Podcast Host (7:29)

What a wild week of NBA basketball. Al our BET MGM Line of the Week brought to you by BetMGM is the odds for the winner of the NBA championship. I just thought we might check in. It's middle of March We're a month out from the playoffs starting and just see, see where we're at and just, I just want to hear your thoughts on this. So the Thunder are the, are the favorite currently slight favorite over the Celtics at a plus 185. Celtics are a plus 220. And then a pretty big drop for the Cavs at plus 500. The next team in line after Thunder, Celtics, Cavs is the Los Angeles Lakers. And some of this is, you know, who's going to bet, who's betting on these lines. Can we lure these Lakers fans in? Can we reel them in? And boy, I'm sure they are reeling them in. Plus a thousand for the Lakers. The warriors are next at plus 1200. And then the Nuggets are below those two teams, which is just really interesting to me. Specifically, what are your thoughts on these west teams? I think the east is correct. You have the Celtics and Cavs at the top followed by a giant drop to the Knicks who haven't looked great. The Bucks who haven't looked great. But what do you think about this order for the west which is Thunder, Lakers, Warriors, Nuggets.

Analyst (8:49)

Well, the first thing I'm interested to see if it changes as a result of last night's warriors game because if you haven't watched Steph Curry fell under the basket and if you do watch it, watch it on mute because if you listen to the sound it makes when it hits the ground, it is disgusting.

Podcast Host (9:06)

It's one of like the loudest sounds on a broadcast for an injury that I've maybe ever heard.

Analyst (9:11)

Yeah, it doesn't sound great. Hopefully he's fine, but that could potentially mess with the odds. I do think the Nuggets should have better odds. Like I get that they had a terrible like goofy week. I guess it wasn't terrible. They did, you know, beat it, beat the warriors with no. 1. So I, but I still think the Nuggets with a healthy Aaron Gordon could beat any west team in a seven game series. I'm trying to not put too much stock into what's happening in March because I remember someone a long time ago saying a stat that like what a team does in the first month of the season is actually more predictive than what they do in the last month. So I'm trying to ignore March. And if you do that, you, you should value the Nuggets more just because they've been there before. They have Jokic and Murray. If Aaron Gordon's healthy, I, I just think they should be valued more and then up higher I think the Cavs should be valued a little more. I feel like they should be a little bit closer to the Celtics based on what we've seen. And again, it's another March thing. Like, yes, they just lost three in a row, but I'm not going to let that change my overall opinion on the Cavs.

Podcast Host (10:16)

Yeah, it's funny because, you know, we're. We follow the Thunder closer than any other team, and we feel like there is, like, some Thunder disrespect that's going around. People, People love to, like, ask themselves the question, like, does the Thunder have what it takes to win the whole thing? And, you know, we'll. We'll see where they're at this year. But the Cavs have been better than the Thunder in lots of stretches this season. Not now, not this very second, but there have been a lot of stretches where they've been better than the Thunder. In fact, they beat the Thunder and like, one of. In what I thought was, like, the best game of the season. And so, like, yeah, I think that they should be in that, like, plus 200ish range as well. But for whatever reason, they. They don't get the same respect. And maybe it's that they don't have, like, a true MVP candidate. And maybe that's what pushes the Thunder to the top, is, like, you can see the Thunder doing well because they do have, like, a true number one guy. But Mitchell's been awesome this year, I think. I think Donovan Mitchell probably is somehow one of the more underrated players in the NBA. He's been. He's had a tremendous season for the Cavs. But, yeah, I just thought the. The overall, you know, Finals winner was just interesting to look at based on these numbers. And I, I think I would definitely have the Nuggets higher than both Lakers and Warriors. I think, like, they're just. They're. Honestly, the Lakers and Warriors are just fun to watch right now, and they have a lot of names of guys that everybody knows, and those are probably. And because they're giant fan bases, people probably do bet them more than they would bet the Nuggets. But I would give the Nuggets better odds as well, so.

Analyst (11:50)

So, Andrew, that brings us to this week's favorites. Our favorite things of the week, starting with our favorite quote this week. And my favorite quote was tweeted out by Julia Poe of the Chicago Tribune. When DeMar DeRozan was asked about playing against his former team, the Bulls this week, he said that he still checks in on his sons regularly to make sure they're making their beds, especially Dale and Terry. He then said, quote, my baby boy always answers. He knows to pick up the phone when daddy's calling. And Andrew, you know, sometimes NBA fans will get mad at reporters for asking questions that they think boring or obvious. They say that they're wasting everyone's time. But this is a good reminder that you just never know. Because you could ask a guy a simple question about if he's excited about playing his old team, and all of a sudden the words coming out of his mouth are, my baby boy always answers. He knows to pick up the phone when daddy's calling. That is why that is my favorite quote this week.

Podcast Host (12:49)

Yeah, that is crazy. My favorite quote comes from, Tim McMahon wrote this article on ESPN about the Suns, which is, it was fascinating in so many ways, but this quote really stuck out to me from Matt Ishbia, who's the owner of the Phoenix Suns. He, he says, it's surprising to me that other people, other fans, they actually like the rebuild process. Like, oh, let's rebuild it. Are you crazy? You think I'm going to go for seven years and try to get there? You enjoy the 2030 draft picks that we have holding. I want to try to see the game today. I want us to win today. And we're going to try. Although let's say that doesn't work. Guess what? Maybe next year we won't be as good, but we're going to try again. The next opportunity we have, we're going to try to win and compete and it will work. We will win a championship here in Phoenix. Might not be this year, but I promise you we're going to do it. And that's what we're focused on. This, to me, would be the scariest two paragraphs that I could read as a, as a Sun's fan, because one, it shows that Matt Ishbia, which most owners do, this is completely driving the direction of this team and he's the one pushing for them to keep trying. And the fact that one, he clearly doesn't know what drives winning and losing in the NBA based upon the team that they have, like, just doesn't really get it. And it is terrifying for Suns fans to know that this guy is going to keep pushing and pushing and pushing until the wheels fall off. A thing that the wheels. Listen, the wheels already fell off. This is a team that has a super high payroll and they are, they're not a good basketball team. And it's because of the way they've been constructed and ownership is so important in the NBA is the. It is one of the most important things. And like, the Celtics, we don't really know much about the new ownership group for the Celtics. We know he's a Celtics fan, but, like, what is he going to do? Like, ownership change is maybe the biggest thing that you can do to a sports franchise. And to have a guy like Matt Ishbia, who has done a lot of good things for fans in Phoenix with making the broadcast free for fans that are local, the concessions. We talked about that on the show. Like, there's been a lot of really good things. But the fact that he, like, doesn't quite understand how the NBA works. Like, this team is in the middle and falling and the heart. One of the hardest things to do in the NBA is to get out of the middle. And he's basically saying, like, no, no, we're going to be in the middle. We're going to stay in the middle. Which almost guarantees that the thing that he said, that we will win a championship here in Phoenix is not going to happen. This is not how you win championships.

Analyst (15:43)

If he. If he gave this quote right after they make the KD trade, it makes sense. Like, that's a quote you can say, but after this season, to say maybe next year won't be as good in reference to this season. Like, yeah, how could it be? What are you talking worse?

Podcast Host (15:58)

Like, what are you talking about?

Analyst (16:00)

And. And I think another tough thing for these guys is in the past, I think it was much easier to point out the negatives of tanking. But this most recent class of tanking teams, you know, he. You know, he's. If you look at, like, Orlando, Houston, OKC, and Detroit, out of those four franchises, I bet three of those four fan bases would say, like, you know what? That was actually pretty fun. Like, that. That was a good time, and we came out of it relatively quickly, and our team is in a better spot than we've been in a really long time. I don't think Pistons fans would say that, though. There was obviously eventually a payoff after four years of Troy Weaver, but I just think we're seeing more and more, like, there's more positive examples of what the rebuild process can bring you. And so it's just harder to make that case. And I don't really understand, like, what case he's making, because what would be the plan, given their current situation?

Podcast Host (16:57)

Well, I mean, James Jones came out and said that he didn't really care about the draft not that long ago.

Analyst (17:03)

Yeah, you Know, you don't have to if you don't have picks.

Podcast Host (17:06)

So it's. I don't know. I. That was, that was jarring to me. That was jarring to me. And in a league where I think that most teams understand like the rhythm and flow of NBA teams and like most do not want to be in the middle and are doing and like we're seeing that right now with all the tanking that's happening across the league. Yeah, most teams understand, like, we need to try to get the number one pick and we don't get the number one pick. There's other guys that can help us, you know, get out of the middle. But man, to be this unaware is scary. As an NBA owner, Andrew, I fear.

Analyst (17:48)

That he has bull's brain and you don't want bull's brain. Moving on to our favorite stat of the week, my favorite stat. Listen to this one. This was a stat shared on the Nets subreddit by user shadowspinner0 it's a stat that makes complete sense when you hear it and yet is still somehow incredible. The question is, how many years has it been since the Brooklyn Nets had a lottery pick? Simple question. Start going back through the drafts in your head. Keep going, keep going, keep going. The answer is 15 years. Derek Favors. Derek Favors was the last time the Nets drafted in the lottery. Derek Favors had a 12 year NBA career. He retired three years ago and during that entire time, the Nets did not draft in the lottery. Paul George is the only player from that draft class that is still in the NBA. The last time the Nets had a lottery pick, the freaking minions didn't exist. Andrew. We lived in a world without the unending source of joy that is the Minion cinematic universe. Kevin Stewart. Bob. When the Nets last had a lottery pick, those were just names of regular guys, not cute little yellow guys wearing overalls. Okay? And now that I know this, Andrew, and having watched the Nets engage in what I believe is the most ethical tank in NBA history, go look at their recent game logs. They're losing all these games by like two or three points. They lost on Thursday night. They lost an overtime game to the Pacers. I would like to award the Nets the official slam and jam team. I want to win the lottery trophy. 15 years. I feel like they deserve it.

Podcast Host (19:25)

Yeah, no kidding. But that's all self inflicted pain though. Like they did that to themselves, you.

Analyst (19:32)

Know, I kind of feel that way. But was it really 15 years that they inflicted pain? How did they not have one lottery pick during that time?

Podcast Host (19:42)

Because they traded all their picks for. For teams that weren't that good.

Analyst (19:46)

Sounds unbelievable. It still sounds. They should have had like a 13th picks mixed in somewhere in there, right?

Podcast Host (19:53)

Yeah. Yeah.

Analyst (19:54)

Apparently not.

Podcast Host (19:54)

That does feel impossible. That is. That is crazy. Yeah, it would nice. It would. It'd be kind of cool to see Cooper flag in Brooklyn. Like that would like genuinely be pretty cool. Also put Cooper flag in the. In the Eastern Conference. Yes, please, please, please, please. The Eastern Conference needs more stars. Please get them to the East. Okay, my favorite set this week. Everybody wants to talk about free throw merchants is the thing that people like to do online. Well, I want to talk about the other guys, so I. This is sorted.

Analyst (20:23)

2.

Podcast Host (20:24)

You have to play 2000 minutes or more. So you can't just be some nobody that doesn't take free throws at all.

Analyst (20:29)

Okay.

Podcast Host (20:29)

I'm trying to like workshop like a name for these guys. Like contactless deliver delivery. Like door dashers. I don't know what you call them. Just guys that avoid contact at all costs when they're scoring the basketball. A lot of these guys are mostly three point shooters for the most part, which makes sense. But the door dasher of the year is Keegan Murray. Per 100 possessions, he takes 1.4 free throws per game, which is the least amount of anybody this season. Mikhail Bridges, which is a little surprising because Mikhail just doesn't just sit out and take threes, he does a lot more. But the guy does avoid contact at all costs. He's also a door Dasher. 1.7 free throws per 100 possessions to money. Kamara is on the list at 2.4. Jaden McDaniels at 2.4. And then Dylan Brooks rounds out the top five for the season at 2.5. And I was like, okay, how is that? Are those crazy low numbers? Is Keegan Murray's 1.4 per 100 possessions crazy low? Last season, by the way, is not that crazy. Not that low. Malik Beasley, who is like mostly just a three point shooter, 0.7 free throws per 100 possessions, 0.7. Just didn't take them the year before that in 22, 23. Reggie Bullock, 0.8 free throws,.100 possessions. Like these are. These are just incredible door Dashers. Royce O'Neill appeared. I like went through like a bunch of years. Royce O'Neill was on the list. Kevin Herder, Patty Mills, I don't know. I just don't know. No one talks about those guys. Everybody wants to talk about the free throw merchants. No one wants to talk about the doordashers. So.

Analyst (22:07)

From this season, you know, they're like three and D guys. That kind of makes sense. Mikhail Bridges is kind of interesting though.

Podcast Host (22:13)

Yeah, he's. He was the one outlier because it mostly is like you're talking about Reggie Bullock and Royce O'Neill. Like those guys just catch and shoot. Like there's a reason why they don't get fouled. Like, you know, guys don't get fouled on three point shots very often. And so yeah, he was like the one outlier where maybe like maybe he is the true champ where all these other guys aren't really doing anything. It is like it is definitely contactless for most of these fellas.

Analyst (22:39)

Moving on to my favorite player and I'm actually pivoting Andrew, because I read this article. So there's a substack called the F5. It's written by Owen Phillips. It's a great substack. And he has a lot of good free stuff too, if you don't want to subscribe. And he has this thing called the most underrated player that he does. And basically what he does is looks at guys who have really good advanced stats but who have very low page views on Basketball Reference. In other words, guys that are very good, that no one cares about, no one's checking in on them to see how they're doing. And the guy he awarded it to this season is Luke Cornett. And this week we watched the Thunder play the Celtics and Luke Cornett had a legitimately impressive put back dunk over Chet in that game. Yeah, and that made me start thinking about Luke Cornett a little bit. And in this article, which if you're a Celtics fan, go read this article. It's really good. But he gave some stats that just kind of blew my mind. So top 10 pick and roll combos in the league. Now obviously, Jamal Murray, Nikola Jokic, number one, 1.34 points per possession. Number two, Jason Tatum and Luke Cornett, 1.33. And listen, it's not the same volume, but it's also not insignificant volume. It's 440 pick and rolls in comparison, like some guys in that range. SGA and Hartenstein, 499, Donovan Mitchell, Jared Allen, 449. Now like the top guys, you know, like Anthony Edwards, Gobert, they're at 883. Marion Jokic, right around 700. But still like 440 isn't insignificant. And they are scoring 1.33 points per possession in those pick and rolls with Luke Cornett and Jason Tatum, the other stat that he brought up is his evolution as a big man. You know, when he came into the league, he was more of like a stretch five. His second year in the season, his average shot distance was 20ft from the rim and he took 193 three pointers. This season, his average shot distance is 2.6ft and he's taken two three pointers. And his true shooting percentage is now 68.0.7%. He included a. A post from Kevin Pelton, kind of comparing him to like the reverse Brook Lopez, how he's kind of started out as a three point shooter, has now become a back to the basket guy.

Podcast Host (25:00)

That's funny. Yeah.

Analyst (25:01)

And then the last stat is his rim defense. So chet is number one. Opponents shoot 51.1% against Chet at the rim. Porzingis is number two. 51.2%. I'll go down the list. Peyton Watson is actually number three. Lower volume, but Peyton Watson's there. It's cool. Walker Kessler, Triple J. Giannis, Victor Wembanyana. Wembanyama, Rudy Gobert. And then Luke Cornett is number nine. 53.4% on about 700 field goal attempts defended at the rim. And it just made me kind of think about Luke Cornett a little bit differently because as I think about the Celtics from the last couple years, it always felt like Luke Cornett was a weak spot in their rotation. You know, like, oh, if Luke Cornett's having to play, they must be really thin. And now it's kind of totally flipped. It's like if, if Luke Cornett's playing, like, you can survive and you might actually be able to do really well with Luke Cornett on the court. Now it's going to be interesting to see in the playoffs because, you know, depending on how Porzingis is doing, you know, he's still apparently dealing with that virus thing. They might need to play Cornet a little bit more in the playoffs than they were anticipating going in the season. So we'll see how he holds up in the playoffs. But I think he is well deserving of this title of most underrated player, because to be truly underrated, it has to be a guy that you wouldn't initially think to give this award to. And I would not have thought to give this award to Luke Cornett. So I think he's well deserving.

Podcast Host (26:25)

Yeah, he's already played a career high in minutes. He had never played over a thousand minutes in a season. He's already done that this year. Yeah, some shout out shout out my favorite player this week. I was just looking through stats and I just landed on this one with Dyson Daniels and I don't think that we can like understate like the steals year that dice of Daniels is having. So he's currently on pace to be tied for the 16th most steals in a season which no player like in the modern era is really touching. He currently has 194 steals, total steals as of Thursday afternoon. And here are the players that he's ahead of in total steals if he reaches this 233 which he's on pace for. John Stockton, Michael Jordan, Alvin Robertson, who currently holds the steals record at a 301, which is like how do you even do that? Michael Ray Richardson, slick Watts in 75, 76 and John Buse, like that's it. Like there's nobody else that has done that. So the players in the modern era that are even getting close to touching these numbers are Chris Paul, who in 201011 had 188. 0708 he had 217. And then 0809 he had 216. So Chris Paul was like amazing and he's about to. He's going to pass Chris Paul if he stays healthy this season. But like the last time that he did that was 2011. Like you look at Baron Davis in 0708 who had 191. Rondo who was in 910 had 189. Dwyane Wade in 0809 had 173. Andre Ugodalla in 0708 had 171. Really like the only player that you can see on this like stat head database that ranks in the top like 200 that's happened in the last like five to seven years is Paul George in 1819 with 170. So he ranks 188th on that stat head database list. And that was like the last like great steel season. So like I asked myself the question, like where of all the steals gone? Like is this just like teams being more efficient with the basketball? Because like there's not players that there's not a player in the modern era that's like touching the top 20 in steals. Like the last time someone cracked the top 20 in total steals for a season was 1996 and it was Gary Payton. Like that's the last time. Which like doesn't make sense to me. Dyson is about to leapfrog that. He's about to leapfrog into the Tops. He could land at 16th if he just stays on pace with three steals per game. So I just, I just, like, don't think that we quite understand the gravity, like, what he's doing this year with just steals in general. Now. I don't know that he deserves to be like, defensive of player of the year or anything, but like, it. When you read through the stats and you contextualize it, it does start to feel a little bit like almost like the Russell Westbrook MVP year, where it's like, wait a minute, like, no one's really done this. Like, this hasn't really happened in a very long time. And so I just wanted to like, bring a little bit more context into it because, like, we know, like, the deflections are crazy. It's like the most deflections ever. It's. You know, the steals are crazy. But, like, I didn't. I didn't like, quite realize how crazy it actually was because the guys that are getting like, these big steals numbers are like early 90s and 80s, when I guess people are just a little bit more loosey goosey with the basketball than they are today. But, man, like, Dyson Daniels is having just like an epic season when it comes to steals.

Analyst (30:14)

Yeah. For any YouTube creators out there, I would watch a video about Alvin Robertson's 85, 86 season because, yeah, even compared to all these other numbers, you're saying like 301 is absurd. And I, I know that there was quicker pace, but it's still like it was three points. I was looking it up. It's 3.7 per game that he had, and he was the defensive player of the year that year and the most improved player and an all star. But yeah, some of these numbers from the 80s are just crazy in comparison to the these modern guys who just aren't getting them as much. It must be. It has to be some type of change in just like the overall defensive ethos of the NBA, like the overall defensive meta. There must be something there where we're not getting as many steals as we once had.

Podcast Host (31:00)

Yeah.

Analyst (31:02)

So, Andrew, finally, that brings us to our favorite moment of the week. And my favorite moment this week was watching that Wizards Nuggets game. It's. I. This was the best games, I will say, are the games that aren't just not on your radar. They're actively off your radar. You look at the slate of games, you're saying, well, I won't be tuning to that one. There's no real reason for me to check that one out. There's better games on. But this was everything you would want from a random March game in the NBA. A good team unable to pull away from one of the worst teams in the league. Rookie having his best game of the season. Alex sar went for 34. Another rookie, Keyshawn George, hitting a huge bucket at the end. Jordan Poole dancing in front of the Nuggets bench after a made three and then hitting the game winner on the road. I mean I was, I was cackling watching this game. It was just so random and unexpected out of nowhere. It was one of those perfect NBA games in March that is probably meaningless. Like you probably shouldn't take anything away from that game. But it was fun to live in that reality for 48 minutes. Where the Wizards are the Nuggets. Kryptonite. Jordan Poole is a hero. Alex Saar and Keyshawn George are unstoppable. You know, I understand why people get upset with March basketball and how meaningless some of these games can seem. But sometimes the absurdity of March produces some of the most entertaining moments of the season because they just wouldn't happen any other time of the season.

Podcast Host (32:24)

It's, it was really fun. So my, my son is 12 years old now and he is like, he loves the NBA and every morning he'll hop out of bed and he'll run and he'll be like, okay, what happened last night? Like tell me what happened in the league last night. And like showing him the highlights from that game was absurdly fun. It was, it was very fun to watch. My moment of the week was that Kate, and you mentioned it earlier, the Cade Cunningham game winner against the Miami Heat and one, it was impressive. It was over. Bam at a bio is like a pull up three that he's just gotten much better as a pull up shooter overall. Kate Cunningham had a triple double in that game. Jalen Duran played really well. He had a really big offensive rebound, kick out, decayed, you know, down the stretch to help him win that game. But it's just so interesting just to think about these two franchises and like the direction that they have and really like preseason. I don't think that you would have predicted like their records would basically be flip flopped. You know, where the, the Detroit Pistons are, you know, almost 10 games above.500 and the Miami Heat are 11 games below.500. Like it's just, it's just kind of wild to see these two teams go into vastly different directions. And it was just kind of fitting to see Cade hit that game winner over bam in that game. And as you see, like, the Detroit Pistons have a lot going on for them. And we talk about it on, on this show, we talk about it on the NBA Daily. I know that those guys love this Pistons team, but, like, this team is for real and they're young and they have a ton of development going on within their team. They don't even have Jaden Ivy right now. And Dennis Schroeder's done a pretty good job of filling in for him for the most part. But, like, they don't have one of their key, like, members of their team, and they've just been impressive. And then for the Heat, you just wonder, like, where does this go, you know, for them? Like, I don't think when you look at like the collection of players that they're as bad as they've been lately, but you also just wonder, like, where does a. A bam at a Bio Tyler hero team take you? And like, this draft has like, suddenly become extremely important for the Miami Heat. They don't have their pick next year. It'll be unprotected to the Thunder. And you just wonder, like, where does this go? And a lot of times for the Heat when you wonder that they pull a rabbit out of their hat and free agency and something happens for them and maybe that's what's going to happen here with them. But, you know, I don't, I don't wonder about the Pistons. I think the Pistons are on their way up. I think in the Eastern Conference, like, they can definitely make some noise, but for the Heat, I just wonder where this goes and how all, everything plays out for them. So I, I just thought that that was a very interesting moment that kind of symbolized, you know, two things happening for these teams.

Analyst (35:16)

Yeah, the Heat have gotten some like, brutal luck over this nine game stretch. But for the Pistons, like, the thing I love about them this season is just every moment they've had to kind of prove to you that they're better than you thought they were, they've totally grasped that moment. Like this being a national TV game. I mean, I can remember as, as Thunder fans, like going through those tank years and getting our first national TV game and we were so pumped and it ended up being that game against the Miami.

Podcast Host (35:47)

Against the Heat. Yes.

Analyst (35:49)

Wasn't he like 40 of 40 from the line or something?

Podcast Host (35:52)

I think that's right. Yeah. I think it's some. It was, yeah, it was something crazy like that.

Analyst (35:56)

It was a disgusting game. Nothing like this game like this. This was a very fun game and I just Thought it was awesome that this happens a week after Shaq has those comments about the Pistons. Like, one getting their coach wrong. But then I'm sure a lot of people know who Kofi is. But Kofi on YouTube had a great video about Shaq's comments on his podcast where one, he said the Pistons were boring. And then he said The Pistons were four games below.500 at a point when they were eight games above.500. And like, just the, the disrespect he has for the Pistons for some unknown reason, like, this is a really fun team to watch. And they've had this, like I mentioned, this fun season where they just keep hitting all of these benchmarks as the season goes on, whether it's like winning streaks or players developing or then having like a huge game winner on national tv. I just feel like they're doing everything you would want from a breakout season for a team.

Podcast Host (36:52)

Yeah.

Analyst (36:52)

Yeah.

Podcast Host (36:53)

There's no question. And they are. That is, they are a fun team. And maybe he's still mad about 04. Maybe that's it. I don't know. Like what? Like, what else? What else would it be? Someone who's not mad about 04 is the San Antonio Spurs. We're gonna talk about them. I don't know. Maybe they are. We'll be right back.

Analyst (37:16)

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. Two weeks ago, the wheel landed on the San Antonio Spurs. Now the spurs were without Victor Wembanyama, who's out for the season with a blood clot. And this week it was announced that Darren Fox would also be out for the rest of the season, undergoing surgery to repair a tendon in his left pinky. The spurs went 3 and 5 over the last two weeks, including a very entertaining win over the Knicks on Wednesday, a game in which Sandro Mamu Kelishvelli scored a career high 34 points in only 19 minutes, an NBA record. Mamu was 13 of 14 from the field, including 7 of 7 from 3. The spurs are now 29 and 39, 13th in the West. More importantly for the draft lottery, the spurs are currently positioned in the 10 spot, a half game ahead of Miami and Chicago. Per cleaning the glass, these spurs have the 16th ranked offense and 27th ranked defense. Andrew, if the spurs are our favorite team, who is our guest?

Podcast Host (38:18)

We've got Matthew Tynan, who's the host of the Small Market Bias podcast. You can also find Matthew's writing at Corporate Knowledge on Substack. Matthew, thank you for joining Slam and Jam.

Guest Expert (38:30)

Always happy to jump on. Thank you all for having me.

Podcast Host (38:33)

So let's talk about Steph Castle. He's the favorite for Rookie of the Year after making a big push in the second half of this season. In his last 30 games, he's averaging 17 4.

Guest Expert (38:43)

3.

Podcast Host (38:43)

Where have you seen the biggest improvements in his game over the course of his rookie season?

Guest Expert (38:48)

I think the biggest area that you could point to would be just, I mean, honestly, you could, you could take your pick because they've thrown him into so many different situations, whether it's playing off the ball, being primary initiator, starting coming off the bench, matching him up with the other team's best scorer. Like, they've thrown him all over the place. And it's been, it's always really cool to watch rookies kind of adjust to the NBA. And it's even cooler whenever, like, you are putting a young guy in such a prominent spot. I would say that in general, and you still see a lot of ups and downs with this, but it's been his ability to adjust to the speed of the NBA game. One of the, I guess, positives or pluses that people pointed to whenever he was coming out of UConn was his ability to sort of control the pace and play at his own speed. He really hasn't been sped up by the NBA. If anything, he's sort of brought the speed of the game down to his level, which is always really impressive for a guy who came into the league at 19 and is only 20 years old at this point. So I think just the general, his general demeanor and the, the fact that he just doesn't seem to be phased by any situation. The coaching staff puts him in any situation. You know, the best players in the NBA present any challenge. The best players in the NBA present him. He just adjusts on the fly, takes it in stride. And honestly, like, if he has one terrible game and he's had a number of terrible games this year, he comes right back the next night like it never happened. And he' go for 24 and 4, or 24, 5 and 3, something like that, you know, so it's just been his ability to adjust on the fly and not let any of the rookie mistake stuff bother him.

Podcast Host (40:51)

Are there any player comps that like spurs fans have for him in particular?

Guest Expert (40:56)

You know, the, the one that I've heard, and it's not even just necessarily from spurs fans. Like, this is from People who I've talked to, whether it's been on podcasts or talking to scouts, like there is a Shea like demeanor to him in the sense that he's very, certainly not comparing them as players at this point, but the sort of herky jerky style, they're not like necessarily blow by athletes. They can get to their spots whenever they want to. Stefan Castle does not have the mid range game that Shea has. He doesn't have the shot making that he does at this point, but he has an ability to get to the line. He has an ability to change direction in traffic really quickly and has this sort of physical, big physical presence that he can kind of get to the rim against anybody who's guarding him, big or small. And it's, it's been, I think coming out it was like one of those. He kind of seems like a Jrue Holiday type. He's really well built, like totally has an NBA body, even at 19 and 20 years old, really good sort of bulldog defender. There were a lot of those types of comps. But once, you know, the, the ball was put in his hands a lot more, we started seeing some of the Shea stuff. And this wasn't even anything that I was really looking out for. This has been, like I said, even in the last couple of weeks I've had like two or three different people bring that name up to me with, with Castle and I. And while I think he has a long way to go, obviously in terms of getting to that sort of offensive skill set, you can see sort of the archetype, you can see the similarities in style, especially on like his best nights. On his worst nights, it's, it's not even close, but the archetype similarity is there and I think that would be absolute ceiling. So I would probably say somewhere between like the Drew Holiday type, bulldog, physical type of point guard or even combo guard, if you want to put it that way. And then someone who does have the ability to score in traffic the way Shay does, initiate contact, get to the rim, get to the free throw line. And much like Shea, like the spurs, really hope that his outside shot starts coming along more consistently. And if, if it does, if the pull ups start to come along in the mid range, then you're really cooking with something there.

Analyst (43:48)

So you got Wimby, we got Castle now seems to have established himself as a key part of this young core. There are several other young players on this roster. So when thinking about the other guys, Jeremy Sohan, Devin Vassell, Julian Shampen, how confident are you in their place in this team's future or does it feel still feel a little up in the air?

Guest Expert (44:08)

No, I mean, I think that they're, you know, they were really adamant, especially in the, in the De'Aaron Fox trade, that they really didn't want to trade away any of their core pieces. They didn't want to like, fill in a hole with Darren with the Aaron Fox. They wanted to add him to sort of a nucleus. So they've already paid Devin Vassell as someone who's going to be part of their future. You know, maybe best case scenario, they were hoping that he could be a number two type player, but it's probably more likely that he's like a three or four on a really good team. And they don't necessarily have to start worrying about salary stuff right now, especially because he's also much like Keldon Johnson. They're both on descending contracts, so they were, you know, kind of paid up front. Jeremy Sohan is facing, you know, extension talks this summer, so that's going to be interesting. But like, I think that at this point they view all of these guys as part of the future. Like, there isn't really a world in which it's even like remotely close to time to start thinking about, you know, having to move off of certain people you want. You haven't even had a chance to see what the Victor Wembanyama dear and Fox dynamic truly looks like. You had a few games with them together, but it was, you know, kind of toss it out. You got a little familiarity there. But they had hardly had a chance to even practice to get together. So we don't really know much about what that's going to look like at this point. You know, they, they're still cost controlled assets. Keldon Johnson is coming off the bench and has really found a nice role and his contract is descending. I think he's going to be making like $17 million next year, maybe 16. So while you still have like Victor Wembanyama, Stefan Castle, Jeremy, so on, like you still have all of these guys that are going to be critical parts of the roster moving forward. They're all still on rookie contracts, so they're not in any hurry to move off of them. And if anything, like this is kind of how the spurs operate. They really, really want first and foremost their guys to pan out before they start thinking about, you know, changing direction and going elsewhere or potentially dealing any one of these guys. So for now, like, this is what the roster is going to look like. They're going to add a couple of draft picks this summer. Either that or they're going to, you know, potentially consolidate to move up in the draft for, for a singular higher pick in the first round. So yeah, they're just going to add through the draft and then, you know, free agency isn't really a thing as much anymore as it used to be. So maybe there is the. If someone becomes available that they really think could be a major piece in their, on this roster going forward, then they start thinking about dealing their young assets. But at this point they kind of hope that what they have in the building now is, is what they're going to be looking at going forward in the immediate future. They would much rather add to, you know, add building blocks to the equation than replace them, if that makes sense.

Podcast Host (47:36)

We got to talk about Wimby. I think we're just going to assume that he's coming back next season, everything's all good, that he's, he's feeling good and we all kind of hope that, that that's the case with him. But he's having an NBA all star caliber season and he got shut down. He became more efficient on the offensive end. Even when like he increased his three point volume, he even looked better then. What do you think is the next like evolution or the next step for Wimby as an offensive player?

Guest Expert (48:08)

Yeah, I think we saw the three point shot come along. He was more efficient this year than he was last season. Like you just said. We, we started to see I guess him able to deal a little better with the physicality, the ins and outs of, of playing every day in the NBA. You know, if you recall last year, they were, they were pretty careful with him. They, they didn't, if they felt like he was maybe a little bit off, they would, they would sit him on the second night of a back to back or whatever. They just wanted to make sure they understood how his 7 foot 5 body worked. And this year they were a lot more willing to. And he was champing at the bit last year to play more often than he did. And this year he was given that, you know, that freedom. They, they were confident in his health, they were confident in his ability to played in back to backs and push his minutes limit a little higher than like the 30 minutes a night, maybe closer to like 34 minutes a night. So we started to get a better idea of how he would be able to just deal with the NBA's grind on a day to day basis. But still the things that are very clear and Again, we are if, you know, if I'm taking the spurs for their word and their, and the spurs doctors for their word, they're all very optimistic that he's, that this is a, this deep vein thrombosis is a one time thing that he's going to get past this, that it's not genetic. They don't expect it to recur. So that would obviously be a big problem if it does for not for his, his basketball career in general. So there they seem very optimistic that that's not the case. So going forward, it's really about adding strength. It's the issues that he would deal with was bigger bodies pushing him around. We saw guys like Giannis, of course he does this to everybody, but like when you're, when he's matched up with players like that, he has a really difficult time keeping them from getting to their spots and sort of mitigating the shot blocking risk because they just, they just toss them into the first row essentially. So I would say defensively, strength and then on the offensive end, dealing with pressure in crowds because of the way defenses are loading up against him, swarming him. Now a big part of that is they're not. Teams are not necessarily respecting the spurs spacing on a night to night basis. Like, they might get hot every once in a while, but teams are going to live with guys shooting a bunch of threes instead of wembanyama getting, you know, good looks in the paint, getting to his, his right hand, getting to his left hand, either way to pull up, they're going to swarm him. And so it's going to be building the strength to deal with a lot of that. And then it's also going to be going to be the decision making process. Whenever defenses are sending guys from all sorts of different directions to double and even triple or zone up or whatever the case might be, making those decisions on the fly. We've seen him adjust to this stuff pretty quickly. And as their personnel both develops and as they add talent to this roster, things are going to certainly clear up a lot more. But with Victor, I think it is adding strength and just continuing to work on his shot and becoming more efficient both in the mid range and from three, because at like, at the end of the day, he can get his shot off whenever he wants. And if he gets to the point where it doesn't matter if there's a person in his face or if an offensive set breaks down or if he, you know, can't get to his spots, whatever, we know that he's just going to be able to rise up and shoot it. And if the shot continues to develop, there's going to come a time where it's just like there won't be anything that you can do to defend this guy. Whether or not he gets there remains to be seen. But in the meantime, it is building physical strength and just continuing to work on the decision making, especially when he's in traffic on the offensive end.

Analyst (52:54)

So looking ahead of the draft now, depending on what happens with the Hawks in the play in, the spurs could have two lottery picks for the second consecutive draft, assuming they don't jump up and grab one of the top prospects. Is there anyone currently projected in that mid to late lottery that you think would be a good fit on the spurs or at least like an archetype of player that you're looking for to add to this team?

Guest Expert (53:15)

Yeah, I mean, I think the archetype at this point, I already mentioned spacing. Spacing is going to be critical. But I think the other element that this team needs, and we've seen, we've seen evidence of this over the course of the season, is they just, they need to continue to add versatile big bodies. They need help in the front court. I think when, when Victor Wembanyama first came in the league, like they had ideas of him playing alongside, I guess a more traditional center, a more traditional five if you want to call it that, but someone who could space like, it's why they resigned Zach Collins in the first place is because he just came off a season where he was just great from the three point line and then, and was solid defensively, solid on the glass, all this stuff. And then for whatever reason it like he just stopped making shots. But they had, the point is like they had visions of this in their mind, pairing him with another big body to help alleviate the pressure and so they wouldn't have to like force him to take the beating every night, defend the rim, you know, for 36 minutes every night. Deal, deal with guys like Giannis and Jokic and all this stuff, like they want to be able to save him not just for, you know, the individual game itself, but for the long haul. So I think size in the front court, versatile size in the front court is going to be a big deal. We all know that like the holy Grail is the, is the five man that can, that can block shots and shoot threes. So they'd love to have someone like that. Jeremy Sohan has shown that he's been at least to a degree able to fill in at the backup 5 can kind of he and Victor, whenever they've both been healthy, have been really productive when they've shared the court together. So they know that they have a sort of a small ball lineup to, to lean on whenever they have that opportunity. But I think the biggest thing right now is they need help in the front court. Their, their backcourt could use some shooting. I think it's going to be one of those things when, when the roster is really becoming finalized and they start to, you know, make additions in the margins kind of to that next level to get them over the top. They're going to be going out and looking for shooters, three and D guys if those are the, you know, still in vogue. But yeah, they spacing and ideally big bodies in the front court that can help save Victor over the long haul because he's going to need it and they're going to need it.

Podcast Host (56:07)

The spurs made their first big move of the Wimby era with the Deer and Fox trade. They're able to hang on to most of their picks and young players potentially setting themselves up for another trade. Are there any realistic trade targets around the NBA that this spurs fancy is like a perfect fit next to Wimby?

Guest Expert (56:26)

You know, I think the, I think the guy that a lot of people were and still are for that matter keeping an eye on is someone like Cam Johnson. And you kind of wonder what Brooklyn is thinking long term because I think the, the word out there was that a lot of the asking prices for guys like Cam Johnson and Nick Claxton and players like that were like really high. And you kind of wonder what their game plan is in terms of like, well, they need a lot more talent. You, I would imagine, had teams knocking on the door for guys like Claxton, Cam Johnson and whoever else you want to throw out there. And they really didn't do it. They really didn't do anything at the trade deadline, if I remember correctly. So I still think that Cam Johnson is a guy that San Antonio spurs fans, other teams are probably looking at. Is a nice complimentary piece to what San Antonio is trying to put together. The other one. And I don't know how. I don't know how feasible this is and certainly don't know what direction this team is going to be going in. But it's almost a guarantee that Nas Reed is going to be opting out of his current deal and whether or not Minnesota is willing to pay him what he's likely going to be at the price he's likely going to be asking for if they're able to. Are they going to make a decision on Julius Randall? Is there anyone in the league that would take that contract on, take his sort of unique style of play and, and incorporate it into their team?

Podcast Host (58:20)

But you're being too nice, Matthew. You're being way too nice.

Guest Expert (58:23)

Okay, okay.

Podcast Host (58:23)

Okay.

Guest Expert (58:24)

Hey, they've been playing all right lately, so. But no, I think it's a big question. Like you. You're gonna. They're gonna be in a bind here with Nas Reed and Julius Randall, so I think Nas Reed would be just a perfect fit next to Victor. And if they're able to pull honestly any either one of those without having to pay, like, too steep a price, because you're right, they didn't. They didn't. They didn't have to give up, like, Hawks picks. They didn't have to give up the Mavs pick in 2030, which is looking great. They didn't have to give up the Sacramento Kings swap in 2031, which you never know with them, but they still had to give up like a pretty decent, decent chunk of their assets. So they're not necessarily like, they had to give up two firsts and four seconds, I think is what it ended up being. So, like, they did give up some of their cachet that they can't just stack a whole bunch of things on top of. Of one another as quite as. As liberally as they were able to in the Deer and Fox trade. But I do think that two names to look at that just make a whole lot of sense are Cam Johnson and Nas Reed. So that would be. Those would be the two players that I would throw out there.

Analyst (59:44)

Well, Matthew, thank you for answering all of our questions about the Spurs. Is now time to play Andrew versus the Beat spurs edition. Now, Matthew, I've come up with eight questions all about the Spurs. You're going to give me a number between. Between 1 and 8, and it will correspond to a question. If you get it right, you'll get at least two points. If you get it wrong, Andrew will have a chance to steal for one. And we'll go back and forth until all the questions have been asked and answered. So Matthew, to start us off, what's your favorite number between one and eight?

Guest Expert (60:15)

Let's just go three.

Analyst (60:18)

Question number three. A great one to start off with. How many career blocks does Chris Paul have? Now, obviously you don't know the answer to that, but you're going to choose who answers first so you can make Andrew answer first and then you can go higher, lower, or you can answer first and Andrew will go higher, lower. And as a hint, his highest total for one season was 20. So to kind of put you, you can start doing the math there. Maybe that was his best season. So you, do you want to answer that or do you want to make Andrew answer that?

Guest Expert (60:51)

I'll go for it, man.

Analyst (60:53)

Okay.

Guest Expert (60:53)

For it. We're gonna, we're gonna jump right in. His highest was 20. He's been in the league. I think this is year number 20.

Analyst (61:04)

If that is correct.

Guest Expert (61:06)

Okay. Year number 20. I will say that Chris Paul has. Damn. They. And now they're kind of changing the way they grade blocks. Like if you do the swipe down thing, is that a block or a steel? I'm not even sure I'll say that Chris Paul has 120 blocks in his career.

Analyst (61:29)

All right, Andrew, would you like to go higher or lower than 120 blocks for Chris Paul?

Podcast Host (61:36)

Over. Give me the over.

Analyst (61:38)

Over the correct answer. 213 blocks for Chris Paul. That was a tough one. I was kind of surprised by that total. Okay, Andrew.

Podcast Host (61:52)

Does seem like a lot.

Analyst (61:54)

It does seem like a lot. Number one, question number one, Andrew, who were the last three spurs rookies to have a 30 point game and you have to give me all three names to get the points?

Podcast Host (62:09)

Oh, last three spurs rookies to have a thirty point game.

Analyst (62:14)

That is correct.

Podcast Host (62:16)

Wimby.

Analyst (62:18)

Okay. That's one of your names. I'm not going to tell you if it's right or not.

Podcast Host (62:21)

Oh, really? Oh, we're doing it this way. Okay.

Analyst (62:23)

You have to get all three Andrew to get the points.

Podcast Host (62:27)

Okay. Wimby, Steph Castle and Malachi Branham.

Analyst (62:36)

Andrew. That is incorrect. Matthew, have a chance to steal for one. Can you name the last three spurs rookies to have a 30 point game?

Guest Expert (62:44)

It is Castle and it is Victor. Would it be. Oh my gosh. Would it be Gary Neal?

Analyst (63:04)

Gary Neil. The correct answer you got. Congratulations. You both got Wimby and Steph Castle. The other name, Jeremy Sohan scored 30 points in an overtime game against the Suns.

Podcast Host (63:22)

Man, I shouldn't have doubted. I shouldn't have doubted him.

Guest Expert (63:26)

I remember it. I was trying to remember if it was his rookie year or his or his sophomore year. Damn it.

Podcast Host (63:32)

All right, all right.

Analyst (63:34)

So, Matthew, you now have control of the board.

Guest Expert (63:37)

Let's go. Seven.

Analyst (63:39)

Question number seven. Oh, my. This is, this is my, genuinely my favorite question this week. Chris Paul is in his 20th season.

Guest Expert (63:47)

What this portends.

Analyst (63:50)

You've gotten both of the Chris Paul questions. Actually, there's one more Chris Paul question. Chris Paul is in his 20th season. We're going to try and name the 10 opponents who Chris Paul has played the most games against in his career. So how this works, Matthew, you'll give me a name, then Andrew will give me a name and we'll go back and forth until one of you stumbles. So most career games against Chris Paul? Essentially, the top 10.

Podcast Host (64:15)

The top 10 teams.

Analyst (64:17)

No, no, no, no, no, NO. Top 10 players who have played against Chris Paul. The most. Top 10 players.

Podcast Host (64:26)

Top 10 players, yeah.

Analyst (64:29)

Most games against Chris Paul.

Guest Expert (64:32)

Do I go first?

Analyst (64:34)

Yes, yes, yes. I'll need a name.

Guest Expert (64:39)

Tony Parker.

Analyst (64:41)

Matthew, number one. Most games played against Chris Paul was Tony Parker. Very nice. Andrew.

Podcast Host (64:49)

Wow. Russell Westbrook.

Analyst (64:55)

Andrew. Number two.

Guest Expert (64:58)

Damn.

Analyst (64:58)

On the list. Very impressive, guys. All right, back to Matthew.

Guest Expert (65:06)

Kevin Durant.

Analyst (65:08)

Kevin Durant is number seven.

Guest Expert (65:12)

Okay.

Analyst (65:13)

On the list. Back to Andrew.

Podcast Host (65:18)

That was. I got scary.

Guest Expert (65:22)

Oh, I got one.

Podcast Host (65:27)

LeBron. I don't know. Old guys.

Analyst (65:31)

Andrew. That is incorrect.

Guest Expert (65:34)

Wow, really?

Analyst (65:36)

Matthew gets the point. It is, isn't that. I mean, he played in the East a lot, you know, so I know he played the other names. The reason why I asked this question is there's a ton of Spurs.

Guest Expert (65:47)

I was gonna say Manu and Tim. Are they both in it?

Analyst (65:52)

Yeah. Manu's three and Tim is five on the list.

Guest Expert (65:56)

What about James Harden?

Podcast Host (65:58)

Wow.

Analyst (65:59)

Harden's not on the list. He must have been like, just outside.

Podcast Host (66:02)

Okay, the others is on the list.

Analyst (66:06)

Three Warriors. Steph, Clay and Draymond.

Guest Expert (66:08)

Okay, that makes sense.

Analyst (66:09)

And then Mike Conley.

Guest Expert (66:11)

Mike, of course.

Analyst (66:13)

And the last one.

Podcast Host (66:14)

That makes sense.

Analyst (66:15)

Another Spur, Boris Diao.

Podcast Host (66:19)

Oh, Bobo. Really?

Analyst (66:21)

Yeah. He's number nine, maybe. All right.

Guest Expert (66:24)

Son's days.

Analyst (66:26)

I guess so. Yeah.

Guest Expert (66:27)

That's crazy. I would not.

Analyst (66:30)

Cat's days. That's.

Podcast Host (66:31)

I was gonna say. We all know it wasn't the Bobcats.

Analyst (66:34)

All right, Andrew, board is yours. Oh, let me mark off that question. Okay. Board is yours.

Podcast Host (66:40)

Number two.

Analyst (66:41)

Question number two. There have been 24 two man lineups that have played at least 500 minutes together this year for the Spurs. 24 two man lineups. Which two players are in the worst of those two man lineups posting a minus 9.6 net rating in almost 700 minutes. Now, you do get one point per correct answer. Just trying to give me the names of the two spirits who are in the worst two man lineup that has played a decent amount of minutes.

Guest Expert (67:12)

Okay, how many minutes are we talking? You say decent. How many minutes?

Analyst (67:17)

So this one has played almost 700 minutes. But the one I'm comparing them to have all played at least 500 together.

Podcast Host (67:25)

The cell.

Analyst (67:27)

Andrew. That is correct for one point. Can you get the other name?

Podcast Host (67:33)

Oh boy. I don't know if I can. I have to really guess this one.

Analyst (67:39)

I just have to throw out a spur.

Podcast Host (67:43)

Name a spur. Sohan.

Analyst (67:47)

That is incorrect. Okay, Matthew, have a chance to steal one point. You name the other player in the worst two man lineup that's played a lot of minutes.

Guest Expert (67:56)

Yeah, I think it. Oh man. It might be. It might be Castle. I'll go Castle.

Analyst (68:04)

That is incorrect. Although that is usually the answer to these questions. It's usually like the rookie that everyone loves. In this case it was Keldon Johnson. Was the other name Kelton Johnson's Devin La Salle. All right, so Matthew of control the board. The game is tied.

Podcast Host (68:19)

2, 2, 4.

Analyst (68:21)

Question number four per cleaning glass. The last time the spurs had a top half offense and top half defense was the 201617 season. How many players from that spurs team played at least one NBA game this season?

Guest Expert (68:40)

Oh my gosh.

Analyst (68:43)

So the answer is very simple. It's just a number. You don't have to tell me who it is. Just have to give me the number. So these are all guys who played for that 2016-17 spurs team. And they are all were. At least we're in the league some point this year. Played at least one game, right?

Podcast Host (69:03)

Yo.

Guest Expert (69:05)

One.

Podcast Host (69:11)

One.

Analyst (69:13)

You starting to count them up?

Guest Expert (69:15)

I am. Man, this is crazy. Now that you're even. Oh two.

Analyst (69:22)

Ooh. How high is Matthew gonna go? It'd be very funny if you just kept counting and got to a really high number.

Guest Expert (69:29)

Man. There are some names on this. There are some names on that team. It wasn't even that long ago, man. And there are some names on that team that are just certainly not in the league anymore.

Analyst (69:42)

Because that was the team that played really well in game one against the Katy Warriors. Right? That was that team.

Guest Expert (69:47)

That, that. Yeah, that was the Kawhi Leonard got sprained his ankle on Zaza Pachuli his foot when they. When the spurs were up by 24. So Kawhi Leonard is still in the league. Patty Mills is still in the man. Which random big man was on that team? It's like because I know Aldridge Gasol, both retired. Manu Tony. I. I mean right now I'm just gonna go Patty Mills and Kawhi Leonard.

Analyst (70:32)

Unless so is your final answer too.

Guest Expert (70:35)

Who's a random big man?

Analyst (70:38)

Remember, you don't have to know the names. You could just.

Guest Expert (70:40)

I'll go. I'll go to.

Podcast Host (70:41)

I'll go.

Guest Expert (70:42)

Two.

Analyst (70:44)

That is incorrect. Andrew, what number would you like to say?

Guest Expert (70:50)

Like this.

Podcast Host (70:53)

One? No, I think. I think there's more than that because I think Dejante was on that team too.

Guest Expert (71:05)

He was.

Podcast Host (71:06)

The thing that I'm trying to. In my head trying to think about is, has Davis Bertons played in the NBA this year? Is like the question I'm asking in my head right now.

Guest Expert (71:19)

This is. See, this is where these. These. Oh my God. I'm kicking my.

Podcast Host (71:23)

And I don't know if he has. I don't think he has, but I don't know if he has.

Analyst (71:30)

Interesting.

Podcast Host (71:31)

I. I also believe Kyle Anderson was on that team as well. Like, I think he was still a spur. So I feel like this number could be as high as five. But it all hinges on this four fingered shooter. And I can't.

Analyst (71:52)

The Latvian laser.

Podcast Host (71:54)

I can't. I. I don't think he. I'm going to say four. I don't think he has played in the NBA this year. I'll say four.

Analyst (72:01)

Andrew, two things. One, I also had to look up whether Davis Bertans have played in a game this season and he hasn't. And the correct answer is four. Congratulations. Yes. Congrats. Congrats. Congrats.

Guest Expert (72:15)

Dejante. I think that was his rookie year.

Podcast Host (72:18)

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Analyst (72:20)

Dwayne Dedman feels like he was in the league for forever. Nope. He's in. He's overseas now.

Guest Expert (72:26)

Was that the year before Derrick White?

Analyst (72:29)

Yes. Yeah, he was not on that team.

Podcast Host (72:32)

Yeah, he was that summer.

Guest Expert (72:34)

Yep.

Podcast Host (72:35)

That summer.

Analyst (72:36)

Yeah.

Podcast Host (72:38)

Because I wanted the Thunder to take him so bad instead of Terence Ferguson. All right.

Analyst (72:44)

Okay.

Guest Expert (72:45)

I can't believe I forgot about Dejante. He wasn't playing that year much though, to be fair.

Podcast Host (72:49)

Damn.

Analyst (72:50)

Has control of the board.

Podcast Host (72:53)

Number five, question.

Analyst (72:54)

Number five. According to NBA.com who has run the most miles for the spurs this season? Pretty simple question.

Podcast Host (73:08)

Pretty simple. Yeah. Is it Castle?

Analyst (73:20)

That is incorrect. Andrew Matthew have a chance to steal one point tied up here. If you know who has just run the most. The most miles.

Guest Expert (73:33)

Run the most miles.

Analyst (73:37)

Most miles.

Guest Expert (73:38)

Ah, like total or per game?

Analyst (73:46)

Total. Total miles.

Podcast Host (73:48)

Run, man.

Guest Expert (73:49)

I'll go. I'll go with. I'll go with Vassell.

Analyst (73:58)

Correct answer is Harrison Barnes. Harrison Barnes. He's played the second most minutes. Chris Paul's actually played the most.

Guest Expert (74:07)

That's crazy.

Analyst (74:09)

I think it's just a minutes thing.

Podcast Host (74:10)

He's just been out there every Night.

Analyst (74:12)

Yeah, it's just running around.

Guest Expert (74:16)

Just. He just always falls under the radar, man. He's just.

Podcast Host (74:20)

Wow.

Guest Expert (74:20)

A robot. He's just a robot.

Podcast Host (74:22)

He is running around. Incredible posture. Wow.

Guest Expert (74:28)

Okay, Matthew, there's unshakable demeanor. Just such a pro. Such a. Wow, man. That's. That's really crazy, actually. Okay, I'll go eight.

Analyst (74:41)

Question number eight. Who was the last Spur, other than Victor Wembanyama, to record a triple double?

Guest Expert (74:51)

Oh, Dejante Murray.

Analyst (74:54)

That is incorrect.

Guest Expert (74:55)

Oh, my gosh.

Podcast Host (74:59)

Is it Sohan?

Analyst (75:01)

Also incorrect. It was.

Podcast Host (75:03)

Okay.

Analyst (75:04)

Trey Jones. Trey Jones. Oh, last guy.

Podcast Host (75:08)

Okay, that makes sense.

Analyst (75:10)

Oh, that brings us to our final question. This is actually a very fun final question.

Guest Expert (75:14)

Totally forgot about Trey.

Analyst (75:16)

All right, now, Andrew, listen closely because you get first stab at this. Okay?

Podcast Host (75:20)

Okay.

Analyst (75:21)

Chris Paul, at age 39, is leading these spurs in minutes played. What was the last season that Chris Paul led his team in minutes played? Now you're going to guess the season. Okay. You will get one season leeway on either side. So, for example, if you said 1979. 80 season, which would be a terrible guess, I would count that Both for the 78. 79 season. 79. 80 and 80. 81. Okay, so what season would you like to pick? Last time Chris Paul led his team in minutes played.

Podcast Host (76:04)

I just have never thought about anything like this before.

Analyst (76:08)

It's kind of wild that he's doing it as at 39, though. That's pretty impressive.

Podcast Host (76:12)

It really. Yeah, it really is.

Guest Expert (76:14)

Yeah.

Podcast Host (76:14)

I feel like it's been a long time. I'll say. 2014, 2015. Has it been 10 years, Andrew?

Analyst (76:31)

That is exactly correct. That was the year. And Andrew wins the week.

Podcast Host (76:37)

Wow.

Analyst (76:37)

Very impressive, Andrew. 2014. 15, the last time. It's been a decade since Chris Paul led his team in minutes played, and he's doing it again.

Guest Expert (76:44)

That's the beat. And. And to tie it all back together, that's the year they beat the Spurs. Game seven. That Chris Paul.

Podcast Host (76:51)

Oh, my.

Guest Expert (76:51)

Loader over Tim Duncan. Yeah. To win the series.

Analyst (76:56)

That's beautiful.

Podcast Host (76:57)

Wow. Wow. Go listen to the small market buys podcast, Matthew.

Guest Expert (77:03)

We really appreciate trivia or history very clearly.

Podcast Host (77:09)

Thank you so much for coming on.

Guest Expert (77:10)

The show and enjoyed it, guys.

Analyst (77:12)

All right, Andrew, that was two weeks of the spurs, and we're now going to spin the wheel again. We've got 16 teams remaining. A sampling of some of those teams. Washington, Brooklyn, Toronto, Utah. We could get one of those teams. Andrew, what do you think about that?

Podcast Host (77:31)

I don't think about that. I'm not thinking about it. I'm thinking positive. I think we're getting the warriors or the Wolves or the.

Analyst (77:40)

I think it's going to be Jamal Shed week on Slamming Jam.

Podcast Host (77:45)

I wouldn't mind Washington. I wouldn't mind Washington.

Analyst (77:48)

Yeah, yeah. Washington's not bad. Okay, let's spin the wheel, see who we get. Next week's real standom team will be okay.

Podcast Host (77:58)

Grizzlies. We've got the Memphis Grizzlies. Man, it was on the Thunder for like so long I thought. I thought we were actually gonna get the Thunder and we did not. We got the Memphis Christmas.

Analyst (78:09)

Never again.

Podcast Host (78:11)

Apparently never again. But we did get the Gallo, which was. Which feels like a good way to go out.

Analyst (78:16)

Hey, check this out. Andrew, listen to this. Three game road trip. Actually retreat road trip. The Grizzlies are currently on a five game road trip. They lost the first two. The Kings and Portland. They play Clippers Friday night. Okay. Utah next Tuesday and then next Thursday night in Oklahoma City.

Podcast Host (78:39)

In Oklahoma City. Yeah.

Analyst (78:40)

You'll probably be there.

Podcast Host (78:41)

I was gonna say. I will. I will make sure to be there for the wheel.

Analyst (78:46)

All right.

Podcast Host (78:47)

That'd be great. That'd be great. Something else that would be great is if you left us a five star review on Apple Podcasts. And I meant to mention this this week and I'm glad that he left the review. It's from Cool underscore Rancher. He says, I love the new pods with S, Xena and Dave as well. Been a listener for years, but just gotten an iPhone so that I can leave this review as he didn't have to do that. Cool Rancher. But we really appreciate that. As of 3:12, 25, Andrew's unofficial record calculated by me. So a strong chance that there's a mistake, but we're at least in the ballpark for Andrew versus the beat is 64, 68 and 4. He sent some screenshots to us on Twitter and on Blue sky showing the date, the wheel team, the opponent, the outcome and all of that. And he put in a ton of work. So we really appreciate you doing that. And so I'm creeping up to 500. I'm getting closer to 500. Did that today. That feels pretty good. He says, love slamming JM. Keep up the great work.

Analyst (79:48)

So 65, 68 and 4. Yeah, this is great because now I can just keep it up.

Podcast Host (79:53)

Yeah, as long as I stick to it. Oh, it's wonderful. It's wonderful.

Analyst (79:57)

That's great.

Podcast Host (79:59)

This one comes from A factual opinion. 5 stars. A daily ritual. I wouldn't have a reason to get out of bed. If it wasn't for the NBA Daily podcast, I would die in my bed from dehydration. My family would have to call a service to remove my rotting carcass, which.

Analyst (80:17)

Would be an experience. Experience.

Podcast Host (80:21)

And they would have to struggle. They would struggle to forget. But thanks to the podcast, I do get out of bed every day. In fact, I leap out of bed to hear each new episode. Thank you. My family thanks you. My higher power, who I choose to call Dyson Daniels. Thanks you. Do not ever stop making episodes or I will die. You know what? Saving lives out here. Really appreciate that review. I'm reading some of these and some of these are specifically for for the other episodes of the NBA Daily, but I wanted to read them on here too just to give them some shine. This one comes from Beth Mickle. So smart, so upbeat, the camaraderie, so enjoyable, light hearted and serious simultaneously. And she gives a shout out to Xena in here as well, which is wonderful. Xena has done a spectacular job this season and so as Dave and S it's a great show. So really appreciate you guys leaving these five star reviews. Leave them. Leave us some more. We'll read them on the show. We'd really appreciate that. Hope you guys enjoy your weekend and the basketball and we'll talk to you guys again next week.

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Podcast Host (82:30)

Here's a show that we recommend.

Guest Expert (82:34)

Remember blowing into a video game cartridge or taping songs off the radio? How about Saturday morning cartoons? Hey AOL chat rooms.

Analyst (82:43)

Did we just age ourselves.

Guest Expert (82:45)

Yep, we're Mike Fenoya and Charles McBee, two comedians getting nostalgic and asking that nagging question, are we old? Relive the laughs, the cringes, and the nostalgia. Are we old? Podcasts right here on Acast. ACAST helps creators launch, grow, and monetize their podcasts everywhere. Acast.com.