The Mismatch - Luka Doncic Snags an All-Star Starter Position Over Damian Lillard. Plus: Blazers, Celtics, Jazz, Nets, and Mailbag!

Episode Date: February 19, 2021

Verno and KOC take a look at the All-Star starters and talk about the inclusion of Luka Doncic over Damian Lillard (1:00), then get into the injury-riddled Blazers and Lillard’s incredible effort (13:00). After that they jump around the league and hit the Celtics and what pieces they might still need (32:00), Utah’s continued dominance through a tough section of its schedule (36:00), and the Nets' win over the Lakers (38:30) before answering a few listener questions (48:00). 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. Me and Chris Vernon talked about a whole bunch. Talked about the All-Star conversation with Luca getting the starting spot over DAME. We got into Toronto. They're turning their season around. Now they'll succeed. The Celtics, whether they can get back into it and what age and the Celtics could maybe try to do as a move. Talked about Utah.

Their hot street continues. LeBron hitting 35,000 points. The Nets having a good defensive team. And then we opened up the mailbag and answered some of your questions. Thank you, everybody, for sending out those. This is a great episode. Hope you enjoy it, too. Welcome to The Mismatch.

I'm Chris Vernon. He does every Friday from the Ringer.com is Kevin O'Connor, A.K. Kevin O'Climber, Kevin O'Climber, Kevin O'Colnsk, Kevin O'Compict, Kevin O'Champton, Kevin O'Kinell. That was an energetic Friday intro, Chris. How you doing? Well, I'm doing well. We got the All-Star starters announced last night, and it was not without some controversy.

In the Eastern Conference, it was named Brad Beale, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, Janice, Ante Cumpo, and Joel M. Bede. In the Western Conference, the starters are going to be Steph Curry, Luca Donchich, Kauai Leonard, LeBron James, and Nicolay Yolkich. And it seemed as if there was only one big story that came out of this, or at least talking point. and that was Luca Donchich being named a starter over Damian Lillard. That seemed to be the point of contention. Now, we do need to mention that they tied and Donchich finished second in fan voting, but was third behind Lillard in both media and player voting. That said, Donchich wound up being the pick to start because of fan voting,

which made up 50% of the voting with the players in the media. each getting 25% each. So that was the tiebreaker. I am surprised, I think. By what part? I'm surprised that he won the fan voting. International vote. Yeah.

I'm really not surprised by that aspect. Really? The international vote's strong. David Lerlitz a popular guy. You know what I mean? Like that is a popular player. Big time. get a great sneaker, you know, popular and social.

He is one of those that there are very, very, very few people that dislike Damien Lillard. Oh, yeah. He's nobody, I don't think anybody dislikes Dame. Yeah, have you ever met anybody that was like, you know what, I hate that guy? Unless, like, you're a fan rooting against him in a playoff series or a big game. Like, nobody really hates Damian Lauer. Houston Rockets fans, probably hate him. Yeah, yes.

Right. But regardless, like, between Luca and Dame, what surprised me, Chris? was the fact that there was such a strong reaction. Like to me, I wrote this on my column on Monday picking All Stars. I feel like it's pretty much a coin flip. Yeah. Between Luca and Dane.

These guys are both having extraordinary individual seasons. Dame is checking all the boxes of what makes an MVP candidate. You know, he's carrying this Blazers team in 18 and 10 record right now without Nurkich, without CJ McCollum. Like, they have been really, really fun to watch. Like,

a lot of Blazers fans have been in my mentions lately. Like, Yeah, because I kind of, like, you know, cracked on them before the season, saying they're comically overrated. And I still think their defense is going to end up being the reason for their demise. They're ranked at 28th in defensive rating. And I think at some point, either during the season, you'll see those wins drop or at some point in the playoffs that'll bite them.

But that doesn't change the fact, Dane is a brilliant player who is so fun to watch. But also, Luca has had incredible moments, too. I think their scoring has been at least comparable. I gave Luke at the edge because of the better playmaking because of the better defense because of the better rebounding. But I wouldn't push back or argue against anybody who had dame, like the guys having an MVP caliber season.

Yeah, and I think the reason that, the reason I would have Damien Lillard is because of what you mentioned at first, which is this overachievement, as it feels, once you lose C.J. McCollum. And I have to look at that and say, This team has massively overperformed in comparison to our expectations, and the other one is underperformed. Yeah, they have.

And so the best guy on either of these two teams, one is on a team that is not where we thought they would be and they are there because of him. And then on the other side, I take issue with that. I think a lot of people had Portland in the top four. No. A lot of people did. Not this Portland. No, no, NERC. C.J., definitely.

That's fair. Okay, that's fair. We're on the same page then. We're on the same page. Also, you know, they haven't had NERCage either. So, I mean, like, they're second and third best players. I just wanted to check, like, compared to preseason expectations. Yeah, yeah, but they're second and third best players.

So it's all relative. Yeah. Like, there's no chance that team has the fourth best record if they lose McCollum. Sure. Whereas Dallas, they undeniably have underachieved. And, like, my, my thing with All-Star voting this year, you know, talked about this with Bill earlier in the week, like only 38% of the season has passed. Usually when all-star voting is is done, usually when you have to submit your ballots as a fan

or as a player or as media, over half the season is usually done. Like the last three years, I believe it's 51% of the season is complete. So we're doing all-star voting early. So for me, when I did my actual ballot, when I did my fake reserves, because coach's choose to reserves, I didn't even really look at record, to be honest with you, Chris, because like it's still so early in the year. It's still so early in the year that the four games of separation, the five games of separation,

that can all change so quickly where it's kind of irrelevant. And maybe Portland maintains or builds a lead even more over Dallas. Right now they're up, I believe five games on Dallas are now, 18 and 10 for Portland, 13 and 15 for Dallas. If someone wants to use that as like a way to choose one over the other, I get it completely. But for me, like it's still so early that I'm not really caring. from our record.

Your vote didn't matter anyway in regards to this. It's not like you took Luke over the top. He lost the media. He lost the media. But the fan, the fan voting is what he got. And honestly, this is just another Damien Liller chip on the shoulder. Nobody believes in me. I'm, you know, put some respect on my effing name.

You remember when he yelled that at the bubble after he hit a game winner? I mean. Whatever works. I would use it too. If he didn't put me on like, I'd use whatever if I were an athlete, anything. In context, I mean, look, he is, so far, he is third in the NBA in scoring at 29.8 points per game.

He averages 7.7 assists per game, four three pointers per game, which is second of the NBA. His splits are 45, 3893. He's first in clutch points, first in clutch field goal percentage, first in clutch three point percentage, first in clutch free throw percentage, and they have a 12 and 3 record in clutch, what would be considered clutch games, which is the best record in the NBA.

So, I mean, it's pretty clear, right? They're 12 and 3 in clutch situations. He's first in every category. So he is the reason that they are winning these games. And again, he gets to do the whole put some respect on my name. I am, I don't get the, I don't get the accolades that some of my peers do. What do I have to do type of thing? I mean, he's got to be an All-Star.

I, I forget who tweeted this yesterday, but can you name the All-Star starters from like 2017? I can't. Oh, no. It becomes dust in the wind. Exactly. So, but like for the individual player, you can use that as fuel. For the fans, like, you can use that as fuel and add to the chip on your shoulder that nobody is giving you credit.

That is the fun in it. That is like from a competition standpoint, the fuel you need to just continue building, building, building. But ultimately like these two guys are both all stars. They're both, if their teams finish up top, like top four in the standings in the West, either of them could potentially be an MVP candidate like Dame already is because of what he's doing on the court. These guys are both incredible. Here's a weird thing about this too that I was thinking about last night is,

and I thought this could happen last year. during the playoffs against the clippers, but instead the guy was out of his mind, great. Luke, I mean. And I said, I wonder if this is when the resent starts. I wonder if this is when people start really poking holes. And I couldn't help but wonder last night as I was watching that unfold

and I was watching people be, you know, miffed that Damian Lillard wasn't an all-star starter, that if this was the moment where people, not universally, but that a lot of people turned on Luca, that all of a sudden now will be more apt to tear him down because he was given something, like it was always, there's always the honeymoon, and then he's always proven himself over and over.

But now he was given something that people feel, at least in some quarters, that he doesn't deserve, and that's when people start trying to, to poke holes and, you know, then now all of a sudden the spotlight shines even brighter because I will tell you, Kev, if it were reversed, nobody would have said a peep. That's the difference here, right? If it would have been named an all-star starter, I don't think people would have been going crazy saying, how is Luca not an all-star starter? But now that Luke is in that spot, the spotlight gets

brighter and all of a sudden now it's like oh this guy was rewarded over this other guy and he didn't deserve it. It's a ridiculous. No, it's a resent thing that comes up. I know, but it's ridiculous. To me, I think if anything else, Chris,

Luca and Dame, those two guys, there's some similarities here. Damien Lillard is a championship caliber player who is yet to reach that mountain top. Luca is a championship caliber player who right now you look at their team and they're like, huh, we've talked about this a bunch, Chris. How are they going to properly build around this guy?

So he can reach that the pinnacle. That's what I look at this. But it's not it's not on Dame that the Portland Trailways should have never won a title. It's not on Luca if the Dallas Mavericks don't reach expectations this season. I think it's madness if people were to use something like this. The fan vote, the fan vote being a tiebreaker. Come on, it's ludicrous.

There are a lot. Well, Luca is one of those to me that is all. also universally beloved, right? Like, you don't, like, unless, honestly, like, what is he ever done to make somebody dislike? People don't like the file drawing. They're starting to, you know, hear some chirping about that. Yelling at the, bitching at the refs is a thing, right?

That's a thing. But generally, he's pretty well liked. I mean, it's not like he's outspoken. He doesn't say anything. I bet at some point the time will come. And, you know, I think with the officials with stuff like this, you're right. Like at some point people are going to turn on him and hate will build because he's that great of a player. And it happens to every great player who either underachieves or who fails on the postseason.

Yeah, but he didn't. He didn't. He didn't. He's playing against a team with Kauai and Paul George. And he put a team on the back. I'm not saying he failed. I'm not saying if that time comes. Oh, right.

If that time comes, then that conversation starts to happen. That's when you have first take saying Luke has a choker and all that. That's when everything happens. But we're not there yet. he had, if anything, the inverse, he elevated the status against that clever series. I predicted it. I said, look, this is, all they've got to do is deal with this guy, right? Yeah.

Like, and they've got these great perimeter defenders. They can throw at him. Like, people are going to set this up because they did it with Donovan two years ago, where it was like, ah, Donovan Mitchell's not that guy, right? He was trying, his second year, he's trying to carry that team in the postseason. And he was like, the guy. that could create his own shot. And so he had the ball.

And then when he didn't have good splits, people jumped him. And now, you know, as the, as now as time is going on, we saw Donovan deliver in a massive way last year, and that kind of went away. But Luca did.

I mean, he was, come on, he was hitting game winners against the Clippers of the playoffs. Are you with me on the Blazers, Chris? What I said earlier about,

I'm still extremely worried about their defense. Like, their offense is awesome. It's so fun to watch, but I still have concerns about this. team. I think if they get their guys back, is there any chance McCollum's back this year? I hope so. You know, okay. So I hope so. And I hope Nurkich can look more like old

mercich pre-injury. If those guys are back, I do think that this is a year where a, they've got a star. For what it's worth, Chris, the injury McCollum suffered was the left midfoot fracture on January 16th. And news came out this week on January 16th that he'll be. re-evaluated in two weeks but is not going to be returning in the immediate future. So we don't know yet. And hopefully he's able to get back. And so it's always going to be hanging out there. Let me put this caveat in. If he is able to come back, when you get to the playoffs and you've got a guy who is in any

given game the best player on the floor and consistently plays as the best player on the floor. And that is what Damien Lillard qualifies as. You've got a chance. and they also have a real continuity about them if they get all those guys back. And so with the Davis thing hanging out there, with Utah, you know, trying to make a West finals for their first time, with the Clippers showing real holes in the postseason last year, and so have not proven, you know, on the biggest stages they could do it. I think they've got to be, I think Portland's got to be in the mix.

Because anytime you could see him being the best player on the floor, for a series in any series. And when you have a guy like that, I feel like they've got to be considered as a team to be trifled with. I think they are over-achieving in a massive way right now. But I'm assuming, if you tell me I get that full roster, sure, they've got a chance. Yeah, and I think that's the fascinating, you know,

wrinkle of the season, that 80 injury out a month right now, the Achilles. and then you have a window here. There's a window for a team to surge late. Like maybe at the end of the year, Denver figures it out. Maybe Dallas figures it out. The two primary teams in the West that are underachieving thus far a little more than a third into the season.

But maybe a team has a late surge where then they enter that conversation, where they're in that Portland category where it's like you could see them making that push. I mean, we'll see how the year develops. Like I said, it's early for All-Star voting. It's still early to get a read- on these teams because Portland feels like a team where they are going full throttle almost every single night. Like these guys are going hard.

There are a lot of teams right now where I watch the game and it's like there's a little bit of lazy defense or they're purposely coasting. We see that primarily from the top teams, but I think it's true for some of the teams in the middle of the pack too, which is probably due to the fact that you have like the COVID protocols right now. You have a lack of practice time for every team right now. it's a weird year. It's a weird season.

And I feel like when it comes to really breaking down, who were those teams that could knock off the Lakers, I think that logic, that knowledge will be found in the latter half of the season. I think that's what we're going to get this year. Usually it's the opposite. Like usually it's the opposite. But this year I think we're going to get it later.

But I think you, I think Lillard deserves a insane amount of respect for bringing it every single. single night. You never tune in to a port of the game and he's mailing it in. Never disappointed. Damien Lillard always comes through from an entertainment standpoint. He is so fun and I feel like that's probably why so many fans love him.

Like you said, it's a little bit surprising that he didn't win the fan vote, even though the international fan aspect. But Dame is awesome. He's one of those players you can tune in every night and get a good show. Yeah. And it's not like he lost the fan vote to somebody that's generally disliked or something. Yes, exactly. Like Luca Dodg, who's an international superstar, who is great in his own right.

Having one of the greatest seasons for a player in their third year ever. Again, just like he had one of the greatest furkey seasons ever. Just like he had one of the greatest sophomore seasons ever. He's having another one of those again. It is kind of odd how this year, it was a thing last year with Brad Beale and not being named. And because it was like he was having this amazing season. No one had had this kind of scoring season and not been given the credit that they deserved. And I wonder if there was, if this shows like a C change in terms of not caring about record.

Because be not dismayed, yes, his numbers are fantastic. That team's been a big disappointment too. And I know they lost Thomas Bryant. I know, you know, you tune. Thomas Bryant. Huh? It's Thomas Bryant. No, I know.

But like it's not going to ruin their team. But it's not just losing Thomas Bryant. It's what the drop off is. And when you tune them in and the other night. Not a big Alex Lund fan, Chris, not an Alex Lund fan. The other night they were starting Garrison Matthews and Mo Wagner. I love Mo Wagner. No, he shouldn't be a starter.

I love Mo Wagner. You know what I'm saying? I do too, but he shouldn't be a starter, right? Your team's not good if Mo Wagner's your starting center. But the team's been, the point is the team's been a disableness. They won the game. Teams have been, that team has been a disappointment

and yet people weren't able to overlook at last year, this year, unlike they were last year. Right? I mean, well, that's the funny. So I honestly, Chris,

I've thought a little bit about this this week. And I'm not sure what to make of it. But last year, at the time all-star votes were due, Bradley Beale was averaging 28 points per game, six and a half assists, five rebounds. and the Wizards at the time were 13 and 27.

So they were not a good team. Bradley Beal did poorly in the fan vote, poorly in media vote, poorly and everything. This year the team is probably worse. His numbers are better. He's averaging over 30 points. So, you know,

that goes without saying. But I think it's a reflection of how much he's been in the news. People are talking about Bradley Bill. They're talking about Bradley Beal trades. They're talking about how he's the next star that could be available. How all these teams should trade for him. Bradley Beale is like sulking. on the bench. He's in the news.

He's on ESPN. We're talking about a more on podcast. I feel like there's just a greater awareness. Well, because they acquired Westbrook. Yeah. It did put a bigger spotlight on the team. But like, I don't know if it's as much about record as it is just the fact that there's a lot more

attention on this guy, which is a good thing. It should be. It should be. Like, this is great. I thought he got, I didn't have him as a starter last year, but I thought he got snub for the team, period. Which kind of odd, still to me that the coaches didn't select them as a reserve. It's beside the point.

That's what will be interesting. The coaches, they probably look at record more when it comes to determining the reserves. And I wonder if that, like, bodes poorly for someone like Isaac Levine, who's on, you know, the bubble for, like, one of those last spots or a Trey Young. That could really hurt those guys cases to get in from the coach vote if that's what they're looking at, which I do they reward the guys on the winning teams? And they say, you know what? like, okay, you're putting up a bunch of numbers on the team that loses regularly.

Congratulations, you know. That's what might happen. Yeah, it might, but look, we don't have to worry about a Brad Beal debate this year because he was named a starter. Also, I think it does. You take a step back. And while we talk about it all the time, media talks about it. He gets debated on shows. The star power of Kyrie has to be recognized.

It just does. I mean, he's obviously having a great statistical year at Brooklyn's record. very good. But despite all of the off-the-court stuff, not being with the team for some time and whatever else, this guy is insanely famous with a ton of fans. Yeah. And you know, right, he's got the signature shoe and he is, he's been famous for a long time and people still really like him. They vote for him. When it comes time to vote for people, they vote for Kyrie Irving. And I do think that that is. So everybody can be down on a guy or everybody could roll their eyes about a guy or you could say, hey, he hasn't made teams better in a long time.

But he still has that star power. And when it comes down to it, he got voted in to be a starter on the team. And maybe that's another thing, too, Kev, is the whole conversation about, you know. it's interesting you bring that out because I haven't really considered it all that much, but Luca does get talked about all the time. He probably does get talked about more than Damian Lillard. People talk about what's going on with the Mavericks more than it really outside of this last week, Dame got a lot of chatter.

And so how much of it is really, how much your name is in the news all the time? How famous are you? And I think it speaks to Brad Beale and Kyrie Irvey. Kyrie Irving being the starters on that team and getting the amount of votes because, again, you tune in to ESPN, like, those guys' names are being debated a lot. You know, I mean, they're just in the public consciousness more. And I wonder the effect that has, whereas Damien Lillard is like the guy that kind of has to be forced into it. Nobody wrote the big sprawling, you know, Damien Lillard should be the MVP. And maybe if they did two weeks ago, then everybody's talking about Damian Lillard and it's a different world.

But, you know, how much of it is just how much you get talked about. I'm sure that does have something to do with it. And I think, I thought it was interesting seeing the player vote for Zach Levine. He had the same amount of votes as James Hardin did. Both of them had 58 player votes. But Levine finished fourth in the fan vote behind Hardin, Kyrie and. Beal and he finished fifth in the media rank, also behind Jalen Brown. I mean, it just shows the differences between, you know, how players are viewing the game,

how fans view the game, and then how media are voting the game. And so I don't know, I thought it was cool seeing the differentials and the votes. I'm the guy they use the fans. Do you have that pulled up right now? Yeah, I do. Do you have the chart? What was Kauai's? Because I didn't look at it.

He never gets talked about, which you would, I mean, you'd agree with me. Like, he's like the guy that we, like, we just don't talk about him anymore. So Kauai Leonard, for the player vote, he was fourth behind LeBron, Yokish, NAD for the player vote, which is interesting. Add had 120 player votes, 107 for Kauai. For fan rank, he was third behind Yokch and LeBron. For media rank, he was third behind Yokic and LeBron. For what it's worth, with the front court in the West, there was almost a near consensus. So LeBron had 100 votes.

All 100 media members had him. 99 had Yokich. 91 had Kauai. So it was pretty strong right there. Very few other players got votes. I mean, Gobert was the most with five. But Gobert didn't do well in the player vote or the fan vote. Yeah.

Are you surprised at Kauai did that high in the fan vote? No, because production doesn't lie. No. And Kauai, even though he isn't like vocal player, he is still insanely popular. He's still insanely popular. I've never seen anybody wearing a pair of Kauai new balances, but... Me neither. I think it's part of the brand is that he's just so different.

then like all these other star players. But they even sell them? I think I think fans, fans, players, media did a good job choosing the teams. And I don't really have any major complaints. I just, I just hope the game is safe if it happens,

which it probably will happen. Hey, I'll rock them. Send me a pair of new balance. I love new balances. My, my parents, you know,

my dad used to, I have a picture of my dad and my mom. One day when he was getting in chemo, I have a photo of them both wearing new balances. Is that right? I was like, yeah, we're going to get them some Kauai's.

All right, let's get through a couple other things. Quick hitters. Toronto's gotten it going. They were the team that was featured last night on TNT as these, you know, the All-Star voting came out and then there was a game, which was the Bucks and Toronto. When I saw, I mean, it, you know, we were on a group text last night and I said, I do think it's hard to draw too much from the Bucks performance when they're starting. starting Dante DiVincenzo and Brent Forbes.

Well, they're going to be starting DeVincenzo possibly moving forward. But in the absence of Drew Holiday. Yeah. Like that that is a radically different team, and the numbers bear that out. That being said, they were wildly unimpressive. And on the flip side, Toronto has gotten it going. They have been, you know, they,

they've got a very hard deal this year with, you know, not being at home, not being literally at, in their homes, not just to play basketball, in their actual homes that they own in Toronto. They are the Tampa Bay Raptors. Yeah, they've been displaced this year.

So everything feels like being on the road, I'm sure, when you're playing for that team. And they made, you know, their team changed a lot. No Marcissau, no Sergeant Baca, major cogs for that team last year. But Norman Powell's gotten going, Owen obviously Van Fleet has been outstanding.

Boucher has been a revelation this year. Powell's been so good. So good. Lowry feels a little bit more like tradable. Interesting. Powell Van Vleet starting backc, it's been really dynamic together. Yeah.

And that team, you know, they've got a bunch of good players still. They do. If Powell plays, you know, Powell is easily the most anonymous 16 point.

per game guy from last year. Like anytime anybody sees and they look him up, they're like, he averaged 16 points a game, right? Like last year. But, I mean, he's been good. And he wasn't, he didn't start the season very well, as did. That was true of a lot of their players, honestly, did not start the season all that well.

Would you trade Norman Powell for Andre Drummond? Hell no. No, okay. So I asked that because in recent, in recent, And like the last week or so, you have the Raptors being connected to Andre Drummond. Yeah. And people around the league think Powell would be the name in that. Personally, I look at that and I'm like, no.

Why would you trade 27-year-old Norman Powell who's looking like a really, really strong rotation player for you for consecutive years now for Drummond, who solid big, but not the guy that I'd want there. To me, if I'm Toronto, like, they get a good thing going with these young guys. Well, and I'm going to say something that I don't normally OG say about teams and the moves they make, but I will tell you this. If they did it, that would be one of the few teams where I would say,

he's smarter than me. Yep, yep, I'm with you. You know what I mean? Like, I mean, let's see how it pans out. That's what I'd say. My immediate reaction is no, and that's just because of drumming to kind of what he brings to the table,

and I like Powell. But if they did it, I am saying this on the air now. If they did it, it's not like I would fake it and say I'm gung-ho about it. But there's always in the back of my mind, this dude, this dude has had the mightest touch on a lot of things. This was, Jiri. So if it worked out, it wouldn't be shocking to me. I'm just not.

I don't know how much, I don't know how much Andre Drummond helps you win. that's really what it comes down to. I don't know how much he helps you win. And right now the Raptors have, I mean, like they obviously go off to a slow start, but I love their collection of younger players still. There's still like a foundation here to build upon.

I mean, Van Vleet's awesome. Chris Boucher, the years he's had off the bench for them. I mean, even Watanavi coming off their bench and bring an energy when he's got an opportunity. He's so good defensively. Like the energy,

everything he brings on the defensive end is the qualities you want off your deep bench. Toronto's got a lot of talent on their team still. And like, Ciacom has been better lately. Like, they're a quality team and they're on their way to, you know,

sticking in the playoffs and maybe even moving up the standings. And Nick Nurse obviously gets a benefit of the doubt, too, in terms of how to use guys. That being said, I just, I don't know, man. Like, we're a year removed from Andre Drummond,

you know, Detroit doing everything they could to not attach a first round. pick. I can't explain that enough. Like, they just partially due to the salary. Right. It's part, but that salary is about to be up. So it's about what does he want for this next one? But Norma Powell, not have a bad contract.

Norman Powell's got a good contract. You know what I mean? Like, Norm Powell's got a guy that, like, that, if you got rotation guys making the money Norm Powell makes, you're doing our height. Powell this year is making 10.8 million. Then next season, he has a player option for 11.6 million. Which is great.

He could actually be a free agent themselves. Yeah, but that he might be, but that would be tremendous value if you picked it up. I think if you're, if you're Toronto, maybe you do that type of Powell Drummond thing. If you don't feel any confidence that he's going to stay. And if that's the case,

then maybe you do it and you get drumming, maybe with Drummond, you remove the postups, you have them screen and roll more and, you know, do that thing and lean on those strengths rather than the weaknesses of the postups. You got a crap ton of money falling off your books.

Yeah. You do. You got to. a ton of money falling off your books, which will enable you to, you know, kind of redo this thing on the fly. For sure. But anyway, they've been playing really well,

Toronto, and it's unsurprisingly that they get back into it. Let me ask you about a team that has not been playing very well, and that is the Boston Celtics. And Danny Aange yesterday went out Boston Radio, and, I mean, he said what everybody already knows, which is like, this is not a team that could compete at the highest level, as it is currently constructed. So we all agree with that.

Kemba Walker not being good this year is a massive problem. That being said, what can you do? If Danny H called you and said, Kevin, I seek your guidance. I'm at a loss. What can I do? What should I do to, what should I be out there looking for to, to try to make this a team, to augment this team so it can compete on the highest level. You know, there's two ways of looking at this.

You could make a move for like a Nicola Vucevich, who undoubtedly is an upgrade for you at the center position and adds a new dimension with his ability to facilitate at the high post for you and at the elbows. Like Vucevich is a really good player. And by the way, a borderline all-star. For all the reasons we talked about earlier, I'm doubtful he'll make it, but he's a borderline all-star.

And that's nothing to, you know, to not, for with Vucevich being as good as he is right now, he would make a massive impact on Boston. However, Chris, does that make you into a finals contender, which is ultimately the goal? I'm not so sure about that because of, you know, the downfalls in the defensive end, how Embed could beat him up, how Yannis could beat him up. Like, I don't know what you do. If, like, you're in a series against the Bucks and they go Yonis at the five, that could be trouble. But that's trouble with or without Vucevich.

And so to me, like, I still look at the Celtics. I'll say the same thing to you that I said to Bill on his podcast. To me, the priority is still trying to set yourself up to get a Bradley Beale. That needs to be the priority. To me, like, it's trying to set yourself up for that potential over the off season. How do you do that? I mean, you have the trade exception. You could extend that essentially by trading for a Horford, who would be a near-expiring

contract. That would not be a hard deal to pull off. There's some downfalls of that by adding a. salary like that now. But for Boston, they still have to, they have to have some sense of urgency because Tatum and Brown are young players who are ready to contend. But they also can't panic because those guys are such young players. They just need to time it right within the next year or two before it gets to the point that their contracts are near up. Because when they're near up, that's when the chatter starts talking about like, who's going to poach Tatum from Boston? Who's going to

coach Brown or from Boston. We're nowhere close to that. These guys just signed deals. What can you get anything for? They do need a little bit of urgency in the next couple of years. Marcus? For Vucevich? No, no, I'm just saying Marcus Smart.

Like I'm saying, what can you get anything for? I mean, you have all of your future first round draft picks. You have multiple young players in that team, including smart. You know, you could knee Smith still might have interest to a team, even though he struggled during his rookie year. I'm just trying to put together. get their contracts, right? Like, Smart is like, Tristan Thompson makes nine million. Daniel Tice makes five. I mean, so you can get to 14 there. Smart makes over 10 million.

So like you do have deals that you can package together to get either a higher salary guy. You have the traded player exception, which can't be packaged with other deals, but that can because of the, uh, you'd go big shopping. That's what you think. Yeah, I mean, I, it depends on the price, man. Like what, what does Orlando want for Vutzovich? I'm not splurgeon here on Vucevich. but but he, Vouch is a really good player. And if the price is right,

then maybe that's a move you make. Interesting. He is a nice point. I don't know. I've tried to find out like what would Orlando want for Vouch. It's unclear right now how much they'd really want. The Utah Street continued, Kevin. We talked about it on Tuesday since that time.

Not only did they keep on winning, they kept on covering. This is, like, historic, truly historic, that Vegas still cannot catch up to this team. I'm too late now. It's crazy.

But, I mean, it just happened again. You know what I'm saying? Like, we talked about it on Tuesday. So now they play a big game. Vegas tries to throw a line on it. It's still not enough. Like, they end up winning again and covering again. And the thing continues.

And so, like, in terms of, terms of over achievement, I have never seen anything like this. And I don't know, there will inevitably be, if this keeps on continuing, we're about to get the articles about how truly historic this must be. Because a team that just, like, it's one thing to win all the time, it's another thing to win and beat the Vegas line every time. They're awesome, dude. I think they go tonight, right? They have the Clippers. Clippers tonight. Let me see if I can find the number on it to see what they're favored by tonight. So people can keep a lookout for this.

Tonight, at the Clippers, they're three and a half point favorites as it looks right now, as the time of recording. So that is a late game tonight, but they are three and a half point favorites against the Clippers. So they do it against the Clippers at the Clippers. They continue that streak. We already touched on the AD thing. We also do need to mention just briefly. LeBron crossed 35,000 points. The team lost last night, but he did get his 35th,000th point.

And it just highlighted that he is well on his way to becoming the all-time leading score in the NBA. Very few have ever done that. It's remarkable. Got into 35,000. And I do think that, you know, when our kids grow up, they are going to know, you know, the same way that the last several generations have known Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to be that guy, LeBron James will be that guy that scored the most points in NBA history. Mm-hmm.

And we shouldn't take him for granted. Thank you, Chris. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. Thank you, Chris. You're 100% right. We asked our listeners for mailbag questions.

We didn't talk about the Nets. We didn't talk about the Nets at all. Oh, yeah. Well, they're the team that beat the, they are the team that beat the Lakers last night. Let's talk. What do you want to say? I mean, I'm just saying like with this team, how are you feeling about their defense? I've said for weeks that I think, you know, the concerns are real, a little bit overblown,

that this team is figuring out, as Steve Nash said last night, their primary defense. I like what they're doing with Bruce Brown playing the five for them on offense and then playing, you know, and guards and wings and offense. It's really intriguing. This is truly positionless basketball. Once you have KD back, I feel good about the Nets right now, man. I feel good about what their defense can be.

I think they are going to have to outscore people, and I think that there is a problem. I think there's a great possibility, but in terms of getting me to believe in their defense, no, I do not. The question is, will that matter? But no, I do not believe in their defense. I still think there's a move for them to make too.

I mean, I know they dealt all their future picks, but they're still in addition for them to make either through the buyout market, like a Blake Griffin or if Andre Drummond, if it were to come to that, or a trade for a guy, like as part of a three team deal. Like, let's just say with Norman Powell, just to bring that name up again.

Let's just say Powell was to get sent to a third team. And that type of situation, Nets could pull something off with the salaries. They need, they need somebody to be able to man the paint, right? And to be able to not get killed for every rebound. And you're going up against a lot of, you're going up against Joelle Embed and you're going up against, you know, whoever, Pascal Seaccom. And you're going up against, uh, uh, Giannis Ante Coupo. And I mean, you're, you're,

you're going to laugh at me, Chris. What if Diodre Jordan just turns up in the postseason? Like, his effort is, are you serious? His effort is so poor. right now. Everybody talks about Katie not trying, Carrie not trying, Harder not trying. Nobody talks about DeAndre Jordan not trying. Nobody talks about like a slightly above average at best player right now, not trying and being bad. But DJ, if he's putting in a 150% effort in a postseason setting, is that like the answer within on the roster?

Like I'm not saying that will happen. No. I'm just asking the question, Chris. Yeah, that's my answer. Why no, though? Like he had a good stretch in a game with Brooklyn, Milwaukee, playing defense against those big Milwaukee lines. He had a good first two and a half, three quarters in that game. I do not believe in DeAndre Jordan at all. And I think he would be viciously attacked in a postseason setting. And you might be right. You might be one over some right.

All I'm doing is asking the question. Is it possible? It's just something on my mind when I watch this team because his effort is so bad. I am saying you need a drastic upgrade from DeAndre. Jordan, I tell you this, I mean, obviously the guy they had to let go in order to pull off the deal. Jared Allen. I mean, he would be, that makes that team a different world. If only you can get guys like Jared Allen.

You really do need, like, if you had a Jared Allen type for that team, it would be spectacular. Now, do I believe in their offense? Of course. Come on. I mean, what's not to believe in? It's the defense and the fact that can you find somebody. big that will not just get punished over and over. Because that does, if there is a big on the other team that can destroy you,

that's going to make your team have to slow down quite a bit. And you're playing a lot more half-court basketball. And then it's just, I take a turn, you take a turn. You know, which, again, the turns that they're taking are three of the best offensive players ever. Oh, yeah. It's a pretty good system. I like what they get going.

Yes. I mean, Phoenix turned it off. and got caught bad and Hardin was otherworldly in that game. Phoenix also dropped like 70 something points on them in the first half of that game. I mean, we're just so. Like I said, they're coasting. They're coasting that team. But one thing, one quick note before we get to the mailbag, there was one note that

someone left in the mailbag, Chris, that stood out to me. And it's an idea that I wanted to pass along to you. So it's from Daniel. He emailed me about the three in D label, right? and how it's been discussed a lot recently. Mikhail Bridges told Basketball News.com he doesn't like the label. The three doesn't cover what they do offensively.

I added in my video about Bridges. Zach Lowe had it in his 10 things last week. And so Daniel writes this. Teams aren't just looking for a 3 indie player anymore. They're looking for a 3 indie player who can do more. But we don't yet have a neat label for what that player is. I suggest a new label. The 3D player, the player who plays high-level defense,

who can shoot 3s, but also drive. and dish. The 3&D label is still used so particularly as a lot of players begin that stage, but the goals for them to develop into more. The 3D label recognizes that.

So, Chris, I read that email and thought, it kind of works because 3D captures the player's ability to defend. It captures their ability to hit three-pointers. It captures their ability

to drive to the basket, either off of closeouts or in transition or off a hand-offs, and it captures their ability to dish the ball out to a team in and make the proper play. I feel like it just kind of captures what you want out of like those McKell Bridges, out of a PJ Tucker more than 3&D does. Do you like Daniel's idea of the 3D label instead of 3&D?

I don't think that we need the label on those players. I think what we call them is good because we call them good basketball players. Like I understand McKell Bridges. What's wrong with that category? We say like sharpshooter, rim protection. But McKell Bridges was saying he didn't like it because it limits what these guys are, right? That they are just defenders that can knock spot up threes. If we are adding in the ability to drive a dish, there's nothing they can't do.

We don't need a label on them. Because you're not a guy who runs an offense. You're not somebody who's like orchestrating, who's playmaking for your team who's running the show. Like that's a totally different category. Again, but we are saying that these players, they are a specific type of player, like the Trevor Reza's, the Bruce Bowens, or whatever else, that that's what they can do. It's kind of like a rim runner. Well, and then I say, well, we need to recategorize rim runners to guys that can also dribble and pass.

Like a rim runner that could dribble a pass. In other words, you're just not a fan of these labels, any of them. No, I'm fine with the labels. I'm saying we have those labels because of the limitations. Now, if he says, I shouldn't be labeled as that, then I think that's fair. But that doesn't mean there aren't other guys that aren't three and D players. You know what I mean? Oh, they are for sure.

Right. Yeah, yeah. Those are those are those kind of players. Like the other guys. I think Daniel's point is, is like playing off of Zach's article last week with 10 things, is there a better way to categorize these players? Like, rim runners is self-explanatory? Rim protectors is a self-explanatory?

Is there a better way than 3D? and maybe just drop in the end is better, a 3D player. I'm just throwing the idea out there. I kind of liked it. I'm into it. I'm just curious to throw it out there into the podcast universe. I want to know what listeners think about it too. And are there better ways to categorize and talk about player positions?

Because the league today is so positionless, Chris. It's so position. We just talked about Bruce Brown in passing who played point guard in college. And he's a rim running center essentially for the net, setting all ball screens, rolling to the basket. But then on defense, he plays like the guy who's 6 foot 4, 6 foot 5, a guard and a wing. But offensive and defensive positions are so different with the way the game is truly positionless nowadays.

So I just thought Daniel's email is along the lines of what I've been thinking about is how can we better slot players and a big part. And I'm thinking about this also because of the draft guide, Chris. Like when we talk about prospects, how do you best categorize these players with what their potential roles and responsibilities could be in the NBA. So I'm into 3D. I'm into it. I think in large part, like that whole 3 and D

thing, like the defense is the reason that we have, you kind of come to terms with the defense is the major reason that they're on the court. Yeah, right? That's the foundation. And then they kind of just do this other thing on offense. They don't do all that much more, but that

they are on the court because of the defensive prowess that they bring. And then they could this other thing too, right? So I do think that those players still exist. I understand if somebody like McKell Bridges doesn't want to be pigeonholed into that. I don't know if we need a bunch more terms for what kind of players are, though. That's all I'd say. Look, it's a good idea, right? And I don't know. I mean, how many guys is that for is what I would say? Are we doing this because Miguel Bridges didn't like being called three and deep? I think that's what makes it a little difference.

it's not all of them. It's almost like like Pokemon, you know. So it's, it's like you go from 3&D to 3D, you know, like Pikachu to Ritechru. All right. Let's go to the mailbag.

We asked our listeners to send it some questions. Producer Sasha is here. She has whittled them down. Hundreds and hundreds of emails came in. And she whittled them down to the best ones. You're not actually wrong about that, but. Oh,

It was literally hundreds. Nice. Yeah. Thanks everybody. All right. So you read them all. Did we get some good questions? I did read all of them.

We did get some very good questions. And actually, this one is related to what you were just talking about. So this is from John. He said, obviously Chris has an affinity for players that have that dog mentality on the court. I was wondering if you have one particular trait can be intangible or physical that you find yourself. drawn to in the evaluation process. It doesn't have to be anything major, but maybe just something small that causes you

to tick one guy notch higher than another. Oh, toughness. You know what I mean? Like that is the thing, right? Grit, hustle. Yeah, I think that there are guys like that. Typically, what I have found is that those guys are the ones that are,

they end up being most committed. They are driven. It's whatever that is that they have, have, they, they are willing to do anything in order to achieve what they want to achieve. And it's the guy that will dive on the court for the ball. It was a guy that will go in there amongst big guys and rebound. It is the guy that will, whatever, whatever it takes in order to win. And that, it does stand out there.

There are not a lot of guys that are willing to do that. And there's also a lot of guys that have entire careers because they are willing to do that. It's the guy that when you watch the game, that guy's playing harder than everybody else. And it's not just he appears he is. He really is. He is. Playing harder than everybody else. And so I always want those guys because I think not only outside of their individual numbers,

I think it has a profound impact on the rest of the team. And I don't think basketball teams are any different than, you know, any work, any line of work, if you were to see, if you went to a sales office, and there's one guy that every single day, he's out there hustling. He's never at his desk. And he's bringing in, you know, he's making it happen. He's bringing in sale after sale, after sale after sale. You can either look at him and feel stupid. Like, why am I not working that hard or or bitch about him and never achieve anything or you can meet that level. And what you find, especially in professional athletics, is a lot of those guys, they want

to meet that level. They look at that sales guy as the analogy I made and they say, I'm going to play just as hard as him because it stands out that I'm not. And so they end up having this trickle-down effect on the rest of your team, too. It sets a tone and you remember those moments. I mean, like when I think about, you know, I'm not a very, person. But when I think about the moments that I'll recall him the season, it's like Dennis Schrooter diving for the loose ball twice. It's Ben Simmons having a chased down block when he's out

of the frame and the TV and you can't even see them until the moment he's about to block the shot. It's those moments from players who just give it their all in a January game, you know, at February game. Those are the players that I want to win with, the players that I want to build with. and the players, if I were a GM, I'd want to draft, sign, target, everything else. Those are winners. And anybody that brings that mentality on a consistent basis, I'll always have a thing for them, just like you, Chris. And I think it speaks to, it's not just, it's not just in basketball either.

Like, we end up lionizing these guys or certain plays whenever. I guarantee you, if I bring up D.K. Metcalfe, one of the first things that comes up is hustling back. Yes. Him chasing down a guy getting a pick. Just like all these years later, it's like Ben Watson for the Patriots is the same thing in the playoffs. All these years later, I remember that about Ben Watson. But I'll tell you what, I can't really remember.

I know he had some like big touchdown catches. I know he was a great blocker. But when I think about Ben Watson, I always remember him in the playoffs nearly saving a touchdown return against the Broncos because of the effort in the heart. in that moment. And that's what sticks with you more than anything else. All right. Next question. Let's do this one.

Hopefully this will start a conversation. Zach says Simmons versus Ingram. He says still think Ingram is better even though he's a zero on defense, which. Oh, this is a shot at me. Oh, Bill Simmons versus Laura Ingram. I take this. I take Bill. Ben Simmons versus,

so like this is a shot at me from Zach because I tweeted out beginning of last season Brandon Ingram is now better than Ben Simmons. Well, I think I have the right to change my mind for sure. I'm only going to react to what happens in front of me and be fair and honest. And right now, Ben Simmons is better than Brandon Ingram. I still think Brandon Ingram can be better than Ben Simmons

until he starts defending consistently, until we see him defend at the same level or better than he did in his last two years with the Lakers, especially that last season. Until he does that, he won't be better than Ben Simmons. We did a big video breakdown of Ben Simmons this week for The Void and talking about his game and how the winning qualities he plays with.

I mean, everybody talked about that play against Damien Lillard, but he's brought that level of defense consistently with the Sixers. Offensively, he's doing the little things for that team. he's screening off ball, man. He's setting off ball screens to get teammates open. It's those little things that I respect in a player. And Ingram is fantastic.

Still like a top 20, 25 guy. Like, it's not super big difference between those two. But Ingram needs to start bringing in on defense for the Pelicans to be a better team and for Ingram to be better again than Simmons. But Simmons is better now. Number one, I want to thank Zach Lowe for that question. Number two, here's the real. question. I understand, and I think you are, it's totally fair, that opinions are fluid. We are

giving our opinion on all matters in the moment, right? And when the information changes, unless you're a dumbass, your opinion changes, right? And so we are constantly taking in new information. And so the idea that we would stick to opinions no matter what is, is ridiculous. But, I am going to pin you down on this. The best way to frame that, no offense, Zach, is not who is better. Next five years,

which player would you rather have? Have you altered your opinion in that way? That's a good question. I mean, can I, before I give an answer, I'll say this. I still think Ben Simmons needs a switch shooting hands. I still think he does.

I still think he needs to maximize himself and who he can be as a shooter. but I also think bringing it, Bernard Inger means to start bringing it consistently on defense. I do think it'll be easy.

Let me correct myself. There is an opinion that has not changed. I didn't answer your question yet, Chris. No, no, no. I'm saying there is an opinion

that hasn't changed. You still believe that. Well, no. I still believe in Vernon Ingram and I still think this guy can be

one of the better players in the game, but he needs to bring it defensively and it's easier for you to change your defense and your effort than it is for you to change your jump shot

to go from a zero to like a, uh, a C plus or C minus as a shooter. That's an easier transition for Ingham. So I would take him. But dude, like, I'd be happy to have either of those guys. Like, please, give me either.

I would take Ben Simmons, and I believe that this will look good when they are playing in the NBA finals. Wouldn't shock because I believe that they're so good. I think the Simmons stock is going to go up exponentially as this season goes on and then as the playoffs go on. Because if this is the MBD you get. and maybe even another level playoff wise,

I think they are going to be a bitch to beat. I really do. I would take Ingram simply out of loyalty. You have an Ingram, L.A. jersey. I think Lakers fans are always going to be loyal to Ingram

and Lonzo and all those guys, right, Sasha? I don't even know. Lonzo is falling out of favor, but I think... Falling out of favor. But Ingram will truly always be, like, literally number one top of the list. He's a baby boy. He's truly the baby boy. He was so tiny and skinny when we got him. He was like 18. He'll be with us forever. Okay. So this one's from Brendan. I'm in my last year of law school and want to become an NBA agent. In your experience covering the league or working closely to it, do you have any agent horror stories or any tips you might have on being a successful ethical agent? I don't.

That's an interesting question. I really don't. I don't have any agent horror stories. I can't recall. How about would the way agents have maybe interacted with you personally? That's what I mean. I don't think I've had a, I haven't really had a horror story where an agent has gotten involved in a way that, yeah, I can't, I can't recall that I never really heard from agents. like if they were mad about what I said about their clients or anything.

I mean, like I, a lot of that stuff, I mean, I tell you this, a lot of that stuff got cleaned up like a long time ago in terms of agents and people, you know, nefarious people being involved. That, you know, there are so many guys that had bad advice around them. And maybe they had some agent that wasn't really an agent. and he was just kind of a buddy or a family friend who ended up getting licensed or whatever. But there's so many guys that went broke that now most everybody signs with reputable people. Yeah, yeah.

Right? There are only so many. And right, there's only so many. And obviously, Leon's now with the Knicks. But, I mean, there was like, you signed with Leon Rose or maybe like, you know, you signed with Mark Bartle. or you signed with CIA or you signed with Raymond Brothers. I mean, like,

there was only, there was, Dan Fagan had half the NBA at one point. I mean, there wasn't that many that were, and there weren't like a million small time guys that were doing the thing. And so I think so many guys,

there were such horror stories and guys went broke and guys managed their money poorly that I think now, guys are so much more, mature and virtually everybody that comes out signs with somebody that has a real track record and is very reputable and has a lot of connections. And I think most of the horror stories would come from, you know, past. Yeah. So I mean, my advice would be, and again, you can do whatever you want to do and you can start from the ground up. But I mean, latching on to one of those big,

big agencies, I do think internships, entry-level jobs. Yeah. I think that would behoot you is to be a part of, you know, one of the biggers. No doubt. And I think, you know, part of like, you know, any tips on being a successful, ethical agent, I mean, I think it's only natural for a lot of agents to try to talk out their clients. Sometimes I'll get texts from like agents with stats or like in the past. I've ripped, I've ripped some of their players and heard from them. And I always say to an agent, like, I'm going to be honest.

Yep. I'm going to be honest. If like you have a client who everybody's hating on, but I like their game, I'm going to say I like their game. If you have a client who I don't like the way they're playing. I'll be honest about that. And I think as an agent on that end of it, I've had good relationships with people for that reason because of that honesty. And so I think it goes from the agent's side too, just being honest.

That's right. Being open and being respectful, no different than any other job or career line can help you build stronger relationships. So I think, you know, being ethical is simply just as simple as being a good person. That's right. And be straight up. Be straight up. Yeah, be straight up. Be honest.

Generally will reciprocate that. Yep, absolutely. I think you'll do great, Brendan. Definitely go for an internship or something like that. Okay, last question here is from A.V. Sorry if I'm this pronounced. Who would be on your guys' rising stars game ballot and which rookie sophomore players that have not popped already have the biggest chance of popping in the second half of the season? Ooh, I kind of like this question. I have not researched this. So this is going to be off the top of my head. in terms of guys that would be on the rookie softball, you know those top guys are going to be there. Now, they're not doing that this year, right? I have not read anything.

I know they're doing dunk. I know they're doing three-point, but I haven't seen anything about them doing a rising stars, right? I haven't seen that either. It's a lot of the obvious things like Zion and Jha. Yeah, yeah. Tyler Hero would be there. I'd love to see somebody like a Kelden Johnson.

He would get there now. I'd love to see Kelton Johnson. in that game. That would be fun. PJ Washington even. Come off the bench. Yeah. Let me see.

Look, we're not going to come up with like a bunch of names that people don't know. Yeah, this one's tough. Oh, that's interesting. T. THT. I like it,

Sasha. We are going to come up with a bunch of names that people don't know, obviously for the rookies. You know, the guys that are there at the top. and a lot of them have gotten their opportunity. I will give you one that I think is a possibility of popping in the second half. And that is,

that is Obie. I think Obie could pop in the second half. He hasn't really been there. He's playing in New York quickly has come into the mix. Quickly has been the draft pick, right? But, I mean, they used the top 10 pick on Obie. And so, And it got started off on the wrong foot, literally, the wrong foot at the beginning of this season with the injury.

And so he was really set back. So now after we take the time off and if he could get himself into the rotation on a regular basis, I would say OB is the one. And Lord knows he'll get all kinds of attention. But he would be the one because it hasn't gone. You know, we've kind of seen a lot of the other guys contribute already that we expected to contribute already. haven't really gotten to see him yet. I think a couple other names that come to mind. Patrick Williams with the Bulls.

I'm loving the way he's playing. I mean, he wouldn't go number one in a redraft, but maybe five, six years from now he could, because I love what I'm seeing with his development as a score off the dribble with size. Isaiah Stewart with the Pistons, bringing energy, contagious energy,

kind of like we talked about a little bit earlier with hustle. So those two names come to mind as guys that may be pop in the second half. Yeah, and maybe Hampton gets in the mix a little bit more for Denver. That's another one that's been out there that, right? Like, Sadiq Bay for another Detroit player. I like the way base playing. Well, he's just one player of the week, didn't he?

I think he just won player of the week of the NBA. Somehow. Crazy. I'm actually going to see him in person for the first time tonight. I'm kind of excited. It's the only thing to care about when you're watching the Pistons, I think, right? Jeremy Grant's season, whatever. Jeremy Grant's been awesome.

Oh, my God. Yeah, no, he's been awesome. But I was hoping to get to see your guy, Killian Hayes, but that is not going to I'm still so disappointed about that, man. Like playing her early in the year, having that injury. Imagine me. It's two in a row. I don't get to see if the Kevin O'Connor all-stars.

Poku was in the G-Leaks, so I didn't get to see him the other night. And now I don't get to see Killian-A's. Poku's a mess. Don't look at his G-League numbers. Don't look at him. Pocu! Don't look at his G-League bubble numbers. Don't do it.

Don't do it. Oh, I recall a certain podcast where Bill Simmons said, oh, he's going to suck. us suck and Kevin had to defend himself. For what it's worth, Poku in the G league right now. He has 21 points on 37 shots. Oh no.

22% from the field. Still hasn't attempted a free throw. Poku. They just throw his 17 turnovers to 15 assists. Not bad assist turnover ratio. A little bit negative. Say it. Still negative.

Who is it? The Oklahoma Blue? They ain't using him right. The blue are all. too. That team's awesome, right? Yeah. Okay. See, Blue's pretty good. They're led by Ty Jerome. Poku, the youngest player to ever enter the NBA

since the high school age limit changed. So, got to give him time. We've seen guys suck. He's also early on in their careers. He also weighs the least. Of any player never entered the league. Okay. Is that true?

All these young guys, she said, he weighs the least. He weighs 120 pounds. It's 60 of it is his head. He literally weighs less than me. I'm kidding. Oh, okay. He's seven foot tall.

He could be skin and bones. I don't know his life. These body shammers over here. Come on. He's a young guy, he's 19 years old. Seven feet, 200 pounds. Give him time to grow into his body. I still believe in Poku.

We know you do. I still believe. I believe. All right. That's good doing for the show. Thanks to all. all of our listeners for the fantastic emails. Thanks to producer Sasha as always,

and we will talk to you next week. Have a great weekend, everybody.