The Mismatch - Determining Jontay Porter’s Punishment, March Madness Prospect Stock, and Can the Rockets Catch the Warriors?

Episode Date: March 26, 2024

Verno and KOC discuss the NBA’s investigation into Jontay Porter after multiple instances of "betting irregularities" were discovered and debate the type of punishment the NBA should hand down (01:20). After this weekend’s March Madness games, they discuss the draft stock of Kentucky’s Reed Sheppard, UConn’s Donovan Clingan, Marquette’s Tyler Kolek, and more (19:32). While there are no franchise cornerstones in this draft class, the guys explain why the prospects in this class can still make a big impact (37:15). Next, they discuss Jalen Green’s performance during the Rockets' nine-game winning streak and Draymond Green’s huge defensive impact for the Warriors. Then, they debate whether the Clippers are frauds and whether Domantas Sabonis can continue this type of play into the playoffs (42:27). Got a question for Verno and KOC? Send them an email at [e-mail]! Or you can send the guys a tweet @ChrisVernonShow and @KevinOConnorNBA! The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please check out http://theringer.com/RG to find out more or listen to the end of the episode for additional details. Hosts: Chris Vernon and Kevin O’Connor Producer: Jessie Lopez Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Have you ever wondered about the meaning behind your favorite song lyric or why certain melodies make your skin tingle? I'm Cole Kushner and these are the kinds of questions I try to answer on Dissect, a podcast that dives deep into one album per season examining the music, lyrics, and meaning of one song per episode. I've dissected full albums by Kendrick Lamar, Radiohead, Tyro the Creator, Beyonce, Kanye, and more. Our latest season just launched all about M.F Doom's Mad Villainee. Listen to Dissect wherever you get your podcast because great art deserves more than a swipe. Welcome to the mismatch. I'm Chris Vernon and joining me on this Monday night from Theringer.com is Kevin O'Connor, A.K.K.A. Kevin O'Bomber, Kevin O'Bomber, Kevin O'Connor, Kevin O'Connor, Kevin O'Connor. How are you doing today? Good, man. We are recording these before the Monday night games are played. So don't blame us if we don't talk about a result that took place on Monday night. But we have a ton of news and things that have happened since we last spoke to get to. Not what we expect. to be starting the mismatch with was a story about gambling.

And Jonte Porter, who is a forward for the Toronto Raptors, is under investigation by the NBA following multiple instances of betting irregularities over the past several months. Multiple sources told ESPN. Adrian Wardenowski put out the story at issue are prop bets involving Porter from games on January 26th, then March 20th, multiple sources told ESPN. An NBA spokesperson told ESPN that the league is, quote, looking into it. And then we'll kind of go over to the details here in a minute. But basically, what is it, the gist of this is the gambling website,

draft kings, put out like the biggest winners of the night before. and two different times Jonte Porter unders were the biggest and most profitable of prop bets that were

bet on so then obviously people go and look into those games and they find out that he bowed out twice twice. Twice.

Yeah, whether you want to say he faked that injury, whatever. definitely faked an injury. Faked an eye injury and an illness. And he was out of the game. Therefore, his unders hit. Therefore, it was very profitable for whoever knew who to bet on Jonte Porter unders. Why are there even over under set for Jonte Porter, a two-way guy? And also set for five and a half points for Jontay Porter?

I thought my buddy, Andrew Sharp, you know, former Grant Landrider, you know, a long time guy covering the NBA now co-hosts of the Goat NBA podcast. He sent out a tweet that makes sense to me. Andrew Sharp tweeted out, the only acceptable reason to offer people a Jonte Porter prop bet is as a sting operation designed to root out exactly this sort of behavior. I agree with that. That's the only reason to have overrunners for Jontay Porter. Well, it says, you know, so there was this game against the Clippers, and all of his unders, if you bet Jonté Porter unders across the board, they all hit because he bowed out of that game. The next day, as part of their daily report to users on betting results,

Draft King Sportsbooks reported that the under on Porter's three-pointers was the biggest money winner for betters of any NBA player prop from games that evening. Okay. So this obviously leads a lot of people to say this, for sure, this was going to happen. It was a matter of time before this happened. You know, there's all kinds of advertisements for gambling involved with the NBA now. And, you know, now that this is so public and so many people are doing it, it was a matter of time before something like this happened. And I think I would probably agree, right? I would agree. Yep, it was a matter of time. This is a thing that can happen, right? It was a matter of time. We're seeing it with the best player in baseball with his interpreter. You know, so I mean, maybe we don't know his level of involvement exactly.

But in this case, with Jonathan Porter, it seems pretty clear what's going on here. Well, I can't. All right, let me just on a sidebar here on the Otani stuff, right? this is what I've tried to understand it the best I can obviously a lot that can for lack of a better term lost in translation but but it seems to me that as buddies that gamble on stuff they had a bookie the bookie got caught they found out like oh wow we recognize that name just like when they butt when they raid these steroid places and they would say, oh, wow, I can't believe all of these names are on this list in this

steroid warehouse that I have found. And so they're trying to bring down another guy and then the shrapnel hits Otani, right? So like, and the guy originally did that. Again, I'm not an expert on this, but I'm just going to say the way I read it. The guy did the first interview and he says, look, we know not to bet on baseball. We read it everywhere that you can't bet on baseball. We're not stupid. We understand you can't bet on baseball. We bet on college football.

We bet on the NFL. We bet on this. We bet on that. But I'm not betting on that stuff. And I'm the one betting. And I got in too deep. And he's taking care of me. Totally reasonable explanation.

Except for the fact that they then come back. obviously. And they're like, no dumbass. O'Tani cannot be involved in this at all. He can't be involved with an illegal bookie that can't be. So you stole the money from him to pay off because y'all suck at gambling. All right. We realize it's ashtray money. But again, the people that are, you know, like that's the way it reads to me. These guys like to gamble. You can't gamble in your fine state. most people are going to look at this about why didn't they just gamble in right like it's not illegal for them to gamble it's illegal for them to gamble with this bookie in the state of california yes yeah and so that's how they're trying to get bets down that's right and they probably

had a you know sleazy bookie who's running around town going guess who's one of my clients you know and then they found him and then now he's just got to pray he's got an amazing friend that's ready to take all the blame for it and also pray that like they also didn't actually actually bet on baseball, then that's an actual issue, of course. I actually buy that they probably didn't. I know that too. I do buy that. Yeah.

And I think, but I think they probably were buddies and they had this guy that they bet with. And now this guy's going to have to take the fault. Look, Bond had a guy that like went to jail for him because, you know, they went into court and they said, hey, we found this folder in your office and it says, B, B. And it's got like every amount of milligrams that you're shooting into the guy. And they're like, who's BB?

And he's like, I can't talk about that. I'll go to prison. Like, I plead the fifth. And so Greg Anderson was like the best friend ever for bonds. This guy, he's just going to have to be the best friend ever. That's the way I read that one. Jonte Porter is just wild because how you can be so stupid to not think it would raise a red flag if a bunch of people are betting on Jante Porter.

This is a two big ones. Number one, you're Jonte Porter. So you've got to know. this is going to raise a huge red flag. People are winning, betting on you at all. Number two, it is infinitely more despicable to bet on your unders. Because you control that to the detriment of your team. That is despicable.

If you want to bet and you want to say, hey, my scoring total is eight and a half tonight. I'm going to get the start. I'm going to get that. Slam that over. I'm getting that. Now, that may also be to the detriment of his team as well. I get it because Jontay Porter shooting it more than four times is probably to the detriment of his team. But at least you're attempting to do something good.

When you say to someone, hey, man, you want to talk about a sure thing, bet? Bet my under on threes. I won't even take one. I won't even take one. I promise you the under will hit because I will not take a three. That's despicable, obviously. But you and I were texting about this when the story broke today, and I thought you said it best,

which is the league has to make an example out of this. Suspend them for life. For life. Yeah, they have to make an example of him. He's Jonti Porter on a two-way contract. If there's anybody to make an example of the Sussex. It is. It's like what a gift for the NBA, really.

Right. That's the other side of this, right? In one way, for sure, there's going to be all the people going, yeah, well, you're getting in bed with all the gambling sites and this is what's going to happen. You knew this is going to happen. And, you know, they'll get their rocks off because something like this happened. If it happens, then you ban the player for life and they're done forever. On the other side, total best case scenario.

Really? Like, if this is a good player, it's a. disaster. If it's Michael Porter Jr. instead of John T. Porter, they're brothers. If it's MPJ, then it's a much bigger story. Yes. A debacle. Right? But this is a guy on a team nobody's paying attention to. This is exactly where this kind of thing would happen. In a game,

a player nobody cares about on a team, nobody cares about this year. This is, I mean, this is kind of, if you were going to write up how this kind of thing could happen. This is perfect scenario for it to happen because you think nobody cares anyway. But if they could just make an example out of Jonte Porter and they say lifetime ban, you are done, you are disgraced, you will never play in the NBA again, then the message goes out to every other guy in there. Because now, look, there are. There are signs everywhere.

No betting, no tipping, no... I mean, they make you take seminars about this. There is no saying you didn't know. They are very, very, very diligent about this. There are signs all over offices. I walk through an office building. There's signs everywhere. You can't not know about the NBA stance on betting.

That being said, their opportunity now to throw the book at Porter, make an example out of him, and put the fear of God into every other player in the league. And frankly, players spread out throughout leagues because this is the scenario, right?

This is not Jonte Porter gambling. This is Jonte Porter telling his buddies to gamble. More than likely. Because it was more than one account. Yes, allegedly. Yeah, more than one account. account, multiple accounts was the, was what Woj tweeted out shortly before we started

recording, multiple accounts. Right. And that's what they're worried about more than these guys actually gambling. They're worried about tipping, tipping, tipping off people to whatever. And so. Yeah, like even stuff such as like so and so will be out on Tuesday before the line moves. That's right. They don't want that happening.

And so, look, there's money to be made. you know that something like this can happen, but in some ways, this is the best way for it to happen, for it to be a player, nobody really cares about on a team that really was going nowhere, and they can make a huge example out of,

and then once guys see that there is a lifetime ban, and you will destroy your career by doing this, it becomes real. Will the NBA go that far, though? Consider what the NFL did with Calvin Ridley. They gave him one year, when he gambled, and then the players that have since been suspended have been for, you know, multiple

different tiers. There's been six game suspensions for certain players. There's been one year suspensions and then some indefinite suspensions as well. Will the NBA only do, you know, two years instead of, you know, indefinite for Jonti Porter? What I'm saying is, will the NBA want to set that precedent for, well, they want to do lifetime ban? because there will inevitably be a day, like one of the 50 or 100 best players in the league end up getting caught. Will the NBA want us to have the precedent sent word, oh, it's a lifetime ban if you get caught? Or will they want to set it like two or three years for John T. Porter? You know what I'm saying?

I got a reasonable point that I didn't necessarily consider. You know, I think you're going to have to have a lot of discussions with the NBAPA. The NBAPA obviously would stand up much more for a player of that out, right? They'd stand up for Michael Porter more than Jonte Porter. I think that's fair to say. On the other hand, it's a big business for them, and they are so fervent in trying to protect this and making sure that there is integrity in these games

that they may not care. And they may just say the integrity of the sport and the integrity of these games being played is the most important. There was a blight on us over the Donagie stuff. And this will never happen again. And we are making it clear that this is the most serious of violations. People have to believe in our game. Right. I think that's what they should do.

Because Calvin Ridley's didn't affect anything. Yeah. He was out. Yes. And this is John Day Porter with his own. play his own stats on his own team, and it was to the team's detriment that he's betting an under on himself.

Right different than what Ridley or basically a lot of the other guys in the NFL had done. Well, if you remember, some of those NFL ones were goofier than hell. Like, James and those guys, like, they bet on college basketball, I think it was, but because they bet, the guy was literally in his,

car outside the lion's practice facility. Yes, but because he was at the facility, then the NFL suspended the player. So the guy could have driven five miles and placed the same bet and nobody cares. That's just goofy. That's just goofy. Like the idea that you can't, you should be able to bet on anything that's not your sport, no matter where you are. If you're sitting in a parking lot or if you're down the road at 7-Eleven,

that's just stupid, right? But that shows you how stringent they are about their policies. To me, that's the thing. Ridley was it, he was injured. He wasn't playing in games. He had no effect on anything. The fact that it's a player that could actually fix this, he's not fixing the game, but he fixed these props. He fixed these.

And I think, I think with all the money. being spent by the gambling sites, that the gambling sites are going to say, you better throw the book at this guy. I agree. Totally, totally agree. If I'm,

if you're like, yo, no. I know. No. This cannot happen. Yeah. I mean,

it really is despicable. It really is. I mean, I can't imagine being in the locker room with him, being like, dude, you bet the under on yourself. I'd want him gone.

Look, he's done with the NBA no matter what the NBA does. Oh, yeah, for sure. There's no way. No. It's also not that good. I mean, he was, no, he was hanging on with the career anyway.

All right, so that was a story that we did not expect to be talking about at the beginning of the pod, but crazy nonetheless. And it'll be interesting to see how the NBA handles it. Let's talk about the NCAA tournament. I went on Friday.

Yeah, I went on Friday. Unfortunately, I saw blood. out. I saw all crappy games. Yeah, I saw Baylor destroy their first round opponent. I saw Clemson destroyed their first round opponent. And then I saw Nebraska get run out by Texas A&M. But I will say Nebraska fans, I mean, man, I felt so bad for them.

I ended up in the middle of the Nebraska section for Japanese Steph Curry. and the first 10 minutes of that game were as much fun as I've had at anything in forever. I mean, it was a party. The guy had hit three threes already. It's like they're trying to, they had, I can't believe this, but Nebraska has never won an NCAA tournament game. Wow. In their school's history.

Never? No, and look, that game was in Memphis. They, I mean, it's 10 minutes before the game, Kevin. I walk in the arena and they're going, go, big, bro. Red! Go! Big Red! I mean, there's thousands and thousands of people in red. All in Nebraska gear.

College atmosphere is so great, isn't it? I love college basketball atmosphere. I'm so excited for the games in L.A. this weekend. There are Nebraska fans everywhere, and then there was a section, basically, of A&M fans, led by Johnny Mansell nonetheless. He was there. That was kind of cool. Yeah, he was on the front row

Cheered A&M. So I didn't get to see that good of games. Now, the games were too late last night for a school night, but that Houston A&M game was in Memphis, and I wish I would have gone because that one was, I mean, it's an all-timer, especially with the shot that took it into overtime. Let's talk about this draft stuff, though.

Sucks that we've got Shepard and Dillingham out. How much does it affect what you will do with them on mocks or big board. I mean, it was just one game against a zone defense coached by, you know,

John Calipari, not making any adjustments in the game. I don't think it's going to affect a whole lot. I mean, they were, you know, early to mid lottery picks.

And I think both of them, that stands true. I think, if anything, what could happen is got someone like McCain from Duke ends up surpassing them. But I think,

I think in this year's draft class, like one to 12 is pretty flat, honestly. So I think largely it's going to depend a lot on who ends up with what picks. Like, that's the thing. You know, we had my mock draft on the draft guide two weeks ago, and I gave the Spurs the number one pick. And as part of that exercise, I'm like, well, what would the Spurs be looking for when they have two top 10 picks? and I gave them Shepard with the first pick and it was like kind of part of the logic there

well maybe they go with a point guard first maybe they trade down this could be too high for Shepard but he's a fit for the Spurs he's a great fit for the spurs but I don't think he's a great fit for all the teams like I could see teams having Shepard fourth on their board or

14th on their board it's that type of year so that's what makes it very exciting from like a draft's standpoint would be how unexpected things will be but I don't don't think that one game changes a whole lot. He definitely did suck, though, and so did Dillingham. They were terrible.

Man, I wanted to see those guys in high states games. I know. It's too bad. But, look, I did this bid a couple of weeks ago. Generally, those Kentucky guards, if they are... Yeah, and the ones that are... And look, you're going to find the Tyler Ulysses, the Tialos, the Taiti, Washington. But I'm talking about the ones that everybody kind of has in the Tile.

top 20, top 25, you know, that range. If they're in that mix, they are generally under drafted, right? And that's case in Wallace. Obviously, Shaden Sharp didn't even really play there. But Maxie, Quickly, Fox, Hero, SGA, Monk, Murray, even Kelden Johnson was drafted 29, you know. Say whatever you want about whatever Kelden Johnson's become. The guy's got, he's going to make a fortune playing NBA basketball.

He's going to have a long career. certainly underdrafted at 29. You're not going to find many that were drafted high that are guards from Kentucky that didn't turn out. And so that's kind of what I thought about them when you first asked me about them about a month ago. I'm like, look, I could close my eyes and just draft a Kentucky guard.

And I probably got, I've probably hit it. And I've probably drafted him lower than he should have gone. Fandul's putting the ball on your court for the rest of NBA season because right now new customers get $200 and bonus bets with any winning $5 bet. That's $200 if your bet wins. Bet on the NBA with a wide range of bet types,

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Gambling problem called 100 gambler or visit the ringer.com slash RG. First online real money wager only. $10 first deposit required. Bonus issued and non-drable bonus bets to expire seven days after a seat. See terms at sportsbook.fambleau.com. Guys that are going to the sweet 16,

I'm just going to ask you about these names, okay? Donovan Klingin. My God, that Yukon team is unbelievable. Stock up for Klingin. I mean, that was one of the better defensive performances we've seen. I mean, all season, maybe in multiple years, what Klingin did with his, you know,

Ten blocks. Ten blocks? You kidding me? The dude was outstanding in both games. I mean, I think some of the blocks that he had, it showed his NBA agility, the mobility aspect because he wasn't just like in a deep drop. He was defending high near the free throw line, helping corral the guy on the drive to the rim and then blocking their shot with either hand. He showed great fundamentals, not jumping on little pump fakes and shoulder shimmies and all that. to me he looked like a true defensive enforcer in the variety of ways he was protecting the rim

helping his teammates out and defending one-on-one so i think with clinging it was a masterful performance on defense and on top of that like he does what you want out of a big on offense he screens he rolls he finishes with touch or with power he got a little passing ability too with him clinging i could definitely see him i have him i believe in the teens on my draft board that's probably a little too low. I think Klingin right now belongs in the top 10, not just because of these performances, but the way he's continued to progress

over the course of his second season at Yukon. Do you look at him as a much better prospect than Eadie? Because those are the two bigs. No, I wouldn't say much better. Okay, because this draft is so flat. Like, there's just so many good prospects. What I'm saying is if I need a center, then I'm choosing between.

It depends on what type of center you want. Do you want the center that's a greater guarantee to be a good defensive player? Well, then you go with Klingin. If you want the player with higher offensive upside and feel and creation ability as a scorer on the post, then you go with Edy. It's a matter of, I think, needs and wants for those two bigs. I mean, like for me, I think the age, you know, you have to consider that too. Like if you're a younger team, if you're a young team that can wants to gamble on

Klingin figuring things out even more by the time he's Eiti's age, then you go with Klingin. If you're a team that wants a guy that you feel can help right now with an offensive, you know, feel to him, then you go with Eadie. It's all a matter of, but that's the thing with this draft class. It's all a matter of what is my team missing? And I think with this year's draft class, that's where like I hate saying it's bad. It's bad in terms of guaranteed star power in the top three, top four. It's a bad draft if you're the wizards and you have nothing. It's a good draft. your team, the Grizzlies. What do we mix in with Jaron Jackson,

Jr. and John Moran? It's a good team, it's a good draft if you're the Thunder. If you're the Spurs where you know you have Victor Webben, Yama, how do you build around him? It's a good draft for the Miami Heat. How do we get again? There's no franchise savior, but it's a good draft for all these

different types of teams and different positions where they are, as long as they feel like they have a direction. How do we enhance this current core that we have? It's a good draft in that sense because the amount of quality prospects there are. It's funny you say that about Klingin and about like what can he become because me just watching this tournament, looking up these guys and then trying to figure out who's who. We'll say this is going to be a check the birth certificate draft because some of these dudes.

So I'm watching that Oregon game and I'm like, bro, this Kuisnard guy, I mean, he had 72 points in two games, right? You know what? My buddy sent me? I'm going to blow your mind with this. That Kuisnard guy who kind of broke on the scene, he'll probably get to go to Port Smith and who knows, right? But he was as good scoring the ball as anybody's been in this tournament.

He's 72.40 in the first round and 32 in the next one. And then he hit that huge three against Creighton. That guy is six years older than G.G. Jackson. who is having a breakout second half of the season as a rookie for the Grizzlies. Six years, bro. How? But we got all these COVID years and these transfer years or whatever. I look some of these guys up.

They're freaking 25 years old. I know. It's crazy, isn't it? I'm like, 25. What? Yeah. It's just ludicrous to me. I'm like, what would Jesus?

G. Jackson look like against Creighton in 60 years. He have 100 points in six years. I mean, that's just, I don't understand it. But there are a lot of those guys in college basketball right now that when you look them up, you're like, golly. These guys, you know, they have all the ages. They would be like 23.6, 8 years old or whatever. Like, geez.

Yeah, there's a ton of them. A lot of them. All right. So we got to cling in. Don't Connect's had a rough go with the SEC tournament and this NCAA tournament. I know he hit the big free throws down the stretch, but this has been a, it's been a, we're going on a two-week kind of dud as he's going to be, I think, consensus second in national player of the year to the runaway Eadie.

But this has not been a good run for Connect in terms of, I can't imagine for draft evaluation. because he was having a hell of a time. Texas has a lot of those long-armed NBA, you know, types of body defenders. Right. You know, they have a handful of guys that are going to get a shot in the NBA, Dylan Mitchell being one of them.

That was a bad game for Connect, for sure. But at the same time, it's still only one game. We just saw him drop 40 against Kentucky a couple weeks ago. So, I mean, he's got, you know, I think with him, he's got some more games that he can prove himself, or at least one more game.

We'll see if Tennessee... Doesn't his 40 not look as impressive when Jack Golky had 10-3s? It does. It does. I mean, it does. We had never heard of this guy. This guy comes out these, you know, Barry in 10-3s. And then when Kurt Goldsbury put out that shot chart of his...

That was great, yeah, yeah. That he had taken eight-two's all game. He's like, stupid-ass Caliperi. He's the only person in the world without the shot chart. season. No, I know. He's the only guy, but how is Calipari the only guy

that doesn't know that doesn't know that shot? Oh, I know. Well, Calipari is not great, but we'll see what's connected. They face Creighton on Friday night. You know, good opportunity for him to get a balanced back game. It is because they don't have a ton of athletes.

Hmm. You know what I mean? Yeah. Creton's not loaded with athletes. Yeah, unlike Texas. Good basketball player, but they're not athletes. Yeah.

You mentioned McCain. Really good first two games for the Duke product and probably their best player, which is a lot to carry as a freshman. We've seen freshmen have to do it in the past for Duke, but what an unbelievable opportunity for him against

the Houston team that is just awesome. Yeah, for sure. I mean... Oh, and Shed. Oh, I'm in love, Kev. Oh, Shed's awesome. But this is the game, though. I mean, Houston has the number two defensive rating on Ken Palm.com. So, like, he's facing a top defense, an excellent team,

ballers, you know, just try hard, hustlers on that team. And Shed is awesome himself. Those two could be going head to head against each other. Possession after possession. Could be epic. I mean, this could be... Same with Philip.

Philikowski. Philip, I can never get his name, right? Philpowski. Yeah, he's a stiff. You're not a fan? Now, I think Houston's going to run them out. I think Houston. I love Shed.

But run them out. Undersize. Run them out, though. You think there's run them out, like blowout. I do not think. I do not think Duke is going to be in the game with Houston. Yes. Okay.

I think Houston and Yukon are cut above. From what I've seen, again, I'm no expert. Houston just went to overtime with a nine seat. I understand. They got players on that A&M team. And that A&M team is the number one offensive rebounding team in the country. and they had them down 12 with a minute 12 to go. They vomited all over themselves,

but they did have that team down double digits. And they made Wade Taylor the force like hell in that game. I think Houston's good. And their whole team was in foul trouble as well. I mean, this Duke Houston game is going to be a battle of, you know, Duke's get the number five offense in the nation versus the number two defense. It's going to be, you know, Interesting contrast and styles.

And I might be wrong about him. But man, that shit kid from Houston. What a point of thing. He's a big 12 player of the year, All-American, the whole thing. And he obviously just, I think he played every damn minute of that game last night. Let me fact chat that.

Yeah, 45 minutes. Yep. He did play all of them. Crazy. Yeah. I was going to say, I thought he played them all, 45 minutes.

Another little guard, and I, I mean, he got ousted by, by Marquette, but that kid from Colorado, I think he helped his draft stock a lot. KJ Simpson, because he was awesome. Yeah, he has some big moments.

He's the second round pick and he'll be in the draft guide update on Wednesday. That's when we're going to be updating. It's going to go to a two-round mock draft. We'll be at 60 players. So I'm excited for that and he'll be in. And then on that other side, what about Colin? You moving him up? Because he's been a standout.

He's come back from the oblique. He had 18 and 11 against Western Kentucky. he turned around at 22 and 11 against Colorado. Yeah. Colick's a player. I had him on my, at 30 on my board last week, he's got a final place to move up somewhere. Colick just feels like a guarantee to be a good quality rotation guard. Yeah.

Like the way he moves in the court, he looks so much like Gorin Dragich, just the way he kind of gets under the rim and attacks on offense. He just looks like Dragich. I'd just be surprised if Colick's not a solid NBA player at worst. Yeah, a solid NBA player at worst. I agree with you. Yeah. I mean, the guys obviously, I mean, he's coming back from this oblique injury and nobody knew what to expect. I mean, he's had 40 points of 22 assists in the first two games.

What do you want? But isn't he, isn't he the perfect example of the guy we're talking about? Like, if you need a rotation point card, there's your guy. Just the guy that could give you minutes. Yes. And buckets off the bench. be a spark and not just a spark, but a guy who kind of can steady the ship, too. He's a low turnover guy.

He can pass the ball. He's not just a score at 6-3. He can pass too. Anybody else we need to mention or anybody else that particularly stood out to you so far in the tournament? I mean, I think, you know, we talked about him last week, if I remember correctly, or the week before. Terrence Shannon. A good opportunity for him going against Iowa State number one defense. in the nation.

So they've won both their games so far, haven't exactly faced, you know, stellar opponents, a 14 seed and an 11 seed, but Shannon's had 56 points in those two games. Well, this is a much,

much bigger test against Iowa State for that Illinois squad. So that's a game I'm going to be watching very closely on, I believe that they play Thursday, if I remember correctly. I think that's the Thursday game. And that game is,

I guess I won't be watching that one closely. I'll have to watch that game the next day because I'll be at the Alabama North Carolina game in L.A. Oh, it's in L.A. Yeah, I won't be watching that game live. That could be fireworks. Yeah, North Carolina, Alabama is going to be great.

I'm very excited. I don't know if you were watching Carolina, Michigan State, but man, when they cranked up, it was a damn tsunami. I mean, that game ended in about five minutes flat. When they cranked it up, he looked up and it was like, oh, my God. not in a way that was a little different because it wasn't at the start of the game

it looked like it was like back and forth the Michigan states hanging in there and then when that wave hit it was like oh god this game's over unlike when the ball goes up in these Yukon games within five minutes the game's over you're like they're up 40 to 17 on that team I know Northwesterns you know not that good but God, they just beat the shit out of people. That Yukon team, I don't know how they're that good coming back after winning it last year. And their coach is steady, pissed off all the time early.

He's so mad. He's like, he's like, of course they made us play the early game next week. They've been doing everything they can to have us not repeat. Like, it's like really them against the world. And I feel like his players go out there and are like, yeah, everybody doesn't want us to win. Now we're going to go take it out and it's just mercy killing after mercy killing. I don't get it. And then of course like you mentioned that Klinga kid, even when you do drive past somebody, he slaps your stuff into the third row. No fun.

No fun play to get them. But I think I hate that Shepard of Dillingham, we're not going to get to see them in a big spot. But I got to be honest with you, you look up and down. maybe the draft order is going to change a lot, Kev, but it's pretty bleak, bro. I get it. You find players. There's going to be players. There's going to be draftable players.

It's a role player drafts. That's what it is. It's a role player drafts. Yeah. And there'll be some surprise star that, you know, nobody expects like there always is. For sure. It's going to happen.

But if you're drafting in the top five, this is not a year I'd want to be drafting in the top five. Because not only not only like is like a lack of stars but if you if you have a guy on your board that high you're paying that player a significant amount of money as well you're paying number one picks and you know 10ish million dollars right now so like right away if you're getting a guy that has theoretical upside but he's not number one pick quality like he like in past years that's a significant investment in that player you almost you're almost are better off at number

five or something like that but if you do obviously if you're number one you can trade down. But to me, this is a big trade down year or a trade out year, trading to a team that is wanting to, you know, target a player because there always is going to be a player you love and fall in love with throughout the process. But it's not a great year for stars. It's just not. Like I think up and down the board, like, you can look at the struggles Rikersh had, you know, in recent games or Alex Saar, you know, he is, he was not great down the stretch of the season. overseas those guys. You can look at other college prospects

that have gone through rough stretches. Like the top of the draft, the guys that are typically in the top five, top three area, have had their struggles besides Dillingham, besides Shepard. I mean, the morning of that Kentucky loss,

Jeremy Wu over at ESPN published an article making the case for Rob Dillingham is the number one pick. Like people are trying to find who's the best prospects. Is it Dillingham? Is it Topic? Is it sore? Maybe it's actually just the G-League guys, Ron Holland and Modus Muzellis, who has struggled

this year with the Ignite. Holland ended the year pretty well before he was sideline by injury for the rest of the season. But, I mean, with so many of these guys, there's just flaw after flaw, concern after concern. It's going to be a matter of your own personal preferences. And I also think at this time of year, a lot of times, like your evaluation is done in terms of the on court, but are any of these guys going to separate themselves on pre-draft workouts?

Will they separate themselves in interviews as intel digging continues over the next three months ahead of, you know, the draft? The process is nowhere near done. And so I think teams are going to have to really dig even deeper in the months to come because there is a number one prospect. There is. There always is. It's just we don't know who he is right now.

and that player may not manifest for five years, but somebody's going to try to find that guy ahead of the first day of the draft in June. And I don't know who it is yet. I really don't know. It does feel very Anthony Bennett, Oladipo draft. It does.

It does. Yeah. And then Janice was in that draft. You know, like a C.J. McCollum was in that draft, like a good player drafted in the mid-laughtery. I currently have SAR number one. He feels like a placeholder to me.

I don't. I don't know if he's going to end up number one on my board, but he's number one right now. It's just keeping him there. I don't know who ends up number one, though. I'd have to go back and look and do the research on this, but I wonder how many guys you could make the case because, like, let's just say earlier in the,

earlier I brought up Gigi Jackson, right? Had a dismal one season of South Carolina and went in the second round. I wonder how many guys were like Gigi, did it they would have, you know, played somewhere else? maybe a different college or gone to a, you know, whether they transferred or whether they went and played, you know, for Ignite or overtime elite or whatever, wherever they played, right?

Or they just stayed in school for one more year instead of going to the draft. I wonder how many of those guys, if you go into this draft, would have been high lottery picks, right? That last year, they just came out in the wrong year. but if they would have come out this year, they're looked at much differently. Because, I mean, you could make a case that somebody like Jackson is the number one pick in the draft.

Oh, this year? For sure. Yeah. Right. The funny thing is he was originally the top ranked high school prospects in his class before he reclassified to be able to come out one year sooner. He might have went number one this year.

Crazy. Crazy to think about. I know. And he ends up going 45th. in the draft. I wonder how many guys were like that, though. Like if they would have just played one more year, I mean, we'd be in love with them this year in the draft.

And they maybe they would be very high picks. Regarding what's going on in the NBA since we last spoke, break up the Houston Rockets because they, I mean, this is now, they're 500s for the first time since they were 19 to 19, eight game win streak, their longest and more than four seasons. and they have been unbelievable. Schedule's been light, for sure,

but we're about to find out about them because the schedule is getting a little heavier now. But just for March, Jalen Green's averaging 28 points a game and has a 64% true shooting percentage, Kevin. There are three players in the NBA that are averaging over 25 points with a higher true shooting

than Jalen Green than the month of one. March. Janice, LeBron, and Yokic. That's the list. Janus, LeBron, Yokic, Jalen Green. That's how great he has been. And of course, they're, I think, 8 and 1, something like that since Shengun went down and they've done this Amen Thompson thing. And while they have not been dynamite defensively, their numbers are freakish offensively with the Abman Thompson for Shengun replacement. Kevin, in 69 minutes, nice,

140 per 100 possessions. Not too different than it was with a smaller sample size we discussed last week. It was like 35 minutes or 40 minutes. They've doubled up, but still just outrageous. 140 points per 100 possessions. They're sustaining it.

It's insanity. Insanity. And they are putting the heat on the warriors. I think they're going to surpass them. You do? Well, here's the thing, right? We have Steve Kerr, after Sunday's game, asked about Steph's minutes. He played 30 minutes in the game.

He's like, it doesn't make a difference win or lose if he plays 32 or 30. Well, I mean, it might. Two extra minutes. One extra three, you know, a drive to the rim, a kick. out drawn fall it might make the difference when you lose by four in the game whereas you look at the rockets they're playing jalen green and fred van bleat 35 36 minutes per game ever since shengun went down they're a team that's rolling right now the warriors not so much i think the argument right now against houston would purely be due to the fact that their schedule for the remainder of the season is a

lot tougher than the warriors they have after tonight 11 games remaining it's the 11th The 11th toughest schedule in the league. The Warriors have 12 games remaining, and they have the 25th hardest schedule in the league with a lot of easier opponents on their schedule remaining. But they are playing 9 of 11 on the road. Yep. And that's where for Golden State, they better they better figure it out, man. Like they have to figure out. You saw the current thing?

How about the whole diatribe that him and Steph and Draymond were. about habits. Like, look, this isn't about getting in the play-in. This is about being able to develop the habits that enabled us to not only get to there, but then advance in the playoffs. And I'm like, there's 12 games left. I know. What habits are you about to develop in the next 12 games?

Yeah. And also, it's like, it doesn't make any sense either. It makes zero sense. You are the in danger of losing your spot in the play-in. And you also had an opportunity to move up in the play. And you had a chance at one point to move out of the play in. You're now five and a half games back from the suns. You're not catching them.

You're five games back from the Mavericks for the eight seed. You're not catching them. You might not even catch the Lakers who were up two and a half games on you for the nine seed. You are likely 10 at best right now. And that means you're going to win two games on the road just for the chance to get the eight seed where you might face the defending champion nuggets. Maybe it ends up Minnesota. Maybe it ends up Oklahoma City.

But I bet on Denver getting that one seed. So, like, you missed your chance to get better seeding. So I don't know what the hell they're talking about. I don't. And I hope, I kind of hope Houston ends up making a run to get a chance at the play in. Because for them, they feel like a team that has continued to improve over the course of the year. The Shengune injury was terrifying.

they've battled back from that. They've changed things up. Udoka's built this up. They've trusted in Jalen Green, who, by the way, with Jalen Green, I'm buying that this is positive progress. Will he sustain this for the next five years? I'm not saying that. But the way in which he's playing,

this is the type of player that was kind of envisioned when you saw him at lower levels in the G League and high school. This was a matter of like the shot beginning to fall. He's at over 40% from three during this past month. He at the rim has been significantly better and almost 70% on unassisted shots at the rim in the half court. He looks like he's playing more under control. He has a positive assist to turnover ratio.

Yes, he's operating with more space without Shengun out there. But as we talked about last week, this started when Shengun was active. He had three or four really great games before Shengoum, went out. So I think with Jaylen Green, something is clicking with him. There's more space though, Kevin. There is. I know the spacing. There is. But that's, but the spacing isn't everything necessarily. The spacing

is a component of it. I agree with you. It's a component, especially with the at room finishing. But in the pace he might be playing with, it could be assisting him. But the three point shooting, maybe this is things just beginning to click for him, the guy that's been 80 plus percent from the free throw line all the way back to high school. I had in my article last week on the ringer how it reminded me of Malik Monk.

Malik Monk was like an 85% free throw guy ever since high school through college early in his NBA career. It's just Malik Monk with his like skinny frame undersized, not much strength who hadn't figured it out from three his first three seasons in the NBA. And ever since then he's like a 37, 38, 39% guy from three. His body was able to allow him to have range from three on his jumper. Maybe with Jaylen Green, a similar. type of body, things are just beginning to click for him in that way. And not only that,

you can talk about spacing, you can talk about the physical aspects. What about the mental aspect for him? This is a player who played a lot of AAU. He goes to the ignite, then he goes to terrible Houston teams, and now he has Emeo Doka. This is the first time he's been coached by a team that's really preaching these types of winning habits. You talk about players learning how to lose, he's been losing for years. He lost in the G-League. He lost with Houston. He had really no direction, no system, no continuity. And now he's in this situation where winning is the priority. And in the second half of this year, he probably had a greater adjustment than any player in that entire locker room, even Schengun. Shengung knew how to win when he played

overseas before entering the NBA. He got coached hard. So Udoka felt familiar for him. For Jalen Green, this is his first time. And Udoca stuck with him. Houston obviously had trade talks involving him, and rightfully so, because he stunk at certain points this mids this season. But this looks like a guy who's starting to figure things out, and I hope he can sustain it because boy, oh boy, for the Rockets, if he does, I'm excited to see him when Schengun gets back because that two-man game could be filthy if they can work it out together.

Kevin, how crazy is it that we could look? And it's like we're a month and a half removed. And almost anybody would have pulled the trigger if you would have said, hey, the Jalen Green for McKell Bridges framework deal, right? Yeah. And now you'd be insane to do it. Oh, yeah, for sure. That's how much can change.

You know what I mean? And it's another lesson of just stick with these guys. Stick with them. You believed in that talent. That talents there. He's a 0.1% athlete. Oh, he's ridiculous. Like, they're just so explosive.

he is some of the best dogs like ever this year in game he is he is a special athlete that is for sure and he's starting to figure it out there's no doubt about that on the other side with that Warriors thing

I mean it's just John Schumann had the craziest stat in his power rankings today he was talking about the defense a lot of the numbers for like the Warriors starting lineup and everything are pretty good that this was the craziest thing that stood out said the defense has been

good as long as Draymond Green's been on the floor. Over the five-game stretch in which they've been healthy, the Warriors have allowed 32.2 fewer points per 100 possessions with Draymond Green on the floor than with him on the bench. 32. When Draymond Green goes to the bench, in 86 minutes, the other teams or the defensive rating, goes to 140. Crazy. One player. One player.

Draymond Green on. Draymond Green off is a 32 point difference over the last five games. On average. That's just, I mean, he can't be that important. You can't just become the Washington generals.

Or forget the general, the Washington Wizards. You can't become the wizard when Draymond Green's not on the floor. But that's kind of the situation they're in right now. It's interesting to see. Their schedule is not that bad, but they do have a lot of road games to finish this thing out. Other things that have happened since we last spoke. Ty Lou said that the Clippers need to wake the hell up.

I think we agree. Eight and nine since the break. I've never seen a team like this. We'll see once they get Russ back, which they're supposed to have. Tonight, Monday night, we're recording before it. So, I mean, maybe Russ will help out. I'm doubtful because late January, they were struggling with Russ. I mean, late February, I'm sorry, late February.

But he's not going to hurt. I promise you that. I mean, he might. No. He is the effort. And your boy Hardin has been a slug. He's been horrible. Look, they have.

got to, I've just, I can't figure them out. I don't know if I've ever seen a team like this. When I saw them earlier this year, I thought they were as good a team as I've seen the entire season. Yeah, because they were, they were for like two or three months. Seriously, they were devastating. They're devastating. This is when that hardening zoobox thing was going with the two, you know, the high

picking and roll, and then they're kicking it out to Kauai, and he's banging down every three he takes. They throw it to the other side and, you know, George is taking you off the dribble. And then next thing you know, Russ and Norm Powell and Amir coffee come in the game and they're flying up and down the court and getting buckets. And I'm like, Jesus, this team is devastating. Yeah. And then you see him again. And after that, they have not been any good.

Crazy. And with them, like, I was at that game on Sunday against the Sixers. That felt like a game, you know, you were. walk into the arena, I'm like, I hope the Clippers can, you know, keep this close. I hope they don't blow them out. And then they're the team getting blown out by

the Sixers. Yeah. And it's just, it blows my mind. I don't understand this Clippers team. I think with them, it's fair to wait a little while before saying any judgments about them entirely, considering, you know,

after 10 games of Hardin earlier in the year, he did not look like himself. And then he figured it out and they're awesome. Doesn't it really come down to more than anybody else in that team, Hardin, getting back to what he was midseason when he looked like one of the 20 best players in basketball? Because I think with Kauai, I feel confident Kauai will refine his three-point shot. But James Harden does not look anywhere as close as he did during that run when he was dominant. I feel like they got it in them, though, Kiv.

So you believe. You don't think they're frauds at all? I mean, if I have to, if I have to make a judgment on them in the playoffs today, I'm saying they're frauds. I saw them be so awesome. I know you. I know we did. I know we did. That's the thing.

I know. But now for 20 straight games, Hardin has not been awesome after being awesome for 20, 30-ish games or so. Russ will save them. Okay. I'll see. I'm kidding. I'm messing with you. All right.

Talk for a long time about it. how awesome Subonis' double-double consecutive streak is. Congratulations to him. He's going to break the all-time record for double-double streak. Good stuff. Congrats. He's been awesome this year. I think with Subonis, he's, what else do you want to hear, Chris?

I just want to hear you talking about how awesome Sub-Bus- I'm just thinking about last week where you didn't want to hear me talking about Keon Ellis. Now you want to hear me talking about Sabonis? We know Sybonis is great. By the way, here. He had a big night. He listens to the pod, clearly. Kings 8 and 1 with Keon Ellis in the place of Kevin Herder.

5 and 0 versus winning teams. Okay. Yeah, we talked about. 13 per 100 possessions with Ellis and Fox. Thank God. Repeating the stats from last week. Thank God I'm letting everybody know about Keon Ellis. But yeah, Sabon.

You know, obviously he's been stellar. Talk about how awesome he is. I mean, look, you got me in trouble with Deere Fox's wife over Sabonis and your slander. Yeah, well, Sabonis has been good for a couple of years now. That goes without saying he's a great regular season player. And that's the truth. He's a great regular season player. He's awesome.

He rebounds. He brings effort every single night. He's a quality. playmaker, he's a good finisher around the rim. He's, you know, tough to defend. He throws his elbows around. Like, he's, he's tough, man. He's a tough, hard-nosed player.

And with the Kings, the only question is going to be. And this is why, you know, we talked about it last week with Keon Ellis, with their defensive improvements. Granted, they lost the game to the Wizards since then. But, you know, but. which is tough but this is the thing

I mean I literally on the last podcast said I saw the wizards and if you would have told them before the game you can forfeit and go home I it's a first team I've ever seen that I believed would have said

cool we're out but but I mean that's the thing with the Kings how does it translate to the post season and that's why it's encouraging their defense has made improvements over this past month how does that translate to the post?

season. That's ultimately all that matters. We know like old news. Sabonis is a great regular season player. That's old news. This is an NBA record, Kevin. I know. It's great. No one has ever done it, Kevin. It's cool. It's cool. It's cool. No one. But you're also no one has ever done what Domas Sabonis is about to do. No one. In the history of the league, it's never happened. It's cool. Yeah, it is cool. He's consistent. He's steady. Listen, I like Savonis.

Doesn't sound like it. It's just a matter of how it translates to the playoffs. I'm sorry, my bar is that high for him. I want to see it translate to the postseason. We're headed down the home stretch. Most of these teams have less than 15 games left. Does it feel to you like the Celtics and the Bucks have separated themselves in a massive way in the Eastern Conference?

The Celtics blew a 30-point lead tonight to the Hawks. Amazing. I can't wait to watch the game. We were recording during that second half. They were up massively at halftime. You get people tweeting about how they're one of the greatest teams ever assembled. They're another team. Let's see it in the postseason.

They've had a good record against the top teams in the league. It's not like they're blowing out all the other best teams in the league. They've been good. The Celtics have a lot to prove in the postseason as well. like we're talking about I'm not gonna bust them up for blowing it I mean again it's it's

despicable to blow a huge lead like that I get it but everybody will tell you once you once you're beating the crap out of somebody once your guys turn it off it is hard to turn it back on and they're up by a million

they're not playing against I mean I don't even think Murray was playing in that game was he he was oh yeah he was okay Murray played in the game but anyway to answer your question of course like they've separated themselves in the east Of course they have. Boston has already clinched a one seed before any other team has clinched a spot at all.

So yeah, of course they have separated themselves, Chris. And for the buck side of things, we've been on them for a long time now. I've talked to you about how they've turned a corner with their defense, what they did against the thunder on Sunday. That's the game you look at. If you are a believer in the Bucks, which I am, they're currently my pick to go to the NBA finals in the East. the Bucks defense in that game dominated. That third quarter, their defensive rotations were so much on a string. It was remarkable to see them.

The way they were rotating, Patrick Beverly after the game was talking about the changes they've made. And he talked about how when you're switching off ball, you're forced to communicate. He had a line, the loudest team always wins. And that game against the Thunder, they were the loudest team by, by, far, constantly talking, constantly rotating, constantly playing with great effort. If that's the way they're going to defend in the postseason, they're going to go to the finals because their offenses figure things out. They're running the Janus, Dean Pick and Roll, especially Dean Pick and Rolls overall,

far more frequent than they were earlier in the season under Griffin. They have Chris Middleton back who's been very good ever since he returned. He looks healthy. The Bucks are taking shape here as the team that can actually go head to head with Boston during the playoffs. I think right now they beat them, and those are clearly the two best teams in the East. Bucks are seven and four against top seven teams in the league.

So three of the wins are by 20 plus. And to your point, their starters are plus 15.8, almost plus 16 per 100 possessions. So, you know, and those guys that usually end up playing a bunch of minutes. On the other side, it's exactly what I've been telling. knew about the whole season with Oklahoma City. You don't want to play against a bunch of full grown ass men, like vet, full grown men.

Those are teams that win in the playoffs. They are. And you just got to try to avoid those. You know, try to avoid the teams that just a bunch of veteran, you know, full grown ass men. That's what the bucks are.

Those guys are, I mean, those guys have been in the league for a long time. These guys got, you know, freaking kids and families and stuff. You know what I mean? Like those those thunder guys, you know,

they're still, they're still going out at night. Whereas those, it just look like, you know, you can get bullied when you're a young team. That's for sure. But it's going to be fascinating to see how plays out.

Yeah, I'll have to go back and look at that Celtics Hawks thing too. Yeah. But there's a crazy play at the end. I put it on the end. I turn I turned my head. They had a hawks had a possession. They're up one in the game and they miss a shot.

Ball gets tipped out by Clint Capella to DeAndre Hunter who gets the ball. Hawks up one with like eight seconds left in the clock. And Hunter launches a three. It's one of those classic, no, no, no, no, no, no. Yes, shots because he made it. It's like you shouldn't have taken the shot, but he did. And it went in. So good on the hawks.

And I look forward to watching that game because that's a crazy comeback. I'd love to see how that happened. 30. Yeah, you don't see a lot of. A 30 point comeback. Yeah, that's wild. That's heavy. But every time I say that you don't see a lot of those, we'll probably see five of them within the next week.

So probably five, 30 point comeback by the time we speak again. Kevin, this is going to be fun down the stretch for sure. We've only got like 10, 12, 12 games. games left in the regular season for these teams. And we got some pretty good, that West race is good. And certainly the Houston thing. Where those teams are seated in that Houston thing and whether they can overtake Golden State is going to be something that is going to be fun to monitor for this last

part of the season. Thank you to our executive producer Jesse Lopez, as always. Kevin, I'll talk to you Thursday night. Have a good week. Must be 20 plus in present in select states. Band Dill is offering online sports wagering in Kansas under an agreement with the Kansas Star Casino LLC. Gambling problem.

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