that's
the question with everybody, and I know you're worried about his lower body and
stuff. His size. Kevin Rant has made a top fifteen of all time
career. He's not as big as one of me, but he's not like
super built, like he's not He's not girthy is the word I would use.
So I just I'm not gonna worry about the health stuff until if and
when, but if, let's say, if it ever becomes an issue.
And that's just I'm curious of what you say. I feel like you probably
have a better rebuke to all this time. No, No, I I
I ask because like I struggle with it because it's hard to I think I
always I can't help but over sell him basically because and so a lot of
times I'll just say, like, well, you know, it's it's difficult
to say because there's never ever been someone like him, and I think in
a lot of ways, that's kind of the best endorsement you can give.
It's like I can't really make predictions because he might do things that we thought
were not doable. So and I think, I mean, like just as
a defender, like leave all the other stuff out. I think it's probably
like how many he's gonna be someone that is regarded as the best defensive player
of his era and like maybe just ever, you know, like I just
like I try to sell it much. I just I mean, I just
think I don't That's why I asked. It's like I don't know how to
make it relatable to someone that like has heard his name but doesn't and like
keeps hearing the hype and doesn't really follow basketball, And it's just like,
I don't know. It's like if there was like a six hundred pound guy
that could run a four to four forty in football, Like, what do
you do with him? I don't know, nobody knows. You just kind
of like enjoy it and see and see what's possible. That's that's I don't
know what to do with it. So you know, thanks for nothing,
because now we still we still just have to be hyperbolic when we describe him.
I guess you and you already predicted this too, so just our level
of what you said, first team All defense for him, which, by
the way, as a rookie, that's never happened before. I know,
I know I should have just used that. I mean, what's more likely
first team All I Basically every prediction I make for him is something that either
hasn't happened in thirty years or has never happened. So I mean, I
don't we should just do a whole podcast where we say ridiculous shit about what
he's gonna do we Oh my god, what's ridiculous? Like what honestly,
what of everything that we have said about him qualifies as if you're sitting detached
from the situation, if you haven't seen enough of him because you're not a
fan of the Spurs. I get it. What if we said that's ridiculous.
I guess the four blocks per game is just like well, I did
say he might be the best defensive player of all yeah, at the top.
And it's funny because that was your throwaway comment. That's why I just
snuck it in. You want to talk Dallas, You got a Dallas one.
I do have a Dallas one, and it's gonna step on the toes
of something I already predicted. So I'm saying that I was wrong already.
H But I'll frame it this way. Derek Lively will be the best player
drafted outside of the top ten from this class. And I think the other
way I was going to frame it too, is because the minutes are clearly
going to be there. I didn't have him on any of our all rookie
teams. He's another one where it's we think Keantre George is going to be
there Derek Lively might be first team All Rookie as well. He looked really
good in his first game. I think they I think he scored. He
had sixteen to ten, and I don't think he scored sixteen points in a
college game. So, like we're talking about Derek Lively at a high point
right now. The thing that I think impressed me the most, and I
think the highlight that'll get the most run is the lob he caught from Luca.
There are two things that stood out, and I swear I'm not I'm
probably trying to be nerdy because I want to prove that I observed things.
But there were plays early on the first quarter. So he has those two
dunks. He's so quick off the rim. On those dunks, he's thinking
ahead to the point where, yeah, there are guys sometimes you have to
hang on the rim, but most of the most players, they're not popping
off the rim like that. He understands the opponent that he's going against.
The Spurs are looking to run off of makes of their opponent. He's already
getting back on defense. Just stuff like that is big or understanding when to
kind of come as a help defender already and throw the doubles, like when
you're below the free throw line. That is even on my simpleton mind when
it comes to not understanding like NBA defense, Like this kid already gets it.
And so we both made jokes about, oh, the MAVs are gonna
he started the second half for Dallas al right, like he's that just got
to be You're I know MAXI Kleiba as a different element, and I don't
care play the two together. Play Grant Williams at the three, because I
don't trust your wing rotation anyway. I know Tim Hardaway Junior had some nice
moments and in the game against the Spurs, But by the way, I
actually would try that lineup. I don't know if they did. I would
guess that they didn't. But throw Kleba, Grant Williams and Derek. Look
you framed Grant Williams's signing is getting a wing? Prove it? Play the
three? Uh So, I'm just I did not see a ton of him
in preseason. I knew very little of him coming out of college. I
just don't cover the college game. I am smitten, and I apologize in
advance. He's the player where I'm gonna spell his first name wrong all the
times I want to spell it d e r R. There's too many Derek's.
There's too many Derek spellings. We need to arrive at a consensus on
Derek. I don't need d e r R E c K. I don't
need uh r d e r. There's only one R, so that's too
many. Let's do either d E e K or Derek like Derek Rose,
where it's just totally phonetic d e r R I c K. But we
can't. We have too many. I have the same issue with DeAndre.
Sometimes you get the apostrophe, sometimes you don't. Sometimes you get the capital
A for Andre. Uh. That's why I like DeAndre, which who somebody
it's either Ayton, I think it's Aytan. That's just DeAndre with only capital
D and no apostrophes. That keeps it simple for me. Yeah, that
is, and it's the one that people get wrong the most, by the
way, because they're so used to writing like the D with the apostrophe or
having the capital A. We're also getting dangerous with Jalen too, because there's
too many Jen. We should have a spelling write this down. We're gonna
do a spelling very ESPN broadcast of US spending time on names Derek Lively.
I think there's gonna look the MAVs. They were torch step points defensively by
the Spurs without Wemby on the floor, by the way, because that's the
other Spurs hot take Devin Vessel top five MVP bat he looked so good.
I who's I was talking to someone. I was like, it's kind of
like if you had Bradley Beal and you made him more athletic, and uh,
it's just like he looked amazing. I think Vasell looked really good.
A couple of points on Lively and these are even less. Uh, you
call yourself a simpleton. He looks big out there. Did you notice that
during the game, like Lively. Look, there are a few guys in
the league where just watching them around their peers, you're like, Okay,
it's taking up some space and and he can really move. And I think
that's gonna benefit him because there'll be more space and like his ability to cover
ground will be accentuated like it wasn't in the college game. Also, Luca
is gonna gift him six points a night just on lobs, Like just just
no questions asked easy, He's catch an angle radius is just and that's the
highlight that's going around for good reason. He's like kind of like behind the
backboard when he's finishing that one. Luca oop yep, yeah, I like
that one. I have a my Mavis my word one really quickly though,
what would be the players drafted outside the top ten? It's Keante George is
one. That's so it's getting because I think he's gonna be really good and
he'll have agent more agency over the offense. But I'm looking at the rest
and it's yeah, there are names and this is again it's an overreaction.
Grady Dick is it like him? A Hawkes Cam Whitmore is a good swing?
Yeah, I saw someone pretty Hawkes would finish third and Rookie of the
Year. I forget where I saw that, but that seemed that was my
was it, pat Riley? We don't have any tastes quite that hot chagin
you want. The my MAVs thing is like, I think Jayden Hardy is
low key maybe the third most important player on Dallas because nobody besides Luca and
Kyrie can create shots, and you will need a third guy because one of
them is gonna miss time. And yeah, but Hardy didn't play in the
opener, so I'm not right or wrong yet. My other Dallas Mavericks take,
Yeah, we have to do. That's fascinating. So I was curious
what his role would look like. It's because they have all. I know,
Seth Curry's not going to dribble, but he's a vet. And there's
Josh Green there too, who is probably gonna send most of the time in
the wing. Dante ExHAM as well. And this is my MAVs takers.
Did I forget that Dante Exim kind of had like the Kyle Lowry body type.
Did Okay, I'm not calling him dude, I'm just simpleton over here.
I'm not talking about like I'm the peak of fitness. I have no
problem, But I don't remember him being that big. First of all,
you are the peak of fitness. Second of all, I had that exact
thought. It's like, wow, Dante Exam that Kyle Lowry macro pack.
Yeah, I guess so yeah, no, but I mean it was in
all jokes aside, like it was kind of awesome to see him playing,
because like I remember as a prospect thinking like this guy might just be one
of the best on ball defenders, like among guards right right away, and
and he just you know, he got hurt and all that other stuff.
So but yeah, he definitely his his frame has changed, I guess we
should say, and which makes sense because what was the eighteen when he was
a rookie, So that'll happen the I only have one more that I would
like to do. You have any more that you want to get off because
I took Dallas was mine? Give me yours, and then I'll see if
there's anything else I really need to say. The first part of this is
not bold enough, even though I thought it was at the time. The
second part I think is Devin Booker is going to average over seven assists per
game and finish in the top five of MVP voting. And it's not going
to be fourth or fifth. Ooh, well, I am. He's not
going to play. We're recording this on a Thursday. He's not playing on
Thursday. That's that's a whole another istion for Phoenix when he went I'm sure
you saw him when he went to the floor early in the game. That
was I was like, oh no, Like he is the guy they can't
afford to lose. I know we haven't seen Beal out there yet. That
could infringe upon some of his touches. I don't we know what he is
as a score. There are two things that I still think and one of
them's egregious. It's the passing that comes back to the assists. This is
someone who has incrementally increased the complexity of his passes every single year, just
about and even since. When you look back, I think his career high
right now is it's like six, right. It was the season before CP
three, Yeah, and they all came. His best assist years came before.
Obviously Chris Paul showed up, and then he's he's dropped off like one
or two per game. He was over six for sure. I think he
was at six point eight and six point five in the two seasons leading up
to CP three's arrival. So in retrospect, but I mean he's with Durant
and Beale. It was Semi Bowl when I made the prediction this. The
passing is just like he is passing guys open the things that he is seeing
when he is like the The biggest thing that I think with him is the
live dribble playmaking. That doesn't include as JJ Redick was calling it with,
uh was it Luca the Also it was DCEL, not deceleration. They were
abbreviating DCEL. It's when he's not decelerating and he's just whipping these pass all
over the place. You name it. The lobs he could throw, bounce
passes, the cross cour the cross court stuff, and the lobs, like
the placement on those things stand out the most. The other thing here,
the defense is just it's not every possession. It's not Kawhi esque ever.
Devin Booker and is this the bold take? Is an above average defender at
this point. And I'm talking in terms of if you want to have that
guy. I'm not just talking closing units like in the playoffs like that is
someone Do you want him checking the best player on the other team? No?
Can he do it for Spurts? I think he's there, And it's
more it feels. I don't know if it's more consistent or it's more visible
to where like the effort or just like the possessions in which he's gonna lock
in where he's gonna make this wild read where he's away from the ball and
he's just snatching it like out of the passing lane, coming from nowhere.
This is I can't call him a top five player, because then you get
into the realm of yeah. I don't want to be the podcast that says,
oh, so and so is a top ten player when we don't do
player rankings on the podcast, specifically, when we're looking at MVP voting,
here are the players that I'm prepared to say are going to finish ahead of
him an MVP voting. H Yo, kitsch, We're done. Yeah,
No, I think that's I think that's right. I will say too,
like I am, and I hope we don't have to say this every time
we record a podcast. I'm fascinated to see what it will mean when all
three of Phoenix's best players play together. I would hope. I hope that's
the last time I have to say this, because you know, Beal,
I think got a lot of reps on the ball, and I think the
theory was that, you know, the Phoenix does not have a conventional point
guard, that they're going to play a lot, and so you know,
between Beal and Booker and I guess Durant some that's where your initiation is gonna
come from because it won't be from a kogie and it won't be from the
center spot except you know, Nurkic will make you know, pocket pass elbow
passes and stuff. But like to your point, if Beal does more of,
you know, some portion of the ball handling and Booker isn't just the
point guard the whole time, I think that frees Booker up to play even
better. You know, if he doesn't have to be burning calories, you
know, getting doubled and trapped and trying to figure out where to send the
ball, because that will be the I think that will be most teams approach,
is to really aggressively attack whoever is handling the ball because you know,
neither Booker nor Biale really are point guards, and that's a different kind of
vibe for them to sort of you know, read the floor immediately and get
off the ball like they want to keep it in score. That's how they're
wired. But if if Booker and Beale can split those duties, then I
think you might get the best out of Booker, like across the board right
like, because he is going to have to guard somebody. You know,
Okoge looked awesome against in the first game and he'll guard whoever is the most
threatening matchup. But like after that, I think you do just put Booker
on the other good wing and you know, put him on the point guard
maybe if you don't want bal to have to shoulder that. And I think
they get to Caterbates opted in play. I don't know if you said that,
Sorry if he did, and then no, no, they didn't get
to NOAs little until the third quarter either, and so it's just like,
all right, we'll run out of realistic options, right, do everything?
I yeah, I guess the takeaway for me is like, how good is
Booker going to look when he's not asked to do so much? You know,
I just think to your point, yeah, Yokich is the only guy
where you're like, well, I can't put anyone above him in the MVP
race for sure, Like you put Booker in the fighting chance with the Jannis
and Embiid and whoever Tatum whatever else you want to do there? Do we
want to move into stat padding before we go to the east so that I
can split the podcast up appropriately? Sure? Let's see, all right?
Uh I? I oh wait, hit us with the transition? Oh man?
I can't believe that. I cannot believe that to do it, I
keep meaning to cut it differently. But it's okay. Now it's officially stat
padding time. Because that's all right. I have been excited to hitch with
this one for a long time, ever since Rubik scal On Discord messaged me
a series of clues, each more devilish than the previous one for you specifically,
And I will not say why until you have or have not guessed this
person wrong. You're over one, all right. Everybody knows how this works.
You get some clues and you just have to guess who the clues refer
to. I will go o verbatim because I think I respect the effort put
forth here by Rubik scal On Discord. Clue number one. Unable to declare
for the draft after high school because of changed age restrictions. I became a
trendsetter by playing pro ball in Europe before I got drafted as a lottery pick.
Not giving you any years or anything there. Well, fuck, okay,
cursing. Cursing is encouraged on stat pattern because it's gonna be frustrating,
all right. Number two, my poet point totaling can sometimes be a thing
of beauty, but mostly my offensive accolades are laced with a heaping dose of
inefficiency. In the twenty twelve thirteen season, I became only the fourth player
in NBA history to average at least seventeen points per game through the first four
seasons of my career with a field goal clip below forty percent. Now you
gotta keep going. I got okay. I hope. I wonder if any
of the phrasing here sounds familiar to you. That's all I'll say so far.
On the other hand, in twenty twelve thirteen, I also became only
the seventh player all time to average seventeen points, five and a half assists,
one and a half steals, and knock down eighty plus percent of my
free throws through the first four seasons of my career. The fuck is this?
That same season, I was one of two players that averaged seventeen points,
six assists, one and a half steals, shooting better than thirty seven
percent from deep in eighty percent from the charity stripe. The other guy was
Steph Curry. Did you say the year on this one? We're in the
like twelve third team in that pocket basically, so about ten years ago.
You were working for Bleacher Report and writing things about ten years ago. So
if any other I don't want to go find it. If any of this
phrasing sounds familiar to you, it's because I'll just tell you now, because
this is the most fun part of it. This has pulled from an article
you wrote. No, yeah, all right, last clue, last clue
this, this might help I have a single fifty point game, and that
happened in my seventh game of my rookie season, the youngest player to have
a fifty burger. And I scored twenty four plus points in seven of my
first eleven games. Oh my god, I can give you the team.
So that fifty pointer came as a member of the Milwaukee Bucks. Brandon Jennings,
Yes, you got it. Ruvik'scal messaged me this on Discord and not
Everything I read you was pulled like verbatim from something you wrote. I didn't
go find the article, but it was. I don't know what the context
would have been. It was probably back when we just I want to write
about Brandon Jennings and you did a thousand words on Brandon Jennings in two thousand
whatever that was. It was so fun because reading you your own clues basic.
These are all clues provided by Dan fa Valley, given to Dan fa
Valley in the future. Basically, wow, damn okay, you got it.
Ruby Scale has a metric ton of other guests this player, so I
think we are you ready for yours? Oh God, I hope I didn't
write this, but yeah, I guess not, not that I could tell.
But so we'll do a couple of these and we'll holstter them as always.
To shout out to Rubiscal for sending us. I can't believe it was
something I wrote. Oh god, it's about time that I got shamed on
one of these though, So thanks for sending that to Grant. Okay Clue
number one at five, I am one of the shortest players who have played
in the NBA, though I am a good seven inches taller than Muggsy Bogues
CLU two. With my team down one to two in the NBA Finals,
my coach put me into the starting lineup, leading to my only championship ring
five to ten. In the starting lineup pro mey keep going, yeah,
keep going. CLU three. I once tried to dribble between the legs of
a seam to beat and by dribble between. I don't mean I tried to
nut make him. I mean I've literally tried to get my entire body between
his legs. You know it, I do? Oh God, damn it,
keep going, Clu four. Given my height, it is no wonder
that I don't get a lot of blocks. I have a career total of
twenty four dunks, the lowest total among players who have played at least six
hundred plus games since blocks started being recorded in nineteen seventy three. Is this
Darryl Armstrong? It is not okay, CLU five. I have a low
dribble, which makes it really hard for taller players to guard, aggravating those
who consider themselves top tier defenders. I once got closelined by Ron Artest after
a come from behind win against Kobe's Lakers. Later that same series, I
also took an Andrew Bynham elbow jj bre jj. I was ready to go
on the clothesline, but then I was like, no, Bynum got him.
Remember the Bynum foul? Okay, okay, good you not for another
one? Yeah, clue one. I am the youngest player who have ten
blocks in a game nineteen years thirteen days old. I'm also one of only
three players to have recorded a ten block game without committing a personal foul.
I did this when I was a rookie. Is this JaVale McGee No.
Clu two. I was selected seventeenth overall in two thousand and four by the
Hawks, who acquired the pick as part of the Rashid Wallace trade to Detroit.
What pick overall? Did you say the seventeenth in two thousand and four?
Seventeenth and oh four by the Hawks? Josh Smith? Yes, correct,
I knew you're gonna get that one. Uh, you're ready for another
one? Sure? In Clue one. In two thousand and four, when
the Charlotte Bobcats were added as the thirtieth team in the NBA, the league
shifted to its current organizational structure of three divisions, each comprising five teams per
conference. A few players have moved about multiple teams since then, but only
one player has played has ever played for all five teams in a division.
That's me is Smith. No, that was a good guest, though.
Clue two. I was drafted by the Grizzlies in two thousand and two and
promptly traded to the Calves, who assigned me to the then D League Grizzlies
in two Okay, keep going. I played my first NBA game in the
second half of the two thousand and three two thousand and four season. But
I bounced around a few times before I landed with Team X in two thousand
and six. I got nothing. Team X always throws me because that means
it's obvious if you give me that team though. Yeah, and there are
more Team Xes coming. Okay. I made a place for myself on the
team and in the hearts of millions of fans, as were two thousand and
six. Two thousand and seven, Team X returned to the postseason in spectacular
fashion. Oh my god, who is an six oh seven? And he
bounced around? I still don't have it. I bounced from team to team
between two thousand and eight and twenty twelve before I went back to the first
team I played for. I made a name for myself on this team as
well as a defensive presence and overall pain in the ass on a team that
had more than a few of those. And the first team he played for
was Cleveland and three to four. He said correct from an earlier cluse,
so he goes back to Cleveland. God, I'm my brain's not working.
Keep you got more? I think this is the one where you'll get it.
I hope. I signed with the Kings for one last season of top
flight basketball earnings, and I thought I was going out of the league when
they waived me in February twenty seventeen. But Team X had just lost one
of its premier scores to an mcl injury. Only days earlier. Team X
had agreed to sign Jose Calderon, put the injury to their star forward meant
they had to switch that plan and side a forward instead. Lucky me.
I love this one. I just I'm so jumbled. So we've played for
a million teams, drafted by Memphis and O two and starts starts his career
with the Calves and then the Kings way later get him. And this is
supposed to be a big deal for the Kings. You're this is the clue
that if you don't get him, it's the final clue. Number seven.
I am a native of Santa Clara, California, and I earned All American
honors in both basketball and football in two thousand and six, when my career
was going nowhere before Team X signed me, I seriously considered playing in the
NFL. Holy shit, I'm embarrassed. I feel like this is one of
the easiest ones, and I can't. I'm so confused. There's so much
information. York RUBY'SCA included at the bottom, what Grant's gonna kill me,
isn't he? It's literally what it says. He's good. Why I just
don't. I don't have it. Nothing's coming to me. There's I have
too much information. You're gonna have to tell me. I can't. Like,
I'm totally jumbled. I am Matt Barnes. Oh god, the football
thing I should have got. I don't think I knew he was drafted by
Memphis. I thought you would have known that he was just a native of
Santa Clara, California. I didn't know that, but I thought you would
have. Yeah, I don't think I did know that. Let's see,
I I've personally spoken to Matt Barnes in the locker room several times, Like
I've talked to him to his face. None of this came up. Didn't
come up. Oh gosh, okay, a great clue. I mean,
that's on me. I'm embarrassed. Okay, you want to do one more
see if you can guess? And now I'm rattled. Sure, uh there
is what is? This is a multiple choice one oh some multiple choice questions?
Please? Okay? Which one of these has made the most Which one
of these players has made the most threes in a single season? Dennis Scott,
Ray Allen or Reggie Miller? Ray Allen is the easy answer. I
think I'm gonna say Dennis Scott because he had the record for a minute,
right, But it's ray Allen major ordred sixty nine threes and five oh six
classic overthink three d did have two hundred and sixty seven and ninety five ninety
six? So is close? Which we have and we have two more?
Which of these? Which of these players has the most three points and three
pointers in a single postseason? Ray Allen, Dennis Scott or Reggie Miller?
Same players? I like it. I don't like this at all. Is
you gonna go Roy Allen the whole time? And I'm gonna talk myself out
of it. I'm gonna say. I think I'll just say Reggie Miller.
That is correct. Fifty eight makes in the two thousand playoffs. Ray Allen
had fifty seven in two thousand and one, and three D had fifty six
in nineteen ninety five. Okay, Ray Allen did shoot forty eight percent during
that postseason campaign, though, in case you on threes, not bad,
Okay, Final one and we'll save the others for another another week. Which
of these current Warriors players had the best assist to turnover ratio in the twenty
twenty two twenty twenty three season, Corey Joseph, Chris Paul or Kevon Looney.
I'm gonna say, Corey Joseph. The answer is Chris Paul four point
eight to one. Kevon Looney was four point three to one. Corey Joseph
was three point nine to one. I knew you were gonna trick yourself out
of that one. It's a classic, is the overthink. Possibilities are just
immense. When you put Chris Paul in an assistant turnover and when you put
Ray Allen in a three point question? All right, geez, okay,
not a strong showing by me. Okay, I have it like a little
bit of a change of pace here. If you're ready for some some quick
ones, Oh I'm ready. So you know, the the start bench cut
game basically that you see on Yeah, yeah, I know, don't make
me explain. Start pinch cut. This is the extension edition. I know
you did a whole, you did a pot on extensions. This will make
this will force you to synthesize your thoughts. Okay, So we're only dealing
with the guys that signed. This isn't a guessing game or anything. It's
just you opine here. So Anthony Edwards five years two o six, LaMelo
Ball five years two o six, Tyrese Haliburt five years two o six,
same extensions. Start bench cut from those three Anthy Edwards, Tyre Haliburton and
Lamello. Just based on the extension itself, which one? How do you
like him? I'm oh man, I'm starting Tyre's Haliburton benching Anthony Edwards cutting
LaMelo Ball. Wow, I love it. I love it. I love
your Tyr's Haliburton appreciation. All right, next tier down. Basically some of
this will be e this is a fantastic exercise. Nice all right, Start
bench cut. Devin Vessel five for one thirty five ish, Jaden McDaniels five
for one thirty, four for one no five sorry, five for one thirty
Let me start this over Dan start bench cut Devin Vessel five for one thirty
five, Jade McDaniels five for one thirty one, Desmond Bane five for one
ninety seven. Ooh no, no, no, okay, okay, I'm
gonna start Devin Vessel, I'm gonna bench. Don't do this to Desmond Bane.
You cannot you cannot cut Desmond Bine bench Desmond Baye cut Jayden McDaniels.
Oh, I hate myself. I thought you'd go Desmond Bay and start for
sure, but that's a sixty million extra, So I get it all right,
I'm gonna give you. I'm all right. Start bench cut Denny Avdia
four for fifty five, Josh Green three for forty one on Yeka kong Wu
four for sixty two. Oh this is easy. Start Denny bench on Yakka
and cut Josh Green tough break for Josh Green. All right, I'm gonna
put together one more here, uh, start bench cut. Zeke Naji four
for thirty two, Isaiah Stewart four for sixty or Cole Anthony three for thirty
nine. Start Cole Anthony bench Zeke cut. Why am I blanking on the
other name all this? No no no, no, no, no,
no no no no bench beef stew cut, Zeke Naji, sorry, Zeke.
I think that's correct. Okay, h do you have more for me?
I have some Wimby mania uh things for you to opine on. Yeah,
so let's do I have some that are that I think are fun?
Uh? So both of these NBA players can no longer take step back threes?
Who would have the better career? Great hard to finish, James Harden
or Luka Doncic. I think Luca has the better career because he can post
up still and he just he can basically not ever be too slow to be
effective. I think hard and if Harden didn't have the step back right now,
he'd be pretty cooked. I would also say Darryl Mooy having his post
up defense stats notwithstanding Luca just having the size would help him on defense more
than make him less of a liability than a James Harden's true. Okay,
grant life on the line. You have to bet on one of these one
of these players appearing in more than sixty five games this season. Kawhi,
Leonard, Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis, Zion Williamson. I will say that
Kevin Durant is most likely to play in sixty five games. Wow, and
I think I just died because I bet my life. There's no good answer
there is. This just based solely off the fact that he is the only
member of his son's Big three that by the time this comes out, will
not have missed the game through the first he's played one so far, maybe
two. If he played, he's played two. Two that I'm good ahead
of the curve. I mean, I just don't trust any of those guys.
I mean I think like Kawhi just no matter what, won't do it.
You know, like even if he stays healthy, he won't play sixty
five. They'll just find ways to sit him. Yeah, none of those
guys are playing sixty five games. You don't think I would have taken Zion.
I'm just reever. Why because he's due, He's ever done it.
That's the best logic. Yeah, it's gonna happen someday. Okay, can
I give you Wemby stuff or you've got more like that? More? I
have a couple we could do. We go to Wemby stuff that I have
just a couple of quick fire ones after that? All right, Dan over
under one point five major awards slash honors for Wemby, and I will limit
it to including Rookie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, All
NBA, or All Defensive. Oh so together, You're not saying he's gonna
make more than one all rookie ye, I'm talking about this year? Does
it get more than one point five major awards or honors? All Star is
out, like I don't. We don't care about that. So does it
include an All defense team? It includes All Defense, All NBA, Defensive
Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year. I'm gonna play the odds.
I'm gonna say, screw the odds and take the over. You gotta
you gotta take that. I didn't predict him for All defense. But I'm
just why not? Okay? Uh, I'm trying to think of how to
phrase this too. All right, Dan over or under thirteen point five blocks,
as Webbin Yama's single game high this season. I have to go.
Under thirteen point five is so absurd? Over over, I say fourteen?
Uh? For context, the most this century. Hassan Whiteside had twelve blocks
in a game in twenty fifteen. Javail had twelve in twenty eleven the most
blocks ever in a game. Mark Eaton had seventeen. Shack and Mi New
Bowl both had fifteen twice so like doable, that's you know what that?
This is my new take on Webbinyama. If it has been done before,
doable, I think you can do it. You're probably smart to go under
there. Okay, uh, these will be quick some yes or no slash
over unders okay. Dan. Will Victor Wenbinyama have a forty point game this
year? Yes? Will he have a fifty point game? No? Will
he have a twenty rebound game? Yes? Will he have a seventeen stock
game? So blocks plus steals no, I'll give you context on that one.
Elaja Want has a bunch of those in the twelve to seventeen range.
Draymond has a fifteen stock game. Andre Kiirlenko shout out, haven't thought about
him a long time has a bunch in the ten to thirteen range. Combined
steals and blocks U over under for Victor Wembanyama, Dan five and a half
made threes in a game. Five and a half made threes. I'm gonna
take the over nine and a half assists in a game. Over under.
I'm gonna take the over I wanted to give you. That's all my whimby
stuff specifically, But I want to give you like a will he have a
five by five? Or will he have like, uh, you know,
a quadruple double or will he have I mean, you can just opine on
all that stuff if you want to. But I feel like, say,
he's gonna get fourteen blocks in a game, I've exceeded my ridiculous Wemby statement
quota. I have a couple more things for you, But if you want
to take over, I'm ready with them. All right, I'm gonna do
in little groups of three here. Uh, all, none of the guys
I'm gonna mention have made an All Star game. You have to tell me
which one of the three is most likely to make their first All Star Game
this season? Okay, okay, so might as well start here. Uh
Victor webbin Yama, Evan Mobley, Desmond Bane, who's making their first All
Star Game this year? Victor Banyama Desmond Bane. Who's the other one?
Evan Mobley Evan Mobley? Okay, uh, and I really apologize, anybody
feel fact check me. I'm pretty sure none of these guys have made All
Star games. I did. I did this research, but you know mistakes
can be made, all right, Dan who is making his first All Star
Game this year? You can only choose one. Mckal Bridges, Jamal Murray
or Jalen Brunson Cal Bridges, Jamal Murray or Jalen Brunson Jamal Murray who's making
his first All Star game. Franz Wagner, Tyres Maxey or Paulo Bancaro.
Ooh, Tyrus Maxey. I like MAXI on that one too, all right.
Devin Vasel, Austin Reeves or Nick Claxton. Nick Claxton. Yeah,
that's a tough one. I think i'd lean Claxton. My heart wants to
say Vassel, though, all right, who's making his first All Star Game
this year? If anybody DeAndre Ayton, Scottie Barnes or Jalen Green. DeAndre
Ayton, Scotty Barnes, I'm gonna say Jalen Green. That one's like hard
in a terrible way. I'll tell you we're getting down to the maybe nobody
an option that's not even I'm definitely highest on Jalen Green immediately, but make
an All Star Game out of the West is tough, all right. I
was surprised. Okay, So I'll just give you the three who's making his
first All Star Game this year? You have to pick one Miles Turner,
Michael Porter Junior, or Tyler Hero And no. One's not an option.
None's not an option. I'm gonna say Miles Turner. I agree. I
was kind of surprised that he hadn't made one because he's like quietly been around
for a lot longer than you think. That is all I got. Okay,
So we'll wrap up with this. There's more that we have, but
let's just do dis quick exercise. Which NBA player has more seasons in which
they averaged thirty points or more per game? Michael Jordan or Wilt Chamberlain.
I'll say, Will, it's Michael Jordan eight to seven. Oh, at
least it's close, okay. Uh, Kobe Bryant or Kevin Durant. Mm
hmm, I'm gonna say Kobe, that is correct. Three to two,
Lebron James or Alan Iverson, Alan Iverson four to three? Nice one by
you? Uh? Okay, Steph Curry or Luka doncic Oh. Let's see,
I'm gonna say Steph do you have two? Yeah? Three? That
only has one right now, James Harden or Damian Lillard Harden that is correct
three to two. I thought that would be an easy one for you.
And finally George Jrt Nope, gonna have to have to throw that one out.
Sorry, yeah, okay, Oscar Robinson or Kareem Abdul Jabbar oh Oscar
played when like everybody was scoring a million points, but Kareem played a trillion
season. So I'm gonna say. I'm gonna say Robertson, that is correct
six to four. I thought that one was gonna trip you up. Six
thirty point seasons. I'll give you. I'll give you a bonus one though,
Joel Embiid or Russell Westbrook, I'm gonna say Russ Nope, Joel b
two to one, Oh yeah, second one. Okay, dang those are
hard. Grant, this was fun. Do you want to take us out
of here? Though? I agree? This was fun. Yeah. So
especially thank you everybody that offered up, everything from guests of that player that
we've done in the past to all of these hot or not. Thank you
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a shout out to Frank Nilakina and an apology to Jared Allen and rip to
Frank Nilaquina's twenty twenty three two twenty fourteen, We're all bunning, Going too soon.