Can the Thunder Repeat? + Post All Star Break Leap Team | Slam N Jam

Summary

The Athletic NBA Daily: "Can the Thunder Repeat? + Post All-Star Break Leap Team" | Slam N Jam

Date: February 21, 2026
Hosts: Andrew Schlecht, Alex Spears
Guest: Ryland Stiles (Locked On Thunder, OKC Dream Team)

Episode Overview

This week’s Slam N’ Jam is packed with analysis of post All-Star break NBA storylines—including the surprisingly excellent All-Star Game format, the real contenders in a wide-open season, Detroit's dominance against elite teams, and an in-depth check-in on the Oklahoma City Thunder: their depth, injuries, player development, and playoff outlook. Plus, the annual "Post All-Star Break Leap Team" predictions and a round of Thunder trivia!

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1. Key Discussion Points & Insights

NBA Weekly Recap: All-Star Break & Notable Games

[02:53–10:49]

• All-Star Game Revamp: New format is a success, with competitive, closely contested games, driven by Victor Wembanyama’s energy.

  • “Each of the first three games was close, came down to clutch shots from Scotty Barnes, De'Aaron Fox and Kawhi Leonard… best All-Star game I can remember in a long time.” – Andrew, [02:53]

• Saturday Night Highlights:

  • 3-Point Contest: Dame Lillard wins third title, promises to recruit Steph & Klay next year.
  • Dunk Contest: Jace Richardson's scary fall; Miami’s Kashad Johnson wins; Mac McClung shines with creative dunks for Bleacher Report.
  • Funniest Moment: Blazers’ rookie Yang Hansen, through a reluctant translator—“I can’t wait to kiss [Jokic].” [05:20]

• Kevin Durant “Burner Scandal, Part 2”: DM leaks with trashtalking, but KD shrugs it off.

• Notable Games:

  • Detroit Pistons dominate Knicks again, even shorthanded.
  • Clippers edge Nuggets, with Benedict Mathurin’s breakout (38 points in home debut after trade from the Pacers).
  • Pistons’ Cade Cunningham drops 42/8/13; Paul Reed fills in for missing Detroit bigs after brawl suspensions.

• Tanking Update:

  • Commissioner Adam Silver hints at major anti-tanking reforms: new lottery odds proposals, limits on consecutive high picks, etc.
  • “Some of these ideas just seem mean to the Pacers!” [08:14]

The Good, The Bad, The What: Around the NBA

[11:09–42:30]

The Good

[11:29–17:59]

• Andrew: The NBA season is wide open—key injuries to OKC and Denver, uncertainty at the top, lots left to learn about the true contenders.

  • “I really don’t know who is going to come out of either conference, which I think is a very good thing for the NBA.” – Co-host Andrew, [12:56]

• Alex: The Detroit Pistons are historic in their record against other elite teams:

  • 11–3 with a +6.4 point differential vs. top-10 teams.
  • “Since ‘03–‘04, teams better than Detroit in this stat—7 of 9 went to the Finals, 5 won the title.” [16:19]
  • Big schedule test coming: Spurs, Cavs, Thunder over next two weeks.

The Bad

[18:27–29:21]

• Co-host Andrew: The disappointing 2022 NBA Draft class.
  • Jaden Ivey gets first career DNP-CD; most 2022 lottery picks have already changed teams or are fighting for NBA jobs (Sharp, Jalen Williams, Jalen Duren only lottery picks still with drafting teams post-5).
  • “This class was supposed to be game-changing. Instead, the best players so far are Chet and J-Dub, and a lot of guys are just good role players or fighting for a contract.” – Co-host Andrew, [21:34]
• Alex: The Philadelphia 76ers' frustrating deadline—didn’t add needed depth, more concerned with cap than helping Embiid/PG now.
  • “If it’s not worth investing assets to improve this roster now, when is it going to be?” – Andrew, [26:39]
  • “He [Daryl Morey] is rightly referred to by Sixers fans as Daryl Snorri.” [26:34]

The What: Post All-Star Break Leap Team Predictions

[29:22–42:30]

• Purpose: Identify players ready to make a major leap in production after the break.

• Previous Success Story: Deni Avdija’s 2025 post-break jump led to his All-Star campaign.

• 2026 Picks:

  • Alex Sarr (Wizards): Under-the-radar rookie, improving shooting/passing/rebounding; could surprise if he returns healthy.
  • Benedict Mathurin (Clippers): Traded to L.A., should get all the shots he can handle with thin depth; aiming for a massive usage spike.
  • Peyton Watson: (Cheat pick, already mid-leap): “Could be a future All-Star if he lands on the right team.”
  • Scoot Henderson (Blazers): Just back from injury; bold target is 19/7 with more minutes, as Portland leans into youth down the stretch.

• Other Names Considered: Max Christie, Modest Bouzelis, Ayo Dosunmu, Anthony Black, Steph Castle, Brandon Miller, Jalen Green.

• “The spirit of the question is: Who could be a difference maker next season? These guys [Sarr, Watson] might be it.” – Co-host Andrew, [39:32]

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2. Deep Dive: Oklahoma City Thunder

Wheel of Fandom Feature Team
[45:11–55:29]
Guest: Ryland Stiles

Thunder Injury Update & Depth

• No SGA, J-Dub, or AJ Mitchell; McCain and Isaiah Joe stepping up as key shot creators.
  • “Jared McCain’s shooting gravity is the first thing that jumps out... he fits right in as a spacer with the elite creators.” – Ryland, [47:20]

Isaiah Joe’s Advanced Development

• More than just a shooter: improved movement, playmaking, defensive competitiveness.

Cason Wallace’s Growth

• Solidifying his shooting; recent stretch shows more on-ball juice.
  • “He’s almost by being too simple... become more advanced offensively.” – Ryland, [51:30]

Chet Holmgren’s Offensive Ceiling

• Struggled to ramp up shot volume even with stars out—needs offseason skill work, especially on-ball creation.
  • “He’s like the duck in those oil commercials... waiting for Don soap to wash him off and let him spread his wings.” – Ryland, [52:02]
  • “He just doesn’t have a go-to offensive move yet. But it’s coming.” – Co-host Andrew, [54:00]

Playoff Outlook, Health-Permitting

• OKC much more versatile offensively in halfcourt; added floor spacing and secondary creators (McCain, Joe, AJ Mitchell).
  • “Biggest upgrade: a halfcourt offense with creativity even in the non-Shai minutes. More ways to get Shea the ball in dangerous spots, more options for Chet as finisher.” – Ryland, [55:29]

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3. Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On Detroit’s Elite Wins:
  “Nine teams have had a better point differential against top 10 opponents than Detroit since ‘03–‘04. Seven made the Finals. Five won it all.” – Andrew, [16:19]

• On Jaden Ivey’s DNP and the 2022 Class: “We were talking about how the Pistons now have this 'fire and ice' element with Cade and Jaden Ivey and that just never came to fruition… this class just has not shaped up to be what we thought it would be.” – Co-host Andrew, [21:34]

• On Thunder’s Player Growth: “Jared McCain’s ability to shoot… you can envision how he could allow Shai and J-Dub… even more space to create.” – Ryland, [47:20]

  "Chet's like the duck in those oil commercials… waiting for the Don soap to come and wash him up and let him spread his wings." – Ryland, [52:02]

• On Philadelphia 76ers: “Bring back the real Daryl Morey, because this man is an imposter.” – Andrew, [27:29]

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4. Thunder Trivia ("Andrew vs. The Beat")

[57:18–84:04]

• Fun, competitive Thunder-themed trivia between Andrew and Ryland.
• Topics: clutch shot leaders, tanking era rosters, players with most dunks, defensive impact stats, corner three attempts, and more.
• Notable moment: Ryland, after an early deficit, makes a tongue-in-cheek tanking joke referencing the current lottery system and generational draft.
• Memorable line:
  “Chet Holmgren has 96 dunks this season. Who was the last Thunder player with 100+ dunks?”
  • Answer: Nerlens Noel.
  • “There’s not a lot of dunkers; they’ve literally not drafted any real dunkers!” – Co-host Andrew, [73:55]

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5. Timestamps for Key Segments

• All-Star Recap & Weekly Storylines: [02:53–10:49]
• Good/Bad/What Segment: [11:09–42:30]
• Leap Team Picks: [29:22–42:30]
• Thunder Deep Dive (with Ryland Stiles): [45:11–55:29]
• Thunder Trivia – Andrew vs. The Beat: [57:18–84:04]
• Next Week’s Wheel of Fandom Reveal (Dallas Mavericks): [84:04–end]

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6. Overall Episode Tone & Flow

• Conversational, Statistical, and Analytical: Mixes deep-dive stats (Pistons’ giant-killer record) with quick humor and personal anecdotes.
• Engaged Debate: Particularly lively in “Good/Bad/What” as hosts differ on Philly, joke about drafting, and playfully accuse each other of “tanking” in Leap Team selections.
• Thunder Section: Both hosts and guest display deep knowledge and enthusiasm about player development, while acknowledging present limitations and future upside.

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This episode provides a comprehensive, insightful, and entertaining breakdown of both the league’s big picture and specific team development—especially for Thunder fans—but is packed with stats and takes useful for any NBA fan chasing February/March storylines and future breakout candidates.

Transcript

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[Andrew]

Andrew Our top story this week is that the All Star Game is good. Now, in one of the biggest twists of the season, the new format for game appeared to work, ignited by Victor Weman Yama's energy in the first game. Each of the first three games was close, came down to clutch shots from Scotty Barnes, De' Aaron Fox and Kawhi Leonard. In the third game, Kawhi, on an absolute heater, scored 31 in just 12 minutes and not against typical All Star defense. It was legitimately cool and fun. The final game, now that was a bit of a snoozer as the old man US team got run out of the gym by the young guns and All Star MVP Anthony Edwards. 4721. But all in all, I would say best All Star game I can remember in a long time. And credit to the league for preventing a week's worth of the worst NBA pods imaginable. You thought, you thought endless segments about fixing tanking was bad. Imagine if they'd been followed up with a segment about fixing the All Star Game.

[Co-host Andrew]

Oh, brutal.

[Andrew]

At least we got some positivity mixed in this week with how fun those games were, which is a big win in my book. Now, as for All Star Saturday night, well, the three point contest was fun. Damian Lillard stepping onto the court for the first time this season, made it to the finals against Devin Booker and Con Knippel and then put those guys away, winning his third three point contest. A fun moment. After the win, Dame was congratulated by Giannis and Dame asked him if he placed something on Kalsheet while Giannis kept saying stop, stop, stop. Dame has already committed for next season and will be recruiting both Steph and Clay to join him. Now, the Shooting Star competition. It's back. Andrew. And it happened. It was something to watch, wasn't bad, but just something to have on your television. The Knicks team featuring Jalen Brunson, Cat Alan Houston and Rick Brunson as official passer. They won. And then we had the dunk contest featuring some guys who did some dunks. Jace Richardson unfortunately had the most memorable moment when he took a genuinely hard fall on a dunk attempt and appeared to hit his head on the court. Miami Heat second year player Kashad Johnson won the contest and did seem very happy to be there. And it was dunking which was endearing.

[Co-host Andrew]

It was very endearing.

[Andrew]

The best dunk related content, though, might have been our guy Mac McClung. Not only did he post four really nice dunks he said he would have done in a dunk contest, but he also did a very fun video with Bleacher Report where he recreated famous dunk contest dunks, which I enjoyed very much. Now my favorite All Star moment had to be Blazers rookie Yang Hansen responding to a question about his idol Nikola Jokic. Okay, by forcing his translator to say I can't wait to kiss him. The translator clearly did not want to say that and first said I can't wait to chat with him, but Yang was not having it and made him say it, which was awesome. Another All Star moment that has to be mentioned is that we may have a second burner scandal with Kevin Durant. Messages were released during All Star Weekend from a group DM on Twitter that allegedly includes messages between KD and some of his fans. The messages attributed to KD include several disparaging comments about Katie's former and current teammates, including Jabari Smith Jr. And Alperin Chengun. Not everything was negative though. I interpreted Triple Double Cocaine Bear as at least a mildly positive reference to Russell.

[Co-host Andrew]

It's very positive and it's a very good nickname. It's the best nickname that that I've ever heard.

[Andrew]

KD brushed aside the accusations at Rocket's practice saying, quote I'm not here to get into Twitter nonsense. Which convinced no one given his well documented history of getting into Twitter nonsense. Now, we only got one night of games this week, but there were some notable ones to talk about from Thursday night. First, the Detroit Pistons completely obliterated the New York knicks for the third consecutive time this season, winning 126 to 111 in Madison Square Garden. In their final meeting of the scene season, Kate Cunningham put up 42, 8 and 13, which included going five of 11 from three. This was a game that was affected by those suspensions coming out of the Pistons Hornets brawl. So Detroit did this without having both All Star Jaylen Duran and Isaiah Stewart. But when you got B ball Paul, you're in good hands. And Paul Reed picked up the slack for the missing big men and scored 187 with three blocks in the game. That loss drops the Knicks into a tie with the Cavs in the standings, but those two teams will play very soon. Playing next Tuesday in Cleveland. In Cleveland's first game back they played the Brooklyn Nets. They they won handily. Brooklyn is one of the teams that's tanking and just to Wrap up the tanking news. This is Week Sham Sharania reporting on Thursday that commissioner Adam Silver informed the league's 30 general managers that the NBA plans to make anti tanking rule changes for next season and some of the ideas that were thrown out in this report first round draft picks can be protected only for top 4 or top 14 lottery odds freeze at the trade deadline or a later date. Teams are no longer allowed to pick in the top four in consecutive years or or after consecutive bottom three fin teams cannot pick in the top four of the year after making the conference finals. That one I bet find weird. That just seems rude to the Pacers. Yeah, that's just a mean thing for the Pacers. Lottery odds allocated based on two year records, Lottery extended to include all playing teams and then the idea of flattening the odds for all lottery teams. Now these are just ideas that are being discussed. So none of these are final. We don't know what's going to happen, but that's that's that's that's your weekly taking update. Finally, if you thought the Clippers luck might run out now, post All Star Break it's not happening folks. In a massive win that affects those these west standings where teams three through six are separated by one game, the Clippers eked out a 115 to 114 win over Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets in LA. It looked like the Clippers were safe when Brook Lopez dunked it in with 13 seconds left to put the Clippers up four. But then Jamal Murray immediately hit a three after two free throws from Benedict Matheran. It was only a three point game with nine seconds left. Once again it was Jamal Murray drawing a foul on a three point attempt with 0.9 seconds left could have set the game to overtime. Murray hits the first two but then missed the final free throw. Time expired. Clippers won again. The story of this one was the home debut for Benedict Matheran, recently acquired from Indiana. Matheran put up a season high 38 points on 22 shots which included going 12 of 13 from the line. The Clippers are now one game below.500 after starting 6.21if they beat the Lakers on Friday night, they will have followed that 621 stretch with a 227 stretch to get all the way back to.500. They are currently ninth, only a game and a half back from the warriors who have lost two in a row. And they received news this week that Steph Curry will be reevaluated in 10 days, meaning he's going to miss at least the next five games. For the Nuggets, it's been a rough stretch by their standards. They've lost five of their last seven, five of eight since Jokic returned to the lineup. Jokic put up a 22:17 six line in this one, but uncharacteristically inefficient going 9:22 from the field, committing six turnovers. Denver has the toughest remaining schedule. Also something to think about. They do get to play the Jazz three more times this season, but only have six total games against teams outside the play in range. Meanwhile, 14 of their final 26 are against teams currently in the top six in either conference, with their next big one coming up next Wednesday against Boston. And those were the top stories this week.

[Co-host Andrew]

What a. What a little All Star break. Al the games last night were. The games last night were legitimately fun. It was good to have the NBA back.

[Andrew]

I know. I didn't even mention because I had to fit in that little tanking thing. I didn't mention the Rockets game.

[Co-host Andrew]

Yeah, the Hornets.

[Andrew]

So very nice win.

[Co-host Andrew]

Yeah, Katie was awesome in that one. Time to move on to the good to the bad. The what?

[Andrew]

Yes, time to share something we like this week, something we didn't like, and something that left us confused in a segment we call Good Bad. Watch. Now. Andrew, what is you're good this week?

[Co-host Andrew]

I'm gonna try to get through this whole podcast with like literally not being able to breathe out of my nose. So bear with me, people. Okay, so outside of all the tanking stuff, which if, if you want some tanking conversations, you can literally listen to any other podcast that has NBA or basketball in the title. My good is we still have a lot to learn the rest of this NBA season. Now we have injuries to teams like OKC in Denver, but there should be like a lot of interest around what in the world is going to happen with the NBA title this year? Who's making it out of the east if OKC and Denver don't get fully healthy? Who makes it out of the West? I understand that, like if we had a healthy, dominant team like the warriors or like the Shaq and Kobe Lakers or a team like that, like, there should be like no interest in the rest of this NBA season. But like the Thunder having all the injuries that they have, the Nuggets not only not being healthy, but their defense has just fallen off a cliff. I think they're 24th in defense. You know, the Knicks are all over the place. The Cavs have James Harden on Their team. Now, I don't know this all that might sound a little bit bad, but I will say this stretch run is kind of setting up to be really fun where I think we're going to learn a lot about these teams down the stretch as teams get healthy, as we like see teams like the Cavaliers learn their new team. We get to learn about, about the Celtics down the stretch, like do we get Jason Tatum back or not? I just think there are so many good story lines to discuss down the stretch rather than like focusing on tanking and all of that because like one this is generational draft team should tank. But on the other side of all of that, there's just a lot of like really good stuff to dig into. And I'm just excited to watch the rest of this season and the good teams that are actually trying to win because I genuinely don't know what's going to happen the rest of the way. I feel like a lot of times you can look at an NBA season at the end of February and say, you know what? Like, I think we have a pretty good idea of who's going to make it out of both conferences. I really don't know who's making it out of either conference. And if you are confidently talking about that, I'd like to talk to you because I, I really don't understand who is going to come out of either conference, which I think is a very good thing for the NBA. And so my good is just like looking forward to this stretch run for NBA teams and just kind of learning like who, who are the true contenders that are going to be revealed as we get closer to the playoffs.

[Andrew]

Yeah. And I think the, the tanking is going to add this element where some teams are going to go on some crazy post all star break runs where they, they will lose like four games the rest of the season. That would shock me if a team has a crazy run like that because you look at some of the strength of schedule numbers and some of the teams at the bottom are not teams you would think like usually you would not think that there'd be west teams at the bottom. You'd like, okay, there's probably a lot of east teams down there at the bottom. There's some good west teams that could potentially move up the standings significantly, which I'm going to talk about a little later. My good this week is one of those teams we, you might have big questions about heading into the playoffs. You know, can they win it all? It's the Detroit Pistons. Because I was watching them destroy the Knicks again on Thursday. I was thinking about how many impressive wins they've had this season. I. I feel like every time I watch the Pistons, it's always a big game and they're always winning. And per clean of the glass in games against teams with a top 10 point differential, Detroit is 11.

[Co-host Andrew]

3.

[Andrew]

And in those games, the Pistons have a plus 6.4 point differential. As a comparison, the second best point differential in games against top 10 opponents is Houston with a plus 2.9. And they're only 9 and 8 in those games, but they have the second best point differential. Now. That got me wondering how Detroit's success against the best stacks up historically and how predictive that might be for postseason success. So I went back to the 0304 season as far as you can go cleaning the glass, and I looked at every team that was the best against the best. So These are the 22 teams from 0304 until last season who had the best point differential in games against top 10 opponents. Of those 22 teams, 10 made the finals and five won it all. Which, you know, that's a decent percentage, but probably not all that thrilling for Pistons fans. Yeah, but looking over that list of 22 teams, a lot of these teams had point differentials that were significantly worse than this year's Detroit team. So instead I looked for teams that had a better point differential than Detroit in games against top 10 opponents. Since the 0304 season, there have only been nine teams with a better point differential against top 10 opponents than this season's Detroit team. And of those nine, seven made the finals and five were NBA champions.

[Co-host Andrew]

Wow.

[Andrew]

Again, Detroit's point differential in these games is plus 6.4. The teams that were better than that from lower to higher point differential, 09 Lakers champs, 08 Celtics champs 22 Celtics made the Finals, 25 Thunder champs, 15 warriors champs, 25 Celtics and 06 Pistons. Those are the only two teams on the list that didn't at least make the finals. 2017 Warriors Champs and then, unsurprisingly, the 73 win 2016 warriors, who went 21. 2 against top 10 opponents and had a plus 9.5 point differential in just those games made the Finals. So I'd say that's much more encouraging for Pistons fans. But this story isn't over. Of course, looking at the current top 10 teams on Cleaning the Glass, the Pistons still have 10 games remaining against those opponents. And admittedly the Pistons awesome point differential has gotten a huge boost from playing the Knicks this season. The Final scores of those games have been 121 to 90, 118 to 80, and 126 to 111. So if the Pistons truly are one of the best teams in recent memory against the toughest opponents, they are about to prove it to us because their upcoming schedule is packed just in the next two weeks. They play the spurs twice, the Cavs twice, and the Thunder. Now, that particular game not looking like the marquee matchup we were hoping for. SGA and J Dub will likely be out, but those spurs and Cavs games will be huge. And so I'll continue to follow this. I'll give an update at the end of the season just to see how good Detroit was against the best teams in the league, because it's been very impressive so far.

[Co-host Andrew]

Yeah. And they did that last night with the suspensions.

[Andrew]

I know, like, that.

[Co-host Andrew]

That, to me, is like, the craziest thing. It's like. I don't know. I did not expect that. I. The pressure was on the Knicks last night, and they folded. That was really rough.

[Andrew]

I know. They brought it back. I think they got it within two. It was like 62 60. And then it was like Duncan Robinson time, and then it was over.

[Co-host Andrew]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Andrew]

Yeah.

[Co-host Andrew]

That was. That was brutal.

[Andrew]

Andrew, what's your bad this week?

[Co-host Andrew]

Oh, so. Oh, this kind of got me thinking. Last night, Jay N Ivey got DNP CD'd for the first time in his career. Yeah, Billy Donovan was not coaching the team last night as West Huntsel Jr. He was away. His. His dad passed away, and so he wasn't with the team. Prayers up for. For Billy and his family, but Jaden Ivy didn't play and he had just, like, some interesting quotes. And like, if I really want to encourage you to go, like, go listen to Jaden, because I don't. It doesn't quite read the way that he was, like, trying to convey it. I think he was, like, trying to convey more of like, a. A spiritual message to people rather than like a. Like, I'm just not the same person anymore.

[Andrew]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Co-host Andrew]

However, it was notable that he just didn't play, you know, And I know that there's like a log jam of guards, and I. I totally get that. But, like, that's troubling for. For a guy who is looking for a new contract. Like, that's pretty troubling for a guy like Jay N Ivey. And it just got me thinking about that classic the 22 class and just how differently we think about it today than we did actually listen back to our draft awards with Matt penny. Oh, wow. In 22. Yeah. Shout out to Matt Penny. If you're, if you're somehow listening, just, just text me, man, I miss getting to pod with you. I just miss you in general.

[Andrew]

You can text him. Why do you gotta wait for a text from him?

[Co-host Andrew]

You know what, you're right. I'm texting him right after we're done. But anyways, that class had a lot of hype behind it and you're looking at it now. Paolo has had such a strange season. Jabari has, is a good role player. He's a good player, but he, he's under fire from, from Kevin Durant, allegedly. And like you have guys like Jade Nivey, who, man, Jaden Ivy was maybe the player we talked about the most after that draft and like what a game changer he was going to be. We were talking about how the Pistons now have this like fire and ice element to them with Cade and Jaden Ivy and that just never came to fruition. In fact, like, you look at the rest of like from five down, it's really just Shaden Sharp that is still on the team that drafted them. When you look through the lottery, it's Shaden Sharp, Jalen Williams, Jalen Duran, that's it. Those are the only three after that that are still on the same team. Some of those guys aren't even in the NBA anymore. And some of those guys are like fighting for their NBA lives. Like Sohan got cut and is like trying to make it with the, with the Knicks, Johnny Davis long gone, Usman Jang is like gonna have to like really prove some stuff. He's played well for the Bucks, but like, he's got to prove some stuff in order to stay in the NBA. This class has just not shaped up to be what we thought it would be. It was supposed to be like this game changing draft class and you look at it and it's, it's fitting that I'm talking about this during Thunder week because like, like the best players from that draft so far are Chet and J Dub and Jada probably at the top of that. I know he's had a lot of injuries this season, but he's still probably the guy. And then you've got like, you've got good role players in this draft. But as far as like top end talent has been a, it has been a strange year for a lot of those guys. And it just got me thinking after watching that interview with Jade Nivey last night, great credit to Our, our friend Joelle Lorenzi for asking questions and posting those videos. It's definitely worth watching, but just this class, I think, is just shown to not be what we thought it would be. And so that's my bad. Especially now that we're like looking at restricted free agency for some of these guys. I don't really know what's going to happen with some of these players.

[Andrew]

Yeah, I, I'll always remember that draft as the draft were like Memphis really got high on their own supply.

[Co-host Andrew]

Yeah.

[Andrew]

Just they drafted so many guys. They drafted Kennedy Chandler, Jake Laravia, David Roddy.

[Co-host Andrew]

Yeah.

[Andrew]

Vince Williams Jr. Kenny Lofton, like that was. And, and Vince Williams Jr. Is the only one that's still on the team. But that, that just felt like.

[Co-host Andrew]

They traded. They traded him to Utah.

[Andrew]

Yeah. Yeah. Oh, they did.

[Co-host Andrew]

Yeah.

[Andrew]

Oh, yeah, I forgot.

[Ryland Stiles]

Yeah.

[Andrew]

That, that draft for the, for the Grizzlies feels like a real turn turning point for them. Yeah, they, they had all these picks. They had this idea in their head that we're going to shed some of these vets. We're going to, you know, bring up the back of this roster with all these young guys we're so good at drafting. Like a couple of these guys are going to hit. And it didn't happen. And that was not the main reason things went the way they did in Memphis.

[Co-host Andrew]

Right.

[Andrew]

But it certainly didn't help.

[Co-host Andrew]

No, it didn't help. They, they traded Danthony Melton for that Roddy pick and we, that it was, it was really funny because at the, at the end of that, at the end of that pod, we were giving out like draft winners. I gave mine to the Pistons. A lot of it was for getting Jaden Ivy. Yeah. I thought that they kind of won the draft with the way that they handled everything and clearly getting Duran was a great thing, but it hasn't worked out with Jaden Ivy. He said you gave it to the Sixers for trading their pick for, for d' Anthony Melton. They were like the draft night winners.

[Andrew]

Okay, okay. Was I wrong?

[Co-host Andrew]

You know what? Looking back, you are the most right out of all of us. I think Matt Penny picked the, the spurs as draft night winners for getting Sohan and whoever else they got in that draft. Also, also wrong. So I think, look, hey, Matthew Melton,

[Andrew]

I'm looking it up. He did play 77 games that next year.

[Co-host Andrew]

Yeah.

[Andrew]

Actually, I didn't remember him doing that.

[Co-host Andrew]

But you were, you were the most right thing. You were the most right because the spurs drafted three guys that are not on their team anymore. And Malachi Branham, Blake Wesley and Jeremy Sohan. So do you know.

[Andrew]

Do you know Danthy Milton's nickname on basketball reference?

[Co-host Andrew]

No.

[Andrew]

Mr. Do something.

[Co-host Andrew]

Mr. Do something.

[Andrew]

I've never heard that in my life.

[Co-host Andrew]

That is a very interesting nickname. Hey, if you know why that's his nickname, please let us know now.

[Andrew]

Speaking of the Sixers, I may have given them that award on draft night four years ago, but my bad this week is the Philadelphia 76ers and their inability to do anything of note at the deadline to boost this team's depth at a time when they desperately need it. Going in the deadline, they knew PG was going to be out a while. They knew it was always a strong possibility that Embiid might miss some more games this season. And yet the primary aim at that deadline appeared to be ducking the cat attacks, which they have now done in four consecutive seasons. Yeah, and the issue is that this team does not appear to have the depth to handle any sort of extended absence from PG&EMBIID when PG&EMBIID have been off the court. This season, the Sixers have a -4 net rating. If you just have one of those guys on the court, it's been a plus three. If you have both of them on the court, plus seven. Instead of adding any rotation players. Daryl Morey quote sold high on Jared McCain, but he didn't use any part of that return to upgrade the existing team, which going into the deadline, The Sixers were 29 and 21. They were fifth in the east for that third that. That day right before the deadline. Since then, they've gone one and four. A couple of blowout losses to the Blazers and Knicks. They lost again on Thursday to the Hawks, one of the four teams in their rearview mirror that could potentially make their life difficult over this next month. They're only a half game up on the Magic game and a half up on the Heat, and who knows what Charlotte could do. They're only four and a half back. I just can't believe that this is the same Daryl Morey that we grew up with, you know, that the NBA media used to fawn over. Like when. When we were in, like, you know, 10, 15 years ago. I mean, Daryl Morey was the GM. Yeah, it was. He was the GM that everyone talked about. He was the man who initially built his career on making the smart moves that no one else saw, building roster depth out of nothing. And now he is rightly referred to by Sixers fans as Daryl Snorri.

[Co-host Andrew]

I Just don't get it.

[Andrew]

He is. He's sleeping the wheel. Andrew, I get it.

[Ryland Stiles]

Like.

[Andrew]

Like Embiid. Yeah, he's out right now, but he's having a resurgent season. Maxi is playing at an all NBA level, your first round pick. And Vijay Edgecombe already contributing at a high level. And Paul George, while certainly not back to peak PG levels, he's been a positive this season for the Sixers. I mean, if it's not worth investing assets to improve this roster now, when is it going to be? I realize those guys are both out PG and Embiid right now, but who knows? This could end up being the best shot. You'll have to have both Embiid and PG healthy for a playoff run over these next couple seasons. It feels like Maury just left this team out to dry and they're already feeling the effects of that decision, so that's my bad. They need to bring back the real Daryl Morey, the Daryl Murray I grew up with, because this man is an imposter. Andrew.

[Co-host Andrew]

I don't. I don't mind it from Daryl if I'm. If I'm being real.

[Andrew]

What?

[Co-host Andrew]

I don't mind it.

[Andrew]

You don't mind it?

[Co-host Andrew]

I don't. I don't. I don't mind not making, like, big swings to make this.

[Andrew]

I'm not talking about a big swing. I'm saying, hey, could we not start Andre Drummond if MB's out, that we have literally any other option?

[Co-host Andrew]

Sure, I. I get that. I. I personally don't believe in this iteration of the Sixers at all. Like, at all.

[Andrew]

Clearly, neither do they.

[Co-host Andrew]

Yeah. So I'm. I'm. I'm totally cool with. I. I don't. I think the McCain deal is absolutely maddening. So, like, I, I can get on board with Sixers fans being mad about that, but I. I would not want to sacrifice. Like, I would want to make that pick. And I know that he said that he wants to trade it, but I'd want to make that pick. I wouldn't want to continue to try to add to the team now. I want to add to whatever this, this VJ Max team is like. That's what I would want.

[Andrew]

Andrew, that's not what I wanted to hear from you. I don't. I don't need you to be a Snorri defender.

[Co-host Andrew]

I'm not. I'm not even a Snorri defender. I think a lot of the stuff he's done is weird. Just straight up weird. But, yeah, I don't know. I. I don't I don't quite know where they're going and I don't know that they do either, to be clear.

[Andrew]

Did you think that part of the reason you don't believe in this team is just that like, you look at the roster and you're like, well, they have zero depth, so if they, they can't handle one injury.

[Co-host Andrew]

No, it's, it's mostly the, the Paul Jordan embiid. Like, I just don't think that either one of those guys, you think those guys can be healthy for like, like two playoff rounds, let alone four? Like, no way.

[Andrew]

I'll say maybe on PG and no,

[Co-host Andrew]

probably not on mb.

[Ryland Stiles]

Yeah.

[Andrew]

Okay, now we're moving on to our what? And this week it's a combined what? A combined what? Our first combined what? Andrew and I are combining our forces to select candidates to make this year's post all Star break leap team. Every year there are players who at the end of the season, you look back at their splits on basketball reference, there's a dramatic difference in their stats pre vs post all star break. Sometimes that leap that occurs post all star break actually means something and it's a preview of what's about to happen with that player. So for instance, last year we got one of the best all time examples we've ever had. Denny Abdia. Pre All Star break. Denny was 15, 6 and 3. 59 true shooting minus 5.2 net rating. Post all star break 23. 10 and 5. 64 true shooting plus 5.8. The all star that we saw this season was born post all Star break last year. Another obvious one last year. Josh Giddey, pre all star for the Bulls 12, 7 and 6. 54 true shooting -6.5 net rating. Post All Star 21. 11 and 9. 62 true shooting 9.9 net rating. The other players last year to make our first team Post all Star break leap team. Paulo Benchero, Quentin grimes. Paulo averaged 29 over 29 points per game post all star break last year.

[Co-host Andrew]

Wow.

[Andrew]

Yeah. Quentin Grimes. Now sometimes the leap doesn't really mean that much. Okay, that would be an example. Sometimes you just got a lot of. A lot of Runway.

[Co-host Andrew]

Yep.

[Andrew]

And you have some freedom him and you're going to score a lot of points. And Tyrese Halliburton, who, yes, he was already a star, but he's his true shooting last year, 59 pre all star to 68% post all star break, which then led to a finals run. So it's time once again to make some predictions. We're Going to throw out a few names who we think might see a significant bump in production post All Star Break. And this is our what? Because after you hear these names, you might be saying what you think. Who's gonna do what. Maybe it will end up being real, like Danny. Maybe it will be more because of opportunity, like Quentin Grimes. But these are the players we've selected to make our first team Post All Star Break Leap Team Andrew, who is your first selection?

[Co-host Andrew]

I might be off to a bad start with this one. Okay. I just think that Alex Sar, who's had an awesome season so far, is. Is due for a bump. Some of it is that I. I just think that they're going to be pulling everybody and they're going to.

[Andrew]

Will this bump be happening in practice? This being Wizards practice, he'll be doing this.

[Co-host Andrew]

No. He is out with a hamstring injury and should be back within like, a week or so. But I just think he's had her, like, a really under the radar season. And I think that he is a guy that is taking a decent number of threes. He can score around the hoop. His rebounding has been a lot better. His passing has been better. I just think he's a developing player, and I think that this is around the time where guys like him can really up their production because teams are not going to be competing that hard against the Wizards. And I just think that he's somebody who I do think has made an actual, like, meaningful leap in his time this season with the Wizards. But I just believe in. In his game, his ability to, you know, make threes, create around the basket a little bit, rebound. I think that he's been awesome for them, and I just think that Alex Sar will start to get a little bit more buzz as we head into next season. And if Anthony Davis. This is like the Giant. If. If Anthony Davis can be healthy, reasonably healthy, like, Alex Sar is kind of an interesting guy to pair with him. Yeah, I think that that's something that I think that we could talk about a lot this summer and then heading into next season is like, what do the Wizards actually look like? And I think that part of their jump could be that, like, Alexar's a good player. Like, he. I think he's legitimately a good player. All, like, the rim protection numbers, I'm a little leery of because there's just no perimeter defenders whatsoever on this team. But I just think that he is developed into a really nice player after, like, a very, very rough rookie season. And so I'll I'll take Alex Sar. I think that he could, could. He could make people watch the Wizards even a little bit down the stretch of this season.

[Andrew]

Yeah, I mean, I think as long as he has good lines in the five games they let him play down this.

[Co-host Andrew]

You think they're gonna hold him out of these games?

[Andrew]

Bro, they just beat the Pacers. Okay.

[Ryland Stiles]

It's.

[Andrew]

It's crisis level.

[Co-host Andrew]

He wouldn't even play, though. He didn't even play.

[Andrew]

I know, I know, I know. I'm saying, like, they beat the Pacers without him. I don't know. We'll see. I hope he plays.

[Co-host Andrew]

I hope he plays too.

[Andrew]

I hope he plays. My first pick. Now, this might just happen by default, but I do think we've got to mention him. It's Benedict Matheran.

[Co-host Andrew]

Yeah.

[Andrew]

First, it's important to note that in Indiana this season, he was averaging almost 18 points per game over five rebounds per game. So this, for this to qualify, I think he needs to be well over 20 points per game the rest of the season. But he's in an incredible situation. If. If Garland isn't back soon, the Clippers scoring death is it. Depth is paper thin. They lose. Harden and Zubots. Their next highest score on the team after Kawhi was going to be John Collins, who is at 13.8 per game. So Matherin is coming into the situation where the Clippers desperately need his scoring and he is very willing to provide it. Now, for this to count, I'm thinking he needs to be around 23, 24 points per game the rest of the season. Getting to the line like seven times per game, I feel like that's. If he was around there, that I

[Co-host Andrew]

would consider that that'd be wild. All Star break leap.

[Andrew]

Oh, by the way, I was watching Clippers Nuggets last night and my wife walked by, not really into basketball. She's it. Cut to image of Brooke Lopez on the bench. Yeah. And she stopped and she said, who is that man? He looks like he's from another time. He looks so different from what she imagined. NBA players. And I told her he's. He is my age. He is 38.

[Co-host Andrew]

He kind of is from another time.

[Andrew]

He actually is correct. He's a millennial.

[Co-host Andrew]

Yeah.

[Andrew]

Playing professional basketball. He is from another time. And that satisfied her. She was like, oh, okay, that makes sense now. So another factor working in my favor is the Clipper's schedule. Third easiest per tankathon. Most rest advantage games in the league, 16 of their final 27 at home. I still don't know how much I believe in the full Benedict Matheran experience. But I think this is an incredible opportunity to let him explore what his ceiling can be before he goes to restricted free agency. And I'm buying into the idea that last night's game or Thursday night's game against Denver that could be a sign of things to come, not just a one game blip. So I'm going Benedict Mathridge with my first pick.

[Co-host Andrew]

Okay, that makes sense.

[Andrew]

Who is your second pick? Andrew?

[Co-host Andrew]

My second pick. I'm gonna cheat because I don't know that. I don't. I don't know that he's gonna make a second half leap. But we've already seen the leap that he's made with Jokic out. And I think that it could carry over into next season in that there may be a team and if I'm a team that has cap space, I would go after this guy. It's Peyton Watson before the new year. This year with the Nuggets, he was 10 points, four and a half rebounds, 1.5 assists, 51% from the field, 39%. 3. It's like oh, great. A stealing a block again. Awesome. Productive. Off the bench, great. It is 19 games after the new year. 21 five and three with 1.1 steals, one and a half blocks, shooting 43% from three, five free throw attempts per game. Like this is a real player. And defensively he's very good. And I think that if a team is looking for a wing, if you're the Wizards, if you're the Brooklyn Nets, if you're just somebody looking for the Bulls, if you are looking for a wing that can play, that can score and it's not just spot up shots. That's the thing that really evolved with him is that. And I got to see it in a. I think it was the last preseason game before the season started. Peyton Watson was like lighting up the thunder and I got to sit courtside to watch that one. And he was awesome. And it was like creation stuff with the ball in his hand. He's a guy that can take guys off the dribble. He can pull up in the mid range, he can shoot threes, he can get to the hoop and transition. He's a monster. Like I think that he is prime to go to a different team and to be able to have a much bigger role or have a bigger role for Denver. And so he's dealing with a hamstring injury right now too. I picked two guys with hammy injuries. Why to do that, I don't know that we're going to see it necessarily the rest of this season, but I feel like we've already seen this leap already happen with Peyton Watson, and I think it'll carry over into next season, and so we could see more of it when he comes back from injury. But to me, like, the leap that he's made, I think we could be talking about Peyton Watson in a much different light next season. Like, we have Denny Abdia if he goes to the right team. If he goes to a team in the Eastern Conference. Is it crazy that he's at least, like, on the fringe of, like, all star conversations? I really don't think it's that crazy. I think he's that good of a player. So I'm gonna go with Peyton Watson.

[Andrew]

Okay. Andrew, I feel like you're tanking.

[Co-host Andrew]

I told you I was. I told you it was. It was a cheating answer, but I just couldn't ignore what.

[Andrew]

I feel like you're tanking. You take two guys who are injured. What are you doing to yourself?

[Co-host Andrew]

I just. I'm taking two guys that I like. I believe that because a part of, like, the spirit of this question is, like, who do we think could be, like, difference makers next season? Right.

[Andrew]

Sure, sure, sure.

[Co-host Andrew]

And so, like, that these two guys, to me, are guys that I could see making a difference next season in a way that we. We didn't quite think of them this year.

[Andrew]

Okay, before I get to my last pick, some names I considered Max Christie, Modest Bouzelis, Iota Sumnu, Anthony Black, Steph Castle, Brandon Miller, and Jalen Green.

[Co-host Andrew]

I looked.

[Andrew]

I looked long ago.

[Co-host Andrew]

Jalen Green.

[Andrew]

Well, that one just felt, like, too obvious because he's averaging, like, 11 points. Yeah, that's kind of a Quentin Grimes thing. He's only played seven games. I mean, he's better. He's better. Okay, I went with another one that feels obvious because he's only played four games, but I'm going to set the expectations high to justify this pick. So it's Scoot Henderson.

[Co-host Andrew]

Yeah.

[Andrew]

Finally made his return from a hamstring injury in his first four games. He's been very productive. He's been turning the ball over a lot. Sure. But been very productive. My bet here is that the Blazers are locked into a playing spot spot. Scoot's going to be eligible for an extension this summer. They desperately need more offensive juice. And so emphasizing Scoot the rest of the season should be a priority. Like, there's not a huge risk, even if he's bad, that they're going to like fall out of the plan.

[Co-host Andrew]

Yeah.

[Andrew]

He's only gotten 20 minutes per game so far while on a minute's restriction. I'm hoping that begins to increase and he's up near 30 per game by the end of the season. Even if Drew is healthy and similar to Matheran. Another thing I've got going for me is the schedule. Schedule. The Portland Trailblazers have the easiest remaining schedule per tankathon. 12 of their final 26 games are against teams currently outside the play ins. So maybe some of my minutes concerns could be helped by blowouts where Scoot's going to get an extended run at the end of games. As for a prediction, I think for this to count, I need Scoot to get up to something like 19 points, seven assists, getting to the line five plus times per game, improved efficiency, especially at the rim. I think he's got to hit that for this to even count. Okay. So I'm setting the bar kind of high. It feels bold given what we've seen so far in Scoot's career. But yeah, I'm betting that this stretch run ends up being the breakout stretch of his young career. Basically, the way I tried to do this, I really focused on. On Denny and, and Giddy because both of those guys were averaging in the teens.

[Co-host Andrew]

Yeah.

[Andrew]

Previously. And they were on teams that were in the play in and I do think that matters. Like they weren't on tanking teams. They were, they were on teams that were trying and so that's why I went with Matherine and Scoop because they're in similar situations. In the case of Matheran in a new situation like Giddy was with, with Scoot, you know, he's coming back from this really long injury. He started to look good at the end the of of end of last year. So I'm hoping that he finally has like his best stretch of his young career. I think it could happen. So that's why I'm going with Scoot Henderson. But it's a gamble.

[Co-host Andrew]

It's a, it's a big gamble on Scoot.

[Andrew]

It's a big old gamble.

[Co-host Andrew]

It is a big gamble. I mean, I'm looking back even at last season. I wish you wouldn't at his splits. And he never even approached 19 points per game even in any up the browser tag in any month last season. In fact, in February. Okay, never mind. I won't go there. I'll go there.

[Andrew]

In fact.

[Co-host Andrew]

In fact, I won't do it. I won't do it. I won't do it. I told you, I won't do it.

[Andrew]

Honestly, last. Last year, my. My picks were Asar Thompson.

[Co-host Andrew]

Yeah.

[Andrew]

Who's just never gonna, like, explode that way. I feel like.

[Co-host Andrew]

Yeah, he's good.

[Andrew]

Good.

[Co-host Andrew]

He's not. Yeah. Offensively, it's gonna be a.

[Andrew]

But I also pick Shane Sharp.

[Co-host Andrew]

Yeah.

[Andrew]

So this is. This is kind of like my blazer. I'm gonna just.

[Co-host Andrew]

I was gonna say, you gotta have your blazers homer pick in there somewhere.

[Andrew]

Next year it's gonna be Yong Hansen. How dare you. Scoot scored 39 points a game last year. Okay.

[Co-host Andrew]

Yeah, no, it's. No, it's good. That's good. Yeah. Yeah. Thanks. In March, he averaged 13 points a game.

[Andrew]

Yeah. And he's gonna double it this March.

[Co-host Andrew]

He's gonna be 26 again. Oh, man. Hey, hang in after this break. My good buddy Ryland Stiles is gonna join the show. Talk about the Thunder.

[Andrew]

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Andrew, it's time once again for the Wheel of Fandom. The weekly segment where we spin a wheel, it lands on a team, and we become fans of that team for the next week. Last week, the Wheel landed on the Oklahoma City Thunder for the first time in at least four years of doing this podcast.

[Co-host Andrew]

So weird. Weird. It's so weird.

[Andrew]

And of course it was All Star Weekend, so no games this week. But who needs games when you can watch Jared McCain defeat plaque boy Max in the celebrity three point contest? Unfortunately, the only real Thunder news this week was that the injuries to their top three creators were not magically healed by the All Star break. SGA and AJ Mitchell, who are out with abdominal strains, will be out at least another week, and J Dub, who re injured his hamstring before the break break, will be evaluated in another two weeks. It's possible all three missed this next stretch of games, which is a bummer because it includes Cleveland, Toronto, Detroit and Denver. The Thunder are 42 and 14, first in the west, but only two and a half games up on the Spurs. Per cleaning the glass, the Thunder have the fourth ranked offense and first ranked defense. Andrew, if the Thunder were somehow our favorite team, who would be our guest?

[Co-host Andrew]

Oh, that's my guy, Rylan Styles from Locked On Thunder. He's also on a podcast called the OKC Dream Team where if you want to hear me and Rylan talking together, you could do that. Patreon.com OkC Dream Team RyGuy welcome to Slam and Jam.

[Ryland Stiles]

I'm very happy to be here. This feels like a great debut. I feel like Jared McCain getting traded to the NBA champs.

[Co-host Andrew]

There you go.

[Andrew]

We need you to do a release a vlog after this about slamming Jam for the first time.

[Ryland Stiles]

It's not as exciting as getting on a private jet, but it it was a fun voyage over here to get on the show.

[Co-host Andrew]

Listen, we're over here on Riverside. It's great. Okay, Rylan. With no Shay JDub AJ in the lineup, the Thunders creation is limited and suddenly Jared McCain looks like one of the best offensive options on the team. What have you thought about McCain's early minutes with the Thunder so far?

[Ryland Stiles]

I think that Jared McCain's fit in really well, especially as a guy that obviously hasn't had time yet to learn the systems, learn the playbook, etc. But when you look at Jared McCain, his shooting gravity is like the first thing that jumps out of just having a guy who can truly make defenses stay honest to him. And you can envision how he could allow Shay and Jada and these other guys to to allow them to have even more space, to create more space, to get buckets more space. And his shooting ability is second to none on this team with him and Isaiah Joe both pairing together really nicely already. And while we talk about how great they've been in the 98th percentile of their net rating. They those two guys have not shared the floor with one of JDUB or Shea, even though J Dub has played whenever McCain's been healthy. So McCain's ability to shoot, but also he's shown some creation a little bit in his time. You know, whenever he's come off the eight shows with iHeartrading, start picking roles and be able to facilitate. So I think that there is a pathway for McCain to be a very important piece to this team.

[Andrew]

You mentioned Isaiah, Joe. He's been playing some of the best basketball of his career, averaging 17 per game over his last six. When he arrived in OKC, he was kind of solely thought of as a shooter. Where do you feel like he's improved the most? Outside of his shooting since arriving in okc?

[Ryland Stiles]

Yeah, outside of his shooting. I think that it is about his relocation ability. Since he's gotten to okc, every year it's taken a step forward, none bigger than this year. It's the stuff like the two man game with Isaiah Hartenstein where those guys are on just a different wavelength. If you can toss the ball to iheart at the top of the key, then cut back door and get to the rim downhill and he can come off those DHOs and then see someone flying at him at the three point line and drive into the rim. So he's just more comfortable at all three levels right now than he has been in the past. And I think that his relocation around the perimeter, which I know is tied into his shooting, but that's helped him also take a step forward as a three point shooter. So his offensive game has been really impressive. But then defensively he's also a way more competitive defender. And whenever you put him on this Thunder team with so many elite defenders who can fight over screens and allow you to not fall into these mismatches, he's able to. If he does come up to the ball, he can compete and at least hold up a primary ball handler with enough time until a case in or Caruso or Dort can switch back onto that guy. And that's been a key that I think could keep him on the floor in the postseason.

[Andrew]

We should also mention one of the best secret dunkers in the league. Just the guys that you have no idea could dunk and then randomly he will hammer it home on someone. It's always shocking.

[Ryland Stiles]

Yeah, he gets at least one or two posters a year.

[Co-host Andrew]

He does. I also think that he's just getting his athleticism into the game a little bit more too as like, as a defender, like you mentioned and even as just like an offensive player that he had this whip pass to the corner before the break, that it was just like I had to like, double take. Was that Isaiah Joe, like, what is happening right now? I just feel like he's, he's evolving as a player. Like, he's a. He's a much better player than he was last year and that contract is looking even better. Someone else who's shown some interesting flashes recently is Case of Wallace, who will be eligible for a rookie extension this summer. What are your current thoughts on Kayson's offensive game and what his, like, offensive ceiling can be?

[Ryland Stiles]

I think that the first thought is that he just has to continue to improve as a guy who can knock down these give me shots. Like last year, he wasn't particularly great in the corners and wasn't great off the catch as what you'd expect him to be this year. He's gotten better at those areas. If he takes another step, you know, in terms of a catch and shoot shooter and a guy who is knocking down high percentage of high quality looks, then you really see him, at the very least, becoming a great three in the offensive weapon. But in this recent stretch, we've all been really interested in his point guard background. He has done better on the ball, and I think what's helped him is really getting back to the basics. Like now you're seeing him just break down a defense and get to the rim, and that either leads to a shot or a pass instead of trying to be Peyton Manning out there and orchestrating offense. And that's really helped him almost by being too simple, it's helped him actually become more advanced in what he can do on the offensive end.

[Andrew]

So this stretch should theoretically be an opportunity for Chet to spread his wings offensively, but so far that hasn't really happened. He's only averaged 10 shots per game in the four games since SGA has been out, which is below his season average. And he hasn't always looked comfortable handling the ball. What do you think the next step is for Chet offensively to get him more involved? I mean, obviously he can stretch the floor. He's a great finisher around the rim when everyone's healthy. But why, why can't we get more out of Chet?

[Ryland Stiles]

I think that Chet, he's talking about spreading his wings. He's like the. He's like the duck in those oil commercials. He's got oil all over him. And you're waiting for Don. So you're waiting for the Don soap to come and wash him up and let him spread his wings and let him soar. And the off seasons when Don's going to come available to soap them up and lather him up this year, I just, I think that we all go into every game right now thinking, okay, look who's all out. This is going to be the time that Chet shoots, you know, 13, 14, 15 shots. He's just not capable of that right now. He's not capable of creating his own offense off the dribble. He's not capable of creating space for himself and creating a shot for himself. And he's never going to be this season. But, but you can see him in the future. If he can tighten up that handle and he can get more comfortable shooting over smaller defenders with more consistency, then you could allow him to grow into the offensive player that you want him to be. Where in situations like this he could have a more advanced role. But right now I think that his offense is so predicated upon being a play finisher of being set up. And that's what led to him averaging 18 points per game. Earlier this year on great efficiency was Shea and these other guys and A.J. mitchell. They could just dump the ball into him at the low block off of a drive that they could toss him the ball at the elbow and he just turns around and hits a mid range jumper. And right now, whenever guys can't put him in those positions, his offense is really limited to a few of those chances off of bad creators, but also put backs and non flashy plays to where it just feels like he's not doing enough offensively, but he's just limited right now in his offensive game.

[Andrew]

So you're saying Cheddar Bob just needs to get lathered up.

[Ryland Stiles]

Lathered up and dawn. Yeah. And we should have a commercial. We should have a commercial where we pour oil. Oil on him and then clean him off next year whenever he's gonna be a shot creator.

[Co-host Andrew]

I'll run that by him. I'll see. See how, hey, you have connections.

[Ryland Stiles]

You can Media day. Just say, hey, here's a. Here's some Don soap. I'll explain it later. Just, you know, rub this on yourself a little bit.

[Co-host Andrew]

All right. Yeah. Before you come over to my station, we're just gonna cover you in oil. Okay. Is that okay? Yeah, I'm. I'm really curious because I think the thing that Chet kind of lacks, four guys that are similar to him like throughout history, like he, he's the power forward on this team. Like he's a Bigger power forward. You think of guys like Dirk and KG and those guys, but they had like go to offensive moves that like if they, if they just need to get a bucket, they do this. And Chet doesn't really have that yet. Yet. And to me, that's the thing that I think he will start to figure out. I don't know if it starts the rest of the season or if it is in the off season like you're talking about, but I do think that that's something that as he evolves into the player that he's going to be, I think he'll get there. Some of it is too, that a lot of his downtime has been spent like rehabbing and not necessarily like working on like who he is as a player. And so I think hopefully he can get through this season healthy, get to the summer healthy, and then like be ready to actually work on his game rather than, I mean even last off season a lot of it was spent working on his body still because his body was not 100 in the playoffs. And so if he can have time to actually work on his game and not just work on like rehabbing his body, which has literally been his entire NBA career, maybe he can actually figure that out. Raga, let's, let's imagine a world in which OKC gets healthy for the playoffs. In what ways do you think OKC could potentially be better in this year's playoffs compared to last year?

[Ryland Stiles]

I think in the half court they can be a lot better. And then the non shade minutes it can be a lot better offensively just because of the addition of Jared McCain. And I think that Isaiah Joe's a different player than he was last postseason. And we'll have to test that theory, right? We don't know that for sure, but just looking at the ways that he can relocate around the perimeter, that he can come off of screens and knock those shots down, there's just way more avenues now to be able to field a really good half court offense where if you're going to put a lineup out there, if you're Mark and you can have J dub next to McCain and Joe with Chet there, what do you do at that point if you're a defense? Because if you're going to have J Dub attacking downhill, you can't leave Joe and McCain. And so that holds guys away from those drives and opens things up for JW even more. And then Chet's been, you know, a much better player offensively whenever he shared the floor with Shea or Jada because he's cutting now more than ever. He's rolling to the rim now more than ever and he's keeping himself available at the dunker spot. Now in the past Chet would just kind of hang out with a three point line, but now he's more comfortable just standing his ground at the low block even when Jada bench are driving to the rim. And so it allows to, if someone steps up, they have an avenue to kind of dump it off to them to Chad Holmgren down there at the low block. So at that point it really spreads a defense then even in the high intense playoff half court environments where defenses are more engaged. So I think that that can be a situation that you find even with Shea where now you have AJ Mitchell and Jalen Williams where Shea last year to create a lot of his own offense on the ball. This year you can have AJ Bring the ball up and get it to Shay at the elbow where he's already in position and he's already in the spot he wants to score in and all he's got to do is make the shot and he's so comfortable hitting contested shots that you feel really good about that process and about that offense. So I think that that's going to be the biggest way if they are healthy, that they've improved compared to last season.

[Andrew]

Well, Rylan, thank you for answering all of our Thunder related questions, but it's now time to play Andrew versus the Beat. Now how this works, Rylan, is I've come up with eight questions about the Oklahoma City Thunder. Some are easy, some are hard. You're going to give me a number between 1 and 8. It will correspond to question. If you get it right, you'll get at least two points. And if you get it wrong, Andrew will have a chance to steal for one. And we'll go back and forth until all the questions have been asked and answered. And for the first time ever, this is beat versus beat, folks. Okay? Two beat writers for the same team going head to head. I mean, are you guys as excited as I sound?

[Ryland Stiles]

I think I'm more nervous than excited. I. I mean this is a. Usually the guest has home court advantage. I mean we're playing in Vegas right now. It's crazy. It's the NBA.

[Andrew]

It is a little unfair. I should have thrown in some Elvis trivia questions.

[Ryland Stiles]

Oh yeah, I would have crushed. I'm thinking about.

[Co-host Andrew]

Yeah.

[Andrew]

Okay, so round to start us off, just need a number between one and eight.

[Ryland Stiles]

I'm going to go with seven. Darius Basie's first number in okc.

[Andrew]

Okay. Okay. Question number seven. SGA has, unsurprisingly, taken the most shots for OKC in the clutch. Chet has taken the second most. Who has taken the third most clutch shots for OKC this season? So shot attempts in the clutch.

[Co-host Andrew]

Wow.

[Andrew]

Third most behind SGA and Chet.

[Ryland Stiles]

I'm gonna go with AJ Mitchell.

[Andrew]

That is incorrect. Oh, Andrew. He is fourth.

[Co-host Andrew]

Yeah, I was gonna.

[Andrew]

That.

[Co-host Andrew]

That was actually going to be my answer too. Even though he hasn't played a lot. Huh. Most shots in the clutch for the Thunder.

[Andrew]

Sj, Chet Blank, and then AJ Mitchell. Those are the top four.

[Co-host Andrew]

Dove hasn't played enough. Has he, though? Is it Dub? I'll say. Dub. I don't know.

[Andrew]

It is J. Dub.

[Ryland Stiles]

Oh, we over. I overthought it. I overthought. I think. I didn't think he played enough. I didn't think that they.

[Co-host Andrew]

When he did play well, I'm trying to think, like. Because you think about the Thunder and who they would even go to. It's like Isaiah Joe probably doesn't play enough clutch minutes. And then are they really giving clutch shots to Dort or Cason or Hart? Like. No.

[Andrew]

Well, what was that game right before the break? I mean, Dub might. Might have had them all in that one game.

[Ryland Stiles]

Yeah, the Lakers. The Lakers game there. They just.

[Andrew]

Yeah.

[Co-host Andrew]

Did he take all.

[Ryland Stiles]

Let's take out the Lakers game and see who would have been right.

[Co-host Andrew]

Yeah.

[Andrew]

Okay. Andrew, the board is yours.

[Co-host Andrew]

Number one question.

[Andrew]

Number one. With all the talk about tanking this month, let's take a look back at one of the more infamous tanking games in OKC history. The Daniel Oturu game. Yeah. It was May 16, 2021, and the 47 and 24 Los Angeles Clippers were trying to avoid a first round matchup with defending champion Lakers. Their final game of the season was against the Oklahoma City Thunder, who were in the midst of a 2:26 run to end the season, but needed to lose one more game to guarantee better odds than the Cleveland Cavaliers. It was a tank battle for the ages, with Los Angeles giving Daniel Oturo 37 minutes and letting him shoot 21 times, of which he made five. The game would end in a Clippers loss, a loss that would propel them to the franchise's only conference finals appearance. For this question, we are going to name every Thunder player who played at least one minute in the Daniel Oturu game, starting with Andrew. We'll go back and forth naming names until one of you stumbles.

[Co-host Andrew]

Wow. I was at this game.

[Andrew]

I'm guessing Both of you were at this game?

[Co-host Andrew]

Were you at this game, rag guy?

[Ryland Stiles]

I was. I was not at this game.

[Andrew]

Oh.

[Ryland Stiles]

I was at a much sadder place. I didn't want to bring the pod down, but I was at a hospice facility in Tulsa.

[Co-host Andrew]

Oh, yeah, Sorry. Right, guys. Sorry to bring that up. Yeah. Okay. Do I. Is it me?

[Ryland Stiles]

Yeah, it's you.

[Andrew]

It's you.

[Co-host Andrew]

First Poku.

[Andrew]

Alexei Pokushevsky. That is correct.

[Ryland Stiles]

Oh, that's correct. Let's go with. Melvin Frazier.

[Andrew]

Melvin Frazier. Ryland. No, no. Rylan Bad. Ryland.

[Co-host Andrew]

I mean, can I. Can I go. Can I go for a second? Yeah. Josh hall had, like, the game of his life in this one. Yes.

[Ryland Stiles]

I was my guy, too.

[Co-host Andrew]

As somebody who's rooting for Tanking. I was so mad at Josh hall because he. He had to have had his best game of the season that year or that. That night. Another guy who had an incredible game. Moses Brown.

[Andrew]

Moses Brown.

[Co-host Andrew]

I don't remember what his stat line was like. Almost like 2020. I feel like it was insane.

[Andrew]

Yeah. Once upon a time, there was a blog post written about how the Thunder didn't need Evan Mobley because they had that Moses Brown.

[Co-host Andrew]

That dude put up some stats. Teo Maladon played in this game for sure.

[Andrew]

Wow. Can you run the table, folks?

[Co-host Andrew]

Isaiah Roby definitely played in this game. Yeah. Charlie Brown Jr. Played a ridiculous amount in this game.

[Andrew]

Wow.

[Co-host Andrew]

I believe Gabby Deck played in this one.

[Andrew]

Yep, yep. Keep going. Keep going, Turtle.

[Co-host Andrew]

I. I know Jalen Horde played a ton in this one as well.

[Andrew]

Andrew, you've named all except one. Can you get the final name?

[Co-host Andrew]

I don't know that I have the final name. I don't say.

[Andrew]

It's a kind of important name in recent Thunder history. Ty Jerome is Tony Bradley.

[Co-host Andrew]

That's funny. Yeah.

[Andrew]

Okay. Wow. Very impressive, Andrew. Congratulations. You got two points for that. Rylan, board is yours.

[Ryland Stiles]

Let's go with four.

[Andrew]

Question number four. Isaiah Hartenstein. Ah, Isaiah Hartenstein.

[Co-host Andrew]

I can't believe you would do that.

[Andrew]

Wow. I swear, it's these. It's these. There's podcasts out there that are saying Steen, and they're getting in my brain like a worm, okay? And it's messing me up. Up. It's Hartenstein. All right. Isaiah Hartenstein recorded his first career triple double this season. There are seven other NBA players who got their first triple double this season. Can you name two? You get one point per correct answer. So there's seven possible names. First career triple double this season, and you just have to name two and you get one point per correct answer. Good. So go with your strongest guess.

[Co-host Andrew]

Guess first.

[Ryland Stiles]

Yeah, I don't. I don't know if I have any strong guess, but I'll go with my guess. That could be. Let's see, across the entire NBA, who's had a triple double this season spanning the league? Coop hasn't had one yet. I don't think that was my. That was a. He's had a great season, though.

[Andrew]

I agree.

[Ryland Stiles]

That's not the question.

[Andrew]

It's not the question, but I agree.

[Ryland Stiles]

My Mavs haven't had a triple double this year, I don't think. Let's see. And my Sixers had one.

[Andrew]

A lot of teams.

[Ryland Stiles]

Yeah, I do. I have a lot of teams. My guy, Jalen Green hasn't had one. Process of elimination. Jalen. It's my guy. I love Jalen Green. I love him. Good little ball game last night, by the way. I think. Let's just. This probably is not right at all, actually. I'm going to admit on the front end that I'm going to be down.03 and it's going to be like LeBron and, you know, the warriors here. I'm just going to throw it out there. To not make this podcast. 40 minutes while I think of every NBA player I've ever known. This is going to be a bad guess. It's going to be an all time bad guess, actually. Okay, Actually, I'm pivoting. My goal is no longer to win. My goal is to no longer win. I'm tanking. I'm tanking. What I want to do is I want to lose in the most embarrassing fashion ever.

[Co-host Andrew]

Don't do it.

[Ryland Stiles]

To make this the most, you know, memorable podcast ever. And I want to be fined. I want to be fined by your bosses for tanking.

[Co-host Andrew]

Wow.

[Andrew]

You're just doing it for the content. You're like plaque boy Max out here.

[Ryland Stiles]

Yeah, I'm like a streamer. I'm a streamer.

[Co-host Andrew]

Black boy Max out.

[Ryland Stiles]

I'm a strange guy. You know, let's just go with. Let's just go with this is such a bad guess. But I can't stop thinking about him. And now it's making me think that because I can't stop thinking about him. I'm right. Teresa Maxi.

[Andrew]

Tyrese Maxi. Taurus Maxi is incorrect. I don't know if he's had a triple double, but he did not have his first one this year. If he has had one. Andrew.

[Co-host Andrew]

Derek Queen.

[Andrew]

Derek Queen. See, I thought when you said Cooper, you might continue Going down that road of, of rookies, he's had two. Can you think of any other names? Andrew?

[Co-host Andrew]

I know that trend. And Watford had one this year.

[Andrew]

Is that your guess?

[Co-host Andrew]

Oh, yeah, that's my guess.

[Andrew]

Because you kind of said it like, I know he had one, but I. I wonder if he's had a Trinity Waffer's. He did.

[Ryland Stiles]

He did play for some of those Nets teams where he had the ball.

[Co-host Andrew]

He did. He did.

[Andrew]

He. That was his first. That was his first.

[Co-host Andrew]

Okay, you did get that.

[Andrew]

The other names. Jalen Suggs. Dyson Daniels. Nick Claxton. Who's had two. Jalen Brown. Jalen Brown, first career triple double. That's his first one. And Steph Castle.

[Co-host Andrew]

Yeah, I was gonna say Castle was my other guess.

[Andrew]

Okay, Andrew, you've got a commanding 5 to 0 lead and the board is yours.

[Co-host Andrew]

Number two.

[Andrew]

Question number two. Shay Gilgis Alexander is currently making 10.9 field goals per game, the highest in the league. That is the fourth time in his career he's made double digit field goals per game. He's averaged that. Before sga, how many times in Thunder history had a player scored averaged at least 10 field goals per game?

[Co-host Andrew]

Game.

[Andrew]

Now you get to choose who answers first. You can make Rylan answer first and then you go higher or lower. Or you can answer first and then round go higher. Lower. So this is the number of individual seasons, other than Shea, where a Thunder player has averaged at least 10 field goals made per game.

[Co-host Andrew]

10 figures made. Okay. I mean they had Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant, so I would guess there's a decent amount. 10 is a lot though. 10 is a lot made. Goodness. I will say a number. I'm trying to think of what number I would like to say though.

[Andrew]

Okay. So Andrew will be saying a number. He is now thinking of numbers.

[Co-host Andrew]

Currently thinking of numbers.

[Andrew]

Struggling to come up with numbers.

[Co-host Andrew]

And none of this does not include anything from the Seattle. The SGA era. The SGA era.

[Andrew]

Well, I mean, it could be someone other than sga.

[Ryland Stiles]

Just.

[Andrew]

Just other than sga.

[Co-host Andrew]

Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Okay. I think it's. I'll say two.

[Andrew]

Two. Andrew's gone with the number two. Rylan, would you like to go higher or lower than 2?

[Ryland Stiles]

So the number two dollar does not include Shay.

[Co-host Andrew]

Does not.

[Andrew]

Because Shay's had.

[Ryland Stiles]

Okay, so I'm just. Okay, so then we'd have to say. So if I said fewer, right, that'd

[Andrew]

be one or zero.

[Co-host Andrew]

Okay. Yeah.

[Ryland Stiles]

My. My question is. Has. Has both KD and Russ, to be

[Andrew]

clear, if you said Higher be. All those numbers above 2, you'd get all of those.

[Co-host Andrew]

In my head, it's the Russ and KD MVP seasons. Yeah.

[Ryland Stiles]

It's like. It's like, did Paul George do it? The question is basically, did Paul George do it?

[Co-host Andrew]

That is the. That would be the question.

[Ryland Stiles]

Yeah.

[Co-host Andrew]

Yeah.

[Ryland Stiles]

Did Paisley do it is a good question as well. One more technicality question, because I. I want to enjoy my time with you guys.

[Andrew]

Yeah.

[Ryland Stiles]

Is there any quality. Is there any qualifications for, like, you got to play a certain amount of games or minutes? What if a guy just came in and, you know, in those tanking years and just had 10 buckets and cut?

[Andrew]

I will say that was. That was not the case. Although I was going to do a question about steals, and Yorgos Calzakis did average over 2 steals per game in his 4 games with OKC. So I scrapped that question.

[Ryland Stiles]

Yeah, see, that's why you. That's why you gotta ask the question, folks at home. If you're listening at home, kids, there's no bad questions. I'm gonna go with under Andrew.

[Andrew]

Wrong. Andrew got it exactly correct. It was two. He got the bonus point as well.

[Ryland Stiles]

That's tough. That's tough. You gotta go me. You gotta give me one and a half. Andrew, you gotta give me something.

[Andrew]

I could have stopped you at any point.

[Ryland Stiles]

You could have. That's. Honestly, folks, blame Alex.

[Andrew]

All right, Rylan, board is yours only. Down. I'm going to zero. You're going with two. Well, sorry, we just did two.

[Co-host Andrew]

I was gonna say.

[Andrew]

I forgot to cross that one off.

[Ryland Stiles]

All right, that's on Alex again.

[Andrew]

Hey, that's on me.

[Ryland Stiles]

Let's go with the three.

[Andrew]

Three. Chet Holmgren has 96 dunks currently this season. Well on his way to having over 100 dunks. Who was the last Thunder player, other than chet, to have 100 plus dunks in a season?

[Co-host Andrew]

Wow.

[Andrew]

Last Thunder player other than chet to have 100 plus dunks in a season. He did have 100 in his rookie season. I think it was like 126 or something like that. So he has done it before. But other than Chet,

[Ryland Stiles]

I mean, basically wasn't a big dunker. Huh? But he did spin through the lane a lot. Basically. Certainly got to 100. Maybe he had a lot of run.

[Andrew]

He did get a lot of run. No,

[Ryland Stiles]

he played some small ball. 5. Not as much as I'd like him to, but. Moses Brown, did you ever play a full season enough to get 100? Great questions.

[Andrew]

Great question.

[Ryland Stiles]

Through my mind. I'll just Go with. Other than Chad. So let's see.

[Co-host Andrew]

Let's see here.

[Ryland Stiles]

Just again, for technicality purposes, hypothetically, had Isaiah hartins, I had 100 tunks, which he did not. That would have still counted, though, because he did. It's not Chet. And he saw me, even though he's on the same team.

[Andrew]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Ryland Stiles]

Okay. That. That puts a whole new can of worms in the mix for me. But I'm gonna stick with. I'm gonna stick with my guy. Moses Brown.

[Andrew]

Moses Brown. Moses Brown. Moses Brown. That is incorrect. Andrew, you have a chance to steal.

[Co-host Andrew]

I was thinking it might have been Moses as well. My other guess is ner. Noel.

[Andrew]

Andrew. That is correct.

[Ryland Stiles]

Ner. Wow, they've been a long time without hitting the century mark on the dunkers, huh?

[Co-host Andrew]

There's not a lot of dunkers they have. Not drafted, like, any. Like, real dunkers.

[Andrew]

Yeah. I mean, in my head it was

[Ryland Stiles]

just like, how else was Moses Brown scoring this little. Those little layups and hook shots and dunks.

[Co-host Andrew]

He just wasn't scoring that much.

[Ryland Stiles]

That's true. But he had at the end 20, 20 game, didn't he?

[Co-host Andrew]

You know he did.

[Andrew]

It was a garage. Okay, Andrew, you're currently up 10 to zero.

[Co-host Andrew]

Okay.

[Andrew]

Don't worry, Rylan, there's still questions remaining. They're not worth 10 points, but don't worry.

[Co-host Andrew]

Five.

[Andrew]

Question number five. Here we go. According to cleaning the glass, when this player is on the court for the Thunder, OKC has held opponents to 7.8 fewer points per 100 possessions. Compared to when he is on the court. Sorry. Compared to when he is off the court. So they're better defensively when he's on the court. Okay.

[Co-host Andrew]

Yeah.

[Andrew]

And it's the best on the team. It's the best defensive on. Off swing on the team. Who is the player? And as a hint, minimum of a thousand minutes played.

[Co-host Andrew]

Yeah, this is A.J. mitchell.

[Andrew]

This is A.J. mitchell. That is correct. Another two points.

[Ryland Stiles]

We gotta investigate this.

[Andrew]

Oh, you know what? I gave you too many points for the last one. So you actually have 11 points right now. I'll go ahead and leave that extra just in case you get more points. But just know that Andrew has 11 points right now. Okay, Ryland, two questions remain. Six or eight?

[Ryland Stiles]

Six.

[Andrew]

Question number six. Who is the only team that is undefeated against OKC this season? So they had to have played them and they're undefeated.

[Ryland Stiles]

Right? Well, they got revenge on the spurs, so that takes them out. They've played the Hornets a lot getting back to the preseason. They've gotten Revenge on them.

[Andrew]

Yeah. I was actually trying to do a question because, you know, they've lost the spurs four times. I was like, when was the last time they lost to a team four times? Did that ever happen in these previous seasons? And you do have to go all the way back to the tanking, which made it not as interesting. But yeah, spurs got their number right now.

[Ryland Stiles]

Yeah, they got their number. Just like Andy's got my number here. Andy numbers, Amy's.

[Andrew]

Amy's got your number.

[Ryland Stiles]

But you know, my pick's top four protected. So we're sitting our guys.

[Andrew]

And the benefit of this taking will be you'll get to answer first the next time you're on, which is also what you got to do this time.

[Ryland Stiles]

But next time, it's a generational draft class this time for Zachary.

[Andrew]

Yeah. The questions I have prepared for next time.

[Ryland Stiles]

The only team that Thunder have not beat that, that has beaten them.

[Andrew]

It's a tricky one.

[Co-host Andrew]

It is that they've a team that's beaten them multiple times this season.

[Andrew]

Well, it's just a team that's beat, played them, beaten them, hasn't lost to them yet.

[Ryland Stiles]

And that makes me go east because it's like maybe you haven't played them again yet.

[Andrew]

Right.

[Ryland Stiles]

I'm trying to think of who all, but it all. It also could be West. We can't rule out the west and James K. Polk, Goddess the West. Let's never forget that great presence.

[Co-host Andrew]

True. That's true.

[Ryland Stiles]

Also a great movie. How the west was won. Who of the Thunder? Not one in the West. I'm gonna go. Okay. I'm trying to think of all the teams that Thunder have lost to which folks they've lost quite a bit.

[Andrew]

Ryan, I just saw your screen get brighter on your face. What are you looking at?

[Ryland Stiles]

Is my text messages. I had to text my boss.

[Andrew]

Boss.

[Ryland Stiles]

I did text my boss about my sister having a baby. Congratulations to me. Thanks for asking.

[Andrew]

Oh, you're gonna be an uncle today.

[Ryland Stiles]

All right. So. So preparation plans. Preparation plans. She's gonna have a baby on a Thursday, which is my night. The host locked in to be a game night, and I was like, hey, listen, I might be out of pocket here.

[Andrew]

Yeah.

[Ryland Stiles]

But I could record it from the delivery room. You never know. Okay, let me think here.

[Andrew]

Are you first time uncle, first timer?

[Ryland Stiles]

Yeah.

[Andrew]

Wow, Congrats. Go.

[Ryland Stiles]

And I'm the youngest child, so I've never even held the baby before. I don't know what to do with myself, you know?

[Co-host Andrew]

Oh, wow.

[Ryland Stiles]

A lot of pressure. They've Lost the Hornets. They've lost the Spurs. They've lost.

[Andrew]

I believe we've covered that.

[Ryland Stiles]

They've lost the sun, so they've beaten the Suns. They've lost to the Rockets, but they've beaten the Rockets. Oh, wait a second. They did beat the Bucks. Whatever, Giannis. Last game. So they lost the Bucks last time. This is really tough. I wish we could hit pause. Are we cutting this out at all? Like, how does it matter?

[Andrew]

We might. Oh, my gosh. We might. Yeah.

[Co-host Andrew]

This might get slowed down.

[Ryland Stiles]

No, it's a new thing. See, that's also unfair. I didn't know that. I thought we were cutting all this out. Okay, we're just gonna throw out a wild guess. I don't even know if they've lost to them this year now. I'm frazzled. I'm frazzled. This is the hot seat here. Oh, I'm.

[Andrew]

It's clear that you're flat.

[Ryland Stiles]

This is the hot seat here. And it's like. I don't know what to do with myself. I don't know. My hands. Have they lost to trying to think. I mean, I remember some bad crash outs, for example. It's like, have that from. From fans that we all have to deal with, right? And they have not. But now I'm questioning myself about the Hornets of, like, were those all preseason games? Because they played them twice in the preseason and they had not yet played them in the regular season, but they have. They played them in, like, December. They've beaten Minnesota. Okay.

[Andrew]

Any guesses? Ryland, would you like to throw out?

[Ryland Stiles]

Gonna go with. Oh, man. Have they played and lost two.

[Andrew]

As a reminder, Rylan is currently down 11 to zero.

[Ryland Stiles]

Yes, that's true. That's true. Which I'm running out of time to get on the board here. Let's go with.

[Andrew]

I like how you use let's go with as a stall tactic, because it makes me. It's very anticipatory. I'm like, oh, he's about to say something. And then you got the island.

[Ryland Stiles]

You keep the audience waiting and wondering and anticipating. Gosh. Gosh, this is tough. I respect anyone who's ever beaten Andrew now way more than I previously did, which I already respected them a lot, but now I respect them even more. More you get here, and your brain just kind of goes to mush. At least mine does. I'm from Latin, though, folks. That's. I don't know if you've heard. Oh, my God. Oklahoma is 50th in education.

[Andrew]

Don't. Don't Hate on your hometown of.

[Co-host Andrew]

Don't do this. Mount Scott. It's beautiful.

[Andrew]

Yeah. You got Mountain Scott. Beautiful mountain.

[Ryland Stiles]

Wonderful mountain. Wayne's driving.

[Andrew]

What else is that?

[Ryland Stiles]

In Lawton McMahon Auditorium. Go with final answer here for. For a point. They have not been able to beat the. I'm trying to think of a team now. I'm trying to think of a team and that would be the Toronto Raptors because they haven't played them yet.

[Andrew]

Okay.

[Ryland Stiles]

After the. After the first half, they lost. They haven't played them yet in Toronto. Okay.

[Andrew]

Correct.

[Co-host Andrew]

That's correct.

[Andrew]

Let's go.

[Co-host Andrew]

Yeah.

[Andrew]

Ryland got two points.

[Co-host Andrew]

Yes.

[Andrew]

They played the Raptors once. They are playing them this week. But they've only played them once. They lost to them.

[Co-host Andrew]

Yep.

[Andrew]

All right, Andrew, final question.

[Co-host Andrew]

That happened on down to dunk Night, by the way.

[Andrew]

Oh, yeah, they did.

[Ryland Stiles]

And in the snow apocalypse too.

[Andrew]

Yeah. Per cleaning the glass, the Thunder are shooting 35.6 from the corners this season, which ranks ranks 24th in the league. The last time their corner three point shooting was this bad was even bottom half of the league was the 2122 season. Who took the most corner threes for the 2122 Thunder.

[Co-host Andrew]

Oh, my. 2122 Thunder.

[Andrew]

2122 Thunder. Most attempts from the corner.

[Co-host Andrew]

Goodness. I dort.

[Andrew]

Incorrect. Rylan, you have a chance to steal a point, get up to three points.

[Ryland Stiles]

21:22 Thunder. And it's not Dort.

[Andrew]

It's not Dortmund. It isn't that interesting playing.

[Ryland Stiles]

No, this was the. Before the check draft. This was. Okay, I'm getting there. Let's go with final answer because I had to do it at some point on this show. Darius Paisley.

[Andrew]

What a beautiful way to end the podcast. Yes, it was. Darius Basley, your guy. There we go.

[Co-host Andrew]

What's on Going go.

[Andrew]

Let's go.

[Ryland Stiles]

I'm back.

[Andrew]

11 to 3, not back. I would not say back, but yes, it's building momentum.

[Ryland Stiles]

Building. We're building momentum for next time, you know.

[Andrew]

Yes. Even when you're tanking, you got to give the fans something.

[Co-host Andrew]

That's right.

[Ryland Stiles]

Moses Brown. 2020 game was right. This was. That was this answer right here.

[Andrew]

Thank you, Ryland for playing Andrew versus the beat.

[Co-host Andrew]

Go listen to the locked on Thunder pod. Also, if you want to subscribe to the OKC Dream Team podcast, patreon.com okc dream team if you want to listen to Ryland and I on a weekly basis, we have a weekly show. We have a draft pod that Ryland does and we also have post game shows. For every single Thunder game. It's called Thunder after Dark. Go check it out. Rylan, thanks for coming on.

[Ryland Stiles]

Thanks for having me. This was a lot of fun.

[Andrew]

1. All right, Andrew, that was Thunder week. But it is now time once again to spin the wheel of fandom. Decide who is going to be our favorite team for the next week. The the team that we will follow and discuss on next week's podcast. So let's spin the wheel, see who we get. This week's wheel of fandom team will be.

[Co-host Andrew]

Oh.

[Andrew]

Dallas Mavericks.

[Co-host Andrew]

The Dallas Mavericks.

[Andrew]

Dallas Mavericks. I believe they're on a nine game losing streak.

[Co-host Andrew]

Yeah. You know, if you don't like the tanking conversation. Sorry. Because we've got a team.

[Andrew]

They're bouncing back this week.

[Co-host Andrew]

You think so?

[Andrew]

I can feel it. Oh, actually. Oh, my gosh. Listen to these games.

[Co-host Andrew]

Okay.

[Andrew]

This is genuinely crazy. We're getting this. Okay. Friday night Minnesota. Okay. Minnesota's good team. It's on ESPN though. Espn.

[Co-host Andrew]

Nice.

[Andrew]

Sunday at Pacers, Tuesday at Nets, Thursday Kings at home.

[Co-host Andrew]

No way.

[Andrew]

Three tank battles.

[Co-host Andrew]

Let's go, man. All right. Hi. I. I cannot wait to talk Mavs then. Like that. That gets me genuinely excited. I've got the juices flowing now. I'm ready to go. Yeah, that rules. Please leave us a five star review on Apple podcast. I'm going to read those next week. I've got a bunch that I have backlogged, but I would. I will read them next week. So if you want your five star review read on the podcast, please leave them. Leave one for next week. Hope everybody has a great weekend, enjoy the basketball and we'll talk to you guys again next week.

[Andrew]

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[Ryland Stiles]

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[Andrew]

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[Ryland Stiles]

We're gonna find out who's number one. It's a customer. Whose Walmart is it? My Walmart.

[Andrew]

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[Andrew]

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[Ryland Stiles]

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[Andrew]

We all have moments where we could have done better. Like cutting your own hair.

[Co-host Andrew]

Yikes.

[Andrew]

Or forgetting sunscreen. So now you look like a tomato. Ouch.

[Co-host Andrew]

Could have done better.

[Ryland Stiles]

Same goes for where you invest.

[Andrew]

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[Co-host Andrew]

Learn [e-mail].