We're gonna get started with the National Basketball Association, or as they say, the Association, where I want to talk about a few teams that may moves before the trading deadline and their chances of making a deep run.
In the playoffs. We'll start with the Lakers.
Who snapped a nine game losing streak to the Denver Nuggets on Saturday, beating them one twenty three to one hundred. Luka Doncic dropped thirty two points on the Nugget's home floor, putting up his best game by far as a Laker, And on top of that, Los Angeles never trailed, winning in Denver for the first time since April of twenty twenty two. In case you forgot, the Lakers had lost thirteen to their previous fourteen games against the Nuggets. So
let's not forget that. There's two things that I'm noticing. Number One, Lebron James. Listen, Michael Jordan.
Is my goal. But I will openly confess with the.
Kind of stuff that you're seeing from Lebron James at age forty, his twenty second season in the National Basketball Association, the brother's just phenomenal. Okay, you got to give it up where it's due, and considering how he looks his physical prowess, the speed, the athleticism, the agility and everything that comes with it, there's no denying his greatness and
what he brings to the table. And that's the reason why I can say what I'm about to say, and that is that the Lakers are not a team to.
Ignore in this championship equation.
Because now that they got Luka Dungis, we assumed that they were gonna be potent offensively.
We assumed that ultimately Luca would get loose.
We assumed that with those things going on, that the Lakers would win more than they lost because of what they're doing offensively. Here's what we didn't assume. We didn't assume that they would elevate defensively. We thought they were undersized with their front line. And you see, whether it's hatchamor whether it's at Austin Reeves, whether it's Dorian Finney Smith or anybody else, they've got size on the wing.
So they got enough big bodies to front opposing big bodies, okay, or to at least create some kind of impediment along with the speed and the letism and agility, to get out to defend against perimeter and three point shooters.
As quickly as possible.
It's made than one of the top defenses in the game over the last ten games.
And that's the team that showed up against Denver on Saturday night. If that team.
Shows up for the rest of this regular season into the playoffs, the Lakers are gonna be a top four seed in the West. They're gonna have home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. They're gonna have a shot to advance.
To the conference finals. There.
I say, ladies, gentm, we gotta pay attention to Los Angeles Lakers because with the ball being in Lucas hands as it was Saturday night in Denver, Lebron James was freeing the room, freeing the cut, free to cut, free to roam, free to do a lot of different things that his athleticism and his superior talents would allow.
He can be off the ball and do major, major damage. And Luca is better with the ball.
In hands because we know he ain't cut into the basket. We know he's not gonna have a lot of movie without the basketball. So if they found that formula, and that's something that Lebron James is willing to embrace like he did Saturday Night. Ladies and gentlemen, the Lakers are officially a problem.
A problem.
Now, let's get to the Golden State Warriors, who acquired Jimmy Butler before the trading deadline. The Warriors beat the Dallas Mavericks last night one six to one oh two and are now five and one since trading for Jimmy Butler. By the way, Butler made his home debut in that game, scoring eighteen points. He continues to make a difference for the Warriors with his ability to get to the free
throw line. Butler was eight for eight from the line and has attempted fifty five foul shots through his first six games with the Golden State Warriors. See that's the key element right there, because listen, y'all think about this. Steph Curry is the greatest shoot of God ever created. He can dance on you and create his own shot off the dribble and launch from.
Thirty forty feet with ease. This is who we're talking about, the great Steph Curry.
Having said all of that, is very very important to point this out. One of the greatest attributes he has is his conditioning. You've had people that have had to go to the hospital after games just to get some oxygen because of having to defend against this brother, because.
He got them running around all day every day. Here's the difference. He is approaching thirty seven years of age.
He's not the youngest spring chicken anymore. And so when you take that into consideration, you have to understand that you need to give him a break any chance you get.
Well, guess what.
Sometimes that means going out and getting another body and getting the other body that could sell for him, so you could bring him on a bench and give him some rest.
Well, guess what the Golden State Warriors did they.
Want up that because by getting somebody like Jimmy Butler and making him the second most used offensive player, his usage rate is at twenty three percent compared to Steph Curry's usage rate which.
Is at twenty nine percent.
Because it's like that, Jimmy Butler's in a situation where he's getting his looks as the secondary offensive option, but he gets to the fren throw line. So you talk about sixty to ninety seconds, it may take you to finish your free throws if you're Jimmy Butler, and when that happens, that's exactly the kind of break that Steph Curry needs to stay in a game without coming out of the game.
Which means that the Warriors are able to utilize him even more so as a threat.
That's what Jimmy Butler does for them. That's one of the reasons they're five and one.
That's one of the reasons you have to look at them. With the other teams in the Western Conference.
Maybe not Okay see, maybe not Denver.
Because of your kitchen, but you got La, Yeah, you got the Clippers. Yeah you got Dallas.
When Dallas comes back with Anthony Davis healthy and Daniel Gafford healthy, look out for Dallas.
Let's not forget them.
But if you're Memphis, if Houston, if you're Phoenix, Sacramento, stuff like that.
You can you get interesting. You can get interesting.
It's gonna be real interesting to see what Golden State is going to do, especially since Draymond Green said we are going to win the NBA Championship.
I gonna hold him to that.
At the very least, all he has to do is make it interesting. Make sure they don't get bounced out in the playing or the first round. Golden State worth a look. Unfortunately, I got to talk about my New York Knicks, who lost yesterday to the Boston Celtics. Final score was one eighteen to one oh five. Look y'all, this team doesn't have a chance to make a deep
run in the playoffs. Yes, the New York Knicks are the third best team in the Eastern Conference and they don't have a chance of or should I say, they're not gonna be both to the Cleveland Okay, I'm gonna admit it.
They're just not gonna do it. Cleveland.
Kick there, It's Friday night. It's pretty damn bad. I mean, they busted their living ass, just romp them, and that was without I mean, I'm just looking at them.
Donovan Mitchell just doing what he wants to do. And they picked up DeAndre Hunting.
They still got Mobley, and Mobley and Allen are so formidable defensively, and then you could take Hunty and put him out on the wing. They still got Max Strews. They're gonna have Darius Garland, who is out over the weekend. I'm just saying, here's the interesting thing to say about the New York Knicks. The New York Knicks from a talent perspective, is better than what they were last year. They don't have the same grit, they don't have the same dog in them.
They don't have that.
Carl Anthony town is the best shooter, shooting big man.
In basketball, without question.
I hate seeing the brother put the ball on the floor because his knees are high and every time he jumps, he comes down and it's awkward and then all of a sudden, you see those knees hurting. I just don't trust it. He needs to be in the post with his back to the basket or away from the basket, catching and shooting.
He does not need to be putting the.
Ball on the floor because he's six to eleven.
He's putting the ball on the floor. All of those legs.
Being exposed, and he's gonna get They gonna low bridge and they're gonna cut up under Himna, he's gonna get hurt.
And we don't need that problem. Somebody.
I don't know if he wants me to tell y'all list he's a superstar. He's very famous person in America, in Hollywood, and I won't tell you who he is but I want to say, he hurt my feelings. And when I tell you what he said, he knows who he is when I repeat it, because he knows what the hell he said to me this morning.
It really hurt my feelings.
It really made me want to question our friendship, considering the fact that he knows how much of a diehard Knicks fan I am, and he would say something like this to me, because it really hurt me.
It hurt my heart. You know what he said when a New York Knicks traded.
Julius Randall and Dante'svencenzo, even though they ain't doing so great with that trade. E my friend said to me, the New York Knicks traded.
Two dogs for a cat. That shit hurt. Because Carl Anthony Towns is a bad brother.
He can play, and I'm happy to have him as a New York Knick, But when I see the personality transplant, the grit that was there last year that there was no longer there. See the New York Knicks last year, don't get blown out like they did this weekend. Them brothers were scrappy. Knicks are talented, and you know how you know that's true? When did we ever think we would see a Tom Thibodeaux team have one of the worst defenses in basketball and the absolute worst against the
three points. When did we ever believe we would see that? I'm just asking a legitimate question. There's no way around it. We have to we have to pay attention to that. Okay, we just do