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- [00:00]
A
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B
It's on prime thy ticket lady Jennifer of Coolidge. Well many thanks good sir. Here is my Discover card. They accept Discover at Renaissance fairs? Yeah, they do here. Discover is accepted at the places I love to shop. Get it with the times.
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C
With the times.
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B
You're playing the loot. Yeah, and it sounds pretty good, right?
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D
Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide. Based on the February 2025 Nielsen report.
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E
Boost Mobile is now sending experts nationwide to deliver and set up customers new phones.
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B
Wait, we're going on tour?
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E
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B
Not with that attitude.
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E
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B
Delivery available for select devices purchased@boostmobile.com foreign. Welcome to the Saturday Slam and Jam brought to you by Amazon Prime. On today's show, we're back doing the good, the bad, the what it is Clippers week. It's Clippers week. Law Murray's here and trivia is back and someone else is back. My good friend Alex Spears is back to tell us what happened in the NBA this week.
- [01:33]
D
Andrew, the top story this week is that we got our first look at the new faces in new places after the NBA trade deadline last Thursday. How about starting with James Harden, who is now in Cleveland? The Cavs went 30 in their first week with Harden, including a win over Denver that Featured a game tying three by Harden with 32 seconds left in the game. The Cavs are now 101 in their last 11 sit only a game out of the three seed in the east, where I of course predicted they would finish at the halfway point. Could I have been more bolder though? Because the Cavs are only a game and a half back of the Celtics for the two seed. And listen to this. Bottom five schedule rest of the season per tank. Yeah. Another face in a new place was Jaren Jackson Jr. Who was traded to the Utah Jazz at the deadline. Triple J played in three games for the Jazz this week. He got off to a great start in all three games but unfortunately completely disappeared in the fourth quarter. Every time it was like he wasn't even out. Luckily, Will Hardy pushed all the right buttons. And the Jazz dragged themselves against their will to a 2 and 1 record this week. Now, in response to this success, the NBA fined the Jazz $500,000 for resting their starters. Listen, if we're going to start fining teams for resting starters in the fourth quarters of games, they win. Commissioner Silver, may I direct your attention to the disgusting practices of the Oklahoma City Thunder earlier this season? Hold on a second. I'm getting wor word that the Thunder actually are being investigated for resting players in a recent game against the Spurs. Thank you, Commissioner Silver. Your laser focus on important issues is unmatched. Now back to Triple J. Unfortunately, this story does not have a fun ending because we found out on Thursday that Triple J will likely be out for the rest of the season after a growth was discovered in his right knee, which is going to require surgery. Now, Harden and Triple J were the two biggest names on the move at the deadline. I guess Anthony Davis as well. He's not playing though, at least when talking about players changing NBA teams. But we did get one other big move which involved Giannis Anetokounmpo. After much speculation, Giannis didn't end up changing NBA teams at the trade deadline, but he did join a prediction market website as an investor. Now, if you're unfamiliar with prediction markets, you can predict, for instance, whether an NBA star is going to be traded at the deadline. If you feel like you have a good read on the situation, or if you actually know what's going to happen because you have inside information, you can put money on it. As someone who loves getting rid of money, prediction markets are perfect for my financial goals. This summer, you'll be able to place a bet on Giannis getting traded with a company where Giannis is an investor. Forget about getting autographs, how about betting on Giannis? With Giannis, the ultimate fan experience. And I can't wait to see how this doesn't lead to a massive scandal in a few years. Speaking of massive scandals, it was announced this week that the very litigious Wizards mascot Gee Whiz has hired a high powered attorney to to go after Lakers center Jackson Hayes after Hayes pushed Gee Whiz prior to a Lakers Wizards game which led to a one game suspension. Now, Gee Whiz, through his attorney, claims that he sustained injuries from the push and will pursue legal action if Hayes does not settle out of court. To be clear to our younger listeners who may be worried about Gee Whiz, there is a human man inside of Gee Whiz. Now, it's possible that man was injured, but I want to assure you that Gee Whiz is going to be fine no matter what. Gee Whiz is immortal. He cannot be killed, much less injured. So do not worry about Gee Whiz. Moving on to other suspension news we had a doozy of a brawl this week between the Charlotte Hornets and the Detroit Pistons. It all started when Jalen Duran and Musa Diabate got in each other's face after a play and during shoved Diabate's face away with his hand. Now Musa, that pissed him off. He began trying to swing on Jalen Duran as the two teams began to get mixed up. Just as things seemed like they were starting to settle down, Miles Bridges threw a punch at Jalen Duran which caused Isaiah Stewart to sprint off the Detroit bench to confront Bridges. In the end, four players were ejected, all were suspended. Duran got two games, Bridges and Diabate got four, and Beef Stew got a seven game suspension due to his previous history of loving to fight the fight and suspensions overshadowed what was a very fun matchup between two of the hottest teams in the league. The Pistons have a healthy lead over Boston for the number one spot, the East. But crucially, the Pistons moved ahead of the Thunder this week for the best overall winning percentage. They are now a half game up on OKC for the Hornets. Their incredible march up the east standings continues. They have won 10 of 11 and now sit in the ninth spot in the East. They're only four and a half games back of the six seed, which is looking increasingly doable as they continue to win almost every game. Yep, most importantly, the Hornets recent run has completely changed their chances of being a surprise team this season. Using our official Surprise Team tracker which you can find@tinyurl.com surprise team that's right. The Hornets are officially on pace to be a surprise team and beat their preseason over under by at least 10 games. Wow. Any of us pick them? No, of course not. I mentioned the Pistons pass the Thunder this week in the overall standings. Well, the spurs are trying to do the same thing in the West. San Antonio has won six in a row. They now sit only three games back of the Thunder for the number one seed in the West. This week saw several wild stat lines from the Spurs. In a game against the Mavericks, Steph Castle had a 40 point triple double, putting up 40, 12 and 12 on 15 of 19 shooting from the field. And then in the very next game against a shorthanded Lakers team, Victor Wembanyama came out in the first half and scored 37, finishing with 40 and 12 in only 26 minutes of play. The spurs also made an off court move this week, waving former lottery pick Jeremy Sohan, who was picked up by the New York Knicks. Finally, it's All Star Weekend and we've had a lot of All Star replacements named by Commissioner Adam Silver. Kawhi Leonard, Alperin Shingoon, Brandon Ingram and de' Aaron Fox have all been named to the All Star team in the past week. Now, if you've been following along with the All Star news, there's obviously been a lot of pushback regarding this year's All Star Game because of the new format, some questionable Saturday night participants. Yeah, don't worry because Commissioner Silver waited until a few days before to pull the final rabbit out of his hat. From variety.com the NB is, quote, turning its All Star Weekend events into a content factory. For more than 200 top creators. The weekend will offer, quote, days of content fodder for social media creators. Now, I'm sure you had your doubts about Adam Silver's ability to make the All Star Game relevant again, but rest assured, we're getting days of content fodder, folks. Usually you'd be lucky to get a couple hours of fodder, and this man is giving us days of it. Listen, I can only speak for myself, but I cannot wait to consume the fodder being pumped out of the content factory this weekend. And those are the top stories this week.
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B
Andrew oh my gosh, that was brilliant. I'm so glad you're back. We needed you back this week in particular.
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D
AL yeah, I'm back. I'm sorry. I was sick. I got sick, sick. It's time now, though, for our weekly segment where we talk about something good we like, something we didn't like, and something that left us confused in a segment we call good Bad. What.
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C
Good that.
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D
Andrew, what is your good this week?
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B
My good this week is Nicola Topic taking the court for Thunder last night in OkC. I was lucky enough to be able to sit courtside for this game to see it happen. And the journey that he's had to take to get to this point is pretty remarkable. The fact that he came into the league, he had the partially torn acl, had to have surgery, had to recover from that all season, didn't get to play like that. That's difficult. Just in general, coming back from an ACL tear, having to live in like a completely new country, having to like live a new life in Oklahoma City, I think was really difficult for him. And then he gets to play Summer league looks pretty good. Plays in his first preseason game. He looked, he looked good. He looked ready to like contribute to the Thunder. And then he gets testicular cancer, has to have surgery, has to do chemotherapy. He's recovering from that and that's a, that's a long road and he still has a long way to go. We talked to Mark Degnalt last night about it and he said like he is not really close to the player athletically that they would want him to be just because of like the recovery from chemo. And so he got to play yesterday. It was very cool. The Oklahoma City crowd really met the moment. Like he got a standing ovation. It was very cool to see him. I mean, everybody was kind of waiting to see what he would do on the court. He had a nice assist, he had a nice mid range bucket, but didn't play a ton. And I just thought it was really a really cool moment for him to finally take the court. Now it's going to take a bit longer for him to return to the level that he wants to be at and we may not even see that this season from him. But just a very cool story.
- [11:07]
C
He.
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B
He declined to talk to the media last night. I was really hoping to talk to him after the game, but he was kind of overwhelmed with emotion just from the night and then didn't end up talking to the media, which is totally understandable. Not only do you have all these things happen and then all these people wanted to talk to you, but there's like a language barrier that exists as well and the guy is still super young. But it's just a very cool story. Like rarely do we get these stories like this in the NBA that are feel good moments for a guy who's overcome so much. So I just thought that was good in a, in a game that was so bad for the Thunder. We had this like really good, just kind of feel good moment for Nikola topic.
- [11:51]
D
Yeah. Unfortunately, Usman Jang has some issues with being traded away from the Thunder and he let us know about it, made.
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B
Every shot shout out to us. UCE was awesome in that game. He was, he was the best player on the floor. I mean, said this on a couple different places already, but if you were to just sit somebody down who has never watched NBA basketball ever and say who's the all star on the court? Which one of those guys is the all Star? They'd be like, it's that Usman character running across the court.
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D
Yeah. Yeah, that was tough to watch. My good this week is Tanking Yeah, it's my good. That's right.
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B
Let's go bring it.
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D
Took center stage this week, as it tends to do at some point in every NBA season. If you listen to literally any NBA podcast or you're on social Media, there's a 100 chance that you encountered the tanking discourse.
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B
Yeah.
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D
On NBA Reddit, for example. Basically every other post this week was someone who had just discovered the solution to tanking. They had to share it, and the overwhelming response to tanking is negative. Unsurprisingly, a lot of the discussion surrounds the integrity of the game, how bad of a look it is for the league. And I'll admit having these discussions already in early February is somewhat unique, at least when it comes to the in game sort of tanking. Yeah, but we've had enough negativity, Andrew, which is why I've prepared a list of four good things about tanking.
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B
Let's hear it. Oh, that's very excited about that.
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D
Why isn't a it not a top five list, Alex? Well, you couldn't think of one more? Nope, I couldn't. I tried. Could only get to 4. But let's look at the bright side for once and talk about some things that I think are objectively good about tanks tanking. So number four, my number four good thing about tanking is that tanking ups the ante for the NBA draft lottery. It takes something that is a fun sideshow during the playoffs and turns it into a must watch event. If you're someone who hates tanking and specifically the number of teams tanking this season, at least a couple of these teams are about to be devastated, which is going to be great for you. You know, just know that the more teams that tank, the more devastating the draft lottery will be. One or two of these teams are going to get absolutely crushed and you will be the beneficiary. I'll never forget going into the 2021 draft lottery knowing that OKC had decent odds to land two top five picks because they had Houston's pick and they fell to sixth. All that tanking, all that losing, the embarrassment of it all, and the prize was the sixth pick. That is drama, folks.
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B
It was drama.
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D
Multiple teams are going to experience that feeling of devastation this season and that is good television. Number three, My number three good thing about tanking is that at least in some instances, I do think tanking can bring a fan base closer together and harness their energy against common enemies. Yeah, I don't know if you encountered any Jazz fans this week while surfing the web. But my impression was that Jazz fans were generally united, defiant, and in the process of creating their own Arya Stark list of media members that they would be checking back in with when the Jazz are good again. You know, for okc, we had Justin Termini, who hosts a radio show. He described OKC as the black eye of the league, which a phrase. That phrase became like a rallying cry of the fan base. To the point that Aaron Wiggins referenced the phrase during his championship speech.
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B
Exactly.
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Yeah.
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D
So I would argue that tanking has this ability to galvanize a fan base, bring them together, which is ultimately a good thing. Okay, that's number two.
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B
Okay.
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D
My number two good thing about tanking is that tanking creates legends among fan bases. Legends whose NBA's NBA careers otherwise would have been forgotten to time. Now, if you're not a Thunder fan, the name Yorgos Khalid Zakis probably doesn't mean anything to you. But among true Thunder fans, Yorgos will never be forgotten. He played four games for the Thunder in the 2122 season. But in the final game of the season, which would end up being his final game in the NBA, Yorgos played a complete game. 48 minutes of Yorgos. No breaks, no rest. Pure Yorgos. The Thunder lost that game by 50 points. Legend. And for that I will never forget the name Yorgos Calzacis. And he will live on in Thunder history forever. That's a good thing. Finally, the number one good thing about tanking is watching a team win a game they were trying to lose. I am not sure there is anything I find more hilarious to watch in the NBA. The Jazz Heat game this week. One of the more entertaining games of the season. Because in the previous game against Orlando, Utah had gotten out to a 17 point lead with a minute left in the third quarter. Then they never let their starters back in the game, slowly watch the 17 point lead evaporate until the Magic pulled ahead and won. That game on its own ignited a huge firestorm of discourse among NBA fans. Yeah, so then in the very next game when they did the exact same thing against Miami but won. I mean come on, that is objectively funny. That's a hilarious scenario to watch play out. And it would not be possible without tanking. I've mentioned this before, but genuinely one of my favorite in person NBA experiences was watching a Thunder Blazers game in Portland where they were both tanking, both trying to lose. The game went to overtime and to this day I have never laughed that much at an NBA game. I was in my seat cackling having the greatest time of my life watching these two terrible teams. And that is something. That is one upside of tanking. So is tanking bad? Does it have bad outcomes? Sure. But it's not all bad. There's a few good things.
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B
Poor Isaiah Roby in that game. Isaiah Roby, another tanking legend for the Thunder, hit a three to win the game for okc. And the amount of frustration coming from OKC to Isaiah Roby was off the charts.
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D
Even in the.
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B
Could you do this to us?
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D
Even in the arena, like, you could tell that the majority of Blazers fans, like, understood the assignment.
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C
Yeah.
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D
And I would not say that when he hit that three, it was like, oh, there.
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B
Yeah.
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But, like, people understood it, which made it very entertaining.
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B
I would argue, too, that that teams that are implementing the tanking strategy, maybe this is number five for you. It is. It is more fun to root for losses than it is for your team to just be horrific like the Kings are. Like, that's just a sad fan base. But if you have a team that is, like, strategically tanking, like the Jazz, and you are rooting for those losses, that is objectively more fun than just being horrific. Like, like, the Kings wanted to be good this year. They did things like sign Russell Westbrook, signed Dennis Schroeder. They made deals to try to be a better basketball team in the summer, and they couldn't do it because they stink and they have a bad culture. They have bad everything. The Jazz have a. The Jazz have a good head coach in Will Hardy. They have a good foundation of players. They've developed players. Like, it is objectively more fun to root for those losses than to just watch your team just completely die because you don't have a good culture, you don't have a good head coach, you don't have a good general manager. That is not the case with some of these other teams.
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D
Yeah. And I will say, I do feel like that has turned recently for the Kings as they've started to sit some of those vets, at least Kings fans, are getting to watch some of these young guys now and have some hope for the future.
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B
Yeah.
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D
But.
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B
Yeah, when you're just watching not because of strategy. Like, they didn't get here due to strategy, you know, not get here, but.
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D
I think they get it now.
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B
Yes.
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D
They understand where they are now.
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B
Yeah, they have. Well, they have no choice.
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D
All right, Andrew, what is your bad this week?
- [19:59]
B
Mine had to do with tanking as well. And, like, I just want to, like, can we just, like, accept that, like, this is part of like, the NBA. And I know it's. It's egregious right now because there's so many teams doing it and having to do it so early. And it's because this draft class is so good and it's worth, like, tanking for. Only three champions in like the last, like 40 or 50 years have won a championship without a top 10 pick that was either their first or second best player on the team. It's the 2021 Bucks, the 2019 Raptors, the 2011 Mavs. Everybody else either had like, LeBron James, Shaquille O', Neal, like these players that just like, drive winning. And most of those guys come from the top 10, if not the top three picks in the draft. Like, that's just the way the NBA has always functioned. And like these teams, these teams that are bad, most of them don't have any mechanism to get those players. Like Utah doesn't have a mechanism to get a player like that. You know, Brooklyn right now is not just going to go get somebody and also, like, they need a lot more, but they could really start with somebody who's really good at the top of this draft. Now you have to make the right draft picks. There's been a lot of blunders at the top of the draft, which is why teams like the Kings have been so bad for so long. But like, next year, the draft class is not very strong. We're not going to see it. People are like, oh, did the.
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C
Did the.
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B
The league may make some tweaks and be like, oh, my gosh, will we fix tanking? There's only like three teams tanking. It's going to. The draft class is not very good. This is supposed to be an awesome draft class worth tanking for. And also, like, the smart people in the league are like, yeah, you should do this. How? Like, we have blow it up culture that's happening. That's been happening for years and years now for reasons like this, and it's okay. And it's funny too. There's. There's teams like Phoenix. Like, people are applauding Phoenix. Oh, great job, guys. You're really trying. Look at this team. This is amazing. If this team does what they're doing right now for the next four years, people are going to tell Phoenix to blow it up. Yeah, like these teams that are just in the middle, I think it's. I don't think it's a great thing to like, applaud that, like, applaud, like, going for the middle, like, you can do it for, like, one or two years, but, like, the same people that are applauding them today are going to be the people saying, telling them to blow it up because they're never going to be good enough. It's like, what. What are we supposed to do here? I think it's okay to have, like, these years where we know, like, we know this draft class has been pumped up for a while. Like, we know. Can we not just, like, admit that, like, hey, it's okay for this class, for this to happen? There are so many teams that have no hope whatsoever for the future, and it's okay for this particular class to do it now.
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C
If.
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B
If there's this many teams tanking for next year's draft, which has been, like, deemed not a good draft class, then, like, okay, maybe we have a problem, but I don't think we'll have the same problem. I think a lot of. I think a lot of this is due to the draft class that's about.
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D
Yeah, it's the draft class. It's. There's been some injuries that have swung things, you know. Sure. Anthony Davis not being a contributor for Dallas, that really swung things because they looked like a perfectly normal team when he played, you know, obviously with Indiana, with Halliburton, that swung their whole season. I. I think it's that and then also having those two teams in Washington and Utah who have these top eight protected picks. Yeah, there's just a lot of downward pressure this year for a variety of reasons that make it kind of unique. And I agree with you that by next year, we probably won't be talking about this until March because. Yeah, yeah, inevitably there will be some teams that tank at the end of the season, but I don't think it will be quite like this.
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B
Yeah, there are extenuating circumstances where I think that people are, like, taking all of these and, like, copying and pasting it to years in the future, thinking, like, oh, this is going to be a problem for so long. I. I think that this is all kind of collided and it is. It is bad. Like, it is bad.
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D
No doubt.
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B
Yeah, it is really bad. I don't want to. I don't want to minimize what's happening right now. Like, it is really not good for the NBA. And I know everybody's like, well, we must find a solution. It's like. Like, a lot of this stuff will take care of itself next season. And, like, yeah, I think some tweaks need to be made. It's like how you can protect picks and Things like that. But to like, say, like, let's do the Wheel. I mean, come on.
- [24:25]
D
I do love Wheel, though.
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B
The Wheel is a fun idea. There ain't no way that that is being collectively bargained and that teams will vote yes to the Wheel. Like, there's no chance whatsoever.
- [24:38]
D
You just got to spend. I have a 30 minute PowerPoint presentation. I'll go over with you and you will come away in love with the Wheel. The one idea that I do like is I don't care what the cutoff is. Let's say, like, you can't get two top four picks two years. But I. But the wrinkle that I like is the team gets to decide if they want to keep it or not.
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C
Ooh.
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B
Yeah. I like that.
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D
Because what if you are in that. That recess, A draft.
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B
Yeah.
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D
And you jump up and you know you're going to be bad next year. Can you just pass? Can. Can you say, can I pass this year? But there's no guarantee you're going to jump up.
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B
There's next year.
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D
You have to commit to being bad then.
- [25:18]
B
I love the gamesmanship of that. See, I kind of just like you with, like, you're good. I kind of love the gamesmanship of all of this because it is, like, objectively the best thing for your franchise. To get a top five pick and to lose and to do it strategically, I think that's the best thing. But to add that strategy to it where you're like, you're putting guardrails here for teams so that you just can't be bad forever.
- [25:41]
D
Yeah.
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B
But getting to choose whether you want it or not is. Is very fun. That is very juicy. I like that. I like that one a lot.
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D
My bad this week is the Houston Rockets in the clutch. So I watched that second Clippers game this week, hit the go ahead and won with two seconds left.
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B
Yeah.
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D
After he hit that shot which put the Clippers up three. Ma Udoka puts both Shen Goon and Amen Thompson on the floor for the final shot. Two guys shooting under 30 from three. In a game where Reed shepherd had gone 5 of 10 from three, they were down three. Did we really need both Amen and Shingoon out there? And so this made me want to do a deeper dive on the Rockets in the clutch. And unsurprisingly, for a team that's definitely talented, you know, fourth in the west, they have not been great in close games. They've played in 28 clutch games, the ninth most in the league, and they were very mediocre 13 and 15 in those games. The only other top six seed that has that bad of a winning percentage in clutch games. Do you have any idea? I wouldn't have get it's the Boston Celtics which I just didn't realize.
- [26:45]
B
Interesting.
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D
Every other team who has been that bad in the clutch is either a middling playing team or one of the tanking teams. Now the shooting definitely been an issue in these moments. They're shooting under 30% from three in the clutch. Their offense is ranked 21st. But more surprising has been how bad the Rockets have been defensively in the clutch in clutch moments. Their defense is ranked 24th in the league and I did check to see if this was just bad luck on opponent three point shooting. It's not. Opponents are shooting 30 from three in the clutch against Houston. I don't know what the answer is for them right now. Obviously losing Stephen Adams was a massive hit to just their general identity. When I've watched this team lately, just feels like the sum is always less than its parts. And one thing they have gotten better at as the season has gone on is involving Katie Moore in the clutch. Yeah, that was supposed to be his role. And as Kelly Eco pointed out this was in mid December. His clutch time usage of 16.9 was fourth on the team. They have corrected that since January 1st. Katie's clutch time usage is now at 30 number one on the team. But that obviously hasn't been the answer just yet because they've gone 6 and 7 since January. I will say that Shingoon has been particularly rough in the clutch this season. He's shooting under 42% from the field in the clutch and he's taking the most amount of shots over the course of the season. You know the overall stats still look great. 3320 plus 5 net rating which is still third best in the West. But looking ahead to the playoffs, it's just hard for me to see this team getting past the second round and a lot of that has to do with how they look at the end of games. And so that is my bad this week.
- [28:18]
B
Yeah, that makes sense.
- [28:21]
D
Andrew, what is your.
- [28:22]
B
What what is it? My, my what is. Chris Paul retired today. I saw this, we're recording this on Friday and just just a little sad and confused by the way that his career had to end because he had an Amazing, amazing career. 12 time all star. He was rookie of the year. He had nine. He was a nine time all defensive player. Five time assist champ. 11 time all NBA. He was the all star MVP in 2013. He's one of the greatest point guards ever. And I just hate how his career had to end. He's like went back to the Clippers after being gone for a long time. I mean, last year he played for The Clippers was 16, 17 season. And the Lob City Clippers never really achieved what they were supposed to. And then it's like, oh, this is kind of cool, this full circle moment. He gets to come back to the Clippers. He plays 16 games, annoys the crap out of everybody. And then like, they're like, all right, we'd rather you not be on the team. It's just kind of sad the way that it ended. After playing all 82 games for San Antonio the year before, kind of being this like mentor to Wimby and like having this kind of feel good story for Chris Paul. I just kind of hate how it ended for CP3 that he didn't kind of get to go out on his own terms. But he, he is such like, it's not surprising that this would be how it ends for him because he's just one of those guys that is just a Hooper. He just wants to play. And so it just kind of came to a screeching halt for him, which is just a shame to me. I wish, I wish that he could have finished out a season with somebody, but some of this is probably things like family and, and stuff like that that have kept him from joining another team because I don't know if at 40 years old you want to be moving across the country or like getting an apartment in.
- [30:12]
D
Yeah.
- [30:13]
B
Boston or wherever it is. I don't know. But you know, just, just a shout out to. To Chris Paul on just an amazing career for him that actually started here in okc, which was just a, A very pleasant surprise for Thunder fans to get. Get that. That Hornets team. And then getting to go watch him his rookie year and he won Rookie of the Year and was part of a very like, really fun Hornets team. Just an outstanding career.
- [30:41]
C
So.
- [30:42]
B
Just a little confused by the end of it.
- [30:46]
D
Yeah. He's going to be a fascinating historical case. Like when we're eventually talking to people who didn't get to see him play.
- [30:52]
C
Yeah.
- [30:53]
D
And trying to convey how good he was when, you know, I mean, he eventually did make the finals with the Suns, but.
- [30:59]
B
Right.
- [31:00]
D
The relative lack of playoff success compared to some of his peers. He will be a very interesting case to talk about also because if you, if you had him on your team at any time, you kind of like him or at least respect him if you didn't. There were a lot of people who hated Chris Paul for some. For some legitimate reasons.
- [31:19]
B
For a variety of legitimate reasons. So.
- [31:22]
D
So he's just going to be a very interesting historical case. He is how people will talk about him in 20 years.
- [31:27]
B
Yeah.
- [31:28]
D
For my what this week, Andrew, I want to take a look back at our predictions for first time All Stars. Yeah, these are predictions we made in the summer with our friends from the, you know, ball podcast, Trill, bro, dude and Sam Sheehan.
- [31:39]
B
That was fun.
- [31:40]
D
Now that we have the full rosters, the extra selections have been made by Adam Silver. It's time to see how we did.
- [31:45]
B
Okay.
- [31:46]
D
This was another big year for first time All Stars. Always feels like it's going to be impossible to get more than a couple first timers.
- [31:50]
B
But.
- [31:51]
D
But almost every season we get a ton and this season was no different. Six first time All Stars this season and all were selected with the initial teams which is impressive. No injury replacements among the bunch. So let's give out some awards based on our predictions. Coming in fourth place with zero points was Trill. Bro, dude, I'm sorry, Trill. Trill selected Amen Thompson which was a. Seems like a great pick, seemed like a good and honestly, you look at his stats career high in points and assists, but it still feels like a disappointment given how sky high the sentiment was about Amen coming into the season. Like he almost felt like a shoe in. He's like he's obviously about to take a massive jump. And even though they had Shengoon and kd, it made sense that like, oh, this is the year when Amen's going to make the All Star Game. Trill also selected Evita Zubots, who did end up becoming an important part of this season but did not reach the heights of last year when he was being considered for the All Star Game. And finally Trill selected a player who I said at the time, if this guy makes it, you will automatically win. He was the Golden Snitch and that player was Cam Thomas. Now unfortunately, Cam Thomas was waived by his team this season. However, he did just score 34 points for the Bucks. So you know, was Trill on the right track? I do think Trill was on the right track picking a Nets player, but it turned out that MPJ was the more likely All Star.
- [33:11]
B
Yeah, roster. Yeah.
- [33:14]
D
Now in third place, also with zero points was Sam. Sam had a rough start taking Desmond Bain in the first round, but he made up for it by taking Cooper Flag and Derrick White. I mean Flag Is having an incredible rookie season and legitimately might end up being like a second half all star with the way he's playing right now. And then Derrick White, you know, once again he's a plus minus. God, he's putting up, up, you know, this kind of fringe All Star season that he does every year. So not bad picks, but not good enough to score any points.
- [33:42]
B
Yeah.
- [33:43]
D
In second place with one point was me. Now I picked Franz Wagner first overall, which I do feel like he would have made it if he was healthy. His three point shooting bounced back 36.5%. I think he's the best player in the Magic, but he's only played in 28 games, so it did not happen. My second selection was Josh Giddy, who seemed like a.
- [34:02]
C
A lock.
- [34:03]
B
Oh, gosh.
- [34:04]
D
Through the first month of the season.
- [34:06]
B
He was, he was such a lock.
- [34:08]
D
But injuries, 10 games and the Bulls reverting back to being the Bulls did not help his case. But my final pick was Jamal Murray, who after nine years finally made the All Star game. And he did it without having to be an injury placement. He had a very obvious All Star season. The best of his career. Well deserving of his first All Star selection. And that means that the winner of the first time All Star draft was. Andrew. Andrew, you finished with three points, a clean sweep. Let's go. You picked Jalen Johnson, Chet and Denny Avdia. No notes. You nailed it. The only first time All Stars that were not selected by anyone were Norm Powell, who I do remember being discussed, but I feel like the discussion was how, how is Norm Powell going to make it over? Bam. And are the Heat really going to be good enough for two All Stars? Yeah, I remember that being the conversation.
- [34:57]
B
Yeah.
- [34:58]
D
And then there was Jalen Duran, who if he had been picked, it would have felt like such a bold prediction.
- [35:03]
B
Yeah, for sure.
- [35:04]
D
I don't know if his name even came up. But those are the results of our first time All Star draft and they are a what? Because Andrew went three for three. Best performance, I think I believe in the draft so far.
- [35:15]
B
Wow. Another interesting performance is just the Clippers. Everything about them is interesting. We're going to talk to a lot Murray about them right after this. Quick break.
- [35:27]
A
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- [35:40]
D
Fast.
- [35:40]
A
One day delivery for the win. It's on Prime.
- [35:42]
B
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- [37:19]
D
With the times.
- [37:20]
B
You're playing the loot. Yeah, and it sounds pretty good, right?
- [37:25]
D
Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide, based on the February 2025 Nielsen report. 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. Three weeks ago, the wheel landed on the Los Angeles Clippers, who have had one of the stranger seasons in recent memory. Clippers started 6 and 21amidst accusations of improper payments and benefits delivered to Kawhi Leonard, a story first broke by Pablo Torre. It looked like everything was crashing down for this Kawhi era Clippers, but since December 20th, Clippers are 20 and 7 best record in the league. The team with the second best record during that time span is the Cleveland Cavaliers, who kick started a wild deadline for the clippers by trading 26 year old guard Darius Garland, who has been unable to stay on the court due to ongoing toe injuries for 36 year old James Harden. The Clippers weren't done though. Next they traded starter Vita Zubots to the Pacers for Benedict Matheran and at worst two unprotected future first, despite the loss of two starters, the Clippers have continued to play well post deadline, winning three of their last four including a win over the Wolves and a thrilling win over the Houston Rockets which included a Go ahead, go ahead. And won by Kawhi with 2 seconds left, part of a 19 point fourth quarter for Kawhi. Clippers are now at 26 and 28, ninth in the West. Per cleaning the glass, the clippers had the 12th ranked offense and 20th ranked defense for the season. Andrew if the Clippers are our favorite team, who is our guest?
- [38:59]
B
It's our guy, Law Murray from the Athletic I've been very excited for this one.
- [39:04]
C
Law.
- [39:05]
B
How's it going?
- [39:08]
C
I'm punch drunk but it is All Star Weekend and eventually the Spirit will find me and I'm looking forward to it. I'm happy to be with you guys though. We're we're a bit overdue I feel.
- [39:22]
B
Like so we are absolutely. But I am glad we waited. I am glad we waited because there's a lot that has happened in the meantime. The Clippers made two big trades at the trade deadline, swapping Harden for Garland and moving Zubots for two very juicy Pacers picks. Were you surprised at all by the Clippers aggressiveness given how well they've been playing with this all NBA level season they're getting from Kawhi?
- [39:52]
C
That's a tough question for me because the Clippers I don't feel like we're driving the bus on these transactions. I feel like James Harden was okay and I'm surprised that James Harden was aggressive, but I probably shouldn't have been. You know what I've been saying for some time is James always drives the bus on where he's going. And as it stood the current contract situation where the Clippers were the Clippers had certain leverage over James situation because of the agreement that they had contractually over the off season where James had a player option that if he opted in he would have until or the Clippers would have until July 11th to wave him off of that deal guaranteeing James 13 million, something like that. And think about it. James Harden's history is not to let teams dictate what's happening with him. He is going to let you know when he's going, where he is going next and he'll even pick out the return for you. And I feel like that's what happened here. And the good thing that the Clippers did is they didn't wait Until James went to Asia and called the GM a liar in front of a bunch of kids at his camp. They are a smart organization and realized, you know what, James, you're right. Let's get somebody back for this while we can. The Clippers needed to put a face to the prospective names that they were going to be holding out for this future flexibility for. And one of those names is Darius Garland. Say what you want about Darius and his standing in the league, but. But he is a two time All Star in his mid-20s. That when you look at the makeup of the Clippers roster, especially going into this particular season, says a lot about, you know, the shift in which they were interested in. And it's the same thing with Zoo. Like I sat there and the Clippers told media that Vince Zubots was not going to play against the Cavaliers for personal leave and beyond that because he was about to hit him and his fiancee were about to welcome their child into the world, which that is correct. I, being a seasoned follower of this team, was also getting comfortable with the fact that if you're going to trade James Harden and you are going to think about trading, if it's Zubots, you better do it now because it's like a package deal. I've seen a Vincent Zubots and I've appreciated him for his entire career, especially these last six with the athletic covering the Clippers and James Harden rose. The level of play for this is Zubots to a significant degree and his value was never going to be higher. You needed to trade him in 24 hours or you were losing out on the best window to get the most for him. And you wake up the next morning, the last hour of the deadline, and it's not just that they traded him, but as you guys alluded to, to get the package that they did, a young player in Benedict Matheran who showed that he could score at a high level. The other parts of his game are why he's going to be a restrictive agent and why the Pacers didn't lock him up. But that's a talented young piece right there. You get an unprotected first round pick in two years or in 2029, 2031, if the Pacers do win the lottery. And winning the lottery to me isn't just the number one pick. You win the lottery, as the Utah Jazz and the Washington Wizards can tell you, by getting one of the first four picks. And so if that's the case for the Pacers, they keep the pick. But if not, then that pick more than likely is going to the Clippers because the Pacers are quite in quite a deep hole. It's probably going to be five through nine if they don't win the lottery, and that's great. But if the Clippers don't win that lottery, that becomes a tradable asset. And that brings us to the reason the Clippers are still relevant today. And that is Kawhi Leonard. That dude is playing like Jordan and I mean at the age that he is and all the injuries that he's overcome and all the distractions that have pockmarked this season, for him to be playing like this, for him to be playing inspired basketball back to backs on the road several consecutive games in a row to bring the Clippers back from where they were. It says a lot. But we're all going to be looking at the future of Kawhi in the short and long term for the rest of this season and going into the next off season. And you might have a tradable asset along with that.
- [44:36]
D
I think there was an expectation after those moves at the deadline that the Clippers would take a significant step back, but it hasn't really happened yet. You talked about Kawhi, but how else have they been able to maintain the momentum so far post deadline? And what's your outlook for this team for the rest of the season?
- [44:53]
C
Honestly, it's a matter of continuity. You know, James and Zoo aren't here, but when Zoo missed games in December, that opened the door for Brook Lopez, a guy who was benched in November because he was such a bad fit with the second unit. They were trying to play and it made them realize, oh, so Brook can play. It's not that Brooke can't play, it's just that you can't have a 280 pound, 38 year old who was not athletic coming out of Stanford be running around with these second units that you see. Like think about it, Andrew. You see the second units in Oklahoma City. Like you see what these teams do to downsize. Like they realize, okay, if Brook is going to be here, we gotta like change substitution patterns, get him with the, the behemoths that are starting at center in first units, right? And so that was a, that was the first tip where it's like, okay, one of these guys has to go. And for me it was like, well, Zoo's gonna say he's one of the best bargain contracts in the league. He's a literally all defensive selection, right? But Brook was, was part of it. And these young guys are contributing and they're giving space to, to be able to make some mistakes and to play through it. Like Kobe Sanders just got promoted. But that dude's a second round rookie who played at Cal Poly two years ago and Nevada last year. 50th pick in the draft, something like that. And here he is getting consistent rotation minutes. Jordan Miller was a guy that got promoted last year, got waived so that the Clippers could do what they could to maintain some flexibility with the roster going into this season. And he's probably going to get promoted again this month. And he's been consistently playing like they, they're not even playing. Bogan Bogdanovich, he's been cleared a couple weeks ago. Nico Batum didn't play in Houston. And they're giving guys a real chance to play. But one guy who I think has been just I, I can't even touch me so hot is John Collins. Not allowed to ask about John Collins three point percentage. That's like asking about Fight club at this point. Like for him to start this season as poorly as he did and then to turn around and now it's like every time shot goes up, it's like, yeah, he's making it. I mean it's been one of the most inspirational heaters I've ever been on. And this dude has this, this tea in the locker room. It's a tea that I'm pretty sure I can't find in my local store. And I'm living in Los Angeles. We got Erwin. You can't get what John Collins be getting. He's been playing amazing and it took him a while to fit. But the. But, but as good as Kawhi's been, you need someone who's been knocking down shots at an insane, seemingly unsustainable level. It's just that John's unsustainable level has lasted for like two months now.
- [47:52]
D
Yeah, for our listeners, I'm looking at the splits. In January he shot 58% from three and then in February show so far up a paltry 41%. He's down too. That's pretty incredible.
- [48:06]
B
Yeah, that is wild. I did want to touch on these young guys because the Clippers just never have young players that play well. Kobe Sanders and Yannick Niederhauser who are both been really good for them. Can you give us just like a quick scouting report on both guys just for people that haven't watched them.
- [48:25]
C
I'll start with the first round pick, Yannick Conan the Barbarian. Like when he first of all he was in the G League Camp, you know, that's the whole little mini invitational thing that you have to kind of go through. And if you shine in that, you get a late invite to the combine. Like we know who's going to get combine invites. If you're in the G League Invitational, the G League Elite camp, that's like, well, congrats to being here. But like you're lucky if you get drafted at all. So Janik played well enough in that. And you know what? Janik was going to look good in that because he can run and jump at the size that he has. Incredibly raw player. Like he played at Penn State. Like, if you want a linebacker, Penn State's a great place to look if you want a basketball player. We ain't talking basketball players out of Penn State for a reason. You know, homies ain't going to State College, the hoop, you know, before that he was at Northern Illinois, so the tools were apparent. And so he snuck into that first round, you know, last pick of the first round. And I was looking at centers for the Clippers anyway going into the draft. And names that I was looking at included Ryan Cockbrenner, Maxime Reynald, two guys who not only wound up being early second round picks with guaranteed contracts, but. But have played relatively well in the roles that they've been in for Charlotte for Kalkbrenner and Sacramento for Reynold. So why did they draft Janik? They drafted Janik because he was going to have tools physically that Kalkbrenner, who again, typical drop center, a big guy, a five year guy. His ceiling isn't really much, but. But the floor is higher. Raynal, kind of the same thing. Offensively skilled player. Not a player that I don't think GMs are looking at to be a real stopper at the center position. Jannik, again, one of the best vertical leaps at the combine. Athletic, can move. You had the feeling you needed to teach him how to play basketball. You know, he's that raw. But this dude has picked up over the course of the season. He had incredible vets to start his career with. We do have to start there if you're going to come into the league as a third stringer to look at. If it's a Zubots and Brook Lopez in your locker room in your training camp, that's a good place to start. And clearly he wants to be a good basketball player. He's picked up, he's been a great student again. He got a half season with James Harden. James Harden has a reputation for getting his bigs paid and for bringing those guys along. He soaked up all he could there. And so like he's a guy that his best years are clearly ahead of him. He has a higher ceiling than the centers who went in the second round. And as far as Kobe Sanders goes, he was a guy I actually specifically identified in my one draft report because I don't unfortunately start writing draft stuff until right before the draft. I covered the LA Clippers. As you mentioned, they never have young guys on their team, so why am I going to be writing about stuff in spring anyway? Kobe Sanders, when I got to my my knowledge about this draft, I was like, he's 6, 7, dribble, pass, shoot, shoot. What am I missing here? Like he's going to be a second round pick because he played at Nevada because he's a five year guy. But this is a guy who teams want on their teams. It's just a matter of the makeup and you know, can he get it? This dude has literally played just about every game since the middle of November as a second round pick for the Clippers and not ideal that he's been put in a situation to play as much as he has. He's absolutely looked like a second round rookie a lot of the time this season. But this is also a guy who pretty much beat the Golden State warriors back in January. You know, national televised game with Snoop Dogg on the mic in the second half. You know, like Kobe showed out in that game. He can dribble, pass and shoot. Is he a point guard like he was in college? No one believes that in the front office and the head coach. Those two positions are kind of important. But they called him a playmaking wing. They say that he can do a whole lot of things across the positional spectrum and to do that as a rookie is really, really encouraging. He got promoted and I expect as his career goes along his body will fill out a little more. And his skill set and his knowledge of what he needs to do to create advantages is also going to expand as well.
- [52:59]
D
So law this week, I don't know if you heard about this, but Pablo Torre released part eight of his investigation into the Clippers Kawhi and possible cap circumvention. I'm interested in what's been like covering this team this season with this slow drip feed of stories coming out like day to day. How big of a topic of conversation is this among your colleagues or people within the Clippers world? Or is it just kind of ignored within the walls?
- [53:26]
C
Man, some of us Of a certain age. Remember Trapped in the Closet? It. When it dominated that summer on the radio, you had a new John every other week. It felt like that's what this season been like, bro. Like, I don't know when it's going in, but I can't wait for it to end because it's just been one thing after another. Like, I mean, shoot, I got people texting me, being like, yo, you got shadow on the pod. It's like, bro, I was just doing my job, man. It's collateral damage being a part of the LA Clippers beat, bro. So that's. I mean, the Clippers are not normal in any season. Like, I've been at the Athletic for six seasons covering this team, and it's like, it's always one thing or another. You always have a veteran point guard being told they need to go home in the middle of the season. Like, I covered. I covered John Wall, Rajon Rondo, Eric Bledsoe. Like, a couple of them dudes never played an NBA game after their stint with the Cliffords, dog. So, you know, in one hand, I'm conditioned. I'm the right person to have to be around this environment. And on the other hand, I'm never comfortable. I literally sleep in with the phone tucked under my. On. Under my chain because that thing gonna ring and I just gotta wake up and be ready to go and start my day. It's like, I. I guess that's it. That's my rest. So. So it's been like, five different seasons. I told Amin that a couple weeks ago when I was in New York. It's been like, five different seasons. And that's the thing. If the Clippers were, like, outright bad, then it would fit a certain narrative, right? Because especially in la, people love talking about how the Clippers are the redheaded stepchild of Los Angeles and how they should never get any coverage unless it's scandalous. But the thing with the Clippers is they have been good. They have really good players, a really good coach, and a front office that even though they gave Andrew a championship parade to attend. Like, they've also been really good at identifying what works for at least a regular season. They haven't figured out that whole postseason part of thing yet, but they literally have the longest active streak of consecutive winning seasons, and they're a threat to continue that streak. So. So, you know, it's easy to cover. Not easy, but, like, it's more simpler to cover a team that you know is really bad. You can just cover the dumb stuff. That comes up and you don't even have to go to the games, but you gotta cover everything with the Clippers, the basketball, the behind the scenes, and apparently, you know, the. The podcast that we are licensing this season that is been the biggest story in the league law.
- [56:16]
B
This weekend, the Clippers are hosting All Star Weekend. What will this weekend look like for you? Are there any celebrities that you're trying to meet? Like, what's, What's. What's the weekend look like for you?
- [56:29]
C
Humbly speaking, I'm in la, bro, so I'm not trying to see nobody. Like, I can't wait for President's Day.
- [56:38]
D
Are you sure? Because I. I heard that there's going to be 200 influencers there. You're not interested in meeting any of those 200 influencers, man.
- [56:46]
C
Influencers were very close to influenza, and I ain't get a shot. I might need another shot just to get through this weekend, bro.
- [56:54]
D
Like, we.
- [56:56]
C
I just want to focus on the game. I can't wait to focus on basketball, man. And that's the thing. Like, I've been to shout out to the athletic. They let me go to cover the previous four All Stars. I've been to San Francisco, Indiana, by the way. Indiana, y'. All Airport. Y' all need to get y' all stuff together. It snows in, in. In there, in the cornfields before. That's Lake City. And I went to CLEVELAND for the 75th anniversary All Star, and that was an incredible blessing for my life and my career to get to see that, to get to be in the flow, to get to contribute journalism and all that. And so this year is very different. You know, it is. First of all, it's at a building that's never had All Star before. It's with a broadcaster that hasn't had it, had this game in almost a quarter century. There's so much logistically that will add to my anxiety, but also I want to be present for it, you know, like, you know, I had. I was in Madison Square Garden when reserves were announced and Kawhi wasn't on it. And I was like, well, that's awesome. Awkward. And everyone got their nonsense out for 48 hours only for Adam Silver to add to the plot and make him his personal selection to be on the All Star roster. Like, it's just funny to me. So it's going to be a very interesting weekend. It's going to be hilarious. I'm going to stretch every single morning, hydrate, find a tea that I can, you know, have approved to get through this weekend and I hope everybody enjoys it. But yeah, it's just gonna be. It's gonna be a hot mess and I, I just want to get through it. No, no problems.
- [58:39]
D
Well, thank you for answering all of our questions about the Clippers. It is now time to play Andrew versus the Beat, which you're very familiar with. Come up with eight questions about the Clippers. You're gonna give me a number between 1 and 8. It'll correspond to a question. Question. If you get it right, you'll get at least two points. If you get it wrong, Andrew, have a chance to steal for one. And we'll go back and forth until all the questions have been asked and answered. So to start us off. Law, I just need a number between one and eight.
- [59:05]
C
Let's go with three since a certain Clipper won't be wearing that number anymore.
- [59:10]
B
That's right.
- [59:11]
D
That's a bad choice. Law. That is the hardest question. All right, here we go. Good luck. Nicholas Batum has played over 900 minutes this season season and has taken a total of nine 2 point attempts. Now this has never happened before. In fact, throughout NBA history there have only been six other players to play 500 plus minutes in a season and take fewer than 22 point attempts. Can you name one of those other six? And as a hint for you, four of the six occurred since the 1819 season season. So pretty recent. So these are guys who played 500 plus minutes in a season and took fewer than 22 point attempts.
- [59:55]
B
Wow.
- [59:57]
D
And again, Batum is over 900 minutes and has nine two point attempts, which is awesome.
- [60:02]
C
That's crazy, right? Oh man. So we're guessing guys who hate two pointers in general.
- [60:12]
D
They hate them. They're allergic.
- [60:16]
C
I don't know why this guy's on the top of my tongue. I'm gonna go with Sam Merrill. I don't know if you know he has enough minutes, but let me. I'm. I'm going with Sam Merrill as one of my.
- [60:28]
D
Sam Merrill. A good guess. 3 point attempt rate, very high. But he is not on the list. Andrew.
- [60:35]
B
Wow. I was. That was actually the exact name I was gonna guess with Sam Merrill. Really has to be one of those guys that's just like a. A three point specialist. Yeah. The other guy. I don't. I feel like the.
- [60:51]
C
This.
- [60:52]
B
Maybe Sam Houser is like another one. I'll guess Sam Houser.
- [60:55]
C
Yeah.
- [60:56]
D
You guys are thinking of too good of players.
- [60:59]
B
Oh, okay.
- [61:01]
D
Yeah. So are the, the correct answers the guys from a long time ago? Brian Cardinal and Mike Miller. Now Mike Miller. Maybe you would have guessed if you.
- [61:10]
B
Okay.
- [61:11]
D
More recent though, Caleb Houston, Lindy Waters iii.
- [61:15]
B
Oh, Lindy.
- [61:17]
D
Mia Auni and Gary Clark.
- [61:21]
B
Dude, if the other names. Yeah, you're right. That is the hardest question.
- [61:26]
C
Shout out to all those guys. Yeah, yeah. Shout out to all those guys. I am not mad that we didn't get there. So.
- [61:32]
B
Yeah, Number one.
- [61:34]
D
Alright. Number one.
- [61:36]
C
It.
- [61:36]
D
Andrew, how many Clippers have had a.
- [61:38]
B
Me?
- [61:41]
D
Yeah, I looked up the pronunciation. I want to make sure I got it right. Andrew, how many Clippers have had a 30 point game this season?
- [61:48]
C
This season? Oh my gosh.
- [61:50]
D
How many Clippers? You don't have to tell me who. Just the number.
- [61:56]
B
Five.
- [61:58]
D
That is incorrect. Law, you can steal for one.
- [62:06]
C
How many. How many Clippers? I mean, shoot, two of them had 55 point games this season. I'm trying to think who. Who else had a 30 piece on this team. Ain't that many guys on the team that can get buckets. I don't think Zeus had one. Don't think John's had one. I feel like there's one more guy that's like escaping me. I'm gonna go with four. I don't need to tell you who. I'm gonna go.
- [62:40]
D
That's correct. And. Oh, I, I was gonna say you didn't need to tell me, but that is correct. You were correct. It was four. However, it was one of the guys you said didn't have one, which was Zubots. Zubots did have one. Kawhi Harden. And then that crazy Brooke Lopez game when he hit all those threes.
- [62:59]
B
Oh, that's wild. I, I just kind of assume that John Collins in the midst of his heater got one.
- [63:03]
D
But Law, back to you. Board is yours.
- [63:08]
C
Let's go with. Let's go with number eight.
- [63:11]
D
Question number eight. The Clippers had a three and 19 stretch this season. The last time they had a stretch that bad was the 0910 season. Who led the 0910 Clippers in total points scored?
- [63:29]
C
I know who they would have wanted to leap in the total point square. It's a guy who didn't even get to play. I'm gonna go. Eric Gordon.
- [63:40]
D
Eric Gordon. He was third. Andrew.
- [63:44]
B
Dang. I just hope it's this guy. All Star Chris Kamen.
- [63:53]
D
It was all star Chris Cayman. All right, Andrew, you've both stolen a point. Game is number nine, two gorgeous shores. Number two, Kawhi Leonard has taken 10 plus threes in six games this season. Prior to this season, how many times had Kawhi taken 10 plus threes in a game. Now you get to choose who answers first.
- [64:17]
B
Wow.
- [64:18]
D
Law answer first and then you go higher, lower. Or you can answer first and Law will go higher or lower.
- [64:25]
C
Wow.
- [64:25]
D
Prior to this season, how many games with 10 plus 3 point attempts?
- [64:32]
B
I don't even know how to begin to guess this number. I'll say 11.
- [64:39]
D
11. Law, would you like to go higher or lower?
- [64:45]
C
What's the question again?
- [64:47]
D
How many games prior to this season did Kawhi take 10 plus threes?
- [64:55]
C
You said 11. I'm going to go lower.
- [65:00]
D
That is correct. It was nine, nine and six this season.
- [65:07]
C
Wow.
- [65:07]
D
Okay. Law, Board of shores.
- [65:13]
C
Let's go five.
- [65:14]
D
Question number five. The Clippers are 20 and seven since December 20th. The best record in the league over that time span. Since December 20th, the Clippers have the fourth ranked offense. Per Cleaning the Glass, who are the three teams that have had a better offense than the Clippers since December 20th? Wow. You get one point per correct answer. So you could get three points here. Law.
- [65:36]
C
Oh, man. And I look at these. Well, not cleaning the glass, but I look at these numbers almost every day.
- [65:44]
D
So this is since December 20th. Since December 20th, the three offenses that have been better than the Clippers.
- [65:54]
C
I'm going to go with Denver, Boston and Charlotte. It.
- [65:58]
D
You said Denver first and that is incorrect. Andrew.
- [66:04]
B
Boston.
- [66:05]
D
Yes.
- [66:05]
C
You're welcome, Andrew.
- [66:09]
B
But to be really mean. Charlotte.
- [66:11]
D
Yes. Can you name the other one? This. This. This next one. The number one offense since December 20th.
- [66:23]
B
I don't think it's Denver because they've had.
- [66:26]
D
Well, because I just said it wasn't.
- [66:28]
B
Yeah, well, that. Well, that too. But also just because they have had so many struggles. But I do. I think. I think that this is Cleveland though.
- [66:37]
D
Wow. Andrew, you got all three points. You now have a commanding four to two lead and the board is yours.
- [66:48]
B
I will go with number four.
- [66:49]
D
Question number four. Kobe Sanders has played 972 minutes as a rookie this season. Who were the last three Clippers rookies to play at least that many minutes?
- [66:59]
B
Oh my.
- [67:00]
D
One point per correct answer.
- [67:02]
B
Dude, Clippers rookies. Can I just name Clippers rookies is like another.
- [67:08]
D
Sure. The first one out of your mouth though will count.
- [67:10]
B
Another good question.
- [67:16]
D
Shoot. Had to play at least 972 minutes. Minutes.
- [67:23]
B
That's a lot of minutes.
- [67:27]
D
Terrence. Man, no. Okay, Law, you could steal three points here.
- [67:35]
C
I definitely have a lag on one of you guys. So what was Andrew's guess?
- [67:41]
D
Andrew guessed. Terence.
- [67:42]
C
Man, you guess T. Man. And how many minutes Are we talking about here?
- [67:49]
D
At least 972.
- [67:52]
C
Okay. Sounds like a lot of minutes. And again, I don't feel like that has been the case over the last. So the last three.
- [68:07]
D
Yes, last three.
- [68:09]
C
Last three.
- [68:11]
E
God.
- [68:14]
D
And for our listeners, Terrence Mann. He played 362 minutes his rookie season.
- [68:19]
C
And a lot of them were the last 15 seconds of a quarter. Of a first quarter. Any. Anyway, I'm gonna put Shay goes Alexander on there.
- [68:34]
D
That is correct.
- [68:35]
C
Oh, give me something. Something. Leave it. Leaving here with something.
- [68:40]
D
Two more names.
- [68:42]
C
Two more names. Two more names. Brandon Boston.
- [68:51]
D
And that is incorrect. The other two names. Milos Teodosic. Oh, and Sundarius Thornwell. Okay, Law, you've pulled within one. You have control of the board. Two questions remain.
- [69:12]
C
Let's go with number seven.
- [69:14]
D
Question number seven. Kawhi is currently averaging 27.9 points per game over a full season. We'll say at least 50 games played. Only two players in franchise history have averaged more points per game. Game. Name them both. You do get one point per correct answer.
- [69:35]
C
Repeat the question one more time, Alex.
- [69:37]
D
So Kwai's averaging 27.9 points per game. And I'm asking. In franchise history, there's been two guys who have averaged more points per game over a full season. Name both of them.
- [69:51]
C
This is not just the Clippers. This is. We can include Buffalo.
- [69:56]
D
That is correct. Very smart question, Law. That is why I said franchise history, not Clippers franchise history.
- [70:03]
C
Right, Right. So we're gonna. We're gonna put Bob McAdoo on there.
- [70:07]
D
That is correct.
- [70:09]
C
Tie game and it's got to be world B free.
- [70:12]
D
And Law moves ahead by one, setting up a dramatic final question for the win. Okay, Andrew.
- [70:21]
B
Okay.
- [70:22]
D
You get first dibs on this.
- [70:23]
B
Okay.
- [70:24]
D
Darius Garland was drafted fifth in the 2019 draft. He is second in minutes played from that rookie class. We're going to name the rest of the top 10 in career minutes played from the 2019 NBA rookie class. Now, important points here. No, no undrafted rookies. So Lou Dort is not included in this, though he would be in the top 10. And also we're not including guys from the previous draft who were injured. So Michael Porter Jr. Did play as a rookie in 2019, but he was part of the 2018 class. Okay, so we're just focused on the other nine guys who were actually drafted in 2019 who are in top 10 for career minutes played. So Andrew, you'll give me name then Law will give me a name and we'll go back and forth.
- [71:09]
B
RJ Barrett.
- [71:10]
D
RJ Barrett was number one.
- [71:12]
B
Law.
- [71:18]
C
Top 10, right?
- [71:20]
D
Top 10 in minutes played.
- [71:22]
C
What a. What a tricky rookie class because you saw who's in that Rookie class.
- [71:27]
B
Yeah.
- [71:28]
C
DeAndre Hunter.
- [71:30]
D
DeAndre Hunter. Number eight. Wow. Minutes played.
- [71:36]
B
Andrew Rui.
- [71:40]
D
Rui. Number nine in minutes played. Back to law.
- [71:46]
C
Who?
- [71:47]
D
This is it. This is it. Whoever stumbles first, the other one will win.
- [71:57]
C
Oh, man, I hate myself. What I'm about to do. John Morant.
- [72:05]
D
John morant is number 10 on the list.
- [72:11]
B
Wow.
- [72:12]
D
So you guys have gotten 8, 9, and 10. And then number one.
- [72:19]
B
What about Jordan Pool?
- [72:22]
D
Jordan Pool is number six. Back to law. Four names remain. I don't have a plan if you get all of them.
- [72:34]
B
I don't have a plan if you get all of them.
- [72:41]
C
Oh, man. 2019, right? 2019. Who the heck was drafted in 2019? This is killing me. Jackson Hayes.
- [73:02]
D
Jackson Hayes is not on the list. Which means Andrew wins the week. The other names, number three, Kobe White. Number four, PJ Washington.
- [73:17]
B
Yeah.
- [73:18]
D
Number five, Tyler Hero. And number seven, Kelden Johnson.
- [73:23]
B
Keldon Johnson. Oh, man. This goes without saying. Go read LA Murray at the Athletic. He's the very best. I'm so glad I get to work with you and I'm so glad that you specifically are covering the Clippers. Thanks for coming on and go read LA Murray.
- [73:43]
D
All right, Andrew. That was Clippers week, Three weeks of the Clippers. But it's now time to spin the wheel again for the Wheel of Fandom to find out which team will be our favorite team for next week. So let's spin the wheel and see who we get. Next week's Wheel of Fandom team during the All Star break will be.
- [74:03]
C
Okay.
- [74:04]
D
The Oklahoma City Thunder.
- [74:07]
C
Wow.
- [74:07]
B
We have not gotten the Thunder since year one of slam and Jam.
- [74:10]
D
Since year one of slam and Jam. And we're getting them during a week where I. I doubt they're playing any games.
- [74:15]
B
They play on Friday against the. The Nets. I do know that's right.
- [74:20]
D
Friday. Yeah. So we're not going to get to.
- [74:22]
B
We won't even get it, so. Well, I need to try to see if I can get a fun guest for us. I will try.
- [74:27]
D
Hold on. We. Well, we got Jared McCain in the fake three point contest.
- [74:30]
B
Yeah, we do. We have Chad Chet. Rising or not Rising stars in the Shooting Stars and then also in the All Star Game, so.
- [74:38]
D
And we got some rising stars, too. Oh, well, no, AJ's out.
- [74:41]
B
Yeah, he's out. No, we don't.
- [74:43]
D
Okay, never mind.
- [74:44]
B
Well, we'll talk about it. We'll figure it out. I hope everybody's doing great. Enjoy All Star Weekend and we'll talk to you guys again next week.
- [75:00]
D
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B
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Oh actually they will have to get up and open the door.
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Oh right.
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Big news. Boost Mobile is now sending experts nationwide to deliver and set up customers new phones at home or work.
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Wait, we're going on tour?
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Not a tour. We're delivering and setting up customers phones so it's easier to upgrade.
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B
Let's get in the tour bus and hit the road.
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E
No, not a tour bus. It's a regular car we use to deliver and set up customers phones at home or work.
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B
Are you a groupie on this tour?
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We deliver and set up phones. It's not a tour.
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B
Oh you're definitely a groupie.
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Introducing store to door Switch and get a new device with X expert setup and delivery wherever you're at.
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B
Delivery available for select devices purchased at boostmobile.
- [76:00]
D
Com.