MJGMB #82: Unicorn Showdowns and More with Jason Jones

Oh, thank you so much for bringing bringing some form of basketball back to our eyes.

Jack was turning purple and blue Man.

We got a fantastic taste Wemby versus check preseason showdown, talk a little bit about the Lakers looking pretty good as well, some preseason player rankings and some really interesting win predictions from ESPN uh breaking it down by conference, and we're gonna do that today with the Athletics Jason Jones on today's episode, I am Miles.

Gray and I'm Jack O'Brien and this is Miles jamb.

Driving Spinny Curry a three punter.

Stop Curry from tell again, be honest.

Time what you got?

Welcome, Welcome Jason Jones, write them Batcher the Athletic. You're a La native, LBC raised, you know, becovering the NBA for for many years now.

Welcome back to the show. Thank you for thank you for stopping buying.

Again, thanks for letting me join you before things get too crazy. I mean, I juggle about a million sports now, but I think if someone like The Athletic told me I'm still an NBA writer, whether I like it or not.

At heart, the NBA writers coming, are you? Are you excited, like that first night of preseason action. Really, I don't know if it was the first night, but it was the first one that I was paying attention.

I guess technically it would have been what the Nixon Celtics was that the first showdown. Yeah, I'm exactly what the wise Kevin Garnett said in a tweet when he said Wemby and Chet looked like two created players last night.

Future is bright I part with but yeah, yeah, which, yeah, I mean I did. Chet Holmgren had something to say.

I mean these every clip I saw I was I was like cheering, which is wild. I've never done that to like going like okay, like stuff like that.

It's been watching YouTube highlights on oh Twitter, Yeah yeah.

And being like okay, okay, so I see what you're doing. Now that's just me talking to my cell phone in the middle of the night. But yeah, every single every single highlight was was was out of this world. Jason, How did how did you feel? What were your expectations going into watching this Wenby.

Versus Chet showdown? And how did it? How did you how did you take it in?

See, I have zero expectations about preseason anything.

Okay, that's that's why, you know, I just I'm.

More so just kind of you know, you peek in and see, Okay, well how do they look comfortable? And for me, you know, check gave us really teased us for like a minute last year before you for the injury.

M hm, And now I was just more so.

Wow, it's like you much about how long and athletic Wemby is, Like, well, Chet's like like like two career like there, Chet's not that far off.

Wise, You're like, wow, this is crazy.

Yeah, they're entering at the same time.

Yeah.

Two guy, like two just wildly skilled guys over seven feet tall. Yeah, it's like like watching two video game guys.

Yeah, yeah, truly.

I mean like this one play just Wenby with the steal to a perfect alleop.

Yeah, came through scoops, it throws it behind his back, perfect value that his teammate managers to couldn't finish.

Okay, a little bit of a bummer there.

And then this one too, I look real right, especially this play when he gets crossed up. I'm using like every other player is left for dead and then he recovers and then it's a block.

So this was this was the key one for me because I I saw this he gets completely beat defensively and then recover for a block, and I was like, all right, let's dig in. I picked I picked him preseason for Defensive Player of the Year just watching him in the Summer League, and like how nobody wants to shoot when he's on the court. Everybody like within a six foot radius of him is just trying to get away from being in a six foot radius of him, and he like changes shots that he's not even close to.

I think overall too.

Like I mean, we saw when we were in Vegas for NBA, we got to see Wemby's first, you know, Summer League game, and that was it's completely different, but it was like night and day like he when I look at the performance from against the Thunder first of what we saw against Portland, it felt like he was

I think summer league can be some of the worst ways to gauge a big guy, especially, Yeah, you know those teams are you've got guys on the floor which you're trying to get jobs elsewhere. You know, he just got off a plane and been in the States for like, you know, a month, and he really hasn't played yet.

So I always kind of.

Yeah, Britney Spears is bothering him in the casino.

Yeah.

I I never put too much into what I see, especially from a big guy in Summer League, because it's just that's not conducive to them, that that you can tell watching that you know he's with the with the actual team NBA players, they've got a system that he can run. It's still crazy, like watching him dribble like that go but he goes on in the back. It's like, yeah, you're not supposed to be able to do it that high.

His handle is real legit like it with like just watching him play in you know, in the internet, like before Summer League, you know last year, his hand like that he can put the ball. He's so tall that it is like sort of a liability for him to put the ball on the floor, but he really can do it, like when he has to.

He really is a is a great ball handler.

For I should I should take your wisdom into account, Jason, because after that match, I remember walking out of the Thomas and Maximum like this guy's cooked.

I'm like, this is your.

King, Okay, I see, And then you know, I realized, not the best place to assess somebody, especially someone that is seemingly some one of these generational talents who's changed, like about to change sort of the way we view basketball.

Yeah, never forget Anthony Randolph cooked everyone in Summer League one year and then never saw no shade to Anthony Randolph. But you get points exactly, can't you know what? There's like a list of Summer League all like Hall of famers who just didn't get any traction in the league.

Right, right, right?

I mean, what do you what are your expectations now for Wemby. I get it you're not taking much stock in terms of what you've seen so far preseason, summer league, et cetera. But what what what are what? What are you expecting? What do you think we the most we can expect from Wemby in this first team?

I think, you know, I don't know about the team. I think he'll probably you know, he's almost he'll probably win Rookie of the Year because they will get plenty of opportunities on that team. And usually I always go with a smaller player for Rookie of the Year. It's because they they're going to have the ball, right, you know. But I think him being in San Antonio, you know they're going to run. You know, you're not going to get a rogue. You no Devin Vassel going to say,

They're going to run stuff.

At highlights what he does well, he'll make an impact on defense, just because you know what is he seven to five seven whatever?

You know, it's right, and he's young.

He might be longer than you last remember, Yeah, you know he'll make an impact. I don't know if the team will be any good in the sense of like being a playoff team. But you know, I mean someone's saying he'll be an All Star. I'm like, I'm not going to put that on him. You know, this is just you know, he's he's still got to have a learning curve. I'm interested to see what happens when he plays against guys going to be physical with him, right.

I think the highlight that I was most impressed by was like Wemby coming across the lane like scoop shot was something I don't think i'd seen from him like that.

That was I don't know that was good.

I think we've seen everything that's like, Okay, this guy's big, Like we get it. But then when you see these sort of like other finesse elements, you're like, I think the ball moved like fourteen sinse.

Yeah, it really doesn't make any sense, and I don't like it.

He could like be on one side of the restricted circle and go around someone with a scoop shot to the other side of the circle.

Yeah right, never touch them exactly.

Yeah, it's I mean, yeah, this is I'm I'm very I'm very excited.

I mean, like what, okay, So Jason, who are you thinking? Where?

What do you think the first test is going to be for Wenby in terms of like who who You're really going to be? Like, that's a matchup. I want to see that. I'll begin to really draw some data from.

Uh, I don't know what I'll get.

I want to see him go against Giannis mm hmmm, just to see it, I think. And I think obviously Joker is going to be so he's going to be

Looks, right right right, yeah, yeah, Like guarding perimeter players might might be interesting because as we saw, even though they will get past him, that doesn't really matter because getting past him unless you're like he's at the other end of the court, then you're not really past him because he can still block your shot.

Yeah, for nickname, I just want to put.

Monsieur Fantastic, like mister Fantastic on the table. We you know, there's been a lot of a lot of nickname ideas thrown out.

Yeah, I'm I'm still gonna go with doll Slim from Dollpher okay, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Yeah, or dal Sleazy, just to give it a little bit of just a little bit of you.

Know, yeah, yeah, I know if he wants to be sleep, but yeah.

Video games are superheroes like that.

That is what I'm getting that, Like it feels like we're seeing something that is c g I of some sort.

Right right right right, yeah, when you were watching them, like yeah, this is back when I was a kid, I'd like, you know what I'm gonna do on Live or two k I'm gonna create a player who's seventy five who can handle Yeah, exactly, and you go, you would never see a player like this. You know, he's going to be the same height as Yao Ming, but he's gonna dribble like a guard.

Yeah he has he's ai in Yao Ming's body. Okay, right, are you all ready for this? We'll see, we will see. What about I mean, are you feeling about Oklahoma City Jack?

That's your you know you got got some money on them.

You know, I got one hundred large on that because that's what I got.

Yeah, we'll say one largest. You go, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I don't know. Man got something that.

It was a flyer. It was a wild, a wild pick. But that's that's what I was interested in doing. And they look interesting. I mean, if check can check and come right in and play. I like that he had a little chip on his shoulder when he was like.

Yeah, that move's called a head butt. Uh you know legal thinks a lot. Yeah, reference, he's illegal, thanks.

A lot, dude. But I don't know why that's his voice. I'm sure he's much cooler than that.

His party just like, come on, man, just play so I had to feel like the guy at like twenty four hour Fitness who's calling a foul all the time, Like, come on.

Man, we're just playing. What about you, Jason? How do you think that?

What is it?

You?

Your opinion? What's your opinion of Oklahoma? Now you've chets here, this is something we got it. We got some kind of outlier contender. Where do you think they're gonna end up?

I think they're in that kind of where they were last year. They're in that top ten, top eight range. I mean, they got an young school. I mean, you threw you dropped Chet in there with Shae Giddy. I mean, that's that's a nice core of you know, with talent, and they I think Shay elevated them to a level that most people didn't expect last season. You know, yeah, right, they do have every Williams in the NBA.

That's probably they're consolidated.

They're hoarding Williams.

You know, if you got one, you know, Robert Williams better not get comfortable in Portland.

You know, Okay, they got him.

They just trade Chet for him.

They're like, sorry, man, we just have to consolidate all.

You I mean, you know, but I like, I like what they've got.

I just I wonder how I'm interesting, how chat does over the course of the year. I like Giddy, you know, and I think in today's NBA you got to have playmakers, and with with with Shae and with Giddy, you got to legit playmakers.

Yeah, uh, well, shall we move on to one of the other matchups.

Let's all that.

Money in the bank.

I think we can say, Okay, I see that, that's money in the bag. They're going to win the title. I think we're Yeah, we're all bond right now. You're gonna like that. You're gonna like the interest on that one.

So take your breame, come back and look around the league.

Sorry, you know me, I'm eager to watch the league, even if it is Yeah, the Lakers won.

A preseason game, that's right, Yeah, all.

Right, we will talk about that and other things around the league, including ESPN's somewhat confounding win predictions.

All yeah, help me understand this.

And we're back.

We're back, and the Lakers Austin Reeves coming through with some you know, big boy shots.

Yeah, yeah, squeaked it out against the nets.

But yeah, I mean, like we gotta we got a little a d blockage, we got some Lebron, a little bit of Bron. But yeah, I was like, it was nice to see Reeves and Thomas just trading threes.

I love to see that. But yeah, I was.

I you know, I'm I need to see more before I go full Laker mode and you know, completely disconnect from reality and say that we're winning it all.

But I like that. I'm not as panicked as I was going into this season as last year.

Uh, Jason, how do you feel as a so calm native someone from the area.

Do you did you? Did you? Did you catch the game at all?

Not? Really?

But I always start by Sam Lakers in six no matter what, I have no idea what the matchup is, I would just say Lakers and six. I know, even when they lost every preseason game last year, I was like.

Lakers and six, we'll get there. I like.

I like this Laker team, I really do. I just think I like them adding some shooting. I like the idea that maybe they'll be healthy, you know. I like having DeAngelo Russell and gay Vincent from the start of the season. I like not having to switch full gear, you know in February.

So I like this team.

I think in a lot of ways, maybe people are kind of underestimating them, you know, talking about Denver obviously, people are talking about what Phoenix might be.

You know.

I think every year we get the Clippers are going to do it, and I won't believe that until ever to actually see it. You know, it's you know, I think this Laker team is going to make some noise.

Yeah yeah, I mean looks we look deep and just seeing everything come together. Christian would still a bit of a question mark there, you know, but time will tell, I think.

To have I mean, you know, last season, they had guys playing when you're going I mean, if he's on the court, ever, we're probably in trouble and those guys are all you have three guys that got on the court together at the same time last year with the Lakers, right right. I swore they went and got every guard couldn't shoot and said let's go put them all on the same team and.

Just let's just see. I feel like this is a good one. I think this is going to start clicking.

But yeah, the question mark, so I think, yeah, for US fans last season, I felt like the Nick Young meme would just question marks over meeting, like, oh, okay, well I guess that's where we're going.

When you said Lakers and six heading into last season, did you know that that was going to be seventeen games that it was going to take them to get to six wins?

No, I did not know that.

I was thinking a big picture. I was picking yeah, first round of the playoffs, still winning six.

Yeah, you were right about that. I mean they went les.

Yeah, yeah, I wasn't thinking. I mean, yeah, that was one of the more brutal starts of my lifetime for the Lakers. It's like that was that was just bad. I'm like, yeah, yeah, well they went again. I was like, they're going to beat anybody.

Yeah.

Right.

Took years off super producer Jabari's life, and I get it. We were texting each other through that whole time, just being like do you see this, and like I just let's just think about it brighter tomorrow, and it feels like maybe this where we're at.

I don't think Darvinham gets enough credit for the job he did keeping that thing quasi even remotely afloat. I mean, go into a season with you know, Pat Bev and Russell Westbrook as your guards, yeah, you know and say, Okay, we're gonna somehow eke out enough wins to when you do make all these deals, you're not completely You're not like port you know, you're not really out of it right because another injuries hit. That was a bad, unwatchable team,

Yeah, it's gonna be interesting.

I'm sure everybody's gonna be motivated to get off to a better start this season.

Not that they were trying to lose last year, but.

Yeah, but I think that added benefit of knowing what a strong start means down the road, being like, look, if we can just correct that mess too, we're putting we're setting ourselves up in a much better you know, result at the end of the year.

Yeah.

So the one thing I'll say, so, I'm still shopping around for my team now that the Sixers just fill me with nothing but dread. You know, Sons are probably at the top just because of uh, you know, knowing Frank Vogel, really liking him as a person than being exciting.

You got to check them out a little bit too, Can you go to me?

Yeah, yeah, I got to.

My dad was at their training camp just kind of observing giving Frank some feedback because they've worked together for a number of years and I got to go down for twenty four hours and sit in on one of their practices. Kevin Durant is tall, so he's not lying. And they got Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. So those are my big scoops from training camp.

And how many points did you score?

You said it was a zero, but it was not for of putting up shots before security dragged me out of there, right right right.

But it was pretty cool. It was a pretty cool experience.

Yeah, it's funny because for your point about Darvin, like even the mention of Frank.

Vogel, I was like, oh man, yeah, what a time.

But yeah, I do completely, I really do underrate the fact that he kept this thing together when that, honestly, I think in retrospect is like an impossible proposition.

But he did it. So I've never successful.

He rooted against a lebron team for a whole season, so it's always going to come back to me kind of pulling.

For the Lakers a little bit.

So sure, we'd love to have love to have you. Shall we talk about some of these ESPN rankings D have me.

I guess.

I mean, rankings are always great for engagement in our business.

Yeah, because it's like I feel like the same way, like we always on our other show, we always get incense when people put out like like the top like nineties hip hop albums, like numbers one through fifteen, We're like, what are they doing?

Like Sanconi is not even on.

Here, And that's what sort of these I feel like too. Yeah, they're they're good. They're good outrage bait for sure.

Yeah, I mean so on the players.

So they put out players there, They put out one hundred through fifty one rankings of players, and I think the only things that really jumped out to me was how bad their rankings.

Were last year.

Yeah, Like they had Chris Paul at number twenty one, the twenty first best player in the league last season, which seems.

Very strong for him.

A lot of optimism, I think in that one way, too much optimism because now he's fallen with fifty five spots.

Yeah, yeah, he's he should have been seventy six.

He should have been seventy six.

I don't know, but I mean I guess he had been really good, like through long stretches, but he just like felt like he was didn't have enough gas in the tank to be twenty one last year.

That seemed like it was.

Based on, you know, just priors, right, So like what, well, Chris Paul's got to be one of the best players in league. But the other big thing, Franz Wagner is fifty two this year, which feels about right. He wasn't ranked at all last season, which is wild. That feels like a like they just forgot that he played in the NBA or something, because yeah, yeah, when he should have been at the top hundred Zion's at fifty seven, he was forty last year.

That feels too low to me. But I don't know.

I mean, I guess if you're taking health into it, then maybe maybe that makes sense.

Right right right?

What's jumping out me? You guys?

I mean no, that honestly, that the going from twenty one to seventy six for Chris Paul, I was like, oh, okay, I mean that that feels a little bit more like a real reasonable correction. I love seeing Austin Reeves getting in there from going from not at all to sixty six. I like the continued uh resaissance that we're witnessing.

Yeah, but yeah, like that.

But other than that, I mean, it's I'm just sort of like, Okay, we'll see, you know if if any of this makes sense. These are kind of like the things like to Jason's point, where like I've I remember it in the moment I see it, but I'm never coming back to this information like in the season, like they had.

Reeves at a sixty six? Can you believe it? Like no one, no one's talking about.

Well, well, well yeah.

I'm not gonna say.

You know, Kevon Looney was the eighty eighth best player and he shut down the bonus whatever numbers the bonus.

Is right right right, yeah, yeah, it's it's it's wild.

What about these win project I think the wind projections were something that were I'm completely lost with, Like, I don't know how how these win totals are.

Being adjudicated or predicted. Do what do what? Huh?

It's just all stats basically that we're going like, it feels like such a there's some aggressive departures from even what the money people are saying in Vegas.

Yeah, it's weird.

So the Western Conference predictions they have landing in first place in the Western Conference. The Memphis Grizzlies with a whopping forty eight wins. That's the best record in the Western Conference. Yeah, forty eight at number two, the Timberwolves at forty seven. It just it feels like they just did a math equation and like we're like, all the teams will have about the same number of wins, and that's that is what we're looking.

At, and then arrange them how you like.

Yeah, then published the Nuggets at forty six, the Warriors and in fourth at forty three. The Suns don't show up until fifth place, and they are barely five hundred at forty three and a half wins. The Pelicans come in sixth, the Kings and seventh the Lakers squeaking into the play in eight with forty one and a half wins, the MAVs at nine with also forty one and a half wins. First of all, I don't think any of these teams are going to have half a win. That would be my fu.

Yeah, I do you have a point two win, That's what I'm saying. So this is already the math doesn't check out, but.

Your point.

Because like so last season's last season's edition of these projections they said were sixty percent accurate with the over under totals, and like, I don't know, like to your point, Jack if just if it does feel like they just had like chat gpt to it. They're like, use these stats now, tell me what the rankings are going to be. And they're like, yeah, you got Memphis in there, number one, Minnesota two.

Yeah, there it is. Jason, what are you thinking?

This is hilarious. I just think it's hilarious.

I mean you look at it like the Warriors are going to the Warriors who got older and smaller.

They're gonna be the stats four spots ahead of the Lakers, but only two games in front of the Lakers.

Yeah right, yeah, yeah.

I mean I'm just like, I guess they don't care that job's gonna miss how many games. I know they have a good record without him, you know, but you're gonna miss twenty five and you know it isn't tighest going now. So it's like maybe they think Marcus Smart and Derek Derek Rose will have a you know, a renaissance, and I don't know, I said, this is no, it.

Feels like Marcus Smart getting a lot of a lot of love. But then when you go over to the Eastern Conference, right, the Celtics are are the only team that they predict will get over fifty wins this season, which I has that ever happened?

Has there been such parody in.

The league that nobody gets only one team gets to fifty wins? That feels I don't think so it feels weird to me if that, if that happened.

All the rankings are weird to me.

How does how does Minnesota, which couldn't figure out how Townsend go bear even play together?

Yeah? Right?

The second in the West?

Yeah, second, because they figured it out, like the I feel like they haven't figured out how to do defense. Yeah, And so Gobert, being a defensive stopper who like affects a lot around the rim, gets over indexed and and things like these, you know, and then he's like, it turns out the fact that he makes your offense kind of stagnant and makes it so the cat can't be on the floor because he can't guard the fours in the league. Like, you know, it's just these sorts of things.

Well, what they jack, they got so to round it up, they have the Calves in second, forty eight point six wins, But yeah, I didn't I was expecting that forty eight and a half jack the Sixers fourth, forty six point nine.

Are you feeling that you can see the MBM?

Fine? I can see them in fourth for sure. I mean they're all right.

I wonder what the what was the Vegas prediction that was it around this? Was it around forty six?

Is they dropped off? I think they were like forty four?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, so they dropped off.

And then yeah, the Knicks forty four point six, that's at fifth and six. The Hawks almost forty four wins seventh heat with forty two point seven eight Raptors a simp same thing, almost forty three wins, the Nets forty, and then the Pacers thirty eight, just almost thirty nine wins in tenth.

So we shall see will the ais come for our jobs?

I think that's what we will really find out depending on these rankings, in which might was the only ones.

Who are gonna have a actually normal win total because they've got forty forty point zero wins.

Yeah, right, right right.

You don't want fractions, which is a first.

Yeah, well, we'll talk about statistics later. It's kind of complicated.

Yeah, but I don't know.

I would be really surprised if the Grizzlies and the Timberwolves were one and two in the West.

But yeah, I'm crazy, Jason, who's your one and two in the West and one and two in the East? Just from you know, just from what you're what you're feeling, what you're observing.

What would you say, how would you correct this list? Well?

I just think in the East is going to be the two best teams are going to be Boston and Milwaukee.

To me, that yeah, that feels that seems easy.

Uh see.

The West is trickier because I want to say the Lakers will be up there, and I want to say Denver, you know. But then again because I also take into account the fact that I don't think that it's based on recent history that Phoenix. I don't think Kdi plays you know, eighty games, so that'll probably knock them down a pick. I can't see the Clippers having those guys all together for an entire season.

This has never happened.

I don't think the war Warriors are as good as that projection is. You know, and I just think Memphis. I mean, I think it's gonna I think Memphis will be around there. But I just can't. I think I'm gonna go lean on the two teams that were in the conference finals, right, you know, I think I wouldn't be surprised to say if Denver went down to three, wouldn't shock me. I mean, I think, you know, them losing.

Right.

That guy looked that good because of the team he was on. Like, not that he's a bad player, but if you're expecting him to be the guy you saw playing next to Steph and Clay or whoever was Shack whatever, you know, you end up with a guy making a gang of money and you're like, well, how come he's not as good as he was? Well, you don't have Jokic next to him.

That's why, right, right right, Yeah, It's the context they were in. It's like, oh man, well now there goes a ton of my cap space.

Yeah. I think I'm going Spurs Thunder one and two based. I don't know if I'm just I don't know if I got money on.

Recency bias or what. But Spurs the number one, the number one.

Okay, see a number two?

Yeah for you, I'm gonna say, okay, see number one, Lakers two.

Okay, I appreciate that.

Yeah, just just just so I can one for you, one for me, you know what I mean.

Okay, Well, let's take another break and we'll come back to close this thing out with the rapid fire round of questioning.

Would this thing out with extreme prejudice?

Exactly right after this, put your helmets and seat belts on, folks.

It's gonna be wild.

We'll be back, and we are back, Jason Jones. You're back on the show, and that means obviously you are back in the hottest seat in sports podcasting. It's time for the rapid fire round of questioning. Okay, so you know how this goes. I'm just gonna ask you a question,

Okay, sound good?

That was good?

Okay, good. I think we're ready for this. Jack, you're ready to yeah?

I think so.

Do you feel like Jason knows the temperature of the seat, Like, do we need to do some metaphors of like how hot the seed is?

I feel like the seat is like.

You know, the car's been parked outside for an entire afternoon three point.

Thirty in August.

Oh yeah, yeah, leather interior.

You're wearing the shortest of shorts.

Yeah, some will call them daisy dukes.

Even yeah, and a man shorts.

Yeah.

I think we're made of metal for some reason. Yeah, m hm mm hmm.

Yeah, So why I in case you're wondering how hot this seed is?

Okay, and Jason, again, you've got to keep this segment moving and we haven't even started. But again, just a warning, you have to keep this movie.

Brian, start the clock. Okay, all right, Jack.

Going first, going first, going first?

Yeah, yeah, let's I think I should go first. It feels this feels like one that needs to come from me. Okay, I just feel like, don't you think it should come for me? Like I Yeah, and looking at just how complex the just the whole question is, of course, I can barely wrap my head around the question.

So yeah, I think it's it's probably better.

For you to Jason listen. Uh, thanks for thanks for coming here today. Thanks youving time. Uh yeah, the seat, the seed is very hot.

Yeah, but yeah, I am gonna ask you to sit down in it.

I want to ask you what's your boldest prediction for the upcoming NBA season?

The boldest prediction. Oh, that's a tough one.

Uh, I'm like something crazy. Yeah, the Kings want to around the playoffs.

Wow? Okay, does that is that bold?

I feel that's bold one more round than the last year.

Yeah they I mean they haven't won a playoff round in what seventeen eighteen years?

Yeah, you know that's not really even bold, though.

I think a bold one would be I'm gonna say, okay, see, definitely makes the playoffs.

Wow, now we're talking and now I'm making money.

I've warmed up. Okay, see definitely gets in there.

We go. Okay, he's warmed up. Get ready for the Dallas does not Dallas man.

I don't understand the Dallas thing that people people being like they they've got it this year. They figured it out this year. I don't know how they feel like a team that should have made a coaching change maybe and it should have maybe made a couple more changes. But people are really the Grant Williams thing. They're like, this is gonna it's gonna make some changes. Everything around him put them over the top.

That was the issue last year they didn't have Grant Williams.

My main thing is that the players on that team didn't seem annoyed.

Enough they you know, I feel like they would.

Play better if they were super annoyed. It's the white man can't jump logic of who plays the best. You have to be annoyed by your teammate.

You find that extra gear.

And Jason, we got to keep this segment moving and I appreciate you know, obviously the answer.

But we got to move to this next question.

Jason Jones, who is the best player you've ever witnessed in person? And what did they do as you bore witness to that event?

Best player in person? Shack and he just destroyed the entire Golden State Warriors front line and made them look like children.

Mm hmm, cried, Yeah they go here, Oh Eric, damn Pier, Oh man, I hope he's okay. I hope he's okay.

Is it would Shack be the same answer for a player you feel like you need to see in person to fully appreciate.

Yes, yeah, how big race, how big athletic Shack really is?

That's the thing. It's like what he's known for.

And yet everybody I know who has met him in person is like, yeah, but like he's like really, he's bigger than you think. He's bigger than your mind can make sense of.

Oh yeah, yeah yeah, because you go, yeah, like the people on the TV screen are big and tall, and then you're in the presence of someone who like, is you know, feet taller than you, Then yeah, you're it's a whole other thing.

It's a whole other thing.

All right.

What is the most underrated NBA city to visit? And also what is your must have meal? In that town.

I'd say Portland, and there's a there's a restaurant now with truck now. It is called La Montage Bistro. They're like occasion food and they have like this macaroni and cheese.

It is amazing.

I get the I would get the macaroni and cheese with like buffalo hot sauce and chicken in it.

It's amazing.

Oh, I appreciate the thorough answer. So many times you were just like, oh, you got to try the food everywhere in one town, but you gave me a real dish. Where is it macar Sorry say that again.

You just got some macaroni and cheese with like like they have like they have like all these different options. But the one I would get is the macaroni and cheese with the chicken and the hot sauce and the blue cheese crumbles. Oh yeah, and they were a food truck now having in the food truck, but it was a restaurant. I'd always hits post game in Portland.

Yeah okay, I love on that sucker and took it mobile.

Yeah yeah, okay, how about this, Jason, because I got to keep this thing moving.

If you could have any player's skill set for a day. Whose skill set is it? And what is it? What skills specifically? And where are you using it? La Fitness twenty four fitness the local directly.

I would take steff shooting.

And where are you taking it?

Where you taking it?

I'm up first, I'm taking it to the playground, the hustle people.

Yeah, oh, how would you do it? Would you?

Would you put money on individual shots? Would you say like, hey, let's run some twos real quick?

Well, I mean I got it. I got three hundred bucks on me.

Anybody else I'd run some twos because you look at me, I don't like a football player, no one, and pull up from thirty five and hit shot.

So yeah, that's what I do.

Okay, Okay, yeah, I like it.

This is the first time actually that anyone has used the skill set to then articulate.

It's like, oh, then I'm gonna hustle people.

Yeah, and then I would commit fraud. That's not fraud.

Could you take someone to court, they'd be like, you're on heor this guy said he had no jumper and then he was just it was splash City from like forty I couldn't believe what I was seeing so I do want my thirty five dollars back.

I feel that. I that's why I came to small claims court. I don't know if you can claim that, but you only have.

A skill set for a day. So the judge is like, all right, let's see the jumper. Let's see it, and then it's no longer wet.

Yeah.

I'm like, come on, I just had a good day. You're on.

I just dismissed.

Please take your Please take your thirty five dollars and go, mister Jones.

I'm sorry for the inconvenience.

Sam to get thirty five dollars.

This one comes from the mind and fingertips nimble fingertips super producer Jabbari, who says you can go back in time and permit either Nick van Exel or Eddie Jones to stick with the Shaq Kobe squads for those title runs. Which one are you choosing to take that ride?

I'm keeping Eddie, Eddie.

He didn't need a point guard Relina triangle like that, so I'm thinking I'm keeping Eddie Eddie.

I think we have CJ Toldonald and I think he picks Saint Nick van Excellent at the time, and I was.

I was heartbroken.

As Eddie Jones fan, I was like, it's got to be Eddie, got to be.

Eddie is the guy I always say, Man, I wish he could have got a ring with.

Yeah, oh yeah for sure that.

I mean, he was my favorite player in that era and I was.

Was heartbroken that he wasn't there for that.

Okay, next question and final question, Justin Jones, you got to pick one, ready, jack Er Miles.

Wow, mm hmmm mm hmmm jack.

Yeah, barely any hesitation, Miles, Oh.

Wow, that was wow. Yep, you got that. That was a fair one.

That's wrong and that was wrong.

That was a fair one. That was a fair one.

You made the wrong choice, But I appreciate it.

Anyone anyone who probably who will still claim the Sixers, I gotta respect.

Yeah, jeez, Okay, we love.

More so for the amusement of it because I have a future.

And I just enjoy watching their like utter misery and just they it's like the most angry, just fan base of all my NBA fan friends.

Yeah yeah, just like broken down emotionally just yeah, not not not feeling great.

Bruck up as they say. Well, Jason Jones, thank you so much. For joining us on Miles and jackot mad boost these Where can people find you and read you support your work?

All that?

You can find me on at the Athletic dot Com. I'm the league culture writer there and whatever it's called now whatever ex Twitter, I'm mister Underscore. Jason Jones on Instagram, I'm mister Jones LBC and the LBC stands for Longbach, California.

There there we go, let them know, let them know.

Uh. And also before we go out, we want to shout out some of our listeners of the week. We are asking some of y'all, who is your league past team for this upcoming season? At doctor mcademic says okay, see will be here, baby, yeah.

Uh.

Former guest Warren Shaw at Shaw Sports NBA said okay see, and the Kangs will be his league bass teams.

Okay.

Kate at Greg Smith Rival says the Bucks are must watch.

I b us Lee and robld Duke's cell says.

He'll be tuning in for the Pacers Magic and okay see, well that's three teams.

But hey, I get Raul Duke cell.

Okay, you're right, So maybe I forgive my ignorance Raoul for that.

Just how you can, Like, I usually tweet from my cellular telephone and that's why.

This is Raoul Duke cell How can I help you? That is like, that's what he does when you tweet at him.

Make sure you follow us on Twitter. You can find me at miles of gray Jack where they find.

Sorry real quick? What what is your answer? What is your My number? One is going to be the Spurs. I can't I can't get enough of this one. But I'm a kid. Do you guys have answers? You're I can get enough of this Grady Dick kid. So it's going to be the Toronto l Yeah.

I mean I can't get enough of his draft day suit, although you know the TBD of how much how much I'll actually be able to see him. So I think for me it's probably Wemby And as I was saying before we record did and the Kings too, you know you got a little I got a little, a little corner in my heart right like to see those the boys in Purple do something.

You know, you can't be nice to another NBA team without being so condescended.

I am being nice. I think it's fantastic.

I think it's it would be cute, you know before.

It's a very la thing. How a Laker nation refers to every other team in California. Yeah, like when the Warriors going on, like we were like, oh, we're still happy for you, little brother.

You did something.

Oh y'all got to go. That's cool. Oh hey man, help help me with this. I'm kind of old. Can you help me hang number eighteen up? Okay, so much, Thank you, so much.

Gratuations you're you guys can stop wearing our Laker jerseys and where you're grown off.

Yeah, you can put the Kobe jersey away.

Also, make sure to follow us at hashtag mat Boosties, you know, check out all the show links and updates from there.

Uh, that's gonna do it for us. This week.

Obviously, we're going to be back with even more fun because we can talk about people playing the game again.

So we'll see then.

Alright, piece and blessings, Bye bye,