The Mismatch - The Nets and Lakers Fortify Their Rosters on the Buyout Market. Plus: Zion Williamson's Monster Performance Against the Mavericks.

Episode Date: March 30, 2021

Verno and KOC start off by talking about the biggest signings from the buyout market, with LaMarcus Aldridge going to the Nets and Andre Drummond going to the Lakers (0:30). Then they get into Zion Williamson’s monster game against the Mavericks (26:52), Tyrese Haliburton making a run at Rookie of the Year with LaMelo hurt (38:57), the top three contenders in the East (46:23), and the latest on the men’s NCAA tournament (58:26). Hosts: Chris Vernon and Kevin O’Connor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On R2C2, Cecee Sabathia and Ryan Rucco guide listeners through everything going on in the MLB, NBA, and NFL. They also talk to friends, athletes, and celebrities about the world of sports and much more. Check out R2C2 with CCCWathia and Ryan Rucco on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to The Mismatch. I'm Chris Vernon. Join him as he does every Tuesday from the ringer.com. It's Kevin O'Connor, A.K. Kevin O'O. Bomer, Kevin O'Connor, A.K.K.K.O.K.K.K.O.K.K.K. Oh, I had some listeners message me after our trade deadline show on Friday telling me, Kevin, you forgot to tell Chris that he owes you $100. Because Andrew Wiggins is still with the Golden State Warrior.

So Chris, just real quickly before we talk about everything today that we get going, my Venmo is at Kevin O'Connor, NBA. If you want to send that 100 bucks right on over, because Wiggins on his way to a long, fruitful career. career with the Golden State Warriors. I'm going to say. Let me say this. It is my opinion, and I will put this out there right now, that Clay Thompson should pay that money. Come on.

The whole theory was that. Christopher Vernon should pay that money. When they have, when they have, when Clay Thompson is there, that there's going to be a better utilization of the money than Andrew Wiggins, therefore he will not be there. but in the absence of Clay Thompson, my bet went to hell in a handbasket. The only thing I will ask you is, do you accept top shots as payment? It appears the closest one to $100 I have is a Tobias Harris Cool Cats. And so maybe I could just transfer you over a Tobias Harris Top Shot.

No, I will send you your money. You won the bet. Clay Thompson, the next time I see you, I'm going to, I'm going to alert you that you cost me $100 by tearing your Achilles. But look, here's hoping Clay Thompson's able to come back. By the way, Curry was back last night. That was nice to see Steph Curry back in the polls. Great to see Steph back. Doing Steph Curry things nonetheless, right?

Let's get to what has happened since we last spoke. Well, we did our trade deadline post-mortem, and since then, we started looking at the buyout market. And we had a couple of big names, though who knows how much they will impact the respective places they go, land in different spots. The headliners were Lamarcus Aldridge going to the Brooklyn Nets, which was, I thought, a little bit surprising because it felt like most of the reporting was Miami, right? That he may end up in Miami noise. Yeah, that there was a lot of Miami noise in all of

of that. So Aldridge ends up going to Brooklyn. They had already signed Blake Griffin in a similar circumstance after a buyout. And so I think I think that's what was surprising, right? That they got Blake Griffin and now they get

Lamarcus Aldridge. And so you're just piling up these players. Those, obviously, in many ways can duplicate each other. Who knows how much they would be able to play together. And honestly, who knows how many minutes either of them are getting when it matters most in round two and round three of the playoffs, which you certainly expect Brooklyn to be in. What do you make of Aldridge signing there?

I mean, I'll lump them both up together. I think with Aldridge and Drummond, Drummond going to the Lakers, both of these guys just add another option to the rotation. You know, look at the front court of these teams as, you know, like relief pitchers in baseball. You know, you get your lefty in the pen. You have, you know, for certain matchups, certain situations. You might have a guy who threw as a fastball in certain situations, guys who have a breaking ball. And with the Brooklyn Nets, you have all these different types of flavors of big man,

DeAndre Jordan for rim running, Nick Claxson for defensive versatility with size, Blake Griffin for playmaking and like higher upside, as we've already seen with him. And now you have Lamarcus Aldrich who can provide a scoring punt. And there might not be a lot of situations in which you need scoring when you have Kevin Durant, Carrie Irving and James Hardin. That's what was there for you. Right. I thought he would come off the bench and be a heater for somebody, right?

Like, you know, you come in at six minutes into the third quarter. They come in, they bring Audrey. He gives you, you know, five and a half minutes. But he might get you eight points and he's done his thing. And he still could, though. You know, I mean, we're seeing Blake get some buckets out of the roll. He's getting some open three. three-pointers and all that so aldrich can provide that to the key for brooklyn with aldrich is that

he needs to be better than what we saw defensively in san antonio when he just did not care about contesting shots you know recovering back to his man of a three-point line he needs to be better on the defensive end of the floor and with with drummond and the lakers it's a lot of the same questions you know he adds that big body to that you know to that group with the front court and i know you know i think he tweeted the other day you're not going to love seeing him play ahead of mark a Oh, my gosh. But Drummond right now at the stage of his career is a far superior rebounder. He's one of the best rebounds in basketball, one of the best rebounders we've seen in the last 10 plus years.

That's the only thing he is better than Marcus Hall at. And that's what he's great at. So for the Lakers, if AD misses any time, it's another guy to add to that rotation. And if AD does play AD as an Anthony Davis. If Anthony Davis is playing, you can play him with a big bruising center in Drummond. granted he's gotten eaten alive at times by Abed and Yokic, but the fact is that he's a bigger body and fills a need there while also providing the rebounding to complement Harold with the energy,

with the scoring, to complement Gasol, with the three-point shooting, with just the reliability as a passer, you know, the steadiness that Gasol provides. So it's all these different flavors that Aldridge adds to the Nets, that drummets to the Lakers. So the two favorites got a lot stronger with the bio period. in terms of the respective way you can through a bio.

And I like what both teams did. Yeah, but on the team side, obviously, if these guys want to come there, you don't say no. For both players, I found it to be puzzling. Just because on the drummond side, who knows?

Why? I want to go win a win, Chris. Go win. Go win a ring. Yeah. Okay. But without being a massive part of winning a ring, that's the thing, right?

Most of these guys. Those guys aren't capable. I don't think personally. I know, being a big part. Maybe not. Maybe not. But, I mean, Andre Drummond could, you would figure thinks he could be on the court at the end of a finals game where they win the title. And you can't have him on, not in a close game. You could have him if it's a blowout. But I mean, you don't want to put the adventure that he is at the free throw line, you know, deciding these games at the end of games. With Aldridge more so, I understand. But again, you could have gone to somebody else that could really compete. And, and, and. by the way, you're saying they want to win titles. Both of them can't win a title, right? So only one of them can win a title, assuming it's one of those two teams. So at that point, it is, with Drummond, I would think, hey, would I want to go somewhere

that could really pay me in the off season, somewhere that I'm going to be for longer than these three months or whatever it may be, right? And play a ton of minutes. The other side of it, the Aldridge thing is more understandable because that's, you know, just I'm coming to the twilight of my career, latch on to somebody, and we'll see how much I could contribute. But there's no question, if your idea was to contribute, like, the most, that's not the place where he was going to be able to contribute the most to whatever they were going to be doing. He is so far down the pecking order. I don't even know, does he, does he get more

minutes than the Bruce Browns and the Nick Claxton's and the Jeff Greens of the world? I mean, probably not. There might be some series, but that's going to be, you know, guys are going to have to sacrifice and be unselfish and realize there will be nights that you don't play or that you don't play as much as you usually do. But he would have played in Miami. He would have played in Portland. He would have played in some of these other teams.

You know what I'm saying? If you wanted to play and you wanted to really contribute, there were options for you or you could just go latch on and I guess be there for the party. Yeah, I understand what you're saying, Chris. I don't look at it as much as latching on.

I think it's contributing to, no, it's contributing to the team and adding an element to the team that could be needed in a playoff series. I mean, these teams have so much. They don't need you.

Everybody knows they don't need. They don't need him. It didn't, it did not move the needle. Maybe need. Maybe need is too strong of a word. It moved the needle an inch. If anything,

it might have. put the needle down a little bit because if they got to play him. More options he have. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. To withstand injury. I mean,

I guess I don't know. Damian. injury can happen, Chris. I mean, KD's been out for what? Four weeks? Damian Lillard not thrilled about it.

Do you see his Instagram post? I thought that was funny. Yeah. Clearly, he said, my loyalty is my biggest flaw. I'm too solid for this weird ass era. No cap.

And I mean, because there are guys like him that are cut from that cloth, which is, you know, let's, you know, I'm going to get my team together and we're going to go and compete. I'm not just going to latch on to winners, but that's what we saw in this buyout market. We saw guys just latch on. I don't understand that, though.

I mean, what do you mean? Like, you're saying latching on to a winner. So what if a guy wants to contribute to a winning a championship instead of going to a place where he'll play. more minutes and more consistently. I don't, I understand, like, the loyalty aspect. I don't understand the problem with a guy being like, okay, I understand I'm not the guy anymore and that I can contribute in a minimal role.

To me, I look at that as kind of like an unselfish act. Like, if he has a big moment in a game six that is remembered by Nets fans for many years to come and it becomes one of the moments of his career. And, but then he has a DMP CD the next game, I look at that, you know, good, good on him. No, that's sacrificing for the greater good of a team that has a mission to win a championship. I don't look at that as some negative necessarily, like with a guy not being loyal or Aldridge could have went back to Portland. Like Portland did have interest in Aldridge and there was mutual interest. That's been, I don't know if that was reported, but it's what I heard prior to his decision to go to Brooklyn, just as Miami wanted him to.

The Lakers also wanted Aldridge too. So for him, he had different choices to go to different places. And I respect his decision. Yeah, well, I mean, that is. but he clearly, if he goes to Portland, he plays a bigger role. Yeah, so what? You know, I win in the championship.

They can't stop anybody. Right. They might not win a title. And so that's why he didn't do it. Right. And I think, I think Damian Lillard is cut from the cloth of, I can help this team go.

Let's go. Let's compete. Let's go play against each other. Right? Not I want to team up with the best guys so that I don't, so I just win. Everybody was talking about.

It's different eras. You know what I mean? The goalposts have moved so much with the Brooklyn ads. Before the season, it's like, oh, can Katie and Kyrie? You know, they're going to be, it's going to be chaos with these two guys, two emotional players. They can't get along. It's going to be a disaster there. It's going to blow up. And then it's, then it's like, buyout period comes. Oh, Blake Griffin's old. He can't play. He can't do anything anymore. Why are they adding him? Well, then Blake Griffin goes there and people see how he, his skills

fit into the greater context there. And now with Lamarcus Aldridge, it's turned into, oh, is buyouts? There's this too much. Is this unfair? Is this right? for the game. Katie's loading up again. Can he win alone? Can Katie do it himself? It's like just get out of here. Stop moving the goalposts on these teams. I'm sick of the discourse around the Brooklyn. What post is being moved though?

You labeled individual criticisms of different things that took place. I'm saying going back to before the season, it's like it's going to be chaos here. This team is not going to be as good as everybody expects and now suddenly it's turned into there's some, you know, this is a juggernaut and is it fair

that they're able to add a Blake Griffin and able to at a Lamarcus Aldridge when this team, the same players, people were talking about Blake Griffin is being done for years. People were talking about Lamarcus Aldridge being one of the worst defenders in basketball for quite some time. So the point I'm getting at is here is, yes, Blake Griffin is a flawed player now. Yes, Lamarcus Aldridge is a flawed player now, but what I love about what Brooklyn has done is pinpointing the pieces and putting them in positions to succeed. I wish that's the way the conversation was more about Brooklyn. Like the video we did at the ringer with me, Dylan, and Ronick about

Blake Griffin and what he could contribute to the Nets. It was based on their remarkable usage of Bruce Brown using the 6'4 guard as a screener. We're seeing more and more teams put players into positions where their skills can be highlighted. The Clippers

doing this more recently with Terrence man, having him as a screener on the short role, we can pick apart defenses. I respect these teams putting these players into positions to succeed, whether they're younger guys like Bruce Brown or Terrence Mann are older fading players like Blake Griffin. So I'm really, really excited to see what Lamarcos Aldridge could look like in a new situation because the Brooklyn Nets and Steve Nash and

head coach have shown that even when guys are out, Katie's missed so much time, Kyrie's missed games, that they still have an ability to put guys into positions to succeed. So when I think about the Brooklyn Nets, I wish it wasn't so much about like, oh, is this fair? Is this okay? You know, this and that. And more so, it's a real. remarkable what they're doing there. And I think Steve Nash and that coaching staff has done one heck of a job to put these guys into positions

to succeed. I don't think it's about being fair. I think it's just that people don't like it. They resent it. You know what I mean? They didn't like the heat guys all teaming up. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. It's been for sure.

Yeah, and I totally get it. But like, I just, what I don't get is people saying Blake Griffin is old. He's done. He's trash now. Who was saying that? it was all over the internet. When he signed with Brooklyn, people said that that was a bad signing?

I would say it was until the day he signed with the Nets. It was like until the day he signed with the Nets. And then you signed with the Nets. Well, you were doing that. You trashed boy, Griffin. I mean, what are we talking about? With what he could present in the buyout period to a contending team? No, not.

No, I'm saying once the buyout period came, it was like, okay, if he's a buyout guy, hey, maybe he might still have something to bring to the table. but I mean you weren't you weren't there promoting Blake Griffin as he's still good everybody when he was in Detroit we did a show you said he had the worst contract in the whole league yeah he did have the worst contract in the whole league for like if you're there's a big difference between well in fact is he was not good in Detroit so people were saying he wasn't good in Detroit that's one thing but in terms of playing a minor role he's like Chris like if you factor in contracts that's a totally different

conversation if you're speaking strictly about the player like skills wise, yeah, he's not the same guy anymore. That goes without saying. Well, look, anytime any of these guys signed with good teams, they get the bump of, hey, maybe they're going to be good after all, right? Like, that's the way it works. Same with Drummond. You know, Lakers fans would have, if Drummond signs with the Celtics,

Lakers fans would have said Drummond sucks, whatever. And if, you know, now people say he signs with the Lakers and they're like, that drum it sucks. You know, me, like, it depends on who the guy signs with. he gets the bump of, hey, maybe this guy, you get the benefit of the doubt, right? Once you go to some of these teams, you get the benefit. It's like, hey, you know what, maybe he'll be able to help, you know? But if the guy doesn't sign with you, then all of a sudden it's like, hey,

he wasn't that good anyway. I mean, that's just the way it goes. And I don't know. That's being a fan. If you don't get a guy that you had a chance to get it. But I mean, but Griffin, I don't think anybody criticized Brooklyn for bringing in Blake Griffin because of, I mean, he was going to, it's a buyout guy that's going to play a minor role.

I never said anybody did. Oh, I thought that's what you were, that was the whole thing. You were saying that the goalpost were moving and people were saying, I'm just, all I said is, Blake Griffin wasn't any good and it was all over the internet. All I'm saying is for a year, it's, you know,

Blake is not good anymore, he's done. And then suddenly he signs with the Brooklyn, and it becomes this isn't fair. You're adding Blake Griffin, a former All-Star to this group. It's like, so you can say the player's done and no good anymore, but then it's a major big deal when that player signs with a contending team. That's all I'm saying, Chris. Like, I just don't, I have a hard time with that.

And like the contract that Blake Griffin had in Detroit, that made him overpaid and it made it a bad contract. It made it an anchor on the Pistons. and but like factor out the contract, there are still skills that the player has that could fit in the right context. And like situation and how pieces fit together is, it's like,

is like to me like what I love most, like when I watch the NBA, when I watch the NFL, I love seeing how teams are built and pieces are put together. Like that's what interests me more than anything else. And like Blake Griffin still can pass the ball. He can still shoot spot up threes. can still communicate on defense and be in the right place. And apparently he can still

dunk a little bit too. So like putting it in context with the net, it's just fascinating to see what he can offer. And that's why with the Lakers, Chris, it's going to be so interesting here. Because Andre Drummond for years in Detroit and in Cleveland has never been an efficient score around the rim. Post-ups, he has never been efficient. He has never been efficient as a rim runner. And I think about like what will he look like with the Lakers? What does he look like when there aren't as many postups there? Will they take away postups from him? And will they have him run high pick and roll with Dennis Schroeder or LeBron James? And how does that impact his ability to score around the room when he's never been with guys who are that good at delivering

the ball to a guy screening and rolling? So I'm just I look forward to seeing what does Drummond look like in this new context and how does it change the way in which we talk about him at the stage of his career. I think it's just resent. Honestly, Kevin, it is. It is resent because people look at it, I mean, people look at it and they go, why they don't like people just latching on to teams that are already

really good. And I know you feel definitely about that, but I mean, look, it's why a guy like Kevin Durant does not feel fulfilled with what happened in Golden State. I mean, that's, it's the reason. It's the reason why, because people to this

very day do not, will never give him the credit he deserves. He won finals MVP. He was the best player on the floor. He outplayed LeBron James. And they'll never give him the credit he deserved because he latched on with somebody that was going to win anyway. And so I think that a lot of that is just, you know, it's just bred from resent, right? Like these guys say, these teams were going to win anyway. Why don't you go somewhere where you can actually, you know, move the needle for somebody, help somebody win. They're winning with or without you. You don't move the needle for them at all. And so then people become resentful about it and get upset that they signed with them.

And sometimes it's more extreme than others, but it happens in free agency and that it happens in the buyout market. I mean, look, no buyout guy has ever, I mean, not that I can remember, signed with a shitty team. Maybe, maybe they have, I don't know. I totally get that, Chris, and it makes sense. It's like we talked about last week. The Lakers will still be the favorites if LeBron James and Anthony Davis are healthy. They will still be the favorites. but no guarantee of that.

An Achilles injury for Anthony Davis is a serious thing. And like we talked about last week, we'll see how it affects their continuity and chemistry upon those guys' returns at some point before the postseason. And I think you could look at it two ways. You could say the Lakers and Nets are making these additions, even though they're the favorites anyway. And, you know, why don't these players sign with other teams,

this and that? I think it's a good thing that these teams, are not complacent and I would look at it the other way where was the conversation with what the Phoenix Sun should do to maximize their odds in this season like I like with Phoenix 13 I haven't heard a peep about I didn't hear a peep about the sons before the deadline Chris about what the Phoenix Suns might do to add to their chances to win a championship I didn't hear much of anything I ever think I brought up with Aldridge at one point right because Aldridge they had taken a run and that's

it and that's it yeah and that's pretty much And even that was quiet. It seemed like they were just in the background more so because they were after Aldridge a couple years back during a free agency. But the fact is that I appreciate these teams that aren't complacent, even if they are the favorites. To me, you should always be trying to get better and always trying to bolster your odds even more and more and more to win a title. So, I mean, I think I totally get the resentment aspect, but there's no guarantee these teams win a championship. There's a lot of tough opponents in the Western and Eastern Conference that could take them down. and that's what's going to make the rest of the season so exciting to watch because there's some real threats out there that could win a series and that can also match up against some of these favorites in Brooklyn and the Los Angeles Lakers.

I do wonder if, you know, when after everything has played out, if generally people just say, all right, this is stupid and the Nets are going to win that side. And if the Lakers are healthy, they're going to win that side. And if not, it gets interesting. but people don't like necessarily predetermined, right? They don't like predetermined, though. The idea that these teams are so heavily favored in order, enabling them to be there at the end. And so you have these teams that people, we would have already picked the Lakers and the Nets, right?

Or, I mean, maybe Philly, if you want to throw Philly in there, right? But pretty much, if you, if I see. said, LeBron's healthy, 80's healthy. Everybody picks the Lakers. And if I say Katie's healthy and the nets are healthy, most people pick the nets. There'll be a few that pick the 76ers. And so the fact that those are the teams that, you know, add guys while not giving anything up is always going. I understand from the team side, of course, your job is to give your team the best chance, but fans are going to like it. On the other side, you know, the KD thing is still out there, Kev. It is, I mean, let's mention it's a little odd, right? And I do wonder if they're just being

mega, mega careful about his injury. And because they're winning anyway, you're obviously a no rush and what matters is the playoffs anyway. And so there's that side of it. And the other side is, man, was this injury a lot more serious than we all thought at the very beginning? because it was kind of like, oh, yeah, he's going to miss All-Star Weekend and, you know, maybe back after that or soon after that. And now, I mean, it's been a while, you know, and so the question is, are they just being super careful with it because they can be super careful with it? They don't have to have him back. Or is there something they're more serious than what we once thought? At least runs through your head, you know?

I haven't heard a thing about it. I know. Nobody had. That's what's odd about it, right? I would guess they're just being far more conservative. And they've just kept on trucking so nobody even thinks about it or talks about it. I mean, they're 18 and three in the last 21 games with Kevin Durant playing only one of them. Harry Irving, I believe missing six.

I think that's the right number. James Hardin's been a remarkable player. And like the rest of that team in Brooklyn, the pieces just fit. And guys are playing at a high level. Somebody like Nick Clackson coming back mid-season. after the injury and only his second year. He looks awesome. He's gained a lot of weight.

Looks like he's got a lot of muscle on his body compared to the guy that we saw at Georgia. Looks effective on the defensive end, versatile, comfortable against different positions. And then offensively can rim-rung for you. And he hasn't even been able to show off the playmaking ability that he did at Georgia when he ran some point guard. He ran point guard at Georgia. So maybe a couple years from now, Claxton's playmaking will develop in the NBA. It will be needed for the Nets. But right now you've got plenty of that with Hardin and Karee.

And now Blake Griffin. You always have a honeymoon phase with all these guys from the trade deadline. Honeymoon phase going on for Aaron Gordon in Denver. It'll go on for Norman Powell in Portland. It'll go on for Andre Drummond. I know that's not a trade deadline, but that's a buyout guy. And Lamarcus Aldridge, as it did for Blake Griffin. The honeymoon did not last very long for our buddy Evan Fornier, though.

That was rough last night, a historically bad debut. And this was without the services of Jalen Brown last night. But 40A did not, he made the same amount of shots as I did for the Celtics last night. And so generally you do get some kind of honeymoon, but it did not seem like Boston fans were all that enthused about the F and 40A experience last night. Yeah. Bad baby was he old for 10.

Yeah, 0 for 10 in 30-something minutes. On the flip side of that, they had to play against the force of nature that is Zion Williamson. Zion is on a streak here now that is absolutely out of control. You know, it seems like every day there is some kind of new stat for points or, you know, versus age that he is putting up in his level of dominance. already at this point has been crazy. He is now, as of today, averaging 26 points, seven rebounds, 3.5 assists. And it seems like every night you're getting a, he cannot be guarded tweet that you're watching. He had his 24th consecutive game

with 20 points on 50% shooting. That is one shy of tying Shaquille O'Neal for the longest streak ever. unbelievable bro unbelievable I mean 25 25 straight games it's going to be if he does it the next game

where would you have him ranked in the NBA right now is he a top 10 player already is he a top 15 player top 20 where would you have him ranked right now I mean look I mean I'm this is how I'm thinking about it

I'm you know because there's a million ways you can do this exercise If you're starting a team, if you're, if I, let's do it like this. If I had to win a game tonight. Yeah, like the 10 best players today. If I just had, me and you were going to play a game tonight. Yep.

And we're going to pick our team. Yeah. That type of thing. And I line everybody up against the wall. Now me and you get to pick teams. Yeah. Yeah, I'd be shocked if you made it to 10. I think me or you.

And now again, if we're doing the picking, other people, you know what I mean? I mean, look, there's a lot of great players in the league. There is. There's a lot of great players in the league. And as soon as you do an exercise like this, then there's going to inevitably be like, look, you take him over Lillard, you take him over Hardin, you take him over Ambid, you take him over Yonis, you take him over LeBron, you take him over A.D. You take him over.

I mean, I get it. Well, yeah. Like, so it's hard. Definitely. I think if you factor in, you know, history of performance, guys who have done it for years, then naturally he's not going to be ranked ahead of AD. or he's not going to be ranked ahead of Yokic for that matter right now. But the fact that you can put him top 15 or top 20 right now when he hasn't even played a full 82 games yet in his career says a lot.

I mean, I think I'd tried to put him in rankings this morning before we did our recording. And I had him, I think, 12th or 13th. And that's in the same area as guys like Paul George, as Devin book. as Chris Paul. You know, it's in that range. I don't know where I'd slot him exactly, but he's in that range of player right now. And that says a lot about who he is already.

And I don't say about him. And I don't say this about, I think there are a lot of guys that when I look at their just numbers, I watch the games and I look at their numbers and I say, you know what, that is a guy that is maximizing his ability.

That guy, like, I watch them and I will watch the game and get furious that they aren't giving in the ball. And at the end of the game, the guy has got 32 points. And I'm like, that's with me bitching about

how they didn't even throw him the ball in the first half of the game enough. Like he had maybe like eight at halftime or he had like 12 at halftime. And it's like, do you guys know Zion I really don't know what the freaking ceiling is. He's averaging 26. I do not think he is close to averaging what.

You know, most of the time if a guy averages 26, obviously for 99% of the league, that is a career year. Okay. But most of the time, you're like, wow, that guy's average of 26. He's doing it every night. And you feel like he's getting the most out of his ability. I don't feel that way at all. And that's because what you say that you mean, like, because of the usage and the personnel around him, Stephen Adams, a non-floor spacing center.

I think he could absolutely average 35 a game. This year. I'm saying right now he could be averaging. With like shooters around him, you mean like a better roster around him. You should see that. If you just gave him six of Brandon Ingram shots, he'd average 35 a game. I mean, the guy shoots like 90% from the field. every other game it feels like.

You see at the end of the night, and it's like, Diane Williams had 38 points on 17 for 20 from the field. And you're like, what in that heck? 17 for 20. Like, I mean, again, there's, when you're, that stat was that it'll be,

this next game would be 24 games with over 20 points, over 50%. So, I mean, get, it's a good shot every time he takes it. Literally every time he takes a shot, it's a good shot. I don't know. I mean, and maybe he is, maybe that's the most he could do, but you watch them and there's not one time any NBA fan has watched the Pelicans this year and has not yelled at the

screen, just throw it, throw it to the guy that nobody can stop. How about that? It's not that hard. And that's what makes Zion so remarkable here. he is breaking NBA defenses. He is getting trapped on pick and rolls, even though he is not a three-point shooter off the dribble, and he's still able to get to the basket.

And if he's not able to get to the basket, he's able to generate enough space for his teammates because he is a wrecking ball, getting to the basket. Defenses need to respect him, which opens up everybody else. And to your point, Chris, that's why, like, if he has knocked down shooters around him,

the ideal roster around Zion Williamson could lead to him having the most efficient 30 plus point per game season we've ever seen in league history. Like this guy is still only getting better. He's still only getting better. And we're seeing the development of a shot over the course of this season. The free throw shooting has gotten better in that 24 game stretch you're talking about. He's shooting 73% from the line, 29 points per game on 65% from the field.

Obscene efficiency for a guy who's not shooting off the dribble. yet who can get wherever he wants, who can create any shot that he wants, who can pass the ball. This guy, people talked about him, is he a small ball center? What he is is a guy who runs your offense. And we're going to see that develop over the course of time with the New Orleans Pelicans, who, by the way, over this stretch have the number one offensive rating in the NBA. The offense is already there.

It's already elite. The question now, and that's despite having less than ideal personnel, the question moving forward is going to be finding guys who can further elevate this generational talent and defend. That's what they need. All right, two things. Number one, when I watched Pelicans play Utah earlier this year, there was a play where they threw it down to Zion. He's at the, you know, he's at the square.

Throw it down to Zion at the square. Kevin, he had the ball back to the basket. He turned. No swinging elbow, nothing. He just lowered his shoulder and he turned. And as he turned, Rudy goes. Bear flew into the third row of the stands.

And Zion Williams and just laid it up. No foul, no nothing. And it was that moment. I remember rewinding it. And I was watching it with my son. And I said, that is the, that's the best shot blocker in the world. Like, and he's a giant. And he just, this guy just flew into the third row.

Like, what the F are you supposed to do against this guy? And he didn't, it wasn't an offensive foul. It was just sheer like, I'm moving. 300 pounds into your chest and now you're going to be you are going to it was like a

like a pendulum or something and you're going to fly back three feet you know what I mean like the ball hit the ball the second thing is you know who's come along I still

I still add my stock and it's been nice to be checking Ameritrade and seeing my gnaw stock go up considerably. He's getting he's getting 30 plus minutes now. This Nikiel Alexander Walker, who I loved coming out of the draft. And I did think that was a great draft pick for them. He has not, you know, last year was just not much of an opportunity, never got in the flow.

It wasn't a good rookie year by any means, right? But he also didn't have much of an opportunity. First time, he's really like getting out there. He's playing 30 plus minutes. And, he is like that's when you know when you give the guy the minute and he produces now all of a sudden you know and they it took them a long time into this season to figure this out but I like him being in that starting lineup and I do think he's a guy that you know we're going to look up and he is a he is a real player in this league and they've had him sitting there and not really being a part of it but they have now thrown him Van Gunn's Andy has thrown him in the starting lineup and the kid is really producing. I love it.

In his five games is a starter averaging 18 points, five rebounds, three assists, only two turnovers, 46% from the field, 40% from three. Yeah, man. Playing really good basketball. He is good. Like he's always been good. And he's one of those guys at six foot six who can plug and play into different roles. He can run some pick a roll for you, bring the ball up the court here and there if you need

him to. You can play off ball. he's a smart cutter, he knows how to move off ball. He just knows how to play. He's a high IQ player. And with all these guys, like Kira Lewis also been really good for the Pelicans when provided opportunities, their rookie point guard. He's the type of guy like long term when you're building this out with the Pelicans.

What's most impressive this year with Lewis, 69 assists, nice, to only 13 turnovers. That's awesome for a rookie. And granted, he's only played 31 games, only has played 15 minutes per game. not getting consistent minutes, but when he's been provided opportunities, I've been highly, highly, highly impressed with what Lewis has brought to the Pelican. So they have the guys on their roster, Alexander Walker, Kira Lewis, they would love to have in a back court on a team with a Zion Williamson. It's just going to take time for some of them to develop in addition to finding more personnel,

you know, through trade or through free agency. But the Pelicans have the talent. Like, I mean, maybe, I mean, clearly you had, you had, you had, the Reddick minutes open up completely. But like there's always some kind of circumstances where you can end up stumbling into something that actually changes your team, you know, for the better. And I do think that both short term and long term, that Nikiel Alexander Walker thing is going to help them tremendously.

He is a really good fit and he is a dynamite player. I'm glad to see him getting his opportunity because that was one of those where as last season played out in the beginning of this season played out. it's like, geez, man. Like, I loved this kid at Virginia Tech. I thought this was a big time steal in the draft, but the kid just doesn't, you know, it's some minutes here, some minutes there,

and he doesn't really, you know, he hasn't really gotten in the flow of anything. The number stink. So hopefully he either gets his shot there, but he's got a shot, he's made the most of it. They're looking good, man. They're looking really, really good,

those pelicans right now. They have turned up, and so have the Kings. The Kings have turned up, and you know what? go look at Halliburton's game last night in the starting lineup. And it ran through my mind last night with Halliburton in that starting. They went mega small because, I mean, I know he's not small, but they had Fox and healed and they had him and buddy, or I'm sorry, a buddy Fox, Barnes and Halliburton with

just the one real big guy in Rashaw and Holmes is what they ran out there last night. and Halliburton was outstanding in the game, very productive. And I thought last night, you know, Lonzo, or Lonzo, sorry, Lamello. He played 41 games, and they were crazy impressive. There's no way around it. But I did wonder, like, with that injury, did that door remain open? It felt like he was just going to completely run away with the rookie of the year. As good as Halliburton had been, he was not going to, like, it was probably going to be unanimous by the end of the year with Lamello Ball winning rookie of the year.

That being said, I do wonder, especially if Aliburton, you know, can stay in that starting lineup and start producing a lot and the Kings make a run here in these last 30 games, he might be able to win that. award, huh? I don't know. What do you think? Lamello played 41. Yeah, Chris, there's a real chance. There is. It's undeniable here. You know, when you play 41 of potentially only 72 games, there's a chance and that there will be voters, like who voted for Malcolm Brogden over Joel Labit a couple years back.

We could see that. So right or wrong, I don't know. I'm not ready to answer that. I probably have to get into 10, though, right? Yeah, maybe. I don't know how much that'll factor into the minds of voters. with team record. For the rookie year, it seems less important

than with like most valuable player or even defensive player of the year. But I'm sure it'll be a little bit of a factor, maybe a tiebreaker for some voters, but you can't rule out Halliburton.

To your point, I'm with you there, Chris. But he's the only one. When did you say? Edwards. I mean, Edwards has been surging, but I don't think he'll reach the point

where he'd get voted over Lamello. It's just thing that they keep an eye on. There's still time left. There's still time left. Yeah, you're right. It's just something to keep an eye on because the door got left open in what was a decided award. Definitely. Yeah, right.

Like, I mean, Lamello was going to just run away. He was the runaway. And he might still win it. Who knows? And now Halla Burton's catching up. I mean, like you said, he's starting now, getting more minutes, getting more touches, getting more opportunities. Like, he's had some high scoring games. He's had some high assist games.

Hall of Burton's already a very, very good player. When you watch those teams, like somebody like him with them and they, you know, you see some of these teams post-trade deadline. We talked about the, we talked about the Nikiel Alexander Walker thing going on with the Pelicans. We talked about last night with the Kings.

And I know they've had some injuries too, but they start Halliburton last night. And you see like the guys that they bring off of their bench. Like they did add depth to that team. Like they got better at that trade deadline. Like they sneaky improved their team. I thought maybe considerably because like,

look, they came off the bench with Terrence Davis. They came off the bench with Mo Harkless, who played well for him. They bring Delon White, who's mega solid. Good point. Like, they did. Like, I mean, they did bring guys off their bench that are like real players. It's your philosophy of don't play guys who suck.

They added guys who don't suck. They're not great players. You know what's crazy? But they're solid players. You know what's crazy about that? I watched the Grizzlies and the Rockets last night. And there was a. moment in that game where the Rockets, and we know what their season looks like right now, right?

But they had a lineup that was out there that earlier in the year, like it was DJ Augustine, Avery Bradley, Kelly O'Linnick, Kevin Porter Jr., and DJ Wilson. And I was like, what in the head? This is so crazy. like none of those guys were even on this team. Like now they've got this whole lineup of five guys. And, you know, I named all those names. Like they're all like solid.

Like they've had careers. Like outside of Porter, who knows what's going to be. We know he's talented enough to be in the NBA. It could be in the NBA for a long time. He could stay out of his own way. DJ Wilson, who knows how long. But the other guys are like 10-year NBA veterans. And I did wonder, like, I don't know if they're going to, like, I don't know if they're going to be bad enough to be able to fight off these, the Clevelands, the Minnesotas.

Like, I don't think they're going to be that bad. Like, they've got, it's this weird, you know, conglomeration of guys that have had, like, real careers, like real NBA players that are out there, not just like G-League guys that are trying to play. And so I feared for Rockets fans, I'm like, man, this team might win too much. Like they're not these players, the players themselves are not horrible, right? They're like, just solid dudes. I hope for them, Kevin Porter Jr. turns into something. He's had some nice games. He's had some nice moments for them.

But I wouldn't worry about winning too much if you're the Houston Rockets. If you're a Houston Rockets fan, this team is going to lose plenty of games. It's just a matter of if they're the worst. or like third or fourth worst. They're not close to the, what I'm saying is they're not close to the worst roster. That's the problem. I mean,

well, who does have the worst roster right now? What you need to find like young guys that are, well, like, is it Detroit right now? Some of these Oklahoma cities that they're putting out there when they do not have Gilges Alexander

and the other night, the Celtics game and they, they pulled Dort out of the game. And they were like concussion-like symptoms. OKCC can't be the worst team, though, because they have Alexei Pokershevsky. Oh, my bad. I forgot about that.

I love Poku. And by the way, like, OKC's got some rock solid players on there, too, like Moses Brown getting minutes, putting up a 2020 bomb. Then it's Cleveland.

They had a big contract. It's Cleveland. I mean, they didn't play Jared Allen, right? Like, when they don't have... Yeah, but Cleveland has,

you know, Sexton and Garland and Nats. Everybody's got a couple guys, can't. I know. I know. And like, that's the nice thing. That's the nice thing right now. Doesn't it feel like

every team has a couple guys he can look to. Look, they had sex and Ann Garland last night. They put up less than 80 points. They scored less than 80, Kevin. 80. They scored 77 points in a NBA game. I mean, I think we've got to put them up there. That's hard to do, Chris.

People, I mean, the net score 77 and a half. They scored that in the whole game last night. 11 to 75. It's tough. I told you. That's tough. It's hard to do. So in that Eastern Conference, there are, we've got some real serious separation that has taken place recently where we've got those top three, which are Philly, Brooklyn, and Milwaukee.

And then everybody else after that. And so you've got those three. And I do think we should mention the M-Bed injury has not. hurt Philly, which I think is a stunning revelation within this season. The fact that they are eight and two in their last 10 games is incredibly impressive because we know that they've got other players, they've got depth, but Mb was by most accounts when he went out the frontrunner for MVP this season. and when you lose a guy like that,

you would expect that you're just trying to, you're just trying to, you know, win your share, hopefully not drop, you know, below 500 in the games that you have to play without him. But they have been outstanding, even without Embed. And I do think that they are the team that while all the attention has been on the nets,

the first place team in the East, is the 76ers, and they have remained that even without MBEed, which is shocking to me. And it stands to reason when they get Mbid back, I just think maybe they deserve a little more respect, the tension, whatever it may be. I think everybody, you know, we all talk about the nets all of the time. For good reason, their team flooded with superstars.

But what the Sixers have done has been super impressive, to say the least. I mean, I think both Philly and Brooklyn winning, with guys missing as impressive. Philly's 6 and 2 without Mbid. They lost their games to Milwaukee in overtime. They lost to the Clippers by 10 points on Saturday. But they've won the games that they need to. They beat San Antonio.

They beat the Knicks. They beat the Kings. They beat the Knicks. They beat the Warriors without Seth Curry. They beat the Lakers obviously depleted right now. So they're winning the games that they need to. And they're playing fairly well without Jolambit out there, being their anchor on defense, being their go-to-scoring option.

And that's a testament to the rest of that talent on that roster and how it's been built out. with Tobias Harris, he didn't make the All-Star game, but he was in the conversation. Seth Curry stepping up big time this season, you know, showing what he can do when he's around players of this caliber. You have guys who can come up big on particular. It's obviously they traded Bradley at the deadline, but he had some nice nights while Joel Embed was out. You can see Shake Milton step up sometime. So Philly gets it from different places within their roster. And that's a testament to the depth they have. And why with Joelle Ambide. they're going to be really hard for teams to match up against.

Remember, like our conversation earlier talking about talking about Brooklyn, talking about L.A., talking about these teams. You got to have big and you've got to have size to stop a guy like Joel and Bede or you can't stop him. Let me not use that word to contain or slow down or hinder what the player wants to do. You cannot stop him. And that'll create challenges looking ahead to the postseason for a heck of a lot of teams. And I look forward to seeing how Philly,

matches up in those situations because there's so few teams that can match up against Jojo, Joel M. B. Yeah, that's what we got to, we got to keep our fingers crossed on a lot of this stuff. We got to keep our fingers crossed that Embed comes back, makes full recovery, Durant makes full recovery,

LeBron makes full recovery. 80 makes full recovery. I mean, we do. We're definitely missing some guys off the top of our head. There's been a lot of us. No, but those are like we need, you want everybody to be able to be full of strength to play this thing out. And outside of those three that are there at the top,

I mean, you've had, you know, Boston fell under a game under 500 last night. Miami's down there. I know that one night changes everything. You can go from four to eight in one night. But Miami's the only other one that is down there that I think could be a threat to those three. Would you agree with that?

Yeah, we have four games. games of separation between Charlotte at four and Chicago at 10. Only four games. That's wild, Chris. Yeah, but there's a, what is there, five or five and a half between three and four? Five and a half between three and four.

So those three have really- Milwaukee. And then five and a half between Milwaukee and Charlotte. And then only four separating Chicago at 10 and then Charlotte at three. It's wild how tight it is. So like the order, like you said, doesn't matter quite as much.

But, you know, Miami, I'm with you, Chris. Like you can't out, you can't overlook. the fact that they exceeded expectations last year. Yeah. You know, they're a team that went to the finals,

but they're a team that was built for the playoffs. And I'm sure they'll present challenges again in this postseason. And even with Boston, there's so much talent on that roster that you, I don't think you can rule out that maybe the shakeup could fix things a little bit there. So I want to see, I want to see the team over the next couple weeks before I say definitively,

no, no, with them. But I certainly, everything we've seen so far, the answer is a clear definitive no. But we'll see how things change up. Because even Fornier, he stunk in his debut, 0 for 10. But I like the way they used them, having him come off screens and handoffs,

ran a little bit of pick and roll. Like, that's what he can add to that roster, some shot creation, another guy who can create for you. And, you know, doing that without Jaylon Brown playing. I look forward to seeing that team at full strength. Look, I will say this. You know, you always say, is there a chance that a team has a guy that could be the best player in a series.

And the answer with them is they do. Yeah, definitely. Same way Jimmy Butler, you could look up, no matter who you're playing, you could say Jimmy Butler was the best player in that series. Or Jason Tatum, the rest of those teams, they ain't got that guy. They just don't.

They don't have the guy where I think that guy could be the best player in a series against a really good team. But the Celtics obviously do. And you get credit what you've won before, if you're them. You know, I mean, you've been in the Easter conference finals. Three of the last four.

Yeah, you've been in. That's impressive. So they can't be, you know, overlooked just for that reason. They also can't be overlooked because now they have Luke Cornett. Dominant. Well, I mean, and they're playing Robert Williams a lot more minutes. Dominant. And Celtics fans for so long now have been like just hammering.

Need to see more time more. Need to see more time lord. He looks pretty good, dude. Like, like Robert Williams. looks like a legit good player. Until he's at the free throw line. Then it's, I mean,

Katie bar the door. That's unfortunate. Don't be, don't be a, don't be a fan behind the good thing. There's no fans there. But they won't be. Next game.

The doors are open. Next game, Boston's going to have fans again. Oh, that's right. Or was it last night? I think it was last night. Maybe it was last night.

Yeah. Because I saw Abby Chin tweet about it. She was so excited. That's right. It was last night's game. Yeah. Say that, you know,

the people were back. I guess like, oh, God, they let them into go see Zion, huh? Yeah. Terrible. Time Lord, man. Good player. Like I said, this Celtics team in the rest of the season is a different team. So, like, when assessing them, I, I'm going to hold off until we see this roster play together.

Okay. There's still a chance. It's a chance. That's fair. This is a weird, Chris, this is a weird season. Yep. Right? Like, it is a question.

That needs to be factored in here. Like, the COVID stuff, you know, protocols, players missing games. all that. I'm not, like when it comes to projecting ahead to the postseason, I'm not putting too much weight into what we saw early in the season. This year, to me, there's so many factors in the schedule.

The plan tournament cannot be, you know, underrated here in terms of what we're going to see the rest the year right now, like today, it feels like, you know, with March Madness happening, the NCAA tournament and everything happening, like it's that point of the year where things slow down in the NBA

and things settle in. this year's a little bit different because to get a block in the postseason, you've got to get that six seed. So you have four games of separation between the fourth seed and the 10th seed, the final playing spot, the 10th spot. These teams are going to fight to get a lock in the top six in both conferences. So this is where we're going to see a higher level of competition. I think with players starting to get vaccinated, which by the way, if you can, go get vaccinated. I got my first dose last Monday. My mom got her second dose yesterday.

I'm excited to get my second one sometime in April. So, you know, if you can get vaccinated, like players are protocols for the NBA. They're lifted. Guys can start being more normal and doing normal things and being the same locker room together and have a normal team. And that's going to be great for us on our personal lives. It's going to be great for teams and their careers. So everything that happened in the first half, it matters.

but when projecting ahead, I think we're going to see a higher level of basketball that's going to matter more in terms of translating what we're going to see in the postseason. This is not a normal year. Oh, there's no, you look, there is no question that what you're saying is true.

As someone who, you know, is watching a small market team that's in, whatever, ninth place right now, every single game that somebody like the Grizzlies plays feels bigger. now than it has in other seasons. Because the plan, right? Absolutely.

Because you can't be losing games to somebody like Houston. You have to win those games. Or else, it feels so much worse this year than it has before. And I also say this. The one thing that is super weird about this season, Kevin, is in years past, there was always this great column that I used to look forward to every month that was Baxter Holmes used to do it for ESPS. And it was, he was, but he would chronicle at the beginning of every month, schedule losses.

And I would always go and look at those. And when I would see weird scores, I would see if it would match up. And he was doing like the three and four nights. He was saying, okay, in this spot, because every once or while you'd see one of these like crazy-ass scores, and he'd be like, what in the world? And, you know, then I'd go back and look at the Baxter Holmes column. and it will have been predicted. He would have said, you know, they played on Saturday.

They played on, or they played on Tuesday, or they played on Saturday. They played on Monday night. And then they took a late flight and they played Denver on Tuesday night. So it's three and four nights and they got slaughtered in the game. And you could go back and look and be like, oh, yeah, here's that schedule loss thing. They were talking about the whole damn season would be a Baxter Holmes column. the whole season. Because sometimes you see these odd scores every night.

And if you really went back and look, what you'd find out is like, like there was a game here that I saw a couple of weeks ago where it was like Miami came here. They were playing their fourth game in six nights on the road. I mean, it's ridiculous. Like, that's so far beyond a schedule loss. It's crazy. And they fought, dude, the day on the very end.

That was the one where Morant hit the game. game winner on Jimmy Butler. But I mean, they fought the very end, but it's like their fourth friggin' game in six days. What are we talking about here? Baxter Holmes would have the whole column would just be every other game that is being played every night, which were typically in years past deemed schedule losses. A couple of things I want to get through right before we get out of here. NCAA tournament, as you mentioned, is going on. Everybody's been watching it.

Evan Mobley is the highest ranked of the players that is still around. He and Suggs, the point guard for Gonzaga, are still in the NCAA tournament, which are very high guys on yours and every other draft board in the free world. What have you made? There was really no way, and we chronicled this at the beginning, there's really no way for somebody like Mowgli or Suggs to improve their stock we didn't think you know what I mean like I guess you could have unless it's the number one for mowably yeah right and it was Suggs I mean I guess I'm sure you could find somebody out there that

prefers him to Cunningham you could that's just the way it goes with with guards you know there's going to be somebody out there that I mean look I had three different guys tell me you know everybody's talking about poor Zingas but the one from overseas that's the one Sazonia he's the won. You know what I mean? And that was obviously rather prevalent because it's only what fifth of the draft. Like there were a lot of people that thought that. So as crazy as my time, there are, like, Suggs is a massive recruit.

He is a crazy athlete. There's, it stands to reason, you know, beauty's in the eye of the beholder. Somebody's going to like Sucks. And if he's holding up a title trophy, you know, we could get him in that mix as a, at least it's a debate. But what have you made of Mowgli? The dunk the other night on Oregon was just Freakow stuff. That was unbelievable. That is exactly how you envision him, right?

Catching, you know, the screen and roll and him flying to the basket and just destroyed somebody. You know, the thing with Evan Mowbly is he can do all those quote-unquote big man things, you know, throw down dunks and all that. But what's what I'm sure has really stuck out to people watching him most is the feel, the fluidity on the perimeter, his ability to create some space for himself off the dribble as a shooter to make passes to his teammates straight off the dribble with flow. It's a seamless move for him. He has good vision. He's unselfish. He can defend on the perimeter. He can defend on the interior. He's an active aware off ball defender. He's a rebounder. He boxes out. I mean, like, he does it all. He really does it all. The only thing with him that he doesn't have is like the size to defend like a yokeach or an unbeat. That's it.

Like as a big man, he's not a big, big. He's a lean big. And that's okay, though, because the benefit of that is the versatility aspect. And there's different flavors of big man in today's NBA. And with Mobley, heat checks all the boxes that you want for most matchups, most nights. If it's a matchup against an impeder, you'll catch it. Okay. Well, that's where you bring in your big, strong, thick big man, right?

The guy who's tough and strong, you know, the typical traditional center. That's when you have that guy for that matchup. And Mobley can do everything else. So I love this guy, man. I love this guy, man. I mean, M.B. didn't look like M.B. I've got M.B.'s rookie card. He doesn't look like he does now.

I promise you. Oh, yeah. Mowgli can put back on some pounds over the years and he will. Look at young Anthony Davis. He was very lean, too. He'll get bigger over the coming years. How about the worst? The worst. The worst, not the worst.

The best one is I've got, the other day, my son was going through my cards, and I've got this, I've got a Janus. rookie, it's the pinnacle one. And he was looking at it and he's like, no way. And I was like, yes, way. Like, that is really what Janus looked like. Like, I mean, his arm is just a, it's a nothing, like a nothing.

NBA strength and conditioning programs can do wonders. My God. All right. Has anybody, maybe I need one of those, Chris. Has anybody really caught your eye tournament-wise? I mean, I think of the remaining teams, keep your eye on Franz, vlogger on Michigan brother of Mo Wagner. His two-way potential in the NBA is pretty impressive.

He's not going to be like a star scorer for you, but he's such a good defensive player. And that's one of the reasons why Michigan is where they are. And they face UCLA tonight, Tuesday night. So that's a game to watch. I think Baylor, you know, obviously they're the one seed. They got some guys, man, Davian on Mitchell. And it is crazy that he wears 45 too, right?

Yeah, dude. Mitchell is a baller, man. Like that guy's tough. A Mitchell that wears 45, though, I mean, it's like, you flip on the game, you're like, come on. Isn't it crazy? Like, even the way he kind of moves off the drill sort of reminds you of Donovan Mitchell. He's got some handles, too.

It's like, I feel like comparisons. The comparison would matter if his last name was Smith and his number was 21, right? Right. He would still compare him to Donovan Mitchell. I think that's true. But the fact that his name is Mitchell and he wears 45. it's kind of crazy. It was, you know, one of the guys that is there in your top 10,

and I hated to see the flame out was Moody, that was a very rough one to go out on last night. And I know that kid wishes he had a much better night that he did. But that was, you know, he's, you know, and they went with Keon Johnson, you know, who's up there. He's in your top 10. I mean, there were a lot of those guys. This is not littered.

The teams that have made it this far, are not necessarily the ones that are littered with the NBA guys. Sure, definitely. Yeah. And, you know, with Moody, it wasn't just the two for ten and the loss. It was also the four of 20. And they went over Oral Roberts. You know, so we had two poor performances in a row.

So that's tough, man. And those are the type of games that you're talking about how was the tournament valued in terms of draft stock and all that. Teams will look back at those games and examine them closely to see, okay, are we going to reevaluate here from having this guy ranked, you know, seventh on our board? And maybe he's actually 14th. And there's famous stories about this. Look, there's famous story about, I remember reading years ago, Chris Mullin, St. John's is awful in a tournament game. James Hardin, awful for Arizona State in his last tournament game, you know, just didn't perform the way that everybody wanted him to.

And, I mean, there's, there's a, there's a ton of these examples over the year. and so that is not necessarily the end all B. is what we'll say. And I just named two Hall of Famers. Yeah, but sometimes it's the other way with the Jabari Parker. Oh, that's true. Yeah, sometimes it goes that way too.

Or Wiggins wasn't so hot, again, that Stanford game that they lost the Johnny Dawkins to them. Granted Wiggins eventually over the course of time, it did lead us to the point. No. Where you're going to be a hundred dollars? I don't want to hear about that.

I don't want to talk about that anymore. tied this right back to the beginning of the pod, Chris. Gross. All right, this show's over. I hate this one. This is the worst episode we and I have ever done. Thank you. We'll talk again on Friday.

Thank you to producer Sasha as always. And Kevin, I'll talk to you later this week. Thank you, everybody for listening. Have a fun rest of your week.