Loading summary
Transcript376 lines
- [00:00]
Advertiser 1
As we head into the playoffs, it's safe to assume there will be a few calls made by the refs that will be hard to accept. But you know what isn't hard to accept? Discover. Believe it or not, Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide. You heard that right, 99%. So make a good call for your wallet and get Discover. Based on the February 2024 Nielsen report. Learn more at discover.com creditcard As a.
- [00:26]
Advertiser 2
Salesperson, the search for the right buyer or buying groups can feel like you're endlessly sifting through leads and hoping they're read, ready to buy. Thankfully, LinkedIn Sales Navigator is more than just a tool, it's your strategic sales partner. LinkedIn Sales Navigator is a sales intelligence platform that helps professionals effectively prospect and engage high value customers, drive higher revenue and increase sales performance. Sales Navigator helps you target the right buyers, surface key signals such as job changes or which accounts you should prioritize, and shows you hidden allies so you can find those buyers that are most likely to convert. Fueled by LinkedIn's 1 billion-member platform, Sales Navigator gives you the most up to date first party data enabling you to unlock conversations with the people that matter. Ready to get right to the right conversations? Try LinkedIn Sales Navigator now with a 60 day free trial at LinkedIn.com rates 23 that's LinkedIn.com rates 23 for a 60 day free trial. Terms and conditions apply.
- [01:31]
Advertiser 3
This message is brought to you by Apple Card. Apply for Apple Card today and start earning up to 3% daily cash back on everyday purchases. And that daily cash can even grow automatically when you open a high yield savings account through Apple Card. What are you waiting for? Visit Apple Co Card Calculator today to see how much daily cash you can earn. Subject to credit approval Savings available to Apple Card owners Subject to eligibility savings and Apple Card by Goldman Sachs Bank USA Member FDIC terms and more@applecard.com welcome to the Slam and Jam heat here on the NBA Daily. On today's show, we're recapping week one telling you what our favorite things are from the week and our guy Esper Henney joins to give us some big picture thoughts on some small sample sizes. With me, as always, is my good friend Alex Spears. Alex, tell me about these top stories this week.
- [02:43]
Andrew
Well Andrew, the big story this week was of course the return of basketball and the return of of the Boston Celtics. Last year's champs did not miss a beat this week. Starting off 2. 0 on the season with dominant wins against the Knicks and the Wizards. In the game against the Knicks, the Celtics hit 29 three pointers, tying a record set by the Milwaukee Bucks. Jason Tatum is on fire to start the season. He's hit 11 of his first 22 three point attempts through two games. Are the Celtics poised to be the first back to back champ since the KD Warriors? Or are there other realistic challengers? Perhaps the Oklahoma City Thunder, who started off their season with an impressive 102 to 87 win over the Nuggets in Denver. Since Nikol, Jokic has been a Nugget, Denver has failed to score 88 points at home in only 10 games and not once since 2021. Now the story of the game was Chet Holmgren. He outplayed Jokic. He put up in his absurd line 25, 9 and 5, 2 steals, 4 blocks. The statement win came despite OKC shooting 22% from three and despite OKC being down three of their big men, including their newest Freedom signing, Isaiah Hartenstein. Hartenstein got a big bag this summer, Andrew, but it wasn't quite as big as some of the bags that were handed out this week. At the extension deadline. We saw two key vets in Aaron Gordon and Rudy Gobert get extensions and we saw eight fourth year players get a rookie extension including Alperin Shengoon, Jalen Suggs, Jalen Johnson, Trey Murphy, Jalen Green, three Jalens, Corey Kispert, Moses Moody and Jaden Hardy. The only players in the top eight of the 2021 draft to not get an extension were Josh Giddy and Jonathan Kaminga. Now the most interesting deal was definitely Jalen Green who signed for three years, 106 million player option in year three and a trade kicker, a combination of words that supported hours of podcasting this week as fans tried to make sense of that deal for Hous. In addition to signing extensions, Jalen Green and Alpern Shangun also played basketball this week. Both put up big numbers, but in what was probably the biggest upset of the early season, the Charlotte Hornets beat the rockets in Houston 110 to 105, led by LaMelo's 34, 8 and 11 and Trey Mann's 24. Off the bench, the Hornets and new coach Charles Lee secured an impressive win for a team that maybe we should have been taken more seriously as a surprise team this season. And speaking of surprises and not the good ones, Dejounte Murray broke his hand in the Pelicans opening win against Chicago and will be sidelined for several weeks. This is a huge blow for a team that has a history of frustrating injuries and who is already dealing with Trey Murphy being out with a hamstring strain. Zion missing game one because of an illness. Now the good news is Brandon Ingram appears up to the task. He dropped 33 points on 23 shots in the opener. And the other good news is the Pelicans next two games are against the Blazers, who had the largest opening night loss in franchise history on Wednesday when they gave up 140 to the Warriors. And to add insult to injury, the final score was actually 139 to 104. But the NBA corrected the score later, giving the warriors one more point when they realized that the Anthony Milton free throw hadn't been counted.
- [06:02]
Advertiser 3
Yeah.
- [06:03]
Andrew
And finally, Andrew, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that LeBron James played in an NBA game with his son Bronnie. Any Lakers opener against the Wolves. If this is the first time you're hearing this news, that is somehow even more incredible than LeBron playing in a game with his son. They subbed in together during the second quarter, played about two and a half minutes together, officially making them the first father and son to play in the NBA at the same time. Andrew, those were the top stories this week.
- [06:32]
Advertiser 3
Incredible. What a great week so far.
- [06:34]
Andrew
What a week.
- [06:35]
Advertiser 3
What a week. Let's go to our BET MGM Line of the Week, brought to you by BETMGM.
- [06:43]
Alex Spears
Foreign.
- [06:48]
Advertiser 3
Talk about the six man of the year odds, which I just think this year feels pretty wide open. I know Nas Reed, who isn't even the favorite, by the way, who won it last year's +900. Malik Monk is actually the favorite at +5.50. But is there a guy on this list that you like? There, are there odds that you favor here that, that you think could, could net you some cash?
- [07:11]
Andrew
Andrew, there's so much value here. So much value. First of all, Alex Caruso wasn't even the sixth man for the Thunder.
- [07:19]
Advertiser 3
Seventh man.
- [07:20]
Andrew
Seventh man. So I, I talked to you previously that I, I, I actually did place a bet on Bogdanovich for the, the Hawks.
- [07:29]
Advertiser 3
Yeah.
- [07:30]
Andrew
Because I, I think he's a really good player. You know, we, I, I got, I kind of got sucked into the Hawks preseason.
- [07:35]
Advertiser 3
Yeah.
- [07:36]
Andrew
But recency bias. I'm changing my pick, Andrew, because Buddy Heald was incredible in game one. I was at this game, Buddy. He, I mean, besides the fact that he was hitting his shots, that's great. But the vibes he was bringing on the court during that game were incredible. Like it felt like old joyful warriors again, Andrew. There's one play in particular, I think it was in like the third quarter or something where Steph got a rebound. Buddy heel. The entire game was leaking out, just sprinting down the court. Steph throws this huge baseball pass to him. He gets the layup, and they immediately turn to each other and are pointing at each other from like opposite ends of the court. And it was just a really cool moment. Buddy Heal just looks like he has the type of role that could actually lead to a six man of the year award because you know he's going to score points. That's what he's going to be doing. If the warriors surprise, as I think they might, because this team is so much deeper than the warriors teams of the last couple years, I think there's a decent chance that Buddy Heald could be in this conversation. He's plus 2,000, Andrew.
- [08:42]
Advertiser 3
Plus 2,000.
- [08:43]
Andrew
Great value.
- [08:44]
Advertiser 3
It's great value number one. I need to see the warriors play someone that's not the Blazers before I can feel any better about this one. So next. I like Dante DiVincenzo. If he's, if he's going to be coming off the bench for the Minnesota Timberwolves. They just, the fact is, like, they just really need him. And I know they need Nazrid as well, but I think his shooting is going to be really valuable off the bench. And typically this award goes to a guard. So I like DiVincenzo at + 1400. That's a value there, too. Al let's go to our favorites of the week.
- [09:30]
Andrew
Yes, our favorites of the week. New segment on Slammin Jam. A way for us to just recap the week and talk about everything that we just loved about this week. So we have a few different categories. These aren't awards. Don't call them awards. They're just categories. And we're going to go through them, share some of our just favorite things of this week. Starting off with our favorite quote of the week. Now, there were a lot of candidates. I feel like there's going to be a lot of candidates every week. We did choose one as our ultimate favorite, but just some of these honorable mentions. For instance, after the very first game between the Wolves and the Lakers, Rui Hachimura was asked a question. You know, how, how did you prepare for this game? Kind of thing. He said, quote, we talked about Julius Randall. He sometimes is just standing and stuff. So we talked about it. We kind of got used to that. I know I can be the screener. I can be in the Corner to kind of attack that. Attack the rim. I just thought that was a very funny quote after that opening game where, like, the Wolves really did look discombobulated. Now, they. They would end up beating the Kings later in the week. But, you know, for all the talk about Julius Randall and how is this clunky fit gonna work? Is it gonna be clunky? And for Rui to just come out and be like, yeah, he sometimes just stands around and stuff. And that was in. That was part of our prep. I thought that was great.
- [10:50]
Advertiser 3
He's just standing and stuff is a great quote. This next one comes from Josh Hart, who. He was joking, but they lost by a kajillion to the Celtics on opening night. He said the NBA needs to drug test them dudes. I ain't ever seen anything like that. Just a great quote from a guy who generates just ridiculous quotes all season. So good. Good first start for Josh Hart.
- [11:15]
Andrew
The next one from Chauncey Billups after the aforementioned Blazers game against the Warriors. Quote. I don't think one guy on our team played well tonight. You couldn't think of one? No, I. I would actually. I actually. So I really enjoyed.
- [11:30]
Advertiser 3
Who would you say?
- [11:31]
Andrew
Okay. Okay. I really enjoyed Donovan Clingan's minutes when he came into the game. The warriors did not enter the paint. They just did not enter it. Now it. I'm sure his plus minus doesn't, because. So the warriors started off that game missing all their threes. And then Clingan came in and they started hitting some of their threes, but they were not getting into the paint at all. And then he finally did get challenged by Kavon Looney and just blocked him right at the rim. So I thought. I thought Clingan, you know, for a rookie, he only played like 11 minutes or something. I thought he was good, but otherwise, I would agree with Chauncey.
- [12:05]
Advertiser 3
Next quote. And this one feels loaded. At least it reads loaded. I don't know that. Whenever I actually. When I read it, I was like, oh, I need to go watch this. It probably reads a little bit more loaded than it is, but this is from Steph Curry after. After their. Their bludgeoning of the Warriors. He said, it's a beautiful locker room, guys that are happy to be here, happy to play the way that we do. It's just. It feels a little loaded. That's all I have to say.
- [12:34]
Andrew
It does.
- [12:34]
Advertiser 3
But you.
- [12:35]
Andrew
You can't imagine Steph actually saying something like that to Clay. I feel like this is a buddy quote.
- [12:42]
Advertiser 3
This is like, it Certainly could be. But honestly, is Buddy the first person that you think of whenever you saw this quote?
- [12:49]
Andrew
No, it wasn't just saying. I'm just saying he is happy to be there. And finally, our favorite quote of the week, one you probably already heard, but we got to repeat it because it's so good. Joe Missoula, explaining why he doesn't feel pressure from the Boston media, said, quote, they don't have a weapon. They're not going to come after me. They're just saying words. We're either going to win or we're not. 40 years from now, none of you are invited to my funeral. And that's it. Just an incredible quote. He. He's, you know, obviously, Joe Madness has been saying, having very interesting quotes throughout his coaching career. I will say now that he's a champion. These quotes feel different to me. They're almost like, oh, they make me feel like, do I need to be talking this way? Like there's some way successful? Do I need to start saying things like this? Do I need to come up with little weird phrases? People feel awkward.
- [13:45]
Advertiser 3
Well, within this, though, he talks about how he, like, talks to his kids, about how when people say things to you like, they're just words and the only thing that gives them power is you. You are the one that gives them power.
- [13:59]
Andrew
You know, that's honestly very smart and very true.
- [14:01]
Advertiser 3
Yeah, Yeah. I mean, it's. It's incredible. Honestly. He's an incredible quote. The thing that I love most about this is watching colleague and friend J. King in the background just trying to hold back a smile the entire time that he's saying this. It's so good. The whole thing is just so good. Shout out to Joe Missoula, who I think might lead this category. Even though they're not awards, he may lead this category with the amount of quotes that are going to. He's going to generate throughout the season.
- [14:32]
Andrew
I mean, he's getting to the point where we might be able to put together, like, the Art of War style book of just Joe.
- [14:38]
Advertiser 3
Totally.
- [14:39]
Andrew
I think we could totally get there by the end of his career. Our next favorite thing, our favorite stat of the week. Andrew, what was your favorite stat this week?
- [14:56]
Advertiser 3
So when you think about the Thunder, you think about all these great players that have played for them. Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant, James Harden, Paul George, Dion, Waders, they all put up crazy stats, right? All the time. And yet all of them, including Dion. Shout out to Dion. And yet Chet Holmgren became the first player in Thunder history on Thursday. Night to register 25 plus points, 14 plus rebounds, five plus assists, four plus blocks and two steals in a game. No other Thunder player has ever done that. Which feels wild to me. You know, especially when you think specifically about Kevin and Russ and all that they did statistically for the Thunder and yet they never did that before. I mean, one, it shows that like, Chet is starting to scratch the surface of the kind of player that he can be. I mean, he did this against the Denver Nuggets and Nikola Jokic, but the ceiling for this team is probably a little bit higher than I thought and everybody thought it was high. But Chet being this good out of the gate this season is huge for them. And I think like his stat line really shows that.
- [16:06]
Andrew
Yeah, not just being huge, but specifically doing that against Jokic because we all remember last year when they played for the first time and they asked Jokic about Chad afterwards and basically he just said he needs to put on weight, he needs to be bigger. So for him to come back a year later and just really have a dominant performance is huge. My favorite stat this week. I found this one myself, Andrew. I'm so proud of myself. Demonic Sabonis in a game, a Thursday game against the Wolves, he hit three threes. Okay, now that may not seem like a big deal, but Demonic Sabonis has only hit at least two three pointers nine other times in his career and they were all when he played for the Oklahoma City Thunder, when he was.
- [16:52]
Advertiser 3
A stretch power forward in the corner of the Thunder.
- [16:56]
Andrew
Stretch power forward who only took corner threes. I just thought that was amazing. Like he never had. He never did this in any of those games with the Pacers. He had never done it in any of the games so far with the Kings. Just hitting two and he hit three last night. So that'll be very interesting to follow going forward. Is he going to become a shooter finally? It'd be cool.
- [17:19]
Advertiser 3
Quite interesting.
- [17:28]
Andrew
Our next favorite is our favorite player this week. And my favorite player this week is a guy who clearly listened to the pod last week. He was miffed and peeved that neither of us picked him to be a first time all star. I'm talking about Evan Mobley, who in his first game against Toronto put up 25, nine and three with two steals, three blocks and a three in only 27 minutes. Yeah, go back and watch some of these highlights. I. I loved how aggressive he was, how confident he looked. First play of the game, he has the ball on the perimeter and goes straight at Scotty Barnes. He misses the Layup, but gets his own rebound twice and puts it back. He had another great play later on where he's backing down Scotty from the perimeter, then hits a turnaround J over him. I just thought he looked awesome. And yes, it was the Raptors who may be awful, but considering how many people had questions about Evan Mobley's offense, including myself, you could not ask for a better start to the season for him.
- [18:24]
Advertiser 3
Yeah, Jacob Portal stayed true to his word. Man, like this. They're not trying to win every game. They're not trying.
- [18:31]
Andrew
We should have waited till after media day to do surprise teams because that, that really, I feel like that was a knife in the back. Yaka Pearl's close at media day.
- [18:41]
Advertiser 3
It really was. My favorite player this week is Jason Tatum. While we all acknowledge it was a weird summer for Jason, he like he won the championship and then he was benched for Team usa. He was probably the best player ever to be Ben for a Team USA team. It was really strange. We all also acknowledge the whole revenge tour thing that people keep talking about that the Celtics are going to be on, but it's a whole different thing to me to actually see him do it. He had 37, 4 and 10 against the Knicks on opening night. The game seems to be slowing down for Jason and he only had double digit assists seven times in his career prior to that night. Which is kind of wild to me just to think of like what the kind of playmaker that he's become. In fact, he only did that one time last season. He had double digit assists and so he's already matched that for this season. And something that we forget about with Tatum is that he's only 131 days older than SGA. And I just think about the way that SGA is framed in the NBA landscape as like kind of this like younger up and coming star that is still kind of developing in some ways. And yet Tatum is basically the same age and we don't really give Tatum the same treatment because of all that he's accomplished when it comes to making the playoffs and making, you know, he's won an NBA title. He's been to the finals once before. That all that to say I love watching Tatum play this week. He was dissecting the Knicks defense on night one. I thought his just his patience and his willingness to pass and then his ability to score and shoot, it has, has been pretty miraculous. And so it's, it's just good to see Jason Tatum, you know, improving and looking, looking like a true mvp. Candidate here early on.
- [20:32]
Andrew
All right, our next category, and this is a fun one. Favorite team to panic about this week. You know, the ebb and flow of the season. There's going to be highs and lows for all these teams. I mean, if you're a fan of any team out there, even if they're good, there's always, like, weeks in the season where you're just like, oh, my God, I think everything's over. So, Andrew, who is your favorite team to panic about this week?
- [20:55]
Advertiser 3
Yeah, it's kind of funny because we did this, I believe, night one with the Wolves last year, too. And while the Wolves, yeah, we were panicking about them last year as well, and everything actually turned out pretty great for them. They went to the conference finals, they had the best defense in the NBA. But you know what? I learned nothing. Because I'm still panicking about the Minnesota Timberwolves. Now. They did win in Sacramento last night, but I still have concerns about them. I'm not pushing any panic buttons, but I am hovering over that button and just kind of watching because I. Because I'm. I'm tempted to press it, but I'm not hitting it yet. My main concern really with the Wolves through two games is where are they going to hang their hat? Last season, it was clearly the defense, and that still could be the case, but I just have more concerns about them defensively this go around. They had, like, a true identity when they had Carl Anthony Townsend on the team. They looked better against the Kings, but it took 20 made threes to only beat the Kings by two. It was a little dicey, to say the least, and it looked like for a while that the Kings were going to cruise to a victory. But I do worry about overall their offensive flow with Ant and Julius Randle. I think so much of the playmaking, responsibility and flow of the offense is going to be defined by Ant, who just turned 23 years old. Now, long term, I'm not really concerned about this, but I do think that they lost this, like, efficiency blanket in Anthony Towns that I don't believe Julius Randle can replicate night in, night out. He did it last night, I guess, Thursday night against the Sacramento Kings, but I just don't believe that's going to happen every night. And so it just puts a lot of pressure on. On Anthony Edwards to grow a lot this season, which I think will ultimately be a good thing. But I do worry about this team and how efficient they'll be throughout this season.
- [22:39]
Andrew
Yeah, and you mentioned the defense. That's the thing I've got my eye on because last year, I mean you can even look at the stats, their defensive rating was far and away the best defense in the league. But also just watching them, there would be times where they just looked overwhelming when it would be like, you know, Aunt Be Ant would be out there. Nikhil, Alexander, Walker, McDaniels, Gobert. Like they would have these lineups that just felt impossible to score against. So I just really. And those guys are all still there. So I just want to see can they get back to that level. Two games. But yeah, that's the part I'm really interested in because that was the identity and for this formula to work, they kind of have to be that on defense. My favorite team to panic about this week, the Los Angeles Clippers. First before the season even started. Shamshirani reported that the quiet injury is an issue of weeks, not days.
- [23:34]
Advertiser 3
Yeah.
- [23:35]
Andrew
So don't expect quiet anytime soon. Then the Clippers lost their season opener, a very fun overtime game against the Phoenix Suns. 116 to 113. And there's definitely a glass half full version of that game for Clippers fans. James Harden was good. He put up 29, 12 and eight, though he did have eight turnovers. Avitza Zubots had a great game. He looks poised to step up in a big way. But bigger picture, the lack of offensive firepower on this team and the burden that it looks like James Harden is going to have to carry for the foreseeable future feel like massive issues that they don't have an obvious answer for until Kawhi comes back. And then to cap off the week, Kawhi's former trainer sued the Clippers alleging both that he was part of a multi year tampering scheme to get Kawhi to and that he was fired after complaining that Kawhi was receiving unsafe and illegal treatment for injuries, per Chris Haynes's report. Who knows how that's going to end up? But outside of the intuit Dom, which does seem awesome, that's. That was definitely a positive.
- [24:32]
Advertiser 3
It does. It seems amazing.
- [24:34]
Andrew
Everything else this week for the Clippers just did nothing to quell any preseason panic you might have had about this team.
- [24:42]
Advertiser 3
Yeah, yeah, it was it. I did enjoy watching them way more than I thought. But the pressure that's on James Harden to be great every night, I think, I mean it's a lot. And still it wasn't enough to beat a Phoenix team that looked, man, Phoenix. I'm worried about Phoenix. Like that was like my other like panic team was Phoenix. It's just like I am. I am worried about what that team looks like defensively. I just don't know how they hang against the best teams.
- [25:14]
Andrew
All right, Andrew, our final category. Our favorite overall moment of the week. It could be a big thing. It could be a small thing. Mine was Boston missing 13 straight threes after hitting 29 and tying the record set by the Bucs. It was almost like, you know, when they had the promotions where if the other team misses two free throws and it's like, kind of separate from the game and like, the game doesn't really matter at that point, and you're just kind of having fun. That's what that felt like. Where like, every time Boston's coming down the court, you just want him to take what, Just try it one more time. Maybe this will be the one. And it was just a very fun, just kind of random thing to be happening on opening night, because by that point of the game, like, it's over. Like, they're killing the Knicks. This game has been done for hours. And so it was just a. It was just a very fun little moment. Like watching those fans trying to will them to one more three so that they can have the record all by themselves. I thought that was great.
- [26:14]
Advertiser 3
It honestly saved the game because the game was. Was not fun to watch until you started to realize, like, oh, they could make history here. And I, and I was glued to the TV from there. I was sitting on the couch with my kids and we were all glued to the tv, like, wanting them to hit this record. And so it was pretty funny to watch it. My favorite moment of the week, it happened on Thursday night. Luka Doncic throws this pass behind his back, but while basically being double teamed. And I don't. There are things that I just, you know, there are things that you can, like, be like, wow, how do you know? That's amazing. And some of it's just like supreme athleticism or a dunk and things like that. And you can understand how they happen just because, like, these guys are in these very athletic bodies and they're just like these superhumans. But the. These kinds of passes. And Jokic throws these and Luka throws these. I just don't. I don't understand how he knows where he is when he's not even looking at him. He doesn't even, like, he's not even using his eyes. He's using, like, telepathy to throw this ball behind his head. Perfect pass right in the shooter, shooting pocket. And then swish From PJ Washington. That game was. I mean, that. That play was unbelievable to me, and it was, like, one of my favorite moments of the week. I had to watch it over and over again just because I. It just doesn't feel real.
- [27:47]
Andrew
Yeah. Yeah. That was a great one that. That game had a few of them because there was the Wemby. Wemby didn't have a great game in that game, but his block on Derek Lively. You know, usually when we think of big blocks, we think of a big. Just, like, completely swallowing up a guard or a wing, but seeing two bigs just go straight up together and meet at the apex, I just thought that was a really cool block. A lot of favorite moments this week, Andrew. A lot of good stuff.
- [28:10]
Advertiser 3
Yep. Yep. I have one more favorite thing. My guy, S. Barahenny, who's going to join us right after this break. And we're back after that quick break. Alex. I'm really excited to bring this guest on the show. If you've been listening to the feed this week, you have heard the. The stylings of S. Barahenny on the show. Just. Just a delightful person. Honestly, it's been great. I wake up early to listen to the show one, because I like the show, too, because I'm a producer and I got to listen to the show, but I listen to it and I just smile. I'm sitting there at, like, 5:45 like Carol Russell with coffee in hand, listening to S just break down the night before, and I just smile. Just lucky to work with you, S. And glad to have you on Slammin Jam.
- [29:06]
Alex Spears
Appreciate you. You guys don't know this. You guys don't know this, but this is my favorite podcast to listen to.
- [29:15]
Advertiser 3
No, you're just saying that because you're on it. Come on.
- [29:18]
Alex Spears
I swear to God, on Saturdays, I'm like, when is Slammin Jam coming? I walk my dog extra long on Saturdays to be like, let me get this full episode in. I swear. So when I found out that, you know, I was being honored with this, I was like, man, can't wait. Yeah, this is. This is big for me, honestly. I'm like, this is like, I'm sweating here.
- [29:43]
Advertiser 3
This is.
- [29:44]
Alex Spears
This is how big it is.
- [29:45]
Advertiser 3
Take your sweatshirt off, bro. Take your sweatshirt off. No, no. Thanks for. Thanks for coming on. So we're recording before Friday night's games. So every team other than Boston, Minnesota, has only gotten a chance to play once. So when you think back over the last three days, is there a team or a player in particular that Stands out to you.
- [30:05]
Alex Spears
You guys will enjoy this because it involves a former Oklahoma City Thunder.
- [30:08]
Advertiser 3
Okay.
- [30:09]
Alex Spears
It's the Charlotte Hornets who impressed me the most.
- [30:13]
Advertiser 3
Yeah. Okay.
- [30:14]
Alex Spears
Yeah. Lamelo Ball had a great game against the Houston Rockets. He was just electric. They were down 18 in the second half and came back to win. And a lot of that was Lamelo, who had most of his 34 points in that second half, had 11 assists, eight rebounds. One of the major things that I was impressed by was his finishing inside. So he. He was 6 of 8 inside the paint, which is rare for a guy like him. Like, he just doesn't really like to get inside the paint that much, so that was a promising sign. And then Trey Mann, y'all, like, I. It's just fun because it seems like what we saw last year in the 28 games with Charlotte, where he was averaging, like, 12 points, shooting threes at a high level, passing the ball, assists, getting out, and running with the steals. Like, all of that seems real and the preseason seems real too. And he had a great game against Houston. The 24 points that he had was just like cooking the step back threes. The shin angle flexibility, which people talk about a lot when it comes to shin angle.
- [31:19]
Advertiser 3
Yes.
- [31:21]
Alex Spears
I just. I'm impressed. And like, doing all that in baggy shorts just seems awesome, you know? So. Love it. Trey, man. And the. And the Hornets, it.
- [31:31]
Advertiser 3
It is cool. And I'm. I just am, like, so happy for Trey one because I. I think he's just such a talented player and didn't really get a chance to showcase that in OKC as much, just because some of the other players are kind of passing by, but also just a really sweet guy. Like, he's just just a kind man. And so just. Just, Just happy for the guy. Just happy that he's landed somewhere where he can get minutes and get shots and. And showcase that step back three that is, I still believe, is probably like a top three step back in the NBA, which might seem crazy, but just go watch it. Just go watch the step back there. There aren't very many guys that can create space off a setback like Trey Mann.
- [32:12]
Alex Spears
Yeah, he hit one against Houston. That was crazy. Just the, like, the. He actually did a wraparound little behind the back before stepping back, too. And the separation he created was like six feet of separation for that shot. Yeah. Yeah, he's awesome, man. He's really, really fun.
- [32:29]
Andrew
Now, I'm sure you had a list of concerns about various teams heading into the season. It's only one game, but did any of those preseason concerns you had about a team immediately reveal themselves in the first game?
- [32:44]
Alex Spears
So, again, it's one game and, you know, it's hard to take any massive. I have two here that I want to mention, if that's okay with you guys. Yeah, yeah. The first one is Jamal Murray and the Denver bench. Jamal against okc, you know, I thought he started out the game looking fluid and a little bit more pep in his step, if you will. But as the game progressed, it just felt like his mobility was shot. And for what it's worth, like he was facing the Oklahoma City Thunder, who have probably one of the best perimeter defenses in the NBA, but just wasn't able to turn the corner against anybody. Didn't have that athleticism or any really burst to be able to get downhill. Had 12 points, 4 of 13 from the field, like, he wasn't shooting efficiently. And they're asking him to lead the bench units. So it was Jamal Murray, Julian Strother, Peyton Watson, Russell Westbrook, and I believe Dario Sarich. That was the bench unit where OKC just kind of blew the doors off the game. That unit was terrible. It was really, really bad. It was, you know, Julian Strother ended the game minus 23, Russ minus 24, Peyton Watson minus 13. Denver's bench in general was one of 13 from three. And so I think the combination of Jamal, his playoffs last year, the. The tough stretch with Team Canada and now not looking the best, and them asking him to lead the bench, that just seems like a recipe for concern, I would say. I'm not going to say disaster, but concern, because I'm curious to see what happens there. Should I give the second one? Should I lay it on you guys?
- [34:27]
Andrew
I was going to say to that. To that point, like the quotes after that game, one from Michael Malone and the other one from Jokic about their shooting specifically, it was just interesting because there's not really an answer unless Julian Strother becomes this really good shooter for them. Like, they don't. I don't know if they're going to be able to find the answer with the current roster they have.
- [34:47]
Advertiser 3
Yeah. And they're mentioning kcp, like, in these, like, post game pressers, which is just a little bit strange, where it's like, yeah, we miss this guy. And it's. It feels aimed at the front office. Right?
- [35:02]
Andrew
Yeah.
- [35:02]
Advertiser 3
Like, it feels like. Like, why else would Michael Malone bring that up? Because, like, you have the team that you have. It's not good for your team to hear that, like, this guy should have been here, or we're missing this guy. You know, I don't know that many other coaches would do that, but it does feel like there's, like, a message being sent, you know, through the media to the front office saying, like, hey, you know what? You like this. This was your choice. I would have liked to have that guy out there with. With our players, you know?
- [35:34]
Alex Spears
Yeah, there was that report also that there was, like, a riff between.
- [35:38]
Andrew
Right.
- [35:38]
Alex Spears
GM and coach.
- [35:39]
Advertiser 3
Yeah, Right.
- [35:40]
Alex Spears
With Calvin Booth. And I don't know how much that, you know, is. Is actually true, but at the same time, like, Malone is never one to shy away from making comments in the media especially. So, like, maybe this bubbles and there's this snowball effect of just bad vibes in Denver. I don't know. This is also one game, and they could completely look differently down the road, but. But I don't know, Jamal, even from a Canadian, I am kind of concerned to see how he looks in that stretch. Okay, I have a second one for you guys.
- [36:10]
Advertiser 3
This is.
- [36:10]
Alex Spears
This is different because I think you can make some points against it, and I'm open for suggestions here on it being wrong, but the Wolves are sacrificing a lot for Julius Randle. I think he had a really good game against Sacramento. And, you know, you saw the quotes. Speaking of quotes, after the game, you saw what Ant said afterwards. You saw what Chris Finch said afterwards, where they're like, they just wanted him to play free. They said that, you're the All Star player. We'll work around you. You don't have to work around us. And I'm concerned for that. I don't think that's the way this should work. I think, inevitably, the goal that I have for the Wolves and Julius Randle is one. How can he impact winning by being the offensive guy that he is within their system, not them adjusting their system to make it so that it's the Julius Randle show. It's how Randall's abilities as an isolation score, as a guy who can, like, hunt out a mismatch, how can he do that on this Timberwolves team to make them look better offensively, and they're also sacrificing a little bit defensively. You know, they're throwing out these lineups with him and Nas Reed as the only guys on the floor in the front court with no Gobert. And it's because the Randle Gobert front court has been wonky, to say the least, offensively. And so I think that's the thing I'm wondering it's how much are they willing to sacrifice to make this work for Randle and is that going to make them a worse regular season team or have them struggle? Maybe this is again only two games and we're only seeing the bad of it. They are going to have to work through some of the kinks. But it is a concern that I have moving forward.
- [37:50]
Advertiser 3
So let's go the other way. Were there any teams or players who immediately impressed you in a way that you weren't expecting?
- [37:57]
Alex Spears
This is. This is going to sound overreactionary. I'm saying that out the gate I think the Lakers look really good. Yeah, I know this is because they played the Timberwolves and the Timberwolves did not look very good. But what JJ Redick is doing in terms of committing to a starting lineup right out the gate, you know, the starting lineup that helped them get to the Western Conference Finals, the starting lineup that was really effective last year for them as well and took too long for Darvin Ham to get to. He's activating Anthony Davis more as a hub and I have a stat here for you guys. So AD against Minnesota had a usage rate of 34% in that opening game. He only had that 19 times last season or like 30. Well, 30 or higher last year. So in terms of getting touches and you know, having him run the show, so to speak, this is like near the, near the top of the list for the amount of times he's done that as a Lakers. So I, I like the fact that they're leaning on him more. Obviously there's the health concerns with that and you know, him being able to be available for longer stretches and how they do with him as the sole big man on the roster. Obviously they've thrown out lineups with him and Jackson Hayes, but that's more of like a long term question. I really like what JJ Redick is doing initially with Anthony Davis, especially how he's using guys like Dalton connect off of the ball, using them as screeners and floor spacers in these actions like flex actions that you see the Nuggets run often with Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic. It's connect and AD running that and they're just like the possession battle stuff. They're gaming the system in a way that I think benefits the Lakers a lot. They already were a great free throw shooting team, so that's part of it. But they're taking more shots, they're crashing the offensive glass more often, corner crashes if you will. And they're turning the Ball over less. So if that's the recipe, if that's the way that they're trying to game the system, if you will, and win the possession battle, I think that. I think they'll be a really good team this year. So, again, that's my. That's my. I was surprised by this. But. But it's hard to not feel overreactionary when saying that after one game, you know?
- [40:10]
Advertiser 3
Right.
- [40:11]
Andrew
Well, that kind of leads into our final question, because I'm going to show you all the games this weekend. Okay.
- [40:18]
Alex Spears
Okay.
- [40:19]
Andrew
We got a lot of games on the schedule Saturday and Sunday. If you could only watch one of these games, what would you choose? And this is really rude because, you know, you do a daily NBA podcast. I'm only letting you watch one game, but you got to pick one. And you mentioned the Lakers. They are playing the Kings. Kings at Lakers. Pretty good game on NBA TV on Saturday night. Which one would you pick, though?
- [40:42]
Alex Spears
So there's a lot of good ones. There's actually a lot of good games. I think Clippers, Denver can be fun and frisky. Orlando, Memphis is an interesting one, you know, in terms of, like, defense and just guys who are going to be grinding their way to buckets. But I landed on Houston versus San Antonio. Wemby had a pretty rough debut against the Mavericks.
- [41:07]
Advertiser 3
Right.
- [41:07]
Alex Spears
Houston had that loss that I just talked about with Charlotte. And so I think both of these teams are motivated to bounce back. And at the same time, it's a Texas showdown. This might have implications because they're both kind of like middling Western Conference teams that want to get into the play in. So the implications of this game, as crazy as it might sound, being game two, the implications might be pretty big in terms of head to head and tiebreakers and all that. But I think I'm going to go with Houston, San Antonio.
- [41:36]
Advertiser 3
Just the true sicko. Urs, it's beautiful.
- [41:42]
Andrew
The angle of that that I really like, though, is last year when Wemby kind of exploded in the second half. One of the centers who played the best against him was Alperin Shen Goon. He had a crazy game against Wemby. So that is really. That will be really interesting to watch.
- [41:58]
Alex Spears
Do you guys remember the crazy block he had he had against Jabari in that fast break transition game? I also feel like that was the game where Wemby started to figure things out, too. So I don't know. Houston, San Antonio.
- [42:09]
Andrew
Well, thank you for answering all of our questions about this week's slate of games, but now it's time to play Andrew versus the beat. This is your first time.
- [42:20]
Alex Spears
This is what I waited for. Now, because of where dreams come true.
- [42:26]
Andrew
Because you are doing an NBA wide podcast now, similar to Fred Katz last week. This is an NBA grab bag edition. So all the questions will be related to things that happen this week in the NBA, but it could be about any team, any player. Now, how it works. I've come up with eight questions. Some are easy, some are impossible. This week. I'm just letting you know now some. If you choose the numbers, you won't get it right. Okay, you're gonna give me a number between one and eight correspond to a question. If you get it right, you'll get at least two points. If you get it wrong, Andrew will have a chance to steal for one point and then we'll go back and forth until all the questions have been asked and answered. So s. What number would you like to start off with?
- [43:06]
Alex Spears
Man, you said one to eight, right?
- [43:09]
Andrew
One to eight.
- [43:09]
Alex Spears
Okay.
- [43:10]
Andrew
You have a favorite number in there?
- [43:11]
Alex Spears
Yes, I do. Let me go with seven. That's Kyle Lowry's number. Give me seven. Go for it.
- [43:17]
Andrew
Okay, Question number seven. Zach Edie fouled out of his first NBA game, racking up six fouls in only 15 minutes. The last time a lottery pick fouled out of their first game was 2007, when this seven footer, who would only play 272 games in his career, fouled out in 25 minutes. So I've given you some, some, some, some details there. So 2007 rookie, seven footer played 272 games in his career.
- [43:49]
Alex Spears
I think, I think I know who this is. 2007 rookie. Is this Hashim Thabit?
- [43:57]
Andrew
That is incorrect.
- [44:00]
Alex Spears
Damn.
- [44:01]
Andrew
Andrew, you have a chance to steal.
- [44:04]
Alex Spears
Damn.
- [44:05]
Advertiser 3
A center.
- [44:06]
Andrew
I mean, 2000 was 2009.
- [44:08]
Alex Spears
Yeah, he was later.
- [44:09]
Andrew
That was a hardened draft. Yeah.
- [44:11]
Alex Spears
Yeah.
- [44:12]
Advertiser 3
So my initial thought would be Greg Odin, but that feels like a little bit of low hanging fruit.
- [44:23]
Alex Spears
Maybe it is too easy.
- [44:24]
Andrew
Yeah, some are easy. Some are hard.
- [44:27]
Advertiser 3
And you said it was a center. Yes, he is listed. Did you say that?
- [44:32]
Andrew
No. I know I said seven footer. I just said seven footer.
- [44:36]
Advertiser 3
You just said seven footer. Okay.
- [44:38]
Andrew
Yeah.
- [44:39]
Advertiser 3
So I'm gonna guess Yijan Leon.
- [44:44]
Andrew
Andrew. That is correct.
- [44:45]
Advertiser 3
Wow. Yes. What? Yes.
- [44:48]
Alex Spears
Come on. Did he get the answers to this beforehand? All right, man.
- [44:55]
Andrew
He did not. That was a tough one because I honestly didn't remember that E was seven feet tall.
- [45:01]
Advertiser 3
Well, that was. I mean, I, I thought I heard you say center whenever you were reading the question. But like Greg Odin felt. And I don't even know if Greg played that. Did Greg Odin play that many games? Like, I don't know if Greg Odin.
- [45:12]
Andrew
Played that many games. Okay, Andrew, you're on the board.
- [45:18]
Advertiser 3
Number one.
- [45:19]
Andrew
Question number one. Boston hit 29 threes on opening night, tying the record set by the Milwaukee Bucks. Boston is no stranger to hitting a lot of threes, having hit 25 or more three pointers in nine games in franchise history. There are only three other franchises who have hit 25 plus threes in at least five different games. And I want you to name them all so you get one point per correct answer. So these are franchises who have had at least five games where they've hit 25 plus threes.
- [45:52]
Advertiser 3
Okay, I'll start with Houston.
- [45:54]
Andrew
That is correct. They've done it 10 times.
- [45:57]
Advertiser 3
League leader. What about Milwaukee?
- [46:01]
Andrew
Andrew? That is incorrect.
- [46:04]
Advertiser 3
Okay, shoot.
- [46:05]
Andrew
And that one. That one might hurt Andrew. S. Do you have any guesses? You could. You could get two points here?
- [46:10]
Alex Spears
Yeah, give me the Golden State Warriors.
- [46:16]
Andrew
Yeah, that's the one. Andrew.
- [46:17]
Advertiser 3
That one might seems a little dumb. Why did I. I'm so dumb.
- [46:22]
Andrew
And do you have a guess for the Force team for the fourth?
- [46:26]
Alex Spears
Let's see. Good three point shooting teams. I guess recently this team has done.
- [46:31]
Andrew
At least same amount of times as the Warriors.
- [46:34]
Alex Spears
Oh, really? Give me the LA Clippers.
- [46:41]
Andrew
That is incorrect. Would you believe it's the Utah Jazz?
- [46:48]
Alex Spears
Oh, I would believe that.
- [46:50]
Advertiser 3
It crossed my mind. They crossed my mind.
- [46:53]
Andrew
Okay.
- [46:53]
Advertiser 3
Yeah, yeah.
- [46:54]
Alex Spears
Because the Mitchell Ingles years and. Yeah, yeah, that's.
- [46:57]
Advertiser 3
Yeah.
- [46:58]
Andrew
Okay. S, you're on the board. You're down two to one, but the board is yours.
- [47:03]
Alex Spears
Okay, give me number three. Second favorite number. Why not?
- [47:06]
Andrew
Question number three. Half of NBA fan bases have already seen their team lose this season and they may already be looking ahead on the schedule worrying about when they'll see that first win. Have no fear though, because you can still lose a lot of games to start the season and make the playoffs. In fact, what's the record for longest losing streak to start a season for a team that ended up making the playoffs? Now, before you answer, you get to choose who answers first. So you can make Andrew answer and then you'll go higher or lower or you can answer and Andrew will go higher and lower. But if you let Andrew answer and he gets it exactly correct, he will get a bonus point. So just be aware of that.
- [47:45]
Alex Spears
I don't know. The way Andrew just reacted to that question makes me Feel like he knows the.
- [47:51]
Andrew
Really? I had the opposite reaction. Oh, really?
- [47:55]
Alex Spears
Yeah. I don't know.
- [47:57]
Advertiser 3
Oh, man.
- [47:58]
Andrew
This is.
- [47:59]
Alex Spears
This is mind games at its best. Okay.
- [48:00]
Advertiser 3
That's right.
- [48:01]
Alex Spears
I'm gonna let Andrew decide. Go. All right.
- [48:04]
Advertiser 3
Eight.
- [48:05]
Andrew
Okay. So you think a team started off. Oh, and eight. So do you think a team was even worse than that or was it lower than that?
- [48:14]
Alex Spears
I'm going to go. I'm going to go worse than that.
- [48:20]
Andrew
So it happened in the 96. 97 season. It was the Phoenix Suns, and they started off the season. Oh, and 13, which means both points.
- [48:34]
Advertiser 3
Oh, and 13 is wild. That is.
- [48:37]
Alex Spears
What did they go afterwards? That's. That's incredible.
- [48:40]
Andrew
It's a good question. I should have looked that up, but I didn't. Okay. I just trusted the first Google search. It was probably AI. It's probably not real. Okay, Andrew, board is yours. And you're down. Now number two.
- [48:56]
Advertiser 3
I know. Number two.
- [48:57]
Andrew
Number two. Okay, this could be. This has the potential to be the longest question in slam and jam history in terms of answers.
- [49:04]
Advertiser 3
Oh, wow.
- [49:04]
Andrew
Okay.
- [49:05]
Advertiser 3
Okay.
- [49:06]
Andrew
James saw his first NBA minutes on Tuesday, making him the 27th active NBA player whose dad played in the NBA. We're going to name the other 26. So how this works, Andrew, you're gonna give me the name of an active player whose dad played in the NBA and then S will give me one. We'll go back and forth until you guys just run out of names because there's no way you're getting all 26. Okay, great start, Andrew. Deep size. Can you name one?
- [49:41]
Advertiser 3
26.
- [49:42]
Alex Spears
There's a lot.
- [49:43]
Advertiser 3
Yeah, I know I can. Steph Curry.
- [49:47]
Andrew
Steph Curry. That is correct.
- [49:49]
Alex Spears
Okay, over to S. Klay Thompson.
- [49:52]
Andrew
Clay Thompson. The Splash Brothers. Back to Andrew.
- [49:59]
Advertiser 3
Cole. Anthony.
- [50:00]
Andrew
Cole Anthony. Correct.
- [50:02]
Alex Spears
Back to S. Gary Trent.
- [50:07]
Andrew
Gary Trent, Jr. Absolutely. That is right. Back to Andrew.
- [50:13]
Advertiser 3
Bobo.
- [50:14]
Andrew
Bobo. Very good.
- [50:17]
Alex Spears
Back to s. Kenyon Martin, Jr. That is correct.
- [50:26]
Andrew
Andrew. By the way, Kenyan Martin, another lottery pick who fouled out in his very first NBA game.
- [50:33]
Advertiser 3
Oh, really?
- [50:34]
Andrew
Yeah.
- [50:35]
Advertiser 3
Interesting.
- [50:36]
Andrew
Okay, Andrew, back to you.
- [50:38]
Advertiser 3
What about Jeremy Grant?
- [50:40]
Andrew
Jeremy Grant, absolutely.
- [50:43]
Alex Spears
Back to S. Andrew Wiggins.
- [50:46]
Andrew
Andrew Wiggins. That's correct. Back to Andrew. You guys are doing great.
- [50:55]
Advertiser 3
Tim Hardaway Jr. Tim Hardaway Jr. Good.
- [50:58]
Andrew
Idea to focus on the juniors.
- [51:00]
Advertiser 3
Okay, back to the juniors.
- [51:03]
Alex Spears
Oh, man, now I'm starting to blank. You know, the names are all Russian and not Russian. Like, Russian? Yeah.
- [51:13]
Advertiser 3
Names are all Russian. No, actually, they're not. S. Don't go that direction.
- [51:18]
Alex Spears
You're Europeans. Europeans. Damantis Sabonis.
- [51:22]
Andrew
That is correct. You got there. All right.
- [51:25]
Advertiser 3
Good morning. Jet. Jet Howard.
- [51:30]
Andrew
Jet Howard. That is correct. What? Wait, you're going too fast on my list. So I went to Wikipedia. Wikipedia for this, and I don't remember seeing Jet Howard, but obviously that is correct. Okay, back to S. So that means we have 20.
- [51:48]
Alex Spears
Yes, that is correct. Let's go with. I'm just trying to rack through some names. Let's see. Oh, the. No, the holidays. Didn't. They didn't do it. Not. That doesn't count. That's families. Wait, actually, let me go with one of the holidays. Give me Drew. Give me Drew. Holiday. Whatever.
- [52:12]
Andrew
Drew Holiday. S. That is incorrect. No, you've lost the game. But you guys did great. Here's some. The other names. Some of these I didn't know. Devin Booker. Jalen Brunson. Nick Claxton.
- [52:28]
Advertiser 3
Yeah.
- [52:28]
Andrew
Amir Coffee.
- [52:29]
Advertiser 3
Trace Jackson.
- [52:30]
Andrew
Davis. Johnny Davis.
- [52:32]
Advertiser 3
Okay.
- [52:33]
Andrew
Darius Garland. Al Horford. Jaren Jackson Jr. Kevin Love. Larry Nance, Jr. Scotty Pippen, Jr. Reed Shepherd. Jabari Smith Jr. Garrett Temple with that one. I had to double check. He's still on a roster. And Jabari Walker. I didn't realize. Jabari.
- [52:51]
Advertiser 3
Did you say Gary Payton?
- [52:52]
Andrew
Walkers. No, that's. That's true. Why was that not on there? Gary Payton ii. Yeah, a lot of names.
- [53:00]
Alex Spears
Doesn't count. Let's break it.
- [53:04]
Andrew
Okay, Andrew, you've moved back ahead. S, you're now down four to three, but you have control of the board.
- [53:10]
Alex Spears
Okay, let's go with four. By the way, Garrett Temple, Toronto Raptor. Just wanted to put it out there.
- [53:17]
Andrew
Yes, I found that out last night. Just double checking. Making sure he's still in the league.
- [53:23]
Advertiser 3
Yeah.
- [53:24]
Andrew
Okay. Kevin Durant hit a game tying shot against the Clippers with 21.2 seconds left in the first or in the fourth to send the game to overtime. That was the 35th time in Katie's career when he's hit a game tying shot in the final 30 seconds of a game, which is the second most among active players behind LeBron. Who are the other three players in the top five for most game tying shots in the final 30 seconds of a game? So these are active players. You do get one point per correct answer. Most game tying shots in the final 30 seconds of a game in their career.
- [53:59]
Alex Spears
Game has to be game time.
- [54:01]
Andrew
Has to be game time has to be game tying.
- [54:04]
Advertiser 3
You're running through a Rolodex in your brain. I don't know if that was game two.
- [54:08]
Andrew
Stall question.
- [54:12]
Alex Spears
Let's go with James Harden.
- [54:16]
Andrew
He Is number five.
- [54:18]
Advertiser 3
That's a good one.
- [54:19]
Andrew
All right, you get the other two.
- [54:22]
Alex Spears
I'm just thinking of guys who have been here for a while. Let's go. Let's go. Chris Paul.
- [54:29]
Andrew
That is incorrect. S. And that means, Andrew, you could steal two points.
- [54:35]
Advertiser 3
Okay, I'm going longevity as well. I will not go with DeAndre Jordan for longevity like I did last week, which was very embarrassing. I will go with Russell Westbrook.
- [54:52]
Andrew
So Andrew, when you sort by field goal attempts, he is in the top five, but he didn't make them. The other two names. Yeah, we're going with made game tying shots.
- [55:08]
Advertiser 3
He had a lot of good moments. I know that. We just love to just crap on Russ.
- [55:13]
Andrew
When I. I originally wrote the question, I was. I realized I had sorted by field goal attempts and he was in the top five.
- [55:19]
Advertiser 3
That changed it.
- [55:20]
Andrew
Okay. He vanished.
- [55:22]
Advertiser 3
Okay.
- [55:22]
Andrew
The other two names. Damian Lillard. Kind of obvious. That's a good one. And DeMar DeRozan, also.
- [55:30]
Advertiser 3
Yeah, also big duh.
- [55:32]
Alex Spears
Yeah. DeMar was gonna be my first guess, but I went with Harden. Damn. Okay.
- [55:36]
Andrew
Okay. We have a tie game. Three questions left. There is a question remaining where you could get five points.
- [55:43]
Advertiser 3
Oh, wow.
- [55:44]
Andrew
And just letting you know, if S gets it. If S gets this question, like, if he says the number, I think he might get all five, Andrew.
- [55:50]
Advertiser 3
Oh, no, I need to get it. Okay, I'll go with number five. Hoping that it's the five.
- [55:55]
Andrew
Andrew. That is the question. The Raptors are celebrating their 30th anniversary as a franchise this season and started the festivities off by losing to the Cavs by 30, their worst opening night loss in franchise history. The previous record was held by the 2001. 2002 Raptors, who lost by 29 to the Orlando Magic. How many players on the Raptors starting lineup that night can you name and you get one point per correct answer?
- [56:25]
Advertiser 3
0102 Raptors.
- [56:27]
Andrew
0102 Raptors opening night starting lineup.
- [56:30]
Alex Spears
That's bro. Oh, I just did a video on this. Okay. So.
- [56:35]
Andrew
Oh, did you.
- [56:36]
Advertiser 3
This is, I think, Vince Carter.
- [56:42]
Andrew
Okay, that's one. You're on the board. You've limited the damage to four. Andrew, can you get another one?
- [56:48]
Advertiser 3
I'm pretty sure that this was the sad, pathetic Hakeem Olajuwon.
- [56:58]
Andrew
Wow, Andrew. Yes. Another point.
- [57:01]
Alex Spears
Go back to your NBA Live days. This is the way.
- [57:05]
Advertiser 3
Totally. Yeah. Alex can attest that I sat in my room playing NBA Live way too much.
- [57:13]
Andrew
Yeah. You would play it on the hardest difficulty and the games would end like 12 to 9. I was like, why are you enjoying this? This looks miserable.
- [57:21]
Advertiser 3
Yeah. Yeah, it was. I was. I was definitely very weird. Um, what about Mo Pete? Was Mo Pete on this team?
- [57:33]
Andrew
Andrew. Yes. You've gotten three of the five. Wow.
- [57:37]
Alex Spears
Good job. This is good.
- [57:39]
Andrew
There's two more. Andrew. Two more wraps.
- [57:42]
Advertiser 3
I feel like the well is dry now.
- [57:45]
Andrew
It probably is. I don't throw out another name. Any Raptor.
- [57:59]
Advertiser 3
I would love to get another name. I would love to get another name. I would just love to get another. I don't know that he started. I'll say Jerome Williams. Was Jerome Williams a starter?
- [58:09]
Andrew
Nope. Nope. Andrew, that is the end of the line for you. S. You can get two points, though, if you can name the other two starters.
- [58:16]
Alex Spears
Yeah. Let's go with Antonio Davis.
- [58:21]
Andrew
That is correct for one point.
- [58:23]
Advertiser 3
Dang it.
- [58:25]
Alex Spears
And the. So we got Vince Carter, Hakeem, Antonio Davis, Mo Pete, and the point guard was Alvin Williams.
- [58:33]
Andrew
Wow. There we go. You guys got all five. That was great.
- [58:36]
Advertiser 3
Wow. I'm so glad I got that because I would have been crushed otherwise.
- [58:43]
Andrew
Okay, so the score. Andrew. Seven. S. Six. So close as you have control the board. Two questions remain.
- [58:52]
Alex Spears
Okay, let's go. Eight. Eight for. Yeah. Why not eight?
- [58:57]
Andrew
Question number eight. Jimmy Butler scored three total points in game one against the Magic. He has scored three or fewer points 55 times in his career, and he's done it five times against two different teams. Name one of those teams. Now, as a hint. That's really hard. I know. I'm about to give you a hint. I'm about to give you a hint.
- [59:20]
Alex Spears
Okay.
- [59:21]
Andrew
Okay. Both of these teams have at least two top five picks on their current roster. So again, these are teams that Jimmy Butler has scored three or fewer points against five different times in his career. And you just have to give me one of the teams. And both of them have at least 2 top 5 picks on their current roster.
- [59:41]
Advertiser 3
Both have 2 top 5 picks on their current Roster.
- [59:44]
Andrew
At least 2 top 5 picks.
- [59:46]
Advertiser 3
At least.
- [59:47]
Alex Spears
At least that. This is. This is not a good hint. I'm sorry.
- [59:52]
Advertiser 3
This is insufficient.
- [59:55]
Andrew
Really good hit.
- [59:55]
Alex Spears
Yeah. Okay. The. The one team that comes to mind immediately is the Memphis Grizzlies because they have Jaren Jackson, Jr. Oh. John Morant. Top five picks. How do you feel about that? How do we feel?
- [60:13]
Andrew
Do I have to give this your final answer? Are you. Or you just asked for our opinion?
- [60:19]
Alex Spears
No, I will. I will submit factual. I will submit Memphis as a. As the. The answer here.
- [60:26]
Andrew
The M. Scizzlies. S. I'm sorry. That is incorrect. Andrew, you have a chance to steal.
- [60:33]
Advertiser 3
What about the Blazers?
- [60:36]
Andrew
Andrew, that is also incorrect. Why did you guys go with west teams?
- [60:43]
Advertiser 3
Dude, how. What?
- [60:46]
Andrew
Played most of his years with Chicago and Miami.
- [60:50]
Advertiser 3
Yeah, but they also. He plays west teams, too. Just tell us the answer. Al, stop. Yeah, this is just unnecessary torture.
- [60:56]
Andrew
Both Eastern Conference teams. 1.
- [60:58]
Advertiser 3
Okay.
- [61:00]
Andrew
The Detroit Pistons.
- [61:03]
Advertiser 3
Okay, okay, okay.
- [61:05]
Andrew
And actually, now I'm thinking about.
- [61:07]
Advertiser 3
I have no. I have no, like, real response to this. Just.
- [61:10]
Andrew
You should. They have. They have a ton of top five picks, actually. They have. Jaden Ivy.
- [61:14]
Advertiser 3
I'm not saying they don't. I'm not saying they don't. I'm not saying they don't. They don't. Of course. I mean, you're in the lottery that many times.
- [61:21]
Alex Spears
Yeah.
- [61:22]
Andrew
This other one, now that I'm looking at it, do they have two tough five picks on their team? It's the Washington Wizards.
- [61:28]
Alex Spears
They.
- [61:28]
Andrew
If. Sar.
- [61:29]
Alex Spears
Alex Saar. No.
- [61:32]
Advertiser 3
Who else will be in the top five?
- [61:34]
Alex Spears
Oh, Jordan. No. Jordan Poole was Jordan Pool. No, he was.
- [61:36]
Advertiser 3
No, he was like the 29th pick.
- [61:38]
Alex Spears
Yeah. Yeah.
- [61:39]
Andrew
Wow. Okay, well, I lied to you guys and so I told you there would be an impossible question and that was it. I originally, I didn't have that in there, so. Which actually may have helped because apparently I led you astray. Okay, Andrew, Wow. You have to get this question right to seal the victory. Because it's always possible to get it right and then you'd be tied. Final question number eight. Which rookie played the most minutes in game one?
- [62:09]
Advertiser 3
Oh, this is tricky.
- [62:11]
Alex Spears
Like this season, right?
- [62:12]
Andrew
This season, the last three days, which rookie played the most minutes in their first career game?
- [62:19]
Advertiser 3
Okay, this is. This is tricky. I am going to go with Bub Carrington.
- [62:28]
Andrew
Bub Carrington. Andrew, that is incorrect. S. You have a chance to steal and to tie the game, sending it into sudden death.
- [62:36]
Alex Spears
This is big. This is big right here. This is. First of all, it's an honor. Let's see.
- [62:43]
Andrew
It's an honor to make it this far.
- [62:46]
Alex Spears
I'm trying to think, man. Because it wouldn't have been Tuesday night. There weren't really any rookies that played Wednesday. Let's go with. Ah. Who had a big day? Yves. Me see. Let's just go with Yves me see.
- [63:05]
Advertiser 3
My heart rate is at 101 right now. Just so you guys know. Just checking the heart rate.
- [63:09]
Alex Spears
Can I change my answer? Can I change my answer?
- [63:12]
Andrew
Yeah. Yeah.
- [63:14]
Alex Spears
Actually, no, I'm gonna go with you. Yeah. Because if it's gonna be a Raptor, I'm just letting you know if it's a Raptor. I'm logging off immediately because I have the second answer here in my head.
- [63:26]
Andrew
You're welcome to change. I'm not. You're welcome.
- [63:29]
Alex Spears
Okay, give me. Give me Jamal Shed. Jamal shed played a lot of minutes.
- [63:34]
Andrew
Jamal shed.
- [63:35]
Alex Spears
He did play.
- [63:36]
Andrew
Oh, correct answer.
- [63:38]
Advertiser 3
Oh, my gosh.
- [63:39]
Andrew
To either decide the week for Andrew or to send it in overtime was Eve's missing. No, no, no.
- [63:51]
Alex Spears
That's just not. Yes.
- [63:55]
Advertiser 3
Oh, no.
- [63:56]
Alex Spears
I am distraught. That has ruined my day. That.
- [63:59]
Andrew
That.
- [63:59]
Advertiser 3
That.
- [64:00]
Alex Spears
That's it for my day. That's done.
- [64:03]
Andrew
I think it was a difference of like two minutes, too. Missy played like 23 minutes and Jamal Shed played like 21.
- [64:09]
Advertiser 3
Oh, my gosh. That is funny.
- [64:12]
Alex Spears
It was a blowout for the Raptors.
- [64:14]
Advertiser 3
I'm just like, oh, that is so, so good. Hey, go listen to the NBA Daily. It's been so fun. I'm one of the producers on the show, and it's been really fun working with S and getting to know him over the past few weeks. And it's a. It's a great show. If you're somehow just listening to this show and you're not tuning in to the NBA Daily, you should, because it's. It's the perfect way for every NBA fan to wake up in the morning, listen to the show, get caught up on what you missed, or just relive it with. With some of the best people in the industry. S, thanks so much for coming on.
- [64:48]
Alex Spears
Thank you as always. And I am done. I'm exhausted. This.
- [64:55]
Andrew
Folks, I'm sure you loved that episode of Andrew versus the Beat, but there was a mistake. I did my stat head search too early last night. Andrew was actually correct. It was Bub carrington who played 26 minutes. Eve's Mecy was second with 23 minutes. Now, thankfully, thankfully, I talked. I somehow talked S out of giving me the right answer and saved us from a massive controversy.
- [65:23]
Advertiser 3
Yeah, that could have been bad.
- [65:24]
Andrew
You're correct. And you know what? I'll give you the extra points. So you ended up with nine points. Congratulations.
- [65:29]
Advertiser 3
Nine points. That's. That's. That's a lot of points.
- [65:31]
Andrew
That's high score for.
- [65:32]
Advertiser 3
For. That's. That's a good one. Hey, we. We are going to start the wheel of fandom, or starting it today. Alex, tell. Tell our listeners about the wheel of fandom if they've never seen this thing before.
- [65:51]
Andrew
Yeah. If it's your first time Listening throughout the season, every week at the end of the show, I spin a digital wheel that has all 30 teams on it and it will land on one team. And that team is the team that me and Andrew are going to become fans of for the following week. And then next week we'll have either a beat writer, a fan associated with that team come on to talk to us about the team and then to play some team centric Andrew versus the beat. So we're starting off fresh. Okay. We've refreshed the wheel. And by the way, this means that there are teams that we have not seen in years. For instance, the Oklahoma City Thunder. We got them like one of our first weeks like three years ago and have not seen them since.
- [66:35]
Advertiser 3
Yeah.
- [66:35]
Andrew
So it's just up. It's up to random chance. You know, we don't know who we're going to get. So let's go ahead and spin the wheel for the first time this season and see who it's going to be. Who is going to be the wheel of fandom team for the first week of the season? It will be the Detroit Pistons. No Detroit Pistons. How you feeling about that, Andrew?
- [67:01]
Advertiser 3
There's no way.
- [67:03]
Andrew
There's no way.
- [67:04]
Advertiser 3
Oh, I guess it's good that we're getting them out of the way. I guess that's good. We still have.
- [67:09]
Andrew
Where's all this negativity? They.
- [67:11]
Advertiser 3
They look some level of hope.
- [67:13]
Andrew
They're competitive in game one. Oh my gosh, their schedule. First of all, they start against Indiana, which they lost that game 115 to 1. Oh 9. Their next four games, which are the ones we're going to get to see at Cleveland, Boston, at home, at Miami, at Philadelphia.
- [67:34]
Advertiser 3
It is a tough little stretch. That is a tough little stretch. Hopefully they can get the train on the tracks here in, in Detroit because the train has been off the tracks for like five years now. So we'll see. Looking forward to watching some Pistons. And hey, maybe we can. Maybe we can convince Bryce Simon to come on the show with us, you know.
- [67:53]
Andrew
Oh yeah.
- [67:54]
Advertiser 3
To talk some Detroit Pistons. I'll have to. I'm just hit up price to see if the schedules align. Okay, Al, everybody needs to leave a five star review on Apple podcasts if you could. Just like these three people did from Nick is the worst here in the usa. Says slamming James back. I haven't checked this feed since Alex left. What a wonderful surprise. Love you guys. Thanks for bringing bringing back Slammin Jam. Best basketball pod out there. Thanks so much for that review. This next review comes from t.colon f y l, there's just all these just random letters and numbers, but they left a very nice review, says A plus Podcast the Slammin Jam is a great basketball podcast. The two hosts are prepared. Both prepare analysis so it's not just shouting hot takes. Plus the two of them have a rapport building from being so long friends. That's a perfect combination. Hilarious guests this week in Fred Katz the athletic NBA writers who visit the show at uniformly terrific guests. Many are beat writers so they bring firsthand reporting to the show. So thank you so much for that review. And then one final review comes from as mout or asmout in Great Britain. 5 stars. I'm so happy that Slam Jam is back and here to stay under the new format. As an NBA fan based in the uk, the show is hands down my favorite basketball show. Digging behind the headlines and knee jerk reactions with an insightful, fun, analytical approach that always gives me a new perspective as I try to keep up with the league from a distance. Andrew and Alex are so great to listen to and they even have me rooting a bit for OKC even though I'm a Sixers fan just because I want good things for them. I also love the trivia even though I am very bad at it. I kept meaning to leave a five star review, but didn't want to get lost in the confusing obsession of some of the reviewers with the Wizard's guy. After that died down, I worried and missed my chance. Anyways, wanted to let you guys know I'm glad you're sticking around. Keep up the great work. Thank you so much for that review. Really appreciate that. If you want to leave a five star review on Apple Podcasts, we will read it on the show. Andrew Al, what is it? What is it?
- [70:18]
Andrew
Yeah, another correction. I was not wrong. The Wizards do have two top five lottery picks on their team. The second one Marvin Bagley.
- [70:29]
Advertiser 3
Oh Marvin Bagley. There you go. Hey. So. So that. That just. That erases the Bub Carrington goof right there. So. So we're all good. Thanks so much for listening to the show. Please continue to tune into the NBA Daily. We really appreciate you guys listening and we will talk to you guys again next week.
- [71:07]
Advertiser 1
As we head into the playoffs. It's safe to assume there will be a few calls made by the refs that will be hard to accept. But you know what isn't hard to accept? Discover. Believe it or not, Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide. You heard that right, 99%. So make a good call for your wallet and get Discover, based on the February 2024 Nielsen report. Learn more at discover.com credit card this.
- [71:32]
Advertiser 4
Podcast is brought to you by Aura. Imagine waking up to find your bank account drained, bills for loans you never took out, a warrant for your arrest, all because someone stole your identity. Hackers aren't waiting. Why are you? That's why we're thrilled to partner with Aura. Your personal data is a goldmine for hackers, and Aura helps lock it down. Aura monitors the dark web, blocks data brokers from selling your information, includes a VPN for private browsing and a password manager to secure your accounts before criminals break in. For a limited time, Aura is offering our listeners a 14 day free trial plus a dark web scan to check if your personal information has been leaked. All for free@aura.com safety that's aura.com safety to sign up and start protecting protecting yourself and your loved ones. That's a u r a.com safety terms apply. Check the site for details.
- [72:26]
Advertiser 3
Acast powers the World's Best Podcasts Here's a show that we recommend.
- [72:33]
Andrew
Hey guys, we have an exciting announcement about our podcast.
- [72:36]
Alex Spears
For the past seven years, the Holderness Family Podcast has been the most favorite thing we do.
- [72:41]
Andrew
We love getting to talk to experts. We love having meaningful conversations just the two of us. And we also love hearing from you.
- [72:47]
Alex Spears
But the thing we love most is being a place where you can laugh.
- [72:51]
Andrew
A lot has changed in the last seven years and we feel very lucky that our audience is growing older with us.
- [72:57]
Alex Spears
So in the spirit of that, we are relaunching our podcast. We are excited to introduce Laugh Lines with Kim and Penn Holderness.
- [73:04]
Andrew
The Laugh Lines podcast will be all about aging together better and also being able to laugh about getting older.
- [73:11]
Alex Spears
We hope you'll join us. Search Laugh Lines with Kim and Pen Holderness New episodes every Tuesday.
- [73:18]
Advertiser 3
ACAST helps creators launch, grow and monetize their podcasts everywhere.
- [73:24]
Andrew
Acast. Com.