The Mismatch - Early First Impressions of the NBA Season

Episode Date: October 21, 2022

With the NBA season officially underway, Verno and KOC go through their first impressions. They begin discussing the bad vibes in Philadelphia before moving on to the 0-2 Lakers, how the Knicks look with Jalen Brunson, and KOC’s beloved Pelicans (01:56). Also, they discuss the brilliant debut of Paolo Banchero, not being impressed by what Steve Nash has done, and debate whether DeMar DeRozan will go off again this season (36:42). Hosts: Chris Vernon and Kevin O’Connor Producer: Jessie Lopez Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bill finally gave the ringers Philly crew a podcast. I'm Ben Solac. And I'm Shield Capadia. That's right. Just a couple of Philly guys with a new space to fire off some Eagles takes, get caught up in the Sixers, Chaos, and more. We'll be coming to you twice a week on Sundays and Thursdays, plus bonus episodes whenever we get Breaking News or Philly Drama.

Join the fun and follow the Ringers Philly special now on Spotify. Welcome to The Mismatch. I'm Chris Varnan and join me as he does every Friday from the ringer.com. It's Kevin O'Connor, A.K. Kevin O'C.O.com. Kevin O'Connor. Kevin O Climber, Kevin O'Clymer, Kevin O'Corpside, Kevin O'Cannibus. Kevin O'Shredder, that came from real deep in the archives there. When do we get another Kevin O'Connor shredding the axe for Twitter and Instagram?

I want a Kevin O'Connor guitar hero video. Okay. I'll, for that, Chris, since you said so, I'll work on some of them. for by the end of the year, for like a Christmas present. For you, only you. For me. People need to send Kevin requests what song we want to hear so that you can play your guitar again.

That's where Kevin O'Streter came from. We have had a lot of basketball games that have taken place over the course of the last couple of days. And with that, everybody has done overreactions to the beginning of the season. We're going to do more of a first impressions regarding these teams and what we have seen thus far. We've got 10 of them. We'll probably end up giving a lot more first impressions than just 10, but we'll kind of go with 10. Number one, Milwaukee is obviously still Milwaukee, but Philly, we saw them last night, and they've lost to possibly the two best teams in the

Eastern Conference. Kevin, to me, it feels like bad vibes. Now, that's possibly an overreaction, but I feel like more of a first impression simply because, I don't know if you read, but last night, Joel Embed declined to talk to reporters in the locker room. And it's game two. It's game too. After two games, I'm moping around, complaining, whining. Yeah, and you had said, as you were watching the game, one of your observations on Twitter was, this doesn't feel right with Embedd.

Like this is like the revenge season. This is the revenge NBA, you know, NBA MVP season. And instead, there's many times where he looks lifeless or nonchalant about what is taking place. And these have been rather highly competitive games for portions of them that in the end of both ended with Philly losses. but I know our boss is the body language doctor. I don't think you need to have a PhD in it to watch so far and be like, what's wrong with him?

Like, what's wrong with this team? And isn't it weird because Hardin looks like James Hardin? I mean, like, this is what you want. And you get what you hope for out of Hardin. And you get what you hope for out of a PJ Tucker

and some of the other new guys in this team. And then the, guy who almost won MVP looks nothing like the guy we saw last year. Granted, he didn't play a lot in preseason. So maybe he's a little bit out of shape, getting his win back, getting back into basketball shape,

and by game 20, this is all just a distant memory. Maybe that's what's going to happen. But I don't think it's just being out of shape, Chris. It seems like something is bothering him. He's been moping around the floor, way more than he typically does, especially given the fact these are two big games. Like you said, maybe the two best teams in the East

and the fact that you're getting what you hope for out of James Hardin. And he's shooting from mid-range more than he ever has before, too. He's integrating some new stuff into his game in that sense. So with Embed, I just don't know what's up. I really don't know. But something has to be up for him to walk out and not talk to the media after the game, too. I saw Bill say that he doesn't want to be on the 2016 rocket.

See, okay, I asked them about that. I forget if this quote made the story about Daryl Morey earlier in the week, but he said, I asked him, when James was in Houston, what did you think about their style of offense? And he, without missing a beat, came out right away and said, well, that's the way I want us to play. And I think I used the quote where he said, I'm always doubled and tripled team to the post.

If I'm passing the ball, I want my teammates to be unafraid and ready to shoot right off the catch. We need to play like those Houston teams that I liked watching them. I liked the way they play. So, you know, I thought maybe he'd say otherwise, but that's what he said to me. And he was very honest. He bashed Ryan Colangelo. He said a lot of open, honest things. I don't think he was, you know, being phony with that statement when he was clearly honest with everything else. So, well, I think there's a difference between what you think you want and then the when it plays out what you actually want. I think Joel and B. likes being the man. And so maybe now, feel like his spotlights being stolen from James Hardin, who's awesome through two games?

Yeah, that this is a, yeah, that this is set up for hardened success and that this is not a team that plays together necessarily and bounces the ball around, that this is a team that is a hardened-centric basketball team, at least thus far. It is a hardened-centric basketball team. So, of course, he's going to have big numbers. he's still good enough to put up the numbers, but, you know, it was hardening a bunch of role players when it was going on in Houston.

There was no, like, star next to him necessarily that felt like they weren't getting theirs. And then when there was, it didn't work out very well. It didn't work out very well with Westbrook. It worked out okay with, Paul, but frankly, everybody thought Chris Paul had really lost a step and was done and that things couldn't be Chris Paul centric anymore. And we know that that ended up having to break up. And so now you see another elite level player in the league. That's one of the things that went

to my mind, that it's not, you know what I mean? Everybody's got an ego. And I'm sure that Joe L. Embed loved being king of Philadelphia basketball. He still is. Right. He still. He's still is. I mean, that, that's where I... But he's not when one guy takes 525 dribbles and the rest of the team takes 400. I mean, I'm just looking up in numbers through two games for touches for Joe Al-Bee. Last season, he averaged 76 touches per game. That's down to 68. It's not a dramatic difference with his own usage, though.

I mean, it's... He's not dribbling the ball as much, like you said, because Hardin is dominating the ball. Yeah. There's a lot of standing around. A lot of standing around for everybody. A lot of one-pass possessions. Yeah. There is more of that. It's not that fun. If you're a role player, then you just play your role, getting a lot of open shots with James Hardin and everything else. When you're not a role player, I think it has proven to be difficult on the other guy.

And so we'll see. Maybe they'll end up, end up with. great chemistry, maybe they'll end up playing well together, but this was what Daryl Mori wanted. He wanted to get James Harden there, and is it going to work in unison being as devastating as it can be? The thing is, though, the offense hasn't been the issue, though. It's been their defense. That's been the problem through two games, especially the first game.

Well, man, how can you say the offense isn't the issue? They scored 88 points last night. I know, I know, but I guess. you know, first game, first game it was about the defense. Last night, obviously, there was a 90 to 88 game. But the first game, the defense was more of the issue. Last night, sure, the offense was more of the problem. Joe and Libby goes six for 21, forcing a ton of shots, sloppy turnovers.

Nobody was really good offensively last night, aside from James Hardin. So yes, last night the offense was the problem, not the defense. But with Embedite, like for him, man, like you talked about this. being the number one defense in the league. You're talking about having the number one pick and roll last year with him and Hardin. It just doesn't feel like the Sixers right now are

anywhere close to what they can be at some point during the season. So I'm going to give this time. I wouldn't overreact here. I think the numbers over the course of last year after Hardin was acquired mid-year at the trade deadline indicate the upside of their offense. And then defensively,

Darryl Morey inevitably is going to make some type of move to shore up any types of holes that they have by the deadline in February. So I'm not overreacting here. Let's see if MB gets in shape. But like you said, the body language stuff, the moping, the complaining, that that's where I do get a little bit concerned. And maybe there's some forcing it with some of the sloppy decisions out there on the

floor. Like he's taking some rough shots, been loose with the ball. That's where I wonder, like, where is he, his focus mentally? You know, he just doesn't feel like he's locked in. So that I'm slightly concerned about, but roster-wise, system-wise, other than getting an uptick of touches for Tyrese maxi, get him a little bit more pick and roll,

I want to see hard and still more off-ball, more maxi-on ball. Other than that, I'm not. I think it's just so stark because you juxtapose it versus the team that they played. And the way that team, you watch them communicating with each other on offensive defense and in huddles.

way they interact, like that culture that they have. And then on the other side, it feels like five guys walking in separate directions back to a huddle and Doc trying to get him on the same page. I don't know. It's just, it's just bad vibes. It's just bad vibes. Do you think Doc could be in the hot seat? For sure. He'll be the, I mean, look, if it's not going well, he'll be the first one to fall on the sword. You don't get rid of players first. You get rid of a coach first, and you try to fix it that way. It's the way it goes. I just don't like, you know, a guy who's been the voice or a voice for the team being so frustrated that he's not even talking to media after the second game of the season. That's wild.

That's wild. You know, that's like we're struggling in game 30 stuff. Yeah. Not game two. I mean, that was a rough loss. To lose to Milwaukee without two of their better players. That's right. I mean, they got Javon Carter and Grayson Allen starting.

No Pat Conantin, no Chris Middleton. And Drew Holliday was terrible, too, two of 15. And he still lose that game. Oof. I mean, West Matthews hitting the dagger. Yeah. After Tobias Harris helped inside when Embed was in good position, leaving an open shooter when you're up too late in the game,

just an absolutely horrific decision by Tobias Harris. But that speaks to, like, Tobias, what he can provide offensively, His role does not necessitate him making nearly $40 million, and he doesn't make up for it on defense with some of those piss-poor off-ball rotations. Like, that was a bad mistake by him late in that game. And that's where I wonder, where does Mori look for changes in this roster?

And to me, it's got to be at that Harris spot with that salary. Speaking of teams that look lifeless and have bad body language, the Los Angeles Lakers, first impression. impression. So this is number two. Rob Polinka's contract extension is the most outrageous move of the off season. You watch them and you go, what were you thinking?

Like, what were you thinking? Putting this team together. What are you thinking? Because this is a mess. Now, on the flip side, the clipper's fantastic. They just, we talked about their depth. They just bring good player after good player after good player off, just wings on wings on wings. And to see it play out a very good wall first impression,

very good Kauai first impression. Off the bench. His butt doesn't hurt, Chris. No, it doesn't in his limited minutes. But on the other side, that Lakers thing, holy mackle, Kevin. What a mess. What a mess. I mean, immediately, what a mess. And I know you tweeted out their upcoming schedule. And it's pretty bleak. Yeah, you want to hear that upcoming schedule? And the reason why I tweeted up the first 16 games because Woj reported this week that he would not expect a Lakers trade involving Russell Westbrook until after Thanksgiving, which is November 24th in the United States.

So the first 16 games Portland, Denver, Minnesota, Denver, New Orleans, Utah, Cleveland, Utah, Clippers, Sacramento, Brooklyn, Detroit, San Antonio, Phoenix. I see like five or six wins. Wow. Seven at most. At most for the Lakers in that group of 16 games.

What would you say, Chris? Five, six, that feels realistic to me. A lot of people said like four to six was the most popular response from people who responded to that tweet. I mean, didn't you... Okay, there's one side of me that says,

they've played the Warriors and they played the Clippers. Yes, two of the best teams. How about we let this play out a little bit? Yeah. But again, it's a vibes thing and you're watching it and you're watching LeBron James

after game one basically criticize the roster that has been put together. And then in game two, ADs can't move because he had that hard fall. And they're like, yeah, that's scary considering his injury history. He's going to be feeling that even more today, I'm sure. And Westbrook is just abominable last night. O for 11.

Let me just say this. This is one of the things that, and this is why I wanted to put this focus on Polinka. The trade was stupid when it first happened and we all said it was stupid. Anybody that thought LeBron James and Russell Westbrook was a good fit and doesn't understand how to build a team when you've got LeBron James as your centerpiece is foolishness at best. Then they went the whole offseason. It didn't work last year.

It never looked good. You knew it was going to be a problem. It was a problem in the offseason. Westbrook fired his agent. And obviously they needed to figure something out with this. this and to go into the season and us watch it and it be miserable. And then everybody like every night lining up and criticizing this. And Russ is admittedly awful, awful.

But it's like, I don't know, Kevin. If I've got a, if I got a toddler running around with a knife, you would say, oh, my God, that's insane. I can't believe that's happening. And then, or you could say, how about you never let the toddler get a knife in the first place? Or you could take it away. One or the other.

But what's done is done. The toddler's got the night. Now, all right, take it away from you. Okay? Instead, this is like them saying, hey, maybe it's okay, maybe a toddler can run with a knife. It's like, bro, there's a toddler running with a knife. What are you doing? You know the way this happens.

So at what point do I start to criticize the people that are allowing it to happen? At what point are you allowed to say, what are you letting a toddler run around with a knife for? What's wrong with you? And they come out in the season, they say, oh, we're going to make the LeBron James Russell Westbrook thing work again. It's like, no, you're not. No, you're not. We're going to see if the toddler could run with a knife. I want to ask you this, though, Chris.

Could you have seen Russ be this bad, this soon? Considering the level of discontent that was all offseason leading into this, maybe not this bad. But I mean, but the film was still clearly not a good fit. Yeah. They weren't even. And you felt that way even as a Russ guy.

You've always liked Russ and I've always been the anti-Russ guy. These guys didn't even talk to each other when they were in Summer League. Didn't even speak. Well, okay. So, like I said something to Bill on the pod, like the conspiracy thought, like does he want this roster to be so bad? I don't necessarily believe that. because he wants to move on from LeBron. LeBron pushed for Russell Westbrook.

Maybe there's some internal feelings about you can't win with him making those decisions, pushing for decisions, because they didn't want to get Russ first. They wanted the buddy-heeled side of things. And maybe that would have been the wrong decision, too. The real thought that I have here, Chris, is that they're going down the Mori Simmons path here,

that they're just stringing this out as long as they possibly can because they're hoping somebody, better becomes available. They're hoping a dame or a beale. And not if they can necessarily afford that guy. They only have two future first round draft picks. But I think the

Lakers at this point, to win with LeBron and AD, they're hoping for somebody to demand a trade, even if it's specifically to Los Angeles. So then they could use the Russell Westbrook's salary with those highly valuable two future first and however many second round picks

it takes to get something better than Miles Turner and Buddy Healed. Because Miles Turner, as good as he is, and Buddy Heald, as good of a shooter as he is, those two guys aren't solving all their problems. They just aren't. So maybe they're looking for something else. And look, all the attention in the world goes on Russ and this critical mistake, for sure. Rest of Russ are in any good to be around LeBron either. And the other thing is, I know it is never acceptable to criticize LeBron James because LeBron James is going to get numbers no matter what game he plays in.

But have a little interest in being the leader and holding everybody accountable. I mean, that's what we want from our best players is to hold guys. Whatever you're dealt, whatever hand you are dealt, those are the guys you're going to war with. So you want him to tell Russell Westbrook, stop shooting? I think everybody, like you're that guy. You're that guy for that team, everybody. There was a clip last night of Russ being asked about his jumper and Juan Tuscano Anderson.

You know, it was like, you know, do you get demotivated when everybody's missing shots? And Juan Tisano Anderson comes over and he's like, he doesn't stop encouraging me to shoot and I've missed a bunch. I'm like, maybe that's the problem. Yeah. It's like everybody's like, oh, what a great teammate that Skano Anderson is. Well, maybe some honesty would be better. Yep. Like Russell Westberg should not be taken pull up.

jumpers with 17 seconds on the shot clock before getting it to any offensive set. That's horrible offense. It is, but I think it underscores. That's underscored, Kevin. It's one shot in that game. It is horrible. I mean, he missed more than one shot. No, no, no.

He missed all of them. Yeah. But, I mean, that particular shot, that's one shot. That's one horrible play within the entire game. They got a lot bigger problems than that one possession. You know what I'm saying? Of course. The whole thing is a mess.

And we will see probably sooner and later there become a solution to that. But how you build that roster when you've got LeBron James and Anthony Davis is just bananas to me. Bananas. Tip off the NBA season with Fandul, America's number one sportsbook. New customers get $150 in free bets guaranteed when you play season. your first $5 bet. Plus, Fandul is the only sportsbook that's giving all customers

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Hope New York. And Tennessee, call redline. 1-800-8-9-9-9-7-8-8-9. In Wyoming, call 1-800-2-2-4-70. In West Virginia, I visit 1800dambler.net. Next one. Number three. A game that I went to in-person the other night,

and one of my takeaways was the Knicks, they're going to reap major benefits from this J-Librunsen acquisition. They ended up losing the game. They lost the game in overtime. But he is what we thought he was in terms of just insanely solid. And they'll have some figuring out to do as the season goes on. But a couple of things that stood out to me. They're a big team, for sure.

He gets to all their spots. He gets to all his spots. He gets other guys. Good shots. And this is something that I am unhappy to report. It's not a report. It's an opinion. Reporting an opinion.

You and I have both been very high on RJ. He looked out of shape to me, Kev. Out of shape. Yeah, he looked out of shape. He looked soft to me. He was three of 18 in the game. Yeah, I mean, but it wasn't, it wasn't just the three of 18. I can deal with you not, you know, making shots or not playing very well.

I just did not think that you, see these guys and one of the things that comes to pass as a new season begins is you can see you can tell which guys have really dedicated themselves over the summer there's always those guys that's like oh okay i got something to prove i'm in the best shape of my life whatever i don't know and maybe that's just maybe that's just me i'm telling you that was my opinion watching it where i was like man Like, do you just get $100 million and take the last month off or something? I just did not think the great players in the league put in that work,

and they are in the requisite shape to be every night guys that can really go big. And I have very high hopes for RJ. He is an incredibly talented guy. My impression from watching that was he just, he's never been an explosive. guy. But I don't know, people have to see him, watch him. People see him in person. People watch them on television when they do the up-close shots and just watch the way he's moving. That to me was not a guy that worked on his body in the off season. And I think it went the other way on him. And I got a little worry. And someone who's got high hopes for him. And you can

whip back into shape rather fast. I'm just saying, I didn't see that coming in. And I was hoping to see a guy that came in ready to be the man for the New York Knicks in this year after he got that money. He looked like a guy that thought he was going to be playing in Utah

with nobody watching. To me. But, I will say, mega positive on Brunson. Which is why it's a good thing they got Brunson to alleviate pressure off you know, and R.J. Barrett from having to facilitate. You get Brunson with nine assists, zero turnovers,

great for others. I thought that shot they hit with, what, five seconds left in the game, the handoff to Brunson attacks the paint, whips the pass to reddish in the corner. I mean, there's right on the money, man. That's the way Brunson's passes were the entire night, and they always will be for this next team, just creating quality looks,

even in difficult situations for his team. teammates. He's so steady as a player. And by the way, Cam Reddish, that's one of my impressions. Cam Reddish looked a hell of a lot like the guy we dreamed of in college. I never in a billion years did I think I was going to walk out of an arena and think about Cam Reddish instead of R.J. Barrett regarding the former Duke teammates. Yeah. Cam Reddish looks really good. We also went the three to take them into overtime.

Yeah, that's the one I'm talking about at the end of the game with five seconds left. at one in the left corner. Huge shot. Yeah, he was good. And on the other side, I mean, you saw Memphis starting John Contchar. You saw them starting Santiago. Aldama. Yeah.

Chris, we talked about him in preseason. Let me tell you what this is, though, Kevin. And me and my producer said this to me, who you know, John Rosa, we're sitting there watching the game. And he said, do you know what this is like? and it stands to reason, considering Taylor Jenkins came from there, he said, this is exactly like the old Spurs were in the sense that we would go to the game and we would go, there's no Genobley, we would say there's no Danny Green tonight,

Tim Duncan's sitting out, whatever. And then we would go to the game and you'd go, you'd go, who the hell is Gary Neal or who is Bryn Forbes and why is he killing us? or who's Davis Burthons or, you know, Kauai's out. Who is Jonathan Simmons? And it's just you've got this system, you've got these guys, you plug and play, and you're able to win no matter who is playing. And when you can start John Conchard and Santhi Aldama at Small Forward to Power

Forward and both of them get double doubles, it really is very reminiscent of those old Spurs teams. For anybody that's a big NBA fan, and especially that went to games, we always, you always had that happen where their guys would be like, oh good, no Genobley. And it just didn't matter because then Bryn Forbes had 28 for them. And it's like, what is going on? Can I ask you an extremely premature question that probably will make you mad? Does Aldama, who played 39 minutes, Jaron Jackson has played 39 minutes only twice in his career? Yeah. Does Aldama at all make Jared Jackson Jr.

Even a little bit expendable as a potential high-value young trade asset. 23 years old, does he-old? Let's talk about it. Jared Jackson Jr. should have won defensive player of the year last year. Okay. All right. Well, factor that into the equation here. If you're talking about building this roster out and making it the best team possible, does he at all become a little bit more expendable?

Do you know what this is? Even a little. Just give me a little, Chris. I'm not asking you to trade you train them tomorrow. Hey, I've been through this over the course of the last three months. You know, I'm a Dallas Cowboys fan. Yeah. You are doing the Cooper Rush, you know.

I don't think I'm doing that. Yes, you are. I don't think I am. Santi's a good player. Santy's a good basketball player. He's fine. He's fine. How do you assess his defense, Santee?

He's fine. He's not D.O.I. Of course he's not. No. He's not Jared Jackson, Jr. No. You're Cooper rushing me. Ridiculous.

I've already lived like this. Number four. All right, here's your moment. The Pelicans are devastating. Oh, thank you. This feels so good. I don't care who you're playing against. I don't.

72 points in a. second half, it's unbelievable for an opening night. Like, there's supposed to be some kinks to work out. And I know the nets suck and they're a mess themselves. That being said, 72 is a enormous number to get to in a second half. Theoretically, should be a little bit harder and the game should get a little bit more serious as it goes on. and you might see 71 in a first half,

and then the team scores 51 in the second half, and that's how they got to their 123. They just beat their ass even worse in the second half. And you've got Zion looked awesome. Oh, he looks so good. With space, too. They ran that lineup with the Trey Murphy, Larry Nance, from court,

and just the amount of space Zion has just to drive. drive into the paint. He had this one drive against Ben Simmons where he elbowed him on the drive and created a easy layup opportunity with the left hand. Just, yeah, he looks good. Yeah. So good. Clearly you've got Ingram. Ingram. Oh, my God. Ingram's mid-range, Chris. Isn't that beautiful to watch? It is. But you've got, like, you mentioned like Trey Murphy or somebody. Oh, Trey Murphy's so good. Yeah, I know. So does that make Ingram expendable? Let's go! Who can play this game?

You can play this game. The Bailey Zappy made Mac Jones expendical? Well, at least Jared Jackson. Like, he has a hard time cracking 30 minutes. Hey, what about Bailey Zappy? Are we doing him? We getting rid of Mac? We're getting rid of Mac?

Yeah. I can't wait until the Jared Jackson Jr. Trade rumors in January. Oh, no. I told you it was premature. You know why they're not going to happen? Because Mark Berman got fired. Because he's the only guy that's in America that's traded every grizzly over the course of the last 10 years.

He's gone. He's not covering the Knicks anymore. Boy, you love that guy. Whoever's going to take his place. Anyways. Well, with the Pelicans, though, I mean, I feel like, it's just one game. But we talked about in the preseason, well, how do you distribute touches? There's a clear hierarchy here.

It's Zion and Ingram. and then CJ and then everybody else. Yeah. It's clear as day with how this is going to be. Zion be the field goal attempt guy. Yeah. They know what they've got. I mean, Ingram's getting a lot of touches too and facilitating as well.

That guy can playmate. He could ever since Duke and that's the skill he's only gotten better at. I'm telling you, dude. I know, I know you think I might be nuts. People think I'm crazy. The Pelicans can win the NBA finals. but this roster, maybe they're going to move away, but they have 15 first round draft picks

where they can enhance this team if necessary. We just don't see that in the history of the NBA. Of course. I am a believer in taking your scars. I'm a believer in doing it together that when you get in those very tough games when it comes playoff time, there will be defensive questions.

Oh, for sure. They've got. There will be defensive questions. And you got to, look, Even the heedles when you throw it together. And that's arguably the greatest player, certainly not even arguably, the greatest player of this generation,

with two all-star caliber running mates, you have to take some lumps first. Sure. 100%, Chris. Very rare. 100%. So when you're going from a team that won 36 games to saying they can win the NBA finals,

calm down. Calm down. I don't think it's outrageous. Yeah, you calm down. I don't think it's outrageous. They can go out and get anybody they want. Look, and I don't want to hear this. Why should that not be factored them to the equation?

Who's to say they won't trade for a great player that hasn't taken those stars? It's about the minutes played together and going through it together and going through the playoffs together. Which I'm not saying they're going to win it. I'm not saying they're the favorite. I'm not coming out here with some hot take. I'm saying they can win the NBA football. finals that they are equipped with a great roster as is and all those draft picks.

You calm down. And don't you dare start tweeting about this when they drop 180 on the Hornets tonight? Because that doesn't count. The Hornets game doesn't count. I feel like I'm taking crazy pills with this, Chris. You are. Honestly, I do feel like that. You are.

I do. There's just, I mean, it would be NBA history. This isn't what happened. Of course, it's not usually. what happens. It's usually not players who are as young as Zion and as great as Zion. Right.

I mean, we're going to forget LeBron James. I never said that there hasn't been. I'm saying there usually isn't. And with any of them, even the greatest ones. Yonis, take some time. It takes time for all these guys.

Yokic had won big yet. That's the only thing. It's just the time thing. and the playing together. But they are, they're devastating. I just think, I just think when you,

when you imagine them having an eight-man playoff rotation with a possibly upgraded roster, like on paper, you're right. They haven't, in reality, they haven't taken their lumps. But on paper,

their roster could stack up with anybody in the entire league. Fair enough. Number five. Paulo Bancaro. Oh, isn't he so nice. He's his ready, made as it

gets. Guys usually aren't that ready this early. And you remember a couple months ago I said he's going to win rookie of the years. He's going to average over 20 points a game. This guy is ready to beat. He was better than I could have even expected.

Better. Didn't he look like a 10-year vet out there? Oh my God. It was insane. And I think people that are seeing him for the first time realize what I was talking about when I met the kid over the summer. Just size-wise, you can't believe he's moving like that.

At that side, even on that poster dunk, when you see him standing next to the guy, he looks like, it's like what Janus looks like. Really? And it's like, this guy is dribbling and cracking on people, and then you see him standing next to like an average NBA player. You're like, this guy is enormous. Enormous.

I mean, that poster dunk was, I mean, that'll be a candidate for Dunk of the year and it happened in game one. I thought the diversity of how he scored was so impressive, too, because he did it with, like, the handling, crossovers, pull-up jumpers from 18 feet. But he also did it with, like, some hard transition runs. He did it with some timely, smart, intelligent cuts in the half court with, like, whether it was Wagner or Wendell Carter on the perimeter hand on the ball,

and Bencaro just cuts behind the defense to get a bucket. like he he's a smart high IQ player man like it's not it's not just it's not just handles like he can do it every way first impression very impressive man unbelievable unbelievable first very impressive like he i mean we you know talked about benegovathrin as a rookie of the year candidate um and i think and i think he will end up top through like he's one of my first impressions too bened benedict matherer was really good in his debut as well but You got a dream matchup tonight for you. I know there's a bunch of good games going on.

There's like Celtic T and a lot of those. But, I mean, I know you're going to be locked into Spurs Pacers. You know it, Chris. You're going to be ready to watch that one. I'll be locked in a lot. I love calling you to the carpet over things that you say in the past. Like, you would ever watch that in a million years. Well, I mean, there's going to be games I watched before that, of course.

I'm telling you this. They could be playing across the street from me in a park and I wouldn't walk. over there. Spurs basers. Who cares? But, hey, I'll watch the Benedict Matherer highlights. I'll go to NBA.com and click on field goal attempted and watch them all. He excites me. I'll give you. Thank you. Next to a six. Utah's got too many solid players, Kevin. Danny's got to start getting on the phone like ASAP. Blow it up again. I mean, you watch. Watch them and it's like, you know what? I've always been one of those that says like, you know,

just don't have players that suck or don't have players that suck. Like, oddly, they do have a bunch of guys that I think that would be worthy of trading for if you're like a good team, like guys that could be pieces on good teams and like actually be in rotations on good teams. Mike Ely, 100%. Nikila Alexander Walker I loved him coming out of the drafts. It's still like nothing's proven yet.

Jordan Clarkson, yes. Alexander Walker first guy you mentioned off the bench. No, no, no. I'm just going through the roster. Oh, yeah, yeah. I'm just going through the roster. Jordan Clarkson, yes. Colin Sexton, yes.

Malik Beasley, yes. Lori Markinen, yes. Taylon Horton Tucker were, who knows. Olinick, for sure. Maybe Walker Kessler has a backup bid. Walker Kessler looked really good at his interview. Jared Vanderbilt for sure.

Like they got too many guys that can actually like play for somebody. And he's going to have to tear the thing down because I feel like, and they've got some like winners mentality type of guys. And so I think that they're actually going to win some games until he offloads this stuff. But they do have a, you kind of thrown all these guys together. that are not like guys that are going to win a ton of games if you play 82 games out. But until you break them up, they're going to like win the share and people are going to be pissed at their team lost to the chance. Just like Nuggets fans had to be the other night.

Like, what? I thought they were trying to stink. I mean, they're not going to be a good team. No. But I'm saying they've got too many good. Good players. Sure. They got too many good players to be awful.

Colin Sexton, you see the bucket he had at the end of the game where he kind of like, you know, rubbed his foot against the court, you know, looking like Young Bull. You know who they played tonight? Who do they play tonight? Go Bear. Oh, they play Go Bear tonight, huh? Yes. We get to see the Walker Kessler versus Rudy Go Bear matchup.

Kessler had this finish around the room against Yokic, where he took off from the right side of the rim. And with his right hand and then switch to the left underneath the basket. I want to see him do that side against Rudy Gober. I mean, that's one of those finishes where you're like, okay, this guy is going to be able to finish around the room against Great Rim Protectors. That was. That dude was College Gobert. Oh, he was. Yeah.

The way he protected the room, he was. And also the way that when they got to the NCAA tournament, Jim Laredega at Miami went five wide. and just played his ass straight off the court. Yeah. Well, just like with Rudy, you can't. He can't blame Walker Cussar entirely. I'm going to be consistent here. All right, next one.

Shaden Sharp is the fun one. Wow. Shadden Sharp makes your list. I did not know this is going to happen. He does, and here's why. Every once in a while we have this happen, where it's like this guy, and many times,

it can be like an international player. But a guy that we just, if you're not in the AAU or the big, you know, preps hoops scene, we never saw this guy. He never played in Kentucky. And now he goes to the NBA. And he played what, like five minutes of summer league? And then got hurt and was gone.

And so I've always been very intrigued. by this, especially when, Kevin, you had him insanely high on your draft list. Fourth. Yeah, you had him a top five guy. And so really, really liked him. And you fast forward, and during the preseason, he had won. The baseline dunk that he had in the preseason was downright freaky. Oh, yeah.

Caught it with one hand and spiked it. I'm like, my God. I mean, you have to be such a special athlete to pull that off. And then first impression stuff, you know, Portland looked good in their first night. Dame didn't, but Portland as a whole looked good. And I think probably a surprising outcome with the way that they played against the Kings on opening night. But he's the fun one in the sense of most of these rookies. We've already gotten those first impression.

and with him we haven't. And just regarding the preseason and then first time on an NBA court, it's like, geez, man, Portland may have really gotten something here because you can see some extraordinary stuff with him even in the limited time. But they're always the most fun, the guys that are, and he's even more brand new than the other rookies

because we just haven't seen it. Yeah, Shavin Sharpe looks terrific. I'm impressed he hit those two really tough three-pointers in that debut against the Kings. And you're right, Portland looked better. You know, Dame, I hope Dame can refine himself. It was bleak. I'm a little concerned there, again, early, but we're talking first impressions here. Your guy, Deeran Fox had a horrific end of the game.

too many sloppy turnovers. He had that reckless lob and then he just drove right into a guy with a minute left in the game. Sloppy. Kings can't lose their home opener with expectations as high as they are to Portland with Dame having the night that he did.

That's going to be the hardest thing for Mike Brown to do. I don't want to get into a huge discussion, but it's one of the things I always talk about when I hate that these teams lose on purpose or are critically mismanaged is because of the profound effect it can have on players. I make no excuse for him. Okay?

Let me be clear. And I do think he can be a winning player. But you're going to walk in your Mike Brown and you've got to get rid of a lot of habits in order to play winning basketball because those guys have been a bunch of losers. It's what they've been. Yeah, but tanking didn't, or being bad, didn't make Deeran Fox hit the side of the backboard

on a jumper down the stretch of that game. I'm saying that that's the kind of thing that has been happening for a long time and now there's an expectation. You've got to learn what is a good shot, what's not a good shot, how to play for the greater good, and how to win basketball games.

and so sometimes the plays that you I think it's hard to be a loser for a long time I mean how many of these guys were there not a lot so the main guy the main guy Fox sure but Herder wasn't Sabonis wasn't Barnes wasn't

Apollo wasn't but four out of the five guys in the starting lineup weren't he's the guy with the ball and he's been playing losing basketball for a long time so maybe he's a losing point card That's not true. It's not true. I mean, when I was there coming out of college when he emasculated Lanzo ball at Kentucky, it was there.

Don't tell me that kid's a loser. He's not. I'm not saying that he is. I'm just saying maybe. No. You have your. Poking fun of your guy. I'll give you another guy once upon a time.

When I saw young Eric Bledsoe, he had this fire determination. He was a winning basketball player. He was. Don't use our blood so as an example. He was. And then he went to Phoenix and he just, I don't think you can, there's an opportunity cost to

losing every damn night. Season after season after season. But I think the kids are winning player and it's a bad first night for sure. I'm going down with it. I'm not overreacting to it. No, I'm just saying it was just a disappointing game for the kicks.

That like opening night, you're feeling like, good. You're facing a Blazers team that you, on paper, should beat and that you do need to beat when you're talking about that playing bubble. It's just, it's just disappointing. I feel bad for Kings fans after just one game. Because their crowd was great. The crowd was awesome. Yeah, no doubt about it. I want to go to a game up there. Have you ever been to a Kings game? I've never been to one. I've never been to Sacramento. I'd love to go to one this year. I haven't either. So close. I have no excuse not to this year.

Next one. Killian Hayes blocking Mo Bomba has truly made you think about feeling. What? I know how to feel, Chris. I'm an emotional guy. Were you happy for Killian? Or were you sad for Mo? Why can't it be both? I don't feel like it can be both.

I think it can be both. I feel sad for Mo Bamba that Bull Bull was taking his spot and then he chose to resign with the Orlando Magic. I feel bad. And then for Killian Hayes, Hold on now. He got his chance

and he got blocked by Killian. And then Killian, he does it all, man, besides score. He does it all besides score. Yeah, he does. He does.

He does everything at a very high level besides score. And unfortunately, like that thing that they hang, it's the thing that keeps score, right? Like the one Yeah. Right.

Like the whole idea. He can do everything to put the ball in the basket. Defensively, he's a great firmamenter defender, great interior defender for a guard. He rebounds for his position. He's a smart playmaker. He doesn't commit careless turnovers. He just can't score.

Is it too early for shrunken Ben Simmons comps? Oh my God. It's way too early for that. At least Killian's not afraid to shoot. Dang. Ben first impression, not a good one, Kev. No, not a good one at all, no. Yikes.

Yeah. And if there was ever a team that, how valuable are Joe Harris and Seth Curry to that team right now? They've never needed anything more than some guys that could knock down some shots, some more good players to put in that lineup. They play tonight against the Toronto Raptors. I'm really looking forward to that one. I'll be watching that game for sure tonight.

this is a I mean it's just game two I know it's just game two but I look forward to seeing Ben Simmons defending Pascal Seaccom or Scotty Barnes and then also what does his role look like

against Toronto this team that switches up defensive schemes has length I'm sure they'll be switching a ton of screens you know handoff actions between Irving and Simmons or Simmons and Durant or whatever the combination is I just look forward to seeing how Brooke When they're on offense,

and especially considering the responsibility, Simmons is also going to have to handle when he's on defense. Falling out in 23 minutes in that first game. Well, and I'm going to say they got problems all the way around. I'm not very impressed with Nash, Kev. And I know I made that prediction, you know, the semi-bow prediction. But one of the things that is the coach's job is you watch these games and you go, all right, coach's responsibility

is put players in the best position to win. And a major portion of that is the game plan. What are we trying to get as a team and what are we trying to take away from the other team? And I see very little direction in terms of what the Nets do. You know, some of these teams,

I see, I watch them and you can tell that's a good scout that they had on that team because they're going to make it very difficult on this guy or they're going to try to take away this. And maybe it's just because we watch opening night and they just get blistered from everywhere. But my God, like you tell me what they were trying to do against Boston.

What are they trying to get done that first night? Wait, wait, you're talking of Brooklyn? You mean, New Orleans, New Orleans, yeah. No, no, no, against New Orleans. What are they trying to accomplish? Well, I mean, it was, some of Steve Nash's lineup choices were weird. Like, you get the Edmund Sumner lineup in there with him playing the three next to, I think it was Patty Mills or Cam Thomas, and then Kyrie out there.

Like, what's with these small, weird lineups, some strange choices. by Steve Nash. Like, what is our advantage and how are we going to try to exploit it? I didn't see any of it. And it might just be that we look up and the pelicans are devastated. We talked about it earlier.

I don't know. But they just look aimless to me. I wonder who their new coach would be. Like, would it just be going straight to Jock Vaughn, who wasn't great in his past experience as a head coach? Is there another guy off their bench? Would it be someone from the outside that they would? it higher.

You wonder if there's a Marx connection somewhere? Yeah. You know, Darwin Ham got hired by the Lakers, unfortunately for him. I mean, and also this, this thought isn't to excuse Steve Nash. It's not. But how much of this is a failure of like the leadership of the players of Katie, of Kyrie, of Simmons, those aren't necessarily the best leaders, examples for a team, whether it's vocally or by example on the court.

Katie's never been a super vocal leader, you know, always was second to Russ with OKC. It's what I criticized LeBron for earlier. Like, why aren't you getting everybody in a huddle and saying what the F is going on? Instead, you're out there chumming it up with Draymond Green getting beat by 1,000. I mean, how much of it is that? And then you get like Cam Thomas the summer rolling his eyes when asked about Steve Nash, wanting him to be more of a playmaker and score. I just wonder how much of that is the nature and the spirit and the personality.

of the locker room that just isn't connecting with Steve Nash because I still think Steve Nash is a smart enough, he was a genius player, seemed like a highly respected assistant when he was helping players, when he was working with the Warriors as a consultant,

players loved him, KD, loved him, but what is it about the personality of the team that doesn't meshing with him? And this, of course, X's and O's lineups, all that stuff he's failed at, that it was considering the expectations for him. But I wonder how much of it is that as well?

I think it's almost impossible. Hubey Brown years ago when I was covering the Grizzlies, he had gotten hired as a coach. One of the things, I used to go to every one of his press conferences just because he would turn it into basically a clinic. And I learned a lot of basketball from him. One of the things he talked about was having the best player on your team on your side, if you are a coach.

And he said, you could look across the league. And there's a real wisdom to this. when I look and you see all of the, you know, you go, hey, did that, say somebody gets ousted, right? Were him and the best player in lockstep? Did he have him on his side? So you could say, we didn't have that many, honestly. But like, let's even say James Barago, right? I bet you a down to donut.

He didn't have Lamello on his side when it came to the side. The most important people in the organization are always the best players. Aluka Donchich. Rick Harlow clearly, they weren't in lockstep. Yeah, they weren't. Together. And you could just go down one after another after another. And I think it just makes everything so difficult if you are not walking arm in arm with your best player.

And we know very well that the best player on their team tried to get didn't want to walk. arm in arm. Yeah, Katie wanted to go. And then you get Kyrie Irving in his pregame speech asks the fans to show up every night. Oh, my God. Which, all right, here you go. Which is worse.

Can you really win with them? I don't know. Which is worse? Kyrie Irving. I'm going to pose you a very difficult question. Okay, please. Which is worse? Kyrie Irving,

grabbing the microphone and imploring the fans to show up. night. That's funny. That was really good. Or Patrick Beverly grabbing the microphone and yelling, we're going to be in the playoffs.

Oh, it's the Kyrie aspect. I think I disagree. Really? How come? Yeah, because I think I can roll my eyes at Kyrie. Pat Ben, like, playoff declaration.

It's a freaking Lakers. We're going to make the playoffs. It's not like Deerran Fox grabbed the microphone. phone? Like, I'm here. I'm only on winning teams.

We're going to make the playoffs. I'd hope so. Shit. We got LeBron James and Anthony Davis. What the hell are you? We're going to make the playoffs. I say that. So this is why we're the mismatch.

I vote the Beverly one. It's way worse. I would be mortified as a Lakers fan if I heard that. The irony of the Kari statement is just so strong. It's hilarious to me. It's like when I saw that, I was just burst in out laughing. The Beverly thing is funny too, of course. They're both great.

Can we agree to this degree? They're both fantastic. Yes. Yes. But there's a, look, I think you're discounting the irony and Patrick Beverly saying that about the way. Oh, I know. It's not.

Tyrese Halliburton grabbing a microphone and saying, we're going to make the playoffs to Indiana fans or something. It's a guy wearing a Lakers jersey, a teammate of LeBron and 80. This is crazy. I'm going to make the playoffs. Thanks. Geez, I hope so.

I spend $120,000 a year on these seats. I hope we'd make the playoffs. Otherwise, I don't know what I'm, you guys might get my, you might have I get my deposit again. Good grief. Last one. Are we going to do this again with

DeMar de Rosen? It's night one. They didn't have Zach Levine with the knee thing already. That's scary. And then you have the terrible Lonzo story where you hope that he's able to still advance his career

whenever it is. He's able to come back. But this guy is like out of his mind. He had this amazing season last year where people were talking about, geez, MVP and whatever else. I mean, you go back, go look at DeMar Rosen's draft class. That's the OJ. Mayo, Russell Westbrook, like, it's that one, right? And DeRosen, like, gets drafted like eight or something? Do you want me to pull up the draft class? Yeah. What year was that? I got sure. It was 09. So the top 10. Oh, so he was at the beat year with Blake Griffin.

Blake Griffin, Hashim to beat, James Hardin, Tyreek Evans, Ricky Rubio, Johnny Flynn, Stefan Curry, Jordan Hill, DeMarreauze, and Brandon Jennings. Well, they've actually had some guys that between Hardin and Curry and, I mean, that are peak, yeah, I think you would say Hardin's probably not at peak of powers, but Curry's, as good as he's been, probably not at his apex. But this just, having this Demarder Rose and apex come at this, A, this time in age and career is rather unbelievable. Can I scratch my own back for a second?

Yeah. Like this, I think one of my best takes in the history of the mismatch was DeMargo into Chicago with me saying that'd be a good signing because of what he turned into in San Antonio. It was. Like, could I have seen him be this? You know, 28 points per game, you know, amazing efficiency and still playmaking. and doing all the stuff that he's done,

maybe to the level that he performed last year. No, you couldn't have seen him an MVP conversation. But what he turned into his last year in Toronto and then his three years in San Antonio is really a testament to the work that he's put into his game and his adaptability.

DeMarda Rosen has evolved and turned into an even greater version of himself. And I think also we've talked about this last year with the way defenses are nowadays, where they're in innovative measures they take to try to take away the rim and take away three point range. I think that has helped open up the middle a little bit more for DeMarr than it did in his prime years,

you know, quote unquote prime years for Toronto. But now with his own skill development and the way defenses have changed, DeMar has just been able to reach a whole new level with the results that he's put out there with Chicago. It's amazing to see, man. I love watching it. It's the same way as Chris Paul, you know. And I just think that if you would have said, DeMarter Rosen is your best player on your team in 2022,

that the chances that you are the kind of team that's going to go and spoil the heat home opener and by a wide margin clearly be the best player on the floor. He was unbelievable. He was so awesome. I feel like we did this last year, where we came on and we're like, what the hell, DeMarter Rosen is?

killing. The buckets, like he had Bam at a bio defending him on the perimeter sometimes and then like he'd pull up in his face. They'd take another screener come in. He'd get switched against truce and get all the way to the bucket. He just scored every which way. And that's not an easy team to do that against. No, I mean, he'd get a lot of good defenders. They got levels of him. It was Butler or Bam. It was Butler or Bam out there. Like it was different guys defending him and it didn't matter who. He was still getting anywhere he wanted on the floor. Not to mention he doesn't have anybody like, you know, With Levine not there, you could say, like, okay, well, Levine's getting a lot. I mean, he's, his back core, he's got Dissumu starting with him and Caruso

starting with him and Pat Williams starting with him. I mean, those are some solid players. I get it, but if you're trying to take- I-O's a really good player. Kind of fun. Oh, I love I-O. Yeah, I-O's so good. But kind of fun to have all those little dudes playing, because even when they come off

the bench, they come off with Drogate's, and they come up with Kobe. White. It's really some old school Villanova stuff where they would just throw out four or five guards at you at a time and be able to pull it off.

Man, opening night, I just I had like deja vu with the whole, my God, DeMardar Rosen. Like, how are you? Towards your people. You think DeRosen, Brandon Ingram, some guys like that, even hardened

now integrating the mid-range. Hardin took more mid-range jumpers in his second game with the Sixers than he has since at least 2017. And I'm going to try to find the data to see if that's true for his entire career, but since at least 2017, Hardin took more mid-range jumpers

than he has ever over that time span. And game two, exploiting the mid-range a little bit. Yeah, it's stop them at the rim and it's run them off the three point line. Yeah. And so the player, it's the star players

who still utilize the mid-range. I wonder if we could see an uptick for, so it's like it gets early, but if you're seeing Harden take more mid-range, of all people. Yeah, I think you see a lot more floaters too. Yeah. Just to pull up quick,

not necessarily what you would consider mid-range, but you do see. Yeah, like in the paint. Yes. And that might have to do with the fall changes with the way they've changed how they call it on drive. And just a lot of drop coverage.

So you guys just stopping before they get to the defender. They don't get all the way to the rim, but they just try to master this little five, six foot shot. Because there are a lot of teams that have, you know, rim deterrence now. Not all, but those teams suck. Yeah. Yeah.

You know, it's been fun watching all these teams. We talked about Celtics Heat is tonight, which a rematch of that Jimmy Butler shot game. Oh, that was crazy. Jazz T. Wool, so it's going to be Gobert versus his former team. Nuggets Warriors, really good. I mean, nuggets were not good on the opener versus Utah. They were not. They were not.

But he got some really good games going on. And then I know you're going to be locked in Spurs Pacers. And you got Memphis Houston tonight, right? You have to see Jayne LaGreen, Alper and Chen. You're Jabari Smith taking 11 three-pointers in the opener for the Rockets. I won't be there. That'll be Houston's home opener, I believe. Yeah, because they played their first game on the road.

They played Atlanta. Yeah, that's on the road for you. Yep. So it'll be, yeah, Grizzly's Houston. And of course, we got Pacers Spurs. That's what I said. I know. I know.

Your phone's going to be off. Do not contact Kevin tonight. There's only three. 4 o'clock Pacific games. Pelicans, Hornets, Spurs, Pacers, Bulls, Wizards. I'll have Spurs. No, your beloved Pelicans, you're not missing that. Well, I'm not going to miss that. You're right.

They are my beloved Pelicans. And that's why I said. They're going to drop 180 on the Hornets, and you're going to be like, I told you. The Hornets won by what, 25, 27, and they're open against the Spurs? Can you explain to me? Forgive me for not paying enough attention to the Hornets news. So this is going to be a very surface level opinion. I know the peanut galleries out there like,

yeah, that's all your opinions. Surface level opinions. How the hell on my Twitter feed did I see a picture of James Booknight passed out with a bag of Doritos and a glock? And then that night see him in the game. I mean, he didn't make any shots. How the hell was he playing? Like, they didn't spend him or nothing?

I mean, like, damn, bro. A friggin' Dorito bag and a Glock? It's, I mean, I don't know. I didn't look into it enough. I presupposed that that was a recent photograph from the recent DWI, but it was crazy. I'm like, wait, he's playing? Why is James Book Night?

the rotation. This is why. I don't know. I shouldn't be laughing, but is that crazy? Have you seen the picture? I did, yeah. The CMZ posted it, right? How does TMZ get all this stuff? My man is passed out with Doritos and a Glock

and he's like just in the line of I don't understand. I guess I don't know. All you want is consistency, right, Chris? I just, I mean, I feel so bad for everybody. in Charlotte. What a friggin offseason that's been.

God. Horrible. I hope James Booknight can get right. Yeah. That's for sure. And he played too. That's what I said. He didn't make any shots. It's not just like he was on the bench, but he got minutes.

Like, what pitcher can go up of you during the day? They say, you know what, it might be better for you to not play. That's crazy. That's crazy. I can't stand Steve Clifford. I know you can't. Playing Plumley and Richards.

Let's see the kid. Let's see some rookies out there. Mark Williams. Yeah, I want to see some Mark Williams. They won the game, Kevin. I know they did. I know they won the game. I want to see Mark Williams.

They won because of the brilliance of Steve Clifford. Yeah, the brilliance with playing Nick Richards off the bench. Nick Richards is his new Kim Birch. That's what it is. Oh, and so Mark Williams is going to be your new Mobamba? Yes. Maybe. I loved Mark Williams College.

They just have the wrong coach for their situation. That's all. Their situation? Like, I mean, you might as well be their coach. You're going to suck. It doesn't matter. Seriously. You know what I really like on that team, Terry Rosier?

I've loved him for a long time now. Who doesn't? with what he turned into in Boston, but then like, but then like in Charlotte, like Boston, he was just a good role player, but then in Charlotte, like this dude's a bucket getter. Yep, 40, 40% from three, 20 plus points per game. I mean, he's a damn good player.

Bill Simmons mentioned on the pod we did this week, you know, like for the case of the Lakers waiting, waiting for potential trades. Rozier's a guy that I've walked for us. I love when that guy yells at. I know, yeah, it's so good. Terry, Rossier. I love it.

All right, Kevin, it's been super fun. First couple of days of the NBA season. We're going to have games and drama to talk about throughout the whole season long. Thank you to our executive producer Jesse Lopez. Kev, I will talk to you next week. Have a good weekend.