The Mismatch - Heating Up in Miami, Whether Harden Can Lead the Nets, and Mavs Are Turning the Corner

Episode Date: January 18, 2022

With the Bulls and Nets dealing with key injuries, Verno and KOC debate whether the Heat can take advantage and become the 1-seed in the East (03:45). They explain how "Heat Culture" keeps the team competitive. They also take a look at the resurgence of the Cleveland Cavaliers, and discuss whether the Cavs can maintain this success and end the season as a top-six team in the East (14:27). With KD out and Kyrie playing only in road games, the guys debate whether James Harden can lead the way for the Nets (26:34). After the Mavs beat the Grizzlies over the weekend, they discuss how Luka and the rest of the team are starting to click (39:27). The Lakers got a good win over the Jazz last night, but KOC points out that the Jazz need to make a move to truly compete for a title (52:17). Hosts: Chris Vernon and Kevin O’Connor Producer: Jessie Lopez Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The ringer gambling show is here to help you place your bets on the biggest sports around the world. Join NFL analyst Warren Sharp on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays with guests Chris Vernon, Ben Solac, and Joe House to guide you through the NFL betting landscape. Each week, they'll cover everything from spreads, game totals, and parlays to player props, futures, post-game reactions, and more. Check out the ringer gambling show on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to The Mismatch. I'm Chris Vernon. And joining me as he does every Tuesday from The Ringer.com is Kevin O'Connor, a.k.k. Kevin O'Brien. Concer, Kevin O Conflict, Kevin O'Campere, Kevin O'Mafia, Kevin O'Brien.

Burdow. Well, what is that O Mafia they're referring to right there? What is that? You in the Bill's Mafia, we had no idea. You remember the Bill's Mafia, but for those that did not see this weekend, Kevin was pictured with Ryan Fitzpatrick Fitzpatrick Fitzmajc himself, rooting on the Buffalo Bills against his beloved New England Patriots. It was a shocking photo to say the least, Kev.

You know, I've been tagged in a lot of photos over the years. Like, oh, you look like this person. Is that UKOC? This and that. This is the first one I've ever seen. And I'm like, is that me? Is that me shirtless and clean shaven? A little bit buffer than I am right now.

I'm the heaviest I've ever been at the moment. Is that me 10 years ago? I think it is, but it was not me, even though, oh, my God, that really looks a lot like me, Chris. Oh, my God. Well, you were lucky because that wasn't a bad looking guy. I get these probably every other day. I then, about a year ago, one day I will unveil it. About a year ago, I started a collection where I started screenshoting these.

And I swear, every goofy-looking, buoys. tooth bastard in the world, I get tagged as is that Chris Vernon? And I'm like, come on, bro. Like, I have the most unbelievable collection of people saying, is that you or that looks like you? One day, I'm going to put it all together as a collage. And people are going to absolutely love it. I just know they will. Because at some point, I just started screenshoting it. It's unbelievable. We had a, a ton go on yesterday. Wait, a minute, Chris.

You know what girls on Bumble say I look like? I've heard it a couple times, and I don't see it. John Krasinski. The guy from the office? Yeah, I've got a couple Bumble compliments

saying, you know who you look like John Cresensky? Yeah, the guy from the office. Play it up. Play it up. Play it up. Play it up. Girls love the office.

Yeah, a little bit. Like, I mean, like second cousins. Not brothers, even. No, you should, you should lean into that one. I am John Krasinski. Kevin O. Cresinski.

Who knew? All right. We had a ton go on yesterday in the NBA. The NBA has done a very good job with Martin Luther King Day and having it be a showcase for the league.

And a lot came out of those games, not the least of which is when you look up, after, you know, we're about midway through this season, and Bamadabio is back, and you look at the standings, and there are the Miami Heat at number two in the Eastern Conference. And let's start with them and Cleveland, because Cleveland, now if we just take a snapshot, and again, we're doing all these podcasts in the moment, but they are two and they are four.

And if you look at the teams that are shreddled around them, you have Chicago who got beat down by the Grizzlies yesterday and are really going through it in the absence of Lanzo and Levine and Caruso, et cetera. You have Brooklyn who has now lost Kevin Durant for a long period of time. And so here are these other two teams that were a little lower in the standings earlier in the year. But in Miami's case, has gotten close to fully healthy and gotten one of their key players back. And they're already at second. And Cleveland, who has just kept on trucking, gets to 27 wins yesterday, by virtue of their win, Brooklyn. And so now those are two and four. Let's start with Miami. Given what's going on with Chicago, given what's going on with Brooklyn, would it shock you

if we look up after the second half of the season and Miami is the number one seed in the Eastern Conference? Not one bit. Not one bit. Because with this team, they've done it without Bam. They've done it without Butler. They've done it without Lowry. They're doing it with Gabe Vincent. They're doing it with Caleb Martin. They're doing it with Max Struce. They're doing it with these players that are not nationally known by all 30 fan bases as household names. They're doing it without the guys that are those household names. And a guy like Caleb Martin in yesterday's game, he had that sequence where I think it was like back to back to back plays or maybe three out of four possessions in a row. He hits this

lay up inside, steals the ball, makes an outstanding kickout pass, a Struce for three. And just the energy that he plays with on defense, moving his feet, like you watch him play, you're like, oh, Caleb Martin's locked in. This guy wants to win games. Like, it's as simple as that, just watching him play. This guy wants to win games in January. And this whole heat team really embodies that from Jimmy Butler and PJ Tucker all the way on down to the back of the roster.

And no, I mean, it would not be surprising one. bit if the heat when they are at optimal, you know, strength if they're at the top of the east. You were right about them, Chris. You picked them to make the finals before the season, didn't you? Yeah, I did. Some would call that heat culture, Kevin. It sure seems like it.

You know, they should use that. They should use that heat culture. And part of heat culture isn't bringing in people and making them like you. It's bringing in people like you. You know, and like a guy like Caleb Martin, when you watch him in yesterday's, game, it's like, oh, he's, he has this quality. When you watch Omer Yurtsev and grab 15 rebounds per game while Bamata Bios out, they're bringing in somebody who has that mindset just to play hard constantly. And up and down the roster, they have that. Like your Memphis Grizzlies,

they don't play anybody who sucks. Let me tell you something, though, let me tell you something about that Max Truce that you bring up Memphis. There's nobody of Memphis that doesn't know who that is, because you can probably find this on YouTube and I would encourage people go check it out. He was like Larry Bird reincarnate in a summer league game this past year. And in fact, Yanks won from about 30 feet to win the game. Just like the game is on the line,

walks up buzzer-beater, nails it in the gym in Vegas earlier this year. And I remember watching that game, and I'm like, how is this guy not in the NBA? This guy is unbelievable. He was just a force of nature in this one summer league game. I mean, he's great all summer league. But in that particular game, he was unstoppable. And so Max Trues was not an unfamiliar name.

In fact, when I saw him in summer league, I, It was unfathomable that that wasn't an NBA player to me. And now he's outperforming Duncan Robinson. Yep. I mean, it's wild how he's finishing a lot of games over Robinson. I mean, he's just been, I mean, the concern with him in the past, he was always, going back to DePaul, he hovered around 35% from three below average. He's above 40 now on a high volume, and it seems sustainable, we'll see.

Yeah. And you know they've got the star power, though it is, I think, underrated star power, right? I think when, you know, Lowry, Butler, and Bam kind of all fit into that category where they're never overrated. I've never felt like any of those guys are overrated on a list that people do of the best players. You're right? Everybody just is trying to fit them in somewhere. right? Jimmy Butler, I think absolutely as a case of being one of the best players in the entire NBA. And yet when a lot of people make a list of like the top 10 players, he's not one of those automatic names that everybody puts in there.

But he saw yesterday again. I mean, he's both ends, bona fide winner, leader. Like, he's got the, he's got the whole package. and he's playing again at this extremely high level. And you feel like with the game on the line, you've got a guy that will make the winning plays or winning shots or whatever. And then you tag that along with a guy like Lowry, a guy like Bam. And if you've got the heroes and the struces and the other guys, you know,

that can fill in the blanks as role players and very good role players, now all of a sudden you're talking about something really devastating. I will say that when they were at full strength, I've told you that the best teams, of the best teams that I have seen in person this year, Phoenix was the best team in the Western Conference. Miami was the best team from the Eastern Conference. That's the best team I've seen in person.

You know, the funny thing is with Miami is we're mentioning all these guys that have been out. We haven't mentioned Mark Heath Morris, who's been out since the Yolkich hit. And of course, Victor Olatipo is still sideline. You don't know what Oldipo is going to be able to all. offer, but theoretically, you know, you get those guys back in addition to everything else. You got, you know, 12, 13, 14 guys that deserve minutes on your roster. Like, they're a deep team that's going to have the ability in the playoffs, assuming good health, to play different styles.

I mean, that's the key thing. We talk about versatility from individual players, like switching a screen from a guard onto a wing, from a big onto a forward, like switching on-ball screen. and switching off ball screens and all that type of stuff. But versatility is also for Eric Smolstra, the best coach in basketball, to be like, okay, I can play with two bigs, I can play with one big, I can play small ball, I can mix and match and have all these different types of lineups and take different shapes and styles, depending on the personnel that I put on the floor.

Miami is shaping up to be that type of team too, we're spoke and do whatever he wants as a coach with the lineups that he puts out there. Miami's for real, man. You know, I hadn't even thought about, Ola Depot until you just mentioned it. Outside of a few nights ago, I was at a game and the game had gotten out of hand. And my producer and I were looking at eBay auctions for basketball cards. And he ended up becoming a quick topic of conversation. There was like this Victor Oladipo autographed rookie card that was up for auction.

And I think the highest bid was like eight or nine bucks, Kevin. And I turned to my producer and I was like, you have got to be kidding me. I was like, what a, what do you think this would have gone for? I mean, this guy was like the best shooting guard in the Eastern Conference for a minute. He was like, All-Star, All-Star. Like, what a fall. I mean, and I'm like, geez, Louise. And now you could get a friggin autograph rookie for nothing of this guy.

Like, I hadn't even thought. about him. I don't know if there's, it's very hard to think of like in a cent like that into becoming what he was for that brief moment of time and then just gone. Just not even on the radar at all. And we kept on thinking like, you know, okay, maybe his best days are behind him, but he can still be a valuable player. Like he hasn't contributed at all. It'd be crazy if he came back and was able to contribute. You know, at this point, just because he's just been... When was the last time he was an all-star, the 2018-19 season?

That's not that long ago. It's not that long ago, but it feels like a different lifetime ago. That's for being sure. I mean, like, ever since March 2020, everything before that. I mean, that even feels even way before that because it was 2018-19. Yeah. Wild. And maybe there'll be another, maybe there'll be a second act.

Maybe Cubs-in and is able to contribute in, in, in, and is able to contribute in, in, a playoff game or something at some point. And we haven't heard the last of him. There is a chance. Like last year in Houston, he had some good games. It's not like he was a total zero night in, night out for the Rockets last year before, you know, making his way to the heat. I mean, it's not like he can't contribute. But it's just a matter.

Can he reach the peaks that he did before? that I'm not so sure of. I don't think so. How about that other team that I mentioned, which is the Cleveland Cavaliers? They beat Brooklyn. They're a game back from Brooklyn for the three seed. I mean, imagine this.

This is truly unbelievable. When you look up at Memphis is in third in the Western Conference, and Cleveland is a game back from third in the Eastern Conference. in the Eastern Conference. It's one of those things that makes both these teams have made all preseason predictions look totally foolish. And now you know with what Brooklyn's going through, you know, if you told me that Cleveland catches them, it's not shocking at all. Now, we do it to keep in mind that Milwaukee is right there behind them. It's a half a game.

And so, you know, this stuff can all be fleeting. And one night, this stuff can change. But at least for a brief moment, you know, the idea of them being able to rack up a lot of wins here, as they have throughout this season. And playing basketball with a better record than Brooklyn for the next couple of weeks is not out of the question at all. even if they do get hopped by Milwaukee, right? And so, you know, we've wondered if the Cleveland thing would taper off. The idea that they, as of this morning, are a home court advantage team, speaks to how

unbelievable they've been this year. And it puts them in a reasonable chance that they're not even having the fight for their playoff spot by being seven through 10. what are the chances that they are one of the top six teams when this is all said and done? Because at some point, we got to acknowledge that the slowdown has not happened. And I really thought that when they lost Rubio, that would be devastating for them. But look at them seven and three in their last 10 games. I mean, there's a long way to go.

And they might end up seven. They're only two and a half games up on Charlotte, you know, but they're also only one a half games back from Chicago. Right. For number one in the East. Like it's still like I say that like because it's still so compact. So I mean between like it's only five games of separation from one through eight. Like that that's still very, very close out east unlike the West where it's like dramatic

difference between some teams. There's like separate tiers being created in the West that aren't yet in the East. But with Cleveland, I would bet on them continuing to sustain success. And it's because of the fact that they have. multiple guys playing at an all-star level. Darius Garland continues to trend upwards. Jared Allen having just an absolutely sensational year. Evan Mobley in his own right,

obviously the rookie of the year favorite thus far this season. But up and down the roster again, it's like we just talked about with Miami. They don't have many guys playing who suck. They don't have any playing who suck to stick to your rule again, Chris. Like this is another strong roster up and down. with guys who fill their roles, especially in that starting lineup. And I think with them, they're going to at least maintain a top six seat.

Well, and they're just such an oddball team because they start this gigantic front line with Markin, Mobley, and Allen. Like having that as your three front court guys is just absurd. And then their sixth man is Kevin Love, right? It's been much, much better. Yeah, but they're just so big as compared to their opponents on a nightly basis, and even what they bring in off the bench has got this size. You mentioned Garland, and I'm happy that he's hit this run.

You know, the last three games, he had 32 and 8 in a game against San Antonio. Then then with the Oklahoma City, he had 27.18 assists. And then yesterday against Brooklyn, 22. 12 assists, six rebounds. And with the All-Star game being in Cleveland, it would be nice for them to get a representative too. And I think Garland, if there's ever been some kind of great late push to be an All-Star, we always know that while it can be foolish,

people do look at the standings, you know, when they're putting together All-Star teams and seeing what teams are successful at the moment. And sometimes that can look silly. you know, by the time the All-Star game comes around, sometimes it can't. But with the All-Star game being in Cleveland, it would be nice for them to have a representative, especially given the season that they've had thus far. And, boy, has Garland made a case? You look at some of these lines that he has had.

He has just been absolutely sensational. Yeah, and with Darius Garland, like, I think you can even go back further, not just the Ricky Rubio injury, but the Colum Sexton injury. I mean, the conversation was, well, I mean, Garland's pretty good. Can they mix and match Garland and Sexton together? Now, whenever Sexton returns, assuming he's still on the roster next season, it's going to be like, well, how do you integrate with Darius Garland playing an All-Star level, who controls this offense, who runs it at a high level, who, despite only being in his third year,

despite only being 21 years old, operates in the pick and roll. with such finesse and feel and confidence. And I think you look at this team the way they are structured right now. You mention how they're funky with their amount of size they have. And that's true. But like from a pure skills standpoint, like forgetting about the size of the players, all these pieces fit together with Garland, the cool and collected pick and roll operator,

Mobley and Allen, switchable, versatile, long pieces, marking in the shooter. and then Okoro, Isaac Okoro, the locked down perimeter defender who gave hell to Kyrie and Shagelos Alexander and so many other guards and wings and scores

throughout this entire season and offensively, I mean, he doesn't do a lot from the outside but just him downhill attacking, just downhill roll into the basket. I mean, all the pieces fit. They just need one more really good wing to be like a real playoff problem

for somebody. Yeah, I mean, or Okoro plus a jump shot. If Okoro can become a consistent shooter, oh boy. What more could you ask for? Yeah, they have been outstanding. And Garland, you know, when you watch him, he strikes me. He's got a chance to be one of those 50, 40, 90 guys at some point.

He really does. Because he's unbelievable from the free throw line. And I think he's shooting like 37 from three right now. I mean, you could see him end up like that. And early in the season, I had mentioned that I had heard Jackie McMullen talk about her conversation with Steph Curry and that that was the guy that he was effusive in his praise about talking about being the guy. And I said, who am I to disagree with Steph Curry? But he's making Steph Curry look like a genius, right? I mean, that wasn't the most popular thing. If I would have asked somebody, who do, what young player do you think Steph Curry stamped? I don't think before the season,

people would have listed a lot of names before they got to Darius Garland. And yet, here we are. And we're talking about him maybe making his first all-star appearance. And that Cleveland team has just had an absolute dream season thus far. You know, as I say, you got the heat there, and then you got Cleveland, and Cleveland's a game back from Brooklyn. And now they've lost KD for an amount of time. And you hope that he's able to recover from this and come back totally healthy, especially as he was playing as one of, if not the best player in the NBA, so far this year. and it immediately put a big spotlight on Kyrie because as soon as the injury happens,

Kyrie starts getting the questions that probably he was past. People just accepted this intensely weird situation, but then it was like when KD went down, like, hey, are you going to change your stance on this so that you can play all the games? and he ain't changing his stance. No. He didn't care, Katie.

He got hurt. He like, yeah, okay, I don't know what is what's that got to do with me. Yeah, I mean, he had a back and forth with a reporter last night after the game just about it. And basically just, you know, remained firm. There's not, the basketball is nothing to do with my own personal choice. My own personal choice is what it is. The one good thing for the Nets here, Chris, is they have 16. of their next 21 games into the All-Star break on the road.

So they are going to have Kyrie for all but five of their next 21 games before the All-Star break. After that, after the break is when they don't have many games at home. 13 of their final 23 are at home. One of them is at Madison Square Garden, so Kyrie wouldn't be able to play that one. One of them is in Toronto, so he wouldn't play that one either. So they're going to have them a lot in the next couple of weeks without Kevin Durant. but then when you hope Kevin Durant returns, then they're not going to be without Kyrie Irving

for the far majority of games. It's just going to be a weird, wacky season. Who knows what their plight is going to be over the next couple of weeks without Durant because you felt like they've needed him to be amazing. And he has been amazing. And so now on those nights where Kyrie Irving is unavailable,

which are not going to be that many, as you mentioned, but can James Harden turn back into James Hardin, the guy that can get your victories by himself? You know, I mean, he is going to be Houston James Harden. I mean, the ball's going to be at his hands, and it'll be interesting to see how it plays out. He has shown very little indication that he is that right now, like the best player on a team that gets a bunch of wins.

What percentage would you say James Hardin is right now compared to, I don't know, peak James Harden. Like what percentage is he right now, though? Compared to the 35 point per game James Harden a couple years ago in Houston. I mean, 70. I think that low. I mean, look, you got to remember. I've been to shoot around where the entire damn thing was about James Hardin.

Like, I've seen game plans where the entire thing was about James Harden. You've drawn him up yourself. And this guy still dropped like 48. Like, he had his peak. Now, again, you're telling me, I'm comparing him to that like MVP best offensive player. That's exactly what I mean. I mean, like, what percentage is hardened today compared to that? I mean, I probably went too high with 70.

Really? Not even close to that. What? Do you think he can reach 85, 90% in the playoffs? Do you think Hardin can get to that point? That's what I'm trying to get at here. What does Hardin have in him right now? 32 years old.

He does not look the same level physically that he was before. Performance-wise, looks wise. The numbers are not quite the same either. Not drawing quite as many files. All right. Here's what I would tell anybody to do. go watch the kind of shape he's in and how devastating he was. Now, you know, look, I'm not so much of a hater that I can't tell you what the guy.

Like the guy got on my nerves with the antics and everything, it go into the foul line like he did and playing for fouls rather than playing for shots or to make the shot necessarily. But I have never told you he wasn't amazing. And you go back and watch those like MVP or near MVP. seasons and then watch highlights from this year. Come on. Come on. It's not even in the same hemisphere. He was unstoppable, Kevin. Completely unstoppable. And he is, you could, people guard it with one guy now. I mean, he was, you guard him with two guys. He's still getting 50 sometimes back then.

I mean, one of the thoughts on my mind is, do the nets look tired, including Hardin? They seem, It seems like a tired team to me. I don't know. Like, that's just my vibe watching this team. Harden playing 40 minutes a night. Patty Mills even has cooled off a little bit. Some of the older guys on this team, it just seems like a tired bunch.

It also all feels joyless to me. Now, I'm spoiled because I watch the most joy every single night. You do. You know what I mean? I really do. And so you juxtaposed versus watching that. And it's, It's like, I don't know, it just feels stressful.

The whole thing, the stories around them, just everything about it feels joyless. It really does. Kyrie had some quote after the game last night. He said, our time is coming. It may not be now, but I definitely feel like some of these things that happened are for a reason and it's for a bigger purpose. And I was just thinking about that quote because it's like those things, it's obviously Durant's MCL injury that's going to keep him out for a month at least. It's his own Vax status.

It's Joe Harris being out. It's Nick Claxton being out. It's Harden still being inconsistent. It's Blake Griffin not looking like the same guy. It's Paul Millsap looking old. It's like a long list of things that are happening right now. Aldridge coming out of retirement and being essential. Yeah.

Exactly. It's a lot of, it's having to play so much. young players, Daron Sharp and Cam Thomas and I mean, David Duke, it's like, it's Kessler Edwards, it's having to play all these young guys on what was supposed to be like one of the oldest teams in the league. It's, I mean, but, but let's go to the other side of what he said, though. He says, I feel like some of these things happen for a reason for a bigger purpose. There's no cosmic thing happening here, but could there be a light at the end of the tunnel here for

Brooklyn, playing these young guys, having to get them experience, show what they can do. Is there anything good to pull from this seven losses in their last 11 games? Is there anything to pull from what will be a challenging next couple of weeks? Is there anything good for the Nets here? I guess, yeah, I guess that those guys are getting some minutes, you know, on a team. Is that it, though? Is that the only good thing? Because you might be counting on them towards the end of the year.

You never know the way things are going to play out. And so some of those guys that you weren't expecting to are being called into action now. And that might better prepare them for being called into action later. In the end, look, I don't know about all this being, you know, if there's anything good to take out of it or whatever else. And the KD injury is awful. Nothing good about that. That's for sure. Nothing.

As I say, they get to the playoffs and they've got, If Kyrie Irving and James Harden and Kevin Durant are all healthy for the playoffs, none of this crap's going to matter anyway. Well, I mean, even despite all of it, they were still on top of the east for the former January of the season. I mean, if those guys, if those guys are all healthy when it comes to playoff time, come on. I mean, we haven't gotten to see it.

We didn't get to see it last year. No. But if they're all healthy and you go into the playoffs with them, all healthy? I mean, this is all going to be, you know, I guess Kyrie could come back and in the end, say, I told you so, but I mean, it's not, right? Like, this, I told you that, you know,

some of those things that happened to us were a blessing of disguise or whatever. Like, the truth is, if you get all those guys healthy, you're going to be devastating. Come on. Whatever percentage you want to put on James Hardin, whatever percentage you want to put on Kyrie Irving, if Kevin Durand is still that dude, as he was throughout this season

and those two are flanking him, you've got a problem defending them. I don't care who you are. And so, I mean, that's what it's going to come down to. I wonder how much do they have to prove James Hardin. I was thinking about that over the weekend because of the Mark Stein report on his substack.

He wrote about how there's enough people around the league where he felt comfortable reporting about James Hardin's quote openness to relocation this summer. And that Daryl Morey's big master plan might be to hold on to Ben Simmons through the deadline into the off season to try to do a Simmons for Hardin sign and trade and get Hardin to pair with Embed. Simmons goes to Brooklyn. I was just thinking about that over the weekend. Because Hardin himself did say before the season, he looks forward to testing out

for agency and hearing from teams. I don't know. It's just something. It's something on my mind. Yeah, and I mean, and it might be natural with Hardin because you remember there was that story about him being buddies with the Sixers owner or like they were talking to each other. People are like, what's the deal there? And they're like, oh, they're friends. And then obviously Daryl's there now, who was the GM that let him run the roost in Houston. So maybe it's all destiny anyway that they get traded for each other once and for all. It was last year, Michael Rubin. This is from page six.

dot com. Michael Rubin hosted a 4th of July party and in attendance was James Hardin, Travis Scott, Bon Jovi, Mike Mill, Megan the Stallion, P.K. Subon, Little Baby, Woody Harlow, what a party. Robert, Robert Kraft. Jay Z arrived in a green Rolls-Royce, sources told page six, which matched a multi-million-dollar Must have made Green Saffire Richard Mill watch on the Rapper's wrist. Wow. I wonder what Hardin arrives in. And A-Rod was there, too. Michael Rubin's a popular guy.

I guess so. There's a TikTok star Charlie. D'Milio. D'Milio. Yep. You know him. I don't. LaShawn McCoy.

It's a girl. What a party. Where was our invite, Chris? Joe was our invite. This is a cool party. Charlie Millio. Gail King was there. Bar Carter.

Charlie Thimileo is a girl. You said, you know him. I know. Say you're sorry to Charlie Tammilio. She's one of the most famous TikTokers in the world. I have no idea. Oh, bud. Other things that we need to get to,

the Grizzlies are now in third in the West after beating Chicago. As I mentioned, Chicago, They've got to try to hold down the fort until they get their guys back. No Lonzo, no Caruso, no Levine. Stephen Adams carrying Tony Bradley, though, was one of the great viral moments of the NBA season yesterday as John Morant and Tony Bradley get into it. And Stephen Adams, Tony Bradley is not a small individual.

And Stephen Adams just picking him up sumo style and carrying him across the court. unbelievable. It's hilarious. They say that, they say he is like the strongest dude ever. Got that New Zealand strength.

I don't know. Wouldn't surprise me. No. And he really does look like Aquaband. He really does. And so all the beams and everything about that. They picked them up like a little, little baby just walking away.

Yeah. I mean, who does that? I don't know. It's like, yeah, I mean, there's all these.

people that were putting up, you know, the bouncer, the best bouncer at the club. That's what it really looks like. It looks like a bouncer carrying some drunk guy away from a fight. And so that happened yesterday. And the Grizzlies have only lost one game in this unbelievable streak. It was to Dallas, a team that you and Charks talked about last week, who I got to see in person, and Dallas ran them out. I mean, I think Miffis had 30 points at the second half of that game.

but I saw that since we last spoke. That was right after Friday's episode that I watched that. Memphis was playing their eight game in 12 days or something. I mean, you know, people can roll their eyes at schedule losses or whatever, but three and four days, eight and 12 days. Those are tough. They played a lot of basketball. And I think it's fair to say, you know, as someone who's watched that team every night,

they were nothing like themselves in that game. That being said, all credit to Dallas, because you can run into teams that don't necessarily have it and let them get away with not having it on a given night. And Dallas is a bad matchup for them, especially in the absence of Dilla Brooks. And me seeing Luca then versus seeing him earlier in the year, Kev, he is getting there.

There's no way around it. People have slept on him a little bit in terms of, you know, him coming into the season out of shape and not starting off all that well. They have gotten cracking. They have been outstanding defensively. And he looks better and better as this year goes on. and they're very good playing half-court basketball. He's one of those guys in the league that you can't speed him up.

And that's what Memphis's problem was, right? Because they don't want to play at that pace. But they do a reasonable job, not turning the ball over. They play really good team defense. And he, the night I saw him, I think he was 16 of something like maybe like 16, a 26 or something. something, but he was 0 of 6 from 3. So he was like 16 of 20 from 2 point range. And a lot of those weren't necessarily going to the basket.

I mean, he is just, he is one of those unstoppable guys. And he's getting there. And that Dallas team now looks a lot more like a threat that people thought they could be at the beginning. And the reason I'm bringing this up is because things are starting to open up. I mean, you saw that Utah team get dropped by L.A. last night. Golden State is going to have a really tough go without Dremont. You don't expect Phoenix to slow down for any matter. But, of course, they've had their Aiton injury issues.

But it's starting to open up a little bit more. And it feels like Dallas is one of those teams that can take advantage. as Luca gets better and better as this season goes on, and they've kind of got their bearings. You know, hopefully they get a healthy porzengis for the majority of the second half of the season. But I was much more impressed with them when I saw them recently than I was earlier in the year.

Well, I mean, their, Luca might be looking better physically. He's still only shooting 17% from three since he got back. Like, he hasn't shot the ball well. But he makes all the other ones. He was making all the other ones. Yeah. He's making all the other plays that he needs to.

And Chris Staps, Porzingis, and the couple of games that he's been back as well after being in COVID protocols, he's looking great defensively as well. I mean, the Thunder were kind of allergic to the rim in that game against them the other day. So, I mean, with Chris Staps Porzingis, he's playing on a high level defensive way, and they need him. You mentioned if they can get him healthy, they need Kate P. It's at that point where they need. him. I mean, he's playing high-level defense,

getting more post touches. He's more integrated on the offensive end. Jalen Brunson continues to shine. He is awesome. Yeah, isn't Brunson great? Yes. Just plays his role. Not like, hey, this

cool story gets to play next to Luca. Like, Brunson is a player and he keeps getting better and better. And he does, give them that he can make plays. It doesn't have to be like he can throw the lobs to guys all picker.

He can run a pick and roll, which that's all you need. And I got another guy. Yeah. You heard the convo with charts last week. It's like he's that the Mavs, the Mavs at one point, at least going back to last week, we're number one in the NBA when Brunson runs in isolation in terms of scoring efficiency. And like it's a smaller sample compared to the high usage ISO. guys across the league. But with Brunson, that dude can play. He can create a shot for you out of

pick and rolls, out of isolations. They, they, they're, the Dallas is figuring some things out. They need to make another move. I'm not sure who that is. They were talking about, Miles Turner as a target last week. John Collins is another guy to watch for Dallas as a target. Do you like either of those guys, Turner or Collins? Like, how do they fit in there? Are you into that? Oh, I think Turner would be outstanding there. That'd be really nice. I'd like that. I do.

Collins, too. Collins gives them another lob threat. Yeah, but I mean, they did with an already good defense if you had Turner there as some more rim protection. Because, I mean, they've been doing it. They hadn't had Collie Stein. He's been out. They just released him. They're bringing in, or they have Marquis Christi, Chris, right?

They just have him a deal. And obviously, they got Bobon, you know, that's, there as another big, but yeah, the Miles Turner thing, that would be, that would be fantastic. If they could, if they could add him into the mix, I do think he would be a very good fit there. I mean, they, they, they, I feel like, I feel, I feel, I feel Dallas is trending up in a really positive way. And Luca being bought in on defense, um, since returning, like stuff like that, that all adds up. And if they're able to make one or two moves, to enhance this thing around their core players before the deadline.

They feel like a safe bet to secure one of those top six seats in the West. Well, the other thing is we were talking about, you remember, we were talking about at the beginning of the year, there still has been a resolution on that druggage thing. And that it always been brought up as a Luca, druggage thing that maybe could take place. And so who knows if he ends up getting bought out or if you can give something up to attain him or what?

But yeah, I mean, part of their thing is, and we talked about them if they are able to stay healthy. If you stay healthy, now so much of this, especially down the stretch kev, is going to be these teams that can stay healthy. That's usually the teams, you know, I remember last year with Utah. They end up the number one seat. And unsurprisingly, they were incredibly healthy, you know, for the majority of the season. They were able to keep their guys on the court. And you see, you know, the KD injury happening. and you see some of these other injuries.

I mentioned the Bulls and, you know, the slew of guys that they've had to be doing it without. And who knows how long they'll have to do without them. And then there's another one that we haven't mentioned yet, which is Golden State. And that story came out over the weekend that Jemond Green's leg pain is tied into a back issue. And that's just,

yeah, it's just always scary. Always scary. Yeah, it was the, they said his left. calf is tied to the involvement of a disc in his lower back. I don't like reading those words. Discs back.

You never like to see that. And with Draymond, we talked about it last week. It's a copy and paste that to hear. Like with Draymond Green's impact on defense, you need, you need Draymond. And on offense. He just runs the show for them. He's their leading assist guy. He's their point card.

Yeah. That's what he is. And it's too bad. Like you get clayback after all this time after 914, whatever it was, 941 days. And then Jremont plays a minute, the opening tip of that game just to be out there for the celebration. So it's too bad. Well, and you, and you, it's one of those times where when you read that story, you wish it was a leg injury. Yeah, and you wish it was actually just a calf injury.

And not related to the lower disc in his back. And I mean, like we talked about guys being absent with Brooklyn and Kyrie's quote about this is all for a bigger purpose. I'll ask that same thought, offer that same thought here with Golden State. Is there anything positive from Draymond being out in this situation? Like playing Kaminga more often, could that be a positive, getting him more opportunities, maybe even increasing trade value? Yeah, I think there's some positives here. As long as you know, you're getting Draymond back here. healthy at the end of whatever his absence is.

Two weeks from now, a month from now, yes. Because their opportunity to be a championship caliber team rest upon that. Exactly. Like they, I mean, it's kind of, it's kind of funny to say, but like, they, they could have been in it without Clay. They won't be in it without Draymond. That says something to you. It does say something.

Yep. Another one of the guys that has been injured, but, you know, shouldn't be too much. longer is Anthony Davis and the Lakers have had this, about a week, this ma' season. But that was a big win against Utah last night. It was, you know, and with any time they get like a good win, people are like, could that be the turning point of the season? I don't know if it's a turning point. But the Russ dunk on Gobert was, that felt like all the rage of the entire season leading into one play. You see the photo of it with Go Bear looking on angry?

Oh, my God. Andy just talked shit for like two minutes straight. Then the ref texts him up and he keeps on screaming. And I was like, oh, my God. They're going to get rid of those technicals. This is unbelievable. Who got thrown out the other day? Cade,

Cunningham for like pointing. And Cade says he was pointing to like people in the stands. it's like, get the hell out of here. That was terrible. Like the NBA, Adam Silver needs to be like, you know, handing out punishments to refs for throwing players out for that. Like, get the hell out of here. Nobody wants to see stupid zebra.

People will pay their money to watch the players. I mean, that was the worst because that play. For those that don't know what we're talking about it, it was an amazing sequence where Booker comes down and yaks one and is barking and then come down the other end and Cade comes under the goal and smashes one and then he starts barking and then they throw the guy out of the game

after he starts ridiculous. It's like oh my God it's such a joke. The whole like them both getting so fired up and then going back and forth that's like it's what you dream of to have like for the theater of an NBA game.

There's like a 14 year old kid in the crowd that day who's going to their first. game. Oh, yeah. They're having a good time. The score doesn't matter because their pistons are losing, whatever it might be, or a Sun's fan that might have been in the crowd for that matter, watching them. They're like, oh, if only Kate got to keep playing, it's like, just let the trash talk happen. Trash talk is fun. Because it feels like a moment where it's like, okay, here's this rookie guy who's going up against this other star in the league and he's trying to meet the moment, you know?

And just the fact that we were robbed of letting it play out, no matter what would have happened. There's certainly little fixable things that the NBA needs to address to make this great sport, this great league even greater. And I think for the Lakers and the Jazz game, thank goodness. Ross might have got a technical. Thank goodness he didn't get thrown out after that moment.

Have the Lakers turn their season around? Is this a turning point for Russell Westbrook, you said? I don't know. Russell's still five or 14 on the night. I'm doubtful. I'm doubtful. And then on the other front, you know, there wasn't. Did you see that minor controversy over the weekend about the, the Rudy

Gobert thing that came out and then like, you know, Jordan Clarkson and Donovan Mitchell were liking it and like this, the sub-tweet thing about how hard Devin Booker plays defense and all. this shit. And I was like, oh my God. I did not see the stuff about people liking the tweet about it being a sub tweet, but he he was not wrong.

He was 100% correct. Everything Rudy Gobert said he was correct about. People thought it was a shot at Mitchell, though. It doesn't matter who it was a shot at. It was correct. It was right. You know, whoever was a shot

against, he's right. Like, the defense needs to be better around him for the Utah Jazz. It needs to be better. They need to make a trade. they need to get Jeremy Grant, in my opinion. It is clear as day. I said it well over a month ago that the Jazz should go after Jeremy Grant

from the Detroit Pistons, and I believe that even more firmly now, that they need somebody on defense who can assist Rudy O'Barre or be a stopper on the perimeter. They don't have that. Mitchell, Conley, Bogdanovich, O'Neill, Clarkson, all these guys, Rudy Gay, at their best, at their best defensively,

is above average, at their best. But a lot of those guys consistently are below average. And they need to find somebody who's a stopper or they're not contenders. And Rudy O'Bare is correct that they're not contenders. So I said, when I watch some of the other teams like the Sons of the Warriors,

those guys are a step ahead of us in terms of winning habits. They take every game personally. Devin Booker is playing his ass off defensively. I've been watching him compared to two years ago. Guys like that, they buy in. And you could tell they take pride in playing defense and stopping their man,

doing whatever they can defensively to stop the other team and be part of a winning culture. I think we're not there yet, but I think we're going to get there. They could get there, but they need help, man. I'm telling you, they need a trade. This current roster, like we can talk all day long about, you know, in the fourth quarter yesterday, the Lakers go with small ball and the jazz can't get anything going on offense. They can't find Gobert. It's amazing.

The amount of times, the amount of times they saw. switched the on-ball screen on the perimeter, and Rudy Gober has got, like, Austin Reeves or Stanley Johnson on him inside the paint, and they don't look for him at all. It's, like, you could, you might say, that's because Gobert can't score. You might say that,

but he's also got, like, a foot advantage on some of the guys that he's on, and they wouldn't even look for him. Eric Walden of the Tribune was all over this story. He went and asked Doddavan, about liking the tweet. And he said, quote, we just got to win tomorrow. That's it. And then on Rudy seeming to call the team out publicly, quote, we all hold the group,

we all as a group hold each other accountable. That's his way, I guess. I'm not too concerned about it. His just happened that way. Cool. So who knows? Who knows? I'm telling you.

I'm telling you. Like, they need a trade. I'm saying, like, they need to make a trade. trade. They have to make a trade. The tensions between those two are something that's not being played down though, and that's, it's not great when you're trying to win a title, you know? Yeah, I mean,

I don't know. I think, like I said, I think at the core, regardless of how anybody's personal feelings are about what he said, he's right. He's correct with what he said. The Jazz need to make a trade and they also need to figure out what do we do when teams go

small against us. The Lakers did what the Clippers did in the playoffs last year and the jazz looked puzzled with what to do offensively and with gobert pulled away from the pain on some possessions on offense lakers were more or less getting what they wanted where and getting where they wanted on the court they have to figure out how to play when teams go small because they're going to see it it's inevitable whether it's the lakers that do it to them in the playoffs whether it's the warriors that do it to them in the playoffs whether for that matter even even a team like the Grizzlies with Jaron Jackson at the five, if they play with five out spacing,

there are so many teams right now in the NBA that have the ability to space out with five shooters. The Jazz need to figure out what do we do offensively to attack this and take advantage of it and what do we do defensively to actually have players on our team that can get stops at the point of attack because you can't rely on Gobert with everything on defense. You can't rely on Gobert offensively with everything with your pick and roll heavy system. They have to figure out a lot. We just mentioned it earlier with the Miami Heat. Spolstra is in a position where he can play so many different styles.

Line up versatility, having variety with the types of ways you can play is integral to success in today's NBA. The Jazz play one way at the highest level possible on defense. They play one way on offense with Gobert's screening and rolling. They need to find other ways to get production on offense and defense. or they're going to lose again. As simple as that. Gobert's right. They need help on defense.

That's where it starts. It's on defense. It's not a matter of it. It's not about the message. It is about the messenger and whether and how that plays within the locker room. That's what I would tell you. It's not about the message. It's about the messenger.

And sometimes that thing is reversed, right? It's a matter of is that can you say that within the locker room? Do you need to say that public? in order to cause a, you know, so that you're talking about it and defending him and we're speaking about it, right? Or is that stuff that should be handled internally? Why are you going on Twitter to say such things? I liked him going public with that comment. I thought it was an innocent comment that, understandably so, was called a sub-tweet against his own teammates.

But like I said, he was right. Simple as that. and it's on the Utah Jazz front office and Danny Ains just hired there more than anybody else to address it, more than anybody else. They need to fix it here or this is just, it's going to fizzle. It's going to turn into a thing with a jazz or this nice playoff team and they never were able to get over the hump in the playoffs. And there'll be reason, A, B, C, Y, Z, people are going to blame go bare. People are going to say it's this. People are going to say that.

It doesn't matter. It's on the front office here to solve this problem. And I think everybody should be on the table. except for Rudy Gobert, except for Donovan Mitchell, except for Mike Conley. Everybody else in that team should be on the table. And, like, personally, I look at the way some of these guys are playing. Like, Jordan Clarkson, he's had some great moments for that team. I've kind of soured on him.

The ball does not move too much isolation, too much ball stopping. Like, they need to find some mix that works. Joe Ingalls can't get stops on defense anymore. He's been a layer a long time. How much does his chemistry matter? his presence matter i don't know they know that they know the answers to these questions more than anybody else i just don't know what the move is out there jeremy grants the one name that makes the most sense to me and even he alone it probably isn't enough they get to make more changes than that

it was nice to see c j mccallum back we do need to mention that um you know we've talked a lot about how portland might be a team that's in that trade market in a big way coming up especially dependent upon what ends up happening with Lillard. But McCollum, who came back from the lung puncture, looked like himself in a short amount of time for Portland. So it was good to see that he was able to come back and be good. And then also want to mention, you know, the aforementioned Devin Booker, who was outstanding.

We haven't had a lot of 48-50-point games this year, but he added one of them at 48. When he is on, he is as devastating as any perimeter player in the NBA. And then a quick shout out to Miles Bridges. My God, have a contract here, kid. He had a career by 38. And God bless, I mean, I feel for that Charlotte front office, you'd be kicking yourself every morning when you got up like,

damn it, man. We should have just offered him a little more and lock this down because I don't know if anybody has had the price of business go up like this guy has. He is going to get paid a fortune in the offseason. I'll tell you what, though, pretty good problem to have. Yeah, for him, not for them. Well, for Charlotte, too. I mean, like you're, but you're happy that Miles Bridges at 23 years.

old has blossomed in the way that he has. If you keep him, I mean, you know what I mean? Like, but now it's, in a small market, in a small market, you had the opportunity to lock him in on what would have been an unbelievable value deal and instead dicked around with it. And now the guy's got to go out in the all season to get $25 million a year. Crazy. Can we also give a special shout out to Bismack Biombo, scoring 17 points? Can we also just give him a shout out too? That's all. He's my actually,

my favorite highlight of last season featured him. Do you remember this? It was, people could go find that maybe the funniest thing that happened all of last season was Charlotte inbounded it to be Ambo in the corner, and he shoots a three.

And that guy, Eric Collins, a guy I love so much in Charlotte, it, they throw it into a three and he pulls a three. Of course, he misses it by like 100 miles. But right when he pulls it, he goes, oh my goodness. Oh, yeah, yeah, I remember that.

Yeah. You sing and I remember that. Oh, my goodness. I remember that. When he pulled a corner three to announcer's reaction, oh my goodness. And it misses by like 10 feet.

is unbelievable. It's the best highlight of last season. Oh my goodness. Bismack! He tried. He gave it his best. All right. Kevin, I imagine we're going to have a very, very eventful week.

Once again, and I will talk to you on Friday. Thank you to our executive producer, Jesse Lopez, as always. I'll talk to you on Friday, Kev. Have a great week, everybody.