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The Sad Mavericks & Tanking Teams · Small Ball with Kenny Beecham

• 0:04
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome back to another episode of Small Ball with Kenny Beach.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_01: I'm so excited to be here with y'all.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_01: The NBA is always gonna give you something to talk about.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_01: Before we get into it, I'm gonna remind you to leave a like on the episode, subscribe to the channel, give us five stars if you're listening to this on audio.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_01: We also have more shows on the network.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_01: This, of course, is small ball, and you're watching it, and I appreciate you.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_01: But we also have other shows like Numbers on the Board, where it's the four of us.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_01: We also have teed up with Pierre and Jeresa.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_01: And maybe I'm um biased here, but I think Pierre just dropped his best episode of his young show.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_01: He had his dad on, who is the reason why me and P love basketball growing up.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_01: I had I was so lucky to have three great positive uh black male influences in my life, and they all did their own part to kind of mold me to the person I am today.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_01: We have my dad, who taught me about hard work when he was driving over the road for 12 to 13 hours a day and coming in and still being a phenomenal dad.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_01: We had our Uncle Nuki, may he rest in peace, that made me strive to learn more about different topics.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_01: He always had schooler education at the top of mind.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_01: And then we had Ty, who was all about basketball, baby.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_01: So Ty went on to P show.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and you know, it ended up being a great conversation about old versus new, ended up getting emotional towards the end.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_01: So if you just want to see a father and his son bond over the game of basketball and tell you there's no better place than Pierre's show.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_01: And he's got another special guest coming on next week.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_01: I've been I've been really thoroughly enjoying Pierre's show.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_01: So please go tune into that.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_01: Now, in today's episode, I want to talk about the Dallas Mavs to start off with.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_01: First of all, let me talk about Kyrie.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_01: Uh Kyrie Irvin went down with an injury, playing a game against the Sacramento Kings.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_01: I'm watching this game live because I've been watching so much Kings basketball because it feels like I'm watching last year's Bulls with no stakes for me.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_01: You feel me?
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_01: You know, last year's Bulls was would be fun if you didn't care about lottery odds or you didn't care about the future of the organization.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_01: That's kind of the way I feel about the Kings.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_01: Like I get to see DeMar DeRozan take over a quarter or see Zach Levine drop one of the most efficient 40-point games ever, but I have no stakes.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_01: Whether they win or lose, I'm walking out okay.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm watching the Sacramento Kings play against the Mavericks, and Carrie Irving goes down.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_01: And when Carrie Irvin went down, you know, I try my hardest not to overreact because I watch so much basketball that you see people go to the locker room, you see people go down, you see people tweak ankles.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_01: And more likely than not, it's not something significant.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_01: This one immediately felt different.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_01: At the group chat, because as I was watching these games, the boys are recording a different video, so they weren't locked into basketball that night.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_01: And I hit the group chat and I said, yo, Carrie Irvin is down and it don't look good.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_01: Pierre is maybe the biggest Carrie Irvin fan I know.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_01: Again, he's in his shoot, and he responded back, What?
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_01: WTF?
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_01: And I I had an inkling, a feeling that things weren't a normal hyperextension or a knee sprain or something relatively minuscule when Carrie Irvin looked over to his bench and gave them the finger, like, come get me.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_01: That's not that's not normal.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_01: He gets up, he hits two free throws, shout out to Carrie pulling off a Kobe and pressure.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_01: And um, I didn't notice this in real time, but when I went onto Twitter like 10 to 20 minutes later, they showed the clip of like visible tears rolling down his face.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_01: Next morning, we find out that Carrie Irvin had a torn ACM.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_01: And uh Kerry Irving's been playing some phenomenal basketball.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_01: Like Carrie Irvin's arc as an NBA player has been incredible.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_01: He went from a beloved number one overall pick that was flashy and did all the cool things that NBA fans love, to kind of having this down spot when we got to the beginning of the pandemic because he executed his right and decided against the vaccine.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_01: And because of that, obviously the Brooklyn Nets, one of the biggest what-ifs of all time with Harden, Kyrie, and KD, uh, that what-if became a what if and he his he played a part in that.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_01: So his, I guess, the the way he was looked at visually across basketball, it kind of got split.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_01: He had been beloved his entire career until that moment.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_01: And I think over the last couple of years, everybody that may have been against Kyrie or not a big fan of Kyrie because of the Brooklyn Nets thing is kind of shifted because he has put his head down, he's gone to work, and he's been incredible.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_01: Like this year, it's like 25 points per game on insane efficiency.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_01: Luka Dontich went down with an injury at Christmas, and for six weeks, Kyrie Irvin kept them afloat.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_01: And then post-Luka Doncic's trade, they were still in too many games because Kyrie Irvin was doing his part, man, and it's so sad to see him go.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_01: But I'm always extremely impressed when an NBA player or just an athlete in general has a significant injury like this, and they have this, I don't know, mental strength to look at it positively.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_01: Man, it had been less than 24 hours since he found out he had turned towards ACL, and he was on Instagram live giving positive love to the people that cared about his injury.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_01: On a very smaller scale, uh, at the end of my freshman year of high school, I tore my left shoulder, I tore my labrum.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_01: And I promise you, I feel like I ain't leave my house.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_01: I ain't leave my room for like a week straight because I was so depressed about being out.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_01: Like, you know, this is a summertime, baby.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_01: This is where you work on your game.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_01: And I knew I wasn't going to the league or nothing, but I love the game of basketball.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, I love just going out and playing baseball or throwing the football around, and all of that stuff was gonna be put on hold for me because I tore my labrum.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_01: Very minuscule compared to what Carrie Irvin went through.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_01: And for him to be on Instagram live the next day giving blessings and and showing his humility, I just shout out to Carrie Irvin, man, and get well soon.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_01: But with Carrie Irvin going down with this injury, you have to go back.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_01: And I had told myself I was done talking about not the Mavericks necessarily because it's a basketball team, but I was kind of done talking about the Luka Donchis trade.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_01: Y'all Luka Doncic plays for the Lakers and he's been incredible.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_01: The Lakers have been amazing, and we dropped the video last week or episode last week when we dove into the Lakers for like the first 20 minutes or so.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_01: So I need to tell you how amazing they've been.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_01: You've probably been tuned in.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_01: But I told myself I was done talking about the trade and it was over, and and we have to talk about it again.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_01: We have to talk about it again.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_01: Because when Nico Harrison made this trade and he went to that interview with him and Jason Kidd, and he's making jokes to the audience, not really reading the room and reading the situation, by the way.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_01: Um, they asked him about the window.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_01: And if you ask me, when you have one of the three best players in the world, I may have mentioned this on this show before, I firmly do believe that you have a chance to win every single year.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_01: Now, that chance might be a 2% chance.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_01: It might be a 3% chance, but damn it, there are a lot of teams of basketball with literally a 0% chance to win a championship every single year.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_01: So when you have a guy like Luka Doncic, especially considering Luca is a playoff riser, in my mind, you always had a chance, right?
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_01: So if Luca, and by all accounts, Luca was willing to sign a Supermax contract, so he might have been able to play in Dallas for the next 10 to 15 years.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_01: In my mind, that is what your window was.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_01: As long as Luca is healthy and playing to his standard, you're gonna have a chance in every single series because that's how good of a player Luka Doncic is.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_01: So your window was wide open.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_01: Now, when he's asked about this window, he talked about the window being three to five.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_01: He changed this significantly, right?
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_01: You trade for an older big man in Anthony Davis, who's still phenomenal, don't get me wrong.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_01: But as you saw through his, he played one half of basketball for the Mavericks, and we don't even know if he's coming back this season.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_01: You trade for an older Bing.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_01: You already have an older Carrie Irving, you have an older Klay Thompson.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_01: Your window obviously shifts.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_01: Now, everybody and their mama knew that this was an as a nine trade in the moment.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_01: But he talks about the window being three to five, and he makes the joke to Jason Kidd about not looking too far into the future because hell, he might have been fired.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_01: Him and Jason Kia might be fired by that jokey jokey joke.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_01: It showed a lack of, I don't know, accountability and respect to the fan base, but it also showed the flaws in his logic.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_01: And even to this day, I feel like every once a week since the Luka Donchus trade, there's been a new whistleblower, somebody in the organization getting leaked talking about what caused them to make this Luka Donchus trade.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_01: Three to five years was the window.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_01: Guys, because of this trade and because Kyrie Irving's injury, that window, this hypothetical fake window that Nico Harrison had put on himself in the Dallas Mavericks, it's done.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_01: It's closed, y'all.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_01: I had never in my life seen something shift so dramatically in one month's time.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_01: Before the Luka Donchis trade, even though he had missed six weeks, we did an episode when I was ranking the contenders across basketball.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_01: And I only had a few of them.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_01: And the Dallas Mavericks were one of those teams.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_01: Now they weren't just one of those teams out of respect of what they did last year.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_01: I firmly did believe that when they got healthy, which was a big if, I mean, if and when, when they got healthy, they would be able to compete with every single team in basketball.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_01: I thought that.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_01: And then Luka got traded.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_01: So this team went from a team that I thought was in the top percentage of basketball teams, to now I'm looking at them and saying, damn it, they may have to hit the hard reset.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_01: And it's almost entirely self-inflicted.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_01: Not almost, it is entirely self-inflicted.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_01: Because hypothetically, if Carrie Irvin goes down with the same injury, but Luka Doncic is on the team, you still have Luka Doncic.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I'm saying?
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_01: And you still will have Carrie Irvin when he comes back from his injury.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_01: You got Luca at this point.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_01: He might be 26, 27 years old.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_01: When Carrie comes back, and damn it, you have a chance to contend again.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_01: But because of Carrie Irvin's injury, and because we still don't know what the hell is going on with AD, will he have the surgery?
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_01: Will he not have the surgery?
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_01: The three to five window is completely, completely closed.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_01: And I've never seen something happen so fast.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_01: And then I have people on Twitter talking about is this the worst month a fandom kit could endure, a fan can endure?
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_01: Just a whole Luka Doncic was one of the three best players in basketball, the most talented player your franchise has ever had.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_01: He was on path to have MVPs.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_01: He was on path to have a fucking statue.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_01: He was on the path to have a street named after him.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_01: That's how great of a player Luka Doncic really is.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_01: Then you ship him out.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_01: And then the person and the players that you ship him out for come in immediately get injured.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_01: Not to mention Quentin Grimes, who's out in Philadelphia hooping his ass off.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_01: 40-point game against the Warriors, then with a 30-something point game, the game after that, the man has been hooping.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_01: You trade him away for who?
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_01: Caleb Martin, who still ain't suited up yet.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_01: And I think Caleb Martin might play this weekend.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_01: I think I was what I read.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_01: You know, Nico Harrison has not only tarnished the Dallas Mavericks, but he he tarnished any sort of legacy that he could potentially have as a general manager.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_01: Before the Luka Donchis trade, he had hit after hit after hit.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_01: Now it wasn't a perfect resume because no GM had, even Sam Presti, uh who is widely renowned as the best gym in basketball, got some misses.
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_01: The James Harden trade.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, that's a miss.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I'm saying?
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_01: But when you think about him trading for Kyrie Irving for pennies on the dollar, Kyrie Irving costs Doran Finney Smith, Spencer Danwitty, and one first round pick.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_01: Kyrie Irving costs that much?
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_01: You think about him trading for PJ at the trade deadline last year, or Daniel Gaffert at the trade deadline as well.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_01: He had so many hips, hits that it was inevitable that he was going to strike out.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_01: Now, striking out usually is not the worst trade in the history of basketball, but damn it, he struck out.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, sometimes you get so fucking confident when you're good at something that you become overconfident and then you miss what's really going on.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_01: You become disconnected with what reality is.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_01: Because everybody, except for him, and I guess except for the ownership group, recognize that a Luka Donce's trade would be stupid.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_01: No, let's take that back.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_01: Not even just a Luka Donce's trade would be stupid, only listening to one trade offer is the maybe the stupidest part of it all.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_01: If you don't believe Luka Donce is going to age well and you want to get out of it, get out of the relationship with him earlier, sure, whatever.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_01: But not looking and listening to other offers is probably the worst thing he could have done.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_01: So think about it like this: Carrie Irving and let's say Anthony Davis is out for the season.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_01: And it probably makes sense for them to do what they did a few years back, where you know they went to the conference finals.
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_01: And by the way, the Mavericks haven't had two straight seasons of anything in a long time.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_01: Remember, they went to the conference finals, and then the next year they decided to tank their way to keep their 10th overall pick.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_01: It ended up being Derek Lively, which is phenomenal.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but they haven't had two straight years of just continued success in a long time.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_01: And then uh they get their Derek Lively, and of course they go in that finals push.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_01: I I would see it being a similar case where they own their own first-round pick this season, and right now it's the 13th best odds.
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_01: You probably just chill your way and hope that the Suns can win some games and take the 10th seed.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_01: And now you're in the lottery and you're praying that that your livelihood can be saved because you win the lottery, that 1% chance ends up being Cooper Flag.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_01: And I pray that the basketball guys doesn't reward Nico Harrison for the stupid shit he did.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_01: But it makes sense to shut down Anthony Davis.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_01: It makes sense to just wait.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_01: But this is the thing when I talk about this window, Carrie Irvin is as in tune with his own body and then anybody.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_01: People keep talking about the timetable.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_01: The timetable in ACL has significantly shifted since 10, even just 10 years ago, 20 years ago, um, because medicine has evolved and and and so many things have shifted.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_01: But like an ACL tear is not a death sentence.
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_01: Once upon a time, if you had an ACL tear, your fucking career is over, dog.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_01: And nowadays you could come back from an ACL and be great.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_01: But people are saying, like, an ACL is a nine to 10th month month injury.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_01: And I just don't understand how that can be the outlook that you're giving for something like this.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_01: Kyrie Irvin, throughout his history, is one that will tell you I am not suiting up if I don't feel like I can play to the highest degree.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_01: And a lot of times the players that come back from ACL injuries are not ones that's gonna jump into it and be like, oh, I'll back to average of 25 on 50, 40, 90.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_01: If they're coming back in nine, it's probably gonna take 14 to 15 for them to feel confident in themselves again, for them to be able to perform in the way that they they uh used to.
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_01: So this year, that's one of the three years, three to five years that Nico Harrison talked about.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_01: Tanked, it's over.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_01: Next year, Carrie Irvin, again, not knowing exactly what he's gonna do.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_01: And again, I say this as like he could extend his injury time or he can feel so good and it'd be shorter than that.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_01: But let's assume that he's gonna come back next year around the trade deadline or the the all-star break.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_01: You that's probably a second year wasted because now you have to what the hell was that?
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_01: Yo.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_01: What hey, if you listen to this episode, I know this is abrupt ending.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_01: I'm recording this episode and balloons just popped up on my screen.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_01: Did that happen in the episode?
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_01: If it did, I'm afraid because it painty wise might be somewhere in my office.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_01: Because why the fuck did it just do that?
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, okay.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_01: I'm getting a little warm.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_01: I had to take the shirt off.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_01: That was crazy.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_01: Did I say any?
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_01: Happy birthday.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_01: Congratulations.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_01: Was it voice activated?
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_01: I've never seen something like that in my life.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_01: All right, um, let's continue.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_01: Let's say Carrie Irvin doesn't come back into the all-star break.
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_01: Now you go into this offseason thinking about how can we build a team that can sustain itself until Carrie Irvin comes back.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_01: So now you're rebuilding two teams on the floor.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_01: It just doesn't make sense.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_01: So that's a second year that's probably gone.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_01: And I want to remind you, it happened again.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, I'm out of here.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know what's going on.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_01: What the hell?
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_01: I fixed it.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_01: For whatever reason, when you're recording on a Mac, they have reactions on.
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_01: So if I do thumbs up, oh now it's not gonna work.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_01: It's gonna what the heck?
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_01: So what was I, what gesture was I making to make it say, happy birthday, balloons?
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_01: I turned it off.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_01: Insane work, by the way.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_01: That scared the hell out of me and and it killed my train of thought.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_01: Back to it.
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_01: Um, Carrie Irvin has a player option for next season.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_01: You consider him rehabbing from an ACL tear.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_01: I would just assume that he's gonna take that player option because it's free money while you get to rehabilitate yourself.
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_01: But Carrie Irvin also is a guy that understands the business and loves the loyalty that comes with it or the lack of loyalty that comes with it.
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_01: And with him being so close with Luka Doncic, I wouldn't be surprised if Carrie Irvin just didn't sign some type of extension for them.
• 16:33
  SPEAKER_01: Carrie Irvin has the most leverage of almost any NBA player as of right now, I would say.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_01: Because Nico Harrison's gonna do whatever it takes to keep his job.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_01: And a reminder, there's only 30 of these jobs in all of basketball.
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_01: So it's like one of those most pristine jobs that you can have.
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_01: Um so you traded Luke Dontage away.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_01: You kind of you kind of need me here.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_01: I I won't, I won't 480, 185, thank you.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_01: You know, so I also I wouldn't be surprised if he he used them as leverage to get the craziest deal imaginable.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_01: I wouldn't be surprised if he decided that Dallas is not the home for him.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_01: I don't really know.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_01: But this is a conversation that Nico Harrison and his team has to think about because just waiting around for Kyrie to come back and waiting around for Anthony Davis to come back and waiting around for this and that is gonna put you in a very bad spot.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_01: And the only alternative is to sell those, not Kyrie Irvin because he's rehabbing, but trading Anthony Davis again.
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_01: Try to recoup something.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_01: You have your own first-round pick this year.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_01: You have your own first round pick next year.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_01: And it makes it makes sense to kind of go in the opposite direction.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_01: Again, this year's first round pick, top 13 right now, and then next year's pick, considering Kyrie Irvin might be out for at least half of the season, it makes sense when you have AJ DeBons or the Boozer twin or the kid that committed to Kansas to maybe sit back and hope that you get lucky in the lottery.
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_01: But I think everybody loses from this.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_01: But nobody loses more than just NBA or Dallas Mavericks fans, when you think about it.
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_01: Because if Nico Harrison gets fired, okay, you know, he's been an NBA GM or executive for some years.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_01: He's made a lot of money.
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_01: Before that, he was with Nike, and I I can only assume that he'd be able to fall gracefully and on his feet and find another job and another, not GM job, but another job somewhere else and still get paid very lucratively.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_01: The people that run the show, the ownership, they're built literal billionaires.
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_01: Doesn't matter to them.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_01: It matters to the seasoned ticket holder that has been around forever, and they have to really pay the consequences of incompetence.
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_01: This is why I said over the last month or so, I understand why people decide to switch what teams they want to represent, because there's so much trust that you have to have in ownership.
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_01: There's so much trust you have to have in the front office.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_01: You got to draft wheel, they got to make right trades, they got to do this, they got to do that.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_01: And if that team is not doing it and they pull off a bonehead move, you should have the luxury of saying, I'm done.
• 19:06
  SPEAKER_01: I'm done.
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_01: So I feel bad for the Mavericks fans because when uh Luca got traded, I published my video where I made my initial reaction.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and one of the top comments was like, This is the craziest trade ever as a Dallas Mavericks fan, but at least I still get to root for Kyrie.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_01: Kyrie's out for the season now.
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_01: So what are they what are they doing?
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_01: They traded Quentin Grimes for nothing at this point.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_01: Because Quentin Grimes just a little bit younger than they want, because he has a little bit of an overlapping talent with Max Christie.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_01: Guess what?
• 19:42
  SPEAKER_01: Talent is talent at the end of the day.
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_01: Um I think they I think they have to go the opposite direction.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_01: That window, that that fake window that Nico Harrison built for himself in the organization, is over.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_01: And it's it was selfish of him to think that this is the way it is.
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_01: The window of the organization is the window that I have as a GM.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_01: That's crazy to me, bro.
• 20:12
  SPEAKER_01: And and we've seen teams do ridiculous, GMs do ridiculous things when their backs against the wall and they're trying to keep their job.
• 20:21
  SPEAKER_01: Nothing at this level.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_01: And again, I didn't want to talk about the Luka Doncha's trade again, but now with Kyrie going out, it changes the dynamic of so many things in Dallas Mavericks land.
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_01: I think they have to trade Anthony Davis, though.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_01: I think they have to trade Anthony Davis.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_01: I wanna on today's episode, I want to talk about the bottom as well.
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_01: Like we we've done episodes where we talked about the Cavs, we talked about the, you know, all of the great teams in basketball, the Celtics, OKC now, the Lakers, all these contenders.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, at this point in time, you know, those teams are gonna take priority when it comes to things people are talking about because those are the teams that are gonna be there at the end of the season, at the end of the postseason.
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_01: But I want to do a quick glance into what the hell is happening at the bottom right now.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_01: And spoiler alert, it is a ton, and I mean a ton of shameless, different kind of tanking.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_01: Shameless, different type of tanking.
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_01: I want to start off with the Toronto Raptors.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_01: The other night they had a game against the Orlando Magic.
• 21:32
  SPEAKER_01: This is not a game I watch live.
• 21:33
  SPEAKER_01: Spoiler alert.
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_01: I have not actually watched a full Raptors game.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_01: I've watched one, and that was February 28th when they played against my Bulls because the Bulls.
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_01: But other than that, I have not watched a full complete start to finish sit down live game with a Raptors in a very, very long time.
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_01: When teams tank, there's a couple different ways they do it.
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_01: You have the early tank, which is like we just started our rebuild.
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_01: We basically don't have anybody on the roster that we really care about, but we We're gonna, we're gonna get some chances to some dudes and maybe they turn into real NBA players, but everybody and they mama know that we're going out there and trying to get the first overall pick.
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_01: You have the other type of tank that's like we've had so many injuries this season that we're gonna lean into those injuries and just regroup next season.
• 22:17
  SPEAKER_01: And then this, what the Raptors is doing, is just complete different than both of those.
• 22:21
  SPEAKER_01: Now, granted, early in the season they dealt with a ton of injuries where quickly went out with a with some time and like their three players, the quicklys, the Barrett's, and then uh the Scotty Barnes of the world, didn't really play much together in the first half of the season.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_01: I think that the first 50 games or 44 games, they played 80 minutes, which is insane to think about.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so they've also dealt with a ton of injury stuff, don't get me wrong.
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_01: But as of right now, they're relatively healthy, where they have three of their max slash near max players, or so the same three dudes I just mentioned, healthy.
• 22:49
  SPEAKER_01: Brandon Ingerson ain't played just yet, but those three dudes are completely healthy.
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_01: And in this game against the Orlando Magic, those three dudes play.
• 22:55
  SPEAKER_01: And they also play with Yaka Purdo, who's been on the minutes restriction.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_01: But all of those dudes play.
• 23:00
  SPEAKER_01: And when nine minutes ago, Darko Rayakovic decided to pull Yaka Purdo.
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_01: Again, minutes restriction, so that's fine.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_01: They pulled Emmanuel Quickly and Scottie Barnes.
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_01: At this time, they were up by nine points.
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_01: Reminded the Orlando Magic can't score on anybody, by the way.
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um, when nine minutes left up by nine, Dario, uh Darko pulled three of their starters.
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_01: And it wasn't like, okay, get a little bit of a breather, and then we're gonna throw you back out that Alaska.
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_01: These three dudes, Purdle, Quickly, and Barnes, never, and I mean, never saw the floor again in this game.
• 23:33
  SPEAKER_01: Now, like I mentioned, the Magic cannot score.
• 23:37
  SPEAKER_01: So the idea of taking this game away, right, makes sense for Darko.
• 23:41
  SPEAKER_01: Something what he did with the Bulls as well, you know?
• 23:43
  SPEAKER_01: Um, makes sense to Darko, but the Magic can't score on anybody.
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_01: So it ended up being when you pull those three starters out, it was RJ Barrett, Orlando Robinson, who's on a 10-day contract, AJ Lawson, Jamal Shed, and was it Jalen Roden?
• 23:58
  SPEAKER_01: I don't even know his first name.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_01: No disrespect.
• 24:00
  SPEAKER_01: I don't mean disrespect, but I think it's Jalen or Jaden Roden.
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_01: That's their five-man lineup.
• 24:05
  SPEAKER_01: The problem is with the tank, you can't convince players to not care about winning.
• 24:11
  SPEAKER_01: Think about it.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_01: Orlando Robinson is playing to get a second 10-day.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_01: Jamal Shed was, was he undrafted or was he a late second round pick, regardless?
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_01: These are dudes trying to find their foot and try to make an oppression across basketball.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_01: Because if the if the uh Raptors don't want me, damn it, I got some film that my agent could send to this team here in the States, or they could send to this team over there in Turkey or over in Serbia and some of these other leagues.
• 24:34
  SPEAKER_01: I gotta go out there and I gotta hoop.
• 24:36
  SPEAKER_01: And that lineup did a pretty good job.
• 24:38
  SPEAKER_01: AJ Laws into a couple big threes down the stretch.
• 24:41
  SPEAKER_01: And then Darko's like, oh my God, we're about to win this game.
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_01: Guess what we gotta do?
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_01: We gotta get RJ Barrett out the game, too.
• 24:46
  SPEAKER_01: We got to get him out of the game.
• 24:47
  SPEAKER_01: He's he's our best player on the court right now.
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_01: We got to get him out of the game.
• 24:49
  SPEAKER_01: This is the craziest approach I've seen to tanking, where they have their starters.
• 24:54
  SPEAKER_01: Four of their five potential starters are healthy right now, and they all got yanked in a game to try to lose.
• 25:01
  SPEAKER_01: Now, you one thing you don't play with is the basketball gods, though, because in this game, Jacoby Walter hit a ridiculous game winner and they still ended up winning, even though Darko and everybody involved was okay with trying to take this game away.
• 25:14
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm having conflicting feelings about it.
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_01: I'm having conflicting feelings about it.
• 25:20
  SPEAKER_01: Because on the bright side of things, you got three quarters of quickly of RJ and of Scotty.
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_01: Because they, again, they haven't played enough, so they need to figure out how they're gonna jail.
• 25:30
  SPEAKER_01: And I saw a report that RJ Bear might be available.
• 25:32
  SPEAKER_01: We got to see if RJ is a good fit alone, these type of guys.
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_01: So it's good to get those reps.
• 25:37
  SPEAKER_01: Like they're they're like the Spurs.
• 25:39
  SPEAKER_01: The Spurs traded for De'Aaron Fox.
• 25:41
  SPEAKER_01: De'Aaron Fox and Wimby only played a certain amount of games before Wimby went out with this injury.
• 25:45
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, based on all the reports, it's a freak accident and Wimby will be back next season, which is amazing.
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_01: But one thing that people are not recognizing is that they're gonna have to restart their chemistry, like try to get to find that chemistry because they didn't do a lot of it this season.
• 25:57
  SPEAKER_01: So the beginning of next year might be somewhat washed, if you will, as they try to learn each other's tendencies and stuff.
• 26:03
  SPEAKER_01: One thing to say about this: if this is a one-year one, our last tanking job, that we got three quarters of our top three dudes, and now we get one of our first top five picks, whatever the Raptors may end up being, and now we can really go for it.
• 26:15
  SPEAKER_01: That's the positive side of it.
• 26:18
  SPEAKER_01: But there's also like this disrespect level to the game to not try to win.
• 26:22
  SPEAKER_01: Now, granted, tanking is not something that is new to basketball whatsoever.
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_01: Damn it, I'm gonna have to talk about some other teams and maybe even doing it worse than the Toronto Raptors.
• 26:31
  SPEAKER_01: Tanking is not this new thing, but I sometimes I look at it as like this is a genuine slap in the face to the game.
• 26:39
  SPEAKER_01: But I understand it.
• 26:40
  SPEAKER_01: Like, what's the what's the alternative if you're the Toronto Raptors?
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_01: The alternative is trading for people that you want to resign.
• 26:47
  SPEAKER_01: That's what they did with Brandon Ingram, right?
• 26:48
  SPEAKER_01: We're not Brandon Ingram is not a player that you're gonna get a meeting with if you're the Toronto Raptors, but damn it, if we trade for him early and then we extend them, then we get them into the team.
• 26:55
  SPEAKER_01: When you have some of these markets, when you are the Utah Jazz or you are the Hornets or you are the Pelicans, free agency is just really tough.
• 27:03
  SPEAKER_01: So, in order to build your roster, you have to trade well and you have to hit in the draft.
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_01: And the best way to hit in the draft is to have a top pick so I can see it both ways.
• 27:11
  SPEAKER_01: But damn it, I didn't watch this game live.
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_01: But if I was um an eight-year-old Raptors fan watching this game, I would be upset.
• 27:17
  SPEAKER_01: Now, an eight-year-old doesn't understand the consequences or the the benefits of being a bad team, right?
• 27:22
  SPEAKER_01: When you think about lottery odds and all.
• 27:24
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm I'm stuck in the middle on this one, dog.
• 27:27
  SPEAKER_01: I'm stuck in the middle on this one because I understand why you do it, but damn it, I don't really love it.
• 27:31
  SPEAKER_01: And that's coming from a guy that's been praying at his team tank for a little bit, dog.
• 27:35
  SPEAKER_01: I've been praying that we get some tank in nature here.
• 27:38
  SPEAKER_01: Um and again, the basketball guys don't play.
• 27:40
  SPEAKER_01: And they said, nah, you're gonna take your guys out.
• 27:42
  SPEAKER_01: Guess what?
• 27:42
  SPEAKER_01: You're gonna still win.
• 27:43
  SPEAKER_01: Shout out to Kobe Walter.
• 27:44
  SPEAKER_01: And Jacoby said that was the first game winner he had ever hit in his life throughout high school, throughout middle school, throughout college.
• 27:49
  SPEAKER_01: He had never hit a game winner before.
• 27:50
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that's that's pretty amazing.
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um, they had the video after the game where um they're celebrating in the locker room, throwing the waters.
• 27:57
  SPEAKER_01: Whoa, whoa, whoa.
• 27:58
  SPEAKER_01: And it seemed like a good scene from the players because at the end of the day, these players care about winning in most cases.
• 28:04
  SPEAKER_01: It's people at the top.
• 28:05
  SPEAKER_01: We should have saw this coming with Jakapurta before the season started, went into the podium and said, We understand this is a rebuilding year.
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_01: Well, Masayu Giri said, I don't like the word rebuilding, but it's gonna be a different kind of year.
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_01: Like, you know what I'm saying?
• 28:15
  SPEAKER_01: With the writing was on the wall, even before the injuries happened to Emmanuel quickly and stuff.
• 28:19
  SPEAKER_01: So I don't know.
• 28:21
  SPEAKER_01: The next thing we should talk about in this tank fest is the jazz, because like I mentioned, there's a couple different ways you can tank this new strategy from the Raptors, is one thing, but then you get the good old classic.
• 28:30
  SPEAKER_01: We ain't gonna play nobody.
• 28:32
  SPEAKER_01: They played a game against the Wizards.
• 28:35
  SPEAKER_01: These are the two worst teams in the NBA, two of the bottom feeders, two worst uh records in each conference, right?
• 28:43
  SPEAKER_01: And the way the flattened odds change everything, right?
• 28:46
  SPEAKER_01: Where having the best odds being the worst team of basketball doesn't mean anything because the three worst teams have the same record.
• 28:52
  SPEAKER_01: So no matter who won or lost his games, there was not going to be a lot of a shifting in the records, but damn, you can't tell Let's Will tank a team.
• 28:58
  SPEAKER_01: In this game, the Jazz sat Jordan Clarkson, Larry Marketing, John Collins, Collins Sexton, and Keontae George.
• 29:06
  SPEAKER_01: That is their five of their six top scores this season did not play in this one.
• 29:11
  SPEAKER_01: And they almost still won.
• 29:12
  SPEAKER_01: Shout out to the Wizards.
• 29:13
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, they almost still won this game.
• 29:15
  SPEAKER_01: And I saw a tweet not too long ago, they had me thinking.
• 29:17
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and the the gist of this tweet was the Jazz is in year three of their rebuild.
• 29:24
  SPEAKER_01: It's been three seasons since they, well, it's the third season since they traded Donovan Mitchell and and uh Rudy Gobert.
• 29:30
  SPEAKER_01: And they have zero blue chip prospects to show for.
• 29:32
  SPEAKER_01: And as much as I like Isaiah Collier's passing ability, or I'm intrigued by Bryce Sensiball and Keontae George, I would agree with this.
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_01: As of right now, there's nobody on their roster that we looking, say bona fide all-star one day, you know?
• 29:45
  SPEAKER_01: And that's tough.
• 29:47
  SPEAKER_01: Three years into it, they haven't found that just yet.
• 29:50
  SPEAKER_01: And that's why I'm giving them a little bit more wiggle room with these type of things, because they haven't been able to draft well or draft higher.
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and they went for it, dog.
• 29:59
  SPEAKER_01: They went for it.
• 30:00
  SPEAKER_01: The Wizards are on the opposite side of things in this game.
• 30:03
  SPEAKER_01: They played majority of their guys.
• 30:04
  SPEAKER_01: I think there was no Jordan Poole in this one, but they had their young core, the George, Sarr, um, Bub, all of these guys had phenomenal games.
• 30:12
  SPEAKER_01: And it's like, hey, look, this is what our core can look like.
• 30:15
  SPEAKER_01: And guess what?
• 30:16
  SPEAKER_01: As of right now, even though we won this game, we still have the highest odds of the first overall pick.
• 30:21
  SPEAKER_01: So now we're adding one of the top three to four dudes.
• 30:24
  SPEAKER_01: It's beautiful.
• 30:25
  SPEAKER_01: You know, 14% chance to win a lottery if you're one of the bottom four teams and a 52% chance of keeping a top four pick.
• 30:31
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, the odds are in their favor.
• 30:33
  SPEAKER_01: But these tanker teams, they're going for it.
• 30:36
  SPEAKER_01: Then we got the Pelicans, who are in a weird situation.
• 30:40
  SPEAKER_01: Obviously, dealt with a ton of injuries in the season.
• 30:42
  SPEAKER_01: First game of the year, you see DeJounte Murray on his new team.
• 30:45
  SPEAKER_01: He has a great game against the Bulls and he breaks his hand.
• 30:48
  SPEAKER_01: Boom, he's out for a long time.
• 30:49
  SPEAKER_01: Brandon Ingram, I don't even know what the hell Brandon Ingram's injury is, but it's Brandon Ingram, so he misses a lot of time.
• 30:54
  SPEAKER_01: Zion Williamson misses 20 straight games or so.
• 30:56
  SPEAKER_01: And just like that, this team that probably, let's be real, probably had played ceilings like a seven, eight C ceiling is one of the worst teams in basketball.
• 31:05
  SPEAKER_01: But guess what?
• 31:07
  SPEAKER_01: Since he's come back, Zion has been ridiculous.
• 31:11
  SPEAKER_01: Last 15 games, 27 points per 27 points per.
• 31:19
  SPEAKER_01: As the most double-teamed player in the modern era, he's still going out there and giving you 27.
• 31:24
  SPEAKER_01: And there is the report that this is the lowest weight he has had since his Duke days.
• 31:29
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm not I'm not one of those people that's watching weight, but as a watcher of Zion, a fan of Zion, I see, I see it being different.
• 31:38
  SPEAKER_01: You can tell on the floor he's slendery.
• 31:40
  SPEAKER_01: And he had that one dunk against the Lakers, granted, it was in a loss because that's what the Pelicans do at this moment in time.
• 31:45
  SPEAKER_01: He had the one uh dunk against the Lakers where he threw the ball into the basket so fucking hard that it hit the ground and almost went back into the basket.
• 31:55
  SPEAKER_01: Do you know how powerful of a dunk it has to be to hit the hardwood and bounce back up an almost 10 feet?
• 32:03
  SPEAKER_01: It makes no sense.
• 32:04
  SPEAKER_01: And Zion has been so ridiculous, right?
• 32:08
  SPEAKER_01: There was a time early in the season around the trade line where some betting company hit the odds of what Zion next team was because there were some rumors that maybe they'd be listening to Zion.
• 32:16
  SPEAKER_01: And the Bulls were the number one team in this like hypothetical odds thing.
• 32:20
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, yo, I understand that Z has not been healthy in his career.
• 32:24
  SPEAKER_01: That is a type of player that I want on my team.
• 32:28
  SPEAKER_01: I don't give a fuck.
• 32:30
  SPEAKER_01: The man is so talented that I feel like we can get him, and I'm not saying the Bulls, but like any team can get him and turn that around.
• 32:40
  SPEAKER_01: He came in as a generational prospect, I want to remind you.
• 32:43
  SPEAKER_01: And though he has not lived up to that hype when he has played, it's been it's been ridiculous.
• 32:48
  SPEAKER_01: And that's after the start of the season where I thought he looked very, very sluggish out there.
• 32:52
  SPEAKER_01: I think I even mentioned it on this show.
• 32:54
  SPEAKER_01: Watch the game.
• 32:54
  SPEAKER_01: He wasn't getting up and down the court.
• 32:56
  SPEAKER_01: He it just wasn't as design that I remember.
• 32:59
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, ah, man, this stretch has been ridiculous.
• 33:02
  SPEAKER_01: And as the team is losing, he has been amazing.
• 33:05
  SPEAKER_01: In this loss against the Sacramento Kings, he was a plus 13.
• 33:08
  SPEAKER_01: And now plus-minus don't tell you the full story, but damn it, if you're the only person that got real minutes and you have a positive net rating, something something tells me that you're you're a winning player.
• 33:17
  SPEAKER_01: You have the game against Dallas with a net rating of a zero or a plus-minus of a zero in an eight-point loss.
• 33:22
  SPEAKER_01: He plus minus of plus 23 in the sacrament in a Spurs game, plus two in the Spurs game after that, a plus 17 in that Phoenix Suns game.
• 33:31
  SPEAKER_01: He was a plus two in that Utah Jazz game.
• 33:33
  SPEAKER_01: And then the game that his team lost by 21 points against the Lakers, he was a plus 13 with 37 points.
• 33:40
  SPEAKER_01: One thing that I don't even know if this is a jump necessarily, or I just wasn't locked in enough.
• 33:45
  SPEAKER_01: I'm really loving the playmaking version that we're getting of Zion.
• 33:49
  SPEAKER_01: Point Z, whatever you want to call it, the playmaking has been damn good.
• 33:53
  SPEAKER_01: And in this stretch, this 15-game sample size I'm referring to, he's averaging about 10 and a half potentials per game, potential assists.
• 34:00
  SPEAKER_01: And he's averaging five real assists.
• 34:02
  SPEAKER_01: So, like just imagine once he gets, you know, his team completely healthy, and maybe they add some more pieces here or there.
• 34:10
  SPEAKER_01: Zion is a great watch.
• 34:12
  SPEAKER_01: And the Pelicans were not a team I cared about when Zion wasn't there, but now he's there.
• 34:17
  SPEAKER_01: It's much CTV for me.
• 34:19
  SPEAKER_01: There's some times where the team would throw three real bodies at him, and it will not matter.
• 34:26
  SPEAKER_01: That is amazing.
• 34:28
  SPEAKER_01: The last team in this whole tanking tier, I'm only going top five because you know there's some teams that are not necessarily tanking, but not very good.
• 34:35
  SPEAKER_01: I don't want to talk about those teams.
• 34:36
  SPEAKER_01: We have the Hornets.
• 34:38
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I told myself the way I've been doing things, I've been having these nightly rotations, if you will, where there's so much basketball alone.
• 34:45
  SPEAKER_01: I feel like if I try to watch every game, I'm not watching anything.
• 34:48
  SPEAKER_01: So I picked three to four games a night.
• 34:51
  SPEAKER_01: Um, yesterday, the games that I picked were good, but when they were at halftime, I went other places.
• 34:57
  SPEAKER_01: And when I was at halftime of Celtics versus um uh Celtics, hold on, hold on, hold on.
• 35:04
  SPEAKER_01: Why am I drawing a black hair?
• 35:05
  SPEAKER_01: Celtics versus Trailblazers, Celtics versus Trailblazers.
• 35:07
  SPEAKER_01: This is the Peyton Pritcher 40-point game and the Derek White 40-point game, the first Celtics duo to drop 40 in the same game, which is crazy considering how many great players have been in the Celtics.
• 35:15
  SPEAKER_01: I'm watching that game, it goes to halftime.
• 35:17
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, Bet, what else is on?
• 35:18
  SPEAKER_01: Minnesota, Charlotte.
• 35:21
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I guess fine, fine.
• 35:23
  SPEAKER_01: Julius Randle's back as well.
• 35:24
  SPEAKER_01: His third game back.
• 35:25
  SPEAKER_01: Let me see what he's doing.
• 35:26
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm I'm here like there.
• 35:28
  SPEAKER_01: I'm watching Jaden McDaniel select Michael Jordan off the dribble.
• 35:32
  SPEAKER_01: They're leaving them over, but he's knocking it down.
• 35:35
  SPEAKER_01: And um, I'm thinking about the base that is to Charlotte Hornets in this in this um current regime.
• 35:42
  SPEAKER_01: And I just, and maybe this is naive because I mean I was the exact opposite of this early into the season.
• 35:47
  SPEAKER_01: When I was making my predictions, I was like, I believe that of all the bottom feeders from last year, the Hornets are gonna be the one that's gonna take the step.
• 35:54
  SPEAKER_01: I've ended up being the piston.
• 35:56
  SPEAKER_01: Shout out to the Pistons.
• 35:57
  SPEAKER_01: I was wrong on that.
• 35:58
  SPEAKER_01: Now that I'm watching them, on I I just I just don't see a world where they're gonna be able to turn this around.
• 36:04
  SPEAKER_01: Is that unfair?
• 36:05
  SPEAKER_01: Is that unfair?
• 36:06
  SPEAKER_01: Because as of right now, I mean they're missing Trey Man, they're missing Grant Williams, who Trey Man ain't played since November.
• 36:12
  SPEAKER_01: Grant Williams is out with it, I think an ACO as well.
• 36:15
  SPEAKER_01: Brandon Miller's out for the rest of the season.
• 36:16
  SPEAKER_01: So those are three real rotational players.
• 36:18
  SPEAKER_01: I don't want to discredit those players at all.
• 36:20
  SPEAKER_01: But when you have Mark Williams, you have Bridges, you have Lamelo, you have players on your roster that should be, in theory, a part of your real core.
• 36:27
  SPEAKER_01: And y'all can't stop nothing.
• 36:30
  SPEAKER_01: I think I've cursed too many times episode.
• 36:32
  SPEAKER_01: Y'all can't stop nothing right now.
• 36:34
  SPEAKER_01: Like absolutely nothing.
• 36:36
  SPEAKER_01: When I tell you it was a layup line and Jaden McDaniel, I don't know if they just opted to not guard Jaden McDaniels.
• 36:41
  SPEAKER_01: Did they try to get in his head or something?
• 36:43
  SPEAKER_01: Like he had every shot that I watched Jada McDaniels take in that third quarter was a wide, and I'm I'm not exaggerating.
• 36:49
  SPEAKER_01: Go watch the film.
• 36:50
  SPEAKER_01: It was a wide open look.
• 36:53
  SPEAKER_01: And if it wasn't him, it was Ant walking to the basket or Julius Randle putting his shoulder down and everybody moving out of the way for Julius Randle.
• 37:01
  SPEAKER_01: And then Charles Lee goes to the post-game and he's like, Yeah, we gotta be better.
• 37:04
  SPEAKER_01: Hell yeah, y'all gotta be better.
• 37:06
  SPEAKER_01: Gang, y'all been losing by 30 nightly, it feels like.
• 37:10
  SPEAKER_01: And there's a difference between a tanking rebuild and what the hell that is.
• 37:16
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know what the I mean, I I Lamelo might be on the move because you might have to start over with their rebuild, their first overall pick this year, Sajan Salon.
• 37:27
  SPEAKER_01: And the games I've watched, I'm just not seeing it.
• 37:29
  SPEAKER_01: This he's the I think he was the youngest player in the draft, so I don't want to be premature and act like he's gonna be ass.
• 37:34
  SPEAKER_01: But like it's been bad.
• 37:36
  SPEAKER_01: I'll say that it's been bad.
• 37:38
  SPEAKER_01: Um half hope for him.
• 37:40
  SPEAKER_01: I don't want to stunt the brothers' dreams or anything.
• 37:42
  SPEAKER_01: I truly, truly do have hope for him.
• 37:44
  SPEAKER_01: But I'm just in the games I've watched of them, it's a poor, a poor indication of what NBA should be.
• 37:52
  SPEAKER_01: How about that?
• 37:53
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and those are the tanking teams.
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• 38:50
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• 38:51
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• 38:55
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• 38:59
  SPEAKER_01: Now that we've gone through some tanker tanks, I want to take some time and talk about the the good teams.
• 39:03
  SPEAKER_01: Just just for a quick second.
• 39:05
  SPEAKER_01: Because you go to FanDuel Sportsbook, we can talk about the most regular season wins odds.
• 39:09
  SPEAKER_01: So these are the teams, and it's really a two-man race between the Cavs and the Thunder.
• 39:13
  SPEAKER_01: Which team will end up with more wins?
• 39:14
  SPEAKER_01: As of right now, the Cavs are a minus 165, and then OKC is a plus 105.
• 39:20
  SPEAKER_01: And when I look at these odds, you look at the NBA standings, right?
• 39:23
  SPEAKER_01: The NBA standings are tell all.
• 39:25
  SPEAKER_01: Because I think based on the conversation or the interviews that I've seen from Kenny Atkinson, as cool as it is to be the first team to clinch and all these things, they're eight games above the Celtics.
• 39:36
  SPEAKER_01: The Thunder are 11 games over the Lakers.
• 39:39
  SPEAKER_01: I wouldn't be surprised if both of these teams in the last week or so of the season take the foot off a gas just a little bit in the I with the idea of looking towards the playoffs, meaning that they might, this 52 and 10 team might end up losing two of their last three, not because they've lost their juice, but because they're gearing themselves up for that playoff game.
• 39:57
  SPEAKER_01: Because there's no stakes at this point.
• 39:58
  SPEAKER_01: Like they damn near have both clinched to one seat.
• 40:01
  SPEAKER_01: So who end up with the most wins?
• 40:04
  SPEAKER_01: Hmm.
• 40:05
  SPEAKER_01: If I had to take a guess, I would go Cavs, even with what Kenny Atkinson said.
• 40:09
  SPEAKER_01: Because we've had games where it's been no Donovan Mitchell or gamers, no Darius Garland.
• 40:13
  SPEAKER_01: And like Ty Jerome is an all-star caliber player, or DeAndre Hunter, who is trading for two second-round picks, he's an all-star caliber player.
• 40:20
  SPEAKER_01: So I just feel like they might be able to sustain some of that stuff a little bit more, specifically because they have the back end.
• 40:25
  SPEAKER_01: As long as one of those two bigs are playing, I think your defense is going to be at least decent.
• 40:29
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm just, I'm going to go with them.
• 40:31
  SPEAKER_01: I'm going to go with them, man.
• 40:32
  SPEAKER_01: I'm going to go with them.
• 40:33
  SPEAKER_01: Before we get out of here, I do want to do ask KB, man.
• 40:37
  SPEAKER_01: I asked people on Twitter to ask me questions.
• 40:39
  SPEAKER_01: And if you're just an NBA head, um, you this might be the end of the show for you because I did pick some questions that weren't necessarily NBA related, but you know, it might be beneficial to some people.
• 40:49
  SPEAKER_01: The first one comes from John Jablanca.
• 40:51
  SPEAKER_01: I do want to say John is I subscribe to a substack.
• 40:54
  SPEAKER_01: He's one of the best writers currently in hoops right now.
• 40:56
  SPEAKER_01: Um so shout out to John.
• 40:58
  SPEAKER_01: He says, two kind of related questions, but as a content creator, how do you deal with, especially early on, and not comparing yourself to others?
• 41:07
  SPEAKER_01: And even comparing yourself, how you dealt, and even comparing to yourself.
• 41:12
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I'm sorry, and even comparing to yourself, how have you dealt with the consistency of thinking that you're you're not progressing the way you want to?
• 41:19
  SPEAKER_01: Oh my God, that beat my ass.
• 41:20
  SPEAKER_01: Sorry, John.
• 41:21
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so let me tell you the way my arc has been as a content creator.
• 41:27
  SPEAKER_01: Um started off obviously as a hobby more than anything, got a check for$200, and I was like, oh shit, this is the real deal.
• 41:35
  SPEAKER_01: And then eventually I worked my way to becoming a job.
• 41:38
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but even in that, when I think about the earliest parts of it being the job, I wasn't thinking analytical, I wasn't doing anything.
• 41:45
  SPEAKER_01: I was just uploading videos that I thought was were cool and hoping that people watched.
• 41:49
  SPEAKER_01: And then once it started to become really, really serious, man, I kid you not, for maybe a two to three year stretch, I was keeping tabs on all of my competitors.
• 41:58
  SPEAKER_01: Now, I do want to say this right now.
• 42:01
  SPEAKER_01: I want everybody that makes content around sports to eat.
• 42:06
  SPEAKER_01: I want everybody to be able to live the dream of creating content around the sport that they care about.
• 42:13
  SPEAKER_01: But that does not make us uh that doesn't mean that we're not competition.
• 42:18
  SPEAKER_01: It's healthy competition.
• 42:19
  SPEAKER_01: Hell, I've had people on this show that I see as competitors because I love the game and and and the strive to be number one.
• 42:26
  SPEAKER_01: So for a two to three year stretch on a monthly basis, I would look at those competitors or other creators in sports and specifically basketball creation, and I would look at their numbers, I would jot their numbers and put it in a spreadsheet, and I would look at mine because damn it, I wanted to be number one.
• 42:40
  SPEAKER_01: And if I wasn't number one, I had to be number three.
• 42:43
  SPEAKER_01: And the one time I wasn't number three, I it was a dark time.
• 42:48
  SPEAKER_01: I say all that to say comparing yourself to others can be beneficial in a way as long as you don't overdo it.
• 42:56
  SPEAKER_01: And again, I'm specifically talking about content creation because for me, when when I wasn't number one or the times I'm not number one, it puts again a battery.
• 43:05
  SPEAKER_01: I may have mentioned battery in my back last week, and we were talking about Austin Reeves and stuff.
• 43:08
  SPEAKER_01: It puts a battery in my back to say, this guy made a Lakers video and it did this well, I made a Lakers video and did this well.
• 43:15
  SPEAKER_01: I want to beat that guy next time we both make a similar video.
• 43:18
  SPEAKER_01: So it makes me want to be better at whether it be titling or thumbnailing or content creation in general.
• 43:25
  SPEAKER_01: Now, recently I have deleted that file completely because I told myself that I was gonna stop looking into it and then it just existed in my drive and I would still go to it.
• 43:35
  SPEAKER_01: So I had to delete, like delete it.
• 43:36
  SPEAKER_01: I don't even think that I could find it if I wanted to.
• 43:40
  SPEAKER_01: Because that was the only way I was gonna get away from that.
• 43:43
  SPEAKER_01: I do also think that it can be beneficial to consume, especially early on, to consume the content of the people that you're comparing yourself to in order to try to take bits and pieces and incorporate it to your game.
• 43:56
  unknown: Right?
• 43:57
  SPEAKER_01: It happens all the time in sports.
• 43:58
  SPEAKER_01: You you spend Anthony Ewitz.
• 44:00
  SPEAKER_01: Said that this offseason, he's tried to start shooting like Dame.
• 44:04
  SPEAKER_01: Because Dame was one of the greatest shooters of all time, right?
• 44:07
  SPEAKER_01: And if I can shoot like Dame, my release point is like Dame, and that can elevate me, then I'm on I'm only benefiting from that.
• 44:13
  SPEAKER_01: And it helped Anthony Edwards, right?
• 44:15
  SPEAKER_01: Anthony Everts, one of the best three-point shooters in the league right now.
• 44:17
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe the best jump shooter in the entire league this season alone.
• 44:20
  SPEAKER_01: And I think you can do that in content creation.
• 44:22
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, these guys are doing this with their titling, these guys are doing this with their thumbnail, and I'm seeing something here and there.
• 44:28
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe if I combine the two and put my own spin onto it, then I can see that relative success.
• 44:33
  SPEAKER_01: The thing is, the last part, um, how you dealt with it constantly thinking you're not progressing as well as you want to.
• 44:43
  SPEAKER_01: At the end of the day, I've said this before and I'll say it again.
• 44:46
  SPEAKER_01: The people that tell you that there is this recipe in order to be successful on the internet, they're lying to you, man.
• 44:54
  SPEAKER_01: I'm sorry to break the news.
• 44:56
  SPEAKER_01: They're lying to you.
• 44:57
  SPEAKER_01: Because at the end of the day, we are all praying that the YouTube algorithm pushes our content.
• 45:05
  SPEAKER_01: We're praying that the Twitter slash X4U, my tweet about the article that I wrote, would be on more people's for you's.
• 45:12
  SPEAKER_01: We're hoping that TikTok takes my clip and puts it in the in the phones of NBA lovers across the world.
• 45:18
  SPEAKER_01: There's so many things we have no control over.
• 45:21
  SPEAKER_01: Anybody that tells you they figured out, they figured out SEO, they figured out tags, most of the time they're lying, dog.
• 45:27
  SPEAKER_01: They're just lying.
• 45:29
  SPEAKER_01: So when you talk about progressing as well as you want to, there's only so much you have control over.
• 45:37
  SPEAKER_01: At the end of the day, I just recommend that people make content that they're happy with and let the cards fall where they may.
• 45:45
  SPEAKER_01: At the end of the day, you might not get picked up by the algorithm.
• 45:50
  SPEAKER_01: There's so many greater, like smaller content creators that had dreams of making this their job and they made great fucking content, but couldn't turn it into a job because they weren't able to get that first big break.
• 46:03
  SPEAKER_01: And it's the sad reality of content creation.
• 46:06
  SPEAKER_01: And on the opposite side of that, people have their first big break.
• 46:10
  SPEAKER_01: And here's the way it worked for me.
• 46:12
  SPEAKER_01: I had a video, and some of y'all may recognize this video if you've been around for a long time.
• 46:16
  SPEAKER_01: I was uh it was guess guess the different NBA logos or something like that.
• 46:20
  SPEAKER_01: There were two pictures.
• 46:21
  SPEAKER_01: There's a picture of a real Boston Celtics logo and one that is altered just slightly.
• 46:26
  SPEAKER_01: I had to pick which one was the real one.
• 46:28
  SPEAKER_01: That video in the first four days got 100,000 views.
• 46:32
  SPEAKER_01: And in my in my, this is early in my YouTube journey, 100,000 views, damn it.
• 46:36
  SPEAKER_01: I was I was like Kai Sonette.
• 46:37
  SPEAKER_01: That you can tell me nothing, you couldn't tell me nothing.
• 46:39
  SPEAKER_01: I had the whole world in my hands.
• 46:41
  SPEAKER_01: But I had to capitalize.
• 46:43
  SPEAKER_01: Eventually that video blossomed to a million plus views.
• 46:47
  SPEAKER_01: I had to capitalize on, oh my God, I'm in the algorithm right now.
• 46:50
  SPEAKER_01: What can I do?
• 46:51
  SPEAKER_01: That million people that saw the video, if they come back for the next one, I can't let them down.
• 46:56
  SPEAKER_01: So you have to be prepared for if you do get picked up.
• 47:00
  SPEAKER_01: Because I've seen some people get picked up and they lose it.
• 47:05
  SPEAKER_01: They don't know what to do next.
• 47:07
  SPEAKER_01: They're frozen by the success.
• 47:10
  SPEAKER_01: I don't want to let I don't want to let those people down.
• 47:12
  SPEAKER_01: They saw this last video.
• 47:13
  SPEAKER_01: It was a video essay, it was an hour long.
• 47:14
  SPEAKER_01: I did amazing stuff.
• 47:15
  SPEAKER_01: I put together this video documentary.
• 47:18
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know what my next video should be because if they like this one, I want to make something similar, but I can't make it too similar.
• 47:23
  SPEAKER_01: Just be prepared.
• 47:25
  SPEAKER_01: And again, John, I've read your stuff.
• 47:28
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know if you make video content, but I've read your stuff.
• 47:31
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's one of the most in-depth, you know, breakdowns that we see.
• 47:35
  SPEAKER_01: Specifically, I I read your your um your Miami Heat things.
• 47:39
  SPEAKER_01: I don't get around to watching all 82 of the Miami Heat.
• 47:42
  SPEAKER_01: So if I can rely on so-and-so, you in this case, to break down what the hell happened with Davion Mitchell in the last two games, I'm here for that.
• 47:50
  SPEAKER_01: And there's a market for, you know what I'm saying?
• 47:53
  SPEAKER_01: So at the end of the day, comparison can be beneficial, but it also can be the thief of joy.
• 48:02
  SPEAKER_01: And I I can't I can't tell you whether you're progressing right or wrong.
• 48:07
  SPEAKER_01: You have to have that internal conversation with yourself of if your content is up to your own standards.
• 48:13
  SPEAKER_01: Here's a perfect example of this before we move on to the next question.
• 48:16
  SPEAKER_01: I recorded this episode already this morning, 10 o'clock in the morning.
• 48:20
  SPEAKER_01: I got here, you know, had my breakfast, came here, and did the show with Greg.
• 48:24
  SPEAKER_01: We wrapped up.
• 48:25
  SPEAKER_01: I said, Greg, I didn't like this episode.
• 48:28
  SPEAKER_01: Actually, I think this is the worst episode we've done this entire year.
• 48:31
  SPEAKER_01: I wasn't happy with it.
• 48:32
  SPEAKER_01: And the easy thing for me to do is say, hey, I just spent the hour on it.
• 48:35
  SPEAKER_01: We already got our sponsorships in line.
• 48:37
  SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna get paid for it regardless.
• 48:38
  SPEAKER_01: So I can just upload it and whatever happens, happens.
• 48:42
  SPEAKER_01: And for a moment, I get I can play something.
• 48:44
  SPEAKER_01: I left the office and then I got home.
• 48:47
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm looking at my notes from this episode and I'm looking at what I wrote about the Dallas Mavericks.
• 48:52
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, I didn't even hit that point.
• 48:54
  SPEAKER_01: I don't think I fleshed out that point.
• 48:57
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not happy with it.
• 49:00
  SPEAKER_01: So let me eat my lunch and I'm taking my ass back to the studio because I want to make sure that the content that I create keeps people satisfied.
• 49:08
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I'm saying?
• 49:10
  SPEAKER_01: I like in my mind, if I published that video, the episode that I filmed this morning, I may have lost three to four viewers.
• 49:16
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, Kenny didn't lost his fastball, dog.
• 49:18
  SPEAKER_01: And they may not ever have come back.
• 49:20
  SPEAKER_01: And I don't want that to happen.
• 49:22
  SPEAKER_01: So I brought my ass back into the lab and said, hey, let's try it again.
• 49:26
  SPEAKER_01: Let's flesh out those points that were in your notes that you didn't get to that first time.
• 49:30
  SPEAKER_01: You talk about progressing well, you are your own critic.
• 49:33
  SPEAKER_01: And if you're happy with the content, that's all that you can do at the end of the day.
• 49:37
  SPEAKER_01: Just be, just put together content that you're happy with.
• 49:40
  SPEAKER_01: And that was a long one.
• 49:41
  SPEAKER_01: But John, I do know that there's so many people that listen to these shows or watch these episodes that have the dream of content creation.
• 49:47
  SPEAKER_01: So that was a perfect question.
• 49:48
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much.
• 49:49
  SPEAKER_01: The next one comes from uh Ari, and I'm just gonna call you Ari.
• 49:52
  SPEAKER_01: I'm sorry if I the rest of your name, it's unique, and I never wanted to mispronounce people's name.
• 49:57
  SPEAKER_01: Um, are there any takeaways that you have for being more locked in to college basketball this season?
• 50:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 50:03
  SPEAKER_01: My biggest takeaway is that I genuinely, and this might not be a surprise to y'all, but damn it, I guess I was questioning myself.
• 50:12
  SPEAKER_01: Uh it was the confirmation I genuinely do love basketball.
• 50:16
  SPEAKER_01: Kenny, what are you talking about?
• 50:17
  SPEAKER_01: You've done basketball content for a decade.
• 50:19
  SPEAKER_01: Now, what do you mean?
• 50:20
  SPEAKER_01: You I think there are people that love the NBA but don't love basketball.
• 50:23
  SPEAKER_01: And there's nothing wrong, like I think we need those people, right?
• 50:26
  SPEAKER_01: You may love the transactional part of sports or basketball.
• 50:29
  SPEAKER_01: You may love all the crazy storylines of Nico Harrison talking about Luca being fat, you know, all those things.
• 50:35
  SPEAKER_01: You might love that more than the actual on court product.
• 50:38
  SPEAKER_01: And sometimes I was questioning myself, do I care about that stuff?
• 50:40
  SPEAKER_01: Do I do?
• 50:41
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, is that is that who I am?
• 50:43
  SPEAKER_01: Am I am I more of that type of guy?
• 50:44
  SPEAKER_01: Am I more basketball guy?
• 50:45
  SPEAKER_01: And as I watch more college basketball, I recognize to myself that I'm definitely a hoop head.
• 50:50
  SPEAKER_01: Hoop head.
• 50:51
  SPEAKER_01: As if there is any type of, I don't know, belief otherwise.
• 50:55
  SPEAKER_01: And the reason I say that is though I do listen to like college basketball podcasts and stuff, but for the most part, I don't know about the rumors of the crazy storylines involved in college basketball.
• 51:09
  SPEAKER_01: The only thing I can remember is the one fight that happened on the team plane a little while ago, like earlier in the season.
• 51:14
  SPEAKER_01: And I forget what teams that was.
• 51:16
  SPEAKER_01: Is it Houston?
• 51:16
  SPEAKER_01: I forgot.
• 51:17
  SPEAKER_01: I literally forgot.
• 51:18
  SPEAKER_01: I look at the schedule and I say, hey, Maryland is playing against Michigan.
• 51:22
  SPEAKER_01: I like Derrick Queen.
• 51:24
  SPEAKER_01: I like Danny Wolf.
• 51:25
  SPEAKER_01: Let's go watch those dudes hoop.
• 51:27
  SPEAKER_01: Couldn't care less about the storyline of Maryland not having any bench production.
• 51:32
  SPEAKER_01: I just want to watch the basketball.
• 51:35
  SPEAKER_01: And as somebody who I mentioned before would love to at one point be on the bench one day.
• 51:40
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I at the smallest level, if it's sixth grade hoops or eight, eight-year-old hoops, I want to, you know, I mentioned this before when we talk about my late coach.
• 51:49
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I want to impact, you know, males positively.
• 51:51
  SPEAKER_01: And basketball is probably the best way I can do that, other than this content creation shit.
• 51:56
  SPEAKER_01: Um, college basketball has a lot less freelance basketball than the NBA.
• 52:00
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm watching and saying, like, oh my God, that was a beautiful play, Rand.
• 52:04
  SPEAKER_01: That's a beautiful set.
• 52:06
  SPEAKER_01: And it's just, it's that's the thing that I've learned the most, is that I really do love basketball.
• 52:11
  SPEAKER_01: And it hits all levels.
• 52:13
  SPEAKER_01: Like last year, I watched the W for the first time and kept up with the W for the first time.
• 52:16
  SPEAKER_01: I've been watching Unrivaled as well.
• 52:18
  SPEAKER_01: So, like, if there's basketball on, I'm watching the hoops, and that's pretty dope.
• 52:22
  SPEAKER_01: Cannot wait for March Madness.
• 52:24
  SPEAKER_01: I'm put together a bracket and I'm gonna have a little bit more knowledge this year than any other year.
• 52:28
  SPEAKER_01: I'm excited.
• 52:29
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know who my favorite is.
• 52:30
  SPEAKER_01: It's probably Duke because they're just a bit over everybody.
• 52:33
  SPEAKER_01: But like there are some sleepers in there, man.
• 52:35
  SPEAKER_01: I'm worried I'm waiting for it, man.
• 52:36
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe we do a college basketball episode once we find out the teams that are gonna be in the tourney and where they're gonna be.
• 52:42
  SPEAKER_01: But uh, shout out to Ari uh for that question.
• 52:45
  SPEAKER_01: Um, the next one.
• 52:47
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, this is an NBA-related one.
• 52:48
  SPEAKER_01: Shout out to Brian.
• 52:49
  SPEAKER_01: If you could time travel back to any yearslash era of NBA basketball and cover it for a full season for NOTB, I'm gonna say for small ball, uh, what would it be and why?
• 52:58
  SPEAKER_01: Brian, this might be a cop-out answer because I'm not even going that far back.
• 53:02
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not going to a different era.
• 53:03
  SPEAKER_01: I'm going to this current, like, huh?
• 53:05
  SPEAKER_01: Let's probably last era.
• 53:07
  SPEAKER_01: 2015, 2016 season, dog.
• 53:09
  SPEAKER_01: There's no better season in sports.
• 53:11
  SPEAKER_01: You can't convince me otherwise.
• 53:12
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, maybe some historian can tell me about '86 and what Larry Bird did, but damn it, this team, think about the season.
• 53:20
  SPEAKER_01: We had the greatest regular season team of all time, 73-9.
• 53:26
  SPEAKER_01: That greatest regular season team of all time blew a 3-1 lead to one of the GOATs.
• 53:33
  SPEAKER_01: Then we had the last hurrah for Kobe Bryant.
• 53:36
  SPEAKER_01: Kobe Bryant's um end of his career, his uh farewell tour, if you will.
• 53:42
  SPEAKER_01: Amazing stuff.
• 53:43
  SPEAKER_01: Lost in the shuffle.
• 53:45
  SPEAKER_01: The Spurs lost one game at home all season long, bro.
• 53:49
  SPEAKER_01: They were 40 and 1 at home.
• 53:52
  SPEAKER_01: They're so, and that's not even talking about individual performances or all the craziness that happened in that year.
• 53:58
  SPEAKER_01: It was just the greatest year of sports.
• 54:00
  SPEAKER_01: Now, I didn't start doing my basketball coverage till like two years after that.
• 54:03
  SPEAKER_01: But honestly, I wonder if that season was one of the main catalysts for me to be like, oh no, this shit is legendary, dog.
• 54:09
  SPEAKER_01: This is what I want to do for my life.
• 54:10
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, because it really was ridiculous stuff.
• 54:12
  SPEAKER_01: You had Rondo leading the league and assists, he was just throwing dimes.
• 54:16
  SPEAKER_01: Steph Curry's averaging 30, unanimous MVP.
• 54:19
  SPEAKER_01: LeBron James talking about what Klay Thompson say?
• 54:22
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, okay.
• 54:22
  SPEAKER_01: And then going out there and busting ass.
• 54:25
  SPEAKER_01: Bro, I would go back there.
• 54:28
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm just thinking about what the content could have been.
• 54:30
  SPEAKER_01: Can you imagine that video when they did it in game seven?
• 54:33
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, dog, bro.
• 54:34
  SPEAKER_01: That video would have gone nuts.
• 54:36
  SPEAKER_01: So that would 100% be my answer.
• 54:39
  SPEAKER_01: 100% be my answer.
• 54:41
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and my last question comes from AMG.
• 54:43
  SPEAKER_01: And this is also an NBA-related question.
• 54:45
  SPEAKER_01: I didn't realize I picked two NBA ever four.
• 54:47
  SPEAKER_01: If you could have witnessed one historic NBA game in person, which one would it be?
• 54:51
  SPEAKER_01: Examples, Kobe's last game, 100 points for Wilt, um, the 2016 finals, game seven, etc.
• 54:57
  SPEAKER_01: Um listen, all of the examples you gave us, fantastic, fantastic examples, right?
• 55:06
  SPEAKER_01: Um, would love to have been there when Kobe had his last game.
• 55:09
  SPEAKER_01: But it would have been phenom like ridiculous to be at.
• 55:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um, watching that live on TV was one of my favorite games I've ever watched.
• 55:15
  SPEAKER_01: The man was out there really going to work.
• 55:18
  SPEAKER_01: Um but I'm gonna pick something that's closer, that's near and dear to my heart.
• 55:23
  SPEAKER_01: And it's it's going to be, and I want to make sure I get the right game, it's gonna be game three, 2015 Eastern Conference semifinals Bulls versus Cavaliers.
• 55:33
  SPEAKER_01: If you don't remember what happened this game, um Derek Rose hit a game winner in this game.
• 55:40
  SPEAKER_01: And the reason why I'm saying this is the game is because I used to be a season ticket holder for the Chicago Bulls, and it was a buzzer beater game winner, too, which is uh phenomenal.
• 55:48
  SPEAKER_01: That was after um Jared Smith hit one with 11 seconds ago.
• 55:52
  SPEAKER_01: I'm looking at the game log here.
• 55:53
  SPEAKER_01: Um the reason I say that, I was a season ticket holder for the Chicago Bulls for two season, one two seasons, one season, regardless.
• 56:01
  SPEAKER_01: I have been in the United Center for two game winners, not buzzer beaters, but two game winners when the Bulls won.
• 56:06
  SPEAKER_01: There was one against the 76ers, where um who was it?
• 56:10
  SPEAKER_01: Who was it?
• 56:11
  SPEAKER_01: Zach Levine ended up with a breakaway layup, and that was it.
• 56:14
  SPEAKER_01: And then the other one I can't remember, but damn it, it was two of them.
• 56:18
  SPEAKER_01: I have been in attendance for four game winners against the Bulls.
• 56:23
  SPEAKER_01: Four! So I just wanna I just want to be there stuck in time because I don't want to know that the game after this LeBron James hit a game winner against us and we lose the series eventually.
• 56:34
  SPEAKER_01: If I can go back and watch one game and that be it, there's no future.
• 56:38
  SPEAKER_01: This is you live it in the present.
• 56:39
  SPEAKER_01: I want to see what the United Center is like when Derek Rose hit that game, uh game winner.
• 56:44
  SPEAKER_01: Just I don't know if it's gonna be any better moment for me specifically, because I have not been able to see a ton of playoff Bulls wins.
• 56:55
  SPEAKER_01: Not in my adult life, at least, in 2015.
• 56:58
  SPEAKER_01: That's when I became an adult.
• 57:00
  SPEAKER_01: So that would easily be my answer.
• 57:02
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, it's not a historic moment by any means, but damn it, it would have been a great moment for me.
• 57:07
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, I think that's where we wrap today's episode.
• 57:10
  SPEAKER_01: I feel good about this one.
• 57:12
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not refilming this one, baby.
• 57:13
  SPEAKER_01: I feel good.
• 57:14
  SPEAKER_01: Hopefully, you did too.
• 57:16
  SPEAKER_01: If you enjoyed it, um leave it a like.
• 57:18
  SPEAKER_01: Tell somebody you love them, and I will see y'all next week.
• 57:22
  SPEAKER_01: Peace.