A Big Concern For LeBron & Lakers? + Flagg’s Improvement & Brooks’ Impact

Summary

Podcast Summary: Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective

Episode: A Big Concern For LeBron & Lakers? + Flagg’s Improvement & Brooks’ Impact
Date: December 3, 2025
Host: Brian Windhorst (B), with Tim Bontemps (C) and Tim MacMahon (D)

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Overview

This episode dives into three main themes in the NBA:

1. The ongoing struggles and concerns for LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers, particularly after a recent loss to the Phoenix Suns.
2. The resurgence and impact of Dylan Brooks with the Suns and his evolution as both a player and team culture leader.
3. The emergence of young talent, including Cooper Flagg and Ryan Nembhard, with insights into the state of teams like the Mavericks, Clippers, Nuggets, and Thunder.

The crew also covers broader league trends, notable coaching and player performances, and ends with lighter segments on the “Cojones Factor” (clutch performance award) and a tribute to Danilo Gallinari’s unique career arc.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. LeBron James & the Lakers' Growing Concerns

• LeBron’s Rough Night: The hosts discuss LeBron’s uncharacteristic performance in the Lakers’ recent game: just 10 points, with zero rebounds, steals, or blocks – a first in his career.
  • “LeBron did not have a good night. For the first time really this season, I felt like LeBron looked his age.” – Windhorst [08:14]
• Physical Limitations: Both Bontemps and MacMahon express concern about LeBron’s physical state, noting a lack of explosion and hustle.
  • “I was pretty taken aback at how old he looked on the court… it looked like he had a parachute attached to his back.” – Bontemps [10:13]
• Team Defense Woes: The Lakers’ defensive lineup stats are troubling, particularly when LeBron, Luka, and Austin Reeves share the court. Their defensive rating sits near the bottom of the league over a significant sample size.
  • “If LeBron is looking anything like he did last night... I don’t see how in any world this team is going to be able to guard like that.” – Bontemps [16:01]
• Is this permanent? Windhorst cautions against panic, citing the Lakers’ brutal schedule and LeBron’s recent return from injury, but admits, “I think you have to be concerned.” [12:58]

2. Dylan Brooks: “Villain” Turned Culture-Setter

• Redemption in Phoenix: The Suns’ big win highlighted Brooks’ transformation from a maligned Grizzly to a team leader.
  • “He has been…dude, this is a team that needed a cultural reset in the worst way… those are the two leaders of this team.” – MacMahon on Brooks and Booker [05:58]
• Playing with Swagger: Brooks’ 33 points, energy, and trash talk were key to smothering the Lakers.
  • “He’s entertaining as hell. If he’s on your team, you love him... if you’re impartial, you’re at least entertained.” – MacMahon [07:13]
  • Memorable moment: Brooks mimicking LeBron’s shoulder shrug after a dunk, staring him down [06:18].
• Earning the Bag: Both hosts admit they doubted his $86M contract with Houston, but now praise his role in helping both the Rockets and Suns shift their team culture.

3. League Check-In: Team Trends, Youth Movement, and Critical Injuries

• Phoenix Suns: Surging defensively (27th to 13th in DRTG); role players like Colin Gillespie becoming unexpected contributors [09:22].
• Clippers' and Nuggets’ Defensive Slide:
  • Clippers’ inability to defend the three (gave up 14+ threes in a half!) underlined by Ty Lue furious substitutions [19:49].
  • Denver’s drastic defensive drop without Aaron Gordon (from 3rd to 30th) a major red flag:
    “When you don’t have good perimeter defense, [Jokic] can’t defend the rim… when you lose your good perimeter defense, you’re a little bit vulnerable.” – Windhorst [30:11]
  • Jamal Murray’s ankle injury adds to Denver’s woes.
• Mavericks and Youth Impact:
  • Ryan Nembhard’s historic game: 28 points, 10 assists, 0 turnovers as a rookie, second only to Stephon Marbury’s feat.
  • Young contributors (Brandon Williams, Cooper Flagg) giving Dallas hope even as the team juggles picks and injuries.
• Team Outlooks & Play-In Race:
  • Weak Western Conference leaves play-in wide open.
  • Teams without control of their pick (Clippers, Pelicans) under special pressure.
  • “The bar to clear to reach the play-in, in the west is on the ground.” – Bontemps [25:47]

4. Cojones Factor: Clutch Player Awards

• Brass (Bronze): Cooper Flagg
  • “48 points shooting 56% from the floor. Leads the league with 20 clutch rebounds.” – MacMahon [33:12]
• Silver: Cade Cunningham
  • Impressive stats but blemished by two missed late free throws.
• Gold: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
  • “He leads the league with 80 clutch points in 50 minutes. And the Thunder are plus-57 in those minutes.” – MacMahon [36:29]
• Honorable Mentions: Austin Reaves, Tyrese Maxey, Desmond Bane, Giannis, and more (with playful ribbing for the ever-growing list).

5. Danilo Gallinari: From the NBA to Puerto Rico

• Career Tribute: Bontemps details his story on Gallinari retiring after a final, meaningful season in Puerto Rico.
• Unique Facts:
  • Gallo played left-handed as a kid but switched to right-handed for basketball after seeing all pros play righty.
  • Was present during the infamous DeMarcus Cousins Puerto Rico league brawl; Gallinari admits he (playfully) started it by poking an opponent in the eye [44:10].
  • Won the first professional championship of his long, injury-plagued career.
  • “He probably could have had a much higher-level career…if he hadn’t gotten hurt. But still played 14 full seasons and had a lot of success…” – Bontemps [46:20]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On LeBron’s age:
  • “He looked like he had a parachute attached to the back of him, and he just didn’t get there in time.” – Bontemps on LeBron failing to block a Dylan Brooks layup [10:13]
• On Dylan Brooks’ impact:
  • “He’s become like this midrange master... what will sustain is this relentless energy and he’s going to get in people’s face.” – MacMahon [04:28]
  • “He likes people that bow down. I don’t bow down.” – MacMahon, quoting Brooks on LeBron [07:13]
• On clutch stats obsession:
  • “These guys…are following Dylan Brooks. Those are the two leaders of this team.” – MacMahon [05:58]
• On the Western Conference play-in:
  • “The bar to clear to reach the play-in in the west is on the ground.” – Bontemps [25:47]
• On the “Cojones Factor” criteria:
  • “He’s already getting on the list and he hasn’t won anything.” – Bontemps, ribbing MacMahon on Flagg’s selection [34:14]
• On Gallinari’s final chapter:
  • “He went out with a championship. What else could you ask for?” – Windhorst [46:25]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Brooks vs. LeBron and Suns-Lakers Fallout: 01:14 – 08:15
• LeBron’s Struggles, Lakers’ Defense, and Age: 08:15 – 13:57
• Clippers, Nuggets, and Team Defensive Notes: 18:34 – 30:35
• Dallas Mavericks Youth Movement & Flagg/Nembhard Highlights: 21:29 – 25:47
• The Play-In Picture and Tanking Teams: 25:47 – 27:03
• Cojones Factor (Clutch Player Awards): 31:04 – 37:06
• Gallinari’s Retirement, Puerto Rico Stories: 40:41 – 46:28

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Tone & Atmosphere

Conversational, stat-driven, and irreverent, with trademark banter and inside jokes among the panel. The episode skillfully balances serious analysis (especially regarding LeBron and aging stars) with light-hearted asides and playful debates over their “Cojones Factor” methodology.

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Useful Summary for Non-Listeners

• LeBron James is starting to look his age, raising real concerns about the Lakers’ title viability, especially with their declining defense.
• Dylan Brooks’ controversial reputation has morphed into a key leadership role with the Suns, providing both scoring and the cultural edge the team needed.
• Western teams are grappling with defensive collapse (Clippers, Nuggets) and injury woes, while young players like Flagg and Nembhard are standing out for struggling teams.
• The “Cojones Factor” continues to entertain, highlighting clutch performances league-wide.
• Danilo Gallinari’s career, ending with a championship in Puerto Rico and tales of left-right-handedness, is celebrated as one of basketball’s unique stories.

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“If you’re impartial, you’re at least entertained.” – Tim MacMahon on Dylan Brooks [07:13]

Transcript

[A]

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[B]

Hello, welcome to the who Collective podcast. We talk about the NBA, which we're doing on Tuesday afternoon slash evening. Joining us from New York City, where his infant son has just crawled for the first time, thus delaying the start of the podcast, Tim Bontemps.

[C]

Hello everybody.

[B]

He'll be crawling all over the place. It won't be novel in about 36 hours. Joining us from Los Angeles, California, where he attended the Lakers vs Suns game on Monday, where the Suns broke the Lakers seven game winning streak, is Ban McMahon.

[D]

Howdy, partners. Reunited with old Dylan the villain. Oh yes, he definitely enjoyed his [e-mail] arena.

[C]

The only person happier than Dylan Brooks last night was McMahon who saw the story coming during the game and knew he would just have to stand there and hold the recorder out for about five minutes, just put it on the page. As long as he said, you know.

[B]

You and Dylan have had your moments.

[D]

In this very arena.

[B]

Yes, was, was Poke the Bear in Staples Center?

[D]

No, Poke the Bear wasn't, but I ain't talking repeatedly. Sure was. And you know this why, like playing in that arena means a lot to Dylan Brooks because the worst moments of his professional career came in that arena when he made himself a story and he didn't back up his talking. And he was pretty publicly humiliated. And you know, he's publicly number one in that arena to this day, you know, a couple teams later. But he backed up all his talk last night. Did a lot of talking and a lot of hooping.

[C]

Is it fair, Brian, to call McMahon and Dylan Brooks kindred spirits?

[B]

Is that a fair, it's like, it's like how Muhammad Ali, I, I think.

[C]

We might be, I think we might be lifting both of them up a little bit on that one, but I would call them kindred spirits at least.

[B]

Thank you for picking up what I was saying.

[C]

Well, the other day you did lift McMahon up to the heights of like Walter Cronkite as a journalist. So I don't know, maybe you are being serious.

[B]

I don't think, I don't think McMahon's deft questioning was needed on this night.

[C]

But no, no, no, I will say.

[D]

This was needed was to find the record button.

[B]

I have, I have seen many impressive pieces of jewelry in NBA locker rooms in my time, but Dylan's gigantic DB necklace, which looked on television like it was covered in real jewels, that was up there. McMahon.

[D]

It was up there.

[C]

He's had that one for a minute.

[D]

The biggest post game surprise was that the glasses he put on were not shades. They were just regular old glasses. I mean, he, you know, maybe he's Dylan's standard move, man. Maybe he's growing older and wiser, but he used to always be a, you know, a shades guy post game for sure. But you know, he had some bling.

[B]

Yeah. So he had 33 points by the way he is averaging now. He's, he is not shooting efficiently from three. He's never taken more threes and he's never been worse on his threes. But they seem to be okay with it in Phoenix because of injuries elsewhere that they've had no Jalen Green. Grayson Allen has been out for huge chunks of the season. Now. Devin Booker hurt his groin. We don't have an update on that, but that doesn't seem like it's a good sign for Phoenix. He's averaging eight more points a game this year, McMahon. And hoisting. So he got 33. But more importantly, he was part of the defense that smothered the Lakers, really. Austin Reeves had one of his worst games of the year. LeBron extended his double scoring digit streak by the skin of his teeth. Luka had 38. But it was not a good game by Luca standards. The suns going from 27th in the league in defense to 13th, which is a huge move for them and one that not everybody expected. But Matt Ishbia did. But Dylan Dillon, you know, had to had his moment. You know, he won this battle well.

[D]

And he's having a season. So far the guy's averaging 22.3 points. And no, he's not shooting the 3 well, but he's shooting the 2 at over 57%. He's become like this, this mid range master. Now we'll see if that sustains, but I guarantee you, you know what will sustain is this relentless energy and he's going to get in people's face, he's going to pressure people defensively, he's going to set a physical kind of snarling, play hard type of tone. And look, man, that series that we're talking about, when the Grizzlies got humiliated and it was his last moments in a Memphis uniform. And for a variety of reasons. Things had run its course with Dylan. And I wouldn't. I thought it was insane, the contract the Rockets gave him. After that, I. I thought Dylan Brooks was a guy that you wouldn't want on your team. I've got to give this guy a ton of credit because, let me tell you, he was a huge part of creating the culture that they have in Houston. Him and Fred VanVleet bringing those guys in, that toughness and frankly, the work ethic. And he really held. And they. They would take him back in Houston in a heartbeat. They love him in Houston. Actually, their next game's in Houston.

[C]

And.

[D]

And I'm telling you, he's going to be showered love from the crowd.

[B]

Four years, 86 million, by the way, that deal.

[C]

I didn't like the deal at the time either. He's definitely. He's definitely lived up to it.

[D]

He was worth every penny of it. And the same way that he was able to help establish that kind of tough, hardworking culture in Houston, he's doing the same thing for Phoenix. He has been. Dude, this is a team that needed a cultural reset in the worst way. And I'm telling you, these guys, it's Devin Booker's franchise. Right? We understand that these guys are also following Dylan Brooks. Those are the two leaders of this team. And the score and stuff is. I'm going to say it's even a bonus now, last night they needed it because unfortunately, Devin Booker had a groin strain in the first quarter and didn't play the rest of the game. But listen, Dillon Brooks talking trash after every shot, going back and forth, the fans, he's barking at celebrities. I don't even know if he knew who they were. I didn't. So, you know, but. And then doing all the, like, the histrionics, you know, mimicking the LeBron shoulder shrug while staring him down after a dunk. And I mean, it was. It was.

[B]

We showed that. We showed the quote unquote highlight on NBA today where JJ Redick was trying to shout instructions to LeBron and LeBron was over yapping with. Dylan was on the bench. LeBron was completely distracted yapping at him on the bench.

[D]

Yeah, he was. So Dylan took such delight in getting under LeBron's skin. And he said. He said, you know, he likes people that bow down. I don't bow down. Dylan, he is. Listen, he's entertaining as hell. You. If he's on your team, you love him. Except for Grizzly's management certainly didn't at the end, if he's not on your team, you probably despise him. But if you're impartial, you're at least entertaining.

[B]

Look, there's been. There's been sort of this class of LeBron antagonist over the years. Desean Stevenson, Lance Stevenson, you know, Dylan Brooks is a better player than those two guys. But, you know, LeBron has seen these types of guys come and go who, you know, take, you know, he's, you know, Joe Kim, Noah, you know, that wasn't quite the same because, you know, Joe didn't guard LeBron, but Joe.

[C]

He.

[B]

He had the same thing. There were moments where Joaquim and LeBron would get into yapping matches at the foul line or when Joe Keem was on the bench and LeBron was on the court. You know, like guys who've been, you know, retired for a decade plus, you know, have had these things with him. So it's a long line, but look like it can. Sometimes it's very hard to beat LeBron head to head. And if you feel like occasionally you can get to him, you know, 5% of the time, maybe it's not the worst strategy. LeBron did not have a good night. Bond temps. For the first time really this season, I felt like LeBron looked. Looked his age, or maybe not his age, but he looked like an older NBA player as opposed to what we saw. I actually felt he's moved okay this season, this game. He had no rebounds, no steals, no blocks, which is the first time that's happened in his career. And you could, you know, you know, 10 points in 31 minutes. He was not himself.

[C]

No. I'm real quick on the Suns. Colin Gillespie has been an unbelievable story villain junior shooting 44% from three. He had eight threes in that game last night. He has turned himself into a starting point guard. He's gonna be an interesting guy to see how much money he gets as a free agent next summer. But he has been an unbelievable story.

[B]

By the way, Colin Gillespie is the NBA champion.

[D]

He is.

[C]

Well, true. And he was at Denver and Denver didn't retain him and he wound up in Phoenix, by the way, he certainly would help the Rock help the Nuggets. I almost said that.

[B]

It is interesting that the Nuggets who could use guys exactly like that, minimum level guys who can play rot minutes. They drafted Jaden Pickett and I sort of wanted to give those that role to him. And Gillespie left. But Gillespie was on the roster for Denver's title team two years ago.

[C]

The guy you asked about last night. Jay Huff, I believe, was also at one point. He was definitely with the Lakers at one point. I believe he might have also been with Denver. But be that as it may, on the LeBron side of things, last night was the first time I'd had a chance to sit and watch him play this season since he's come back. I'd seen little brief highlights before that. I was pretty taken aback at how old he looked on the court. And he didn't look like he ever ran at any point in the game. Look, he was mostly just jogging. And I thought the moment of the night, frankly, was Dylan Brooks goes up for a layup. LeBron loads up to come flying in and do his patented block off the backboard. And it looked like he had a parachute attached to the back of him, and he just didn't get there in time. And Dylan Brooks laid it in. And the announcing team, Jackson's old Syracuse pal, Noah Eagle, and those guys were like, oh, how did Dylan Brooks make this shot? And he made the shot because LeBron couldn't get there. And it was a pretty stark reminder of, like, this guy is 41 years old in a couple of weeks and he's dealing with a back problem. And he looked like somebody who's dealing with a back problem.

[B]

Well, he missed it when he was running, technically, with a foot issue.

[C]

Yeah, I mean, he missed it because it was a half of a back to back and they wanted to have him ready. Well, by the way, they had him ready for the second half of the back to back, and he looked like he played in the first half of.

[D]

The back to back.

[C]

I mean, again, the box score says all you need to know. No rebounds, no steals, no blocks. Was not really close to getting any of them. And we were texting about it and Van was at the game. That was a real effort to get to 10 points.

[D]

And he got 10 points and went.

[C]

And sat down and got out pretty much right away. It was a labored effort to get there in the fourth quarter when the game was long over. Which, again, is also not something we're used to seeing now. Again, LeBron is coming off a back issue. He's about to be 41. He didn't have a training camp. He hasn't really worked out. In a couple of months, perhaps his body will round into form and in a month we'll be talking about LeBron back to having 25, 8 and 8 and looking like LeBron again. But we've looked around the league and whether it's Chris Paul or Al Horford in Golden State or Brook Lopez with the Clippers. Also, like some of these guys this year, with the way the league is going and how fast and up and down the game is and how much youth and athleticism and speed is in the game, we've seen a lot of these guys look old very fast. And I think if you're the Lakers, you have to have some concern that LeBron looks this old and this slow, even though it's early on in the return.

[B]

Maybe he has not saying it's permanently.

[C]

Bad, but I think you have to be concerned.

[B]

I just think that this game was the Lakers third game in four nights and they were playing a team that specializes in athleticism and speed. They're, they're pressuring the ball full court. The, you know, I take nothing away from the Suns, but the table was set for the Lakers to look a little bit off in this game.

[D]

And you know, there's another thing here. This was a, like, Luka had 20 points in the first quarter and he, he's done that a lot. I'm actually, I need to ask some of our stats gurus what his record is when he scores 20 in the first quarter, because this was a classic. I think Luka probably ran out of gas. Nobody else got in a rhythm and it's, you know, it's like Luke is going bonkers in the, in the first quarter. He took 11 shots in the first quarter and had only one assist. And so it's like, okay, go ahead, tie yourself out. None of your teammates are going to feel like they're in any kind of the flow of the game. And LeBron never gotten any sort of flow.

[B]

That's what Muhammad Ali used to do. Again, just like Dylan Brown.

[D]

Yeah, the Robo Dope. More Hoop Collective podcast after this.

[B]

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[E]

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[C]

Well, the other thing too. It's only five games. And yes, obviously last night they got smacked by Phoenix, so the numbers are going to be a Little twisted, but 91 minutes and five games, Luca Austin and LeBron together getting outscored by nine points per 100 possessions. Defensive rating 120.6. That would rank 28th in the league, ahead of only Brooklyn and Washington. Now, sure, Laker fans are yelling, saying they're 4 and 1 in the games. Those guys. LeBron's working his way back. Why are you harping on the number? Okay, fine. Last year those three guys on the court had a defensive rating of 117.7. Across the course of the season that ranked 20. That would rank 27th ahead of Brooklyn, Washington and Utah, who obviously was not doing a lot of attempting to win in games last year. So if the Lakers now over a pretty good sample size with those three guys on the court together, have not been able to guard anybody. And if you're trying to make the case that the Lakers are a championship contending team, which I would not, because I think there's one championship contending team, let's set that aside. They have to be able to guard better with those three guys on the court. And if LeBron is looking anything like he did last night, I, I don't see how in any world this team is going to be able to guard like that, particularly with the other defensive guys they have on the roster.

[D]

Yeah, one thing you got to do to guard is to actually like cross half court on defensive possessions. You know, if you never get out of the back court, it's really tough to guard. And LeBron doesn't get out of the backcourt on a fair amount of possessions per game.

[B]

We've talked about this. The Lakers, you know, big picture advanced stats are not reflective of a team with a record this good. They're 18th in defense. And when you look at their net rating, which is sort of the mother stat, it shows relative to opponents. They're in the almost in the same spot as Atlanta, Phoenix, Cleveland, Boston. Those teams are all 13 and 9 or 11 and 9. Lakers are 15 and 5. So on one hand I think they've made the most out of their opportunities and they've done a great job to go 15 and 5. On the other hand, you do need, you know, some improvement defensively or in those three, certainly those three guys to start being more efficient, which I think the sample size is too small to take anything away from it. But, you know, and also Luka has the ability to overwhelm, you know, overwhelm those things with some of the things he can do. So he's.

[C]

He's not going to overwhelm on defense, though.

[B]

Guys, if you had told me in early October, and you know, I admit I was a little bit anxious, a little bit excited about the start of the season, if you'd have told me after 21 games and asked me what the Clippers record was, I would have said 16 and 5 was a lot more likely than 5 and 16, no question. And because they look good in the preseason, I don't know what, you know, you can say whatever you want. They look good in the preseason.

[C]

I remember when, I remember when Windhorse, who never makes predictions, McMahon came on the podcast and said the Vita Zubac is going to be an all NBA player and was going on and on about the greatness of the Clippers.

[D]

Listen, I'm not going to kill too much because I flat my gums. I remember going on TV and saying that the Clippers were clearly the best basketball team in la.

[C]

Me too.

[D]

So like we all.

[B]

So. All right, so Monday night they're playing in Miami. They already are on a second east coast trip. This in the last few weeks and they give up 14 three pointers in the first half to the Heat. Now the Heat are running hot offensively. Tyler here was come in, fit in seamlessly. Norm Powell with a, you know, get back game, had a great game.

[D]

How'd they get Him.

[B]

Bam. Had a bio. Hit five threes in that game. Most he's ever had in his career. He's proven he can shoot from, from the, from deep. It's all going well. So Anyway, they had 14 out of 21 threes in the first half. Okay, Ty Lue goes into the halftime, I assume might say something to the Clippers about their three point defense. I don't know for sure what he said, but I assume he said something. In the first 85 seconds of the third quarter the Heat hit three more threes. 3. Ty calls timeout at the 10 or 10:30 mark and says all you guys starting, you're on the bench. He pulls the starters all okay. Sends in the second unit. First possession the Heat have.

[D]

Oh no, another three.

[C]

That's a part of the, that's a three and two.

[B]

Yeah. So yes he did bring some the starters back with the exception of Harden. Harden never came back. And so I, I mean the Clippers were the number three defensive team in the league last year. It powered their, their, their season. They ended up going out in the first round in seven to the Nuggets, but could have gone either way. They are 27th McMahon in threes right now. Overall defense right now probably they're in threes too. But speaking of bad defense, the number 30th ranked offense in the league man's hometown Dallas Mavericks came a riding in to the Mile High City on Monday.

[D]

Fresh off of whooping the old Clippers in aspiration arena.

[B]

And how'd that number 30 ranked offense do in that game? Game against the Nuggets.

[D]

Put up a cool 139 points. Something like that. I might have. Maybe it was 130.

[C]

130. Andrew and, and not Andrew. I said Andrew Nemhart. I just made a mistake too. Ryan Nemhart, younger brother of Andrew Nemhardt I just went for What a cool 2810 and no turnovers in that game.

[D]

28 and 10 on 12 of 14 shooting with zero turnovers. It's literally like it's, you know, if you want to get on stat head you can punch in combinations. It's a pretty historic line. No Rookie's gone for 2510 with no turnover since Stephon Marbury when I was a freshman in college, which was a long time ago. Pretty good player and look so there are some good things going. AD had a big game in that one. Certainly they need AD to play well. I think if we're being real to establish a market. Nimhard though has been Starting at point guard for the last few games and you know, he's, he's played well. I'm not going to say he's going to be the starter for the next 12 to 15 years, but I am going to tell you I think he's got a chance to.

[B]

Why not? 12 to 15 years, why not?

[D]

I'm telling you, I think he's got a chance to establish himself as a, as a, you know, solid rotation player.

[C]

He's got a chance to be his brother and that's a really good player.

[D]

Yeah, he's a little bit smaller, but the Mavericks have got to hit on guys like that. An undrafted guy on a two way contract because we all know they've got this pick and then they don't have their own pick again until 2031. So.

[C]

Well, and him and Brandon Williams, that's a couple of nice, that's a couple of nice good young guards. Like again, Brandon Williams isn't going to be a world beater, but like that guy's an NBA player, Ryan Nemhard's an NBA player. Like that's, that's some good stuff on the margins for them in a spot where they desperately need some guys to do, be able to do some stuff with the ball.

[D]

And Cooper Flag is playing really well, you know, had 35, youngest guy to get 35 ever against the Clippers and had another, you know, I think it was 24 against the, against the Nuggets. 11 assists against Lakers like that from Jackson.

[B]

Ryan Nemhardt, third Maverick in history to go for 26 points, 10 assists, 80% field goal percentage in a game. The other two are Jason Terry and Steve Nash.

[D]

Yeah, not bad.

[C]

Pretty good, pretty good.

[D]

But look, we just talked about how horrific the Clippers defense is and I can confirm after watching, you know, Cooper Flag without Anthony Davis light him up. By the way, Klay Thompson's starting to. I'm not saying he's the Clay of all better, but he's starting to knock down shots and you know, he's Clay's.

[B]

Ever since he revealed that he named his boat the Stallion.

[D]

Yeah, well, hey, that was a game he was, he was ruled out in the first injury report of the day. Then he went out on the Stallion, took a ride on the Stallion, jumped in the, in the ocean and then.

[B]

He went on the boat.

[D]

No, seriously, jumped in the ocean, you know, took a ride on the Stallion, you know, got wet, jumped in, you know, got out, towed off and decided, you know what, man, hey, I feel good. As he says, you know, you, you touch the earth, it kind of gives you energy. Came out that night, that dude had 17 points.

[B]

I'm not saying anything.

[D]

The guy had 17 in the fourth quarter against the Clippers. And like, you know, I love, I do. I'm happy for Clay. It's been a rough ride in Dallas, but it's.

[C]

So skip right on by. I'll skip right on by. Everything that just happened with McMahon in that and you. All I'm going to say is. All I'm going to say is if you.

[D]

I'm talking about Clay coming off the screens now, not even looking at the rim and just relax. Letting that go.

[C]

Yes, relax. We know the list. The watchers and listeners probably aren't thinking the same thing. I would say if you look at where, if you look at where the Mavericks are and with Clay playing better, with Anthony Davis back, with Cooper playing the way he is, I do think it is going to be very interesting to see how they navigate the next couple of months because if they do play all these guys, they're going to be in the plan and they're not going to be down at the. I'm not sure about that, but they'll be.

[D]

They won't be in the bottom five.

[C]

And yeah, the bar to clear to reach the play in, in the west is on the ground. So it's. You don't have to be very good to get to 10.

[B]

These teams in the west, especially the ones that, you know, don't control their. So first off, there's going to be some teams in the west are just going to flat out tank.

[C]

Yeah, correct.

[B]

Okay. So these teams in the west that, you know, don't control their pick like, like the Clippers and even the Pelicans, it might not. May be too late for the Pelicans now.

[C]

Zion's out for several weeks.

[B]

Sounds like, you know, when Zion goes, I assume, you know, Ochsner Health is their medical partner. I assume there's some Ochsner MRI facility near the Pelicans facility where they go like wherever the Pelicans players go to get MRIs. Do you think when Zion comes into the building that he's like norm and cheers and like he's high five and the guy at the door, he's high five on the nurses or unfortunately, he.

[C]

Probably knows everybody on first name basis.

[B]

Cards because he's back in for another MRI on Tuesday. He's declared out for at least three weeks with an adductor strain.

[C]

Reevaluated in three weeks.

[B]

Oh, my God.

[C]

So he's not back till 2026 sometime for sure.

[D]

More Hoop Collective podcast after this There's.

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[D]

Anyways, before I started talking about the Stallion and jumping in the ocean, all that I was going to say the Mavericks exploited an awful Clippers defense and then, fellas, they exploited it ain't it's in Inver Inver ain't no D. It is Ember Nuggets right now, fellas. And look, it sucks that Christian Brown went down and then that especially and they're both going to be out for a while. Gordon is a Grade 2 hammy that's reevaluated in four to six weeks. In the five games since Aaron Gordon suffered that hamstring strain, they are first in offense, the Denver Nuggets, and dead last in defense. 127.3 points allowed per 100 possessions. With Gordon on the floor this year, 105 is the defensive rating that would rank second in the league when he's not on for 119.4 and they got it figured out because he's not going to be on the floor for a while.

[C]

Yeah it's rough.

[B]

And the first. Well, here's the other thing. When they're. And you know, I've spent plenty of time praising the Joker this year, and rightly so. The first month of the season, they were number three in the league in defense. And I don't have their record up in front of me, but they, they had one of the best road records in the league. And that's because they defended well.

[D]

They better. They don't win at home anymore.

[B]

I would praise Joker up one side and down the other, but when you don't have good perimeter defense, he, he can't, he's not a basket, he's not a basket defender. He's not going to defend the rim. And when you lose your good perimeter defense, you know they're a little bit vulnerable. So they were the first 15 games of the year. They were the number three defensive team ever since they've been 30th.

[D]

Yeah, that's, that's concerning.

[B]

That's, that's tough.

[D]

And Jamal Murray sprained his ankle last night. Don't know.

[B]

Yeah, we don't have the update on that. Hopefully that's not bad news. He did come back in for a little while, then. Then he left.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Okay. It's a new.

[C]

What are we doing?

[D]

Oh, yeah, yeah.

[C]

What are we doing?

[B]

That means a month just ended. Yeah, that means it's time. McMahon, take the floor.

[D]

It is time for the cojones factor. Player of the month and a half in this case because we do lump in October with November. Now fellas, this was actually a big time buzzer beater stretch and we'll just start out. These are all going to be honorable mentions. There have been six game winning buzzer beaters so far this season. Can you name them?

[B]

No.

[C]

This is, this is our daily, this is our daily exercise, our monthly exercise of figuring out what the, what the criteria. We always gotta mention the buzzer beaters.

[D]

You guys can't name.

[B]

I remember there was three in one night. I don't remember who made them.

[C]

Like Pascal Siakam. Was that a buzzer beater?

[D]

Not a buzzer beater.

[B]

Did Cade make one?

[D]

Not a buzzer beater.

[B]

Oh, this is exciting for the audience.

[D]

Just tell us.

[C]

Super exciting. Give us the list.

[D]

You're gonna have a lot of Kabuchovich, Andrew Wiggins. You remember the buzzer beating? It really was a Spolster buzzer beater. With the back, with the back door lob, Cavs corner Desmond Bain, Giannis with the, with the one legged. Fade away from like 16, 17ft.

[B]

Des's was crazy.

[D]

Yeah, Des. And yeah, that kind of really helped get the, the Magic rolling. The Clippers don't have many wins. You probably would remember that. And then how could you forget Austin Reaves in Minnesota, fresh off of 51 and 41. Then he hits that buzzer beater. Luca hadn't been playing. And this, that was kind of like Austin Reeves announcing the world. Hey, I'm one of these dudes. So we're going to give all those guys an honorable mention. But especially none of them.

[C]

None of them make cojones factor. They're all off to the side.

[D]

But you. No, but you got to at least ask Austin Reeves honorable mention.

[C]

Now can we get to 10?

[D]

The brass balls, baby. The brass balls. Okay, because we go brass, silver, gold here. The brass. And look, I know the Mavs have a rough record. I know they've lost a lot of clutch games, but I'm just going to tell you. Cooper flags got that cajones.

[B]

Wow. Who would have. Would have gone Homer.

[C]

Homer.

[D]

Listen, you can homer.

[B]

See this?

[D]

The kid has 48 points shooting 56% from the floor. Leads a league with tonic 20 clutch rebounds. And you know, and it gets better. One possession game, last three minutes, we call it nut cutting time. 31 points in 34 minutes, 10 rebounds. And dude, when an 18 year old kid, they didn't win that game against Milwaukee. Nobody remembers this because it was all about the fire. Nico chance and Nico getting the old heave ho the next morning. But when he goes right at Giannis and finishes over him in a one possession game with 30 seconds left at 18, the mustache and goatee don't even neck.

[C]

This guy has gone so soft. He's talking about losses a month ago.

[B]

He's defending it with this. He's defending it with this.

[D]

I'm just telling you, the eyeballs and the numbers tell you Cooper flag's got the cojones factor. And you got to win more to get the, you know, get higher up. But we'll give him the browser.

[C]

He's already getting on the list and he hasn't won anything.

[D]

Oh, he's won there. He's won some clutch games. He has now the silver. Now you guys are going to knock me on this one too. He also, if you want to, if you want to go the homer angle. This is a North Texas native.

[C]

Oh, well, I'm pretty sure I know who it's going to be. At least it should be who you got. Should be Philadelphia 76ers star Tyrese Maxey.

[D]

I considered him. We'll also put him in honorable mention. He's second.

[C]

Oh, wow. Okay, now somewhere up to 10.

[D]

Yes, he's second in the league. Second in the league in clutch scoring, I'll tell you that. But no, I'm going with Cade Cunningham. And yeah, 44 clutch minutes. He's got a triple double.

[B]

He's been awesome. This is very difficult.

[D]

Listen to these numbers. In 44 clutch minutes, 59 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. A plus 23. And the Pistons are 9 and 3 in those games.

[B]

Now, Bontens, how do we classify the two missed free throws that he had?

[D]

Well, that's the problem. There's one. There's really two blemishes.

[C]

I was waiting for this.

[D]

There's two blemishes and this is why he. I can't put him as CO factor mvp. He can't get the gold balls because he missed clutch free throws in the final seconds against the Celtics and the Magic recently. So that there, that's. That's the blemish. But it's just a blemish.

[C]

Not enough of a blemish. Should not be second, though.

[D]

Well, listen, man, you know, if you're driving a sweet ride and you know, somebody gives you a little door ding, it's still a sweet ride. Am I wrong?

[B]

No.

[C]

This is your criterion.

[B]

There's a lot of honorable mentions that you can.

[C]

We're going to have. 27 people came for a three person list. Allegedly.

[D]

And the cojones factor. MVP. This guy's in northern North Texas, also known as Anybody Anybody, Oklahoma.

[C]

This one is the reigning mvp. We can skip.

[D]

Yeah, listen, here's the deal. If you're going to have any kind of MVP award, it just goes to Shay these days, right? If it's regular season mvp. If it's conference finals mvp. If it's finals mvp. If it's, you know, cajones factor, mvp. But he doesn't. They don't play a lot of clutch games, but when they do, he absolutely dominates.

[B]

He's got.

[D]

He leads a league with 80 clutch points in 50 minutes. And the Thunder are plus 57 in those minutes.

[B]

Wow. Yeah.

[D]

And basically it's like, hey, you know what? Good job guys. You made me play into the fourth quarter, which happens less than half the time with him. By the way, thanks for giving us a challenge. Pats. The other team on the head says, let me just knock down a few mid range jumpers here and you know, we can shake hands because you guys are going home losers. So Shay, go To Alexander. Gotta make some more space for that trophy case, baby.

[B]

All right. Strong, strong work, I think.

[C]

Well, bontest. Double digit names. Double digit names.

[D]

You're gonna. I'm gonna call out the buzzer beaters. Usually they're.

[C]

Soon we're gonna have half the league nominated for the. For the cojones factor players.

[D]

Well, one person who never will be is you. I can assure you of that.

[C]

You should just make it a team. Cojones factor team of the month. And then you can have first, second and third team. And then you can get to like 25 people get some honorable mentions in that.

[B]

Here is Shea shoving all those trophies farther down the shelf to make room.

[D]

I'm telling you, for the gold balls.

[B]

That he was just awarded. I think I haven't seen Western Conference player of the month. Actually, that would be interesting. That's probably coming out soon here.

[D]

You know what, though? Get this. This is a funny thing in a scary way. So Kayson Walls, who is not one of these several Oklahoma City players who've been on the all defensive team, is the Western Conference defense player of the month.

[B]

Right.

[D]

Dessert Marceau, by the way.

[B]

And Mark Dagenal is just named Western Conference coach of the month. Luca has had a great month, but he. But he missed some games with injuries. So I don't. I don't see how Shay's not winning Western Conference player of the month.

[C]

Did you give it to Jokic?

[D]

Did you see the rookie of the month?

[B]

Oh, Jokic. Yeah, well, yeah, they gave it.

[C]

They gave it to Jokic.

[B]

Well, they did just give it. Well, I can't complain with that. Jokic has been jaw dropped.

[C]

Jokic and Cade were the two.

[B]

Well, I have a. I don't. No complaints. No complaints.

[C]

Yeah. By the way, real quick, he'll have to accept that. Real quick thing on case of Wallace. I'm very curious to see what happens at Casey Wallace over the next 18 months from a contractual standpoint, because with all these guys that the Thunder have coming up, the one thing they have to figure out that's sort of a negative if you're the Thunder is how to keep all these guys. And you look at Dyson Daniels and Christian Brown and a lot of these guys that got paid this summer at that position, Casey Wallace is going to be aligned to make a lot of money. And I just. I think that's a situation that bears watching on a variety of levels.

[B]

I will say this. How much money did they just save with Jalen Williams being ineligible?

[D]

Also, how much money did they save by the city of Oklahoma or by Oklahoma City basically saying hey yeah but.

[B]

This is not so much a dollar figure as it's a second.

[C]

I mean they've shown in the past they're willing to pay an astronomical amount of money. I Paul George, Russell Westbrook, Carmelo Anthony. Team was extraordinarily expensive. You know, they're planning ahead for it but they're also going to have to make some choices. And he that's going to be an interesting choice. Like of all those wing players, they're not going to be able to keep them.

[B]

All right, so Lou Dorrit has a team option and Casen Wallace is extension.

[C]

Eligible after this season as a team option also for a lot of money.

[B]

So you question Hardenstein, Lou Dort, Alex Caruso and Kayson Wallace, are they keeping all four of those guys?

[D]

McCruso already got his extension.

[C]

Seems.

[B]

Well it doesn't mean they're going to keep them.

[C]

It seems unlikely they could afford to keep all of them.

[B]

It's a great problem to have especially when they could have three lottery picks.

[D]

Yeah, the league is probably by the.

[C]

Way they could have right now as of today they would have two top 10 picks plus which by the way.

[B]

Those contracts are kind of expensive, kind of big contracts.

[C]

Yeah. Good problems to have for sure.

[B]

Okay. Last week McMahon Bontemps went down to Miami. We had no idea why he went down to Miami. I'm sure he enjoyed it. But it turns out he was down there to do more than just go to a Heat game. And a story ran to infinite.

[C]

The Mavs were hoping I was just taking over on the Mavs beat. I know, sorry.

[D]

They've been hot ever since they got blessed by bondemps.

[C]

That's true.

[B]

McMahon he went down there to write about a Vaquero. Can you tell us the story that you published today with an announcement in it? Bontemps.

[C]

Yeah, I went down to Miami to talk to Nadeo Gallinari who retired at the end of a very, very good 16 year NBA career today.

[B]

And a one year Puerto Rican career.

[C]

And a one year Puerto Rican career. He went down to play for Carlos Arroyos Puerto Rican team Vaqueros de Bayamon. The best team in the in the history of the Puerto Rican league which there's a lot of NBA guys playing in that league. Guys who have been in the league at least. Emmanuel Moudier, who was gallows rookie when he was in Denver was the league's regular season mvp. Mavs Mavs icon Theo Pinson currently playing in the league Former MAVS Icon Javale McGee was on Danilo Gallinari's team. And we talked about it over the summer in the whole. In the video of DeMarcus Cousins going crazy with the fans that everybody watched a million times this summer. I looked at it, I was like, wait a second, is that Gallo in the background? And Danilo Gallinari was five feet away from him, just standing there. And I was like, what the hell is Gallo doing playing in the Puerto Rican league? And what happened was he's playing in a Sunday morning pickup run at the University of Miami. Sounded like McMahon. I was sitting at his house talking to him.

[D]

Probably a little higher level run than I play in.

[C]

Slightly higher level with Carlos Arroyo and some high level college players, but former college players. But he's playing in a Sunday 8am pickup run and working out, seeing if he can get back in the NBA for one final year, trying to be ready to play for the Italian national team in Euro basket, which was what he was thinking would be the end of his career. And Arroyo goes, hey, why don't you come play in Puerto Rico? So he goes and plays in puerto Rico, plays 35 minutes a game. They end up having a great season. They win the first championship he's ever won as a pro. And he said it was the perfect way to end his career. And I thought it was ironic that he was able to play 35 minutes a game and play the whole season healthy and never wanted a day off. Ferrero told me, because this is a guy who so much of his career is defined by injuries and like. It was a fun story for me to write because when I came into New York, Gallo was coming in with the Knicks right around the same time, gets drafted sixth overall. I'd actually forgot about it, but he misses almost his entire rookie year with a back injury. He gets traded in the Carmelo trade. That Denver Nuggets team that first full year after the trade was one of my favorite teams to watch in the last, while they had like 10, 11 guys are flying up and down. Gallo's the best player. They win 57 games. He blows his knee out the last week of the regular season. They end up losing to the warriors in the first round of the playoffs. Don Andre Godalo goes to the warriors that summer in free agency. Things could have been a lot different. Denver wins that series, maybe goes on a deep playoff run. Who knows? And then Gallo comes to Boston ten years later, plays on the right after Boston makes the Finals, maybe a chance to win a title late in his career. He blows his knee out playing, I think, for the Italian national team that summer. Never even plays for the Celtics at all. So it was just, it was fun to catch up with them and talk to him. I won't get into too much else that's in the story. I think it's a fun story for people.

[D]

Well, how about the fact that that whole brawl that Cousins got booted from the league for? Gallo admitted he fessed up, that he started by poking the guy in the eye a couple of times.

[C]

Yes, he did do that. I was trying to say, are people reading the story?

[B]

How about the fact that his wife, while in Puerto Rico, got bit by a shark?

[D]

Well, yeah, the ocean has healing powers. Unless you get bit by a shark.

[C]

That happened too. But the thing I didn't get in the story that I thought was pretty crazy in talking to him was gal is obviously a 6 10, sweet shooting, really skilled, offensive big guy. Right. His dad played with Mike d'. Antoni. They're roommates in Italy. Obviously comes from a long line of basketball from a family standpoint. What he told me though is amazing, was when he was a kid, he played baseball left handed. He wrote left handed. He was fully left handed. But when he would watch basketball games on tv, all he saw were people playing right handed. So he said to his dad, he's.

[B]

Like, never saw him on you.

[C]

I feel weird playing left handed, but all these guys play right handed. So he was a left handed person who taught himself to play right handed. And now when he goes and plays in these pickup games, he only plays left handed. And he actually debated getting ready to play for if he went, especially if went back to Puerto Rico. But he even initially considered playing left handed in this Puerto Rican league, which.

[D]

Like shooting threes left handed.

[C]

Yes, yes.

[D]

Dude, I'm telling you, Mike Conley is the same way. I'm not sure what hand Conley writes with, but there's a reason Conley's floater with his right hand is so good, because he's. I think he's right handed.

[B]

He just shoots.

[D]

He just shoots his jumpers.

[C]

Lefty is crazy. Our buddy Jay King texted me this afternoon, said, you know, when I was a kid as a Celtics ball boy, I. I was watching Gallo earlier in his career shoot a bunch of threes left handed. He had perfect form and he made a ball. I said, well, funny story about that. It's a reason he could do that. So he was, he was just a really fun and interesting player. Good guy, long career. We've all Spent time around him over the years and it is, you know, he probably could have had a much higher level career in terms of star power if he hadn't gotten hurt. But still played 14 full seasons and had a lot of success and just had a great time.

[B]

$200 million.

[D]

That's not bad.

[C]

$2 million too. Yes, not bad at all.

[B]

And went out with the championship. What else could you ask for?

[C]

Sure did. Yeah.

[D]

What do we be in?

[B]

Hey, tune in tonight at 7pm Eastern across the ESPN networks and platforms for a special opportunity to see Jim Valvano's Don't Ever Give up speech. His message is as relevant today as it was 30 years ago. And if you can support Jimmy V's goal of achieving victory over cancer by visiting v.org donate 100% of your donations go directly to cancer research. Always a tremendous thing to see.

[C]

Yeah, cancer has been on my mind a lot the last few weeks. One of my mentors at the New York Post, Larry Brooks, passed away. Probably pretty widely considered one of the best, if not the best hockey writers maybe ever, certainly here in New York. And I would say among the best, at least in the United States. And he was a guy who gave me a huge boost at the start of my career, specifically pushed for me to back him up on the Rangers beat. Was a huge mentor and a real person who bat me a lot and a lot of other people at the Post over the years and was never afraid to go at people and share his opinion about stuff. There's people see the videos of. If you've heard Larry's name, it's probably because you saw the videos of him going back and forth with John Tortorella pretty famously in press conferences. But he, he was a, he, he gave Henrik Lundquist the name, the nickname King Henrik, King Henrik in New York. He was a tremendous writer, you know, great reporter. His, his notebooks every week were always full of league breaking news. Had no problem going at people if he thought, you know, the league was doing stuff they shouldn't to players or vice versa. He was just a giant at the Post, giant in New York City and very important person to me. So obviously the Jimmy V Foundation's done a ton of incredible work in the cancer field over the years. And I mean, every year Dick Vital raises money and raises just an unfathomable amount of money for cancer. So hopefully people can help out and support the company.

[B]

All right, thank you for that, Mr. Bontemps. Salute to you, Mr. Brooks. I guess a salute to you, Mr. McMahon. Thank you to Jackson, our producer. Thank you for watching and listening to the Hoop Collective. We'll be talking to you later this week.

[D]

Adios, amigos. Hi there.

[C]

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On camera, off camera, he dialed it up 10%.

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Can you imagine the impact of young.

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Black boys and girls looking at that.

[D]

Going, I feel seen. He changed the culture. He changed sports. Booyah. Presented by modelo. Premieres on December 10th at 9pm Eastern on ESPN.