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Speaker 1: No Dunks is brought to you by game Time, your new go to app for the best deals on last minute tickets. Ticket prices dropped right before the game starts, and because Gametime tracks prices in real time from thousands of trusted sellers, they're able to show you the best last minute deals with prices up to sixty percent off. Guys, Nora and I are celebrating our wedding anniversary this Friday. Nothing crazy plan, nothing crazy plan, just a nice night out at Marcel, a fantastic steakhouse here in Atlanta. But guys, I got a plan. I'm gonna keep my eye on the game Time app during dinner, get a little red wine coursing through my body of feeling good. I see those last minute ticket prices drop boom. Next thing you know, Nora and I are sitting in floor seats for Julio Iglesias. The game Time app is simple, quick and easy to navigate. I could grab those tickets while Nora is in the restroom. Download the game Time app in the Google Play or App Store and score last minute deals on tickets up to sixty percent off.
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Speaker 2: The only disability in life is a negative, a bad attitude. So eliminate the negative and embrace the positive. Good morning, sweet world, and welcome to the No Dunks Podcast on the Athletic Network. I'm Jays Skeets and alongside me as always tas mellis Commy Timmy, we got the Bearded one, Trey Kirby hel Hey Yo, the international Man of Mystery taking him to the Max.
00:01:30
Speaker 1: Lee ellis lely looking great, and last but not least, the man making the magic happen is jd Hello school, guys. Follow us on social media both Twitter and Instagram at No dunk Zinc. You know we're on Facebook at Facebook dot com slash no dunk Zinc.
00:01:46
Speaker 3: Well, I guess it's official. We're now on Facebook.
00:01:49
Speaker 1: And email us your NBA questions and comments to No Dunks at the Athletic dot Com. We'll be stepping on the beach this Thursday, so get those questions in. Some of you probably want why not today? You usually go beat stepping on Wednesday, guys, Well, later today we got a special bonus podcast for you, an interview with Brooklyn Nets broadcaster Sarah Coustin. Yes, so keep your eyes and your ears on the podcast feed. Also Yesterday Tuesday, after the Daily Show we recorded a fun new episode of Squad where we drafted our sneaker collections. It's a shoe blitz twenty nineteen over at the Athletics. So we did a draft episode, a squad episode where we pick you know, our Air Jordans, We draft our Air Jordans, we draft stignature sneakers, leiser shoes, novelty shoes, stuff like that.
00:02:41
Speaker 4: Got my team together. Last night we were practicing. Everybody who was looking good. A lot of cohesion there amongst the sneakers.
00:02:46
Speaker 1: Good, so check that out. It was a lot of fun and shout us to everyone tweeting at us and on Instagram sharing their drafts which shoes they would select, So go check that out. So, yeah, that's up. We got a Sarah Kustack interview coming up later today. Man content, kingsy temmy gooda love this sink.
00:03:04
Speaker 3: All right, but.
00:03:05
Speaker 1: Let's let's get into last night in the NBA Spurs Rockets double overtime thriller. This one had at all. You had a huge San Antonio Spurs rally, you had another fifty point game from Harden, you had Lonnie Walker's hair and production at career high levels, and you had the dunk that wasn't the phantom dunk Harden breakaway dunk with about seven fifty to go in the game. It would have given the Rockets a one o four to eighty nine lead. The ball goes in the net, it whips through the net and then back over the rim before bouncing off, and the officiating crew mistakenly ruled that Harden missed the dunk, and then they denied d'An toni's attempt to challenge the call. Very very weird, weird that that play happened, that they didn't look at it, that they didn't realize it went through the rim, And then even crazier when you consider that the Rockets end up blowing a thirteen point lead and losing the game in double overtime. So here's the fallout from this, Tim McMahon telling everyone that the Rockets are hopeful the league office will either award the victory to Houston due to the Rockets outscoring the Spurs in regulation, or order the final seven minutes and fifty seconds to be replayed at a later date. What a mess here, But what does everybody think? I mean, how will the NBA go about fixing this?
00:04:29
Speaker 5: If at all I don't think they can fix it. I don't think either of those scenarios you just said.
00:04:35
Speaker 1: They're not going to give the Rockets to No, you can take.
00:04:38
Speaker 3: That one off the table.
00:04:40
Speaker 5: And whether they replay the last seven minutes or whatever it was. I also I don't think they're going to do that. I think the NBA is probably going to turn up to this and say a monumental era, no doubt, but bad luck.
00:04:54
Speaker 6: Yeah, it's unfortunate. It's unfortunate Tim mcmon is even reporting this because this rocket source that just puts out there that they could potentially replay this game. There's no chance they replayed this game. There's no chance they give them a win. When does that happen? Why would they do that? They missed the play, It happens in the NBA. It's a dumb maneuver by the refs, or you know, a dumb mistake that happens. I guess they don't want to watch James hard as much of the rest of us. They just, you know, they just saw the ball go through and didn't watch it whatsoever. They were just kind of looking to get to the next play. They made a mistake and that's it. That's what happened. There's nothing, nothing is going to change. I think they should replay it.
00:05:32
Speaker 4: They don't play again in San Antonio until April twelfth, twenty twenty, almost the last game of the season.
00:05:39
Speaker 3: But how can they not replay it. This doesn't make sense to me.
00:05:41
Speaker 4: The Rockets, you can't say they would have a win, so they're not going to get the win. But you know, they had more points in regulation. They definitely did. They have to replay it. Two thousand and eight, I think was the last time a game was replayed.
00:05:53
Speaker 1: Yeah, the hawkshit Meat.
00:05:54
Speaker 4: Yeah, Shack got sat down mistakenly for a foul, so they said was fouled out fifty seconds left.
00:06:01
Speaker 3: Blah blah blah, the Hawks go on to the Hawks win. I don't know whatever.
00:06:05
Speaker 1: Well, I'll tell you right now. It was two thousand and eight. Yeah, they had to replay the final fifty one point nine seconds of that game because the official score ruled incorrectly that Shack had fouled out in overtime. The Hawks won the first game, if you want to call that one, to seventeen one eleven on December nineteenth. But when they redid those fifty two seconds let's say in March the Hawks still won one, it was reset to one fourteen, one eleven. Nobody scored, Yeah, during the final.
00:06:29
Speaker 3: Fins and Jack had already been traded away from the Heat.
00:06:33
Speaker 1: Yeah, it was very very strange that one. But yeah, it didn't change anything. But it's I guess, look, that's fifty two seconds compared to this, which is a good chunk of the game. I mean eight minutes to go left in this one.
00:06:46
Speaker 5: It's very embarrassing for the league because why they didn't review it.
00:06:50
Speaker 1: That that's the crazy part. We've got this whole new thing where we can go look at everything now, and this is the mess that comes from it.
00:06:57
Speaker 5: And if you have a situation that's where it clear the Bowl winning, but the referees you didn't get it right, just say okay, we have to check something out here we have I think people would prefer that than this.
00:07:08
Speaker 4: My well, the explanation was so dumb as well. They're like, well there's a thirty second window. But the Rockets were complaining the whole time that it should be reviewed.
00:07:14
Speaker 5: What and then like what I believe D'Antoni was saying, and Austin Rivers lot review it straight away.
00:07:19
Speaker 1: Yeah, D'Antoni said he was initially told the hard and dunk hit the rim and was offensive goaltending. He said he challenged that and was told no, it was not goaltending, but it went out off of harden, so he challenged that, and like basically the officials just told D'Antoni that he could not challenge at some point.
00:07:35
Speaker 6: That's what he said, But according to the referees, they said, it's a reviewable matter, but you have a window of thirty seconds to challenge the play, which he obviously didn't do it within it which was is a strangeral number one. But it's kind of an understandable First of all, coach is challenge is done after the season. Oh, it's over, it's done. Because they have these little, these little tiny rules within the rule, which sort of makes sense. You can call time out and then you can challenge within thirty seconds, which again I think there's some logic to it because you can call time out and then we go to commercial because we're going to commercial. Then what you look at replaced for two and a half minutes, and then you say, you know what kind of challenge that? So then we're sitting there watching another five minutes of a review. So that's why they implemented this thirty second. But when does this thirty second start when D'Antoni calls time out? Is there a clock that somebody hits? No chance that just it doesn't work like that. So that's why they have to They just got to eliminate.
00:08:31
Speaker 5: This because again Philadelphia and who they played them not before there was a challenge in that call, but it came like basically once the play had stopped, not immediately on a Joel andbiid feul. So based on that, surely D'Antoni was in the window.
00:08:48
Speaker 1: This window talk that this is ridiculous. I think they're just trying to come up with anything to save their ass and they're like, you know, we really blew this.
00:08:56
Speaker 6: And now this window. Yeah, this window thing is the second time it's happened. With the Doc River situation where he called time out, nostin Nervers was trying to tee him up.
00:09:05
Speaker 1: We have we have officials that are always looking at hey was that a three pointer or a two pointer? Game continues, game continues, we find out sometimes minutes later, we might go to a commercial break and come back and like, oh yeah, yeah, yeah, they looked at that. That's that was actually he was on the line. It's a two not a three. Well, I mean, so yeah, why couldn't they have just done that in this game?
00:09:25
Speaker 6: Like, I mean, okay, that's done in New York Fun reviews.
00:09:28
Speaker 1: I don't care where it's done. Look at it and go that was a basket and when. So if it takes you a minute or two of game time, let's say they didn't count it right there, everybody's upset, Just go okay, let's keep playing. They're gonna look at it. Oh yeah. They come back two minutes later and they, oh, yeah, that was that was in Like what why is that a problem? Why can they do that?
00:09:49
Speaker 6: Right?
00:09:49
Speaker 5: Yeah, it's dumb.
00:09:50
Speaker 6: Yeah, I mean we can review everything from every game.
00:09:54
Speaker 4: Yeah, everything should be except for for some reason, a made shot on a breakaway the probably the easy call you could have.
00:10:00
Speaker 3: I guess this is why we named our show No Dunks, Lay it In.
00:10:03
Speaker 1: Yeah, I guess.
00:10:04
Speaker 6: So, just not part of the parameters of what you can challenge.
00:10:07
Speaker 4: So yeah, right, there's no rules for it, because you shouldn't have to review a made shot that went in a dunk.
00:10:14
Speaker 6: You shouldn't have to review that James Harden screwed it up by running after the ball because he didn't know he dunked it. He didn't know it went through if he just played it cool.
00:10:21
Speaker 3: Two seconds, Yeah, foolish.
00:10:23
Speaker 1: So you think tacitly, you think, no way, what we play the final seven to fifty of this the Rockets. Look, hey, you were still up thirteen, your two stars go two to twelve down the stretch. You you end up blowing it, whether you got jobbed of two points.
00:10:38
Speaker 3: There or not.
00:10:39
Speaker 1: Sorry, that's just the way it is. Like a bad call and move on.
00:10:43
Speaker 5: I think there's there's always bad calls. There's always sort of calls at one team if they lose. I feel, hey, that was the wrong call. But that's part of the game.
00:10:52
Speaker 4: Yeah, because it's different than the charge block call. Yeah, this is a basket that went in. That's not a call.
00:11:01
Speaker 3: I mean it is.
00:11:01
Speaker 5: It's all in the sense that they.
00:11:05
Speaker 1: It's like a home run right where it's like did it hit on the top of the wall or you know, just below it. Let's look okay.
00:11:13
Speaker 5: I mean if they replay it though in San Antonio going to win again, then what was the point? You know, it's sort of they have to warm it's just then if they're gonna if they want to replay it, just say okay, then Houston, you just get the win. Then it make it even worse.
00:11:26
Speaker 6: According to the league, it is a reviewable matter, but you only have the window of thirty seconds. It's so so weird.
00:11:32
Speaker 1: I'm you're right, this is gone. The coaches challenged, Bye, we tried it. It's a mess. It's making everything worse. The only thing I honestly care about getting right in a close game situation is when a ball goes up, looks like it goes off three guys like who hit that last? Whose ball should it be?
00:11:47
Speaker 3: What about a foot on the liner? You gotta care about that one too.
00:11:51
Speaker 1: Yeah, okay, yeah. And those are for the most part, those are pretty easy to figure out.
00:11:56
Speaker 4: And if you step out of bounds, if a guy makes it dunk, these are easy call to make.
00:12:01
Speaker 3: Worldwide Bob had it on Twitter. Within ten seconds. Go on Twitter. Go on Twitter, refresh it. It's what are you doing?
00:12:08
Speaker 5: Take out of the review said it just checked worldwide Web Twitter.
00:12:11
Speaker 1: You'll get you'll get a you'll get an answer.
00:12:13
Speaker 5: You'll get the right answer too.
00:12:15
Speaker 1: Oh it's uh yeah, that was that was surreal and it's it is amazing. If they do replay this, I saw a Zilla write this. It would if they replay it, it would basically nullify Lonnie Walker's breakout performance. He scored twenty three of his twenty eight points after this botched dunk, phantom dunk, whatever you want.
00:12:34
Speaker 5: To call it.
00:12:35
Speaker 1: And so this like, if they replay, that's gonna benefit the Rockets, of course. I mean they're the ones up huge and oh yeah, you get another chance at you know, slowing Lonnie Walker the fourth or Forbes or whoever went off there for this purse.
00:12:47
Speaker 4: Yeah, who knows, Maybe Drozen's traded by the time, by the time they play this game in April, and you know, they're running a Nikola Vucevich or something out there, who knows what it is. But the Western Conference standings are going to be tight. Houston is going to be in the next for homecore advantage in the first round. One win could mean a lot to both the Rockets and to the Spurs. So I mean, maybe they just sweep it under the rug and hope we forget about it and eventually, uh.
00:13:10
Speaker 3: It just passes by. I suppose that could happen.
00:13:13
Speaker 4: But this just seems crazy that a made shot happened, it had an effect on the game, and they're just gonna be like, well, sorry, we played eighteen minutes afterwards.
00:13:20
Speaker 3: What are you gonna do?
00:13:21
Speaker 1: Yeah, with the with the two overtimes, You're right, there.
00:13:23
Speaker 4: Was a lot of basketball playing, Like Rosa was like getting crushed out there.
00:13:27
Speaker 3: Like I was like on the floor all the time.
00:13:30
Speaker 5: That either of them played today. So if I want to replay it, just they're both in Texas just going out there, just you know what, go ahead to like that Copac was something to play it out there, that'd be fun.
00:13:40
Speaker 1: That's like a big difference.
00:13:41
Speaker 3: You're right.
00:13:42
Speaker 1: I hadn't thought about that trade. Like the eight incident was shock incorrectly fouling out. I was like the Hawks in the heat were both sort of garbage team. It was like they weren't great. It didn't really matter at all. They still redid it.
00:13:52
Speaker 3: Now.
00:13:53
Speaker 1: Maybe it's because it's only fifty seconds, it's like less of an ordeal whatever, But this could mean something. This this win for the Spurs getting in the playoffs, keeping their streak alive. For the Rockets fallen anywhere from whatever, like in the standings. This could be a difference between two, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, whatever seed. You don't know. Uh so you think they're gonna redo to be incredible? Oh, I hope they do.
00:14:14
Speaker 3: At this point, it's gonna be important.
00:14:17
Speaker 4: It just seems important to me that this is such a clearly missed call and you're obsessed with reviews and replays and challenges, and it's gonna matter for the entirety of the playoffs and the entirety of the regular season.
00:14:30
Speaker 3: I just don't see how you just let it slide by.
00:14:34
Speaker 5: I mean, honestly, it's it's an interesting point because it could have such a dramatic impact, and the coal.
00:14:40
Speaker 1: The weird part is the weird part is I hate to go back to it. The Rockets were still up thirteen. I mean they had a melt down and the Spurs caught fire and again, like Walker was amazing. Does that come into play with the NBA's decision. It might a little bit. It might it wasn't a tie game, you know, or.
00:14:54
Speaker 3: Maybe if they count the dunk.
00:14:55
Speaker 4: Greg Popa is like, oh, we got to call a time out and relax, we got to pull these guys, we're down fifteen.
00:14:59
Speaker 3: Now, Yeah, that's maybe that's his line. I don't know.
00:15:02
Speaker 6: Yeah, it's just unfortunate the NBA, you know, had this as a trial period in the in the G League had this rule of coaches challenge as a trial period. But they came into the year even still treading lightly about it. Joe Bores are consistently saying, you know, this is a trial period even in the NBA, that we're not going to get everything right from the get go. But god, we've just spoken about the reviewing calls for fifteen minutes. They're just they just have to get rid of it. Just see you later, goodbye.
00:15:30
Speaker 1: Harden makes that dunk, they count it. Who's to say this person don't go on still win in regulation for crying out?
00:15:35
Speaker 3: Uh, exactly right, exactly right. Maybe they're inspired he dunk d'Os like that?
00:15:40
Speaker 1: How dare you weird? Weird stuff? Let's hear from you, guys. We really should get the poll up. Should they replay seven fifty?
00:15:49
Speaker 5: Uh?
00:15:50
Speaker 1: And we'll maybe check into that later in the show, or we'll least get it up and talk about it. I'm sure when the NBA makes a decision, they're gonna have to come out and say, well, we're not doing anything, or the Rockets, hey, you win, that's not gonna happen, or we're redoing this and here's what we're doing it. We'll be talking about this a little bit more. I'm sure, all right, let's keep it moving here though. Lakers one oh five Nuggets ninety six. Flu like symptoms for a lot of the Lakers roster, including Anthony Davis. He took an iv not a Lonnie Walker ivy at halftime and then scored thirteen of his twenty five in the third quarter. As a Lakers got that well bounce back win after the loss Lebron and eighty huge rebounding was huge. Nuggets made it close, the Nuggets classic get back into the game. It's right there, but just enough from the Lakers to get the win. Would you guys think of this one or eighty battling through the flu like symptoms. This was his Jordan flu.
00:16:40
Speaker 5: Game a Tuesday night in December. Yeah, yeah, it's Jordan Like. I mean, you know what, when you're sick and then you go into that altitude, I'm not surprised he was a little under the weather. So the IVY fluids helped. He's got to get the ginger into him. Look ut the ginger gold here this morning.
00:16:56
Speaker 1: Yeah, you got a couple of fluids besides you.
00:16:58
Speaker 5: Yeah, champagne for the immune system. I like to call it. Okay, Yeah, No, good performance again from the Lakers. Their defense once again fantastic. But again I'm sort of going to turn a little bit here to Nicola Jokicic and just like just and just another performance where it looked like he was just it was like a practice run for most of the game.
00:17:21
Speaker 1: I thought he had three shot attempts in the first half.
00:17:24
Speaker 5: Yeah, something like that. What's going on exactly? What is going on with him as an All NBA talent?
00:17:31
Speaker 1: Yeah, and he's just like yeah, sort of plodding through games at times, at times.
00:17:37
Speaker 5: A lot of the time. And it's interested if he was putting up the sort of numbers in the performance that you had last season, you would sort of shrug off the fact that he doesn't look great. But that now that he also doesn't look great, it's like you, okay, you know, they have to get into the game or get into shape. You can't be both. You can't be out of shape and out of the game.
00:17:53
Speaker 3: Honestly, I mean it's it looks into one of them.
00:17:55
Speaker 5: You've got to be into one of them. Pick one, pick one, because he can be a effective without being, you know, a really caught guy out there. He's not gonna be the guy who goes and hits the gym and comes out ripped with biceps because last season he was fantastic.
00:18:09
Speaker 1: Yeah, can we I mean, at this point, can we drop the like, yeah, how big he looks or how uncut he looked? Like, he looks the exact same what he was.
00:18:17
Speaker 5: I don't think he does look I think he looks worse. I think I think he looks worse because his shoulders are sort of slumping and a lot.
00:18:23
Speaker 4: I mean, I don't know, it's his shoulders. Yeah, he's got a care it's the main thing. It's like, that's Anthony Davis did have a great game, but it was because the Lakers just kept putting Yokic into pick and roll and it was Jokic, Jokic and whoever the small guard was. We're trying to handle Lebron and a d Lebron and Dwight Howard and whatever it was. If Yokic would step up, it was a lot because nobody's gonna be able to jump with Ady or Dwight, or it was just Lebron getting into the rim.
00:18:45
Speaker 5: It was.
00:18:47
Speaker 4: It was bad, And I mean, if you're a Nuggets fan, you have to be. It must be such a strange season to see them sitting at thirteen and five with Jokic just not into it yet, and you know, the team, I don't think it's played great, but still thirteen and five is a solid record so far. But I would just be nervous seeing how easy.
00:19:04
Speaker 3: It was for the Lakers and pick and roll last night.
00:19:07
Speaker 6: Yeah, I think the Nuggets at some point the schedule is going to catch up to them. I think they're gonna slide a little bit. I think they've gotten They've gotten off with some really really close wins, and I think they should be worried about dropping into the bottom half of the bracket at some point. They're thirteen to five and everything looks okay, but a lot of close wins and a home heavy schedule at this point.
00:19:28
Speaker 3: Yeah.
00:19:28
Speaker 1: Yeah, they head out on the road now, right for a little four game road trip. I don't think, well, no, some salt. I guess they got the Knicks but Celtics, Nets and Sixers, I mean three of those teams not easy outs.
00:19:40
Speaker 6: Yeah, well, it'll be tough and more a little bit later in January and February, where they have real home road heavy schedules, I should say, and March I should say as well. I mean, it's gonna get ugly. I think if they're playing like this, you know, they had great contributions from a lot of guys and they're still good, very very good. But the West is is not going away, and so I think they could slip.
00:20:03
Speaker 1: And what's your take on Jokic then, task, I mean, the guy's averaging fifteen points per game, shooting forty five percent. Obviously not great for a guy like him. Can't hit a three to save his life.
00:20:13
Speaker 5: I don't know.
00:20:14
Speaker 6: I don't know. Maybe the last couple of years were his peak.
00:20:18
Speaker 3: Is that crazy?
00:20:19
Speaker 1: My goodness, a little bit. He's twenty four, yeah.
00:20:23
Speaker 5: Not even twenty five.
00:20:24
Speaker 3: I don't know.
00:20:25
Speaker 1: It's strange. It's strange to watch him. That's you, man, You're like, dude, you we were considering you one of the best players in the league. One of the best players in the league. Does not just take three shots and like sort of mope around out there. That's not you're You're immediately removed from that list. Yeah, I'm sorry, it's true. And I love the guy. He's one of the when he's when he's obviously engaged, he's one of the funnest watches in the league. He must watch league past material. But you can't be considered one of the best players in the league when you again, when you just had even if you're missing shots, you gotta be involved.
00:20:57
Speaker 5: Yeah, that question better. And if I'm marking my line, be just pulling my hair out right now. Because good point. But just because when you have a star with so much talent who's just going at fifty percent, I mean, it doesn't matter how good a coach you are, it doesn't matter what your schemes are and what your game plans are. If your guys are just going to be kind of half into it, there's not much you can do. And you mentioned, you know, they have eleven They have had eleven home games so far. That is their huge advantage right there, and they're eight and three. It's fine, you know, it's not too bad, but that's what they have a more more of a home court advantage than anyone else in the league because of the altitude the Lakers came in, they were all sick, and they would you would think, though, you know, Lebron said, I think Danny Green had it, an a lot of them had it, and it's like that's a great opportunity to catch the Lakers, and they didn't. I thought Dwight Howard last night came off the bench and was so involved and so engaged in his short time. Imagine Nikola Jokich was half of what Dwight was last night. Then I think the Nuggats win that game. But yeah, there's a content. I mean, certainly there's no Inny to panic just yet. There's still plenty of on from Turner Rant and we have seen this before from Yokic, but it's it's becoming a little more common than certainly that would lock it to beay, I'm sure.
00:22:11
Speaker 6: The Lakers are a terrible matchup for them. Lakers, I'm sure would be so confident if they met them in the postseason. They've got no bigs that can deal with ad or Lebron. They really don't know. They were doing what they want. And it was cool to watch Anthony Davis play defense. I do like watching him as a now one of those thin dudes, even though he's not really thin, but he's a long he. I guess he looks thin beside Nikola Yoki. But he's getting the narrative for defensive Player of the Year already. Oh yeah, the story is starting. You need the narrative, and it's happening with him.
00:22:42
Speaker 3: Oh.
00:22:42
Speaker 1: Lebron started that in the preseason, right, it was all over that. It's fun to watch. I know you don't like it, Lee, but Rondo, Rondo, when he's like got the pick and roll game going with those bigs, you know, either a little pocket pass between people or throwing the lobs. It's that part's fun to watch.
00:22:57
Speaker 5: List. It must be fun to play, no doubt, my dad, he was playing smart basketball last night. You know. My my issues with him more about when he plays selfishly. But last night he was really playing his role well and exposing the Nuggets.
00:23:11
Speaker 3: From three as well.
00:23:13
Speaker 1: So far this season, Lee no better than le Ellis take four all right, Mavericks one eighteen, Pelicans at ninety seven. I mean, I'll mark it down for me. December fourth, the day I've officially run out of adjectives to describe Luka Doncic. He scored fifteen of his thirty three points in the third quarter. He grabbed eighteen rebounds in twenty eight minutes to help the Master to this big victory. I know there's some Zion Williamson news we can talk about with the Pelicans, but it's Luca's just again just sort of took over the game and Mavericks cruise to a victory.
00:23:45
Speaker 5: I just want one quote out of this. It came from coach Rick Carlo. I didn't rebounds is a lot. That's a lot of rebounds for a point. God, he started the game listed as small forward.
00:23:54
Speaker 1: He's a point He's a point guard. That's why he's going to be starting as a guard in the All Star Yes, that's right.
00:24:01
Speaker 6: Dot COM's got him as a g good.
00:24:03
Speaker 1: That's all it matters. I guess when it comes to the All starboting, maybe Porzing has had another stinker though he's over his last three games, he's averaging eight points per game, shooting twenty three percent from the floor. But because the way lucas playing, because the way the bench is contributing, guys like Tim Hardaway Junior and Delon Wright and these guys hitting shots. Mavericks have won all three of these games with KP being rough. They won in Phoenix, they won in l A versus Lakers, and now they won last night in New Orleans. So it's not like hasn't really become that big a deal because still again wins, and the guy has the coming off of injury and all that. Still, but just.
00:24:36
Speaker 6: Get the ball out of his hands. I mean, I know coaches don't want to use a playoff type defense in the regular season. I'm sure Alvin Gentry knows a heck of a lot more about defense than I do. But Luca was just getting the ball off the defensive rim those eighteen boards, just grabbing it and then running a play, and he's unstoppable.
00:24:55
Speaker 1: I mean again, you want anyone else to beat on the match, So yeah, that's what you're saying.
00:24:59
Speaker 6: Yeah, why the heck not? Why not take that chance? Luca literally could do whatever he wants out there. There's twenty eight minutes but magic out there for that guy thirty three and eighteen. I don't take a chance with somebody else. Like, as you said, Kristaps didn't have a great night. Tim Hardaway, Yeah, he hit five shots, Dory Finney Smith hit three shots, Doi Palell hit three shots, but just forced them to win.
00:25:21
Speaker 1: Right the Mavericks. They won just nine road games all last season. They're eight and two already away from Dallas this year. It's a great start. Andrew Lopez of ESPN reports that Zion Williamson is partaking in light walkthroughs with the Pelicans.
00:25:35
Speaker 5: I would like to take because I.
00:25:37
Speaker 1: Believe we've reached the six week mark since his surgery, and that was the initial like it's going to be like, you know, we'll readdress this in the six to eight weeks, So this is why we're probably getting this update. But on Monday, Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said the team will be overly cautious with Zion's return. When are we gonna Why are we gonna see him? Are we gonna see him before Christmas? I mean that's sort of what we were thinking of that time. Do we still believe that?
00:26:02
Speaker 5: What would you do?
00:26:03
Speaker 1: You don't think so?
00:26:04
Speaker 5: I think he's behind schedule. It sounds yeah, they said.
00:26:08
Speaker 1: Also, Lopez in that article said, in order for him to return to action, the team wants Williamson to reach certain metrics and benchmarks. In his conditioning metrics. I read metrics, I immediately my mind goes to, wait, probably I could be wrong, but you know, you got to sort of suspect it's something like that. And or just in terms of his yeah, his conditioning, in terms of his his VO two.
00:26:36
Speaker 4: Max stuff like that is down in back. So maybe he's gonna have to ramp it up from the light walkthrough. I suppose that's just a tiptoe yeah, going through practice.
00:26:45
Speaker 1: Can he even walk lights?
00:26:47
Speaker 3: Exactly right? That was seems that have been the problem.
00:26:50
Speaker 4: Hopefully when he comes back, he's got his gate all straightened out. That VO two max just pomping.
00:26:55
Speaker 5: I wonder if this will be a bit like a Ben Simmons where I didn't rule him out for the season. It was sort of a little bit long, a little bit longer, and then they get to a rim sort of February March, and they're like, there's no point.
00:27:07
Speaker 1: They string you along a little while and then you're like, all right, he's not playing at all.
00:27:12
Speaker 4: I just think we would be more likely to see him if the Pelicans were playing a little bit better and they were a little bit more in the playoff mix. They got six wins. Now the eighth seed has nine wins, so I mean they're sort of on the periphery, but the pels haven't been super inspiring, and if they were really in the mix for the playoffs, maybe we would see him before Christmas. But now it's like, yeah, just take it day, just take your time. We don't want you to get hurt for the rest of your career. You got a long time ahead of you, so take it, take it easy, buddy.
00:27:35
Speaker 6: What do you think it's asks, Well, I don't think the metrics have anything to do with weight, because they're just trying not to talk about Zion Williamson's weight whatsoever. And I do believe David Griffin was quoted saying even if he was zero percent body fat, that he would be two sixty five or something something of that nature. So they don't want anybody just talking about his weights because there's no way he's going to be light. There's no way he's going to be this. So it's it probably has something to do with not being fat, No, I mean, it probably has to do with something with yeah, getting that Covo two levels up, start running, man, start running before Christmas?
00:28:13
Speaker 1: Or do you think we don't see him at all. Like, you know, if you had to pick me one between one of the two, that's that's wow.
00:28:18
Speaker 6: I'd say no, yeah, just waited.
00:28:20
Speaker 1: You also do start to wonder at at some point if they're like, well, it'd be pretty cool for Zion Willamson to win Rookie of the Year too, and it's like, I mean, look, it's still there for the taking. Honestly, you could win it this year. You could come back and just dominate, and you're like, okay, yeah, he's he's working the year. But if you get too if you're starting to get into January February and then like it's like not a ton of games left, you're like, let's do the old Blake Griffin thing or let's do the old Ben Simmons thing. It's like, yeah, just come back next year and win.
00:28:45
Speaker 5: It Rookie next year.
00:28:46
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's possible. I hope, I really I hope. You see, Hi might be a nice little especially like in the next couple of weeks, would be awesome in that little boost for Christmas, because he's got.
00:28:54
Speaker 3: The is are they on Christmas? The play Denver?
00:28:57
Speaker 4: So you'll either you'll either have Zion or pouty Niko le Joki Christmas Morning's hope we got game.
00:29:04
Speaker 1: Sorry, guys, Let's hope we get back all right? One more here. Heat won twenty one, Raptors one ten. This one was an overtime game. Jimmy Butler triple double as the Heat spoiled Kyle Lowry's return to Toronto's lineup by getting that overtime victory. Butler was huge in the extra frame, scored eight consecutive points in fifty five seconds to start overtime, and you know the Heat had recovered there because they had blown a seven point lead in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter. Norm Powell was catching fire talking about stepping on the line. They have got away with one there. Let's uh, it looked like Norm Mays stepped on the line when he hit one of those corner threes, but they didn't have the greatest camera angles to actually really zoom in and see if he did, so they had to count it, but didn't really matter because Butler was pretty special in the overtime period and quite frankly, I didn't think the Raps had really a right to even go to overtime, let alone win this game. That Heat played better and Lowry stunk in his return. He was horrible. He missed his first eleven shots, including seven from three point range. He was over eleven from from deeps. That's bad. And he's like, look, it's my first game back, don't worry. It's not gonna be like this every game. And he's coming back from the fracture thumb. But uh, you know, the Heat, this is a quality win. They've won in Milwaukee with though Jimmy Butler. They went in Toronto without Gorny Druggis, who had been balling out for them. You know, are the Heat do you consider the Heat a legit East contender? Are they up there with the Bucks and the Sixers and probably the Raptors maybe the Celtics, Like do you have them in that group or are they still like a tier below?
00:30:34
Speaker 4: To me, the contender in the Eastern Conference is the Bucks. That's it, the contender. But after that, maybe you would have the Heat in the in the next tier with the Sixers, the Raptors and uh, the Sixers, the Raptors in the Heat, I think those are and the Celtics. Yeah, can you rely on all these guys who have been balling so far come playoff time, Duncan Robinson never played in the playoffs. Bam Adebayo's got a handful of games in the playoffs two years ago. Kendrick Nunn, He's a rookie, Justice Winslow. He was great against the Raps last night. Make him plays off the dribble, but who knows how he holds up in a playoff as a main guy in a playoff series. I love Butler. I love Jimmy Butler. If they were playing the Raptors, I would maybe take him because that guy loves playing. I think I went too, but I don't know. I mean, Butler's great, and he's done a great job of really letting everybody else do stuff for the first three quarters, knowing that come fourth quarter, I'm getting that big piece of the pie. You guys can have whatever you want. When you get full, I'll finish it. And that's exactly what happened last night. He has been He's done a great job of being the number one guy with just while also letting everybody else flourish.
00:31:36
Speaker 3: So come playoff time, is.
00:31:39
Speaker 4: He's still able to do that to take that back seat for the first three quarters.
00:31:42
Speaker 3: I don't know.
00:31:43
Speaker 5: Yeah, it's an interesting question, but so far, he clearly has put his ego to the side and he's leading as the sort of player that we thought he could have been in Chicago when he was coming up through the ranks, but then he turned into a bit of a jerk. But he hasn't been that guy at all so far. And in overtime when he hit those eight points in the fifty seconds and he was celebrated with it, oh yeah, oh yeah. Like he's fun to watch. He's fun, he's engaging, and you sort of see him really relishing that challenge that they basically blew the game, got a second chance and he was like, all right, I'm not blowing this one again, and he took that out. I mean, there were still four minutes ago, but you sort of felt like that they heat at home now because of Jimmy, So he's great. Are they content It's a great question because it feels like there's still one player short of being a real content even though you know that they did beat Milwaukee in Morgan that was, you know, second game of the season, So I just feel they're missing something. Exactly what it is, I'm not sure, because I think they've got good balance, they've got good depth, they get good, good contribution from their bench. What is it they're missing? It's hard to say because Jimmy it feels like, is that star and if all these other guys just sort of play off him and around him, he can maybe lead them somewhere. But it just it just feels like they're not going yet, not yet, not yet. I mean the Raptors you talked about there with Carle Larry was he was awful last night, no doubt. It was almost like to me, Larry was like, the guys didn't really miss me when I was out. I'm going to show them how good are you? I mean, that's what I felt like. He was rushing, he was a little bit hesitant, and then when he had an open three late he passed course of turnover and well, yeah, because.
00:33:13
Speaker 1: He had just missed exactly the nine of them, I think that was getting it a little bit. He's got a couple in his defense like do the old Like yeah.
00:33:20
Speaker 5: For sure, for sure. But but sometimes you know, when a guy's out, it's like, oh, we really really missed him, need him back. The Raptors didn't. I mean, that's not not in any way to say that he doesn't he won't be better once he's had a few games under his belt. But I just felt that he was almost trying to show, hey, I'm still pretty good, guys, and it just didn't work for him last night.
00:33:38
Speaker 6: He was awesome in the last six minutes of regulation though he was assisting, getting everybody involved. He did have eleven helpers. He was doing everything. He just couldn't shoot. Yeah, it was a bad night for him. But that being said, I would still take the Raptors over the Heat. Why.
00:33:55
Speaker 1: I don't know. I mean, I'll tell you what. When we were talking with Dave DeFore yesterday about the Raptor and having no Kauhai, can they sort of replicate what they did in the playoffs last year? Can can Pascal do what Kawhi did?
00:34:07
Speaker 5: Uh?
00:34:08
Speaker 1: Yeah, I thought this was a good example of maybe not not getting your hopes too high for that to happen. I love Pascal's I want to make that very clear, but uh, bam Adebayo did an awesome job on him last night. You saw Jonathan Isaac a couple of nights before with the Magic did a great job of bottling him up. I know he had a huge game in between there, but that you know who you need a basket. It's it's a little just different. It's different when it's Kauai to to a Siakam. There's a there's a level there of how they go about getting their shots and you know, and I think rap Stands were upset with the no call. There was was driving that one, and there was contact and he initiated some of it and obviously he got hit and bump, but then no whistle. But that's gonna happen in the playoffs because guess what, That's happened time and time and time again with the Marta rozen. So we'll see. But I think it would be a very I don't know who I would pick tasks if it like today, if they played the best of seven series, it would be probably go to seven games. So I'm pretty convinced about that. It'd be a dogfight between these two teams.
00:35:06
Speaker 5: And the last time they went to the playss went seven didn't.
00:35:08
Speaker 6: Yeah, yeah, I think it wouldn't just be on Siakam shoulders. You know, you got a confident Freddy, a confident Kyle back there to help him out. But I understand Pascal up against bam Adebayo last night. That was the interesting part. Pascal looked like he was going up against Joel and beat in the playoffs last year, where he was just coming up short. I think he had three air balls, which was weird, like on floaters. Yeah, he's not a fat Jokic right now. He was just missing. This guy has a great touch, but it just looked like he wasn't the same player at all. So that's that's what I think would make the heat A contenders. Bam Adebaio playing awesome on both ends, so he is there. Yeah, he is probably their most important player, even though Jimmy Butler's their best player. Bam Adebaio does more on offense and defense. He's he's asked to do a lot and he's awesome at it so far. I mean, he looks like a guy that should have been starting. Uh like it, like Jokic. When Nurkic was traded, Jokich went into the starting role and flourished. Pam Outebaio. Yeah, man, he he freaked the heck out of Pascal Siakam last night. Yeah.
00:36:15
Speaker 1: He's special. He's honestly something. He's a fun watch and he's just getting better and better. You've seen it from game to game with him. All right, we got some fun up down questions for you guys, But first little shootout.
00:36:26
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00:37:14
Speaker 3: Check it out today.
00:37:15
Speaker 1: Into the up down report. Okays, First one Adam Silver has started flexing and the injury ravaged Warriors are getting squeezed. The NBA announced last night switches for December thirteenth and eighteenth games on ESPN, both removing Golden State. So the NBA's listening to what task Melis is talking about here? Sorry you up or down on them? Silver, The NBA listening to task flexing, getting ready here to flex sort of the upcoming schedule tasks.
00:37:50
Speaker 6: You must be up get rid of the Warriors. That's smart, he get rid of the Warriors on national TV games. People just aren't caring about rag of season games. And unfortunately they point to games like that where they are the loan game that's on. What the heck am I going to watch? I gotta watch? What do you watch?
00:38:09
Speaker 5: Lee?
00:38:09
Speaker 6: What do you where? What do you? I guess you're watching the Voice Voice Slash Shark Tank. Well, there's no way you're watching Warriors over a Shark Tank.
00:38:19
Speaker 5: Now it's allowed me to catch up with Cobra Kai season two. Actually yeah, Epic Stop season three starts.
00:38:29
Speaker 6: Basically, Warriors games are getting flexed for Cobra Kai and said, that's that's sad. Nobody cares about those late games. So yeah, it has to be done, and it has I think it could be done pretty regularly. Yeah, I understand fans may have tickets that say, hey, it's eight o'clock eastern. Gosh darn it, it's moved to seven o'clock eastern. Oh, well, that's the way it goes. I think I think you gotta do it. I think it's more important to get those TV viewers to deem these things appointment viewing rather than heck, I can just watch Corbrika and I don't care.
00:39:03
Speaker 5: It's good season two I imagine though. Honestly the NBA, the only issue is whether or not the TV companies are able to change them so quickly or you know, with a couple of days notice if necessary.
00:39:16
Speaker 1: But I'm sure that you mean the actual broadcast.
00:39:18
Speaker 5: Yeah, sorry, the proxy.
00:39:19
Speaker 1: And all the crew and everybody. Yeah, can we get Hey, we were going to Golden State, but now we're going.
00:39:23
Speaker 5: Here exactly because because you can't imagine that like the NBA, I'm sure, and looking through the schedule right now, go okay, we've got to get rid of that that trying to or arrange it so there's enough time. We want that exactly whichever way you want to look at it, so that you're not having to move obviously games from different days, but certainly you want to get rid of the teams that people don't want to watch and get more Luka Doncic.
00:39:45
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think I think that's right. I think, you know, in a perfect world. Sure, Oh wow, we have a huge Clippers game on Thursday night, two nights prior. Wow, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George ran into each other and they both broke their legs. I don't know if I want to watch the Clippers anymore. Like, you're not gonna be able to turn it around that quick where you can flex it that quick because of all these legs logistics that has to go into it. But yeah, these these weeks out totally doable. Yeah, totally totally doable, and more people are going to be interested in seeing a healthy Clippers team than obviously this year.
00:40:17
Speaker 4: Like the Warriors, get bolder, flex as hard as you can. I love seeing that photoshop of Adam Silver on a jacked body flexing hard. So yeah, get the Warriors off of Christmas Day. We got enough time. Send the team somewhere else.
00:40:31
Speaker 1: Oh my goodness, Hey.
00:40:32
Speaker 3: Maybe we can replay at the Houston San Antonio. Get the Warriors out of here.
00:40:36
Speaker 4: Fly san Antonio in play seven to fifty, Fly him out. Nobody needs to see that much anyways, it's Christmas.
00:40:41
Speaker 1: That's not a bad idea.
00:40:42
Speaker 6: I understand that ESPN wants to produce their own games, and so yeah, you got to get a truck from Cleveland or wherever instead of from La or whatever. But you can also just have games like last night, you know, Joel Myers was doing the Pelicans broadcast, then moved over to the ESPN broadcast because they just needed somebody. Just put the games on NBA TV. More people have NBA TV than these regional sports networks. That's a somewhat of a solution as well. Doesn't have to necessarily be on ESPN. And when you put on NBA TV, the local guys can still do the call fair call.
00:41:15
Speaker 1: Next one, King's owner, Vivid Goana DV is an ideas man. He once contemplated playing four on five defense to have a cherry picker on offense. Remember that, Yeah, very very bold, And now he's tackling free throws. According to s I S. Chris Ballard, Vivick's proposed solution for the King's free throw shooting woes. Was to install a hoop outside the locker room. This way, during games, players could run back and practice their free throws, their foul shots. Lee are you up or down? On Vivick's idea here which got shot down by the way to put that hoop outside the King's locker room to practice free throws.
00:41:51
Speaker 5: I read that he was shut down because they didn't like the optics of it.
00:41:55
Speaker 1: Yeah, there's a couple of reasons. It's pretty funny. So they installed the goal. They put it up. It was right there, to the right of the locker room. But people around Vivic said they dissuaded him, citing potential rules issues because players usually leave the bench only to go to the bathroom, right, messaging issues. Players maybe would be insulted, yes, and it could scare away free agents and the general optics which are not good according to this article.
00:42:20
Speaker 5: There's one other issue. If I was ever in Sacramento and I was walking past their dressing room and there's a ball, I'm shooting free throws, no doubt, no doubt until someone says, hey, that's not for you. I'm just shooting. So I'm sure other people thought the same thing. But yeah, it's it's definitely. I think you don't want to say to a player, hey, go and practice your throws, man, like during a game. I mean it does, it's sort of it is almost humiliating for a player to be like, you're so bad, man, just go on practice. Yeah.
00:42:51
Speaker 1: I also don't think that's how it sort of works. It's like, if you're just bad enough that you've got to be practicing free throws. I don't think sprinting to the back locker room, getting a couple of shots up there, and then sprinting back out. I don't know, while there's like a timeout or something, or they're replaying something, and then step into line and then you're more likely to knock them down. I don't think that's how it's gonna work.
00:43:10
Speaker 4: I really don't very weird to think of a player getting fouled knowing they're going to the line, they.
00:43:16
Speaker 3: Just go back.
00:43:19
Speaker 4: Exactly, Oh a little burble's and I just run back. But I also don't see, Well, first of all, it's not a big deal having a basketball hoop where nobody sees. I don't think that's going to be the reason that teams aren't signing with the Kings. But why can't they just have one back there that it's like halftime.
00:43:35
Speaker 3: You can shoot around on it.
00:43:36
Speaker 4: I know you could go shoot around in the in the arena, but there's enough space to have a basketball who back there just shooting around. I don't think players are going to be running back and forth during the game, but at halftime, you know, just get some shots up.
00:43:49
Speaker 6: But we talk about guys getting in a rhythm at the line. Oh, the first one doesn't go down, their second one's going to go down. If a guy's just continuously shot at the line, they would start, they would get into a rhythm.
00:43:59
Speaker 1: Yeah, but come on, you think, I think it's so different, like for you're like, first off, it's just a completely different basket. You're moving like you're obviously from one location to the other. I mean, even when you shoot free throws and somebody's like rebounding for you. You know, I'll try and throw you off by throwing the ball to the right a little bit, so you've got to step away. That gets a guy out of his rhythm.
00:44:19
Speaker 5: Brownies tries. Brownies always gets me, that's right, all right, Yeah, yeah, but that's the thing. If you're shooting just in a sort of dock and or you know, off court area.
00:44:28
Speaker 6: They have lights. They have lights.
00:44:30
Speaker 5: Yeah, but then when you go after the colt with the.
00:44:31
Speaker 1: Fans and it's totally it is a environment. Yeah, it's different.
00:44:36
Speaker 4: I don't know if this is true, but I think that they have batting cages like in the in the arena for or a stadium, I guess for a baseball team. So it's like if a player is not batting for eight straight, guys they can go and take some cuts, you know, while they're waiting their turn. That's why I don't think it's a big deal. Like maybe if you're sitting on the bench, your guys back there warming up, getting.
00:44:53
Speaker 1: It keeps you warm.
00:44:55
Speaker 3: It's deck circle.
00:44:56
Speaker 4: Yeah, the idea of going back and forth during files, that's ridiculous about it.
00:45:01
Speaker 3: Why not warm up?
00:45:02
Speaker 4: There are hoops back there, there's a backup hoop back there, just sitting on the ground in every single arena in case shat comes and tears down the.
00:45:08
Speaker 5: Hoop that they're on the exercise box at the back. Sometimes it's true, So I give them the ball while they're in the exercise bock and practice your free throws at the same time.
00:45:16
Speaker 6: Why not was it run a part of Rana DVa's idea to practice free throws between free throws, like you shoot your first and then you go practice and then that would be tough. Yeah, it would suck. It would suck for the person who would have to go run and get that person too, Like who would do that, Like Stanley Johnson on the Raptors, you know, like a guy who's like fourteenth on the bench.
00:45:35
Speaker 5: Free throw is tight long enough imagined. It was like, you shoot one.
00:45:40
Speaker 1: If it works something out here, all right, final one guys. During an episode of the All the Smoke podcasts with Steven Jackson and Matt Barnes, sweet Lotu Williams recalled the time when Barnes, Iverson and some other veteran sixers coaxed the then nineteen year old into drinking a six pack of beer on a short bus ride. Quote. We made a bet that he had to drink a six pack, Barnes said in the interview. Lou didn't drink at the time, he was fresh out of high school. But it was for fifteen thousand dollars. He did do it. As the story goes, it's a very funny clip. Go check it out. The whole small podcast is jad. I hope you're listening. I know you're a big Map Barnes fan. This is a hilarious podcast.
00:46:18
Speaker 6: I mean, I'm not listening.
00:46:19
Speaker 1: I haven't listened to it yet.
00:46:20
Speaker 3: But this is what you want.
00:46:21
Speaker 1: This is the content that we want.
00:46:23
Speaker 3: The inside this should be called inside the NBA.
00:46:27
Speaker 5: It's already taken.
00:46:28
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's You're not wrong, But are you guys up or down on chugging a six pack for fifteen grand short bus ride?
00:46:35
Speaker 3: Would you do it?
00:46:36
Speaker 1: Le's questions for you.
00:46:37
Speaker 5: I didn't know if I could chug a whole six pack?
00:46:41
Speaker 1: Did he have to chug it? Drink I'm saying, I'm saying chug in the idea that, yeah, drink it quickly.
00:46:46
Speaker 3: So ugg say it's a short one.
00:46:49
Speaker 5: Yeah, they say it's short, Yeah.
00:46:51
Speaker 1: It was before. I mean I think less than that. In my head. I think shorts twenty minutes, honestly, like minutes. Yeah, it's a lot of.
00:46:59
Speaker 5: Beer in it. Won every three minutes. Six bees sound like a pick. I guess when you're nineteen. He was nineteen nineteen.
00:47:07
Speaker 1: Yeah, never drank either.
00:47:11
Speaker 4: And imagine Lou Williams at nineteen. He must have waited one hundred dollars.
00:47:13
Speaker 3: Yeah.
00:47:15
Speaker 4: I love the way they describe him afterwards, are like, yeah, we were a little worried.
00:47:18
Speaker 3: Lou got pretty wet to carry him on to the plane.
00:47:22
Speaker 4: But I mean, nineteen years old, you're getting paid fifteen thousand dollars to chug six beers.
00:47:28
Speaker 3: You do that for free when you're nineteen.
00:47:30
Speaker 1: Lou Williams was a he was a second round pick. I mean, he wasn't making crazy money. Let me, he's making crazy money compared to everyone else in the world. I think, what four hundred fifty thousand dollars, I think it is what he was making for the second rounder, But it wasn't the millions that you get there in the first round because he had slipped. So fifteen grand's fifteen grand Budweiser, Oh yeah, that's a good que do that for one hundred and fifty grand?
00:47:53
Speaker 6: Really? Aye? Why what, let's see if we can get a Budweiser sponsorship to make that happen. It's easy to drink. It's easier than regular bear to drink lest Bubbles exactly twenty minutes.
00:48:06
Speaker 1: Twenty minutes right now? Could you you.
00:48:08
Speaker 3: Could do it?
00:48:09
Speaker 5: No? I don't, not now, not now. I'm forty three. I don't think so. Now, I'd be hung over like three days if I drunk that quickly in that short time.
00:48:16
Speaker 3: How about sex combuchas, Yeah, I could do that.
00:48:20
Speaker 6: You sip on that sex cups of champagne.
00:48:23
Speaker 5: Yes, of course.
00:48:25
Speaker 1: That's it from you guys. All of those updowns. Let's see those thumbs on Twitter hashtag no dunks at no dunks sink all right, leave tweeter the night.
00:48:33
Speaker 6: Tweet out the night Wow.
00:48:36
Speaker 5: Twitter tweet of the night comes from a friend of the show, Dan Walkie, who covers the Los Angeles teams and does some other basketball stories across the league. Last night, he was at the Clippers Blazers game and he tweeted this, Montrez Harral has one of the only jobs in America where you can go up to your billionaire boss, kiss your SIPs right in front of his face, and get cheered wildly. It's true, it's true, and your ability to buss loves it. Yeah, yeah, absolutely loves it.
00:49:11
Speaker 1: He's more likely to give you more money exactly kissing those buys.
00:49:16
Speaker 4: Yeah. I would guess the only other jobs in that you can kind of do the same thing would be I don't know if the like the founder of Chippendales is a billionaire, but if you went up to the founder of Chipendales, kiss that biset fix your guns, there gonna cheering as well.
00:49:29
Speaker 3: The whole point.
00:49:31
Speaker 1: Good tweet, thank you, I like it, and it dovetails nicely into our pick and results presented by cash App.
00:49:38
Speaker 6: This segment is brought to you by cash App, the number one finance app in the App Store. Cash App is the easiest way to send money to your friends, like paying up when you lose a bet that the NBA will be more popular than the NFL and the good old us of A. I make that bet every year. I keep losing, but I will win one day. It's a future's bet. It may be it may be long after I I'm dead and gone, but I will win that bet. But cash app does way more than that. Cash App also comes with the cash Card, a free debit card that comes with booze, which are like instant rewards for shopping at the places you already loved. You can get discounts off your entire purchase at places like DoorDash, Whole Food, Target, and way more. We're also excited to be working with cash app to support one of our favorite organizations, the ACLU. When you sign up for cash app and use the promo code no dunks one word, not only will you instantly receive ten bucks, but Cash App will also donate ten bucks to the ACLU, an indispensable organization that's dedicated to defending and preserving the rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in the US. The ACLU raised over one million dollars on Tuesday, December third alone. Support their work. Don't forget promo code no dunks one word when you download Cash app from the App Store or Google Play Store today.
00:50:52
Speaker 1: Our game was that Blazer's Clippers game. Clippers were favored by nine and a half, had to win by double digits, and they did. So that's a win for Task, that's a win for Lee. That's a win for me. Trey was the only one back in the Blazers. It's all right, that's all right. It's early here in the month of December. Lee a perfect two and oh feeling good right now? Everybody else one in one. So it's on task. What's our pickup game? We got a lot to pick from.
00:51:21
Speaker 6: Yeah, ten games. Tonight, Heat Celtics a battle of teams in the one eight here in the Eastern Conference, Marcus Smart doubtful for the Celtics. That's going to play into my my decision here. They are six and a half point favorites at home against those Heat that are coming off of back to back against the Toronto Raptors in overtime and extra five minutes. It's a well rested Celtics team.
00:51:47
Speaker 1: And you got customs to go through. What time did they get into Boston? What time I do them in late? Where's everybody going?
00:51:54
Speaker 5: Lee?
00:51:54
Speaker 1: You're perfect? Come on, man, what do you got?
00:51:57
Speaker 5: Marcus smartt is a machine, He's a robot. He will play. Okay, yeah, Nils, I'm gonna take the Celtics.
00:52:06
Speaker 1: Celtics by six and a half point more.
00:52:10
Speaker 3: I do believe. I'm with you.
00:52:11
Speaker 4: You mentioned a test. They're well arrested, they haven't played since Sunday.
00:52:14
Speaker 3: Give me the Celtics.
00:52:15
Speaker 1: I'm gonna go with the Heat, you know, back to back.
00:52:18
Speaker 5: That's tough.
00:52:20
Speaker 1: But but Jimmy Butler's waking up at three in the morning to practice anyway, probably didn't go to sleep, Probably got everybody up at that time. So this is the way they're wired. Man, back to back that's on an issue, and then see they're gonna I think they're obviously I'm hoping they're gonna cover. Maybe they win, and then there's gonna be a lot of heatalk because the everybody's like.
00:52:36
Speaker 5: Who wha, wha, wha what whoa?
00:52:37
Speaker 1: They beat the Bucks early, they beat the Raptors and then then maybe beat the Celtics on the back to back.
00:52:41
Speaker 2: Whoa.
00:52:41
Speaker 1: We gotta talk about the money of the heat. So give me the heat with the points.
00:52:44
Speaker 6: That's a tough one. I'm gonna take the heat too, all right. I think Marcus Smart's not playing. That's key for me.
00:52:50
Speaker 1: All right. Good luck to everyone. Thanks for joining us today. Keep an eye and an ear out on the No Dunks podcast feed for a second podcast later today. We're gonna be interviewing Brooklyn Nets color commentator Sarah Coustak live in studio. That should be fun. Told you we got that Squad episode up yesterday afternoon, drafting our favorite sneakers. That one's a blast, So go check that one out as well.
00:53:14
Speaker 3: You heard it here first. Have a great time, turn up, love you guys awesome.
00:53:18
Speaker 6: Thanks for joining us, folks, and remember you can't chug champagne.
00:53:23
Speaker 1: Embrace the debut.
00:53:25
Speaker 5: You could stay.
00:53:26
Speaker 2: Boom every day, and that you happy every minute. It's been so.
00:53:37
Speaker 3: Long that yo dor mona way, it's happen already.
00:53:44
Speaker 2: It's gonna be gravy,
Speaker 1: No Dunks is brought to you by game Time, your new go to app for the best deals on last minute tickets. Ticket prices dropped right before the game starts, and because Gametime tracks prices in real time from thousands of trusted sellers, they're able to show you the best last minute deals with prices up to sixty percent off. Guys, Nora and I are celebrating our wedding anniversary this Friday. Nothing crazy plan, nothing crazy plan, just a nice night out at Marcel, a fantastic steakhouse here in Atlanta. But guys, I got a plan. I'm gonna keep my eye on the game Time app during dinner, get a little red wine coursing through my body of feeling good. I see those last minute ticket prices drop boom. Next thing you know, Nora and I are sitting in floor seats for Julio Iglesias. The game Time app is simple, quick and easy to navigate. I could grab those tickets while Nora is in the restroom. Download the game Time app in the Google Play or App Store and score last minute deals on tickets up to sixty percent off.
00:01:00
Speaker 2: The only disability in life is a negative, a bad attitude. So eliminate the negative and embrace the positive. Good morning, sweet world, and welcome to the No Dunks Podcast on the Athletic Network. I'm Jays Skeets and alongside me as always tas mellis Commy Timmy, we got the Bearded one, Trey Kirby hel Hey Yo, the international Man of Mystery taking him to the Max.
00:01:30
Speaker 1: Lee ellis lely looking great, and last but not least, the man making the magic happen is jd Hello school, guys. Follow us on social media both Twitter and Instagram at No dunk Zinc. You know we're on Facebook at Facebook dot com slash no dunk Zinc.
00:01:46
Speaker 3: Well, I guess it's official. We're now on Facebook.
00:01:49
Speaker 1: And email us your NBA questions and comments to No Dunks at the Athletic dot Com. We'll be stepping on the beach this Thursday, so get those questions in. Some of you probably want why not today? You usually go beat stepping on Wednesday, guys, Well, later today we got a special bonus podcast for you, an interview with Brooklyn Nets broadcaster Sarah Coustin. Yes, so keep your eyes and your ears on the podcast feed. Also Yesterday Tuesday, after the Daily Show we recorded a fun new episode of Squad where we drafted our sneaker collections. It's a shoe blitz twenty nineteen over at the Athletics. So we did a draft episode, a squad episode where we pick you know, our Air Jordans, We draft our Air Jordans, we draft stignature sneakers, leiser shoes, novelty shoes, stuff like that.
00:02:41
Speaker 4: Got my team together. Last night we were practicing. Everybody who was looking good. A lot of cohesion there amongst the sneakers.
00:02:46
Speaker 1: Good, so check that out. It was a lot of fun and shout us to everyone tweeting at us and on Instagram sharing their drafts which shoes they would select, So go check that out. So, yeah, that's up. We got a Sarah Kustack interview coming up later today. Man content, kingsy temmy gooda love this sink.
00:03:04
Speaker 3: All right, but.
00:03:05
Speaker 1: Let's let's get into last night in the NBA Spurs Rockets double overtime thriller. This one had at all. You had a huge San Antonio Spurs rally, you had another fifty point game from Harden, you had Lonnie Walker's hair and production at career high levels, and you had the dunk that wasn't the phantom dunk Harden breakaway dunk with about seven fifty to go in the game. It would have given the Rockets a one o four to eighty nine lead. The ball goes in the net, it whips through the net and then back over the rim before bouncing off, and the officiating crew mistakenly ruled that Harden missed the dunk, and then they denied d'An toni's attempt to challenge the call. Very very weird, weird that that play happened, that they didn't look at it, that they didn't realize it went through the rim, And then even crazier when you consider that the Rockets end up blowing a thirteen point lead and losing the game in double overtime. So here's the fallout from this, Tim McMahon telling everyone that the Rockets are hopeful the league office will either award the victory to Houston due to the Rockets outscoring the Spurs in regulation, or order the final seven minutes and fifty seconds to be replayed at a later date. What a mess here, But what does everybody think? I mean, how will the NBA go about fixing this?
00:04:29
Speaker 5: If at all I don't think they can fix it. I don't think either of those scenarios you just said.
00:04:35
Speaker 1: They're not going to give the Rockets to No, you can take.
00:04:38
Speaker 3: That one off the table.
00:04:40
Speaker 5: And whether they replay the last seven minutes or whatever it was. I also I don't think they're going to do that. I think the NBA is probably going to turn up to this and say a monumental era, no doubt, but bad luck.
00:04:54
Speaker 6: Yeah, it's unfortunate. It's unfortunate Tim mcmon is even reporting this because this rocket source that just puts out there that they could potentially replay this game. There's no chance they replayed this game. There's no chance they give them a win. When does that happen? Why would they do that? They missed the play, It happens in the NBA. It's a dumb maneuver by the refs, or you know, a dumb mistake that happens. I guess they don't want to watch James hard as much of the rest of us. They just, you know, they just saw the ball go through and didn't watch it whatsoever. They were just kind of looking to get to the next play. They made a mistake and that's it. That's what happened. There's nothing, nothing is going to change. I think they should replay it.
00:05:32
Speaker 4: They don't play again in San Antonio until April twelfth, twenty twenty, almost the last game of the season.
00:05:39
Speaker 3: But how can they not replay it. This doesn't make sense to me.
00:05:41
Speaker 4: The Rockets, you can't say they would have a win, so they're not going to get the win. But you know, they had more points in regulation. They definitely did. They have to replay it. Two thousand and eight, I think was the last time a game was replayed.
00:05:53
Speaker 1: Yeah, the hawkshit Meat.
00:05:54
Speaker 4: Yeah, Shack got sat down mistakenly for a foul, so they said was fouled out fifty seconds left.
00:06:01
Speaker 3: Blah blah blah, the Hawks go on to the Hawks win. I don't know whatever.
00:06:05
Speaker 1: Well, I'll tell you right now. It was two thousand and eight. Yeah, they had to replay the final fifty one point nine seconds of that game because the official score ruled incorrectly that Shack had fouled out in overtime. The Hawks won the first game, if you want to call that one, to seventeen one eleven on December nineteenth. But when they redid those fifty two seconds let's say in March the Hawks still won one, it was reset to one fourteen, one eleven. Nobody scored, Yeah, during the final.
00:06:29
Speaker 3: Fins and Jack had already been traded away from the Heat.
00:06:33
Speaker 1: Yeah, it was very very strange that one. But yeah, it didn't change anything. But it's I guess, look, that's fifty two seconds compared to this, which is a good chunk of the game. I mean eight minutes to go left in this one.
00:06:46
Speaker 5: It's very embarrassing for the league because why they didn't review it.
00:06:50
Speaker 1: That that's the crazy part. We've got this whole new thing where we can go look at everything now, and this is the mess that comes from it.
00:06:57
Speaker 5: And if you have a situation that's where it clear the Bowl winning, but the referees you didn't get it right, just say okay, we have to check something out here we have I think people would prefer that than this.
00:07:08
Speaker 4: My well, the explanation was so dumb as well. They're like, well there's a thirty second window. But the Rockets were complaining the whole time that it should be reviewed.
00:07:14
Speaker 5: What and then like what I believe D'Antoni was saying, and Austin Rivers lot review it straight away.
00:07:19
Speaker 1: Yeah, D'Antoni said he was initially told the hard and dunk hit the rim and was offensive goaltending. He said he challenged that and was told no, it was not goaltending, but it went out off of harden, so he challenged that, and like basically the officials just told D'Antoni that he could not challenge at some point.
00:07:35
Speaker 6: That's what he said, But according to the referees, they said, it's a reviewable matter, but you have a window of thirty seconds to challenge the play, which he obviously didn't do it within it which was is a strangeral number one. But it's kind of an understandable First of all, coach is challenge is done after the season. Oh, it's over, it's done. Because they have these little, these little tiny rules within the rule, which sort of makes sense. You can call time out and then you can challenge within thirty seconds, which again I think there's some logic to it because you can call time out and then we go to commercial because we're going to commercial. Then what you look at replaced for two and a half minutes, and then you say, you know what kind of challenge that? So then we're sitting there watching another five minutes of a review. So that's why they implemented this thirty second. But when does this thirty second start when D'Antoni calls time out? Is there a clock that somebody hits? No chance that just it doesn't work like that. So that's why they have to They just got to eliminate.
00:08:31
Speaker 5: This because again Philadelphia and who they played them not before there was a challenge in that call, but it came like basically once the play had stopped, not immediately on a Joel andbiid feul. So based on that, surely D'Antoni was in the window.
00:08:48
Speaker 1: This window talk that this is ridiculous. I think they're just trying to come up with anything to save their ass and they're like, you know, we really blew this.
00:08:56
Speaker 6: And now this window. Yeah, this window thing is the second time it's happened. With the Doc River situation where he called time out, nostin Nervers was trying to tee him up.
00:09:05
Speaker 1: We have we have officials that are always looking at hey was that a three pointer or a two pointer? Game continues, game continues, we find out sometimes minutes later, we might go to a commercial break and come back and like, oh yeah, yeah, yeah, they looked at that. That's that was actually he was on the line. It's a two not a three. Well, I mean, so yeah, why couldn't they have just done that in this game?
00:09:25
Speaker 6: Like, I mean, okay, that's done in New York Fun reviews.
00:09:28
Speaker 1: I don't care where it's done. Look at it and go that was a basket and when. So if it takes you a minute or two of game time, let's say they didn't count it right there, everybody's upset, Just go okay, let's keep playing. They're gonna look at it. Oh yeah. They come back two minutes later and they, oh, yeah, that was that was in Like what why is that a problem? Why can they do that?
00:09:49
Speaker 6: Right?
00:09:49
Speaker 5: Yeah, it's dumb.
00:09:50
Speaker 6: Yeah, I mean we can review everything from every game.
00:09:54
Speaker 4: Yeah, everything should be except for for some reason, a made shot on a breakaway the probably the easy call you could have.
00:10:00
Speaker 3: I guess this is why we named our show No Dunks, Lay it In.
00:10:03
Speaker 1: Yeah, I guess.
00:10:04
Speaker 6: So, just not part of the parameters of what you can challenge.
00:10:07
Speaker 4: So yeah, right, there's no rules for it, because you shouldn't have to review a made shot that went in a dunk.
00:10:14
Speaker 6: You shouldn't have to review that James Harden screwed it up by running after the ball because he didn't know he dunked it. He didn't know it went through if he just played it cool.
00:10:21
Speaker 3: Two seconds, Yeah, foolish.
00:10:23
Speaker 1: So you think tacitly, you think, no way, what we play the final seven to fifty of this the Rockets. Look, hey, you were still up thirteen, your two stars go two to twelve down the stretch. You you end up blowing it, whether you got jobbed of two points.
00:10:38
Speaker 3: There or not.
00:10:39
Speaker 1: Sorry, that's just the way it is. Like a bad call and move on.
00:10:43
Speaker 5: I think there's there's always bad calls. There's always sort of calls at one team if they lose. I feel, hey, that was the wrong call. But that's part of the game.
00:10:52
Speaker 4: Yeah, because it's different than the charge block call. Yeah, this is a basket that went in. That's not a call.
00:11:01
Speaker 3: I mean it is.
00:11:01
Speaker 5: It's all in the sense that they.
00:11:05
Speaker 1: It's like a home run right where it's like did it hit on the top of the wall or you know, just below it. Let's look okay.
00:11:13
Speaker 5: I mean if they replay it though in San Antonio going to win again, then what was the point? You know, it's sort of they have to warm it's just then if they're gonna if they want to replay it, just say okay, then Houston, you just get the win. Then it make it even worse.
00:11:26
Speaker 6: According to the league, it is a reviewable matter, but you only have the window of thirty seconds. It's so so weird.
00:11:32
Speaker 1: I'm you're right, this is gone. The coaches challenged, Bye, we tried it. It's a mess. It's making everything worse. The only thing I honestly care about getting right in a close game situation is when a ball goes up, looks like it goes off three guys like who hit that last? Whose ball should it be?
00:11:47
Speaker 3: What about a foot on the liner? You gotta care about that one too.
00:11:51
Speaker 1: Yeah, okay, yeah. And those are for the most part, those are pretty easy to figure out.
00:11:56
Speaker 4: And if you step out of bounds, if a guy makes it dunk, these are easy call to make.
00:12:01
Speaker 3: Worldwide Bob had it on Twitter. Within ten seconds. Go on Twitter. Go on Twitter, refresh it. It's what are you doing?
00:12:08
Speaker 5: Take out of the review said it just checked worldwide Web Twitter.
00:12:11
Speaker 1: You'll get you'll get a you'll get an answer.
00:12:13
Speaker 5: You'll get the right answer too.
00:12:15
Speaker 1: Oh it's uh yeah, that was that was surreal and it's it is amazing. If they do replay this, I saw a Zilla write this. It would if they replay it, it would basically nullify Lonnie Walker's breakout performance. He scored twenty three of his twenty eight points after this botched dunk, phantom dunk, whatever you want.
00:12:34
Speaker 5: To call it.
00:12:35
Speaker 1: And so this like, if they replay, that's gonna benefit the Rockets, of course. I mean they're the ones up huge and oh yeah, you get another chance at you know, slowing Lonnie Walker the fourth or Forbes or whoever went off there for this purse.
00:12:47
Speaker 4: Yeah, who knows, Maybe Drozen's traded by the time, by the time they play this game in April, and you know, they're running a Nikola Vucevich or something out there, who knows what it is. But the Western Conference standings are going to be tight. Houston is going to be in the next for homecore advantage in the first round. One win could mean a lot to both the Rockets and to the Spurs. So I mean, maybe they just sweep it under the rug and hope we forget about it and eventually, uh.
00:13:10
Speaker 3: It just passes by. I suppose that could happen.
00:13:13
Speaker 4: But this just seems crazy that a made shot happened, it had an effect on the game, and they're just gonna be like, well, sorry, we played eighteen minutes afterwards.
00:13:20
Speaker 3: What are you gonna do?
00:13:21
Speaker 1: Yeah, with the with the two overtimes, You're right, there.
00:13:23
Speaker 4: Was a lot of basketball playing, Like Rosa was like getting crushed out there.
00:13:27
Speaker 3: Like I was like on the floor all the time.
00:13:30
Speaker 5: That either of them played today. So if I want to replay it, just they're both in Texas just going out there, just you know what, go ahead to like that Copac was something to play it out there, that'd be fun.
00:13:40
Speaker 1: That's like a big difference.
00:13:41
Speaker 3: You're right.
00:13:42
Speaker 1: I hadn't thought about that trade. Like the eight incident was shock incorrectly fouling out. I was like the Hawks in the heat were both sort of garbage team. It was like they weren't great. It didn't really matter at all. They still redid it.
00:13:52
Speaker 3: Now.
00:13:53
Speaker 1: Maybe it's because it's only fifty seconds, it's like less of an ordeal whatever, But this could mean something. This this win for the Spurs getting in the playoffs, keeping their streak alive. For the Rockets fallen anywhere from whatever, like in the standings. This could be a difference between two, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, whatever seed. You don't know. Uh so you think they're gonna redo to be incredible? Oh, I hope they do.
00:14:14
Speaker 3: At this point, it's gonna be important.
00:14:17
Speaker 4: It just seems important to me that this is such a clearly missed call and you're obsessed with reviews and replays and challenges, and it's gonna matter for the entirety of the playoffs and the entirety of the regular season.
00:14:30
Speaker 3: I just don't see how you just let it slide by.
00:14:34
Speaker 5: I mean, honestly, it's it's an interesting point because it could have such a dramatic impact, and the coal.
00:14:40
Speaker 1: The weird part is the weird part is I hate to go back to it. The Rockets were still up thirteen. I mean they had a melt down and the Spurs caught fire and again, like Walker was amazing. Does that come into play with the NBA's decision. It might a little bit. It might it wasn't a tie game, you know, or.
00:14:54
Speaker 3: Maybe if they count the dunk.
00:14:55
Speaker 4: Greg Popa is like, oh, we got to call a time out and relax, we got to pull these guys, we're down fifteen.
00:14:59
Speaker 3: Now, Yeah, that's maybe that's his line. I don't know.
00:15:02
Speaker 6: Yeah, it's just unfortunate the NBA, you know, had this as a trial period in the in the G League had this rule of coaches challenge as a trial period. But they came into the year even still treading lightly about it. Joe Bores are consistently saying, you know, this is a trial period even in the NBA, that we're not going to get everything right from the get go. But god, we've just spoken about the reviewing calls for fifteen minutes. They're just they just have to get rid of it. Just see you later, goodbye.
00:15:30
Speaker 1: Harden makes that dunk, they count it. Who's to say this person don't go on still win in regulation for crying out?
00:15:35
Speaker 3: Uh, exactly right, exactly right. Maybe they're inspired he dunk d'Os like that?
00:15:40
Speaker 1: How dare you weird? Weird stuff? Let's hear from you, guys. We really should get the poll up. Should they replay seven fifty?
00:15:49
Speaker 5: Uh?
00:15:50
Speaker 1: And we'll maybe check into that later in the show, or we'll least get it up and talk about it. I'm sure when the NBA makes a decision, they're gonna have to come out and say, well, we're not doing anything, or the Rockets, hey, you win, that's not gonna happen, or we're redoing this and here's what we're doing it. We'll be talking about this a little bit more. I'm sure, all right, let's keep it moving here though. Lakers one oh five Nuggets ninety six. Flu like symptoms for a lot of the Lakers roster, including Anthony Davis. He took an iv not a Lonnie Walker ivy at halftime and then scored thirteen of his twenty five in the third quarter. As a Lakers got that well bounce back win after the loss Lebron and eighty huge rebounding was huge. Nuggets made it close, the Nuggets classic get back into the game. It's right there, but just enough from the Lakers to get the win. Would you guys think of this one or eighty battling through the flu like symptoms. This was his Jordan flu.
00:16:40
Speaker 5: Game a Tuesday night in December. Yeah, yeah, it's Jordan Like. I mean, you know what, when you're sick and then you go into that altitude, I'm not surprised he was a little under the weather. So the IVY fluids helped. He's got to get the ginger into him. Look ut the ginger gold here this morning.
00:16:56
Speaker 1: Yeah, you got a couple of fluids besides you.
00:16:58
Speaker 5: Yeah, champagne for the immune system. I like to call it. Okay, Yeah, No, good performance again from the Lakers. Their defense once again fantastic. But again I'm sort of going to turn a little bit here to Nicola Jokicic and just like just and just another performance where it looked like he was just it was like a practice run for most of the game.
00:17:21
Speaker 1: I thought he had three shot attempts in the first half.
00:17:24
Speaker 5: Yeah, something like that. What's going on exactly? What is going on with him as an All NBA talent?
00:17:31
Speaker 1: Yeah, and he's just like yeah, sort of plodding through games at times, at times.
00:17:37
Speaker 5: A lot of the time. And it's interested if he was putting up the sort of numbers in the performance that you had last season, you would sort of shrug off the fact that he doesn't look great. But that now that he also doesn't look great, it's like you, okay, you know, they have to get into the game or get into shape. You can't be both. You can't be out of shape and out of the game.
00:17:53
Speaker 3: Honestly, I mean it's it looks into one of them.
00:17:55
Speaker 5: You've got to be into one of them. Pick one, pick one, because he can be a effective without being, you know, a really caught guy out there. He's not gonna be the guy who goes and hits the gym and comes out ripped with biceps because last season he was fantastic.
00:18:09
Speaker 1: Yeah, can we I mean, at this point, can we drop the like, yeah, how big he looks or how uncut he looked? Like, he looks the exact same what he was.
00:18:17
Speaker 5: I don't think he does look I think he looks worse. I think I think he looks worse because his shoulders are sort of slumping and a lot.
00:18:23
Speaker 4: I mean, I don't know, it's his shoulders. Yeah, he's got a care it's the main thing. It's like, that's Anthony Davis did have a great game, but it was because the Lakers just kept putting Yokic into pick and roll and it was Jokic, Jokic and whoever the small guard was. We're trying to handle Lebron and a d Lebron and Dwight Howard and whatever it was. If Yokic would step up, it was a lot because nobody's gonna be able to jump with Ady or Dwight, or it was just Lebron getting into the rim.
00:18:45
Speaker 5: It was.
00:18:47
Speaker 4: It was bad, And I mean, if you're a Nuggets fan, you have to be. It must be such a strange season to see them sitting at thirteen and five with Jokic just not into it yet, and you know, the team, I don't think it's played great, but still thirteen and five is a solid record so far. But I would just be nervous seeing how easy.
00:19:04
Speaker 3: It was for the Lakers and pick and roll last night.
00:19:07
Speaker 6: Yeah, I think the Nuggets at some point the schedule is going to catch up to them. I think they're gonna slide a little bit. I think they've gotten They've gotten off with some really really close wins, and I think they should be worried about dropping into the bottom half of the bracket at some point. They're thirteen to five and everything looks okay, but a lot of close wins and a home heavy schedule at this point.
00:19:28
Speaker 3: Yeah.
00:19:28
Speaker 1: Yeah, they head out on the road now, right for a little four game road trip. I don't think, well, no, some salt. I guess they got the Knicks but Celtics, Nets and Sixers, I mean three of those teams not easy outs.
00:19:40
Speaker 6: Yeah, well, it'll be tough and more a little bit later in January and February, where they have real home road heavy schedules, I should say, and March I should say as well. I mean, it's gonna get ugly. I think if they're playing like this, you know, they had great contributions from a lot of guys and they're still good, very very good. But the West is is not going away, and so I think they could slip.
00:20:03
Speaker 1: And what's your take on Jokic then, task, I mean, the guy's averaging fifteen points per game, shooting forty five percent. Obviously not great for a guy like him. Can't hit a three to save his life.
00:20:13
Speaker 5: I don't know.
00:20:14
Speaker 6: I don't know. Maybe the last couple of years were his peak.
00:20:18
Speaker 3: Is that crazy?
00:20:19
Speaker 1: My goodness, a little bit. He's twenty four, yeah.
00:20:23
Speaker 5: Not even twenty five.
00:20:24
Speaker 3: I don't know.
00:20:25
Speaker 1: It's strange. It's strange to watch him. That's you, man, You're like, dude, you we were considering you one of the best players in the league. One of the best players in the league. Does not just take three shots and like sort of mope around out there. That's not you're You're immediately removed from that list. Yeah, I'm sorry, it's true. And I love the guy. He's one of the when he's when he's obviously engaged, he's one of the funnest watches in the league. He must watch league past material. But you can't be considered one of the best players in the league when you again, when you just had even if you're missing shots, you gotta be involved.
00:20:57
Speaker 5: Yeah, that question better. And if I'm marking my line, be just pulling my hair out right now. Because good point. But just because when you have a star with so much talent who's just going at fifty percent, I mean, it doesn't matter how good a coach you are, it doesn't matter what your schemes are and what your game plans are. If your guys are just going to be kind of half into it, there's not much you can do. And you mentioned, you know, they have eleven They have had eleven home games so far. That is their huge advantage right there, and they're eight and three. It's fine, you know, it's not too bad, but that's what they have a more more of a home court advantage than anyone else in the league because of the altitude the Lakers came in, they were all sick, and they would you would think, though, you know, Lebron said, I think Danny Green had it, an a lot of them had it, and it's like that's a great opportunity to catch the Lakers, and they didn't. I thought Dwight Howard last night came off the bench and was so involved and so engaged in his short time. Imagine Nikola Jokich was half of what Dwight was last night. Then I think the Nuggats win that game. But yeah, there's a content. I mean, certainly there's no Inny to panic just yet. There's still plenty of on from Turner Rant and we have seen this before from Yokic, but it's it's becoming a little more common than certainly that would lock it to beay, I'm sure.
00:22:11
Speaker 6: The Lakers are a terrible matchup for them. Lakers, I'm sure would be so confident if they met them in the postseason. They've got no bigs that can deal with ad or Lebron. They really don't know. They were doing what they want. And it was cool to watch Anthony Davis play defense. I do like watching him as a now one of those thin dudes, even though he's not really thin, but he's a long he. I guess he looks thin beside Nikola Yoki. But he's getting the narrative for defensive Player of the Year already. Oh yeah, the story is starting. You need the narrative, and it's happening with him.
00:22:42
Speaker 3: Oh.
00:22:42
Speaker 1: Lebron started that in the preseason, right, it was all over that. It's fun to watch. I know you don't like it, Lee, but Rondo, Rondo, when he's like got the pick and roll game going with those bigs, you know, either a little pocket pass between people or throwing the lobs. It's that part's fun to watch.
00:22:57
Speaker 5: List. It must be fun to play, no doubt, my dad, he was playing smart basketball last night. You know. My my issues with him more about when he plays selfishly. But last night he was really playing his role well and exposing the Nuggets.
00:23:11
Speaker 3: From three as well.
00:23:13
Speaker 1: So far this season, Lee no better than le Ellis take four all right, Mavericks one eighteen, Pelicans at ninety seven. I mean, I'll mark it down for me. December fourth, the day I've officially run out of adjectives to describe Luka Doncic. He scored fifteen of his thirty three points in the third quarter. He grabbed eighteen rebounds in twenty eight minutes to help the Master to this big victory. I know there's some Zion Williamson news we can talk about with the Pelicans, but it's Luca's just again just sort of took over the game and Mavericks cruise to a victory.
00:23:45
Speaker 5: I just want one quote out of this. It came from coach Rick Carlo. I didn't rebounds is a lot. That's a lot of rebounds for a point. God, he started the game listed as small forward.
00:23:54
Speaker 1: He's a point He's a point guard. That's why he's going to be starting as a guard in the All Star Yes, that's right.
00:24:01
Speaker 6: Dot COM's got him as a g good.
00:24:03
Speaker 1: That's all it matters. I guess when it comes to the All starboting, maybe Porzing has had another stinker though he's over his last three games, he's averaging eight points per game, shooting twenty three percent from the floor. But because the way lucas playing, because the way the bench is contributing, guys like Tim Hardaway Junior and Delon Wright and these guys hitting shots. Mavericks have won all three of these games with KP being rough. They won in Phoenix, they won in l A versus Lakers, and now they won last night in New Orleans. So it's not like hasn't really become that big a deal because still again wins, and the guy has the coming off of injury and all that. Still, but just.
00:24:36
Speaker 6: Get the ball out of his hands. I mean, I know coaches don't want to use a playoff type defense in the regular season. I'm sure Alvin Gentry knows a heck of a lot more about defense than I do. But Luca was just getting the ball off the defensive rim those eighteen boards, just grabbing it and then running a play, and he's unstoppable.
00:24:55
Speaker 1: I mean again, you want anyone else to beat on the match, So yeah, that's what you're saying.
00:24:59
Speaker 6: Yeah, why the heck not? Why not take that chance? Luca literally could do whatever he wants out there. There's twenty eight minutes but magic out there for that guy thirty three and eighteen. I don't take a chance with somebody else. Like, as you said, Kristaps didn't have a great night. Tim Hardaway, Yeah, he hit five shots, Dory Finney Smith hit three shots, Doi Palell hit three shots, but just forced them to win.
00:25:21
Speaker 1: Right the Mavericks. They won just nine road games all last season. They're eight and two already away from Dallas this year. It's a great start. Andrew Lopez of ESPN reports that Zion Williamson is partaking in light walkthroughs with the Pelicans.
00:25:35
Speaker 5: I would like to take because I.
00:25:37
Speaker 1: Believe we've reached the six week mark since his surgery, and that was the initial like it's going to be like, you know, we'll readdress this in the six to eight weeks, So this is why we're probably getting this update. But on Monday, Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said the team will be overly cautious with Zion's return. When are we gonna Why are we gonna see him? Are we gonna see him before Christmas? I mean that's sort of what we were thinking of that time. Do we still believe that?
00:26:02
Speaker 5: What would you do?
00:26:03
Speaker 1: You don't think so?
00:26:04
Speaker 5: I think he's behind schedule. It sounds yeah, they said.
00:26:08
Speaker 1: Also, Lopez in that article said, in order for him to return to action, the team wants Williamson to reach certain metrics and benchmarks. In his conditioning metrics. I read metrics, I immediately my mind goes to, wait, probably I could be wrong, but you know, you got to sort of suspect it's something like that. And or just in terms of his yeah, his conditioning, in terms of his his VO two.
00:26:36
Speaker 4: Max stuff like that is down in back. So maybe he's gonna have to ramp it up from the light walkthrough. I suppose that's just a tiptoe yeah, going through practice.
00:26:45
Speaker 1: Can he even walk lights?
00:26:47
Speaker 3: Exactly right? That was seems that have been the problem.
00:26:50
Speaker 4: Hopefully when he comes back, he's got his gate all straightened out. That VO two max just pomping.
00:26:55
Speaker 5: I wonder if this will be a bit like a Ben Simmons where I didn't rule him out for the season. It was sort of a little bit long, a little bit longer, and then they get to a rim sort of February March, and they're like, there's no point.
00:27:07
Speaker 1: They string you along a little while and then you're like, all right, he's not playing at all.
00:27:12
Speaker 4: I just think we would be more likely to see him if the Pelicans were playing a little bit better and they were a little bit more in the playoff mix. They got six wins. Now the eighth seed has nine wins, so I mean they're sort of on the periphery, but the pels haven't been super inspiring, and if they were really in the mix for the playoffs, maybe we would see him before Christmas. But now it's like, yeah, just take it day, just take your time. We don't want you to get hurt for the rest of your career. You got a long time ahead of you, so take it, take it easy, buddy.
00:27:35
Speaker 6: What do you think it's asks, Well, I don't think the metrics have anything to do with weight, because they're just trying not to talk about Zion Williamson's weight whatsoever. And I do believe David Griffin was quoted saying even if he was zero percent body fat, that he would be two sixty five or something something of that nature. So they don't want anybody just talking about his weights because there's no way he's going to be light. There's no way he's going to be this. So it's it probably has something to do with not being fat, No, I mean, it probably has to do with something with yeah, getting that Covo two levels up, start running, man, start running before Christmas?
00:28:13
Speaker 1: Or do you think we don't see him at all. Like, you know, if you had to pick me one between one of the two, that's that's wow.
00:28:18
Speaker 6: I'd say no, yeah, just waited.
00:28:20
Speaker 1: You also do start to wonder at at some point if they're like, well, it'd be pretty cool for Zion Willamson to win Rookie of the Year too, and it's like, I mean, look, it's still there for the taking. Honestly, you could win it this year. You could come back and just dominate, and you're like, okay, yeah, he's he's working the year. But if you get too if you're starting to get into January February and then like it's like not a ton of games left, you're like, let's do the old Blake Griffin thing or let's do the old Ben Simmons thing. It's like, yeah, just come back next year and win.
00:28:45
Speaker 5: It Rookie next year.
00:28:46
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's possible. I hope, I really I hope. You see, Hi might be a nice little especially like in the next couple of weeks, would be awesome in that little boost for Christmas, because he's got.
00:28:54
Speaker 3: The is are they on Christmas? The play Denver?
00:28:57
Speaker 4: So you'll either you'll either have Zion or pouty Niko le Joki Christmas Morning's hope we got game.
00:29:04
Speaker 1: Sorry, guys, Let's hope we get back all right? One more here. Heat won twenty one, Raptors one ten. This one was an overtime game. Jimmy Butler triple double as the Heat spoiled Kyle Lowry's return to Toronto's lineup by getting that overtime victory. Butler was huge in the extra frame, scored eight consecutive points in fifty five seconds to start overtime, and you know the Heat had recovered there because they had blown a seven point lead in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter. Norm Powell was catching fire talking about stepping on the line. They have got away with one there. Let's uh, it looked like Norm Mays stepped on the line when he hit one of those corner threes, but they didn't have the greatest camera angles to actually really zoom in and see if he did, so they had to count it, but didn't really matter because Butler was pretty special in the overtime period and quite frankly, I didn't think the Raps had really a right to even go to overtime, let alone win this game. That Heat played better and Lowry stunk in his return. He was horrible. He missed his first eleven shots, including seven from three point range. He was over eleven from from deeps. That's bad. And he's like, look, it's my first game back, don't worry. It's not gonna be like this every game. And he's coming back from the fracture thumb. But uh, you know, the Heat, this is a quality win. They've won in Milwaukee with though Jimmy Butler. They went in Toronto without Gorny Druggis, who had been balling out for them. You know, are the Heat do you consider the Heat a legit East contender? Are they up there with the Bucks and the Sixers and probably the Raptors maybe the Celtics, Like do you have them in that group or are they still like a tier below?
00:30:34
Speaker 4: To me, the contender in the Eastern Conference is the Bucks. That's it, the contender. But after that, maybe you would have the Heat in the in the next tier with the Sixers, the Raptors and uh, the Sixers, the Raptors in the Heat, I think those are and the Celtics. Yeah, can you rely on all these guys who have been balling so far come playoff time, Duncan Robinson never played in the playoffs. Bam Adebayo's got a handful of games in the playoffs two years ago. Kendrick Nunn, He's a rookie, Justice Winslow. He was great against the Raps last night. Make him plays off the dribble, but who knows how he holds up in a playoff as a main guy in a playoff series. I love Butler. I love Jimmy Butler. If they were playing the Raptors, I would maybe take him because that guy loves playing. I think I went too, but I don't know. I mean, Butler's great, and he's done a great job of really letting everybody else do stuff for the first three quarters, knowing that come fourth quarter, I'm getting that big piece of the pie. You guys can have whatever you want. When you get full, I'll finish it. And that's exactly what happened last night. He has been He's done a great job of being the number one guy with just while also letting everybody else flourish.
00:31:36
Speaker 3: So come playoff time, is.
00:31:39
Speaker 4: He's still able to do that to take that back seat for the first three quarters.
00:31:42
Speaker 3: I don't know.
00:31:43
Speaker 5: Yeah, it's an interesting question, but so far, he clearly has put his ego to the side and he's leading as the sort of player that we thought he could have been in Chicago when he was coming up through the ranks, but then he turned into a bit of a jerk. But he hasn't been that guy at all so far. And in overtime when he hit those eight points in the fifty seconds and he was celebrated with it, oh yeah, oh yeah. Like he's fun to watch. He's fun, he's engaging, and you sort of see him really relishing that challenge that they basically blew the game, got a second chance and he was like, all right, I'm not blowing this one again, and he took that out. I mean, there were still four minutes ago, but you sort of felt like that they heat at home now because of Jimmy, So he's great. Are they content It's a great question because it feels like there's still one player short of being a real content even though you know that they did beat Milwaukee in Morgan that was, you know, second game of the season, So I just feel they're missing something. Exactly what it is, I'm not sure, because I think they've got good balance, they've got good depth, they get good, good contribution from their bench. What is it they're missing? It's hard to say because Jimmy it feels like, is that star and if all these other guys just sort of play off him and around him, he can maybe lead them somewhere. But it just it just feels like they're not going yet, not yet, not yet. I mean the Raptors you talked about there with Carle Larry was he was awful last night, no doubt. It was almost like to me, Larry was like, the guys didn't really miss me when I was out. I'm going to show them how good are you? I mean, that's what I felt like. He was rushing, he was a little bit hesitant, and then when he had an open three late he passed course of turnover and well, yeah, because.
00:33:13
Speaker 1: He had just missed exactly the nine of them, I think that was getting it a little bit. He's got a couple in his defense like do the old Like yeah.
00:33:20
Speaker 5: For sure, for sure. But but sometimes you know, when a guy's out, it's like, oh, we really really missed him, need him back. The Raptors didn't. I mean, that's not not in any way to say that he doesn't he won't be better once he's had a few games under his belt. But I just felt that he was almost trying to show, hey, I'm still pretty good, guys, and it just didn't work for him last night.
00:33:38
Speaker 6: He was awesome in the last six minutes of regulation though he was assisting, getting everybody involved. He did have eleven helpers. He was doing everything. He just couldn't shoot. Yeah, it was a bad night for him. But that being said, I would still take the Raptors over the Heat. Why.
00:33:55
Speaker 1: I don't know. I mean, I'll tell you what. When we were talking with Dave DeFore yesterday about the Raptor and having no Kauhai, can they sort of replicate what they did in the playoffs last year? Can can Pascal do what Kawhi did?
00:34:07
Speaker 5: Uh?
00:34:08
Speaker 1: Yeah, I thought this was a good example of maybe not not getting your hopes too high for that to happen. I love Pascal's I want to make that very clear, but uh, bam Adebayo did an awesome job on him last night. You saw Jonathan Isaac a couple of nights before with the Magic did a great job of bottling him up. I know he had a huge game in between there, but that you know who you need a basket. It's it's a little just different. It's different when it's Kauai to to a Siakam. There's a there's a level there of how they go about getting their shots and you know, and I think rap Stands were upset with the no call. There was was driving that one, and there was contact and he initiated some of it and obviously he got hit and bump, but then no whistle. But that's gonna happen in the playoffs because guess what, That's happened time and time and time again with the Marta rozen. So we'll see. But I think it would be a very I don't know who I would pick tasks if it like today, if they played the best of seven series, it would be probably go to seven games. So I'm pretty convinced about that. It'd be a dogfight between these two teams.
00:35:06
Speaker 5: And the last time they went to the playss went seven didn't.
00:35:08
Speaker 6: Yeah, yeah, I think it wouldn't just be on Siakam shoulders. You know, you got a confident Freddy, a confident Kyle back there to help him out. But I understand Pascal up against bam Adebayo last night. That was the interesting part. Pascal looked like he was going up against Joel and beat in the playoffs last year, where he was just coming up short. I think he had three air balls, which was weird, like on floaters. Yeah, he's not a fat Jokic right now. He was just missing. This guy has a great touch, but it just looked like he wasn't the same player at all. So that's that's what I think would make the heat A contenders. Bam Adebaio playing awesome on both ends, so he is there. Yeah, he is probably their most important player, even though Jimmy Butler's their best player. Bam Adebaio does more on offense and defense. He's he's asked to do a lot and he's awesome at it so far. I mean, he looks like a guy that should have been starting. Uh like it, like Jokic. When Nurkic was traded, Jokich went into the starting role and flourished. Pam Outebaio. Yeah, man, he he freaked the heck out of Pascal Siakam last night. Yeah.
00:36:15
Speaker 1: He's special. He's honestly something. He's a fun watch and he's just getting better and better. You've seen it from game to game with him. All right, we got some fun up down questions for you guys, But first little shootout.
00:36:26
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00:37:14
Speaker 3: Check it out today.
00:37:15
Speaker 1: Into the up down report. Okays, First one Adam Silver has started flexing and the injury ravaged Warriors are getting squeezed. The NBA announced last night switches for December thirteenth and eighteenth games on ESPN, both removing Golden State. So the NBA's listening to what task Melis is talking about here? Sorry you up or down on them? Silver, The NBA listening to task flexing, getting ready here to flex sort of the upcoming schedule tasks.
00:37:50
Speaker 6: You must be up get rid of the Warriors. That's smart, he get rid of the Warriors on national TV games. People just aren't caring about rag of season games. And unfortunately they point to games like that where they are the loan game that's on. What the heck am I going to watch? I gotta watch? What do you watch?
00:38:09
Speaker 5: Lee?
00:38:09
Speaker 6: What do you where? What do you? I guess you're watching the Voice Voice Slash Shark Tank. Well, there's no way you're watching Warriors over a Shark Tank.
00:38:19
Speaker 5: Now it's allowed me to catch up with Cobra Kai season two. Actually yeah, Epic Stop season three starts.
00:38:29
Speaker 6: Basically, Warriors games are getting flexed for Cobra Kai and said, that's that's sad. Nobody cares about those late games. So yeah, it has to be done, and it has I think it could be done pretty regularly. Yeah, I understand fans may have tickets that say, hey, it's eight o'clock eastern. Gosh darn it, it's moved to seven o'clock eastern. Oh, well, that's the way it goes. I think I think you gotta do it. I think it's more important to get those TV viewers to deem these things appointment viewing rather than heck, I can just watch Corbrika and I don't care.
00:39:03
Speaker 5: It's good season two I imagine though. Honestly the NBA, the only issue is whether or not the TV companies are able to change them so quickly or you know, with a couple of days notice if necessary.
00:39:16
Speaker 1: But I'm sure that you mean the actual broadcast.
00:39:18
Speaker 5: Yeah, sorry, the proxy.
00:39:19
Speaker 1: And all the crew and everybody. Yeah, can we get Hey, we were going to Golden State, but now we're going.
00:39:23
Speaker 5: Here exactly because because you can't imagine that like the NBA, I'm sure, and looking through the schedule right now, go okay, we've got to get rid of that that trying to or arrange it so there's enough time. We want that exactly whichever way you want to look at it, so that you're not having to move obviously games from different days, but certainly you want to get rid of the teams that people don't want to watch and get more Luka Doncic.
00:39:45
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think I think that's right. I think, you know, in a perfect world. Sure, Oh wow, we have a huge Clippers game on Thursday night, two nights prior. Wow, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George ran into each other and they both broke their legs. I don't know if I want to watch the Clippers anymore. Like, you're not gonna be able to turn it around that quick where you can flex it that quick because of all these legs logistics that has to go into it. But yeah, these these weeks out totally doable. Yeah, totally totally doable, and more people are going to be interested in seeing a healthy Clippers team than obviously this year.
00:40:17
Speaker 4: Like the Warriors, get bolder, flex as hard as you can. I love seeing that photoshop of Adam Silver on a jacked body flexing hard. So yeah, get the Warriors off of Christmas Day. We got enough time. Send the team somewhere else.
00:40:31
Speaker 1: Oh my goodness, Hey.
00:40:32
Speaker 3: Maybe we can replay at the Houston San Antonio. Get the Warriors out of here.
00:40:36
Speaker 4: Fly san Antonio in play seven to fifty, Fly him out. Nobody needs to see that much anyways, it's Christmas.
00:40:41
Speaker 1: That's not a bad idea.
00:40:42
Speaker 6: I understand that ESPN wants to produce their own games, and so yeah, you got to get a truck from Cleveland or wherever instead of from La or whatever. But you can also just have games like last night, you know, Joel Myers was doing the Pelicans broadcast, then moved over to the ESPN broadcast because they just needed somebody. Just put the games on NBA TV. More people have NBA TV than these regional sports networks. That's a somewhat of a solution as well. Doesn't have to necessarily be on ESPN. And when you put on NBA TV, the local guys can still do the call fair call.
00:41:15
Speaker 1: Next one, King's owner, Vivid Goana DV is an ideas man. He once contemplated playing four on five defense to have a cherry picker on offense. Remember that, Yeah, very very bold, And now he's tackling free throws. According to s I S. Chris Ballard, Vivick's proposed solution for the King's free throw shooting woes. Was to install a hoop outside the locker room. This way, during games, players could run back and practice their free throws, their foul shots. Lee are you up or down? On Vivick's idea here which got shot down by the way to put that hoop outside the King's locker room to practice free throws.
00:41:51
Speaker 5: I read that he was shut down because they didn't like the optics of it.
00:41:55
Speaker 1: Yeah, there's a couple of reasons. It's pretty funny. So they installed the goal. They put it up. It was right there, to the right of the locker room. But people around Vivic said they dissuaded him, citing potential rules issues because players usually leave the bench only to go to the bathroom, right, messaging issues. Players maybe would be insulted, yes, and it could scare away free agents and the general optics which are not good according to this article.
00:42:20
Speaker 5: There's one other issue. If I was ever in Sacramento and I was walking past their dressing room and there's a ball, I'm shooting free throws, no doubt, no doubt until someone says, hey, that's not for you. I'm just shooting. So I'm sure other people thought the same thing. But yeah, it's it's definitely. I think you don't want to say to a player, hey, go and practice your throws, man, like during a game. I mean it does, it's sort of it is almost humiliating for a player to be like, you're so bad, man, just go on practice. Yeah.
00:42:51
Speaker 1: I also don't think that's how it sort of works. It's like, if you're just bad enough that you've got to be practicing free throws. I don't think sprinting to the back locker room, getting a couple of shots up there, and then sprinting back out. I don't know, while there's like a timeout or something, or they're replaying something, and then step into line and then you're more likely to knock them down. I don't think that's how it's gonna work.
00:43:10
Speaker 4: I really don't very weird to think of a player getting fouled knowing they're going to the line, they.
00:43:16
Speaker 3: Just go back.
00:43:19
Speaker 4: Exactly, Oh a little burble's and I just run back. But I also don't see, Well, first of all, it's not a big deal having a basketball hoop where nobody sees. I don't think that's going to be the reason that teams aren't signing with the Kings. But why can't they just have one back there that it's like halftime.
00:43:35
Speaker 3: You can shoot around on it.
00:43:36
Speaker 4: I know you could go shoot around in the in the arena, but there's enough space to have a basketball who back there just shooting around. I don't think players are going to be running back and forth during the game, but at halftime, you know, just get some shots up.
00:43:49
Speaker 6: But we talk about guys getting in a rhythm at the line. Oh, the first one doesn't go down, their second one's going to go down. If a guy's just continuously shot at the line, they would start, they would get into a rhythm.
00:43:59
Speaker 1: Yeah, but come on, you think, I think it's so different, like for you're like, first off, it's just a completely different basket. You're moving like you're obviously from one location to the other. I mean, even when you shoot free throws and somebody's like rebounding for you. You know, I'll try and throw you off by throwing the ball to the right a little bit, so you've got to step away. That gets a guy out of his rhythm.
00:44:19
Speaker 5: Brownies tries. Brownies always gets me, that's right, all right, Yeah, yeah, but that's the thing. If you're shooting just in a sort of dock and or you know, off court area.
00:44:28
Speaker 6: They have lights. They have lights.
00:44:30
Speaker 5: Yeah, but then when you go after the colt with the.
00:44:31
Speaker 1: Fans and it's totally it is a environment. Yeah, it's different.
00:44:36
Speaker 4: I don't know if this is true, but I think that they have batting cages like in the in the arena for or a stadium, I guess for a baseball team. So it's like if a player is not batting for eight straight, guys they can go and take some cuts, you know, while they're waiting their turn. That's why I don't think it's a big deal. Like maybe if you're sitting on the bench, your guys back there warming up, getting.
00:44:53
Speaker 1: It keeps you warm.
00:44:55
Speaker 3: It's deck circle.
00:44:56
Speaker 4: Yeah, the idea of going back and forth during files, that's ridiculous about it.
00:45:01
Speaker 3: Why not warm up?
00:45:02
Speaker 4: There are hoops back there, there's a backup hoop back there, just sitting on the ground in every single arena in case shat comes and tears down the.
00:45:08
Speaker 5: Hoop that they're on the exercise box at the back. Sometimes it's true, So I give them the ball while they're in the exercise bock and practice your free throws at the same time.
00:45:16
Speaker 6: Why not was it run a part of Rana DVa's idea to practice free throws between free throws, like you shoot your first and then you go practice and then that would be tough. Yeah, it would suck. It would suck for the person who would have to go run and get that person too, Like who would do that, Like Stanley Johnson on the Raptors, you know, like a guy who's like fourteenth on the bench.
00:45:35
Speaker 5: Free throw is tight long enough imagined. It was like, you shoot one.
00:45:40
Speaker 1: If it works something out here, all right, final one guys. During an episode of the All the Smoke podcasts with Steven Jackson and Matt Barnes, sweet Lotu Williams recalled the time when Barnes, Iverson and some other veteran sixers coaxed the then nineteen year old into drinking a six pack of beer on a short bus ride. Quote. We made a bet that he had to drink a six pack, Barnes said in the interview. Lou didn't drink at the time, he was fresh out of high school. But it was for fifteen thousand dollars. He did do it. As the story goes, it's a very funny clip. Go check it out. The whole small podcast is jad. I hope you're listening. I know you're a big Map Barnes fan. This is a hilarious podcast.
00:46:18
Speaker 6: I mean, I'm not listening.
00:46:19
Speaker 1: I haven't listened to it yet.
00:46:20
Speaker 3: But this is what you want.
00:46:21
Speaker 1: This is the content that we want.
00:46:23
Speaker 3: The inside this should be called inside the NBA.
00:46:27
Speaker 5: It's already taken.
00:46:28
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's You're not wrong, But are you guys up or down on chugging a six pack for fifteen grand short bus ride?
00:46:35
Speaker 3: Would you do it?
00:46:36
Speaker 1: Le's questions for you.
00:46:37
Speaker 5: I didn't know if I could chug a whole six pack?
00:46:41
Speaker 1: Did he have to chug it? Drink I'm saying, I'm saying chug in the idea that, yeah, drink it quickly.
00:46:46
Speaker 3: So ugg say it's a short one.
00:46:49
Speaker 5: Yeah, they say it's short, Yeah.
00:46:51
Speaker 1: It was before. I mean I think less than that. In my head. I think shorts twenty minutes, honestly, like minutes. Yeah, it's a lot of.
00:46:59
Speaker 5: Beer in it. Won every three minutes. Six bees sound like a pick. I guess when you're nineteen. He was nineteen nineteen.
00:47:07
Speaker 1: Yeah, never drank either.
00:47:11
Speaker 4: And imagine Lou Williams at nineteen. He must have waited one hundred dollars.
00:47:13
Speaker 3: Yeah.
00:47:15
Speaker 4: I love the way they describe him afterwards, are like, yeah, we were a little worried.
00:47:18
Speaker 3: Lou got pretty wet to carry him on to the plane.
00:47:22
Speaker 4: But I mean, nineteen years old, you're getting paid fifteen thousand dollars to chug six beers.
00:47:28
Speaker 3: You do that for free when you're nineteen.
00:47:30
Speaker 1: Lou Williams was a he was a second round pick. I mean, he wasn't making crazy money. Let me, he's making crazy money compared to everyone else in the world. I think, what four hundred fifty thousand dollars, I think it is what he was making for the second rounder, But it wasn't the millions that you get there in the first round because he had slipped. So fifteen grand's fifteen grand Budweiser, Oh yeah, that's a good que do that for one hundred and fifty grand?
00:47:53
Speaker 6: Really? Aye? Why what, let's see if we can get a Budweiser sponsorship to make that happen. It's easy to drink. It's easier than regular bear to drink lest Bubbles exactly twenty minutes.
00:48:06
Speaker 1: Twenty minutes right now? Could you you.
00:48:08
Speaker 3: Could do it?
00:48:09
Speaker 5: No? I don't, not now, not now. I'm forty three. I don't think so. Now, I'd be hung over like three days if I drunk that quickly in that short time.
00:48:16
Speaker 3: How about sex combuchas, Yeah, I could do that.
00:48:20
Speaker 6: You sip on that sex cups of champagne.
00:48:23
Speaker 5: Yes, of course.
00:48:25
Speaker 1: That's it from you guys. All of those updowns. Let's see those thumbs on Twitter hashtag no dunks at no dunks sink all right, leave tweeter the night.
00:48:33
Speaker 6: Tweet out the night Wow.
00:48:36
Speaker 5: Twitter tweet of the night comes from a friend of the show, Dan Walkie, who covers the Los Angeles teams and does some other basketball stories across the league. Last night, he was at the Clippers Blazers game and he tweeted this, Montrez Harral has one of the only jobs in America where you can go up to your billionaire boss, kiss your SIPs right in front of his face, and get cheered wildly. It's true, it's true, and your ability to buss loves it. Yeah, yeah, absolutely loves it.
00:49:11
Speaker 1: He's more likely to give you more money exactly kissing those buys.
00:49:16
Speaker 4: Yeah. I would guess the only other jobs in that you can kind of do the same thing would be I don't know if the like the founder of Chippendales is a billionaire, but if you went up to the founder of Chipendales, kiss that biset fix your guns, there gonna cheering as well.
00:49:29
Speaker 3: The whole point.
00:49:31
Speaker 1: Good tweet, thank you, I like it, and it dovetails nicely into our pick and results presented by cash App.
00:49:38
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00:50:52
Speaker 1: Our game was that Blazer's Clippers game. Clippers were favored by nine and a half, had to win by double digits, and they did. So that's a win for Task, that's a win for Lee. That's a win for me. Trey was the only one back in the Blazers. It's all right, that's all right. It's early here in the month of December. Lee a perfect two and oh feeling good right now? Everybody else one in one. So it's on task. What's our pickup game? We got a lot to pick from.
00:51:21
Speaker 6: Yeah, ten games. Tonight, Heat Celtics a battle of teams in the one eight here in the Eastern Conference, Marcus Smart doubtful for the Celtics. That's going to play into my my decision here. They are six and a half point favorites at home against those Heat that are coming off of back to back against the Toronto Raptors in overtime and extra five minutes. It's a well rested Celtics team.
00:51:47
Speaker 1: And you got customs to go through. What time did they get into Boston? What time I do them in late? Where's everybody going?
00:51:54
Speaker 5: Lee?
00:51:54
Speaker 1: You're perfect? Come on, man, what do you got?
00:51:57
Speaker 5: Marcus smartt is a machine, He's a robot. He will play. Okay, yeah, Nils, I'm gonna take the Celtics.
00:52:06
Speaker 1: Celtics by six and a half point more.
00:52:10
Speaker 3: I do believe. I'm with you.
00:52:11
Speaker 4: You mentioned a test. They're well arrested, they haven't played since Sunday.
00:52:14
Speaker 3: Give me the Celtics.
00:52:15
Speaker 1: I'm gonna go with the Heat, you know, back to back.
00:52:18
Speaker 5: That's tough.
00:52:20
Speaker 1: But but Jimmy Butler's waking up at three in the morning to practice anyway, probably didn't go to sleep, Probably got everybody up at that time. So this is the way they're wired. Man, back to back that's on an issue, and then see they're gonna I think they're obviously I'm hoping they're gonna cover. Maybe they win, and then there's gonna be a lot of heatalk because the everybody's like.
00:52:36
Speaker 5: Who wha, wha, wha what whoa?
00:52:37
Speaker 1: They beat the Bucks early, they beat the Raptors and then then maybe beat the Celtics on the back to back.
00:52:41
Speaker 2: Whoa.
00:52:41
Speaker 1: We gotta talk about the money of the heat. So give me the heat with the points.
00:52:44
Speaker 6: That's a tough one. I'm gonna take the heat too, all right. I think Marcus Smart's not playing. That's key for me.
00:52:50
Speaker 1: All right. Good luck to everyone. Thanks for joining us today. Keep an eye and an ear out on the No Dunks podcast feed for a second podcast later today. We're gonna be interviewing Brooklyn Nets color commentator Sarah Coustak live in studio. That should be fun. Told you we got that Squad episode up yesterday afternoon, drafting our favorite sneakers. That one's a blast, So go check that one out as well.
00:53:14
Speaker 3: You heard it here first. Have a great time, turn up, love you guys awesome.
00:53:18
Speaker 6: Thanks for joining us, folks, and remember you can't chug champagne.
00:53:23
Speaker 1: Embrace the debut.
00:53:25
Speaker 5: You could stay.
00:53:26
Speaker 2: Boom every day, and that you happy every minute. It's been so.
00:53:37
Speaker 3: Long that yo dor mona way, it's happen already.
00:53:44
Speaker 2: It's gonna be gravy,
