The Daily Zeitgeist - MJGMB #148: For the Lakers, Harrison Faigen Inherits the Beef

Episode Date: January 15, 2025

Jack and Producer Jabari were pleased to be joined by SB Nation’s Harrison Faigen for today’s episode. The trio discussed the state of affairs with the Lakers and whether they should still be active ahead of the trade deadline. They also looked around the league and speculated on which teams may take a swing at Jimmy, Zach LaVine and others. DONATE: Fundraiser by Britt Zahren : Support the Kaller/Gray Family's Recovery Displaced Black Families GoFund Me Directory - Google Drive FUNDRAISER: Zeitgang Lightsaber Auction and FundraiserSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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I'm Jack O'Brien and I'm producer Jabari in for miles and this is My house in Jack and sometimes I'm sorry See I just did three Church hits 10k Drive is spinning Wow, that was like spoken word. You were giving me William Shatner Jabari on that one. Harrison Fagan. What's going on, man?

Welcome back, returning champion. Always happy to be here, guys. Up top, I'm in Los Angeles. I do just want to give a shout out to all the people who are being affected by the fire and acknowledge that Miles and his family did lose their home in the fire last week. So we will be linking off to their GoFundMe in the show notes of this episode and some fundraiser from one of the daily Zeitgeist listeners, so you can go contribute there,

and or if you have something to give, if not, you know, just let them know you're thinking about them. But the NBA has pressed on, the Lakers took a week and are back to being fairly mediocre, got the right speed off them by the San Antonio Spurs. But we'll get into that.

But first, we do wanna check in with the two teams that I don't think, I guess people knew OKC was gonna be one of the best teams in the league. But I don't know that the Cavs were necessarily there. Harrison, before we get into any of this, I do just, I like to ask all of our smart people who know stuff about basketball, how are you feeling? Is this the Cavs Eastern Conference to lose or is, are we all just waiting to see if the Celtics decide to give it to them?

What do you think? Is it the Cavs? No disrespect to the Cavs, who have obviously been incredible this year. They're just like a buzz saw every single night. They just it like I don't I have not looked this up, but I feel like they have to have the highest point differential in the league. And if it's not, I guess if it's not them, it's maybe OKC. But it just feels like they blow everyone out just with their consistency. But for me, it's still the Celtics just because of what we saw them do last year. And we know that teams are sort of prone to these title hangovers.

It's hard to keep up that level of intensity that you have when going after your first ring for that whole next year when it's like, OK, wait, we got to do the whole 82 games again before we get to the playoffs and defend the title. So I do think that there's some natural like we've seen that throughout NBA history. And I think now that the league is as deep as it is it that you just feel that more on a night to night basis because there are more talented teams that you know, if you're only bringing your beep minus game like they can beat you and the Celtics they have a target on their back because of the defending championship thing and because they sort of ran through

the playoffs last year. So I still think they're really good and And as much as it pains me to say, but I do think that they should still be considered the favorites to come out of the East, despite how good Cleveland has been. I guess part of me is like in those times in the past, when it's like, we're just waiting for Shaq to play himself into shape.

And then like the Lakers are gonna do it or teams, I think the second year that the Rockets won the title, they were like, not good during the regular season and then turned it off. I think they were like the sixth or the eight. Yeah, they were, they were, they were really low. I think they were six, but those were years when I think people were looking around being like, yeah, but like there's not a team, there's not a team that's like stormed in and been like, okay, this is actually our league.

Whereas the Cavs are like on pace to win 71 games. Whether that happens, I don't know, but like they definitely seem capable of it. Like there's nothing about what they're doing to this point that seems fluky. So it is intriguing. Like I, I'm as somebody who's like a pessimistic Celtic hater, I'm always loathe to like have any hope that they're not going to win the title. But like this is more hopeful than I was at this stage last year, I'll say as somebody who just roots for the field against the Celtics. As as your partner in crime in that regard, no, like seriously, the deeper we get, I think it's all three of us. I think there's no one. There's no podcast in the NBA sphere that wants the Celtics to be bad more than this.

These three. Yeah, this is we're all pulling in the same direction here. But but I genuinely do believe in these calves like the deeper we get the first 10 games. I said, okay, you know what? That's cute. That's cool. You know, then we get to 20 games and get to 30 games. You get to 40 games into the year. It's like, no, unless something catastrophic takes place. This is going to be 40 games into the year. It's like, no, unless something catastrophic takes place, this is going to be the team, you know, one of the, okay, maybe not the team, but one of the teams to be in a very

difficult out. And when it comes to, you know, from the Boston side of things, just to kind of, you know, touching on what you, what you reference, it's a lot more, you know, it's that old boxing adage. It's a lot more difficult to get up and run those miles when you're getting up in silk pajamas. You know what I mean?

Like everybody's got the grind that first time around. I've never heard that before. That's incredible. Oh no, but it's, Muhammad Ali said it, the late marvelous Marvin Hagler, one of my favorite boxers in the eighties, showing my age. He used to say it as well. But yeah, he said basically the initial grind, everybody has that within them. But once you reach the top, it's like all of a sudden,

you went to bed in silk pajamas, or do you really feel like getting up at 3 a.m. to run those mugs? And I'm not saying that Boston is taking it easy, but kind of to your point, Jack, everyone is going after them, because now you're the defending champs, and you're not going to get a night off in this league.

Donovan Mitchell wakes up every morning in a hair suit, and is on his grind right away. Yeah. Uh, all right. I do, I do, I'm just checking in. We're not going to make everything about the calves versus the Celtics. Uh, and we do, so the calves did beat. Okay.

See, and they're had to have matchup. Okay. See, then promptly beat the breaks off the Knicks in our game of the week. Uh, one 26 to one Oh one, Shay put up 39 on 21 shots. Jalen Williams was solid. The story of the game was Isaiah Joe going eight for 11 from three off the bench on the way to, I think he had 31. He's apparently the best player in the league based on what I saw in this game.

I was going to say, is that the story of the game or just the story of like your sadness because the Sixers cut him in training camp two years ago? No, it's, uh, it's not great. And thank you, Harrison, for bringing that up because I do. Did you even remember that? Yeah. Oh yeah. I remember drafting him.

I think this is, this is like core Sixers trauma over the last couple of years. Yeah. Yeah. But it's just guys who come off the bench in the league are better at basketball than I can even possibly imagine. Like so many of them are just waiting for their opportunity to be like, I have super powers too. And yeah, he was just so good in this in this game.

Just a lot of back cuts and then just knocking down every open three that he got. Did you guys watch this game? What were your thoughts on on this one? I did. I mean, like, and it's kind of where I think you're going to go with shade. Like I look at Shay and we mentioned it in the, you know, ahead of the show. Like he's got like the perfect old man's game, but like not slow. I'm not saying, you know, but he's just, everything is deliberate, everything, you know, there's no wasted energy. It just looks so easy out there.

Yeah. Yeah. It's like one of the old man was also the fastest guy in the gym, you know, he has all of his trickery, but he's still in his complete athletic prime and able to stop on a dime and has all these herky jerky moves and is just like, you know, start stop sort of like it's a little bit like hardened during those MVP years where he just was like, he wasn't the fastest guy in the league, but he was the quickest at hitting the brakes and very few guys could start at Luca does this as well. And like Shay is a mastered sort of the dark arts of that mid-range

you know the sort of area where he is able to get in there and he's able to go back forth back forth back forth and Then before you know it eventually his defenders just running off in the other direction and he's getting a shot off And yeah, it's just yeah, he's he's incredible and it's the remarkable thing about okay See is at least with the Cavs were like, okay They've had their whole team for the most part throughout most of the year. And so, of course, you know, they're they're playing, firing on all cylinders. The Thunder are missing a guy or two, like almost every single night, and they're still managing this. It's just incredible how deep they are.

Yeah, Shay makes buckets look easier than anyone. He's as good at getting buckets and makes them look easier than anyone. It is really like something to behold. I can't think of somebody who ever made it look that easy in my time, where it's just like it really like if you're trying, you know, people like to like cross someone up and have them like fall over as they hit a three on them. But like making it look this easy as you score on someone has to be also like a new kind of dispiriting where you're just like maybe from a guard.

But I would say that there have been I would say there have been big men who make it look like like if you watch them for the first time, you would just sit like Anthony Davis, you know, like, yeah, yeah, yeah. Nicole Jokic, Victor Wemba, Nama, like these guys, like sometimes if you were to just show someone who had never watched basketball before, just like Anthony Davis getting 30 points, they'd be like, oh, okay, that guy's getting lucky, right? Well, that's not over the place.

Yeah. Yeah. Throwing stuff up. But like, it doesn't look like he's played before. And it's like, no, that's just sort of what his game looks like at his height. And, you know, that's what a tall person with that level of coordination looks like, they still look not that coordinated. And so, you know, it's, but yeah, among guards, he's truly unique with how effortless he can make it look.

I guess Steph during his prime, it was different, but, you know, he would just sort of come off of a screen and just like, like toss up a prayer. And it was just going in every time. That one shot from right before the break where he was like running to the left and like did a spin move and then threw it up like and just kept running was one of the coolest things. There's got to be nobody more demoralizing to guard in NBA history is just like, he's just like taking the shots you want him to take and they're going in. It's just, yeah. But he looks like he, I always bring back like during that one game against OKC, that

was like, I think kind of his big call. It was a regular season game but he was just going off and then he hit the game winner from half court and somebody tweeted Steph's got a demon that's all there is to it Steph's just got a D and like that's always he he seems like he has some manner of like like in the outfield yeah yeah yeah it's just like, yeah, what is going on? Yeah, he's got a shot. Whereas Shade just looks like he's moving a different speed or it's like it kind of boggles the mind, like how he's doing that. Real quick, going back to the Isaiah Joe thing, because I'm just curious if you guys have ever had an experience with this where you played against or witnessed a guy who like came off the bench in the league

in person. And like I once I went to the Kentucky basketball camp a lot as a kid. My dad was an assistant coach there. And you know, this is probably like as good as I got, was like my sophomore year. And Tony Delk was there and, you know, he knew me from my dad. And he was like, handed me the ball,

was like, let me see, like, what have you been working on? Let me see you like dribble it. And the ease with which, so Tony Delk, for people who don't know, like not a consistent starter ever in the league He did have one game where he put up 50 great three-point shooter in college won the

Championship in college, but the ease with which he took the ball Every time like I like I was in slow motion or let But it was almost like having the a magician do the like pull a coin from behind your ear where you're just like wait How did how did that get how did the ball get in his hand? Like every single time was just like, I was like, oh, we're playing like different games. This person who is going to be like scoffed at by NBA fans is so incredibly good at basketball. It's like, again, like it. Yeah, it's like watching a magic show It's like I can't wrap my mind around it I mean it for me it really boils down to the worst player in the league the guy that everybody will say like oh that

Guy stinks will dog you it doesn't it does not matter who you are Brian Scalabrine he actually did that he hosted like a tournament for guys to come and play against him who had like trash talked him on Twitter and just like destroyed them. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. The Scalabrini anecdote is a, is a really good one for anybody. I think you can still find that. I'm sure it's on YouTube somewhere. Yeah. I never, I was not a good basketball player, so I was not in like high level games against future NBA players, but I played like pickup a couple of times with like guys that had played overseas in Europe or something and we're still in the area and like that guy. And it's just like even those level guys, they're not, they weren't anywhere near the NBA and they're just like, it's just like a different level

of human being, you know, it's not, it's not fair. Yeah. This guy I played against in eighth grade who would like put it between his legs with one hand, like he would do right hand in and out dribble through his legs and then like dunk on you. I was like, well, clearly this guy is is gonna be the best player of all time and he ended up like playing mid-division one you know it's just yeah you have to be an alien to make it yeah it's truly unbelievable yeah yeah all right let's

take a quick break we'll come. We'll talk about our two teams You know both Struggling, but I think we're in the same boat here guys And I know that makes you feel good feeling like you're in the same boat as the 76ers this season. Let's take a break We'll be right back And we're back so Lakers took a week off following the start of the Southern California fires. Return to action on Monday versus the Spurs and it didn't go so well. I was pulling for them.

I mean I was pulled for the Lakers when it's not the Sixers. But yeah, the addition of shake DFS, it's not it's not quite what we needed, at least thus far. Well, how are you guys as unrealistic Lakers fans feeling right now? Yeah, I first of all, I love that you led with shake there. Instead of that was a former Sixers fan that's exactly trade. That was a former Sixers fan. That's the exact trade trade. Yeah. As a fan of cool names. I'm a that's the shit.

It is incredible. Just basketball player name. Like you said, I wish he was better because it would be really exciting. It would be really fun. He had a couple of seasons there, man. You know, yeah. Yeah. No, from what I've been told from people who followed his career, like he's going

to have some games in March where you're going to be like, this guy is ready to go playoff rotation. You know, he just dropped 30. It's like two, there's two starters out, you know, shake Milton is ready to go cook. But yeah, again, speaking of like how deep the league is, it's like, he's a guy that can go out and, you know, get some buckets and is probably not really going to be a consistent rotation player for the Lakers. But yeah, I think the team is the biggest issue to me and Jabari, I don't know, you can weigh in here as well, has been that I think that how much they want

to switch ever since it was pointed out to me by Darius Soriano, long time, foreign blue and gold, long time silver screen and role contributors. Well, yeah, one of the best like Lakers pundits, like he pointed out, like the ease with which they're giving up switching. And once you have that in your head, you can't unsee it. It's just like it is effortless switching. You know, they are not, you know, they'll just sort of hand you Austin Reeves on a platter to go and hunt.

It's like I'm not saying Austin Reeves, you know, I expect him to do really well on defense and stuff, but you should. So if that's true, you should be trying Austin Reeves, you know, I expect him to do really well on defense and stuff, but you should. So if that's true, you should be trying harder to not give up that matchup. You should have plans in place to help Austin, you know, but they're just letting teams sort of pick on him. And, you know, again, I'm not saying that he's like some defensive stopper that I think, you know, I think he's got to step it up, whatever.

It's like, no, if you're the Lakers, you have to come help him. Like you can't just allow for this to be happening, you know? Um, and, and just like there's like a simple brush screen and you're just sort of like, okay, well, all right, I guess you get Austin now. And that it sort of plays into, I think some of the lazier tendencies of this team where they're very much, you know, there are a lot of vets on this team, most primarily LeBron and AD are there sort of like veteran core. And they're two guys who are happy to sort of, you know, there are a lot of vets on this team, most primarily LeBron and AD are their sort of like veteran core. And they're two guys who are happy to sort of, you know,

coast through a night on the regular season. Like they want to see if they can put the foot down for one quarter and sort of eliminate it. And I think that all the switching that the Lakers do sort of plays into some of those tendencies of like, ah, you know, Austin's got it. We'll let Rui make that back line rotation. It's fine. Yeah. Yeah. Darius is exactly right. But the one thing that I'll say, it's just straight out. Offensively, they have looked better at times. Defensively, they still every bit as lost

as what AD described in the, you know, like down the stretch of the season last year when they were playing for him. And I'm no longer the type person who just goes like, okay, get them out of here. Look, you can't keep going, getting rid of coaches. You know what, you know, shout out to Frank. I still feel sorry for you. No, look look man. I think we've all seen now

That the Suns got rid of Frank and solved all their problems. Everything's better now Yeah, I think yeah, clearly the guy clearly the problem at same with the Lakers when you guys got rid of them You went from winning a title to Forget oh, yeah. Yeah the plan. That's right. Um, but yeah, no, I think Playoffs so the year he got fired, but that wasn't his fault. Yeah. Nah Um, I think it was I think we got that The the vogal effect Well what it feels like to me is look look, we know what LeBron is at this stage.

He can still, you know, ratcheted it up offensively in a lot of games. Defensively, it's hit or miss, and it's going to be hit or miss even, you know, like from one, you know, from one time down to the next. That's fine. You're 47 years old. Like, I get it. You know, AD, when he's properly utilized, you know, he can still looks great. Reeves has been good for them.

But beyond that, look, they got a few solid players left, but it's not enough. Like, you know, and I'm sorry, I'm gonna do shameless kindred drops no matter what, even if it fits into the conversation or not. But I feel like, you know, the debate about like, whether this team can turn it on or, you know, figure it out. Like we need to stop having that.

And it's either go ahead and sell out for the field, you know, sell out your future or stop lying and just acknowledge, okay, we're just going to play this, you know, play this out. Where do you think they're going to go with it? You know, I've been saying sort of a similar thing in that, like, you know, if you're just trying to sell tickets around LeBron and AD and you know, that's that's sort of the goal for this team and you don't want to mortgage anymore of the future, like that's fine. But you also well, actually, no, it's not fine. Like you should be trading off pieces and trying to rebuild for the future. Like don's fine, but you also, well, actually, no, it's not fine. Like you should be trading off pieces and trying to rebuild for the future. Like don't, no, no half measures. You know, it's the breaking bad ism. Like you should either be going all in and use some of these

picks to go get better at the trade deadline or you, or you're just continuing to waste everyone's time. And so I also think that, you know, not to commit like the, I'm not saying the Lakers are better without LeBron, but I will say that there were moments when he was out defensively where it looked like they were not lazily switching as often and they were a little bit more intact. And I still think, you know, obviously this team is not going to be able to reach like its highest heights without LeBron on the roster. Like there's just a level of like athletic dynamism and playmaking that he gives them that no one else on the roster has. Like this team would be bad if LeBron just sat out the rest of the season.

This is not what I'm trying to say, but I think that someone needs to let him know that it's like, you know, even if you have to take 10% of your offense, you know, ratchet down your offensive effort a little bit, like you got to give a little bit more on defense than you're giving because we've seen this year after year roster after roster that it trickles down to the rest of the guys when you know, when he is sort of yelling at you for getting back cut while he was just standing there, you know, it's like that is going to sap morale a little bit and where it's good. You're not going to see guys sell out as hard to, you know, stop their own man. And you can't just have like someone just sort of getting, you know, just

allowing players to, you know, get loose on the weak side. And so I do think that there's a little bit of he's going to lock in more once they get closer to the playoffs. Like that's what we've seen him do. And so I think that to some degree, they just got to get through this right now. And I expect that like that effort will ratchet Up once it gets closer to you know, the the promised land But yeah, it's kind of rough right now and it's not helping, you know

The rest of the guys sort of find their footing. I don't think I think we just solve each other's problems You take MB we take LeBron and be for LeBBron. Who says that? Straight up. Both teams say no to that? I think so. Both teams cuss each other out and then you scream at one another after they hang the phone up. And then secretly are like, maybe that would have been... Anyways, I do just want to raise, is it too late to just all out tank for both franchises?

Because Cooper flag put up 42 points in a game. I'm going to say yes, because the Sixers, isn't the Sixers pick only top six protected? Yeah. Oh yeah. So yeah I don't know that they're gonna out tank some of the other teams that are down there at this point. Good enough odds and the Lakers straight up don't have their pick so there's no benefit for them in Luzed like unless they unless they just really want to do Atlanta a favor and just send Cooper flag to Atlanta and help out Trey young then yeah There's no incentive for them to tank this year Yeah, we we need to be bottom six to get there

I mean and bead has been hurt now maxis hurt and We were just talking about the Paul George draft before you got on Harrison Paul George the other people in that draft are long gone from the league like he was very Right. Yeah No, Paul George 2010 2010. Yeah, John Wall. Wow, demarcus cousins Gordon Hayward is like the most recent person who was like still playing. Excuse me, Jack. That's education reform Excuse me, Jack, that's education reform. As we'll always know him.

Yeah. Like I didn't think of Paul George is like one of the elder states, man. I was like, yeah, he's on the older side of his career. He is all like, he is up there, man. I mean, we should have guessed when he tried to sort of like come for our jobs as a podcaster, you know, he is like, he's preparing for that to be his primary source of income after the Sixers contract, you know? So next Lakers coach after JJ, is that what you're saying? Look, the podcaster to at Lakers coach pipeline is,

it bore stronger results earlier in the year, I would say, but I think JJ's solid. So yeah, maybe Paul George said that's what's next for him. He's going to he's going to be the next great podcaster turned coach. So you're going to let JJ stay. You're going to trade LeBron. One team should have to hire a podcaster every off season. Every off season. For continent reasons, you know.

And then they have to keep their show going, though. It's like the NFL has the has the show that goes around a training camp that rotates around the league. It's like, OK, we spun the wheel and like this year it's OKC. Sorry, you got to hire a podcaster. Coach, Bill Simmons taking over the Celtics. I feel like he wouldn't be like, he'd actually be an okay, maybe GM. He does like tend to have a good sense of when the Celtics are good.

That's one other compared to other like basketball talking heads, as much as we like to make fun of him. He does seem to like have a pretty good eye for the NBA. Yeah, I think there would be worse podcasters to hire as a head coach. Yeah, yeah. Not me, though. I'm number one. I think I would lose the locker room. Like I would make Adrian Griffin look like he was like in the running for coach of the year early on with the bucks last year. Well, he kind of was.

Really? He kind of was. He was 20, 20 plus games over 500. And he said, get out ever since then. What's like if they've been matched that once again, it was another team that changed the coach and fixed all their problems. You know, Doc, as he solved it, as he has in all of his, uh, all the places he's gone. I'd come in and inspire them with a tale of Tony Delk, picking my pocket

repeatedly, and they'd be like, this guy, here's the leader. I was meant to be a coach elsewhere around the league. The Pacers ended the Cavs winning streak at 12, find themselves up in the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference. If everybody stays kind of where they're at right now, that four, five, six with the, you know, Pacers, Orlando, Milwaukee, fighting it out, could be interesting. What are you feeling about just, is the East basically Boston and Cleveland?

Is there anybody else there who has got your eye a glimmer in? I mean, I would say the Knicks, their result against the Thunder, notwithstanding, you know, I know that they've had sort of like a rougher, you know, last couple of weeks. I know they haven't been as good, but I do still believe largely in that core. And I also think that, again, like that's a team that if they can get to the playoffs healthy, which has been a big if for Tibbs teams, you know, but he is a guy that has them ready to go all out for those playoff level minutes over the course of a playoff series because he's already playing them playoff level minutes the entire regular season.

And so, you know, guys like Josh Hart, guys like whoever, like they're in shape for that. They're ready. They're not getting winded, you know, at the beginning, at the start of playoff games, they're ready for that intensity. So I do, I like the Knicks and also, you know, like their top six is just like incredible. So the Knicks in the East, I think that's probably the only one

other than the Cavs or South, that like, I don't know that I could see any teams coming out of the East other than those three. Not Milwaukee, you're not, you don't believe. I'm not in Milwaukee. Yeah, I don't know I'm not in on the walk Yeah, I don't I mean they're okay, you know respect to the NBA Cup winners But yeah, I don't I don't see it winning three rounds to get to the finals is a tough It's just tough to see with that roster Orlando is intriguing to me because they have like such an incredible weapon and their defense

But you have to make so many shots to make it to like win a title. Like the ball has to go in so many times. Or Lando is a team that theoretically could get better at the deadline because not only have they been like really, really banged up for the first half of this year, but they have basically all of their own draft picks, if not all of their own draft picks. And so if there was a team that was like, hey, poised to be a buyer and had a real reason to because they have a really solid core already. And they're like, hey, we're one super ball handling point guard away from,

you know, being able to really compete here. Then, you know, the magic could justify making an all in push. Yeah. All right. Here's here's my one crazy thing that I say in each episode. Jabari is one crazy thing, one crazy thing by some medication. Yeah, I was going to say something that probably drop a sponsor name just for local. Yes, there we are. What about Jimmy to Orlando?

Just go all in on being the the guddiest, just filthiest team that you can like in any series. You watch them play. You go, I feel sick to my stomach watching that team play. I don't know. I like it. It would just be. I actually don't like it, to be honest. I would say you can be real. That's OK.

Yeah, I feel like every time we're like, yeah, what if they just like steer into their identity? What if they're like, yeah, we'll get even bigger and everyone's a big guy. I feel like it like doesn't always work out that well. You know, what if we had another guy who wants the ball and can't shoot? You know, it's like, yeah. And then it's going to yell at all of our good vibes players if things are not going well.

Yeah. So hear me out. What if the vibes were bad? We're really bad on this team that has really good vibes. If the Kings were not streaking right now, I would say like, you know, we wrote a story for SB Nation about how Deer and Fox would be a great target for them. But, you know, obviously it seems unlikely that that's going to happen now. It seems like the Kings have sort of righted the ship and probably not going to be like have one seven in a row since they're not going to blow it up at the deadline

anymore. But yeah, you know, someone like that, if they could get like a quick point card or someone at some shooting, you know, I think that would help them a lot. Doug Christie. Also here is this is the Jack's Don't Look Now segment of the week. We're adding a bunch of sponsored segments right now. Just just because. Yeah, just because. Why not? Jack's Don't Look Now of the week brought to you by Subaru.

There it is. So easy to drive. You don't even have to look while you're driving. Don't look now. The Pistons are now above 500 at 21 and 19. After going eight and two over the last 10 games. That's incredible for them. Like, I'm sad to say I'm incredibly jealous of the Pistons.

And I don't know. Do we think they should be buyers or do we think they should just be like, this is so fun. Let's just like see where we take it. What do you think? If I were them, I would stick with what they have because I don't think that you're going to, I don't think that whatever you add at this deadline is going to be enough to sort of like push you towards any meaningful playoff run this year. Like I would continue to evaluate. I would actually see, you know, if not necessarily be sellers, but see if you can, you know, because they're one of the teams that they're, they're part of the reason why the trade deadline probably is not going to be like that crazy active is because they were originally a team with cap space that you would have pinpointed. It's like, okay, they're that third team that's going to help facilitate some of these deals between contenders. They'll take on some draft picks, take on some money, you know,

sort of make the financial stuff work. But I don't know, like they could still do something like that, but they may not be as inclined to just like sort of take dead salary. And so that might mess up the trade deadline for, you know, a number of other teams, which, you know, isn't the Pistons prerogative, but, you know, it does sort of throw a wrench in some of these scenarios because of the new apron rules around like first, you know, it does sort of throw a wrench in some of these scenarios because of the new apron rules around like first, second apron and, you know, how much teams can take

back in a trade. You a lot of times need that third facilitating partner and, you know, they can run it back or I guess continue to run it with this roster. Yeah, because it's not running it back. They're still in this season, but they can continue to sort of run with this roster and then potentially they're going gonna be like good players available You know this offseason in sort of salary dumps because teams are gonna be dealing with these like honoris tax penalties Yeah, honoris honoris. So I think that they should I would say the course if I was them

I think that you know, you're in the middle of a fun season You're you're in the most fun type of NBA season arguably like a team that wasn't expected to be that good and is now like really fun for their fans. If they can like chase a play-in birth, playoff birth like I think that's enough and then you continue to build on that strong young core. So say they do that say they go that route and shout out to JB Bickerstaff for the job that he's done there. Yeah. Say they go that route and you know they get a play-in you know situation where they lose and you know but they was it was a good you know, situation where they lose and, you know, but they was, it was a good experience. What type of player would you like to pair with Cade?

That's a good question. You know, I think you probably need like, like another guard that can handle a little bit and can also like relieve some of the pressure on him by being able to shoot. You know, I think that's probably what they need them up because he's like, he's a point guard, but sort of, you know, like he's a guy that's probably what they need them up because he's like he's a point guard but sort of you know Like he's a guy that could probably do he's a little bit combo guardie And I don't mean that it's like the the insult that a lot of people mean it as when they're like basically saying you're a bench

Guard a combo guard that just means you're a bench guard, you know You're not good enough to start at shooting guard or point guard. No, like he's clearly above that level He's a playmaker, but I think that they could use like probably, you know, a point guard that can, you know, take a little bit more gravity off of him and pull some of those defenders away. Like Jayden Ivy is good, but he's just not that level of shooter yet. And so I think that like adding like a point guard with a little bit more shooting ability would probably be the ideal back court partner for him.

I can see it. I like it. Listen up. I'm just going. I like it. Listen up, dear, I'm just going to try and trade him to every team. Everyone gets a even though they're good. A trade between our two don't look now teams. And finally, don't look now. Zion's finally back and he did a sick windmill 360 that, I don't know,

seemed like he was inadvertently revealing that he has super powers. Like, it's just incredible. It's just like, Oh yeah, I was, I was hurt in quotes, but watch me do this. But anyways, uh, but very excited about that. I think he was suspended to like a game for missing a team flight, but all right, let's take a quick break and we'll be right back. Sometimes when it comes to your personal fitness goals, you just need a plan. Peloton can give you the plan, absolutely.

And Steve, you've got a Peloton. I sure do. And Steve benefits from things like a variety of challenging classes. There are four week strength building classes, running, cycling, everything in between. Peloton can adapt to any goal in this season of your life. And by the way, the holidays are around the corner. Now is when you need to be on the Peloton.

Find your push, find your power with Bobby Bones and Matt Castle. Between us, we have over 17,500 passing yards, multiple New York Times bestsellers, and one mirror ball trophy from Dancing with the Stars. So where else are you gonna find a show with that much athleticism and football insight? Based in Nashville, we're more than just your basic NFL show. We talk sports, but we talk pop culture and music and a little bit everything because we got lots to say I

Texted you and you're texting me back now I don't know if you have the update but like all the little thumbs up and heart and stuff like it's all colored they changed it And the hearts a little pink it felt like I told you I loved you. I'm gonna be honest It was a little pink there was something sentimental when you feel like when you send it Yeah, it's like do I send the heart now? I don't like the color edition. It's extremely pink Listen to lots to say with Bobby Bones and Matt Castle on the I heart radio app Apple podcast or wherever you get your podcasts What's up, everybody? I'm Dan Burke here to tell you about a new podcast from I heart podcast in the National Hockey League

It's NHL inscripted with Burke and Demers. Hey, I'm Jason Demers, former 700 game NHL defenseman, turned NHL network analyst, and boy oh boy, does daddy have a lot to say. I love you, by the way, on NHL Network. We're looking forward to getting together each week to chat and chirp about the sport and all the other things surrounding it that we love, right? Yeah, I just met you today, but we're gonna have a ton

of guests from the colliding worlds of hockey, entertainment and pop culture, and you know what? Tons of back and forth on all things NHL. Yeah, you're just gonna find out we're not just hockey talk. We had all kinds of random stuff on this podcast, movies, television, food, wrestling, even the stuff that you wear on NHL now. You wish you could pull off my short shorts, Ferky. That's sure to cause a ruckus.

Listen to NHL Unscripted with Virkin Demers and the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's going on everybody? This is Justin Penick from John Boy Media, the host of the Football Today podcast alongside Bobby Skinner and Chris Rose. We're rolling three times a week on Mondays, on Wednesdays, on Fridays,

breaking down everything you need to know about the NFL. We're talking about the MVP race. Is Josh Allen going to pull it out? Lamar Jackson? Can Saquon Barkley even break the rushing record? Can the Steelers keep up their momentum? We talk about everything. we break it down, stats, analytics, and of course Chris Rose is bringing his perspective on being a pro in the media world as well. Listen to football today on the iHeartRadio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts, and you will be glad you did. Hope you could join us for the post-season run. Ever wonder what it's like to be on the phone with an NFL general manager as you finalize the biggest contract in NFL history? I'm AJ Stevens, vice president of client strategy at Athletes First, where we've negotiated $1.4 billion in current NFL quarterback contracts. Introducing the Athletes First Family Podcast, the quarterback series, along with my co-host, Brian Murphy,

Athletes First CEO, we're pulling back the curtain on how these historic deals come together. You'll hear directly from the agents who shaped the NFL's financial landscape, the ones who negotiated Justin Herbert's extension and Deshaun Watson's fully guaranteed contract that sent shockwaves through the league. This isn't just about the numbers though. It's about the untold stories behind these massive negotiations and the relationships the NFL superstars like Dak Prescott, Tua Tunga-Valaioloa, and Jordan Love have with their agents at Athletes First.

For the first time ever, the agents who orchestrate these deals are sharing the details of the negotiations and everything that led up to their clients signing on the dotted line. Listen to the Athletes First Family podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And we're back and it is the rapid fire out of questioning. Harrison, you're gonna wanna give us the first answer that comes to mind.

We're gonna be firing shots at you and you just gotta come back, bounce them back right at us. As long time listeners know, I always do really great at this segment, giving you a brief answer. One of the best. One of the best of the world. All right. Jabari, you want to start?

Yeah, because I did throw that silly one in there and I will proudly ask. Brian, start the clock. Yeah ask Brian. Start the clock. Yeah, Brian, start the clock. All right. This or that scenario, which would be the more dominant player? You got three of them. You got three of them coming up. Shaq with free throw touch or Kobe with Curry Shaq. Oh, man. I'm going Shaq with free throw touch.

So I'll do respect to Kobe. You see it. Shaq with free throw touch is an unstoppable player that wins like eight titles in a row. Yes. What are we talking free throw percentage like we're talking and beat seventy five to eighty, you know, not like ninety, but you know, a good. I thought we were giving him like Steve Nash level free throws. You know, I mean, you can get like 98 percent.

Let's say 80. Let's say 80. 80s and beat. That would be nice. Yeah. Embiid is still there. It's so nice having somebody who's that big and can get to the line. And in his era, I'm definitely going to. In today's era, I think you can make an argument for Kobe with Curry's shot. Just because shooting is so valuable now and just being able to get up that number of threes is huge. But I also don't know if that like takes away from what made Kobe great, which is like sort of a lot of the mid range footwork stuff, you know,

whatever, like are you taking him out of some of the positions that sort of made him special? Well, the thing with that is that you would need Kobe to like actually take those shots. And like, I don't know that he'd want to, you know, always take the shots if he had that kind of stroke. Oh, actually, Phil Jackson told Kobe they're like, you have the green light launch as soon as you cross half court. 20 a game, 20 a game, 23 is a game. You would be shooting 20 a game.

You think it would average like 30 shots a game? Yes. Oh, it would be unprecedented. It would be Will Chamberlain. Like it would be just like nobody touches this thing. He actually, if he finally would crack the 100, you know, he would get it, you know, just on shooting variants one night. He cracked it with not a great three point shot. Like he came pretty close.

Like imagine. Magic with Jordan's athleticism or Wimby with Shaq's strength while maintaining his flexibility. I gotta go. I'm Shaq-pilled, I guess is what we're finding out. I gotta go Wimby with Shaq's strength while maintaining his flexibility. I got to go. I'm Shaq-pilled, I guess, is what we're finding out. I got to go Wimby with Shaq's strength. I'm sorry. That is an unstoppable player to me. I mean, he's got Shaq's strength, but does he have Shaq's body? Like, who's body does he have?

Wimby's current body. Wimby's current body. But somehow, like, it would be like an optical illusion. You know, it would just be like exploding off of his body. They're like, wait, how does he hit so hard? He's like nine pounds. Yeah. Man, Magic with Jordan's athleticism would be pretty interesting.

I mean, it's not like Magic was a bad athlete or anything, but. Oh, no, he wasn't great by NBA standards. Post knee stuff. If you were taking off from the free throw line, it's like, this is a different conversation for us. Yeah. And he's 6 six nine, right? Yeah, it's still has the main playmaking vision and whatever so now

He's probably LeBron, right? It's yeah, you mentioned that LeBron. Yeah, because the last one I got here for you is Kareem with AI's handle or LeBron It's seven foot. I can't believe that we're debating whether or not I would enhance Kareem at this point, if there's nothing that it's that it's not that it's not going to touch. There's no industry. I know. And I swap it's a run, AKA Jokic. Come on, man.

That's not Jokic. What are you talking about? I mean, look, it's LeBron. He still has LeBron speed and athleticism, but he's seven feet tall. It's seven foot. Yeah, no, it's got to be LeBron. He still has LeBron speed and athleticism, but he's seven feet tall. Seven foot. Yeah, no, it's got to be LeBron. Oh, so LeBron speed like Jokic. Got it. Just like it. Exactly. Yeah. The guy that was beating my guy, Anthony Davis down the court.

Sometimes when I'm watching LeBron highlights and Jokic highlights, I get them mixed up. Yeah, which one? I'm like, hold on, rewind that. Was that LeBron? No, that was light skinned LeBron. That was light skinned LeBron. That was light skinned. And finally, you have to help us pick the game of the week. Our last guest did a bad job. I'm just going to say it.

They picked Thunder at the Knicks and it was a snoozefest. The thunder destroyed them. You can't let that happen Harrison our fans our listeners are counting on you. The NBA is counting on you All right Here are your candidates coming up Thursday tonight for many of the people listening to this you got the calves of the thunder That's gonna be a tough Friday magic at Celtics on ESPN or That's what I was going to pick. Friday. Very quickly. It's getting through Friday. Magic at Celtics on ESPN or Grizzlies at Spurs also on ESPN calves at Wolves on Saturday

or Sunday. And this one's going to be not that hard to compete with Lakers at Clippers or nuggets at Magic, both local cam nuggets at Magic. All right. Which one are you picking? Magic both local came. Nuggets at Magic. All right, which one are you picking? I I Cavs Thunder I think is the obvious choice. You know that was let's not get let's just do the right one. I will say that second up though.

I think pretty clearly is Spurs Grizzlies because that is one of those games where it's like you have an opportunity to see two of like the sort of one of one athletes in today's game. Like that game I'm willing to predict will be maybe Cavs Thunder will be a better game, but that game will probably produce the most TikTok highlights. Yeah. Fun. God almighty. Just still so fun to watch. It's like John Wemby trying to just like out TikTok each other, you know, just like with, we're not playing for the winner of the game. We're playing for who is going to be the Sports Center top 10 play tonight. You know? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

It's two people who appear to be Marvel characters in most highlights. Like it doesn't make sense. All right. Harrison Fagan, you have successfully completed the gauntlet. You've made it through the rabbit fire round of questioning. have successfully completed the gauntlet. You've made it through the rabbit fire round of questioning. You got all the answers correct somehow. Congratulations. Where can people find you, follow you, all that good stuff.

So you can find me on Twitter at HMFagen, H-M-F-A-I-G-E-N on blue sky at fake news, F-A-I-G-N-E-W-S an app that I wish I had been clever enough to grab when I started my Twitter account, but only thought of later on in college. So I use it for other platforms, but unfortunately it was already claimed on Twitter. So that's messed up.

Do they use it? Should we follow them anyways? No, it was like, I'm pretty sure it was somebody who was a listener of our old podcast, who did it as a prank and then forgot they made the account. Yeah, it's just like there and dead now. Yeah, you know, good bit, though. And yeah, you can check me out on SBNation.com. You know, I oversee all of our men's and women's basketball coverage.

We've been doing some really fun stuff. Yeah, we're going to be having some fun stuff on Unrivaled coming up. You know, the women, new women's three on three offseason league. And then in addition to, of course, like all that NBA trade deadline coverage that you'd expect from SB Nation and our wide range of nerds across the team site universe. One big prediction. Who do you think gets moved? If you had to think like, okay, there is going to be I'm telling you now, there's going to be a trade that everybody is going to be like, wow, about.

Well, what is it? I mean, OK, if I was going to I was joking when I said you made it through the rapid fire round of questioning, you still have one left. Still on seat. Apparently, we we did it earlier this episode. seven is Jimmy Butler to the magic, you know With all those pics, you know, yeah, yeah, that's the Jimmy Butler six man of the year campaign with okc Do we ever get your answer on Jimmy Butler? With okc do we ever get your answer on Jimmy Butler Zach Levine or KD?

Which would you pull for the Lakers who's be for you in Erie? Oh, it's KD. KD. Yeah, okay Yeah, that's that's the right answer. Although I don't know Jimmy might be Yeah, Katie Katie's the Jimmy is like it's it's it's just doubling down on the type of player the Lakers already have Yeah, that's right. Dynamic, you know, sort of scores that can't shoot that well. So, you know, it's like KD at least, it's like would all of a sudden, you know, instead of like Kam Reddish facing the floor for LeBron, it's KD. OK, OK, you know what you sold me. Yeah, that's all it's like. By the way, Jabari was saying it was Zach Levine said final answer

before we start record Zach Levine final answer. All right, here's a tag and thank you so much for joining us. Jabari, where can people find you? I'm easy on Twitter at Jabari A. Davis and on Blue Sky where I spend most of my time, Jabari Davis MBA. All right, I'm at Jack underscore O'Brien on Twitter, Jack Obi-Wan on Blue Sky, the number one. And you can follow miles at miles of gray. Again, we will link off to the GoFundMe in the show notes.

And until then, we will be back next week. Until then, bye-bye. Enjoy the NBA. Stay safe out there. Hey, it's Bobby Bones. Join me and former NFL quarterback Matt Castle every Wednesday for our new podcast, Lots to Say with Bobby Bones and Matt Castle. Between us, we have over 17,500 passing yards, multiple New York Times bestsellers, and one mirror ball trophy from Dancing with the Stars. So where else are you going to find a show with that much athleticism and football insight?

We talk sports, but we talk pop culture and music and a little bit of everything. Listen to Lots to Say with Bobby Bones and Matt Castle on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up everybody? Adnan Burke here to tell you about a new podcast. It's NHL Unscripted with Burke and Demers. Jason Demers here and after playing 700 NHL games,

I got a lot of dirty laundry to air out. Hey, I got a lot to say here too, okay? Each week we'll get together to chat about the sport that we love. Tons of guests are going to join in too, but we're not just going to be talking hockey folks, we're talking movies, we're talking TV, food, and Ed and Ed's favorite, wrestling.

It's all on Le Table. Listen to NHL Unscripted with Virk and Demers on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up everyone, it's Justin Pennick from Jumboy Media, the host of the Football Today podcast you get join us. Join in with us three times a week. Listen to football today on the iHeartRadio Apple podcast or wherever you get your podcasts and you will be glad you did. One point four billion dollars in NFL quarterback contracts. The untold stories behind the biggest deals in football history.

I'm AJ Stevens, vice president of Client Strategy at Athletes First, introducing the Athletes First Family Podcast, the quarterback series. My co-host, Brian Murphy, Athletes First CEO, and I are sitting down with the agents who have negotiated contracts for Justin Herbert, Deshaun Watson, Dak Prescott, Tula Tunga-Vaioloa, and Jordan Love. Listen to Athletes First Family Podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Happy holidays from me, Michael Rapoport. My gift to you is a free subscription to the I Am Rapoport Stereo Podcast, where I discuss

entertainment, sports, politics, and anything and everything that catches my attention. I am here to call it as I see it. And there's a whole lot of things catching my eyes these days. Listen to the I Am Rapaport Stereo Podcast on the iHeartRadioApp Apple Podcast and wherever you get your podcast.