You're tuned into Heat Check with Triste Quick.
On this episode of the Heat Check, the New York Knicks, the Knickerbockers, if you will, off to another hot start.
Could this be another year that they go to the playoffs? And there is one reason a man who might actually be, in hindsight underpaid. We break down the Knicks hot start and we get into what's happening in Portland, which, as a Blazers fan, I am an absolute shock about Steam's four one baby what. Plus we cover some news around the league, including the Lakers continuing to stink but now being tone deaf. On top of that, Kevin Durant being run into the ground again in Brooklyn. I compare the
NFL and the NBA's handling of the concussion protocol. Uh wi, let's just say this NBA handling things a lot better than the NFL and Joellen deciding you know what, fuck it, I'm not playing defense anymore and the NBA going all in on Victor wembin Yama and the hype train. So much to talk about, so Nick dropped that motherfucking beat. I have a thought, obviously since this is a podcast
about thoughts, but is Jalen Brunson actually underpaid. Everybody said, oh man, the Knicks really fucked up with Jalen Brunson one hundred and four million. No way he's worth all that money. I actually think if you look at this first four games and it continues for the rest of the duration of the contract, this deal looks like a bad deal for Jalen Brunson. Like it looks like he's worth Damian Lillard money. I hate to say it, but the man is bawling and true point guards are very
hard to find these days. Jalen Brunson was the first of what we're supposed to be two huge moves for the New York Knicks, right And in fact, you could pretty much argue that last season they were committed to this being the case. They knew it was bad as soon as Dereck Rose got injured. Tibbs didn't have any of his guys in there, and things were not looking good, and they thought it's gonna be Brunson, and they thought it's gonna be Donovan Mitchell. And then a very funny
thing happened. Danny Ainge did Danny Ainge things, said, you know what, Leon Rose deuces I'm done doing business with you. We're just gonna deal with Donovan. Mitchell to the Calves and left the Knicks scrambling, and at the last minute they're trying to figure out how to piece together a roster that was largely outside of Jalen Brunson unchanged. And you have Julius Randall making one hundred and seventeen million dollars over four years, and he's looking like an atrocious
player that you can't get rid of. Sad boy season in New York. I know, I was live on Wfan for it, and people were calling in like.
No, no, we didn't want him anyway, No, no, There.
Was a lot of that. Right But now, after a week of basketball, the Knickerbockers stand three and one with an OT loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, a team that everybody is in absolute love with. On opening night where they clawed back like a very gritty team down fifteen, take it to OT, they should have won the game, but there was a no call goal ten by jaw Morant. Truthfully, the Knicks should be could be four and oh right now, which they would be the only undefeated team in the NBA.
So what's the difference. My man, big Booty Brunson, Jalen Brunson, a six to one guard out of Villanova. He's not the fastest, he's not the quickest. We know he's not the biggest. He's six to one on a good day. You look at him. I've seen him up close. I've covered him when he played for Villanova. He's five eleven and a half. Let's be honest. He's one of those guys that doesn't wear that height. Well, do you know what I mean? One of the few true point guards
left in the league. Right with doubt Donovan Mitchell and what was pretty much gonna be a shooter friendly offense. Instead, Tims went back to his basics and basically put the offense and the next season in the hands of Brunson, a guard in which his own dad calls a thick rear ended guard. Yep, you think I'm joking. The other word that Rick Brunson used for his son's booty was significant. Jalen Brunson has the significant caboose and it runs in
the family. And that kabooz folks is getting loose, getting loose on the court. It's very on the court. I don't mean it pause, very much pause. I don't know what he's doing outside of that. It's so clear. It's so I didn't mean say it like that. It's very clear when you watch him. He's running this offense. And I saw him at the Garden on Monday night against the Orlando Magic, and man, does he have command of the Knicks offense in a way that they haven't had.
Let's be honest, since Mama there goes that man Mark Jackson. Multiple times I saw Jalen Brunson on the floor pointing at the court to different players like stand there be there, like in front, yo, go over there, and they did. Like little chess pieces, they moved to Jalen Brunson's whim. And that is benefiting no one more than our guy, Julius Randall. All of a sudden, the player that we fell in love with two years ago, that one most
improved player is back. And not coincidentally, it correlates with I don't know, Randal having a true point guard where Randall doesn't have to run the fucking offense. This is what Julius Randall had to say about what Jalen Brunson does for him. Bump the audio up, Nick because it's a.
Little low early games, like, he just makes the game so much easier for me, you know, if I, you know, just keep moving segua scring is run the floor. You know, he's always looking to make the right play. So he finds me, He gets me going, gets me easy baskets.
He just makes the game so much easier for me if I just keep moving and setting screens, running the floor. He's always looking to make the right play. Yeah, because last year Julius Randall was tasked with the Jalen Brunson role, and let me just say, this wasn't really working. Wasn't
really working. Think about this, Julius Randall is scoring more points in less minutes than last year and is shooting fifty four percent from two, his best in his knixt career, because I don't know, he's not taking those god awful long twos at the end of shot clocks anymore. According to official NBA stats, last year, Randall averaged two point two dribbles per touch, had the ball in his hands
four point one minutes per game, felt like more. This year, he's down to one point four eight dribbles per touch and two point eight minutes per game. What a difference. And if you look at a stat line, it's ridoculous. Twenty points per game, nine rebounds per game, three assists, and one point two steals. Julius Randall is getting busy, and Randal actually has added some things to his game.
He is shooting floaters now, Julius Randall shooting floaters. He had two, count them, two zero dribble floaters against Orlando on Monday. When's the last time Julius Randall had two zero dribble floaters? He had two combined since the twenty seventeen season. So he's having two in one game and had two in the course of five years. He is adding to his bag. This is what Tibbs had to say about how differently Julius Randall is playing and why so.
And Julia's was terrific from start to finish. I love the way he's diversifying his game, like running the floor. Sometimes he's the pace guy. He'll push it up and then he'll create movements. Sometimes he just beats people down the floor. I think him getting easy baskets is huge for us, huge and uh it puts a lot of pressure on the defense. I thought Mitch gave us great minutes and you can't say enough about you know, what Jalen does for the team. He just he's incomplete control
at all all times. And the game. You know, you hit some tough spots in a game, and he has such a strong demeanor and a strong face, and it's one of determination you have. It gives your team belief that we can do this. We we you know we can play well.
Wow, a strong face gives your team belief. Yep, he does. Jalen Brunson is making this whole thing work because why Tibbs's vision works only with a competent point guard, and they did not have one last year because Derrick Rose was injured for much of that year. He needs a very specific roster and outside of Jalen making this team better, making his teammates better, being in New York makes him
better too. In a league where big men are now shifting towards the perimeter, Jalen is taking what his dad calls a thick booty down into the paint to create space and get easy shots. This is what he said about his post play. I'm always comfortable in the post. I'm comfortable being able to play with my back to the basket or just playing out of the mid post or playing from the elbow. It gives me a chance to kind of slow down. For a guard, it's hard
to guard. It's unconventional. Let's talk about his stat line his first four games with the Knicks. Twenty points per game, eight and a half assists per game, one and a half turnovers, fifty one percent from the field, forty one percent from three, and eighty five percent from the free throw line. All of that to say, do you believe me now? Jalen Brunson might just be underpaid one hundred
and four million dollars. Who unlocks the offense. Who makes a guy you're paying one hundred and seventeen million dollars to actually worth one hundred and seventeen million dollars, slows the team down in times of pressure, has poise helps you win games cheap at twice the price. I could go on this entire podcast about Jalen Brunson. I've loved him long before it was sexy two. I loved him at Villanova. I thought that he should be a point guard that the Mavericks used and paid, long before Lucas
stepped into that building. But you know what, that's okay because he's getting his shine now. And I would not be surprised if the Nicks end up in the playoffs again this year. What is happening in Portland? Can someone tell me? I am stunned, as they say, you can knock me over with a feather right now. And I say that as a lifelong Blazers fan. I have watched them so far this year, and I look at what they're doing on the court and I just say, I
don't get it. Could Could the Portland Trailblazers be for real? Could they be actually good? They were the last undefeated team in the NBA last night before losing to the Miami Heat that I don't know went to the finals a couple of years ago, into the Eastern Conference finals last year, it was very close until Damian Lillard tore up his calf muscle, which you know, hopefully Dame's okay doesn't appear to be too serious. But I tell you what, games like this happened. But this team is just not
the same when Dame is not on the court. Anfrony averaged twelve point six points per game without him last year for a reason. But before we get into this iteration of the Blazers. I have a very hot take that I think is going to not be a very popular opinion, especially in Portland. I have to admit it, and I've thought this for a long time. It's probably gonna get me banned from the city that I grew up in. I hated watching Brandon Roy play basketball. I
hated it. It was fucking disgusting. I hate that brand of basketball. I hated the offense of the team when he was on it. I hated it. I didn't care that he scored fifty on regular occasions. The way he did it was disgusting. It was slow, it was a lot of mid range. It was a lot of like watching molasses drip down from a I don't know, a bottle into a cup. It was just not good. I
hated the fact that Nate McMillan ran that team. And maybe it wasn't Brandon Roy's fault, maybe he was all Nate McMillan's fault, but he did coach Trey Young and the offense looked a little different then. I hated it. I want guys that are different than Brandon Roy. I want freak athletes. Is that so much to ask, I want guys that can jump out of the gym. I want guys with long wingspans like Stretch Armstrong. I want dudes. I don't care if you put up fifty points. What
I care about is what does it look like? What does it feel like? Am I excited? I watched Brandon Roy drop fifty in a playoff game and it was boring as fuck. It's true, and I would never go in on YouTube and like, go Brandon Roy highlights?
Do you?
Does anybody say I want to see Brandon Roy in his prime again? I'm sorry. I don't like that style of a team. I don't like that style of quote unquote athletes. All I always wanted was a team full of dudes, guys with positive wingspans, guys with forty five injured verticals. Is that too much to add? And then Neil o'shak came around and he gave me CJ McCollum. No shade to CJ. But he couldn't do a damn
thing athletically. He was skilled, he was smart. And we got Nurk and we got Evan Turner and we got Zach Collins and oh we didn't have any fucking athletes none. It was just like, this team is gonna be awful to watch. And then Terry Stotts had us doing a million drouble handoffs and just shooting threes, and you could just tell this team does nothing for me. We can win a bunch of games, we can be a five seed, and Dame Lillard has to just take over anybody who
is an a Portland Trailblazer fan. You had to tune in in the fourth quarter to watch Dame go god mode, and you know what, fine, that was okay, But I always knew this team is going nowhere because in a game that thrives on athletes, they can do athlete things.
When you don't have enough of them, and you don't have guys that are i don't know, six' six the seven foot, wingspan and you have a bunch of pigmies in the back court and guys who can't defend in the front court that are, soft you're not gonna win too many, games especially in the, playoffs when everybody else can scheme for your. Ass so this is the first time in my, life folks THAT i can, say holy,
shit we have a team full of, freaks freak. ATHLETES i did some deep digging, today lean, long, positive, wingspan gritty. Freaks they are so fun and that's all that it. Matters, right this is a. Game it's not like we're trying to win A Nobel Peace. Prize we're trying to entertain, here, right that's what. Matters be, fun be. COMPETITIVE i don't care what you. WIN i don't care if you go to the, finals because you're not. Gonna warriors, exist, right
The Memphis grizzlies, exist The Phoenix suns. Exist be, young be, fun and be, gritty and that's what we. Have Keon. Johnson Keon johnson may not even know him if you're a. Casual he recorded the highest vertical in the history of THE nba combine at forty eight. Inches if that doesn't make you, SALIVATE i don't know what. Does he's not
even the best athlete on a. Team Keon. Johnson Shadon, Sharp Shandon sharp is EVERYTHING i want in a. Player forty nine inch vertical that is the highest ever recorded in AN nba game. Ever Michael jordan forty, Eight Shaden sharp forty. Nine that was the first SIGN i saw a team committed the trade For keon and then you pick up shadon sharp because, why why the fuck not? Right AND i was, Like, wow this guy's, head this guy's collarbone is in line with the. Rim his head
is a full head above the. Rim Nsir Littlensir. Little you may not know him if you're a casual. Fan Roy. Williams Roy, williams the coach OF, unc said That Nair little was the best athlete he's ever coached in his entire. Life they went through athlete after athlete after, athlete and he was, Like, nope doesn't have as much. Explosiveness explosiveness is nos doesn't have as much length and quickness and
speed as. Nas the only player that he could compare to Nos little in the history OF unc was who just, guess just, guess give it a. Guess does his name rhyme With Michael, Morden, yes it. Does Michael jordan is the OLD i just made that. Up so if you're wondering why that was, weird it's BECAUSE i just came up with. It Jabbari walker is six' eight with a six' eleven wingspan and an eight foot, nine standing reach which means this man can touch the net without getting on.
His tippy toes add in a, thirty inch vertical which is very low considering that this team is. Full of freaks and his hands well up over eleven feet. In the air and this is a guy who's just the tenth guy. On The bench TRENDON watford from lsu six eight two forty seven foot two point twenty, five inch, wingspan giant hands eight foot, nine standing reach, explosive as hell can get, out into. Transition has body he's he can.
Body smaller players he. Is A dude greg brown, six eight forward six, to eleven wingspan eight foot eleven standing reach got a ninety rating for his ATHLETICISM On the nba draft dot net forty four inch. Vertical and less we. Forget My man aunt Simons Won the dunk, contest and he's what six three just doing windmills and practice, and,
they're like hey you should participate in. The dunk, contest he's like do you, really Think so because i'm not really getting any MINUTES, in the nba, and they're like. Just try out, just wins it. Just wins it gary pay in the second thirty, nine inch vertical top ten in the combine when. He came out he once won a jump ball against A Seven. Footer. JONAS valanciunas what i can't even Believe This team dame lillard thirty nine inch fort and he's the old man of. The crew
man is? This team. Fun long athletic they have the seventh youngest ROSTER in the nba twenty four point four, years on average and That Is because dame lillard. Is thirty two. Let's be honest you're, Sharing the ball they're moving, Off the ball they're, Cutting like crazy they're. Playing HOT potato, Like, i said understots it, was look, dribble hand off, drible, hand off, dribble, hand, off, iso, iso, dribble dribble dribble step, back three brick get out in a transition down twenty
before you. Can even blink. It was ugly out with the old and in. With the, new. Bye bye o'sha take your steak and potatoes and nineteen a five mindset and get the fuck out with your. TOXIC workplace culture i love this. So damn much no one, saw it, coming Not Me. Not Zach low zach low called, this team meh call. This team blah let me ask you all those ATHLETIC dudes, that i mentioned does that give. You blah vibes doesn't give. Me blah vibes You Look,
at josh hart You Look. At justice winslow those are. Some dudes too didn't even give, you their. Pedigree Their statistics justice winslow sixty. Six playing five do you think a non athlete could play five? At Six six jeremy. Grant Explosive athletic damian lillard said all kinds of crazy. Things about, him he said this dude looks like he was built. In a, lab, long arms athletic, can, change directions, fast has quickness he has all these things that. Make us,
better holy shit? Are you serious i'm gonna make. A bold statement NOT only do i believe that this is, the Most athletic explosive blazer, TEAM in history i think that this is the most athletic TEAM in the. Nba right now and That includes The Clippers with Kawhi Leonard. And paul george that includes The, Likes of cleveland that, includes the length the length of all these Other. Teams like milwaukee they've, got some, athletes, but no no go
all the way to the end. Of the bench who else has a forty five inch vertical and is eight foot, eleven standing reach who is not even? Cracking the rotation just tell me who? Who are they we know It's. Not the lakers they are fucking trash combined with they're the seventh youngest team. In, THE league man i don't even know what to SAY except for i don't care. WHAT you win i don't care how many. GAMES you win i am, now Locked in like pac, TWELVE after dark.
I am ready i Watched all the blazer game that started, at TEN thirty and i take my. SLEEP very seriously i. WATCHED him live i, was Very excited and i'm going to continue. To be excited all we need now is a seven footer, who can dribble who can, come around screens who's like. A freak athlete is there anyone that you guys Could think of maybe we could make. A crack For maybe a French Guy from North Africa where.
Adam silver decides we're gonna just watch all of his games this year as a, seventeen year old probably The only pro france team we're gonna. Get to see look OUT when, beyond ba anybody, oh my God. Or. The blazers fun don't know IF, we're good tbd but we will be entertaining this entire year.
Quick.
Around the league if you, want to KNOW and, How I know adam, silver, is excited elated just, absolutely beyond words trying to get as much MONEY for the nba as. He Possibly can For victor wamba YAMA of the nba just let us know that they inked a deal to Carry all of metropolitan's. Ninety two games? What is that what? Is that game what, Did, you Say Oh that's victor WAMBANYAMA'S TEAM. On, nba tv yes we are going to get every Single one of victor's games FROM The l Mb.
PRO a league i don't even know, what this. IS don't care I just know i Get. To see VICTOR that's. All i know this is kind of LIKE if the nba had decided to Broadcast All of lebron james's games and, in high school except for we're gonna get more of them because it is. A, Pro league folks we've never seen anything. Like this before this, amount of hype this, amount of commitment this. Amount of, dedication Oh boy all i'll say as a cynic and as somebody who doesn't
want to put this out, in THE universe but. I have to is, You, better Hope Adam that victor wamyama does and. Sprain his ankle you better hope that Nothing. Happens To victor are you're gonna be carrying A bunch of metropolitan ninety two games and nobody. WANTS to Watch i guarantee i'm gonna watch a. Bunch of these victor? Is that special moving on? In a MOVE it's about, i don't know forty forty. Years TOO Late the la lakers Will Be retiring george mikeen's number ninety Nine jersey.
On october thirtieth who don't feel bad if you, don't know him but he is the most important big man that you've. Never heard of miken was the first SUPERSTAR in, the nba history six' Ten Center. For the minneapolis lakers he was lethal with. Both of his hands he redefined the big man. Position pretty much forever, he won seven
chips that's, championships in, nine years, including three count. Them three scoring titles if you want To Know how important, george miken was goaltending the current width of the foul lane and the shot cl we're ALL created by the nba To try to stop george micn. From dominating the Game That's like When augusta tiger proofed augusta. And it
didn't work that's what basically they tried. To do against him think about being SO good that the nba has to come, out and have meetings schedule big hyt press conference meetings around a, big, table to say hey we. Got to stop this, george mic and guy how? Do we fix this he's doing too much like. Nobody has
a shot what kind of things can we do rule wise? To, slow him down so considering he was named the best basketball player in the first half, of the twentieth century it's pretty fair to say the dude probably deserved for his jersey to be retired a. Little earlier than this but the interesting thing is this Rumors Are that Both Genie buss and rob polinka won't be in public for the retirement ceremony because the fan reaction would, be shall? We say? NOT good not good a complete, and, utter
shit show perhaps. And It's well deserved the lakers never started zero To Four under doctor jerry buss, in thirty four years but now have done it three times In, the last Nine yuck and the lakers are losing and the, games aren't even close, and worst of all the team seems to be just somehow tone. Deaf because of it The latest, EXAMPLE the, lakers are i mean they're bringing in motivational speakers to get them, up and going, right
get them, motivated get them passionate figure. Out how to score they probably brought into, someone like, really inspirational someone eloquent someone unassailable IN terms of should i really be listening? To you about this it isn't really unusual for them to bring in that guy until you realize the guy that They Brought. In, was will, smith yeah uh yeah think about. That For a second The Lakers brought in will Smith to motivate a lakers team that is in the?
Bottom of the barrel when? Did they plan that when? Did, they schedule that, smith according to reports was honored with, his own custom jersey hung out with the, team's seventeen championship trophies was autographed With the most of, lake the LA's Roster, plus head Coach Darvinham, team Owner Genie. Buss and, rob plink so okay he was given. The red carpet treatment is anyone else like a little feel in some kind? Of way, about, this Come on now i i'm trying
To stay. Away from lakers propaganda i'm trying to not be a part of the old media that just, goes and goes and as, my mom would say. Beats, a dead horse right. They're already down, Bad. But come on lakers you can't make this easy for me because it's chum in the water. And it's shark week this, is A comedy podcast and i am really tired Of, talking ABOUT the lakers but i just can't. Not talk about this.
This is absolutely ridiculous how is slapping? Together no pun intended kind Of Pun intended from will smith gonna help these? Guards hit open threes like it was part of what they're billing. As, This Genius, series uh rob plinka you know he, came, up with that, right which is Like There's a. Very rob Polenka Name nothing screams rob polinka more than A series of a ted talks from problematic Characters Like nothing says rob polink is Out Of touch and genie buss? Is out of Touch Like higher ring
will smith. For your genius series. Tune in Next week, we've Got Check's Notes herschel, walker pep Talk Coming followed by andrew tait talking about the role of masculinity. In the locker room what the? Fuck, are they doing seriously it, doesn't even. Feel, real does it anyway. We gotta move on if You've Ever wondered why kevin Durant, wanted out of brooklyn looked no. Further than this stat for, the first, four games excuse me kd has had the lowest plus
MINUS rating in the nba. At minus fifty eight that is a Ridiculous stat considering that kevin duran is, currently averaging thirty two five and four with. Two steals per game do you know how bad everyone else has to be on the floor, when you're on it when you're averaging that much to drag? Down your plus minus it's so bad he's averaging over thirty six minutes per game,
Because Just like usual steve nash has no idea. How to manage lineup He's going to run, durant into the ground, And come playoff time durant will be so exhausted that he misses shots in crucial moments or never even gets to the point where a crucial shot exists because they're getting so blown out by a, team that's much better much.
More COHESIVE than them because i don't know they've. Been a playing team if you think last Season was wild In Brooklyn, with no ben simmons wait For This one when ben simmons is passing up Wide Open shots while, kyrie irving is saying, Shoot, the fucking ball ben shoot, The, Ball us too kyrie kyrie, is all of Us except for that kyrie believes in Conspiracy Theories. And quotes, Alex Jones moving on brandon ingram had a collision with the teammate in a Recent win over the pacers that landed.
Him in concussion protocol with all the Furor OVER Tultug of a, I looa's recent concussion i thought it was interesting how The league and the pelicans are dealing with. A very similar situation, right reports came out not only Are they not letting ingram, play for precautionary reasons they're not even letting them fly with the team For Their Three game west Coast wing two of tugabayloha flew home that same. Night he got, concussed, they, were like oh
yeah we do not care about. Your brain, Swelling whatsoever. You're, good he's. Good yep you're good let me. Ask you a question if you are a parent or you are a kid who, is a star athlete which game would you rather play or rather? Have your kid? Play football or basketball seemed like a, No Brainer to me but i'll let you guys sound off on this in the. Comments or on TikTok let's go To philadelphia where the sixers.
Are a shit show and we've, talked about this before but there are new things coming, up day by day so let's Update You the terrible the sixers. Haven't been playing. Defense We Know that even. Joel embiid says this he said after their last Recent. Loss to the raptors are offensive is gonna be fine as long, as we get stops and. We're not getting stops we're, not playing good defense and that is. A recipe for disaster we need
to get. Better on that end. But Let's be honest what joelle isn't saying is what we all can see a lot of the bad, Defenses coming from him like. He is given up He is a Defensive player of. The year caliber player he's one, of the most dynamic versatile athletic, players at his, size at his. WEIGHT at his versatility i don't. Know what he's doing he doesn't
seem to be. Interested in stopping anyone in the second Half, alone against the raptors there were nine plays in The, Paint, Where siakam og bouchet barnes all all had uncontested, runs AT the basket with mb not even lifting a finger an arm, to try to defend not even like, half heartedly, like eh you know, you just gotta. Eh not even that he, just like backs up puts his hands behind his back and lets him. Go to, The, rim i'm, like jojo my guy not gonna win. Many games like, That.
You can't win jojo, if You Don't try, like, eric thomas says compete act like, you play in football act like. You Play in baseball compete YOU can't be like i. Don't give a shit this is a man That Wants to. See doc rivers fired it has. TO be the reason i don't. Know if they're close it doesn't. Feel that they are but WE all know that mb can be a rim protector. When he wants to so he either is hurt and he's not telling anybody because he has a reputation, of always being hurt or he is just
simply choosing not to defend. Like he. Normally does either way. It's a big problem so if it, doesn't get fixed soon it's going to be A, long season in philly and you can start getting The Loud cheers for doc rivers to be on the hot seat for things that unfortunately don't have. Anything to do with that's all the time that We Have. For the heat Check we'll be
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