Latest / The Craig Way Show / Taking stock of the Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs as the NBA season enters Week 3

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Taking stock of the Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs as the NBA season enters Week 3 · The Craig Way Show

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  Speaker 1: There were a couple of their NBA notes wanted to
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  Speaker 1: get to here, Kim. The all three Texas teams are
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  Speaker 1: in action. Night two are going one on one against
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  Speaker 1: each other. Spurs in Houston to take on the Rockets.
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  Speaker 1: Spurs three and four so far, Rockets four and three
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  Speaker 1: so far. Early impressions of those two.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah. With the Spurs, it's nice to see Wemby finally
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  Speaker 2: has a point guard in Chris Paul, but it's it's
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  Speaker 2: still not in that contender level yet. In in for Houston,
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  Speaker 2: a team that I'm pretty high on four and three
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  Speaker 2: to start this season. I really like their roster. I
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  Speaker 2: like what we've seen so far out of Jalen Green,
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  Speaker 2: He's having a fantastic year. Tarry Easton has been fun
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  Speaker 2: to watch, and him and Thompson one of the Thompson twins.
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  Speaker 2: I like his development and heck of a coach. And
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  Speaker 2: im Adoku. It's a team that's only going to get better,
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  Speaker 2: only going to get better. You know, still fourth in
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  Speaker 2: the standings, but you know it's so early two week
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  Speaker 2: market's kind of hard to get wrapped up in the standings.
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  Speaker 2: But if you're a Rockets fan, you feel really good
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  Speaker 2: about where this team is headed.
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  Speaker 1: Another four and three versus three and four matchups tonight
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  Speaker 1: Mavericks at home, they're four and three of the Bulls
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  Speaker 1: come in at three and four into Dallas.
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  Speaker 2: Hey, Kyrie Irvings has been a revelation this season. He's
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  Speaker 2: been fun to watch. Lucas just not really shooting it well.
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  Speaker 2: It's it's been kind of a weird start for Luca
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  Speaker 2: at the beginning of this campaign. I mean, he's got
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  Speaker 2: the usual, you know, twenty nine points per game, you know,
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  Speaker 2: eight rebounds, seven assists, so those numbers look good, but
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  Speaker 2: the shooting splits have been okay, thirty two percent from
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  Speaker 2: beyond the arc, seventy six percent at the line, and
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  Speaker 2: forty percent overall on the floor, which is well below
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  Speaker 2: his career average. I mean, he's a career forty six
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  Speaker 2: thirty fourth shooter and this year forty and thirty two.
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  Speaker 2: So that's curious to see. You know, will that improve?
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  Speaker 2: I mean, you think it will improve throughout the year,
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  Speaker 2: and you know, once Luca heats up, the Mavericks will
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  Speaker 2: be a real threat. But I think you know, maybe
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  Speaker 2: you know, there's a couple of losses there. But if
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  Speaker 2: you're a Mavericks fan, just like the Rockets fan. You
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  Speaker 2: feel really good about where this team is at. We
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  Speaker 2: had lost to Indiana, but they can get and get
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  Speaker 2: get Luca back shooting the ball like he should be.
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  Speaker 2: Is the team that will be up there at the
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  Speaker 2: top of the top of the Western Conference.
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  Speaker 1: Of course, everything that Cameron Parker just told you forget about.
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  Speaker 1: He doesn't give the south end of a rat about
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  Speaker 1: either of those two games, because see, his Oklahoma City
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  Speaker 1: Thunder is in Denver to play the Nuggets tonight. Are
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  Speaker 1: the thundergoing eighty two? And oh?
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  Speaker 2: This year? I think so?
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  Speaker 1: Actually there's seven and oh for folks who don't know so,
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  Speaker 1: and the Nuggets are four and three. So I just
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  Speaker 1: thought i'd asked the question if the Thunder we're gonna
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  Speaker 1: go eighty two and oh?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think okay, see eighty two and oh the
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  Speaker 2: Cavaliers will be eighty two and oh, just setting history together. Yeah,
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  Speaker 2: fantastic start for Thunder. You know my prediction for them
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  Speaker 2: to win the Western Conference this season. Re the NBA
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  Speaker 2: Finals play the Boston Celtics. Looks pretty good right now.
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  Speaker 2: The offense is humming. They have the best defense in
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  Speaker 2: the league by a wide margin. Opponents points per game
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  Speaker 2: ninety five point nine right now, the second lowest opponents
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  Speaker 2: points per game in the NBA. I think it's Golden
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  Speaker 2: State at one hundred and four point three points to
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  Speaker 2: almost ten points. Bow tells you how good Okac's defense
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  Speaker 2: is played Denver the Night, Denver, of course, getting some
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  Speaker 2: brutal injury news. Aaron Gordon's out for a couple of weeks.
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  Speaker 2: A Nuggets team that started four and three do not
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  Speaker 2: look like the threat they were last season or even
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  Speaker 2: two years ago. But later on this sweek, Craig, we
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  Speaker 2: do get Okay see Golden State and the Warriors, by
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  Speaker 2: the way, six and one, probably the second best defensive
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  Speaker 2: team in the league. Got Draymond Green's already kind of
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  Speaker 2: chirping at the thunder, So that'll be a fun game
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  Speaker 2: to watch later on the So shake Gilds.
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  Speaker 1: Alexander Sga is averaging twenty six points, seven rebounds, and
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  Speaker 1: seven assists per game. Now Nikola Jokic is averaging thirty points,
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  Speaker 1: just under thirteen rebounds and ten assists. He's averaging a
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  Speaker 1: triple double. But he's alway got right now, right, who's
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  Speaker 1: that shay No Jokic? Oh yeah, yeah, Jokic. No, they
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  Speaker 1: Jokich is averaging a triple double, Shae is averaging twenty
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  Speaker 1: six point seven board seven assists, but he's got other contributors.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, Michael Porter Junior just only averaging sixteen sixteen points
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  Speaker 2: per game. I'm sorry, Jamal Murray only sixteen points per
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  Speaker 2: game does not look like that same killer that we
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  Speaker 2: saw when he was in the playoffs and led Denver
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  Speaker 2: to their first NBA championship. So I don't know what's
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  Speaker 2: the issue with Jamal Murray. I mean, he played awful
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  Speaker 2: in the Olympics this summer for Team Canada. That seems
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  Speaker 2: to carry over this year. For the Nuggets to be
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  Speaker 2: one of the top teams in the league, they need
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  Speaker 2: that Jokic Murray connection. They need those two guys playing
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  Speaker 2: at the top of their game. Jokic continues to do so,
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  Speaker 2: but Jamal Murray not doing that. He's not holding up
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  Speaker 2: his end of the bargain. So you know, maybe that's
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  Speaker 2: just not who he is as a player. But I mean,
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  Speaker 2: he's the third highest score on the team, which is
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  Speaker 2: never not a good sign. In the course, with the
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  Speaker 2: Aaron Gordon news him being out for a few weeks,
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  Speaker 2: it's a Nuggets team Craig that does not have the
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  Speaker 2: same depth they had a few years ago. KCP Can
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  Speaker 2: Davis Colwell Pope he plays for the Magic, now lost
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  Speaker 2: in free agency. Bruce Brown's been gone now for two years.
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  Speaker 2: Those are two guys that played pivotal roles for the
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  Speaker 2: Nuggets when they win a championship two years ago. They
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  Speaker 2: are gone and they have not really replaced them. The
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  Speaker 2: way Denver is operator is that they're trying to replace
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  Speaker 2: them through the draft with guys they've drafted, But Mike
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  Speaker 2: Blohan doesn't like to play young guys, so there's a
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  Speaker 2: disconnect there between the head coach in the front office.
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  Speaker 2: And then they go out and sign Russell Westbrook and hey,
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  Speaker 2: I'm probably the biggest Russell Westbrook fan in all of Texas.
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  Speaker 1: But I know you're the biggest Russell Westbrook fan in
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  Speaker 1: this room. I can tell you that.
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  Speaker 2: But who he is now, as a player past his prime,
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  Speaker 2: at his age, his style game just didn't make a
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  Speaker 2: whole lot of sense to me. I think the thinking was, hey,
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  Speaker 2: it's a long season. When you know there's games, you
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  Speaker 2: just need some spark off the bench. Throw them out there.
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  Speaker 2: But that was their big free agency move him and
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  Speaker 2: Daryl Sariz who was bounced around, and he's averaging one
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  Speaker 2: point per game, which is not helpful at all. So
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  Speaker 2: you know, I think the championship window for Denver has closed.
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  Speaker 2: Maybe Jamal Murray just heats up this season and I
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  Speaker 2: look like an idiot, but I think the window's gone
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  Speaker 2: for Denver. Correct.
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  Speaker 1: The Suns are also hosting the heat. Kevin Durant case
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  Speaker 1: You're Winning, was averaging twenty seven point seven boards, three
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  Speaker 1: and half assist.
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  Speaker 2: He has been the clutches player in the league this season.
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  Speaker 2: He has come out with vendetta. I mean, this is
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  Speaker 2: the best Kdie has looked. I think since the year
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  Speaker 2: he led Brooklyn to what was it the Conference semis
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  Speaker 2: for the Conference.
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  Speaker 1: Finals finals Againstwaukee and his.
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  Speaker 2: Foot was on the line when we thought he tied
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  Speaker 2: it up.
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  Speaker 1: This is this is watching that, by the way, in
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  Speaker 1: a sports bar in Omaha the Longhorns were in the
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  Speaker 1: College World Series.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's the best Katie's looks since then. Six and
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  Speaker 2: one this season brought in Mike Budenholzer Coast, a pop disciple,
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  Speaker 2: and the team has looked really good. The revelation with
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  Speaker 2: the Virginia rookie is Ryan Dunn, I think is his name.
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  Speaker 2: He's looked fantastic. Where everyon's trying to figure out who's
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  Speaker 2: gonna be Rookie of the Year, no one really knows.
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  Speaker 2: It might be Ryan Dunn because he's done a fantastic job.
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  Speaker 2: His development has been huge. He struggled to shoot at Virginia.
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  Speaker 2: All of a sudden, he's becomeing a lights out shooter
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  Speaker 2: for Phoenix. They've been fun to watch and it feels
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  Speaker 2: like every other game there's another Kevin Durant clutch bucket,
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  Speaker 2: one of my favorite players to watch in all of
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  Speaker 2: the NBA history, and Austoin to c Kde continue to
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  Speaker 2: light it up and put in the Suns first in
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  Speaker 2: their the vision.
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  Speaker 1: Which of these two players, each of whom are averaging
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  Speaker 1: thirty points per game, is alone on a desert island
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  Speaker 1: with his bast ketball team being he's the only option
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  Speaker 1: basically right now. Nicolo Jokich with Denver Tyree Maxi with
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  Speaker 1: the Sixers.
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  Speaker 2: Well, the good news for Philadelphia is that Paul George
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  Speaker 2: To came back last night of the day before, so
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  Speaker 2: it'll be it's huge Philadelphia get him back, and of
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  Speaker 2: course Embiid now suspended for three games because of the
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  Speaker 2: pushing incident. So I would lean towards Jokis right now
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  Speaker 2: because you know Paul George will put up points. You
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  Speaker 2: know Embiid will put up points. But for Denver, I
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  Speaker 2: mean your number two guy right now is Michael Porter Junior,
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  Speaker 2: which is never a good sign in my opinion, So
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  Speaker 2: I would go Jokistare for MAXI you knew he was
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  Speaker 2: going to have to score a bunch of points and
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  Speaker 2: put up a bunch of shots in the first part
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  Speaker 2: of the season with no Paul George, with no Embiid.
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  Speaker 2: The issue is can George and Embiid stay healthy or
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  Speaker 2: in Embid's case, can he stay away from getting in trouble? Yeah?
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  Speaker 1: All right? Coming up next more on the college football playoffs,
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  Speaker 1: and we'll hear more from Loggorn's head coach, Steve Sarkisian
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  Speaker 1: when we continue on Sports Radio AM thirteen hundred The
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  Speaker 1: Zone