The Daily Zeitgeist - MJGMB #85: Harden Goes West with Jamieson Welsh

Episode Date: November 2, 2023

This week, Miles and Jack were joined by NBA analyst Jamieson Welsh, to discuss the James Harden trade, the KD/Wemby match-up, and much more!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Jimmy Harden has finally moved on. And we got to see KD and Wemby just take it down to the wire. It's like Christmas early. And Luka starts on a tear. And we're going to talk about the league in general obviously the lakers too uh with sports better extraordinaire and nba analyst jamison welsh on today's episode i'm miles ray and i'm jack o'brien and this is miles and jack got that boosties rock three on one davis driving spinning fading hitting curry a three-pointer

steph curry from downtown again okay we're back the nba is back we're back. The NBA is back. We're about four games in, give or take, depending on when you're listening to this. And things are going well, I'd say. Things are happening, Miles. They're happening out here.

Miles, I'm in the streets of Philadelphia reporting live from the city of brotherly love where James Harden has been traded. Oh, yes. And before we get into that, we got to introduce our guest, Jameson Welsh. Thank you so much for stopping by the show. What's up, Jameson? Oh, not much,

man. Thanks for having me as always. Definitely appreciate it. Of course, of course. I mean, the last time you were on, I told you that I put money on OKC to win the title. You thanked me for my contribution to the city of Los Angeles, or the city of Las Vegas. County Clark, yep.

County Clark, yeah. That's why the parks look so good. Well, who's laughing now? Okay. Oh, you're still laughing. Okay. Yeah, no, I was actually, that was a genuine question.

I was just asking if, who was laughing. Can you tell me? Yeah okay tell me who's laughing um all right should we get right into the james harden trade yeah i mean this has been something that's definitely been on our minds the collective minds of the show or not mine okay you told me about it when we started recording i just found out about it when you just mentioned it at the top of the show never heard of it never heard a little space i'm giving yeah um no i'm nominally a philadelphia 76ers fan um this is a lot of people are saying all they just got role players um i think those picks are going to be valuable i think they're i think they've got some value on the open market on those those dang picks so if they're if they're still moves to be made i think this could be interesting you know there are some people were saying

that they might be trying to get zach Levine in Philly. You know, OG Ananobi, potentially. So, I don't know. You just don't know where this lands. Yeah. Otherwise, this does feel like the move you make before you trade Joel Embiid for picks to the Knicks. You know? Right, right, right.

So, we'll see. I mean, Maxie has looked amazing so far this year. So, you know, I don't think they should blow it up. I think they should try and use those picks to get a third star. A lot of people are saying to match a star with Embiid. How about add to the two stars that they have in Philadelphia, including this is from a nominal Sixers fan,

right? Yeah. Just, just not nominally a Sixers fan, but Jameson, the, the odds have not been favorable in response to this trade. The Sixers odds to win the title have gone down. The Clippers odds have gone up how are you

viewing this trade oh I don't think neither of these trades matter or these moves matter for either team like you mentioned Philly's in a situation where they can add a piece somehow some way either using the picks or the expiring or whatever it might be uh you mentioned ojianobi i think pascal siakam would be the guy i'm gonna go for a guy i'm gonna go for a guy one him and joel and vito from the same country that's the first thing and i'm trying to keep joel in town that's one of my angles is trying how to win him secondly i do think that if you're gonna end up playing boston in the playoffs you do as many big wings as possible. You need as many guys that can defend Brown and Tatum as possible.

Adding Levine, that ain't going to work. Because he's going to be 100 on defense. That ain't going to work. I think that you can get O.J. Inouye or Pascal. I think that would be a better move. But right now, the odds are for Philly. I would be cautiously leaning out of the first round right now, yeah, the odds are for Philly. I mean, I would be cautiously I would be cautiously thinking about the first round right now.

And not because they're bad or anything like that. It's just because as the season goes on, we know Joel, his conditioning is not great for whatever reason it might be. Whether he gets injured some time and when he comes back, it's not the same. And they don't have that other guy that's that main scorer. You know,

Maxie has gone out to a good start. They don't have that other guy that's that main score you know maxi has got out to a good start they don't have that other guy that's going to get you 20 points a night consistently i don't know about this team currently right now now like you mentioned probably gonna make moves we'll see but right now the odds are they are and i would i would bet them not gonna get the first round if i had to today uh the clippers they got sorry i do just want to remind you that the sixers are incapable of not losing in the second round. That's almost, yeah, it's almost nailed on. It's nailed on.

It's impossible. But even now, you're saying they can't even do the norm, which is go out in the second round. Wow. Yeah, it's tough, man, because here's the thing, too. We all know how this works. The press that goes on, hey, they made a trade. Now the whispers are going to become loud with the Knicks talking.

Other teams trying to get Dwell. It's tough to come through when there's a lot of pressure going on. You know, Tobias in the last year of a deal, there's a lot going on for the Sixers, and they need to do something as quickly as possible, or else it might be a rebuild situation. However, with that being said, I do think

they have some moves they can make to put them right in the conversation with Milwaukee and Boston, but they got to make them quickly. The Clippers, you're trusting four guys over 33, I believe, or 32. That's a rough thing to do. I believe the NBA calls that a sweet spot.

Yeah, I mean, Russell Westbrook I believe turns 35 in a week or so. It's kind of, you're asking a lot, and then you're asking a lot of players to do things that they normally don't do. So either Russell or James Harden is going to be off the ball and in a secondary playmaker role, and that's not what they're good at. Why?

They're both really good with the basketball in their hand. When it's not in their hand, they're not the same player. Not saying they can't adjust, but we have yet to see it at a high level thus far. It's going to be very interesting to see what happens. And also injuries. James Harden has not been the same since the hamstring in 21. He hurt that hamstring in Brooklyn. He has not been the same player since and no one really talks about that.

But he's not the same guy. He's talks about that but he's not the same guy he's still really good he's not the same guy but also what happens when you got four guys in a contract year what happens when there's some adversity and you have a coach in the contract year too but i'm very very curious how this all works out yeah a lot of people are bringing up the westbrook thing as like the fourth guy, but it does feel to me like Westbrook is not like both contract wise and just like how he was being thought of when they acquired him last year and how he was used as like, kind of, all right,

he comes in for energy. Like that doesn't seem to be the concern to me as much, but maybe I'm underestimating like what, once now that he's a part of the team, like, is it, will it be a problem? Will it be a fit issue?

Um, yeah, that, that, that makes sense to me, but I, it does feel like, I don't know if you just have those three guys in the starting lineup and

then Westbrook coming in to like, just give you energy off the bench. That could be interesting but i've heard this i've heard this one before right yeah right we both have yeah and it's very it's very difficult because once you come off the bench it's very hard to become a starter again like once you call it's very best at that age right you know you're you know 35 hey this is who you are now at the same time helping the team win games it's really tough dilemma that you get put in but with that being said uh the rust for the clippers fit was great like the fit was really

good because he did the things that the other two wings just didn't want to do or aren't able to do now with harden i just don't know if you have a guy that defenses aren't want to do or aren't able to do. Now with Harden, I just don't know if you can have a guy that defenses aren't going to always rotate to, especially when you have the close games and the playoff games. It's hard playing four and five at times. And it's very difficult when you don't have a lot of guys that can get to the basket consistently. So it's going to be interesting to see.

But talent-wise, it's going to be nice when they overwhelm people. Absolutely. There's definitely nights where there's a problem. But i'm just curious to see if you have that many guys kind of past their prime they're still good players they're all kind of past their own primes in a sense can they stay hoping can they make one run uh towards june right yeah kawaii like i still think back like as much as it seems like kawaii's past his prime there was there were two games in the playoffs last year where he was the best player in the like seemed like he was the best player in the playoffs like that's so i don't like i don't i feel like there's

still something there for sure if big if he can stay healthy. But it does feel like the move on these odds seems, I don't know, like the Sixers odds went from plus 2000 last Tuesday at bed MGM to like plus 2800. Like you can, the entire city of Philadelphia could hear a collective slide whistle is what I'm hearing from on the street. And the Clippers are climbing like up to plus 1200 which feels like i don't know it feels you know that's in the contender category

um which feels it feels like maybe we should we should wait and see a little bit here well the reason why the clippers are that is for protection like you want to make sure that if a lot of people bet them and they somehow win a championship, you don't get killed. That's the sports book and the people who set the line, they want to make sure they protect the book because at the end of the day, if something

happens to where, hey, everyone bets the Clippers at 12-1 or 15-1 and everyone hits, it can be pretty much bankrupt, a sports book, if you get an odd like that. So that's why they keep the odds lower than you would think it's not all based off chance a lot of it also is business as well right like you know from my neutral perspective not being a clippers or sixers fan and just jack seeing the way you talk about james harden just observing how i see james harden everything it's just like because

what this is fourth team in almost two years like honestly what is it about him that so many teams are like you know what I could I can fix them it'll be different here it'll be different here like or this will be the situation that brings the best out of him because I just feel like he's to your point Jameson it's like he hasn't been right for a while. Am I missing something? What's the Clippers' strategy here? What holes is he filling? What's the most optimal outcome for them? So it's very interesting because in a situation like this,

the owner is like, hey, if we're paying $40 million towards three guys, we're not playing that much, why don't we pay $40 million towards a guy like James Harden? Also, James Harden does give them insurance on having at least a name going into the new arena, just in case things don't work out and other guys go other directions. Don't think that's going to happen, but you know, you just never know how things work out.

So having a guy like James Harden, the name is a local guy. It at least buys you time and it gives you some sort of star power. Not that he's the biggest star, but it gives you some star power if things go left. All right. That being said, it's not the best of fits. Why? You're adding another guy that needs the basketball to be effective. And when he doesn't have the basketball, things can go, you know, it can get bad.

Now, the one thing I will give slack on is this. The Houston situation ran its course why you know it was what it was they had their window it closed it was time for everybody to move on they did those are brooklyn all right the brooklyn thing is weird because the whole covid and you know people trying some people not that one i think everyone is like hey there was so much going on there i don't really fall for brooklyn outside of not signing the big contract that he was offered um i think the biggest situation is this one the philly one i think that's the one where it's like hey man

you made a decision you you forced yourself to go to philly to go with daryl morey and to play with the beat and it didn't quite work out and then you pull this done it's like hey man last few situations we kind of gave you pull this done. It's like, hey, man, last few situations, we kind of gave you a benefit of the doubt. And like you mentioned, it's a short period of time. It's not like it's been eight years or 10 years. This is all within two years, two calendar years of stuff. And it's like, hey, man, we can't keep doing this.

So that's why it's like, hey, it's kind of enough is enough. And you're not the same player as you once were like if you're why you're in your prime you can do almost whatever you want in this league but once you start defining we start looking at your sideways yeah he had some moments in the playoffs last year too like that's it ended badly obviously game seven uh i'm not recalling whether he attended or not but he you know he had a couple games in the series the sixers celtic series where he looked like he had probably his best professional games in playoff games ever so i can see you know i can see, you know, I can see their thinking there, you know,

it's also, it ended badly, but so like we, like that's a cognitive bias is, you know, the, like how it ends is what dominates our thinking about a thing instead of like, but yeah,

but I had those moments and if he's not the main guy that you're relying on in the playoffs, he can do a lot of good things, which he had to be because Embiid wasn't healthy, basically. And also, it's just about off the court, too. James Harden is a guy who likes to have a good time. What? No, I've never heard this. And he's going to be in LA, where he's from,

and he's going to go to Vegas, which is like a 40-minute flight. And he's well-known out here. He goes to Drake a lot and other establishments. So it's going to be very interesting to see what happens and how that comes about. But yeah, I can't wait. Honestly, I can't wait to see how all this unfolds. I'm really curious to see how this works out.

See, this is the thing where I realized that I missed... I really should have been in the NBA because, first of all, never go to clubs at all. Would have been an amazing candidate for that. Second of all, I am a player who thrives with the ball out of my hands. Like, you don't want to give me the ball at all. Like, I shouldn't touch the ball at all. It's going to be a problem for the team if I do.

So, you you know I can fit in very easily there's a lot of touches left to go around because I um when people pass me the ball I pass it right back to them as quickly as possible because otherwise it'll get stolen yeah what are you doing no you shoot it these guys are so good yeah I can like Tyler Hero out here yeah okay well let's take a quick break and we'll be right back to talk about one of our first big matchups we've been looking forward to in the Suns vs. Spurs game

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like i was living in north korea but worse if that's possible listen to spiraled on the iheart radio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts and we are back and that's wild that the suns versus Spurs is one of the big matchups we were looking forward to but I was checking for it of course we want to see Wemby we want to see KD we want to see just some we just want to see what it looks like what these

sort of matchups begin to look like and it did not disappoint I mean at least in terms like there were some great moments it was a thrilling end to the game uh i think i think the neutrals definitely won uh that one watching along yeah um james and i do want to just note because one of the other things i pointed out or i i put out there was wembignama for depoy uh as a possibility deep in the summer when he was like in the 20s like he was you know the 20th

best odds for that uh he is now seventh for defensive player of the year um even though it doesn't like his numbers haven't been gaudy but it does feel like there is a gravitational force and teams are having to um play you know do drills with a person who has stilts on and broomsticks on their arms uh in order to just like get get their mind around what it's like to play basketball when he's on the court um so i am excited about that i'm excited first of all just all around about wimping yama but second of all uh about him potentially making me look smart and his name starting to get involved in the

deep play race. I mean, it's not necessarily stacked with him. It was going to be impact. That's why we have to watch the basketball games. That's why I'm impressed that everyone watched the Suns first last night because Suns were up like 20 plus at the time. I think in the third quarter, if I'm not mistaken. And then the Suns gradually came

back and ended up stealing the game that they're probably should have been a foul call, but it wasn't. But it is what it is. Who cares at this point? That being said, though, you have to watch Wimby. And the reason why is because there are certain things he makes players do

that normal people cannot, don't have the same effect. He will make guys either pass it early or try to make plays they normally don't make. And when that happens, it's usually an error of some sort. So that's where it's like, man, he may not get the block or the steal, but he's causing players to do things they're not comfortable in doing or he's causing guys to rush and get out of their own pace. And there's a lot to that.

And when they get better that and when they get better players and when they get a better defensive system he's gonna win different people to play over here because the stats will come but he's he's amazing like he's really amazing he's nowhere close to scratching the surface he's that's the beautiful part like he's so far away but defensively i remember we talked about in the summer they were like 40 to 1 or 38 something like somewhere that range which is really high i think now think it was like 40 to 1 or 38, somewhere in that range, which is really high. I think now it's like, what, 10 to 1 or 14 to 1? Yeah.

Yeah, it's in that range. So, yeah, you just having equity in your bet from two months ago is huge. And there's a legit possibility if you play 65 games that he'd win the award. There's an honest pathway that's happening. Not saying it's going to happen, but there is a way of it happening.

Yeah, it's good value. And I'm glad that i did not take that bet um but i i know people who did so i'm happy if if anybody makes money off of uh my lucky guess um some of wepping yama's stats though like that so he has 29 points on 12 of 15 shooting so we we've talked a lot about his defense and you know his there are these flashes of brilliance on offense but i i didn't realize like he was really closing games strong he's 29 points on 12 of 15 shooting in the fourth quarter through the first four games of his nba career yeah um which makes him the most efficient scorer of 84 players who have at least 10 field goal attempts in the final frame uh this season it's very impressive and they're going to him like the only thing i don't like is that at times it feels like his teammates are freezing him out which is wild because he's best player on the team already yeah but um But they should be featuring him every time down the fourth quarter,

like every time he should get in the ball, wherever he wants to because he is the best option. Whether it's a jumper, whether it's a dunk or a layup, whatever it is, he should at least touch the ball before anyone else gets a touch. But with that being said, he's delivered this first week, been very impressive outside the Clipper game because they got blown out.

Every other game, he's been very impressive. And again, he's not even close to being what he's going to be which is very scary because right now he's a huge problem yeah i mean kevin durant said the same thing basically he was like it's like this guy's just getting started and it's only going it's gonna going straight up from here yeah the point you made about like looking like he's getting like frozen out or something i don't think it's like getting frozen out here. Yeah. The point you made about like looking like he's getting like frozen out or something. I don't think it's like getting frozen out, but like, it just feels like people aren't ready to defer to him at all on that team

and mate where maybe they should be. And I, it's hard for me to determine, is it because I just want to see him have the ball every time. Right. Like it, like I'm a parent watching their kid and be like get get him the ball give it to victor yeah yeah but it does i don't know it does

feel like they could be looking for him a little bit more um i mean like there's plenty of game i'm sure maybe on some level psychologically it's like you can slowly increase the burden but yeah i mean every time you see him with the bar like i think it's gonna okay the jump shot is wet okay you could also be could also be conspicuous decision on the spurs part to be like if you're not putting him hit putting him in any of but the best of positions to score in crunch time like then he's going to shoot 12-15. And so they're trying to build his confidence and create ease for him where he can kind of step in and feel the

flow. So maybe that's a conscious decision by Pop and their staff there. It's not that they're monitoring his minutes. I'm just glad they're not just playing him in the first and third quarter and letting him sit the bench in the fourth. I'm glad they're actually letting playing them in the first and third quarter and letting them sit the bench on the fourth. I'm glad they're actually letting them play in the last six to eight minutes

in the fourth quarter where the game actually matters. Because a lot of times you'll see guys on the minutes restriction and they'll play in the third quarter and they'll just sit out the whole fourth and they're like what is good good at that? But obviously it's Pop and Spurs. They know what they're doing. Right. Let's move on to a segment. Producer Jabari

just very accurately described as the lakers road to number 18 uh even though we're two and two uh right now but we've i know jack and i in our text threads we've been giving some stick to jabari because he's like look christian wood just don't do this is gonna be it and at first we were like, this is your guy now! Joking. But now, Jabari hits us with every Christian Wood highlight. That's, you know, I gotta say, I'm pleasantly surprised with where Christian Wood

is at for the Lakers. And at first I wasn't quite sure, but we're starting to see something percolate a little bit. Christian Wood's an interesting player. He is a guy that went from not being able to shoot once upon a time to almost being a

spot-up through the point here, which is very interesting. He doesn't have the greatest awareness. The defense struggles at times, but for what the Lakers need him to do, it's a pretty good fit. And when you add in a minimum contract, then he rebounds the ball very well, which they struggle with doing as a team. He's okay. He fits for certain matchups, and he rebounds the ball very well, which they struggle with doing as a team.

He's okay. Like, he fits for certain matchups, and he's been one of the bright spots of the first week of the season for them. We look at the team and the roster. He's been okay. He has not been an issue. They're an issue in the backcourt. They got to get consistency in the backcourt with D'Angelo Russell,

Austin Reeves, Gabe Vincent. They need to play Max Christy more. Cam Reddish might need a passport and a molten ball. They are a situation where they need more consistency from the backcourt because we know what A.D. and Bron gets you.

We know. Yeah. I know the jokes about A.D., but he's the best part of the team. The stats back it up. Oh, yeah. The first four games, it's been all him. Yeah. Yeah. So I don't want to throw out AD, but he's the best part of the team. The stats back it up. Oh yeah, the first four games, it's been all him. Yeah, so I don't want to hear

anything else, but in terms of the actual consistency, the backcourt is so hot and cold, you can't really go anywhere with that. You're going to need some sort of consistency and if you're not going to get it from this group then you may have to make a trade

later on in the season because LeBron's window is now. There is no next year or two years from now. This is the window. He just turned 30. His window is now, too. So you've got to make some moves if it comes down to it. I think Austin Reeves will get better. But I would like to see Max Christie play some.

I think he's warranted some playing time for what his abilities show, so we'll see. For sure. Yeah, and with D'Lo, it's so funny. In the beginning, in the offseason, we're like, let's see what D'Angelo can do again. And we saw glimpses, and then we were sort of right back to where we started. There are times I'm like,

he's the truth. I'm glad he's wearing the jersey, and then other times i'm like what what happened to you like for the ice in your veins you seem ice cold in the not good way sometimes so it's been really jarring for sure um and man my boy austin please please let's let's get back to it sir we need you yeah he's struggling yeah yeah d-low man uh i don't know i don't even want to i i already have picked my fight with seawood like i don't know man i i love the lakers i'm a i love lebron i don't want to see this season squandered i'm hoping that they make moves or stop playing

d-low or uh yeah because i don't know. It just feels like not a fit. Well, let's talk about somebody who is consistent. Just really quickly, I do want to talk. There was some real fun in the Houston Golden State game with Dylan Brooks and Steph Curry. And for a second, I wasn't sure if I was watching an actual highlight or if this was like some kind of 2K recreation. But there was just this one exchange they had where Steph Curry, I don't know, how many times did he have him just slip in like three times in that one possession?

It was like a crossover, a pump. It was like, anyway, again, we were starting to see the entertainment value that uh dylan brooks does bring uh to the league and i and i do appreciate that um that that was that was there was a sight to behold and it was nice to see steph curry just give him the scream face after he hit that three yeah the what was that he was like i still remember what you said about me what do you know what that was in reference to? There was some lip reading happening about what Steph said to Dylan Brooks before he went and did that to him. Yeah, I don't know.

Jameson, do you know what he was talking about? What specifically he was referencing? I don't know specifically. I didn't know Dylan Brooks talked about everybody. Yeah, that's right. The Braves have a long memory know Dylan Brooks talked about everybody. Yeah, that's right. The Braves have a long memory and Dylan Brooks talks about everyone. You know, it was probably when they played

the series in Memphis a couple years ago. That's the only thing I can think of. I can't think of anything recently because most of it's been about Bron and other people. But yeah, I can't think of anything. But yeah, it didn't matter. It didn't matter. And then just like another thing

that a lot of people are talking about, um, Therese Maxey threw three games, um, 30 points, six rebounds, six assists,

uh, splits of 50, 56, and 91. Um, probably going to be able to keep up those splits. Um,

so a lot of people mentioned him as an MVP candidate, which would be wild, you know, to have MVP come from Philly two years in a row, but he's, he's played really well. And bead is rounding into shape. Philly has the highest point differential in the East.

Again, three games. So pretty definitive. I think we know who the best team in the East is. I three games, so pretty definitive. I think we know who the best team in the East is. I think we can stamp that one for sure. So done, done. Yeah. And also the Nuggets are just continue to...

Man, they're good. I really appreciate them because our first game against them just reminded us again. We're pretty much where we left off but i love the nuggets for allowing that they're truly like a barometer to be like okay where do how do we stack up against them and then you find out very clearly where your weaknesses are so for that i do appreciate the denver nuggets uh but mike yeah yokich is not he he has no off switch it looks like no and their point differential is 14.3 points a off switch, it looks like. No. And their point differential is 14.3 points a game, which

is better even than Philly. The point differential kings of the east as they're being referred to. It's way different, man. They went to OKC the other night on Sunday night and just destroyed it. It wasn't fair. It looked like literally the champs versus

just another team and OKC's good. As you guys said earlier in the show, there's a chance of them catching a ticket maybe. But yeah, nah, it was different on Sunday. Did not look like the past champs versus the future champs, which is what my money is saying it is. Are you seeing

anyone who's underrated or who you think has good value at this point? any teams to win the title any like mvp candidates who you think like people aren't paying attention to yet but should be the mvp candidates are always tricky because it's always gonna be the same guys it wasn't really the top 10 like there's no one like tyrus match is not gonna win m MVP. Like, he might be the most improved. Well, he's not going to win MVP. Like, you know what I mean? And even if he has 30 at night,

like, Shea averaged 30 last year. Right, it would be Shea. You know what I mean? So it's not even in that conversation. So it's just the MVP is basically the top five guys on the top three or four teams in the league, and that's kind of how it goes. So MVP, you really don't have a lot of value there unless it's before the season i think your best value is going to be like scoring champ

like rebounding champ uh though i think you're probably about to be played a year i think that's where you probably get your most value from um but the team wise new orleans is interesting like if they're fully healthy that's the one team that has a lot a lot of talent and a lot of different matches they can throw at people so that's the one team that i would keep an eye on um okay seems still a little little young but they have a lot of assets where they feel they're close they can make a move or two they have all the picks so it's not like they can't make any trades they can really trade for anyone who is somewhat available and make whatever offer they need to make so um that's always a key but i don't know what time frame they're on i don't know the okc is on the five to six year plan or they're saying hey let's go for it now the league

is kind of in a weird spot let's go for so it just depends on that but those are the two teams out west that i would keep a close eye on all right one mvp candidate that i think people should keep an eye on all right you ready uh-huh sure because he's been out with an injury but he had that one game that first game when he was running point for the phoenix suns devin booker looking incredible he's currently eight i'm just saying there is a world where he comes back, looks as good as he did in that first game, and they are on a tear that, I don't know. He's so good, man, Devin Booker.

I could see him getting some momentum as the season wears on, especially if they're leaning on him to run point and he's piling up assists on top of 30-point games. Yeah, but you know what they say? The best ability? Availability. You know? There's no time for him to come back.

That's what's kind of wild, too. I was like, oh, I saw the first game and I was like, okay, clearly we're going to see this big three get together at some point, but the fact that it's still kind of up in the air, I don't like that for Devin. I don't think that's as important because it gets in the way of the

thing that I just said. I'm going to discount that. Is the 65 gamble this year or is it next year? I don't know. I don't even know. All right. Should we take a break and come back with the fastest segment of podcasting um yeah i think we should oh yeah yeah i think so actually yeah i think so

all right we'll be right back All right, here we go. It's Cam Jordan from New Orleans Saints here to tell you it's going down on season two of my podcast, Off the Edge with me, Cam Jordan. Can't stop it. You know what's going to happen. Can't stop it. That's right. Catch new episodes every Wednesday all season long.

That's what you look for in year 14 to do more. No days off! And I'll have my friends who happen to be some of the NFL's biggest stars join me on the pod. We'll give you a player's perspective of the biggest storylines,

trends, and did that really just happen? moments from around the league. And you know we'll have fun doing it. Ha! Yeah! Oh, and I'll have a special guest each month

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

Hey, this is Mike Wright from the Fantasy Footballers Dynasty Podcast. You heard that right. The Fantasy Footballers have officially entered the Dynasty space. Every week we bring you the same in-depth analysis and entertainment you've come to expect from the Fantasy Footballers, only now from a Dynasty perspective. Maybe you've been living in the Dynasty fantasy football space for a while. Well, we're here to take your game to the next level.

Maybe you love fantasy football and you've been feeling that itch to jump into the Dynasty format, but it feels a little bit intimidating. No matter where you're coming from, the Fantasy Footballers Dynasty podcast has something for you, and you're going to have a great time listening i promise join me and the rest of the crew every wednesday for a new episode listen to the fantasy footballers dynasty podcast on the iheart radio app apple podcast or wherever you get your podcasts do you ever wonder where your favorite foods come from. Like what's the history behind bacon-wrapped hot dogs? Hi, I'm Eva Longoria.

Hi, I'm Maite Gomez-Rejon. Our podcast, Hungry for History, is back. Season two. Season two. Are we recording? Are we good? Oh, we push record, right? Okay. And this season, we're taking an even bigger bite out of the most delicious food and its history.

Saying that the most popular cocktail is the margarita, followed by the mojito from Cuba, and the piña colada from Puerto Rico. So all of these... We have, we think, Latin culture. There's a mention of blood sausage in Homer's Odyssey that dates back to the 9th century B.C. B.C.?

I didn't realize how old the hot dog was. Listen to Hungry for History as part of the My Cultura podcast network, available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And we're back. We're back. Yeah. Jameson Welsh.

Yeah, I think we're back. We're back. Yeah. Jameson Welsh. Yeah, I think we're back, Jameson. And this is the fastest segment of podcasting. We're giving you just quick questions. You got to hit us with the first answer that comes to your mind. Yep. It has to be both quick and correct. And well thought out, too.

And well thought out. Don't just react. It should be very well thought out, too. Don't just react. It should be very well thought out. We want people to say, my gosh, the truths that came out in that fourth quarter rapid fire round of questioning from Jameson Welsh, I have not considered the game in that way. First thought, best thought. We want both of them. Your first thought,

and it has to be the best thought that we've ever heard. Cool. Jameson, you're up for it, yeah? Okay. Here we go miles is the clock started i guess that would be to brian start the clock all right okay um you want to kick it off uh yeah let's do it okay jameson give us your best hot take or takes for the nba season based on just the very little data we have. Now take a big swing now.

Take it home with this home run swing. I want this take to make me say that's a spicy meat to ball. Yeah, exactly. Get weird on us. Come on now. There'll be a trade that will swing who will win the title this year. And it's yet to come? It's yet to happen? It's yet to happen?

It's not happening yet. They'll be afraid. Sometimes we're not on the deadline that we'll swing the title race. Okay. Dang. Bad news for Nuggets fans. Bad news for Celtics fans.

Yeah. That's right. Good news for everybody else, potentially. Yes. In that reality. And it's OKC is going to

trade all those picks away for Jamesames harden and he's gonna come in um no that's probably not gonna happen all right you can watch a movie with one of the following players and i've done some research i need you to tell me who you're gonna pick okay and this is courtesy nba film tweets uh an account that you can follow that just finds interesting NBA players with their movie takes. Alright, you can watch a movie with Nick Van Exel,

Anthony Morrow, Jalen Brunson, or Jimmy Butler. Oh, Nick Van Exel. Easily. Nick Van Exel. Nick Van Exel. Easily. Nick Van Axel. Say Nick Van Axel. Nick Van Axel multiple times in the past three years has just tweeted the phrase,

any given Sunday with multiple exclamation points. You are watching any given Sunday. Not a bad one. I do have to say, I do want to read Jimmy Butler's because that would have been my pick i'm kicking with jimmy butler for sure jimmy butler back in 2014 tweeted transformers 4 was crazy good crazy in all caps everybody has to go see that movie of the year oh um that's big that is big

niggas bringing iced coffee though like Jim's gonna charge you for coffee niggas gonna bring you iced coffee that's right yeah to the date also Clay Thompson responded to that by saying Transformers is 2 hours 45 minutes too long so Clay Thompson

wow shots fired so are you an any given sunday fan though oh yeah absolutely willie beeman willie steeman beeman okay okay just a good man i'm willie it's not suitable for children but it's a great no no but suitable for was is it oliver stone was that oliver stone movie that was all hey great soundtrack though too anyway next question jameson because we got to keep this moving and i'm sorry that you didn't tell us to keep it moving and i'm having to tell you that we have to do it jameson who is the best player you have ever witnessed in person and what what did they do what were they what were they demonstrating when you were seeing that in live

with your with your raw eye that's a great question um it's going in raw with those eyeballs that was a really good question i've seen almost everyone in person so it's wow well i'll go by performance i'll go by performance at the time it was dame's career high he had like 50 either 54 or 51 versus the Warriors in Portland. This was during the Warrior super team era. So it was a big deal. And he was just unconscious. Like he was hitting everything, doing whatever he wanted to do.

That was probably the best game I've seen from a player that game that night is that he was unstoppable. He was literally, he beat them by himself basically he was that good still that good but yeah i heard i hear that guy's pretty good i haven't seen him play yet but i heard he keeps saying that he's good okay all right all right is it do you feel like he's a person you need to see in person to fully appreciate just how like quick he is how yes him and stuff because you see the shots on TV, TV doesn't do it justice.

When you see a guy pull up from like 30 feet, two steps from half-court off the pick and roll, and just splash on you repeatedly, you can't see that person. It doesn't do it justice watching on TV or on Gamecast or whatever. It doesn't. You've got to see a lot.

Yeah, you can't tell how far it is. It's just really far how far those shots are. Because once they shoot it from that far, there's a sound in the crowd like, oh, I wasn't expecting that. And then when you start making them, then, yeah, other sounds are going on.

So, yeah, very interesting. Is it me? Yeah, yeah. Jack, sorry. Sorry, Jameson. We got to keep this moving. You should have told Jack that was the next question. Yeah. Yeah.

I mean, you're bad. Sorry. All right. You can take two players from all of history to create your Mad Boosties edition NBA Jam team. Which two players are you taking? Wow. That's a hell of a question.

That's a very good question. Give me Katie and give me Shaq. KD and Shaq. Wow. Height and touch and then just absolute demolition derby. Yeah. We can figure out the matchups, whatever. And the personalities too.

The personalities are cool. You know what I mean? So it's not like you got two hard asses. And the personalities, too. The personalities are cool. So it's not like you got two hard asses. It's like, nah. They both are cool personalities that are going to get along. Their games complement each other. I think we're good. That'd be the two. KD is an underrated pick for that.

We've had a lot of stuff, but KD is great. Because he's tall, so you're going to be able to goaltend a lot oh yeah and then just the touch from the seven footers like i'm taking like i get two seven footers one does yeah we're gonna send the one to do everything else so yeah i'll take my chances all right jameson how about this if you could have any nba players physique okay for like if you were trying to play basketball, you're like, this is the body I'm going to hop into and then go to LA Fitness. Who are you picking and why? Like, current day or like, of all time?

Of all time. Of all time. Of all time. Of all time? It has to be Bron, right? Like, it has to be like, well, no, I want to be a footer. I want to be a foot right? Like, it has to be like, well, no, I don't want to be a footer. I don't want to be a footer. Give me prime cagey.

Oh. Prime cagey, because I got to do everything. Like, literally, he can move, he can play the post, he can go outside, he can guard everyone. Like, yeah, prime seven-foot cagey. You know, he never says he's seven foot,

but give me prime. Why are we strong? Kevin Garnett. Right. And make sure that you have rubber bands as your jewelry. Yeah. I get all the customers, too, right? I get to do all that.

That's part of it. That's part of it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Definitely. It's part of his physique. An indelible part of his physique is the curse words coming out of his mouth. His poisonous tongue. Yeah.

Which is legendary. Yeah, for sure. All right. And finally, Jameson, Jack or miles. Man.

Last time you got mad at me, it's a boat. I can't do that. I gotta go with miles. No, you heard it here. You heard it here. You heard it here. You heard it. I gotta go with Miles. No! You heard it here. You heard it here. You heard it here.

You heard it here. And it's only because he's a fellow Laker fan. See? And that's what it is sometimes, Jack. I told you, don't take it personally. I can't abandon him. I have a lot of love for the Sixers. I don't like the process, but I got a lot of love for the Sixers.

They're fans. They're fans, passionate fans. Kind of wild at times. But a fellow Laker fan that's not crazy and has some sense, I roll with them. Well, hold on. I never said I was sane, but... You're sane enough. Yeah, sane enough, sane enough, sane enough.

I let Miles and Jabari leave the Lakers recap section titled Lakers road to 18. I didn't even edit that. Four games in. Four games in. Lakers road to 18. So it is what it is.

You know, it's what it's and Jameson, you are what is, and that was our guest. Thank you so much for being here today. Where can people find you and follow you and be blessed with your wisdom? Oh, man. Well, I appreciate that.

I'm on Twitter's best spot, at V. Jamison. You'll see me on there. ESPN 1100 in Vegas during the NBA season. You'll hear me at least once a week you know just talking about nba and whatnot not necessarily a lot of gambling those would be more nba breakdowns but i can definitely help with some gambling and some tips as well we don't have drafting and fando out here yet i hope we do get those uh sooner than later but yeah i'm always gonna help and i always gonna help someone make money as possible. I like to hear that.

I like to make money. Who doesn't? This is America. Do you want to make more money? Sure, we all do. Do you remember that commercial? Of course. I have it tatted on my back. Make sure you guys follow us on Twitter. You can find me

at MilesOfGray. I'm Jack underscore O'Brien. Ah, yes. And make sure you also follow hashtag mad boosties, B-double-O-S-T-I-E-S for show links and updates. Uh,

thanks to everybody that's listening. Hey, please make sure you hop in there, rate and review the show, uh, and subscribe and do all that to support miles and Jack. I'm at boosties and we will see you next week. Bye. Bye.

Bye. I'm Carrie Champion, and this is Season 4 of Naked Sports. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry. Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese. Every great player needs a foil. I know I'll go down in history. People are talking about women's basketball just because of one single game. Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume women's sports.

Listen to the making of a rivalry. Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports. I'm Keri Champion, and this is season four of Naked Sports. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry, Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese. People are talking about women's basketball just because of one single game. Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume women's basketball.

And on this new season, we'll cover all things sports and culture. Listen to Naked Sports on the Black Effect Podcast Network, iHeartRadio apps, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Black Effect Podcast Network is sponsored by Diet Coke. What happens when a professional football player's career ends and the applause fades and the screaming fans move on. I am going to share my journey of how I went from Christianity to now a Hebrew Israelite. For some former NFL players, a new faith provides answers. You mix homesteading with guns and church. Voila! You got straightway.

They try to save everybody. Listen to Spiraled on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.