The Bill Simmons Podcast - All-NBA/MVP Tester Ballot With Joe House (Ep. 197)

Episode Date: April 6, 2017

HBO and The Ringer's Bill Simmons brings on Joe House to discuss the Cavs taking the East crown (6:00), Toronto's newfound toughness (11:00), John Wall's unmatched speed (16:00), Rob Hennigan's scouting whiteboard (22:00), the great MVP debate (32:00), the second-best Spur (40:00), Popovich's coach-of-the-year candidacy (47:00), All-NBA selections (54:00), Draymond vs. Gobert (59:00), Isaiah Thomas's second-team spot (1:04:00), Karl-Anthony Towns's spectacular season (1:11:00), and Boogie's next destination (1:18:00). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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because they certainly needed it. They needed about 60 days to catch up to the beating that Cleveland laid down on them. We're going to bring in Joe House to talk briefly about that, but really to go over my awards ballot because I have to hand it in by, I think the

deadline's Friday and I have not made any major decisions yet, but I just want to talk it out with House. This is what we do. He's my sounding board. We're going to go in the muse cage. Kobe built us a muse cage. We're going to go right into it and talk about the all NBA MVP, rookie of the year, coach of the year, all that stuff. Not making final picks. We're just going to feel it out. But first, our buddies from Pearl Jam. All right, taping this on a Wednesday night, we decided it would be a smart idea to wait until after the Celtics-Cavs game because we were going to learn so much.

And I guess what we learned is that the Celtics stink and shouldn't be taken seriously. What did you learn, Joe House? I wouldn't say that the Celtics stink. I'm glad that we gave it a little bit of time. The game ended maybe an hour ago. We needed to let you have a little bit of cool-off the Celtics stink. I'm glad that we gave it a little bit of time. The game ended maybe an hour ago. We needed to let you have a little bit of cool-off time. They stink.

What I think we saw was really the playoff Cleveland, playoff Cavs. Okay. We don't have to talk about defense anymore. They shut down the Celtics on the perimeter, and the Cavs took care of the basketball. Two pretty important things. I mean, that was a little bit of a referendum on, you know, exactly what Cleveland is poised to do as we approach the playoff season.

I just think the Celtics played bad. And LeBron turned it up. In the second quarter, LeBron was like, I'm the best player in the league. I'm tired of hearing all this other stuff. I'm not giving up the one seed. And he laid the smack down. And all of a sudden, they were up 18. But I think that happened.

Their defense was definitely better. I don't think the Celtics are playing that well. And I've been afraid to tweet this because I didn't want people to think it was a reverse jinx. They've had success. I think before that Cleveland game, they'd won like seven of their last eight, something like that. And they played a couple

good games during the month, but they're just not shooting well. And when Isaiah is not on the floor, they're just not able to generate any offense. Marcus Smart's been in a funk since the All-Star break. But this is the challenge with this Celtics team, and this is why folks, both fans and people on the outside, kind of scratched their head, at least I did,

with the idea that the Celtics would stand pat at the trade deadline. I understand that as the trade deadline approached, whatever the price may have been for guys that they might have been interested in got skewed. But if they were interested in making a serious run this season, it was pretty apparent that they needed one more piece, I would say. Yeah. I even look at somebody like Boyan on your team, who is more of a stretch the floor guy,

doesn't get to have the ball that much in his hands, but is somebody that could do that and create shots for people. But when you think like the Jerobo spot and the Amir Johnson spot, to think that you actually have a chance to win a title when you have guys that are out there that just aren't dangerous, you know, you can get away with one. I don't know if you get away with two and then smart. It's been in just an offensive funk.

He can still make plays that swing games, but he hasn't been able to shoot. You put a lot of non threats out there. And I think that's the disappointing J Crowder. And J Crowder is another one. I mean, the team shot a lot of, they shoot a lot of threes every month, but I think they were like 34% from three in March.

And it's just not good enough. For the amount of threes they shoot and the amount they rely on Isaiah, I think they've gotten more predictable. My thing is, this is why I like Toronto so much and why I think Toronto is by far the biggest threat in the east of Cleveland. They're flexible. They can throw out different types of lineups and if one lineup's not working and one looks not working they can go a little bigger they can go a little smaller they can give you you know a defense lineup they can give you a shooter lineup and the Celtics don't have that flexibility and to be honest I don't think Cleveland does either Cleveland you

saw it tonight with no Thompson it's basically like it had to be the LeBron show. Or otherwise, it's not like they had a whole bunch of looks to throw at, you know? Well, on that point, the LeBron show is still a pretty good show. LeBron show's a great show. Countdown had a good piece tonight before the game about part of their defensive problem was LeBron. And the fact that, you know, probably smartly, because who cares about the regular season? He takes plays and series and quarters off on defense. So does Westbrook.

So does Harden. Yeah, we were advocating a little bit for this as the season has progressed. I mean, it was befuddling that he was leading the league in minutes at the midway point. And frankly, to me, a little concerning because of all the mileage. I think our thesis at the beginning of the season, which was, you know, let's let LeBron go out and see if he can validate the title run that he, more than anybody, really produced with a follow-up MVP year.

That was kind of the idea that you put on the table. And I kind of think there might have been something to that because there really wasn't any other good reason for him to be leading the league in minutes through the first half of the NBA season. But, you know, he's been looking for, now that it's apparent that, you know, they're pretty well slotted into one, at worst two in the the East, and they've made a couple moves here at trade deadline and since in acquiring more pieces, it is the right move for them to let him get some rest as we head into the stretch. He doesn't want to. And here we are now.

But he said he doesn't want to. He's not interested. He's, you know, it must be something about his mindset and his body, and maybe he's in a groove and he doesn't want to take the time off. I got to say, you know, when Thompson was out, I thought that was great for the Celtics because he kills them. But then you watch them, and LeBron's playing a lot of the four, and it's a little bit of a smaller, more malleable lineup. And he really should be a four.

Like in the way basketball is played in this day and age, it always feels clumsy when Love, Thompson and Love are all out there. You know, and when LeBron's at the four, I mean, tonight made me wonder because Love played better and LeBron played better. I mean, he was trying, so it's hard to take too much from that. But it made me wonder when they get to the playoffs if they're going to try to limit the amount of times Love and Thompson are out there together. Does that make sense? It makes sense. And it's also kind of scary, the idea of one of those two guys coming off the bench, you know, playing with the second unit for Cleveland. Yeah, I agree. They still have a lot of bad defensive players out there.

I think they could ratchet it up for one game, but when you're talking about seven-game series every two weeks, basically, I'm still skeptical that they can play defense well enough. The defensive stats for them are really abysmal, and it's not a good sign. Historically, it's a bad sign when you know if you're that bad on defense i think a good example is like the 2010 celtics who is another team that had an on-off switch and that team was 27 and 27 over the last 54 games and everybody's like that's it they they just think they can turn it on and off whatever and they turned it on in the playoffs and they beat lebron and they got past or Orlando and they made the finals and they got within one minute

of winning game seven. But you can do that when you have Kevin Garnett on your team and you could do it when you have Tibbs as the coach. And when you have guys like Pierce and Rondo back when he was still a freak athlete on both ends and, you know, they had the personnel to do that. I don't, other than LeBron, like who are the guys on Cleveland that you would had the personnel to do that. Other than LeBron, who are the guys on Cleveland that you would say that's the foundation of a great defense? They don't really have it. Yeah, but

the answer is LeBron. Yeah, but he's never been Kawhi. No, no, no. They play team defense. I don't think you've ever, in this run that they're on right now, you say, them apart from the East and that's why your point earlier about Toronto is so interesting because Toronto really

fortified itself in that particular area and I love the toughness that Toronto has shown I really enjoyed them getting up on Lance I loved it too getting right in Lance's groove.

I mean, P.J. Tucker was having none of it. I really enjoyed that. Yeah, and that's why the P.J. Tucker trade was so smart. It's not just that he's defense off the bench, but he's a badass. You know, he's always got, even on bad Phoenix teams, getting into it with people, very low stakes. That trade hurt. That acquisition hurt my feelings, and I think it hurt yours as well.

It did. Why couldn't my team have got that guy? Well, you can't complain too much. You got Boyan. I'm not complaining. I'm just saying. The four teams in the East are all fun and unique in their own ways. I saw your team in person last week, the Washington Wizards,

playing the Clips. John Wall is just out of his mind. He's at a whole level now. The last time I remember, I don't feel like this with Westbrook because I'm not positive he's human. When I see Westbrook in person, I'm not afraid he's going to get hurt because I don't

even know. I feel like he's like the Terminator. If he broke something, it would just grow back. But I remember seeing Derrick Rose five, six years ago. I remember writing about it, like being afraid for him physically because he was going so hard and so fast. I was like, man, that guy's going to get hurt. You know, it just didn't seem like it seemed like he was pushing the limits of speed and and and balance past a point that it probably should go. I felt it that way a little bit watching Wall in person. He's so fast that sometimes he falls over.

I've never seen a guy going so fast that it's like their feet can't keep up and they just kind of tumble forward into the cameras. Do you get worried about him physically sometimes? Yeah, two things on that. This season is the first. It's pretty apparent that he's been 100% healthy. And not only is he healthy, but he has health confidence. You know, like he trusts his legs.

He trusts himself that he can play with a type of speedy recklessness. He's always been fast, and he's always been in the top three of guys end-to-end, but this season is a revelation because of how confident he is. He's had work done on both knees over the last few years. He's also physically stronger now. He's a little bit bigger. The funny thing about the point you're making where he gets a little bit out of balance, it has the effect, I think, having watched him for a long time, of taking away from his ability to get to the free throw line. Because he doesn't get foul calls the way that a guy of his stature should and for the amount of times that he gets to the basket. And I think it's because the way he looks the way he plays it's not easy for the rest

to call all contact i think he's i'd really have to think about this and go through every season to make sure i'm not missing anyone but i can't imagine i've seen anyone faster in person i think rose was crazy fast i think westbrook's crazy fast i think younger lebron was sneaky unbelievable fast you don't think of him but he's six eight the ground that he covered and then going way back like remember ricky green going way back that guy was like lightning fast there's been guys from the past but i can't imagine anyone's faster than one that the the revelation for me that game other than how fast he was was you know chris paul who made all defense for a bunch of years and was always

somebody that could stay in front of everybody. He couldn't do it like for four quarters. He could do it for the first quarter and he was having his way a little with the wall. But as the game went on, the speed and the athleticism of the Wizards became a real problem for the Clips, which was fascinating because, you know, they have DeAndre and they have Blake, who on paper is one of the best athletes in the league, only physically he's not the same athlete anymore. I think his body's really banged up. And he used to dunk over people, and now he goes up and under and does all this stuff that you do when your body's not right. And Wall and Beal and Kelly Oubre, my boy, athletically really kind of imposed their will. And they almost came back from a game that seemed like it was over.

But, you know, Washington has the same problem the Celtics have. Their best lineup is too easy to score on. You know? Like, the Washington's best lineup is Wall and Beal, Oubre or Porter, Boyan because he stretches the floor, and then Gortat. And it's just too easy to score on that. So then you bring Markeith in, and he could guard somebody like Blake. He got kicked out of that game on Wednesday.

But you bring Markeith in. Now you don't have quite the same stretch of floor. They're always giving up something to get the lineup they want, and the Celtics are like that too. Their best lineups. Isaiah's out there. You've got to hide him on somebody. You play a team like the Wizards, you can't hide him.

You can't put him on Porter. You can't put him on Wall. You can't put him on Beal. And that was what I learned in that Wizards game. It's like, Boyan's great to have out there, but he's got to guard somebody on the other end. It's tough. You know, if you're going to play him and Porter or him and Oubre,

there's really nobody for him to guard. Somebody's going to be able to beat him off the dribble, you know? Yeah, the whiz formula is to outscore the opponent. They're not getting crucial stops at the end of the game. Dangerous. And that's why Toronto, I was saying to our friend Hershey today that I think, I don't know if Boston has another gear. You go to the playoffs and it's like you kick it up one notch. that I think, I don't know if Boston has another gear.

You go to the playoffs and it's like you kick it up one notch. I think Boston is who they are and I think Washington is who they are. I think Toronto can kick it up a notch. I think that's the team that I look at and I go, I think they can go up a level defensively. Offensively, they have two guys who can get shots. They have shooting. They have a big guy. I have my eye on them and for some reason they have the fourth best odds in the east which i just can't

wrap my head around unless lowry is not going to be healthy well there's no indication that he's not right i don't know what are you hearing tate yeah he played it seems like he's yeah it seems like he's 85 90 if he's going to be%, that team should have the same odds as Cleveland, in my opinion. Well, I like him a hair behind Cleveland. I mean, it's still a show-me thing with Toronto. I mean, let's not crown their ass. But they're very interesting.

They're a compelling foil this season for the Cavs. I don't trust Cleveland. I don't trust on-off switch teams. I think that's a really dangerous game to play. You know what's fun about the East, though? You know, the Celts are probably going to be the two seed. I think they could lose to any of those lower seeds. I really do.

Like, Milwaukee came into boston last week and boston really needed the game because you know they had a chance to kind of secure the one seed for at least a day or two and milwaukee just legit beat them and it wasn't like one of those things where uh you know it's like ah we did they caught us by surprise like milwaukee's a playoff team it's like you knew they were coming it's a bad matchup for the celtics they always play them tough and and Milwaukee just beat them. Miami almost beat them. Chicago, who the hell knows with them?

They play Chicago like National TV Rondo and Butler, and Meritage is making one of the great restricted free agent contract reds. There's not one team, Paul George and Indy, there's not one team the Celtics could play that I would feel that great about. Don't you feel the same way about Washington? Would you be shocked if Washington lost in round one? No. And, in fact, you know, the great disappointment of this postseason will be

if the Celtics and the Wizards don't face each other. I know. Because of the little history the teams have developed, you know, the little chippy animosity, which is very enjoyable. I mean, I can only imagine what the Wiz would wear to the playoff games after the all-black, you know, this is a funeral game. But, you know, so they...

But I have the exact same view. The only team I don't fear at all, I don't even know if they're going to make the playoffs, is Atlanta. I don't fear Atlanta. I don't believe Atlanta can beat either Washington or Boston. You're right. Millsap scares me a little, but it does seem like Atlanta's dying.

Dwight is like that guy in the airplane who's coughing and it's a six-hour flight and you're just like, man, I hope I don't get that. And the guy coughs the whole flight and by the sixth hour you're like, I think I'm okay.

I don't think I got it. And then the next day, you're just coughing up oysters. That's Dwight. Dwight's the guy in the plane who's just coughing. And you're like, are we going to get that? He just has a way of contaminating whatever team he's on. It's unbelievable. I think it's unfair to blame this year's Atlanta on the play. I think it's totally fair.

I love blaming Dwight Howard. What's more fun than blaming Dwight Howard? They should have done what they were poised to do, which is just tear it down. And then they hit the pause button, and now they're stuck in no man's land. I mean, as a trade deadline approach. Paul Millsap was on the trade block.

And that was appropriate. They should have torn it down. Now he's on Rob Hennigan's whiteboard along with every other stretch word. Anyone listening who didn't see this, Magic took a picture of this free agent that they were signing. The guy's agent took it.

And in the background, there was a whiteboard that had all of Orlando's summer plans for, what do they call them, hybrids? Hybrid forwards that they might be interested in signing. This was the funniest thing that's happened all season. I loved it so much. Dude, it's time.

You gotta bring it back. I don't know how many years it's been. The summit has to come back. The worst GM summit? Yeah, right. The worst GM summit. It's been, the summit has to come back. The worst GM summit? Yeah. The worst GM summit. It's time, brother. You might be right.

I might have to start working on it. Hennegan, the best part was the list had like Chandler Parsons and Luau Dang on it. How about this?

Don't put those guys on the list. They're available. I just want phone calls. That's a great list. Yeah. What a funny list that is. You just call Memphis and go, I think I want to trade for Chandler Parsons.

Memphis is like, good. He's saying what do you want? Here, take him. Please. Well, that is a key element for the atrocious GM summit. What are the worst contracts? Those are the ones we want. Dang it, Parsons.

What the fuck are you doing, Orlando? Spectacular. What the fuck are you doing, Orlando? It's spectacular. What is it? I hate advocating for a firing, but I don't know what war we need to see from Orlando. Like, just going into the season was a horrible game plan, and all the power forwards they had, and then it's like it took the whole season just to put the right guys in the right spots, and then their whole summer plan leaks on Instagram.

So it seems like a fire offense. There's been a whole slew. I mean, Orlando is just the hot, you know, shitty GM team of the moment. But, you know, Phoenix had a little spot there. Philly giving away Noel wasn't excusable. Let's not talk about the Knicks ever. Yeah, the Knicks. They have to be in there.

How about Philly's medical staff? What about it? It's not funny. Ligaments and broken feet and all these things, and the guy, he's fine, and then he's not, and all of a sudden he's out for the year. What the hell's going on there? Yeah, there's some poorly run teams.

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See why people across the world love movement watches. Go to MVMTwatches.com slash bill and get 15% off today, plus with free shipping and free returns. That's MVMTwatches.com slash bill. Join the movement. Speaking of movement, a guy who likes to move toward food, Joe Hess. All right, we're back. So one thing I noticed about this season that's pretty weird, and I'd have to look at all the seasons, but the win totals are low.

And I remember this happened after. This usually happens when there's too much talent. As weird as that sounds, the NBA can have almost too much talent. Sometimes it's great for us as fans. No, it's the parody. The parody creeps in, sure. It's great for us as fans. It's a parody. The parody creeps in. It's a good parody. It's like a positive parody.

But this happened when they merged with the ABA in 1976. And you look at those next three years of records and nobody could get to 60 wins because every team was loaded. And I think Portland, the year they won in 77, they probably had like 48 wins.

You just had everybody was closer to the middle than maybe we're accustomed to. And then you get to the 80s and you have the haves and the have-nots and all this stuff. And we go in these cycles with the league. But right now, you know, the Cavs are 51 and 27. And they're the leader in the East. Boston's got 50 wins. Toronto has 48. Washington has 47.

And then the next one is Milwaukee at 40. And then you go to the West. Golden State has 64. They're probably going to finish around 67. San Antonio is going to be over 60. They're at 60 now. Houston's 53 and 25. Nobody else might get to 50 wins.

Utah's 48. Clips, 47. OKC 45, Memphis 42, and then there's the Portland-Denver combo at 38, 37. But my point is, when a team like Cleveland doesn't look as good as the typical one seeds we have and they seem super flawed, some of that might just be that the league is so much better and it's just tougher to rip off 60 win seasons. It also makes me think that there's going to be a chance that we see a 1-8 upset or a 2-7 upset. I don't think we'll see it in the West. Although, you know, San Antonio, I always feel like is a suspect just because they only have one all-star. If you have one all-star,

I think you're beatable in any playoff series. But in the East, I think absolutely Toronto, Washington, Boston, Cleveland's probably not going to lose in round one over his dead body. But the other three I think could happen. Could we see a major round one upset? Are you prepared for that?

I'm kind of not. Would it be major if Houston... Who's Houston at the play right now? Memphis or the Clippers? Right now we have the Westbrook-Cardin death match in round one. Oh my God. Okay. Well, so that's not... There would be nothing

shocking about that, right? How about Memphis-San Antonio? A lot of history with those two teams. The Gasols going head-to-head. They just had a close game. Memphis has beaten them before. Not inconceivable. Not inconceivable.

Portland beating Golden State. Inconceivable. Inconceivable. Yeah, inconceivable. No chance. Denver hanging with Golden State. Not beating them but at least giving them a series

anyway we're going to talk I'm preferring Denver in the playoffs to Portland just because I want to see the Joker and guys on the come up like that who get the first taste of the playoffs

that's always a revelation it's always an important you know marker for for those kinds of guys so that's i'm rooting for denver who do you have rob hennigan's whiteboard against phil jackson's sleeping pill medication that's a that's a draw isn't it it's a draw rob hennigan's whiteboard. The hybrids. There's a lot of hybrids in the NBA right now. Oh, man. It's a hybrid frenzy. Look at all these hybrids.

Come on in, guys. Check out the hybrids. My God. Thank God there are no Orlando Magic fans other than Kevin Clark, because there would be rioting after the hybrids. All right, we're going to talk about awards. I have a vote. I've had a vote for years, which is great,

except for the part that i cannot gamble on on uh nba awards which is kind of a bummer but uh but i am allowed to pick the awards and this is the toughest year of all time uh for me with the award i now i did not have a ballot in 1993 and i didn't have one in 1988 I'm sure those years were as tough or tougher in 1987 but this is crazy the MVP I can't remember being undecided heading into the last week of the season so we're going to talk about that all NBA is just an apocalypse it's there some of the best players or I should say some of the best statistical seasons, I can remember that just have no chance of making the top 15. And we've talked about this.

I love the All-NBA. I love the snapshot of the season. It really matters to me because I'm a loser and I'm a nerd about this stuff. It matters to get this right. And then on top of this, there's this added pressure because they added this rule with the salaries with the All-NBA.

Right. Where, you know, Paul George could be one All-NBA vote short of making an extra $45 million because I decided somebody else was my third-team All-NBA forward.

I might cost Paul George $45 million. I don't feel good about that. That's a big responsibility. And if anything, if I'm Paul George, he should have sent me a fruit basket by now or some chocolate. Send Tate something.

Send Tate some North Carolina gear. I hope he doesn't blame you. Paul George, send me some gifts. I wouldn't want to be blamed by any of those guys. My vote's available, Paul George. Put me up. You too, Gordon Hayward. Send me some Utah white chocolate.

We're not starting with Paul George, but I'm down on Paul George. It seems like it dawned on him that it was important to make the all-NBA team over the last three weeks. Over the course of the season, it was disappointing. But let's not

start there. There's other stuff to talk about. Yeah, Paul George, you have not fooled me. So, MVP, let's just get it out of the way. I'm not ready to make a decision yet. I wrote off Westbrook a week ago when I had Klosterman on my podcast. And since then, he's single-handedly won three games by himself.

Two, he pulled out of the deep recesses of Oklahoma City's sphincter. It was all the way in, and he just reached in there and pulled them out. And then tonight, I did not see tonight's game, but he had like 45-9-10, and they beat Memphis by three. So I'm assuming he might have had an impact on that game. And it just feels like he's peaking at the end here,

and there's recency bias, but also he's peaking because he wants to win the award and he wants to finish with a triple-double, but he's actually delivering. Whereas Harden, who they totally outplayed Oklahoma City on Sunday on ABC. I watched that game for three quarters. Westbrook put up a bunch of cheap stats in the fourth quarter when the game was over. And I left that game thinking it's over. Harden won the MVP. Harden hurts his wrist at the end of the game.

Has not been the same since. He left the door a crack open. Kawhi hasn't been shooting as well since the All-Star break. He might have had a chance if he really played lights out, but he just hasn't. LeBron, that team went in the tank for some degree there and they rallied back tonight, but they have not played well. Kevin Durant almost broke his leg and he's

been out. So he's out of the running. Isaiah Thomas can't win. And the more I stare at this, I'm like, fuck, am I going to have to vote for Westbrook? I hate when it seems like guys are chasing stats. I don't like voting for MVPs that aren't on a team that I think can win the title. I can only remember doing that one other time with Kobe in 06, and there were just no other candidates. I felt like by default I had to vote for him. But it feels like Westbrook is taking the MVP. What do you think?

So that's interesting. I'm curious to take one level deeper dive with you on your thinking as to why it is that Westbrook, and you mentioned recency bias, has asserted himself in a way that would change your overall philosophy. I mean, I think there is a very good reason that over the course of recent NBA history, no MVP has come from a team that's won less than 50 games. The MVP is a mantle.

It's an important stamp for the league. And Westbrook is fascinating and deserves all of the credit that he's receiving, and it's eye-opening. It's mind-boggling what he's achieving. But at the end of the season, it strikes me as a little bit more than, I mean, not much more than just a neat curiosity. Like, what about, so Oklahoma City was forecast before the season started as a 44-win team, and they're going to come in around 46 or 47. Houston was also forecast to come in in the mid-40s, and they're going to be 12 or 13 or 14 games better, and Harden has been the straw in that drink,

the straw stirring that drink from the minute the season started, and he's been on a relentless redemption tear. And that team, you know, had genuine ambition and genuine aspiration to threaten the Western Conference. And you, your own self, I don't know if you wrote this, but I know that you said it to me over the last week. You think that Houston has the best chance of challenging the Warriors in the West. I do. Much better chance than the Spurs. So what is it about, is it just the fact that he's going to end up averaging the triple-double? And because it's such a unique mark that you think it deserves a recognition,

the league mantle. So here would be the case. Houston's 53-25 right now. Oklahoma City's 45-33. Houston's only eight games better than them. And my question is, for everything Westbrook does with that team, for the triple-doubles, which which as you know, I hate triple doubles. It just seems like a totally arbitrary number to me.

If somebody has 38 points, 13 rebounds, and 8 assists, and somebody else has 19 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists, the triple doubles, the one that gets the pat on the back. I don't get that. It's just fucking arbitrary. Very, very quick aside on that front, the thing that is going to keep Harden from averaging a triple-double this season

is about 160 rebounds. A little less than two rebounds a game is going to be the barometer for whether or not, you know, his performance over the course of the season. You know, that's the thing. It's not like a huge leap. From an offense, from an assist points standpoint, they're pretty much even. And Harden's been, you know, he just shoots better.

Westbrook has taken 350 more field goals than anybody else in the league. So he takes over four shots a game more than anybody else in the league. He's also averaging 10 free throws a game. His usage rate is almost 42%, which is by far the highest total in the history of the league. The assist rate is like 57. I laid all this out when I wrote the westbrook column a few weeks ago nothing's really changed from like the ball dominance standpoint hardin's just done it more efficiently the difference is westbrook's getting these two and a half three extra rebounds a game and you know look rebet the rebounds are incredible

i will say in this go this is credit to Oklahoma City, I'm not trying to demean the Westbrook rebounds thing, but the team wants him to get the rebounds. Over and over again, you see these plays where if he's going for a rebound, the other teammate kind of lays out for it, which I think is great. You know, on free throws, you see the two guys box out there, guys, so Westbrook can come in. It's a smart play because you want your point guard to get the ball and go

over throwing the outlet pass to him. But they want him to get these 10 rebounds a game. And my question is, should that swing the MVP? If he was at eight rebounds a game, I don't know if it would totally be the conversation. Now, here's the other part to this. He's resonating with fans in a different way than Harden does and I think that has to count for something when you think about MVP like I think we're gonna remember this as the Westbrook Durant season 10 years from now I'd be like what was what was 16 17 oh that was the

Westbrook season that was the year Westbrook had the triple double Durant left he went to Golden State Westbrook was every night incredible toouble. Durant left. He went to Golden State. Westbrook was, every night, incredible to watch. He's more fun to watch than Harden. Harden's a magician. His passes are amazing. That offense is, I mean, how many Houston possessions could you watch in a row? Like 20? All of them.

It's the same thing every time. He's out in the front. Everybody's standing there. I don't know. I mean, Westbrook, at least, he does the fast breaks. I think he's a little more fun game to game than Harden is. And also, people love the vengeance tour that he's on. And they love that he's just a man possessed and a man scorned.

So the storyline's a little bit sexier, I think, than the Harden thing. I get the Westbrook thing. I just can't wrap my head around voting for MVP for somebody who has no chance to win the title. That's my view. When I have good candidates. That's the problem. Yeah, when I have good candidates,

I have Harden, I have LeBron, and I have Kawhi. Guys who have a chance to win the title. Look, Kawhi's not on a, you know, it's not like he's playing with all-stars. He's the only all-star on that team. James Harden only has one all-star on his team. We'll put Shaq up to Ka the title. Look, Kawhi's not on it. You know, it's not like he's playing with all-stars. He's the only all-star on that team. James Harden only has one all-star on his team. Real quick shout-out to Kawhi.

That dude plays both ends of the floor. I mean, let's, you know, it's wonderful to be wowed by the astounding feats of Westbrook and Harden over the course of this season, but neither one of them are going to sniff any kind of all-defense nothing. Kawhi's all-defense first team again this year. Yeah, and it's not even just that he's first team. He's, in the last two minutes, he's going to guard the other team's best guy a lot of the time,

which you wouldn't have Harden guarding the other team's best guy. Also, quick shout out for Kawhi. First player, and I'm not going to tell you the year, since Tim Duncan to average over 25 points for the Spurs. Wow. Yeah. Well, the year I think was like 2001, 2002, something like that. Or maybe it was 2011.

I don't remember the stat. He's a much better offensive player than I expected him to be. 2001-2002, something like that. Or maybe it was 2011. I don't remember the stats. He's a much better offensive player than I expected him to be. I didn't think – he always seemed like one of those guys that almost like, you know, those kids in high school in any sport, like basketball, soccer, whatever, you're just telling the kid to shoot more. Oh, shoot, I wish he shot more. I wish he was more aggressive.

And Kawhi, it was almost like they always had to repeatedly tell him to shoot, drive, take the hole, you got him, take him off the dribble. And now he does that. And he really does seem like he wants to be great. My whole thing, so if the aliens land and we have to pick five guys, who's your first pick? We have to beat them in a game to 11. Pick any five. My very first. Yeah. Right to beat them in a game to 11. Pick any five.

My very first pick. Yeah. Right this second? Yeah. LeBron. Me too. That's got to count for something. I don't know.

We all think LeBron's the best player. We might be overthinking this. But, you know, on the flip side, LeBron takes games off and he has rested. And the fact that Westbrook just wants to be out there game after game after game after game and Harden too, the durability, that's what makes me think it's a two-man race. It's not just that all these guys have been great, but those guys have been great and they've shown up game after game after game after game,

which I really think the biggest flaw with all the advanced metric stuff is that there's no way to sneak in little bonuses for durability. I guess win shares is the only one where every time you play, you get a little extra tiny piece of a win share if your team does well. Well, you know what? If you did do that, LeBron would fare much better because, again, he led the league in minutes through the first half of the season. Right. Nobody's more durable than LeBron. Yeah. So, is it fair to say I can wait

until the final day, which I've never done before to decide who the MVP is? I don't have to hand him my ballot until Friday. What is the final day? It's two days after the season ends, Friday. So, I'm going to wait. I'm going to at least do it on Thursday. Yes.

Just wait. There's no reason to be in a hurry with it. Let it cook a little. If OKC wins their last four and they're 49-33, is 49 wins enough for an MVP? Depends on where they end up seeding-wise also. It seems low. The MVP is going to not have home court in any round. It depends on where they end up seeding-wise also. I mean, if they're a six-seed, no. It seems low. The MVP's going to not have home court in any round?

This is the thing. I just have a real issue with the MVP coming from a six-seed. San Antonio has a—well, they lost to the Lakers tonight because they packed it in. They're stuck in the two-seed, but they're going to win 62, 63 games. Yeah. Who's the second-best spur? stuck in the two seed, but they're going to win 62, 63 games. Who's the second best Spur? Wow, that's a great

question. People would say LaMarcus Aldridge unless they were Spurs fans. I would not say that. You heard me. The sound that came out of my mouth would begin with a P because I was going to say Powell.

Oh my God, Powell. Wow because I was going to say pow. Oh, my God, pow. Wow. I don't know about that. Well, I mean, it's – That's the thing. There's no guaranteed pick. I mean, they could survive in a series if they could survive any loss from any guy from number two to number 12.

I would argue that when Manu is on his game and kind of feeling it, that's kind of the X factor that they need. That second creator who can kind of make stuff happen. I mean, they have so many injuries. I've seen Johnson Simmons have these incredible games. I know.

The problem with that, though, is you get to the playoffs and everybody starts staring at each other when they're down five on the road with six minutes left. You know, who are your five guys? Well, that's why Kawhi needs to take over. Yeah. Anyway. Anyway, the MVP.

I'm going to wait. So one more question. The fifth spot is wide open. Because you can fill the ballot. You have five spots. And everybody knows what the four is in some order, but that fifth spot, the more I'm staring at it, I don't think Isaiah Thomas has earned the fifth spot.

I don't think Wahl has quite earned the fifth spot. The more I'm staring at it, it feels a little Steph Curry-ish. Is that crazy? Well, Steph reminded everybody, the chef came out and cooked a little bit the last couple weeks. Got cooking. Got it back on the stove. Heated it up a little bit.

Got his oil cooking. Got a couple spices that you might not have seen last year. He had them out last year, but he got the spice rack and he's put it all, got it all laid out in front of him. He's cooking up a little bit of, you know, something delicious the last few weeks. You know, don't sleep on Steph.

He's got his spark back. And yeah, the shame of it is if Durant doesn't get hurt I I thought he was the third best player in the league through 59 games when he when he went down in game 59 I thought he was the third best player in the league and I actually thought game to game he was probably the best player in the league he wasn't putting the same stats up that Harden and Westbrook was, and he wasn't as indispensable to his team's fate

as those two guys were. Just game to game, he was just outstanding, and he played some of the best games I've seen all season. It would be interesting if he had just stayed healthy the whole year, I think he'd be in this mix. I think this would be a five-man race, and I think people would be seriously talking about him because what he was doing defensively and everything.

Am I crazy, or would he have been in the mix? Team analytics would be, you know, there wouldn't be a soft penis in any of those pants. I don't know if I'm allowed to say that. I think you're allowed to say whatever you want. Team analytics because the efficiency of KD this season on both ends. So his

defense has been so immensely bolstered by joining with a crew who plays team defense. So, I mean, that's the part of this that was so underrated about KD coming to Golden State. The defender-rim ability.

And, you know, the Oklahoma City last season showed an impregnability defensively that we hadn't seen before. It was like they had both from one side of the court all the way to the other side of the court because of their length and their athleticism foreclosed. And Durant showed an interest in playing defense in those playoffs, and it really carried through with the Warriors. And his shooting efficiency is like at an all-time mark.

I really think team analytics would have put a hard push on the KD for MVP case. If he could have, if he, if he hadn't suffered that unfortunate. Yeah. If he was like 20, 26 and eight and with like 50, 43, 90 splits or whatever you end up with and all that, like it, it definitely would have been in play. cause that team's going to win. You know, they could have won in the high sixties if he was on the team quickly. I want to talk about all NBA cause it's,

it's fun, but coach of the year, would you, would your jaw drop? If I said, who do you think my number one pick is? Mate, I'll give you three guesses.

Your number one pick. It's too cliche to say Steven, so that's not going to be one of my guesses. He's not there. I'm not voting for him. I'm going to say Pop. Yeah, you know me too well. We've known each other too long. I'm voting for Pop. Why can't I vote for Pop?'ve known each other too long. I'm voting for Pop.

Why can't I vote for Pop? I voted for him last year. I'm voting for him this year. Why can't I just keep voting for Pop? That team's going to win 62 games. They've won All-Star. It's Pop. I mean, I agree. I was prepared to make an impassioned case for Spolstra because

what Miami did in completely rerouting its season halfway through. He's my number two pick. Just unbelievable. Here's the thing. I can't vote for a coach of the year when they go like 40 and 42. I just can't.

No, no. I'm right there with you. If they were 45 and 37 or something. But even that, like, you got to bring something to the table more than, oh, without him they would never have been an eight seed. It's not enough. I think Spoh's done an amazing job. And Scotty Brooks, I think, is going to be my third pick.

If my guy, Scotty Brooks, gets the Wiz to 50 wins, that benchmark, he will have achieved for them two benchmarks that have not been seen in nearly 40 years. The 50 wins and a division title. He arrives and if that's what he delivers, I mean, that's meaningful. With Coach of the Year, you've got to look at, are guys playing better than they did before the guy showed up, if it's a first-year coach? Is the team overachieving with what the talent is. San Antonio, it's like, except for Kawhi, every single guy in that team you would have rather had three years ago.

Not an exaggeration, except for maybe like Jonathan Simmons or Deadman, guys like that. But I'm saying like Gasol, Parker, Patty Mills, Ginobili. You would have wanted all those, Aldridge. You would have wanted all of them three years ago. Danny Green, David Lee. All of them. Every one of them. And then with Washington,

John Wall's playing the best he's ever played. Oubre's turned into a real game-changer off the bench every once in a while. A lot of porters have been out of his mind for where he was. Bradley Beals put it together this season. I think he gets credit for that.

I don't know if that happens with Mike Woodson coaching. No, the developmental part is a real eye-opener, and we haven't seen it from a coach here in Washington. In recent memory, it's the most polite way I can put it. The other guy that I think I would also put ahead of Stevens is Dwayne Casey. Because... Toronto had a lot of... Yeah.

The thing that both he and D'Antoni suffer from, to me, is what I think is more appropriate is to recognize those GMs. Because those teams are dramatically better as a result of the position that the GMs put those teams in.

The coaches didn't mess it up, so I think it's right to recognize both DeAntoni. Is DeAntoni the odds-on favorite to win? Yeah, I forgot to mention him. I don't know if he's going to crack my top three because it was a brilliant move to give the ball to James Harden and just say, do what he did.

It's not like they've been lights out the last 40, 45 games. I don't feel like they're growing as a team. That'd be my nitpick. Okay. They're going to end up with 56 wins. Yeah.

Which is a 14 or 15 game improvement from last year. I guess I can't get over the fact that Jalen told me that Dan Toney refused to practice defense and said defense didn't matter. I can't ever get over that. Jalen might have been bitter because Dan Toney was his last stop before he got sent to TVville. Five years later, he's hanging out with my ass in front of a camera. It worked out well for Jalen. Hey, we're going to take a quick break.

Quick break to talk about TuneIn. Major League Baseball is back. Andrew Benintendi put on 15 pounds of muscle. He looks fantastic. He went deep on opening day. I was thrilled to watch it, and I'm also thrilled to listen to my Red Sox games on TuneIn.

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Download that TuneIn app today or go to tunein.com slash ringer back to house. All right, we're back. All NBA. The hardest, I can't remember having this much talent. I mean, I remember the years, I remember putting Goran Dragic on the second team. Not that he didn't totally deserve it

but he was 22 a night playing well for Phoenix. This was maybe three, four years ago. And now that season doesn't even make it. I don't have Damien Lillard in my top 15 and he's gonna I think he's gonna finish with I'm looking at it

like a 26 7 and 6 or something who's shooting 40% for the three I don't know if he won NBA player I think he has a player of the month also not only did he not make the All-Star he's not going to make my

he's not going to make my top 15 so I'm going to get a little this is not a final list. Just FYI. This is just what I'm thinking. You're my sounding board. We're in the muse cage now. All right?

It feels good. We're in the muse cage. Embrace your dark side, Joe House. We can't make good all NBA teams until we embrace our dark sides. There's a dark side in both of us. Let's reach it. My penis is soft in my pants. All right.

I don't feel like I'm totally cheating by making Anthony Davis my first team all-NBA center. He's played there. Ashton got hurt. Boogie's only been there 25 games. I watched a lot of games where he was center. Tate, I can say he's a center, right? Tate's nodding. I'm okay with that. It solves some issues to lot of games where he was center. Tate, I can say he's a center, right? Tate's nodding. I'm okay with that. It solves some issues

to be able to put him at center. The other four are unassailable. LeBron, Kawhi. Unimpeachable. Yeah. LeBron, Kawhi, Harden, Westbrook. There's no scenario where those four guys aren't on first team all NBA and that gives LeBron I think 11 11 straight,

which only the no-man has done. Yeah, I think he made it. I'm pretty sure he made it in 07, so if he made it in 07, that's 11 straight. And that's absurd. It's just to be one of the top five guys in the league for 11 straight years is absurd. It shouldn't happen.

It's impossible. You should have one season where you broke a toe or pulled something or herniated a disc, anything. Amazing. 11 straight years. The Karl Malone thing. You and I couldn't stand Karl Malone. We made fun of him all the time.

We made fun of him watching playoff games, how he's going to choke. We made fun of how he only had two types of moves and how Stockton, he was like a Stockton robot and cheap stats. I wouldn't want him on our team. We made all those jokes. Part of it was bitterness for you because the bullets passed on him. Who'd you take? Who'd you take instead of Karl Malone?

Kenny Green. Kenny Green. Yeah, how's that that that still doesn't feel good even 32 years later but yeah you know i you see how quickly i had that on the tip of my tongue by the way and then they gave carl malone the mvp and i just started writing my boston sports guy calm but you and i were going nuts this is when we barely had email were just calling, bitching each other. It was like a podcast without anyone recording it. We just couldn't believe that MJ wasn't recognized. And then he demolished him in the finals and justice was served.

And now I look, now that we have all these efficiency stats, and you look at Karl Malone's stats and the PR every year and just how durable he was. And he was like 27 and 11, 29 and 11, 29 and 13 every year forever. And he won 11 straight All-NBAs, first team, during a really good era of basketball. And now I'm wondering if we were too mean on Karl Malone.

Or should I still feel the same? What do you think? The reason you can still feel the same is because what's his signature playoff moment? Getting stripped? Well, missing the free throw in game one, 97, and leading to the MJ, fuck you,

I can't believe I'm not going to win the MVP shot to win the game. And then a year later getting stripped by MJ during the three play shot sequence, which is the greatest three play sequence in the history of the league. So that's a problem, right? That's a problem. We can't easily come up with the crowning achievement.

Oh, I know what it is. I know what it is. When Stockton made the three over Houston in 97 and sent Utah their first finals, Karl Malone said, the greatest moving pick I've ever seen in my life. He took somebody, I think it was Barkley, and he was like Michael Orr in The Blind Side

in that scene when Sandra Bullock yells at Michael Orr to block and he takes the kid all the way over the stands. That was Carl Malone's moving pick. It's incredible. On YouTube, go watch it on YouTube. John Stockton set free by the greatest moving pick of all time. So maybe that was the signature play. Oh, you know what it was? I just realized

what it was. It was when he told Kobe's wife he was hunting little Mexican girls. Oh, no. That was the signature play. This must be a late night podcast. No, that happened. That's documented. He said it. She's like, what are you doing, cowboy?

She said, what are you doing, cowboy? She said that. What are you doing, cowboy? And he said, I'm hunting little Mexican girls. And then she got mad and told Kobe. Where was the internet during this? We weren't really full sports blog area yet. If you ever tell my wife that you're hunting little Mexican girls,

I'm going to be upset. I just want you to know that. My wife's not even Mexican. I'll take that personally. Here's my take. Calm alone, properly rated. Alright, all NBA. So, our first team, you agree that that's a nice temporary first team for me

heading into next week? Yeah, the only thing the only quibble, and it's a very small cue, I kind of understand the idea of Gobert at center. I kind of understand. For first team. We're going to talk about him in a second. I know.

He is, to me, the defensive player of the year, and it feels weird to have the defensive player of the year on the second team. So that's another one I've been trying to figure out. Draymond versus Gobert for Defensive Player of the Year. I'll give a very quick take on that.

I'm going to give it to Gobert because I believe that he anchored that team. No team had as many player-, uh, you know, player man losses, whatever that status for injury game, you know, whatever the term of art is for that. Um, Utah had the most and it was to all of their like important players. And yet here they are, they're going to win 50 games. They're going to be 10 games better than they were last year and he um he's the reason he played all those games and he passes he passes the eye test too because i saw him i saw them play the clips he's gigantic almost like borderline it's not quite murasan level but he's he's definitely freaky tall and gigantic. And guys are thinking about him.

They're within 10 feet of the rim and he's on their mind. He's good at switching on pick and rolls. The Celtics were able to get him in trouble with Isaiah on switches and pull him way, way out. It seems like that's the kryptonite for Utah is if you can really

spread him out. But I thought what Draymond did, especially post Durant, on a very good team that's going to get the one seed and the fact that he can guard all types of guys. He would have nights where his all-around play were the reason that they won the game.

It just gives them that extra oomph. I've got to look at that some more. I want to read all the defensive stats. I'm acknowledging, I'm marking him down for being on such a great team. I mean, I understand the perversity of the view that I'm advancing here. Yeah. So I have him as my second team all NBA, and not even really up for grabs.

14-13, three blocks a game. God knows how many shots affected, but also his advanced stats are freaking nuts. Like his offensive rating, defensive rating, all that stuff. It's like, I think there's a couple different stats where they're like 30 points apart. The offensive rating is like 30 points higher than the defensive rating. All the advanced stuff really backs up the impact that he has. Opposing field goal percentage, all that stuff.

So I think he's got to be the second one. The other ones that would be in the mix for that second spot would be Towns and Jokic. And I'm not acknowledging Boogie Cousins yet again. Another lottery for Boogie. Not really his fault, by the way. Marc Gasol, I just need my center to get eight rebounds a game. It's two a quarter. I don't feel like I'm asking for too much.

He can't get to eight. His shooting stats are great, but he's basically turned into a better Brook Lopez just with the actual stats. He's 20 and seven every night, but he's basically turned into a better Brooke Lopez with like, just with the actual stats, he's 20 and seven every night, but he's making threes. Um, good passer.

Like I'm not against Marc Gasol. It's just, it's just too good of a year. Anyway, second team do the guards first Curry. Definitely. And then it comes down to Thomas or wall for that second, second team,

all NBA spot. And I got to be honest, it's up for grabs. I think Thomas and the Celtics have tailed off this last month. Teams have kind of figured out a couple wrinkles to throw at him. His scoring's probably down four points a game since the All-Star break. I think he's only at like 26 since the break. Not the unbelievable impact that he had before the break. And Wall is just a man on a mission.

And I don't know. It's up for grabs. What do you think? So this is rude. I, you know, did this by hand. And I'm not going to take a picture of it. I broke John Wall, and then I crossed out and wrote Isaiah Thomas over top of it. And the reason that I'm putting Thomas in is two parts.

Over the balance of the season, the way he owned the fourth quarter for the Celtics was a crucial—he really buoyed. The Celtics don't sniff 50 games without that extraordinary fourth quarter performance that he did. And him breaking Havlicek's consecutive, how many points was it? The leading the team in scoring, yeah. Yeah, yeah. I haven't by a hair over Wall. I think the last couple games, maybe Wall can swing it.

But regardless, congratulations. I mean, I love Wall. It goes without saying. Yeah, I was going to say congratulations to you. Remember we were talking about John Wall trades when you were 2-8? Like this is it? Like trade him, get something? I was summarily dismissing them.

You kept insisting on talking about it. Well, I like doing that. And you bullied You kept insisting on talking about it. Yeah. And you bullied your ring of writers that are writing about it. I did. It wasn't a bullying. It was mean-spirited suggestions. No, I...

You know, O'Connor wrote... I think it was like Moutier and Gallinari and the Nuggets lottery pick or Jamal Murray was in it. I can't remember. I retweeted that after John Wall's 40-point performance against Cleveland the other night. You were 2-8.

And now we're threatening 50 wins. So second team, Gobert. It was disrespectful. Gobert, Curry. Tough fall for Curry going from two-time MVP to second-team All-NBA. A little sobering. Tough. From the moment the chefs came out.

That's the price. That's the price. That's a heads up. You say, Kevin Durant, please come to my team. I'm willing to sacrifice. That's great. I think it still hurts a little. And then I'll put in Thomas temporarily in the second guard spot.

The forwards are tougher. The forwards, you have KD I'm voting for. He only played 59 games. The history of that, the all-NBA voting and MVP voting, is you've got to really get over like 56, 57. There's a long, long, long story track record of guys getting recognized for all-NBA and even in the MVP voting, playing about 57 to 65 games. He got hurt in game 59 in Washington, so he really only played 58 i would rather have those 58 durant games than 82 jimmy butler games or i guess jimmy butler and play 82 but i just thought those 58 were so were so spectacular i can't penalize him because he got hurt and because they're being careful with him the end

of the season um but i'm also willing to be talked out of it and nudge him to the third team he's going to be second team or third team. I would rather put him on the second team because, you know, a dopey injury that he's going to – Zaza falling into his leg, it's not like it was – you know, it was a total fluke, and he was spectacular, and I think it should be recognized. But if you think 59 is not enough, tell me. I don't think 59 is enough. I think the proper way to acknowledge his impact on Golden State and how cool that whole thing worked out, honestly,

is to put him on an all-NBA team, the proper all-NBA team, is the third team. You might think this is nuts, though. I have Greek Freak on the second team all NBA. He's on my list. He's on the list. They're a playoff team.

He held the fort. He's been crazy fun to watch. I had the Freak and I had Durant. If you were going to talk me out of Durant, I was going to put Draymond on the second team. I already have Draymond on the second team.

I have him at... Yeah, I have him as the other forward along with Freak Freak. I have to think about that. My second team is Thomas, Curry, Draymond, Freak And Gobert And I'm only moving Gobert I'm dropping Gobert down

Because you know You made the case for Davis So either Draymond or Durant For that second team Yeah sure that's fine Draymond was really good this year I really love watching Draymond Draymond deserves it

Yeah and he's He's such a great teammate He doesn't care if he scores. Guards the other team's best guy. He's a great passer. Plays with passion. Does something crazy every once in a while. Who cares?

Yeah, I have. We're aligned on that. Third team. Jokic or Towns? I have Jokic right now. Well, you know what? It has to be Jokic. One of those teams is threatening to make the playoffs,

and one of them was a pretty significant disappointment through the first half of the season. I agree. Minnesota's headed for 32 wins. I just want to mention that Towns is putting up a 25-12. 25-12. Just let's mention that. He's been ferocious over the last three weeks. Well, it's the last two months.

I think he's been like 28-13, something like that. But the team's just not winning, and it's not like they don't have good players in that team. Rubio's played really well since the Knicks should have traded for him. They don't play any defense. No, they don't. They don't play any defense. How can they not play defense? It's Tibbs' coach team that doesn't play a lick of defense.

I'm disappointed that Towns isn't better on defense. Tate, why isn't Towns better on defense? Just that he hasn't been coached yet? It's disappointing. Where's Tibbs at? Come on, Tibbs. Teach him something. Another reason for Jokic. Alright, so Jokic center. Durant as one of the third team spots.

So here are the other choices. Jimmy Butler. Paul George. Gordon Hayward. Or we can cheat and put Carl Anthony Towns there. Because he has played forward. He's center forward and they play a lot with him and Dang. And we could stick him in his 25 and 12 right in there.

The catch is that that team is going to win 31, 32 games. The same logic that last year I cut Boogie out of the all NBA because his team wasn't winning. And I'd feel like a hypocrite if then I was like, well, but Towns, you know,

doesn't get technical. So he should. So I, I do feel, but Towns, you know, doesn't get technical. So he should. So I do feel like it's Butler, George or Hayward, two of those three guys. It's like a $45 million decision. I'm with you on Paul George. I feel like he's turned it on lately. I've flicked by too many games on the pass where it just doesn't seem like he wants to be there and just seems like he's dreaming about his, that what house he's going to buy in L.A. in a year and two months. Butler's played really hard.

If Chicago makes the playoffs, I think Butler's the third team forward. I've seen him play plenty of games where he's the best guy on the court. What do you think? I agree. I want to give a bunch of praise to Hayward. First year he made the all-star team, and he is the guy that gets the ball when they need big shots, you know, inside of four minutes, five minutes,

when a game is still in the balance. Yeah. And he welcomes it. I've enjoyed seeing him, that confidence. And he has a nice inside-out game. He's made a lot of big jumpers. He beat the Wiz almost single-handedly twice with just very consistent, very confident square up and shoot

on the catch and the degree of difficulty for Hayward this season in terms of offensive generating shots. I've been really, really impressed. Having said all of that, I agree that Butler is the guy that gets the slot on the third team because there is no Chicago without Butler. The fact that that team is threatening the playoffs with the catastrophic experiment of Rondo and the utterly predictable weight injury that occurred at exactly the moment you would anticipate.

And the fact that they're still sniffing around, that's a testament to Butler. And on top of that, yeah, the fact that they're still sniffing around with Fred Hoiberg, with just the worst crew of point guards ever that a playoff team would have had until, or I shouldn't say ever, but definitely a really, really, really, really horrible group of point guards

until national TV Rondo decided to step in. I went to the Warriors game with Tate when they played the Bulls and it was clear Rondo is the best point guard. And Hoiberg, I don't know whether he just doesn't like him or whether he was instructions not to play him or whatever. But you could see Rondo could had this in him. It wasn't a shocker, but they made this playoff run with just Rondo, Miritich, who's been great. And Butler and a bunch of guys I've never heard rondo meritage who's been great and uh and butler and a bunch of guys i've never heard of like who's the german guy zipsich zipser zipser yeah but the fact that butler was putting up stats and helping them win games and kind of keeping them alive when they

were just a mess and they didn't have any idea who their five guys were and you have Dwayne Wade who just seems pretty miserable to play with at this point in his career uh yeah so I I think Butler has the nod I agree and then uh for the guard uh John Wall who loses out in a Texas death match to Isaiah Thomas for the second team right now. But that might flip over this last week. Our other candidates. Damian Lillard. DeMar DeRozan. Kyrie Irving. Michael Conley.

Kemba Walker. Klay Thompson. Kyle Lowry. Bradley Beal. Two guys on that list Jump out at me Clay Deserves recognition

For being a Steadying influence You know as that team found its identity You were worried about Clay getting lost And Clay reasserted himself And was a Key part I think, of helping KD get comfortable in Golden State.

So I want to recognize him for that. But the guy that I personally would give a nod to is DeRozan. Wow. His first two months were incandescent and I think he really helped Toronto with an identity at the outset of the season. He came in so determined to prove to everybody that it was not a fluke,

that Toronto's success from the previous season was not a fluke. He worked his ass off in the summer, and he came in and he killed. And I want to give him credit for that. And Toronto is, you know, above water. I think they're going to get the three seed in the East. And that's with Lowry going down. So I know, like, you know, stat-wise, that's not – I don't have a good stat case for DeRozan.

But I just – he really earned a ton of respect for me from me at the beginning of the season. Well, stat wise, I would say the fact that they're a top four team in the East and he's averaging 27 a game is pretty good. I love the fact that, you know, he's one of those guys in the last four minutes and you're watching league pass and there's nights that he's just going to score. And it doesn't matter who they're throwing at him or you know the little screen roll's coming or whatever. He's getting in the basket or he's getting his little jump shot.

I've been wildly impressed by him, and I'm with you. That was the guy that I was going to pick for third team. Oh, so you said wow, and the reason you said wow is because you agreed. I said wow because I was disappointed because I thought we were going to have one awesome argument during one of these three NBA teams. And, you know, as usual, we've spent too much time watching basketball together and valued the same things,

and now we're not going to have the argument I wanted. I thought for sure you were going to say Dame Lillard. Oh, no, no, no. No, that team, their whole story's been rewritten by Nurkic. Like, how can I give it to Dame? Dame didn't make the All-Star team. I heard a great Nurkic...

You can't make the All-NBA team without making the All-Star team. I heard a great story about Nurkic that had nothing to do with the fact that his girlfriend is, like, one of the all-time smoke shows in the history of NBA girlfriends. Oh, hold on a second. My computer's right here. Hold on. Go ahead.

Proceed. Who knows if this is true or not true, but I loved it anyway. Girlfriend. Apparently during the draft, he snuck off with his buddy to smoke a butt. He's like kind of a closet cigarette smoker, at least when he's heading into the NBA.

I like that. I just love it. It made me like him more. His dad's a bouncer. He's got a hot girlfriend. Smoking cigs. He leaves Denver, goes to Portland, destroys Denver.

All the Denver guys are hugging him after. They clearly either liked him or were totally afraid of him. I enjoyed Nurkic. But anyway, yeah. The Lillard case, I think 10, 12, 20 years ago when we were just less informed and we didn't have league

pass and weren't able to see all these games, I think he would have had a better case. But, you know, he's a dangerous player. He's been great since the All-Star break. And it's a credit to how good the league is that he's not one of the best 15 players. I mean, look at this team. This is the third LNBA team.

Jokic, who's like the next Bill Walton. Kevin Durant. Jimmy Butler, who's one of the best two-way guys in the league. And then the guards are John Wall, who's a franchise guy having the best season in his career, and DeRozan, who's averaging 27 a game and who's fantastic and who can absolutely be the crunch time scorer on a team that makes the finals. That's your third team All-NBA, potentially.

Pretty good. We left off. Carl Anthony Terrence did not make an All-NBA team this season. No. Win some more games, Carl Anthony. And you're so done with Boogie. I'm not even accepting Boogie. The dude got traded for 40 cents on the dollar.

I would argue that I would put Whiteside ahead of him. I'd put Brooke Lopez ahead of him. That's just mean that's rude he still has you blocked on twitter that's why you would do that brooke lopez is playing better right now 20 and 7 every night he's better yeah i think i'm gonna go to my grave as a boogie defender i i just feel like you, the dude was done wrong. No, I know. I wouldn't actually put Brook Lopez ahead of him, but I think I would put Whiteside ahead of him.

And you also, you have to keep your boogie relationship, you know, in good shape because he's going to be on the Wizards in about, what, 12 months? When's he signed with you? Don't, I welcome him. Look, if Scotty Brooks is the coach, I'm a believer. It would be a total Wizards trade for you to trade, like, your next seven first-round picks every other year. Or, like, first-round pick, pick swap,

like five straight years of first-rounders or pick swaps. Toaps to get Boogie and then he would either leave or get hurt? I'm not going away from it. I would have traded Beal for Boogie. Well, now you wouldn't. Now I wouldn't, but I'm saying as the season was kind of developing. And I still think it would be a decent value. Would you trade Kelly Oubre for Boogie? Yes, of course.

What are you talking about? I really like that guy. I don't know. I'd have to think. I love him. I love Oubre. I love Oubre too. Congratulations.

Your teams are really fun. It's not going to get any stops in the playoffs, but it's a fun team. I'm knocking on wood. The most important thing always is health. We've got to have a healthy team. Joe House, thanks for staying up until 1230 at night on the East Coast to finish our podcast that we had to wait for the dramatic ending of the Cavs-Celtics game. That was a dud.

But at least we're able to do it. Well, look, you know, I've got to be up early in the morning. It's the first day of the Masters. When this pod goes up, guys will be playing the game of golf. My boy DJ is out, but we're going to have a special broadcast of the Shackhouse tomorrow night, Thursday evening. Look for that little 20-minute, 25-minute hit with me and Jeff Shackleford going through the day's events. And then I think Sunday night, right? Me, you, Jeff Shackleford, a little recap, a little master's recap. We're going to get it right up after the event. You're going to join us, right? Me, you, Jeff Shackleford, a little recap, a little master's recap. We're going to get it right

up after the event. You're going to join us, right? I think so. I haven't told my wife yet. Fingers crossed. Yeah, I think fingers crossed Sunday night. Yeah, Shack House, if you love golf, subscribe to the Shack House pod. There's heavy rumors of

a food podcast too that might be launching at some point. Yeah. That might have the ringer name on it. People are saying. People are talking. People are talking. Sources are saying stuff.

Sources are saying. Our staff just has a lot of opinions on food. Did you congratulate Tate on the title? A lot of them had bad opinions. Tate and I had a nice Texas James today. I did congratulate him A lot of them had bad opinions. Tate and I had a nice Texas James today. I did congratulate him, and I told him I would not make the joke about their cheating academic way. So I won't do it here either.

As long as we're champions. Congrats to the Carolina. Congrats to North Carolina and Gonzaga for setting back college basketball another 20 years at that rock fight. Good God. That wasn years at that rock fight. Good God. That wasn't even a rock fight. That was just, it was like the car pileup on the icy road when the one car stops and then all the other cars hit. That's what all those field goal attempts looked like.

Hey, maybe you shouldn't play these games in 80,000 seat stadiums. It's ridiculous. Jason Gay did a great job of that. Oh yeah, he did. He sat in the boondocks, right? He physically went. He paid $170 and then sat at the top of the stadium.

It's awful. I would like to see them go to quarters. I think there's a compelling case for that. Women's basketball. Women's basketball did it. I love it in women's basketball. I love it. It avoids the bonus

yep which which is what my son used to call boners when he got boners for the first time remember that he got a bonus dad i got a bonus uh thanks to uh thanks to the shack house podcast you can listen to houses golf golf observations all through the Masters. So excited for the Masters. Don't forget about the Ringer MLB show only on TuneIn. And if you go to tunein.com slash ringer, 60-day free trial, one month only. The baseball show, Lindbergh and Bauman.

They have a lot of good stuff going on there. In general, we love working with TuneIn. Did you know you could get all baseball, football, basketball games on TuneIn House? No, but you know what I was shocked by was hearing your voice on that SiriusXM radio pumping the TuneIn. I was like, hey, I know that guy. I'm about it.

The cool thing for TuneIn for me is I can hear my announcers because driving on Sirius or whatever, like half the time or even one-third of the time, you might get like the Celtics, I might get Sean Grady. But on tuning, I just get to listen to my dudes. I like my announcers. I like having my announcers. I'm psyched for – I know this is nerdy.

I'm psyched for hockey, for playoff hockey. Because that's who I want to listen to, my hockey guys. Well, you have, Ovechkin's going to play in the Olympics, because Putin was like, Alex, you're going to play in the Olympics, even if you have to leave your team for three weeks, you will play in the Olympics. Alex's like, yes, sir,

I'm playing. All those Russian guys are going to the Olympics. I don't know what the NHL is thinking. They're all going. They're like, oh, great, we love your road, but we're going to the Olympics. There is't know what the NHL is thinking. They're all going. They're like, oh great, we love your road, but we're going to the Olympics. There is no joke. They are all going. Yeah, they're all going. And if any of them waver, Trump's going to send them. Trump and Putin are going to

send all the Americans and all the Russians. They're going to make a pact. House, always a pleasure. Get some sleep. Have fun with the Masters. I know it's one of your favorite weekends of the year, and I'll talk to you on your podcast. Jack House. Everyone else, back on Friday with another podcast.

Talk to you soon. I don't have feelings within. On the wayside, I'm a person never lost.