The Mismatch - MVP Showdown Letdown, the Roaring T-Wolves, and Trying to Determine the Mavs' Future

Episode Date: March 28, 2023

Verno and KOC share their complete displeasure with the decision to sit Joel Embiid against the Nuggets, robbing us of the chance to watch him play against fellow MVP candidate Nikola Jokic (01:18). Next, LeBron James made his return to the court Sunday afternoon, but it was Patrick Beverley who had the last laugh (11:31). The guys debate what the best moves are for the Mavs' future to ensure Luka Doncic has all the help he desperately needs as they continue to struggle since acquiring Kyrie Irving (21:59). The Timberwolves are on a three-game winning streak, and the guys discuss Mike Conley’s influence as well as Karl-Anthony Towns’s impact since returning from injury (38:03). Also, Kevin Durant’s return for the Suns, the Blazers shutting down Damian Lillard, Brandon Miller versus Scoot Henderson, and a brief look at the Final Four (46:50). Hosts: Chris Vernon and Kevin O’Connor Producer: Jessie Lopez Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's no secret the NFL has a problem with race. Think Colin Kaepernick. Think Brian Flores. But this isn't a new problem. It's one that started as far back as the 1930s, with a ban on black players in the NFL, with a past that informs the present. Blackballed is a new mini-series podcast from The Ringer

about the four men who broke the color barrier in football. I'm your host, Chelsea Stark Jones. You can find Blackballed on the Ringer NFL feed. Welcome to the mismatch. I'm Chris Vernon and joining me as he does every Tuesday from the ringer.com is Kevin O'Connor, A.K. Kevin O'B. Kevin O'B. Kevin O'Connor, A.K., Kevin O'C., Kevin O'Chyl. Burnow! How are you doing on this Monday evening as we record? I'm great. We were scheduled to record after the epic

Joel and Bid, Nicola Yoak at Showdown. Boo! What a bummer, man. What a bummer. Joel and Bid, sitting out tonight's game. Therefore, we did not have to wait until after that game to record. because while the outcome of said game might be interesting, what we were bargaining for is not going to happen.

The first time they met, we saw Joe L&B, that 47 points, 18 rebounds, five assists, blocking two steals. And I guess he just wants to sit on that. I mean, Yokic was 24, 8, and 9, 7 turnovers in the game. But anybody that watched that game, I mean, it was, it was the signature. moment of the MB amazing season where he has led the league in scoring. But you just had that interview come out where he kind of took a, you know, I don't want to say

veiled shot, but he made it known what he thought about defensive analytics. And I think everybody knew who he was talking about and talked about how the goalpost he feels changed from year to year on the MVP. And so you had, you know, that interview comes out. There's this buildup leading up to this game. Everybody wants to see it. There's a few weeks left in the season. MVP's kind of on the line.

So it's going to have center stage. And then we get this news this morning that MB's not going to be playing in this game. And it's just, it's kind of like the story of the season, right, Kev, where it's just been these. It's just colossal letdown after colossal letdown when it comes to watching the best players and watching the best players competing against each other on a regular basis. Because there was no obvious injury that was going to keep us from seeing this, and yet we're not going to get to see this.

It's the biggest bummer. It sucks. It sucks. It just sucks. I mean, like, this is a matchup that we've been looking forward to, hyping up since the last time Embedd and Yokic played. And Bid completely outplayed him. It was an unbelievable performance.

And we've been looking forward to this ever since, especially as the MVP discourse is kind of tightened up. You know, with a lot of the media talking about now, Embed over Yokic. Yonis, I still think, has overlooked in this whole discussion. But that's beside the point here. The fact is that with tonight's game, you know, you talk about NBA ratings and interest.

And, you know, if you're a fan and you're trying to be invested, these are the games that matter, man. And, like, it gets back to the same conversation we've had time and time again over the years. Too many games, like where it beads on the third game and three out of four, right? Like, maybe he shouldn't have played the last back-to-back in preparation for this one. But the fact is, is that if the NBA had a schedule, you play twice a week, sometimes three times if you have like a national TV game or something like that there would be more

incentive to play. If there were more incentive to have a higher seed in the standings, like if the sixers had to try to really fight to get the two seed, to get the second pick of the bottom seeds for their playoff matchup in the first round, maybe they would be more

incentivized to not only play a beat but to play James Hardin, who's also out for the game against Denver too. So, I mean, I'm just overall, you know, we talk about solutions and this and that about what the league could do, might do to solve these issues. But the fact is, it's just a straight up bummer than Embed and the Sixers staff is making the choice to have him set out tonight of all nights, of all nights.

Against, Hickley-Lyokish, of all nights. You could have skipped any other game. It sucks. It really just sucks. What do you think about Perk saying he's like ducking smoke? you know, he's ducking Yokic. Do you think that's fair to say? Went on TV, said he's ducked smoke,

and then he said he has an MVP vote, and it would affect the way he thinks about it. What about you? Yeah, I got an MVP vote. No, will it affect it? Maybe. It's something to take into consideration. I mean, you asked me during our live show last Tuesday,

where do I have Janus and a beat? I got them neck and neck. I get Yonis one and Bid two, Yokic 3. That's what I've had. I haven't redone that ordering, you know, since this news this morning. Imagine if he skips Embed later this week. They've got, I'm sorry, Janice, I'm sorry, if he skipped Janice. So, Embed, there's two more games this week.

I mean, this was all set up to be an amazing week for the NBA. Especially with, you know, college basketball. Its final four is not exactly filled with people going to be talking about Duke versus Carolina this year, right? You've got M.B. versus Luca. You've got M.V.E. versus Yonis.

You've got Boston versus Milwaukee. You've got a Cavs-Nicks game that's going to be taking place this week, which could be a first-round matchup. You've got the Nuggets playing against the Warriors and the Sons, teams that they could feasibly see in round two. So if we're looking for a playoff preview coming up, and that's in addition to, what we were going to see tonight with Nuggets versus Sixers, which could very well be a finals preview,

certainly was going to be a MVP favorites showdown between the two. So, I mean, this still got a chance to be a really, really good week, but this is the bummer of all bummers. I thought it was fascinating when I was scrolling through today. I did see somebody put up the stat that since 1978, every MVP has played at least 70 games. And that after tonight, if MB plays every other game this season,

that will get him to 68. That's 44 years of NBA history. That's very interesting. Fascinating. And wouldn't that be the absolute perfect cherry on top of how the NBA is right now, right? Where it's like, yeah, for 44 years, we've had the winner of the MVP play at least 70 of the games.

But not anymore. Now the winner of the MVP played 68 games. And I'm not telling anybody that that should be a massive demer. I've made my opinion very clear. Joel and Bid wins the MVP. Fine by me. If any of those three guys were to win it or somebody were to vote for them,

I don't think it's crazy. I think there are legitimate arguments that can be made for all of them. That being said, it would mark NBA history for the MVP with the least games played since 1978. It would be kind of funny if this was the year, considering we have spent the entire year bitching about guys not played. Well, I guess that, you know, that discount, like Yonis had 63 games during the, you know, pandemic short and season. Yeah, like a game's like, you know, seasons like that. Full season. The lockout years and all that.

Just just clarifying that. It's also like such a, like I saw the Shams interview with Embed this morning and I'm like, yeah, and hyped up seeing the goals. Oh, me too. I'm like, yo, dude, this is going to be intense tonight. And then the Wojbomb drops saying he's not playing. I mean, it's, it's a bad look. Obviously, Embed doesn't make the editorial choice of when that.

interview drops, but you know when the interview is going to drop, which is why your agency, your team, whoever, you make the choice to do the interview. Every player needs to agree to these interviews. Like a player doesn't get, you know, Joe Al-MB. doesn't get forced to do an interview with Shamp Sharania. He says yes. Any player that interviews with me, they say yes to doing it. They don't get forced to doing it.

So you do that interview and then you don't play. It is a bad look. It is. Yeah, it stinks. It just sucks, man. Look, I will say this, though, Kevin. I was so looking forward to that. Me too.

And then we were going to get to record after it. And it was, you know, very well going to swing the balance in the MVP. If Yokic ended up coming back and on his home floor, smacked him around. Because that would mean Yokit. Tim, Tim, Ben-Bon-Temp's due to do his next drop hole. I'm sure it's happening this week coming soon. Well, you know, we're, Yokic was about to, you know, take care of business with Janus

and then take care of business with MBE back to back because we just saw the Yonis one over the weekend, that matchup. And so, man, I don't know, it's shame. Now, the only thing I have to look forward to is a very quick rematch with Pappev and the Lakers. Because LeBron James came back, and then Pappev called him too little like he shrunk during his time off.

He said, you're too little. And then posted a picture of him holding a gigantic package of Charmin, Ultrasoft, and then has been quoted as saying his life's mission is to keep the Lakers out of the playoffs at this point. Playing Pat is not to be trifled. with. And the Bulls have had those two guys scoring in unison in Levine and DeRosen. The playoff Pat is in the starting lineup. And we're going to get to see those teams match up again. Not the LeBron James, who had coincidentally seen the LeBron James of feet,

not the return, I'm sure. What a quote. They wanted. Everybody was hot and heavy with the Lakers and the Austin Reeves experience. And then he and Austin Reeves both were turning the ball over like Mad and they end up getting run out by the Chicago Bulls. One of their worst performances, I believe I read statistically one of their worst performances since the All-Star break, or maybe they're worse since the All-Star break. So not the return that LeBron James wanted, but you were right. LeBron James did in fact come back. And so he's back in the fold, even if it was off the bench, like 30 minutes.

And it looks like the Lakers are going to have him back in the fold for this ultra-stretch run. And maybe the LeBron James of Feet has got this thing all settled, huh? Well, they got a long road trip here at Chicago, Minnesota, Houston, Utah. and then they returned to Los Angeles for a quote-unquote road game against the Clippers. What were the chances I would have Lakers Bulls circled? Yeah. I can't miss it now. I mean, here we are.

I can't miss it. After the Pat Vev stuff, this dude took a picture in his car with a gigantic package of Charmin Ultrasoft toilet paper. You see his quote saying, And he said they were trying to use me like a spoon, but I'm a fork. I love him. I can't help it. I can't help it.

Yeah, I mean, you got like Dylan Brooks and Patrick Beverly. Those are like the only guys who talk like that as role players. But he's like legitimately hilarious. Yeah, he is. Dylan Brooks is more. I mean. He's a WWE guy. He's a wrestler.

Yeah, you can't tell. You can't tell even I who have been around them for his whole career. I can't tell if he thinks it's funny when he calls Draymond Green a blogger. I think he thinks it's funny, but he doesn't break character. He has to think that's funny to call Shannon. Like, do you think in private he laughs about calling Shannon Sharp a blogger? Probably. But there's part of me that, like, I don't know.

You may not. You may not know, I don't. You know, I think in that Lakers Bulls game, you know, you got Patrick Beverly saying LeBron's too small. He could have also done that to Anthony Davis, who had only eight shots in that game. I mean, like, how is it? And I don't mean this is like exactly a shot at AD. Like, it's also on Darvin Ham. It's also on the coaching staff to get AD the ball.

It's on LeBron James and the guys handling the ball to get AD touches. but how do you only get eight shots if you're Anthony Davis in that game against the Bulls? Eight shots. Coming off of a game, you had 37 points on 21 shots and 27 points on 18 shots and back-to-back games. Like, eight shots and another must-win game? Like that just, I find it unfathomable how Anthony Davis gets only eight shots in a game. I don't get it. They are 14 and 15 this year with James and Davis.

You know, a lot has been made about them having the ability to get over 500, and they did have that chance, and then they faltered. But even, and it's partly like, well, well, they just got to have those two guys in the lineup. Those two guys have been in the lineup for 29 games, and they're 14 and 15 this year. Now, it is with understanding that the roster, has changed and morphed over the course of the year. But the fact remains that it's not like they have been successful when they've had LeBron James and Anthony Davis in their lineups in tandem.

And this all, despite where they are record-wise, I'm sure you've seen it going around every NBA fan has, that since LeBron James through the most memorable hissy-fitting, that we have seen in the NBA. That was incredible. Great, great actor. And was writhing on the ground in absolute agony. The, and then what followed was the officials coming out and saying that it was gut-rinched.

We're crying. These were the terms they used. I went back and found it. Gut-wrenching. It will weigh on us heavily. and they will have sleepless nights. Yes, sleepless nights, yes. And instead of the response being that the gut-wrenching mistake

was going to weigh on them heavily and give them sleepless nights, what they have found is a way to give the Lakers the greatest advantage I've ever seen in my life. Since that moment, the Lakers have taken 263 more free throws than their opponents. yet they are not a driving team. Second in that time is the heat with 123. Third is the Sixers with 104 more than their opponents. They have taken 263 more free throws than their opponents.

So I guess the lesson is, while the referees have made less famous mistakes, than that one. I think it, suffice to say, they have not been nearly as affected with their gut-wrenching weighed heavily sleepless nights. It has turned into them turning

Austin Reeves into James Hardin circa 2018 and the Los Angeles Lakers. I mean, the fact that they can't be over 500 and this kind of free-throw disparity is taking place almost every single night is kind of wild. They've got a chance now.

I mean, it's all bunched up. But as you mentioned, Chicago, they're fighting right now to keep on playing and to improve their standing. Minnesota, certainly fighting right now. Houston, I mean, they shouldn't even show up to the gym. It's a waste of time, probably. Utah, I can't figure out. I think they are still playing it out.

They're fighting. Yeah, they're still playing it out. They've just been without Lari. And Lorry, you know, I think I saw a video of him practicing or shooting around before the game tonight, before a game. And they've got two left with the Lakers. So of all things. Yeah, Lauer actually did return tonight. He's playing as we speak first quarter.

So Lurie officially returned. So that could come down to a lot of. a tiebreaker with them and the Lakers, seriously. And they've got two games left with them, including that at Utah, at Utah being the fourth game of a road trip, of a five-game road trip is, that's a tough one for sure.

And then the last one being the clippers, which that's not exactly. It's a road game, but come on. They're playing in their home gym. Yeah. And they'll probably have the fans. Which the clippers are moving out of, in a year.

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In New York, text, Hope, New York. In Wyoming, visit 1,900, 5224700. And West Virginia, visit 1,800 gambler.net. We have gotten a couple other things that we've got to mention that have taken place since we last spoke, which is, you wrote an article about the Dallas Mavericks. Mavericks, they did win tonight. They destroyed the Indiana Pacers who are playing nobody.

I mean, there was no Halliburton, there's nobody healed, there's no Miles Turner, there's no nobody. And so you've got to imagine they're just packing it in for the rest of the way and got a jockey for fifth, sixth best lottery odds. Going for it, baby. Gotta love that tanking. Well, here's the thing. You now wrote about how the Maverick,

who have been cratering. We're headed towards playing this game without Luca Donchich tonight, but his tech got rescinded. But there's still one tech away from him missing the game. If it's not, it's almost,

I almost think, strategy-wise, they shouldn't have contested this. Yeah, they would have been better off having him missed the Indiana game and then have two more until the next suspension

to get to 18. Instead of one more. Because now, let's say he gets one Wednesday night against the Sixers, that they don't rescind. That means he's out on Saturday against the heat. Well, he pitches at the refs constantly, so he's going to get another tech probably. Unless the NBA makes a call, hey, no more techs for Luca. They are in peril of missing the play. And so you wrote about this, what a disaster it's been since the Kyrie deal.

and you took the angle of, hey, maybe not a bad idea at this point. Here's a owner that once got fine for $600,000. Yeah, outwardly talking about losing on purpose. The year they got Luca. Yeah. And so the idea now in your mind would be you're close to missing out. You're also close to making it. How are you adding really good?

players, maybe not the worst idea to just decide to miss the play in tournament. I mean, for Dallas, Chris, I mean, we've talked about it since the deadline. I've said they're phonies. As contenders, they're not going to win the finals with a defense this bad, a coach this bad, a bench this bad. This is not going to happen. It's not. So for them, they have one more asset they have to give up to the Knicks because they're

Chris Staps forcing us trade. that is a top 10 protected pick from this season through 2025. So right now they're in a position where they can trade, let's say they end up in the top 10 this year, and they keep their 20, 23 pick. That means they'd have to give up their 24 or their 25 to the Knicks. They'd also have the ability to trade their 2027, first round draft pick swaps in 26 and 28.

That's not a lot. like two first-round draft picks and two swaps. We just saw the Nets say no to four first-round draft picks from McKell Bridges. We know the Raptors said no to three first-round draft picks, at least for O'GN and Obie. The price is high. You get role players. Like the Celtics got, you know, Malcolm Brogden for one first. They got Derek White for one first.

And these are good players. The Lakers got that DeAngelo Russell, Jared Vanderbilt group for first-round draft pick. You get role players for one or two first these days. So for the Mavs, they don't have 3&D wings. They don't have rim protection at the center position. They don't have room protection at help positions with wings and forwards. They need a lot around Luca and Karee. So if you're projecting forward for them, what is their way to get the most value in return?

It could be through the drafts with a higher draft pick. And I just think that 2023 pick at like the number eight pick, number nine pick is more valuable than a 2025 pick, which could end up in the 20s or the teens. And plus it's two years from now, it just has unknown value. It just isn't as valuable as a known commodity this year. And plus you get, you know, if they ended up eighth or ninth worse, they get a 25-ish percent chance of moving into the top four. That's pretty good. And I think for the Mavericks that this could end up being a blessing in disguise. if they missed the playoffs, and if they have a bottom 10 pick for the draft lottery,

that could be the real savior they need, the lifeline they need to build a team around Luca because they took a risk on KP, dumped a bunch of assets. That was strike one. They dumped a bunch of assets to get Carrie Irving. Who could leave this summer? That could end up strike two. Whether he resigns or not, it doesn't mean that this won't destroy the franchise like he did with Cleveland, Celtics, and Nets.

we'll see how this pans out for them. But I think the Mavericks right now in a position where they're not going to win the NBA finals this year, they're probably going to be a first round out. So maybe the best path moving forward is to actually miss the playoffs and retain your pick this year

in order to increase your value in terms of the moves you can make and potentially set yourself up for better future success around Luca and potentially with Kyrie. It's pretty clear that they're running everything by Luca now. So it would all be dependent on what he's

says, right? Yeah, and I'm sure he wants to play. I mean, like, why would he not want to play? He wants to win. He turned it on in the second half last night or the second quarter last night after a horrific first quarter against the Hornets. And granted, they lost the game. He's dropped 40, you know?

He had one of the most ridiculous passes I have ever seen in my entire life tonight. The baseline one? Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Yeah, like, it was incredible. Freakish. Like, Luca, Luke is going to do his thing. I like he's going to play despite everything you know I despite dealing with nagging injuries he said after the game oh I'm dealing with some stuff off the court and all that's like he's got to play you know he's not going to sit out for six seven weeks you know he's not going to do that so I think with Luca it's like he's going to try to win these games and get Dallas in and like ultimately I think that's going to happen Dallas is going to make the play in in all likelihood I just I just don't know if that's actually for the

best long term when you factor in the fact they have depleted their assets so much already. Do you think maybe the only way out is Kyrie playing extremely well, not ruffling any more feathers, and that there is some value in a sign and trade, that the acquisition of Kyrie was still at least a valuable asset that someone out there. would be willing to... For what, though? Well, again, you're talking about role guys, right? Like, I mean, you said, I mean, that's what they need.

And so using that in order to package, you know, you try to package something together with Kyrie and somebody, there's always a taker for these kind of guys. I know. I mean, like, go up and down the league right now. Like, A, how many teams need a point card? Not a lot. B, how many teams need a point card that would be? want Kyrie Irving.

Not a lot. So it's like you could pick out theoreticals. You could say Miami, maybe, but I don't know if they're a Kyrie team. Orlando, are they trying to accelerate things that much? I don't think so. I mean, in the Western Conference. What were those other ones that came up? Lakers, Clippers, like, you know,

Lakers, Clippers, like in the West. I mean, the Suns, no, it seems like Katie and Kyrie aren't talking right now. Clippers, yeah, maybe the Clippers. Pelicans, I don't think so. No. I mean, who? Like, Jazz? No.

Danny Age isn't going to want them again. Blazers, if they trade Damien Lillard, maybe. Maybe, but I just don't know if that's something the front office would want to do. They'd want to go rebuild mode, not get Carrey Irving mode. How about the rockets? Rockets, maybe, if they don't get hardened, rockets? The only reason I'm bringing this up is it's their only good choice. You got A, losing for nothing.

Okay. So now we gave up assets. Kyrie might not have a choice though. That's the thing like Kyrie. No, but I'm saying, you lost it for nothing. B, sign him to a contract. And that may be a bad,

and so C would be a sign and trade where I actually get something back for said asset. I don't lose him for nothing, but I'm also not signing him up long term. I mean, it's the only good option probably for their future. And the clippers might be the real, really the only threat for Kyrie. So you just go get a bunch of like Norm Powell and crap.

Yeah, something like that. Yeah. I mean, that would be, I mean, look, they just took on Russell Westbrook. They'll take on anything. I mean, look, dude. I mean, there is this article I read on Mavs Moneyball today from Josh Bo. And like he looked at the players who have got off to a successful career, like with all NBA teams, you know, as quickly as Luca has, like three all NBA teams before the age of 24.

It's like Kevin Durant, Tim Duncan, Larry Bird, George Gervin, like a lot of, like, legends. And he looked at like what, what did those players do in their age 24 season? It's like, KD wins 60 games, you know, the Spurs win 58 games and go to the conference finals. the Celtics and Larry Bird win the title you know like it's like all the successful and then he looked at other players it's like Kevin Garnett you know you know 47 wins they make the playoffs yonnes wins 60 games as a 24 year old and so on and so forth you looked at age 24 seasons and then you look at Luca like compared to all these legends and all the decades of league history and like it's so rare that a player this successful has a season finishing low or around 500 in their age 24 season. Like granted he made the conference finals last year, right, and an age 23 season, but for a roster to be this bad around a player this great, this is an outlier result we're seeing right now.

Like this, I know like you can look at Luca, you know, I mentioned this in my article today, how bad he's been on defense, how much better effort he needs to put on that end of the floor. Luca deserves some blame himself for the conditioning that he's in and the, the effort he puts in defense. But roster wise, man, this front office has screwed up time and time again. The Brunton thing is catastrophic. The Brunson thing.

That one is, I mean, it's truly a catastrophe because you would have had him at a very reasonable rate. And if you're talking, you're going forward with Brunton. And I mean, I don't want to bemoan that. But, I mean, honestly, if you've got him on a reasonable contract, which you, by all, accounts, everyone that reported on it, from Tim McMahon to Markstein to everybody that had the reporting on that, you could have gotten him at a seriously discounted price as to what he signed. And you just didn't have that belief and you played it out. And then he went bonkers in the

playoffs. And the rest is history. But I mean, you just think about that and just have to having him and Luca and then just having to build out the rest. Again, you're only filling three more spots. You're only filling three more spots. You can do that. But now they've got one. And it's like it got compounded, and that's why they went and did the Kyrie thing.

I do wonder. I have wondered many times. Jalen Brunson were not killing it for the Knicks if they would have done the Kyrie. I tend to think no. Don't you? I don't know. If he was just okay with the next.

I don't know. I mean, at one point, we were talking on the air. There was, I mean, we were deep into February, and the only player that had scored more since the beginning of the year was Damien Liller. It was like Damien Lillard and J. LaBrunsen. And it's like, these are the kind of things that are happening. and Luca's sitting there watching it and going,

what the hell? Why am I throwing the ball to Tim Hardaway and Reggie Bullock? What is going on? You know? And so, yeah, man, I don't think they've got a lot of great choices either way. I mean, the best case scenario is that you go to the playoffs, you catch some weird shit like what happened last year. And you make a run.

Obviously, you're not nearly as equipped. They're not making a run. And Luca is just the best player on the floor. No chance. You know what I mean? Zero. Not happening. If they drew sack and drug them into the mud,

Luca just drags them into the mud. You don't see a scenario? No. I promise you they'd win some games against Memphis. They're not going anywhere. Again, a run is probably out of the card. Yeah. I agree.

But, I mean, you still can have the best player on the floor nightly. He's that level. He is. He is unbelievable. He is unbelievable. I mean, Luca is an absolutely special talent. And frankly, those other playoff teams that they've had so far, I didn't think those were winning either.

Which is why. I didn't think last year's team was going to the friggin' West finals. It's crazy. Like Chris Paul and the sons get COVID and all that. Like circumstances can happen, right? You know? I mean, they knocked off, they also knocked off Utah, too. And that's without.

Well, last year. Yeah, last year was Utah, that's right. Yeah. Yeah. So, I don't know. I didn't see it coming when they've done it before. But the thing is, those Dallas teams were better than this year's.

They just were. There's no question. They were, granted Finney Smith hasn't been great. You know, you lose Finney Smith, who was valuable last year. You know, I've been thinking about this a ton.

Like, your three man has got to be awesome. some defensive. He really does. He's got to be able to hold up. And that is what Finney Smith is able to do. You know, you look at

and we're going to see when it comes to like Denver. I know they'll roll Bruce Brown out there, whatever, but I mean, it's one of the things where Porter Jr. can really get exposed. And I think that's why, you know, some people think that the nuggets are ripe for the picking just because of what

they bring to the table defensively, but having great defensive wings, just or at least one, just changes the entire dynamic and they don't have any. I mean, they got to run Bullock out there. You don't have anybody to put on anybody, especially if you're going to play Kyrie and Donchitz together. And God forbid, you got Christian Wood out there too. You're not getting any stops, you know? They're having to run out White Powell and whoever.

just to try to get stop every once in a while. The whole damn thing's a mess. Yeah. All of it. The Warriors, they dropped at home their game to the wolves since we last spoke. It looked like maybe they were onto something. You know, a bunch of Jordan Pool Love was out there. And then they get dropped.

The Cat return has been good. Timberwolves have gotten something going here. Cat had the game-winning free throws in Atlanta. He had that game-winning three against the Warriors. Of course, Kyle Anderson ripping the ball away. He's been outstanding for them this year. Really helped hold it together while Towns was out. Nas Reid's been good.

So they've kind of done some roster changeover. They got to settle down Mike Conley that we were talking about in that whole, when they moved off of Russell. And so they've changed out their roster, even as the season has gone on. And then, of course, Cat was out for four months, getting Edwards bat too. And so, you know, it didn't start off well. It was kind of rocky. But since the Cat returned, it's looked a little different.

And certainly there are the knights where they can cause, they can give you a lot of different looks now that Towns is back especially with Anderson being significant you shouted out McDaniels last time so in between McDaniels Reed and Edwards and Rudy

Cat I mean they can go a lot Finch's got a lot at his disposal to go a lot of different ways with lineups and kind of saw the virtue of that when they're playing against the warrior

years. The other night, I'm thinking about the T. Wolves differently than I did a few months ago. I don't know, I don't know how dangerous, but certainly much more dangerous than they have looked at any point this season to me. That's my thing. Well, I mean, I think, you know, with Minnesota, where we've talked about McDaniels, we've talked a little bit about Mike Conley and how he's really like kept things together. and how he's enhanced Rudy Gobert in that pick and roll and how Gobert himself has just been so much better defensively the past few months than he was early in the season. You know, with Carl Anthony Towns coming back,

we see them do a little bit of what they've done with Nas Reid and the hymn excelling. But overall, though, I mean, like, there's this one play against Golden State, I think, you know, late fourth quarter, if I remember correctly. And they had Carl Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards in a horn set.

That's like a really common set you see in the NBA. where two players are at the elbow. And Anthony Edwards got the ball at the left elbow. And then Kyle Anderson came down and set a screen for Carl Anthony Towns, who came around that, and Kat just sprung right around into a catch-and-shoot three-pointer, handed off to him from Anthony Edwards. Bang, you know, like just an easy catch-and-shoot opportunity to extend their lead late in the game, or to, I think, take the lead late in the game.

And they didn't give it up, I believe, after that. So I think for Minnesota, you're seeing Carl Anthony Towns in a system now where he's used like a guard. And they're sending him around screens, using him in handoffs. They're using him like a seven-foot guard. And when you think about positionless basketball, that's what makes them really hard to defend, considering everything else, in addition, development of McDaniels, Conley pick and roll, go bare at rim finishing. Anthony Edwards is a go-to presence.

And of course, Carl Anthony Towns is this really versatile weapon that Finch is using all over the floor forcing Draymond Green to have to run around screens. It's not easy for a defender, even great defenders, to have to do things that they don't ordinarily do. But Carl Anthony Towns put you into those positions.

And defensively, they've just been overall really good. I mean, I feel better. You look, we've been doing this show for a long time. You know, I love Mike Conley as a player and a human being. And Mike Connolly has spent his entire career trying to make the players around him the best he can be. They can be, you know. He is as selfless a basketball player as it gets. And the same is true with Kyle Anderson.

another guy that have been around a lot covered and watched. And I knew they would love Kyle Anderson. They finally figured out how that works. And then you take those two. And the other thing with Conley is you extracted a guy that hated playing with Rudy Gobert. And that is not like speaking out of school. That is my man, John Krasinski, like, he's reporting about this as it's going on. Like it was just never, they were never on the same page.

constant eye rolling. He just, for whatever reason, that never worked. And you extracted somebody that couldn't stand it with somebody that loves the guy, right? And has played with him a lot. And it's won a lot of games

playing with him. And just having that presence there, somebody else, you know, having the point guard be a guy that is pro Rudy Gaubert is such a massive positive, I can imagine, for that team. Now, all the while, you had Ant becoming this NBA All-Star in the midst of the four-month absence for towns.

And now they can roll towns back in here. And as I said, I like Nasreed. I like McDaniels. Like, they got some guys. And they can play big. They can play small. I just think, I think they're more dangerous than what I thought certainly a few months ago.

Cat thing has been good. He's had some big moments already with the game-winning free throws. And then the course of three against the Warriors, huge, enormous, right? And then on the Warriors front, like, bro, we're just going to, honestly, we're going to wait all the way until the playoffs to find out whether this is all baloney or not. Like, that's when we're going to find out. is his whole regular season just baloney or not?

And we're going to find out what the roster is going to look like, Gary Peyton and Andrew Wiggins. That's right. Well, Peyton's back now. They just got him back. And he had like, I think,

nine the other night. Health-wise, I mean, health-wise, though, I mean, you hope he can stay on the floor. Oh, right, right, right.

Yeah, sure. He's got, they said that thing was bad. Yes, exactly. Yeah. I mean,

like, you never know if you could re-agrugate that or whatever. And with Wiggins, we just don't know. We have no idea. Much like what I was just saying to you a little bit earlier, you see in this day and age in the NBA, that Wiggins injury and him not being there is infinitely more important.

Oh, it's not an injury. It's not an injury. Oh, right, right, right. I mean, him being gone for the personal. Yeah. But when I was just talking about how your three has got to be a great defender, like you've got to have an awesome wing defender on your team. Yep.

And they have zero. In the absence of him, they have zero. You know? Because you get switched on to Aaron Fox and then you get switched on to Sabonis. Like those guys got to be able to hold up. And Wiggins was absolutely essential. Him and Lutie won the Memphis series for him last year. Truly, it was those guys that swung the balance.

I wonder if Wiggins doesn't return. They're dead. Well, let's say he doesn't return. I wonder if Steve Kerr would lean into Jonathan Kaminga for like 35 minutes a night. I mean, I saw, I saw Kaminga. The last time they played against Memphis is exactly what they did. And Kaminga had like 20-something, but it was because nobody guards it. Yeah, I know.

But like defensively, you got to find a versatile wing somewhere. Like maybe you just lean into Kaminga. flaws or not. He doesn't really have much of a choice. They haven't really developed Moody like I thought they would. I really liked Moody coming out of the draft, but he just played few and far between, but whatever reason they're not in on it.

Another huge return, and another team that desperately needs some wing help will get it in the form of the Phoenix Suns with Kevin Durant. He is supposed to come back. That guy's pretty good. He's a good player, yeah. He's supposed to come back against the aforementioned wolds on Wednesday night. So that's actually another one to look forward to.

We said this is going to be a really big week. You were confident they would be able to hold it together without him. That did not come to pass. They're three and six. Yeah, they're still the four seed, though. I mean, that was the context of our conversation. Could they free to fall? That's just because everybody behind them.

Yeah, which was by point. three and six. That was my point. If anybody was worth the shit, they would have gotten gone. Yeah. Well, that was my point.

Um, you know, the nuggets. They've got the T-Wolves on Wednesday. Then they've got the nuggets on Friday. So those are huge Durant return games. And they still got their spot as of right now. Now they've got to hold on to it.

And honestly, every time we've seen Kevin Durant come back, he looks like all NBA caliber the second he steps on the court. So usually you'd say like, hey, he's going to have to get back in the flow, ramp up. But I mean, every time we ever watch Kevin the ramp play, he laces him up. He's like the best player on the floor. Yep. But they were able to hold on to their spot.

And now some big ones down this stretch run. They are clearly a team. everybody is going to have their eyes on, because we just haven't gotten to see it. I mean, and the thing is, you've got to win 16 games to win a title. I know that people are not exactly trusting that Chris Paul, Kevin Durant, can do it.

I know they've had eight out now with some nagging injury. They only got like three or four good guys. on their team. So they are maybe the most susceptible to like one injury. Tell me this. Are you pooping your pants yet

about the Pelicans winning three games or four games in a row, potentially five games in a row tonight against the Blazers? You pooping your pants yet and about a two-seven matchup between the Grizzlies and the Pelicans? There is nothing more I would love.

Yeah, I'd love it so much. The Grizzlies would beat the shit out of them. You know, how badly I want. Are you, the better question is, the Grizzlies have won six in a row, nine of ten. They have the number one offense the last ten games. Oh, that's nice. And that is without all ten without Stephen Adams, seven of those without John Moran. And if you could, just as a thought exercise, could you list me the Pelican wins?

Please. No, I don't think I will. No, do it. I want to hear them. I don't want to list those games. I'd like to hear them. I don't want to. against crappy opponents. Oh, come on.

Let's hear them. Let's hear them. Let's hear the wind. I want to hear them. We'll wait until next week. No, no, no. Just list the wind. You said that the Pelicans have got five straight wins.

This is great. Here we go. Here we go. There's the Rockets. Oh. The Spurs. Oh. The Hornets who have the number one defense in the NBA since February

and also have defeated the Mavs two times in a row. That's right. And they've been in the cupers. the Clippers too. Those are some tough games. They destroyed the Clippers, by the way. They held Kauai Leonard to 4 of 16, beat them by 21. And now they get to play Ryan Archie Diakano and the Blazers.

Yep, and then on Tuesday night they face the Warriors. On Thursday, they face the Nuggets. Two TNT games, tough games this week for the Pelicans. Yeah, they have seven straight. So enjoy tonight. Yep. They have seven straight against winning record teams after tonight.

And just, I mean, I just had this written down as a note. The last 16 times they have played winning record teams, they've lost 15. So that is 1 and 15 in their last 16 against winning record teams. Am I pooping my pants? That is rich. Boy, oh, boy. You don't know how badly I want Zion to come back. and whoop that ass.

You don't know how badly I want it. I want it more than anything in the world. I want it so bad. Zion to come back. I'm sure you want it. Pelicans to get the seventh seed and whoop that grisly ass. I want it. Well,

you called the Pelicans dead weeks ago. So I said they should tank out. Yeah. If Zion's not returning, yes, they should tank out. Yeah, if Zion's coming back, that's a totally different thing.

When exactly is he coming back? I don't know. he might come back? I have no idea. Yeah. Probably smart to bring him back for a play in. Yeah, it'd be great. Yeah, just keep him in bubble wrap until mid-April.

Sounds pretty, it seems pretty smart to me. Yeah, it's right. I mean, no, it has worked out. The guy's been readily available. Boy, you don't know how bad I want that, Chris. Yeah, yeah, obviously. Yeah, obviously. Clearly, the Grizzlies are reeling, Kev.

They've only won nine of ten, six in a row. and are mashing everyone's head in. Yeah, can't wait. You're talking about a team that's trying to make the play in, and you want me to be scared? Oh, boy. I want it so bad. Oh, you wanted the Warriors.

You wanted the Lakers. You wanted the Pelicans. You want anybody to beat Memphis. Anybody. I just want them to have to play. And then you named, fill in the blank shit team. No. No, I want the pelicans.

No, no, no. I don't want the Lakers. I want the pelicans. I want to want the thunder. I want the pelicans. I do too. Trust me. Oh, yeah.

That would be amazing. If Zion comes back, you're in for a beat. Do you know they probably score 150 against them? Good grief. What are you been watching? You should turn on a game every once in a while. You know, you mentioned their huge win against the Hornet, and I had to, I had to, I, I had to met the kings, if they went tonight, Monday night, they're going to have clinched, right?

So that we've talked all season about how that's 16 seasons, they have not done it. I did not know this, but here's a little bar bet for everybody out there. So they have broken the 16 season street. And that's been a real blight for them for many, many years. We talked about the war, the Mariners doing it in baseball. Now, you know who the streak belongs to in the NBA? The team that has missed the playoffs for the most amount of consecutive years, it is the aforementioned huge Pelican win, Hornets.

The Hornet and it's seven years. That's it. 2016, the last time they made the playoffs, 2016. And then after that, the longest streak is Cleveland, who of course is going to be Home Court Advantage team this year. And theirs is 2018. So that's four years. I thought that was crazy that once you get past the Kings,

you got the Hornets at seven. but then the next one was Cleveland at Ford. That is not long. That's shocking. Should not be in the playoffs. Especially when the Hornets drafted a guy better than John Morant in Lamello Ball. And you ranked him ahead of him like 20 times. How is he not in the playoffs?

We'll see how it plays out. Wow. John's been in it every year. That's wild. Well, I guess he's playing in the first time. round. Anyway, so I'm sure that Lemello's going to end that streak soon.

Pray for Wemby. Yeah, but Charlotte's seven years now. Dude's got the new Russell Westbrook on his team, never going to win a title. Who's the new Russell Westbrook? Shaw Morant. Oh, good grief. Again, watch a game. Watch a game.

Okay. One team. I was there. I was there last week. He wasn't playing. And what did you see? Fantastic win. Oh, because we already know the grizzlies are better without jaw.

It's been two years in a row now. Oh, sure. Yeah. I'm sure when it comes to playoff time, that's going to be the truth. He's averaging 40 points a game against the Warriors when he got hurt. But now the Golden State Uncle Rico's,

well, maybe they'll get seven. That'd be cool too. The one team that has dropped completely out of the race is the Portland Trailblazers. They are tanking. So this has got to be your favorite team in the league. They are completely shutting it down. Good for them.

And I guess, look, they got what, 32 wins. So you got to figure they'll just end up with the fifth best odds. I can't imagine. Fifth or sixth. I mean, they're not going to win again. Yeah, but the magic, you know, they're fifth right now.

So we'll see. Are there magic? I think they're going to play it out. out, right? Yeah, they are. They've won three in a row. Yeah, so they're not going to pack it in. So the PACER are going to.

Yeah. So after all said and done, Portland didn't even really need to tank this season, right? They just, it got to this point of the year. And this is one of the things you were talking about with Dallas. This is one of the things you talk about with the other teams. It's like, all right. All year long we're talking about it. You don't need a tank.

Yeah, you get to this point. And it's like, all right. Now it is a numbers game. And so we'll just go ahead and punt. And we'll play up Randy Archina Akinah. We'll let Shaden Sharp have his 25-point games, you know, maybe get him feeling good about himself to end his rookie year and run some guys out there.

And we'll end the year on 32. No one else can have less than 32 outside of those four. You were never getting Charlotte, Detroit, San Antonio, or Houston. No. They were the true tankers. I'd say this, they miss out, you know, and they get the number one pick. That's an interesting one. I mean, look, it would be horrible for the stories of going back to Bill Walton and Sam Bowie and Greg Oden.

I mean, it's the last place on earth you want a giant to get drafted, right, given their... history with that kind of stuff. But you're getting into that realm of really fascinating when you're talking about the Pacers and the Blazers and some of these teams that they're not far off from being good. And so if they were to get a Wembe, some of the others, you're pretty far off from being good. But when you're talking about the other ones that are going to be in the lottery that have been pretty good this year. You know, the Pacers were,

them and, say, in Utah, Utah's another one. And I don't know. I mean, we're talking earlier. Utah's on the outside looking in right now, I believe. You think they're going to play that thing out. You don't think Danny's going to play for the odds at this point.

Really good season, fun season for the jazz, but you've got a chance to ensure that you're going to be in the lottery, right? Yeah, yeah. I mean, it looks like you get a chance to get in the lottery, but I'm not so sure they're going to take it. Whereas Portland, they are. And I think for Portland, this is 100% the right decision here. It's about, it's about maintaining your pick,

but also it is about maintaining Damien Lurts' health moving forward. It is about that as well, building for next season after he had what was a career best season. You do want him healthy for training camp in September. You don't want some fluky injury to close the season. Wow. Now, they don't have a choice in that one, Gab. Damien Lillard has said, if y'all is trying to lose, I ain't playing.

Well, and that's the thing. Like Sharm Sharania said on Fandul today, he said, quote, when you look at this situation for Damian Lillard, you have to wonder if he's going to play another game for the Portland Trailblazers. I expect there to be real conversations this off season. And it's not often you hear from,

like, these big name, Chris Hines, Shams, Shams, Shams, Shams, Shams, Sharmia, Woge, Mark Stein. You don't hear a lot of people saying, well, Dame could, be moved. But here we have Shams Sharani, alluding to the possibility of conversations this summer,

I think a lot is going to depend on what they do on lottery night. Where does that pick land? It would have to be number one. Well, not necessarily. If it's fifth or sixth or whatever, or three or four,

well, then it comes down to what are you going to do with those picks? Right now, because are you going to trade picks? Are you going to free up? you know, the protections on the Bulls pick to allow yourself to trade future picks. What do they do this summer in terms of trade maneuvers? But the flip side of that, you know, like I've said for a year now, ever since the new Blazers front office has taken over,

what do they want? Right. What does the Blazers front office want? Do they want to keep building with Damien Lourd and keep trying to, you know, kick the can forward and keep trying to win with him with different iterations of the roster? Or are they going to be the ones who say, you know what? we want to rebuild. Dame, where do you want to go?

Because they could make that choice and then put it on Dame to say, okay, I guess I have no choice. It's the front office who decided they don't want me. I'm not the one who wants out. They're the ones splitting this up. That's an easy out for Damien Lillard that he doesn't want.

I didn't go and try to form my own team. Lillard wants to be there. I wanted to do it myself. He does. That is genuine. It's authentic. He wants to be there. But does the front office want that?

I don't know. Like there's a lot that could break out, you know, over the next couple months out with the lottery and then with draft night. Like the Blazers are 100% as Sharm Sharoni has said, there's going to be real conversations this off season. There will be. Let's talk about that draft night.

And did your opinion change it all based upon the NCAA tournament? I listened to the pod that you guys had done, you and J. Kyle Mann, where you kind of talk about Scoot Henderson being shut down for the rest of the year. And then you guys talked about Brandon Miller and how you had him number two and that there was going to be a debate about number two. Brandon Miller went out with the absolute thud in that NCAA tournament game, as did his whole Alabama team.

I mean, when it mattered most, they went, what, three from 27 from three. or something. It was like old school rockets disaster. And he was three of 19 himself with a bunch of turnovers. I know, you know, little hobbled going into that, but that was a big stage and he had a tough, tough goal against San Diego State. Did it change your opinion at all? No.

I mean, I think it was just a repeat of what we saw early in the season. Struggles inside the rim. struggles with shot creation not creating a ton of separation off the bounce, you know, picking up his dribble. You know what I was thinking about watching that game, Chris? This year with Alabama, they've played a very analytics-friendly style of play.

Layups, dunks, free throws, driving kick for three-pointers, pull-up threes, not a lot of mid-range. Brennan Miller in high school was a very mid-range heavy player. The question with Miller entering college is, well, it was, well, is he going to be able to extend his range to behind the arc? You know, and instead, like, he shoots 39% from three on the season. You know, he's shooting seven, eight, three-pointers a game.

He's not shooting from mid-range often at all. Everything's, like, at the basket. So with Miller, I found myself watching those games thinking, like, man, take a mid-range pull-up. Like, use the mid-range, and the team just wasn't. I felt like a predictable team to me, and especially Brennan Miller did. He was doing nothing for mid-range. He was picking up his dribble, looking for passing opportunities, not getting to the basket because they were helping inside so much.

This is partially on Miller and some of his deficiencies. It's partially on some of the system that they had there. But that was just a thought on my mind there. I wonder what his NBA role will look like and will he be empowered to be more of a mid-range guy. overall though I mean like this is it's just more of what we saw earlier in the season so I'm not over I'm not reading into it all too much but one of the things that scared me was I read Gavoni's little write up and he like he had the stats breakdown of his stats and percentages versus top 50 teams top 25 top 50 yeah yeah yeah I saw someone tweet about that yeah that's

rough oh I know he struggled you know when you were describing that you know who it made me think of. And again, I know this is not a comp. Like, this is Ingram. Brennan Ingram's not a guy that torts us you from three, you know, you're not worried about him making nine threes on you, though it's not like he's some, you know, the guy is just a shot maker, right? And he gets to his spot. He's like a poor man's Duran, you know, and sometimes a rich man's Duran. I mean, hell, when he was been that playoff series last year against the sons, he was giving them buckets. So. And he's been giving buckets lately.

It's been averaged on like 30 a game recently. He just won Western Conference Player of the Week. There you go. There's some love for your pals. But Ingrammy, in the sense of just to get to the spot guy. But I know there's been some level of concern on just getting the separation. And that he's not a mega athlete. No, he's not.

But I guess neither of those guys either. I mean, there's not a bunch of Brandon Ingram cracking on everybody, highlights. I still think with Miller, I know, like, obviously he sucked. You know, he's three of 19 and against San Diego State. He's five of 17 and their win against Maryland. He was 0 of 5. Terrible tournament for him. I mean, it was a horrible tournament for him. But, like, I think with him, he did show enough in some other big games as a score, but more than anything else, like, he's not just a score. I mean, like, he still showed off his playmaking ability with the offhand passing. He still showed off the defense.

of effort and versatility and rebounding. I mean, those things factor in, too, when you're talking about why he's even a top five pick in the first place. It's not just the scoring ability. It's everything else combined that makes him an impact player. So I think with Miller, I still have him at two. Well, you really ain't dropping it. If him vomiting all over himself, the entire tournament isn't moving you off of him,

then you've just got a conviction. I might drop him. I mean, it's only March 27th. Yeah. There's a lot of time until the draft. the way, it's not like Scoot Henderson didn't have some terrible games all season long either, or it's not like a bunch of other guys didn't either.

By the way, there's not a single lottery prospect, at least on my board. Can I just, I'll just say a quick timeout on this. Yes, Scoot Anderson did a big struggle game. Keonti George did too. I regularly watch, but I regularly watch the G League and regularly.

That league, is infinitely better than it was three, four years ago. Oh, totally. It is. Know that about it. There are so many guys in that league that either are or could be NBA players, but there are only 400 and some spots available for them. And Scoot Anderson doing what he did against those players, to me,

he would have destroyed. college basketball. Destroyed it. Isn't it a shame we didn't get to see it? Yes. In some ways, yes. Yeah. But I just, so I'm never going to, I don't care what percentages he shot.

I mean, I saw that kid in person. I mean, I mean, you would have put that kid on a college basketball. He's your type for sure. But I mean, he's not only a truck. He's a crazy athlete. And he is a dog. I mean, I just think that. guy would have murdered college basketball.

Yeah. I mean, my point is that like Scoot had some crappy games, Keonté George stunk in the tournament. Grady Dick got shut down in the second half against Arkansas. He did nothing. I mean, it's like a lot of lottery prospects.

Oh, there's a lot. Real stinker performances in the tournament this year. Hardin was horrendous. DeAndre Aiton got beat by Buffalo. You know, the real famous one 100 years ago was Chris Mullin at St. John's went out with a you know,

blaze a crap. But then sometimes, sometimes there are some that are predictive, Jabari Parker. That's true. Mm-hmm. Yeah. There are some that it actually,

we look back and be like, ah, we should have seen when they got their biggest stage. They kind of didn't show up. What do you think about this kid from Houston? I saw he declared today, Jarus Walker. I saw him a couple times this year.

I like Jarus Walker a lot. I do too. I got them top five on my board. Oh, really? Yeah, I think I have five. Let me pull it up right now. I got,

you got one of the Thompson twins down? Yeah, I got Osar Thompson six or seven. Oh, okay. And that might change. A lot of time to go. But you got Walker as a top five guy, huh?

For now. Yeah, I think Walker's versatility on defense. He can show more on offense than he was able to show at Houston. Could you comp him? I don't like the comp that I have. Julius Randall with a full tank on defense.

It's not that great. Randall's more of a score. It's more of a body type comp. Trying to figure out a good ball comp for him. That Houston team was really good, which made the Miami thing all the more impressive. Good grief. Yeah.

What do you think about those Yukon kids? Hawkins, Jackson. Yeah, I like Hawkins, boy. He could shoot it. Yeah. I don't, I can't decide. I, you know, we know that there's going to be two or three pros off anybody that ends up winning the time. I mean, if Yukon doesn't win this national title, I will be absolutely stunned.

I do think if they've got a chance of getting picked off, it'll be against Miami. Because that's Laranago with a week to prepare. I could not fathom them losing to San Diego State or FAU. But they have been the best basketball team I've watched. My God. I mean, what they did to Gonzaga was just ridiculous. Just murdered him. And I watched the, what was the game before?

Was it Xavier? No, who was it? The game right before that that they had, that Yukon had won. Who was that, was it Xavier when, I think it was. And just trashed them. Trashed them. Every time I've watched, every time I've watched, Every time I've watched Yukon in this tournament thus far, I'm just like, God, bless.

Well, Gonzaga, they be Gonzaga. That's the game we're talking about Zazga? That was crazy. Oh, no, no, it was the Arkansas game. I'm sorry. Yeah, Arkansas. Yeah, yeah. It was the Arkansas game.

I mean, just killed them. It looked like men versus boys. They've killed everybody. I mean, you look at their scores. Killed them. First round against Iona, 8763, second. round against St. Mary is one of the best defenses in all of the nation.

70-55. Arkansas, 8865. Gonzaga, 82-54. And now they got Miami coming up in the final four, who had a big comeback win against Texas. Dude,

that I own a game? I don't know if you had that on. That was Rick Petino's team. Iona was up 39 to 37. That's the first round game. They were 39-37 at halftime. And Yukon came out in the second half and beat them 50 to 24.

You know how hard it is to score 50 in a frigging college basketball half? Yeah. There's only 20 minutes, man. It's going to be interesting to see who pans out in the NBA off that Yukon team. Like Andre Jackson and Jordan Hawkins are the big ones. But Sonogo, they're starting big man. And then the guy, like Kyle Mann and I have talked about him on the Ringer's NBA draft show a couple of times this year. I've really liked Donovan Klingin, you know, their backup center.

Klingin has really, really made a name for himself. And every minute he's had on the floor for Yukon in this tournament, he could have some big minutes moving forward in the final four, especially if like Sonogo happens to be in fall trouble or something like that. And Klingan needs to come out there. But they get some guys that are going to get opportunities. knees aside from Hawkins and Jackson. Hawkins will make it as a pro. I mean, he's six six five shooter.

Yeah. And he and he shoots a bunch, he shoots eight threes a game and it's 39% of them. Like maybe like, you know, even if you're, even if you're like monk, you know, or somebody like that. Right. I mean, you got, you know,

you have some great history of, you know, shooting guards with Yukon, Ray Allen, Rip Hamilton. James Booknight. Jeremy Lamb go to Yukon too. Was he a Yukon guy? Jeremy Lamb, no. Yeah.

He was a Yukon guy. Rudy Gay went there. Yeah, that's right. There's a ton of Yukon guys that played the NBA for sure. Yeah, I like Jordan Hawkins. Yeah. Fine. I mean, again, I can see him have it.

I'm not drafting him high, but I could see him. I could see him certainly having an NBA career. I just think that team, they just play so well together. Dan Hurley, he's got a machine there. Kevin, it's going to be a fun week. Hopefully, this missing out on Embed Yokich is the only time we're going to miss out on the big matchups because we've got a lot of good ones. And we are planning on recording Thursday night after Celtics bucks.

And if we don't get like Tatum and Janus, that one, I'm just going to throw up. Got a rage quit. Yeah, I'll rage quit. Thank you to our executive producer, Jesse Lopez, as always. Kevin, I'll talk to you on Friday. Looking forward to whatever we do.