The Mismatch - League Office Hypocrites, Role Player Importance, and Our Love and Loathes

Episode Date: April 4, 2025

Verno and Jacoby go through last night’s Warriors win over the Lakers and discuss the takeaways from both teams' perspectives (01:25). They highlight the importance of the role players for each team and why the performances of those role players are key for any kind of deep run. They then discuss the Grizzles' much-needed win against the Heat before focusing their attention on the hypocrisy from the NBA regarding players using the finger-guns gesture after hitting 3-point shots (15:10). Why has the NBA singled out Ja Morant when there’s clear evidence that other players use the gesture? After Giannis’s 20 assist triple-double in the Bucks' win over the Sixers, the guys discuss how far the Bucks can go with this version of Giannis and the sheer insanity that Giannis has no chance to win MVP despite the numbers he’s been putting up (40:30). Lastly, the guys discuss the teams, players, and things they loved and loathed from this week. Teams they loved (48:47) Teams they loathed (54:57) Players they loved (59:24) Players they loathed (01:06:30) Things they loved (01:11:50) Things they loathed (24:10) Leave us a message on our Mismatch Voicemail line! [phone] Walmart Express. Dinner, delivered in as fast as an hour. The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please visit www.rg-help.com to learn more about the resources and helplines available. Hosts: Chris Vernon and David Jacoby Producers: Jessie Lopez and Tucker Tashjian Social: Keith Fujimoto Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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And listen to the end of the episode for additional details. Remember, you must be 21 or over and present in select states. If you have a gambling problem, call 1-800 gambler or visit RG-dashelph.com. Welcome to The Mismatch. I'm Chris Vernon. And joining me to see us every week from the ringer.com. is Dave Jacoby. Jacoby. What's happening to burn. Oh, it's great to be out of the house.

Great to leave the newborn behind and talk some hoops with you. All right. So let's get to what took place last night. This was a big night in the NBA. The biggest game was obviously the Warriors and the Lakers. The Warriors win again. They are now 19 and 2 when the duo of Jimmy Butler and Steph Curry is a, available. And they go in and they beat the Los Angeles Lakers. After the game, Luca takes the blame. That performance was unacceptable. He had 19 points on 6 of 17 shooting. And the Lakers were much better in the second half than they were in the first half. And that first half, you know, they were going to be rolling the boulder up the rest of the game because they got down 60 to 46 by halftime.

that they were able to score 69 points in the second half, but still not enough to turn the corner against the Warriors last night. Look, as it stands, Lakers now one game up, half a game behind Denver, but the Lakers are kind of in a every game matters greatly like many of their Western Conference peers because both of those teams, both the Warriors who they are game up on and Denver,

who there are half came behind. Both of them have the tiebreakers. And when you look at all the machinations of this schedule, I mean, it's very, very likely that tiebreakers are going to decide the seedings in the Western Conference. But biggest takeaways from last night, Warriors keep on rocking with that duo of Curry and Butler,

and obviously a huge win for them. My biggest takeaway is sort of projecting into the playoffs on this one is that these teams are both have offensive weapons, like other teams just do not outside of like Janus and Yokic, right? Like these teams have Curry, they have LeBron, they have Luca, but they both, and we've discussed this before, have just a huge hole in their roster when it comes to Biggs. Like there's just not rim protection on either side.

And you saw it yesterday when Curry is just like somehow put Luca Donogen in front of me and I'll go past him and I'll just like hit a little floater. And it was, uh, it's the, the defensive rebounding in the first half for the Warriors was terrible and in the second half for the Lakers was terrible. It just feels like the combination of post and Looney and the combination of Jackson Hayes and whoever we're going to put out there, Vando or whatever, is just not going to be enough to get you to where you want to be ultimately. I think that that flaw will be the death of these teams in the second round.

I thought it was interesting. How many times do we talk about when you get to the playoffs, teams are going to be directing shots to who they want to direct shots to. And so while it was not some kind of huge Jimmy Butler game last night, we always look to the other guys that can end up swinging this stuff. And you have Podzinski, who plays 35 minutes, and gives you 28 points last. night. He was on fire in the first half. The first half, it was just like insane.

Because look, some guys are going to be, you know, right, like he was making all kinds of plays. But you know, when you get to this, when you're playing a big time game, these teams are going to be well scouted against each other more so than the typical regular season games, right? We're down to the end. These are all must win type games where teams are going to take them very seriously. The scout's going to be very good, more intense, and the teams are for sure going to be more focused and have their players available in a way that many times throughout the 82 game season they are not. But it's the question of Rui Hachamuro who gives you 24. Lakers got literally nothing off of their bench last night, whereas the Warriors got Kaminga. He came back

into the lineup and he gives you 18 points. And it's just, it's fascinating. They both have these three outstanding players. And then you wonder, so we always focus on like, who's the third guy for these teams? In many cases, I think what we're going to find is who's the fourth guy. Yeah. That really steps up for these teams because you've got Draymond and you've got Curry and you've got Jimmy Butler and you've got Luca and you've got LeBron and you've got Austin Reeves. And those are like the, we should count on. Some of them are going to, you know, like maybe you're going to have a downturn game.

Maybe you're going to have a great game for those. But like those are going to be your staples. And then who's that fourth guy for either of those teams? And I think that is true of many teams throughout the league, right? Where it's like, okay, I might have two or three that I can count on on a regular basis. We're going to get to the Memphis game here in a moment. But it's like, all right, you've got. got Morant, you've got Bain, and you've got Jackson, who's going to be that fourth guy?

Obviously, for them, it was Scotty Pippin last night for the Lakers. It was Hachamura last night. One night it's been Dave Vincent, one night it's been this guy. And then on the warrior side, I mean, look, like the performances of, like, guys like Podzinski and Kaminger are the ones that swing series. Yep. I think it's a good point that you make that we do do focus on like the second option of a playoff team.

They're going to take away the, they're going to take away the superstar. So can that second player step up? But really what it is, is like, you saw it first time when they were in Memphis. It was DFS and Gabe Vincent just getting open threes and knocking them down. Right. Practice threes. And last night, they got a couple of those swing, swing threes. Vincent in particular, this weren't falling.

You know, DFS had a couple that just, you know, just weren't falling. And Vando's in that boat, too. And then you also think about the Warriors, Moses Moody and Kaminga are going to have to do something. that I haven't seen from them in the playoffs before. You know what I mean? And you've firstly seen Rui do it. But like if the Warriors are going to be, you know, second round winners or go to the Western Conference Finals or whatever,

push, you know, push one of those top seeds to a game six or game seven. They're going to need serious contributions from the Moody's and Pajemskys because they're going to be put in position to score in that way. And you mentioned Butler. And I'm watching the Warriors since Butler got there. You mentioned what was like 19 and 2?

Butler and Curry play. And I'm watching the game. I'm like, what is Jimmy Butler so good at? You know what I mean? You said like it's like not, it's not in the counting stats. You know what I mean? He'll score like eight points and have three assists, but he's like poking balls and he's just kind of getting in passing lanes and he just, he's calming down possessions and,

and, you know, end of the shot clock stuff. Like, I'm watching the game last night being like, Jimmy Butler is the third most important player on the floor for this team. but I can't think of like four plays in which he made a tough shot or got a block shot and a steal. Like he doesn't have flashy sort of like impact loud plays, but he's just a calming presence on offense and defense that sort of like makes this team work. Well, and if we have learned anything, it is that he is a different human being when it comes to playoff basketball, right, that there is a level of aggression.

And, you know, obviously I saw them in person earlier this week. And I've talked so many times about it's not how sometimes it's not about the individual player. It's how the individual player affects the group. And it is simply the level of attention that you want to give to Steph Curry becomes much, much harder. Because, again, like you were saying with another guy, it's not just. Draymond and now Draymond plays four on three, you know, from the foul line down. But he's throwing it out to Andrew Wiggins or he's throwing it out to Jonathan Kamigger, he's throwing out the pods or whatever, right?

Having another outlet for that guy and a mismatch that can be created and a guy that can go to the free throw line whenever he wants to, it feels like has had a profound effect on just the way that whole thing functions for the Warriors. Likewise, look, Luca did not have a big game last night. He comes out, he says it's unacceptable. But if there is one thing that we have noticed, it's like if we thought about, you know, there's, there's LeBron and there's Davis,

and then everybody else is kind of like roll guys on that team, right? Like, Reeves is no longer a role guy. Again, the effect. it has on the group and it's like this guy like when I was talking about like we're talking about the others like it's gone from with that team I look at it and go all right is Hachamura going to give you something is Gabe Bents are going to give you something is this guy going to give you something because it just marked down that Reeves is Reeves has now moved into that class of I count on him every single night he is awesome awesome I uh I had an uncomfortable conversation

with myself about Austin Reeves. And I'm watching him and I'm watching him just break down defenders, hitting threes, get into the bucket, making plays for other people. And I was like, how much of how you feel about this player is because he's like a floppy haired white dude from where is he from Arkansas or Alabama. And he's kind of got this like, aw, shucks persona. Like, you know, it feels like he drives a pickup truck and like likes to golf on days off. You know what I mean?

Like he's just like, I was like, how much? much of like who he is as a person and what he like physically looks like is affecting the way I think about him as a basketball player because if you just put him like a just I mean, forget the race thing. Let's just throw that out. If you give him Tyler Heroes fade and some more muscles and a little flashier sort of like in interviews, like maybe a cooler guy at the lunch table in high school, like what would I think about him?

Because I think I kind of love this like Ashuk's country thing that he does. But there's also part of me. It's like, do I not take him seriously enough as like an individual iso killer? Because he's kind of just like this guy who looks like someone I went to college with that's like now playing for the Lakers with Luca and LeBron. Well, and the reason I'm going to say that it is the effect on the group is because you're not taking whoever your post defender or whatever post attention you were going to pay to Anthony Davis. It has changed that team.

because if I'm lining up and I go, all right, how many teams have three really good perimeter defenders? Like Oklahoma City and who else? Like, they, that are offense and defense can be very good on one end and also not hurt you on the other end, but are plus defenders. Okay. Yeah, it's Boston and Oklahoma City. That list, yes, that list is minuscule. Okay. Well, bro, I got to figure out what I'm doing with LeBron

And I got to figure out what I'm doing with Luca So at what point And the problem is for a team that's playing against them It's like, who am I putting on Reeves? Because if you're not going to put an awesome defender on Reeves, he's going to kill you. And he has, right? I mean, like, that's the thing.

It's like, bro, I can't deploy my best defender on Austin Reeves. my best defender and the attention I'm paying has got to go to Luca and then it's got to go to LeBron like who am I that's the way that that has altered things and he has taken full advantage of it and you have seen him become better and better and better I mean you can't pay the attention to

Austin Reeves that you used to given you know the way their the way their whole thing has changed and with that he has now moved up to a different world. I mean, as a third guy. There was a time rookie year where LeBron was being really hard on him.

And he went to the assistant coach. He was just like, I don't know if I can do this, dude. Like LeBron James is over here just like barking at me, practice after practice game after game. The assistant coach is like, he does that because he believes in you. Like he's doing, he's putting in energy towards you because he's investing in your future because he sees your potential. And that was like a turning point for him. And I'm watching the game last night. Fourth quarter, crunch time, and LeBron brings his man to Austin Reeves to set a screen so they can switch so Austin Reeves can go to the basket.

I was just thinking to myself, I was like, that's LeBron James, basically being like, we need to get you a good matchup so you can cook young men because this is a huge possession against Stepp in the Golden State Warriors. And I was like, this is just like, this is just a wild turn of events in this man's life. And I absolutely love to see it. And we also need him to defend better. This is going to be an unbelievable down the stretch last like five, six games of the season, would just see how this stuff can shift out.

And as I said earlier, the tiebreaker is inevitably going to decide some of these seedings that are taking place. The game before that was the Memphis Miami game. And Miami had won six in a row. And off the bat for the first quarter and certainly by halftime, it looked like this Memphis losing streak is going to continue. And then John Morant went absolutely crazy in the second half of the game. I think he had 27 in the second half and was just otherworldly getting to the basket, setting up teammates.

And say whatever you want about John Moran. The guy has a flare for the dramatic because after a lot of people won't remember this. he came back from that suspension that he had had a year and a half ago. And the first game was right around Christmas and they played at New Orleans. And he had like 40-something and the game winner. His first game back, like it was like, okay. Like as soon as it's job this, job of that and his like name is all in the headlines. And it's all anybody's talking about or there's some negative energy.

He has found a way to cope with Sidney. negative energy and turn into a monster. And last night, nobody needed a win more than the Memphis Grizzlies because they have made the coaching change and then lost three games in a row. They have gone from the two seed all the way to when they woke up yesterday. They were the eight seed in the Western Conference by virtue of winning last night. They go up to sixth. but he has certainly, in the games he has played in his last 14 games, he has averaged almost 30 points a game. And it scored over 20 and all 14 of those. And honestly, you watch them, their only chance is him being the best player or one of the two best players on the floor every night.

And more recently, he has, they finally got a result out of it last night. I know you were watching it. You thought Miami was going to double him on the last possession. Why did they accept that switch? And also, first, I mean, I think that I've said this before and I'll say it again, we spend way too much time like breaking down one possession in a game that has 200 possessions that led you up to that place. But I thought that they would trap and get the ball out of his hands.

I was like, that's what you do. Jaws going to take the shot. And they switch, they have wear on them, he pushes off, whatever, you're never going to get that call. But I felt like my man off night should have slid over from his guy. and Jaws shooting that ball. So put people on him. I felt like it was just undisciplined defense from the heat on that possession. But it was obviously a great shot,

a great quote from him after the game too. But I think if we're going to discuss this game at this length, we do have to say the two words, Tyler Hero, because it was sort of like a, it was almost like running me of like a Rucker Park game. It was like, it was like, all right, you score, I score. You score, I score. It was like that individual sort of matchup.

Because Hero was playing out of his mind. His third quarter was. absolutely awesome. Awesome. Like, I think he had 19 in the quarter. And he was, and, you know, the heat had been playing really well recently. And a lot of that is Tyler Hero has been the guy. Man, when he gets on scoring heaters,

he gets on scoring heaters. And he's just finding his way around these picks. And he is, you know, it started off early with Bamadabio being the big dog for them. And then he really became like he was for that quarter, he was the best player on the floor. With the Jimmy Butler thing was obvious. It was very clear that he was no longer going to be on the team. And there was this idea,

all right, we're going to build around Bametabio and Tyler Hero. And there's a part of me that was like, is that really the plan? You know what I mean? Because the heat want to compete. You know what I mean? They want to contend.

I was like, Tyler Hero and Bametabio. You know, are we sure we're not kind of do some free agent hunting in the offseason or something? But Tyler Hero has responded. He has responded this year. I don't think he's going to be the best player in a championship team. But like, if you're the Miami Heat, you have to feel pretty good about what you're getting, especially after a 10-game losing streak. Like, yeah, they're on a winning streak.

Let's not forget that six-game winning streak came on the tail of a 10-game losing streak, the longest in the SPO era. Yeah. And so you have all of these teams at an absolute dogfight, whether it's the Clippers, whether it is the Warriors, whether it is the Grizzlies, whether it is the Timberwolves. I mean, like, they're all going to be in this dog fight basically from three for Denver sake all the way down to eight. And maybe even Houston falls back down in that mix.

Obviously, they're going to be in and they're not in peril of that. But when you look at their schedule going forward, as we have talked about, they have like an absolutely murderous five-game set coming up that any team. in the NBA would be lucky to win two of, one of, you know, especially given that when you go and look and one of the big differences that's taken place is Memphis has gone the wrong way, tragically, and the rockets have gone the complete opposite direction, right? Those teams have basically flip in the standings. And you go look at, say, February 2nd on, which is where, you know, everybody keeps citing.

That's where it will it wrong. And that's why there's a new guy on the sidelines for Memphis. I think Houston's got like one, like two good wins in that. Like their schedule flip, the Memphis schedule got impossible. The Houston schedule eased up. Like Memphis had that at the beginning of the season. And so a lot of times what you're seeing is these things are, right, there's a regression to the mean.

So Memphis started playing a bunch of good teams and realized they're not that good. Houston now is by virtue of their schedule been beating up on some teams so that we're going to really find out about them in this next like five game stretch because it's all good teams. Like they're playing Oklahoma City. They're playing at the Clippers, at the Lakers, the Warriors. And so we're going to find out where Houston stands within this thing because they're about to walk into their hellacious part of their schedule. It just happens to be unfortunately for them at the end. Well, I hated it earlier this week when our colleagues and friends, Bill and Ryan, just jumped you coming out of a deli and beat the crap out of you talking about the Grizzlies.

But if you think about, you know, who was it, Parcells or said like you are what your record is, right? Somebody said that in football. And if you think about the way we think about the Denver Nuggets, Yokic, Best Player in the world, would you, you know, Murray, would you really be shocked if, you know, they, they, they. They went to the finals and their odds on Fandu or this, this and that. And you think about the perception, the way you think about the Memphis Grizzlies, right? There are two games between those teams. Two games between those two teams on the wins and loss. But we think about those teams so different.

Well, they went on and on and on about the Minnesota Timberwol who are behind Memphis in the standings. Yes. Why? Why are they behind them? It's because the perception. If you can't win with John Moran, why are they behind them? Why have they always been? Memphis was, as I tried to explain to them, throw away last season because everybody's injured.

Before this all went to hell, they were on track to be the two seed for the third time in four years. To have a conversation about how you can't win with the guy is bananas to me when you would have been the two seed three years. out of four seasons that you play. Counterpoint. If we talk about these teams, like all these teams bunched up in the Western Conference, right? We'll take it from the Rockets down to the Clippers. Memphis is probably the team that you would like to see in the first round.

Correct. Because as I told you 100,000 times, vet teams win. They're still not bad. Like, let's be honest. So we are talking about, well, the only two games behind the Nuggets. That was my point that I'm sort of counterpointing now. Of those teams in that bunch, Memphis is the team that I would want to play in the first round. So I guess that's why we talk about them like that. I would prefer to match up right now today against the Grizzlies than the Timberwolves.

I would. And Houston. Yes. I mean. And those are the teams that are led by the younger players. Yes. And with that being said, we've got to get to, we're going to change format here. because the thing that we loathe this week is the headline everywhere.

John Morant hits game winner does celebration again that the NBA warned about. Okay. Well, not even that. Hold on. Let's get the facts right. He did the call 12 celebration after the game winner. Correct. It was the first three in the first quarter. Correct.

Okay. So there was a story that came out the other day about, and this was after, the grizzlies played against the Golden State Warriors. And it was, Shamsarani reported that the NBA was going to investigate finger guns.

I just started to interrupt. It was the real, like, no one's brought this up. The part that I found like just absolutely the most ridiculous about this, and there's 7,000 things that are ridiculous about this is the verb investigate.

It's on camera. it's a two second clip and we all saw it on social. We're hiring an investigator? Like who got that emails? Like, hey, Rob, we need you to investigate this finger guns allegation, fly to Memphis and do some interviews.

Like, what they, what they deemed was that it was not actually a real gun, but in fact, it was a finger gun. That's a good point. It's a good point. Yeah.

So we're just making sure that it wasn't, that it was just finger guns. And now, we have deemed that this is nonviolent. Okay? So look, here's the deal. Should John Morant do said celebration? In my opinion, no.

Okay? Let's get that out of the way. Is the NBA, who we have criticized all year for all manner of things? You have teams literally losing on purpose. You have teams sitting stars on a regular basis. You have TV ratings that are plummeting, and you decide voluntarily to make a story out of this is crazy to me. I can have a reasonable discussion with you or with anybody else in the world.

John Morant, given his history, it would be wise not to do this. Okay? this is a literal one minute phone call that can be made to a guy. And you can say, hey, man, look, let's cool out on this, blah, blah, right? Like, just you can talk to somebody. Behind the scenes, it's not a big deal, right? Instead, making this a headline and have everybody digging up, everything. from the past about one of your young stars in the league is crazy.

The fact that this was, this did not have to be a headline. Everybody does finger guns. Last night in the Warriors Lakers game, go watch it. With 150 left, LeBron James, the leading scorer in NBA history, hit a three from the corner, turned and did finger guns. Dyson Daniels lit up the entire bench. You have, like he had an Uzi in his hand. McElbredges does it all the time. Like players do this all the time. I am at games 40 something times a year. It is very, very common. No one even cared about the job. John Moran's been doing that all year. So is Scotty Pippin Jr. guys have been doing this all

around the league and he has been doing this all year. The only reason it became a story is because Draymond Green was like, what is going on here? And, you know, the Warriors broadcast because Buddy Heald and John Morant both got texted. So now we've got this slow motion finger gun video. Shoot out. But the fact that this is like the NBA, all they have to say is unless someone, called them and been like, hey, are you guys going to look into this? Which I wouldn't be surprised if there's just a narc like that. Like, you know, now, again, that is a separate conversation. So that's where I'm going to stand on that.

Okay. The only reason it's a story is because they made it a story. And now it continues to be a story. And it's like, what are you doing? What are you doing? The second part is, if you want to have a discussion about how, hey, it'd be best for him not to do that, that's fine. I agree, right? I don't know, but you have to out, what we're not going to be able to do is say, some guys can't do this celebration, but some guys can do this celebration.

Like, you're either going to outlaw finger guns or not. It's either going to be a tech if you do finger guns or not. I can't even believe I'm saying the words finger guns that is so stupid. And you dumb asses on the internet with your incredible, you just find whatever topic every day to have a moral high ground on, right? Like, this is seriously what you decide to take the moral high ground on. We've got guys that have beaten chicks up. We got guys that have been to jail. We got guys that impregnate chicks and won't take care of kids. And like, it's like, what about the kids? Like, come on, seriously. Like, finger guns? Finger guns. And, the fact that there are videos of Steph Curry and LeBron James and everybody else in the free world doing it,

it does make it feel like this was only a thing because of John Moran. It was only made a deal because of John Moran because either you care about finger guns or you don't. And it's like, oh, but we do care about finger guns when a guy has been suspended for having a real gun. Which, by the way, he didn't shoot somebody. Right? As far as I know, he didn't shoot anybody. I don't think he pulled the finger trigger. I don't even think he made the trigger action with finger guns.

I just don't. I don't understand why it was even a story. The NBA did that and made it a headline and made it a story for no reason. And I'm telling you, LeBron James literally did. It did it last night when he hit a three and nobody cares because no one's ever cared about celebrations after they make shots, right? I don't get it. And so I guess we're going to legislate who can do celebrations of this nature and who cannot or we're not going to legislate and we're just going to ban finger guns, which I wish they would because that would be seriously the funniest thing ever. is guys trying to figure out what they're going to do

instead of finger guns. I'll say this. It's important to say that gun violence is like a serious problem in our country in particular, right? That's just like, so we don't want to make light of that. No one. And I also think that this is, no, no, I know. I just want to say that as a second.

Is finger gun violence? Yes, clearly. But you, what you said, one of the points that you made is the point that I wanted to make, which is like the most important point is, because I've been on this, finger guns are the things that I load this week. But I've been on this show.

If you listen to every mismatch this year, they were, finger guns were something that I loathed previously early in the season. I said that. And I said it because, you know, kids, they mimic Steph Curry and,

like, the night night, and they mimic other celebrations, like Carmelo 3 to the head. Like, and, you know, and maybe using, like,

in gun, hand gestures is probably just, like, not a great example for the children, right? So the point that you made, which I think is the most important, as someone who's been in the media for as long as we have, is the Shams Taranaya tweet about the investigation. This is mishandled. You don't need to make this a public thing.

Shams got that information somehow from someone. And Shams said, I'm going to tweet about this. They said, yes, please. what do you gain by cracking down publicly on fingergun celebrations? Why are you having us talk about finger guns? Why are you putting Jha through more when he's been through so much? And part of Jaws suspension and sort of like return to the league, if I'm not mistaken, and I don't think I am, involved some sort of counseling,

involved a conversation with Adam Silver. And there is a sort of a direct line of communication about his behavior, how it comes across to fans and what's appropriate and what's not. And if he does something that's like borderline-ish maybe a finger Tommy gun at the bench, then you handle that through the proper channels, his representatives or himself,

because you have his number, and you keep it quiet, and you say, hey, man, let's not make a big deal out of this. Just with your history and sort of like with what we're trying to do as the league moving forward, we would prefer you did.

didn't use your whatever celebration we're calling that a Tommy Gun. Even what he is doing looks like what it looks like a mob hit from a bad movie Tommy Guns. And let me be clear. Let me be clear. Because I don't want anybody saying like, oh yeah, I knew you just offended. I am telling you, I am absolutely fine having that conversation in private with him and just telling him, hey, man, this ain't a good look. He shouldn't do it. He should not be doing.

I agree. No one should be doing it. I said earlier with finger gun celebration. But then to make it a thing. Well, then after that, so now you've got this, you've got these headlines. Okay, the finger gun celebration.

That was what? Monday night, Tuesday night. That was Tuesday night, right? So then we have an investigation tweet comes out on Wednesday. And then Thursday it comes out of, oh, well, after the investigation, we've decided that it's going to be like a verbal warning.

And then Friday, it's another storyline because he did it again after he hit the three in the game. So I think there's, is something to be said that I'm going to be critical about Jha on is, bro, did you have to do it in the first quarter of the game last night? Like, now you're kind of just poking the bear. Like, it's like, it's like when I look at my kid and I say, don't touch my shoes and they look me right in the eye, right in the eye, and they touch my shoes. That's right. It's like, bro, I just

it's like, it's just the personal disrespect. So I think that for, I'm going to be critical of Jaffer, for after this new cycle, after the investigation comes out, to do it again. It's a the first opportunity. It's like it seems a little childish, to be honest. Of course. Like, no, it's obviously, uh, you had this conversation with me. Like, you turned him into like, like a murder on this thing because what inevitably happened was there was a, you know, tons of photos, videos, anybody can watch any game and they can realize nobody, the NBA, and nobody cares about this. They don't.

Did you care when LeBron James is the biggest athlete in the world? Did anybody even blink when he did finger guns last night with 150 left? It doesn't matter. Nobody cares. They made it a subject. It is a manufactured care. Look at, they've decided that there's something you should care about. West Matthews and Jamal,

Murray have been shooting bow and arrows around NBA arenas for a decade now. But is everyone to be like, well, bow and arrows are, they're actually not as violent as guns and whatever. It's like, it's just, this is, this is very silly. I don't think John Morant should be doing this, but I don't think the NBA should be reacting this way. And it's honestly just like embarrassing, kind of that we're going to this. No, it's just like he mocked it and then their whole broadcast mocked it. Oh, yeah. That half time.

On TNT last night, not only did John Morant mock the fact that he was investigated over finger guns, then you had your national broadcast making a thousand gun references and everything else mocking finger guns. And it's like, who is this? Why is this a good thing? This is ridiculous. I can't even believe what's like again. How do you adjudicate this? So now, what if John Marant just says, oh, I'm actually just pointing to my voice?

veins on my right arm, right? You know, because that's a celebration. That's the Delo celebration. So now we're going to, now we're going to have like, we're going to zap Rooter frame by frame of, was it a finger gun or not? It's just like sometimes you're better off just keeping all of this quiet. I don't understand why we're talking about. No, no. And again, it could have just been, that's why here's the problem, Jacoby. It could have just been him. And again, let's be clear.

If Adam Silver calls him and says, hey, man, for you with what you've been through, can we find a different celebration? That's all you got to do. But instead, you made it a huge public thing. So now everybody's going to be able to say, are you going to penalize Steph Curry? Are you going to penalize? So now you've made, it could have just been, hey, man, this is like actually a you thing. And I'd rather you not do it.

But now you've made it such a big deal that you either have to make it, again, you're not going to be able to decipher who can do certain celebrations and who can. They did. I think, am I wrong? Didn't they outlaw the throat slash? I think I remember that. Right. I don't think you can throat slash anymore. Can Malik Beasley do it?

I mean, Malik Beasley went to prison. He literally went to prison. It's like, come on, guys. Like, again, behind the scenes, if you want to say, hey, man, for you, especially after you've been suspended over Gun, right? Can we just find a different celebration? Like, look, I'm just trying to be cool here. Let's find a different celebration.

but instead we're going to investigate this deal. And then what you opened yourself up to is a million gifts and a million pictures of literally all of your best players doing this. There is a gift of Steph Curry doing it. There is a jiff of LeBron James doing it. McHale Bridges, like what you're going to find is it. And again, it happens every game and no one even notices. No one even cares.

You made finger guns an NBA issue. If you get you crazy. Google figure guns right now and click on news, you're going to get 150 results about finger guns. No one ever talks about it. No one cares.

There's also one detail that you pointed out that needs to be brought up again. Draymond Green was the butterfly wing flap that led to this storm of figure guns coverage because it happens right in front of him. So he immediately runs over to the ref and he's like, hey, do you see the finger guns? And then Chabano's over here, replying with the finger guns.

This is, it's embarrassing. Yeah, like, John's had 35, 17, and 20 last night. We haven't talked about it. The Draymond Green, the beacon of morality, who has put a guy in a sleeper hold, has punched another guy,

has stomped another guy in the chest, has kicked another guy in the nuts. Leads the league and dick shots. And these are the, but the horror, the kids, think about the kids. All right. Giannis had 20 assists last night, last night. Sure did. He had, you know, I was glad that he became like such a huge headline with the 30 plus and the 15 plus and did the 20 assists.

Because what it led to was this discussion of like, hey, has any of, has any of, kind of noticed here that Janice is averaging 30, 12, and 6 in a block and is shooting 60% from the field and he has literally no chance

at winning the MVP. I mean, 30, 12, and 6, go like extrapolate that and then just got throw it into the history of the NBA and find how many better seasons have

taken place than the one he is currently having and you ain't going to find many. It is wild. And the 20 assists is, I mean, I don't know if there's anything that caught me more off guard than Janus Ante Cuccoo having 20 assists. I was trying to think of like some kind of, you know, some kind of comparison for this. And I mean, it would be like if, I don't know, it'd be like if Russell Westbrook hit 15 threes or something to me. Like, what? What just happened? What do you mean? 20 assists? I'm just trying to see like how many assists, how many 20.

assist games like Jason Kid had. I was going to look it up. I'm too dumb to do it right now. Well, there is a record. You know, Scott's Giles still holds the record. And I bring this up like once a year where I'm like, man, is anybody ever going to be able to beat 30 assists in a game? Because that record has been held for a long, long time. The idea that Janus would be one of the guys that would at least like at one point in the game have a chance at it is. Because I was, I was watching your stupid team

and I was watching the Tyler Hero versus John Morant back and forth because the rest of the games like this time of the year you can kind of like basically half of the slate you can just be like

well this is an insignificant game and you texted me and I was like what the hell is happening over there right? So before the show this morning you go to NBA.com you click on the box score

and you can just click on the 20 assists and they'll literally show you like all 20 of the assists. So I did that this morning they're legit. Bro. And also he had two turnovers.

Think about that. And one of them, he just dribbled off his foot. So he had like one like legit turnover and 20 assists. And let me tell you something, Mr. Vernon. Terrified as a Knicks fan.

Terrifying footage. Oh, because they moved up in the standings. Terrifying footage as a Knicks fan. Because as it stands. Yeah, Detroit. You need Memphis to beat Detroit this weekend. Well,

I don't even know what I'm rooting for, but right now Detroit's in the 6th, but if the bucks fall to that 6, what they're doing is they're doing this. The Sixers last night, we're winning the game, by the way, and the Sixers are not even trying to win games. Look who they're starting,

but they're winning the game in the first half, and they're doing the Stan Ban Gundy, like, build a wall around Janus. They're just like, Janice Densigpo is not going to dunk all over our team. So we're just going to put a bunch of bodies in the middle of the paint and see what he does. Do you what he does? He spreads out to Derryberg. He's just spraying out to shooters and they're hitting him.

That's how you get 20 assists. But I'm thinking as a Knicks fan, I'm like, man, like, I guess you put OG on him, I suppose. But like, I don't really see the soul for this. I mean, again, this is one of the best games of his life. But it's just terrifying to see someone with the aggression and strength and just dominance of scoring in the paint. to now have this wrinkle of like finding open shooters like he's Luca Donchich.

And it's like, I don't even know what to do with this dude in a seven game series. Unbelievable. Absolutely true. Nuts. I didn't believe. I thought someone stole your phone and sent me a text. I was just like, what is this? By the way, John Stockton has the most 20 assists games with 34.

But in fairness, I mean, Tom Haversstroke could probably do the deep dive on this. there was always the Utah home scorekeeper. Like John Stockton, if he was on the court, he got an assist, or he could, like, throw the ball to Carl Malo to Carleau could dribble 20 times, one of three guys and four. Or not that he's not an amazing passer and one of the greatest players and assistment of all time, but he is the leader with 34, 20 assist games,

which is truly incredible. God, 34. All right, let's get to. We got to run through these loves and lows because we spent 45 minutes talking about figure guns. The NBA wanted us to do. That's what they got. This episode is brought to you by Walmart. Life gets busy and we could all use an extra hour or save one.

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call 1-800 gambler or visit RG-Help.com. All right, team I loved. I'm going to go Portland because Portland at the end and this is the reason, you know how much I hate tanking. The end of marks,

they lost four games in a row, then they came back. They could do like everybody else does, which is just intentionally lose. I'm not making it. I'm not completely out of it, but I'm not making it. Okay?

So I can just, like, it does me no good to win these games unless, of course, I have some kind of integrity. And Portland, I honor you for having integrity. They beat Atlanta, and then they turn around. They beat Toronto, who obviously is intentionally trying to lose. So you can't give him too much credit for that. But they're letting their young guys go out. Their Shaden Sharp goes out and has 33. Denny Obdi has 32 in the game against Atlanta.

Then they turn around. Shaden Sharp's got 36 against Toronto. Avdia's got 26. Like all these teams, like, they're letting these guys cook, and it's like, instead of benching them and saying, no, no, no, no, no, no. You don't get to do this, right? Because we might win if you keep playing so well.

Like, they're letting these guys go out there. And I think that the basketball gods should shine on the Portland Trailblazers. And despite the fact that they are, you know, the record is not going to be that great. I think if there is one of these teams that. actually deserves to get in the lottery that does not have the odds to get into the lottery. It is them. For playing it out.

I got all of these teams losing on purpose. At least they're playing with some integrity. I mean, what the jazz and the Raptors are doing right now? It's just like the Pelicans. It's just, it's disgusting, right? And the team that I love this week is a very similar situation. And like the Dallas Mavericks, AD goes down, lively and Gaffer are out, Kyrie goes down, they go in like an eight game losing streak.

Yep. Right? And I'm thinking like this makes sense. Like it, I get it. Like you don't have Kyrie, you don't have AD. Like not only you're not like a championship contender. Like you probably wouldn't get out of the plane if you fought your way into it. But they're playing like a team that doesn't own their pick.

you know what I mean? They're playing like a team that's like, let's win games because we're basketball players, right? Like there's no, they're playing, and the Blazers are also, they're approaching games like there's no incentive to lose. Even though,

from an objective consultant, they should probably be losing these games. And that's why I love this Mavericks team. Sure, they lost the nets, not the best, but they beat Orlando, Chicago,

and this Atlanta game, in Dallas, I don't need to sit here in front of this microphone and spend five minutes explaining what it's like to be a Mavericks fan for the past four months. But it has not been a lot to cheer about. And to have Anthony Davis not just come back and play. I did not expect that to happen, but to get Gafford and lively back. And the Hawks were playing well when they came to town. And to have Anthony Davis hit a really tough game winner after hitting a three and still having three.

point five seconds left and him contest Trey Young on another potential game winner and having that feeling and in the post game interview they're excited celebrating each other and you're looking at it and you're like you know what they're going to be in the plan

and they're tough out they're big Jacoby I'll tell you this that's a nightmare if they come out of the 9-10 game whoever loses 7-8 whether that's Memphis whether that's Minnesota, whoever it is.

The idea that Anthony Davis could be the best player on the floor in one 48-minute basketball game and lead them to a victory. And next thing you know, you're going home for the offseason and he's moving on and that team's moving on. Like, that is not, that's no picnic. You don't mean. Like, I think you, I promise you, whoever loses 7-8 is going to be the biggest Sacramento Kings fans in the world.

and just hope that Sacramento could pick them off and that you got to face them instead. Because for a one game set against a group of, because they're all veteran-laden guys, veteran-laden guys, and the idea that that guy could go for 35 and 20 against you when most people don't have awesome big guys, especially if you're down there in that mix,

is like a nightmare. It's a nightmare. If you're not hitting threes, right? Because there's three-point shooting variance, right? That's not like a crazy advanced analytics take. Three point shooting various halves. We talk about it all the time. But if you're not hitting threes,

you're not getting to the rim against these guys. They got Anthony Davis and Daniel Hufford down there or Dale lively down there. So like, like, if you're having just a bad shooting night, there's no sort of recourse to beat that team. And like, I'm not sitting here predicting them to upset the thunder in round one. But it's not crazy to think he could be the best player on the floor. And it's a team I love because it's a team that I wrote off. I wrote them off.

as I looked at their draft stuff, I'm like, all right, they have their own pick. Like, this makes no sense. There's no incentive for them to sort of like have a good showing down the stretch. If I was a Mavs fan, I would even understand if Anthony Davis never came back. But for him to fight back shows like his commitment to the team and to the town. And I just really like that they've gotten hot recently. And that game and those fans got to celebrate in that way that there's a team I love this week. Because he is undeserving of the, you know, he didn't do anything wrong.

all he did was get traded All he did was get traded for the most beloved players in Turkey I mean He's not his fault He had stitches Like he had 34 points He like missed like I don't know 10 minutes

Because he was in the locker room Getting stitches over his eye Yeah Team that I loath I mean look I the tanking teams But Philly is just gross I mean truly Like that's gross

They're the ones Well I was like There's the 20 assist game last night, right? Like, they are, I guess you can put up some historic games against them, if you want to say that that's a positive. But, I mean, the idea, they have tanked out literally all of March and April. Like, too much. I'm just saying, okay, we are intentionally trying to lose.

And the funniest thing was when the, the honest thing was going on, I, uh, I flipped it on for a second. And I was like, dude, no way. No way. So there was a guy who was on a two-way contract at Memphis earlier this year. And then I mentioned his name two weeks ago, joking around when Toronto put out a lineup that was like so appalling that it warranted conversation. And they started and played this guy like 40-something minutes. And so imagine my surprise when I flipped on that game and I'm like, Colin Castleton.

What? Philadelphia has signed him to a 10-day contract. He is, Colin Castleton is the guy, like he is the emblem of, I need players so that I can lose. And so credit to him for being able to get into these games. But I swear to God,

he literally went from one team. it's like if he played for like the Washington generals and he just had a career doing that, he went from one team that is playing him because they want to lose to another team. Now, free money, but like you go to the day.

And I was like, when did he become a sixer? Like I just saw him intentionally losing for the Raptors. He's like, what was that movie, the old William H. Macy movie. the cooler the cooler yeah yeah you remember that

and William H. Macy comes in and the whole idea is he's like employed by the casino because if somebody gets on a run at the table William H. Macy sits down and he's you immediately start losing that's Colin Castleton he's the cooler Colin the cooler Castleton

it works perfectly it works perfectly you will immediately start losing no what we need to we need one of those like coolers that you take to the beach just like put his face on it. I can see the Photoshop already. Or a giveaway at the Sixers game last night. Yeah.

The Castleton Cooler. The Castle Corridor. It's like the George Forming Grill was big, but the Castleton Cooler is going to be bigger. This, uh, the team I load this week, honestly, I'm like, they know they're in the 10 spot in the West. It's the Sacramento Kings.

They know. Like, I just don't understand how they keep losing these games. Like, I'm looking at Funnier is that Phoenix refused to catch things. It's ridiculous. I mean, like, if anything, the Kings,

like you've got Phoenix, quote unquote, chasing you, but I don't know, Phoenix is going to, Castleton's going to be on Phoenix next week after this 10 day runs out. They have the cooler out there in Phoenix.

But, dude, they, they lost to the magic and then the Pacers. Okay, fine. Then they lost to the wisdom. who didn't play Jordan Poole because he was scoring too much.

Jordan Poole played 24 minutes and had 23 points. So they put in a bunch of other guys, AJ Jackson or whatever. And this team, like they've got, and some guys miss games, whatever, but you got Zach Levine, DeMargar Rosen, Malik Munk, who's having a good year, subonis.

Like, you should not be losing these games, especially when you're in the 10 seed. It's just shocking to me. It's just like I'm just, I can't believe it every time they lose another game. They've got the Hornets. They lose to the Hornets. I don't even know what to say.

But then they've got the calves, the pistons, the Nuggets, the Clippers, and then the Sons. The Sons might get back into this. They might. The player that I loved, it's hard because it happened against my team, but my God,

what I witnessed earlier this week from Curry. I was there for the 52 Jacoby It was like I mean I remember at half that he had 32 at half time And I remember I tweeted out like this must be what France felt like He was otherworldly in this game I mean Just come I mean the the quickness in which he gets off that shot

And then I caught like a night of nights right where he had 52, but then he turned around and so far now by virtue of his game against the Lakers last night. He is now, since the calendar turned April, he's averaging 44.5

points, 6 and a half rebound, 7 assists, 2 and a half steals, and shooting 50% from the field, 52% from 3, and 96% from the free throw line. Like, it,

there's nobody when they get going that is more fun to watch than him. Like the degree of difficulty and the shots that he makes is just, I mean, even I just had to like, it's one of those where you walk out and you're like, dude,

I just witnessed bonafide greatness. That was a damn masterpiece. Like it sucks at my team lost, but holy hell, that was incredible. He was so good. And then obviously turned around. and there is nothing better than, you know, us doing a podcast early in the year talking about,

is this just the way it ends for LeBron and Steph? And yet both of them have real chances now. Oh, yeah. Both of them have real chances now because of the additions that their teams made at the trade deadline. And I was watching that game. And I was thinking about your guy, Coach Tuamis. I was thinking about him or like a timeout right like he's got like he's got 10 threes

and I think about the huddle and imagine just being one of the players to defend him is like what do you want me to do coach like we're trying out there we're putting two guys on him he has nowhere space like it's like we are and then and then Curry is catching the ball on the run and not even setting his feet

and just flicking the thing right into the rim like there's nothing you can do it's like it's like playing shack It's just like, what do you want me to do? What do you want me to do against this guy? I honestly, I could tackle him, and he would still find a way to get open and get a three. The only way is to be ultra, ultra-physical with him.

And Memphis doesn't have the wings that do that. No. And I also thought it was good to watch that game, then to watch the game last night where he was like, you know, they're running him off the three-point line early. He's getting by people, and he's going to the rim. He's finishing and getting floaters and things like that. Like, he's just, it's a great one.

I'm going to go quickly. The player I love this week is more like, my own experience with this player. He had no offers, no division one offers coming out of high school. And did a post-grad year. Drafted by the Knicks. I was like, okay, we'll see what happens. Offensively did nothing but dunk.

And I did not think very much of him as a Nick. It gets traded to the Pacers. And obviously by now, you know I'm talking about Obie Topping. but like he has found a niche in a way on this team and in this league that's sustainable and that's legitimate and that I just did not see coming and I was prepping for this and our guy who does the power rankings John Shulman what's his name is the name right John Schumann he did it like who are the best shooters in the league article and I clicked on it this morning and obie Toppins again I already picked Obie Toppin he was the picture on the article what what Yeah. I was like, did I click on the wrong thing? He has the highest field goal percentage in the paint in the entire league. Shocked by this. Because I was thinking like he's turned himself into like a shooter and a dunker.

You know what I mean? Well, but that is dogs. It's 74.1%. Now, I looked at it. Here's the thing. I looked at it. It is all dunged, right? No, but it's 40% of his attempts.

Everybody else in the list, it's like Jared Allen's like 90% of their attempts. Yeah. 90% of attempts. 90% of their attempts. But he did have a lot of attempts, but this isn't like, you know, it's not the same as the high percentage

from some of the other players. It's 100% of your attempt. Yeah, exactly. So it's not, it's not apples to apples, but still, it kind of,

it really shocked me about this. And I just like, you know, we had that big game that we saw. The Minnesota game. Yeah, the Minnesota game. But he's shooting 37% from three.

And last night, I'm sure you've seen it. You know, and none of us were watching the game. But there's a, they throw it out to Halliburton. Haliburton bounces it off the ground. and Topin goes up and catches the dunk.

And every once in a while on a break, he'll put it between the legs. So he still kind of has that flash. And as someone who did not think much of him during his stint with the Knicks, he's the player I love this week because he's really found his way. And he's kind of like, I mean, look, you could see him coming in and having 16 points in a game and flipping it for you, right? Like him just, like super energy. You know, he's going to play hard.

You know, he's going to try to rebound. I mean, he's a fun player to have as a, again, you're not counting on him being your starter, right? But, I mean, it's a good yin and yang with him. See, Yacom, you can play him together and it helps you go small if you need to go small. Like, I mean, super athlete. I don't think he's dribbled or shot or passed this entire year. Like, I don't think he's dribbled or passed. It's like, Obie, when you catch it, you shoot it no matter of.

But I respect those guys because they find a way, like I chronicled him earlier this year. And I say, you know, when he's gotten his opportunity, he goes really big. It was very a couple of years ago. Now, obviously, this guy's moved into a different class, but very Nas Reid-ish in that, right, you would have Nas read. And he was like this energy guy, bench player, everybody really loved him. And then you would like let him start and he would like give you huge production. It's like, whoa, now maybe this guy should be, right? Same thing goes with Topin.

If you go look at the games that he's played 13. something minutes, he produces, like in a big way, but it's also found a way you know, there's stars and there's role players. He early enough in his career has figured out here's how I can

survive in the league and end up having this you know, 10, 15 year career is by being a great role player. Being a, being an ancillary part to the stars. Yeah, I'm with you. I love him. Loathed.

I mean, look, this is a guy that you know I have defended to the death, while a lot of people have never liked him. But I have to put Russ on this list. Bro, you can't blow a 61 point triple double by the story then becoming you smoke the end of the game by missing a layup and fouling Nikiel Alexander Walker. Like that was, you can't have two enormous. I need you to make the winning plays. Like, that's the gig, right? I need winning plays to have two just absolutely critical losing plays back to back. And spoil a 60.

I mean, this feels like, like, there's no way you can have a guy that has a 61 point triple double in a loss. Like, there's no way. And I'm not putting it all on him. and I know you say we focus on the end of situations too much, but bro, that was the worst of end of situation, the end of that game. Worst thing I've ever seen of my life.

It was terrible. Here's something about that sequence that I haven't heard someone else saying. I don't listen to everyone talking about basketball. I don't mind the shots selection. Take the layup. You're on a break. You know what I mean?

Like, he's on a break. It's an open layup and you miss it. I don't mind. that either. It happens. It's life. No one shoots a thousand percent on layups, right? For me, it's the part where he stands at the baseline after missing the layup. And I don't think he asked for a foul call, but he was sort of in disbelief. He was just kind of like standing there, which makes him behind the play on defense, which I think, I'm not going to say leads to the foul, but it contributes to it. Because because you take that second and a half

just standing there, looking at the ref and disbelief, now you're, now you're, now you're, now you're chasing the play on defense. And now you're scrambling and your feet aren't set. And that what leads to the foul of the shooter. So my thing is the layup, I don't mind the shot selection. I don't mind that you missed. I mind that with five seconds left in the game for a guy that goes a thousand miles an hour, a thousand percent of the time,

you pick the wrong time to not do it, you know? And with the 61 point triple double, it does feel like Yokic baked a five-layer wedding cake. and put the finishing touches on it and handed it to Russell Westbrook who just dropped it on the floor. That's what it feels like. It does.

All right. Player you loads. I'll go quickly through this one. I'm not going to sit here and be like Luca Donchich isn't good of basketball. And I'm also not going to sit here and say Luca don't just night. But that's not what I loathed about watching Luca last night.

Well, he said it was unacceptable, Jacob. And it is. But what's unacceptable to me is, again, I say this all the time. It's not what you do, it's how you do it. He started getting into it with the refs, right? He's frustrated because he's missing shots early. So then he's starting, he's getting frustrated. They call a foul on him for Steph Curry kicking his leg out.

It was a borderline leg kickout. Step and Curry started falling on every three-point attempt in the game yesterday, which was really weird. But then he starts arguing with the refs. He gets a tech. And the next time down the floor, he takes a three, does a kick out and falls over. the refs feel that they have to make a call. And I think that it is a chicken egg thing with him and shooting poorly and getting into it

with the refs. But it's like he's addicted to getting into it with the refs. Like he cannot help himself. There's been so many people in his life that have told him that these actions are not supporting his goals. The refs aren't going to give you calls because you berate them 24-7. Like you're not going to bully them into giving you calls. Like he psychologically just can't get over this hump.

And even on that famous on like that Draymond slapdown play, which was obviously not a foul, Luca just kind of slumps his shoulders, looks at the ref again, even though it was obviously not a foul. And his attitude to me just absolutely has to change. In the playoffs last year, it was a big thing. And for like two games, he didn't complain with the refs. But it just feels frontrunnerish. And it's very frustrating. I don't care if you miss shots.

I just care if you're so much focusing on the referees and what they're calling or not calling. And when he was missing shots, he's doing this thing now where he gets in front of his defender, puts the ball on his hip, one jab step, takes one dribble towards the lane, gets into the chest of the defender, and then just rises up to shoot,

gets the contact, and then tries to make it an N1 and missed them all last night. But it's very sort of like foul-hunting and ref manipulating for someone who's one of the best four players in the game. It just seems unnecessary. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the new mismatch with

Chris Vernon and Nico Harrison. Listen, the team I love is the Mavs. The player I love is Luca. I see the vision. The player you love is the BAM. The player you load this, Luca, I love it. I see the vision,

Nico. Me and you, Nico. Me and you, buddy. Thing that I loved. All right. And this is regarding this upcoming weekend. And that is that the final four was set and it ended up being all four one seeds. Because I don't think, like, you got two outstanding teams in Auburn and Florida playing against each other on one side.

And then on the other side, you have this team that is filled with prospective draft picks, including the number one pick overall in Cooper Flagg. You have Connipple. you have all these guys for Duke that are supposed to be draft picked coming up. And there is no better test than playing the number one defensive team in the country.

I mean, I texted my buddy. So obviously I'm friends with a lot of Tennessee fans. I went to school there. And I texted them in the first half of the Houston, Tennessee game. And I said, welcome to hell, right? They ended up scoring 15 points in the first. half of that game because Houston, I don't know, people can go look this up if you haven't seen it. It was floating around on Twitter.

It was like a video. Like, you know how you remember like the, like you got those indoor videos like the one we saw of Draymond Green punching Jordan Poole, you know, where it's like CCTV. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that kind of thing. But it's one of those that's going around of the Houston basketball team. have you seen this? Oh, is it running the mile? No. And it's like, it's like this every day.

And they're lined up on the, on the, what's it called? Like on the baseline. And the coach rolls the ball out to the free throw line. And two guys, it's like the freaking Oklahoma drill. You didn't do this? You didn't do this growing up? We did this in high school. Of course.

They're both flying to, no. But then they all turn into like wrestling matches. Okay. It all turned into wrestling matches. And it is not, I promise you, your high school was not like this because it looks like two Rottweilers are both exploding at a basketball. And now they're rolling around on the ground and refused to give it up. And I'm like, holy shit, dude, you got to see this video. You've got to see it.

No, let me tell you what I saw. I saw another video. And I know whatever the feed gives you the algorithm gives you whatever. It was the Houston basketball team. And again, I don't know if it's sundown or sunned up, but I think it's sunned up. So it's like five, six in the morning, and they're all running a mile and it's time. And I don't have the numbers in front of me because I just saw this on my feed. They all ran between like five minutes and five minutes and 30 seconds.

Dude. And I was just like, what? No, I could, like a five minute mile? I don't think I could run a half mile. It's literally the best thing you could do. Like the best thing that could have. is for me to get to see a bunch of potential NBA lottery picks have to go deal with these guys. Oh, yeah.

I can't wait. I can't wait. I don't know what's going to happen. Duke may be too talented. They may be too big. They're obviously favored in the game. But I'll tell you this, it ain't going to be, you're going to get fought. You are going to get fought in that game.

These guys are running five minute miles at five in the morning. You couldn't get me to go to a class at 10 a.m. when I was in college. Bro, there was a guy. You're going to love this. There's this guy. There's this guy that played for the Grizzlies last year. You know, they played 700 billion players last year.

One of the guys was a Memphis hustle player. They called him Deaky. Deaky, when you go and look him up, I mean, he looks like somebody that would fix your car. Okay? Like, he should have, like, a cigarette behind his ear. He's that kind of guy, right? And you go and look up, you're like, where did he come from?

You're like, oh, he played at Houston. Like, of course he did, right? And then so, then you go. go and look it up and at first I'll never forget this I go and like look at him up like all right let's find out what I can find out about the guy right the one of the first articles that pops up is that he had gotten thrown out of a college game for biting a guy's leg and I was like wait what that is that's the kind of guy right like I'm like of course he played at Houston like I'm telling you people can go watch this video there's it's it's

It's going around on Twitter a lot. But it is like the inside, like, view of one of their practices. And it is the most menacing thing you can imagine. I'm going to watch that one. You watch the mile one. I will. Welcome to hell. That's what they should say when they get to, when you show up in Houston.

Welcome to hell. Yes. Well, the thing that I love this week, outside of the Castleton cooler, which is not, which is just like, I mean, it could be a script. TV show. There's a lot of franchise opportunities there, just telling Castleton's story. But that is new. So what I have down here, and this will be brief, is please, Jalen Brunson, just like, please. He's cleared. He's practicing. He might play tomorrow. They have a back to back on Saturday and Sunday. He's playing in one of those games. He'll get to 65 games.

I don't, and Tim will probably play him 46 minutes or something. It's just going to be so gnarly. But as someone who cares about the Knicks and is not as high on this Knicks team as others are, it's just, it, they, with God, I can't wait to see this man come back. If you're available, you're available. Yeah. Seriously. Seriously, if you're not wearing street clothes, you're playing 47 minutes and 30 seconds. We'll take you out at the end of the first quarter for a possession. Did you hear that?

Did you see that thing that was going around? What game did y'all play that was an overtime game recently? And they said that, like, it was some kind of crazy thing where Backel Bridges played the first 46 minutes and 30 seconds consecutively. And I was like, wait, what? Like, he never said. It's one thing to play the minutes. Like, he didn't even get a break.

He didn't even, like, get to go to the bench for the last 20, like, one possession of a quarter. He'll do that. They'll give you a little breaky poo for just to extend a time out. It's absolutely crazy. I was watching the mind. craft movie trailers that are coming out. You know what I mean? I always go to all the kids' movies.

And I was like, I think Jalen Brunson was built in Minecraft. I was watching it. I was like, that's where Jalen, that's what Jalen Brunson reminds me of. He's just so blocky. I was like Jalen Brunson was built as a basketball player in Minecraft and somehow became real. And now he's leading the Knicks in the playoffs.

God bless him. That's going to do it for today's show. Thank you to our executive producer Jesse Lopez as always. And Jacoby. I'll catch up with you next week. Must be 21 and over in present in select states for Kansas in affiliation with Kansas Star Casino or 18 over and present in D.C. Got a gambling problem? Call 1-800 gambler or visit RG-Help.com.

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