We lament the very unfortunate injuries to befall both Jimmy Butler and Zion Williamson. We've got the latest on Kawhi Leonard and Giannis Antetokumpo. We highlight for you the best first round series in both the East and the West. And on top of all that, we're gonna go inside on Chris Haynes's appearance earlier this week on Inside the NBA that kind of went viral. All that's next. You're on a new edition of this League Uncut.
Welcome to this League Uncut in the rule of twenty four hour NBA news, this news you love, Chris Hans.
It's time, work's time. It's so time.
This League Uncut is underway and on fire. This should be a good one.
A hearty welcome in everyone to the latest edition of this League Uncut. Mark Stein here with Chris Haynes. We are recording Thursday and evening with no games in the NBA after to play in tournament games Tuesday night, to play in tournament games Wednesday night, two more Friday night
before Saturday's full scale launch of the NBA Playoffs. And man just since Monday when we dropped the Bobby Portis podcast where Chris had a one on one conversation with Bobby Portis from the Milwaukee Bucks one on one because of some automobile travails that sidelined me and kept me from participating. Chris haynes Man, it is amazing everything in this league, everything in hashtag this league that has happened
since the Portois podcast. The Warrior season is over. The Sacramento Kings were the team that at last eliminated Golden State. Major injuries in New Orleans with Zion Williamson in Miami with Jimmy Butler. We're still waiting on word if Kawhi Leonard can play in Game one for the Clippers, or we're still a waiting word on whether Kawhi Leonard can
even play in Game one for the LA Clippers. We're also a waiting word on how long we have to wait before Jannis Antetokumpo can join the Milwaukee Bucks for their first round series. There was a ban of a player, John Tay Porter, banned from the NBA for gambling transgressions. Blake Griffin announced his retirement. USA Basketball announced its roster for the twenty twenty four Olympics. Award ballots went out
and were turned in swiftly. This week award voting took place basically in the space of a day Monday, late Monday into Tuesday, before the playing tournament started. So many going on, and I'm sure my list has left some out, So sorry for the delay in getting to you, Chris Haynes, but man, it has been again. It's only Thursday, and it has been.
A lot, probably a record number of occurrences that have happened over the last three or four days in the NBA, especially this time the season. Usually we're hyper focus on just the playoffs and the matchups out there, but it's always it always, let's see a little bit of air out of room when.
Injuries occurse, particularly.
To injury suck. Yeah, there's no way around it.
The suck, especially this week.
But this week has been brutal. It's been absolutely brutal. You covered one of those playing games. You covered Golden State's exit elimination in Sacramento, and we will get to that. We will get to both of the number ten teams that lost ten seeds in the playing tournament are now zero for eight in play in history in terms of getting out of the play in tournament Golden State, losing the Sacramento the Hawks routed in Chicago on Wednesday night.
But again we will get to that stuff. Let's start with the injuries, because I mean, man, it was really tough to see what happened to Zion Williamson Tuesday night in the game of his life, and then last night, Jimmy Butler takes a hit, Kelly Ubray came down on him. Jimmy Butler. I mean, it's not gonna The Heat ended up losing in Philly by a point, so this is not gonna go into the Jimmy Butler playoff pantheon. But
I don't know, maybe it should to me. If you're playing thirty minutes on a spray knee, that's a pretty playoff Jimmy performance. But obviously the Heat lose by one in Philly, and now they've lost Jimmy Butler indefinitely.
It's gonna be tough to overcome that. It's gonna be tough, and I know the Miami Heat way is the next man up.
You know, they don't.
They tend not to feel sorry for themselves, but this is gonna be hard to overcome. And now they have a matchup with the Chicago Bulls, who are playing some really good basketball to try to get that eighth seed. It's tough, it's time. But this is why again I don't want to beat a dead horse. But this is why I talk about the play in format and the way it's structured. With a team like the Atlanta Hawks, I believe they were.
At like eight or no.
I think they might have even been ten games back of Miami going into that play in But there can be there could be an injury to a key guy on the team who has the seventh or eighth seed, and then all of a sudden, you lose a game, or you lose two games and you're wiped away when you've already had a big lead and that's it. And you know they didn't play the Hawk so it doesn't matter. But that's why I say, like, it's this is a
real it's a real tough situation. Like Miami, they had a better eighty two game regular season, way better eighty two game regular season than Chicago or Atlanta.
And that just.
Points to my my margin that I talked about win margin, like if if it's six games or more like, let them let them advance to the playoffs because if not a team like a like the Atlanta really have any bit, I don't care if Atlanta wins too in a row in the play in did they really have any business making it to the playoffs? Answer is no. But back to the injury at hand. Tough, tough injury for Jimmy Butler, tough injury for the Miami Heat to endure is going to be real.
Well, Listen, the next time Adam Silver does a press conference, which should be at the NBA Finals, I suspect now this is gonna come up, because Yeah, I mean, I think the play in tournament in the Grand Scheme has been fantastic. It is given the end of a regular season a boost. You know it. The positives have far outstripped the negatives when it comes to the play in tournament because what the league was trying to do was to entice more teams to play to the eighty two
game finish line, and that has clearly happened. We saw a feverish last week in the regular season, teams trying to get to number six in each conference so they could avoid this play and mess. But yeah, I mean, when you look at what's happened this week, and there's no way you can there's no insulation against injuries. There's no way to keep these guys in a bubble and
ensure that there will not be injury. But the circumstances in both cases for Miami and New Orleans are awful because the Heat, as you say, finished seven games ahead of number nine Chicago. They finished ten games ahead of number ten Atlanta. And the Heat could rightfully say there should have been some sort of number here now figuring out what that number is. Is it four games, is it five games? Is it six games? What is the appropriate number where we say there should be no playing tournament?
You know, that would have to be negotiated and discussed, and I'm sure the league would look back at past history to try to come up with some kind of number if it ever got that far. But yes, the Miami Heat have a right to be pissed off that they were seven games better than number nine Chicago. They found themselves in a playing game. Jimmy Butler gets hurt. And now even if they can grit through and beat Chicago with no Jimmy Butler and Terry Rosier, they're not
beating the Boston Celtics in Round one. They don't even have a chance without Jimmy Butler. They're not.
But the thing is, say Miami loses to Chicago, and that's it's a very real chance that that could happen. Like now they're out after two games and they're missing their best player. And so say say they they did make the playoffs. Now you give Jimmy a time to get back. You know, he's not even gonna have time to get back. And that's why I say the all remember Stein I was talking about when I was talking
about this, advocating for there being a wiz margin. I was talking about like the worst case scenario, the worst the worst case scenario was number one having a big large margin of wins, which Miami heat did, and number two I was talking about, what if a key player got hurt during that that play in when they already had a large margin. Like all the worst case scenarios.
They they've happened over the last couple of days. And that's why I say, like you can't and you could talk, you know, you could talk about well Miami rested Jimmy throughout the season. They gave away some games during the regular season, Okay, well what did Atlanta do? What did Atlanta do this season? What did Chicago do this season? So again, like it wasn't fair in the West, play in was deserved. It should have happened in the East this year. It should that should.
Not have been in the case.
Should the margin be six?
I say, six games?
But why why six? Why not four? Why not five?
I think four is still kind of within range. I think four you can say they had a better season, but not you know, not that much better than the next opponent. But six games, It's like, no, you had a better season. That's clear to me that six games here.
No, Like I said, I think, I think it will be brought out now. I think this will become you know, it will be some sort of discussion. I mean, I know if I were in the Heat organization or the Sixers organization, I would be bringing it up at the next Competition committee meeting. Like we were so far ahead of the nine to ten in the in the East
and we had to play these extra games. And in the West, Like you said, I think the playing is very justified and there should be no apologies because look how tight the West has been really from one to ten I mean, look at the Warriors at number ten, they won forty six games. Chicago at number nine in the East, won thirty nine, Atlanta at number ten in the East, won thirty six. I mean a full ten games off the Warriors pace in an easier conference. So
with New Orleans, it's just horrendous, just horrendous luck. And that forty four point hammering that the Pelicans took in Vegas in the n season tournament. To that point, that was the largest stage that Zion Williamson had ever played on as a pro, because we're still waiting to see him in a playoff game. And then you fast forward to the play in tournament and this becomes the new
biggest game of Zion's career. And after all the criticism he took all season about conditioning, what happened in Vegas. He played the game of his life. I mean, he had forty points, eleven rebounds. He was the best player on the court, the most effective player on the court in a game with Lebron James on the other side, with Anthony Davis on the other side. And I don't need to recount Anthony Davis's whole history in New Orleans. And then a new hamstring injury left hamstring, and Zion
is out indefinitely like Jimmy Butler. And Okay, maybe the Pelicans can find a way to beat Sacramento at home and make the playoffs, because let's not forget the Pelicans are five and ohero this season remarkably against Sacramento and the teams have met. But even if New Orleans finds a way through a one game scenario just to extended season, the Pelicans would have to play the top seeded Thunder without their best player.
And so.
Then there's the flip side. If the Pelicans lose to Sacramento and don't even make the playoffs, they become just the second forty nine win team in league history to miss the playoffs entirely. So, I mean, your your play in arguments have definitely gained steam this week because there's been some there's been some cruel stuff going on.
You thought I was crazy, Stein when I first said it, when I first called for it, Say you thought I was crazy, or I.
Don't think I thought. I don't think I thought you were crazy.
You this theme.
He was like, you were one of those people that were saying, well, you know, you should have did the work during the regular season. I'm like, well, listen, this is any two game season. All games should matter.
Ryan, did I ever say that? I think I'm being misquoted here.
Ryan, I don't think you necessarily said exactly what Chris is trying to lay out here. You were more so in the you didn't believe it.
I loved the plan. I think overall it has been very good for the league, but there are certainly still some flaws that Chris Haynes has been trumpeting here lately, and this week has certainly given steam and support to those complaints, because, I mean, the Pelicans have to be sitting there thinking, we won forty nine games, we would have been the seventh seed in the traditional one through eight system, and now they fail the prospect of being
booted out of the playoffs completely, and even if they make it, they're not going to have their best player because of an injury he sustained in a playing game.
So the Pelicans are certainly not loving the playing tournament right now, and the Miami Heat, to Chris's off sited point, have to be even more furious because they won forty six games and were clearly clearly seven games better than Chicago, ten games better than Atlanta, and according to Commissioner Haynes, should not have even been playing a playing.
Game, shouldn't have a stein you know, you know, I play a lot. I kid a lot, and I talk about Miami because yes, I do like my trips to Miami. But let's give proper respect to the Philadelphia seventy six ers because they shouldn't even play that one game playing game they were Let's talk. I know I talk about the discrepancy between the Heat and those teams, but Philly was eight Let me see, Philly was eight games ahead of Chicago and eleven games ahead of Atlanta.
I don't care if Philly loses the first game.
There is no way in the world that Philly should have to play Chicago or Atlanta to try to get into the playoffs.
That is blasphemy. That's it.
Just come on, now, we gotta do something about this. This This is I don't I get New Orleans. I hear you gripe with New Orleans. No gripe to me. I'm sorry. Like your two three games up up from the next team, which was the Kings.
Three games now, that's fine. Play in go ahead and go ahead do the play in.
But what happened in the East, Travesty should not have been a player in the Eastern Conference. Now the problem is Steyn say they do implement a racial rule. Right, That's something that league I believe does not want to happen because you know, you've given away money. You're throwing away a play in, just just a Western Conference play in this season and no Eastern Conference playing. Well, that's money you're given away, TV revenue you're given away.
So I get why they don't want to.
But this all the worst things happen in the East to where it should be something in play.
Yeah, Like I said, I'm really curious to see the Sixers and or the heat the teams most justified to be as riled up as Commissioner Haynes. Will they say something at the next Competition Committee meeting that they have a representative at, because yeah, this has been rough week. And I'm glad you brought the Sixers up because they that was a very gritty showing for them to come back, because I mean, Jimmy is just from another planet, like to have a knee injury like that. It looked ugly
just watching the replays and he played on. He played on for pretty much the rest of the game and didn't come out and Miami almost won that game, but Philadelphia got down double digits. Your guy, Nikola Batoum really helped Philadelphia turn that thing around. And you know, I'm about to spend some time at that Mass Clippers first
round series. I'm thinking the Clippers have never missed but two more than Wednesday night if they were watching on TV, as he drained a number of threes and really helped the Sixers rally out of a pretty dire situation.
And lastly, on this guy, you know I sit coach spost a text of my my video comment when I was talking about the play in situation on inside the NBA, and Spoe text back, we made our bed. We will have to do this the hard way. That's the deal. We'll be ready. That was before the playoffs started.
And that to me is such a heat answer. Deal with it and face it, deal.
It and face it. But that was before the play and started.
Now he may feel they feel differently now that Jimmy Butler's out a while.
Yeah.
Look, I mean I gotta be because I did Power rankings on Tuesday. My last Power rankings of the season, and I just I wrote a bazillion words. So fans of every team that wanted to read about their team, there's your team is covered in detailed fashion. But I I put Miami despite this season, despite we made our bed, as Spose says, I still had the Heat at number umber ten in my final rankings, and I said, I
wrote more than once in the piece. I'm sure I have the Heat higher than any power rankings institution on the planet. But you know what, I'm not writing the Heat off until they're eliminated. I am fully a believer that they will always find a way and that they are just the toughest out you can imagine. But that was all predicated on Jimmy Butler being able to play and activate Playoff Jimmy mode, and obviously now that's impossible.
He did activate playoff Jimmy mode in the playing game just by being able to finish that game, but realistically, the Heat will not see him again until next season. So I mean, their season for all intents and purposes, is over, even if they find a way to get past the bulls Man rough.
Yeah, take it their nut number ten on your list now.
Well, like I said, Jimmy Butler was factoring into those calculations from the Committee of Won factoring in heavily. What about Okay, and then we still have major injury question marks both with the Clippers and the Bucks Kawhi Leonard. As of Thursday, Game one is Sunday lunchtime, LA time. Still not clear if Kawhi Leonard is going to be able to play. He's obviously trying. The Clippers are hopeful that he's going to get out there, but I mean we have to remember, I mean, Kawhi Leonard has not
played a game this month. He last played for the Clippers at the end of March. So even even if he can play, I think it's fair to pose the question how effective will he actually be in game one? And the Clippers are relying hugely. I mean, Kwhi Leonard is their most important player. This is a deep Clipper team. They've got a lot of weapons and at their best,
we've seen how dangerous they can be. But when countering Luka Doncic for the Clippers, that starts with Kawhi Leonard, And so how healthy will Kawhi actually be even if he does get out there.
Again?
A brutal time to be dealing with something like that when you have to deal with two of the top perimeter players we have in this league, and Luka Doncis and Kyrie Irvin. You need your you need your wing defenders out there in full throttle. And hopefully Kawhi is able to get close to that, because you want to see some good games like really starin there's a you know, I know we're gonna talk about it later, but there's
a lot of good intriguing first round matchups. Like the NBA has to be really really happy with the matchups that we have thus far.
All right, but you know, let's just let's just do that. Now, Let's just let's just get to get to that. Now, let's pick what is the standout matchup. We'll do one in each conference, so there's eight first round series. Of course, as we're taping this, we don't officially know who Oklahoma City or Boston those teams do not know their opponents, and to.
Be honest, you don't care. It doesn't matter who.
For all your ranting about the play in tournament, this should be a central element of your argument that it needs changes because one of the most again, I love the playing tournament in the grand scheme, I think overall it has been far more positive and negative. But to me, one of the huge negatives here it is not fair to the Celtics or the Thunder that they're not gonna know their first round opponent till Friday night. When those are the teams that possess the number one seed in
the conference. That's not fair. And so that's another element of this thing that I think the league has to look at. Because Boston sixty four wins run away best record in the NBA, and the Celtics know it's gonna be Miami or Chicago, but that's all they know. And obviously from a coaching and scouting perspective, they certainly would have liked more advanced notice than they're gonna get.
I guess the league figures that as the number one seed, you're going to get a bad team coming in, so you don't need much of a heads up to prepare for them. But that is I didn't think about that scenario. That is that is a.
And that's look, and I think you're I think you're exactly right. I think that's kind of the the rationale they can use to try to explain it. But like in the I mean even in the East, but in the West, there are no bad teams in the West. So in the West it is I'm sure the thunder is not loving having to rush this preparation. And Boston, you know again, was so good in the East that
they deserve better. But let's let's do this. Let's and we'll we'll work our Yannis injury discussion into this section because I have a feeling I know what will be your preferred pick in the East. But tell me the East series that you most look forward to. Is it Boston against Heat or Bulls Nicks, Sixers, Bucks Pacers or the NBA TV Invitational Cavaliers. Magic means how many how many sideline games were you signing that zero? We should
we can't break that news too. And one of the another one of the shots looking headlines of the week that I didn't work into my intro, is it true that you're starting in the East next week You're on.
Yeah, I believe I'll be East the whole way. Yeah, I'll be East the whole way.
I didn't see that. I thought you'd be in the West.
Yeah, I start out in New York. So I got that Nicks uh that Nick Sixers game.
Tell Jalen Brunson offer him that trade. Yeah, we'll go on the We'll go we'll we'll go on the roommates pod if they come on our pod.
I think I think Jalen has more more important matters to ten two around this time of year. But we'll see if I get them along, we'll see, I'll see what type of mood he's in. But I'm gonna shock you with my pick the most intriguing.
Okay that means that means it's not Bucks Pacers, then no.
It is Bucks Pacers with the Bucks Pacers. And if I'm going with the Bucks Pacers, because there's been a ton of storylines between these two teams throughout this season. There was the end season tournament the Pacers took eliminated the Bucks. There was Tyrese Halliburton tapping his wrist doing
the dame, doing the Dame signal. You had Yanna's getting a career high at home against the Pacers, and then he trying to get the ball, but the Pacers took the game ball and was trying to give it and try to give it to a rookie who scored his first point, not his first basket. He actually scored one free throw. He made one of to his free throws, and that caused Jannis to try to storm back to
get back there to the Pacers locker room. So it's just a lot of talk we have, and I have Malik Beasley come on my Bleacher Report Live obsession and he said he wants to see the Pacers and you know, they're not gonna know where hit him coming. Excuse me, They're not gonna know what hit them when we come. So that is the matchup, that is the series that
I'm looking for to. Even though Janni's looks like Giannis won't be there for a little bit, I'm still looking toward for to that matchup because I still think it's gonna be competitive.
Do you think plays in any of that series?
I do. I think he makes it.
I think he can make a return at some point in that series, Yes, I do.
Can they beat the Pacers without him?
I believe they're capable of of doing it. Can they They got Milwaukee has home court advantage. You gotta give him that. Yeah, I think they can. It's gonna be tough, though Dame has to Dame has to be Dame. Dame has to be Dame. One thing about Dame is that he's comfortable in that lead role. So, uh, you know, I know he's been getting treatment all this week. He's
been focused, narrowly focused, telling you focus. You know, we have a there's a group chat that him and uh that I'm in with him and a couple other people, and he's really he's active on that chat, but not this week. This week he's zoned in. He's laser focused. So they're capable of doing. But that's the matchup I want to see.
There's just so much. There's so much that happen between these two teams this season.
Yeah, I mean, look, the Pacers play at a faster pace than just about anybody, although it has slowed to bit some here late in the season. But obviously we know they want to play fast and make the game pacy for the Bucks. And how Milwaukee will cope with that if they don't have Giannis for a game, for two games, for three games, whatever, It is one of
the major question marks in the first round. But we also have to say, you know, Tyrese Haliburton, he has not been the same Tyrese Haliburton we saw before the hamstring injury. Before the hamstring injury, he was an All NBA lock and really one of the ten best players in the league.
And his NO.
Numbers took a significant drop when he came back from that injury. Shooting dip to the forty four percent range from the field, his three point conversion went way down below thirty five percent. Scoring dropped to about sixteen a.
Game, So.
That will be another thing to really watch in that series. What is the state of Halliburton's game. I mean the Pacers,
they were only twenty three and eighteen. After acquiring Pascal Siakam, I thought they would be better, but they finished the season with a reasonable bump, and I'm sure they think that they can shock the world and knock Milwaukee out because again, Indye did win four of the five regular season meetings, even though they were all before I mean, I think they were all wrapped up by January third. So it's been a long time since we've seen these teams that really don't like each other. That is the
standout series in the East. I'm not gonna pretend it's not, but just to be a little different and to expand the convo, I do think Nick's six ers is another good one that you know, New York wanted the number two seed, even though that meant that they were gonna get Philly or Miami. They wanted the smoke. They're gonna get it now. Philly has to be feeling really good about itself again to play such a tough team like Miami, go down by fifteen, find a way to dig themselves
out of that hole. We know that gritty wins in the playoffs have not exactly been plentiful in Philadelphia over the years, so that was impressive. And you know, the state of Joel Embiid's health is another major health topic that we need to keep our eye on because he's only been back for ten games or so, and I think you saw in the playing game there were times
he was clearly fatigued. He is still not anywhere close to one, but still a great shot maker, drained a few clutch threes, big pass to Oubre to spark that fourth quarter surge, and just obviously having Embiid on the floor, the gravity of what he's capable of offensively changes the game. So that's gonna be a real That Knick sixer series, I think is also gonna be really good.
I agree with you.
That would have been my number two pick in the Eastern Conference. I'm looking forward to that. I actually have Game two that Game one, so my first game will be Monday, Nick Sixers, looking forward to that.
But don't you also have a Boston game in there.
Right after Nick Sixers. I got Game two Boston and whoever they face?
Yea, see, even you, even you can't prepare because you don't know who the other team is.
I'll be all right, issue, I'll be all right. I'm I'm in much better position than Boston. I'll be okay.
I'll make producer Ryan any votes for Calves Magic.
See, the problem is, you guys are a bunch of elitists, and I will take the NBA TV Invitational in Calves. Listen, you got a young Magic team. They've been waiting for their time to come back and finally win another playoff series. You got Palo ban Cao. Could he be the next big star in the Eastern Conference. And look the Calves. They made a big move for Donovan Mitchell. It hasn't
necessarily paid off for a long postseason run. Is this the year or is you know some of the whispers we've been hearing that perhaps teams could start sniffing around looking for a future Donovan Mitchell trade once again. So I'll go ahead and take it. You guys. You guys aren't taking it. You guys are making your little jokes, taking your little pot shots.
Alrighty not me, r not me.
That's all star star, that's guilty by association.
Well, hey, well, this this is the question I have. Rye up.
But first of all, I start, you know, I don't know what NBA TV did the start to make him do that, just throw a shots like that. But Brian, since you're selling it, you're promoting it, You're you're, you know, selling the stars that we have in that series. Are you saying that these two teams should not be an NBA TV invitational and that they should be a TNT ESPN primetime game.
Is that what you're saying?
Well, listen, I think NBA TV provides its own value, so there's no need to say that there's any type of promotion or demotion based off of the network that you're on. And Plus, by the way, we got to pull for the great Jamal Moseley, friend of the show guest on the show, So I'll go, I'll go with the Orlando Magic in the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Well, a couple things here. There is no question that there is a great deal of curiosity bubbling league wide about Donovan Mitchell's future and will he sign a contract extent this offseason and if he doesn't, will that force the Cavaliers to admit that they need to trade him before losing him out right because he would only have one guaranteed season left on his deal. And obviously how well the Calves do in the playoffs figures to be
a factor in that extension calculus for Donovan Mitchell. So you know what, though, Ryan, since you are so high on this series, I think we're gonna make it a feature of the next couple of pods that you We're gonna We're gonna carve out a little time so you can give us some updates on how that series is playing out, because yes, we'll just you are you are the Calves Magic correspondent for this league on cot star Stein.
That would actually require require producer Ryan to get NBA TV.
Hey come on, now, come.
On, Producer Ryan has it. His day job is like you know, he's the glue of the whole Colin Cowhart operation, so he watches every game copious notes.
I have no doubts.
I have no doubts that we will be getting some glorious insights from the NBA TV Invitational. Calves Magic can't wait. Okay, best series in the West, best first round series. Your choices are Oklahoma City, which does not yet know if they'll be playing the Sacramento Kings or the New Orleans Pelicans. They will find that out for sure Friday Night, the defending champion Denver Nuggets against the seventh seeded LA Lakers.
The Lakers, by the way, the first team in league history to qualify for the playoffs three times via the NBA Tournament twice as a number seven seed. Now is a number eight seed. The Lakers are three and zero in their pit history. Three qualifications for the playoffs through the play in for the Lakers. Then there's the three
to six. This is tough. Minnesota Phoenix, the most successful season on paper in wolve's history, and they've got to open up in Round one against the Suns, team that has won all three regular season matchups between the teams, and in the series, not the season, the series that I'll be covering Clippers Mavericks four to five, Act three in the Luka Doncic Versus the Clip Show trilogy. Third time in five years that the Mavericks and Clippers will
be hooking up in the playoffs. Chris Haynes, you get the first pick. What is the best first round series out of the four on offer in the West?
Well, that's a great slate of games in the Western Conference field. I will say that I don't think you can go wrong with pretty much any of those selections. But I'm gonna go similarly to what I did with Milwaukee and the Pacers. I'm going with history. What's a series that has history? And then I'm gonna take a
page out of producer Ryan's playbook. He gave a shout out to coach Jamal Moseley came on, So I'm gonna talk about the other head coach that came on our show where we actually did a live show live from Las Vegas.
I'm going with the Los Angeles Lakers and the Denver.
Nuggets because of their history, because coach Ham said he wanted some get back for what Denver did to them in the playoffs last year. In the Western Conference finals, to be exact, they wanted this opportunity, and instant people were talking about the Lakers should lose the game and against New Orleans to try to beat the ninth or ten seed for the eighth seed, just so they don't face Denver in the first round.
Who does that? What competitor does that?
Like?
How can you like lose the first playing game and then just rish your whole season on trying to win against a team that just won and they got some confidence, Like it don't make any sense. If you're a competitor, you play to win. Lakers did what they were supposed to do. They handle New Orleans. Now they're facing Denver, and this is what I want to see. This is
what everybody wants to see. It might it might have it been in the Western Conference finals as far as what win people wanted to see them, But we want to see this matchup. The history is there, let's get it going. That's my intriguing matchup in the West Oknference.
Look, you go with Nuggets Lakers, and you are more than entitled. I do just feel the need to remind you that Darvin Ham, who we loved beyond words, having on that line show in Las Vegas. But I do need to remind you that if we're gonna make that a requirement. Coach of the Year candidate Jamal Moseley in the East, He's been on the show, Tylu Clippers Coach, He's been on the show. Chris Finch, Timberwolves coach, has even done a live show with us, like Darvin Ham
And I think I'm leaving somebody out. So I think those are all the coach I think those are all the playoff coaches who've been on with us. There might be more that I just can't fully remember somebody.
Damn, Can I pick the whole field? Or do I have to pick a series? I mean I gotta pick. I gotta pick something you can pick.
No, we only want you to pick one series. I'm just saying that a coach appearing on the show might not work as the as the driving force behind.
Well, it worked for producer Ryan. And you just say a word. And now that I said, now you want to condemn me.
I was just shocked too.
I was just shocked at producer. I was caught off guard that producer Ryan actually wanted to talk. I thought I was throwing him a grenade but he was hyped that. I put him in the corner to.
The coach that's still alive, Uh, coach Mike Brown of the Kings.
Make Brown.
We don't know officially if they will be in the playoffs.
As I left somebody out are still alive. So like sick?
What is that?
Six of the five or six of the sixteen playoff coaches? And you said if Mike Brown's not in the playoffs yet, but let's see if they can beat the Pels. But yeah, so if Mike Brown makes it, that's one, two, three, four, at least five playoff coaches have been on this show.
Hold on, what are the coaches again? You know what? That's why I think coach fence. Thank you, coach Fence. You know why I think coach Fence. He broke the.
Streak because for for a while, the all we did was have black hair coaches over. I was like, what's what's.
Going on here?
Why we can't why wha why why do we only get these black coaches here? I love them, I'll tackle, I accept them. But thank you Coach Finch. The first non black head coach to come on this league podcast.
I could say it.
So let me see We've had Coach Moseley, We've had Coach Brown, We've had Coach Ham, We've had Coach lou We've had Coach Finch. Am I leaving anybody out?
I believe that. I believe that's it. I believe that's it.
Because Jason Kidd and Rick Carlottle Jason Kidd and Rick Carlisle came on my radio show, but they have not yet been on this podcast.
Well, thank you, thank you, Coach Finch.
He made history on this league uncut podcast.
History history. All right. My choice for the sexiest first round series? I bet you're thinking that I'm automatically gonna say MAVs Clippers, and look, MAVs Clippers is really good. But I mean, am I allowed to do it? Toss up? I'm really intrigued by Wolves Sons. Wolf's Sons is fascinating to me because, again, this is ground we've covered in the past. But the Minnesota Timberwolves thirty four prior seasons in franchise history, they've only won two playoff rounds in
all that time, in thirty plus years. Poor Scott Shapiro, friend of the show and iHeart podcast, maestro, longtime, long suffering Wolves fan. He's only seen his team win two playoff rounds in thirty something years, so there's is huge pressure on Minnesota. Plus you've got this crazy ownership scandal that's hanging over the whole franchise. The Wolves were in the mix for the number one seed the whole season.
They end up dropping to number three, even though they finished only one game in the standings behind Oklahoma City and Denver. And now the Wolves as a third seed, they have to open up against the very dangerous Phoenix Suns. And if the Wolves win that series, then they've got a deal with Denver and the Nuggets will have the home court advantage. So Minnesota's playoff path is about as
difficult as it could be. So look, obviously I am going to be dialed in and locked in to Clippers MAVs Part three, but I put Wolves and Sons right in the same tier. Producer, Ryan, I guess for you that leaves OKC and whoever makes that, whoever makes that, whoever advances out of the plan, tell us why you're excited about OKAC as the number one seede.
Well you know this is fitting if I do say so myself. If you remember very early in the regular season. I had said, I, go, are we supposed to be buying into the Thunder? Do we think the Thunder are for real? And you, Mark Stein, you laughed at me.
You laughed at me.
We would be making a topic out of the Thunder. And so guess what here we are. It is April, the playoffs are ready to begin, and they are the number one seed in the Western Conference. So look, we've seen this before with the Thunder. They got young talent, they draft, well.
Our seats are made up. I don't remember any of these you know what I've been quoted for this second time.
Okay, I backed you up on the misquote from Chris, but this was a real off air conversation.
So okay, this might have really happened, and I just don't I really just probably don't.
You said it in jes like, no big deal, just because I was fascinated to see this young Thunder team start the regular season so strongly. But yeah, no, Look, I think this is going to be fascinating to see if this young group of players for the Thunder, which have obviously shown great promise in the regular season, could do it in the postseason. And I think there aren't any questions about how long they'll be together, but obviously
the comparisons are always going to live. That is this the next you know, Kevin Durant, Westbrook James Harden team that can make a run to the finals. So there's my pitch for why you should buy into the Thunder in this first round of the playoffs.
So are the Thunder and whoever they play, are they in the NBA TV what do you call it the ball.
NBA TV Invitational? I would say yeah, I would I would say I would say that that's a likely scenario.
Well, producer Ry needs to subscribe to NBA TV so he could watch both of his marquee matchups. Uh, and definitely don't be on the road because you know it's hard to catch NBA TV on when you're in a hotel.
Hey, listen, the playtales don't have it.
The playoffs are all about role players understanding their job and executing. And I understand my role here. It is the NBA TV Invitational matchups and I'm just here to execute.
All right, Hold on, real quick, sell the series like you sold Orlando and Cleveland. Sell this series, man, But you know both scenarios, this one.
This one's okay both scenarios. Huh, all right, well man, I am I'm gonna struggle with this one.
The East matchup was a lot easier.
Why is he struggling, stive? Why is he struggling if this is his most He's composed. He shouldn't be struggling if this is his series, if this is his pit o, man, why was he struggling to sell?
We're gonna give him a chance to redeem himself with some coverage of this.
Yes, yes, yeah, the coverage is where I'll be able to back this up.
You know, he couldn't sell it. He couldn't sell it. We gave him the products. He couldn't sell it. You will be a horrible drug dealer. Produce a Ryan horrible drug dealer.
I guess, I guess I made the right choice in not pursuing that.
Yes, yes, let's try to end this show and restore a touch of order here, although I'm not sure that our final topic will exactly achieve that. But like I said from the beginning, there were twenty five things we could have talked about today, and you know we will as time goes on. We will get to future of the Warriors, Let's see if the Kings actually make the playoffs and see if knocking out the Warriors what that
can do for the Kings going forward. Let's see if they can capitalize on that win Tuesday night and build off that and actually get into the Final eight by beating a week in New Orleans. Team We'll talk about
Team USA down the road. Obviously, we have plenty of time to get into that, get into their roster, and we didn't make any time to get into the Johntay Porter story, which is just that's probably a podcast in itself to see the league and the ruling they issued this week to suspend him after an investigation that turned up a number of gambling transgressions. But we can get back to some of those topics in the future.
M H.
More timely and probably the more fitting end this week. Just the other day on Inside the NBA, before that Kings win at home over the Warriors, Chris Haynes was summoned to give his pregame report from Sacramento on Inside the NBA, and here's what happened.
Oh, I was the MVP in the Filipino league that I'm in.
Hereat I'm not.
Philippa but you know I got I'm gonna guess.
I know I'm gonna get it trouble to ask this question, how many the Filipino has been drafted into the NBA.
That's gonna question many?
Christ All right, enjoy the guy.
I know it's Filipino name too. What's the Filipino name? You're right, man, was nice and.
Lots going on in that clip, Chris Haynes, Lots going on, And I'll tell you this the minute. The minute you finished speaking, one of my readers on my sub stack instantly messaged me and said it was only a matter of time before Haynes started talking about his rec league play on inside the NBA. So it is well known nationally, you know what I have to say. One of my first takeaways though, watching that was the hey, EJ and
Shaq knew your whole rec league history. It started to make me think, are these guys listening to the show. Maybe they listen, Maybe Ernie is a frequent listener to this league uncut and we just never knew it.
Well, I'm gonna give you some background info that nobody knows about.
Which would which would?
I think it would get you to understand how that whole conversation came about on air. So prior to me going on inside the NBA, you know, they have you check in with the studio crew, make sure the sound and everything is right, and they say, all right, check in with Ernie.
Check in with the boys.
So you say hi to Ernie, say hi to Shaq, Canny, Chuck, make sure you can hear them, make sure they can hear you.
And usually, you know, obviously with those guys, we start talking.
And so Shaq said, you know what, I don't know what they were talking about before I came on, but then when I got on again, we're off air at this point. When I got on, Shack is including me in a two on two basketball game. He was like, all right, final, forget, forget it.
It's Shaq. Shaq said, it's me and him versus Chuck and Kenny.
And I heard that.
I'm like, oh shoot, oh yeah, yeah, we got that shock. And Shaq said you with me. I'm like, yeah, I'm with your Shack. We got that.
And so then we were kind of talking about the leagues I was in then. So Ernie heard all of this. So that's why Ernie set me up. That's why Ernie said, isn't that cleve.
So neither Ernie nor Shack have ever listened to this league.
I'm about saying that maybe maybe Ernie did for us. Why he asked, I don't know, but Ernie asked a question.
That's what got that.
At the end of the clip, Ernie was like, Chris, I'm sorry I asked. I'm I'm sorry I asked. And so that's that's where that came up. So, uh, you know, I'm gonna.
Try to get it going stun me and Shaq versus Kenny and Chuck, and they thought I was playing.
I had to produce some receipts, so I had to show I had to tweet out some pictures of me holding the hardware, the championship trophy and the MVP trophy and me. Remember I told you about how I get my getting my team to bond, and I bought Filipino head bands for the whole team. So you see me with the Filipino headband on and the picture I tweeted out there. So uh, it's real over here in the field. But yeah, that's how that's how that came about.
Einstein. I'm gonna say this, that.
Video clip blew up and not just blew up in the country, bullet blew up in the Philippines and most of the most of the most of it.
And they're just laughing.
They appreciate, you know, being acknowledged because you know, basketball is very huge in the Philippines over there, and I've since got gotten a few offers so that they'll fly me out first class and come watch some the Filipino League Basketball League games.
So I'm I'm gonnaell, I'm gonna take them up on that offer right right there. Stein.
See, that's what I'm telling you, Stein, you can join my philip Filipino League starin and you don't know what is in store for you.
We can both you know, we may.
Still both have a career covering the covering the PBA all over there, or me even going playing as an import.
The opportunity or maybe we need to all go there and do the show from the Philippines.
Oh, they would love that. They would love that.
Love absolutely loved that, and they it was so much, so much outpoint of love from the Filipino community. They'm just appreciate me even acknowledging the leagues. There's Philipino leagues all across this country and they're competitive, man and so. And the reason why I was laughing at Oh Star to say this real quick, A bunch of my Filipino brothers and sisters hit me back up with the response
that they said, I should have said so. When Chuck asked how many Filipinos were drafted the NBA, A bunch of people, brothers, sisters in my Filipino community hit me up to say, you should have as many championship says as you got, Chuck. That's that's the response. They would have been saying. Listen, I'm not like Chuck. I'm not quick with it like that, you know what I mean. Like I wasn't expected Chuck to go there, so I wasn't. I wasn't quite ready, and I knew what Chuck meant.
Chuck meant like pure blood Filipinos, you know from the Philippines, Jalen Green and Jordan Clarkson, you know Filipino descent.
Andre Andre blatch.
Too, he played for the He played for the Philippines.
Okay, but no, it was it was a cool segment. Gave them some love. So that's how that's how all of that came about.
Yeah, that's two weeks in a row that this podcast was either name checked or tangentially mentioned on Inside the NBA. So that is a winning streak. We will gladly, gladly accept.
You're you're subscriber. You said, he's a he's somebody who commented on.
Your Yeah, yeah, one of one of one of the loyal readers of my sub stack. And like I said instantly, in fact, I was actually about five minutes behind the show real time, and he messaged me before how I had even seen this exchange about your rec league career. So then I hit play and fast forward and there you were on screen to give an update, a preview of Warriors at Kings, but it instead became an inside the a spin off of this league uncut, which was entertaining to watch.
Well, listen, you know, you're always taught as a journalist. You know, as a reporter, you're not to be a part of the story. And so I didn't go in going in to talk about my heroics on the basketball court. But there was an opportunity that I saw and I was asked a question, and that's how it got.
I blame Ernie.
I blame Ernie is a Ernie is a great instigator, but then he knows how like quickly cut it off too. You know, you see you can hear that clip like, you know, all right, let's let's let's up cut this off. We don't want to get castled. So uh, he's good with starting it and then peeling it back like as if he didn't do anything, as if he didn't contribute.
But you know that that was all that was.
So you know, it's always, you know, you always have fun with those guys. You never know what to expect.
All Right, I'm no Wheernie Johnson, but I'm gonna try to put a bow on this one.
Now.
That is going to do it for this edition of This League Uncut. As I mentioned, there were about ten other things on our list that I was hoping we could get to, and even just restricting us to what we did talk about, this is gonna end up being one of our longer podcasts. I think we've gone about an hour, maybe even over. So Chris will be heading east. I'm heading west in the first round. But we will find a way to get together again soon and we will be back next week with two new editions of
This League Uncut. As always, we kindly ask you to follow us, rate the show, review the show. We would love to get a five star review from you if possible, and you know, let us know if you are your producer, Ryan, we are expanding his role week to week. Are you enjoying that new wrinkle of the show, Let us know. And like I said, Chris and I will be back together again very very soon with the playoffs fully underway. By that point, that's gonna do it. Thanks everyone for listening.
That's cold game.
We announced that we're expanding Ryan's role, but now we're asking the audience to tell us if they lack it.
Or that.
I think we're supposed to do that before we announced the expatable.
And that'll do it for us. See you next time. This league uncut it is and iHeartRadio production. Chris Haines did Mark Stein