Well, well, well, there are no more undefeated teams than the any but the Nugget Celtic Sixers, am MAVs have each scotten off the blinding starts, and we're gonna get into some of those teams and the state of the Indiana Pacers with podcaster and host Chris Barnett on today's episode.
I'm Miles Break and I'm Jack O'Brien and this is.
Check there you can be driving spinning.
Curry, a three stop curry from the hotel again.
Ben time.
All right, here we are another episode, great, great developments all around the league.
No more undefeated team hate you hate it?
I really it hurt me to see Anthony Edwards. Do the Celtics like that?
Now?
I'm like any other team Anthony, but not my Celtics Economy love them. So that was that was wonderful. What a fun What a fun game for me.
Yeah, and we're joined today Chris Barnett hoopspaces dot com, uh and the host for Playback TV.
Welcome Chris, Welcome, Welcome back, Chris.
I appreciate being back. Guys. You guys are the best. Miles in Jack got mad b The NBA Podcast Not So True.
The only one that matters.
Can tell you what. Watching Anthony Edwards do that to the Celtics brought a smile to my.
Face, A smile you sick man.
Day for a Boston Celtics self.
Oh come on, wow, they're so good this year that it's it is like, it's fun. It'll be fun every time. Like I think we should like have an unofficial holiday every time they lose anybody who's a Celtics hater, because they're gonna be few and far between. Yeah, if they stay healthy, they're they're really really good.
They just get better and better. It's frustrating and you look at the ins and outs and you're like, how they get away with all this?
It's like what, Yes, we were on text this week. I was like how I'm still just like how why do bad things happen too good basketball fans? How did anybody let that Drew holiday trade happen to be? Like from this day and age, knowing how most people feel about the Celtics. Sorry, Celtics fans, you guys know how I feel about you. I respect you.
It's just it's a lot of pain. There's a lot of pain.
I get it, and look there wouldn't be this much, you know, ribbing, if there wasn't actual pain, So you do have that.
Obviously.
This is the most fun NBA season yet Webby Yama. We'll get to it, but I am watching every game. Uh, the Pacers one not as much fun for Wemby watchers, no, but the one before that was the moment where everyone kind of turned to each other and we're like, whoa, that's that's wild.
Is that him?
Is he really him? Though?
Oh I was. I was pretty wild on Wimby too. Like I'd actually made the comparison not to Koreem coming out of UCLA because he was a twenty two year old already kind of solid product. But what would Kareem average in today's NBA as a nineteen year old whose greatest competition was under seventeens?
Right?
Yeah? Yeah, watching greatness being born in front of us, it's just amazing.
Yeah, really cool.
It's so wild and p or like, well, first, it's like it's the preseason. Oh, it's just still early. Still, it doesn't matter what's point of the season. You are, wrinkles. Yeah, we'll keep an eye on that. We'll keep an eye Yeah, And it's anomalous.
Yeah, but he ran into a buzzsaw in Indianapolis. Yeah, Pacers are off to a four and three start plus three point two differential so far. That's skewed a little bit because they beat the Spurs by one hundred and fifty two points. I believe they've already been the Cavs twice. But yeah, they just hung one hundred and fifty two on the Spurs. I think the Spurs did end up scoring in that game, but it was not a very
close game the Pacers. I mean that's the second time I think opening Night, Like, just watching the scores, I was like, wait, the Pacers have like all the points there. The Pacers going to score two hundred tonight.
They whacked the Washington in the opening. It was not a fun game if you were Wizard Sam.
Yeah, but Caliburton looks great. What do you Yeah, how are you feeling as a as a Pacers fan? And you are wearing the new the new indie hat, which yeah, stay repping.
Yeah, stay, I've been pretty high a Tyrese Haliburt. You know, you have to fight next Twitter sometimes and you have to, you know, fight the advanced analytics guys sometimes just he just gets it. Yeah, yeah, because they want to put him in a specific box, right, Like he's hyper efficient, he's great with pace, but like you kind of take away the aspect of how he can create offensively and you put him in this idea of like he's really just exposing the rules as well as the pace of play.
I actually think he's kind of discounted with his basketball acumen. And I think what we'll see this year is he'll start actually taking the mental leap as opposed to just the productive leap that he did as a starter. Like, I think this guy is really the limit. You're talking assist leader multiple years. He shores up that one on one defense, and he'll be a complete two way player.
And we're talking literally season after season of a potential fifty forty ninety, right, averaging twenty four eleven maybe twelve assists, almost two steals, four boards. Like, the sky's really the limit. For That's why the Pacers signed to the Max despite only really having one year of a trapper, Right.
I was watching a couple of highlight reels. Sadly even in that in that game where y'all put one hundred and fifty two on the Spurs, I only saw Webbin Yama highlights for it, Like I was like, wait, but they scored one hundred and fifty two points. Obviously there's that Isaiah Jackson block that I was I was almost like it. I couldn't believe what I saw. I thought I was like watching Avengers or something, and.
Like, how do you do that? How do you do that?
What I mean, how are you Obviously, like going into the game, weren't you guys like the worst in terms of defense, like like going into that game or near the bottom.
Still still pretty much near the bottom, Like yeah, yeah, the points for getting fool you. They are a young and richy team right now. They overhelp, they overrotate leads to easy buckets for the opposing offense. I think that shores up a little bit with Rick Carlisle, like he's just too experienced as a coach to not get a handle on the defense. And then I think one of the major issues is they don't really have an actual pain protected Like Miles is great an elite help defendant,
but he's not necessarily going to be that big body. Hey, you're not going to, you know, come in here and score on us, because you're going to get foul or hurt, and I think the defense really lacks for that. But once you get that everybody on here is athletic enough to recover. Then it's just basic defensive principles. And I like Rick Carlisle, you know, around this young team, getting them set up right, and like, if you look at
it this way, they can only get better. You're giving up, you know, over one hundred and twenty one points per game. If you get that down to one sixteen and you're putting out one twenty one, then you're talking to like the Atlanta Hawks run to the e cl right, they maybe catch fire and and after catching fire offensively, they just shoot up.
This is a great fan logic, like you listen to a true fan, it's like and then you're talking Atlanta Hawks for a few years ago, and.
Those numbers add up to Yeah, yeah, I got to push the prop again.
And now that was what that was, Rick Carlisle. This is nine hundred game, right, I think that that last.
Nine or nine on one?
Yeah yeah, yeah, it's my calculator. Yeah, I do track his wins and I think that's right. Yeah, yeah, he should be up to nine on one right now.
Yeah, there it is yep, yep, back then. Very interesting, dude.
Yeah, other people as a Lakers fan, always checking out Buddy, healed, he's looking pretty pretty good too for y'all.
Uh, what's how you as a Lakers fan? What does that mean?
Miles? What does that mean? As I'm always checking out Buddy?
Yeah, because I look at the NBA like a cheesecake factory menu, and I look at all the items available to me, and it doesn't matter what is possible, what is even allowed within the rules of the game or economics there.
Mentally, that's how this, this is how it works.
I never said it makes sense, but again, like I always say, I am ill because.
I was noticing that Jabari was like, yeah, they re upped with Turner after years of trade rumors, mostly sending him to the Lakers. But he is still waiting to be waiting to be moved, is somebody? So that's the description that we have for somebody who has not yet been traded to the Lakers. They're waiting to be moved.
That is that is still the truth. He requested it in the off season. Part of it. Part of it, I think is actually fallout from from not landing DeAndre Ayton, like there's a connection there. They wanted to play with each other. Ayton had expressed his wanting to go to Indianapolis Sondi al rashif Phoenix mashed it. But part of the problem also is like when you look around this team, they have the same problem with t J. Connell, who is a fantastic backup point guard. They have young players
ready to come up and take those minutes. And when you look at Benedict Mather and starting, you got Ben Sheppard coming, you know you've got to get these young players minutes. You got Drace Walker who can play the three or the four, and that cuts into somebody who's ready to compete now. And like, I totally understand and back it. There are several teams too who have interest. They just didn't want to probably pay the first round
pick in the offseason. But when you start looking and projecting towards the trade deadline, and we'll start doing that next month, you know, after twenty five games, all of us are going to be like, you know, we need to fix this team. They're in a great position like they'd be able to trade Healed and TJ McConnell to a contender, likely get a good unprotected first round pick.
Here's looking at you, Philadelphia, right, they could be moving off of Miles Turner if they think Isaiah Jackson is more than just the athlete that he's been able to flash. So like, if you're looking at that, maybe the Lakers get the person that they actually want next to Anthony Davis, who's making you know, a contract the next two years under thirty mili. Like, it's a lot of different avenues they can go. But if they compete and like they hit that sixth seed, they can add a major piece.
And that's something that I don't think a lot of people are expecting. And it could be something as simple as maybe Gordon Hayward going home to Indianapolis getting an expiring contract, who will be a swing forward and maybe because you can actually afford it because their cap is flexible with how they trade, you can get another by low cell high vet with the one of the Martin twins, not Caleb who's in Charlotte, but his twin brother, I mean sorry in Miami, his twin brother and Charlotte, and
then you shore up the wing depth as well. So like there's many things that they can do and they sitting in a pretty advantageous position.
I love it, Hope Springs Eternal, I love I love where you're coming from. I think you should be the GM. This team is super fun. Haliburton is super fun. They're leading the league in points per game, so and I think leading the league in points against. So you're always you're always going to see a lot of buckets. Yeah, should we move over to Wemby? Because yes, he got he got blocked. When he got blocked, I was like, this is what I was expecting to happen, like one
or two times a game. He's so big, He's entering a league with like the fastest, strongest human beings on the planet. Like, why he's going to get blocked all the time? He got blocked in the Indiana game. It's the main headline, the main highlight that came out of that game, that came out of that night.
I feel like, but.
You know it happened earlier this week, Wemby went against the Suns, put up twenty in the first half, thirty eight for the game, ten boards, two blocks, and really, like we talked, I think of the last episode about how his fourth quarter stats are crazy, like really really good and we were like, maybe it's because he's kind of used sparingly so he can like pick his spot. But no, I think like he really took over, Like he really seemed to just be like, all right, I'm
taking the game over right now. This is like it was a very close game and he was kind of scoring at will on the suns.
He's like, what do you want?
You want to three? Okay, you want a mid range? Okay, you want to just drop it in? Like right, I'll do it all, baby, I'll do it all.
Yeah.
Yeah. I think like what a lot of people didn't really understand was when the's ability to control his body right, Like he's dunked on people who are legit six eleven seven foot from outside the restricted zone. Yeah, and he's not doing it pushing any athleticism, like he's literally just that long. But if you look at how he does it,
he's able to manipulate and and comport his body. And he also does it on the defensive end too, Like it is really like playing basketball against slender Man, because he keeps you in his body, and he keeps you in his wingspan without touching you, and several of his blocks are completely without jumping. It's the same on offense, and like Greg Popovich is purposely playing him out on the perimeter, you know, to save the contact on the
knees in the back. But because if you end up playing him out on the perimeter and you're able to start a driving kick game or Kelton Johnson or doesn't, the cell gets hot, the defense tends to shift and you get those wide open wing matchups and he's just unstoppable, like you literally saw Kevin Durant try to jump up with him. Kevin Durant is an awesome athlete and a
phenomenal basketball player. He made him look six inches shorter. Yeah, yeah, So when we look at that aspect, we have to land credence to the ability to naturally understand his physiology. And I think he doesn't get credit for that because we see seven foot seven guys come in the league and fail right role, Don Bradley, George Mirason. You know, Boban is just like he's an afterthought. He's just a big dude, and he's funny. He's really funny and.
With right right.
When he's a guard, it's applying seven to four with a foot wingspan. I've seen in nut made you know, Reggie Bullock a hundred times now, it's amazing, So we should just enjoy it and like that's gonna be more of the norm. Yeah, right, Like you don't just do that against the best players in the world once and disappear.
Right, just right, Yeah, because it doesn't.
I mean, like to look at that and think that there's somehow going to be like a regression, I think is just odd because you're like, you know, this this is I see only upward, Like this is only going up from here.
So yeah, especially in his rookie year, Yeah, exactly, Like he's yeah, and he seems to have like I don't know, you're seeing like a little bit of personality. I don't want to like read too much into personality, but like he seems to have like some of the cockiness that you would kind of need to continue to ascend upwards. Like he and like kind of seems to get pissed off when he's in a moment and like gets scored on.
He did the thing that all Superstars did and got mad at Dylan Brooks for talking trash.
And like when he scored on him, like pointed.
At his face. So like he has he has passed that signpost on the on the road to being a great player. But I don't know. This is like I'm so so excited about when biamo, Like it's truly a distraction from every other NBA storyline for me, Like it's the first thing I'm checking for every night, Like I'm like, all right, first of all, are the Spurs playing? Is it on TV? Can I check it out? And then that's then everything else follows from there.
So I don't know, it's it's it's like I said, my my very first NBA memory is Isaiah Thomas scoring a layup right off of the tip against the Boston Celtics.
My grandmother was a die hard Pistons there. That's my first memory. Yeah, I track my NBA history and like I literally was watching Lebron his debut on ESPN in a tent. I saw Kobe Bryant and like, I'm sitting here, there's nothing we've ever seen like this now, Like there's nothing we're ever gonna see like this again, And like the fact that he's able to go at it with these guys who are pros, like Dylan Brooks, and like,
if you ever see him courtside you'll hear him. He gets chatty with everybody.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it is dope.
Like this is personification of what the NBA has always wanted, you know, a real wive two K player.
Like it's it's hard to imagine, all right, So a seven foot four guard who can shoot, like has a great looking shot and like a shot that when he gets it going goes in does like has all the right instincts on defense. Like what it like we would need somebody like like with mutant superpowers at this point to be like the next evolution because he is like kind of every everything that you would design in a player, Like yeah, seven seven five, You're like, is that too tall?
The seven foot four seems to be working out real nice for him with an eight foot wingspan, Like that seems to work out pretty nicely.
Yeah. See. The thing, the thing that I love the most is he made the Wilt Chamberlain post score. Like it's it's like a half jump shot, half layup. Right. Yeah, he does it to sustain health and not hurt his knees. But like he that's unstoppable.
Yeah.
In today's game, with the way they have to call how you how the players need the space for landing. That's unstoppable. If he's out on the three, you can't you can't even get a foot in because you're gonna encroach on his landing. That's unstoppable. So then he's gonna start going to the line, guys. Yeah, he's not even
getting to the line yet. Just wait until he's getting to the line eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen times a game, you know, maybe six seven games a month, and then still gets to the line seven eight every other game. Like we could be talking by the time he's in a sophomore year, like thirty point season.
Yeah, it's it's wild.
We're all Thomas Bryant basically, Yeah, we.
A Ryan.
That's what I love about That's what I love about it that moment.
Yeah, uh, just confused Pikachu, Like what do I do now, you know?
But they would already make a great thirty for thirty about his NBA career so far, Like that's for me. I watch the hell out of that. He He's averaging six point eight points, two point two rebounds, in one block in six games in the fourth quarter this season, shooting seventy two percent from the floor and forty three percent from three, So it's yeah, I don't know.
They do it with Jeremy Sohana at his point guard too.
Yeah, that's right, that's yeah. Yeah.
I mean he's like a generational defensive force and they are giving up the most points in the league right now. It's actually not the Pacers. The Pacers are second to them. Granted, I think the fact that they played the Pacers probably hurts them in one of those six games. But yeah, the surrounding cast could use some work, but I think I think they're they just in general, are going to be better than people expect.
All right, so we take a break. Yeah, let's take a break. We'll be right back, and we're back as we are. Let's check in with the best team in the NBA, the Denver Nuggets. Oh boy.
As recording seven and one to start, jo Kic has no off switch. He's doing his own press conferences. I don't know if you saw that clip of him just asking himself the questions and answering them before the press could even as he's.
Firing on all what was the nature of the questions he was asking It was just like.
It was basically highlighting the fact he's like already know you're going to ask me about triple doubles, like he just it was like one of those things where he's like, y'all, this feels like it's on a like it. I'm I already asked myself the questions. Here's my prepared statement, and then if you have other questions, we can do that too. But I have a feeling I know what you're gonna ask.
That one where the reporter from the playoffs or the reporter was like, so you're up to on the suns, like, do you expect them to come back having figured out some new things? He's like, no, my friend, I expect them to let us win and forfeit such a just complete like dead pan.
He did carry the whole This is just a job thing for like five years, you know. Then he wins the chip and then we see the personality all the it's it's dope. I love him. It doesn't change.
No, I don't think. I don't see that happening. It seems like the outfits are changing a little bit.
You know, he's got to be a bit funny if he went Hollywood, like was.
Right, that's what in l A right, yeah, right, horse is disgusting.
No, touch no horse, not with these hands, no Nikola. But yeah, I mean I think at this point it's theirs to lose.
It feels like, but yeah.
I talked about horses. How about the four hundred horses that this baby gets. And he slaps a super rou that around because.
He saw he has like a dealership too. He's got like, hey, come on down, you know what I mean. Yeah, So they're they're looking great. Celtics again, they're five.
To one as of this recording.
They Yeah, I mean we talked about aunt already just just doing helping us the people who live in perpetual fear of the Celtics being great helped us out.
And I know for you a great no they are. I mean, look, that's there's no I'm not.
I'm not out here hating on a team because it's it's because they're good.
It's because Tatum got stronger and better. He got a lot strong, like he in that in that one clip where like ant out wrestles him for the ball, like he's still like that. That was one of the moments where I was like, yeah, but he's like just as fast and Tatum like put on a lot of muscle in the off season and he's still like great in all the ways he was great before. They are terrifying. Yeah, they just got better, Like they just keep getting better.
I've heard I've heard like that defensive backcourt, Like are we really going to be looking at that the entirety of the season, like with Derek White and Shrew Holliday. Like if we look at what Milwaukee's doing, they're big new three, put up seventy two, but their defense isn't good. Miami looks like they're taking a step back and having
to retool. Philadelphia might be interesting, but Philadelphia would also have to be relying on the Anthony Melton and Kelly ou Bray And I just don't know if that's what you're going to go into when you're Boston and like you go to Boston in the Garden and you gotta deal with Derek White and then like you gotta deal with Drew Holliday. Yeah, and it's just thirty four minutes of pure grind, and that is what is their superpower
come playoffs. That they're healthy, Like it's like playing Pat Bev thirty six minutes, but like they're gonna score fifteen to sixteen points in dish out sevens.
Yeah, and I think we should have known it was trouble when Derek White shaved his head.
Yes, you know what I mean.
I'm like, oh, he's serious listening. Yeah, yeah, he knows, he knows, and this is this is this means business, that's business witnesses.
Yeah, like the Anthony Meltain but uh that Yeah, there are some other things that make me worry about that matchup for sure.
Yeah.
Is Dame actually playing defense? You're talking about the Bucks. He's not a great defensive player. Yeah. I've seen some criticisms. I felt a little bit.
I've seen some screens that he's he's still.
Feeling yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
I have enjoyed the return of damn time and some of his clutch clutch performances that that teams fun. The league is so fun this year. Just even your sixers, even speaking of keeps getting better. Just when you think, all right, well, that's gotta be the peak. Joel Embiid, what's going on with him? Averaging over thirty two points? His splits are incredible. He's yeah, he's playing incredible. We've added you know, terrees Max he was on the team, but he wasn't an MVP candidate like he is now
last season. I'm trying to get that started. So please just let me y, Yeah, go ahead, go ahead, you know, putting out twenty five point five points, seven point three assists, four point five rebounds on fifty forty four ninety three splits, I don't know. Pretty good.
The third quarter Embiid had against the Wizards twenty nine points on ten to ten shooting, like hit on nine free throws? Was it like two rebounds and assists in a block?
I was like, what what what? I'm like, Jack, You're you're back in? Are you back in?
Yeah? Man, I mean I'm back in.
We got to shut out by his hairs too, Like Nick Nurse is letting him pick his spot. He had a couple of ISOs on Eric Gordon during the Phoenix game, and they're going to allow him to do that. If he gives two or three of those a game, plus his step in threes in transition, like you could be getting sixteen eighteen points just off of ten shots for him too. So it's a very good look in Philly right now.
Yeah, it's been fun.
Not so much in Washington.
But I was just gonna say, I'm noticing a pattern that we talked about how the pacers like hung one hundred and fifty points on Somebody Opening Night. Oh yeah, I was watching him talking about how Embiid went ten of ten and put up.
Thirty almost thirty points in a quarter.
In a quarter again, I think.
Tyler Hero went off that was like nineteen and the third too. Yeah it's Washington.
Yeah.
Do you see the real of him getting blocked like fifteen times in a single game here?
I felt like it.
Yeah, it was like over like of course of like three games, and it was like every time he got near the basket, He's like, yeah, this is this is an easy one.
Stuffed if you put me out there, that's what that would any kind Yeah, just that kind of confidence, that.
Kind and getting black every single time.
The rock chasing me down. I don't know watching them though, he's working with the black pastic white two tier here was snuffed in Oh chase down. First seen that before here in Miami. I'll tell you what I got. I did hear him a lot of credit that because on this turnover.
He didn't pout, He got back into the play and able.
To come out with an incredible block shot.
There.
I've got a team we haven't talked about, and I want to know what you guys thoughts on Orlando.
Yeah there, I mean they've gotten better in the way that you would expect them to, but like maybe a little bit you and faster they're they're putting it together faster.
Scary that pollow, that pollow and two man games.
Yeah, it's so European in France.
Get that together. Now you know you're in trouble.
I've we've always had a bit, a bit of a special place in our hearts for Orlando, like we saw coming together. But I don't, you know, I don't know, I don't know. I've actually only seen like a couple of games. I mean I saw the game against the Lakers, uh, and just kind of kept up with box scores.
But am I am? I really like where?
What?
What do I need to have my eye on?
Chris? Uh? You got to watch the development of that two man game. But yeah, if Jonathan Isaac's is coming back and starting to be actually healthy, Uh, they literally could run a line up where Markel Folks would be the smallest guy, but everybody else is six eleven, right, and it would work like you'd put Mo Wagner at the five, Jonathan Isaac at the four, and then you have Poulo at the three and Frands at the two,
and you'd literally have a mispatch everywhere you go. And then on top of that, they've got a lot of contracts that could easily be moved as well. Gary has markel Fols himself. They just resigned to Anthony, but they drafted Anthony Black. They really could be trying to create a Swiss Army knife style team where everybody is, you know, vertical. Toronto tried it with the idea of the six nine Raptors. Well they're going like six eleven magic.
And right, Wagner is, yeah, why did I think he was shortened that?
Because because in Michigan he was he was actually listed at his correct height. He's grown opposed to the traditional Hey he's six and then you find out he's six's eight, right, So yeah, it's it's literally they can run a lineup and when Anthony Black gets in there, he's he's probably grown to a legit six eight as well. You'd be talking to six eight point guard with damn near seventh foot wing span. Frands at the Apollo and like what
are you gonna do? They could literally run his zone and and you couldn't even pass it inside, so they'll force you to shoot, you know, form to jump shot and then just rebound runt like it's it's gonna be real tough man.
Yeah because what yeah?
Because what they just lost to the Mavericks, right I think?
Yeah?
Yeah yeah yeah.
Derek likely going off. Yeah that's good combo.
Yeah yeah yeah almost. You could do it there for sure.
Yeah, Luca looks incredible. The league is as fun as it's been. Zion has looked fun. Zion getting blocked and then reacting by coming down and wind milling on the world was.
Just going flat footed, just a flat footed jump windmill because like, yeah, watch this.
The lookout so competitive, defended it well and it wasn't been for Jana Johnson.
Take your time.
On the window.
Last time down got that chet block. So that's why he's just wide open. Here's your energy power play. Should we actually pick anything else?
I got?
Joe? This is off a vertical. This is off a vertical.
What Jalen Brown did to go Bear was disgusting.
Yeah, batpoor business decision. Yeah, you know on that one, you should have known better, sir, you should have known.
Brown obligers on the blow by stuff. Climbed the stifle tower. Wow, my goodness. Oh that is one of the best print protectors in NBA history.
Take that on the ground. Step over, po, Do we want to talk about that heat? It's my favorite court, coolest thing.
You have something else to talk about?
Perfect? No notes, Uh, that's it, I have nothing. I only have positive things to say about it.
Yeah. They did a really good job with the seats to go with the court. That's what really set it off. If you notice, like they did the skyline tough.
My head is like a sharks fins. If anybody hasn't seen it, it says just written out like a text under the under the basket, left the line.
It's just kind of weird. Yeah, all left the line.
Hardest working, best conditioned, most professional, unselfish, new line, touchest or toughest, meanest, nastiest team in the NBA. They're very nasty.
They've done it all, they've all Yeah.
Anyways, you know, the Heat culture jerseys were already catching some strays and then they were like, oh yeah, it.
Was a little bit more than straight man.
Some were directly aimed and fired.
But hey, they can't be winners every year, you know, they can't be winners. And then oh, we got to see the James Harden debut this week too.
That was we're talking the shoes, the sho shoes, the shoes, the shoes. The shoes were trying something different. They reminded me of the Remember when, uh that that Simpsons episode where Homer designs a car that's like tries to reimagine the concept of a car and it's like the Homer and uh, it's just a mess. Like these look like they're trying to redesign, reintroduce the concept of basketball shoes.
Yeah, they're They're geometrically very interesting, I will say, like to the point.
Where I'm like, are those stable?
I don't know. But it's also about Julius Randall's signature sketchers.
Is he sketchers?
Yes?
Wow?
Yeah?
And beats and Beat doesn't wear sketchers on the court, does he? I think, Wow, that is crazy?
Has changed anything for you?
And I'm out again, my man?
Is it sketchers? I don't know.
Anthony Edwards would be the other big I mean, we talked about his game against the Celtics. But his d has been really like dominant this season, and in that game, he looks like he's like kind of controlling it at both ends of the court, and he's.
He's usurped Karl Anthony Towns role like that started at the end of last year, but he's really turned it on as this is his team. You see it like they all just respond to him. He can do literally anything on the court. If you want him to shoot, he'll he'll get hot and hit six or eight. If you d up on him, he'll just pass it, he'll get it back and then he'll just win along. It's
just nasty intentions. But then the defense, like you just said, it's it's like ingrained in him to not lose on defense. Yet watching Dwayne Wade again and I just I give I mean, that's to me, the ultimate respect I can give a shooting guard playing defense, because he was arguably
the best that I ever saw live in person. And Anthony Edwards is just getting nasty on that end, like just getting in your chest, making sure that the hand is always visible to your face, making sure that you can feel his breath, and nobody ate for the pregame meal. You know, you know what type of peanut buddy he's using the time you're done at halftime and like you have to brush your nose because it's just all up
in there. It's phenomenal, Like I can't. And then he's next to McDaniels, who's also you know, defensively a starboard and that's a great tandem. And he got Kyle Anderson off the bench. So you know, I'm not a bad team, you.
Know, like I said, you know, you know we'll take them. You know, we'll take them.
We'll take just like that.
But you know, I got it's a wild though. I mean he did that defense is playing on five vowels too, is awesome.
Yeah, that's yeah. You gotta give it up, you gotta give it up. Just yeah right, it's uh yeah, I mean you love to see it. You love to see it.
And he's he's and again he's a great actor too. You know we saw a bit of his acting chops in that Netflix movie without him.
Stanmor You know who else is a great actor? Who Austin Reeves?
Yeah, oh really.
He has like great deadpan interviews, like if you you got to watch this off at feb he is he is eating up the limelight in a way, negative attention because like this whole off him Reeves campaign, right he is, he's taking it in stride and like lately he's been heating up, but like he's he's gonna be good for the Lakers. And I'm wondering, you know how you feel with a d now with the hip, like you're going back to kind of what it was where it was
last season and you had Dennis shrewder. You think you can pull it off again? Right? Yeah?
Yeah, I wonder what's Austin Reeves shoot again.
Missus Reeves, we regret to inform you your son has tested positive for the rids.
Oh yeah, he's got rigor.
That is that the company that's a that's a mouthful, but hey look.
Wait that's the company that's the shoe company.
Yeah, I think that might be one of the this is.
This that we're doing, Like we it's like forget about Nike and Reebok and Converse. Now you can have all Bird.
And lee Ning.
You know, you gotta go where the money's at.
Yeah, of course, yeah, because they're they're backing up just brinks trucks in front of them to be like I know there's only two brands that exist. But hear me out, look at this brink struck full of cash.
What do you think Like the Puma thing was cool when it started a little while back, Like those shoes I thought have always looked cool and obviously like New Balance got uh Kawhi and then under Armour with Steph. But I I have usually heard of the brand when they you know, like.
Well yeah, but that just shows you know, the popularity of the sport in China, you know what I mean, Like, it's just yeah, yeah, when you have now they're like.
Man, they're wearing our shoes. It's synergistic, man, It's synergistic.
Do you hear Breknstock just signed that kid who went to Who's going to do?
Cooper Flag.
Crocs just sign you know what I'm saying, the thing of yeah right, yeah, he got you just signed to deal with Sperry.
Siders listening walk Shoes.
She's just out there cooking people and all right, we're gonna take a quick break. We'll come back with the fastest segment in podcasting. It is the fourth quarter rapid fire. We'll be right back, and we're back.
We're back, Chris, Chris Chris, Chris, Chris, Chris stepped in it this time, my friends, onto the hot seat. You know, rapid fire hot seats. There is both fire and hot seats.
Yep, I know and look this and you already know.
This is the fastest segment in sports podcasting history.
So yeah, just answer, Yeah, that just happened.
I hope you can handle that and say cool stuff like that, cool stuff, slick stuff stuff.
If you want to kick us off, let's kick us off. Is a rapi fire round of questioning.
Bryan start the clock, damp.
Chris Barnett, give us your hottest take of the NBA season, not like a traditional hot take. Say something completely reckless and out of balance right now that you there's even a chance that it could happen.
I'm taking a hip real quick.
Uhlet needs to go ahead and trade Donovan Mitchell. It's over? What Yeah, it's it's over?
Yeah, Wow Cleveland.
If Cleveland can't learn to play through Evan Mobley and the high post consistently this year like they're just they just don't have it, they're gonna end up relying and be isoled out by Donnovan Mitchell on the right wing with the swing reversal to Darius Garland, who's gonna run into the teeth of the defense. And then they're just gonna go ahead and hamper in and say, if Max Drews can go seven for fourteen and George d a can go four for eight, you're gonna beat us. But
it's it's done in Cleveland. If they can't figure out how to get Evan Mobley to be a better facilitated, more consistently.
All right, time, that's hot.
Okay, you have the opportunity to watch a movie with either Anthony Moreau, Jalen Brunson, Robert Covington, or Danny Green. They're choosing the movie. I have combed NBA film tweets for some film recommendations. Who are you choosing to watch a movie with?
Whoever doesn't watch Batman?
Okay, well none of them are picking Batman, so okay, so we're good there.
None of them picked Backman.
Would I would probably go with Anthony Morrow.
Anthony Morrow, All.
Right, yeah, what are we watching?
What?
Anthony Anthony morreu has been on here as an option for the past two weeks. He I think of this group has the best taste of movies. You have chosen correctly. Anthony Moreau watching A League of their Own one of my favorite movies ever Bang from Way Downtown. Wow, not expected, but like, yeah, A League of their Own is a great sports movie that I appreciate. Yeah, I appreciate his.
Willingness to be like, yeah, that's that's great. That's a very millennial. That's a good, solid millennial pick with.
Millennial out the Batman comment, Yeah you don't want to go there, I promise you.
Man at Lead of their Own I always love that line from John Love. It's where she won't get on the train and.
He's like, the way it works is the train moves, not the station. I remember as a kid being like, yo, he got cooked right there by John Love.
It's I love it in it God bought up ba ba ba Love.
I even came up with the jingle before pusha T did because that was that's how early that.
Was, Like, bop, I'm loving it. Can someone write that down? It's nineteen ninety three?
All right, wait you hate Batman though?
Oh? Overrated without question?
Okay, yeah, just the entire like the we're talking about the Chris.
Nolan rebooted ones, all of it.
All the way back to with from Tim Burton the og.
Yes, like if you if you really think about it, like Batman is just nothing but the manifestation of each ind Jules like maladies in life. Right, they take what was wrong and they're like, oh, we're gonna make this like a positive trait like the original Fatman was a dancing guy in tights. Like what are we talking about?
Right?
Right?
All right?
Next one, Chris, you can go back in time and you can either bring three one Reggie Miller or Jermaine O'Neill to make a run with this current squad.
Which one are you choosing to take that ride with the Indiana Pacers?
Oh, Regie without a doubt?
Okay, Okay, now it's it's well, what is it about Reggie.
Bond the competition that he has, Like he would have made he would make everybody on this Pacers team a better player in practice, right, Like he couldn't he couldn't summit the hip of Michael Jordan's go find me the people who did, because like I still I'm still looking. But he was one of the only dudes who Mike understood like every game, every game, he's gonna give it, and and like he respected that, and I don't think
necessarily that we have that same mentality. Uh in the league, you know widespread there are some players who get it right, but then there are some players who don't. And they're infantly talented, but they could get it with the vet you know, white Reggie Miller, I still have O'Neil though, shout out to Jail.
Yeah, how many threes did Reggie attempt per game in his career?
Like?
Not as many? Not as many as people think.
Yeah, Like he was yeah, completely different era. I feel like his scoring goes way up if he is in the modern era. He averaged Guess how many threes per game he averaged in his career?
Say what made or took? Because I probably say he only made two because he only probably took maybe five and a half at the most per game.
He was a three point shooter. That's wild.
Like he would have been an unbelievably like better player in the modern Remember who only took like five a game?
That's wild all right? At the time.
A great pick. Best player you've ever witnessed in person?
Lebron James.
Okay, now what is he?
The person you feel like you have to see in person to fully appreciate the most.
Yes, absolutely, like because like especially now as he's older, you see a lot of him, you know, manning up high and he just goes downhill. Now he doesn't have necessarily the same type of drive to be in the mid range like thirty two year old Lebron, who just realized he had his total game. That was something to watch. You literally couldn't stop. Like he would bully you and dunk on you. He would post on you and dunk on you. He would post on you and fade away.
He would run from half court you know and dunky in less than two seconds, it seemed like, and you just couldn't stop them. That that that Miami heat. Lebron was just something else. Number two Kobe Bryant, uh, Number three Alan Iverson, Yeah, like you just you just you just never knew how fast he was. I saw him at the Running Shoot and at Capitol Heights in d C. And he played in Thames and he was racking people in times like literally he was wearing man jean, you know,
sagging down. Yeah. Of course he took off the puffy vest because it was like November, so like it's just a puffy vest and he was out there ball. It's like eleven thirty at night. If you know DC the running shoot, I was a twenty four hour gym, just unbelievable, Like and he was crossing people going slow.
Yeah, she's gonna say he's like you would because remember what we saying, like when we were joking about like if we could do a rule change in the NBA, it would be like, yo, at any point, you can make the other team have to wear tims.
One quarter one player has to wear tims.
Yeah, yeah, just to kind of.
Slow down the man rough on the ankles.
Yeah, which NBA player most appropriate signing for the timberlind first signing Stewart?
Okay, yeah, Isaiah Stewart is the correct answer, that is you are looking for. There you go, the dude who took eight dudes to stop him from going after Lebron.
Like I think Isiah Stewart actually wearing blackout black on black air forces were gonna be real?
Probably that's like, you know, it's more of a goon shoe.
You know, you're like, oh, no, no, no, not him. Yeah, ye, steer clear of him. Okay, Chase, you can take two players from all NBA history to create your mad Boosti's edition NBA Jam Team.
Who are the two players you're taking to make it unstoppable?
Oscar Robinson jabbar Uh. If Green wasn't available, it'd be Oscar Robertson and Will Chamberlain. And I say it when we have this discussion of like greatest players of all time, we don't really ever add Wilt Chamberlain. But like here's the story. Top fifty NBA announcement is there, like everybody's there, they're gathered, they're in this back room. Two people are arguing. The league is trying to get everybody mustled up to go through this processon because they're about to go out,
and there's still two people arguing. It's Michael Jordans Will Chamberlain. Michael Jordan's like, I got these rings, I did this right. Will never he'd never let you get the last word. So they get up and they're walking out, and he said, but they changed the rule book for me oo and then walked out and now he had no he didn't have he didn't have a reply. Yeah, So so like yeah, it would probably be him, but like we don't really
give him enough credit. But I'd add Kareem because they were teammates, so the synergy's already there.
Yeah.
I also changed the book for him in college.
Yeah, yeah, in college, and I think they actually added like a couple of rules in the pros as well.
All Right, finally, most important question, Jack or Miles.
That's an interesting question because when you listen to the podcast, the Best NBA Podcast, not just in, you can't listen to it without both of you, So it's hard. I will say this, there's somebody who's funnier. There is somebody who's funnier. Oh, but I'll tell you in the next episode that I'm.
What, wow, wow, guarantee a return to the show.
I like that.
That's how you guarantee her a season renewal.
I know you're gonna say, Jack, I'm gonna I'm gonna get my funny up. Though, I'm gonna get my funny up. You'll see, you'll see, and then they're gonna go back. And I'm just like, and I took that personally, I'm just like stepping all over Jack's words. The next episode, I'm like, yeah, what about this joke?
Okay, hold on.
Trying to predict what I'm about to say, actually.
Not funny because this is actually the funnier version.
But let me say that, Chris tooth or wow, I could be legend, absolute legend.
Yeah, thank you doing it. Yeah, we appreciate you. Where can people? And after you? After you the funnier one.
Chris, where can people?
You've taken that as so I took that as disrespect.
Chris, where I could see it?
Oh yeah, she's gonna show up at your house?
Just mad anger sweat right now.
You don't even know I'm hot right now? This great T shirt has big black sweat stains all over. Go on, go on, you're saying that, Chris, where can people find? Follow you?
So you can find me? Whose faces on all socials? Obviously nine am on X spaces now because they changed it from Twitter to X.
Yeah.
But this season I partnered with playback TV. It's a phenomenal app that you're able to actually host a watch parties, watching live games, to do film breakdown. I actually do the morning shows called the Daily Playback. It's on at ten am. You download playback for free. You hop in you get rotating content creators that will be adding some you know, journalists out there to go ahead and break down and get like that. One on one fan to
content creator and journalists. You know, engagement every day Monday through Friday, ten am on Watch Playback.
Let them know people tune in checking out.
Well.
You can also follow the show on hashtag mat Boosty's on Twitter, or you can give us a follow on Tweter.
You can find me at Miles of Gray.
I'm at Jack Underscore. O'Brien, we were not taking Boosti's on Twitter, but you can just like find things hashtag. You know how Twitter works work. Come on, guys, you understand this. You know this. Why Why am I having to explain it?
Why are us the elders trying to educate the youth right now?
You already know hashtag m A D B W O S T I E s uh. And that's going to do it for us this week. All right. I'll be back next week with sweet sweet memories of NBA play all right, Bye bye