النص الكامل لحلقة Zone Coverage: Central Division Over/Under (2026-27)

checks, the contracts, the rumors in the locker room, and the PR span that goes behind it. 00:03:45.199 --> 00:03:47.919 We're actually gonna have verified receipts. 00:03:47.919 --> 00:04:00.639 Now we will bring jokes, we will bring advanced math and exact barbershop ammo that you will need to take back to your group chats and completely nuke the argument. 00:04:00.639 --> 00:04:14.479 If you're an NBA sicko like myself who wants more than the highlight talk, well, you've come to the right place because we're not we're gonna give you things in context, we're gonna give you the numbers and a point of view that makes sense. 00:04:14.479 --> 00:04:16.000 So you're in the right spot. 00:04:16.000 --> 00:04:17.199 So let's go. 00:04:17.199 --> 00:04:43.839 Like I said, we're gonna be talking about the central division today, and we're gonna go through each individual team, we're gonna tell you their uh win-loss projection, and would they go over that and why they will or will not, and kind of give you an overall view of what this team looks like and what they're trying to achieve in this situation. 00:04:43.839 --> 00:04:55.040 And what we're gonna end up doing is we're gonna go through every team, but we're gonna go obviously in descending order. 00:04:55.040 --> 00:05:00.639 So we're gonna go from the team that probably has the lowest projections to the highest projections, right? 00:05:00.639 --> 00:05:03.759 Build the drama, all of that sort of thing. 00:05:03.759 --> 00:05:05.279 So we will be doing that. 00:05:05.279 --> 00:05:18.399 So we will start with the Milwaukee Bucks, and the Milwaukee Bucks are coming into this season, obviously, without Giannis and Tacumpo for the first time in a over a decade. 00:05:18.399 --> 00:05:26.240 He's led that team, he's been a part of great victories, great seasons, and he's the all-time leading scorer. 00:05:26.240 --> 00:05:29.360 He's probably the best Milwaukee Buck of all time. 00:05:29.360 --> 00:05:40.720 Some people will still probably say Kareem out do Jabbar, but he played a lot longer than Kareem, so therefore, our guy, Giannis, will be missed in Milwaukee. 00:05:40.720 --> 00:05:48.800 So, what is the aftermath of Giannis Anthony Kumpo leaving? 00:05:48.800 --> 00:06:01.439 Well, they damn sure made sure they damn sure made it where they got a lot of conversation back as in players. 00:06:01.439 --> 00:06:07.199 I don't know about draft picks, but in players, they got a lot back, so we're gonna get to that. 00:06:07.199 --> 00:06:19.600 I will tell you right now that their win-loss record is at uh bet MGM is at twenty-six and a half. 00:06:19.600 --> 00:06:36.480 So I will have to say that if I was looking at this team, knowing that last year they went 32 and 50 with a negative 6.3 net rating on offense, um, and they were 27th on defense. 00:06:36.480 --> 00:06:47.360 The 26 and 56 records seems hard to believe when you th when you know that Giannis missed a lot of games. 00:06:47.360 --> 00:06:49.759 He only played in 36 games last year. 00:06:49.759 --> 00:06:55.920 That's for their bad record that they had, but they went 32 and 50. 00:06:55.920 --> 00:07:12.639 So if you're losing 63% of the minutes of your best player, and then you transfuse this uh team with players like Tyler Hero and Jaime Hawkes Jr. 00:07:12.639 --> 00:07:20.800 and Khalel Ware and our guy uh Caspis Yakachunis. 00:07:20.800 --> 00:07:25.759 You know saying so how good is it gonna be? 00:07:25.759 --> 00:07:31.040 I don't know, but we're gonna work through it, we're gonna talk about it, and we're gonna go from there. 00:07:31.040 --> 00:07:38.000 First thing that we need to kind of establish is this team is a pokery of players. 00:07:38.000 --> 00:07:49.360 I honestly do not know, and I you know, I can't wait to di delve into this team early in the season and see who's playing where and how much of their playing. 00:07:49.360 --> 00:08:16.959 Because you have the old guard from the team, which would be your um Miles Turner's of the world, your AG Greens of the world, and you know, you got those holdovers, the Ryan Rollins of the world, Gary Trent Jr., and then you have this influx of Miami heat, heat culture with Jaime Hawkes Jr. 00:08:16.959 --> 00:08:18.240 and the rest. 00:08:18.240 --> 00:08:21.279 So, what is this team gonna look like? 00:08:21.279 --> 00:08:30.800 Well, the two things that we need to establish here is that they did get a piece back that I'm very interested in, and that's Calair Ware. 00:08:30.800 --> 00:08:36.320 Caler Ware will provide some rim protection that they will absolutely need. 00:08:36.320 --> 00:08:54.240 He was a plus 0.8 in the LeBron metrics, which is in the 82nd percentile, and a plus 1.8 in multi-year defense on the LeBron metric, which is in the 92nd percentile. 00:08:54.240 --> 00:09:06.720 He's on a rookie deal, obviously, and he and Miles Turner should provide the rim protection for the Milwaukee Bucks. 00:09:06.720 --> 00:09:10.639 Now, I don't know if they'll stagger those two, play them together. 00:09:10.639 --> 00:09:14.799 Khalil Ware is cultivating a three-point shot. 00:09:14.799 --> 00:09:18.720 We know Miles Turner can shoot the three-point shot a little bit. 00:09:18.720 --> 00:09:20.399 He's not prolific. 00:09:20.399 --> 00:09:29.759 Both of the guys are not prolific, but if you were hoping basic uh betting on upside when it came to one of those two, it would be Khalil Ware. 00:09:29.759 --> 00:09:31.759 Can he shoot it a little bit better? 00:09:31.759 --> 00:09:36.720 Can those numbers increase over his time in Milwaukee? 00:09:36.720 --> 00:09:38.159 Maybe so. 00:09:38.159 --> 00:09:46.000 Right now, we're looking at both of them being basically a 32 to 33% shooting uh big. 00:09:46.000 --> 00:10:04.879 So you can't sit there and absolutely bank on it that it's gonna hit, but the proof of them shooting it and the proof of them hitting it at a halfway decent rate for big is there now, so you have

something to go off of there. 00:10:04.879 --> 00:10:10.879 Now their steady influence on this team uh is probably Ryan Rollins. 00:10:10.879 --> 00:10:24.159 Ryan Rollins grades out at like the 95th percentile uh using the metrics, and Tyler Hero also is at the 92nd percentile on the three-point shooting uh prowess. 00:10:24.159 --> 00:10:30.399 Now, hopefully Tyler Hero doesn't get into any uh fisticuffs when it comes to his teammates. 00:10:30.399 --> 00:10:33.519 We all know what happened in summer league with BAM out of bio. 00:10:33.519 --> 00:10:38.799 We hope that that issue never returns onto itself again. 00:10:38.799 --> 00:10:54.080 But Tyler Hero is a sharp shooter, and if he can stay healthy, and with the amount of bigs, and also the uh the the steady influence of Ryan Rollins, which is a he's a good little heady player. 00:10:54.080 --> 00:11:13.759 I like Ryan Rollins a lot, and I hope that with now new head coach Taylor Jenkins, who comes over from the Memphis Grizzlies, who sported a 200 a 250 and 214 record while in Memphis and three playoff trips. 00:11:13.759 --> 00:11:17.919 So this is a good coach that's coming over who's steadying that ship. 00:11:17.919 --> 00:11:23.600 Obviously, Doc Rivers lost that team last year and they just went into the toilet. 00:11:23.600 --> 00:11:26.399 But the covers aren't there, like we talked about. 00:11:26.399 --> 00:11:28.000 They got Hero now. 00:11:28.000 --> 00:11:31.679 Hero's defense is not great, right? 00:11:31.679 --> 00:11:33.039 It's not. 00:11:33.039 --> 00:11:50.799 But with the two bigs, whether they they um put them out together or they stagger them, you're gonna have pretty good rim protection at all times when you come to the Milwaukee Bucks. 00:11:50.799 --> 00:11:54.080 Now, also you have a guy like Jaime Hawkins Jr. 00:11:54.080 --> 00:11:58.240 who can definitely play some isolation defense. 00:11:58.240 --> 00:12:06.159 Ryan Rollins can play some defense as well, so they do have some guys that you sit there and you go, okay. 00:12:06.159 --> 00:12:07.440 Alright. 00:12:07.440 --> 00:12:22.720 Now the guys that I'm very, very interested in, and we'll talk about their their draft situation momentarily, but they did pick up Braden Burries and also Nate Amit in this last draft. 00:12:22.720 --> 00:12:26.399 Now, you would sit there and ask me, hey Vince, why is that important? 00:12:26.399 --> 00:12:33.200 The reason why that is important is because these are two young guys who have a lot of upside. 00:12:33.200 --> 00:12:36.480 Braden Burries really showed out at Arizona. 00:12:36.480 --> 00:12:43.759 He was 16.1 points a game, he was uh 4.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists. 00:12:43.759 --> 00:12:51.759 He shot 49% from the field, he shot 39% from three, and he shot 80% from the free throw line. 00:12:51.759 --> 00:12:54.799 So he had a true shooting percentage of 62.3%. 00:12:54.799 --> 00:13:00.159 He also had an assist to turnover ratio that was a positive 1.67. 00:13:00.159 --> 00:13:02.879 And this is as a two-guard. 00:13:02.879 --> 00:13:06.639 Okay, he's not really a point, he's more of a combo guard. 00:13:06.639 --> 00:13:08.559 I think he can get you buckets. 00:13:08.559 --> 00:13:14.320 He's also stout, he's like 6'4, about 200, 205 pounds. 00:13:14.320 --> 00:13:18.240 This guy is ready to play NBA basketball right now. 00:13:18.240 --> 00:13:23.919 My whole thing is that with the guys in front of him, what is his developmental pathway? 00:13:23.919 --> 00:13:31.360 You'll hear me say that a lot when it comes to uh guys who are obviously in the lottery, especially somebody like Braden Burris. 00:13:31.360 --> 00:13:52.399 We would like to see his development grow because to tell you the truth, as we start to talk about the Milwaukee Bucks further and further, you're gonna start to see where it might be in their best interest to kind of trade away trade away what they built up in players. 00:13:52.399 --> 00:14:17.039 And I think that's one of the reasons why they got the players in the first place, is because once we start talking about their draft capital and how those coverts are pretty barren at this point in time, you're gonna see the importance of what Braden Burries is gonna mean to this team, and also if you can swing big, and they did swing big with their second first round pick, which is Nathan Mitt. 00:14:17.039 --> 00:14:21.840 Now, Nathan Mitt comes out of Tennessee, he had a real up and down year. 00:14:21.840 --> 00:14:23.600 He started off terrible. 00:14:23.600 --> 00:14:32.399 This guy was supposed to be like a top five uh draft pick when we started the draft process last year. 00:14:32.399 --> 00:14:38.320 Um, once one thing that we're gonna let you know here at Frontrunner Podcast Collective, we'll be doing a lot of draft. 00:14:38.320 --> 00:14:55.120 Uh, shout out to our guys at No Ceilings who really do the heavy lifting, but we do our own work here as well, and we kind of put them together and then come up with a consensus of what we think these prospects are gonna be. 00:14:55.120 --> 00:15:01.440 Now, I'm gonna tell you right now, when it comes to Nathan Mint, I was not big on this kid at all. 00:15:01.440 --> 00:15:05.200 Um, I thought he was skinny, which he still is. 00:15:05.200 --> 00:15:07.519 I thought he was not terribly physical. 00:15:07.519 --> 00:15:10.799 He kind of floated around the perimeter. 00:15:10.799 --> 00:15:15.279 I don't like that when you are 6'10, 6'11 dude. 00:15:15.279 --> 00:15:20.480 I it drives me crazy that you don't take the ball into the trees. 00:15:20.480 --> 00:15:25.440 Now he is 6'10, he's 211 pounds, so he's quite thin. 00:15:25.440 --> 00:15:31.200 Now, as the season went on, he shot the ball better. 00:15:31.200 --> 00:15:34.720 Now, his overall numbers, not great. 00:15:34.720 --> 00:15:41.120 He did put up 16.7 points a game, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists. 00:15:41.120 --> 00:15:51.279 Now he shot the ball terribly, but he

shot the ball terribly early as it went on later in the year, he started to shoot the ball a lot better. 00:15:51.279 --> 00:15:55.919 So the overall numbers are he shot 40% from the field total. 00:15:55.919 --> 00:16:04.480 He did shoot the three-point shot at a 33% clip, and he shot uh 79% of his free throws. 00:16:04.480 --> 00:16:26.480 That's all, listen, not great, but when you start to look at the numbers in the second half, that's when you start to see the 48% of his uh field goal percentage, that's when you start to see the 37% of the three-point shot, and that's when you also start to see the 84% of the free throw shooting. 00:16:26.480 --> 00:16:30.559 Now, again, he's still slight. 00:16:30.559 --> 00:16:36.320 He's walking into a league where you know Giannis lives in this league, right? 00:16:36.320 --> 00:16:49.120 And I hate to bring that up from Milwaukee Bucks fans because I'm sure it's still tender at this point, and you're gonna have some lean years, but those are the two kids that you kind of need to lean on. 00:16:49.120 --> 00:16:55.279 It's like he those two kids, Ryan Rollins and Khalil Ware, if you're gonna hold on to where. 00:16:55.279 --> 00:16:59.200 We might talk about that a little bit later though. 00:16:59.200 --> 00:17:00.879 So hold on. 00:17:00.879 --> 00:17:12.799 Now, when it comes to their asset leisure, uh they hold as far as their picks are concerned. 00:17:12.799 --> 00:17:19.279 You got Tyler Hero and the money, but this is where their picks are. 00:17:19.279 --> 00:17:33.599 Next year, this this upcoming year, 2027, that pick is owed to New Orleans or Atlanta, depending on who has where it all where it ends up. 00:17:33.599 --> 00:17:39.759 2028 ends up in Portland or Washington, and they hold the swap rights. 00:17:39.759 --> 00:17:46.880 Now, there's a pick that also in 2029 that conveys to Portland as well. 00:17:46.880 --> 00:17:59.119 Uh now the 2030, you got Portland, Miami swap rights, and then 2031, they own their pick plus Miami's unprotected. 00:17:59.119 --> 00:18:11.920 So for the next four years, the Milwaukee Bucks do not have picks, they're not in control of any other draft compensation whatsoever. 00:18:11.920 --> 00:18:15.119 So that brings me back to Tyler Hero. 00:18:15.119 --> 00:18:18.640 That also brings me back to Miles Turner. 00:18:18.640 --> 00:18:26.160 So what I am saying is that yes, Tyler Hero is there, he's a hometown hero. 00:18:26.160 --> 00:18:32.000 Oh, the pun was not is it is a terrible pun. 00:18:32.000 --> 00:18:53.519 But if you can get Tyler Hero to showcase his skills and hide his defensive kind of negative outcomes, he can put the ball in the basket at a pretty effective level. 00:18:53.519 --> 00:19:15.920 And if he can show that he can do it for a team that is lottery bound, no doubt, you could probably trade him at the trade deadline to a team who is desperate, and then you can go ahead and get a draft pick back, or maybe two, depending on how over barrel

you have this team. 00:19:15.920 --> 00:19:27.359 With that being said, the the reclamation project that is Miles Turner, who had probably his worst career season last year. 00:19:27.359 --> 00:19:30.160 Now, I don't blame him totally. 00:19:30.160 --> 00:19:38.720 You know, Doc Rivers was there, and there was just a lot of upheaval going on, and it just wasn't working. 00:19:38.720 --> 00:19:44.799 Now they gave him a big contract, and this is where people will go, I don't know, dog. 00:19:44.799 --> 00:19:46.400 I don't know about that one. 00:19:46.400 --> 00:19:52.160 Because he owed $26.6 million for the next three seasons. 00:19:52.160 --> 00:19:56.160 That's a lot of money when it comes to the center position. 00:19:56.160 --> 00:19:59.200 And Miles Turner is no screen chicken. 00:19:59.200 --> 00:20:07.359 This dude is now over 30, so we're not paying for uh upside, we're paying for production. 00:20:07.359 --> 00:20:13.599 And last year, he had his least productive season since his rookie year. 00:20:13.599 --> 00:20:26.960 He is a good defender, he can get out on the wings on the perimeter, he can also hold it down as far as blocking shots when it comes to um at the rim. 00:20:26.960 --> 00:20:44.160 But the problem is that he's never being like a super duper scorer or anything like that, and paying somebody like Miles Turner $26.6 million a year is uh I would consider that a bad asset right now. 00:20:44.160 --> 00:20:54.720 So can you curate can you curate his reclamation project to make him um more viable when it comes to trades? 00:20:54.720 --> 00:20:59.119 Because right now you'd have to give up stuff to trade Miles Turner. 00:20:59.119 --> 00:21:02.720 Let's just be honest about what we're looking at. 00:21:02.720 --> 00:21:16.880 So if he is not a piece that you can kind of discard and get something for, that brings me back to Killel Ware. 00:21:16.880 --> 00:21:20.559 And it brings me back to Hi Jaime Highcast Jr. 00:21:20.559 --> 00:21:30.640 Now here's some kids who are still young, like I uh Khalel Ware is not even twenty twenty-four yet, and also Jaime Hotcast Jr. 00:21:30.640 --> 00:21:34.799 is not I don't even think he's twenty five, twenty-six. 00:21:34.799 --> 00:21:41.839 So here's some guys who on winning teams can play a role. 00:21:41.839 --> 00:21:51.359 Now, Khalel Ware has the huge upside, so that's the guy who you think that might can be able to get you a bunch of picks back when it comes to that. 00:21:51.359 --> 00:22:14.480 Um so if he you can get him to play well and you can showcase him, this is where you can start making inroads on Reclaiming picks back to fill your coffers so you're not absolutely barren when it comes to the next three years because it looks bleak in Milwaukee right now. 00:22:14.480 --> 00:22:19.599 Now, here's some things that you need to know. 00:22:19.599 --> 00:22:26.240 The Milwaukee Bucks do not have any incentive to tank because that pick goes somewhere else. 00:22:26.240 --> 00:22:30.319 If that pick is gone, so you gotta really play hard. 00:22:30.319 --> 00:22:38.880 The great thing is they have a ton of depth and they have a ton of options when it comes to every basic position when it comes to their team. 00:22:38.880 --> 00:22:43.039 Now, is it any great piece? 00:22:43.039 --> 00:22:44.079 No. 00:22:44.079 --> 00:22:55.920 This is why I think that the development of Braden Berry's and Nate Amit and Khalil Ware are critical to what they're trying to achieve. 00:22:55.920 --> 00:23:10.559 Because if you can get Khalil Ware to be something that people are very interested in, and who isn't interested in a rim-protecting big that can shoot threes who's hella athletic? 00:23:10.559 --> 00:23:11.519 Okay? 00:23:11.519 --> 00:23:34.480 Let's not, you know, I see a lot of lobs to Khalil Ware this year in his future, and then if he can bang out the threes at a decent level, which he was on his way to doing in Miami, I think you might have something, and then you might be able to recoup some of the things that you've lost in your last couple prior trades. 00:23:34.480 --> 00:23:39.119 Now, you want to ask me where they're gonna end up this year? 00:23:39.119 --> 00:23:49.279 If Vegas is saying that they're gonna end up with 26, you know, they're over-under 26.5, I'm gonna take the over simply because of two things. 00:23:49.279 --> 00:23:58.480 One, Taylor Jenkins can manufacture an offense, and he has a lot of different type of pieces to be able to do that. 00:23:58.480 --> 00:24:06.480 You also have the steadying hand of Ryan Rollins and Tyler Hero with a bunch of depth behind them. 00:24:06.480 --> 00:24:26.000 So if Braden Burries is getting minutes behind Tyler Hero and um maybe taking over the reins for Ryan Rollins and kind of, you know, it's like a rotation of three guards there, I think you will be able to really do something when it comes to that. 00:24:26.000 --> 00:24:31.440 Now, do I think that the Milwaukee Bucks have a chance of being like 500 or anything like that? 00:24:31.440 --> 00:24:33.039 No, I do not. 00:24:33.039 --> 00:24:41.279 If they win 30 games this year, it is an absolute moment in time for the Milwaukee Bucks and the Milwaukee Bucks organization. 00:24:41.279 --> 00:24:49.039 So don't get too hyped, but they'll play their ass off because, again, they don't have anything to tank for. 00:24:49.039 --> 00:24:52.079 And I know we're not supposed to use that word anymore. 00:24:52.079 --> 00:25:02.559 Let's call it strategic uh letting go of the rope at the end of the year and what have you. 00:25:02.559 --> 00:25:04.400 Let's do it that way, right? 00:25:04.400 --> 00:25:11.599 So I would think that right now you're gonna get the best version of the Milwaukee Bucks. 00:25:11.599 --> 00:25:16.319 That's not really a lot of fair shakes, but it is something to look forward to. 00:25:16.319 --> 00:25:20.880 And really, if you're a Milwaukee Bucks fan, what you're looking for is three things.

00:25:20.880 --> 00:25:29.680 Again, it's Kaleware and his growth and his development, and is it a piece that is so tantalizing that you gotta keep? 00:25:29.680 --> 00:25:33.519 Because remember, Khalil Ware is a legit seven-footer. 00:25:33.519 --> 00:25:37.359 He's also, again, pretty damn athletic. 00:25:37.359 --> 00:25:43.200 He's gonna block your shots, uh, he's very hyperactive when it comes to defense. 00:25:43.200 --> 00:25:55.519 He can go out and uh shoe three-point shooters from the corners and things of that nature, and then he can also chase down blocks, which is great. 00:25:55.519 --> 00:26:07.119 The tantalizing thing when it comes to him is this are you sure that he's part of your future? 00:26:07.119 --> 00:26:52.000 And what I mean by that, it might be a situation where you have to rip off the band-aid and trade him because he might be able to get you two first-round picks and like two second-round picks, and you might say, Well, that's not a huge haul, it's not the Desmond Bain haul that Memphis got from Orlando, but it is a step in the right direction when your coffers are as empty as the Milwaukee Bucks, but I have them going over 26 and a half, so we are going to move down to Chicago, and Chicago has a lot of interesting things going on. 00:26:52.000 --> 00:27:06.319 One, their overunder is 27.5 games, so not a lot to see here, supposedly, but there is a lot going on in Chicago that we need to kind of catch ourselves up with. 00:27:06.319 --> 00:27:09.039 Do they have talent? 00:27:09.039 --> 00:27:11.519 They do, and we'll get to it. 00:27:11.519 --> 00:27:17.359 Uh, last year they went 31 and 51, they had a negative net rating of 5.1. 00:27:17.359 --> 00:27:26.240 Uh they were through the analytics, they were supposed to be 29 and 53. 00:27:26.240 --> 00:27:33.759 That's their per their Pythagorean record, but they ended up two games above that, which is great. 00:27:33.759 --> 00:27:37.920 Uh, they played at the second fastest pace in the league. 00:27:37.920 --> 00:27:42.480 They were outshot by 3.6 attempts a game. 00:27:42.480 --> 00:27:49.279 Uh courtesy of NBA.com, and they ranked 19th in three-point efficiency. 00:27:49.279 --> 00:27:53.359 Now, why is this all important? 00:27:53.359 --> 00:27:55.119 Two things. 00:27:55.119 --> 00:28:14.319 They have Norman Powell, who is, I can tell you right now, before he even played a regular season game, Norman Powell is a trade asset, and look for him to be on the move come early February or what have you. 00:28:14.319 --> 00:28:16.079 So keep that in mind. 00:28:16.079 --> 00:28:20.559 But Norman Powell's on this team, he's gonna get you bucky while he's here. 00:28:20.559 --> 00:28:48.319 You got Josh Giddy, you got also uh Nick Clask uh Claxton who comes over from Brooklyn, who's gonna show up your be the your big man as far as that's concerned, and then what makes this team kind of interesting is Caleb Williams, and we'll get to him, but let's talk about what they have on the squad right now. 00:28:48.319 --> 00:28:50.799 What have we seen from Giddy? 00:28:50.799 --> 00:29:04.960 Well, he's an elite creator, he grades out at the 99th uh percentile on playmaking uh talent, and he's 99 on the assists uh assist points per 75. 00:29:04.960 --> 00:29:12.000 Now his offensive LeBron is a plus 1.28, which is at the 90s percentile. 00:29:12.000 --> 00:29:18.079 So this dude gets buckets, he gets but he gets buckets for other players, he puts Peeko in good positions. 00:29:18.079 --> 00:29:24.079 Now, a guy that um I have a lot of interest in as a Lakers fan is Jalen Smith. 00:29:24.079 --> 00:29:32.160 Jalen Smith has had a pretty good kind of renaissance in Chicago, so I like him a lot. 00:29:32.160 --> 00:29:37.759 I think that's gonna be real uh awesome when it comes to that. 00:29:37.759 --> 00:29:44.880 I also like that they got Buddy Healed in the Rob Dillingham trade a couple days ago. 00:29:44.880 --> 00:29:50.000 He shoots 35%, he is a volume three-point shooter. 00:29:50.000 --> 00:29:56.559 He is his uh career average is 39.5% from three. 00:29:56.559 --> 00:30:00.640 Can't really be angry at that at all. 00:30:00.640 --> 00:30:16.000 Now, Tiago Splinter uh Splitter takes over for uh Gilly Donovan who left, Splitter, who went 42 and 40 as the interim coach in Portland last year. 00:30:16.000 --> 00:30:21.519 I think you got a guy who really understands the game, he can teach it to the young kids. 00:30:21.519 --> 00:30:34.720 That's what you got here, and that's what you're looking for when it comes to rebuilding what Chicago has been in the past, and you know, it's been a long time since Chicago's been really relevant. 00:30:34.720 --> 00:30:46.880 Now, you know, you had that that blip when Derek Rose was healthy, and it just disappeared, you know, due to his knee injuries and things of that nature. 00:30:46.880 --> 00:30:49.039 It was you know, it was a heartbreak. 00:30:49.039 --> 00:30:56.720 But you can see in Chicago that they're really coming around. 00:30:56.720 --> 00:31:11.200 Giddy and Buzelis are nice little fun foundational pieces that you have, and I can't wait to continue to see their growth and development with one another and how it all works out with those two. 00:31:11.200 --> 00:31:29.519 Now, when you talk about those two, they're gonna be a really big team because if you got Nick Claxton at the five, you got Boozelis, and you got Giddy, we haven't even talked about Caleb Wilson. 00:31:29.519 --> 00:31:36.319 Now, Caleb Wilson was the number one, it was the number four overall draft pick in the 2026 draft. 00:31:36.319 --> 00:31:39.440 Now, he only played 24 games at North Carolina. 00:31:39.440 --> 00:31:45.440 He put up almost 20 points a game, damn near 9.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists. 00:31:45.440 --> 00:31:49.519 He shot the ball at a 57.8% clip. 00:31:49.519 --> 00:31:54.880 He did not shoot the three well at North Carolina, but you know where he shot it well at? 00:31:54.880

--> 00:31:56.240 Summer League. 00:31:56.240 --> 00:31:59.359 This dude had a real coming out party. 00:31:59.359 --> 00:32:03.920 This dude looked like a superstar in Summer League. 00:32:03.920 --> 00:32:12.720 Now, his interior defense and his rebounding are what got him to the top four situation. 00:32:12.720 --> 00:32:26.319 But his three-point shooting was a revelation at Summer League, and if that's going to hit, and that's what it's going to be, man, did Chicago end up with an absolute stud. 00:32:26.319 --> 00:32:43.200 This could really jump start uh just good vibes in Chicago and a upward trajectory that I'm sure the Chicago Bulls fans that uh have been holding on. 00:32:43.200 --> 00:32:49.920 Just hold on to anything that looks like potential hope. 00:32:49.920 --> 00:32:55.119 I know it's getting some lean gears for you guys in Chicago. 00:32:55.119 --> 00:32:56.079 I know. 00:32:56.079 --> 00:32:59.759 But this guy right here is legit. 00:32:59.759 --> 00:33:03.519 I think that he is going to be a stud in the NBA. 00:33:03.519 --> 00:33:07.519 Now, his development is really on him. 00:33:07.519 --> 00:33:10.720 It's gonna be that three-point shot. 00:33:10.720 --> 00:33:14.079 Which position is he best suited for? 00:33:14.079 --> 00:33:15.680 The three of the four. 00:33:15.680 --> 00:33:35.200 He's very athletic, he's a big kid, but uh right now all we're looking for is him to get out there and play, catch some lobs from Giddy, get real hype with uh Boozelis, you know, and talk a lot of trash and show some swag. 00:33:35.200 --> 00:33:48.000 We're not expecting him to light the world on fire this year, but I think this kid has a definite shot uh at rookie of the year, the way he played in summer league. 00:33:48.000 --> 00:33:56.640 Now I know the other kids, and we'll, you know, get to them when their time comes or whatever, because you know, we're gonna break down each division. 00:33:56.640 --> 00:34:08.800 So we'll get to the AJ DeBancers of the world, we'll get to Derek Peterson and things of that nature, but I think this kid has a legit shot at doing something really special. 00:34:08.800 --> 00:34:10.800 So we'll see how it all goes. 00:34:10.800 --> 00:34:19.519 But Caleb Williams is definitely a guy that I'm looking forward to spending a lot of time on NBA League pass watching. 00:34:19.519 --> 00:34:25.519 And that brings us to the second rookie, which is Dalen Swain out of Texas. 00:34:25.519 --> 00:34:32.960 He put up 17.3 points a game, 7.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists. 00:34:32.960 --> 00:34:52.400 He shot the ball very uh fairly well, 54% from the field, 34.4% from three, but what gives you pause and what also gives you hope is that he shot at 81.5% from the free throw line. 00:34:52.400 --> 00:34:59.760 And I'm gonna tell you right now, that's one of the biggest indicators that this dude has touched and that that three-point shot could go up. 00:34:59.760 --> 00:35:05.199 Now he's going from the college three-point line

to the pro three-point line. 00:35:05.199 --> 00:35:13.519 He did not show very well in summer league, but also keep in mind, he's a lower first-round draft pick. 00:35:13.519 --> 00:35:19.360 We're not expecting him to blow up, but he does a he's like a Swiss Army knife. 00:35:19.360 --> 00:35:20.320 Alright. 00:35:20.320 --> 00:35:27.519 He can rebound, he can pass a little bit, play some defense, he's long, he's athletic. 00:35:27.519 --> 00:35:29.920 I like Dalen Swain a lot. 00:35:29.920 --> 00:35:36.639 Now, it will be up to him on his where he's gonna fit in. 00:35:36.639 --> 00:36:02.800 But I think that Tiago Splitter has a has a situation where we saw him resurrect Denny Abdia of the Trailblazers, and I think if you think about the way that Denny Abdia plays the game, I think we have a chance of seeing Dalen Swain be sort of like a Denny Obdia light. 00:36:02.800 --> 00:36:08.480 So a little bit more athletic, but that's who I'm thinking of. 00:36:08.480 --> 00:36:18.000 Now, what holds him back from being like pure Denny Abdia is the 2.7 turnovers a game. 00:36:18.000 --> 00:36:20.400 That is a red flag. 00:36:20.400 --> 00:36:24.000 So I'll say this about Cleveland. 00:36:24.000 --> 00:36:46.880 You got Buzelis, you got Nick Claxton, you know, you got uh a strong foundation of guys to build on with now you adding Caleb Williams to the mix, or Caleb Wilson to the mix, Caleb Williams talking about the Chicago Bears quarterback, man. 00:36:46.880 --> 00:36:48.079 This is crazy. 00:36:48.079 --> 00:36:57.039 Anyways, you have some talent, you have some young talent that you can go ahead and really mold, and again, you got the right coach for it. 00:36:57.039 --> 00:37:12.480 It's all gonna be you're in a really hard-hitting division, you're in a division that's gonna be hyper competitive because it's gonna be you really are gonna be the anchor with Milwaukee of that division. 00:37:12.480 --> 00:37:20.719 The other three teams that are Indiana, Cleveland, and Detroit are gonna be the hammer to your nail. 00:37:20.719 --> 00:37:33.840 So you're gonna have to get victories off like Brooklyn, you're gonna have to get victories off of the you know, near the well of the other people in the Eastern Conference as well. 00:37:33.840 --> 00:37:38.800 Because there is the talent at the top is just ridiculous right now. 00:37:38.800 --> 00:37:42.719 And as we go through division by division, you'll start to see that. 00:37:42.719 --> 00:37:48.800 Because we're about to get into the high-rent destroy in this division after we talk about the Chicago Bulls. 00:37:48.800 --> 00:37:53.599 So, what to watch for in Chicago is this development, development, development. 00:37:53.599 --> 00:37:59.840 See whether Splitter starts Smith over Claxton or Claxton starts. 00:37:59.840 --> 00:38:02.400 Does Jalen Smith start at all? 00:38:02.400 --> 00:38:05.360 Is Caleb Wilson earmarked for a position? 00:38:05.360 --> 00:38:06.559 I would think so. 00:38:06.559 --> 00:38:20.480 I think if you have that high of a draft pick, you let that kid go, you let him learn through his mistakes, and you allow that developmental pathway, his developmental pathway to be as wide berth as possible. 00:38:20.480 --> 00:38:26.000 I think also we are looking for another jump up for uh Matos Guzelis. 00:38:26.000 --> 00:38:33.599 And they are going to be playing Washington in the opener first month of the season. 00:38:33.599 --> 00:38:36.559 They that means AJ Devanster comes to town. 00:38:36.559 --> 00:38:41.280 That means that Caleb Wilson will be hyped and it will be awesome. 00:38:41.280 --> 00:38:44.000 Now, we did talk about Norman Powell. 00:38:44.000 --> 00:38:53.519 Norman Powell will get you buckets through fake through like the early through January and maybe like the very early part of February. 00:38:53.519 --> 00:39:17.199 But do not go out and buy a Norman Powell jersey because I'm gonna tell you right now, unless you bought it on an MX card, you need to have that jersey insurance replacement, because he will be a trade uh candidate for sure come February. 00:39:17.199 --> 00:39:21.280 Now, where do we think that Chicago will be at? 00:39:21.280 --> 00:39:24.800 27 and a half games is not a lot of games. 00:39:24.800 --> 00:39:30.880 They I think that Tiago Splitter can get them to play a little bit better than that. 00:39:30.880 --> 00:39:36.719 Personally, I think 30 games aren't out of the question when it comes to the Chicago Bulls. 00:39:36.719 --> 00:39:39.039 I think they're a team that's gonna play hard. 00:39:39.039 --> 00:39:54.719 And I think if you come in to Chicago and you've had like a long road trip or whatever the case may be, you can get got in Chicago, especially with the talent they have that they have put together so far. 00:39:54.719 --> 00:39:59.599 It's just young and it needs to be nurtured and it needs to be kind of manicured. 00:39:59.599 --> 00:40:03.440 But I like what Chicago's doing. 00:40:03.440 --> 00:40:12.559 It took them a while to go ahead and rip the band-aid off and go ahead and get to this point, but I like the little foundation that they have. 00:40:12.559 --> 00:40:18.639 Um, obviously, Giddy has to shoot the three at a at a decent level. 00:40:18.639 --> 00:40:30.079 Buzelis still has to work on his three ball, and if again, if Caleb Will Wilson's three is legitimate, look out. 00:40:30.079 --> 00:40:45.039 Maybe not this year, but put a couple more drafts together like this, and we're gonna be talking about something pretty damn special in Chicago. 00:40:45.039 --> 00:40:55.920 Now I'm not gonna say championship, but I'm gonna say, hey, you know, you wanna get back to that playoffs playing in you know in the spring, playing legitimate, meaningful games. 00:40:55.920 --> 00:41:01.360 You got a really nice foundation to do that off of. 00:41:01.360 --> 00:41:06.239 Speaking of nice foundation, let's get to the Indiana Pacers. 00:41:06.239 --> 00:41:26.159 The

Pacers To me, remember this team was uh one game away in the twenty twenty five NBA finals, and then Tyrese Halliburton absolutely ripped up his Achilles. 00:41:26.159 --> 00:41:34.719 Now, when we were le when we last saw them, it was not great. 00:41:34.719 --> 00:41:41.039 And of course, if you take Tyrese Halliburton off your squad, it's probably not gonna be great. 00:41:41.039 --> 00:42:03.199 So they went 19-63 and did do not have any draft conversation to speak of because they made a trade and we'll talk about who they picked up in a second, which is uh uh Evita Zubots from the Clippers, and that number five overall pick, Keaton Waggler, went to the Los Angeles Clippers. 00:42:03.199 --> 00:42:06.639 So, what you say, what do they have? 00:42:06.639 --> 00:42:11.760 Well, they got Tyrese Halliburton, and the band is back together, damn it. 00:42:11.760 --> 00:42:13.440 That's what they have. 00:42:13.440 --> 00:42:19.920 Okay, they have a lot of good stuff that we don't need to worry about. 00:42:19.920 --> 00:42:25.679 Tyrese Halliburton is back, that means that Nimhar goes to his regular position. 00:42:25.679 --> 00:42:34.159 That means that we don't need to see an overabundance of shooting from um our guy Aaron Neismith. 00:42:34.159 --> 00:42:41.280 He can go back to his role, and now you have a legit seven-footer who's a really good rebounder. 00:42:41.280 --> 00:42:49.360 You're gonna have to make some augmentations to the offense, which listen, Rick Carlisle is a genius when it comes to this. 00:42:49.360 --> 00:42:56.480 You also got Pascal Siakum, so, and you got uh OB Toppin off the bench and then a couple other guys. 00:42:56.480 --> 00:42:58.960 So, Indiana's back. 00:42:58.960 --> 00:43:05.840 Now, they're in the they're in the central and they're in the east, which is one of the most competitive. 00:43:05.840 --> 00:43:15.199 Um this is gonna be one of the most competitive Eastern conferences that we uh uh battles that we've ever seen. 00:43:15.199 --> 00:43:18.079 Because there's a lot of good teams out there. 00:43:18.079 --> 00:43:24.559 Yes, the bad is really bad, but the good is really freaking good. 00:43:24.559 --> 00:43:27.760 Remember, the Knicks are the defending champions. 00:43:27.760 --> 00:43:31.280 Boston, yes, might have lost Jalen Brown, but that's a good team. 00:43:31.280 --> 00:43:32.960 It's still a good team over there. 00:43:32.960 --> 00:43:35.920 Philadelphia is locked and loaded. 00:43:35.920 --> 00:43:38.719 And then we talk about the teams in. 00:43:38.719 --> 00:43:42.159 We talked about we're gonna be talking about the teams in Central. 00:43:42.159 --> 00:43:47.599 Remember, in the in the South, we got Orlando, they got a lot to prove. 00:43:47.599 --> 00:43:49.360 Miami has Giannis. 00:43:49.360 --> 00:43:51.039 Charlotte's on the rise. 00:43:51.039 --> 00:43:54.079 I think they'll dip back a little bit when it comes to that. 00:43:54.079 --> 00:43:58.559 Atlanta is looking to do big things this year as well. 00:43:58.559 --> 00:44:07.679 So Indiana is in a real dog fight for Eastern Conference supremacy. 00:44:07.679 --> 00:44:13.519 But if there's any team that I would go ahead and put some faith in, it would be the Pacers. 00:44:13.519 --> 00:44:24.239 Because one thing, I think that Tyrese Halliburton was on the on the verge of being such an elite player. 00:44:24.239 --> 00:44:31.679 Remember, this kid was basically he controlled their offense. 00:44:31.679 --> 00:44:43.280 You know, you had guys like and you still have guys like Siakam who are, you know, creating 25.6 points a game per seventy-five. 00:44:43.280 --> 00:44:52.719 You got Obi Toppin who shoots 63.7% of true shooting, which is at the eighty 85th percentile. 00:44:52.719 --> 00:44:59.199 So you got a lot to kind of go off of when it comes to the Indiana Pacers. 00:44:59.199 --> 00:45:01.519 Their starting five is legit. 00:45:01.519 --> 00:45:04.000 And now you got a visa zubots. 00:45:04.000 --> 00:45:11.920 And here's a guy who is gonna set rugged screens, and he is going to roll to the basket. 00:45:11.920 --> 00:45:15.039 He's also a really good passer in the short roll. 00:45:15.039 --> 00:45:21.360 I think that that's a new wrinkle to the offense that you did not have with uh Miles Turner. 00:45:21.360 --> 00:45:26.800 Actually, I thought Miles Turner Turner was a shaky uh passer to begin with. 00:45:26.800 --> 00:45:28.880 I think you upgrade there. 00:45:28.880 --> 00:45:52.079 Um the rebounding is definitely gonna upgrade with uh Evisa Zubots for sure, and I think it gives Halliburton another guy to play off of, but the one thing that Halliburton will absolutely appreciate with Zubots is that he sits bone crushing picks. 00:45:52.079 --> 00:46:06.000 Okay, that pick and roll game is about to get real dangerous because when Zubot steps out to the perimeter, yeah, he's not gonna shoot it, but you gotta get around him, and that's a big boy. 00:46:06.000 --> 00:46:14.639 That's a seven-footer who's like 265-270 pounds, and he leans into all of it. 00:46:14.639 --> 00:46:16.719 Does he like physicality? 00:46:16.719 --> 00:46:18.159 Very much so. 00:46:18.159 --> 00:46:28.880 Does he want to allow his guards and his slashing wings to be set free from the uh defender who is guarding him? 00:46:28.880 --> 00:46:35.519 100%, and he will do everything in his power to do so, and you are going to feel it. 00:46:35.519 --> 00:46:43.840 You're gonna need a bunch of ice packs after the game when it comes to a visa zoobots in a pacers uniform. 00:46:43.840 --> 00:46:46.960 I think Indiana Pacers fans are gonna love him. 00:46:46.960 --> 00:46:48.079 I really do. 00:46:48.079 --> 00:46:58.079 So, yeah, does Zubot's transition um to the Pacers mean a lot? 00:46:58.079 --> 00:46:59.840 Yes, one hundred percent. 00:46:59.840 --> 00:47:11.840 And I think that you will see him really, in a sense, be that protector for Tyrese Halliburton. 00:47:11.840 --> 00:47:23.840 Tyrese

is going to be a ball-dominant dude, he's gonna have the ball in his hand a lot, his uh usage was like at 35% when he was healthy. 00:47:23.840 --> 00:47:25.679 I don't see that changing. 00:47:25.679 --> 00:47:30.239 So some of the schematics with him I don't see changing. 00:47:30.239 --> 00:47:37.440 I look at this team and go, you know, they're gonna make this run. 00:47:37.440 --> 00:47:49.760 Cause see Siakam is starting to get up their age, and his price tag is now at 48.9 million, which hey, if you're winning or you get into the NBA finals, this is great. 00:47:49.760 --> 00:48:02.559 But when you're 32 years of age, you start to think about what that cliff is gonna look like, and you start making business decisions, and especially if you're the Indiana Pacers, this is something that you do. 00:48:02.559 --> 00:48:06.960 You gotta you gotta divest at the right time. 00:48:06.960 --> 00:48:11.199 You gotta go in at the right time, and you gotta divest at the right time. 00:48:11.199 --> 00:48:30.880 And I think that if for some reason the Pacers don't reach the mountaintop this year, I think that there'll be real hard discussions, sober discussions about Pascal Siakum when it comes to whether they're gonna trade him or not and kind of retool the team on the fly. 00:48:30.880 --> 00:48:35.039 So if the Pacers are gonna do something, they're gonna do it this year. 00:48:35.039 --> 00:48:46.320 If for some reason they get off to some kind of slow start or whatever the case may be, they might not be able to get the absolute return they want for Pascal Siakam at the trade deadline. 00:48:46.320 --> 00:48:57.199 They might have to wait till the end of the year in the offseason and you know have uh Pascal Siakam on the trade block, but I think this is a really good team. 00:48:57.199 --> 00:49:01.199 I think that Zoo, I think that Obi Topkin off the bench is dynamic. 00:49:01.199 --> 00:49:05.360 He can get you anywhere between 13 to 17 points off the bench. 00:49:05.360 --> 00:49:18.559 Um, you know, TJ McConnell is gonna be very TJ McConnell when it comes to just being a complete pest on the court and getting good shots for your players. 00:49:18.559 --> 00:49:23.360 Now it will be the shepherds of the world, they're gonna have to step up. 00:49:23.360 --> 00:49:30.239 Um that bench has not really produced anything other than Obi Talkman. 00:49:30.239 --> 00:49:39.039 So I will we'll be very interested to see what happens with the the shepherds of the world and what have you. 00:49:39.039 --> 00:49:41.599 So um stay tuned for that. 00:49:41.599 --> 00:49:54.159 We will see if they are able to do anything when it comes to that, but make no bones about it. 00:49:54.159 --> 00:49:56.320 This is a playoff team. 00:49:56.320 --> 00:50:16.000 I don't think this is a play-in team, this is a playoff team, and I think we have a lot of uh time and and and I think we can confidently say that this team is definitely going to uh win more than 44 and a half

games. 00:50:16.000 --> 00:50:17.519 You know what I'm saying? 00:50:17.519 --> 00:50:24.719 I mean, if that's the if that's the watermark that we're looking at, 44 and a half is easy. 00:50:24.719 --> 00:50:26.559 That's easy money. 00:50:26.559 --> 00:50:29.519 Go ahead and take the over on that. 00:50:29.519 --> 00:50:35.440 Now, is Halliburth is Halligurton gonna be rusty? 00:50:35.440 --> 00:50:36.800 I don't think so. 00:50:36.800 --> 00:50:38.480 I do not think so. 00:50:38.480 --> 00:50:48.239 I think they he I think they're because how competitive the East is, I'm not gonna sit here sit here and say they're gonna win 55 games or anything. 00:50:48.239 --> 00:50:50.320 But could they win 50? 00:50:50.320 --> 00:50:52.320 Could they win 51? 00:50:52.320 --> 00:50:53.280 Yeah. 00:50:53.280 --> 00:50:58.639 I think the Pacers can go 51 and 31 in a competitive East. 00:50:58.639 --> 00:51:02.880 I think that's where you're gonna end up being, somewhere like that. 00:51:02.880 --> 00:51:10.400 But the you don't have to worry about the 19-63 that you were last year unless something catastrophic happens. 00:51:10.400 --> 00:51:14.719 So that's my thoughts on the Indiana Pacers. 00:51:14.719 --> 00:51:23.360 Now that we talked about the Pacers and their 44 and a half wins, let's talk about a team. 00:51:23.360 --> 00:51:31.840 Now that we've talked about the Pacers, let's talk about some of their teams that they have to worry about. 00:51:31.840 --> 00:51:41.519 The Cleveland Cavaliers are in a assessment kind of standby situation. 00:51:41.519 --> 00:51:45.920 What I mean by that is that they're all in this year again. 00:51:45.920 --> 00:51:51.039 They picked up James Harden, they went 21 and 9 over that time. 00:51:51.039 --> 00:51:57.199 They had an offensive rating of 126.7. 00:51:57.199 --> 00:52:07.599 Harden and Mitchell during the regular season is a absolute dynamo of a backcourt. 00:52:07.599 --> 00:52:13.679 Harden's talents are undeniable undeniable. 00:52:13.679 --> 00:52:25.039 He is one of the best um step back uh three shooting guys in the league. 00:52:25.039 --> 00:52:30.079 He can get to the basket when he wants. 00:52:30.079 --> 00:52:36.079 He can manipulate a defense at any point in time. 00:52:36.079 --> 00:52:39.679 I'll get to the other stuff in a second, but let's give him his flowers. 00:52:39.679 --> 00:52:45.519 James Harden is is a is a real dude, and he's been a real dude for a very, very long time in this league. 00:52:45.519 --> 00:52:47.679 That's why he continues to get paid. 00:52:47.679 --> 00:52:51.360 Is he the best defense defensive player in the world? 00:52:51.360 --> 00:52:53.599 No, he's not. 00:52:53.599 --> 00:52:56.400 But can he play adequate defense? 00:52:56.400 --> 00:52:57.920 Yeah, he sure can. 00:52:57.920 --> 00:53:02.400 Donovan Mitchell is an absolute dynamo, offensive dynamo. 00:53:02.400 --> 00:53:09.760 He is explosive, he can he can explode for 55 points any given night. 00:53:09.760 --> 00:53:17.599 He's and the funny part about Donovan Mitchell is that I know they lift him at like what six foot four or whatever the case may be. 00:53:17.599 --> 00:53:35.360 Donovan Mitchell's like 6'2, he just got long ass arms, and he's just super duper fucking athletic, and he is an absolute killer when it comes to regular season getting buckets. 00:53:35.360 --> 00:53:38.880 Now, this team is stacked. 00:53:38.880 --> 00:53:44.079 The Cavaliers, Kenny Atkinson has a stacked team. 00:53:44.079 --> 00:53:52.320 Evan Mowgli is a former defensive player of the year, he provides the ramp protection that you would want. 00:53:52.320 --> 00:54:00.000 Uh, you also got Jared Allen, who is also one of the best defensive players in the league. 00:54:00.000 --> 00:54:05.360 And now you have Peyton Watson, who you got in a signing trade. 00:54:05.360 --> 00:54:06.960 And let me tell you something. 00:54:06.960 --> 00:54:12.320 Peyton Watson, I wanted him to be a Lakers so bag, but I will say this. 00:54:12.320 --> 00:54:23.039 It's it is a it's not a big sample size, but you're not asking Peyton Watson to carry the team. 00:54:23.039 --> 00:54:40.239 What you're asking him to do is the thing that he should be able to wake up, fall out of bed doing, being an absolute menace on the defensive end, providing pressure on ball, and being a menace in the passing lanes. 00:54:40.239 --> 00:54:51.840 Get out and run, get your points that way, and when we finally go ahead and get into that half court offense, we need you to stand in the corner and shoot some threes. 00:54:51.840 --> 00:55:11.519 And if he can do that with the amount of talent they have on this team, I think that Peyton Watson's ability and what he showed in that month where Jokic wasn't there, and he put up career numbers. 00:55:11.519 --> 00:55:15.920 I think that Cleveland really has something. 00:55:15.920 --> 00:55:28.079 Honestly. 00:55:28.079 --> 00:55:37.119 Now again, his defensive his defensive uh prowess is unmatched. 00:55:37.119 --> 00:55:43.280 This dude is a 97 97th percentile isolate isolation defender. 00:55:43.280 --> 00:55:58.719 His catch and shoot efficiency is 95th percentile, and then you have dudes like off the bench, you have dudes like uh Dean Wade, Max Struce, uh Schroeder, you know what I'm saying? 00:55:58.719 --> 00:56:00.800 You got enough dudes. 00:56:00.800 --> 00:56:03.920 Oh, we haven't even talked about Jalen uh Tyson. 00:56:03.920 --> 00:56:09.440 So the covers aren't bare in Cleveland. 00:56:09.440 --> 00:56:47.199 Yes, you will have to stagger the bigs to make sure you got enough shooting on the court, but I think with now Peyton Watson there, you got another kind of athletic person who is a legitimate six foot eight, who can provide that where he can slide down to that four position very easily, and then you could bring in another high-level defender who can shoot the three and help out with the corner threes, and you still got Donovan Mitchell and you

got James Harden to do the real offensive heavy lifting that they're able to do. 00:56:47.199 --> 00:56:54.320 My whole thing with the Cleveland Cavaliers is the same exact thing that it's been the last two or three years. 00:56:54.320 --> 00:57:07.760 Either you're gonna get more aggression from Evan Mowgli or some more nasty from Jared Allen, or you're gonna go home again, and you're never getting to the finals. 00:57:07.760 --> 00:57:10.559 And that's all there is to it. 00:57:10.559 --> 00:57:17.920 Because here's the thing as much as I love James Harden as far as what he's able to do, it doesn't work in the playoffs. 00:57:17.920 --> 00:57:33.679 We've we've asked and we've tried, but it doesn't work, and James Harden uh ghosting you like after a date or whatever the case may be, is definitely gonna happen in the playoffs. 00:57:33.679 --> 00:57:37.840 You're gonna sit there and look around and go, where is James Harden at? 00:57:37.840 --> 00:57:40.400 And he is gonna be nowhere to be found. 00:57:40.400 --> 00:57:47.599 All that production you saw in the regular season is gonna dry up, and it's just gonna be gone. 00:57:47.599 --> 00:57:50.880 Now, Donovan Mitchell still puts up points in the playoffs. 00:57:50.880 --> 00:58:00.480 The only thing with Donovan Mitchell is that he's been in Utah and he's been in Cleveland, and we still have not seen an NBA finals appearance for this guy. 00:58:00.480 --> 00:58:14.320 And the one thing that we said when he was with Darius Garland is that backcourt too small, and now we say to you again, not that it's too small, James Harden is not a really good defensive player. 00:58:14.320 --> 00:58:43.039 Donovan Mitchell is athletic enough to be a good defensive player, but if you put him in pick and roll action, and now you gotta guard LeBron, or you gotta guard OG Anobi, or you gotta guard Jason Tatum, or you gotta guard Jalen Brown, it's a difficult ask of somebody who is 6'2, who is also carrying such an offensive burden for you. 00:58:43.039 --> 00:58:53.199 This is why we've been asking for Evan Mowgli to step up and just be the guy who we thought you were going to be. 00:58:53.199 --> 00:58:59.440 I thought this was the second coming of Chris Bosch, honestly, and we have not gotten there. 00:58:59.440 --> 00:59:04.639 We've seen glimpses of it, we've seen it, it's not like it's oh, it's not there at all. 00:59:04.639 --> 00:59:06.880 No, no, no, no, it's there. 00:59:06.880 --> 00:59:11.440 We just never seen it completely realized yet. 00:59:11.440 --> 00:59:27.760 And this is the year because if for some reason, with all this talent that has been put together by Kobe Altman, and Kobe Altman has done a fantastic job with the Cleveland Cavaliers. 00:59:27.760 --> 00:59:30.000 Make no mistake about that. 00:59:30.000 --> 00:59:34.320 But this is the year where they have to put it all together. 00:59:34.320 --> 00:59:38.639 You can't cry about all this, that, the other. 00:59:38.639 --> 00:59:53.440

Kenny Atkinson can't come out here talking about well, our our uh evaluated field goal percentage will lead us to believe that we would have won that series nine out of ten times. 00:59:53.440 --> 00:59:55.760 Bro, nobody wants to hear that. 00:59:55.760 --> 00:59:58.559 Not one person wants to hear that. 00:59:58.559 --> 01:00:01.199 You need to go out and win. 01:00:01.199 --> 01:00:07.760 You need to grab this season by the throat and win. 01:00:07.760 --> 01:00:22.559 You have the talent, you have now a guy who can definitely defend the wing at a high level, so you should be able to counteract the Jalen Browns and the Jason Tatums of the world with Peyton Watson. 01:00:22.559 --> 01:00:24.239 Because here's the other thing. 01:00:24.239 --> 01:00:28.400 2027, 2029 first are gone. 01:00:28.400 --> 01:00:34.159 2028 first round pick is in a swap triangle. 01:00:34.159 --> 01:00:38.719 The 2031 pick went to Denver in the Peyton Watson deal. 01:00:38.719 --> 01:00:43.119 The 2033 pick is frozen because of your cap situation. 01:00:43.119 --> 01:00:46.800 Y'all see what I'm getting at, right? 01:00:46.800 --> 01:00:48.719 In Cleveland. 01:00:48.719 --> 01:00:50.800 I know y'all don't want to hear it. 01:00:50.800 --> 01:00:52.480 I know y'all don't want to hear it. 01:00:52.480 --> 01:01:00.639 But I'm gonna tell you right now, if for some reason Cleveland does not get it done, expect change. 01:01:00.639 --> 01:01:02.960 Now, will it be Donovan Mitchell? 01:01:03.199 --> 01:01:03.519 No. 01:01:04.480 --> 01:01:05.760 Not saying that. 01:01:05.760 --> 01:01:08.480 But Evan Mowgli gonna have to go. 01:01:08.480 --> 01:01:10.800 Or Jared Allen gonna have to go. 01:01:10.800 --> 01:01:17.440 You can't pay Jared Allen $30 million and be like, oh, he's not that type of big. 01:01:17.440 --> 01:01:24.000 He's not a big where you sit there and I he can get me offense on his own. 01:01:24.000 --> 01:01:26.800 He is not that dude. 01:01:26.800 --> 01:01:52.639 He is reliant on James Harden feeding him blocks and getting put back, you know, off the rebounds, and running, you know, being athletic and running the court and beating his the his uh his center matchup up the court and then hitting him with a lead ahead pass and him scoring. 01:01:52.639 --> 01:02:08.480 But if you're asking him to like end like half court offense, go on the block and then get me like a turnaround little baby hook or whatever the case may be, or turnaround 12-footer, that is not Jared Allen's game. 01:02:08.480 --> 01:02:11.599 So, this is the year. 01:02:11.599 --> 01:02:18.960 Evan Mowgli finds the aggression that he's so been searching for. 01:02:18.960 --> 01:02:37.280 Jared Allen needs to step up and be a little more aggressive on these screens, and also make sure when you we get to the postseason, you out here putting up a wall, and it's not just a throw. 01:02:37.280 --> 01:02:46.719 Peyton Watson needs to go ahead and hold it down and and be able to neutralize some of these wings that he's gonna be asked to defend. 01:02:46.719 --> 01:03:02.320 And you know, Donovan Mitchell is gonna have to carry this team a little bit and hope that when James Harden does go MIA, it's on the it's on a night where Donovan Mitchell is on a heater. 01:03:02.320 --> 01:03:05.599 Do I think Cleveland is going to contend in the East? 01:03:05.599 --> 01:03:06.800 Yes, I do. 01:03:06.800 --> 01:03:14.079 Do I think that Cleveland has a chance to win more than 47 and a half games? 01:03:14.079 --> 01:03:16.400 They should. 01:03:16.400 --> 01:03:21.440 Could the pressure finally have caught up to him though? 01:03:21.440 --> 01:03:28.719 Because we know that this is the year where you you know this is the proven year. 01:03:28.719 --> 01:03:43.119 Lot of weird things happen when you know that the ultimatum is like, hey, if you don't get it together this year, we're gonna have to make a lot of changes. 01:03:43.119 --> 01:03:45.760 Cause then people start playing for themselves. 01:03:45.760 --> 01:03:48.639 You start to see independent contractors out there. 01:03:48.639 --> 01:03:52.400 Now, I think Kenny Atkinson can hold it together. 01:03:52.400 --> 01:03:56.000 I think he's the type of dude that can handle that situation. 01:03:56.000 --> 01:04:05.360 I think that uh the kid they got from um was it Arkansas, whatever the case may be, Malik Anderson, I think he's going to be very good. 01:04:05.360 --> 01:04:10.800 I think he might be a you know kind of energizer bunny off the bench. 01:04:10.800 --> 01:04:13.920 Do I think that Cleveland should win about 50 games? 01:04:13.920 --> 01:04:25.360 Yeah, I think this the whole Eastern Conference at the top, that 50 to whoever ends up winning 55 games, probably gonna win the East. 01:04:25.360 --> 01:04:28.800 Because there's too many good teams at the top. 01:04:28.800 --> 01:04:32.639 Now, this is provided no injuries or whatever. 01:04:32.639 --> 01:04:41.199 We have some sort of long-gated injury by one of these top teams, then I can see them definitely falling by the wayside and whatever. 01:04:41.199 --> 01:04:55.440 But if we are turning off the injury situation on 2K, and we're saying that Cleveland is going to be with their dudes mostly, their over, under is 47 and a half, they should go over. 01:04:55.440 --> 01:05:02.559 The problem is that again, this is a season where it's a make or break. 01:05:02.559 --> 01:05:07.199 You start to see people going into business for themselves. 01:05:07.199 --> 01:05:13.920 And hey, James Harden isn't it is not above it. 01:05:13.920 --> 01:05:16.320 He's not above it at all. 01:05:16.320 --> 01:05:24.400 So with that being said, this is a big crew of year for the Cleveland Cavaliers. 01:05:24.400 --> 01:05:31.360 I think they're immensely talented, but it all falls on not Donovan Mitchell, not James Harden. 01:05:31.360 --> 01:05:35.440 I am going to tell you exactly who is going to fall on. 01:05:35.440 --> 01:05:39.760 Evan Mobley

needs to be the guy who we thought he was going to be. 01:05:39.760 --> 01:05:44.159 He needs to go ahead and average like 19 to 21 points a game. 01:05:44.159 --> 01:05:48.960 He needs to go ahead and get his get his shit together with his rebounds. 01:05:48.960 --> 01:05:59.440 He needs to be more assertive on the offensive end and be that third guy that the Cleveland Cavaliers have been looking for, and not just this mismatch, pokery. 01:05:59.440 --> 01:06:03.440 Situation that they've been going through for like the last three years. 01:06:03.440 --> 01:06:05.920 Evan Mobley needs to be the dude. 01:06:05.920 --> 01:06:11.760 Really, to tell you the truth, he really needs to be the number two, and James Harden moves to the number three. 01:06:11.760 --> 01:06:14.719 But shit, I know I'm probably asking a lot. 01:06:14.719 --> 01:06:18.400 Evan Mobley needs to step up. 01:06:18.400 --> 01:06:21.840 We need to see the guy that they drafted. 01:06:21.840 --> 01:06:24.800 Um early lottery. 01:06:24.800 --> 01:06:28.400 What six years ago, six, seven years ago? 01:06:28.400 --> 01:06:33.199 We've been waiting, and it needs to happen. 01:06:33.199 --> 01:06:41.519 And that leads us to a guy and to another big that had a lot of questions to answer. 01:06:41.519 --> 01:06:45.599 And his situation just got real interesting. 01:06:45.599 --> 01:06:48.079 And that leads us to the Detroit Pistons. 01:06:48.079 --> 01:06:51.840 The Detroit Pistons won 60 games last year. 01:06:51.840 --> 01:06:54.079 They were the number one seed. 01:06:54.079 --> 01:06:57.280 Um the number two seed. 01:06:57.280 --> 01:07:04.559 They took and lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers in seven games in the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. 01:07:04.559 --> 01:07:12.400 The market wants you to think that they will have a 10 and a half win drop in wins. 01:07:12.400 --> 01:07:18.239 Now, Kay Cunningham is paid. 01:07:18.239 --> 01:07:33.519 And then under the wire, they paid their 22-year-old center $200 million for five years. 01:07:33.519 --> 01:07:36.400 And you say, Vince, this is a good thing. 01:07:36.400 --> 01:07:46.719 And I agree with you. 01:07:46.719 --> 01:07:49.760 Here's my question. 01:07:49.760 --> 01:08:02.159 I'm about to go through it here in Los Angeles. 01:08:02.159 --> 01:08:10.880 Because if you don't think Austin Reeves is under the microscope with his contract that he just got, you got another thing coming. 01:08:10.880 --> 01:08:15.039 The reality is, is with that money comes great responsibility. 01:08:15.039 --> 01:08:23.520 And Jalen Duran can tell me all the things, and he can be salty about how negotiations went and whatever. 01:08:23.520 --> 01:08:43.600 The reason why Trajan Langdon had a pause when it came to giving Jalen Duran $200 million, which is an AAV of $40 million a year, is because does he get his own offense? 01:08:43.600 --> 01:08:49.119 Is he a absolute shutdown defender? 01:08:49.119 --> 01:08:52.239 They were 60 and 22

last year. 01:08:52.239 --> 01:08:56.800 Cade Cunningham missed 18 games and they still won 60. 01:08:56.800 --> 01:09:03.039 Cade's shot quality is all all be it because he is the guy. 01:09:03.039 --> 01:09:06.479 He has to take some questionable shots. 01:09:06.479 --> 01:09:15.199 Because if you look behind him, if you look behind Kate, who is it? 01:09:15.199 --> 01:09:25.039 One of the best athletes I've seen on the court. 01:09:25.039 --> 01:09:29.520 He's like a 99%ile athlete. 01:09:29.520 --> 01:09:31.119 Can't shoot a lick. 01:09:31.119 --> 01:09:36.640 Jalen Doran is a 20 and 10 type of dude. 01:09:36.640 --> 01:09:40.960 Is he the best defensive player in the whole world? 01:09:40.960 --> 01:09:41.600 No. 01:09:41.600 --> 01:09:44.960 And how is he getting those 20 points a game? 01:09:44.960 --> 01:09:49.199 Who's spoon feeding him, you know, most of those points? 01:09:49.199 --> 01:09:51.199 Oh, that'll be Cade Cunningham. 01:09:51.199 --> 01:09:56.960 Kate Cunningham is a straw that stirs the drink, no doubt. 01:09:56.960 --> 01:10:03.920 But also, he's the he is the offensive engine for a lot of people on that team. 01:10:03.920 --> 01:10:07.600 And then you got John Collins, right? 01:10:07.600 --> 01:10:10.319 Okay, here's the thing. 01:10:10.319 --> 01:10:16.239 Duncan Robinson is there to give you space. 01:10:16.239 --> 01:10:19.680 Okay, there's your th your movement three-point shooter. 01:10:19.680 --> 01:10:25.840 You also picked up Isaiah Joe, another terrific movement shooter. 01:10:25.840 --> 01:10:30.479 I don't know what he's gonna do on the defensive end for you, but I do know this. 01:10:30.479 --> 01:10:32.560 He's gonna get you some buckets. 01:10:32.560 --> 01:10:34.319 They got John Collins. 01:10:34.319 --> 01:10:44.800 Now, John Collins has shot the ball uh a lot better when it comes to three-point shooting and whatever the case may be lately. 01:10:44.800 --> 01:10:53.119 That thumb that finger still looks ugly as hell, but he finally started to shoot the three a little bit better. 01:10:53.119 --> 01:10:58.319 But he's not you can't depend on John Collins. 01:10:58.319 --> 01:11:06.880 You can't depend on remember they were depending on Tobias Harris last year, and they still won 60 games. 01:11:06.880 --> 01:11:09.520 That is the greatness of Kay Cunningham. 01:11:09.520 --> 01:11:23.680 That is the greatness of also their coach JB Bakerstaff saying, hey, we are gonna play all out, tough ass deep tough ass minded defense, and we're gonna get this done. 01:11:23.680 --> 01:11:25.840 Now, here's the thing. 01:11:25.840 --> 01:11:28.479 And we're gonna say the quiet part out loud. 01:11:28.479 --> 01:11:32.319 Everybody plays hard in the playoffs. 01:11:32.319 --> 01:11:44.960 Yeah, you can win a lot of games in a regular season because you're out efforting people, but when it comes to the crucible of the playoffs, you're not gonna be able to do that. 01:11:44.960 --> 01:11:49.439 A Sar Thompson's defensive

LeBron is 2.93. 01:11:49.439 --> 01:11:51.359 That's a hundred percentile. 01:11:51.359 --> 01:11:57.439 His steals are 2.56 in 70 in 75 possessions. 01:11:57.439 --> 01:12:00.079 One of the toughest assignments in the league. 01:12:00.079 --> 01:12:01.279 That's all great. 01:12:01.279 --> 01:12:04.319 You still can't hit a jump shot, my brother. 01:12:04.319 --> 01:12:10.960 Are we expecting John Collins to become some kind of like volume three-point shooter? 01:12:10.960 --> 01:12:16.640 Or is it does it all fall on Duncan Robertson and also Isaiah Joe? 01:12:16.640 --> 01:12:24.319 Now those guys are up to the task, no doubt, when it comes to shooting threes and getting those numbers out there. 01:12:24.319 --> 01:12:41.680 And maybe they will be the the the guys you need to go ahead and provide the the space the space that Cuttingham needs to operate in in a driving situation and to unlock what Jalen Durant is. 01:12:41.680 --> 01:12:44.640 But I still think you need more. 01:12:44.640 --> 01:12:47.840 I still think you need more. 01:12:47.840 --> 01:12:54.479 Isaiah Stewart gone, Tobias Harris gone. 01:12:54.479 --> 01:12:57.600 You know what I'm saying? 01:12:57.600 --> 01:13:11.439 So again, when you got Giannis in Miami, you got Jalen Brown and LeBron in Philly, you got Kawhi Leonard in Toronto, and Tyrese Halliburton is back. 01:13:11.439 --> 01:13:16.000 Oh, by the way, Cleveland is still here. 01:13:16.000 --> 01:13:29.359 Again, JB Bakerstaff has a lot of um he has a lot to work to do because they need to find a second scorer for Cake Cunningham. 01:13:29.359 --> 01:13:32.319 And they need to find them pretty quickly. 01:13:32.319 --> 01:13:39.920 They either need to be able to manifest one within the house, or they need to go out and get one. 01:13:39.920 --> 01:13:56.560 Cause again, paying Jalen Doran that kind of money signifies that you are like a dude that should should be the second leading score of the team or the backbone of the defense. 01:13:56.560 --> 01:14:04.159 You are second behind Cade's fifty-three point eight million, my guy. 01:14:04.159 --> 01:14:16.319 So it's either first team all defensive team at the very least second. 01:14:16.319 --> 01:14:45.359 You're starting to rebound the ball at such a prolific level, like you're averaging 13.5 rebounds a game, or you're gonna have to figure out some sort of like offensive post move and counters to that post move to unlock K Cunningham so he's not getting double teamed and glitched every single time in the playoffs. 01:14:45.359 --> 01:14:51.520 Now, do I think that Detroit will be good this year? 01:14:51.520 --> 01:14:52.880 Yeah, I do. 01:14:52.880 --> 01:14:55.600 I do. 01:14:55.600 --> 01:15:05.920 I am just really not sold on their ceiling. 01:15:05.920 --> 01:15:17.760 And I know that's real hard for Detroit Piston fans to hear when you're sitting there and saying, hey, we won 60 games last year. 01:15:17.760 --> 01:15:26.079 Who the hell are you to tell us that we are going to because when you say something like this, what pissing fans hear is that they suck. 01:15:26.079 --> 01:15:27.520 They don't suck. 01:15:27.520 --> 01:15:32.640 And again, if you play hard, you can win a lot of games. 01:15:32.640 --> 01:15:36.479 But when it comes to that playoffs, that's a different story. 01:15:36.479 --> 01:15:40.000 Because everybody's playing hard in the playoffs. 01:15:40.000 --> 01:15:43.520 Everybody is doing that. 01:15:43.520 --> 01:15:53.039 So if you're cool with getting there and like you're a first round, second round exit every single year, then good on you. 01:15:53.039 --> 01:15:57.680 I don't think Cade is is built that way. 01:15:57.680 --> 01:16:02.880 Now, what is cool about the Detroit Pistons? 01:16:02.880 --> 01:16:10.000 They own their first from 2027 to 2033. 01:16:10.000 --> 01:16:14.640 So if they want to go out and make a trade, they can. 01:16:14.640 --> 01:16:24.880 Duncan Robinson is 16 million, and Isaiah Joe is 11.3 million. 01:16:24.880 --> 01:16:36.000 So if you wanted to combine some salaries depending on what you were looking for, you have enough to go out and get what you need to get. 01:16:36.000 --> 01:16:46.720 But don't sit here and try to swoon fade me this this line about oh Jalen Duran is now the second best player on the team. 01:16:46.720 --> 01:17:07.760 Okay, yeah, he's second best player, but y'all know the space between him and Cake Cunningham and the offensive weaponry and wizardry that is Cake Cunningham is a vast difference to what Jalen Duran provides to this team. 01:17:07.760 --> 01:17:21.279 And yes, it was cool when you were on your rookie deal and you were averaging 19.1 points a game and like 10.8 rebounds and blocking a couple shots and whatever the case may be. 01:17:21.279 --> 01:17:22.640 That was all well and good. 01:17:22.640 --> 01:17:25.359 Now you make 40 million dollars a year. 01:17:25.359 --> 01:17:33.039 So Vegas has them as like a 49-win team. 01:17:33.039 --> 01:17:38.159 This might be the one team that I say under. 01:17:38.159 --> 01:17:40.720 Not significantly under. 01:17:40.720 --> 01:17:46.880 I think, like I said, a lot of teams are gonna be in that, like, it's gonna be a cluster of teams. 01:17:46.880 --> 01:17:51.199 It's gonna be like the West last year and the two previous years. 01:17:51.199 --> 01:18:05.600 Where we're probably gonna have one team that kind of gets out there, but the rest of y'all from like two to seven, fifty-two, fifty-one, fifty, forty-nine, forty-eight. 01:18:05.600 --> 01:18:11.039 Just saying. 01:18:11.039 --> 01:18:23.119 Now, again, people are gonna kill me and think to say, hey, you have no idea what you're talking about, and I'm like, cool, I get it. 01:18:23.119 --> 01:18:30.079 But I know you guys asked you you asked yourself some tough questions. 01:18:30.079 --> 01:19:24.239 Is Detroit really made to go a long way in the Eastern Conference in the playoffs, the way they're currently

constituted right now, or are they another team that's gonna try hard in a regular season, and then when they are playing a team for six, seven games in a row, when they can sit there and just scheme for Cake Cunningham, and when's the right time to blitz him, and where's the right time to put you know a bigger defender on him, and whatever the case may be, and you're looking around and you're trying to find and you're trying to manufacture a second option between the likes of Duncan Robinson, Isaiah Joe, and John Collins. 01:19:24.239 --> 01:19:26.800 Oh, let's throw Jalen Duran in that mix. 01:19:26.800 --> 01:19:28.239 You make 40 million, dude. 01:19:28.239 --> 01:19:29.920 You're in that mix. 01:19:29.920 --> 01:19:34.000 I just don't see it. 01:19:34.000 --> 01:19:35.920 I just don't see it. 01:19:35.920 --> 01:19:38.800 Can you win a ton of games? 01:19:38.800 --> 01:19:40.880 Yeah, one hundred percent you could. 01:19:40.880 --> 01:19:46.720 Should you be a team that wins like fifty-five games a year? 01:19:46.720 --> 01:19:48.399 Yeah, one hundred percent. 01:19:48.399 --> 01:19:50.479 And I'm not saying you can't. 01:19:50.479 --> 01:20:03.760 But I wonder if like with Toronto getting quiet, Tyrese being back from Indiana, does your gap fall a little bit? 01:20:03.760 --> 01:20:08.239 Oh, again, New York just won a title, by the way. 01:20:08.239 --> 01:20:15.840 So as far as what their confidence level is going to be, they're gonna have that championship glean to them a little bit. 01:20:15.840 --> 01:20:21.199 Boston is on a rampage to get back to where they think they belong. 01:20:21.199 --> 01:20:23.920 Philadelphia loaded up. 01:20:23.920 --> 01:20:33.600 So are you sure you're like this close to 60 win team again with what you currently have? 01:20:33.600 --> 01:20:55.920 Or more are you are you more of a team that's gonna kind of fall back to the pack, win like 52 games, be a third seed to a fifth seed, because depending on win-loss records against these other teams, they're gonna have basically the same record as you will depend on your playoff seeding. 01:20:55.920 --> 01:21:00.479 So that's what I think about Detroit. 01:21:00.479 --> 01:21:02.720 That's what I think about the Durant contract. 01:21:02.720 --> 01:21:07.039 Listen, I know that they I know they trade Jan Lane had to pull the trigger. 01:21:07.039 --> 01:21:10.159 I'm not saying that Jalen Duran is not a good player. 01:21:10.159 --> 01:21:18.880 I just never my I never thought for one second was he worth the 40 million. 01:21:18.880 --> 01:21:23.840 Call me the bad guy, call me whatever you want. 01:21:23.840 --> 01:21:30.000 I don't see the defensive prowess to to to sanctify this deal. 01:21:30.000 --> 01:21:39.439 I don't see the offensive game that says, okay, okay, yeah, this dude is this dude is worthy of this money. 01:21:39.439 --> 01:21:51.439 So that's my that's the team that I usually root for. 01:21:51.439 --> 01:21:58.319 But I don't have blinders

on going, yeah, Walker Kessler, 30 something million for show. 01:21:58.319 --> 01:21:59.680 Nope. 01:21:59.680 --> 01:22:00.319 No. 01:22:00.319 --> 01:22:15.760 So if I feel this if I feel that way about Walker Kessler and I put on purple and gold sunglasses from time to time, as an analyst, I'm looking at your team and going, okay, Jalen Dorn, 40 million dollars, that's great. 01:22:15.760 --> 01:22:21.039 You should win 50 plus games for sure. 01:22:21.039 --> 01:22:24.319 But I have no expectations for you in the playoffs. 01:22:24.319 --> 01:22:25.039 Zero. 01:22:25.039 --> 01:22:32.000 As you're currently constituted, no expectations whatsoever. 01:22:32.000 --> 01:22:46.800 You'll be in the dog fight you're for your own division, and you'll be in the dog fight for anywhere between second to sixth place in the East. 01:22:46.800 --> 01:22:51.520 One team is gonna be the rabbit and jump out. 01:22:51.520 --> 01:22:54.079 One team will. 01:22:54.079 --> 01:22:59.680 I think they currently reside in New York City, honestly. 01:22:59.680 --> 01:23:02.479 But that's for another podcast. 01:23:02.479 --> 01:23:07.600 So, with that being said, I want to thank everybody on being patient with us. 01:23:07.600 --> 01:23:11.520 And uh, we got this podcast out late, so you guys are gonna get it Sunday. 01:23:11.520 --> 01:23:14.479 We will hit you with another pod on Tuesday. 01:23:14.479 --> 01:23:17.680 So, with that being said, we've talked our talk. 01:23:17.680 --> 01:23:23.279 It's time for us to go ahead and get up out of here, but I want to tell you right now one thing. 01:23:23.279 --> 01:23:33.359 FRPC is your spot because we talk hoops, and we try to talk intelligent hoops, and we don't try to sugarcut it, code it for you. 01:23:33.359 --> 01:23:42.239 We try to give you the real real and we try to make sure that you are armed with good information when you go back to your group chats. 01:23:42.239 --> 01:23:48.640 So do me a favor, share this episode with the one person in your group chat that needs to hear it the most. 01:23:48.640 --> 01:23:59.199 Pull up on us on X, that's at frontrunner PC, or at socially underscore FRPC. 01:23:59.199 --> 01:24:04.399 We got an Instagram account as well, that's frontrunnerpc. 01:24:04.399 --> 01:24:09.359 And the YouTube account is at FRPC Vents. 01:24:09.359 --> 01:24:16.960 Make sure you are hitting up all of those situations for us. 01:24:16.960 --> 01:24:19.039 It is greatly appreciated. 01:24:19.039 --> 01:24:35.840 This is how we get out there, this is how we grow the FRPC army, and we get more and more acolytes for our our our charge for like domination of this space. 01:24:35.840 --> 01:24:39.680 Because make no mistake about it, we're trying to do that. 01:24:39.680 --> 01:24:46.800 Now, before we get out of here, and I mean this when I say it, the best part of you is you. 01:24:46.800 --> 01:24:55.199 And it's still you, not your win-loss record, not your timeline, not your algorithm, just you. 01:24:55.199 --> 01:25:08.000 Surround yourself with people who actually give you light, the ones who bring you insight and joy and real accountability to speaks into your life. 01:25:08.000 --> 01:25:10.239 That's your max deal. 01:25:10.239 --> 01:25:18.479 Appreciate those people out loud and don't wait on a later that nobody's ever promised. 01:25:18.479 --> 01:25:24.000 Now, here at FRPC, we want to be your hoop family. 01:25:24.000 --> 01:25:29.439 We're gonna be loud sometimes, and we're gonna make mistakes and be wrong. 01:25:29.439 --> 01:25:37.039 But we're gonna come back and own those mistakes, and we will always respect your brain. 01:25:37.039 --> 01:25:42.640 Because anybody can yell at, but very few can actually defend a thought. 01:25:42.640 --> 01:25:57.199 Until next episode, keep your mind sharp, your heart open, your circle tight, and protect your peace like Cap Space, and never waste it on bad basketball or bad energy. 01:25:57.199 --> 01:25:59.359 I'm Vince, and we out.