NBA Weekend Winners & Losers | Clutch Knicks Play, Flawed Lakers, Souvenir Cups

Summary

No Dunks Podcast Summary: NBA Weekend Winners & Losers | Clutch Knicks Play, Flawed Lakers, Souvenir Cups

Podcast: No Dunks
Hosts: JE Skeets, Tas Melis, Trey Kirby, Producer JD
Episode Date: February 23, 2026
Episode Theme: A roundtable breakdown of NBA weekend winners and losers, featuring deep dives on the surging Knicks, hot Celtics, flawed Lakers, quirky arena collectibles, and more. The panel blends sharp analysis, personal stories, memorable NBA tidbits, and humor throughout.

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Main Theme & Purpose

This episode is a lively, insight-packed breakdown of the NBA’s big weekend storylines. The No Dunks crew highlights teams and players who stood out—either as winners or losers—delving into comeback victories (notably the Knicks), impressive team adjustments, ongoing injury impacts, and fun fan culture moments (like collectible cups). The show balances basketball analytics, fan perspective, and podcasting banter, always with the signature No Dunks tone: basketball as entertainment, community, and obsession.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

G League Broadcasting & Wedgie Tracking ([02:08]–[06:46])

• The hosts discuss their gig broadcasting the Raptors 905 vs. College Park Skyhawks G League game, openly joking about biases (“I’m an unbiased commentator...just cheering for a great game.” – Skeets, [04:06]).
• Wedgies (balls stuck between rim and backboard) are tracked obsessively: the podcast crew hit their season goal of 50, a milestone for their decade-long wedgie count. Social media is credited with catching wedgies they miss, fueling debate about "missed" wedgies and their statistical tracking process.
  • “Hey, see a wedgie, say wedgie is what we live by, okay?” – Trey, [06:35]
  • The logistics, pride, and inside jokes around wedgie-tracking are classic No Dunks lore.

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NBA Weekend Winners

1. New York Knicks – Clutch Comeback & Team Identity ([07:02]–[13:27])

• Saturday vs. Rockets: Down by 18 at start of 4th, Knicks stormed back through hot three-point shooting (Shamet, Towns, Alvarado), strong defense (Towns on Šengün, Brunson drawing charges, Alvarado steals), and clutch offense.
  • “This was like the idealized version of the Knicks in the fourth quarter. Everybody playing their part, the stars being stars and a good enough defense…” – Trey, [08:35]
• OG Anunoby’s free throws sealed it amid raucous MSG energy.
• Sunday: Routine win over Bulls extends Bulls’ misery (9th straight loss).
• Quotes & Banter:
  • Rockets offense is labeled “your turn, my turn,” while Udoka’s penchant for dribble-heavy isolation is critiqued (“You’re the coach, man. Call a play. But… that’s Udoka offense.” – Tas, [11:46])
  • Rocket’s need for point guard stability (Fred Van Vleet’s podcast status as off-court subplot).

2. Boston Celtics – Peaking at the Right Time ([14:43]–[21:04])

• Coach Joe Mazzulla optimizes lineups: Payton Pritchard returns to sixth man (“He’s such an awesome one-on-one player…he can get to basically any shot he wants.” – Tas, [18:21]).
• Celtics steamrolled the Lakers (on “Pat Riley statue day”), with Jalen Brown and Pritchard (30+ pts) starring. Notably, Pritchard outscored Lakers’ entire bench.
• Jason Tatum’s return looms; hosts confident in his health and impact, labeling the team a true Finals contender.
• Memorable Moments:
  • "Wedgie and assist inflation is what's happening here." – Trey on changing stat-keeping, [18:15]
  • “Pritchard is the best half-court shooter in the league for sure.” – Tas, [21:01]

3. Oklahoma City Thunder – Depth & Adaptability Amid Injuries ([23:53]–[28:13])

• Despite injuries to SGA, Jalen Williams, and others, Thunder notched two wins. Jared McCain and Isaiah Joe stepped up, team drained 21 threes versus Cleveland.
• Defensive identity: Cavs’ Sam Merrill notably says, “They're the most physical team in the league. They put a ton of pressure on the officials…” ([25:37])
• SGA’s absence yielded a more pass-happy, up-tempo style, increasing team-wide involvement.
• Cavs and Nuggets both struggled in afternoon “3-in-4” schedule traps—hosts question the fairness and effects of such NBA scheduling quirks.

4. San Antonio Spurs – Wemby’s Ascendance & Team Streak ([28:13]–[32:38])

• Spurs win 8th straight, torch Kings. Wembanyama posts 28/15/6/4 and delivers highlight dunks, blocks, and dazzling passes.
• Wemby’s dunk contest tease: “Post game, he said, 'I'll be in the dunk contest one day.'” (Trey: “Hell, yes. Yeah, absolutely.” – [29:41])
• The crew marvels at Wemby’s unique athleticism, his jaw-dropping “between-legs Smitty” move, and effect on the Spurs’ culture.
• Memorable Sidetrack: Wemby and Kings’ Maxime Reynaud’s chess rivalry—NBA subplots at their nerdiest.

5. Miami Heat – Tyler Herro Returns, Offense Rebounds ([32:43]–[38:14])

• Miami grabs wins vs. Hawks and rebuilding Grizzlies as Herro comes off the bench (24 pts in 23 mins versus Pelicans) after a long injury hiatus; “He looks super athletic...a whole new player.” – Brett, [33:22]
• Debate over Herro’s long-term role: 6th man or starter? Balance between scoring punch and team offense flow.

6. Arena Collectibles – Wolves’ Playable Souvenir Cups & Cultural Crossover ([38:42]–[41:40])

• Wolves’ new popcorn buckets/cups feature mini pop-a-shot games, echoing recent high-design popcorn buckets at movie theaters (“Dune’s fleshlight bucket, Ghostbusters’ trap…” – Trey, [39:20]).
• The crew predicts expansion of creative collectibles across NBA arenas (“Collaborations, mascot buckets – it'll become an art thing.”)
• “It looks like fun.” – Brett, on the new cups [40:41]
• This lighthearted segment (with surprising cost revelations) underscores how fandom and consumer culture intertwine at live sports.

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Additional Winner Highlights

• Bucks fan Mason’s “high five” moment with Giannis ([41:49])
• Chris Middleton’s big week on new team (Mavericks)
• Various “minor winners” sprinkled, reflecting No Dunks’ love of NBA oddities.

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NBA Weekend Losers

1. Philadelphia 76ers – Injuries and Vanishing Vibes ([44:38]–[49:24])

• The prior night’s ugly loss to Pelicans (12/46 from deep), “a dismal, dismal, dismal performance,” [44:51] despite a bounce-back win vs. Minnesota.
• Joel Embiid’s ongoing knee/shin mystery, Paul George’s suspension (“That's the risk you take when you build your team around Paul George and Joel Embiid.” – Tas, [47:28]), and rising fatigue for Tyrese Maxey.
• Podcasting subculture comes up: Philly podcasters at the game, Morey’s media presence, Oubre rapping (“Rest in peace, Paul Walker, I think you are my dad.” – actual Oubre lyric, [52:29]).
• Main concern: A freefall in February, now clinging to a playoff spot with Embiid’s absence threatening season momentum.

2. Minnesota Timberwolves – Lapses in Focus & Hustle ([56:29]–[60:09])

• Loss to undermanned 76ers exposes reliance on Rudy Gobert (suspended) and Nas Reid (injured); rookie center left overmatched.
• Anthony Edwards with 7 turnovers (“He had the balls kind of slipping out of his hands several times here.” – Brett, [57:54]).
• “Played like we were entitled. And they did.” – Tas, emphasizing inconsistency and lack of effort [59:51].
• Ongoing concern: Team’s lack of playmaking outside of Julius Randle, lack of defensive backbone without Gobert.

3. Sacramento Kings – Franchise-Worst Losing Streak, Coach on the Hot Seat ([61:26]–[62:14])

• Extend franchise record losing streak to 16; third starter (DeAndre Hunter) lost to season-ending injury.
• Debate if interim coach Doug Christie deserves another shot; defense among league’s worst, offense uninspired despite personnel.

4. Phoenix Suns – Injuries & Offensive Woes ([62:23]–[64:59])

• Dylan Brooks (broken hand) and Devin Booker (out at least a week) both injured.
• Follow a double-OT win with a woeful 37% shooting, 77-point night (after the Blazers had just given up 157).
• “This is just like these injuries suck here…I hate the Dylan Brooks of it all.” – Trey, [64:04]

5. Los Angeles Lakers – Exposed by Contenders ([64:59]–[66:36])

• Crushed by Celtics, continuing a trend of failure vs. good teams.
• Despite positive record, their net rating is negative; “just little effort, it’s a terribly constructed team with your star guys too…no dogs.” – Trey, [65:55]
• Roster inflexibility and lack of defense cited as obstacles to building around Luka and the stars.
• “I think still a disappointing season for the Lakers.” – Tas, [66:36]

Additional Losers & Noteworthy Moments

• Atlanta Hawks: Zachary Reese moved to bench, underdelivering on expectations.
• Wizards broadcast: Used “Scooby” the dog dunk as “Drive of the Game” since there were apparently no highlight plays in a Hornets loss ([68:02]).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Hey, see a wedgie, say wedgie is what we live by, okay?” – Trey, ([06:35])
• “This was like the idealized version of the Knicks in the fourth quarter.” – Trey, ([08:35])
• “Wedgie and assist inflation is what's happening here.” – Trey, ([18:15])
• “He’s the best half-court shooter in the league for sure.” – Tas, on Pritchard, ([21:01])
• “Rest in peace, Paul Walker, I think you are my dad.” – Kelly Oubre lyric (Trey/JD incredulous, [52:29])

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• G League/Wedgies & Show Open: [02:08]–[06:46]
• Winners Segment Begins: [06:47]
  • Knicks: [07:02]–[13:27]
  • Celtics: [14:43]–[21:04]
  • Thunder: [23:53]–[28:13]
  • Spurs/Wemby: [28:13]–[32:38]
  • Heat/Herro: [32:43]–[38:14]
  • Arena Collectibles: [38:42]–[41:40]
• Losers Segment Begins: [44:38]
  • 76ers: [44:38]–[49:24]
  • Timberwolves: [56:29]–[60:09]
  • Kings: [61:26]–[62:14]
  • Suns: [62:23]–[64:59]
  • Lakers: [64:59]–[66:36]

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Tone & Style

• Friendly, analytical, irreverent, with classic No Dunks camaraderie and in-jokes (wedgies, collectible culture, “podcast inflation,” inside NBA references).
• The hosts blend respect for the game with pop culture and meta discussions, often veering into humor and genuine fan excitement—even about non-basketball things (collectible cups, mascot trivia, chess, magnets).

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Useful For

• Listeners seeking quick context or in-depth breakdowns of recent NBA storylines.
• Fans interested in behind-the-scenes NBA culture, collectible fads, or how advanced stat analysis intersects with fandom.
• Those who want tonal authenticity and expert-level knowledge, but without dry or over-serious presentation.

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Summary by segment—includes all the key teams, players, and themes discussed, and notable quotes with timestamps. Perfect for those who missed the episode or want a quick refresher before discussing the week’s NBA action.

Transcript

[Podcast Advertiser/Host]

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[Brett]

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[Trey]

And the best part? They accept.

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[Trey]

I don't think so, Jennifer.

[Producer JD]

Oh, yeah.

[Brett]

Huh?

[Podcast Advertiser/Host]

Discover's accepted where I like to shop.

[Trey]

Come on, baby.

[Podcast Advertiser/Host]

Get with the times.

[Tas Melis]

Right.

[Trey]

So we shouldn't get the parachute pants. These are making a comeback, I think.

[Tas Melis]

Discover is accepted at 99% of places

[Producer JD]

that take credit cards nationwide, based on

[Tas Melis]

the February 2025 Nielsen report.

[Trey]

This is Matt Rogers from Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang.

[Tas Melis]

This is Bowen Yang from Lost Culture Resource with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang.

[Trey]

Hey, so what if you could boost the WI fi to one of your

[Brett]

devices when you need it most?

[Tas Melis]

Because Xfinity WI fi can. And what if your WI fi could fix itself before there's even really a problem? Xfinity is so reliable.

[Brett]

It does that, too.

[Trey]

What if your wifi had parental instincts? Xfinity WI Fi is part nanny, part ninja, protecting your kids while they're online.

[Tas Melis]

And finally, what if your WI fi

[Brett]

was, like, the smartest WI fi?

[Trey]

Yeah, it's WI fi that is so

[Tas Melis]

smart, it makes everything work better together. Bott Xfinity is smart and reliable. You deserve the peace of mind of having wifi that's got your back.

[Brett]

Xfinity.

[Tas Melis]

Imagine that the new Chicken Bacon Ranch Street Chalupa is a Taco Bell.

[Brett]

You can't get just one. Okay, so that's not like, some marketing hyperbole. You literally can't get just one.

[Tas Melis]

They come in twos. So, like, if you want just one,

[Brett]

you're gonna need to find a friend

[Tas Melis]

who loves slow roasted chicken bacon and avocado ranch sauce.

[Producer JD]

Or a friend of a friend. Or have an awkward conversation with a

[Brett]

complete stranger to see if they're obsessed

[Tas Melis]

with chicken bacon and avocado ranch.

[Brett]

Or you could just, like, eat them both because you're obsessed with slow roasted chicken bacon. Okay, you get the idea. The new Chicken Bacon Ranch Street Chalup

[Tas Melis]

is a Taco Bell by participating Taco Bell US Locations for a limited time while supplies last.

[Trey]

Good morning, sweet world, and welcome to the no Dunks podcast, presented by FanDuel. It's Monday, February 23rd, 2026. I'm Je Skeets here. Here in the classic factory. And alongside me, as always, Tas Melis.

[Brett]

It's sweater weather, everybody.

[Trey]

Oh, yeah, it's cold in Atlanta today. Next to him, it's my top shot, hot boy, Trey Kirby. Ayo a yo. And over yonder, making the magic happen, super producer JD Hello. There he is. Here we are. Hello to everybody joining us live on YouTube. Hit the like button. Subscribe podcast listeners. Five star ratings and reviews. Little housekeeping before we get into NBA weekend, winners and losers, this trio right here is back on the call for Tomorrow night's Raptors 9:05 College Park Skyhawks game. If you're in the Atlanta area, come on down to the Gateway center. Game is at 7pm Eastern. We're back calling this one. If you don't live here, you can catch it on NBA League, NBA Glee, Excuse me dot com. Or Peachtree Sports Network if you're a

[Tas Melis]

little closer to Homeland.

[Trey]

They air every game over there.

[Tas Melis]

Sports Network plug. Yeah.

[Trey]

So we've done this a couple years running now and we're going to be back.

[Brett]

I've been on Peachtree Sports Network before. You know, sometimes you just gotta use your third party VPN and jump on in there. I've been there. Been there.

[Trey]

I wanna know if you're gonna be able to remain unbiased. On the call tomorrow night.

[Brett]

905ers.

[Trey]

That's right.

[Tas Melis]

Wow. Big game, Big rivalry.

[Trey]

Rockin' Raptors are having a better year than the Skyhawks, unfortunately. Rough year for Skyhawks. Yeah. We'll bring some energy to the game.

[Tas Melis]

A lot of new guys.

[Trey]

Yeah.

[Tas Melis]

Compared to last year when we did. I'm excited to see Ray J. Dennis in person.

[Trey]

Yeah. Ray J's on fire.

[Tas Melis]

Yeah, he grew up, like, totally 20 minutes from where I grew up. So I'm going to be pulling for him pretty hard.

[Trey]

Okay.

[Tas Melis]

A lot of people are saying he's the new Daquan Plowden. No one's saying that. But I'll be saying it tomorrow on the broadcast.

[Brett]

We have been saying Ray J's name.

[Trey]

Yes, we have.

[Brett]

Not because of Ray J. Dennis. Really, because we're talking about Brandy. Anyway, I think we should create some sort of rivalry. Skeets, I don't know who you want to cheer for if you're a 905er.

[Trey]

I'm an unbiased commentator.

[Brett]

That's no fun.

[Trey]

No, I'm just cheering for a great game. I'm like. I'm like Jacob, Toby, man. I just want a great game.

[Tas Melis]

That's Exactly Right. Well, you, Sean Elliott, you're pulling for a blow.

[Brett]

Yeah, please.

[Trey]

Okay, so that's the first piece of news. Second piece of news. We had two more wedgies over the weekend. Both happened Friday night. And that got us to the magical number of 50 wedgies on the season. We start here with PJ hall blocking, slash fouling Dennis Schroeder's layup attempt there. So that's number 49. And then number 50 was a little later in the night and it was three time MVP Nikola Jokic on the put back attempt there. He jammed it in there with Time Lord also battling for the board. So that's number 50. That's an important number when it comes to wedgies. That's sort of the goal we're at least always looking for. The minimum wedgie goal is our 12th season of attempting to track every wedgie marks the fifth time we've hit at least 50 wedgies. So the all time record is 63 wedgies. That happened a couple years ago. So we still need 14 more to set the all time record. But nice to see us get to 50 already. Not even March now.

[Brett]

Wedgies are on the uptick. Yeah, because we have been tracking it for 12 years. We haven't been attempting, Skeets, we're tracking them. Come on, man. That's literally all we do.

[Trey]

We've missed wedgies. That's why I say attempt guaranteed.

[Brett]

I highly doubt. Oh, I guarantee over 12 seasons how many wedges you think we've had.

[Trey]

Times where we've come in and like two days later someone's like, you've missed a wedgie.

[Brett]

Like, oh yeah, yeah. Well listen, that Dennis Schroeder one the other day that blocked by pj. Hell, nobody saw that thing. I mean that was a quick one. Anyways, it's been on the increase either way. 12 years, it's inflation. 50 times we've had 50 now five times over the 12 years. Over the first six years it was just one. Over the last six years, four times. So it's on the increase.

[Trey]

Yeah, yeah, it's great.

[Tas Melis]

Summer project. Watch every minute of every game.

[Trey]

That's the only way to figure it out.

[Tas Melis]

Just to see did we miss any Comb through it. Cross reference.

[Trey]

Look, I really wish the play by play we are in the play by play era. I wish they noted or did a better job of noting said wedgies. Because the old hack used to be just like go look for jump ball situations. Yes, right. And that'll get you a lot of them. But not like that Dennis Schroeder one. It's a foul.

[Brett]

It wasn't really a wedgie.

[Trey]

Well, it is a wedgie. According to us, it is. Come on, man.

[Brett]

I hear what you're saying.

[Trey]

You got to watch it. That's the thing. You got to have people watching. Otherwise, that there's no way you can find that out.

[Brett]

Yeah. Luckily, everybody's got a voice on social media, so that has helped.

[Trey]

Hey, see, a wedgie, say wedgie is what we live by, okay? So let us know if you see one. Don't, don't. Don't assume somebody else's. I don't like when people do that.

[Tas Melis]

Don't be shy.

[Trey]

Don't be shy. Just say, hey, wedgie. Around this time. You don't even got to be exact with the time. Just say, like, you know, this quarter or near the start, near the end, whatever. We can't watch every game, but we try. Let's get into NBA weekend winners. We'll do a couple rounds of winners, eventually losers. Tk get us started. Where you want to go?

[Tas Melis]

I got the New York Knickerbockers, AKA The New York Knicks, AKA the New York Dicks, as Charles Barkley called them. Whoops, they handle the Bulls on Sunday. Big deal. Everybody beats the Bulls. Nine straight losses for Chicago, but I'm giving the Knicks a winner for Saturday night. Their comeback against the Rockets were down by 18 right at the start of the fourth quarter. Then new York completely flipped the script by doing three things. Number one, knocking down threes. As soon as they went down by 18, Landry Shammit hit one from the quarter. It was one of four threes in three minutes. As soon as the Rockets took their big of the game, Shamut hit a couple. Towns hit one. Alvarado hit one from the quarter from the corner as well. After 11 turnovers through the third quarter, the Knicks just started getting a ton of quality shots. It looked like a completely different offense. A lot of that I thought, was Jose Alvarado getting in the lane and finding kickouts. The ball would swing around and they got a lot of really good looks. So that changed up. I thought that was nice for New York. Also. Top notch defense all around. I thought from New York during the comeback. Karl Anthony Towns made things really tough on Alper and Shengun. Bumping, slapping, just knocking the ball out of his hands. Tough shots all around for Sengun. Jose Alvarado got two steals, both of which turned into pretty tough layups on the other end. Jalen Brunson did his part, drawing charges. I don't know if either of them were a charge, but he got the whistle because the atmosphere was raucous. And then OG Anunoby kind of put the clamps on Kevin Durant. I thought Rockets offense a little clunky, a little. Your turn. My turn. And also they just had some shots go in and out after shooting pretty well through three quarters. Most importantly, the Knicks stars came through in the fourth quarter. Towns went for seven points in the fourth, a lot of tough takes from him. Had a big time dunk on Jabari Smith, and then Jalen Brunson was his usual mini master. Eight points in the quarter, had that layup, but the other three or the other six points were on mid range jumpers. This was like the idealized version of the Knicks in the fourth quarter. Everybody playing their part, the stars being stars and a good enough defense that they made things tough on the Rockets and the offense just looked great. I thought in that fourth quarter super loud. And then the Knicks were very wise Knicks fans. OG goes to the line with like 5 seconds left. Huge shots, quiet after some crazy. Let's go, Knicks chance as they were rallying there. So big time comeback win for New York then. Like I said, they took care of the Bulls yesterday, pretty easily. Held them to 99 points. Nobody on that team can score. Nonetheless, great win for the Knicks on Saturday and did their business on Sunday.

[Brett]

Yeah, they did their business in the fourth quarter against those Rockets. Watching the first three quarters after their bad loss to the Pistons on Thursday start to think, oh gosh, this is scary times. And then they turned it up. You know, there's the ESPN report that Carl Anthony Towns got into his teammates faces to get them going in the fourth quarter. And Durant was sitting on the bench for those first five minutes and Shangoon was clanking. I mean, those are I think literally a couple airballs. And he complained for a foul on that one. And then as soon as Durant got back on the floor for the last seven minutes, yeah, he just couldn't hit. It was miss, miss, miss, then to make and then the turnover, turnover, turnover. Including those, the charges that you're saying there, Trey, four turnovers in the quarter for Durant in just seven minutes for him. So yeah, the, the worrisome about the clunky offense, as you said about the Rockets, is when is it point guard time for this team? When is Fred Van Vliet coming back? I think that's a worry for this team going forward. Although, you know, one of the things that Kevin Durant said in his Twitter burner was, I can't trust Jabari Smith. Hey, man, that guy was splashing in this game. 214 threes for. So maybe that's a positive. I'm looking for all the positives for this rocket scene because they got there. They're up 18 on the road against this, a squad that needed a win. After losing to the Pistons on Thursday, Brunson knew that.

[Trey]

That they needed a win or should get this win. When they came back, the defense obviously got them back into the game, but, man, that guy was hitting every big shot down the stretch, like captain clutch for a reason. Just awesome to see small sky out there. Well, not really now with Alvarado in the mix, but you know what I mean?

[Brett]

Yeah, he didn't have a mate.

[Trey]

Superstar is the smallest guy.

[Tas Melis]

He played three guards. That was pretty interesting. Like, it was Alvarado and Brunson. And then Shamet is basically a guard. He's taller, but he's a skinny guy. He's been really important for the Knicks. When he plays well, it feels like it gives him a little bit of extra juice shooting out there. But to be able to get away playing those three guards against the Rockets team, that's gigantic. That doesn't make any sense to me. Ime Udoka afterwards was like, it's better the same thing. The entire time I've been here. We just dribble out, dribble, dribble, dribble, dribble. And the offense slows down. You're the coach, man. Call a play. But that's. I mean, that's IME Udoka offense. Like, that's what it was when he was with the Celtics as well. And it was the same complaint. Oh, we just dribble it out. Literally do something. Then all he does is call defense.

[Trey]

Yeah.

[Tas Melis]

And.

[Trey]

And then call out his teammates or his players, I should say. Yeah. And that's maybe why it works for, like, a short window, a guy like that to come in and sort of whip everybody into shape here and, like, play a little harder and play with a little more aggressiveness. And then maybe that tires on teams, and maybe it was a blessing in disguise that he had to leave the Celtics because of weird situations, as a lot of people have pointed out.

[Tas Melis]

Yeah, maybe so. But with regards to the Rockets, like, they were getting their best shots in the fourth quarter when Reed shepherd was finding guys with, like, diagonal passes to the corner, was getting some wide open looks. He's a natural ball mover, and he's the only guy who's a real natural ball mover on that team because like Amen Thompson, he's a decent enough playmaker, but he's not really a point guard. Even though they've tried to fake it, they do it with Sengun as well, but he just dribbles 20 times and then settles for a shot. And Durant it's been the same clutch thing with Kevin Durant for the entirety of his career. He makes really tough shots. He also misses shots and if he's not involved in the offense, he just stands there. Remember when we used to complain about Westbrook taking too many shots for the Thunder? That was 15 years ago and nothing has changed. So I don't know. I don't think the Rockets are going to do it this year. They obviously don't think so either because they didn't make any moves at the deadline when they obviously could have. So just a weird second half of the season, I think for this team.

[Brett]

I would assume Fred is their move. Fred Van Vliet has to come back, but it has to be soon. But I don't know.

[Tas Melis]

He's got hurt in preseason. I don't think he's going to play this year and he's not going to be Van Vliet this year if he does. And even last year when he was like one of their main clutch guys, it was can you bail us out with a deep 3? It's not like he was getting into lane and creating for others. It was the same old Udoka style offense. Dribble it out and hit a miracle shot if you can.

[Brett]

Yeah, we will see if he comes back. I would have to expect that he they have an expectation but it is worrisome. There's no doubt he started the podcast, but it's some inside information here that he wasn't going to go and continue the podcast if he came back. That's not guaranteed. So either is the either is the him coming back. But it felt like he thought about okay, the day that I come back I may not be podcasting. So maybe he's coming back, who knows. But that is the guy. That is definitely the guy for me because it ain't the guys you mentioned. Aaron Holiday is not solving anything. He's too teeny tiny. He's on that roster but he's way too small.

[Trey]

So it's Fred, how many ad sales has that podcast committed to already? What's the inventory they need to hit? These are the things we should be digging into that will tell us everything.

[Brett]

I think it's great with player podcast because It's a real DG af. Oh yeah, they don't care. No.

[Trey]

I didn't even know he was still doing the podcast.

[Brett]

Yeah, he is. What was it? Point Got. No. What was it called? I forget. Anyway, this one Fred said just Fred

[Tas Melis]

said no, it should be right said Fred.

[Trey]

Is it something bet on yourself related or no? I can't believe I legit don't remember even though I have seen clips.

[Brett]

Sounds familiar.

[Trey]

All right, Knicks big winner of the weekend. Where are you going?

[Brett]

I'm going with the Boston Celtics because they are cooking at the right time and their head coach Joe Missoula is contemplating, is evaluating, is saying how do we make this a championship caliber team while on ramping Jason Tatum when he comes back, here's the solution. Payton Pritchard, you go back to the bench. He started this entire season. It's not truly 48 games, last seven he's been on the bench and he peaked against the Los Angeles Lakers this weekend. Oh gosh, it was spectacular stuff. I know people are looking at him putting Jared Vanderbilt on skates. Great play. But was more impressive to me was the the step backs, the end of shock locker, end of game clock. That Peyton Pritchard is so known for hitting bombs of threes to get this thing going. Obviously he is so good right now at getting into guys bodies and creating enough space for himself to hit shots. He dropped 30 in this one but overall those first 48 games he wasn't as efficient as last year when he was sixth man of the year because there was just more on his shoulders. And now you have to, you have to assume that Jason Tatum is coming back with Bane. Pritchard coming, going to the bank.

[Trey]

Guys got everybody coming back.

[Brett]

Well, Jason Tatum's a lock. Joe Missoula was asked. Joe Missoula was asked this weekend. It was so great. Hey, was he at practice? Yeah, he was at practice. Did he get involved in anything? And then the Joe Missoula stare. No words, just the Gen Z stare. Yeah, yeah, he's, he's coming back, man. It sure feels that way. If this guy is just implementing exactly what Payne Pritchard should be coming off the bench because again the first 48 games he was, he was very good in the starting role but he dropped twos, efficiency, threes efficiency, so he just wasn't himself. And then with Jalen Brown starting, they can balance a little bit. He had a great game against the Lakers, 32, 8 and 7. But Pritchard is just peeking. He had 26 the game before off the Bench against Golden state in these seven games since going to the bench, he's hit 20 or more in six of those seven games. It feels like Missoula is peaking with this team. Even Baylor Shireman did a good job against Luka Doncic, just slowing him down a little bit. Just the body that's not super athletic, super jumpy type of guy. Just stay with Luca and he threw him off a little bit. So that was a great win for them. It's happening, man. Tatum's coming back in this team.

[Trey]

Even though there were several reports like over the past week about the uncertainty about Tatum's return, it seems to have been like slow. Played a little bit here from some notable reporters about is he coming back or is he not coming back?

[Brett]

You're 100% practice. He was participating no matter what Joe Missoula's eyes said, he was participating in somewhat. So yeah, I am not Brian Suter. I'm not a Doc. But it sure feels like the guy's on the floor right here, right now. So they're going to try him out. He's going to be in that starting role playing beside Jalen Brown and Peyton. Pitcher will be off the bench making Vuch look good, making Kada look good when, when the bound, when they go to Pritch Keda. Even though his assist numbers are all those are inflated. You want to talk inflation? Assists are. They're out of control. The guy's passing into Derrick White at like mid court. Derek White goes and gets into his own movement and makes his own shot. I don't even assist. They're literally giving assists for anything. It's almost anything.

[Trey]

Right?

[Brett]

Anyway, he looks good off the bench, though. He looks great.

[Trey]

Wedgie and assist inflation is what's happening here.

[Tas Melis]

That's true.

[Trey]

Your thoughts on the Celtics or Pritchard or Tatum's potential return?

[Tas Melis]

All right. Tatum, I think is going to come back. He's basically healthy enough if he's playing five on five. It's just the mental hurdle of can I do this in real NBA games going into the playoffs especially. So I think he will eventually come back. And if you listen to Bill Simmons enough, you know that guy is tapped in and he's telling you basically the rotations that they're going to do. So that guy, I do believe will be back. And that's good for the Celtics because Pritchard is a natural sixth man. He's made to be a six man. That's why he won sixth man of the year. His usage shot way up. Now that he's coming off the bench because he's the number one playmaker out there. He's such an awesome one on one player. Just ask Jake Laravia. Punched him in the stomach, then hit a fade away. That was an awesome shot. But he can get to basically any shot he wants to. Pritchard can. And then even if the assist numbers are a little inflated still, eight means you're moving the ball and that's necessary. And they've got V doing enough out there. He didn't have the greatest run I didn't think in this game. But he's just an option for him now. He doesn't have to be their number one center and he's not their number one center. So I think it's nice for the Celtics that Pritchard can carry the offense during the moments when Jaylen Brown is sitting. Jaylen Brown comes back in, slams the door. Also, I think the Lakers were just pretty bad yesterday.

[Trey]

Oh yeah, we'll get to them.

[Tas Melis]

It was Pat Riley statue day and they got blown out by the Celtics after he was trash talking the Celtics. So I think a huge win for Boston. They really cared on that game and they're like, hey Marcus smart, we've played against you so many times. We've had you forever. We're going to leave you open. And he just bricked away all night. Lakers couldn't make a shot. So smart stuff by the Celtics. I think they're a good team and I think they have a realistic shot of a finals appearance this year.

[Brett]

Absolutely.

[Tas Melis]

Yeah.

[Trey]

Hoops substack called Pritchard one of the patron saints of the cold ass white boys. How he had himself a game yesterday against two of the other ones, I guess in. In Luca and Reeves. But yeah, he tore them to shreds. I'm glad you were showing love to him. He had more points off the bench than the entire Lakers second unit. Pritchard by himself there, pretty incredible. So they get the win and yeah, we'll get into the Lakers and how they cannot be good teams. They are fraudulent for sure.

[Brett]

Yeah. I wonder with the Celtics if you need a shot at the end of a clock. End of the game clock or shot clock. And it's just, it's just a pure ass shot. You know, it's not like creating your own thing, but you just need somebody to do it. I wonder if it's somebody other than Pritchard that you'd pick to make that shot. That's. That's how he got hot in this game. He clanked his first two shots. But then it was an end of a shot clock bomb that he had

[Trey]

to he's good at them.

[Brett]

And then he is known for end of quarter, end of half or whatever type of shots because he's really good at them. That's how he got things going. And they're bops. They're literally Bob's.

[Tas Melis]

Yeah, he's the best half court shooter in the league for sure.

[Brett]

Yeah. So when they're real, real desperate. Hey you. But it is just about balancing there, the rotations, the roster and it's working perfectly right here, right now.

[Producer JD]

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[Trey]

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[Tas Melis]

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[Trey]

I'll give the Thunder a winner of the weekend. They won two games despite missing several players due to injuries. Shay Gielous Alexander abdominal strain. Jalen Williams, the good one, strained right hamstring. AJ Mitchell is out with an abdominal strain as well. And then Alex Caruso sprained his ankle versus The Nets in the first game of the weekend. Didn't play in the second. Good thing for the Thunder, they have like six other guards that could maybe start on half the teams in the league. On Friday night, Jared McCain scored a season high 21 points as they beat the Nets. 105 86. This was by far his best game with the Thunder. Best game of the season probably for him. He shot 7 to 12 in a reserve role. Hit a bunch of threes just helping sort of carry this team a little bit offensively with sga. Sga especially out of the rotation. You know he is not SGA by any means but Guy can score and has fit in perfectly with this Thunder team. It feels like he's already been there for a couple of years. Great get. He contributed in that one. And then on Sunday it was Isaiah Joe hitting a bunch of threes. Casen Wallace 20 and 10 for him as they beat the Red Hot Cavaliers. 121 113. Bit of a schedule loss for Cleveland. It was one of those crappy third game in four nights and the third game is an afternoon game that sucks. But they had their guys and the Thunder didn't and they still got this win because of these other guys stepping up.

[Tas Melis]

Yeah, 21 threes for Oklahoma City yesterday and like you're saying the schedule was against the Cavs, But I mean 21 threes, you're going to win basically every game if you're okc. Yeah. And then post game everybody was Asking the Cavs about the physicality from the Thunder and all they could say was, they foul. They filed the entire time. Everybody knows it. But if you foul the whole time, you get away with it. And guess what? They got away with it.

[Trey]

Yeah. Sam Merrill had a specifically interesting quote about that. They're the most physical team in the league. They put a ton of pressure on the officials. But it's not just that. They do have a high amount of elite on ball defenders. You combine the way they guard with the way they play. It puts a ton of pressure on us and on the officials. Again, that was Sam Merrill. But TK is right. Everybody from the Cavs had something to say about this. Mitchell and Harden and, and I was going to say Pickerstaff, Kenny Atkinson, but I like that point from Sam. It's the combo of all of that. They're elite defenders. They're physical as hell. They put the pressure on the officials. Like, what are we gonna do? We can't call everything. And then you combine that with the threes. Dry draining. Yeah, you're not beating them. I don't care who's playing.

[Brett]

I'm still disappointing for the Cavs. They turned over 10 times in the first quarter. That was really the game. They got down because they turned it over. Not. Not necessarily because they're being fouled just because they turned it over.

[Trey]

Got back into the game, though, took the lead.

[Brett]

Yeah, they did. They fought back. It was a little disappointing at the end. They went to Evan Mobley, who had Isaiah Joe on him in the post with under 3 minutes left to try and actually close that lead to a point where they could win. And he missed. You know, Mobley just not. Not clicking at this point. So there's, there's definitely some worries there. I know the three games in four days is a. Is an excuse, but it's still an excuse that I, I feel like the, the Nuggets made that same sort of excuse that they had an early game two days after their other game. This is exactly what happened to the Cavs. Yeah, it was an early game, but it was two days after. It was a Thursday, Friday, back to back, and then a Sunday afternoon. I know it's weird, but just don't turn it over ten times. And that's. That. That was the huge factor for me. And that's what Kenny Atkinson started his press conference with. Yeah, that's where we lost the game. But then the quotes are definitely coming from the, the complaining.

[Trey]

Oh, yeah. SGA's injury here too is, I think forced The Thunder to adopt somewhat new style of play here. Right. The ball is just moving way more. You remove sga, who can always control the rock and obviously get to any spot he wants to. They have just increased their passes per game. It's something a lot. It's quite significant. It's like 260 passes per game up to like 290 plus here since the SGA injury. So the ball is just flying around a lot more. It's playing at a faster pace and maybe that's played in part to the threes. Really dropping here with some consistency. Just with it sort of zipping around a little bit more. Guys are feeling a little bit better, obviously. Maybe they know they have more opportunity because there's minutes here. They look good. Those were impressive wins. Yeah, the Nets are. The Nets, whatever. But that one, despite the CAVS with the 3 and 4, that was a quality win because it was close into the. Into the third and fourth quarter. Yeah, one more round of winners.

[Tas Melis]

This might turn into a San Antonio spurs podcast because they are the hottest team in the league. Eight straight wins now after beating the Kings on Saturday night, it was 110 start for San Antonio. Wemby had three blocks in the first 90 seconds of this game, and I thought it was over. Now, the Kings did keep it competitive for three quarters. They took the lead eventually, but the fourth quarter turned into a dunk contest for San Antonio. Wemby threw down that crazy sort of. It was kind of like a circle move. Yeah. Finish it with the reverse.

[Trey]

Sort of like calling it a windmill. But it's not a reverse either. You're right. It was just weird looking.

[Tas Melis]

Yeah, he had a few dunks. Dylan Harper had a monster one as well. San Antonio became the third team in the league to pass the 40 wins before 20 losses test. We talked about the game we saw on Thursday against the Suns. Wemby dominated against Phoenix and didn't even have that dominant of a game. But against the Kings, it was a dominant game for Wemby. 28 points, 15 rebounds, six assists, a steal and four blocks. He completely shredded the zone with his passing. The zone reads were perfect from him. I have not stopped watching the move he put on Maxime Reynaud. I don't even understand exactly what he did. It's like a between the legs. Smitty is what he did. Yes, it's definitely a carry, but that's okay. We allow that in today's NBA. And it looked so pretty post game. He said, I'll be in the dunk contest one day. Do you want to see Wemby in the dunk contest?

[Trey]

Hell, yes. Yeah, absolutely.

[Tas Melis]

So now we're good with tall guys in the dunk contest.

[Brett]

He's a very special one.

[Trey]

Yeah. Something tells me he'll put on a little bit better show than Jackson Hayes did. Yes, absolutely. Want to see him? Just to see how it is. Yeah.

[Tas Melis]

Do you think they would give him the win no matter what?

[Trey]

He'd be. It would lean heavily towards him. Yes.

[Tas Melis]

It would be Blake Griffin with the keel. There would be no way he would lose.

[Trey]

Be very difficult. Yeah, that's fair.

[Tas Melis]

I'm just saying.

[Trey]

Hey, who cares? It'd be better than what we just saw him. And it like, this guy's going to save everything. I can't wait till he fixes tanking. Save the All Star Game. All right, I guess I'll save the dunk contest. Hold on. He said it. He has to do it. We've had other superstars.

[Tas Melis]

That's also true.

[Trey]

Do it and not do it. But I believe him. And then, yeah, I guess fix tanking and everything else.

[Brett]

What else can we fix the dunk vers. Well, there's plenty of things to fix. There's the dunk that he had against the Kings. It looked awesome because. Because he's nuts because of his height. Simple as that. So, yeah, he's going to outdo Jackson Hayes. Of course. He's going to outdo essentially every big man who's ever been a dunk contest. I would love to see down a

[Trey]

cool dunk and not fall over. He always just his weird body and I don't know, he has to do that. He like, collapses on himself as he hits the ground.

[Brett]

Other winners are just the fans that were there in Austin for that second game because we mocked it. We said, oh, gosh, we're going to be there for the first game against the sun's way better than playing against the Kings. At least the Kings game was a game. The Suns was a blowout before half this. Kings 1 went, you know, late third quarter. Yeah. It was more fun on both sides.

[Tas Melis]

I heard that Maxime Reyno can beat Wemby in chess, though. Like, they apparently play chess against each other to this day.

[Trey]

Oh, that's cool.

[Brett]

Yeah.

[Tas Melis]

I mean, they're both Frenchmen.

[Trey]

Yeah.

[Brett]

Yeah.

[Tas Melis]

I think they maybe played like, on a youth team together.

[Trey]

They did a jersey.

[Brett]

Yeah. They played when they were young teenagers.

[Trey]

Yeah, that. I mean, if you didn't watch the highlight, just watch the Wemby highlights. That is one of the most ridiculous, like, Just single game highlight packages in some time. Because you said it. Not only the dunks, nice passes, some slick passes, the crazy. Whatever that was. Smitty like move.

[Brett]

Yeah, there was like a Smitty like

[Trey]

move mixed with a John Wallace like move that he did way back in the day. I always thought you can crazy play.

[Brett]

You can. If you squint, you can say it's a Hakeem, as the broadcaster said, but it's not really Hakeem.

[Trey]

Ever remember Hakeem doing that?

[Brett]

No.

[Trey]

No.

[Brett]

But, you know, the Hakeem, it was amazing.

[Trey]

And then the blocks, too. Yeah, yeah. God, yeah, the blocks.

[Tas Melis]

To start it all, Sean Elliot said he had one monster block in the first quarter in those. In those first minute and a half. And he said he took out the driver and smashed that one straight down the fairway because it looked like. It looked like just a straight spike. This guy's big. He's really big. So they got a great game there.

[Trey]

They got a great game. We had a fun time in Austin. We did.

[Tas Melis]

That was. It was loud there.

[Trey]

Yes, it was fun. Who do you have for your second winner?

[Brett]

Give me the Miami Heat. Cause they beat the Hawks and the Grizzlies. But more importantly, Tyler Hero came back. He hadn't played in a month. The guy had only played 11 games going into this weekend, and he played twice. And maybe it's because I hadn't seen him in so long, but I was a little biased watching him. And I thought, whoa, this guy looks like a whole new player because he looks super athletic. He was coming off the bench for this Miami Heat team. Very interesting there. Scored 24 points in just 23 minutes. He was cooking CJ McCollum. So they said, all right, here, take a. Dyson Daniels taking Nikhil Alexander Walker, and he beat them both. He was just doing so well. He had some flair out there. He had the floaters, had a cut dribble out there. He was just perfect. He had great chemistry off the bench, too, with Jaime Hawkez, a little Khalil wear. And then Saturday versus Memphis, shorthanded Grizzlies team. Got some performances out of Gigi Jackson, Jaylen Wells, but again off the bench. And this one was very interesting because they had no Davion Mitchell in this particular game in the starting lineup, so Tyler Hero could be inserted. Instead they go Kaspar Kasparis Yakos, and Hero comes off the bench once again. Now, not as great a game. He had 15 in the first half, scoreless in the second half. Maybe that's a Back to back of a guy who hasn't played a lot this season. But he was setting everybody up. He looked great. Again, the Khalil Ware. Also Andrew Wiggins as he got to 15, 000 points for his career. Whoa. Yeah.

[Tas Melis]

He's going to be a 20, 000 point per score, probably.

[Trey]

Yeah.

[Tas Melis]

Inflation.

[Brett]

Yeah. It's different. Yeah. We're at.

[Tas Melis]

We're at a point where that's crazy.

[Brett]

Actually. 20k does not guarantee hall of Fame.

[Tas Melis]

No.

[Brett]

So definitely it used. It used to be that, but not anymore. So either way, I wonder if the Tyler Hero coming off the bench will continue because this offense just, you know, has been bad since January 1st. They've been 22nd and Hero will finish games, there's no doubt about that. But it's sort of like, you know, we talked about a little bit with Pritchard going to the bench. With Boston, if Tyler here goes to the bench, you rule everything through Norman Powell, essentially. A lot of the offense through Norman Powell. So it's just a little bit more balanced. We shall see. Right now they're just trying to get his body going because the guy has not played a lot, period. He's got to wear a little flack jacket under his jersey for his rib injury. So they're just trying to work him in. But they look so much better with Tyler Hero. There's no doubt.

[Trey]

Two things. One, I can't believe Andrew Wiggins almost has as many career points as Kawhi Leonard. That's just weird to think about. Kawhi's got him by about a thousand points. Strange. Second, I can't believe you didn't pick the Golden State warriors as a winner

[Brett]

of the weekend because they won.

[Trey]

Oh, shock.

[Tas Melis]

Oh, it's a great comeback.

[Trey]

Horford played well, your boy. Yeah, he turned into Steph Curry. Steph Curry was watching like Podiumski turned into Steph Curry going nuts. I was just surprised. It was a hell of a. Hell of a comeback there, that 22 run or whatever it was. Yeah, you always surprised me.

[Brett]

Denver was stinky. They didn't look like themselves, unfortunately.

[Tas Melis]

They look like the Denver that we've seen for the past month with Jokic back.

[Trey]

Yeah, four and six now, I think.

[Brett]

Right.

[Tas Melis]

They had a big blowout win over the weekend as well.

[Trey]

Oh, yeah, they beat the Blazer.

[Brett]

Yeah.

[Tas Melis]

Yeah, that was a pickup game.

[Brett]

We got a stupid pick him game after the. After they lose to the Clippers. Yeah, they're going to beat the Blazers. They went, they destroyed them and. And Jokic was awesome in that first quarter he was on a mission. I think he had 19 in the first quarter. 18. But yeah, then they, they fell apart. Hey, maybe it's three games in four

[Trey]

nights also was one of those. You're right.

[Brett]

At an early start. Super early start start. I guess I'm trying to.

[Trey]

If you go and look at the team's records in that situation. Yeah, it's really bad. It's an extremely low record success win rate.

[Brett]

So for an early start, you're saying

[Trey]

for the third in four game. The third game in four night stays, especially with an early game. It's brutal.

[Brett]

Okay, so that's why I didn't pick the Warriors.

[Trey]

Okay.

[Tas Melis]

What you think about Myron Garden Gardener vs. Scotty Pippen Jr. Was not ready

[Trey]

for it, I'll tell you that.

[Tas Melis]

But Myron Gardner, the only time I've heard of him is getting his scandals.

[Brett]

Yeah, yeah.

[Tas Melis]

Encore scandals.

[Trey]

That's right.

[Brett]

But yeah, he had the worst of the week nominee when he got into it with Klay Thompson. Just yakking at him. But then he got a guaranteed contract. So that's. Those are the only times I've heard of him. Fight, talking trash, guaranteed contract.

[Trey]

Yeah, I guess he, he like, he sort of trucked Scotty Pippen on a shot attempt. Yeah. Near the end of the game, went on called though there was nothing called. And so Scotty Pilin's like, well, screw that, I guess I'm fighting you. Yeah, I'll just come back.

[Tas Melis]

And he had it coming. He was cheap shot in them all night. I guess the hero thing is interesting though. He's also a six man of the year winner. I think it's easy to forget at this point, but he's going to be starting. I think they'll move him into the starting lineup for Yakachonas as he works his way back. But Yakachonas is kind of interesting as a player for the Heat because he's a natural ball mover for them and I don't really think they have any of that now. They don't play a very ball movement, heavy system. Right. They're all one on one, kick out, one on one, kick out, one on one, kick out. That plays to hero strengths, but he's also a pick and roll player, so I don't know. I assume he'll work his way back into the starting lineup, but he to me is another guy that's like a natural six man. Maybe just a little outcast or miscast there for Miami, but that's good for them that he is back because they just need anything else that can help on offense.

[Brett]

Yeah, but the Yakuchonas thing, he's just starting for Davion Mitchell. Like, when Davey Mitchell is back, it's Davion time that I imagine. I mean, over. Over Yakushu.

[Tas Melis]

That was a question we had in the OR in the summer. Like, coming into the season, they got three small guards. How can you possibly start all three of them? And that's still going to be a question, I think.

[Brett]

Yeah. The Pelly Larson may come out. I mean, he's been starting as sort of their connector, so that could be hero, but I don't know. Pelly's more of a connector.

[Trey]

Yeah. Final winner of the weekend is a random one, because I know we're going to crap on the actual team and their performance from the weekend. But from the same team that brought you the Nas Reed beach towel comes a new evolution in food and drink receptacles. Here as Wolves super fan Mikey Torborg tweeted, dining with the finest of China today. And here it is. The Wolves have dropped these limited edition popcorn buckets and cups, and both items feature a playable papa shot. And here's a detailed look at the dome part of the souvenir cup. You can actually shoot that little basketball into the little hoop there. People were popping for this, I guess, became a collectible instantly. And it's a limited edition type thing. The bucket looks and feels, I guess, like an actual basketball. So it's not super cheap, which is nice. It's got that pebbled texture. But I wanted to bring this up because especially talking to two movie guys here in TK And JD like, for the past couple years, movie theaters, they've dominated, like, social media with these, like, high concept, you know, popcorn buckets that fans treat as basically art. And like, some of them, people, like, go and get them. Yeah. Collector's item. You know, I'm talking about, like, Dune's fleshlight looking bucket, and by far the best one. Yeah. And the Ghostbusters had the cool ghost trap bucket I saw for the popcorn bucket. So I guess that trend looks like it's headed to professional sports here.

[Tas Melis]

They should do it.

[Trey]

Yeah.

[Tas Melis]

But I mean, I guess they'll all be basketballs.

[Trey]

Yeah, that's the thing.

[Tas Melis]

That's the thing I would worry about.

[Brett]

Well, the first one was literally, you can shoot popcorn.

[Trey]

Yes, that's right. You can put the little popcorn on the side there and flick it. That's great for them. They're gonna waste a lot of popcorn.

[Brett]

Mmm, Good point.

[Trey]

Because you're not gonna score all the time. Assume you're gonna miss the bucket half the time.

[Tas Melis]

That's right. I'd like to launch it in my mouth.

[Producer JD]

Yeah.

[Trey]

Yeah. I wonder how much spring that has, how much propulsion. Yeah. Yeah.

[Brett]

It looks like fun.

[Trey]

Yeah, they look cool.

[Tas Melis]

They have theme nights, though, sometimes.

[Brett]

I mean, they used to have, like, Star wars nights.

[Tas Melis]

That's true.

[Trey]

So they, you know, there could be some collective collectibles, you know.

[Brett]

Oh, collaboration. Yeah.

[Trey]

Yeah, for sure. I mean, this was big online. There was people lining up at whatever, you know, concession stand. You could only get these from, I'm sure. And people wanted them before they were all gone. Who knows what these cost? I didn't check that. Can't imagine they're cheap, but, I mean,

[Tas Melis]

the movie ones are, like, 50 bucks too. Crazy.

[Trey]

Are you serious?

[Tas Melis]

They're pricey.

[Brett]

Wow.

[Trey]

Okay. Well, anyway, you're gonna see a lot more of these coming. Yeah. And you're right. Will they be a lot of basketball or like this? Yes. But, you know, I think teams will maybe start going, well, this is our mascot. What we could do with that. Or this is.

[Tas Melis]

Yeah. Benny Head.

[Trey]

Right, right, right, right, right.

[Brett]

So you're saying that ball is pebbled?

[Trey]

Yeah. Apparently it's quite a high quality. I was doing some research into it. Yeah. It's not like. Like shitty cardboard is my point. You know, it's like actually, I don't know, Manufactured decently.

[Brett]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Tas Melis]

This dishwasher safe.

[Trey]

I couldn't tell you, but I would assume. I would assume.

[Brett]

So could I insert a couple other teeny, tiny minor winners here?

[Trey]

Yeah.

[Brett]

A fan at the Bucs game, his name was Mason, overcame cancer and Giannis was coming by. He. High five. Yannis. Yannis said, whoa, man, that's strong. I'm out four to six weeks because of that. I like that moment. And I love that moment for Mason. Conka Nipple, third game with seven made threes this season. The high for a rook in NBA history. And just want to know, Cooper Flag sitting out a little bit. That may increase a little bit. Maybe the. The Rookie of the year. The competition there can be real at least. But, you know, Cooper Flag is supposed to come back and they're still going to lose, so he can't come back. Yeah. Without Kyrie, without the other guy they traded and Anthony Davis, so a couple little winners.

[Tas Melis]

Chris Middleton. Huge game over the weekend.

[Brett]

Oh, Chris.

[Tas Melis]

Yeah. Big Chris game. Snapped the. The losing streak.

[Brett]

Yeah.

[Trey]

And then they got punked by the Raptors. Oh, sorry, you're talking Wizards. I'M thinking Chris Milton's on the Bucks for a second still.

[Tas Melis]

Chris Middleton's on the Mavericks.

[Brett]

Yeah, it is weird to see him in a Mavericks jersey that's gone.

[Trey]

Yes.

[Tas Melis]

He's number 20, I think, right? Yeah, that's weird too, to the point

[Trey]

where I don't even want to remember it. Let's take a break. We'll get to Weekend Losers when it

[Tas Melis]

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[Brett]

Can you just say jump shot?

[Trey]

3 points, probably a 3.

[Tas Melis]

3 pointer is a plus 190 favorite tied with other Layup Tied with other

[Trey]

Tied with other Any other? Oh, so jumper Layup Free throw?

[Tas Melis]

Layup is a plus 380 free throw plus 470 dunk plus 1600 no, he's

[Trey]

not dunking on this Fast break opportunity not to get it lucky.

[Tas Melis]

Other hook shot isn't on here. I guess that falls under other, but that's a real thing. The Jason Tatum Tab. The Tatum Tab for all the Boston Bros, Right now is the perfect time to join because new FanDuel customers get $150 in bonus bets if your first $5 bet wins. So bet on the players you love the way you want. FanDuel official sports betting partner of the NBA.

[Trey]

Okay, we've done winners. Let's do a round of losers. Trey, get us started.

[Tas Melis]

Oh, the Philadelphia 76ers. You're a loser. This is a premature loser. Were you thinking, oh, I don't know, should they be a loser after the way they played on Sunday against the Minnesota Timberwolves?

[Trey]

It was a quality win.

[Tas Melis]

Did I put it in too early? Get it in there Saturday night? I don't know. Maybe as good as the Sixers looked on Sunday. I thought they looked just as bad on Saturday night against the Pelicans. A dismal, dismal, dismal performance from the three point line. 12 of 46 shooting and the offense completely cratered for Philadelphia in the second half against New Orleans, just 46 points against the 27th ranked defense in the NBA. They kind of got ran off the court by Jordan Pool and DeAndre Jordan. DeAndre Jordan wearing number six. Now started the season wearing number nine. Sixes retired league wide, but now he's wearing number six. I don't get it. Nonetheless, our friends over at YKB, you know, ball podcast, were in attendance for Sixers versus Pelicans. They had a file Fire Morey chant going that you could hear through the broadcast. And Daryl Morey was there.

[Trey]

Yeah.

[Tas Melis]

He was hanging out with a different Philadelphia Sixers podcast.

[Trey]

Yeah. What was going on? Why were there two Philly podcasts in New Orleans? Well, you know, Philly adjacent, whatever, with, you know, ball.

[Brett]

Yeah, right.

[Tas Melis]

Because the right was also there. That was pretty funny.

[Trey]

I was like, this can't be right because I saw, you know, ball was there and then I later saw the rights. Ricky Sanchez. Why is everybody there? Very, very weird. I guess they were playing. I guess is answer.

[Tas Melis]

Yeah, they were playing. And you know, it's Marty Gro.

[Trey]

Yeah.

[Tas Melis]

Who doesn't love seeing a parade? We all do. No, you don't love seeing a parade.

[Trey]

I am on record not a fan of parades.

[Brett]

Why?

[Trey]

Do you like them?

[Tas Melis]

Too loud?

[Trey]

No, not too loud. I just. No, I'm just kidding. It's just a weird joke. I have to stick with. I do not like horses. Is that what you just asked me?

[Brett]

Right.

[Tas Melis]

But I mean, there's a lot of horses in parades. I think less, though.

[Trey]

Too many. Too many cars. This is a weird.

[Brett]

Okay.

[Trey]

I wish there were more horses in parades, which is weird for a guy to say that doesn't like horses or parades.

[Tas Melis]

Interesting. Interesting. The 76ers though, they don't look very good right now. I don't think, though, they played great as we'll get into against the Timberwolves. But Joel Embiid has played three games in February. Yeah, he's missed the last five for Philadelphia, obviously. Paul George suspended right now. And to me, it's really wearing on Tyrese Maxey, who has played a ton of minutes this season and now in February, his highest usage month thus far this season. Makes sense with no Embiid, no Paul George. That's the risk you take when you build your team around Paul George and Joel Embiid. Now, the George thing is a little bit sideways as he was suspended for whatever he took. Embiid, though, had an awesome January and feels like it caught up to him now that he has had knee soreness. And I think they're calling it shin soreness. So.

[Brett]

Shin soreness, yeah.

[Tas Melis]

Nick Nurse was like, could not explain what's going on. They're like, well, the doctors tell Simon and Simon tells me, and then I tell you what's happening. So I think Embiid's knee is fine, but his shin hurts. Now. Maybe he'll play Friday. So maybe he'll play Friday. But Max's usage is going up. His efficiency is going down. He's shooting only 32% from three in February. You throw in Jared McCain straight up Ballin for the Thunder right now. The no moves that were made at the deadline with the Kelly Oubre contract. It's just not feeling great in Philadelphia. The vibes were awesome. I feel like at the turn of the year, Edgecom was playing really well. They had health and reliable contributions from George and Embiid. But right now, just half up, half a game up on Orlando for seventh in the Eastern Conference. Orlando, they've won five out of seven. Meanwhile, Philadelphia has lost five out of seven, including four straight before getting off the schneide yesterday against Minnesota. I don't know. I feel like as soon as I started having a little confidence in the 76ers is definitely when it turned for them. But if Embiid's not going to play, they've become a little bit too reliant on him. He definitely helps out Maxi. The way he's setting screens this year has been really important for Tyrese to get into his game, and he just feels a little overtaxed at times. And it was weird because at the start of the season, I was like, here's how we're playing Maxi, Edgecombe. We'll see what Embiid gives us. Then Embiid started giving him a ton. Started playing at an all star level, and it's like, all right, we got our guys. Now they don't have their guys. And Maxi seems a little bit lost to me, though. Like I said, he was awesome against the Timberwolves yesterday. So there is still hope, I guess, that Embiid comes back, that Maxi regains form. But the past month has kind of been disgusting for Philadelphia.

[Trey]

Yeah, we would have been fighting over this. Philadelphia 76ers as a selection for loser of the Weekend if they didn't get that quality win yesterday with Maxi going nuts and Edgecombe scoring and beating the Minnesota Timberwolves, but at least got that. But I hear all your points there and the main concern is just like the embedded it all. It's like, man, we Just got excited. Oh, man. We were trying not to look at it. We're trying not to talk about it too much.

[Brett]

Try not to talk about it.

[Trey]

Honestly, it's like, it's like a, you know, a pitcher with a no hitter going through six or seven. Like, yeah, just don't say anything. Don't bring it up. Don't jinx it. And it's like we were almost oddly doing that with him. And then he's out here

[Brett]

and maybe, maybe he's coming back. But when you call it knee management, anion soreness, it just seems like there's too many things going on. There it is back to the old. Okay, here we are. It's Joel Embiid not playing again. Now, I went to go check if our friend Daryl Morey was on the rights to Ricky Sanchez podcast. No, he wasn't on. He wouldn't. I guess he didn't want to tell any talk. He just didn't want to talk. Maybe nobody wants to talk about Joel and be.

[Trey]

I think Jake Fisher was on that one. Nice. Yeah.

[Brett]

Yep. Jake Fisher was. Yep, that's correct.

[Trey]

I saw him sitting in the background of a photo. So there was a photo taken, the rights to Sanchez, and it was the guys. It was the guys that do the show. And then in the background, off to the side, I saw Jake. I'm like, that's Jake Fisher's mustache. You spot that from a mile away. I was like, oh, he must be on.

[Brett]

Yeah. Now, they did talk about. They did talk about Mori. So I guess there was some stories there. More stories, more stories. Are they saving Joan B. For the playoffs? I mean, I don't. Who knows? But it is a good sign, I guess, that he could be playing, but maybe they're just slowing him down for the postseason. But it is a lot on Maxi and it's a lot on those podcasters out there that look at. Have to look at Joel Embiid and say, oh, gosh, here we go again. And I did want to say one thing about Fred Van Vliet, because I'm checking who's on every single podcast out there. Rich Paul was the latest guest on Fred Van Vliet six days ago. So he's still potting.

[Trey]

So just a once a week type pod.

[Brett]

It looks like. It looks like once a week. Yes.

[Trey]

Okay.

[Tas Melis]

But I.

[Trey]

That's okay. As long as he's staying consistent with this once a week schedule.

[Brett]

About once a week. See, the schedule wasn't a hard schedule. We had the 23rd of January, 27th of January Whoa, this guy's potting a lot. Then the 5th of February and then 17th. So you know All Star break. Yeah, All Star break.

[Tas Melis]

That's an excuse, man.

[Brett]

You could have had one on February 12. Anyway, Rich Paul talks about building from nothing in podcasting. Okay, cool.

[Trey]

Okay, what's.

[Tas Melis]

What's Rich Paul's podcast called? I don't know.

[Trey]

With Max? I don't know. Yeah, it's really tough to remember what these are called.

[Tas Melis]

I did look up Fred's Friends is called Unguarded.

[Trey]

Oh, wow. I wasn't even close to close with the bet on yourself.

[Tas Melis]

Yeah, well, that's a good name though too. Here's a segue for you. All players do podcasts these days. Remember when they made rap songs?

[Trey]

Yes.

[Tas Melis]

Remember when NBA players wanted to be rappers instead of just podcasters? Well, here's something I do like about the Philadelphia 76ers. Kelly Oubre released a song called Fast and Furious.

[Brett]

Really?

[Tas Melis]

There's a lyric in it that goes, I think I'm Vin Diesel when I'm trying to get ass. Rest in peace, Paul Walker, I think you are my dad.

[Trey]

Oh, my God.

[Brett]

What?

[Tas Melis]

Literal. Literal Kelly Oubre lyrics.

[Trey]

Wow.

[Tas Melis]

The song isn't bad.

[Trey]

I'm not gonna listen to that. Well, I mean, come on. You're not gonna put it on your.

[Tas Melis]

I'm not gonna listen to it a second time. But I did listen to it a first time because I saw an infographic telling me about that lyric. I was like, there's no way. So I listen through and he said it. Rest in peace, Paul Walker, I think you are my dad.

[Trey]

Yeah.

[Tas Melis]

Wow.

[Trey]

Max Kellerman and Rich Paul's podcast, Game Over.

[Tas Melis]

Okay, yes, that's good.

[Trey]

Yeah, game over with those guys.

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[Trey]

where are we? Jesus. What do you have for a loser

[Brett]

well, it's those Timberwolves. Yeah, because that. That was very disappointing. Super disappointing. They fell flat, just flat. They could have vaulted to third in the Western Conference with a win. Instead that first quarter. Listen, okay, they. They go into the game, we don't have Rudy Gobert. He's suspended because of a flagrant foul. That's how many you got. You gotta be suspended. Rudy. Gabe. They also had no Nas Reed. So for the first time in his young career and his rookie season, Joanne Baron J is starting at center. They don't have Joel Embiid on the other side, but really this was just a falling apart. They. They were relying a lot on Anthony Edwards in this game. And end of the first quarter, Anthony Edwards in his second run just started to fall apart a little bit. The guy had the balls kind of slipping out of his hands several times here. He had seven turnovers in this game. That's when it started. And the Wolves just can't put teams away. That really has nothing to do with you on Beringer. I just thought that this team was allowing way too many offensive rebounds. The Sixers had 31% of their misses rebounded. And that's really what it comes down to. And the, the sloppy turnovers. You know, Minnesota had 20 turnovers. Philly had 21 points off those turnovers. So you can look at Max Maxi, you know, got it going. 39 points. He looked great. Edgecombe, six threes, the most of his rookie season in a game. But really they just fell apart. And so you gotta fight.

[Tas Melis]

You gotta fight.

[Brett]

And we know that this team, even if there's no Joel Embiid on the other side, we know, we know that this team will do that against sub 500 teams. I think they were something like 8 and 8 in their last 16. And that's where they are. That's the Timberwolves for you. Yeah, yeah, that's where they are.

[Trey]

Yeah. Rudy Gobert was serving that one game suspension for accumulating too many flagrant fouls. That's where he's at. And that's something to watch going forward. I think he's suspended two games for each additional flagrant foul this season. So it's not like it's done and it resets to zero.

[Brett]

Yeah. And Nas was injured.

[Trey]

They miss him. I mean, they miss Rudy Gobert. They just. They're not good defensively without him at all.

[Brett]

Yeah, yeah, that's true.

[Trey]

It is. Yeah.

[Tas Melis]

I mean, got two fouls in the first four minutes and he was their only big man. That was available at all. And Philadelphia kind of understood the assignment. They're like, there's no big in there. Let's go make a ton of layups. And part of it I thought was Philadelphia like making a concerted effort to get to the rim, but also just not much defensive resistance. I thought from Minnesota, if Philadelphia moved the ball for two or three passes, they were going to get a layup pretty easily or a kick out for an open 3. Edgecombe shot it well. Maxi shot it well. Grimes had an awesome game in this one. But I think afterwards the Timberwolves were saying we played like we were entitled. And they did. And that happens a lot with this team. And it comes from the top. Like Edwards gets taken out of these games too easy. They were throwing some doubles at him. He was brutal. Three assists to seven turnovers. He's taken a step back, I think, as a playmaker this year as he's kind of stepped forward even more as a scorer. But they need somebody to play make for this team. Randall is their most natural playmaker and that's a real dice roll proposition, I think, for, for them. So Minnesota to me is just so, so inconsistent. Effort wise and execution wise almost every single game.

[Brett]

Yeah. Can't deny it. Yeah. The fighting for the boards. I think even if they don't have both Gobert and Nasrid, you, Julius Randall and Jaden McDaniels could have done a better job guarding. And yes, you on Berger. He goes to the bench, three fouls immediately. Literally doesn't start the second half.

[Trey]

Yeah.

[Brett]

And they said, they said, well, we're going smaller because we don't trust you.

[Trey]

Yo.

[Brett]

And Baron J, you're too young in Baron J. So that's. Yeah, that's their excuse. But still, we've seen this from the Wolves before.

[Trey]

Few other potential losers of the NBA weekend gotta show some love to the Kings, who extended their franchise record losing streak to 16 straight games now. And DeAndre Hunter became the third King starter to undergo season ending surgery. He's getting surgery done on his eye. So that's three starters gone for the rest of it. And you know, they just can't win at all here. I'm wondering, is this the last we're going to see of Doug Christie as a head coach for the Kings? Not like it's all his fault, but I mean he was supposed to be like sort of this hard nosed, sort of defensive minded coach. And they've been the worst defense in the league over the last couple weeks. They're near the bottom for the entire season, I think they're like 27th, 28th, so I don't know. Does he get another chance when they like flush this season down the toilet? I, I don't know. I, I, I wouldn't, I wouldn't bet on it personally. I haven't, you know, been impressed by any means. It's like there are so many bad teams in this league. To have a 16 game losing streak is pretty wild.

[Tas Melis]

Yes.

[Trey]

Like, that's where I'm at with it no matter who's playing.

[Tas Melis]

I, I think he had a.500 record last season after taking over. I think you're right during the middle of the season. But it was a new, a new front office came in. Right. Scott Perry, if you've had that little tiny bit of success, like, I think it's worth giving him a year, but for this to be the year, there's no way they can bring him back.

[Trey]

I would think so. I wouldn't, I wouldn't.

[Tas Melis]

But yeah, especially since they got to bring back all the players, unfortunately.

[Brett]

Well, yeah, yeah, you can, you can say, okay, we're going to be a bad team defensively. Even if we got this hard nosed guy. It's ZACH Levine, it's DeMar DeRozan, it's demonstration when he's healthy and Russell Westbrook is starting, which probably shouldn't have happened in the first place, but offensively they can't be one of the worst teams. They shouldn't be.

[Trey]

It's bad, it's bad. Maxime Renault is good. That's the one good floater, man. He looks like the better of the two over the backboard between him and Clifford.

[Tas Melis]

Yes, he does.

[Trey]

Clifford's old too, right? Clifford is not impressed all that much here. Given some opportunity, the Suns have to be considered as a loser of the weekend. Even though they had a wild double overtime game winner from Jalen Green in the corner, falling down, splash that three. Despite having like a garbage game up into that point, he couldn't shoot the ball at all. But he hit a big shot there. Cool. Cambridge footage of people in the corner there in Phoenix, that was cool. But I say they're a loser because for a couple reasons. One, they lost Dylan Brooks to a broken left hand. That's bad. That guy is so important to this team. He's gone. Devin Booker's out for at least one week of action. You know, we were there in Austin when we saw him obviously play in that game against the spurs for a little bit, but then something was happening. We were like, where is he? Why Is he not on the bench? He played limited minutes because he got banged up. So he's out. And then Phoenix hosted the Blazers on Sunday night. You know, they are feeling pretty good after that miraculous double overtime victory. But they shot 37% from the field and scored 77 points.

[Tas Melis]

Yeah, that's low.

[Trey]

The Blazers went from, from giving up 157 points again to the Nuggets to then only giving up 77 points. Kevin Pelton's like, that has to be the biggest swing in NBA history between two games. That's an 80 point swing. That is unbelievable. But yeah, the sun's here. That's, this is just like these injuries suck here. And the only good news for them, I guess is the four teams ahead of them in the standings. They did all lose. The Nuggets, the Rockets, the Lakers and the Wolves. So you know, he didn't really lose a ton of ground there, losing that one or getting shellacked here by the Blazer. But I hate the Dylan Brooks of it all.

[Brett]

Yeah, but both are key guys, as you said. Devin Booker reevaluated in a week. Dylan Brooks, it's not clear how long he's going to be out.

[Trey]

It's a broken hand. It's his left hand.

[Brett]

I mean you hear that and you think, okay, it's going to be a long time. It will be several games. But they're sort of just, they're still contemplating what they're going to do with that hand.

[Trey]

Yeah, yeah.

[Brett]

So I think they could be, they could be back. I don't know. I, I, I don't know when he's come back. But look, doesn't seem we've super long

[Trey]

this team though up close and personal when they are missing let's say Brooks and then of course Booker. And it is, it's brutal. It's brutal. It's so bad. You know your boy Gillespie can do only do so much. Jalen Green is, he's going fire away.

[Tas Melis]

I think he went 6 for 26.

[Trey]

He did.

[Tas Melis]

But he was 5 for 25 before that jumper to win it.

[Brett]

He was making the right pass.

[Trey]

Another shot big before that. Here you go.

[Brett]

Here you go, Grayson. Here you go, Grayson. Grayson was canning them.

[Trey]

Yeah. They just going to struggle offensively.

[Brett]

Yeah.

[Trey]

And then finally the Lakers to go back to them. They could not be good teams at all. And they got crushed by the Celtics. And this is their big three are playing here and it was embarrassing. 111, 89 and they continue to just have this brutal record against the good teams in the league and they have a negative net rating despite having a positive win record, which is again wild. You know, it's so funny you compare them to like the Celtics if you want to. In a weird way, like, oh, these are like down years for us, I guess. So to speak. Right. That's how they're pitching it. But the Celtics are playing above their heads like obviously maybe Tatum comes back, they could win a title or at least compete. And the Lakers keep sort of saying, ah, this is sort of a down here to here because we've had the injuries and we're moving forward with Luca after getting acquiring him. And it's like there's no. There's just little effort. It's a terribly constructed team with your star guys too. There's not those dogs really to put around them.

[Tas Melis]

It's actually pretty surprising how shallow the Lakers are, I think considering they have three stars at the top of the roster. And coming into the season it was like everybody knew what they needed needed to do to build around the team. They need a rim runner, they need defense, they need three point shooting. And they don't have any of those three things which are what you need to build around a LUCA team. But it is a transition year for them. They're like, see you LeBron. We got to play out this last year. We'll put up a Pat Riley statue. We'll do all the other fun stuff to make the team still famous, but really reorient the team going forward and use their picks and cap space and stuff coming this next season. But yeah, I think still a disappointing season for the Lakers.

[Brett]

Yeah, especially defensively. I mean they're, you know, close to top 10 offense. Kind of getting it done with all these working parts around those guys who are also injured. There's that part, but just the defensively trying. Trying to center your defense around DeAndre and ain't working. Nothing's working really. As much as JJ Redick is pushing them, I want to throw in a couple other quick losers. Zachary Reese has moved to the bench. That's first since he came into the league at the beginning of his career. Those first two games of his career in 24 as a number one pick were his only games on the bench. Then he gets put in the starting lineup and he just has not been what Quinn Snyder expects, which is understandable. He hasn't been playing hard enough, he hasn't been born hard enough and he's just hasn't excelled. So that's something to watch there in Atlanta. Also another weird one. The Washington Wizards played the Charlotte Hornets. It's this Wizards broadcast was surprising to me. At the end of the game, you know how you do a sponsored segment? A drive of the game brought to you by Honda. Their drive of the game was Christian and Scooby. Their halftime show. It was specifically Scooby and like a really quick shot of Scooby the dog running with a ball in his mouth and dunking. That was his drive of the game. Drive of game. The game, yeah. Weird.

[Tas Melis]

Wow.

[Brett]

They couldn't pick one drive.

[Trey]

Maybe they didn't have one.

[Brett]

They didn't have one drive. Now, I didn't go back and watch the tape, but there's got to be a better one than the Scoob.

[Trey]

That's pretty funny.

[Brett]

Yeah, they. They just like, screw it. We're putting the Scooby on here. We're losing to the Hornets.

[Tas Melis]

It's pretty funny, actually.

[Trey]

Good for Scoobs, Dad. I think he's deserving. All right, well, bite will. Bite of the night. Sponsored by Little Ripper, a cafe in la. Not something I just did in my seat here. It's a mom and pop neighborhood cafe with a slice of Australia. It does coffee, homemade treats, cocktails, breakfast and dinner. This does it all. And they're even sending no dunks. Some beans.

[Brett]

Absolutely.

[Trey]

Some coffee beans.

[Brett]

We got a lighter roast coming. We got medium darker roasts coming.

[Trey]

All right, shout out to Little Ripper. Go check out that cafe in la.

[Brett]

It's got a hometown feel. That's what I've heard.

[Trey]

Okay.

[Tas Melis]

Banoffee pie.

[Trey]

I was wondering that, right? Yeah.

[Tas Melis]

Yeah, you would think so.

[Brett]

You'd think so.

[Trey]

Australian retreat. Yeah. Well, the woah boy goes to jokic, who had 35 points, 20 rebounds and 12 assists. But it wasn't enough as the Nuggets fell out of the Warriors. 128, 117. He shot 11 of 21 from the field, 3 of 4 from deep, 10 of 11 at the line. He also had three steals and two blocks in 36 minutes, but it's a pretty good. Whoa, boy. There something going around, like those type of stats, those benchmarks. I don't know. It's only happened like 10 times in the past. Whatever. Couple years, maybe even longer. And he has like six of them of the ten.

[Tas Melis]

I believe it.

[Trey]

Yeah.

[Brett]

Yeah.

[Trey]

It's big beef there.

[Tas Melis]

That's a lot of roast beef.

[Trey]

You think Little Ripper sells roast beef?

[Tas Melis]

I'm. I think no.

[Trey]

I say no.

[Tas Melis]

That would be a weird inclusion.

[Brett]

Jokic looks really big. Speaking of big beef, he looks large in that photo, you just.

[Trey]

Big ripper.

[Brett]

It looks wide. Yeah. He's got an under shirt, I guess. Yeah, that's what he looks like.

[Trey]

Pick him tonight. Only three games on tonight and there's really only one good game test.

[Brett]

Right.

[Trey]

So it was very easy to pick what our pick him was.

[Brett]

It was. We got five nights remaining here to see who's gonna do something stupid because that's how we do things in our pick and payoff. It's a fairly close race and it was an easy pick. Yeah. The spurs are visiting the Detroit Pistons.

[Trey]

Oh, yeah. I'm excited for this.

[Brett]

Yeah. Pistons favor by one and a half. But it's basically a pick them. Skeets and I are on the Pistons. Spurs going to Trey. Trey, you like the spurs in this one?

[Tas Melis]

They're rolling.

[Brett]

Yeah, they are rolling.

[Trey]

Yeah.

[Brett]

Yeah. It's a coin flip, but it's a tough pick.

[Trey]

It was nice to see Jaylen Duran back, though, and he had a monster game over the weekend. So obviously he'll be in the lineup here and try and help and contain Wemby. But, yeah, let's hope this is an entertaining game and a close one because again, not a lot of games on tonight, but these are Two of the NBA's best stories here facing off in prime time.

[Tas Melis]

Finals preview.

[Brett]

It's going to feel like 2000.

[Trey]

Extremely unlikely, but, man.

[Brett]

Yeah, why not?

[Trey]

As we talked about.

[Brett]

But on Friday, why not?

[Trey]

Okay, that's. That's our pickup. T and I with Detroit. Trey has a Spurs tomorrow here on no dunks. Ben Gulliver is going to join us. We'll have him on for a while, talking, I'm sure, about that game and other things happening in the NBA. Get his take on all of the big storylines. So if you got a question for Ben Gulliver, let us know. Drop it in the YouTube comments. Can't wait to talk to Ben. It's been a while.

[Tas Melis]

Not since the bubble.

[Trey]

I was just gonna say that. Is that right?

[Tas Melis]

I think so. He was showing us his. Make like a Lamborghini.

[Trey]

Yeah.

[Tas Melis]

Lego Lambo. He had an Oura ring.

[Trey]

He did.

[Tas Melis]

I knew that. Had an Oura ring.

[Trey]

Yeah. He wrote the book on the bubble, didn't he? I have that book. It's a great book. The book on the bubble. Yeah.

[Tas Melis]

Bubble Ben. Big Ben Gulliver's travels. What nickname you think we're go with for him?

[Trey]

I like them all. Yeah, Well, I like how he has like three. He's known for like three other things. You said the Lego, for sure. Yep. He is a guy that knows and does all the national parks. When I'm going to one, I always check in with him and he collects magnets at an unbelievable pace. Like, I'm a one magnet for one place type of guy. Got one in Austin, this guy, he goes to a national park, he'll leave with like eight magnets. Different ones, obviously, he must have it. My point is, I have an incredible magnet collection. Nothing compared to Ben Gulliver. So I am calling him Magnet Man. All right.

[Tas Melis]

I mean, we gotta ask him, how do you store all those magnets?

[Trey]

I know, I know.

[Tas Melis]

One fridge, rotate them.

[Trey]

I mean, you've seen what I've done. I have a magnet board in the guest room to sort of display them or whatever. So they're not just sitting in a bag and we don't have any. Anything on our fridge. So bag of mags. But what does he have? He might have a whole room. Does he have a magnet room?

[Tas Melis]

A magnet layer? Tune in tomorrow for answers to these questions and more.

[Trey]

Ben Gulliver. Can't wait to talk to him here on no Dunks. Until then, Clipper Bros, you heard it here first.

[Tas Melis]

Have a great time. Turn up.

[Trey]

Love you guys.

[Brett]

Awesome. Thanks for joining us. And remember, basketball players are poets too. Maybe they're replacing rap songs with poetry. Because the Indiana Pacers, Jay Huff, he had two reverse dunks versus the Wizards. And then he wrote a poem about him. He wrote a haiku about him. I will jump very high. I will spin as fast as I can. I'll throw down a reverse. But then the Wizards. Will Riley punched a dunk on Huff right after that. And then he wrote a poem about them. I will huff very hard. I will puff very, very, very hard. I'll throw your house down. Those two poems did not happen, but they did just now. Because I wrote them this weekend. I thought, I'm gonna. I'm gonna. I'm gonna say them or am I gonna sub stack them now? Nobody wants to read that. Does anybody hear that? So either way, Will Riley. What a punch down on the hu.

[Tas Melis]

Punch down a laugh, man.

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