The Mismatch - Jaylen Brown Is Making The Leap Towards Greatness Before Our Eyes

Episode Date: January 26, 2021

Chris and Kevin start off by reflecting on the legacy of the late great Kobe Bryant a year after his death (3:00). Then they get into the pure fun of the Lakers-Cavaliers game Monday night where LeBron James went for 46 points in a dominant performance (12:15). And in an episode all about the surprises of the season, a not-so-surprising surprise is that LeBron James has not been coasting early, and the Lakers look like the clear favorites (14:30), but the Clippers are not too far behind with Kawhi and Paul George playing out of their minds after faltering in the bubble (18:45). Other surprises of the season include the little amount of separation between teams and how many teams are trying to make a playoff run this season (22:45), Tom Thibodeau’s defensive impact on the Knicks (29:30), Jaylen Brown’s explosion towards greatness (37:00), and the NBA’s plans for a potential All-Star Weekend in Atlanta in February (46:00). And finally, Chris and Kevin give their awards predictions a quarter of the way into the season (51:45). Hosts: Chris Vernon and Kevin O’Connor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, this is Kevin O'Connor on today's episode of the mismatch. Chris Vernon and I went around the league and talked about some of the surprises early on, including Jaylen Brown, reaching a star level thus far. Some of the improvements we've seen from Kauai Leonard as a playmaker and some of the teams that are underperforming and overperforming compared to our expectations. All that coming up next. Welcome to the mismatch. I'm Chris Vernon. Join him as he does every Tuesday from the ringer.com is Kevin O'Connor,

a. K. Kevin O. Bomber. Kevin O. Concer. Kevin O'Climber. Kevin O'Cand. Kevin O'Cannibal. Kevin O'Connness. Kevin O. Burnow. What up? Did you see that the political news yesterday? I was hired by Joe Biden. Kind of disappointed that you did not tell me. I don't... Especially given that it could affect our podcast schedule. I don't know which job is going to take precedent. You being the official doctor of the White House? I guess I'm the White House physician, Dr. Kevin O'Connor. Right. I mean, this is going to be a real disaster for you if you've got a Google alert set up for

your name. Yeah, I mean, well, you know what? I mean, that was actually the reason for the slight delay this morning. We got started five, ten minutes late. I had to handle, you know, some prescription orders for some people in the White House. So we're here. We're here. No problem.

I can handle both, Chris. I tell you this, these last couple of years have been. a big, big, I mean, these have been a big couple of years for Kevin O'Connor's running for political offices, doctors in the White Houses. Senate in Minnesota and Massachusetts, as a Republican in Massachusetts,

that is from the legal marijuana now party in Minnesota. I lost both, unfortunately, but I ended in the White House as a physician. And then, well, I, you know, obviously I knew that you are, you know, part of the NBA media and you do this show

with me and you weren't, I thought, full time for the ringer. But then yesterday, I'm like, you know, he's on this podcast with Andrew Yang. I mean, he might. I mean, I don't, why is Andrew Yang talking to him? Like, he might be in this political sphere. Maybe I'll be Andrew Yang's VP someday. Andrew Yang's trying to be the mayor of New York, right? Yeah, he is trying to be the mayor of New York right now. Yeah, he's running for mayor. Unbelievable. Yeah, we talked Knicks and Nets on his podcast, Yang speeds. Andrew Yang's really good. Like, he was fun to talk.

basketball with him. He really knows a sport, knows the players. He's definitely invested in New York basketball. It was fun to talk with him. He's a great guy and he knows New York basketball. Good deal. All right. So we've got a lot of stuff to get to. Before we get into what's going on in the NBA right now, we do need to take a look back.

And any NBA fan is seeing via social media on television today a remembrance of Kobe Bryant. because it was one year ago today that we found out about his tragic passing. And, you know, it feels to me, and I don't know how this feels to you, it feels longer than a year ago to me. And I think it's because of the circumstances of this last year and since his passing. And the reason is because for me, me, that moment was I was going to a basketball game that night.

I was going to go watch the Grizzlies play against the Phoenix Suns. I was getting ready for work when my phone started going crazy and people texting me about this. I remember going and I remember telling my son, oh, my God, Kobe Bryant has died. And then not knowing how anything is going to be handled, what is it going to be like in an arena? Are they going to play the games tonight? And I show up to the arena. Devin Booker has got tears in his eyes, like, virtually the entire game.

It's, I mean, I'm getting chills thinking about it. You know, and you know Booker's relationship with Kobe and that family. And he's got tears in his eyes as the game's going on. And I remember everybody just being in total shock, just like walking around like zombies. And so I think the reason that it feels, longer to me is because being in an environment like that, being in a basketball game with all kinds of fans and, you know, the shows and all, that feels so long ago to me. You know what I mean?

And so because of that day and that experience of that day, I think that's what makes it feel longer ago than it has actually been because it's just been so long, it feels so long to me since things were normal. Yeah, I mean, in some ways, it feels like yesterday to me, in other ways it feels like five years ago. It feels like a different lifetime ago, pre-coronavirus, and now we're at right now. We're hopefully we can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

But with that day last year, my lasting memory from that day is that was around the time when my dad was getting bad, like he couldn't really enjoy sports anymore, like his cancer. Like, it's really sad what cancer does to you near the end of your life. when like your body's starting to break down. And like, you know, he couldn't enjoy that great Celtics Lakers game that happened last year.

But I remember the day Kobe died when the news came out. I told my dad and like, he was like sleeping all day at the time. And he really like perked up like, what? Kobe? Kobe passed away. How old?

Didn't he just retire? Hold? He was like, he was 41. You know, he just retired a couple years back. And, you know,

like, that's one of the real last conversations, back and forth conversations. my dad had about sports and we talked about rooting against Kobe, you know, getting to enjoy the Celtics Lakers rivalry. And I remember thinking of myself like, you know, Twitter's blowing up. You know, my dad, like, kind of woke up. Kobe just had that power. He, you know, there's a lot of great athletes in sports. And, you know, obviously a sudden passing is different. But with Kobe, it was just different. Like, it was the relationship fans had with him and players.

had with him was more than just, you know, his greatness on the court. It was what the, the example that he set. And he also, yeah, he elicited an opinion from you one way or another. There's not, you know, you've got to be a special brand of superstar. Everybody had an opinion. Yeah. On this guy, right? And not to mention, you know, just to piggyback on what you're saying, he's one of the most famous people in the whole world. Yeah. You know, and I think he's one of the most famous people in the world and he's also been on both sides of it like you know what happened in denver many years ago that is you know a very bad thing that happened there and that would that's you know what that sexual assault and ultimately Kobe is an imperfect person who was in the limelight and

had the had stardom worldwide stardom and ultimately i think he is somebody who says he didn't hide from that he said an example of how to grow as a person as a father and as a husband and he did that on the court, he did it off the court with his other interests, winning an Oscar, writing a book, mentoring, you know, young basketball players with his daughter's team and others in the girls basketball community. Miron Fader on the ringer wrote

a really beautiful story about, you know, some of the girls on those teams and on other teams that have learned from Kobe and worked with Kobe. Including Zach Randolph's daughter. Including Zach Randolph's daughter, right? Yep, exactly. Very featured in that story. And ultimately, I think

Kobe's impact was felt so significantly by so many people around the world, not just because of his accomplishment, but because he was an imperfect person that lived in a way, through hard work and growing through mistakes that made him a perfect role model in one way because of his imperfections. And I know, I've been reflecting about Kobe a lot, and that's just what's been on my mind,

an imperfect person who showed things that made, him a perfect role model. And I feel like that's one reason why, you know, beyond the encore brilliance that, you know, my dad woke up that day. Like he had a, he was like shocked by it. That's why everybody had an outpouring of love and support for that entire family. He was a great man, you know, and he led by example. And he's really inspirational. I mean, I never, I never imagined, you know, feeling the way I do daily today. One year since Kobe passed, It's, yeah. I just saw an interview that was floating around and it was Jay-Z.

And he was talking about, you know, the last thing that Kobe said to him. And he said that they had recently been together not long before his passing at a get-together. And he said the thing that Kobe said to him was, you have got to see my daughter play basketball. And that makes it all the more sad, right? because not only his daughter, but other people passed away in that crash. And it was just so devastating, honestly. It's just so incredibly devastating. It's something that none of us will ever forget.

And, you know, we talked about this at the time. We get to see these athletes age. Like, you think about, you think about, I mean, we just lost Henry Aaron. Henry Aaron was old. you know, when he passed away last week. And we see that we saw Muhammad Ali. Do you name the legendary sports figure? Almost always.

We watch them age. We watch them become those guys that are interviewed. You know, 50 years down the road, people are still talking to Bill Russell about, you know, what it was like and playing in titles and winning all those titles and everything else. and to not have that and is it's so much different because these guys, it always feels like when you are that awesome at sports that you are invincible and not only invincible, but that we watch you age. You know what I mean? Like you're usually,

you usually end up being older than all of us by the time these athletes, these elite level athletes. you know, pass away. And just so sad. But it was a year ago today, the NBA, I was glad that, you know, it was shortly after the season. They did a great honoring at the All-Star game for Kobe Bryant. And that memorial service is something that people will never, ever forget.

But for it to be a year ago, you know, in some ways it seems like it was, it was soon in some ways it seems like that was so much longer ago to me yeah i mean i mean this this whole past year man you know in a personal level you know with losing my dad and a collective level you know everybody has their own you know thing that they're working through and and everything's sharing in the coronavirus pandemic feels like so many aspects of have of life been put on pause and yet everything else keeps moving and that creates this weird sensation internally mentally um about just where we're at right now. Like you said, it doesn't feel long ago in some ways.

It feels like a lifetime ago on others. Because our whole perception of life and our experience of life has changed dramatically. And I look forward to getting back living and being in a packed arena's people going crazy. That's for sure. I look forward to that. I look forward to so much. There were some fans in the stands last night as we move on to everything going out of the world of basketball. there were some fans in the stands last night to witness the current Lakers superstar have one of the games of the season.

I was watching this game. I've told you, like, since the beginning, this Cavs team has become a sneaky fun watch. They're great. Every week. They really are fun to watch. They are so competitive. So many of their games are just good games. And this is a credit to the Cavs.

It took LeBron being the superstar. It was very reminiscent of the old DeMar de Rosen quote after the playoffs where he came in to the podium and he said, they have LeBron James and we don't, right? And that was one of those moments where I think anybody from the Cavs could just go and say, you want us to talk about the game? They have LeBron James and we don't. He's hitting, and poor Isaac Acorro, welcome to the NBA. He's trying to guard this guy.

And you know, you want to keep LeBron, you want to try to stay in front of him. That's been the book. And it didn't matter if you were in front of him or not. He was hitting baseline fadeaways with crazy footwork. He was hitting stepback threes. He was unstoppable in that fourth quarter when it mattered most. And that was Bonafide vintage LeBron James.

on a freaking Monday night in Cleveland. You know? We talk about all these other MVP candidates and BED and, you know, Yannis won the last two years and, you know, Harden won an award along the way. But ultimately, best player in the game is still LeBron James, age 36 years old. It's still LeBron.

And, you know, last night's game, man, that's why I always tweet it. Don't take LeBron James for granted. That's why I, That's why I always tweet it. It's why I always tweet it. Games like last night. This guy is special.

Special. Isaac Acorro is going to favorite that. Yeah. He should. That poor kid. I know. Only so much you can do against a great score. I'm piggybacking on that because we're going to talk about some of the things that have

happened so far in the NBA that we did not expect to happen. And I'm piggybacking off of that because LeBron is like a one. were talking to the beginning of the season, and I made the case for possibly Anthony Davis winning an MVP. Part of my theory was, look, they just got done playing in that finals. They had the shortest break of anybody. They were in that bubble for so long. Now there's going to be a lot more games in a shorter amount of time.

LeBron's not going to feel the pressure to play in all of these games because, you know, I mean, there's little kids that get tickets. to see LeBron James in person when they go to the different markets. But now that there's not fans in the stands, it wouldn't be nearly as big a deal if he sits out here and there. And they had a good enough team to be able to win without him. And the other thing is, is he going to just coast? And then you know they're going to be there at the end?

Like, I'm saying coast, but still get the number one seed. And then they'll still be there in the end. And then we'll get full on LeBron when it comes playoff time. and then finals time. We know he's still got it, but that's when he'll crank it up and the regular season is not going to be an afterthought, but he's just not going to go pedal to the medal.

Bro, is that, I mean, that couldn't be more wrong. He has gone pedal to the matter. Maybe he was watching the last dance. Maybe it's, I don't know, but this guy has, maybe it's the whole Janus getting the MVP last year because that irked him quite a bit, but it feels like he is on a mission, and it's not like coasting through and just turning it up when he has to.

This guy is playing pedal to the medal this season. And I did not see that coming, especially when they had the shortest break. Yeah, I mean, they can turn it on when they need to. And there's been moments this season that they've coasted. We've seen Anthony Davis coast at times on defense. He hasn't been defensive player of the year quality. He has, but LeBron hasn't. Well, yeah, but LeBron even there's been a couple moments where he has, you know, coasted a bit.

But whenever they want to put their pedal to the medal, they can do it. They can do it. LeBron can do it individually. AD can do it individually. They can do it collectively as a team. By the way, I mean, we say coasting, coasting, as if they're not the number one ranked defense in the NBA right now, as if they don't have their best record in basketball. Like this team is a juggernaut.

No, I'm saying they're not coasting and that's what surprises me. Well, I mean, there's moments of coasting, but the product, they're still. They're still dominant. Well, and last night, they're probably. playing in Cleveland. You know he wants to show out. Oh, yeah. Right. For sure. No, there's that about that. Yeah, he absolutely did it. It's crazy. It's just crazy to watch, you know, him do it at this age. And, you know, to your point about them, like, not coasting, I feel like there's still a higher level. I feel like that they still can reach a higher level

and they will in the postseason. I still see them going back to back. There's still more that the Lakers can do and be when they're playing at 150 percent instead of maybe, you know, 90%. Yeah, well, they are now becoming, and I talked about this before the season. I said, I thought what they would do during the season was not go necessarily pedal to the medal, but that, I remember going into the year our predictions, I said they should be a warriors-ask favorite. Like, I do think that is the gap. And I feel no differently right now. I mean, it is hard to foresee. When you look throughout all the other teams, it's hard to foresee a team that can bar a barring injury, right? That is always the caveat. But if they're able to go into

this healthy, I mean, the level of favorite they should be in my mind is, is extreme. Extreme, but I'll use that to get into my next, you know, first surprise. Kauai Leonard with the Clippers, this season averaging a career high in a assist 5.7 with only 1.8 turnovers per game. I was texting with our former producer, Isaac Lee, the other day, obviously a known Clippers fan about Kauai the other day. And we were both just chatting about how Kauai is playmaking in ways that he has in the past. He's manipulating defenses with his eyes and his movements, looking off defenders to create passing lanes. He's doing more complex things, you know, as he weaponizes his scoring ability, draws attention

to create space for others. And he's doing it better than ever. And, you know, it's Paul George playing at the level he is, with some of the additions, changes on their roster that they've had. The Clippers are really, really good, man. Like, I think the Lakers are still the clear favorite. But the Lakers are better than last season.

And one of the reasons why is because Kauai Leonard, you know, almost 30 years old now, has gotten better. He looks better. And that's got to be encouraging for Clippers fans because Kauai is essentially doing, you know, things more like LeBron

with his playmaking. So that's big for them and could be huge come playoff time when you got to have that playmaking presence. That can do more than score an elite level for you. Well, and his running buddy has been tremendous this year. Oh, yeah. I mean, Paul George has been, we chronicled that last week

that he has, he's been that guy that has flipped it completely. What we saw in the bubble is not applicable to what we are seeing now. This looks like the guy in the second half of that last Oklahoma City year, you know, before he got banged up. And then, of course, was dismal in the playoffs when it mattered most against Portland.

But he had that stretch in January of that year, I believe it was January or February, where, I mean, he was as good as any player in the entire NBA. And it's a lot closer to that. And so if you do get, like, I mean, again, Paul George is, like, he may be number one on the prove it to me. Like, I'm not going to believe in it. You know, when you get to the playoffs, okay, have those huge, look like one of the best guys on the court in the Lakers series. Look like one of the best guys on the court in a Utah series, in a Denver series, whoever they're going to face, right? Like, that's when I'll buy it.

Sure. Because right now, we know Kauai has done that. He's got his bona fides when it comes to that. that Paul George does not. Absolutely. And so it doesn't, everybody's just going to look at it and say, yeah,

he's doing great in the regular season. And ultimately, Chris, I think, and I would predict, this is the year we get Lakers, Clippers in the postseason. This is the year.

The clippers, to me, have separated themselves from the rest of the pack. By the way, like credits of the Utah Jazz, that team is really good. You need to watch out for them.

They're really complete. You know, I don't want to overlook them. They're really, really good with Conley, Mitchel, go bare up and down the roster they're strong but i do think the lakers and clippers are still better than everybody else in the west what i wonder is will will you know the finals end mid-july um so that

means the conference finals ends either you know late june or early july i don't know if that point in the city of los angeles fans will be allowed in arenas we'll see i'm skeptical but i hope so I hope it's safe to do so because I'll tell you what, man. That would be one hell of a series. I mean, those two teams, it would not be fun for the Clippers when they're playing what's supposed to be their home game in front of what is not a home crowd.

Especially if it's limited capacity. Right. Like how could Steve Ballmer control and only Clippers fans get those tickets? He's going to be hard, right? Especially with the amount that Lakers fans are willing to pay. Oh, yeah. To get into those games, right?

Okay, piggybacking off with that, you know, they have the two LA teams in Utah, and then really we've got Philly, who's taking a downturn recently when Ambide's been out, but still has the best record in the East. But, you know, there's just outside of those, there is, I think the thing that has, that I didn't expect that is happening a quarter of the way through the season is so little separation between ever. everybody. Now, I know there's been extenuating circumstances. So the Celtics got to play a week without Jason Tatum. And this team, you know, the heat have to play without Tyler Hero and Jimmy Butler and their crew. And you knew there was going to be extenuating circumstances with all of these teams. But still, when it all flushes out, because there's so many of these teams that have had some level of issue, you look in the east, Kevin, and we're a quarter of the way

or close to a quarter of the way through the season, I think only Detroit is like, does not think that they're going to be in the play in. I'm 100% with you. That's 50. That's what we got? 14 teams. 14 teams still feel like they're in it.

Every one of them thinks they can be in the play in. So you got 14. teams trying to get 10 spots. I really think they're all going to compete all the way to the end. And some of the teams that have those slots right now, I mean, look, Miami's going to end up with one of those slots. And Miami's got a 6 and 10 record right now. And some of the other teams may back down.

We certainly expected Toronto to be in there at the beginning. They've kind of gotten it going more recently, at least they're 6 and 4 in their last 10 games. Looking better. Looking better. Yeah, yeah, looking better than the way they started this season. But yeah, so on that end, in the Easter conference, and even in the Western Conference, honestly, like New Orleans has got the second worst record. But they're competing for it. Yeah.

Minnesota is the one that is they're not going to be in the play in, right? That we can write them off. And, I mean, Oklahoma City. Dude, Minnesota on Saturday night beat New Orleans without Cat or Delo. That's insane, isn't it? It's outrageous. That's insane. No, it's like, did you, I mean.

Insane. You, I watched them last night before I went to bed against the Warriors. I mean, they were just getting their ass kick. Yeah, they're there. I mean, it was a good team. And they beat the Pelicans on Saturday night without their two best players. Like, I wrote about the Pelicans on the ringer for Monday. focused around Zion and the rebuild.

And when I first started reporting out that story, I'm like, oh, this is going to be like a positive story about the pelicans and their rebuild. I swear. It turns into like Kevin O'Cursed. Kevin O'Cursed. Yeah. Look, you, you write that big thing a week ago or within the last week, Zach Lowe puts out this huge thing on Brandon Ingram and this team stinks.

I guarantee you, I guarantee you Zachers, for all I think in the same thing. Like he because like I'll tell you what like a peak beneath you know the hood here. When I first started reporting that the plan was, you know, I interviewed David Griffin one on one. So it's supposed to get Stan Van Gundy. But once the team started losing like Stan's like I don't want to do one on ones. So like, you know, at that point, it's like, okay, obviously understandable. He's just hearing all his frustrations to the media. And by the way, he is like he without naming names has constantly said our best players need to hustle on defense.

our best players have to show hard. He's talking about Ingramman Williamson, you know? And, you know, a game like that lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves without Cat and Delo. I mean, they're still in it. They are because they have that level of talent. But boy, but boy, do they have a long way to go to actually get the 10 spot. And while they have been a truly game team so far, Oklahoma City is not going to end up one of the top 10 records in the Western Conference. but I mean, I think everybody else thinks they can be there.

Even Houston, who traded off James Harden, like Houston thinks they can be there. New Orleans thinks they can be there. Portland's going to try to hang on for dear life after losing McCollum. Sacramento thinks they can be there. They're going to fight. Yeah, you go through all of these teams. Even Houston.

Even Houston would roll and all in all. Yeah, okay, yeah. Right. So we got three, what, maybe three teams in the league, a quarter of the way. through the season that we could say, like, if we were just going to say, like, we're writing them off, we don't think they're going to be even in the play yet. The only ones, and that's even, by the way, Oklahoma City's record is not, they're seven and nine. It's not a terrible record,

but we just think the way it's going to play out. They don't have those dreams. They got 50,000 drafts the next three years anyway. But you're talking about what, Minnesota and who was the other one I met oh Detroit Detroit that's it in the whole league and even with even with Minnesota even with them you could say

when they get cat back no I'm just saying like I'm saying you're talking about a team hopes to make the playoffs I'm not saying they would but a team that gets Carl Anthony Towns back is going to be like now we're going to make our playoff push you know what I mean so that that that team would still want to push for the postseason

I'll tell you what man one quarter of the way through playing tournaments feeling pretty good right now with the amount of teams that feel like they can say that. Yes. It's pretty good. Well, another thing, because I'm going to piggyback on that

on another one that I did not expect, which is, and I'm going to revert this back to the Pelicans and Stan Van, and this is not a great, this is not a great look. One of the things that I wrote down that I did not expect happening this season

is I knew that Tom Tibido, who has a favor of could have a profound impact on the Knicks. But there is a limit to what you can do based on your personnel. And their offensive rating is their offensive rating, and it's not good. They are in the top five defensively. Like that is coaching. Like, a hundred percent coaching. That team stunk on defense last year.

Some of the personnel has changed, but a lot of it's the same in terms of the minutes they get. To take that team and have them as a top five defensive team speaks to not only the genius of Tom Tibido, but the motivational wherewithal to be able to get guys because, you know, energy and effort and then obviously being on a string playing in a system, to take that group that he has and gets them to be a top five defensive rated team. I don't care if there's only a quarter of the way through the season. I don't care if there was two games into the season. Them being that good defensively speaks to what an impact the guys had.

And I say that to juxtapose it versus the pelicans. Pelicans, yeah. Which you thought Stan Van's going to come in and if there's one thing he's going to do, They added Stephen Adams, for God's sakes. Like, they're going to, they can be an outstanding. They added Eric Bledsoe, who was on the team with the best defensive rating last year. Alonzo can guard. Like, Stan Band is going, if there's one thing he's going to do,

he's going to turn that team into a team that defends every night. And if you defend every night, you give yourself a chance. That's what we're seeing with the Knicks. That Pelican's team's in the 20s, Kev. So like one team hired a coach and he's got a group that has no business being in the top five defensively in the top five.

Another guy inherited a group that we would say yes, you could absolutely foresee this team being a top five defense and he ain't getting it out of him. Not even close. You know, it's a couple of things. With the Knicks, it's almost like what I talked about earlier with the Pelicans, Van Gennie saying our best players need to play harder and play with hard and all that.

The Knicks are. Everybody in that team, including the best guys in that group, are playing hard. They're playing really tough basketball, playing together as a unit. There's an accountability to each other. Exactly. You know, you're seeing an R.J. Barrett put it in. You're seeing a Julius Randall, you know, play really hard. And that sets a tone for your entire team.

The Pelicans, you're not seeing that quite as much. But I do think it's even a little bit more than that, too. The offense is also really sputtered. So, like, they're not getting to defend after it made. basket quite a lot. The fact Stephen Adams started off really strong has not been quite as good this past week or so. Granted, their defense was bad even when he was looking better. But, you know, this team, the Pelicans team, it's so many factors all at once, including the fact Zion and Angerner were not defending at the level that they need to, which like you said, partially

is coaching. Maybe Van Gundy's voice isn't being heard or maybe the approach isn't as effective nowadays as maybe the Tibbs approaches. Both those guys, they're tough to play for. They're tough to play for. And, you know, Van Gundy at times, you know, I put this in the story, it could be a little annoying with players.

So maybe it's just not working with New Orleans right now in the ways it is right now with New York. But we'll see, man. It takes time to build new habits and also to maintain new habits. So we'll see how the Knicks can sustain this. And we'll also see how the NICS can sustain this. let's see how the pelicans can build from where they're at right now. And that is, we need to give tips credit because sometimes that gruff personality can,

that could turn guys off. But also, if the guy is so married to his philosophy and he, players want to end up being better and they will listen to a coach that they think can make them better, make them achieve what they want to achieve. And so when Tibbs comes in there and says, if we do this, this and this, we are going to have the success that you desire. And then they buy in and then they do it and they see the results. Now all of a sudden you've got total buy-in. And it feels like that's what's not happened.

Just one more thing to add on the next though. They also are holding opponents to only 31% from behind the three-point line. and opponent three point percentage, a lot of the time historically, analytics show is luck. And so for the Knicks, right now they are number one in the NBA and opponent three point percentage.

That is not necessarily because of the way they're closing out or whatever else. Some of it is just, you know, the fact that opponents missed open shots. So for the Knicks, I do think we'll see a regression with defensive rating at some point during the season.

Even if, but the point is, but people say this five games into the season, But even if they fall from top five to middle of the pack, the important thing is the effort and the heart and the intensity are there. And right now it's encouraging to see that. That's what needs to be sustained, even if shots from the opponents start falling from the three point line. Yeah. And I mean, there's obviously a ton that can go into that too.

Like, I would be interested in seeing what, what threes teams are taking because we know some are much more. Do they give up a ton of corner? I mean, I haven't looked into it. I don't know what they are key, what kind of threes they are allowing. And maybe that has something to do with the lower percentage. It stands to reason it could be. Or maybe they are just incredibly lucky. They are allowing the fourth most three-pointers in the NBA,

and which partially by design, you know, so like the Milwaukee Bucks in recent years and a lot of teams right now are inviting teams to shoot threes. You know, they want that to happen. And, you know, for the Washington New Orleans do that too, by the way, the way they're packing the paint and inviting three. pointers. It's not working for New Orleans. Opponents are shooting 38%

from three on 42 attempts per game. For the Knicks, like I said, opponents are shooting 31% near last in the league on 38 attempts per game. So, you know... It also, it stands to reason that the Knicks are playing this really

slow place. Slow pace, I'm sorry. The Knicks are playing this very slow pace. Therefore, half court threes are different than flying up and down at wide open space in transition and knocking them down. I mean, they're, they're slow. They are slow.

Yeah, they're playing slow. It's a half court three. It's saying it's the reason it's probably better guarded than teams that are flying up and down the court, flanking out to the wings and shooting them wide open. We'll see what happens. Listen to what I know. He has had a profound effect on them defensively. One player who has surprised me individually, and this also has to do with some hot shooting

to start the season is Jalen Brown. I've got him. He made another leap so far the season. 27 points per game on 44% from three. And the three point percentage like we're just talking about with the Knicks and the Pelicans. It's maybe not sustainable to shoot 44% over the full season on six attempts per game. But he looks even better off the dribble as a scorer creating his own shot. and as a passer creating for others.

Like the Jalen Brown evolution, he was really good last season. Right now, he's great. And I'm buying. I'm buying that he's closer to this level than the level we saw last season. Because this is somebody who, why am I surprised?

Why am I? He's gotten better every year of his career in big ways too. And it's just happening again right now. It's just at some point you think a guy is going to plateau and they keep getting better. Jalen has continued to get. get better. I saw him at the beginning of the season. I remember talking about it on the mismatch and people were, uh, people were hitting me up and they were like, oh yeah, comparing Jaila

Brown to Kobe Bryant because I said to you, I had just watched the game with Jailen Brown. He had 40 something in three quarters. I mean, this guy could have scored 60 something points in their game against Memphis earlier this year. You can go look it up. He had three quarters. He had 40 something. And it really was like back in the day. That night, it reminded me of a Kobe-esque performance because that's the other time where I've seen that, where a guy's just gone all the way the hell off and he didn't even play in the fourth quarter. I saw Kobe at 50 and three quarters one night. I mean, just ridiculous.

But Jaylen Brown was like that, for that night was on that level. But those nights, when he scored the other night, it was the most. points ever in somebody that played less than 20 minutes or something? Yeah. The other night, Jaylon Brown had 33 points in 19 minutes and 14 seconds. What the hell is that? It's crazy.

It's insane. I mean, these guys play 40 minutes, you know, somebody like Damien Lillard. Okay, so double it up. What's that get you? 66.

If you played it, if you stayed at that pace for the rest of the game. That's crazy. man. And this is more than just hot shooting. It's not like he's just hitting a bunch of open three pointers and he's shooting 45% to start the season. He's creating a lot of these shots for himself.

Especially like you mentioned earlier in passing, that Tatum's been out. He's been given that opportunity to handle the rock more. And dude, it's, that's too. I'll tell you what, with Boston, though, if you get Tatum back at the level he was at his best last season and if Brown can sustain this and if Kemba can stay

healthy, hmm. They're right there in the east. They're right there in the east as a finals contender. They're right there. When you got two superstars, right? And the other thing is they can defend, right? Like that team can buckle down and you could foresee a circumstance where they get into the playoffs and they can get stops. I don't care what anybody says about last night's Brooklyn game.

I watched this game. And Hardin took over there at the end of the game and was unstoppable. He's just making all kinds of shots when it mattered. most, but I saw people after that game like, oh, Brooklyn finally defended. Brooklyn finally, bro, they were playing against nothing. It was Bamadabio,

K.P. O'Pala and Kendrick Nunn. And like, who, what? That's not nothing. What are you talking about? Respect those guys. K. KZ, Casey's get some talent. Oh, Casey's get some talent.

And by the way, they were not playing against a team that could score. They didn't even, He didn't have any of their guys. There's no Tyler Hero. There's no, I know that he were depleted. But they have some good depth.

Oh, they shut down KZ Oak Pala. Congratulations. What defense? Oh, my God. They remind me of the friggin' 2,000 pistons. I'm not saying this to defend the nets and their defense for, you know, grinding on the defense events.

I'm just saying, don't say those guys are nothing. Casey Oak Pala's got young raw talent. Kendrick Nunn is a spark off the bench. It's not like these guys are slouches. When they had to score in the half court, they could not score. They were trying to throw the ball to BAM for ISOs, and that's it. That's all they could do. Bam's pretty good.

Bam's pretty good. He is pretty good, but he was all they had. Yeah, you can't do it alone. These other guys, like, they weren't going to. You can't have James Hardin and Kevin Durant on one end, and then O'Pala and Kendrick Nunn on the other end. You're going to, you know, they say bringing a knife to a gunfight. and I'm not buying it.

I'm not buying that they're defensive. So that's why I say on the Brooklyn front, here's the thing. You never thought that Boston, you thought that, yeah, they would really have to defend because they can't match the firepower.

That's why I'm bringing it back to that. Yeah. Because if this is the Jalen and this is the Tatum, you can match firepower. Yeah. With Kemba Tatum and Brown. Like you're not,

it seems crazy. I mean, I don't know if anyone, can match Brooklyn's firepower, but you can make out for it on defense. Right. Is what you're saying. Yeah. And you could certainly score enough. You know what I mean? Like you've got your two guys to bring to the fight three. Because I guess Kimba, you know, most reviews have been pretty good since he came back in terms of how he looks. Well, it's really four. Peyton Pritchard will be back eventually.

And I look and I don't want to, I don't want a short tice. You got tice out there too. Marcus Smart can have some nights where he shoots over 40% from the field with all three pointers. Yeah. He can have some big nights. Celtics are good, man. Hey, Marcus Smart shows up for playoff games. He does.

He shows up for playoffs. I've said it for years. Smart, if he's ever on a title team, he's going to have one of those moments that's like on those NBA highlight reels for a long, long time if he's on a title team someday. Yes. But they look,

you and I, same feeling. I think that there was a lot of things we could have expected. Maybe we could have been an expected improvement from Jalen Brown. But improvement from Jalen Brown, we could foresee him being a 23 point per game score. And people could say, yeah, but there is a huge difference. 27 is a different class of guy. It just is.

You know, there's a lot of guys that can average 20 or 23. There's far fewer that can average 27 a night. And who knows if he'll end up 27 a night, but at least you look at right now, he's at 27 and Tatum's at 27. We started this conversation talking about Kobe, and we talked about the work ethic that he always had in the example that he set.

I feel that same way watching Jalen Brown. You know, he has his mantra, faith, consistency, hard work pays off. He practices why he preaches, man. I mean, Jalen Brown, symbolizes that whole mantra FCHWPO. Hard work pays off. We're seeing it on the court from him, man.

Every year he gets better. Every single season, he gets way better. And I don't know, man. It's just, it's really cool to see that amount of growth from him, like especially because of just how awesome he is off the court too with everything he does in the community, everything he does to try to make people in their lives better. he's somebody I remember when he first entered the league you know feel for the game on the court

people questioned it off the court there are people saying oh is he too smart does he care about basketball i mean it's silly looking back now some of the comments people were making to see the man he's become and the player he's becoming it's it's pretty awesome it's just a great great player a great person to follow and a great role model for anybody who's a fan of his game too and that's not with him to your point that it's not a natural progression. That's a guy that has busted his ass. When you can make the shots that he makes now, that is a guy that has been in the gym working on his game. Because he, you watch him offensively, and that is not the same guy

that was around, like the level of, he turned himself in to a great score. And he was not that. He was a lot of other things, but he wasn't a good. great score. And now he's like a guy you could just throw the ball to and say, go get me a bucket. And he could do it. And that's just work. He's got the moves. He's got the footwork.

And the shot, I mean, he is dead out. He's been awesome. He really has. And he's so fun. And he's in that class when we lamented McCollum going out as like the best guy to not make an all-star team. Jalen's in that same class as one of the best players in the league to not. but he will get his, he'll get his reward this year.

Are they really going to play one? In Atlanta? Come on, Atlanta, of all places. You're stuck in your hotel for three months and they're like, hey, come to Atlanta. I mean, what are we doing here? What's going on? Do you know, I talked to a guy from the G League, and this was about three weeks ago. And he was like, you know, they haven't decided on the spot yet, but give him.

what we need to make this happen. It's either going to be Atlanta or Orlando. And I was like, oh, my God. I'm like, are you serious with this choice? Like, if you're going to do this, just go back to Orlando. They got the set up there, right? They've got the setup and they've got the, you know what I mean? You can have the security and you can have the, you can have the protocols and everything.

They're familiar with the hotel and the food. The NBA says it's to benefit, you know. Oh, I know. Historically black colleges and universities. It's like, well, sign a check. That's the PR of it all. I know, it's a PR, but it's like just sign a check NBA. Come on.

I think it's a very bad idea to bring a bunch of players to one city and play the all-star game. We don't need to have it this year. We don't need to have it this year. It just seems very unnecessary to me. Well, the other thing is this. I figured that they were going to, you know, they've got that week off. I figured that they were going to have to schedule games.

You know what I mean? Like they were just going to say, yeah, I know this sucks, but we're not going to have the same break that we were normally going to have because look at all these games that have been missed. And so if we're going to be making it up, unless everybody wants to try to play 50 games in the second half of the season, we need to try to get some of these games knocked out. And so I figured that there would at least be some teams playing during that week

that you would just say, we're not going to be able to... We'll see about that. Wodge did say pretty recently, I believe, that we might see this season end by win percentage, not record,

necessarily. And it wouldn't shock me one bit if we see teams end with different games, different amounts of games. And we'll see how that pans out, but that might have to be what happens. Washington and Memphis, it feels insanely difficult.

for them to try to get those games done. Yeah. Get them to the number. Because how? You've parked both those teams for a week. Yep. During the season. Very tough.

If you squeeze those games in there, you're creating so many more back-to-backs or three games and four nights for multiple teams. It doesn't seem like the benefit outweighs the potential downfalls here, not from just, you know, the travel and risk with the pandemic happening right now, but also just body injuries with what can happen. where you have that amount of load on you with that many games. But the NBA for years has been talking about, you know, health and safety,

about keeping players healthy, having more time off between games and all that. And then you can't just throw in, throw that out the window just to get people to 72. I bet we're going to see some teams finish with under 70. And it's going to be fascinating to see now that they have set the standard of if you got a positive test, we're just going to park your team for a week if that really takes place. throughout the league. Is that precedent going to hold? Because when you park teams for a week

in order for them to play again, they're going to be missing a lot of games. They're going to be missing a lot of games. And so is that just going to be the standard? And where that's going to be the real test is when it's like Memphis on national TV. And the one game in the middle of all of it that they were, they played that game.

What if it's the Lakers? What if it's the Warriors? What if it's the Celtics? What if it's Philly? What if it's one of those teams? Right? And are they going to park them for a week? I guess we'll see.

I guess we'll see. Because it's not easy to just reschedule national television games. And we know that more than anything, the reason that they started when they started and are playing when they're playing is because of that TV contract. That's what ran all these decisions. And so now that you have set this standard, it'll be fascinating to see if it plays out because, you know, instead of just being able to isolate one player, they say, okay, we're just going to park teams. Are they going to park teams?

I guess we'll find out. We'll find out, yeah. But that makes it all the more impossible for everybody to get to 72 if it's the case. Because you can't imagine that we've seen the last of this. I mean, hell, they've already postponed Saturday's game between what? Spurs Pelicans. Yeah, I mean, we might see more of it, especially, I believe we talked about this in a recent episode, but, you know, there's the more contagious strain out there right now, multiple more contagious strains, apparently.

Well, Kevin, I think about this. That's Saturday? They announced that last night. Yeah. Saturday. They announced a game on Saturday. On a Monday they announced it, yeah. Yeah.

I mean, so who knows? But I think you're right. Getting to 72, it seems pretty, pretty. far-fetched and maybe you just end up getting to win percentage. With the Lakers, they've played 18, so that is exactly half or one quarter through the season. So in honor of them, right now, if they handed us the ballot before we get out of here, they handed us the ballot today. And they say, all right, it's over.

I mean, God forbid they don't do that. Where they say, hey, the season's over, but we're still going to give the awards for a quarter of the season. if we are MVP, are we both going LeBron? That's the name we're writing in, right? As of today. I mean, it could be Joelle Embed, but are we saying Joel Embed because we're looking for other options here instead of just going with the best player in the game?

I don't want to see the LeBron quotes after you give it to Embedie. If you give it to Yonnas and M.B. Back to back. One thing we know, it's not going to Yonis, no matter what. Yonis could average 65 points a game, but they're not going to give it to Yonis anymore. The average is 65, then we're talking. People get bored.

They do. Also, he hasn't been the same level in terms of defense this season, which is one of the reasons why he won both last year. The LeBron thing, though, it does feel, we're going to do it in the NFL. It does feel a little Mahomesy, right? Where it's like, now we're getting to the Super Bowl. It's like, all right, well, the guy that won MVP, maybe we should have given it to Mahomes after all, right?

Mahomes is the best guy. We should have given it to Mooms after all. And that's typically what a lot of people, everybody hits. Mahomes Brady. Yeah. Boy, what of two weeks it's going to be leading up to the Super Bowl.

It's going to be. Did you, did you go crazy when Brady won? Yeah. Yeah. I was fired up. Yeah. You were fired up.

It felt so good to watch Tommy. Go to his 10th. You are. So I think Patriots fans are a little conflicted, right? Pretty most people are. Yeah. It seems like that. But you're not.

I'm not. Not at all. You're just thrilled for him. You are a Brady fan. through and through it. I have real love for Tom Brady. He's authored some of the best, funnest,

most happiest moments of my entire life that I've shared with my dad. You know, it's never going to forget that. It's fair to say he is your favorite athlete of all time. Yeah. Tom Brady.

So you will be rooting for him. 100%. Yeah, I'm going to be wearing, I forgot to wear my, my Tampa Tom shirt that I've got one. I got a. A shirt.

I got a, yeah. No, no, no. I'm going to grab it. Give me a second. What?

Oh. gosh. Oh, it's a top, Brady. Fucking here. Oh, that's amazing. I'll be wearing that. You're going to be wearing that. Every day in the next two weeks.

Okay. All right. So, all right, let's get back to MVP. You're not going to vote. You, if we had to vote today, we'd give it to LeBron. I don't know. Maybe it beat. okay you go in

there's a handful of guys in it dude Embed Yokic LeBron to me that's probably my you know Lucas still in there I mean there's a lot of names I would like to speak to everybody

listening that is part of clutch Kevin is the one saying that Embed would be his MVP I would vote for your guy LeBron James and be mad at him and not me well I mean

so one quick thing though on MVP B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-Wreference has their NBA MVP Award tracker, which kind of use historical voting trends to look at who voters are most likely to look for. Right now, this is the order they have. Yokic, Kauai, Embeded-Lebron, A.D., Kevin Durant, Paul, Jorn, Yonis, Luca, Damien Millard. That's their top 10 at the moment. Probability, they have 39% from Yokich.

I don't care about those analytics. I don't. I'm just saying, like, that's what they have right now. I think those are the analytics Matt LaFleur was looking at. And by the way, I'll tell you what, Yokich is the name people aren't talking about enough for MVP right now. What he's doing carrying that Nuggets team average 25 points, 12 rebounds, 9 assists per game, playing good defense as well. That guy has elevated. We're talking about players getting better.

That's crazy because once upon a time on a team that was slightly above 500, there was a guy that averaged a triple double that you didn't think was well. worthy. Oh, Yok is far more efficient than Russell Westbrook ever, ever was, and ever will be, especially this season. Russell Westbrook,

career low efficiency from the floor. Yeah, coronavirus. Give me a, yo, Yok is a better defender, a more efficient player than Russell Westbro. Let's not even get started here,

Chris. Very interesting. Let's not even get started. It's not even got to. Once upon a time, there was a guy that ever to triple double. on a 500 team, and you didn't think that his stats mattered. All right, rookie of the year.

This is a hard one. They don't play lamello in Charlotte enough. Barago, free lamello. Let him on the court. I know he's winning some games. Gordon Hayward has been frigging awesome, by the way. Every night I'm watching these games. Gordon Award's like the man.

Jeez. Rookie of the year so far? Tyrese Alliburton. You're right. Yeah. You're right. That's the vote today. It's really not close either.

Yeah, that is the vote today. I agree with you. I mean, Lamello will be in it at the end, but right now, Hallibur and the far more efficient, the far superior defensive player right now. By the way, Berigo, Hornets coach, you know, ripping Lamello publicly. That came as a little bit of a surprise, I thought,

you know, saying, saying you're not going to start if you don't, you know, if you're taking bad shots, turning the ball over and don't make up for it on defense, that I was shocked shocked when he said that. You know what? At least he's holding the guy accountable.

I think that's a good thing overall. It's going to be good for him. It's going to be good for him. I mean, it won't be good when his dad fires back, but. Defense of the year. I mean,

it's always, he's always there, right? He is the, they've got an awesome record and he is the anchor for what is a great defense. Go bear. So far this year.

Who else is? in it. Simmons, Embeddner, Miles Turner. The Pacer's defense isn't great enough right now. Isn't great enough right now? But Turner's been really good. Yes. It's Gobert right now. Gobert is the guy.

Or Mitchell Robinson. I'm kidding. No, it's go bad. It's go bad. This is a fascinating one because of how bunched up everybody is. Coach of the year as of today. I don't think about this one ahead of time. This is interesting. You go a lot of ways with this, depending on how you want to think about it and how you approach the award.

Who's your guy here? Well, because, right? Because if we're just looking at the best records, Doc's there. And people do like Doc Rivers. And so if he makes a profound impact on Philadelphia. But I would say, as of today, if I were giving out the award, it would be Tom Thibode. Yeah. We thought the Knicks were going to suck.

I mean, as up to, if I have to give that award today, he or probably J.B. Beckerstaff? I was going to say, how about J.B. Bickerstaff in Cleont? He's done a really great job with that roster. Yes. Yeah. Both have done a tremendous show. Co-coach of the year. I'd want, I'd write in both their names today. Both. Today. And then there's nothing else to pick, right? Most improved is got to six man. Did we do six men? Oh, sixth man. Jordan Clarkson would be my choice for. six man. That would be the choice for six man because he has been really good. And you know what? He's making us look goofy because we kind of raised an eyebrow with the contract in the offseason. And he has been more than worth what they paid him. He has been outstanding. I said at the beginning

of the year, my pick, which is already dead, 25% of the way into the season, was Lavert. And so that's out. Unfortunately, with him, you know, like a good. fortunate and unfortunate after that trade, you know, finding out he has, I believe a mass on his kidney and, you know, I believe he said blessing in disguise

that they found that. Yes. You know, definitely is, man. I wish him luck. Yeah, I wish him luck,

you know, moving on through that. You know what? And your guy, you got Halliburton, he's got a, he's in the mix. Yeah,

the team, the team, I mean, he is a six man, right? If you win, he's technically. He's in the mix.

We didn't do most improved either. Most improved. There's a lot of guys. guys. We talked about Jalen Brown earlier, you know, Jeremy Grant, Malcolm Brogden, Colin Sexton, Chris Boucher, Christian Wood. A lot of guys like would be on that ballot right now. And it's fascinating because it's guys that are, it's, you know, a little bit deeper in. But I mean, when you make the, when you elevate the way that Jalen has or Colin has, these are like top 10 scorers in the whole NBA. When you go from what you were to that,

because what was Jaylen last year? Probably like, was he even 20? Was he 19 points per get? What would he ever? He was 20. 20? Okay, so he was right in 20. Not the 27.

That's big time. And that's a tough thing with this award. Most improved player of the of the year is always either, you know, young guy who's a bench player that becomes a starter or it can be looked at as, you know, a really good player who becomes a great player. And that's typically the way I like to look at the award, guys who go from good to great or great to amazing. To me,

that's the toughest leap there is to make, more so than, you know, rotation player to solidified starter. So, but like, it's tough, though,

because like then you get Jeremy Grant basically doubling his averages than everything, doing more in the court than he's ever done before. But losing every night. But losing every night. And there's going to be, like I said,

there's going to be a lot of guys that end up in the conversation for that award. Hopefully, so bonus his injury isn't bad. I hope, you know, I hope he's okay. Because he could be in the mix,

too, because he turned, like, they flipped. that into him being the guy. So he's the best player on a team that's pretty damn good. And he's clearly. He was also an all-star last season.

I know. You know, he's even better this year. But I'm not sure the leap thus far as significant as like Jalen Brown going from, you know, borderline all-star to, whoa, top 15 guys so far, top 20 guy so far. So bonus was already a top 30 guy, I think, last year. And it's not top 30 pretty close. Yeah. That's fair.

It's just he was like he, they, they morphed. him into end of game. We run everything through you guys. It's a different deal to be the best guy on a team, right? Totally. Treated as the best guy on the team. He might have been the best guy last year, but when it got to the last five minutes,

it wasn't like everything's running through Sabonis, and he's going to decide this game. And he's that guy this year, and here's hoping that his injury is not bad. And by the one quick other mention for Coach of the Year, Nate Bjorkren from Indiana. That is another name to keep in mind to what he's done with that system. More three-pointers, more motion.

That Pacers team, and he's another guy to just throw into the lump of potential coach of the year candidates. Oh, yeah, and we can throw in the guy in Oklahoma City. We can write him down to. We can write him down to. Mark Dagnalt. Good pop quiz question, right? Yes. You win every bar bet if there were bars open.

Yeah. Can win a lot of money going bar to bar. We're missing some opportunities right now. Five bucks. Who? Who? Name the coach of the Thunder. Imagine just walking up and now like a strip of a bunch of bars and restaurants.

Ten bucks there. Ten bucks there. You can make a lot of money. A lot of money. We got a bunch of great games that are going to be scheduled for this week. Hopefully they all get played. We will reconvene it. We can talk about all of them on Friday.

Thanks to producer Sasha as always Kevin. I'll talk to you later this week. Thank you, everybody.