The Daily Zeitgeist - MJGMB #162: Playoff Favorites, Odds and Momentum with Jamieson Welsh

Episode Date: April 23, 2025

Miles and Jack were pleased to be joined by longtime sports bettor and analyst Jamieson Welsh on today's episode. The trio discussed which teams may be in trouble, which teams are obvious contenders and which players to watch for this postseason!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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And Thunder Celtics, yeah, they look like what we thought they looked like. They are who we thought they were. Yeah, and then the Lakers, Rockets, Nakes, and probably a little bit of trouble depending on how their next games play out. We are going to be discussing all of this. Check in with the Clippers, Lakers, Moore, with NBA analyst and sports better Jameson Welsh on today's episode. I'm Miles Gray. And I'm Jack O'Brien. And this is... Miles and Jack got mad boosties! Rock 18 has been secured the Southland for NBA champions over the double team Oh, nine, nine. Janis with the take. Uh-oh, look out.

No show time. What you got, Janis? Jamison Welsh, sports better analyst, co-host of the Mix Company podcast. Welcome back to Miles and Jack Got Mad Boosties. Bringing your knowledge of the game to us. By the way, Rof is how you pronounce Ray Fiennes' first name. A lot of people don't know that. All right. Sorry Thank you just had to get that and that was important. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I think so. I think so James. How you been, man?

I'm doing well fellas. Thanks for having me as always definitely appreciate it. Of course, of course great to have you Is this also the most wonderful time of the year for the sports the the gaming? also the most wonderful time of the year for the sports, the gaming contingent, the gaming industry. It actually is because you can bet on playoff games and both NBA and NHL. And you can also bet on regular season baseball games as well. So it's very, it's very fascinating time. Oh wow. So some games you can kind of tell what's going to happen.

So sure. It's not, it's not bad. It's not bad at all. Is hockey a good sport to bet on? I'm not really not familiar with hockey. Oh, interesting. All right. That's not what this podcast is about, but it could be the NHL. Just let us know. But yes, I mean, going around, obviously there's, I don't know if we'll get to every series, but the ones that stick out, I think they're definitely worth talking talking about we'll definitely get to those. Yeah, we should mention We're recording this on Tuesday afternoon So it's right before the game two of the Lakers series right before game two of uh, who else we got this this evening

I mean doesn't it doesn't matter. It's uh, really the Lakers Thunder and uh bucks pacers. Yes. Those are the games. Those seem like they're on rails. Yeah. Those ones I'm like, yeah, we were like, do we talk about them? They just feel like this conclusion. I mean, that was a, that was a bad luck for the Bucks. Yeah. Yeah. But we'll probably not spend a whole lot of time on that unless Javis saying you want to. But I personally, we're good over here.

Yeah. Yeah. I figured. I personally want to're good over here. Thanks. Yeah, yeah, I figured. I personally want to talk about nuggets clippers. Yeah. I came in thinking the clippers might have the best shot at coming out of the West other than OKC and they managed to really blow it in game one despite seeming like they should have won that one. But then they put it back together in game two. And Kawhi, you know, it's an incredible series, just back and forth bombs and Kawhi playing out of his mind. There's this game that I always mentioned, it was game one of the

playoffs in 2023, where Kawhi still seemed like he was the best player in the league for a single game. And then he got hurt and everyone's like, yeah, well that's, he got hurt. He, and you know, that's what he does, but it, like he's still at 100%. He still seems to be right there at the top of the league. And I don't know he like last night that seemed to be the case again. What'd you guys see? I saw just absolute, like vintage Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, scoring at will,

responding when they needed to. And like, I know you asked before we recorded like Jabari, and I'm like, what are you as Laker fans? How do you feel about, are you in denial about what you're saying? I'm like, I know this is, they look really, really good. And to be honest, it's really fun to watch too. So I'm low key, I'm glad to see Kawhi playing

at the level he is because that's, you know, that's what we deserve as fans and that's what he deserves as a player. But yeah, Jameson, how about you? No, it's great to see legends play like legends. Like I think that's the biggest thing we take away from it is that, okay, we got a guy that is regarded very highly top 75 player, you know, when healthy, he's just as good as anybody.

So it's good to see that guy being able to stay healthy for a long period of time and able to showcase what he's able to do. Biggest takeaway, in my opinion, in this whole situation was Denver really didn't make any adjustments. Why they didn't go to start trapping him. Every time we got the ball, there was nothing. They just let him let whoever guard him get cooked, whether it was Murray or Gordon or whomever, it wasn't like, hey, let's get the ball of his hands.

Let Norman Powell beat us, even though he had a big three or let someone else beat us, it was not it was let Kauai just do what he does. And that didn't work out. But the key is going to be, can he stay healthy as these games go on, especially the series goes? There's not necessarily a two day break in between games. Like that's going to be interesting to see how his body holds up as things go on. But man, if his body holds up, he's just as good as anybody.

Yeah, they were trying to get the ball out of his hands. And that was the one thing that like in comparing it with his run with Toronto, like he still see like he's able to evade a double team, but it's not quite as seamless. There were some times like coming down the, uh, coming down the stretch where he was like having to dribble around in circles a little bit to just get to his spot. But he got there. Once he gets to his spot, it's going in and he eventually got there. But it's just like maybe there's 5% less athleticism at his height.

Jamison, what did you think about the Nuggets, how they've looked and just sort of the the chaos before the postseason and just kind of how they've looked the last two games? They look like a team that just fired as coach within the last pay period. But that's what they look like. Well, that's a paper. You know, it's one of those situations where if you look at how they play, they have wild swings, where there are some stretches where they look really good

and there's some stretch where they look very disorganized. And it's unfortunate. That's the case because you have Yokoch having one of the best all time seasons ever. Yeah. And it's probably not going to result in anything significant. Like they're not going to win a championship of this roster. They probably don't go out this round. So we look back at it as like, wow, like he's had such a great season,

but the surrounding stuff is just not really good. Like as good as Jamal Murray is at times, it's not at all star level. Michael Porter, Jr. Michael Porter, Jr. The fact that someone made a poster comment after game one talking about him being locked in That ain't good to hear in April If you're not locked in the playoffs and then you're not all for the team and Michael Porter, Jr Yeah after game one didn't they have to keep him off the court and at the end of man

Those aren't good things and yeah, so your starter This is your guy you paid 30 something million to a year like these things aren't good things. And yeah, this is your starter. This is your guy. You pay 30 something million to a year. Like these things aren't good. So we're hearing Michael Porter Jr. is locked in. It's like, oh, anonymous, anonymous sources are telling us that Michael Porter Jr. is locked in. It's that George Bush meme where he's whispering in his ear. So Michael Porter Jr. is locked in a lot of weirdness going on over there. And it showed like game one was so chaotic that I mean, Russell Westbrook,

the possession at the end of game one, a regulation with like the different experience, it was like, hit a big shot, make a big play and then dribble the ball out. Why? You know what I mean? It was like it was all that in one. So, yeah, that's kind of how it felt. Yeah. Yeah. That was, that was an amazing moment where 13 seconds left were, were the nuggets up. I feel like they were up by one maybe. And he like, they were trying to kill the clock and he just like drove the basket, like missed a layup and then like got it back or something.

It was truly just a, I forget who said it. Somebody said, uh, Russell Westbrook is like the mystery box from, uh, Mario cart. Like he just like, you don't know what you're going to get. It could be in the red shell. It could be a banana peel. You don't know. You don't know. Flip your, flip your cart over. Um, there's a, there's one stat's one stat I was just reading about, again, Kawhi Leonard and his impact on the Nuggets and maybe the lack of impact the Nuggets are having on him.

This is from at Carsobe on Twitter. It said, according to NBA.com matchup data, the Nuggets have a combined form from 21 when guarded by Kawhi Leonard. Meanwhile, Kawhi has shot 24 of 34. He is a perfect 10 for 10 when guarded by Jamal Murray. Just that, yeah, not having much of an impact. What do you what do you guys think of flopping? Because I watched a two and a half minute mixtape of all of his flops from the first two games.

And I was like, is this just frustration because other players are getting the calls? Because that's really not usually a part of the game of his game that I'm used to seeing is it just like It's taking a toll of him having to take so many bumps and not really moving around and getting the attention the refs or you know How is am I reading into this too much? Am I are you just as surprised not surprised? Yeah, he's looking like a soccer player out there for sure. He's looking FIFA. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, James And what do you think about what any any any thoughts on his sudden loss of rigidity? No, he's always been the case.

He's always flopped. It's just doesn't get mentioned because, you know, we kind of don't talk about, we talk about everything else. He does great. So we don't necessarily talk about the flopping, but that's always been the case. I think the difference this year though, is is these turn the ball over a little bit more now than in the past. I think that's the biggest takeaway in general.

So when you're losing and things aren't going according to plan, we're going to start bringing up turnovers, flopping, et cetera, et cetera. I think that's the best that as a whole they're losing like last year, they're one seed, you know, so it's a little bit different this year. Not as great, a lot of stuff going on, a lot of ups and downs, and when that's the case, they look at the leader and they're gonna start nitpicking, and that's one of the few things that you can nitpick about your ****.

Sure, just add the added scrutiny, makes it a little bit more pronounced. Yeah, the foul hunting has been getting a lot of attention, but whether it be or Jaylen Brunson or, you know, it's yeah. People are people are calling it out. People are, you know, tuning in for the playoffs and they're like, oh, oh, you got to sell floppy.

Good at it. I mean, they're all all all three of them are really good at it, which is what makes it frustrating. And it's probably why they do it There are a couple that were like I've never seen you get so off the ground before in my life That's fine. It was like a kid getting really into like playing war Or something like a kid saw high jumping for the first time is like yeah, I think I could do that for the first time is like, yeah, I think I could do that.

The clap. Did you mention the what is shooting and when when Jamal Murray is guarding him, he's perfect. 100 percent. Yeah. 10 out of 10. 10 of 10. Like is it is he just going to start being like, hey, Jamal Murray, could you actually come over here for a second real quick? I got to get a couple of shots off. Yeah. Every time they're like, oh, he's calling Jamal Murray out again in this position. He's like, you, you, you, right now, right now. He's my safety blanket. Yeah. 10 of 10 when being guarded by Jamal Murray. And I saw all of those.

They were just good. Like he shoots over people like they're not even there in a way that seems insulting. It seems like it would hurt my feelings personally. Yeah, you're like, I'm kinda, I wasn't kinda on you there. No, no, you weren't even close, man. That's why I shot. I feel like I almost got that one though. Yeah, sure you did, man. Sure you did.

Just holding my knees, breathing real heavy. You're like, that's great, man. I didn't know Make-A-Wish was doing stuff for guys in their 40s, but great to play against you, man. Anyway, Nyicks and Pistons, this one could get to, they're split both games now. Game three is on Thursday. The Knicks took game one after a, they went on a 21 point unanswered run in the fourth quarter that just sealed the game.

But then game two, Pistons looked very good. Cade Cunningham looks really, really good. I, just after watching that, I mean, aside from obviously that 21 point run in the fourth quarter, the Pistons still looked really good. And I'm, I don't know, as much as I have really, you know, as a neutral, I always liked the Knicks, but this time I'm kind of feeling the Pistons.

I think maybe there's some nostalgia there for me coming back that I'm like, hey, go on now now go on now. Yeah, my main takeaway was just the way that Nick's fans Were freaking out during game one and like I just I feel I believe in the fan stress test as an indicator like I always knew when the Sixers were going to lose a series before Everybody else, you know, even if they wanted to start in the season. Yeah.

Like my, my skepticism was very well earned. Yeah. So I just feel like nobody knows their team is in a bad place better than a fan who has watched them game in and game out. And like there was, there were some reactions to like Pistons runs in game one on social media where it was like, yeah, what, is everything okay? Which makes me feel like they're gonna be fine, right?

It seems close enough. Like they'll be fine. Yeah. And then it just feels like they might've seen something in game one that spooked them a little bit. And we'll see, I still think they're going to win the series, but it's, uh, yeah, it's definitely an interesting series. This definitely, uh, oh, yeah, this little, uh, oh, Jamis, what do you think?

Um, where, where, where is this, where's this series going? Well, the Pistons have thoroughly outplayed the Knicks in the eight quarters. Like they've been a team out in the first two games. They've made a couple of matchup switch, you know, matchup adjustments. They put a set of putting during on Kat. They went with Tobias had Tobias Ayers on him last game, which was smart because now you you allow during the stay closer to the basket and get the rebound.

So that made a lot of sense. Um, but the Knicks they're really stagnant on offense and they don't make any adjustments on defense. So to be honest, like I kind of liked the Pistons here. If Tim's is going to make any adjustments and this is what we have going from the first two games, I think the Pistons have to be favored to win this series. Who is favored in Vegas?

I guess that's a good question as our kind of gambling expert. Are there any series that have flipped since the beginning of the series? Yeah. So whenever a home team loses in the first two games, the series odds are going to flip. So for instance, right now, Knicks and Pistons, the Knicks are still favored to win the series or minus two fifteen. Me, you got put two hundred and fifteen dollars, one hundred to a hundred favorite. Pretty heavy. You know, yeah, we even went out home court. That's really heavy.

For instance, the Lakers series opened up at Lakers minus 200. Now it's Lakers plus one, tend to win the series. So that series is basically a toss up. Yeah. So that series flipped quite a bit after game one. So just depending on how it goes, each game goes, you know, there's always adjustments, but yeah, no, there is a, there's definitely odds being switched after every game for short. So that went from like Lakers having say a 70 percent chance of winning

the series is what Vegas thought at the outset to like about 50 50 at this point. Basically, yeah. Yeah, yeah. They're like 48 52. I mean, that's speaking of. Oh, yeah. Speaking of fans, other teams better than anyone else. Let's take a quick break and we'll come back. We'll talk about the Lakers and the rest of the series and anything that's jumping out

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wherever you get your podcasts. And we're back. We're back. We're back, baby. Um, who saw the wolves with an axe to grind? Mm. Jesus. Oh boy. What's going on here?

I mean, so yeah, that got game one, Lakers wolves wolves just absolutely folded us up, just did whatever they want. We let them shoot. We just were like, yeah, just shoot whatever through just go ahead. Take it, take an open three every time they were 21 of 42 from deep and pretty much dominated in every other meaningful metric in the game. To me, it just felt like we showed up and just absolutely did not respect the Timberwolves or the playoffs or anything. We just looked so not prepared.

It did not feel good. We looked sloppy. For Luca being scoring like he was, just not having Austin Reeves and LeBron also simultaneously show up hurt a lot. But you know, JJ Redick said before this game too, he was like, maybe we should have practiced before that game. Wait, for real?

Yeah, he said that. Maybe we should have practiced? Turns out maybe that would have been said, and this is from Dave McMinnum, and he said, JJ Reddick said, in retrospect, he and his coaching staff wonder if they should have scrimmaged more with the week off going into game one. And then said-

Maybe we should have, I don't know, played some more basketball. Ah, maybe, but yeah. All right, so here's what I, so, both LeBron and Luca have been known to have bad game ones. I can remember specifically, like Luka game one, I think against the Clippers a few years back where it looked like people were like, oh man, the Clippers are watch out for them. And then, you know, Luka did what he did. Like there

was, I think it was Lakers warriors the year that, uh, two years ago when the Lakers went to the Western conference finals. And I remember after game one, listening to Zach Lowe on a podcast, be like, I don't see any possible way the Lakers win this. Like this one's a rap, man. Like they can't figure this out. And you know, LeBron figures things out better than anybody in the history of the league. I feel like he's just, you know, he's got an incredible basketball computer

that always is gonna find an angle. That said, he is 40 years old, and there did seem to, like, they looked real bad in that game. Like, usually when they lose game ones, they're not getting crushed like that. And physically, they looked completely outmatched. But I don't know. What would you see, James? It felt like a team that got comfortable after they were up in the first quarter.

Yeah, they're up 28, 21 at the end of the first quarter. And it felt like they were in control of the game and they felt very comfortable. And it felt like they let the foot off the gas. And then the next thing you know, the T-Walls were up 10 and it was like, Whoa, what happened? And once they start hitting threes and they got rhythm, it was over like and also got to remember Minnesota has been the playoffs before as a unit, like even though their roster is a little bit different last year,

everybody that's playing has postseason experience. They're not afraid of the moment. They're not afraid of being in L.A. and playing or anything like that. They beat the brakes off of an old team that, you know, like a team that everybody was like, yeah, so the sons we we can like this is going to be the end of the Minnesota's run. Right. Oh, yeah. You should be happy to be there. And then they just beat them.

You know, did they sweep them last year? Sure did. Yeah. So I mean, they have a great time. Don't bring that energy in here. Yeah. Yeah. And I don't think we get experience. Don't bring that energy in here, Jeff. Yeah, yeah. I don't think players will get swept. I think there's too much pride and talent on there and to get swept.

However, they do have to mix up the defensive coverages. They do have to mix up the lineups a little bit. They need to get a little bit more athletic on the court because the way Minnesota plays, they spread the court very well. So you're going to need some athletes to contest shots and, you know, with the switching and the way they attack Luke and Reeves, you're going to need some guys to double and recover a lot and to get rebounds, too. So it's going to be very fascinating what JJ has dialed up tonight.

But it is a must win. And you guys mentioned that LeBron and Luca have had bad games the ones before, and they usually regroup. So they should be okay tonight, but man, you can't allow 21 threes, that won't work. No, no, no. I mean, that's the other part, especially with so little of them being contested.

And just let Naz read, just also, come on. Bro, he is going to punish us if we just let him just have these open looks. So did you guys know who made the most threes in the NBA this year? It's been Steph by a lot for I think like the past, I don't know, 10 seasons, but this year it wasn't Steph. It was Ant Edwards.

It was Ant. In May too. Yeah. It was like, that's unbelievable. Like he just, yeah, he took the most made threes crown for like, no, I don't think, like he was shooting well last year. I still wouldn't have like thought that was possible. So he's a great shooter.

They shoot a ton of threes and they're really good at it. So. I think it was in though, maybe the fourth quarter when he just threw one up and Luca's face and afterwards just gave him the spider. Ta ta ta. Yeah. It was like, oh, please. Come on.

Like, it was so hard for me to watch. I'm like, oh. And Luca even like, you can see Luca's face. He was like, come on, man. Like, he didn't even really take it well. Not cool, man. Yeah. He was like.

That said, I do like Luca likes to get that motivation going. And I like when he's being motivated by disrespect from another player on the opposing team, as opposed to the refs or fans. Yeah, yeah, yeah. People are saying like, he has like ongoing beef with like fans in different arenas around the league. Like just, they're like, oh yeah,

that guy and Luke always get into it. And it's like a fan in the fifth row. So he's got that right kind of mental illness. Energy source to tap into. Yeah, exactly, exactly. And I think also too, for the Wolves, I'm sure that they also look at this too and being like, oh, we're playing a Luka Doncic team again in the playoffs.

And rather like, and there's a lot of, you know, that's where the real, I think, motivation is also coming to that I think the Lakers are not prepared for and need to sort that out quick. Super producer Jabari pointed out the Ant went from taking 6.7 threes per night to 10.3 threes per night this year and went from shooting 35.7% last year to 39.5% this year.

Like that's the wild thing about him is like he is one of those guys who just seems to be improving exponentially, just like adding things to his game because he's just such an incredible athlete and just works so hard at it. Line goes up. Who knows? Yeah, line does seem to be go up to any other big moves.

I'm assuming the Pacers Bucks series, like the the Pacers odds went way up after game one, right? Yeah, that Pacers line definitely went up. The thing with them that's interesting and maybe off the board now, since I think the game just started or is about to start. But the thing with them is I always thought they would. They wouldn't have any problems in this series just based off of their better light than the bucks this time.

Like you think that's an advantage than being better. I think we have home court. You're better. You usually win in the books. You know, they're without one of their star players and the rest of the roster ain't great. And it feels like Giannis has a step out of Milwaukee, just gives that kind of, you're already starting to see articles about other cities and other places and whatnot. So yeah, it gives you a, you know.

Hey man, I wouldn't wish this, I wouldn't wish this job on my worst enemy. I'll tell you what, Doc Rivers is doing the Lord's work out there. Just happened to gut it out with one of the best players in the league on his roster. He's a hero. He's a hero that we can all, you know, stand back and it's like Rocky one, you know, we're watching somebody take a lot of punches and, uh, you know, we're just admiring him for being able to stick with it without retiring to a golf course somewhere. Dame is returning though tonight. Um, so we'll see how that goes.

Paces are up 10 to five. Uh, but yeah, I don't think Dame is enough. It's not enough. Like they, I mean, I could see Dame having a game where he's just, you know, pulling up from the logo multiple times and plays really well, but I don't know if that's enough for them to beat the Pacers more than twice.

What about, what, Celtics magic here? That feels, oof. We don't need a foregone conclusion there. There was a quarter there where I was I was getting excited. But yeah, it's not going to happen. But yeah, the magic still fun to watch play defense. I don't enjoy watching anybody play defense as much as I like watching that team play day.

Yeah. Cavs, he also did. Yeah, I'm just like, well, good luck. Good luck to you. Good luck to you. We're good. Yeah. And really, honestly, as somebody who's, you know, Celtics versus the field and I'm rooting for the field, all I care about is it's not the Celtics. Like I want everybody, I want the best team to win in every series, you know?

Right. Yeah. And I think the Cavs are that team. I think the Pacs are that team. I think the Pacers are that team and I think the Knicks are probably that team personally, but maybe I'm wrong. Maybe it's the Pistons. I got I got a I'm kind of on the fence on that one. Well, so the Knicks are the better team because I have better players However, if you don't play correctly and your team has flaws,

I don't know. That's the thing like the Knicks talent wise, of course, and they're going to the Knicks are going to win a game in Detroit. Like the Pistons aren't winning two games in Detroit. They're just too young. I don't see that happening. I think the Knicks wake up one of those games. But from top to bottom, like the Knicks roster as highly priced as it is,

they are a better overall team. But man, they just for whatever reason, I don't think they play the best brand of basketball they can every given night. It feels like they can never have a great Brunson and cat game. It feels like one of those two guys goes off, but not both at the same time. Right. And is that do you think that's a rule that they've said internally? Like, guys, it just wouldn't be fair. Come on, bro. You know, my rule only one of you a night. That's it.

You know what though? Like when they put this roster together, you thought like, okay, they got the guard and the big guy. So it should counter, you know, it should be able to compliment each other. It just doesn't. Cause the way Brunson plays cat doesn't necessarily fit how Bronson plays, like Bronson's ISO guy and Cat is a pick and pop guy with a little bit of ISO as well. So they really don't company to that well for what they both do. So it's very interesting to see how this is going to go, but also Cat has to play better.

Cat cannot let Tobias Harris check him. That's just unacceptable. And I expect to have a better game in game three. He was good in game one. So that's what he was. That's his promise to you. He's going to be good every other game. All right. If it goes seven, that works. That works. That's the case. Yeah. So producer Jabari pointing out Brunson is one of the leaders in unassisted twos. The, the big ISO ball team. Yeah, it's not good. All right big ISO ball team. Yeah, not good.

All right. Rockets Warriors. Who's so I'm assuming the Warriors were favored and remain favored in that series. Is that is that accurate? So, yes, the the Warriors were favored going into it and they still are favored. The veteranness of the Warriors showed Sunday.

Like it really stuck out to the words aren't that great of a team this year. This is not one of the Warriors showed Sunday. Yeah, like it really stuck out to the Warriors. Aren't that great of a team this year? This is not one of the better warrior teams. This might be the worst playoff team that they've had since the run started. I just don't think they're that good. However, Houston's so young that they made a lot of mistakes early in the first half

that they really couldn't overcome, even though they got back in the game and they were within a possession in the fourth quarter, they just there are so much so many mistakes, so many empty possessions in the second quarter. And then some of the first quarter that it really set them back in. Eventually, Steph is going to make you pay. And that's what happened time and time again later in that game. But that being said, I think a lot of it was first game jitters.

I don't think Jalen Green plays that bad again. I don't think Van Vliet shoots that poorly again. So I think the Rockets will win game two. But overall, in that series, if I'm golden state, I'm pretty confident. I yeah, there's something like heading into the series. I like really wanted to take the Rockets and then it's just like, yeah, but you still have to make, like the sport is still, you still have to like make more points,

I think in this one too, right? Well, I think it's that your number of points has to be a bigger number than the one after the fourth quarter. And so the Rockets don't have that many people who can do that. And that is my main, like when I was going back, I was like talking in previous episode about how like there are always these young teams who are like good all year and people are like, yeah, and that's about to end in round one. Like Minnesota last year,

where people were like, yeah, but they've had a nice run, but they don't have enough experience. And then they surprise people. But all those teams had, like Memphis, a couple, like a few years back, all those teams had people who could score, who could just like create their own shots and get buckets when needed. And that just feels like the missing ingredient

for the Rockets. Yeah, just, oh man. Absolutely. Steph, just, he should have just brought pillows and blankets for everyone. Yeah, because it was just, ugh. There was a few moments where, I think it was later in the game,

he was just hitting these threes, where even Jimmy Butler was just slightly disturbed at how good he was at basketball. It was like, oh. Yeah, he shot one, falling out of bounds, kinda didn't even seem to be a basketball shot so much. She was just like... No, she was just fucking it up. Curry's got it.

He and Butler, as I said, 18 apiece. He'll dance. He'll throw up a shot. Oh, are you kidding me? Seametrically, that should not have happened. Wow, what a shot. This is crazy. Yeah.

Anyways. Foregone conclusions with the first round. Seametrically that should not have happened. Wow, what a shot. This is crazy. Yeah. Anyways. Foregone conclusions when he shoots the ball. Other foregone conclusions, OKC, Grizzlies. Yeah, that was ugly.

That was UGLY. Yeah. Well, is there, in terms of matchups, is there any difficulty you foresee? Jamison for OKC or you think? Well, I think OKC is going to run through the West and it feels like Denver, the championship here where they're just far ahead better than everyone else. Right.

It's going to show like it's going to show rather including the East, including the Celtics. That's a little different. I think that match will be good. I think out West, they're better than everyone by far. Like I don't see a close. I don't see who's the second best team in the West. Like you can run off five teams and OK, I can see that. But right.

I don't see a close competitor to them out west. I think they have least amount of flaws. I think they have the best defense in the league. I think that's how good their defense is. I do think they shoot the ball from the outside. Well, they play make well. And I think losing the way they did last year multiplied by the lack of respect they've gotten this year is going to loom. You know, it's going to be a key factor for them going forward.

So, yeah, I think they're the best out West and the East. I think it's still Boston, everybody else. However, Tatum being hurt, Jalen Brown with the knee issue leave some concerns because those are their two best players and that they're not a hundred percent. They could end up getting in situations where the series go a little longer than they should.

And that normally catches up to teams like that. But they're still the best team in the East. And until someone gets them, I still have them coming out the East. Yeah someone gets them, I still have them coming out the East. Yeah. All right. Should we take another break and we're going to do a very special rapid fire round of questioning

where we're going to look at some answers to a poll that just went up today that we want to see if you're in line with the players in the NBA. With the poll you did. All right. You're in line with the players in the NBA with the bowl. You did. All right. So we're going to ask you the questions and you're going to pretend like you didn't see it and do your best. I saw the most overrated part.

That's the only one I saw. I didn't see it. Oh, good. Because there is way more questions than that. Perfect. Perfect. All right. We're going to take a break.

We'll be right back. coaches should approach the draft. So as draft season comes to a close, we've got you covered before your favorite team goes on the clock. We'll break it all down once all 257 picks have been made. Listen to the 40s and free agents podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is Courtside with Laura Corenti, the podcast that's changing the game

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Brought to you by Novartis, founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports Network. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glod. And this is season two of the World on Drugs podcast. Sir, We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John

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and ad free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcast. I'm Israel Gutierrez and I'm hosting a new podcast, Dub Dynasty, the story of how the Golden State Warriors have dominated the NBA for over a decade. The Golden State Warriors once again are NBA champions. From the building of the core that included Clay Thompson and Draymond Green to one of the boldest coaching decisions

in the history of the sport. I just felt like the biggest thing was to earn the trust of the players and let the players know that we were here to try to help them take the next step, not tear anything down. Today, the Warriors dynasty remains alive, in large part because of a scrawny 6'2 hooper who everyone seems to love. For what Steph has done for the game, he's certainly on that Mount Russmore for guys that have changed it.

Come revisit this magical Warriors ride. This is Dubb Dynasty. The Dubb's dynasty is still very much alive. The Dubb's dynasty is still very much alive. Listen to Dubb dynasty on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And we're back. We're back. Jameson Welch, you are in the rapid fire round of questioning. Oh man, I feel, I feel, sometimes I feel sorry for people when they get to this part.

Sometimes I feel really bad for our guests. Because you got to enter the rapid fire round of questioning, this question and answer segment in all of podcasting, basketball podcasting. We're asking a question a little bit different now because we're basing it around this anonymous poll of NBA players that just came out on the athletic. But nonetheless, answer quick, answer faithfully. Are you ready? Answer faithfully.

Jameson Welsh is ready. That means Brian start the clock. All right, Jack. All right. I'm going to give you some names. You're going to tell me if they are on the Best franchise or worst franchise in the league Alright you ready? Yep. Yeah, you already said you're right. Okay All right, Dallas Mavericks worse. They're in the best. Oh

Boy they're like 12th On the on the back with the first. I know. Yeah, it might have happened a little earlier. Philadelphia 76ers, obviously. You knew that. I mean, even he would. I mean, the medical staff got some issues, so I mean, you know, a weird case. Why are they around?

Yeah, they're the fifth worst. OKC Thunder. Probably the best. If I had to guess number two. Yeah, best. Yeah. Memphis Grizzlies. I probably say the worst. Yeah, they're in that they're on the worst list.

New York Knicks. Oh, best. Worst. There's like seventh worst. Isn't that interesting? Wow. I always hear nothing but good things from the players. That's interesting. I wonder. Yeah, it's I guess it's a lot about perception, right?

Like, you know, whenever they're trying to get a player, I feel like it never goes that well for them, unless it's Jalen Brunson. Cleveland Cavaliers? Best. Best. Number seven. I think winning helps a lot, I would say. Yeah, that seems to be a common commonality here.

All right. We're gonna do the overrated, underrated list, and you're gonna tell me which of these players are overrated list, which players are underrated list. We're gonna tell me which of these players are overrated list which players are underrated list we're gonna start with Franz Wagner he should be underrated yes he's on the underrated list Jason Tatum should be underrated I don't think he's already I wish he was over a but he's underrated. He's on the underrated list LeBron James man, I mean

it's mean I Mean he should be on a list of over underrated. Yeah. I Probably guess that he's probably on an overrated list. He's on the overrated list. Yeah, I'm hoping that he saw that He's carrying that energy into them into the rest of the postseason. Jaren Jackson, Jr. Jaren Jackson, good over over overrated. That is correct. They have him overrated.

Yeah. Yannis Antetokounmpo. He can't be overrated. And yet and yet they He can't be overrated. He asked yet. And yet they do have him as overrated in between Joel Embiid and Dylan Brooks. They have, we can't, we can't call them overrated when his, when his front office has failed him. I know that that would be my, my thought as well, but I should mention what the number one is in each of these categories. The number one, so the number one best organization.

So just going back a second, the Golden State Warriors are the number one best organization followed by the OKC Thunder and then the Boston Celtics. Oh, damn. What is it about them? I thought you guys were cool, the NBA and then the league's worst organization. Number one is the Hornets and number two, the Washington Wizards. So ouch. And then on the overrated, underrated list,

the league's most overrated player, according to fellow players. Number two is who I expected. Rudy Gobert, because, you know, he is not popular among his fellow players. Uh, number one Halliburton, which that is interesting because I, I mean, he is inconsistent, like he, I'm like, I wonder if this is just people who went against him when he was having like going through a slump and they were just like, man, this guy's cooked. Make it based off of salary versus.

Ah, got it. I think that's what it is because the player is who he is. But when you're making that kind of max, you have certain expectations. So I can understand why he would wind up at that at that part of the list. But I don't think he's the most overrated guy. I think, you know, like for Jared Jackson, Junior was eligible for if you want to deploy. He would have been the number one most overrated guy for a long time, just based off of the kind of money he was eligible for, for what he produces.

Not about he's actually a really good player. It's just that the way these salaries are and the way these things end up being guys get drastically overpaid and yeah. Yeah. League's most underrated players, we'll just go down the list here because this is kind of fun to hear what fellow NBA players think. Number one most underrated player, Cade Cunningham. Underrated, so who'd be the like the most underrated player? That's, that's, he is the number one most underrated player according to That's that's number one most underrated player according to

other players in the NBA number two Derek White which that is Painfully true as somebody who does not like the Celtics and roots against them On every possession that I've ever seen he he is the most frustrating person to root against Cuz he went he went he want Walter White on him Derek White on him when he shaved his head shaved his head it was all over after that it's all been over for all of us since then um number three Norman Powell and this is maybe the most surprising appearance on any list for me number four most underrated player from the Los Angeles Lakers, Austin Reeves. I would not have expected other NBA players to pick him as underrated. But I wonder if they're also just thinking in terms of the money he's paid, rather the money Austin Reeves took.

Right. Yeah, that's true. He took a bad contract. Yeah, because he's like, I don't know, man. I'm fine with this many millions of dollars, to be honest, to stay here. That's fine. I mean, his calculus is way different. I think it's probably dollars to be honest, to stay here, that's fine. His calculus is way different.

I think it's probably to do with that because my God, we got such a steal with that contract. All right. The coaching list is kind of interesting. Best coaches in the league, Dagnall from OKC, number one. Kenny Atkinson, two. Spoh, three. Missoula, four. And then Ty Lue, five. Those are all good. Number one worst coach in the league, Brian Keefe. I mean, that's not fair. He's the Wizards coach. That's not fair. He didn't do nothing for that to get that right, right? number two Budenholzer, but he's having to coach no more. So yeah

I mean, this is obviously taken before he got fired fired on his day off so and number three and this one has to sting a little bit because like it's not like there's a small like I feel like most of the players in the NBA have played for him or have friends who have played for him Doc Rivers number three worst coach in the league according to The players in the league number five Nick nurse ouch Wow, yeah, I can't fault them for that roster. Yeah Number six is Tibbs, which I do wonder if that's ever going to be coming to an end.

If they lose in this first round, it will. Yeah, that's it. Yeah. They will. That's a wrap. We've got the Pistons and six or less. He's out of there. You can't have that losing seven. He's gone to like they're this would be an unexpected. It will happen on both the best and worst coaches list

Michael Malone. Oh So interesting. He's the only person I saw who made both best and worst lists I was actually a good coach. I didn't think he was a bad coach. But yeah Yeah, just I mean if anything just it feels like maybe he just lost that locker room But hey, it is what it is. Well, Jameson Welsh, thank you so much for joining us on Miles and Jack. I'm at Boosty's. Where can the people find you and follow you and receive your wisdom? On Twitter at the Jameson.

I'm very friendly. So, you know, anyone has any questions about gaming or the NBA or any other sport, I can either do my best or I can find the answer for you. So always here to help. You heard it here first, you heard it here first. There you go. You can follow us on Twitter and Blue Sky. I'm there at milesofgray.

I'm at jack underscore O'Brien on Twitter and Jack will be the number one on Blue Sky. And yeah, make sure you follow the hashtag madboosties, B-double-O-S-T-I-E-S. That's where you'll find show links and updates, and that's how you can join the conversation on Discord. Again, just search that hashtag, and you can figure out how to join up.

That's gonna do it for us this week. When we come back, might have bitten all my fingernails off, or maybe I grow them in a celebratory manner. We will have to find out in a week. Celebratory fingernail growth. Celebratory fingernails got them super long, y'all, like I'm playing flamenco guitar. Alright y'all, we'll see you later. Bye.

Bye. The 40s and free agents podcast with Daniel Jeremiah and Greg Rosenthal has prepared you for the 2025 NFL draft. We've told you what last year's playoff teams need to return to the postseason. And how teams with new coaches should approach the draft. So as draft season comes to a close, we've got you covered before your favorite team goes on the clock. We'll break it all down once all 257 picks have been made. Listen to the 40s and free agents podcast on the iHeart radio app,

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