The Ringer NBA Show - Ep. 52: NBA Christmas Wish List With Kevin O'Connor

Episode Date: December 20, 2016

The Ringer's Chris Vernon and Kevin O'Connor discuss Blake Griffin's durability and decreasing dunk numbers (6:00), Nerlens Noel vs. Jahlil Okafor (15:00), and Cheick Diallo's surprising rookie season (23:00). Then, Chris and Kevin draft their top-five Christmas wishes for the rest of the NBA season. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today's show is brought to you by Capital One's Credit Wise app. Capital One created the Credit Wise app so you can check your credit score anytime you want right in the app. It's free to everyone, so download Credit Wise today. Availability depends on presence of credit history from TransUnion Credit Wise is offered by Capital One Bank USANA. Welcome to The Ringer NBA show. I'm Chris Vernon. Joining me as he always does on Tuesdays. The Ice Cream Man, Kevin O'Connor from the Ringer. What's going on, Chris? there's his music that's a Gucci Man's music man come on that's Coochie Man's music

All right Kevin So we got a lot to talk about today The first of which is before we get into everything We are going to give our five things we want for Christmas NBA edition But before we get into that two big injuries That could switch the balance of power possibly In terms of seating in the Western Conference

First Blake Griffin with a quote Minor Knee Surgery Which you wrote about recently And then we got the news over the course of the last 24 hours that Clint Capella, the outstanding young player for the Houston Rockets, is going to be out at least a month. Let's start with Blake Griffin. You kind of wrote about how this could affect his free agency. We've talked about maybe if he would possibly get traded even this year being in a contract year. But that is a, I would say a big loss for the Clippers, but at least in the past, they've been able to get by without Griffin.

Yeah, you're right, Chris. They've played quite well with them. They're 41 and 23 since the 2014-15 season without Blake. So extrapolate that out to a full season. It's about 52 wins over a full year. So they've been good without Blake. But, I mean, look, they're better off with Blake. I think everybody knows that. Blake has been unbelievable this season. Putting up big-time numbers, 22, 9, and 5 just about. It hurts. It hurts. And it's just, it's just. disappointing to see this happen for the Clippers. They've been, they started the year red hot and they haven't been quite as good lately. But it just sucks. I mean, that's the only way to put it. It's disappointing to see Blake have all these injuries, a guy like him. I think he could be a Hall of Fame level player. It's just disappointing to see a guy go down at his level.

You wrote about how this could affect his free agency. Do you really think that somebody might be wary of giving him the full max deal? because of this? No, so, yeah, people can read that on the ringer, and pretty much, to sum it up, I'm not saying that someone's not going to give Blake the max. It's just that you need to be a little bit cautious considering his history.

I mean, I listed the injuries he's had to his leg. He's had a broken kneecap, a meniscus tear, a partially torn quadru steps, knee bone bruise, sprained knee, strain hamstring, That's all to his left leg. And then he's also had a back stress fracture, a right elbow staff infection, a broken right hand. And now he has the minor surgery to his right knee. It's the first injury he's had to his right knee after all left leg injuries throughout his career.

So you've got to be a little bit cautious, a little bit worried about the potential of further injury in the future. Because look, there's been guys in the past like Mari Stata Meyer who have had, who have been big time free agent signings. they've had injury risks and they've turned from franchise savior to an albatross contract. And I hope Blake Griffin doesn't become that no matter what team he, no matter what team he plays for. But the possibility is they are considering his history. And you've got to be a little bit cautious if you're the clippers or any other team. It's interesting that you bring up a couple guys that were outstanding athletes prior to their injuries because even as you chronicled in that article, I was surprised.

Blake Griffin, he has, usually when guys have a string of injuries, eventually, especially if they're super athletic, they've got to reinvent themselves as something else. And we've seen tons of guys do this over time. It's crazy, but he's almost like already reinvented himself on the fly. And to wit, you put in the article, like, he used to, like, a huge percentage of the points that he scored came off dunks. and that number has gone precipitously down over the last couple of years. Yeah, you said it, Chris.

So basically the first three seasons of his career, about one-third of his made field goals were dunks. And then that dropped to one-fourth after he tore his meniscus. And then, ever since then, it's around one-eighth. About one-eighth of his made-field goals are dunks. And the change has been that he obviously, he's shooting more jumpers. First, he extended to mid-range, and now he's starting to shoot more threes. So he's dunking the ball less frequently. Lob City isn't really a thing anymore.

And really, I think that's good for his game. I think he's obviously a better, more well-rounded player today than he was when Lobb City. We were talking about him and DeAndre Jordan Lobb City, right? I think everybody would agree that Blake's more well-rounded today. But the issue is the fact that unlike then, he's not saying healthy now. So for the Clippers or any other team that signs him and free agency, I would just like to see further evolution. And this is something I wrote about back in August.

Does Blake have, does Blake Griffin have another gear? That's the title of the article, if anybody wants to check it out. And basically, it's just talking about his ability as a playmaker. He is possibly, in my opinion, one of the best ball handling passing big men ever in the history of the NBA. but he plays on a team that has maybe one of the best point guards ever. So obviously Chris Paul needs the ball on his hands, and that limits Blake Griffin's playmaking opportunities,

less so than he already does. So regardless of what happens in his future, I would just like to see that be the next step in his evolution, more of a point-blake role for him, whether that means staggering the minutes with the Clippers or whether that means he signs with another team, and they put him in a playmaking position, maybe more of a primary ball handler role.

Let's talk about the Capella injury. He broke a broken fibula in his left leg, expected to miss possibly six weeks of game action. He's having a really good season. He's average of 12 points, eight rebounds, crazy field goal percentage. He's shooting 64% from the field. And like their offensive rating, I think, was 118 with him out on the court.

They won 10 in a row. hottest team in the NBA, but now this feels like a very significant loss for the Rockets, no? Yeah, I mean, it's definitely significant. But I wouldn't rule out them being able to stay afloat. I mean, they have Ney-N-A-Montres-Harrell has been good. I think they have the guys to keep them afloat while Capella's out. But obviously, it's a disappointing injury.

And I know there are reports today that they're going to keep their finger on the pulse of the trade market. Who knows who would be available? the type of player they could go for, there's obviously Nerlin's Noel, you could throw Andrew Bogot's name out there. There are options for them to trade, to make a trade. And that could be a good idea for them, regardless of Capella's health,

just to have that extra depth. But without him, I think they'll be fine. It is a loss, though. James Hardin loses his lob partner. But look, they get a lot of weapons on their team, and I think they have better depth than people give them credit for. The Noel name being brought up is interesting because he's obviously pissed off in Philadelphia and they've got a glut of centers, right?

He is not necessarily a necessity for Philly. Where are you at on Nerland's Noel and what kind of trade value he has? Do you think you can get big return for him? Well, Calangelo said yesterday that he's in no rush to make a trade and that was obvious back in September because that would have been the best time for them to make a trade. trade. I think Noelle's value. Noelle's value hasn't dropped, but the Sixers standing, their leverage has dropped, right? So, Noel's the same player he was a four. He's still a great room protector. He's still a super athlete, still a versatile defender. I'd love to have him on

my team. And if I were the Sixers, I'd be wanting to move Okafore and not Noel if I were them. But look, they say they're not in a rush to make a deal, and I believe them just based off what I heard back in September, and the impression that I get now is that they're okay with going through with this as long as they can, because I don't really think they would get a whole lot for him right now, because A, the fact that everybody knows the Sixers don't have any leverage, and B, the fact that Noel is a restricted free agent this summer, so he's going to get paid. So any team that does trade for him, it could potentially be a rental if you, you're not. You don't want to match the restricted free agent.

The offer sheet he gets signs this summer. So look, there's a lot of factors working against the Sixers in terms of the value they can get back for him. But it's in their best interest, in my opinion, to move Okafore and or Noel at some point during the year. You think Noel and Embed is a pairing that would work? Obviously, we haven't gotten to see it much because Embedge just come back and this year. And Noel has been out for the course of this year and hasn't. played big minutes yet for them. Do you think that pairing could work together? It could work a lot better than Embedda and Oka for, that's for sure. I prefer, I just prefer, you know, the modern style. I'd like to

see the lineup with Sarich at the four more so than Sarich at the three, right? But I think if you're playing with two bigs, yeah, I totally think Embededon-N-O-L could work. And I think Noel's versatility, his ability to defend the perimeter allows Embed to stay a little bit more inside and be more of that traditional rim protector. But down the line, it's not like, it's not like in like Mb like Mb to a guy that can switch more onto the perimeter. So I think, yeah, if you had Mbid and Noel, it would be a great too big lineup if you do have to roll with that. Otherwise, you have Mbid as your starting center and you could have Noelle as your backup center. And even if they never really shared the floor, you would always have a great rim protector on the floor. And there aren't a lot of

teams in the NBA that can say that. So that's why if I'm the Sixers, I'd be trying to move Okifor. And I wonder if low-key, that's what they're thinking. Maybe that's why they're actually benching Noel is to try to maybe increase Okerfor's value, try to get Okrafort out there more. I don't know exactly. But I just think Okra-4 is the guy you get a deal if you're the Sixers. And then maybe you keep Noel past the season. You match the free agent contracting signs. maybe he suddenly gets happy because it sounds to me like he really just wants to play and obviously he wants to get paid and I don't know if that matters for him if it's in Philly or anywhere else.

Put on your GM hat. Would you rather, would you trade more to get Okafore or more to trade to get Noel? I think I'd give up more to get Okafore. I'm not done with him. I think he's in a bad spot. I know I'm going to give a really wishy-wash answer, but it really depends on. than my current team's roster, but generally, I'd rather have Noel, generally. Yeah, I'd rather have Ocalfour.

I think he's the more talented guy. And I think he could be good somewhere else, Ocalfour. I'm not done with him yet. Yeah, I think he could be too. This has been a bad season so far for sure, but I'm not done with him. That's fair. And you know I don't like guys that can't shoot. Yeah, I mean, the thing with him, though, is, you know, not only does he not shoot is he doesn't rebound,

and currently, he doesn't pass the way there. No, no, no, no, well, doesn't shoot. Noel, I mean, hell, I could out shoot him from the three-point line. He'll never take a three-pointer probably. Yeah, I mean, I just think Noel's ability offensive end is unbelievable. I could see Ocalfour developing that and being like a stretch guy, right? Like, I think Ocalfour's shot looks good out to like 20-something feet. I don't know, man. I mean, he's shown off that little short 12, 12-foot, 14-foot mid-manage jumper, but

I, it's sure it's plausible. I mean, anything's possible, but I just don't see him developing into a guy that stretches you out to 18, 20 feet, and neither will Noel. The thing is, though, if I'm building my offense, what kind of center do I want on the roster? If you don't have a transcendence level player, I would rather have the rim runner, the guy like Nerlens Noel, the guy who sets screens and runs pick and roll, who throws down lob dunks more so than the post-up guy like Jalil Gafor. and factoring the fact in that Noel is just a hundred times better on the defensive end, both as a rebounder and as a versatile room protector, ability to switch. I just think Noel is far and away a better player than O'Khafore. And unless Okafore starts rebounding, which he never has, unless he starts defending,

which he never has, then I'd much rather have Noelle. But with that said, Okafore's great score, the guy can get buckets. So if you do need a guy off your bench like that, I can see why you would lean towards him. But generally, I'm all the way under lens, Noel. Wow. All right. Well, we certainly disagree on that. I'm more Okafore than, uh, than O'OCAF, and I would give up more to get him.

Uh, all right? It's because you're a Memphis guy. You like that Zach Randolph comparison probably, right? I mean, I like, I just, I thought Ocalfe was amazing in college. And I think that it's hard to evaluate. I know Embeded has been spectacular, but I think it's hard to evaluate guys on the Sixers. That is such a miserable losing culture. And I think he never probably wanted to go there.

And he's probably not used well or at least to maximize what he is, especially with Embed back. And I think a different setting, a different culture, I think that guy is super talented. And I think it can be extremely useful still in the league. like in the, you know, in the Al Jefferson type deal, right? Where he's maybe, maybe things have evolved where a lot of these big guys are now coming off the bench. And that's fine. But I do think that Jalil Alkhafore, I don't know. I still think he's super talented, man.

And I think it's hard to make decisions on Sixers players, especially him, based upon, like, they lose every friggin' night. You know what I mean? Like, they lose all the time. And he's also on a team that happens to have a glut of center. So I don't know. I just, I'm willing to give the kid a chance in another. I hope you're right. And he does get traded because I think in a different situation,

he could still be a very valuable NBA player because he's got the talent. That's fair. I think you might find some people that would rather have Rashon Holmes than you're looking for, though. Holy mackle. I'm going to mention Rashon Holmes on every podcast, your favorite player. How dare you? How dare you? All right. You recently wrote about three points, or we talked last week. We chronicled three-point shooting and how it's at an all-time high around the NBA.

You took on another subject this week on the ringer.com, which was the pick-and-roll. And you talked to a lot of different people about it. And while we said that three-point shooting is at an all-time high, this pick-and-roll basketball, the numbers, I was kind of surprised. There is a much higher percentage of pick-and-roll basketball being played than there was 10 years ago. when it was more isolation basketball. But then you talk to different people. You talked to Lou Williams and you chronicled this. You talked about the two-man game that they've got going on in Toronto with Lowry and DeRosen

that's created this devastating offense. What were your biggest takeaways from trying to dive in and figure out the way people think about using the pick and roll and why it is so much more prevalent now than it was, say, a decade ago? So the main takeaway for me is, is really just interesting to look at how much it's evolved. A, because, like you said, they're using it more. Around 10 years ago in 2006, according to Synergy Sports data, about 15% of possessions were finished with a shot, a turnover,

or a drawn foul out of the pick and roll compared to about 25% today. So that's a drastic difference within just 10 years. but not only that has the style of play changed generally in terms of less isos, less post-ups, and more pick-and-roll, but it's just interesting to see how teams use the pick-and-roll so much differently. So like the Charlotte Hornets, for example, they set a lot of double-high screens.

And what that means is both big men come out to the three-point line or beyond, and they're both setting screens for the ball handler, usually Kemba Walker for the Hornets. So they have a bunch of bigs like Cody Zeller, who's a very good rim runner, Frank Kaminsky, who demands respect from the defense. They have Marvin Williams, a small ball four, Spencer Hawes, who can shoot the three.

They have a lot of different types of bigs that allow them to set the double high screen, and it's very hard for the defense to defend because the bigs are a threat. And so that opens up the paint for Kemba Walker, whereas other teams, they're just running more traditional, high pick and roll. You have other teams like the Warriors who teams are switching against.

So last season they had to find ways to beat that switch. So they did things with Jremont Green to combat that. They did things with their guards to combat that, with them kind of like slipping screens and then just scurrying out and shooting threes. If you want to read more in depth about it, it's in the article. It's tough to talk about it. It's something visual watching the replays that you can understand it more. But it's just really interesting just to hit.

about some of the little things teams are doing to adjust to what defenses are doing with the aims of stopping the pick and roll and tag. And I love the video that you embedded on the article where Larry Bird teaches us the pick and roll. That's a cool one. That's really cool. I had to find a way to put that in there. It's a good one. Two other guys that you mentioned at the end of that article that I want to get your thoughts on because you do a bunch of draft analysis prior to. One of them was Jalen Brown, who was the third pick by the Celtics, and he kind of chronicled how, I mean, he's been very, very good in the limited minutes that he has played this year. I'm actually going to get to see him in person tonight for the first time, so I hope he plays some minutes. Do you think, first, give me your thoughts on Brown so far, and I know we're just like 30, 40 games in the season. if we go back and we redid the draft tomorrow night,

is it Jalen Brown still goes third, you think? You think he still goes? You think the top three still goes, we haven't seen Simmons yet, but do you think the draft would go Simmons-Engram Brown? Yeah, I do. You do. Yep.

What do you think about Brown so far? I think he's been really, really good. I think if he weren't on the Celtics, If he weren't on a team that's really trying to win games, and he'd be playing more than, I think he's playing 14, 13, 14 minutes per game right now. If he was getting a workload of like 25 minutes per game, I think we could be talking about him as a potential rookie of the year. Obviously, his usage would be different playing on a different team,

but he's been really good with his role. He's been shooting the ball well, 35% from three. He's been driving closeouts just incredibly well. but he really shows off his athleticism when he drives to the cup. He's been finishing at the rim a little bit better, more creatively than he did at Cal last year. I thought he had a lot of difficulties finishing at the rim. I worried about his touch. I'm not so worried about that anymore.

And I don't really think it's a small sample size. This goes back to really Summer League. Summer League Jalen Brown started having a little bit more creative finishes at the rim, used his left hand a little bit more at the rim, and he's still doing that now, and that bodes well for him, those two factors. A, his ability to hit threes, B, his ability to drive closeouts, and C, his ability to finish. That's really important for him as a young player. His defense has been up and down, but he's been really, really impressive for the Celtics so far this year,

and it wouldn't be surprising if by the end of the year he's making more of an impact than he is even right now. Okay, so we've all known that Danny Ains, whether it's acquiring the picks in trades or he's got a They got a bunch of like at least eight-man rotation on a good team guys. And we know that he's been loading up to try to take a run at a star again in a possible trade. Jalen Brown being what he has been so far, who does he make most expendable in your mind? Like if you're trying to put together those guys where you got smart and you got Bradley and you got guys that people would want to trade for and get if they're trading a star to you,

who do you think Brown makes most expendable on the Celtics? So you're talking about in a scenario where they were to trade for a star player. Correct. Okay. So if they were to trade for a star, I don't think it would be a situation where the receiving team would want an established player. So that means the receiving team wouldn't want Jay Crowder, hypothetically, we're talking about. In that case, I think Jalen Brown doesn't necessarily. necessarily make anybody expendable in the sense that they needed a backup full backup three so if

they were to retain Crowder and they were to retain Brown I don't know if his presence necessarily impacts smart and Roseer I think it's really the other way around that that Rosier or smart impacts each other's value I don't know if Brown necessarily impacts either of them Interesting. All right. The other guy, a rookie, who I swear, I don't remember the guy like virtually at all in college, is Czech Diallo, who got drafted. He did not go in the first round.

He actually went at the top of the second round, but from Mali and didn't play much at Kansas, as you wrote. But I guess the limited, you know, we got an extremely small sample size, but he looks like he could be a player, right? Yeah, I mean, it's just funny because he's done more already in the NBA than he did all year at Kansas. And he was a top five high school recruit. He was probably one of the most more exciting recruits Kansas could have landed. But he barely played. He was in Bill Self's doghouse all year.

That's because he just wasn't ready. He was really underdeveloped, really raw. And that's why he fell to the second round. But after working out this summer, he developed his jump shot, training with I believe Drew Cannon, who I spoke to for this pick and roll article on the ringer. And he looks good. He looks pretty good. He looks a whole lot better than he did last year at Kansas.

I still liked him as a prospect, just the amount of energy he plays with and his athleticism. But the fact that he's added a jumper that goes out to 20 feet that looks really good, the fact that he's still finishing inside, like as you'd expect him to do, he looks like a good player. And he looks like a potential steal. and I'd like to see him get more consistent minutes with the Pelicans as the year wears on. I'd love to see what he's capable of doing playing center next to Anthony Davis. All right, we've got to take a quick break when we come back. Kevin and I are going to give you our five things we want for Christmas, NBA edition.

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on TV on Vicerland every Monday through Thursday night at 11 p.m. Go to Vicerland.com to find your channel and check out some free episodes. The brand is strong. All right, so we came up with five things that we want for Christmas, NBA edition. I'll start. All right, Kevin. I'll give my first

and then we'll just take turns on this, all right? Sweet. Number one for me is Dirk Novitsky to come back okay. I thought of this because I saw the Duncan ceremony the other night. And we've just been losing these guys. You don't get much out of Paul Pierce anymore. I mean, he plays a little, and he's on the Clippers roster. Vince Carter has had a resurgence season for the Grizzlies.

But, like, that's kind of it of the elder states. We don't have a lot of elder statesmen left. And Dirk is the best of all of them, still capability-wise. I know their season is going to be a watch. But he averaged like almost 18 and 7 last year and was still really good. And he's sixth in NBA history in scoring. He is the sixth leading score in NBA history. And so I just feel like I'm hoping that that is my at least wish that there is more good basketball for Dirk Novitsky left and that we get to see it.

Because I didn't feel like I didn't feel like we were close to the end on him. You kind of knew with Kobe, you kind of knew with Duncan, you know with Pierce, you know with Carter. But I kind of felt like Dirk still's got good years left in him. So here's hoping that we get to see a healthy Dirk Novitsky again before it's too late. That's a good one. It's a really good one. You're welcome. So earlier this month, this is the first thing I want for Christmas.

So earlier this month, Russell Westbrook, a game with 26 points, 22 assists, and 11 rebounds. What I want is for someone, whether it's Westbrook or Yana, Santana-A-Compo, I want someone to have a 30, 20, and 10 game. That can be 30 points, 20 rebounds, or 20 assists, and then 10 rebounds or 10 assists. And the reason why I want to see this is because A, it would be unbelievable, and secondly, because not a lot of guys have done it over the last 30 years. There's Magic Johnson, who scored 32 points, 20 assists, and 11 rebounds in 1988 and then the other guy I get a question for you Chris in 2010 a player scored 37 points with 20 rebounds and 10 assists who do you think that player was Chris in 2010

somebody had 37 20 and 10 yep who was it uh I'll say Garnett David Lee Lee scored 37 points that was my second that was my that was my yeah yeah 20 rebounds and 10 assists and a 128 and 17 loss to the Warriors. David Lee is nasty. So I want somebody to do what David Lee did a couple years ago or at Magic Johnson did in the 1980s. I think that would be really cool to see Westbrook or Janus do that. All right.

I'll go with the stats one for my second one, okay? Here's what I want to see. I want to see a 60-point quarter. Now, I went back and looked to see what, because I think it's possible. Now, with what the rockets are doing and the amount of threes they're taking, with what the warriors are doing, and the amount of threes they're taking, I think this is in range. Now, it has not happened. The highest scoring quarter ever is 58, okay? The 1972 Buffalo Braves scored 58 points in the fourth quarter against the Celtics, right?

Which is crazy because they lost the game. They scored 58 a quarter and they lost. Wow. But they scored 58 in a quarter. And I went back and looked, and this is the closest that people have come. We've had two 57-point quarters. The 1989 Warriors did it once, and they had Chris Mullen, Mitch Richmond, Terry Teagle, Steve Alford, and Larry Smith. They did that in the third quarter of a game against the Kings. Then in 1990, the sons with Dan Marley, Kevin Johnson, Tom Chambers, Mark West, and Kurt Rambis had – they also had 57 in a quarter. They did it in the second quarter of a game against the Nuggets. But nobody's really come close since 2010. And this is crazy. The 2010 Pacers against the Nuggets, no less – I swear all these games feel like they're against the Nuggets.

2010 Pacers. This was their starting lineup. Darren Collison, Danny Granger, Mike Dunleavy, Josh McRoberts, and Roy Hibbert scored 54 in a third quarter against the Nuggets in 2010. But that's really as close as anybody's come. So we've had 58 is the highest scoring quarter ever. We've had a couple teams take a run at it and get to 57. The most recent one was 54.

which is that 2010 Pacers, but we have never seen a 60-point quarter. And I do think because of the way these guys are playing and how many threes they're shooting, I think it's in range that somebody could pull that off. And then on the flip side, I'd also like to see a zero-point quarter. I went to go see what the lowest scoring was. It's going to be hard to beat, man. In 1997, the Mavs played a game against the Lakers and came out after halftime. And in the third quarter, they scored two freaking points.

Two in the quarter. No one has ever scored zero, but two is going to be hard to break. So those are the two things. If I could get a 60-point quarter or a zero-point quarter, and I think we've got enough games left, and I kind of feel like offenses are, you know, with so many threes being taken that this could happen. Can you believe that?

There's never been a 60-point quarter? That's surprising. Yeah. Well, hell. I guess you can't believe in hell. You'd be on pace to score. 240 points. You mentioned three-pointers

in your second Christmas wish. Mine is also three-point related. I want Joelle and B to lead the NBA in three-point percentage. Right now, of players of the minimum 53-pointers attempted, he ranks 10th in three-point percentage at 44.2%.

I want him to rise up that list and be first. Oh, maybe we could get him in the three-point contest, too. That would be pretty sweet, wouldn't it? Right, because he's going to be there for rookie sophomore, for sure. Yeah, yep. Right?

He won't make the All-Star team, but he'll be there for rookie sophomore. And then we'd get Embed. Maybe we'd get Ambide and Marcusal both in the three-point contest. That would be pretty amazing. That would be super amazing. But both of them would be really sweet. All right, speaking of All-Star Weekend, here's my number three. Another Christmas wish.

Now, we have like this shooting stars. We've got the three-point contest. We've got the dunk contest, you got the skills. You got all that kind of stuff that goes on. Like, they make a huge deal out of All-Star Weekend, right? Here's what I want. And I would watch this. They've got that, like, you know, celebrity game, but it's terrible.

It's like Nick Cannon versus Michael Rappaport versus whoever. I mean, no offense to these guys, but I don't really give a crap. And, like, you know, Timberlake and Beber and none of them playing there. No, I'm just saying, it's like, you know, Michael B. And it's like, I like all these guys. But again, it's not like Bieber and Timberlake and Usher and whoever. It's like, you know, the same guys every year and Kevin Hart wins the MVP and whatever. So they do all this different stuff on All Star Weekend.

But I've got one that I want. I want an old-timers game. Everybody loves all these, like, legends of the game, right? You see these guys show up at games and everybody gives them a standing ovation. We all love them. And I do think there are some guys that. would like be embarrassed and wouldn't want to be out there. But I remember, you know, in that celebrity game, Elijah Wan played in it.

Do you remember this? And he did the Dream Shake. And Twitter went crazy. I mean, absolutely crazy. Twitter goes crazy over like getting to see the Dream Shake, whatever. But I think, like, guys like Iverson could still get buckets. Like, I think you could get enough guys that think they can still play. And inevitably, somebody would dunk.

Somebody would do the Dream Shake. somebody like I think David Robinson can still go out there and dunk but I want them to put together an old time like an old timers game like an all timers game where they get great players from the past you get enough to agree to it and I just want to play I want to watch them play basketball one more time and if you got like some of the super duper scars that would be incredible like if you could get a magic or a Michael or any of those guys to do it but that's what I want I want I want I think that's the next step that we get like a legit like a Hall of Famers game or they don't all have to be Hall of Famers but an old timers game on NBA All-Star weekend.

That'd be pretty sweet. Doesn't the NHL do something like that or are they doing something like that? For some reason I remember I think at the winter class, the Canadians and Bruins had an old-timers alumni game. I'm pretty sure about that. Someone tweeted some of you No, this year it's blues black hawks and they're doing it. Okay. Yeah. But yeah, I just want, like, I think there's enough of these guys. And some of them, you know, you can have some of the guys that have been out of the league for a long time.

But then other ones that haven't been out all that long. Like former All-Stars, right, in honor of All-Star Weekend. Yep. So they had to, like, I don't care about seeing, like, you know, guys that weren't great players out there. But I'm saying former All-Stars playing in an old-timers game. That's what I want. All right. What's your third?

So I want the Kings to trade to Marcus Cousins to a team with a ton of assets, whoever it is, Celtics Nuggets. I want them to trade them to a team with high value picks and young players. And then I want the Kings to nail those first-drawn draft picks. And then I want the Kings to look like one of the best upcoming teams in the NBA next season. I know it's a lot to ask, but I want Boogie to succeed. I want the Kings to succeed.

I want Kings fans to be happy. Chris, I've thought a lot about this and it really just reminds me. of a bad relationship. I think we've all had a friend in our lives who's dated someone and it was like a bumpy relationship from the start. Maybe they broke up, got back together a lot, but they always stayed together for far too long.

Sometimes it works and it's great. They get married and they're happy, but Boogie and the Kings have been on the rocks for seven years now. And the big difference is the Kings can end this now and Boogie can't until 2018 when he's a free agent. And I just want the Kings to move on, find something new. It's hard to

too because boogie's sensational but the kings can become great again someday too I think with the right move nailing draft picks getting bringing in young players I just don't think they're right for each other and I want the kings to be happy I want demarcos cousins to be happy

and I just don't think they're compatible together well we know there's at least a couple media members that wouldn't kill the trade yeah that's that's true not not naming any names but there's a few, I'm sure. I don't know.

They wouldn't be so distressed about usually if a guy, if a team trades their best player, you know, the media in that town might mingle the trade. But I don't sense that that's going to be the case when old DeMarcus moves on. Oh, I know. Seriously. The Joker, that is worrisome. He certainly hasn't made a lot of friends there media-wise. Next one for me.

I'll actually go piggyback off. that. That's fine if it's cousins. I just had, my number four was that a huge star gets traded at the deadline. I don't really care which huge star, but I want one that will like shift the balance of power where at least for the moment after the trade deadline, people are like, ooh, well now could this team, and whether that was like the Celtics or whoever, like that it at least makes us question if the team could make a run at the Warriors or the Cavs, who were the prohibited favorites in either of their conference. So I'd like a big, a huge star to get moved.

It's been a while since we have had one of, like, a big star get moved to a team. And I remember last year, like there was that short amount of time or where we thought the Dragatch deal, right? Like that that was a big deal where, or I guess it was a year before, where Draggett went to the heat. And you're thinking, wow, man, they've got Draggett and they've got Wade and they've got Bosch. But then, you know, the unfortunate health concern with Chris Bosch kept him out. And that really, like, never came to fruition. But we thought, like, wow, like that now we got to start thinking about them a little different. They're going to be, they could be troublesome when it comes to the playoffs.

So we haven't really gotten anything that we had that debate about in a while. So I'm hoping that this is the year that one of the, I don't care who it is. Just a huge star gets traded to where we at least think, whoa, this team could be a big problem in the playoffs. That would be fun. Just to shake it up. You know what I mean? Yeah. Yeah, it's always good when things get shaken up in the league.

So my fourth, what I want for Christmas is I want just a little bit of patience for the 2016 NBA draft class. I think I've read a lot recently or I've seen comments about how a lot of guys, look like busts. And it happens every year. It's only December, and if rookies very rarely contribute, and no matter of the situation they're drafted into. So I would just like to see some of these guys step up in the second half of the year, allow people to relax and let these kids develop.

I think there's been some bright spots so far in the draft. It's sure it hasn't met expectations at all. It has been disappointing thus far. But give the kids time. I think this is still a really, really talented draft class. And I think in the second half of the year, we could see them step up. And that's what I would hope to see in the second half of the year. I want to see Simmons so bad.

I really do. And especially now Simmons and Embed and just see what that looks like. I can't wait for him to come back. I hope he comes back this year. Yeah, or it's like Ryan McDonough said in an interview on SB Nation, I think yesterday. Actually, he mentioned how, you know, get kids like Dragan Bender and Marquis Chris consistent minutes. Even those guys, I'd like to see Bender play more in the second half of the year. Just, you know, get these kids playing time and see him develop.

I would really like to see a guy like Thorn Maker have a big second half. Oh, speaking of that, speaking of rookies, a couple of weeks ago was the first time I ever saw Brandon Ingram in person. people talk about the Greek freak, you know, and like when you see him, it just almost doesn't even look normal. He is so long. I'm telling you, Ingram, it was freakish. Like, he is super, super skinny. But I don't know if I've ever seen anybody with his long arms. I mean, this guy, this guy, he is taller than I thought.

And his also, like, his wingspan is just insanity. Absolute insanity. I hope I get to see him a little more, play some more minutes, because just like pure genetic-wise, he is a freak of nature, man. How long he is. His arms, I don't know if I've ever seen anything like it outside of Anta-Tacompo. He is long. And you love him, right?

Didn't you love him coming out of the draft, Ingram? Yeah, he was my number one prospect over Simmons. Yeah, he's playing a lot, 20. 27 minutes per game or so, I think at least 25, but he hasn't been efficient at all. But look, that's the thing. It's like, I think it's unfair to expect a lot of these guys to come in right away and be super impactful players. And it's really about tracking their progress from the start of the season towards the end of it. And that's what I hope to see is that we continue to see progression from these guys.

And has just had a little patience on our side, the media side, the fan side. Just give them patient. Just be patient. And number five for me is 100% selfish, right? Because it's my squad, the Grizzlies. I just want to see what the Grizzlies. They spent $94 million on Chandler Parsons. And the starting lineup, as it was projected, was Mike Conley, who's already broken his back.

You know, Mike Connolly, Tony Allen, Chandler Parsons, Jamichael Green, and Marcosol. That starting lineup. And Chandler Parsons is supposed to come back this week, possibly tomorrow night against Detroit for the Grizzlies. but that starting unit has played 13 minutes together the entire season. And the Grizzlies have stayed afloat. They're like 18 and 11. They're six, I think in sixth place right now in the Western Conference. But Chandler Parsons has not hardly played at all.

What was projected to be the starting unit has played 13 minutes. Like juxtapose that, the Clippers, which now won't get any more minutes considering the Blake injury. But like their starting lineup with Paul Reddick, Umba, Mute, Griffin and Jordan, they played 447 minutes together. Right? What should be the Grizzly starting lineup has played 13 all year. So I do think that I think they could be really good if they had everybody healthy, but it's been a two-year stretch where Memphis has just been totally unable to keep anybody healthy.

It's been more an infirmary than a basketball team. So that's at least one of my Christmas wishes. Because I watch him all time. On a related note, Chris, there was a tremendous post on Reddit last week. And forgive me, I don't recall who posted it. But it was just a great stat. Chandler Parsons has more Instagram posts than points for the Grizzlies this year. Damn.

I think it's like, well, hey, yeah, let me tell you something. Post to around 46 points. Here's the thing, okay? the guy is uh you know you know everybody has to dress up for uh you know if you're sitting out of games and the girls in the crowd just ogle the guy the whole time and he's got some like i suppose he's got some stylist or something so he'll wear like chain suspenders and all this all manner of things every night like i'm so ready for the guy to be in a basketball uniform because it's just the other night kevin the guy is damn near wearing yoga pants on the sideline i'm like

Jesus, if the guy sits out for another week, he's going to be in a damn thong on the sideline, like enough already. This guy's got to get in a uniform. He's going to be just wearing a – Chandler Parz sits out for two more weeks. He's going to be in a speedo on the sideline if the NBA will allow it to happen. It's just – it's ridiculous. So I'm unsurprised. He's like an Instagram king for sure. But, yeah, he needs to score some points.

All right, what's your last one? So my last one is I want an epic, and I mean epic Christmas Day game between the Warriors and the Cavaliers. I want triple overtime. I want big shots. I want Carrey to hit big threes from the logo. I want LeBron and dunk on KD. And then I want KD to dunk on LeBron. I want Draymond karate kicks.

I want this game to be the ultimate finals trilogy three preview. I want epic play from the Cavs and Warriors, Chris. That's what I want. That's my biggest Christmas wish. I think we could get that. I think we could get an unbelievable game between those two. You know they're going to be all amped up for that game on Christmas. I hope they're all healthy, right?

Because Love's been out with the little neat thing and they've been rest of guys. But hopefully everybody's healthy and we get full squads for both of those teams on Christmas. That's pretty sweet, man. I hope love is back for that game. All right. Well, there's our five things that we want for Christmas. NBA edition. What did you really ask for for Christmas, Kevin? What do you really want? I don't know. I don't know. I don't. Besides the NBA? I don't ask for a lot, man. Just, you know, good health for family and stuff. I know basic answer, but it's true.

You really didn't ask for any material thing for Christmas. Well, right now I'm like, I'm like revenating the room. So I'm going to be getting probably some stuff for the room. We're going to buy my own gifts for that. to turn it more into a little bit of an office area. That way, I know I've gotten some comments about noises in the background. That way, there's no subtle noises in the background from the place I record now. I'll do it for you guys. You're going to get some soundproofing materials from Home Depot or something? No, but that would be pretty cool, though, because soundproof the room for when I play guitar in there.

Oh, you play guitar! Yeah, I do. What about you, Chris? Do you play? Well, the things we've learned about Kevin O'Connor. I do play guitar. I mean, I'm not that good at it, but I've got like six or seven. I'm going on almost 10 years now. Wow. Were you ever in a band? Were you ever in a band? No, I used to jam with people. Shout out to Cedric. My old buddy Cedric. He used to play bass with him all the time. Shout out, Caitlin. Great singer used to jam with.

So, yeah, I never had a real band, but I played with people. And, you know, I'd love to again in the future. Shout out to Cedric and Caitlin, right? Everybody, everybody knows who we were talking about. Hey, wait, is there any recordings of you? Like, are you on YouTube or anything? Like, did you ever play? Is there anything that you have ever recorded musically that I could, like,

Yeah, I've recorded things, totally. Are they on the internet? I think, I think. Um, maybe they used to be. I don't think they are anymore. Did you have like a name for the band or anything? No, no, it was never like a, like a real band. We just jam, dude. We just janned or did covers of songs. Yes, a lot of stuff that we talked about last week. Have you ever played in public?

Never, never played in public. Oh, you haven't? Okay. But there were, there were like, no, I haven't, no. But there are like secret recordings of these jam sessions with Cedric and Caitlin? No, no. Like it would just, it's just the type of thing. Like I think any musician does, they just record themselves or they record like an idea for a song on their phone or like on their laptop or whatever. It's easy to record and produce music nowadays. I think it's a really cool thing.

So it never amounted to a real band, but it was fun. Do you play bass or lead guitar? I just play guitar, but I mean, bass is very similar, so I mean, like, I could play, but I've grown up playing and learning guitar. What kind of guitar do you have? I have, like, a custom strat. It's not exactly a strad. I guess you would call it a, this is a nerdy guitar term, like a partsocaster, you would call it,

where it's just, like, different parts from different brands, made it a couple years ago. And then my first guitar was a Squire 51. That's the one I started on 10 years ago. You built your own guitar? Yeah, I mean, like, yeah, like, it's not really. I'm not, like, chopping out a tree and, and building the guitar body and the neck. I didn't do that. But, like, you would order the body or you would order the guitar neck and the tuners and all the parts and assemble it.

So, yeah, I did that a couple years back. Look at you putting together a strath. Okay, okay. Sounds good, man. It's a sexy gets on. You got a regular Eric Clapton on with me. Who knew? Kevin, have an unbelievable Christmas, and we'll catch up next week.

You too, Chris, and to everybody listening as well. Thanks for listening. Everybody has a very Merry Christmas, Chris. If you dig the show, give us a rating and review on iTunes, and we'll talk to you soon. Thanks again to Capital One's Credit Wise app for sponsoring us today. Capital One created the Credit Wise app so you can check your credit score anytime you want right in the app. It's free to everyone, so download CreditWise today. Availability depends on the presence of credit history from TransUnion.

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