The Daily Zeitgeist - MJGMB #92: State of the Knicks and MVP Talk with Brian Geltzeiler

Episode Date: December 21, 2023

Jack and Producer Jabari were joined by SiriusXM NBA Radio’s analyst and host Brian Geltzeiler on today’s episode. The trio discussed the state of the New York Knicks and what they might be able to do ahead of the trade deadline before transitioning to MVP talks surrounding Embiid, Jokic, Giannis and Shai!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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You might recognize us from our first show, Locatora Radio. Listen to Señora Sex Ed on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Well, well, well. And ho, ho, ho, tis the season. I think we all ready for some Christmas Day games. We got Jaws return. We got the State of the Knicks and MVP talk

with NBA analyst Brian Geltziler on today's episode. I'm Jack O'Brien. And I'm producer Jabari in for Miles. And this is Miles and Jack. And occasionally Jabari got my boosies. Three on one. Davis. Rob.

LeBron. There you go. And he's driving, spinning, fading. Hit it. Curry, a three-pointer. three on one davis driving spinning fading curry a three-pointer bang steph curry from downtown again what's up what's up brian hey guys How we doing? Pretty good, man. You know, just enjoying this holiday season of NBA riches. How's the vibes? How's vibes in New York as a basketball fan? It's all good.

Listen, you got two decent teams, two teams hanging around in the playoff chase. Both teams with the ability to go make deals to get better as we approach the trade deadline and both teams that if they do make deals to get better could certainly elevate their chances to advance in a playoff so the vibes in new york as far as basketball concern are very good and looking up you know it's uh you know jaylen brunson has changed the fortunes of the knicks there's no doubt about that and i will say as well as the nets have played they actually i never thought i'd utter these words. They need Ben Simmons. Yeah. You know, I've heard people utter those words before. As a 76ers fan, I've heard other

people say, you know who we could use right now? Ben Simmons. If he wanted to play basketball, that would be cool. Um, but back to the Knicks, I am, how is Jalen Brunson shooting? Like be how he's having one of the best shooting years of anybody, right? Isn't he shooting like high forties from three, 46%, phenomenal, 46% from three. Is there a world, like the question, you know, when he took

Dallas deep, and a lot of people were like, well, it was Luka took them deep, and this is the way things are from now on. Dallas goes deep, and then Brunson left, and they didn't go deep, and the Knicks started making runs in the playoffs. It started being like, maybe this guy is

an ingredient. He's definitely an ingredient for a championship team. Is there a world where he is on a team that wins the championship and he is the best player on that team? Are we at that level yet?

No, I don't think so. I don't know if we ever will be. Listen, the thing about Brunson, and the Knicks have done very well against bad competition this year and have struggled against good competition. Now, again, this particular road trip, a win in Phoenix, a win in L.A. against the Lakers, that's starting to look up, and that's a nice thing for them. But you worry about them defensively with that.

And more than that, listen, Brunson, through quickness and craft and smarts and an understanding of how to navigate screens, he can get to his spots at will. And it's a fantastic asset to have. But when you're in the playoffs and trying to advance deep and you're playing against the best defenses the league has to offer, you're going to need somebody else. Listen, I will hold to this. Brunson was at his best as Lucas wingman.

Dallas will – I know they regret it now. They will only continue to regret letting him go and not, you know, signing him to the money that he wanted. It just – it was a horrible, horrible move by Dallas. But that's where Brunson is ideal. And I think for the Knicks, Kenny Smith made a very interesting point on TNT last week that I think is important for Nick fans to kind of get their arms around a little bit.

And that point is the fact that, you know, the Knicks in a playoff series after the first round are never going to have the best player on the floor with all due respect to Jalen Brunson. The teams that they're going to play against are always going to have the best player on the floor, with all due respect to Jalen Brunson. The teams that they're going to play against are always going to have a better player than them. And I think that's where you get into what do they do trade-wise, because that flies in the face, you know,

you can need another guy, but by the same token, is there usage there with the way Brunson and Randall dominate the basketball to actually bring in that kind of guy? So the Knicks that kind of guy? So the Knicks are kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place here in terms of what to do. They have the Fournier contract. They have to go out and use it before it expires. They have all the picks.

And listen, there's young players they have that the league is sweet on. R.J. Barrett's widely respected around the league. I know a lot of Knicks fans are down on him, but he's widely respected around the league. And he's signed to what's considered a reasonable deal for the player that he is. Quentin Grimes is very well respected around the league, and Emmanuel quickly is too, even though he's on the verge of getting paid and getting paid very well. So they have the young players, they have the picks, and they have that expiring deal in 48 to be able to go out and get somebody.

But, like, you know, they've passed on a lot of guys, and I don't blame them for passing on Mitchell. Mitchell wouldn't have fit well here, but Mitchell may be available again, and that's going to be the tough spot the Knicks are in. Maybe the best player they can go get is Donovan Mitchell, who's a very imperfect fit here. I don't know that he elevates you in the way you need to be elevated. He certainly hasn't done that with the Cavs with a lot of good players around him,

so the Knicks are in a tough spot. So speaking of guys that you mentioned, guys that Knicks fans are down on. I want to ask you about Julius Randall. Obviously, you know, I saw him when he, you know, during his younger days,

you know, out there in LA, but you know, he's a guy that he pretty consistently, you know, he putting up 23 points. He's getting about 10 rebounds. He's getting dishes out five assists.

I recognize not all numbers are created equal, but why does it seem like he's such a polarizing figure amongst that, amongst that fan base in particular? Well, it's because, you know, there's a couple of things involved. First of all, two years ago, he acted like he didn't want to be there. They got rid of his buddies. Um, they got rid of Reggie Bullock, who was one of his close friends. Um, Kenny Payne left who he was very close with. So he wasn't happy there. And Julius Randle's not a guy that's going to be able to hide unhappiness. He wears his emotions on his sleeve.

That turned Knicks fans off. Randle's a ball-dominant player. And I think that bothers Knicks fans also. Randle's also inconsistent defensively. And even a year like this year where you're getting full effort from him, some nights he's good, depends upon the matchup. Some nights he's not. And that remains a troubled spot for the Knicks. With all that said, I will say this, even with the ball dominance, his assist numbers are up. The ball's moving more. Him and Brunson play great together.

You know, the Knicks, they have some issues here, but I don't know that Randall is one of them right now. Here's my only one concern with Randall. Forgetting about the offensive issues. Because the Knicks offense has been pretty efficient this year. And they've been a really good offensive team. And I know they're in the top five in the league in defensive efficiency. But not against the real good teams. They gave 146 to the Bucs in that in-season tournament quarterfinal game. I mean, that's a big number.

The thing is this. And you talk to executives, coaches around the league. Everybody says the same thing. It's been going on for years. You can hide one, you can't hide two. And the Knicks have to hide Brunson because he's an abysmal defensive player. Hiding Randall some nights and Brunson becomes a very, very difficult thing for the Knicks.

And Randall's inconsistent defense is something that sticks in the craw of the Knicks fans, and it's something that could be a fatal blow to the Knicks in a playoff series against a team like the Celtics, the Bucks, or the Sixers. Let's talk Mitchell Robinson real quick. There's a point earlier where we looked at his offensive boards, and they were verging on, like, he could be in contention for the record. I think he's come back down to earth a little bit,

but he's still back down to earth a little bit. Um, but he's still just collecting offensive boards. Yeah. I think he's at 5.3 a game. Uh, the record is six, I believe in the like six point something. Um,

as someone who watches the games, what like, does he, do you get the sense that he's like a Robin type who studies the direction that people's like shots are missing? Do you think he just's like a robin type who studies the direction that people's like shots are missing do you think he just has like an innate nose for the ball offensive boards is like one of one of my well first of all it's like one of the last analytic like things that people could like juice out of the analytics that like people are not efficient

when it comes to like everybody should be diving in at least briefly to try and get offensive boards. So it feels like a thing that's going to be increasingly emphasized in the coming years, but he seems to have a real genius for it. What do you see there when you watch him play?

He's not studying the science of rebounding like Rob, and he's relentless. He's very quick. He's got studying the science of rebounding like Rob, and he's relentless. He's very quick. He's got a really quick first step. He's bouncy for a guy his size. And the other thing you've got to remember about him is he came into the league at, what, 7'240? He's 7'280 right now, and the dude ain't fat. He has muscled up hard.

And he hasn't lost quickness. So it's not only that he beats you to the ball. If you're in his way, he's going to go through you. Like he's, he's that physical. I mean, think about Cleveland. We talked about the bigs last year, Mobley and Allen. What did he do to them in that first round playoff series? They couldn't keep him off the glass.

And listen, Allen and Mobley are quick bigs. So it wasn't all quickness. It was sheer force at times. And that's who Mitchell Robinson is. And listen, the Knicks, I will say, they are so set at the center position because the way those two guys complement each other, Robinson and Hartenstein, is fantastic. And Tom, night in and night out, can pick his poison

against who he matches up with, who he wants to finish with. So it really works out very, very well for the Knicks. And the Knicks got, in the words of Jay-Z, the Knicks got 99 problems centering one of them. So, I mean, they're in good shape in that spot. And I like that. I think that that's, and that's a spot that they shouldn't look to trade off of.

Really, what they need is size on the wing. And their biggest problem, quite frankly, is that the guy that's going to be available to them is OG Ananobi. He's going to be out there and available. The thing is, the Knicks front office and the Raptors front office are embroiled in a very bitter legal dispute right now that would not get those two sides all that reticent to work with one another to make a deal, because this legal dispute is over front office intellectual capital. And it's a big, big problem. And, you know, Raptors suing the Knicks, Knicks countersuing,

there's a lot of bad blood there. And the thing is, if you look at the Knicks, you know, the one guy that you could put in there that can elevate you on both ends of the floor as really one of the premier 3D guys in the league is OG Ananobi. And the thing is, there's zero, I just don't think there's any chance

the Raptors are going to make a deal with the Knicks. I pretty much think Raptor ownership looks at that situation and says, anybody but the Knicks. Wow. So, he's off the table. Who would you target if you're the Knicks? Listen, I don't know that there's a perfect player to target, but Danovich is available. I would take a

look at him. Listen, I don't think DeMar DeRozan solves any of your defensive problems, but I do think he helps you immensely on the offensive end of the floor in terms of efficiency and, more than that, mid-range shots late in games. And I know you have Brunson covered there, but imagine being able to run the two of those guys off each other. Listen, the thing for them is they have to look at who's available. And I think for the Knicks, the best thing is consider that they're playing okay here.

I think they could be playing better, but they're playing okay here. I think for the Knicks, you're going is consider that they're playing okay here. I think they could be playing better, but they're playing okay here. I think for the Knicks, you're going to have to take this to the end, to the deadline, to see if somebody decides that they're going to punt. And maybe that, you know, right now, we know the Bulls and the Raptors are the big teams that are going to punt. We know that the Pistons are

a mess, and you can get somebody off of their team. But really, and we know Utah. But who are you going to take off of Utah? I mean, Collins or Mark and it aren't really fits there. You know, Clarkson is more of the same, you know, they don't have that kind of wing that you can go ahead and bring in. So like the teams that have guys available right now, don't fit the Knicks. Great. And that's the thing for the Knicks. They're going to have to wait this thing out as long as they can wait this thing out to use that 48 contract for somebody. And listen, Bogdanovich may end up being the answer.

There is no, Ananobi is the perfect fit. You're not getting them. So I think you have to look at other options. Bogdanovich is certainly not a bad option for them or at the right price. Maybe you do look at Donovan Mitchell. Yeah. And then ideal. Who do you put next to Brunson? Is it like an Embiid or just like an athletic wing?

Who is the ideal person next to Brunson? Not necessarily this season, but like eventually. Well, Embiid would be great, but you're not getting him. He's right now with what's happening there and the way Therese Maxey has grown into his role. There is absolutely, if I tell you zero chance, you're getting him beat anytime soon. That situation is etched in stone there. That's a fantastic situation. So I don't think that you have a chance to get him. I mean, listen, you're going to have to see who decides to punt. Maybe the Clippers decide to punt at one point or another, but what they have going on, it doesn't look likely that they're going to.

That's been the biggest change since I think the last time we talked to listeners is that the Clippers are now they put it together and are beating people so badly that they're like one of the, like they went from being I don't think they were even like a net positive on the

season to now being like one of the league leaders in point differential, like they're absolutely crushing it. Yeah. They've been, listen, they have been terrific lately. And I'm,

and one of the things that's turned for them, which is interesting is let's make first made the hardened trade. People forget that the Harden's first game in the garden, Mason Plumlee got hurt. And Mason Plumlee was very important to them defensively. Now, they brought in Daniel Tice a week later, and he's played pretty well for them. But the other thing that's happened for them is Zubac

has upgraded his game on the glass and played much better defensively. And they need that badly. Listen, they have to hide Harden a little bit. And the thing about Harden is he's not good guarding quick guys on the perimeter, but he can hold his own in the post because of his strength. So that's a really important factor. So with having Leonard and George, if you want to be aggressive defensively, and Mann's another really good defensive player, you put him on the floor. If you want to do that, you need to have somebody that cleans up behind

him. And that has never been Zubac in his career. He's gotten much better at it, but I'll tell you, they're an interesting team at the deadline as well. They don't have much to trade, but I wouldn't be surprised to see them pluck Andre Drummond from the bulls, who I think would actually fit in really well there. And let's, let's face it. Plumlee within the next three to four weeks should be back as well. But you know, they're kind of one big away from really being a huge factor in the playoffs, assuming, and it's a big assumption. Listen, we're only in December boys. Okay. It's a big assumption, but assuming that they hit the playoffs fully healthy. Right. All right. Let's, uh, let's take a quick break and we'll be right back. Wake up with football every morning and listen to my new podcast, NFL daily with Greg

Rosenthal five Five days a week, you'll get all the latest news, previews, recaps, and analysis delivered straight to your podcast feed by the time you get your coffee. No dumb hot takes here, just smart hot takes. We'll talk every single game, every single week, but I can't do it alone, so I'm bringing in the big guns from NFL media. That's Patrick Claiborne, Steve Weiss, Nick Shook, Jordan Rodrigue from The Athletic, and of course, Colleen Wolfe. This is their window right now. This is their Super Bowl window. Why would they trade him away? Because he would be a pivotal part of them winning that Super Bowl. I don't know why, Colleen. Catch the podcast, the NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal every day. Subscribe

today and you'll immediately be smarter and funnier than your friends. And who doesn't want that? Listen now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Alright, 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 have my friends who happen to be some of the NFL's biggest stars join me on the pod. We'll give you a player's perspective of the biggest storylines, trends, and did that really just happen moments from around the league.

And you know we'll have fun doing it. Oh, and I'll have a special guest each month join me to mix it up a little bit. Who is it? None other than... Psyche. You'll have to tune in to find out. none other than psych. You have to tune in

to find out. So tap in to Off the Edge with Cam Jordan's podcast, your ultimate playbook for all things football and not football. Listen on the

iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey everyone, this is Jimmy O'Brien from John Boy Media. I want to quickly tell you

about my podcast. It's called Jimmy's Three Things. Episodes come out every Tuesday, and for about 30 minutes, I dive into three topics in Major League Baseball that I am interested in. Breaking stories, trends, stats, weird stuff. Sometimes I make up my own stats. Sometimes I do a lot of research, and it ends up, I was wrong the whole time. So that's something you can get in on. Use Jimmy's Three Things podcast to stay up to date on Major League Baseball

and to make you just a smidge smarter than your friend who's a baseball fan. You listen to me and then you go tell him, hey, I know this and you don't. So I make you smarter than your friends. That's what Jimmy's Three Things is all about. Listen to Jimmy's Three Things on iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

You can also find it on the Talkin' Baseball YouTube channel, and new episodes drop every Tuesday. And we're back, and so is John Morant. Not a ton to say about his return that hasn't already been said. Capped off a 24-point comeback with a game winner. Was just, you know, one of my favorite basketball moments so far this season. Is having him back. Getting, you know, getting to see, not really having lost a step,

just being able to truly look like he's in the Matrix and moving at a different speed, at a different frame rate than the people who are trying to guard him. It was a blast. 34 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds, 2 steals. And then he claimed he kept receipts during his extended absence. I don't know what that means.

Maybe just focus on, I don't know. But we wanted to have a conversation about MVP candidates at this point. Again, as you mentioned, Brian, it's early. We don't know what the rest of the season is going to look like, but I think there's some interesting conversations to be had early on as the Joker was leading the league in points, assists, and rebounds. It felt like it was going to be pretty clear-cut,

but they've been a little bit less consistent. Embiid has taken over as the scoring leader by a pretty wide margin at this point, and they're playing incredibly well, the Sixers. They are

much better at this point. Their record is way better at this point in the season than it was last year, and basically all they did was drop much better at this point. Like their record is way better at this point in the season than it was last year. And basically all they did was drop hard. You know, like it's, it's not a,

he's basically doing more with less. Um, and it's pretty, pretty impressive. It's obviously not all him. Uh, Maxie has greatly improved and just like benefited from the added room to run and create, and Nick Nurse is a great upgrade coach. So that's Jokic and Bede. That was the conversation

we were having last year. I feel like we have to talk about Shea because OKC, I think, is starting to enter the conversation. Like, people were having the conversation about like, man, they could actually do something this year. They look pretty good. They've got a lot of pieces to move. They could add a player, at which point I think they become like one of the favorites. They are currently second in the West.

Minnesota, then Oklahoma City, then Denver, then Sacramento, which can't be how the NBA drew it up. Those three teams being the top markets. But I don't know. What do you guys think? Do you think Shea is a legit... He also had a game winner

against the defending champ Nuggets earlier this week. He just looks incredibly unstoppable and is just making everything kind of come together around him and improving that team by leaps and bounds.

What do we think of him as an MVP candidate? I think he's on the list. I just think we're coming down to what we came down to last year it's mb it's yokich it's yannis that those that you know and and i think that guys like shea and luca and jason tatum are competing for fourth and i know a lot it's cute to want to put therese halliburton in there but i don't know that he enters that conversation at any point in time she listen oklahoma city's played much better this year.

They look terrific. Chet Holmgren's been great for them. Shea has been tremendous. Okay. Joel Embiid dominates the league in a way that no one else does. The only guy that comes close is Jokic. And to me right now, it's Embiid's award to lose again. I think he's playing that well.

And I love how Jokic has played, but Denver's dropped off a little lately. And Jokic put some weight on, and certainly was much better defensively last year than he's been this year. And Giannis is playing angry. I know the Bucs have struggled, and Giannis hasn't been as good as he's been in the past defensively,

but we can say the Bucs have struggled, but what are they? One game back of the Celtics right now? I mean, they haven't struggled that much. So they've played really well. So I think it comes down to the same thing. I think we can talk about other fringe candidates and give them credit for having great seasons like Shea, like Luca.

I think we certainly can do that. It's bottom line. This is something that is Embiid, Jokic, Giannis. And I think Giannis is the third out of them. I think it comes down to Embiid and Jokic. And right now, Joel Embiid is being dominant. Listen, one thing I'd say you said about the Sixers that I would... I don't know that he's

doing more with less. I think he's doing more with better pieces. Maxie didn't fit great with Harden, and that just wasn't a good fit. Getting rid of Harden has helped Maxie be better. It's helped the Anthony Melton be better.

It's been a really key guy for them this year. And then listen, I know they were without Kelly Oubre for a period of time. He's been terrific for them. He has helped them a ton. And listen, the Clippers are ready to leave Covington and Morris for dead. Covington and Morris,

especially Morris have both played well for them and given them some minutes off the bench, but productive minutes. So I just think the Sixers are a better team than they were last year with Harden because the pieces fit better. And Bede is playing great. He's been terrific. He really has been. So I give him all the credit in the world.

He's playing great. But by the same token, I think we kind of have to look at all this and realize that it's great to amass talent on a basketball team. It really is. But the bottom line is the pieces still have to fit. And in this particular case, the Sixers pieces fit around Embiid this year much better than last year. Jabari, you got a pick? Well, yeah.

For me, as we discussed ahead of the show, I think Embiid is the leader in the clubhouse, but I think I might lean more towards Shea as being in that mix and not necessarily being on the outside looking in with Luka. And perhaps that's on me. Perhaps that's because I wasn't, full disclosure Brian, I wasn't as I didn't see it as quite as Jack did ahead of the season. Jack ahead of the season actually put money on OKC. Now, not just, we're not talking preseason. We're talking July.

When we were in Vegas in July, Jack put money on OKC to win this year's title. So maybe it's because I didn't see that as any chance whatsoever. And suddenly, I'm looking at him as continued development, you know, being able to welcome like a talent like Chet right into the fold. And, you know, everybody finds their own groove. I guess that's why I'm giving I'm probably giving extra credit as a result of that. Out of surprise, whereas I knew exactly that this was going to happen. And so I'm less impressed. And I agree that it's Embiid here.

There's a great moment on the game-winning shot that Shea hit over Denver where he releases the ball and the game's in Denver and it gets loud in a very specific way that you only hear when a home crowd knows they're about to have their hearts ripped out. And it's like this,

like exhale, inhale loud, like screaming backwards thing. Like they, they should add it to like what one of the noises they put in the T-Rex scream in Jurassic park. It's like a truly haunted sound. And I feel like it is the sound of greatness.

Like everybody in that arena, every one of those fans of the champion, the defending champs knew that was going in. They just like, you, if we could insert it here, it's like, it's like a roar backwards or something.

I haven't heard it in a long time, but it feels like, I don't know, it signified something to me about Shea. I'll annoy some people. It's the sound that you used to get when Kobe was playing. I'm not comparing the two players. I'm not doing that.

I know that exact sound where even the opposing crowd knows us. Yeah. All right. Let's take one more break and we'll come back. Wake up with football every morning and listen to my new podcast, NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal.

Five days a week, you'll get all the latest news, previews, recaps, and analysis delivered straight to your podcast feed by the time you get your coffee. No dumb hot takes here, just smart hot takes. We'll talk every single game, every single week, but I can't do it alone, so I'm bringing in the big guns from NFL media. That's Patrick Claiborne, Steve Weiss, Nick Shook,

Jordan Rodrigue from The Athletic, and of course, Colleen Wolfe. This is their window right now. This is their Super Bowl window. Why would they trade him away? Because he would be a pivotal part of them winning that Super Bowl. I don't know why, Colleen. Catch the podcast, the NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal every day.

Subscribe today and you'll immediately be smarter and funnier than your friends. And who doesn't want that? Listen now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 Syke.

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, everyone. Jake Storielli here from John Boy Media.

I want to tell you about my podcast, Waking Jake. It's your go-to spot for anything and everything sports. Baseball, football, basketball, hockey, golf, college, whatever's hot in the street, we're talking about it on Wake and Jake. So if you're a die-hard fan or looking for the latest buzz, we've got you covered

no matter your favorite sport. We're breaking it down with the passion that'll make you feel like you're in the stands with us. Plus, we've got a bunch of guests. Foolish Bailey, Jolly Olive, Chris Rose, and more. Mock drafts, rankings, whatever you want. It's the sports world.

And come on and join our friends in the Wake and Jake family. You will not regret it. So, new episodes Monday and Wednesday. You can watch along on the Wake and Jake YouTube channel or listen to Wake and Jake on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And we're back.

And Brian, I know we're about to lose you. We do want to give you a couple of rapid fire questions before you're gone. Who is the most underappreciated of the all-time greats? And by the way, this is the fastest segment of podcasting. You're not supposed to think about your answers. Just boom, let it go. No dilly-dally and no beating around the bush. Greatest, most underappreciated of the all-time greats,

someone who deserves to be mentioned mentioned but is often left out. Oscar Robertson, he was doing the triple-double before the triple-double was a thing. Yeah. All right. Keep it going. You can go back in time and permit either Prime Ewing or Prime Mello to take this run with this particular Knicks squad

in today's game. Which one are you choosing? Prime Ewing every day of the week and twice on Tuesdays. All right. You can retroactively space jam yourself into having my good friend Robert Ori's career or Charles Barkley's career. Which one are you choosing? Yeah, I like rings.

I would take Robert Ori's career as much as I love Chuck, who was dominant and had a blast. But you know what? Robert Ori always found himself there when teams were winning, and he made some big shots to help his team do it. And you love rings just as jewelry, just in general, like not having nothing to do with. Yeah, just like a rock and roll. I love rings.

Love rings. There you go. All right. Let's do one more. You can have any player's skill set for one day. Who's and what skill set would it be? That's an outstanding question. That's one that I've never actually thought about,

but I guess I have to give you a quick answer. I would tell you any active player or player in history. Let me ask it that way. Any player ever. Any player ever. If I could have their skill set, I would probably tell you Michael Jordan's the pat answer. Like, it's the easy answer.

You know, but I will tell you that I never enjoyed and admired a player more than watching Magic Johnson in his prime. What he was able to do at his size and his fast ability and just spawning the fast break. And to me, that was a specialist special could get. And that was the guy I wanted to be.

I love it. All right. Well, Brian, such a pleasure having you, where can people find you? Listen to you, all that good stuff.

You can get me on Twitter slash X at big outs, MBA. You can hear me on MBA weekend on serious sex, MBA radio, seven to 10 AM Eastern time every Saturday morning. And I host this week in NBA radio every Sunday morning. That's 8 AM to 10 AM on serious XM NBA radio. All right, Brian Geltz.

Thank you so much for joining us and yeah. Happy holidays to you and yours. All right. All right. You too, guys guys thanks so much take care all right take care so uh usually we end with rapid fire but we're we do have to mention a couple people who are kind of on a tear right now um i don't know if we've talked about them yet uh i think is is it pronounced joel or joel i think it's like for it pronounced Joel or Joel? I think it's Joel, like the first Joel.

Embiid from the 76ers. We're just going to go through his last seven games. 40, 14 and six assists, 42, 15 boards and three assists, 35, 13 boards, two assists, 41, 11 boards, five assists, assist, 35, 13 boards, two assists, 41, 11 boards, five assists, um, you know, 34, 10, 6, 38, 14, 3, 50, 13, 7. During that time, uh, the Sixers have been six and one, and he is mainly doing that while sitting out the fourth quarter because they're just destroying teams. And Philly is now the top point differential team by a pretty good margin. 11.3. They're outscoring opponents by 11.3 points.

Boston's in second with 8.6. Boston was always the king of that. Boston was always number one in point differential. So it just feels nice to be number one in point differential. And I don't know man he he's he's on one uh once again i don't people keep waiting for him to like fall off they're like yeah well this is you know he's at his peak so they really they really better like make some moves now because he's gonna his body parts are gonna start falling off of his body next year. But it hasn't happened yet. Knock on wood. Dame, we should talk about.

Dame's put up his last three games. My favorite player to watch while locked in, while he's in this type of zone. Last three games, 40 points, three boards, four assists, 39 points, five boards, 11 assists, 33 points, four boards, five assists. And Milwaukee is eight and two over the last 10 and second in the Eastern Conference. They seem to have figured out how to start working things together between he and Giannis. They seem excited to be playing together. It's fun. Things are fun in Milwaukee.

Things are fun in the NBA for the reasons we expected them to be. Like, all the good teams are starting to come together and be like, yeah, at least out east. At least out east. Out west, some of us are a little bit, we're still trying to figure it out. Still getting your footing. Yeah. And then, uh, but no, you're exactly right. Still getting your footing. Yeah. Yeah. And then Bankero, baby.

We're going to do a month-over-month comparison. He's like the Joe Burrow of the NBA. He's a slow starter who gets it going as he goes. October, 12 points a game, five boards, 44% true shooting percentage november 20.9 6.6 boards 58

true shooting december 26.1 points 8.1 boards 55 true shooting uh for a guy who just turned 21 years old. Pretty good. He might be good. Might be. We'll see. I don't know. Keegan Murray had a career night where he made 12 of 13 threes, which is good, I think. That's pretty good.

Scored in the 40s. It was the most threes by a player that young since trying to see what this guy's Kobe Bryant. Oh, yeah. I've heard of him. And speaking of Kobe Bryant. 18 years ago

today, Kobe outscored the entire Mavericks team through three quarters. Jack, did you ever see that game or did you see the clips of that game? I don't think I did, no. I watched it live and I can tell you. It's cliche to say it now because people just want to be different, but it was even more impressive than the 81-point game that he had just a few

weeks later, and specifically because he did it through three quarters. At the end of the at the end of the third quarter the lakers broadcast put ob 62 maverick 61 um bill asked him do you want to go get it he said nah i'll do it again pretty good bill gave him the choice said do you want to go do you want to go out there and do it in the fourth and you know go for 100 even he said no i'll do it again in three weeks later, here we were. Then he put up the 81, which is the second most still to this day? Yes, still to this day, 81.

But then again, there's no footage of that 100. So I'm just going to say 81 is the most. The most points we've ever seen scored in an NBA game we've ever seen. NBA game we've ever seen. It does go against what people are like, oh, Kobe was all about getting his stats. I don't know. Wilt was just out there doing that just through sheer... There wasn't anything fun about what Wilt was doing.

He's just walking down below the basket, holding his hands up, getting the ball thrown at the net, catching it, tipping it in. No, I actually don't know. I don't think I've seen a full game's worth of Wilt Chamberlain highlights. So all the old heads can get mad at me for that. But that is pretty... like watching him play, he looks like he's having so much fun. Kobe enjoyed playing basketball.

And destroying teams in particular. And specific teams like the Mavericks at that time. So yeah, that was a heck of a lot of fun. All right. Well, those are the stories. That has been another year in the books for Miles and Jack. I'm Matt Bustis. Thank you, Super Producer Jabari, for putting it together.

Thank you, Super Producer Brian Jeffries, for editing all of it together. And thank you guys for listening. You can follow us on Twitter. I'm at Jack underscore O'Brien. Jabari, where can they find you? i'm at jack underscore o'brien jabari where can they find you i'm at jabari davis nba make sure you follow miles at miles of gray yeah yeah and uh and then you can look for us hashtagging mad boosties is that what we hashtag it and uh that's gonna that's gonna do it enjoy the uh christmas games enjoy your holidays And we'll be back in the new year.

We will talk to y'all then. Bye. Peter. I'm Carrie Champion, and this is season four 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 Elf Beauty, 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 is 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. Señora Sex Ed is not your mommy's sex talk.

This show is la platica like you've never heard it before. We're breaking the stigma and silence around sex and sexuality in Latinx communities. This podcast is an intergenerational conversation between Latinas from Gen X to Gen Z. We're your hosts, Diosa and Mala. You might recognize us from our first show, Locatora Radio. Listen to Señora Sex Ed on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.