The Mismatch - Giannis Contract Reaction and Five NBA Preseason Takeaways

Episode Date: December 15, 2020

Before the show, KOC gives his instant reactions to Giannis' brand new shiny contract with the Bucks (0:01). Then Verno and KOC get into the new Pelicans offense under Stan Van Gundy (5:52), Talen Horton-Tucker’s breakout preseason with the Lakers (13:32), the challenging conditions for rookies this season (25:34), the fun and fancy-free LaMelo Ball (32:27), the Bucks’ new roster (44:47), and much more. Hosts: Chris Vernon and Kevin O’Connor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On today's episode of the mismatch, Chris Vernon and I finished recording before Janice Hunter Nakubo signed his five-year, $228 million Supermax extension with the Milwaukee Bucks. So that means Chris and I didn't get to talk about it together. Right now, as I'm speaking, he's recording his local show in Memphis. So I'm just going to share some of my thoughts and then we'll hit it again on Friday. It goes about saying that this is massive news for Yannas, for the Bucks, for the entire league. any team that had interested in pursuing him, like the Mavericks, the Raptors, or the Heat,

they get to look elsewhere. They got to find a different star. Yannas is staying in Milwaukee. This is a win for small market teams. It's a win for the bucks because now they can focus on building a championship team entirely. Now in the short term, they can essentially take the LeBron game plan. They already did that with trading all the assets that they did, all those first round draft picks and swaps that they did. for Drew Holliday, who is obviously, as we've talked about a bunch this off-season, a perfect

fit for Janus. He's the best defensive guard in basketball, and he provides the right type of secondary shot creation abilities that complements Yanis. He can play with or without the ball, and, in fact, Holiday himself is often more comfortable without the ball. Yannis must have seen that and looked at the Bucks as the team that offered him the best chance to win a championship, but also it is home for him. It's a place, you know, it's more than basketball for a lot of these guys that are in a position to make a decision for where they want to play, where they want to build their life, where they want to raise a family. And Yannis just became a father and he loves Milwaukee. This organization has done a lot for him.

You know, when he was drafted, they helped bring his family over to the United States. Remember those tweets about Yannis, you know, saying, I just tried a smoothie for the first time. I love America. This is where Janus grew up from a teenager and became a man, a father. And really, somebody that has known worldwide, you know what Janus looks like. You know Janus. And this is the place where he grew. And so this is a show of loyalty.

It's a show of trust. And it's a situation where he can win. The Bucks, you know, there's concerns there. I think, you know, the loss of George Hill and Eric Bledsoe and Wesley Matthews have got a little bit overlooked because of Drew Holiday and they're going to lose. some defense by having those new guys, Bryn Forbes, DJ Augustine, Dante DiVincenzo, those guys were not good on defense last year. So there are some questions that need to be answered.

But the fact is, is the Bucks at the number one defense in basketball last year. They were the one of the most potent teams in all of basketball in the offensive end. Yannis is one of the game's best players, period. This is a team that can win a championship, especially after the addition of Drew Holiday. and the commitment that Yonis shows to them can allow them to now go all in entirely all in, even more than they already did with that Drew trade. Four years guaranteed with the fifth year guaranteed with a player option, there's time now, and time is what's going to provide the bucks, the opportunity to plan.

Now they know they don't just have one year with Yannis. They know they have three or four or five. and maybe adding a young player who can pop, they can do that. He's giving them time because he and himself knows that he's young. And I'm excited for him. He's one of the best stories that we have in this entire league. It's awesome today that my friend and my coworker Mirren Fader announced that she's writing a book about Janus. This is not a plug.

This is just like she announced it like 30 minutes before the signing happened. It's immaculate timing for her. So I'm pre-ordering that book. I can't wait to read it because Yannas, he's one of the best stories we have, man. You know, he was selling sunglasses on the streets of Greece. And now he just signed a $228 million contract that's going to give generational wealth and support to his family and their families to come in the future. And it's just, it's amazing. Like, he is one of the best superstars we have in this game.

It's one of the best people we have in this game. And I'm rooting for him. and like I'm happy for the bucks. I'm happy that a small market franchise in a league where big markets usually win, they got a victory here. You know what? They struck out on Bogdan Bogdanovich.

There's a lot of mess and a lot of confusion with what happened there. But ultimately, the Drew Holiday trade and the other additions that they've made over the years have created a team that is a serious championship contender. And they sign their guy.

They sign their guy. So I'm happy for Bucks fans. I'm happy for Janus. I'm happy for the Bucks and for small market teams. It's a victory for them. And I can't wait to not have a year talking about will or will or will not Janice under Coupos signed his supermax of the Bucks. I'm looking forward to talking to basketball.

And that's what we're going to do this whole year on the mismatch. Anyway, on today's episode before Yana signed, we talked about our main observations about the Bucks. One of mine was on Milwaukee. We're going to scrap that because it also talked to. about Janice's decision, but we did talk about a lot else. We talked about the Pelicans with their new offense on their Stan Van Gundy. We talked about young players not getting Summer League and how some of them are struggling.

Some of them are shining. We talked about the Mavericks as maybe a threat in the West. All that's next on the mismatch. Welcome to the mismatch. I'm Chris Varden. Joining me as he does every Tuesday from the ringer.com is Kevin O'Connor, A.K. Kevin O'Bomber, Kevin O'O.C.O.C.O.C.C. Kevin O. O.C.C.C. Kevin O. O.

no conflict, Kevin O kindness. Kevin! Verdo! What's going on this Tuesday morning, dude? We have gotten to watch a lot of basketball over the course of the last 72 to 96 hours. A lot. It's bad. Yeah, it's been fun too, because for some of these teams,

we have not seen them since March. Other teams, we haven't seen them since the bubble. And so we have done for today, since we have, you know, a small sample size so far. But first impressions do matter a great deal. And we do have some first impressions. So we're going to do five things we have noticed so far since we've been watching since Friday night. All right, Kevin, you want to start or you want me to start?

I'll start it off. Starting with a game last night, we've only seen this team once. And that's the New Orleans Pelicans. I was impressed by the Stan Van Gundy offense. There was a lot more movement, especially with. with Brandon Ingram, getting him going with some sets, getting him going towards the basket in situations in which he can shoot out of it, drive out of it, pass out of it, and Zion, the way in which they got him going with some clearly designed cuts or as quick giving

goes within their offense. I came away really impressed, never mind the fact that they played with more defensive intensity than they did perhaps all of last season. This seems like a unit that obviously it's just one preseason game, so it's not overreacting anything, but it does seem like a team that despite the loss of Drew Holiday should be better. It should be better. In that particular game, too, I was glad it looks like there is going to be a step forward for Nikiel Alexander Walker, a guy I was very high on in last year's draft and had, I mean,

a nothing rookie year. I mean, he just didn't even play much at all for Alvin Gentry. And I was really high on that kid. I think they got a real player in him. And of all the rookies, you know, that was an outstanding rookie class. He was one of those that I thought, he just wasn't given much opportunity to play last year. And who knows? We'll see.

When they get all of their guys available, obviously, JJ Reddick's not playing last night and he's going to be a big minute guy. But, you know, the kid got on the court last night for 21 minutes. He's gets 14 points. He shoots a ton of threes. He's four of eight from three last night. And so I like that guy. I liked him a lot coming out of college. And I think they got a real player.

And so I'm hoping he gets a chance too. But look, first impression on Zion. Oh, man. Dude, some of the finishes he has. There's not a better finisher in the league right now that can finish at the rim when contested when the lane is clogged. Some of the finish, it's crazy. What he does, the way he's able to contort his body mid-air,

and finish with either hand with touch from tough angles. It's, dude, like the Pelicans like Stephen Adams offers a lot of good for that team. The one thing they're not going to have a ton of the season still is spacing. And like it doesn't matter for Williamson. It doesn't matter. He can still get it inside. It's insane, isn't it? Yeah.

And actually, I'll make that number one on mine because it kind of goes in conjunction with this because it includes Zion, which is obviously I have watched both the the Grizzlies, Timberwolves games that have been played, and I've seen Moranta both of those. And, like, this is going to get accelerated very quickly. Like, both of these guys are, like, ready to be superstars now in year two, which is crazy. Now, they were insanely talented their first year. Both of them, Zion obviously played a lot less games, had outstanding rookie years. but you watch them.

That's two guys that I have watched already in the preseason and they were clearly the best players on the court in their games. Like if you had never watched a basketball game and you watched the Grizzlies game, you would go, that guy's the best player on the court. It was a court that included Carl Anthony Towns too. And if you watched the Pelicans, you would have gone, that's the best player on the court. And to me, that is a real signal that these two kids who went one and two in their draft class last year,

that if they can be healthy this year, it is certainly not out of the realm of the possibility that they are both all stars this year and that they are moving up at a insane rate. Usually nobody is that good in year two. both of these kids look prepared to be that good in year two. It's pretty nuts, dude. I think with both of these guys, John Zion on their own way, it's like obviously what Zion health is going to be what determines whether he's a long-term great player or somebody that kind of fizzles out and hopefully he can stay healthy. But it's very rare that you have guys in their second year that have shown the ability

to be this special because you mentioned like Zion, you know, he can do more than just finish out the room like he can attack from the perimeter he can pass for you he can hopefully be far better defensively than he was as a rookie and with ja you're right dude like he looks better he looks better he looks like he looks like he has more command of the offense it looks like that he's changing speeds even more with bent more effectiveness his jumper looks so smooth as well jaw seems like he's ready in year two to get as good as he was as a rookie he just seems more season to me is that Is that your impression, too? That just seems like a guy who's understanding the game and feeling the game and dictating tempo more.

Yes. He gets in the lane anytime he wants. Now, he had crazy numbers as a rookie. In fact, better than Dwayne Wade, better than Derek Crow, some of the great, great players that we have seen in the league in terms of field goal percentage and points in the paint. He was constantly getting in the paint. And he's got this little floater. And you see him now where, I mean, he started off the game. games and it's like these crab dribbles into the lane and you've got a choice to make.

He is such an elite level passer that if you don't come up on him, he just drops it in. If you do, he throws it out to the corner or he dishes it down to Valchunis or whatever. I mean, I think he's got 17 assists and one turnover so far. And he just controls the entire game. It's crazy. I texted you guys on Saturday night and I'm like, this is outrageous. how unbelievable this kid is. Like, I've watched a lot of basketball players over the years,

and he is special. And look, the same goes for Zion. You watch that and you go, how is this dude in his second year? Right? With him, though, it's like, look, he's bigger and stronger and faster than everybody's playing against. With Morant, it's just this is a pure,

He is like a hybrid of the scoring guard, but he is also an amazing passer. And those kind of players have a chance to be devastating in the league for sure. I'll take that and lead to my second one here. And this is another second year player who I wrote about today on the ringer.com. And that's Taylin Horton Tucker. Lakers' second round draft pick went 46th in 2019. You know, LeBron James tweeted that he's flat out special. Lakers fans are going nuts because in two preseason games,

games against the clippers he had 19 points and nine rebounds and then he had a 33 point 10 rebound four assists four steel night in game two and with him it's the type of thing where his potential after one season at iowa state was clear spark plug score at six foot four with a weird body 200 at six foot four he is the heaviest player 240 pounds he is the longest player with a seven foot one wing span and his game, I realize it's only preseason, but the progression that he showed over the course of his year in the G league, the progression that he showed with the Lakers in the bubble when they put him out there in the second round against the rockets. And then what we're seeing in the preseason now, this is a different player than the guy who fell

to the second round, who fell because of stupid decision making, because of erratic, you know, shot selection, because of lackluster defense. he didn't focus or really try that much on defense in college. This is somebody who is busting his butt on the defensive end of the floor. This is somebody who's making wiser decisions on offense. So I'm more impressed by that aspect than like seeing the number 33 points. So when I say that he stands out to me, it doesn't stand out just because this is a big market team with a nice young player. It stands out because this is a finals contender.

If this was happening on the bucks or the sixers or, you know, even the Celtics, or Nuggets level for that matter, it would be a story. And the fact that the Lakers have a 20-year-old player in Talen Horton-Tucker looking like a, you know, guy who can create off the dribble for you, somebody who can be versatile defensively for you, make plays for others, that opens up a lot of doors for the Lakers moving forward if his development is for real. And it may not be, it may just be a flash and that's it. But it's enough on this trajectory.

that he's been on since college and I feel pretty good about this could be for real. This could be for real. And the Lakers might have a hidden gem on their roster in Horton Tucker. Okay. So if you go back and listen to the show

that we put out on Friday because I got a lot of these this weekend. I said when we were talking about that game about how the stars won't play in that game, and I said, get ready for the Taylin Horton Tucker show. in jest.

I had no idea. We were truly going to get the Taylin Horton Tucker show. You know, he had that brief moment in the playoffs where he came in and he was really good in a very short amount of time. And that was kind of the only dime

we really saw him. But he was very good. He only played 98 minutes all season, all playoffs with the Lakers. He spent most of his time in the G league. But there was a very short time in the bubble where he actually appeared. Yeah.

And it was like, Hold on now. This guy, he made a very good first impression in his minutes at the bubble. But what he did over the weekend, and I know you say, and I say this too, it's just the preseason. Look, man, this is where I kind of stand on this. Okay, he's not a 33 point per game guy, right? Let's get serious. No kidding, right?

That's extreme. But there's a million guys that have played preseason games. And there are a million preseason games every year. and they don't score 33. You know what I'm saying? Like, it does mean something, right? That you went in. Exhibition or not.

It's still basketball. Guys can create off the dribble or not. Guys can hit step back three-pointers or not. He's shown that he can. And all manner of guys, this is where they are given the opportunity. There's guys that aren't even going to be NBA players that are given the opportunity in preseason.

And the other thing is he started and played 41 minutes. So it's not like he just came off the bench in the second half playing against a bunch of guys that are going to be in the G league and wore him out. Like, he was good from beginning to end. And so I think it's totally fair to think that there could be something there. Now, mine actually piggybacks off of that. And I think you may, maybe you'll be surprised or maybe you will just agree. after watching them and watching and seeing what they have now depth and benchwise, I think the Lakers this year for this season should be warriors-level favorites.

They will not have the record seasons that those Warriors teams have because I don't think they give a crap about winning 60, 70 games, and I think they probably won't play enough. to win 67 to games. And this year is so weird where you're playing like back to backs in certain cities and whatever else. So like they're not and obviously it's a it's 10 less games anyway. Yeah, 67 and 5. You could win you could win.

No, you could win all the games. And you'd go 72 and oh. You know what I mean? And and you could just match the ball records of like a 73 and nine season would be 65 and seven. Right. Yeah. They're not going to do that.

That being said. So beating that. When it comes to playoff time, I think there is such a massive gap between them and everybody else now. I did not feel that way last year. And it's because I, as I mentioned many times, I didn't love their depth and their bench. Now you watch that team. And it's like, Jesus. Like, I think they should be when you're adding.

And now, again, I've watched them without LeBron and AD. And they still got players. now like you know what I'm saying like right now I was texting with my friend Dan Bailey who who helped write our theme song here and Dan said to me he's like would they be a playoff team in the east without LeBron and AD no maybe not let's not go that far but could they compete for the playing a playing spot like the nine or 10 they could compete let's not go that far why not we're talking about their death then Dennis Schroeder who is finished second and six man last year.

Montrose Harrell, who finished first. Yeah. There's plenty of other group players. That's a great bench. That's a great bench. Let's not get. You said, what you always,

what is? Look, I say something like that and you have to take it so much further. It's like, get the fuck out of you. They are not competing for a playoff seed with that, without AD and LeBron. That being said.

Yeah, but we're talking about, I mean, I'm not saying they would make it. You're adding two of the best 10 players maybe ever. Like, get serious. his ear. All right. I'm just saying that the east, it's arguably stronger up top, but it is not as strong when it comes to those teams that are going to be fighting for the seven,

eight, nine, and ten spots. The West, I mean, my goodness, there's going to be a good team that finishes 11th in the West. That's my point. There's going to be a good team that finishes 11th in the West. They're not even going to get a chance in the playing tournament. That's how deep the West goes with quality teams. The east, it falls off after seven spots. After the first seven, then you get the Atlantis of the worlds, the Charlottes, those teams that are fighting for that eight spot, nine spot and ten spot. I don't, I'm not saying, all I'm saying is the Lakers would at least, you know, be worthy of being in that conversation without those guys, which is a testament to how strong their depth is. Marka, soul, you already have seen how good he can be for that

team how much better he is than Javale McGee and Dwight Howard with the passing ability that he brings in the half court for them. Like, Gasol isn't the same guy that you got, you know, in Memphis for so many years. But that dude can still contribute to winning. He can still play. Of course he can. Of course he can. And that team is, that team is going to be, I mean, absolutely dynamite. Look, we just watched in the bubble their third best guy for the majority of that finals was Ray John Rondo. okay and I don't know who you want to argue was their fourth best guy but now with I mean if this Horton Tucker comes along and you've got a Colwell Pope is probably their fourth best because he had some real moments call well Pope Kuzma mantrez Quinn Cook I mean they got guys that can knock down shots and do stuff for you and obviously that goes and I didn't even mention Marcus all um yeah I think they should be prohibitive favorites yeah to

win this thing. I've got them as prohibitive. I'm with you. I just think there's a massive gap. I don't think the Clippers I liked the Clippers roster better last year and I like the Lakers roster better

this year. So last year would have been the year for the Clippers to get them and obviously they vomited all over themselves before they even got that opportunity. All right, what's your third one? Let's go with let's pivot off that with this thought.

The Mavericks are finals threats. And the Lakers are prohibited favorites, but if you're looking in that second category, like which team could make a run at the file, which team could be an upset threat? I look at Dallas and Luca being the player, he is already an MVP candidate, maybe taking another mini leap.

I look at the additions that they made this offseason and thus far in preseason, Josh Richardson looks great. in his role next to Luca. Josh Green, their first round draft pick out of Arizona, a rookie wing. He looks really good. He looks better than he did at Arizona. To me, he looks like he's playing a more comfortable offensive game.

He already can defend. He's somebody who can contribute right away for them. Maxi Kleba, all the depth that they have, Jalen Bronson, you know, Tim Hardaway, Doreen Phine Smith. And then you add Christaps Porzengis once he returns. To me, they're not. finals favorites. You know, I'm picking the Lakers to win at all. They're better than last season.

I think that they should be the prohibitive favorites, as you said. But in that second group, Dallas, to me, stands out as a team that's built to make life hard on somebody in the postseason, especially if they're able to upgrade over Tim Hardaway Jr. at some point over the

season. I mean, they made life hard on the Clippers last year. In that series, but they got to have Borazegas Gov. Exactly. That's the big question with them. You got to. And that's always going to be the question with them. Can KP stay healthy? That's the X factor on that team, which is why to me, when you're looking at Dallas, KP in an ideal world is your third guy because you need that second guy who can be available.

And you know he'll be available. With KP, you don't know that. That guy you played, the guy you loved in the draft, he hadn't played yet, right? Tyrol Terry. Yeah, he's played. He's played a little bit. Yeah, yeah, he's played. Just a little.

Because I went to go looking up. I think like 15 minutes first game, five, 10 minutes, second game. Do you do anything? It's solid. Yeah, just hit a couple three-pointers. He's been solid. I mean, but like I said, Josh Green, I mean, I would have told you this draft night, Josh Green is the guy that's going to contribute immediately for them because of the type of

game that he has and the skills that he brings. And already in preseason, I've come away impressed by him. And I think I had him ranked a little bit too low on my board and not just because of preseason, but the skills he brings to the NBA and personality-wise, I hear he's a hard worker. All right. Well, I'll piggyback off of that with my number three, which is kind of in the in the Tyrell Terry mode of this. So I was reading this article the other day,

and it was about Derek Rose, and it was about how, you know, he clearly is taking more of the Vince Carter type mindset towards becoming an elder statesman in the NBA, right? Where he even said, in the article, I told Killian Hayes, there is no competition here. You are the future

of this franchise and I will do whatever I can to help you. And it's so look, I've known Derek Rose since he was 19 years old and it is so 18 really because I first met him at the Hoop Summit. And then obviously I covered him in his

one year in college. And to watch Derek become who Derek is and read this article was so fascinating to me because I don't know. You never know how guys are going to evolve, especially once they've been MVP's, multiple time all-stars, got their own shoe, like, you know, and now what happens when you're not that guy anymore? Some guys can handle it and some guys can't. And you see him going into this role of walking in and saying there is no competition. I'm not resentful of the young guy.

I'm going to help him be whoever he wants to be. But he had a, there was a lot of wisdom in what he had to say. And I thought this was incredibly fascinating, and that's why I wanted to mention as one of these things I've noticed. He said, for these rookies, and obviously he's talking about Hayes, who has struggled so far, and he said, I had, and I had not really thought about this, he said, it is going to be very hard for these guys, and that's why I'm trying to help him. He said, I came in and I had USA basketball and I had international play before my rookie year. I had Summer League before my rookie year where I got on the court with bigger and stronger, faster guys that kind of got up the speed.

And then I had a normal training camp before I got into it because obviously Rose had a great rookie year. And he said, it's very, very difficult for these guys because you are jumping up. a massive amount of levels very, very fast. And they didn't have the same type of advantage I had going into it. And I think this is true. We already talked about how this was not an outstanding rookie class. This was not a great draft.

But I do think on some level, we need to give all these guys maybe a little more leeway than a little more leeway than past years. Now, some of them will just not turn out to be that good. Some of them will turn out to be outstanding. And I'm not saying that all of them are going to struggle. For the ones that do, there are reasons and there are excuses. And I think this falls more into the reason category, more than the excuses category, because I think that's real.

You know, you get drafted in June, and you're already, working out and you know what team you're on. And they're already giving you what to work on and how to work on it and where you're going to fit in this thing. And then you go to Summer League and you build a continuity with at least the young guys that are also on your team. And you get used to, for the first time, the speed of the game is, it's replicated much

more. You get used to a guy not being able to stand right in front of the basket as they do in international basketball sometimes, as they do in college basketball sometimes. And obviously watch college basketball. It's just, it's almost like a different sport at this point. And they don't have any of that, you know, leading into this. They don't get to do that tutorial prior to and then go in and have like a real training camp.

This is all sped up for a lot of kids that probably haven't played competitive basketball at all. until a week ago they got into training camp, which that's not exactly a good replica of it. And now they're thrown into an NBA game. Yeah. You know what I mean? In an arena with no fans.

I mean, like everything about it is awkward. And I get it. It's not as talented of a group. But I do think that we should give this rookie class more leeway than others just because of their circumstances. And I thought Rose, I thought he was very, very wise in his observations about that.

I'm with them. I'm with them completely. And when it comes to rookie performance, this is why I'm primarily looking at process more than results. How did a player's body change? How did their jump shot mechanics change?

Are they trying out new moves that they didn't have in college or last season internationally? And just on that note, you know, my next one will be lamello ball. Obviously, he's been awesome to watch. So fun, so exciting with the passing ability. And he hasn't hit a lot of shots.

He hasn't scored a lot. He's been inefficient. But I'm impressed that he is, he did change his shooting mechanics. He's shooting a relaxed jumper where he doesn't even really jump that much because one of his issues as Jay Kyle Mann detailed in his video breakdown on the Ringer's YouTube page about Lamello was that in the second half of his season overseas, he started not jumping. his high on his shot attempts and the results were better when he was shooting more relaxed, more of kind of a set shot.

He's doing that now still. And the shot looks good to me and I feel more confident in his jumper long term than I did prior to the draft and prior to knowing for a fact that this is the way he was shooting now because, you know, with these rookies, I'm not like, they're going to struggle. They're going to struggle, go ahead and thrown right into it for all those reasons you just state it. So for him and everybody else, first round picks, second round picks, I'm not reading too much into it. To me, this is an extended preseason. The next month or so is extended preseason for these guys.

It's Summer League for these guys. It's Winterball, really. And then by mid-year, hopefully a lot of them are able to get a feel for the speed of the game, for the physicality of the game. And that's when you see these rookies perform at a higher level. The ones who do it early, the ones who come in right away and perform at a high level, that's going to be even more impressive to me, considering the circumstances.

Well, and I do think that there are some things you can take away from. And I happen to be watching Charlotte last night, and I tweeted out how fun this kid is to watch. He is fun. And if Biombo could finish, he'd have had three more assists. You know what I mean?

Because he really, like even off the pick and roll, a couple of these passes were good, he threw an awesome full court pass while I was watching. And the other thing is he's smiling all the time. Like I love watching. I'm watching guys that play with, like, real joy. He's not some kind of, you know, serious, dower type guy.

And look, so the other thing, let me just say this on a side note of that. Charlotte, you juxtapose that with some of the other teams I've watched. And they got a bunch of young guys on their team. They really share the ball with each other. They really do. They pass that thing around. Like, you know, they got a bunch of good, you know, a lot of guys that were known as good character guys. And I think this matters a great deal.

And good team players like bridges, like Washington, Devante Graham. And obviously, you're throwing Lavello into that mix. Gordon Hayward, same thing. He's a keep the ball moving kind of player. And just watching them for a team that's like a young team and watching them whip the ball around like they were, I was impressed by it. I was impressed, you know, because I think that's how a less talented team

can really even the score some is by playing together and playing as a team. And I thought they had good chemistry. Like, I liked their vibe, honestly, when I watched Charlotte. I was impressed. Now, I said all that stuff about the rookie thing, and I don't want to get called out on this

because fair is fair. I did say when I was watching the games that my first impression of Edwards could not be worse. I tweeted that out. And obviously there's some people that just, you know, it's confirmation bias and whatever. And then there's other people that say, hey, it's too early. Look, this is not just a confirmation bias because I watched his workout that they put on, that ridiculous clutch workout that they put on, that ridiculous clutch workout that they put on ESPN.

And he was huffing and puffing in there. And if you watch, he's not in great shape. And he does a tremendous amount of standing around. Like, I'm just telling you, watching it. The first shot that kid took was like this step back one-legged three. It reminded me of that Patrick Ewing quote that goes around where he goes, do you practice that shot? Do you shoot that shot?

Step back one-legged, you know. fade away. And I'm like, what are you, what are you shooting? What are you doing? And like, he's clearly got a little of the bowl in the china shop thing,

but he didn't look mega athletic and he looked like he was out of shape. And again, it's only a first impression. But the first impression I had of him while he was out there, because he's not a guy with a ball in his hands all the time,

was I was like, oh boy, oh boy. Because he's not an intense guy. either, right? Like, I mean, on defense either. And it's like, geez, man.

It's the number one pick in the draft. And I'm juxtaposing that. Again, I'm watching the Grizzan game. Desmond Bain on the other side, like, he's ready to play in an NBA game. You know what I'm saying?

Bain. Bain's awesome. I love Bain. But just the difference between watching those two players, and I get it. One's a four-year player, one's a one-year player.

But my impression, I'm saying we should give these guys time, and I will. I'm just telling you, my first impression was a very, very bad one, to say the least. And that's actually going to piggyback on what I'm about to talk about, which is, you know, so I said what I said about the rookies. I said what I said about the Charlotte team. There's two other teams that you watch, and they're young and they're talented,

and you watch them, and I sit there and I go, oh, boy, nothing's fixed. And one of them is, uh-oh, uh-oh, sorry. Do I know what's coming here? First. Spin them out. First, the Bulls. Okay. Billy Diamond's on that sideline now.

Like, they got a bunch of talented players. It doesn't fit at all. It's just a terrible. It's like they are individually not crap. But you watch them together, and it's like none of this makes sense. It's like if I created players that have a skill set, and are good at these different things. And then I said, okay, part of roster construction is putting together a group that fits.

And I talked about our Charlotte, they're like high-fiving each other, they're sharing the ball, they're talking to each other constantly, and you see that communication. And part of that is obviously coaching, and part of that is having some good veterans on your team that help with that, right? and have been part of winning before. You watch that Bulls team, and it's like, none of these guys have won anything. And, like, they look like so many times, it's like whoever's got the ball.

It's this one-on-one basketball. And they look, they appear to have no chemistry, like, on the court. They don't really look like they got chemistry off the court. It's like, even like it's like Billy Diamond talking to Kobe White, like, hey, let me explain this to you, like pulling in. off to the side. But the Kobe White, Zach Levine thing doesn't fit at all.

And then you've got Otto Porter on the side who's not really a role player because he gets paid $100 billion. And then you've got Lori Marketing who they're trying to fix. And then you got Window Carter. I don't know what he's supposed to be doing right now or how they're going to use him.

But it just, it's all a mess. It really is. And they got a bunch of guys. that individually they can be picked off. And to me, like they're trying to win. It's malpractice. Like,

why didn't you, why didn't you change some of that roster in the off season? Give it time. Give it time. They got to watch that shit for 72 games. Give it time, Chris. No,

not give it time. Switch it up. New regime, they're going to give them time to find out what sticks, what's worth keeping, what they're going to flip. They're going to make moves.

It's inevitable. You can't find out this way, though. It's just bad basketball. It really is. Give it. Give it time. I'm willing to give the Bulls a little bit of time. New regime.

New regime. The other one is Minnesota. They're going to be awful, Kevin. Awful. I had a feeling you were going to go to Minnesota. I thought you were going to go to Minnesota first. Obviously, I've watched them twice.

And it is shocking. I worry about them. I do. No, that Russell and Hounds thing will get broken up. It will get broken up. It's only preseason. It's only for seasons.

They have no chemistry. But they don't have chemistry. They don't have chemistry. They don't have defense. They don't have. defensively. Now, that's part of, see, I'm trying to slow down on how good I've, the Grizzles are playing without Jared Jackson, Justice Winslow, and Brandon Clark.

All right, that's three, that's three of their top six players in the preseason. And they, they could have beat that team by a thousand. Like, they have, it's like Jake Lehman and towns. And then it's Josh Akogi, Malik Beasley, and. DeAngelo Russell. And they don't like have any leaders. They don't really have like a veteran that stands up and says, hey,

here's what we're effing up or we've got to stop this, whatever. And it, I was watching that game and I'm thinking to myself, God, with this talent saying we got, we got the AD crap all over again. It's just going to be another year of this guy not playing playoff

basketball. He's an immensely talented guy. And I feel terrible for him because I don't know if you read those articles. I mean, his heart is not really in it. For sure. You know, I felt so sad reading, he's lost a lot of people in his family. It wasn't just his mother. And he was asked a question prior to the season about, you know, kind of is this an escape for you, basketball?

Because so many guys find it as an escape. You remember when Isaiah Thomas went through his thing. You know, it was like, at least for two hours, right? I can do this thing, my job. And I can play basketball. And he said, that's one of the reasons or the main reason I play. I love seeing my mom smile in the crowd. I love seeing it made those people happy in my life that I was so good at basketball

and cheering me on. And that's not there anymore. So this isn't an escape at all. And I was like, oh, God. I mean, just that's real life stuff. And that is you would hope that getting on a basketball. court could be a brief respite from your pain and the tragedy you've been through. And to hear him talk, that's, that's not so. Yeah. I mean, it's, it's, and you're expected to delete a team,

you know what I'm saying? Like, for sure, it's a lot, it's a lot, a lot of weight on his shoulders to step up during a year like this when he's lost so many family members in addition to his mom. Awful. I mean, it's, it's really awful. I, you know, it's, yeah, it's hard, man. And like, for him, I can only hope that he can refine joy in basketball, you know, and feel the pride and love and excitement that his mom and his family had for him in those moments. Because, you know, the one thing, you know, losing my dad this year in February,

like, I still feel his love for me. I still feel the pride that he had for me when like I would do something, you know, well at work or like, whatever it is. I'm, you know, whatever. So anything with a father, son relationship or father-child relationship, like I feel that pride that my dad had for me still. I can only hope that Cat, you know, he can still feel that in those moments because even if they're not physically here, that love still exists within. Yeah.

And the team, I mean, like we talked about there's not that many teams that aren't going to compete for playoffs. Like, they have no chance. I'm telling you, Kevin. They have no chance. I mean, and that's hard to say when you're talking about a team that has so many quality players on it. I know.

You know, it's not like this is a, it's not a. it's not a bad they're bad they are i mean they can't defend you then that's the problem is defense and cat needs to be better on defense russle needs to be a hundred times better on the defensive end of the floor and this is why i brought them up to you and bill simmons as a hardened sleeper team because they're the type of team that is so you know they want to get in the

playoffs so badly they need to get into playoffs at some point they need to keep carl anthony towns happy If at some point, D. Lowe is just not working out. To me, he becomes that piece for a bigger move. Even though Kat and D.L are friends, I think that's a risk that's worth taking because winning is what keeps guys winning, not friendship. You know, if they're losing, Dilo and Cat don't want to stay together. If they're winning, then Carl Anthony Towns wants to stay.

If they're winning more guys, you know, hopefully can, you know, come on and be his role players there. The Angela Russell can't be the centerpiece in a deal, though. we're still out there searching for a better return to bill. Well, he's, he's that, he's like that young player who has a big contract that you give and you give more than that. Like you're not giving just D. Lo. He'll be on his 2015. No, man.

Well, yeah, I mean, D.L is a solid player. He's not a great player. You say that because the guy from Houston's there now. Well, that's another reason why, too. Gerson Roses runs the Tiberulfs now after, you know, being in the Rockets front office for for many years. Yep. All right. What's number four for you?

Or I guess five, five. Yeah, I think this is my fifth. Let's go with the bucks. And with them, a couple of thoughts. One, Yana still can't shoot well. One of seven from the free throw line the other night. His air ball, the three-pointer, his shot does not look any better. That's just one thing.

But the main thought I have with them, and this is something I believe we might have touched on a couple weeks back is even though they had a Drew Holliday, arguably the best defensive guard in basketball, they lost three guys. They lost George Hill, they lost Eric Pletso, and they lost Wesley Matthews. And those three were replaced by Dante DiVincenzo, who was with the team last year, Bryn Forbes, and DJ Augustine. Those three replacements were three of the worst defensive players in basketball last season.

And thus far in preseason, granted it's just preseason, the bucks look worse defensively than they did last season when they were by far the best events in all of basketball. They're pretty much playing the same exact system with Brooke Lopez dropping into the paint, the same system that was more exploited in the playoffs than it was in the regular season. And I just kind of wonder here. It's hard for me to imagine with modern day Bill Russell be in their center, there could be anything other than an amazing defense. Yeah.

Anybody who's been listening to the show this whole year knows that that's a callback reference to Chris pooping on Brooke Lopez, not liking his game, not respecting Brooke Lopez's game. Defensive player of the year. Yeah. Yeah. Well, with with the bucks, though, I just have some concerns with with the quality of the defense and the back court, despite.

adding Drew Holiday, despite adding Drew Holiday. And that, it's just standing out to me. It's just standing out to me watching them in the preseason. Because with the honest man, like, you want him handling the ball. You want him creating for you. But you also don't

want him to have the pressure of having to take these jumpers. It's just a truth here with him. He's not a shooter. And he's changed his mechanics so many times over the years that, and the results have yet to really get better except for like one dribble pull-up threes. to me, Yanis's ideal role is being shack.

It's being shack and being the most dominant interior player in the league. That's what it is. Janus himself said this week, here's a quote from Janus. He was asked by Kane Pittman. He was asked what he's learned the last two regular seasons. And if he and the team can do anything better to be more prepared for the postseason. Here's what Janice said. We've got to be able to do adjustments.

I think this season we are going to play teams back to back. So we've got to be able to adjust. I think it's going to be good. Sometimes we struggle with that and moving forward that's going to help us. I think we've learned from our respects. We've got to be hungry. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. He goes on with more stuff about effort.

But the main thing was about the adjustments. We've got to be able to do adjustments. We've got to be able to do that. We've had trouble with that in the past. That's another comment that's sort of a slight at Boudintholdenholzer, who has had issues with adjustments. In fairness, Boudintholden-Holzer has talked about that going into this season. He has.

They were going to use this season to be able to play a different way when it comes to the playoffs. It was like this. Let's see it play out. It was like this acceptance of we get stymied, you're right? Because we're playing a lot of half-court basketball when it comes into it. We need to be out and running and we need to be out in space and doing all these things rather than scoring in the half-court. That's not what our best player does. Right. We are at our peak when we're flying up and down.

But we get to these playoff teams that can really make it, you run a play, we run a play, and we're up against it. You know what I'm saying? Because we don't have a lot of shot creators on that team. And Drew Holiday will help that a lot too, honestly, because he's a guy in the half court that can make a play. You're right. He can beat you off the dribble.

He can extend the defense. Drew Holiday is not standing player. All right. Last thing for me. The injury returns. So we didn't get to see that much of Curry, but obviously he looks fine, and his was much less devastating than some of his peers.

Durant looked good. He did. He looked good. I mean, you know, Kevin Durant, everybody worries. Obviously, these are not injuries that are easy to come back from, but he looked like Kevin Durant to me, you know, if we're talking first impressions, if you didn't tell me that Kevin Durant had some horrible injury he was coming back from,

I would not have noticed. The other one, and this one, I'll take a moment out to just say, I really admire, because this guy's gotten a lot of flack over the course of his entire NBA career. I admire Boogie Cousins because I flipped that Houston game on for the first night that they played. and that guy is in the best shape of his entire life. And he has had his heart ripped out twice. You know, he was all in line for the big contract, and it got it ripped away from him. And then he came back and he got hurt again.

And it's like ACL, Achilles. I mean, he has just been to hell and back with these injuries. And it is so much work. So much work. to come back from the injuries. And you are inevitably going to be carrying extra weight because you've had to be off your legs. But for that guy to look the way he does after getting two years ripped away from him, you know, and you realize how insane, I mean, he pulled up for a three and I was like, my God,

you forget how fluid and how talented he is at that size. Sometimes it's just freaky. He will always have his limitations from here on out, but he will always also be good enough to be on an NBA court. And he'll always be huge. You know, you forget. There's so much I forget, right? And he looks even bigger now with so many teams playing small.

Oh, yeah. But the shape he's in is crazy. And I can be honest, Wall, I mean... John Wall looks pretty good, too. Yeah, I mean, he's still bricks a lot of stuff, but... Yeah. He's bricked a lot of stuff, you know, but the quickness is there.

You know what I mean? He burst. He's got burst. He did. He still looked like a quick guy on the court. And so that was, it was promising to see those guys come back from the injuries. Oladipo's like four for 17 in his two games. Is it is an Achilles injury seeing Katie get back?

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Is that about to be considered less of a devastating injury than it has in the past, assuming these guys can continue to produce and stay health. I mean, with Boogie, we saw him come back and then the ACL injury happened. So there's, you know, there's one case.

I think these guys are all going to Germany, right? Isn't that the deal? They're all going to, that's what Kobe did once upon time. And I mean, like, they can, they can fix you. You know what I'm saying? I don't know what they do over there. I don't know if they all went to Germany, but I think they did. I think that's where they all go now.

Medical advances are for real. Oh, yeah. Yeah. And yes, Victor Oladipo has yet to look like the Victor Oladipo of prime years yet, which is disappointing. Indiana is still going to be good they're still going to be competitive but they need Vic to be back to being Vic

Yes and he does not look like himself No he doesn't yet He did look like himself on the mass singer though Did you see that? He can sing dude I saw that clip of the mass singer He's a great voice

He's a really good voice Well I mean he may He may be a singer sooner than he expects No no I'm kidding I don't speak for the Paisers fans listening right there both of them all right

well we're not big with them are not big with them are not big with no I don't think we're big of the Pacer's fans you know shoot us a message there's a couple there's a I was telling somebody

this the other day like there's a couple fan bases that obviously everything we do you hear something from right I always know what fan bases you know we're more popular

with than others or which have more fans right I told him the other day you know, we busted up a couple weeks ago about the Hornets thing. And you were like, Hornets fans send them something. And they did. I was telling somebody the other day.

Oh, it was in reference to how many national TV games the Pelicans got. And I was like, look, I'm like everybody else. I want to watch Zion too, right? And I was like, but I'm never here from Pelicans fans. Do you ever? Rarely, rarely. Yeah. Well, it's all hard.

They haven't been, like, nobody's been. died in the wool pelicans for there's only a finite amount of time you could have been and they haven't won anything which is usually when you get a strengthened fan base right you got to win or else it's very hard

for people to care desperately about you those people still care about the saints you know like that they're going crazy about the saints and the pelicans ever win taste some hill tas flamed out a little bit now now ready for Drew Bree

yeah but you may have to make a little apology to old Baker Mayfield, Kev. Baker Mayfield's looking good. Baker Mayfield's looking good. It's funny. I miss the playoffs in my fantasy league. I had the fifth most points, but finished 10th because I had the hardest schedule

in the league. And Baker Mayfield's a free agent. And I recommended to one of my friends. I was like, you should pick up Baker because there's other teams in our league. Someone's starting Matt Ryan. Someone's starting like Derek Carr. and Baker Mayfield, I was like, you should pick up Baker Mayfield because those teams who you could be your future opponents could pick him up.

He's got the Giants and the Jets in week 15 and week 16. So you got to box them out, Kiv. You got to box them out. And he did pick him up. Smart decision by my friend Bill, not Bill Simmons, my friend Bill Mullen, longtime friend. There you go. But, oh, and also one of the thing you mentioned hearing from listeners on Friday

show, you know, we were talking about handling criticism. And I mentioned here and there, you know, I'll get a negative message in my Instagram DMs. A lot of you reached out and were just sending positive thoughts. Oh, really? About the show. Yeah, got a lot of Instagram DMs. Oh. Just saying how much they appreciate the show.

And, you know, they've like us during quarantine. I just want to say, I haven't responded to all of them yet. I've responded to a lot of them already. But thank you, everybody for reaching out. Like, it means the world to have this, you know, relationship with you all. I'm going to make up for them. And today I'm going to Instagram DM you that Killian Hayes is two for 21 to start his NBA career. I'm more interested in his hard-nosed defense and his passing ability.

The story will come. You're the one who said they didn't. You're the one who said, you're the one who said they didn't get Summer League. You're the one who said they didn't get a normal preseason. So let's give it some time and look at the stuff that's working out so far, defense, passing. He looks good. Good chemistry with Blake Griffin.

Come on, Chris. He's two for 21. Make a shot. Let's give it some time. No. No. Let's give it a little bit of time. Look, I'm not.

Oh, I think that you misunderstood me. So for the guys that you really liked, I'm not going to give them any time. I'm not going to give them any time. No time for Killian Hayes, Tarilternay, and Alexi Pokushavsky. Those three. No time for any of them. Pocoshisky. Poku looked pretty solid.

What? I don't care about that low. light video that was out there on Twitter you sent. I care about the fact he's hitting fluid 3s off the catch. Man, I was glad there's no

fans at the games. His hookshot would have killed one. They have line dry hook shot. What is it, dude? Poku. Poku's going to be a good player. Oh, good player. He's going to be a good player.

Chris. Just you wait. I'll be waiting. I'll be waiting. Seven feet. Forever. Can stroke threes. I'm going to be in my coffin waiting.

Oh, geez. Well, I'm trying to buy a PS5, right? I know. I swear it is the Desmond Bain of my existence. No lie. For everybody out there, stay strong if you're trying to get one of these. Everybody knows I've got a kid, right?

I've got a 10-year-old son. It's what he wants for Christmas. And I have spent 50 hours of my life trying to get this thing. I still don't have one. and I will. I will prevail. Yes. At some point, I'm going to refresh and it's going to say add to cart.

I just know it. One day on one of these sites or one of these stores that I've gone and stood in line in, I'm going to, I will prevail. I don't have long, though. I'm up against it. You were at GameStop for three and a half hours, you said? I sat in a GameStop with a ticket ensuring I will. would get one for three and a half hours on Saturday. And I got to the front of the line and they said,

sorry, we're sold out. And I was like, what? Damn, man. What do you mean? I've never waited three and a half hours in my life for anything. I'm not kidding. I've never stood in line for three and a half hours. You're a good dad, Chris.

Maybe when I was a kid, I remember my mom, we stood in line for like Billy Joel tickets when I was a little kid at the mall. like a Gillard's or something but I don't think it was three and a half hours I don't know

I don't know how long it was I'm not a very patient person but I'm trying Kevin have a great week we will talk again on Friday we'll have a lot more

preseason games go on before then and then our regular season is going to be the next week it's right here it's crazy and on Friday show

we have a special guests who I'm guessing our listeners won't be expecting but I look forward to having our guest on Friday. Is it that seven-footer for the Thunder? No cuckoo yet, not yet, not yet.

Thank you to producer Sasha as always, and we will talk to you on Friday.