Latest / Small Ball with Kenny Beecham / Ranking The 25 Best NBA Players Under 25 Years Old
Transcript
- 0:00SPEAKER_01: Remember when Zion was the most freakish athlete we had ever seen ever?
- 0:03SPEAKER_01: You remember that?
- 0:04SPEAKER_01: And then that died down because of some of the injury history and stuff.
- 0:07SPEAKER_01: And I had kind of accepted the fact that we weren't gonna get those super extreme dunks uh posters that we were accustomed to with Z, but I still believe that he could still be a really impactful player.
- 0:17SPEAKER_01: Have y'all seen him the last couple days?
- 0:19SPEAKER_01: One of those dunks, a two-hand Ali Oop that looked like the old Zion.
- 0:29SPEAKER_01: Welcome, welcome, welcome back to the Kenny Beachum podcast.
- 0:33SPEAKER_01: On today's episode, I'm giving you my own personal 25 under 25.
- 0:39SPEAKER_01: The 25 best players that are under the age of 25.
- 0:42SPEAKER_01: And boy, was this tough.
- 0:44SPEAKER_01: Because I got my list.
- 0:45SPEAKER_01: Don't get me wrong.
- 0:46SPEAKER_01: I got my list.
- 0:46SPEAKER_01: Actually, I put them into tiers.
- 0:48SPEAKER_01: We'll explain that in a second.
- 0:49SPEAKER_01: And I've still got a couple decisions to make, and we're gonna make that on the fly.
- 0:52SPEAKER_01: All I need from you is to leave a like on the episode, subscribe.
- 0:55SPEAKER_01: If you're on Spotify, go over to the YouTube channel and subscribe.
- 0:58SPEAKER_01: If you're on the YouTube channel, go over to Spotify, go over to Apple and give us five stars that goes a very long way.
- 1:05SPEAKER_01: Because another podcast just jumped onto the scene, the NBA universe, and I've always mentioned that one of my goals is to be number one, right?
- 1:14SPEAKER_01: Eventually.
- 1:15SPEAKER_01: It's a long grind for some people.
- 1:18SPEAKER_01: For a guy like LeBron James, first episode, you're number one by a wide margin.
- 1:23SPEAKER_01: Now, I mean, he's been grinding for 20 plus years to have the, I guess, the ability to have this many people care about what he's saying, but still, you know, there's just more competition.
- 1:32SPEAKER_01: And I thought I only had to worry about one JJ show.
- 1:35SPEAKER_01: Now it's two JJ shows.
- 1:36SPEAKER_01: So five stars go a very, very long way.
- 1:39SPEAKER_01: We had to take out Shannon Sharp.
- 1:40SPEAKER_01: We did that for like two days.
- 1:42SPEAKER_01: And then the Cat Williams thing dropped, and now Shannon Sharp is untouchable.
- 1:45SPEAKER_01: Uh, so now we got to go at LeBron and JJ Reddick, I guess.
- 1:49SPEAKER_01: Okay.
- 1:50SPEAKER_01: I don't know how it's gonna go, but I'm gonna need your help.
- 1:52SPEAKER_01: Uh let's get let's get into this because this is something that I normally wouldn't do, right?
- 1:56SPEAKER_01: I feel like this is accredited to dang, I'm giving them some promo while I just talking trash a couple seconds ago.
- 2:02SPEAKER_01: A lot of this is uh due to the fact of some things that I heard on the new LeBron James, JJ Reddick show.
- 2:10SPEAKER_01: And it made me want to go harder.
- 2:11SPEAKER_01: It made me want to step my game up personally, just kind of hearing about Braun and the things that he believes it takes to be a great NBA player.
- 2:20SPEAKER_01: I think a lot of those things can apply to my universe as well.
- 2:24SPEAKER_01: I had to tinker it a little bit, like knowing the history of the game is one thing Braun talked about.
- 2:28SPEAKER_01: The history of NBA podcasting is what?
- 2:30SPEAKER_01: Bill Simmons, the no-dunks guys, formerly known as starters, formerly known as the basketball Jones.
- 2:35SPEAKER_01: Like knowing the history of podcasting is not that important, but some of the other stuff, the sacrifices, the time that you put in, and all of the other things.
- 2:43SPEAKER_01: And one thing that I look back on my resume and look at my episodes, and I look at all of the content that I've produced in this NBA universe, I've been relatively tame.
- 2:53SPEAKER_01: And I mean that in a in a in an okay way, right?
- 2:56SPEAKER_01: I'm not about to start being this outlandish guy that's about to give you a hot take, just to give you a hot take.
- 3:01SPEAKER_01: But I do believe that I steered on the side of caution in a lot of situations, right?
- 3:05SPEAKER_01: There was a time, maybe five, six years ago, where I didn't really feel comfortable with giving predictions.
- 3:11SPEAKER_01: And now I look back on my old self like, why not?
- 3:14SPEAKER_01: This whole universe, this, this, this talking sports thing, you're gonna be wrong.
- 3:18SPEAKER_01: Five years ago, I didn't want to be wrong.
- 3:20SPEAKER_01: Nowadays, I welcome it.
- 3:21SPEAKER_01: Actually, I love when people tweet me clips of me saying something that eventually ended up being wrong.
- 3:26SPEAKER_01: Because everything that I say in these podcasts, the other podcasts, is is rooted in something.
- 3:30SPEAKER_01: I'm not just pulling these opinions out of my ass for no reason, like it's based on some of the things I've seen.
- 3:35SPEAKER_01: And obviously, if I was an Ostradomist, I wouldn't be doing podcasts and I'd be somewhere with$100 million because I'd just be gambling all day, right?
- 3:42SPEAKER_01: So we make predictions, we're gonna be wrong a lot of times, you're gonna be right sometimes.
- 3:46SPEAKER_01: And another thing I didn't normally do was rank players.
- 3:49SPEAKER_01: And even then, I still, even though I put this together, it still feels a kind of iffy to rank players because the way I kind of look at it is there's no, well, for me, there's a for sure number one, right?
- 3:59SPEAKER_01: Number one is Nikola Jokic, right?
- 4:00SPEAKER_01: You talk about the best players in the world.
- 4:02SPEAKER_01: But after that, there's no for sure way.
- 4:04SPEAKER_01: Like I think Giannis is number two, but if you think like Seth Curry's number two, or you think some of the other guy, Luka Doncic might be number two for you now, like I'm not gonna be mad at you.
- 4:13SPEAKER_01: I'm not even gonna push back on that, right?
- 4:15SPEAKER_01: So the way I did things today is I ranked them in tiers, right?
- 4:18SPEAKER_01: There's a 1A, there's a 1B, there's a 2A, 2B, so on and so forth, right?
- 4:22SPEAKER_01: And the way this works is if the people are in the same tier, then I'm like pulling hairs to figure out who's the better of the two, right?
- 4:31SPEAKER_01: Um, and all of this came from me watching Anthony Ewitz over the last couple of weeks.
- 4:35SPEAKER_01: Um, I think it was March 3rd, Carnthony Towns was that was his last game.
- 4:39SPEAKER_01: And since then, Anthony Ewits has been averaging 30 plus points per game, and he's been a highlight machine, right?
- 4:43SPEAKER_01: You got the big dunk on John Collins that is the best dunk of the year.
- 4:47SPEAKER_01: I mean, sometimes I think about players and I'm like, man, when his career's done, he's gonna have an all-time mix.
- 4:54SPEAKER_01: I look at him and say that.
- 4:56SPEAKER_01: I look at like lesser players, like Jalen Green's mix is gonna be crazy.
- 5:01SPEAKER_01: The other night, I didn't even see this because I wasn't watching the game, and it took me like two days later before that popped up on my timeline.
- 5:06SPEAKER_01: He dropped somebody, and I can't even remember who it is.
- 5:09SPEAKER_01: Jared Butler.
- 5:10SPEAKER_01: He dropped Jared Butler, looked at him, right?
- 5:13SPEAKER_01: Do you remember when James Harden dropped Wesley Johnson and he stared at him for like three, four seconds before anybody did anything?
- 5:18SPEAKER_01: Then he cast a three.
- 5:19SPEAKER_01: Well, he did that.
- 5:20SPEAKER_01: Jared Butler fell to the floor.
- 5:22SPEAKER_01: He looked at him for maybe two, three seconds.
- 5:24SPEAKER_01: He shot a three, and then he turned around before the shot was in.
- 5:29SPEAKER_01: He combined the best possible things that you can have in a highlight.
- 5:34SPEAKER_01: You got the crossover, you got the disrespect, you got the finish, and you got the confidence to look away before five.
- 5:40SPEAKER_01: So, like Jalen Green is one of those players that will have an all-time mix when it's all said and done.
- 5:44SPEAKER_01: Anthony Eric's in that camp, too.
- 5:46SPEAKER_01: But it's not just about the ducking on Jock Collins.
- 5:49SPEAKER_01: It's also about um him helping his team pull away in that game against the Utah Jazz, where he put up 31 points and seeing him consistently be great and be great.
- 5:57SPEAKER_01: And it started that first game without Carl Anthony Towns against the Indiana Pacers, uh, where he got the game-winning block.
- 6:02SPEAKER_01: He put up 40 plus points in a game-winning block.
- 6:04SPEAKER_01: Like, man, obviously we've known for some time that Anthony Edwards is really like that.
- 6:08SPEAKER_01: But to see him do it where I don't want to say he has no help, obviously, because they are still winning basketball games, and even the game that they lost yesterday against the Denver Nuggets, Jaden McDaniels matched his career high.
- 6:19SPEAKER_01: So it's obviously not just him, but he's missing his number two guy, Carl Anthony Towns.
- 6:24SPEAKER_01: In a lot of cases in this season, Cardney Towns was 1A with him, right?
- 6:28SPEAKER_01: There was a stretch of like a month and a half period where I was watching Minnesota Timbulls games like Carl Anthony Towns has been the better player for this month.
- 6:34SPEAKER_01: And that guy's gone.
- 6:36SPEAKER_01: And now Rudy Gobert's gone for some time, I guess.
- 6:39SPEAKER_01: Even Oz Reed even went down, and he's still consistently doing great stuff.
- 6:44SPEAKER_01: So in this game, it was kind of a disappointing going into it, right?
- 6:48SPEAKER_01: You see on the schedule, you got Minnesota Timbulls, you got Denver Nuggets.
- 6:52SPEAKER_01: These two teams have, I think, only played one time before last night, and these two teams are jockeying for playoff positioning.
- 6:57SPEAKER_01: And obviously, Rudy Gobert is out, Carney Towns is out, Nas Reed went out.
- 7:01SPEAKER_01: So it's like it's Anthony Edwards, and they're starting Kyle Anderson at the five against Jokic.
- 7:07SPEAKER_01: So I'm like, man, this beautiful game that could have been, even if it was just Rudy Gobert, right?
- 7:11SPEAKER_01: Even if it was just Rudy Gobert, this beautiful game that could have been, them boys fought so damn hard.
- 7:17SPEAKER_01: And traditionally, I'm not a guy that cares about more victories.
- 7:20SPEAKER_01: You know, it's did you get the win or did you not?
- 7:23SPEAKER_01: I had to change my whole philosophy on this game.
- 7:25SPEAKER_01: I had to.
- 7:26SPEAKER_01: Because these boys fought very hard against uh Wiley, known as the best team in basketball.
- 7:31SPEAKER_01: And it took some late game heroics where they could not miss.
- 7:34SPEAKER_01: Again, JD McDaniels hit uh his career high attire's career high.
- 7:38SPEAKER_01: And then they they lost the game on an open look for Anthony Edwards that you live with, right?
- 7:43SPEAKER_01: It was one of the better shots you could have created.
- 7:45SPEAKER_01: And Anthony Edwards, and he's got the crowd going and everything.
- 7:48SPEAKER_01: I mean, it was goddamn Luca Garza Garden Jokic in this game.
- 7:52SPEAKER_01: And they just lost like one possession.
- 7:54SPEAKER_01: So I'm watching these last couple weeks and stuff, and I'm thinking to myself, how many players in the association, giving young younger players, right?
- 8:04SPEAKER_01: Just the younger players, would I take over Anthony Eritts?
- 8:07SPEAKER_01: If I am starting from scratch, all of the 24, uh 25, and under players are standing across the wall like it's it's grade school.
- 8:15SPEAKER_01: He's like, hmm, I want him as the first pick.
- 8:17SPEAKER_01: How many people do I have higher than Anthony Ericts?
- 8:20SPEAKER_01: And I'm thinking and I'm Googling, like, how old is Luka Doncic?
- 8:23SPEAKER_01: He aged out as 21 days ago.
- 8:25SPEAKER_01: Sorry.
- 8:26SPEAKER_01: Luca would be number one for sure.
- 8:27SPEAKER_01: I mean, that's you know that.
- 8:29SPEAKER_01: And Shagios Alexander, too old now, it's 26 years old at this point in time.
- 8:34SPEAKER_01: So it's like those guys aged out.
- 8:37SPEAKER_01: I I think there's only one.
- 8:39SPEAKER_01: I think there's only one guy.
- 8:40SPEAKER_01: If everybody lined up, 25 and under, that I would take over Anthony Ewitz.
- 8:44SPEAKER_01: And that one guy is Victor Webanyama.
- 8:48SPEAKER_01: Now, when I do these 25 under 25, I am not talking about today's talent because obviously, right?
- 8:54SPEAKER_01: You know what I'm saying?
- 8:55SPEAKER_01: I'm not talking about today's talent.
- 8:56SPEAKER_01: I'm projecting where I can see their careers go.
- 9:00SPEAKER_01: And I look at Wimby and I see what he has done over the past two and a half months, three months or so, and I'm like, this man is a freak of nature.
- 9:08SPEAKER_01: He is a one-on-one type of player that I would want that over Anthony Edwards.
- 9:12SPEAKER_01: But that's that's it.
- 9:13SPEAKER_01: Anthony Edwards is number two.
- 9:15SPEAKER_01: And let's actually let's just let's just get into the tiers, right?
- 9:18SPEAKER_01: Again, these are my 1A's, right?
- 9:20SPEAKER_01: Remember, 25 and under.
- 9:21SPEAKER_01: So if there's somebody on the list, once you get to the end of it, like, man, Kenny missed out on that one.
- 9:26SPEAKER_01: A, I would advise you to go Google their age because maybe they are personally outside of the age of 25.
- 9:31SPEAKER_01: Um, or sometimes I just have overseas stuff.
- 9:34SPEAKER_01: That's a possibility too.
- 9:35SPEAKER_01: I mean, the comment section is a comment section.
- 9:37SPEAKER_01: Now, I do want to say before we really get into it, there are a few people that I did not rank that might have deserved to be on this list one way or another, but it's really because I have not had my eyes on them enough this season, right?
- 9:47SPEAKER_01: I think it is extremely important for me and my job to be able to say I don't know much about this player season, right?
- 9:54SPEAKER_01: I could come up here and lie to y'all, but y'all could, y'all could tell, right?
- 9:57SPEAKER_01: I would hope you could tell if somebody's just talking, talking out their ass.
- 10:00SPEAKER_01: We talked about that earlier.
- 10:01SPEAKER_01: I don't just give opinions out of my ass, right?
- 10:03SPEAKER_01: So those players that might have ranked and might have not ranked as like Balal Kulabani, Denny Abdia.
- 10:07SPEAKER_01: Denny Abdia is a guy that I watch his possessions and everything, but I still don't have a full grasp.
- 10:11SPEAKER_01: And maybe he has no business being on this list, but I'm just saying right now, Wizards fans, if you think Balal should be there, uh get well soon.
- 10:18SPEAKER_01: I think he's out for the rest of the season.
- 10:19SPEAKER_01: Or you think Denny should be there after this great season, I'm just saying I can't put them near just yet because I have not watched enough of them.
- 10:26SPEAKER_01: Other guys, and these guys are on the same team.
- 10:28SPEAKER_01: Shaden Sharp, Scoot Henderson, Anthony Simons.
- 10:32SPEAKER_01: Those three dudes.
- 10:32SPEAKER_01: And Anthony Simons is a guy that I think last year I would have ranked, but I have not kept up with the season as much.
- 10:37SPEAKER_01: I have not really watched the Portland Trailblazers.
- 10:39SPEAKER_01: Hell, DeAndre Aiden, is he 25 yet?
- 10:41SPEAKER_01: I ain't even Google DeAndre Aiden, but he's having an amazing two, three weeks.
- 10:44SPEAKER_01: Let's turn that into a month and then turn it to next year, DeAndre.
- 10:48SPEAKER_01: Because we I still have a kernel of hope that you can be great.
- 10:54SPEAKER_01: Not Luca great, because remember he was drafted before Luca.
- 10:57SPEAKER_01: But I still have a kernel.
- 10:59SPEAKER_01: And if you're doing this for the rest of this season, and then you start off with some momentum the next season, then that colonel can maybe pop and get a full bag of popcorn.
- 11:06SPEAKER_01: You feel me?
- 11:07SPEAKER_01: Uh, other guys like Nicholas Claxton.
- 11:08SPEAKER_01: Nicholas Claxton's a guy that I think I would have had ranked the last year as well.
- 11:12SPEAKER_01: But again, I'm not watching many Brooklyn Nets games to know has he got better at the things that he needed to get better at?
- 11:18SPEAKER_01: I don't know, right?
- 11:19SPEAKER_01: Those are some of the dudes.
- 11:20SPEAKER_01: Um, and at the end, I will tell you my tougher omissions, like some guys that I really wanted to rank, but did not crack the top 25.
- 11:27SPEAKER_01: Okay.
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- 12:37SPEAKER_01: The way I kind of look at my one in general.
- 12:40SPEAKER_01: So I have one A and one B.
- 12:41SPEAKER_01: These are the guys that I believe at one point in their career could be talented enough or good enough to lead a team, being the one A type of guy.
- 12:49SPEAKER_01: You get me?
- 12:50SPEAKER_01: Lead a team to a championship, not to a conference finals.
- 12:53SPEAKER_01: I mean like raising the Larry O'Brien trophy.
- 12:56SPEAKER_01: Okay.
- 12:56SPEAKER_01: So these are my 1A guys under the age of 25.
- 12:59SPEAKER_01: Again, Anthony Edwards, uh, Victor Webinama, and John Morant.
- 13:04SPEAKER_01: Still, still.
- 13:05SPEAKER_01: I know Ja ain't played more than what, a couple games.
- 13:08SPEAKER_01: I still believe John Morant has done enough.
- 13:10SPEAKER_01: I've seen him enough to say that he is a 1A caliber player.
- 13:13SPEAKER_01: I mean, it seems winning 50 plus games with him healthy.
- 13:15SPEAKER_01: And I mean, they they could, I believe in them and their ability to go on a run with John Morant as their best player.
- 13:21SPEAKER_01: My 1B, this is my 1B section.
- 13:24SPEAKER_01: The first guy on my list, again, not in no specific order, is Tarry's Halliburton.
- 13:28SPEAKER_01: Tarry's Halliburton has had a tough ass time since his injury.
- 13:33SPEAKER_01: I mean, he was shooting 21% in the last, I think, eight or nine games.
- 13:38SPEAKER_01: It's been it's been tough.
- 13:39SPEAKER_01: And um, a hamstring injury is one of those ones that can linger and linger and linger and linger.
- 13:44SPEAKER_01: But I'm not overreacting to that.
- 13:47SPEAKER_01: Do you want to know why?
- 13:49SPEAKER_01: Because he's got like three seasons that tells us that he is a 40% three-point shooter.
- 13:54SPEAKER_01: Players don't go from 41% in their career to drop to now he's shooting 21.
- 13:59SPEAKER_01: Like, I'm not worried about it.
- 14:00SPEAKER_01: It's not like he changes jump shot.
- 14:02SPEAKER_01: This is the same jump that he's been shooting since he was a shorty.
- 14:06SPEAKER_01: So I'm not I'm not really concerned about it.
- 14:08SPEAKER_01: And I am concerned about his general well-being, especially when you think about them competing for playoff seating and eventually getting to the point where they are competing in the playoffs.
- 14:15SPEAKER_01: I am worried about that a little bit.
- 14:17SPEAKER_01: But I'm I'm fine with him being a 1B.
- 14:20SPEAKER_01: Okay.
- 14:20SPEAKER_01: My next 1B is Zion Williamson.
- 14:23SPEAKER_01: A lot of people have been turned off about Zion, but now we're seeing it ramp back up over the last month or so because Z has been playing like the player that I was so high on coming into the season.
- 14:34SPEAKER_01: Remember, Zion Williamson was averaging 28 points per game, 60 plus percent from the field.
- 14:41SPEAKER_01: Offensive rebounding.
- 14:42SPEAKER_01: He got his miss, went right back up.
- 14:44SPEAKER_01: And there was a lot of conversations about Z maybe a month or two ago.
- 14:47SPEAKER_01: In-season tournament game versus the Lakers.
- 14:49SPEAKER_01: I mean, golly, my good old friend Stephen A.
- 14:51SPEAKER_01: Smith was giving them hell.
- 14:54SPEAKER_01: Right?
- 14:55SPEAKER_01: They had a poor, poor game on the biggest, big, biggest stage.
- 14:59SPEAKER_01: I mean, you look at those numbers from how many people are watching the in-season tournament.
- 15:03SPEAKER_01: More than a traditional uh uh Saturday night game, Tuesday night game.
- 15:09SPEAKER_01: And that was what the the casual fans saw of Zion, they're like, oh man.
- 15:13SPEAKER_01: Remember when people was really tanking to get this man?
- 15:16SPEAKER_01: And that's what we got now?
- 15:17SPEAKER_01: When you pair that with what his offseason looked like with all the off-the-court stuff, everybody, not everybody, a lot of people turned off with who Zion Williamson was becoming.
- 15:24SPEAKER_01: And it didn't start off amazing, right?
- 15:26SPEAKER_01: He was giving you really quality minutes, but he wasn't the star that we have seen the last couple of years.
- 15:33SPEAKER_01: By the last month or so, he's been all that and more.
- 15:36SPEAKER_01: He's been all of that and more.
- 15:39SPEAKER_01: And he's I guess there was report that since the in-season tournament game, he's lost 25 pounds.
- 15:45SPEAKER_01: 25 pounds?
- 15:46SPEAKER_01: I mean, the in-season tournament wasn't that long ago.
- 15:49SPEAKER_01: But he dropped 25 pounds since then.
- 15:52SPEAKER_01: And he's he's flying again.
- 15:54SPEAKER_01: Remember when Zion was the most freakish athlete we had ever seen ever?
- 15:58SPEAKER_01: You remember that?
- 15:58SPEAKER_01: And then that died down because of some of the injury history and stuff.
- 16:01SPEAKER_01: And I had kind of accepted the fact that we weren't gonna get those super extreme dunks, uh posters that we were accustomed to with Z, but I still believe that he could still be a really impactful player.
- 16:11SPEAKER_01: Have y'all seen him the last couple days?
- 16:13SPEAKER_01: One of those dunks, the two-hand Ali Oop, that looked like the old Zion.
- 16:18SPEAKER_01: And I say old Zion like it was like a season and a half ago, but that looked closer to old Zion.
- 16:22SPEAKER_01: The thing that's been the best thing for me as we continue to see all of these young players progress, progress, progress.
- 16:28SPEAKER_01: I kind of look at players and say, like, okay, we know he's very great at this.
- 16:33SPEAKER_01: To get to that next level, to become a superstar, to become an all-star in some cases, what do they need to do?
- 16:38SPEAKER_01: One of the things from Zion was he needed to approve his decision making.
- 16:42SPEAKER_01: I think he's done that.
- 16:43SPEAKER_01: Now it's not perfect.
- 16:44SPEAKER_01: It's not perfect at all.
- 16:46SPEAKER_01: But there was one game last week.
- 16:48SPEAKER_01: And I want to give the Clippers a little bit of the doubt, even though it's been a rough uh week and a half, two weeks for them.
- 16:53SPEAKER_01: They were coming, they were coming into New Orleans after a game against the Chicago Bulls.
- 16:57SPEAKER_01: So second night of a back-to-back, no James Harden, whatever, whatever.
- 16:59SPEAKER_01: There's a moment in this game where Willie Green put together a lineup that I never thought he would play.
- 17:03SPEAKER_01: And I think going into that game, it had only played five total minutes together.
- 17:06SPEAKER_01: It had Zion, Brandon Ingram, Herb Jones, Trey Murphy the third, third, and Larry Dance.
- 17:13SPEAKER_01: Oh boy.
- 17:14SPEAKER_01: Now, CJ has been damn good this year.
- 17:17SPEAKER_01: I'm not saying that I want to see CJ get traded or I want to see him come off the bench.
- 17:21SPEAKER_01: But Trey Murphy III, I've mentioned this maybe five times on this podcast so far.
- 17:25SPEAKER_01: Trey Murphy III, I am extremely, extremely high on.
- 17:28SPEAKER_01: And I look at what they're building as a team.
- 17:30SPEAKER_01: The Pelicans are building as a team, and I'm trying to figure out how the hell do we get Trey Murphy III to eventually start because he's so good that he's he cannot be the sixth man for the next five years.
- 17:39SPEAKER_01: No way.
- 17:40SPEAKER_01: You have to find a way to start this man.
- 17:42SPEAKER_01: You have to find a way for him to close out games.
- 17:45SPEAKER_01: And in this case, CJ struggled a little bit.
- 17:47SPEAKER_01: All right, we're gonna go with our guys.
- 17:48SPEAKER_01: We're gonna go with these Jugger dudes.
- 17:49SPEAKER_01: And that that lineup blew the game open against the Clippers, and boom, they looked amazing.
- 17:54SPEAKER_01: And Zion has too.
- 17:55SPEAKER_01: So um I'm still very high on Z, and maybe this comes back to bite me, but I still believe in Zion Williamson as a player, as a as a prospect, and everything else.
- 18:04SPEAKER_01: The last uh 1B guy is Palo Bancaro.
- 18:08SPEAKER_01: Now, Palo is a very interesting player because when we start talking about the advanced analytics movement in basketball over the last, let's say, decade or so, players like Palo Benquero have kind of got aged out of like the general public's eye as being a future superstar.
- 18:26SPEAKER_01: He's inefficient, right?
- 18:27SPEAKER_01: He's inefficient.
- 18:29SPEAKER_01: I could not give a damn about that right now.
- 18:32SPEAKER_01: You know what I'm saying?
- 18:33SPEAKER_01: Because when I watch Palo Ben Caro, he's got the size that you would want from your 1A type of player, the guy that's gonna lead you as a team.
- 18:41SPEAKER_01: He's got the tough shot making that is objectively necessary when it comes down to the playoff series.
- 18:47SPEAKER_01: He's got now, at least over the last couple months, that playmaking is coming together too.
- 18:52SPEAKER_01: Whoa.
- 18:54SPEAKER_01: I knew he was gonna be able to score at this level.
- 18:56SPEAKER_01: I didn't know if he was ever gonna become more than just a solid playmaker.
- 19:01SPEAKER_01: And it's starting to happen in real time.
- 19:03SPEAKER_01: And I'm watching the magic play, and I see him throw a behind the back pass to my guy, Jalen Suggs, and Jalen Suggs, who's a Steph Curry, he shoots a shot and turns around before it goes in.
- 19:12SPEAKER_01: The playmaking aspect of the Palo Benquero game opens it up so much more for me and my expectations for who he is as a player.
- 19:21SPEAKER_01: The defense is the defense, man.
- 19:23SPEAKER_01: I mean, it's one of the youngest teams in basketball, and they're one of the best team uh defenses in the league.
- 19:28SPEAKER_01: He's not no slouch.
- 19:29SPEAKER_01: So you're telling me he can get tough buckets, again, a three-point shooting.
- 19:32SPEAKER_01: I don't know if it'll ever come around.
- 19:33SPEAKER_01: I don't know how how important it will be.
- 19:35SPEAKER_01: Maybe one day it will be.
- 19:36SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
- 19:36SPEAKER_01: But we've seen players with a similar archetype, similar mode of Paolo Ben Caro eventually get to the point where they're a positive three-point shooter.
- 19:43SPEAKER_01: So I'm not worried about it too, too much, but maybe one day it does, maybe one day it doesn't.
- 19:49SPEAKER_01: But I honestly do believe that he can do the things.
- 19:52SPEAKER_01: Again, efficiency numbers are well lower than anybody else, not anybody else, but a lot of the people I have listed below him.
- 19:59SPEAKER_01: I could not care less.
- 20:01SPEAKER_01: Because my eye test is telling me that Palo is one of them once.
- 20:05SPEAKER_01: So that's the end of my 1A.
- 20:07SPEAKER_01: My 2A starts off with Alpha Henshangoon.
- 20:12SPEAKER_01: I've said it and I'll continue to say it.
- 20:14SPEAKER_01: I believe that Alprin Shengun is a multiple, multiple-time all-star in this league.
- 20:19SPEAKER_01: Now, I don't know if he'll ever be the 1A, right?
- 20:21SPEAKER_01: The your best player on the championship level team.
- 20:24SPEAKER_01: But you I need I need y'all to really think about how difficult that is to be.
- 20:28SPEAKER_01: You gotta be Braun, you gotta be Steph Curry, you gotta be Giannis, you gotta be Nicola Jokic, like you traditionally have to end up being one of the top five to ten players in basketball.
- 20:40SPEAKER_01: And 10 might be a stretch, right?
- 20:42SPEAKER_01: You have to be like the top seven in the league to win a championship.
- 20:46SPEAKER_01: So that's why I don't know if Shingoon would ever do that, but I do believe in his ability to make multiple or multiple all-star appearances.
- 20:52SPEAKER_01: Now, right now, the Houston Rockets are making it very scary for some Warriors fans out there.
- 20:57SPEAKER_01: I don't know if they're gonna do the thing, but two and a half games back, and that's without Alper Shingoon.
- 21:02SPEAKER_01: I've seen a lot of cool stuff um over there.
- 21:03SPEAKER_01: But Al P's ability to play, make um him adding new things to his bag, like the one-legged mid-range jump shot that has become like kind of his signature this season, has been impressive.
- 21:13SPEAKER_01: And I think the narrative has kind of shifted around like a uh um a European or foreign-born big, right?
- 21:20SPEAKER_01: I think Jokic's changed a lot of that because you look at Big Joke and say, man, he can't be a good defender, but he really is.
- 21:25SPEAKER_01: And I think Shingoon is not there.
- 21:26SPEAKER_01: Do not get me wrong, he's not Jokic level defender.
- 21:29SPEAKER_01: But I think that he could eventually get to the point where he is that, and I mean, right now, he's the center of one of the top top eight defenses in basketball.
- 21:37SPEAKER_01: Now, if he was as bad as some of y'all might think he is, ain't no way as being the back line, the anchor.
- 21:42SPEAKER_01: It just doesn't, it doesn't happen often, right?
- 21:45SPEAKER_01: So his defense can't be as bad as maybe some of y'all think, but I think it can get better, and that'll help of of course project um uh the team higher and higher.
- 21:53SPEAKER_01: The next guy on my list, on my two A is Lamelo Ball.
- 21:56SPEAKER_01: The only thing about LaMelo, I guess a couple things.
- 21:59SPEAKER_01: Um, He can't stay healthy.
- 22:01SPEAKER_01: That's the big thing, right?
- 22:03SPEAKER_01: How many of my top players who play more than half of the season every year or more than missing or miss less than 30 games every year?
- 22:10SPEAKER_01: Because that's been the Lamello Ball thing over the last couple years.
- 22:12SPEAKER_01: And it's not something he could control necessarily, but it is important for me when I'm thinking about building my team.
- 22:18SPEAKER_01: Like, can we stay on the court long term?
- 22:20SPEAKER_01: And so far for Lamello Ball, it hasn't really been the case.
- 22:24SPEAKER_01: And the other thing for Lamello is like he has all the tools to be a positive defender.
- 22:28SPEAKER_01: We've seen him get in that chair and get stops when necessary, but it's not a consistent thing.
- 22:34SPEAKER_01: Some people might argue that he might be overtaxed a little bit as the engine of that offense.
- 22:37SPEAKER_01: And now on defense is where he rests.
- 22:39SPEAKER_01: I don't really buy that too much because we're seeing other star players across the association be positive on both ends.
- 22:44SPEAKER_01: That's all I'll say.
- 22:45SPEAKER_01: But he is also a talented passer, a willing passer, and he hasn't had a great team around him to showcase some of the stuff that he can do.
- 22:53SPEAKER_01: You know, and the three-point numbers, I believe in them to be very decent.
- 22:56SPEAKER_01: Like I believe that to be the real version of him, the one that knocks down his shots, even if the jump shot is ugly and he lands differently every time he shoots it.
- 23:02SPEAKER_01: The results are the results.
- 23:04SPEAKER_01: And the last guy in my 2-A is Tyrese Maxie.
- 23:07SPEAKER_01: Maxie has been extremely impressive.
- 23:09SPEAKER_01: Now, obviously, his numbers are going to dip when uh Jolan B goes out because I mean the team is built around those two.
- 23:14SPEAKER_01: Their two-man game is one of the best in basketball.
- 23:16SPEAKER_01: But even with that, I've been impressed with his ability to keep the team relatively, I mean, recently, relatively afloat, right?
- 23:23SPEAKER_01: Uh they've won some big games, some of them on national TV.
- 23:26SPEAKER_01: And a lot of that is Tyrese Maxie.
- 23:27SPEAKER_01: And especially when coaches are going into these games, like Tyrese Maxie is the guy that we focus on.
- 23:32SPEAKER_01: We don't give a damn about Buddy Hill.
- 23:33SPEAKER_01: We don't give a damn about Tobias Harris, Paul Reid, and Mo Bamba, Kalari, who hit a crazy shot the other night.
- 23:39SPEAKER_01: Tyrese Maxie's the main focal point without Joel Embiid being there.
- 23:42SPEAKER_01: And this is basically his first year of being that focal point, right?
- 23:46SPEAKER_01: And I think he's done a very good job.
- 23:48SPEAKER_01: And now Jordan Bede is working out a little bit.
- 23:50SPEAKER_01: You know what I'm saying?
- 23:51SPEAKER_01: So who knows what's gonna happen.
- 23:53SPEAKER_01: All right.
- 23:54SPEAKER_01: This is my 2B.
- 23:55SPEAKER_01: Um, I don't know what I what I can classify to B as.
- 23:58SPEAKER_01: Like if my one and my 1A and 1B are like the number one guys on a championship team, potentially my twos.
- 24:04SPEAKER_01: I don't really know what to give them, but I digress.
- 24:07SPEAKER_01: My 2B is Kay Cunningham.
- 24:09SPEAKER_01: Uh Kay Cunningham has been better and better and better as the season gone on.
- 24:12SPEAKER_01: Since the all-star break, his three-point shot is fallen more and more.
- 24:15SPEAKER_01: He did have the possession against the Miami Heat a couple nights ago.
- 24:18SPEAKER_01: I think that was Sunday night, where there's 10 seconds, no shot clock, tie game in this one.
- 24:24SPEAKER_01: Um, he goes way too early.
- 24:25SPEAKER_01: He takes a contested three-point shot, and then on the other end, Bamma de Bayo comes down core, he hits a three, and that ends the game.
- 24:32SPEAKER_01: Um, and I hope that this is just a learning experience for him, right?
- 24:37SPEAKER_01: He's normally a guy that's pretty solid with clock management.
- 24:39SPEAKER_01: And maybe he saw something in that shot that I didn't.
- 24:41SPEAKER_01: But I the the best thing about being on a bad team, and I'm definitely not trying to spin this season for the Pistons as a positive, but those opportunities, those things that he just experienced is something that you can build off of, right?
- 24:53SPEAKER_01: The next time they're down, or it's a tight game with 10 seconds to go, I bet he waits a little bit.
- 24:57SPEAKER_01: He runs the action a little bit later.
- 24:59SPEAKER_01: At least that's what I would hope.
- 25:00SPEAKER_01: Because in this scenario, it it prevented them from potentially winning this game.
- 25:04SPEAKER_01: But the rest of that game, he was phenomenal.
- 25:06SPEAKER_01: Tonight, I was watching him earlier.
- 25:07SPEAKER_01: His team was losing by a thousand points.
- 25:09SPEAKER_01: K Cunningham, phenomenal.
- 25:11SPEAKER_01: So if he's shooting, like the college version of himself, I feel great about it.
- 25:17SPEAKER_01: I don't feel great about the people that are making the decisions to build the team around him, but Kay Cunningham has a talent I still believe in very, very highly.
- 25:23SPEAKER_01: The next guy on my list is going to be Scotty Barnes.
- 25:26SPEAKER_01: Um, I like Point Scotty a lot.
- 25:27SPEAKER_01: Um Scotty has the ability to play both sides of the floor and be extremely, and I mean extremely productive on both ends.
- 25:35SPEAKER_01: The the playmaking part is probably the best thing about this season if you're a Toronto Raptors fan, right?
- 25:40SPEAKER_01: It hasn't, it made one of the seasons from hell, almost, no, not as bad as the Tampa year.
- 25:45SPEAKER_01: But the Tampa year got you Scotty.
- 25:47SPEAKER_01: But somewhere in that range, right?
- 25:49SPEAKER_01: Uh you had to make relative expectations, you had to sell some players because it didn't go as well.
- 25:54SPEAKER_01: The one thing I look at them is say, Scotty has had all the opportunities to work through his mistakes.
- 26:00SPEAKER_01: We know that he can get to the basket.
- 26:02SPEAKER_01: We know he can finish there.
- 26:03SPEAKER_01: We know what defender he's capable of being.
- 26:05SPEAKER_01: But if we're gonna look at Scotty Barnes and say, hey, we want you to have some more ball handling ability, he needed a world where that was a reality, right?
- 26:15SPEAKER_01: He needed to have some time where he can play through his mistakes.
- 26:19SPEAKER_01: And he's doing that, right?
- 26:20SPEAKER_01: And and there are some times, and I mean he's out, right?
- 26:22SPEAKER_01: He's out right now.
- 26:23SPEAKER_01: But um there were some times when I watched them and there was just opportunities or possessions where I didn't like to take the Scotty Barnes at.
- 26:29SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, that's okay.
- 26:31SPEAKER_01: You know what I'm saying?
- 26:32SPEAKER_01: Because there's two possessions after that that we love the take that he got.
- 26:36SPEAKER_01: And I could I can see him reading, um, not literally, because he posted a picture on Instagram um of him with a book open.
- 26:42SPEAKER_01: He said he ain't read nothing.
- 26:43SPEAKER_01: But I can see him reading and reacting to the defense a lot more advanced than last year, because last year just was objectively a disappointing season for Scottie Barnes.
- 26:52SPEAKER_01: And for him to get to the point where he was an all-star this year is really special stuff, and I want him to get well soon.
- 26:57SPEAKER_01: The next guy on my list is probably pretty high for some people, but me and uh producer Greg kind of talked about this guy a few weeks back.
- 27:04SPEAKER_01: Jalen Williams.
- 27:05SPEAKER_01: I think eventually the general public is gonna open their eyes to what Jalen Williams has done and has been doing.
- 27:12SPEAKER_01: He's one of the best fourth quarter players in all of basketball, right?
- 27:16SPEAKER_01: He's one of the best fourth quarter players in all of basketball.
- 27:18SPEAKER_01: Remember what year he's in, y'all?
- 27:20SPEAKER_01: Remember his age.
- 27:21SPEAKER_01: I mean, he's been doing some phenomenal, phenomenal stuff.
- 27:24SPEAKER_01: And obviously he's helped out by having a guy like Shay, right?
- 27:27SPEAKER_01: Some of these dudes that are mentioned around him, like Scotty Barnes, don't have Shay to alleviate pressure.
- 27:31SPEAKER_01: Same thing with Kay Cunningham.
- 27:32SPEAKER_01: I mean, we can go on and on and on, right?
- 27:34SPEAKER_01: But he plays that role so very well as the secondary ball handler slash creator.
- 27:40SPEAKER_01: And then also, I mean, he's okay with having other people create for him.
- 27:44SPEAKER_01: And the defense is one of the things that's kind of overlooked as well.
- 27:47SPEAKER_01: He's a bigger body that has been tasked with guarding a bunch of different people.
- 27:51SPEAKER_01: Lou Dort has the highest, uh, one of the three highest matchup difficulties in all of basketball, right?
- 27:57SPEAKER_01: Usually he's guarding the best player on the other team, in a lot of cases, like a guard or a wing.
- 28:02SPEAKER_01: J Dub is that number two guy.
- 28:04SPEAKER_01: J Dub is in the hypothetical against uh the Boston Celtics, who I'm watching on this other screen here.
- 28:09SPEAKER_01: He's getting one of the Jays, right?
- 28:11SPEAKER_01: And and guarding those dudes are is just tough.
- 28:14SPEAKER_01: And but I've watched Jalen Williams play amazing defense against some really great players.
- 28:19SPEAKER_01: And I see nothing but him getting better and better and better.
- 28:23SPEAKER_01: You can look at his box score every single month of his career.
- 28:26SPEAKER_01: His numbers are better.
- 28:28SPEAKER_01: You cannot say that about a lot of people.
- 28:31SPEAKER_01: And I think that if OKC uh has a good playoff run, a lot of people are gonna wake up to the idea of Jalen Williams being a future all-star in this league because I really do believe that that's the case.
- 28:41SPEAKER_01: He is not just this Shay sidekick.
- 28:44SPEAKER_01: I mean, that's that's what he is in a literal sense, but he's so much more talented than being the sidekick of another great player.
- 28:51SPEAKER_01: His teammate is also on 2B.
- 28:53SPEAKER_01: How great is it that the OKC Thunder have Chet, Jalen Williams, and then Shay.
- 28:59SPEAKER_01: Chet is having a phenomenal season as well.
- 29:02SPEAKER_01: And if it wasn't for Victor Wibanyama doing the ridiculous stuff that he's doing, everybody will be talking about Chet.
- 29:07SPEAKER_01: I honestly do believe that.
- 29:08SPEAKER_01: Because as a rookie rim protector, there's only a couple people that I can think of off the top of mind that would have been this impactful.
- 29:14SPEAKER_01: One of them happens to be Victor Wibinyama, who's also a rookie this season.
- 29:18SPEAKER_01: Holding it down.
- 29:19SPEAKER_01: And he's taken the task of like, obviously, OKC did not make any changes or any big changes, right?
- 29:26SPEAKER_01: Everybody wants them to go out and get a rebound.
- 29:27SPEAKER_01: Go get Drummond, go get this guy that can rebound very well for your team.
- 29:31SPEAKER_01: And uh Coach Mark Dakenall and Sam Pressey were like, hell, we are very, very good at everything else in basketball.
- 29:40SPEAKER_01: We're okay with sacrificing this part, right?
- 29:43SPEAKER_01: You bring in Andre Drummond, that spacing that Shea has been working with and getting to a spot zone is decreased a little bit.
- 29:51SPEAKER_01: And Chet being able to shoot and not just shoot, shoot 40%-ish has been so impactful for what this team is gonna do.
- 29:59SPEAKER_01: But these guys said that, hey, I'm we're not gonna trade for another big, we're gonna just let it ride.
- 30:03SPEAKER_01: We're gonna let it ride with Chet.
- 30:05SPEAKER_01: We're gonna go out and get busy, Byombo, who's not gonna play too much, and we're gonna see what happens.
- 30:10SPEAKER_01: And Chet is taking the responsibility of saying, hey, in these matchups against the best bigs in the league, this is my assignment, and I'm gonna try my best, given my thin frame to stay in front of these guys.
- 30:19SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna try my best to attack every single rebound.
- 30:22SPEAKER_01: And they've been doing that.
- 30:23SPEAKER_01: And I think since the all-star break, they have one of the highest rebound rates in basketball.
- 30:30SPEAKER_01: Okay.
- 30:31SPEAKER_01: Keep that in mind, y'all.
- 30:33SPEAKER_01: Keep that in mind.
- 30:33SPEAKER_01: They're rebounding better as the season goes on, and Chad Hombrand deserves a lot of this love.
- 30:38SPEAKER_01: I mean, he's an he's a seven-foot-plus dude that could put the ball on the floor, create to get a mid-range jump shot, create to get to the basket.
- 30:44SPEAKER_01: Like, again, a unicorn S player as person as somebody drops something above me.
- 30:49SPEAKER_01: Hey, it is what it is.
- 30:50SPEAKER_01: The last guy I have on this list in this range is Brandon Miller.
- 30:55SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
- 30:56SPEAKER_01: Now, Brandon Miller is a guy that I have not, I can't say I've watched a ton of his games live.
- 31:02SPEAKER_01: The Hornets are one of those teams that you can't.
- 31:05SPEAKER_01: Hey, it's gonna be hard to convince me to do that, my guy.
- 31:07SPEAKER_01: It's gonna be hard to convince me to do that.
- 31:09SPEAKER_01: After the all-star break or the straight deadline, they went on a nice little streak, three, four games, or whatever, whatever.
- 31:13SPEAKER_01: Nah, not anymore.
- 31:14SPEAKER_01: But Brandon Miller has every oh, this is all the tools I would want in a wing.
- 31:19SPEAKER_01: Um, I definitely want to see his playmaking get better.
- 31:22SPEAKER_01: And a lot of these guys we mentioned already, we talk about their development of their playmaking.
- 31:26SPEAKER_01: We're talking about a year one player.
- 31:27SPEAKER_01: I believe that one day it will get to the point where I feel comfortable with it.
- 31:30SPEAKER_01: But he's got the he's got the size.
- 31:32SPEAKER_01: He's a positive defender already as a rookie.
- 31:34SPEAKER_01: He's a positive defender.
- 31:36SPEAKER_01: I will say that again, already as a rookie.
- 31:38SPEAKER_01: Now, it might be hard to see because who the hell he's playing with.
- 31:41SPEAKER_01: I swear it's hard to see.
- 31:43SPEAKER_01: But he's got that.
- 31:44SPEAKER_01: Um, good shooter.
- 31:45SPEAKER_01: Uh, can finish at the basket, decent amount.
- 31:48SPEAKER_01: Like, I believe in his ability to round out his game a little bit more.
- 31:53SPEAKER_01: Um, one of the most exciting things to happen to Brandon Miller, or at least as a neutral fan watching Brandon Miller, is there was a time earlier in the season where there was a missed defensive rotation, and Brandon Miller was pissed at his teammates.
- 32:06SPEAKER_01: I'm like, yes.
- 32:07SPEAKER_01: I don't know anybody that played as Charlotte over the last four years that have cared about a defensive rotation.
- 32:12SPEAKER_01: You got one, and that's Brandon Miller.
- 32:15SPEAKER_01: That's the end of my 2B.
- 32:16SPEAKER_01: Quickly, I want to talk about the Eastern Conference and the teams that could potentially win the conference.
- 32:21SPEAKER_01: If you go to FanDuel Sportsbook, there's there's no surprise that the Boston Celtics are the favorite with a minus 140.
- 32:28SPEAKER_01: But the team that's creeping up on them.
- 32:30SPEAKER_01: The Milwaukee Bucks are plus 280.
- 32:33SPEAKER_01: Now, about a month ago, they were not nearly this close.
- 32:35SPEAKER_01: I wonder if that has something to do with Dame looking a lot better, Chris Middleton being back in the lineup, because that team could be dangerous.
- 32:42SPEAKER_01: The Damian Lillard, Chris Middleton, and Giannis Trio has a net rating of what, 18?
- 32:48SPEAKER_01: I don't know if I want to see them.
- 32:50SPEAKER_01: But also, you got some people under them, like the New York Knicks, who will they ever be healthy?
- 32:53SPEAKER_01: Will they not?
- 32:54SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
- 32:54SPEAKER_01: That is at a plus 1100, the Cavaliers at a plus 1200, but probably the best bargain.
- 32:59SPEAKER_01: Can the Miami Heat do it again?
- 33:02SPEAKER_01: Plus 1,700.
- 33:03SPEAKER_01: Now they would have to go through like a Boston Celtics or Milwaukee Bucks to do it, but hell, they did that last year.
- 33:09SPEAKER_01: So maybe it's a possibility.
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- 34:27SPEAKER_01: 1-800-522-4700 or visit KSGamblingHelp.com in Kansas.
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- 34:43SPEAKER_01: Or call 1-800-522-4700 in Wyoming.
- 34:48SPEAKER_01: Hope is here.
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- 35:04SPEAKER_01: My 2C.
- 35:07SPEAKER_01: Oh boy, my 2C.
- 35:08SPEAKER_01: Okay.
- 35:09SPEAKER_01: Uh Darius Garland's the first name of my 2C.
- 35:11SPEAKER_01: And I it felt kind of disrespectful to put him here.
- 35:14SPEAKER_01: And I could potentially be swayed to put him in 2B for sure.
- 35:17SPEAKER_01: He's the first name to drop out of 2B because I've been fluctuating with this for the last three days or so, right?
- 35:22SPEAKER_01: Some names have dropped, some names have got hired.
- 35:24SPEAKER_01: The most I've looked into them, the more I thought about them.
- 35:26SPEAKER_01: Darius Garland is one of those players that you could convince me deserves to be higher, and I'm not even going to be mad at you.
- 35:31SPEAKER_01: But being able to create for others and create your own shot goes a very long way.
- 35:35SPEAKER_01: He's a bit undersized for a guy that I would want to lead my organization, but we've seen undersized guards be great at different points in NBA history.
- 35:42SPEAKER_01: So maybe I'm over, maybe I'm overstepping a little bit by caring about his lack of size.
- 35:47SPEAKER_01: It is what it is.
- 35:48SPEAKER_01: He uh was an all-star a few years back and he was a deserving all-star.
- 35:51SPEAKER_01: And I think that we're we're kind of seeing him um evolve a little bit in himself now that Donovan Mitchell has been out with some time.
- 35:57SPEAKER_01: He's had a couple really, really big games.
- 35:59SPEAKER_01: One of them, oh man, what game is this?
- 36:02SPEAKER_01: This is the Phoenix Suns game from maybe a week and a half ago.
- 36:05SPEAKER_01: There's Garley, I think 22 points in the first quarter, lighting them up.
- 36:10SPEAKER_01: What happened was he started to get face guarded for the rest of the game.
- 36:14SPEAKER_01: And obviously it's gonna be harder to score when you're being face guarded.
- 36:18SPEAKER_01: When the defensive changes are now focused on you.
- 36:22SPEAKER_01: Um but I would like to see a point where he can maybe be a little bit more impactful after that face guarding starts, right?
- 36:29SPEAKER_01: I don't need him to turn it to Michael Jordan, which is maybe a little bit more impactful.
- 36:32SPEAKER_01: The next guy on this list is Jaron Jackson Jr., who I have not set that name at all this season.
- 36:37SPEAKER_01: I haven't said his name at all this season because I haven't watched much Memphis Grizzlies.
- 36:42SPEAKER_01: This is one of those names that I'm going off what I've seen last year.
- 36:46SPEAKER_01: Man, he could have aggressed greatly.
- 36:47SPEAKER_01: Actually, if you look at his stats, kind of has.
- 36:50SPEAKER_01: You think about him winning DPOY, and now nobody's even mentioning his name in the DPOY conversations, even all defensive conversations.
- 36:57SPEAKER_01: I ain't heard a single person mention the name Jaron Jackson Jr.
- 36:59SPEAKER_01: Part of that might just be that the team defense is so bad, so he's being overshadowed by that.
- 37:04SPEAKER_01: But I still believe in having a shot blocking big, again, that's what he is, that can also create, because that's one of the evolutions of his game, create for himself the for others' part.
- 37:14SPEAKER_01: I don't know if that's ever common.
- 37:16SPEAKER_01: Maybe you shouldn't expect that for a power four, but it can hit shots and everything.
- 37:20SPEAKER_01: Next guy's Evan Mobley.
- 37:21SPEAKER_01: The most disappointing thing about Evan Mobley going down with his injury was that he was starting to take three-point shots.
- 37:28SPEAKER_01: And I don't mean like one every four games.
- 37:32SPEAKER_01: Like, I mean he was taking multiple three-point shots a game.
- 37:36SPEAKER_01: And that's just the next evolution of emo, right?
- 37:38SPEAKER_01: I believe in him as a defender already.
- 37:40SPEAKER_01: I believe in him on a short roll, the way he can he can kick out to Isaac Coro, Dean Wade's and all the Mike Strucenses in the corners.
- 37:46SPEAKER_01: I believe in that.
- 37:48SPEAKER_01: But can you hit the three-point shot?
- 37:51SPEAKER_01: It's 2024.
- 37:52SPEAKER_01: And I don't know if you notice, we ain't named a single person so far that can't or doesn't take threes.
- 38:00SPEAKER_01: It's such a big part of what the game is right now.
- 38:02SPEAKER_01: There's gonna be one guy on this list that doesn't take threes.
- 38:04SPEAKER_01: But other than that, it's Evan Mobley has to get to that point, especially if you're deciding that him and Jared Allen are the front court of the future.
- 38:12SPEAKER_01: You need Evan Mobley to take and make shots because we saw what happened in the playoffs last year.
- 38:18SPEAKER_01: This having negative spacing is tough when you're going against a defensive-minded coach, which you might have to go against again in the playoffs this year.
- 38:25SPEAKER_01: The next guy I have, maybe this is my own personal uh be just be really enthusiastic about Trey Murphy the third.
- 38:33SPEAKER_01: I won't spend too much time because I've talked about it earlier in the show and previous episodes.
- 38:38SPEAKER_01: I am so high on Trey Murphy's ability to potentially make some all-star appearances.
- 38:42SPEAKER_01: I'll just leave it at that.
- 38:43SPEAKER_01: That is my 2A, 2B, and 2C.
- 38:46SPEAKER_01: Now we're down to our last couple names, and this is where things get really, really tough.
- 38:50SPEAKER_01: 3A is Franz Wagner.
- 38:52SPEAKER_01: I need Franz to find his three-point shot again.
- 38:54SPEAKER_01: Get into the basket, not a problem.
- 38:56SPEAKER_01: I trust him there 100%.
- 38:58SPEAKER_01: But for this team, the Orlando Magic, to get to the point where they want to be at, right?
- 39:02SPEAKER_01: Which is back into contention.
- 39:03SPEAKER_01: Back into contention.
- 39:05SPEAKER_01: How far back we got to go to get that?
- 39:08SPEAKER_01: 90s?
- 39:09SPEAKER_01: No, no, 2008.
- 39:10SPEAKER_01: Um, get back into contention.
- 39:13SPEAKER_01: They need Franz to find that three-point shot, right?
- 39:16SPEAKER_01: We need to find it again, but everything else is pretty clean.
- 39:19SPEAKER_01: The next guy on my list, one of the hardest guys to rank is Jalen Green.
- 39:23SPEAKER_01: Now, I will be honest with you.
- 39:24SPEAKER_01: Before last month, Jalen Green would not have been on my list.
- 39:28SPEAKER_01: But guess what's happening to Jalen Green?
- 39:31SPEAKER_01: He's becoming a father.
- 39:33SPEAKER_01: And I know personally that your outlook on everything switches once you're having a kid.
- 39:39SPEAKER_01: And even he said it.
- 39:41SPEAKER_01: You know, he's been on a crazy hot streak, and he was asked in a post-game interview what got into you.
- 39:45SPEAKER_01: He said, All I think about is my family and my kid.
- 39:48SPEAKER_01: That might be enough.
- 39:49SPEAKER_01: Fred Van Vliet turned into Michael Jordan for a playoff run after his firstborn was born.
- 39:54SPEAKER_01: Firstborn was born.
- 39:56SPEAKER_01: Um, but yeah, he's not a guy that I would have on his list, but I've watched him very closely as I've been watching a lot of Houston Rockets because they've been, they're just objectively one of the more fun teams to watch.
- 40:06SPEAKER_01: Um, and he's been super impressive to me on both sides of the ball.
- 40:10SPEAKER_01: And that was something I never thought I'd be able to say.
- 40:12SPEAKER_01: There was uh a time earlier in the season where I specifically was like, I'm gonna watch Jalen Green for three straight games, right?
- 40:21SPEAKER_01: I had like four hours to kill, um, which is a luxury.
- 40:25SPEAKER_01: Every people don't have four hours to kill.
- 40:28SPEAKER_01: Um and I'm like, let me go watch the last three games of Jalen Green and just watch him.
- 40:32SPEAKER_01: Don't focus on nothing else in the game.
- 40:34SPEAKER_01: I want to watch Jalen Green.
- 40:36SPEAKER_01: And in those three games, I saw his defense and I was disappointed.
- 40:40SPEAKER_01: He's a thinner framed guy, but he has the tools.
- 40:42SPEAKER_01: He has the athleticism, the quickness.
- 40:44SPEAKER_01: He's one of the quickest guys in all of basketball to be at least an okay defender.
- 40:48SPEAKER_01: And in those three games, he wasn't.
- 40:50SPEAKER_01: But I want you to go back and watch the last five games for the Houston Rockets and do that same thing.
- 40:54SPEAKER_01: Focus on Jalen Green, both sides of the floor.
- 40:57SPEAKER_01: You're gonna be impressed.
- 40:58SPEAKER_01: Maybe you won't be.
- 41:00SPEAKER_01: Maybe you had to see the three games that he was he was bad to now be impressed with these last five.
- 41:04SPEAKER_01: So you're normally not a guy that I would rank, but because of where he's playing right now, he's that guy.
- 41:10SPEAKER_01: 3-A.
- 41:11SPEAKER_01: Also, Tyler Hero.
- 41:14SPEAKER_01: Tyler Hero does a lot of things very well.
- 41:15SPEAKER_01: He can score that ball.
- 41:16SPEAKER_01: He can score that ball.
- 41:17SPEAKER_01: I don't know what else I can really say about Tyler Hero other than he can score that ball.
- 41:21SPEAKER_01: I'm also trying to keep up with this game to my left.
- 41:24SPEAKER_01: When I came down to record this episode, the Boston Seth was up by 19 points.
- 41:28SPEAKER_01: Now they're only up by three against the Bucks.
- 41:31SPEAKER_01: If you see me peeking over, yeah, that's me trying to figure out what's going on.
- 41:35SPEAKER_01: Um, because this is not a game that they should be blowing.
- 41:38SPEAKER_01: And I gotta go back and re-watch to figure out what's happened.
- 41:40SPEAKER_01: Is the Bobby Porter show?
- 41:41SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
- 41:41SPEAKER_01: It was Bobby Porter's show a couple nights ago against the Phoenix Suns.
- 41:44SPEAKER_01: Next guy on my 3A is Keegan Murray.
- 41:47SPEAKER_01: I love the fact that Keegan Murray has taken the responsibility of guarding the other player, other team's best player.
- 41:51SPEAKER_01: He's done a damn good job at it.
- 41:53SPEAKER_01: It's a team that doesn't have a bunch of positive defensive players.
- 41:55SPEAKER_01: And Keegan Murray's like, hey, I can be that for us, and I will be that for us.
- 41:59SPEAKER_01: And it's just been a pleasure to see.
- 42:01SPEAKER_01: We already knew what he can do offensively based on last year.
- 42:03SPEAKER_01: Um, this year has had a bunch of ups and downs, but I still feel comfortable with him being able to shoot the ball at a high clip um for the rest of his career.
- 42:11SPEAKER_01: And now, if you're telling me that he can be one of the better defensive players on my starting five, I feel good about that.
- 42:16SPEAKER_01: The next guy, and maybe a surprise to have him ranked over some of the people that may have been in um omission, Devin Vassale.
- 42:24SPEAKER_01: I've watched a lot of whimmy, and because of that, I've watched a lot of Devin Vassale.
- 42:29SPEAKER_01: And through the first couple months of the season, I wasn't really impressed with Devin Vassale or Kelden Johnson.
- 42:33SPEAKER_01: I went into the season like, okay, one of these dudes are gonna have to take a jump.
- 42:37SPEAKER_01: And I wasn't seeing it.
- 42:38SPEAKER_01: I was seeing minor improvements, as you always will when you see young NBA players.
- 42:42SPEAKER_01: But the last couple months, I've been surprised with him.
- 42:45SPEAKER_01: He's looked so much better.
- 42:47SPEAKER_01: And I feel very good about his ability to just continue to grow and grow and grow.
- 42:51SPEAKER_01: Um, I've seen him start to look for Victor Wimanyama a little bit more.
- 42:55SPEAKER_01: Maybe that's where my optimism comes from.
- 42:57SPEAKER_01: He's looking for Victor Wibanyama.
- 42:59SPEAKER_01: Now, he's not gonna be a dude that's gonna average five assists, maybe one day, but not recently or the next couple of years.
- 43:05SPEAKER_01: But him being able to pass to Wimby is a big part of it.
- 43:08SPEAKER_01: And he's a big shot taker and maker.
- 43:10SPEAKER_01: Even though this team has won only a handful of games this season, he's had some big moments in himself.
- 43:15SPEAKER_01: All right.
- 43:16SPEAKER_01: The last tier is my 3B, and it's only four names left.
- 43:20SPEAKER_01: And then we got to talk about the people that we neglected to talk about.
- 43:23SPEAKER_01: Okay.
- 43:24SPEAKER_01: My first name in 3B is Jalen Dern.
- 43:26SPEAKER_01: He's gonna be the only non-shooter mentioned today.
- 43:30SPEAKER_01: But I think when you are as dominant on the offensive glass as he is, I'm okay with him never being able to shoot a jump shot.
- 43:37SPEAKER_01: He's getting extra possessions for the team.
- 43:40SPEAKER_01: Again, unfortunately, he plays in Detroit, and those extra possessions don't turn into much.
- 43:44SPEAKER_01: But eventually, as things change, and hopefully the front office puts a good team around him and Cade, those extra offensive possessions actually turn into second chance points, or their rim running um is actually usable because right now there's no space for the guys.
- 43:59SPEAKER_01: Shout out to A Sar Thompson, man.
- 44:01SPEAKER_01: Um, get well soon.
- 44:02SPEAKER_01: I mean, he just got notification that he's gonna miss the rest of the season with some clouding issues, which is just the scariest thing.
- 44:08SPEAKER_01: Uh, Brandon Ingram went through this in 2020.
- 44:12SPEAKER_01: Obviously, Chris Bosch's career ended because of this.
- 44:15SPEAKER_01: Um, who else?
- 44:16SPEAKER_01: Who else?
- 44:16SPEAKER_01: Who's who's the guy from the Toronto Raptors?
- 44:18SPEAKER_01: Chrisha Caloco just had some issues over the last year or so.
- 44:21SPEAKER_01: So get well soon to my guy sorry.
- 44:24SPEAKER_01: Um, but because there's so negative space, a pick and roll of Kay Cunningham and Jalen Durance sounds great on paper, but hell, the helpman is there all of the time.
- 44:33SPEAKER_01: Because there's no reason for him not to be.
- 44:35SPEAKER_01: Who are you gonna kick it out to?
- 44:36SPEAKER_01: We'll live.
- 44:37SPEAKER_01: So eventually, hopefully that changes.
- 44:39SPEAKER_01: Um I thought long and hard about having this guy here.
- 44:43SPEAKER_01: I don't know if this is just me being my biased self, but Kobe White! Kobe White is averaging nearly 20 points per game this season, and he's taking a jump on every aspect of basketball.
- 44:53SPEAKER_01: One thing last year, as a as a guy that watched almost every single game, um, is that I saw him caring on the defensive side more than ever before.
- 45:01SPEAKER_01: And that has transitioned over to this season as well.
- 45:03SPEAKER_01: And now the three-point shot has fallen.
- 45:05SPEAKER_01: He's being more aggressive, he's finishing at the basket, and he cares.
- 45:09SPEAKER_01: That goes a long way.
- 45:10SPEAKER_01: Yep, that might be my bias pick.
- 45:12SPEAKER_01: Let me know in the comment section.
- 45:14SPEAKER_01: The next guy on 3B.
- 45:16SPEAKER_01: Oh my god, these are the two guys.
- 45:18SPEAKER_01: There's one spot left.
- 45:19SPEAKER_01: Is there one spot left?
- 45:20SPEAKER_01: Yes, there's one spot left.
- 45:21SPEAKER_01: And I got two guys, and I don't know who to pick.
- 45:24SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna give the argument for both of them.
- 45:27SPEAKER_01: And y'all let me know in the comment section who surrounded out this list.
- 45:30SPEAKER_01: The first name is RJ Barrett.
- 45:33SPEAKER_01: I was still dealing with some stuff off the court.
- 45:35SPEAKER_01: Um just prayers to the Bear family.
- 45:38SPEAKER_01: I just I don't know what they're feeling.
- 45:40SPEAKER_01: I could never hopefully I don't uh press it up to the Bear family.
- 45:44SPEAKER_01: But since RJ was traded to the Toronto Raptors, there's this one thing about RJ Bear, right?
- 45:48SPEAKER_01: RJ's the entirety of his career has got to the basket at relative ease, right?
- 45:53SPEAKER_01: With relative ease, he's got to the basket.
- 45:56SPEAKER_01: Uh brother one finishing there.
- 45:58SPEAKER_01: This season, I think it's above 70% at the basket this year.
- 46:03SPEAKER_01: Ooh.
- 46:05SPEAKER_01: That left-handed float is looking great, RJ.
- 46:08SPEAKER_01: Keep it up.
- 46:09SPEAKER_01: Um, so that's that's like one of the determinant factors.
- 46:11SPEAKER_01: Now, he's not the 40% three-poor shooter he was a few years back.
- 46:13SPEAKER_01: I don't know if you'll ever get back to that.
- 46:15SPEAKER_01: Like that might have been just sort of anomaly season for him.
- 46:18SPEAKER_01: But I'm I'm optimistic about who RJ is and can be.
- 46:21SPEAKER_01: But he's competing with Jonathan Kaminga.
- 46:23SPEAKER_01: Now, Jonathan Kaminga's sample size is a lot smaller than RJ Bears, so maybe that's the reason we should go with RJ.
- 46:28SPEAKER_01: But since Kaminga has been inserted to the starting lineup, the lineups with him, Wiggins, and Draymond has still been very good, even though Wiggins, so many times I watched him, he's not doing a goddamn thing.
- 46:37SPEAKER_01: Uh, but Kaminga's ability to put pressure on the rim and kind of be in the right space at the right time, especially on this team where you have Steph Curry as like the ultra keep your eyes on him guy in the history of basketball.
- 46:49SPEAKER_01: Kaminga just finds a way to be at the right place at the right time.
- 46:52SPEAKER_01: Uh, the three-point shot maybe never comes around, but because he's such a force at the paint and he's such a force at getting to the paint, maybe that's okay.
- 47:00SPEAKER_01: So I really decide between those two dudes, and I'll let y'all decide.
- 47:04SPEAKER_01: Before we get bringing Greg for his eye test takes, here are the people that were in conversations but did not make the 25.
- 47:13SPEAKER_01: Uh Emmanuel Quickley.
- 47:15SPEAKER_01: Really solid season for Emmanuel Quickley.
- 47:16SPEAKER_01: Kasen Wallace?
- 47:18SPEAKER_01: Still too early.
- 47:19SPEAKER_01: Nas Reed! How is Nas Reed 23 years old?
- 47:23SPEAKER_01: Oh my god.
- 47:26SPEAKER_01: I forgot Jaden McDaniels.
- 47:29SPEAKER_01: I forgot.
- 47:30SPEAKER_01: I just thought about Nas Reed, thought about Timberwolves, and thought Jaden McDaniels is somewhere in his 25, right?
- 47:38SPEAKER_01: He would have to be 3B.
- 47:40SPEAKER_01: So is he in the conversations with Jonathan Kaminga and RJ Barrett?
- 47:43SPEAKER_01: Maybe, maybe.
- 47:44SPEAKER_01: Um the Thompson twins.
- 47:45SPEAKER_01: Just small, too small of a sample size.
- 47:47SPEAKER_01: I need them to develop the three-point shot, but I would I would have Amin Thompson a little bit higher, uh, because that man is a pit bull and he will not give up on any aspect.
- 47:56SPEAKER_01: So he would, I think when we do this exact list in 365 days of some of these people are going to age out of this.
- 48:03SPEAKER_01: One of not, or not, if not two of the brothers will be on this list.
- 48:07SPEAKER_01: I feel really good about that.
- 48:08SPEAKER_01: Jalen Suggs, feel amazing about Jalen Suggs and his future.
- 48:12SPEAKER_01: Jame Hawkins was a tough omission.
- 48:14SPEAKER_01: Uh Jalen Johnson, who might win um most approved player.
- 48:18SPEAKER_01: Well, he's in conversation at least.
- 48:19SPEAKER_01: Derek Lively and Jabari Smith Jr., those are the ones that like I really contemplated if they should end up being on this list.
- 48:26SPEAKER_01: Not this year.
- 48:27SPEAKER_01: Maybe next year.
- 48:28SPEAKER_01: Some of these guys are super, some of these guys are rookies.
- 48:29SPEAKER_01: Maybe next year they end up on the list.
- 48:31SPEAKER_01: But you let me know in the comment section what you agree or disagree with.
- 48:36SPEAKER_01: Um, and let's bring up Greg.
- 48:38SPEAKER_01: Let's bring on Greg for the I test takes I test takes.
- 48:40SPEAKER_00: All right, Kenny, that was a great segment.
- 48:42SPEAKER_00: Um, one question.
- 48:43SPEAKER_00: Where on the tiers does it fall off from could potentially be second best player on a championship team to third or fourth best?
- 48:51SPEAKER_01: Uh looking at my list here, it would probably be after 2B, right?
- 48:57SPEAKER_01: I think I think the 2B is the Kay Cunningham, Scotty Barnes, Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, Brandon Miller.
- 49:03SPEAKER_01: And then after that, like, I don't feel great about Evan Mobley being the second best player on a championship team.
- 49:08SPEAKER_01: So I think 2B would probably be where I drop off.
- 49:11SPEAKER_01: Okay.
- 49:11SPEAKER_00: Um, all right, let's get to these eye tests.
- 49:13SPEAKER_00: First one, this might be a hot take.
- 49:15SPEAKER_00: If the line on how long LeBron and JJ's new podcast is going to last is one and a half years, I would take the under.
- 49:24SPEAKER_01: Greg, I'm with you.
- 49:26SPEAKER_01: I'm with you.
- 49:26SPEAKER_01: This is something we talked about at this at our studio.
- 49:29SPEAKER_01: We asked, how long until Bron doesn't want to do this anymore?
- 49:34SPEAKER_01: And um, I guess we didn't make it a line at a like a one point for one and a half years, but we were just saying, like, I don't, I think we were probably gonna get like maybe 10-ish episodes of it, um, or however many episodes it is to get to the end of the season, really, right?
- 49:47SPEAKER_01: I don't know if the Lakers are gonna make the playoffs, but if they don't make the playoffs, LeBron is not gonna be one in the film no podcast.
- 49:53SPEAKER_01: That's the way I kind of look at it.
- 49:54SPEAKER_01: And and the way they kind of structured it made me think that they filmed maybe like four or five episodes in one day.
- 50:01SPEAKER_01: Um, and who knows what happens after those episodes right now.
- 50:05SPEAKER_01: So I would agree with you.
- 50:07SPEAKER_01: I don't want, I don't want that to be the case because I enjoyed the first episode so much, but I just kind of understand how things go, especially with a guy like Braun.
- 50:15SPEAKER_00: Do you think it depends on the success of the Lakers?
- 50:19SPEAKER_01: I think it, I think it, I think it could.
- 50:22SPEAKER_01: Um like he like LeBron has always been like that zero dark 30, right?
- 50:27SPEAKER_01: Playoff time.
- 50:28SPEAKER_01: I'm not on social media, nothing.
- 50:30SPEAKER_01: Can you imagine that shifting?
- 50:31SPEAKER_01: And now he's a podcaster like your boy Draymond after the playoffs.
- 50:35SPEAKER_01: Like that would just feel weird in LeBron James, King James branding.
- 50:39SPEAKER_01: So I think it I think it will matter.
- 50:41SPEAKER_01: Honestly, I think it will matter.
- 50:42SPEAKER_00: Speaking of Draymond, I wonder if he's kind of changing that uh perspective from players of of being in season and doing a show.
- 50:49SPEAKER_00: And he has, to give it to him, has been pretty consistent.
- 50:52SPEAKER_00: I know when he had to the suspension he wasn't recording, but he's on year what, year two or year three of this?
- 50:57SPEAKER_00: Um I know CJ's had his show for a little while, but a lot of these guys do kind of fade out, and Draymond hasn't.
- 51:02SPEAKER_00: So maybe that's starting a new trend.
- 51:04SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I hope so.
- 51:05SPEAKER_01: Uh, because even Draymond, I don't watch Draymond shows very often, but I always see clips of it.
- 51:10SPEAKER_01: And it'll be like less than 24 hours after the game that he just played, and it's like, man, Dre, Dre either got home or got to the hotel and said, I'm I'm going back to work and doing his podcast and stuff.
- 51:21SPEAKER_01: And I admire that because it's so easy.
- 51:23SPEAKER_01: Because there are a lot of NBA podcasts that go five episodes and like, ah, maybe not.
- 51:28SPEAKER_01: Because I mean, it's I'm assuming very taxing to be an NBA player.
- 51:32SPEAKER_01: Um, but Draymond makes both happen.
- 51:34SPEAKER_00: And this last one, I'm a big Anthony Edwards fan, so don't get me wrong.
- 51:38SPEAKER_00: But for team USA this summer, he will not and should not be a starter.
- 51:44SPEAKER_01: So, okay, I'm kind of looking at the other people, right?
- 51:46SPEAKER_01: So we have we're gonna have Steph Curry for the first time ever.
- 51:49SPEAKER_01: There's no world where Steph Curry does not start in attorney like this.
- 51:52SPEAKER_01: Uh, a healthy Jordan Bede is there, let's say, that's a lock as a starter.
- 51:57SPEAKER_01: LeBron James, even though he might not be the best player there, he's a lock as a starter.
- 52:02SPEAKER_01: So after that, it's like Kevin Durant, Jason Tatum for their second fourth spot, one of those two guys.
- 52:08SPEAKER_01: And then for that.
- 52:09SPEAKER_00: That's gonna be Kevin Durant.
- 52:10SPEAKER_01: You think so, Kevin?
- 52:11SPEAKER_01: Kevin Durant over.
- 52:12SPEAKER_01: Oh, we talk in Olympics, it's Kevin Durant.
- 52:14SPEAKER_01: You're right.
- 52:16SPEAKER_01: Booker, Devin Booker is probably starting there.
- 52:19SPEAKER_01: And the reason I say he's starting over Ant, and not saying Ant can do this because we've seen him do it in real time, is I remember a few years back when they were competing for um Olympic spots, someone looked at the roster and said, Well, nobody here really played defense.
- 52:33SPEAKER_01: And I remember Devin Booker tweeting, like, he's okay with being like that being his entire role.
- 52:37SPEAKER_01: Now, I don't remember off the top of mind if if he was successful in that.
- 52:41SPEAKER_01: Uh, but I just think that Devin will start unless Anthony Eris just goes into camp and just dominates, dominates, dominates.
- 52:50SPEAKER_01: And even then, I can see it being a little bit political and saying, like, you the young guy, come off the bench, and next time in four more years, this is your this is your spot.
- 53:01SPEAKER_01: But I I think I would agree and say that Book is probably starting at that second guard spot with Seth Curry.
- 53:06SPEAKER_00: I did I didn't even actually think about Booker.
- 53:09SPEAKER_00: I was actually thinking that politics aside, just for the sake of having, they already have a lot of offense, they need some defense.
- 53:15SPEAKER_00: I was thinking it'd be a battle between Drew Holiday and Derek White.
- 53:18SPEAKER_01: I know I was thinking, so we know like the tempo nays are gonna be there, right?
- 53:22SPEAKER_01: And there's a couple roster spots open, and Derek White has expressed he wanted to be there.
- 53:27SPEAKER_01: Um, same thing with Drew Holliday.
- 53:30SPEAKER_01: Um, and who recently just expressed that they wanted to play?
- 53:33SPEAKER_01: I don't even know if it matters for this conversation.
- 53:35SPEAKER_01: Uh, but you always need one of the glue guys.
- 53:37SPEAKER_01: I just don't know if the glue guys are gonna start.
- 53:42SPEAKER_01: You know what I'm saying?
- 53:43SPEAKER_01: Um, but you do need somebody that'll chase around a Luka Doncic for the entirety of the of the game and stuff like that.
- 53:51SPEAKER_01: But I still think Book will probably get it.
- 53:58SPEAKER_01: Let us know what you think.
- 54:00SPEAKER_01: I see right here the Boston Celsius has pulled out this win.
- 54:02SPEAKER_01: It was only a three-point win.
- 54:03SPEAKER_01: I cannot wait to go upstairs and and watch and see what the heck happened for it to get this close.
- 54:08SPEAKER_01: If you enjoyed this episode, leave it a like, subscribe.
- 54:10SPEAKER_01: And if you if you feel up to the challenge, I want to see your 25 under 25 in the comment section.
- 54:16SPEAKER_01: Hell, you can tweet it at me at KLT4Q, and I'll I'll try to my best to be down in the comment section and checking my mentions.
- 54:23SPEAKER_01: Appreciate you listening or watching, and I'll see y'all in a couple days.