Welcome to Vulleyball presented by DraftKings. I'm Rachel Nichols and live and direct from China, where it is two in the morning. We have Demerca's cousins. This is dedication, my friend. What are you doing over there?
Man? It's a huge event over here called Gimo one one six. It's basically like a big social media influencer thing where you know, guys come together and play the game we all love, which is basketball, huge fan interaction deal and just coming over here, you know, giving these fans a little love and they're going to do the same for me. So it's a huge event and I'm excited to be a part of it. So that's why I'm over here in China right now.
I've been to China for a few Nike Tour basketball event type things and it is bonkers. Like I don't think people in the States can quite absorb the crowds in the streets, like just shutting down areas wherever you guys are. It's a crazy experience. I'm glad you're having it out there. But we have tuckle NBA, so I'll bring you back to the United States at least digitally. Here Boog first up, the Clippers get James Harden, and now they are zero and four with the Beard in
the lineup. Harden has the problem has not been ballhogging. He has not shot the ball at a high volume at all, eight attempts per game, He's averaging fourteen to five and five. Here's really the number that is going to stick with us though. With James Harden on the court, the Clippers are a minus sixty seven. With Harden on the bench, they're plus twenty four, which is the opposite of Obviously why they got him. The idea was to raise their championship ceiling. That is not happening so far.
What do you think is the biggest issue so far with them struggling to incorporate him.
I think it's a few issues obviously singling out James and putting him on his island. James has to figure out how to change his game with him being in an addition to this Clippers team who's kind of already have they kind of already have a foundation. James has to James has to figure out ways of getting back in touchs, doing the small things on the court, energy and effort, you know, defensive plays, diving on the floor, things of that nature. The offense and assists, that's gonna
come with the floor of the game. But he has to fall back in love and understand that the smaller detailed parts of the game is what this team needs to be successful. It's not necessarily him scoring him assist and that's that's an obvious thing. So once he gets back to that, I think that plus minus affixed hisself. And you also just have to get his team time. This is a huge addition to this team. This is
a huge talent. It's not as simple as just putting this guy in the lineup and expecting it to work. It's a lot of moving piece with his team. So they still have to figure that part out as well, and that goes that falls more so on TLU and in the front office. So figuring out that and making this puzzle come all together, it's gonna take some time. And they also have another issue with the team not having a backup Big Mason Plumbery missing time that that
that affects the team. Once Big Zoo leaves out of the lineup, they kind of have a downfall when it comes to rebounding and protecting the rim. So that's also another issue that they're going to have to fix. So it's a lot of things going on within that team. But it's it's not as obvious as just you know, James is now a part of this team and he's the problem. That's that's not the case at all. There's just some little wrinkles they're going to have to iron out, and I think this team will be fine.
I do agree with that. And look, Paul George was really talking about pace being a problem. He said, quote, I think the pace is what we haven't figured out yet. Tyler's quote went further. He said, quote, we can't just fucking walk around offensively. He said, you've got to get to the next action. If you don't do that and do it hard, you're going to get beat every night. We are seeing those results. So so to your point, it's it's something they're trying to figure out that has
a high risk, high reward. Right, this is a high degree of difficulty operation, and so far it has just looked difficult. But I do think we've got to give them time. Tyler said he needed ten games to figure it out. Honestly, if he can do it in twenty I will applaud him because I think it's just extremely difficult. But we'll see. I don't know. And the big as you point out, they've got two roster spots. They got to fill them. I think by the end of this week, boogie,
and you know they need a stretch big. But I'm not going to talk about that too much. But yeah, I mean that's a huge part of it, don't you think.
I agree like I said, and PG saying bringing up the point of you know, the pace, that's that's a big thing. And if you if you know what James Harden's game is, Jane has the tendency to play at his own pace, and that's an okay thing. When it's your team and you're the one leading the team, you could play at your own pace. But now he's kind of fitting into this Clippers team, so he has to match their pace or they have to figure out what
exact pace is going to be. But like I said, I think it's more of small detailed things than really a bigger issue that obviously, you know, people like us and other media members are going to make an issue about. But figuring out those small things, I think I think this team will be fine. It'll takes some time, but I think it's definitely possible to fix.
I mean, Tyler said that he thought James was being a little too polite. He's like, we need to let James be James. They had kind of a little team meeting about it over the weekend, just talking about you know, hey, James, we all want you to step up. I know that there's kind of all this media attention of is he going to be a ballhog? But the messaging to him was do more of what he does. We'll have to
see if that works. I do know that when they had the issues in the last game they played, as we sit here, they fell behind by fifteen in the third quarter. Then they used PG Westbrook, Norm pal Terrence Man and Kawhi that lineup with Harden on the bench. That's who got them back into the game. And then Harden came back for the last couple minutes. But it is interesting they're starting games with all four of them.
The idea is that Russ won't be there at the end of games a lot of the time, but at least for his sort of ego and mental state and routine. Frankly like, they want to have him start I don't know. Do they eventually have to figure out a way to put rest Or Harden on the bench when the other one is playing, or do you think it can work with all four of them.
We spoke on the last week. It's not really about how you start the game. I think it's fine for them to start all four, but their issue is going to be how they decide to finish games. Yeah, we spoke on the last week. It's going to be situation where James is on the bench because they need a defensive guard in Russ, and it's going to be times where they need play making and shooting. And not saying that Russ can't play make, but he's obviously not as
good as a shooter as James Harden. It's going to be times where they need playmaking and shooting to finish out games. And that's where russip y' all. That's going to be their biggest issue is figuring out how they're
going to finish games. And obviously it's an issue because they're on four right now with James being on his team, they got a big task in front of them, and I think they got the right man for the job in t Lou I think I think he's very, very, very intelligent when it comes to figuring out these problems. I don't think he gets enough credit for being that type of a coach, but I think it's more than possible and eventually to figure itself out. Yeah.
I mean, look, it also has got a lot of people looking back at how they got here, right, I mean, the trade with OKC started this whole era. They got Paul George and that helped them sign Kawhi, But just remind you, it required them to ship out Shake Eildriss, Alexander draft picks that turned into Jalen Williams and Trey Man down in Oklahoma City, plus three more first round
picks still to come out of this deal. I mean, I don't know when you look back at it, would you do it all over again if you were the Clippers or No, would I.
Do it all over again? Absolutely seeing your foundation around Paul George and Kawhi Leonard, I think any team in the league, if they had the opportunity to do it, would do the same thing. I don't think it's about I don't think their issue has ever been about what pieces they put around them. It's always been about health. They've always been in the They've always had a chance every single season. It's just for some reason they can't get over this health.
Book.
But like I said, I think any organization in the league had a chance to do this, they would do it.
Also, you have to remember, like the Clippers needed to have big stars. They're in an LA market. They're competing against the Lakers for eyeballs, for seats, for television ratings here locally. Like I just think if you look at the list of sets that Okac has from that deal, of course they're huge, and it's great team building. And you know, Sam Presty has been brilliant with all of this, but as great as Shay is, and he is fantastic.
When you look at the other players I just mentioned, they're very young, and the draft picks haven't even been drafted yet the ones still to come. So that's not what the Clippers needed right now. They didn't need a bunch of young players. They needed guys who were stars, who they could get people into the building with and they could energize fans with. So I would do it all over again too, Book. I just think that you know,
they all got to cross their fingers. It does find a way to work itself out this year, both with hearten and help wise, because all of those guys could leave this summer, there's a bunch of player options they could be going into this new arena that's extremely nice that they've built with nobody of name on the roster. So I think it will be interesting. There's a lot of pressure and we'll see if Tyl you can work
his usual magic. I don't know, So let's talk about Minnesota book another impressive win on Sunday against the Warriors. Have won six games in a row. These wins have included the Nuggets, Celtics, and Golden State. They have the best defensive rating in the league. They've held opponents under one hundred points five times already in this young season. That's the most in the NBA. Look, every aspect of
this team is clicking. Gobert is actually really fitting in when last season it didn't look like it was working. And then Anthony Edwards man, he looks very good, just picking up where he left off over the summer with Team USA. So what do you think is more important, like sort of how Gobert is fitting in and the defense is so strong do you feel like it's just ants stepping up to the next level. Is it both of it coming together? What do you give their success to.
I think it's a combination of a lot of things. Obviously, Anthony Edwards has found his confidence, he's founding himself in his league. He's realizing that the star that he is at this point in his career. And I also think the Timberwolves organization is realizing the starter that they have on their hands. I think they're more into giving him the ball and making him the focal point or the offense, which is I believe is a smart move on their behalf.
Another key thing that I think that's been overlooked is the fact that Jad McDaniels is back in the lineup. He's back from his injury. He's a huge piece to that team defensively and offensively. He's going to guard the best player every single night. He fits in seamlessly with that team, and Kat doing what he does every night, shooting sixty percent from the field, He's playing fantastic. I believe Kat is now the second on that team to Anthony Erwas, which I think works great for that team.
And it's no knock to Cat I just think that's the perfect flow for this team, and Rudy doing what he does protects the rim, being that defensive anchor every night. I think with the addition of McDaniel's being back in the lineup, it makes Rudy's job that much more easier. And everything's flowing for that team right now, and I
think they're in a good place. So I think looking back on that trade, you know, everybody looked at it as it was a huge mistake, but obviously they had a vision and that vision is now coming together, so.
You yeah, it's huge because that looked like a colossal mistake, right. I mean, just look like the game had kind of passed Rudy by a little bit, that they gave up too much for him, that the fit with Kat wasn't working, and things look pretty grim at times last season, and the fact that he's gotten more comfortable that they figured out a way to work together. The McDaniels point you made is so good. The fact that he can lock down guys on the perimeter lets Rudy be more roody inside.
I just think that getting that piece working, even if his individual numbers aren't as good as they've been at times during his career, Like, clearly the team defense is working, they're the best in the league. I think that's huge and ant is not afraid of anyone. I just want to give you an exchange book from the Warriors game Draymond. You know, it kind of gave him a heart fell. He's like, what are you going to do about it? He used more colorful language than that. I'm just going
to put that before. But here was Anthony's response. He said, nobody is worried about you, bruh hella, and then he went out and scored a bunch of points. So I think the fact that he's not afraid to mix it up. I mean, what trash talk have you had with Draymond over the years? Man?
Me and me and Draymond have had our battles over the years. He's one of the best in the business when it comes to, you know, talking you out of your game, making you feel like shit on the floor, or just downright just being disrespectful. So it takes it takes a tough minded, tough individual to overlook that and still be able to go out and perform at a high level. So, like I said, I think Anthony Edwards has found himself in his league. He's found his confidence.
He realizes at the start of the year is and uh, you know, these type performances are going to be a regular for him, I believe.
Yeah. Well, look you learned it firsthand. It's much better to have Draymond on your team than playing against him.
With all the absolutely absolutely, there.
You go another hot team that we maybe didn't expect to be this hot. So far, the Rockets have won six in a row, book, and that's after an zero to three start, So that is a huge turnaround. Houston also a very impressive roster of wins. They've beaten the Lakers, they've beaten the Nuggets, they've beaten the Pelicans, the Kings. Now a bunch of those games have been at home, but you got to win the games in front of you, and they have won them. And for a team that
started zwing three, that is huge. They were a bottom three defense for three consecutive years and now they are a top five defense. Obviously, the coaching has to have a big, big element to do with it, right, and then the players stepping up. Fred van Vlietz there, now, Dylan Brooks is there. Now you know they've got Shngun who's been terrific as a big there. Jalen Green has
really been strong. They've got depth on the wings. What do you see when you looked at this team, because they were kind of written off even after the first week of the season this.
Year, It's a lot of things I see with this team, obviously, I believe with their best player being their best young asset being Singong, he's like a combination of some Bonus and Jokic. Yeah, he kind of ignites the offense, gets.
The offense front the ingredients.
Let me not get ahead of myself say he's young. Yeah, I don't want to throw any crazy takes out there, but obviously he has the potential to be those caliber players. He shows flashes on the nightly basis. He's super young. He's twenty one years old, still has a lot of room to grow in his game, so I think he has a bright future ahead of him. But him being the focal point of the offense, keeping the flow of the game going for that team, obviously adding a vetting
frev and Fleet. We know his track work record, we know what he brings to the game every night. I believe Jalen Green is starting to come into his own. He's figuring out the game. The game is slowing down for him, and I think the biggest team that's been overlooked and we have to get his guy credit. He's taking so much shit over the past two years and it's it's kind of ironic. Dylan Brooks. Yep, we have to give him his credit. Dylan Brooks has come in.
He's helped his team win games. He's leading this team and it's mighty irana that the team he left is now struggling without him. He's he's been he's been labeled the villain in the league for the past two years, but obviously he's showing his impact on what he brings the teams with this young Rockets team and it's resulting in wins. So you have to give him his credit as well. So I think this young team is coming together. I think they have a lot of potential. So we'll see how this play is out.
I love the combo of Dylan Brooks and Fred VanVleet personality wise, right like Fred is so laid back, He's a chill dude, obviously an extremely hard worker. Dylan Brooks an extremely hard worker in his own way, I think that sometimes gets lost in sort of all the talking he does. But those guys have a meeting in the minds in terms of how they approach the game. But they're very different vocally, and Dylanan can be a little
bit more of that firebrand it. Let's Fred lean back and just run the point and be his own self. And if you think this is another team that almost went the James Hardenbrute, they definitely had some interest last year and there were reports that you know, in some of the conversations James had kind of made it clear through people or whoever that he wanted to get back to sort of that his old Rockets persona and running
the show. And again the reporting was that Imooduko was like, nope, no, thank you, we're good check les, And clearly by going out and getting Fred van Vliet instead, you know, it was completely the right fit. And I May, who is a defensive minded coach who did wonders with the Celtics when he was with them, is right back at it with the Rockets, and I've just I've been super impressed
with that team. And it's not easy to dig yourself out of the basement, and it just seems like they've got ingredients and Shengun's playing great, and I just I'm very interested to see what happens because it is a tight playoff race in the West bog and that the conference is so deep, and we never expected the Rockets to even be in the playoff conversation, but I don't know they could be there, especially with the play in they could be there at the end of the season.
That's a young, scary team and any veteran team or team with championship aspirations would hate to face that young athletic team or any given night. So the West is definitely wild.
Hoping there give you problems team, all right, I want to look at some of the marquee games this week, which is jumping out to you. I'man to give you a couple of choices. Timberwolves at Warriors, so we just know what happened, and we told you about the little Draymond Aunt battle. There, you've got Spurs versus Thunder. I'm excited about this because I think it's a Rookie of the Year battle chet Holmegren versus Wenby. I think that's going to be great. Wednesday, you've got Celtic Sixers, and
on Thursday Thunder Warriors. And on Saturday you've got MAVs at Bucks. Which the way, Luca is playing Lillard Jannis, assuming he doesn't get himself ejected again, that could be a really good matchup. Also, which is which is your sort of one that you're eyeing.
I'm looking forward to the Tuesdays game the Timberwolves and Warriors. They played each other before already, and you know, they've already created a little history and animosity amongst each other. So I'm interested to see how that game goes. And we can see if the Timberwolves can continue to be you know, this winning team, and we can see if the Warriors can bounce back and hit him back in the mouth. So we'll see what happens. I'm interested in Tuesday's game for sure.
I like it. Well, now it's time for On the Radar, presented by DraftKings Sportsbook, the only sportsbook you need for the NBA season. Let's take a look at the Eastern Conference Championship odds. The Celtics still leading the race. They're at plus one fifty five. The Bucks, though creeping up there. The Sixers they've moved up to plus six hundred, which, by the way, that's already better than it was on
Sunday Night, So they moved up. They were going into Sunday's game at seven hundred, and now they're at six hundred. And you can make the case, Boogie that the Sixers are the best team in the East right now, which is not a sentence I expected to say after a trade of one of their marquee players. They have the best record. They beat the Celtics recently. That game could have gone either way, but it went the Sixers way.
And then Tyrese Maxi dropped fifty points on Sunday Night, the first Sixer to do that since the first point guard to do that since Alan Iverson in two thousand and five. And again, let's just have a moment of appreciation for Allen Iverson, our greatest living American Thank you, thank you, Angel music here, please all that. But that's a huge anytime you're in the same sentence as Alan Iverson, if you're a point guard playing for the Sixers, that is enormous. He's gonna make the All Star Game at
this pace. How do you like their chances? I mean, could they actually win the East? Do you see that as being possible.
Uh is it possible? Yes? Do I see it happening. No, That Celtics team is so well put together. I just don't really see any team getting past them. And I think at a certain point the Sixers will run out of firepower. I could be wrong, but my gut is telling me that they will run out of firepower, especially during the playoffs when schemes start getting into play and
adjustments are made on on on the defensive end. So but as far as Maxie making an all start, absolutely shout out to my UK brother having an incredible year. I'm glad he's able to, you know, be put into this new position and show all his talents. And I
think the flow of his Sixer team is perfect. It's really no ball dominant guy outside of Joe LMB, which is obviously fine with him being the dominant player of the he is, but you know, everything else is flows around him, and like I said, it's able to open up Maxi's game and obviously the pieces around it. So I think it's a perfect flow for this team and I think they'll have a successful season. But like I said, towards playoff time, I think they eventually run out of firepower.
It's going to be interesting because the idea in making the hard and trade was getting a bunch of first round draft picks back. They got that they're going to be able to package three picks if they want to
trade for a major player. They've also got a ton of salary cap space opening up this summer, so the plan has been get another big time major star to play alongside em Beats, so that Joelle doesn't want to be like, huh, what about the New York Knicks, what about the Miami They're playing so well that need is
not as pressing right now. To your point about the playoffs, I still think they should make a decent sized move before the deadline because it will put them in better position and they will still have that cap room in the summer. But it's interesting. Maxi is making this conversation more spicy than we thought it was going to be.
He's so good and he's just a joy on that team. Also, I know he's so popular in the locker room, and that makes a big difference after kind of all the inks that they went through over the last six months. So I love watching him succeed. I also want to shout out and send our best book to Kelly Ubrey, who was struck by a car on Saturday night. Taken to the hospital. He is a broken rib, he's got injuries to his hip and right leg. The driver fled
the scene, which don't get me started. But hopefully speedy recovery there won't impact his basketball too much throughout this season. But that's scary man.
Yeah, and it sucks as well because he was playing so well and at such a high level. So he's been a reason that the team has been so successful as well. So definitely shout out to Ubery and speedy recovery.
Bro.
All right, we got a little social media in here too, because it's time for doom scroll. No need to fall into the endless scroll of our social apps. We've got you. I want to shout out to Boardroom putting together this great story about Magic Johnson. Magic said he used to call season ticket holders to learn how they became rich. But he would look at who was courtside at Laker games during the showtime era, and he would get their phone numbers from the season ticket office and he'd be like,
how'd you get season tickets? How did you get rich? And of course now he's a billionaire, so I didn't know if Look, you played with the Warriors, where those Silicon Valley relationships have done very well for Andrea Mudala and some of the other guys in the team. Have you had any notable relationships with any fans or season ticket holders, whether they're financial or not, over your career.
Absolutely, it's the best way to move forward with after basketball. Obviously you can't do this forever. I think Magic Johnson was brilliant for that, and obviously it just makes sense. You want to keep the company of what you want to become, and you know, picking the brands that he's millionaires and billionaires and figuring out, you know, the different businesses you can be become a part of outside of basketball is an obvious thing. So I think I think
he did the right thing. That's and that's something that most veterans now appreciated young guys in this league is you want to build those relationships with those people sitting on the sidelines because they're fans of you and they want to get to know you and they want to help. So all it really takes is the conversation and it can open many doors for you later on. So I think that's brilliant by Magic.
Yeah. I mean, look, these are some of the most successful people in the country, so those relationships are great to forge. And clearly Magic did just fine, so.
Not doing too bad.
I want to shout out Jaalen Brown. Yeah, exactly, he did fine. He did fine. I do want to shout out Jaalen Brown. I really appreciate that he and the
Celtics took time before their game on Friday. They were raising awareness for a bill in Massachusetts called Raise the Age, and the bill aims to gradually raise the age of juveniles the jurisdiction legally so that you are still considered juvenile by the court system when you're eighteen nineteen up to twenty years old, instead of turning eighteen you're treated as an adult before weeks.
Involved line, I want to recognition to a bailer. Legislation that we the subjects are advocating for the name of is Fiel is called the Raise the Age Bill. If you want to learn more, please visits Celtics dot com slash Raise the Age to learn more. Thank you, gods over.
I think that's so important if you look at the numbers of kids who are still teenagers. They're still so young, your frontal core texts of your brain is not formed yet, making decisions and then being put in jail as adults sometimes in life sentences. I think it's very impressive. Jalen Brown has been using his pulpit to do things like this since entire career. What do you make of this big I.
Think it's dope. Obviously, Jalen is he's more than a basketball player. He's advocating for a lot of pilot things in our community. I think this move was brilliant. And the reason I can say that is basically, I mean, even at the age of twenty you're still considered a kid. Twenty one, twenty two, twenty three, you're still a kid. You're literally graduating college at twenty two's so to be, you know, treated as an adult or you know, you lose your entire future from a decision you made as
a child is just completely unfair. So I think this is a brilliant move and hopefully hopefully this bill changing can you know, change some lives and kids get a second chance of life and they make the better, the best decision with that second chance. So I think this is brilliant.
Yeah, and the organization too. I mean, this is not popular in all corners of Massachusetts, right, not everybody thinks this way. So the fact that they're putting themselves out there with Jalen, I just appreciate it all. And your point is great. We say college kid all the time, right, these kids in college when we're watching the NCAA tournament any of that stuff. So the kids who go to
college get to still be kids. And the kids who, fortunately because of all of their circus socioeconomic circumstances, don't get to go to college, they're not kids anymore. I mean, I just I think this is a big deal. So excellent. We'll be keeping an eye on that bill thanks to Jalen Brown. And I want to get to this one last social media thing here because Jay Kudah on Twitter made this simple yet effective graphic. But you, cousins, the Lakers are the only team in the NBA that has
not led a game at halftime yet. How concerning is this for you?
It's very concerning, And obviously I've said I've spoken on this before. Any team that's depending on the thirty nine year old to lead you to every win, it's just not going to be much success behind. And no, not to Lebron. He's a legend. He's great. He's doing things that we've never seen before from a guy his age. But just to expect that on a nightly basis from this guy, it's one completely unfair to Lebron, and two is just not really realistic. You have to put I
think I think the Lakers need a third star. I think Austin Reeves is a great player, which is my point. I think Austin has potential. I think he's going to be a good player in this league, but as of right now, at this stage, he's just not that guy for this Lakers team. They have to get a third start. They have to get somebody that to accompany Lebron and a D. Shout out to a D who's been dominant since the beginning of the season. He's not really getting a lot of credit.
Uh.
And what I hate about this is when he's doing bad, they're all over it. They make sure they post every stat but him dominating his crickets. So shout out to a D. Continue to dominate. Bro Be the person that you are, be the player that you are, show the world who you are. But with that being said, they have to add a third star that can complement these two guys and help them win games. As of right now, they don't have that third star.
All right. Our last item of the day here Booi is an unhappy Zion Williamson. The quote was, I am trying my best to buy in. Here's the full picture, he said.
I gotta said.
Last year, you know, we had a team meeting and it was brought up some things that I could do better, especially like with buying into the program. And right now it's tough right now. But like I say, right now, I'm taking a little back seat right now and I'm trusting the process. I'm trying my best to buying right now.
Do you have any advice for him.
I'm not understanding what he's frustrated about. The team is built arounds on I'm not really understanding how he's frustrated or he's taking a back seat. It's hard winning games in the NBA, and this is a struggle that most athletes have to do with. Professional athletes have to deal with and when you're so used to winning your entire life, you get to this situation where it's just lost after loss after loss, or you feel like things aren't going
your way. You can you can eventually get to this balling point of you know, putting out comments like this. Just continue, bro, continue to trust the process, continue to trust the coaching stuff, to trust your teammates. You've already kind of had a negative you know, look on your career with you know, the weight challenges, the injury challenges. You now don't want to ask another layer to it to where now teams or organizations are looking at you
as a negative. So just trust this process. Try to keep as many of your frustrations to yourself, and if there are any frustrations, just put it all out on the floor, go rip the rim off on a nightly basis. It's hard to win games, it's super hard to win games. But adding frustration to that's only going to worsen your problems. So just try to be as positive as you can. Try to bring as much positivity to this group and hopefully it'll write the ship.
Well, Bugey, I gotta tell you you brought it today energy. It's literally the middle of the night there in China. We are very very grateful. We're grateful to all of you guys for sticking with us. We appreciate you signing on. Please subscribe, Please give us those five star reviews. It helps with the algorithm, and we will see you next week. Bullyball. You can get it on YouTube show Time channel and
you can also get it wherever you get your podcasts. Apple, Spotify, I don't know an actual Apple, you can find us. See you soon.