What is krak alacin, Fellow Thermal Nuclear afors, I am Dampa Valley coming
at you with my certified vantabulous co host mister Grant Hughes Thermonuclear af co host
as well, mister Grant Hughes. We are here to talk about the most
disappointing NBA teams this season and also the most overachieving, the biggest overachievers from
this NBA season. Sorry, so I'm realizing I already spoiled one of them
up on the screen for anyone who's watching on YouTube. I apologize. We're
also going to be holding ourselves accountable because we did our wind total over unders.
We'll talk about our overall record in the over unders this year, where
you're both coming off two seasons consecutively where we went better than twenty and ten.
I think I was twenty two and eight last year, Grant was twenty
one and nine. How did we do this year? Spoiler alert? It
was not as good. So we have if you were members of our discord,
we did do a competition where to see who could do the best with
their over unders, and so we have a winner. I will not announce
the person who had the worst one just to spare them, I'll tell we'll
mention the record at the end. Those will be the big, big reveals.
It was not Grant or I though we were pretty low, but we
did not have the worst showing here. So this will just be an interesting
discussion. We are recording this before the end of the regular season, so
the win totals, you're going to see how much they missed or exceeded them
by. There are rough estimates they will be off by maybe a winner too,
so it's nothing that's going to seismically change anything. Grant, though,
how the heck are you doing well? I got to say, I'm a
little disappointed, but it's directed at myself because, and you mentioned it,
we did not do nearly as well as we did in the past, and
we could make a lot of excuses. But uh, and we'll do that
for forty five minutes starting right now. No, we're gonna We're just gonna
power through. I was kind of blown away by by our performance, and
not in a good way. Uh, but yeah, Hey, but I
think this will be an instructive exercise in a good preview. Not to spoil
it too much, but eventually, down line, we're gonna get We're gonna
do some mea culpas on what we got most wrong about every team. But
today it's just the wins totals. So excited to get into that and uh
see who uh? Which teams fell short and which teams exceeded? Are mostly
inaccurate expectations for the season. Which do you want to start with the biggest
overachievers or the biggest underachievers. Let's get the underachievers, you know what,
Let's get the Let's get the overachievers out of the way. How about that
because everybody knows these teams did well. I like that, you're I like
that you're starting with the positivity. If you had to get I guess you
know the results? Or are you staring at them? And I ask you
to get I'm not looking at them right now. So you was there to
guess there's a tot I won't. Actually, who's the biggest overatch Who are
the all right, there's a tie for the two biggest overachievers relative to their
to their win totals. Would you care to venture a guess? I'm gonna
guess is one of them the thunder uh that is correct, exceed exceeding their
win total? By eleven and a half. So this other team that is
there would be in that same category. It's identical. There's two teams that
are by eleven and eleven and a half. My first instinct was the Rockets,
but I really cannot remember what their overunder it was. It is not
them. Okay, you're gonna have to You're gonna have to give it to
me here. Oh go ahead, you know you know it, don't you.
No, I don't want to guess wrong. Twice after exclaiming, oh,
like I knew it. So just Minnesota Timberwolves, yeah, who we
both went over on though we did we both also went under on the thunder.
So so you know, that's about how it went with these over unders
for us. The I so the Timberwolves one, I honestly just think that
their line was too low. I didn't expect them to be basically a sixty
like win team, but what they came in at, the numbers were basing
this off. I have them locked in as the you know, the ones
that us and our audience used. That Timberwolves over and there was at forty
four and a half that is which I thought that was way too low.
Like that was one of our I think our easiest overs if I remember correctly.
Yeah. Well, and also we I think we viewed them the same
way last year and we were wrong, but we doubled down. Well.
Also, remember the Timberwolves are one of like it seemed like there were a
half dozen teams that all were at forty four and a half in the West.
It's not quite that many, but I think that was the Thunders number
as well. Obviously it must have been because they're tired here. The Pelicans
I think had a number right around there Dallas like that, forty four and
a half in Miami. We're just a bunch of teams right there. I
mean, yeah, that this is what we thought we were getting from the
Wolves last year, and they just did it this time more or less right
or something close to it. I mean, I don't know if we thought
they'd be down to the wire here for the top seed, but something like
this. Yeah, the I just there. I don't know that I expected
the defense to be this good as well, And a lot of it just
came down to I think a lot of so many people assumed that what they
had, that the Rudy gobertrot was a mistake. What they had wasn't working,
and they might have overpaid for Rudi Golbert. We just didn't have the
sample of them healthy this season before. So did do we either of us
think they were going to be the best team in the West. That's an
absolutely not. But they weren't easy over the thunder we both went under on
also had the forty four and a half line. I remember our argument being
it was just a little too early. Sam Presty was pumping the brakes on
it. Yeah, it wasn't just our argument, it was the guy running
the team that talked us into let's oh, we got to finish our breakfast
and we last year we hit the seventh percentile of our bandwidth of outcomes.
That's like a pretty close to a direct quote. Yeah, so he really,
he really gasoled us pretty hard there on that one. He mis led
us. I feel hoodwinked, bamboozled, oozled, shenanigans were enacted upon us,
all all those terrible things. Would you so, I think I have
our exact what we projected these teams to win. So would you like to
know those sure? I had the thunder at forty one? Oh, you
were a little bit more generous and had them at forty four, okay,
and then the Timberwolves. I had them at forty seven seven, which still
looks comically bad, and you have them at forty six. Yeah. I
would love to go back and listen to that. I mean, I understand
the skepticism though you said it like they didn't learn anything about the team last
year really because they just got the guys that matter just weren't out there at
the same time for long enough. So we wanted to highlight the five biggest
overachievers and underachievers, but there ended up being a four way tie for the
third biggest overachievers. So we're gonna go six deep in each category. There
are four teams Grant who have exceeded win total expectations by their over and under.
They've exceeded they're over and under from the preseason by nine and a half
wins. How many of them can you guess? Let's just go one.
We'll talk about each team individually, but let's say get well, I said
Houston before I'm gonna say Houston again. Is that one of them? It
is not. No, I'm just kidding. Okay, Well, maybe Boston
then, because they've just won so many games. No, No, you
were right. It was it was Houston excellent, So Houston, and I
mean, I'm gonna throw Boston up there too because they were among them.
So you guess two of them correctly, two of the two of the four
spot on which team did you want to? You know? The which team's
more surprising to you? I had? I went under. I guess I'll
comment dear A Monopolis the discussion. I went under on the Celtics. I
was clearly wrong. Uh. And I was also a skeptic of the Porzingis
trade and what they did. I had them winning and they got them winning
fifty two, which is just not like there's a blitter that Obviously in February,
I had him for fifty eight. They beat that too, So I
think I had the Rockets. It was tight, though they're over unders as
I'm looking at it now, I was thirty one and a half. I
had the over, but I had the Rockets at thirty two wins. I
had the under and had them at thirty one. The I did not see
the defense coming together like this. Uh. And I think we both could
have been okay. Albert and Schegou might get better. But if you would
have said that Jollen Green had the type of season that he did for majority
of it, I would have felt very confident in my underpick. But just
having Dylan Brooks, Fred van Fleet and Thompson once he got healthy the minutes
you did see from Tarry easton, they turned into this deep Jabari Smith Junior.
I don't think we've talked about We talked about him at length on the
most improved when we were talking about whatever you were talking about. But for
most of the season we didn't talk much about Jabari Smith Junior, and he
just improved in sort of every facet. So with Houston it was I didn't
see the defense being this good. And then with Boston specifically, I was
a skeptic of the Porzingis trade. I felt better after the Drew Holiday trade.
Did I expect that all to pan out as well as it did to
whar I think some people might just be argue they are the inevitable Eastern Conference
championship. No, I didn't. I didn't have them as that. No,
certainly not. Yeah, I think I was a little higher. I
get obvious it must have been because I had I had him for quite a
few more wins than you did. I think I recognized the poor zingis like
the risks, but I mean, you no one could have imagined other than
Brad Stevens. I guess that like he would just be this this like cheat
code against switches and just totally elevate the team and holiday would you know,
dramatically reduce his statistical impact. But you know, matter in a huge way.
And yeah, I don't think anybody saw it going quite this well so,
but but like it feels legit. It's not to say that there's any
smoke and mirrors involved in Boston at all. I think they just are.
They hit the They hit the ninety ninth percentile bandwidth outcome, Sam Presty whatever.
They ate all their breakfast to mix Oliver our men. Okay, two
other teams have exceeded their win projection. They're over unders from the preseason by
nine and a half. Or Orlando's got to be one, right that it
is one of the two. You are three for three. That's actually I
mean, like maybe this is easier. I'm way better at this game than
actually picking the magic they've been I guess kind of what we would expect on
offense, right, for the most part, it's yeah, we expected,
which is weird. They had basically a top five defense for a huge chunk
of last season. Why, I mean, well, I mean this is
with the caveat I did have them going under. I had them at thirty
six wins at a thirty seven and a half over under. Yeah, you
go over with them thirty eight, so barely over the thirty seven and a
half. Yeah? Is it just because we could have even like the the
method by which they have overachieved is something that we would have accounted for,
which is why this is such a weird team. I guess I didn't see
the offensive leap coming from Jalen Suggs, even though I was a little bit
higher on him than you. Neither of us were completely out on him,
or at least I wasn't. But I didn't see that coming. And we
you know, if you would have told me, Franz I when we was
shooting like this all year, I wouldn't have. I wouldn't have bought the
magic as this team that is going to be ten wins better than expected.
Yeah, I mean I think I probably was out on Jalen Suggs, Like
I'm sure I was a lot on him. Than than you were. Yeah,
I think I mean getting you know, low minutes, but fairly consistent
minutes from John Isaac. I think has like you know, I definitely wrote
him off, Yeah right, and like why wouldn't Why wouldn't you have written
him off? And I think, like I'm trying to think what else they
really got? Yeah, you know, I think they just succeeded. Like
the best parts of the team were even better than we expected, which is
to say, just the defense and the offense, you know, like the
Sugs shooting, maybe just off at the Wagner shooting and like there you go.
That that just that's what happens when you have an awesome defense in the
offense is like just enough bank Carro got better, Pop Palo bank Caaro got
better. That was the other thing I'll say is so I definitely didn't see
the like the top to bottom defensive talent on this team, where it's any
Black comes in, he's excellent defender already, remember when Wendell Carter Junior was
injured, and like Gogo Batadze for that Stretcher is one of the best rim
protectors. They've gotten great minutes out of Mo Wagner. This year, and
I think bolt I think Palo Bank Carroll specifically has gotten better on the defensive
end two when you watch him. So all of that sort of taking in
is like, is we knew they were going to be a really good defensive
team, but we underestimated that the biggest factor. Even let's look at Jalen
Suggs. Did you think Jonathan Isaac won't qualify? But if you looked at
this and said, all things being equal, everyone played in sixty five games,
I don't think we predicted that there would have been two First Team All
Defense caliber guys on this n Definitely. I mean, well, if you
had said Jonathan Isaac is gonna play sixty five games, you might have thought
about it, but you okay, if never, I would have said,
fuck you, you know that's happened, No chance, Like that's that's what
it didn't happen, But he did. I had written them off or I
was just like, all these injuries, it's what is he gonna play?
Is he even gonna be a fourteen minute per game? God? Like he's
been able to do that? Yeah? No, I think it's just the
defense has been has been even better than like your your it's kind of like
the Celtics, except just in one specific way, like the defense we thought
would be good and it was great. Like maybe that's the simplest way to
put it. There's one more team that has exceeded their preseason over under by
nine and a half, are on pace to beat it by nine and a
half. I'm looking at the these icons here, I can't I mean,
is it Indy, Oh you went four for four? There we go?
Ok, is there? Can you what did you not see? Well?
I shouldn't say that. I think we both went under on them. I
know I did. Yeah, I think, well, I think you just
to start and the finish of it is Haliburton. I think we both were,
you know, really high on him. Oh this guy's a really good
offensive player. We did not see him being a like, you know,
short list MVP guy through February, so that, I mean, that's just
him as a driver of elite offense was not something that I think was necessarily
foreseeable. And then, like a lot of guys like nem Hard was probably
better than expected. Aaron Ne Smith was better than expected. Nie Smith for
sure is just like when you go back of the ballot most improved Player yeah,
that type of guy. You're trying to think what else? I guess
maybe we didn't price in they're gonna go get a Siakam necessarily, Like,
I don't think I was thinking of them in those terms, uh, preseason,
So I think I don't know what else. I honestly just think it
was there was I would say forty percent of the season or so, thirty
three third of the season or so where Tyre's Haliburton was one of the three
best players in basketball, right, that's just not or three most value players
in besketball. And that's not something I would have predicted as high as we
both were. And I think we even talked about this. Remember we did
the Pacers Look Ahead with Kaitlyn Cooper and it was she felt, wow,
I don't want to put words in her mouth, but that there might have
been a rush to coordinate Indy among certain people that it was Okay, this
team has that megastar, but they're not necessarily done. You don't want to
call it rebuilding, but they're gonna be relying on Benedict Mather. And we
thought Jaris Walker was gonna play more than he did so far. It's funny,
like we and now I'm remembering that conversation and just our general thoughts,
like we kind of got into the weeds of like exactly that, like,
well, well but Matherin, you know, he's really not that great as
a catch and shoot guy. He likes to put it on the floor first,
and is Walker gonna help? And like are they just kind of too
small? And it's like none of that matters if Tyre's Halbert is like the
second best offensive player on planet Earth? For right, that was Wasn't that
a discussion at one point was who's more valuable on offense? Yokich or Tyri
Like all the Nash comparisons were out there, like it just he It's it's
just a good reminder that like maybe maybe focus on like the potentially bigger issues
that are going to swing things for a team than some of the smaller stuff.
But the Halliburton leap was just not to me, not foreseeable, even
though like we're both super high on him, I you know, it's just
this was beyond him. Wind total is not even It's just I think we
get we need to we get sucked into we do the exact record projections,
which I think ended up hurting us this time in the win total department,
maybe, but it was like their win total was still so modest we went
under. So we were wrong. I want to make that clear. But
it's their total number of wins right now is not going to be some like
they're not a fifty something win team. Although if Albert never gets hurt,
mighta I mean, they were certainly on pace. They're gonna what they're gonna
be in the high they're on the high forties now, like a couple more
wins. I mean, yeah, they they just I think maybe we might
have also priced in a little bit of like maybe there's another like like steering
into the skid season for them where they might go the other way. And
yeah, and I the other thing, I don't want to step on this
too much because we're gonna do the one thing we got wrong about every NBA
team around the end of the after the regular season's over. I never would
have guessed that they had the gall to make the Siakam trade. No,
totally. Yeah, I think that's a huge factor because we I think of
anything, we imagined that they would make the opposite kind of trade, like
let's finally trade Miles Turner, let's you know something like that. What's interesting
about that is I don't know how much that trade actually factors in helping like
I do think get factors in because is as many of the bad games as
the basers have lost, how much worse are they if you left the previous
iteration of them the way they were with the I don't want to say the
current version, but that post injury version of Tyre's Halibert. Yeah, yeah,
I just think I think it's it's more that they didn't make the let's
take a step back trade, which seemed more likely than the to and they
did with the buddy healed thing. We haven't been great in Philly, but
like that was something. So they kind of did both against obliterated expectations.
Yeah. So there are two more teams that aren't in the top They're in
the top eight, but they seeded there over under projections by almost seven.
Would you care to venture guess as to who those I will say one of
these teams was on pace to maybe win this entire fucking thing until the past
month and a Half's well, that gives it away a little bit. I
think is that New Orleans No, oh, no, hmmm, it's my
first miss. Yeah, I don't have any more guesses. I feel super
confident in I guess. No, it's not clear. I feel like I'm
missing an obvious one. You are going, I think you all are missing.
You're just gonna have to tell me. The Clippers okay, yeah,
they were like com Remember it was like they could they be the like the
two seed or whatever it was in the Western Conference, and their defense kind
of just fell off a cliff and it wasn't The transition defense hasn't really been
good that season to begin with. Having I don't think anyone would have pret
did that Kawhi Leonard would be playing two thousand plus minutes and now he's out
and it seems like they're being extra cautious about it. No, not think
he's going to clear two thousand minutes so comfortably, probably make second team All
NBA. I don't think anyone would I think that. Look, the James
Hardenrey we knew about already at that point. Maybe I definitely didn't anticipate him
adapting so well. I was never, oh, there's only one ball guy.
I thought they'd be good. I was more so, oh, there
might be more of a of a learning curve, and there was they lost
what was it five straight or whatever, it was it straight and then six
twenty six and five and then fell off like big time. Was like four
different seasons for them basically. But I think that would be the biggest thing
is that huge stretch with James Harden was a part of and the way he
adapted. And then I think Kawhi just being this not just this good,
but like this dominant for so much of the season. That was it for
me. I just I think I just assumed Kawhi is just the days of
this is the year he's healthy, Like that year was never are gonna come
and it did, and like he was you said it, like this guy
was a first team All NBA like caliber guy for the vast majority of the
season. Yeah, I went over because they were forty five and a half
and I only had them at forty six wins and so that wins a lot.
I missed this one badly. I think I had him at forty one.
Just a five hundred team. So this next team to wrap up,
and we'll go through every team very quickly, but like these are just the
biggest overachievers so relative to preseason projections. This team, I think we both
I went under on missed it, and they're gonna exceed their projected win total
by between six seven, maybe even eight. Is it the Knicks? No?
Oh, no, I don't know. I don't have it. Oh
dalla, it is Dallas, okay, and not something that like a team
that just wasn't really in contention for this until basically no, I wouldn't even
say after the trade deadline. It took a little while after that for it
to come around. And that's just the simple fact. Here is the Kyrie
Irving Lugadanc just dynamic, which I thought was fine last year, it's blossomed
into just dominant. So that's a big reason why maybe none of us thought
it was going to be this dominant. And then Derek Lively being so good
right off the bat helped him navigate some rough stretches, not something I would
have projected, Dante exem Derek Jones Junior being impacts. And then the bigger
thing is just what they did at the trade deadline helped them so much defensively.
When you look at Daniel Gafford and PG Washington, the way those two
have played, Yeah, best defense in the league. I think I saw
they were like the stat was, oh, their third in the league since
the trade, since they got Washington and Gafford, and now I think it's
there actually number one. Honestly, the most predictable thing about them is Luka
Doncic. You could win if you wanted to make the Army for an MVP,
and he's the biggest reason why they're here. But there's just so many
other stuff on the margins that I didn't even think to predict, and like
no Kyrie distractions really like all year. I mean that was a big part
of my skepticism. I had him at forty two wins, so like not
m at forty four. Yeah, I mean we were in the same neighborhood
there, I think it was there were there were real reasons to be concerned.
And then like you said, but like Dante ExHAM, like from nowhere,
just as back and matter, there's a lot a comeback Player of the
Year award? Would it be him? Would it be Isaac? Who?
Who? Who got to be? He was out of the league for multiple
years, like he had the he had like an Jonathan Isaac level set of
injuries too. Before all this, like it was. I mean, yeah,
he's gotta he's gotta be the guy. Yeah, really really, it's
gonna be Franknilkeina's Award next season coming. I can feel it. You ready
to move on to the biggest underachievers this year. Let's let's do it.
So let's they there's only this one. Well, we'll go with the top
ones anyway, But there were no ties when we're looking at the top six
to eight, but one team, and who was the biggest underachiever this season?
Relative that are over under? I think you could guess it. It
has to be Memphis. Yeah, it's Memphis, missing it by over seventeen
wins. And by the way, Grizzly fans should have been prepared for this.
This is the fifth year in a row I've gotten there over under wrong.
But I had went under in every single season prior I decided to go
over this year, So you should have just known that you were doomed from
the moment I because and look, it was modest. I thought. I
knew there was probably gonna be some drop off from them being the second best
team in the West, but forty five and a half felt like such a
modest total. You did this is really my takeaway for you. You are,
I guess welcomed every single other Western Conference team, But I'm sorry.
I mean, it's just it's just the injuries. Like I mean, they
had one hundred and eighty seven million players on the roster this season. It's
it's bananas. Like the Morant suspension. I was not, I mean,
like not ideal, sure, but I definitely drank the Like Marcus Smart he
can handle this for twenty five games and then he won. I was out
that trade. Yeah he couldn't and then was hurt anyway, along with just
every I mean, they hasn't been before the season started. Brandon Clark was
done last season, like it's just now back. It was just, you
know, a litany of injuries. Two maybe three good things are coming out
of this. So you know about Vince Williams. That was not one of
my primary two. But you have Gigi Jackson and now a high lottery pick,
and I think you Ggi Jackson would be like, I don't know enough
about this draft class any but would he have been a top seven pick in
this draftlats, I obnestly don't know. Pretty close. I don't know if
you did a twenty twenty three NBA re Draft. I wonder if he would
he'd probably come close to going in the lottery, you know, oh I
think I mean if would he come close to going lottery? Yes, like
might have been in the lottery. It's hard to think, like who you're
kicking because this draft class is so deep that that's probably like am I am
I getting ahead of my skis? He's not going in the second round?
How about that? Like there's no there's no chance of that. Wow,
Okay, Grant, I need you to tone down the spice. If he
could, I'd really appreciate it. Uh. This next team missed their win
total bye projected fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, whatever. And if you were
watching at the beginning of this when I spoiled it, you know who they
are? Do you care to take a guess on who it is? It
is? The the Detroit Pistons. How dare you? I just I mean,
they weren't gonna be good, but like the right the way, what
was there over under twenty eight and a half? Yeah, we both by
the way, we both went under. Yeah, I mean that's a pretty
low under. But like I think, I narrowly I thought they'd win in
the twenties. I think, you know, twenty five wins. Yeah,
I had them at twenty eight. They're gonna get halfway there. The reasons
here are not just injuries. It's that's what I mean. It's a malpractice
of a roster construction slash. They probably let Monti Williams get away with too
much, like the Killian Hay stuff at the beginning of the year. The
other thing is is just how much was like the lineups they were running.
How much of that was a mandate from the front office? Did they take
too They took way too long to get They did have boen By Danovitch,
Okay, he missed a bunch of time, so that didn't help. But
like they took too long to get floor spacing in there or run out their
best basing lineups. And I would say that they still went the entire season
without running out some of their best force basing lineups. Yeah, I used
to. I said this a lot last year or maybe two years ago.
Yeah, yeah, I know it was last year about Jordan Pool where it's
like I'm not saying this is sabotage, but like this is what sabotage would
look like like it is indistinguishable from it the way that the Pistons and Monty
Williams put lineups together and the minutes they chose to give guys, Like not
saying it's sabotage, but like, if you were trying to torpedo a season,
that is what you would have done. You would have started Killian Hayes
for what it was, it like thirty some odd games of the first forty
they played, and then you would have put a star Thompson out there with
non shooters. You would have minimized Jade and Ivy, you would have played
two bigs all that, Like all of this stuff was just like somewhere in
here is a team that wins twenty five twenty eight games. I think they
just they didn't for the complement. So the stuff I didn't necessarily see coming,
and maybe I should have. I didn't see this much regression from Jalen
Duran and I don't want to say regression, but it did not feel like
Jay and Ivy really took many, if any steps forward. And then just
just like not even being able to trust him to hit a wide open three
is you know, pretty detrimental. And I think the worst part is we
still don't really know if it's like Jalen Duran just isn't that good and Jade
and Ivy just isn't that good, or if they just weren't positioned to have
any chance of success like that, that is a true wasted year if you
don't get that information out of it. Yeah, that's a that's a great
point. Two teams are missed their win totals by over ten left on the
board. Would you care to guess which ones they are? Is one of
them? Atlanta? It is not? Oh uh hmmm, over ten?
Still among these teams? Charlotte, Yes, Charlotte is a is one of
them? There was another one, but let's tell about Charlotte for a second.
It's an injury, right, mellow Ball not really playing, Mark Williams
not really playing Brandon Miller been better than in spects her. They did.
Also, they they steered into this kid. Yep, I think like did
they win? This is like how long the season is felt? Jim Booknight
got waived this year? Is that right? I think I was traded to
the Celtics. Oh he did? No? Oh no, that was oh
my god? Sorry James Bringer, Okay, yeah, James Springer is not
on the Hornets. Oh man, you could have You could have really had
me gone if you committed to that. I went over on them because they
were thirty and a half because I'm just a big believer in LaMelo, And
honestly, if they don't make I guess I don't know how to square it
with them making would they have made their trades anyway? But LaMelo, like
getting to the rim war was still wasn't finishing well. But just like what
he can still do as a passer and a shooter I we've already talked about.
I don't think they need to choose between him and Brandon Miller. They
compliment each other quite nicely. They have a nice base there right now.
I'm reticent to chalk this up completely to injuries, but I am curious to
see if Lamello doesn't get hurt, so forget about Mark Williams and some of
the other injuries they dealt with. Does the Terry Rozier trade still happen?
Does the Gordon Hayward trade still happen? And he was injured at the time
when they moved him anyway, or at least not playing. And I honestly
don't know because there was new ownership in there, so I do kind of
feel like they might have gone this route anyway. Maybe, So this is
I think this is my biggest Like the Grizzlies miss is. There's an excuse.
I had Charlotte winning forty games, and I think I got hung up
on LaMelo Ball was an All Star at twenty for a team that won thirty
nine thirty seven. You were still maybe you're still just riding that James wisemanu
ate number two low. I think, yeah, I mean I could have
put me on tilt for a while. It's hard to know what the long
term repercussion is. It's like, no, I'm not even ture. I'm
off till I may still be on it. But like you can make I'm
sure the case I've made was like, well, LaMelo is going to take
a step, He's not gonna get hurt again. Surely he's not gonna blow
his ankle out again. Brandon Miller whatever, Miles Bridges is back, Gordon
Hayward might get healthy. They have Williams and Richards in the middle, like
Rosier is a real NBA player, Like there still I was dead wrong,
but I think I could definitely understand why I thought they would be just slightly
under five hundred. Yeah, I mean, I don't know. Steve Clifford's
not gonna he's, you know, not gonna want to preside over a tank
season. It turns out they just didn't have a choice because the Lamello injury,
I think, just made it so they had one option. But man,
I missed that one badly. What's the other team missing their projected win
total by over ten? Oh, let's see, there's so many candidates here.
Over ten though? Is it the Bucks? Are they gonna fall under
by that? We did miss on them pretty badly. Yeah, we did,
Brooklyn. Nope, I don't know. Now I'm just throwing darts.
Who I think it's the Raptors, Okay, oh god damn it. Yeah,
of course, so they they were when we did it. Theirs was
and we thought it was too low because they were at what were they at
thirty six? And I had Yeah, and I had them, I thought
I did not think I actually had them at thirty eight. So it's not
like I thought they were gonna blow it out of the water, but I
thought they probably weren't going to make the trades that they did to sell jobs,
and then even after I will say the Siakam trade was like the bridge
too far. That's okay, you knew they were gonna but after the had
everyone stayed healthy after the Nanobe trade and they kept Siakam, they still would
have had a chance at clearing the over and maybe look, who knows what
could have happened technically if they don't deal with absences from Scottie Barnes specifically,
but also Mana quickly RJ. Barrett, he's a Yaka Peertle all that stuff.
I just didn't believe that they were going to trade. You might have
been able to convince me on one, but both of Siakam and Ananobe.
I definitely did not think they were going to go that route. Yeah,
pretty off brand for them based on their recent history of not trading Van Vleet,
not doing anything with Gary Trent Junior and he's still there by the way,
But yeah, no, I had them. I was even higher on
them than you had them at forty three wins. I just thought they were
like, they're definitely going to be a top eight team in the East,
Like that's just that's what they're going to try to do because they don't sell
off, and then they did, So we have four more underachievers to go
through. We could do it. I could give you the win range for
each of them, or just based off of if you just want to go
biggest underachievers relative to their projected wind totals, who do you? I mean,
I keep saying Atlanta, Atlanta has to be one of the underachievers,
right because we didn't they have like a oh no, you know what they
had a I think we killed the over. We banged the over on that
because like, oh it was low, So maybe I'm not that's a dumb
pick to keep picking them. They were, So they're over under. Was
it forty one and a half or was it thirty? Yeah, it was
forty one and a half when we recorded, and we both I took the
over at forty three. They are not one of the answers though at four
four other teams. Who is also gonna be way under? Hmm? I
mean are the Warriors one of the way under teams? Nope? No,
I'm just guessing now Phoenix h No. Yeah, go ahead and tell me,
do you want to go from low to high or high? Low to
high? Okay, so, uh, excuse, So this team missed by
or are they two teams though it's only one so the nets were close by
the way, they would have been one of the next ones up along with
Phoenix. So you lose in Atlanta, so you're up. This one is
the one that missed by the by the fewest. Uh. It was five
and a half and it is the Utah Jazz. Oh what a weird year.
Though. Yeah, they would have ended up here. We both went
under on them, so we were right. They would have ended up here
no matter what. It's just a matter of how many wins would they have
missed by because they did the mid season tear down again the rotation thing with
who they were playing the shift. But they had a stretch I don't remember
it was it back in January or was that December, whatever it was where
they looked they were like in the playoff picture. Yeah, well like they
I don't know, they they could spook you because last year they did the
like, oh no, we're too good, and then they didn't, you
know, stop that from happening soon enough. So you always at least I
thought like, well, maybe that's how it's just gonna go they're gonna if
they're good, they're not gonna like get in their own way, and they
very much got in their own way this year on purpose, which was like
I think we generally view as the correct decision. If you're gonna be bad,
try to be as bad as possible. But yeah, I think last
year kind of put more options on the table. This next team, missing
it by about between six and eight wins. I thought you would have gotten
them the Portland Trailblazers, which is just like they dealt with injuries galore.
We both had them as the under I believe anyway. But when you start
to dig into, like, you know, just the the breadth of people
that have missed, some of them have been shut down, but looking at
the Brogden, the eight and stuff, Robert Williams being out for basically the
entire season. So they just Simons has miss times, Scoot Henderson missed time
to start the year, Shade Sharp missed a bunch of time. Yeah,
so they I mean Jeremy Green. Yeah. So it's just like even relative
to a their their over under was said at twenty eight and a half.
It was just they were probably always gonna end up here because we thought they
might shut guys down, but they then dealt with a lot more on set
injuries than we would have expected it. Maybe we should have seen that coming
just based off who was on the roster. Yeah, really, Malcolm Brogden.
Yeah, if you're in the Brogden and Robert Williams business, you should
be assuming injuries. I guess at this point. I And so the next
second to two more teams here. The other team they're over under was twenty
eight and a half. I'm surprised that both of us went under on them,
by the way, just given how high we were on one Victor Webenyama
the San Antonio Spurs. Yeah, I mean I can't say that we like,
would you say that Wembenyama was like significantly better than you thought he'd be
by for sure? Did you think he was gonna shoot like forty percent on
pull up threes for most of the year? No, But I did.
I think you could have told me anything and I yeah, okay, he
might do that. So so for them to still go under by that much
is kind of wild to me because it's hard to it's hard to hold the
dueling ideas of like he's gonna be phenomenal and you know, generational, and
also the Spurs are gonna super suck. I think the two things that did
them in. But they probably don't care because they're hello draft equity. But
was the Jeremy Sohan at point guard experiment was a disaster and I thought I
thought that was gonna end up fine, by the way, but try they
just aside from they did have some time and it took too long to get
Trey Jones into the their prominent lineups. But it was like the Zach Collins
Webyama thing. But it's also just look at the talent after their what top
you've there have been some bright spots this year, but there's Devin Veceel,
Victor Wenbenyama, Trey Jones, Heldon Johnson, and then like like a bunch
of like yeah, okay, maybe some like you know, seeing Blake Wesley
take some steps this year. Malchi Brandham was pretty bad for most of the
yearbouts and bright spots, it was just they were a bad team outside of
their top three or four best guys. Yeah, and like you said,
it's a combo, it's it's personnel, and it's like they did not deploy
the personnel they had in like the most sensible ways. I think it is
a combined effect to like to offset when Binyama being, you know, meeting
the high end of expectations, the fifth biggest underachiever on the season, and
to round out the eighth the Washington Wizards, which we both did go under
on them. I just were they worse than you? Like, well obviously,
but were they I had them winning. I had them winning eighteen,
which is just like that's actually not through bad relatively with it. But they
were even worse than I expected. And a lot of that had to do
with the I mean, it was just they weren't. They weren't. So
when you watch the Wizards, when I'm trying to get at the people that
were actually turning my heads, and you told me Denny Avda and Blagkuabali were
as good as they were. There was some trade okay, that Daniel Gafford
trade yet made them a little bit worse. But Kyle Kuzma had a pretty
good year for much of the season. It was did I expect Jordan Pool
to be this bad while he was there and then to be that hard up
for just like knowing Tyas Jones would have spent the whole season there to be
that hard up for an organizer. Even after they kind of went through the
you know, the the injury gamut. I think there's been you know,
discovering guys like Jules Bernard, a favorite of mine, justin CHAMPENNI like,
so now they have some information on players who might be able to contribute over
the longer term. But I just they were worse than I were expected,
and they were They became a meme at a point in the season, and
it ends up costing west Unseel Junior his job. We'll see which direction they
go in now. Will be Brian Keith, we don't know. They say
he's a real candidate. We'll have to see what goes on with that.
But this team was just I still don't even have a great feel. But
I do think what they did in the aggregate was the right call. Where
it's they ripped off the band aid. They sucked and it was you know,
they might have Okay, they sucked by like eight nine ten wins,
maybe more than projections were spinning out. Would you have been though, if
I told you Tias Jones and Kyle Kuzma and Jordan Poole spent the entire season
in Washington. Would you have been shocked that they ended up this, you
know, to miss the mark by this one. Yeah, because like it's
so hard to project a team to have a win total in the teens,
like, let alone, like fifteen right now I think is where they're at.
Yeah, you would assume Tias Jones, adults in the room, caretaker
doesn't turn it over. Okay, fine, Jordan Poole is gonna average twenty
eight, but like do it inefficiently. I think the only way I would
have definitely gone into the teens is like all that stuff's gonna go wrong.
And also they're gonna trade Kuzma, and they're gonna trade Jones, and they're
gonna like they're gonna strip out. They did make a couple of trades,
but like it's just it would have been everything's gotta go wrong, which it
did for a team to win this little, uh this few games. Are
you ready for the big reveal on how close good or bad every single team
was? So they're over under in the pro let's do it? Boom?
Oh look at that. So anything else sort of stand out to you here?
Shout out to the Bulls for being in that. Plus the Calves were
big one. They're not gonna miss there. We both had the over.
We thought they were gonna be a fifty win team. It was rough showing
for them. It was injuries. But I think a lot of it too,
is it's not about any of the individual I think Evan Mobley is still
good. We've also seen some big to big stuff, but it's just their
core four together. It feels like you're conceding something when you're optimizing another two
or another something like okay, So here's an example. If you're gonna run
stuff between Jared Allen and Evan Mobley that those two guys involved, you're kind
of like marginalizing one, if not both, of Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland
in those instances. Maybe not both because one of those is gonna have to
get those guys the ball. But like the Darius Garland weird season, and
it's just it's weird to me though that what's carried them were their stretches where
they were shorthanded, like just where they were it was Donovan Mitchell and Jared
Allen when Garland and MOBILEI missed that time. Basically, Yeah, weird and
concerning because like that that is not the theory of this team, or at
least hasn't been so far. I think it's interesting just kind of looking at
like your Miami's, your Lakers, your Warriors. I'm trying to think who
else is. By the way, the Lakers over under was way too fucking
high if they didn't clear the over because they had a way better season than
I expected. Yeah, and the Knicks too. Like so some of those
really public teams, those are some of the closest numbers, which just goes
to show, like don't bet on those teams because the odds makers know what
is gonna happen to these like these big market, like heavily bet teams.
It seems like because the Lakers, other than what the Heat and the Bulls
are the only teams that are within a win and then the Lakers are the
next closest. The Heater are interesting plus three like gonna beat their total by
three four wins when they Robinson out like so much of the season, three
of their five starters planned starters just weren't available. It's so weird that like
the Knicks are going to Yeah, they're gonna exceed their projected wins with all
that going wrong, and yet it still sort of feels like I was I
wanted to pick them for the team that like, I don't know how the
pulse, the whole vibe of the Knicks really like confusing this year just because
of the injuries because Brunson was so transcendent, and then like they're gonna win
more than they were expected to and you in a million years you never would
have expect would have guessed that if you had priced in the injuries that they
under that they suffered. It's so on brand for the Pelicans that it feels
like they're a team that could not even make it to the playoffs basically,
but also win the title and they're within five wins of just what they're particularly.
That's just so on brand that might even be a little high. Would
have expect them to be like one of the one point five teams, right,
Yeah, well they were another of the forty four and a half group
that I guess of those like what the thunder exceeded that total by more,
But yeah, it's they're kind of nixy in that it's like this year's felt
like like a triumph at times and then also as like, it's also kind
of seems disappointing at times just they've had such streaks and like so many ups
and downs. Although like I think, I mean, if you really want
to simplify it, Zion mostly stayed healthy and Ingram mostly stayed healthy. And
so that's how you exceed a win a win total that assumes neither of those
guys are gonna be healthy for as much as as much of the season as
they were. Philly was on pace to obliterate Theirs before the Embiid injury.
So and in fact, they're still ending up within the ballpark of their over
unders impressive Phoenix being like five wins away off their pace, that's pretty bad.
I'm not gonna lie. Yeah, that's uh, that's not what you
want. I will run out to the Nuggets though, for being basically five
wins better than their projected everyone was kind of just like, oh, they've
had these long postseason pushes and there's gonna be that championship hangover. I smashed
the under without uh wow, I smashed the over without hesitation on them?
I think, did I end up being actually too optimistic on them? What
did I have them for? With their with uh, with my actual wind
projection, So they're over. Under was fifty two and a half. I
had them at fifty one on the exact thinking you just outlined of like they're
gonna coast, they don't care, they know what they are, They're just
going to get to the playoffs and and then start kicking ass. Fifty four.
So I wasn't even optimistic enough on this. Well you were over though,
I mean, yeah, I mean you're going to exceed. You're optimistic
over. I guess anything else kind of stand out here that you think is
worth pointing out? Who have we not talked about here? Let's see.
I mean, so just dead on that the Bulls are point five over,
like they're just than the heat is just like the heat being so close but
like in the net positive. It is just like this season that they've had
where it feels like they've anecdotally just had the most caveats, or not the
the most, but among the most caveats. It's, oh no, the
heat are just gonna st clear. They're they're over apparently. I think the
Kings beating their number by a couple wins is interesting because I feel like the
consensus was, you know, they were super healthy last year. That wouldn't
sustain they're off They weren't going to have the best offense in the world again,
and they didn't. And yet they're still in what I think most people
would call it tougher West are going to beat their number. That's kind of
surprising, the Warriors being so close to their total. I think shows that
Vegas was on and you were pretty you were pretty adamant about their over right,
I really was, Yeah, well, I mean, well, I'm
gonna save it for are what we got wrong? Pod? But yeah,
I just forty eight and a half. Even I'm looking at it, I'm
like, wow, I can't believe it was that high after sort of living
through this season. Yeah, I had them over Yeah, I had them
winning fifty one. I think if I'm seeing this correctly, they I mean
they they could win. What do they got two more? I think they'd
get into the high forties here. But like the way they have gotten there
in no way resembles what you would have assumed was the way that they were
going to get there, Like it just yeah, I'll say I'll save it.
But like the ways that you assumed Golden State was gonna be good like
none of those happened this year. I was apparently too optimistic with Brooklyn at
thirty seven wins. By the way, I think I probably did I go
over to Oh No, I went under with Brooklyn, but they were thirty
seven and a half and I went thirty seven too optimistic. I was even
more optimistic. I had him at forty one, and I was very sure
that this defense was going to be hilaciously good, and a lot of that
was Michel Bridges would not take a step back, Ben Simmons would play basketball,
Nick Claxton would be in the defensive player of the year conversation. Just
a lot of misses there, So let's hold ourselves accountable here. I went
thirteen and seventeen on the over under records. That is tied for the second
lowest mark among all our submissions. Among the audience, the worst mark.
I won't name the person. They went eleven and nineteen. We'll just privately
shame this person, not publicly. I can't even privately. I was too
off their pace, so I'm not I'm not privately shaming or publicly sham in
anybody. You went fifteen and fifteen, so you still did finish five hundred.
You are, in essence, the Chicago Bulls. I feel very bullsy
right now. The was not my goal. I didn't want this. The
bulls want this. Are you ready for the reveal of who won this?
Want to figure out maybe we could send you assuming you're still listening. This
person is still active in discord. I believe, well, if you beat
us by this much, why would you care what we had to say?
That's also fair. But the winner of the over under competition is JT.
Alexander went twenty two and eight. That's solid, that's impressive, two wins
clear of second place. Yeah, and then shout out we had another twenty
winner, Austin went twenty and ten. That was the second best mark among
all this. So shout out to everyone who participated. If we run it
next year. This ended up actually being a lot of work for me when
you're looking at the graphic and setting it up and then checking everyone's stuff.
But join our discord and maybe we'll do it next year. If I remember
in community keeps trying to grow time for guess a player, Mister Grant Hughes,
did you want to start us off? Well, okay, I have
hot off the presses here from Mike. I'm excited about this one, Dan.
Clue number one. I was drafted in two thousand and four, coming
straight out of high school by the Celtics, becoming the first ever high schooler
drafted by Boston two thousand and four by the Celtics, the first high schooler
ever drafted by the Celtics, Young Celtics. Why do I feel like I
should know two thousand and four Rondo didn't come out of high school, did
he? No? I use a Kentucky guy. Yeah, okay, that's
a good point, all right. There on Clue number two, injuries limited
me in my first season to only fifty nine games as I battled ankle injuries
before tearing my meniscus. Oh, I just I don't, Antoine Walker,
I have no idea. No, okay? Uh. Three. The Celtics
viewed my conditioning as a huge issue, so they hired me a personal chef
to help me lose thirty pounds. That might have made me guess, Anthoine
Walker want to double down? No? No, was he grafted by the
Thunder I can't. Yeah, I think I know. That's a good guess.
I think he was. He was out of high school. I think
and he was. I think a Celtics pick. I think it's later though,
all right, clue number four. I made my first start against the
Grizzlies in two thousand and six due to THEO Ratleff and a fellow guess a
player, Michael ol Candy being injured. That's tough, you're not gonna help
you. In seven, I was traded in one of the deals that put
together the big three of KG, Ray Allen and the man who believes that
Rudy Gobert being French is an affront to basketball. Wait read that one again.
That's like Mike's editorializing a little bit. Uh. In two thousand and
seven, I was traded in one of the deals that put together the big
three of KG, Ray Allen and the man who believes that Rudy Gobert being
French isn't affront to basketball. I assume that's Paul Pierce. So is he's
traded in one of the deals that brings the big three in Boston together?
Because he's traded in one of the deals that gets them Kevin Garnett and Ray
Allen. Uh yeah, I guess yeah. I don't feel like I'm giving
it away. By saying yes to that. No, wait, I'm sorry.
Is he he was traded? This person's on the Celtics and was traded
to get the big three in Boston, not the big three in Brooklyn.
Correct, okay, and it doesn't know. I don't really know what that.
I mean, Like, I mean, that's a pretty good clue.
I feel like if you you know enough now, I think too trying to
think of who was involved in that trade, and I can't drafted Sebastian Telfair.
Was he like would see him? I don't, I don't. It
is not Sebastian Telfair, but I think he did. I can't. I
don't want to say. I don't want to think he keep going all right?
Uh? CLU six. Immediately after being traded, I signed a five
year, sixty five million dollar contract extension with my new team. I went
on to be one of four players in the league to average twenty to ten
that season. Al Jefferson correct, okay, yeah, I was gonna say,
okay, so then CLU seven. Next season, I tore my ACL
during career year year after, I set the franchise record for rebounds in a
game with twenty six in July twenty ten, I was traded to a division
rival for two first and Coast of Kupos. Injuries plagued my time there early
on. I don't know where that is is. Thirteen, I signed a
three or forty point five million dollars contract with the Bobcats. Though you could
argue I'm a top three player in Bobcat Hornets Hornet's history, I'm perhaps best
known for my god awful voice acting in the NBA two K fifteen. My
player story mode did not know that, did not know he was incredible?
With a YouTube link, I'm gonna have to click on that later, let's
see. Yeah, it's Al Jefferson. I was gonna say, didn't they
Wasn't he one of the guys with Charlotte. I think after they became the
Hornets who Charlotte did like they were sending out like paint cans as like promotional
material for him to win some award because like he dominated the paint or something.
You remember hearing about that. No, all right, good job,
you got it. Okay, I got one for you for Rubik scal Okay.
What. I once appeared in a minor league game for the Gustonia Rangers
in three innings, I struck out four batters and allowed only one run.
Move over, MJ. Who the heck else played baseball? We're not going
back to the well on Danny Ainge. I hope no. Who else played
baseball? All right? I don't have it. I married my college sweetheart
and we have three children. The boys took after me, while our daughter
played volleyball in college just like her mama? Is it Dennis Rodman? No?
Okay? Clue three? But the story isn't all roses and honey.
We divorced after thirty three years. My ex wife is in a relationship with
my former friend from college, ex NFL or and Patriots tight end Stephen Johnson,
who she was having an affair with prior to our divorce. I am
married to Nicki Smith, who just so happens to be Stephen Johnson's ex wife.
Oh interesting. See what was the thing about the kids? They're they're
already so they're older. So this is an older player. They have three
children. The two boys took after me, and our daughter played volleyball in
college just like her. Mama. Hmm, I don't have it. Clue
four. If you absolutely insist, we can talk basketball as well. Though
I also played for Utah, Cleveland, Milwaukee, and Toronto, I am
most associated with this Eastern Conference team Team X, Utah, Cleveland, Milwaukee,
Toronto and Team X. The Team X thing always throws me because it's
like, Okay, if you give me this team, I'm gonna definitely get
the player. But I never feel like I would have based on the team,
so that the baseball thing, Okay, I don't know. Clue five.
Team X used their first pick in the expansion draft to select me.
I played ten seasons with them, and when I left, I was Team
x's career leader in points scored, games played, three pointers made, three
pointers attempted, and three point percentage. I feel like I don't know the
year, so this could expansion could be like friggin the magic or something.
I'm trying to reach your face to see if the magic give something away,
all right, I don't know. Clu six. Given all that previous information,
you may think I was a perennial starter, but I started fewer than
one hundred times in my career, although I played more than one thousand games
ps. I did, in fact win a six Man of the Year award
for Team X. No I just have no dale. Ellis no, I
don't even know when we are right now? Okay, even more clues,
all right, I don't feel like there's going to be a dead giveaway.
Rubic scale doesn't do the dead giveaways. Clue seven. I shot above forty
percent from three for eight consecutive seasons and led the league once with forty seven
point six percent from distance. I am one of only twenty eight NBA players
to end their career shooting above forty percent from three. Shit, I got
a slouch here. It's just my thinking posture. The baseball thing really good
three point shooter. There's a Team X here that I assume was that is
an expansion team. The like swapping husband and wife thing is really I had
no idea, and I was shocked. Do you want the final clue?
All right? Yeah? Sure, Team X retire my number in twenty eight.
Team it won't be the last time a jersey with that last name and
that number will be retired. Oh what a good clue. A retired jersey
and that name and number is also going to be retired. Oh man,
I just my head is like spinning right now. I just have no idea.
Should I should I know this. Ah, you're gonna be like,
oh, well, I'll give you I can have a clue. I'll give
you a clue. I think, wait a minute, are you ready bask
my Is it del Curry? Yes, it's de Cry. I should have
got that way earlier. That's now the clue, the the wife, the
divorce thing makes more sense now that shit's wild. Yeah. Can we talk
about how powerful Stephen Curry's like pr control arm is the like all that stuff
just like went away when when that happened? Pretty impressive. Do you mean
that he wasn't asked about it or anymore and asked about it? The story
just came and went like that. There were like people Thursday after Sonya Curry,
I wanted a broadcast. I remember that was like, oh man,
Twitter turning into a sesspool on that one. That wasn't happened all the time,
even in college. Okay, I okay, that last clue was great.
Uh that that helped. I should have gotten that earlier. Good good
clues. Do you have another one for me or do you want one more
for yourself? I got one. I'm very eager to see if you're gonna
get this one is from Mike. Uh. Clue number one, I was
drafted in two thousand. Ope, that's the one I just gave you,
So I'll give you the one I did not just give you. Clue number
one. I was drafted in the mid second round in two thousand and five
by the Wizards. Andre Blatch unfucking believable. Yeah, just just failed so
good. I was just I hope Mike didn't have a shit. He writes
so many clues, I'll feel bad. There are nine clues here. I'm
gonna guesstimate we're talking like three to four hundred words. I will give you
some of them. The phenomenal Andre Blatch get out of here is that I'm
trying to think, because we both have had a bunch of one guess ors,
is that the most like that is by far the most obscure one guess
hit. I'm sorry. He was a Big three member in Washington. Some
of these, I'm sure some of these clues are gonna be good because everything's
funny about him. Uh cluti. I spent most of my first pro season
in the D League with Roanoke Dazzle play twenty nine games. UH second season
saw playing time increase due to injuries suffered by Eton Thomas and Michael Ruffin just
a couple of luminaries there, let's see you played all eighty two The next
season, I want to get to the where he got a big deal and
got amnestied, like immediately, Oh, here we go. Other other things
And my fourth season in nine ten, I finally cracked ten points per game.
But my most notable moment that season was being fined ten thousand dollars by
the Wizard for mimicking firing a gun during the player intros. Only a few
days after Gilbert Arenas and Jabbars gritten and brought guns to practice after getting into
an argument over one hundred dollars in a poker game. Just that Wizard's team
was something else. Let's see this sign with the Nets started wearing number zero,
saying it was a reminder that everyone had given up on me. Brook
Lopez got hurt and while the team sucked with Lopez injured, average eighteen a
game during his injury. One more season with the Nets. Despite holding dual
citizenship with the Philippines, the country's basketball league labels me as an import player
since I was born in the States. This turned out to be important as
since I'm six to eleven, I'm too tall to play in the league,
as non Filipino born players have a hight cap of six foot six. I
bought this for three seasons before saying fucking and retiring in twenty twenty four.
Oh, I feel terrible that I got that in one guess. You should
feel great you got that in one guess. That was amazing, grant.
Oh, go ahead, I just I'm I'm impressed. That's I can't even
talk. Are you ready to get into the mind of a psychopath? Oh?
I mean, I will say. This is the first time. I'm
I feel like I'm rooting for you to get this one because I had to
figure out who'd be rich gave us on my own. So you solved it
though, Yes, but did you did you use the internet or did you
solve it with the clues? No? No, I didn't use the internet.
But it took what clue? Did I get? What number? Is
not number one, two, three, four? It was? It was
cluse six. It looks like I got it on so so my goal should
be to get it in five or it's well, cause sometimes if I don't
have time, I won't read these I'll say thank you, and then I'll
just read them to you. But then if there's not a player, I'm
gonna look like a fucking idiot when I don't even know who it is.
It's like, I think that's right, I don't know. All right,
let's do it. I'm in the mind of a psychopath. Clu one.
I was drafted in the lottery in nineteen ninety nine from a prestigious basketball powerhouse
ninety nine prestigious. All right, I do want to try to get the
one shot kill, so I should make a guess here. Hmm, Corey
mcghetty, that is incorrect. Okay, Clue two. Despite my pedigree,
I started zero out of the eighty two games I played as a rookie,
and thus did not make an All Rookie team. Okay, got nothing.
Clu three. The next two seasons, I started one hundred and sixty four
regular season games, helping my Eastern Conference team make the playoffs. In my
third season, I made my first All Star team, averaging eighteen points and
nine assists. So from no Z he played zero games as a started,
started zero, then starts all of them for two years, and in his
third year as an All Star You said, m h was there? What
were there numbers too? Sorry? It averaged eighteen points and nine assists eighteen
and nine As a it is third year in like, oh two, I
should get that damn pristige. So like we gotta be talking Kentucky Duke,
Kansas, North Carolina eighteen and I don't. I don't have it. Clue
forward. In my fifth season, I made my first and only All NBA
team and led the NBA and attempted threes while only making them at a thirty
two percent equip Oh boy, so this is God who is just chucking and
not making threes? Really? Two thousand? That's such a that's a I
should we should? You and I both should have got it by this one.
Yeah. I was pretty when it took, like when it finally dawned
on me. And now I'm so the second I might have been the seventh
clue. I didn't get it because it was the second to last one.
Cluzer here, I'm hung up on the prestigious college program. One. I
think maybe that's you should probably stop. Okay, what's the next clue?
Clue number five? The next year, I was traded to help revive a
Western Conference team, where I went on to only make the playoffs once in
four seasons, the fourth of which my team went forty eight and thirty four
and finished ninth in the West. So this guy, it's a point guard
from a good college, shot a lot of threes and didn't make them.
Went east to West. Yeah, you will get it. This is the
clue. I got the clue that's gonna come. If you don't have a
guest. Here is the one I go on. You'll I think you'll get
it too, all right. I just want to make sure I'm not like
missing somebody super obvious. The three point shooting stuff is so tricky, like
going back because I mean nobody shot them, right, Yeah, I don't
know. I just got I'm just gonna have dead air here while I think.
So once you give me the next one clue number six, the one
year my Western Conference team made the playoffs. Let's just say the fans in
Oracle believed. That's okay. Yeah, the prestigious college. What's more prestigious
than UCLA? This is Baron Davis? Correct? Oh man? Yeah you
got that? Who was? I showed it Honor Carolink on my tits after
one of the best in game dunks and NBA playoff history. It's accurate.
Definitely got teed up for that too. Yeah, okay, I yeah,
thirteen and it was in eighteen and nine. Yeah, that was. That's
a that's a quality guess a player because you're gonna to get it, but
you gotta you gotta work for it to get it soon. All right,
good one? Yes, Thanks everybody, as always for the guest and player
submissions. If you would like to participate in guests a player, or if
you'd like to participate in our over underwin totals and win guessing and smoke us
like most of you did, you can joining our discord link for that in
YouTube and podcast description. As always, rate review, subscribe, check us
out wherever you can on YouTube, wherever you get your podcasts, so on
and so forth. I think that's going to do it. As always,
we close with a shout out to one only Frankly Lokeina and an apology to Jared Allen