The Ringer NBA Show - 10 Predictions for 2023 That Could Change the NBA

Episode Date: December 29, 2022

Michael Pina is joined by James Herbert, NBA writer for CBS Sports, to share their 10 interesting predictions for the NBA in 2023. From Karl-Anthony Towns getting traded (2:26) to a possible Ja Morant vs. Zion Williamson premier matchup (50:52), 2023 looks to be a very interesting year of hoops. Host: Michael Pina Guest: James Herbert Producer: Brian H. Waters Additional Production Supervision: Ben Cruz Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

An Instagram post gets an unexpected boost. A TikTok catches in the algorithm. Sometimes that's all it takes to launch someone into internet fame. But then what? This Blue Up is a new podcast documentary that reveals how social media stardom is made. It's a different kind of fame. That's not always as glamorous as it looks. From Spotify and the Ringer Podcast Network, I'm Alyssa Bereznak.

You can listen to This Blue Up on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Hello, happy holidays. and welcome to this super special edition of the Ringer MBA show. I'm your host for the day, Ringer's senior staff writer, Michael the Podpina, and I'm joined on the other line by my good friend CBS Sports's very own James Herbert. James, is it too soon to say Happy New Year? Personally, I think it's fair from the 26th to the 31st. What's your call on that?

26 seems a little early to me, but we're the 29th. Now it's fair, I think. So it's okay right now. I can say Happy New Year to you. Yeah, if you were still saying Merry Christmas on the 26th, I think I'd be kind of more okay with that than Happy New Year. That's fair. That might be weird, but... Yes, so I'll say, Happy New Year to you.

Happy New Year to our listeners. There's so much going on in the NBA right now. We have the unbeatable Brooklyn Nets, a sizzling MVP race, absurd comebacks galore. But on today's episode, I thought it would be fun for you and I to make a few predictions about the new year. We'll gaze into an imaginary crystal ball and tell our wonderful. listeners, what's going to happen around the NBA in 2023. Each of us has five interesting, quote-unquote, predictions to share. So we'll just tell each other what they are and follow this conversation wherever it leads us. Does that sound good to you, James? That sounds awesome.

Amazing. I like the quote, like, you know, interesting. Maybe it'll be interesting. I hope so. Well, when I, just behind the scenes, I texted you that I wanted interesting predictions out of you and you gave me a hard time. So that's why I'm putting it in quotes. To be clear. Well, you can rate how interesting my predictions are after each one. Okay. Do you want to go first or do you want me to go first? I mean, it's your show.

Go ahead. Beautiful. So my first one, I don't know if this is interesting. I think people have talked about it for the past few weeks. I'm not 100% certain that it'll happen. I think it should happen. But it's the Minnesota Timberwolves will trade Carl Anthony Towns. I think you knew where I was going with that one when I said Minnesota Timberwolves.

Carl is currently out with a calf strain that he suffered almost exactly one month ago. He can't be traded until the offseason. Since he's been gone, shout out to Kelly Clarkson. The Timberwolves rank 15th in offensive rating, 15th in defensive rating, 16th in that. rating. Before he was injured, there was 17th offense, 15th defense, 18th net rating. The point is, like, when you make this big trade that they did for Rudy Gobert, they should be better. And we're now past Christmas. And I just think this isn't necessarily an indictment on Carl Towns. It's more an indictment on the Rudy Gobert trade, which is just, it's decimated the Timberwolves

in a lot of ways. It's decimated their future. They need to recoup some draft equity here. They need to get players that better compliment Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert. I think that's the duo you need to build. It's so sad to even say that out loud. That's the duo you need to build around right now if you're the Timberwolves. What do you think about this? I have a few fake trades or potential trade partners, but what are your thoughts on this one? I think they have to do something if they can't salvage this season with a different trade around the deadline, because I think we saw enough of a sample early on to be like, this is not just normal like hiccups and growing pains at the beginning of the year. I think if the towns go bare pairing is going to work,

then the cast around them need to have pretty specific guys there. I think they needed more spacing around those two. I think they have some defensive versatility, but I think you still want more of that. I don't know if the perfect trade is going to be out there before this year's deadline. So I think, you know, it is surely within the realm of possibility that they'll be looking into something like this in the summer. The tough thing is I think the trade almost has to be one of those challenge trades that you almost never see. Because the last thing they should be trying to do, if you're keeping Rudy Gobert and trying to build around this different duo is trading cat for like, you know, trading a dollar for a bunch of quarters. Or even I think it would be sort of a rough look if they were trading.

him for like a huge draft pick haul and young players and kind of trying to do it that way because like you have go bear like your timeline is is now um you've already sort of said that should they have done that should their timeline be now i mean they didn't have to anthony edwards is super young cat is still pretty young um considering how long he's been around like they had a lot of runway um i just i i think this sort of i i'm interested to hear what fake trades you have because to me like what you are looking for is to sort of trade like for like, like trade a superstar for another superstar, or like if you don't consider Kat a superstar,

at least an all-star for another all-star or something like that to make these pieces kind of work better. But I think if you punt on the guy who is supposed to be your franchise player, because your big all-in move didn't work out, it just kind of a bummer. It is a bummer. The challenge trade, I think, that you might be thinking, of when you said that phrase is cat for Tray Young.

That's at least the most popular one that's been going around the past couple weeks. I am personally, I mean, you know my thoughts about Tray Young. I think it's still a little too soon to pull the plug on that if you're the Atlanta Hawks. I'm still the last person who thinks he's really good, I guess. He's obviously really good. I think the problems people have with Tray Young are not like he's not really good. It's obvious. It's just, you know, there's been specific improvements people have wanted to see for a long time.

And I think there's some pessimism about those ever happening. I still want to be patient with him. So I probably would not do that one. Also, you're getting a guy who's not significantly older, but what, four or five years older, I want to say, than Trey. If you go for Kat, which is, I don't think that's necessarily what you want. If you're the Atlanta Hawks. The other, I mean, the most popular team that would be interested is the New York Knicks, the team that has all these picks, has some young talent, has salary, and has the CAA connection that everyone loves to talk about when we talk about players who are rep by CAA and the Knicks being interested in them. So that's the team, I guess, and we don't need to go too deep into that one because it's kind of been well-trod territory.

but I guess that would be fine. I don't even know, honestly. Like, if you're the Timberwolves, I'm not excited by getting R.J. Barrett and, like, who else would even be in that deal that's attractive, like Obie Toppin. Grimes? Grimes is cool, yeah.

And he would compliment Edwards and Gobert really well. I'm really high on him. And he's played really well before he got her. hurt recently, but yeah, I'm just not that pumped. Getting all the Knicks picks would be cool, and then I could, if I was Tim Connolly, I could flip those for other things, and those would be attractive trade assets, I think. But I don't know, I can't get super excited about the Knicks. Can I tell you, so you're a Raptors person, for those who don't know you?

Do you think a Seacum for Kat Challenge trade would be anything that either team would be interested in? or now. I don't think the Raptors would be interested in it. I don't think he fits the way that they want to play particularly. I think Siakum has improved so much that it's not, like, I mean, I think if you would ask this question a year ago, people would have said that's a clear talent upgrade. I'm not sure that's true anymore. The difference between the two on defense is astronomical.

They would have to. Nick Nurse would have to make some concessions about how he, approaches the defensive side of the ball if Carl Anthony Towns was on his team. Yeah, I mean, I don't know. If I'm a Raptorsologist or whatever, I don't know that I would prescribe that particular trade. That, I don't love it.

We talked about this one offline a little bit, but if the Rockets signed James Hardin, the next move is to get another star. And if you had Hardin, Cat, and I honestly don't know who would be left over in this scenario, who would be going to the Timberwolves in this deal. But that would be a scorched earth blockbuster. I'm not going to rule that out 100%,

just something to think about for now. And I don't know how far that team goes or what their ceiling is. It's just, but that's another one that's just kind of percolating on my brain. There would be some symmetry there in, you know, once a part, upon a time, the Minnesota Timberwolves traded Kevin Love to the Cleveland Cavaliers to team up with LeBron James, who decided to go home and bring a veteran all-star buddy with him. It would be, I mean, it would be hilarious. It would be super weird. It's kind of hard to wrap your mind around right now. But I do think, like, yeah, like, if Hardin, if we live in a world where Hardin actually goes back to Houston, I don't think it's just to play with the kids. I think it's, I'll play with a kid. couple of them. And then, you know, you'll leave Wiggins out of your Sports Illustrated first-person article because he's gone. And I don't know who the Wiggins is in this

scenario, but I mean, Kat would kind of make sense. I mean, they'd score like a zillion points a game. I don't know about the other end of the floor, especially when you look at like if the roster is going to resemble the one it has now in any way, I would be worried there. But I mean, it'd be kind of fun. It'd be super weird, though. Can I tell you my favorite fake trade than the one that I think is, I don't know how conceivable this one is, but I think both sides would be pretty happy with it. It's the Phoenix Suns. This is basically new owner syndrome where I just bought a team and I have to make a splash blockbuster transaction. So the Phoenix Suns who own all their picks have no outgoing picks, no incoming picks. they ship all of their picks, all of pick swaps,

Mikhail Bridges, and Landry Shammit for Carl Anthony Towns. What do you think about that one? What if it were Aiton instead of Bridges, and they don't, maybe because Aiton's, I don't even know at this point, if Aiton is seen as having way higher value than Bridges, maybe not. but it's a little cleaner if you just kind of swap Biggs, right?

For Phoenix, it is. I don't know if that's clean for the Timberwolves. No. I guess, yeah, I guess they wouldn't really be interested in that. Yeah, I mean, geez, like, Bridges is like the prototype of the kind of guy you would want to add to this wolves team, especially if you believe that there's still some kind of runway there for improvement in terms of, you know, getting that, like, you know, you see the little, like, Middleton-esque leaning mid-range jumpers that he'll pull out of his bag.

You see the occasional, like, scoring explosion from bridges. I think he was labeled a three-and-d guy early on his career. That label is sort of stuck. The usage rate indicates that that's not entirely unfair. But I, again, I just go back to, like, I don't, if I'm the wolves, I don't want to trade cat for, like, strictly role players. but if you believe there's some, there's still some kind of fringe star potential from bridges.

If you are okay, even if you don't, if you think this is sort of a two-part trade where you get all of these picks and then you later move them to sort of complete this deal and upgrade your team. Like, yeah, it would make some sense from their perspective. It makes sense from Phoenix's perspective in terms of the fact they don't care about the draft whatsoever.

Correct. So this would fit with their ethos. I think the cat Booker prophecy, and years ago they were supposed to team up and he's now teamed up with DeLo, who was the other third of that triumvirate. I guess they never said they would all necessarily be on the same team at the same time.

Like he would get to play with his other buddy. Like I see the appeal. I think the fit there would be kind of strange as well. But I mean, that is clearly, if Phoenix thinks it needs to inject some more talent, into their equation. That is a way to do it. And honestly, maybe the cat Aiton thing would work a little bit better than the cat

go bear thing. I mean, Aiton is still not like a stretch big and he's not like, he's not bam out of bio defensively, but he can switch a little bit. He can shoot enough that it's a definitely different mix than the one that Minnesota had going on at the beginning of this season. and then the role player, like, it's a different kind of supporting cast, too. I think it could maybe make sense. It's just it's hard for me to see all those pieces fitting when you're losing bridges in the deal

because he's the kind of guy that can make the like cat and another big thing work properly. Yeah, I think you're banking on Cam Johnson. Just you're going to resign him and you're going to plug him into the starting lineup in that same role. and you hope that he can handle additional responsibilities. And I think for Aiton, you would test it out, see if that duo work together. And I'd be a little bit bullish because I think there's a little more offensive versatility with Aiton as opposed to Gobert. But if it doesn't work out, it's not like Aiton has way more trade value, I think, at this point than Gobert would for in Minnesota situation. Like they could get off of Aiton at some point on the Fun Max and get, I think, impact players right away, plus maybe some draft equity.

So it could be just an interesting way for them to kind of bridge this Chris Paul era into something else. But yeah, that would be a fun one. It's kind of a perfect hypothetical trade because it's like two teams that I think a lot of people are just kind of like, something's got to change. I just want to see something different. And even if you're looking, like, I think you can look at both sides and you can nitpick the, like, hypothetical fit. But you're still just like, I want to see it. I would like to watch that more than I would like to watch what they currently have going on. Yes.

So the first prediction was perfect. James, you have a lot to live up to with your first one now. Ha! I kind of wish we had done this a couple of weeks ago. So it wouldn't seem like I am just sort of piggybacking off of like some recent stuff. that's going on. But I'm going to go with it anyway. I think another buck's existential crisis is coming.

I don't know exactly when it will happen. Maybe it is after a disappointing loss in the playoffs. Maybe it is after trade deadline. If they don't do anything or what they do is confusing to people. Maybe it is deeper into the off season when people are looking at what they have coming back next year and they're wondering what's going on. But I do think, you know, there has been kind of a grace period for the Bucks and their half court offense in particular and their flaws in particular because they won a championship. And then they got farther than

I think people thought they would without Middleton last season in the playoffs. But I think we're starting to get to a point now where like you can see people are starting to kind of start questioning what is going on in Milwaukee. People are starting to kind of wonder, like, does Middleton actually fix everything if he is able to come back and, like, play and be healthy for an extended stretch? Like, what exactly is the plan there? Was it smart to just bring the band back and add Joe Ingalls?

Should they have tried to get a little more athletic? Should they have tried to get a little younger? I think Chris Middleton is one of the more interesting, free, like upcoming free agents on the market. They could have negotiated an extension that that didn't happen. Brooke Lopez is getting up there in age. Drew Holiday is getting up there in age. And I think that grace period that sort of like,

oh yeah, the Bucks are this elite team, they're going to be there at the end, blah, blah, blah. I think people's patience is already starting to kind of lessen a little bit. But I think what we are headed for, particularly if, they lose in ugly fashion the playoffs is something similar to what we saw when they had ugly losses in playoffs in years past, where all of a sudden it's this kind of, all right, like, what are they going to put around Janus? Is Bud the right guy for this team?

Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And it'll be kind of old and it'll feel kind of recycled. But I think that's where we're headed. So I love this prediction. You know me. My next prediction was actually the Nets will beat the Bucks in round two. So we're right. Let's go with it. Yeah. Yeah. We're right on the same wavelength right now.

I could just see, just, I agree with everything that you're saying with the looming existential crisis, except they have Janus locked up on his contract. So it's a little less anxiety-inducing if you are with that organization than it was pre, I guess, right when you made the Drew Holiday trade, which was like the peak of their anxiety. but you're right like Chris Middleton who has proven to be I guess just invaluable and you know nothing against Chris Milton I think he's a fantastic

player but he's like a borderline all-star I feel like he shouldn't be this critical to a title contender but that's just kind of how they're built and their best player who is one of the best

players in the world has flaws in his game that really requires someone like Chris Middleton to fill that void when they're on the floor together. So I don't know what's going to happen with Chris Middleton and free agency. Brooke Lopez has been also integral to how they want to play and their identity this season is wrapped around his drop coverage and his rim protection and he's also a free agent. And there's teams with CapSpace out there that are going to look at his season

that Brooke Lopez just had and they're going to want him. I feel like he's. Yes. Got skills that are pretty rare and that he can protect the rim at a defensive player of the air level and shoot threes. So, yeah, it's, I can just foresee when I was rewatching the Nets beat the Bucks a couple days before Christmas before we started recording this. And I can just foresee like exactly what happened in that round two in 2021 where this this net's

is just like I mean it's one of the best shooting teams that's basically in the league and maybe the league has ever seen yeah I can just see them just pull up jumper after pull up jump or over drop coverage and just but it's just too late to make the adjustments and he's not going to take Brooke Lopez off the floor when he needs to and their offense is just in mud and And I feel like that could be a five-game series, honestly. I don't think these two teams are very close right now. And you look at the Nets and how well they've played since Jockbun's been hired. There's just like a convenient marker, November 1st.

It's like their offensive rating with Ben Simmons and Nick Clackston is 118, which is better than the Boston Celtics, who have the best offense in the league since then. And that's 191 minutes. It's not zero minutes. So I just feel like the Nets are cooking. And if these two teams, if the season ended today, these two teams would be in line to match up in the second round. And if that were to happen, I just feel like the Nets are on a different level right now. I remember watching the first meeting those two teams had in Milwaukee, where the Nets kind of dominated the first half.

Yonis didn't do that much. And I remember just thinking like, this is a horrible matchup for Milwaukee. Now, in the second half, Yonis just came out and scored like a zillion points. and the Bucks ended up winning that game. I think Nash was still the coach at that point. I was like pretty early on in the season. The Nets were not anywhere near hole at that point. Like they are a flat out different team now.

Healthier teams, still not fully healthy, but almost there. And I mean, honestly, like I'm thinking about that game. I'm thinking the recent one, I think back to like that playoff series that they had a couple of years ago. like Bobby Portis got played off the floor pretty quickly. A lot had to go wrong for the Nets to be in that situation where they lost a series that was as close as it can possibly get. And also, Kevin Durant had some of the best performances I've ever seen in my life.

And that series, probably the best performance I've ever witnessed in person. And I believe Game 5 of that series. But his life was really hard. And he was kind of exhausted by the end of it. And a big part of that was that P.J. Tucker was grabbing him holding him, pushing him, just chasing him around the entire game. And the Bucks let him go.

And now you watch these games. And Drew Holliday is guarding him. And I've seen Drew Holiday guard Kevin Durant in a playoff series. He's as incredible as somebody his size can be in that matchup. But KD can still just shoot over him. And I am not comfortable with the options that the Bucks have to guard him. I don't, I think the drop coverage, worked sort of okay over the course of that series

a couple of years ago because two of the net stars were not there or in the case of Hardin was kind of there but was on one leg and the idea was they were going to dare Kevin Durant to beat them and he almost freaking did but that's not how it would have to be this time

like if they're somewhat healthy then there are a lot more weapons there's stuff you can run for other guys It's not just like when the bucks are selling out to protect the rim, it's not just the drop. It like off ball stuff has killed them in playoff series. Like I think back to how the heat beat them and running their shooters off of screens on the perimeter. And like if the nets are doing that for Joe Harris, if like I don't know if Seth Curry is going to be traded before the deadline or not. But if he's still there, like he could be a factor.

And they just have so much shooting and scoring up and down the roster now that the spacing is so much better. And even when it's not, even in those minutes with Claxon and. Simmons that you're talking about. Like, it doesn't matter because their stars are hitting those mid-range shots. And even their supporting players are. Like, DJ Warren has, like, vastly exceeded any expectations I had for him after missing so much time. And I just think it's a really deep team.

I feel like we're hating on the bucks a little. I don't want to dismiss them completely. They are still an excellent team. Dismiss away. I have felt better about Brooklyn, I think, even. even dating back to like when it seemed like the whole thing might fall apart, I still thought the ceiling was like really, really, really high. You and I talked about that a lot.

And I think we are starting to see what it looks like. Like offensively, the promise of this team was that it could be just as potent as it was when Hardin and Irving and Durant were there. And then the idea was they can be like better than that defensively. And they have been. I mean, Claxton, Durant, and Simmons are all playing. at such a ridiculously high level defensively that this team has just shot up the rankings

on that end of the court and it makes them look like a viable championship contender and I mean to me like they are like the second best team in the east right now over the bucks who's the best team do you think who's the best team in the east? I think you know who they are it's your buddies the Boston Celtics

I would say still are the best but But yeah, I mean, I came close to making the same, I think the prediction I had scratched out in favor of just a buck-centric one. I was going to say, like, it will be Celtics Nets in the conference finals. And then I was like, wait, this isn't even like an interesting prediction anymore because they're at the top of the standings at this point. But yeah. Yeah, I think what's really interesting about the Nets, I know this was kind of more a Bucks-centered prediction, but the Nets are more fun to talk about. about what's really interesting about them is i mean you hit the nail on the head like they have size two way wings who can also space the floor now and they don't think they've had that for

quite some time even when joe harris isn't out there i mean you don't want an abe has given them fantastic minutes he's hit basically like 60 percent of his threes tj warren has been terrific um having royce o'neal out there is i mean he just like plays so many minutes for them he's he's so critical. And yeah, I just, like, the fact that they can be relatively big, like, they don't need to play Seth Curry, they don't need to play Patty Mills, and still be effective on both sides of the ball and still have spacing and still have defensive versatility. And I feel like Nick Clackson is just, like, people should be talking about him way more. He's insane. He's very, very good.

And he leaves the league and field goal. percentage, but it's not all lob dunks. Like, if you actually watch him play, he, like, finishes through contact. He's, like, got really nice touch around the basket. He's got this little hook shot. Like, he's just really, really good and kind of the linchpin of their switch everything defense when they want to switch everything. So I just think that it would be a really fun, it'd be really fun to see how the Bucks could try to solve a lot of the problems that the Nets give. then I don't know if they could.

And I just also, before we move on from this and you give me your next prediction, I just think Kevin Durant would be the best player in that series too. And that's not nothing. I mean, Kevin Durant might be the best player in the NBA right now. So I don't. That is perfectly possible. All right. My next prediction, this is for you, Pina.

This is like specifically engineered for this podcast. Sweet. I think Alex Caruso will be this year's Derek White. I think it is pretty likely he'll be traded before the deadline. And I think whoever gets him, obviously it has to be a Witt now team. It has to be a contender. And you put him into like any contender's rotation. And immediately, I think it just elevates them to another level.

So I personally, give me a team. I want a team. I want a team that is going to get Alex Cruz. Rousseau, going to pry him away from the Chicago Bulls. I mean, my instant goes, like, my head goes to the Warriors, but I don't know if that's just because of that Steve Kerr conversation with Caruso after the game. I think, like, literally any team would work. Maybe, I mean, we're just talking about the Nets.

I think they could use somebody like him, another perimeter player who, like, different. defensively is an absolute menace. I think there's, I don't know, do you have a favorite destination for him? I don't know, it's really funny. Like, I'm looking just at the standings and every team. That's what I'm saying. Just throw him on any team and it's just like, oh, they're better. I think it would be really fun to see him on, I mean, Denver, obviously, would just be.

but he kind of is a duplicate of what Bruce Brown gives, but he would just be a natural fit and someone who can improve a defense that has been ticking in the right direction, but could always use better personnel around Nicola Yokic. So that's one that's really interesting to me. I think he fits the identity of the Memphis Grizzlies to a T.

Oh my goodness. He'd be perfect there. That would be a lot of fun. him, Jha, and Desmond Bain, like that three-guard lineup would be just hellacious in a lot of different ways. That would be great. The team that I want to throw out there

that I don't think is a contender, but I think could really use Alex Caruso and would potentially overpay and do something dumb is the Dallas Mavericks. I don't, I feel like if you just had him on the floor with Luca I just feel like there could be a lot

of small, small pick and roll stuff and he can dive and make plays out of the short role. He needs to shoot a little bit more and I think he would in a scenario where he's not sharing the floor with Damar and Zach Levine

and Vouchovic. But that, like, if you're Dallas and you make like a, I don't know if it's a panic to trade for Alex Caruso depending on what you give up, but

that could be like an interesting fit, I feel like. I think offensively how that works is really interesting to me because I think if you are of the mind that, okay, the most important thing for any supporting cast member on that team is you can hit spot up threes. And Caruso not only is not a marksman, he's a reluctant shooter there, especially this year he'll turn down open looks. That's not, that's not in theory what you want. So you could say he's a bad fit offensively.

They should not do it even though he's so good on defense. But I think the other way to look at it is if you think that what the MAVs need is just a little more kind of juice in their offense, a little more off ball stuff happening, a little more side-to-side stuff, going on a little bit less predictability and a little bit less just everything is Luca creating on his own. If you look at how they've struggled sometimes when the jump shots have not been falling for their role players, which has been far too often from them this year. And you think they need somebody who maybe it's not about just the spot-up shooting. It's someone that can actually nudge them a different direction.

Then, like, Caruso is your guy. He's such a smart player. He can play off of superstars. He's made his name doing that in the NBA. And I think, actually, it's not the most conventional sort of complementary player for Luca, but I do think he could work pretty well, provided that they play a little bit differently. I think his presence would almost force them to.

So my next prediction is I don't really have a lot of commentary to attach to it. I just want to throw it out there and get your reaction. I think either the Jazz or the Pelicans will win the lottery and get Victor Wembañama with picks that didn't belong to them, that don't belong to them from the Lakers and the Timberwolves. I really think that's going to happen. I mean, the NBA is a chaotic place, and this would be a just peak chaos situation, especially if it's a pelicans. I mean, they are kind of, I mean, they're not exactly a juggernaut right now, but they're really, really good, and they have the potential to just do nothing and evolve into a juggernaut as their young guys get better and more consistent. And even the Zion rounds out his game, which is hilarious because he's playing at an MVP caliber level right now.

Now. Did you watch that game last night against the Timberwolves? I've not watched it. It was like 15 for 18 in the restricted area. Like the right-handed dunk on Rudy where Rudy pulled back and was like, I don't want to pick up a foul even though I played 28 minutes tonight and fouled out anyway. Like, it's just, Zion is, he takes off from like beyond the dotted line through two people every single play. And it's like, I don't know what we do here with this person. He's like a flying brick wall.

Like what? Nothing. it's just you can't do anything and he has like crazy touch like he's one of the like best layup like he looks like tony parker sometimes except like when he can't dunk it it's just he's i don't even know what to do with him so yeah that would be totally unfair if they got victor ruminia much like i don't even just cancel the NBA for the next five years yeah i mean i would love it and also just kind of feel bad for everybody else because it's not just fight i mean think about how long those two guys could be teammates.

Like, it's insane. They are basically like, just their proportions as human beings. It's like the complete opposite deal. It would be very funny to look at. They would do things on a basketball court together that I can't even imagine. So, yeah, I mean, I would love it. I would feel very worried for everybody else in the NBA. The jazz, I think that would just be, like, carmically hilarious just because of, like,

what they have done since last off-season. I could totally, like, imagine that happening and everybody being really mad at Danny Ainge. But, yeah, I mean, their future already, like, to me, it's like whatever they do. And this is sort of, like, when you wrote about the jazz this year, this was sort of, like, the point, right? It's like, they have lots of paths.

None of them are bad. Yeah. Like, there's just so much upside for that organization. over the next however many years because of the way that they've set themselves up. And, yeah, I mean, if they were to get any degree of lottery luck, it doesn't even need to be, they get Wemby, but just some luck in that scenario. They're just sitting pretty. They're going to get luck because the Lakers are terrible.

Yesterday when the Devin Booker news, he's out a month with a groin injury, hamstring, I can't remember. When that news came out, I tweeted semi-phaciously that there was, there was, three teams that should call about Chris Paul, the Clippers, the Timberwolves, and the Pelicans. And Pelicans fans were very upset with me for even suggesting this. But I feel like- Trade one MVPA president for the last one? Would that?

Well, no, no. I don't even think CJ would have to be a part of it. I think you could do Jackson, Devante, and your guy, Garrett Temple. and then the pick compensation would be negotiated, and that's where any hypothetical deal dies probably. But they're better with Chris Paul. To be clear, do you agree with that? Or were you like, I don't wouldn't touch.

I know you're a big Jose Alvarado person, but I feel like they could use more like floor generalship, particularly to navigate through, I just got a word, particularly to navigate through four playoff rounds, which is what they aspire to do this year. Like, am I crazy? like Chris Paul

No you're not crazy What are you talking about? I mean it would be an awesome story I'm just I'm here for the idea of Chris Paul and Jose Alvarado's relationship just turning another direction like Alvarado like he called Chris Paul his favorite player

when he was coming into the NBA like that was a guy he looked up to and then you know you know what happens like they have that that playoff series he like first Chris Paul sees the GTA coming and tells him to get his ass back and all of that he act then Alvarado gets him

they get chippy there's all that thing. And, like, Chris Paul doesn't want to say his name in a press conference. And this year, like, Alvarado doesn't even want to say Chris Paul's name. And, like, apparently they hate each other now. I just think, like, this, it's, like, really fast to get to a, like, Beverly Westbrook, like, reunion. We are, like, best friends now. Yeah.

But I think it would, it would happen, like, immediately. And I, they're both extremely competitive. They're both extremely annoying in the best way. I would personally love that. I am a little less optimistic about how the fit goes if CJ is still on the roster. But, I mean, the talent upgrade of the deal that you just described where they're essentially trading picks and Jackson Hayes because I don't think, you know, like, Devante Graham and Garrett Temple in a playoff rotation, I just don't know if they're even seeing the floor. So, like, from that perspective, like, yeah, you go all in, you try to win right now. that guy helps you do that.

But it's just, I think it's already so tricky for Willie Green to navigate, like, what the lineups are. And a lot of the lineups this year have just been dictated by who's healthy. Healthy. Yeah. But I think, like, if you are reasonably healthy in a playoff series and you need to play Chris Paul a lot of minutes, you need to play CJ a lot of minutes. Like, it's just, I don't know that, you know, I don't know that the rest of the roster, is equipped to handle that backcourt combination from a defensive perspective.

But maybe they just score so many points. It wouldn't matter. The offense would be crazy. I think you could figure out ways to stagger. I don't know. I'm not saying it's like a deal that needs to happen for the Pelicans to make a playoff run. But the pushback I got from Pelicans fans was kind of like, guys, you haven't won a playoff

series yet. Let's just take a breath and realize that Chris Paul is still very good. Is it my turn now or is your turn with the predictions here? I think it's, I've only made two. You only made two, then it's you. It's you. I'm going to build off the jazz mention that you had before and stick with Danny Ains, pissing everybody off.

I think there's going to be a Keliolinic bidding war at the trade deadline. And there's a few teams that I want to mention. Oh, no. Oh, no. I think if people were mad about like the return. that Ains got when he traded his stars in the summer. If he ends up getting some huge sort of coup for role players now, I think people will lose their goddamn minds.

All right. I think four places Kelly Olinic would fit in wonderfully. Golden State, Denver, Sacramento, and his former team, the Miami Heat, I think all those teams could really use him just offensively because of the spacing, because he fits their style of play. the passing. I think just watching him in Utah this year, he's not doing anything he hadn't done before.

I remember when he went to Houston and nobody was really watching the Rockets. He was like 20-something games after the deadline. And his numbers were absolutely nuts. And he looked like a star. It's like he has shown his ability if you give him the ball and involve him in the offense to just make good decisions.

And like things just kind of happen. He's a natural fit anywhere because of his ability to do those little keepers off the handoffs, as shooting is nuts. I think he's a smart offensive player. Defensively is not great, but like you have him on the second unit, or maybe in Miami's case, he's starting at the four. I think he gives you another kind of dimension. Or maybe if it's not another dimension, it's like another dimension that they didn't have

the second unit, allowing the second unit in Sacramento or the second unit in Golden State to play a little and or Denver to play a little bit more like the way they do when the starters are out there he has a hundred and twenty nine personal fouls this season which leads the NBA and he hasn't played a thousand minutes just an absolute legend i have a soft spot for kelly olinick he's great um i love that of all the possibilities for predictions you could make 450 players 30 teams kelly olinix potential destinations before the trade deadline made the cut that's just great stuff that's why you're here man um The team you said that really piqued my interest is Denver, like putting him as a backup.

I mean, you're just going all in. I don't think Kelly Lennox is like a terrible defender, but you're going all in with an offense that's just going to sizzle and cook everybody in the playoffs. And you really don't even need to change how you play when Yokic hits the bench either offensively. You can run a lot of this, a lot similar stuff, like not identical because Yokic is Yokish, and he's, we're going to get to him. No spoiler in a section. But that's just great. And he can compliment Yokic and be on the floor at the same time as him, Jamal Murray, Michael Porter, Jr., space the floor.

I love Kelly Olinick. That's fun stuff. There's such a burden on Highland in the second unit to just like make stuff happen. And I want to, I like Bones Island, but I want to relieve some of that. If I'm Denver, I am not like, I understand if you just look at like their defensive rating on this season. And then I'm out here saying trade for Kelly Olinic. Like it doesn't make a ton of sense. But if I'm specifically looking at what happens with the second unit, like I want more firepower there.

I want more structure there. And Kelly Olinick, like the reason, like part of the reason the jazz are good and cohesive is because. he is the kind of guy who ties the room together. And that room is awfully messy in Denver every time Yokic sits down. Denver has the 24th best defense this year, and Utah is 25th, so that's just good stuff.

Okay, time to bring in the heavyweight here. No pun intended. Heavyweight prediction time. Nicola Yokic will win his third straight MVP. There it is. I knew it. I was going to make it. MVP-related prediction. I was like, I don't need to. We're going to have this conversation.

Please, please elaborate. All right. So despite losing a tough one last night in Sacramento where Yokic had a floater, go in and out with three seconds left. He's just the most valuable player in basketball. Here's his numbers in December. I have them for you. 30 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists on 67% true shooting. Like, that is not real life. His team is one of the best records in the league, despite the second and third best player on the team being in and out of the lineup and not 100% for the entire season. Look at Aaron Gordon. I'm going to get to some on after.

Look at Aaron Gordon's season. Aaron Gordon is having an unbelievable year. He's incredibly efficient. There's been All-Star chatter that's not real. He's not going to make the All-Star team. But that's just like all Nicola Yokic. Not all, but like over 50% because he shares the floor with Nicola Yokic. Yokich for basically all of his minutes.

Bruce Brown's effective field goal percentage is 25% higher with Yokic on the court than off the court. Is that it? Yes. And like to look at the on-offs really quick, when Yokic won MVP two years ago, his net point differential was plus 6.4 points per 100 possessions. Right now it's plus 23.3 points per 100 possessions. and my conspiracy theory when the Nugget signed DeAndre Jordan was that it would choose his on-off numbers and have people like me just like constantly pumping through every like avenue I have spread the message

that this dude needs to win in three straight MVPs and it's worked even though Ziknagia is starting to take some of those minutes a little bit. But Yokic is like I see cases for other people. I respect other people Jason Tatum Luca Donchich Um Joelle Embeded

has played terrific basketball of late There's just so many There's like six or seven guys that are conceivable candidates We talked about KED Janis It's just like Yokic is

Just like kind of obviously The MVP to me And I don't see why this wouldn't hold up For the rest of the season And if you don't vote If you don't vote for him You're a hater I just want to say that

Get that on the record. Okay, I was with you. Like, 95% of the way, I just think, like, it's, we are, like, this might end up being one of the more competitive MVP races we've ever seen. Like, right now they're probably, you just named most of them. Like, there's seven, eight legit candidates. Well, I was about to get to him. I know.

I think that when you are saying I don't see why he won't win it, like, I am just thinking, well, I think Stefan Curry, when he comes back, we'll have a word. I think Kevin Durant, if the Nets keep playing like this, is going to have a really, really strong case. I think he has a really strong case right the second to be MVP of the NBA. And it's a two-way thing with him. With Yokic, it's a little different. I don't, like, I don't, I feel as soon as I start talking about Yokic's defense,

I feel like I'm just saying stuff everybody said a million times before. So I don't want to get too deep. He's fine. he's not Kevin Durant defensively. I could see Luca Donzich having a word on this conversation after watching this course 60 freaking point with 21 rebounds and just I don't even know how to comprehend what he did. Some of it will probably be dictated by like how all of these superstars

respective teams do in between now and the end of the year. I think Yokic, the people who were dismissing his chances and saying well, the bar should be higher than normal, or there's nothing he can do after winning twice in a row and the team coming up short in the playoff, all this stuff. I think that's silly. He's a legit candidate.

Maybe he should be the favorite right now. I think there are still a lot of people who would give it to Tatum. I think there are going to be twists and turns in this over the next few months. But I understand the spirit of your prediction. And I agree with that. Although I'm surprised you didn't come out stronger against the Olinic idea because if you're going to go to his on-off numbers, not just the on-the-court numbers, then you should be rooting against Olinic coming in and making them more respectable on the second. That's all I have to say about that. That's fair.

But if Denver is first in the standings, I just don't. And they obviously would be by at least 15 games if they trade for Kelly Olinic. then that's just really tough to take it away from Yokic. He's just, and yeah, I know the defensive stuff. I agree with it. I think he's fine. Like, he's, the criticism of his defense is just a little too much for me. I think the scheme is fine.

I don't put too much weight on the postseason when I look at regular season and MVP. I know a lot of voters do, and that's fine as well. But is it? I don't think it's fine. It's acceptable. man, I don't know. I don't care what happened in previous post seasons or what your crystal ball

says about this coming postseason. Just judge the actual games that are supposed to matter for this thing. And I don't think it's a hindrance or a fatal flaw in their inability to win a championship. I think Yokic could easily be a guy who leads his team to a ring. I think the window is open

for Denver so long as he's on the nuggets. That's how great he is, and it's almost besides the point of who else is on the floor with him. He's just, he's amazing. I don't know how any NBA player could watch the Nuggets and not think, like, I want to play for that team. I want

to play with that guy. It's just, it's so different than playing off of any other star right now, and your life would be so easy. Yeah, and he does, the way he plays, we could go on and on about Yokic, but like, look at his usage. Like, the, we

criticize, and maybe it's unfairly so, but we criticize guys who have crazy high usage rates and the heliocentric nature of how they need to function on offense where they dictate everything. And Yokic doesn't play that way. It's just, it's, she's just different than other superstars like that. And I think he, I want to say he's leading the NBA and assists in this month and he's a center. Like, I don't, he's one of the best rebaters alive. He's a Yokage. He's a yokech. That's a great way to put it. All right, give me your next prediction, James. I'm going to stick with the heavyweights theme.

I'm going to predict next Christmas we will see the Memphis Grizzlies against the New Orleans Pelicans, Jove versus Zion. Ideally, it will be a playoff rematch of one of the best playoff series that we've ever seen in our lives. It features like 15 overtime in seven games and a bunch of crazy stuff. I can't say I predict that, but that's what I'm hoping for. And I'm predicting the matchup. I love it. I love it a lot. Love Zion.

Love Jha. Jose Alvarado guarding John Morant in a playoff series would just be like, I can't even like get your popcorn strap on the seatbelt. That's just,

that's a lot of fun. Just even thinking about that, I'm getting, I'm like giggling internally. Especially if it was like, I guess that would, I mean,

they could play in, the conference finals. It's technically possible. I don't know. We'll see how the standing shake out. I would love for, if you're the Grizzlies, I think you're a little nervous about Jaron Jackson Jr. picking up three fouls in the first three minutes of every game with Zion just going right at him, just problematic. But I, yeah, I love this matchup. I love everything about it. These are two, I mean, the NBA would be absolutely thrilled with this as well. I mean, they want you out to be the of the league and they obviously want Zion to be the future face of the league. It would be great.

And you go back to like the draft, go back to AAU, like, these guys are poised to have like a rivalry forever. And their teams are now this good. Just is, it's such a good development for the NBA. And the league just needs, yeah, the league needs rivalries. Everyone loves a good rivalry. And right now we're going to have, I mean, I don't know who would or wouldn't call Grizzlies Warriors a rivalry.

I think it's super fun when those two teams match up, but I don't know how much longer this is going to last. So when the Grizzlies ascend to where they believe they can, I think that the Pelicans could be a fantastic foil. It would just be great. It would be great for everybody, great for the league. So that's a fun one. I love it a lot.

I hope it comes true. Okay, my last prediction here, Kawhi Leonard is winning his third finals MVP. Oh! You are, okay. I love it. You know. I couldn't help myself.

Yeah. I think you're, this is a very peanut prediction. This is you try to, you want to plant your flag just a little earlier than anyone else is comfortable doing so. Mm-hmm. And if it comes back to bite you, whatever. No one remembers anything you say.

about the Houston Rockets five years later, except me. But can you tell me, is this more based on your faith in Kauai generally in his track record or like your analysis of like how it's gone so far? Obviously, they have been incredible in terms of their record with him on the court. He has had some high scoring games. He's had some really efficient games. He has had other games where it's looked a little different. I don't know that the numbers show he's the exact same player.

I don't know that just watching him, you're like, all right, he is like the same sort of physical force that he was before. But I have personally, I've been encouraged and I am optimistic about like where he can get to by the end of the year. But like I still kind of want him, like, want to see that ramp up a little bit more before I plant the flag as like the way that you just did. So tell me where you're coming from. I think it's both. I have just like everlasting faith that Kauai will figure things out from what I've seen. I think he deserves the benefit of the doubt. He's not getting the benefit of the doubt from people, which is just kind of frustrating for me. He's not the first guy. I know that there were injuries before. I know he's the face of load management, but he's not the first guy to tear their ACL and like need some time to look like themselves coming back from it. I think people have short memories when it comes to what he looked like in the 2021 playoffs when he was by far the best player. Like, apologies to Janus, apologies to

Luca, who he beat it, beat because he guarded Luca and scored every point on the other end in the most critical games. Kauai was just like... Kauai in that series was every bit as good as he was when he was with the Raptors and like putting the team on his back and against the bucks and the Sixers. He was more efficient, honestly, and what he did defensively was maybe more impressive,

although I don't want to shortchange what he did in Toronto either. But, like, that was, I mean, I think just because the injury came so soon afterward, like, yeah, like, people don't bring it up all that often. I think, so from what I've seen so far of him, basically the only thing that's, like, really worrisome and not, it's not even worrisome, is the three point percentage. I think those will fall. He's eventually going to get his legs under him and be able to hit those shots. But what he's focused on now from my eye when I watch him is like I want to get to my spots in the mid-range and I want to be comfortable there.

And I want to be able to create space. And he's doing all that. He's shooting over 50% from the mid-range so far. He's like, that's the vintage kawai stuff. and what was really telling for me was the game against Toronto and you can just ask Joelle M. Bede, like,

the Toronto Raptors are the team that like really wants to take the opposing star out of the game. And like when Kauai was guarded single coverage on the wing by Oji and Anobi who a lot of people think is a candidate for defensive player of the year still,

I think. Like, Pascal Yacom would leave his man and double. Like it was, he finished with eight of six. in that game. It was because, like, the help was just, it was swarming. And I thought, like, the respect factor there was just, like, really eye-opening. And he looked great in that game.

He was moving super well. There was one rebound where Scotty Barnes had inside position. And, like, Kauai just, like, took his arm. And it was potentially a foul. But, like, he moved Scotty Barge by, like, extending his right elbow. And Scottie was screaming. and Kauai just got the rebound and put it back up. Like, he's physically, there's really no one like Kauai Leonard.

In terms of how efficient he's able to just navigate a basketball court, there's no one like him. When the three ball starts falling, I don't know how you're going to be able to guard him. And I think his team, like the on-off numbers are super great right now. And the on-court numbers, I think, are more important. and they're just demolishing people when he's on the court.

But his team around him is so built for a playoff series. I just don't get flustered at all by what they do in the regular season. It's just not what they're built for. They're built to be adaptable, be versatile. They have a coach who loves making in-series adjustments, in-game adjustments.

They're constructed to go through four playoff rounds. and I think he's going to be in tip-top shape by then. And yeah, so he's awesome. I think he's the best player on one of the best teams, and that's how we'll view it at the end of the season. I think they should be viewed as a championship contender again now. I think he absolutely deserves the benefit of the doubt. I'm not necessarily calling they just going to win finals MVP,

because I think there's really stiff competition. We're just a long way from being there. I want to see how the matchups shake out. I want to see a million things. The one thing with the clippers, like, when Kauai got hurt, I thought they were going to win the title then. And a lot of the reason I thought they were going to win the title then

is they were clicking on a different kind of level than they had been because it wasn't just, all right, like, you know the formula, right? The formula was play a ton of small ball, space the floor, and they're creating a bunch of threes, and they're stretching teams out, and then they're switching on the other end, blah, blah, blah. They were mixing up the mid-range stuff

that Kauai and PG do as well as anybody with the drive-and-kick stuff. With Kauai and Paul George both getting to the basket at will, getting to the free throw line at will, they were putting pressure on the rim. Reggie Jackson back then was putting pressure on the rim. And then you have Norm Powell. You have Norm Powell.

You have Norm Powell. It's looking great. what all I'm saying is like what I want to see is like once we get to that point in the playoffs like I want to see that same kind of mix I want to see that sort of you know Kawhi's ability to like put like his shoulder into people and just get easy buckets and be able to like you know at his best he is maybe the best like run stopper in the league like if if another team is starting to put things together. He's just like, I'm going to slow this thing down.

And I'm either going to get to my mid-range and make a contested jumper or, like, you are going to foul me. And I'm going to just be stronger than you are. And I want to see him kind of take over some games like that. I want to see the Clippers kind of do that against a league competition before I'm, like, saying they're going to win the championship. But like, yeah, I'm coming into the year, looking at them on paper, like, I thought they were going to make the finals.

I picked them. I basically pick them to win every year. So I'm with you in terms of what this team could be. So I get the prediction. I just, out of respect for like peak Kauai, like I think we should both be very clear that like we have not quite seen peak Kauai yet.

And it's not just because of the shooting. Like the shooting, who cares? Like he's going to make the jumpers. Yeah. And Robert Covington is going to have the freshest postseason legs ever. Just when I get that in there. He's just like not in the rotation. It's hilarious to me.

You just teed me up. Can I do my next prediction? Yes. You're going to love this. This is more niche than the Olenic thing. All right. One process sixer will return to Philadelphia. It could be Covington.

Covington would be great. Could be Rishon Holmes. I'm not ruling out KJ. McDaniels, but he's playing in the PBA right now. Oh, my God. But yeah, I think Covington or Rishon Holmes, I think, prime trade candidates for the Sixers. and I think they should be trying to make some kind of trade because as well as they've been playing,

I think I don't exactly know what that kind of rotation is going to look like in the playoffs. Not sure they have quite enough. Sarich? You didn't say Sarich. Is he a candidate here? Oh, that's absolutely. Yeah. I didn't want to just, I could, look,

do you want to talk about Kendall Marshall resuming his basketball career? Like, I would love it. I miss him. but I think, yeah, those guys, Sarich, Holmes, Covington is the obvious one, because I can't believe he's just not playing, even on a roster that deep.

Do you want to just talk about the Sixers, and that's how we'll wrap up? Let's do it. Well, give me your thought. Like, what's the temperature of the Sixers? Give me, like, are you feeling optimistic, pessimistic, should Tyrese start? Should he come on?

off the bench. What do they need before the trade deadline? Is Harden going to go to the Houston Rockets? What are your feelings right now with this deal? Yes, he's going to go to the Houston Rockets. They might as well trade him right now. I have, this is not a like hot take or anything. I just, I have the same concern that I think most like nerds on the internet do.

Like when Tyrese Maxie comes back, like he's going to by default, be playing a lot of minutes with James Hart. And maybe he comes off the bench at first. Maybe Rivers tries to stagger them throughout the regular season. But once we're in playoff time, I don't think you're seeing the like, hey, Jordan Poole, you're now playing like 20 minutes a game because you don't quite make sense defensively. I think Maxi's too good for that. So whatever that looks like, the Sixers must be hoping that it's essentially they're unstoppable on offense and the defense remains pretty good. And their nightmare is that the offense is, you know, a little bit jagged, a little bit disconnected,

despite the amount of talent there, and that the defense is just, like, exploitable against certain matchups because they have multiple targets on the court. They have multiple kind of pressure points to attack. And I don't know what the solution there quite is, because I don't think that's a reason to, like, do a panic trade of either, Harden or Maxi or anything like that. Like, I just think you are betting on a formula that is a little shakier than some of the competition in the East. So I feel good about the way they've been playing.

I feel good about their defense and their numbers. I feel great about, like, Hardin and Embed, like, the pick and roll again. Like, that's all cool. I'm not as worried as some people are about PJ Tucker. I just think in the playoffs, that guy is going to be there for you. I heard about when he was talking about it, like a shoulder issue, that at least makes the reluctant shoe. make a little more sense to me.

But long term, I think he'll be there. He's been a consistent force on that end, like, every single year, defying age every time. That's all good. I just, it's not as sort of reliable a two-way formula to me as, like, say, Boston's. I think that, so mentioning some of the other elite teams and the conferences where I get pessimistic about the Sixers, and their recent winning streak, which ended against the Wizards. Yeah, they lost to the Wizards. Despite Embed going off.

Despite a 48 and 10, and the biased media, we weren't really discussing it enough. But I will say, like, the teams that they were beating in that win streak, just like, I wasn't like super-duper impressed with any of them. and when they match up in a series against the Celtics because you're going to have to go through the Celtics it looks like you're potentially going to have to go through the nets first of all nets

the nets are a difficult matchup I think they're very difficult and I mean that series would like break everyone's brain I think and would be a lot of fun and I really hope we get it for a lot of reasons but matchup wise you want to like carpool to Philly like they're in by for that.

Let's do it. That would be cool. Nice. Absolutely. I'll need a recovery beer after that series. I can't drive, by the way, so you're going to have to do all. I, like, you just, I feel like Melton has played terrific. What are Melton's minutes going to look like?

Are you going to have to play Matisse Thiebel in a series where there's just so much offensive fire. It's a great question. So I, I'm also a PJ Tucker person. I'm a believer in his. I don't know how much he can give through the rigors of multiple playoff series. I think that's fair to say based on a relative to what they need from him on the defensive end where it's like I'm just thinking about where he it's like hounding KD full court, hounding Jason Tatum up and down. It's just like he can't.

I'm sorry. Like I'll do respect to PJ Tucker and I don't see that happening. We've seen it. Yeah. And because we've seen it, it's less. likely that it'll happen in the future. He's like 36 years old, 37 years. I don't know how old he is, but he's played so many, like, big playoff minutes. So the wear and tear is there. But I just think the matchups are really bad for them, and they need more help on the wings. And, like, the, you know,

it's not even worth mentioning, but I'll say it, like, Will Harden meltdown in the second round. will I feel like criticism of Mb is fair to a certain point I don't think he's like a lights out

postseason performer I think he's really good but hasn't been available He's also usually been hurt or sick Yeah exactly so his his availability I'm just like kind of wait and see there with him

and he basically needs to play what like 38 minutes a game at least because of what is coming in off the bench for him in a playoff series? Well, hence Dario. Sure, okay, yeah, bring it back full circle.

Okay. James Harden with PJ Tucker and Robert Covington sort of both kind of not playing center but both playing center at the same time. Like, we've seen that before. I'm in personally. Sure. So, but I, yeah, I just think like if Maxie's guarding, even just like Marcus, smart. Like, Mark is smart posting up Maxi and just like, what is your answer here? What do you do?

Like, it just can break them so easily. And that's not even getting, like, talking about who Hardin's going to guard in that lineup or the adjustments the Celtics can make where they bring Malcolm Brogden in. Okay, now who's guarding Malcolm Brogden and Jalen Brown's over here. And, oh, here's Tatum. He just won MVP. Like, I don't, I don't know. I thought Yolk is just one MVP. Yes. I have no rebuttal. for what I just said. I think on that note,

we can wrap up. We both gave all of our predictions. We gave 10 superb predictions. This was fun. Thanks to everyone for listening in. Thanks to you, James. Thanks to our producers, Brian and Ben. We'll see all of you in 2003.