The Ringer NBA Show - Which Team—Apart from the Lakers and Clippers—Has the Best Shot of Coming Out of the West? | The Mismatch

Episode Date: July 17, 2020

We discuss the news that Victor Oladipo is now considering returning to play this season after previously stating he’d be out for the year (4:16). Then, we discuss Kemba Walker’s nagging knee injury, the Bucks’ challengers in the East, and Jakob Poeltl’s role with the Spurs (38:36). Finally, we open the mailbag and answer your questions about why the Lakers and Clippers are favored over the Bucks, which teams we’d invite to the NBA bubble if we could replace the Nets or Wizards, and whether the Lakers should try and buy out Vince Carter (49:24). Hosts: Chris Vernon and Kevin O’Connor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it's Liz Kelly, and welcome to The Ringer Podcast Network. The Ringer's got a brand new show out now about NFL player Cam Newton called The Cam Chronicles. We'll be releasing at new episodes every Monday for the next six weeks, but you can binge all six episodes right now for free on Spotify. Here's a quick trailer. From The Ringer, I'm Tala Rottines, hosted a new podcast series, The Cam Chronicles. NFL star Cam Newton has always been a complex figure. Over the past year, I've traveled to Kuald the Korn.

country speaking to coaches and teammates, friends and family, and even briefly to the man himself, trying to unravel the enigma that is Cam Newton. The Ringer NFL show presents Cam Chronicles. Listen to the full series now on Spotify. Welcome to The Ringer NBA show. I'm Chris Barney and join as he does every Friday from the Ringer.com. It's Kevin O'Connor, A.K. Kevin O'Bomber, A. Kevin O. Kavanaugh, A. Kavanaugh, Kavanaugh. Kevin O. O. Conflict. Kevin O. O. Bruno. So we are, keep our fingers crossed. Two weeks from today, we have a chance.

That's all I'm going to say. We have a chance that we will be talking about NBA basketball games that were played the evening prior. Let's hope against hope that that can all happen. There was big news, including one of those teams that is going to be featured on opening night, and that is the New Orleans Pelicans. And Zion William said the news broke yesterday that he was having to leave the bubble to deal with an urgent family matter.

Now, I will tell you that as soon as you see this story, I get scared for the kid because usually if it is something that is not personal that is easily explained to the general public, they say it. You're right. Everybody says because he's dealing with, blank blank blank it's always i always come at it um very timid when i see a story like that and

my first reaction is geez man i hope everything is okay because you know you know in this case it has to be serious for you to deal with everything that comes along with leaving the bubble and you have to be able to go back and say i don't care like i mean that that that is this this all this basketball and all of this this is secondary to what is going on in my life So obviously our thoughts are with Zion and whatever is going on. But the lack of anything specific, that made me, that made me worry yesterday. What about you? I mean, there's been a lack of transparency with everything.

Yep. You know, with the players who are there or aren't there, you know, coaches, you know, like Marcus Morris isn't, you know, with his team yet. Markief Morris isn't his team yet. I mean, there's lack of clarity of Landry Shannon's with the Clippers. there's so many guys we don't know if they're there why they're not there and i mean understandably so you know with you know if they tested positive or not but the the lack of clarity is true across the league right now and with zion uh hopefully for him you know they say it's a family medical emergency

hopefully everything's okay um whatever it may be um i mean you you wish that for anybody who's not there right now for any particular reason and uh and for you know New Orleans Pelicans. This is, you know, Chris Haynes also reported yesterday that he was having like cramps. I know. Sorry, it was Sham Sharania reported yesterday that, uh, he was having cramps at practice too. So, you know, I mean, like there's the, the COVID health related aspect and there's also the physical health related aspect. And apparently, you know, Shams did say that there was no big deal. But it's still part of it. I mean, you don't like to hear of that. So hopefully all is good for Zion. And he's able to get back and help New Orleans make a push for the postseason.

Yeah. we last spoke, there has been some news about guys that either weren't there or have gotten there. Malcolm Brogden now at Pacer's practice, which is a good sign for them. James Hardin showed up earlier in the week, and so he is now practicing with the rockets, getting rid of any kind of speculation regarding his situation, especially given the Westbrook news that had come out and we had news on Eric Bledso and him testing positive and not being with the box. Out of nowhere. Out of nowhere.

Out of nowhere. Out of nowhere. Totally. Totally out of nowhere. Testing positive. And so he's not with the bucks in Orlando. And then on the injury front, two interesting ones. You have this story that came out about Kimball Walker and his knee.

And, you know, you had just talked. talked earlier this week about the Celtics and especially if Tatum is that superstar level player that he was prior to the break that this could be a team really to be reckoned with in the Easter conference. Kemble Walker admitted in a media session that he's pretty frustrated to still be dealing with the left knee issue for four months after the season was suspended. But he says he's, you know, optimistic. that he's going to be able to improve in time for the playoffs. But it's clearly something he is still dealing with.

I mean, if we're this far down the line and he's still bothered by his knee, she's. I mean, he's had three knee surgeries in his career, I believe, maybe four. I mean, he's had knee issues for years now. And look, man, like anytime you're, you're, you have four months off, which was effectively an off season. Yep. I mean, like, I mean, let's just look at it this way, had bought, let's say this a normal year. Boston makes the finals, you know, it's June, four months later is October. It's

been four months off. And if you're still having issues, that suggests that there's a deeper underlying issue still at play here. And this is a guy that's already had multiple knee surgeries on that same exact knee is somebody who is heavily reliant on speed, agility, you know, acceleration, deceleration, the explosiveness near the rim, even if not, as a dunker, but as a small guy, you know, you got to have hops in order to score effectively layups. It's worrisome. It's worrisome for the longevity of his career. It's worrisome for Boston and the short term hair for no doubt about that. Yeah, because they went back and they started playing basketball again and it starts, you know, obviously it starts bothering him again

as soon as they started playing. And like, we're still a couple of weeks away from there playing a game. And he's talking about he's optimistic that it could be good by the playoffs. Like, look, But I get it. I, you know, that's certainly what you want to be true for his sake. That being said, Kev, it's four months. Like, I mean, you're kind of wishing on a star here. If you've been out four months, you went back and played basketball, and it's bothering you and you're saying that you're really frustrated about the whole thing.

And then you're just hoping that, you know, it gets better by the time. The playoffs come around. Like, what are the chances? is it just magically gets better by the time the playoffs come around. If as soon as you got back on it and you're practicing with the team and playing five on five, it's bothering you again. It's just a matter of can you play through it, I think, and then deal with it in the off season. For sure.

And ultimately, this is why, I mean, these seating games from an entertainment perspective aren't necessarily going to be the best, you know, compared to a group stage or other formats that could have used. But for teams like a guy with Kembo Walker, there is very, value in getting him back into a rhythm, getting him back healthy, and using these seeding games like an exhibition game. Like, Boston has incentive to move up to the two seed, you know, but the fact is that number one is making sure Kemba and other guys are at top, tip top shape.

And that's true for, you know, every single team that doesn't need to fight for playoff positioning right away, you know, or fight for the eight seed. But for a team like Boston, I mean, this is, they're going to use these, like, exhibition games for a lot of players. Well, and when I looked at it, I immediately thought like, oh, geez, if he can't go or if he can't go by the time they get into the highest leverage games, I remember, I mean, they got a bunch of these young guys, you know, they've gotten Carson Edwards, they've gotten Tramont Waters. You know, the second round point guards. I mean, you just wonder, I mean, it's probably Marcus Smart. Honestly, Mark a smart point guard and then just rely on the winks.

They don't really have, they don't really have, I mean, Brad Wanamaker. I mean, they don't have the easy Kemba replacement. They've got a plethora of wings, but they don't really have an easy Kemba replacement. And obviously, the ball is going to be in Tatum's hands the most. And you're going to run the offense through him. But just in terms of that position, it's interesting. I guess it would be, I suppose it would probably be smart, you know, and you just play him. Yeah, I mean, but we'll see when that time comes.

for Boston, hopefully Kemba is able to get back healthier, or at least be more healthy than he was towards the end of the year when he was not that good. Okay, the other one was on Tuesday. We talked about this, Kev, with the whole Oladipo stuff. We had said that, we had talked about their ceiling,

and I had said, look, like, there's six teams when Oladipo's in the mix. There's five when Oladipo's not in the mix. And I'm talking about contending for an Easter conference title in my estimation. That being said, there were stories that came out that now he was talking about playing, or there was a strong possibility that he was going to play. And we've gotten more clarity since we last spoke. And I'm not sure it's the greatest situation.

So as the story goes, there was a dispute about his health and salary. After sitting out about a year with a ruptured quadricep tendon above his right knee, he played 13 games before the NBA season. season was shut down. Then when it came time to make a decision on playing in the restart, he said he was sitting out due to an increased injury risk during a quick ramp up to play. However, the league saw the games played and the fact that Oladipo traveled with the team to Orlando and is practicing full speed leading to increased optimism of the play and said that he would be counted as a player not out due to injury. Now, the reason this is significant

is because Oladipo would not get paid for the games in Orlando. And that's 2.8 million if the Pacers got swept in the first round and 3.2 million if they played at least six games. And so I know that, you know, he's come out and said, I'm not even thinking about that. But I don't know how we went from, you know, it feels like there's always a backstory on something like this. Why would a guy say, I'm not playing. I'm not risking it. I don't want to amp back up. You and I worried aloud.

Like, geez, man, I hope he's able to be the same guy. Not unlike the Kemba stuff. It's been four months. Like, he played 13 games. He's been out four months. If he's to the point now where he doesn't feel so strong. I mean, you would think a guy like that comes back and says, I'm past the injury. I'm in the best shape of my life.

This was great for me. Instead, he said, I don't really want to risk this. And so I'm not going to play. and then within a week's time, we've got, you know, there's a strong possibility I'm going to play. And then we find out, even though he says it's not because of the money,

like it's $3 million. And so you've got this dicey situation now, Kev, where it's like if he wasn't sacrificing the money, would he be playing? And I think it stands to reason. Probably not. But once he found out, it would cost him upwards of $3 million if he doesn't play and how the NBA would count him.

That, I mean, geez, obviously it's a catastrophe if something happens to the guy. Sure. But you wonder. You know what I mean? Like he clearly didn't. Especially one year ahead of his next free agency when he did a pay day. Yeah. How much did he trust his body?

And is he doing this because he doesn't want to sacrifice that $3 million, even if he doesn't really trust his body? It's hard to know. You can't get inside his head, but that is certainly a factor that illuminated the whole situation. Sure, no doubt about that. And it's also possible that he did get into practice and he's like, man, I feel way better than I expected.

Maybe I should play. Maybe I should give this an opportunity. And maybe during, again, like during those seating games, which are going to be used as exhibitions for a lot of teams. It's just the truth. At least individual players. If I got like old,

Epo is able to go up there and play 10 minutes, first game, 12 minutes, second game, 15 minutes, third game. 20 minutes fourth game and slowly ramp his way up, maybe it becomes the type of thing where come playoff time, he's like, okay, I can go. Or maybe at that point he says, you know what,

it's in my best interest not to. I could see that happening for a player too, whether it's Victor Oladipo or somebody else who might be dealing with something that we don't know about or even a guy like him, but might go and be like, you know what, I'm just not there. I'm not there.

We don't know. But for Oladipo, regardless of what the situation is, I mean, if he steps on that, court. I hope like hell he's able to say healthy, man. Yeah. And we talked about this when when it was opined, would anybody leave? And JJ Reddick and them discussed it on the podcast and set a number on it. And I said, I do think one of the, one of the underrated things in all this

is once you're in that bubble and once you're literally only around the guys, like there's a peer pressure there. There just is. And so when Oliva Depot went there, it could for sure be a situation where he got there. He started practicing. And like you say, he felt a lot better. It could also be the situation where you're there. And guys are like, come on, man. Right?

Like, we need you. Like, we can take a run at this thing. The peer pressure aspect. Yes, yeah. Their peer pressure involved in that. I mean, if you're around the guys and that's the only people you're around and that's who you're talking to every day, it's hard to just say, I'm out of here.

See you guys. You know what I mean? Like, I'll see you next season. Everybody's like, what the hell, man? Right?

So the fact, it's easier to do that if you don't go at all. Once you're there, it's hard. There's a story posted and forgive me. I'm not sure who wrote it or where it was posted. I just kind of saw it scrolling through Twitter this morning. And someone talked about playing pickup basketball for the first time in like four months.

And in the tweet, it was just like you step on the court and you can't resist the urge when someone says, how you want to play. Yeah. So it's like, you know, at Disney World and you have your whole team, your opponents are in the same hotel

and you're like, geez, how can I resist playing? Right. And so that may be the situation he's in and let's just hope he makes it through. Healthy, if he is healthy, Victor Oladipo, that's a totally different team. It just is. And they're a team that can really put the fear of God in somebody in the first or second round possibly. They have outperformed all season.

They have been better than we thought they were going to be all year. And for a lot of the season, and they were sitting in like a home court advantage slot, for God's sakes. So they've had guys that greatly improved. They did a good job at free agency. You know, they got the guys like the Jeremy Lambs and the T.J. Warrens and the T.J. McConnells of the world and guys that have helped them and certainly help them get by. And they have, they have withstood what we would have thought, killer injury and come out, you know, on the other side.

McMillan's done a really good job with that team. And so like I told you on Tuesday, you bring Oladipo and Brogden to the party as your back court. There's no picnic for any of these teams. Could they beat the Bucks second round? Let's say they win their first round matchup regardless of who it's against. They face Milwaukee in that second round series. Milwaukee, let's just say no variables of play. Nobody tests positive for COVID.

They're healthy. Can Indiana beat Milwaukee in a seven game series with Oladipo at 100% with Brognan at 100%. This is what I would say. No. But I do think that we could have six, seven games. You know what I'm saying? I do think that they would put up a fight against that team. They're not, they're not Milwaukee level.

Does Milwaukee just need to have a bad shooting series? They just don't have the great Janus matchup. I know they've got the big guys, but they don't have somebody or some buddies that can slow him down a lot, I don't think. And that's what makes Philly interesting. Yeah, right. Because Philly has the bodies. They're all seven foot tall.

Yeah, they can throw Horford at you. They can throw Horford at you. They can throw and beat at Yanis. Yes. They have those big bodies and met multiple of them. Yes. That can at least, you know, go out there and try to survive. And you're right. In Indiana doesn't have those quite as much.

Even Miami. Miami is a team that I would be scared of when it comes playoff time because we'll see what some of these older guys look like. But you're talking about. all these guys taking turns, whether it's Bam, obviously, but Banamabaio and Andre Aguadala and Jay Crowder and Jimmy Butler. I mean, you've got, you got all manner of interchangeable

tough wing guys that can at least log minutes. That can be a group thing in dealing with him. Did you see that story reported by Chris Ains earlier this week? I believe it was after the Tuesday show, that Jimmy Butler was bouncing the ball in this hotel room but late at night

and someone called about it had a noise complaint and then Jimmy Butler opens the door he was just drenched and sweat dribbling the ball is that not the most Jimmy Butler story of all time the most Jimmy Butler story

he called the hotel and he made a noise complaint himself right I don't think so I don't think so I do think that probably look full jersey and sweat it is the most Jimmy Butler thing but if it were me

and I had the room underneath him I would be going insane oh yeah I mean that is the most annoying that would be the most annoying thing ever if I happen to be in the room underneath him you know and I'm just trying to cool out I would that is one

I get it it's a hilarious story it shows the work Catholic, everything else. That being said, I don't view that as snitching. I don't view that as... Oh, no. That's not... That is anybody in the free world.

If somebody was dribbling a basketball in the room above you, you're calling the hotline to be like, dude, stop. I get, come on. I can't live like this. So annoying. But, but for, you know, for Miami this year, though, I mean, like, people do forget that Jimmy Butler was a bucket in the postseason last year. He was really good for Philly.

I mean, that team had its own share of problems, but they were still right there, you know, with Toronto, you know, before losing that series. And Jimmy Butler was a big reason why. And so from Miami, they have that defensive versatility. They have shooting on offense and they have a go-to-scoring presence, a guy who can create his own shot at a high level in Jimmy Butler. Well, and with Embed with Embeddeed, sometimes in, sometimes out.

Simmons is in the dunker spot. I mean, those games came down to Jimmy versus Kauai. And the great forgotten thing is Kauai hit that shot. Jimmy Butler almost single-handedly won that thing for them. Like he is, when push comes to shove and you're in the last two minutes of a playoff game, I want him. Like he is the guy that will do everything in his power to try to win that basketball game on both ends of the court. And so Butler's got his flaws. And I mean,

sure. He's like a third tier star or something like that. No, he's not. No, he's not. No, whatever. We want to put him second tier,

third tier. We're talking semantics here. But, you know, he's like a top 20 player. He affects winning. And a lot of the people player. Top 20 player.

I'm not saying third tier is some shot or whatever. He's a great player. But for Jimmy Butler, it's the type of thing with this, this Miami team is better suited for him in a playoff situation because of the shooting they have around him, which Philly didn't have. Well, I saw all those projections that Kevin Pelton on ESPN did earlier this week. He has it projected if it played out to form.

And it's not, you know, a lock or anything. But the way it was projected was Miami-Philly first round. Oh, my God. Could you imagine? And either of them feeding into Milwaukee is just an epic series, right? But that you would have Jimmy Butler versus Phil. the team he left? Holy mackerel.

The drama, I mean, and it's so weird because him and Embedes seem like buddies still, you know? Yeah. And who knows? You probably have Jimmy Butler trying to recruit him the whole time, knowing him.

They're already recruiting, yonis. Here's a big story that I feel like went along the wayside. It is not necessarily involved with the bubble or the teams that are there, but I want to get your perspective on this because you have been covering the draft for a long, long time.

And I felt like it was a headline that just kind of passed over. And that is about this Jonathan Cuminga, who is a five-star player. His brother played at Texas Tech. So kind of everybody thought if he didn't go to the G League route, he was going to go to Texas Tech and play. But, I mean, the other teams that were in on him were a Hoosoo. It's Auburn, it's Duke, it's Kentucky.

He is number one or certainly one of the highest ranked players in all of the different recruiting services. He announced this week, since we last spoke, that he is going the G League route. He is projected right now in the ESPN 2021 mock draft for what that's worth as a top five pick in that draft. and he now is deciding he's going the G League route. And so it was reported the number one player in the 2021 class. Okay. So here's what I'm thinking. We've got this year, you already had Jalen Green, who was the best player in the class

by most people's account. DeShine Nix, who was the five-star point guard that was going to UCLA, he decommitted and said he was going to the G-League route. you have, and he's like a top 20 player, Isaiah Todd, who was a like top 20 player, is going. And then there was another kid, Kai Soto, who is going. So there was four this year, okay, we're about to do a draft where Lamello Ball and R.J. Hampton were at the very top, you know, and they both went. The G League route wasn't there. They both went and played overseas.

So you got this year where possibly the number one pick of the draft was a high school kid that didn't play. college. You'll have next year that is absolutely a possibility, especially with these kids, I'll go to the G league. The next year, we already have the number one player saying that he's going to the G league. And then it stands to reason, Kev. I know this. The next year after that, it's I'mani Bates. And I know we already said he's going to Michigan State, but I mean, what are the chances that kid? You know, at that point, you can go straight to the pro. We'll see. Here's the fascinating.

No guarantee that rule will change for 2020. But it could. But it could. And even if it doesn't, I think now, like when you've already got the, you know, the next year guys and the best player in the class saying I'm not going to college, like to me, this is extremely significant. I don't know that about it. I mean, and this changes everything. If now, you know, these guys that. signed up this year, they didn't even know what the hell they were signing up for.

And they did it. Well, now, and who knows how it's all going to play out? Because the G league's not, I mean, they're not finishing their season. And who knows what's going to happen next year with them trying to put one together, much like the NBA. But if you've already got, you know, feasibly the four best high school players for successive years in a row, it teams are guys in succession not going, to play college basketball.

I just thought that this kind of like, you know, kind of went by without much conversation or anything. But to me, it was, okay, is this just a one-off thing where Jalen Green and these kids are going to do this? Or is this going to be a sign of a lot of kids doing this in the future? And when you've got the number one ranked kid already doing it, you know, and he doesn't even know what it's like. He don't even know if Jalen Green and them are going to like it.

He knows he knows he's getting paid. Yeah. But I mean, he doesn't know. Like we've said. I should make that clear paid legally. Yes. We have said how does this affect their, how does this affect their draft stock by playing there, right? Well, I mean, you don't think Cade Cunningham wishes he would have gone?

I mean, he's going to go play at Oklahoma State with no chance to play in the NCAA tournament. I mean, he might not even play a single college basketball game. He might not. What happens with collegiate sports? We don't know. But, you know, for all these guys, it is certainly leading towards the NBA just changing the rules and allowing these guys to go straight from preps to pros as it was before. And I mean, we're heading down that path already. The fascinating part is that like we're having these guys do this already, even before the rule changes.

And I do wonder if last year, you know, with Lamello and RJ Hampton doing it. And this year, you have all these guys, top guys doing. And I do wonder if more and more could potentially do it for the following draft and the draft of that after that depending on. Look, there's a certain amount of guys that should go straight from high school to the NBA and the certain guys that shouldn't, you know, where like they could, they would be better off playing one year elsewhere. That G league path is still going to exist. And there's a certain type of player that they may be more better off taking that route rather than entering their name into the draft one way. I do wonder when the rule changes, if it changes, if we're still going to see guys choose the Jalen Green path,

the Cumminga path. And I wouldn't be shocked if we do. A Jalen Green level player wouldn't. He would go straight to the draft. But there's a level below that some of those other guys you mentioned, like an Isaiah Todd where that G-League path could be a lot better for them. Well, here's the other thing. Let's say now that this is going so successfully,

are you less motivated if you are the NBA? to put that rule in. Because now you're bolstering this for business. You're saying, you know what? The best players in the country, we'll get them all every year. I mean, it is, it's just like recruiting, you know, where, and now instead of a kid going to Kentucky or Duke or wherever, that's the path they're going. And so there's no reason.

Like, A, you get that year of maturity and you get them under. the NBA heading earlier. And we get rid of the, you know, the sham in many cases that it is to put kids on a college campus for six months, right, to play college basketball. And, I mean, college basketball is so frigging dirty. It's unbelievable. Most of which you're having to do all kinds of deals in order to get these players on your campus in the first place.

So the NBA just says, you know what? we don't have to make the rule change about going straight to the pro. We've got this alternative for you where you're going to make a lot of money for a year and you're under our umbrella for a year. And you get to live in Los Angeles. Right. I'm just saying that's also another nice incentive. Well, maybe it gets bigger.

You know what I'm saying? Maybe that's what grows from this. And all of a sudden, that's, if you wanted to make the G League amazing, let him get let him get drafted to the G-League you know what I'm saying? Something that's been brought up to me over the years like when there's been conversation

about this rule changing or having a G-League team just for prospects how much is lost from players not getting big game experience at a call for a college basketball team like what does it mean when you're not playing that UNC you know primetime game against Duke

at home? I think it's very I know what I mean? Very, like how? What's lost there? Very beneficial to a majority of players. But I would say with the elite level players, I would hold up and I would say, you think it affected Kobe? You think it affected Garnett? You think it, I mean, how much did they need?

That is something that traditional. I agree. I agree. I agree. I agree. college basketball lovers say, but the truth is, did that affect them? Did that really alter their progress? I mean, Dwight Howard. These are like Hall of Fame players. You know what I mean? Like, they don't need to play in a Duke Carolina game. It's, you know, in fairness, because I was

one when all the Lucas stuff was going up, but people were saying, you know, and were made fun of rightfully about like, oh, does he really need to play against Duke to prove to you, whatever. Now, he was playing against professional kids, but in, you know, Jalen Green is going to be playing professionally and Lamello Ball and R.J. Hampton just did. Yes, it's not NBA level competition, but they

did play against grown men in the leagues that they're playing. I think what's most valuable is playing against people who are better than you. Yeah. Probably. People who are at least better athletes. And the G. League experience for some of these guys will be that. Yeah. They'll get to play. I mean, apparently they'll get to

play other G league teams or against other academies, you know, maybe the NBA could work something. Or did they face an NBA team in preseason? I don't know. You can always work that out in the future. But I do think that aspect of like what is lost with them not playing, you know, big college basketball games is a bit overblown because they play big high school games too. Big AAU games. You know, there's games that they've played in their life that have had importance. I think what has lost mostly is for the NBA. From a scouting perspective for league executives, they want to have what they're used to. They want I have, you know, this format that is something that has been the same for many years.

And now this is a new variable that's hard to account for from a I-test perspective, but also from a analytics perspective, too. It is more difficult to get an assessment with this is a new variable here. And let me say this. As I've been around NBA teams for a long, long time now, and I've seen all manner of different kids come in after their freshman year. Kevin, there is a massive, massive difference nowadays with the maturity of these guys, 19 and 20. They are so much more mature than I ever was.

Like, I think back, sometimes I will be talking to a Jaron Jackson or a John Morant or whatever. And I think about all the things that they're dealing with and the family and all the everything, you know, people asking for tickets and all this kind of stuff. and the life that they have. And I cannot believe that they are 20 years old. They can't even get into a bar yet. Like, I mean, I was still in college at this time. And the kids are so much more mature. They just are than they used to be even five, ten years ago.

Like, they're so much more prepared for this. And they are so much, even when you hear Zion talk and you hear R.J. Barrett talk. I mean, these kids that come in the league now, it, I don't know. I felt like sometimes. Why do you think that is? Why do you think that is?

You've been in sports media way longer than me. So I'm curious about your perspective there because it's true. And everybody, everybody you talk to whether it's a coach, executive or another player, everybody says that. I think. So why, though? I think that, and this is just my opinion and I haven't done the research on this.

Part of it is the connection with other people for so long. part of it is that they are identified so young. The great ones are identified so young that they are used to having a microphone in their face all the time. Even from the time they're 15 years old. Like when Imani Bates goes and gets drafted, he will have done 700,000 interviews. The other thing is, a lot of it can be, it can be daunting to be on camera or to be around a microphone. These kids, they grow up on a camera and a microphone like they do. They're not, it's not weird to be on camera.

I mean, I remember even five years, 10 years ago, if you put a camera in a guy's face, sometimes they'd freeze up. If you put a microphone in front of them, sometimes they'd freeze up. That's just not so. They don't anymore. And the other thing I would say, at least in my experience, is there are so many of these that have so many of these guys,

the young players that come in the NBA, that have unbelievable family structure, parents. I think there has just been so much education about all of the dangers that they can have and the people around them and everything else that you see so many families more involved. That's what I would say. I think families are more involved

than they have ever been before. And I do think that they are, you have a whole generation of people raising kids to be great men. I mean, I can, I'll tell you this. And I don't know how many people know this.

Okay, so, like, Jared Jackson's parents live by me. They live here. They're in town. John Morant lives with his parents. Like, at home. Like, they bought a house, and they live at the house with them.

And Jaron's parents are like, I don't know, probably a mile and a half from where he just got a place. And I've seen a lot of families now be with the kids when they get drafted. And they've got that structure. So it's not 19 in an apartment by myself and by two best friends from high school or college come and live with me. And now I'm getting into stuff and maybe they're bad influence.

Like I just, I feel like that's happened a lot. And I mean, you know, I've been in the AAU thing. I was at an AAU tournament a couple months ago. I mean, it is, there ain't a parent there that ain't massively involved with those kids. You know, you just see so many, it feels like a lot more adults are invested, you know, than they were before. And so I don't know all the reasons, but that would be some of them for sure. They're just more mature. Undoubtedly, it's more than one reason.

It's many of them together. and entering the league, I can't imagine what that's like at 18, 19, 20 years old. I just, I mean, I'm pretty good at putting myself in the shoes of others, but I have a hard time imagining when it's like to suddenly become a millionaire, to suddenly have so many people asking for tickets, asking for money, the stress of being, you know, under the spotlight right away like that. I can't imagine what that's like. It's such a formative age in your life.

And to see so many guys, you know, kids, you know, enter the league and handle it as well as they do and to become the great people that they do. The influential people that they do is I mean, honestly, really inspiring to see. It's just a league. It's a collection of so many great people. Yep. And there's not that many, like, I mean, like, geez, I'd have to go all the way back. Like, it's been a more recent trend with the families, you know, being involved, even their rookie year. Powell, when he got drafted, his parents moved from Spain and they were around. But a lot of these kids, they're out on their own immediately. And I just think that, you know, now, I don't know, I think they've got so much more guidance than ever before. And they're just so much more grown

up. They really are. More than me when I was 19. That's for sure. Man, I cannot imagine. I can't imagine. Come about things real quick. You wrote this article. I want to alert everybody to go read it. You're running through the teams that are at the bubble. And I'm not going to going to go through it, team by team, but I do want to ask you about one certain thing that I read.

No, no, it's not bad. Oh, no, it's not bad. Okay. It's not bad. No, I was reading through all the teams. Obviously,

the Grizzlies ranking is ridiculous, but. Oh, that's what I was getting. That's what I was laughing about. I'm kidding with you. I did that just for you. It was actually, this is what I wanted to ask you about.

It was actually, weirdly, in the Spurs thing. Because I wanted to, and nobody out, there people when I say this are going to be like who the hell cares but you mentioned him so i do want to ask about it and it was in reference to you stall young players by them not getting the minutes and the opportunity that they would get if they were in a different situation but if they're playing

behind demar de rosa's shooting guard if they're playing behind lamarcus aldridge it can stall them and you brought up one guy who's going to be a free agent in the not too distance future and that's yacup portal who was part of the big trade and you mentioned him and I wanted to ask you this, do you think Portal is more like Tiago Splitter who was there, you know, people had a high opinion of.

He obviously went over to Bud in Atlanta. We frankly never heard of the guy again, right? But you could have argued if he was in a different situation and not with Tim Duncan and the group, he would have played more, right? Or is he more Davis' birth, where we could look up,

somebody ends up with Yacup Portal, and we go, well, geez, they should have kept him, you know what I mean? Like, why did they, why did they let this guy walk? And so- He's more Bertons. He is. You could see a situation where Portal

ends up becoming a walking Spurs mistake. Like, he walks, and he shows up somewhere else, and we go, boy, they should have might have kept him. I mean, in fact, I mean, just to give a little context of why, we're talking about Jacob Pertil in the in the in the in the in the power rankings, uh,

you know, I'm re-ranking all the teams ahead of right. You know, the restart and with the spurs by blurb in there is about how all dros out after shoulder shoulder surgery, which means Jacob Pertil is now finally going to get his opportunity to get, you know, over 20 minutes per game.

You would think and, you know, recently he said in a translated interview with the Austrian press agency, he said, quote, I don't know if that's an optimal situation for me another year. would be interested to look at at least a few other options and maybe find something that fits the concept better. I'm going into my fifth year in the NBA. I'm not saying now that from the start I expected to play 30 minutes in my fifth year, but I expected progress every year, end quote. And he went from playing 19 minutes per game with the Raptors in his final season to playing

16.6 minutes per game the last two years with San Antonio. So his numbers have dipped, despite the fact, he has gotten better as a player. He's gotten better on the defensive end of the floor. He's continued to enhance his offense. I mean, he's a really good passer for a big man, really good screener, good finisher around the rim. I mean, I would love to see him with a downhill pick and roll playmaker

and see what he can do in the pick and roll. I mean, Pertil's a good two-way player. And the fact is, is that his numbers have dropped. And so for San Antonio, Aldridge out now, you would think he's going to get more opportunity. So will he be a guy that's one of those under the radar free agents that someone scoops from the spurs?

Or are they going to find out, hey, man, like, we get trade Aldridge and go young here, go with the youth movement. Because they have a lot of young talent on their team, like the Lonnie Walker's of the world in the back court and then Perthal on the front court. The reason I wanted to ask you about that is honestly, just totally in reference to the Bertons thing. Because it just happened. It just happened.

And now I'm reading your article and I'm like, damn, man, they got another one. Like, you know what I mean? Like, it's kind of stuck. And like, because Bertons, he blew up this year. like he was a he was a spur and people you know thought you know he's in the spur system and we'll see if we ever hear from him again and not only did you hear from him in retrospect this guy's going to get he's going to get paid a fortune he's going to get wildly i think he's going to get wildly overpaid but good for him i just get frustrated watching the spurs sometimes i mean i wrote a story about them during the season about how they kind of have one foot in the past one foot in the future you know the past with the way they play with alderj and errant of rosen and and And it's fun to watch those guys play because it's a reminder of what the game once was. But then you watch their bench units, you know, with, you know, Derek White out there,

Patty Mills, No Aldridge. And they move the ball around, shoot a lot of threes. They play more of a progressive style. And I get frustrated overall, though, because it's like, we've seen Derek White and DeJante Murray play only around 140 minutes together all season long. And those are their two young, really nice point cards. And maybe you play those guys together and they don't score enough points because, neither of them are great scores, but I would love to see what they can be in the defensive end too, high-end defensive players at the guard spot.

We didn't see that, and that's because you're giving minutes to DeBarna Rosen. You have them on your roster. And you can't just not play to Rosen. You can't just trade him away when there's probably not much of a market for him, which there isn't. San Antonio is in a great spot with their youth, but they're also in a tough spot with Aldridge, with DeRosen, and not much interest. out there for either guy, considering their age and considering their salary. So for San Antonio,

I look forward to seeing what they can do without Aldrich, who is their best player, but the way in which they play when he's not on the court is also highly effective. So I, I wouldn't rule them out and winning some games here and maybe grabbing that nine seat and having a chance against Memphis. I just can't rule that out. That's why I put them in the group, like the the West best for the eight seed along with Portland and New Orleans. The other thing that stood out to me, Kev, was those Lillard numbers with Nerkich on the court. Dude. Those are startling. They are startlingly great. Like, it is a radically, like, it's one of those things where if you watch them, you know, they miss Nerkich. But when you see the numbers of what Lillard on the court would Nirkich net to you, it's, it's shocking. that like that the numbers are what they are because that is that that that's not the numbers of a good

team that is the numbers of a great basketball team and a team that frankly made the Western conference finals last year so this season Lillard you know this is the bull the trailblazers with Lillard on the floor without Nurchich which is every minute this season because NERCHAs hasn't played right they outscore teams by 1.3 points per 100 possessions last season with NERCich uh off the court with Lillard on the court they outscored teams by 1.9 points for 100 possessions. Pretty much the equivalent of this season. You know, a solid team above average, which is what they've been with

Lillard. However, with Lillard and Nurchich on the court last season, they outscored teams by 10.8 points for 100 possessions. They were dominant. And especially their defense was way better. Their offense was slightly better, too. And that's because of what Nurgich is on both ends of the floor. He's not a star player.

He doesn't have a big name like Joel Embed, or Nicolaeokic at the big man position. but he had in those final months with Portland turned into a really, really great center. And somebody who does things to go beyond the box score with his screening ability, with his quick decision making as a passer, he's somebody who became a very good interior scorer for Lillard as a target in the pick and roll,

made Lillard even better in the pick and roll. And just the nasty, I mean, he brought attitude to the court with his rebound and boxing out, just they miss a lot of their personality without NERC and bringing him back. I mean, now you look at that bubble race, New Orleans, we'll see if Zion gets back. You know, San Antonio, I mean, without Aldridge,

Portland suddenly would Nirkage back and Zach Collins back. Are they, are they the favorite to get that nine seed right now? I mean, already are, they are statistically. They win any tiebreaker because they've played more games. So statistically, they have that edge. they have a harder schedule than some of the other teams. But with Nurkich back, are they the favorite for that 9th scene?

Are they the team that you fear most, Chris? If it's Nurkijan Collins, yeah, I could see them. I could see them tearing off. Do you fear them more than New Orleans? Like if Memphis is playing in a postseason playing tournament series, one or two games against Portland, New Orleans, San Antonio, Sacramento,

it's weird. Do you fear Paul and most? The actual matchup, the I you know you got to play them I I would say the pelicans I I yeah because yeah the grizzlies they've got you know for for Nerkitz they have Balantunus right and John Morant goes right after Damia Lillard and they've got they've got guys that can match up with that team and the other thing is you know they're going to probably play Carmelo big minutes on the wing and who knows how You know, that may negate the Nerkich being back.

I hate to say that, but sorry. The Pelicans have beat the shit out of the Grizzlies. They played them twice. They got killed. Like, it was not pretty. And so I have to say that. I mean, that's only- Pelicans went four and over against Portland, too.

Yeah, yeah. That's the only thing. I mean, so I've seen them play that team twice, and it was a disaster. I mean, they played them on national TV on Martin Luther King Day and got smoked. And so it's, just like that. And that's,

that was without Zion. You know what I'm saying? Like, and then they played him with Zion. It got beat up pretty bad too. And so they've just gotten beat by that team. And so I feel like the matchup is actually,

while I think Portland with Nurkich might be the better team, just in terms of if you got to play them in a play in, um, I have no evidence, right? That, I mean, you got to,

you got, they're going to play each other in the first eight games, actually. that's one of the games that's going to get played. Those games are going to be fun. Oh, for sure. But, I mean, those are big numbers. To your point about the whole plus 10.8, just to put that in the context,

look, Milwaukee has a plus 11.2 point differential this year. No one else is above eight for the season. So when I say those are the numbers of an elite team, Lillard with Narkich on the court, those are the numbers of an elite team, like a high 50s 60 win basketball team. I mean, like I just said, Milwaukee, they're the only one with a double-digit point differential this season. So, I mean, we'll see.

And they haven't played together all season. So we'll see what NERCIT looks like. And if it does net you the same kind of results as it did last season. Let's get to a couple of these mailbag questions before we get out of here today. What we got, Bobby? Perfect transition. First question is from Matthew. I believe that the Bucks are easily the championship favorite this year with the comical 11.2 point differential

and the MVP and defensive player are the year favorite in Yannis, just like you mentioned with the point differential, Chris. Still, I feel like the media and in my own conversations with people, I only hear the Lakers or Clippers pitched as title favorites. My question is, if this is just classic L.A. bias, or if there is a serious argument against the Bucks that I am missing? Okay, there's, I'll keep my answer short. yes, there is LA bias, of course. And it's just big city bias, right? When you're in a small market versus when you're in a big market, there's a lot more people talking about you.

And when you are where the jump is filmed, of course, there's going to be a lot more talk about you. And when you have big superstars, as those teams do, and even famous coaches, especially in the case of Doc Rivers, that being said, look, you have to win something. That's it. You have to win something. Like, yes, you have to earn your benefit of the doubt and the credit.

And the reason that they are not being talked about is the favorites is because it's not like it's, you know, some group of goofies that people are saying are going to be better than the bucks. It's LeBron and Anthony Davis. And then Kauai, who's won titles in two different situations. And so those teams, we've seen them. do it at the highest level. You got to win in Easter Conference finals and prove that.

Get through that gauntlet, which they didn't last year. They lost to Kauai. So you can't be favored. I don't know. I don't think that, I don't think it's unreasonable, and I don't think it's just because they're in Los Angeles

that people are not considering them the favorite overall. I think it's that those two teams have guys that have delivered when it mattered most. And so that's always going to get the benefit of the doubt. Sure. And I think there's also an element here that Toronto and Boston both can't be overlooked here as teams that are threats to Milwaukee. So I think part of the reason why some people look at Milwaukee is maybe a level below

the LA teams for winning the finals is because Toronto and Boston are arguably closer to Milwaukee than some of the other teams in the West are to the Clippers and the Lakers. So from a competition standpoint, Toronto was a team that has used, you know, 14 different starting lineups this year, is that over 200 total games missed has not really totally been healthy. Boston, we talked about Kemba being out earlier. They've had a lot of other guys that have been in and out of the lineup as well. You know, we don't know what that team looks like at full strength with Tatum being the 30 point per game score that he looked like he was turning into being. And with Toronto, look, man, I don't, I did this in the video last week, but it needs to be said again,

like you can't underrate the possibility that guys got better. And that's true for Milwaukee too. But for someone like Siakam, who has gotten dramatically better each year, Fred Van Vleet, who got way better this year, how many guys are coming back from that Toronto squad, young players who are better again? This is, this is, you know, the 2019-20 season part two here. This is not, you know, restarting things in March.

This is July. And you can't rule out improvement from some of those teams that could close the gap on the bucks and not to mention last year in that game, seven against Toronto. Yannas, you know, they did a good job against Timmy. He shot, you know, seven of 16, seven of 18 from the floor, five of ten from the free throw line. Yonis hasn't gotten over that hump

that Chris is alluding to that some of those other star players have. Well, it's all those reasons why. And while he is star of stars, Chris Middleton could walk down almost any street in America wearing his, I mean, unless he was wearing his jersey, nobody would stop him and ask him for an autograph. He's just not. He's not.

Like, and that's part of why people... You're talking from like a perception standpoint. Yeah, he's not famous. He's a great player. He's not famous. People don't know the bucks like they do these other teams. Part of that's because they're on TV all time and they get talked about all time. I get that.

But he's not famous. All right. We got a question about those challengers in the West, Kev. This comes from Jacob. Everyone is talking about the Rockets being a threat to beating the Lakers. I don't know if everybody is talking about that, but we'll run with it. Darry. Am I crazy to think.

Shout out to Sean Yu. But am I crazy to think that the Thunder have a better chance of sneaking past them in the second round if the standing stay the way they are today? OKC three point guard lineup has been deadly this year and they have the best records since Thanksgiving. I don't think you're crazy. I don't think you're crazy at all. I mean, again, this is an interesting circumstances here. You're talking about Chris Paul, a guy that has struggled to stay healthy in past postseason runs. But how valuable is it to look back?

at the past here when those April May runs for him were following an 82 game season and now he has a break and things are restarting in late July. Maybe Chris Paul is more healthy than ever for a postseason run. I don't think it's crazy.

I would say Houston has higher upside because of their style of play with all the shooting and all that. OKC is probably the safer bit. But ultimately, man, like this is what my video is about this week on the restart, which you could watch on the Ringer's YouTube channel.

It was talking about NBA final sleepers. And, you know, we, we did deep dives on Toronto and on Dallas. But there's any number of teams that you can look at and make a case for. And with OKC, their three-guard lineup is freaking awesome and fun to watch. With Roberson getting back, I do wonder how that's going to help their defense. But I also wonder how that could hurt their offense, too. These teams need a lot to break right for them. I'd pick Houston over OKC, though.

I would love to see it. Love to see that. And here's the thing. You've got to remember. Paul, he's been as good, if not the best, clutch player in the entire NBA this year. Like, that's real. And you know, playoff games, they're nip-tuck.

It's 92 to 92. There's a minute and a half left. Like, dude, I want him on my team. I just do, you know. And he has delivered this year as much as he has delivered since, like, honestly, like since probably, He was in New Orleans where it was just like his, that feels like his team. He's going to decide that game.

And so, boy, I'd like to have him in my foxhole. Paul has just been unbelievable. You've seen it so many times this season. He gets to his spot or he runs that pick and roll and kicks out to an open shooter. They don't have probably enough firepower, but I think they're going to put the fear of God in somebody for sure. That's a hold to me back because I'm not sure they have enough of enough weapons. to really win in a series. But they're a really damn good team.

I mean, don't get me wrong. I just don't see the firepower there that a team like Houston has or Dallas has. If you had to pick one non-L.A. team to come out of the West and say you win a million dollars if they win the West. Which team are you guys going with? Jesus. I'm just kidding. I mean, look, Utah at the very beginning of the season, everybody was high on. They never really totally put it all together.

and now they don't have Bogdanovich. So that's out for me. Denver, I mean, I want to see New Yorkich. They're mega deep. And I also think that they would have a real advantage getting to play home games. Now that they're on a neutral, I kind of feel like a little bit of their advantage

in a playoff series is mitigated. Did you watch my video this week, Chris? I'm curious about what your thoughts on Dallas. Okay. Because I would pick Houston of those other teams. because of their upside. But Dallas, to me, is underrated here. The thing that worries me about Dallas,

it's almost the inverse of Oklahoma City. Okay? So Oklahoma City started out, and it just wasn't like, you know, they were more of like a 500 team a little under for quite a while, right? At the beginning of the season, the first six weeks of the season.

And then they flipped up, have this amazing record post- Thanksgiving. Nobody really notices, but they've had this great record since Thanksgiving. And the opposite is true of Dallas. They started out like a house of fire. They built this massive,

they stored all of these wins. They've been close to a 500 team for a long time now. And I know that Luca was out for part of that. But which are they? Are they closer to the team that started out amazing? Are they closer to the team that played like 500 basketball for the last couple of months? and not knowing it's probably somewhere in the middle of that. They're probably not as good as they were at the beginning of the season.

They're probably not as bad as they played the last couple of months of the season. But just given that we've got such an extended sample size of them playing 500 basketball for the last couple of months, I, you know, and I also think the teams take their lumps. And so it'll be their first time through it. I might say Oklahoma City. I'm serious. I might. You know, they got guys with, they.

they got guys with experience. Stephen Adams has been in a lot of big games, and Chris Paul's obviously been in a lot of big games. I do think that three-guard lineup brings something weird to you. I mean, I don't, again, you're making me, I don't see, I have a hard time finding a scenario where those two aren't in it. But it, so my choice would be Oklahoma City or Houston, for sure. Just because Houston, one night they're going to shoot 12 of 50 from three,

and they're going to lose probably by a lot. And then the next night they're going to hit 23 of 50, and they're going to win by a lot. And so everything can be so random outcome-wise with them that I, everything can be so random that obviously you have to give them a puncher's chance in any series that they could do it four times. I guess, yeah, I'd say Oklahoma City or Houston, and I guess I'd fall on the Oklahoma City side just because I trust Chris Paul more than I do James Harden. Either we have a lot of listeners in Portland or we have a lot of Damian Lillard fans or we have a lot of people who listen to Chris Haynes on the Bill Simmons podcast say that you should worry about Portland coming out of the West. Because a lot of people emailed us with that very same theory that Dame motivated, Nirkage coming back. I don't know, Zach Collins, who everybody loves on NBA Twitter. I wouldn't.

I wouldn't either. I wouldn't rule it out. I think they could really make it an interesting series of the Lakers. I don't think they'd beat him. I wouldn't pick them. but it wouldn't shock me if that went six. If Nurgertz is back to being the guy that we saw last three months in 2019 before we got hurt,

you can't rule out the possibility that they would give the Lakers hell in a series. Well, because, Kevin, you know that we all accept this. Portland wasn't good this year because of injury. Nothing else is the reason. Like, they didn't get a new coach. They didn't like all of a sudden have some. guy regress a lot.

They just, you know, like, hey, they didn't hate each other. They don't hate each other. Like, they got a good culture going there. They weren't good this year because they got banged up badly. And so we all freely admit, if they would not have gotten banged up badly, look, we're a year removed from them being in the West Finals, for God's sakes. It's a good basketball team that probably would have had a lot of wins this year if they weren't injured.

So it stands to reason. If they're uninjured, we'd think they'd be really good. Why wouldn't they be really good? They've never not been really good when they've had their guys. All right, we got time for a few more here. This one comes from Jacob, I think a different Jacob. With everything going on with the Nets and Wizards, just losing Bradley Beale,

y'all have talked about those not being entertaining games. So I was wondering if you could replace one of those teams with an team outside of the bubble, which team would you choose and why? the Hawks with Trey probably yeah that's a good question the team from outside of the bubble

that you would put in oh Golden State I mean is stuff going to play yeah yeah I'm assuming he's playing so I'm assuming if he if he's playing sure yeah that's why but if not if not it's Atlanta for me

I got you know because that well who else you're going to pick the Hornet I mean I'm I mean Minnesota I'd love the watch too. I can't believe you're not saying... How are you not saying Cleveland so you can see Larry Names? I mean, they'd be my third choice. By the way, we're really only picking Easter conference teas because unless we're going to pick

the T-wolves of the Warriors, we've got to pick, like, they're the only ones that aren't there in the Western Conference. And so I would say, look, I saw Steph playing golf last weekend on TV, so I assume he's, he's just fine. he could be playing basketball and so if I if Steph Curry was in the lineup then for sure I'd want the Warriors

there because again they're only playing spoiler if they show up and so that's who I'd choose for sure all right this question is from Hunter recently the future Hall of Fame Guard slash forward Vince Carter announced his retirement my question is

should the Lakers try to buy out Vince from the Hawks and sign him for the playoffs it would be his last chance at a championship and it would be such a great story What do you think about ringer, ringer co-worker Vince Carter going to the Lakers? I've talked to him about this a lot. You know,

I got to know him in the three years he was here, one of my absolute favorites. He's not doing that. I mean, he could have chased at the end. He could have chased. I know. He signed like three straight one-year deals with the Hawks.

Like, he clearly had the opportunity to do that. He didn't want to do that. He didn't want to be a token non-contributor at the end of the bench. You know? And like he did, that's not. That's not what he wanted.

Like at the end of the day, you look up and you go, oh, he won a championship. McGrady was really close. You know, they did that. He played over in, like, China, and then the Spurs signed him the year that, I think it was the year of the Ray Allen shot. He was actually on that team on the bench. But, I mean, would anybody introduce Tracy McGrady as NBA champion, Tracy McGrady? Like, I don't think there's something that bothers those competitive guys like that

to where you would say NBA champion. Vince Carter. Like, really? Okay. Yeah. And especially if he wasn't on the team the whole year, no way would he just latch on to try to win a cheap ring. No way.

That's just not Vince. He'd rather not have it than have it that way. All right, guys. Let's close with some more geezer analytics. This comes from David. I pulled the ringer NBA Facebook group on the word geyser. The results. The question was, do you use the word geyser?

73 votes no. 69 votes yes. So it's more common than we think, Chris. Thank you. Who the hell is on Facebook anymore? Shout out to our ringer MBA fans. Are you real active on Facebook? No, absolutely.

I never look at Facebook. But so what are you saying what for? I mean, it's old people. Just because I'm not active on Facebook. doesn't mean Facebook isn't insanely popular. But your mom's on it every day, right? It does get older. However, this was a poll of the Ringer NBA show listener group.

So, you know. I never got, I never got, I never even, like, even back, like, post college. I never had one. You know what happened? This is a true story. When, when it was, like, really getting going, whatever, I wasn't on it. And then after a while, it was kind of like, oh, well, I just never said. that up. I never had like a MySpace or anything like that. I never set that up. And then

I read this article. This is years ago, 10 years ago. And none of the other social medias are around that like 50% of divorces that year had mentioned Facebook as part of the stuff. And I said, you know what? I'll have my own set of issues, but it ain't going to be this. And I figured anybody I wanted to talk to would find me anyway. You know what I mean? I don't need to know what some piece of crap I didn't care about in high school is doing now anyway. I feel bad not looking at it often because that's where people usually wish like a happy birthday to each other.

And I missed a recent birthday that I would have liked to wish to somebody because I didn't get that Facebook reminder. So I think what I got to do is somebody who doesn't check Facebook a lot is put their birthdays in my phone and get a notification. Oh, wait, I just came up with like a million dollar idea. So there's probably a lot of people that thought this like you, right? Kev, you just start, like, obviously you got to do a play on words with birthday, but you just take that one thing you do like about Facebook and you make it and you say,

hey, for all of you, you don't have to have Facebook anymore to remember birthdays. We just have this one little birthday thing so you and your friends can know each other's birthdays. It's called Google Calendar. Yeah, not right. And install it. No, no, no, no. Because see, here's the thing. I don't want people to think I don't know their birthday already.

I need that. I need something to tell me it's their birthday. I do. Because I'm not going to remember it. And so now you have some kind of way. You just go on there and you enter your birthday. And now you guys become friends. And then everybody just knows each other's birthdays.

Problem solved. Every single person I ever talked to about Facebook is like, I only use it for birthdays and events. Those are the two things. Birthdays and events. Why did I save this for Shark Tank? I mean, you sort of just...

Mark Cuban, are you listening, Mark Cuban? Does this count? We sort of just talked ourselves into reinventing a calendar, though, Chris, I got to say. This dude said Mark Cuban, or you're like he would listen to this shit. You never know. Well, one of the most pro-Luca podcasts out there. Oh, yeah. Well, hey, if you want to invest in it, you know my number, Mark.

All right. going to do it for today's show. Everybody have a great weekend. Thank you, Kevin. I'll talk to you on Tuesday, Bobby Wagner, as always. Man, we are close. We're close, Kevin. We're close. We're getting close, guys,

and I got extra excited this morning watching the latest NBA desktop with Disney cover songs. So we'll let one of those play us out. Go check that on the Ringer's YouTube channel for sure. It's hilarious. We'll talk to you next

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