These Teams & Players Fooled Us All

Summary

No Dunks – "These Teams & Players Fooled Us All"

Date: April 1, 2026
Hosts: J.E. Skeets, Tas Melis, Trey Kirby (TK), JD
Main Theme:
Celebrating April Fool’s Day, the No Dunks crew reflect on the teams and players that "fooled" them most during the NBA season—who defied, disappointed, or wildly exceeded preseason expectations. Detailed breakdowns of standout games, insightful humor, and candid postmortems on predictions gone wrong.

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Episode Overview

• Theme: Which NBA teams and players fooled the panel and basketball fans this season—with a mix of both positive surprises and crushing disappointments.
• Segments:
  • Last night’s NBA action, notably Lakers vs. Cavaliers, Rockets vs. Knicks, Blazers vs. Clippers
  • Hall of Fame class discussion
  • April Fool’s themed segment: "Who fooled you?" (teams and players)
  • Favorite April Fool’s pranks

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Key Game Recaps & Analysis

1. Lakers 127, Cavaliers 113

[02:23 – 12:12]

• Luka Doncic explodes for 42 points, 12 assists, 5 boards—finishing a monstrous March with over 600 points in the month.
• Tas Melis: "He scored over 600 points in the month of March. To put that in perspective, Anthony Davis scored 587 total points for the Dallas Mavericks during his tenure there. So Luka in one month, bad trade, it turns out." [06:43]
• Cavs’ defense and scheme scrutinized: deep drop defense allowed Luka easy looks; lack of resistance, especially on screens.
• JD on Cavs: "Cavs, no resistance at all. Right to start, I thought, yes. Luka went off. I thought his first opportunity was like a practice shot." [03:41]
• Jared Allen had a solid game, but Lakers scheme let him eat, focusing defense on Mitchell and Harden. Ayton highlighted for defense and adapting to play with Luka.
• LeBron’s dunks and impact since returning highlighted, with Ayton’s growth as a pick-and-roll partner praised.
• Memorable moment: Luka calls off help while guarding Jared Allen, gets immediately spun and scored on, keeps complaining to his teammate during the play. [09:32, JD]

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2. Rockets 120, Knicks 97

[12:55 – 20:29]

• Houston dominates wire-to-wire, never trailing, shooting 54% from the floor, 43% from three, keeping turnovers low.
• Tas Melis: "The Rockets, man, got everybody, like, scratching their heads. We sort of like, they look good parts of the season, then they look like garbage, and then you're like, I don't know." [12:55]
• Reed Sheppard benched for matchup reasons but finished the game strong with active defensive plays.
• Knicks’ ball movement and offense falter (97 average points over last three games); missed chance to move up in standings.
• Rockets now tied with Wolves for 5th/6th in the West.
• TK: "That's 35 assists on 42 makes. That's the most assist they've had in a game all season. ... Best offensive game I've seen them play maybe the entire year." [15:32]
• Ongoing discussion: Will consistency or matchups decide Rockets’ postseason fate given fluctuating guard/wing play.

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3. Blazers 114, Clippers 104

[24:36 – 29:47]

• Play-In implications: Blazers move to 39–38, just a half-game behind Clippers for 8th seed.
• TK: "The Blazers treated this like it was one of the most important games they had to play the entire season. ... 18 offensive rebounds ... 32 second chance points for Portland. I thought Avdija was good, just being too physical for the Clippers." [25:03]
• Drew Holiday (30 pts) and Deni Avdija (28 pts, aggressive driving/fouls) lead Portland.
• Chris Murray’s rebounding and energy off the bench noted as key.
• Scoot Henderson’s integration into the starting lineup hailed as a stabilizing factor late in the year.
• Fun Moment: Blazers' Jeremy Grant's outlandish "drawbridge-looking" sweater on the bench sparks laughter—"He looks like he's in Game of Zones." [29:22, TK]

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Quick Hits: Other Games & NBA Nuggets

[29:57 – 34:10]

• Bucks beat Mavericks: Alex Antetokounmpo debuts, making four Antetokounmpo brothers to play in the NBA—possibly a record. [30:15]
• Pistons clinch Central Division: Jalen Duren’s growth highlighted; Danis Jenkins stepping in for Cade Cunningham.
• Dylan Brooks returns (first since February 21st); quickly racks up fouls and a technical. “He’s back, baby.” [33:45, TK]

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Hall of Fame Class Discussion

[34:15 – 39:42]

• Inductees: Candace Parker, Elena Delle Donne, Amar’e Stoudemire, Doc Rivers, Mark Few.
  • Parker and Delle Donne hailed as "no-brainers"—legends, MVPs, and champions in WNBA.
• TK: "Let's just talk about Chicago because this is three big Chicago players going in. Candace Parker ... Elena Delle Donne ... Doc Rivers from Maywood Proviso East." [35:04]
• Amar’e surprises some, as he makes it before Blake Griffin, despite similar resumes.
  • "This is good news for Blake Griffin. He's in for sure." [35:41, TK]
• Doc Rivers’ coaching (6th all-time in wins) outweighs his playing career.
• Inside baseball: Debating the transparency and logic of Hall selection process.

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April Fool’s Day Segment — Who Fooled You in 2025–26 NBA?

[43:29 – 57:47]

Which Team Made You Look the Most Foolish?

• JD: New Orleans Pelicans. Bought into Zion Williamson’s preseason promises of maturity & leadership; team still disappoints, with low win total and recurring injuries. JD: "Zion has played differently this year. ... His points slowed down, ... they started Jeremiah Fears at point guard for the first 20 games of the season." [46:26]
• TK: Houston Rockets. Team’s offensive collapse after losing Steven Adams made no sense statistically, plus Tar Eason’s three-point fall-off and unclear rotations. "How were the Rockets so good the first half of the season and also how did they fall off so hard in the second half?" [51:07]
• Tas: Orlando Magic. Locked them for 50+ wins, expected leap with Desmond Bane addition, but injuries and stagnant offense/defense left them mediocre. "I was wrong. ... Mainly the Suggs part. And he's so important." [56:33]

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Which Player Had You Fooled?

• TK: Ja Morant ("He's fooling himself and he fooled me as well"), Josh Giddey, Brandon Ingram, and—#1—Mikal Bridges, whose disappearing acts are routinely scapegoated onto Karl-Anthony Towns. "Bridges never gets a single percentage of the blame for the New York Knicks." [64:34]
• JD: Evan Mobley. Expected a leap after DPOY, All-NBA last year; usage and impact dropped even as Cavs traded for James Harden. "He wasn't used all that much by Kenny Atkinson ... Just not a ton." [67:21]
• Tas: Khalil Ware for Sixth Man award. Insanely up-and-down usage; when positive, Heat win, but Spoelstra's leash and matchup quirks have kept Ware from blossoming or locking a rotation spot. "I pick Khalil Ware to win six man of the Year. He was coming off the bench in the preseason and I got fooled, man." [69:08]

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Favorite April Fool’s Pranks

[73:13 – 77:11]

• JD: Filled a donut box with fruit and veggies to prank his kids: "They screamed, punched me in the gut. Deserved." [73:52]
• TK: Corporate gags like Taco Bell’s "Taco Liberty Bell," and classic media hoaxes (e.g., SI's fictional Mets pitcher Sid Finch throwing 168 mph). [74:08]
• Tas: NBA-specific, Jimmy Kimmel's animal PSA prank on Ron Artest—escalation in animal "props" from puppy to python: "He keeps saying, 'I gotta warm up, I gotta warm up.'" [75:47]

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• JD on being duped by Zion: “He fooled me.” [45:08]
• Skeets on Rockets: “They look good parts of the season, then they look like garbage.” [12:55]
• TK on the Blazers: “It feels like they've been sitting there in the play in for a long time. … They just don’t come up a lot.” [25:03]
• JD on Mikal Bridges: “But it is hilarious. When we go through our over unders, I think all of my super locks are wrong. All six of mine look like… wow.” [57:47]

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Timestamps for Significant Segments

| Segment | Timestamp | |---------------------------------------|------------| | Lakers vs. Cavs Recap | 02:23–12:12| | Rockets vs. Knicks Recap | 12:55–20:29| | Blazers vs. Clippers Recap | 24:36–29:47| | Pistons/Bucks/Notable Quick Hits | 29:57–34:10| | Hall of Fame Class Discussion | 34:15–39:42| | April Fool’s "Who Fooled You?" (Teams)| 43:29–57:47| | "Who Fooled You?" (Players) | 63:13–71:34| | Pranks/Favorites | 73:13–77:11| | Closing: WOBOY and outro banter | 77:42–83:14|

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Tone & Style

• Sarcastic, self-effacing, and playful—embracing their mistakes as part of the NBA fandom experience.
• Lively banter, inside jokes (e.g. "dunk scores," over/under locks gone wrong), and warm community engagement (references to stream team, listener mailbags).

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For Those Who Haven’t Listened

This episode serves as both a candid walk-of-shame on misfired predictions and a shrewd snapshot of the weird, wonderful, and unpredictable 2025–26 NBA season. With quick-hitting recaps, deep dives into roster construction/rotation mysteries, honest fan confessions, and a healthy sense of humor, the crew gives anyone who missed the episode all the essential context—and camaraderie—of an eventful NBA April.

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End.

Transcript

[Brianna Stewart]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[Tas Melis]

Guaranteed Human.

[Daniel Alarcon]

I'm Daniel Alarcon, and this is my friend who's much more famous than I am.

[John Green]

I wouldn't go that far, but I'm John Green, co host of the podcast the Away End with my old friend Daniel.

[Daniel Alarcon]

On our podcast the Away End, we'll share with you the magic of international football, all leading up to the 2026 World Cup. Together, we'll find out why of all the unimportant things football, soccer is the most important.

[John Green]

Listen to the Away End with Daniel Alarcon and John green on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

I'm Daniel Jeremiah.

[Greg Rosenthal]

And I am Greg Rosenthal.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

I know that, Greg. We're teaming up on 40s and free agents, the podcast that owns the NFL off season.

[Greg Rosenthal]

This is where teams are built. Free agency, combine, pro days, trades. Every move matters.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

From my draft boards and mock drafts

[Greg Rosenthal]

to my vaunted top 101 free agents and how rosters come together, quarterback movement, surprise signings.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

We'll tell you what it means and who really wins. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search 40s and free agents and listen now.

[Tas Melis]

Then she says, have you seen a photo of my son? And I'm like, who is this person?

[JD]

Welcome to the boys and girls podcast.

[Tas Melis]

Arranged marriage is basically a reality show and you're auditioning for your soulmate. And who's judging? Only your entire family. I sacrificed myself to this ancient tradition hoping to find love the right way. And instead I found chaos, comedy and a lot of cringe. Listen to boys and Girls on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

[Bob Pittman]

Hi, I'm Bob Pittman, chairman and CEO of iHeartMedia, and I'm kicking off a brand new season of my podcast, Math and Stories from the frontiers of Marketing. Math and Magic takes you behind the scenes of the biggest businesses and industries while sharing insights from the smartest minds and market. Coming up this season on Math and Magic, CEO of Liquid Death, Mike Cesario.

[JD]

People think that creative ideas are like

[TK]

these light bulb moments that happen when you're in the shower where it's really like a stone sculpture.

[JD]

You're constantly just chipping away and refining.

[Bob Pittman]

Take to interactive CEO Straus Zelnick and our own Chief Business Officer, Lisa Coffey. Listen to Math and magic on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

[Tas Melis]

Good morning, sweet world, and welcome to the no Dunks podcast presented by FanDuel. It's Wednesday, April 1, 2026. Gotta keep your head on a swivel today. I'm J. Skeets here in the Classic factory and alongside me, as always, Tas Millis.

[JD]

Podcast listeners, this is for you.

[Tas Melis]

Next to him, it's my top shot, hot boy Trey Kirby. And over yonder, making the magic happen, super producer JD Hello. There he is. Here we are. Hello to everybody on YouTube. Hit the like button. Subscribe podcast listeners, five star ratings and reviews. We really appreciate that. Later on today's show, we're going to discuss teams and players who made fools of us all this season. Who did we get wrong when it came to predicting what they would do? Maybe good, maybe bad. We'll get into that. But some games last night I want to start with Luca scoring 42 as the Lakers blew out the Cavaliers 127, 113 took control in the second quarter. The Lakers did never look back. Huge third quarter, pushed the lead to 20 and they won their fourth straight 13th in their last 14 games, giving them 50 wins, tasks matching last season's total already here.

[JD]

It was a disappointing game. I thought I tuned in for this. Watching two teams that I have some hopes for in the playoffs.

[Tas Melis]

Sure.

[JD]

Cavs, no resistance at all. Right to start, I thought, yes. Luka went off. I thought his first opportunity was like a practice shot. He was on the baseline. Jared Allen didn't even go up to him. Just off one leg. Oh, you're leaving me that open? Yeah, sure. Austin Reeves missed an opportunity. He got an offensive rebound with James Harden. Didn't even want to box him out. I just didn't think that they were providing any sort of resistance at all. I mean, on the other end, Jared Allen was doing his thing. I wondered if Evan Mobley was even playing, did he set a pick in this game? I mean, I don't, I don't think he was.

[Tas Melis]

Quiet game.

[JD]

Yeah. The big man working together thing, I thought could work with Evan Mobley up top, dropping it to Jared Allen and opportunities when he was on the baseline. You know, with some of those, it did occur in the last few games, but in this one, Mobley wasn't even there. Jared Allen was doing his thing. I mean, he was taking DeAndre Ayton from the three point line all the way to the box, but I just didn't think that this was anything to be all excited about. I mean, James Harden was whispering to Luka for like a full minute during the game, covering his mouth. What up with that? I know I'm doing some body Language reading there, but that was just disappointing. Wouldn't be surprising to see James Harden and not play all that well in the postseason. I know this is just one game, but this is. I don't know, it wasn't all that fun. While on the other side, the Lakers without Marcus Smart. Those guys, the glue guys, whether it's Laravia or Ayton or Rui or whoever, they were doing their thing in this game.

[TK]

Luke is a bad matchup for everybody, but especially for the Cavs. They just don't have anybody who has a chance against them. Max Stru's got the main defensive assignment and he's just not good enough to stick with Luke. I think like literally the best guy they could have thrown out last night was Naquan Tomlinson and that guy is just new to the NBA. So I thought that's bad to start off with. Luka's putting up 33 a game so he scores on everybody. But also a pretty bad scheme I thought by the Cavs. They're in deep drop the entire time and that just gives Luca so many options. How many walk in threes did he have? You would see him especially when Thomas Bryant was in. The dude was in the lane on a screen and roll. So Luka just gets the guy off and it's a wide open jumper. But if it wasn't Bryant, you know, sometimes Allen would be a little bit higher. But Luka's so good at it. He can drive for the floater, he can drive to the rim, he can get into an ISO and just shoot it over the top of a guy. He can get nally oop, which he got a ton of. He can kick to the corner like 42 points, 12 assists. He was a little sweaty, but not that sweaty. And on the other end I thought Jared Allen, he did have a good game, but I thought that was completely by design from the Lakers. Laravia was right next to Donovan Mitchell the entire night. Wouldn't let him really get involved in any plays. Same thing with James Harden. They defended him pretty well. So Jared Allen got a lot of one on one opportunities and the guy can score. So he went at Aiden. He had a lot of great takes. He was busy on the offensive glass as well. But I think that was kind of a JJ redick like if. If Jared Allen can beat us, go ahead. Jared Allen couldn't do it. You're hoping for Mitchell and Harden to take you over the top there. So I thought good coaching. Coaching win for JJ last night over Kenny Atkinson and Luka is Just a special player and he's awesome right now.

[Tas Melis]

Yeah, continued his incredible streak here. 42 points for Luka last night, 12 assists, five boards. I thought this game was probably catnip for Luca Stans, who think he is deserving of the mvp. Just an incredible March that he capped off here. He scored over 600 points in the month of March. And just to put that in perspective, Anthony Davis scored 587 total points for the Dallas Mavericks during his tenure there. So Luca in one month, bad trade, it turns out. Ayton, though, I want to go back to him because he said Jared Allen did have a good game. I thought Ayton, like, sort of neutralized what Allen was doing. And even Mobley Ayton was aggressive. He was a bit of a defensive force at times. 18 and 9. And one of my favorite small plays from this game. Third quarter, Ayton comes up, he sets the slick gortat screen, right? So that's the one where you're going to flip the side of the ball screen where you're going to set the pick at the last second. And it opened up the driving lane for Luka. And as a rolled, he sort of, like, big body just got in the way, created more space for Luka. He sort of flipped it in with his right hand on the left side of the rim. But he acknowledged Ayton right away. He was like, that's a hell of a play. Good pick, way to roll. And I just like that. And so I thought he had a good game. You said Jake LaRavia, what, five for five, hit a couple threes. And then Rui continuing his strong play off the bench, 6 for 8. So those guys chipping in, and LeBron just got to have some of the highlight plays.

[TK]

Exactly right.

[Tas Melis]

He had the chase down block five seconds into the game. That's a new record for him getting that. And then he had the big alley oop, which I think was created by an Ayton deflection, too. He was active on that end, like I said. And that was the one where Austin Reeves, I guess it was just chuck it up, just for fun.

[TK]

Easy dunk. Yeah, this is better. Yeah, this looks way cooler. It feels like 80% of LeBron's baskets since coming back from injury have been dunked. The guy's just running wild. He's a terror on the fast break. You're right. Ayton has been really good. It took him and Luka a lot of time to develop chemistry early in the season. Austin Reaves and Ayton were Connecting on these alley oops and just understood how to play in the pick and roll. But Ayton has figured out like, the cadences of the way Luka likes to attack because it's not just straight downhill. Like Reeves gets to does his business right away, just goes straight to it. But Luka's like, I'll put my guy in jail. I'll bob and weave, I'll do all this kind of stuff and I'll wait till the last second till there's a little bit of help. Drop it over the top. Shout out to Aiden. He bought in. Literally. He gave the interview where or like the profile was out on him where he's like, I'm not Clint Capella. And from that moment on, he has been Clint Capella. And it's been great for the Lakers. Also. Rui going to the bench has helped out a lot. It makes more sense for the team. He's killing second units. They're 18 and 8 with him coming off the bench. I think he loses track of what's supposed to be going on a lot of the time. And that really shows when you're starting and playing with the other guys. But when you can go against the second unit, you can dominate. And that's what he's been doing.

[JD]

Yeah, I thought when DeAndre did talk about post moves, it was. It was about a month ago. I thought, okay, maybe we're going to get that bad part of DeAndre season. Nope, he's still kicking it. This still looks like a Dallas Mavericks team to some degree with Luca as your guy and all your working parts in Ayton. Usually Marcus Smart, but now he's out with an ankle injury. We'll see when he comes back. But Larabia pitching in, Rui pitching in, Jackson Hayes pitching in and off the bench. They are absolutely clicking. I thought a funny Luca game or Luca moment was when he was guarding Jared Allen in the post and he wanted to go one on one. Laravia ran over. And while the play is happening and while Jared Allen is catching the ball, Lucas says to Laravia, hey, man, this is supposed to be just me guarding him. And as that's happening, as he's complaining, Jared Allen just spins around him and scores. But Luca continues to complain to Laraby, hey, dude, I can guard him one on one. So he knows what he's doing. That's, that's the, you know, the, the downfalls of a guy who will give you a 40, 45, 50 is, you know, he's a little, he just complains a little Bit here and there, but who cares? He scores enough and all is good. I think on the other side though, we'll talk about guys who disappointed and who fooled us, but Evan Mobley's got to get some plays run for him. It's kind of like we used to say about DeAndre. And he's got to get the ball in the post and Mo's got to get the ball. He just wasn't involved at all in this game. And again, that big to big thing, if it's going to work with Cleveland, it has to be Mobley involved and Allen off the ball instead of just going to Allen all the time. So that was poopy to start the game. The entire thing was poopy for the Cavs.

[TK]

What if Jared Allen's just better? He's a better passer than Mobley is.

[JD]

Yeah.

[TK]

I think he has like more reliable go to moves.

[JD]

Huh? Well, if you run in, if you got those two guys on the floor, he just has to be involved. I mean, that's, that's the thing. I don't care if Alan scores more. Yeah. Mobley has to touch the ball. He has to set some picks and Mobley, they can, they can be interchangeable with Allen on the, on the, the baseline or whatever. I mean, Mobley just wasn't even there. I don't, I don't think you necessarily.

[Tas Melis]

But is that Mobley's fault or is that sort of the coaching like your star player's fault? It's probably both.

[Miles Turner]

Right.

[Tas Melis]

One's got to be. He has to be more aggressive, more demanding, and also maybe you need to implement him more. Yeah, but. Yeah, not a great performance from the Cavs. My final thought on the Lakers. Did you look up Luka's dunk score for his final bucket of the night? I was just curious. I forgot to. He was very happy though, to get that fast break dunk right at the end. And you could see, you know, he was all alone, game sort of over, and he's like, I'm going to dunk this. Okay, well, he goes up and got the two hand slam.

[TK]

He did not make the top five.

[Tas Melis]

Yeah. Not surprising. Yeah.

[JD]

Yeah.

[Tas Melis]

It was probably one of the lower dunk scores of the season, but hey, still dunked it. All right, let's move on to the Rockets winning over the Knicks. Also a pretty dominant performance. Okay.

[TK]

He got a 23.4.

[JD]

Man.

[TK]

Not his lowest of the season.

[Tas Melis]

Really?

[TK]

No. Right in the middle, right. No, that's his lowest of the season.

[JD]

Okay.

[Tas Melis]

I'd be shocked.

[TK]

I Sorted by Luka and got some Garzas mixed in with my Doncic.

[Tas Melis]

I mean, how many dunks does Luka Doncic even have this year?

[TK]

4 rated on the dunk scale.

[Tas Melis]

Yeah.

[JD]

So you don't get a star rating for those. Basically, a star, you know, gets his points boosted at all. Nothing. Wow, that's real. That's real.

[Tas Melis]

Back to the Rockets here, I guess similar in a way that it was an ass kicking, really, sort of from front to back. The Rockets never trailed in this game. They led by double digits for most of it. And, you know, that was after a monster first quarter. They scored 37, kept the Knicks to something like 21. So they had a great lead and they kept it. Durant scored 27, and it was just overall tacit and extremely efficient night. Rockets shot 54% from the field, really good from three, 43% from deep, and they barely turned the ball over. And that's how you get to this really impressive victory. And the Rockets, man, got everybody, like, scratching their heads. We sort of like, they look good parts of the season, then they look like garbage, and then you're like, I don't know. And now they're like, you know, stringing together some quality wins here as we get closer to the postseason.

[JD]

Yeah, the difference, I think, with their starting lineup is they pulled Reed shepherd to get Tar Eason out there. He didn't want Reed, I assume IME Dicka didn't want Reed Shepher having to run after Jalen Brunson and get destroyed.

[Tas Melis]

He basically said it was a matchup reason. And it sounds like Reed shepherd will be back in the starting lineup tonight against the Bucks.

[JD]

And he finished the game. And that was a very, very, very solid game for Breed shepherd getting involved defensively, his hands involved with multiple steals. So you saw that from one side. And the Knicks, you know, off, off to that slow start. Maybe they can come back. Well, these last few games have been all sort of slow starts. You know, they've averaged 97 points over the last three games. That's too low for a great Knicks team. They had just 22 assists in this game. I thought the ball wasn't zipping, and the Rockets were doing a great job of cutting off OG or whoever. I mean, I think they just did a really good job of cutting off Mikhail Bridges and, and stopping the passes. But just I went to the raw numbers. I didn't go as hard as dunk score numbers, but I went to the passes numbers. They only had 259 in this game, 30 below their average, like it wasn't zipping around. And the Rockets, again, we're doing a really good job of cutting off passing lanes and all that, but this was a standings loss for me because the Knicks had an opportunity to jump on those Boston Celtics jump up a little bit. With Boston losing on Monday, they could have been just one and a half games back. Boston for the second seed. They got the tiebreaker right now. They do play them one more time on April 9th. Now they're two and a half back and they ain't going to catch them for a second. It just seems unlikely, but Rockets kicked ass. Maybe it was because it was Legend Night in Houston at Legends for the Rockets were there for the Comets out there. They're getting their new team back next season. It just feel like the energy was good there. Linux were just meh. They came back. I shouldn't say they were meh. They came back. Carl looked good, but, yeah, not a great effort to start in this game.

[TK]

Yeah. I don't know if this is like, is it more important to talk about the Rockets being great? I thought they were awesome.

[Tas Melis]

I thought they looked good.

[TK]

That's 35 assists on 42 makes. That's the most assist they've had in a game at all this season. This is the best offensive game I've seen them play maybe the entire year. The ball was really moving. I thought it was interesting that they were cooking so hard. That doesn't make any sense. Just like cooking.

[JD]

I was going to go with this

[Tas Melis]

Jamie Oliver right now. He's cooking so hard.

[TK]

Chopping hard.

[JD]

They were.

[TK]

And I was like, whoa, Reed Shepherd's not out there. I'm noticing this. Reed comes in really slow, start in the second quarter. And then Reed was completely cooking. He was cooking hard as well. So, yeah, this was just great offense. I thought from the Rockets, extra passes, this. You're open in the corner, but there's a guy stunting at you. Guess what? We're getting into the wing. He's hitting the three. This was just great ball movement from the Rockets. The most cohesive they've looked easily since the All Star break, I would say. And then on the flip side, like, New York was equally as bad. They've lost three straight now. Their last good win was early in March. Like they're squeaking by tanking teams. They haven't beaten a team with a winning record since March 6th. You're wondering, are they going to have a starting lineup change? Because that's something that Mike Brown has hinted at in the past and they were down big early in this one as well. That was a concern last season. Is the starting lineup the correct mix of players? Like, does it make sense to have Josh Hart out there? Does it make sense to have Mikhail Bridges out there when this guy does absolutely nothing games at a time? The Knicks are looking as bad as they did after winning the NBA Cup. Like, they went on their great win streak here in the middle of March. And just the exact same way, they're not giving an effort. They seem like they're just ready for the playoffs to start. Every postgame interview is like, oh, we got to be better. We got to get on track before the playoffs. You got like five games left. It's a lot. It's not a lot of time to be trying to figure out how to actually fit together going forward. So I think. I don't know. I don't think panic is the right word for the Knicks, but you can't be feeling too good going into the postseason playing this poorly.

[Tas Melis]

I was thinking how great the Knicks or how much they would fit right in in the Western Conference with the way they play, the ups and downs. There's sort of been Rockets like, or Wolves like, where it's like, catch them on the right week. Look like obviously a finalist. Catch them on the wrong week. You're like, what the hell's wrong with this team? Are they just like, yeah, just going through the motions right now? I've said that for a while now with the Knicks. I think more than any team, they're like, let's just start the playoffs already. Like, we know where we are. We like our squad. We have confidence. We can go far. And I do believe they'll ratchet it up a little bit come post season, but still not good. It doesn't give you a lot of confidence as you end the season like this. This was an ass kicking also. JD Please throw up the Western Conference standing. I'm going to it a little early. But the Rockets with that win, go to 46 and 29. That ties them with the Wolves in the fifth, sixth spot. But that series is tied. 1 1. They play on April 10th. Those two teams, I'm talking Minnesota, Houston. It's sort of crazy, that insane comeback by the Wolves last week that you guys talked about here on the show. I mean, that could be the deciding factor. That was like, what they came back from, like 15 down.

[JD]

Yeah.

[Tas Melis]

To squeak that out and pull out that victory and it could come into play here. Otherwise, the Rockets have that tiebreaker and could be a Deciding factor again, between playing, you know, the Lakers or the Nuggets, so just wanted to make note of that.

[TK]

But Rockets also have the easiest schedule remaining in the Western Conference.

[Tas Melis]

Was that good for a team like this? I'm not sure. At least.

[TK]

At least they're winning. You know, they did. They beat the Knicks, and they beat some bad teams as well, so just got to stay locked in against the bad teams.

[JD]

Got some standings fun here. Coming down to the wire. Yeah. On the east side, as I said, the Knicks could have made a huge game on Boston, but I wonder, would they rather be in the fourth seat as the Cavs only trail them by one game? Would they rather have that side of the bracket where they play 4, 5, and then the Pistons in the second round rather than the 3, 6, and then the Celtics in the second round? At least they can say, hey, we beat the Pistons last year. This is a young team that's never been to a conference final. If they face him in the second round, we can do this.

[Tas Melis]

I mean, if they're legit, they shouldn't care at all who they're playing.

[JD]

Yeah, but the Celtics are definitely the favorite in that second round. If they end up playing them, home court advantage. Yeah, yeah, but Cavs ain't winning right now, so Knicks are good. They're solid in third at that this point.

[Tas Melis]

And my final note on the Rockets victory is we talk a lot and we get excited about every LeBron James dunk. Kevin Durant had a pretty big dunk. Yeah, it was nice for KD last night, that baseline one where he took off pretty far. Please check the dunk score. We have to check the dunk score on every dunk. Ah, I'm just kidding. It was a big dunk.

[JD]

75. I'm guessing 75. Is that too low?

[Tas Melis]

I mean, it wasn't on anybody.

[TK]

Way too high.

[JD]

Way too high.

[Tas Melis]

Way too high. And it's in. This is it. Low 60s.

[JD]

Oh, I thought.

[Tas Melis]

Let me.

[TK]

Let me pull.

[JD]

What are the good.

[Tas Melis]

What are the good ones?

[JD]

Over.

[TK]

Over 80 is good.

[JD]

Oh, I thought it was over. I thought it was over 100, but

[Tas Melis]

I think you might be. Well, yeah, I thought he took off pretty far. High 60s, low 60s.

[TK]

He's got a lot more dunks than

[JD]

Luka Doncic actually contested.

[TK]

Oh, 47.

[Tas Melis]

Geez. That's it? Yeah, man can't figure out dunk score. It's been years now.

[TK]

No one knows.

[Tas Melis]

We're the only one that cares.

[Lily Herman]

Ready for a different take on Formula one? Look no further than no grip A new podcast tackling the culture of motor racing's most coveted series. Join me, Lily Herman, as we dive into the underexplored pockets of F1, including the astrology of the current grid.

[JD]

Lewis Hamilton, Capricorn Sun, Cancer Moon.

[TK]

Wouldn't you know it, Michael Schumacher is

[JD]

also a Capricorn Sun, Cancer Moon.

[Lily Herman]

The story of the sport's most consequential driver. Strike. We have one man who, upon hearing that he was going to be fired, freaked out and apparently climbed out the window of the bathroom. And was Daniel Ricardo's illustrious F1 career a success story, a cautionary tale, or some combination of both? He started getting all this attention and he maybe started to think, I'm bigger than this, I'm better. And plenty of other mishaps, scandals and sagas that have made Formula One a delightful, decadent dumpster fire for more than 75 years. Listen to no Grip on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

I'm Daniel Jeremiah.

[Greg Rosenthal]

And I'm Greg Rosenthal and this is

[Daniel Jeremiah]

40s and free agents.

[Greg Rosenthal]

The games may be over, but the NFL never stop. This is my favorite part of the calendar.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Yeah, mine too, Greg. Free agency, the combine, the NFL draft, pro days, trades. This is where teams reshape their future.

[Greg Rosenthal]

This is where Daniel Jeremiah makes his money on 40s and free agents. We break down every move that actually

[Daniel Jeremiah]

matters, from my draft evaluations, mock drafts

[Greg Rosenthal]

and team fits to my top 101 free agents and how real rosters are built, cap space, contracts, and all the tough decisions included.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

You got quarterbacks on the move.

[Greg Rosenthal]

We got teams rebuilding. It's hope season.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Absolutely, it's hope season. We'll tell you what's real, what's noise, and what it means for your favorite team.

[Greg Rosenthal]

Smart analysis. Real conversations every week.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

I don't know about the smart, but definitely analysis. Listen to 40s and free agents on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[John Green]

I'm John Green. You may know me as the author of the Fault in Our Stars and now I guess also as the co host of the Away End, a brand new world soccer podcast.

[Daniel Alarcon]

I'm Daniel Alarcon, a writer and journalist and John and I have known each other since we were kids. My first World cup was Mexico 86. I was nine years old. I watched every game and I fell in love. On our new podcast, the Away End, we'll share with you the magic of international football all leading up to the 2026 World cup for US Soccer.

[John Green]

Football is a story we've shared for over 30 years, since Daniel was the star player on our high school soccer team.

[Daniel Alarcon]

Very debatable.

[John Green]

And I was their most loyal and sometimes only fan. I love this game. I love its history, its hope, its heartbreak, and above all, its beauty.

[Daniel Alarcon]

Together we'll find out why. Of all the unimportant things football, soccer is the most important.

[John Green]

Listen to the away end with Daniel Alarcon and John green on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Miles Turner]

What's up? I'm Miles Turner.

[Brianna Stewart]

And I'm Brianna Stewart.

[Miles Turner]

And our podcast Game Recognized Game has never been done before.

[Brianna Stewart]

Two active players giving you a real look at our lives and what we actually think on and off the court.

[Miles Turner]

Nothing's off limits. We talk trade requests.

[Brianna Stewart]

What's the vibe of that? When it's like your star player is like, well, I want to leave and then actually now I'm going to stay. We talk tanking. I mean, honestly, like, I might get in trouble for this answer, but I think it's like, definitely happening in the wnba.

[Miles Turner]

And yeah, we talk about our mistakes too. They pulled me to the side and was like, hey, man, we got a call last night, man, you can't be rolling around the city like this tonight before games. No, you know, doing this, doing whatever.

[Brianna Stewart]

And of course, family stories. They'll be like, mommy, why did you miss that? Mommy, do you play basketball? Check out Game Recognized game with Stewie and miles on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Tas Melis]

Okay, let's talk about another Western Conference matchup. Drew Holiday scoring 30. Avdia getting to the line a lot. He scored 28, filled up the box score. Blazers beat the Clippers. This is a big game because of where they are in the play in standing. So The Blazers are 39 and 38. They're within a half game here of the Clippers for the eighth place and a potential part of the play in bracket where you get two chances to get into this thing. But your takeaways from the Blazers could win here.

[TK]

The Blazers treated this like it was one of the most important games they had to play the entire season. And you could tell they had 18 offensive rebounds. Only two of those went to Donovan Clingan. When you see 18 in the box score for the Blazers, you're like, oh, Clingan must have went nuts. But it was really the second unit, like Chris Murray, I think had four. And, you know, with a Brook Lopez being a Starter. With Zubots out, there's no backup center at all for the clippers and they're second unit looked really, really tiny. 32 second chance points for Portland. I thought Abdia was good, just being too physical for the Clippers. Like Derrick Jones Jr. Was doing his best. He's quicker than Abdia, but Abdia is a very physical driver and was just able to go through him time and time again. Getting to the rim, getting to the free throw line. Drew Holiday, you could tell, was totally feeling it, just letting it fly anytime he had even a sliver of daylight. So I thought this was a great win from the Blazers. A team that like is having a really anonymous season. I feel like they've been sitting there in the play in for a long time. They just got over.500 with this win. I think 39 and 38 right now. I think they're probably having a better season than they did last year, you know, but like they just don't come up a lot. Like none of the guys that you thought would really pop pop. Like Shaden Sharpe's kind of just been out there like he just had a normal season. Drew's been really good. Yeah, exactly. Jeremy Grant had a better year. He was out last night. Drew, like I said, Abdia has been good. He made the all star team, but it just feels like a team that exists. But I thought this was a huge win for the Blazers last night.

[Tas Melis]

I think Scoot Henderson playing a little bit better is a nice development here for the Blazers. The last little stretch. This is, this is good. This is better. Scoot, at least your thoughts.

[JD]

And he's been interjected into the starting lineup, which is very interesting. With no Shade and Sharp out there, they got to make a decision and he's in there. And the bench that you mentioned was the difference in this game. I thought, you know, like we like to talk in the playoffs. Bench is always better at home. They went on the road and did a great job outscoring Portland. The rebounds from Chris Murray, that was really, really important. I thought that turned it. And speaking of turn it, if there's a segue to turning it on, it's Drew Holiday turning it on. It's fun to watch him as sort of a lead guard who has to score with this offense. It's Avidya and I thought coming into the season Shaden Sharp would have to be relied on a lot. Manning got injured and now it's Abedia and Jrue Holiday. So he's going to have the green light at all times. And That'll be fun in a play in game or potentially a playoff series.

[Tas Melis]

Yeah. This was one of Drew Holiday's best games of the season. Like, you've got to go back to. Well, early in March, he had a game where he hit eight three pointers against the Grizzlies. He also played the Jazz. Awesome. All three times he's played them or. I know in three games he's like, lit them up. But that's. The Jazz played well against the Lakers. But you gotta go back to the start of the season for. This is one of his best games. He was awesome. And you, you brought up the 18 offensive rebounds, 32 second chance points. That's the Blazers game. I think they're one of the top teams in both those categories in the league, you know, when it comes to second chance points and offensive rebound. So that's. That's their M.O. and I'm with you, T.K. they treated this like a sort of a must win game, almost like a play in sort of example. What's the word I'm looking for? Preview trial run, I guess. Yeah.

[JD]

Experiment.

[Tas Melis]

Experiment, yeah. Going to be having these games and it's one game to either. Either get into this thing or not. So. Really impressive stuff there. By the. By the Blazers in a weird season. I'm with you. Like, we talked about them a little bit at the beginning because they're like, oh, they're playing okay after the whole billup scandal and all that. And then it was like crickets. Didn't really talk about them all that much as they just sort of maintained being decent. And 500 is solid for this team. Funny moment at the end of the game, though. Clippers broadcast, which included our guy Bones, Brent Berry. They showed Jeremy Grant on the sidelines. Blazers were pumped. This guy wears some unique things. He's, you know, fashion forward. And Brian Seaman, the play by play announcer, said, I've not seen a sweater like that from Jeremy Grant. J.D. i think you have the photo. And Bones said, yeah, looks like he's protecting the drawbridge.

[TK]

This is a ridiculous shirt he's wearing.

[Tas Melis]

It's protecting.

[TK]

I mean, it looks like he's in game of zones.

[Tas Melis]

Yes, exactly.

[JD]

Yeah.

[Tas Melis]

Bones talking about game of zones.

[JD]

That's great.

[Tas Melis]

Yeah. So funny line from Brent Perry.

[JD]

I mean, I like the fleur de lis on it.

[Tas Melis]

Oh, yeah, sure.

[JD]

The collar. Hoodie. Is that a hoodie? I can't even tell.

[Tas Melis]

I think it's a part of the sweater.

[JD]

Yeah, it's a part of the sweater, but I don't Know if it has a hood? If it's a hood, I think a

[TK]

King Louie sort of look to him. He looks bad.

[Tas Melis]

I don't like this look.

[TK]

No, that's just a bad look.

[Tas Melis]

Okay. Yeah, I like the color on him. Yeah, yeah, the color.

[JD]

I like the color.

[Tas Melis]

Okay.

[JD]

He's hot. He looks hot. I mean, I'm sweating.

[TK]

It doesn't look comfortable.

[Tas Melis]

He looks hot, but if he gets

[TK]

tired, just lay down on that hood.

[Tas Melis]

Other games from last night, we'll chuck them up here on the. On the screen for everybody. On YouTube, we had the magic beating the Suns, the Hornets kicking the Nets ass, Pistons beating the Raptors, and Bucks beating the Mavericks, I guess are the games that we didn't talk about. Any other takeaways from. From those four?

[JD]

Well, you jumped at the bucks there. Alex Atetokounmpo played in an NBA game. All four brothers. All four at Akumba. Brothers have played in NBA.

[Tas Melis]

Yeah.

[JD]

That's pretty cool. He snuck in there.

[Tas Melis]

Was that history with four brothers?

[JD]

I think so, yes. Oh, who else could it. Yeah, who else would it be?

[Daniel Alarcon]

I don't know.

[JD]

I mean, there's.

[TK]

There's other berries, aren't there? Yeah. John Brown.

[JD]

Did we get a canyon? We didn't get a canyon berry in the NBA.

[TK]

Drew.

[JD]

That's it. I guess. You got a Drew John Barry. That's it. Drew John bent a brunt, I should say. Yeah, that's it. Yeah.

[Tas Melis]

It's usually three. Three is where you usually max out. Yeah, we got all four.

[JD]

No canyon. So.

[TK]

Canyon.

[JD]

Not yet. Pretty cool. That's all I have to say about Alex.

[TK]

You don't think that's a. Please, Giannis. We'll do anything. We'll even play. Your fourth brother.

[JD]

I mean, he was.

[TK]

It is.

[JD]

Come on. Well, when they signed him in the first place. Every. Every brother. When they signed Thanosis, that's. It's pretty evident why they want Thanosis around. Costas is playing in Europe. Alex was playing with the Wisconsin Herd. So they all.

[Tas Melis]

They all played for the Bucks.

[JD]

What do you mean?

[Tas Melis]

Two, I guess.

[JD]

Oh, Coastal didn't play.

[Tas Melis]

He never played for the Bucks.

[JD]

He's an NBA champion with the Los Angeles.

[Tas Melis]

I thought he also was on the RO roster. He didn't.

[JD]

I thought yesterday Jaylen Duran was so good for the Pistons beating Toronto. He looked phenomenal. He looked like the handle was going past Jakob. The fast break for that guy. I thought even his miss with his left hand was pretty. He spun past 13 shooting. He looked. He looked so good. His finishes so good. Team effort was just there to, to take out the wraps. 60% from the floor, 56% from three and even like the last two minutes as the Raps made it a close game. Dennis Jenkins out there guarding Jamal Shed at the three point line. Shed goes by him but Jenkins is able to recover and block the snot out of him to lead to a Duran bucket. So that's just effort, man. They, they are, they are peaking at the right time and will start to jump up people's vote picks in the first round slowly here. I know we're waiting for Cade at the same time to see if he returns but they have been absolutely impressive.

[Tas Melis]

Yeah, the Pistons beating the Raptors to clinch their first division title since 2007, 2008. So 18 years since the Pistons have won that Central division. And I'm with you like these last couple of weeks, if you were debating whether or not Jalen Duran was an all NBA worthy player, I think that he's cemented his status without Cade. He's been really, really solid over this little stretch as they keep winning these games. I think he's a lock to be a top 15 player in the league this year and be voted in there. Deservedly so. And then Danis Jenkins, this guy was a two way contract guy. He had 21 points, five assists last night. He's averaging 19 and seven since replacing Cade Cunningham who had to leave obviously the starting lineup. So as the starting point guard, I mean that's what a find in this guy.

[TK]

Totally. Yeah, he's good. He's just good.

[JD]

He's, he's that spark.

[Tas Melis]

Any other thoughts?

[TK]

Dylan Brooks was back. Played his first game since February 21st. In the first 90 seconds he had two files, a turnover and a technical.

[Tas Melis]

He's back baby.

[TK]

He is 100% back. 17th tech of the season for Dylan Brooks. So he'll be suspended if he gets another one, which he'll get another one, guaranteed.

[JD]

Welcome back.

[TK]

45 combined turnovers in this game. 61 combined fouls, fouls, 76 combined free throws. Disgusting.

[JD]

It was gross. And Dylan was bad. He had five fouls with 10 minutes left in the third quarter. And that he shot it over the backboard late in the fourth quarter.

[Tas Melis]

He was a little rusty.

[JD]

That hand that he broke, it ain't 100 if you're shooting it over the backboard. It ain't right.

[Tas Melis]

Hall of Fame news. Candace Parker.

[TK]

Let's go.

[Tas Melis]

Elena Delladon, Amari Stoudemire, Doc Rivers are among those set to be inducted into the Naismith Basketball hall of fame, class of 2026. We always say this when we get into hall of Fame news. This is like the eighth time I feel like we've talked about it.

[TK]

Yes.

[Tas Melis]

Just the way this news comes out over the calendar year. But it will be official who the inductees are this weekend. I guess Gonzaga coach Mark Few is also expected to be one of them. But WNBA stars, I mean, you got the jersey on tk. You're a huge Candace Parker fan. She's one of the greatest players of all time. I mean, both of them are no brainers. Like, oh, yeah, oh, yeah. They're both former MVPs champions. But let's talk a little bit about the NBA angle. The Amari Stoudemire being the one, and then even Doc Rivers.

[TK]

Let's just talk about Chicago because this is three big Chicago players going in. Candace Parker won a title with the sky from Naperville, the goat of all WNBA players of all time. Indisputable. Nobody can disagree with me. Ellen Elena Deladon won an MVP with the Sky. Did win her title with the Mystics. Doc Rivers from Maywood Proviso East.

[Tas Melis]

Oh, yeah. There you go. That's great.

[TK]

Great stuff. I am surprised, though, that Amari Stoudemire made it over Blake Griffin. They have identical cases. Six time all Star, five time all NBA Rookie of the Year. Didn't win a title. But Amari retired seven years before Blake Griffin, so I think he gets to go in first.

[Tas Melis]

This is good news for Blake Griffin.

[TK]

He's in for sure. I thought he would be in now since he's so affiliated with the NBA, being on broadcast and doing work with prime, all this kind of stuff. But I'm surprised they only chose one of them. I guess just save him.

[JD]

Yeah.

[TK]

Because he will get in.

[JD]

Yeah. I think Amari got in because this is his second year of eligibility while it's Blake's first. That's the main thing, I think, in between the two of them. And that's the biggest difference. Amare is an NBA champion. If he doesn't come off the bench and get suspended in that Western Conference final against San Antonio Spurs, I think they win that thing if he doesn't get suspended. But yeah. Six time all Star, five time Olympia. It's hard to keep him up. It's just. It's. It's very hard to keep him out. Career shortened by injuries if he's not injured or if he doesn't take a step onto the bench or onto the floor, I should say. And David Stern says You out of here. Then he's got an NBA title in my opinion. But it is interesting to see how the candidates vote. It would be great if they had transparency and we knew how they all voted so we could get into it a little bit because there's 24 votes. You've got to have 18 to be eligible. So 75, basically of the, the, the House Honors committee they call them. That'd be nice. But is it. Is, is the NBA one an NBA player here? Amare, Just because he is the biggest name to be eligible? I, I guess. Or maybe he's just getting in.

[Tas Melis]

Yeah, you know, this one, this one is obviously headlined by the ladies and deservedly so with these two. But Amari's in there and duck rivers. You know, look, he's fun to clown on right now. And obviously what's gone wrong maybe with the Bucks and even over his career with the blown 31 leads, which he I guess is the Clubhouse leader for 3:1 leads blown in playoff series. But I mean, this guy has a lot of victories. 1192 and counting. That's sixth all time. He's 18 wins away from Pat Riley. He's the only coach in the top 10 in victories not to been inducted yet. He's got a bunch of playoff victories. He's got the title, went to another finals.

[JD]

I think he'll have a good speech. I will say that I don't think I've ever been looking forward to a speech from a coach at the hall of Fame induction ceremony. But I think he'll be good. I think he's a talker and you know, he thanked everybody around him, all the relationships, all the hundreds of texts and that he received. He sees that kind of guy and that's, that's why he's been a coach for so long. He's not getting in for what he did as a player. Although he's an all star once.

[Tas Melis]

How long did he play? He must have a long career.

[TK]

Plus 10 years.

[Tas Melis]

Yeah, he did 12 years. 13 years. There you go.

[TK]

I also think Shamiqua holds claw. Should be in.

[Tas Melis]

Okay, good.

[TK]

Not great WNBA career, no title, no mvp. But a six time all star. Three time second team all W led the league in scoring. But this is the Basketball hall of Fame. You factor in the college stuff. She was a three time NCAA champion, two time most outstanding player in the tournament. She was going to be Candace Parker before Candace Parker. So maybe not quite living up to expectations is what keeps her out.

[John Green]

But.

[TK]

But I think she should be in there for sure.

[Tas Melis]

And I guess the actual induction is in. Is it usually late August, early September, something like that?

[JD]

Yeah.

[Tas Melis]

When we actually do this, I think

[JD]

they've been pushing it a little bit later. So it's closer to the. Is it closer to the NBA season? Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe they pushed earlier so we could be a 12 month sporting league. Maybe.

[Tas Melis]

Potentially.

[JD]

Yeah. They moved it though. You're right though.

[TK]

Who will.

[Tas Melis]

Is it a no brainer that Amare will pick Steve Nash to induct him?

[JD]

I would hope so.

[Tas Melis]

You would think so.

[JD]

Yeah.

[Tas Melis]

Obviously. What they were like together like eight years there in Phoenix.

[JD]

Yeah. So why doesn't he get in last year and gets in this year?

[Tas Melis]

I mean, who went in last year? Do you remember off top of your head? Is that Vince and Tracy? No, wait, Vince for sure. Yeah. Can't keep track of these.

[JD]

Mellow, right?

[TK]

Mellow, yeah.

[Tas Melis]

Okay, well then you're getting to your reasons.

[JD]

Yeah, but the weird part is you've got 24 people who vote. You have to look at them individually. I think the weird part is what's Amare's resume? Oh, Vince Carter gets in. So he doesn't get in. It just doesn't really make much sense to me.

[TK]

Hello. And Dwight Howard.

[JD]

Oh, yeah, Dwight.

[Tas Melis]

Dwight last year. So Vince was here before or. Or before that. 2025.

[JD]

Yeah, I guess Vince was the year before.

[TK]

I guess was the year before Vince and Chauncey Billups.

[Tas Melis]

Okay.

[JD]

Right. That's an odd one. Yeah. Yeah. The question of whether Chauncey will stay in the hall of Fame has been a question.

[Tas Melis]

I forgot about that part.

[TK]

That's the more of the question.

[JD]

Well, did Vince get put into the hall of Fame and then retired by the Raptors the following season?

[TK]

That's weird. That's right. He got his jersey retired twice in the same season.

[JD]

That's awesome. Yeah, that's weird. Anyway.

[Tas Melis]

All right, well, congratulations to whoever ultimately gets voted into the hall of Fame. We're going to take a break. When we come back, some April Fool's Day questions.

[TK]

Right now, new FanDuel customers can get up to $300 back in bonus bets. Here's how it works. Place an NCAA tournament bet using the token. If it doesn't win, you'll get up $300 back in bonus. But simple.

[Tas Melis]

Yep, simple.

[TK]

Just use the token. That's 10 chances to play all tournament long. Because this lasted for 10 straight days. And we're at the end of that. 10 straight days.

[Tas Melis]

Getting close. Yeah.

[TK]

Oh, Saturday, Monday. Excited.

[JD]

Is it Saturday? Monday? Yeah. Yeah.

[Tas Melis]

Okay.

[JD]

Sometimes they move their this.

[Tas Melis]

No, no.

[JD]

Monday night.

[Tas Melis]

Always the national championship. Yeah. No. Well, it has been for less. Yeah.

[JD]

66 years.

[TK]

From game props and money lines to spreads, totals, futures and more. You can even mix things up with same game parlays for a shot at a bigger payout. However you want to fill out your bracket. FanDuel makes it easy to stay in the action day after day, so visit the FanDuel Sportsbook app today. FanDuel. It is time to dance.

[Tas Melis]

To dance, to build dance.

[TK]

Dad Gummen.

[Tas Melis]

It's time to dance. I didn't get to fishing, by the way. Apologies to you everybody out there. That's too bad. No ripping lips on my trip to the Smokies.

[TK]

Do be like that.

[Tas Melis]

But we did go by. We went. We stopped on the way back to Atlanta at like another waterfalls closer to. It was in North Carolina near Cherokee, I guess, and we drove by. Is it KOA Those. Those. I was gonna call them playgrounds, campgrounds.

[TK]

Yeah.

[Tas Melis]

KOA they must had a stock to stocked pond. There were thousands of fishermen.

[JD]

Wow.

[Tas Melis]

It was crazy. I've never seen that many people on one body of water fishing.

[TK]

The KOA Derby, perhaps.

[Tas Melis]

Maybe it was.

[TK]

I don't know if that's a thing,

[Tas Melis]

but sounds like it felt like it. I was like, oh, I could be ripping lips right there. But I didn't. Let's go rip. Let's go. Ripping together. That's. You're the last person I ripped together. Yeah. Okay.

[TK]

I would love to do that.

[Tas Melis]

Yeah.

[TK]

Well, it's almost time for the spawn. Once the water temps get a little.

[Tas Melis]

Let's go. And the bass start laying their eggs. Hell yeah.

[TK]

They're trying to protect them. And we're just trying to snatch them

[JD]

off their beds, these fools.

[TK]

That's not a real worm. That's a plastic worm, you fools.

[Tas Melis]

Gotcha, fish. All right. Well, speaking of April Fool's day, we got a fun new segment called. You fool, You dumbass fish. That's a fake worm, you stupid fool. Some fun questions here. Seeing as it is April Fool's day that we could sort of like look back at the season we've had here. The regular season. Maybe what we got wrong, we got tricked by some of these teams, no doubt. So the first question. And play along in the stream team with your answers there. I know we pinned the question there. Which team made you look the most foolish this season? We'll do players in a second. But team tasks. Who made you to look like a fool?

[JD]

The New Orleans pelicans made me look Foolish Zion Williamson convinced me. In that preseason press conference, he sat at that table. I felt like I was looking at him into the camera. And he started saying that Joe Dumars, the new lead of the front office, he said that I got to be responsible. I mean, he's holding me accountable. He said, if I slip up, he'll be right there to make sure I get right back on earth. He said me and Joey had a lot of man to man conversations. And I said, I will not let you down. As he was looking to me in the camera, I thought he was talking to me. He's like, I will not let you down. And he also said, last year, I learned my body. It wasn't me in the off season where I figured things out physically. It was during the season. You know, we always see in the summer, oh, this guy's healthy. This guy's fit. Well, but he told me. Told me. He's talking to me. Yeah, he told everybody that last year I got injured, but I figured out how to get my body back. Right. He got injured after six games last year. Then this year, injured after just five games played. They started the season six and 24 last year. I thought, okay, well, if he's going to play, then they're going to be all right. And those on did come back and play a lot this season, but they started 8 and 22. Not all that different. They were just bad. He told me that. That he Learned something from CJ McCollum. He said, the guy I learned from, he called this like a transition period. A transition to what? I mean, it really hasn't changed all that much. Even though, again, yeah, he played. He said, I learned from Joe. Talent is natural. Greatness is every day. He fooled me.

[Tas Melis]

And.

[JD]

And the over under was only 31 and a half. And I thought, 31 and a half. You. You learned everything from the great Joe Dumars. You're better physically.

[Tas Melis]

The Dumars has tricked you twice. Yeah, he's really made you look like a fool when he told me the All Star Game was gonna be awesome.

[JD]

Yeah, well, listen, he's a trustworthy guy. Yeah, he fooled me last year. The All Star Game recovered this year. It sure did.

[TK]

They got Joe Dumars out of there. Yeah, it worked.

[JD]

Y. Maybe if they get rid of Joe, I'll be buying the Pelicans stock for next season. But that start of last year, again, saying that he's better physically, which, again, he has played, but he. He lost. Missed such a big chunk. The team wasn't right but again, I'll be convinced again next year, considering dejounte. Murray will be healthy or whatever. Yeah, everybody will sort of be healthier, but I got. I got duped once again.

[Tas Melis]

31 and a half. Is that how low?

[JD]

That's how low it was. They're not gonna get there.

[TK]

You don't think they're gonna win their last six?

[JD]

No. Or they have 26, I think.

[TK]

No, they have 25 wins. Yeah, they're under.

[JD]

I did it. Yeah. I did the math. They can't get there.

[Tas Melis]

Amazing.

[TK]

It's playing a lot. He's Gonna play over 60 games this year.

[Tas Melis]

Yeah.

[JD]

Congrats. Yeah, he missed the wrong part. I mean, to miss, like, November, you kind of have to play and get your team going. They're 8 and 22 to start, and they can recover. I mean, again, they're not even with 30 games.

[TK]

Yeah.

[JD]

Who cares?

[TK]

I don't think it's his fault, though. I think the team is just poorly built. Like, they've got a lot of guys who are good and not a lot of great players. And Zion has played differently this year. I think he's trying to save his body. I think he's trying to stay healthy. He's just not quite as explosive, but he's still effective. Like, he's at like 21 per game rather than like 25 to 27. No, but, like, they started Jeremiah Fears at point guard for the first 20 games of the season.

[JD]

Yeah, there was that part. Zion was exactly the same last year. He knew when he came back that I can't be this go all the time type of guy. And so his points slowed down last year, and so that. I figured that he figured that out. They did change it up. They fired Willie Green and they said, okay, we're going in a different direction here. Derek Queen's gonna be playing, but Trey Murphy has had an incredible year, and, you know, they haven't got it together until Dejante Murray kind of came around. They're kind of stable now. Yeah, they're supporting guys aren't good enough. But to be that bad. Again, 31 and a half is not a high aspiration.

[Tas Melis]

No, I agree.

[TK]

They shouldn't be that bad.

[Tas Melis]

No, absolutely.

[TK]

I mean, it's still Zion playing 65 games. Yeah. Well, this season, that's going to be

[Tas Melis]

his, like, second most played games in a season ever. And I was going to say, like, it's going to be nuts. That what? This is seven seasons of Zion Williamson. I know he missed the one year entirely, but seven NBA years There's not even a playoff tab on his basketball reference page to click on because he hasn't been there and, you know, obviously got some untimed or untimely injuries there that took him out, but, wow, that's just incredible to me. He hasn't even played in a postseason game.

[JD]

Yeah, he definitely helped his team get there. Yeah, I know that. I know, but lost to the Suns,

[Tas Melis]

but okay, Zion gotcha. With his hot bod.

[JD]

He's good at press conferences.

[Tas Melis]

Hey, listen here, Tas Melis. I'm feeling 100 this year. I'm coming in with a new attitude.

[JD]

Yeah, look at my box.

[Tas Melis]

Look at my earring. I'm ready to go. Let's go. I don't know why I turned Robinson

[JD]

Cowboy. I'm gonna change it up. I've been watching a lot of NBA coverage from my desk with my monitor right in my face, so it feels like that person again is right there. That's. That's an ECU on that person. I mean, that's an extreme close up. I'm like, that person is right there with me. And I think that's a factor next year. I'm zooming out, rolling that chair back to me. Talk to me. It's different. But we've all been fooled by Zion before. It's great that he's playing. Yeah, I guess. But he's gonna do it again next year. He's gonna do it.

[Tas Melis]

That's my favorite part.

[JD]

What about Dejante Murray? At least they have.

[TK]

I think this Jonte Murray missing two thirds of the season is probably more than scion missing 20 games. And, I mean, they have no centers. They literally have no centers.

[JD]

Right. Matkovich, Looney, Kevon Looney also got hurt. That kind of.

[Tas Melis]

Hey, look, the question. I know you focused on Zion, but the question was team. And the Pelicans fooled a lot of people. We thought they were going to be much better.

[TK]

He's not the most disappointing Pelican to me.

[Tas Melis]

Right. We're just saying something.

[TK]

Yeah, exactly.

[Tas Melis]

What about you, though? Team that made you look foolish?

[TK]

Remember when The Bulls started 6 and 1? That was cool. They were fooling us all. Kings. I took the over. Well, Timberwolves. Timberwolves never fooled me until they did. And then they completely yanked the rug from underneath my foolish, foolish feet. But my ultimate team that made me look the most foolish, The Houston Rockets. I don't understand what happened here. They looked great last night. So clearly, you can tell I pulled all these numbers before last night happened, but before Stephen Adams got injured on January 18th, the Rockets were fourth in offensive rating. Didn't make any sense. How are they doing this? They don't have a lot of shooters. Everybody creates on the inside. They did have a massive offensive rebound rate, first in the league at 41%. But after 18th in offensive rating and you're thinking Steven Adams shouldn't matter this much. The guy sets screens and gets offensive rebounds. Their offensive rebounding dropped all the way to second in the league, still grabbing 36% of offensive rebounds. They get one fewer put back per game, but for whatever reason and the offense just completely fell apart. And that's with most of their guys being healthy. They have four players who have 65 or more starts this season. Then it's kind of been a shuffle in for who's going to be the fifth guy. Sometimes it's a Kogi. It's been Reed Shepherd. Tar Eason has gotten a chance. Tar Eason is maybe the biggest fool of them all. Shot 46% from three before the All Star game, 19% after. Before playing pretty well last night. So it just doesn't make sense to me, both parts of it. Like, how were the Rockets so good the first half of the season and also how did they fall off so hard in the second half of the season? I feel like a fool because I can't figure it out.

[JD]

Yeah, yeah. Tar Eason is a really interesting part because he's kind of an X factor in that he can do everything on both sides but has been bad since the All Star Game. And yeah, his mom literally went on Twitter and asked lethal shooter, hey, go help that guy out. Because he was missed so many times. The question is, yeah, with the guard position, as we've always said with this team, is Reed shepherd going to be reliable come off season?

[Tas Melis]

Hopefully, and a Rocket player? I feel like we've barely talked about this season, which is weird when, like, you get to your fourth year and like there's a lot of promise behind you. That's maybe when you blossom as a player. Is Jabari Smith Jr. Yeah.

[JD]

Big ups and downs.

[Tas Melis]

Barely talked about him and not like he's been bad, but yeah, no, no real leveling up, I would say. Obviously signed his contract extension. He's been fine. Yeah. Which, you know, obviously not hurting the team by any means, but I think some people had higher hopes for this fourth year. It's like someone, one of these guys starting to figure things out.

[JD]

But Kevin Durant, while he was on Twitter on that burn account. Sure did. We all did. Yeah. Who was going to be that guy, to really step up. He's been fine. He's definitely been fine.

[Tas Melis]

My answer for this. I'm glad, I'm glad you brought up the Kings. I mean, you, you lock them in on the over. I backed you. I didn't lock them, but I was like, oh, yeah, here we go. And the Kings disappointed us as they always do. So I'll leave that and I'll go with the team that made me look foolish this season. See Orlando Magic. I locked the Magic in to win over 50 and a half games. So I thought they were going to be one of these at least top four, if not top three teams in the Eastern Conference. Let me go through the points I was making in the preseason and how they fared. Point one. Oh, guys, the addition of Desmond Bain. This guy's a career 41% three point shooter. That's going to give the Magic a much needed boost in perimeter shooting. Because remember, two years ago, Orlando finished last in three pointers made and last in three point percentage. So that's 24, 25. This season they ranked 24th in three pointers made and 26th in three point percentage. Small improvements, yes, but the problem is it's not keeping up with the rest of the league who across the board just generally got better. So that's rough. Point two. Simple was. The formula was. Simple was my point. All they got to do is boost the offense while maintaining that lockdown defense because that's their calling card. They're elite defensively. Well, they fell from second in defensive rating two seasons ago all the way to like middle of the pack. I think they bumped up a little bit last night. Let's call it 15th heading into last night's game. I think they're 13th now in defensive rating. They don't. It's so weird. They're like just above average at one thing. On the defensive end, it's rebounding. Otherwise they're not really all that good. They're just average. Whoops. Point three. The Magic's point guard play. I was talking about Jalen Suggs having a breakout year two seasons ago. He was setting career highs and points and rebound and steals and blocks. And then. And then. And his season got cut short due to the knee surgery. I said, oh, it's okay. They got Tyus Jones in there. That's a great veteran insurance policy. If Suggs goes down. So what happens? Suggs suffers through injuries again. He's going to be closer to 50 games played instead of 65. Plus this guy's 24 years old, you would think he's 34 or 35.

[TK]

Yes.

[Tas Melis]

He's always banged up. And then Tyus Jones, dear Lord. You know, fool me once Shame on, shame on you fool me, fool me if you can't get fooled again. Jones played 48 games for the Magic. I don't remember a single thing Tyus Jones did for the Magic this year. He shot under 30% from three. He chipped in a cool three points per game. I thought that was a typo. On basketball reference, I was like, it can't be that bad. And he was traded to the Hornets for Dick all and he was rerouted to the Mavericks.

[TK]

Dick All's been playing pretty good though.

[Tas Melis]

Yeah, played a few games for Dallas. He was waived. Look, he's on the Nuggets now. It's whatever, but wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong. Mainly the Suggs part. And he's so important. And then finally point four was, I was focusing on Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. They were coming off career years. I said, look at these guys. They're just one of three returning healthy duos that score over 24 points per game. It's Luka and Lebron, it's Brunson and Cat, it's Paolo and Franz. And Paolo struggled for a majority of the season. He's starting to round into form a little bit. And Franz, I mean, this guy's played four games in 2026. He's played two games stateside, played two games in Berlin because they're like, oh, he's German, get him out there. So I mean, I drafted Franz. I may have taken Franz first overall in our first time all star draft. I took him in the first round. I took him early thinking, okay, he's going to blossom into that player. So it's just they're never out there together. This stat from the sickos over at, you know, ball. Over the last two seasons, Paolo, Franz and Suggs have played 227 minutes together. That's like, that's like a week and a half of basketball.

[TK]

That's a week of. Yeah, yeah, that's nothing.

[Tas Melis]

They just can never get let all on the same page. Be healthy is my point. Yeah, so I was wrong.

[JD]

But it's the injuries that I'm most worried about are Paulo's and sucks and not so much Franz. I mean, coming into the season, it's understandable that you picked France to be a first time all Star. Yeah, I mean, he has been fairly healthy in his career. This is his fifth year, his first four. He missed three games. Then he missed two games. Then he missed 10 games.

[TK]

Huge chunk Last year.

[JD]

Last year. Last year was his first year. He missed 25 again. He played in 60 games. That was his first one.

[Tas Melis]

The oblique.

[JD]

The oblique.

[TK]

Back to back obliques.

[JD]

Oh, that Oblique disease was running rampant around the Orlando Magic locker room for some odd reason. But he probably would have got there if he played more this year. He would have been an all star.

[Tas Melis]

Maybe.

[JD]

Maybe it was your. Your Pascal Siakam. They could have taken that spot.

[Tas Melis]

I just got fooled, though. I thought, the defense ain't going anywhere. They. If they.

[JD]

Oh, yeah.

[Tas Melis]

Which they make the Desmond Bane trade to help their offense. And they're shooting and it's like, we

[JD]

all took the over. We all took the over.

[Tas Melis]

Okay, well, there you go. And this is a second apron team looming. You gotta win now. And probably their coach is gonna get fired. I mean, they flame out here in the plan or even the postseason. I think it has to be him. Unless they make another drastic move and split up Apollo and Franz, which I guess is a possibility. So anyway, they fooled me, man.

[JD]

Yeah.

[Tas Melis]

Fooled me.

[JD]

If Ty's Jones ain't performing, it's the coach's fault. You could see him performing in Denver. But it is hilarious. When we go through our over unders, I think all of my super locks are wrong. All six of mine look like. Wow. It is pretty hilarious.

[Tas Melis]

I did see. I took a look at our Eastern Conference. I can't say we all were cooking in the East. I mean, I just did a. Yours was.

[JD]

Yours was Magic. Were your super locks.

[Tas Melis]

He. He took out, right?

[JD]

Oh, he.

[Tas Melis]

Yeah, yeah. Over for sure. Bucks.

[JD]

Nope. Trey went Nicks. It's not gonna happen. Over Magic. Over Sixers under super lock.

[TK]

I might have missed out all my locks. I forgot about my. The Western Conference one.

[JD]

I got it over on the Bulls. I thought, six and one, we're cooking. They're not gonna get there. They're not gonna get to 32 and a half.

[TK]

Nobody expected them to actually do trades.

[Tas Melis]

Yeah, right.

[JD]

I gotta say, though, just because somebody is calling us out in the stream team, that we didn't take the over on the Celtics. We all did.

[Tas Melis]

No, I didn't. I didn't. I said gap here.

[JD]

There's a typo. Look at this. Look at this. Look at my graphic.

[TK]

Take a look at my graphic.

[JD]

It says over, over, over.

[Tas Melis]

Oh, I'm pretty sure. I'm pretty sure.

[JD]

We did have an edit session where there was a couple mistakes there with our man Matt Houston.

[Tas Melis]

You gotta look at the ones that are on Instagram. I feel like those are the real ones. But anyway, I think I took them under either way.

[Lily Herman]

Ready for a different take on Formula one? Look no further than no Grip, a new podcast tackling the culture of motor racing's most coveted series. Join me, Lily Herman, as we dive into the underexplored pockets of F1, including the astrology of the current grid.

[JD]

Lewis Hamilton, Capricorn Sun, Cancer Moon Wouldn't

[TK]

you know it, Michael Schumacher is also

[JD]

a Capricorn Sun, Cancer Moon, the story

[Lily Herman]

of the sport's most consequential driver's strike. We have one man who, upon hearing that he was going to be fired, freaked out and apparently climbed out the window of the bathroom. And was Daniel Ricardo's illustrious F1 career a success story, a cautionary tale, or some combination of both? He started getting all this attention and he maybe started to think, I'm bigger than this, I'm better. And plenty of other mishaps, scandals and sagas that have made Formula One a delightful, decadent dumpster fire for more than 75 years. Listen to no Grip on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Tas Melis]

Foreign

[Greg Rosenthal]

Jeremiah and I'm Greg Rosenthal.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

And this is 40s and free agents.

[Greg Rosenthal]

The games may be over, but the NFL never stops. This is my favorite part of the calendar.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Yeah, mine too, Greg. Free agency, the combine, the NFL draft, pro days, trades. This is where teams reshape their future.

[Greg Rosenthal]

This is where Daniel Jeremiah makes his money on 40s and free agents. We break down every move that actually

[Daniel Jeremiah]

makes matters from my draft evaluations, mock drafts and team fits to my top

[Greg Rosenthal]

101 free agents and how real rosters are built, cap space, contracts and all the tough decisions included.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

You got quarterbacks on the move.

[Greg Rosenthal]

We got teams rebuilding. It's hope season.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Absolutely it's hope season. We'll tell you what's real, what's noise and what it means for your favorite team.

[Greg Rosenthal]

Smart Analysis. Real conversations every week.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

I don't know about the smart, but definitely analysis. Listen to 40s and free agents on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[John Green]

I'm John Green. You may know me as the author of the Fault in Our Stars and now I guess also as the co host of the Away End, a brand new world soccer podcast.

[Daniel Alarcon]

I'm Daniel Alarcon, a writer and journalist and John and I have known each other since we were kids. My first World cup was Mexico 86. I was nine years old I watched every game and I fell in love. On our new podcast, the Away End, we'll share with you the magic of international football, all leading up to the 2026 World cup for us.

[John Green]

Soccer. Football is a story we've shared for over 30 years, since Daniel was the star player on our high school soccer team.

[Daniel Alarcon]

Very debatable.

[John Green]

And I was their most loyal and sometimes only fan. I love the this game. I love its history, its hope, its heartbreak, and above all, its beauty.

[Daniel Alarcon]

Together, we'll find out why of all the unimportant things football, soccer is the most important.

[John Green]

Listen to the Away End with Daniel Alarcon and John green on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Miles Turner]

What's up? I'm Miles Turner.

[Brianna Stewart]

And I'm Brianna Stewart.

[Miles Turner]

In our pocket, game recognized game has never been done before.

[Brianna Stewart]

Two active players giving you a real look at our lives and what we actually think on and off the court.

[Miles Turner]

Nothing's off limits. We talk trade requests.

[Brianna Stewart]

What's the vibe of that? When it's like your star player is like, well, I want to leave, and then actually, now I'm going to stay. We talk tanking. I mean, honestly, like, I might get in trouble for this answer, but I think it's like, definitely happening in the.

[Tas Melis]

The depths of.

[Miles Turner]

And yeah, we talk about our mistakes, too. They pulled me to the side and was like, hey, man, we got a call last night, and you can't be rolling around the city like this tonight before games. No, you know, doing this, doing whatever.

[Brianna Stewart]

And of course, family stories. They'll be like, mommy, why did you miss that? Mommy, do you play basketball? Check out game recognized game with Stewie and miles on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Tas Melis]

Let's go to the second question. Trey, you answer first. Which player had you fooled this season?

[TK]

Oh, many foolers for me. John Morant fooled me. I took the Grizz over because I said when John Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr play together, they just win games. Went out, had 35 points on opening night test said, this man will be at the MVP table. I said, you're right.

[JD]

He'll be there after team one. Ho.

[TK]

I was cooking. Yeah, he played 20 games. Games like, didn't even think about bringing him back after he went down with this mysterious elbow injury. Which is your favorite injury that took forever to heal. John Morant's elbow, Brandon Ingram's ankle last year, Frowns Vogner's ankle this year. Whatever. Anthony Davis has going on John Morant. He's fooling himself and he fooled me as well. October, Josh Giddy, special player.

[Tas Melis]

Oh, yeah.

[TK]

22 points, nine rebounds, eight assists. 48 from the field, 45 from three. Come on. Looking worth that contract. He settled into a 17, eight and nine, 45 and 37. Lot of losses. Whole lot of losses. Brandon Ingram fooled me a little bit. Raptors needed a bucket getter and they got one. Somebody to shoot the ball at the end of the shot clocks. He's putting up some decent percentages, 21, 5 and 3. But I think he's maybe had the least impact of all the starters for the Raptors because he gives so much back on the defensive end. So he was an All Star.

[Tas Melis]

It was an All Star 3. Wow.

[JD]

He's been pretty solid.

[TK]

Yeah, solid, but they're better when he's on the bench, which is not good. But my number one fooler, it's Mikhail Bridges because he's fooled everybody and he fools people into making it into Karl Anthony Town's fault. Bridges never gets a single percentage of the blame for the New York Knicks. It is always scapegoating Cat. And Bridges disappears just as often as Cat does. Thirteen games with fewer than 10 points, including last night against the Rockets, he's got 15 games with more than 20. It feels like there's enough shots for Brunson and then one other guy. Sometimes it's Cap, sometimes it's Bridges, sometimes it's og, but it's usually not Bridges. I also think that it's kind of an indictment on him that he's not, not an on ball defender for the Knicks like this guy was traded for to really beef up their defense. And Landry Shammit took his spot as the guy who guards the ball. And I don't know, maybe it's the smile. You know, you don't want to say anything bad about Mikhail Bridges because he's got a beautiful smile. He seems like a gentle guy, but I don't think he's been a very good player for the next this season.

[JD]

Yeah, he's been average. Yeah, his offense has definitely taken a hit. We all talk about Carl Town's offense taking a hit. In Mike Brown's system, Miguel Verges has dropped off significantly and we all expected a couple things. I expected him coming from Brooklyn, those attacks from basically the sideline above the break. We're gonna be there and the defense was gonna be there. He hasn't made an all defense team in a long time. It was, you know, four full seasons here where he's not going to make one since 21, 22. That was a long time ago. Things. Things have gone different now. He'll come through with some key plays like he did against the Pacers last year in the playoffs. Like he'll come through. It's just not. It's just not consistent. It's just not consistent.

[Tas Melis]

But if this goes poorly for the Knicks and whatever that means, you know, like second round loss or whatever, like they're going to have to make changes. And the scapegoats always cat like Brunson, safe. OG probably safe. But if it's not cat you're moving, then it's got to be Mikhail Bridges. But maybe good luck with that. This guy makes a lot of money. Like it's only going up, up, up, right? Like this year it's reasonable. It's like 25 million. Then it's up to 33, 36, 39, 42 million player option in the future. 29, 30. Like that's not. It's not an easily tradable contract by any means.

[TK]

And especially considering what they gave up for him is.

[Tas Melis]

Yeah, yeah, the draft capital for sure. For sure. Yeah, maybe you get a little bit back, but not even close to what they gave up to get him.

[TK]

He's fifth in minutes this season. Total minutes. He's taken 88 free throws.

[Tas Melis]

Wow.

[TK]

How is that possible?

[JD]

That's a good one.

[TK]

All fade aways.

[Tas Melis]

Yeah.

[TK]

That's why.

[Tas Melis]

Yeah. Doesn't really seek out the contact, does he? Okay, that's a good one. Who do you have as a player that fooled you?

[JD]

Evan Mobley fooled me. I thought he was going to take the next step considering he won defensive player of the year. He was an all star. He was an all NBA player last year, but he wasn't used all that much by Kenny Atkinson. Just not, not a ton. And I thought, okay, here we go. Last year in uses percentage, he was 105th in the NBA, 22.6%. So there's room to grow this year. Is that 22.1 of guys who played 15 or more minutes? So he's 120th in the NBA. It's just gone down. And considering that Darius Garland was going to be out to start the season, I thought this guy is going to have to be relied on. But it wasn't. It was on Donovan Mitchell. It was on. On Jared Allen, of all people. And there's a reason they traded Darius Garland for James Harden is because they don't think they can rely on Evan Mobley. A lot. And so this coming off season is going to be really, really interesting. Whenever they get eliminated from the playoffs, can they go forward with both Mobley and Jared Allen? It's highly unlikely. They're able to get rid of Darius Garland because they saw that they needed something else. They wanted to go for it right here, right now. And going forward, if Jared Allen and Mobley don't succeed in the playoffs, which is probably not going to happen, they got to make a decision one way or the other. And yeah, it was odd. It was odd because Mobley had, he wasn't even using in clutch time last year and that has gone up a little bit. But has. Does anybody really rely or think that they can rely on Evan Mobley? Like when you watch the game, you don't think you can rely on him. He just, there's just so many empty points, possessions. They don't, they don't go through him enough. But if he's the five, it might be different. I mean, they got to decide him, him and Allen. But yeah, the efficiency is down. Everything is down. So this offseason is going to be interesting for them.

[Tas Melis]

These are good picks. Mikhail Bridges, Evan Mobley. I'm going to go a tear down, maybe even further, but I'm going with an awards prediction that I got completely wrong. I pick Khalil Ware to win six man of the Year. He was coming off the bench in the preseason and I got fooled, man. I was like, look at this guy. He's averaging like 20 and 11 off the the bench. He's hitting threes now. He's like added a little bit of the three point shot to his game here instead. This guy has had one of the most wildly unpredictable seasons because he struggled to carve out a consistent spot in, in Spolstra's rotation. I know some Heat fans were very upset with Eric Spolster. What are you doing with this guy? Why is he like playing three minutes in some games? Are you starting them? Are you not? He's logged fewer than 20 minutes in a game 27 times this season. It's like nothing to do with health. Like just like matchups and Spolster not trusting him. He has had a lot of games where he gets that first stint and a SPO does not like what he sees. You don't see a whole lot of Kalu Ware for the rest of the game. But here's a crazy stat this by way of the Miami Herald. The Heat are 23 and 2 this season when Khalil Ware posts a positive plus minus so the opposite side of that is when he's in the negative. They have a very bad record. 12 and 32. He had two games where he's been a, you know, a perfect zero in the plus minus box score. But that sort of jumped out to me. Now some people make the case. The argument Spoelstra is he's doing the tough love approach with Khalil Ware, who's only in his second year here. Like he's a 21 year old center. So Spo knows how important he is to the team's success, but he's like trying to keep him accountable. You got to earn these minutes. That's one side. The other side, like I mentioned there is like Spolster, what are you doing? Like you're not giving this guy enough room to go out there, grow, make mistakes and sort of just take your lumps here. I don't know which side you guys fall on. Maybe somewhere in the middle. But the truth is that he'd have been outscored when Ware's been out there and Bam has been off the court. So overall, even though like that weird plus minus I gave you, when he plays well or is a positive, they win. And otherwise, you know, when he's out there with Bam or without Bam, they'll be getting outscored like by 4.4 points per 100 possession. So. And just a weird, weird season. I thought maybe this guy would be one of the rare bigs to win a six man of the year, but instead it's been up and down.

[TK]

Yeah, I think he's Christian Wood, like super talented. The highlights are amazing. Like he looks great, but just like on a game to game, possession, possession basis, he's not always locked in.

[Tas Melis]

I agree.

[TK]

And I think that's part of the reason Spoelstra has a short leash with him.

[Tas Melis]

Yeah.

[TK]

So can he get consistency? Maybe? He's only 21, like he's got a lot of time going forward, but at this point he just doesn't scream like literally heat culture to me where he's going to be giving you exactly what you need at exactly every moment of the game.

[JD]

Yeah, yeah, totally agree. I don't know if we're doing April fools based on 24, 25 season, but I was April fooled by Khalil ware in the 2425 season. I saw some winning rookie of the year after his first little run there. When he was given the leash by Spoelstra, he was just, hey, it's yours. Go, go. Start. And now coming off the Bench, you'd expect him maybe to be driven, but yeah, the defense isn't. Isn't all there.

[Tas Melis]

No. And it should be because he's a little weird. Like, you look at him, you catch him on the right night, you're like, damn, this guy's like. This is what the future of that position looks like, right? A seven footer that should be able to like or is athletic and give you some defensive force and then can even like step outside and hit a shot from deep. Like again, it's not a bad looking three point shot, but yeah, you know, spo. Again, I think it's this tough love thing and you don't want to hear a Christian Wood comparison. You know, it's like some people compared it to even Hassan Whiteside, you know,

[TK]

it's like similar as well.

[Tas Melis]

You gotta lock in my man. Anyway, I was convinced, I was fooled. And he's young and maybe that'll turn out to be. Maybe that'll be right down the, down the line. Maybe there's their sixth man of the year in them. Hopefully not. Hopefully he's starting, obviously, as the career goes on. Final question here. What's your favorite April Fool's Day prank? Now this can be personal. This can be just a sort of more of a classic answer. Or it can be NBA adjacent. If you have one of those too.

[JD]

Yeah, I'll go personal. What I pulled on my kids today. Daddy came home with a what looked like a baker's dozen of donuts. Here's the box, kids. Here it is. And what they opened up up. Carrots, apples, strawberries. Strawberries. That's pretty good.

[Tas Melis]

That's nice.

[JD]

Yeah. Eat a strawberry, kid. Yeah, yeah, it sucks. The fruit, the fruit and veggie platter.

[Tas Melis]

What, what, what they do? They just like.

[JD]

Oh, they scream. They screamed. They screamed. Punched me in the gut. Deserved. Deserved. Yeah, it's pretty funny.

[Tas Melis]

Yeah.

[TK]

What about you, TK in 1996, Taco Bell said they were going to buy the Liberty Bell and rename it the Taco Liberty Bell.

[Tas Melis]

Yeah, like what?

[TK]

No way.

[Tas Melis]

Why would you do that? They didn't do that. They ran like full page advertisements in like big papers.

[TK]

Yeah, very funny.

[Tas Melis]

Yeah, very funny.

[TK]

Great corporate prank. I also am partial to Sports Illustrated putting Sid Finch on the COVID of their April Fool's Day issue.

[Tas Melis]

Right?

[TK]

They said, this man has perfected the pitch, throws 168 miles an hour. And the New York Mets signed him. I think he was just a made up guy. Pretty awesome.

[Tas Melis]

That's a good one. Good one. I have An NBA one that's always stuck with me. Jimmy Kimmel, way back in the day, pranked Ron Artest. I don't know if you guys ever seen this. They had Ron Artest shoot, like, a PSA for an animal rescue organization called Critters United. So it's like. It's like, run Artest, good guy, runner test. Like, he's sitting on a couch. You know, it's like a pretty simple shoot, right? And they start off with, like, a puppy. And so he's holding the puppy, and they have him, like, reading the cue cards and basically, like, obviously get money or support the animals, blah, blah, blah. So, like, okay, okay, puppy's done. All right, let's bring in the next animal. And so they bring in a possum. Next runner. Like, you could tell, like, he wants to do it because he signed up for this and wants to support the organization. He's like, he doesn't want to be near the possum. Touch the possum. It's so funny. Then they bring in a vulture, then they bring in an albino python. And oh, man. Like, again, he is trying so hard, but he's freaking out. He keeps saying. He keeps saying, I gotta warm up, I gotta warm up. And then he goes. He literally asked if anybody has a shot of vodka that he could do to like, take the.

[JD]

Okay.

[Tas Melis]

Chill his nerves. Anyway, it's very funny. I think cousin Sal comes in at the end in a bear costume, and then he, like. I think he's like, ah, you got me. Anyway, it's good it's online. You can go watch it.

[TK]

It.

[Tas Melis]

But it's a funny one. Yeah.

[JD]

Don't remember.

[TK]

I don't remember that either.

[Tas Melis]

I'll try and remember to share it there in the. In the show notes if I can. If I can find it again. Great stuff. Good answers on teams and players that fooled you. Like I said, let us know in the stream team. Let us know in the comments. What about you? What'd you get wrong?

[TK]

Was it April Fool's Day when the Hornets had, like. I don't know, they had a dinosaur. It looked like it was just posed and then it moved and then, like, Lamello punched it in the face. I don't know if that was April

[Tas Melis]

Fools was April Fools or just a classic prank. Might have been a classic prank for all I know.

[TK]

Yeah, Best fools you guys pulled on me. It wasn't April Fools, but for whatever reason, this was in starters. Era. I was doing a blind cereal taste test.

[Tas Melis]

Okay?

[TK]

Like, maybe for whatever reason, I Think it was Kylo. Quinn was able to like nail all of these cereals when he would taste them. So like try to do it. I was like, great, I would love to do this.

[Tas Melis]

Yeah.

[TK]

He gave me like four cereals and the last one was carrots and milk. That was gross. I feel like that was a task call. This man loves a carrot.

[Tas Melis]

He loves a carrot.

[TK]

This guy can't stop with a carrot prank. But easy to identify the carrot taste.

[Tas Melis]

Yeah.

[TK]

Quite different than a Cheerio or something.

[Tas Melis]

Carrots and milk is disgusting.

[TK]

I don't know why you guys put them in milk.

[Tas Melis]

I love both those things. Yeah,

[JD]

I don't remember that.

[TK]

We did a lot of shows.

[Tas Melis]

Yeah, we did that on the air. I don't remember it either. Jd do you remember that? This. I mean, you would have had a played a part in it.

[JD]

It rings a bell for sure. I remember debating whether or not to put milk and we're like. I think I was like, we got to cereal. The rest of them are.

[Tas Melis]

I was going to say the rest of them must have been in milk.

[JD]

Yeah, exactly.

[Tas Melis]

Okay, well then that makes sense. Yeah. Yeah. Good stuff.

[JD]

Very good.

[Tas Melis]

Well, bite of the night stat line of the night. Sponsored at the last minute by the Top Shot Hop Boy. Not tk, the other one in the stream team. Top Shot Hot Boy wanted to sponsor WOBOY on behalf of Doctors Without Borders. One small donation can directly support people in need all around the world. We love to see it. Thank you for the sponsorship. Top Shot. And the Wo boy goes to Luca. 42 points, 12 assists. They beat the Cavs easily. As we talked about the dunk shot 13:26 from the field field. 6 of 13 from deep, 10 of 10 at the line. 5 boards, 2 steals, 34 turnover free minutes. And he was smiling a lot like that photo in that game. It did seem quite easy. It's so easy to Luca Doncic vs. The Cavs last night. Woah. Boy, I've noticed is simply becoming between like three guys. It's. It's Luca right now. Maybe, maybe four Luca SGA is in there. Jokic, of course, Wemby right now. Got a couple recently, got a couple lately. But it's like the four guys that are MVP front runners, they're winning a lot of these. It's making my life easy when it comes to updating the little logo graphic. Got them all saved. Now in my template we got what,

[TK]

like five to six games left for these teams. We're gonna get some weirdos playing. Oh, especially like on these teams that aren't trying to win here at the end. Who's a player that you think will get a. A random whoa boy in the last week?

[Tas Melis]

Oh, Leonard Miller. I'm definitely giving one, too. Triple double. There we go. Yeah, that's good. The Leonard Miller triple double. He's getting closer and closer the other night.

[TK]

He's the perfect player to get a random low boy.

[Tas Melis]

Yeah.

[JD]

Yeah. He's not a Ben Uzo, but he is a perfect player. Like, he is that type of player. We do have a. A question, actually. Probably get to tomorrow in a mailbag segment about whether or not you should give out a whole boy to multiple or give out multiple wobo stat line of the night to the same player in the playoffs. Whether or not it just should be one whoa boy for Jokic or whoever.

[Tas Melis]

I don't even. Well, first off, I don't do it in the playoffs.

[JD]

Oh, well.

[Tas Melis]

But you're saying if I did that was. Yeah, you're saying if I did that, he gets it, they're done.

[JD]

Yeah.

[Tas Melis]

Interesting. Interesting angle. But my concern will be, okay, I'll give it to Jokic when he goes for 25, 22, and 19 in game two of the first round, and then flash forward, second round, he goes for 35, 28, and whatever. 22. And I'm gonna be, like, not giving it to him, and then people are gonna be upset with me. I can see it now because they're not gonna know said rule. Yeah, so that's the worry there.

[JD]

That's the thing. Yeah, it's more of a prediction award. Like, yeah, Shay's gonna be around till the finals, so I don't have to give it to him now kind of thing.

[Tas Melis]

I don't know. I think it's. I don't usually do it in the post. Oh, yeah, okay.

[JD]

Yeah, well, that was the suggestion. We'll see tomorrow. If we use that suggestion for the mailbag for the suggestion for the wo boy. We'll see.

[Tas Melis]

That's very meta.

[JD]

Yeah, it is. World peace.

[Tas Melis]

Also. Pick him is done.

[TK]

Pick him is done.

[Tas Melis]

Pick him is done. We're not gonna do it for April. You guys are gone for a majority next week with the school break. You guys are getting away for a little bit. We'll be here. We got shows. We got some guests coming on with me, but, yeah, there's not a lot of games left. Not very many. So we'll call it there. We got some other fun things coming for the postseason, so don't worry about that. But I have to pay it off still. March's loss. Am I painting? Am I eating an onion? One of the other. Whatever else was being thrown around. Puzzles. Damn puzzle. That's got to be the most boring thing. Yeah, man. Doing a puzzle. It's sort of funny looking, I guess if there was a puzzle here all week. But I don't know.

[JD]

Get a bird's eye camera in here for the puzzle. Yeah, no, it's not that exciting.

[Tas Melis]

Much more of a punishment to eat an onion or even have to. At least paint gets us to something. We could auction it off like we said. Like I was thinking, paint. Like your wife is an excellent painter. Like Danny. Like, unreal. But you might have all the supplies. Like, I don't know if she'd let us borrow anything. Oh, Rachel's got him too. Yeah, good point. So we could easily make that one happen.

[JD]

Yeah.

[Tas Melis]

I don't know. I'm feeling artistic. Nice. I'm feeling artistic, man.

[JD]

I. I think that's the way to go.

[TK]

Yeah. Painting would be hilarious.

[Tas Melis]

Put me in a smock. Put me in a Bob Ross.

[JD]

We'll put you in a completely black background. Right?

[Tas Melis]

We'll just.

[JD]

Just. We'll. We'll do Bob Ross.

[Tas Melis]

Okay.

[JD]

But you'll be hosting a basketball show.

[Tas Melis]

Okay. As Bob, while I try and paint and happy little. Oh, interesting. So you're gonna see my painting the whole show.

[JD]

We don't have to.

[Tas Melis]

Or do you want to reveal? Like, we can reveal. We did Lee's hair.

[TK]

Kadir. The guy. Kadir with the cut.

[Tas Melis]

I don't care. I mean, I'm just. We're talking this out. That's how we get here.

[Brianna Stewart]

Okay.

[Tas Melis]

All right. Okay. It sounds like we're doing a painting. Am I just painting, you guys? What am I painting? We got to think of.

[TK]

We got. Got a lot of things to consider here.

[JD]

Yeah.

[Tas Melis]

All right. I gotta decide. I gotta talk to Rachel and Danny. I got some tips there, man. Holy crap. You gonna do acrylics or oils? I don't know what's more of a punishment.

[JD]

Watercolor is probably the hardest watercolor.

[Tas Melis]

Jesus. Okay. Georgia o'.

[TK]

Keefe.

[Tas Melis]

Imagine it just turns out I'm an incredible painter.

[TK]

Yeah, it's just been holding you back this entire time.

[Tas Melis]

You didn't know. Yeah, I just quit the show. Show that day.

[TK]

He's got a gift.

[Tas Melis]

All right, so maybe painting. But we're still open to last minute suggestions for a pick and payoff. Thanks for joining us. Really appreciate it, everybody. On YouTube, all you podcast listeners back tomorrow on Thursday. Hope to see you at 10am Eastern. Until then, Clipper Bros, you heard it here first.

[TK]

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

[JD]

Thanks for joining us. And remember, Danielle, I hope you're listening. I see saved the transport of all your paint materials to the studio. I saved you. I saved you. You don't have to. Just transfer them all to Rachel.

[Tas Melis]

You're saying she wouldn't want me to use her? Why? What am I gonna do?

[JD]

Those are her babies.

[Tas Melis]

Oh, okay. Okay. She doesn't have a backup. Like, I thought she'd probably have like a. Like a crappy or older version or something.

[JD]

Oh, yeah, she probably does. I can't touch those either.

[Tas Melis]

I forgot Rachel had an easel. I forgot Rachel also dabbled in the paper paint game, but now she's like a full time podcaster, so she had probably no time for painting. She paints the picture with her voice, just like we do every day. For you audio listeners, embrace the day, people. Hey, sweetie.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Your mother showed me this Carvana thing

[JD]

for selling the car. I'm gonna give it a try.

[Tas Melis]

Wish me luck.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Me again.

[JD]

I put in the license plate.

[Tas Melis]

It gave me an offer. Unbelievable.

[TK]

Okay, I accepted the offer.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

They're picking it up Tuesday from the driveway.

[Tas Melis]

I haven't even left my chair. It's done.

[JD]

The car is gone.

[Tas Melis]

I'm holding a check anyway. Carvana, give it a whirl. Love ya. So good you'll want to leave a voicemail about it.

[TK]

Sell your car today on Carvana. Pick up.

[Tas Melis]

Fees may apply.

[Daniel Alarcon]

I'm Daniel Alarcon, and this is my friend. He's much more famous than I am.

[John Green]

I wouldn't go that far, but I'm John Green, co host of the podcast the Away End with my old friend Daniel.

[Daniel Alarcon]

On our podcast the Away End, we'll share with you the magic of international football, all leading up to the 2026 World Cup. Together, we'll find out why. Of all the unimportant things football, soccer is the most important.

[John Green]

Listen to the Away End with Daniel Alarcon and John green on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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I'm Daniel Jeremiah.

[Greg Rosenthal]

And I am Greg Rosenthal.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

I know that, Greg. We're teaming up on 40s and free agents, the podcast that owns the NFL

[Greg Rosenthal]

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[Daniel Jeremiah]

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[Greg Rosenthal]

to my vaunted top 101 free agents and how rosters come together. Quarterback movement, surprise signings.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

We'll tell you what it means and who really wins. Open your free iHeartRadio app, search 40s and free agents and listen now.

[Bob Pittman]

Hi, I'm Bob Pittman, chairman and CEO of iHeartMedia, and I'm kicking off a brand new season of my podcast, Math and Magic. Stories from the frontiers of marketing. Math and Magic takes you behind the scenes of the biggest businesses and industries while sharing insights from the smartest minds in marketing. Coming up, this seasonal, Math and Magic CEO of Liquid Death, Mike Cesario.

[JD]

People think that creative ideas are like

[TK]

these light bulb moments that happen when you're in the shower where it's really like a stone sculpture.

[JD]

You're constantly just chipping away and refining.

[Bob Pittman]

Take two Interactive CEO Strauss Selnick and her own Chief Business officer, Officer Lisa Coffey. Listen to Math and Magic on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

[Brianna Stewart]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[Tas Melis]

Guaranteed Human.