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- [00:00]
Capital One Bank Guy
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- [00:25]
Marc Maron
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- [01:19]
Andrew Schlecht
Hey, Andrew Schlecht here. Black Friday game day is coming to prime with an epic day of live sports. Black Friday football is back with the Chicago Bears taking on the Philadelphia Eagles at 3pm Eastern followed by an Emirates NBA cup doubleheader. Bucs Knicks at 7pm and Mavs Lakers at 10pm and the whole day starts with the Capital One skins game as four elite PGA golfers meet with $4 million on the line. Black Friday game day the Capital One skins game at 9am Bears Eagles NFL action at 3pm and the final night of the Emirates NBA Group play with bucks Knicks at 7 and Mavs Lakers at 10 only on Prime. Welcome to the Saturday Slammin Jam here on the Athletic NBA Daily. On today's show, we're talking about the good, the bad and the what of this week. Adam Mahrez of DNVR joins to talk Nuggets and then we finish off with some trivia. But Al first tell me what happened in the NBA this week.
- [02:33]
Al
Andrew the top story this week is the Detroit Pistons. They have won 11 straight games. They currently sit atop the Eastern Conference at 13 and 2, just a couple years remove from being the talk of the NBA for a very different kind of streak. The Pistons now have their longest streak since the 0708 season and meanwhile, the architect of that infamous losing streak from a a few seasons ago has got the opportunity to do it again as the Pelicans lost their seventh straight this week. Now for the Pistons next two games, Milwaukee without Giannis and the Pacers. They win those two games, it will set up a matchup with the Celtics next Wednesday on espn where a win would clinch the longest winning streak in pistons franchise history.
- [03:24]
Andrew Schlecht
Wow.
- [03:24]
Al
14 games. Now some of the highlights this week for the Pistons were a starting lineup of Duncan Robinson, Paul Reed, Ron Holland, Javante Green and Danish Jenkins beating the Sixers. And then Jaylen Duran going for 31:15 against the Pacers. And speaking of Jalen Duran, could the Pistons get two All Stars this year? He wasn't even selected in our first time All Star draft this past summer. I know, it's very sad. He is currently averaging 2112 and is one of only 11 players in the league who are averaging a steal and a block per game in at least 10 games played. Now another one of those players averaging a steal and a block is of course Victor Wembanyama, who suffered a calf strain against the warriors last Friday. Will now be out for a couple weeks. It's very disappointing news, especially coming off of that warriors game on Friday during which Wemby had an awesome moment with Draymond Green. Now, according to Draymond, he told Wemby that he was scared of him. To which Wemby replied, no, I'm not. Watch this. Seconds later he dunked a baseline out of bounds, pass all over. Draymond immediately got in Draymond's face. It was a beautiful moment for fans of Bass basketball, fans of Wemby and haters of Draymond. The warriors won the game, however, led by Steph Curry's 49 points on 1626 shooting. Even more amazing was that that was the second of two consecutive games against the spurs and Steph scored 46 in the first one. You have to go back to Wizards MJ to find an old guy scoring like this. Wow. After the two losses to Golden State, the Spurs have bounced back without Wemby winning three in a row and currently sit at 114 fifth in the Western Conferen. Now as of Friday morning, the spurs are tied in the west standings with the Los Angeles Lakers who saw the long awaited return of LeBron James this week. Suiting up for the first time this season, LeBron played in the Lakers 140 to 126 win over the Utah Jazz, putting up 11 points and 12 assists in 29 minutes. LeBron only took seven shots in the game, which is only the fourth time he has taken seven or fewer shot attempts in his career and never when playing more than 21 minutes now. The Lakers didn't just make noise on the court this week. Lakers owner Jeannie Buss fired her two younger brothers, Joey and Jesse Buss, from their roles with the Lakers, along with several members of the scouting team. In a statement, the brothers Bus said, quote, we wish things could be different with the way our time ended with the team. At times like this we wish we could ask our dad what he would.
- [06:03]
Andrew Schlecht
Think about it all.
- [06:04]
Al
Yikes. If you would like to read more about this awkward ass family, check out Friend of the show your own Weitzman's book A Hollywood Ending.
- [06:13]
Andrew Schlecht
Now talk to Think about.
- [06:15]
Al
Yeah, me too. It's not happening in California, but the Chicago Bulls gave us several Hollywood endings this week. After being the early surprise team this year, it looked like things may be going off the rails when Josh Giddey got shook off the face of the Earth by DeAndre Hunter. The Bulls ended up losing five straight including a double overtime 150 to 147 loss to the Utah Jazz. This game in which Lori Marketin scored 47, the Bulls had dropped all the way back to 500 after starting the season 6 and 1. We had gone from the Bulls are back to the Bulls are back to being the Bulls. But guess what, the Bulls are back again because after the Utah game the Bulls had to go second night of a back to back in Denver against the Nuggets. But you can't keep this team down. They went into Denver, they beat the Nuggets winning in the clutch after the Nuggets had erased a 13 point deficit in next up was another road game, this time in Portland against the Blazers and once again despite having a massive fourth quarter lead this time 21 points, the Bulls gave it all away as the Blazers stormed back. But it was meant to be as Nikola Vucevic hit the game winning three pointer as time expired getting the Bulls to eight and six and back on track to be a surprise team this season. And those were the top stories this week. Also Tyrese Maxey scored 54. I didn't know where to fit it.
- [07:38]
Andrew Schlecht
In but he did it. He did do that.
- [07:42]
Al
Y what a week Andrew. But is now time talk about something we like. Yeah, something we didn't like and something that maybe confused us in a segment we're calling good bad. But now Andrew, what was your good this week?
- [07:57]
Andrew Schlecht
What's something good here? Here's something good there. There are 54 two man combos that have played at least 300 minutes together so far this season.
- [08:06]
Al
Okay.
- [08:07]
Andrew Schlecht
There's some really good ones out there. There's a couple of really good Rockets ones. Shengun and amin Thompson are plus 15.8 together. Okay. KD and Shengoon are plus 13.
- [08:17]
Al
Yeah.
- [08:17]
Andrew Schlecht
But the very best, the very best two man combo comes from the Oklahoma City Thunder. And now I'm going to put you on the hot seat right now.
- [08:24]
Al
Oh, this is easy. I got it. I already got it.
- [08:26]
Andrew Schlecht
Can you name the best two man combo for the Oklahoma City Thunder?
- [08:30]
Al
Is it Shay, Gilgis? Alexander? Isaiah Joe?
- [08:33]
Andrew Schlecht
It is not. Oh, it is not.
- [08:36]
Al
It's gotta be my guy.
- [08:37]
Capital One Bank Guy
Isaiah Joe.
- [08:38]
Andrew Schlecht
It's not Isaiah Joe. Isaiah Joe's not part of the combo.
- [08:41]
Al
Okay. Oh, oh. Hartenstein and A.J. mitchell. No.
- [08:45]
Andrew Schlecht
Another good guess because.
- [08:46]
Al
Thank you. Thank you.
- [08:47]
Andrew Schlecht
That the Thunders like death lineup happens to be like a bench lineup.
- [08:52]
Al
But no Usman, Jang and Brooks Barnheiser.
- [08:56]
Andrew Schlecht
I wish, I wish that was the Case. That would be really, really funky. Shay is one. Shay with somebody else.
- [09:08]
Al
And it's not Chet.
- [09:09]
Andrew Schlecht
It's not Chat.
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Al
Chat would be the obvious.
- [09:11]
Andrew Schlecht
That's too obvious. Too obvious?
- [09:13]
Al
Yeah. Too obvious. It's probably not Wiggins. He's been out for a little while. Probably not Crusoe. Oh, Casey Wallace.
- [09:20]
Andrew Schlecht
Kayson Wallace.
- [09:22]
Al
There we go.
- [09:22]
Andrew Schlecht
Shay and Case and Wallace are a +23 as a duo so far this season and it's, it's an interesting one. One because Casey Wallace is one of the younger guys on the team, like still developing. But the guy is such a high impact player and that started to show so far this season. I feel like AJ Mitchell and deservingly so has gotten so much shine as, as a players to start the season and he deserves all of it. He's been amazing. But Casey Wallace has gone a little bit under the radar as like one of the best players on the Thunder so far this season and some of the numbers are starting to pop up. You know, even though you go to three man combo and like he Shea, Chet and Case and Wallace is like this ridiculous and he has guarded the best. Had to guard the best player because Dort was out for a while and that, that two game back to back where we saw him guarding Steph Curry and then Luca was like really eye opening with the kind of defender that he's become and so just wanted to give a little bit of a shout to Case and Wallace for a leap that he's making that's not necessarily showing up in the box score every night but he has become like a really, really high impact player. Yeah.
- [10:36]
Al
I mean so impact that I feel like there's an internal war right now among Thunder fans talking about the future team because you know everyone's. I mean if everything's great right now, but people are already looking to the future. Like how many of these guys are we going to keep?
- [10:51]
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah.
- [10:51]
Al
And the way Casen is playing right now and knowing he's up for an extension this summer, I feel like there's some brawls starting to happen.
- [10:57]
Andrew Schlecht
Andrew, there could be. There could be the worst two man lineup right now. Pelicans fears and Trey Murphy minus 21.9. It's just like woof. Sorry. I feel sorry for pals fans.
- [11:11]
Al
I don't because my good this week is Derek Queen.
- [11:15]
Andrew Schlecht
There you go.
- [11:16]
Al
And the game he had against Denver. He scored A career high 30 points. Go along with nine rebounds, four assists. Jokic had a lot of issues dealing with Queen who blew by Jokic on several possessions. I feel like a lot was made about that matchup with Jokic, but I thought the most impressive moments for Queen in that game was when he was guarded by other players. There was a play right before the first half, the end of the first half where he was closely guarded by Bruce Brown at the top of the key. Bruce Brown was hounding him. He was all up in his space. Queen got his screen, but Brown was right there with him. Queen keeps his dribble alive the entire time while holding off. Bruce Brown backs him down to the block and then hits a shot off the backboard. You know, his footwork is great, but seeing him manage that kind of ball pressure as a big and maintain his handle the entire time, I just thought was really impressive. I feel like most players would have picked up their dribble in in that scenario, especially a lot of bigs. But I really love the confidence he has as a rookie to try stuff like that to just keep going. Another great play was when Cam Johnson met him around the foul line. Queen bumps him and then he had this really smooth up and under move. I'm pretty intrigued after watching him against Denver. It's obviously already feeling like a lost season in New Orleans 2 and 13, but Queen is going to make this team watchable. And he also seems like a very fun personality. I'm sure it's going to be up and down. Okay. But he's fun and I think I feel like he plays in a way where the ceiling is easy to imagine, if that makes sense. Like there's already so much to Work with offensively so much that is already NBA ready. And I feel like it's more a matter of him putting all these things together, versing him versus him needing to develop like a ton of new skills that he hasn't shown yet. And so you get these games like that game against Denver where he's like flashing really high level stuff. Very exciting. So for that, the Pelicans getting a rare good from me this week, a.
- [13:11]
Andrew Schlecht
Rare good Jokic had, it felt like zero interest.
- [13:16]
Al
I know that's, that's why, like defense against him, the whole like Jokic matchup aspect of that, I was like watching that game and I was like, I don't know if Jokic is really.
- [13:27]
Andrew Schlecht
It's fun to talk about, but yoke was almost like Jokic was like, I am only going to take four steps this whole possession. And so like, once I've used up my four steps, you know, do whatever you want.
- [13:41]
Al
That was not the most impressive part of that game for Derek Queen. Okay, Andrew, what was your bad this week?
- [13:47]
Andrew Schlecht
Oh, no, the bad this week. Okay, so as of Friday morning, the bottom five teams and catch and shoot. Three so far this season. This is actually a bed that turns into a good, which is our favorite kind, something that I like to do. Indiana Pacers. Bad, bad, bad. 30% on catch and shoot threes.
- [14:12]
Al
Yeah, I'll explain more of that in a second.
- [14:16]
Andrew Schlecht
Dallas Mavericks. 31.8% on catch and shoot three is very bad.
- [14:22]
Al
Yeah. And Max Christie is probably propping that up.
- [14:26]
Andrew Schlecht
He absolutely is. Portland Trailblazers, 33% bad, bad, bad, catch and shoot, which is kind of, kind of expected. The Oklahoma City Thunder. Bad, bad, bad. 33.4%. And the Detroit Pistons. Wow. 33.7%. And so the bad to the good is like, hey, for like the Blazers and the Thunder and the Pistons, who have all had like really nice starts to their season, you know, relative to what the expectations were, they could. It could get better. It could get better for all three of these teams because they have not shot it well. And some of its personnel, certainly some of its personnel, but 33%, like, that's. That's rough for good teams. And so you have to expect those to turn around and then a good into a bad. Want to do that?
- [15:16]
Al
Ooh, yeah.
- [15:17]
Andrew Schlecht
The top.
- [15:18]
Al
I've had one of those before.
- [15:20]
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah, we haven't yet. I don't like doing these, but I'm going to do it today. The top five teams and catch and shoot threes. The Houston Rockets, 42% catch and shoot, that feels like it's, it's going to, it's going to start to go down. The Milwaukee Bucks are 41% from 3.
- [15:41]
Al
I don't know. Is that. I feel like that's believable.
- [15:45]
Andrew Schlecht
It is. It's. It's really good. It's really good. Phoenix Suns, 40% catch and shoot so far this season.
- [15:51]
Al
Definitely real.
- [15:53]
Capital One Bank Guy
Very real.
- [15:54]
Andrew Schlecht
The Minnesota Timberwolves also 40 catch and shoot so far this season.
- [16:00]
Al
So yeah, at the bottom, I would say Jaden Ivy coming back. That's got.
- [16:05]
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah, that's got to help.
- [16:06]
Al
Yeah, I mean, I mean he didn't. We, we didn't get to see a super large sample, but it looked like that shot was really developing, so it'd be nice to have him back. He's supposed to be back soon, soon. And then at the top, I mean, the, the Rockets are the most interesting one because their three point volume is so low. I almost was going to do a bit about their three point volume because they're shooting fewer than 29 or fewer than 30 threes per game.
- [16:30]
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah.
- [16:30]
Al
Which is really low. You have to go back to like four seasons ago to find a team that did that. And yet they're shooting so well that it almost reminds me of those like post Kawhi spurs teams that just never took any threes. But when they did, they were hitting them.
- [16:44]
Andrew Schlecht
They made them. Yeah, yeah.
- [16:46]
Al
And, and it's, it's an interesting formula and I'm just, I, I'm excited to see how it plays out. You know, they got a couple shooters with KD and, and Jabari, but yeah, and, and Reed has been playing a lot better as of late too.
- [16:58]
Andrew Schlecht
He has, he has got to give.
- [16:59]
Al
So, so good that he has joined my fantasy team. So good. Andrew. My bad this week, reluctantly, is Jairus Walker now. I was a big fan of Jairus Walker going into that 2023 draft. This was at a time before the double big lineup in okc. A lot of Thunder fans, including myself, we saw Jarris as this potential big, versatile four that could play next to Chet in these super fast lineups. I was so into Jarris that early in his career I was even following his G League stats. I'm pretty sure I was bringing up his three point shooting in the G League on our Thunder podcast.
- [17:37]
Andrew Schlecht
Yes, you are. Well, confirm.
- [17:40]
Al
Well, Andrew, he's finally getting an extended run in the NBA with all the injuries in Indiana. Hasn't been going great now. I had too much caffeine last night and I watched all 157 shot attempts that Jarris has had taken this season.
- [17:53]
Andrew Schlecht
Let's go.
- [17:54]
Al
First thing you notice is the three point volume. He's taken a lot of threes over five per game. He's not shooting them well. 29%, but the volume's good. I'm generally optimistic that that part of his game will figure itself out. He's been like a good shooter in the past on low volume. He's taking high volume for the first time. 29. I, I'm, I'm feeling okay about that. Inside the arc though, man, it is rough. Cleaning the glass has him at 50% on shots at the rim. But importantly, he takes 29 of his shots in the short mid range floater range, which is in the 91st percentile in the league. In other words, part of the issue is that he's not getting to the rim when he should. And Caitlin Cooper, on her substack basketball, she wrote, detailed several examples of this thing he does where he'll jump off two feet in the lane way too early and as a result he just like gets no lift. It becomes a really easy contest for, I would say not amazing defenders who are guarding him. And he also takes these really awkward layup attempts at bad angles that never have a chance. And I just find it very weird watching him because he is built like he looks like he should be the most physical guy on the court. But so many of his drives end with either an avoidance of contact or an initiation of contact where he's not in a good position. And I guess like I, I want him to impose himself more on these defenders the way you would expect someone with his physique. I guess the good thing, as Caitlin points out in her piece, is that Jarris is getting the opportunity to play through these mistakes, which really wasn't the case his first two seasons. I mean, he just wasn't getting a lot of time. So he is getting an opportunity. And so maybe this is just like a painful but necessary stage in his career. And he's obviously taking a lot of shots that he won't be asked to take when the Pacers are eventually healthy. Like, there were so many turnaround jumpers in the mid range that I was not expecting to see, but even on the things he's going to be asked to do, he has a really long way to go. So for at least this week, it's a bad. For me, as much as I was excited about Jarris coming into the league.
- [20:06]
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah, he, he, he does have a long way to go, but it it is a blessing to have these like, these tanking seasons. A lot of people like, oh, it's a, it's a gap year, it's a lost season. It. That is absolutely not true. Like, there is a lot of work to be done for these teams and guys like Jarris, they need these opportunities. They do because he just wasn't getting them. He wasn't getting enough opportunity. And even if he, he's not good, but then like figures out what he needs to do. And now you have all this tape over the summer of what he can do to improve. Like we've seen there's, there's evidence of a lot of players that kind of go through this and then figure it out.
- [20:43]
Al
Well, I mean Lou Dort is the classic Thunder example.
- [20:46]
Andrew Schlecht
And it's funny you bring up Ludor because he like, he's also number five, Jairus Walker is. And there's a lot of like Dort esque finishes at the rim, which are non finishes basically.
- [20:55]
Al
Yes.
- [20:56]
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah. It's hard not to think about him.
- [20:58]
Al
Yeah, I mean we, there were points where we were like, obviously he's a good defender, but this is never. I don't know how this could possibly work out because his shot selection on offense is so bad. But it was at a time when they had opportunities. They had a long Runway for Lou Dort and other guys like Darius Paisley and Poku where they could try stuff out and Lou Dort tried stuff out and then eventually they tightened the screws and all of a sudden there was a very good player there.
- [21:24]
Andrew Schlecht
Yep.
- [21:25]
Al
So hopefully the same happens with Jarris. Andrew, what is your what this week?
- [21:31]
Andrew Schlecht
Oh, man. LaMelo Ball are our. Our former colleague and now enemy, Kelly Eco reporting that. Not really. I love Kelly. LaMelo Ball is interested in a trade. He's not requesting it, but he's, you know, floating it out there. He traded me, wouldn't mind it. Biggest problem with this is, boy, he makes a lot of money. He makes a lot of money for a guy that doesn't play a whole lot. He's still super young. He's still 24. I just like had to like, I feel like I had to just like wipe my eyes and like look at it again because I just could not believe he's still 24. But this year, 37.9 million. 40 million and 26. 27. 43 and 27, 28. And then he makes 46.3 million. No options on that one. And 28, 29. It's a, it's a lot of money. To take on. And so if you're the Hornets, you trade this guy, like, find a. Find a landing spot for this guy, clear your cap sheet, continue to build around some of these guys that you have. And I feel like you're in a really good spot. And if you can kind of clear that money away, you can save money. And in fact, teams make money when they tank. They. They make money for the most part. And so if they can trade him and get back a guy that is expiring or maybe expires, like in after next year or something, and they can save a ton of money, like, do that, please. So I have four LaMelo ball trades that kind of accomplish this to a degree. Some of them do, some of them don't. Okay, first one. And this is probably a team that everybody thinks about because this is a. Where do we. Where are we going to trade the mellow ball? Let's find a directionless team. How about the Sacramento Kings? We suddenly don't have a point guard.
- [23:27]
Al
Yeah, you could.
- [23:28]
Andrew Schlecht
You can just swap Zach Levine straight up. And Zach has. Has two years left on his. This year. Next year. Yeah, it's more money, but you get off the deal earlier and you know what? Get lamello to the Kings. You feeling that? Does that feel good?
- [23:49]
Al
I'll say that I like it more than the Kings trading for AD.
- [23:55]
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah. Okay. That could be fun. That could be fun.
- [24:00]
Al
I mean, definitely, definitely need a point guard.
- [24:03]
Andrew Schlecht
Yep.
- [24:04]
Al
Definitely shoots threes, which is good. Kings need more of that.
- [24:09]
Andrew Schlecht
Definitely shoots threes.
- [24:11]
Al
Definitely shoots threes. I. I wouldn't. I will say I don't know what other teams are going to do, but putting myself in the position of a team trading for a lamella ball gives me anxiety. Gives me anxiety. I think there's. It's a certain type of desperate team that it would be willing to make a move like that, like going all in and just kind of telling yourself this first part of his career, we're just kind of throwing it out. We're gonna, like, eventually the injuries are gonna figure themselves out because none of them have been. You know, it's not like he tore his ACL or something. He's just had these, like, recurrent ankle injuries over and over again. So maybe you feel like, okay, eventually this will work itself out a la Steph.
- [24:53]
Andrew Schlecht
Right.
- [24:53]
Al
And then everything will be great. So. I understand the. The risk, but, man, it's. It would be such a big risk.
- [24:59]
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah, the Clippers are another team that I just feel like they need to just take a swing. You Know, and like Bogdanovich and John Collins gets you there for the Hornets, like cap relief. If I don't. I don't know if you get picks back when you trade Lamello Ball. Like, I don't know if that's something that happens, but that at least like gets you like instant cap relief, gives you a direction. The Clippers, I, I don't. I don't love the idea of Lamelo Ball and James Harden out there as a duo. Don't like that at all. But it's at least something different to do.
- [25:37]
Al
Sure. I mean, they are getting to the point where it's like, well, anything. How could it be worse?
- [25:43]
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah, yeah, it's different. That might be worse though. Like, that might be a worse way to go because he also might not play. What if you just swapped Lamelo and Jalen Green? It's one less year for the Hornets.
- [25:58]
Al
Yeah.
- [25:59]
Andrew Schlecht
For the Suns. You get more of like a real point guard in there. And he's super fun. He's a fun guy. Lamello.
- [26:07]
Al
Andrew, you really want to shake up things in Phoenix right now?
- [26:12]
Andrew Schlecht
I don't, I don't know. I just, I don't. I don't hate. I don't hate that idea. I think it could be, man, it could be a little fun if.
- [26:21]
Al
Would you trade for Lamelo Ball?
- [26:25]
Andrew Schlecht
Oh, man.
- [26:26]
Al
I know it's fun to do these fake trades, but you don't get anxiety just thinking about it a little bit.
- [26:32]
Andrew Schlecht
A little bit. But the teams that I'm like sending him to are all these teams that like, like, do we. Do we have a real direction? Like, what's going to happen in like three years? Like, I don't know. Just try Lamello.
- [26:42]
Al
Yeah, I just like with the Kings, for example, like, it's. It's setting up where they are going to get a high pick in this next draft.
- [26:49]
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah.
- [26:49]
Al
I wouldn't want to make that type of trade before knowing what that pick is going to be.
- [26:54]
Andrew Schlecht
Before knowing, like, you're definitely not getting Darren Peterson. Then it's like, okay, yeah, because.
- [26:58]
Al
Because what if they get, you know, a top two pick and they're able to reorient their entire franchise around this brand new player.
- [27:04]
Andrew Schlecht
Right.
- [27:04]
Al
I don't know for sure that I would want to bring Lamella. I would at least want to see who I got first.
- [27:10]
Andrew Schlecht
That's fair. That's fair. That's totally fair.
- [27:13]
Al
Now, Phoenix. Yeah, maybe. Maybe you're right in that like they're. If they're going to do something, it's going to Be a trade like that where they're kind of buying low on someone because they don't have a lot of assets moving forward, but yeah. Okay, who's next?
- [27:28]
Andrew Schlecht
Last one you can swap. You could swap MPJ for LaMelo and it works.
- [27:35]
Al
Okay.
- [27:37]
Andrew Schlecht
I, I don't, I would not do this if I'm the Nets, but MPJ on the Hornets is a little bit interesting. He only has two years left.
- [27:45]
Al
Yeah.
- [27:46]
Andrew Schlecht
Like, just, he's a, It's a little bit interesting to me as, like, I, I think the Hornets could be a team that's like, scrapping for the playing tournament at the end of the year possibly. And I think MPJ helps you a lot more than Lamello does at this point, so.
- [28:01]
Al
Oh, man.
- [28:02]
Andrew Schlecht
I don't mind that.
- [28:03]
Al
I will say this. This has been one of the worst fake trade seasons we've had. Like, the job, Anthony Davis, Lamello. Like, all these trade packages are so depressing because these are all guys who, when the teams acquired them and, and for. And for large stretches of their career, were seen as face of the franchise type guys.
- [28:26]
Andrew Schlecht
Yep.
- [28:26]
Al
And so to trade away those players for what you're describing a lot of times is like peanuts. You know, this is just like, yeah, hey, here's some matching salaries and maybe you'll get a pick. Dick, that is such a tough trade to make.
- [28:41]
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah. But if you're the Hornets, you're, you're in a good, you feel like you're in a good spot without him, and you would all, you would almost like, as a franchise rather have won the minutes for some of these other players and the savings that you get as a franchise, too, as a bad team like, you, you need to save money during that time. Like, you need to be able to do that. And so if I'm the Hornets, I would, I would consider many of these just to offload him and to, like, enter a new era of Hornets basketball.
- [29:17]
Al
Do you have any read on, on how Hornets fans feel about Lamello?
- [29:22]
Andrew Schlecht
I don't really know. I, I, My guess is that they would hate all of these and that they would be very mad that I would ask any, any of these teams to, to give that kind of package back for him, but I don't, I don't really know. That's, that's just my, that's my personal feel for where this team is headed is like, Lamello just clearly does not fit with, like, style of play with, you know, the way that just the way they play in general is like, very almost like the antithesis of like what Lamelo is, which is like all flash.
- [29:57]
Al
Yeah. And I don't know if it's a coincidence that this report came out after that Pacers loss because that, that was about as low as as it can get right now.
- [30:06]
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah.
- [30:07]
Al
Especially with the way Lamelo played in that game.
- [30:10]
Andrew Schlecht
I would say there's, it's, it's usually aren't very many coincidences in the NBA.
- [30:15]
Al
You should point out Lamello responded to these reports with the clown emoji. So take that for what it's worth. Maybe he loves it in Charlotte. Maybe he doesn't have interest.
- [30:25]
Andrew Schlecht
He probably does. I mean, he's living an awesome life.
- [30:29]
Al
Yeah. Andrew, you mentioned the Clippers. My what? This week is the James Harden season. The Clippers are currently wasting. Wasting. Yeah, I remember last season Kawhi was out at the beginning of the year. There was quickly this all star push for Harden because the way he was keeping the Clippers afloat during that period and while I got the argument and I didn't totally buy that he would deserve it over someone like Evita Zubots who was anchoring a great defense, that was that team's identity. Meanwhile, Harden was shooting under 40% from the field. He was averaging a nice 22, 6, 9 pre all star break, but not like crazy. Well nowadays Andrew, if anyone other than Harden wasn't terrible on the Clippers, I think he'd have even more deserving All Star bid compared to last season. One of the most troubling things about the Clippers right now is that Harden has been as good offensively as the Clippers could have hoped for. Yeah, and it just doesn't matter because of the injuries and the construction of this roster. He is currently averaging 26, 6 and 9 on 44, 38, 92 splits. He's getting to the line almost eight times per game, something he hasn't done since the 2122 season. When he's on the court, the clippers offense is 19 points per 100 possessions better, which is in the 98th percentile per cleaning the glass. Now he still obviously has his faults. He's certainly not helping their transition defense which is currently giving up 147.2 points or 100 transition plays worse than any other team by a lot. But it's just wild to think about him coming to the Clippers. A few years ago the expectation was he's going to be the third guy next to Kawhi and pg and for the last two seasons now James Harden has absolutely carried this team in his age 35 and 36 seasons. I'm just genuinely stunned both at how good James Harden continues to be as an offensive engine at his age, but also that the Clippers are wasting these performances. Like, you think it's bad now, if this team ever has to attempt to survive without James Harden for a couple weeks, it's going to be an abomination on the court.
- [32:39]
Andrew Schlecht
Happen. Yeah.
- [32:40]
Al
And so that's my what this week.
- [32:43]
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah, that's. That's pretty bad. And from something bad to something good, which is apparently something that I just do all the time now. We're going to talk about the Denver Nuggets with Adam Mares right after this quick break. Hey, Andrew Schlecht here. Black Friday game day is coming to prime and it'll be an epic day of live sports. Black Friday football is at the center of it all with the Chicago Bears taking on the Philadelphia Eagles at 3pm Eastern. That's followed by the final night of the Emirates NBA cup group play and a doubleheader starting with Bucs and Knicks at 7pm and Mavericks and Lakers at 10pm but the whole day starts with the return of the Capital One skins game as four elite PGA golfer golfers face off with $4 million on the line. Black Friday game day tees off with Capital One skins game at 9am Eastern before the big bears Eagles football game at 3pm and it all culminates with a double dose of Emirates NBA cup action featuring bucks Knicks at 7pm and Mavs Lakers at 10pm only on Prime.
- [33:59]
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- [35:23]
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- [35:41]
Adam Mares
Thanks.
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- [35:55]
Al
All right, Andrew, it is time 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 Denver Nuggets. Now the first piece of news we found out was last Friday that Nuggets starter Christian Brown would miss the next six weeks with an ankle sprain. Stepping into the starting lineup this week was Peyton Watson who took advantage of the opportunity, scoring a career high 32 points in a win against the Pelicans. Now for the week, The Nuggets went 2 and 1. In addition to that win against New Orleans, Denver got a really nice win against the Wolves in Minnesota. And sandwiched between those wins was a pretty rough loss to the Bulls at home who were on the second night of a back to back back per cleaning the glass. The 11 and 3 Nuggets have the second ranked offense and fifth ranked defense. Andrew, if the Nuggets are our favorite team, who is our guest?
- [36:45]
Andrew Schlecht
It's our friend Adam Mares from DNVR and the All NBA podcast. Adam, thanks for joining us.
- [36:51]
Adam Mares
Hi, I'm happy to be joining you guys. So wait, last week is when you became fans and then Christian Brown got hurt immediately?
- [36:58]
Al
Yeah, that's a good point.
- [37:00]
Andrew Schlecht
Yes. Yeah, that's. That's what the Wheel does.
- [37:03]
Al
Interesting timing.
- [37:04]
Andrew Schlecht
The Wheel will do that. Although Peyton Watson. The last time I saw Peyton Watson in person was an OKC during the preseason and he looked like a monster. He looked like he was like ready to like unleash like this like on ball creation and like that. That kind of went away but then it kind of came back, you know, so I don't know I don't know.
- [37:26]
Adam Mares
We'll have to see.
- [37:27]
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah, let's. The Minnesota Timberwolves have been a problem for the Nuggets for several years. It's only two games, but this is the first time the Nuggets have beat the Wolves twice in a row in the regular season since the 2021 season. Are you feeling confident that dynamic of this rivalry has, like, finally shifted in the Nuggets favor?
- [37:51]
Adam Mares
I am, absolutely am. And I think there were two reasons that the Nuggets struggled with that particular lineup. Really three reasons. I think first reason was Jamal Murray was not up to the challenge of the athleticism and how much they pressured him full court. And I know this. I mean, we know some guys. There's been some guys coming over from Minnesota that, that were with Minnesota over the last couple years, and now we're with Denver. And, you know, it was, hey, we had a game plan. We were going to wear him down. Full court press, wear him down. In the fourth quarter, we'd smother him. He had no legs left. He's coming in better shape. He looks like he's up for that challenge and takes it a little more personally. The athleticism of the team. In years past, Denver has been below a threshold where their athleticism, McDaniels, Randall, it just overwhelmed them. But you add some athletes to the roster this year, you add some. Some depth, and that has helped you out. And then the toughness is the last part of this, you know. You know who wasn't owned by the Minnesota Timberwolves? Bruce Brown. Last time he was in Denver, that was not a problem. They beat him in the playoffs. He matched their intensity and their toughness. You inject Valentunas, you, him, Tim Hardaway Jr. It's just these guys, I think, make the matchup a lot less intimidating.
- [39:00]
Al
So when you're a fan of a great team like Denver, it's easy to overanalyze every loss. Did the Bulls loss reveal anything actually concerning or do you just look at as a dumb loss?
- [39:10]
Adam Mares
Well, they've lost to him three times in a row now. They got swept by the.
- [39:14]
Al
Oh, no. Are they the New Wolves?
- [39:18]
Adam Mares
So there's. So the Wolves. I think Denver has settled that one. But there's two rivalries now that they have not settled. Yes, the Chicago Bulls and the Washington Wizards, who also swept them last year.
- [39:28]
Andrew Schlecht
No. Yeah.
- [39:29]
Adam Mares
Despite Yogic's 61 point game, they still lost to the Wizard. So there's something there. There might be something to how they play. I mean, there might be a Little bit of just the fast pace. I think more to the point, Denver, you know, the first game back off of the road trip, they just, they did not approach that game very well. I don't think there's anything structurally you look at in that game that say, oh, Denver should be concerned because they couldn't stop this or that. They just didn't. They lost a little motivation this week. They've had some very impressive games. Lost to Chicago, beat New Orleans in a bit of an unimpressive way. So going into this marquee game with Houston, they're, they're not exactly like hitting their stride against these bad teams.
- [40:09]
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah, you can, you can see like Jokic's defensive engagement, like when he sees teams that aren't very good just like, like drop like five or six levels.
- [40:17]
Adam Mares
That's so. I think it's one of the defining traits. You know, the Nuggets have never won 10 games in a row in the Yokich era, which is crazy. Like Detroit Pistons, I think are on a 12 game win streak or something like that right now and they've never done it. And I think it's a little bit of this. You know, when he sees New Orleans on the calendar and he's like, it's going to be boring.
- [40:37]
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah, there's a ton of truth to that because we watched him in that seven game series. He was awesome against okc. Like, he was just spectacular every night. He's a very good player when he decides to be. Cameron Johnson was the Nuggets big off season acquisition. It's been kind of a rocky start, but he's arguably had his best two games this week. What were some of the issues early on for him? And then what has looked different to you these last couple games with Cam Johnson?
- [41:05]
Adam Mares
I really think there's only one, one real issue and that is he wasn't making his shots. And the shots looked weird. Like you could tell, you know, sometimes good shooters just go through slumps. It looks right. It's just for whatever reason, he's off by a hair and he has to recalibrate. His shot was a little flat. It'd be a little rushed. He had air balls. I think there was a little bit of pressure or something going on with him. It's even possibly dealing with an injury. I know in training camp they would hold him out some days and it was always, it's precautionary. It's precautionary. And you think, well, precautionary in training camp doesn't feel right. Maybe there's something going on there. So maybe a little bit of something that he's dealing with behind the scenes, but every other aspect of his game I think has been fantastic. And sometimes when you are the third, fourth or fifth option next to Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, your real impact is on how well those guys play because your job is to occupy space and, and create space and occupy a defender. Well, you look at Jokic for a guy that has been the most efficient volume scorer in NBA history. He's having his most efficient year and a lot of that is Cam Johnson spaces. He's always in the right spot and he also reacts to what they're doing well. He cuts what he's supposed to cut. He screens really well. He just reads the court and so he hasn't made shots. And I honestly think it's just that when he's on the court, the Nuggets offense has been humming and Jokic is having a career year for a reason and he's one of them.
- [42:24]
Al
What do you think about the three point volume? Because you know, I noticed he's taken under four per game right now. He did have a very nice game this week week where he took seven. But you know, last year he took seven per game for the Nets. He was replacing mpj who was a high volume shooter. And it doesn't seem like the volume has been there necessarily yet. Do you?
- [42:42]
Andrew Schlecht
What?
- [42:43]
Al
How do you explain that?
- [42:44]
Adam Mares
Well, I would explain it's interesting and we'll have to see throughout the year if that number changes. But it's been very loud. It's not just the shooting. He doesn't touch the ball very much. I mean there are times where he'll go at whole stint and maybe touch the ball three times. When Michael Porter was here, he called it the coffin corner. He hated going to the corner because the coaches would always tell you get to the corner, get to the corner because that allows us to do the action we want. And Michael Porter hated it. He'd go off script a lot because you would go there six, seven, eight times in a row and the ball never found you. But it's like, yeah, but you did your job. You dragged the defense with you. I think Cam Johnson is just much more willing to do that. And as a result he is in the coffin corner doing his job. But that just means he's not actually getting shots. I do think Denver's going to have to find he's too good of a pick and roll player for him to just be the floor spacer. I think they can find him in the pick and roll more. But the truth is we're 14 games into this and I'm looking at Cam Johnson going, it might. He might be more KCP than Michael Porter, where your job is actually not to be noticed until the ball finds you on the kick out and then just knock it down. But four or five possessions, you don't touch it. That's normal.
- [43:47]
Al
So there's been a lot of talk about the Nuggets defense this season, currently ranked in the top five. There are some obvious points of regression coming. For instance, Denver is giving up the second most corner threes per game and opponents are shooting a league worse, 31.8 on those shots. But what do you think is real with this defense compared to last season's team?
- [44:04]
Adam Mares
So I definitely think there's some luck in. In a lot of the numbers. Denver's gotten lucky with some of the shooting and teams they've gone against, they've also gone against some bad teams where early enough in the season that they're still like tonight, number one offense they go up against. We'll see how the, you know, everything holds. But I think the number one reason their defense has been good so far is that they have a new scheme. And I think when teams put in a new scheme like Denver, teams have been going against Denver for a long time, Jokic, and they've had more or less the same defensive pick and roll coverage. They've changed it up this year and I wonder if there's just a little bit of like the, the scouting on Denver is a little behind, so teams are attacking them with the old assumptions. We've always attacked them this way, and now that they're doing some things differently, teams have just been slow to adjust. But I do think they'll be improved defensively. They have more depth. One of the things that I think is underrated about the Nuggets over the last handful of years is Jokic, 37 minutes, 36 minutes. He's playing a lot because every time he's off the court, they're hemorrhaging points. He has to get back in. It's hard to play defense when you're the offensive engine and playing 37 minutes this year, everybody's minutes are down and I think it allows them to go a little bit harder on the defensive end. So between the scheme and the depth, I think that's really the reason for the improvement.
- [45:13]
Al
You know, we were talking earlier about how maybe against some of these bad teams, it's harder for Jokic to Get up defensively. I was just looking on clean the glass because you can sort by when they play teams with the top 10 point differential versus, like bottom 10 against top 10 teams, which has only been three games, but they have the number one defense in the league. And when it's the bottom 10, it drops down to, like, middle of the league.
- [45:34]
Adam Mares
This is hilarious. This is real. This is definitely real. For all of Jokic's, like, great traits about him. He has to be mentally engaged for him to be great. And there are a lot of teams where you can just tell, like, he is not engaged in this game tonight.
- [45:47]
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah.
- [45:48]
Al
But actually makes it like, going into the playoffs. I should sort by when they play against the good teams to get a better read on, like, how good defensively.
- [45:54]
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah. Is.
- [45:55]
Adam Mares
Well, if you also know the thing, another thing for Denver over the last handful of years. I don't know if this was true last year, but they've been a great fourth quarter defense, a great clutch time defense. And that's one thing I've always said is okay, they can do that. That's why they'll be better in the playoffs defensively, is they can do it when it matters. They just can't do it all the time.
- [46:11]
Andrew Schlecht
You ever run out of things to say about Jokic with, like, how. How good he is? Because he's had a ridiculous start to this season.
- [46:19]
Adam Mares
The thing about him. Oh, no. Is my camera is starting to freak out on me here, Mike. I've been live for too long here. I'm gonna switch to my ugly camera if I can, okay?
- [46:27]
Andrew Schlecht
Oh, I don't.
- [46:28]
Adam Mares
I don't know if I can.
- [46:29]
Andrew Schlecht
This. Listen, this is not me trying to sabotage, like, good things about Jokic right now just because I'm in okc. Like, I will allow people to talk good about Jokic on this show. Although this appears right now as like a complete sabotage on my end. I'm not controlling this, people.
- [46:44]
Adam Mares
Let me see if this worked here. A quick reset. But it's funny, my camera only has like an hour and a half to it before it. Before it dies.
- [46:51]
Andrew Schlecht
Oh, really?
- [46:52]
Adam Mares
And yeah, I've been live for a little bit. All right, here's the thing with Yoke I. It's hard to isolate what he could be better at. These little skills because he has so many of them, but little skills. Now, when you're at this level, little skills can have a big impact. One of those is three point shooting. That was the one thing. If you had to live with something, live with his three point shooting. Last year, 40. This year, 40%. He's shooting them with confidence. He's actually taking threes at a higher rate than ever before. And I think that that is no longer a viable option of, hey, we'll just make him shoot jumpers. He's comfortable doing it. And then face up game. Like he's so much of a stationary work. The elbows, I think this actually comes from Caruso and how they were able to guard him last year. I think he feels, and I feel that when a player has his back to the basket, little guys are allowed physicality that is just higher than the in reverse. If you're a big guy guarding a littler guy. But for some reason when you face up, everybody just gets fouls. Like it's so easy to draw fouls in the NBA faced up. So I think Jokic has come back with a slight more, more aggressive face up game. And my hunch is it's for that reason. Okay, if I get a Caruso on me and I try to back him down, he's quick enough and he can just do whatever. But if I turn my body to him now and, and back and then face and go, he's just been doing that a lot, getting to the foul line a little bit more. And I think that's the part. And those little adjustments now make him even more difficult to guard. How he gets open off ball. There's been a lot of like, rather than post up, David Adelman's talked about posting up takes a lot of energy because you have to kind of wrestle for position. He's cutting into post up. So it's almost like a fake cut. Like I'm cutting to the basket. You have to beat me to the spot. But now I'm just going to bury you. And they're running it intentionally. So these little micro skills. I think that he's picked up because in playoffs he said, how are teams guarding me and what's the counter to that? And it's making a big impact so far, man.
- [48:45]
Andrew Schlecht
So they're. They play the Rockets tonight and we're recording this on Friday afternoon. But these, both these teams are giant, great rebounding teams. They don't take a ton of threes, but like, what are some of the things that you're looking for against Houston tonight?
- [49:02]
Adam Mares
Denver has struggled a little bit with athleticism. We talked about Minnesota. That was one of the big advantages. They've closed the gap on that. But they're still more athletic than Denver and that's a, that can be a challenge, especially when you Just full court press, Jamal Murray, the ball handler. Other guys have to bring it up. So I'm looking for that. I'm looking if Denver goes to this double big lineup, like if you talk about Stephen Adams versus Aaron Gordon, Aaron Gordon is almost always stronger than his matchup. He's not against Stephen Adams, and that's why they always are able to go to that lineup. So does Denver go to Big Val tonight alongside Jokic? Those guys have already played some minutes together, but usually it's like two minutes at a time. Two minutes and then we get it out of there. They might have to go to it for five, six minutes in a row tonight, and I'm just so curious to see if they can do that. And then Shangoon always goes at Jokic. I think these Jokic acolytes love going at Yoke and yo picks and chooses how often he cares about them. But Shangun is good enough and this is a marquee game enough that I think both of those guys are going to actually bring their A game against each other tonight.
- [50:01]
Al
Yeah, it should be a great one. Adam, thank you for answering all of our Denver Nuggets questions, but it's time to play Andrew versus the Beat, our weekly trivia show where Andrew goes head to head against NBA beat writer this week, Adam Mares from DNVR and the All NBA podcast. Now, Adam, you've played this before. I came up with eight questions about the Nuggets. You'll give me a number between 1 and 8. It will correspond to a question. If you get it right, you'll get at least two points to get it wrong. Andrew have a chance to steal for one. It will go back and forth until all the questions have been asked and answered. So to start is off, I just need a number between one and eight.
- [50:36]
Adam Mares
I'm going to go with. Let's go with five.
- [50:39]
Al
Question number five. Who has had their shot blocked the most on the Nuggets this season?
- [50:47]
Adam Mares
Ooh. Who has had their shot blocked the most? That's a good one. I almost have to pull up their roster to be able to look at this. Let me think. Peyton Watson seems to get blocked a lot, but he doesn't play enough minutes. You almost have to go off of, like, attempts. Jokic gets his shot blocked a lot, but goes right back up with it. I'm gonna go with. Man, let's go with yo. Is it Jokic.
- [51:16]
Al
That is incorrect. Andrew, you have a chance to steal for one point.
- [51:20]
Andrew Schlecht
Is it Christian Brown is not.
- [51:24]
Al
I asked it because I thought it was just strange that this player has had their shot blocked the most. It is Bruce Brown.
- [51:29]
Adam Mares
Oh, wow.
- [51:30]
Andrew Schlecht
That's incredible.
- [51:31]
Adam Mares
He has not taken shots.
- [51:34]
Al
I know. That's why I thought it was so strange. He already had 10 block shots. Okay, Andrew, board is yours.
- [51:42]
Andrew Schlecht
Number one.
- [51:43]
Al
Question number one. In honor of Peyton Watson having his first 30 point game of his career, we're going to name every nugget that has scored 30 points in a game during the Jokic era. Oh, wow. So other than Jokic and Peyton Watson, there are 16 other Nuggets that have scored 30 points since the 1516 season. So how this works is Andrew will give me a name, then Adam will give me a name and we'll go back and forth to one of you stumbles. Wow. Andrew, start us off.
- [52:13]
Andrew Schlecht
Jamal Murray, a great guest.
- [52:16]
Al
ADAM Michael Porter Jr. Another good guess. Andrew.
- [52:25]
Andrew Schlecht
Gallo.
- [52:26]
Al
Danilo Gallinari. That is correct. Back to Adam.
- [52:31]
Adam Mares
I'm gonna go. Aaron Gordon, who has also had a 30 point game.
- [52:34]
Al
Aaron got a 50 piece.
- [52:35]
Andrew Schlecht
I was gonna say I had a 50 piece.
- [52:38]
Al
Andrew.
- [52:39]
Andrew Schlecht
That 10 for 11 is like doing so much work for him right now. I feel like it really is. What an incredible game. I'm trying to think back to earlier. Wilson Chandler.
- [52:53]
Al
Yeah, Wilson Chandler. All right, Adam.
- [52:57]
Adam Mares
Christian Brown has one. I looked it up with Peyton Watson got his. He has a 30 point game.
- [53:02]
Al
That is correct. Back to Andrew.
- [53:06]
Andrew Schlecht
Oh, boy. I. I want to feel real dumb. I don't know. I don't know if I want to go to real dumb one or not. Okay, I'll say that. Will Barton.
- [53:18]
Al
Will the Thrill. Barton is correct. He's got a one for sure. I think he was third on the list in terms of most 30 point or knew he's. He was fourth.
- [53:27]
Andrew Schlecht
Wow.
- [53:27]
Adam Mares
Yeah. That's not wrong. Gary Harris has had a 30 point game for sure.
- [53:33]
Al
Yes, he has. All right, you guys are doing great. I think eight more names.
- [53:37]
Adam Mares
Oh, wow.
- [53:38]
Al
Eight.
- [53:40]
Adam Mares
This is a good one. I love this one.
- [53:46]
Al
Andrew, you got any names left?
- [53:48]
Andrew Schlecht
I do, but I. I just. I feel dumb. Like there's some of these that I just feel dumb about. I don't know why. I'm gonna save that one in my head for the. Put it in my back pocket, I guess. What about Malik Beasley? Did he do it?
- [54:02]
Al
He sure did. Malik Beasley. All right, back to Adam.
- [54:06]
Adam Mares
This includes playoffs. I assume. This is playoffs.
- [54:09]
Al
Oh, that's a good question. I actually don't know if I sorted by playoffs.
- [54:12]
Adam Mares
Okay. I. The guy I think should have got it. Although I can't honestly remember it happening, but it feels like it happened. Was Paul Millsap.
- [54:20]
Al
Paul Millsap. He did do it. He did do it. All right, we're down to six names. Andrew.
- [54:25]
Andrew Schlecht
He did do it. Hey, David. Okay. Yeah, that's. That's one that I was thinking of where I was like, I don't know. Like, I know. I can't actually remember. He probably did that.
- [54:34]
Adam Mares
Probably did.
- [54:38]
Andrew Schlecht
This is another one where I just think he. He certainly had the potential to. Did Jeremy Grant do it?
- [54:44]
Al
Oh, Andrew. And that's where.
- [54:47]
Andrew Schlecht
Oh, man.
- [54:49]
Al
So one point for Adam. All that for one point. The other names Russell Westbrook. Andrew. Reggie Jackson.
- [55:00]
Adam Mares
That's right.
- [55:00]
Al
Another Thunder guard. Bruce Brown. DeMarcus Cousins. Okay. Randy Foy.
- [55:07]
Adam Mares
Of course.
- [55:08]
Al
Of course. And Emmanuel Moody.
- [55:10]
Andrew Schlecht
Oh, Moody. A Dang.
- [55:13]
Adam Mares
So I was thinking Austin Rivers had he had that big playoff game, but it might not have been 30, so I don't remember. Yeah, he did against Portland.
- [55:20]
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah.
- [55:21]
Adam Mares
But I can't remember if he reached 30 or. I mean, 20 would have been a big game for him.
- [55:25]
Andrew Schlecht
I love Moody. A.
- [55:27]
Al
Okay, Adam, you're up one zip.
- [55:29]
Adam Mares
Let's go to two.
- [55:30]
Al
Okay. Through 14 games, Nikola Jokic is shooting over 70% on over 12 two point shots per game among active players. There have been four other players that have had a similar streak in their career. How many can you name? Now? You do get one point per correct answer. You could get four points. So these are players who have had a 14 game span where they also shot over 70% on over 12 two pointers per game.
- [55:57]
Adam Mares
Man. On over 12 two pointers is tough because Gafford had that run, but that was on very low volume.
- [56:03]
Al
Yeah.
- [56:03]
Adam Mares
So you're talking about guys hyper efficient around the basket at volume. You're looking at dunkers. You're looking at guys that are playing right around the rim. If, man, this is tough. 1. Because efficiency has also entered the landscape more recently. You know, you go back to some of these 80s guys and they're just throwing the ball at the rim. I'll go with. I mean, I'll go with Shaq. It doesn't feel like embarrassing. 1.
- [56:31]
Al
This is active players. Sorry.
- [56:32]
Adam Mares
Oh, this is. Oh, this is active players. Sorry.
- [56:34]
Al
Okay.
- [56:34]
Adam Mares
That makes it a little easier. 12 attempts a game.
- [56:38]
Al
Yeah, Shaq probably did do it. Sounds like a Shaq thing.
- [56:41]
Adam Mares
Seems like he would have done this. Who are the efficiency guys at that volume?
- [56:48]
Al
Giannis. Giannis is one. Okay.
- [56:54]
Adam Mares
Let me see where else we can go here. I don't know if Gobert had the volume for this. How about the volume? Is the question here. But what about Zubots?
- [57:07]
Al
That is incorrect. Andrew, you could steal three points.
- [57:11]
Andrew Schlecht
Oh, my gosh. Embiid.
- [57:17]
Al
No.
- [57:18]
Adam Mares
Wow.
- [57:19]
Al
Both of you gonna be kicking yourself. LeBron James. Makes sense.
- [57:23]
Adam Mares
Yeah.
- [57:24]
Al
And then the other two were the ones I didn't think you'd ever get. Clint Capella.
- [57:29]
Andrew Schlecht
Whoa.
- [57:29]
Al
Makes sense. But. And then John Collins did it once upon a time in Atlanta.
- [57:34]
Andrew Schlecht
I would have never.
- [57:36]
Adam Mares
Yeah, Collins, never.
- [57:37]
Al
Yeah.
- [57:37]
Adam Mares
Yeah.
- [57:38]
Al
All right, Andrew, you're down two. Zip.
- [57:41]
Andrew Schlecht
Oh, boy. Number three.
- [57:43]
Al
Good luck. According to cleaning the glass, when this player is on the court, the Nuggets three point percentage is 10.4% points higher than when he's off the court. That differential is the second highest in the league behind only A.J. green in Milwaukee. Who is the player? So when this guy's on the court, the Nuggets are bombing threes and they're hitting everything.
- [58:09]
Andrew Schlecht
Oh, boy. Okay. The way the good luck makes it seem like it's not some obvious guys.
- [58:24]
Adam Mares
Yeah, I know this one's tough.
- [58:26]
Andrew Schlecht
I guess I'll say Bruce Brown, but I just don't know.
- [58:29]
Al
That is incorrect. Adam, you have a chance to steal.
- [58:33]
Adam Mares
Three point rate goes up when he's on the court.
- [58:37]
Al
And I guess it's not the rate. I mean, it might be, but it's the percentage.
- [58:40]
Adam Mares
The actual percentage.
- [58:41]
Al
Accuracy.
- [58:42]
Adam Mares
I mean, I would guess the obvious answer here feels like it's Jokic. So I would say Jokic.
- [58:48]
Al
It does feel obvious, but no. The second best differential in the league is currently Peyton Watson.
- [58:54]
Adam Mares
See, that's.
- [58:57]
Al
Very.
- [58:57]
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah, that makes. I. I don't. I don't know what to do with that.
- [59:00]
Adam Mares
Yeah.
- [59:01]
Al
Okay, Adam, board is yours.
- [59:04]
Adam Mares
Let's go with number four. I like this top line.
- [59:08]
Andrew Schlecht
Who.
- [59:09]
Al
Nope, not who. What. What is Jonas Valentunas's career high in points? Now you get to choose who answers first. You can make Andrew answer first and then go higher. Lower. Or you answer first, Andrew will go higher.
- [59:21]
Adam Mares
Andrew has to guess first.
- [59:22]
Al
All right, Andrew, you could get a bonus point if you get it exactly correct.
- [59:26]
Andrew Schlecht
Okay, 37.
- [59:30]
Al
37. Adam, would you go higher or lower?
- [59:33]
Adam Mares
I'm going lower.
- [59:36]
Al
Once upon a time, Jonas Valentuna scored 39 points in a game.
- [59:44]
Andrew Schlecht
Yes.
- [59:45]
Al
That's a point for Andrew. Andrew, you're very good at those. You always get within one or two.
- [59:50]
Andrew Schlecht
That's just. It's just. I got a. Just a feel. Just like a gut feel.
- [59:56]
Al
All right, Angie, you've cut the lead in half. It's now two to one. Number six, question Number six, cleaning the glass has the Nuggets as the fifth best defense so far in the cleaning glass database, which goes back to 03 04. The highest finish for a Denver defense ever was seventh in the 0809 season. This player on the 0809 Nuggets had the biggest on off swing for defensive efficiency. Who was it?
- [60:24]
Andrew Schlecht
Oh, my gosh, Al.
- [60:26]
Al
What? Normal question. Normal question.
- [60:28]
Andrew Schlecht
Crazy question, bro.
- [60:30]
Al
It's not.
- [60:31]
Andrew Schlecht
This is insane.
- [60:32]
Al
0809. Biggest on off swing for defensive efficiency on the Nuggets.
- [60:37]
Andrew Schlecht
Okay, Birdman.
- [60:45]
Al
Birdman? No, not Birdman.
- [60:48]
Adam Mares
Adam, your options here, like Kenyon Martin, Chauncey Billups, Anthony Carter. I'm gonna go with. They had behind Kenyon. Nene. I'm gonna go with Kenyon Martin.
- [61:08]
Al
Well, you just said his name.
- [61:10]
Adam Mares
But not that one.
- [61:11]
Al
But not that one. It was Nene. All right, we have come down to two final questions. Adam, you have a one point lead.
- [61:19]
Adam Mares
Let's do number eight.
- [61:21]
Al
Question number eight. Which of the following is not a basketball reference official nickname for a Denver Nuggets player?
- [61:30]
Adam Mares
I better nail this one.
- [61:32]
Al
I'm going to read you five nicknames. Four of them appear on Basketball reference. One of them does not. Here they are. Big Aura, Big Science, Big Tipper, Big Honey or Biggie Smalls? Once again, that is Big Aura, Big Science, Big Tipper, Big Honey, Biggie Smalls.
- [61:55]
Adam Mares
My hunch is Biggie Smalls because Big Tipper is. Is Jokic. Big Honey is Jokic Big Aura. I don't know. I mean, that feels like something. I. I would not say Biggie Smalls. I can't even imagine who that would be. There's nobody that fits that. I'm gonna guess Biggie Smalls.
- [62:17]
Al
Biggie Smalls is Bruce Brown.
- [62:19]
Adam Mares
No, it's not. That's not. It might say that, but it's not.
- [62:27]
Al
All right, Andrew.
- [62:29]
Andrew Schlecht
Big Aura. I don't know who Big Aura is.
- [62:31]
Al
Big Aura made it up. Not real.
- [62:34]
Adam Mares
It felt like something the kids would have said though. You know.
- [62:40]
Andrew Schlecht
That'S something the kids would say.
- [62:42]
Al
I do love that Valentunas is Big Science, though.
- [62:44]
Andrew Schlecht
Yeah, that's a great one.
- [62:47]
Al
Okay, Andrew, you get final. You get first dibs on the final question. It is tied game.
- [62:53]
Andrew Schlecht
Oh, no.
- [62:54]
Al
Tie game. Okay.
- [62:56]
Andrew Schlecht
Okay.
- [62:56]
Al
Denver is number one in the league in post up frequency with 12.4 post ups per game. Which teams are number two and three in post ups? And you get one point per correct answer.
- [63:11]
Andrew Schlecht
In post ups. Oh, my gosh. I'm not going to be very good at this question. Oh, boy. That Minnesota Andrew.
- [63:28]
Al
That is incorrect. Which sets up an opportunity for Adam to win the week. If he can get one of these teams who is number two or number three in post ups per game.
- [63:41]
Adam Mares
Man, this is tough. I'm going through and I just am like, none of these teams post up. Who could it possibly be? You get a little bit of guard posting up out of Sacramento. Like they have some guys that post up. Man, none of these teams post up. Houston has some guys that they throw the ball into. They'd be an interesting one. I'm gonna go with Chicago a little bit, but not really. I go Houston.
- [64:21]
Al
Adam. That is correct. And Adam Morris has won the week three two. Houston is number two in the league and number three. Any guesses? Now?
- [64:34]
Adam Mares
Sacramento was the next one. I was going there, but they don't really post this year.
- [64:38]
Al
Los Angeles Clippers.
- [64:41]
Andrew Schlecht
See, I almost, almost said the Clippers like.
- [64:43]
Al
Oh, I'm sure. Oh, I'm sure.
- [64:45]
Andrew Schlecht
I thought about it. I did, I did. I thought about it. Okay, go check out dnvr. Go check out the All NBA podcast. Adam does great work. And listen, if you, if you just have time, go watch their, their YouTube streams after the games. They're super fun. It's super duper fun at dmvr. So go check those out. Adam, thanks for coming on.
- [65:07]
Adam Mares
Thanks much. And hey, I hope you're looking forward to this Denver OKC matchup here in four months.
- [65:11]
Andrew Schlecht
I was gonna say, man, can't wait.
- [65:14]
Al
We gotta play like the Jazz again. We got so ridiculous, man.
- [65:19]
Andrew Schlecht
I know. It is. I can't wait for it. Thanks, Adam.
- [65:22]
Adam Mares
Thanks, guys.
- [65:25]
Al
All right, Andrew. That was Denver Nuggets week.
- [65:28]
Andrew Schlecht
Yup.
- [65:29]
Adam Mares
What a.
- [65:29]
Al
What a week.
- [65:30]
Andrew Schlecht
It was a week.
- [65:32]
Al
But it's time to spin the wheel and choose a new team. We still have a lot of teams. How many we got? We got 26 teams left.
- [65:40]
Andrew Schlecht
There's some scary teams on there, Al. Some teams I would not.
- [65:44]
Al
Yes. Scary good. Scary bad.
- [65:46]
Andrew Schlecht
Scary good. Scary bad.
- [65:48]
Al
Let's see. This week's Wheel of Phantom team will be. Finally the Washington Wizard. You know, I think we had to.
- [66:02]
Andrew Schlecht
Bring Josh Robbins on the NBA Daily in order for this to happen. We had to bring him on for this to actually happen. And he was just saying if, if you guys listen to the NBA Daily Friday morning, he was talking about his bond with us and so.
- [66:18]
Al
Oh, wow. Well, this is exciting because the Wizards are currently on a 12 game losing streak. They, they, I mean, they're, they could be challenging for that Pistons record coming up here. And boy, do we have some beautiful games. Let's, let's see. We're going to be watching at Toronto on Friday at the Bulls. Okay. Saturday, second night of a back to back. It's gonna be tough for those whiz. Tuesday they play the Atlanta Hawks. Those are games, Andrew. Those are the games.
- [66:49]
Andrew Schlecht
And I will add, this might not be next Saturday, but the Saturday after because next week is Thanksgiving and we typically do our, our check in with San Vesini during the week of Thanksgiving.
- [67:01]
Al
Okay.
- [67:02]
Andrew Schlecht
And then we will have two weeks of Wizards, so.
- [67:06]
Al
Two weeks of Wizards.
- [67:08]
Andrew Schlecht
Well, prepare yourself.
- [67:09]
Al
Okay, let's see, let's see. I'm not saying they're gonna lose all these games, but let's just say they did. What would, what would the streak be? Let's see. 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 19. We'd be up to a 19 game losing streak. If they lost every game in the.
- [67:25]
Andrew Schlecht
Next two weeks, that'd be really impressive. I hope we get to do that podcast with Josh Robbins where they lost 19 in a row.
- [67:33]
Al
It'll be so sad.
- [67:34]
Andrew Schlecht
It'll be so sad. Something that doesn't make me sad, makes me really happy is when you leave five star reviews on Apple podcasts. Just like this one from Marco Abrenis. He says hugs from Puerto Rico. Greetings from Puerto Rico. I'm a fellow colleague who works as a history and draft expert for another major network that I won't mention, but let's just say I work with deportees. I also host a Spanish language MBA podcast which I won't name either because that would feel a bit sleazy. I just want you to know @Slamajam is one of my very few NBA podcast I recommend on the show. Wow. Thank you for that. The blend of solid information, thoughtful opinions and light hearted comedy is something I aspire to. Also, I know this is going to sound pretentious. I would comfortably dominate Andrew and Trivia. All jokes aside, a warm hug to both of you and thank you for what you do. That was an awesome, very kind five star review and I very much appreciate that.
- [68:42]
Al
You should have dropped a pod name. We would have said it with all those nice things.
- [68:45]
Andrew Schlecht
I know. We really would have. We really would have. Leave us a five star review on Apple podcasts or read it on the show. Thank you guys for listening. Enjoy your weekend and the basketball and we'll talk to you guys again next Saturday.
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Capital One Bank Guy
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Ulta Beauty / T-Mobile Advertiser
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- [70:03]
Al
Oh hey.
- [70:04]
Adam Mares
Welcome to gift wrapping.
- [70:05]
Al
Whoa. So is Saldana.
- [70:06]
Ulta Beauty / T-Mobile Advertiser
Hey can you wrap these please?
- [70:08]
Adam Mares
Wow. IPhone 17s.
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Ulta Beauty / T-Mobile Advertiser
You splurged at T Mobile. You can get four iPhone 17s on them. The new center stage front camera is amazing for group selfies. It's the perfect gift for everyone.
- [70:17]
Adam Mares
I'm the worst.
- [70:18]
Al
I only got my mom a robe.
- [70:20]
Ulta Beauty / T-Mobile Advertiser
Well, it's better than socks so so.
- [70:22]
Al
I have to trade in my old phone, right?
- [70:24]
Ulta Beauty / T-Mobile Advertiser
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- [70:29]
Adam Mares
Incredible.
- [70:30]
Ulta Beauty / T-Mobile Advertiser
In fact, wrap up my old phone too for my Aunt Rosa.
- [70:33]
Al
Forget that.
- [70:33]
Ulta Beauty / T-Mobile Advertiser
Aunt Liz will be jealous.
- [70:34]
Al
Sounds like my family drama.
- [70:36]
Ulta Beauty / T-Mobile Advertiser
Oh I got it. I'll give it to my abuela. I'll take reindeer paper with hey where are you going?
- [70:40]
Al
To T Mobile. The holidays are better. AT T Mobile get four iPhone 17s on us. No trade in needed when you switch plus four lines for just 25 bucks a line. And now T Mobile is available in US cellular stores with 24 month legal.
- [70:52]
Capital One Bank Guy
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- [70:54]
Al
For well qualified customers.
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- [70:58]
Al
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- [71:02]
Adam Mares
Visit t Mobile.
- [71:02]
Al
Com.