The prospect of an NBA Finals preview later this week when the Boston Celtics visit the Denver Nuggets, the increasing presence of a certain Chris Haynes in Denver. We're gonna explain that too, as well as take a look at the latest injury woe in Phoenix, and that crazy stacked potential Western Conference playing round which gets more daunting every time you look at the standings. All that's next here on the latest edition of This League Uncut.
Welcome to this League Uncut. In the rule of twenty four hour NBA News.
This you'll.
Chris Hanes. It's go time, works time, It's so time. This League Uncut is underway and on fire. This should be a good one.
Everyone. Welcome in to another edition of This League Uncut. We are recording on a Monday before Chris Haynes makes a mad dash to catch a plane to Denver. He's going back to Denver to see the Nuggets twice this week. One game on the sidelines in Denver last week wasn't enough. He's moving into Denver for the whole week. We will talk about the Nuggets, we will talk about the Celtics, we will talk about the Suns. We will talk about the Warriors. But my first question, Chris Haynes, why on
earth it is March fourth as we record this. Why are you still wearing a Kansas City Chiefs T shirt that the listeners can't see but I most definitely can see.
Very simple answer is loudry day. I didn't have anything much to put on here, so this was one thing, one shirt that was clean, So I say, hey, why not? But yeah, I haven't warned this shirt since the super Bowl, and we've seen what happened at the super Bowl. Chiefs were victorious, so I expect something good.
Why, though, why do we I never see you in a Fresno Pacific shirt. I never see you in a Fresno State shirt? Like the only team gear I've ever seen you wear.
Is this?
And you know me like when I get together, you know when I get when we get together for these, I got Fullerton hats galore. You've commented about some of my tennis apparel, like, I got all kinds of I think I have some versatility when we show up to do these. Why the only team gear I've ever seen you wear? Producer Ryan? Am I wrong on that? Do you remember him? Wearing any other team branded stuff.
I actually had multiple Fronough State sweaters.
The only thing I can remember this team related but you've wore. Did you wear something for one of your daughter's universities?
Yeah, the only one I can remember. My dad I rocked the h p c U for sure. But I have multiple friend on state switters. I do do that and hats frontal stage hats uh frest Pacific. I don't have any Friend of Pacific gear. They always they always reach out to me to come to certain alumni events and want me to ask me to come play in a game alumni versus the current team games. But I'm just my schedule is always a scheduled conflicts.
You're in seven rec leagues, but you can't.
It was during the week. They have it during the week, the rerect leagues during the WEEKNDH. That's that's that's more open to my schedule in my rec league.
Hold, speaking of that, Saturday.
You open you open it up, you open it up. As you know, I'm in two rec leagues. On Saturday is the Filipino League and on Sunday is the rec League, the Sacramento League and West Sacramento and so in this Filipino League were we made it to the final four. So this Saturday is the final four if we win our first game. We played that championship game, uh two hours from there. From there, so I'm looking.
On the floor with you.
Aaron Haynes is back on the floor with us Sunday. He actually played with us yesterday. We won. That's the story in itself. How we won that, that's a whole other story. Style. Let me say that for another part was there.
Was a lot of drama that U fold yet you know what, Let's get Let's get Yes, I'm steering the ship back to the end because.
Let's hold on, steinn, hold on before we get to the NBA style, before we get to the n b A. I feel like we you know we we we just at least need to acknowledge the passing of Chris Morton's and I didn't get a chance to I've never spoken to them, but I think you know you spent a lot of time at ESPN there. Did you have any interactions, Did you guys have any communication at all?
It was an absolute legend, and as you've heard in all the tributes that everybody's giving, just an absolutely beloved figure on the campus of ESPN, and as an old school journalism guy, you know, I was aware of him even before he went to ESPN and became a TV star, because you know, in my college years, it was just monstrous when The National started, and The National, for those of you who don't know, was the first and really only attempt that I can remember where a publisher tried
to launch a national, a true national newspaper, and what they discovered. Unfortunately, it met with a very quick demise.
It only last did a year. But when The National started as a daily newspaper that was trying to cover the whole United States, Chris Mortenson was one of the first writers that they went after to cover the NFL because Chris at that time was a hugely well known NFL reporter with the Atlanta Journal Constitution and he actually started in Southern California at the Daily Breeze because he
is a native of Southern California. And so, I mean, I've been hearing stories about Chris Mortenson really my whole career and just again a beloved figure and a true titan of the industry, and you know, one of the
guys who really made the job that we do. You know, he you know, there was that, you know, like Pete Vessi in the NBA, you know, the this initial wave of writers who made the jump from newspapers to TV, and then David Aldridge did it as well, and it was just it was such you know, now it's com you know, it's commonplace now for reporters to go, for sports writers to go from newspapers to TV. I mean, but it was not when Chris Mortensen did it. It
was still a relatively new thing. And so there's a reason why you hear so many ESPN people talking about him with such reverence and such sadness when the news of his passing started to circulate Sunday, because he was a true giant.
In most respect. Never never, never got to interact with him my two years at ESPN, but like you said, heard nothing but good things about him. So Mike and Thollis's to his family and no question.
About it, no question about it. There is no graceful way to try to move back to the league we cover every day, but you are, We're trying to hustle this one before you have to go to the airport and make your way to Denver. For the rest of the week two games with the Nuggets. And I wrote this on my sub stack. Is the first Monday in March too early to start thinking about the NBA Finals. If it is, I'm guilty because the way the Nuggets
are playing. They won six straight games since returning from the All Star Break, and just went to LA and spoiled the Lebron James forty thousand point party. And then in the East, what Boston is doing eleven straight wins. They obliterated the Warriors by fifty two on Sunday. And look, Boston is not gonna win seventy three games. They're not gonna make a run at the all time regular season record that the Warriors achieved in twenty fifteen to sixteen.
But their regular season has everything else. I mean, they are smoldering teams. They are now the only team in league history, I believe if I have this right to post three fifty point wins in a single season. Their last game before the break, they beat the Nets by fifty. They just beat the Warriors by fifty two over their last six games, so five since the break and the game right before the break. Just those six games, Boston has won those six by a ridiculous one hundred and
seventy nine points. So, you know, last season, to me, the big buzzword was parody. And when we went into the playoffs, there was this feeling that the NBA was as wide open as it's maybe ever been and everybody had a chance. And Miami making the finals as a number eight seed it kind of slammed that point home. But right now, the NBA does not feel very wide open to me. I don't know how you see it. You can tell me now here, but I mean, Denver
and Boston have separated themselves. In my humble opinion.
I agree. I agree, though those are the two teams that I have the most faith in going to the playoffs. I still would say this, I still believe that it's still pretty wide open. What I mean by pretty wide open, you know, I still give the Bucks of fighting chance. I you know, Philly, like Joel Embiid is the wild card. You know, I probably has less confidence and if he can get back to form at the you know, with enough time to actually make a legitimate run, Miami is
always a threat. We talked about them in our last episode, you know, so I feel like Miami has a chance against anybody. But no, definitely, you know, Boston's the cream of the crop and Denver's the cream of the crop. But still I feel like, hey, you know, there are some teams that can challenge Denver out there. As bad as you know, as bad as the Warriors and the Lakers are, nobody wants to see them in the playoffs. Nobody wants to see them in the first round period
because they have experience on their side. So you know, there's still teams out there that can make some you know, some of these playoffs series interesting. But for sure Denver and Boston, for sure. They don't get me.
Wrong, there are threats. We can easily make a list of threats. But I just think the difference is last season just it was harder to pinpoint clear cut favorites. And you know, Denver, we just look at them different now because the Nuggets have gone all the way, because
they've done it. Yes, there are concerns about their bench, they're not as deep as they were a year ago, but just what we saw them just do against the Lakers, and the reason these performances against the Lakers are so significant and they've done it now on Opening Night, they did it on Kobe Statue Knight, and now they just have done it again on the night that Lebron James. It should have been his night cracking the forty thousand
point barrier. But it's always significant when the Nuggets do this against the Lakers, because the Lakers have Anthony Davis, and Anthony Davis is supposed to be one of those big men who can keep up with Nikolay Jokic. And you know, the Nuggets just looked it looked so clear on set Saturday night. Their identity is very well established
at this point. And I remember the last time we got together to do a pod, you had just seen Denver and Jamal Murray tweaked his ankle late in the Thursday night game that you did sideline on, and at that point when we did the pod, it was still kind of unclear how serious the Jamal Murray injury was. But I remember you saying the vibe you got from being around the Nuggets was not a huge amount of concern. And Jamal Murray has already shaken that off and is
already back and they're fine. And again they lost three games right before the All Star break. They looked like a team that was bored and that wanted to get on vacation, and now they just look really dialed in back from the break they are they are really dialed in. And that's probably why TNT has you go in there twice in a week, because they're gonna be popping on that national TV schedule more and more and more now for the rest of the season.
Yeah, rightfully. So this this is a team that you know, they they play the right way. They're the defending champs, so definitely they should get the respect anyways, but you know, they're they're a good team, they're well balanced, and they're you know, they're fun to watch. So again, you know, I mean say this, I said I didn't like you know, Denver is not one of my favorite stops, and it is the city is not one of my favorite stops. But they had some nice restaurants downtown that I that
I was pleasantly surprised to come across. You know. I had a nice, big breakfast. And I'm sure your son's tying because he follows me on ig you know, I post my meals. Pretty sure he can vouch for the bomb.
He did not mention it. But now I am going to follow up with it. I mean, I'm actually gonna tell him to start paying closer attention because I mean, please don't take offense this. It's my technical adaptitude. I cannot keep up with Instagram. So you could. You could post a screed on Instagram about how much you hate your podcast partner, and I'm sure that will someone will tell me, but I will not see it on my own like I will. I will, like I am, I am lost on trying to keep up with Instagram.
So sty So when you know it was the initial stages of when we first started our podcast. You know, I will post our pod or new episodes on you know, on Instagram or Instagram story, and I would tag you. I will consistently tag you. And then I realized, I'll go to your activity. You haven't done anything since you opened up an ig account, and I'm like, man, I'm tagging this guy for no reason at all. He's not even seeing it. So I don't even tagg you. I just post the pod.
I'm useless on Instagram and I'm trying. Like the problem is my son is so busy because what you know, even he was like, hey dad, when you do rankings, like you need to post your top five on Instagram and in bio, and I'm just like, I don't know how to make so he two ranking I only do rankings monthly on my sub stack, but he two rankings ago. He did a beautiful top five graphic for me, and he was happy because I used it on ig But then the next time I did it on a Thursday,
and he's in school. He's too busy and like the moment was gone, and I'm like, I told him, I said, listen, I would love to just pull you out of school so you could run my socials. But I don't think mom's gonna make I don't think Mom's gonna let that happen.
Yeah, well, you got to get somebody to you know, there's always people reaching out about doing graphics, you know, for some of your stories or even you know, your list like that. You know, so you can always find people that's willing to do that. So that's that's on you. Stein But you're definitely when it comes to getting your content out, you're definitely leaving a lot of meat on the bones done. You are not utilizing social media.
I look at Twitter so much. I can't imagine having another social so do you look at Instagram as much as you look at Twitter.
I've over the last two years, I've started looking at Instagram more than Twitter. Twitter is can I say.
Say whatever you want to be whatever you want there?
No, let me say it. It's not a it's not a story, but it's kind of is is a story. This is my thing about social media style people, Ryan, producer, Ryan, you weigh in as well, how old are you? Producer? Ryan?
I am thirty one, thirty one.
You're thirty one. Okay, so for the for the most part, Ry may ask you. No, let me ask you Ryan, for the most part, like, do you feel your upbringing? Do you feel most of your upbringing involve social media?
Uh? Yeah, definitely. I mean it like, ok first started to become a thing like kind of in high school, but all throughout college. Definitely, social media was very much a part of it.
Okay, then let's use Ryan as a barometer. Ryan is thirty one. So for people thirty one years of age and younger, they grew up in the social media right Okay, Okay, so people above that, I'm forty, so people above that, no, stin. This is this is the way I came up and This is the way I interacted as a boy, and I still interacted like this as a man. Say you went to school, you know there were certain dudes you
just didn't mess with. You didn't mess with, and if you chose to say something foul, if you chose to behave in contact, that could be detrimental to you. If you chose to do that, there were consequences, and usually those consequences meant this dude's gonna whoop your ass and or or you you have to be prepared to fight. Right. So that was the way we always live life, you know what I mean? Well that was it. If you were about it, you didn't care, and you were just
a person that always got into something. But whatever. So that's the way you live life. And so social media comes around and you have the Ryan's age group, who they constantly I'm not gonna say all of them, I'm not doing that. My stereotyping. It stereotyping, y'all. What I'm saying is you have a lot of them who you know, say some foul stuff, say say whatever to you on social media with no consequences. They're not going to see you, and I give them a pass. I don't condone it.
Stein or Ryan. I don't condone those actions because I think you're punk, but I understand it because y'all came up in that era. Y'all came up in the era where there was no accountability, where you could say type, tweet or whatever, and you know there was no repercussions. The problem I have, Stein is with the people in our age or older, because y'all know better. Y'all know better. Y'all grew up in the area where y'all mouth y'all kept y'all mouths shut. Y'all didn't say shit because you
knew you get your head knocked off. I have a problem with y'all thirty five and up who are on social media. I don't know. Listen. I don't condone I don't condone Ryan them Aaron. I don't condone the behavior, but I understand it because they came up in it. The problem I have with the people who knew they couldn't do this. They didn't conduct themselves like that. And the thing is I would never start, if you know, whether I was considered somebody or not, I would just
never get on Twitter and no celebrity or anything. Just talk shit. I would never degrade, insult, disrespect. I wouldn't do that because as a man, I don't carry myself like that, because I was taught as a young at a young age, you treat everybody with respect. Don't say anything to anybody, don't tweet anything, don't email anybody, don't write a to anybody that you wouldn't say to their face.
So that's the problem I have with social media. So over the last couple of years that I say that to say, I've been off Twitter for the most part, Like I don't really look at my mentions like that anymore. I go to you know, ig is probably where I've been at, you know, the last two years. And it's because of that, because when I see a person in my age talking shit, because again, stein these people them
sit they've seen me out in public. I've never had anybody come to me and say anything disrespectful because I'm not that dude, Like, don't get it twisted. I'm not that guy. I'm from the West side of Fresno. I'm not that guy. And so that shows me that people behave a certain way on social media that they wouldn't behave in person. So long story short, That's why I don't be on social on Twitter, and it's just gotten worse now that it's X It's just way crazy since Elon has gotten me.
I'm not trying to suggest that I enjoy Twitter, Believe me, I do not. But in the NBA, it is still the but it's gotten worse.
But did it get worse?
It is still the place where things are reported and circulated first. So my all I'm saying is I just can't imagine finding the time to look at another social media feed that is active because the NBA on Twitter is an I mean, NBA Twitter is a twenty four to seven, three hundred and sixty five world that never stops. So I'm just saying I never had time to figure out how you look at both. I just, you know, it's I'm too old. I guess I'm too old. I can't.
I don't, I don't look. I don't look on Twitter like that anymore. I just don't, you know, I have notifications, that's it. But I'm not like my My Twitter usage just being dramatically reduced over the last couple of years. It's because of that, because of the Keyboard Warriors generation. Man, you want to call it. Yeah, I guess it is that that keyboard Warrior, like I just don't I don't approve of it. And I get it like you know you y'all like to I'm not gonna say y'all. See
there I go, there I go. I'm not saying y'all. But the keyboard Warriors, they like they want to get her in a reaction. Cause first, I'm gonna tell you this, they would say something to me right, or they would tweet something to me like some disrespectful shit or something right, and I'll DM them. I remember, early early in the phase, I'll send them a DM. I'm like, what's up, bro? What you say? Oh I can't believe you? Responded, Oh,
I can't believe you. And so that let me know, oh this is a game because I'm getting worked up. But but that's when I noticed start like it's a game to these people, you know what I mean, Like they really don't like they just saying, but what about that's cool? But listen, listen, listen. You know how it is. You know how it is, like most times you pay attention to the negative more than you pay attention to positive.
But I don't have a problem with critique it. I'm talking about the disrespect that goes on, you know what I mean. I don't have a problem with critiques. I don't have a problem with you know, praising, but it's just a disrespect that goes on, Like, don't say anything to anybody, man, woman, anybody that you wouldn't say to their face, period because there will be consequences, period. So that's that's my whole point, right.
I don't know how we got him. I don't know how we got.
You.
I wanted to ask you a favor. I don't know how.
I nah, no, Nah, you brought up Twitter and X. No, you're not getting any favors. The listener, Please listeners. I want the listeners again from thirty one and lord, I want the listeners thirty five and up because Ryan, I'm going for Ryan. Ryan's the cut off, Ryan's age to cutoff. He's the Keyboard Warrior era, his era. I want to hear from you because I know all the keyboard Warrior area. Yeah, all the keyboard Warrior ara. I know all of y'all
are not keyboard Warriors. You just lumped into that era. So I'm not putting y'all all in in that group, But I want to hear from y'all, like, what do y'all let me know as a man, as a grown ass man, do y'all feel like, you know, talking shit and saying stuff that you wouldn't say in person? Do you think that's okay? You think it's okay, you think it's just trolling? And I want to hear from the thirty five and up, like, what do y'all think about
this eraon? What do you think about the people that's thirty five en up who know better, who didn't act like that growing up, but now they feel they can do so and hide behind a keyboard? How do you feel about this? You know, let us know the feedback.
Stein Stein's looking at you, going, don't let me know.
I don't want this.
I want to talk about the Phoenix suns because my favorite, my favorite was to ask you on not just.
Feels the same way, feels the same way.
I was not. I was not trying to put you and Kate put you and KD together. What I was what I was curious. And this is not just a favor for me, This is a favor on behalf of all the listeners too. So you're you know, Thursday. You've got the game that I've now anointed a finals preview, and I'm certainly not alone in saying Boston at Denver on Thursday night has finals preview potential. But you see the Suns at Denver first, and just I'm really curious.
You know, you'll be I know, you'll be taking their temperature just I mean, they've lost Devin Booker now, and it just it is to me one of the most astounding stats of the season. Let me quiz you how many games have Devin Booker, Bradley Beal, and Kevin Durant played in together this season? Ryan and or Chris, don't look it up? How many games have they played together this season?
Actually?
You know what, let me ask it a different way. What would you guess if you don't know, what's your guess on how many games they played this season?
Yeah, I don't know. I don't know, So it's going to be a guest. So the Big three, I was gonna say like fifteen.
Yeah, so it's twenty three. Bradley Beal his first game back since mid February. He got ejected by the way, and Devin Booker tweaks his ankle. That was game twenty three. The Sons are fourteen and nine in those games, and so this is also something that I talked about in my sub stack. I guess that means, you know, Booker is expected to miss a week to ten days ish with this injury, but if it takes any longer, I mean we have are the basically, are these guys going
to get thirty games in before the playoffs? Which is amazing to me that the answer might be.
No, Yeah, yeah, so what they got twenty something left? Twenty one? Yeah?
I mean you've been around this team a fair bit this season. How worried do you think they are that basically they're going into the playoffs with not even a half season of evidence of what this thing looks like with all three of them on the floor.
Yeah, slide and I steel, Like I'll always thought they should have picked up a point guard, Like I've always felt that, and Devin Booker going out, you know, he was their league guard. Him going out now to a lot of those ball handler responsibility shifts to Bradley Build and then KD. But I just still feel like they needed a point guard. With that being said, this it's not good. I mean, they're talented enough to where they can still probably pull through, still probably end the season
on a pretty good note. But you need continuity. You need continuity going into the playoffs. And this was the thing. You knew it the way that the way that the Sun's cap situation, the way is set up, you knew that injury was going to be what could what could derail them because they just didn't have the assets available to go out there and get quality depth.
We've been talking about it all season, how the Sons are all in with this team, the moves that they've made to add Bradley Beal and make it a super team trio with Devin Booker and Kevin Durant. And you know, as we speak, as we're recording this before Monday nights games, I mean, man, I just the play in zone in
the West is stacked. New Orleans and Sacramento occupied the fifth and sixth spots in the West in Monday morning standing So that meant Phoenix was seventh, Dallas eighth, Golden State, ninth, Lakers tenth. Imagined if it stayed that way and the array of stars who woke up Monday morning stuck in the play in zone, nobody wants to be stuck in the friend zone and nobody wants to be stuck in
the play in zone. I mean Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Been Phoenix, Luka, Doncic and Kyrie Irving in Dallas, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green and Golden State Lebron James and Anthony Davis in Lakerland. Based on Monday standings, only two of those four teams are going to the playoffs.
Yeah, but those those teen are pretty much a lot in the Western Conference. It's just that the order is going to be a little bit different. But those ten Utah is not Utah and Houston. They're not jumping into that top ten.
All right. I suppose I should let you go and sift through the laundry and get the actual gear that you will be wearing in Denver for Sons at Nuggets and Celtics at Nuggets this week two Marquee sideline assignments. Please remember pack two dress shirts since it's the two game trip. Yeah, I do not want to repeat of what happened yeah at one time that I will never let you forget about, wouldn't you?
Yeah? I don't want that to happen either. Yeah, I'm looking. I'm still trying to figure out looking over my I gotta I got a bunch of suits lined up right here, so I'm trying to figure out which one.
Two pairs of kicks or just one.
It depends. I still I gotta figure out the suit. Like if one pair of kicks can match both suits, I might roll with that. But that's a tough part. Start like I forget oftentimes, like when's the last time I wore a suit? Because you know, if you wear a suit too close together from your last broadcast Twitter, as we've been talking about, they will let you know. They will let you know. So I have to often. So the good thing about it is I often take
pictures on game days with Regimller. We take a picture before the game with the broadcast crew, me, Regi Miller, Kevin Harden. That's like a ritual, all the sideline reporters. We all do that, and so that I can look at my pictures and see, Okay, this is the last time I wore this. Okay, I wore this in late December. I think I can pull this out again. It's early March, so you know this is one of those situations.
Well, I certainly do not want you to get any unneeded grief over a wardrobe decision.
So well, Stian, let me tell you this. Even if I did, I wouldn't see it because I'm not on Twitter. I told you that.
I'm not sure that's true.
I got some notifications. That's fine, that's good against we'll take.
But I guess we'll take your word for it.
That's good enough.
All right. That's gonna do it for this edition of this League uncut. Remember, as always, please follow us, rate the show, review the show, Apple Podcasts, Spotify podcast, wherever you get your podcast. We would love a five star review and thank you for your ongoing support. And like I said, we know that when Chris makes a trip on behalf of TNT, he always comes back with an
array of goods. So the fact that he's got two games this week tells us we will be getting a double dose of interesting tales and notes from the road. Two games in Denver for mister Haynes, and we will be back with you to discuss those and everything else happening in this league very very soon. Thanks for being with us, and.
That'll do it for us see you next time. This League Uncutage and iHeartRadio production
Chris Haynes and Mark Stein