← Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective
Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective
KD & Rockets In Danger In West? Lakers Finding Something With LeBron
00:50:41
Hoop Collective: KD & Rockets In Danger In West? Lakers Finding Something With LeBron
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A
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A
Hello and welcome to the Hoop Collective podcast. We talk about the NBA which doing on Tuesday afternoon. Joining us from New York City is Tim Bontemps.
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C
Hello everybody.
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A
Joining us from Houston, Texas On St. Patrick's Day, the day in between the Rockets Lakers baseball series where the Laker fans are happy and the Rocket fans not as much, is Ban McMahon.
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D
Howdy, partners. And for the record, and just so Jackson's aware, since he's blind, I'm wearing a mint green hoodie here on St. Patty's Day as a good Irishman would.
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A
Yes, you're a good Irishman. I'm wearing a green tie. It's the most green I got. That's the best I can do. Even though when this podcast comes out and is on television, it won't be St. Patrick's Day. So it's okay.
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D
That's okay.
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A
Did you hear Jaylen Brown attended the Boston St. Patrick's Day for the first time over the weekend and he saw that? Not sure he walked away without some scars from that experience.
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D
How many fouls did he draw?
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A
Well, he drew at least shooting. He drew 11 on Monday, maybe more. I don't know. He took 21 free throws. All right. But on Monday night I left the Spurs Clippers game because I wanted to come see, come back to the hotel and see the Rockets play. The Lakers was a close game at half and McMahon. I feel like I might have been able to turn the game off with five minutes left because if it gets to a five minute game inside five minutes and the score is tight and you got the best clutch team in the league on one side and bottom five clutch team on the other, I don't think it's going to go well for the Rockets. It did not go well. And this has been the story of the season for them. They get in these late game situations and they're oftentimes they're, they're under. It's not like they've never done it, but they're under.500 in, in clutch situations and their Numbers on offense in those situations are dreadful. It was a dreadful performance by them offensively. I think they had more turnovers than baskets in the second half, large part because of their ineptitude down the stretch. And this is very much defining the Rocket season at this point. It defined this game, McMahon.
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D
Yeah. And the fourth quarter was just absolutely abysmal. They turned it over nine times and had four buckets in the fourth quarter. They scored 12 points. Kevin Durant did not score in the second half until There was like 28 seconds left and the game had already been decided. And look, they didn't have Valparin Shangoon, but, you know, Katie said it himself without be on the floor or not. They've seen this style of defense time and time and time again, and they have struggled to deal with it. And that is, if Katie's handling the ball up top, throw two defenders at him and dare the Rockets to pick it apart behind it. And, you know, give the Lakers credit. You know, J.J. did. He clarified. No, we weren't blitzing. We blitzed in the first half. We were firing in the second half. It was just about the timing of the double team, but regardless, they're throwing two bodies at kd, forcing the ball out of his hands, scraping.
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A
What is the difference between. I've not heard that before, but we blitzing and firing?
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D
I believe, basically it means that a firing is. You're waiting until KD puts on the floor and starts to drive to throw a second offender at him.
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A
Okay. You're taking a little bit longer time to make him make a decision. Yeah.
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D
And, you know, and you know, as KD says, you know, regardless of what they were doing, the Rockets process is too slow. And look, the Rockets didn't make shots. You know, I think they were. What was it? They were really, really.
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A
The Lakers weren't making shots for a long time either. The Rockets could have entered clutch time with more than a lead that they wouldn't have been in clutch time, but they were unable to build. The Lakers could not make a shot for like a. They went through, like two points, like five or six minutes late, third, early fourth. And the Rockets were not able to build a lead.
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D
Yeah, neither team shot the ball well at all, but the Rockets really, it was an absolute brick fest. But again, they committed nine turnovers in the fourth quarter, 15 in the second half, 24 in the game. Like, God, you're not going to beat anybody doing that. And kd, like, dude, he was very blunt and honest. You know, I'm just going to read A couple quotes. I just felt like I lost the game for tonight. It's that simple. Of course, we probably could make more threes, but it's on me. I mean, to be honest, I'm the offense and the opposing team is going to use all their resources and not let me get comfortable. First half I got comfortable and ISO comfortable off of pin downs, pick and rolls, and they decided not to let me get comfortable no more. So I got to be smarter, better with the ball. I got to maybe shoot over some of them double teams, but space out, be ready to catch and shoot, be ready to be a screener, just be in the dunker spot. Just being able to be there as a resource for my teammates to provide space. I didn't need to have the ball as much as I did tonight. And KD basically saying, you know what?
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A
Well, who's going to have the ball then?
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D
Well, it needs to be Reed shepherd if it's not going to be kd.
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A
Well, they didn't have Reed shepherd on the floor and you know why?
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D
Well, yeah, and for example, they did have him on the floor on one possession and he's guarding Marcus Smart in the corner. What's Marcus Smart do? Of course he's going to. What do you think he's going to do? He's going to come up and set the screen for Luka. They pre switch it with a Min Thompson, right. So men jumps out so he can be the, you know, the guy switching out on a Luca that forces. They're playing a small lineup that forces shepherd to get down on, on Ayton and you know, Ayton got his first bucket of the night. So yeah, it's that, it's that give and take. But you know, Katie's basically saying, dude, we clearly can't handle when teams double me at the top of the, you know, at the top of the offense, handling the ball like time and time again, the Rockets have sputtered in those situations and Katie, he basically said, hey, maybe I just need to get in the corner, space it out and hand the ball.
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A
He said a bunch of screen. I got to get in the dunker spot. I got in the, in the corner. Basically anything but initiate the offense. Essentially what he said.
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C
Let's go back, let's go back to what you just said before McMahon where Brian said, well, who's going to have the ball? And you said, well, Reed Shepherd. We talked on the spot before the year about how Fred Van Vliet's injury set up Amend Thompson to be the most improved player in the league, potentially, maybe be an all star, really take a huge leap forward. He's up for a contract extension this summer. If he's not going to have the ball in his hands in that spot, how much can you really pay him? A and B, like, where is this rock? Like, this is a bigger, broader question for a team that's got Fred Van Vliet hurt. But, like, where is this Rockets team going? Like, I think you, if you, you have to be really harsh. I think in looking at the top of the Western Conference in particular going forward and right down I10, you've got this budding juggernaut in San Antonio. That's. What are they, Brian, 20 and 2 in their last 22 games?
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A
Something like that?
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C
Something like that.
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A
I'm gonna tell you something. Look at their schedule coming in. They're not, they might not lose two more. So.
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C
Right. So they're, they're trying to chase down the Thunder, who, by the way, won almost 70 games last year, are going to win over 60, are the defending champs, could win again and have a 20 MVP.
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A
The Thunder, depending on how things go, could qualify for the playoffs tonight. Right.
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C
So. And they've got a super young team. All these draft picks going forward. They, you know, they could have multiple lottery picks this year. Like, they've got a juggernaut going forward. So if you're the Rockets and you're in that division of the, of the league in that part of the country alone, and you're going, how are we going to get to a championship level? Like, Amend Thompson needs to take a huge step forward. He's got to be a guy that can generate shots and make plays in those kind of situations. And, you know, like, he, look, he had a good game last night. I was just looking at his stats. Obviously, played 41 minutes, he had 19:12 and five. Had a few turnovers, but, you know, played 41 minutes, is a great defensive player. It's not like he's a bad player. But if, if he and Alparent Chengun are your top young players going forward, where do you stack up? Like, it's hard to see the path to the Rockets really being on the level of those two teams right now, which is a harsh assessment, but I think there's going to be a lot of harsh assessments going forward because if you're trying to keep up with the spurs and the Thunder, it's going to be like trying to keep up with the warriors in the middle of the last decade. Like, the bar for that is super, super high. And watching the end of that game, that was just what I was thinking was like, it's just going to be hard for these guys to get to that level.
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D
Well, or Reed shepherd has to make a major leap. And like, the front office here still believes that Reed shepherd has star potential.
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C
I think Shepard's going to be really good, too. To be clear, he's. He's a good player. He's going to be really good. But again, it's like, okay, let's say Reed shepherd becomes a really good player. Is Reed Shepard, Amen Thompson, Al Parin Chengun good enough to go toe to toe with the spurs guys? Good enough to go toe to toe with the Thunder guys?
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A
Well, they're going to.
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C
I like all those guys. Well, I'm just saying, like, it's. I think it's a real question to, to ask. Particularly again, there's going to be a big decision this summer on how much to pay him in Thompson. And like, you're already paying. I mean, paired Shangun, they got a good deal with him. It's under the max, but, like, the rocks are getting expensive, so, you know, it's. It. It's just. It's just an interesting spot to be in. And I think we're going to be having that conversation a lot when you're just measuring up to those other two teams that are on. On the way to being Monstars in the west for a very long time.
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A
I think at 10,000ft, yes. I mean, one thing I'll say, Rafael Stone and his staff has. Has done some good negotiating. They got Shengun for less than the max. The contract that they signed Jalen Green to was innovative and allowed them to trade for Kevin Durant. The contract they signed Jabari Smith to was a, you know, good deal, was a pretty good contract. They've been pretty creative with what they've done with Fred Van Vliet, obviously, the curveball with the knee injury. They've drafted well and they have a lot of assets. So I'm not. Yeah, I agree with you that they're not the spurs and the. And the Thunder. However, I think they're in good position. What I will say is they had four months to evaluate whether this team needed a point guard or not, and they evaluated that they didn't need one even in a stopgap. And I think it's because they believe in Reed shepherd and they believe in their other ball handlers, whether it's Amen or whether it's Durant, and that's not working right now. Now I will say this, I will say this. Well, first off, here's the numbers real quick because I just did this on NBA today. When the Rockets are in their normal situation, non clutch time, they are a top five or six team in the league in net rating. They're driven by their defense and offensive rebounding. Excellent defensive team generate huge second chance points even with losing Steven Adams, one of the best offensive rebounders in the league. And that's a factor I think the Rockets would tell you, listen, you're evaluating. I don't mean you Bon Thomas, but you want to evaluate us. Remember we lost 2, 2 starters for the year. Not missing for 40 games and hope we get him back for the playoffs. Two starters for the year gone, surgeries.
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D
Adams didn't start. But a critical player.
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C
Yes, critical.
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A
Okay, Very key. He did start for them. All right, so that's just one thing. Now when they are playing straight up their normal game, they are in the top five or six in net rating. Okay? That's what per 100 possessions, how they perform when they get into clutch time within five points inside five minutes. Cajones factor time. Yeah, they turn into the, they turn into the Jazz. No offense to the Jazz, but their net rating is, is, is about the same as the Jazz is for the full season. So they go from being a juggernaut to being a tanker in clutch time. And a lot of it revolves around that point guard spot. That's just, that's just a true statement.
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D
And a couple things here. Their offensive numbers for the season are significantly inflated by a hot start when they were just absolutely mauling everybody with historically dominant offensive rebounding numbers since January 1st, which is damn near a half season, you know, two and a half months. They are the 22nd ranked offense in the league. They're 21 and 16 in that time. They still have a positive net rating, but they are the 22nd ranked offense above, I'm saying, a bunch of tanking teams and the God awful Milwaukee Bucks. Okay, so this team is a bad offensive team. That's. I don't. Tell me what they rank for the season. I'm telling you what we're watching right now. This is a bad offensive team despite the fact that Kevin Durant remains one of the best individual scores in the league. Now as far as the point guard issues, they made the determination that it was like, look, they weren't, it's not like they were going to get a healthy Kyrie Irving at the trade deadline or you know, there wasn't like some, you Know, massive upgrade, who was going to be available to them at the trade deadline. They felt like, you know, realistically they weren't going to be able to get a massive upgrade. And they made the decision that instead of getting a stopgap that probably wasn't going to move the needle, that it was in the franchise's best interest to live with and hopefully benefit long term from the growing pains that Amend Thompson and Reed shepherd are going through now and will go through the rest of the season and however long they last in the playoffs, which I do believe will be a single digit number of games.
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C
Well, and listen, I, I want to be clear. I think the Rockets have done a great job. Like they've drafted really well. We've talked a lot, you mentioned it about the negotiations they've done on contracts. Like they've done a fantastic job with that. They've built a really good team. Like they've done a really, really good job. Like the Kevin Durant trade was a good trade. Like they've done Rafael Stone and those guys have done. They got Ime Adoka to coach the team. He's a very good coach. Like, they've done a really good job rebuilding this team. I don't think there's any question about that. It's just the, the reality is, it's like, it's like 10 years ago with that juggernaut warriors team. Like to try to get to the level that it looks like the spurs are headed to and that the Thunder, who already won 68 games in a title and have a bunch of mid 20 year old stars, I mean heck, this year Jalen Williams has either been ineffective or not available all season and they're on pace to win 65 games. Like to get to that level, a lot of things have to go right. You've got to get lucky. You've got to like, like you've got to hit on everything. And even if you do hit on just about everything, which the Rockets have hit on a ton of things, They're a top 10 team in the league. It might not be good enough like that. It's. I, I just think we're going to have that conversation a lot about a lot of teams and it's going to make for some really hard decisions and interesting conversations about a lot of teams going forward because the, the Perrier to clear, to catch up is just, it's really, really high. And Houston, I think watching that game last night, it's a prime example of it. And frankly, I don't want Kevin Durant to have the ball in those spots. I would much rather just have them have a men Thompson or Reed shepherd have the ball and try to get Kevin the ball and see how it goes. Because to your point McMahon, if Kevin Durant's going to turn the ball over in those spots anyway, which has never really been his strength. Yeah just have the young guys do it and see how it goes. Like it's going to be better off than them just standing there waiting for the ball.
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A
Reed shepherd has had a much better season this year than last year. I mean he definitely has improved and they give way back. But you know your point is like you look at their competition. One thing I will say in the, in the short term here they're play again Wednesday night. It's on ESPN. McMahon you'll be there if they win that game and Sengun is not on the injury report. He missed Monday because of back issue. He's not on the injury report so assume he'll be out there on Wednesday. They win that game number one. They lose nothing on the, on the in the standings to the Lakers. They go one and one. They're right back a half game back of them and they win the tie break for the season. There's only three meetings. It's one and one right now. So it's a double win. So listen and by the way like the Lakers then have a brutal. We talked about this the other day a brutal back to back in Miami on Thursday night. Houston may end up ahead of the Lakers by the end of the week. So I while we can talk about this on a bigger issue like there is they can bounce right back. I'm sure when they have their first film session and shoot around before this game they will address the striking. Not just the blitzing but also the striking. Firing and the firing. What did I say? Striking and the striking. The firing. Although we say firing is worse than a strike.
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D
All the smoke and mirrors that the Lakers threw at them that they that they failed to figure out and by
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C
the way I'm also with McMahon and what I think the Rockets would say too, 100%. I don't think it was worth throwing assets at some stopgap point guard for the final two months of the season instead of just letting these guys play personally.
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A
Well, we'll never know.
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D
I would say one of the grumbles of Rockets fans is that Reed Shepherd's not on the floor often enough. Now I will be fascinated to see what his playing time looks like in the playoffs because IME Udoka is a defensive minded coach and you know there's a, there's a trade off there, but it's a team that really needs his shooting and his playmaking well.
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C
And it should be said that the three man trio of Kevin Durano, Perrin Shingoon and Reed shepherd in the 51 games they've played this season, negative net rating of almost 5 and a 117 defensive rating. Which again for Ime Odoka who is a defensive first coach, that is the thing. He's obviously going to be focused on
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D
more Hoop Collective podcast after this if
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A
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A
Before we move on, I do want to point out this is a Lakers seventh straight win. We talked about them quite a bit recently, and rightfully so. Some stats that were cooked up by ESPN research so LeBron did not dive on the court in this first game. At least that I saw. Maybe he did. I didn't see. Did you see he tweeted out a photo of his, of his. The damage on his leg from that.
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D
Yeah, he says there's actually a nastier. A nastier. I don't know, what do you want to call it? Sore wound, Hip wound on his hip. He said, we nobody wanted to see that. And he said, yeah, he wasn't going to post that one. But he said actually the, the hip has an uglier one.
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A
Well, he like, he like, he didn't just dive. He like went air. Like he like, he had like a, that was like a beginning, a middle and an end that he just.
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D
It was no, it was a flung himself. It was a 41 year old all time legend. Absolutely laying his body on the line. It was like, you know, they didn't even get. The funny thing is the Lakers didn't even get the jump ball.
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A
Although they did smartest smart. Got a steal.
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D
But it was definitely like, okay, hey, if LeBron's doing that, like this dude is all in. So the symbolism more than the direct result is what people.
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A
By the way, did you see his new golf commercial for Beats?
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D
I don't watch golf.
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A
I said it was a commercial.
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D
Tell us about it. You, you have concerns about the putting.
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A
It's a funny commercial. He's playing golf and he's not afraid to show at least part of his swing, which is. Listen, my jump shot is a lot worse than his golf swing. I'm just going to put it that way.
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D
But is it a jumper or a set shot?
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A
Fair point. The, the. I'm more concerned about the putting stroke that I saw. If that was in, you know, they don't show a full body. If that was indeed his putting stroke. We. I need to have some words. But anyway, a good, A good ads for beats. Our ESPN research came up with this. So he had 13 shots in this game, scored 18 points. He has 15 or fewer field goal attempts now in seven straight games, the longest streak of his career. He'd never done it more than four straight games. And that was back in 2013 when he was with the Heat and they were, he would, in fact, they wanted him to shoot more. Back then he was so focused on efficiency, he was like trying to shoot 65%. So sometimes he would pass up shots. That was a different story for a different day. But. And then, but in those seven games where he's taken 15 or less shots, first off, the Lakers have won all of them?
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D
No, they're six and one.
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A
Oh, six and one.
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D
That's competitive loss to the Nuggets. Is the, is the one blemish?
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A
Okay, thank you for correcting me. He shot 57% in those games.
- [22:48]
D
6.6 assists and listen, 40% from three point range. And it's not, look, 6.6 assists, 19.4 points per game. It's not like he isn't a major contributor. And you know, I asked JJ Redick last night like, hey, like, what is LeBron's ideal role on this team? And he basically says, look, role players a bit much. It's not like, you know, he's asking LeBron to, to turn into Dorian Finney Smith. Right. I mean he basically, hey, LeBron's still going to be, relative to your average NBA player, a high usage guy. He's just going to be the third highest usage guy on this team and the clear third. And that pecking order obviously is Luca, It's Austin Reeves, it's LeBron James. And LeBron has accepted that. He has figured that out. I think the One thing that LeBron still does at an amazingly elite level, especially for a 41 year old, he's leading the league in transition points and he is still an absolute locomotive with springs. He had three spectacular dunks last night in transition. Like what this guy's able to do as a fast break weapon is, I mean, jaw dropping. It's, it's amazing for a 30 year old, much less the guy in his 40s.
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A
That's true. So still a tough road to hoe for the Lakers on this trip. I will say this though, McMahon. If the Lakers win Wednesday night in Houston and sweep this two game set, knock Houston two games back of them in the loss column or two games from the start of the week and get the tiebreaker, I'm prepared to call the road trip a success because at least they put themselves in position against Houston, who was right on their heels. Yeah, so, I mean, if they lose their next four, maybe I'll reevaluate, but like, that would be amazing. So they got the first one. All right. Not as amazing is the update that came out of Minnesota on Tuesday. Ant Edwards, who was, you know, rubbing his knee at a game in San Francisco last weekend, he was questionable then for Sunday's game in Oklahoma City. Still had a pretty good game. Got an MRI and reevaluated Bontemps not out one to two weeks. Reevaluated in one to two weeks, which you know what that means. The Wolves are already in an absolute fight for positioning to stay out of the play in the Suns who are behind them and trying to get into the, get out of the play and they have the hardest schedule left amongst these teams. However, Minnesota's got a tough one too and now and is going to miss some time.
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C
Yeah. And to go to just go back to the Lakers real quick in their last 10, which they're nine and one in their ninth in the league in three point shooting, which goes back to the other question about them. It's both their overall shooting and their defense. Like when they're hitting shots and they're playing like this, like, yeah, that, like it's why they've gone on this run. And you talk, we talked in the first segment about Houston's struggles. Obviously Denver has been very up and down. Injuries, you know, Peyton Watson's still out the, you know, Aaron Gordon's working his way back. They've, they've been all over the place health wise all year. And now Minnesota with Anthony Edwards banged up like this is the scenario where the Lakers can get to the prime spot. We've talked about being that third team in the Western Conference standings. And look, is it going to be easy for them to win around and beat the Spurs? No, obviously not. But if the choice is that path or playing the Thunder in the second round, like, yeah, you're going to take the path against a team that hasn't been in the playoffs when you've got luka Doncic and LeBron James. So it's certainly been a good couple weeks for them and I agree with you. If they can manage to get this win against the Rockets, I would definitely think it's a success. And as far as Minnesota goes, I mean I just, all season long I've been just trying to figure out what this Minnesota team is and every time we think they're finally starting to go in a good direction, they cough up a couple games. They had this brutal week last week, two bad losses in la. They then play this game Sunday. I mean we talked about it on the pod a couple days ago. They throw the ball all over the gym against the Thunder, committed a million turnovers, you know, actually shot the ball pretty well but were so far behind in the shot game that they didn't really have a chance to win. And now like the one guy who's always there ant is now out, could not be eligible. Could be another guy not eligible for end of season awards. He's at, he's at 11 games missed because he played three minutes in one game. It's, it's listed as 10 games, but it's really 11 for award purposes. And if he misses two weeks, he's already ineligible, so could add him to the list of guys who might not be able to be on all BA teams at the end of the year. And more importantly, like I said the other day, I don't think Phoenix with their injuries can really get 2, 6 with the schedule they have and the injuries they have. But if Minnesota's sitting there in six like we were thinking a week ago, they might be able to get in position for themselves to get to third. And you know, yeah, they beat the Lakers last year in a series, but
- [28:06]
D
as a six seed.
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C
As a six seed. But I felt better about Minnesota last year than I do this year.
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A
Well, they finished season 17 and 4 and they were fifth in league in defense or something.
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C
Right. They were flying in and this year they're not, they're not flying in at least as of now with a, you know, three, four weeks to go on the regular season.
- [28:23]
D
I mean, the, the only potential silver lining I can see is. Wendy, last pod, you mentioned what a struggle it's been for Julius Randle since the All Star break. And he, you know, he got it going for the first time in a while against okc. Obviously they're going to need him to have the ball in his hands and, you know, to be their primary creator, you know, for this week or two. And hopefully that's it. That that ant misses, you know, maybe he can kind of rediscover his rhythm. But I have a hard time seeing the wolves finishing above 6 now at this point. And I think that the Lakers would tell you they're, they're much better positioned to see the Wolves in the first round. And you know, especially with the way the Lakers have been defending lately, you know, and the fact that the Lakers won a game that was that butt ugly and they've had, you know, JJ made sure to point out like they've had big time defensive performance recently against the Knicks, against the Wolves, against the Rockets, you know, beating three playoff teams with, you know, kind of defense is the driving force in those wins. You know, that that's a little bit different. Now. The Lakers did have that stretch last year where they put it together for a while defensively, you know, and I think the question there is, over the course of a series, you know, how are your smoke and mirrors and your schematical defensive wins going to hold up, you know, or is the team going to be able to figure that out and pick it apart. And it'll be interesting to see even you know, in the second game of this baseball series against the Rockets because the Lakers are, they are playing well defensively now and you know, Luca mentioned effort and communications really at a, at a high for them. And then it's, it's, it's smoke and mirrors. They're not, they're not playing good defense because you know, suddenly they've morphed into a good defensive personnel team.
- [30:25]
C
Well, and by the way, just real quick on Minnesota, if you remember back early in the season they had that crazy loss. Sort of sums up their inconsistency all season where they were up seven with I believe 47 seconds to go, blew the lead and lost to Phoenix. Well, they play Phoenix three times this year. They've already lost the first two games. So therefore they've lost the season series. They play Tuesday night. So by the time you're hearing this, you'll know what the result of that game is. But if Phoenix wins that game tonight, Tuesday night, they're only a game back. And for everything I just said about, I don't, I think between the schedule and their injuries, I don't know if Phoenix is be able to catch them. If they're one back with the tiebreaker with three weeks to go or four weeks to go and Ann is going to miss half the games maybe or more. I mean again is getting reevaluated in one to two weeks. That does not necessarily mean he's back in one to two weeks, Diane. It's a very fast healer typically. So who knows, he could be back in three days the way he has been in the past. But you know, there is at least a scenario where if Phoenix gets this win Tuesday night, they can make things awfully interesting. And perhaps Minnesota is fighting not for a third or fourth but like you said McMahon to just stay in six.
- [31:31]
A
We'll point out Devin Booker is getting hot. He has 40 points in two of his last three games including at Boston on Monday night.
- [31:38]
C
And yeah, they gave the Celtics a really good run in that game.
- [31:40]
A
The Celtics beat the Suns as a high contested game. Both Booker and Jalen Brown went over 40 point out Jayson Tatum. He's not shooting it great. Okay. He's only shooting 41% so far. Bottoms. He's shooting some one legged shots. Remember when Victor was, was like about to come in the league and he was messing around with that one legged like launch one legged three like he abandoned it I think smartly. Although when he made it it was fascinating to see Tatum is doing that on his left leg and it looks like something he's been working on. Brian Scalabrini said during the broadcast with our man Drew Carter the other night that he's been watching Tatum practice it so he's not shooting it great. However, he's only shooting 27% from three. He had another 20 point game. He's had 20 point games in four in a row. They're four and one with him in the lineup And I'll just point out that the Pistons I don't know if they're playing tonight but the Pistons have lost five out of eight so I
- [32:42]
C
got some interesting stats in front of me I'd like to ask you guys about.
- [32:45]
A
I'll sit back.
- [32:47]
C
So we're look at our or analytics stuff. Who do you think is favored to come out of the Eastern Conference right now by our internal or by our internal stuff?
- [32:57]
D
Another I know the DraftKings folks have the Celtics.
- [33:01]
C
I'm not talking about the Wizards the
- [33:03]
A
next two games so they're going to get right I think.
- [33:04]
C
I'm not talking about DraftKings. I'm talking about like projection wise.
- [33:08]
D
Yeah.
- [33:09]
A
Which is never wrong.
- [33:10]
D
I'm guessing Tone that it's not the
- [33:12]
C
Celtics but it's not the Celtics.
- [33:15]
D
Would it be the Pistons?
- [33:16]
C
It is not the Pistons.
- [33:18]
D
The Knicks.
- [33:19]
C
It is not the well actually I take that back in a statistical tie it is not the Knicks. It is the Pistons and Cavs corner and the three fresh off a double
- [33:29]
D
figure loss to the so let's pretend we're not tanking Dallas Mavericks.
- [33:34]
A
Listen, McMahon, I had a who he played for this guy came out of nowhere was hitting threes on the Cavs the other day. I did not know who he was.
- [33:40]
D
John Polakitis. It was his second NBA game, his first NBA points.
- [33:45]
A
I did not I was not familiar with your game.
- [33:47]
D
Yale.
- [33:47]
F
Great.
- [33:48]
D
There's two Yale guys who just got in the league. Another one, I forget his name Ben something or another is on the Jazz.
- [33:52]
A
You hang out with them. Actually Jax, that's Jackson's neck of the
- [33:55]
D
woods so I can't tell you.
- [33:56]
C
So the pistons are at 26.9% chance of making the finals. The Cavs are at a 26.8% chance of making the Finals. The Knicks are at a 21.7% chance of making the Finals and the Celtics are the fourth favorites and 18.1% I
- [34:13]
D
find that very interesting. Yeah, I like our nerds but I wouldn't. I don't know that I agree. The numbers. Why do I like the nerds?
- [34:21]
A
No, no. Why are they fourth?
- [34:23]
C
I that's, I don't know. I They're, they're projected to finish with the second most wins. I'm not sure why they're projected to finish fourth in I I I've, as I've said, I think if Jason Tatum is playing, I'm going to pick them to make the Finals. And I just found it. I went to look and see what the projections were as of today, and I just found it very interesting that they're.
- [34:44]
A
Well, DraftKings has them as the favorite and it's pretty good. It's a pretty good.
- [34:49]
C
I think the conventional wisdom. Now, the conventional wisdom is often wrong. Last year, the conventional wisdom, including certainly for me, was that the Knicks are going to get rolled by the Celtics in the second round and they gave up. They came back from down 20 in the first two games and went on to win the series comfortably.
- [35:02]
A
You know Mikhail Bridges, by the way, as a quick aside, one of my favorite things to do is to yank the pod on the side. I went back and watched a bunch of footage of Games 1 and 2 this week because, you know, Mikhail Bridges is getting maligned. And I just remember at the beginning
- [35:19]
C
he's playing terribly going into Tuesday night's gaming.
- [35:21]
A
I'm not disputing that. Since the All Star break, he's been terrible. But I went back because I just remember us being in Boston for Games 1 and 2, Bontemps, and just, you know, both times being gobsmacked watching the Knicks take those games.
- [35:35]
C
Well, I was not in games. I was not there for one and two because of the arrival of the cinderblock. But I was watching on TV and we were texting about it. I was there for three and four.
- [35:42]
A
Maybe that's why I have such good memories of it. McMahon.
- [35:45]
D
I was going to say how.
- [35:46]
A
Anyway, Bridges played a pretty gigantic role in those two games.
- [35:50]
C
He sure did.
- [35:51]
A
He had 14 points in the fourth quarter of game two, and in game one, he game went to overtime and he had a couple of really big defensive plays, including a steal that I used to get.
- [36:02]
C
Well, to your point, pre and post,
- [36:03]
D
tell Mike Brown that he's the one benching him.
- [36:05]
C
Well, listen, pre and post, you mentioned post All Star break. So before the All Star break, Mikel Bridges was averaging 15.9 points a game, shooting 50% from the field, almost 39% from three. Obviously he very rarely gets to the line.
- [36:17]
A
How many minutes per game Was he playing?
- [36:19]
C
34 and a half since the All Star break. 14 games going into Tuesday night's game against Indiana against the Tank and Pacers here at Indiana, there at the Garden.
- [36:27]
A
By the way, did you know that, like, I guess, Aaron Neesmith, technically, they said he had an ankle issue, but did you know that he sat the four. We kind of called it the other day.
- [36:35]
D
We did call it. We called it Exactly. He got 32 and then they. And then he sat the whole fourth quarter.
- [36:39]
C
Then he. Then he was disappeared to make sure
- [36:41]
A
that they lost ankle soreness or ankle injury management.
- [36:45]
D
Okay.
- [36:46]
C
If I was the Jazz, I'd be asking for more teams to get fined. That's what I would say.
- [36:50]
D
Got hit with 100 grand and I. And if you're the Jazz, no, you wouldn't. Because if fines are being doled out, they're still getting one.
- [36:58]
C
So, I mean, that's fine, but other teams could catch up. But post All Star break, Mikel Bridges, averaging 10.6 points per game, shooting 41% from the field, 30% from 3, 29 minutes a game.
- [37:12]
A
Yeah, I mean, actions over words. He's pulling them out of the game. He played him 21 minutes the other day.
- [37:16]
C
Yeah, he was. He was brutal the other night.
- [37:18]
A
Jalen Brunson, I think, is not going to play tonight, though, so we'll see. Yeah, he might need some more action from Brunson.
- [37:24]
C
Yeah, well, I think the Knicks will be okay. Then again, I thought the Knicks would be okay against the warriors with their entire team out, and it took right down to the last second. So we'll see.
- [37:33]
A
When it comes to the east, let me just say that over the last 15 games, the Cavs are 15.
- [37:38]
C
Holy cow. I'm looking at the. I don't. I'm sorry, I just. I just pulled up the injury report to see who was in the Pacers, I think have 14 players on the injury report.
- [37:46]
D
How is that possible?
- [37:48]
C
That's what I'm doing the math right now.
- [37:50]
A
So Carlisle is going to play forward minutes.
- [37:52]
C
They have two players out to obviously, Tyrese and then Johnny furfi, unfortunately, towards ACL, second year forward. And then they've got 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 players who are 11 players who are questionable. Pascal Siakam is doubtful, so I'm guessing some of them will be playing since they won't have enough players to play otherwise.
- [38:16]
D
I gotta address eight anyway.
- [38:17]
C
I've never seen an injury report with that many players on it. 14.
- [38:22]
A
That is your report as a staple.
- [38:23]
D
The Grizzlies had 11 players out the other day. They had, they signed it up. You know what?
- [38:29]
A
Memphis Grizzlies medical updates are coming fast and furious.
- [38:32]
C
They're always sending them.
- [38:33]
D
At 9pm it was a, it was a critical loss against the Mavericks. I believe they had 11 guys out.
- [38:40]
C
Jalen is doubtful and obviously the game will be played, but Jalen was doubtful and Mitchell Robinson is questionable for that game. For the Knicks, how.
- [38:47]
D
What were we talking about with the Celtics before?
- [38:49]
C
We talked about. We got to the very beginning, we were talking about where the Celtics look and then I, I derailed it initially. Um, look, I, I think as we said before, yeah, look, Jason Tatum doesn't look like prime Jason Tatum yet, but to me, he's replacing the ninth guy in the rotation. And like, obviously he's playing a bigger role than that person, but everybody slides down some. And, you know, I, I think he continues to look as good as you could hope for. He still looks rusty. He's not moving quite the same, but he's still an excellent floor raiser for everybody around him. He's a great passer, great rebounder, really good help, defender, knows how to play. Teams are certainly going to be keyed in on him defensively. They're not just going to leave him alone or not pay attention to him. So I think he's been a big value add even in the initial games he's been back and, you know, it. It just takes some of the pressure off of Jaylen Brown and Derrick White and Peyton Pritchard from the defense, and I think it's all going very well and they've still got another month to get him up to speed. And look, anything is possible, obviously, but I think I'm going to feel pretty good about them winning their first round series if they're in the two spot against whoever's coming out of the play in. In the East. So that gives him. You're talking close to six weeks from now to get fully up to speed for when they're going to face one of these other top teams in the conference semifinals.
- [40:12]
D
More Hoop Collective podcast after this quick
- [40:16]
G
timeout, some breakfast intel you want to know about. Kodiak frozen power waffles and flapjacks are built for busy mornings. Heat it, eat it, and you're out the door. No long prep, no complicated game plan. They're packed with 12 to 14 grams of protein per serving, a good source of fiber, and crafted with 100% whole grains, not refined white flour. So you're getting something that actually fuels you. And there's depth on the roster Buttermilk and vanilla blueberry chocolate chip Even gluten free options. Breakfast that delivers Snack that delivers Find Kodiak frozen waffles and flapjacks in the frozen aisle at your local grocery store. They're the ones with the bear on the box.
- [40:58]
F
Rich Eisen here. The tax deadline will be here before you know it and you just want to know your taxes are actually being handled. But the old way, you hand everything off and then silence. Days pass, weeks pass. You start wondering should I send another follow up email? It feels like you're chasing updates and getting nowhere. But now taxes are different because your taxes are done for you by a TurboTax full service expert. With Intuit TurboTax you can match with your dedicated tax expert and hand off everything right in the app. And while you're your expert checks for every deduction. You'll see real time updates on your phone. So you always know exactly where things stand. Suddenly you're not refreshing your inbox, you're going for a run, grabbing a coffee, scrolling anything other than a just checking in message because your TurboTax expert is handling it and keeping you in the loop. So this tax season get your best possible outcome and every dollar you deserve without the guesswork. Visit TurboTax.com today to learn more. Real time updates only in iOS mobile app only available with TurboTax full service experts if you're ready for an oil change, trust the professional parts People at O'Reilly Auto Parts to recommend the best products for your vehicle. Right now, get five quarts of Valvoline, full synthetic motor oil and a Wix filter for $35.99 and receive a $15 O'Reilly gift card after rebate upgrade to a WIX XP oil filter for just $2. More limits apply. See Store for details Stop by your local O'Reilly Auto Parts store or shop online at o'reillyauto.com.
- [42:39]
A
What player had 24 points, 15 rebounds, 13 assists on Monday night? Oh oh I gotta guess. I gotta guess.
- [42:48]
D
Yes, Jalen Johnson.
- [42:50]
A
Who?
- [42:50]
D
You've yet got it again by the way.
- [42:53]
C
By the way who had 41 points on Monday night?
- [42:57]
D
Nikhil Alexander Walker. More Alexander than Walker in this one. Looking like his cousin.
- [43:02]
C
J I I I love that signing last summer when the Hawks made it.
- [43:06]
A
Yeah, what was that contract three years signed.
- [43:09]
C
Signed three years. I think it was four for 62. The final years of player option. It was basically for the full mid
- [43:14]
D
level and you know and they signed. He was a very, he became a very very Good three and D with a little bit of creating ability, type of role player for the Wolves. He's basically doubled his scoring average without dipping in terms of efficiency. If he was a free agent this summer, man, he would be looking a lot more than that.
- [43:39]
C
Well, and the Wolves have really missed him. I mean, we talked about it at the time. I mean, Nas Reed's a nice player. Paying Nas Reed twice as much as the K Alexander Walker I just didn't get at the time and you know, I, it's. He's been a great fit for them. And look, it's like we talked about the other day. The, the Hawks have been a fairly disappointing team for most of the season. They were under.500 for a long time. Then they get this whole run of games against Tankers and then they get this win. You know, they dominated the, the Magic blew them out on Monday night and now all of a sudden you look at the standings and they're a game and a half out of fifth. Like they're, that they're all the way back in the mix again.
- [44:19]
A
They beat Philly twice in this stretch in these 10 wins. They beat Philly or actually I think it's 11 out of 12. They beat Philly twice. So not only did they beat Philly twice, they're now they get the tie break edge and now they've caught Philly and so now Philly's going to keep
- [44:33]
C
going the other way.
- [44:34]
A
Yeah, I probably agree, but they caught.
- [44:37]
C
It's, it's wild. It's wild how much it is, how much it is flipped around. And our current projection has them finishing 8th but only a win back of Miami, Toronto and Orlando who are all tied with 45 wins in our projection.
- [44:53]
D
So yeah, and listen, the east is, the east is a deeper conference than the West. The east play in is a much more competitive playing bracket than the west playing bracket.
- [45:04]
A
Well, I will tell you this. I'm not saying I'm picking Atlanta or Charlotte or Miami in a series against those top teams, but I'm not excited about playing that series, so.
- [45:16]
C
Or at least all teams are. Momentum, by the way, you know, do you guys know what the, what the high mark for wins was? Brian knows this because I talked about him yesterday. McMahon, do you know what the high mark for wins in the Trey Young era was for the Hawks?
- [45:27]
D
I'm going to say 45, 43.
- [45:30]
C
They're currently on pace for 44 this year.
- [45:33]
D
Yeah.
- [45:33]
C
Also have won since I believe 20.
- [45:35]
A
Actually they're probably on pace for more than that because well, and you know, they're pace for the whole 68 games. Not for their pace.
- [45:41]
C
Right, that's true.
- [45:41]
D
To get back to the Jalen Johnson thing, you know, franchise player, you know that that's a. I'm not sure he's quite a franchise player or superstar, but he is absolutely a big time foundation piece who's a massive bargain on a $30 million per year contract. And you know, I mean, he is, he has blossomed and really it's been health that's kept him from blossoming the last couple years, but he has absolutely blossomed this year into really a fascinating blend of size, athleticism and playmaking ability. I mean, for the. He's. He's on the short list of the best passing forwards in the league.
- [46:24]
C
Yeah. Remains fourth, I believe in the league in assists per game. A really nice year.
- [46:28]
A
But they do have to go on the road for the first time in weeks. Not end.
- [46:30]
D
By the way, like, could he be an all NBA selection?
- [46:34]
C
I mean, he's certainly going to have
- [46:35]
D
these guys, you know, the way things
- [46:37]
A
are going, guys, all NBA guys are falling off the.
- [46:40]
C
I mean, he was an easy all Star, so he's one of the top 25 players automatically, you would say. And there are several guys who are already ineligible for all NBA. So I mean he's certainly going to be right there in the mix at minimum.
- [46:53]
A
By the way, I made a joke the other, the other night. Last night I went to the Spurs Clippers game.
- [47:00]
D
I'm not too done making jokes.
- [47:01]
A
True. I saw Victor before the game. There was a. Quite a. By the way, there was quite a buzz in that game. Like the Victor thing is getting real. There was quite a buzz.
- [47:11]
D
If you, if you have a ticket to go see Victor, take advantage. It is a show.
- [47:16]
C
It is a show, no question. Anyways, you're joke incredible.
- [47:19]
A
I said to him, I go, hey, I saw you declared you wanted to win MVP and defensive player of the Year. I go, why don't you just toss in. I go, tonight, just say you want to win most Improved. And I just sort of said as a joke. But maybe it's not a joke.
- [47:31]
D
Maybe a number. I was going to say a number one overall pick who's as hyped as any prospect since LeBron is ineligible for most improved. Sorry.
- [47:41]
A
All right.
- [47:42]
D
He has gotten better, but he's ineligible.
- [47:45]
A
I'm just, I wasn't saying he was going to win it. I said he should just say he should. What he wants to win.
- [47:49]
D
Listen, I mean, say he wants to win Rookie of the year, too.
- [47:54]
A
All right, Bon Temps. You pay attention to this college stuff. I don't even know who's in the tournament. What do. What should I be paying attention to going into this weekend?
- [48:02]
C
I mean, for NBA fans, I would be watching the Kansas Cal Baptist game. And then if they win, potentially going up against either St. John, Kansas Cal Baptist, McMahon.
- [48:12]
A
He wants me to prioritize.
- [48:13]
C
Hold on.
- [48:14]
A
Okay.
- [48:14]
C
If Kansas. If Kansas wins. If Kansas wins, they will play the winner of St. John's and do we know who St. John's is playing?
- [48:22]
A
I know they're a five seed because everybody's angry about it.
- [48:24]
C
They are playing the Northern Iowa Panthers, who are fighting Nurses. Fighting Nick Nurses. I believe the last three times they made the tournament, they've won their first game. So we'll see if they could beat
- [48:36]
A
St. John's hey, didn't we go when we went to see Kent State a couple years ago? Didn't Northern Iowa play in front of us? In front of Kent?
- [48:43]
C
I believe that is correct. Yes. I believe that is correct.
- [48:47]
A
I think they lost that game.
- [48:48]
C
I believe they did. But all that being said, the Kansas Cal Baptist game is of interest because Darren Peterson, one of the top players in the NBA draft, has had a quixotic path through college season. That's a vocab word for the day, McMahon. And I'm not sure they're going to win two games. And it's the last time we'll see him before the draft. And it will be interesting to see how he looks because I would say coming out of the Big 12 tournament, I certainly think there's some real question about whether he's going to be the number one pick anymore or even maybe the number two pick with the way Kamboozer's obviously been in.
- [49:30]
A
That's a quick sodic quizotic statement.
- [49:33]
C
Well, listen, he. Darren Peterson is an incredible talent who's had a very strange season, and this draft is loaded at the top. AJ DeBance has been awesome. Another. Another window discovery Cam Boozers having one of the best statistical seasons we've ever seen from a college player. Caleb Wilson had a great year at unc. It's a loaded draft. But I think, you know, if Peterson has a huge tournament and they make the Final Four or something, that would lead things in one direction. If they lose in the first or second round and he kind of is okay, like he was in Kansas City last week, it probably will reinforce kind of where things sit now.
- [50:08]
D
Well, and, and, and there's risk involved or at least perceived Risk because of, you know, there's apparently like these full body cramps and you know, people are as he load managing. Is there a medical issue like what's going on? Their teams are gonna have to do a ton of of homework there. Cam Boozer seems to be about as safe of a draft prospect as you can find. Now, he doesn't have like the super springy upside, but if you want to call that a flaw, that's the only flaw with that kid.
- [50:39]
C
Well, somebody, somebody said to me for the story Brian and I did last Friday on draft guys said I'll take it. I'll just take the ultra high level field guy and expect them to work it out like, you know, and compared him to the guy in Denver who might not be the greatest athlete either, but he's obviously a pretty incredible player in Nikola Jokic and is, you know, probably as good a field guy as there's ever been.
- [51:04]
A
Two things before we go. One, just in the last five seconds, there's been a Memphis Grizzlies medical update issue. Okay, Scottie Pippen Jr. Had surgery on his foot. Successful. Hope you're doing well, Scotty. Good luck for next season. And two, Wednesday night, we got a big one, boys. Kent State, Illinois State and the nitrogen now.
- [51:24]
C
Good luck, Sandy.
- [51:26]
A
My man. Rob Senderoff going up against Ryan Peden is the head coach at Illinois State who used to be a graduate assistant back in the day at Kent State. So I told Peden, I root for you all season long, but not tonight. All right, thank you very much to Jackson, Devon and Mark, our producers. Thank you to Bon Thompson McMahon. Thank you for listening and watching Dube Collective. We'll catch you later this week.
- [51:49]
D
Adios mios. Foreign. Two teams, one cup. The prime time stage is set for the tgl presented by sofi. Finals los angeles golf club vs tigers jupiter links. Keep up. It's playoffs. Tune in. Monday, march 23, 9pm eastern on espn2 and Tuesday, march 24, 7pm eastern on espn and on the espn app.