The Mismatch - The Surprise All-Star, Embiid's MVP Case, Pelicans Have a Chance, and the G League Initiative

Episode Date: January 28, 2022

Verno and KOC begin the show discussing the 2022 NBA All-Star starters and Andrew Wiggins's surprise nod (01:40). Did Wiggins get some help from an unexpected fan base (09:16)? Trae Young was also announced as an All-Star starter and celebrated by calling out Chuck in a tweet (13:36). Joel Embiid has been dominant all season long, and the guys debate whether he can continue to stay healthy to make a run at MVP (21:40). Zion Williamson posted a cryptic picture on his Instagram: Is he close to making a return? The guys debate the Pelicans' playoff chances if Zion returns soon (31:06). Also, they give their thoughts on the new Rising Stars format for All-Star Weekend, specifically the addition of the G League players (41:12). Last, they gush over Auburn prospect Jabari Smith Jr. (55:45). Hosts: Chris Vernon and Kevin O’Connor Producer: Jessie Lopez Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Ring Your Wrestling show is getting you closer to all things pro wrestling. The Maskman show with David and Kaz drops every Thursday on the feed, along with the new show hosted by pro wrestling superfan Evan Mack called MacMania. Plus, hear instant reactions to all the biggest WWE pay-per-view events for their post-paperview shows. Check out The Ringer Wrestling Show on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to The Miss Match. I'm Chris Vernon. And join as he does every Friday from The Wringer.com.

It's Kevin O'Connor, A.K. Kevin O'O. Bomber, Kevin O'C., Kevin O'C., Kevin O'Compel, Kevin O'Killian, Kevin O'Controcercy, Kevin! Bruno! It's Friday! What's going on, man? How are you doing today? It is Friday. And last night,

uh, elicited a lot of chatter in the NBA world, uh, because the all-star starters were announced on TNT. And there was one huge surprise. And we will get to everybody that was. Our very good friends. Our very good friends.

friend, Chris. Our very good friend, the maple Jordan, Andrew Wiggins. The back court was not surprising to most, who had paid attention to what was going on with the boats, and that was John Morant and

Steph Curry. The front court, the expectation was LeBron James would be there, of course he was, Nicola Yokic would be there, of course he was, and then the other front court spot. Oh, good, and we

It's been an interesting situation with a lot of guys that have been out this year. Guys that are mainstays on all-star teams when they're healthy. Anthony Davis is a mainstay on all-star teams when he's healthy, as is Kauai Leonard, as is Paul George, and you could probably go on even from there. And so some of the ones that are just slotted in a regular basis weren't available. and so this was going to be interesting to see who would get the other spot. We had talked about a few weeks ago how when they had released the voting for the All-Stars

that Andrew Wiggins was extremely high in the fan voting. And we figured that won't hold. It will, and even if it does, they'll probably, you know, they'll do something about this, much like they did with Zaza Apatulia years ago. This is not nearly as ridiculous a candidacy as that was for sure.

But then they announced Andrew Wiggins last night as the All-Star starter. And I got to be honest with you, Kevin. I was legitimately surprised. You're all surprised he was on the team for over a year, Chris.

Say what? Well, are you also surprised he was on the team for over a year with our $100 bet? Well, I was, but I will Never gonna see this coming, could we, huh? Well, forever, I will stick to the fact that Clay Thompson's

been out for two years and so that changed everything. Yeah. That being said, Andrew Wiggins makes the All-Star team, and he makes the All-Star team as a starter. Wild.

I mean, I don't even know what to say. This is, this is madness. I, last night, who should have made it then? Just real quick,

who should have made it? Who should have been the starter? Real quick. I'm just curious. Okay. Gober. As, well,

Goberra got 64 media votes. And Andrew Wiggins got what, four, five? Something like that. Yeah, yeah. Okay. So if we're going to say, uh, we believe in our brethren, then it would be Gobert.

Even if we didn't, he has a teammate that is more worthy of being the front court starter. That part is interesting. It's the games played probably hurt in the media vote there, 45 for Wiggins, 34 for Dremont, but it's not a huge huge difference it's not like you played 25 games yeah yeah i agree and their record was built their great record was built upon him being an integral part of what they were doing

up to the 34th game that he played um and so yeah like those that's pretty easy answer um if andrew wiggins is not a starter i don't think he would have been a reserve so that's the problem. I think he would have been a reserve that they would have put him on the team. It would have been close. It would have been close. I don't know. Maybe, maybe. He's been really good. I don't want to this credit what Andrew Wiggins has done this season. I think with Andrew Wiggins, his defense has been consistently, very strong for the Warriors, offensively, hitting his spot-up threes, doing some of the simple stuff. He's playing his role. He's not a traditional all-star he's definitely not a traditional

all-star starter and I didn't pick him to start on my ballot. I had Gobert and that was one of the many media members who picked Gobert in that third team's, the third spot for the front court. And I think Gore-Bair deserved it. I think the underlying issue here, if people want to talk

about Wiggins as a guy who doesn't deserve to start, I mean I think this is something where the NBA needs to reevaluate the positions. Like I wrote about this last week. The three front court positions, the two back court positions to me is archaic. I think it should be positionless. The five starters regardless of positions, maybe that, maybe that is too extreme. Then do two front

court, two back court, one wild card. You get wild cards for the coaches to choose reserves anyway, because then that would address the issue here, Chris. Then voters, when everybody's placing their votes, then they could have maybe had Booker or Paul, one of the many, many back court choices that were pretty good. And then you have like three back court or players, quote unquote, bad court players, and then Yokic and LeBron. I guess, like, what do you think about that?

But it's still not going to stop the K-pop fans, which I suppose were responsible for this, in mounting up and voting in the millions. You know? Yeah. I mean, that came out of. So are you saying maybe like that there's flaws in the fan vote because of how

I don't know, either certain fan bases can boost votes, but Is that, is that, because that doesn't, what you're skitting at here is maybe, because that doesn't necessarily mean that just because Wiggins gets a ton of votes online, it doesn't necessarily mean that most NBA fans want to see Andrew Wiggins starting the All-Star game. Like the fan vote doesn't represent fans is really what you're saying, right? It just represents the very online people, but not all NBA fans. They stepped in when it was Pichulia.

Yeah, but this isn't Picholio. Andrew Wiggins is a good. good player. He's a good player. Undeserving is undeserving. I mean, look, he has the same. The reason I tweeted this out last night, he has the same stats as Desmond Bain. And people took this the wrong way. They were like, oh, you think Desmond Bain should be an all-star? No, the point was me and no one else on planet Earth thinks Desmond Bain is an all-star and got or got snub. Nobody. Not one person. Not even Desmond. and Bain is sitting around going, what the hell?

And they have the same stat. And one guy is starting. And one guy was not even in the, he's not even in the hemisphere of anybody considering him voting, voting for him. I mean, it's funny. Like the stats really are almost identical. Exactly the same. And one guy is an all-star starter.

Well, you want to know why? Well, here's the thing. Wiggins is listed. as a front court player, it wouldn't matter. I know, I know, but I know,

but I'm just saying, like, the reason why for some voters, maybe Wiggins got so many votes, not just because you're a warriors fan or because you're Canadian or because you're Wiggins' best friend or family. It's because he was like,

well, who am I going to choose for the third front court spot? I don't really like Rudy O'Berer. I'm not going to vote for him. Cats on a worst team. I'm going to vote for Wiggins. He's scoring. I don't know.

I mean, I don't, I think, I think there's flaws in the whole voting process, personally. And that's what, that's the underlying issue that needs to be addressed more so than like, this was screwed up by the voters, like, you know, the online fan. I am fascinated by the whole, like, that K-pop guy, and I'm not a K-pop fan, so I don't know. But I clicked on his thing and he had nine million. He's talking about a K-pop fan. I know, I see this. Oh, you didn't see this.

Oh. June Lee tweeted this out last night. He said, did Andrew Wiggins? I did not see it, Junele's tweet? Because of K-pop fans. And I'm like, hold the phone. Because it doesn't make sense. People were like, oh, it's because he plays good defense.

Oh, it's because he's from Canada. Oh, it's because he plays with Steph. And I'm like, what the hell? Stop it. Like, get serious. Very interesting. Okay. And then you click on the link, and this guy's got nine point something million followers,

and he was promoting Andrew Wiggins to make the All-Star game. And they say that these K-pop fans, that there's like nothing like them, they can make anything happen. Oh, yeah, that's true for sure. Yeah, because like even if the star themselves tweets it out, like, it won't just be like, you know, thankless, easy retweets. It'll be like, then they will also tweet about this player or person. or subject for like endlessly.

So it's very possible. I didn't see June sweet. June, June does good work. I love June. That was really good that he, that he sent that out because I was like, okay.

Now we can make some sense of this because when people were like, like I said, oh, he plays with Steph. Oh, he's, defense is one half of the game. Like so goofy. Canada. Like all of these.

reasons that I'm thinking of myself, that's preposterous. Like, all of this is, there's no way. And then he says, oh, my goodness, did Andrew Wiggins get to be an All-Star starter because of K-pop fans? Now that adds up. That can make some sense to me. That is intriguing. Yeah.

I do not see that. Yep. I'm looking at it now. The tweet itself from Bam Bam has 37,000 retweets. And I mean, from there, if you factor in with the NBA voting that, you know, there's some votes are doubled on certain days. You get other K-pop fans who are tweeting it on their own, not a quote tweet, not a reply tweet.

It's just doing it on their own. It probably, I mean, like, it definitely could get up to like in the hundreds of thousands. K-pop. Maybe me and you need to become like huge K-pop fans. It feels like they could have a tremendous effect on our careers. I love K-pop fans. Let me just be clear.

K-pop's cool. I love Wild Bam-Bam. It's amazing, and I knew exactly who that guy was. Yeah, totally, exactly. Just like I knew Charlie, that guy. Remember Charlie? Charlie Dimmilio. So the All-Star starters

get it out last night. John Morant made his first All-Star game and made his first all-star game as a starter. The reason this was significant is because obviously he's a first-timer, but also that Luca Dajic, who we had figured, I think fairly, was probably going to be, like if you're marking down like all-star starters for a decade, Luca Dajic was certainly on our list of guys that like,

okay, well, that spot's taken. And so that was super fascinating. I guess when you show up 20 pounds, is overweight and you don't try a defense to start the season that hurts but he's been better lately i mean i think you got to give luca credit even though he didn't make it as a starter his defense has been better since he returned in early january and i mean i think for him the second half of this season is going to be a heck of a lot better than the first month was as it was last year demartoros and try young joel mb diana santa duccoe kevin durant um now kevin durant will be replaced uh on that

starters list as he is not going to be playing in the All-Star game. I think the only source of mild contention was possibly Trey Young. But Trey Young is having a really good statistical season. He got hot, like pistol hot, this last week and a half. He's been great. The Hawks, who we talked about on Tuesday, have been much better recently. I've had some really good wins And I mean

I guess the argument that was proposed by Charles Barkley was that it should be Zach Levine To which Trey Young tweeted out Charles just go eat a Twinkie And what do you say? It'd be quiet sometime Yeah

You a fan of Twinkies curse to eat those I can't tell you the last time I ate a Twinkie I don't know I don't know either It's been many many many years That tweet is an unbelievable tweet. And anybody that's listened to this podcast for a long time knows that I have had a extreme evolution in my feelings on Trey Young. I like the trash talk.

That's fun. That's good stuff. Evil Trey, the one that has now come about. The one that is getting flipped off and yelling to Madison Square Garden, it sure is, quiet in here, the one that is taking a bow like he is in a Broadway show, the one that is walking out on the WWE show in New York when they're there. The one that is tweeting, why don't you just need a Twinkie and be quiet, Charles Barclay. Like that, the villain, you know, I told you, I always, while other people were screaming and getting furious at the bad guy wrestlers,

I was laughing. I always found experience. extreme humor in these guys. Like when when ravishing Rick Rood would stand up there and he would have like that too he kind of reminds me he would have this gown on right and he would say cut the music and then he would say all of you fat inner city sweat hogs with the mayonnaise rolling off your chin and whatnot why don't you just take a break while a real man shows you what he looks like right and he takes off his robe and he starts flexing and everything and the whole crowd you know and the and the women like have their cameras out and they're taking pictures and whatever everything about that see even to me describing it you laugh because it's funny like if you lean

into being the bad guy that is absolutely hysterical and I feel like Trey is really done that and you even saw last night on that show when ernie johnson has to read why don't you just eat a twinkie and be quiet sometimes the entire crew cannot stop laughing yeah it's so good because it's hilarious and who does that like if if you told me someone is going to be mad about charles Barkley's opinion and tweet this out. The only, Trey Young is obviously number one, and it's not even close. Maybe Durant.

Like I can see that. I can see Katie, yeah. He's leaned a little more into firing back at people over the course of the past couple of years for sure. But the list is small. And so I loved it. And upon that tweet, I endorse Trey Young starting in the All-Star game completely. He's also a great All-Star game type player.

He's very fun. Not like Levine isn't. No doubt about it. I mean, like, Trey is just a straight, fun player. He's just fun to watch. And, I mean, on offense, he's fun to watch. On defense, that's the argument for him against being an All-Star starter. But, like, I just don't find much interest in debating All-Star starters.

I mean, like, I think in terms of, like, Wiggins, it is interesting. But, like, Trey Young versus Zach Levine, versus James Hardin, versus Fred Van B, B, versus Darius, Garland, when there's so many canades versus Jalen Brown, listed as a bad court player. I'm with you on this. Like, for that matter, like, it has to be extreme. Like, these guys, like, yeah, I don't know, it's, it's one A, one B. It's so close between them for who should start the All-Star game.

All-NBA, like that, all-NBA is, like, serious business. It's 15 spots. Like, that's very tough to figure out. all stars like these guys are both going to be all stars and Trey young is hilarious and fun I mean like who wouldn't like watching that guy and I understand unless you like booing the villain

but like you Chris I laugh at the villain too it's very very rare that there would be any kind of surprise or controversy and the only reason we're talking about is because the Wiggins thing the rest of the guys like unless it's somebody that is totally undeserving it's who who starts the game is not a grand

consequence, though I will tell you it does matter to guys. I mean, oh, no, no, yeah. It does. It matters to the player. I'm sure, like, you know, Gobert or towns right now, they're like, really? Andrew Wiggins is starting over me with everything I'm doing? Booker, too. Yeah, Booker, too.

And he's like, oh, that's his, I, was I just not on the list for, you know, over Andrew Wiggins? It's like, no, you're not. You're competing against John, Steph, and Luca. Let me tell you something. Booker would have used that girlfriend to give votes and he'd have mangled everybody. I think she tweeted it out one. months. Not enough.

K-pop's more powerful. No way. I don't know. I don't know, Chris. Like I said, like I said earlier, I think what you're getting at here is that the fan vote online doesn't actually represent all NBA fans. It represents like a certain percentage of very online fans or K-pop fans.

You know, people who follow celebrities. Outside of last night's tray firing off at Chuck. The other thing that was great about the TNT show was, my goodness, did Shaq level Ben Simmons last night? I mean, he didn't even say his name, but it was not even a conversation about Ben Simmons. It was a conversation about how great Joelle Embed has been. They go to an interview where Joel and Bede says, you know, I know that Shaq and Chuck are always on me about consistency. and about being, you know, the dominant big man each and every night. And that's what I've been trying to do and on and on. And then Shaq comes back and he talks a little bit about Embedd.

They talk about the season that he's having. And then Shaq just unprompted goes into this like minute, minute and a half long diatribe about basically what a bum he thinks Ben Simmons is and what a coward and a chicken. And he said he said the difference between him and Bede and his soft. partner is he can take criticism without being a crybaby and he still wants to play. He's a great players get criticized, but the great players also step up to the criticism and perform. So this other guy, I don't respect him. I'd get rid of him.

That's what Shaq said about Ben Simmons, among other things. Yeah, he just. Like you said, didn't even call him by name, just called him the other guy, the cry baby, the soft partner, you know, like he called him other stuff, not Ben Simmons. Well, an M.B was featured in one of those games last night. LeBron was out for the Lakers with some knee problems, and the Lakers dropped to under 500 through 49 games. But Embed, while it was not as amazing as some of his recent games, was very good once again. And he has certainly thrown himself squarely into the, hey, this is an MVP run that he is

on when you're 50 games into the season and last year it looked like mbd could very well win that award the award ended up going to nikolokic um because of mbead's injury it wasn't nearly as close as it possibly would have been if mbid would have remained healthy and that has been the issue um he missed some games earlier earlier in the year he missed 11 games earlier the year but Last night, Kevin, marked 20 consecutive games that Joel Mbid has played in. And I was fascinated to read this morning that this season, when M.B. He played, just when he is available for the Sixers, they are 26 and 11. And they are 13 and 3 since Christmas.

So without him, they are three and eight this year. That's wild. So when you're taking a consideration that eight of their losses were games in which he did not play, and that they have won of 37 games, they've won 26 in which he's been available, and then you look at the numbers that this guy is putting up, and I do think that there is going to be some consideration to the fact that he's gone on and done this without, you know, his partner in crime for the last couple of years. You know, the burden has gotten heavier.

He's the definition of an MVP, isn't he? He really is. He really is. I mean, like on court and off court. It's the truth. I think he stays healthy. He's going to run away with this thing. Yeah, I think so too.

I mean, I think with Joe O'Bee checks all the boxes. Well, because the record, people could say, well, the record, you know, where their, where the record is in the standings. But look, that's going to change. They're only two games back. Two games back from the number one seed. Well, and as I said, as I just said, Keph, when he's been healthy, they're 26 and 11. So I'm only saying if he's healthy, they will, that I think he'll run away with it. Now, that is with him a massive if, a massive massive. He has not been able to.

if because you take that winning percentage that they have, I mean, they're running away with it. If they play anywhere near the level that they have played at, they're going to have a good enough record because they're 26 and 11 when he plays. So if he's able to play this out, I think he could run away with the thing because he has been absolutely outstanding. And that's going to make it all the more fascinating. when it comes to the trade deadline and if they're able to do something with the Simmons contract

in order to get even better pieces around him because this has got a chance to be like best player in basketball stuff, maybe a collision course with the heat or maybe a collision course with Janus or maybe a collision course with that Nets team, whatever it may be. And we know that when it gets to that level of play, he's got to have more with him than he has right now. The question will be, will he have more with him when they get to that point?

And it's going to make for a very interesting couple of weeks leading up to a trade deadline that could have, I mean, I don't think you would even need all that much around him with the way he's playing right now and the fact that your record's 26 and 11 with him. Damn. And for that matter, I mean, like everybody knows

about him beat the score, just how dominant he is. We talked about him last week. Like, who does what he does in terms of, like, his ability to dominate inside with power or finesse from outside, pull-up jumpers, 38% from three. I mean, he shoots nearly 50% from mid-range. Like, he's just an absolutely absurd score as a big man. Then you factor in last night. I mean, what I respect most, you know, in great players is their ability to be what their team needs them to be.

And last night, it beat a seven assists. and so many of them come from the, you know, like the elbow area with his teammates cutting around him. And like it was, it's not like yokech with laser passes, you know, that have auto aim have accuracy. But like he gets the pass where it needs to be. And like he can become that playmaker when he needs to because every single season of his career, a beat has gotten better at handling those double teams, handling pressure,

reading and manipulating defenses because of his dominant scoring ability. And like this guy has just reached a. point where he's a dominant anchor and he is a dominant score and he is a high level passer and rebounder that just does everything on the court for you in a seven foot package that we haven't really seen in this in this way before like he is just a remarkable player and if he does win MVP they'll be two years in a row a traditional big one mbp and beating yokech if they went back to back that's also after two years of yonah's getting it back to back that's after like a decade of guards and wings and like forwards cobi lebron staff winning mbp like the big the big's back

too i just think it's fun i don't know i was just thinking about that last night chris watching the game it's just fun to have these dominant bigs i'm happy we have imbid and yokic and yonis and all the cat for that matter like all these guys like just these talented big guys in the nba imbiz special dude i'm well and there and and it's true of there's young guys in the league that are like that too. Mowbly, Mobley. Yeah.

You know, coming up. And some on the horizon, like, that are going to be, Chetongman, Bancaro. Yeah,

you got at least three coming up in this next draft, right, that are, that could be very problematic, that are six, 10 plus and just freaky. And then Victor went Benyama in the 20203 draft. It's like,

like, like we get a lot, a big, a big wave of insanely talented bigs who could do things guards can do and more. It's, it's, I don't know, dude.

Yeah, I don't know. It's just been on my mind a lot. It's pretty cool. It's cool. There's one other game last night, and that was the Warrior game. It was nice to see Clay and Steph clicking. It's the first time that they have hit five plus threes in the same game. So they had it going last night against that Minnesota team who dropped that game.

But like I told you a few weeks ago, I'm very hopeful that, and they are in very good position right now, to be able to be a play in team. I just think with some of the, some of the weird stuff they bring to the table, some of the mismatches they could bring to the table. I laughed hysterically at that Anthony Edwards saying, I'm the hardest player in the NBA to guard yesterday. Gotta love the confidence, right?

Yes. But they are just kind of a weird team, and they do bring some, they've got these, like, a couple of these, like, annoying kind of grinder types, whether it's Vanderbill, whether it's Beverly that they bring to the table.

They've got the, they've got the big that can stand out at the three-point line. And then they have this just offensive marvel in Anthony Edwards that just continues to get better and better or better. Like, again, when you're in a one-off or you're in a, you know, two-game series,

like, it's dangerous to me. and it looks as if they are in very good position that they'll be a part of that. But as I was thinking about it, and I was going through the standings to see like, okay, what kind of fear would we have that maybe they wouldn't be there? I was not persuaded that they wouldn't be there. In fact, I do think they will be in the end. They are in a good spot right now at eight. I could certainly see them finishing out the year better than the clippers,

dependent upon what happens with Kauai and Paul George. I expect that the Lakers are going to jump up, they're going to play better as the year goes on. The one bright spot for Laker fans last night in watching that dismal game

versus the 76ers was that while he was virtually alone, Anthony Davis was absolutely awesome, especially in the first half of that game. I think he had 23 in the first half of that game. So it was good that Anthony Davis looked fantastic in that game against a good team and against a MVP candidate. So I expect they're going to be better and move their way up.

Portland, I feel terrible for. Nas Little's been a really good story for them. Yeah, it's too bad he got hurt. Yeah, the Simon's Little thing has been like something to cling to, right? Like, okay, some of these young guys have really performed to give us some hope that we got a couple pieces that we're going to be able to root for, no matter what happens with the rest of this roster, as we had towards the trade deadline in a weird season.

But there I am looking at this. And look who's right behind Portland, Kevin, in the standings. New Orleans. And did you see what happened yesterday? Zion Williamson posted an Instagram story of him. himself dribbling a ball up the court. Nothing else, which led people to freak out. Like, what does this mean?

This cryptic thing. And I saw one guy say, look, man, this dude has not Instagrammed anything in six months. Wow. It means something. Oh, totally does. It means something. It means he recovered his password. Is he

Does he Does he Does he post Throwback Thursday Does he post Less frequently Than any like All-Star player

In the world Kawh Kauai Kawhi Kauai zero Is that a count Well I don't think so But like Zion's once in six months

Kauai zero times in six months. Is there anybody else at the zero mark? I have no idea. I don't know. I don't think so. I don't know. Even their teams anyway. Look, it did leave people to wonder like, oh, and it's not ridiculous to think that maybe he could be coming back, you know, at some point.

And the, the only reason I bring this up is because that happened yesterday, and we've given up on figuring out when he's going to come back. But it's worth mentioning that he did send that out yesterday. out of nowhere sent out a picture of him playing basketball. And I was like, oh, I'll be damned. He does play basketball. And then I'm looking at those standing. And then we're talking about that Nas little thing.

And you look underneath them. And it's not a bunch of teams that you think are going to be very competitive. And, man, if he's able to come back and is healthy. And you got to go up against him and Valentunis. and they got Herb Jones, who's, you know, and they got these other, you know, Josh Hart. They still got, Devante Graham was shooting, God, 37% from the field this year.

If he could ever make some shots from anywhere outside. It's because he shoots so many threes. I mean, he shoots a ton of threes. I get it, but 37% from the field is rough, bro. That can't be. I mean, I mean, you want to, you, it's because you want them to shoot, you know, a higher three-point percentage. He shoots 12 shots a game,

eight of them are three-pointers, which he shoots at 36%. It's like he just never really shoots inside the arc, which is why the field goal percentage is lower. I mean, you wish the three-point percentage was above 40. Right. It's not, unfortunately. Yeah.

Well, so all I'm saying is that number, hopefully, will go up. You just need to get it to the 40s, at least. Yeah, I mean, better interior finishing and like up to like 38, 39. Here's all I'm saying, if you got some guys that can come off the bench, and if you got Ingram and you got Zion and you got Valchunus, I don't want to see that shit in a play in? You know what I mean? Like their season has been crap,

but like it actually makes it a lot more fun. They would be a case study in being able to withstand injury and some in some crazy universe actually still having a chance. Well, and not only that, there are also a case study for the value in the playing in tournament where if you have a player who is injured early in the season, now you're a game and a half back from having a chance to get. into the playoffs rather than six or seven games back from Minnesota and the Clippers at that

seven eight spot i mean that that's very i mean you could make up that ground but it's very tough to make up that ground in this case new Orleans is is right in it and like they're in a position now where brandon ingram we're talking all-star earlier ingram is a name we didn't bring up ingram's a name nobody ever brought up but he's been great this season he's been better defensively than he was the last two years in new Orleans putting in more effort more consistently and his offense is still there. So if Zion comes back, you get those guys together with the other pieces in that team, Herb Jones, who is awesome.

Yeah, New Orleans could definitely be really competitive and go on a strong run in the second half of the year. I'd love to see that. That would be a cool story. That's all I was saying, because when I was thinking about, when I was saying Minnesota and I think like, hey, they could be dangerous for somebody, you know, to bounce somebody out, that New Orleans team with Zion, if he came back and he was anything close, close to what we saw the last time we watched him.

Man, you want to talk about somebody that you don't want to see in a play in. Zion, Ingram, Valencien. He could be even better, Chris. Sometimes guys get better without even having to touch the court. You know, how much has he been working on his jump shot with Fred Benson? They're great shooting coach who helped out Ingram, helped out Lanzo, has helped out others in the past. Who knows? He could come back.

He's better. It's just something to monitor, because as I was looking through it, they're oddly right there. you know what I mean they're one and a half back out of that 10 spot and my god could you imagine a play in if he is able to come back he is able to play they get in there and then god forbid you're seven or eight and you got to face that no thanks right they they might they could they could make it i feel like they're they're a strong bet to make it if zion returns soon if zion returns soon suddenly that team gets, I mean,

they're not like a threat to make a run, but they get very, very intriguing for a team that can make some noise and kind of have the year, like the year Grizzlies had a couple years ago, and Memphis gets in,

you know, they're competing, they're having some big, important games with the playing. Like, I don't know, that they could get that at the least. I think they could be

even more dangerous than that, I do. Do you think they could win around? I mean, I guess it would depend on the matchup. You never know with injuries, you know, I'm just saying it full strength.

Geez, I do think we ever saw it. I don't know how you're going to get a frigid rebound. I really don't. In between Val Tunis and Zion, like, bro, how are you getting the ball? They're going to be able to play some, we miss, we get it, you miss, we get it. They got some pieces, man. Like, Herb Jones is a special defensive player. I mean, you were the first person that I remember.

remember having a conversation with about him a couple years ago when you're like, I like him. I like Herb Jones as a prospect in the NBA. And like, he wasn't even on a list. Yeah, I mean, to see him turn into the guy that he has the way he's risen, like his defense was what really

appealed to you, right, at the time? There's two things. He was on, he was on the Colin Sexton Bamerton, right? So that's where I first, Avery Johnson, when Avery Johnson was still there. So that's where I first noticed him. But then he played

I mean he was SEC player of the year So it's not like this guy was a nobody in college Yeah He played in a game with a broken hand And he had 17 friggin rebounds I don't think people understand The guy played with one hand And had 17 rebounds

Yeah he's a winner man That's who that is Like that's That's who that is I mean, I think so much about building culture is about bringing in the right people. And that's true, not just with the stars. It's especially true with the best players in the team. But it's also true with those guys like four to 12 on the roster, right?

And Herb Jones, whether he's the fourth best player and when he reaches his prime or whether he's like the seventh best player, I mean, when he reaches his prime on a winning team, it doesn't matter because, like, Herb Jones is one of those guys who just impacts winning in a really positive way. Like that dudes, and I think offensively, did you see the floater he hit earlier this week? It was like a tweet that went like a little bit viral.

Herb Jones hit a floater. You know, because it's just his scoring was the question with him. But he's shooting 38% from three. He's doing a little bit off the dribble. He's got some playmaking to him. Like, this guy is going to be in the league for 10 years.

And for New Orleans, that's what it's going to be about. Like, how do I surround Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson with guys who just impact winning, Josh Hart's one of those guys too. But they got a handful of guys. We can see the pieces getting put together.

It's going to be a couple years for it to get to get to where it needs to be. But I like very subtly what New Orleans is doing. Just real quickly, for a point of reference on what I was talking about, because I actually watched this game. So two weeks before the game, Herb Jones had had surgery to repair a fractured left wrist. Okay. And so then they go and they play against LSU and he grabbed 17 one-handed rebounds in the game. He has had surgery on the other hand. He can't use it. 17 one-handed rebounds. His career high at that point was 12. And he had 17. And then at the very end of the game,

he went and made two one-handed free throws at the end at the end of the game by the way he's left-handed so he had to make him with the other hand and he had to grab all the rebounds with the other hand like give me that guy whoever I mean it's not like I had to go out on some kind of crazy ass limb to find out that I loved a guy. Freaky stuff, man. I hope he makes that rookie game. In fact, we're going to talk about that because they announced

what they were going to do with the rising stars. This year they're going to do, it's not USA in the world. It's going to be 12 rookie class guys, 12 sophomores, and then there's going to be four G-League Ignite guys that are going to be part of this. Love it. They're going to do four teams of seven that are playing to a number. So it'll be like just kind of like they're playing in lifetime fitness or something,

right? The same way you do. Yeah. The first games are played to 50, right? Say four teams. Both two games, they played a 50. And then the teams that win played a 25 against each other. Yeah. And then as the details started coming out, though, the more details that came out, I was like, oh, that's awesome. Because it just makes it fun to watch. Yeah. And then the more details it came out the more confused I got. And I was like, wait, what? Why? Wait, did I, I, I didn't get to the confused part.

Were there more details? The whole, like, historic shot thing between the games. Uh, uh, uh, yeah, like, they're taking shots from these historic, like, I guess Ray Allen's three, it will be one and, like, they'll be. Who's playing Chris Bosch? Who's grabbing the rebound? That's the key. That's what made, that's what made it possible for Ray Allen to hit the shot.

who's grabbing the rebound i gotta know i don't know but they uh like they're doing like this thing where they take shots from historic places on the court what's this for in between the games you didn't see this this is part of their rising stars and like their changes i didn't see this part of the announcement what i read i don't remember that really it's like i don't remember reading that it's part of the 75 you know they're tying in the 75 day yeah i mean i think I think that'll be good for like commercials and whatnot. You get a bunch of like, you know, cameras. It'll make it easier to do those cool commercials where they have players, you know,

shooting in the same, you know, fadeaway jumper and all that. You get some footage for that. Maybe so. I just didn't, I didn't really know what was going on. I liked the whole idea of the competition thing. And the other thing was I felt like, don't you feel like the G League Ignite thing, that that is, that is a power play. Right now, that is something that they can offer.

If you're, let's say, and I've obviously been watching him throughout the season, Imani Bates. Emani Bates reclassified. Amani Bates has to do something next year, whether it's go back and play college basketball again at the University of Memphis or go elsewhere or go play in a league and try to make money somewhere, whatever it may be. If you are the G League and you're that Ignite team, then what you bring. to the table is this opportunity that overtime elite, that college basketball, that, you know, playing for the New Zealand breakers or anything else can't offer. And that is, hey, if you come and play for the G League Ignite, you're going to be featured on All-Star Weekend. Yeah. I actually do think. Definitely isn't an incentive. It feels like a power play, right? Like, because. Oh, yeah, totally. Because

people don't know who these kids. kids are. Now, it would have been cool last year, right? Think of back and if we would have seen Jaylor Green and Kaminga and those guys that went and did it last year were a part of it. But this year, not as star-studded, for sure. But, you know, if you're a prep kid and you're making a decision and you get to see these kids that are playing for the G-League Ignite and they're featured on All-Star Game Weekend? Like, I don't know. I think that would, you know, you might get a hell of a shoot to you out of that, just knowing that you're going to be able to be featured on All-Star Weekend or whatever else, right?

It'll be interesting to see a guy like Jaden Hardy, because statistically, I mean, he's not having a great season. You know, he's shooting, you know, 27% from 3, 35% of the field, only 40% from 2, averaging 18 points per game. And you'd think he would almost be a near, he is a guarantee. to make it. But I don't think those guys are going to play much. But I think even just getting the experience, that's even enough of a reward to be around those guys on a weekend like that.

Jay and Hardy might have an opportunity to go talk to Chris Ball. Like they might bump it to each other. You know what I mean? Like there's the potential of that. That could be even the greater value than playing three minutes in an exhibition game. As soon as I read it, that's what I thought though. Oh boy.

This is actually smart. Whoever did this you know, it will be guys that we're not familiar with for sure. But that's not a bad thing. It's not a bad thing. No, for a casual fan, be like, oh, Jaden Hardy, I'm introduced to him. You know,

I'm here to watch, you know, I'm here to watch Kate Cunningham, but then you learn about Jaden Hardy. You never know. Maybe they'll be teammates. It's good to educate fans about players that don't know. Yeah,

but what an advantage. And they're using their advantage. Oh, totally. I agree. They're using their advantage. It is smart, man, because they get to do everything they came to recruit players to join the Ignite.

Another quick one that we did want to mention. One way, one quick thing. Why don't they drop the bag for like Victor Wenban Yama? Like offer them $10 million to play for the Ignite. To me, if I'm the NBA, I would invest money in a superstar prospect like that. Like this year, I would offer him like whatever it takes to get him to come to the United States now and play for the Ignite this next season. And somebody like that, to me, I think, is also a worthy investment in terms of making the Ignite as good as it can possibly and as much of a lure as it can possibly meet to international prospects. Well, they got to figure out what they're doing with it before I think they're able to get to that point. You think they're not ready for that point yet?

You know, is it too early to drop the bag for a prospect? Well, because that team's not playing the season. No, they're not playing a full. Yeah. They played that showcase in Vegas or whatever. they're not really part of the Gile, you know, in the sense that... They're still kind of on the outside of it. Yeah.

A weird way. Like there is a team, and they are doing that, but they're not playing a season. Like the other teams are. They're not a normal team. Yeah. And so I think you'd need to get to that point. Because otherwise, I mean, you're doing it because you could get the guy in the fold and put them on TV, right?

I just think we're a little, you know, they are trying to speed up a little bit on getting high-level prospects in there as a prep place and an alternative to collegiate basketball or going overseas. But I still think they've got some figuring out to do in terms of making it something where you can really get exposure. Because no lie, I didn't know who was playing for G-League Ignite until that. announcement and I went and looked it up. I didn't know. If they've been on TV? Like, I just, I mean. Well, the night haven't played since December 20th for the showcase.

That was the last time. And I didn't hear about it then. Nobody was talking about it then. Yeah. Well, that's what I mean. I think the NBA, the NBA needs to figure out a way to make it, make it become something that people talk about. And I think personally, what I feel when the,

what the NBA should do with the in-season tournament, if we, let's say we do at some point indeed get an N-season tournament. season tournament. If you're able to get like the Ignite in one other, like a G League All-Star team or like one other G-League team to be like the 31st and 32nd teams as part of the tournament. I don't know. That'd be

interesting to me. I don't know if it's possible, but that's also another reason. I say this is someone who really likes the G-League, you know what I mean? Like I'm well aware of the G-League. There's a team not far from me. My producer. You get the hustle. Great name. He calls the games

for them. Like, this just a week. I mean, I pay attention to it. Just this week, they played the team from the Lakers. Let me tell you, Laker fans, you got another little Caruso on the way with, he's not the defender, but you want to talk about a little white guy who could jump out of the gym. McClung is playing for them? Oh, Matt, Mac McClung is he's, he's going to, I think, MacMachlan is going to be an NBA player. Yo, you want to talk about exciting. He's still exciting. I mean, he's obviously exciting at Georgetown to Texas Tech. His high school mixtape is just,

off the chart, but he's still going. He could get to the basket anytime he wanted in the G League. It was impressive. And I was like, also the 10 day, he had the 10 day with the Bulls, but they didn't have an opportunity to play much. I'm like, this guy might end up on the Lakers. And that man, Laker fans would love this dude. Yeah, right now in the G League, he's averaging 20 points per game in the G League,

37% from 3, 6 assists. Look at the two games he had this week. And you know who's the coach there? The Miles Simon, the old Arizona guard. And they're trying to work on him to be a point guard, McLung. They're trying to turn him into a guy that can like handle the ball and, you know, working on his point guard skills.

He had 25 points against your Memphis hustle. That's right. He needs assists. One turnover. Nice numbers. Yo, I could go to the basket anytime he wants to go to the basket. He's an athlete now. I think I can leap.

Kind of. fun. Mac McClough. He's got a shot to become an NBA player. Yeah. So all I'm saying is, nobody knows that crap goes on, but I'm telling you as someone who watches that product,

it is fun to watch. You know what I mean? Like, there's some really fun stuff that goes on there. And I give you an example of something that happened this week that was worthy of checking out. They play, and they don't even promote the damn things.

You can watch them on ESPN Plus. That's where I watch them most of the time. Like, find out that they've got a game, I'll turn it on one of the TVs and check and, you know, kind of have it in the periphery. It's tough, though. I mean, it's tough. Like, how do you make the G League more appealing?

You know, it's, it's really hard. I'm not sure. I'm not sure how you do it. Because it's not like they don't have interesting players. It's not like talented young players haven't spent time there. It is hard because you do have to run it congruent to, or you have to run it at the same time as the, as the season, as to be in feeder system four. You know.

Exactly. And everybody's attention is on, you know, obviously the main product in the NBA. I'd just say if somebody has paid attention to it for the last like three, four years, the level of play there is infinitely better than it was three or four years ago. Oh, yeah. Because guys were going and just getting their 150 grand,

you know, tax free over in Germany. That's what they're doing. And there's a lot more guys that are taking the option to stay here. and for a lot of them over the course of the past six months, their NBA dream of getting to have a jersey be on a court came true because of that decision, you know, to play the G League because Lord knows we needed 600 players. Who do you think should be the starting point guard for the Lakers?

Mac McClung or Russell Westbrook? I'd tell you that. I didn't see McClung throw it in the eight throw. I promise you that. Two things real quickly. There was a Roads report after all the James Hardin doesn't like how cold it is. James Harden doesn't like the Steve Dash's rotations. James Harden doesn't like the Kyrie Irving.

You know, only plays half the games. Then everybody, of course, ran and asked James Hardin. And James Hardin was like, I don't even talk to anybody. So he didn't hear from me. But there was, you know, reporting that this is what James Hardin is. thinking about things, which led to the story, Brooklyn, I mean, basically telling Woge, like, we are not trading him. And we're not even thinking about trading him. And anybody that calls about James Hardin, we're hanging up the phone. So I guess we can put that to rest,

at least for the season, you know. I don't know about that. Figure out what happens in the offseason. I actually believe that. We still have to get through next week. I believe that they're not going to trade it. I do believe. I would bet on them not trading him, but we still have to see, like, what's the next check? What is the next chess move here in terms of the leaks and all that? Like, what, when

when, when, when, when do we get a report on Monday or Tuesday that, you know, may, oh, maybe not. Maybe not. Actually, there is a chance. Like, that's inevitable. It's going to happen next week. On Tuesday show, we're probably going to be talking about the old, the latest report.

I don't know if they're right. I do believe that they believe Harden Tapie and will come back. That's what I would say. I don't know. Enough people are talking around the league about, like, the uncertainty that I believe that there is uncertainty within Brooklyn. On his end. On Brooklyn's end about, like, how Hardin actually feels.

You think that's bogus? What was that, bog? No, I'm saying, like, what he's telling? woe's reported it's definitely true what he's telling management yeah i plan to stay but that could change like feelings change like we'll see next week what happens earlier in the show you were talking about young guys and um and older guys and these big guys that have just really taken over the league it could very well be another MVP award in their pocket and i mentioned that there are young guys on the horizon mobile he's obviously a great

young player you mentioned wumbayama um what how did i say his name. I don't want to get his name wrong. Victor Weh. Wenbenyama. Just call him like, yeah, I think he, I think a name like that, Victor or V-dub, B-W. That's easy. I don't know. Yeah. I think

he deserves a nickname. Another easy name is Jabari Smith, Jr. Yeah, that's a simple one. I went out of my way to watch him last week. He's going to play again, I believe, tomorrow in a nationally televised game against Oklahoma.

but I went out of my way to watch him first the highlight and then watching him against Kentucky and oh brother did I see everything that everybody loves again this is a projection business but you see that kid and you see the way he can defend and you see the fire that he plays with and you see him calling for the ball in crunch time and and then like that you're the smoothness of it all. Holy, holy, Kev,

this is a special, special talent. He's got, you know, it was a lot of Paulo and Chet earlier in the season, and this kid has gotten

a lot of hype recently. He's on the number one team in the country, that Auburn team. And so I wanted to see what I thought about the hype and man, oh man.

Like, I think somebody's going to have a very, very difficult time passing all the, that because you can see the tenacity that is required. Right. Sometimes, sometimes with guys there can be a laissez-faire attitude or there can be,

maybe they just don't have like it. You know, when people talk about that intangible, whatever it is, that fire that comes along, that burning desire to win and to be great, you can see it come from the kid. He's got it, man. And God bless the frame. If you see him filling out, like, I don't even understand,

you know, how we have evolved to this place, but that's a freak. But hey, dude, that shot, you mentioned him calling for the ball. It was like two minutes,

I don't know, two minutes, 40 seconds left in that game against Kentucky and he caught the ball at the right elbow. And like with two guys on him, with like four or five seconds up of a shot clock, he dribbles once to his right to create space

for like a fadeaway jump shot with two arms in his face to extend the Auburn lead. And it was like, this guy is 6 foot 10 taking one dribble fadeaways, two defenders draped over him in a clutch moment of the game. He's the number one pick. Brings the ball up the court, shoots threes, and protects the rim. Like I'm getting to watch. And it defends on the perimeter. He's got great perimeter lateral quickness.

He can move. He reminds me a lot of a kid that I'm watching all the time, obviously, and Jaron Jackson. And just, I'm talking about what all he brings to the table. This, the, the, the, the freakiness of being able to really protect the rim on one end, but also stretch the floor all the way out on the other end and being able to dribble past shoot. I mean, like, good grief, he is. I can't, I can't, I watch a kid like that and I can't fathom one. he could be. I mean, he is

less special. I mean, I think with Jabari Smith, in a way, like, I haven't done like my ranking guy. I just have players like in a rough list. Like they're in groups like group one, group two, group three. And like it's like he goes from like group one, group two to group one with Chet and Paulo.

But like 610 with his shot making ability, Chris. Like that that does kind of, that gives him a little bit of separation in my head as I you know, filter through this draft class. That's a rare ability. If you can shoot up the dribble as a player with size, that's what gives you that mega star potential,

not just superstar potential, but like mega star potential. Like who knows what he reaches? It's about everything else. But like he's got a chance to be one of the best guys in the league with that size and shot making. Well, and I'm happy because this has been a year that is,

you know, a couple years ago when it was when it was RJ and it was Zion and it was Moran, that it was, there's a lot of guys that were worth seeking out to, to watch a college basketball. Like, I have, I have felt that way this year, especially as college football has ended, and that'll be on Saturday. And if I'm around the house, I'll for sure flip it on. Like, he's, he's worth the price.

I would tell people, check him out. He is worth the price of admission. Because you just don't see, you'll, you'll see stuff like that. Not a lot. I guess it's more common now than it used to be, but she's. Kevin, it is always a pleasure. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, real quick here. Real quick.

We get, we get, we get, okay, the Auburn on Saturday, then NFL playoffs on Sunday. Who's going to the Super Bowl, Chris? I think Kansas City, for sure. Yeah, hard to pick the Bengals over the Chiefs, especially that game being in, in Kansas City, too, and with Mahomes playing at the level he is. Unbelievable run for, for Cincinnati, for sure. Like, they'll have nothing to hang their heads about it, the fact that they are on that trajectory and making an AFC title game, you know, this early in Burroughs career

and Chase's career is amazing. It's great. Yeah. Maybe this is the first of many playoff battles between Burrough and Mahomes. Very possible. But I do think that the chiefs will end up there. And the other one, I kind of feel like the Rams are going to get the monkey off their back against them. Interesting.

I mean, they've lost every damn time to this. guy. I just how many times like they had them dead to write and then let them off the deck and lost in overtime and that's what got San Francisco in the playoffs in the first place.

You know, you're good enough to be up so big on the 49ers like they were. You're good enough to be up so big on the bucks like you were. You know, like that does matter to me. And it's like

if you ever could just not vomit all over yourself, you run out on these teams. And maybe I just, maybe that's their M.O. And I just cannot trust them. But, you know, you watch them both those times. You watch them.

I mean, I was watching that game. They were killing the Niners. There was 17-0 or whatever it was. And then I was watching that game against a Bucks. They're up, what, 273 or whatever the hell it was. And then they vomit all over themselves. and maybe I should just say that's what they keep doing.

But I don't know. They're good enough to be that. They're good enough to be up. And that Von Miller looks like Von Miller five, ten years ago. And between him and Aaron Donald, if you get a lot of pressure on Jimmy, I don't like, I don't like the chances. So I think I'd go Rams chiefs at this point. I think I'd say the favorites. I can't believe in that, I mean, we're going back to last week at that Bucks Rams game,

Todd Bowles calls the blitz, the blitz, the blitz, Cooper Cup, just wide open on a safety. I mean, I know, I know, you know, I just don't understand, like, wanting to put pressure in that situation. I feel like that incredible comeback led by Tom Brady,

just disappointing, like, for me personally, as a Brady, Brady fan to see it end that way. I mean, like, things happen. You make calls on defense, it could have worked out, but you think it's Rams? Yeah, I'd go with the ramps. That one, I would be much more shocked at a Bengals win than I would be a 49ers.

I mean, that to me is a toss. I agree. I just think that they finally, I think they finally get over the hump. And I don't necessarily have a tremendous amount of trust for Stafford or Jimmy G, but I guess I'd trust Stafford more. That's really where, like, you know, the lean comes from me. I'm leaning towards Stafford over Jimmy G. But Debo Samuel, some of the guys in that 49ers offense, heck of a lot of fun to watch, man.

That's a cool team. Devo Samuel is awesome. Fun to watch, for sure. Kevin is always a pleasure. Hope everybody has a great weekend. Thank you to Jesse Lopez, our executive producer, and we will talk to everybody next Tuesday.