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- [00:00]
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- [01:55]
Dave DeFore
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily presented by Amazon prime for January 26, 2026. I'm Dave DeFore here with Esperaheny and Zena Keta. Coming up, the Thunder lose again. We're going to dive into that game. The Knicks pick up a big win and we're going to draft the All Star reserves on Vibe. Good morning, everybody. Hey, what's up guys? Hope you're doing okay. Look, this is supposed to be a fun show. The the entire idea about it is if you're riding with your kids in the car, you can put it on. But we're going to talk about Minneapolis for a second. So if you haven't had a chance to talk to your kids about it, feel free to skip ahead a couple minutes. We're going to get to the Game that happened really shortly, but the game was postponed in Minneapolis between the warriors and the Timberwolves on Saturday because federal agents killed Alex Preddy in the streets as he was peacefully observing and actually protecting two women from his community, from those federal agents. So the. The Timberwolves and the NBA decided to postpone the game a day.
- [03:03]
Esperaheny
Yep.
- [03:04]
Dave DeFore
And it gave us a chance to collect our thoughts a little bit. We got a chance to hear from Chris Finch, Steve Kerr. Many of the players around the NBA have expressed their sentiments about what's happening in Minneapolis. And of course, we send our. Our thoughts, our prayers, and our support to the people in Minneapolis and to the family of Alex Freddy. But there was a basketball game.
- [03:30]
Esperaheny
Yeah.
- [03:31]
Dave DeFore
And again, that's our job here. So we want to pivot to the game. And it wasn't much of a game because, frankly, both teams seemed like they didn't want to be there.
- [03:40]
Esperaheny
Guys. Yeah. I mean, even post game, Steve Kerr said that it just felt like two teams that had no interest in playing a basketball game. And you saw that from the onset, the turnovers, the lackadaisical play. Obviously the warriors win this game, but it just didn't feel like any of them really had any intention of playing a basketball game. And I. I can't blame them, truthfully, because of what's happening. And so the Timberwolves post game, you could hear it from Chris Finch, you could hear it from Anthony Edwards. Julius Randall also spoke on, you know, the aspect of community and how important it's been for. For Minneapolis over the last, you know, five, six years and what that community has gone through. It's just. It's. It's tough. It's tough.
- [04:24]
Zena Keta
Yeah. You could tell from a Warriors perspective, sure. You go, you get your first win since Jimmy Butler goes down, and you're happy about that. You're happy about the fact that Stephen Curry was able to walk back to the locker room. Three minutes left on the clock in the fourth quarter. Yeah, but how much does this win tell you about your team? Not much. Both teams felt really dilapidated. And when you think about it, sure, of course, Minnesota's already feeling this because this is their community. But the workers had been there for a while. Like coaches. I saw content from coaches on January 23, when Minnesota had their ice out protest. So they had been there for a while, and they had been in the midst of everything that was going on in terms of the tension and just also the cold of Minnesota, the physical cold of Minnesota. So it just. It's one of those wins where it's like it, it's good for the record. It, it's good maybe for morale long term when you're thinking about the numbers and stacking up in the, in the playoffs conversation. But in the moment, it's not one of those like rah rah type of wins.
- [05:25]
Esperaheny
And by the way, they have to play again like on Monday.
- [05:27]
Dave DeFore
That's right, play again tonight. And the fifth straight loss for the Wolves, who, you know, they, we talked about how good they've been since Thanksgiving. Things kind of falling apart here, you know, the last week or so, week and a half or so. I wonder why. Maybe, you know, just mine. Not quite on the basketball court. You never know after the game. I, I thought that the, what Chris Finch had to say about his team, you know, he called it a ghost performance. And I mean, frankly, yeah, it was. They, they, they had no energy out there. I, I think a lot of this we could probably chalk up to the routine being thrown off these guys. You know, obviously it's a delicate balance from day to day, especially energy wise and having an extra day to sit and, and think about the world around you probably didn't help them too much. Yeah.
- [06:14]
Esperaheny
And you, I mean, like also the way that sports, how important sports is in a moment like this, especially for them, it just, it's secondary compared to everything else that's happening. So you can't, I mean, the majority.
- [06:26]
Dave DeFore
Of the questions being about your neighbors, you know, being kidnapped off the street or being shot in the street when they're protesting or observing. I think that that would kind of ruin the mood for me as an athlete if I had to go and try to perform. But anyway, again, thoughts of Minneapolis and hopefully everybody is better tomorrow. Okay. The Thunder, they've lost two straight games at home. S. Yeah, I didn't think the Raptors had it in them. You know, this is a team that is. We like what they're doing, but we don't believe that they're this good. I thought that they looked great against the Thunder.
- [07:05]
Esperaheny
Yeah, this. Obviously the Thunder are missing a bunch of players and Jalen Williams and you know, Case and Wallace even left the game halfway through. A.J. mitchell, Isaiah Hartenstein. So this is an injured Thunder team, but they still had sga, still had Chet Holmgren and truthfully guys, I think this was the best win of the season for the Raptors. They've had a couple of signature moments, a couple of good wins against, you know, the Sixers and the Cavaliers this year. But I, I think by far out executing OKC in the clutch, having this massive moment for Scotty Barnes, who got a clutch block on Chet Holmgren. Back to back three sealed the game. Yeah, absolutely sealed the game. Yeah. Back to back clutch threes for Emmanuel Quickley. They have some of their rotation guys playing a little bit better. And not to mention, the Raptors are also dealing with injuries. The fact that this team went 4:1 on their west coast road trip, I've kind of, in my own way labeled this trip their moment of truth. It was like, let's see what this team is made of. And for them to go four and one on this trip despite the injuries that they're dealing with, despite not having their starting center, Yaka Purdle, I think it's a. It's a wildly impressive win.
- [08:15]
Dave DeFore
They're getting home court weather, though. You know, the entire south of America is, like, blanketed in snow and freezing weather. And I mean, they probably just walk in there and they're like, oh, it's like a home gym.
- [08:28]
Zena Keta
It felt a little bit like that for them. I'm sure they had to. But okc, they. They got to figure this out. Like, I. I'll take the OKC end of this. I mean, yes, we've seen that this team has had some injuries and had some absences since the beginning of the season when they were still dominating. They didn't have Jalen Williams. Right. So we're looking at this depleted front court. And we saw, yes, that. That Raptors were able to take advantage of it, but it wasn't even just the front court. The rotations were slow.
- [08:57]
Esperaheny
Yeah.
- [08:57]
Zena Keta
Right. Like, it felt as if without. You had no Caruso on the wing, you had no Jalen Williams on the wing. So you're missing your primary wing defenders. You don't have Isaiah Hartenstein inside the paint. So their defense looked immediately, they. It looked like porous. It looked like it had some gaps. They were not rotating as well. And shout out to Toronto for taking advantage. But I. I can't give an excuse for okc. You've had absences before.
- [09:25]
Esperaheny
Yeah.
- [09:25]
Zena Keta
Why can't, you know, you. Why are you not able to adjust? Basically, yeah.
- [09:30]
Esperaheny
This is also the deepest team in the NBA. Like, I had a couple people on Twitter say, like, how is this the best win of the Raptors season? This is the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder.
- [09:40]
Dave DeFore
Yeah, listen, they're not. They're down, they're not out. And frankly, I think the bigger problem, guys, is that, you know, they shot 26% from three. Yeah, yeah. This three point shooting, they are 11 for 43. This is the, the crux of the issue for them. They, they are a great defense. I mean, they held the Raptors to 103 points. Okay, it's not like the Raptors lit the world on fire, but the inability to score and it came up down the stretch for them. I mean, Chad Holmgren on that shot where he's blocked by, by Scotty Barnes, I mean, I think he makes a bad decision there. You know, you got 35 seconds left, you have the ball. He had, he had what I thought was a decent look from three that he probably should have pulled on. But then he tries to drive, he gets stonewalled and instead of kicking it out and resetting, he takes to an ill advised mid Ranger that he wasn't ready for. Which is why Scotty was able to get to it and get the rebound and close the game out. I just think there's some stuff with their offense where they're generating three pointers. They're just not dropping. And until those shots start to fall, I mean, I'm not worried about first.
- [10:42]
Esperaheny
Time since November of 2023 they've lost back to back home.
- [10:47]
Dave DeFore
Wow.
- [10:48]
Esperaheny
Which is pretty absurd in its own right as a stat. I mean, look, of course the injury aspect is important and Xena to your point, like missing Caruso and J Dub on the wings and Hartenstein inside, it's massive. But we've seen this team problem solve more. And to lose to the Pacers the way they did and now to the Raptors, which is obviously a better team than the Pacers. It's like they don't have that same punch to them that they had to start this year when they went 24 and 1. It just, it feels a little bit different.
- [11:22]
Dave DeFore
Also, it was down to dunk night last night.
- [11:25]
Esperaheny
Maybe that's a jinx.
- [11:26]
Dave DeFore
A lot of disappointed fans getting their photo taken on the court after that one. They saw history again. Two, two losses in a row at home for the first time since 2023. Hey, so the Knicks, the sky has been falling for them. We've been all over this. They're going to have to trade cat all of these other things. They get a big win over the Sixers, who we've been pretty high on here recently. Yeah, 112, 109. Jalen Brunson seals the deal with a steal, which you never would have imagined. You know, the game is, is sealed by Brunson with a defensive play. He had 31 points. I, I think the biggest story to come out of this because the Knicks, The Knicks should beat the Sixers. They are, on paper, at least, a better basketball team. But the way that the Knicks closed this game out, S. Yeah, it's a new lineup for them. Carl Anthony Towns, he fouled out in 16 minutes. He only gave him 10 points and six rebounds. Just was not, was not there for them in the game. But they might have stumbled onto a little bit of lineup magic.
- [12:25]
Esperaheny
Yeah. So Mike Brown mentioned this post game, and this was the first time, I believe, in basically all of the season that they went ultra small. So it was no Carl Anthony Towns in there, no Mitchell Robinson in there. They went OG Anunoby at the five with Deuce McBride, Landry Shamut Jackson, Jalen Brunson and I. I think that small ball lineup really made it so that Joel Embiid, who likes to camp out in the paint, they don't, they don't want to put Joel in space whatsoever. Especially because he hasn't been the greatest on defense this year. That lineup made it so that they could play five out. The three point shooting was there. Shaman knocked down a clutch three. OG knocked down a clutch three. Their offensive rebounding got juiced because of it too. So I just.
- [13:08]
Dave DeFore
And embiid isn't, isn't 100% yet, so he can't punish you for that. Yeah, of course OG Was able to, to hold up.
- [13:15]
Esperaheny
Yeah. And look, by the way, Embiid had an incredible offensive game. He did 38 points, 11 rebounds, five assists. Like, he. He looks more and more like the MVP version of himself on offense, but on defense, you can still kind of target and make things difficult for him. I thought that Nick small ball unit was interesting though. I wonder if they lean on that more as the season progresses. Especially because I still think the frontcore stuff they're trying to figure out between Robinson and Cat, it doesn't. It's just not there yet when both of those guys are on the floor. And so you got to stagger them. How do those lineups work when you stagger them more often? I don't know.
- [13:48]
Zena Keta
And then there's something to be said about, you know, inserting Ariel Horti in there and utilizing his youth and his excitement. I think on defense, I think that that fatigued Joel a little bit in the second half too. Like, I, I really like the fact that, you know, we've been talking about Joel Embiid being back. I like the fact that we, we still are seeing him be dominant. Um, right now he's just got to put two halves together. Now, Right. Because that game was a tale of two halves. He did phenomenal in that first half and he got tired even leading down to that turnover that pretty, pretty much sealed the game. So I, I really, I think that Joel Embiid's on the right track, but from a new New York Knicks perspective, you've got a rotation there that's starting to show up that without Cat between Mitchell Robinson, OG Anunoby and Ariel Hook, Porti of people that can wear you down, wear some bigs down. And I think that that's really big for Mike Brown to stumble upon. But Jalen Brunson. Doing Jalen Brunson things is really what got these. Them in. Back in the game like that 15 and a run. I believe it was like in the third quarter.
- [14:50]
Dave DeFore
Yeah.
- [14:51]
Zena Keta
That he had like. I mean, he was, he was ridiculous in the second half. And it was basically, Joel Embiid sputtered right when Jalen Brunson picked up.
- [14:58]
Dave DeFore
Right.
- [14:59]
Esperaheny
Just want to mention, by the way, Raptors and Knicks, they play on Wednesday in a Eastern Conference battle. It's for the battle of the third seed.
- [15:08]
Zena Keta
I love it. And you know what? If the Knicks do what they did against the Sixers, like, they finally handled all of these things that we've been talking about have been a struggle for them, like getting on the boards. Like, they handled the boards against Philly. They out rebounded them 53, 37. And this was a crazy stat. 26 second chance points compared to 4 for the Sixers.
- [15:30]
Esperaheny
Like, yeah, no, Mitchell is like the greatest of all time.
- [15:34]
Zena Keta
He is.
- [15:34]
Dave DeFore
He really is amazing.
- [15:35]
Zena Keta
We just hadn't seen that consistently recently, so that's good.
- [15:38]
Dave DeFore
This is what's been missing for the Knicks is all this offensive rebounding. You know, Tom Thibodeau, people focus a lot on his defensive philosophies, but his offensive rebounding philosophy is what made that team. I mean, go back, if you guys are listening, go back and read Fred Katz in the last couple years writing about this team and offense rebounding. And James Edwards, I believe, did a big deep dive last year, too. That's back and I. That's super important for them. But the big thing that's missing for Embiid is that rebounding. So it was a little bit of a perfect storm here. And I think that I'm hoping by the time we get to playoff time, we get to see Embiid back to being dominant on the glass. If that happens. I mean, the Sixers, they could pretty much beat anybody.
- [16:16]
Esperaheny
Yeah.
- [16:16]
Dave DeFore
Guys, stick around after the break. We're going to draft the All Star reserves.
- [16:27]
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- [16:45]
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- [17:16]
Adam Grant
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- [18:08]
Dave DeFore
Guys, let's have a little bit of fun and draft the 2026 NBA All Star reserves without any care about the format. We don't care if you're a world player. We don't care if you're an American player. I don't care if you're from Antarctica. You're just eligible to be drafted here. Guys, we've got five starters announced for the east and west, so we're going to kind of stick to that. I'm going to be the arbiter here. I'll be the Mark Tatum of the show. Shout out to Mark. Shout out to listening to the show and you guys are going to go back and forth and draft. And since I'm the boss, I'm going to say Xena goes first.
- [18:44]
Zena Keta
Okay, well, if you listen to the show recently, you heard me already advocate for this player to have been a starter because his players, his fellow players, considered him in the top four of players you do not want to face. So Anthony Edwards is my first pick. Check.
- [19:02]
Dave DeFore
It's a great Pick. He should be an All Star starter. Where do you go first?
- [19:06]
Esperaheny
I think it's fair. I think there's another guy on the east that could have easily been an All Star starter. That is Donovan Mitchell. The Cleveland Cavaliers spite has been awesome. He's basically been the one massive bright spot for the Cavs this year. He's averaging nearly 30.
- [19:23]
Dave DeFore
Cavs might be back. They get the big win over the Magic over the weekend. He had, what, 36 in that or something like that?
- [19:29]
Esperaheny
He's been insane as a scorer this year. I mean, it's not even great, too. Yep.
- [19:33]
Dave DeFore
All right, Zena, you're up. Pick number two.
- [19:36]
Zena Keta
Just because I feel like for the messiness, I am going to make Chet Holmgren and Victor Weyama teammates. Oh, they're going to be on the same team. And we're going to see what happens with. These two are not dueling against each other, but rather teaming up. And what do those two towers look like together?
- [19:57]
Dave DeFore
That would be pretty fun.
- [19:58]
Zena Keta
I feel like it'd be honest.
- [19:59]
Dave DeFore
I would actually like to see that. A real basketball game. Talk about defensive motor and then, you know, like Wemby behind you.
- [20:07]
Esperaheny
I kind of want them to eventually be teammates somewhere. It won't be on an international scale like they did with Bird and Magic, you know, but somewhere, somehow, they need to be teammates.
- [20:17]
Zena Keta
Yeah.
- [20:17]
Esperaheny
Okay.
- [20:18]
Zena Keta
This is.
- [20:19]
Esperaheny
This is where it gets a little bit interesting. I feel like there's a bit of a separation here.
- [20:23]
Zena Keta
I.
- [20:24]
Esperaheny
You know what? The Nuggets have been very, very good this year. Missing Nikola Jokic for feel, what feels like a month, almost a month. Jamal Murray has been humming as a score, as a playmaker. Of course, Peyton Watson is a big part of that, but I'm going to take Jamal. I think Jamal is the guy.
- [20:43]
Dave DeFore
Peyton Watson's a big part of. Jamal Murray having an all star season was even. Someone has to pass.
- [20:51]
Esperaheny
Someone has to pass the ball.
- [20:53]
Dave DeFore
Just letting you know, the biggest difference for me this year between years past with. With Jamal Murray, he came into. He came in out of camp in shape, like, started the season in shape. And I think some of the stuff they were doing during the off season obviously built some chemistry. Nuggets look so good. All right, Zena. Pick number three, Anthony Edwards and Chet Holgren so far as.
- [21:16]
Zena Keta
Yeah, I feel like I'm starting strong and my next pick. I want a first timer. Okay. And I. I was going.
- [21:24]
Dave DeFore
Vibes draft, by the way.
- [21:26]
Zena Keta
Just throw it out.
- [21:26]
Babbel Advertiser
Yeah.
- [21:26]
Zena Keta
You know, trying to.
- [21:27]
Dave DeFore
Yeah, yeah.
- [21:27]
Zena Keta
Try to make it so that this person Feels good and welcome. They're going to be joining Stephen Curry.
- [21:32]
Esperaheny
Right.
- [21:32]
Zena Keta
Like, and I think that there's something to be said about getting somebody acclimated. Well, acclimated and so I'm in. Thompson, come on over. Come on down.
- [21:41]
Dave DeFore
Wow. Yeah.
- [21:42]
Esperaheny
Over Shangoon. Okay.
- [21:45]
Dave DeFore
I'm going out into making a squad here.
- [21:47]
Esperaheny
This is a vibe. Okay. I like it. Wow.
- [21:51]
Dave DeFore
All right.
- [21:52]
Zena Keta
We're going to have some acrobatic dunks on my side.
- [21:55]
Dave DeFore
Okay.
- [21:55]
Babbel Advertiser
Wow.
- [21:56]
Dave DeFore
Yeah.
- [21:56]
Commercial Announcer
Okay.
- [21:57]
Zena Keta
Yeah.
- [21:58]
Esperaheny
Okay. Speaking of first time All Stars, this guy has been incredible for the Atlanta Hawks triple double machine. Oh, he has been, like, genuinely, if you look at the most improved race, feels like he's probably going to win. And Dave. Yes, that's right. This is the 10th guy I've mentioned over the last two weeks for most improved player. But Jalen Johnson is going to be an All Star this year, and he rightfully will be. I think he's a lock for the Eastern Conference to be an All Star reserve.
- [22:27]
Dave DeFore
So, I mean, he didn't force Trae Young out of town, but he allowed the Hawks to make the Trey Young trade. Yeah.
- [22:32]
Esperaheny
He is now their franchise player. Like, they committed to him because of the season that he's had. Absolutely.
- [22:37]
Zena Keta
I like it. I'm with it. I'm with it. You stole that one from me. I ain't gonna lie. I wanted Jalen Johnson. I'm a big, big Jalen Johnson.
- [22:45]
Esperaheny
You're going for the athletes. I saw that.
- [22:46]
Zena Keta
I saw that. You see it. Okay, well, on that note, you steal from me, I steal from us. I'm representing who you're.
- [22:59]
Esperaheny
I'm just saying.
- [23:01]
Dave DeFore
We're just picking by players.
- [23:03]
Zena Keta
I just read east west of my document. I was like, wait, wait, wait.
- [23:06]
Esperaheny
Hold on.
- [23:06]
Zena Keta
Okay, perfect. I still. You still for me. I still from you. Scotty Bars, come on down.
- [23:10]
Dave DeFore
Oh, no, no. I can't believe Scotty Barnes wasn't S's first pick.
- [23:18]
Zena Keta
Let me get through three without.
- [23:20]
Esperaheny
We are NBA analysts. All right, listen, this is.
- [23:23]
Dave DeFore
It is true.
- [23:24]
Commercial Announcer
I.
- [23:24]
Dave DeFore
Hey, listen, as we talked about Scotty Barnes, the. The block on chat that really sealed the deal in the. In the win last night. I mean, how many rebounds did he.
- [23:33]
Zena Keta
Have in that one game? As 20.
- [23:34]
Esperaheny
Yeah. Wilt Chamberlain type numbers.
- [23:37]
Dave DeFore
And I will say, also Scotty Barnes, super jacked. Now they showed a shot of him on the bench. And I mean, he looks bigger than Giannis. Jalen Durham, huge.
- [23:49]
Esperaheny
Scotty Barnes, like, they do have the same.
- [23:51]
Zena Keta
They have the same workout thing.
- [23:52]
Esperaheny
Yeah.
- [23:54]
Dave DeFore
Where someone's gonna say, hey, Scotty Barnes, stay out of the weight room for a couple weeks.
- [23:58]
T Mobile/US Cellular Advertiser
Like, just.
- [23:59]
Zena Keta
Or.
- [23:59]
Dave DeFore
Or we don't need to take it out here.
- [24:02]
Esperaheny
Yeah.
- [24:02]
Dave DeFore
Hey, can I.
- [24:04]
LinkedIn Jobs Advertiser
It. The.
- [24:04]
Esperaheny
The Raptors are a top five defense with Scotty Barnes being probably, if not their only one of their only good defenders. That is a testament to how much he's done.
- [24:19]
Dave DeFore
Yeah, he's amazing. He's all over as. Where are you going?
- [24:22]
Esperaheny
Oh, right. It's my pick. Okay. All right. Oh, okay. I got to go back into my west bag here. He just got hurt. But this team is overachieving expectations wise. He has been an incredible score. He's gotten back into his number one option bag. The Suns are rolling. Devin Booker is my pick here. I think he should be an All Star. Absolutely.
- [24:46]
Zena Keta
That's a great pick.
- [24:47]
Dave DeFore
You don't. You don't think Dylan Brooks is the reason that the Suns are so good?
- [24:50]
Esperaheny
He's been a reason their defense has been so good. I will say that. Absolutely. But I don't think he's making the All Star team.
- [24:57]
Dave DeFore
Honestly. I wonder if he's going to be in three point shooting contest.
- [25:01]
Esperaheny
I would like to see that.
- [25:03]
Dave DeFore
No, you're the only person outside of Dylan Brooks that would want to see Dylan Brooks in the three point shooting contest. All right, Xena, you're up.
- [25:10]
Zena Keta
This is getting a little bit difficult now. I'm not gonna lie. Oh, you know what? No, it ain't. I'm going international. Danny Abdia, come on down.
- [25:20]
Dave DeFore
I knew that was coming.
- [25:21]
Zena Keta
Yeah, I love me a little bit, Debbie. And I think he'll. I think he's going to be a really good, like, show giver.
- [25:28]
Esperaheny
Right.
- [25:29]
Zena Keta
There's certain All Stars. Like, Steph gets it. LeBron, they get it. Like, they've done this so long, they understand what it's like to put on a show.
- [25:37]
Esperaheny
Yeah.
- [25:38]
Zena Keta
We see Denny Avdo put on shows just because he's trying to win games. Not tricky because he's trying to be an All Star. So I feel like. I wonder what that's going to look like when he's just like in the.
- [25:46]
Dave DeFore
Mode when he's on the court. Other guys on the other team are going to go hard against him. Like, I see that in games, like, players tend to go. And I feel like it's because when he drives, he's so physical.
- [25:59]
Esperaheny
He's incredibly.
- [26:00]
Dave DeFore
Pisses you off.
- [26:01]
Zena Keta
Yeah.
- [26:02]
Dave DeFore
And so you want to kind of get him back on the other end when you get a chance to. Yeah. All right. Ask who you got.
- [26:08]
Esperaheny
How many more picks do I even have here 1, 2.
- [26:11]
Dave DeFore
You have 3 picks left.
- [26:12]
Esperaheny
Three picks left. Okay. All right. The Pistons have the second best record in the league. I've talked so much about how important this player is to what the Pistons want to do. Jalen Duran is an All Star this year. Of course he's improved defensively. The offense is there. Him and Kate Cunningham are one of the best connections in the NBA. He's also been creating for himself.
- [26:33]
Dave DeFore
Some of his stuff off the dribble has been surprising this year.
- [26:36]
Esperaheny
It's been huge. So he's up for. He's going to get a massive extension this summer, and he's also going to be an All Star, so Jalen down.
- [26:44]
Zena Keta
Okay.
- [26:44]
Dave DeFore
All right, Zena 2. Only two picks left for you yet.
- [26:47]
Zena Keta
Yeah. And I need some bigs. I need some bigs asap, so.
- [26:55]
Babbel Advertiser
I.
- [26:56]
Zena Keta
Think I gotta go. My guy, Bam.
- [27:01]
Commercial Announcer
Ooh.
- [27:03]
Esperaheny
Over his teammates.
- [27:04]
Dave DeFore
Now, this is shocking because I don't think Bam is an All Star this year.
- [27:09]
Zena Keta
I. I know. And, you know.
- [27:12]
Esperaheny
Okay, what about year 23, Zena?
- [27:15]
Zena Keta
Okay, so question, question, question, question. When you say over his teammate, I know you're. You're talking about Norm.
- [27:20]
Esperaheny
Yeah, yeah, yeah, of course. I know you need bigs. I know you need biggs.
- [27:23]
Zena Keta
And that's the other thing. And I agree with you. I do. Do. I do think that the likes of Con Knippel, Bam Adebayo, like, some of those guys are going to be on the outskirts of this conversation. He's been great defensively, so, Yeah, I already have, Nicola. That's why I don't want Alpern. Right.
- [27:41]
Esperaheny
I don't.
- [27:41]
Zena Keta
I don't want the two of them together. I would like to see them go up against each other. That would be fun. But alas. So that's why I'm going with Bam.
- [27:49]
Dave DeFore
I'm stretching styles, make fights.
- [27:51]
Zena Keta
Yeah.
- [27:51]
Dave DeFore
I'm out of bio. Next to Jokic would honestly be kind of awesome.
- [27:55]
Zena Keta
Yeah, it would.
- [27:56]
Dave DeFore
It would be anything that allows Bam to not have to try to create a shot.
- [28:00]
Babbel Advertiser
All right.
- [28:01]
Dave DeFore
S. Europe. Okay.
- [28:05]
Esperaheny
Man, this is tough because there are guys who, like, off of reputation, you know, Maybe this is LeBron James's last all Star game. He actually said he wouldn't even show up if he made the team.
- [28:19]
Dave DeFore
Well, he's doing the I'm old and into golf thing now, so, you know, he's got to be like, hey, weekend off.
- [28:25]
Esperaheny
I kind of want to reward a younger guy because he doesn't seem like he's all that into it this year. So I'M going to. I'm going to go ahead and give it to Sengun because Sengun is, you know, why not give it to the younger guy? The Rockets have been awesome this year. He is admittedly not scoring as effectively as he was last season, but I still think he's putting up All Star numbers. We'll put Shangu in there.
- [28:50]
Zena Keta
I like it. I'm with it.
- [28:51]
Dave DeFore
All right, Zeno, last pick.
- [28:53]
Zena Keta
Oh, man. I think to close it out, I'm going to go with a guy that absolutely loves to put on a show, especially if the right audience member is sitting courtside. And that's going to be OG Anunoby. Come on down. All righty. OG Plays defense, he can score, and, you know, he's just a fun time. I, I really, I'm getting OG Because I feel like the interviews would be great on press row, so. OG Anunoby, let's go.
- [29:27]
Dave DeFore
OG Anunoby, All Star. All right.
- [29:30]
Esperaheny
I mean, look, I, I think, I think I could argue that he deserves it over Katie, you know, and I just, Especially with how Cat has played recently. I think in the Knicks should get a second All Star conversation. He leaps Cat in that.
- [29:46]
Dave DeFore
I'm personally not involved in that conversation. I think they only have one All Star. Yeah, Yeah, I agree.
- [29:54]
Zena Keta
I agree with that.
- [29:55]
Esperaheny
Okay, so this is my last spot, right? This is, this is interesting because I can be. I can be the guy to give LeBron James an all Star spot here, but I'm not going to be the guy to give LeBron James an all Star spot.
- [30:09]
Dave DeFore
Wow.
- [30:11]
Zena Keta
I really thought you would. I thought we were. I know I'm tempted on one side, Lebron on the other, but. All right.
- [30:18]
Dave DeFore
But I also. You know what?
- [30:20]
Esperaheny
I'm gonna give it to Norm Powell.
- [30:22]
Dave DeFore
I was about to say, okay, somebody put a third L in Norm Powell's name in our doc and I, I. He can't take a fourth L by not getting picked here for the All Star game.
- [30:33]
Esperaheny
I mean, we kind of talked about it already, but I do think if the Heat get an All Star, Norm should be the guy.
- [30:38]
Zena Keta
I agree.
- [30:39]
Esperaheny
His scoring has been massive for what they've needed. And I know they've struggled on the offensive end overall, but he's just so important to what they do offensively. The shooting is important, the off ball scoring is important. He's putting up All Star level numbers, especially in the Eastern Conference. I think he will get rewarded. So, yeah, Norm, get the lifetime achievement All Star. Why not? You know, let's do it.
- [31:03]
Dave DeFore
Oh, man. Okay. So Let me, let me read these off. For Xena, we got Anthony Edwards, Chet Holmgren, Amen Thompson, Scotty Barnes, Denny Abdia, Bam. Out of bio, OG Anunoby. And for S we have Donovan Mitchell, Jamal Murray, Jalen Johnson, Devin Booker, Jalen Duran, Alper and Shangoon. And who was the last one?
- [31:23]
Esperaheny
Norm Powell.
- [31:24]
Dave DeFore
Norm Powell. There we go, guys. Let us know in the comments who drafted better. Also the snubs.
- [31:31]
Esperaheny
Oh, there's so many of them.
- [31:33]
Dave DeFore
Literally legendary. Lebron James.
- [31:35]
Zena Keta
I know.
- [31:35]
Dave DeFore
Kawhi Leonard, who's been great. James Markkanen, Pascal Siakam. Not even mentioned. Yeah. In any of this, man. S just failing his people left and right.
- [31:46]
Esperaheny
Norm Powell is a former raptor. Yeah.
- [31:50]
Dave DeFore
All right, guys, that's going to do it. For today's show, Brzena, Keda and Esperahenny. I'm Dave Dufour and this has been the NBA Daily. Take care of yourselves and each other.
- [32:24]
Esperaheny
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