The Zach Lowe Show - League Pass Rankings Part 2 With Rob Mahoney

Episode Date: October 21, 2025

Zach begins by reacting to some of the latest extensions handed out in the NBA (1:49) before rejoining Rob to go through part 2 of their League Pass Rankings, starting where they left off at number 15 (11:34) and going all the way down to 1. Who will grab the top spot? Who’s the biggest surprise in the top 10? What jerseys do they hate now? And who will Guerschon Yabusele dunk on this season?! Plus, where did the Lakers clock in (54:25), is Steph Curry on a heater still the best show in the NBA (1:09:07)? And a Wemby-Jokic face-off for league pass supremacy (1:22:18). Host: Zach Lowe Guest: Rob Mahoney Producers: Mike Wargon, Jesse Aron, and Jonathan Frias Social: Keith Fujimoto The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please visit www.rg-help.com to learn more about the resources and helplines available Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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See official rules at michelope ultra.com slash courtside for free entry, entry deadlines, prizes, and details. All right, coming up on a new edition of the Zach Lowe show, it's part two. League Pass rankings with Rob Mahoney trooping through the top 15. If your team didn't make it into part one, which cut off with the Dallas Mavericks, That means it is in part two is one of the 15 most watchable teams in the league. There's going to be some surprises. A couple of teams that finish way higher than I thought. A couple of teams that Rob and I really disagreed on, the Atlanta Hawks being one of them.

One of us had them really high. One of us had them kind of in the middle. You might be surprised to see who had them where. We have a new league pass rankings champion. We have some of the teams toward the top that you'd expect. But just different systems produce different results. I love the league pass rankings. I couldn't be more excited for the season.

I talk about the Tumani Kamara and Shaden Sharp contract extensions, give my take on the Blazers. I make my finals prediction again. Talk about Durant's extension with the rocket. So there's a lot to cover here in part two of the League Pass rankings. Please go back and listen to Part 1, if you haven't yet. NBA season, it's here. You're listening to the Zach Lojo presented by Fanduel. The S&BA season put the power of the sports book in your hands with Fandul's Your Way.

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Call 1-8-8-8-9-77-7-7-7-7 or visit ccpg. dot org slash chat in Connecticut. Welcome to the Zach Lowe show. We'll get to part two of the league past rankings with Rob Mahoney, the great Rob Mahoney shortly. After we recorded, a couple pieces of news happened. Two more extensions came in under the wire. Dyson Daniels re-ups with the Hawks,

four years, $100 million. Nice deal for the Hawks. Good deal for Dyson, but a nice deal for the Hawks. And Christian Brown, basically the same deal, just one year longer, five years, $125 million, with the Denver Nuggets. Christian Brown is a winning player. Would I like him to shoot more threes?

Sure, shoot a little more accurately. Sure, but he fits with Yokic. He plays super hard. He defends super hard. He runs the floor. He is a winner. He's tough. And these are deals that, you know, they're huge numbers.

And I think people are starting to get over the sticker shock of the huge numbers because although they are huge in raw terms, they are only 13, 14, 15 percent of the cap. That's what you pay for like run to the mills. starters. I mean, and both of these guys could easily exceed being run-of-the-mill starters. And I think, you know, I talked about this with Fred Katz about three weeks ago. We predicted and projected 12 of the key extension possibilities for the first round picks in the 22 draft, the ones that hadn't been done. Chet's been done. Powell's been done. J. Dubbs been done, et cetera, et cetera. We did pretty well. We'll get to that. But one of the things I said on that was, I think,

think there's a chance that there are a few more deals materialized than people might realize because A, these players are watching what happened in restricted free agency this past summer when everybody got squeezed. Everything took forever. Kaminga took forever. Caminga took the qualifying offer. Grimes took the qualifying offer. And yeah, there's more teams with Cap room next summer. We've been over that. It was just Brooklyn this past summer. Some of those teams will use their cap room on extensions on trades in the interim. So there'll be a little bit less. But yeah, it's a friendlier landscape, but still, restrictive agency, it's unforgiving.

And it's not particularly fair to the players, but it's collectively bargained and it is what it is. And I also think because the cap has risen so much and these salaries are so high that there is a realism among a lot of agents that, yeah, Dyson Daniels might well outkick this deal. Four years, 100 million? Like, I bet on this being a, quote,

better deal for the Hawks than it is for Dyson Daniels. That's how good this dude is defensively. Yes, the three-point or 34% on low volume. I'd like to see that come along a little bit more. I think this ecosystem with the Hawks with KP, Porzingis, at center, providing some spacing if KP can stay healthy, is going to be a little friendlier to Dyson and Jalen Johnson. I talk about that with Rob in the league pass ranking.

Spoiler, the Hawks did very well. So, yeah, but he still kind of bullied and Euro stepped and floated his way and ran the floor to 14 points a game. That's a huge jump. and I think that can go higher and higher and with his defense, that's a good deal for him. And so you could see his agent being like,

no, we're worth more than that. We're going to hold out. Risk it in restricted free agency. Blah, blah, blah. Some guys did that. And I just think there's all, but there's the realization that it's $100 million. Same with Christian Brown,

$125 million. The poster case for this that I always used is Devin Vassell, who, when he signed whatever his deal was, it was a big deal. there were some people around league who are like, I don't know, man, that guy can really shoot. He might have been able to hold out for more. And I was like, look, he's had so many injury issues.

We don't know what he is on defense. We don't know if he brings much playmaking at all. I'm enticed by him. He was one of my most intriguing players for the season a couple years ago. But it's $120 or whatever it was million dollars. It's just a huge amount of money. And like even I had an agent tell me just a couple hours ago. surprised that Shaden Sharp settled for a four-year $90 million extension with the Blazers

that Rob and I talk about in this part of the league past rankings too. So I won't belaborate here. And my response was, look, I get it. Like, I'm intrigued by Shaden Sharp. Again, I talk about it with Rob later. I've always been intrigued by Shaden Sharp. And the flashes have been there. Two-point efficiency went way up last year. But through three years, all he's kind of proven is that he produces some awesome highlights and some high scoring games late in the season when it doesn't matter and they're playing some tanking teams. Chanty Billups didn't trust his defense. Benched him because of it.

The playmaking's been, like, I'm high on him. If you're going to throw $90 million at him with that track record, I understand completely why he signs on the dotted line, even though it's actually less than I thought he would, quote, settle for. I understand why he did. I think it's a good deal for him. And we'll see if it's a good deal for the Blazers. A couple of notes on this.

Well, actually, you know what? Let me just go through how I did on my 12 predictions. I was 10 out of 12, although I got the number of extensions exactly right. Going from top of the draft to the bottom, Kegan Murray, I was a yes, and it was a yes. He got extended, by the way, in a deal that looks a little bit less great. I mean, I like it fine for the Kings, but it came in above all of these other deals that have happened since, which is not great. Jaden Ivy, I was an O, no deal. Ben Matherin, I was a no, no deal.

Shaden Sharp, I was a no yes deal. So I got that one wrong. Dyson Daniels, I was a yes. It was looking dicey. Came in under the wire. It was a yes. Jeremy Sohan, I was a no, no deal. Jalen Duren, this was the one I got wrong.

I was a yes. I thought they'd come together on some common ground. They did not. No deal. Mark Williams, no, and it was a no. Tari Eason, I was in just a tentative no. And it was one that came down to the absolute wire from what I had heard today. That's a no.

and Christian Brown, I was a yes, yes, Peyton Watson, I was a no and no. Nicole Leobitch, I was a yes, yes, 10 out of 12. Not bad, I'll take it. Denver makes total sense that they would do Brown, but not Watson, because they are looking at potential second apron issues at the very least major into the first apron in 26, 27, and 2728. Aaron Gordon's extension kicks in in the first of those two seasons. Jamal Murray and Yolkich, are we still, obviously still here. It's just a ton of money. And we're talking for only eight guys under contract in 27, 28. So something, and that's not factoring in any future money for Bruce Brown or Tim Hardaway Jr. Any outside free agents. A Zeke Naji's salary dump still seems like a mortal lock. But even that,

the math gets tight. If Peyton Watson comes back, it could be a second apron situation. The Hawks with Daniels, Porzingis now becomes the really interesting one to look at. And he is extension eligible. Trey Young, obviously, extension eligible. Not a surprise that he did not get one going into the season because there's no deadline for Trey Young. He can get extended any time throughout the season, as I believe can Porzingis because they're veterans.

And I say Porzingis because I would bet on Trey Young being on the team in the next three, four seasons one way or another because I think the team's going to do well. And I think you're going to offer him a fair offer either as an extension or in free agency. and it's just a good situation for Trey. It's a good situation for the Hawks. And so Porzingis to me is the interesting one because right now the Hawks have a decent amount of financial flexibility. A Kongu is on a good deal.

Nikol, Alexander Walker's on a good deal. Jeline Johnson, 30 flat, Dyson Daniels 25-ish per year. They're probably going to be around, let me see, where my numbers are, around the tax. Well, no, they'll be under. they're under the tax for next season by quite a lot. But before, Porzingis. Porzegis is an unrestricted free agent after this year, bringing him back, adding in the draft

picks. They could go over the tax, probably not in any danger of the first apron, really, certainly not the second. So a nice bit of cap management for the Hawks. But Porzingis, I said this last week. If you're a Hawks optimist, cacaa, poorzingis isn't like a luxury the way he was in Boston. he's a must. Now, you're not going to get 82 games and 35 minutes a game out of him,

but he's a must for 60 games, 28 minutes, or 25 minutes, whatever, ready for the playoffs because they need his shooting at that particular position more than the Celtics did even. And so it'll be interesting to see how well they play and how much they kind of go all in on this roster. But even going all in is, you know, a little over the tax. No big deal. these are all good deals.

Was I surprised ESN didn't get done? No, I thought the order of operations is going to be Eason, then Duran. They did Durant first, and they'll take Easton to restricted free agency.

The rockets are unafraid of restricted free agency. They've proven that over and over again. They're good negotiators. All in all, a pretty interesting set of negotiations for this group of guys. Brown and Daniels are winning players.

They could probably each stand to do a little bit more on offense to really, really, really at least maybe exceed these deals. But I think as they are now, assuming minimal to no improvement on offense, and I think that's a wildly bad assumption considering how young Daniels is and just how good Christian Brown is. I think these deals are totally fine. This is just what you pay guys like this.

Okay. We're going to go on to the second half of the league past rankings, the top 15. This is going to be fun. Thanks, everybody. All right, part two of the league pass rankings, the top 15, the 15 most entertaining teams to watch, to listen to to imbibe as basketball fans. Starting with, now I'm going to just come right out of the bat. You're a hater on this team. You had them 22nd.

I had them 9th. They net out to the 15th spot. The Detroit Pistons. Now, they are young, a little sloppy on offense. Sure. Turnover prone. Fow everybody. So the game can kind of slow down.

they were they were also number one in dunks by a lot last season i like dunks dunks dunks good me like dunks they got two guys and as a steward and ryan holland who just might fight at any moment anyone can't take your eyes off the game a rep an opponent someone sideline who's to say you got tom gores what what is he wearing is he a little orange like what's happening um i got to say you're locked in on owner sartorial watch in a way i I didn't know that figured into the formula. Love the, love the name Pistons, love the red and white, general look of the team, simple. Yep.

I don't know. And I'm excited for expectations. I'm excited for Assar Thompson breakouts. Like there's a lot of, I had them ninth. What is it, what is holding you back? I enjoy the loose cannon factors you described, but offensively, not only are they kind of like stuck in the mud at times. find the execution of what they run to be pretty generic. Like, there isn't a lot that's outside the box. There isn't a lot that's all that inventive. It's just like, let's get a big playmaker in the

middle of this mix. Let's give him enough shooting and let's let him cook. And yeah, that leads to a lot of Jalen Duren Dunks. That leads to some fairly reasonably productive offense, at least enough to hold up to what they're doing defensively. It's just like not the most like scintillating thing I've ever seen. And so like the competence gets them here. And frankly, I think what gets them to this point in the ranking for me is like they get a big time zone bump because if you think about the other eastern conference like not just eastern conference but eastern time zone teams this is going to be much more pleasant to watch than the vast majority of them and so they get here by those but on those grounds alone but by pure basketball I don't love watching the Pistons play

I love I love what they've been able to do and build but I don't love watching them play they also I believe are a seven Eastern tip which is it's like them and Charlotte and maybe a couple other teams dabble in it. It's it's they get the half hour like okay. They're the only thing on. Why not? For clinging to the 7 p.m. tip. Yeah.

Uh, jaden ivy being out is a little bit of a bummer for entertainment and for basketball. But I'll tell you, man, Marcus Saster is one of those dudes who's like, oh, I haven't played in a week. Yeah. I'm ready to take a 26 footer off the dribble. I love Jalen Duren. Uh, his potential anyway. And his style of play is interesting.

Can he kind of bottle up? the passing and the defense in the right ways. And I can never remember if it's George Blahawah. I should have looked it up right before the podcast. A Hall of Famer literally was what won the Kurt Gowdy Award a couple years ago. One of the all-time great play-by-play voices in professional sports. Love listening to him. I just like this team.

They have a little like Orlando has this too in their DNA of like, we're just going to beat you up. Like how about that? How do you like that? Like deal with this all the. night and see how you respond to it. And you might respond by shoving, by getting annoyed, but you also might respond by cowering amidst our physicality. I liked how they step up to the plate against the Knicks. I like it. I like everything but the fouls. The tenacity is great. And like I would love a healthy big minute, can't take him off the floor turn for Sarr Thompson.

Like that would be an amazing outcome for this season that would, I think even significantly improved their watch ability, right? Like if he's, if he's playing 33 minutes versus 20 two minutes, all of a sudden I'm locked in in a totally different way. I think he's, I think if there was one of two or three like core, we are sure of this things we learned in the playoff hot house, the sort of testing grounds of real NBA basketball, I think one of the things they learned was Cade plus Duren plus Assar is our core and is worth investigating even more how can we make those three work together. but just Cade pick and roll with Duren.

Duren finds Asar cutting along the baseline. Something is there. And Asar Thompson is my pick for most approved player this year. Like that. Number 14. My favorite team name in the NBA. Unassailable art. And yet another team in which we diverged dramatically in the exact flip way that we did with Detroit.

You had this team ninth. I had them 22nd. the Portland trailblazers and the beautiful abstract pinwheel logo, one of the masterpieces of sports art. Gorgeous. Ninth, Rob Mahoney. Tenacity, possibility. What do you have against Yang Hansen, I guess is my question, Zach?

Like, what is it that's holding you back from blazing these trails with me? I mean, he's got to, like, he's a rookie. He's a rookie. And maybe that's, maybe I'm under, maybe I'm underselling because even the lowlights of an adventurous passing rookie big men are going to be like, whoa, he tried that? Yeah. And it went where into the fifth row? Because nobody was, or he just hit Donovan clinging in the face on a high low because

Chauncey's trying to see if the two of them can play together. You know, their bench is is a little worrisome to me. Scoots already injured. That would happen far enough that I took it into my formula account. And the offense was a little vanilla last year. Oh, yeah, to say the least. But I'm still excited to watch the team. And I love, we're recording this on Monday afternoon.

I love the Kamara extension, four years 82 million. I love the Shaden Sharp extension, four years 90 million. I'm high on particularly sharp kind of, I think he's going to be a very good offensive player. We'll see defensively. But these are deals that Kamara is going to take up, between 11 and 12% of the cap. And yeah, they could have done the cute thing where they declined the team option

and make them a restricted free agent. Like sometimes you're just like he's good, we like and we're gonna reward him now. That's like what good teams do. Yeah. And Sharp is gonna be 12, 13% of the cap, maybe 14% on the high end. That's completely worth it

for two supplementary wing players who compliment each other, who have almost diametrically opposed strengths and weaknesses. If you wanna throw out comps, it's less than the DeAndre Hunter, Jaden McKean, Daniels, Kegan Murray, Jabari Smith, Jr. deals. Your upside on all of those players may vary, but it's less. It's in line with like Andrew Nemhart, Herb Jones, Josh Hart. Those are all fine

comps. This is what you pay for players of this ilk. Neither of them is really a three and D player. Kamara is a D and sometimes three player. Sharp is a three maybe and no D player, but I think he has the potential to be a very good offensive player. I'm betting on both of them. And Rob, They're just the kind of guys like they're the guys you want to have around the guy when you get the guy. Or they are the guys that you will eventually trade one of them maybe for the guy. If you don't have the guy between Scoot and Shaden and Kamara and Obdia and Klingin and Young, if you ultimately have like a pre-Lebron Lakers kind of team of like those are all good players, but what does it amount to?

These guys work to help you get the guy or are they fit. around the guy and they're pretty flexible with the cap going forward. They're not going to be like a big cap room team, maybe not even in the summer of 2028, depending on Scoot's number and Klingin's number and all this. But I just, I got no complaints about any of this and I'm excited to watch the team play. I think that void you described of like you have the guys who can surround the star, but you don't have the star yet. I think for a for a fan of that team can sometimes feel frustrating if the team idols in that place for too long. But all of this is still so, new and has so much momentum coming off of last season in terms of the defense they built and the

energy they played with. And I think in that void of not having the star, you get stuff like Shaden Sharp getting to try a little bit more than he would under other circumstances. Like Denny Avdia becoming just like a different kind of secondary creator and playmaker. Big potential number in 28, 29, which complicates their cap room. But for sure. And there's going to be a way in which these puzzle pieces may not all fit together in a way that then leads you to. sign a guy in free agency, but as you alluded to, the trade possibilities are going to be there. These are enticing players throughout the league. And in terms of the present tense, yeah, Tumani Kamara is not a true three and D player right now, but he's like a D plus plus

plus player, right? Like he's one of the 10 best defense players in the NBA. Without a doubt, and one of the most versatile on the wing as well. And so the options that he gives you in terms of moving things around, adding Drew Holiday to that mix and the way you can now reposition and realign to basically be whatever kind of defense you need. compounded with the fact that Shaden Sharp, who, look, I have my misgu- I have, like, my hesitations in terms of buying in, like, wholeheartedly on his potential, but there's no question that the flashes are there. And there's no question that every season, he comes out with one of the three, like, most

exciting individual plays, whether it's a dunk, whether, honestly, even some of his misses are as exciting and spectacular. Like, he is out there trying things in a way that makes for perfect league pass basketball. And so a team that plays this hard that is playing, I don't want to over index on the preseason, but playing the fastest basketball by a wide margin in the preseason, very appealing to me. And Scoot is one of the most pivotal young players in the league.

You had a leap last season in the last 40 games. I can't wait until he comes back. I just want to, on Kamara and Sharp, reiterate some stuff I've said before. Like I said Kamara is a D and sometimes three guy. And I can hear the Blazers fans, Well, he shot 37.5% on threes last year. He did.

And he took four and a half a game, which is good. He needs to take more, make, like, prove that that was real, make defenses guard him a little bit more aggressively. And then attack closeouts with a little more polish. And, like, those are all natural steps for a guy who is still, I believe, 22 years old. Yes. Yeah. Sharp is, oh, no, wait, Sharp, Kamara is 25 years old. I was transposing Sharp's basketball reference page.

Still, like, you know, inexperienced. Sharp is 22. The offense just kind of hasn't been there to the, like, the highlights are amazing, and then you look like 33% on threes, 31% on threes. He did shoot 56% on twos last year, which is very encouraging. And my favorite parts of his game are when, and I've said this before, and I don't mean to comp him, but I also don't use the name lightly. There are times when in the lane, when the floor is in motion and he attacks a

close out or beats the first line of defense where when Shaden realizes and remembers how big and strong he is, he kind of moves a little bit like Jason Tatum in terms of just pace and knocking people sideways and getting where he needs to be. Bottle that and we got something. But I like this team. It's going to be fun to watch. In the center position, you mentioned Yang Hansen right away, is the starting 30 minute a game center of the next great Blazers team on this team? or not. Obviously, they hope it is between the picks they've used on Klingin and Yonge. We'll see.

Okay. Number 13, we're getting into hallowed ground here. A little surprised this team came in so high. We did this before Scotty Pippin Jr. His injury was announced he's going to be out for quite a while. Another blow to a team. Look, when they announced that Clark was having another surgery, Brandon Clark, Jackson was hurt but recovering in a pretty timely fashion.

Yep. And Eadie is going to be out for a. a bit. And now Moran has an ankle thing. But even just the big men, I said, there's always a team that accidentally walks into a, we're pretty good, but we ended up tanking this year and that actually ends up being good for us. It really could be these Memphis Grizzlies who nonetheless come in at 13th on these rankings, which feels high, even when they're at full strength. But there is just a certain level of when Moran's playing and Jackson's playing and they're at home. and the sound, they have the best sound system, the best sound effects, the best music.

They, like, just listen for it. When an opponent misses a jump shot, they'll just hit a button and they'll just hit a button and they'll know that, nope, nope. And Moran's flying around. There's just, like, I know if I tune in, it's going to be a fun couple hours of basketball. Yeah. I think that will depend on job being healthy at this point, first and foremost. Like, they're really testing my commitment to the idea that when you just have this basic core together, they win a ton of regular season games.

Like, they just reliably rock in that, like, 45 to 52 win range. Just what they do. That said, you ran through the injury report already. It is concerning. I'm glad Jaron is back already. Hopefully the Jaws stuff doesn't linger too long, though historically it kind of comes and goes throughout the season. Like, what is the curse that is hovering over this team and how do we rectify it?

Like, what needs to be saged? What needs to be purified? Like, I'm open to any suggestions at this point. it could be a rough year. I mean, it could be a rough year that ends up being in the best interest of the team. Maybe. They're obviously not going to lean anywhere into that. One of the virtues of this team is they play super hard.

They play to win. Their deep bench is full of hard playing. You know, here's John Conchard and Vince Williams and Gigi Jackson, maybe. They play hard. Scotty Pippen is one of the bench guys that plays hard. Ty Jerome is here. Sometimes I forget that. Goofy floaters and all.

Like the most, he goes from. out of the game to talking shit at like a Russell Westbrook level of volume and ferocity faster than anyone in the league. Especially to be Ty Jerome, a guy who has had basically one very productive NBA season and then a couple of flashes that like the real heads knew about. But it does not have the Russell Westbrook pedigree to back that up necessarily. They're also a strange team in a way that I find interesting on a nerd level. their whole weird offense last year that had no pick and rolls and then they kind of rebelled

against that changed the coach but number one in pace they were the number one or two i can't remember from zemmer chicago is number one or number two in pace uh they do foul a lot which is you know can slow the game down a little bit but like the jerseys like the art like that they brought they brought the throwbacks back with the bear on the court and the bears got his claws around the basketball i like that guy love that guy um just a pleasant no nonsense experience I think too, we may have just glossed over too quickly. Like the jaw part of that experience is unlike not just anything else in the league, but unlike anything we've seen in NBA history.

Like the pure drama in the spirit of kind of the experimentation that the regular season is all about of John Morant leaping into the air and then having what seems like an eternal hang time to figure out what to do with it is just one of the best shows on hardwood anywhere. And so the fact, like if he's healthy enough to do that, that I'm pretty engaged in that experience as often as you want to give it to me. And it has a little bit of that like death defying fear factor to it. Like, okay, the guy's walking the tightrope.

Is he going to fall and die or is he going to make it? Because he takes a lot of contact in midair. I, you know, I miss peak jaw. And I always, I said this and I wrote it a lot. There was something about the way he played. where he was a young star who brought teammates along with him in his style of play. I always said I liked the way on fast breaks where he would sometimes slow down and wait for guys to kind of come open in his wake

and not just go headlong at the room. He would cut off the ball in a way that helped the offense and helped his team. And it just seemed like he lifted everybody around him up both spiritually and in basketball terms. And I just, I want that guy back. Speaking of guys who lift everybody around him, around them up, number 12, the Milwaukee Bucks, you had them 16th, I had them 10th. Obviously, they've got Janus. Obviously, they've got a lot of other guys around Janus that your mileage may vary. They are under an enormous amount of pressure.

Finassas is around to talk trash to the opposing team, to fans, to everybody, and let people know that he's there. So is Alex now as well, right? We've triangulated. A lot of Antitakum. POMPOS. Yanis is Janus. He was number one in dunks as an individual player last year. Bobby Portis just, you know, the eyes get wide. The intensity gets into overdrive. And yet his game is kind of old school in a way I like, all like 14 foot fadeaways in the post. I don't know. Are we just a little bored of like, okay, here comes Janus in transition.

And he's got shooters around him. And we think the team is like pretty good, but not great. I think what I'm worried about is him getting a little bored. About him looking around December, January. If, you know, things are just kind of middling, puddling along. Like, how does Janus feel about it? The bucks to me, Janus aside, like, his play is often, always spectacular. But there's such a vibes-based operation where, like, when something is a little bit off, you can really, really feel it in the product that they put on the floor.

And so, of course, Janus is going to be one of the best basketball players in the world, but if the mood in the room isn't quite right, and I think there's a lot of reason to think that with the Bucks, it just might not be this season, how pleasant to watch are they really going to be? Regardless of how you feel like Gary Trent Jr., AJ Green, or whatever, like, are they just going to be the kind of regular season team you want to tune in for? You know what I don't want to tune in for?

What's that? Waiting a minute and 20 seconds for Giannis to shoot two free throws. Can we just enforce? How about this? How about we just enforce the rule? Like, you don't get to take 15 seconds after you get the ball to do a whole, like, I shouldn't be able to go take a piss and come back and like you're still at the free throw line? And then they get, oh, when they enforce the rule one time, everybody gets mad.

They're like, oh, why don't they do it all the time? Yeah, why don't they do it all the time? It's a rule that applies to everybody else in the league. I watch these games. I'm like, my God, will you just hurry the hell up? I like me, Yanis, by the way. Yes. I like when he rudely dunks in people's face.

I like what he did to shimmy over Malik Beasley. Hell yes. I liked when he knocked the ladder over in Philadelphia. Remember Laddergate when he knocked it over? He's like, I want to shoot this. I like, give me. I like that guy. And not just mean, but like, look, Janice is an incredible player by any definition.

To me, my all time favorite surprise dunker, where you think he's like a little over extended on his steps and he's going to have to settle for the layup, bam, we'll just like dunk on somebody. You think there's one too many guys in his path. Bam, doesn't matter. We'll dunk over anyone in front of him. just when you think like he couldn't get all the way under the rim for the reverse, bam. And so it's like the drama of every Janus drive is then heightened as a result of that for me.

Like he finds little angles. Even sometimes he's one of the few guys I've seen who will drive baseline like they're going reverse, but then come out in front of the rim instead to either reverse or just dunk it out right. I just appreciate the artistry in the space. You know, not enough creativity in just like trying to yam on people all the time because you're the biggest motherfucker on the floor and we salute you yana santa tecumpo he's also like has these superhero moments not necessarily in like um at full blast at full speed where he obviously is like a superhuman person but he'll be in the paint have picked up his dribble and they'll be like

four guys just hovering over him and he's got both his feet on the floor flat footed and you're like well he's i mean that doesn't look great um and then he'll just rise up and the four guys will almost topple over and he'll just dunk on all of them. This is what I'm talking about. It's insane. All right. And I like Marcus Johnson, by the way, one of the great playbite, one of the great color analyst in the league.

The Zach Lowe show is brought to you by Fanduel. All right, basketball's back. That's right. We're here. And Fanduels putting you in control right from Tipoff. Every day to start the season, you get to choose your reward. Play it safe. Go for it.

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including bonus and token expiration, leg requirements and max wage or amount. See terms at sportsbook. Fanduel.com. Gambling problem. Call 100 gambler or visit RG-G-Hull. call 1-88-78-9-777-7 or visit ccpg.org slash chat in Connecticut. Number 11, we both had them right around here. You had them 12th. I had them 11th and

averaged out to 11th in the rankings. A little surprisingly low for a team that won 64 games with the number one offense in the league. They love to run. They love to shoot. The Cleveland Cavaliers, they've got the Evan Mowgli. Like what is coming could be scary potential, like more offensive verve and heft and meanness and just more, more and more. They've got Darius Garland, who's a wizard of fakes and eye fakes and hesitation dribbles and change of pace. They've got the humongatron. One of the stupidest gimmicks in all of professional sports, not a jumpotron. It's a humongotron.

And if you don't call it to humongotron every time, you will be fired, broadcasters. They got Lonzo. They do. And he looks good in the preseason. I know you are on credit. I was like, this guy might be good. I heard it on group chat. The people on group chat were like, what?

Craig Porter Jr.? I was like, yeah, someone else has noticed the herky jerky rhythm, the size. Completely. Again, I just, he's one of those guys. I don't understand why he doesn't play more. Like every glimpse I get of Craig Porter Jr. I'm excited about. And we met, you know, one of the reasons why Memphis is appealing to me a couple

spots below this is particularly when they're at home, they go on these runs that almost feel rapturous. Yes. Just like there's, you just scored 10 points in 45 seconds. A couple of them were highlight plays. The crowd is going insane. The other team takes the time out and you're like, that was like, whoa. That's all Cleveland is.

It's like, they just scored 15 points in a minute. What happened? Why are they so like 11th? I honestly don't know. Other than this may be a team that we're taking for granted in that like very steady, sometimes bordering on predictable they're so efficient and good at what they do kind of way. Like, I think the argument for is the world is a fucked up place, Zach, and sometimes you just want to turn on the TV and see something that works.

And if you want to watch something that works, the Cleveland offense, hums, clicks, everyone knows exactly what they're doing. And then on the edges of it, you get stuff like, you know, Evan Mobley being at this point in his development when he could make one subtle change and all of a sudden he's averaging like 23, 24 a game. Like he's just, he's brimming with possibility and everything that he's doing right now. And so that combination probably should be enough to elevate them more. And yet I think some of it is from a regular season league pass standpoint,

like that's not where their burden of proof is. Right. Like we've seen them be good. We've seen them be successful. And so there's going to be that kind of wading game with them that I think drags them down in the rankings a little bit. I'm excited for the Lonzo fit. You're exactly right about the wake us up in the playoffs sort of analysis of them, which is fair.

it. I wish it wasn't that way, but I just think that's where they are. Lots of it has been injuries in fairness. That's why I'm excited about the Lonzo. It's kind of a new ingredient. How is this going to work? Can you play with the other two guards? I think you can add some defense, some pace. Donovan Mitchell, maybe a little underrated as a highlight machine. Agreed. Takes contact in mid-air, spins around, flips in crazy shots. Hammer dunks. Like dunks that should be outside the purview in terms of their power and violence for someone of his height. He feels like the Baron Davis era parent in that way for me, where he will go up and be met by people and do the cockback finishes that, again, I have no idea how he's able to pull off. But like there's something about his aerial play that is so watchable.

Baron Davis, a critical cavalier, I believe. I forgot about that. The clipper's salary dumped onto the calves attaching the pickers. that became Kyrie Irving. For Mo Williams, I think, if my memories are. But yeah, don't love the broadcast, and I'll just leave it there. I think it's getting a little worse. But it's a very fun team to watch.

Kenny Atkinson coaches a nice offense. They're about right where this should be. And honestly, a lot of this is, there are a lot of really good NBA teams. Almost every team is fun to watch. Like, now we're entering the top 10. Who are you more excited? Are you more excited to watch Cleveland than any of these other teams? You, Rob Mahoney, were certainly not more excited to watch

Cleveland than you were for our number 10 team. You had them second in the entire NBA. I had them slightly below average, so they sit at 10th. The Atlanta Hawks. Let's fucking go. Number two, Rob Mahoney, I will cede the floor to you. Look, I am psyched to see them in action. My anticipation is frankly a little bit unreasonable, but I cannot help myself.

I think if you take out the true superstars of the league, the top 10 guys, let's put them in a separate bucket. Jalen Johnson might be my single favorite player to watch in the entire league. Like the way he finds... I'd love it in this so much. Just like the way he finds the groove and the flow in every single possession

is captivating basketball to me. It's exactly why I watch the sport and why, like the thing that I love to watch the absolute most is that kind of like kinetic, dynamic, connected play. And he's so representative of that while also being a highlight machine himself, while also being a player on the rise who could be anything at any given moment.

And so you have that. You have Trey Young who can make a random Tuesday game feel like a fucking event out of absolutely nowhere. Dyson Daniels is the most electric crunch time defender in basketball will come up with plays at the ends of games that make absolutely no sense. He's kind of like the singular reason to me why coaches don't like running plays and don't like having actual action and crunch time. Because if Dyson Daniels is on the floor, he's going to muck it up and ruin everything about your timing. And I got to say, Zachary Rezes Shea really looks like he's on the verge of something. Like playing and finishing was so much more force already in this preseason in a way that makes me really, really excited. I love every element of this team.

I do think they're going to be good. But more importantly than that, I just think they're going to be fun to watch all year. I just, look, you just said you cannot help yourself. That should be my personal slogan with the Atlanta Hawks. The Atlanta Hawks, I can't help myself. I'm too high on them every year. I'm super high on them this year. They were already talking about and starting to walk the walk of we want to run more of our offense through Jalen Johnson.

That doesn't necessarily mean give him the ball, get out of the way, Tray Young's in in the corner. That means inverted pick and rolls, Trey Young Jalen Johnson pick and rolls where he gets to make plays as a screener, which by the way, massively more effective with a shooting center like Christopps-Poorzingis to space the floor. instead of Capella or a Congo clogging up the rim, which can work too because Jailen will hit those guys with lobs at the basket. Nikiel Alexander Walker, Luke Kinnard, fun bench guys. I cannot help myself.

I'm very high on the alien hogs. I'm even high on Dominique Wilkins, the rare decorated former player who clearly hasn't bothered to do any research on the other team, and yet I'm massively entertained by everything he said. about every other player on the other team. He'll sometimes be like, oh, they don't want that guy shooting that shot.

And I'll be like, he takes like 10-3s a game and shoots 38%. And I still cat. And he's got a great cackle. I love the whole Dominique experience. I love the Pac-Man logo. I love the colors. I just, they belong in the top 10.

And you said something very interesting. I love the concept of a crunch time defender. And as soon as you said that about Dyson Daniels, I was like, there is crunch time defense. Is it his ability to get his hand on the ball? Is it his switchability? Because like he's a better crunch time defender than Rudy Gobert.

He's a better crunch time defender than, you know, a lot of people. They're almost anyone in the league. Is it that? Is it deflections? Is it switchability? But that's a cool concept. Crunch time defender. I like that.

I think a lot of its instincts and timing. And obviously his hands are amazing. but I think Dyson to me has one of the best internal balances of the risk-reward stuff that in that moment, like you can't fuck up, right? Like, you can't make the one gamble that leads to the layup in that moment. And yet, he's so intuitive in terms of how the ball moves

and what offenses are trying to do that you'll see him come up with crunch time steals or just straight-up pick guys off the dribble in ways that other defenders just aren't doing. And so, like, that balance of understanding exactly how much leash he has and that should only improve with, you know, Chris Daps behind him in addition to these other defenders that they brought in. With Nikiel coming in on the wing, I'm sure he'll be on the floor in those huge defensive moments.

Like, he's going to have even more help. And that should be terrifying in the sense of if Dyson Daniels is already doing this with the roster that the Hawks had, what is he going to be capable of when he's given even more room to explore? They were third in dunks last year. They played really fast. Trey brought into playing fast making the hit head passes, particularly when Jellon Johnson was on. the floor. Low key, I thought Tray was like a genuine good soldier last year.

Like I thought he really leaned into how they were trying to play in a way that was very encouraging. Well, and if that continues, you know, I keep saying this. My prediction for the finals was Oklahoma City over New York. And I told Steve Nash last week, I said, look, we're going to like, neither New York nor Cleveland has earned anything close to the right of overlooking everybody else in the conference saying it's just the two of us. And that one of these teams between Orlando and

Atlanta being my most likely suspects is going to create a scare in the playoffs in the second round at the very least. Like, oh, this is 2-2 in game five. I think Atlanta, if that Shrey buying you're talking about continues, if Risa Shea hits a little bit higher than even your typical second year number one pick, I think Atlanta even has a higher ceiling of scare factor playoff equity than Orlando. But I trust Orlando more, if that makes sense. So I don't know which I would actually, but I think Atlanta's ceiling is very high, and you've got me unreasonably excited.

Oh, one last note, the Hawks have played four preseason games. I have seen Quinn Snyder already in three different frames for his glasses. Like, how deep is the bag at this point? Look, people don't, people are going to forget. Quinn Snyder had a bag. Had a bag. Red should be, he's got to pick the one that is like, when you get to the playoffs and everyone's got their lucky stuff, pick one. pick one and it's got to be red.

Number nine, the Minnesota Timberwolves. Top five watchable superstar in the league. No doubt. Has already provided Anthony Edwards has some of the just most uncomfortably cruel dunks. Like Utah Watanabe never recovered. You never got over it. Watchability is there. Nas Reid, big jelly going coast to coast, lefty flip shots, just a lot of artistry to his game.

Jalen Clark's going to be locking people up. Terran Shannon Jr. is ready? Yep. There's the high comedy of like, is anyone going to pass Rudy the ball? Is he going to just get another three second violation calling for the ball or have we gotten by that? And just like, look, they're not the most artistic team. They're kind of like a battering ram of a team. But they get shit done.

They're just rock solid. They're good. The broadcast is good. to bring it back the Christmas tree throwback look this year, which it's a little hit or miss for me, honestly. Again, like a higher class Memphis in that I just know, this two hours is going to be worth my time every single time. Yes.

I do think they will have that two to three weeks swoon in the season where their offense just like kind of falls off kilter. And some of that may be exacerbated or fixed by whatever happens at point guard this year. Like Mike Conley is clearly at a point in his career where he's doing a little bit less. I'm eager to see what Rob Dillingham is capable of. He's definitely not there yet, but sometimes a guy like that just needs five good games,

and then all of a sudden something clicks into place for them. So I'm excited to see if he has that kind of year. But otherwise, like, they are just rock solid. And if you have a rock solid team with a star who is not just watchable, Zach, but it's like an all-time personality already in the NBA, has a hundredth percentile athleticism, and has that like undeniable drive to kill whoever. in front of them, you're just not going to find a lot on a Monday night that's going to be more

satisfying and watchable than that. And so the wolves are one of the safest bets in the league. They may not have quite the same like high highs of the teams that we're going to get to in terms of, I think it's like the cohesive offensive play for the wolves isn't always there, but they're always competitive. They're always really good. They're going to be good yet again. And they have ant. That takes you a long way. And I want to see the post game. He's talking about it again. I think it could be a huge. huge weapon for him. Let's use the regular season to experiment and see what's there. Yeah, I mean, and is just, you can't take your eyes off the game. You just, you can't, because

at any moment, he brings it on defense, you can go coast to coast. The dunks are incredible. You mentioned the two to three weeks swoon. Even like just a one game swoon, you will seldom see a good team look as bad as the wolf. wolves will look when they just have a random fourth quarter where they just go haywire completely and it's one brain fart after another. I'm thinking of one game, I think it was late in the season last year. They were up like 20 against the Bucks at home. I think it was the Bucks.

And the Bucs went zone. If wasn't the Bucs, forgive me, it was not a team, went zone. And the wolves unraveled as if the Milwaukee Bucks had in that moment invented zone defense and that no one had ever seen it. I mean, I'm talking about like just passed to. the next guy, but throw it over their head or throw it right to the other team. You don't see good teams melt down the way the wolves melt down when they're melting down. It's rare because they're very good. But even that is like, hey, you never know what you're going to

see. Completely. I'm not, I'm not opposed to that. I'm not opposed to seeing that in the same way that you, you know, a car crash kind of appeal. But those are fewer and further between them for them. Like, they are competent enough. And I think maybe one of the only things holding them back from being higher in these rankings, if they're going to be that good and they're also going to have that kind of appeal, is like there isn't the big shake-up factor that they had last season in terms of swapping out Kat for Julius Randall. Like there's no radical reimagining of what they're doing.

They are a very good team that has some young guys who need to prove themselves. And that alone is going to be really good basketball. And I think it's going to be watchable all year, especially with Ant, but, you know, may not be top five material for the league pass rankings. We're getting into some hallowed ground now. Number eight, feels high for a team whose offense trended a little stodgy, and yet feels just right to me. There's just something about this New York Knicks team that I like. And there's much about it to be super interested in, starting with their style of play, their revamped bench.

Yes. Are they really going to lean in more to this passing? movement, speed, offensive style. Do they trust it late in games? How is it going to translate to the playoffs? Mitchell Robertson starting with Kat. How does that work full time, full blast? I love all that.

The broadcast is unassailable. Breen, Clyde, Madison Square Garden with the simple blue court. I'm just, again, this was a relatively slow at times, except for when Josh Hart was going to Bananas team, a team that was frustrating and that it you know why did they trade for mkill bridges is worse worst cat why is cat standing around but so i'm excited to see how they address those issues i think there are ways to address them and i just there's just something i picked them to make the finals there's something about this team that i just really like they're i mean they were already excellent and i think

shoring up some of the depth is going to go a long way just in terms of having a more viable rotation regular season and playoffs both. Plus the Mike Brown honeymoon is like such a real thing. Like we saw the impact that he had on the Kings. We saw how he diversified their offense and made it interesting. And if he can do one ounce of what he did for like the Subonis Fox interaction in the handoff game to get Kat and Jalen Brunson, for example, working together more directly on the floor, that alone is going to be super exciting.

But I think a lot of it for me is Brunson and the idea of repurposing him from the Tom Tibido, like, run everything to get you the ball, and then you have to do everything offense, into something more balanced and more dynamic and more surprising. And I don't know what this says about me, but like my version of seeing a Ben Simmons clip of him shooting threes in an empty gym during the summer and getting irrationally excited is me seeing one clip from Nick's practice of them moving the ball

and Jalen Brunson running off of it in a way that isn't just like an Iverson cut to get it. And all of a sudden I am scintillated. I'm on pins and needles as far as what this team is going to look like in the regular season. And I say that as much about Brunson as I do the downstream effects of what that means. Like is McHale Bridge is more consistently involved if the ball is moving like that. Are you getting the like March stretch where OG and Anobie was all of a sudden scoring like 25 a game when Brunson is out? Are you getting that guy more often if you are putting the ball in his hands in different positions? I can't wait to see what this team is going to be capable of when they lean into and accept the fact that they just can't,

get any further playing the way that they were playing. Co-sign everything. And you said Iverson cut, which is funny you mentioned, because I was talking about this with Steve Nash last week. Like, Jalen Brunson moved around a lot. A ton. But it was all like just sort of station to station going through the paces, jogging through the script.

And I want more speed and more randomness. I think he'll buy into that. I'm a little worried that we're going to see some Hackamich. But I like Hackamich. It's a good theater. to me in the right doses. I like the theater of it. Have you seen there, look, again, there are just too many jerseys and they all have different names that I can never keep track of. Why is this the statement edition? This is the city edition. Have you seen the Nick's statement

edition jerseys? No, can you describe it for me? Yes, they are like a charcoal black. It's the rare black jersey that really works. Okay. It's like a charcoal black with, you know, New York and orange on the front. But what really makes it is, you know, when they light up, Madison Square Garden on the outside and they have all the columns in red and blue and orange sort of cascading around. They've mimicked that effect in beams of light down the side of the jerseys, which just explodes off the black, evokes the most iconic arena in sports, whatever the world's most famous arena. It's the first great Nick's jersey other than their standard ones, the first new great Nick's jersey in ages and ages and they get plus points for that as well. I'm pulling

up right now, I do like this. That trim, the trim is something special. I know, I know we were bagging the detail work on some of the other jerseys that are being put out, but this one I can certainly appreciate. But you know what the difference is? I can see that. Yes. I can see it on television. You know what it is. Shout out, Yabu, Duncan on LeBron in the Olympics. One of the all time great, holy shit moments in the history of not quite Vince Cart, not quite the Dunk Delamort, the greatest dunk of all time. But, um, Who will Yabu dunk on this season? Like who is he's going to get somebody?

Who do you think he'll get? Who would be the most like preposterous person to actually, it would be like Janus or something? Oh, yeah. It can't be like a rim protecting center because those guys eat dunks every now and then. It can't be someone like a star who's just kind of going to be in the way like Luca or somebody like that. It's got to be something in between, which is what made the LeBron, the dunk on LeBron so special. It's hard to dunk on a 6-8 super athlete who's actually trying to stop you from dunking. I love that pick.

I think Janus is a great one. Plus, you can see, like, the Bucks really need this game against, like, the Eastern Conference leading Knicks. And it's really important to them, and Janus is doing everything, including getting dunked on by Yabu. Similar, I mean, like, a similar body type that would be fun for anyone to dunk on. But Yabu said, I just wanted, we did not mention him in the Minnesota section. We were remiss not to mention Jada McDaniels, who kind of quietly 15 a game in the playoffs and you take another level offensively.

Okay, enough Knicks. Number seven, boy, did we diverge on this one. You had them 14th. I had them tied for first. First! The Los Angeles Lakers. And let me defend myself, because I can hear what you're saying?

Well, what's exciting about this team? LeBron's old. Luca's going to walk it up and play Luca ball. And yeah, okay, rim running center with eight is he going to run? Is he going to rim? Is he going to rim run? Is he going to half run? You know, Austin Reeves over here on the side, taking over the offense. Are we really excited about Rui and Marcus Smart and Jake LaRavia is sort of an NBA nerd guy? Cool. Gabe Vincent's around. Vando. Vando's always better in theory than he is in practice. I get it. I get it.

Yep. They killed the zeitgeist category in my formula, the formula, handed down from the basketball gods because they're the Lakers. They have the best court in the NBA. I just could look at it all day long. There are uniforms other than the stupid black ones with the triangular Los Angeles Lakers, which should be lit on fire, are amazing. And I am legitimately really interested once LeBron gets back from sciatica to see over a full season not introducing something like Luca in the middle of a season.

How do all these pieces fit together? Is LeBron really willing to change his style of play a little bit? to blend with Luca. Is Luca willing to change his style? How does Reeves fit in? Is Aiton going to drive everyone insane or is he going to execute well? I'm legitimately interested as a basketball exercise in how this team works. I think LeBron getting hurt when he did took some of the wind out of the sales for me.

I said that for two reasons. One, I'm 100% with you on like the buy-in and the process of coming into a season knowing you are a Luca Donchage team. What that does for the style of offense. you run, clearly what it did in terms of the kinds of players you want to bring in, all that stuff is so important. I also thought it was important for LeBron, like to have him ease into that process through a full training camp, through a full preseason, have the opportunity to kind of accept where he is in his career, what this team is going to be, and what it's going to be like

playing with Luka, which certainly had its high points during their time together last season, but like clearly it was a work in progress as well. And like, we lost that. And now it's kind of LeBron, when is he going to return, what is it that he's after? You know, the Dave McMenderman report about him, like, you know, kind of gauging what he wants to do going forward. It's like, that's not what I'm particularly interested in. I wanted to see the functional version of this team. And the minutes that are going to be happening on the floor in the meantime, without Luca

and without LeBron, I'm not particularly thrilled about. I'm sure Austin Reeves is going to put up some incredible numbers during those stretches, but you take LeBron out of this rotation and it just feels awfully flimsy all of a sudden. Like you're just like so much depends on Rui Hachimura plugging a hole that I just get a little uncomfortable. I'm glad you're here as a counterweight because I am just a vessel for what the formula spits out

and the formula spit the Lakers out tied at the top of the rankings. Yeah. I felt okay with it. I didn't, I don't, but I don't feel like they deserve the number one. spot. Like, this is the most excited I am to watch a basketball game. Just does not mesh. Seventh is a very nice place for them because I am excited.

Yep. They're not a bottom 15 excitement team for me. Who knows? Maybe Dalton Connect will forget a few plays and JJ Reddick will storm onto the court screaming at him. Marcus Smart. One of the most audacious floppers in the history of basketball. Audacious enough to flop and then be like, well, who me?

I didn't just dive out of nowhere. I like, Bron will have these moments every once in a while where some journeyman big guy will switch on to him and like swipe at the ball and pressure him. Yeah. And LeBron will be like, dude, really? All right. I'm 40 going on 41. Let me back you out. And I'm going to dribble through my legs.

I'm going to show you like you're going to come at me, journeyman big game. I don't even have a name in mind. You're going to come at me like that. I'm going to try to embarrass you now. I didn't want to do this. I'm too old for this shit, frankly. But you made me do it. Yeah, you made me do it.

They do force his hand at times. Look, the experience of watching LeBron is still awesome. And to be very clear, the experience of watching Luca Donchish, and I understand his style is in everyone's cup of tea, not every Luca game is an absolute blast. He is a sensational creator to a degree where for me he's like first team all rewind, right? like I'm watching a game. He will do something that's not just like, oh, that's an awesome highlight.

It's, I don't know what the hell he just did. I don't know where that pass went. I don't know how he threaded it. I got to run it back just to see what happened. And so from that perspective, any Luca team is going to be buoyed to a certain point in these rankings. But he's going to have to do an awful lot with this group, even though, like, even though it is built around him, especially because it is built around him. And in particular because LeBron isn't going to be there for the start of it.

The thing about Luca in traffic. with a live dribble, change in pace, slowing down, eyes all around. He seems to know what all the defenders on the floor are going to do before they even know what they're going to do. And that's not only like anticipating how he can manipulate them with eye fakes or shoulder fakes. Obviously he's a genius at that. He almost seems to see them leaning the wrong way right when they start leaning that way. It's like almost like he expects them to. when they don't have any real reason to, and the ball's out.

The ball's out to the corner shooter. It's uncanny. I feel good about the Lakers at seven. At six, we both had this team flat at six. We agreed completely. The Houston Rockets, who just extended Kevin Durant on a two-year, $90 million deal, don't have a lot of notes on that. It's much less than he could have made, 2-120.

I think he knew that. He's going in that he was going to make the max. Gives them space to maybe extend Tari-Eason. We're coming up on the deadline as we record this. Gives them some apron flexibility going forward. forward. I always have to remind myself that they could have two lottery picks in the 2027 draft between Phoenix's pick and Brooklyn swap rights. That's a little bit scary. No notes on the Duran extension. It's a great deal for everybody involved. Number six, feels, I mean, feels low,

honestly, for how excited I am to watch a team that was not even that great as a half-court offense. Give me all of Amman Thompson. Give me all of Reed Shepard. Give me the whole experience. Give me all of Stephen Adams and Alper and Shengun together, rebounding 80 million percent of opponent misses and just daring teams like, okay, like, what are you going to do? What are you going to do? I would watch a dedicated cam of just Stephen Adams mashing people under the rim all game. Like every second he's on the floor. Oh, we're too big. We're too slow.

How about we go to this weird zone defense against you guys and like you can try to exploit it? But we're going to get every single rebound and it's going to really hurt you. you're going to be bruised. Deal with it. I don't even think the Rockets' coaches expected this to be a thing when they went to it last year. Now it's among the things

for which I am most excited. Shangoon and Durant together is going to be fun. Like the sheer size they can play with. I'm still on team Jabari Smith Jr. is good. Isan I love. Six feels too low. I think they would be higher if Fred hadn't gotten hurt.

Like the way he completed the lineup and I think would have ironed out some of just like the basic execution stuff on offense. would have lifted them even higher than this. But as it stands, yeah, they're going to have some

half court frustrations even still, but they brought in one of the all-time best shot creators in the half court. And a guy who's just like so silky smooth to watch in KD that I think will resolve some of the most frustrating parts of what they were doing last season. And you're going to have the drama baked in of the possessions that aren't quite going anywhere

and then Katie has five seconds to do something with it. That's super watchable basketball. But to me, it's so much about like everything. you said about Amen, about the double big, which is like this, all this size and frenetic energy and these like rugby type lineups that they throw out there. Like watching the Rockets will make you feel like you're watching a different sport. It will make you feel like you are bending the possibilities of what is happening out there

when Tari Isan is out there like bodying dudes full court when Amin is like slipping between dimensions to do everything that he does. Like it's not, it goes beyond the unexpected and the surprising. Like they are just doing things. that are fundamentally different than any other team. And now they have Kevin fucking Durant. Their coach almost wanted to fight LeBron during a game. I mean, E-May wants all of it, all the smoke.

What do you think about the space astronaut court that they're going back to this year? A little too cute for me. I don't think you need. Again, like there are some things that were left in the past for a reason. And there's clearly an era that we are mining, like late 90s into early 2000. or in this case, I guess this case maybe predates it a little bit that where it's like every

team is going back to. I just don't think it has to be that complicated. You're the Houston Rockets. You have a lot of iconography and like symbols that you can play with. That doesn't have to be moon man. I don't love the moon man. I do love the subtle nod to Fy Slamma Jama, which is the greatest nickname for a team or an individual in the history of sports, in my opinion.

It's perfect in every way. if I slamma jamma. And Jeff Green, twice two. We're going to get two Uncle Jeff facials this year. Just two out of nowhere. What?

He just yammed on that dude at age a million. It's two and we're going to love every second of it. He will be doing that until the day he dies. Like he's just, he's going to jump up off a hospital bed and dunk on whatever poor nurse

happens to be in the vicinity. It's going to be tough, but we're also going to be cheering it. This episode is brought to you by Amazon Prime. Ever get hit with a plan out of nowhere and need something ASAP? Maybe it's an impromptu basketball game, a last minute trip with the crew, spontaneous date. That's when Prime's same-day delivery comes in. Get whatever you need.

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but even dream jobs have the stuff that nobody dreamed about, the busy work that gets in the way of the actual work. ServiceNow's AI specialists tackle that work. Request handled. Cases closed, the whole thing done. So you have more time for the work you actually want to do. For me, that's breaking down SGA film whenever I want, and then talking about it and do a microphone. To learn how to put AI to work for people, visit servicenow.com. Number four, number five, rather. Sorry, number five. Boy, oh boy, number five. Number five for the 27th ranked offense to the NBA last year. But not this year.

The Orlando Magic have ascended this high based on what Rob Mahoney? For me personally, part of the reason I have them rank so high is like, I think this is the year Paolo puts it together in a monstrous kind of way, like a little more space, a little more determination to get to the rim, a little more focus, and then one of like the most imposing players in the league already, his game could just completely explode. And like I think the Desmond Bain edition plus just like hopefully, hopefully, hopefully being healthier all around, we'll get him to that point. Like I am counting on a palo jump and that's why I have them this high.

I really like this team. I took the over at 50 and a half on Bill's podcast. I was the only one that took the over. Maybe Joe did. I can't remember. I think I was alone, though. I liked them that much despite their games are foul fests. Yeah. On both ends of the floor, they get to the line a lot and foul a lot,

which is, you know, the price you pay for being a physical nasty defense, which I just generally like that they lean all the way into like, all right, we're going to beat you up for 48 minutes. How do you feel about that on a second night of it back-to-back? They're also, too, like, they're not just one of these defenses that is grinding teams to dust, although they do grind teams to dust, like over the course of it, they really wear you out.

Just from, in terms of a league pass appeal standpoint, like Jalen Suggs is maybe the most watchable defender in the league for me. Like he's, you cannot take your eyes off him when he's on the court. And so that there's always something active and engaged and dynamic happening in addition to this like slow burn attrition of what the magic do to you. That's what makes them this high,

like puts them this high. Obviously they're going to be good. They're going to be one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference. but their defense can be super watchable too, not just in a strangle the life out of you kind of way. He is a more physical Dion Sanders away from the ball. I like that. He's just a cornerback hunting interceptions,

except he's hitting you and elbowing you along the way. And on the ball, like, tip off happens. All right, we're starting to game. It's Wednesday night. Oh, my God. Gailen Sikes is in my jersey, annoying the shit out of me immediately. And it really does set the tone for,

okay, this is going to be a very unpleasant experience. experience for you. Are you up for that? Because if you're not, we're going to beat you by 20 tonight. Bain is transformational. Couldn't be higher on Palo and Franz. It could be higher on fronts. The hitch scares me a little bit, but I'm super high on Palo. And just shout out David Steele and Jeff Turner. I say it every year. Orlando's been a little bit of a forgotten place in the NBA ecosystem until now. They are first class, first rate as broadcasters. The art, they've already released their all three New Jersey's this year, their new court. The black, blue, white, silver, stars, stars trailing the basketball shooting through this guy is A++.

Let me ask you about the A plus plus. I mean, love the pinstripes, love the color scheme, love the general like look, the typeface on these jerseys. I like them. I like it. It's a little AAU to me in a way that I'm like, is this really, is this really the font choice you want? But admittedly picking nits on that. I mean, it's a little bit of a throwback look for them. I like the star in place of the A in Orlando and magic sometimes, I think. The black one, people can look it up. It's got a, it's got like a blue. The top of it is blue and then it goes into black and pinstripes.

I think that's cool. And I can't, I can't spoil anything. The city edition jerseys are on par or better than these ones. The whole art top to bottom is going to be as good as it gets in the NBA. I love the magic. I think they're going to be a lot of fun. Are the city edition just full, like full stuff on the front or what's going on? Stuff is not involved.

Stuff's the Magic Dragon. Also, maybe the most underrated mascot in all of sports. I'm going to extend it into baseball, hockey. I don't know any other mascots really besides the most famous ones, but I'm just going to say it. And the pressure's on. The pressure's on. How do they adapt offensively? Is Jamal Mosley and his staff, are they up for like, okay, now we have to construct

something, a team that is more than we will beat you up into 46? wins. We have higher ambitions than that. Number four, this team has won the league pass rankings multiple times. They are probably the all-time league pass rankings champions, and they sit fourth. They were tied for first in my rankings with the Lakers, 11th in yours, the Golden State Warriors. Yeah. I felt the same way about them as I did about the Lakers. Feels high, but yeah, they're old. We've seen parts of this movie a lot of times now. I still love the movie. I love Jimmy Butler as a new character introduced toward the end of the show who fits right into the ethos. Ditto for Al Horford.

Draymond Green is still here and you'd want to talk about something between unintentional comedy category and just full on drama. Like you never know. You never know what Lim is going to be flying. Yes. Towards who and what drama could take place. And I will say it until he's retired. There is nothing like Steph Curry on a heater.

No. In all of sports. It's the best show in the NBA. still, it might not be a 48-minute show like Yokic, who's obviously coming up. We haven't named them yet. But for three, four, five minutes, it's the most exciting thing in sports. And I do think this team is going to be very good. They have good depth. They have interesting depth pieces. And they play a style that flows from their one-of-a-kind star that is unlike anything else in the NBA. And over 82 games and a million nights, I am appreciative of, okay, this game's going to look

different than the other ones I watched this week. Yes. And that is cohesive, as you said, like with the personality and the play of that star. Like, everything is flowing outward to the roster in a way that makes sense. And, like, history tells us anytime this team has enough healthy players who can actually play this style, they are one of the greatest shows on Earth. Like, it's just what they are. Like, if you are interested in ball movement at all, and why wouldn't you be?

If you like watching someone like Steph, dance himself open. And if you don't, what's wrong with you? this was a team that I'm glad they ended up here because once I cast my ballot, I had some reservations that I put them a little too low. And so I'm happy for the correction. I am happy to honor Steph Curry with a spot in the top five here. He certainly deserves it.

And like this is a team that like, I mean, they just traded for Jimmy Butler and won damn near every game in the regular season. So we're going to see how they pace themselves through 82. But I love the Al Horford edition. I always love DeAnthony Milton. Like they just have so many pieces that make sense together. to say nothing of the personalities and the quotes

and like the Buddy Healed kind of like Buddy Cop dynamic he has brewing with Jimmy. There's just like enough happening here around the edges to liven up the show that we already all know and love. Everybody loves Buddy Heald. Just everybody. Every stop, everybody loves him.

You didn't even mention Cominga and the whole, like, is this going to be a disaster? Is this going to work? Is he going to check out? Are they going to trade them at the first opportunity once he becomes tradable? or is he just going to unleash some hellacious power dunks three or four times a night?

Is he going to buy in on defense the way they've always wanted him to and he never quite has at least consistently? There's also the one downside of their past cut motion, happy style of play is the crazy turnovers and the moment where three or four times a season Steve Kerr will just reach his breaking point

and smash a clipboard in half because I can't believe you guys threw the ball out of bounds again. I just, I can't believe it. And I like the jerseys. You know, the announcers are Homer-ish for my taste and take that, take that for what it's worth. But I just, I love to watch this team and I'm, they're going to be in the top five for me

as long as Steph is playing in the NBA. The other part about those turnovers, too, not only do they, you know, drive Steve Kerr crazy and into, you know, a slow descent into coaching insanity at times. But I feel like that element of how they play, not just like, you know, the, historic like oh they go on these huge runs part but especially when they're on the road the warriors are so good at killing crowd momentum or in those rashes of turnover is building it and so it's like it always feels like the the energy in the building is coming or going like there is something that everyone is trying to grab a hold of that they can't quite figure out and that is great regular

season basketball to say the least to that point maybe the ultimate tribute to stepf curry is that he has made even casual once in a while fans pay attention to off ball movement. Yes. Because you will hear on the road the shrieking begin. Low volume, only some people have noticed it. When he gives up the ball on the baseline and his defender turns to look at the ball and he's gone,

the shrieking now begins as he's going around the pin and screen from the corner and it just escalates to the, when he has. the ball, it's a full on some pleasure, some pain, some fear, noise that only Steph Curry inspires in opposing crowds. And we're like, we're still there, right? Like, we are not at a point with Steph where he's in this like, you know, slow descent where, you know, he's shifting into a different stage of his career. Like, he's still that guy. Like, maybe not in the like breakdown off the dribble one-on-one individual creation in the way that he was four, five, six years ago. But that particular threat and that particular psychological effect on anyone within a five-mile radius,

nothing else like it in basketball. The top three, feels like we have the right top three, although you had the Hawks in your top three, which... That was right. That was correct. You cannot help yourself. I relate to it. I've gone to therapy for it.

This feels like the right top three. And even number three, despite the fact that they are the defending champion, you know, champions with one of the greatest defenses you will ever see. Yep. With coming off the greatest, biggest scoring margin in the history of the NBA and 60 whatever wins with the potential to win 70, I think, this year. Oklahoma City at three still feels correct to me. I mean, they're third. That means we love watching the Thunder, just not as much as the next two teams.

And maybe it's because their offense will have moments of, I want. I don't say uninspired, just a lot of, a lot of Shea, which is not a bad thing. A lot of J-dub, which is not, I mean, Shay is like a, like a ghost, like an apparition. You can't find him. He slips over here, he slips over there. Part of his body's over here. Part of his body's over there. Love J-dub, excited for the Chet leap that I think could come, particularly on offense.

What does a full season of Chet look like? What does a full season of Chet and Hartstein together look like? And just the sheer number of dudes who are going to come in the game to embarrass us. you when you get the ball. Yeah. Like I'm going to, how about Kaysson Wallace? I'm going to take the ball from you. Alex Caruso, you need to be to guard yokech tonight?

I'll take the ball from him sometimes. Lou Dort put them in the Dorcher. It's one after another of just they make defense appointment viewing because of how ferocious they are, how aggressive they are, and how they turn that into fast break offense. It's, it's must watch defense. And that is a very rare thing. There is that like boa constrictor model of defense. where again, you're just kind of suffocating.

This is not that. This is like pack of hyenas, swarming and gnawing and cackling while they do it all the time. And it's like the way that they celebrate and the energy that they're creating for themselves and for each other is part of what drives that whole machine.

Right. Like it is an energized collectivism on defense that is so contagious and it's so fun to watch. And it's like you have that plus, you know, and with it a healthy supply of forced turnovers that are leading to highlights. You have all this athletic across the roster.

And then you have the superstar and Shea, who, yes, can have, you know, a huge volume on some nights. There are nights where it's a lot of Shay. There's a lot of nights where he's having to create a lot. He's also one of those stars who could score basically anyway at any time. And that's who I want to be watching. That's who I want to be kind of on pins and needles seeing what he's going to do next. Topich will come back at some point and be a little bit of a mystery box.

A little mid-season plot twist. Like, oh, let's see what this. Let's see what this thing does. I just, I mean, I might be a little unreasonably excited for Casein Wallace. I just think there's more. Disagree. Let's amp it up. I want more. I want more excitement for Case and Wallace.

I just think there's more there. And I just wonder how good he could be on the ball. And if he'll ever really be able to show that on this team who doesn't really need him to, but obviously the more ball handling you have, the better. I just think there is a lot more untapped there. I love his spirit. I love his tenacity. And all of this collective sort of oomph is why I'm betting completely against championship

hangover, taking games for granted, wake us up in May and June, in part because Holmgren is still trying to like make an all-NBA team and put himself in consideration for awards. And he and Hartnstein are still gaining their chemistry. And just the hunger with which they play, their apparent desire to not only beat you, but to embarrass you and take your will and take your soul. I think this team is going to win, like I said before, I think it's more likely they win 70 games than go under 62 and a half, which is their line.

I think they're going to be hungry and nasty and not at all like, yeah, wake us up in June, we're good. This is the thing. I think there is a how far could they go factor with them that is so captivating and really leads to those like zeitgeisty moments, right? Like we saw it with Golden State when they were pushing for the record, where it's like you get the proximity to these all-time milestones, you feel them on the verge of just like, man, look at their schedule. If they just

win these games, if they just don't drop these games, all of a sudden, they're going to be in historic territory. I think they could win 70 and I don't even think it'd be that hard. Like, they were basically right there. They have incredible continuity. And within that continuity, almost every player you could expect to be better. Like, how, how could you not pencil that team? And again, if they want to, for me, it's left less a matter of championship hangover than do they decelerate a little bit for the sake? preserving, you know, like Alex Caruso even more than they did last season or protecting Chet from himself in certain kinds of ways. But as you mentioned, like the incentives for that are

pointing full speed ahead, full momentum all the time. The best argument for why what we're saying is ridiculous and over and over optimistic about their win total is just that the West is so good. And there's going to be so many games that are tough contested games. The West was already so good. It's probably a little better this year than it was last year. And this team ran roughshot over everybody. And when they defend like this, it's like they start every game ahead 10-0, no matter who they're playing. Their floor is just so high because you are not going to have a good offensive game against them. You're just not. Like maybe 10, 12 times a year a team will really punch a while its weight on offense, make more threes than expected, whatever. Your expectations

to be you're going to have a much worse offensive game than you usually do. And they're just hard to beat, man. They're hard to beat at home. They destroyed the, I think they lost, what, one game against the East last year or something like that. They're just hard to beat, but they come third in the league. I'm trying to think, is there anyone else on this team we should mention as, you know, league pass catnip? A.J. Mitchell? I like the A.J. Mitchell experience. I'm always an A.J. Mitchell guy. And especially as far as like, oh, someone coming off

the bench for a random regular season game and really popping, they have so many of those guys. Like, any game could be the A.J. Mitchell game. Any game could be the Aaron Wiggins game. I mean, like, that's part of the beauty of what makes this team not only so successful in the playoffs, but so watchable for the regular season. And it's one of the reasons why I'm picking them to win the title again. I don't know if you've made a pick. I know no one's repeated. I made the mistake of taking the repeat bait last year in picking Boston. I do think so many players here are on the upswing.

And games four and five against Denver when they were really on the ropes and they needed role players to make big shots to keep them alive. I just feel like living through those moments, living through Game 4 in Indiana, where the Pacers had a chance to snatch that series and Shay dug them out. You know, who knows what happens in Game 7. Obviously, we know that series looks like it was a coin toss. I just think living through those moments of tension

and surviving them and moving on has to loosen you up and make you more confident than next time you face anything like that. Yes, especially when you consider who did it, right? It wasn't like this was a young team that brought in Kevin Durant and KD did the heavy lifting in those moments. It had to be Shea. It had to be J-dub. It had to be Kaysen Wallace knocking down a big shot.

There's just enough of those moments that I'm completely with you. The effect of that is tangible. It's not just psychological. It courses through the entire way you play and the way you carry yourself coming into next year's playoffs. We're down to the top two. And how could it be, despite you putting the Hawks' side, second. How could it be any other top two than the most watchable player in the NBA for like the last

eight years in Nicole Yokic and the new most watchable, what the hell is this guy going to do today player in Victor Wenbanyama who might be seven nine by the time this podcast comes out? Coming in second in the league past rankings, dethroned the Denver. Nuggets, which means the league past champions of 2025, 2026 are Victor Wembeyanama and the San Antonio Spurs. What a time to be alive. You can pick either one, which you want. We'll take them together.

Where do you want to start? Let's keep it to order. Let's start with the Nuggets at number two. It's just, well, I mean, there's a lot of cool stuff. It's a lot of cool stuff. Yeah. Yeah, cool. Like, we could talk about Jonas Valenciunis.

Are they going to play the double bigs together? You're going to beat the hell out of people. We love Aaron Gordon. Peyton Watson block shots so hard. He feels like he's going to deflate the ball. It's just one guy. It's just the greatest passer I've ever seen. Yep.

The greatest, most creative, most ingenious player I've ever seen. Doing eight things a game that will make me laugh because of their combined brilliance, audaciousness, execution. There's just nobody like them. There's never been anybody like them. And it is eight to ten things a game, whether it's the outlet pass, whether it's the no look to the opposite corner, whether it's a post pivot, pivot, spin up and under,

oh my God, my defender just fell out of bounds, hookshot in, putbacks, the king of the putback, there's just nobody like Nicole Yokic. It does not get any better for me than Yokic in the paint, whipping the pass around the defender as the three-point shooter slides from the slot into the corner. Like passing him open in that exact way, no one knows what is happening, no one clocks at the angle should not be there, and probably, frankly, not be there for anyone smaller than him because he needs the wingspan to get it there.

That's as good as it gets. Like that is exactly what I want. And he delivers it with alarming frequency in ways that are new and exciting, basically every time, bending the laws of physics, bending the rules of basketball, like is just doing things all the time that you cannot miss. And so if you, if you are not watching the Denver Nuggets regularly, please consult your chart about which games are on Peacock and NBC and which ones are going to be on ESPN ABC. like figure it out but you need to get to the bottom of it to be watching the nuggets all the time

i i said this on bill's podcast last week you know i went when i got laid off from the ospn i planned a guy's trip with my buddies and we went to new orleans in part because there was a sports weekend of uh pelicans nuggets pelicans lakers saints browns i think all in a row Friday Saturday Sunday and we got good seats to basketball games good seats are available in New Orleans Yeah. Shocking. And I was talking to these guys in the lead up to the trip. They all know who Yokic is.

They're sports fans. They're not big NBA offense versus sports fans. I'm like, I'm telling you guys, watching this dude in person from up close is like seeing God. It's like touching God. Like it's a religious experience for a sports fan. Yeah. And it was one of the only games he's ever missed in his career. Oh, no.

And so we did not see Yokic. Yeah, I mean, look, Aaron Gordon, there's nothing not to like. Christian Brown, one man. fast break. It would surprise me if he gets a contract extension in the next few hours here. I still have my property on Strother Straits. Yeah. Has his moments captivating.

On the Christian Brown front, not only a one-man fast break, that man is a hammer. Like the way he gets up and the dunks he will pull off, reason enough to watch. I also think, like, one of the under-discussed elements of Denver's off-season because, like, it doesn't really matter in the way that the actual basketball stuff matters. Cam Johnson is just a... He just does more interesting things on a court than my... Michael Porter Jr. does. An MPJ, incredible shooter, played a super important role for the team, came up in huge

moments, especially in Denver's title run. I'm not trying to disparage him, but there's something a little more stiff about him and pretty limited about the way he's deployed that is just not sure of Camp Johnson. And so the idea of, oh, we already have this anchor in Yokic, who's one of the most watchable players in the league. Oh, this is a deeper team than it used to be, maybe with some of these young guys taking a step forward and also the one part of the team that was kind of standstill might not be standstill anymore. I didn't know you could raise the roof in that way. Yeah, I do think there in the

fascination with Cam Johnson's fit with Denver, and I'm as fascinated as anybody he can do more with the ball. He's a little nimbler and all of that. It hasn't been a disparagement of Michael Porter Jr., but people are so excited by that trade that I do think he's been. He's been a little being undersold as a 610 knockdown a plus off movement in traffic, handed my face, shooter. And although he's a minus defensively, his rotations were hit or miss, all that, can't stay in front of people. I think they're going to miss his size and his rebounding a little bit more than people realize. That's not to say I wouldn't have done the trade or don't think the trade is an upgrade.

I think offensively it probably is. But I'm excited to. I mean, just, and I hope this is the year we get Jamal Murray. Yeah. Full blast out of the gate. It kind of looks like it. I mean, again, preseason very early. I don't want to overreact to the glimpses,

but he looks like a guy who's ready to set the season on fire, which is not usually the case. We got the rainbow skyline back on their one of their jerseys, whatever it is. And I've really grown to love the Royal Blue Mile High basketball jerseys. Just there's just, again, watching a Nuggets game, sometimes late at night sometimes I wake up and have my coffee and watch the nuggets

it's just like getting into a warm bath I'm so happy immediately and it's just I just know the next two hours are going to be a lot of fun that said they are not number one they're not the San Antonio freaking spurs have stole the league pass thrown

I mean what is there to say say something here's what I want from the number one team it is things that I don't even know how to ask for. Like possibilities that are so surprising and extreme, they are beyond what I could reasonably imagine. And what I am saying is what I want is Victor Webbenyama. Like, I want a player like that. And the stuff that we've seen from him recently, again, not trying

to over lean on everything that's happening in the preseason, but like, I assume, Zach, you saw this play where he gets pinned in the right corner about one step inside the three point line and somehow steps through into a layup. Like a wide open layup out of that. And I'm thinking back to like the moments where all of us were freaking out about the ground that Janus could cover in the half court, you know, like two strides and all of a sudden he's, you know, all the way to the rim and transition. And with Victor Webb and Yama, like, he is six to seven inches taller than that. And we have been talking about, oh, what's going to happen when he gets more physical, when he gets bigger, when his body fills out, when he adds these other aspects to his game? What happens when he has this level of footwork? What happens when all of a sudden, the guy who can cover more ground than anybody else has a better sense of how to cover that ground. And I think we maybe thought a little too hard about,

oh, how is he going to react physically going forward or what is the next step? What is the shot he needs to add? I don't know, man. He can stretch farther and step farther than anyone else in the sport, and I can't wait to watch him do it every single game. Yokic, I know what I'm getting.

I love it. Couldn't love it anymore. I know what I'm getting. Victor Wembeyanama is a mystery. Every single night I could see something that I didn't see coming like a plot twist and a mystery TV show. Like it just like I just have no idea what's going to happen. And you could tell me almost anything.

I'd be like, okay, that sounds reasonable. Let me dial in and watch. I just, I don't even, he's going to do stuff every game that is inexplicable. And he, he blots out the sun on. defense. It's like defending with six guys. It's not even fair. He's going to win defensive player of the year probably if he stays healthy and he's going to do it. He's going to win it in ways we've never seen before. That is something that in itself is exciting. This isn't a traditional rim protector. This is someone who is changing the geometry

of the way everyone plays on the court. He sometimes closes out to shooters from the pain, from the rim almost. And as he's doing it, I'm like, he's not going to get. He's not going to get there. Yeah. Like, that's kind of dumb and I want him there for rebound. And then he blocks the shot or the guy shoots it so high. Yeah. That it's, it has no chance to go in.

Or the guy just freaks out and passes to nobody because he has no pass available to him. And I'm like, oh, go, yeah. Victor Wemontama knows exactly how long and how fast he is. And I was an idiot for doubting it. And just like you said, the moves where he's somewhere far from the rim and then the ball is in the rim. Yes. And you're like, I don't, that doesn't seem plausible to me.

that that happened. I don't, I just want to see all of it. I think it is, every game is going to be appointment viewing. Every game that he plays against a talented peer

is going to be appointment viewing. Yeah. The team is, you know, in a stage of figuring out how to build around him still. They've got some exciting pieces and all that. And I just like don't even care. I just don't even care.

You could nitpick how it's so hand fit Fox and Brian. I just don't care. I think they're going to be good. And I think he's just going to be otherworldly. Well, I think, to do mad on that part, like all those complications are true and how all these players are going to fit together. All that stuff is valid. But like, this is the best part, right? This is the part where the expectations aren't quite here yet, like pressurizing everything. Everyone is still

so young and yet they're going to be good. Like, this is going to be a good team anchored by one of the best basketball players in the world and someone who's doing it in all the ways we just described. And so it's like, we get to watch Wemby and Fox figure out how to play together. Like, we get to watch every formative stage of that. We get to figure out, like, no one needs me to tell them that, like, Dylan Harper has, like, some real juice on the ball, but, like, the change of direction, speed, the finishing instincts. Like, we get to see the way all of that fits

and starts to find its shape together. This is the best part. Like, this is exactly where you want to be as a team, is on the rise, clearly on the rise, riding an all-time, like, a generational talent to wherever it is that you're going to go. And no one quite knows where that is yet. He's also transcended regular casual sports fandom in a way that Yolkic never did,

which is to say, I'm in group chats and I have friends in this area of the country who, when the NBA schedule comes out, begin to map out when they are going to be in the same city as Victor Wenbiyama or try to get the company tickets at Madison Square Garden or scour the secondary market for tickets in Brooklyn. Like guys that I don't even realize are basketball fans. Like, I got to get to see Wembenyama. Well, that's it. League pass rankings. Any concluding thoughts on this?

We are now, when people listen to this, the season will be beginning today. Tuesday, October 21st. We got who we have. I don't even know who's playing. We have Lakers. We've got to figure that out. Lakers, Wolves, I think. And let's see.

Rocket Thunder Warriors Lakers. What a start. What a start. Four of the top seven league pass rankings teams are playing right off the bat. It's like they did it just for us. Honestly, I feel great about our rankings. I do think that we did the Hawks little dirty, but we gave them their flowers, certainly.

The core of this top five, though, like the crux of these teams that we've been talking about as the most watchable and charismatic. Like, I just think the league is in an amazing place. And there are dramatically different styles of play here. There are stars who attack everything in totally different ways. I know there's like constant hand-wringing about ratings, about style of play,

about just like the general basketball. culture, I look at these top five and ten teams and I don't feel any of that. Like I feel I feel really good about the state of the NBA right now. In a few hours as people are listening to this, Amman Thompson will be guarding Shea Gildress Alexander in a basketball game that counts. That's what's happening. Rob Mahoney, thank you. League Pass rankings.

You're a good soldier. I will see you down the line, sir. Thanks, Zach. Appreciate it. Ooh, thanks to Rob Mahoney for slogging through the league. League pass rankings with us. It's a lot, but it was a lot of fun. We hit all 30 teams. Thanks to Jesse, Jonathan, and Mike on production. Thanks to you all for listening and watching the Zach Lowe Show. Enjoy opening night. The season is here. It's going to be a fun season.

We'll see you back later this week, probably on Thursday, to talk about NBA basketball. What's been happening in the league? Thanks again. Must be 21 or over in President Select States for Kansas in affiliation with Kansas Star Casino or 18 and over in President D.C., Kentucky, or Wyoming gambling problem, call 1-800 gambler or visit RG-G-Help.com. Call 1-88-78-9-7777 or visit CCPpGGGGG dot org slash chat in Connecticut or visit MDGamblinghelp.org in Maryland. Hope is here. Visit Gamblinghelpline,

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