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- [00:00]
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Foreign. What's poppin Real ones. Logan, Murdoch here, Howard, Beck, and a few no rising Today's on the recruiting trail. So me and Howard talk about the playing teams and the playing teams that are in contention for playing in the Eastern Conference. That isn't really settled yet. So we talked about a little bit more of the teams in the Eastern Conference. Talk about the Hawks, talked about the Hornets, talk about talked about the Raptors, talked about a lot of teams in Eastern Conference and in the Western Conference, talked about the Clippers, the Suns, the warriors, and then we talked about the Blazers. Really, really fun discussion. Then we get into our ruin of the week. Make sure you tap in with us next week. We're going to be recording on Tuesday night, so make sure you look out on your feeds for a podcast on Wednesday morning. Be me, Raja and Howard reacting to all the playing games. Should be fun. Realm.com realm.com realm.com we'll probably be answering your questions on Tuesday and we'll probably be delirious when we do it. So it could be really, really fun. We'll see you guys soon. For now, all the
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the Ringer NBA show is brought to you by FanDuel. The NBA postseason is here and FanDuel knows the only thing better than watching your favorite team win is winning along with them. FanDuel is the best place to bet the teams, players and plays during their playoff run. Build a same game parlay or try live betting and jump in after tip off. Don't forget, with FanDuel you get paid instantly when you win. Download the FanDuel Sportsbook app now and play your game 21+ in select states. 18+ for DC, Kentucky or Wyoming. A gambling problem? Call 1-800- GAMBLER, call 1-887-897-777 or visit ccpg.org chat Zootopia 2 has come home to Disney. Let's go get ready for a new case.
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We're gonna crack this case and prove
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we're victorious partners of all time.
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New friends.
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B
You are Gary the Snake and your
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last name the Snake Dream Team. New Habitats Zootopia has a secret reptile population. You can watch the record breaking phenomenon at home.
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B
You're clearly working at Zootopia 2 now available on Disney. Rated PG in Connecticut.
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A
Cliff by the Music. What's poppin? Real ones. Logan Murdoch here, Howard back there. No Raja. He is on the recruiting trail but we will see him for the playoffs which is, you know, a bit poetic, man. We're going to talk about the teams are actually going to go into the play end with hopes of going into the playoffs. And we're going to ask some questions about them, ask if they are going to have any shot at beating a one or two seed. Are they on their way up? Are they on their way down? Do we like them going forward? Do we like them now? Let's start with the Clippers, man. Clippers are 41 and 3973 over their last 10 games. They have a big matchup tonight. Probably when you guys are listening to this, they have a big matchup in Portland tonight to see if they can wrap up the eighth seed. Essentially. They have a 2:1 tiebreaker over there. Oh, they have. They're up 2:1 in the, they are up 2:1 in the season series with the Blazers. And if they win this, they get the ac. If the Blazers win, they will own the tiebreaker based off I think conference record. So a lot of things going on right there. But if the Clippers are to get through the playing as an eight seed, they win their first playing game and they will be playing San Antonio for all intents and purposes. And I think I know what your answer is here, not because we potted before the pod, Howard, but because they have Kawhi Leonard. What do you, what do you think? Let's start over there. What are their prospects in the playoffs if they get through the play in what what is your, what is your optimism level for the Clippers?
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B
Never pod before the pod. It's a golden rule.
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A
It is sometimes have.
- [04:07]
B
We might sometimes know where each other's heading a little bit. But we try not to pod before the pod. Real quick. Just like to to pull back for a second here. So yeah, we're recording this on Friday before there's a lot of shit still in play, right. We know who the four playing teams are in the west, the order is still in shuffling, right. But those are four teams, two of which will be the seventh and eighth seed. We know that the east going into tonight is a fucking shit show. Congratulations. Your conference constantly one way or another being confusing and chaotic. Six teams are still in play for like the last two playoff spots slash playing. So we're gonna, but you know, listen, the way we were talking about this and setting up the show was like by the time we pot again Tuesday, plans are, are are on the slate. So who's got a chance to actually pull an upset if at all? Because seventh and eighth seeds traditionally are cannon fodder. But where are they going if they lose, which they most likely all will. So I listen The Clippers. The Clippers have been really good for the last couple of months. Like the record and the fact that they're going to be a play in does not accurately frame who they really are right now. Kawhi Leonard has played at enough of an MVP level that our buddy Michael Pena put him on his MVP ballot I think in the fifth slot and I think all NBA first team. And while I might needle Michael Pena for his Kawhi obsessions, I can't exactly knock him for praising the season that Kawhi Leonard has had. He's been awesome.
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Darius Garland all time Kawhi Leonard season
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low key yeah, for sure. One of his best. Despite, you know, not, you know, not a full season per usual. Darius Garland's been really good there. Tyu's coached his ass off. He's not getting enough play for a coach of the year slot. Somewhere on there I know it's going to be all Joe Missoula, Charles lee, Mitch Johnson, J.B. bickerstaff. Like Tyu deserves some, some votes there somewhere along the way too. They're a dangerous team, Logan. I know like you cringe. You know where I'm going with this. You cringe, you scoff, you wrinkle.
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A
But like furrow my brows.
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B
You furrow. There are things furrowing. Like I don't think the Clippers are going to beat the Thunder or the spurs, whoever they end up with, assuming they come out of the plane. And I think the Clippers will. But dude, they're going to be dangerous as hell. I don't want to face them. I mean, even if you are a team, the defending champs, the Thunder, you don't want to deal with Kawhi Leonard. If you're the spurs and you've never won a playoff series and Kawhi, who forced his way out of town is coming back to San Antonio to terrorize Wemby and Stefan Castle. I like, I don't think the Clippers are going to win a first round series, but they are. If they come out of the playing, they will be the most dangerous among the seventh and eighth seeds in either conference. How about that?
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Sure, I think that's a pretty low bar. But I, I was with you, right? And I was and you know, usually listen, my Clippers hate has been well documented over the last few years of this podcast. But then you take a look, you're like, oh yeah, maybe they can give the Spurs a run for their money. You know, maybe, you know, they play, they played them tough in some, in some instances this season, but the spurs have swept the season series including a 20 point win, what, not even eight days ago. And the Clippers haven't beaten a Thunder in two years. So like, you know, do I have that much confidence? No, not really. More. The more intriguing thing is honestly just their off season, what they're going to do. Right. And talk to people in the Clippers, you know, orbit. They believe that they're going to keep the Kawhi Leonard barring, like you know, any investigation or any voiding of contracts, you know. Right. Like, but there was, you know, I know the warriors kick the tires on Kawhi over the, over, I believe the trade deadline and you know, the Clippers ultimately said no for it, but they believe that Darius Garland is, that there is their point guard of the future and then they believe that Kawhi is going to be with the team. I just, but I don't know what, you know, they're not, they're typically not a team that drafts and gets their players out of the draft. They're just, it's a lot of shrewd free agency signings and if you can get some trades here and there's. What do you think that they do after this? Right. Because they're pretty much going to be the team for all intents and purposes, going to be the same team that they are this season.
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Right.
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And they have pivoted this. They have pivoted trading Zubotch, you know, and, and getting, you know, maybe getting a chance at a pick this season, you know, with the protections and things like that. What do you, what do you see from them? Because it's obvious what's going to happen in the first round. If they get there, it's not going to be pretty. They're trying to figure out what, how to sustain in a, in a, in a league where draft picks are, are one of the most valuable commodities out there and they don't have many. So how. What do they do? And then they're the one of those competitive teams over the last few years.
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Yeah, I mean, listen, that's the thing. When healthy, they're always competitive because as long as Kawhi Leonard is on the floor, the Clippers are a viable and very dangerous team built around him. Whether he's got Paul, Georgia, decide.
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Even Paul George. They've even like, even between, you know, Splash. I mean the Splash, excuse me, the Lob City teams up until now, they've always been really competitive. Right. Like, they've always tried to be at least at average.
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B
I just think that this phase of their, of the Clippers existence ever since 2019, when they got Kawhi and Paul George and it was like the biggest accomplishment off the court in Clipper history and was supposed to be an era of, of title contention. And obviously we know everything that's happened, but we're, we're nearing the end. They came into this season. Logan. Remember, there were two things that we knew about the Clippers coming to the season. They were one of the oldest fucking teams of all time. They brought in Bradley Beal, they brought in Chris Paul. Oops. Don't see either of those guys around anymore. They had James Harden. Well, he's not around anymore either. They actually should be thankful that he wanted out because I think trading for Garland has actually given them some new life. The other thing that we were talking about before the season was how they were trying to keep their powder dry. They offloaded Norm Powell for, for, for John Collins in large part because they didn't want to pay Powell because they're trying to keep the books clean in 2027. So here we go. Kawhi Leonard, if his contract's not voided as a result of the aspiration investigation, he's going into the last year of his deal. They're obviously not extending Kawhi Leonard. So he's either going into his walk year and then a free agent a year or so from now, or he's getting voided or maybe he's getting traded. They have finally moved into a phase by trading Harden for Garland, where they're starting to now look at the next era. They're starting to look at what are we going to be when this Kawhi Leonard era finally ends. So are they going to go into this offseason still biting time, not wanting to load up the payroll because they want to keep the books clean for 2027 outside of Garland. Are they going to start to push more chips in now? Is this the time to like, let's say that, that Kawhi Lender does not get voided. Is this the time to flip him? If the warriors come calling again and if they don't get Giannis, then they're going to come poking around on Kawhi again. Is this the time to flip him for whatever some, some warriors picks and Pajemski or something, I'll be curious to see. They've still got some old dudes hanging around, right? Brook Lopez, Nicholas Patoum, Bradley Beals got a five and a half million dollar player option. What like I don't know what their agenda will be this summer. But all of it starts with what does the league and its law firm that it hired to investigate them decide? Because if top team officials are going to get suspended, which has been, you know, the. The speculation making the rounds for months now, if Kawhi Leonard's contract gets voided, which has been something that people have wondered about all along, those things are going to set their agenda for them. What if they need a new front office? Like, what. What if they, you know, what if they don't have Kawhi and it's voided and they can't trade it? Trade him for value. So it's really murky. It's really hard to know what the Clippers will be on opening night as we sit here right now. But as of right now, I think they are the most dangerous potential seventh or eighth seed going in. And with still two really good players in Kawhi Leonard and Darius Garland to build around, assuming that both guys are on the roster starting next season.
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All right, let's go. Let's break some hearts here. Let's go to the 76ers.
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Preemptive apologies to producer Cliff.
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Oh, man, whatever.
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Who came on Zoom today with the space background because he just can't take life on Earth anymore. He needed to get away.
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He's out of this world right now. That's how disappointed he is.
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Fellas, I'm doing just fine, just so y' all know.
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I'm doing good, man. I'm all right. I'm all right, man. We don't believe you. You need more people.
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I was gonna send somebody down there for a welfare check, but I' I
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got some sunshine yesterday.
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Howard. I was walking around the city a little bit, bopping around, so it was good.
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All right, all right, all right. Whatever. We'll see. The Sixers, who are now firmly in eighth place with Joel Embiid now out for the season with the. I can't pronounce the injury. What's the injury? How. What is the injury called?
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Appendicitis.
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Appendicitis. Had to get a. Had appendicitis right before the Rockets game and had to get surgery during the game.
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B
Only Joel Embiid, man.
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Only Joel Embiid. But right now, they are. They're in the ac. They're five and five. Lost three straight. Somehow when the Orlando Magic are free falling, they didn't freefall as much as the 76ers this season, which we've had a wild roller coaster season with suspensions. To Paul George with the great start that they had to the season, the exciting starts they have with the young guys that they have. This is really a team that is in the midst of two eras right now on the same team, you know, two timelines, perhaps. Don't say that. That really hurts my heart. I, I, I'm getting fidgets. I'm looking like smokey from Friday when you say that. Anyways, they have a big payroll going into next season. But let's talk about this season. What, what chances do you have? Do you give them? Excuse me. To either beat the Pistons or the Celtics in the first round?
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B
If we were having this conversation a week ago, Logan. And it's like, oh, they could be the fifth or sixth seed. Joel Embiid's playing pretty well. Everybody's back. Paul George looks amazing. I would have been like, oh, like the Sixers as, like, a six seed, possibly. Like, you know, could they knock out the Knicks in the first round? Sure, why not? Or if they're a fifth seed, like, they had a chance there for a moment, and then you blink your eyes and they're slipping in the standings, and they're probably a playing team. And Joel Embiid's getting surgery for appendicitis and is probably not playing again until October. And suddenly it's, no, no. I'm like, no, they would have been dangerous with, with Embiid, even though some
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good games is playing really good as well over the last few weeks.
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Yeah, Like, I like, they just, there are moments there where you see it and it, but it's, it just, it's, it's like, you know, when you're, when you're back in the old days, when you're either your cables going out or back in the old, old days, when your, your antennas on the fritz and the picture kind of is flickering and it's like, oh, oh, wait, there's the Sixers. Nope, nope. Now they're gone. It's, it's so, it's, it's so frustrating to watch even from a distance. And I'd have no emotional investment in this team. They're going to lose in the first round without Joel embiid, whether they're sixth, seventh, or eighth seed. And the upside is Tyrese Maxey's 25 and one of the best players in the NBA, and BJ Edgecomb is 20, turning 21, I think, in a month or two. And those two together are one of the best backcourts in the NBA. That's the obvious upside. There's your silver lining. But Joel Embiid's got three years left on his deal at. I think it's. Yeah, three years left at 58, 63 and 67 million. Other. Here's another three year statistical reference point. The last three years he's played 39, 19 and 38 games in the regular seasons. It's been rough. And I just don't even know where you begin with this anymore. Paul George has two years left on his deal, 54 and 57 million. Are they resigning Quentin Grimes? They better. After trading Jared McCain and causing a complete fan revolt.
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That is insane. That is just, still just so insane that they did.
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And the other part of their off season, not for nothing, speaking of that scrutiny, is that Daryl Morey is definitely a little bit on the hot seat here and Nick Nurse is. Is definitely a little bit on the hot seat here. And there's Sixer fans and blogs and media are, are speculating about the futures of, of the coach and gm. Never a comfortable way to go into an off season. But like, they are who they are. Like, you're not trading Joel Embiid or Paul George because no one's going to trade for them.
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Wait, wait. I have something for. Okay, okay, I have something for you. I was, I was out in the wild and I got a. I got. I don't know if it's a fake trade or not, but I got like a trade proposal that really just kind of piqued my ears. What if whoever is the front office person at the time just, you know, gets that 916 area code and just gives a call to Sacramento and says, hey, Paul George. Hey, do you guys want Paul George? We'll take Keegan Murray off your hands. Why not? It's an extra wing. We'll figure it out. Would you do that? I know the K. I think the Kings would be intrigued by that. If you just say, hey, you know, because they can't help themselves.
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B
Because. Because you will really need Paul George next to DeMar DeRozan, Zach Levine, DeMana Sabonis, Russell Westbrook.
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A
Why not? All right, listen, a deal around Paul George, the Keegan Murray. What do you think? I mean, that could be something, right?
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B
I'll answer your question with a question, but it's a rhetorical question because the question is, who's making the call on that? The new gm, Scott Perry, who I think would just slam the phone down or the owner, Vivek Ran, a diva who would be like, oh, really? Hmm. Let me think about that.
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I feel like you need to like in these, in these situations, like Scott, this is me talking to you. You need to just like block Vivek out of everything. Don't even let him know until you know, because he's gonna. Because once he finds he's like, wait, we. We had a chance at Paul George.
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B
Yeah. Block him from the phone lines. Like, don't. Don't allow any incoming calls.
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A
Vivette go on vacation for about three weeks Just. Just in July.
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B
I'm gonna give the. The new Kings front office, led by Scott Perry the benefit of the doubt right now because I think they are trying to do the right thing. They are trying to offload. It's hard to offload, but they are trying to offload the highly paid vets. They're trying to rebuild the right way. They're trying to cool their heels and do this right. And they're trying to keep the owner at bay. Not an easy thing to do. So, no, I'm going to say no to Paul George, to Sacramento. I like Sacramento too much to do that to them. Logan, you like.
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Yeah.
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B
They've suffered enough.
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A
They have. But here's the other thing, man. I mean, we just saw. I think Jake Fisher just said that Doug Christie has a chance to come back next season, you know. So you say. I. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know what to tell you here. Okay.
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B
Doug Christie, who just got the worst cleared of wrongdoing investigation by the league possible because it was.
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A
He wasn't tanking.
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B
No.
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He's a terrible coach. This is a horrible coach. He's inept. That was a terrible decision. It's not that they're tanking, you know.
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B
Yeah. That's a shitty way to get cleared of wrongdoing.
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A
Yeah. And you know he still might be back. Right. Like, you say this stuff about Scott Perry and I believe that on it's on its face. But we all know. We all know who running the show.
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B
Yeah. Anyway, I think Paul George will remain a Sixer, in which case the Sixers will remain tethered to the contracts of Paul George, Joel Embiid and trying to figure out their two eras that are.
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A
Put this in time. Let's put this in perspective and be. George Maxey alone will earn 153 million next year. The salary cap is 160. 66.
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B
Yeah.
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A
Not great. Sorry, Cliff. You know, we just had to get up.
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B
K Pop Demon Hunters Saja Boys Breakfast Meal and Hunt Tricks meal have just dropped at McDonald's. They're calling this a battle for the fans. What do you say to that Rumi. It's not a battle. So glad the Saja boys could take breakfast and give our meal the rest of the day.
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A
It is an honor to share. No, it's our honor. It is our larger honor.
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B
No, really, stop. You can really feel the respect in this battle. Pick a meal to pick a side and participate in McDonald's while supplies last. You tell yourself no one wants your college era band tees. But on Depop, people are searching for exactly what you've got. You once paid a small fortune for
- [20:50]
A
them at merch stands.
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B
Now a teenager who calls them vintage will offer that same small fortune back. Sell them easily on Depop. Just snap a few photos and we'll take care of the rest. Who knew your questionable music taste would be a money making machine. Your style can make you cash. Start selling on Depop, where taste recognizes taste.
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A
Get that up out of the way. All right, let's go. I'm just. I'm just doing like the shuffle on the ipod right now. Let's go. Let's go to the Suns.
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B
Why not? Did you have. Did you have an ipod? Were you old enough to have an ipod?
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A
Come on, bro, stop playing with me. Come on, man. Stop it. Of course I had an ipod. That was. I was. I am the error that this was all sold to. I'm the me.
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B
Cliff, how old were you when you had your first ipod?
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A
How old was when I want to first have my first iPod? Probably 11, 10, 11. I had the little. I had the ipod. It only had like the ipod. No, it wasn't even the mini. What was the very small one that only shuffled like. Yeah, the shuffle. It only held like 80 square ones.
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B
The little, Little tiny one.
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A
And you just. You just press. And you just press like the, the next button. You didn't even know it was coming. It like strapped onto your. It was at the clip. And because you know, that was. That was the cheapest one, is all we could afford. And I remember my mom asking me like, yo, man, are you sure that, like, you know, it's only 80 songs? I was like, I don't even know 80 song. I was just trying to get the iPad. I don't even know 80 songs. Of course. And then 80 songs goes by like that. But anyways, besides the point, the, The. The. The Phoenix Suns, who. I've. I just want to give a round of applause to the Suns this season because for the seventh seed, it was. It was great. They've had a great season. You know, even with injuries, they've been able to you know, kind of not only flirt with just a plan, but even maybe flirt with a six seed. So good for them. But I also feel like they have pretty much hit their ceiling with what this team could look like. Right. They don't have any avenues to, to, to fortify their roster with picks. They're kind of just in a holding pattern with build, trying to build a team around Devin Booker. Let's just start with the obvious question. Are they going to beat OKC or, or the spurs if they get out of the plan? Let's just get that out of the way first and then we can go to their off season.
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B
Absolutely not. Yeah, this is, this is not a team that's pulling a first round upset. I don't think they're even lasting very long in a first round series against either of those teams. So whereas with certain teams like the Clippers, we'll get to some others who I think could at least make a series really interesting. The Suns are your classic cannon fodder. 7th or 8th seed. To their credit. They were the as, as we speak. They're the 10th best defense in the NBA this season. That's a huge credit to Jordan Ott, their rookie head coach who was getting
- [23:32]
A
a lot of run for coach consideration. Kind of still though, like maybe like a vote here or there.
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B
He's on the fringes of it. Like I think there are stronger candidates like Missoula, Charles Lee Bickerstaff, like I think those three are probably the leaders, but they're like Jordan Ott deserves consideration. Ty Lu, as we talked about Deserv, there are a couple others. He'll get some votes, some down ballot votes, maybe, maybe even a couple of firsts, who knows. So credit to them for making the best of a bad situation that they themselves created by trading everything once upon a time to get Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal. They're still, they're going to be paying the price for that for a very long time because they waved and stretched Beal. They're never getting all those picks back.
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A
They don't control their own first round pick until 2032.
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B
That's a problem. It's not great. Malawatch didn't exactly, you know, blow anybody away his rookie season. Devin Booker's 29, firmly in his mid prime. He signed through 2930 when he'll be making $68 million. Like you better make the most of, of what he has during this prime period. He's been a really great, loyal, kind of, I want to spend my whole career with one franchise in Phoenix, blah, blah, blah kind of guy. Everybody's, everybody's patience runs out eventually. Hello, Giannis. And you know, you can't, you can't just assume that. You can't take it for granted. Who's their second best player? Is it Dylan Brooks?
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A
Yes.
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B
Is it Jalen Green? Like, who's their core? Ryan Dunn, Mark Williams? Like they've got some, like these are good players, but not, they don't have a second star. They don't have anybody you really can, can hang a hat on. I, I just. And, and they're, they're hemmed in cap wise and picks wise. So I don't know what the future is for this team. I, I think, I mean, do they,
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A
like, here's the thing though, man, they, they know what the answer is clearly, very clearly what to do to go forward. I think everyone knows what it is and I just think that they're just not going to do it. It's trading Devin Booker, I think I
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B
said a year ago. Right. I mean, well, the thing, it's so
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A
hilarious because everybody knew what this was going to be a year ago, right? Even if they were good, like Devin Booker had an out, it could have been a very good, you know, just, hey man, it's been real. I love the Suns. The best thing I can do for them is get traded for myself and the Suns.
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B
They get their picks, that's their way
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A
forward and that's fine.
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B
It still is.
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A
It still is. But I'm just saying. But you know, I'm happy for, you know, Booker getting his bread. But like, this is, we're literally where we are were a year ago with this team.
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B
If anybody wants to say this season is proof that Devin Booker, plus some good players and a good coach and a defensive mindset can be competitive. Okay, cool. They're 44, 36. That's very respectable. 10th best defense in the NBA. Very solid, very respectable. 17th best offense. They've had some injury issues. You could paint a rosy half glass, half full picture if you want, but there's not much like Dylan Brooks had an incredible year offensively that we never saw in his previous stops for a full season. But, and Jalen Green has all the talents in the world, but he's a problematic player and that's why the Rockets were super eager to offload him. I, I don't think that this core as built has enough of an upside. They can be a perennial seventh or eighth seed for, for the next few years, but I don't, I don't see Enough upside here, enough flexibility here. And yeah, your, your get out of jail free card eventually is trading Devin Booker.
- [27:08]
A
Better do it now, sooner rather than later. He's 29 years old. Just get it over with. It is what it is. Okay, I think that's all we got. Is there any more you want to say about the Suns? I don't think there's much. There's. Let's talk about the Blazers, who or on the other side of this Clippers matchup that you are probably going to be watching as you listen to this podcast. Big game tonight for them has also been like a really cool story, you know, I mean, considering it seems like, geez, the Chauncey Billups stuff seems like years and years and years ago, but that was in October and we don't
- [27:45]
B
even hear about it anymore. That case just like went to the back burner and has not resurfaced since. Like, is the federal government actually, I was gonna say is the federal government actually functioning, but we know the answer to that, so.
- [27:54]
A
Exactly. So I, I just, I, I, but you know, Thiago Splitter has done a good job. You know, it probably, if they, you know, maybe had about seven more wins, maybe he'd be on the fringe of some sort of coach of the year. Not winning it obviously, but you know, like he could get being down ballot consideration. Down ballot. They're not going to beat OKC or the spurs, but I'm kinda, I'm kind of excited for their prospects. They could be in like Giannis territory this summer. They could be in the, in the talks for it at least. They're probably going to get a new coach. It's, you know, I mean, they're, they're probably going to get a new arena soon. I think it's, they're, they're in a good space, have a new owner. Probably be in a good space. Right. What do you think?
- [28:35]
B
Yeah, listen, this is, this is a team that I was trying to think of all. On all these playing teams, you, there's two different kinds of teams in the middle. In the NBA, you could be in the middle and just stuck on the treadmill of mediocrity. Hello, Chicago Bulls. Or you can be a team that might be on your way up. You may be on your way down. The Blazers are kind of like with caveats on their way up. Like, Denny Abdia has been a revelation. Phenomenal trade. Breakthrough season, by the way.
- [29:01]
A
Real quick, I'm just gonna, I'm just gonna push away for the, all the, the compliments that The Wizards get trading. Denny wasn't like they. They've had some blunders in this builder. They blew that one. Like, geez. Okay.
- [29:15]
B
Hard to justify.
- [29:17]
A
Sorry.
- [29:18]
B
Scoot is progressing. I'll. I'm. I'm holding on to all my Scoot stock. Shaden Sharp has proven he can be a very good scorer. Tamani Kamara is an elite defender. Donovan Clingan has been really solid. At minimum, he's leading the NBA in offensive rebounds per game. Four and a half. And credit to Thiago Splitter for like stepping in. He hadn't even been an assistant coach for that many years, I don't think. And has to step in under extraordinarily crazy circumstances.
- [29:47]
A
I don't feel like people realize how big of a story this was when it happened. Right. It just seems like it's been sweeped down there. This was fucking huge. This was crazy when it happened.
- [29:56]
B
Yeah. So, I mean, look, my guess is they're going to get an established coach and, you know, maybe they'll hold on to Splitter as an assistant, but we'll see. They do have a new owner who just took control recently. Did. Did the rounds with the local media, did a lot of interviews. Sounds like he's got a lot of swagger to him and he wants things
- [30:20]
A
done pretty fast, which is why I keep saying, like, maybe Giannis is in play for them. Maybe.
- [30:24]
B
Aggressive personality. Yeah. I mean, dude, what, what was the first thing that, that, you know, Matt Ishbia did in Phoenix? He went and traded everything they had for. For Kevin Durant. Is the new swaggering owner built kind of the same way, personality wise, seemingly in Portland. Dundon is, is his last name fun, Fun joke making the rounds in social media spaces in my. Among my Blazer friends, because his last name, I don't know if you actually pronounce it Dun. Dun. But it, it sounds like the law and order thing. So yeah, there you go. It sounds like he's going to be very aggressive. So. And they. I believe that the Blazers have some portion of Bucks draft capital to send them back as. As inducement. So wouldn't rule them out there. They. If they had. Let's just say for a moment, if they got a Giannis type, if they were fortunate enough to pull that off, they've got the kind of young players around to, I think, play off of him. Well, like there's, there's a decent enough core there that that could be an interesting team. Not necessarily a contender, obviously, but I
- [31:29]
A
mean it'll be the honestly if he wants, if he went to Portland, it'll be like kind of the same situation that Katie was in. Going into a version of the same situation that Katie was going into in Houston. Right. Just a lot of young guys. You're expected to be the leader and like you're supposed to carry.
- [31:43]
B
Yeah. Problem being, of course, if you're Milwaukee, you're asking for oh, you want to send us Denny Abdia. Oh, no, they're not going to send us any. Could we get scoot maybe. Probably.
- [31:54]
A
I would say they're going to be in the sweepstakes. That they're not necessarily. They're not going to get them. They're just going to try to probably be in the sweepstakes.
- [31:59]
B
They'll. They'll chase them. There's other questions hanging over here though, because they do have a new owner. Mr. Dundon. I can't say that with a straight face. And when that happens, you, you start to look at is there going to be a house cleaning and the front office is already under a lot of scrutiny because it's been a pretty checkered couple of years. Also a couple of. Of their front office folks just got suspended. Suspended, fined. I think both by the NBA for some pre eligibility tampering with, with their young center, Hansen Han Sen. I can't pronounce that either. So there's, there's just some, some clouds there and some ambiguity. Is Joe Cronin and staff going to last under the new owner? Is the coach going to be changed out? Everything's on the table when you've got a new owner, especially in this era.
- [32:53]
A
Yeah, really cloudy in Portland. You know, they're used to that though.
- [32:59]
B
Weather jokes can't go wrong, I think.
- [33:02]
A
Let's see if we can do some more weather jokes when we go to Miami. 4 and 10 since Bam scored 83. Maybe they disrespected the basketball gods after all. They're not beating the, the Celtics or the Pistons. They're just a, they're just in a weird space right now, man. I mean they're gonna go for. They're probably in pole position, I would say at this point to get Giannis Adeta Kumbo. They have the best, they probably have the best offseason package. They can probably offload Hero Jimenez and some other assets and going to go get him. Will that do anything? Honestly, like, I think that probably rejuvenate the heat. What would that do for them? Like what, what, what should they do in the meantime before that. But it seems like they're about to go try to go get Giannis and Giannis, that's probably like, what's. I'm not going to predict that's going to be what's happening. I'm just gonna say at this very moment, I believe that they are the one that have the, Are the number one team to look at to go get him.
- [34:03]
B
Miami's always in play for every disgruntled star because one, it's Miami and guys will actually want to play there and want to resign there. So you're, you're always a candidate. But also not for nothing, that's what Pat Riley does. Right. So they will be chasing Giannis. I don't think there's any question about that. They were chasing him at the trade deadline. They were one of the more aggressive teams, and where they are right now is kind of stuck in place. Like, bam is really good. Tyler Hero is really good. Norm Powell had a really nice season for them. He's a free agent, though, and that's a, that core is a very, you know, a, a, a good ish playoff team with a very low ceiling. Right. You got some interesting role players. You know, Wiggins, who I think is going into, like, he's got a player option, 30 million. Hawkes, Larson, Khalil Ware, you know, young and promising. Like, there's, there's like, pieces here, but like, I, you know, the, the. They're not good enough to really break through the clutter in the east and
- [35:02]
A
they won't bottom out. They will never bottom out.
- [35:04]
B
And they will never bottom out. Riley won't allow it. So are they resigning? Norm Powell, he turns 33 in May, he's a free agent and he's going to want his last big payoff. I don't, I don't know where this is going other than this team is absolutely going to be chasing Giannis as hard as it can. And if they land him, I have ultimate faith that Pat Riley, Andy Ellisberg and that front office are going to find a way to build around Giannis effectively and quickly. We don't know who's going out in that deal, obviously, but they'll have enough left over and the, you know, the attractiveness of Miami to sell. So for the moment, yeah, they're. If they make it out of the plan, they're cannon fodder. But I think, you know, you never bet against the Heat in the off season because they, they can get in, they can get into just about any talks.
- [35:55]
A
I think, as right now, I think it's the Lakers in there and I think it's Miami, but you got, and when I say this, you guys got to realize that this is. It's two things. Not. It doesn't have necessarily thing to anything to do with who has the best package necessarily. Trade package is who Giannis is going to resign with Win. That is going to be the big kicker this summer.
- [36:13]
B
He's got one year left in his deal, so he does have that leverage.
- [36:15]
A
Yeah, right. So just. But that's what I've been, you know, been gathering. It's, it's. The Lakers are in play, obviously the, you know, Houston's. Everybody in the league's gonna ask. But I think the two ones that, you know, league circles, at least right now from what I'm hearing is Miami and Lakers are probably might be a second. But at this time point, Miami is like the team to watch for.
- [36:36]
B
New York doesn't have enough in terms of like some combination of like young players, draft capital. But like if he insists on New York, I don't think that makes it automatic. We've seen this play before, right? Damien Lillard insisted on Miami. He ended up in Milwaukee. It's no guarantee. But if, if Giannis is pushing for New York, then there'll at least be every effort to try to make that happen before they eventually, you know, in your scenario give up and instead send them to Miami or, or the Lakers. I think the Lakers are a very strong possibility in all this for sure, for, for sure.
- [37:05]
A
A little signing trade with Austin Reeves, but they just don't have as much as Miami does, you know, even at their best offer. So we'll see what happens. Let's go to, let's stay in, let's stay in Florida, man. Let's go to the disappointing ass Magic. What's your outlook for them, man? What do you got for me? Is there any optimism for the Magic and also for Paolo in particular? Will the right coach fix him?
- [37:31]
B
Let's start there with the coach because every list right now, speculative list of coaches that could be replaced this summer. Jamal Mosley is, is high on that list, which is unfortunate because he was considered one of the most promising young head coaches when they hired him. I think he probably still is. But it does seem like things have run their course there and especially between Jamal Mosley and Ban Caro, so. And on that note, by the way, that front office led by Jeff Weltman's been in place for nine years and there's a little bit more speculation about that as well. So who knows what's going to happen In Orlando this off season, it's been an incredibly frustrating and disappointing year for them. Will they ever stay healthy? Will they ever be a top 10 to 15 offense? Will they ever sign a real point guard? Will they ever have enough 3 point shooting? Are Wagner and Bonchero actually the right combination as the one, two punch? Like, there's a lot of questions there and I'm curious, like, who's going to be answering those questions? Is it, is it still the same front office? Is it still the same head coach? Is there like, does if there's a shake up this summer, does it start with just, you know, leadership? Does it go all the way through the roster? Because I think there's a case to be made that they needed to take a different tack here entirely. I am not one who believes that if you wave the magic wand and they were just healthy, that they would have been a contender. They would have still been. They would have been a much better team, obviously, but they've got some functional issues with that, with that lineup as it is, so. And yeah, if they make it out of the plane, this team is definitely losing to Detroit or Boston.
- [39:04]
A
Yeah, I don't have much more. More than that, man. We've talked about the magic and nausea. We're just going to make me more depressed. Speaking of a team that makes. Speaking of a team that makes me depressed, the Golden State Warriors.
- [39:19]
B
That's it? That's your setup? That's your question?
- [39:21]
A
That's. Let's just talk through it, you know, that's. That's what I got. What do you got on the. I mean, I, I saw them last night and like, like half of their damn bits was on the. I was on the. Was on the bench of Street Clothes. It was very depressing, man. It was just.
- [39:34]
B
No. What?
- [39:35]
A
Also it was fan night and Steve was like, nah, Steph ain't playing against LeBron. That's not happening, guys. Sorry. Sorry.
- [39:43]
B
Fans on Fan appreciation night. Yeah, so, so much for appreciation. Yeah, it's kind of a bummer.
- [39:50]
A
By the way, Steph did not play against LeBron at all this season.
- [39:54]
B
Yeah, that. That sucks. Well, they'll make up for it when they're teammates next season.
- [39:59]
A
Okay. I don't. We'll get to that. Let's table that. We're going to talk to that in a second. Just go ahead what you're saying.
- [40:05]
B
So if the warriors make it out of the play in which even that seems like a stretch at this point. No, they're not pulling a first round up set, so we can start with the fact that the Warrior season will end sometime within the next week to 10, 14 days at most. Steve Kerr's future is front and center. That's the first thing they got to figure out. Is he coming back? Does he want to be back? For how long? If it's not him, my God, like it's been so long since we even had to contemplate who the head coach of the warriors might be. Who does Steph want coaching his twilight years if it's not Steve? Steph is still a top 10 player when he's healthy. We have seen it over and over, even within the last week. And if you're looking for glass half full on the warriors, you start there. Steph is still a viable star to build around. Jimmy Butler will be back at some point next season, and a healthy Jimmy is still a top 25 to 30 player. Draymond is still effective. Porzingis is the perfect fit for them. Are they resigning him? Can they get him through a full season healthy? And that's, that's really the problem, right? Like every single building block, I just named Steph, Jimmy, Draymond, a resigned Porzingis, every single one of them. Your. Your fingers are crossed and you're knocking on wood all the time. Can we just get them through the season and because that would be a really nice lineup to go into the playoffs with if they're all still standing.
- [41:24]
A
And you know what I see? You know what I see when you say that lineup? 35 wins at best next year.
- [41:30]
B
Hater. It. It like keeping them all on the floor is the problem, right? And when they're not on the floor, that's where your scenario comes into play, right? You have to bake in that they're not going to all stay. They're not playing 70, 75 games. And because of that, yeah, you're leaning too hard on the Pajemskis and the guy Santos's and whoever else is around. Which brings us to the mystery box, which is, can they make the trade for Giannis? Can they make a trade for Kawhi? Can they sign Kawhi or LeBron as free agents if Kawhi gets voided and LeBron decides he wants to play somewhere else? There are all these like potential interesting paths for them. And all of them, you know, lead to other older players with injury concerns and everything else, but they're all super fucking intriguing anyway. Like, I don't know what the Lakers or, excuse me, what the warriors look like with a 42 year old LeBron, but I'm all in for it. I'll, I'll, I'll watch every game. I don't know what they look like with Kawhi playing probably 62 games, but again, like, if you can get them, hell yeah, for, for a year or two. Like, like these are intriguing possibilities. It probably doesn't work out because the odds are against you on age, on injury histories, but what else you gonna do? The warriors do have all their picks to use and trade. I believe they've got, you know, whatever Pajemski or whoever else that they can put in a trade. It sucks that Moses Moody is, is out for, for a while because that was another potential piece to throw into these kinds of deals. But they're going to be in play. They're going to chase Giannis, they're going to try to. If not giannis, then maybe LeBron or Kawhi, and if none of the above, then it's back to Steph, Jimmy Draymond, a resigned Porzingis, and, you know, prayers to the basketball gods.
- [43:26]
A
Yeah, I, So I think it's going to take a lot to get LeBron, man, like, assuming. Unless he, like, is like, I want vet minimum to just play, he must.
- [43:39]
B
He could take that anytime he wants.
- [43:40]
A
He would, he would. That means he would really have to want to play with Steph and like, really, like. Because here's another thing. The Lakers, who, you know, they, it's been well documented his, his latest relationship with the Los Angeles Lakers and himself, but they can offer him, like, say if you're the new ownership and you're Mark Walter and you want to set the tone for, you know, new stars going in, you take LeBron in the room and you say, hey, check it out. We know that we got beef, you know, with all those things, but we just want to take care of you on the way out. We want to give you a Lakers send off, and they'll probably can give him the most money that he can get on the marketplace. We're going to give you that. Maybe we'll give you 15, 20, I don't know. You know, I'm not the cap guy. I'm just, I'm the vibes guy. But what I'm saying is we'll give you this amount of money. It's gonna be the most money that you can get. More money than Cleveland give you, more money than Golden State can give you. And we're gonna let you compete for a title. And we're also going to let you, let you ride off into the sunset The Laker way. That's the pitch, right? That's the pitch. The warriors would have to. If LeBron doesn't want to get the. The vet minimum or whatever, mid level or something like that, they're gonna have to trade for him. They're gonna have to trade some form of maybe like Draymond or. Which would be very. With irony in. That would be crazy, but. Or they would have to, you know, offload some contracts to get him, and that just doesn't seem realistic. There'd be a sign and trade. I know he's a free agent, but there would be a sign and trade to get him into their books because they're right at the. They're entrenched in the luxury tax. I just don't see the incentive to do that specifically for LeBron. I know national, everybody, every person that I speak to on a national level is like, LeBron's coming. LeBron's coming. Every time I go to the warriors game, there's not a sense that he is. It's imminent. And so we'll see. We'll see. I think that they will want Kawhi. I'd much rather go try to get Kawhi or Giannis and then maybe, you know, at the end of the day, maybe kick the tires on LeBron. But LeBron's best chance to get it, whatever he wants, is in the lake with the Lakers. I've been saying that time and time again. It's just. Yeah, unless he wants to go to the Clippers, which I know he doesn't want to do that. We'll see.
- [46:02]
B
I would think not. I would.
- [46:03]
A
We'll see.
- [46:04]
B
I don't know.
- [46:04]
A
I just. I just. I just don't think it's plausible for. I think it's a very emotional decision for LeBron. Right. Like, if. If Luca doesn't get traded, he's. He's a Laker for life right now.
- [46:15]
B
Like, if they never acquired Luca.
- [46:17]
A
Yeah, if they never acquired Luca, he's a Laker for life. But now he's like. And we talked about this the night it happened. Me and Justin Barrier was like, this upends all of LeBron's plans. And I'm curious to see how he reacts to it. Behind the scenes. It just seems like he's been flailing, like, oh, man. Like, I'm not getting what I want. I'm going to go, you know, have a temperature beyond the scenes. I'm going to leave. But the market isn't what it was when you were, you know, even 37 38. It's different. It's not.
- [46:46]
B
Yeah. You know, but there, there are plenty of teams that, if he's willing to come in at the mid level exception, which is like, I don't know, 14, 15 million. It's not nothing like it's, it's, it's a huge pay cut if you're LeBron James. But whether it's the minimum contract, which again he can do, he can go anywhere he wants if he's just willing to take a massive pay cut, but we can come back to that one because the Lakers are going to be out of the playoffs in about two weeks and we will be talking about LeBron ad nauseam the second it happens.
- [47:12]
A
Yeah, yeah. And by the way, the, the, the warriors wouldn't even have the full mid level. They will have the taxpayer mid level, which is approximately $5.7 million.
- [47:22]
B
So if they, if they need more room to get him, and he said, I want to come for the mid level, like they'd find a way to make the room and get below and get the full mid level.
- [47:30]
A
But anyway, yeah, all for 32 wins. The Toronto Raptors.
- [47:35]
B
You said 35, man, look at you.
- [47:37]
A
Yeah. Now just, you know, they get LeBron and they have all these injuries, it's probably down to like 32.
- [47:44]
B
I think we've got three Eastern Conference teams left here because there were six still in play.
- [47:48]
A
Yes, absolutely. We have the Raptors, we have the Hornets, I believe we have.
- [47:54]
B
And the Hawks.
- [47:55]
A
And the Hawks. There we go. Let's talk about the. What did I say? Let's talk about the Raptors. What do you think about the Raptors? They've been playing. They've had such a topsy turvy, like post all star experience.
- [48:08]
B
Weird team.
- [48:09]
A
They are a weird team. I just don't know. I mean, I think they could do some things right. I think they could. I think that they can. They can in theory, I think probably not. But they have all their first round picks. Who the. My question is this, Howard. It has nothing to do with this season. It's who the hell is Scotty Barnes and what is he going to be going forward? That is the question that I always have for them. Or. And then also as an addition to that, how long before we stop acting like Scotty Barnes is the number one? How long is he before? How long, how much more does he have to prove before he can even continue to be treated like a number one? Those are the things that I have about the rap.
- [48:45]
B
He's an elite defender who could defend multiple positions. And he's. He seems like a phenomenal teammate and he's got a lot of offensive skills, but no, I don't think he's a number one offensively. He's not a hub. And so you've got this cluttered mess there where it's like, you know, they bring in Brandon Ingram, who is, who. Who, you know, scores and shoots and, and carries himself like a number one. But Brandon Ingram is probably best as a complimentary scorer as well. RJ Barrett, kind of the same thing. So like, they just, they don't really have a. You know, you, you have, you get focus in this league. You get clarity when you know who your number one option is, when it's a clear number one option. And if you're fortunate enough to have two guys who are both worthy of that and can carry that, cool. They work it out among themselves. But you have clarity. Everybody else is playing off of them. Who are you playing off of in Toronto? It's more of this kind of like ensemble approach, which is fine, but that is just. Just good enough to get you where they are, which is floating somewhere in the middle. Maybe they're going to be a play on a full playoff team by the time this weekend is over. Maybe they're in the play in. I'll tell you this. If they're in the play in and if they make it out and they're a seventh or eighth seed. To answer the question we've been asking about all these teams, they are absolutely toast against Detroit or Boston. Do you want to know what the Toronto Raptors have done against the best teams in the NBA this season?
- [50:04]
A
Logan, I'm going to tell you, but. Okay, go ahead.04 against the Knicks.
- [50:08]
B
And they play again tonight. They have five games, I think because of the Cup.04 against the Knicks. Oh, and four against the Celtics, one and two against the Pistons. Then we'll switch conferences. One and one against the Thunder. That's actually respectable.02 against the spurs, zero and two against the Nuggets, zero and two against the Lakers, zero and two against the Rockets. Point being the. The Toronto Raptors have a very nice regular season record and they cannot beat the best teams in the NBA. So they will not last long. Assuming they make it. They're much better off if they can somehow secure the fifth or sixth seed and not fall to the plan. That goes without saying.
- [50:47]
A
But no, they. They should scare the. I mean, it was early in the season, but if they play the ca. Man 4 Fifth seed. I mean, just Saying James Harden must
- [50:56]
B
have confidence of the Cavaliers.
- [50:57]
A
I'm just saying, James Harden in Toronto, what could go wrong? Fair.
- [51:02]
B
Fair. They should hope for that. That outcome, that, that might be the most promising of all the potential outcomes as we go into this messy final weekend with all these seatings.
- [51:13]
A
But what do they do this offseason? I mean, they have a lot of, they have a lot of picks. They do have a promising offseason. I mean, they're, it's not the worst position to be in, right?
- [51:20]
B
No, they've got pieces, they've got stuff. I don't know.
- [51:23]
A
I like this in the middle. They're in purgatory. That's all they are.
- [51:27]
B
They're kind of in purgatory and they really need to. They've been kind of just biting time the last couple of years. I didn't quite understand the Brandon Ingram acquisition. I still don't.
- [51:39]
A
It was, it was basically, it was, fuck it, let's just. I mean, he's there.
- [51:43]
B
We can get him for free. Why not?
- [51:44]
A
And it was also the arrogance of like, hey man, we know what he did in New Orleans. But like our, it's an arrogance that our program is better than New Orleans and we could.
- [51:51]
B
Probably kept them a lot healthier than New Orleans did, but you know, that's a low bar too.
- [51:57]
A
How old is Scotty Barnes? 24 years old.
- [52:01]
B
You know, not even in his prime yet.
- [52:03]
A
Not even in his prime yet.
- [52:04]
B
Stop hating.
- [52:06]
A
Talk to yourself. You want to fly down to Atlanta real quick? I don't know how much. Why not?
- [52:13]
B
Why not? I got, I need more Delta miles.
- [52:15]
A
Oh my goodness. Atlanta. We talked about the, we talked about the Clippers being a dangerous team. Atlanta against the Knicks first round. If they can keep this succeed, I mean, obviously it's just, it's, it's, it's a two way tie right now in the five and six between Atlanta and the Raptors right now. But if the, the Hawks could make some noise against the Knicks. Do you think so?
- [52:39]
B
Yeah, I mean, I think that, I
- [52:40]
A
think they're a dangerous team. You know, like the Cal Alexander, Walker, they have all those wings. They, I think they could, they could make a dent. I don't know if they can beat the Knicks necessarily, but I'd be scared. They could make a run out of it.
- [52:54]
B
They're 1 and 2 against the Knicks and it's, it's also just kind of hard to assess the Hawks because there's the pre, there's the Trey Young portion of the season, there's the post Trey Young trade portion of the season. They're, you know, they got clarity finally. Like, this was overdue and I'm glad they did it. Like, did they get anything much for Trey Young? No, but they, they, they, they gained clarity. That was what they acquired in that trade. Jalen Johnson is their franchise stud now. He's all NBA. He's the perfect modern star. He's, he's long, he can handle, he can defend, he can do everything. And Nikhil Alexander Walker's been awesome. Nobody saw this coming. He's a stud two way player and he's probably the leading candidate for most improved player. Dyson Daniels is an elite defender. Kongwu is good. CJ McCollum has been good there. He's a free agent this summer. I actually think they should keep him contract year.
- [53:47]
A
Cj baby.
- [53:49]
B
Love cj. This is a very solid team. Like, you know, are they gonna pull an upset against the Knicks or somebody? Like, probably not. I think they're probably first round and out, which is fine. Like this version of the team, this is, this is new for them, but they are dangerous. They have had a really strong second half. It. They're one of those teams that's been hard to assess over the last month or so because a lot of teams have gone on long winning streaks by piling up wins against all the tanking teams. When a third of the league is tanking, it gets really, really hard to assess what's real and, and what's not with these long winning streaks. And the Hawks piled up a lot of wins against a lot of bad teams. So I don't know how much faith I have in them. But going forward, like, you know, there's a core there now. Jalen Johnson, Nikhil Alexander Walker, Dyson Daniels and a Kong Woo. That is a really solid core to be building around. Is Risa Shay ever turning into something or they move on from him? Are they keeping Jonathan Kuminga? There's a team option for 24 million. He's been kind of up and down.
- [54:51]
A
He's been playing on one leg this whole season in his shows. Right? Like he's trying to. That's what I was just trying to like say when he was on the warriors. Like this is probably the best case scenario because it's hard to. Especially when you have a team option to get traded on that team option. Then you're have to prove you're worth what, $25 million in six weeks. It's tough.
- [55:09]
B
I mean, I would decline the option. I don't, I don't know that, that I like. If you keep him, you're keeping him because you think, oh, he's a trade piece, possibly, which, maybe. But then assume some other team wants to acquire a $24 million Jonathan Kaminga. I'm not sure if that's, if that's the case.
- [55:25]
A
I don't know if that's, that's the vibes. Also another Giannis candidate and they also have the perfect roster around Giannis right now. If you were to do it, I don't know if he would resign, but,
- [55:36]
B
you know, and the Hawks once again, as a reminder, are getting the better pick from the Pelicans and Bucks. Whoever finishes higher in the lottery, that pick is going to Atlanta. So like the Hawks have, have some stuff, man. They can. Whether it's keeping the pick, trading.
- [55:52]
A
If you're the Bucks, do you want to trade before the draft or after the draft?
- [55:56]
B
If I'm the Bucks, I'm waiting to the. For the lottery for sure. Obviously, so and so, so people know the second you are out, you, you can trade with other teams that are out. This is how we got a Kevin Durant trade on game seven of the finals last June. Because as long as it's between two teams, they're out. So teams could start making trades as soon as they're. They're done. As long as it's with other teams that are done. You're waiting for the lottery at least obviously you want to see where your pick falls and if the, you know, the Bucks are going to get the worst of the two picks. The better of the two picks goes to Atlanta. The worst of them, the Bucks get. So either their own pick or New Orleans pick. You're probably waiting till the draft anyway. Once the lottery order is set, that's when the clock really begins. That's when you start having conversations with other teams because you know where you're picking. You know, you know, like, is there still. It's funny, the Bucks were just here in Brooklyn and so I was talking to a bunch of people around the team, team people, media people, whatever. And every time I made the joke, like, don't worry, it's almost all over. The response I basically got, usually just through facial expression, non verbal responses, was basically like, is it though it's never over? Like, no one's even ruling out the possibility that somehow Giannis stands down, returns, and they just like trade a bunch of shit to try to surround him again. And like, who knows? Like nobody even knows how to read this anymore. Like there, there's so I really just
- [57:31]
A
want this over with, bro. Like I really just, I, I, I, I know over the last like post decision NBA, this has just kind of just been what it has been, right? It's just like, oh, like we're gonna look over to the offseason free agents. Like I really just despise this time of year now. You got to read tea leaves. It's made for Reddit posts. It's just,
- [57:57]
B
I feel you, dude. You think you hate it. You should see the looks on the faces of the people around the Bucks when they were here the other day. I swear to God, they all just like they've had the kicked out of them. They need a vacation so badly. And the thing is the season's going to end for the Bucks on Sunday and then it's just beginning. Like there is no sleep for anybody working for that team, covering that team. It's, it's every everything is just going to be the Giannis circus for the next couple of months. But I do think this will be resolved if not by July 1, then around the draft, but certainly by in early July. He's going to get traded somewhere and we can all move on with our lives.
- [58:35]
A
Got it?
- [58:36]
B
But shout out to everybody around the Bucks, I feel for you. I'm including the beat writers.
- [58:41]
A
Including the beat writers. Sorry, guys.
- [58:43]
B
Especially the beat writers.
- [58:45]
A
Eric, what up, buddy? Stay strong. The Charlotte Hornets, Roger's favorite team. I'm kind of sad he's not even here to celebrate them.
- [58:56]
B
Shout out to the Bobcats.
- [58:57]
A
Hot, hottest team in the East. I don't think they can beat the Celtics or the Pistons, but I don't it'll be fun to see. I that'll be fun to see. It'll be fun to watch when we
- [59:10]
B
go when the plan begins on Tuesday. And we'll be coming to y' all right after those late, late Tuesday night.
- [59:19]
A
Me, Howard and I'm pretty sure Raja.
- [59:23]
B
I'm sending, I'm sending Raja coffee right now. We're keeping him up. I'm staying up. I don't know what the fuck hour it's going to be when we're taping Tuesday night after the play ins. But it's, it's going to be interesting. I'm going to be punchy when the plans start and I'm assuming Charlotte is one of those. They could still be a playoff team straight up. But if they are one of the playing teams, it's Charlotte and the Clippers are the two teams that I'm giving the most credit to for potentially Actually making the first round interesting. Like Charlotte's going to come out if they don't make the six seed and Charlotte isn't the plan. I think they're coming out and if they're playing Detroit or Boston, I think those teams are going, fuck, I don't want to see this team. I don't. I don't know that they're beating either of those teams, but that's the way you look at this. Eventually, seventh and eighth seeds are cannon fodder, but some seventh and eighth seeds are scarier than others. And the Hornets are a team on the way up, not a team on the way down, not a team on the treadmill of mediocrity. They're feisty. They've been one of the best teams in the NBA since January 2nd. Like, I don't think anybody wants to face them. And I think that includes the Pistons and Celtics. As great as those teams have been, and those are both teams that I expect to be in the conference finals. I don't think anybody wants to see the Hornets, and I think they could push somebody to seven.
- [60:36]
A
Yeah, Detroit did beat most of their games against the Detroit and the Hornets. They've been literally before the Charlottes run, but they did beat Charlotte during the run at Charlotte. I think I'd still be more afraid if I don't know who I'd be more. Would you be more afraid if you're the Celtics or the Pistons? I'm leaning like Pistons. But the Celtics are not whole yet. Yeah, I mean, they are whole, but they. You know, we haven't seen Tatum in a postseason setting even though he's been really great in. Over the last few games.
- [61:06]
B
Yeah, I mean, listen, I. Given that the Pistons look, the Hornets haven't done anything. So they're a young team also. But the Pistons are a young team that got to six games against the Knicks last year. Could have won that series if a couple things break their way. Didn't have Isaiah Stewart.
- [61:20]
A
We're better on the road than they were at home.
- [61:22]
B
Yeah.
- [61:22]
A
Didn't win a home game.
- [61:24]
B
But as an inexperienced team in the playoffs, I think you want the. The easier path, if that's possible. So. And I don't know who that is necessarily. I just know that the Hornets are the. Are the one team in that range that would scare me most. So between the Pistons and Celtics, I think the Pistons would have a little bit more to worry about. The Celtics don't have much to worry about anybody. Like they're. They're defending or not. They're a recent champion who I think probably don't fear anybody at this stage.
- [61:55]
A
All right, Friday, you know what that is? It's time for real One of the week. Howard is the most prepared guy on this show, so he gets to go first.
- [62:07]
B
Oh man, I had fun with this one. Logan. I woke up this morning still thinking about who my real one of the week. I went to bed thinking about who my real I woke up at three in the morning thinking about who my real one of the week might be and I had some possibilities.
- [62:20]
A
Wow.
- [62:22]
B
I put a lot of thought into this.
- [62:23]
A
I see.
- [62:24]
B
And then I fired up Blue sky this morning and somebody had added me on Blue Sky. Someone who came in my mentions at like 8 in the morning saying, listen man, I don't know if you guys have taped yet, but I've got your real one of the week. So shout out to listener Ed Giles, who hit me on Blue sky this morning. Because Ed Giles, I am going with your real one of the week. It's a video clip. It's a video clip from CJ Fogler, long time poster on social media who does a lot of great video stuff. CJ0 on Blue Sky. Look him up. It's a video clip from the Nets Pacers game here in Brooklyn last night.
- [62:57]
A
Oh God. This is the one that I just saw. Oh God, yes, it's a.
- [63:02]
B
Let me, let me, let me roll. It's two Pacers fans, a young man and woman, both in Pacers gear look like they're probably a couple. The dude is carrying on, seems very insistent about something. They're also both like eating. While they're, while they're arguing. He's making a point like emphatically. He's motioning with his hand and she looks skeptical as hell through this entire thing. She's squinting, she's shaking her head, she's putting her palms up as if to say what the fuck are you talking about? And then you can read her lips as she actually says what the are you talking about?
- [63:32]
A
Yeah, and.
- [63:33]
B
And he kind of stands down. He nods like, huh? Yeah, maybe I'm wrong. Whatever. I don't know what they were talking about, but I've been there and seen.
- [63:44]
A
We've all been there.
- [63:46]
B
Pacer fan. The woman of the. Of the two. You are my real one of the week. I don't know your name. I don't know what the conversation was about, but that was fantastic.
- [63:56]
A
Someone has claimed it. Someone has claimed this. Her name. Her at name is Grace Camille and she says in all caps, I'M crying. I love my boyfriend. This is just how we talk. All caps. Which I'm saying.
- [64:10]
B
What was her name? Grace.
- [64:11]
A
Grace Camille.
- [64:12]
B
Grace Camille. You're the real one of the week. Congratulations.
- [64:15]
A
We've all been there, man. We've all been there. Okay.
- [64:18]
B
Yeah. Just not captured on video and on a TV broadcast.
- [64:22]
A
We've all been. There's people on this show that are listening right now. Like, what the is Logan and Howard? What are they talking about right now? There's probably somebody that said that every damn day. Every damn day. But shout out to Grace, shout out to cj long time follower review pal. And shout out to the homie who's going through this, right? Because he clearly was like saying a great. He was, he was doing his best.
- [64:42]
B
Hey, listen, credit to him because like whatever point she made back, he was kind of like, yeah, okay, well, yeah, all right, I get it. So, yeah, we know who won.
- [64:53]
A
This is tough. Anyways, my ruin of the week, which I think, you know, I think Howard will. Will co sign this one. Golden Gate Fields, which is closing and it's about to be torn down. Some developers right near the crib are going to build housing on that. Either housing or it's going to be a big park put up.
- [65:13]
B
Is that like with the one right off of I80?
- [65:16]
A
Right off I80, which is. Yeah, they're tearing it down. And I have a lot of memories there. Went to a few school dances there. Fun story. My parents, when I was, when I was in the womb, bet on horses one of at Golden Gate fields and won some money. They won some money at this particular time and then drove over to the Coliseum swap meet and that's how I got my crib. So shout out to Golden Gate Fields for making that happen. Wow. So Golden Gate Fields.
- [65:54]
B
Wow.
- [65:54]
A
Long time establishment. I'm going to miss you guys. I'm gonna miss just like driving i80 and seeing it. That's like that was always like on the way home. You knew that that was there. I would imagine that's just like for people in LA of a certain generation that. What is it? The Hollywood fields over there? Over there.
- [66:10]
B
Hollywood Park. Hollywood park where they tore it down.
- [66:12]
A
Yeah, when they tore it down. Right. It was just an establishment like know if, you know, you know, and horseback riding just isn't what it was and you know, it just is what it is.
- [66:22]
B
Yeah.
- [66:22]
A
I know you're bummed for this. I know it's a little sad. It's a little sad.
- [66:26]
B
So I got two, two quick things on this you know, I went to school at UC Davis and you know, I grew up in San Jose. So all of my drives home were either going 80 to 680 to get home or 80 to 101 to get home or like, or depends on where I was going first. But like the number of times, Logan, that I've driven by that over the years, like, I knew exactly where you were talking. I couldn't have told you what the name was. I just know I could picture it in my head immediately. So that is sad. Hollywood Park, I went there once. My boy Kevin Modesty at the LA Daily News back when I was there covering the Lakers. He was, among other things, he was our columnist. But he was also like a huge, like there's a very small club, elite club of like the, the horse racing journalists. And that was once a really. That was like an important role in sports riding for decades when horse racing was a big deal. And Modesti took me and my wife. Might, might have been before we were. I think it was before we even got married. Took us there, showed us all the behind the scenes stuff in, in, you know, back in the stables and everything else. Like it was, it was really cool. And, and Hollywood park right next to the, to the Forum where the Lakers used to play. And of course they tore it down. That's now where. What is it? Oh, so into a dome and Sofi, one or the other, I think, I think Sofi Stadium replaced Hollywood park directly and then into. It was. Was built across the street. So it all looks dramatically different there in Inglewood. But Hollywood Park, I've. I only ever went there once. It's more of a visual thing for me. Kind of just a placeholder in my, in my head. Just like with golden also something you
- [67:57]
A
see when you flew into la, you would always see the form. You would see Hollywood Park. Yeah, that's.
- [68:02]
B
Yeah, that's. You're flying right over it on the way into lax. But shout out to my boy, Mikel Jolie, lead singer of the Airborne Toxic Event, who had an album and a memoir called Hollywood park, because he had these very strong memories of his dad taking him there. And for him, tearing down Hollywood park was like the saddest thing. His memoir is a fantastic read by the way. If you want to go pick that up. It's just called Hollywood park. So there you go.
- [68:27]
A
Yeah. So officially they're actually not gonna make the side of Hollywood park or Golden Gate Fields. Sorry, of Golden Gate Fields. Excuse me. They're going to make it a big park. Like a big waterfront park. Just like profit is going.
- [68:43]
B
Grass and playgrounds and stuff.
- [68:45]
A
Yeah. I mean, you know, if you're not in the bay, you like, I just tell you it's great views of the bay in San Francisco. So, like if you build a park there, it'll be beautiful. Like. Yeah, nice. Anyways, also, shout out to everybody that went to the rewatchables in San Francisco. A lot of real ones fans there. A lot of real ones fans there. I pulled up there. Yes. Or two days ago, whenever it was. And it was a lot of fun. They did Basic Instinct. Van was Van was van. He dropped 50, but van was Van. It's good to see everybody. Also great just to get some. Some ringer people in San Francisco. We don't really get many events here in San Francisco from the ringer, so it was cool to see all the homies and hopefully they do something, do something like that soon. All right, that has been another edition of Real ones. We'll see you guys Tuesday night. I don't think. I don't think we're getting the mail back, but still do your questions. I don't know if we're going to maybe we will maybe send them anyway
- [69:40]
B
because we're going to be punchy as hell and talking.
- [69:43]
A
That actually might be awesome. That actually might be awesome.
- [69:46]
B
If the playing, by the way, if the playing games end up being trash or something, we're going to need something else to talk about at one in the morning Eastern time. So send the email.
- [69:53]
A
Actually send your send your questions romansvillebeck@gmail.com romansmillback@gmail.com romansmillbag gmail.com we'll talk to you guys soon, man. Playoffs are on the horizon, baby. Let's get it. It's gonna be fun. Talk to y' all soon. I all the shits. Bye. Must be 21 years and older and present in select states for Kansas and affiliation with Kansas Star Casino or 18 and older and present in DC, Kentucky or Wyoming. Gambling problem. Call 1-800-GAMBLER or 1-800-MY-RESET. Call 1-888-789-7777 or visit c ccpg.org chat in Connecticut or visit mdgamblinghelp.org in Maryland. Hope is here. Visit gamblinghelpma.org or call 1-800-327-5050 for 24. 7 support in Massachusetts or call 1-877-Hopeny or text Hopeny in New York. For Louisiana, call 1-877-770-7867.