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- [00:00]
A
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D
This podcast is sponsored by Royal Kingdom, an amazing mobile game that's super fun, free to play, and has no annoying ads. This time of year there is a lot of travel and family time and Royal Kingdom is the perfect escape because it doesn't need any wi fi, making it perfect for planes, trains and just a quiet break in the other room. Royal Kingdom is a story driven match three puzzle with stunning graphics. It's relaxing, but has challenging levels. Royal Kingdom is part of an expanding universe filled with high quality animations and memorable characters. I personally love to play a few levels during a timeout in whatever NBA game I'm watching or even while I'm listening to my favorite podcasts. So what are you waiting for? Join the fun and download Royal Kingdom on the App Store or Google Play today. Hey Slam and Jam listeners. Before we get into the show, I just want to ask you for a quick favor. We're doing a survey if you go to theathletic.com survey26 we're doing a survey right now about our podcast network and also about the NBA Daily and the Saturday Slammin Jam. And if you listen to us on a weekly basis or even maybe maybe listen to us twice a month, I don't know. But if you do listen to us, at any rate, we would love for you to take this survey again. TheAthletic.com survey26 if you go there, you can have a chance to win $100Amazon gift card, which would be very cool to have but also even cooler, we get some good information about our show. So if you would do that, it would mean the world to us. Specifically, if you're a Saturday Slammin Jam listener, please take this survey again. TheAthletic.com survey 26 it would mean the world to me. Thank you so much. Welcome to the Saturday Slam and Jam, brought to you by Amazon Prime. On today's show we're gonna do our good, bad and what we're gonna talk about. The Chicago BU Bulls had a pretty nice win this week and we are also going to do some trivia. But before we get to all that, Alex, tell me what happened in the NBA this week.
- [03:05]
C
Andrew the top story this week was a season changing injury for the Golden State Warriors. In a game against the Miami Heat, Jimmy Butler came down awkwardly on his right leg and tore his acl which will end his season and effectively end the warriors season unless they are able to conjure up some magic at the trade deadline. One potential trade ass set for the warriors, if you hadn't heard, is forward Jonathan Kaminga who demanded a trade from the warriors this week. Warriors GM Mike Dunleavy responded to the report by saying, quote, in terms of demands, when you make a demand, there needs to be demand on the market. In other words, if you were hoping the least interesting trade saga in recent memory would be ending soon, you might have to wait a little bit longer. Especially after Kaminga left a game against the Mavericks Thursday night with ankle and knee injuries. Now the good news for for warriors fans is that Jake Fisher reported this week that the warriors would like to target Giannis Antetokounmpo via trade and LeBron James via free agency. Which, I mean, yeah, you should just do that. I don't know. I don't know why you've been wasting our time with all these Kaminga reports. Feels like you've been burying the lead. Personally I would do more leaks about how you're going to trade for giannis and sign LeBron. That sounds way better.
- [04:24]
D
Totally.
- [04:24]
C
Speaking of Giannis and LeBron, all star starters were announced this week and while Giannis was named a starter, Lebron was not for the first time since 2004, 21 years ago. Joining Giannis in the east will be Cade Cunningham, Jalen Brunson, Tyrese Maxey and Jalen Brown. In the west we've got Luka Doncic, Shay Gildrich Alexander, Steph Curry, Nikola Jokic and Victor Wembanyama. Now Anthony Edwards actually tied Wemby for the final spot, but lost the tiebreaker and based on the fan vote and in addition to battling out for that final All Star starter spot in the west this week, Wemby and Ant also gave us one of the more entertaining finishes this season. The wolves were down 25 to the spurs at half, but fought back and tied the game by the five minute mark of the fourth quarter. This set up an incredible back and forth between Ant and Wemby in clutch time in the fourth quarter alone. Anthony Edwards had 26 points including five three pointers and he would finish the game with a career high 55. But it would not be enough as Victor Wembanyama scored 10 of his 39 in the final three minutes of the game, pushing the spurs across the finish line126,123 and this wouldn't be the only thriller these spurs played this week in a game against the Houston Rockets. The spurs built a 10 point lead by the end of the third quarter, but the Rockets came roaring back led by Reed Shepard who scored 12 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter. Once again it was back and forth in the clutch until the Rockets pulled ahead for good on a Jabari Smith Jr jumper with 147 left and they eventually won 111 to 106. Now this was an eventful week for the Rockets who got massive wins over Western Conference rivals in games against the spurs and the Wolves, but they also lost starting center Steven Adams to a grade three ankle sprain that will keep him out of the lineup for the foreseeable future. The Rockets also experienced a moment of history this week as Kevin Durant passed Dirk Nowitzki for sixth on the list of all time scorers during a game against the Pelicans. Next up for KD on that list is none other than Michael Jordan, who KD will likely pass by the end of this season. Assuming health now the Rockets finish the week as the 4 seed in the west, followed by the Phoenix Suns, who have won three in a row, have moved all the way up to the five seed. The Lakers have a tentative hold on the sixth seed, while Minnesota has dropped down into the play in for the time being, but four through seven in the west are all separated by a half game right now over in the East. Detroit continued their dominance, winning all three other games this week, including a critical 104 to 103 victory over the 2C Boston Celtics. The Pistons have now built a five and a half game lead on Boston and a seven game lead on the New York Knicks, who have been in a bit of a free fall as of late. The knicks had a 2 and 9 stretch over these last few weeks which culminated in a disastrous loss to the Dallas Mavericks. The Knicks, who were at full strength, got down by as much as 30 in this game before finally losing 114 to 97. As booze rained down on the Knicks from the MSG crowd, Jalen Brunson reportedly called a players only meeting after this game as reports began to emerge of locker room turmoil centered around Karl Anthony Towns. Steve Popper of Newsday Sports reported that after the loss that New York had to Dallas, he reported that they had previously had trade conversations with about cat with multiple teams including Memphis, Orlando and Charlotte. Meanwhile, the Knicks did eventually get back on track this week, ending a four game skid by beating the Brooklyn Nets 120 to 66. That's right, 66 points. The fewest points scored by an NBA team since 2016. Excuse me. Now this is something of a tradition for the Nets though, because last season in January, they also had a game against the clippers that ended 126 to 67. Now from inefficiency to hyper efficiency. Let's talk about a couple crazy stat lines from guards this week. In a game against the Warriors, Emmanuel Quickley of the Toronto raptors put up 40 and 10 on 11 of 13 shooting from the field, including 7 of 8 from 3. 11, 11, 11 of 11 from the line. That is 112.1 true shooting percentage, which is crazy. Quickly joined Wilt Chamberlain as the second player in NBA history to put up 40 and 10 while shooting over 80% from that was until Shea Gilgis. Alexander did the exact same thing in a game against the Bucks later in the week where he put up 40 and 11 on 16 of 19 from the field. And those were the top stories this week.
- [09:01]
D
Wow, what a week.
- [09:03]
C
It was a week. There's a lot of stuff this week. Sometimes I gotta dig. I didn't have to dig very much this week. I would say.
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D
Yeah, this is, this is just insane. You want to move to our good, bad and what?
- [09:27]
C
Yes. Every week we like to share something we liked from the past week, something we didn't like, and something that left us confused in a segment we call Good Bad. What. So Andrew, what is your good this week?
- [09:40]
D
I wanted to go over just three categories. Isolation, transition and spot up and who have been the best so far. We're like halfway through the season. Um, so I was going to give you like the most frequent the who's like taking the most of all of these and then who are the most efficient, which is. There's a difference sometimes. Uh, okay. Isolation. The most frequent isolator in the league. Any ideas? I mean, Shay Shea, second, 26% of his possessions are isolations.
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C
Brunson.
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D
Brunson's up there, but not anywhere close to number one.
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C
Who is number one?
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E
Who?
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D
It's James Harden by a mile. That makes sense. I said Shay's number two with 26%. James Harden, number one. 42 and a half percent of his possessions are isolations. He's doing it on his own. Doing it on his own, people. The most efficient ISO score though in the NBA. No surprise. Shay, Gilders, Alexander, 1.22 points per possession. Next Luka Doncic, 1.17. And then the next player in line, another laker, Austin Reeves, 1.12. So shout out to these isolation freaks out there. Transition the most possessions per game. So we're talking volume. Giannis number one with six. Tyrese Maxey also at six. Donovan Mitchell almost at six. 5.9. Jalen Brown, 5.9. And then Kobe White and LeBron James right behind Jalen Brown. The most efficient transition players with at least four possessions per game. I don't know. I could give you 100 guesses. I don't know if you could guess the number one transition player in the league that has.
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C
I know last year you would say Christian Brown, but Christian Brown's been out this season.
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D
Yep.
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C
So I don't know who it would be.
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D
Franz Wagner, 1.46 points per possession. Number two, Norman Powell, 1.38 points per session. Storm and Norman number three. You could give me 300 guesses. I don't know if I'd say this guy's name. Kawhi Leonard, 1.31 points per possession in transition. Modest Bouzelis, who we'll talk about here in a little bit. 1.30. And then ant Lebron and Giannis are up next at 1.29. So all three of those guys you would have would be in your top five guesses. Probably Aunt LeBron Giannis. But the other guy's a little bit surprising. And then the final category, spot up shooting. So the most possessions for spot up shooting. Dylan Brooks, number one, 6.6 spot up possessions per game. Norman Powell again On the list, 6.5. Jeremy Grant, 6 and a half spot up possessions per game. Tyler Hero, 6.2 spot up possessions per game. And OG Anunoby, 6.1 spot ups per game. The most efficient spot up shooters. And I just. This is from the top 50 in spot up shooting, the number one guy this season. And it's. And it's sad because the rest of his team is not showing up the way that he has. Jalen Tyson is the most efficient spot up shooter this season. 1.30 points per possession on spot up which is not totally surprising. He's had a really nice season. I didn't think he'd be the number one guy. Moses Moody right behind at 1.29. Trey Murphy on very high volume 1.28 Nikhil Alexander Walker 1.21 Jeremy Grant 1.21 Denny Abdia 1.20 and then I just had to keep going because I saw on this list he's ninth in efficiency. A guy I could give you 100 guesses Al. You don't think you'd say his name. Russell Westbrook 1.17 let's go. And spot up opportunities. He's top 50 in attempts and he is also one of the most efficient. The ninth most efficient spot up shooter in the NBA this season for a putrid Sacramento Kings team. Shout out to Russell Westbrook.
- [14:01]
C
Finally happened. All those years we've been waiting. We've been waiting. This is what Russ 5.0 here we are. We made it.
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D
Press 79.0 Russell Westbrook finally good spot up shooter on one of the worst teams in basketball that has like almost no redeeming qualities about it except for they have their draft pick.
- [14:22]
C
My good this week was Alperin Shingoon and just how he approaches playing Victor Wembanyama. Because you hear so much about different guys have to adjust their games when playing Wemby. You know they see him in the paint and for very good reason they decide hey maybe I should come up with a different strategy here. But then occasionally you'll get someone like Sengun who just does not seem to care that Wemby is 7 5. I love the way he started the game this week against the Spurs. He posted up Wemby twice in the first three minutes. First to use his strength to just move Wemby out of the way. Then he bumps Wemby in the paint and took a hilarious fade away where he committed. He faded all the way to the ground but he made it. He made the shot over Wemby's outstretched arms. And what I loved about that play in particular was that Sengun just like isn't worried about failing. Like he's not worried about looking goofy on a play. He's going to try stuff and he, he isn't going to let Wimby's presence fundamentally change how he wants to play. He's still going to be a back to the basket scorer and facilitator and as a result he's had really good Success against Wemby in their eight matchups so far per Stat Muse, he's averaging 21, 10 and 5, which is basically his normal stat line. And while Houston would typically have one of their big wings on Wemby, there were some possessions where Shangun did get matched up with Wemby defensively and he generally did a really good job of bothering his shot. So salute to Alperin Shangoon. You are my good this week. He is not scared of Wemby and he just always seems to play well and I really do think it's just like he's not scared, he's just, he's just gonna play his game and he's not worried about failing.
- [16:01]
D
Yeah, and he's in some guys heads too. I don't know if you saw there's an Embiid post where one I guess Fern Cork Maz at one point said that he always thought that Embiid was the best big in the league. Uh, but it's actually Alper and Shangoon and there's a photo that Embiid posted on Instagram where it's him where Alpi's on the ground and the Sixers just beat the the Rockets this week and Embiid is like standing over Alpi and he just, his caption is Ferk.
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C
Now where did this Ferk quote come from?
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D
I don't, I don't know. I, I, I am, I haven't done like the complete deep dive.
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C
What is the podcast that's inviting Firkin Cork Mahs off?
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D
I don't know but I love it. I freaking love it.
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C
Okay, all right, cool. I love the idea that like a freaking Cork Ma's quote is setting off some content for as a content cycle.
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D
It's too good. It's too good.
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C
Okay, Andrew, what is your bad this week?
- [17:06]
D
I gotta talk about the Orlando Magic. Specifically the Orlando Magic without Jalen Suggs and even more specifically point guard lineups that involve Paolo Bunchero. So the two man group Apollo and Jalen Suggs in 221 minutes, which is only, it's only in 15 games is a plus 14.8. That's great. That's quite good. That's very good. What about breakout star Anthony Black and Paolo should be good too, huh? Nope. Minus 3.1. An almost 18 point difference per 100 possessions with those two as a pairing. What about steady point guard Tyus Jones and Paolo? 14.8. Literally the exact opposite of Jalen Suggs. He is Bizarro Suggs. He says goodbye when he arrives at the arena. And hello, when he, Whenever he leaves, it's. It's very, very weird. It's like it's minus 14.8 and plus 14.8. It's. It's very strange. And then Paolo and Bane as a pairing, if you're like, oh, what about Bane as the point guard? Minus 0.9. All that to say it. We have so much evidence that Jalen Suggs is outrageously important to the Orlando Magic. He's currently listed as day to day and it's like, just come back, please. Since he was out in early January, the Magic have a -5 net rating. They're 26th in defense, 18th in offense, and according to cleaning the glass with Suggs on the court, the magic are a +16 and a half. So Jalen Suggs has like this outsized importance to the Orlando Magic. It was that way last year, it's been that way this year. They just need this guy to stay on the court and be healthy because like all the other options that they're finding are not working and are like part of this story of Paulo not being good for whatever reason. Like he is not gelled with these other point guards. And it really works whenever Jalen Suggs is there. So get well soon. Jalen Suggs, for the sake of all Magic fans.
- [19:17]
C
Yeah, I remember once I did like the Steven Adams All Stars, which were like players that were not the top two players on their team but were hugely important and Jalen Suggs would definitely qualify that. Yeah, it might have to change the name. Might be the Jalen Suggs All Stars.
- [19:31]
D
It might be. He's been ridiculous.
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C
Yeah, my bad. This week is just this bizarre season the Lakers are currently giving us. They had a typically a mediocre Lakers week again. They went 2 and 2. They got wins over to Toronto and Denver, lost to the Clippers and Portland. They've been mediocre for a while now. They. They've gone 11 and 13 since December 1st, which is worse than teams like the Bulls, worse than teams like the Mavericks over that same span. But because of their early season success, they're still over a 60% winning percentage, which makes their -0.3 net rating not just a weird fact to share over and over again on NBA Reddit. It's also an historical anomaly. So I looked up seasons in NBA history where a team won 60% of its games but had a negative net rating. Other than this year's Lakers team, there's only one other example, and you have to go back 70 years. The 1953, 54. New York Knicks 70. Yeah. Finished the season 44 and 28. Hey, first in their division but had a minus 0.1 net rating. Now this was a fun team, Andrew. You of course had hall of famer Harry Gallatin, aka the horse, aka farmer. You had hall of Famer Carl Braun, aka junior, aka baby face. You had the, the brothers McGuire, Dick and Al. And of course you had Ernie, Ernie Vandaway, who's father of Kiki Vandaway. Now I know what you're thinking. That's a squad. But wait, there's more. How about hall of Famer Nat Clifton, AKA Sweetwater, AKA Sweets? And now you're saying, well Alex, there's no way Vince Barilla, AKA Vinegar Vince was on this team. Oh yeah, he was. Yeah, Vinegar Vince was on this team. Anyways, the Lakers stink and they're probably not going to be on this list with that great 54 Knicks team because by the end of the season, like you still have to win 60% of your games. It's hard to see that happening from here till the end of the season with the Lakers. Except potentially when they get Austin Reaves back. Maybe something will happen at the trade deadline. I mentioned that December 1 date as a turning point in their season. Since that date, per cleaning the glass, lakers have the 17th ranked offense and 28th ranked defense. Their defense for two months now has only been better than the Washington Wizards and the Utah Jazz. And in particular the rim protection has been virtually non existent over that span with lakers opponents shooting 72% at the rim. Only team that's worse during that span was Utah. That is not good. In fact, that's bad. So the Lakers, they are my bad for being an historical curiosity for the time being.
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D
So, so, so bizarre.
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C
That could have been my. What? Honestly Andrew, what is your what?
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D
Have you been following this Charles Bdacco story at all?
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C
No.
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D
Have you ever heard that name before?
- [22:24]
C
I, I had not heard that name before.
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D
Okay, so Charles Beediaco, he was, he's a center that played for Alabama for two years. He was there when Brandon Miller was there. So it's been three years since he's been there. He has since been signed to a two way deal and he signed two E10 deals. So he's made some money, you know, playing in the league. He's most recently on the Motor City Cruise. Played for the Motor City Cruise a few days ago. He's trying to be the first player to enter the draft. So he entered the draft after two seasons. He was not a He was a fine college player, but not a draft prospect. Entered the draft anyways, stayed in the draft, pass the date where you can come back up and like not sign with an agent, come back to the NCAA, all of that. Stayed in anyways, signed the two way deal, like I said, signed two E10s.
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C
He's.
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D
He's trying to be the first college player to go back to college after staying in the draft and like signing this two way deal to play basketball.
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C
I'm assuming he's allowed to go back to college, right?
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D
He's. Well, he. He has. He's enrolled at Alabama, but he's once wanting to play and he's been granted the ability to play for Alabama this weekend. Okay. And it will go back before a judge next week to determine whether he can like keep his eligibility for the rest of the year because he still has the rest of this season as a part of his eligibility. It's something to watch because this has not happened like this has happened in a couple other instances. But it's been with players that have been overseas, it's been with players that have like come right out of high school to the g league, like, but it's never happened with a player that's entered, like played college basketball, entered the draft. And so now like the ncaa, which has been just kind of a mess anyways, is now in like this weird kind of limbo with Charles bidiaco, trying to figure out what to do with him. Which it all is strange to me because, like he knew he was losing his eligibility when he entered the draft, when he signed his two way deal, like he knew what he was doing. And now like his lawyer is saying basically because he couldn't see the future of nil, he deserves to come back. And so now it's all been really messy and really murky, all of these, all of these rules. But now like this one is. Is certainly strange to where it has me like asking the question, does like the NCAA need to just like completely dissolve and then just like become like a perfect. Should this just be another professional league?
- [25:05]
E
Should just.
- [25:05]
D
Should this be treated like Europe, you know, where you can kind of bounce back and forth like players do between the NBA and Europe, like, there's no problem. And bidiaco could be like the first guy to like push that as a thing. So really the way that we look at college and the NBA draft, like, could completely change because of this guy. And so it's something to monitor, it's something to watch. And it is super weird. The rules that we have in place should not permit this. Like, he made the mistake. He shouldn't have gone. If he would have just stayed at alabama, he probably get a nice nil deal and then he could probably go play for the motor city cruise anyways if he wanted to. But because he made the mistake of declaring and staying in. Like, he shouldn't be able to do that. But he's trying to at this point. He's been granted like the seven days to play for them and then they'll go back to the drawing board. Like try to figure out if it's okay. It is a mess. So just if you're a draft nerd or if you're somebody that cares about the way that the ncaa and the NBA interact, you should be watching what happens with charles bdock over the next week. Week.
- [26:19]
C
And I guess the. Is the difference between him and james najee just that James najee never played.
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D
He never played college basketball for.
- [26:27]
C
Oh, he never played college basketball.
- [26:29]
D
Yeah. And bidiaco did not ever play an NBA minute. So he signed the E10. He signed the two way. He never played an NBA minute. But there's never. It's. It's different in that. The college basketball aspect of it. Yeah. You know, so could a.
- [26:48]
C
Okay. What if you were like a lottery pick?
- [26:52]
D
Right.
- [26:53]
C
And it's march, it's tank season. You're good. Your team doesn't actually want you out there because you're going to hurt the draft pick. Hey, could you go help your school for a little march madness run? Could that. Could we do that next?
- [27:06]
D
See that? That. That'd be fun. Yeah. Now we are entering. And that's even more outrageous.
- [27:13]
C
Just loan him back to his former college team.
- [27:17]
D
Yeah. Well, to me it's more about like if you are a draft. If you're a prospect that really doesn't have that much of a chance to go in the draft, like, you should just declare anyways. Like you could become an NBA free agent. Maybe something happens where you can catch on and if you don't, you'll just go back to college anyways. Like, what does it matter? So there's just. The ncaa needs to figure out what they want to do with players like this and just like make a very clear ruling on where this is headed. Because I. I do think that it's. It's. It's messy. It's really messy. And. And bidiaco to me is like a. Is a weird. It's a weird case. Like he. To me, he should not be playing for alabama if he wants to go back to school, totally fine. A lot of players have done that. Heck, Shaq got his PhD. Heck, you can do it. But this, this to me, like, it seems pretty clear to me that he should not be able to play. Although I think he is playing tomorrow. But yeah, very bizarre. Very bizarre.
- [28:17]
C
And I think that's awesome and they should let him play. This sounds very fun. I want more examples of this. My what this week is the team that has the best winning percentage in the league in the month of January. Now if you had asked me to guess who that team was, I might have guessed the Clippers. They've been playing great. I might have guessed the Thunder, maybe the Pistons. But no, it's none of those teams. The team with the best record in January through Friday, January 23, Portland Trailblazers, who are currently 9 and 2 in the month of January.
- [28:51]
D
Wow.
- [28:51]
C
Shout out to my friend Blake who sends me Blake Blazer stats after their games. And that was one of those where I knew the Blazers have been good, but I hadn't realized how good it's been. Yeah, they're playing their best basketball this season and they have several good things happening at once in addition to the normal all star level of play we're getting from Denny Abdia. So first, they're finally getting some guys back after long absences. Jeremy Grant's been back for a few games now after a month long absence. Drew Holiday, he's played in five the last six after missing nearly two months on the court. Shaden Sharp is having one of the best shooting stretches in his career. He's shooting 43 from three on six attempts per game over his last 22 games. That's only the second time in his career he's had a 20 game stretch where he's shot over 40% from three. And that's big news because it's always felt like that's the part of his game that needs to pan out. He's up to 24, 5 and 4 over his last nine games. Donovan Clingan, he's been finding some more consistency over this stretch, especially on the boards. He's already had four games with 15 plus rebounds in January. What about Robert Williams, Time Lord? Did you know? Okay, obviously they're sitting him on back to back so he doesn't play one leg of the back to back.
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D
Yeah, he.
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C
But other than that he has played in every game since December 14th.
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D
Wow.
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C
We're beyond a month at this point.
- [30:07]
D
Wow.
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C
And finally I want to bring up Caleb Love, who came into this season as an undrafted two way player.
- [30:13]
D
Yep.
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C
As the Portland guard situation started to reach crisis levels earlier in the season, you know, Scoot went out and then Drew went out. Love was forced into a much bigger role than I think Portland ever anticipated. And it hasn't always been pretty, you know, as you would expect from an undrafted rookie. You know, if you go look at his season stats, he's shooting under 40% from the field on the season, but he's really started to find himself over this recent stretch and he was one of the reasons Portland kept their heads above water while Drew and Jeremy were out for so long. He's given this Blazers team a much needed scoring boost off the bench. He scored in double digits and in 15 of his last 16 games, shooting 44 from the field and 39 from three over that stretch while taking over eight threes per game. Like, he's been incredible as a shooter for them. He's become a very useful player for Portland and someone who's probably going to continue to have a role in this rotation even as the guard rotation starts to fill back up. Bigger picture, the Blazers feel like a lock for the play in, and now with Jimmy Butler's injury, the eighth seed seems like a very possible goal. With Portland only a game and a half back. And for someone living in Portland, the idea of playoff games down the street against Wemby or Jokic or maybe even the Thunder, like, wouldn't that be great?
- [31:27]
D
Oh, give me a Thunder series.
- [31:29]
C
That would be an incredible step for this young Blazers team to take next. So I'm very excited about the Blazers right now. It feels like they're finally, they like found their footing without these guys in the lineup and now you're inserting those guys back in and it just makes this team so much deeper and so much competent over this final stretch of the season.
- [31:48]
D
Wow. I know you don't read five star reviews. You didn't read. You didn't read one this past week, did you?
- [31:54]
C
That's correct. Never.
- [31:56]
D
I'm gonna read one right now. I usually read these at the very end of the show, but I'm gonna read this one right now. Slam and Jam is the Best is the title with many exclamation points from Milo Sears. Five stars. I'm 13 years old and this is one of my absolute favorite podcasts. Every time I hear that opening music, I zone out of my busy family and zone in on basketball. Also, every time you all bring up the Blazers, which is not often, you talk about them for two minutes and Move on. All I'm saying is more blazers keep up the awesome content.
- [32:31]
C
Wow.
- [32:31]
D
This is for you, Milo.
- [32:33]
C
There you go.
- [32:33]
D
That segment is for you. So shout out to the blazers. Hopefully we get more blazers content moving forward.
- [32:40]
C
That's so cool. Just thinking like what we were like at 13. Yeah.
- [32:44]
D
Oh, I know.
- [32:45]
C
And just knowing this, a 13 year old listening to us and like sharing us with his friends, like that's, that's very cool that we have middle schoolers listening to the pod because we want, we want it to be a family friendly pod.
- [32:58]
D
Absolutely. We want everybody to be able to listen to it. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [33:03]
C
That's awesome. Shout out, Milo.
- [33:05]
D
Yeah. That's amazing. You know what else is amazing? The Bulls, at least in their last game, were amazing. And we're going to talk about them with Joel Lorenzi right after this. Quick break.
- [33:20]
A
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- [33:36]
B
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- [34:52]
E
Knock, knock.
- [34:53]
D
Ooh, who's there? A Boost Mobile expert here to deliver and set up Your all new iPhone 17 Pro. Designed to be the most powerful iPhone ever.
- [35:00]
C
You called that a knock Knock joke.
- [35:02]
D
This isn't a joke. Boost Mobile really sends experts to deliver and set up your phone at home or work.
- [35:06]
C
Okay, it's just that when people say.
- [35:08]
D
Knock knock, there's usually a joke to go with it. Like I said, this isn't a joke. So the knock knock was just you knocking? Yeah, that's how doors work.
- [35:15]
C
Get the new iPhone 17 Pro delivered.
- [35:17]
D
And set up by an expert wherever you are. Delivery available for select devices purchased@boostmobile.com terms apply.
- [35:27]
C
All right, Andrew, it is time once again for the Wheel of Fandom, the weekly segment where we spin a wheel, it lands on a team and we become fans of that team for the next week. Last week the wheel landed on the Chicago Bulls, who lost their first game of the week, three point loss to the Nets, but then rattled off three in a row. They got their revenge on Brooklyn. They destroyed the Clippers in a game where the Bulls tied a franchise record for most three pointers with 25. Then they got one of their best wins of the season, a road win in the clutch over the Timberwolves. In Josh Giddy's return to the lineup, the three game winning streak brings the Bulls back to.500, which means the Bulls are back. Honestly though, after I swore off talking about this team on this podcast, after a 3, 3 and 13 stretch in November and early December, they've been pretty good. Since December 12, the Bulls are 13 and 8, which is the eighth best winning percentage over that span per cleaning the glass, the 22 and 22 Bulls had the 16th ranked offense and 20th ranked defense. Andrew, if the Bulls are a favorite team, who is our guest?
- [36:32]
D
It's my guy, Joel Lorenzi of the Athletic. Joel, welcome to the pod.
- [36:37]
E
What's up man? I'm so happy to be here.
- [36:41]
D
I'm so happy that you're here. Um, it's been a, been a weird, weird Bulls season and let's, let's break it down a little bit. So when Josh Giddey got injured, many assumed the Bulls would take another nosedive like they did in November. Instead, they went 6 and 5 over that stretch. How did the Bulls manage to thrive without Giddy?
- [37:03]
E
Yeah, this, this might be a little lazy because it involves some intangibles, but like, I think you cannot underwrite how much Billy Donovan like just cares to Wendy's December and January games, no matter what's at his disposal. I mean, he talks about Tre Jones like he's Captain America. Like that's. He literally said at the end of December, like, Tre Jones is the Model Chicago Bulls player. And so like, when this is, when these are the things at his disposal, you're going to come out with some wins you probably should not have. And their system works to where you're, you're probably gonna steal some wins from, from teams. You're always going to be in clutch games. Like that's, that's just the nature of our team, even when Josh Giddey is in the lineup, as you saw last night. But they give themselves a chance with the system. On their best nights, they have usually six to seven guys in double figures. They, they reach into their bench. They have so many fringe starters that are just all kind of bleeds together. And for what it's worth, like, to, to give them credit, Trey Jones to me has been one of the best value contracts across the league. I mean, the guy's making 8 million this year and he's been a lot of nights like their best guard and their most efficient. He's a pure point, as you know, we, we like to say among. I said if you was in Jalen Smith, like, who previously was like looking for a spot in the league to even stick after being a lottery guy, like, he has some real sticking power here. He's a double, double machine. He's efficient. He spaces the floor for them, which is what they need. Like these kind of guys, these revival stories are, are how they've grouped together some surprising wins. Is it sustainable? Probably not. But will it get you to 500? Absolutely. And that's what they do.
- [39:01]
C
So I mentioned the date December 12th earlier, which ended up being somewhat of a turning point for the Bulls. You wrote an article on that day about Modest, Pizzealous and the approach Billy Donovan was taking with his development. You know, now we're a month and a half away from that article. I was interested in your thoughts on how he's developed since that point and just kind of your overall thoughts on the approach the team has been taking with his development.
- [39:25]
E
Yeah, it's interesting because like the keys were kind of handed to him. At least you would think in the sense of usage. As soon as, you know, Kobe, White and Gideon went down in the same game. And I thought there was a six, seven, eight game stretch there, man. I did not just mean to do six, seven right there, but I thought there was a stretch, right? Jesus Christ. I thought there was a stretch there where like you could clearly see and, and Billy will, Billy will play up how much on ball uses he's had in the past. But like, you can see there that There were clearly more reps of getting him downhill, getting him in comfortable spots where he can be the kind of player that shows the flashes people are excited about. He was scoring at the rim at will. Obviously he's a great transition scorer. That's. That's never been a problem. Hey, he doesn't have a mid range diet. Infamously he tells this story and it's in, it's in that story actually that you reference about how they had this film session and Billy was like, hey, throw that out. When he shot a Millie Midi, his. His rookie year, there were some Midi's mixed in. A very sparse amount of middies, but Midi's mixed in like you're just seeing him get more comfortable, I think with the sort of tug of war he's having with but Donovan, and for what it's worth, like Modest, of all the people in Chicago who are like, give this dude the reps, just throw the minutes at him. Modest has been like most fine with that and hasn't really budged on the whole, you know, tug of war with Billy. He's actually been fairly understanding of it, which is, I don't want to call this. I think it's surprising from, from the outside with that being said, like, Billy's still very much on that side of things. Modest didn't close last night in Minnesota and he very much had a fine to above average game. Like he definitely could have closed. I think when I wrote that story, there were times where he was yanking Modest a minute or two into the game or after a quick sequence that he didn't like. Like there's clearly some. I don't want to call it punishment, but there's a real short leash here historically. Has it loosened? Sure. Is it still there? Absolutely.
- [41:41]
D
So another player that's been thriving recently is, I would assume, Moo. He's really stepped up. He'll be an unrestricted free agent this summer. What have you thought about his leap this season and what are like some realistic contract numbers for him or is there even a chance he gets traded? Because I know there are a lot of teams interested and him.
- [42:02]
E
Yeah, good player first and foremost. Shooting a career best, I think 46 from 3 at least going into yesterday's game. I don't know that that'll be sustainable, obviously. That's such a crazy number. But I think he's developed into a real respectable shooter, which is noteworthy. He does good things. The shooting leap actually has not altered how much he gets downhill and how successful he is downhill, which is important. You don't want that to be at the expense of that. And he's one of like this Bulls team came into the season like, oh yeah, we're gonna build a defensive identity. That's our next step. And they don't even remotely resemble most nights like a respectable NBA defense. With that being said, I was one of the few POA guys who like, okay, like, he gives guys some troubles. He, he holds his own. So he's like on a team, like, I, I, I get why the trade rumors exist because he's like a ceiling raiser on a team that, like, you're not worried about their ceiling right now. You're trying to raise their floor. You're trying to make them something even watchable, kind of. Same with, with Kobe White, who's been even, even more frequently in trade rumors because he's probably the idea of him is as a ceiling raiser. But yeah, IO's been a good player. I think it makes more sense to keep him just because the money would be more reasonable than Kobe Wood and he just has a more like, portable game. Like, no matter the way you want to build his team, like, he's gonna probably make sense with any iteration just which, just with the two way play. As far as numbers, I'm like the last guy to ask about like the market and stuff like that, numbers wise. But like, I mean, how does, how does like 18 to 20 million sound? That doesn't sound crazy, right? Like the guy, right. Like the guys who are revered as like all league defenders, like a Dyson Daniels. I think we, I think it's fair for us to say, like, Casey Wallace is going to get like closer to 25 million. Right. Like, if the bulls can get potentially IO on 20 million, like, I think that's a, a team friendly deal.
- [44:09]
C
Yeah. I'll be interested to see how much interest there is in him because it's just so hard now. Like after Atlanta signed Nikhil to that deal where he's making like 15 a year. Yeah, man, you would just love on 15.
- [44:22]
E
Yeah, of course.
- [44:24]
C
Okay, so trade deadline coming up. We've heard a variety of reports. Sometimes we're here and they're ready to blow it up. Other times we're here that they want to trade for Zion. So what are your expectations for how the Bulls are going to approach this deadline? Like, do you believe they have a plan in place for what they want to do? Because some of the reports seem like polar opposites.
- [44:46]
E
Yeah, I think the only, the only thing I'm confident in is that, you know, like, like, discussions have been had from what I understand about Kobe White. Like, that's like, a necessity. Like, at the very least, they're going to go to the table and talk to teams. From what I've heard recently is that it's, it's gonna be tough at this moment for them to get, like, the kind of assets or return they want with Kobe, which, which has been their problem historically. Like, not recouping what they need for assets are taking too long to move an asset. Like, if you want a first, like a good first for Kobe White, like, is the market there right now? And for what it's worth, I think people are waiting on that first domino of this trade deadline to fall to understand how they're going to react and how they're going to move. But I know the discussions have been had on, on Kobe. I expect them to probably move at least a couple guys, but, but not for the sake of, like, I don't think it will resemble, like, a rebuild. I mean, AK hates that word, which is funny because Sam Presti only hated the word tank. I don't think Sam Presti ever avoided the word rebuild. AK hates the word rebuild. Like, he despises that. And so, like, there's just a competitive baseline in the building to where up to this point, I mean, I think crazy enough, I think I saw this last night, through the last five years. I think they're perfectly at.500 now, let alone this season where they're 22 and 22. There's just a certain competitive fiber in the building that will not allow them to reach for a tank or rebuild. But I think the eyes there, there have been eyes, I think, opening up to what this is and the direction it's trending and what's realistic, man. And, but, but that being said, like, Billy Donovan, he kind of makes me feel like it's like Moneyball, right, where Brad Pitt had to, like, trade assets from underneath the manager to like, keep him from trying to win games. Like, Billy Donovan is that manager, bro. Like, he is trying to make Trey Jones and Kevin Herder like the guys who are gonna win them games. And it's, it's just been crazy to unfold. I, I, I imagine that ideal is not the, the competitiveness is not shared to that degree. I mean, at a certain point, I think AKA in his front office has to probably save their jobs and break from this middling curse. That being said, I don't expect the deadline to resemble, like, them pivoting to a rebuild. Like, I think they're gonna do what makes sense with all these expiring contracts and. And get the return they can get, but I don't expect it to resemble a rebuild at all. And Zion, I mean, of the guys who are, like, on that list of, like. I mean, the ad stuff is a foregone conclusion, I would think, by now. Well, I don't know, but of the ad, the John Morant, the Zion, the. The guys who you're, like, scared to kind of deal with. Zion is probably the most realistic, just because he seems most like. Like the most tantalizing player of that bunch of. To them. And probably. It's probably the most realistic deal. And then the other two guys are like. Like John Moran. I don't think they would touch John Moran, but, like, John Moran is the guy who's saying, now he wants to stay in Memphis. I don't know if you take that at face value. And then the ad stuff. I don't even want to talk about the 80 stuff. Andrew.
- [48:32]
C
Al.
- [48:32]
E
I just don't.
- [48:36]
D
It would feel a little ballsy, though, you know?
- [48:39]
E
Sure. Sure, it would. And I. I think. I don't want to speak for the Bulls front office here, but I think there is a sense that, like, people just think they don't know how to do business. And I. I think. I think they feel that. I don't know if urgency is the right word. I think they feel the need to, like, use this deadline to clear that up. Like, I don't think it's. That means a complete rebuild again, because that would be the best thing for their reputation to me. But they also have to. They have to do what's in line with ownership. Right? And ownership historically. I was talking to Bobby Porter this weekend, or Bobby Porter, excuse me, in Milwaukee, asking him why Chicago historically has not been a destination for guys which free agency is different than it was. And he was like, you know, like, they got to open that checkbook like that is historically there. They are worried about the product and selling. And the product is at a point where it is. I mean, there was a report last week, and we can go down this whole rabbit hole. It can be its own episode. There was a report last week of the top 10 selling teams merchandise. I don't know if you guys saw this. The Bulls were not in it, which is like, what they've. What's been their brand? I mean, they've cashed in on the ball guy for 30 years after he's. He's played. Like, that's been the brand. So I think there's a sense now in the city and maybe even around the building that that's just not going to cut it anymore. Does that mean they're going to be as strong, as strong handed as saying let's, let's rebuild? No, but I think they did go into the season saying they were going to put less emphasis on a playoff berth and more emphasis on development. And Billy Donovan right now, I mean, he's benching the guy you want to develop at the end of games. So there's, there's a lot going on here. I, I can just say they're not going to rebuild, at least not right now. But they are going to try to do something with all these expirings and, and make something happen, make something respectable happen.
- [50:55]
D
Yeah. So it, if they, if the books hold like they are now in, in some way, they will have a lot of cap space. Let's say that there's just not a deal that they like. Is there anybody that you could see them going after in free agency this summer if they do have a lot of cap space?
- [51:19]
E
No, I don't know about a perfect free agent fit for them. The, the issue for them is that like, it's good for them that Josh Giddy is proving to be worth the deal they got him on.
- [51:30]
D
Yeah, it's a good value deal and for Josh.
- [51:33]
C
Yeah.
- [51:34]
E
Yes. But the issue, I'd say is that the system almost lends itself to him, which is maybe what you sign up for when you build around him. But I don't think like the, the vision for this team, or at least what it should be. He's probably like the third best player in that vision. So where do you, where do you even start to get the kind of guys that you can surround him with that you can say, hey, this guy's better than Josh Giddy. He brings that offensive punch, he brings this, he brings that, he raises our floor. He gets us to a real playoff berth and not this flimsy playing stuff that they've been bound to. You get those guys in most cases probably through the draft and it's just like they're not headed toward. Again, we, we can go in circles about their rebuilding stance and whatever. Like that's with this draft, that's the best way to get a guy like that. But it just hasn't been their priority. So I, I think, I'm not sure there's anybody realistic in free agency that can change the narrative about them. So I, I haven't even thought of Lincoln, him to anybody, frankly, which Sounds really depressing. Sorry.
- [52:44]
C
The, the name that to me seems like maybe feasible is Peyton Watson. Just because Denver's going to be.
- [52:51]
E
Yeah.
- [52:51]
C
Against the second apron.
- [52:53]
D
Yeah.
- [52:53]
C
Maybe you could overpay. They definitely need like a big wing like that. And if you think that there's more there, which he has started to show over this recent stretch. I like that idea. And like maybe if you overpaid him, it would actually work out. But he is a restricted free agent, so Denver would still be able to match if they wanted to.
- [53:12]
E
Right. And, and, and we'll on that Peyton Watson front because I think it is interesting. I think they end the. The perfect Bulls thing would be to overpay him.
- [53:23]
D
Yeah.
- [53:24]
E
And, and I like, I think he's a good player. Like obviously like he, he, he shows him stuff, some stuff in that recent stretch. He is the mold of player I think they probably need. He also conflicts some things of modest, which I don't even think they figured out what position they want modest to be. In the end, it's, it's conflicting stuff, but it is like the kind of bet they'd make in terms of like building an internal star and like overpaying for that guy if they were to go get him. So.
- [53:55]
C
And all this would be easier to talk about if Patrick Williams wasn't making 18 million a year for the next three years. Okay. Well, Joel, thanks for answering all of our Bulls related questions. It is now time to play Andrew versus the Beat. Now, I've come up with eight questions all about the Chicago Bulls. You're going to give me a number between 1 and 8. It will correspond to a question. If you get it right, you'll get it later. Least two points. If you get it wrong, Andrew will have a chance to steal for one. And we'll go back and forth until all the questions have been asked and answered. So Joel, to start us off, just give me a number between 1 and 8.
- [54:31]
D
Keep calling him Joel. Don't call him Joel. It's Joel.
- [54:34]
C
Joel, I'm sorry.
- [54:36]
D
Bang.
- [54:36]
E
Andrew. Number number one through eight. Six.
- [54:41]
C
Six. Thank you, Joel. Number six. The Bulls are one of four NBA teams without a 20 point per game scorer. Can you name the other three? Now you get a chance for three points here.
- [54:56]
D
Oh.
- [54:57]
C
One point per correct answer. So just there's three other teams other than the Bulls.
- [55:02]
E
Yeah.
- [55:02]
C
Not have a 20 WoW game score.
- [55:06]
E
Who are those teams, by the way? I preface this pod by saying I was gonna get slaughtered and trivia and I was gonna answer Michael Jordan. For every question you're veering off the path here. This is interesting.
- [55:19]
C
Yeah, I would not answer Michael Jordan for this question. That'd be a tough one.
- [55:25]
E
The other. Yeah, the other three teams. How many do I have guesses here? Like what?
- [55:31]
C
How you have a guess and then it's either right or wrong. You get one guess and then if you get it right, you get to keep going.
- [55:42]
E
Without a 20 point per game scorer. Is. Is Charlotte one of those teams?
- [55:47]
C
Charlotte. It's a great guess, but guess what. Brandon Miller is averaging exactly 20.0 points per game.
- [55:56]
E
Come on, dude.
- [55:57]
C
I even had to check last night to make sure that he kept his average up and he scored exactly 20 last night. So that is very unfortunate, Joel. But Andrew, you have a chance to deal three points.
- [56:10]
D
Oh, wow. What about the Kings?
- [56:14]
C
Sacramento Kings? That is correct for one.
- [56:16]
E
That was such an easy. Oh my gosh. I've. The Kings are lodged in such a forgettable place in my mind. I didn't even think to say them, man. Jesus, bro.
- [56:25]
D
Shout out to Deuce and I just threw you.
- [56:27]
E
I just threw you a lob, dude. That's unbelievable.
- [56:30]
D
Yeah, I don't know that I have other answers to this question though. What about the Wiz?
- [56:41]
C
The Washington Wizards? Another correct answer. Andrew, can you get the final name?
- [56:48]
D
Oh, boy. I have one more thought. What about Memphis?
- [56:55]
C
Andrew? That is correct.
- [56:58]
D
Go.
- [56:58]
E
I'm getting. I'm getting worked. This is bad.
- [57:02]
C
Andrew got all three points. I'm sorry, Joel. That was a rough start to your.
- [57:07]
E
First appearance on Andrew versus I say so. Andrew, Michael Jordan question.
- [57:12]
C
Oh, it's coming up.
- [57:14]
D
Number one.
- [57:16]
C
All right, question number one. The Bulls offense is mediocre once again. Currently ranked. I put XX because that's me. That means I need to go back and look it up. But I didn't. I think it's 16th on cleaning the glass. The last time the Bulls had a top 10 offense was the 20112012 season. Who led the 2011-12 Bulls in total points scored?
- [57:42]
D
Oh, my word. What about Luol Dang?
- [57:54]
C
Luol Dang. That is incorrect. All right, you have a chance to steal a point. 2011, 2012 Bulls. Who led them in total points scored that season?
- [58:09]
E
I mean like Andrew went the direction I went because damn.
- [58:19]
D
11:12. This is the lockout year too. So it's like.
- [58:22]
C
Yeah.
- [58:23]
E
I mean, is. Is it. Is it. Is it just the low hanging fruit? I think it is.
- [58:27]
C
I don't know. Are you gonna say Michael Jordan?
- [58:31]
E
No, I'm gonna say Derrick Rose.
- [58:34]
C
It was Carlos Boozer.
- [58:37]
E
I was gonna Say Boozer, but he feels like a 15 point per game scorer.
- [58:41]
C
Dude, that's horrible. Yeah, I think Rose only played 39 games and I think it was a 66 game season. So I think that's why.
- [58:50]
E
That's why I didn't want to go him. But Carlos Boozer, what did he, what did he average per game that year? Maybe like 15 points.
- [58:56]
C
Let's see. Carlos Boozer in the 2011. Oh, they also had Omar Ashik. Why didn't you guys guess? Omir Ashik, Boozer average exactly 15 points per game. He just played. In every game he just played.
- [59:11]
E
Come on, dude, that's ridiculous.
- [59:13]
D
All right. Hey, Joel just wrote a piece about Derrick Rose, by the way, that is up on the Athletic right now.
- [59:19]
E
So go read that.
- [59:20]
C
There you go.
- [59:20]
D
Yeah.
- [59:21]
C
Joel, here's the good news. You have control of the board.
- [59:25]
E
Oh, I'm glad. Let's go. Let's go. Eight.
- [59:28]
C
Question number eight. Okay. Of the bulls, 25 most played two man lineups. This two man lineup is the best with a plus 6.2 net rating. Which two bulls are in that lineup? Now you get one point per correct answer. So make your first guess your strongest one. So best two man lineup for the Bulls and it has to be a most played lineup. So 25 most played.
- [60:00]
E
I'm gonna say Josh Giddey and IO Desumu.
- [60:04]
C
That is incorrect. Andrew.
- [60:11]
D
What about Kobe White and Jalen Smith?
- [60:19]
C
Both of you got one of them correct, but you both said them the second name, so that's why you don't get any points. The correct answer was Jalen Smith and Iodesumu.
- [60:30]
D
Oh no.
- [60:32]
C
You got. You guys were on the right track. Okay, Andrew, board is yours.
- [60:37]
D
Number two.
- [60:38]
C
Question number two. Josh Giddy already has 14 triple doubles as a Chicago Bull. That's the hurt third highest total in Bulls franchise history behind only Scotty Pippen and Joel.
- [60:51]
E
Michael Jordan.
- [60:52]
C
There we go. That wasn't the question though. Since MJ retired as a bull, there have been 13 Chicago Bulls to record a triple double, including Giddy. We're going to name the other 12. So this is since MJ retired as a bull. The other 12 Chicago bulls who have recorded at least one triple double. And I will tell you, half of this list only recorded one triple double. Oh, so how this will work, Andrew, you'll give me a name, then Joelle will give me a name and we'll go back and forth until one of you stumbles.
- [61:25]
E
This is okay, we're doing this is 12 names, right? Okay. Since. Since Michael Jordan since Michael Jordan to.
- [61:32]
C
Record a triple double. And Andrew will start us off.
- [61:35]
D
Joe Kim Noah.
- [61:37]
C
Joe Kim. Noah is on the list. Joel.
- [61:42]
E
Derek. Derrick Rose.
- [61:43]
C
Derrick Rose did it once. Andrew.
- [61:50]
E
I got some sicko answers here.
- [61:52]
D
Jimmy Butler.
- [61:54]
C
Jimmy Butler on the list. Joel.
- [61:58]
E
Good guess. Andrew. I'm gonna reach for a sicko one already. Actually, no, maybe I shouldn't. Maybe that's not good strategy. Tight. Can I, can I say is, is, is Jay Williams on that list?
- [62:15]
C
Jay Williams is on that list. Nice poll, Andrew.
- [62:22]
D
What about Kirk Heinrich?
- [62:25]
C
Captain Kirk. He's on the list. Back to Joel.
- [62:29]
E
I have to go more obvious here. This is ridiculous. I'm gonna go a little sicker though. Brad. Brad Miller.
- [62:37]
C
Brad Miller has had triple doubles in his career, but not as a member of the Chicago.
- [62:44]
E
Not with the Bulls.
- [62:45]
D
Oh, no, I'm pretty sure he has.
- [62:49]
C
I'm sure he did. With the.
- [62:50]
D
I'm sure he has.
- [62:51]
C
I would have to imagine.
- [62:52]
D
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [62:55]
E
Wow.
- [62:56]
C
The other names. Vucci Maine.
- [62:58]
D
Vuchi Main.
- [63:00]
C
Pal. Gasol.
- [63:00]
D
Pal. Yeah, I was gonna say pal.
- [63:02]
C
Jalen Rose. Chris Duhan. Rajon Rondo. Lonzo Ball.
- [63:09]
E
I forgot he was a Bull.
- [63:10]
C
And I, Oda Sumno.
- [63:13]
D
Wow.
- [63:14]
E
This season I believe I covered two of those guys. That's ridiculous.
- [63:17]
D
Yeah.
- [63:18]
C
Okay, so it is Joel's turn.
- [63:23]
E
Let's go. Three.
- [63:25]
C
Question number three. When this player is on the court, The Bulls score 8.7 more points per 100 possessions than when he is off the court, which is the biggest offensive on, off swing on the, on the team. So who is that player? So when this guy's on the court, the Bulls offense is cooking.
- [63:44]
E
Yeah, I, I, I think we referenced him earlier. Shot in the dark haired. Can I say Jalen Smith?
- [63:51]
C
Joel? That is correct for two points. Next, Andrew.
- [64:00]
D
Four.
- [64:01]
C
Question number four. Modest Pizzealous is averaging 1.4 blocks per game this season despite being listed at 6, 8 on Basketball Reference. This season there are only four. Is it four? Yeah. There are only four other players listed at 6, 8 or shorter who are averaging at least that many blocks per game. Can you name two? You get one point per correct answer? Yes, that was the easy one.
- [64:35]
D
Yeah. 6, 8 or under 8 or under.
- [64:42]
C
1.4 blocks per game at least.
- [64:46]
D
That's a lot of blocks.
- [64:50]
E
Shoot.
- [64:51]
C
Yeah.
- [64:52]
D
Derek White is the easy one. Golly, I don't know. I don't think he's averaging that many blocks though. Dang. I don't want to make, I don't want to make that guess.
- [65:14]
E
Make that guess.
- [65:17]
D
I don't think it's I. I'm pretty sure it's not. Not correct.
- [65:21]
C
Okay. You have any other guesses?
- [65:26]
D
I don't know. I was gonna say Draymond, but I don't think that's right. I don't think he's even averaging a block.
- [65:32]
C
Is that your guess?
- [65:33]
D
Yeah, sure.
- [65:33]
E
That's a guess. That counts as a guess.
- [65:36]
C
All right.
- [65:36]
D
Anybody else?
- [65:37]
C
That was wrong. Draymond, who is not a dirty player according to Draymond, is not averaging 1.5.
- [65:45]
D
According to other players, according to Draymond and according to other players. Not a bad player.
- [65:50]
C
Joel, you could steal a point here. You have any names?
- [65:53]
E
I could steal a point. I was kind of watching Andrew struggle there instead of thinking of, you know.
- [65:58]
C
I was just enjoying the struggle.
- [66:00]
E
I was. I was thinking of guards the whole time.
- [66:03]
D
Because you said enjoy the struggle, too. Yeah.
- [66:06]
C
Can.
- [66:06]
E
Can I at least. Can you. We at least rule out that this is not a guard, this player?
- [66:11]
C
I can't. You can.
- [66:12]
D
For your.
- [66:13]
C
For yourself.
- [66:14]
E
That's annoying. Yeah, it might. It's just so under 6. Under 6, 8 is just the rule.
- [66:22]
C
6, 6, 8, or shorter. So they can be 6, 8. They can still be pretty tall.
- [66:29]
E
Yeah. Damn. He doesn't. He doesn't average. Probably 1.4. No, I can't. I can't guess another guard because the only. Only one guard makes sense there. I'm. I'm gonna wave the. The towel here.
- [66:48]
C
Wave the town. Okay, so what was tricky about this is you basically just had to know that these guys who sound tall are actually only 6, 8, and they are. Isaiah Stewart. Beef stew. Oh.
- [67:01]
E
Oh, dude, Wait. Oh, my gosh.
- [67:03]
C
Wait.
- [67:03]
E
So six. We could have went six, eight, two. I thought we were going six, seven.
- [67:07]
D
And Isaiah be. Stewart.
- [67:10]
C
Keegan Murray, who's. He's been out a lot. Oh, and then PJ Washington, which I kind of forgot. He's six, eight.
- [67:19]
D
PJ Washington is averaging that many blocks.
- [67:22]
C
Yeah.
- [67:23]
D
That's crazy.
- [67:24]
C
Yeah. Yeah. Okay, Joel, two questions remain. Four or seven?
- [67:31]
E
Go seven. Damn. Andrew's whooping me. Jesus.
- [67:37]
C
Well, hey, good news. This question, you could get three points. Three points. Three. Three players have had a 30 point game for the Bulls this season. Name all three.
- [67:51]
E
A 30 point game. Okay. Josh Giddey.
- [67:53]
C
Correct.
- [67:57]
E
This is a. This is a trick question. I. I know one of them is not vouch.
- [68:01]
C
Obviously, that's correct. Vuch, can you get the final one?
- [68:06]
E
Trey Jones.
- [68:08]
C
And Joel's got all three points, which means the score is six to five going into the final question.
- [68:15]
E
So let's Go cooking. You cooking.
- [68:18]
C
If Andrew gets this right, he'll win the week. Of course, if Joel gets it right, he will tie the game, sending it into overtime, unless he gets the bonus point. Because here's the question. How many dunks does Kevin Herder have this season? Now, Andrew, you get to choose who answers first. You can set the line, and Joelle will go over.
- [68:39]
D
Oh, no.
- [68:40]
C
Or you can make Joel guess, and then you will go over under. However, if you make Joelle guess and he gets it exactly correct, he would get a bonus point.
- [68:50]
D
This is the worst kind of question.
- [68:52]
C
No, best to have.
- [68:54]
E
Do you believe in Kevin Herder as a leaper? Yes or no?
- [68:59]
D
I mean, no, I don't. I do. Not at all. I'm going to make Joel answer the question.
- [69:08]
C
Okay? So, Joel, you have to set a line over under.
- [69:12]
D
Which is a risk. It's a risk. It's the only way he can win right now.
- [69:15]
C
It's the only way you can win if you get this exactly correct.
- [69:19]
E
Okay. The line is five and a half.
- [69:22]
C
Well, it has to be a whole number because it would definitely not be five and a half. So guess.
- [69:29]
E
Right. But we're going over under, right?
- [69:32]
C
I know, I know. If you get it exactly correct, you'll get a bonus point. Yeah, I mean, I guess you could say five.
- [69:38]
D
Yeah, He's. He's allowing you the chance to get the bonus point.
- [69:44]
E
Oh, so you want me to guess an exact number here?
- [69:46]
C
Yes.
- [69:46]
D
Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.
- [69:47]
E
Okay, I'm gonna go four.
- [69:51]
C
Okay, Andrew. Now, Joel, before Andrew answers, you originally said five and a half, and then you went down all the way to four. Why did you.
- [70:01]
E
I left myself some room there.
- [70:02]
C
Okay. Okay. Okay. Andrew, do you have to go higher or lower dunks for Kevin Herder?
- [70:11]
D
It's tough just because I can't imagine him dunking. You know, I've seen it.
- [70:17]
E
I've seen it. He's a transition guy.
- [70:19]
D
Yeah. I will say. I will say more than He's. He's had more than. Than that many dunks. More than four.
- [70:28]
C
Correct answer. This season, Kevin Herder has had eight dunks, which means Andrew wins the week.
- [70:37]
E
Wait, how does he get to say. How does he get to say more than that? Why. Why. Why didn't he get to guess a number?
- [70:44]
D
Because I get to choose.
- [70:46]
C
Yeah, because he gets to choose. You set the line, and then Andrew goes higher or lower.
- [70:50]
D
I usually. I usually like to guess the number, but I. There was a very strategic advantage there. Hey, go read Joel at the Athletic. He's writing about the Bulls. He's also writing about the Thunder as well. So if you want to hear about either one of those teams, Joel is your guy. Joel, thanks for coming on the show.
- [71:09]
E
Great to have. Hey, by the way, next time, Michael Jordan questions, please.
- [71:14]
C
Yeah, do all MJ questions.
- [71:16]
D
MJ only next time.
- [71:18]
E
I'll cook. I'll cook. Hey, I'll. I'll recite the Space Jam script.
- [71:23]
C
Oh, oh, okay. If you'll do that, I'll. I'll gift you a week of Andrew versus the beat, and you'll dominate him, I hope. Automatic points.
- [71:32]
E
I hope you give me a share of the pod if I do that.
- [71:36]
C
Maybe I'll only do questions about the Space Jam soundtrack.
- [71:40]
D
Ooh, could you do that?
- [71:42]
E
I'm cooking in any of these.
- [71:46]
D
Thanks, Joa.
- [71:48]
E
Yeah.
- [71:48]
C
All right, Andrew, that was Bulls week, and that means it's once again time to spin the wheel of fandom to see what team we land on and become fans of for the next week. And that team is going to be. The Los Angeles Clippers.
- [72:10]
D
Okay.
- [72:11]
C
Get to have lawn. It's always a treat.
- [72:14]
D
That is a treat. To. To talk to Lawmarie in any setting is always a treat.
- [72:19]
C
So Hawaii is back.
- [72:20]
D
Yes. That's nice. They've turned their season around in a significant way.
- [72:25]
C
Let's see. Let's see who they're playing. They're 20 and 24 currently. Yep. And oh my gosh. Playing the Nets. Get the Nets every week.
- [72:33]
D
It's. It's too much Nets.
- [72:35]
C
We can't. Oh my. They only play two games and it's the Nets and the Jazz.
- [72:39]
D
Boo, man. All right, Coming off Rivals week, where they play the Lakers and embarrass the.
- [72:45]
C
Lakers, man, the next week they play Denver, Phoenix, Philly, Cleveland.
- [72:53]
D
Oh, wow. You get to learn a lot about the Clippers, then. Maybe, maybe we should just do two weeks of Clippers.
- [73:00]
C
Yeah.
- [73:01]
D
Yeah.
- [73:02]
C
You don't think we're going to learn a lot from the Utah game?
- [73:05]
D
I think that we will learn that both Brooklyn and Utah would love to have good lottery picks. I think that's what. That's what we'll learn from. From those games. Something else you can learn is if you leave us a five star review, we'll read it on the podcast. Just like this one. Ben G821A slam and jam is always my favorite podcast of the week. Alex's week in review is the best bit on any pod and frequently has me laughing out loud in my car. Also, if avoiding the curse of the wheel is one, what got us a championship in okc. Then please remove the Thunder from the wheel entirely please and thank you. Keep up the good work. Thank you so much for that review. And let's see, we already read our guy Milo's review which was amazing and then we have this one from Jackson24 Alexander. I love the show so much and the amount of knowledge I have gained has helped me see the NBA and so many knowledge new ways. Wow. Thank you. Love the content and the trivia part is by far my favorite segment of the show. Also love the faith that you guys have in the Cavs to finish third in the East. So thanks for bringing me hope. Lol. Thank you so much for that review. Again. Leave us a nice five star review. We'll read it on the podcast. I hope everybody has an awesome weekend. Enjoy the basketball and we will talk to you guys again next week. Imagine the merging of trusted intelligence into a unified experience. Imagine collaboration amongst teams and across continents. Imagine an empowered ecosystem designed to deliver actionable insights that inspire growth and sustainability. That's the power of the Connect Industrial Intelligence platform to help you see further innovate faster, accomplish more. That's the Connect effect. Learn more@thatsteconnecteffect.com Everyone deserves to be connected.
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B
That's why T Mobile and US Cellular are joining forces. Switch to T Mobile and save up.
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Check the math@t mobile.com switch and now T mobile is in US cellular stores.
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