The Deep 3 Podcast - The Lakers Are A Broken Team...Here's Why | The Deep 3 Ep. 8

Episode Date: October 27, 2022

The Los Angeles Lakers are the worst team in the NBA and there's nothing they can do about it. Follow us on TikTok!: https://www.tiktok.com/@thedeepthree Follow us on Instagtam!: https://www.instagram.com/thedeep3podcast/ Isaac's twitter: https://twitter.com/byisaacg Muhamed's twitter: https://twitter.com/Mojo99_ Donnavan's twitter: https://twitter.com/Dsmoot3D Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I don't think we need to waste any time. We can just get right into the Lakers talk. They're a fucking disaster. And as you see, I'm a Lakers fan and I'm not having a good time. I'm having a great time. As a Lakers hater, I love this. This is fan. I love that for you, but I hate everything else for me.

I'm in the middle right now, man. I'm not a humongous fan of Lakers, but I'm a humongous LeBron fan, bro. I got, like, all of LeBron's jerseys in up on my wall right now, and I'm just extremely saddened and I just feel envious. Really mad Envious? Envious. No, not envious, my bad.

I used the wrong I used the wrong I'm jealous I'm jealous I'm jealous of people that root for competent teams That's what I'm jealous of I'm jealous for anybody

That doesn't have to watch Russell Westbro any two times a year I'm jealous of Russell Westbrook This man gets to be bad at his job And make $44 million I need that I need that in my life No on a real no I do feel kind of bad

For Russell Westbrook Because it's not his fault That he's generally washed up and he's got to be going through hell right now with the LA media cycle like it's got to be tough for him he probably is I try to feel bad but then I see the way that he talks

post game and it's so ugly and then and then I snap out of it and I'm like okay no when he's just dancing around questions and like some some reporter asked him what what Ham's message to the team was after after a loss and he was like oh you got to talk to him

he's like oh well yeah we actually skipped Darwin to come talk to you And he was like, oh, dang, that sucks to suck. Like, come on. Come on, man. That's the, that stuff actually makes me mad. In terms of the media, yes. But in terms of, I think he's generally a good guy.

All teammates vouch for him is being a really good person locker room. But to the media, yeah, he's always been pretty short and cold with him. Oh, no. He's for sure. All his teammates, like, for sure, vouch for him. We were talking to the other day. He's first team, all NBA make a wish. Like, they treat him.

Oh. That has been a crazy thing. So some of people are down on. Westbrook that there's so many people that feel the need to be contrarian probably because they used to love him so much and be like you're scapegoating him you're too hard to him he's not the only issue well he's a pretty fucking big issue when you're paying him 47 million dollars to shoot 8% from three so I don't think we had to go so far as to pretend he's not being terrible right now to take a two for one when you're when you're up at the end of the

game instead of holding on to the ball like yeah it's just it's small things that are big things and but like if you're the lakers and we'll spend this forward right they are they're honestly stuck like I don't know if there's anything oh yeah I don't know if there's anything that you can do because if you stick with LeBron and you stick with Russ and there's a whole iteration then obviously like nothing's happening you're not going anywhere

or you can completely blow it up but you have no picks to do it. Blow it up with AD. That's what they need to do. That's the hard cold truth. Blow it up with AD. That makes life so much easier, bro. It makes life so much easier.

You can take the hard route and try to grind it out and waste the time of LeBron and piss off everybody, bro, and fucking waste the two assets that you have left, or you can go ahead and be like, you know what, let's just

make some shake. Trade AD4, Lord knows what, I don't know. For what? That's the question. Don't ask me. Don't ask me. Do not ask me, right? I have to ask you, because everyone says that dumb shit. But all that does is guarantee LeBron's leaving next year. No, LeBron is... What deal is I'll say that's going to make LeBron a contender

better than Anthony Davis is? Like, there is none. You're just going to literally just going to decide. You're doing that is deciding that you're done with LeBron. And I think they should... I'm not even playing. I think they should seriously consider it. I think the Lakers should seriously consider being done with LeBron. How much worse can you be?

That's the real question. What are we talking about here? The answer is clearly get rid of Westbrook, get rid of those future picks and you can build a competent team around the, competent team around LeBron. LeBron's don't grow on trees. There's opportunity for a Lakers.

You don't just throw it away because there's a road right now. To win a championship, do you think that if they trade for Buddy Heald and Miles Center right now, that they are winning a championship? I'm not going to say anybody's winning a championship But are they capable of being a contender A top five team in the West sure They're not gonna be the favorite

I'm not gonna pretend that's the case I'd rather than be a top five team in the West And have an outside chance of winning it Then go back to being obsolete They don't even have their picks for the next couple years Like what are we doing? Exactly so that so that's that's my point is that if you are If you're the Lakers right let's say you trade Westbrook You trade those picks away and now you don't like

New Orleans has all the pick swaps in the world And then you won't have 27 you won't have 29. LeBron's gone in three years. Like he's gone in three years. Once he's gone and you have absolutely nothing, you are going to be in a terrible, terrible situation. And so just for the future of the franchise, it might be better long term to where you don't completely bottom out the next six years of your franchise. If like, listen, we're talking about getting buddy healed of Miles Turner. Like it's not it's not like we're getting another superstar and like that's the big thing is either way they're going to go into a rebuilding phase like what you're saying

is true but the 27 and 229 picks aren't going to make that not happen like if you're going to it's just a natural my thing is like I know what you're saying but real quick let me say this no matter what you're saying you're going to have to build but having the opportunity LeBron gives you a championship window if you just build a competent team around him it just has to be confident what you're going to be seeking with that rebuild is what you have for the next two years with LeBron James while he's still a superstar.

There's no reason you would ever give up on that. Yeah. I like trolling Isaac and I like making Lakers fans mad on the internet just because it's fun. But in all honest, in all honesty,

like you're better off with just staying with AD staying with LeBron. Now an idea that I toyed with on the Bleacher boy stream this is so left feeling of my mind but I'm like, yo, what if there was a case and scenario where, you know, a couple, I think sometime this week

actually, Dame Miller was like he toyed with the idea and he said, I think he said something about he saw a world in where he's not wearing Blazers jersey or something like that.

You guys, you guys, you guys are what I'm talking about like the part of it being a possibility in the future. Why do we keep asking Dame these questions?

Like he clearly, he says it every single year that he just wants to stay in Portland. Like, what's the point? My thing is, what if, you know,

there was a d. Swap? Would you do that, Isaac? Next year. Neither team would want to do that I don't think. I don't even see where the basis would be. What if the Blazers wanted

to abide by someone like Danny Mueller and pay him back for all his loyalty by granting whatever wish he did? That seems like a realistic scenario of my mind. It'll be a stupid one but realistic. No, I probably wouldn't do that. I mean, Dame's going to Dame's a small guard. As a Lakers fan, you want to do that?

Probably, okay, so I'm not going to overreact to AD being hurt for two years. He's still AD. It's been unfortunate, but it's an age thing really. Lillard is better than Dame. Right now, Lillard is better than AD but AD but Lillard's a small guard who's entering his mid 30s pretty soon like how many years do you have left before it kind of falls off for him how many yeah same thing could be said about AD though like no it can't I'm reacting sure but realistically he's still going to be

great for a while so how long how long real question how long does a player have to go before you say they're injury prone no 80's injury prone but okay a lot of people are we don't do this with Kauai Leonard we don't do this a lot of people like the only thing we act like It's because it's the Lakers, they have lost attention. We act like you can't have an injury-prone player, but you're playing to win. You're always playing for the most successful outcome. You're playing for the best-case scenario,

which in this case is being a healthy AD. And there comes with a high ceiling with that and a low floor. That's just what it is. But if you're the Lakers, like building around a 38-year-old LeBron James, who hasn't played a full season since he's been with the Lakers, and then you also have a brittle star on the other end, your core is extremely, extremely volatile.

Yeah, it is. It's unfortunate, but that's what it is. Either way, it's pretty hard. So in this scenario, maybe a dame swap is like the one case where you still have that high of a ceiling with less of a downside. Sure. We're doing a lot of assuming to think that's a realistic possibility. But think of every other possible trade you can make,

the ceiling is going to be nowhere near as high. And like you're saying, LeBron's hurt, so you've got to play for the ceiling. Because you're already betting on him being injury prone and you're hoping that he stays healthy. So if that's the case, you've got to just build for the best case scenario. Everything, first off, this is the entire Lakers, like this LeBron Lakers era is the weirdest era that I can remember because they have a championship. They got a championship out of it and the whole thing feels like a massive disappointment. Yeah.

Yeah, and I feel like I'm the only person who knows that, acts like that. Like everybody else acts like it's doom and wing like it's the end of the world. Yeah, because it's like first year missed a playoffs. After that, I believe they won a championship. Then after that, miss playoff, miss playoffs and might as well go ahead. miss a playhouse again, bro. So it's like, and one thing that's really irking my nerves, though, when I was on a fucking bleacher report stream, some fucking fan was like, yeah, LeBron hasn't done anything great

for the Lakers, like ever since he joined the Lakers all. He was one of those crayon eater kids, bro. What are we doing? One of those cranes. But one thing is, like, I think that a lot of people are not understanding the value of a championship. Like, they'd rather have three years or four years of maybe, possibly, or the thought of a championship, maybe may sound nice. rather than actually having a 100% chance to grabbing that thing.

And that's what LeBron actually did for a little bit or so. And guess what? Guess who else on the championship was just as instrumental as LeBron? Anthony Davis. Who's done more than the last three years? Anthony Davis or Kwai Leonard? Obviously, Anthony Davis. Who gets more shit on and called a brittle bitch with no backbone?

It's nothing that adds up to me. I think the reason why AD gets called brittles because like Kauai tore his ACF, right? if AD, I guess at this point if he tore his ASEA, everyone would be like oh, here he goes, but he's had so many just like minor injuries and it's just like, it's like every time you turn around, oh, it's something else, oh, it's something

else. With Kauai, it's normally just like one big thing that holds them out and you're just like So why do we not call Kauai unreliable? These are actually big deal injuries that can taneously happen. AD is unfortunate shit like somebody rolls into his ankle. You can say that. I'm not I'm not talking about Kuala. I'm not trying to say, I'm not trying to say that we just hold AD so much harsher of a lens that we do everybody else. I'm not saying

we should sit on Kauai. We shouldn't have anybody for being unlucky and getting injured. That's the point. Yeah. I'm saying I'm saying that if you're the Lakers, you have accomplished everything that you can. I understand why they like why internally you can't think that and why you can't operate that way from the outside perspective. They have accomplished everything that they can with this core. And I think that it would be a mistake to let LeBron come in and dictate you're the next six years of your franchise six seven years of your franchise knowing that you're going to have to go into a rebuild mode regardless and now you're not going to have the assets to go and do so so i think that for them if the if the ceiling for the lakers right now because obviously

they're one of the marquee franchises in the NBA you are judged by championships in los angeles if the ceiling for them is oh we're just going to be like kind of good and like maybe we get there maybe we don't blow it blow it blow it up you need to start over because that's that's not that's not we're playing here for we're not we're not playing just for fun like we're playing for championships and you're maxed out you're they still have a chance winning championship like what you're saying is like you're saying it's like outside looking in shit that's exactly what it is like if a team has a chance to be a contender would say the fifth best team in the west and you always have a punch your chance you have a duel that great you're gonna take that like what are we doing they they would

they're gonna sink their franchise though like they're not going to be in a good position Palinca has you really think the Lakers aren't going to be able to rebuild because they trade two future picks like the Lakers are going to be a star destination no matter what even when the Bronleaves are going to have Anthony Davis who I know we hate him he's still going to be an attractive piece for another star to want to play with you say that until you say that actually happens and then you get a situation where it's 2014 2015 and they can't get Lamarcus Aldris to take a meeting with them right you you get into a situation where we've seen this movie before with the Lakers and the movie ended with LeBron James

coming to town And that is LeBron James, right? Still in that point in his career, where LeBron and we're in the league's dynamic, where you can have like a singular player come in and instantly like, okay, I can get LeBron and four bums and we can go somewhere. I don't think you can tell anybody right now, oh, let me get, let me get ex player and four bums and we can go. I don't think that. Of course not. I don't think that that's the dynamic of the league.

LeBron is the only guy in the past, like, 10 years where that's, like, kind of the case. For sure, but we've seen it for decades upon decades that they do a slight rebuild, get the nice foundation, and then some star is going to want to come there because they're Lakers. Like, that's going to be what it is. Yeah, Isaac, you sound really at peace compared to every other Lakers fans that's on the Internet right now. They're going through hell. But you just accepted your fate in a few years, guarantee it. Guys like, fucking Jared Culver is going to be running the starting point guard for your team,

and it's going to be tumultuous. You're going to have Ryan, what's the name, Ryan Kelly or Ryan? Ryan Flai, I don't know. Ryan Kelly, that's yours, Robert, Sockwright-esque ears, bro. Like, it's going to be really tumultuous. Gogo Badate is going to be your starting center. It's going to be tough. It's going to be tough.

All right, well, let's move on a little bit from this, what's the doom and gloom Lakers talk. Welcome back to episode eight of the podcast. Today we're talking about the first week of the season and kind of going team by team and previewing, reacting to our first impressions of these teams. We got the Lakers out of the way. Maybe we can talk a little bit more about what their on-court realities are and why they suck. But we can also move on some other teams if you already.

Let's go somewhere else. Yeah. Yeah. One thing that I want to mention off the bat is Donovan. What's up? Ooh, you might be, you're going to be known as one of the biggest James Hardin haters. You're one of the biggest James Hardin haters. You're absolutely one of the big James Hardin haters.

You walk it with pride, bro. You have no shame when it comes to this. What do you think of his performances so far because he's been going stupid? No, he's played really well. He's played really well. And I think for the Sixers, like, um, Now, I told Isaac this the other day, because he, because he was, he was, he was, he was texting me. He's like, oh my gosh, like James Hardin. He's, he's back. I told you guys, it's game four, right? Talk

to me in game four of a playoff series. And that's where, you're one of those. You're one of those. That's, that's where James Hardin stuff, I'm telling you, we're going to get to a game five, game six, and everyone's going to be like, oh my gosh, listen, like, this is the moment for Hardin to step up and, like, do what he's, when we've asked him do for the last decade and he's not going to take five shots in the second half you know what i'm saying just just wait he'll be okay but he started off very well i'm going to give him props the sixers however look very it's just weird very skeptical bro i like i honestly think that james as a score needs to step back a little bit and i think that i think they need to give tyrese maxi a little bit more um offensive leeway because when I've looked at them for these first four games, their offense

looks very clunky. And whenever I see Maxi and all of us were kind of expecting like this leap from him, he doesn't look like he fits in the offense. He looks like he's still just coming in like a six man just trying to provide some energy, but it doesn't look like like there's no two man game with him and B. There's no two main game with him and Harding. It doesn't seem like it's a duo. It very much seems like, okay, it's the third quarter, it's seven minutes left. It's Tyree's smackty time now and then we get to a fourth quarter and he's kind of just out of it yeah their offense from what i've seen has no rhythm and i believe from this what i see like hardin has a ball in his hands a lot and i don't remember being like this towards the second half of the season when he

first joined and i think that now it's two things either a harder may think i don't think i don't think that he thinks he's that guy again necessarily he has to be that he he is that guy again the He's playing. Why are we framed this around Hardin? Hardin is not the problem right now. It's Doc Rivers. That's my thing. That's my thing.

He's the main issue. But as someone like James Hardin, like, as, yeah, no. The main issue is Embed is out of shape. Yeah. It's not even that. It's also supporting cast. Like, right now as a team, they're like 20th and rim volume. They're just not getting to the room at all, which is, to me, the biggest issue is creation

around James Hardin. You're saying it's Tyrese, isn't feeling a fit in the offense. He hasn't been playing that great. I'm sure. maybe he's maybe it's a fit issue a coaching issue but they need those secondary creator like Tobias Harris, Tyrese to generate more looks at the rim more often because right now

they're just relying on three point volume that isn't even going in that much like what are 18th and three point shooting but super high in volume yeah like it's it's just clunkiness like you're saying all around which I guess what you're saying is true that it hits a mix of hard and being back and demanding more usage and beat playing poorly like

they just need more time to jail I think their offense is going to be fine I listen I think I think that I think they're going to be fine as well because like they just have a lot of talent and like well they'll they'll figure it out right but i think my my idea in terms of figuring it out is is is this going to be like a james hardin centric offense is it going to be an imbid centric offense how are we kind of you know going to work on three is maxi really going to have the space to take that leap and for imbid he just has to get into shape because they're one and three right now they've lost two games

because joel and beat has been lazy yeah absolutely i don't know if it's lazy as kind of like a really just like negative way game one was lazy game one was lazy implies that he's like not trying hard enough but I think it's an out of shape thing because he's bad in the injury I think there's a difference there like it's not like um like a ethic thing where he's like doesn't care because he was lazy same thing okay either way we're minutia

but I think their offense is to be fine like I said their defenses where I think people should realistically be worried because we all thought they're going to be the best team or among the best teams in the east and going for that one seed they're 29th right now in rim defense Part of that is like we're talking about Embed is out of shape, but that's not good. Yeah. 29th with Joelle Embed on your team, bro.

That shouldn't happen in any scenario at any point. That's in rim accuracy. Let's see what they're at in rim frequency. They are, see, the thing is they're second in rim frequency. So teams aren't getting to the rim a lot, but when they are, they're not missing. So it's kind of a mixed bag there. Yeah, absolutely, dog. All I know is, like, one thing that I'm going to close see monitor, or something

also that I need to say randomly out of my head is like I really like back to the James Harden thing I do not want to see him average 28 29 27 like at max I want I'd like him to see I like to see him score somewhere around like 24 20 few points per game and that just goes back to like giving guys like Tyrese max specifically a lot more responsibility than he's holding right now because I feel like that just adds another another dimension to the offense and right now they're just playing just one way and it's all Hardin or nothing. That's what it seems like to me at least. Yeah, but it's also like what they need because things have been so like unjelled.

Like Hardin doing that is the only reason they're a top 15 offense right now. You know what I mean? Like we're talking about it as if the issue is Hardin won the ball too much. I think the answer has been hardening being able to handle the ball too much or as much as he has, not too much. Yeah. And like that, in the game against Milwaukee, he was the only reason why they were even in that game. Like he went crazy.

Yeah, exactly. in the second half and it was also very interesting to see him um kind of a like just adjusted to the defense and he was taking so many mid-range shots in that in that game and it was very it's very cool to see just like a different james harding kind of just like diversified his game um that that that game was very fun but like you're saying that was more out of like necessity and i don't like i don't think i think if hardin has to be the lead score on this team then obviously something's wrong because you have you have joel and bid right there and and and when whenever I was saying like lazy in terms of like that first game I'm I'm talking about you have

Al Horford gets into foul trouble early against the Celtics you have Noah Vonley and Blake Griffin on you and you're 7-1-270 like you need you need to go down and win that match up every single time right when like there were a lot of fast break opportunities that they had where he wasn't he wasn't running he wasn't catching the ceiling and it's it's like I'm not trying to sound like Shaq but like bro again you're 7-1-270 like you should be dominate in these dudes and so we'll see we'll see how he how he advances and like if that injury in the offseason that list rank injury that doc rivers mentioned is truly going to hinder him but like if if imbid's not there if imbiz not the number one option he's not playing like

it then yeah offensively they have a real real problem for sure but i think he'll get back in shape like we're talking about yeah i'm glad you brought up the transition thing because that's actually the biggest problem with their offense right now i'm looking at the numbers they're 29th in frequency of transition plays and just 25th in efficiency on those plays so they're really good when they're in the half court they're the fourth offense when they're there in terms of scoring efficiency but they're this is there way too much like to be a high level offense you've got to get out on transition a little bit because those shots are so efficient and so easy if everything is in the half court everything's going to be so difficult that it's really not sustainable

exactly they play so right now I'm looking at it they play at the at the slowest pace in the league the 30th in pace yeah and 95 95 so and that's typically what you get with the james hardened teams. That's not anything new. And Joelle and B is not the fastest player either. But, you know, it's got to be a higher bar than that. You can't be dead last. Unless you're shooting ridiculously efficient in the half court, like those old Rockets teams did. And that's not what's happened so far. Yeah.

That's absolutely. Okay. So, so we're all kind of like integrations that the Sixers are going to get back. Like the one in three start is kind of. Yeah, yeah. It'll be fine. At least offensively, I'm not worried about the offense at all, but defensively, they're not reaching the top two, three team in east unless they figure out how to make the rim defense better. And hopefully we'll, We can just sign that to Joelle and B getting more in shape. Okay.

Can we talk about a team that I actually am worried about? Yes. I'm very worried about the Brooklyn Nets. Yeah. I'm very, I'm very nervous. Okay, so tell us first off what your biggest issue is. Okay, so they can't guard anybody. They, they cannot guard anybody.

Right now, they're last in defensive rating, and they are three points worse than the second worst team in the league in terms of defensive rating. that's so pitiful Ben Simmons also has not looked like fantastic yeah no he's looked bad we can be honest as a big Ben defender I'm gonna say he's been bad

listen okay we can say he's been bad but we can also be fair in his context as to why he's been bad like both can be true yeah he looks like shit he looks very uncomfortable a lot of been made about the fact that he's not looking to score at all

he's like doing what he did with Trey Young where he's going up open layup and he'll pass to a teammate that's true clearly his confidence has not been there to find his own shot and he's kind of like trying to find his place in the team as a playmaker, not do too much.

But I think that's another thing that's going to come with time. People like Jamal Murray aren't looking great either because they missed a whole year with injury. We have to apply to Simmons the same grace we would to them. Just because his injury isn't so apparent like an ACL injury, he did miss a whole year. So like, he looks like shit, but he'll probably be back to his form eventually. Man, I agree with that, but at the same time, I disagree with that, bro. In my mind, I'm just like, bro, you had all this time off.

And you haven't been doing... That's not how that works. I understand But at the same time Like you have to have Just like the slightest curiosity And I may be like just jump in the gun or whatever But it's like

Yo what did you do this offseason? Recover from injury Like I get the whole recover from injury thing Like he had a serious injury thing He had like something wrong Something up with his back correct? Yeah

Yeah On top of the mental health stuff Is what it is Yeah I understand the mental health thing But like Yo like he's coming back as the same player but just like worse and I'm just like dude like I was damn near about to go ahead and hop on the Ben Simmons train because I was trying to like you know not be I was trying to be supportive of him and I still am and as I don't want to say I'm supportive because that's kind of wild to say on camera not a Ben Simmons supporter but it's just like it's such a letdown you're talking about how hard the nets were going to be to stop on on the offensive end.

Bro, talk about how hard we're going to be drawn right now. We're talking about how hard it is for them to stop anyone on the offensive end. And that's just so backwards. To be fair. Now, they are hard to stop on offense, right? Like, listen, there's seventh in offensive rating right now. With Ben Simmons being asked. Yeah.

So, like, the ceiling is there for them, for them to, for them to, you know, make that jump and be competent on both sides of the ball and actually, like, put everything together. But that's what we talked about before the season. We said if everything clicks this team can win a championship If everything like if a couple pieces don't fit If you're trying to put a square peg in a round hole Then this then this could be a bottom you know A second half of the conference type of team

And right now with at least on the defensive side That's what's gonna hold him back and that's what's gonna put by that Like I feel we we could have predicted that it would start slow in this way And that they obviously have defensive issues having no real good big rim protector Right now they're trying to make Ben Simmons see if he can be a small ball five He's never been a five Like, it kind of could have assumed it's not going to work, but they got to try it. The real answer is they need to get another five in there to play next to Ben Simmons.

When he gets up and gets more comfortable in his game, he can go back to being the DPO-wide level defender he can be. But even that player isn't a rim protector. That's not his role. It never has been. They need to find on the trade market, the buyout market, whatever it is. They need to find someone who's big and can block shots. But even then, did you think that they would be 30th? That they would be dead last through the first week?

No, of course not. But dude, did I think there was going to take some time for them to figure it out? And they're going to be a bad defensive team regardless. That I think they'd be really bad at first and probably get better throughout the season. Yes. Okay. Okay. But this bad, no, of course not.

Of course not. I think with Ben, like, obviously, that whole defense needs to get, needs to get fixed. I think it's very, very interesting because everybody's been saying, like, if he could just, you know, play the Dremont role, he'll be fine. He'll be perfect. He's literally playing the Dremont role. in my road. He won't look at the basket. He doesn't want to shoot at all. He's not trying to do any of that stuff. He at least

needs to get the dribble handoff fake in his bag. I need to see that from Ben. But yeah, I think is there a big out there right now? Like who's the first big that comes to mind when we're talking about the buyout market or the trade market that they can go and get to fix this?

Mo, do you have any names? I'll stop my head. There's nothing realistic for them. Yeah. So I don't think the names we need to focus and that because all the teams are going to be taking to the bottom this trade deadline, the deadline is going to be popping. So many people are going to be available you're not expecting. Like, think of a mediocre

team that's going to be asked. Like, Plumley off the Hornets. They're going to give them away for a bag of chips at the deadline because they're going to want to be asked the second half of the year. It's going to be guys like that who don't really think about right now, but they're going to magically become available because the team decides to go another direction. They're going to get a body. Yeah, exactly. They're definitely going

to, but on the defense event, I can't think of anyone who could leave who could have this who have that type of imp well they don't even have to have a major impact they just need to be okay and like damn near not passable but a bit better in the pastful for the no it's got to be competent yeah exactly and i think that alone would take them send them a long way but they're just so many names i'll stop my head but i can't think of like an absolute like perfect fit you know maybe the so he's also not a great defender but he's a decent maybe the timbrelars are going to trade noz read at some point he's their third string

center now and he's valuable it can be something like that like it doesn't have to be anybody super flashy like nausea isn't the best defender in the world but he's good to go ahead and turn around they season things are tough out there's i was just about to say they are cold season oh yeah bro the answer is mo bomba that's that's like the perfect scenario mo's rotting away in the bench in the magic like they just they resigned him basically yeah that is a great one actually that's a great one bro or if they strike out on all those guys and they're like yelp well we just at the very least they want to stretch five or whatever go ahead and try to go go throw something at Utah for fucking Kelly Olinick because that boy I was going to say that yeah hey is nice yeah

point is there's gonna be hell options out there for big men this trade deadline they just have to get one I get it really just has to be somebody that's decent listen they they need to do something because John Morant was John Morant by the way so disrespectful did the gritty right in front of Kevin Durant at the end of the game he's literally dancing in front of this man like if you're Kevin you you have to do something right like this can't this can't happen for 82 games no that's a good segue let's talk about the memphis grizzlies and more specifically jaw morant dude we just did a video last week we reacted we reacted to some bleach report rankings and they put him at 10th in the league

and i was like yeah it's solid i'd probably put my 12th or so listen i don't know if i do that anymore he's looks like he's transcending to the level that his biggest supporters were saying he's already at it's kind of undeniable now yeah exactly bro as a turn young fan you will not be seeing you on camera saying none of that like oh he's better than this just just as of yet because turning hasn't been formed anywhere near close to that level at all and the startum is just undeniable y'all ever seen that uh that Gucci bag meme where it's like about to tear apart yeah yeah that's like me and my try young argument bro like right now it's like i'm on my last strings right now bro i can't i look like a fucking jackass if i was say anything else other

than like yo the dude is literally incredible he's probably going to be uh top top top two point, well, Luke is a point guard, so top three at the end of the season. That's not crazy to say at all. Him and Damien Lur, like, yo, if you were to say, if you were to say, John Moran's better than Damler before this season start, you'd look like a fucking jackass. But now, if you were to say that, you would get 100% like credibility for that. True fair, Danes been great too. But yeah, do your point is correct.

Like, James, Joe's hit the level where he's going to be in the conversations with the best, the best pretty soon. And the defense is still an issue, but defense is an issue for a lot of high-level players. His offense looks to be so transcendent. He's just so impactful in the way he drives offense. And just the most thing that stands out to me this year, he makes something out of nothing. Like there was one player yesterday in the Nets game

where Trey Jones threw him a lob. Wasn't even a very good lob. It was kind of an errant pass. And John Morant just reached up and caught it and put it in the basket without even cocking back or anything. It was just like, how the fuck did he finish that? It was some Zion shit. Yeah.

He just makes something out of nothing consistently. Yeah, exactly. And a couple of games before that, he was playing against the Uson Rockets. And there were several blocks that's just like, how the fuck did you get there? And how did you jump that high to go ahead and get that? You fucking block Jalen Green towards the closing minutes of the fourth quarter. And there's just been so many moments where he's just like, he's like literally the smallest dude on the court out there nine times out of ten.

But he's having the biggest impact. He's the baddest dude out there nine times out of ten. It's what feels like it was. He's just different. It is, it's so crazy. Because even just like the way that he moves, man, like the way that like when he comes off of a picker roll, right? The way that he comes around it and just dark towards the basket is different. And at least early on this season.

And we saw it a little bit at the start of last season kind of tiled off. But he's shooting the three really, really well, right? Through the first four games, right? He's shooting 60% from three. Obviously, that's not sustainable. But if he's there and if that number gets to like, you know, 36 35 35 36 it's it's over it's it's over because I'm looking at some of his numbers now so he currently has the highest volume of pick and roll shots in the whole league right now so they're

just like he's usually just through the roof and he's not the most efficient in the league but he's still in the top 75th percentile and so some players like damian lillard are top volume and top efficiency they're just like pick and roll gods but it's pretty rare to be number one in volume and still have really high level efficiency to be able to be able to be able to able to do that just shows that you're able to drive offense on an extremely high level and even if you don't have your second best player you can just be constantly creating for others in a way that he has been and you just can't replicate that this man is a baby yannis he's a 6-3 yonis he's just going to the rent every single time and you you can't stop him right exactly there's not a lot

that you can do to get in his way and i and honestly the only time that that i see him like mess up is whenever he stops early and he starts to pivot but if he makes up his mind like oh i'm I'm going to get to the rim. I'm going to jump over you. He's going to get to the rim. And like that, that shot's going to get up. I don't.

Exactly. I think Memphis is in a really, really good position moving forward. Yeah, I was going to say that does this change how you feel about the team now that it seems that he's like hitting this next tier? Okay, how do you feel about him now?

I think they could be top two in the in the West. Wow. Top two. I think I think I think that they can be top two. I still, I still think Denver, I still think once, once Jamal comes around like,

and they hit the, their stride, I think Denver is going to go on a really long run later in the year. We have some stuff to talk about what Denver, but we'll get to that. Yeah, but keep on. I think, I think the Grizzlies, I think the Grizzlies are going to be top two in the West. There's a little, there's, there's a couple holes that I see in Golden State. There's a couple holes that I see in, in the Clippers early. And Memphis, they're just going to keep getting guys back.

They're just going to get, uh, Jerry Jackson Jr. back, right? John Moran keep, keep playing like this. If somehow we can get Dylan Brooks out of the franchise, right? Like we can They can just keep moving forward But I don't see any downsides To what they can do in the regular season There's nothing like this

If he's doing this on a nightby basis What do you? And we saw Desmond Bain Finally have his break-all game For the season last night Yeah damn your job 40 Looking like Clay Thompson That was fucking boss

I think you're kind of crazy For that Donovan There's nothing There's nothing You think I'm crazy for that I loved Just a little bit tough too I mean there's a two C last year

How crazy could be? They were a two-seed latcher, but I just feel like things are a little bit different, and I feel like because of all the talent that's coming back to the West, Kauai is coming back, the clipper that I fall outdoors now, Yolkich has help. The nuggets are, I mean, I said the nuggets. The pelicans are better. Hopefully the fucking, we're going to talk about the Timberwolf later, but you never know what the fuck they're going to be up to, bro.

Then there's still the Phoenix Suns. There's just a lot of talent there, and the Memphis Grizzies lost a little talent last, black over the past offseason and I'm not who they lose fucking what's his name oh Kyle Anderson yeah I'm like huge Kyle Anderson man bro

Santhi Aldama stand up he's he's kind of moving to the rotation as a pretty solid role player I think they're right wait but moat here's the thing on two of those teams I don't want to hear anything from you about oh the Phoenix sons are here because both you and I had the sons

in the play in tournament so that's that's one and then two And then with the Timberwolves, with the Timberwolves, both of us, neither of us had them in the top three or in the, or I think even in the top four. And so like, we talked about the Grizzlies being in the top four of the West. And now that the teams that we had ahead of them, like the Warriors, like the Clippers, if you feel the same way about me in terms of like, okay, there's a little bit of holes and like this Clippers thing is going to take a while to get off the. ground and you know because of like kawai and his load management and we'll see what the warriors do in the regular season like are they just going to coast and be ready for the playoffs there's an opening for the for the grisleys to make that run again and be a top two seed in the west

yeah but i only think that that's possible jaws consistently dropping fucking 30 bombs with insane efficiency and i don't know if he's going to be able to keep this up i don't know if he's Yeah, I mean, he won't keep up 46 points back-to-back night type shit. I mean, yeah, but like, all his shots are two feet away from the room. Like, he's going to be, it's going to be okay. Like, I feel very confident about, about his efficiency because he's faster than everybody else on the court. He can jump higher than everybody on the court. And his touch around the room is insane.

So one of the most impressive things that has blown me away outside of all this, besides this three-point shooting is his, like, free throw percent. Bro, he's getting to the line. like 10 times 10 times a game and he's a student of like I don't know 80 or 90% or something like that and that for John Moran is fucking huge and he's really getting this form down road that's what you got to do to hit that like 30 points for game type level score it has to be hit getting more free throws like that's always the winning solution yeah if he get if he maintains that level I you got it you got me is that dude in the Memphis Grizzlies are that team you know yeah he he's shooting 80s 86% for the free throw line right now which is yeah that's crazy that is

typically that's 3.1% what issue last year from the free throw line 70 some 77 I'm assuming typically free throw percentage is a pretty good indicator of shooting ability 76% last season yeah so if you made a leap in free throw percentage there's a good chance 3% of stuff we're seeing is going to stick around too yeah exactly that's a direct correlator of like just how good of someone's format the only player in like NBA in my mind who's like 3% is don't match up with their free throw percentage is like fucking Andre equal dollar and that's it yeah it happens sometimes but yeah yeah I think we can agree that jobs absolutely him he's

transcended everybody who was just like meat riding him talking about he's just the neck this god they were a little early yeah they were early but you know they they saw it and it wasn't hard to see but the people like us that just need to see it a little bit more we've seen it this is he is speaking about meat okay what a wild okay okay my bad

that was not a smooth transition yeah speaking about it was look it was smooth in my head speaking about meat I don't know if you guys

saw while car Anthony Towns was going ahead and kind of sending semi shots to Anthony Edwards talking about how some I thought that was fine he doesn't think it was funny

that he did nothing wrong with that pop eyes bro yeah well the comment to let's give him some context. What happened was in a post-game press conference, somebody asked Carlson Towns about Anthony Edwards conditioning because he had talked about it in his presser that it's not where he wants it to be. And Carlton Town just agreed that, yeah, it's not great right now. As a veteran leader, I should do a better job of preaching to him to take care

of your body. And Aunt had made some jokes about eating Popeye's after the games. And Cat said, I don't think that's funny. I think that type of shit is not okay. And people hate cats, so everyone's up in arms about it. Yeah. No, in my mind Not a fan I don't think that you are supposed to I don't think you're supposed to do that To the media

I don't think you're supposed to I don't think that you're supposed to take shots And especially is it a shot It is a shot It's a shot and it's a criticism And if you are talking about I'm coming from the veteran perspective And I have to help the young dude out

That's a conversation that you need to have In private it and that that needs to be something that's handled in the locker room and I just I just didn't think that it was right for Kat to say that publicly I think I think that that's 100% right I think I think I think you need to be on top of your body I think like that's probably right it probably does does make him mad but like you need to handle that one-on-one and we shouldn't know about any of that beef especially if it really makes you mad and cat was coming off as like oh yeah like I'm really upset about this talk to talk to talk to and with four games

into the season talk to aunt privately and then you can go from there that's that's my biggest problem with it aside from the locker in politics about how we're feeling let's talk about their actual on the court product because well i don't really give a shit about that there's some real criticisms to this team right now especially to car on anthony towns yeah so let me know what y'all's first impression of this team is right now you can see you can see the cracks and i think you can see you can see what's going to happen in the playoffs and all of the concerns that people had coming into the season about the fit, they are showing up. And so, like, you still have Gobert at the rimmy.

He's going to go and he's going to defend everything. But that means that cat's going to be on the outside and he's going to have to, he's going to have to play perimeter defense. He hasn't been great doing that. And so once that happens, when you start matching up against those good teams, that can go small. Not even good teams. You're going to get right out.

Right now, they're a good team. but they're the best team right now they respect lot of marketing crazy but like that it's just so crazy that rudigo bear's team went ahead and knew how to go ahead and put that man in the motherfucking blenner that had that they had that man running around the court bro looking like a lost dog and fucking car anything challenges left there's five out of them so you couldn't do what he's good at yeah exactly and like bro it's just like this is just my thing with rigo but he's cool as a player i don't want to say i love him like he was cool as a player but

I just I on top of like them already starting off which is normal it just looks way worse because like they have these like everyone they do have these cracks that everyone thought that they would have yeah well I see what you're alluding to the issue right now I'm not gonna pretend

that he's the problem right now oh yeah it's not really yeah it's not just cat it's also Anthony Edwards Anthony Edwards Anthony Edwards has played like shit for multiple games and he's said in the press conference that the smaller replay the better it is for me He's clearly having a hard time struggling to their new offensive system and, like, the spacing they have and the way you've got to play with the bigger team, he hasn't done a good job adjusting to that. And maybe you could say he never was going to have a good job of that because this team isn't as conducive to him anymore.

And that's an issue with the team building. But end of the day, if this team is going to be where everybody thought it could be, it's because Anthony Edwards makes that leap that everyone assumes he was going to make. And if he can't do that because there's a big on the court with him, that's an issue. Okay. So break down real quick, right? What does Anthony Edwards have to do offensively? Like, what's going to have to change in the Timberwolf system when you have those two bigs out there

and, like, what's the adjustment that he's going to have to make? He has to, in my mind? Yeah, yeah, for both you all. In my mind, he has to go ahead and start trying, or he starts taking steps to becoming more of a proactive passer, meaning, like, just don't make the obvious point-blank decisions. Try to jump the gun and be a couple steps ahead of the defense. And on top of that, I think you just need to become a better shooter point of that period,

or at least some more consistent shooter from the period. Yeah, those things are both true objectively for him to hit that next level. In terms of being more specific about the issues right now, one, it is the conditioning thing. He hasn't been in great shape. He's kind of burned up for the end of the year and the games. He's been kind of burning out. Yeah, I think it came out that he weighs like more than Carlton City Towns,

but, yeah, he's not playing fair to see. That's fine. That's fine. It happens a lot of people coming out of shape. That'll be fine. like most things you're talking about, it'll work itself out. The big adjustment he has to make is learning how to, like Mo said, passing and also learning how to finish when you have this type of spacing because now there's basically always going

to be somebody in the dunker spot or somebody posted up on the other side of the court. So those driving lanes that he's one's looking at are just a little bit tighter. Those passes he has to make are just a little bit tighter. And he just has to adjust to being able to make those type of reads because they're not always harder, but they're just different. Yeah. So much more different. It's so much more harder.

He had a luxury. No one else in the NBA as, bro. They got to play with the greatest shooting big in NBA history. Yeah, he has so much space. Going from that to like Rudy Gobert, big ass and standing in the paint in the dunker spot, just chilling. It's a huge difference and I don't, like, they're going to struggle at first. You're going to struggle at first. I don't respect to go ahead and make that adjustment until maybe like 30, 40 games of the season.

I could really fuck out. How is I don't know. I don't know, bro. Maybe. But see, one thing I think we should say is we're talking about the lack of spacing now. The spacing isn't bad. Like, I can look at what their shooting is as a team. But the problem isn't that having that big makes it so you have bad spacing

because, like we're saying, Kat is one of the best shooting bigs of all time, so he can be out spacing on the perimeter and shoot. But the problem is right now he has to get used to doing that because he's so used to, like, you know, playing inside-centric and then popping out out but really focusing on being in the post, he has to get more used to doing that. And even if you have someone like Obert inside, you can be like, you know, four out one in and still have elite spacing. We just got to prioritize the fact that it's,

Not that it's worse now, which is very different. Yeah, exactly. And for someone like fucking Anthony Edwards' teammate, DeAngelo Russell, like this is a perfect basketball for him. Oh, he's cooking. Like that, he's having a good, I don't think he's having a great season. I'm too crazy stats, but I'm sure that he's having a much better, not much better, but I'm sure he's going to perform way better with Rudy Guerr on the team.

Simply because it's another offensive threat and he's a product of faster and not one of the best passes in the NBA, but he's definitely one of the better passers. is in here. Yeah. Right now the Timberwolves are 21st and three-point volume, but 28th in accuracy. So the spaceing isn't good right now. They have to have the shooting around Gobert to make it so they can still have that, like make his rim threat matter more because you have spacing around him and they haven't had that yet. Which what is cat shooting himself? I know he has not played well. So so while Isaac looks that up moat, have your feelings about the Timberwolves changed from the first week? Like, does your outlook on on what their season looked like has that changed the outlook on yeah i want to say yes but could this be a reaction i don't fucking know that's the thing i'm going to go ahead and just say yes i think

we may have jumped the gum just a little bit on the seawals and their issues there may be a little bit more deeper than at least i thought myself you probably called it out on the money right there and you're now that's what to happen for me i i think i had them what fourth or fifth or something like that on my watchstands i'm looking at right now i have him fifth and i think that a lot of teams are going to expose them and really just straight up like attack cat and have the royal game yeah i i probably also jump again a little bit i'm not surprised of this because obviously you're playing it too big it's a whole new system it's going to take time to adjust which is kind of you know a running theme but we're talking about with all these teams that's

not surprising but i'm less confident they're going to be able to adjust super fast now i think there might be a little bit more of a loading period that I think I had them before as well. Maybe it's going to be more like five or six because they have this low start. I still think by the time it gets to end the season, they'll be at this high level regular season team. They're going to hit that. It just might take a little bit longer anticipated. Yeah. Just because there's so many different adjustments from other players going on like Daniel Russell cool, but Rudy has to, you don't really have to adjust.

But Carinthini, your two best players have to make major adjustments. That's the biggest thing. So how many, last year, Katz shot 4.9, 3 point shots. the game. How many do you think he's shooting this year now that he has to be more of a spacer? With the way you ask that question, I'm going to assume that he's shooting around the same or a little less than that when he should be shooting like nine or eight a game. Oh, nine's crazy, but yeah.

I'm going to say, I'm going to say four, four point three. You think he's shooting less now? No, no, he's shooting a little more. He's shooting 5.5. Okay. But he's shooting 31% from three right now instead of the 41 he shot last year, which, you know, that's just variance. That'll come around.

Yeah. But yeah, he hasn't been the space here he needs to be because like when you're watching them, you can clearly tell that they're having issues with him up kind of trying to hold the same part of the court that he did last year. Sometimes he's posted up and Goberra's on the other side of the dunker spot. And it's just not great modern offense. You know what I mean? Like he needs to play more from the high post from the perimeter. And he just hasn't gotten used to it yet. It's very funny.

I need to look at what their schedule, what the upcoming schedule looks like. Because the first four teams that you would have played, you would have thought that they would have gotten off to a faster start. you play Oklahoma City twice, you played San Antonio, and you play the Jazz. You play three teams that are supposed to be in the victor sweepstakes, and you're two and two right now. And so it's going to be really, really tough. Once that schedule comes around and they, once they hit like that 10 game run, where you just have to play a playoff team after playoff team, that's going to be rough.

That's going to be rough. Let me look at what their schedule looks like for the next five games. Yeah, it's got to be some correction because those are fucking. supposed to be four easy licks. Yeah, exactly. But then again, as we know, no, the Jazz and even the Spurs now, the 3-1 are not easy licks by any means. Okay.

So they have, so they're next, these are the next five games. Spurs, Lakers, Spurs, Phoenix, Milwaukee. So they still have, their schedule is still low-key front-loaded, right? Yeah. So it's going to be tough. Once that All-Star break hits and we get to the second half of the season, they're going to be in murderers' role on the schedule and it's going to be very, very tough.

So hopefully by then, they're formidable. That's what I'm saying. Hopefully everything has come together for them, but it's not looking good right now. And I think I have a lot of concerns with them that are actually like, they've manifested themselves very early. So we kind of know what's about to happen. Yeah, this is the team that of all these struggling teams

are making big adjustments. This is the one I'm like the most seriously concerned about, I think. But hey, first in rebounding. like they're doing that well if we're talking about teams that are first i think we should talk about give the portland trail lists they're just due they've been such an impressive team so far i don't know how impressive they are in terms of like their outlook for like being a real contender or not but they've been handling their business the whole idea of building around damian the lillard by giving him long fast athletes on the wings that can go out there and run the court and just

surround him with the type of speed he's never played before that's been paying his dividends I think listen Anthony Simons is nice and I had a couple I had a couple concerns and like I just wanted to see it on on the floor in terms of what their dynamic looks like playing off of each other and they have no problem playing off of each other Simon's went for 22 points in eight minutes against against the minutes completely took over he hit the game winner in overtime against the Suns like that you have two guys. who can who can again create and it's so nice because simons is more explosive than the mccullum was and so like like you were saying you can just get downhill a whole bunch and it's it's working the problem is he's a cone on defense though but what are you going to do yeah this mcclum he was good he was like cone plus right tried hard he was just little yeah but i think i think that having having having them to a print and then the fact that you do you have a jeremy grant in in the front

court that can that can kind of handle a lot of things listen shout out to them shout out to them because i easily thought like that they were probably going to start off one and three and we were going to have those like dame conversations of oh does he want to be here should they trade them this and that yeah they they're going to be they're going to be solid they're going to be we should talk about dame a little bit too because dame is fucking back i got like so much slack in the off season and all these fucking YouTube shorts comments about people saying I'm crazy for having Dame as a top 10 players still like just short term memory loss it was stupid he's he's still him like what are you doing talk your shit talk your shit yeah dame is dame he still never stopped being dame he's just

injured he had a he had a he had a slow game he had a slow game one he was 5 for 18 against the king since then 41 41 31 31 5 for 12 from 3 6 for 13 from 3 4 7 from 3 he's he's right now he's 50% from the field 40% from from three point line let me see if he's at 5040 90 to start the season yes he is yes he is yeah i love to see it he's that i'm not even a trail buzz i'm not even particularly dame fan i just hate overreaction in every context and i don't know why people were writing him off it was especially with someone like dame miller what his game is not necessarily predicated to like insane explosion or athleticism or anything like that now yes he does use those things to his advantage But, like, it's not nothing crazy like a Russell Westbrook or John Wall or anything of that nature.

Speaking of all, like, guards coming back, this is a perfect time to go ahead and talk. We talked about the Blazers just slightly briefly, but I, bro, seeing John Wall just coming back against the Los Angeles. He cut on Damien Limiton for John Wall. Yeah, yeah, bro, I'm sorry, but I, like, I'm from Atlanta. But, bro, I was born in North Carolina and John Wall was too, bro. I just, John Wall, gang sign John Wall, he just has a special heart place in my mom. heart, bro. He's over here, dugging again, hidden so many jumpers, bro.

Absolutely. I think the biggest thing with John Wall, we saw, especially in the Lakers game, it's just the confidence he's playing with. Like, he was, like, talking about all the off-season and, like, I'm going to be the playmaker. I know my role in this team. He got out there, mid-range shot, mid-range shot. He was throwing the bitches up, and he was feeling it, you could tell. Screaming, showing so much passion, bro.

I'm just like, yo, nothing makes me happy. Nothing is making me happy right now because this dude, was over here talking about some I was planning to not planning but he was going through some really deep dark thoughts yeah yeah in that nature now he's like he's literally the missing piece for the clippers bro he's back yeah

and talk more specifically about what his game looks like now he's not old John Wall he can't jump anymore he's not like the insane athlete he used to be but that man is still fast and his ability to push the pace and like we're talking about the playmaking it's not even just a passing he's the best passer on the team they needed that but it's the penetration Their whole team was so predicated on just guys like Paul George and Kauai who are good athletes, create off the dribble, but mostly have jump shots.

They don't really get to the rim that much. Him being able to bend defenses and just create penetration, make the defense rotate, get the ball moving is going to be so valuable to them, especially in their closing in lineups. They now have four guys in that starting lineup that can, that can like legitimately, like that he's up the bench that you, that you trust, right? In the finishing lineup, right? like he's yeah like they have they have four guys now and i think that like like especially in this early part when kawai is going to be doing this like load managing stuff and so it's weird because the clippers they're the two and two and i think for a team that we thought was going to be the number one seed this is kind of low key like a slow start um no one ever talk shit about the clippers

bro like i i didn't i didn't i didn't predict them the number one seed because i knew this would happen like they're going to have a lot of games that they're just they're not going to the record isn't be indication of their quality as a playoff team because their stars are going to be resting so much. So I think this is kind of to be expected. They're not going to be a 500 team. They're going to eventually pick it up. But they're going to this is going to happen a lot. Yeah, my bad, Darwin. Get in your bag. No. It's all, it's all good. I just think, like, for the entire, like, essence of why we think that the clippers are going to be really good is because of their depth. And the fact that we're not getting like Houston John Wall where we're like,

oh, he's, he's like clearly watched and we're getting a better version of that. I think that heightens what we thought of the clipper steps that we already thought was amazing right so so yeah for sure so once you get once you get into the playoffs and like projecting this out because with the clippers that's kind of all you can do because because go why is still coming back projecting this out you have him and you have him Norman Powell uh we can talk about him he's been fucking shit yeah he's a guy needs to get it together he look at us that lines he shot two for eight four for nine, one for ten, and two for eight from the field in these four games. He'll be fine.

He'll be good. Yeah, he'll get it together at some point, but he's been fucking dog water. But a question I have is that now seeing how John Wall is playing, Isaac, looking back at it a year ago, I feel like there's conversations about potentially doing like a John Wall for Russell Westbrook swap. As a Lager's hand, looking back at it now, would you do that shit? No, it's not the same thing. I mean, John Wall's been good. He's back to being him. Did he trade?

You wouldn't have... No, he just fooled for this team, but it wouldn't have been one-to-one. They needed picks from the Lakers, and John Wall is not that good to where you're willing to give up future picks for a one-to-one swap. Like, if they had John Wall, they'd still be asked. Like, they wouldn't be as destructive as they are this year with Russell Westbrook. Like, I would rather have John Wall one-for-one right now. Just because, like, the interpersonal dynamics, Russ is not adjusting well to this role.

John Wall would probably adjust better. But would I give up future picks to make that swap? No, they still would have been a bad team. If you're going to give up these future picks, you need to have something that moves the needle. Okay. okay however so he's been good yeah all right so so you so you so you don't want the lakers to give up picks you don't want them to go give their picks to all these other teams that are stockpiling picks like the Utah Jazz who are somehow three and one right now

shout out to him we need we need to talk about we need to give the Jazz some love we need to yeah we need give them some love he had a bad game last night but Lowry marketing is looking like he's gonna make one those random all-star games from players who just have like a one crazy year like julie randall for years ago he's playing on that level where it's like why is he doing this night in and night out this is larry freaking marking it we've seen him for four years be mid as hell how is he doing this dude sometimes you have usage on a bad team that happens if i was a chicago bulls fan like on the low key i'd feel so sick to my stomach just two young players who a lot of bulls fans that were going to be really damn good just

go ahead and flourish not on good teams but still like flourish and elevate their career and the status is a pure guy. I was like Wendell and now Lorry Row. But going back to the Utah Jazz, this is just like a team of just like unwanted pieces from just about every team in the league is what it feels like or whatever. And they're just like making it work and they're like this moving genuinely purely as a unit

and it's like kind of hard to play against them and it's hard to play against them from it because like no one takes them seriously. And also too, like you don't know where you're going to get it from. It could be fucking Larry marketing. It could be Mike Colleeny doing something. Jordan Clarkson is coming off the bench.

Yeah, Klingo Linnick. And out of all the players, I thought Colin Sexton was going to get a lot of burn, but it turns up he's not getting as much of burn as I want, or at least I thought he was because they'll give it to you as well. It's just coming from everywhere, bro, everywhere. So. Yeah.

That's something the Colin Sexton thing is like injury recovery. Like they're like, you know, he missed a year too. Like we forget it with that. Like, he's just getting back into it. Probably out of man's restriction that it hasn't been publicized. But yeah, like you said, it's just full. team effort. They play like a five-out offense with Olinick and Lowry as your big. Sometimes Lowry

and Vanderbilt, they have so much ability to just, if they're playing a team that isn't disciplined on defense and isn't locked in because they think it's a lick, they can abuse you because their offense can be so potent with these guards that can just, like Jordan Clarkson, who just get mixing and Creight off the dribble with all this basing. They're just dangerous tonight, like you said.

Yeah. Shout out, Utah. All that being said, this isn't going to last that long, so let's enjoy it while it's here. Oh, yeah. But Lowry marketing isn't KD actually, but it's nice to see. This is the best case scenario for jazz fans because they can get a little bit of happiness at the start of the season. And then once they start losing games, then they're right back into the big sweepstakes. So they can have both this season.

That's the best case scenario for them. When they trade Lowry marketing because he's doing too well, then things get back to what we're going to expect them to be. Exactly. Yeah, exactly. In my mind, this is the best, this is the like number one sweet spot to be in as an NBA fan. you don't have any real expectations and also just looking forward to the draft. But anything else that you get,

slight as good performance, your night is made as a fan. Yes. I think that's all the main teams. We got to talk about this week. We can save some for next week's episode. But it's been a good first week of basketball. I think generally, the season's been good so far.

I know some of the past few years, the first couple weeks have been like ass. I think last year the scores were like the highest they've been in decades. There's no defense being played. So far it's been good quality of basketball. It's been great, bro. I've been seen the Atlanta Hawks play back.

ball even though they just got that ass clapped by the fucking charlotte hornet and gordon here with that stupid ass haircut ski mask taros yeah baggy shorts that I'd say again he had that super baggy shorts for no reason Gordon Hayward it's been great bro we can talk about the Hawks have been interesting like look we're seeing the vision we're seeing the vision with Dejante Murray like you're seeing how like they can fit do you right here like there's there's enough ball to go around to both of them yeah but like they haven't been perfect you could tell there's still some holes there like it's weirdly enough like they've been a great defensive team like top 10 in defense but like a really mid offensive team despite having to like I think they have

like the two assist leaders on their team which is really weird yeah my thing you want to talk about why that is yeah my thing the 22nd offense first off I don't like Nate McMillan as a I don't love him as a head of him never really did but you know we might as well do do with what we have the masses but for my thing for my thing is what for Trey young he hasn't played with someone who's damn near on his old for a very long time it's like AAU high school days on his level yeah you're a stretch just you're ready okay I see I was that a stretch I'm like Like, when I say on his level, like, similar enough place. I know what you mean, I know, exactly.

So like, it's hard to balance that while also learning how to expand on your game without having the ball in your hands and balancing out just the natural playmaking instincts. There's times where I'm like, what the hell is this dude doing? He's not being as aggressive. And other times where I'm just like, yo, like he's not like swing that thing a couple more times. And he's just sometimes like the offense just feels real clunky, real clunky. one of the main reasons he also hasn't been shooting the ball ball at all which is like not going to happen in a couple weeks from now that's the issue's going to fix itself but i think just

train is just trying to find his pace and his rhythm it all starts and ends with him but uh i'm really happy we have right now i think all those issues will solve itself over time gandre hunter has been really damn good for my expectations for him he got that pretty good contract and john cons has been fucking stellar bro john is yeah you're real good like all the hawks fans saying oh, Tray John Collins look like a goddamn They look idiots right now And Dejante Murray is doing exactly what I thought DeJontan Murray was going to be doing

And one of the most underrated aspects That he's brought to the Atlanta Hawks Is how many deflections that he That he causes And just the disruption with his long-ass arms That he just naturally is He just straight up chaotic, bro Like, because of him

I noticed the Atlanta Hawks going They're just like They're more of a fast-paced team in transition You know, we have a lot more options And our offense is a little bit It's a lot harder to predict now You can't just face up all on Trey Anymore because it should just won't work

Because we got another we got another We got another playmaker Andizant Marie who can dish it out And swap it up to any Their eighth in pace right now Yeah exactly Pace is crazy now And it's mainly because of the transition offense

I didn't look at any stats But this is what I'm just all off the note Something that we've been really struggling with though Is the three point shooting Again, Trey has a lot to do with that But also, like, losing Kevin Herder And not having Bogdong on Bogdanovich That man's knee maybe

Yeah, that hurts like shit I was going to say something about that Yeah So I feel like I'm We're seeing that So like obviously we're kind of seeing the clunkiness Like you're saying And that's kind of why I told her it was going to happen

We're having two people that need the ball In their hands for the most part But I'm a little bit encouraged Because in terms of the touch distribution It's kind of been like Trey Young hasn't missed a beat in terms of how he touches he has The types touches are different

but we're seeing that there was enough touches there vacated by Herder and Bob Don that Dejante can kind of just take those and everything can go business as usual But like you're saying the spacing is pretty different when you have those two great shooters versus Dejante who is okay at best So I guess balancing that and figuring out how to maximize Dejante's touches and surround him But shooting outside of that is going to be the big puzzle piece We legit to start off the season last year we had three It was a white boy summer a couple years ago bro

Like we legit had Danilo Gellonari Bogey was healthy Kevin Herder And everyone else Like it didn't really matter What they did But those three

Literally knocked down snipers Helped a lot And now we don't have We lost every single One of those guys And our best shooter Outside of Trey Young right now Maybe John Collins

DeAndre Hunter And then after that It's a fucking rookie AJ Griffin And Mickledud Bigmillon Don't like to be playing rookies So it's just like

It's tough right now It's a tough scene And best case scenario Either A Like boogie comes back and gets healthy and now we're going to be we're going to be damn near finished products or a j griffin goes ahead who's a rookie 18 years old goes ahead and steps in a little bit more but that's just like that's so up in the area so what you're telling me is is that the team is no it sounds

like it sounds like we're good i might be i might be right no that that's no yeah but who'd you be you beat you beat houston and you beat some other bottom brother we know we're supposed to do the magic dang yeah yeah okay okay you did you didn't i know but oh i know you're going to pull this shit on the podcast. Orlando made that game very, very close. Oh, absolutely. That's his palo's him. Yeah, yeah.

Exactly. So, okay. Let's get this in TikTok segments. I think, I think that's, I think that's all that we have, right? Let's get these TikTok segments because the, the first TikTok I want to do is similar to the conversation we've been having.

So, let's jump right into it. I'm a list of NBA teams. Y'all let me know if you're buying or selling their stock after one week of the season. Let's do it. The Lakers. Selling. I am buying

I've been sold mine though I don't have it's low I'm buying I think I'm I think I'm buying because like you're saying the defense is elite and the value is so low right now I think they're gonna trade Westbrook

sooner rather than later so I'm gonna get in early once they trade him they're gonna be a solid team this man is doubling down gonna lose all his money yeah it's a scary bet right now they're pretty fucking horrible

so I'm not super confident you know I'm on this team in February when Westbrook is on this team in February is not gonna be fun Oh, God, I'll vomit. I'm buying it for pennies on the dollar right now. I got to. Yeah, exactly.

Okay, the Nets. I'm buying. I'm buying. I'm buying for sure. Yeah, the offense is, the offense is already working. Like you talked about, there's going to be a buyout market for them to go get bigs. Ben Simmons is going to get a little bit more acclimated in this defense and just in this team in general. The ceiling is there for them.

So I'll buy. I'm not going to fall for the, for the regular, early, regular season overreaction I have to buy I have to buy they're just two talented bro yeah Ben Simmons has so much time off he could just only up from here he's not going to be playing this scared forever yeah exactly I guess I hope not he's gonna average seven points per game for the entire season watch him come back I hope Matt he's gonna keep following out every game yeah yeah okay no way you buying or selling the 76ers I'll buy I'll buy but I'm not buying a lot I'll

I'll buy two stocks. I said, I'm not buying a lot. Yeah, I'm not, I'm not. I just, I already had a lot to start the season. I can only sell. I'm holding, but maybe I'll sell a little bit. Damn, sell it a little bit? I am concerned about their defense.

The offense is going to be fine, but I'm a little bit concerned about the defense. Dude, just don't, you shouldn't sell just because Joel and B just put on a couple pounds. I'm keeping mine. True, true. Yeah, you're right. He'll come back and get to his normal self eventually. I will buy a little bit.

That's it. Damn, 30 burgers from Hardin and enough for you, you are a toxic man. No, it's championship or bust for them. And so if they win a championship, like, that's the only time I'm actually, no, I'm going to buy. I think no matter, Joel and B is going to get back to being who he is, the fact that we see that Hardin is at least resembling, now that we see that Hardin is at least resembling his old self, eventually they're going to get both the same time. They're going to be great. Yeah. You know what, I'll sell you my stock.

You can have much. I don't want it. I don't want it. I don't want it Okay Are you buying or selling Timber Wolf stock? So selling

I'm selling it I don't see the vision for them long term In the playoffs I think it's going to take Too long for them to get going And you already know I don't like Rudy Gaubert I don't like cat

I don't want to hold on to this stock Like no I'm out I'm gonna sell because at first I wasn't high on them I kind of convinced myself They're gonna be a regular season juggernaut and I bought a lot of it, I'm selling it.

I'm back to being pretty concerned about their long-term fit. I'm, sheesh, that leaves it all to me. I can't sell because y'all sold, so I'm just going to go ahead and keep. I'm not going to buy any more. I'm just going to keep, bro, because they're just too risky. Yeah, I'm a hold. I'm a hold, bro. They're just too risky of a gamble, and I don't want to put that much into someone like

a car 90,000 who's proven me wrong every single time that I've been on. I'm good. that's funny what about the pelicans oh i'm buying i'm buying give me every yeah give me everything in the vault i need it they look yeah it's it's hard enough to be high on them i would i had them in like the playing range i had them like i went back and forth and are they going to be like the 7c type thing they still might be because there's so many good teams but they could very well be the 4th or 5th seed it won't be shocking um i'm buying as soon as soon as i on's uh soon as

soon as he gets back oh they're they're eden yeah yeah They're going to be filthy. Regardless of whether or not Zion is healthy on a consistent basis or not, they're still going to be great regardless, though. Okay. What about the Trailblazers? I'm going to let you know. They're great.

I'm selling high. I'm selling high. This is the best and most cohesive. The Blazers are going to be all season long. We're going to get to a point where they're going to lose three out of six, three out of seven. And I guess that's not that bad. But they're going to lose. going to lose some more games and so i'll sell it right now i still think they're going to be a good

team but they're so good right now they're number one c this this can't last they're making the playoffs though they're they're making the playoffs yeah i can see that they're going to be a playing team yeah i'm definitely selling mine as well okay i can see that but i'm saying they're going to be succeed yeah yeah yeah i can see that but me personally i think i'm going to go ahead and sell them on a high note not sell them with any like fear or worry that there's and burn out and crash because I already know what they are. This is a good storyline. Like you said, they're going to go ahead, do their thing.

Maybe first months of the season, they're going to be like, oh, top four seed. And the next thing you know, it isn't going to come down, crashing and burning, and then they're going to lose, like, fucking, seven out of the next 10 games. Yeah. Okay, that's all the teams I like that segment. I think we're going to run that one back a few more times. Oh, for sure. Easily.

Yeah. I like the buying or selling verbiage as a big fantasy player. Yeah. What's next? What's next on the docket? We have one more segment we're due. Not doing a whole lot today. Actually, yeah, let me probably just is one last one.

Yeah, so much to get to. Okay. Which NBA player has disappointed you the most so far this year? I am going to go with Kyle Lowry. Kyle Lowry. I was... I was... I was...

Listen, I was cap-informed in the off-season because the same grace that we were giving James Hardin, I was trying to extend the same thing to Kyle. Lowry he was very he had a lot going on last season I thought listen you give him a full another like full all season to get healthy being that Miami uh being that in that Miami organization he can get right he's not looked good and he looks yeah looks washed right now and for them especially because PJ Tucker left right you need Kyle Lowry to help advance that half goal offense so that it can overtake the defense that they could be like that that could be the split and it just hasn't

happened yet and so now you have a really really big contract and your point guard is not playing well so I'm really really nervous about my Miami prediction going forward yeah I mean I could say Russell Westbrook as a Lakers fan but yeah I can't be disappointing if I had no expectations you know what I mean so I think I got to go dwell in Bede you know their own three he's going to be fine but right now he's not fine and you just kind of expected more for somebody who you guys thought was going to win the MVP facts yeah and right now it's hard to see him get back to MVP level when he's starting this low the narrative is going to leave him behind absolutely My choice is Anthony Edwards.

Y'all, specifically, you darner were telling me that this man is going to be different this year, but silly because of the haircut. That's what I said. That's what I said. I'm not. I'm not right now. I'm lying on my ass.

Shut up. This is for the clip. You were telling me that he was going to be different this year, and this man going to show up into training camp out of shape like shit being 240. He's like, bro, he's only 6'4. He looks a lot bigger than 6'4, but damn, I spent it a lot more.

I thought it was going to be the year for Anthony Edwards to go ahead and become an all-star. And if the T-Wool, they're going to be struggling like this, no shot that happens. Yeah, he'll probably be better, but we definitely got to see it before we assume he's going to make the leap. Everybody thought he would. Exactly, bro. Don't put that on me, by the way. Don't you ever lie on my name.

Nah, I can literally find you saying that, but I can literally find a clip you saying that. That's funny. Uh-uh. Okay. Well, I think that's it. I think we're good now. You know what? I'm just going to hear.

The podcast is over.