The Daily Zeitgeist - MJGMB #102: State of the Knicks and More with Dan Favale

Episode Date: February 28, 2024

Miles and Jack were very pleased to be joined by Bleacher Report’s Dan Favale on today’s episode! The trio discussed Dan’s Knicks, Jalen Brunson as an MVP candidate, the dominance of the Celtics and more!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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I am going to share my journey of how I went from Christianity to now a Hebrew Israelite. For some former NFL players, a new faith provides answers. You mix homesteading with guns in church voila you got straight away they try to save everybody listen to spiraled on the iheart radio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts well well well they said they couldn't be done i said they couldn't be done it's all right it couldn't be done it I said they couldn't be done. It's all right. It couldn't be done. It's fine. It's fine.

Because guess what? It's episode 102. And the Celtics just keep on winning. The Thunder are the second hottest team in the league. And don't even ask about our Lakers right now. Just don't. Not my Lakers. Not my Lakers.

Couldn't be me. I don't know what Torian Prince is doing. But anyway, we'll take a trip around the league and discuss the state of the New York Knickerbockers with Bleacher Reports Dampa Valley on today's episode. I'm Miles Gray. And I'm Jack O'Brien. And this is Miles and Jack got mad boosties. D3. Got it. And Luka Dacic hits 10K. There you go.

And B, driving, spinning, fading, hitting. LeBron's got it with five. He's going to try another three. Mr. LeBron James. Giannis with the take. Oh, look out. A little showtime. What you got, Giannis? Tampa Valley, writer for Bleacherach Report host of Hardwood Knox Podcast welcome back for your

fourth or fifth appearance I feel like on the show one of our one of our favorite guests five-timer yeah get the jacket out get the jacket out

yeah we gotta get him a jacket for sure what's good man how you doing I'm excited that you guys keep making terrible decisions and bringing me back on

so it's always a pleasure to be invited back I'm currently admiring um in the background why have i never seen the new york knicks jersey behind you before oh yeah that's a little little mashup of my favorite things obviously as a as a big wu-tang fan and the knicks general colorway yeah i had to i had to cop that i got that at uh during NBA Con, actually, when we were there in the summer. Because they had those wrap mashup jerseys. And I was like, yep, yep. That's all me.

That's all me. That's an incredible find. On the back, 36, Shaolin. It's just like, it's got the whole thing. It's got the whole thing. From the 36 chambers. It's a Michelin nest joint. So it's a fish. It's a fish. I wouldn't be know, so it's a fish. It's a fish, you know. I wouldn't be rocking some fake gear over here, but yeah.

And I had to put it front and center because obviously it's time to talk to Nick's. Nick's might have 36 wins by the time people are listening to this. Yeah. Well, the Wu-Tang Clan has 36 chambers. Nick's currently 35 and 23 on the year. Wow. Four and six over the last 10. Yeah. Why is Jalen Brunson not in the real MVP conversation in any meaningful way?

I really think it's because Jokic and Shea and Luka have just been otherworldly on a different level. It's hard to get in there. I think he has a chance to finish fifth on some ballots. And depending on where the Knicks finish with their seeding, especially now you have the anecdotal bump, which everyone does care about. Oh, Julius

Randle missed all this time. They didn't have Mitchell Robinson and OGs out. You guys mentioned the top of this. Four and six in their last ten, they are very banged up, including Jalen Brunson isn't playing against the pelicans on tuesday night so yeah what was that it was like a clavicle sensitivity modulation i had not seen that kind of uh assessment before yeah i i have no idea i didn't even know that he was necessarily dealing with it or when it happened so right um yeah i mean and they're they're just now they're missing four starters I didn't even know that he was necessarily dealing with it or when it happened. So,

um, yeah, I mean, and they're, they're just, now they're missing four starters. Like, we're just dealing with injuries at this because people forget that Mitchell Robinson exists.

And there's a chance that, I don't know if you guys had saw, but Tibbs was talking about like Julius Randall might actually still need surgery. And like his season, they're trying to bring him back, but his season could be over. And even if he does come back because of the shoulder injury

and like how like shoulders are just fickle what does he look like like when he's trying to play through a shoulder injury that may eventually need to be surgically repaired over the offseason that's going to be like the knicks look so good on paper now because the moves they've made i'm just curious whether we're ever going to see the full product before this is out right yeah because yeah he like julius randall has said like i want to play through the pain i don't want to get surgery i feel what's our feeling on that kind of mindset when it comes to those kinds of injuries like what's what's the over under on like successfully playing through the injury without exacerbating it to the point where you're like man i should have just got the surgery i should have just waited all i can tell you is what i'd

do i'd play through it because i'm tough there you go okay all right so we've heard it here through it um yeah i mean you see how much these guys are paid come on here's the thing jack those those checks are clear in either way thank you yeah i'm prioritizing my long-term health here right yeah he's got a new contract that's going to have to come up soon. If it needs surgery, and if you're hurt, isn't there more of a chance of you just damaging your value by playing poorly in yet another postseason where you've had built-in excuses where it's,

oh, you were injured. Oh, RJ Barrett was our second offensive option or whatever. Now you're on an actual good team with pretty lofty expectations at this point if i'm julius and like i understand the mindset and i'm not in the locker room he wants to be there for his teammates and this and that but if it needs surgery like i'm not trying to i'm not trying to play through it i'm going under the knife and i'm trying to heal up as soon as possible right you want to be able to high five your kids you know right right you don't want to be like i want to be able to high-five your kids you know right right you don't want to be like i want to be able to sign my next contract without any pain right right exactly without like

in a cast and using all my like rib rotate like hip rotation to do a signature yeah i mean the i mean with julius randall i mean josh hart man he's what'd you think of that what'd you think of that the the det Pistons game? Because that ended on a bit of a controversial note with Josh Hart winning it at the end. Some fouls not being called. I don't know how they missed that call, but I'm sure you guys saw the entire 20 seconds that led up to that point was just so chaotic and incoherent. I don't know, but when you go back and watch the replay, you've dante divincenzo taking out like two knees not even just one it's like right even dual torn acls on that play yeah i always wonder i mean the pistons they probably won't be the worst team

in nba history like if they just go on another epic losing streak that's a game that they probably should have won they really needed yeah two in a row that I feel like there were some questionable calls at the end because that Paolo move was... I've heard people make the argument that it wasn't a travel. That argument has not made sense to me as of yet. But wasn't that against Detroit? The Paolo game winner?

About the travel? Yeah. Oh, yeah, I think so. Their explanation was really funny on that, too. It was just like, right the power game winner about the travel yeah oh yeah I think so their explanation was really funny on that too it was just like they just basically recited what happened and it's like it didn't provide any clarity on why he was gathering on that first step so he kind of gathered and

then took a step and then that one he moved that foot but the other foot but anyway just a couple tough breaks for the pistons who are trying to avoid uh ignonimity yeah uh on the other side of things oh wait quick question i've heard i have a friend who's a knicks fan and he's like jalen brunson man like he's in the goat conversation for the knicks i'm telling you i love this guy i love this guy i i'm pretty sure i thought clyde frazier uh seen as as y'all's goat but where where do you where do you where is jalen

brunson where is he in the mix in terms of storied knickerbocker players man i mean he's even played two full seasons there yeah like i just i don't even know where like i i think you could have a discussion where it's when we look back is there a chance that Jalen Brunson was a better Knick than Carmelo Anthony? Miles's friend is five years old, so that's important for contextual purposes. If he's able to take them

to a title, take them to a couple titles during his career, retire, become the most entertaining broadcaster in the history of New York Knicks basketball. Yeah. Write a book. Making up.

Yeah. Write a book about how to be cool, where he explains how to catch flies with your hand and then shake them up and then release them. Then I think we can start having the conversation about him, the Clyde Frazier. Yeah. There was a report on the various phrases that Clyde Frazier. There was a report on the various phrases that Clyde Frazier is averaging this season.

And I was really disappointed that spinning and winning was not on there. Spinning and winning, I guess, has fallen out of the rotation. That's my favorite. That's actually shocking. But I will say, him calling fewer games probably hurts.

Yeah. Maybe some of like those, those phrases. I average usage per game and we've got a dishing and swishing at 1.2 per game. That seems low. Yeah. See the ball,

see your man. I mean, that's just something that people say. Uh, I needed to rhyme to be an official client. Fraser is on, uh, moving and grooving posting and

toasting is he uh wheeling and dealing that's not his um slicing and dicing i remember hacking and whacking was new he's we're down at 0.57 a game stumbling and bumbling that's not necessarily his. But at the very bottom of the list, this one couldn't be more Walt Frazier. Bounding and Astounding. Oh, that's a good one. Okay, Clyde. Yes. Bounding and Astounding. But spinning and winning was, oh man, such a genius.

And then when he would throw a, is he, on the end. on the end right is this iambic pentameter but what a oh man true classic shout out to my roommate in new york at the time sean and i would just sit there and watch every next game and just be like is he is anybody else seeing this this guy's coming from outer space with these lines. Yeah, moral of the story, he's better than Jalen Brunson. There you go.

Easy. Well, I think this is also coming from a place of someone who just anytime the Knicks start doing well, like his circuits get fried. And he's like, dude, this is it. And he's like, Glenn Sanity, it. And he's like, Glenn sanity, man. And I was like,

easy, easy, easy, easy. Let's take it one. Let's take it a year at a time. Can you even imagine the inflammatory things that will be said when whoever the best player is on the Knicks, when they end their like five decade championship drought.

Yeah. Like the stuff that's going to be said about the best guy on that team is just going to be wild. Astounding and bounding. All right. Let's take a quick break and we'll come back. We are going to talk about the Celtics. A historically great Celtics team. I think we have to acknowledge it.

We'll be right back. team. I think we have to, we have to acknowledge it. We'll be right back. Wake up with football every morning and listen to my new podcast, NFL daily with Greg Rosenthal, five days a week. You'll get all the latest news, previews, recaps, and analysis delivered straight to your podcast feed. By the time you get your coffee, no dumb hot takes here. Just smart hot takes. We'll talk every single game every single week, but I can't do it alone. So I'm bringing in the big guns from NFL media. That's Patrick Claiborne, Steve Weiss, Nick Shook,

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Join me and the rest of the crew every Wednesday for a new episode. Listen to the Fantasy Footballers Dynasty podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And we're back. We're back. I entered the season thinking it was denver versus the field starting to feel like it is more and more not taking nothing away from denver i think they're still you know the most likely to come out of the west the celdics are the 10th best they have the 10th best net rating in nba history all of those teams, except for two, won the NBA championship. And one of them was the 2015-16 Warriors. And those were teams that, like, LeBron beat in the finals, like, at his, at the peak of his powers.

They're, like, historically great. Right. In terms of net rating. The teams that didn't do it were LeBron James defeated them. Yes. LeBron beat the teams that were in the top 10 and didn't win the title. Everybody else in that top 10. That bodes well for the Lakers.

That bodes well for the Lakers. This is, I'm actually liking what I'm hearing yeah yeah yeah this is great this is great but i'm currently at a position you know as a you know fan of the league fan of the sixers but you know we're kind of on a break and then fan of like whoever the celtics are playing i'm currently rooting for denver to win so that they can get home court on the off chance that they can win enough games to catch up to the Celtics. But the Celtics are on pace for a

65-win season. They're 9-1 over the last 10. I think they're 8 in front of the second-place team. They're just running away with it. Third in defensive efficiency, highest point differential, 26-3 at home,

10 games over 500 on the road so far. Just destroying everybody. I don't know that anyone in the East matches up well with them. No, I mean, when you look at their record against Eastern Conference teams, if they win against the Sixers as of this recording they will have gone a count a full calendar year without a home conference loss yeah oh wow i did not know that that's i guess that's

cool for them um right but i mean like the one thing i'm i'm curious about too is just talking about like mvp stuff what tatum is like fifth like on the ladder um and yeah like but everyone's just sort of like what what like a lot of people like what's it gonna take and i think you know i i get there's always like well what about the best player on the best team um but i don't think it's that simple anymore yeah their team is absolutely stacked like i feel like brad stevens deserves you know consideration for executive of the year like for sure um but i didn't i feel like they're just really they they added two pieces that were like apparently like i didn't realize this but were exactly what they needed. Holiday, I had a sense, but Porzingis... Yeah, Porzingis really...

I wasn't catching all his games before. I was not high on the Celtics coming into this season. I think they might have been the team I was most wrong about this year. I thought the offense was going to be at a playmaking deficit, and you just have Derek White and Drew Holiday. The stuff they're able to do

without Horford Porzingis has been way healthier than I thought he's going to be he's been able to adjust just kind of his role where you're plug and play but we'll let you punish some mismatches really well and what they've done defensively is just absolutely ruin lives and Derek White he's not going to win because Rudy Gobert exists but like he probably should be second or third on the defensive player of the year ballot when you look at just the defensive workload he shoulders. You guys mentioned how just terrifying

they are. There's not. I have the Nuggets still winning the title, but there's no argument that the Celtics have the best top six in basketball. You just look at their starting five and then Al Horford, who's still just doing things at his age, coming off the bench. And there's like some questions about some of the other guys,

but you can piecemeal like a seventh, eighth, ninth man rotation together pretty easily. When you look at all the options that are on the desk, like even getting Xavier Tillman at the trade, I'm like, that's just absolutely massive for them. And so I was so wrong and there's no good argument.

I think right now for to say why they wouldn't win the title or at least come out of the east uh but I do really just wonder what their offense will look like come playoff time they've cleaned up a lot of their crunch time issues this year but they're still just like they don't have a ton of like above average floor generalship on this team like drew holiday, not that guy. White's not that guy. I think the thing that is keeping Tatum out of the tippy top of the MVP discussion is one.

He's not going to shoulder the same level of defensive workload as a Giannis, just because you have a Derek white, you have a drew holiday on your team. Um, but also just, you're not going to be the same level of playmaker as Shay, Yoke,

itch Luca, of course. And is that a function of the roster or the limitations of his game? I think it's more so it's about the roster, but we've seen it in the playoffs. It can be a limitation of his game as well. And that's still my biggest question for them. But it's just as I voice it, just given what they've done this season, I don't know that I really believe it. Right. Yeah. Yeah, that's what that was kind of. was like there's still something off you know maybe like

tatum just doesn't have that instinct that's gonna like put people in the ground and like he still settles for too many threes but like the more just looking at like how like where they stack up historically like they're on the list with teams that won the title and were memorable they're like the teams you remember from the decade that they played in you know like that or they are on there with like two teams that were historically great and then lost to like amazing lebron james team performances in the finals like two of those but it's it's starting to get to a place where it's like, oh man, whatever we're hoping doesn't work out for them in the playoffs,

it's starting to feel like hopium a little bit. Yeah. Good for them. Well, their team, is there a scenario in which they don't win that like what is right what is the the level of like how disappointing is is if they don't win the title this year is it can they come out of the east and this season still be considered a success or if they lose in the conference finals or in the nba finals they're going to be wholesale questions that need to be answered i think starting

last year people like were like this is when we need this team to win the title. They've been close enough times that this is... And so anything short of that, for Celtics fans, and I think for how NBA press views them, it's championship or bust at this point. And especially with this historically strong, a, you know, uh, most of the season at this point, I feel like people are going to be starting to be like,

maybe there is something like maybe there is something to those ideas floating around that like Tatum can't be the best player on a championship team. Um, so we'll, we'll see, but it's, it's definitely, I don know it's it's smart money's in bean town there for people who aren't celtics fans yeah yeah yeah it's gonna be real quiet for some of us

okay see second hottest team in the league behind the celtics uh keeping pace with the wolves still holding the nuggets and clippers off uh Second best point differential in the league behind the Celtics. And Shea is, as you mentioned already, second to Jokic in the MVP voting or MVP odds for the last three weeks. Chet is second on the Rookie of the Year ladder for the past six weeks. I don't know. I did predict that they were going to win the title in the off season after just seeing one chet summer league game and i don't recommend betting a championship team based on a single summer league game but but hey you could be a success story for for the people if you actually bet on them what are the odds you got on that

uh they were pretty good i forgot I have to pull out the ticket. Give me a second here because I do keep it in my wallet to show to people. The ink's gone. You can't prove it's actually a betting slip anymore. They're like, sir, there's nothing on here. I like that it's a physical betting slip, apparently. Yeah, it's a physical betting slip. Went to the book and did the business.

While you're looking for that, I mean... That's ethical gambling right there. Yeah, exactly. Wait, do you have it? He looks like he lost it. He's pretending that it isn't lost. It is fading. Be careful with those.

So I bet $100 to win $10,000. Woo! $10,100. $10,100, yeah. So I collect $10,100. Yeah, that's good. They were like, you know, in the middle of the pack in terms of overall odds

to win it this year. Yeah. Well, I mean, look, they satisfied the Phil Jackson rule, you know, winning 40 before losing 20. They're 40 and 17 now. So there's one little nudge of confidence for you there.

I mean, man, when you think that they only won 40 games the whole of last, they were 40 and 42 last season. Wow. What an evolution they're having. That's pretty, it's pretty crazy. The other, so I don't know, still keep an eye on them.

I still feel like I'd be really surprised if it wasn't Nuggets and Celtics in the finals. Yeah. But yeah, I don't know. Chet, Chet like throws a wrench into the mix with, you know, Jokic, like, having to go up against different looks and stuff. Like, I'm not saying Chet's going to, like, stop him, but definitely gets his hand on balls that only Wemby gets his hand on, you know, otherwise.

So, speaking of which. Wait, did you see that Dylan Brooks' Dylan Brooks is new technique deployed against the thunder high fiving. It just right after the shots released, he's like, well, the ball ain't in there. I'm high fiving.

And he got, there was one where I think Chet threw one up and he was almost like, what the heck was that? It was kind of interesting, but Hey, I love seeing new, the new techniques people are deploying just to to you know for for defensive purposes yeah uh and then my other offseason prediction that this is just

the podcast now i just check in with my good offseason predictions but when the uh winning defensive player of the year um that took a big step forward when he had a triple double with blocks versus the raptors a couple weeks back um he's averaged 5.6 blocks per contest over the last five games uh leads the league overall at 3.3 per contest uh leads all rookies and points made field goals free throw attempts steals rebounds uh He's fourth in assists. Yeah. You think Wemby's the closest to getting the quadruple double? Or Jokic? Or who do you think? Because, you know, what hasn't

happened since 94? For sure. But he would have to do it with so he'll have the points, the rebounds, and then he has to do it with blocks and steals because he probably won't do it with assists. And that feels harder than having to do it with, like, Jokic can do it. He'll get the triple double, and then it's, well well can he get it in blocks and steals i guess he's not much of a shot blocker i mean dream on had a triple double without points right so yeah you

know what i mean yeah no i mean when he had a triple double with assists this season like he's he can do it with assist yeah i don't know i mean probably the answer i mean he might have the quintuple double at some point. Yeah. If he becomes a good enough back. Yeah, that's wild to think. And it's also interesting to think, like, of the four players to achieve the quadruple double, two of them have been Spurs players.

Yeah. So he's got a lot of... Because Alvin Robertson did it as a guard in 1986. Oh, wow. Like, wow. That's unbelievable. Yeah. That's...

Because then, yeah, everyone else was 6'11". It was like Hakeem, the Admiral, and then Nate Thurman, I think. Damn. So, yeah, it's an interesting one. It's an interesting one. That's wild that it's been that long, since 94. Yeah. It's pretty, like, the triple-double thing, I feel like, you know, your mileage may vary on how much you buy into that,

and, like, whether that should be something that we ultimately reward MVP over. But it's, like, quadruple doubles pretty nuts. Well, because that was, like, Russ's claim for a long time. Like, the amount of triple doubles this guy gets. Yeah. He's got to be. I mean, he won the MVP off that. Yeah.

Yeah, that MVP award was, like, fueled by his averaging a triple double. Yeah. doubles this guy gets yeah he's gotta be yeah he won the mvp off that yeah yeah that for yeah that mvp award was like fueled by his averaging a triple double yeah only at the time it was like oh no one's done it since oscar robinson right and now russ has done it like too often right where it's like people always just a stat yeah whatever it's just a triple double it's like now we gotta be like all right he had three quadruple doubles in a season okay the way we become numb to that stuff is kind of sad. Think about Giannis. You watch Giannis now and it's like, Wemby's the new thing, but at some point we're just going to become numb

to Wemby. Someone asked, I saw this on social media, it became a huge thing, or when will Wemby be the best player in the NBA? And there was a groundswell of responses that says he'll never be the best player in the NBA because of his offensive skill set. And I'm like, if anything, Giannis has been the best player in the NBA because of his offensive skill set.

And I'm like, if anything, Giannis has been the best player in the NBA for multiple seasons. And he has never, everyone came back like he's not a primary initiator. We've seen people who aren't primary initiators be the best player. If you're going to put up five by fives

and maybe get a quintuple double or a quadruple double at some point, I find it incredibly odd that there are people that are still skeptical of him just because he's big and skinny. I just, right. I find that bizarre. Yeah.

I think it's going to be sooner rather than later. Like not, not like next season, but I think he could be prettier, like shockingly early in his career. When B could be before or after 2027, which way would you go? Well, that's years and years into the future.

I don't even know if the world's going to still be around. Oh, I'm sorry. That's three years from now? A Carrington event could knock out all of our electronics. Probably around 2027 is the early prediction, but I don't think it's impossible. When's the last

time we had someone in their fourth season or fifth season be the best player in the like was lebron the best player in the nba when he was in his fifth season in 2007 or 8 yeah i think that was around when he was becoming the best player he was getting because he was definitely like a little bit ahead of schedule oh yeah yeah um i guess you know we were talking about some of the kia ladder races earlier but you know dan since we have you let's let's get some let's get a refined expert opinion on some of these uh these races yeah who else we bring it on yeah uh dan look at this guy he's always got the stuff uh but yeah i mean who's this character who is this guy uh okay okay let's start with mvp what do you think let's get let me get your thoughts on that i think it's

yokich right now i mean he has just been so dominant and he's actually improved defensively this year i think i wouldn't be shocked though shea ends up winning because it feels like there's a scenario where yokich kind of hits cruise control over the last like few weeks of the season and that the margins are so close that if shea is really going for the award or even if luca that they could end up usurping him but if it was the award was being chosen today i'd pick yokich fairly comfortably but like shea is Shea is right there. I know we kind of went through this with Jokic and Nabeed last year, but to have it

be this close this season with Shea and Jokic so late and where it still feels so undecided is not something I would have expected. It comes back to the entire Thunder. I was a huge fan of Shea, but Thunder being in contention for the best record in the West, Shea being one of the

top two MVP candidates, just not stuff I had on my 2023-2024 bingo card. What about Rookie of the Year? That was a dumb deal, right? I think most people had it as a dumb deal as it just being Chet Holmgren. And I think that

Wemby, ever since they moved him, this person decided, oh, okay, he's a big. He's going to be our five. I think Wemby ever since they moved him is like this person decided oh okay he's like he's a big he's going to be our five I think Wemby has closed the gap and there's a case I don't know if he's going to you mentioned defensive player of the year he's definitely not going to win that but like I think Tim Duncan was the last rookie to make an all defense

team and if I was going through it now I think Wemby probably deserves to make one and so like if he's going to be a rookie who makes an all-defense team, I kind of feel like he needs to win Rookie of the Year. But I think it's going to be close. I probably would lean Wemby at this point, though, because he is transformative.

It's not even just the blocks. It's just like, you ever watch the ground that he covers? It's just like, it doesn't make any sense. So I lean Wemby, but it's close between him and Chet. Producer Jabari, only five NBA rookies have made an all-defense team. Kareem,

Hakeem, Manute, David Robinson, and Tim Duncan. I think he's in that category. He's doing these things. I know. Storied franchise. What about most improved? This one's tough. I think he's in that category. He's doing these things. My God. I know. I know. Storied. Storied club. Storied franchise.

What about most improved? This one's tough. I still go with Scotty Barnes, but there's really strong cases. I mean, with Scotty Barnes, he's improved defensively, and I think as a passer this year and as a shooter. In the scale at which he's done it,

where this is already who was a very good player and then made the jump to all-star, I do think that matters but you have guys like alperin shangun there's cam thomas probably deserves to be in there for what he's done in brooklyn um like this feels like it's going to be like a pretty deep ballot when you're looking at potential candidates i still it's scotty barnes for me at the moment though i got maxi maxi's leading uh the odds right now so um that's actually

surprising to me yeah i'm not seeing scotty barnes anywhere near the top i'm wondering what do people just think that because he's so good yeah he's like way down there scotty barnes you should you got you should go get some action on that man you can get really good value wow yeah i'm looking at him now. Why is people like Cade Cunningham ahead of him? That's weird. I mean, Kobe White is another good one. And I will say, I don't know where you guys land on this.

I'd be curious to see. I'm not a fan of second players winning the award just because I feel like you're expected second year players because I feel like you're expected to make this huge leap. To go back to the Thunder, Jalen Williams was already really good and may have just made the leap to like basically or close to an all star. So that's like kind of a name that I could see creeping up.

I feel like he deserves it, but he's not going to like get it necessarily. But yeah, Jalen Williams has been incredible. Halliburton makes sense. I would have thought, if you told me what his season was going to be like, I would have thought maybe he was an option in the same way that Ja got it a few years back. And went from borderline all-star to one of the best players in the league. But it doesn't seem like the odds are very good on that one. I'm happy with Maxie.

We need the wins in Philadelphia. Yeah. And finally, what about Doc Rivers' final postgame excuse in May? What are those going to be? Hey, I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy, coaching this team. Coaching Giannis onto the cupo? What a wild take. You've seen this guy?

I told him. Don't bring me in now all by the way all like unsolicited basically where it's like you're kind of just on the subject of coaching the bucks and he feels the need to say oh i didn't i didn't want to coach the bucks or you never want to do this this is so hard like woe is me i've been gainfully employed for the past two and a half decades right there's probably a point where we're making him too much of a meme because he has been a good coach, but at every stop he's gone to, he's developed his reputation as a very good

manager of superstar egos. Let's go back to the Clippers. Problems in the locker room, both iterations. The Sixers, problems in the locker room, both iterations. The Ben Simmons era, the James Harden era, and now you're in Milwaukee and just kind of like throwing the team or the organization under the bus like why would you fire adrian griffin that doesn't make any sense and hire me i just uh yeah why'd you hire me um all right let's uh

let's take a break we'll come back we'll do the fastest segment in podcast wake up with football every morning and listen to my new podcast, NFL daily with Greg Rosenthal five days a week. You'll get all the latest news previews, recaps and analysis delivered straight to your podcast feed. By the time you get your coffee, no dumb hot takes here. Just smart.

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All right, here we go. It's Cam Jordan from New Orleans Saints. Here to tell you it's going down on season two of my podcast off the edge with me, Cam Jordan. Can't stop it. You know what's going to happen. Can't stop it. That's right. Catch new episodes every Wednesday, all season long. That's what you look for in year 14 to do more. No days off. And I'll have

my friends who happen to be some of the NFL's biggest stars join me on the pod. We'll give you a player's perspective of the biggest storylines, trends and did that really just happen moments from around the league. And you know we'll have fun doing it. Oh, and I'll have a special guest

each month join me to mix it up a little bit. Who is it? None other than Syke. You'll have a special guest each month. Join me to mix it up a little bit. Who is it? None other than... Psych! You have to tune in to find out. So tap in to Off the Edge with Cam Jordan's podcast, your ultimate playbook for all things football and not football. Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hey, this is Mike Wright from the Fantasy Footballers Dynasty Podcast. You heard that right. or wherever you get your podcasts. dynasty perspective maybe you've been living in the dynasty fantasy football space for a while well we're here to take your game to the next level maybe you love fantasy football and you've been feeling that itch to jump into the dynasty format but it feels a little bit intimidating no matter where you're coming from the fantasy footballers dynasty podcast has something for you and you're gonna have a great time listening i promise join me and the rest of the crew every wednesday for a new episode listen to the fantasy footballers dynasty podcast on the iheart radio app apple podcast or wherever you get your podcasts and we're back damn for valley just get my chill from that look man i think it's friday the 13th because it's about to be a nightmare on pod street am i right jack yeah and in no way are you mixing

different horror franchises you nailed it look that's how you do it it's how you do it when you kind of have vague ideas of what those movies are about but anyway it's time for the rapid fire round of questions you already know what time it is we're gonna ask you a question you just chest passed the ball right back to us give us your quick answer don't think too hard just give us the answer please so we can maintain our title myers just giving those instructions because this must be a nightmare on my street on friday the 13th is it did i just saw michael myers right there because you know that mic is a chatterbox if i've ever heard, man. Do you want to play a game, Dan Favalli? Well, guess what? You're about to. Are you ready?

I'm ready. Start the clock, Brian. Okay, Jack, you want to go first? No, I want you to go first, Miles. I desperately want you to go first. Go, go, go. All right. Dan Favalli, check out this list. You can pick, now, only

three of these throwbacks from the 90s. Which three are you picking? We've got Reggie Miller, era Indiana, Jazz from Malone Stockton. Oh, sorry. I was just reading. Okay. Give me that Vince Carter era Raptors jersey. Yep.

The Vancouver Grizzlies jersey goes incredibly hard yeah and that sharif we're rocking that one yeah and that houston rockets jersey what is that drexler who's in that picture i can't really tell glad oh yeah that is bring those back why and that should be their logo right now i freaking love that rockets logo yeah fantastic one it's weird i mean we haven't even gotten to talk about the Clippers logo, but just briefly. Fans, you fan of the Clippers rebrand? I thought it was fine. I do not like, I was a fan of the powder blue stuff they were doing.

So to kind of see that take a backseat was a little bit sad. I will say, when I saw their previous font, I always thought of, do you guys remember the Windows paperclip guy? Yeah. Getting rid of that font is either a W or an L. I kind of like thinking about the Windows paperclip guy, so I'm going to miss that font a little bit.

But the logo goes pretty hard. It looks a little bit like the Seattle Mariners, but I like the actual compass and ship stuff that's in there. Yeah. Yeah. Not bad. Not bad.

All right. Dan, more likely to happen in Y. Knicks Eastern Conference Final, Warriors Western Conference Final. Warriors Western Conference Final. Just they have they have the pedigree with with stuff. OK. How about this? More likely to happen in Y.

Cavs Eastern Conference Final or Lakers Western Conference Final? That's easy. It's the Cavs Eastern Conference Final because the Lakers are Torian Prince's team and that's the problem. Oh my god, I can't believe what I saw against the Sun. More likely to happen. Bucs Eastern Conference Final, Suns Western Conference Final. Ooh, it's Bucs Eastern Conference Final, Suns Western Conference Final. Ooh, it's Bucs Eastern Conference Final. I just, I don't know how you can trust Phoenix in crunch time and to be healthy at this point.

Mm-hmm. Okay. Give us your most underappreciated of the truly all-time greats. You know, someone that deserves to be mentioned, but doesn't really get the respect or at least the recognition they should when talking about all-timers. I'm going to go with T-Mac. I know he was injured, but do we

remember what T-Mac was like? Just like, okay, the scoring, but the passing, the shot clocking as a guard. This is someone who I think if he had the longevity, could have been the scoring champion, the assist champion, and maybe just been making all defensive teams.

And him, and I would also just nominate Grant Hill, who I think might have been gone down as like one of the 10 best players of all time, and he never got injured, and would probably be the player I'd most want to see among legends in like today's era, where I think his game would just

plop right in and he could dominate all right and finally what is the one moment or game from nba history you wish twitter had been around for i wish twitter had been around for yeah i can't even think ah i have this is too hard i like feel like i need it can about it. It can't be too hard, Dan, or else the whole show falls apart. I feel like, what if Twitter was around for the Michael Jordan shot against the Jazz? Or even, can I go off the court?

The food poisoning with Michael? That game and having that whole pizza element story behind it? Yeah. That would have been the memes. Oh my god. Because the conspiracy theories would have already been flaring up by the time the first vomit hit the toilet you know like people would be like they poisoned him right right right right my cousin knows a guy look and you're like oh yeah or there absolutely would have been like the counter reports where it's well we actually

saw jordan charter a jet to vegas right before the game yeah yeah it was like what really happened there well dan favale you have made it through the shooting gallery that is the rapid fire round of questioning on miles and jack up my boosties thank you so much for joining us once again where can people find you follow you all that good stuff um they can find me on Twitter. It's just my name, at Dan Favale, F-A-V-A-L-E. And if they're looking for more general NBA talk, I co-host the Hardwood Knox podcast. It is spelled exactly as it sounds.

It's the Hardwood Knox. K-N-O-X. That used to be our intro music until we remembered, like, seven or eight years ago that copyright issues were a thing. Yeah, yeah. Happens to the best of us on here yeah yeah yeah darn things uh well you can follow us on twitter uh first of all you can follow the hashtag for show links and updates hashtag mad boosties b-double-o-s-t-i-e-s you can follow me on twitter at miles of gray i'm at jack underscore o'brien and that was it. 102. We did it.

102 in the books. 103 coming at you. Benny and two Georges in the back, baby. Guess what? We're going to be back for another one. 103, a straight-up banger and mash. We'll see you next time. I'm Jack on Matt Boosties.

Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. There's so much beauty in Mexican culture, like mariachis, delicious cuisine, and even lucha libre. Join us for the new podcast, Lucha Libre Behind the Mask, a 12-episode podcast in both English and Spanish about the history and cultural richness of Lucha Libre. And I'm your host, Santos Escobar, emperor of Lucha Libre and a WWE superstar. Listen to Lucha Libre Behind the Mask on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you stream podcasts.

Hey, fam. I'm Simone Boyce. I'm Danielle Robay. And we're the hosts of The Bright Side, the podcast from Hello Sunshine that's guaranteed to light up your day. Check out our recent episode with Latin Grammy winner, author, and TV personality, Chiquis,

about raising her younger siblings after the death of her mother, singer Jenny Rivera. I would do it over and over again. All of that has molded me to become the woman that I am today. Like I wouldn't change anything. Listen to The Bright Side from Hello Sunshine on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What happens when a professional football player's career ends and the applause fades

and the screaming fans move on? I am going to share my journey of how I went from Christianity to now a Hebrew Israelite. For some former NFL players, a new faith provides answers. You mix homesteading with guns and church. Voila! You got straight away. They try to save everybody. Listen to Spiraled on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.