The Mismatch - The NBA Postseason Belief Scale

Episode Date: March 12, 2024

With just over a month left in the regular season, Verno and KOC discuss their levels of belief in all of the potential playoff teams in each conference. They start off in the East (02:45) before turning their attention to the West (37:51). Also, with KOC’s NBA Draft Guide launching and the March Madness tournament starting up, the guys dive into some draft talk and discuss a few prospects they like (01:09:10). You can find KOC’s Draft Guide here. Got a question for Verno and KOC? Send them an email at [e-mail]! Or you can send the guys a tweet @ChrisVernonShow and @KevinOConnorNBA! The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please check out http://theringer.com/RG to find out more, or listen to the end of the episode for additional details. Hosts: Chris Vernon and Kevin O’Connor Producer: Jessie Lopez Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Who cares about your team winning the Super Bowl when your team could win the offseason? My name is Danny Hyphitz and I host the Ringer NFL Draft Show with Danny Kelly, Ben Solack and Craig Horlebeck. We cover trades, free agency, the draft, obviously. We cover quarterbacks and there are a lot of good quarterbacks this year. And the teams at the top of the draft, Washington, New England, Chicago, big teams with big histories. Listen to the Ringer NFL draft show on Spotify. Welcome to the mismatch. I'm Chris Vernon. and joining me on this Monday night from the ringer.com is Kevin O'Connor,

a.k.a. Kevin O. Obama. Kevin O. Conflict. Kevin O.C. Kevin O. Kavanaugh. Kevin O. Burdow. What's going on, man? How are you doing? Well, we don't have that much left of the NBA season. And tonight, on a very special episode of the mismatch, we are going to have a belief ranking. belief status, as it were. So I'm going to go through all of these teams, the 10 teams in each conference, which are going to be involved in the playoffs and or play in. We pretty much, you know, three weeks ago said, we've got our 10.

And nothing has changed with that. We've got our 10 for all intents and 10. Same 10. Same 10. So what we're going to do is do we believe. more, do we believe less, or do we believe the same about these teams that we did say a month's time ago? Right.

That all-star break. Sure. These things evolve greatly as the season goes on. And teams can either win us over so that we believe in them more or start to lose faith in them so we believe in them less. All right. So I have got my list of the 10 teams in each. conference and then we'll see if you agree with these.

Do you want me to start in the west or the east? I'll do one whole conference at a time. You pick? I'll go east. I think it's easier to start with. Yeah. Okay. All right.

So of the 10 teams that are involved right now in the playoffs and or play yet, the only two teams that I believe in more than I used to are Milwaukee and New York. Hmm. New York. Can you explain why New York is more despite the fact that over this past month, O.G. N and Obey just coming back, right? They've had guys that have missed time.

They haven't been that great record-wise necessarily. with some of these guys that have been missing for them. So why the Knicks? Okay. So this is why the reason that the Knicks are on this list and I believe in them more is all of the reasons that you stated and that they did not fall apart. Okay. And I think what that shows is they have an embarrassing amount of depth.

They have to have their highest end play. back in the lineup. But the fact that they have been able to stay afloat and not crater down the standings while losing Brunson for an amount of time, losing Ananobi for a long amount of time, losing Randall for a long amount of time, I think they have shown that they have the ability to withstand. You know, they had this fantastic bench that got completely depleted. and then they're trying to on the fly implement new guys and get them into the mix

and guys that would not necessarily be starters, become starters. Alec Birx has to play and Bogdanovitch has to play and some of those things haven't gone all so well. Josh Hart's got to start in games. And so I'm looking at it and going, well, hold on. Earlier in the year they told us that they could expect they weren't going to get the waiver because they weren't willing to say that Mitchell Robinson was. is going to be done, done.

And it sounds like Randall is at least back and working out and doing some light contact. Ananoby's back this week. Brunson's already back in the lineup. So I look at it and I say, well, geez, if they've stayed afloat, they haven't fallen back completely down the standings without their guys. Major, major pieces. And you know, Tibbs plays these guys 45. minutes a night. I mean, Josh Hart has been playing 45 minutes of sight. I'm thinking of myself,

if they get all these guys back, look at the depth that they have. They've got real player. That's why they've been able to stay afloat, because they got a bunch of real players. And so I like their high end talent. I think that this has been a huge coming out, all NBA level party all season long for Brunson. I trust Brunson. I trust Brunson. in big spots. We've seen him in the playoffs come up in big spots. And so I trust him. And I think you get Ananoi back.

You get Randall back. I mean, you might get Robinson. And you've got a good backup and you've got malleability. Like, you know this is a war of attrition. And the end of the season, guys are getting lost. And we're seeing teams have real problems with losing guys. as this season winds down, sometimes major guys.

And I look at it and go, geez, their record has not, I mean, yeah, it's not been super impressive, but they also haven't cratered to where they've fallen down

in the standings. And so they could be getting healthy while everybody else is losing their guys. And so when you ask me, why do I feel more confident in them? I think it's because I've seen them without their guys. And I think to,

myself, these guys in large part wouldn't even be playing or certainly not even playing big minutes. And if you need a wing, they've got wings. They've got all kinds of different. I just think they're going to be a problem. And I think that it's not a team you want in that four or five game. And if you're, say, Boston, who's got the one, that's going to be a war. You're not, you're not laying waste to them. And so I think they're tough. And I think it's because, they've been able to do it without their guys that I feel more confident about them. Does that make sense? Totally makes sense.

And I think it's a very fair way of looking at it. For me, I would say it's probably more on the same side. Like I feel the same level of confidence in the sense that assuming they can get healthy, that you feel good about them. Because I think we like their depth already. I mean, we liked Miles McBride early on in this. We were early on him, you know, even before this season, going back to when he was a rookie.

precious to chewa he's he's proven that he can step up dude's a rebound machine he's doing a little playmaking he's versatile on defense room protection i think with the nix i think it's probably close to the same for me but slightly more through the lens that you're looking at it um like you did you did sway me in that sense like it is more because because they're all they're four and five since the break despite all these guys missing time everybody's out everybody's out and they play some ugly ass games But they haven't cratered, and I watch them, and I'm like, you know, they still got players on this team. And they're without their best players on this team.

And I also like their chemistry. I think they got a good group, you know, of guys, obviously, you know, you got the Villanova group that's been, they've been friends with each other for, you know, a decade now. And one of the, we're all three part of one of the greatest college basketball teams ever. And so I think they got a good group, and I like them. And I think that they, I think they've proven something in being able to withstand. They obviously have to have all of their best players. But to me, their statistics were overwhelming when they had Ananobie and Brunson both in the lineup. And it has been a long time since we've seen them both in the lineup, and we'll get to see it starting this week.

And one thing I just want to note, just one little stat here. Josh Hart averaging 43.2 minutes per game since the All-Star break in each individual game, he has played 44 minutes, 42, 42, 40, 47, 45, 43, 42, 42, 42, 43. That's in the nine games since the break that Josh Hart has played in. That is absurd. And he's continuing to flourish. She's been a stabilizer for them. One of the reasons why they stayed afloat.

So respect to Josh Hart, your guy for doing what he's been doing. And then the other team I had in there was the Bucks. The Bucks. The only team in the top five in clutch offense and defense. And I think this matters greatly. Because as we know,

regardless of what happens during this regular season, we know that that's what it comes down. to when it gets into playoff games. At the highest level, these games aren't blowouts. And you're going to get into these clutch games with five minutes left. And despite the fact that the bar for them was so high and they have clearly not met it or exceeded it this year post-dame trade, they still have crazy high-end talent. and when it matters most in games, they have been great defensively and great offensively.

And to me, that matters so greatly in the postseason. So when you tell me that I'm getting two guys that are, you know, they could very well be the best player on the floor in any game that you play in, and that, yes, I can get lost in a lot of the different numbers that take place. when they've had their guys, and they still haven't had Middleton back, and he said this is like the worst ankle injury he's ever had. But when they've had their guys, the numbers are great. Like, their numbers are that of an amazing basketball team.

And you know that their starters, if they're all healthy, you're going to play big, big minutes. And then I am persuaded by the clutch time stuff. You know, the defense has gotten better with Doc. And I think that they're going to get in a lot of close games. and they have, despite the fact that they have not lived up to, and maybe you could argue, they shouldn't have been in as many clutch situations they've been,

and that's the disappointment. I would agree. They probably shouldn't have been in as many clutch situations, but they deliver, man. They deliver. They are the only team in the NBA, I'll repeat, in the top five in offensive defense and clutch situations. And I think that matters greatly.

So I believe in them more than I did. And ever since Adrian Griffin was fired, their seventh in defensive rating, since the All-Star break, specifically, after their offense was suffering for a while, at first after Doc Rivers was hired, since the break, their offense is, their defense is eighth. Their offense is ninth since the break. So they've managed to improve offensively in recent weeks. Damien Lillard is performing at a much higher level. after the game against the clippers on Sunday, Dame and Janice and others were talking. Like it was more quotes. Remember we talked about last week about all these stuff players were saying about what Doc was doing,

the attention to detail on all that? Well, yesterday they were talking about on Sunday how with Doc Rivers, they're having Dame and Janus practice picking roles or practices playing two on nobody. Just those two in a half court, practicing themselves, working on their chemistry, and against the clippers in that game,

They ran it over and over and over again down the stretch of that game on the left side of the floor with Yana setting screens for Damian Miller. And it looked great. And granted, it's against the Clippers team that was without Kauai Leonard, without Paul George, their depleted group in that matchup. It's a schedule loss for them. The fact is that they ran 28 total according to sports radar, the high of the season. And I would expect over the course of the year, we'll see that number continue to tick up and up with new season high. being set for pick and roll's run for dribble handoffs run. Like they had a play in that game where it was late game.

I think it was maybe three minutes left or something like that. Where they ran a pick and roll. It was contained. They reset. Yonnas got the ball at the wing. Dame ran through for a dribble handoff, like just a seamless pick and roll into a handoff and he gets a bucket out of it. And that's the type of stuff that over the course of the year,

their chemistry is building. And I think that bodes well for their endgame offense, as you said. and their defense, it has been far more consistent other than a couple of moments where they just got shredded. But for the most part, the bugs look way more complete defensively and offensively. I think they're getting back to the level that they were earlier in the season, except even better with the Damiana stuff, which is what they need to excel at the highest levels in the playoffs. So I'm also even higher on them than I was last month. and on a trip to the Eastern Conference finals,

which is what they obviously hope to be in, they won't have to play DeAngelo Russell. Yeah, they won't have to face Deelow. They don't have to face Deidlo Russell. It's clear sailing. DeLo in that game was crazy. Unbelievable. And that came after they gave up 125 to the Warriors.

The Bucks did, I mean. So they've had like a couple of games where they're getting treaded. But for the most part, I think their defense has just been so much better, some tougher tests coming up. They get the Kings on Tuesday. They get the suns on Sunday. Boston next Wednesday. And Chris, one more thing.

I want to know your thoughts on this. Last week on Waz's new show, a YouTube exclusive on the Ringer, their YouTube page, in my feelings with Big Waz, I said to him, the bucks are my favorite in the East. Do you agree with that? I picked them to make the final, so I have to. Okay. I had bucks versus nuggets. All right.

So we're on the same page then. I like it. You're sticking with the bucks though. You're sticking with them. Yeah, I'm sticking with them. Nice. I love it.

I just think the high-end talent. And by the way, can I just mention one quick thing about the DeAngelo Russell deal? Very disappointed. I have not seen it if it does exist. How is there not like a Laker fan or somebody at L.A.? that has not like taken those DeAngelo Russell quotes and turned it into like some Batman villainy.

origin story. He was like trying to make it like, you guys created a killer and like, bro, you're the one that, you know, rat it out Nick Young. Stop trying to make it like we,

we didn't create that. Like he, like his whole like NBA travails were like, created a monster. And somebody needs to take those quotes and then like put them to like highlights and like this is like the origin story of the killer that is DiAngelo Russell now. Right? This all started once upon a time, but now look what you've done.

Look what you people have done. You created a monster. And it's me, DeAngelo Russell. Fan duels putting the ball on your core for the rest of the NBA season, because right now new customers get $200 and bonus bets with any winning $5 bet. That's $200 if your bet wins. On this current episode of the mismatch that you're listening to now, Verno and I talk about the Phoenix Suns.

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All right. So Milwaukee and New York are teams that I believe in more. In the less department, these obviously don't need that much discussion. Philly, not their fault. It's just a massive question mark. I don't know if their best player is going to be able to play and be awesome. We're on the same page. I've absolutely no idea.

And it's all dependent upon that. Like, okay, they could win me back over if Joel and B is able to be back in the lineup and can show that. But it's a 7 foot, 290-pound guy with a torn knee. Like, I'm not, I'm not super hopeful. And I think it might be dangerous to bring it back at any time. And even the one time we heard from him, when he spoke, it was kind of like, yeah, we'll see. So, obvious there in the less. Indiana's in the less category.

And that is not just because of Ben Matherin getting hurt. In fact, I don't know if that affects things that greatly. Halliburton is hurt, too. No, it's post-injury. He has not been anywhere close to the same guy. He was one of the best five to ten players in the NBA before the injury. And post-injury, he has not been the same guy. Now, I know that he had expressed some level of resent towards the

65 game rule and that stuff and about like guys that are going to be injured and you know you do wonder if he came back faster because of right the feeling like there's a pressure to play not only the you know his injury cost them their season last year and so you know maybe it's not games played stuff as much as it is is, hey, when I got hurt last year, the team cratered, and it's on its way to be in that way again, maybe if I'm out for an extended amount of time. We could really fall back in the standings. But since he's come back from injury, he just has not been the same guy. And so he was one of those guys where it was like,

and we saw it when you or I were out in Vegas at the end season tournament, I always talk about how, look, we line up. and who's got the best guy? You know, so many times it's going to come down to the end. But I think when we left Las Vegas, we thought, okay, here's one of those guys that could be the best player in any given game because we saw him go, heads up with the bucks,

in a nip-duck game, and he was the best player. And that's where things have changed. It just doesn't feel like he has been that guy. And so if at one point I thought, hey, you could get into a close playoff game and then this guy can get me home because we had seen it earlier in the year, he just has not been the same guy post injury. Therefore, my belief in them has, of course, waned. Which is a shame considering the fact that you have Pascal Seacum averaging 21.7 rebounds, four assists, shooting 38% from three, showing his versatility on both ends. It's a shame that we really haven't gotten to see Pascal Seaccom with the Tyrese Halliborne that was shining and looking like a blossoming star earlier in the season.

It sucks. And then the other one was Atlanta, which I don't even, I mean, come on. They've got no, they've got no trait. But I mean, even if you thought, hey, maybe this is a team that the last 20 games could get it all together and they've obviously got talent, they've got scoring, and they've got a good coach. and if they could throw it all together, then maybe they could get on a hot streak, and we think, man, this is a team you might not want to see

if they could somehow get out of the play yet. I don't feel that way. They are five and three since Trey got hurt. Jean-Tay Murray playing well. Bro, I just saw them on Friday. He had his career high. He was awesome in the game. I mean, they barely beat the Grizzlies.

I know. And that's why. And that's why you're right to say less confidence, right? You're less confident because they don't have their best player at your young. Yes. But I just wanted to note that the Jante is playing pretty well. Yeah. And they also, and they lost Sadiq Bay to a ACL today, you know.

So, so wait a minute. Everybody else in the East for you is the same of the top 10. Hold on. Everybody else? Boston, same. Why? So with Boston. Why is it the same?

Let me just say In terms of, I'm thinking about this Like, are you going to be an East Finals team? Like, what do I think you're doing in the playoffs? To me, because with Boston for me, it's less. No. And it's because of that Denver loss. I thought Ryan Rusillo nailed it on Bill's show.

But they don't play Denver in the East. But they face Denver in the finals. If it gets to that point, potentially, it could be. I'm talking about what I think they could do in the playoffs. Oh, I guess I never thought they were winning it anyway. Sure, but I think with Boston, I think the word Ryan used was insurmountable when Bill asked, what's one word that comes to mind based off that Boston Denver matchup? Or what's the gap between Boston and Denver?

And Ryan said insurmountable. And I would agree with that completely. I think all you Boston guys or guys that had careers that started in Boston are way harder on the Celtics than the average human being. Well, you want me to pull off Michael Felger here? Oh, go ahead. Their 11-game win streak actually wasn't that impressive. It beat people by like 30 every night.

Their wins were against your Grizzlies. Come on. The Hawks. The Wizards. The heat without Jimmy Butler. The nets twice. The Bulls. The Knicks with their depleted roster.

The Sixers without Embed. And then the Mavs and the Warriors. So two of the 11 wins against the, The Mavs and the Warriors were impressive. The others, not so much. But how can it be insurmountable when they shot like shit from three? So to Denver. So Denver.

But Tatea missed an open three. Like they had a chance to flip the game. It's like the shots in the air. We always talk about this. Here's an open generated shot. Shots in the air. Good coach, bad coach. Good coach, bad coach.

Good coach bad coach. And it's like, come on. They were right there. It's not like they got mollywop by Denver. Denver can be even better themselves. Denver can be even better. They did not shoot well on those games. Denver can be much better like we talked about on last week's show.

You guys are so hard. What do they lost? It looks like less than 15 games a whole year. They're 49 and 14. You guys are the worst. Seriously. I would hate being a player for them. Like, we're those 14 freaking game.

No, no, no. You would love being a Celtics player because the fans are the best. I'm aware. The fans, those games. Except for y'all, you guys are the worst. It's like, ah, insurmountable. You can't have it. It's a bit.

It's a bit of me. It is. It is. They were a shot away. I mean, look, you agree with me. You say Boston's not going to make the finals anyway. We're on the same page. But it's not.

But if they were, it's not like I would think, wow, what a shock. They've lost 14 games the whole year. They're great basketball team. I'd pick the Nuggets in five. Damn. That's crazy to me. All right. Same Cleveland, just because I don't know what to do with them.

You know, they go back and forth. And it's like sometimes when they have their guys out, I love them the most. You know, there was, even before we were recording this, I had their game on against Dallas. It's like... Phoenix. Phoenix tonight. Oh, yeah, Phoenix. I'm sorry. Against Phoenix. And Darius Garland looked like...

I mean, if you had never watched a game before and I just flipped that on, you'd think Darius Garland was the best player in the NBA. He was throwing fireballs. But they have guys in, they have guys out. That lineup that they had that was just so dominant and great was like kind of a mix match of role players.

I don't know. if what is best for them is what will play the most. And so I just don't know what to do with them. I like them this version more, and I do think it was worthwhile that they caught those scars last year because those are deep scars that they had against the Knicks, and I think that will serve them going into next year. I don't look at them getting smoked by New York last year

and use it as a massive demerit until I, see what they look like this year. Because we talk about these teams, when they're going through it for the first time, you're going to learn a lot about yourself. And you heard all those quotes about, you know, Jared Allen and like basically the lights were too bright and Evan Moby's there for the first time. And Darrys Garland and Mitchell are there as a tandem for the first time. And so I think it'll serve them well that they've been in pressure situations.

I like their wings a lot more than last year. you know, that kickout is not to Okoro. It doesn't have to be to Keras Lavert all the time. You know, I like Max Truce. I like Dean Wade. I like, you know, even Sam Merrill when they throw me, like there's a bunch of open threes on that team. And I think they got more guys to be able to make those shots.

And so I just don't know what to do with them. And it feels like they haven't had much time this entire year. You had that friggin' mobily injury. You had the Garland Broken Jaw. Now you've had Mitchell out for. a time. I don't feel like I see them fully constructed all that often.

And so when I say the same, it's the same because I just don't know what the hell to do with them. I think that's very fair with them. It's very fair with Cleveland, same. And also, they got guys out right now, as you said, will they be healthy? Won't they be healthy? I have no freaking clue. Sam. Yeah. Miami, I put in same. And that's because,

and that's not saying like I don't believe in them. I have the same feeling as they are the most dangerous non-highly ranked team. They have earned that from everyone. I mean, I would be absolutely petrified if I'm at those top seeds, and I'm watching them fall down the standings recently. Like, Jesus, come on. All right. Rozier's gotten going with them.

He was miserable at the beginning. He was miserable at the beginning. But Rose-eers started to get going with them. The field goal percentage, true field goal percentage has gone up greatly. recently and they still just never have their guys for an extended amount of time. But we know their depth. We know they're bona fides. We know Jimmy's bonifides.

We know spolster's bonifides. Nothing's changed. They're the most dangerous non-great record team, same as they were last year. And I think that you're just praying if you're the one or two seed. if you're Milwaukee or Boston, you're praying that they're not seven or eight. That's the way it goes. Yep.

Because they could do it again. It wouldn't surprise. They're the one team that it wouldn't surprise anybody if they did it. I think you're spot on. They're the same for that exact reason that they were last year where it's like, you know, you never know. They could pull it out. They could.

And also maybe they actually finally get healthy by mid-April. Maybe if we did this again in one month, ahead of the actual playoffs, then it would be more. But we'll see how it looks. Yeah, and then Orlando. I just, I struggled with this one. Same, same, not more with them. There's seven and three since the All-Star break.

Their defenses rolling still. I believe I'm the only human in the world that predicted them to make the playoffs, which I did before our season in my semi-bolded predictions. And I don't, it's, they're going to be right on the customer. I'm hoping they don't have to play their way in. right? I'm hoping they can hold on. They're right now, I believe five as it stands right now, but the margins are so thin. You know, Miami's probably going to want to turn up and get a little higher. And so, you know, you've got to kind of hold down the fourth. Their schedule's not that hard, though,

the rest of the way. And obviously, I love Paulo. And I think that, I think it's the same. Like, I'm hopeful that they're one of the new blood teams in the playoffs because they've kind of got to carry the torch. for the new blood teams if my opinion, you know, when we talked about this earlier the year, it was Indiana and Orlando, but if my opinion of Indiana has gone down and I don't think that they're a problem.

I would like to see Orlando be able to get in there, take a couple pounds of flesh out of one of the good teams. Next thing you know, you're having to play a game six in Orlando or something, right? That would be fun. And I love them when they've got sugs. And if they got sugs and they got, you know,

now the Harris thing has been helpful, Franz has got to start hitting some, He's like lower than 30% for the season. You ain't getting to the top 20 like that, Kev. You can't be top 20 if you can't make 30% from the three point line. He's got to improve as a shooter. You might have cursed him. No, I didn't.

He's a great player. He's a very good player still. And he's still an 84% guy from the free throw line. I'm banking that the three point shot will someday hit like high 30s. And I will say this. Their offense can really stink. But if you're getting in close, and you would hope that if their first-time playoff team in a long time, that, you know, their home games could be a zoo.

They're tied with Denver for number one in clutch defense. And I think that is a function of we get down to the end of the game. We're playing half-court basketball, and we are massive. It's just size everywhere. And so it's not that surprising to me that they're clutch defense. You know, they've got some dogs, obviously, Suggs, leads the way as a bulldog. And then they've just got this inordinate amount of size. And so if I'm playing half-court basketball, it's hard.

It's hard. And now the offense thing, got to be better in the clutch offense stuff, but they can get stops when it matters most. And that I do think can bode well and I think is a positive sign for them going into the playoffs. But yeah. So I think for the most part, we pretty much agreed. You agreed with most of mine, except for Boston, who you wanted to be extra hard on. No, no, no.

I mean, I haven't really answered you about Orlando yet. I'd say Orlando is more as well. More? I'd say more for Orlando. For sure. Yeah. You think they could win a series? Yeah, it's more because of the fact that they've won a lot since the deadline.

They are now in contention not just for a 70, but they could end up the four. There's a chance they end up the four that they have home court in the first round and that maybe they win a round. Maybe they beat a Knicks team that doesn't get Randall back or Randall's limited. Maybe they get a matchup against the Cavs who are missing guys in and out of the lineup and they end up winning that series. That's always possible if they end up the sixth. So I think whether Orlando, it's more.

with Boston it's less. And other than that, you and I are on the same page with all of them. All right. In the West. Wait. Wait, did you wait a one second? Did you say Chicago? Did you mention the Bulls?

Same for Bulls, I assume. Are they one of the 10? Yeah, they're one of the 10. They're the 9 seed right now. Chicago. That's the one team you didn't mention Chicago. Same. I'd say same for them personally.

They've been better after a horrible start. We talked about them last week. Vooch, Kobe White. We went through them very recently. I'd say same for the magic. I do think I'm saying for the Bulls, sorry. I'm going to say more on them.

For the Bulls, more. Yeah, and here's why. Here's why. I actually think they would be more dangerous because they've got the vets and the dogs. I think they would be more dangerous than their peers in the play-in. That if they could get,

through that, that they are actually a more dangerous team to have to play against because of the amount of bulldogs that they have and that they've got like veteran guys. And if I'm in a close game, I've got the Rosen. See a shot he hit against Golden State. Oh, God. I mean, he is a shopmaker, bro. And I kind of like obviously the Kobe White thing has been fun. And they do have talent.

You watch them. And it's like, they got Caruso and they've got this soon mood. So they got some of these like Rottweiler top guys. You know, Vooch has been great recently. And then they've got the perimeter guy that's like, okay, now it's one possession. I've got to be able to create my own shot and get a good shot. And so I kind of look at them and go, I'd rather play some of these other teams that are a little bit softer than them.

I think they're a little more hard-nosed. And so, again, I don't have some great feeling about them moving on. But I'd say more just because I think I would have written them off completely as a team that could give anybody problems. But if they want a couple playoff games, it would not, it would not be the most shocking thing. It wouldn't. Would it to you?

It wouldn't shock me. Depends of the opponent, I guess. Yeah, I know. I know. Well, no, I mean, they'd be drawing either Boston or Milwaukee. Or Cleveland, and potentially, it's unlikely to say Milwaukee holds on the two, but could be Cleveland. Yeah, but I mean, I could see a scenario where they're able to grind one out and play them, you know, just a frustrating game. Again, they're not advancing in the playoffs.

I'm just saying to me, I would rather play some of those other teams than play them. I mean, they're pretty much getting doubled up at this point by the bats tonight. They're not good. I didn't say they're good. I know. None of those teams are good. Maybe they win a game. Maybe they win a game.

I'll give them a game. None of those teams are good. I'll give them a game. I'll give them five. All right. There, we got the bulls in. In the West. Teams I believe in more than I used to.

Denver? Obviously. I mean, I shouldn't even put them more, but whatever. like it's the same but I put them as more it's the same but more I guess

I guess I am more confident that they're the ones to beat and that it's all going to hinge on you know their health and what happens with them whereas maybe a month ago I was persuaded like hey you know what the clippers

you might not want to you know like I kind of feel like they're a class in their of themselves now. There have been times throughout the year where I thought other teams might, you know, be close to them. Like maybe we're playing

a six or seven game series against them. But I think that, you know, especially some of their performances against the best teams have persuaded me to believe that they're kind of in a class by themselves. And so I guess that's why I would say more because

I think they're, I think, I think they're less beatable than I did a month ago. How about that? Is that fair? I think that's incredibly fair. With them, I'm also curious about how maybe your impressions of their younger guys off the bench has influenced that opinion,

like Peyton Watson. Watson, you know, he's had big game against Boston. Yeah. He's had some really strong performances over the full season. Watson's been good all year for them. But Peyton Watson is a guy that I feel like entering the year

he was like, okay, he's replacing Bruce Brown. And now the more and more people see him, the more and more he has good performances, confidence is increasing that he is indeed part of that playoff rotation and can be a positive influence. Does that play to you saying more? No question. And the other thing is in two of those big games

that we've seen them play, i.e. the Bucks and the Celtics, they beat the Celtics going four for 21 from three. and they beat the bucks going four for 18 from three. It's like impossible. Yep. There's no way you beat teams that good and are that shitty from three.

But it happened against the two best teams in the other conference. And that's because, as you said, what were they, number one in clutch defense? Yeah. Their defense, when it locks in, is awesome. Four is anemic number in the NBA today. Mm-hmm. That's like from 20 years ago, bro,

somebody would hit four threes in a game. Yeah, on a regular basis sometimes. Like, you're just getting, you're getting doubled up. At best, you're probably getting triple or quad it up. You know, so the other team's going to make 12 or 16 threes. And it's not unreasonable to think at all.

And the math just doesn't work for you. But the fact that they could beat two of the best teams hitting four threes in each of those games is just ludicrous. Yeah. Truly. You know, what happens when they do make some? What happens? They win the finals and five is what happens. I mean, Kevin, it's not like they don't get open ones.

You double yoke it. She throws it to you. You're wide ass open. You got this butt naked three and they just can't make them. It's not like they take contested threes. It's usually wide open corner threes, too. And in the two big games, they didn't even make threes. I think the next one's going to shock you on who I believe in more.

Is it Phoenix? Yes. Wow. So it didn't shock me. They literally just won. I saw the buzzer hit zero. They beat the Cavs tonight. So the Sons, why are they more for you, Chris?

I'm assuming because of the role players, Nurkich, Grayson Allen, these guys. schedule is going to get terrible. I am using this one much like I did the Knicks. They have not cratered whenever they have lost these guys. So it is because the supporting cast is proving to be worthy, playoff worthy. I mean, look, Kev, when they've got all three of their guys, the numbers are unbelievable. Their record is 14 and 9 when they've got all three of them.

when they've just got two of the three of them, they're 19 and 13. So they just need two of them. And obviously, Durant's hitting more shots than he did, you know, pre-all-Star. And I just think that if they could ever get all three of them,

then, yeah, it could be what they thought it was going to be. you're never going to have an amount of time for them to all play together and get the requisite amount of reps and be in all of those situations. That being said, it's impressive to me that they have the record that they do. And even with one of the guys out, including Booker now, they still win games. And so if they could ever have by the playoffs, Booker will be the, and Durant all healthy, I look at them and think that they're way more dangerous than some of the

others. And so I've got to say more for them. When you think about the true threat to Denver in the Western Conference, I think you can look at matchups with Oklahoma City and you can say Denver is just so much bigger that they will overwhelm the thunder, that the thunder aren't big enough. they're not experienced enough yet. You can say with Minnesota that their endgame offense cannot compete with Yokicin Mari, that the Nuggets are just going to outscore them in those moments and endgame situations. The Clippers, I'm assuming you're less confident in them now. Kauai's hurt.

Paul George is out. James Harden is not up in the same the past month. There's uncertainty with them. The Pelicans, they've been outstanding. They've been tremendous, but they're an inexperienced team. they're a younger team. I think if you look at all the top teams in the top six at the moment, with Phoenix,

are they the one with their offense where they're like, they will just put up 120. They will outscore you 15 to 5 in overtime like they did with their win against the Nuggets after the All-Star break, that they can just get so hot that they're the team that there's no answers for their offense. That doesn't matter how great you are defensively, that they can just go with Katie, go with Book,

go with Beal and manage the score enough and their defense can survive enough through effort. You know, Nurk is being tough playing a little small wall sprinkled in there. Is this, are the suns actually number two? Are they number two? We've been together too long because you are reading my mind. I don't know if, look, I think there's a difference here in being number two and being the best chance to knock off the nuggets. That's a great way to put it.

Right, because I do think their size could be exposed against some of the other teams that can really punish them. But you've got to remember, they're the ones that gave Denver the most problems last year. Yeah, for sure. And if they have a release valve in Beal instead of frigging Josh Akogi or whoever the hell they're throwing the ball three a year ago. And by the way, like Monty Williams threw those. first two games was playing non-shooters.

He was so slow to adjust. You get a way better coach now on Frank Vogel than Monty Williams and a better supporting cast. And you remember, like, those guys, like, Duran Booker were scoring 80 against them. I mean, you know? So, yeah, if the release valve then becomes Beal and Grayson Allen, and you know, Nurkich, he takes that one.

like super personal. So obviously he does not have the goods to be able to do it, but their numbers with NERCH are way better than their numbers without NERCITG. Can you give me love for that, Chris? Can you give me love for the NERCITCH call last summer? Well, I mean, look.

I was right about it. I was right about NERCCH being a good fit with the Sons. And this is, and I'm the number one NERCHAeder, and I said that. Hold on, though. That's how you know I'm fair. Well, then you've got to go back in time.

and you've got to admit loss on DeAndre Aiton talent evaluation because he sucks. I will. And that's why it's all in reprehs. It's not about was he a fit with Phoenix. It was about was this a good trade for Phoenix? Because it's like, bro, this is the guy that you took instead of Luca and you're trading him for freaking Yusuf Nurkich?

What are we doing? What are we doing? This can't be like this. This can't be what we took instead of Luca that ends up being Yusuf Nerkich. So it's all relative here. But Nerkich has been very good for them. He's also been infinitely, weirdly enough in this year of guys in the infirmary for the Phoenix Suns, he's probably played more games this year than he's played in his life.

When is the last time Yusuf Nurchich played this many games? He's always hurt. And how many is he played? I feel like he's played all season. He's missed a knock on wood for him. He's missed very few. And this is a guy that was like routinely out of lineups for the last several years. I have not checked that, but that's what that would be my guess.

I'll tell you right now. Oh, please do. I can't wait. Nurkich has played in 60 games. Okay. The last time he played in 60 games was the 18. 19-19 season when he played 72. Since then, 837, 56, 52.

I mean, that's like Beal. Wow. So he has played more this year than he has played since 2018 season? Yeah. That's crazy. I know. And also one other thing to note with the Sons, you mentioned their stats this year with the three of them,

Katie, Booker and Beale. When Durant, Booker, and Beal are all on the floor at the same time this season, the Sons are outscoring opponents by 9.3 points per 100 possessions, which is absurdly good. That's only 455 minutes. When at least two of those guys are on the floor in 1,242 minutes, they're outscoring teams by 2.2 points per 100 possessions. And when at least one of them is on the floor in 1,202 minutes, they're outscoring teams by 3.3 points per 100 possessions.

So when they get the three of those guys out there, they're dominance. When they get at least one or two, they're good. And I think that's what we're seeing right now, even with Booker out, that they're able to maintain and be competitive and be good. And we'll see with Booker getting back soon that he get back in a rhythm here and he could be, you know. And what if they get 15 games of at least 1? runway into the playoffs it would certainly be very helpful i mean i mean tonight he's got 27 points you

know so you get all three of those guys and game one he's already looking like himself i did not see the game we're recording during it but 27 points in his first game i look forward to catching up with that live um and the second half to see what he did because they got a fixed fourth quarters i mean they only got 15 minutes uh you know or 15 games or 20 games of course and that goes and they've played so few minutes with the three of them together. But look, I think those guys can adapt. I think they can adapt. I believe in them. But you're right. Those fourth quarters can be weird. Yeah. So Phoenix is there. And then the Lakers, obviously, I mean, look, since January 1st,

they're seven and three versus top six teams. They're, they've got the league's best record in games that are within five points with five minutes left. They're 19 and 8. I mean, that's That's what playoff basketball is. And it's also like just where they are. It is a disappointing record, obviously. But you look at kind of where they are in the standings. I think there's a real chance they'll be seven or eight.

And if they're seven or eight, I look at it and go, that's a friggin' nightmare for Oklahoma City. It's a frigging nightmare for Minnesota. And so I've got to believe in them more. I've got to believe in them more. And I certainly believe in them more than the other teams that are in that mix. I believe in them more than I do Golden State. I believe in them more than I do Sacramento.

And so, and probably equal to Dallas. Because Dallas is actually on my more list too. Same thing. It's like these teams are probably going to be seven and eight. or close to maybe obviously neither of them if it did end up that Denver was three you obviously don't want to be six

but I just think that for the top seeds Dallas and the Lakers both to me are very dangerous opponents for Oklahoma City and for Minnesota and so that's why it's kind of where they are in the standings and that the Lakers record against the good teams is good.

Their record in close games is good. And Dallas has got a guy on their team that gets like a frigging 35 point triple double every damn night. So that goes without saying. Right. So yeah, more on both of those. Then less? Wait a minute. Wait a minute.

Wait a minute. One. you don't have the Pelicans as more? I have them same. Same. Can you explain that one for me? Can we jump ahead to them? Why are they the same instead of more?

Because they have the number one defense since the All-Star break. They are top 10 in offense and defense. But what did I think they were capable of before? And what was that? a playoff team that will lose in the first round. Wow, first round for sure, 100%. Who would you pick them to beat? 100%, though.

But what I'm saying... No, no, no, just tell me. They could beat the Clippers in the first round. They could compete against Minnesota in the first round, for sure. They could be very competitive, the way they're performing right now. I didn't ask you that. Who would you pick them to beat? Playoffs begin today.

Over the Clippers. The clippers are out. They have guys injured. I would pick them over the clippers today. The playoffs don't begin today. The playoffs begin. Well, that's the exercise right now, if to begin today. No, no, no.

I'm projecting the playoffs, Kevin. I'm not projecting a game tomorrow. Okay, well, assuming the clippers are still having health issues. Why would they still have health issues in a month? Because Kauai Leonard and Paul George have significant injury history. James Hardin's on the older side. So, yes, they could. Right now, it is four clippers, five pelicans.

the Pelicans I would pick to beat the Clippers today. Yes, I would. Okay. You just said it yourself. The Pelicans defense has been absolutely dominant. We would admit that that's a seven-game series at minimum, right? Or six at minimum. Maybe.

I mean, they are not, the Clippers are seven and seven in the last 14 games. Kauai Leonard's shot has fallen off a cliff. None of those guys look like they have the same burst right now. All of them are dealing with injury, all their stars. So even though there's some positive trends for the Clippers, Zubots is looking healthier. You got guys like coffee coming off the bench having some good moments. There's positive trends. It's about stars.

And right now their stars don't look like the level that they were when they were just rocking and rolling in January. And so I think with the Clippers, yes, I would pick the Pelicans today, considering the fact that their defense as a collective unit is absolutely dominant. Herb Jones is a first team all defense guy. Zion, Trey Murphy, those guys, they have one of the best two-man games in the entire league. Ingram is kicking ass. C.J. McCollum's fitting in. They get tons of role players. Trey Murphy's taking 10 threes a game, finally.

I've been calling for that for a year plus. It's actually happening. He's taking 10 threes a game since the All-Star break. It's a beautiful thing to witness. Finally, one of the best shooters in basketball is shooting the most threes in the league. Thank you for doing this Willie Green. So yes, the Pelicans, they are trending way, way, way, way up, and they should be on the moral list for sure. Come on, Chris.

Get on my side. You think they would beat the Clippers. Today, I think they would beat the Clippers. Well, I say that. Come playoff time. Yeah, you'll be Kevin a flip-flopper. No, because the Clippers might be healthy. I'm telling you today, the Clippers, if healthy, they could be, they would beat the Pelicans.

Yes, if they're healthy. I would pick the clippers. But they're not healthy. And I don't know if they'll be healthy. And that's been the fear with them the whole freaking. season will they be healthy? That's nothing new. And they're not right now.

That's scary. If you're a Clippers fan, when you got all those positive trends, like I said, Zubots is looking better. Powell might be six by six man of the year. Like you've got this good things happening for that team and you saw what you could be in January. I hope Coirlander can get back. I hope Paul George can get back to being fully healthy.

But right now they're not. That's scary. All right. Then you've convinced me, New Orleans more. Okay. Thank you. I'll say more. Thank you.

Because the Clippers are less. I mean, I do have them on the last. The last is Minnesota, the Clippers, Golden State, and Sacramento. Which do you want to hit? So I only had one that was the same, which is OKC. Okay. Which is fair. Yeah, yeah.

Well, the OKC in New Orleans are the only ones that have never done anything. Mm-hmm. I mean, I guess Minnesota hadn't really done anything either, but, yeah. You know. I had them on last. I have them on less. I had O'KC in New Orleans on same. Right?

I'm a prove it guy. You got to win. Yeah. Right? You got to win. Can you rattle off the lesses again? Who's on your less? Minnesota.

It's obvious, right? Offense is pathetic without towns. And, I mean, you saw the situation. God, poor Nasreed, who is the fan favorite in Minnesota, had a very good offensive game. But, I mean, Anthony Davis could have broken Wilts record, it felt like, for rebounds and for points in that game yesterday. But he had 27, 25, 75, 3, 5. I was like, Jesus. I know.

I don't know. Friggin' Bill Russell. You know, they have to have towns. And I know that they're like, hey, we'll have it back for the playoffs. Like, they have to have him. Their offense stinks. They score, like, a point a minute. a point per possession, I mean, you know, with Nause or with Kyle Anderson.

It's just, it's a 100.8 offensive rating and a plus 2.4 per 100 possessions with the four starters without towns. No matter who you're sliding into that, you know, fifth spot. That's, it's just a bridge too far. They have to have him. And so in the absence of knowing whether or not they'd be able to have him and be having full force, I have to have less confidence in them because it's just too big of a question mark. Their offense isn't that good with towns. And now without him, it's a struggle, bro. Your defense just has to be so great.

And how many, you know, 96 to 92 games can you win? in the playoffs. Yeah, I mean, I think it's really no different than we talked about last week with the absence of towns. They need him to win the NBA finals. So we agree on him. And the only one thing I'd say is that it is nice to see Nas Reid just getting buckets. But it's better when Nasrid is your super guy off the bench rather than your starter because then you also have towns. Who's great defensively?

You know what's interesting? Last week, you know, my guys that work with. me in Memphis. They were at the game in Minnesota. And they told me they were like, you look around the stadium and they're like, who's the jersey you think you see the most? And I was like, Edwards. And they're like, yes, Edward, by far, right? And they're like, and they're like, who's next? I was like, I don't know. Conley. I was like, there's probably not that many people that are wearing towns or go bears. I was like Conley. It's like McDaniels.

Who? And they're like, no. It's Reed and it's not even close. I mean, he's a cool player. It's not even close. He's got cool hair, a cool style. He's a big man with handles, crossovers. He's fun. Yeah, they said there is Nasreed jerseys all over. Every team store you go into, it's like prominently displayed.

I am surprised that he would be the second most. It's Edwards and then Reed. But they friggin love Nas Reid there. They love him. And I said, I was telling him, I was like, it's, It's the best position to be in. There's nothing better than being the sixth man, right? You get to come in, you know, if you play awesome and you win,

then everybody's like, oh, my God, how awesome was Nas. And if you play like crap, nobody blames you for the loss, right? It's like, it really is. It's kind of like, you know, Malik Munk's got this going in Sacramento. Like the nights that Malik Munk has 36 off the bench, you're like, Jesus Christ, Malik Munk. But if Malik Munk comes in and goes two, or 16. Nobody, like, nobody says, well, they would have one if it weren't from a late monk.

Like, you get, you get all the good, but you don't bear the brunt of being blamed for losing. Because in many cases, you're not on the court in the biggest possessions, and you get to go in and just terrorize second units every night. Montrez had this for a while, too. You remember that? Montres Errol had this same kind of thing. And he was a huge fan favorite for the Clippers, not as much for the. Acres. Wasn't as much as a fan favorite. It's certainly not in Philly. Minnesota,

Clippers, I mean, they just, I don't know if they're hurt, bored, what. Hurt. They are hurt.

I know, but they've also seemed bored. Like, they're one in five, or one and four against teams over 500 since the break. They haven't beaten anybody good. They had that war with Minnesota,

which was the ugliest game. but that's like, I think that's their only win over a team. So they're five and five and all the wins are against rat teams. And the losses are all against a good team. So they've just got a, like they were on that 33 and 11 streak.

They're prior to the All-Star game where I was, I thought they were as good a team as I've seen in person all year. And they just have not looked the same post-all-Star. No, not even close. I mean, Kauai, post all star, he's shooting 26% from three. Brutal. Brutal.

I mean, the shot is just falling apart for their star guys. So it's got to get healthy. I still believe in him, though. I mean, how could you not believe in Kauai? Right. Right. I mean, you got to believe in Kauai. When it comes playoff time, I still want him on my team.

The dude is special. Yep. Golden State. I mean, this goes to that saying, you've got the Curry injury. And it's like, again, they're never going to have it all together. You feel like the runway is short now. And I just have a very tough time. With the Lakers, I sit there or Dallas, I sit there and go, boy, that could be hell for these other teams.

Whereas for Golden State, I don't know, you know, you're probably seven or eight if you can even get in there, right? If you're even in the playoffs, you're seven or eight. like who is the team I think that I think that's who I'd want to play if I was Oklahoma City I don't want to play them or sack if I want to advance I want to stay away from the Lakers and the and the Mavs and so I just don't see the MAP like with the Blakers and the Mabs I see matchups where oh God that could be an upset and that could be torture whereas I do not not look at it in the same way necessarily with Golden State. I'm not saying they couldn't beat Oklahoma City or beat Minnesota, but I would be much

less likely to pick it than I would than being upset by the Lakers or the Mavs. Is that fair? Yeah, I mean, I think because of the Curry injury. They're just not punishing Oklahoma City for being small, Kev. Yeah, I know, but what I'm saying is because of the Curry injury, what you're saying is fair, but at the same time, like, Cominga keeps on excelling. FODs

continues to do well. Trace Jackson Davis coming off the bench, making a positive contribution every single night. But you know they're not guarding Kaminga in the, in the playoffs. You know that. I know, I know. You're going to have a lot of guys that can't shoot out there

if you're playing your best players. I know, I know. But I think in, in comparison to what they were, a month ago. Granted, their winning kind of started around a month ago when they started trending up. I think they're more in comparison to what they were at one point, you know, a month-ish ago. You know what I'm saying? Like I think in comparison, it's more. This just reminds me much more of the team that lost to Memphis in the play in, you know,

three years ago. I think, I mean, they very well could be that. That's, they remind me of that team much more than the team that turned around and was able to get back to the title. And this schedule coming up for them, they're beating the spurs on Monday night. They get the Mavericks on Wednesday, the Lakers on Saturday, the Knicks next Monday, who could at that point look a bit more full. So three tough games coming up. Yeah, that's a brutal schedule. And then Sacramento, like, I just don't know where to put them.

I mean, they, oddly enough, their record against good teams is good. and they get some really good road wins. I just feel like they are so matchup dependent. And they're also up and down, up and down. I know. They're a 500 ball club in recent months. That's right. They have not been great for quite some time now.

But then they'll have some kind of great win against a great team. Yep. And then a terrible lot. What are you? Yes. And I felt that way for a long time about New Orleans as well. Right. And New Orleans could turn back in it.

But when their schedule was tougher. When New Orleans had their tougher part of their schedule, you'd watch them and be like, oh my God, this team is dynamite. And then you'd watch them another night and like, what are you? Are you good? And so maybe I'm just tortured by that when I think about them, the up and down. Or maybe I'm just, you know, I just can't get out of my head how prior to injury, John Morant tore their heart out of the day.

their chest on their home floor and urinated on it. And had like 40-something and a game winner where he, you know, just blew past herb Jones. But that's neither here nor there. Also in that last King's game, the Shen Gune injury, thank goodness. Thank goodness. Thank goodness. Oh, my God. That looked terrible.

You don't see a lot of wheelchairs. No kidding. That was scary. I mean, it looks very bad. Thank goodness it's not long term. Yeah, I mean, it's obviously worse. than Paul Pierce's diarrhea, but it's not it's not a debilitating injury.

Oklahoma City, same. Yep. I mean, they're awesome, but they've got to, like, they got to prove it. This is going to be the first go-round. It's going to be the first go-round. We have not seen them in the super pressure situations. And they got to play against a team

that cannot just mull them on the board. because things will slow down. Some of the guys won't shoot as high percentages as they have throughout the season because that's how it works when you get to the playoffs and you're playing against one team. But you just got to hope that you're not playing against somebody that can just play volleyball on the backboard.

If I'm damn, I just pray to God that I don't have to face L.A. Other than that, I think I'd be okay with most of the matchups. I wouldn't want to play Denver or Dallas either, which actually they play later this week again. They play against Dallas. So that'll be instructive to watch. But they're a prove-it team. I don't know what to me.

You know, it's going to be their first time through. Obviously, super talented. They got Gildes Alexander and all kinds of shooters. But Chet's kind of alone in terms of size. He's kind of alone down there. Yeah, I think we pretty much agree. I mean, I guess New Orleans was our only. and you won me over.

I'm with it. Fine. More. I'll put them in the more. But I think we're pretty much on the same page. We had a lot of those. Yeah, we had a lot in common.

That was fun. That's a cool exercise. Was that our first time playing that? That was good. That should be an annual March thing. I agree with you. I like it. That's a good one.

That's a good game. Before we get out of here, this is the moment where I get to get mad at you. Now, we will do a bunch of draft stuff on Thursday because all the conference tournaments are going to be in full swing. But this weekend, I was watching college basketball

the entire weekend, and I texted you, and I said, you told me that your draft stuff comes out on Monday. Where is Reed Shepard? And you said, I don't know yet. And I said,

wherever it is, it's too low. And then I pull up the damn draft guide, and you've got him number one. Now, did you do that just despite me so that I could not? You knew I was going to come on here. And if you had him four or five or wherever, I was going to say, you know what, Kev? I'm in love with Reed Shepherd.

But if you put him one on one of your list and two on another one of your list, then you take all the bullets out of my gun. but I can show everybody the text. I texted him on Saturday, and I said, you're Reed Shepherd, no matter where you have him is too low. This guy is freaking amazing.

And I tell you this, I love him and Dillingham. We've talked about them throughout this season. But, bro, his performance against Tennessee, by the way, Dalton Connect was the guy that had 40 in the game. Awesome.

He was great, too. And he'll be a lottery pick as well. Yep. That game was super high level. And talent-wise, just real lottery talent. It was kind of crazy because I watch games all day. And I watched that one. And then at night, I watched Duke and Carolina.

Duke and Carolina was an absolute sack of crap compared to that. I don't know how anybody could watch both those. Duke and Carolina wasn't as entertaining as the Caitlin Clark Nebraska game. Or the South Carolina, oh, man, it's probably better than the South Carolina game, except the South Carolina game had a fight in it. That women's game. But the Caitlin Garland-Obraska game was like super fun to watch. And Duke North Carolina is supposed to be, you know.

Dude, it was awful. Yeah. It was awful. Borderline unwatchable, honestly. I thought it was just terrible. Whereas Kentucky, Tennessee was like, this is exactly what I would sign up for. Sure. Like that game was so fun.

And I walked away going both those teams are awesome for college teams. Both those teams. But Shepard, bro, you went so far. You put me in a corner now. What am I supposed to say? Well, here's the thing. You didn't cross my mind when I did the mock. Show.

You did it. It's true. That's bull crap. That's bull crap. Here's how the mock came to be, right? Okay. I had filed a mock draft last Wednesday with the standard order, you know, Pistons and Wizards with the number of,

one and number two pick. And my editor, Matt Dollinger for it, said, huh, you know what, why don't we shift the top four for this week's mock drafts? And he said file that to Isaac, our other tremendous editor for the draft guide from the ringer, because Matt is out this week. And I filed it to Isaac on Sunday. I edited it. Kind of, you know, when I was out with my mom, I was editing it, you know, between doing

stuff, taking care of errands, going out to a botanical garden with her on Sunday. And I edited it. Garden. You can't say any word. Botanical garden. Botanical. I have no idea. Whatever. The subject is botany.

Dottony. All right. Sure. Mr. Galatins. Whatever. I don't care what it is. We're at the Huntington Library is what it's called. It's a gorgeous place outside of Los Angeles. Beautiful.

Highly recommend if you're in the area. We were there. I was looking at the Spurs and I was like, should I go with Rekashet at number one and then draft the guard with their second first? Or should I just go read Shepard number one, considering he's a top five-ish guy anyway. I'm going to go read Shepard number one and then take the swing salon at number eight with their second first round pick.

So that's what I did. Is Rekashay buddies with Wembe? Do we know? As far as I know, no. I don't know if they have like a close relationship. I know. I know salon as the same agent as when Benyama. Rekashet is not.

So that's one of the- A turncoat. I'm just kidding. That's one of the reasons why I put salon in the spurs. I mean, it's too early for that type of stuff, you know, to be part of the conversation. But that's one of the reasons why I will be leaning towards salon for the Spurs.

I am in love with Reed Shepard. In a year where everybody's told me this draft stinks, I watched him and I'm like, yo, this dude is so impactful defensively. Dude, his instincts

are out of this world. Out of this world. Well, and I don't know if you saw the thing about him getting it all from his mom. His mom was evidently Bulldog defender at Kentucky. And anyways, I love Shepard and got to see him. So I went through your mock.

And we'll talk more about it on Thursday. It was fascinating to see the reaction on social media with me putting Shepard first in the mock. People saying, oh, it's just clickbait. You know, your next Killian Hayes. It's like, I don't know. Maybe we just disagree on like one of the eight or nine guys that are in contention for number one. It's going to be different team by team.

Reed Shepard is at worst. Like one of my buddies, my friend Chris, he texted me today. He's like, oh, I love seeing you have Shepherd this high. To me, Chris said he's going to be Fred Van Fleet with a better jumper. And I'm like, huh, that's a pretty good comparison. You know, a smaller guy, hard-nosed defender, good playmaker, and he's a better shooter. That's an interesting comp. To me, like in this year's draft class where there's certain teams that are going to want to take a swing on Alex Starr or Riquet or

Cody Williams or you know, whoever it is, pick, pick your guy, right? Take a swing. But there's certain teams like the Spurs that already have their face of the franchise that you might want to take a swing on the guy who you view as a high floor player that maybe he can tap into something even greater than you

anticipate like Reed Shepherd, where you pair him with Wenben, Yama or, you know, something like that, like the two-man game, like those guys could be amazing together. So incredible. I love Shepard, watched him this weekend. And then I'll give you two that are later down in that market. We'll get more into this on Thursday after I've watched more.

And throughout the tournament too. A lot of draft talk to come. So I texted you about Shepard. Love him, love Dillingham, the Kentucky kids. We've been talking about them this year. Yep.

All right. You can have Philipowski. You're not a fan. You're not a fan. No, I don't. care about him. I'm so iffy on him. I have him. I have him 18th on my board and I'm like, you can have him. I don't know, man. You can have him. You can have him. You can have him.

And I tell you who I liked yesterday and I just may have caught the game to catch you. I got caught watching Indiana, Michigan State yesterday. Kalil where's freaking good? Maybe I just caught the right game, but I saw 28 and 12 and I'm like, yo. I'm like, I'm like, Where is this guy in the box? I am 29 on my board. Yeah, that's too low. It's probably too low. Here's the thing with him, right?

So this is like what NBA people view it as. Okay. They viewed him as inconsistent worker throughout high school, inconsistent worker freshman year at Oregon. And there's concern from the NBA side that this year in Indiana is just him in a prove it situation for the draft. the people who are more optimistic about him say, oh my goodness,

this is the guy he always looked like he could become as a seven-footer who can shoot threes. He's hitting 44% of his threes this year, who is active and bringing it defensively, blocking shots, rebounding 10 balls a game. The optimistic side is that this is sustainable. Yeah, look, there was part of me that, like, yesterday,

because again, I'm watching NBA games throughout the year, I thought to myself as I was watching it. I have not heard this kid's name all that much. I'm probably watching the best game of his life. But dude, he was unbelievable. He was 13 for 19, 28, and 12. Yeah. I was like, I mean, and you're playing Michigan State.

It's not like you're playing sisters of the poor, right? You know they're rough and tumble at Michigan State. So to me, I don't know. I didn't think his team was all that good. It was a good win for them. Their team's not good, but he was easily the best player on the floor in that game. So you might be a little low on him. He's somebody who, I might be for sure, at number 29, I might be.

Yeah, when have you, when have you held it against a guy not to be a hard worker? I mean, you loved Aiton, you loved Christian Wood. Like, these are your guys. These guys write up your alley. You got me. You should have him in the top five. I should have texted you about him. You could have put him in your stupid mock draft.

Instead, I texted you about Reed Shepard, and now you're like, I didn't even think about you. Shut up. And by the way, you're kind of twisting a little bit there. I mean, Christian Wood, I'd be just a situational guy. Like, maybe in the right situation. I was dead wrong. You're the last Christian Wood fan on Earth.

With Aiton, I think with Aiton, I liked what he was in Phoenix, and I thought he was worth a shot for Portland, clearly is not working out at all. I mean, it turns out that his comments prior to the drafts, my goal is to get to my second contract. He's not a liar. Hey, you can say whatever you want to. He's a guy's not a hypocrite.

He's an honest guy, that's for sure. Jesus Christ. He might be a loaf of bread, but he is not a hypocrite. But my turn out to be one of the truest quotes in pre-draft history. My goal is to get to my second. second contract. He told your ass. I know, he did.

Dude, when that quote came out, it freaked me out. I was like, oh, my God. This guy, like, there's no way. There's no way. It turned on the return. What freaked me out was when he got his dick kicked in by Buffalo in the NCAA tournament. That's what freaked me out. Gosh.

That was terrible. That was terrible. I think that was Nate Oates, too, who's now doing good things at Bama. I think that's what Nate Oates was at Buffalo. back in the day and smoke that Arizona team with Aiton on it. Anyways, yeah, he's a loaf. All right. Reed Shepherd fan club, the mismatch.

And I'm sure things will change a lot. This seems like one of those things where the draft is going to, I think if I, oh, oh, I'm glad I was about to say, if I screenshoted your lottery that it would look a lot different by the time we get to June. Yeah. Okay, here's my one request as a fan of your work and the ringer draft guide. You know I love the ringer draft guy. I love it. I love the Kevin O'Connor Big Board.

I love it. I love the artwork. I love the breakdowns, everything. My one request, get me a print button. Ah. I can't highlight it all without all that sidebar stuff, getting highlighted too. Try to get me a print button on there

because I love printing these out because then I could take notes on them, whatever. I also will keep them as the draft goes on so I see how it evolves. Get me a print button for the draft guide. Surely they can do that. You know, one of my favorite gifts that I've ever received was before I was with the ringer.

My friend Andy gave me a printout of my NBA draft guides they used to make on my own. The PDFs that I used to sell, he gave me a hardcover printout of my draft guide. It just looked a lot to me to see that. And also,

another time, I think it was the 2016 drafts. I was, this is, again, pre-ringer. This is the last pre-ringer draft guide that I did. I did some stuff with NBC Sports Boston.

And they had a bunch of my draft guides printed out to help with production for the drafts. And I saw Tommy Heinzson, flipping through my draft guide profiles. That was one of the most surreal moments of my life. I was like, Tommy Eindson,

looking at my draft guide, that was crazy. So yeah, I would love to do a print button. That's cool. Yeah, see if they can, they can probably get a print button on there.

I know. I know. Or like a print. I mean, if you print, it might like cut off profiles. It's something where like each page could be its own profile. That'd be best.

Or just printable version. Yeah. Right? Just a page that's a printable version of the big board and the other. Yes. Right? That's all I'm requested. That's my request.

Yes. Yes. As a fan of the draft guide, just get me a print button because I would have printed the whole damn thing out. That way I could sit around and read it. Because it is a lot. It's a lot. It's a lot to read on my phone and it's a lot to read.

It's one of the few things I actually would print out. Usually like that and write Thompson articles. that are like war in peace and I have to print those out. And it will grow too. It's only at 50 profiles. I'd love to get to 100 this year. 100 is what I used to do pre-ringer. I'd like to get to 100.

Dig it. I might only be allowed to get to like 80 or 70. But I mean, I want to get to 100. Free Kevin O'Connor's draft guy. I want to do 100. Because those are the most interesting players to discuss some of those back-end guys. Who deserves a shot? Everybody's got the same top 40-ish,

450-ish guys. It's like, who are the guys at the end of the draft that you actually, I think, belong in the 30s and stuff like that, you know? Totally fair. Yeah. All right. Kevin, it is always a pleasure.

Thank you to our executive producer, Jesse Lopez, as always, and I will talk to you later this week. I'm very much looking forward to. Have a good week. Must be 20 plus and present in select states. Band Dill is offering online sports wagering in Kansas under an agreement with the Kansas Star Casino LLC. gambling problem. In Colorado, Iowa, Kentucky, North Carolina, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Tennessee, Vermont, and Virginia. Call one and her to gambler or visit fanbill.com.

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