Pistons-Hornets Brawl, Cavs Stay Hot & Unpacking The Giannis-Kalshi News

Summary

No Dunks Podcast: "Pistons-Hornets Brawl, Cavs Stay Hot & Unpacking The Giannis-Kalshi News"

Date: February 10, 2026

Hosts: J. Skeets, Tas Melas, Trey Kirby, JD

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Episode Overview

This lively episode covers a riotous night in the NBA, led by a full-on brawl between the Pistons and Hornets, high-level analysis of the new-look Cavaliers staying hot, and a deep dive into Giannis Antetokounmpo's headline-making investment in Kalshi, a prediction market platform. The hosts bring signature banter, real hoops insight, and plenty of jokes, spotlighting the NBA’s dramas on and off the court.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Pistons-Hornets Brawl: A Throwback NBA Fight (03:31 – 18:07)

• Summary:
  The Detroit Pistons edged the Charlotte Hornets 110-104 in a game that devolved into a massive, multi-player fight and saw four players ejected. The hosts break down the fight in detail, the likely suspensions, and how this scuffle compares in NBA history.

• Fight Sequence:

  • Starts with a hard foul by Diabate on Jalen Duran, escalating into a "Grisham style" headbutting and Duran smushing Diabate in the face.
  • Miles Bridges and Isaiah Stewart get involved, both throwing punches; Stewart (aka "Beef Stew") comes in hot from the bench.
  • Four ejected: Diabate, Bridges, Duran, Stewart.

• Suspension Predictions:

  • Debate over who should get the longest bans based on escalation, league priorities, and past behavior (notably Stewart's extensive history).
  • Quote (Trey Kirby, 08:22):
    “This was like a legitimate brawl out there…like that’s what you’re supposed to do. This was – this was a good fight.”

• Historical Comparison:
  Riffs on famous NBA brawls (“Nuggets vs Knicks from a million years ago, Melo got a 15-game suspension…”), and contrast with current league discipline.

  • Tas Melas, 07:38:
    “It was very funny to see when the referees announced who got tossed...Isaiah Stewart had his hands under his shoulder straps...‘Yeah, I deserve that.’”

• Game Impact:
  Despite the chaos, the Pistons took control late, with Cade Cunningham stepping up.

• Notable Quote (J. Skeets, 10:33):
  "The fight gets all the headlines...but awesome game and I hope we see these teams in a first round series."

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2. Other Fights: Wolves-Hawks Jersey Grab (18:07 – 20:19)

• Summary:
  Quick mention of a more classic scuffle — Nas Reid and Mo Gay tossed for prolonged jersey grabbing, called a “hockey fight."
  • Both hosts agree: likely just fines, not suspensions.
  • Trey Kirby, 18:49:
    “I love like a stretched-out basketball jersey. Makes me think Ron Artest, Malice at the Palace.”

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3. Cavs Stay Hot: Harden Revives Cleveland (21:34 – 28:03)

• Summary:
  Cleveland rallies past Denver 119-117, led by mid-season acquisition James Harden and Donovan Mitchell’s clutch plays. The hosts express (guarded) hope that Harden has changed the Cavaliers’ ceiling.

• Key Game Moments:

  • Harden’s step-back 3 to tie the game in the clutch.
  • Mitchell nails free throws after drawing a late foul.

• Harden’s Impact:

  • Outlines how Harden led a bench unit run while Mitchell rested, setting up teammates, hitting big shots, and even defending Jokic decently on a key possession.

• Host Reactions:

  • “It ain’t Game 7 yet…” – skepticism persists (25:25).
  • Trey jokes about being hurt by Harden’s past, but,
    “One more good fourth-quarter performance and I’m in. I’m ready.” (23:20)

• Eastern Conference Outlook:

  • Hosts agree the East seems wide open, listing Pistons, Knicks, Celtics, and Cavs as viable. Debate if they’d be shocked by any making the Finals.

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4. Jazz Beat Heat: “Tanking” Irony & Player Development (28:09 – 34:55)

• Summary:

  • The Utah Jazz, despite sitting three key starters (Markkanen, Jaren Jackson Jr, Nurkic) in the fourth quarter as part of a “tanking” strategy, still beat the Miami Heat.
  • Will Hardy’s novel approach: play vets 20-25 minutes, then let young guys handle the high-pressure final quarter for experience.

• Host Take:

  • "Is this galaxy brain player development?" (32:18)
  • The Heat’s problems—lack of offensive firepower, poor fourth quarter defense—are exposed.

• Quote (Trey Kirby, 31:26): "If the goal is to win games, then I'm down. But if the goal is to get better draft odds, then I'm up."

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5. Quick Roundup: Additional Games & Player Notes (34:55 – 41:51)

• Bulls vs Nets, Timberwolves-Hawks, Lakers-Thunder:

  • IO Dosunmu’s fast-break style helps the Bulls.
  • Wolves show better focus, Lakers try "teeny tiny" lineup—hosts skeptical.
  • Luke Kennard’s shooting reluctance frustrates Lakers fans.

• Pelicans, Zion, and Tank-a-Thon:

  • Pelicans’ unexpected losing streak; Zion quietly stays healthy but plays less explosively (38:41).

• Rookies to Watch:

  • Nets’ Nolan Traore shows promise.
  • Blazers’ Scoot Henderson returns, flashes potential.
  • Franz Wagner’s return for Magic.

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6. Up/Down Report: News & Controversy (42:35 – 64:36)

Steph Curry Sidelined for All-Star — Who Will Replace? (42:41 – 46:42)

• Consensus: James Harden is the logical replacement, as an American guard playing at an All-Star level.
• Quote (Trey Kirby, 43:58):
  "Harden checks three boxes: He's American, he's a guard, and he's old. That's the same as Steph Curry."

Giannis Partners with Kalshi: Ethical Problem? (47:54 – 54:36)

• Discussion:
  • Giannis becomes a shareholder in Kalshi, a prediction market—raises concerns about NBA players in sports-betting-adjacent businesses.
  • Hosts view it as a major conflict of interest, borderline "insider trading."
  • Skeets slams the PR strategy:
    • “Read the room, guys. Holy crap.”
    • “Giannis has gone from…one of the most likable superstars...to, like, it has soured quite a bit.” (52:23)
  • All expect Adam Silver to address this at All-Star Weekend.

Bucks Sign Cam Thomas — Smart or Tank Move? (54:36 – 59:01)

• Bucks ink Cam Thomas as a scoring punch.
• Hosts suspect it’s more about tanking than meaningful improvement ("box score player, not really a basketball player").
• Trey Kirby, 56:43:
  “If the goal is to win games, down. If the goal is to get better draft odds, up.”

Clippers Keep Kawhi at Deadline (59:01 – 64:04)

• Multiple teams reportedly asked about Kawhi, but the Clippers wisely held on.
• Hosts cite his current elite play and the unlikelihood of attractive offers.
• Trey Kirby, 59:33:
  "There’s no way the offers for Kawhi Leonard are worth what Kawhi Leonard is to the Clippers."
• Play-in calculus: the Clippers may pull off a playoff run if Kawhi stays healthy.

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7. Other Notable Quotes & Funny Moments

• Tas on Duran’s Dodging:
  “He should be in the dunk contest. ... That dancer looks very healthy.” (06:25)
• Debate on All-Star Game Suspensions:
  “Should the All-Star Game count for him serving his suspension?” (13:39)
• Vintage Jersey Tangent:
  Side bar about NBA jerseys they own, all acquired through weird TV connections, never worn.

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8. Notable Stats & Timestamps

• Pistons-Hornets Brawl Deep Dive: 03:31 – 18:07
• Cavaliers Rally (Harden/Mitchell): 21:34 – 28:03
• All-Star Replacement Talk: 42:41 – 46:42
• Giannis-Kalshi Segment: 47:54 – 54:36
• Up/Down Report - Major News: 42:35 – 64:36

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Conclusion

This episode encapsulates why No Dunks is a go-to NBA pod: immediate, colorful analysis of wild NBA nights, a balance of hoop nerdery and culture/media skepticism, and irrepressible humor. Whether recounting a “mad moose” melee or parsing the ethics of NBA-gambling crossover, the crew keeps things insightful and fun.

For new listeners or fans who missed the episode:

• You’ll get detailed breakdowns of this week’s biggest NBA drama, spark for barroom debates, and plenty of laugh-out-loud moments from the original basketball podcasters.

Transcript

[J. Skeets]

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.

[Ben Higgins]

You can scroll the headlines all day and still feel empty. I'm Ben Higgins and if youf Can Hear Me is where culture meets the soul. Honest conversations about identity, loss, purpose, peace, faith, and everything in between. Celebrities, thinkers, everyday people. Some have answers. Most are still figuring it out. And if you've ever felt like there has to be more to the story, this show is for you. Listen to if youf Can Hear me on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts at.

[J. Skeets]

Charmin. We heard you shouldn't talk about going to the bathroom in public, so we decided to sing about it.

[Tas Melas]

Charmin Ultra Strong.

[Trey Kirby]

You can use less better than the rest.

[Tas Melas]

Charmin Ultra Strong Booty pass the clean text.

[Trey Kirby]

Salmon weave texture, it's the best. Study up, teach a lesson on fresh.

[Tas Melas]

Your booty pass the clean test.

[J. Skeets]

Charmin Ultra Strong. Charmin Ultra Strong with diamond weave texture cleans better than the leading one Plaid brand so you can use less. Enjoy the go with Charmin. Good morning, sweet world, and welcome to the no Dunks podcast presented by FanDuel. It's Tuesday, February 10th, 2026. I'm J. Skeets here in the classic factory and alongside me, as always, Tas Melis.

[Tas Melas]

Today I am Tardy Tass.

[J. Skeets]

Next to him, it's my top shot, hot boy, Trey Kirby.

[Trey Kirby]

L A O.

[J. Skeets]

And over yonder, making the magic happen, super producer JD Hello. There he is. Here we are. What happened out there? A lot of traffic or you?

[Tas Melas]

It's all on me. It's on me.

[Trey Kirby]

It's on me.

[J. Skeets]

Okay. You just left late.

[Tas Melas]

Yeah, well, yeah, a lot of traffic.

[Trey Kirby]

There was a lot.

[Tas Melas]

There's both. It's both. It can always be traffic and me leaving late, but I always leave late.

[J. Skeets]

Oh, so you always leave late in hopes that the traffic is very light?

[Tas Melas]

That's just how I'm wired, man. I push it to the max.

[J. Skeets]

On today's show, we're going to talk about fight night in the NBA. We're going to talk about who's going to replace Steph Curry in the All Star game. And Giannis jumps in bed with a prediction market. We'll unpack that. But first, another day, another wedgie, and this one again in Portland, the fifth Blazers wedgie of the season and its newish blazer, Veep Kreche. John Hollinger's boy. Sticking wedgie. 46 on the three point attempt there and we are on pace for 67. So it's just great. I don't think we've ever seen a number that high when it comes to the wedgie pace. At wedgie tracker.com?

[Tas Melas]

Yeah, probably not. Yeah.

[Trey Kirby]

What's going on? What's up with all these wedgies all sticking a lot?

[Tas Melas]

Yeah, I don't know.

[J. Skeets]

I mean, honestly, you can thank the Blazers and Kings for, I don't know, a quarter of these. Many, very many. Been involved in a ton of. I don't know what's going on in Portland or Sacramento.

[Trey Kirby]

I went and, like, looked at old pictures of backboards from the 2024 season to see if they added, like an extra piece of rubber around the place where the rim attaches to the glass. I don't think they did, but there needs to be a reason for this. It's too frequent right now. It's freaking me out.

[J. Skeets]

Okay.

[Tas Melas]

It's funny because I was thinking that too. That little plastic piece, it's almost just like this. It's bright orange.

[Trey Kirby]

Is it bigger?

[Tas Melas]

I don't know.

[J. Skeets]

Hey, look.

[Tas Melas]

No emergency pod last night for this wedgie emergency pod. We didn't have one for vkrechi being traded, but I thought we should have one for this particular wedgie. I was almost. It almost triggered me.

[J. Skeets]

All right, let's get into again some of the wrestling last night. We start with Cade Cunningham and the Pistons hanging on to beat Charlotte 110, 104. The game was very entertaining, snapping the Hornets nine game win streaks in a game that included a fight and four player ejections. We also had Charles Lee ejected in the fourth quarter. This felt like a playoff game here in mid February. These teams were going at it. We might get this matchup potential 18 matchup in the post season. But we have the B roll here. It was midway through the third quarter when Jalen Duran was fouled hard by Diabate. And the two are going to go face to face. Grisham style. Appear to butt heads. I mean, they butt heads here. And then Duran smushes Diabodi in the face and really ignites the confrontation. That just super pissed off Diabate. He's going at Duran. He's throwing a punch or two. And then Miles Bridges is gonna get involved. He threw a couple punches, hit a lot of air on them. Duran retaliated at one point with a punch of his own. And then just sort of when you think it's all over and they've got the guys all pulled apart. Okay, Diabate, you get back there. Good job, Con canipple. Here comes Miles Bridges trying to get at Duran again throwing that punch. And Isaiah Stewart then leaves the bench to confront Bridges and man, he came in hot as hell. Look at Duncan Robinson there, just rolling his eyes, not getting involved. So after it all was done, Diabate, Bridges, Duran and Beef Stew all ejected. And I'm guessing we're going to get some suspensions coming our way here over the next day or two. James Jones is going to be a busy boy. Any predictions on who gets suspended and how many games for these guys?

[Tas Melas]

Well, I think James Earen and Musa Diabate should get an equal number of games. They're both a big problem in this one. Whether it's four or five, I think it should be fairly high. Whoa.

[J. Skeets]

Yeah, for those two or five.

[Tas Melas]

Specifically those guys. The other guys will get suspended as well. Isaiah Stewart and Miles Burgess. But these two guys were forehead to forehead. Forehead to antlers, I suppose. And Jill and Duran was the guy who initiated it by slapping that moose. If he doesn't slap him, then it doesn't get started at all. No.

[J. Skeets]

Is it a slap or a smush?

[Trey Kirby]

Whatever it is, hand to face?

[Tas Melas]

If he doesn't do that, then Musa Diabate isn't set off now all the time.

[Trey Kirby]

You don't think Musa pushed his antlers a little harder than Durin did when they were forehead to forehead?

[Tas Melas]

They were. Yes. Yes, that is true. It's difficult to say who gets most.

[J. Skeets]

Games, but you think those two should get equal amount of games.

[Tas Melas]

They're the ones.

[J. Skeets]

Whether it's. I guess you're saying four or five. I think it'd actually be. Will be a little less for those.

[Tas Melas]

Two, I don't know. Because they get. They get punished because it lasted so long. Just the entire event.

[Trey Kirby]

Yeah, it was extended.

[Tas Melas]

Yeah. And Diabate was the one who extended it. Yeah, he was going at Jaylen Duran. Jalen Duran is a great dancer, I think. I mean, he dodged that first one with an upper body movement. And then the foot. The foot. The footwork for that second movement. He should be in the dunk contest. I thought he was in the dunk contest. He looks very healthy. That. That dancer looks very healthy. But either way, it's those two guys. Those are the both.

[J. Skeets]

Okay, well, if you have those guys at four or five games, then where are you. How high you going for? Beef Stew, let's say, who has a history of obviously sort of fighting guys and wanting to get into it and has a lengthy suspension history.

[Tas Melas]

Yeah. And I think I bumped those guys up a little bit because Isaiah Stewart definitely needs to get a significant number as well. I think he gets three for leaving the bench in this case.

[J. Skeets]

Okay, so you actually think I'm fascinated by it. You think Diabate enduring get more games spended here than Beastu for leaving the bench and having a history of it?

[Tas Melas]

Yes, I may be going high with those first, the initial two, but yes, I do think they get the highest. They should get the most. They are the ones who initiated it. It did take some time for Isaiah Stewart to get going. He was watching for a long time. He's watching the whole thing happen.

[Trey Kirby]

Couldn't resist.

[Tas Melas]

But then something trigger Miles Bridges win at Jalen Duran. And then he went and defended his boy, defended his teammate, got out there. It was very funny to see when the referees announced who got tossed from the game. Isaiah Stewart had his hands under his shoulder straps and he gives a little thumbs up while his thumbs are under his, like, yeah, I deserve that. I deserve to get tossed. But all four get some form of suspension, that's for sure.

[J. Skeets]

You agree with that, Trey?

[Trey Kirby]

Yeah, I think everybody will be suspended because, I mean, there were multiple punches being thrown around. I kind of think Diabate and Beef Stew get the longest suspensions. Stewart's already been suspended for three games for fighting Drew Eubanks before a game, right?

[J. Skeets]

Yeah, yeah, he punched Eubanks in a parking lot. Yeah, that was that one.

[Trey Kirby]

Yeah, that was a three.

[J. Skeets]

Then. He chased LeBron once upon a time. He also got into it with. Was it Divincenzo or something? He's got a couple.

[Trey Kirby]

He's got a lot. I bet he's like. I bet he's like five games. The first thing this made me think of was the Nuggets vs Knicks fight from a million years ago. Melo got a 15 game suspension for that. But it was coming kind of on the heels of the Malice at the Palace. You know, it was also the David Stern era. He had a heavier hammer certainly than Adam Silver does, but yeah, I don't know. I do feel like Diabate and Duran both escalated it. I think Beef Stew certainly escalated it. And unbelievably, I think Miles Bridges is going to get the smallest suspension of everybody here, which is just a joke when you consider this guy's past. But this was like a legitimate brawl out there. You heard a bad bunny. But what about Mad Moose? This was great to see. I don't really blame anybody, you know, that was a hard foul by Diabate. Him and Duran were beefing with each other. They both stuck up for each other. They both. And then other guys stuck up for their teammates. Like, that's what you're supposed to do. This was. This is a good fight.

[Tas Melas]

I like this fight.

[J. Skeets]

I'm trying to think how many games got these guys are going to get here. I hear you on the Diabot, like, he's the one that really wanted, like, he kept going. That entire thing was trying his hardest at the end there to, like, calm him down because he was really worked up. But, yeah, we've seen guys like, hard fouls. I was watching this entire game, and I tweeted before halftime, I was like, man, this. This game is entertaining as hell. Like, this is fun as hell right now. Because it was getting a little chippier at the end of this first half. You know, the second quarter, Brandon Miller had a hard foul on Jalen Duran, but you could hear the guys out there like, everybody's all right, everybody's all right. Tobias Harris was out there, I don't know, policing a little bit. But they're like, they were telling the refs, like, hey, hard foul. We're all good. But you could sense it brewing a little bit now. I didn't see this coming, of course, but, man, it was like, hard foul. That happens. Guys come head to head, pushing and shoving, whatever that happens. But then it just kept going and really, Bridges obviously reigniting it. Beastu coming off the bench. Like, I think Beastu is going to get penalized quite a bit here.

[Trey Kirby]

Oh, big time.

[J. Skeets]

The leaving the bench and having the history of all this, really. And like, yeah, he's sticking up for his guy, but they're going to be like, we can't have this happening. We've told you this a million times. So I think he's going to get the most severe punishment in the end. What is that, though? Yeah, I have it somewhere between five and ten games, I guess, for Beastu, I think it'll be pretty. I think more five. Like, I don't think Diabate and Durin are going to get five. I think it's going to be more in the three range or something like that. And the bridge is probably around there, too. But I think Beef will get the most. The harshest penalty here.

[Tas Melas]

Yeah, it's unfortunate for Isaiah Stewart because we watch these games and he has calmed down, you know, through the first 40 games of the season. Considering his past, he looks like a different player. It looks like he has learned his ways and it took him a long time. Again, it took almost a couple minutes of Diabate running around. Everybody. It took. It was like 60 seconds. And then finally he Decided, well, he.

[J. Skeets]

Took offense to Miles Bridges.

[Tas Melas]

Yeah. Going after.

[J. Skeets]

That's what these dude did. Yeah. Okay, it's over. They've separated everybody. And then for whatever reason, Bridges is coming running that during again and tries to punch him again. And then Beastu's like, okay, see you later. Yeah, I'm getting in on this one.

[Tas Melas]

But he went back to his old ways. He went back to his ways of going at LeBron and I guess in the hall and I had forgotten about that one in the hallway or the parking lot.

[J. Skeets]

He got three for that one.

[Tas Melas]

Yep.

[J. Skeets]

And he's done some other pushing and headlocks and such and he's gotten game suspension. That's why I say 5 to 10. I'm not saying because of this incident, but I just wonder how much Silver and James Jones and the league are like, oh yeah, because of the history of it all. And like, okay, they keep adding on to it in that sense. That's why I have him getting the most. Not for really what he did last night. But yeah, man, this was hot.

[Trey Kirby]

I think he's a fiver, but 10's probably a little much. We haven't had a double digit suspension since Nick's Nuggets and that was 20 years ago.

[Tas Melas]

Fairly accurate. I think the ones who caused the worst scene were Diabate and to a lesser degree, Jalen Duran. As far as what we're watching, as we're watching it here on YouTube, once again, what made the headlines, you know, it was the Duran slap, slash, smush, whatever you call it, and then the running around to Diabate. Those are the ones that stand out rather than Isaiah Stewart.

[J. Skeets]

Yeah, but the league generally like, again, guys fight all the time. There's hard fouls and they come head to head. These guys are huge guys. That happens all the time. It's like they really want to cut down and penalize the Miles Bridges and the Stewarts for like re instigating it and really kicking off into the crowd. Diabate falling into the crowd and all that. Like. Yeah, that's what they really want to avoid in my opinion.

[Tas Melas]

I hear you. And penalize, but we also don't see a mad moose like that. Have you ever seen a moose that mad? I mean, that guy was scrambling for minutes.

[Trey Kirby]

Yeah, he was going for a long time.

[J. Skeets]

He was going nuts.

[Tas Melas]

Yeah, his, the staff on his team had to work extremely hard to get him off the floor. It took literally. I watched real time. It was almost three minutes of them being able to get him down to the hallway. So that's A big part of it. And I'm Canadian and I've never seen a moose that mad.

[J. Skeets]

If Jalen Duran, let's say he gets suspended, you know, three, four games, whatever it is, two to four games. Do you think the All Star Game should count for him serving his suspension? And on top of that, in theory, his team in the All Star Game could play three games. Should they all count? Because Kate Cunningham is on his team. I believe in the All Star team format here. And he could, like, really try and win and get to the final if it counted for another game that Duran.

[Trey Kirby]

Would then miss, I think. Well, they're not full games, right? They're only quarter games, so they should count only as quarters.

[J. Skeets]

Oh, damn it.

[Trey Kirby]

They can add up.

[Tas Melas]

They could add up.

[Trey Kirby]

He could get a 0.75 games off of his suspension by not playing in the All Star Game.

[Tas Melas]

I think Jalen Duran should be forced to go in the dunk contest because that's his punishment. Because initially it was publicized. He's going in. That was a press release. They said he was going in. Now he's going to be super mad dunking that ball. It's good for all of us because he's going to be a mad dunker.

[J. Skeets]

Okay, my final prediction here. Jalen Duran, two games. Diabate three games. I think he maybe does get a little bit more now. I think about it because you guys are talking about how, like, insane he went. Bridges is the question mark to me. I mean, he's a piece of shit. So let's give him three games, too, and then I'm going to go beef stew. I will go five games. That's where I'm going. James Jones, tell us when you're ready. Come on, on and talk about it.

[Tas Melas]

My final prediction, Stuart. Excuse me, excuse me. Let me. Let me start at the top. My bad. Duran and Diabate, four each. Stuart, three. Bridges two.

[J. Skeets]

Okay. And Trey, I'll go get it on record.

[Trey Kirby]

Beef stew 5. Diabatte and durin, 3. Bridges 2.

[J. Skeets]

Okay, okay, let's hear from you here.

[Trey Kirby]

Get your place in.

[J. Skeets]

As for the game itself, let's talk a little bit about it.

[Tas Melas]

I mean, that sucks because it was a good game.

[J. Skeets]

Yeah, yeah.

[Tas Melas]

And.

[J. Skeets]

And like, I actually respected Hornets coach Charles Lee getting ejected too. Like, later in the game. It was in the fourth quarter, it was over a bogus call where Grant Williams got called for a charge, you know, even though it really wasn't at all. And then he went nuts. He had to be restrained. But I thought it was like, specifically like, we were. They were down by like, I don't know, 10 or so around there games, you know, getting close to crunch time. He's like, let's. Let's give this a go here and see if he'll rally the boys. And it sort of did, like, they got back into the game, so I appreciated that. But Kate Cunningham down the stretch, big play after big play. TK didn't shoot the ball all that well last night, but monster line, but he sort of refused to let the Pistons lose. I thought this one.

[Trey Kirby]

We've seen this a lot of times from Cade Cunningham and the Pistons, where he just is their entire team, basically in the fourth quarter. And, you know, he's got a good matchup. I feel like against the Hornets, they don't just have a big, physical guy who can guard him. Some mistakes down the stretch, I thought from Seon James were kind of killer for the Hornets as well. But it almost worked out nice for the Pistons losing two of their top big guys because Paul Reed came in and went insane. And it was like the guy who would have been the perfect matchup for him on the Hornets would be Diabate, a quicker guy who can, like, stay with him athletically. He was kind of running circles, I thought around Kalkbrenner out there. So he went. From a guy who was just chilling on the bench, he probably sees the fight happen. He's like, beef, you gonna do anything about that? You know, he's finishing out the game and playing really well.

[J. Skeets]

Good point. That's a good point. Yeah. He had 12 points, three boards, all on the offensive glass, and two steals in 18 minutes. That's BMO Paul there.

[Tas Melas]

Yeah, Charlotte picked him from deep on the bench to shoot the free throws that were needed after everybody was ejected. And he missed. Did he miss both? He definitely missed one. He didn't look good releasing that. I think. I think he missed both. And then he went to the corner and splashed a three and had a really good game after. It was surprising. But we saw, yeah, the Pistons depth in this game. Like, I thought Duncan Robinson, he. He hadn't hit a three until after the altercation, but he started hitting three. Well, he hit that one three. He literally hit seven twos in this game. That's surprising. Robinson.

[Trey Kirby]

Yeah, we had a Duncan dunk.

[Tas Melas]

Yeah, he looked quick getting to the rim. So you saw great depth from Detroit in this game.

[J. Skeets]

Any other notes on this game or the fight? I have one funny tweet I saw from the Mr. Marcus who tweeted last night. Isai Stewart being 24 is crazy to me. Dude looks like and acts like he's been laid off from a Ford maintenance job in Detroit. That made me laugh. He's 24. He looks like an older gentleman.

[Trey Kirby]

Yes, he does.

[J. Skeets]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Pistons now five and a half games above the Knicks and Celtics in the Eastern Conference. And this really is. I mean, again, the fight gets all the headlines, just like we talked about here. But awesome game and I hope we see these teams in a first round series. I hope the Hornets get into that eight seed and they very well could the way they're playing and we potentially get this matchup. We had another fight too. Just quickly. We had Nas Reed and Mo Gay getting tossed in an altercation between the Hawks and Wolves. It was more of your classic NBA fight.

[Trey Kirby]

Yep.

[J. Skeets]

It was more Nas Reed and I guess both of them, they just would not let go of the jerseys. And a real hockey fight, the way they were holding on to the jerseys, especially Nas Reed had a grip on that thing.

[Trey Kirby]

Yeah, it was a stick gloves shirt from Naz Radiant. Real good grip on Mogay. I love like a stretched out basketball jersey. Makes me think Ron Arts palace at the Palace. I think maybe Jared Jeffries had a crazy stretched out shirt.

[J. Skeets]

Oh yeah.

[Trey Kirby]

During the Knicks vs Nuggets brawl. These things, they look like very, very tight and then as soon as they get grabbed, it's just like a massive, massive V neck. But I think Nas Reed is. Didn't he just like getting a. In a fight with Chris Dunn as well? Like they were kind of button heads. I guess he's their tough guy.

[J. Skeets]

Yeah.

[Trey Kirby]

You know, Rudy gets in some fights as well, I suppose, but it was a pretty solid performance, I thought from the Timberwolves, all things considered.

[Tas Melas]

I also like a stretch jersey. I think that was what initiated, was the, was the inspiration for our segment on the starters where we did a. A jersey rip. I mean those type of.

[J. Skeets]

Yeah, the inspiration I guess was guys just ripping it and we're like, wow, they're making it look like it's paper. It's not that easy to rip. And then we tried it and it's.

[Tas Melas]

That easy to rip. Was. Was it Blake Griffin? I feel like it was Blake yet. But yeah, was. I guess Lee was ripping an OJ Mayo jersey. Either way, I, if you, if you watch some of the footage Jock Landale came of was just standing there. He got the worst of it. He did. He got, he got the cat scratch across the neck. He was literally bleeding. But nobody else threw a punch as he like this was just a hockey jersey grab.

[J. Skeets]

Yeah.

[Tas Melas]

And that's all it was.

[J. Skeets]

Can't imagine suspensions are coming for this one. They got tossed.

[Trey Kirby]

Those are fines.

[J. Skeets]

Yeah, exactly.

[Tas Melas]

Especially when the headlines and the footage is that other.

[J. Skeets]

Yeah, they picked the right night to sort of do it. James Jones. Like, I'm busy. I can't get to that one. Just, I don't know, find them a little bit or something.

[Ben Higgins]

What do you do when the headlines don't explain what's happening inside of you? I'm Ben Higgins, and if you can hear me is where culture meets the soul. A place for real conversation. Each episode I sit down with people from all walks of life, celebrities, thinkers, and everyday folks. And we go deeper than the polished story. We talk about what drives us, what shapes us, and what gives us hope. We get honest about the big stuff. Identity when you don't recognize yourself anymore. Loss that changes you. Purpose when success isn't enough. Peace when your mind won't slow down. Faith when it's complicated. Some guests have answers. Most are still figuring it out. If you've ever felt like there has to be more to the story, this.

[Trey Kirby]

Show is for you.

[Ben Higgins]

Listen to if you can hear me on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[J. Skeets]

Let's talk about some other games. Donovan Mitchell, James Harden rally the Cavaliers to the 119117 win over the Nuggets. James Harden, TK Huge. Step back, three on the side. Donovan Mitchell got some free throws at the end through the foul. Blocking charge or blocking foul? Excuse me. On Jamal Murray got him to the line there at the end, but he had a great game. Thoughts on the Cavs beating the Nugs?

[Trey Kirby]

I'm ready to be hurt again.

[Tas Melas]

Oh, man, don't do it.

[J. Skeets]

Don't do it.

[Trey Kirby]

A Cavs team that can't get over the hump. They said, who do we need? James Harden. He's gonna lead us to the promised land in the playoffs. He hit some massive shots in the first game against the Sacramento Kings. And then Harden was great in this one against the Nuggets in the fourth quarter, had Harden had four assists, hit the game tying three pointer from the corner. Classic Harden between the legs a hundred times. Step back. In your face. I thought it was also pretty important and nice for the Cavs to see that the comeback was really led by Harden with Mitchell on the bench. Mitchell checked out for his rest in the fourth quarter. In three minutes, the Cavs went plus six. It was a two point game when he came back. Harden was setting the table during that time. He's just hit ahead passes to Jalen Tyson. We're looking nice. And even. On the last Denver possession, he got switched onto. Jokic stood him up long enough for Jared Allen to come help. They helped out Tim Hardaway Jr. They say you can make as many threes as you want. We do not think you're making one when it actually matters. Jokic turns the ball over and the Cavs were able to close it out because of a pretty bad foul, I thought, by Jamal Murray. Mitchell was good in the fourth quarter as well. He had four points, three assists. That spin move he did on the right side kept the ball in his right hand the entire time. That looked really gorgeous to me. But yeah, I mean, I've been made to look a fool many times by James Harden and it's been a while. Been a while since he's made me.

[J. Skeets]

Look like an idiot.

[Trey Kirby]

But one more good fourth quarter performance and I'm in. I'm ready.

[Tas Melas]

It ain't game seven yet, especially in the Eastern Conference. I think that's. Yeah. Just because it feels like any team can do it from the top four. If the Pistons got there, would you be surprised? If the Knicks got to the Finals, would you be surprised? If the Celtics got there, Tatum's coming back. Would you be surprised? Or if this Cleveland Cavaliers team did it, would you be surprised? Yeah, somewhat. But because the door is somewhat open and James Harden is opening that thing. Haven't. Hasn't even had a practice with this team. Just wins these last two games of a road trip, which I thought the Nuggets were just out hustled in that fourth quarter when they were up 11 points. There was a couple threes. Christian Brown just left Jalen Tyson on that first one. He just didn't scramble to him. Christian Brown just should have got out there wide open. 3. Then Sam Merrill, their three point shooter, was one pass away from James Harden because Christian Brown was doing a soft double on James Harden. It didn't make any sense to me. One pass. Bang. That three hit. Christian Brown looked great on the other end. Four threes for him. Great stuff. That's his best three point shooting game of the season. No doubt. He went from 20% at the three point line to 25% in one single game as he went from 7 of 35 over the season to 11 of 44 now. But the Cavs hit six threes in that quarter. That's a lot of threes. Three offensive rebounds that the Nuggets gave up. It was a hustle thing. And then, yeah, Harden splash that three with 30 seconds left, which was monstrous to tie them up. And then, and then they got the.

[J. Skeets]

Stop and then they pushed it in transition. And Jared Allen's like screaming at Mitchell, like, I think he's open on the roll. Time was ticking down. Maybe it wouldn't have got there in time, but Mitchell's like, no, I'll keep this. I'm gonna get this shot and sort of like, attack Jamal Murray, who did, I thought blocked him too. Yeah, he turned his back. Exactly.

[Trey Kirby]

Easy foul call.

[J. Skeets]

Yeah, exactly. Yeah.

[Tas Melas]

He wasn't playing defense.

[Trey Kirby]

He was brutal in the fourth quarter. Yeah, Murray, zero points of two from the field, one assist, one turnover. He had the foul. But he was also like on the receiving end of a lot of these buckets, just looking like he didn't know where to be defensively. Yeah, I thought they were trying some zone stuff and it wasn't working.

[J. Skeets]

I also thought him and Jokic turned down some looks down the stretch too, that they usually would take. And like, I don't know, they like, like, why aren't you shooting that?

[Tas Melas]

Right? Yeah, I think my boy's tired. Jamal Murray is tired. Not, not to give him an excuse, but when David Aliman was saying, we need rest for the All Star game, I think he was basically speaking of Jamal Ray, who has done a lot because of all the injuries around him. So he needs to rest. Although, yeah, Jokic was turning down a lot of shots. I felt like, you know, he took his. But he only had 11 shots in the game. Of course, he got to the free throw line 12 times as well. But it's odd, you know, they're. They're all trying to get things involved, but they were up 11 in the fourth quarter in their effort, I think, is what. What killed them in this one. But good for the Cavs. It's the end of a five game trip.

[J. Skeets]

Yeah.

[Tas Melas]

To do that.

[J. Skeets]

They could have rolled over and died there easily. You're right.

[Tas Melas]

And they would have a month ago or maybe, you know, six weeks ago. Feels different right now.

[J. Skeets]

Yep.

[Trey Kirby]

See the second in odds in the Eastern Conference right now on Fanduel. The Cavs are really the Pistons.

[J. Skeets]

Yep. Okay. Everybody's jumping on the hardened trades.

[Tas Melas]

Yeah, exactly.

[Trey Kirby]

They're so newsy. It's no way this one ends. Not this time.

[J. Skeets]

Impossible. Impossible. He's gonna hit game winners in every game seven. Oh, man.

[Trey Kirby]

Just, just wait. He's gonna have a 40 point game in one of the first two games. Playoffs for the Cavs. I'll order me a Harden number one Cavs jersey. I'm lying. I'll never have a Cavs jersey.

[J. Skeets]

That's not crazy.

[Trey Kirby]

I already have a LeBron one.

[Tas Melas]

But still.

[Trey Kirby]

Yeah, it's from a draft we did together. Team LeBron.

[J. Skeets]

You didn't buy it? Yeah. Yeah.

[Trey Kirby]

Never spend my own money unless. Unless Harden has 40 in the playoffs, maybe.

[J. Skeets]

Then into game seven, maybe.

[Tas Melas]

I, too, have a LeBron jersey. Do we have the same ones? The black ones?

[Trey Kirby]

Mine's white. Oh, mine's white.

[J. Skeets]

I have a LeBron jersey, too, but it's. I didn't buy it either.

[Tas Melas]

I didn't buy it.

[Trey Kirby]

You covered the NBA long enough.

[J. Skeets]

Yeah.

[Trey Kirby]

You're gonna end up with a LeBron jersey. Nobody knows how it gets there.

[Tas Melas]

So we each have one. Have we each not worn.

[J. Skeets]

I've never worn it.

[Tas Melas]

Same.

[J. Skeets]

Yeah. I have, like, eight jerseys I've never worn that we somehow acquired from our NBA TV days. I have. Somehow. I have. I have a Steph, I have a Kevin Durant, and I have a Draymond Green warriors jersey. And I am not a big warriors fan, but I have all three of them. I think they're all three different types of jerseys, too. Yeah, that's weird. Okay. Any other thoughts on that one? Fun game, Jack, for me, so good. Yeah, I know.

[Trey Kirby]

This guy's awesome. He's got. He's gotten 21 for 28 since James Harden came to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Pretty good.

[Tas Melas]

Yeah. He's been important. It will be interesting to see if that stays rolling whenever Mobley comes back.

[J. Skeets]

Yeah, Right. Let's talk about this game here. Bryce Sensabaugh hit a late three to lift the Jazz to the115,111 win, which we say here on the lower third. Whoops. Yeah. The Jazz won. Maybe by accident, they beat the Heat, but Utah led 85, 82 after three quarters. In the second consecutive game here, Coach Will Hardy sat Lowry Markkanen. He saw Jaren Jackson, sat Jaron Jackson Jr. And he sat Yousef Nurkic, who had a really good game. Again, I think he had 10 and 16 through three quarters. Sat all three of those guys in the fourth quarter and didn't really matter in the end. Utah won it. So everybody chill out with the. Oh, my God. We have a tanking dilemma here. What are you talking about? They sat there, guys, and they still won. Hardy's a genius. Thoughts on. On this one?

[Tas Melas]

Yeah. They know how to circumvent the rules. Smart to sit them down because they want to Lose. That being said, they go and win this thing. Like you see Larry Markin in his minutes. He only played 24 in this game. He averages 34 on the season.

[J. Skeets]

Oh, it's no there's a goal secret. Will Hardy was asked after the game about this. Like basically like, you know, any thoughts of putting those guys back in the fourth? Nope. So I mean he's not like even pretending to try and like come up with a fake reason. He's like, no, this is our game plan here. We're going to play them and then we're going to play our younger guys in the fourth quarter of a game and see what happens. Maybe we win like we did last night against the Heat. Maybe we lose like we did the one prior.

[Tas Melas]

Like Kalsheet, they know how to circumvent the rules. You know, we'll get to those a little bit later on, but it's just like last year. I, I did mention it yesterday when the Raptors were tanking and Jacoby Walter of all people hit that one legged game winner. Woohoo. They won a game. This feels very similar.

[Trey Kirby]

Yeah, I mean I thought the Jazz actually played pretty well in the fourth quarter. Ace Bailey looked great 44 for 5 from the field, eight points, a couple of assists. Won a clutch jump ball as well. But it more so comes down to me. This is just another bad loss for the Miami Heat. They could not keep the ball in front of them throughout the game and especially in the fourth quarter. 54 points in the paint for Utah last night. They got seven layups in the fourth quarter and this is as we're saying playing their young guys like Ace Bailey was just going around Wiggins nonstop. Davion Mitchell was getting left in the dust by Isaiah Collier on the other side. The Heat to me could not generate good offense at all. It was just Hawk has driving into a crowded lane all the time. Wiggins was hitting some shots but then started missing there at the end. Miami since 12-1-15 and 2024th in offense, their net rating is 0.2. I can't believe this team didn't make a move at the deadline to sort of beef up because they're really faltering. They had a hot start at the beginning of the season. They've been completely figured out. They had no Powell, no hero last night. So there's nobody really that should be getting offense from like they were lucky to have Yakachonas have such a good game. He missed the corner three that could have. What was that? To tie. I think it was maybe to tie or even to take the lead right there at the end. I guess it was to take the lead. They were down by 2 nonetheless. Bam. Can't generate offense by himself. Like, he has that sweet drive on Filipowski. Put him on the ground and threw it down. But, like, he's not a reliable generator out there. So ugly win or ugly loss. I thought for the Heat. And like I've always said, the Jazz have the perfect strategy. I'm on board with what they're doing.

[J. Skeets]

And it didn't help for the Heat that Khalil Ware, who did start this game, fouled out in 14 minutes. He did not play a whole lot.

[Trey Kirby]

I am not sold on Khalil.

[J. Skeets]

He was gone in a heartbeat. He actually was playing okay when he was out there. Just never out there because he's fouling all the time.

[Tas Melas]

Yeah. And that's been a huge issue for the Miami Heat this entire season and for Eric Spoelstra, specifically, as to the amount of that. He trusts Khalil Ware and watching him the previous game against the Wizards, he had his best game in a while. Played 30 minutes, I do think. Had a really good game. Scored 19 points, 14 boards in the previous game. So I was watching to see if he would be able to overcome what Eric Spolster is worried about with this guy, that he just doesn't trust him and they need his offense. But then he falls out real quick, so the role has not started for him. He'll have one good game, and then we'll just spiral out of. Out of control, really.

[J. Skeets]

And back to Will Hardy and the Jazz. Is this galaxy brain player development that he's doing here, having his, like, main guys, his starters, his older guys play for whatever, 20 to 25 minutes, and then just give all the young guys opportunities in competitive, generally close games to try and figure out the fourth quarter. Is that, like, next level thinking? Because, like, usually it'd be like, yeah, just sit all the old guys and just let these young guys play, you know, big minutes from the start. But, like, those games maybe get out of hand. They're not even all that close. You know, he's like, no, no, no. I want them to learn competitive, tight game situations, so we'll just save all the young guys and play them in the final frame. As for the last couple of games.

[Trey Kirby]

Here, I mean, it's kind of the best of both worlds. You know, the young guys do get to play with the vets, who will be, like, the nucleus of the team for next season. And Then they get to stretch their legs a little bit in the fourth quarter. And in this trade with the Grizzlies, they got a couple of decent role guys like Vince Williams is a decent player, John Conchar is a decent player. So it's happening. It's happening. The Jazz, the pathway is back up the mountain next season. We'll see Jaren Jackson juniors look good.

[J. Skeets]

Since he's looking great. We did nail that one when obviously was on the Grizzlies and the whole John Morant, was he going to be traded or was he not going to be traded? And we were like, john or Jaren Jackson Jr. Is like, just not trying at all in Memphis. He has sort of given up because of that situation on the team. And like, oh, yeah, he gets paid a lot of money and has his liabilities, but we were like, if this guy goes to another team, he's going to play better because he is good. And that's exactly what he's done. He doesn't play the fourth quarter, but that's no fault of his own. That's his coach's decision. But he's been awesome. I'm with you, T.K. he looks like reinvigorated here to be in Utah. And they won by accident. I guess they don't care. I mean, there's too many bad teams here. Like, we had the Bulls Nets going last night.

[Trey Kirby]

That was a great game.

[Tas Melas]

Real good game.

[J. Skeets]

Colin Sexton giving the middle finger to the rim.

[Tas Melas]

The effort has definitely increased for Jaren Jackson Jr. He can still score better. He was 7 of 19, 2 of 7 from 3. He could shoot it better. He can score it better. Oh, yeah, that was the bonus of being alongside Larry Market and. And Keonte George was that he didn't have to be as primary a primary guy like he was in Memphis. And so that going forward is a good thing. Keonte George, injured, didn't play in this game.

[J. Skeets]

So, yeah, that's. That's a good counter because do you want to pay a guy that can't be a lead lead guy $50 million per year, which is what Jaren Jackson Jr. Is going to start getting paid here.

[Tas Melas]

Yeah, he's not. He's not a number one offensive gun. You're right. We've seen it.

[J. Skeets]

Any other takeaways from last night's games?

[Trey Kirby]

Well, we talked about Timberwolves, Hawks just briefly, but IO Dasumu has been a Hawks killer the entirety of his Bulls career and was awesome again last night against Atlanta. 21 points, three assists, a steal, a block And a couple of threes for IO. He just flies up and down the court like the Timberwolves are middle of the pack in fast break points per game. I think they got up to 25 last night. That's just an easy way for them to juice their offense, which is already pretty good. But the main thing is that the Wolves had just a better sense of focus last night. Having lost a few games against some under 500 teams. They took the Hawks seriously and a great win or a nice win for them.

[Tas Melas]

Yeah, Jumping over to Lakers Thunder just to see Jalen Williams back for the Thunder. Important stuff. They need him to get going because he hasn't had a great season. He's obviously been injured. So now he's got hopefully two months of getting better. And there are some bad shots in this game. I think he missed his first five. He just didn't look right. But he took 17 shots to try and get himself going. Took the most shots on his team because she's out especially. But he shot 13 free throws. Hopefully he can get it going. On the Lakers side, they went teeny tiny in the last 240. Flashed me back to last year against the Timberwolves when J.J. redick said, Everybody, everybody be able to rebound because we're going small. We're switching everything. That was when they started LeBron or played LeBron and Rui at the 4 or 5, essentially because they didn't trust Jackson Hayes. And yesterday it was Rui Lebron at the 4, 5. Luke Kennard, you're in there. Austin Reeves and Marcus Smart to finish off this game. I think Polinka said it, said it recently that we may go teeny tiny to get that switchability going. And JJ Redick was trying the same thing that he did against the Minnesota Tibber Wolves. So it was just interesting to watch that out there because they were desperate to try and come back. I mean, part of it was they just turned it. I think they had 10 turnovers in the first half, led to 20 points. That's not good basketball. You're not going to win. So you're trying some other stuff.

[J. Skeets]

Yeah. It's also funny to see Lakers fans now figure out Luke Kennard because you get this guy at the trade deadline, you see the percentage. You know he's one of the greatest three point shooters that in history of the game. And so you think he's going to come in, he's going to fire away, baby. He's going to light it up, he's going to open up the floor. You do Think that. But as I talked about, like he was with the Hawks, even this guy doesn't shoot enough for being one of the greatest shooters of all time. Like, what'd he take, two three point attempts last night? Like 24, 25 minutes of action. Like, you got to get through this guy. Like, you got to shoot it, man. And the Hawks did. Quinn, Snyder and Atlanta eventually did. He started ramping up his three point attempts. But they're going to have to do that, or Reddick's going to have to do that or LeBron's going to have to yell at him or something because he's giving you really nothing else out there. Like he has to shoot, but he just doesn't. For whatever reason, he, like, turns down, looks like he should be firing. So it's just funny to see, like, Lakers fans going, why is this guy shooting? It's like, yeah, yeah, that's sort of Luke Kennard. He's only taken six three pointers here in his two games, which he's played like 50 minutes. It's not enough. No, not enough. Otherwise, he's no reason for him to be able to.

[Trey Kirby]

That's why he's always available. Yeah, I mean, volume is more important than percentages when it comes to being a threatening shooter. And he doesn't take hardly at all.

[Tas Melas]

There's high hopes when he was drafted by those Pistons and he was kind of running the offense, running pick and rolls. I think it was for Stan Van back then, but he didn't live up to it back then. And then you see those numbers, as you said about Lakers fans, as I did here in Atlanta when they signed him to that one year, one of the best three point shooting is ever. Maybe it'll happen, but then the Hawks go get other shooters and they say bye.

[J. Skeets]

Yeah. All right. Anything else?

[Trey Kirby]

Smoke the Kings.

[J. Skeets]

Oh, the TikTok game.

[Trey Kirby]

The TikTok game. Yeah, it was. It happened. Zion's played 29 straight games. Nobody cares. That's crazy, huh?

[J. Skeets]

Yeah.

[Tas Melas]

Yeah.

[Trey Kirby]

People say, oh, he doesn't look quite as explosive. Why do you think he's able to play 29 straight games?

[J. Skeets]

Yeah, sure.

[Trey Kirby]

He's not going the same way he used to. He's playing smarter. Trey Murphy has been on fire. New Orleans has Utah next. That's another big Tank game. Yeah, real big Tank game. These ones are going to matter in the reverse standings. The Tank A thon matchups. Also Sacramento versus Indiana. Tyrese Halliburton game, March 10th. That's an exciting.

[J. Skeets]

Whoa.

[Trey Kirby]

Two worst teams in the.

[J. Skeets]

And the Kings losing streak is now at 13 straight. Yeah, that's incredibly. I don't think they've done that since moving to California. We've had. How many bad Kings teams have we seen over the last 20 years of doing this? And they've never been this bad? I think so. I think I saw Ziller say that.

[Tas Melas]

Yeah, it is interesting with the. The Pelicans. Yeah. Zion. This is the most consecutive games he's ever played in his career, period. So that is. That is a mark. That's surprising. Although the Pelicans aren't a Tankathon team. They're not a Tank.

[Trey Kirby]

Well, I mean, it's hard to say they're a Tank a thon team because they're terrible. But they don't get their pick.

[Tas Melas]

They don't get their pick.

[Trey Kirby]

So they would like to win, but they really can't.

[Tas Melas]

Yeah, they're not trying to lose is what I'm getting at. Because they're playing all their guys. They're playing Zion. That.

[Trey Kirby]

Yeah.

[Tas Melas]

John Day Murray is coming back. Apparently one day. To play within this team is a.

[J. Skeets]

Forgotten guy right now.

[Trey Kirby]

Big time. Big time.

[Tas Melas]

But they have lots of like, they are playing their good players.

[J. Skeets]

Yeah.

[Tas Melas]

Yeah, that's.

[Trey Kirby]

They should have traded. They should have traded because it. Guess what? It doesn't work. What else? Drake Powell, big time Frunk on Patrick Williams.

[J. Skeets]

Saw that.

[Trey Kirby]

And Nolan Traore, 13 points, 13 assists, assists. He showed some flashes. Nets drafted five guys and four of them have shown flashes. So that's exciting. Also, Scoot Henderson is back. He's played a couple of good games so far. 11 points, nine assists. In his season debut against the Grizzlies on Friday, Sat went out to rest. Then 12 points, seven assists against Philadelphia last night. He's got seven turnovers in these turn in these two games, but at least he looks quick. He's getting into the lane and creating for teammates. So I think a decent start to the season. After a long, long delay for Scoot.

[J. Skeets]

Henderson, another notable return last night, Franz Wagner is back for the Orlando Magic, too. He played okay, 14 points, 6 to 10 shooting, 5 assists in a big win over Milwaukee. So he is back with Orlando here, too. A lot of guys returning last night.

[Tas Melas]

That was a hard game to watch from the Milwaukee Bucks side, especially because Kevin Boyd Jr. Tries to put everything through him. And I thought that would be the. The way Kevin Porter Jr. Would grow is because Ryan Rollins would grow beside him and Kemper Jr. Wouldn't have to come down the floor and initiate offense. And that's what was happening in this game. It was bad. It was too much. It was too much. Kevin Porter Jr. Unfortunately for them, and that's why they lose. They had won three in a row. Although I think the stat was they've won like 16 of their last 19 against the Orlando Magic, which is kind of weird. Yeah, yeah, it's very weird.

[J. Skeets]

All right, let's take a break and when we come back, we'll get into the up down report. Talk Steph, talk nonuse and a whole lot more. When it comes to betting on your favorite NBA players, nobody does it like FanDuel. From points and rebounds to threes and assists, FanDuel is the best place to build your player prop story. So combine your favorite picks into a same game parlay or track every stat live all in one easy to use app. Whether you're backing a breakout performance or riding with Your favorite star, FanDuel gives you more ways to play and more reasons to cheer. And right now, perfect time to join new customers. Get 150 in bonus bets if your first five dollar bet wins. So bet on the players you love and the way you want to. FanDuel, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. JD it's been a while. Let's get into the up down report.

[Tas Melas]

Preparing your two piece. It's the up down report.

[J. Skeets]

All right, let's start with Steph. Cause Steph Curry is going to miss this weekend's All Star Game because of a lingering right knee. Okay, easy whittler. Holy moly. Curry will miss this weekend's All Star Game because of a lingering right knee issue. He basically has runner's knee is what they're saying. So who's going to replace him?

[Tas Melas]

Runner's knee?

[J. Skeets]

Yeah, James Harden is a popular choice. The new, excuse me, Cavaliers guard is averaging 25, 8 and 5 this season and it has Trey Kirby believing in him once again.

[Trey Kirby]

Let's go.

[J. Skeets]

So I'll ask it this way. Up or down on Harden replacing Steph Curry in the All Star Game? Remember, we need an American born player here as a replacement.

[Tas Melas]

Got to remember that.

[J. Skeets]

Are you up or down on Harden replacing Steph or do you think it should be someone else?

[Trey Kirby]

Basically, yeah.

[Tas Melas]

I went through the list. If you're comparing to potential guys, you're saying, but Does Michael Porter Jr deserve to be there because of his numbers? There's, there's that. I would say that's a reasonable argument. Or Austin Reaves. But you can't have three Lakers there. That would be crazy. And Austin Reeves has missed A number of games. Harden is closing games now with his new team. I'm totally fine with James Harden being the guy who gets it.

[J. Skeets]

Okay.

[Tas Melas]

Yeah, he deserved it.

[J. Skeets]

Your thumbs up on Harden replacing him. TK what do you think?

[Trey Kirby]

Yeah, I think it's good. Harden as well. He checks three boxes for me. He's American, he's a guard, and he's old. That's the same as Steph Curry. So, like a pretty easy way to insert him there. I guess Embiid is probably in the mix. Harden's played 15 more games than him. And I guess maybe question mark of which team Embiid would be on. Would he be for the USA or for the world? We know Harden is a USA guy. That's also the reason markkanen would be out. Another guy, I think that probably would have a little bit of a case. But we're gonna have three MVPs out for this All Star game already. Giannis, SGA and now Steph Curry are up to 27 All Stars. We still got, what, five days?

[J. Skeets]

I know there's still time for another one or two. Okay. But you think Harden will ultimately be the replacement here? Especially because conferences doesn't matter. It doesn't matter from. From west to east matters if he's American, which he is. And also, remember, like, all the. Well, not us, but some people up in arms that Steph Curry was a starter and Anthony Edwards wasn't. He got in again. Didn't matter. Never mattered at the time because there's two American teams. Definitely doesn't matter now because let's just say Ant would slot into that Curry spot. We just get so worked up over these. And then there's always like three or four more names to be added because of injuries.

[Trey Kirby]

That's right.

[Tas Melas]

Yeah. And James Harden playing in front of the fans or the suits primarily, who go to All Star Games in the Intuit Dome.

[J. Skeets]

Back to the Intuit Dome.

[Tas Melas]

Yeah. If James Harden was still on the Clippers, then this would be a difficult pick. I do think it would be very different. Not just because he's playing in front of the Intuit Dome. Just because you'd have two Clippers. Be a little different with a team that's sub 500 to have two Clippers, but you get there now. Yeah.

[Trey Kirby]

I see the Stream team is advocating for one of the spurs guards, Castle or Fox. I guess Fox probably has a little bit better numbers. Castle feels like more integral to the team. I don't know.

[Tas Melas]

Yeah. And Fox has missed a bunch of time as well.

[Trey Kirby]

Yeah. That's true.

[J. Skeets]

But there's a lot of Lakers fans saying, yeah, it should be Austin Reeves. Look at his numbers. But he's like, he's played almost like 20 games less than some of these guys. 15 to 20 games less.

[Tas Melas]

27 games.

[J. Skeets]

Pretty significant. Yeah, I think you guys are right. I think it is going to be James Harden here is ultimately the replacement because, yeah, the Embiid thing is, I think I just, I guess, consume him. I assume he's more of an international player. Maybe not. I mean, Cats on the international team, the world team, probably should have maybe never done that. It should have waited on that. And then Larry Markkanen, when it comes to scoring wise, like, when you look at, like, the big scorers in the league, he averages, what, 27 points per game. But he's international, too. So you're looking for a Team USA guy. Yeah, probably be hard.

[Tas Melas]

And Embiid has played 31 games, like the exact number of games when he didn't win Rookie of the Year because he played 31 games.

[Trey Kirby]

That's right.

[Tas Melas]

Back then.

[J. Skeets]

Maybe Brandon Ingram could be on this short list, too. Maybe.

[Tas Melas]

Yeah.

[J. Skeets]

Potentially Magic don't have a representative, if you care about that. I guess Bane could. Bane or Paulo, I guess, could make a case, but probably going to be hard. All right, next one here. On Friday, the day after the NBA trade deadline, Giannis announced that he had become a shareholder with Kalshee, one of the most popular prediction markets. Prediction markets, if you're unfamiliar, are sites where you can gamble on basically anything. Presidential elections, the weather, oil futures. Oil futures, whether someone like Giannis can be traded or will be traded. So following his shareholder announcement, some fans expressed concern, quite a bit of concern, that he could be violating the NBA's gambling policy. Kelshi said he's just a partner with the company on marketing and live events and he can't bet and all this. But still, it's a little weird. Potentially a little icky. Are you up or down on Giannis investing in Kelshi?

[Trey Kirby]

I mean, down. It just feels like a massive conflict of interest to have one of the biggest things going on. Kalshi being will Giannis stay or go from the Milwaukee. Milwaukee Bucks, $23 million was. I don't even know if they call it betting predicted on this $23 million. And then, like, as soon as he's done dropping hints that maybe I should go, maybe I should stay, it comes out that he is an investor in the company.

[J. Skeets]

Very weird.

[Trey Kirby]

Especially knowing that this summer it's going to Be the exact same market.

[J. Skeets]

Right.

[Trey Kirby]

The lack of regulation, I think, is concerning as well. That just felt pretty weird to see that come down.

[Tas Melas]

Absolutely. It's a down for me. It feels like insider trading, but it is sports gambling. Even though there are bets for other things. 90% of the money wagered on Kelsey is for sports. And so that's when you keep on looking at all these numbers, even though you could bet on absolutely anything, as you said, the weather, the. The press secretary and how long her daily briefing is going to be under over 65 minutes. You can bet on anything. But it's sports. This is a sports site, there's no doubt. But is it gambling? Well, sports betting on a licensed sportsbook, that's gambling. But sports betting on a prediction market, not gambling. It's odd, but it is a wager between two people. It is more like the stock market because each bet is a contract between two people. You're not betting against or not getting part of it taken from whether it's, you know, the DraftKings or the Fanduels, it's different. It is a contract between two people. And so that part is different. But there has to be more regulation. And it seemed that way. I mean, the thing that controls Kalshi is the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. That's a U.S. government agency. And they basically said at the beginning that it was going to sort of be up to the states and what they were going to do. But now, because of the dollars going into it, they're just trying to circumvent all the rules that this isn't sports gambling. But again, 90% of the bets are for sports gambling. Yeah, they're not bets, as you said, Trey. They're wager.

[J. Skeets]

Whatever they are. There is.

[Tas Melas]

They are, but.

[J. Skeets]

Yes, they are. It's exactly what they are.

[Tas Melas]

It is, but it is between two people. It always. Yeah, but the percentages and it's weighed for one person or the other. Like you can bet on something and you.

[J. Skeets]

Will Tas Melas be in the classic factory by 10:10 on Wednesday? I mean.

[Tas Melas]

Yeah, well, Michael Porter Jr. Wear a white sweater tonight. And that's the problem with the insider trading, is that. Yeah, he might wear a white sweater.

[J. Skeets]

Right.

[Tas Melas]

And somehow, you know about that. Somebody walked into the locker room and saw that it's hanging there. You know, that kind of thing.

[J. Skeets]

Yeah. Again, Kalshee and Giannis and whatever they say, he is forbidden from participating in the prediction markets. They are saying that. But here's the problem. It's like perception trumps reality here so it's like, it's almost impossible now for a lot of fans to think about Giannis and his future with Milwaukee without thinking of the Kelshi stock front of mind. It just. It is. And that's the other part. To me, it's like, okay, LeBron is an ambassador with DraftKings. I think Kevin Durant does work with FanDuel, who also, by the way, full disclosure, is a sponsor here of our podcast. So it's like, Giannis could have been investing money in this prediction market, but it's a private company. Like, they didn't need to tell us this, and they sure as hell didn't need to tell us the way they did. A day after the deadline was Giannis saying, the Internet is full of opinions. I decided it was time to make some of my own. Like, just that as a PR move is like, read the room, guys. Holy crap. Like, people have already soured on Giannis for the Wishy Washy Willy or won't he be traded now? In his defense, he was sort of always saying, I'm staying for the most part in Milwaukee this season. And something we've been saying, but, like, just don't. Don't drop this news at all, period, and invest and make all your money. And if you're going to announce it, I sure as hell wouldn't do it the day after the trade deadline after you stay there and drop the Wolf of Wall street gift. I just thought that. That in and of itself is fascinating to me. Baffling decision, because Giannis has gone from what I think most people would agree, like, one of the most likable superstars. Maybe going back a couple years to, like, it has soured quite a bit.

[Trey Kirby]

Oh, yeah.

[J. Skeets]

On him. And that happens in all sports with all athletes. When you're at that level, you know, you sort of go through ebbs and flows. But it has not been a good run here, I'd say, for young sort.

[Trey Kirby]

Of brand, if he hasn't.

[J. Skeets]

Right? Not at all. Yeah. Okay.

[Tas Melas]

Yeah. And why didn't they let me know? I was the one who's advocating for this guy to be with the team for the entire season. But I wasn't aware of this Kelshi wager. Honestly, I wasn't part of the prediction markets, which every company is getting into.

[J. Skeets]

Yeah, that's true.

[Tas Melas]

The fanduel also has their own new prediction market, and everybody is trying to be a part of this circumvention of what sports gambling is. Right.

[J. Skeets]

Because it's legal across all 50 states. Right.

[Tas Melas]

Now, yes, until there's got to be some regulation, but yes. What was also Janice also said kalshi is everything right?

[J. Skeets]

Yeah, I guess so.

[Tas Melas]

It is the Arabic word for everything, and that's why I think that was it.

[J. Skeets]

I didn't know that either.

[Tas Melas]

That's why it was all interesting.

[J. Skeets]

I thought Kelshi was a granola bar or something like that. Oh, that's cashy. What is it? Yeah, cashew. Do you eat that? Hold on, let me.

[Tas Melas]

Do they have granola bars?

[J. Skeets]

I don't know. Is it cereal? What is it, grains?

[Trey Kirby]

Yeah, grains in a boxer bag. You want to call it cereal or.

[J. Skeets]

You want to call it granola?

[Trey Kirby]

I don't know.

[Tas Melas]

I love. Yes.

[J. Skeets]

Oh, you do?

[Tas Melas]

If you're into protein. It's one of those, like, protein in our cereal type things. Yeah, the peanut butter one. I'm with it.

[J. Skeets]

The Internet is full of protein. All right, well, let's hear your thoughts on the. The honest Kelshi thing here. I know we didn't get that get to it on yesterday's podcast, but we want to make sure we did. I thought it might be in running for worst of the week, and maybe it still is. Maybe there'll be more on this. And this is something I assume Adam Silver is going to be asked about at All Star Weekend as well. So you can add it to the list. Tanking. What are you doing, if anything, to try and fix that? And then probably this, like, the idea of, like, should you be banning any participation?

[Tas Melas]

Yes.

[J. Skeets]

From these players in these prediction markets.

[Tas Melas]

Yes, you should. And I said I made a joke that I would bet on it, but I wouldn't bet on it. I would just because it doesn't feel right.

[J. Skeets]

Yeah, well, with all of this, like you said, there's insider trading because somebody knows the answer to all of these.

[Tas Melas]

And people at home relay to. Yeah, people at home feel odd about the whole thing. Gambling in general, this is like next level.

[J. Skeets]

The idea of betting on everything. It does feel a little gross. All right, next one here. I slipped this into yesterday's pod. I was teasing you a little bit, but let's give it a second here to breathe. On Sunday, free agent guard Cam Thomas agreed to a deal with the Milwaukee Bucks. Thomas was waived by the Nets after the trade deadline last Thursday after signing a one year, call it $6 million qualifying offer. Over the summer, he averaged like 15, 16 points per game for the Nets, but he missed a lot of games there. He had that left hamstring strain. So up or down task, start with you buck signing free agent guard Cam Thomas, who did play last night, too.

[Tas Melas]

I'm down on it. I think they have another guy in Kevin Porter Jr. Who is essentially the same guy. Everything should go through Kevin Porter Jr. Because they need. Hold on, hold on. Let me scale that back. Let me scale. Not everything should go through Kevin Ford Jr. He is in an ideal situation. He is more of a secondary creator. Ryan Rollins should be bringing up that ball or going through Giannisin when he is healthy. And then here comes Kevin Port Jr. He's more of a six man. But now you've got two six men. And so it's just, it doesn't, it doesn't suit them. It's not an ideal offense. So it's, it's not right. You got Giannis on the bench wearing a Michael Jordan shirt. Would Michael Jordan want two Kevin Porter juniors on his team? No. No.

[Trey Kirby]

Never really thought about that.

[J. Skeets]

Never thought about it.

[Tas Melas]

An NBA player like an MV former MVP wearing a Michael Jordan on the sweater? We don't see that.

[J. Skeets]

Hey, Tariko, ask MJ that next time you sit down on this house. You want Kevin 2 Kevin Porter JR. No, no.

[Tas Melas]

MJ doesn't want a traditional point guard on his roster. He doesn't need one. And he doesn't. He doesn't want a guy that. He wants the ball running through his. Running through him the entire time.

[J. Skeets]

And that's running the triangle, baby. Don't worry.

[Tas Melas]

Yeah, and that's the issue again. Watching the Bucs against the Magic yesterday was too much going through Kevin Porter Jr. There was just. It's, it's snowballing. And Cam Thomas did come and play and he, they tried to play him in a different way, that's for sure. Off the bench, which didn't work in this particular game. And I don't think will because that's not who Cam Thomas is.

[J. Skeets]

So you're. You're down on this.

[Tas Melas]

Yeah. Yeah. Even though they need scores, but still, it's, it's too much of the same thing.

[Trey Kirby]

Yeah, the Bucks are desperate to get any sort of talent in, which is why they're taking a chance on Cam Thomas. But for me, up or down depends on the goal. Because if the goal is to win games, then I'm down. But if the goal is to get better draft odds, then I'm up. This is the perfect guy to get. He's a box score player. He's not really a basketball player or a teammate in any sort of way. He just wants to go out there and score 20 points. Per game and take as many shots as possible. Kevin Porter Jr. Is a better player again than Cam Thomas by far. The Nets have been worse with him on the court every season, except for last year when they were even with him on the court in 25 games. So I don't see much needle moving at all. Getting Cam Thomas here.

[J. Skeets]

Yeah, he's the definition of an old school volume scorer who puts up points but doesn't do it the most efficiently. He's shooting. He's under. He was shooting under 40 from the floor this season, 32 from three. And. And like his shot diet too. Like this guy, he's not getting to the rim a lot. There's a lot of mid range jumpers here. I think 50 of his shots are like mid range jumpers. So. Yeah, look, they need offense, you're right. Tests. That's the thinking behind signing them to this very cheap deal, of course, but. And they opened up that spot because they waived Nigel Hayes Davis. They did immediately after the trade with the Sun. So it's like that. Yeah, I know.

[Tas Melas]

Nigel. Nigel playing abroad for so long, then coming back this season and not getting a lot of time. Euro League MVP last year, right?

[J. Skeets]

Was he?

[Tas Melas]

He was, yeah. And so Phoenix took a chance on him. But anyway, the Milwaukee Bucks, they tried to use Cam Thomas in a different way again yesterday. Doc Rivers was trying to get him off the ball and trying to get him moving the ball. But what I was flashing back to, seeing Kemp or Junior there, seeing Cam Thomas there, was what the Charlotte Hornets were before they got good earlier this season where guys were just trying to look too much for their own, like Lamelo ball, especially trying to look too much for his own shot. Then they became a much better team when LaMelo decided I don't got to shoot all the time. And Cam Thomas, I don't know, is not excelling in that this season. Yeah, his shots are not excelling the season, as you said, with the percentages there. So it ain't going to go well. It doesn't feel like on that Milwaukee Bucks team, that's not him.

[J. Skeets]

Final one. According to Mark Stein, multiple teams contacted the Clippers about Kawhi Leonard during the final hour before last Thursday's NBA trade deadline. The inquiries arrived after news spread leaguewide that LA was sending Evita Zubots to the Pacers. Previously in the week, they had traded Harden to the Cavs. So everybody's suddenly going, whoa, is Kawhi available? So everybody's calling the Clippers right before the deadline. They keep them. So I Want to know up or down trey on the Clippers keeping Kawhi Leonard at that deadline last week? I'm up.

[Trey Kirby]

There's no way the offers for Kawhi Leonard are worth what Kawhi Leonard is to the Clippers. He's been, I mean Zach Lowe is making the case. He's been the best player in the league since he came back from injury and he's been awesome. Clippers are still winning since trading hard and away. I think they're two in one sent and maybe you can call it two zero once they actually got their guys there. But Kawhi has a $50 million deal for next season. Whoever else is would have theoretically traded for him, would then have to extend him and like good luck convincing another team to sign Kawhi Leonard at 35 years old to another extension. So they're probably getting offered a bag of beans in which that case it's better to keep Kawhi because look, you can talk yourself into. We found something here with Janik Conan Niederhauser. He's looked pretty solid since Zubots got traded away. The Pacers came to the Clippers with like an awesome sell high offer on Zubots who's going to be turning 30 in not too long. So they take that deal, they make a win now move to get Darius Garland while also getting 10 years years younger. Kawhi looks healthy right now. How long will it last? Nobody knows. But there's no chance that the offers they were getting at the trade deadline are enticing enough to trade away the idea of Kawhi because if he has another good season next year, trade him next year. Right?

[J. Skeets]

Like, right.

[Trey Kirby]

Have another team take a chance on them. So I think this is smart GMing by the Clippers.

[Tas Melas]

I agree. I'm up on it. It's been a tumultuous season for the Los Angeles Clippers and their fans and this is one thing you can look at when Kawhi decided, hey, this is on my team, this is my team. I'm putting it on my, it's, I'm putting it on my back. That's been such a bonus for this team. Just it's, this is their season. I mean he has been so good and yeah, I do not think that he would warrant draft picks in return, which they may have to give some draft picks up when the whole aspiration investigation is done. And maybe they'll be looking for those in return for Kawhi Leonard at some point next season. But at this point I don't think they're coming back. I think the ideal thing would be to go into this play in where they are currently and try and get into the playoffs, because you can talk yourself into that with Kawhi Leonard leading your team the way he is.

[J. Skeets]

I would have loved to have known what people were offering Kawhi for Kawhi. Excuse me, at the deadline when they were panicking and say, hey, are you trading Kawhi? And maybe they shut it down right away and they're like, no, we're not. You know, obviously we want try and keep rolling here with this record we've put together over the last little bit. Maybe get into the play in or even somehow make our way into the playoffs. But like Pistons are awesome. But holy crap, when I watched Pistons, like, man, imagine you could add. Oh yeah, add Kawhi to this team. Like then you're like, put them through to the final. I'm convinced then. But like how many picks would that take? Obviously Tobias Harris contract, who they do love too and actually played well last night against the Hornets. Yeah.

[Tas Melas]

And will he be offer a ton. Yeah. Will he be healthy? Like how much are they going to offer for some that it's not certain that he's going to be healthy.

[J. Skeets]

Yeah.

[Trey Kirby]

But maybe want to stay there.

[J. Skeets]

Yeah. And maybe trade. Like even. Maybe the Pistons come up short here in the postseason, you know, whatever in a second round or something like that, there's still an opportunity to trade for Kawhi, even if it is a rental. And you're like, yeah, well, we've seen it work before with Toronto. Why not us? Why not give him a go?

[Trey Kirby]

All right. Clippers are five games clear of the Grizzlies for the 11th seed. So they're in the play in tournament. Memphis not trying to win at this point, but they're only three games out of the eighth seed, which is the Golden State warriors, who obviously don't have Jimmy Butler, don't have Steph Curry right now, didn't make a move at the deadline. That should be the goal for the Clippers to get to number eight because then you get two chances to get into the playoffs. And I mean if they get the seventh seed and they're playing as well as they have going against the spurs team that's never been in the playoffs. I think people, a lot of people would be taking the seventh seed Clippers in an upset pick over the spurs were that to happen.

[J. Skeets]

Wow. Wow.

[Trey Kirby]

I mean, maybe, I mean, I guess it would depend on if Garland is around. But I mean, Kawhi's dominating right now. It looks like Jordan slash Kobe put together.

[J. Skeets]

It's crazy.

[Tas Melas]

Yeah. And in that seven game series that they had against the Denver Nuggets last year, Kawhi was absolutely cooking. I thought the way they were able to steal game two, I thought this was their series. I thought they were going to win that series. That was the Kawhi game where he dropped 39, was 15 of 19 in that game. Game. It looked like he was coming. Then they lose in seven games. But it was a good series. Yeah. They could be picked against the San Antonio's first team. You're not going to pick.

[J. Skeets]

I will not be.

[Tas Melas]

No. No. I don't know.

[J. Skeets]

I don't think they're going to get that high too. And I feel like pretty confident spurs will probably be remaining around the second seed. So you're right. They'd have to get to the seventh seed and win that through the play in. I don't think that's likely. But you're right. People will talk themselves in it. If he plays at this level and continues to. He is just the like one of those few guys in the league that completely changes a playoff series. We've seen it time and time again with him, Kawhi when he's at that level. So yeah, those are the up down report. Thanks for playing guys. Thanks for using your thumbs. Appreciate it like you're beef stew after a fight. Nobody did that. You should have done that.

[Tas Melas]

Oh, that's hilarious.

[J. Skeets]

Of the night. Fantasy line of the night. This one's sponsored by Ari Klein. If you search AK Vintage Store on eBay, you're gonna see AK Store. It's gonna come up here. I went and checked it out. Checked out the vintage clothing. Did you? Yeah. A lot of items in there. A lot of items. Some good ones.

[Trey Kirby]

Some nice Carhartt jackets. Like these are. These are competitive prices. These are good vintage prices. You want a Miles Simon Arizona jersey? Check out AK Village Vintage store on ebay.

[J. Skeets]

Wait, I thought our friend Ken was the only person to have that jersey. Is that gonna be him?

[Tas Melas]

Didn't.

[J. Skeets]

Doesn't Ken have that jersey?

[Trey Kirby]

He does have. He might have an Arizona jersey.

[Tas Melas]

It was an Arizona. I was.

[Trey Kirby]

Yeah, I don't remember which player.

[J. Skeets]

I think it's Simon.

[Tas Melas]

Who would the other guard be? It was.

[Trey Kirby]

They had Bibby.

[J. Skeets]

No, it wasn't Mike Dickerson. No, it's A.J.

[Trey Kirby]

Bramlett.

[Tas Melas]

Yeah, it was Simon.

[J. Skeets]

It is. Because it was a weird one. We were like, yeah. And he wore it all the time.

[Trey Kirby]

It's a cool Jersey. Yeah.

[Tas Melas]

Yeah, yeah.

[Trey Kirby]

Okay.

[Tas Melas]

Okay.

[Trey Kirby]

Also got a great patchwork corduroy shirt that skis I think you should get.

[J. Skeets]

Damn.

[Trey Kirby]

Yeah, it's your. It would be only would fit you. Looks nice Y.

[J. Skeets]

Hey AK vintage store hook us up with some eBay discounts.

[Trey Kirby]

AK threads.com patchwork corduroy.

[Tas Melas]

All right. Our.

[J. Skeets]

Whoa. Boy. It. You know, I was torn between Donovan Mitchell, a couple other guys, but I'm going to go Denny AIA. He scored 26 points. He chipped in 10 boards. He had eight assists. And in a win over Philly, he went 8:16 from the floor. 8:10 at the charity stripe. Had two steals, blocked a shot. He only nearly played 27 minutes because the Blazers took care of business here. So good game from Turbo Saw. They gave him a big glass ball for his all star nod. I think that's what it was. Pretty cool.

[Tas Melas]

Cool.

[J. Skeets]

Yeah.

[Trey Kirby]

Is that Victor Solomon, you think?

[J. Skeets]

No, I was too nice looking to meet Victor Solomon.

[Tas Melas]

At least he will be playing. We know that because he was out for four straight games before this game. But he came back, he's ready to play. He's not going to sit.

[J. Skeets]

He's going to have the ball in his hands a lot. As we talked about him, Luca, I mean, Yoka. Yokich, if he tries, will be obviously running points through him.

[Tas Melas]

But yeah, the world needs some guards.

[J. Skeets]

I need some guards. I need Jamal Murray too. Pick them tonight. Task. I got another win. Yeah. Had the Cavs. I needed those Donovan Mitchell free throws. I needed both, though. I was terrified he was gonna hit the first one and miss the second one on purpose. 0.9 left.

[Tas Melas]

Yeah.

[J. Skeets]

I mean, you miss it. If you miss it, right? And then you just tip it, the game's over. But he knocked it down and gave. He gave Jokic a chance. Yes. That was thing was straight as an arrow. Just didn't have enough distance on it. 3. Yeah. But anyway, I got the win. I needed it.

[Tas Melas]

Tonight's game, Dallas at Phoenix. Phoenix favored by seven and a half points. You guys both said, yeah, they're taking care of that. They're gonna win by eight or more because they've been struggling a little bit. Maybe this is a redemption game with you guys picking those. I had no choice but to take the Dallas Mavericks because we are incapable of having the same logo on that graphic. So that's fine. That's fine with me. I'll ride with seven points.

[J. Skeets]

Yeah, I was just checking. You are right. Phoenix has lost their last two games. Both close. They lost to the Sixers and They lost to the warriors in a really close one. So bounce back performance here. Hopefully.

[Trey Kirby]

Absolute lost seven straight, but how's it really. Yeah, their last three games have been, you know, on the verge of blowouts, I would say, but prior to that, they were playing every game really, really closely.

[Tas Melas]

Have you guys seen the report from the respected Mark Stein that said Mark Cuban is potentially getting a group of bidders together to buy the Dallas Mavericks back? I did see such news to see that because I. Number one, I trust Mark Stein's reporting. Number two, it just seems. It seems bonkers. Mark Cuban wanted to get out of the game, and now he seems to be wanting to get back in. That being said, because Mark Cuban owns a chunk of the team still. Like, he's. He hasn't sold his stake entirely, and maybe it's really not all on him. It's basically the other people who are getting. Or he's getting to invest around.

[J. Skeets]

Yeah. Cuban still has 27% share, I guess, of the Mavericks. Stein did say in the same report that Patrick Dumont, who, you know, does have the team pushed back on the idea of Cuban buying them back.

[Tas Melas]

He will. Patrick. Patrick, do not sell that.

[J. Skeets]

Yeah.

[Tas Melas]

Yeah. Boo. Yeah. Yeah. It just seems odd. I mean, it's like two and a half years ago that he sold.

[J. Skeets]

Yeah.

[Tas Melas]

Now he wants back in.

[J. Skeets]

My favorite theory with all of it is Patrick Dumont in them, because, remember, they wanted to push through some sort of, like, legalized gambling there to basically have the casino slash arena and all that. Like, that's sort of like the grand vision of it all, and that's seeming to run into a wall. And they're like, all right, let's get out of here. Maybe we'll get Vegas. That'll be easier when we go get the Vegas team and we can do all that stuff. But, yeah, I guess Stein is saying this is probably. Probably unlikely.

[Tas Melas]

Yeah.

[Trey Kirby]

Why? Why would you sell a team back?

[J. Skeets]

I know you got Cooper flag.

[Trey Kirby]

Why would you do that?

[J. Skeets]

Yeah, yeah.

[Tas Melas]

True, true, true.

[J. Skeets]

Thanks for bringing it up, though. We'll keep our eye on it.

[Tas Melas]

We will. Yeah.

[J. Skeets]

Yeah. Are you a subscriber to the Steinline?

[Tas Melas]

Of course.

[J. Skeets]

Okay, good.

[Tas Melas]

Thanks for asking.

[J. Skeets]

Yes. You do it for Fisher's mustache.

[Tas Melas]

For Fisher's mustache.

[Trey Kirby]

The People's Insider.

[Tas Melas]

Jake, is it a mustache or is it a handlebar?

[J. Skeets]

I mean, I call a handlebar a mustache.

[Tas Melas]

Like, he shaves, you know, shaves within. Shaves the chin within the bars.

[J. Skeets]

Sure, sure, sure.

[Tas Melas]

Man.

[Trey Kirby]

He's got a great look.

[J. Skeets]

Yeah.

[Trey Kirby]

I love his look.

[Tas Melas]

I love his look, the most respectable man.

[Trey Kirby]

He, like. He looks like a. He looks like a vintage sports reporter to me, and I think it's cool.

[J. Skeets]

I'd like to see him in a fedora with like. Like a playing card stuck in the rib.

[Trey Kirby]

I'd love to see him take it.

[J. Skeets]

To the next level. Fisher. Okay. We'll call it their train. I have the sun. It's got to win by eight or more tasks. Has the Mavericks with a bunch of points to play with. Well, something fun in store tomorrow. There's, like four games on tonight, one of them being that Mav Suns game. But we're thinking there's been a lot of, like, a lot of talk here recently about expansion, how it probably coming. Likely going to be the Sonics and some Las Vegas team. There will be an expansion draft at some point when we get these teams. So we could have some fun on tomorrow's show where we could actually draft said teams. Now, like, in reality, this wouldn't be happening for years from now, but we could look at the rosters. You get to protect eight guys on each roster. And we could, like, have a mock draft for expansion teams. I think that could be pretty. Pretty fun.

[Tas Melas]

Absolutely.

[J. Skeets]

Got to stay within, like, the salary cap rules and all that. I believe, too. So, yeah, we might do that with. Is it spot track's help?

[Trey Kirby]

That's right.

[J. Skeets]

Yeah.

[Tas Melas]

Spot track.

[J. Skeets]

Oh, God. Spot track.

[Trey Kirby]

I'm with you. It's messed up.

[Tas Melas]

I know it is.

[J. Skeets]

Spot track.

[Tas Melas]

Yeah.

[J. Skeets]

Spot track. Not spot track.

[Tas Melas]

Yeah. Yes.

[J. Skeets]

Okay, look, you're right.

[Tas Melas]

I know.

[J. Skeets]

Listen.

[Tas Melas]

Hey, you're right. When Keith Smith says something, I listen because everybody asks him what is. How do you pronounce that thing? Because I want to say sport.

[J. Skeets]

Well, you want to throw an R in there. Yeah.

[Trey Kirby]

It is confusing because you can't use the sports pronunciation at all.

[J. Skeets]

Yeah.

[Trey Kirby]

Sport rack. It's definitely not that, but spot is there, I guess. I don't know. Do you guys remember who the best player drafted in the last expansion drop draft was? 2004.

[J. Skeets]

2004.

[Trey Kirby]

2004. One man. Did this man become an All Star for the team that expansion drafted him? I do believe he did.

[J. Skeets]

Did he really?

[Tas Melas]

Gerald Wallace.

[Trey Kirby]

You got it, buddy.

[J. Skeets]

Nice. You got an All Star. Did he get there? He did.

[Tas Melas]

He did.

[Trey Kirby]

Yep. 2010.

[J. Skeets]

It's a pretty good player.

[Trey Kirby]

That's a good guy to get. Yeah, that's a good guy.

[J. Skeets]

All right, so we'll have some fun tomorrow doing that. Maybe talk about these games and hey, get your questions in. No doubt. No dunks.inc.mail.com. yes. Dramatic pause. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure. No dunksincmail.com. if you got questions, we'll hit the beach at some point soon. Okay, we'll see you tomorrow. Clipper Bros. You heard it here first.

[Trey Kirby]

Have a great time. Turn up. Love you guys. Awesome.

[Tas Melas]

Thanks for joining us. And remember, if you're googling Jake Fisher to see his handlebar mustache that we just spoke about, Fisher has that random C in it. Since we're talking spelling. Great.

[J. Skeets]

Point. Point. It's Fisher. Fish. Share. It's Fisher. Jake Fisher.

[Tas Melas]

You just got to think about legendary.

[J. Skeets]

Share.

[Tas Melas]

Fisker. Yeah, Fisker. That car brand. I always get weirded out by that. You see that?

[J. Skeets]

Which one?

[Tas Melas]

That's an electric car.

[Trey Kirby]

Fisker.

[Tas Melas]

It's Fisker.

[J. Skeets]

Fisker. They're like, familiar with Fisker.

[Trey Kirby]

You've seen like a. Like a super shiny silver car. Like, looks like it's made of metal.

[J. Skeets]

Okay.

[Trey Kirby]

More so than other cars. You see, I think Justin Bieber drives one. I saw one at Discount Tire once.

[Tas Melas]

That was weird.

[Trey Kirby]

You should go to a luxury tire, not discount tire. That's where I take a Toyota Highlander.

[J. Skeets]

Do you like the look of this car or no?

[Trey Kirby]

Yes. Oh, but I think they're okay.

[J. Skeets]

I'm looking at task of screen here. Upkeep. Bad for upkeep.

[Trey Kirby]

Yeah, I think so.

[Tas Melas]

Bieber drives a fancy one.

[Trey Kirby]

I'm just a guy that knows that Justin Bieber has. Has a Fisker. Just something I'll always remember.

[Tas Melas]

Blinged out Carlton Fisker.

[J. Skeets]

First day people. Right? This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.