Prepare Thyself For A Summer Of 'LeBron James To The Warriors?' Slop

Summary

No Dunks Podcast Summary
Episode: Prepare Thyself For A Summer Of 'LeBron James To The Warriors?' Slop
Release Date: February 15, 2024
Hosts: J.E. Skeets, Trey Kirby, and JD

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Introduction

In this episode of No Dunks, hosts J.E. Skeets and Trey Kirby gear up for the NBA All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis. They share their excitement about attending live shows and interacting with fans, while also touching on the logistics of their upcoming trip.

J.E. Skeets: "Podcast listeners, leave us a five-star rating and review. Subscribe wherever you download and listen to podcasts." (00:08)

Game Highlights and Player Performances

The hosts delve into last night's NBA games, highlighting standout performances and pivotal moments.

Clippers vs. Warriors

Trey Kirby praises the Clippers' comeback victory over the Warriors, emphasizing Norm Powell's crucial role.

Trey Kirby: "Norm Powell was the winner here for the Clippers. 21 points. Norm Powell scored... 4 for 4 from 3 in the fourth quarter." (02:16)

J.E. Skeets adds his observations on Steph Curry's exceptional shooting spree.

J.E. Skeets: "Steph Curry hit a three before the game... hitting the 100-foot tunnel shot." (04:08)

Raptors vs. Pacers

The conversation shifts to the Raptors' narrow win against the Pacers, focusing on Pascal Siakam's decisive basket.

J.E. Skeets: "Siakam hitting the one that clinched it... that's the difference maker." (07:06)

Trey highlights RJ Barrett's defensive lapses, contrasting them with Ben Shepard's solid defense.

Trey Kirby: "RJ turned his head, Siakam just sort of attacked the rim... Ben Shepard... just wouldn't let RJ." (08:33)

Cavaliers vs. Bulls

Donovan Mitchell's performance is dissected, noting his dominance over the Bulls.

Trey Kirby: "Donovan Mitchell... 30 points, six boards, seven assists. His scoring average actually went down last night..." (05:58)

J.E. Skeets comments on the Cavaliers' consistent success against the Bulls.

J.E. Skeets: "The Cavs, or at least Donovan Mitchell, continue to have the Bulls number." (12:41)

Heat vs. 76ers

The Heat's victory over the 76ers is analyzed, with a focus on Bam Adebayo's impactful performance.

Trey Kirby: "Bam Adebayo went for 23 points, 14 boards... their second straight victory." (13:15)

J.E. Skeets highlights the Heat's resilience despite missing key players.

J.E. Skeets: "They are getting it together here before the break, and a lot of this without Jimmy Butler." (15:47)

Pelicans vs. Wizards

Zion Williamson's performance against the Wizards is lauded for his dominance in the paint.

Trey Kirby: "Zion... tied a season high with 36 points. He made 15 shots, 12 of them were layups." (18:31)

J.E. Skeets marvels at Zion's physical prowess.

J.E. Skeets: "Zion was dominating... it's the first wizard to record a 40.15 rebound game since Moses Malone in 1987." (20:31)

Off-the-Court News and Trade Rumors

The hosts transition to discussing the latest NBA rumors, particularly the swirling speculation about LeBron James potentially joining the Warriors.

LeBron James to Warriors?

A headline from ESPN ignites a deep dive into the legitimacy and implications of LeBron James's rumored move to the Warriors.

J.E. Skeets: "LeBron still likes us, even though it didn't seem like he did." (27:22)

Trey Kirby questions the motives behind the rumors, pondering whether it's mere clickbait or a strategic move by the Lakers.

Trey Kirby: "It benefits the Lakers because it shows LeBron still wants to stay." (27:20)

They further explore the potential impact on the NBA landscape, considering LeBron's influence and the possible formation of new superteams.

Team Movements and Updates

Clippers' Roster Changes

The conversation shifts to Clippers' decision to send PJ Tucker and Bones Highland home before the All-Star break.

Trey Kirby: "PJ Tucker hasn't really been Tucker since the '21 Finals... he's along for the ride now." (36:23)

J.E. Skeets reflects on the Clippers' stellar performance without these players.

J.E. Skeets: "They have the NBA's best record since December 1st... that's why this is maybe not newsworthy." (38:43)

Knicks' Protest

The Knicks' decision to file a protest against their loss to the Rockets is dissected, emphasizing its rarity and potential outcomes.

J.E. Skeets: "They have now filed the protests. I think the league has up to like five days to ultimately decide." (40:57)

Trey Kirby notes the improbability of the protest being upheld, referencing past instances.

Trey Kirby: "It's news when a protest happens... but it doesn't usually get granted." (41:12)

Special Segments

Is This News?

The hosts engage in "Is This News?", evaluating the significance of various NBA headlines, with a particular focus on the LeBron James to Warriors rumor.

Trey Kirby: "This is the biggest news we've ever heard... LeBron wants to stay a Laker." (26:43)

Tweet of the Night

A viral Steph Curry shot is showcased, with the hosts marveling at the rarity and skill displayed.

J.E. Skeets: "Steph Curry, full court tunnel shot... incredible shot." (47:08)

Trey Kirby questions the authenticity while reaffirming its legitimacy.

Trey Kirby: "This is real. Only stuff here, man." (48:18)

Conclusion and Upcoming Events

As the episode wraps up, the hosts anticipate their live shows in Indianapolis and tease upcoming content related to the All-Star festivities.

J.E. Skeets: "St. Elmo's dinner reservation... we're taking photos." (51:39)

Trey Kirby: "I'm very excited as well... it's gonna be a fun weekend." (53:49)

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Key Takeaways:

• Norm Powell and Zion Williamson delivered standout performances in their respective games.
• LeBron James's rumored potential move to the Warriors sparks significant discussion, reflecting its possible impact on the NBA.
• Clippers' strategic roster moves remain under the radar due to their exceptional season performance.
• The Knicks' protest against a game loss is a rare occurrence with uncertain outcomes.
• Steph Curry's extraordinary full-court shot captures the audience's attention as "Tweet of the Night."

This episode of No Dunks provides an in-depth analysis of recent NBA games, player performances, and compelling off-court news, all while setting the stage for the excitement of the upcoming All-Star Weekend.

Transcript

[J.E. Skeets]

You guys better go. It's already tufted.

[Trey Kirby]

Titmouse. Tanager. You're gonna be late.

[J.E. Skeets]

Good morning, sweet world and welcome to the no Dunks podcast on the Athletic Network. It's Thursday, February 15th, 2024. I'm Je Skeets here in the classic factory and next to me it's the bearded woman. Top shot hot boy Trey Kirby.

[Trey Kirby]

Hey, yo.

[J.E. Skeets]

Hey, yo. And last but not least, making the magic happen. Super producer. We call him JD Hello. There he is.

[JD]

I thought you were gonna say more there.

[J.E. Skeets]

So did I for a second. No task today. He's driving to Indiana. I'm kidding, I'm kidding. He had some prior engagements, so we will meet him in Indianapolis where we are gonna do this show. Go home. I don't know. Have you packed already?

[Trey Kirby]

I'm 98% packed.

[J.E. Skeets]

That's pretty good.

[Trey Kirby]

Toiletries, chargers, and I gotta trim my fingernails.

[J.E. Skeets]

Okay.

[Trey Kirby]

I told Laura 100 times yesterday, remind me I trimmed my fingernails. Unless still got canicula's or whatever they're.

[J.E. Skeets]

Called at the end. Okay, well, we will be after this. Yes. Packing the final 2% and then heading on a flight to Indianapolis for NBA All Star weekend. We encourage you to obviously subscribe to us on YouTube and hit the like button. Podcast listeners, leave us a five star rating and review. Subscribe wherever you download and listen to podcasts. Because we will have some content coming your way over the weekend, including our live show tomorrow night at the White Rabbit in Indianapolis. You can't get tickets. Don't ask. Sold out for weeks.

[Trey Kirby]

For weeks.

[J.E. Skeets]

I'm not lying.

[Trey Kirby]

That's true. That's a true story. I'm looking forward to meeting a lot of people though.

[J.E. Skeets]

Yep.

[Trey Kirby]

Shaking some hands.

[J.E. Skeets]

Yeah.

[Trey Kirby]

Seeing what Hootski looks like in person.

[J.E. Skeets]

I was going to ask who are you most excited to see? And the answer is a Hootski.

[Trey Kirby]

That's Hootski. He's a long timer. You know, a Midwestern boy. Can't wait to the polite manners.

[J.E. Skeets]

Well, you never know.

[Trey Kirby]

Yeah. Hey, he's Midwestern man.

[J.E. Skeets]

I'm excited to see if he's an owl. Okay, let's get into drafting some of last night's games because there were 13 games on 26 teams playing. A lot of them obviously their last one here before the All Star break. We can't get to everything, but let's do the draft. What's your number one pick when it comes to picking from these games last night?

[Trey Kirby]

Number one pick. Clippers beating the Warriors. A little bit of a comeback from la. This was A four star game of basketball for me. Veteran teams, a lot of history between the teams, a lot of history between the players on the teams. A lot of accomplishments out there. They're both playing pretty well. Warriors probably playing the best they have all season. The Clippers were playing their best and you know, they're still on track right here. But for all of the MVPs out there, the Finals MVPs, the All Stars turns out the most underrated player in the league. Norm Powell was the winner here for the Clippers. 21 points. Norm Powell scored. He went 5 for 7 from 3. But that's kind of underselling it because he went 4 for 4 from 3 in the fourth quarter, all in the last seven minutes of this game. And three of them came in the last five minutes, all of them from the corners, two of them from the left, one of them from the right. I'd also give a nice tip of the coffee cap to Amir Coffey. Paul George had a great game, but he fouled out late in this one. So Amir Coffey steps in, made a couple of huge plays, splashed a three with a minute 30 left to put the Clippers up by seven. Also grab the offensive rebound after Terence Mann tipped one out underneath the basket. So a really fun game, a cool comeback from the Clippers. And it was just big shots, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. Steph Curry completely locked in right now. 41 last night when 9 of 19 from 3. 9 of 19.

[J.E. Skeets]

It's like we don't. No one even like blinks anymore to see that, which is insane.

[Trey Kirby]

I know. 19 three point attempts, that's awesome. He's made 36 threes in his last four games. 9, 7, 9 and 11. He's the first player in NBA history to make seven or more threes in four straight games. You thought Steph Curry had set every three point record that already exists, but even he's finding new ones. This was just a fun game. And to see a couple of teams that have history between each other playing a big game, really going for it. The last game before the All Star break, this was awesome.

[J.E. Skeets]

And Steph Curry hit a three before the game, which we'll show you later when we get to tweet of the night, hitting the 100 foot tunnel shot. My only other note from this game, Klay Thompson, massive brain fart fouling with like, yes, 40 seconds to go. No, 40. Yeah, I believe it was like 35, 40 seconds to go when the. When the warriors were only down three.

[Trey Kirby]

Yes.

[J.E. Skeets]

And he Just fouls. The ball handler like obviously like 80ft away from the rim.

[Trey Kirby]

Westbrook.

[J.E. Skeets]

Yeah, Westbrook.

[Trey Kirby]

That's right. Westbrook went to the line, hit a couple of free throws. They went up 5. And then unfortunately it was also Klay Thompson who missed the box out on Amir Coffee and Terrence Mann underneath the hoop. That gave the Clippers a chance to extend the possession on the end. Clay has not been closing games for the warriors recently. He got a chance in this one and it wasn't a shooting that let him down. It was the other stuff, which you don't expect from a vet dude.

[J.E. Skeets]

And later in the show, look at me teasing ahead to everything, we'll talk about the story from yesterday. LeBron James to the warriors, question mark. We'll get into that in is this news. But yeah, good win from the clips. Norman Powell, man, you know, obviously was one of the best six man of the year last year. He struggled a bit with scoring at the start of this year, but I feel like he's getting it going here. He's got the crazy stitches there in the middle of the forehead, but he was the best player at times sort of down the stretch here for both teams, which was with loaded rosters.

[Trey Kirby]

The dude is money from three, particularly from the corners, but he's shooting 45% overall. And like you're saying last year he finished fourth in six man of the year voting 17 per game. The year prior to that, 21 per game for the Clippers. Like he can score 20 points per game, but they've upgraded their talent. You know, it's not Batum and Covington that he's picking up the slack for. It's James Harden and Paul George and Kawhi Leonard as well. So they don't necessarily need 20 from Norm Powell every single night, but he can go for 20 any night. And if he's open from the corner, you should just count it.

[J.E. Skeets]

I will take with my first pick to keep this moving here. Spicy P scoring 23 against his former team as the Pacers went up to Toronto, beat the Raptors 127, 125. Electric game. This, I believe, was the Raptors sort of super bowl or Game 7 of the NBA Finals, because that's the type of season it's been. But the obviously warm ovation they gave to Siakam before the game with the video tributes. We had an entire section there in the lower bowl where it felt like everybody was wearing a Siakam jersey. It looked incredible.

[Trey Kirby]

Did you see how they did that.

[J.E. Skeets]

Yeah. They just gave some out, right? Yeah.

[Trey Kirby]

That section, apparently, like eight years ago, section 119, I think it is for the Raptors, was the first time Pascal Siakam had ever seen somebody wearing his jersey.

[J.E. Skeets]

That's right.

[Trey Kirby]

So Everybody in section 119 got a free Siakam jersey last night because they're left over at the team store.

[J.E. Skeets]

Yeah, true, true.

[Trey Kirby]

So this is a better way to get rid of them than, you know, charging $40 for them. Because, honestly, people aren't buying the gold Siakam jersey. Not that many people are buying that one. But it was very cool. I thought, to like, we'll write this off. Who cares if we don't sell a couple of thousand dollars of merch? This was a special moment for Seattle.

[J.E. Skeets]

And it looked cooler than like, everybody in the same jersey. Like the same. Like, be it red or white or gold or whatever, it looked neat that they were all different Siakam jersey. But anyway, then we had a great game. Scotty Barnes bounced back from a very disappointing game prior to this. He was awesome. Flirting with a triple double. Made some mistakes down the stretch, missed some shots that probably would have got the Raptors to win. But then what do we have? Siakam hitting the one that clinched it. I mean, he just went at RJ Barrett. RJ Barrett was like. He thought a pick was coming, which the Pacers were starting to bring. And RJ turned his head, Siaka Mans got a quick first step, and he just sort of attacked the rim, kissed it off the glass, and that was the difference maker. And then, you know, all this said RJ Barrett had a chance because Purdl kept grabbing rebounds to give the Raptors some life, though they couldn't hit a three off any of them. And anyway, RJ Barrett sort of one on one. Ben Shepard of the Pacers stayed down, moved his feet. Just would not let rj, which, you know, he wanted to get to the rim and try and lay it in, just stand in front of him. Forced him into, like, sort of like a little fade away jumper there in the paint. It missed. He was frustrated. Rj. But good defense from Ben Shepard. And again, you know, I obviously watched this one. It was the Raptors. It was Siakam coming home, but it was. It was fun. And again, to me, this was like the loudest the crowd has been in a while in Toronto, and I think might be the loudest game for the rest of the year because, you know, looking after the All Star break, they're not going to be doing A whole lot. But thoughts on Siakam and how the Pacers played and them pulling this out.

[Trey Kirby]

I thought that for Pascal Siakam tribute night, to see him knock down a couple of sloppy baskets in the fourth quarter was just perfectly fitting. Like, he did that for the Raptors so many times. Shots that you're like, ooh, that is ugly. And it somehow goes in. That was great. Then I thought you also saw why RJ Barrett didn't close games for the Knicks. He was basically on the bench for most fourth quarters for Tom Thibodeau. Just not great defensive awareness from rj. There's that play where he doubles Siakam in the post off of Halliburton on the top, and Halliburton has enough time that he, like, looks around, dribbles once, knocks down the three, and runs back yelling, me, Me. You doubled off me.

[J.E. Skeets]

It was weird.

[Trey Kirby]

That was a brain fart from rj. And then, like, you're saying he just looked the other way and Siakam went right to the hoop for a basket and then had no plan, really. On his drive there at the end of the game, he got locked down by Ben Shepard, who just looks like an actor version of Jeremy Lamb to me. Like, we got a handsome guy to play Jeremy Lamb.

[J.E. Skeets]

That's a fair point, I think. Like, look, these are going to be what you are going to see from a lot of Raptors games from the rest of the year. Losses, hopefully close and hopefully Scotty Barnes continuing to grow. And like, in this game, again, some bad turnovers late filled up the box score. He had way more energy, which was lacking in that spurs loss where everyone's like, are you okay? What's going on?

[Trey Kirby]

He walked off the court.

[J.E. Skeets]

Yeah. Right. So that at least is a positive. And he's going to have to just like, he's always having to find the balance as the. The lead guy now on this team of like, hey, get us a bucket. Or, you know, set guys up. And that's like, you got to like, only superstars are really a mastered that. He's super young and he's going to get reps here. Hopefully it pays off down the line, is all I'm saying. Because there's not going to be a lot of victories.

[Trey Kirby]

Yes, there have not been.

[J.E. Skeets]

There has not been. In their trade. Not going to be. And, man, that was the other part in watching this game. I'm like, God damn it. We couldn't have got Isaiah Jackson in the deal or a Ben Shepard, you know? Okay, I understand not getting Math Rain. Obviously you're not getting Halliburton, you're not getting the top of the top placers players. But I thought, you know, some of the, you know, Nemhard obviously comes to mind. So good on Indiana for saying, nah, nah, we're not giving you any of those. And they didn't.

[Trey Kirby]

Yeah, they didn't. But I thought you wanted the Raptors to lose.

[J.E. Skeets]

I mean I do this year. But I want young talent. I want an mhard. I want. Hell, I'm talking myself into Isaiah Jackson, man, undersized big. I want something. But yeah, fun game. So let's keep going.

[Trey Kirby]

Your next pick here, Donovan Mitchell, he beat the Bulls again. Unfortunately last night. I accidentally called him Donovan Miller on yesterday's show. That's because Donovan Mitchell is a Bulls killer. So I'm gonna call him Donovan Miller from now on. 30 points, six boards, seven assists. His scoring average actually went down last night. Since joining the CAVS in the 2223 season, Mitchell is averaging 35, 7, 6 against Chicago. It's goosed a little bit from the 71 point game for sure. The fraudulent 71 point game should only been 58. Go check the last two minute report. Bulls did a good half, held in the nine and then he completely exploded in the second half, just throwing himself at the rim. Went 10 for 10 from the free throw line. But it was actually Darius Garland to me who had the biggest shot in the game. A minute 20 left a tie game. He just danced on Alex Crusoe, hit the step back three. Looking really, really shifty out there. Kobe White came back and answered with a three of his own on the other side. But then the Cavs were gifted and away from the ball foul which should have been on Donovan Mitchell. You could see him push off on Alex Caruso. Kind of took some momentum away from the Bulls, but that guy's the A side star and the Bulls are absolutely B sides. So not surprising to see the Cavs beat the Bulls. They've been on quite a run here, but this was a good game. Donovan Mitchell afterwards said it was a playoff like game. So Bulls made the playoffs in my mind. And it was kind of a coming out party nationally for Kobe white. I thought 32 points, four assists, five threes. He had 13 in the fourth quarter. Even have Doris Burke bigging him up for MIP, saying he should be at the top of the list, which is the first thing on I've heard on a national broadcast talking about Kobe White and where he ranks there. But good to see him get some crunch time reps. Unfortunately, he missed. Vuchevic on a roll, driving to the hoop. Just chucked it too hard. He thought Vuch was rolling for three, but he was bad last night. So he was not rolling for three. Just went right off his hands and then he barely missed the game. Tying three at the end, but a really good switch and contest from Evan Mobley. That's a tough shot from 26ft over a seven footer.

[J.E. Skeets]

Sure. So yes, the Cavs, or at least Donovan Mitchell continue to have the Bulls number. I guess, you know, unlikely. But you know, maybe your Bulls come in through the play in. Of course they would have to get up there a little bit more to be probably the seventh seed out of the play in tournament to take on the Cavs. I mean, the Celtics are just continuing to put distance between, you know, them at the top of the Eastern Conference and the rest of the teams despite obviously the Cavs winning again last night. So yeah, a two seven potential, potential Cavs Bulls matchup. Probably unlikely.

[Trey Kirby]

That could be a gentlemanly sweep. I would have to imagine the Bulls will take one bad. Geor Niang was killing me last night. He only had 11 points, but like he was scoring off of drives. Like I've said, Julius Randall is my least favorite guy to watch. Cook your favorite team. But Niang is up there because it looks like my friend Murph, like my friend Murph is suddenly a good three point shooter and can drive to the hoop. Turn him off. Luckily he fouled out.

[J.E. Skeets]

I cannot now not hear the names George Niang and not think of a potato because someone said he has the shape of a potato and it's like that's all I think of now. You're getting cooked by a potato man. Because the guy still a bucket at all. Right? My next pick here in picking from all these games, I will go with BAM going for 23 points, 14 boards as the Heat got the 109, 104 victory over the 76ers. It was the Heat's second straight victory, their fourth in five games. You know, Bam said after this, you always want to go into the All Star break on a good note. To get two signature wins like that, it shows that if we believe we can do it, we can get stuff done. So they obviously they beat the Bucks and then now they beat the 76ers. So two of the better teams in the Eastern Conference. 76ers missing a beat, of course, but it was close. 76ers got it to within three points in the Final minute. But the Heat survived thanks to offensive rebounds. They made their final three baskets basically on second chance points. Highsmith got one with, like, you know, about a minute left, which ended up being Kelly Oubre Jr's sixth foul. So he was gone on that, you know, double. Double punch to the gut on that offensive rebound. Then 35 seconds left, Hawkes Jr. Getting ready for the dunk contest, threw down one off the miss, screaming in baseline. It was off a Duncan Robinson missed corner three. So that was a big play. And then not long after, Heat are holding on. They're up three. Tyler Herro decides to take a jumper with like, 9 seconds, 10 seconds left on the shot clock. And again, this was like, sort of like sort of final possession. Heat territory here. There was still a little bit more time than the shot clock, but he should have really let it go down more. It wasn't even a good shot. It was, like, contested. He was sort of, like, off balance. He misses, but bam. Bails out. The Heat with a big offensive rebound. Brutal job by K.J. martin on the. I don't even want to call it a box out because he's doing the thing where he's looking away from the ball, like from the rim. And if you're going to do that, you at least got to make contact with your guy that you're trying to, again, box out by face guard. It's like he didn't even do that. And bam, just like, Bam just saw the ball because KJ didn't know where it was going.

[Trey Kirby]

He was looking at the ball.

[J.E. Skeets]

Yeah. He just went around, grabbed it. He gets fouled, and that was sort of the difference. This tweet from Tim Reynolds, though. Heat threw 55 games last season. 30 and 25. Heat threw 55 games this season. 30 and 25. So they are getting it together here before the break. And a lot of this without. Most of it without Jimmy Butler.

[Trey Kirby]

Most of it without Jimmy Butler. And obviously, the 76ers don't have Joel Embiid, which they are not nearly the same team. They gotta play fast. They gotta shoot as many threes as possible. They only made 10 out of 35 last night. So it's gonna be tough for Philly to win if they're not shooting well, especially bringing in Buddy Heald, who had a great game, 5 for 11. But that means everybody else went, what, 5 for 24? That's just a hair over 20%. That ain't gonna cut it, especially if you're not doing the little things like KJ Martin's a smaller guy having to stick Bam on the box out is tough, but just a great play by Bam to go over the top because he saw it.

[J.E. Skeets]

Yeah. Incredible. And, you know, I was thinking about this with the Heat because we got some, like, pushback yesterday. We were talking about teams that deserve more love. And we talked. Maybe the Wolves are one of those teams. But then we get into the whole thing. Like some of these teams, be it the Wolves, be it the Thunder, like, they're going to have to prove they can do it in the postseason. I don't think that's a hot take. Right. But you get. People say, wow, what are you doing? What are you doing? You know, it's funny because the opposite happens with the Heat, where they might have a bad record, they might sort of limp into a postseason or a play in whatever. But we do the whole, like, well, they could beat anybody. Totally. They might go to the finals again. And it's like people like, oh, come on, stop it. That's not gonna happen again. Why not? Why not? They obviously are well coached. They obviously have been through the ringer. They obviously have guys that can step up left and right and suddenly it's Caleb Martin. Can't miss last year. Why won't it be Duncan Robinson? Why would it be whoever. You have to do it. I mean, you do. You have to give them more respect than you would give a normal, lower seeded playoff team. You just have to, at this point.

[Trey Kirby]

Well, yes, exactly. Right. They did it last year and they have maybe a psychological advantage over teams like the Celtics and the Bucks, who they could easily run into in the first round and who they have both been bounced by the Heat in the first round kind of unexpectedly. So, yeah, that's. Everybody talks about, oh, you never want to see this team or that team in the playoffs. It's actually the Heat nobody wants to see. You don't want to see him in the play and you don't want to see him in the play offs either. But what, They're a half game behind Indiana right now and two and a half behind Philadelphia.

[J.E. Skeets]

Right.

[Trey Kirby]

If Embiid doesn't come back at full strength quickly after the All Star break, it's reasonable that Miami gets out of the bottom four in the Eastern Conference and makes it into the top six, I think.

[J.E. Skeets]

Yeah, no, for sure. All right, let's do one more round of drafting here. Lots on the board. Where are you going?

[Trey Kirby]

Yeah, big game from Zion. Williamson beaten the Wizards last night. Kind of a funny math game, though. The Wizards took 45 threes and made 21 of them. That's incredible. Pelicans took 32, only made 10 threes. But the key is that the Pelicans shot 70% from 2 point range 74 points in the paint. A lot of it was Zion. He tied a season high with 36 points. He made 15 shots, 12 of them were layups and three of them were dunks.

[J.E. Skeets]

Wow.

[Trey Kirby]

I will say I did some of my own classification because if I look in the box score play by play and I see jumper from four feet, I'm counting that one as a layup. I don't think Zion's driving and pulling up for a four foot jumper, but he had to dominate this game. I was just checking the listed weights. You know, Zion285. Biggest guys on the, on the Wizards who played last night, Marvin Bagley, Rashawn holmes, they're listed at 235.

[J.E. Skeets]

Wow.

[Trey Kirby]

And they weren't even guarding Zion all that much. He was in the high post for a lot of this. It was Denny Abdia guarding him. And as soon as Zion got his shoulder by Abdia, it was over. It was an easy layup. But on the other side, Zion had to guard Denny Abdia and he couldn't guard him either. Career high 43 for Abdia. I tuned into the fourth quarter, I saw Denny Abdia hit a three and they said he's got 41 points and I literally didn't believe it. I was like refreshing the box score. That seems unbelievable to me. His previous career high 25 points, but he did it all last night with Zion on him. Six threes, some of them were catch and shoot, some of them were deep, some of them were off the dribble. He was attacking in transition. He had dribbled drives and dunks in the half court. He finished with size over a guy like C.J. mcCollum. When he would catch him on a switch, it was really, really impressive. And it's very funny to see like him and Zion not being able to guard each other. But a really solid season for Denny Abdia. Disappointing for the Wizards this year, but he's a bright spot. Career highs in points, rebounds and assists shooting 52% from the field and 40% from three. Solid.

[J.E. Skeets]

Yeah, yeah. Here's some fun trivia question for you from Statitudes, of course. Avdia. First wizard to record a 40.15 rebound game since. Do you know who did you see?

[Trey Kirby]

I did see it.

[J.E. Skeets]

It's crazy.

[Trey Kirby]

Moses Malone.

[J.E. Skeets]

Moses Malone in 1987 when they were the Washington Bullets. So think about this. That's cool. Danny Avdia is actually the first Washington wizard to ever have a 40 point 15 rebound game. That's crazy.

[Trey Kirby]

Deni Avida wasn't born till 2001. That's amazing.

[J.E. Skeets]

Man, that is wild.

[Trey Kirby]

Zingis never did it.

[J.E. Skeets]

Yeah, right.

[Trey Kirby]

Antwan Jameson never did it.

[J.E. Skeets]

I know, I know. 40:15 is no joke.

[Trey Kirby]

He was playing great.

[J.E. Skeets]

Yeah, that was a monster game. And yeah, Pelican still got it done. Had one more note. Oh yeah, loss for my Wizards, you know, Pistons still struggling, but you. And I'm not going to pick it from my last game, but the Hornets are hot right now, baby. You might be pulling away in the nut Dust bowl standings. The Hornets have won three straight games. I heard Darko Rajkovic is going to throw them a pizza party because they're on fire and they're playing a little bit of defense. And these new guys that have come in, you know, they're playing with some life. So congratulations to you. You're not out, you're not out of the woodwork yet, but.

[Trey Kirby]

Oh no, no, no. But still, you can't really count on a team that lost 10 straight and then won three straight. But I saw tweets going around last night that the hornets are now 3 and O in the Grant Williams era.

[J.E. Skeets]

That annoying guy, they're calling it the Grant Williams era going the tre man.

[Trey Kirby]

Yeah, he was hooping last night. That is a.

[J.E. Skeets]

He's been playing really well for them.

[Trey Kirby]

Yeah, he's playing well, my guy. Me CH is playing well. 13 and 5 off the bench last night, but I mostly think this is just a bad loss for the Hawks.

[J.E. Skeets]

Yeah, yeah.

[Trey Kirby]

Surprise. 99 points, man.

[J.E. Skeets]

Come on. Crazy. All right, well, my final pick. Again, there's so much to pick from, so apologies if we don't get to your team or your player that had a good game. But I'm taking the Suns shaking off Booker's early ejection to roll past Tasmelis Pistons. 116, 100. Quickly, about the game. Booker's ejected like five and a half minutes into this game. Picks up two quick technicals. There were 51 fouls called in this game. The refs were on edge. Yes, all game.

[Trey Kirby]

Yes indeed.

[J.E. Skeets]

Because maybe for a fair pregame altercation between the Pistons, Isaiah Stewart and the Suns Drew Eubanks that led to an arrest for assault on Stewart. Now this is what we know from this. At some point around like 4, 34, 45, you know, during game day, of course, in Phoenix, Stewart got into it with Eubanks, you know, chest to chest, I guess, by reports, and then punched him in the footprint center there in, like, the parking lot, in the tunnel, wherever you want to call it. So the Phoenix Police Department announced that Stewart was arrested for assault, issued a citation before being released. It's really. It's unclear what actually sparked this incident, the altercation. They did have some, like, verbal sparring back in a game in November. Were they arguing over a parking spot? You know, was it a classic? Hey, a bump of a shoulder, like, I thought you were moving. I'm moving. We don't really know. The NBA is expected to receive the footage. They're gonna review it. Everybody drops the whole investigations to be made. I'm guessing if the cops were involved and he's punched him in the damn face, that he will at least be suspended. Stuart will be. But, yeah, just weird. And it's funny that it did bleed into how the game was sort of officiated because it was like, you know, emotions are high, so we got to, like, try and nip everything in the bud. And that's why Booker got tossed really quick for arguing and all that. And that's why a lot of fouls were called, I think. But, yeah, what do you think of all this?

[Trey Kirby]

I mean, pretty strange harkens back to the days of Charles Oakley punching guys in pregame for owing him money from gambling. Apparently, none of that is what they said. You know, Drew Banks said it was all about basketball stuff. I guess they were getting into it the first time when they both put up a whopping eight points against each other.

[J.E. Skeets]

Yeah.

[Trey Kirby]

In November. But Isaiah Stewart seems to be a tough guy. Seems to be a little bit of a temper bowl. Everybody knows him most from going after LeBron on the court. So these are his two biggest NBA moments, really. That's not a great look, which is why, like, you're saying he will probably end up getting suspended and probably go through, like, anger management classes or something, I would imagine.

[J.E. Skeets]

Yeah, for sure. Yeah. Back it was beast or beef stew. Beef Stewart chasing, I guess, after LeBron in 2021, like, where he, like, remember it, like, calmed down for a second, and then he, like, broke free. Broke free trying to get to them. So, yeah, just a. Just a weird incident here. And we'll wait to learn more after the NBA makes a decision on this. But in the end, Sons took care of business.

[Trey Kirby]

And Eubanks played, right?

[J.E. Skeets]

Oh, yeah, he had a good game. Well, and he was like, you know.

[Trey Kirby]

Like 6 and 6.

[J.E. Skeets]

He was pretty solid. And I think he seems very, like, shocked by it all, and, you know, maybe it happened, like, really quickly. We don't know. We really don't know.

[Trey Kirby]

Like, soft punch.

[J.E. Skeets]

Soft punch. Oh, I didn't. I didn't catch that. Okay, well, geez, that's gonna. That's gonna fire up beef stew even more.

[Trey Kirby]

More, man.

[J.E. Skeets]

Yeah. So, yeah, we'll call it there again, we have the CE winning by a thousand points last night. Some other great games there. The Mavericks getting a win, actually.

[Trey Kirby]

Surprised you didn't take the Kings beating the Nuggets.

[J.E. Skeets]

Kings beating the Nuggets.

[Trey Kirby]

Fox made so many plays on the stretch of this one. That was awesome. And then my guy, sweet Pete, Paulo, 36 and 7 and went against the Knicks again.

[J.E. Skeets]

Lots left on the table. I mean, the Kings. Every time. Every time I jump on here and talk up the Kings, they just follow it up with a stinker and I look like a fool. So I'll just leave it as it is. All right, we're gonna take a break, and when we come back, we will talk about the LeBron James to the warriors rumors. Don't go anywhere. All right, final show from the classic factory this week as we get ready to head to Indianapolis for All Star Weekend. Very excited about that. But before we go, let's do a little is this news? I have what might be the most Is this newsy headline of all time from espn Dropped on yesterday. We didn't get to it on yesterday's show, but we tackle it today. It reads, warriors made bid for LeBron James at trade deadline. Trey Kirby, is this news?

[Trey Kirby]

This is the biggest news we've ever heard. Owner to owner conversations. Joe Lacomb apparently called Jeanie Buss and said, hey, LeBron warriors, nah. Check with Rich Paul. Rich Paul said, nah, he wants to stay here. Crazy stuff, man, this was fun to read. Just a little post trade deadline slop with the biggest names in the NBA right now. Some incredible moments in it as well. But I'm left after reading it just wondering, like, why. Why does this exist and who does it benefit most? I think the Lakers.

[J.E. Skeets]

Okay, explain why.

[Trey Kirby]

Just because it's like LeBron had been sending all these signals that maybe he wanted out at the end of the season. Maybe he was even going to be traded at the trade deadline. We were talking Dave Pingalore once upon a time, remember?

[J.E. Skeets]

Yes, yes.

[Trey Kirby]

So apparently the warriors call and say, hey, is LeBron available? The Lakers say, we don't. We don't want to trade him, but why don't you check with Rich Paul and then Rich Paul says, no, LeBron wants to stay a Laker that looks good for the Lakers, that he would turn down, theoretically, going to play with Steph Curry in Golden State. Who knows what the alleged package would be? I guess it benefits LeBron as well. You know, he's kind of being courted around the league. From. The warriors are mentioned here, and the 76ers come up as well, which is just a very funny moment. Is. Is LeBron available? No. Is Joel available? No. All right, we'll talk later. But I think ultimately, like, this is most favorable for the Lakers to be like, yeah, LeBron still likes us, even though it didn't seem like he did.

[J.E. Skeets]

Right. And even though we don't still know what the hell that hourglass emoji means.

[Trey Kirby]

No one will ever know.

[J.E. Skeets]

No one refuses to tell us. And he has not committed to, obviously, you know, the whole player option for next season as well. That's what. That's my takeaway from this. It's like, oh, my God, buckle up here. We're gonna go through a whole Summer of LeBron to warriors or LeBron to somewhere else, like, during the summer of sloppy when this season actually ends. Because you're right. Why did this drop now? All I can come up with is one of two things. It's a classic, like, let's be honest, ESPN clickbait move where it's like, we're heading into the All Star break. Could use 24 hours of content here. Hey, we'll drop this basically a week after the trade deadline. LeBron to the warriors, question mark. And then you can run with that on every single talk show for at least a day, which they did yesterday.

[Trey Kirby]

Oh, great. Wind horse moment. Talking about this where he's like, what if I told you that LeBron and Steph Curry have been talking for months about playing for Steve Kerr?

[J.E. Skeets]

Right.

[Trey Kirby]

At the Paris Olympics.

[J.E. Skeets]

Right.

[Trey Kirby]

That was an incredible wind horse setup. I loved it, man.

[J.E. Skeets]

So. So there's that angle, you know, but then again, like, this is coming. This isn't like buttcrack sports, you know, dot com or something. This is. This is Wozhin and Ramona Shelburne. And then it had the athletic guys, you know, also writing about it and actually putting in the whole Bronny James factor, which we can get to in a second. So the other thing that's going on here is this is laying the groundwork for eventually LeBron departing from the Lakers. I mean, you have to at least explore the possibility. It's, you know, sprinkling some Breadcrumbs, breadcrumbs here as again as we eventually make our way to summer. Because yeah, there's the Draymond Green connection. They're going to be likely playing in the Paris Olympics and the brotherhood. LeBron has talked before about wanting to play with Steph. Like that's sort of on his wish list. So there's that. The warriors could, they could obviously in moving off of Chris Paul's non guaranteed contract. Klay Thompson is unrestricted. Maybe you trade Wiggins. I even think if you did all that, you still don't have max money for LeBron. So maybe you're convincing him to take less than max. And then does that include this whole Bronny James thing? Which again, the Athletic wrote a lot more about this idea that like he's like being, he's like almost a chip in all of this. Right? Like, is someone going to draft him? He doesn't seem to, he doesn't appear to be a first round pick material if you've seen him in USC right now. But will anyone care if it gets LeBron James to your team? And is that really what LeBron all he wants as he's going to go into his 40s year, season, age, season. So it's all, I mean, I don't know, I want to like brush this off and go get out of here. LeBron's jumped ship three times and it all comes in free agency.

[Trey Kirby]

That's exactly.

[J.E. Skeets]

And he could, and he could, you know, be a free agent if he doesn't pick up the $51.4 million player option.

[Trey Kirby]

And there's always breadcrumbs ahead of the time.

[J.E. Skeets]

There is.

[Trey Kirby]

And these definitely feel like breadcrumbs. And also, I mean, maybe it's a little bit more of a ploy from LeBron trying to put pressure on the front office because Sam Amick, Anthony Slater and Jovan Buha got together and wrote up for the Athletic. And they talk so much about what the Lakers plans are going forward with regards to LeBron. Like, they want LeBron to retire a Laker is what the Athletic reports. And the Lakers plan on chasing Trae Young, Donovan Mitchell and Kyrie Irving once again. Which, you know, if LeBron is flirting with other teams and showing that he's still desired from other championship contenders, it makes the Lakers feel even more pressure to make some sort of a move to improve their front office. And then, yeah, maybe he's doing a little agent work for his son, trying to help his draft stock by saying, I'm playing wherever he plays and he has kind of struggled here in his season with usc. So maybe his spot on the draft boards is not as high up as it once was. I don't know. But it definitely feels like, I don't know, it felt like LeBron would retire a Laker when he went to LA. And now I don't think it's a guarantee.

[J.E. Skeets]

I don't think it's a guarantee. He's all his. His primary objective is always winning. He's again, not afraid to move if that. If he believes it helps his chances to win another title. He is chasing, you know, the, the ghost of Jordan, however you want to call it. So, yeah, you're right. I think this is a part of it. Especially when you read the athletic article that the Lakers will have three first round picks, they'll have four pick swaps, they'll have multiple second round picks to be aggressive for a star. If that is really what LeBron wants. It's so funny. LeBron is like, I mean, he's always, he's almost always fighting his own front office, right, because of, because of his timeline. But you could really, you know, pooch a franchise if it doesn't work. And, you know, not that it blew up everything, but we saw when LeBron, the GM took over and wanted Westbrook and it was like, no, that was wrong. But yeah, be it Trey, be it Donovan, Mitchell, Kyrie, those names are linked for sure. So will LeBron be like, I need one of those star players to go with me and A.D. or if not, peace, and I'm going to go and try and team up with, you know, either Steph or someone else to help my chances.

[Trey Kirby]

I mean, we shall see. I guess it will depend on what happens with the Lakers in the playoffs. You know, if they go to the conference finals again, maybe that changes his mind. You know, they're a Final four team. Even though they didn't actually get close to winning the championship this year. You can at least talk yourself into it. But there's also stuff in there. And I guess it was the ESPN report saying LeBron was happy with Dejounte Murray or Zach LaVine. It feels like they're gonna need another guy at some point. Unless Spencer Dinwiddie is apparently the best player in Lakers history. We shall see. But it feels like it's going to be a dramatic summer, especially like Bronny coming into the draft. LeBron looking for a new deal with something that ESPN reported as well. He might turn down the $50 million option he has next year and Try and sign like a three year deal that would be for, I don't know, 180 or something. Like something. Some kind of crazy number. But that will happen. Obviously, the Lakers get a lot more assets to try and trade somebody. And you've even heard reports from Atlanta this week that maybe it's Dejounte Murray they end up keeping and they're looking to move Trae Young. So once all these guys get together for Team USA minicamp, it's gonna go insane.

[J.E. Skeets]

Yes, I was thinking that as well. When they. That's exactly right. In Vegas and then whoever the team is in Paris. Here we go again with the Big Three sort of forming that way in Miami because of all talking together during the Olympics. That's what happened. The Daryl Morey angle of all this, to go back to it, very funny. Within the ESPN article, quote, after seeing LeBron's cryptic social media post of an hourglass, a week before the trade deadline, 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Murray called Pelinka to probe on a LeBron trade and was immediately told that James wasn't available. In fact, Pelinka responded by asking Maury if Joel Embiid was invaluable. People are, you know. And then there was something about. He also tried to call the Suns. Maury did. Hey, any of those Big Three you got over there available? You guys are struggling. So people, they knock Maury for this. But do you have an opinion? Like, do you laugh at this or do you, like, look at it like, yeah, that's his job. I mean, he should be calling, maybe, as silly as it sounds. But why wouldn't you?

[Trey Kirby]

Yeah, I think you should call and I mean, maybe it's all jokes, you know, him and Rob. Hey, LeBron there? Yeah. No Joao. Well, no, they're just having fun, you know, they gotta talk on the phone all the time, these guys.

[J.E. Skeets]

A closed mouth don't get fed. Right?

[Trey Kirby]

So true.

[J.E. Skeets]

Yeah, or shooter shoot or fuck it, why not, is what Maury lives by. But that was very funny within the article. All right, we'll be talking, I'm sure, a lot more about LeBron and the warriors, especially when they play in a 9, 10 matchup in the playing game. And then they hug after the game and you see some whispering. Get ready.

[Trey Kirby]

Shirt over mouth talk.

[J.E. Skeets]

Next one from the Athletic Clippers send PJ Tucker and Bones Highland home from the road trip versus the Warriors. So, you know, before this game last night, both players are expected to rejoin the team after the All Star break. But is this news with P.J. tucker and Bones Highland just being sent home before the break here, I guess.

[Trey Kirby]

It'S news, but it's not really news because I completely forgotten about bones Highland and P.J. tucker just hasn't really been P.J. tucker since about the 21 finals. You know, he was great for the Bucs during that playoff run, was instrumental in at least making it tough for Kevin Durant in that Nets series. But he doesn't give you much offensively like he. At one point, I remember he went like a month without scoring. That was a couple of seasons ago, in his prime, if you will. Also, he could easily go to a new team if he decides to take a buyout, but he's got a $11 million contract for next season that he doesn't want to give up, which, you know, fair enough. He signed the contract. Make your $11 million. Apparently, it takes a lot of money to ship his shoes from place to place, and he had 250 pairs that they were trying to figure out what to do with them. But this is kind of like the downside of player empowerment. James Harden requested a trade. He wanted to be gone from Philadelphia, and to make all of the money work, they had to include PJ Tucker. So now he's sent to la, where he's not going to see the court because they've got such a deep team right there. So one player was empowered and the other guy was just kind of along for the ride that he didn't want to be a part of.

[J.E. Skeets]

Yeah, and Clippers. The Clippers. And Tucker had been talking for, like, apparently months about, you know, maybe trading him at the deadline, and obviously that didn't come to fruition. And so it's now like, okay, well, I'm still here. Now what? He wants to play. He wants to be re entered into the rotation. But there's an issue here. The Clippers have the NBA's best record since December 1st. They're now 287 after the win last night. Over that span during that stretch, bones Highland played seven games sparingly, none since January 31st. And Tucker hasn't played in a game since November 27th. So it's not like. Like they're missing these guys. I'm sorry, they're not. That's why this is maybe not newsworthy. It's like, oh, two guys that are not even playing on maybe on one of the best teams right now in the league. Like, who cares? But just weird. Like, weird. The. Just go. Get out of here. You know, just go reset and we'll see you maybe after the All Star break. That's fascinating to me. What happens when they all come back? Does Luke give him a shot? Are they in better spirits because now they know their situation and can, like, try and lock in for a potential, like, postseason run. We'll see. But a little weird just to be sent home both two guys. Yeah, you don't see the two guys.

[Trey Kirby]

Yeah, I mean, Bones Highland, I don't think. Is that that big of a deal? I mean, literally, the Nuggets shipped him out so that they could have serenity in their locker room, and they have not missed him since, and he has not made an impression for the Clippers. And who are you going to play them over? They've got four awesome ball handlers out there. PJ Tucker. I guess he could be mad that they brought in Daniel Tice, right. Like, when Mason Plumlee went down after Randle rolled into his leg. You could have went with PJ Tucker as the. The other five, you know, but he just doesn't really bring much offensively. And this is a team that loves their space on the floor.

[J.E. Skeets]

Yeah, he was like, you know, pretty open, I thought in this athletic article, P.J. tucker was, like, talking about, like, you know, I can't just come in and, like, play in the postseason. Right? Like, I'm like. He's like, that's very difficult to do. I've been on really good teams that have gone far and stuff like that. But that's through reps and obviously, you know, familiarity with the. With the starters and stuff like that. He was. He was honest. I mean, the guy wants to play. You can't knock him for that. But at this point of his career, they don't. They don't really have a role for him. There's no spot right now, hence why they tried to trade him. Didn't get anything they wanted. He's got this weird contract, you know, which. Good for him, but it's weird. Final note from that article. Kawhi Leonard expected to be in Indiana for the All Star break. I saw them slip that in there. No news yet. If whether he's not going to play in the game, whether we need an injury replacement. So he is, in theory, at least, going. I'm sure he's got, like, sponsorships he needs to, you know, show up to.

[Trey Kirby]

He's got to do something with Jack Harlow at the New Balance activation, probably.

[J.E. Skeets]

There you go. There you go.

[Trey Kirby]

But, yeah, Ty Lue said that, like, he played through it in the previous game when they played against the Timberwolves. So this one seemed like a kind of cautionary rest.

[J.E. Skeets]

Yeah. Next headline here. Also from the Athletic Knicks filing protest with NBA to dispute Monday's loss to the Rockets. We had too much going on yesterday. It was Valentine's Day. We had to ask silly Valentine's Day questions, so we overlooked this. But the Knicks decided to file Tuesday Evening, highlighting the NBA's last two minute report and game crew chief Ed Malloy's acknowledgments that the foul call on Knicks guard Jalen Brunson against Houston's Aaron Holiday inside the final second was incorrectly called. So they have now filed the protests. I think the league has up to like five days to ultimately decide. Is this news?

[Trey Kirby]

Yes, it's news when a protest happens. And I think it's like an easy way to support your team. It's actually news if they win it because these protests never actually are won. The last one was the crazy Shaq game. And that was what, 07 or 08?

[J.E. Skeets]

2007.

[Trey Kirby]

2007. Well, there you go. Fred Katz mentioned over that at the Athletic that a team must prove that officials misapplied a rule. This is more a bad call. And they don't usually give Grant protests for bad calls. You know, the Trailblazers almost filed a protest for that Malcolm Brogdon, Chauncey Billup's timeout travel call against okc. They said they were going to do it. They didn't even do it. They didn't follow through on it. But it's only 10k to file a protest. That's a good way to support your team.

[J.E. Skeets]

Yeah, it is. And you're right. I don't think this one will be, I guess, upheld, I guess is the way to put it. Just because it's. It unfortunately is a slippery slope. It's a call that they got wrong, that they admitted they got wrong. But like, man, how many times then would we see this happening? It's more this misapplication of a rule which made sense that the One back in 07 was Shaq. That was all based around they thought he had six fouls. They took him out of the game and they were wrong. You know, they went back and was like, oh, damn, he had five. Like that was a scorekeeper, you know, mistake. And so then they played the overtime later or the final 50 seconds of overtime. Shaq wasn't even there because he had been traded. So that was weird. As it is, nobody scored. It was a complete waste of time. But I don't think we're gonna be seeing Knicks Rockets five minutes of overtime. I hope we do. I mean, I hope we do be fun.

[Trey Kirby]

Do they have another game on the schedule? I didn't even look.

[J.E. Skeets]

I don't know. Yeah, yeah, it might be a nightmare. But I just also like, look, the NBA has gotten in bed as, as every sport has with gambling. Does this have, what impact does this have on like bets and shit like that? You open a Pandora's box with this. So I don't think the league will change it or make them play the game. But you're right, it's like, you know, the Knicks should do this, I guess is the way just go through the motions and say, yeah, we got jobped and we're letting you know for another 24, 48 hour cycle here in the news.

[Trey Kirby]

We didn't forget.

[J.E. Skeets]

Yeah, we did not forget.

[Trey Kirby]

And I think it was Jason Goble made that call.

[J.E. Skeets]

Goble?

[Trey Kirby]

Yeah. Okay. Because Jason Goebel was the bald guy that we identified.

[J.E. Skeets]

Oh, right, because we. Yeah, Ed Malloy's got to go face the music as the crew chief.

[Trey Kirby]

Yeah, yeah.

[J.E. Skeets]

He didn't even call.

[Trey Kirby]

And then it was Goble who made the call on Donovan Mitchell. Alex Caruso last night in the Bulls game.

[J.E. Skeets]

Oh, geez.

[Trey Kirby]

I got my eye on you, Jason.

[J.E. Skeets]

Yeah, what's up, Goble? I hope you're not at all star weekend or we'll be having a talk.

[Trey Kirby]

Yeah, I'll find my own protest.

[J.E. Skeets]

All right, final one here from NBA.com Dominique Wilkins, Fred Jones headlined the judges for the 2024 AT&T slam dunk. So Nick won the dunk contest in 85 and 90. Went in a lot. Fred Jones, who some of you might be saying he won in 2004. We got a fun short coming about. Fred Jones winning the dunk contest.

[Trey Kirby]

You are the teaser.

[J.E. Skeets]

I am teasing everything left and right today. This is a fun short. Coming up, you know, around noon. And then we also have Gary Payton, Mitch Richmond, and Darnell Hillman, a star for the Indiana Pacers in their ABA days, which is pretty cool. So those are the five guys. Is this news finding out the judges? No, no.

[Trey Kirby]

I guess it's a little bit of news. Dominique Wilkins, I feel like he judges quite often.

[J.E. Skeets]

I was thinking the same thing. I almost sat down last night to go, all right, how many times has Dominique Wilkins been a coach or, excuse me, a judge for the dunk contest? I was like, that's gonna take some work because that's not gonna be listed anywhere. I don't.

[Trey Kirby]

Nah, you would have to watch the scoring.

[J.E. Skeets]

Yeah.

[Trey Kirby]

The first dunk from.

[J.E. Skeets]

But I'm with you. I feel like he's done a lot of this.

[Trey Kirby]

Ton of them.

[J.E. Skeets]

Yeah. I don't know how many, but what's he over? Under four and a half?

[Trey Kirby]

Oh, I was.

[J.E. Skeets]

You think way over.

[Trey Kirby]

I was like ten and a half.

[J.E. Skeets]

Oh. I don't know. Really? Maybe. Maybe. I guess he does feel like he.

[Trey Kirby]

Does that around a lot. I thought Gary Payton and Mitch Richmond were interesting inclusions here.

[J.E. Skeets]

Okay. Yeah.

[Trey Kirby]

Just because they're not known as dunkers.

[J.E. Skeets]

Yep.

[Trey Kirby]

Nor are they Pacers. Give me Terrance Stansberry.

[J.E. Skeets]

Oh, wow.

[Trey Kirby]

The first guy I remember in a Pacer's uniform in a dunk contest. Did the Statue of Liberty 3D or 360.

[J.E. Skeets]

Yeah, that's a great dunk. Underrated dunk. What about active players? Just put Paul George in.

[Trey Kirby]

Sure. Paul George. Victor Oladipa.

[J.E. Skeets]

Yeah, right, right. I do like the Darnell Hiltman.

[Trey Kirby]

Yeah, that's cool.

[J.E. Skeets]

That is very cool. And. And Fred Jones is very funny. Like, you know, I get. I teased the short. But the 2004 dunk contest is one of the most insane dunk contests. It's a weird ending to a dunk contest. He was taking on Jay Rich, who had won the previous two. He's trying to win his third straight. And it's like. It's just littered with, like, botched dunks. And it ends so flat that it's just. It's brutal. I mean, we. We always, like, a lot of people, like, always want to rip on these recent dunk contests. Fair. Some of them have been, like, lackluster, missing big names. There are some other crappy ones in, like, the early 2000s. Like, we always remember, you know, Jay Rich and Vince and those. But there are some other ones that are, like. It ends with Ms. Dunk.

[Trey Kirby]

The dunk contest has had to come back a lot of times. Skeets, what do you think they're gonna have Reggie do? Like, Reggie should be a star at All Star Saturday night. I'm kind of surprised they don't have him as a judge for the dunk contest. Give him a headphones.

[J.E. Skeets]

Yeah.

[Trey Kirby]

Microphone and let him talk through it.

[J.E. Skeets]

Yeah, yeah, right. They've done that before. Because he'll be on the.

[Trey Kirby]

He's gotta be a big part of the three point contests, whether it be the actual one or Steph versus Sabrina.

[J.E. Skeets]

Man, why can't Reggie just compete against them?

[Trey Kirby]

That'd be cool.

[J.E. Skeets]

It'd be a fun little, like, unveiling. He rips off his suit. Yeah. And goes and gives it a go. Yeah. I don't know. I mean, I hope he's, you know, obviously celebrated. I would think he would be.

[Trey Kirby]

Yeah.

[J.E. Skeets]

But it's a good point that he's not one of the judges. Gary Payton and Mitch Richmond. I hope we don't see Mitch Richmond while we're at All Star Weekend.

[Trey Kirby]

I think he's gonna be a great judge. The Rock.

[J.E. Skeets]

You know what? I think Mitch Richmond's gonna be a Hall of Fame judge.

[Trey Kirby]

Yeah, he's gonna. He's gonna get the best scores.

[J.E. Skeets]

That's right. Okay, let's wrap up this bad boy with Tweet of the Night. Mmm.

[Trey Kirby]

Tweet of the night.

[J.E. Skeets]

Wow. Twitter. This one's Must Watch for you podcast listeners. So either come to YouTube or seek it out yourself. Go to B.C. s warriors, because this is a video where they wrote, this is not a drill. Steph Curry, full court tunnel shot. And the clip is Steph in pregame, from a hundred feet, chucking the ball and having it go in on the other end and then celebrating a little bit. And you see the fans around him going, wow, he hit it. That's incredible. That's an insane shot. Is this a Gatorade commercial? This been doctored? No, this is real. Only. Only stuff here, man. What? What? Incredible. That angle. Whoever was doing camera work on that, give that person a raise. They. They nailed that. Like, showing where he was to the zoom out, then going back. Does it give you an idea of like, holy crap. I know. There's, like. There's. Maybe you've seen some footage of fans that actually had their camera going too. So you see it from Steph's advantage point. Amazing. Think he'll pull this out over All Star Weekend?

[Trey Kirby]

No, no, no. I think he maybe in practice impressed himself so much that it's even a rarity for Steph Curry to make a hundred foot shot. I was surprised. There's a. There's a write up on this on the Athletic. His old tunnel shots at Oracle, mere 50 footers, right? They seemed longer to me, but this was twice as long.

[J.E. Skeets]

That's unbelievable, because he wasn't shooting those ones on the other. Other end of the. Of the arena, on the other end of the floor. He was shooting those ones from the tunnel, which was very far away, right into, like, dare I say, baseline. You know what I mean?

[Trey Kirby]

Yeah.

[J.E. Skeets]

Or like, almost behind it. So, yeah, this one. This one's even new for Steph. Incredible.

[Trey Kirby]

Gotta shoot it in the game.

[J.E. Skeets]

How many threes did he hit?

[Trey Kirby]

Last night, nine.

[J.E. Skeets]

Yeah, you should have known. You should have known that was coming after you knocked down this one.

[Trey Kirby]

Yeah. 10 for 20 on the night, including 100 footer.

[J.E. Skeets]

What a shot. What a clip.

[Trey Kirby]

Like, I mean, now. Now, if you're the warriors and you're down by two, one second left ball out of bounds, underneath the opponent's hoop.

[J.E. Skeets]

Yeah.

[Trey Kirby]

No timeouts. You gotta play right. Step to the corner and shoot a hook shot. It might go in. Of course, only 94ft. It's easy.

[J.E. Skeets]

It's nothing. Yeah, take a little off. Yeah, yeah. You gotta guard this guy 94ft. You got to cut him 100ft, apparently.

[Trey Kirby]

Unbelievable.

[J.E. Skeets]

He's out of bounds. You can't throw it in, Kenya. You can't throw it in from the baseline. Wouldn't count.

[Trey Kirby]

There's a. You know, like a compliment you would pay somebody is his range starts when he walks in the gym, literally. True. Now for Steph Curry.

[J.E. Skeets]

Yeah. What a clip. My gut is he'll. Well, I don't know the setup of the Gainbridge field house or even the Luke.

[Trey Kirby]

Wow.

[J.E. Skeets]

Hold on. He could do it in a football stadium.

[Trey Kirby]

No, dude, get.

[J.E. Skeets]

Get him up. Yeah, dude. Perfect level 500, Steph. 5,000 foot shot. My point is, he's gonna try, of course, give a. Give it a go over All Star Weekend at some point. All right, let's call it there. Only three games on tonight. Bucs, Grizz, Warriors, Jazz, Wolves, Blazers. Everybody else getting ready for All Star Weekend, just like us. We're going home. We're packing. We're jumping on a flight, going to Indianapolis. The next show, you should hear from us. JD Are you also gonna see from us? I'm a little confused by this. Are they gonna see our live show on Friday night on the Interwebs on Friday night? Yes.

[JD]

Probably not on Friday night.

[J.E. Skeets]

Okay.

[JD]

Early, early Saturday morning, we won't be live streaming it. Okay, that's what I'm asking.

[J.E. Skeets]

Yes. Are we potentially live streaming the Saturday night post All Star festivities?

[JD]

Listen, I don't know what we're walking into logistically over there, okay? You're gonna get some content, and that's. Well, let's just leave it at that.

[Trey Kirby]

Fine with content.

[J.E. Skeets]

Fine with me. That's why you should subscribe. All right, hit the like button. Podcast listeners, the pods will be coming. Hope to get that live show up late Friday night, early Saturday morning, and then we are gonna hopefully do another one after the Saturday night festivities. And again, that'll go up late Saturday, maybe early Sunday, and then we'll be taking a couple days off next week, but content all weekend long. Follow us across all the social media channels. No Dunks Inc. Talking TikTok and Instagram and Twitter and. And all that good stuff because we'll be posting, I'm sure, a lot of photos and videos from our time there. I can't wait. I'm pumped. I'm ready.

[Trey Kirby]

I'm very excited as well. I saw CJ Toledano posted a picture of him dragging his kid across the airport.

[J.E. Skeets]

The airport court. Oh, you can bet your ass we're taking a photo of that.

[Trey Kirby]

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah, we are, right away.

[J.E. Skeets]

In fact, you're gonna see that photo at like 5:25 today.

[JD]

Hopefully. Hopefully.

[J.E. Skeets]

Actually, we gotta make that photo quick, man, because we gotta get to dinner.

[JD]

We got a tight schedule.

[J.E. Skeets]

We got a St. Elmo's dinner reservation. It's the only restaurant in Indiana. Apparently in Indianapolis, everybody has suggested St. Elmo's Steakhouse. And this guy's gonna buy a St. Elmo's steakhouse hat at some point this weekend.

[Trey Kirby]

I gotta go to a separate pop up to buy a steakhouse hat.

[J.E. Skeets]

Oh, you can't buy it at the restaurant.

[JD]

You can't buy it there.

[Trey Kirby]

I don't know. Well, they did have that picture of the guy carrying him around on a tray. Yeah. So maybe it's been added to the menu.

[J.E. Skeets]

It's on the secret menu.

[Trey Kirby]

One hat, please.

[J.E. Skeets]

And what's this? Cocktail shrimp, right? Is that what they're saying you gotta have?

[Trey Kirby]

Shrimp cocktail has been, like, on, I think this is like a really old restaurant from like early 1900s. And the shrimp cocktail has been on since the start. It's their signature dish.

[J.E. Skeets]

Okay. Okay, so I'm in. All right, photos to come, shrimp cocktails to come. Just follow us on social media. It's gonna be a fun weekend. Pack your winter jackets, boys. Flurries in the air. Packing for. This sucks. I saw you, Tony. It's the worst.

[Trey Kirby]

The worst.

[J.E. Skeets]

It's sweater season. It's pants season. It's giant jackets, big old jackets. I'm not checking a bag. Are you out of your mind?

[JD]

I have to check a bag because Jerome ordered a goddamn fleece that's the size of my bag.

[Trey Kirby]

Wear it well.

[JD]

I don't want to open. I don't like opening other people's mail. He ordered it.

[J.E. Skeets]

He sent it to your house. You can do whatever you want.

[JD]

I don't know if I can pull off Korean streetwear.

[J.E. Skeets]

Oh, we've got. You gotta take a photo in the Indianapolis airport on the court wearing Jerome's Korean streetwear.

[JD]

All right, I'll ask permission of that. Maybe he's gonna allow you for sure.

[J.E. Skeets]

All right, guys, we'll see you from Indianapolis. Until then, Clipper Bros, you heard it here first.

[Trey Kirby]

Have a great time. Turn up. Love you guys. Awesome. Thanks for joining us. And remember, there's more than corn in Indiana.

[J.E. Skeets]

Embrace the day, people.