The Ringer NBA Show - Ep. 49: The Warriors in L.A., the Separation in the East, and the Water Bottle Challenge at MSG

Episode Date: December 8, 2016

The Ringer's Chris Vernon is joined by Trey Kerby of NBA TV to discuss Wednesday night's Warriors-Clippers game (3:13), the Cavs humiliating the Knicks (13:58), Tom Thibodeau's struggles in Minnesota (28:58), and the success of 'The Starters' (34:48). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today's NBA show is brought to you by Vice Land. Late Night TV just got darker. Deezis Nice and the Kid Mero. You may know them as the Bodega Boys have landed their own late night TV show on Vicerland, the TV channel from Vice. It's called Deezis and Mero and it's weeknights at 11 p.m. This isn't the place where A-list celebrities are selling their new movie. There's no scripted jokes or a band. It's just two guys from the Bronx giving you their takes on culture, politics, sports, entertainment,

and other subjects they don't really know anything about. Watch Deezus and Mero on TV on Vicerland every Monday through Thursday night at 11 p.m. Go to Viceland.com to find your channel and check out some free episodes. The brand is strong. The ringer NBA show, I'm Chris Fern, joining me today is Taco Trey Kirby from The Starters on NBA TV. What's up, Trey? Hey, I'm Chris. Good to talk to you, man. I understand that this morning you had to do the duty of a good parent, which is parent-teacher conferences.

Yeah, I did. I had an early parent teacher conferences like 10 o'clock this morning, and my daughter's only two years old. She's in school, pretty new to being a parent. So I schedule. I got to be up for a 10 o'clock meeting on my daughter's future. Need to look at the schedule the night before. Warriors Clippers at a 10.30 start. That game didn't get over until like 1.15 a.m. East Coast time. I was dying this morning trying to make, you know, lifelong decisions for my tiny, tiny baby. So what exactly are the goals you set for a two-year-old? Well, you know, instead of her saying I run really fast, we want her to say I ran really fast. Crazy stuff. I had to go to these for my kids.

And every time I left, I recall, like, I mean, this is preposterous. And it scares the hell out of every parent out there when you have to go to these things. Because what happens is inevitably every time I would get in the car and I would turn to my wife and they would be like, you know, William has a difficult time. you know, paying attention during class. And I'm like, he's, he's two. He's too. They want to diagnose everybody with some kind of like attention deficit or something. I'm like, he's like, what?

It's like, William has a difficult time following directions. I'm like, you don't say. He doesn't, he's drooling. We're in school and they're talking to us about working on her past tense and using the right past tense verbs. I'm thinking she literally just learned how to talk a few months ago. She just learned what words are a year ago. I'll be happy if she picks up all of the verb tenses in the next couple of years.

I'll be fine. Yeah, I think all my kids' teachers probably hated me because I would like, you know, that's what they would say to me. They would be like, he's having problems, paying attention. I'm like, he's drooling. He's drooling. Like, okay, he's drooling. I think your expectations are a little high, lady. All right.

So last night we did have to stay up for the Warriors and the Clippers. And this was, I mean, what a beat down this was, huh? Yeah, that was crazy. It was crazy to see the Warriors get out to such a big lead. And it felt like only half their guys were even playing well last night. And then you see the final stats, like this is the first game that Durant's then points, a season low in field goal percentage. They made seven threes.

That's the second fewest they've made in any game. the Warriors didn't even play that well and it still wasn't really even close though you know credit to the Clippers for making a couple of runs that it seemed like any time I was thinking about calling it like this is this is it I'm going to bed

slippers would make a little bit of a run to stop them from getting into transition and then even when they're in the half court they're finding everybody and even if they're not playing well but still be able to put up 115 points against the team that is the best defense in the league so far that was insane yeah to your point

Curry was 0 of 8 from 3. Durant's 5 of 17 and 1 of 5 from 3. And they only had one bench guy in double digits, which was Iguodala. He had 10 points. So what happens when they all play well? Yeah, you wonder how many points they could actually score if they were playing, you know, one of the worst defensive teams in the league. Could they get to 170 in regulation? It seems like it's possible.

It seems like a crazy number. But if they shoot 55% last night, they're over, 130 no problem and then if you know Steph and Clay and Durant get going with a huge game from Draymond the possibilities seem endless I would like to see them set some sort of record this year for points in the game it would be awesome

okay do you think that because inevitably what happens in a game like that everybody's going to come out today and I'm guilty of it too with the with the takes last night as you're watching it which is okay clippers are not going to be able to beat this team they got to change something up is that an overreaction to last night?

I don't know if it's necessarily an overreaction to last night, but the first, they did it back before they were a 73 win team. They did it with a 73 win clippers. You see the things the Warriors, like DeAndre Jordan had three tip dunks in the first half last night, and he, if they're ever going to beat the Warriors, it's going to have to be him having, you know, basically a 20 and 20. And I think that Blake is, it just has to be better. They, things and the length they have now with Durant, kind of a small margin of error for the

clippers on some of the plays they make. They have real intricate passing windows. They got to fit things through. And Blake and DeAndre and Chris Paul are all pretty good at that. But when you have the athleticism of the Warriors, coupled with the length, coupled with the way they switch things, it gets really hard for the clippers. And I think that they need to find a way to get Blake going and they got to really get. It feels to me like they don't have enough tough guys, right? Like guys that you really want to go to war with, to me, just because, I mean, I've covered so many of their playoff series.

and the team that really stood out to me was this one years ago that had Kenyon Martin and Reggie Evans and Eric Bledsoe. I mean, at that time, Vinnie Del Negro was the coach, but it was like somebody that would really get physical with you. And then a bunch of these guys that like the only thing that matters to them is winning and that they're like just going to fight you tooth and nail for everything. I just don't, I don't know, man. Like even when they start, you see a lot of like head sulking.

And I'm just not, I'm not terribly sure about. that mix they've got there with the clippers and that the fact that they don't have a bunch of, like they don't have those guys to go to that are just, this isn't going to happen to us, right? Or we're not just going to, you're not going to be showboating around and just throwing it all around the park. Like we're at least going to put our hands on you or something. Instead, they just end up bitching to the refs. And in fact, I don't know, do you see most Spates' quotes from last night? Yeah, I thought that was pretty interesting that most Bates would come out and, you know, blast the team.

He has played with for 20 games. I mean, everybody knows the Clippers have a reputation for whining, but I'm a Bulls fan, and Tage Gibson hasn't committed a foul in his entire NBA career. But even for players are getting on the rest for their calls, too. But it just seems like the Clippers, time and time again, get sidetracked by the stuff that really doesn't matter. I saw Clippers' Nets game where they blew an 18-point lead, ended up losing in WOT, and Doc freaked out. This is what happens with the Clippers. The less important things on a basketball court seem to be the most important.

important things to them sometime. And like you're saying, they don't have necessarily a guy who's going to get them back on track. That's why they brought in Paul Pierce, I'm sure, but with the way he has been in and out of the lineup, the way he struggled this season, it's not necessarily the guy who's able to have sway in that locker room right now. And yeah, maybe they do need to bring in somebody else who's going to give them a little stability and a little toughness. Contracts are it's really hard to find somebody who they can actually go out and get while still being able to be one of the top teams in the league. The other thing that's so interesting about the Spate's comments last night is because anybody that's ever seen the Clippers in person, they get that from Doc.

Like he enables that, right? Oh, yeah, he's on the refs big time too. And obviously Chris Paul is on the refs big time too. And if your head coach and your best player, your leader as a point guard are both going to be on the refs as hard as they are, it's just going to filter down to the whole team. and, you know, that attitude really just permeates their team, and it can definitely sidetrack them from time to time and really just through the clippers are a team that really gets in their flow. When they're playing well, you know,

it seems like they know where the ball is going before it's even out of their hands. The shots are exactly where they've been for the past four seasons under docked. But once they start worrying about everything else, that kind of all just gets thrown out the window, and they end up playing one-on-one ball, and any call that could go the wrong way, They're falling down, playing defense, hoping for calls. And at that point, it's kind of like you've lost the mental game.

And you can't do that if you're trying to be an elite title contender. Do you think they'd pull the trigger and switch their core midseason? Or do you think they're just going to ride this out and go with it one more time? It's hard to find a trade that really, to me, Chris Paul is the guy that you would trade, just because he's a little bit older. But that seems like the thing they keep because Blake's going to be a free agent soon. I personally think that they're going to probably write out this score because I think you have heard enough about the Clippers possibly being this year's 2011 Mads, right?

The team that has been together for a long time, think there's one magical year where everything falls their way. Maybe that hasn't been the case with the Clippers so far, though they started great. I think it's more beneficial to keep them together. And like Zach Lowe is always saying, if you've got a 5% chance to win the title, that's a pretty good chance all things considered. You never know what's going to happen. I think it's smarter to keep them together. extended run of Clippers

Yeah, and well Andy, it is true. You just, you never know. I mean, we would have never suspected a couple years ago that LeBron's in a finals without Kyrie Irving and without Kevin Love. And you're always, you know, you're always one injury away possibly. I mean, hell, it even happened to the Clippers last year

where they end up losing all their guys in the playoffs and so it gave them no chance to succeed. In that first round, Steph was going through his injury problems. And before Blake and CP3 went down, People are thinking, wow, maybe this is finally the break the clippers needed. That's because it obviously didn't play out that way. But for 24 or 36 happens again, you know, there's just no other be there. Doc Rivers would rather be there and have the opportunity to step into that power vacuum

rather than, you know, trade away their guys in February. And then somebody goes down with an injury in April and you're like, well, never mind. I guess we maybe shouldn't have pulled the trigger too early. Yeah, the question is, right, can you pull a trade that would make you better suited to match up with that? them. And I don't know. I don't know. It doesn't seem a trade that's going to make them better suited to beating the Warriors. To beat the Warriors, they had a point guard who could create a zone shots, which the Clippers do, and they have thighs to be able to beat up the glass, which the Clippers also have that.

And they have a secondary playmaker in Blake Griffin. He just needs to be better. If the Clippers are ever going to beat the Warriors, he can't get outplayed by Drayvon Green. And that definitely happened last night. It's happened multiple times in their rivalry. read. They just need him to be better because he's going to have smaller guys on him on a switch. He just needs to be able to attack rather

from the post rather than from, you know, catching it at the elbow and settling for a 20-footer, that sort of thing. I agree with you. He needs to be the guy with 14, 15 rebounds, right? And then like you saw even with Oklahoma City when they gave him so many problems last year, it was like there were moments throughout those games

where it was like Golden State couldn't get the ball, right? They were going small and like they had Adams and Ibaca, you know, in there. And they were just, you know, they were just beating them up. If it was like when Golden State missed shots, Oklahoma City was getting it. When Oklahoma City missed shots, they were getting it. Yeah, the size and the athleticism, a combo of that is what you need in your front court to be.

You can get them to focus on crashing the offensive glass because it's really hard to do and kind of scary to do against the Warriors because the second they grab the rebound, it's three points on your head the other way. But it seems like the clippers would have the right mix for being. All right. So the Cavs humiliated the Knicks. So the Clippers weren't the only team to get humiliated on their home floor on national television last night. Prior to the Knicks got humiliated.

They got beat by 32. You know, when this morning the most popular videos going around are a LeBron dunk through the lane where everybody gets out of the way. And then Kyrie Irving and LeBron James playing the water bottle challenge. I think we know how that game with the Knicks went last night. Oh, man. Tweet's flying around last night saying that the water bottle challenge was the most disrespectful thing anybody's ever seen on a Madison Square Garden floor. I thought it was hilarious. I was actually shocked that neither Kyrie nor LeBron was able to stick their water bottle on the first shot. I thought those guys would be pros at this sort of thing. Right. Well, in terms of, I think people were starting to think, you know, getting a little bit of, hey, the Knicks aren't terrible this year.

how much should we react to what happened last night? Is that simply, okay, the calves are way better than everybody, so let's not draw too much out of it, or was that a cause for pause regarding the Knicks? Well, I don't know. I think it's not necessarily a cause for pause because coming into the year, coming into the game, yeah, the Knicks had been playing well,

but nobody really sees them as a threat to 30 points worse than the calves. but the following posse comments, Tyree has always played well in the garden. LeBron likes to put on a show. I think that the calves were a little tuned up to kind of rub it in the Knicks' face, so maybe that's how they are able to hang $126 on them. There's no Derek Rose for the Knicks,

so maybe that's a little, a little, I wouldn't be too upset if I'm the Knicks. Yeah, you lost by 30, but nobody really considers them a contender, I don't think. So, you know, Derek Rose was saying they were a super team in the preseason. Do you think that Phil Jackson regretted his comments last night? It seemed like the kind of guy that really regrets much to me. Maybe he didn't like seeing how everything played out on the court, but I have a feeling

he would stand by what he said, and then, you know, sub-tweet about it and never really address it. So given that we said nobody really particularly expects the Knicks to be the ones that could take the cabs to the brink or anything, what about the East? and anybody else in there? Is there anybody else that you look at and go, you know what they could give the calves a hard time? Or is there, do you think, given what we saw last night, all right, let me phrase this better,

given what we saw last night, do you think there is a bigger separation between the calves and anybody they'll have to face in the east or the warriors and anybody they'd have to face in the West? Cavs, I think the Cavs won 10 straight. Before this board, they're like, okay, well, completely as hard as we want to go ahead. into these games. They dropped a couple of them, but then finished things off in six games.

I think that's still going to be the case this year. There's nobody in the Eastern Conference that can really even step to LeBron. In the West, at least you have, Draymond, Kevin Durant, and Kauai Leonard are guys who can give him problems. But you look at the contenders in the Eastern Conference. Maybe you want to consider the Hornets in there since they're playing so well, but none of those deal with LeBron. Nobody does. But, you know, some teams at least have a guy who's going to make it hard on them. And I think fit when it all comes down to it. When LeBron steps on the court, he's the baddest man in the league,

and there's nobody in the Eastern Conference who's really going to be able to mount a challenge to them, I don't think. I really wonder, too, regarding the break between the Cavs and the East, but then on the Warriors, we saw them just beat the brakes off the Clippers last night. It might be, or some have presupposed, that Utah could pose a big-time challenge. I hope the Warriors play their guys. against Utah tonight because I would like to see that. I don't know if that's so, but there's been, at least some people pontificate that

Utah is the type of team that could drag, you know, slow the game down and that they've got this kind of mix that might be a real problem for the Warriors. What do you think? Well, they've got the size and the athleticism and the versatility, too, with whenever Derek Fabers is healthy along with Rudy Gobert. That's another front line that's able to play defense and rebound. which are huge things for the war of the playoffs since 2012. I don't have a ton of confidence in saying a first-time playoff team

is really going to give any sort of problem to a team that won 73 games went to the finals back-to-back years and then added another MVP. I think it makes sense that maybe down the road the Jazz are a team that could hang with the Warriors and give them some problems. But right now I think it's a little premature. Yeah, well, I mean, I think everybody's just reaching for anything, you know, because it was like, yeah, exactly. You see a game like last night, and it kind of lends credence to people in the preseason saying,

well, the Warriors have ruined the league. They're so much better than anybody else. But then they come out, you know, they struggled against the Spurs. It looks like maybe they have ruined the league, and they're so much better than anybody else. But they're also playing incredibly well right now. They'll hit a tougher patch from time to time, and, you know, maybe they won't win 14 straight. Maybe people are definitely searching for anybody who's going to take on the Warriors. But the team that's going to give them the most problems is the Cavs because they play the perfect way.

to beat the Warriors, and they're the only team that can really beat the Warriors. Not a believer in what Hardin and Houston did against them? Well, I love James Hardin. I love the Houston Rockets, and I love any team that says, defense is boring. We're not even going to worry about defense. Offense is the only thing that matters, at least in the regular season. But once you get into the playoffs, it seems impossible that the Warriors are going to be outscored four times in seven series or seven games, even against the team like the Rockets

who are incredible. Do you really think that Rockets are going to be able to out offensive team we've seen? It doesn't seem like it could hold up. But James Hardin, when he's rolling, he is one of the best players in the league, maybe the most creative offensive player in the league, probably another player away from really being able to take on Golden Space. It is bananas. On the Tuesday pod, Kevin O'Connor and I were debating like quarter-season MVPs.

And the three names that we talked about the most were Westbrook Hardin and Durant. And I was driving home after we had gotten done recording that. And I was like, I can't even believe this. And it's weird to like go back in time. I never even mentioned that it just so happened. The three guys that we just spent 20 minutes debating on whether they should be the MVP, they were all on the same damn team at the same time. That really is unbelievable to think that, you know,

four calendar years ago we were seeing maybe the three leading MVP candidates this year. playing together, you know, hubble up on the sideline, watching LeBron win a title. And now they are have ascended and it just really, it really makes you think we're never going to stop talking about that James Hardin's right. It's never going to die. It's the craziest thing. I mean, like even like I saw on Twitter this morning, somebody like put out the sports book odds. And those were the three leaders, right, in terms of odds. If you want to go bed up in Vegas, who's going to win the NBA MVP?

and like they were all on the same damn team. And now we fast forward a couple years. And I guess like at least at this very moment, they're the three prohibitive favorites to win that award. That's just crazy. That's crazy. And it kind of gives proof to the theory that maybe those three wouldn't have been able to survive together on the same team

once they all kind of reach the height of their powers. They can't all have the ball 100% of the time. That being said, you see the way that Durant is playing now that he basically only catches the ball to score and then can score everybody and the way Harden. He's playing on the ball now, but he was an incredible offball player when he was in Oklahoma. He's been in Houston. So maybe they would have been able to make it work, but it's tough to have three MVP candidates on the same team. That being said, talented players make it happen.

Yeah. All right, I'm going to get back to the Eastern Conference with a quick word from our sponsors. youth sports matter. Student athletes are four times more likely to attend college and 11% more likely to graduate compared to non-athletes. Physically active kids also have up to 40% higher test scores and are 50% less absent.

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Download the tune in app and subscribe today. All right, let me flip back to the Eastern Conference, Trey. These teams are all within a either 500 or within a game of 500, okay? Which of these teams do you believe in the most? The Bulls are 11 and 10. The Pacers are 11 and 11. Detroit is 12 and 12, Atlanta, 11 and 12. So Bulls, Pacers, Pistons, Atlanta.

That's a tough question. Those four teams to me are all going to be battling for the bottom four seeds in the east. Maybe one of them will creep up into the top four. I'm a Bulls fan. I'm a little biased towards the Bulls, but I think you look at how they've been able to kind of gel, right? The shooting out the way people thought, and they have less often and made less shots

since the beginning of the season when Dwayne Wade was on fire. I think the fact that Wade and Butler both get to the line so much, that can really make up the extra points from three-pointers. You know, those are two guys who are great at getting inside, great at drawing fouls, and those really goose your efficiency. I have a little faith in the Bulls. They, to me, have two great players, and when you have two great players,

and that's kind of a good start, because you look at the other teams you're talking about the pace. They have one great player, maybe, and another good player and another good player. But the Bulls to me have two great players in Wade and Butler. I think that having Wade around has been great for Butler's development. And I think it's been nice for Wade too to see Butler take this leap. You know, when they really need him to make plays, he can be there and be fresh.

Very shocking that there was already a problem with Rondo. Yeah, can you believe it? It seems unbelievable that he would have some sort of problems with any authority figures. Yeah, and so you don't worry about that at all? I guess that kind of, that's a benefit to me because I can see it continues to have his problems with the Bulls. I don't necessarily think of leaders like Wade and Taj Gibson, who has been around in Chicago forever, Jimmy Butler. Not to mention the Bulls have been better when Rondo is off the floor. So somehow Rondo ends his way off the Bulls or, you know, plays himself out of Chicago.

One less guy who needs the ball in his hands, but who's going to go out there and play defense and maybe hit an open shot here and there. As a Bulls fan, how do you feel? when you see Rose and Noah on the floor for the Knicks? That first game when they came to the United Center and played well in the... I do like it, though, that I don't have to necessarily defend either of those guys for years and years and saying glad to see them go somewhere else, succeed at least in Rose. You know, me not have to be living and dying with them every single night. So you're not a guy. You would not boo them.

Oh, I wouldn't boo them. I was not surprised that Noah got... crazy rounds of applause and no booze because he was kind of a super making his case on the defensive end and just making the most out of himself. I thought it was pretty whack that people booed rose. The guy is from Chicago put, he's been the best Chicago basketball player for the past, I don't know, two decades probably. He won an MVP.

The team is the best they've been since the dynasty. And yeah, things didn't play out well at the end. The injuries were upon seasons, but he can't boo a guy because he got hurt and then got worse. That's the he just doesn't add up. As someone who watched so many Bulls games that kept such close tabs on what they were doing through those years

and including that Rose MVP year, what do you make of the struggles Tibbs has had in Minnesota thus far this year? Because through 21 games, they're 6 and 15. I think the shocker is that they aren't good on defense and that they've actually been, I think it must be killing Tibbs. Wiggins has the tools to be a good defender.

To have it not really incredibly frustrating, I don't think it's totally predictable that it happens People were talking about them as a playoff team, maybe even challenging for 50 wins. But that's a huge jump to make for a young team that has had no track record of success. To even make the playoffs, they would have had to win another 15 games. I think as long as you can see some sort of progress in season for the Timberstar break when a bunch of teams have given up and when they are kind of catching. And that's when they find if they're able to do it while the season still matters for basically everybody,

they can turn it around and at least not even make the playoffs, but the season won't be a total disaster, which I think is. this point would be a victory for them. I do wonder if it is a lesson on the limitations of, you know, coaching and skiing. That when we look back, it's like Tibbs had these top five defenses in the league, but I think it's fair to say, at least in terms of post defenders, he had the best one in the world in Garnett in his prime, or at least close to prime, those years in Boston, he was so awesome.

And then Noah was as good a post defender as there was in the world. at the time. And both those teams had guys that were willing and able really good defenders. And so I do wonder if this is, I don't know, somewhat a lesson in, you know, you can have the best defensive scheme in the world, but in the end, it's still, you know, that old saying like, you know, the Jimmy's and the Joe's. That's exactly right. But the other thing is that they may, maybe they know the scheme.

It's going to take some time for them to kind of. supposed to be at, and that's where having a guy like Garnett or Noah is such an advantage for Tibbs scheme. Somebody's got to be calling out the defenses. Somebody has to know all the rotations where everybody's, that being Carl Towns, if you're counting on that being Wiggins, those guys are in their second and third years. They're not going to be out there. That's an almost impossible task to ask for one of those guys to be on the level of KG or NOAA right out of the box. You know, if this is still the problem two years from now with Thibs' coach, then I think it's a huge problem. But for now,

They're still learning. They still have to figure out how to play successful NBA defense. And honestly, I think they will figure it out. They've got the right sort of makeup those guys, I think, to grade on the defensive end. It's just going to take some time. All right. So of the teams that are outside of the playoff race in the Western Conference, if I told you, Trey, one of these teams is going to have a winning record,

be 500 or have a winning record after this season. And we just accept that to be true, even though it may. not be. But if, let's just for hypothetical. The Lakers are 10 and 14. Sacramento's 8 and 13. Denver's 8 and 14. The Pelicans 7 and 15. Timberwolves 6

and 15. We'll leave out the suns and the maps because neither of them have any chance. But if any of those teams, Lakers, Kings, Nuggets, Pelicans, wolves, if they made a run at 500 or unbelievably, I don't know if it unbelievably, but

had a winning season, which of those would you put some stock in? I guess it would have to be the Pelicans. True holiday came back. They have Anthony Davis. They're going to get Tyreek Evans back in their past few seasons when they had, you know, guys like Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon around those three, and it never played out as people were hoping.

But, you know, the Anthony Davis talent there is just so great that I think that he is the best player. You have to choose them, though, like you're saying, And I can't really see any of these teams, 9 through 15, really getting back to 500. Maybe the Lakers find a way to pull it off too. Luke Walton has worked magic with the Warriors at the beginning of last season. The guy is a good coach. So maybe he can keep us going with Nick Young and Lou Williams,

and they somehow win four more games than they lose for the rest of the season. That could happen. If the Pelicans went 8 and 2 over a 10-game span, that would not be the most shocking thing ever. and that would get them, you know, within striking range for sure. Yeah, and it's not hard to see a week where Anthony Davis averages 40 pounds crazy, but he's a guy that can put up those kind of numbers. The idea of him doing it might be a bit of a tough ask,

but I guess he could do it, and if that's the case, if he is able to play all-MBA, MVP-level basketball, you can win a bunch of games like that. Trey, after this incredible amount of success that the starters have had, I want to hear about this. So you guys have been at NBA TV now for what, two, three years? This is our fourth season with NBA TV. This is your fourth? Mm-hmm.

Wow. We started here, 2013-14 season. It's the first time we've been in the same. We feel like we got that continuity. This is your year. What is your typical day? That's what I want to know. My daughter comes and wakes me up to go watch highlights from the night before.

It looks like he's got a nook hanging out of his mouth and James Hardin because he's got a beard like daddy. Then a few hours later, I finally get a... chance to go into the office and we're in there planning the show for the night, you know, talking about what the big topics were from the night before, what we're going to address, and sort of what shell we're going to put around it. Like you did your quarterly awards on Tuesday, you know, we kind of decide, okay, what are we talking about so which of our, a couple hours, then the four of us really break off to kind

of do our research and get and director kind of go and oversee the way and, you know, the different clock we go get prettied up get our makeup on looking spotless for TV and then seven o'clock p.m. Eastern NBA TV we're hitting it. And then are you gone? Yeah, then we get home, you know, we do a half hour. When you say you get up in the morning you're watching highlights with the two-year-old, are they sending you the highlights? How are you watching those?

Oh, I'm a league pass man. I'll crush every condensed game in the morning from the games I don't watch, you know, dip in and watch those sort of. recaps. And then, you know, kind of, if there's something I saw last night that I would like to watch again, I'll go in and maybe a second time, that kind of thing. But otherwise, we're just living that league pass life. You're just pulling up league pass and you're watching the condensed games. Yeah, I mean, the condensed games, I think is a great way to catch up. You know, it's impossible to watch. Like last night there were 10 games. I was able to watch two of them of the basketball that

happened last night. You're not going to be able to catch up in enough time to get ready for the show if you're not doing those condensies. How have you guys all remained friends through all of this? Good question. I work with some really nicely, really good guys, and we've been doing it. This is going to be 11 years for Skeets Pass and JD. I've been around since 2010. We've really just grown together.

You know, when we moved here, there were 16 of us who moved from to know anybody else. And since then, I've had two kids. Lee's had a kid. We're just keeping on growing, and it's kind of like, you know, people compare it to being brothers. You don't always get along with your brothers all the time, but you still love them, and still hopefully get along with them most of the time. Have you ever gotten in a big fight with any of the other guys? I wouldn't say a big fight. The things we mostly disagree about are, you know, how we're going to sort of.

None of us are majorly aggressive of stuff, but all things considered, it's a jolly group of guys, and we just get along. All right. Rank the starters by basketball ability. To put myself first. No, it's not bragging. if that's the true answer. Well, then I'll put myself first, even though I'll tell you, I've definitely fallen off. I'm having major confidence issues.

I've lost the outside jump shot. Oh, no. Ben, I don't know. Skeets is really good. He's in incredible shape. The guy's running a marathon this year. He's a great point guard. Leeds, one of the best shooters I know.

And I think if I were picking a guy that you would want to watch, Chris, it would have to be tasked. He's a Tony Allen out there. He'll guard anybody. He's making the right passes. He's running the court. He's ripping guys at half court. Force them together. Give us just any fifth guy.

I have confidence against any other podcast out there. So, I don't think any other podcast has that many guys. Yeah, that's part of it. We've got depth that most podcasts don't. They're usually only going too deep. We've got four guys who are playing, plus another two who are off the bench. Right. Like, I don't think the maximum amount is like two on a podcast, right?

Usually. Yeah, that's exactly right. That's our hidden advantage. We always ask people if they want to play two on two, then we show up with extra subs. Yeah, well, and that's the issue too, right? The reason it's usually, you know, just one or two guys out of podcast because everybody ends up having egos and breaking up. That's why I was asking you about why it works with you guys so well

because everybody does kind of, like, you know, it's all, it is a team. It's kind of for the greater good, and you guys have had a tremendous amount of success doing it that way. Yeah, and I think we all kind of, our TV shows, our podcast, and our Twitter show, you know, maybe to put it in basketball terms, Maybe you don't get a ton of touches one game, but you're going to get it at the next game. There's always another show, and there's always another thing to talk about,

and there's always going to be a chance for you to get in where you fit in. And it's just a matter of each other's needs and each other's feelings, and really, you know, just trying to help each other out. We're all devoted to making the best show, and I think if we're all pointed out, you know, you can deal with the little, oh, no, we should aren't a big deal if you're all trying to win out there. All right, so I tune it in tonight. what is the thing that Taco Trey is going to bring to the table for certain? Like the thing that you're going to say, I really want to talk about this.

I want to talk about that water bottle challenge. That's just still unbelievable. To actually see that happening on a basketball court, I thought the shot of LeBron watching his cup or his bottle fly up in the air with like those sneaky eyes. The way he's watching, I just think it's replicated. We've never really gotten into the water bottle challenge. Usually we're quick to hop on those sort of memes, but... This is crazy.

I swear, my six-year-old was doing it in the middle of the... He was doing it in the middle of the floor last night. And I didn't even know it was a thing. And then I was watching the game, and I'm like, wait, that's a thing. Like, he... And I said to my wife, I said, where did he see that? She's like, on YouTube or something. And I'm like, oh, for goodness sakes.

The kid's more in touch than I am. But I actually did it. It took me 11 times. 11 times? Maybe it's not as easy as I'm thinking. Is it terrible? I don't know why, because the first one I ever saw was like high school talent show. This is on Deadston.

A kid walks out, all dramatic music playing. All you see is a water bottle sitting there on a table. And it's like, what is this guy going to do? It gets quiet. He flips it, it lands, and the crowd goes crazy. I'm like, okay, this is awesome. And it must be easy, but I don't know, 11 times for a guy. I would have thought you would have been maybe three or four only.

Damn it. So your reaction tells me like 11, that's a bad job. Well, I'm also maybe just not educated enough. I haven't tossed the bottle. Maybe it's going to take me 15 times. That'll be embarrassing. Well, I don't know. Like LeBron didn't do it last night, right? It's not like he did one take. Yeah, exactly. I mean, Kyrie eventually landed it. I would think that NBA players would be better at. No, I'm hoping to get somewhere between four. And honestly, no, I'm hoping to just beat 11. All right. Well, here's a deal. I must tell you, listen, just so all. things are fair. Mine was

Aquafina, just in case. Yeah, you're rocking an Aquafina. We got mostly Deer Park around here. I don't know which is the preferred bottle to flip. I haven't seen anybody do a Fiji bottle, but those are pretty expensive. I guess nobody wants to ruin them. Right, or smart water, right? That's the other

one. Exactly. That doesn't have the big enough base. Right, they get the real long bottles, right? Yeah, but just just for point of view, because I'm going to call BS if you beat 11, but it's not Aquafina. All right, I'll make sure to get a regulation aquafino bottle. Trey, you're the man.

Thanks for coming on the podcast, brother. Thanks for having me, man. Happy to do it. All right, man. Check out Trey on the starters. You can also follow them on Twitter at Trey Kirby. Big thanks to Jim Cunningham back in the studio. If you dig what you're on the podcast.

Go give us a rating and review on iTunes, and we will talk to you next Tuesday.