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the market. Please drake responsibly and stay safe. Oh Joe, you guys have been asking for all of the second half of the year. Well here, Nightcap Discord has launched. The link is pinned in the chat Oh Joe ant Man and the Tea Wolves moving to the fourth in the Western Conference thanks to a one seventeen to one
¶ T Wolves beat Nuggets
oh eight victory over the Nuggets. Minnesota beat Denver for the first time in four games this season. Ant Man had twenty one bones, Highland had fifteen of his eighteen in the first half, and Minnesota sweeps is three game road trip to improve the thirty eight to twenty three, jumping to fourth in the West. Minnesota now moved a game ahead of Denver in the Western Conference. There's just two games separating the third seed, which is the Rockets,
and the sixth seed, which is the Lakers. They got an outstanding performance in the fourth quarter from Naz Reid, who looked like Kobe Bryant. He did an in and out, got an an one, He did an out and end and threw it up with a left hand. He got that in a big three, so he played unbelievable. They got great contributions. Ant Man didn't go off like he had been in the last couple of games, but they
get with a total team effort. It was too much for the joke to overcome joke and Murray, but they got slopped with the ball late and the ball gave Oh Joe, watching this game, what did you like about what Minnesota did?
I mean every nas reed. Obviously being able to insert himself towards the end of the game. I think that made the difference in it. Ant Man not having the game that he's had the past previous games. Obviously he's
¶ LeBron moves to 5th place on Lakers all time assists list
been on fire, he's been hot, but he was efficient enough. I think he was nine for nineteen. He had twenty one points, if I'm not mistaken. Outside of that, it looked they look good. They look good, and obviously the god damn Nuggets didn't help himselves, turning the ball over and missing some opportunities and chances to score and vital moments that could have changed the outcome of the game.
Yeah, they didn't really get the contribution they needed from Cam Johnson, and that I think he was all for Yoke is gonna be yoke. I think he's what thirty five, fourteen to nine. Jamal Murray came on strong. I agree with you. The turnovers late definitely didn't help their cause. But they're gonna have to do a better job because they were terrible when Yolk was off the floor today.
They can't give up.
That kind And I think there were minus fifteen, minus sixteen or seventeen when Yolk was on the floor, and he played a lot more minutes than I'm sure Adaman wanted him to play in this ball game. And it seemed like every time he went out, which he only
went out he played. What he does is that he normally plays the entire first quarter, and then they try to give him somewhere six to eight minutes in the second quarter, and then played the entire third quarter, obviously the coming out of the half, and then try to give him a big break in the fourth. But they had to bring him back a lot sooner than they wanted to because the game started to slip away. But give the team Wolves a lot of credit because every
time the Nuggets made a run, they quelled it. Somebody hit a big three. Deevin Tenzo played unbelievable. They especially in the first half with those four to three pointers. Nas Red picked it up. Nasree picked it up in the fourth quarter, hit a big three in and out out and end did some great jobs. They did a great job of rebounding the basketball. They just got to do a better job because I thought, you know, to start the game the way the Nuggets started up, I'm like, damn,
they might sweep this series yet. And the next thing, you know, here come the Nuggets, Here comes man Deevinceinzo, all those guys making contributions, and they ended up winning this game. But it's gonna be Look, I think for me, the class of the Western Conference is ok see. Still, they got Shay back, and he comes back. They played the Nuggets in his first game back, he drops I
think thirty five, and he didn't play in overtime. He he didn't play late in the ball game because they didn't want him to over extend himself in the ball game. They want to gradually build him back up. And thankfully they didn't need him because I know that was really tough to watch a game of that magnitude. And now they've already given you a minute restriction said we're not gonna play with this. I don't care what the circumstance
called for. Even though it was a close ball game late in the ball game and they could have definitely used him. They've guys were Crucio did a great job down to stretch, but looking at this ball game, we Joe, They're gonna have to find a way. This is why they made they got rid of MP Michael Porter Junior because the filming situations like this, And maybe he's he wasn't a good fit because you look at what he's
doing with the nest. He's a guy that can legitimately be a one or two scorer, yes, but he was always he was never gonna be anything more than the third score here because you got Yoke and you got murried. So Cam Johnson is gonna have to be He's more equipped than that in his mindset, is more equipped to be a third option because pretty much that's what he's always been. And in that situation, I just think he has to be better. He hadn't been good in a
couple of games. In order for them to get to where they need to be, he's gonna have to be that third piece. Bruce Brown does what Bruce Brown does. I like what Kristen Brown h Brown does, but wasn't enough today the given Minnesota credit, Minnesota played the heck of a ball game.
Yeah, I mean Minnesota, Minnesota played the heck of a ball game. But but for me and I think about mentality. I think about confidence, especially when it comes to any sport. Right now, the specific topic is is basketball, and for Cam Johnson, I think he needs to insert himself a little bit more. I understand that there's a pecking order when it comes to shots selection and who has a green light to take as many shots as they want to.
But I think players like Cam Johnson in that role of when Yoka is not doing well, when Murray's not doing well, I need to insert myself into the game.
How do I do that?
I already already need to be in rhythm. I need to have some type of some type of confidence about my game where I don't feel scared or I don't feel nervous or a gunshot to take certain shots. And there's only one way to do that is being able to get yourself in rhythm and find ways to insert yourself into the game even when it doesn't call for you to do so.
And I think if.
He's able to do that late in ball games, in situations like this, then he'll be able to insert himself and feel okay about taking certain shots where it means much more as opposed to the first three quarters in the game, where it matters between wins and losses.
Well, I think the biggest thing you mentioned confidence is that getting into a rhythm early, it's hard to miss all those shots. And then because because you know, shoot or shoot, but the confidence goes a long way. And because he struggled the last couple of games he was over the day, scored zero points. And I'm looking at Yoke, Yoke with fifteen or twenty six, one or four from three, but he was thirty five, thirteen and nine. You look at Jamal Murray twenty five and wasn't efficient at all.
He was nine of twenty two, two or six. Christian Brown was fifteen points. He played really well. Uh Strawther gave him only two points. You got so you got two of your starter as Oh Joe gave you two points at two points and they played a combined forty minutes.
You can't have that. Uh, Valanchoona's two points.
Hardaway Junior played well, he was five or six, three or four from the three. Bruce Brown six points in thirty four minutes. But they just gotta fight. They gotta fight. They gotta fight a third option because you know exactly what you're gonna get from Yoke and sometimes he peeps just gonna thatfica. See, look, we can't stop this man. Yoke's go get somewhere between thirty and forty. He's gonna get somewhere between twelve and seventeen rebounds, and he's gonna
get somewhere between eight and twelve assists. We just can't let him get forty twenty twenty. That's what we gotta stop. So we're not gonna stop him from getting those you know, twenty eight twenty nine thirty points. He's gonna get that, he's gonna get three rebounds. We've just got to control him getting those fifteen eighteen twenty assists because he's getting his points and he's getting other people involved. Once he starts getting other people involved, now what do we do
Because we can't leave anybody. There's nobody that's gonna be able to deal with him one on one. So you try to make it as difficult as you possibly can, and maybe you let him go one on one and says, look, i'd rather give him what the Clippers tried that and then he ends up getting fifty six and thirteen and seventeen, but I can't let him get fifteen assists. Oh, Joe, I can't let him get eighteen twenty assists because he's gonna have somewhere between twenty and thirty points. He might
even get thirty five forty. So now he has forty and he's contributed because of those fifteen to twenty or six, you know, at least seven of them on three pointers. Yeah, so you can't have that. But they're gonna have to find a consistent third option. Cam Johnson's been in these moments before. He won a championship. If I'm not mistaken with the no he's on that team to end up
losing to Milwaukee. But he's been in he's been in pressure situations before, and he's just gonna have to come through because right now he's not playing well and I don't know what happened. I think he did have an injury, O Joe, So I think he might be coming back from an injury. But that look, they don't do excuses in pro sports. Now you don't. Either you do or you don't, and right now he's not doing. Go ahead, what do you want to add?
Oh?
I forgot and Drew randalm Drew Randall played an unbelievable game. Now he didn't have twenty five thirty points, But I thought the fourteen ninety seven that he did have came out at a very opportunity time and it did a great job on the glass. But I thought jew, I thought all the auxiliary pieces, look, they're more and McDaniel played well, they're more than.
Just ant Man.
I know aunt Man gifts a lot of the pub and rightfully so, because he's electric. He's a dynamic score. There's nothing he can't do. He can block a shot to save a game, he can hit a clutch three to win the game. He can play outstanding defense when he wants to sit in the chair and guard. But he's a consistent player, and we know what he is. He's a superstar. But when you get contribution from Randal, you, McDaniel and Devincenzo and all those guys starting to jump
in now, it makes them difficult. You know, Rudy Gobert was Rudy Gobert. He gave you six, eight points, fifteen rebounds, and so that's what he's going to do. But I thought, overall, I thought Minnesota going on the road, the end of this road trip, Yeah, going to Denver, and that's a very that's not an easy place then. Plus they had been the Nuggets had been playing well, even though they lost a tough game the other night to Okay see see.
But when you deal it, when you're dealing with Yoke and Murray, and we know what those two guys represent. They're a goodest duo that we have in this league. They can put you in the pick and roll. Obviously, Yo can hit the three, he can roll, he can hit the mid range. Jamal Murray's insactiony' seeing pok on Rudy Gobert. So he's sensational. He could hit the three. He could in and out you. So but I was,
I was. I was surprised how well Minnesota withstood everything that they had going on special in the first quarter to withstand that, because I'm looking at it and they had like a twelve point lead, and then they cut it down to like five and a half and they think, I know, the t Wolves up seven.
I'm like, well, damn, that was quick and it didn't.
Take a whole lot of effort. But we'll see how this thing play out. I think they got about twenty games left o Hoe in the season. And when you got the kind of closeness between three and six. Obviously, you want to stay in the sixth spot because you don't want to go into the play in so you want to try to maintain where you are.
You want to stay because right now.
The Lakers are in the sixth spot, and so you got the seven eight, seven, eight, nine ten or in the play in tournament. You don't want to get into the playing tournament. You don't want to play. You you want to play as few games as possible, and playing those you know, obviously, whether it's seven, seven plays ten,
eight plays nine, so obviously seven wins, they're in. Yeah, whoever wins the seven ten matchup is in, and then situation like that, and then the losers play each other for the chest to be out fointish up to eight seed. So you got OKC, that's forty seven and fifteen, you got the Spurs or forty three and seventeen they lost, got blown out. Today the Rockets are thirty seven and twenty two. The Nuggets are thirty eight and twenty three. Excuse me, no, The timber Wolves are thirty eight to
twenty three. The Nuggets are thirty seven and twenty four. The Lakers are thirty five and twenty four, Phoenix is thirty four and twenty six. Golden State's in the eighth spot, and it's reported that Steph Curry is going to be out another at least at least five games, and I don't know where they get offense without Steph Curry. Yeah, Portland is in a ninth spot at twenty nine and thirty three, and the Clippers fading obviously, you know they're
not going anywhere. And Kawhi louted as much. He said, I think this season is already over. Uh, they're twenty seven and thirty one, So that's where that's where they are right now.
So that's the rankings.
I mean, go ahead right right now with the rankers where they are right now, where we are in basketball
season with twenty games left. I mean, based on your expertise and watching the game and your knowledge of the game over time, if you were to take your picks now for coming out the East and coming out the West playing in the finals, who would you have to this point right now unless some team just comes out of nowhere and does some extraordinary you know, the last twenty games and shocks everybody.
I think Okay s would really love somebody to knock off San Antonio because.
They don't have to deal with that.
Yeah, they don't have to deal with Winby and those guys. That's the team that causes okay See the most problem. Me personally, I think it's probably gonna be San Antonio in okay See in the Western Conference finals.
But you never know.
Because ant man At has been there and done that before, so he knows, he knows how to rise to the occasion.
Nuggets have won a championship before.
I just think the Rockets, I'm surprised the Rockets did not get a point guard.
Chris Paul was there, and maybe they.
Don't want to didn't want to deal with Chris Paul And I don't know what that issue is. But they need a point guard and they don't have a point guard. And I think that's the biggest thing, that's the biggest hindrance to them. Phoenix, Okay book is out, Dylan Brooks has a broken hand. How soon can those guys get back. Do I think even with those guys back, they can contend in the West?
I do not.
I do not think they have enough firepower to contend. The Lakers don't play good enough defense. To contend. We saw last night Austin Reeves get blown by Aydon.
I I don't know. I just don't know about him.
I just don't know, really, all things being equal to I mean, look, I think there's four teams seriously that could end up in the Western Conference Final. That's Denver, Minnesota, San Antoni, in Okac. Those are my teams that I think can make it to the Western Conference Final. Went realistically, realistically, right, You you make me put some money into something that matters to me, and if it's my money, it matters.
Yeah, I probably I'd probably picked Okac.
I probably pick the double back again and win a championship.
Yep, yep.
The next the Knicks snapped the spurs eleven game winning streak with a blowout one fourteen to eighty nine. Michal Bridges had twenty five, Jaylen Brunton had twenty four. The Spurs couldn't overcome twenty two turnals that led to twenty four points and they were out rebounded fifty four to forty one. Something that they're really they're not because of Winby. Winby played well, but you know, they went on the run. I think the Knicks went on a twenty a run
outscored in twenty two. Oh and they could never get back in the game after that. They never could. Uh, but they played. Look you got Miselle, Michel Bridges and Alvarado. He comes in the game and he's a spark plug. And you knew he would be that type of guy that the Knicks crowd would love because he plays with a lot of energy. They like that, a lot of hustle, a lot of grid.
Uh.
He's gonna make a big shot. He's gonna, you know, get to get you a couple of turnovers. He's gonna feed, you know, get the crowd energized. I'm not surprised that the nick on bas love him as much as they love him.
I'm trying to pull up this Uh.
No, this game. Uh scores here mm hm hm where is it that? Oh?
Here it is? Yeah.
Uh Champagny three points Wemby was twenty was twenty five and thirteen. Uh but they shot terrible from the three nine of thirty four twenty what's that twenty six percent forty two percent from the floor.
Uh.
And as matter of fact that they only had eighty nine points.
Lets you know, but they had og had twelve, called Kat had twelve, Josh Hart almost had a triple double.
He had ten.
Michal Bridges had twenty five brothers and they had twenty four. De Warry had fourteen. But they got overall.
Contribution and look from everybody.
Yes they did. And like I said, and you know, the Knicks want to play, you know, want to play. They got Michail Bridges who's a wing defender. They got Josh Hart who can defend. They got oj ca at defend. Mitchell Robinson comes in and he can bang and he can defend. But they do a great job. They do a great job of kid creating chaos and turning turnovers into points. And that was really the difference in the ball game. They they just kept turning the Spurs over.
The Spurs couldn't protect the ball, and they're gonna have to do a better job of that. Look, they had won eleven games, had been playing really really well, and to play at the level. I don't think they we're gonna go undefeated heading into the postseason, but I think they're you know, I think the coaches pleased with the way they played thus far. But today was just one of those games. A nationally televised game. It's an early game.
They don't normally play that early Oho, but give those guys, give those guys credit.
They played.
The Knicks played an unbelievable game today and they got the win and blow out fashion.
And the Knicks needed this too, that they needed. They've been they've been played. They haven't been playing too well, especially as a group collectively. The way they played today is how they can play it. They can find some type of balance, you know, not too high and not too low, but finding an even way to play collectively as a group.
The way they did today, they can. They can.
They can make some hay and make some noise similar to what they did last year. I know I've been watching Steven that he's been upset with the Knicks the past few games and and what they've displayed out there as far as the product is on the court. But I mean shockingly to my to me, you know, knowing that the Spurs were playing the Knicks, I thought, obviously will run away with this game, and the Nick look completely different, you know, a completely different team.
You know, Washington play today what.
They swarm when when we have seven turnovers by himself of those twenty two. You can't turn the ball over like that because now you create, you get runouts, things of that nature. And like I said, the Knicks can cause you that type of problem if you turn the ball over, because they got really good defenders. O g can defend at the high level. We know Michal Bridges can, we know Josh Hart can. So they got guys that can clamp the ball and keep the ball in front of them.
And so Mitchell Robinson comes.
Obviously Cat is seven foot and he'll block a shot here or there, but that's not what Cat is known for. He's known for, you know, being a perimeter big that can shoot the ball extremely well. We know brunts and his brunts, and he's gonna get your buckets. He's gonna make clutch shots. He's as clutch as any player that we have in this league. So we know what he represents is that when they play defense like this, they make they force you into turnovers, and they make you
shoot thirty twenty six percent from the three. You're not gonna beat them. And they double. You know, they've made seventeen threes, you made you May nine. So now they're out they twenty four. They're plus twenty four from the three point line. So if somebody's plus twenty four from the three point line and they force you into twenty two turnovers, this probably what's gonna be the outcome of the game. You're probably gonna get blown out. Yeah, It's
it's really that simple. It's really that simple. And so give the next credit. I mean, I'm sure steven A is happy about this, happy but not satisfied, right because he knows they got to uphill struggle because Boston's played well Boston. Boston is playing extremely well. Toronto's putting that thing together. Toronto's better than people think. I watched them the other night. You know, Scotty Barnes and b I those guys. Those guys are playing are RJ Barrett. They
got some scores over there. They're playing really well. Y'alla portal, portal, They're they're better than you think. Now do I think they can beat the Knicks in the seven?
Now?
I don't.
I don't think.
You know, when it's all saying done, it's probably gonna be Boston and and and probably the Knicks. Looking at how everything is kind of like shaping upbout you look like it's gonna be Boston in the Knicks. If I had to bet anything, I like Philly, but I just don't know if if in b and BID's gonna be healthy enough, Tyres Max is gonna be Tyree's Maxy, edgcumb is gonna do it, edgcamb things they probably you know, I don't know if and when PG is coming back.
But if I had it, he was like, Okay.
Shannon, who do you if you I mean, who do you think is gonna be in the Eastern Conference Finals? I'd probably say Boston and uh Boston and the Knicks. And that's a that's an old rivalry that they had when it happened last year. I don't know if we'll ever get those those eighties rivalries that like it once was, but we'll see. We'll see. The Knicks played well today and they needed this ball game. They definitely needed this
ball game more than the Spurs. The Spardan needed to try to keep place with OKC because the thing is, like all things being Nicolas like, I think they probably need the home court more than OKC because the type of ball the OKC play, it does travel. They got a lot of wings. They got five six guys that can defend an elite level Shay, you already know pencil Shade in for thirty. You just feel, you know he's
gonna get there. Yeah, And so now you get a couple of those other guys that come along with him. You get Chat, you get j Doub, you get Wallace, you get some of those other guys, Isaiah, Joe, you get some of those other and Karusho he always shows up in big games. He's gonna make the right play. He's gonna create chaos, he's gonna create turnovers. He's gonna knock down a big three, He's gonna get a big,
big steal. He knows what these moments meant mean, having played on that Lakers championship team and before that and last year. He was a big reason why they won the championship last year. Some guys just understand the moment and they can rise to the occasion in said moment, and carushow Is definitely is one of those guys. So, uh, the Spurs look leven straight games to get back in this thing, and they're the team that gives okay see the most trouble.
But you never know the seven game series. You never know.
An injury here or injury there and he lifts the series. The Calves showed their toughness today when they beat the next one O six to one.
On two.
James Harden scored twenty two points in his return and the lineup with a broken thumb. Kean Ellis also played with a fractionened finger today and still was able to put up five blocks and steets three steals. The Cavs got a defensive minutes at the trade deadline from the Sacramento Kings.
Uh.
Yeah, look, the thing is that I think the it's.
On this non non shooting hand James is left and I think it's his right thumb. Yeah, he played well today in his return. I think he had twenty two died in seven. I say something like that. The Bigs played played okay. I thought Evan Mobley played well. Uh you look at this. This this is grad I don't know if you guys can see it. But Detroit forty five and fourteen, the one seed currently Boston forty and twenty, the two seed the Knicks of thirty nine and twenty two.
The three seed the.
Calves thirty eight and twenty four. The fourth seed Toronto thirty five and twenty five. To five seeds. So if the season end of the day, Cleveland would face Toronto, the Knicks will placed face to seventy six ers, Boston place the Magic, and Detroit, well, we'll play the whoever wins out of the seventh the seven ten matchup. But look, it's close, obviously, it's not as you know, what is
three and six. Three and six is a bigger separation than what it is in the Western Conference because it's only two games separating three from six in the Western Conference and it's about six games separating five and a half separating three to six in the Eastern Conference. But Detroit, Detroit's looked, it looked well all year, they played really well. Uh they got an All NBA selection in uh kay Cunningham. I think during is gonna be an All NBA selection. Also,
he might make the All Defensive team. Hell, k might make the All Defensive team because he's he's that good.
Yeah.
The problem they're gonna have is that Dirty is gonna damn to get a max contract five years, over two hundred over two hundred million dollars.
And it's better.
It's kind of like football, oo cho, it's better to sign these guys earlier.
Than late because they don't.
And in basketball they don't give discounts and teams don't even ask them.
In baseball, they don't give them no discounts.
Ain't nobody who with Darren justin, Hey, Jude, check this out, man, we try to put a team around you. Can you cut it? No, the on of the player, the players associated, you won't let you do it. Show hey, and you ain't cut no deal. The only deal that he cut is that he says, you know what, I'm nice, I'm nice, like boss, give me two million a year and then the other sixty eight. So he gets done. So he's
only cost him to million dollars a year. That's why they're able to just stack players on top of players. You get a Bready Freeman, you get a Betts, the guy that just signed for sixty million a year. You get those kind of guys because you get guys taking deferred compensation. Now they'll do that, but it still keeps the market up here, right and so, but it's gonna be very very interesting.
The NBA has kind of been quiet this year. Old show.
What well Steph has been out because you can see the shifts coming.
Oh yeah, yeah, it's coming. The young guards coming, gonna move on.
Steph is gonna move on, Katie's gonna move on, you know, and so things things is gonna be different. Things is gonna be different. The league is transitioned away from those guys, and that's okay. Uh, the Legal is in great hands. It moved on from Doctor j Larry and Magic. It moved on from Jordan, It moved on from Kobe and all those Shack and all those guys. The Legal be fine.
The Legal continue to prosper and they'll be fine. U. I'm trying to hold I'm looking up trying to look up these stats right here.
I think I mean the NBA obviously, the new guard that is coming in. Uh, they have a lot of excitement, obviously, players that that that can put busts in the seats that a lot of fans regards to what team you support, you look, you look forward to watching them, obviously, and man, you got you got Wimby. I'm not sure if you would put Zion in that due to the inconsistency of actually being healthy and actually.
Playing, and Jo could have been in there.
Yeah, obviously in that conversation, John, I'm not sure what's going on with jo over Over?
You got you got s g A, you got Man, Yeah, yeah, you know, you got Yoke obviously. Yeah, we mentioned we got Bronson, JB j T is out. But the young guy, I mean, there are a lot of under thirty, under thirty guys that's the league is gonna that's gonna have to carry the league like those old guard like Magic and Bird and Doc and and and and and Jordan and then Kobe and Shaq and here come Lebron and Kad and Steph and all those guys hardened. It's gonna,
you know, gonna move on also. But those guys, you know, go ahead.
You know what's funny it is obviously with the new guard coming in and all the great names you just name, who the hell is the face of the NBA? Now, once that old guard moves on, who's the face?
They don't have one and they won't ad man, but that man said no, let Winby do it. And man want to be a man, and you know, and man and man want to go you know, and man because there's a that's pressure that comes along with that. You know, you're image and everything and where you're going. How you can like that and answer, No, that ain't dam because
I ain't Fenna hold y'all. You know, I ain't really try to, you know, when I'm Atlanta, y'all, y'all see that that the collab is going on with Magic City and the Hawks. You know, I'm trying to be down now. I'm trying to get on them. The Lemon Pepper wins.
Hey, the collab is Mars sixteen.
We're going right, You and Joe going okay, okay, okay, Well me with me and Joe will tall you.
We'll tell you about it. Yeah, we'll tell you about I might hit back.
I might hit made and say, man, let me get where the hoodies and they gotta letter Hall Magic City collab hooded that side.
I might take a look at that.
But uh, right now, right now, oh Joe, I don't think. I don't think they got to face of the league, and and and you know, uh, obviously, all things being equal, who they want to be the face of the league. That's not what he wants to be. And you know, you want somebody to embrace that. Guys used to break you know, Magic and Bird and Kobe and Jordan Lebron and staff. They embraced it, and there are guys that
are willing to embrace it. But in the NBA is like, nah, we we don't kind of want you all to.
Be the face. We won't. We want him, we want him to be the face, right right, right right.
But I think eventually it might have to because it's becoming such an international game and some of yours players are international. If you probably had to take a pick your top five players in the NBA, maybe top seven or all international players, so that might be your face of your league.
Uh, it might have to be someone that's not even from here.
Yeah, yeah, because if you look at if you look at it, I mean, if you look at baseball, it's one of two players, it's Aaron Judge of show hate. And if you take a poll, they're probably gonna say ninety percent say show hate.
Yeah. Yeah.
But the MLB ojo has always had that. They've all had Dominicans, they've always had Cuban players, They've all always had players from you know those countries.
Yeah yeah.
And so now in the Asian born players where it be uh Normo or Decie mat Sue each Yeah, they've also some Korean players, so they've always had that.
Basically this shift that happened.
Yeah, there were a few foreign born players, Like I said, I think I read somewhere it might have been nine players that was in the NBA in ninety two. And now you might have every team that play in the Olympics might have three four guys. You look at Canadians, damn in the Canadians, whole team is in the NBA. The Slovenian team have players in the NBA, the Serbian teams,
joking team Greece. So it's a lot more so now it might be it might you might not have a choice but to have a Shade or a Yannis or you know one of those guys, you know, a yoke as the face. It is what it is. It is what it is. Because right now Kate is coming. I think he's a couple, I mean ant Man, but it's ant Man that has a charisma.
He has the personal Yeah, he has the yeah yeah, yeah, yeah he is, he is. He has a game to match o cho. Yeah. You have to want someone to want it. He has to want to be it. Yeah. You can't force it on him.
And it comes too much, It comes with too much pressure because you have to conduct yourself a certain way, not only on the court as an example, but even off the court and at I mean, if you know aunt personally, that ain't that ain't happening. That definitely ain't happening.
And you look at the quarterbacks, you look at them that that's been the face of the league. You know, you look at being Marino or Lway or Montana or Brady or Manning or my homes you see Josh Allen the way they kind of lead to that. Yeah, you know, josh'lla like, Man, I want to be the fact. Baby, we've been doing this thing. We've been day for like six months. You want to get married, you know what
I'm saying. You want to get mad on yo? Do you see the quarterback that don't be wasting no time on yo?
No? Quick?
So we will see. I think, uh, there's some American players that's getting better. Like I said, Kay Cunningham is getting unbelieved. We got ant Man, we got j T, we got j J be j T would gladly, gladly accept that role. The problem that he's having that he's getting pushed from a teammate. Right, it's hard to be HOLDO. How are you the face of the league and you're not even the best player on your.
Team or something. Some would say, not that.
That's that's the point, right, right, And so you know normally with the guys the face of the NBA, you've.
Got to be going out, yeah, on your team.
Yeah.
So it's gonna be it's gonna be very interesting in the next I think, Look, we do all this talk at all, we want to until twenty three for the Lakers league.
He's still in, you think so still he's still in. He's still in, right, You.
Look at his social media, you look at his engagement, you look at who moves the needle.
Right, it ain't no question, no question understandable.
Former Laka brons God wants Lebron James off the team. Scott said, I think he should be his last year here. I don't he don't have to go home, but you got to get the hell out of here.
O Jo.
Are you see Byron Scott publicly calling for Lebron's departure?
That that wasn't ai Byron Scott really said that.
You heard Bion Byron Scott really said that publicly. That's what he's saying.
Yeah, you podcast, I mean that's that's crazy. And obviously maybe maybe I don't I doubt that Byron Scott would really feel that way, or maybe he actually does, because Lebron is not the same Lebron of old but but but but saying that he needs to leave LA and Luke would just be the only person there that that is somewhat consistently outside of Austin Reeves makes no damn sense.
So why is Lebron being the one that's being called out from Byron Scott when all the other issues that even Ray Charles can see that they have going on with the Lakers right now.
I don't know.
I think the thing is and I don't know when this started happened, that that that guys from an organization, great guys from an organization with all of a sudden call like guys that's currently within the organization. And maybe this is a Kobe thing. Lebron was never really accepted even though he really revitalized the Lakers organization. I don't care what anybody says. And I think the fans understand.
They know that they know what what what the Lakers were Kobe last three years and when Kobe left, they know what the Lakers were I don't know what what what is this? What?
What? What are we talking about?
If Lebron doesn't come, the Lakers are not selling for a billion dollars. You're not You're not gonna be able to get Luca because you don't get a D. A D is not coming to LAM. It's just I don't I don't know what Lebron did to piss so many great players off.
Oh he No, he didn't, No, he didn't.
I get it, Oh Joe. In a lot of times, we talk about this on the show all the time.
Oh Joe.
These guys currently in the in the in the NFL get and things we didn't get. But I don't begrudge them because we got things in the nineties and two thousands that guys in the seventies and eighties didn't get. Yeah, they got things in the seventies and eighties that guys in the fifties and sixties didn't get. It's this thing called evolution. The game grows, the game e bobs and people get more things. It's okay, But this notion that Lebron James is the only one that's ever had power
within the organization. Do y'all realize that a man won a nationally win a championship and Magic had a fallen out, and he says they seither him or me, and doctor Buss fired the coach that won an NBA title. Ye, that happened, lam Bird did the same thing. It happens, but for some reason, anything that goes wrong, that is the reason why. That's what free agency was meant to do. So you mean to tell me you want free agency and then want guys to say if that was the case, what was freeedgency for?
What was phregity for? O Joe?
If guys not gonna move around? I get it. Teams trade, team, a trade a player like it's nothing. Don't perform, and what they do, even if you do perform, if they think they can get better, they'll move you.
When now players say, you know what, I think, I'm gone.
I think it's going about as far as it can. Yeah, But Lebron, there are been a lot of guys that's moved, but nobody has caught the criticism. And Lebron James has never asked for a trade. Every time Lebron James has moved O Joe, he's played his contract out. He played his contract out in Cleveland, he went to Miami. He played that four years out. He went back to Cleveland, he played that four years out, and he headed to l A. I just I just don't get it. I
don't know. I've never You've never, I've never heard so many great players, championship winning players take shots at Lebron.
It comes with the territory, he says at the top of the mountain. He's the great one, He's the chosen one. He's the one with the moniker, the king. So what do they do regardless of his accomplishments, regards of his accolades, you know, I mean you people, they argue that you're in Lebron debate. What's about the greatest basketball player of all time? So what happens when you're the greatest at
what you do? Regardless of what you've done, even those that have played, you know, your sport, they're going to have something to say, whether it's good or bad, because what you've done is not enough to them, despite what we may think on the outside, despite what you may think and understanding how great Lebron is and what he's done for organizations to date, again.
He moved the needle. So what's one way to move the needle.
On a platform we want ies and viewers to listen. You talk about the one all the way at the top.
Yeah.
But I think Lebron is smart enough to know Ojo. He knows there's nothing he could do to topple Kobe. That's not what he's just because I be just because I'm trying to achieve something. That doesn't mean I'm trying to take your statue down. Why can't we both regret? I think he understands that in Miami it's gonna be it's Wade County.
He understood that.
Do I believe Do I believe in Dwayne Wade knows that Lebron is a better player. Yes, but if you're my ask Miami Heat fan, they'll say d Wade right. So he knew, no matter what he did, he could not be winning US Championships to overcome Kobe, Magic, Kareem and Shock.
That wasn't gonna happen.
And I think he I don't think he's He was that naive, just like man, you know what, And I don't think he win it with that mindset. He did'n going with that mindset Kobe. Kobe came there as a seventeen year old kid and left as a fully grown married father of three four kids. Rest his soul and gig. That's what he did there, and that's okay. Same thing with Magic. Magic came there and never left. Magic was a twenty year old now mostly the other great player,
I mean, obviously a shock. Uh spent four spent four years, if I'm not mistaken, in Orlando. Kareem spent I think six years in Milwaukee. But you know, you look at James Worthy, you look at Jered Wes a lot, you know, and and and Elgin Baylor. Uh, those guys you know, spent their careers there. But I just I don't know what Lebron did to piss off so many people.
Oh Joe, Yeah.
I believe I can, like I can like Travis Kelce without constantly taking shots at Gronk, constantly taking shots at at Gates or Gonzales.
I believe I can do that.
But it's almost like I wonder if he was, if he was anywhere else other than the Lakers. And I love be Scott. I used to see be Scott all the time. Gym we used to see the gym equinox and I used to see beat Scott all the time. We always talk and he's a great guy. But I wonder if Lebron wasn't on the Lakers, would he still feel his time for Lebron to leave?
No, absolutely not, because I mean is his love for the Lakers. It'd be different because it's not on my team.
Because when Kobe last year's do you hear anything about the Lakers?
You know, damn well, nobody would dare say that.
No, but no, I ain't talking about talking want Kobe to leave. But he wasn't even mentioned the Lakers. The Lakers, they have no chance. Ain't nobody talking about Lakers and a chance to contend for a title? Nobody mentioned that? And then when Kobe left, ain't nobody mentioned the Lakers to contending for a title. The mere fact that you even think it's possible is because Lord was a forty one year old to get to the championship. Let you
know just how great this man is. Tell me the time in history another forty something year old has played and you know what a chance to get to the champ or they had a chance to contend for a TITANU.
Outside of time leaving New Englan until God damn to the NBA. Okay, now, not Jordan, not Kobe. His longevity, yes, but look you got his reading for whatever it is.
I don't know. I don't know, so I don't want to get into speculating. That was something said. I don't know. And I know be Scott loved his Lakers and if you played in this organization most especially he spent most of his years there. Yeah, m but be Scott, you know now, you know that there was a transition that when Kobe won the championship in ten, nine and ten,
they didn't come close. They didn't come close, and nobody said the thing ain't Nobody said so eleven twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, So eight years, nine years, the ain't.
No like if they ain't come loos. Yeah, m hmm.
And y'all had Kobe, So you had Kobe eleven twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixty, fifteen fifteen.
Hey, well they ain't had nothing to go with him though. Hey, it was the main course with no sound.
You don't need nothing because when le when Lebron didn't have nothing to go on to him, y'all to.
Say, if he was great, he would win. That's what y'all did with Lebron.
Now they did this when Lebron when you never did that with anybody else. Yeah, you didn't do that with like you see what you say, You see what you're saying. On yall?
They done got you convinced of that?
Oh No, I mean, I'm just being honest. I'm just being honest. I mean Kobe, Kobe's the main dish. There was no size to go with it. There wasn't no dessert, so the chance of winning was slimming none.
Now do you so great?
That's what you do. You don't need nobody who needed teammates? Show what y'all tell y'all be because every time I turn around, he couldn't win a championship without d Wade, he couldn't win a championship without Kyrie, He couldn't win a championship with I Anthony Davis. And you just told me Kobe ain't have nobody to go with it. Last I checked Shacks in the Hall of Fame. Last I checked piled the sault Is in the Hall of Fame. Last I checked Scotty Pippot's in the Hall of Fame.
Tennis problems in the Hall of Fame. So in other words, what you're trying to tell me if that, no matter how great you are, you need a team made a.
Two absolutely, okay, I'm just checking.
I'm just you know, you got to have a two headed monster. If you got three, it'd make it even make it that it make it that that much easier if you got three. But thinking you're gonna get it done, but one man, you got four, you know, just four partners out there, just just going through the motion.
It's not happening. Duncan not happening.
Duncan had Manu, had Manu and Tony Parker and then the last one he had Kawhi.
Mm hmm, Hey, boy, Kawhi was crazy at uh with the Spurs.
Boy oh after tim after Timmy left, what my goodness.
He knew, he knew he had to take over more of a role. He had to take you know, he was perfectly tim play in the back seat. You know, Hey, I let all A, let Manu, let TP let Timmy.
Popsy Noah, bro, there's time for you.
He's like, Okay, I get you twenty five, twenty six a night and lock it down on the other end.
But I'm surprised.
I think the thing that's surprised it is that people say, Look, people might feel a certain way and might say things in private oyo that never get public air.
But to say this publicly, I'm a little.
Surprised, you know what, and you know, we don't know. Also what there might be things that go on behind closed doors. There might be things that are said that going behind closed doors that we don't know about. That also makes Byron Scott say something like this publicly that has nothing to do with anything that we know.
Okay.
Here, Scott also seemed to take issue with Lebron saying today's games it's harder to play than in the eighties and nineties. The game is different. I want people and our fans to understand that playing eighty two games in the eighties and nineties is not the same as playing eighty two games in the twenty twenties. It's just not the way we played. The level of pace, the level of speed in which we're playing a different it's a different.
Game now is a totally different game. It is. It is.
When when when when? When Beast God played in the eighties and the nineties, they might have had two guys per team that can shoot the three. Now on the twelve man roster, they got ten guys that can shoot the three, and you have to guard them all.
Bless you.
Everybody is a vible option. There weren't no such thing as no stretch five, no stretch four.
They have that.
Now the pace is increased, Blessing. Yeah, the pace has increased, and you have to guard multiple every For the most part, every agains evolution.
Guys are more skilled. The guys are skilled, yeah much better.
You ain't have no Kevin Durants. You ain't have no damn whimpies. You didn't have that. You damn you ain't have no Steph courage.
Lest you.
It's okay, it's okay, it's uh. It's a different game now. The NBA is, the NBA is different that uh, the NFL is different. I mean the game is. It's become. The guys are doing, oh Joe, guys are doing more exotic coverages now than when when when you and I played.
That's okay, it's okay to say that.
That's not to diminish our era, that's not to enhance their era.
It's just facts. You no more. The scouting departments have gotten better.
You think you think scouting now back you think when they started scouting players, uh uh with Cleveland Browns when they first started. The thing is is that Paul Bryd's reported that Paul Brown the reason why they tied the forty O joe, because that's how far the punt went. So how fast could somebody get down there to gid you? Oh, the ball normally hung up there by four point five seconds, right, four point five seconds. You could run like that cause
you're running pretty good. That Dallas Cowboys and Gil Brandt took it a step further because O joe. You know, they used to draft players and never work them out. They just look at the scouting thing, look at them and look at them in college. Weell you gonna play, So come on, we're gonna draft you first. We're gonna draft you the second round. We're gonna draft you the fifteenth round, the seventeenth round. Then the Cowboys take it
a step further. Gil Brandt tex stramp the actually brain players. They put them through everything, hence a combine, a combined style workout. So you think, so, you think the way they started scouting players in the sixties is the same way these scout players. Now, they got these scouts on the road every day and weekend, every week, they find somewhere looking at players. They didn't do that in the sixties. As a matter of fact, they didn't even have a combine.
They just drafted a guy based on what his college numbers were, how he looked at college, and they drafted him.
So things change people, and it's okay, it is okay.
That doesn't mean that doesn't take away anything from the sixties, seventies, eighties, nineties, two thousand and so forth and on.
It's just that's just the way it is. It is.
It happens, and technology changes old choke. Look look at the cleves, look at the helmets, look at the basketball shoe. Look at the way they trained horses. That needs changed. I don't know why people can't see that evolution. It's gonna happen with your blessing or without not.
Yeah, I mean, or they don't care when one or the other. They complain it. They're complaining about it anyway. Everything gets better over time.
Uh.
Tonight, Lebron moved into fifth place on the Lakers all time assist list, surpassing Michael Cooper. Magic is one Kobe is two, Jerry West is three, Storming Norman Nickson is four, Lebron is five, Cooper is six, Kareem is seven, elgend Baylor is eight. Excuse me, this is Lebron's eighth season with the Lakers. Obviously, we know Kobe spent twenty years their Magic. I think from seventy nine. I think Magic played about twelve years, Coop played. We know Kareem played
I think thirteen fourteen years there. And I saw Lebron is the second Laker to make a thousand and threes, only behind Kobe. And obviously, you know Kobe played twenty season with that organization and was great, and Lebron is already second.
Obviously, they shoot more.
Threes now than they did back when Kobe got into the league. O Jo, how do you think Lebron would be remembered as a Laker? You think that he You think he gets his jersey retired. You think he gets a statue out front.
You know what I don't.
I don't think he gets a statue off front, but I think he gets in jersey retired. I mean what he was able to do once he came to the Lakers and helping that franchise obviously win a ring, a ring that a lot of people put an asterisk behind because it was a bubble ring or whatever it may be.
Because Lebron wanted somebody put no bubble behind it.
Yeah, yeah, I understand what you're saying. But people have to understand and and and and take whatever hate they may have for Lebron to understand and what he was able to do during his time during his tenure with the Lakers, with what he had to work with outside of that, I mean, being one of the greatest, arguably the greatest, the one or two basketball players who ever played this game, I think he should be ag knowledge in such a fashion, in such a way based on
that alone, whether he gets a statue or not, but retiring to twenty three jersey for the Lakers, it would only be right, and not to do so, it'd be ridiculous.
It'd be damn egregious.
I mean, imagine, Oh Jo, just thinking about this, I want you to picture this. Tom Brady is one of the three greatest high school football players ever. Yes, he goes to college and he's one of the three greatest college football players ever.
And the next big thing. And he comes to the NFL.
Even as a great high school player and a great collegiate player, he's even better in the NFL. Well, that's what Lebron James was. Yes, he's one of the three great high school players ever. And whatever you may have thought he could have been, he superseded.
That, exceeded it completely.
He's exponentially.
Nobody thought this man would be a fourth time league MVP. Go to ten NBA finals, win four of them, fourth finals, MVPs, what two to three All Star Game MVPs. He's the all time leading scorer, he's the fourth leading or sister. He's a top thirty rebounder.
He the top.
Fifteen or ten, A six guy, I mean a steals guy. Nobody thought that whatever you thought Lebron James can be based on what he was in high school. And they've been a lot of great high school players, right Lebron.
O Joe.
And his name hadn't come up on any crime blodder, he hadn't been a source of tabloid speculation.
He's been squeaky squeaky clean.
Yeah, most definitely, most definitely, And still people find fault. Well, he flops. All great players hunt calls, they do just like every time the quarterback gets hit, what does he do? O?
Yo, look the flag.
Yeah, they just saw that man hit me. I know we're playing football, but he wasn't supposed to hit me. He wasn't supposed to hit me.
Hit me.
You know, he's supposed to lay me down. You know, ain't got no pillow. Hey, you got to go to the sideline and get him a pillow so he can throw me on the pillow.
People always complain it just depends on who's doing the flopping. It always depends on who's doing the hunting. Then they turn a blind eye. Depends on who it is. That's all it is true.
I agree with you though I don't think he gets a statue, but I do think I think they based on what he's done, you know, the All Star, the All Star games. I think so he's been the eight All Star, he's been, what he's been, he's gonna be. He was a seven time All NBA selection. So if you cut his career up in sevens, in sevens, or if you cut it up in eights, he's a Hall of Fame player. Every eight, every eight, he's a Hall of Famer.
That's crazy, And I know they're gonna miss him when he's gone. Let him tell it.
The game will continue to go on. Yeah, it's gone, but it won't be anything like that. We won't see anything like this for a very long time, if ever, if ever.
Again. No no no, no, no, no no no no no.
A guy, a guy, a guy that played this long and to play play that great long.
Yeah,