Nick Wright (3:19)

what's Right with Nick Wright Episode 443 this episode of what's Right With Nick, right, as always, is presented to you by our good friends at Boost Mobile, Damanze. Good morning. Good to see you. We have Thursdays now, we have the double pod days. You guys will get this one live as we're doing it. And then for tomorrow's pod, we are going to today do another mailbag that'll come to you guys tomorrow on that front. And on that note, we have a good selection of questions or comments already ready for tomorrow's mailbag pod. However, you know, it's not set in stone and we haven't recorded it yet. So in the chat, feel free to throw in, you know, questions about anything or everything that you find interesting or that you think I might have, you know, something I haven't talked about before. Maybe something you've wanted me to talk about. Good questions are what we're looking for. Unique ones and some that are presented today we might get to later today and you guys hear it tomorrow. So all of that available to you guys. Big week of seeing live basketball demands. They went to see the Thunder take on the South Bay Lakers on Tuesday night and I might be going. I think I am going tonight to see the Celtics take on the Knicks. One funny anecdote about that before we get to the show. So I have never gotten. The only free Knicks tickets I've ever gotten has been if Fox gave me tickets like the Knicks and I. I've never asked the Knicks for tickets. I've never gotten tickets from the Knicks. But one of my dear friends is legendary comedian and voice artist Hank Azaria, the guy who does the voices of basically every secondary character on the Simpsons. He does the voices for and does more than that. But that's the maybe what he's most known for at this point. I play cards with him. He's. It's his charity poker tournaments that I've played in and won. Like, I. And Hank is one of the greatest. One of the greatest guys in the world. And very often when I'm at Knicks games, I see him. The last time I was at a Knicks game or a couple times ago, I said he and Ben Stiller were together and, you know, we said hello to everybody. Like, he. He's there a lot. He's a huge Mets fan, Knicks fan, whatever. And he and I were chatting and I asked him, I was like, so how do. I was like, do you have season tickets? Whatever it is. And I don't know. I don't think he maybe I shouldn't tell the story. I don't know. I'm telling him too deep. But he's like legit famous. Like a legit famous guy. And he's like, well, he's like, you know, if the sometimes if the Knicks have tickets, like, they, you know, they give them to me at times is basically what he told me. I was like, oh, that's you know, that's what they do for, you know, they have celebrity roads whole thing. And he has. He asked me, he's like, how do you get yours? I was like, I'm seatgeek promo code, right? 1010 off. Like. And so I then via that relationship something else. I got the phone number of somebody in Nick's pr like, hey, maybe, maybe at some point slide your guy old Nick Wright, you know, I mean nominated nowadays some tickets go to the games. My wife's a Knicks fan. It could be fun. I sent I thought a pretty nice text check this morning. Left on red. Good to know. Seat geek promo code. Right tin it is so that you know, that is I, you know, I guess my version of shooting my shot. Such is life. And you know, we move on to the next one. I, I, I and I guess I well Fox doesn't have the NBA, you know. I the the Royals are about to play at the Yankees next week. That's more of something I kind of you want to use for. Yeah. Because Fox has baseball like, you know, the and so that's maybe and a Royals Yankees ticket probably less of a marquee item than Knicks Celtics with Jason Tatum's return to msg. But listen, as great as our friends at CK Guard tickets to the Garden. Not cheap. The not cheap at all. Like I bought the Monza. Pretty good seats to Lakers Thunder and you would think off Staples Center Lakers expensive ticket not compared to msg. MSG is it's not quite World cup prices but it ain't cheap. But you know what? Such is life. So I should be going to Nick Celtics tonight with your mom. The question is whether or not I'm going to have to do the always impossible. Yeah, I don't need two tickets. I need three tickets because your baby sister needs to go. And then if you buy three, it's really sometimes you just basically have to buy four. Four because nobody buys threes. Not great. But you know what? They're bigger problems. Straight to voicemail. Brought to you by Boost Mobile. Cade. Cade back. Quickest return from a collapsed lung I've ever heard of. Records a double double on his return. However, he can only get to 64 games. However, he's going to file an appeal. I don't know. The Mammoth unveils the Zamith. I got to tell you, I don't know what either. I know Mammoth is a hockey team. I don't know what the Zamith is. Is it their Zamboni? Is it a Zamboni theme? Mammoth themed Zamboni? I'm going to guess yes. And more drawn between Giannis and the Bucks. This is the longest breakup any of us have ever been exposed to. Reminder to everybody like Rate subscribe review to the show, put your questions in the chat and we will hopefully get to some of them in tomorrow's mailbag episode. All right, Dimonte Celtics next.

Damanze (9:40)

Tatum returns to MSG tonight for his first time since tearing his Achilles last year in the playoffs. He's not thrilled about going back. It's a little traumatic. But he wants to go about it now because they might be able to see them in the second round. What do you think of his approach?

Nick Wright (9:57)

So I I had a hunch on because the Celtics play a back to back, they play tonight and tomorrow and he's not yet allowed to play back to backs. So we very easily could miss this game and then play tomorrow. And I had a hunch that I've since confirmed that it was very intentional that he is playing this game rather than tomorrow's game because he doesn't want the first game back to be a playoff game. The first game back in that building. And so a couple things on that one is I really do feel it is good fortune for the Celtics and for Jason Tatum individually that this game was still on their schedule. Like they only play at MSG a couple times a year. If both of those games were early in the season, then he wasn't going to get this opportunity to play at MSG before it's a playoff game. And it would have, you know, if the Celtics, Knicks playing the playoffs, it almost assuredly will be round two. It would be, you know, very eerie and you know, I think uncomfortable for Jason in that it would be around a year ago to the day, same round, same opponent, like all of that. And so I think it's really good that he is playing this game. I also think it is really interesting demons a how publicly open and honest Jayson Tatum has been throughout this entire process. And if you guys saw his answer on this specific thing about coming back, it was a level of honest vulnerability that was surprising. Like I don't know. I. It would not have at all been shocking if Jason Tatum lied. If he just said like, ah, yeah, you know, I'm. It's the next game. The, you know, there's the building isn't what caused my injury. Like, even if he felt funny about it, to just try to pretend he didn't.

Damanze (12:24)

Yeah.

Nick Wright (12:24)

And I think. Right. And I think that every piece of this has been unique. I also, it is his return has been stunning in how quickly he is playing 35 minutes a game, how quickly his numbers are.

Damanze (12:51)

If you watch the first, first week and a half there was rough.

Nick Wright (12:55)

Yes. But then, but really since then it's been. If you watch it, it doesn't look like peak Tatum.

Damanze (13:04)

Yeah.

Nick Wright (13:04)

But so here is minutes played since his return and his return was just over a month ago. 27, 2727 took a game off 32, 32, 31, 31, 31, 35, 37, 31 took a game off 37, 31, 34, 39. Just played 39 minutes in the Hornets game in and then you add to it demons a in the last five games. So the Tatum's numbers his first 10 games back from the injury was they were fine. He was 20 points, nine and a half rebounds, four assists but couldn't hit a three. Was 38% from the field, 30% from three. And if he had stayed at that level, it still felt like, well, you know, he's taking minutes from Baylor Shireman and such like that's it's a net positive but you weren't getting the full impact of it.

Damanze (14:18)

Right.

Nick Wright (14:19)

His numbers in the last five games that he's played where the Celtics are five and oh, 25 a night, 10 rebounds, eight assists, 49% from the field and 41% from three. Now some of that is maybe you know, just a little hot shooting because he's not a 41% career three point shooter, but he's 37% like he, you know, he's a good career three point shooter, but him being this impactful this quickly is stunning. And I do feel like tonight's game is the final check point for him, like being like fully back mentally, the final mental checkpoint. No, I don't think you're going to see first team all NBA MVP candidate Jason Tatum probably until the beginning of next season. But he seems to already be all star Jason Tatum. And that's unbelievable. And it's why, I think it's why I'm so confident in Boston making the Finals and I think being the safest bet to win the championship. So let's talk about that for a minute here.

Damanze (15:55)

Who do you think is the biggest threat to them out on the east side?

Nick Wright (16:02)

You know, I know the Knicks beat him last year and I know the Knicks built a team specifically to counteract Boston, but I don't think it's the Knicks. I think the biggest threat is actually Detroit.

Damanze (16:27)

Yeah, I don't think I have enough defense, in my opinion.

Nick Wright (16:32)

I. Well, and that's where maybe they missed Tibbs and the, the Knicks have had a solid year, but I think it's been a disappointing solid year like that. They were supposed to be the team. Detroit wasn't supposed to be this good this quickly. Boston was supposed to be in a bit of a, you know, transition year. The. And Cleveland, you know, made a midseason massive trade cause they weren't happy with where they were going. The Knicks have been healthy and the Knicks, the Knicks were supposed to be Flirting with 60 wins like Detroit is rather than low, low mid-50s. And Detroit's ability to sustain without Cade and find real another offensive creator in Danish Jenkins, that now when Cade is not, you know, not on the court, maybe the offense doesn't go to die, I think is super important for them. I also want to add one other thing, and this is, and I don't want to step on things we're doing later in the show, but here's the other intriguing piece of tonight's game on the Knicks side of things. The Knicks right now are 51 and 28 and the Cavs are 51 and 29. So they are just a half Game up on the Cavs. Now what they do have is the season series. So if they finish with the same record, the Knicks get the better seed. But here's where, and maybe I'm. Let me tell me what you think here. Who do you think the Knicks would rather play in round two, Boston or Detroit?

Damanze (18:36)

I mean, I say Boston.

Nick Wright (18:43)

Oh. So I, I disagree. I think they'd rather play Detroit even though they beat Boston in the playoffs last year. I, it. Because they, they also beat Detroit in the playoffs last year for whatever it's worth. Now Detroit has owned them this regular season, but I don't know how.

Damanze (19:03)

And I could just see like the wear down of facing Detroit and then having to go to Boston.

Nick Wright (19:08)

Yeah, but the way. But the flip side is you play Boston, maybe you don't have to play Detroit, you just lose. And so the. Here's the reason I'm, I ask it. After tonight, the Knicks have Toronto and Charlotte left two teams that need those games for seating purposes, let's just assume. And the Knicks are the favorite tonight. So I'm not saying they're necessarily going to lose. If the Knicks lose tonight and Cleveland ties them in the standings, it certainly becomes very on the board that Cleveland jumps up to three. Cleveland's final games are at Atlanta and then home for Washington. And you can't lose that Washington game if you want to, because what I know about the Wizards is they're not winning game 82 and screwing up, you know, any of their lottery odds after they've, you know, thrown this entire season in the garbage. Right now Washington has the worst record in basketball. They have one win less than the Pacers. You're going to have to pry these losses from their cold, dead hands. So it is. The Knicks might fall to 4. I don't know how bad that is for them and, but I guess the flip side of that is how much does Cleveland want to move up to 3? I'm not sure on that either, but I think I, I just think not. I think I will be shocked if the Celtics don't end up in the finals. Now against the Thunder, they would be decided Vegas underdogs in those Finals.

Damanze (21:03)

Yeah.

Nick Wright (21:04)

And against anyone, they. Well, I shouldn't say against anyone. Against the Thunder or the spurs, they would not have home court advantage in the Finals. I just also think whoever comes out of the west is going to have been through such a gauntlet that Boston could be pretty well positioned. And I understand. Listen, Vegas disagrees with me. Vegas has our friends at Hard Rock Bet has Boston at plus 550 and OKC at damn near even money. Hard Rock Bet is almost putting OKC verse the field. They're plus 120 so they only have the field as tiny favorites over OKC. I think Boston at +550 is a bet. I bet, I bet the Celtics at 11 to 1 for a little bit when I thought Tatum was coming back and at nine to one for a fair amount when I knew Tatum was coming back. And I think they are. I think they are the safest bet to be in the finals and I think I'll be taking them if they get to the finals. With all that said, I should give the Knicks. If the Celtics are full strength tonight and the Knicks win that game, it does basically for the Knicks all but lock up the three seed. They're not going to fall to four if they win tonight. They would have to, you know, lose each of their final two games and have Cleveland win its final two games and then maybe the Knicks feel a little disrespected by this. Be like we beat you last year in the playoffs. We can do it again. I just, I don't see that happening. Today's show is brought to you by our presenting sponsor, Hard Rock bet. Florida Sportsbook Springs in the air that can only mean one thing. Baseball's back. Hard Rock Bet makes it easy to bet on America's pastime. Just a few easy taps. It's not picking winners. You can bet on home run strikeouts even whether there's a run scored in the first inning for quick, fast paced action right out the gate. And if you miss the first pitch, no problem. You can live bet every inning, every at bat, all the way to the final out. But maybe you're more into the NBA hardwood is heating up as the playoff push is on. And with Hard Rock Bet, every night is a shot to build a same game parlay and score a major bucket. You might like the hot hand to drop 30 the the big man to control the glass with a double double. The point guard dish out five assists. However you draw it up, Hard Rock Bet gives you tons of ways to stack your picks into an epic same game parlay. If you're ever late to tip off, don't worry. Hard Rock Bet lets you live bet all game long from the first bucket to the final buzzer. Sign up today and double your winnings on your first 10 bets. Maximum $50. That's right, double your winnings on your first 10 bets. So if you would have won 100 bucks on your bet now it's 200. Download the Hard Rock Bad app today and get the party started. Payable and bonus bets Not a cash offer offered by the Seminole Tribe of Florida in Florida Offered by Seminole Hard Rock Digital LLC in all other states. Must be 21 plus and physically present in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee or Virginia. To play terms and conditions apply. Concerned about gambling in Florida? Call 1833 play wise in Indiana. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem wants help, call 1-800-9 with it gambling problem call 1-800- gambler Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia every morning is another chance

Julian Edelman (24:54)

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Gronk (25:09)

from Dudes on Dudes with Gronk and Jewels. All right, real quick, take a look at yourself right now.

Nick Wright (25:14)

Why?

Daniel Cormier (25:14)

What's wrong?

Gronk (25:15)

Nothing's wrong. You look like a guy running on three hours of sleep and vibes.

Nick Wright (25:19)

Okay, yeah, I'm tired, kind of cranky and very thirsty.

Gronk (25:24)

Congrats. Those are some of the potential signs of mild dehydration. And I bet your last bathroom break showed you another sign your body might be throwing you a penalty flag.

Nick Wright (25:36)

So what's the play?

Gronk (25:37)

Call Liquid IV Hydration Multiplier. One stick in water helps hydrate faster than water alone. Okay, but where's the proof? Liquid IV's clinical studies, not just a guy I know Real science results you can trust.

Nick Wright (25:55)

Well, take a look at me now. Liquid IV is officially part of my daily hydration routine. Pass the firecracker Popsicle flavor.

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Nick Wright (27:21)

let's talk about everybody's favorite rule, the 65 game rule.

Damanze (27:25)

The 65 game rule looks to claim another life in Wimby as he deals with his rib injury. So he has to play 20 more minutes to be eligible for the awards. But San Antonio is already locked into the two seed. Do you think it says anything about Wimby if he chases this?

Nick Wright (27:41)

Well, I mean, that he's human. Like this is the, this is such an impossible position. The spurs and Wimby now find themselves

Julian Edelman (27:55)

in

Nick Wright (27:58)

that Wimby's defensive Player of the Year case, all NBA case and MVP balloting case should not at all be contingent on him playing one more game this season. When the spurs are locked into their seat. They and I personally would argue it might be in so their games left are Dallas and then Denver. Now maybe you could argue they want another shot at Denver having, you know, lost the way they did. And maybe you can argue that the last guy you want to play with bruised ribs is Joker banging into you throughout the night and that you don't want to give Denver another scout, another look at what your team looks like, you know, and how to guard Wimby, how to do things. And so if this rule didn't exist, I think it's pretty clear Wimby would sit the final two games. He would be the unanimous defensive player of the year winner. He would finish at best second and at worst fourth in MVP voting and he would be a close to unanimous first team all NBA guy. But now, because it does exist, he's got to go out there and play. Now here is the thing. The part of the rule that everybody I think liked was we do want these guys out there playing. We want stars to play. We want, you know, guys not to be resting and load managing. Got it. But there is a big distinction between preemptive and precautionary rest and a guy who just got banged up and the team has literally nothing to play for because of what they've earned. It's not like they have nothing to play for because they're locked into the seven seed because they've been mediocre all year. They are damn near 10 games up on Denver for the, for the two seed and they're going to win 60 plus games. But they just can't catch the Thunder. So this is a vintage rest spot. But Wimby wants the awards and I'm not going to listen. I'm not criticizing him for that. I think everybody wants awards. Everybody. Now he has been, I've been a little, not even critical, but I've, you know, I have found him openly campaigning for the awards to be, you know, let's call it unique. But I, the, I have no problem at all with him saying I want to win these damn awards. And here's the other piece of it. There is tens of millions of dollars tied to him winning these awards because of what his, his second contract looks like as far as supermax eligibility and the different check marks you need as far as winning defensive player of the year or being all NBA, all those things. So there's real reason for him to want these things from a legacy and from a pure, you know, $50 million perspective. So I get all of that. I also think you're playing with a little fire here and demand I.

Damanze (32:25)

So the, the, the playing with fire, like on the NBA side, like with the rule, right?

Nick Wright (32:31)

No, with if the spurs have go play.

Damanze (32:34)

Oh yeah, yeah.

Nick Wright (32:36)

The. I mean it's a total catastrophe if he goes out there and act like re aggravates this bruised rib or it gets worse and he's not himself. And I, I am not. I do not want to be aggregated here, but it struck me as curious. How. So let me, you know what, let me put it like this to try to prevent the aggregation. Just lay out facts for folks. The 65 game rule is complicated. It seems like it's simple. It's not. Let me give you an example of how complicated it is. Devin Booker this year has played 64 games. The Suns this year have two games remaining. Devin Booker is not going to be eligible for any awards. Might be like, wait, What? He's played 64. They have two games left. Because the 65 game rule only counts games. You play at least 15 minutes. And by the way, you're only allowed two games where you play less than 20 minutes. So there are. For a game to count, you need to. A way to shorthand is you gotta play 20 minutes. However, twice a year you're allowed a near miss where you play 15 through 19. They'll count that, but they won't count more than that. Devin Booker's played 64, but two of those games he got hurt early and played less than 10. So for the rules purposes he's played 62. If he plays two more, he won't get there. So that's like a complex piece of it. Now here's another reason it's complex. Wimby, if you look at his basketball reference page, has played 63. Everyone's saying he only needs to play one more. Well, that would only be 64 because his basketball reference page does not count the NBA cup final, which was doesn't count for your season stats, but it does count for the 65 game rule. However, Wimby, the game Wimby got hurt in would not have counted demand say if he didn't come back in. So that's what I find curious. Wimby got hurt in that Sixers game having played 10 minutes. He then comes back in, plays five more to just barely clear the 15 minute threshold and then leaves the game for good. Now we saw when the injury got re aggravated, you know, he like bumped into Embiid. But would the spurs have been even more cautious in that game and not put him back out there if he didn't need it a few more minutes to qualify?

Damanze (36:07)

Putting the player in a weird spot.

Nick Wright (36:10)

It's such a weird spot.

Damanze (36:13)

And Adam Silver on Adam Silver has said that he wouldn't change the rule. Do you think that there's a chance that after the end of this season that he changes it and he just wants the guys to continue to finish this season out?

Nick Wright (36:24)

I, I don't listen Wendy, not Wim B. Windy. Brian Windhorse has made the point. It's working. Guys are playing more and you know the league, the players agreed to it, all that stuff. But there are certain elements of it that I think are pretty outrageous.

Damanze (36:49)

Like the difference of 20 minutes. That's pretty stupid.

Nick Wright (36:53)

Well, and it's also Kate Cade Cunningham Demase played 60 of the Pistons first 67 games. He was awesome. He missed the front end of a back to back in March. He missed a couple games. I forgot what the injury was in but missed back to back games in January and he had, I think it was an ankle in November. He missed a week, but he had played 60 of 67 games. He then got a puncture or sorry, puncture, collapsed lung and had to miss two weeks. Came back faster than expected from the punctured Lung and now he is unless they make an exception going to be ineligible. Anthony Edwards was not load managing at all this year. Anthony Edwards got banged up the first week of the season and missed a week and a half. However, he played 58 of their first 68 games. He then hurt his knee and now is not going to be eligible. Those like it feels very flimsy that guys who were consistently available for their team suffered one significant injury and then came back that those guys are going to be ineligible. I you know I have been promoting that Adam wave it this year but he's not going to and you know I didn't even Luca is I ain't going to get his appeal granted because the birth of a child on a different continent is not what this rule is about. I don't know that Kate is. I don't even know that Anthony Edwards has an appeal. Just sucks. And and the other like it's also here's the other thing that nobody is you know luckily it's not going to come to fruition but Joker's not eligible yet. So like Joker as he's played 64 games. They've got what do they have two games left. Right. So there is a scenario where Joker at do they have two or three games left? They have two games left. There's a scenario where Joker in the opening minutes of the Thunder game against Oklahoma City Lou Dort does his old bowling ball spinning back heel thing, you know, gets Joker in the kidneys and Joker has to leave that game and is not available in game 82 and then he's not going to be eligible for this for anything. It's just what do you think is

Damanze (40:06)

the nightmare scenario for the all for the NBA if the all NBA top guys can't make it? Well or is that was that the nightmare scenario Joker?

Nick Wright (40:16)

I mean that so that Wimy and Joker are not eligible.

Damanze (40:20)

Yeah.

Nick Wright (40:21)

Luca doesn't win his appeal. Cade and Ant are not eligible. And in that scenario you could argue that the six best seasons this year five of the six are not eligible for anything. Except for by the way you only have to play 58 games to be the score to be the statistical champions. So like Luca, if his appeal isn't granted is going to win the scoring title and not be on an all NBA team. And Joker, if something were to happen to him tomorrow night and be knocked out of that game early and not play the next game would win the rebounds and assist championship and not be so you would have the scoring rebounds and assist champ Wimby's going to be the blocks champ. Right. If those. It's just, I don't know, it's pretty ridiculous.

Damanze (41:20)

Like the Pro bowl stuff, which we can't in the future.

Nick Wright (41:26)

NBA right. Become Pro Bowl. We just can't. All right, let's talk Lakers.

Damanze (41:32)

So we get classic Braun and Steph. Throw it back tonight. Throw it back tonight. It's crazy, but yeah. So are we in for some mid 2010s fireworks tonight? Or do you think that LeBron was lying when he said that I can still do this? Bleep.

Nick Wright (41:46)

Oh, no, I think LeBron. Listen, I think LeBron's going to play his ass off tonight. Yeah. And it's on the board.

Damanze (41:52)

Damanze, potentially the last time they face each other if they get mixed in.

Nick Wright (41:58)

If. Right. If LeBron goes to Golden State next year. So this could be their final matchup against each other. And now I don't think LeBron's going to Golden State, but I also can't dismiss it as a possibility. But I think LeBron will play his ass off tonight. And I think that the warriors are in a very weird motivational space in that they, they are and have been for a bit now just locked into the 10 seed and they, they can't even, it's not even like they can rally and be like, let's at least finish at.500 because they already have 42 losses. Now, with that said, Steph and Draymond are going to try to, you know, seeing LeBron across the court, it will get them up for the game. And LeBron being way undermanned against a Warriors team is something he's quite used to. But I, I would, I don't know what the hard Rock odds on this would be, but I would say a 30 point triple double for LeBron is very on the board tonight. And I think, you know, tonight being LeBron's final career 40 point game is on the board as well. Like, I think that that is sick. And I also think the Lakers. The Lakers don't want to go into the playoffs losing five out of six. Now, the reason I'm saying five out of six is their game 82 is Utah. And again, you can pry these losses out of Utah's cold, dead hands, but you're not getting them. So I do believe the Lakers will beat the jazz in game 82 and they play the Suns in game 81. The Suns at that point will almost assuredly be locked in to the seven spot. So maybe they won't care about it. Like, it's a weird the Lakers final three games are teams who are essentially locked into their playoff spot, Warriors 10, Sun 7 and or the Jazz who are desperately trying to make sure they don't move ahead of the Kings in, you know, worse lottery odds. And so they, you know, they could win any of these games. It depends really. The Sun's game depends on, you know, how much the Suns want it. But the entirety of the Lakers season hopes are hanging by the thread of can this Spanish medicine that Luke is getting administered initiate a really crazy recovery time? Like they're not winning a playoff series without their two leading scorers in Luke and Ar? Now, LeBron can assume that scoring role, but the defense suffers and they just don't have enough around him elsewhere. And JJ seems to know that. Let's talk JJ for a second.

Damanze (45:45)

So JJ called out three of his guys, the media, and the Mavs medical staff in the past few days. How much blame do you think JJ Redick himself should be taking?

Nick Wright (45:55)

Listen, I think JJ's done a really good job this year. Here is my kind of triple prong issue with how JJ has handled this past week. I do not mind people demanding accountability from others. I think JJ at times has shown a lack of ability to at least publicly hold himself accountable the way he would demands of others. At no point, whether he believes it or not, has he said about the Austin or Luca injury. But ultimately I'm the head coach and I shouldn't have put him back out there again. Even if he doesn't believe that. That I think would have been good to hear. Instead he blamed his own medical staff, the MAV's medical staff, wrong imaging, all of that. So that I didn't love. I also feel like jj, too often his demeanor and approach is directly correlated with how the team's running when the team's rolling, smiles and laughs and when the team's not playing well, you know, angry drill sergeant guy. And I actually think some of the best leaders do the inverse of that at times at its at the when the things are the worst is when they try to be the most uplifting and the lightest. And when things are rolling is when they actually really try to hold people extra accountable. Right. And so I think that's something JJ could improve on. And last but not least, I thought him going out of his way to embarrass Jared Vanderbilt was really shitty. So if people didn't see it, he go ahead.

Damanze (48:15)

Well, yeah, I mean he subbed him out after the three free throw. I mean it was like minute into the quarter or like less 13 seconds

Nick Wright (48:22)

into, 16 seconds into the quarter. And here's why I didn't like that. First of all, like, Greg Popovich used to do that sometimes call timeout right into a quarter. But he would then sub out the whole starting five. He would put everyone who started the quarter on the bench.

Damanze (48:42)

And I'll say Vando in that specific game when they don't have bodies, does make it very, I think, that much crazier. It's like, who else do you have?

Nick Wright (48:51)

Well, but. But here's the other reason for it that I particularly didn't like it. I think Vando has handled his super diminished role really well. And I think Vando has been an awesome teammate for Luca. I think Vando as whether it was stepping in between Luke and JJ or stepping in between Luke and the refs, or stepping in between Luke and the fans, Vando's been there. And I just thought going out of your way to embarrass him was uncalled for. Now, he also went out of his way to embarrass Deandre Ayton 8 one of us when he was like 8 and can't catch. I will give JJ a little bit of slack on that because every coach DeAndre Ayton's ever had has gotten fed up with him at various times. Like, and so there is. And DeAndre. It's not like DeAndre Ayton hasn't been able to play. He's been playing. He's gotten his opportunities. So that to me was less mean spirited than embarrassing Vando like that. So I just, I just didn't like that. But ultimately none of it matters unless Luca comes back and you know, again, I don't know the. I don't know what they're doing in Spain. I don't know what centrifuges are spinning, what and what's being, you know, injected where. But they gotta hope he can come back. And they gotta hope he can come back in short order. All right, Every guy has those go to pieces. The shoes that go with everything. That one pair of jeans that fits just right. That shirt that always looks clean no matter what you pair it with. You don't overthink those pieces. You grab them and they work every time. But most guys are missing one thing from that lineup. Jewelry. That's why I rock with gld. They've changed the game. You get quality jewelry that's built to last without breaking the bank. And unlike a lot of other companies, GLD only uses real gold. Every single stone is meticulously hand cut or handset, pardon me, plus their proprietary production process. Make sure you're getting the highest quality jewelry possible. You can literally see and feel the difference. And listen, you don't have to just take my word for it. Over 2 million customers and 50,000 5 star reviews back it up. Not to mention it's worn by some of the biggest names out there. Justin Bieber, Micah Parsons, asap, Rocky, and a ton more. Best part? Literally every single piece is guaranteed for life. Built to last for the rest of your life. GLD is an official collab with the NFL, so you can get any NFL team on a pendant this season. They have collabs with the NBA, wnba, Major League Baseball, ncaa, mls, and even DC Comics. Chains and pendants that let you rep what you love, work hard and change the game for a limited time only. New customers are getting an insane deal. Use code right to get 50% off@gld.com that I'm sorry, apologies. Use code right to get 40% off@gld.comthat's code right to get 40% off gld.com 40% off with code right@gld.com after you purchase they're going to ask where you heard about them. Please show support for our show and tell them we sent you.

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Nick Wright (54:34)

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Nick Wright (55:02)

All right, Daman, let's talk a little football here before we get some masters and some other things.

Damanze (55:08)

So the Texans picked up their fifth year options on their 2023 first round rookie duo Will Anderson. The easy one. But they also picked it up on CJ Stroud. How do you think they felt about that after seeing back to back.

Nick Wright (55:22)

Sorry, interrupt. Sorry for interrupting you.

Damanze (55:24)

I.

Nick Wright (55:24)

Picking up the fifth year options. A no brainer on Stroud. It's. It's not that expensive. It locks him in for the fifth year. If you do end up wanting to extend him down the road, it's good to have the fifth year tacked on. So the extension starts after that fifth year. So picking up. It's really a catastrophe. If you don't pick up your fifth year option on your first round picks like that means something has gone very awry. So that was a no brainer. I also think this is a no brainer. There is no chance in hell I'm extending him this summer. I need to see what he looks like next year and then we can have the discussion. But I'm just not doing it this summer. I. I am if I'm Houston really spooked. Really spooked by those two playoff games. It was five fumbles and it was four. Five fumbles in the first one. Four picks in the second One and a guy who looked shaken to his core. So I am. Go ahead.

Damanze (56:40)

I think Houston has done enough to support him.

Nick Wright (56:44)

I mean they had the best defense in football. Now their offensive line receivers are banged up. Yeah, the offensive line's been bad. The running game was not good. Last year you had you dealt with injuries at receiver, but this is a stunning trajectory. Sometimes guys have awesome rookie years and they feel flimsy. It's like, yeah, but it was like, I'll use Jaden as an example. Not in, by the way, I don't think that. I don't think Jaden's rookie year was flimsy, but there were elements you could point to and be like, ooh, I wonder quite how sustainable that is. The level of rushing, how. The fact that they won like six games when trailing in the final two minutes. The, you know, that's. You could see a potential regression coming. Right. And so that, you know, made you RG3 before he got injured. His rookie year was like, man, it's so many huge plays and so much of a devastating. Where did this come from? It seemed like the defenses weren't prepared for the rushing attack. You wondered even if he was had stayed healthy, if that was going to end up being his best individual season. Nothing about CJ's rookie year felt flimsy. It wasn't like a lot of lucky huge plays. He obviously wasn't doing a lot with his legs. It felt like, nope, this guy's just legit.

Damanze (58:27)

Yeah.

Nick Wright (58:28)

And then to see him get worse across the board in each of the next two years is stunning. And so I don't know what's happened, but I do know if I'm Houston, I am not locking him up long term early. That's like. That is the mistake the Cardinals made with Kyler. Kyler had this awesome rookie year and two Kyler's credit, he also had. He had a better year three than CJ did. But year three for Kyler, he in, in that year three playoff game, it was similar to CJ's, just a total catastrophe of a performance. And then they gave him the big contract anyway and it felt unnecessary and preemptive. And then they, you know, I think pretty clearly regretted it. In relative short order, the Dolphins made to a wait until they didn't give him his contract after three years, they made him wait one more year, but then they, I think gave. Gave him a contract because they felt like they had no other choice and almost immediately regretted that themselves. I just, I am not opposed to telling my franchise my Potential franchise quarterback on a rookie deal. We love you. You're our guy. We. We're not ready to pay you yet. And that's where the. And that's where the franchise tag really works against the players. Because if you have cj, it's like, okay, he's played three years. He's got one year left on his rookie deal. We just added the fifth year option. Then in theory, we have two years. We could franchise tag him. We've got a lot of time before he can actually hit free agency to figure this out. And I don't know what direction CJ's career is going to go. Demon. I really don't. Say it again.

Damanze (60:44)

Big year.

Nick Wright (60:45)

Oh, yeah. A huge, absolutely huge year for him. And, yeah, I just don't. I. I can't figure out what's going on here. And it is the go ahead.

Damanze (61:03)

Do you think it's at all possible by end of season, next year that people are saying Bryce over cj? I mean.

Nick Wright (61:08)

Cause, like, I don't. Because I don't think. I don't think. I don't think Bryce is, like, going to improve. I think Bryce is kind of at his.

Damanze (61:18)

But, I mean, but if he has the same year that he had last year, is that not. Is that not already better than CJ Stroud?

Nick Wright (61:24)

I don't know that it is. I, like, I think Bryce is still being graded on a weird curve.

Damanze (61:30)

Yeah.

Nick Wright (61:31)

Like, Bryce last year had an 88 rating. He threw for 3,000 yards. You know what I mean? Like, I just think. I think Bryce is, you know, going to be a pretty consistently below average quarterback. I think, listen, he's made it clear he's not going to play himself, like, out of the league. Yeah, but. Which looked like it was on the board at multiple times throughout his career. But I do not think he's. I. I just. Yeah, I mean, I still think I. I think it would be stunning, at least to me, if that happened. All right. You ever notice how everything keeps going up? Rent's going up, streaming services going up, Favorite burrito spots charging you extra for salsa. Not with Boost Mobile. With Boost Mobile, you and your phone bill don't have to play the will this go up soon Game. Why? Because Boost Mobile has unlimited talk, text and data plan at a price that'll never go up. In fact, it's the same price you pay for life. So switch now for unlimited wireless at a price that'll never go up. Only at boost mobile, after 30 gigs, customers may experience slower speeds. Customers will pay $25 per month, as long as they remain active on the Boost Unlimited plan. All right, Damanze, let's do a little Masters here.

Damanze (62:55)

So the 90th edition of the Masters start today at Augusta National Golf course. World number one, Scotty Schefter is the favorite at plus 500. Last year's champion, Rory McElroy, comes in at fourth. At odds at plus 1200 likely. Maybe. What if? Who walks away with the green jacket?

Nick Wright (63:13)

I love listening to demons read these golfers names who are wildly famous, super important golfers, and it's the first time he's ever set them the Rory Malcolm.

Damanze (63:26)

That's how you say it, right? Rory McElroy.

Nick Wright (63:29)

Not Matt. It's. It's Rory McElroy. So. I don't know. I don't know. That's better. I. I don't know how you were mispronouncing it, but it was like a letter off. And I know you saw Scotty Scheffler and got a little nervous, but you nailed that one. Listen, I. My what if is. What if Rory goes back to back? I think that would be so much fun. This. The smart money is on Scottie Scheffler. I understand that. So I guess that's the likely. The maybe, though. And the guy that I have bet on and I'm rolling with is the Spaniard, John Rom. Uh, I. John Rom's one of my favorite golfers. Also demands a. Whether you remember it or not, you were with me watching Jon Rahm win the Masters three years ago at my mom's house on Easter Sunday. We were all. Do you remember watching golf?

Damanze (64:48)

No, I was thinking Sunday at the wedding, and I think it was Tiger that you were, like, intently watching at the wedding.

Nick Wright (64:55)

That. Yeah, that would have been. Wait. Oh, yeah, that was. You're right. That it was the Masters at the wedding two years ago. We were watching this Saturday. We didn't. We were watching. We were sweating Tiger on Saturday at the Masters. I think it was Tiger. But that was the Master.

Damanze (65:14)

I don't remember.

Nick Wright (65:16)

No, but John Rom, it was. What? I think you were there. Maybe I'm wrong, but, I mean, I know I was. I know I was watching with family. I had bet on Jon Rahm Sunday of the Masters, and he ended up finishing it off. Now, since then, he hasn't come close, but he's who I'm rooting for, and he's who I bet on, and he was my. He's my pick, so I understand. I. And he hasn't teed off yet today by the Way right now. Oh, wow. Patrick Reed, Eagle on two and is sitting at three under. And Kurt Kitayama is at three under co leader along with Patrick Reed and the always popular and some people, you know, I like this guy. It'd be kind of fun if he won. Tommy Fleetwood also at three under. But it is very early. The. I'm not going to do much. Listen, that'll cut, you know, basically wrap up our Masters preview. I think you can get probably better Masters previews elsewhere and you would have already gotten it because the tournament has now started. But we'll talk a lot of Masters on Tuesday's show because I will be locked in all weekend. And then Daman, before we go, I, I just listen. Resident Nuggets fan Daniel, who produces the show and puts together the rundown. Who Daniel and I, you know, have bonded over the, you know, my growing respect and admiration for Jokic. For Jokic, for Joker, and for the fact I think LeBron could be on the Nuggets next year. With that said, Daniel, he's not going to win mvp. And we're not doing a topic on Joker's MVP Hail Mary. Shea is going to win mvp, right or wrong. I'm not, I'm, I, I, I don't even want to debate whether or not he should at this point. You need to be okay with that. You now Joker could end up with I do want, like we'll see about Wimby's eligibility and about which I think Joker push down, down the stretch could get him to second, which would put him in further rarefied air, which this would be his 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, sixth consecutive top two MVP finish. That'd be, I mean, that's pretty special. He's certainly gonna have six straight top three MVP finishes, but we've seen that before where guys have six straight top threes. Bird went second, second, second, first, first, first. It's pretty good. And then Birds. Here's Damanze. Birds. Real quick.

Damanze (68:27)

Daniel got you into it.

Nick Wright (68:33)

Birds. Opening nine years of his career. MVP finish.

Damanze (68:37)

Yeah.

Nick Wright (68:39)

Fourth as a rookie. Second, second, second, first, first, first, third, second. Pretty strong. Pretty strong. Kareem, his MVP finishes again, starting with his rookie year. This is. Here's Kareem's first 11 years in the league. Third, first, first, second, first, fifth, first, first, fourth, fourth, first. Strong. I'm gonna, I'm gonna do two more guys and then we're gonna wrap it up. Michael Jordan's MVP finishes starting in year three for him. Because year one, he wasn't in the top Five. Year two, he broke his foot. Was out most of the year. Here's Jordan's MVP finishes prior to his first retirement. Second, first, second, third. First, first, third. Strong. Not as good as Joker's run, for whatever it's worth. Then retired, came back, and then those three years after his first retirement, three full years. Went first, second, first, really strong. And now, last but not least, LeBron's MVP finishes.

Damanze (70:00)

Where's he at? Come on, now.

Nick Wright (70:02)

I was. I was waiting on it. What the heck. LeBron's MVP finishes starting with year three. Second, fifth, fourth, first, first, third. First, first, second, third, third, fourth, second. Missed. Got the year, he got injured. Second. So LeBron's best run would be four wins, a second and a third. Joker's best run, I think, is going to be three wins and three seconds. But yeah, LeBron. LeBron has. I'm checking real quick. One, two, three. So he has four firsts, four seconds and three thirds and a total of, I think 15 top five finishes. Go ahead.

Damanze (71:05)

Where do you think Jokic is going to finish all time? Because I. I feel like I've. Where did you put him at? Like, if he. If he didn't get another ring, but continued to play the way that he

Nick Wright (71:14)

plays, he doesn't get another ring. If he doesn't get another ring, I don't. I don't see any way he can finish in the top 10.

Damanze (71:27)

Ring culture, man.

Nick Wright (71:29)

Well, it's.

Damanze (71:30)

That guy is amazing. He. Unbelievable.

Nick Wright (71:35)

But so, so listen, because it's too. It's not just ring culture. It is also. He only has two deep playoff runs. Yeah, he's been to one Finals, been to one conference Finals. So let me just, Just real quick, demons A. The 12 best players, in my opinion, NBA history. And if we just do MVPs, finals appearances, championships. Okay. And I'm doing this off the top of my head, so my apologies, but I. The. I would be surprised if I don't. If I don't get this right. Lebron james, 4 mvps, 10 finals appearances, 4 championships. Kareem abdul jabbar, 6 mvps, 10 finals appearances, 6 championships. Michael jordan, 5 mvps, 6 finals appearances, 6 championships. Magic johnson, 3 mvps, 9 finals appearances, 5 championships. Tim duncan, 2 mvps, 6 finals appearances, 5 championships. Bill russell, 5 mvps. God, 12 finals appearances, 11 championships. Wilt chamberlain. See a four or five MVPs, four MVP. You might only have three. Three or four MVPs. A half dozen finals appearances, two championships. Maybe more than a half dozen finals appearances. For wilt bird or three MVPs, five finals appearances, three championships. Kobe one MVP, seven finals appearances, five championships. Steph, two MVPs, six finals appearances, four championships. Akeem, one MVP, three finals appearances, two championships. Shaq, one MVP, Six finals appearances, four championships. And then Joker three mvp, one finals appearance, one championship. So the point that I'm making, one more gets him and we can, and we can start one more. And I think he is definitively. I think he jumps Shaq and Akeem on the center's list. I just. And some people feel he's already jumped Akeem. I get that I and I may be am open to that argument. However, I listed 12 guys there. So for him to be top 10, he's got to jump three of them. And I just don't. I think he's at his ceiling for how high he can climb as a one champion player. So I don't think that's really like ring culture as much as everybody ahead of him, you know, is these are the most decorated players ever and they have, you know, had so many more deep playoff runs. With that said, they could win it all this year. And if he wins it all this year, you start having some really fun conversations. You drew me in, Daniel. Reminder everybody, like Rate Subscribe Review Mailbag episode coming your way tomorrow, so make sure you guys have alerts on for when that drops. Thank you so much to our sponsors, Hard Rock, bet, Boost Mobile and gld. Thank you to the Volume. Thank you to Blue Duck. Talk to you guys tomorrow for the mailbag. We'll try.

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