NBA Weekend Winners & Losers | Scrappy Warriors, Jalen 'Big' Johnson, Franz Wagner's Leg Injury

Summary

No Dunks Podcast — Episode Summary

NBA Weekend Winners & Losers | Scrappy Warriors, Jalen 'Big' Johnson, Franz Wagner's Leg Injury

Date: December 8, 2025
Hosts: Skeets, Tas, Trey, JD

Main Theme & Purpose

This episode of No Dunks recaps the standout NBA storylines and performances from the weekend, using the podcast’s signature “Winners & Losers” format. The crew discusses impressive runs by shorthanded teams, breakout performers like Jalen Johnson, milestones for NBA stars, and notable mishaps—blending in stats, hot takes, and plenty of humor.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Golden State Warriors: Surviving & Thriving Without Steph Curry

[03:35]

• Tas: The Warriors won two games this weekend—without Steph Curry—and several other key players. They beat both the Cavs and Bulls by relying on depth and defensive intensity.
  • “The Golden State Warriors are surviving without Steph Curry right now. They won two games without him this weekend on a back to back … they don’t have Steph … but they got depth, they got people chipping in.” [03:35]
• Pat Spencer and Brandon Podziemski got spotlighted for their movement, hustle, and surprising offensive contributions.
  • Spencer’s catchphrase: “I’m a mother—er,” [05:08] dropped after clutch threes, is catching on.
• Jonathan Kuminga benched due to poor isolation play; Draymond Green seen coaching him up on the bench.
• Trey: Pointed out the Warriors’ elite recent defense: “They’ve held their opponents under 100 points in four of the last five games.” [07:58]
• Joking about team’s “Browntown” style jerseys and calling Pat Spencer a “full namer”—“He doesn’t look like a murderer. He looks like a cop.” [07:29]
• Trade eligibility of Kuminga: “He’s long gone. That’s what Draymond’s whispering in his ear: keep your trade value up because you’re getting shipped out for sure.” [08:51]

---

2. Boston Celtics: The Hottest Team (Non-OKC Division)

[10:19]

• Trey: Boston has won 5 straight, 7 of their last 8, climbing to 3rd in the East. Achieving this without Jayson Tatum, Horford, Drew Holiday, and Porzingis.
• Their success comes from elite three-point shooting:
  • “It’s by making three-pointers—20 against Toronto, 24 against the Lakers. Third straight games with 20 or more made threes.” [11:45]
• Derrick White and Peyton Pritchard have stepped up with increased scoring and efficiency.
• Jordan Walsh’s energy and defense have given the team extra possessions and set the tone.
  • “Just does the dirty work. … His scrappiness has been big-time for Boston.” [11:56]
• Celtics going small, creative lineups from Joe Mazzulla.
• Task: “Jordan Walsh, I think from the get go, just had this Boston Celtics team clicking and fighting and scrapping.” [13:04]
• Discussion of Raptors’ struggles and injury concerns.
• Skeets: Highlights Celtics’ resilience despite turnover:
  • “They have a great record. I think a lot of people thought that record would be flipped at this point.” [14:20]

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3. OKC Thunder: Historically Hot Start

[16:36]

• Won 15 straight, now 23-1, third team in NBA history to start 23-1.
• “They could be a winners of the weekend every Monday here on No Dunks.” [16:36]

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4. Jalen ‘Big’ Johnson’s Ascension in Atlanta

[20:18]

• Skeets: Jalen Johnson notched back-to-back triple-doubles; his 11/10/12 in the 1st half Friday was 2nd fastest triple-double in NBA history.
  • “Took him like 16 minutes and 44 seconds. Only guy to do ever faster… Jokic.” [20:54]
• Saturday: 30/12/12 in a win, shooting efficiently.
• Sixth career triple-double, moving up Hawks all-time ranks.
  • Historical notes: Only Hawk with more triple-doubles is Mookie Blaylock (7).
• Crew blinds ranks the All-Star Jalens of the East (Brunson, Brown, Johnson, Duren).
• Trey: On Johnson: “He’s averaging 23, 11 and 8. Shooting splits are unreal at this point.” [23:49]
• Hawks have several players in career-best shooting form.
• Skeets: Regrets from the Charlotte Hornets’ draft:
  • “Would have been a nice addition to a Hornets team that could have used some talent…” [27:11]

---

5. Memphis Grizzlies & Cedric Coward’s Emergence

[27:59]

• Task & Trey: Rookie Cedric Coward praised for rugged, mature play, making an immediate impact as a starter.
  • “He can slice through little gaps, dribbling through. He can spin through. He can shoot over at times…” [28:29]
• Grizzlies winning 5 of 6, moving up play-in contention.
• Zach Edey’s return highlighted as stabilizing force in the interior.

---

6. Minnesota Timberwolves: ID’d by Nas Reid’s Game Winner [31:39]

• Trey: Nas Reid hit clutch shots, had 14 points in 4th against the Clippers, pushing Minnesota to 5 straight wins.
  • “Get your towels out, we’re going surfing with Nas Reid…” [31:41]
• Pointed out McDaniels’ offensive leap and Edwards’ struggles with increased defensive attention.
• Wolves’ defense remains strong, room to improve on offense.

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7. New York Knicks: The Only “Cup-Ready” East Team [34:08]

• Skeets: Knicks stand out among Eastern Conference NBA Cup teams, only one playing well.
  • Dominant 23-0 start versus Jazz Friday, largest opening run since 1997.
  • OG Anunoby returns, Josh Hart shines.
• Viral/fun moments:
  • Mitchell Robinson plugging his TikTok: “You like trucks? Come follow me.” [36:11]
  • Josh Hart hands his child to Robinson live on TV: “I’m not babysitting here.” [36:19]
  • Walt Clyde Frazier’s mystified interview with “the Rizzler.”
• Trey:
  • “OG Anunoby is their key player because he unlocks the best version of the Knicks … and he makes plays defensively. … So when he plays, they look like they’re supposed to look.” [38:50]

---

NBA Weekend Losers

1. Franz Wagner & the Orlando Magic

[43:22]

• Trey: Wagner suffered an ugly leg injury after a hard fall; he’s expected to miss significant time.
  • “Ugly looking injury for Franz Wagner. The way he grabbed his leg instantly … Limped off the court, being held by Mo and another teammate. It was just bad.” [44:11]
• Bad timing: Magic had just gotten Paolo Banchero back; Franz was leading team in scoring and heading toward All-Star status.
• Magic will need Paolo to return to primary scoring role.

---

2. Portland Trail Blazers & Chauncey Billups

[49:28]

• Task: Billups sold his house; indicators suggest he won’t return to coaching Blazers amidst ongoing legal case.
  • “It looks like he ain’t coming back to the Portland Trail Blazers. It sure feels that way.” [49:28]
• Trey critiques the Blazers’ lack of progress: “They never had a winning record when he was there … still going to need to upgrade on the talent side of things.” [51:46]

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3. Statisticians—Burdened by Milestones [55:28]

Skeets:

• Kevin Durant becomes 8th player to reach 31,000 points; Harden enters top 10 all-time scoring, passes Carmelo; Westbrook moves up to 17th.
• “These guys and gals, they must be pulling their hair out every time they make the list. It’s like, oh, God damn it, gotta change it again.” [55:28]

James Harden’s Influence

• Trey:
  • “James Harden is the second most influential player of his generation. Number one, Steph Curry.” [57:35]
  • Harden’s stepback, foul-drawing, and “unguardability” cited as shaping the modern guard archetype.

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4. NBA Miscellaneous Losers

• Utah’s Smoke Machine Mishap (arena clouded with fog, [61:38])
• Washington’s Cam Whitmore getting a DNP-CD and being compared to Cam Reddish (“Fajitas” as a new nickname).

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “I'm a mother—er” — Pat Spencer, on finding his NBA confidence [05:08]
• “You gotta call him full name. Pat Spencer. He doesn’t look like a murderer. He looks like a cop.” — Trey [07:29]
• “He’s a legit kid, just with a lot of charisma. Twizzlers.” — Skeets, on The Rizzler [41:10]
• “OG Anunoby is their key player because he unlocks the best version of the Knicks.” — Trey [38:50]
• “Ugly looking injury for Franz Wagner. … It was just bad.” — Trey [44:11]

---

Notable Timestamps

• [03:35] — Warriors’ shorthanded success, Pat Spencer ascendance
• [10:19] — Celtics’ offensive surge, Jordan Walsh’s impact
• [16:36] — OKC Thunder’s historic win streak
• [20:18] — Jalen Johnson’s back-to-back triple-doubles, Hawks history
• [27:59] — Cedric Coward’s emergence in Memphis
• [31:39] — Timberwolves’ comeback, Nas Reid’s heroics
• [34:08] — Knicks’ dominant and fun weekend, viral bench moments
• [43:22] — Franz Wagner’s injury & impact on Magic
• [49:28] — Billups sells house, Blazers’ coaching future
• [55:28] — Scoring leaks: KD, Harden, Westbrook climbing all-time ranks
• [57:35] — Harden’s stylistic influence discussed

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Overall Tone & Style

The pod mixes serious analysis, deep NBA knowledge, and irreverent humor. The hosts riff on funny moments, provide stats, react with genuine fan energy, and never shy from some inside jokes or trivia.

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Conclusion

No Dunks delivers another rapid-fire, info-packed Monday recap—highlighting surging teams like the Celtics, Timberwolves, and Knicks, marveling at Jalen Johnson’s star turn, and lamenting injury and off-court woes. The episode is a smorgasbord of NBA goodness, embracing both hard stats and viral moments, all with the hosts’ signature camaraderie.

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For more NBA recaps, debates, and deep dives, subscribe to No Dunks and join the sweet world!

Transcript

[Task]

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[Skeets]

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[Trey]

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

[Skeets]

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[Task]

Ugh.

[Trey]

Stressing me out. Why are the people I love so.

[Task]

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[Skeets]

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[Skeets]

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[Task]

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[Trey]

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[Skeets]

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[Trey]

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[Skeets]

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Good morning, sweet world, and welcome to the no Dunks podcast presented by FanDuel. It's Monday, December 8th, 2025. I'm Jay Skeets here in the now very festive classic Factory. And alongside me as always, Tasmilas.

[Task]

Here we go. Stream team and podcasters.

[Skeets]

Next to him is my top shot hot boy, Trey Kirby. Hey, hey, yo. And over yonder, making the magic happen, super producer jd. Hello. There he is. Here we are. Got the tree up, got the lights up, the stockings are hung. Got the funky leg table. I mean leg lamp on a table. Feels good in here. Holiday season is upon us.

[Task]

There's freaking snow on the monitors.

[Skeets]

Yeah, it's a nice touch, J.D. very nice.

[Task]

Can you believe it in the south, girl?

[Trey]

Snow on the monitors.

[Skeets]

If you like what you see here on YouTube, hit the like button. Subscribe. Share the show. Podcast listeners, come on over to see it and then leave us a five star rating and review on the podcast of your choice. Lots to talk about. Because it's a Monday, we do weekend winners and losers. It's the best recap pod in the game. But first we had a wedgie. And we go back to Friday night and it was Bryce Sensiba with a three point wedgie from the quarter. I think he's got one of the coolest nicknames or excuse me, names in the league. Bryce Sensiba. What a name. Sensational Sensiba. No, Sensible Sensiba. Yes.

[Trey]

You've heard of Curious Mike? How about Sensible Bryce?

[Skeets]

So we are up to 19 wedgies now on the year, on pace for 57. So good stuff there from Sensible.

[Task]

They're down 30 to 6 when he let that rip. Yeah, I gotta say, that's the first ever wedgie to be down 30 to 6 before. Probably just guessing.

[Skeets]

Yeah. Well, we'll get to the Knicks in a little bit here. They had a great weekend.

Start with you task. Who's your big winner of the weekend?

[Task]

Well, the Golden State warriors are surviving without Steph Curry right now. They won two games without him this weekend on a back to back. They go into Cleveland, they don't have Steph, they don't have Draymond, they don't have Jimmy, they don't have Al Horford. But they got depth, they got people chipping in. So those guys who realize what their jobs are, what's your job? You really have to keep that ball moving. You gotta hustle, you gotta play freaking defense. And that happened against Cleveland, who's struggling in some ways for sure. But one guy who isn't is Donvan Mitchell. And I think they did a good job on him, holding him to eight points in that first half. When they got out to that lead, they held Cleveland overall to just 34% shooting. And we gotta highlight Pat Spencer, who got his first start of the season in that game. Who knows his job. As I said, he keeps that ball moving, he never stops his dribble and he keeps on hustling. It's not quite Steph, you know, check the mileage on how many miles he ran. But he keeps going and he will just relocate all the time. And he led the team in scoring. He had consecutive threes at a key time in the fourth quarter and he dropped the I'm a mother, as he says now. I was.

[Skeets]

I was wrong catchphrase.

[Task]

Yeah, I was wrong in the previous game when I said he looks like he killed somebody in a horror movie. Now, not that I was wrong about that, but I just didn't know exactly what he said. I should have checked the lips. And what he said he says. Every time he says I'm a Steve Kernel saying it. Yeah, I guess that's the new I'm him, but we're swearing, I guess.

[Skeets]

Explicit version of him.

[Task]

But he does. He does a great job. Again, he had that previous one in. In Philadelphia with one minute left with that three. And then Steve Kerr said, you're starting my man Brandon Pajemski. You're coming off the floor or coming off. Coming off the bench. And I thought, pods, even though he was not playing in the previous game in the fourth quarter, had a good one in this one and finished the game finally in this one, just playing his role. The guy who didn't have a good game was Jonathan Kaminga. He didn't play in the fourth quarter or to close the game again, a second game in a row in that Cleveland game. He took too many shots. Too many ISO shots. He was one of 10. And you could see even Pat Spencer at one point said just rotated, but he didn't. He went into that ISO mode, and that's why he was one of 10. And you could see there's clips of Draymond Green in his ear on the bench in the fourth quarter, trying to help him out, trying to be his guidance. But they're so confident. Was that me hitting that light or did it just drop?

[Skeets]

It just dropped.

[Task]

Oh, yeah. I thought. I was so excited talking about Pat Spencer, I might have thrown in an arm out there. But in the fourth quarter, literally, no Kuminga. No, it's fine. And then Kaminga didn't even play on the Sunday game against Chicago Bulls. They said dmpcd, you were sitting.

[Skeets]

Which is crazy. Cause they're down a lot of guys. Jimmy's back, but yeah, that is.

[Task]

Yeah, Jimmy comes back on Sunday. But yes, they're very short again. No drama, no Steph. Al doesn't even play anymore right now. Al Horford is injured, but Pods again off the bench. Pat Spencer, you're still starting. I thought it was a great game from him. 21 points, five threes supporting guys coming through. Danthony Melton on a steal. When it's a three on one. Yeah, Melton, you did it. But the warriors again, good defense against the Bulls. Trey, I don't know how much you want to get into this, but they're.

[Trey]

The worst team in the league right now.

[Task]

The worst team in the league?

[Trey]

Yeah. They've lost to all of the worst teams in the league in the past two weeks. Overall. Are they the worst team in the league? No. But the last two weeks Definitely the worst team in the league. This was a pathetic effort from the Bulls. I could have scored against V. Knew something, didn't he? He was 100% right. He's like, if we keep playing like this after beating the Wizards by one, we're going to lose every game. And since then, they've lost every game.

[Task]

Yeah, they're bad.

[Trey]

They're terrible. Yeah, they need Kaminga.

[Task]

No, they did not. So they sat him. They went to Browntown just like the Golden State Warriors. The Golden State warriors go to Browntown with their jerseys. That was my segue.

[Trey]

Yeah, brown jerseys.

[Task]

Do you like those?

[Trey]

I do like it, but it's weird because they played on the road against Cleveland and Cleveland was wearing like their throwback, LeBron era jerseys. And the warriors look like the home team. Yeah, they were matching the two tone court there, but it fits with Pat Spencer's face. That guy is an ultimate two namer. You got to call him full name. Pat Spencer. He doesn't look like a murderer. He looks. Well, I mean he. He looks like a cop.

[Task]

So.

Nice. Yeah, nice. I'll compliment that.

[Trey]

But he's been awesome. Pajemski has been good. I thought Quentin Post was good in both of these games for the Warriors. Like you said, the ball is moving, but they're basically winning on defense. I can't believe the warriors are second in the league in defensive rating. They've held their opponents under 100 points in four of the last five games. If you keep the scoring number that low, you don't need a whole bunch of offense. And they're getting just enough offense from the system really ticking. They're getting so many back cuts. Like G. Santos has been an important player for them because he's a never stop moving guy as well. They just feel like they're clicking right now. I think it's nice to get two wins on the road as well. I think they were 4 and 9 on the road coming into this weekend. Took care of business against a terrible Bulls team and a Cavs team that's really struggling right now. But they're playing right way, the right way. They're playing hard. And I mean, Kaminga is going to be on the team for another month, another week.

[Skeets]

Only a week.

[Task]

December 15th.

[Trey]

Available on the 15th of the January 15th. I don't remember. Whichever it is, he's long gone. And that's what Draymond's whispering in his ear. Keep your head up, man. Keep your trade value up because you're getting shipped out for sure. Because I mean his spot has been taken by Pat Spencer.

[Task]

Yeah, yeah. You literally have to have guys that move the ball and also play hard on defense and just not play isoball to get the most out of your offense. So you don't just try and shoot over guys. And that's what's happening. And yeah. GI Santos. I can't help but think of Anderson Verjao when I see him in his flowing hair. And you watched him against. Play against Cleveland. Who? Anderson Varajao. Played for both those teams in Golden State. And Cleveland couldn't help but think about Anderson Varejo. But those guys, you can name guys, they got him playing Kaminga.

[Skeets]

Trade eligible. January 15th.

[Trey]

Nice. Yes. Not.

[Skeets]

Not December 15th. So still a little while here. But yeah, all these other guys stepping up and, and taking his minutes and rightfully so, because they're delivering. Especially Pat Spencer is like what a what a couple days for him, man. He's on every like second Instagram reel I see. It's about Pat Spencer, which, because he's been amazing. He's got dropping the motherfucker. And then you get the backstory when people are learning like this guy was the best lacrosse player in the. In the country. And then. Yeah, what? And then became like a basketball player, fifth year of college, and then is now in the pros, contributing.

[Task]

So it's pretty funny, I guess you got to run playing lacrosse because watching Pat, hell yeah. He just keeps going.

[Skeets]

It's a big field.

[Task]

Keeps going. Yeah, it's a lot.

[Skeets]

All right, so the Warriors. Shorthanded warriors at that. A winner of the weekend. Who you got, Trey?

[Trey]

The hottest team in the league in the non Thunder division is the Boston Celtics. Five straight wins for them. They've won seven of their last eight up to third in the Eastern Conference. They smoked the Lakers on Friday. No Luka, no LeBron. So, you know, they took care of business and then held on against the Raptors. Weird game. Built a 23 point lead and blew it pretty much instantly. Almost gone by the end of the fourth quarter. Raptors came back, tied it and then Boston came back, held on to win. In the end, they won both these games basically the exact same way. It's by making three pointers, 20 against Toronto, 24 against the Lakers. That's their third straight games with 20 or more against made threes. And that was the Celtics that we kind of expected coming into the season they might not be very good on defense. You know, they don't have a defensive backbone that can really shut things down inside. They're Not a great defensive rebounding team. So sometimes their possessions last a long time. But they're making a whole bunch of three pointers now in the last 10 games. First in offense, 20th in defense. And it's kind of been Derek White and Peyton Pritchard, who are both really good against the Raptors, who have taken a step forward recently. 20 per game, 45 from the field, 38 from three on 10 attempts per game for Derrick White. In the last 10 games for the Celtics, Peyton Pritchard's gone for 18 a game, 36 from three on nine attempts. It was just a matter of time before those guys finally started making three pointers. Now that they are, the Celtics offense looks really, really good. I think Anthony Simons has kind of turned it up a little bit too in the last 10 games. He's like a 5040 guy. And ever since Jordan Walsh has stepped into the starting lineups, things are working 10 and 2 with him as a starter. Just does the dirty work. He plays defense, he blocks some shots here and there, which I think are kind of like surprising blocks. And then the offensive rebounding has been a huge boon for the Celtics, getting him extra possessions and giving him more shots on the offensive end. And when you're shooting that well, a lot of them come after offensive rebounds. So his scrappiness, I think, has been big time for Boston.

[Task]

Yeah, I thought, I thought their defense came out because of him with just this grit and that's who he is. And that's why the Raptors had to come back with their two way players. They went deep. They went 12 deep in this game. Should have stuck with them with A.J.

[Skeets]

Lawson and I mean, all those guys got them back in the game. And Darko went back, as you probably would, to like, your quicklies and your pearls, and they got exposed once again just like they did in the first half. Yeah, Pearl can't move. I think he must wake up, like because of a back issue and be like, some days it's like tight, can't move at all. Other days maybe it's better. And then quickly it's just not a great defensive player and the Celtics know that. And they just put him in every type of action. He got exposed, those two, I thought. But then they got back in the game with the scrappiness of the. Of the two way guys. And then they went back to the starters.

[Task]

Yeah, it's a little scary with Jakob Hurdle because he's important to them. The screen assists are up. He plays hard, but he just signed this monstrous contract extension. I use the word monstrous a lot. I know people are out there after me. I use the word frickin a lot. But that is a, a big contract for a guy who's looking physically troubled with his back. And he's 30 now, so that's a little bit scary. But Jordan Walsh, I think from the get go, just had this Boston Celtics team clicking and fighting and scrapping. And so that's why Darko said, okay, we're, we're going deep. A.J. martin, A.J. lawson, excuse me, Elijah Martin. And Ochai Abagi was really, really good. He was chest bumping Dark or Yakovic in the third quarter. No joke. That's a, that's who got them back in this game. There's no doubt. But yeah, the worrisome part is here. If the Raptors hit this rut right before the NBA cup quarterfinals, they ain't looking right now. Maybe they're just. Everybody's using the. Oh, they, they played five games in seven nights, which is totally true. And Brandon Ingram and even Emmanuel Quickley and Scotty Barnes have played in every single game this season. Has it caught up to them? Maybe, maybe. But there's no excuse either way. They did fight back in this game.

[Skeets]

But it is wild that the Celtics have lost Tatum, they lost Al Horford, they traded Drew Holiday, they traded Kristaps Porzingis, and yet here they are 25 games in now and they're what, top five, top four offense in the league. That is, that is impressive. Like you said, the three point shooting has come around. And then all these other guys like Joe Missoula, like, they go small a lot, like Kata plays, he's their starting center. But then there's a lot of Walsh as their center. There's a lot of other guys filling in Minot even as their small wall center. So yeah, they're like, it's confusing some teams, I think, but they just play their ass off. They take on like the Persona of their coach. They're. They're very similar to their previous coach in Udoka and how the Rockets play. That's what the Celtics do. They take on Missoula sort of presence and his mindset and play their asses off. And they have a great record. I think a lot of people thought that record would be flipped at this point, but now they're top three, I think, in the Eastern Conference.

[Trey]

Yeah. And they lost.

Three games to the Sixers by right one session. They could have, I don't know what the actual first place in the Eastern Conference, I guess they would be really close. They would at least be second in the east if all of those flipped. But Boston is going to be tough the entire season. They know how to play. They know how to play. Together. They found their identity. And the Tatum thing is a question mark. Like, can he come back? He'll help. He won't be Jason Tatum, first team, all NBA right away, but he's a big dude. He helps with the rebounding. He's a playmaker. He'll draw eyes. He'll take some possessions away from.

Your Jordan Walshes out there. But I don't know. He wants to come back. Obviously. I'm still convinced that the first video they showed that got everybody hyped, I think they sped it up a little bit.

[Skeets]

Oh, interesting. Yeah.

[Trey]

I think it was like one point, like a 1.2 speed. Oh.

[Skeets]

Like me listening to Spotify podcast a little.

[Trey]

It looked a little glitchy to me.

[Skeets]

Oh, okay.

[Trey]

But I don't know. Be interesting to see him on the court and be interesting to see what Boston decides to do because they still are like a question mark as well from like a salary standpoint. Right. When they traded for Anthony Simons, it's like, will he be here this entire year? Will they make some sort of move if things are going poorly during the season? They're not going poorly. This is a good gap year for Boston and they might just try and roll out Tatum whenever it happens and take their chances in the playoffs because they've got the know how to win in the postseason.

[Task]

Yeah.

[Skeets]

Before I get to my winner of the weekend, my first one, let me just start by saying OKC down SGA and a bunch of other guys did win their 15th straight game in a 30 point win over the Jazz on Sunday. So they are now 23 and 1. They could be a winners of the weekend every Monday here on no dunks. They're the third team in NBA history to win at least 23 of their first 24 games. It's the 1970 Knicks started 23 and 1. And then of course, the team in Golden State 2016 warriors beginning 24. Zero. And we all know where we were the night the streak was snapped. Bernie Johnson's house.

[Trey]

He might be getting ready to have that party again.

[Skeets]

He might be.

[Task]

I don't know.

[Skeets]

Did we get the invite this year? I'm not sure.

[Task]

Celebrating the Bulldogs win this weekend.

[Skeets]

That's right. He's riding high. He's riding high. This is Matt Rogers from Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang.

[Trey]

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

[Skeets]

Hey, Bowen, it's gift season. Ugh.

[Trey]

Stressing me out.

[Skeets]

Why are all the people I love.

[Trey]

So hard to shop for like me?

[Skeets]

Exactly, honey. I'm easy.

[Trey]

But you're right.

[Skeets]

Holiday gifting is stressful.

[Trey]

And all the gift guides out there are boring and uninspired.

[Skeets]

Wait, what about the guide we made.

[Trey]

In partnership with Marshalls where premium gifts mean incredible value?

[Skeets]

It's Giving Gifts, a series of guides filled with premium gifts at great value for everyone on your list.

[Trey]

Yeah. Cause if I see one more for the dad who likes golf list, I'm out.

[Task]

Right?

[Skeets]

How about something for the people who actually surprise you with categories, like best.

[Trey]

Gifts for the mom whose idea of a sensible walking shoe is a stiletto. Psst. She wants a pair of stilettos.

[Skeets]

Or best gifts for me that were so thoughtful, I really shouldn't have dying.

[Trey]

To see what those are.

[Skeets]

And you won't believe their price.

[Trey]

Just wait till you see what else is in there. It's basically a one stop shop for everyone.

[Skeets]

You know, I started bookmarking half the list for myself.

[Trey]

Honestly, this is the guy for the 2025 holiday gifting season.

[Skeets]

Check out the guide on marshalls.com it's giving gifts.

[Trey]

Gift the good stuff at Marshalls.

[Skeets]

Hello.

[Task]

Hello.

[Skeets]

I'm Malcolm Gladwell, host of the podcast smart talks with IBM. I recently sat down with IBM's chairman and CEO Arvind Krishna, and I asked him, how can companies use AI to its fullest potential to create smarter business? My one advice to them, pick areas you can scale. Don't pick the shiny little toys on the side. For example, if anybody has more than 10% of what they had for customer service 10 years ago, they're already five years behind. If anybody is not using AI to make their developers who write software 30% more productive today with the goal of being 70% more productive.

[Task]

Yeah.

[Skeets]

So we are not asking our clients to be the first experiment on it. We say you can leverage what we did. We are happy to bring out all our learnings, including what needs to change in the process. Because the biggest change is not technology is getting people to accept that there's a different way to do things. To listen to the full conversation, visit IBM.com smarttalks.

[Task]

Limu Emu and Doug.

[Skeets]

Here we have the Limu Emu in its natural habitat, helping people customize their car insurance and save hundreds with Liberty Mutual.

[Task]

Fascinating. It's accompanied by his natural ally, Doug.

[Skeets]

Limu is that guy with the binoculars. Watching us cut the camera. They see us.

[Task]

Only pay for what you [e-mail] Liberty.

[Skeets]

Liberty, Liberty, Liberty Savings. Very underwritten by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company Affiliates. Excludes Massachusetts. So that's where OKC is. But my winner of the weekend, I think for the second or third weekend in a row, not by me, but by somebody here at this desk, Jalen Johnson has to be a winner of the weekend. Two games for the Hawks this weekend, two triple doubles for Jalen Johnson. Friday night, he registered a triple double in the first half. He had 11 points, 10 boards, 12 assists. It was the second fastest triple double in NBA history. Took him like 16 minutes and 44 seconds. The only guy to do ever faster in NBA history was the guy he was playing in, Jokic, who did it in two minutes faster. Way back in 2018, Jokic did it in like 14, 30 of game time. Had a triple double. That's. Remember that.

[Trey]

I mean, like, number of possession wise. That barely adds up to me.

[Skeets]

Mind blowing.

[Trey]

You gotta score 10 points and dish out 10 assists. Like, it's crazy how many possible possessions can there be in 14 minutes?

[Skeets]

Yep, it's a great point.

[Task]

16, I'd say.

I mean, a little while.

[Trey]

It's like 20 probably at the box.

[Task]

You know, the assists are the hard part, but I'm not surprising with that guy.

[Skeets]

No, no, it's. I bring that up because that's who Jalen Johnson, Hawks were playing on Friday night. They built a massive lead. Jalen Johnson, like I said, triple double in the first half in limited time. But then the Nuggets spoiled his big night because they come storming back and it was Jokic. Brutal first half, couldn't hit a shot. And in the second half, oh, man, he just put the Hawks in the basket. Somebody said he took him into the deep end of the pool, which I love that man because he is just, I'm bigger than all you guys. I'll back you up and do my little flip shot. So they come back. Great, entertaining game. Jokic finished with 40 points, nine boards, eight assists. Jamal Murray had a. I can't believe I'm going to say this. A phenomenal defensive stand at the end of the game, if you saw that scrambling everywhere to kill Alexander Walker. So that was great, entertaining game. But Johnson, huge, because then in the next game, he kept it going. He had another triple double in the next one. So on Saturday, 30 points, 12 boards, 12 assists in a win over the Wizards. And he shot 10 of 18 from the floor. Perfect at the line. So back to back triple doubles. I got some fun stats about this. Six career triple doubles. Breaking a tie with Cliff Hagen and Bill Bridges for second place on the Atlanta Hawks all time list. Not Bill Bridges.

[Task]

Yeah, Hagens.

[Skeets]

Yeah, Hagen and Bridges. Do you know who has the most triple doubles in Hawks history? One more and he ties this person.

[Trey]

Joe Johnson.

[Skeets]

No, no, it's Josh Smith. It's a good 90s Hawks name Mookie Blaylock with seven. Johnson back to that Friday night game. Sixth NBA player to register a triple double by halftime. The others, Westbrook, Jokic, Luca, Demonta, Sabonis. Oh, yeah, and Kevin Johnson. There's another 90s point guard for you, I guess. Late 80s, early 90s point guard. And he also became the second player in Hawks history Johnson did to record consecutive triple doubles. Joining. You'll never get this.

[Trey]

Wait, say it, say it again.

[Task]

Consecutive triple doubles by an Atlanta Hawks.

[Skeets]

Yeah, 2004. Happened in April.

[Task]

I was going to say Josh Smith, but that's just before considering his April. That's right before Josh Smith was drafted.

[Skeets]

White guy. You think of him as a Cleveland Cavalier. Bob.

[Task]

Sarah.

[Skeets]

There you go, Bob.

[Trey]

I actually remember him having consecutive triple doubles. I wouldn't have thought it was the Hawks though.

[Skeets]

Yeah. So Jalen Johnson turns 24 years old in 10 days. So his birthday's coming up. He has a guaranteed lock at this point to make the All Star team. He's averaging 23, 11 and 8. His shooting splits are unreal at this point. Like, I think you'd be like almost silly to include him in a Giannis trade in any hypothetically honest trade. Maybe you're taking him off the table and yeah, he's just been on a heater right now and is leading the Hawks here even though they split those games over the weekend.

[Task]

I just like how slow and in control he plays to have 28 assists over two games. I start to think, oh, maybe it's just these one pass assists that shouldn't be assists. But because there's so much attention on him, his assists are usually one pass away. And so it makes sense. And because he can see above everybody, you have to pay attention to him because he's so in control. He's feeling great.

[Trey]

Gets a lot of lobs on alley oops on fast breaks as well. Yeah, always throwing an alley oop on a fast break. Blind rank these Eastern Conference. Jalen's number one, Jalen Brunson.

[Task]

Wow.

[Trey]

Well, I'll only give you four.

[Skeets]

Oh, blind rank. Blind.

[Trey]

The All Stars. The All Star Jalens, Eastern All Star.

[Task]

Jalens. I'm going.

[Skeets]

So I'm going one.

[Trey]

Brunson. One.

[Task]

Yeah, I put him. I know. Yeah, I'm putting him one. Okay, we know. We know who's coming here.

[Trey]

Second. Jalen. To rank. Jalen Duran.

[Task]

Oh, this is hard.

[Skeets]

Fourth.

[Task]

Yeah, yeah.

[Trey]

Third.

[Task]

I'm going third.

[Skeets]

Unless he's something up his sleeve.

[Trey]

Jalen Brown.

[Task]

Two for me. Yeah.

[Trey]

Jalen Johnson.

[Skeets]

Three. Okay.

[Task]

Four for me. Yeah.

[Skeets]

I felt happy about that.

[Task]

I was dirty. I did. I did him dirty. Putting him below John.

[Skeets]

I got Brunson, Brown, Johnson and Duran in order right now, but I think that's right. They're all All Stars.

[Trey]

They're all All Stars.

[Task]

Wow. Wow, what a team.

[Trey]

You know, we should go to the three point contest at the All Star game. Vete craichy.

[Skeets]

Sure.

[Trey]

9 for 17 this weekend. Shooting 45% on six attempts per this season. Guy can't miss.

[Skeets]

No.

[Trey]

Right now, came in as like a guy who only threw fancy passes and now he's a 40% three point shooter. Hawks have a lot of guys having very hot shooting seasons. If you go and look at the three point percentages, that's how you get a lot of assists. We do talk a lot about Jalen Johnson. One guy that doesn't come up too often.

[Task]

Oh, yeah.

[Trey]

Having an excellent season. 219 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, 3 blocks against the Wizards. Didn't make a three, but he's shooting 35% on five attempts this season. He's becoming Al Horford like an undersized big man whose defensive acumen comes from being able to switch and kind of guard anybody in a pinch. Not the greatest rebounder, but the stretchiness he gives you on offense really makes up for the physicality on defense. He can play next to Porzingis. He can be the center. When Porzingis was out, which is often enough, it's easy to slot a congu up to the five. He's had a really, really good year. And I think you can see what Anci was cooking when he went and got all these spacey guys to put around Trae Young. But guess what? It works when Jalen Johnson is the guy who's handling the ball too.

[Task]

Yeah. Anaka taking it to another level. Shooting the ball like way more threes per game than he ever shot was something that I didn't see coming. But he's just a modern day center that he can do that. He creates so much space out there.

[Skeets]

My final thought on Jalen Johnson. I hate to do this to Hornets fans. But I was looking at the 21 DRAF, which is a loaded draft, and Jalen Johnson went 20th. The Hornets had two picks before. Obviously, Jalen Johnson was selected. It's like, wow, man, that would have been a nice addition to a Hornets team that could have used some talent there because they took James Book night at number 11. That's Hertz. And then they traded for the number 19 pick, I think, from the Knicks and took Kai Jones.

Yeah, I know there's other teams that passed on on Jalen Johnson as well. I get that. But that's two right there.

[Trey]

The book on Jalen Johnson at the. Was he quit on his team.

[Skeets]

Yeah. Yep.

[Trey]

It was a Covid season. He wanted to get ready for the draft.

[Skeets]

Yeah, that's right.

[Trey]

He made the right call.

[Skeets]

So let's do another round here of weekend winners. Who you got?

[Task]

Well, speaking of the draft, Cedric Coward, who just came out of the draft, is absolutely peaking. He's started for the last 11 games. He ain't going back to the bench. He just looks so good and so comfortable with a ball in his hands. Even though he doesn't look like he's monster, he is. He ain't Jalen Johnson's height, but the way he can slice through little gaps, dribbling through. He can spin through. He can shoot over at times if he picks because he's listed at 6 5, but he feels bigger.

[Skeets]

He's got a long wingspan.

[Task]

He's got that much high release. Yeah, he's. He's. He's so strong. So he looks right. Against the Clippers on Friday, 23 points, 14 boards, five assists. He's so good at driving on the brake. He's incredible when he's on the break. Can't stop him. He had a huge 12 minutes left against the Clippers, and then on the Sunday against the Portland Trail Blazers. I just like how mature this guy is. He went straight up a vertical block, doing what he's supposed to do, staying within it. When Denny Avdia came into him and not throwing his hands around, then he got down and Denny tripped him. And Cedric Coward said, whoa, we got a fast break to go. So he got up. He didn't bitch with Danny Aveday or with the referee. I mean, he did for a brief moment, but then he got on the fast break and it was a beautiful setup of an alley oop for him. A great pass from him. He just does what's right for the team over and over and over and over again. So the Grizzlies, they beat the Blazers to distance themselves in the play in right now because the Grizzlies sit in ninth. They've won five of six and seven of nine now. Not great teams that they beat, but who cares? They're doing fine and it looks like they drafted a guy again who's going to be starting for them forever. Will he get better at shooting the three? I think so because he's not an incredible three point shooter at this point but he was way better in college so I think he can get to that. He's like 31ish percent so it's not great but who cares? It feels like he's, he's solid on every part of the basketball floor.

[Skeets]

Right. Soft part of the schedule for the Grizzlies, but they are racking up these victories here and are in the play in consideration as they battle. I guess they're going to be battling teams like the Mavericks and yeah, the Blazers and stuff like that. Any thoughts on Coward of the Grizz.

[Trey]

7 and 4 with Zach Edie back? I think that's been the biggest difference for them is having a guy who's an interior presence on both sides. When Edie plays, the Memphis defense is really, really stingy, under 100 points per 100 possessions and then he's a tough guard on the offensive end drawing free throws or just getting down low and kicking the ball out or finishing over the top. He's definitely been a huge change for them. But you watch Cedric Howard play against the Clippers and it's impossible to not see some Kawhi Leonard in his game. He's got some Jimmy Butler in his game and that they're all three like powerful, powerful guards who aren't going to necessarily overwhelm you with quickness and athleticism and fast twitch muscles. But they are long, strong down to get the friction on and they're in the lane. Game is all really good like the.

Not at the rim but also not a deep long two like the 14 footers I feel like Coward excels at. Maybe he will get better on the offensive end shooting threes but at least he's got enough touch on the inside that he can still play efficiently. Starts to draw some free throws. That's how Jimmy Butler becomes an awesome player. Take care of the ball. That's another Jimmy Butler kind of thing. But to get this kind of performance from a guy who's a rookie, an older rookie, yeah, makes a little bit of sense. But between Coward and Edie it's like you can already see the outlines of the Next couple of guys who are going to be major players for the Grizzlies.

[Skeets]

Absolutely. Who else do you have on your winners list?

[Trey]

I got Nas, Reed, Nazarene.

[Skeets]

Drop it in the chat.

[Trey]

That's right. Get your towels out. We're going surfing with Nas. Reed got a very solid Play. Game winner. 22 seconds left against the Clippers. Jaden McDaniels misses a pull up mid range jumper. Nas Reed tips it out to the perimeter. Four passes, bing, bing, bing, boom, bop, boom. Fizzing around, finds Nas in the corner for a three pointer to put Minnesota up three. We had some fouling nonsense going on after that, but the Timberwolves were able to hold on to the victory against the Clippers largely because of Nasrid. Had 14 points in the fourth quarter, went 4 of 4 from 3. Had two beautiful assists as well. Five rebounds, including the offensive rebound that led to his knockdown. Three from the corner. But kind of a crazy game for the Timberwolves. They got up by 18. Clippers came all the way back. They were leading by nine in the fourth quarter. And then it was a Timberwolves comeback. So it's gotta feel special to blow a lead and also have a comeback in the same game. But five straight wins from Minnesota. Two of them against the Pelicans, one against the Clippers. You know you gotta win the games you gotta win. But they also beat the spurs and the Celtics. Jaden McDaniels was massive in the game against the Clippers. 27 points, 10 of 13 shooting, having by far his best offensive season. Anthony Edwards didn't play good in either of the games that Minnesota played over the weekend. He seems to have trouble adjusting to extra defensive attention when they throw it at him sometimes. But. But McDaniels, Randall and Nas Reed were able to make up the slack.

[Task]

Nazride, he is a phenomenal player. Yeah. When he. I love watching him put it on the floor because we just automatically associate him with shooting the three ball, but he can, he can. He looks like a guard at times when he wants to.

[Skeets]

Nazrid.

[Task]

Nazrid.

[Skeets]

Cap locks. Of course. Are they dropping it? I haven't checked. I know the chat was funky for JD this morning. Nazrid. There it is. I see Swish saying it all. Caps, locks. Yeah, he is.

[Trey]

He's had an okay season. I think Nas Reed, he's barely been talked about here. Exactly. When he plays well, the Timberwolves look good. He's got such a weird jumper. That guy has one of the least vertical jumpers in the league. It's like him and Towns just as a push shot for him.

[Skeets]

Marcus all like, for sure.

[Trey]

Yeah, definitely.

[Skeets]

He can hit it.

[Trey]

He can hit it. And you know the Timberwolves, 15 and 8.

[Skeets]

That's good.

[Trey]

Even though I haven't been super impressed with them. No, they're a weird team. Their record is pretty good.

[Skeets]

Yeah.

[Trey]

Their defense is pretty good.

[Skeets]

Yep.

[Trey]

I still think they can be better, but they win enough.

[Skeets]

Yeah. My final winner of the weekend, it's going to go to the New York Knicks here. And you sort of alluded to this task, but I wanted to expand on it. When it comes to the Eastern Conference NBA cup teams, the Knicks are the only squad coming into Tuesday night's quarterfinal games playing well. Raptors can't beat the Hornets and lost to the Celtics. They've lost three straight. The Magic have lost two of their last three. And their leading scorer, which we'll get to, I'm sure, when we get to losers of the weekend. And the Heat have also lost three straight. They got waxed by the Kings. Zach Levine lit their ass up over the weekend. So it's like. Of the four teams that are going to play on Tuesday night, the Knicks are the only one playing well. And they had a great weekend. On Friday night, they opened the game against the Utah jazz on a 230 run. And then it got to 30 and 6. And then we got a wedgie from Sensiba. But that is the largest in the NBA. That 23 oh run since detailed play by play for all four quarters began in 97. There's never been a game where it started 23 to 0. That was weird to see. It's like a football score right there. Three touchdowns and a safety. They got OG Anunoby back in that one, so that was good to see. Deuce McBride was on fire from three. Brunson Cat playing at their all star level. Easy, easy win. Then on Sunday afternoon, no Cat. They kept him out of the lineup, but OG I thought looked a lot better. He chipped in 21 points, seven boards. Brunson 30 points, nine assists. Josh Hart did his thing. Knicks beat the magic 106, 100 in the afternoon game there in Madison Square Garden. So The Knicks are 13 and one at home and got a little revenge against the Magic because they hadn't beat them all season long. And they did it without Cat. Like I said, so good stuff on the floor. Some funny moments too with some of their guys, specifically Josh Hart and Mitchell Robinson. They had two hilarious moments over the weekend. The first one Was Mitchell Robinson finding out Josh Hart was mic'd up. And Mitchell Robinson started, like, plugging his TikTok account, saying, you like trucks? Come follow me. So that was. That was good.

[Task]

What was his username? Was it. It's a funny username.

[Skeets]

Yeah. I forget off the top of my head.

[Task]

You guess you didn't do a good enough job selling.

[Skeets]

No, you gotta sell us more. But then they had an even funnier moment on Sunday. Like, Josh Hart had his kids on the bench, like, sitting on his lap, and suddenly got called back into the game by Mike Brown. So he, like, took what? He took his kid and handed it to Mitchell Robinson. You can see Mitchell Robinson's face. Like, the camera work, unfortunately. Like, the camera. Like, I get it. They followed Josh Hart into the game, but you just see Mitchell Robinson's face for a second, like, what the hell? I'm not babysitting here. Like, why are you giving me your kid? Super funny vibes are great for the Bing Bong Boys. So that was good. And also on Sunday, this clip was making its way around Walt Clyde Frazier, the Hall of Fame legend, he interviewed the Rizzler. And the interview is amazing because Clyde has no idea who the hell the Rizzler is and, like, why he's popular. Yeah. But it's like, the wrestler is super genuine, man. Like, this kid is endearing.

[Trey]

I love the Rizzler.

[Skeets]

And it's a funny interview. And there's a funny photo we're showing Everybody on. On YouTube. Clyde has a children's book. So I think it was kids day there on Sunday afternoon. So that's why. That's why we had the kids there, and that's why we had the Rizzler and all that stuff. So it all. It all works together. But the Knicks are looking awesome on the floor and all these hilarious moments either off it or on the bench.

[Task]

Yeah, the Knicks are looking good. It's good. It's good for them to have OGN and OB.

Peeking at the right time as they enter the NBA cup, which is the opposite for the team that they're going to play. Yeah. Yeah, man. It's NBA cup time.

[Skeets]

I got a peak for the Cup.

[Task]

Maybe the Raptors were holding out because they're ready for the NBA Cup. They saw Charlotte on the schedule. They said, no, no, we're saving. We're saving our game weekend. It is a trap weekend, man. Maybe. Yeah. I'm a little worried about again, all those guys playing so many games. Brandon Ingram played 18 last year. He's played 25 all year. I don't know if he's on the LeBron plan. I want to play in all 82 games, but he has talked about it. We don't need that. The NBA cup is here for a reason to go play NBA cup games. Because the schedule, it ain't that nice. Five games of seven nights, as I said, you gotta sit one.

[Skeets]

Just chill.

[Task]

Just chill. Not that I want guys to sit out games, but it only makes sense. Like their bodies are gonna wear down a bit.

[Skeets]

See the way he's been playing?

[Task]

Yeah. He's not right.

[Skeets]

He looks exhausted. He's turning the ball over left and right. He can't hit a shot right now. So, yeah, he looks tired, but. Yeah, that's excuses also as well.

[Task]

It is.

[Skeets]

They're playing a tougher part of their schedule. Had a tough part where they had a lot of games, but they're ready for the Cup.

[Task]

They're ready for the Cup.

[Skeets]

The Knicks are ready for the Cup.

[Task]

They're.

[Trey]

Yeah.

[Skeets]

A little worried about the Raptors on Tuesday, for sure.

[Task]

Yeah.

[Trey]

The Knicks are interesting because Brunson's their best player. Number one, Jalen in the Eastern Conference, clutch player of the year.

[Task]

Agreed.

[Trey]

Carl Anthony Towns is their biggest swing player. When he plays well, the Knicks look unbeatable. But OG Anunoby is their key player because he unlocks the best version of the Knicks because he hits wide open threes, he runs the court, he closes, he drives closeouts and gets to the rim. Actually puts pressure on the rim. And he makes plays defensively. He can guard the bigger wings out there, which is something I think that Bridges kind of struggles with because he's just a slighter guy. But the shot blocking that OG brings is like a huge thing for the Knicks, not to mention all the other defensive plays he makes. So when he plays, they look like they're supposed to look. I think. And that's the important thing when it comes to the most important part of the season, the Cup, December. So, yeah, I think having him back just in time to raise the Victor Solomon would be very impressive for New York.

[Task]

Yeah. Bridges is equally as important, I'd say.

[Trey]

No, he's not. I'm saying he's not. I'm saying completely he's not.

[Task]

I understand. Well, he needs to play, otherwise.

I know, I know.

[Trey]

He was great against the Magic, for sure. He's good. There's no doubt about it. But OG for me, is the guy who makes the Knicks sing well.

[Skeets]

I like Mike Brown's doing the very diplomatic thing, like All Star Talk is coming up and he is saying like Mike Brown, I saw the clip. Like Brunson and Cat, they're All Stars, they're locks now. We had Cat on our All Star team. I think some people are maybe leaving him off. But anyway, then he starts doing the whole thing. Like, you know what, if I'm being honest too. OG Anunoby, Mikhail Bridges, they should be in the All Star consideration too. So he's, he's going to bat for his four main guys there. And also Josh Hart is goddamn good too. I mean that guy, I mean he's special and has an impact on winning basketball. So maybe, maybe try and get five Knicks into the All Star game. Unlikely. Get the Rizzler in. While we're at it.

[Trey]

What do you think he wants for Christmas?

[Skeets]

The Rizzler?

[Task]

Yeah.

[Trey]

What would you get him?

[Task]

How old?

[Skeets]

The kid that has everything.

[Task]

How old is this kid?

[Trey]

How old do you think?

[Task]

It looks like 11.

[Trey]

He's nine. I couldn't believe it. I looked it up this morning.

[Skeets]

I always have a feeling like in the pit of my stomach that there's like an Andy Millenakis thing going on with the Rizzler. That he's like a 19 year old guy or something like that.

[Task]

But he's not.

[Skeets]

He's a legit kid, just with a lot of charisma.

Twizzlers.

[Trey]

He's probably frustrated with that. More Twizzlers.

[Skeets]

I don't even like Twizzlers. Oh, I think he does like Twizzlers. I think you're wrong, my friend. Anyway, Nick's winner of the weekend.

[Trey]

Just get him Legos.

[Skeets]

Get him. Let it go.

[Task]

Does he like Legos? He looks more like a switch 2 guy. Like more. More games for the switch too.

[Trey]

It's the game for sure.

[Skeets]

All right, we gotta take a break. Then we'll get into NBA weekend. Losers.

[Task]

Fanduel is your home for live betting. It feels like games are always live, even when they haven't started. Because those game lines, they are a dancing. I was checking on games last night. Today they're different. Phoenix, Minnesota got smaller. Spurs, Pelicans also got smaller. And even if you missed the start of game or want to ride the hot hand, Fanduel has live bets on everything from who will score next to fourth quarter comebacks. Plus you can even combine your live bets into a same game parlay for a shot at a bigger payout. However you want to play. Now is the perfect time to join because Fanduel is giving new customers $300 in bonus bets. If your first five dollar bet wins, don't bet on the wraps in the NBA Cup.

I'm wearing the jacket because I want to support them. Yeah, but it ain't looking good against the New York Knickerbockers.

[Skeets]

No, it's not. I'm with you.

[Task]

Play your game with FanDuel, official sports betting partner of the NBA.

[Skeets]

Do me a favor, don't make that the pick him game tomorrow night.

[Task]

Because you want to pick wraps, but you don't want to pick wraps because.

[Skeets]

I don't want to pick the wraps.

[Task]

See, the thing that I don't think they're gonna win. That line has been on FanDuel forever.

[Skeets]

Yeah, right.

[Task]

Because the NBA cup lines have just been there forever. I would think that it's bigger. The line would be bigger.

[Skeets]

What is it? I should say five and a half, six and a half.

[Task]

It's only four.

[Skeets]

Oh, I like the wraps. No, I'm just kidding.

Interesting.

[Trey]

Yeah.

[Task]

You think it'd be. Obviously it's in Toronto.

[Skeets]

Well, maybe they buy into your theory that the Raptors are saving something for the Cup.

[Task]

They gotta be.

[Trey]

Show all your cards yet?

[Skeets]

It's gotta be it. All right, let's get to losers. TK who you got?

[Trey]

Franz Wagner, unfortunately, loser of the weekend. Took an ugly fall after a foul by Ariel Huckporti on a dunk attempt in the first quarter against the Knicks. Went up for a dunk. Huckport tries to like block it from behind on an alley oop and just smashes into him and. Disgusting landing.

[Skeets]

Yeah.

[Trey]

From Franz Wagner. I guess we're kind of saved by a lot of bodies being in the lane. You can't totally see what happens. But his leg landed underneath him. He's going to be checked out. We haven't heard anything yet, but it seems like he will miss significant time for the Magic. It's just really bad timing because a Franz is playing great. Had 32 on Friday, leading the Magic and scoring. They've really turned their season around. And he's on track, I think, to be an all star for the first time this year. They also got Paolo Bonchero back on Friday for his first game. He played both games over the weekend and it looked to me like he was trying to fit in with the team. Standing off to the side, playing off ball quite a bit. Usage percentage was very, very low for Paolo. So he was just trying to be a good teammate and figure out how he exists with this Magic team that's figured out how they want to play together and Then now he's going to have to snap back into Paolo Bonchero mode without having Franz out there. And Franz Wagner was already wearing a mask. This guy's already been banged up a lot this season. Dude's been wearing the nose protector for weeks at this time. I think his injury with the knee here was almost exactly a year to the day that he went down with the oblique injury that took him out for a huge chunk of last season. So a lot of bad timing and an ugly looking injury for Franz Wagner. The way he grabbed his leg instantly wasn't able to put any weight on it. Limped off the court, being held by Mo and another teammate. It was just bad.

[Task]

Yeah. And another guy grabbed his leg. That was the weird part. Ariel Huckporty, the guy who fouled him, literally went and grabbed his knee, like literally physically touched his knee. And I think he was just being nice. He just wanted him to be good. His fellow German player, they've used to play a long time ago. The New York broadcast said they used to play on the junior national team together. So I think they're just buds. But it was weird to literally physically touch his knee.

[Skeets]

He's like, you're okay, you're okay.

[Task]

Yeah, I guess he was just being supportive. He did, he did feel bad. I guess it will be long term, but not super long term. It feels like, you know, it is tbd, but four to six weeks, I think you can definitely assume that at the very least, Palaban Cara, I think was playing the right way in this game. Also the last game I thought he played when he was healthy before he got hurt. I think he was playing the right way against the Knicks that first quarter. Just dishing. He is dishing. He will have to score. So I think, I think he will tap in and be that guy. But hopefully Franz comes back to join him because the last year, as you said, the oblique injury, the bankero injury, the Sogs injury, that stunk. We don't want that same thing to happen again because they got so many guys to play. And that's the good thing, is that I don't think Bonchero is going to feel like I got to score 25 because Bane is chipping in and Suggs is chipping in so much that he doesn't have to, he doesn't have to be this takeover guy. He just has to keep moving that thing.

[Skeets]

True. But Franz Wagner, the way he plays, being downhill determin get to the basket, that's like, that's a tough loss because it's an attitude and a type of attack that they don't really have anyone else. I mean, Anthony Black has been going to the rim a lot more this year. You like to see that. But Franz is just so good. And he was on fire to start this game too. Like he had seven points immediately it was three or four from the field. And then. Yeah. This alley you play and ugh. Did not. Yeah, you're right. We almost couldn't see like it a good angle of it. But you knew what was going on with the hyper extension there of how he landed. We'll find out today. Maybe in addition to Franz or the Magic losing him as a loser, what about Desmond Bain pegging OG Anunoby with the ball out of nowhere. This is the second time Bane is like chucked a ball at somebody on the baseline. What's going on with this guy?

[Trey]

Winner of the weekend for me. Very funny clip. He has a chance. He just sets up and chucks it. He could have like easily just dropped it on him. But no, that was a full wind up. Bane is an ornery guy.

[Task]

Yes.

[Trey]

Yeah.

[Skeets]

People are wondering if it's all. That's where all the muscles is coming from.

[Trey]

Exactly.

[Skeets]

There's a conspiracy going around.

[Trey]

I heard the same thing in the water, boy. Yeah, Alligators are ornery because they got those short arms. Same thing for Desmond B.

[Skeets]

Very weird. He got attack right on that one. Yes, he did. Yeah. Yeah.

[Task]

So he was trying to use I. I guess that was the excuse of I'm throwing it off a guy so it goes off of him and out of bounds. But the guy was already out of bounds. But he was like a step late. But yeah, he just does it now. Time number two this year.

[Skeets]

Yeah, I mean, I like this though from Worldwide Wob because he's. He said he tweeted, I've had time to think about this. And then he placed the tinfoil hat on his head. A Gotham villain named Bane makes too much sense. Him and OG Laughed about it after. I smell dubious brand activity and a Nike promo coming. All right, so Worldwide WOB is saying this idea of Desmond Bain being a villain there in New York City in Gotham, it's too perfect.

[Task]

It is.

[Skeets]

Maybe it's a setup here for something coming which would be hilarious.

[Task]

Well, we gotta have something coming because Matty O. Used to do a great Bane.

We can already pre do the thing that Desmond Bain will do with Matty. Okay. In a cup.

[Skeets]

Bummer news there for the magic. Hopefully it's not too serious. Like you're Saying, Tess, hopefully a couple weeks. I mean, the other part is, yeah, we had him on our All Star. Does this guy miss another All Star opportunity if he is injured for a significant amount of time here? I know he could still be named and then replaced, but God, that would suck because he was in the running last year before the oblique injury. And then obviously because of the timing of it, it's like, okay, well, he's not playing. He's not making it and all that. So we'll see. We'll see what that.

[Trey]

Yeah, unfortunately, there's a lot of time to forget he was playing. Well, you know, like two more months, you can forget that Franz was hooping.

[Skeets]

Absolutely. Task, who do you have for a loser the weekend?

[Task]

Well, Chauncey Billups sold his house in the Portland area. And why he's a loser is that it looks like he ain't coming back to the Portland Trailblazers. It sure feels that way. And some great reporting because the records became public records. Sean Higgin doing this reporting. Now, this is all speculation about in terms of his actual case going on because he did plead not guilty on November 24, but this was quite a fast turnaround to literally be in the scenario and sell that thing. Now it's, you know, under the process, a pending sale, but it sure feels like it's going to be sold. And so that was a quick turnaround. Now you can speculate he just doesn't want to be there anymore. Won't be there anymore. Maybe this is a long case and so he wants to get rid of that house.

[Skeets]

Not like it's its only house.

[Task]

Yeah, no, no.

[Skeets]

I don't know how many houses he has, but I'm sure he has more than one.

[Task]

Yeah, he's staying in Colorado, by all reports, Colorado Springs.

So it has nothing to do with the case, but it sure feels like Billups ain't going back to Portland, period. It feels that way. Now, again, it could be a very long case. And so the NBA wasn't going to let him come back while that was happening. And so he said maybe he may have said, I'm just getting rid of this house. I don't need it in this scenario. But his next court appearance is going to be a procedural hearing in March, March 4, 2026. So that is that. Yeah. So it could be. It could literally, you know, by some speculation, some research, it could be multiple years that this case takes place. So he was going to be out of the Portland scenario, out of that bubble for. For multiple years anyway. And so Just feels like he ain't going back. Period.

[Skeets]

Did you look up the house?

[Task]

I did not. I read the reports. Quite nice.

[Skeets]

I'm sure it is.

[Task]

Yep.

[Skeets]

Just curious.

[Task]

Lake Oswego. So. So a little bit of ways from Portland.

[Skeets]

Any card tables set up in the photos?

[Task]

It's on a red fin if anybody wants to look. It's. It's there.

[Skeets]

Will Bill ever coach again in the NBA?

[Task]

Right.

[Skeets]

Forget Portland. But like anywhere. Assistant coach. I just wonder. Who knows. I mean it's not like he's old.

[Task]

Yeah.

[Skeets]

And again could get cleared in all this.

[Task]

Yeah, exactly. Not guilty at this time.

[Trey]

Let's see what happens with the investigations. But it's not like he's been great with the Blazers. They never had a winning record when he was there. And unusual circumstances like he took over at the end of the Damen Lillard tenure when the Blazers were trying to act like they weren't tanking but they would shut Lillard down for the last last month and a half of every season. They had a little bit of a spark last year playing defense in the second half of the year. That hasn't totally translated. This year Portland started 4 and 2, 5 and 13 since then. I need them to win games because I want the Bulls to get their pick right. And that's the bad thing for the Blazers is every win they get means they don't get a first round draft pick. And this is a team that's still going to need to upgrade on the talent side of things because they don't have the number one guy out there. Shady Sharpens is still coming off the bench. He's been okay this season at best. They missed. I think they had Robert Williams and clinging out. So they started young Hansen against the Grizzlies and he just looked not like an NBA player speed wise compared to a guy.

[Skeets]

And you think Avdia is more like the perfect number two type of guy in the. In the long scheme?

[Trey]

Yeah. Two at the best. Yes. I mean like obvious a good player. But I think we're seeing around the league that if you elevate a guy to number one who's talented, they're going to put up monster stats. Like is Jalen Johnson the best triple double threat outside of Nikola Jokic or does he seize the opportunity? Is Denny Abdia Really a 25 point per game scorer on every NBA team? Doubtful. But he's helpful everywhere. He just shouldn't be the number one guy.

[Task]

Yeah, they. They need a scoot back to compliment him. That was the plan. And yeah, it did look like young Hansen was just too slow out there.

[Trey]

Unfortunately, in this game, he's racing Zach Eady.

[Task]

Yeah. Yeah, he's. He's definitely on.

[Skeets]

Yeah.

[Task]

That's a good race.

[Skeets]

Weird bookkeeping question that nobody will care about except me.

[Trey]

What?

[Skeets]

Like hypothetical Billups comes back to the Blazers now, it probably won't be this year. So maybe this is like, negated, but like, Thiago Splitter is the interim head coach. Correct.

[Task]

Yeah.

[Skeets]

So if Billups were to come back, would the record not go to Billups?

[Task]

Yeah.

[Trey]

Are we sure all of Luke Walton's wins counted as Steve Kerr wins?

[Skeets]

I know, I know. In the incredible season there. But I wonder if this is. They are being clocked as Thiago Splitters on Basketball Reference, but maybe they're just like, he ain't coming back.

[Trey]

He's probably not.

[Task]

Yeah, right.

[Skeets]

So I guess they're. They're splitters. They're your guys.

[Task]

Yes. My Tiago Splitter. Yeah. I was complimenting his assistant coaching, you know, way before this Chauncey Billups scenario. But it is different in scenarios here than the Luke Walton Steve Kerr scenario. Obviously, this is very unique.

[Skeets]

That was surgery, right, For Steve Kerr. Yeah.

[Task]

He said, never do that. Never have back surgery as he said afterwards.

[Trey]

Wow. You go to Luke Walton's Basketball reference coaching page and for that 1516 season, it says, assistant coach led Golden State to a 39, 4 start as interim head coach.

[Skeets]

Yeah. They have like a note too.

[Trey]

While Steve Kerr recovered from back surgery. That's detailed.

[Skeets]

Yeah.

[Trey]

That's a long sentence to see in a box.

[Skeets]

All right.

[Trey]

What's The Tiago splitter one gonna say?

[Skeets]

Yeah.

[Trey]

Trailblaze to a 9 and 14 record as Chauncey Billups was investigated for being the face card in Operation Royal Flush while selling his house in Lake Oswego.

[Task]

Very nice.

[Skeets]

Yeah, there's a lot to put there.

[Task]

That's a great one. On the opposite side of things, that's long. Yang was on. Was on the box score just as young yesterday at times. But it switched up and they flipped it to Yang Hansen. They flipped it to Hansen Yang, but it was just Yang. That's it. Yep. For a while.

[Skeets]

Well, well, speaking of box scores, my loser of the weekend is statisticians in charge of the NBA's all time scoring list. These guys and gals, they must be pulling their hair out every time they make the list. It's like, oh, God damn it. Gotta change it again. Somebody jumping somebody else. Because we had a couple milestones this weekend. On Friday, Kevin Durant became the 8th player to reach 31,000 points. Amazing. Other big names on the horizon for Katie too. He's going to pass a couple guys here soon. He needs 396 points to pass Wilt Chamberlain for seventh at Katie's. Current, let's call it 25 points per game. Now you're looking at like 16, 17 games it would take for Katie to pass Wilt. And then after will Dirk Nowitzki, Durant needs like 537 points to pass him and take over sixth spot. So that could happen this year. Should happen this year if Katie stays fairly healthy. And then next up is Michael Jordan. So it's in play that Durant could pass Michael Jordan this year. Again, current average that he's at would take about 50 or so games to pass MJ. So you'd have to have a healthy run here because what we're, you know how many games are left at this point for some of these teams, you're running out of them is the point. You'd have to play in a lot. But he could maybe do it this year. On Saturday though, Harden, James Harden passed Hall of Famer Carmelo Anthony for 10th place on the NBA's all time scoring list. Incredible achievement. He noted. Hey, I'm like only the third guy in the top 10 that's a guard on this list. It's Jordan, it's Kobe, and now it's James Harden. And Harden will likely reach the 30,000 point club next season. But he could pass Shaq this year. Probably, probably will pass Shaq in January or something like that. In 26 he's a couple hundred points shy. And while we're doing it, while the statisticians are busy, Russell Westbrook passed Tim Duncan last week for 17th on the NBA all time scoring list. So next up is Dominique Wilkins. So three guys that all played together on one team are now top 17 on the NBA's all time scoring list. The three of them, Katie, Harden and Westbrook. And they're only going to climb more spots.

[Trey]

Tell me if this is true. James Harden is the second most influential player of his generation. Number one, Steph Curry.

[Skeets]

Yeah, has to be Curry. And.

I can't say I probably disagree with that. Who else is in the running third.

[Trey]

For me is Porzingis, the unicorn. Yeah, everybody. We got seven footers that shoot threes everywhere now after Porzingis became the unicorn, Steph, you see his influence in the way people are taking deep threes and the three point revolution in general. But I think the way Harden attacks is Something that the best scorers in the NBA, all of them do it. He's got the in between the legs, dribble, size up that you see from everybody, from him to Luka Doncic every. If you're a perimeter player now, you have to have a step back three pointer. That was James Harden as the innovator. Though I will say Ben Gordon brought it to the league first. James Harden the weapon. Yeah, for sure. And then, I mean when you compare him to the best scorer in the league today, Shay, Gilgeous, Alexander, they're very equivalent players in the foul drawing that they do and understanding how to use a defenser defender's aggressiveness and balance against them and knowing the ins and outs of the rule book to get your way to the free throw line. So Harden to me is a guy that I've always loved. I've always thought he was unguardable and I think that as his career has played out, you've seen a lot of guys taking things from James Harden's game to become better basketball players and to become better scorers. And now everybody in the league averages 25 points per game.

[Task]

It's a hell of an argument. It's difficult to disagree. Daryl Morey would absolutely give you a huge hug for that statement. Daryl Morey was the guy who said James Harden is the best offensive player in the history of the National Basketball association because of the way he does.

Make himself an offense. He's the system, as he says. And yeah, you can obviously see him in Luca and others. So as far as generations go. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I guess the LeBron was obviously it's. That's the previous generation.

[Trey]

Well, I just don't think you can't play like LeBron and Kevin Durant. That's the problem for me. Right. It's more to be like those guys.

[Skeets]

Right, right.

[Task]

Yeah, yeah.

[Skeets]

Harden, when he pointed out even Kobe and MJ being ahead of him on the all time scoring list, he's like. And those guys were high flyers, like athletic freaks. Was his point like. Like I'm not really that, but I've scored a whole lot of points with the three point shot with attacking the free throw line. Cerebral like the way he just. Yeah, he's just obviously intelligent basketball player and figured out the rules and all that and how to game them a little bit and it's just a bucket.

[Trey]

Yeah, you look.

[Skeets]

And I can't think of another name.

[Trey]

In their generation looking at the top 10. LeBron led the league in assists one year. I think Wilt led the league in assists one year. Right. Like when he set out to lead the league in assist and then Harden led the league in assist a couple of times. That is kind of unusual to be such a big time scorer. And then kind of after leaving Houston after he was like 35 points per game every single night, became a table setter for a long time, especially playing on the Sixers. And he's just been able to toggle back and forth between am I a point guard or am I a scoring guard? I think it's impressive.

[Task]

Yeah.

[Trey]

And then he just gives it back on the other end. But talking about top score.

[Skeets]

Yeah.

[Trey]

Who cares about the other.

[Task]

Yeah. The interesting thing is the argument for Chris absporzing is that's going to be the thing that he'll be remembered for forever. And it's good for him that Kevin Durant never listed himself at seven feet and never was a power forward, whatever you want to call him. Because the zinger. Yeah. He never was himself. But there's other. That's why I guess Towns calls himself the best big man shooter of all time. He wants what Porzingis had. But that's the thing that Porzingis will always be associated with because he never, never got to the. The peak, peak, peak, of course. Steps that we all expected.

[Skeets]

I assume the other loser of the weekend. I just wanted to slip in here, might be in play for worst of the week come Friday. Did you see the smoke machine that would not turn off in Utah?

[Task]

I did not, no.

[Skeets]

Oh, you didn't. I shared it in the Slack channel, but it's a pretty damn funny clip. The thing's just firing off smoke. Like it looks sort of like a pyrotechnic like vibe. And they couldn't figure out how to turn it off for a little bit, so just looked amazing. They had to keep playing. They were like, I guess we'll just.

[Trey]

Roll it out there. I had something similar happen at a Mexican restaurant recently. I ordered a delicious plate of fajitas and it came out and filled the entire restaurant with smoke. I don't know what they. I don't know what they put on it. Like, usually it's got the steaminess.

[Skeets]

It does it for a little bit. Yeah. It feels like a show.

[Trey]

It's like marketing for that plate of fajitas.

[Skeets]

100 smells good.

[Task]

Looks good.

[Trey]

Let me get some of those onions. But this one was. They overdose whatever they put. People are just everybody looking around. What's going on here? Tasted great though. Really piled up the meats. I got the meek Stuff. Yeah. Chicken, steak and shrimp. I had to go in for a second.

[Skeets]

Holy moly.

[Trey]

Layer of tortillas.

[Skeets]

Oh, you had that many?

[Trey]

Yeah, but buddy.

[Task]

So what was the smell change at all or just going on?

[Trey]

It was just insane. Yeah, I. I appreciated it. I was done. By the time I was finished, I'd left. It was like a. Like a disappearing act. The man disappeared behind the flume of smoke.

[Task]

Incredible. A tiny other loser here. A guy who could also put on a show like he was a plate of fajitas is Cam Whitmore. I'm worried about him becoming another Cam, becoming Cam Reddish. He is underperforming with the Washington Wizards, so much so that head coach Brian Keefe kind of called him out in a post game press conference. Said he is not playing up to the standards and that's why he is a DNP cd. When you got Brian Keefe calling you out, he didn't have to do that. But he seems like a Cam Reddish who I had lots of faith in, considering what he is on the floor at times. Incredible athlete Ken Whitmore has some incredible dunks this season.

[Skeets]

Oh, yeah.

[Task]

But he doesn't buy in. And you can see some of those clips where he doesn't buy in defensively and doesn't want to buy in offensively either to what Brian Keefe is planning. It sure feels like. So that's. That's a scenario here. I was surprised when I looked at Cam Reddish's.

His webpage on basketball reference and how many games he played. I was a little surprised how low it was. Yeah. I don't know. It seemed like he was around a while. Maybe it's just because we did an emergency podcast on him when he was traded.

[Skeets]

Thinking his claim to fame.

[Task]

Yeah, it's his claim to fame. Well, I would say when he was with the Atlanta Hawks and he cooked against the Milwaukee bucks, he had four games. He was 9 of 14 from 3 in the playoffs.

[Skeets]

That was cooking.

[Task]

He's cooking like he was fajitas. So how many games do you think he played in his career?

[Trey]

That's a cool nickname, actually. Fajitas.

[Skeets]

Yeah, it is good. It's like the new new age microwave. Yeah.

[Trey]

Cam Reddish.

You go for 250.

[Task]

I think.

[Skeets]

I think he's. Oh, I thought he's high, but he's right.

[Task]

That's super close. 254.

[Skeets]

Okay.

[Task]

Yeah, he's playing in 200. Yeah. Well, okay.

[Trey]

I saw over the weekend he left his Lithuanian team.

[Task]

Reddish might be coming back, I guess.

[Skeets]

Oh, we should do an Emergency podcast on that.

Should have been a running bit. Any tiny bit of Cam Reddish news that we do in emergency Podcast, I.

[Task]

Will Cam Whitmore get to 254 games. I assume you will, but that is.

[Skeets]

That's not great. I mean, I'm glad you brought that up. I didn't know he was getting DNP CDs. Yeah, for a bad Washington team.

[Task]

Yeah, it was just. I think it was just one.

[Skeets]

Okay, sending a message.

[Task]

Just one. Kefir. Okay, Sending a message. He's played in 119 games thus far in year number three. Super young. Super young.

[Skeets]

He's gonna pass him.

[Task]

I agree, but who knows?

[Skeets]

Well, who? I saw somebody asking on Twitter who's going to play more games from starting now, LeBron James or Joel Embiid? I was like, starting now, starting now. LeBron's turning 41.

[Task]

Well, I'm taking Joel Embiid in a heartbeat. He's playing.

[Skeets]

Yeah. Not well, I guess.

[Trey]

I saw him play against each other last night.

[Skeets]

Yeah, that's right.

[Trey]

Mini winner right there. LeBron against the 76ers.

[Skeets]

That's a perfect segue.

Of the night. Unsullied by sponsorship since last Friday, when a guy paid $10 in the stream team for it. Then we screwed it up. LeBron James, lovely. He gets well, boy. 10 and 10 of his final. Excuse me. 10 of his 29 points in the final 425 as the Lakers beat the 76ers on Sunday. LeBron was hitting big shots and, like, mashing all of the. His celebrations into one. He's doing the silencer and putting on the crown. He's doing everything. He shot 12 of 17 from the field, four, six from deep for LeBron. Seven board, six assists, one steal, one block in 34 minutes. Yeah, Joel Embiid had a rough, rough game. He was like 4:21 or something. Yeah, it was bad botching, layups at the rim. He's got no lift.

[Trey]

He's got no lift. He's a jump shooter right now.

[Skeets]

Yeah, but LeBron.

[Task]

There you go.

[Skeets]

That was an entertaining game. So I'm gonna slip it in here and. Whoa, Boy, he bounce. He bounced back.

[Trey]

He bounced back. He had a 29 after what? I guess he had 10. The game before he had eight.

[Skeets]

That's right. That's right.

[Trey]

Yeah, he was. He was hooping. But both the lakers and the 76ers would be high on my reliable watches list. Like, they always play close games. I feel like both of these teams. So you get them together. Guess what? Clutch. Yeah.

[Task]

Yeah.

[Skeets]

It was an entertaining game for sure on Sunday. Pick em Tass tonight. Where are we going? Not a lot of games on. We got a weird week because of the cup, which starts Tuesday and then Wednesday quarterfinals. But not a lot of games tonight.

[Task]

Only three on Monday night here going to Minnesota. They are favored by a ton. Ten and a half points. I think Minnesota does play down to their opponent a little bit, so that's why I'm taking Phoenix to keep it within 10. Trey, you're with me. Skeets, you got Minnesota. They got home by 11 or more and they have won five in a row. Well, plenty of close ones.

[Skeets]

Yeah.

[Task]

In that streak they have.

[Skeets]

But I will say to go back to the cup because we respect it so much. Horse sons, man. Getting the short end of the stick here when it comes to the schedule. Like they're playing tonight and then they play on Wednesday in the cup game.

[Task]

They got a day off.

[Skeets]

Oh, come on. Like the other teams. The other three teams in the west, they're good. OKC played yesterday, Lakers played yesterday, Spurs. I mean, they got a nice chunk of time off.

[Task]

Yeah, but they're playing like they're playing like the Eastern Conference teams. My point is, like, they get one day off between Sunday and sometimes they're.

[Skeets]

Looking ahead to that cup game task. Maybe they have to, like, take their foot off the gas here a little tonight. Maybe we have a Minnesota blowout.

[Task]

Maybe. Nice.

[Skeets]

That's my reason.

[Task]

Nice take.

[Skeets]

That's my reasoning. You got to come up with a reason when you do this stuff, don't you?

[Task]

You sure do.

[Skeets]

Can't just say I don't know Minnesota by 11, but I got the wolves.

[Task]

Yeah. The other two games are kings at Pacers.

[Skeets]

I'm wrong. The spurs play tonight.

[Task]

Oh, yeah, yeah. I was just gonna say the spurs at the Pelicans.

[Trey]

Easier game.

[Task]

Yeah, that's a. Also ten and a half point spread there in New Orleans where the Pelicans are the worst team in the NBA.

[Trey]

Okay.

[Task]

Bulls might be playing like it. The Pelicans have the worst record, 3 and 21.

[Trey]

Guess one of those wins is against.

[Task]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, I'm. I just plug it, cuz. Literally. We should be sent to New Orleans. It's free to get in there practically. It's so cheap right now.

[Skeets]

Well, you know, our buddy Grish took his son. Was that last year?

[Task]

I think so.

[Skeets]

And sat courtside for pretty affordable. Like I'm talking feet on the wood courtside row one.

[Trey]

Fun.

[Task]

Yeah.

[Skeets]

And it's affordable compared to Basically any other arena you can get in good seats. Good seats available in, in the Smoothie King center right now.

[Task]

That's why the cameras, I, I assume are doing zoom ins on players, so they don't want to see the, the empty seats. But why aren't we being sent? We could literally get in free and do a great story on set some.

[Skeets]

The Pelicans, you're saying should send us.

[Task]

Well, no, we should.

[Skeets]

During games.

[Task]

Pelicans don't want to coverage of their team right now.

[Skeets]

Oh, interesting. Probably true, actually.

[Trey]

How about we'll go for Tuesday, April 7, their last home game against the Utah Jazz.

[Skeets]

That'd be cheap.

[Trey]

That'll be cheap. We can support very cheap ticket, I imagine.

[Task]

Seven hour drive.

[Skeets]

Dave said, don't do that Grish. He did that. He's like, I'm not doing that again. I'll fly next time. Yeah, but it's just, it's just long enough. It's taken all day.

[Task]

It's beyond the, the threshold. Like, what's the threshold? Four to five?

[Skeets]

Yeah. Four to five to me is the threshold for a one day. I mean, I don't know if you're going to do it there and back like we did the Grizzlies that one time, but.

[Task]

Oh, yeah, that's tough.

[Skeets]

That's a lot. We should have stayed the night too. A lot of regrets.

[Task]

Yeah.

[Trey]

For our, for our first run through. It wasn't perfect.

[Task]

No, no.

[Skeets]

We just showed up at the arena, watch the game. Literally got right back on the cards. See you later.

[Trey]

We got to go to Bucky's. And I learned from tasks that if you throw your car into neutral and coast down the hill, you can make it to the gas station.

[Task]

Yeah.

[Skeets]

That was impressive.

[Trey]

That was impressive. You're like cold trickle out there.

[Task]

Cold trickle. Yeah, well, people will say, oh, you're actually burning gas. Sure, sure, sure, sure.

[Skeets]

Whatever, man.

[Task]

Neutral school, man. It's the only cool thing I do. It's fun. That's just fun to be in neutral. Am I right, jd?

[Skeets]

I mean, no, I wouldn't recurs.

[Task]

I like being in gear. You shouldn't do it.

Yeah, I thought, I thought. I mean, flying down a hill in neutral is pretty not, not safe. Why you have a break? You can stop at any time. Oh, my God. What do you mean, my God? What are you scared of? Put it in gear. If you need to put it in gear.

[Skeets]

That's why we got pulled over instead.

[Task]

Head.

[Trey]

It is illegal to not be in.

[Task]

Gear while your car is in motion. Oh, yeah. The Police officer is very aware if you're in gear or not. But.

It's not advisable is what I'm saying. If you're in a manual transmission, sure, coast for a bit. But you need. You should be in gear.

[Skeets]

Come on.

[Task]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Trey]

Especially these hills.

[Skeets]

Back. I'm gonna go to JD This. He's gonna be like, hell yeah, it's awesome.

[Task]

Well, I don't care. I'm still doing it, man. Like, I'm like, I got a kid out there driving a. A manual car. He's got a manual car. Oh, yeah. He's driving a manual car. Wow. He's the only. Only teenager out there driving a manual these days in North America, probably.

Wow, that's awesome. That's cool. That's why I thought you'd have my back as a manual driver. I have your back in that. It's fun. It's fun. I'm just saying it's not advisable. What about when you're reversing on a hill? Do you need to put it in reverse or can you just neuter it? Neuter it?

[Skeets]

Let it go. Well, what do you do in the driveway here?

[Task]

Neuter.

[Trey]

It's.

[Task]

That's risky for sure. That's dumb. Are you actually putting it in neutral? Are you just. Just hitting the clutch and letting it fly back? Oh, I don't have. I don't have a gear. Not anymore. What are you talking about? Yeah, that has neutral. Oh, yeah, fair enough. But it's fun. It's so fun. I miss the days, man. Yeah. Yep.

[Skeets]

All right, guys, we'll call it there. If you enjoyed this one, hit the like button. Subscribe podcast listeners, five star ratings and reviews. Tomorrow, special guest gonna be on the show, a doctor, Dr. Borchers. Is that how you say his name?

[Task]

Yes.

[Skeets]

Okay.

[Task]

Dr. James Borches. But he goes by Jim as well.

[Skeets]

Well, Dr. Jim.

[Task]

I've already done some research on that Dr. Jim. We call him Dr. Jim.

[Skeets]

You gotta call him Dr. Jesus.

[Task]

Dr. J. Dr. J is gonna teach us some things that we don't know about.

[Skeets]

All right, well, that's tomorrow's show. In addition to the games from tonight, any big stories. So join us at 10am Eastern. Until then, Clipper Bros. You heard it here first. Have a great time.

[Trey]

Turn up.

[Skeets]

Love you guys. Awesome.

[Task]

Well, thanks for joining us. And remember, remember, it's snowing here in Atlanta on the set. That's why I'm segueing to that JD Because I needed to ask you. Stop snowing.

[Trey]

There it is.

[Task]

It's back. Although somebody asked what frame rate we're operating at because D Scoop thinks it's going aggressively fast. That blizzard, is it fast?

[Skeets]

Blizzard? Yeah.

[Task]

Wait, the frame rate of the show or the frame rate of the snow? The snow. The snow monitor. He literally thinks it's faster than a 1.0. I mean, I could slow it down, I guess, but. No, no, I'm not asking you if you want to slow it down. I'm just asking you what the rate is. It's a goddamn blizzard out there, man. I don't know what to tell you.

[Skeets]

Be careful on the roads. Don't put it in neutral. And we'll see you guys tomorrow. Embrace the day, people.

[Trey]

Ah, greetings from my bath festive friends.

[Skeets]

The holidays are overwhelming, but I'm tackling.

[Trey]

This season with PayPal and making the.

[Skeets]

Most of my money.

[Trey]

Getting 5% cash back when I pay in 4. No fees, no interest.

[Skeets]

I used it to get this portable spa with jets. Now the bubbles can cling to my sculpted but pruny body. Make the most of your money this holiday with PayPal. Save the offer in the app ends 1231. See paypal.com promoter points can be redeemed for cash and more. Paying for subject to terms and approval.

[Trey]

PayPal Inc. And MLS 910457Amazon Five Star Theater presents real customer review performed by Eva Longoria.

[Skeets]

Tonight's review, sports briefs.

[Task]

Oh, boy. Where do I even start with these.

[Skeets]

Performance mesh boxer briefs. These boxer briefs are like a magician's trick.

[Task]

You know the one where you go, where did that rabbit come from? So if you're looking for underwear that not only performs well but also gives.

[Trey]

Your package the attention it deserves, then look no further.

[Skeets]

5 stars. Nickalicious Shop the perfect gift this holiday season on Amazon.

What a matchup we got, y'.

[Trey]

All. This is that classic HBCU vibe. Non stop action. The band is rocking and the crowd lit.

[Skeets]

Chance echo drum beat.

[Trey]

Everybody showing that school pride. Game like this.

[Task]

Yeah, yeah.

[Skeets]

It calls for an ice cold Coca Cola.

[Trey]

Ah, crisp and refreshing.

[Skeets]

That's a game changer right there.

[Trey]

Yeah, that taste always hits the right note.

[Skeets]

Just like the band at halftime.

[Trey]

And just like that, we're back at it.

[Skeets]

Passionate fans, school colors everywhere.

[Trey]

And an ice cold Coca Cola.

[Skeets]

That's a winning combo.

[Task]

No matter the sport, no matter the yard.

[Trey]

Everybody knows fan work is thirsty work.

[Skeets]

So grab a Coca Cola and keep.

[Trey]

That HBCU pride going.

[Task]

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.