West Over/Under Predictions | 2025-26 NBA Season Preview

Summary

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No Dunks – West Over/Under Predictions | 2025-26 NBA Season Preview

Host: Jay Skeets (with Tass Melis, Trey Kirby, JD)
Date: October 8, 2025
Theme:
The No Dunks crew return to preview and predict 2025-26 NBA Western Conference win totals, breaking down each division team-by-team and debating whether each team will go over or under their projected win numbers. The crew analyze rosters, key offseason moves, potential breakout performances, and lingering question marks, with plenty of classic No Dunks banter and bold predictions.

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Episode Overview

• Purpose:
  The hosts provide an in-depth, team-by-team over/under analysis for every Western Conference team for the 2025-26 NBA season. They dig into player movement, coaching changes, health, chemistry, and statistical trends—and conclude with their three “locks” on Vegas win totals.

• Tone:
  Casual, fun, highly knowledgeable, with lots of playful ribbing, digressions, and memorable quotes.

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(00:36–03:00) Intro & Show Context

• Skeets returns to the “Classic Factory” studio and celebrates obtaining US permanent residency.
• Reminder: This is No Dunks’ 20th FULL NBA season of daily coverage.
• Last year’s West: 7 teams won between 52–48 games—“tighter than two coats of paint” ([01:53]).
• Today’s focus: The Western Conference, beginning with the Northwest Division.

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NORTHWEST DIVISION

Denver Nuggets (54.5 wins)

Additions: Cam Johnson, Jonas Valanciunas, Bruce Brown, Tim Hardaway Jr.
Departures: Michael Porter Jr., Dario Saric

• Trey: Under
  • "This seems to be probably the best bench that Nikola Jokic has ever had... The problem for me is that number is really high. 55 is a lot of wins" ([03:33]).
  • Nuggets could grab a top seed but probably prioritize health.
• Tass: Over
  • "They're freaking stacked... Jokic is just going to be hungry to get it done" ([04:46]).
  • Cam Johnson adds defense and ball handling; Valanciunas solid backup.
• Skeets: Under
  • Sees 52–53 wins, partially due to experimentation and deep bench rotations ([07:17]).
• Key Debate: Is Valanciunas overhyped? Can the Nuggets still be elite if Jokic rests more?
• Memorable Moment: Jokic's increased vocal, demanding leadership post-coaching change ([08:57]).
• Consensus: Split (2 Unders, 1 Over); everybody still thinks Denver’s excellent.

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Minnesota Timberwolves (49.5 wins)

Notables: Returned all six double-digit scorers; Julius Randle’s resurgence.

• Tass: Over
  • "I can't bet against Anthony Edwards in year six... I don't see (them) winning fewer than 50 games" ([10:20]).
• Trey: Over, but hesitant
  • “Preseason number five MVP candidate” for Edwards ([12:30]).
  • Worries: Sustainability, replacing N. Alexander-Walker, expectations for new contributors.
• Skeets: Over (barely)
  • Excited to see Anthony Edwards’ rumored post-game (“going MJ Kobe style”) ([14:16]).
• Consensus: Over; Wolves’ continuity and potential MVP leap for Edwards drive optimism.

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Oklahoma City Thunder (62.5 wins)

Return: 95% of 2024–25 minutes; extended SGA, JDub, Holmgren.

• Trey: Under
  • “They can lose five more games and still hit the over. That’s pretty ridiculous... I'm actually going to take the under here. I think they win about 60" ([15:34]).
• Tass: Over
  • “They’re just a focused bunch... It’s a big drop off, but I think they do it" ([16:32]).
• Skeets: Under
  • Cites parallels with other title teams that struggled to maintain “killer intensity” after titles ([17:30]).
• Key Insight: This is one of the youngest championship cores ever; will hunger and defense stay elite post-title?
• Stat Drop: Most double-digit wins and highest point differential in NBA history last season ([18:53]).
• Consensus: Split but leaning Under; agreed: Thunder will still dominate at ~60 wins.

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Portland Trail Blazers (34.5 wins)

Additions: Jrue Holiday, Damian Lillard (not playing), Blake Wesley
Departures: Deandre Ayton, Anfernee Simons, Jabari Walker

• Tass: Under
  • "Their defense is going to be so good… Are they going to score enough?" ([20:14]).
• Trey: Over
  • Compares their grit/identity to recent Raptors; likes defensive synergy, thinks they squeeze out 35+ wins ([21:27]).
• Skeets: Over (barely)
  • “Breakout” end to last season; shades Raptors defensively ([21:57]).
• Notable Quote: “He thinks he is for sure” (on who’s the number one scorer, likely Shaden Sharpe) ([21:17]).
• Consensus: Slight Over, but little faith in real playoff potential; defense is the calling card.

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Utah Jazz (18.5 wins)

Additions: “All the slow guys”—Slow Mo, Kevin Love, George Niang, Nurkic, Ace Bailey
Departures: Clarkson, Collins, Sexton

• Trey: Under
  • “One team always is under 20 wins… and I definitely think it could be the Jazz” ([24:25]).
  • Calls out lack of young core progress: “Are any of their young guys any good at all?” ([25:58]).
• Tass: Over
  • Historical note: Last four teams projected sub-19 wins all finished over ([26:33]).
• Skeets: Over
  • Stat: Only two back-to-backs all last year; expects similar struggle but 19+ wins ([29:44]).
• Memorable Moment: Who would win a baseline sprint among the slow vets? Kevin Love wins 39% of their poll ([30:41]).
• Consensus: Lean Over—line is so low that even a bad Jazz team could clear it.

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PACIFIC DIVISION

Golden State Warriors (46.5 wins)

Additions: Jimmy Butler (mid-season 2025, now full year), Al Horford, D. Melton, Seth Curry
Departure: Kevon Looney

• Tass: Over
  • “Last dance… laser focused… 47 just doesn’t sound like a lot with Al Horford, the most selfless guy out there” ([36:50]).
• Trey: Under
  • Emphasizes age/fatigue and likely absences: “First team in history to start three guys 35 or older... I do love the fit with Horford,” but has depth and health concerns ([38:05]).
• Skeets: Under
  • “My concern as well. They’re very old and they’re so good, but it’s like they’re just old” ([40:25]).
• Key Insight: Butler’s impact, injury management, and lingering Kuming trade speculation.
• Consensus: Lean Under; health and age likely to drag down win total below expectations.

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LA Clippers (47.5 wins)

Additions: Bradley Beal, John Collins, Brook Lopez, Chris Paul
Departure: Norman Powell, Amir Coffey, Drew Eubanks

• Trey: Over
  • Ty Lue’s creativity and team’s versatility highlighted: “They find ways to win… so much versatility” ([41:14]).
• Tass: Under (cautiously)
  • “Eleven guys that they’re playing are 33 or older, that’s freaking old. I don’t know what this ‘Aspiration’ cloud hanging over them will actually do” ([43:31]).
• Skeets: Under
  • Wonders if Harden can repeat last year’s performance at age 36: “Can he do that again?... James Harden was overlooked last year” ([45:34]).
• Memorable Moment: Running joke about “aspiration fraud” and Clippers’ tree planting scandal ([42:53–44:27]).
• Consensus: Mixed; roster is stacked but age, distractions, and chemistry questions prompt caution.

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LA Lakers (49.5 wins)

Additions: Deandre Ayton, Jake LaRavia, Marcus Smart
Notable loss: Dorian Finney Smith

• Tass: Over
  • “I think this is going to be the best Luka leader that we’ve seen” ([49:20]).
  • Likes chemistry, defensive potential if healthy.
• Trey: Under
  • “Luka teams haven’t been that good in the regular season… I don’t think Marcus Smart is a starting caliber player at this point” ([49:39]).
  • Questions perimeter defense and depth.
• Skeets: Under
  • Defensive fit, LeBron’s (and Luka’s) age, and Ayton’s impact all worries ([52:52]).
• Memorable Moment: Mocking LeBron’s “second decision” Hennessy ad as “so, so lame” ([50:47]).
• Consensus: Under; skepticism about age, health, defensive upside despite star power.

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Phoenix Suns (31.5 wins)

Major turnover: New coach (Jordan Ott), lots of additions and subtractions.

• Trey: Under
  • “They turned themselves into the Charlotte Hornets… I may be the least excited to watch this team in the NBA” ([56:10]).
• Tass: Under
  • “They have changed so much about the roster… But the questions are endless on this team” ([57:15]).
• Skeets: Over (barely)
  • Cites possible “edge” from misfit cast and Dylan Brooks, Booker as potential alpha ([58:24]).
• Notable Quotes: “Mortgage Matchup Center”—joking about the frequency of arena name changes ([55:39]).
• Consensus: Mostly Under; some allowance for scrappy overperformance.

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Sacramento Kings (34.5 wins)

Core: Dennis Schroder, Zach LaVine, DeRozan, Sabonis, Keegan Murray, Malik Monk

• Tass: Over
  • “I have faith in a Dennis Schroder-led offense” ([61:32]).
• Trey: Over
  • “The Kings are a little overhated… they'll be good on offense… you can win a lot of games by outscoring the opponent” ([63:07]).
• Skeets: Over
  • “They should be still around a top 10 offense at least… It’s too low” ([63:46–64:21]).
• Consensus: All Over; offense and experience outweigh lack of depth.

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SOUTHWEST DIVISION

Dallas Mavericks (41.5 wins)

Core: Anthony Davis, Cooper Flagg, D’Angelo Russell, Klay Thompson

• Trey: Over
  • “They’re only going to make two-pointers… but will Cooper Flag be an All-Star this year?” ([65:24]).
• Tass: Over
  • “Anthony Davis’s goggles are going to help him stay healthy” ([66:48]).
• Skeets: Over
  • “I found this one… the most perplexing team… but I’ll go over with you guys” ([68:59]).
• Consensus: Over; more faith in talent and defense than concern over lack of shooting or depth.

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Houston Rockets (52.5 wins)

Added: Kevin Durant, Dorian Finney-Smith, Clint Capela
Lost: Dylan Brooks, Jalen Green, Cam Whitmore, Fred Van Vliet (injured)

• Tass: Under
  • “The Fred Van Vliet injury hurts… who’s handling the ball?” ([70:03]).
• Trey: Over (reluctantly)
  • “I think they can get to 53 wins… though the three point shooting is a huge, huge question mark” ([71:41]).
• Skeets: Under
  • "Not as linear as just keep adding wins… just going to be around the same" ([72:55]).
• Key Questions: Guard play without Van Vliet, outside shooting, defensive ceiling.
• Consensus: Mixed; tough, deep team but lacking in shooting and primary ball-handlers.

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Memphis Grizzlies (39.5 wins)

Lost: Desmond Bane; Morant, Jaren Jackson, and others injured to start.

• Trey: Over
  • “This team is able to win games when Jaren Jackson Jr. plays… they'll be about a 500 team” ([75:15]).
• Tass: Over
  • “Feels super low… defensive readiness every single season” ([76:18]).
• Skeets: Under
  • Admits it’s his “dumbest pick, just to get an under in” ([77:28]).
• Consensus: Majority Over; belief in system and defense—but health clouds outlook.

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New Orleans Pelicans (31.5 wins)

Skinny Zion! Major overhaul, lost McCollum, Brandon Boston Jr.

• Tass: Over
  • “Buying into the skinny Zion… if he’s playing, this team is way better than a 31.5 win team” ([78:56–80:18]).
• Trey: Under
  • “The team stinks around Zion” ([81:49]).
• Skeets: Over
  • Simple: “If Zion, Murph and Herb Jones play 60 games together… I think the Pelicans win half those games” ([81:50]).
• Consensus: Split; comes down to faith in Zion’s health.

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San Antonio Spurs (44.5 wins)

Headliners: Victor Wembanyama (Year 3), De’Aaron Fox

• Trey: Under
  • “Top 10 defense with Wemby… but he can’t play the entire game… I don’t think there’s a ton of talent outside of Fox and Wemby” ([83:09]).
• Skeets: Under
  • “How many wins do the Spurs have to win for him [Wembanyama] to be an MVP finalist? Probably like around 47, 48” ([86:07]).
• Tass: Under
  • Cites injuries and lack of proven rotation (besides their star duo) ([85:58]).
• Memorable Moment: Wemby’s off-season, training with Matt Bonner, KG, and the Shaolin Monks ([86:47]).
• Consensus: Under; lots of excitement for Wemby’s progression, but not yet a top West team.

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Denver’s Bench:
  “This seems to be probably the best bench that Nikola Jokic has ever had since being in Denver... The problem for me is that number is really high.” – Trey ([03:33])
• On Zion’s Season:
  “It wasn’t about losing weight in the off season. It was about learning how to fix his butt in the regular season.” – Tass ([78:56])
• Slowest Jazz Race Poll:
  “Two elders, a fat guy and a guy whose name is literally Slowmo.” – Stream Team poll ([30:36])
• On the Clippers’ Scandal:
  “They’re going to be hugging trees. If we get to go. It’s just weird that they won’t end the investigation until after February.” – Tass ([44:34])

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(87:40–89:27) Hosts’ LOCKS (Three Each)

Tass's Locks (All Overs)

• Denver OVER 54.5
• New Orleans OVER 31.5
• Dallas OVER 41.5

Trey’s Locks (California Edition)

• Clippers OVER 47.5
• Kings OVER 34.5
• Warriors UNDER 46.5

Skeets’ Locks

• Pelicans OVER 31.5
• Wolves OVER 49.5
• Thunder UNDER 62.5

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(91:47–93:47) Closing Remarks

• Listeners encouraged to comment with their locks (YouTube, Spotify, Apple reviews, or Twitter @NoDunksInc).
• Reminder: Monday’s Eastern Conference over/under show is already posted.
• Friday’s upcoming show: First-time All-Star draft (adjusted for new US-vs-World All-Star format).
• Lighthearted debate: “Do you prefer the Apple or Spotify comment section?”

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Key Takeaways

• The West remains insanely competitive: Many teams project to win 50+.
• Injury, age, and roster continuity are the deciding factors for most over/under calls.
• Trend alert: Very low (Jazz) and very high (Thunder) lines split the crew, often on faith in youth or resilience.
• Memorable banter and stats abound, exemplifying why No Dunks remains the gold standard for informed (and fun) NBA talk.

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TIMESTAMPS – HIGHLIGHTS

• 03:00 – Nuggets over/under debate
• 12:30 – Anthony Edwards’ MVP leap + Wolves optimism
• 16:32 – Thunder’s historic youth and post-title focus
• 21:57 – Blazers compared to Raptors’ defensive revival
• 25:58 – Jazz’s “race of the slow guys” and youth existential crisis
• 36:50 – Warriors “last dance” energy… or over-the-hill?
• 41:14 – Clippers’ versatility vs. aspirations scandal distraction
• 49:39 – Lakers’ perimeter defense and LeBron “second decision” ribbing
• 56:10 – Suns mocked as “Hornets West”: least exciting team
• 65:24 – Mavericks: “Cooper Flag All-Star?” and backcourt analysis
• 70:03 – Rockets’ point guard concerns without Van Vleet
• 75:15 – Grizzlies “win regardless” culture
• 78:56 – If Zion is healthy, “Pelicans will blow by 31.5 wins”
• 83:09 – Can Spurs’ supporting cast step up behind Wemby & Fox?
• 87:40 – Hosts’ LOCKS segment
• 91:47 – Community engagement & closing fun

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For diehard basketball fans and casuals alike, this episode is essential, packed with straight-shooting analysis, stat drops, and plenty of jokes. If you want a comprehensive feel for the 2025–26 Western Conference picture—and some outlandish predictions—you’re in the right place.

Transcript

[Ryan Seacrest]

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[Jay Skeets]

Good morning, sweet world, and welcome to the no Dunks podcast. Wednesday, October 8, 2025. I'm Jay Skeets, back in the Classic Factory 2.0. And alongside me, as always, go Blue Jays. Taz, Mose.

[Tass Melis]

Jays are gonna do it. Welcome back, Skeets.

[Jay Skeets]

Oh, it's so good to be back with you guys. Next to him, it's my top shot, Hot boys, Trey, Kirby, Ayo. Ayo. And over yonder, over here. Yes. In the other corner, making the magic Happen, Super Producer J.D.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Oops.

[Tass Melis]

Yeah, everything's rebuilt. Hello.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Hey, there's J.D.

[Tass Melis]

We'Re working on it.

[Jay Skeets]

Holy shit, is it good to be back. I love what you've done with the place. It's not usually like this. Shout out, Nadio.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

It's not usually like this.

[Jay Skeets]

But I'm not only back, guys. I am a US permanent resident.

[Tass Melis]

Wow.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Wow.

[Jay Skeets]

I've lived in Atlanta for 12 years and just now am I a US permanent resident?

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Not a moment too soon.

[Tass Melis]

Yeah.

[Jay Skeets]

Impeccable timing by me. What does it change? Next to nothing. What did it cost? Everything. Absolutely everything. On Monday, we officially kicked off our 20th full NBA season of daily hoops coverage. If that doesn't deserve a like or a subscription or a five star rating and review.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Wow, you're a straight up hater.

[Jay Skeets]

Come on. 20 years. I said that last year. I know, but this is our 20th full NBA season. On Monday, we looked at the win totals for the Eastern Conference. Today we head out west and we try our best with this loaded conference. And I want to remind you guys, last year we had seven teams between 52 wins and 48 wins in the Western Conference. Tighter than two coats of paint. That is nuts.

[Ryan Seacrest]

So is that a save?

[Jay Skeets]

I think so.

[Tass Melis]

Okay, maybe it's because.

[Jay Skeets]

I think it's because. Because I'm like, breathing in paint fumes still here in this new classic factory. I'm pretty sure it's the same.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

How many coats, JD how many coats we got in here?

[Jay Skeets]

What'd Roberto.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Do I know we got purple deep underneath the eggshell.

[Jay Skeets]

How many primers do we have to do?

[Tass Melis]

At least three. At least. Wow.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Really tight.

[Tass Melis]

Yeah. Good.

[Jay Skeets]

Not easy to paint a brick wall either. A lot of crevices.

[Tass Melis]

It is for Roberto.

[Jay Skeets]

Did he have the spray gun?

[Trey Cooper Flag]

No, no.

[Tass Melis]

Roller and brush. Oh man. Crazy, right?

[Jay Skeets]

It's incredible work.

[Tass Melis]

It looks like Roberto alom paintbrush in his hands.

[Jay Skeets]

So Western Conference. Let's start with the Northwest division. We'll go through every team here in the west and we'll start with the Denver Nuggets. And all of our over underwind totals coming by way of FanDuel. So the Nuggets 54 and a half is their line this year. They added Cameron Johnson, Jonas Valis, excuse me, Bruce Brown, Tim Hardaway Jr. And the big departures, Michael Porter Jr. And I guess Dario Sarich. But you know, they have improved this team I think on paper. So 54 and a half. TK I'll start with you. Where are you leaning with Denver?

[Trey Cooper Flag]

And this is a much better team. This seems to be probably the best bench that Nicola Jokic has ever had since being in Denver. The problem for me is that number is really high. 55 is a lot of wins. How many times you think the Nuggets have won 55 or more games with Nicola Jokic?

[Jay Skeets]

It's gotta be once. Literally once in a full season at least.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Literally once. Two years in a full season.

[Tass Melis]

Yeah.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

The year after the championship. Look, they can get there for sure. I just don't really think they care about winning 55 to 60 games. I'm going to go under even though I think that the Nuggets are a lot better than they were last year when they won 50 games. So they could still add to their win total three or four wins. Hit the under. I still think they're one of the two best teams in the league. I think a lot of people when we get to doing full on season previews will be picking the Nuggets to win the championship because of how close they got against OKC last year before Aaron Gordon's leg gave out. Michael Porter Jr's shoulder gave out. I'm excited to see this team. I'm excited to see what Cam Johnson brings, what new element he brings to this team. A little bit more playmaking than Michael Porter Jr. Not quite as good of a rebounder. We'll see what the shooting does. Cause MPJ knocked down guy. But yeah, I'm excited for the Nuggets. I'm just still going under because 55 wins is maybe too many.

[Tass Melis]

I'm going over. Yes, they're freaking stacked. More so than that 57 win team a couple of years ago after they won the title. Then they dropped off a little bit last year and I just think Jokic is just going to be hungry to get it done. Combined with guys that can do everything on a basketball floor around Nikola Jokic. The addition of Cam Johnson gives you another ball handler who can finish at the rim. Obviously play great defense. If you didn't watch him in Brooklyn last year, it's understandable. But the guy is friggin good to go along with Aaron Gordon to go along with Jamal Murray. Those three guys in that starting lineup along with Nikola Jokic who can handle the ball really, really well. Jamal Murray talking like he is super duper healthy as asked. Are you gonna be an all star for the first time this year? Because I don't care. I just care about being healthy in November. I feel better than last year. He started talking about getting Jonas Valanchunas to set screens for him at half court. Well, he's already planning and that's a great sign for the Denver Nuggets, especially because Jonas is there to lead a second unit with so many freaking guys now. Tim Hardaway, Bruce Brown is back another year. Julian Schrother, Aaron Hol, a first round pick last year. Now he's healthy to back up. So I just think Jokic won't have to play as many minutes as he did last year. Played most of his in his career. 55 is a lot, but I think I get, I think they get there.

[Jay Skeets]

It's a good line. They usually are. It's right around this mark. It's like are they going to go just under or just over? I'm with Trey, I'm going just under. But I like for a couple of reasons. You said TAs they have some sharpshooters now. I mean Cam Johnson is actually a sneaky good three point shooter. Not that Michael Porter Jr. Wasn't either, but he sort of fills that role. 39 I think percent in his career from deep. And then Tim Hardaway Jr. You know my thoughts on this. Was a guy I always picked to score 50 in a game. Maybe it'll happen with Jokic setting him up and he hits like 10 or 11 threes. But he's been pretty good for his whole career. Love that. And they have a competent backup big in jv. I mean Jokic, it shouldn't fall off a cliff. The team when he goes to the bench JV is more than capable, at least I think, as a backup, big. So I love that. Probably their best chance to maybe win a title since the 23 championship team again, if everybody's healthy. Because I can't wait to see what they do with these bench guys. The Bruce Browns, the Strother, The Peyton Watson, JV, like I said, Tim Hardaway Jr. Some pieces there. You're gonna have to sort of experiment, I think, and that might happen through the regular season, and that's fine. Maybe that drops a couple wins here or there because of it. But I go just under them. I think it's going to be, you know, 52, 53 type of wins in a loaded Western Conference. Like, that's. That's a hell of a record.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Yeah, that's a really good record. I mean, if they won 53 games, they would have been second in the Western Conference last year.

[Jay Skeets]

Right.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

You know, the Valanchunas thing is interesting to. I think this is the most overrated pickup of the off season. He's going to play like 12 minutes a game.

[Jay Skeets]

Yeah, but you saw this team when Jokic was out. Yeah. So it's true.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

I'm not blaming DeAndre Jordan for their bench being bad. He was bad. It's got to be. Murray has to actually carry the team. Cam Johnson has to carry the team. It's not going to be dumping the ball into Jonas Valanchunas and playing through the post for him. The guy played backup big for the Wizards and the Kings last year. We're acting like he's Kareem Abdul Jabbar coming off the bench.

[Tass Melis]

Yeah, I'm not.

[Jay Skeets]

Definitely not acting like 100.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

For ESPN's 100, he was number 83. Okay.

[Jay Skeets]

Okay.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Ridiculous.

[Jay Skeets]

I didn't make that list. Now, that is a bit of a stretch. I just. My point is the. Hopefully Denver Nuggets don't fall apart when Jokic is not out there.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

So you want Jokic to play less?

[Tass Melis]

Maybe He. He's going to. I think he's going to want to do that their second year. Just going to be better. They started running with Dario Sarich last year.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

You were hyped for Dario Saric this time last year.

[Tass Melis]

Yeah, well, I didn't know about his body type, but he was decaying as a man. I mean, he was atrophying. He did, though. He looks so. He looks so slow out there. Jonas is going to look slow, no doubt. But there's just so many more guys bringing Bruce Brown back. Tim Hardaway is capable guy. There's way more guys and another year and yeah, I think he should play less. YIC should play less just to be, to be ready to go. He's still in his prime. He can play as many minutes as he wants. It's really. How much do they want it? That's, that's about that. About the over, under number.

[Jay Skeets]

They're not a team that's going to be gunning for the number one seed.

[Tass Melis]

No way. No.

[Jay Skeets]

They've already won a title and they weren't a number one seed if I remember correctly.

[Tass Melis]

Like, but they, they are a scrappy bunch. I think they have enough guys. We didn't mention Christian Brown. He's going to be part of the unit. This is what he said leading into the season here, quote, everything we've asked for, everything in this locker room has wanted, we have. It just feels like it's a bunch of guys that want to play hard. Jokic last year more than any other year was vocal and, and mad and angry and that's why they moved on from Michael Malone in my opinion, that they just needed, they needed a change up. Jokic asked for it and so he demands it and he's still obviously in his peak powers. So it's a good number.

[Jay Skeets]

So you got Denver 55 plus wins. Trey and I just taking the under for what we still think is going to be a really, really good team.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

They did get the 1 seed back in 20.

[Jay Skeets]

23. 2023.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Yeah, the year they won the championship.

[Jay Skeets]

Oh, okay. So 22, 23 that year. Okay.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Wow.

[Jay Skeets]

How many wins? 53 wins. Okay, okay. Interesting, interesting.

[Tass Melis]

So maybe the next year they got a hold on when they got 57 wins. I guess they're second to.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Okay, see? Okay, they won 60 that year. But yeah, I mean like the thing is that they play Valentunas more. It's good for them long term in the, in the playoffs.

[Jay Skeets]

Yeah.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

And that's really what matters. But if he plays more, their win total goes down in the regular season. That's how it adds up to me.

[Jay Skeets]

Okay, let's keep it moving here. Minnesota timberwolves over under 49 and a half wins. Are they a 50 win team to task? Melis, to get us started here, I'm going over.

[Tass Melis]

I think this team is a 50 win team for sure. Last year we saw Julius Randle enter that training camp and he didn't get it going until literally until March. He found his way and that's why this team ended the regular season 174 in their last 21 games and maybe it took him a decade to figure out how to be a number two guy, but he's found it. And to pair with Anthony Edwards I think is a great setup for the rest of this roster too. I know Nikita Alexander Walker left, but I think there's a little too much hype around. Nikila Alexander Walker, good player, but he averaged 9.4 points on this team. A guy who was also traded along with Julius Randle right before the training camp. Dante DiVincenzo will be better because he's had another year there. And they've got other guys to fill in with. TJ Shannon, that 25 year old young player. He ain't young. Rob Dillingham, another year. Jalen Clark, another year. I think they've got enough guys to fill in for Nikhil Alexander Walker. I just, I can't bet against Anthony Edwards in year six. I, I find that hard to do. They've got other random guys that they brought in just to, to help out. They're taking a flyer on Bones Highland and so I think there'll be enough guys out there to help out. There's no ownership squabble like there was last year. Just feels like Anthony Edwards, you got to start with him. I don't see him winning fewer than 50 games.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Ever.

[Jay Skeets]

Ever. Won 49 last year.

[Tass Melis]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

They've only won. The timberwolves have won 50 or more games one time in the past 20 years.

[Tass Melis]

Wow.

[Jay Skeets]

And that was two years ago. Yeah, two years ago.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

The cat last season.

[Tass Melis]

Yeah, I think that's a new man. And yeah, the roster is just too good. It's an all right line. But I think the way that they finished last year shows what type of team they should have coming into the season. Yeah, again, a good line.

[Jay Skeets]

I mean they're bringing back Nas Reed, they're bringing back Julius Randle. So that means all six of the Wolves double figures scores from 24, 25 last year, they all returned. So there's a lot of continuity finally with this team. For a team that's gone to back to back Western Conference finals. 49 last year, 56 the year before. Are you a split the difference TK and maybe still get the over like Tass is saying.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

I think this one's kind of tough because they got to 49 wins last year. You assume Anthony Edwards is going to take at least a minor step forward, if not a major step forward for me, preseason number five MVP candidate. I think he should be like one of the considered dark horses in case things click perfectly for Minnesota but to get to 49 wins, they had to win 17 of their last 21. They caught fire in the second half of the season when Julius Randle returned from injury. March is a weird time. It's easy to win games if you're really trying. And they were really trying to get out of the play in tournament last year because like you're saying there was two coats of paint on the Western Conference. I wish they would have replaced Nikhil Alexander Walker with literally anybody because I don't think Bones Highland is really going to have an impact on this team. I do have a little bit of hope for Terence Shannon Jr. He played like 300 minutes last season. So they're expecting a lot more from him. They're expecting a lot more from Dillingham and they're hoping that Mike Conley is able to stay at the level he was last year. And I think that was kind of a question mark. But I'm still going over. I think they get right to 50 wins. Not a lot of confidence in it, but I think, I think they can do it.

[Jay Skeets]

There was a time in late February when Minnesota was just above.500 and like they were in the ninth spot in the Western Conference. And then they ripped off this run that you guys are saying in large part with Julius Randle coming back and then make another postseason run to the Western Conference finals. So it is crazy. Like they really struggle for a majority of the year until they got going in the last couple months. But I'm with you guys, I think just over. Just over. I'm excited to, you know, believe, I guess, the hype of these reports that Anthony Edwards, the one thing he's working on this offseason is the post game. It's going to go MJ Kobe style. That's fun. And look, I'm laughing a little bit, but remember last off season, it was, oh, he's really working on becoming an elite three point shooter.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

And he was the best three point shooter in the league.

[Jay Skeets]

He did. So I actually am like, I can't wait to see him operate in the post because, yeah, he led the league in threes made and attempted, and he was hitting a whole bunch of them. He was like hitting what, six or seven a game on 10 plus attempts? So he did that.

[Tass Melis]

He did.

[Jay Skeets]

And let's see what he can do in the post. Yeah, I think I'm splitting the difference between the 49 and the 56 to get just over 50.

[Tass Melis]

He had a nice preseason possession where he got in the post. He demanded it, I guess he's going to do that and that's why I just, I just not betting against the guy in general because he's a leader. So 50, I guess sub 50 are done for his career. I'm just saying that now. It depends on the rest of the roster obviously. But it's hard not to believe in Anthony Edwards as he gets older. Here again, year six we are starting.

[Jay Skeets]

With the juggernauts of the Western Conference division. Denver, Minnesota and now we go to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Over under set at 62 and a half TK and they are returning 95% of their minutes from last season's championship team. And obviously the big thing this off season was signing the long term contract extensions for SGA, JDub and Chad Holmgren. They won 68 last year. So you know, Vegas is saying yeah, they'll maybe take their foot off the gas a little bit. But do you still think they can hit over 63 wins?

[Trey Cooper Flag]

They can lose five more games and still hit the over. That's pretty ridiculous. And it's like kind of a mixed bag, I think on if teams get better after winning the championship. Denver and Milwaukee did, Golden State didn't, Boston didn't. Right. Like they took a little bit of a step back. You throw in the health for okc, which I also think is a bit of a mixed bag. Like their role players, Isaiah Hartenstein, Alex Caruso and Chet Holmgren all missed significant time. 56 games for Hartenstein, 54, Caruso, 32 for Chet. But they got 76 games from Shagiel, just Alexander, 69 from J Dub. That's what really matters is when your stars play. Maybe they feel zero motivation this year. They all got paid. They won, they won every single award that's out there basically. So maybe they're just like, yeah, we'll just win a minor 60 games. You also figure can they get any better 68 wins last year. Four teams ever have won 69 or more games. So I don't think they're going over 68. I'm actually going to take the under here. I think they win about 60.

[Jay Skeets]

Okay. What do you think, Tess?

[Tass Melis]

Yeah, to me the numbers, yeah, it's a factor here. Dropping eight wins for a team that just comes back with their extremely talented guys that are likely to get better in some ways. I, I don't.

[Jay Skeets]

Because of their age.

[Tass Melis]

Yeah, yeah. I mean Jalen Williams has to get better at something. Jason Walls had Chet as well who missed a ton of games last year just getting over 30 games were played. Hart and Shine missed the first month of the season. So they really were, they were hurt then. Yeah, it's a big drop off. They're literally winning six less games, six fewer games. I think they do it. I think they, they can still win 63 games easily. To me they're, I think they're just a focused bunch. Of course, yes, you brought up some good instances, like Golden State maybe getting a little lax. Boston dropped from 64 wins to 61 wins. OKC just doesn't seem like that type of bunch.

[Jay Skeets]

Focus is the key word because are they still going to have the most suffocating defense in the league?

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Probably, yes.

[Jay Skeets]

Yeah, maybe. I, I mean but you said they got the title, they got all the accolades. Like I don't think it's far fetched that maybe the intensity on that end like scales back a little bit. The problem is they have so many damn guys like you know, a couple of their star guys even like scale it back on that end. It's like all these other guys want to are chomping at the bit to show what they can deliver to the team. So I'm going to go just under though. And you guys were going, you're bringing up Boston as an example. They won 61 games last year. They won 64 in the title year. They became the fifth team this century to win 60 plus games the season after lifting the Larry O' Brien Trophy. So OKC is trying to add their name to that list. But of the previous four, only one team, the 1213 Miami Heat, finished the job and repeated as champs. So another like just two year dominant run to then go back to back. OKC obviously want to do that part more than win whatever 60 to 65 games, like that's not important. So I'm going just under. But I still think they're a 60 win team. I just don't think they're a 63 plus.

[Tass Melis]

The difference is between some of those teams that couldn't repeat 60 wins is how young that's true. This team is. Their top eight guys were 26 years or younger last year. It's one of the youngest championship teams in the history of this league. So will they keep up that hunger? And as you said, guys come off the bench and just keep on going. They keep churning.

[Jay Skeets]

They had the most double digit wins in NBA history last year. They just smoked teams. They had the highest ever point differential because of that.

[Tass Melis]

So will the top guys get injured? As Trey brought up, they're frigging healthy, most of them. You know, outside Chet and Isaiah Hartenstein, they're two.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

All NBA guys were super healthy. That's the big thing so far. They've lost Thomas Sorber and Nikola.

[Tass Melis]

Topic.

[Jay Skeets]

Yeah, topic out four to six weeks is what they're saying. At least he'll be reevaluated after surgery.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Testicular procedure.

[Jay Skeets]

Yeah.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Procedure. Not a great sounding term.

[Jay Skeets]

No, I mean, yeah, that's not great. No. Testicular procedure. You're gonna miss some time. Take your time is what everyone's gonna say to that. So. So we were excited for him, obviously getting a chance here, but it's going to take a little while, a couple months. So you're over, over, over so far.

[Tass Melis]

Yeah. It's ridiculous.

[Jay Skeets]

I mean, these are all great teams, though. So.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

They're great teams.

[Tass Melis]

They're great teams.

[Jay Skeets]

Let's go to the Portland Trailblazers. They're in, unfortunately for them, I guess are in the Northwest division. Their line is set at 34 and a half. Let me tell you what they did. They brought in Jrue Holiday, obviously traded for him. They got Damian Lillard back, but he won't be playing. He's there for the vibes. Blake Wesley is also there. Deandre Ayton, out. Anthony Simons, out. Jabari Walker, out. Tass they went. They played really well in the second half of the season last year. I think they finished 23:18 in the second half. So if you believe that, you think that's obviously going to be more than 35 wins, but what do you think?

[Tass Melis]

I think they'll be a little bit under. Yeah. Their defense is going to be so good with Jrue Holiday is going to be spectacular playing alongside Tamani Kamara and Denny along with Clingan. That's a foursome in that starting lineup. That is fantastic. It's probably Sharp. Sharp to finish out that starting lineup. But are they going to score enough? I think that's a fair question. As good as Sharp has been, as good as Denny has been at times, I don't know, you're really going to rely on those two guys to score a ton. Of course they got the cultural identity. Last year was this defense that took off late as we've talked about and Mickey Mouse March, primarily this team is just lacking offensively and I think that's going to be a problem. So I think it's. It's going to be an under.

[Jay Skeets]

They were 36 and 46 last year, so yeah, they're going to be worse.

[Tass Melis]

Yeah. I mean, the Simon's points are important to me. That they're gone. No, they have other guys that can score. But who is your number one scorer?

[Trey Cooper Flag]

He thinks he is for sure.

[Tass Melis]

Yeah. That doesn't bode well. Yeah.

[Jay Skeets]

I didn't even say well. He wants to start.

[Tass Melis]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

And he shouldn't.

[Tass Melis]

Yeah, yeah.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

But they need scoring. I'm with you.

[Tass Melis]

They're.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

They're going to be a good defensive team with Clingan playing a lot more to Mani. Kamara is a good defender as well. Made all defense last season. I think Drew Holiday is going to be an improvement over Scoot Henderson as a starter. That guy's out right now as well. I just think they are lower middle class in the Western Conference unfortunately. So I think they're going to go over on their wins. I think they get to 35, but I don't really see this team making any sort of noise. Even though they did have a really good second half of the season last year.

[Jay Skeets]

Yeah. Breakout seasons sort of. I guess from Sharpe, Denny Avdia. Fair to say that was a breakout season. At least down the stretch he was putting up monster numbers. He was probably winning people some fantasy basketball leagues. He averaged 25, 11 and 6 over the final 16 games of the year. So really filling it up. You had the emergence of Donovan Klingon. Yeah, they got a defensive identity. I like that. They sort of remind me a little bit like the Toronto Raptors. Like what they did last year where they finally found some defense in the second half of the season. Sort of were a 500 team. That's sort of what Portland was doing well or doing as similar in the West. I'm going just over. I think they might have the exact same record as last year. Like I said 36 and 46. So I'm going to go just over on Portland in this tough division, tough conference.

[Tass Melis]

You have the Jeremy Grant factor here making is it 40 million bucks. The monster contract that he signed and if that's sort of a cloud hanging over this team, I think is a fair question whether or not he starts or not. I didn't mention him as a starter because I don't consider him one of those top guys. But he could easily start and the offense or lacking thereof when he's playing is a huge question. That's why Chauncey Bros brought in two assistant coaches that are offensive specialists. That's what they are because they were so good defensively last year and Denny is frigging awesome and Shaden Sharp scored 18 and a half last year and it's. You'd think he'd scored fewer than that. But he is. He's a machine. Drew Holland, it was one of the first things that he said, my God, that guy can play. As soon as he came in because he's watching him in person. He's really good. That being said. Yeah, that. That's what the number is. 35, 36 again. Tough West. Tough frickin division. They got to play those other teams four times each. That doesn't bode well for me.

[Jay Skeets]

Okay, final team in the Northwest Division, the Utah Jazz.

[Tass Melis]

Oh, this bodes well for them though.

[Jay Skeets]

This is where it falls off. So The Jazz had 18 and a half wins.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Lowest.

[Jay Skeets]

Lowest in the league. That's right. I guess the Wizards and nets were 20 and a half, 21 and a half respectively when we did Monday's show. But yeah, jazz 18 and a half. Brought in every guy that's slow in the league. Literally a guy slow Mo Kevin Love, he's all old. George Niang, that's the minivan Nurkic maybe slower than all these guys. They did draft Ace Bailey with the fifth pick. They got Walter Clayton Jr. With the 18th pick. Clarkson gone. Collins gone. Colin Sexton, gone. TK, I'll start with you. I mean, is this going to be the worst team in the West League? Yeah. How many wins though?

[Trey Cooper Flag]

One team always is under 20 wins.

[Jay Skeets]

Okay.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

And I definitely think it could be the Jazz because they're veterans that they brought in. The thing that ever made them competitive since trading Mitchell and Gobert. They're bad. I mean, like they should make love. Niang, Anderson and Nurkic race. Like that would be a cool thing to see at an open practice or something like that.

[Jay Skeets]

Who would you bet in that?

[Tass Melis]

Yeah, those are four. Would I bet equal? That's equally.

[Jay Skeets]

What are we doing? Are we racing without the ball from baseline?

[Trey Cooper Flag]

I'm just saying baseline to baseline, no turnaround. Oh, you want to turn around a little bit. Okay. Like a Barkley Bavetta style race.

[Jay Skeets]

And then who kisses at the end? Who kisses at the end?

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Kevin Love is doing a kiss for sure. He would understand the meme potential of it and he would put on Instagram the Barkley Bavetta race from back in the day. I might take Nurkic.

[Tass Melis]

Yeah.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

I can't believe it. Literally his coach at Euro Basket's like, this guy can't wrestle.

[Jay Skeets]

No, I'm going to take a Nurkic. I think he might be.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Is he the youngest? I mean, Niang. Is Niang younger?

[Jay Skeets]

I don't know.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

But down and back would probably take 25 seconds. They gotta race it this Is great. But the problem with this is, okay, so 17 wins last year they had 37 two years prior when they still had some of the remnants from the Gobert Mitchell era. 31 wins last season, Mark had only played 47 wins. I think this guy should and likely will be traded at some point this season because it feels like a waste of his time to stick around. The question for the Jazz is literally are any of their young guys any good at all?

[Jay Skeets]

Right, Right.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Ace Bailey, Walter Clayton drafted this year. We'll see what they're able to do. But like Isaiah Collier, Cody Williams, Taylor Hendricks, like prove you belong in the NBA I think is a big question because only Kyle Filipowski and Bryce Sensibot to me so far have shown flashes that they could stick in the league. If you're trying to develop that many guys, your team is going to be bad. I'm taking under.

[Tass Melis]

Okay.

[Jay Skeets]

Under 18 and a half. So basically replicating what they did last year, like Trey's saying 17 wins last.

[Tass Melis]

Year, I'm going over.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

It's not a lot of wins.

[Tass Melis]

Yeah. The last four teams with a projected over under win total of 18 and a half or lower finished over.

[Jay Skeets]

Oh, oh.

[Tass Melis]

Because that's how low they were projected. It doesn't mean that they destroy that 18 and a half number. But it's been a while since it's happened.

[Jay Skeets]

What were the Jazz, what was the Jazzes line last year? I mean it was low, but not this low.

[Tass Melis]

Yeah, it's low.

[Jay Skeets]

I think they were one of my locks maybe.

[Tass Melis]

Yeah. Well, Markin's gonna play more, I suppose. As you said, he may be traded at some point. So he'll be, he'll be playing for that. So I think that bodes well. Ace Bailey is a super talented guy. I think he does want to be there. I, I thought those hike videos that they took together proved to me that he wants to be there. They got the starting a guy up.

[Jay Skeets]

They went hiking over under last year.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

You'll never guess, you'll never guess what it is.

[Jay Skeets]

Is it 31, 29 and a half? Yeah.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Really high.

[Tass Melis]

Yeah. Yes. The beyond market and Bailey. I, I have faith in Walter Clayton. He looked great at Florida. He's a champ to, to help out. He's an old rookie. He's a four year college player. He's going to play. Philip House is going to play. Taylor Hendricks might finally started getting some minutes. He was injured primarily last year. Played better in his rookie year the year before that. And then you got those old slow guys who would Form a great race. The four of them are Love, Niang and Nurkic who just got there gonna help. And Slowmo. Are they all gonna help out just to get these guys across the line to 20 wins. Across the line also in that race. But also to get to. Well, it's 19. I shouldn't say simple.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

19.

[Tass Melis]

Yeah, yeah, it's 19.

[Jay Skeets]

So those are the objectives this year for the Jazz. Basically build, build up Lowry Markkanen's trade value. That's step one or hope. And then. And then I guess the other objective is to see which one of these young guys. Like you were saying, Trey actually pops and is like a cornerstone that you can sort of like see yourself, you know, hitching to and build something there. Poor Will hardy though, man. 37 wins to 31 then to 17 last year. And we're basically saying somewhere around that probably this year at least the worst team in the conference. They feel like I looked last year. They won back to back games twice last year. That's it. Right. Right before Christmas they went into Detroit and won. They shot the lights out from three. I think they hit 20 plus threes in that game. Then they went to Brooklyn, got that victory. And then in early January they won the old Florida two step there. They scored 136 points versus the Heat. And they took down the Paolo Franz less magic in a back to back situation. The only time all season they won back to back games.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Both times on the road though.

[Jay Skeets]

I know, I know.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Road dog mentality around the holidays too.

[Jay Skeets]

I think they caught some of these.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Oh yeah, that's. The Jazz were a team you could easily overlook.

[Jay Skeets]

Yeah. And you got your mind on Christmas gifts and holiday plans. Gotta go shopping, travel. Yeah, yeah. So anyway, all that to say to give you my pick here. I'm with you, Tess. I'm going just over. I'm going just over on this crappy team. But. But yeah, it's so low and I like that stat. You said most of these teams that were listed at 18 and a half do just get over.

[Tass Melis]

Yeah, the last four, the last four with that number of 18 and a half or lower have finished over. It's been a while. It's. The 2014 76ers were the last team to do that. The 2013 76ers also were somehow.

[Jay Skeets]

Trust it, man.

[Tass Melis]

Yeah, those are. Those numbers were 16 and 16 and a half for those teams. Two teams that was their over under number. So it doesn't happen a lot. Okay, then we're going back to the 04 Bobcats and the 01 Bulls.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Yeah, they were bad.

[Tass Melis]

18 and a half was their number.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Yeah, they were.

[Tass Melis]

They were bad.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Match this number the Cornell David days.

[Tass Melis]

Oh, yeah, that guy was good.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Yeah. Put the poll up on our race the stream team. Who wins a down and back race. The Shively show here in the stream team says this poll's literally impossible. Two elders, a fat guy and a guy whose name is literally Slobo. But the results of the poll, what.

[Jay Skeets]

Think is it Kyle Anderson?

[Trey Cooper Flag]

No, he's second.

[Tass Melis]

Okay. I think Nurkic is the right pick.

[Jay Skeets]

I don't know.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

5% of people go Nurkic. Kevin Love is our winner with 39% of the vote. Kyle Anderson, 34, Niang, 22. Yousef Nurkic, 5.

[Jay Skeets]

Oh, man. I actually think my vote. I think I do. Go Kyle Anderson. I think the nickname is really holding him back.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

I think he should win.

[Jay Skeets]

I think once he gets going, he's not. Not that slow. But the turnarounds will hurt them.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

We gotta circle back at the end of the season and see who has like the. On the tracking data, who has the highest, like average miles per hour or something like that.

[Jay Skeets]

You might even be able to track like their top speed and stuff like that. Yeah. Okay, well, we'll keep an eye on that. All right, so Tass and I taking the over 18 and a half Utah Trey saying no, he's still going under on that very low line. All right.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

It's all about AJ Debanza.

[Jay Skeets]

That's right for the Jazz.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

That's what it's all about. The guy's going to BYU because the Jazz owner and Danny Ainge are like the biggest donors to BYU. They're paying him $7 million, I think, to go and play basketball in Utah for a year. So I think that's the entire objective, is to get a high enough draft pick that you can pick that guy.

[Jay Skeets]

That's all right. They could still win 19 games and still win. That's a great point. Yep. We'll see. All right, we're going to do the Pacific division next, but first, an ad from our sponsor sponsors.

[Tass Melis]

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[Jay Skeets]

All right, time for the Pacific Division. If you're just joining us, hit the like button. Subscribe Podcast listeners, five star ratings and reviews. You know what?

[Trey Cooper Flag]

We get into it.

[Jay Skeets]

How you feeling about the Jays still moving forward here? You got this beautiful jersey on for everybody on YouTube. You got the hat as well.

[Tass Melis]

Put me in the game.

[Jay Skeets]

But you know, tough one last night. Yankee staying alive. Judge hitting the three run, Tater hitting the pole. That was pretty amazing. But what do you think they bounce back here?

[Tass Melis]

How did Judge get on top of that ball? That was an incredible swing. Incredible. Umpire camera to see that. Yeah, I believe in the Toronto Blue Jays. I don't mind if they lose game four and go home in the Sky Dome for game Five Friday night. That place will be a rocking. But it's fun. It's just a very, very fun series so far.

[Jay Skeets]

You love postseason baseball.

[Tass Melis]

Who doesn't?

[Jay Skeets]

I mean, you're right. I don't watch a single baseball game all year long, I guess. But I get excited for the postseason.

[Tass Melis]

Some people do not. But some people, it's fun.

[Jay Skeets]

Some people don't like the post season.

[Tass Melis]

Well, I guess if they don't like posting, they just don't like baseball.

[Jay Skeets]

Oh, that's what I just said though. Even I don't really like baseball. But even I have admit you get the drama of every pitch in the postseason.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Was that the best game of the playoffs so far?

[Tass Melis]

I don't know.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

It feels like it. I feel like I'm seeing blowouts a lot.

[Tass Melis]

I think so. I think so.

[Jay Skeets]

Had a little back and forth affair. Huge comeback by the Yankees. Okay.

[Tass Melis]

I don't know. I thought everybody would be excited, but Danielle sitting beside me on the couch is flatty. Hit a homer in the first freaking inning. I get excited.

[Jay Skeets]

Oh man, I wish. Holy crap. Yeah, a slide.

[Tass Melis]

I left John Smoltz on the call saying that third baseman took a step to his right for that single that God bloody govladdy home. And then they show it on the camera immediately.

[Jay Skeets]

It's good.

[Tass Melis]

Smoltz was good. Smoltz was good last night.

[Jay Skeets]

All right, back to basketball. Pacific Division start with the Golden State warriors over under set at 46 and a half. They finally mercily re signed Jonathan Kaminga so he will be there this season. The Anthony Melton, Gary Payton ii. They brought in Al Horford, Seth Curry teaming up with his bro. And the notable departure is Kevon Looney leaving in free agency. Tess, I'll start with you. I will remind you February 5th warriors were 525 and 25 9th in the Western Conference. They trade for Jimmy Butler. They became one of the best teams in the league. Finished 23 9, 225 when both Curry and Butler were playing got to the seventh seed which again was only four wins behind the number two seed Houston Rockets. So it was that tight. And then they knocked off the Rockets in a set first round series and then Curry got hurt and it was sort of over. But what do you think heading into the season? 46 and a half.

[Tass Melis]

I'm taking the over. I think this team is far better now that they have Jimmy Butler there for the whole season. And you can see them in training camp in September where Jimmy is leading these workouts apparently along with Draymond they are going to go into the season ready to go. You could hear Steph in all of his Prescott conferences when he asked about Jonathan Kaminga. He says he basically brushed it off and said we're here to freaking play basketball and this is an NBA, this is a four time NBA champion. I think they're going to follow his lead. It feels like the last dance for the Chicago Bulls to me and that they're going to be laser focused. So this 46 and a half total, it ain't all that impressive to me. I think they can pass that and I don't know, 47 just doesn't sound like a lot with Al Horford, the most selfless guy out there passing to staff. Like those passes will be there. They started 12 and three last year when they had some injuries immediately and so that's why they dropped off. But they're better than that. I go over 46 and a half.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Yeah, I think they were 22 and 5 when Curry, Draymond and Jimmy played after the trade. I just think this team is so old. They're going to be the first team in history to start three guys 35 or older. They've got three guys who are going to be starting born in the 1980s. There are a lot of teams out there that don't have any players from the 1980s.

[Tass Melis]

Isn't that four guys? Is Jimmy not there?

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Draymond is March 1990. He sneaks out.

[Tass Melis]

Draymond, my bad.

[Jay Skeets]

Wow.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

He sneaks out of the born in the 80s, barely by a handful of months. But he's still in the 35 or older category. All those guys miss time as well. That's the problem. Curry misses time, Jimmy misses time. Draymond and Horford as well. I do love the fit with Horford. Like playing in one preseason game. He looks like he is going to understand the system and how to get in guys way how to get the ball back to Stephen Curry. Which is kind of what the entire system actually is is how do we get stuff the ball to shoot a three pointer. I think they're a dangerous playoff team. I think they'll be able to beat anybody in the playoffs assuming that those four are healthy. But the goal for this season should be to be out of the play in tournament for the first time in a while. I personally have them seventh in my rankings. I'll go under. I think 45 wins.

[Jay Skeets]

Okay. Yeah, you're right about managing the workload. That's got to be a huge priority for the top of the roster at least. In Curry, Draymond, Butler, even Al Horford, which even we saw the Celtics do. And they did it. Well, you got to have something left for the playoffs here. So shouldn't Jonathan Kaminga help with that? Keep the old heads fresh? I mean, isn't that the plan here? Or is this guy just going to be dealt the amount they're going to trade him? He can.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

January 15th. Phones open.

[Jay Skeets]

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it's interesting. I'm interested to see how he attacks the season, how they. Obviously Curry uses them or doesn't this idea of like building up his trade value even more or not.

[Tass Melis]

That's it.

[Jay Skeets]

I mean, unfortunately, as much as Curry doesn't want to talk about it, we're going to be all eyes on that.

[Tass Melis]

Yeah.

[Jay Skeets]

And how he plays and how he fits and all the post game quotes and all from everybody, really.

[Tass Melis]

No doubt. Yeah. And they tried it last year. They threw him into that starting role. Was it January? They said, all right, here it is. Is he good? Do you want him? Essentially, it obviously didn't happen. There are question marks with the bench. You mentioned all the ages, even guys from the bench. You said Seth Curry, other guys, too. Gary Payton II getting older, obviously getting hurt quite a lot throughout his career. D Anthony Melton is back injured to start the season here. So there's a ton of injuries. There's going to be a lot on guys you don't often talk about, but G Santos, Moses Moody. Pods will play a big role on this team. Yeah. The question is whether or not there's going to play enough minutes from that starting lineup.

[Jay Skeets]

I don't think so. So I'm going just under. That's my concern as well. There's a. They're very old and they're so good, but it's like they're just old. Yeah. And Jimmy, I mean, Jimmy. General soreness. He always missing time for sure. And then, yeah, Draymond and Curry, I mean, there's going to be strength, I think where they're going to miss a couple weeks. So that's going to have an effect on the rest of the roster and the trickle down effect. But I'll go just under. Still a good team, but yeah, it's an old team. And here's another one, the LA Clippers. I guess they're even older when you. The totality of the team, the totality of the minutes and the players. Over, under. For the Clippers, 47 and a half trey added. Bradley Beal, John Collins, Brook Lopez, Chris Paul, Norman Powell out. Amir Coffee out. And Drew Eubanks out. What do you think of the old Clips here?

[Trey Cooper Flag]

No, they got four guys in the 80s. Wow. Harden, Batum, Brook Lopez and Chris Paul. Three of those will probably start. I mean, Batum I guess is a question mark. Brook Lopez, I guess that's only two. So are they older? I don't know. 37 games for Kawhi last season, they still won 50 games. Plus they added a whole bunch of depth. They've got a great coach in Tyloo. In the past last seven seasons since Kawhi Leonard signed with the LA Clippers, they've gone over 47 and a half. They've gone over 47 wins five times. Like they just find ways to win. I had them. They were my biggest whiff last season. We didn't know what the deal was going to be with when Kawhi was going to be healthy with playing. Harden didn't look great. Turned into an all star once again last season. His teams always make the playoffs, so I think they'll go over. I don't think they get quite to 50 wins, but I could see him winning like, like 48. I think this is going to be a really, really good team because if Kawhi misses time, J they still have James Harden. If James Harden misses time, they can bring in Chris Paul to be the point guard for a little bit of time. They have so much versatility with Collins, with Beal, with Lopez, with Zubas. They can just play so many different styles. And Tyloo is like one of the coaches out there who actually gets the most from his players and is willing to experiment with different formulations. I like this team just going over.

[Tass Melis]

Yeah, it's easy to be positive about this team because it was a 50 win team. They lost one guy, but they gained three in Collins, Brook and Beal. I say they gained four. Kawhi Leonard's probably going to start the season. Last year he did not. He didn't play until January. He's scheduled to be playing now. Bradley Beal came in and said, whoa, that guy's amazing. I've never seen that guy in person.

[Jay Skeets]

You know, I've never seen that guy plant a tree.

[Tass Melis]

Yeah, of course.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Kawhi's contract is voided. This picture go off the board.

[Jay Skeets]

We joke about it, but do you think it will have any impact on the Clippers season at all? This investigation into Kawhi and the Clippers and an aspiration, this fraud company?

[Tass Melis]

Yeah, my, my thinking about it is, yes, it will. I. I really don't know because I haven't been around a team that's ever. Like nobody else has ever been accused of something like this. Will it factor into the guys on the court, Guys who block out everything? Quite Leonard. I'm sure. I mean, he was good at blocking out probably the agreement that he signed. He didn't know he didn't do anything for that agreement. Yeah.

[Jay Skeets]

I don't know. Just pay me.

[Tass Melis]

Yeah. I'm taking the under just because I do think that's a part of it. Oh, I, I think that fact that there's 11 guys that they're playing that are 33 or older, that's freaking old. I mean, that's the average age of their guy. They have a bunch of young guys that are going to come in and play a little bit, but they're super deep, they're super old. I don't know what this aspiration cloud hanging over them will actually do to how they factor into the desire to play. I really don't want to see the All Star Game in that arena. Just the fact that we're all basketball fans here and we may. If they're. If he is deemed to be guilty, if the Clippers are deemed to be guilty. It's about integrity here. And then they're. They may not, they're, they may not even decide on this or end the investigation until after the All Star Game in that freaking arena. Which is odd.

[Jay Skeets]

They basically are saying it's going to be there. The 26 all star game.

[Tass Melis]

They're saying it's there. Yeah. They're not taking away. They're probably not going to.

[Jay Skeets]

The amount of trees we're going to plant at All Star Weekend is going to be unbelievable.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

The highlight event of the weekend.

[Jay Skeets]

Totally.

[Tass Melis]

We're going to be hugging trees. If we get to go. Yeah, that's a bunch of our videos. Will be us hugging trees. It's just weird that they won't end the investigation until after February if that's the case. It sure feels like Adam Silver said that. What are we doing here? So that part is. Yeah. Unfortunate for me. And that's why I'm in on the under on this team. Even though the guys playing on this team. Trey went through the names. Seems like a 50 win team.

[Jay Skeets]

Yeah. No, I mean, I'm always wrong about the Clippers. I always want to take the under on them. I probably will again. I, I'm like the whole Kawhi aspiration thing. I think Ziller wrote that of all the players least likely to be bothered by an off court Scandal. Kawhi is probably like candidate number one. I agree with that. Like, I don't think it's going to impact him. To me with the Clips though is how great James Harden was last season. He was awesome. He was so good. He was healthy. Can he replicate that in year? What's he at? I mean he's up there. I don't know what year he's at. 17, something like 16. 17.

[Tass Melis]

This will be 17.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

17.

[Jay Skeets]

Jesus. Like can he do that again and put back to back seasons? He was super important. Yeah. You got Chris Paul to like sop up some of the minutes if he misses time. But I think James Harden was like, like even I'm admitting like overlooked last year. So I'm going to go just under, just under 47 and a half right around there. But they're, they're. Man, they got a lot of guys. The roster is stacked. Like, I mean we barely even talked about Beal if you believe he can still contribute. And John Collins is not a bad player, like especially in a role like this. Healthy, Potentially sort of.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Yeah, yeah. He wasn't healthy at Eurobasket, but he's always not healthy as well. As we've seen in what they don't need as much from.

[Jay Skeets]

No, that's the thing. They don't need much from all these old guys. They just have so many old guys. Are they like that dominant YMCA team that nobody wants to play? Like, damn, we're going to smoke these old guys. And then it's like, oh God no. They're crafty as hell. But I'll just go under Trey, the only one going just over right. 47 and a half. In regards to James Harden, just a fun fact. He surpassed Ray Allen number two all time on three pointers made. He's closing in on more milestones this year. He's 603 points shy of Carmelo Anthony for 10th on the NBA's all time scoring list and just 909 points away from Shaq. So James Harden is likely going to pass Mello and Shaq here on the all time list. Just continuing to go up that. It's unbelievable.

[Tass Melis]

The best offensive player in the game said Darrell Morey because he scores a lot, said Darrell.

[Jay Skeets]

All right. From one LA team to the other, the Lakers over under 49 and a half. Tas, we'll start with you. They bring in Deandre Ayton, Jake Laravia, Marcus Smart, Dorian Finney Smith is gone. Jordan Goodwin is gone. Those are the notable names. How do you feel about the Luka LeBron pairing with coach J.J. redick here in season number two.

[Tass Melis]

I think this isn't over. Last year I was concerned with their defense. When they trade Anthony Davis, they just weren't big enough. And they somehow efforted an incredible finish to this team. Incredible finish to that season without the height. And so after Dorian Finney's Smith left, I thought, do. Do they have that same hunger level? I think they have replaced that a decent amount. Marcus Smart is there. He's already practicing again. He had that Achilles tendinopathy issue, but he's back, baby. Jared Vanderbilt is out there looking better than he did last season when he had to guard centers. Now he can guard the ball. So one of those guys is probably going to start. I think Rui goes to the bench and there will be a hunger level. I think enough of these guys, guys plus some freaking height now with deandre Ayton and Jackson Hayes being their centers, I think they have enough. I think there is a chemistry there. Lucas, forget about how skinny he is or whatever. It seems like he knows how to lead a team now for the first time really that he's had to do this. They're going to try out Porsches. As Dave McManron reported, they're going to.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Like Porsche driving experience.

[Tass Melis]

Test driving. Yeah. You guys want to bond? Let's go. Test drive.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

They went to Backstreet Boys over the summer. Yeah, the sphere.

[Tass Melis]

Yeah.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Yeah.

[Tass Melis]

Everybody paid for. So cool. I. I think. I think there's gonna be 100. Defensively, there's obviously they're. They're really, really good. Marcus Smart takes the floor. Jared Vanderbilt takes the floor.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Do they?

[Tass Melis]

Will they? That's the question. They're going to be hungry when they're out there. But will either one of those guys get injured? Who? They are prone to injury. As much as I am a Vanderbilt lover, he gets injured quite a lot.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

The love for Gabe Vincent.

[Tass Melis]

Yeah, I'm just gonna skip over him.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Right now with a clean shaven face. At one point this summer, it looked messed up.

[Tass Melis]

It was weird.

[Jay Skeets]

Yeah. You guys talked about it. Don't worry.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

His stuff is back. I saw, I think maybe like Yovon Buha.

[Jay Skeets]

So you're going over though?

[Tass Melis]

I'm going over.

[Jay Skeets]

So 50 win team with Luca.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Yeah.

[Tass Melis]

The best. Yes. And this, I. I think this is going to be the best Luca leader that we've seen or, you know, we've heard of anyway. We don't really see him leading that much, but I think, yes, I think all the recipe, the ingredients for a good, solid recipe are there.

[Jay Skeets]

What do you think Trey Luca?

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Teams haven't really been that good in the regular season. He's never won more than 52 games in a season. Never. Or he's won 50 or more twice in his career despite being a first team all NBA player. The defense is interesting to me because I agree they beefed up inside but I don't think they can guard anybody on the perimeter. Reeves is going to start, Luka is going to start. I don't think Marcus Smart is a starting caliber player at this point. Vanderbilt? I don't think so either. I think they will stick with Rui, especially since he's been there. JJ Redick likes the guy and I don't think deandre Ayton is necessarily good enough to clean up the messes for those guys. Dorian Finney Smith was a big piece for them last year.

[Jay Skeets]

Yeah.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Their main goal is just like the warriors. They got to stay healthy, they got to get out of the play in tournament. I think this team is maybe the top heaviest of anybody in the league. They got Luka and LeBron. If either of those two go down, bad stuff ensues. For the Lakers, I'll go under. I think they get to like 49 wins.

[Jay Skeets]

I was going to go over until LeBron's second decision. AD so I'm going under now. No, many other reasons, but I am going under. Can we ask what you thought of that though?

[Trey Cooper Flag]

I mean was so, so lame.

[Jay Skeets]

I agree.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Yeah. Like the decision is one of the pivotal moments in NBA history. Certainly in the 21st century. It was going to be parodied at some point.

[Jay Skeets]

Yeah.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

They did it for a limited edition.

[Jay Skeets]

Bottle of Hennessy which apparently isn't all that limited edition.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Very dumb Hennessy.

[Jay Skeets]

SOP. Yeah. Yeah.

[Tass Melis]

There's lots of VSOPs out there.

[Jay Skeets]

Yeah.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

But this one says LeBron James on the bottle.

[Jay Skeets]

Yeah, it was pretty cringe. No doubt. Pretty corny. Tassie didn't mind it.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

I don't know.

[Tass Melis]

I did not watch the ad.

[Jay Skeets]

Oh yeah, Wow.

[Tass Melis]

I watched Smart man. As soon as I saw the promo I was intrigued as everybody else.

[Jay Skeets]

Did you think he was retiring? No. Or did you think it was something?

[Tass Melis]

I did not think he was retiring. I thought it could have been linked with Amazon.

[Jay Skeets]

That's what a lot of people did.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

That was a prime day.

[Tass Melis]

It was a prime day. Just. Just got rights to show games. I thought that was a perfect connection. But he is on a. A load management cycle here that he's never been on. He's not practicing as much with the team. He's not playing a game in the preseason. He's not playing until the game start. That's the first time he's done that. Does that matter? I don't think so. He's got a nerve ending in his. A nerve issue within his glute. You can bet your ass that he'll be fine for the regular season.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Can you bet his ass?

[Tass Melis]

Exactly. I'd bet on his ass. Is there a. That the game Hill started to be at the beginning of the season. Luca's not playing in games now either. He's practicing though, while LeBron really isn't. So there's. Yeah. Worries about those guys being old and Marcus Martin, Jared Vanderbilt, I get. I think one of those guys is going to start because they need somebody beside Luca, LeBron and Austin Reeves to play the perimeter. But will they be able to play more than 50 games? That's a question for both those guys. Smartest freaking and. And Jared Vanderbilt has been injury prone now. JJ right, keeps saying it looks like pre injury Jared Vanderbilt out there. We'll see.

[Jay Skeets]

Yeah, I go under because I do have so many questions you guys already brought up. Can they play above average defense? I'm a little concerned about that. Ayton is your center and then you do have Luca not known as a defensive stopper. And you got LeBron at this point of his career, maybe worried about the Hennessy ads instead of obviously giving it his all at his age on the defensive end then. So you're going to be asking Marcus Smart, who played what, 54 games combined over the past two seasons to return to some sort of form. Same with Vanderbilt, be healthy. Can Austin Reeves sort of level up? Where does he in the mix here? And I think, I mean it's an improvement, don't get me wrong, from Jackson Hayes, but deandre Ayton is going to like give JJ Redick a lot of headaches as well. And how he's incorporated is a huge cue. So I think there's still a good team because you got LeBron and Luka, but. But I'm going under 49 and a half. I think they're going to be, you know, 45 to 48 or something like that. Just coming under to me.

[Tass Melis]

Yeah, one of these LA teams are going to disappoint defensively, I think. Even though the Clippers are a Tehran Lou led team and they were incredible last year. But it is a question mark getting older and how much they're going to play on the defensive end. Somehow The Lakers under J.J. redick were awesome. After Anthony Davis was traded. They play hard for him. That being said, you know, they added guys that instead of Dorian, Finney Smith, that's. That's the big question with them is will those guys compensate what they lose enduring Finney Smith?

[Trey Cooper Flag]

I think the key for the Lakers is they don't really need to be a good defensive team. They can't be a bad offensive team. They finished 15th on the defensive end, 12th last year. They should be a top five offensive team with Luka Doncic and LeBron James games handling most of the possessions. So I would start your best offensive players because your best defensive players aren't that great.

[Jay Skeets]

Right? Right. Phoenix Suns over under 31 and a half. TK now, they. They did a lot. This team, like completely sort of changed their roster here. They bring in Dylan Brooks, Jalen Green, Mark Williams, Jordan Goodwin, Nigel Hayes, Davis, Jared Butler. They got the 10th pick in Malawatch there. The Duke production lost Beal, Durant, Jones, Lee Martin, Mecic, Plum Dog, ty, Ty Washington Jr. Not Ty. Ty.

[Tass Melis]

Yeah.

[Jay Skeets]

Ty. Ty. Ty Tie. And I had totally forgotten. They're on their fourth coach in as many seasons here. Quick trivia question. Who's their coach?

[Tass Melis]

Steve Jordan.

[Jay Skeets]

Former Cavs offensive architect. Jordan Ott is their coach. I did. I legit forgot that. So 31 and a half. That's crazy. Trey. It's low. I mean, there's still some talent here, but what do you think?

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Can't keep a coach, can't keep their arena the same name. Four coaches. Since 2020, they've been talking stick. Resort Arena, Phoenix Suns Arena, Footprint Center, PHX Arena. And do you know what they are this season?

[Jay Skeets]

No.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

No, you don't. Mortgage Matchup Center. Yes.

[Tass Melis]

Cool. Meet you down at the mortgage.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

An NBA team changing their sponsor.

[Jay Skeets]

Weird.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Every two years.

[Tass Melis]

Is that a Matt Ishbia?

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Yes, it is a Matt Ishbia project. The mortgage matchup center. You related to one of his companies, so maybe this one will stick around for a little bit. Unlike their coaches. But this is a sad story. They went 51 wins, 64, 45, 49, 36. Last season they turned themselves into the Charlotte Hornets. I don't know how it happened.

[Jay Skeets]

Oh, boy.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

They've got the entire starting line or center rotation from last year's Charlotte Hornets in Mark Williams and Nick Richards. People were talking up Nick Richards last year. That's how weird the Hornets are. This is the team I may be the least excited to watch in the NBA. Not enthused at all. 36 wins last year. They were 11th, though. In clutch wins pretty good actually. They were pretty solid in the clutch. I think they were maybe like 23 and 18, 23 and 19, something like that. Guess what? They traded away their best clutch player. Kevin Durant was the man leading the way for them last year. So I'm gonna go under on the Suns. I think like 30 wins and I just wonder how long Devin Booker is going to be happy to be sticking around. You pay him $75 million, so probably pretty happy.

[Jay Skeets]

At least give it a go.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Yeah, we'll see when they finish 30 and 52 though.

[Tass Melis]

Yeah, I, I too am on the under. They have changed so much about the roster. They've changed their front office. So I think overall for the Phoenix Suns they're in a different direction. They've got a path set, so that's a positive for them.

[Jay Skeets]

Yeah, I agree with that.

[Tass Melis]

So we will see what they can do. But there's just so many question marks on the roster.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Yeah.

[Tass Melis]

Looking forward to Jalen gre. With Devin Booker and Dylan Brooks as their perimeter guys, all three are going to be starting to see what Jalen Green can do alongside Devin Booker. Just as a basketball fan, that's going to be cool. But, but, but yeah, the questions are endless on this team. You mentioned the big guys and Mark Williams and Nick Richards. You're, you're starting the Charlotte Hornets centers. Really. Kevin Moloch, they called him man man in Duke. Apparently that was his nickname.

[Jay Skeets]

Man Man.

[Tass Melis]

Yeah, because, because his name is Kaman and his, his, his teammates didn't want to say come on while they're on the floor. So they called man man. That's what he said. So him and then Ryan Dunn, also Gadaro. They haven't really shown that they can be lead front unit. You know the, the, the, the big forwards are huge questions on this team. I think it's endless. Yeah, maybe Nigel Hayes Davis that you threw out. There was a 30 year old playing in Europe after he didn't make it in the NBA. Can be a, a guy out there, but I don't think there's enough. And, but they do have like the Kobe Braya guys that can score that are fun to watch but they're not gonna win a lot of games.

[Jay Skeets]

I'm swerving. I'm gonna go just over on the Phoenix Suns 3111 2. Because the question here is. Yeah, they, they are. They lost so much talent. No doubt. Look at the two rosters. They lost talent, but did they gain some guys with at least a bit of a, an edge to Them like Dylan Brooks. For as much as we make fun of him, he raises at least the level of competition on a team. I think in practice, I think it translates to the floor. And so they have these like all these guys you guys are listing. It's like they might be hungry to prove a point and that might get them just to like a low 30 wins. They do still have Denver. It's low. It's low. And I'm just saying they will just hit this. Like I'm not going like crazy that they're flirting even with a play in spite of where they would take. How many WINS? You know, 40 in the Western Conference, at least more. But low. Low 31 and a half. I don't mind it. I'm going to take the over I at least the energy. I think with this team with now Durant removed and Beal obviously not there, I think it's going to make a little bit more sense. You guys brought up a great point about the bigs. It's not. That's tough. You guys are. And I even like those guys probably more than most. But even I'll admit, oh, that is a tough rotation. But I still have a little bit of a Devin Booker fan and I love that. Again, some of these cast offs, I think that maybe sort of these misfits might work together around Booker to get to 33 wins or something. So I'll go over. Do you think the Phoenix Suns are going to be. Well, we're going to talk about the Sacramento Kings. Like, are they better or worse than the Kings or the Pelicans? We'll find out because we'll talk about those teams. But. But that's where, you know, that's where I'm like debating.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

I think they will be better than the Pelicans, worse than the Kings.

[Jay Skeets]

Okay.

[Tass Melis]

Okay.

[Jay Skeets]

Well, let's talk Kings.

[Tass Melis]

I think. I think they should be coached by Steve Ott, as I said. Who's Steve ought to coach him? Yeah, he's a hockey coach. I think. I think that's where I. I said Steve Ott and said Jordan Ott might be good as a coach.

[Jay Skeets]

It's true.

[Tass Melis]

But how much? Because he's been under Kenny Atkinson. He knows how to move the ball. I think all guys are going to be involved in the offense.

[Jay Skeets]

But.

[Tass Melis]

But really there's guys that just haven't succeeded in other places in Mark Williams and Nick Richards. Unless you're little. They're. They're trying out guys. They're trying them out.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

He's still there.

[Tass Melis]

Yeah, he's there. Yeah.

[Jay Skeets]

It's funny when he.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

It's funny to hear players who are hyped up last year like oh Nas little on a veteran minimum. This guy's going to be the real deal. People were picking Mike Budenholzer to win coach of the year last preseason.

[Jay Skeets]

Yeah, yeah. We some of us were very high on the Suns last year. Year guilty. But now they just got to win 32 games. So I'm pounding over again. All right. Kings 34 and a half. Not much better than Phoenix here. Taz Sarich is in your guy. I love him. Eubanks, Dennis Schroeder. They drafted Nick Clifford. A lot of people are talking him up. You might have a role on this team. The 24th pick there and then they lost Mason Jones, Jake LaRavia, JV. So for the most. Most part. What starting lineup of schroeder, Monk Levine, DeRozan Sabonis. I guess Monk could be coming off the bench. Whatever. That's like their main guys. Kik Murray. Sorry, I totally forgot him. So it'd be Monk off the bench. What do you think? 34 and a half.

[Tass Melis]

I'm going over.

[Jay Skeets]

Okay.

[Tass Melis]

I have faith in a Dennis Schroeder led offense. We saw him win in Germany. We saw what he did to start last year with the Brooklyn Nets. Now they started started at 9 and 11. Let's. Let's extrapolate that. Over 82 they're going to win 34 and a half. I think last year they finished really strong. The second one of Kings finished really strong. 15 and 17 in their last 32. I mean that's.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Hey, I thought you were going to say 27 and 24 with Doug Christie as their coach.

[Tass Melis]

Oh yeah.

[Jay Skeets]

Over 515 and 17 is finishing strong.

[Tass Melis]

If the over underwinder win total is 34 and a half then yeah. And this is. This is in Mickey Mouse March. It's Mickey Mouse March plus friendly February. I mean that's you know whatever the the term is for February. Those that's two months. There's just so much freaking talent. With a couple hunger hungry guys in Keone Ellis and a full season Devin Carter. We'll see what Nick Clawford, Clifford can do. But they are lacking big wings that's for sure. Like Keegan Murray is their number one at the four. DeRozan is their other four.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

I guess that's why Nick Clifford is going to play.

[Tass Melis]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. The depth is a. Is an issue but 34 and a half for all these talented guys. And again Dennis Schroeder knows how to lead a team. He was leading a team with Jordy Fernandez as their head coach. Doug Christie, what was the record that.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

He had under 27 and 24. Took him up and said, look at this beam. I've never seen it. That's close.

[Tass Melis]

Yeah, sounds like close to a 500 club. Club. Okay, close.

[Jay Skeets]

So you're going over.

[Tass Melis]

Yeah, I'm going over.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

34 and a half.

[Tass Melis]

I agree.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

I think the Kings are a little overhated right now. I think they're gonna be good on offense. They got a lot of good offensive players. Of course, they just can't guard anybody, but that's fine. You can win a lot of games by outscoring the opponent. It'll come down to clutch play. I think for the Kings this year, they were 19 and 23 in the clutch. Last year you get a little bit better luck. 23 and 19 in the clutch, who knows? But 35 wins is such a low number to clear the over, so I'm gonna go over. They have been bleeding wins. They went from 40, 48 to 46 to 40. They seem like they are trending in the wrong direction. I 100% agree with that. But you put Levine and DeRozan together, you're going to win about 40 games.

[Jay Skeets]

Yeah, you should be. You're right. They should be still around a top 10 offense at least.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

They were seven last year.

[Jay Skeets]

Yeah, I don't. It's. It's how they're going to stop guys, even though they have like. Yeah, maybe a healthy Devin Carter helps. And we know Kean Ellis is good defensively and Nick Clifford is sort of being, you know, allotted as that as well. But, like, you're not going to play all those guys together by any means. So they're going to have to try and slow the better players on the other team. I'm with you guys, though. It's too low. If this is 39 and a half, 38 and a half. I think you're like, oh, I don't know. I think there's still a 35 plus win team with the talent they have. As long as Sabonis and Keegan Murray and, you know, maybe Zach Levine can stay healthy. It's really. I think they're quite shallow once those guys, their main guys are gone.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Oh, yeah.

[Jay Skeets]

But I'm with you. We're all taking the Kings over. Light the beam, baby.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

What could go wrong?

[Jay Skeets]

I know.

[Ryan Seacrest]

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[Jay Skeets]

All right, final division here Southwest Division Dallas Mavericks 41 1/2 Trey Cooper Flag yeah, you look good in the preseason action stat. Stuffer man looks solid. D' Angelo Russell is sort of in there to be their starting point guard with Kyrie Irving on the shelf to at least start the season. Who knows how long he misses. And then Spencer did what? He left. I mean, that's sort of it. 41 and a half. Where are you going with this one?

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Yeah, 39 and 43 last year, but I think their last year record is like the least informative of maybe any team looking ahead for the season. I think they got a pretty good top nine despite having basically no guard depth. They're going to be great defensively with Cooper alongside whichever big guys they decide to start. Like, it's looking like Derek Lively. Who? His measurements came in 7 foot 1. As predicted, the guy didn't grow. He was lying.

[Jay Skeets]

He didn't grow.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

100% lying. People believed it. Anthony Davis, he'll be starting. That means you're bringing PJ Washington off the bench. That guy's awesome. Yeah, Daniel Gafford, really good play. The problem is they're only going to make two pointers. Last year they were 26th in three point shooting, and that's with Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving playing huge chunks of the season for this team. This team probably will lead the league in two pointers made. I would have to imagine maybe Denver is up there as well with, you know, Jokic never missing. Main question for me is like, will Cooper flag be an All Star this year? Only 16 slots for Americans, so he probably gets squeezed.

[Jay Skeets]

Oh yeah, right. About that wrinkle.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

That's weird. That's why I'm like Jamal Murray. You actually got a good chance of making your first All Star team. Yeah, because you know, he might be one of the eight best international players and not the 24 best NBA players. So there'll be a good list eventually. Guys who are going to benefit from this and guys who won't. Cooper will not. 42 wins, though, for the Mavs. I'll Take the over.

[Jay Skeets]

Wow. Okay.

[Tass Melis]

Same. I'm going over. I think Anthony Davis's goggles are going to help him stay healthy. You got that guy on the floor with a Cooper flag beside him. Who looks good defensively. I mean he can guard anybody on the perimeter, so why wouldn't they be a good defensive team? It is a fair question. Do they have three point shooting? It's d' Angelo Russell, it's Clay Thompson and you know, Max Christie can hit some good percentages. He doesn't shoot a lot of them, but that's a trio. And PJ Washington can hang out in the corner. I think there is enough to get it until Kyrie Irving comes back.

[Jay Skeets]

Do you think Kyrie Irving comes back this season?

[Tass Melis]

I think so.

[Jay Skeets]

You do? Yeah, I think I'll play fair enough.

[Tass Melis]

Yeah.

[Jay Skeets]

I mean the injury occurred pretty late in the season. He's what, mid-30s when he comes back and he's a guy that relies on athleticism and speed and all that. I maybe slow play him, but. Yeah, who knows?

[Tass Melis]

Yeah, those slow. They should slow play him. It was March, right, Last year on the Twitch that he was on. I always assume it's Twitch. I think it was streaming somewhere. He was streaming something. He said, I. I'm not saying that I'm coming back next year. I'm not locking it in. He didn't. I guess he just doesn't want to say that to his Twitch fans.

[Jay Skeets]

Him and Kid are sort of saying that. Yeah. Maybe won't come back where it feels like the front office. Like I think it was Nico Harrison was more leaning towards, oh yeah, Kyrie Irving will be back, you know, chasing kids is it.

[Tass Melis]

But Jason Kid's gonna take credit for turning Cooper Flag into a point guard. I think that's what he's getting.

[Jay Skeets]

Like he did with Giannis.

[Tass Melis]

Like he did with Giannis. Exactly the same thing. Because Cooper can't handle the ball and bring it up and they need guard help. So I think they've got enough. I'm taking the over. The defense will be super, super good. I think d' Angelo Russell is just kind of an overlooked player, but he can score.

[Jay Skeets]

He's streaky.

[Tass Melis]

Yeah, he's streaky, but he could really.

[Jay Skeets]

Use a really good least 40% from three type year from D' Angelo Russell, right?

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Yeah, they would take 40% from the field.

[Jay Skeets]

Yeah.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

38 last year. He was brutal last year. Bounce back season.

[Tass Melis]

Bounce back season.

[Jay Skeets]

Yeah.

[Tass Melis]

In a year that he got traded. But he's got that chemistry with Anthony Davis going back to His LA days. A lot of talent. Yeah. The question is scoring.

[Jay Skeets]

I found this one. This was one of the toughest teams, I think the most perplexing teams I could talk myself into a really bad year, of course, and then a surprising good year year. But I'm with you guys. We all have the Mavericks over 41 and a half. That's a damn good starting lineup. Russell, Clay, Thompson, Cooper AD with the goggles and then Derek Lively.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

That's.

[Jay Skeets]

And then you.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

It's a good front court.

[Jay Skeets]

That's a good front. Yeah, look, there's a lot pressure on Russell and it's also. There's a lot of pressure on Cooper. Flag to be awesome right out of the gate. Like that's what we're sort of like banking on here a little bit with this. But I'll go over with you guys. 41.5 Dallas Mavericks. Stay in Texas. Houston Rockets 52.5. Kevin Durant is there. Dorian Finney Smith is there. Clint Capella is there.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Why is he there?

[Jay Skeets]

Hey, Clint. Just wanted to come play for the Houston Rockets. Joshua Koji. And they lost Dylan Brooks, Jalen Green, Cam Whitmore, Jock Landell and unfortunately Fred Van Vliet, who will not be playing probably for the season. What do you think, Taz? Start with you 52 and a half on Houston. Houston, where are you going after such.

[Tass Melis]

A good year last year where they won 52 games, I'm taking the under. It's surprising to me to do this to a squad that's fairly loaded. But yeah, the Fred Van Vliet injury I think helps or excuse me, hurts them handling the ball steady. Friday was, was that last year and now they're just going to have to throw in a bunch of guys. Do it by committee here. Amen. Thompson, bring it up. Let's see what Reed shepherd can do. There's. There's so many guys there. I. I think there's some worry. Some. We just talked about the Dallas Mavericks hitting three point shots. Who's hitting threes on this team? Last year they were bottom third of the league in three points, attempted three point percentage, stretching the floor. So I think that's a fair question. Dorian Finney Smith. Yeah, he could be the answer to that. But he's hurt to start the season now. He probably is going to play soonish. I like this quote that he said he had ankle surgery in the off season. He said, quote, I probably made the injury worse because my nut ass ass don't want to sit down. Excuse my language. Not my language. Now they have question marks. Okay, so we know Durant, Shangoon, Thompson starting. Tar Eason wants to start. Jabari Smith wants to start. I think there's just a lot of questions going into a team that you're playing, Western Conference teams right off the bat. You're a huge team, but can you handle it enough? The names are so good, but I worry about the guard play. I think that's. I think that's fair. That's fair worry. So 52 wins is a lot. I'm going under TK yeah, this is the one.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

I. I did most of my prep yesterday, like going through and picking where I thought it was going to be. Then I woke up this morning and this is the one I regretted the most because I am going to go over.

[Tass Melis]

Okay.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

I think they can get to 53 wins, but the three point shooting is a huge, huge question mark. They lost their top three three point shooters from last season once Fred Van Vliet went out with injury. I have to imagine they're regretting signing Capella. Like you should have signed a backup point guard. You didn't need a third center.

[Jay Skeets]

Yeah.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

When you got a guy who could make all NBA as the starter, that just doesn't make any sense to me. They have basically all fours on their team. Even eason is a four. Jabari Smith Jr. Is a four. I think Jabari should probably start just because he takes more threes than Eason does and they need that sort of thing. 6th and clutch wins as well. Last season, like, they had a good clutch season and their clutch offense was basically Fred Van Vliet just shoot a bomb and it went in a lot. So they lost him. They replace him with Kevin Durant to take the clutch shots. But how much better can you get than sixth? Only five places. You know, that's not going to change the math a whole lot. So I am going to go over. Like, I think Reed shepherd is in a pretty good situation. He does need to really take a step forward and look like an NBA player this season. They need him to shoot the ball like he did in college, like he did in high school, because he wasn't even a good shooter last year in the very few minutes that he played.

[Jay Skeets]

So.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

And not confident. Over on the Houston Rockets.

[Jay Skeets]

Okay, interesting. I'm going with Tas. I'm going just under the 52 and a half. Right around the same record they had last year. You said 52 wins. So somewhere between 50 and 52. I look at them sort of like I looked at the Pistons when we did The Monday east over under picks, like, this idea of, like, well, they should be better guys should level up. They have all this young talent. Probably it's because they have a Thompson twin on it as well. And I look at the Rockets and I think that same thing, too. But then I'm like, it's not sometimes as linear as just keep adding wins, keep adding wins, keep adding wins. I think it's just going to be around the same. They'll be fine and they're going to be a contender if everybody's healthy to win the whole title or in the West. So I'm going just under. I wonder what I would have done if Van V was playing and he was just like their lead guard and that wouldn't have any questions about that. I don't know if the line would have been different. Is it. Is that like 54 and a half if Van Vliet's there? Does this even take into consideration the Van Lee injury? I assume it does, but I'm with Tess. I'll go just under Trey, the only one over. Reluctantly. It's fine.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Yeah.

[Tass Melis]

Yeah.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

53 is a high number, though, man. It's a high number for a team that can't shoot threes. But they're going to have an awesome defense. They should have a top five defense, and that's really good for regular season.

[Jay Skeets]

Yeah. And, you know, so when Ime Udoka is making these decisions about who's going to start and who's going to close games, he's going to, more times than not veer towards the guy that brings it defensively. Like, that's what he does.

[Tass Melis]

Yeah. There's no doubt. And they're going to play the biggest lineup in NBA history. Question mark. I don't know. Literally, they may run out because they're lacking guys, especially.

[Jay Skeets]

But, oh, with Amen Thompson as your point guard, you're saying.

[Tass Melis]

Yeah, yeah. I mean, just add inches together of five guys. They're going to be huge. They could literally throw out a Steven Adams alongside Alper and Shangoon, plus Kevin Durant, that guy's seven feet. Plus an Amend Thompson and a Jabari Smith. I mean, they're monstrous, it's true.

[Jay Skeets]

Not a lot of shooting out there. But kd, well, that's what they like.

[Tass Melis]

Raphael Stone, that's what he. What's what they like. I suppose that's why they went and got Clinker Bell. They each got big. They got bigger. Yeah.

[Jay Skeets]

Shooting's overrated. Just big.

[Tass Melis]

Yeah.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

They're like, we're going to miss A ton. So we should have as many centers as possible.

[Tass Melis]

Yeah, they were good at offensive rebounding last year.

[Jay Skeets]

You got Stephen Adams on your team. You're always going to be good at offensive rebound. All right. Memphis grizzlies over under 39 and a half. Forget who we're starting with here. We'll start with you, Trey. 39 and a half, Memphis.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Yeah. 48 wins for the Grizzlies last season. You would have thought they won 30 games with the way they're thought of. But they did lose Desmond Bain, they lost Jay Huff, and guess what? Everybody's already hurt for the Memphis Grizzlies. Just like the all always. Jaren Jackson Jr. And Zach Edie off season surgery. They're not ready at the start of the season though. Triple J will be back sooner. Brandon Clark out. John Morant week to week out with a sprained ankle. But in four of their last five seasons, they've gone over.500. The only year they didn't was when John Morant played nine games. This team is able to win games. When Jaren Jackson Jr. Plays, they play at a 47 win place. I think he'll be back sort of soon. Yeah, I'm going over. I think they're about a 500 team, 41 wins. I think the number is just a little bit too low here for the Grizzlies.

[Jay Skeets]

Okay. Yeah. I think Ziller noted when you have that base duo of John Morant and Triple J, you just. You win regular season games like if they're at all healthy. Ish. And then they always find these diamonds in the rough to plug and play too. So feels low tasks. So that's why TK is going over 39 and a half. What about you?

[Tass Melis]

I'm with you. Trafalgar feels super low with a team that won 48 games last year. But then if you say that Both Jaren Jackson Jr. And John Morant, their top two players are going to be out for a while, then that factors in. But John Moran, it sure feels like he's going to be back very soon. I think he should be back for the regular season. Even though it's week to week. He says that it's totally fine. It's an ankle injury that he just turned this past weekend here as we record October 8th, it seems fine. Jaren Jackson Jr. Again, shouldn't be too long. I think they have a defensive readiness every single season. They are ready. Jalen Wells was ready. They added a KCP who, yes, not a great offensive player, but will help Defensive. He does. They drafted Cedric Coward. They traded up for Cedric Coward because he is a monster in terms of length. He's 6, 6, 72 with that wingspan. He already drew a charge in preseason. So I think there's enough defensive guys and then the offensive guys, we talk about their top two, but there's a tide Jerome out there. That guy can drop 20 no problem. Santio Aldama, more role for him this year. That's a huge drop off to lose nine fewer games from 48 down to 39. So I think it's over. Yeah. 500 team I think is easily accessible for these guys.

[Jay Skeets]

This is my dumbest pick. I'm going under and the only reason I'm going under is because like when you start looking at all of the teams you're either going over on or under on. I'm like, I got to go under on a couple of these squads.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Got to have some unders.

[Jay Skeets]

And they sort of were just like they were my pick in the end. I don't have a lot of rhyme or reason. You guys sort of made great cases to like, why can't this be a 40, 41 win team at the very least. But I'm going under on Memphis. Huge part. Just like, yeah, already coming in with your two best guys banged up, your third best guy dealt for, you know, teenagers, future draft picks. I'm talking about Desmond Baintour to Orlando. And then like all these other guys are like, I'm not as high on Ty Jerome being suddenly like this fill in placement for Desmond Bain as maybe some are. So I just think if those guys are banged up at all their main guys, somebody's got to get lose games here in the Western Conference and maybe they're on the short end of the stick. I'll go under. Don't feel confident about it. New Orleans Pelicans 3111 half. We're going lower on these skinny Zion Tas Melas. Can he not get them to 32 plus wins? They added Sadiq Bay, Looney, Jordan Poole is there. They drafted Fears with the seventh pick they drafted up to get Derek Queen. Maybe a little questionable there what they're doing, but they lost CJ McCollum, Kelly Olenek, Brandon Boston Jr. Bruce Brown. What do you think? 31 and a half. Is this a tough one for you?

[Tass Melis]

It all comes down to Zion Williamson playing basketball. As we've said before, I'm buying into the skinny Zion. Not only after all the talk and the photos of him, but he took his shirt off. Hey, when I Went in Australia for training camp. He is skinny now. It's not like six pack skinny, but skinny enough. I, I think at this point of his career now, if he's playing, then this team is way better than a 3111 half win team. He's being challenged by Joe Dumars, as he said. He said, this is, this is my guy. Joe is his guy. And I guess David Griffin didn't do that in the front office. He just feels like more, that there's more on his shoulders. He called this making this transition is what he said. So he feels like it's transition year. Am I buying into that? Well, maybe, but it wasn't about losing weight in the off season. It was about learning how to fix his butt in the regular season. Last year, because they started 6 and 24, he hurt his hamstring and he talked about what the trainer did to him to come back, eat right and all that. So it's not like, oh, it's July, I'm eating well. I think it was a whole year process and I'm buying into payoff. Yeah, 32 wins is, it's low. It is nothing. And yeah, the talent is there beside him, but it really does come down to that guy.

[Jay Skeets]

Yeah, it might be as simple as that. New Orleans also ranks last in the NBA in roster continuity according to our guy, John Schuman, who's always crunching these numbers. They, they are saying goodbye to a staggering 50% of last season's minutes. So it is big overhaul here. And dejounte Murray's not gonna be there to start the season. Trey, he's out with the torn Achilles tendon. I don't know if that means an opportunity for fears. Their seventh pick here, the rookie point, Jordan Poole. Bro, Jordan Poole is definitely a start. He was quiet in place in the column. But think, what do you, what do you think? 31 and a half.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

I think a big year for Zion. I think he'll play over 60 games this year. They've been over.500 in his career. When he plays, I just think the team stinks around Zion. Like, I don't actually think there's a lot of talent here outside of Trey Murphy and Herb Jones on the defensive end hasn't really been able to take a step on the offensive end. You look at their team last year, Murray only played 31 games, 30 for Zion and only 18 games for Brandon Ingram. So that's why their number 21 wins was so low last year. There's no incentive for this team to lose having Done. The pick swap with Atlanta and Milwaukee. I just don't really see this team being competitive in the Western Conference. That's the problem is that though they may be going into a transitional period here, if Zion's able to stay healthy, that certainly improves their outlook. But the Western Conference has gotten a lot better in the years since Zion was drafted to the Pelicans, so. So I think good that they're committing to him. He's still young enough that you can still build a team around him, but this is not a good team that is built around him.

[Jay Skeets]

But you're going over.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

No, I'm under. I'm under. 30 wins.

[Jay Skeets]

Okay, okay. I'm going just over 31 and a half. And it's very simple. If Zion, Murph and herb Jones play 60 games together, I'm not asking for a full season. 60 games. Basically three quarters. Let's call it that. I think the Pelicans win half of those games. If again, 60, all three of those guys are playing. And then they got to pick up two more wins, wins somewhere. I think they can do that. I'm going over. I'm going over. But I'm definitely banking on Zion. Stand healthy enough to be a lead guy and try and get them. Try and get them back even in. I don't even think they're going to be in the playing mix, but maybe for a couple months at least be flirting around there. I'll go just over. Just over for the Pelicans. But, yeah, I mean, it sucks that they don't have. Jordan Poole is your lead guard.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

He's your vet.

[Jay Skeets]

Yeah.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Him and Looney are your vets right now.

[Jay Skeets]

Yeah. Warriors day is coming in. Teach them how to win. Teach them how to win 32 games.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

That's true.

[Jay Skeets]

That's all we gotta do. All right, final team, San Antonio Spurs, 44 and a half. Trey, where are you going? With Wemby here back and healthy, they got Luke Cornett, Kelly Olynick, Lindy Waters. The third. Drafted Dylan Harper, Carter Bryant as well. Didn't lose a whole lot. Chris Paul's gone. Mamu Bronham, Blake Wesley.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Yep.

[Jay Skeets]

But Wemby's the main guy here. 44 and a half. Enough for 45 wins with him lead.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Only 46 games for Wemby last year, only 17 for Fox after he got traded. And they played what, like five games together, I think, including one here in Atlanta. So does a full season of Fox and Wemby, or at least playing as much as they can equal 11 more wins? Maybe. Maybe Maybe they are going to have a top 10 defense when Wemby plays, but he can't play the entire game. I do think Luke Cornett is probably the only guy they added that's going to have a positive impact this season. Dylan Harper. You never know what you're going to get from rookies. He's banged up right now. Carter Bryant seems to be a bit more of a project. I personally think Wemby will be getting MVP votes. He's at my MVP table. He was not at Tassa's MVP table officially. What about you, Skeets? You think he's going to end up there?

[Jay Skeets]

And how many we got out of the table again? Five or six. We have six. At the end of the season or will he ever take a seat at all? I think he'll pull up a seat for a majority, like a portion of the season. Okay. I don't think he'll be there at the end of the season. Well, hold on. Could be the six spot. Yeah. Yeah. I mean if they're a 45 win team. He is. Or you know, 50. Near and 50, but I'm going under, so I'll say no. I don't think they're going to win 45 points.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Yeah, me neither. I think they win 44, so I'll take the under as well. I just don't think there is a ton of talent outside of Fox and Wendy.

[Jay Skeets]

Yeah. What do you think, Tas? You saw the preseason action. You saw that Wemby block, didn't you?

[Tass Melis]

Of course. Should we factor in that Fox isn't playing right now?

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Hamstring injury.

[Tass Melis]

He's got a hamstring injury. So you say that. Well, that's worrisome, right? Although Darren Fox said they're just playing it safe. They're being the San Antonio spurs, they play everything safe. I was. He literally said I was on a treadmill running 15 miles an hour.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Hour.

[Tass Melis]

I'm fine. That's super fast. Wow, that's a four minute mile.

[Jay Skeets]

Damn.

[Tass Melis]

Now, I don't know how long he was running for. I don't know if I was running for four minutes. But the fact the injury news came out and that's how he responded, saying, I am freaking healthy. The spurs are just keeping it safe. Okay, so we don't know about him. But Dylan Harper also probably gonna miss the beginning of the year. And so it's gonna fall a lot of on Stefan Castle, Devin Vassell, Jeremy Sohan, who's played point guard before. That didn't go well. So it's going to be a lot on their support. Guys, I'm going under not just because of the injuries, but because the west is freaking tough because they haven't played together, period. You mentioned all the guys that have come in. They're young, simple as that. Other than their old center backups with Kelly Olenek and Luke Cornett out there, not sure.

[Jay Skeets]

There's too many questions though. But under ultimately, yeah, they should be.

[Tass Melis]

Competing for a play in spot. But it wouldn't be surprising to see as Trey has Victor Wembanyama at an MVP table. What year will it happen?

[Jay Skeets]

Right? I mean, if he plays enough games, he's winning defensive player of the year. That's a lock. Just has to hit the mark and then. Yeah. How many ga. I think all we're getting at is how many games do the spurs have to win for him to it be getting MVP votes? Probably. Probably like around 47, 48, I guess. Maybe like them flirting with an actual just like postseason position and avoiding the plan entirely. I guess I'd put it around there, but even then you can win that many games. Still being a plan, but I'm going under with you guys. I'm going just under. I'm excited. Everybody's excited. He had the crazy off season trained with Matt Bonner.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

That was a hilarious one to include in the people you've tricked.

[Tass Melis]

Very funny.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Matt Potter.

[Jay Skeets]

Yeah. Who was okay, who was the list? Kevin. Kevin Garnett.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Yeah.

[Jay Skeets]

Obviously he was at the temple. The Shaolin Monks.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Did he say. He definitely shouted out RA oh, yeah, yeah.

[Jay Skeets]

Hakeem Kevin Garnett and then Matt Bonner.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Bonner and RA Al.

[Jay Skeets]

Yeah.

[Tass Melis]

That's awesome.

[Jay Skeets]

That's awesome. He's already got some fire quotes in the preseason too. He's talking. Talking his shit already. He's got confidence. That'd be awesome. Look, I'll be happy as a just an NBA fan if he like levels up here in year three immediately and he's like leading his team to 50 wins.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

That's the year. That's the year that people explode in the NBA. Derrick Rose won MVP his third year right now.

[Jay Skeets]

He did lose half a year last year. Does that help him? Maybe even helps him get rest. Who knows? We'll see. Let's get our picks, our locks, I should say our Western Conference. Three locks each task. Get us started here. What are you putting your money on?

[Tass Melis]

I'm a super optimistic person. I'm taking three overs here. I'm starting with Denver. I do believe just in their squad. 55 wins is gettable for this roster. Taking them New Orleans 3111 half. It's all belief in Zion Williamson playing basketball. I'm buying. It was only two years ago where he played in 70 games. So there was one bad year last year. But to me, he figured it out through his trainer how to get right. He said, whoa, feels good to feel good. And he learned that. And so coming into this year, even though they're lacking a little bit in support staff, their support team, I think they'll be fine with Trey Murphy, an old guy eating minutes at center and Kevon Looney and. And those hungry guys like Alvarado backing up. And then in my third optimistic over pick, I'm taking the Mavericks at 41 and a half over. I think they just have enough talent to get them there. Kyrie's coming back at some point. There's. They're too stacked, so I was off. Also comfortable taking it over at a a 50 number, a 30 number and a 40 number.

[Jay Skeets]

That felt good, right?

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Nice tears.

[Jay Skeets]

The tears are you got Nuggets as that sort of elite over the Mavericks as so sort of the middle over and then the Pelicans as. That's way too low. They should be over 31 and a half.

[Tass Melis]

Yeah.

[Jay Skeets]

All right.

[Tass Melis]

I understand what people are betting under on all those. That's why. That's why this is tough.

[Jay Skeets]

That's betting. Trey, you're three Western Conference over under locks.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

California love for me. Three California teams. No crossover with tasks. That's nice. I like that. I'm taking the Clippers over 47 and a half.

[Jay Skeets]

Okay.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

I'm taking the Kings over 34 and a half.

[Jay Skeets]

Yeah.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

And I'm taking the warriors under 46.5. Those are my locks.

[Jay Skeets]

Okay. Interesting, interesting. I like. What I like about that is you like one old team you sort of believe in and the Clippers I guess to hit their over and then maybe the warriors not as much with the 46 and a half though. It's also the rest of the roster I think you're taking into consideration.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Yeah, I think the back end of the Clippers roster is better than the back end of the warriors roster. And I expect both of them to have to play their back ends a lot. Okay, a little back end chat for you.

[Jay Skeets]

Watch your nut ass. All right. I like the picks. I have one same pick and that's with you, Tess. I like the pelicans over 31 and a half. I believe in Skinny Zion as well and I went through if they just play their main guy 60 games. I think it's enough to get there. I like the wolves over 49 and a half. I'm going to lock that one in with obviously an identity coming into the season. I'm splitting the difference. If they were 49 last year and 56 there before, I think it's somewhere in the middle. I got them like at 52, 53. And I'll take an under on the champions. Reigning champions. I'm going to take the Thunder under thunder under 62 and a half. That's high, man. That's high. They're awesome. I love watching them. I think they'll just be closer to the 60 win mark than hitting 63 plus. So Pelicans over Wolves over Thunder under.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Thunder under.

[Jay Skeets]

Those are our locks. Let's hear from you out there either on YouTube right now. Let us know in the comments section. Podcast listeners, you can let us know on Spotify. You know you can comment on Spotify even jumping in there. Yeah, nice. Yeah. People commenting on the show. It's sort of cool because you just comment on each show. I like that part. It's like no different than the YouTube comments.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

I just like YouTube.

[Jay Skeets]

So let's hear your picks there. People that listen on Apple. I don't know. You can't do it there. So that's fine. Tweet at us o dunksync.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

I mean you can leave reviews on Apple still.

[Jay Skeets]

You can leave reviews. Yeah, yeah, just I meant you can't comment on each show. True. Yeah, true.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

What do you think is better?

[Tass Melis]

Spotify is more of a chat almost. Almost call it chat. It seems like Apple, it's harder to get in there and leave a review.

[Jay Skeets]

So I find it, I do find it a little easier on Spotify. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Tass Melis]

That's all I gotta say.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

But I like, I like the long lasting nature of the Apple review.

[Tass Melis]

Bees. Oh yeah. Totally different.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Because you're never gonna go back to a show from three weeks ago to check the comments.

[Tass Melis]

No. Never.

[Jay Skeets]

No. You've got 24 hours for me to check.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

That's right.

[Jay Skeets]

Your comments in right away. But let's hear who you guys think your favorites when it comes to the Western Conference over under locks. Make sure you go check out Monday's Eastern Conference over under locks. We did. All 15 teams obviously went through them all. Made our cases and then made our picks for our locks at the end of that. So that is up on YouTube. YouTube obviously in your podcast feed as well. So go check that out. We're back on Friday here from the classic Factory 2.0 with a fun one for you guys. We're gonna do a draft first time All Stars draft. Okay. Potential first time All Stars.

[Tass Melis]

Oh, we have to factor in the new format.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Yes, you do.

[Jay Skeets]

Oh, yes you do. I totally forgot about it. Boy. Yeah, that's gonna make things tricky. But we'll be drafting first time All Stars. I don't know how many rounds you guys want to do. Four or five or something like that.

[Tass Melis]

I don't think the NBA is factoring it in. We'll get. They don't know what they're doing with it.

[Jay Skeets]

You're right. They're just like decided we're playing world.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Versus playing world versus America.

[Jay Skeets]

Well, yeah.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

America.

[Jay Skeets]

Yeah. Oh yeah. Right, right, right. Anyway, that's on Friday show. Can't wait for that. So join us live at 10am Eastern here on YouTube. Otherwise podcast desk gets flipped very quickly by super producer JD all right, till Friday. Clipper Rose.

[Tass Melis]

You heard it here first.

[Jay Skeets]

Have a great time.

[Tass Melis]

Turn up.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Love you guys. Awesome.

[Tass Melis]

Thanks for joining us. And Remember, there are 1230 NBA regular season games played every single year. I could go into the odds and all that right now, but it's too, too late. No, not going to do it. But the Western Conference, far more wins projected than the Eastern Conference. They still play the same amount of games. You know what I mean? Maybe if we have an expert from a company to come assist. Basically they're saying that less games are going to be won in general.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

I mean, according to sense, Right?

[Tass Melis]

What do you mean?

[Jay Skeets]

But the Western Conference.

[Trey Cooper Flag]

Yeah.

[Jay Skeets]

Probably have a better record against the Eastern Conference.

[Tass Melis]

Yeah. No, but overall the Western Conference seems add up to 615 wins. About 615 wins. While the Eastern Conference adds up to like 597 or something. So you add those up, that's like 1210. This is gonna be like 20 games and no one wins.

[Jay Skeets]

Oh, I mean, whatever.

[Tass Melis]

You know, that's not how it works. But anyway, moving on.

[Jay Skeets]

Alright, we'll see you guys Friday. Embrace the day, people.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons N Safeway this fall. Take care of the little ones in the family with Baby Club Savings now through November 4, spend $25 on select Baby Club products and save $5. Shop for items like Pedias.

[Jay Skeets]

Sure.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Bottles, Pedialyte, powder packs, Huggies, baby wipes, Huggies diapers, Gerber puffs and Gerber pouches. And save $5 when you buy $25 or more. More on participating products. Offer ends November 4th. Restrictions apply. Offers may vary. Visit albertsons or safeway.com for more details.

[Tass Melis]

Thursday Night Football is on and it's only on Prime Video.

[Jay Skeets]

You better look out. You better get ready.

[Tass Melis]

This week it's a rivalry renewed as the Philadelphia Eagles take on the New York Giants. Coverage begins at 7pm Eastern with Football's Best Party TNF tonight presented by various Horizon Not a Prime member? Not a problem. Simply sign up for a 30 day free trial. It's the Eagles and the giants Thursday at 7pm Eastern, only on Prime Video. Restrictions apply. See Amazon.com Amazon prime for details.

[Jay Skeets]

In the heat of battle, your squad relies on you.

[Tass Melis]

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