1 00:00:15,759 --> 00:00:20,920 What is up, fellow thermonuclear a efforts. I am Damn Valley coming at 2 00:00:20,920 --> 00:00:24,679 you with the second mail bag and final mailbag of this week and the sixth 3 00:00:24,679 --> 00:00:28,120 podcast. Or is it the seventh of this week? It's the seventh of 4 00:00:28,600 --> 00:00:32,679 this week. Either you're welcome or I'm sorry. I don't know which one 5 00:00:32,679 --> 00:00:35,159 it is. I split this mail bag into two parts because we had so 6 00:00:35,159 --> 00:00:37,799 many great questions from discord. We will dive right in soon. Just the 7 00:00:37,920 --> 00:00:41,399 user reminder. If you're watching this on YouTube, please hit that subscribe button. 8 00:00:41,479 --> 00:00:44,280 If you're new to the channel, Like all our videos, comment help 9 00:00:44,320 --> 00:00:47,799 the algorithm love us back for a change. If you're listening to this on 10 00:00:47,840 --> 00:00:50,799 a podcast player for the first time, consider throwing us that permit subscription. 11 00:00:51,359 --> 00:00:55,200 I know we have a lot of new listeners during the off season when I'm 12 00:00:55,200 --> 00:00:57,759 not, a lot of podcasts are putting out content. It means the world 13 00:00:57,759 --> 00:01:02,200 to me that you're here, But definitely please consider staying. As we get 14 00:01:02,200 --> 00:01:03,519 into the season, there's more content coming out. I try and do the 15 00:01:03,519 --> 00:01:07,680 best job I can to be thoroughly un serious here but also thoroughly cover the 16 00:01:07,719 --> 00:01:11,079 league as well. We have a lot of fun in our discord, so 17 00:01:11,200 --> 00:01:14,640 go join that. The link is in the podcast and YouTube description. All 18 00:01:14,640 --> 00:01:18,560 our social accounts follow us there. That's in the YouTube and podcast description as 19 00:01:18,560 --> 00:01:22,120 well. The biggest thing you can do, though, is subscribe on your 20 00:01:22,120 --> 00:01:25,959 podcast player, download every episode, subscribe to us on YouTube. Help us 21 00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:27,640 get to at least I would like to get to like one hundred k subscribers 22 00:01:27,680 --> 00:01:30,319 at one point, but help us get to like two k plus before the 23 00:01:30,359 --> 00:01:34,519 season starts. We're not terribly far away from that, just a few hundred 24 00:01:34,519 --> 00:01:37,719 subscribers away there, So help us out on YouTube. And if you've done 25 00:01:37,719 --> 00:01:40,840 all those things, word of mouth still helps us. Recommend us retweet our 26 00:01:40,840 --> 00:01:44,159 promos. You could shout us out on Twitter and post a link to something 27 00:01:44,159 --> 00:01:47,200 we've done that you like, or you know a clip that you enjoyed, 28 00:01:47,239 --> 00:01:49,799 and I will retweet it and engage with you if I see it. With 29 00:01:49,920 --> 00:01:53,920 that out of the way, though, let's cannonball into this mail bag a 30 00:01:53,959 --> 00:01:56,879 lot of fun questions in this one. We begin with unbiased Pistons fan, 31 00:01:57,040 --> 00:02:00,680 which MBA player has the worst sneaker design, and which play that doesn't have 32 00:02:00,760 --> 00:02:04,560 one needs to get one? In parentheticals, Jesus Christ, please start the 33 00:02:04,640 --> 00:02:07,360 NBA season. I feel I like hate having to pick the worst one, 34 00:02:07,400 --> 00:02:12,800 but so I went through them before I did this, and I think Donovan 35 00:02:12,800 --> 00:02:15,360 Mitchell the Adidas Deo n issue, I didn't like it. It's just like 36 00:02:15,400 --> 00:02:19,280 boxy and some of the color ways were cool, but it feels like they 37 00:02:19,280 --> 00:02:23,879 should look sleeker, and it's probably because he doesn't want them to, but 38 00:02:23,919 --> 00:02:25,759 like, I prefer a like. I don't like the Lebrons. I just 39 00:02:25,840 --> 00:02:30,159 wasn't gonna pick Lebron. Those just seem like bulky as hell that I don't 40 00:02:30,199 --> 00:02:34,560 like. But the Mitchell one, Mitchell's sort of skews that way, and 41 00:02:34,599 --> 00:02:38,240 it feels like if they were lower cut or a little bit slimmer, I 42 00:02:38,280 --> 00:02:40,000 could like them. And there's just like his nickname with Spider, it feels 43 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:43,560 like there's you know, some of the designs have actually been pretty cool from 44 00:02:43,599 --> 00:02:46,240 what I was looking at in the specific color ways, but it feels like 45 00:02:46,680 --> 00:02:52,039 the sneaker itself could be so much more creative and just have a better aesthetic 46 00:02:52,120 --> 00:02:54,599 when you're when you're looking at the actual the shape of it, and maybe 47 00:02:54,639 --> 00:02:58,840 just the the heft from Afar. I'm not saying it's heavy. I've never 48 00:02:58,879 --> 00:03:02,039 held one, but not a fan of it. Uh. Which NBA player 49 00:03:02,120 --> 00:03:06,240 needs one? Luca just got one. So if anyone is just wondering why 50 00:03:06,280 --> 00:03:08,520 he's not the pick here, I think John Moran, Anthon Edwards, Tatum, 51 00:03:08,560 --> 00:03:10,840 Devin Booker, they all kind of deserve one. It seems like Devin 52 00:03:10,840 --> 00:03:15,159 Booker's content to just continue rolling with the Kobe's and some of them, like 53 00:03:15,439 --> 00:03:19,080 the shoes he wears are are pretty cool. But like either one of those 54 00:03:19,080 --> 00:03:22,240 four, I think you're the obvious picks the one I would like to see, 55 00:03:22,800 --> 00:03:24,560 just the one I would like to see because he might be the most 56 00:03:24,599 --> 00:03:29,280 stylish person in the NBA. Let's give Shay Gili Alexander a signature shoe, 57 00:03:29,479 --> 00:03:31,159 please, Like, what would that look like? Would it be like floral 58 00:03:31,240 --> 00:03:38,080 print on anything? Would be mixing like bright fluorescent pink with neon orange. 59 00:03:38,360 --> 00:03:43,639 I just I feel like it would be super badass. Let's just give Shay. 60 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:46,840 Let's give him his own signa shoe, like, maybe even just a 61 00:03:46,879 --> 00:03:49,479 lifestyle shoe. It doesn't have to be a basketball shoe. Willow, I'd 62 00:03:49,479 --> 00:03:52,360 like to see them wear of them on the court. I do, I 63 00:03:52,360 --> 00:03:54,879 guess I don't. I was about to say, could you make like a 64 00:03:54,879 --> 00:03:58,800 a weight training show? Like I was in love with the Nike met Cons 65 00:03:58,800 --> 00:04:00,719 for a while. Now I tend to work out in converses unless I'm doing 66 00:04:01,000 --> 00:04:04,800 cardio. So if someone wants to give Shay a Converse deal or something, 67 00:04:04,879 --> 00:04:10,520 and then can we make a Shay Guild justs Alexander Converse, Chuck Taylor seventy 68 00:04:10,599 --> 00:04:13,240 color or Chuck Taylor? What is it six? What are the classic Chucks? 69 00:04:13,280 --> 00:04:15,600 Is what I wear? Low cut? I want to see the Shay 70 00:04:15,680 --> 00:04:19,519 Gilds Alexander color Way color Ways pural because I will buy them. That's just 71 00:04:19,639 --> 00:04:25,000 flat out tour Gruff asked. I listened to a few hours of NBA podcasts 72 00:04:25,000 --> 00:04:28,560 a week, parentheticals, thank goodness for yours almost daily during this drive spell 73 00:04:28,600 --> 00:04:30,879 thank you, tour Gruff. But I still don't have a great hold on 74 00:04:30,959 --> 00:04:33,160 cap sheets, how contracts are structured, et cetera. How did you learn 75 00:04:33,199 --> 00:04:35,639 all this stuff? And what would you recommend to someone who wants to learn 76 00:04:35,680 --> 00:04:40,480 it. So it's different because I do enjoy it, but I had to 77 00:04:40,519 --> 00:04:44,079 learn it from my job. So I did pour over and they're by the 78 00:04:44,120 --> 00:04:46,000 way. They are people that are way way, way way better than me 79 00:04:46,079 --> 00:04:47,959 on this. I want to make that clear. I don't consider myself an 80 00:04:47,959 --> 00:04:53,360 expert. Bryan to porek Over at the NBA podcast Slash also my co worker 81 00:04:53,399 --> 00:04:58,279 at Pleacher Report fantastic with it, or Pink Pincus also co worker Pleacher Report, 82 00:04:58,360 --> 00:05:01,240 Nate Duncan and Danny LaRue are great with it as well. But I'd 83 00:05:01,279 --> 00:05:04,959 recommend you can google it if you need the link. I'm not gonna include 84 00:05:05,000 --> 00:05:10,279 it in the description just because like some of the podcast players don't actually like 85 00:05:10,319 --> 00:05:12,519 include the physical link to it, so that's not going to help you. 86 00:05:12,959 --> 00:05:16,079 But Larry Coon's CBA FAQ that does a lot, Like you can read through 87 00:05:16,120 --> 00:05:21,199 it or you can sort of you bounce around search certain terms like if you're 88 00:05:21,199 --> 00:05:26,120 looking for like bird rights, like just command F on your Mac or control 89 00:05:26,199 --> 00:05:30,920 F on your your desktop and your search bird rights and you can read up 90 00:05:30,959 --> 00:05:32,720 on on that stuff. So that really helped me a lot, And I 91 00:05:32,759 --> 00:05:36,079 still go back to it to confirm things to make sure that especially when I'm 92 00:05:36,079 --> 00:05:40,120 writing when I'm podcasting, it's a little different. You guys point out when 93 00:05:40,120 --> 00:05:42,759 I make mistakes, but it's just like this is we're all friends here. 94 00:05:42,800 --> 00:05:45,279 This is informal, but I'm not trying to get fired from Bleacher Report. 95 00:05:45,319 --> 00:05:48,160 I understand I have a very cushy gig there, so that helped a lot. 96 00:05:48,160 --> 00:05:53,120 I would also recommend like contract details if you're following guys, it helps 97 00:05:53,160 --> 00:05:57,120 a ton like Keith Smith over at spow Track and then just the Spowtrack details 98 00:05:57,160 --> 00:06:00,879 on the contracts our spectacle, you can click on a you can see the 99 00:06:00,920 --> 00:06:06,000 incentives, the scale to which they're their raises are coming in if you and 100 00:06:06,040 --> 00:06:09,480 they also have cap sheets and so if you're trying to understand like where the 101 00:06:09,480 --> 00:06:12,839 calculations are coming from with the salary cap you have to spend some time around 102 00:06:12,839 --> 00:06:15,959 build your own spreadsheets with them using that data or just looking at theirs and 103 00:06:16,079 --> 00:06:19,279 seeing it, but you can. They really do a good job breaking it 104 00:06:19,319 --> 00:06:26,240 down at spow Track, and the CBA f a Q is a really a 105 00:06:26,279 --> 00:06:30,959 really useful resource. I also will say, like if you hoops Rumors does 106 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:32,879 a good job of keeping track of the traded player exceptions if you're trying to 107 00:06:32,959 --> 00:06:36,040 understand how those work, and if you want to know how a TPE works, 108 00:06:36,079 --> 00:06:40,040 you go to Larry kuon f a Q. And now I feel like 109 00:06:40,120 --> 00:06:43,480 that's all overwhelming to kind of just throw at you. And so if you're 110 00:06:43,519 --> 00:06:46,800 a fan tour graph of a specific team, I would say the resources I've 111 00:06:46,839 --> 00:06:50,439 thrown at you, the CBA, f a Q, use there. If 112 00:06:50,480 --> 00:06:54,199 I had to say which cap sheets use, go to spowtrack and use the 113 00:06:54,199 --> 00:06:57,199 cap sheet that they have listed there. Read through it, study it, 114 00:06:57,759 --> 00:07:02,360 try to figure out what your what the actual like cap space that they have, 115 00:07:02,399 --> 00:07:08,399 Like challenge yourself for this next year to understand how much cap space will 116 00:07:08,399 --> 00:07:13,519 your Orlando Magic have projected right now twenty two, twenty two, twenty three, 117 00:07:14,079 --> 00:07:16,439 and spo track will give you that number. There are people like me 118 00:07:16,519 --> 00:07:20,680 who have like my own spreadsheets, but I'm relying on all these other people 119 00:07:20,680 --> 00:07:25,519 for information. But use that number and then kind of see how they arrive 120 00:07:25,639 --> 00:07:28,439 to it because they do a good job of breaking it down. And there 121 00:07:28,439 --> 00:07:30,319 are things like and don't be afraid to ask people if you're having a specific 122 00:07:30,319 --> 00:07:32,560 like I will try and answer as many questions as possible. I know I 123 00:07:32,680 --> 00:07:38,199 go awhile listeners sometimes not checking discord, not checking my dms, not checking 124 00:07:38,240 --> 00:07:42,319 YouTube one. There are too many social media the things that I'm honoring, 125 00:07:42,399 --> 00:07:46,279 but like I'm around to answer quickly about that. It can be like and 126 00:07:46,319 --> 00:07:48,480 sometimes you forget stuff like sometimes I forget the cake in like a minimum roster 127 00:07:48,639 --> 00:07:51,600 charge, and you have to go and find like what a minimum roster charge 128 00:07:51,639 --> 00:07:55,920 is going to be projected that season real GM. If you search real GM 129 00:07:55,959 --> 00:07:59,120 salary cap, one of the first links that come up will be the projected 130 00:07:59,160 --> 00:08:05,279 salary caps, the mid level exception, the h like the minimum contracts for 131 00:08:05,399 --> 00:08:11,600 players, then minimid level exception, the luxury tax that like you know, 132 00:08:11,680 --> 00:08:13,480 so what the hard cap is going to be? That stuff is great too, 133 00:08:13,560 --> 00:08:18,439 And I think all the terminology that I'm throwing out there, the biggest 134 00:08:18,439 --> 00:08:22,480 one I would say is the CBA FAQ because if you're hearing hardcap, if 135 00:08:22,480 --> 00:08:26,480 you're hearing mid level exception, and you need to understand why a team is 136 00:08:26,560 --> 00:08:31,679 using that or can't use it like CBA f a Q, search for those 137 00:08:31,759 --> 00:08:35,000 terms and they'll come up. And that's how I really did teach myself. 138 00:08:35,039 --> 00:08:39,279 And then read like the people or listen to the people that I talked about, 139 00:08:39,600 --> 00:08:41,960 because a lot of them are writing. Danny LaRue at the Athletic If 140 00:08:41,960 --> 00:08:43,960 you have an athletic suscription will do a lot of cat breakdowns all the time. 141 00:08:43,960 --> 00:08:46,519 They do it on their podcast as well and dunked on all the time. 142 00:08:46,519 --> 00:08:50,159 Brian to Porrek writes that you can get it free on Forbes. He's 143 00:08:50,159 --> 00:08:52,840 always writing cap breakdowns. Really go read. Brian to Porrek is actually one 144 00:08:52,879 --> 00:08:56,360 of the best round at doing this right now, just because it's not behind 145 00:08:56,360 --> 00:08:58,960 a paywall. Go check out. He's really doing it a lot with the 146 00:08:58,000 --> 00:09:01,840 Sixers go back. I can read some of his stuff about how the Sixers 147 00:09:01,840 --> 00:09:05,159 were able to afford PJ. Tucker while resigning James Harden like he had that 148 00:09:05,240 --> 00:09:09,360 mapped out before it actually happened, So that would be a recommendation too. 149 00:09:09,639 --> 00:09:13,240 If this was too rambly for you, hit me on the side. But 150 00:09:13,279 --> 00:09:16,919 that's how I learned the at least the base of knowledge that I have, 151 00:09:18,000 --> 00:09:22,279 and I'm still learning with it still forgetting things, and it's I'm since I 152 00:09:22,279 --> 00:09:26,559 do enjoy transactions and the theoretical or at least looking forward. It is something 153 00:09:26,600 --> 00:09:28,480 that like, if you enjoy it, I think it makes it easier. 154 00:09:30,000 --> 00:09:31,720 But I can understand why, like throwing terminology. When I listened to like 155 00:09:33,000 --> 00:09:35,360 Yo, some of the things that they say, like dunker Spot what a 156 00:09:35,360 --> 00:09:37,120 fantastic podcast. Like some of the stuff they throw out there when we're talking 157 00:09:37,120 --> 00:09:41,639 about XS and ohs, I have to look up or rewind it and try 158 00:09:41,720 --> 00:09:45,320 and understand what they were saying. It's like when I'm watching Playbreakdown from Kaitlyn 159 00:09:45,399 --> 00:09:48,000 Cooper writing spectacular. Thank God she's such a good writer, so I can 160 00:09:48,080 --> 00:09:50,320 understand what's happening, But like I have to watch the clips she's showing a 161 00:09:50,360 --> 00:09:54,639 lot of the time to see what's happening and understand that that's that's how you 162 00:09:54,720 --> 00:09:58,919 learn. And sometimes it's just that stuff still makes me shaky, but that's 163 00:10:00,039 --> 00:10:01,879 how you go about it, in my humble opinion. I don't know if 164 00:10:01,879 --> 00:10:05,440 any of that sounded humble though, So if I came off like a like 165 00:10:05,440 --> 00:10:09,279 an ass hat, my apologies. Saint Underscore, Dally Space jam Lebron is 166 00:10:09,320 --> 00:10:13,879 in a new video game Brawler with a lot of under other Warner Brothers characters. 167 00:10:13,120 --> 00:10:16,519 If you were creating an NBA fighting video game, which players would you 168 00:10:16,559 --> 00:10:22,279 need on the day one game roster? So I wanted to limit myself. 169 00:10:22,320 --> 00:10:24,759 I went with current players. We had some in the discord. There are 170 00:10:24,759 --> 00:10:28,480 people who like named the Malice of the Palace players and ron our test was 171 00:10:28,519 --> 00:10:33,840 in there. So I went with current players and I built what my starting 172 00:10:33,879 --> 00:10:35,879 five would be. And I don't give a shit about position, like I 173 00:10:35,919 --> 00:10:39,559 just want I want to win in this fight. These are the five that 174 00:10:39,639 --> 00:10:43,799 I settled on. Jannis, Kyle Lowry, and come on, anyone, 175 00:10:43,840 --> 00:10:46,399 I love Kyle Lowry, even if you don't love Kyle Lowry. The dude 176 00:10:46,480 --> 00:10:48,399 is tough and he will he will scrap and claw and play dirty if he 177 00:10:48,399 --> 00:10:52,480 needs to. PJ. Tucker, I don't ever want to fight PJ. 178 00:10:52,639 --> 00:10:56,559 Tucker. Steven Adams, that might be the toughest guy in the NBA. 179 00:10:56,639 --> 00:10:58,759 He's leaned down a bit, but like there was a point where you could 180 00:10:58,759 --> 00:11:01,559 do just like pull ups on his SEPs, and then there's Zion Williamson. 181 00:11:01,840 --> 00:11:03,960 You could actually do pull ups on his biceps. I don't know that Zion 182 00:11:05,080 --> 00:11:09,600 has this reputation is being tough. He is built like a brick walls brick 183 00:11:09,639 --> 00:11:13,279 wall. Even if you think he's out of shape, which I don't like. 184 00:11:13,399 --> 00:11:16,759 I'm sure that's been a battle behind the scenes, but like we've seen 185 00:11:16,759 --> 00:11:18,919 what Zion kind of looks like in shape, and that dude is just like 186 00:11:20,480 --> 00:11:26,200 a fucking marble statue that is somehow mass and like peek Zion like and the 187 00:11:26,240 --> 00:11:28,799 explosion. If you think that Zion doesn't cut it, I could see like 188 00:11:28,840 --> 00:11:31,039 a Jay Crowder in here. But my five would be Zion, Jannie, 189 00:11:31,320 --> 00:11:35,559 Kyle Lowry, Stephen Adams, PJ Tucker. What would yours be? Let 190 00:11:35,600 --> 00:11:39,919 me know, Discord, Twitter, whatever, YouTube comments. That was a 191 00:11:39,960 --> 00:11:46,039 fun one and I'm really liking my non negotiable inclusions. I think Johanna, 192 00:11:46,080 --> 00:11:48,480 Steven Adams, and PJ Tucker is like, you might be able to talk 193 00:11:48,480 --> 00:11:50,679 me into some others other than Zion or Kyle Lowry, but like I'm gonna 194 00:11:50,679 --> 00:11:52,799 need Zion, Steven Adams, and PJ Tucker in this. And no, 195 00:11:52,919 --> 00:11:56,879 I don't want fucking Patrick Beverley on my team, no, no, thank 196 00:11:56,919 --> 00:12:00,879 you in this. Tieball Defensive Player of the Year is Hardened. Status is 197 00:12:00,919 --> 00:12:05,679 a former in parenthetical superstar hurting and beads MVP chances, assuming this season he 198 00:12:05,679 --> 00:12:09,080 can adequately replicate his success in Brooklyn. He then said, I'm very interested 199 00:12:09,120 --> 00:12:11,840 to see what you hear, what you have to say about this, given 200 00:12:11,840 --> 00:12:16,039 what you said on the last podcast when he gave out the six ers grades 201 00:12:16,240 --> 00:12:20,519 spoiler alert, I gave them an A and so to grant here's my thing. 202 00:12:20,799 --> 00:12:24,919 If Harden is actually worse, I think it only helps Joel Embiad's MVP 203 00:12:24,080 --> 00:12:28,200 chances because he's gonna be viewed as someone who doesn't have to carry Harden, 204 00:12:28,360 --> 00:12:31,279 but uplift the roster more than you would expect with another star. And I 205 00:12:31,320 --> 00:12:35,799 do think there's the issue of cannibalization when we get here where it's just like 206 00:12:35,840 --> 00:12:39,519 it's harder for you know, when Golden State. Right now, it's not 207 00:12:39,559 --> 00:12:41,960 harder for Staff to be in the MVP discussion because he's no longer playing with 208 00:12:43,039 --> 00:12:46,039 Kevin Durant Lucas on his own. But like if you're Kevin duran and Kyrie 209 00:12:46,080 --> 00:12:48,840 Irving playing a full season together, if you're Kawhi Leonard and Paul George Lebron 210 00:12:48,919 --> 00:12:56,080 James Zanthy Davis, separating yourself gets harder. Jannis is different because the two 211 00:12:56,080 --> 00:12:58,480 stars below him are just not on the same plane. And so when you're 212 00:12:58,480 --> 00:13:01,799 dealing with stars that are equals or at least like, let's just say two 213 00:13:01,879 --> 00:13:05,799 top twenty players, which I think at some point Drew Holliday and Chris Milton 214 00:13:07,399 --> 00:13:09,279 I don't know if it was at the same time, I probably might have 215 00:13:09,279 --> 00:13:11,879 both had them in that area. But they're not consensus. When you're talking 216 00:13:11,919 --> 00:13:16,840 about Paul George and Kawai Kyrie and KD like at their peaks, they're all 217 00:13:16,840 --> 00:13:20,759 consensus Top twenty, lebron A d consensus top ten, although I don't know 218 00:13:20,799 --> 00:13:22,639 if AD's a top ten player anymore. Talk about some tough questions to ask. 219 00:13:24,159 --> 00:13:28,240 So, but do I think like the fact that Harden I still think 220 00:13:28,320 --> 00:13:31,639 is going to be really good and just looking at some of the moments of 221 00:13:31,679 --> 00:13:33,480 births he had, I known it wasn't constant in Philly. Let's give the 222 00:13:33,559 --> 00:13:37,720 dude an off season where he's not changing teams, where he's actually happy with 223 00:13:37,720 --> 00:13:41,200 his situation. He's with Darryl Moorey again, has PJ. Tucker, Daniel 224 00:13:41,240 --> 00:13:43,600 House there. He seems to like playing with Joel Embiid. His workload is 225 00:13:43,679 --> 00:13:48,159 just it's ardably lighter than it's ever been now too, because you have Embiid 226 00:13:48,240 --> 00:13:52,320 and like you went from Houston, where yeah, like Chris Paul I think 227 00:13:52,440 --> 00:13:54,440 was most helpful to him and he adapted his game a lot for Russ. 228 00:13:54,440 --> 00:13:58,200 But then you go to like he were still the guy, and you still 229 00:13:58,200 --> 00:14:01,759 had this absurdly high usage rate and we're tasked with doing so much, and 230 00:14:01,799 --> 00:14:05,559 we know that Chris Paul, you know, was injured at the twenty eighteen 231 00:14:05,559 --> 00:14:09,279 playoff run. I think it was like or just had like the hamstring stuff 232 00:14:09,559 --> 00:14:11,200 going around for them, and then Russ was just imperfect for a huge part 233 00:14:11,200 --> 00:14:13,159 of the season. They had a change the makeup of the roster. You 234 00:14:13,200 --> 00:14:18,559 go to Brooklyn where like injuries playing you during that three quarter season whatever, 235 00:14:18,559 --> 00:14:22,559 you're there, you yourself, but then just also Kyrie and kd as well, 236 00:14:22,600 --> 00:14:24,399 You're banged up this past season. Kyrie is not available, Kevin Durant 237 00:14:24,639 --> 00:14:28,240 gets banged up. You seem like you were visually banged up, Slash, 238 00:14:28,240 --> 00:14:31,679 you quit on a team. So now let's put you in Philly. Yes, 239 00:14:31,759 --> 00:14:35,039 Joel embiid if he spotty health as well, but like, if you're 240 00:14:35,159 --> 00:14:39,639 healthier and this is like the spot that you now actually want to be in, 241 00:14:41,679 --> 00:14:43,200 he might be the best player on the team. Like that's not I 242 00:14:43,240 --> 00:14:48,240 just want to make it clear, like I think that the conversation about Harden 243 00:14:48,279 --> 00:14:50,720 being this former superstar has gone too far off the rails. If he's really 244 00:14:50,720 --> 00:14:54,200 not. Your reports are that he's in great shape. Yeah, it's all 245 00:14:54,200 --> 00:14:56,480 this off season shot shit, you know, game ten pounds of muscle but 246 00:14:56,559 --> 00:15:01,399 still single digit body fat, had the perfect offseas season. If he's still 247 00:15:01,440 --> 00:15:03,039 like not taking care of his body now that he's on the wrong side of 248 00:15:03,080 --> 00:15:07,039 thirty, yeah, I get the concern, but like this, this isn't 249 00:15:07,080 --> 00:15:11,200 someone who went from an MVP candidate when he was with Brooklyn that first season, 250 00:15:11,240 --> 00:15:13,720 Like when he finished that season, he kind of worked himself into the 251 00:15:13,720 --> 00:15:18,039 outskirts of that conversation that like these drop offs, they're not that steep when 252 00:15:18,039 --> 00:15:22,639 there's no like real underlying cause at like a serious injury and if his hamstring 253 00:15:22,720 --> 00:15:28,759 is just fucked Okay, but I really think I would bet on Harden winning 254 00:15:28,840 --> 00:15:33,799 MVP before and bat this season, and mostly because the odds plus seven thousand, 255 00:15:33,120 --> 00:15:37,759 Like that's that's something I think. I'm not don't take this advice, 256 00:15:37,799 --> 00:15:39,360 but like you invest in that and then you sell back to the sports book 257 00:15:39,360 --> 00:15:43,720 because they're worried about that hitting and you take a smaller profit. That's That's 258 00:15:43,720 --> 00:15:48,799 where I'm at with that. So I I I but if to the point 259 00:15:48,799 --> 00:15:52,639 of this question, assuming Harden is what he was in Brooklyn that first season 260 00:15:52,879 --> 00:15:56,320 he was there. Yes, it's harder for Joel and b to win MVP 261 00:15:56,399 --> 00:16:00,399 because I do think that there's there's overlap and vote and we've seen it with 262 00:16:00,480 --> 00:16:03,080 Yokich and this look, this is part of why Yokich was my MVP. 263 00:16:03,480 --> 00:16:10,399 Like I view, uplifting a roster that doesn't have a star a fellow star 264 00:16:10,519 --> 00:16:14,799 with you to being a fringe contender is actually harder than uplifting a team with 265 00:16:14,919 --> 00:16:18,159 another top five, top ten NBA player UH to contender status. Now, 266 00:16:18,519 --> 00:16:23,159 maybe some people disagree, and depending on the season that Joel Bead is having 267 00:16:23,320 --> 00:16:27,080 or vice versa, that could change. But if Harden is the player that 268 00:16:27,120 --> 00:16:30,840 he was when he closed but when he was healthy in Brooklyn, not this 269 00:16:30,840 --> 00:16:36,559 past season, but twenty one, it's Harden who's going to be more in 270 00:16:36,600 --> 00:16:38,879 the MVP conversation than in my opinion, and I think a lot of that's 271 00:16:38,879 --> 00:16:44,080 just gonna have to be with the agency, the control that Harden has over 272 00:16:44,120 --> 00:16:48,879 the offense in those situations where yeah, there they'll be like you'll run the 273 00:16:48,879 --> 00:16:52,000 offense through both of them and you'll stagger their minutes some. But he's going 274 00:16:52,080 --> 00:16:55,039 to be the one that I think is like I'm not thinking like we just 275 00:16:55,120 --> 00:16:56,840 know the ball is gonna be in his hands first. When you're getting into 276 00:16:56,840 --> 00:17:00,480 crunch time, maybe you still run stuff through and bead. And again we 277 00:17:00,519 --> 00:17:03,319 saw Harden I think adapt more than people will credit him for when he had 278 00:17:03,359 --> 00:17:06,839 Russ with the Rockets. Like, He's still going to be the go to 279 00:17:06,920 --> 00:17:08,839 option unless he's completely cooked. And so if you're telling me that James Harden 280 00:17:10,319 --> 00:17:12,720 is still a superstar, the superstar that he was when Brooklyn first got him, 281 00:17:14,400 --> 00:17:18,920 then yes, I think it definitely hurts Joe Embiad's MVP chances with without 282 00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:22,160 question. And look, that was part of the appeal for embed the past 283 00:17:22,200 --> 00:17:25,240 two years. It's just yeah, the Sixers we were really good, but 284 00:17:25,319 --> 00:17:27,279 last season it was because Ben Simmons wasn't there and Tyrius Maxi was your second 285 00:17:27,319 --> 00:17:32,240 best player. And then just even with UH, you know in twenty twenty 286 00:17:32,279 --> 00:17:36,759 twenty one, Jimmy Butler had left UH, like Ben Simmons was. He 287 00:17:36,799 --> 00:17:38,799 had like some really good moments through that that stretch of the year. But 288 00:17:40,599 --> 00:17:44,079 you know, Joe, well Embiad was the he had to lead this like 289 00:17:44,119 --> 00:17:48,160 heliocentric existence and for the most part, and just the fact that he did 290 00:17:48,200 --> 00:17:52,880 more and there weren't limitations ascribed to his game, and he didn't have a 291 00:17:52,920 --> 00:17:59,400 teammate who was in the same vein where his second best teammate was considered flawed 292 00:17:59,400 --> 00:18:00,920 in Ben Simmons, Like, that's gonna help you too. And so I'm 293 00:18:00,960 --> 00:18:06,960 trying to think of like another example where like it would be like Trey Young, 294 00:18:07,640 --> 00:18:10,440 like it was kind of on that like, because the gap between Trey 295 00:18:10,480 --> 00:18:12,680 Young and John Collins is probably about the same between Joel and Bead and Ben 296 00:18:12,720 --> 00:18:17,160 Simmons we're talking about this season. Maybe that's a maybe that's a terrible example, 297 00:18:17,640 --> 00:18:19,759 but you're not close to when it's not like a co equal. But 298 00:18:21,240 --> 00:18:23,440 yo, Devin Booker and Chris Paul and Phoenix, and there's also I think 299 00:18:23,480 --> 00:18:26,400 a certain caliber of player you need to be that voters are just gonna a 300 00:18:26,440 --> 00:18:32,680 shoe. But that's a different story altogether. So I would argue I'm investing 301 00:18:32,720 --> 00:18:34,640 in Harden's MVP odds because I'm probably I'm a risk taker at this stuff. 302 00:18:34,640 --> 00:18:38,480 I don't I consider myself risk averse in life, although I am doing something 303 00:18:38,480 --> 00:18:42,799 at the moment that is probably just actually fucking stupid. But that's a delirious 304 00:18:42,880 --> 00:18:48,200 right now, please just ignore that. So so I'm risk averse in general 305 00:18:48,319 --> 00:18:51,200 in life, but like when it comes to this stuff, I'm starting to 306 00:18:51,200 --> 00:18:53,160 trust my instincts a little bit more, take more chances when I'm making predictions. 307 00:18:53,160 --> 00:18:56,720 If I actually believe, I'm not going to just uh, you know, 308 00:18:56,359 --> 00:19:00,960 subscribe to group think or the general consensus if I really don't believe it. 309 00:19:00,319 --> 00:19:03,079 I just feel like this could be a bounce back here for Harden because 310 00:19:03,119 --> 00:19:07,319 of how far perception is shifted, and that almost helps him MVP chances because 311 00:19:07,319 --> 00:19:12,240 the baseline or his floor has been set so low and we're just assuming not 312 00:19:12,319 --> 00:19:17,279 we but people are just assuming he's hit that floor. So but to answer 313 00:19:17,319 --> 00:19:19,319 your question, tyble dpo y, I know that I went on this long 314 00:19:19,440 --> 00:19:23,720 rant. I do think that hardened status if he's actually, you know, 315 00:19:25,240 --> 00:19:27,640 worse than he was during that time in Brooklyn. Like if he is not 316 00:19:27,680 --> 00:19:30,359 the best, if I beat is the best player on the sixers by a 317 00:19:30,400 --> 00:19:34,279 minor margin, it's a problem for his MVP chances. If the gap is 318 00:19:34,319 --> 00:19:38,119 actually wider like it was yeah for most of James Harden's time in Philly this 319 00:19:38,160 --> 00:19:41,319 past year. If that's the Harden you get all season, and bead is 320 00:19:41,319 --> 00:19:44,920 going to be right in the fick of the MVP discussion. But if Harden 321 00:19:45,000 --> 00:19:47,519 is what he was with the Nets, I would just argue, not only 322 00:19:47,559 --> 00:19:52,079 does it hurt jaw Mban's MVP case, but Harden might have a stronger one 323 00:19:52,160 --> 00:19:56,000 than him at that point. Lance, Roberson, And this is a question 324 00:19:56,000 --> 00:19:57,160 I did not get to on one of the last mail bags. I forgot 325 00:19:57,200 --> 00:20:00,200 about it, but I remembered here, So I do hope you're list nang, 326 00:20:00,319 --> 00:20:03,799 Lance, who is the most likely team to disappoint expectations this season? 327 00:20:03,319 --> 00:20:07,559 I think my initial inclination was to go with Dallas or Chicago, but I 328 00:20:07,599 --> 00:20:11,559 don't know that expectations are high enough for that. I do still kind of 329 00:20:11,640 --> 00:20:14,920 lean towards Dallas because they have Luca, and teams are just gonna People will 330 00:20:14,960 --> 00:20:18,039 tend to think, oh, top five seven player or whatever he is, 331 00:20:18,039 --> 00:20:19,440 like, he'll they'll navigate out of it. They just you know, they 332 00:20:19,480 --> 00:20:22,599 got to the conference finals, and you know Jalen Brunson isn't the superstar, 333 00:20:22,640 --> 00:20:27,759 so whatever fair So I'll throw them in there. If the expectations are still 334 00:20:27,759 --> 00:20:30,960 that high, but I do think that the consensus is still sort of low 335 00:20:32,440 --> 00:20:36,079 on them. I think it's gonna be the Grizzlies just if you're I don't 336 00:20:36,079 --> 00:20:38,200 want to call them the Hawks, that team that made it to the conference 337 00:20:38,240 --> 00:20:41,759 finals and then fell off a cliff this past year. I think they're better, 338 00:20:41,880 --> 00:20:44,480 more sustainable than that. But you just had the second best record in 339 00:20:44,480 --> 00:20:47,759 the league. And if you're expecting them to replicate that type of success, 340 00:20:48,039 --> 00:20:51,559 if the West is healthier and by extension deeper, and you're dealing with this 341 00:20:51,640 --> 00:20:56,920 Jaron Jackson junior injury, and you're now relying on your internal development even more 342 00:20:56,119 --> 00:21:00,200 because it's not just oh, we have John Randt, Desmond Bane and Aaron 343 00:21:00,319 --> 00:21:03,000 Jackson Jr. You're at a point where like you need David Roddy, Jake 344 00:21:03,079 --> 00:21:07,079 la Ravia, Brandon Clark because I You're Williams like two of those guys to 345 00:21:07,079 --> 00:21:10,599 play pivotal roles. And that just gets a little a little iffy. And 346 00:21:10,599 --> 00:21:12,839 so that's my pick. I've been pretty upfront about that for a majority of 347 00:21:12,839 --> 00:21:15,359 the off season. I'm prepared to be wrong because I've been wrong about the 348 00:21:15,359 --> 00:21:18,279 Grizzlies for three years running, and I just hope Grizzlies fans don't take it 349 00:21:18,319 --> 00:21:26,759 as an insult. Jaws fantastic. I saw on Twitter someone said that Jaren 350 00:21:26,880 --> 00:21:30,079 Jackson Junior is just like Miles Turner with a different green light or something. 351 00:21:30,079 --> 00:21:33,279 I just think he's better than that when you look at what he can do 352 00:21:33,720 --> 00:21:37,079 offensively. So I remain high on the Grizzlies long term, and they could 353 00:21:37,079 --> 00:21:41,240 be just as good as they were last season technically, but the wind total 354 00:21:41,319 --> 00:21:45,599 might be significantly lower. Haitian Mamba DM me and asked, Hi, my 355 00:21:45,640 --> 00:21:48,519 friend Hope Paul as well mail bad question. I'm sure if you're familiar with 356 00:21:48,519 --> 00:21:52,559 the w NBA playoff format, but their first round is the best of three, 357 00:21:52,799 --> 00:21:55,319 with the higher seed getting first two games at home and if necessarily, 358 00:21:55,319 --> 00:21:56,759 the last on the road. I am familiar with that, thank you, 359 00:21:56,799 --> 00:22:00,240 though I kind of love that format. Could the NBA one go back to 360 00:22:00,440 --> 00:22:03,160 Round one best of five and two? Could they adopt a format like the 361 00:22:03,240 --> 00:22:07,759 w NBA's first round to make the first round very exciting and give lower season 362 00:22:07,759 --> 00:22:11,880 more of a chance of upset? So I let's answer the second question first. 363 00:22:11,000 --> 00:22:12,920 I don't think I think the NBA is ever going to do best of 364 00:22:14,039 --> 00:22:18,480 three in the first round. They might sort of you know, elongate or 365 00:22:18,519 --> 00:22:22,119 extend the play in to make it that route, and that's almost what it 366 00:22:22,200 --> 00:22:25,200 is for certain teams, Like there's one you win one and you're in, 367 00:22:25,279 --> 00:22:29,039 and then other teams have to win two, so like two in a row 368 00:22:29,119 --> 00:22:32,160 to get in. But maybe they adopt a different format for the play in. 369 00:22:32,200 --> 00:22:34,920 I don't think that'll ever be the first round. I love the WNBA 370 00:22:36,039 --> 00:22:41,880 having the best of three first round because it bakes in that opportunity for randomness, 371 00:22:41,079 --> 00:22:45,240 which I think, and upsets, which is great. The NBA dropping 372 00:22:45,240 --> 00:22:48,200 down that low like best of five, I would love to see it just 373 00:22:48,279 --> 00:22:52,039 because it increases the likelihood that you get the upsets in the first round. 374 00:22:52,039 --> 00:22:56,680 But I think the NBA likes the idea of the best teams being able to 375 00:22:56,680 --> 00:23:00,559 win the title. But I do think that if you're that much better than 376 00:23:00,599 --> 00:23:03,519 a team, you should still be able to beat them three and five rather 377 00:23:03,559 --> 00:23:07,079 than four of seven. But I would love the first round to go back 378 00:23:07,119 --> 00:23:10,559 to to best of five. I don't see them doing it to cutting the 379 00:23:10,599 --> 00:23:14,440 gate revenue. And like I said, they or at least publicly they'll say 380 00:23:14,480 --> 00:23:15,960 like, oh, well this, you know, it makes it harder. 381 00:23:15,960 --> 00:23:18,519 We want the best teams after the BOT. They want the regular season to 382 00:23:18,559 --> 00:23:22,000 matter, and it matters just a little bit less if it's all of a 383 00:23:22,039 --> 00:23:25,359 sudden best of five in the first round. But from a chaotic perspective, 384 00:23:25,440 --> 00:23:27,000 hell fucking yeah, I give me best of five. I will say what 385 00:23:27,119 --> 00:23:30,240 I don't like about the w MBA format, and I'm sure it's done to 386 00:23:30,240 --> 00:23:33,519 cut down on travel costs. I don't like two one. I like one 387 00:23:33,640 --> 00:23:41,480 one one because not having the like the higher seed have that like final home 388 00:23:41,519 --> 00:23:45,160 game, have home court advantage in that I would go one one one to 389 00:23:45,240 --> 00:23:48,920 do that. But I do I do enjoy that format. Next question comes 390 00:23:49,160 --> 00:23:53,200 from I'm gonna say this one for last sauce. It's just a fun light 391 00:23:53,240 --> 00:23:59,240 one. This next question comes from I don't know why I don't have the 392 00:23:59,359 --> 00:24:03,799 name. Oh. This question comes from b J. Dunster aka Anthony. 393 00:24:03,839 --> 00:24:06,799 So it comes from Anthony. Excuse me for stumbling through that. Who were 394 00:24:06,839 --> 00:24:08,519 some guys you think are most positioned to make or break their teams the season 395 00:24:08,599 --> 00:24:11,200 this year? I'm thinking teams who either probably or definitely will be in the 396 00:24:11,200 --> 00:24:15,559 playoffs. Mix. He then sent me a thread of his thoughts, and 397 00:24:15,559 --> 00:24:18,640 we do have some overlap here. I did frame it like this, I'm 398 00:24:18,680 --> 00:24:22,039 looking at it, and I included health, and I'm gonna just rip through 399 00:24:22,079 --> 00:24:26,319 some of the easier ones quickly. But players that are the difference between their 400 00:24:26,359 --> 00:24:30,400 team maybe being title contenders and just not being completely out of it, and 401 00:24:30,799 --> 00:24:33,680 like the actual they have more question marks than if they do have if they 402 00:24:33,680 --> 00:24:37,319 do have other players on their teams where you could say, oh what if 403 00:24:37,599 --> 00:24:40,440 I like, I don't have Lebron ray D on this because it's what if 404 00:24:40,519 --> 00:24:45,400 Lebron ray D gets injured. I'm thinking about like less known quantities if they're 405 00:24:45,440 --> 00:24:49,359 healthy, and also like they are the bigger uncertainty on their team. So 406 00:24:49,519 --> 00:24:52,799 we'll start off with this. I have Kawai with the Clippers just because he 407 00:24:52,839 --> 00:24:56,279 missed so much time. I'm gonna have him instead of Paul George, even 408 00:24:56,279 --> 00:24:59,000 though Paul George missed a bunch of time. But if you have Kawai being 409 00:24:59,079 --> 00:25:02,839 Kawai of elable for the playoffs, you're a title contender. If you don't, 410 00:25:03,119 --> 00:25:04,359 you might be a title favorite. If you don't, you might not 411 00:25:04,400 --> 00:25:07,960 even be a playoff team. I think they'd still be a playoff team, 412 00:25:07,000 --> 00:25:10,920 but you need him. I've Michael Porter Junior with the Nuggets, and I'm 413 00:25:10,920 --> 00:25:12,640 hesitant about this because I don't think they need him to be a contender, 414 00:25:12,759 --> 00:25:17,839 but I do think if he's healthy and playing like up to what he was 415 00:25:17,880 --> 00:25:22,640 in twenty twenty one, we're talking about a title favorite, a juggernaut here, 416 00:25:22,880 --> 00:25:26,319 and I'm assuming like you could go MPJA or Jamal Murray here. I 417 00:25:26,359 --> 00:25:29,799 think the Nuggets need at least one of them to pick up where they left 418 00:25:29,799 --> 00:25:33,799 off to be in that upper echelon of contention discussion, which isn't the spicy 419 00:25:33,880 --> 00:25:36,440 take, and so I'm going with MPJA. I think I'm not really worried 420 00:25:36,440 --> 00:25:38,759 about Murray. It's just mpj's back stuff. It's been dogging him his entire 421 00:25:38,799 --> 00:25:44,039 career from before he got to the NBA. If he's going to be fine 422 00:25:44,160 --> 00:25:47,319 and he's going to be the one that continues to progress, the Nuggets all 423 00:25:47,319 --> 00:25:52,119 of a sudden go from like interesting QT contender, Dan's title pick, but 424 00:25:52,200 --> 00:25:56,000 people think he's an idiot too. Oh, they might be among the top 425 00:25:56,039 --> 00:26:00,599 three title favorites. I have James Harden with the Sixers as well. We 426 00:26:00,680 --> 00:26:04,839 already went through that just perception of him seems to have just devolved so much, 427 00:26:04,880 --> 00:26:08,000 so appreciably over the course of the past year. If he is James 428 00:26:08,000 --> 00:26:11,640 Harden like he was in that first season in Brooklyn, what he was or 429 00:26:11,680 --> 00:26:15,119 most at that time and that season in Brooklyn, like we're like, the 430 00:26:15,119 --> 00:26:18,880 Sixers need to be put in Tier one of contenders in the East, like 431 00:26:18,920 --> 00:26:21,920 we have Boston and Milwaukee and then everyone else. I think rightfully so right 432 00:26:21,960 --> 00:26:25,640 now, like the Sixers would belong in there even more so than to eat 433 00:26:25,680 --> 00:26:29,880 more so than the Raptors. For me, I have Ben Simmons with the 434 00:26:29,960 --> 00:26:33,119 Nets at this point because if they're gonna keep Kyrie and Kad and that's like 435 00:26:33,160 --> 00:26:36,319 I don't want to pick anyone for the Nets, and you could say Katie's 436 00:26:36,359 --> 00:26:38,440 health, but Ben Simmons, if he's healthy, he just brings a whole 437 00:26:38,440 --> 00:26:42,240 new dimension to their defense, and they have enough shooting to make that roster 438 00:26:42,319 --> 00:26:48,680 interesting, even if I don't love the idea of Simmons on offense there because 439 00:26:48,680 --> 00:26:49,920 if you're putting the ball in his hands, you're taking out of Kadi or 440 00:26:49,960 --> 00:26:55,759 Kyrie's which they're capable of working through. But that's not something you want to 441 00:26:55,759 --> 00:26:57,799 do too heavy handedly. You need Ben Simmons to do more off the ball. 442 00:26:57,839 --> 00:27:00,720 I would say most likely as screener, which we just haven't seen too 443 00:27:00,799 --> 00:27:03,960 much of it his career, so there's that element to that. But just 444 00:27:03,240 --> 00:27:07,720 if he's healthy, that team could be like their outcome is winning a title, 445 00:27:07,720 --> 00:27:10,839 but it could also be playing. They're more likely to be in that 446 00:27:11,000 --> 00:27:14,319 upper echelon of team though, if his back is holding up. And then 447 00:27:14,359 --> 00:27:18,799 these last two are the most interesting to me. I'm Zion with the Pelicans, 448 00:27:18,839 --> 00:27:21,480 which I guess is kind of duh, and the Pelicans might make the 449 00:27:21,480 --> 00:27:23,079 playoffs if he's not good, if he doesn't make progress, if he's not 450 00:27:23,119 --> 00:27:30,480 healthy, Zion was an All NBA caliber player last time he was healthy in 451 00:27:30,480 --> 00:27:33,960 twenty twenty one. If he's getting better because he's still so young, maybe 452 00:27:33,000 --> 00:27:37,119 craftier with the ball in his hands, Maybe he's hitting some set threes this 453 00:27:37,200 --> 00:27:40,400 year. Maybe his off ball attention on defense, like to detail, is 454 00:27:40,440 --> 00:27:42,680 just so much better. Like the Pelicans. You know, the way we're 455 00:27:42,720 --> 00:27:47,119 talking about the Timberwolves, you better start talking about the Pelicans there as well 456 00:27:47,160 --> 00:27:51,240 too. And then Anthony Edwards with the Timberwolves. Just I think the key 457 00:27:51,319 --> 00:27:55,359 to that team because I do believe we know what Karl Anthony Towns is going 458 00:27:55,400 --> 00:27:56,880 to be on offense, no matter what. We know what Rudy Gobert is 459 00:27:56,920 --> 00:28:00,759 going to be on offense and defense no matter what, we sort of know 460 00:28:00,839 --> 00:28:06,200 what we what Anty Edwards is or can be. Is he that guy yet 461 00:28:06,319 --> 00:28:07,960 because we're talking about him the vein of this might be the all NBA leap. 462 00:28:08,119 --> 00:28:11,960 Is he going to I don't want to say, remain on schedule, 463 00:28:11,119 --> 00:28:15,519 but is he going to continue progressing as much as he did last season where 464 00:28:15,519 --> 00:28:18,319 he became his defensive disruptor and if he makes a step up there, maybe 465 00:28:18,400 --> 00:28:22,440 improves his sort of passing guys open rather than just reacting, but you know, 466 00:28:22,480 --> 00:28:26,079 being proactive and anticipating more as a playmaker. And I'd argue they need 467 00:28:26,160 --> 00:28:30,000 him to do that unless you just think de Loo and Jalen Noel and Britt 468 00:28:30,000 --> 00:28:33,839 Forbes are the secondary answers there. But he can elevate the Wolves like he 469 00:28:34,240 --> 00:28:38,359 to me is actually we can talk about the dual big and how that's gonna 470 00:28:38,359 --> 00:28:41,200 I think playoff defense is what you're most concerned there. I think it'll be 471 00:28:41,200 --> 00:28:45,160 fine and offense like that matters. But the actual key to the Timberwolves hitting 472 00:28:45,200 --> 00:28:51,119 their ceiling. I think a successful Townsend Gobet give you an incredibly a fairly 473 00:28:51,200 --> 00:28:55,359 high ceiling and incredibly high floor. Anty Edwards is the one who will set 474 00:28:55,839 --> 00:28:59,279 what your actual highest ceiling is. And so those are the players I have 475 00:28:59,319 --> 00:29:02,160 his answer this question. Zion with the Pels, Harden with the Sixers, 476 00:29:02,400 --> 00:29:04,759 Anthony Edwards with the Wolves, Simmons with the Nets, Quiet with the Clippers, 477 00:29:04,799 --> 00:29:08,720 and MPJ with the Nuggets. I tried to keep myself just five players 478 00:29:08,720 --> 00:29:11,720 for five teams. I went to six because let's face it. Let's face 479 00:29:11,799 --> 00:29:15,559 it, y'all all, it's it's me. Final question this comes from Austin 480 00:29:15,640 --> 00:29:18,799 next mail. Bad question. I already answered it in the DMS. But 481 00:29:18,839 --> 00:29:22,559 where did the Frank end buy come from? Is that like a common Knicks 482 00:29:22,559 --> 00:29:26,240 fan joke? The answer is probably not anymore. But when he was there, 483 00:29:26,400 --> 00:29:27,799 it was just the running theme was a lot of Nicks guys were frustrated 484 00:29:27,880 --> 00:29:32,920 with his lack of opportunity, the inconsistency behind the way he was used, 485 00:29:33,160 --> 00:29:37,200 and the opportunity in general. I still think there's a quality basketball player there 486 00:29:37,200 --> 00:29:41,359 because when you're inserting him like in defensive situations because he can be so good 487 00:29:41,680 --> 00:29:44,680 on the ball and disrupt with his length, and even just some of the 488 00:29:45,039 --> 00:29:48,200 gambles that that he makes figure out a way to use him on offense. 489 00:29:48,240 --> 00:29:49,920 And I think the biggest key for him is like, yeah, you don't 490 00:29:49,920 --> 00:29:52,240 want him putting the ball on the floor. There's like a smoothness to his 491 00:29:52,279 --> 00:29:56,559 game sometimes, but it's not if there's I love him, but there's only 492 00:29:56,559 --> 00:29:59,200 trace elements of it. If you could just hit a set three and it's 493 00:29:59,200 --> 00:30:03,880 almost under just like this three indeed point guard who isn't insufferable like Pat Beverley 494 00:30:03,920 --> 00:30:06,759 at this point or three in d guard if you want to call it. 495 00:30:06,960 --> 00:30:10,400 And I just think he has the potential prime Beverly could defend up. They're 496 00:30:10,400 --> 00:30:12,400 not good player, comes just throw that out the window. But I still 497 00:30:12,440 --> 00:30:15,759 think there's a quality NBA player in there, and I will die on that 498 00:30:15,839 --> 00:30:18,759 hill. I'm probably currently dying on that hill if you ask most of the 499 00:30:18,759 --> 00:30:22,160 people around the league. But it was at nick fan joke because he just 500 00:30:22,240 --> 00:30:26,680 never got a fair shake in New York. And I'm not saying Dallas used 501 00:30:26,720 --> 00:30:29,400 him any better, but hey, he was non guaranteed in there as far 502 00:30:29,400 --> 00:30:30,799 as like, I think it looks like they're bringing him back this season, 503 00:30:30,880 --> 00:30:34,720 so he belongs on an NBA roster. We'll see if he ever sort of 504 00:30:34,759 --> 00:30:38,799 becomes a regular rotation player more than this spot minutes specialty guy. It comes 505 00:30:38,799 --> 00:30:41,119 down to what he's gonna give you on offense, because he can be in 506 00:30:41,160 --> 00:30:45,160 net zero, but there's he has moments where it's like, oh, if 507 00:30:45,160 --> 00:30:48,519 he just did that like four out of ten times instead of like one out 508 00:30:48,519 --> 00:30:51,400 of one hundred wherever, it is like he imagined the type of player he 509 00:30:51,400 --> 00:30:53,559 would be. This was a fun second part of the mail bag. Again. 510 00:30:53,559 --> 00:30:56,400 If this is your first time checking this out, please remember to subscribe 511 00:30:56,440 --> 00:31:00,039 to us on YouTube, on Spotify, and applepoc cast all the mediums like 512 00:31:00,160 --> 00:31:03,599 this video on YouTube. Subscribe to this channel if you are new. It 513 00:31:03,640 --> 00:31:06,599 helps me out a lot, and also follow us on all the socials, 514 00:31:06,880 --> 00:31:08,559 join the discord, tell people about us, retweet our pro a more, 515 00:31:08,559 --> 00:31:11,599 shout us out on Twitter, the whole nine, the whole ten, the 516 00:31:11,640 --> 00:31:15,079 whole whatever. Until next time, And like always, I leave you with 517 00:31:15,079 --> 00:31:18,640 the shout outs to one the only the player I just waxed or rambled incoherently 518 00:31:18,640 --> 00:31:22,519 but also a poetic about Frank Neilikio