Our reactions to how the in season tournament is landing league wide. Indiana's Tyres Halliburton in Minnesota's Anthony Edwards. Can they force their way into this season's MVP race and the sixty five game threshold? Lebron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant? Will those thirty somethings all play at least sixty five games to get themselves into the various award races they want to compete in. All that's next here on this League Uncut.
Welcome to this League Uncut.
Can you rule a.
Twenty four hour NDIA News. This's you Love, Chris Hans. It's go time, work's time, It's some time. This League Uncut is underway and on fire. This should be a good one.
Everyone. Welcome in and Happy Thanksgiving from the whole this League Uncut squad. Mark Stein here with Chris Haynes, producer Ryan Music. We are recording on Wednesday afternoon. What time is it on the East coast? After five on the East coast. So the Milwaukee Boston Showdown that Chris Haynes couldn't wait to see is almost here. That's just a couple hours away. Also less than a day away now for the hotel Haynes to be invaded by countless family members.
So a lot going on at the Haines Hotel in Sacramento. I'm in La. I was man. I still want to call it Staples every time I was at Thecrypto dot Com arena last night, saw the Lakers dismantle the Jazz, saw Lebron James score his thirty nine thousandth career point. But even in Farrow, we're both in CALIFORNI on you right now, even way out here, I think the talk of the NBA as we woke up today was what happened Indiana Atlanta, one fifty seven, one fifty two scoreboard overload.
Everyone around the league is going nuts about what Tyres Halliburton is doing, and we will get to that in a moment. But let us really we conceived doing this. We don't normally tape at this afternoon hour, but we did it Monday. We're doing it again today and this way the pod will be out during Wednesday nights overloaded slate of games. Fourteen games tonight, but nobody Chris Haynes is playing tomorrow on Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is off in the NBA,
So We're gonna start with a trivia question. Once the regular season begins. This season, it began on October twenty fourth. The season typically lasts about one hundred and seventy days. That's that's the ballpark figure. How many days from start of the regular season in to end of the regular season? Is there zero NBA basketball? An avid reader of my sub stack like yourself should know this one, because I
actually put this in my substack recently. Since you read every issue every since you read every post cover to cover, I know you know this answer. How many days? How many days out of those one seventy is there no NBA basketball?
Since I didn't read your latest yet.
Or the one five or five six issues ago when I actually wrote about this, I don't want to keep calling it. They're not episode. These are episodes. Those are just those are just plain old stories.
I'm gonna take an educated guess, we have hold on answer this question real quick. Is alection they accounted for?
Yeah? That's one of them?
All right, Okay, two, that's two. I'm going to say four.
Very good guests, had you read the steinline cover to cover, you would know that the answer is actually five. There are five. There are only five. Once the regular season clock starts ticking, there are only five days on the calendar that there are no NBA games. Election Day, as you said, which was November seventh this season, Thanksgiving Christmas Eve, April eighth, which is the Monday that the NCAA Division
One Men's Basketball Championship is contested. That Monday night where the Final four wraps up, there is no NBA games, sorry, Ryan, Three, let me do it again, three two one, That Monday night when the Final four wraps up with the championship game, there are no NBA games that night, and then the final day before the regular season April thirteenth. In this case, because all thirty teen the way the NBA does it now, all thirty teams play on the final day of the
regular season. So four, sorry, Ron, I got a cough three two one, So four, I must say, was a pretty good guess.
So I've been covering ly with th this of my thirteenth year. Now. I don't think I've ever recognized that NBA games that have never been played on Christmas Eve. I wouldn't yeah that.
It actually was not always so that there were no games on Thanksgiving. The one that stands out in my memory. I'm sure there was more than one Thanksgiving that I actually covered an NBA game, but the one that I really remember my first year at ESPN was two thousand and two, two thousand and three. That season I moved. My first year at ESPN, they they made me live in Connecticut, so I had just left Dallas. What happens I leave Dallas and the Mavericks start the season fourteen
and oh, best start in franchise history. On that Thanksgiving they played at Indiana and they lost. That was their first loss of the season on Thanksgiving. So I do remember that one. But it's more reason than that that the NBA finally said, you know, we're going away from Thanksgiving games. But yeah, so no Thanksgiving, no Christmas Eve. No, they don't want to go head to head with the
final four championship game. And then they want everybody resting on the last day before the regular season because they want all thirty teams playing stein.
But hold on, what I gatthered from that, What stuck out to me is you spent an entire year in Bristol, you actually had to move there.
You really want that whole story right now? And I've told you this story.
No, I didn't know what I know you ever lived in Bristol.
Yeah, so my first year there, I was told that I got the job, which obviously I was. You know, it was career changing to get that job. And it's interesting. I hope Steve Weish doesn't mind me telling this story because Steve Weisch, who you probably know, outstanding reporter for the NFL network. Steve Weisch and I went head to
head for two straight jobs the Washington Post. We both interviewed for the Wizard's job to replace Rick Bucker, and I had interned at the Post and Weysh beat me out for that job, and I was crushed because having interned for the Post, I badly wanted to be a staff writer there. But Weysh beat me out for that one. And then a few years later we both ended up going for this ESPN dot com job, and this time the fortune smiled upon me and I got it, and
I had been I had been freelancing for ESPN. It's funny. In the early days of ESPN dot com, they didn't have a full time NBA writer, so what they did was David Aldrich was working on the TV side, and then Buker ended up for them on the magazine and they would both write for ESPN dot com. But they were you know, Aldrich was ESPN's TV reporter on the
NBA and Rick Buker was a magazine staff writer. So what they genuine what they did in the early days of ESPN dot com, they filled, they would they it was so small time back then that they basically they only wrote on They only had a fresh new piece on weekdays Monday through Friday, and it was basically one new piece. And in those days there were only four divisions, so they had freelancers from each of the four divisions and then Aldrich would write once a week and that
was ESPN dot COM's coverage for years like that. So so Mike Monroe, who I know, you know as well, who's been in San Antonio for the last I don't know, twenty odd years. After many many years in Denver, Mike was the Midwest Division correspondent. He was covering the Nuggets then for the Denver Post and covering the league for
the Denver Post. He got a job at Fox Sports and that opened up a freelancer spot at ESPN on the Midwest Division, and I started I got that, and I started doing one Midwest Division column a week, so that kind of got me in with ESPN. And then when they finally had a full time opening, knock on Wood, I get it. But the catch was we had to
move to Connecticut, and so we leave Dallas. I had just gotten married, missus Stein was pregnant with our first born, Alexander the Greatest, who was actually officially born in Hartford, because that one year we lived there. And after year one, I was like, guys, I'm two hours from the Nets, I'm two hours from the Knicks, I'm two hours from the cell I'm an outsider at all these places, and it's so hard to get to Please let me go back to Dallas.
And they said, yes, all right, okay, I know, we go get to basketball, but hold on, we'll get to basketball. I promise we will. You just got married. Yeah, how in the hell did you convince your wife to after just getting married, to move to Bristol, Connecticut? Was it was that easy?
It was not easy. But missus Stein, she's the greatest.
Oh she's a keeper. Oh you knew you had some.
She is a very very impatient and brave woman.
Yeah.
No, literally literally and that was also that late late in that summer we got married and the Foeba what is now known as the FEBA World Cup, the World Championships were in Indianapolis that September. So that like my first assignment for ESPN, if I if I'm remembering this right was doing the Feeble World what what now is the Feeble World Cup. So it's like right away, had to just jump right into it. Then the season started, move move to Connecticut and one year in central Connecticut.
Let's just say that was that was plenty.
Wow, I understand I spent man. I would go there when when I was at ESPN, I probably went to Bristol twelve about twelve times a year, and uh, I couldn't imagine being there three hundred and sixty five days.
Yeah, it is great when you fly in, stay at the hotel for three days, do a bunch of TV, high five everybody, and then you're off to the airport. That that's great, that's fine. But yeah, that was a missus Stein I mean, because I mean we got married and a year later had our had our first had our firstborn. It was a lot. It was a lot. There was a lot going on.
I'd just like it. I just like I hope people appreciate that too. Just just the stories you know, here in the here, in the flight of getting up there, and what it takes, the chances you have to take just to.
Put a bow on all that. Then you know, Steve Weish swiftly move over to the NFL and became an NFL reporting superstar. So he he, he did just fine without the NBA in his life. So shout out to Steve Weish.
Awesome story, awesome story.
And then Chris Haynes takes me miles off course.
Let the spirit move you. Nothing wrong with that.
So Chris Haynes, now it's my turn to ask some questions. We've seen a lot of n Season Tournament basketball, and last night everybody got so excited about the in the Atlanta game. So now that we've I mean, you know where the crotchety old man stands. Tell me what you're seeing. How is the nd season tournament winning you over to any degree? Are you more into it than you were?
Talk to me. I wouldn't know that it's winning me over. Can I tell that there's a difference. I'm gonna tell you that the slight difference that I can tell and play. It's towards the end of the game, and I'm going to point to a Milwaukee Bucks Charlotte Hornet's game. Adrian Griffin left his starters in longer in the game that they had already. You know, they had it won, but they left them in longer than usual because you know
the point differential that plays a factor into it. You know, if there's a tiebreaker, then it goes by the point differential. And I think cliff I didn't notice at the time, but I guess Steve Clifford had a problem and Adrian Grifford had to talk to Clifford and tell them, hey, nothing per You know, I wouldn't ordinarily do this, but you know, this is the way this n season tournament is set up. So we're trying to win it, uh by as much as possible. And stein I love that.
I love it. You know, I'm not one of those ones that that that talks about. Hey, you know there's a rule, there's an unwritten rule you don't shoot the ball when you're okay, I get it. Yeah, all right, it'd be nice if they did, But you know what else you can do. You can play defense to the end. You can do that. So I kind of like, you know, leaving guys in a little bit longer, especially you know, you know, sometimes guys just need a rhythm and you want to you know, you want you wanted to try
to flow into the next game. But so that's that's the only difference, you know, just in strategy that I've seen noticeably seen. But now as we get into the later rounds of this end season tournament, you know, I think that's where we're going to really because players, players and coaches they're still trying to figure out like how significant this is. They know it's something different, but I think it's going to take to the latter stages of it until we really see a true difference maker.
What about yourself, Yeah, I mean, look, I mean, you know, I've been such a loud skeptic, so I don't want to keep harping on the same stuff because I mean, look, the natural question after a game last night, like we saw Indiana one fifty seven Atlanta one fifty two, the natural question that people are gonna pose is was that because of the n season tournament where these teams more dialed in, because the Pacers were trying to clinch their spot atop the group. And you know, last night we
did get the first two teams. The Pacers and the Lakers are the first two of the eight quarterfinalists, and the eight and the quarterfinals, that's when this thing becomes a knockout competition. But look, I I'm just not buying that. And again, people, presumably people at the league off will say, Stein, You're just you're never gonna give this thing a chance. There's nothing we could do to convince you. But I mean, I'm I'm sorry. I'm old enough to remember an early
season game. In this case, it was early December, but of course starring Steve Nash against Jason Kidd, Phoenix against Brooklyn oh six oh seven range, So you know, a good fifteen years ago. But okay, December two thousand and six, says producer Ryan Suns won sixty one nets one fifty seven. Yes, that went to double overtime, but that was the same kind of crazy game. And you know, so was last night's score line and intensity inspired by the n season tournament.
I don't know that there's any way to prove it. I just want this thing to get to the knockout point. And you know my initial quarrel with it, and I know this is not easy to do. What I'm asking for is not easy. It cannot be just like soccer, where in these the soccer tournaments that the ND season Tournament is modeled after, it is not just single elimination, but it has teams from other divisions. We don't have
that model in North American major team sports. It's not easy for the NBA to just bring in two extra teams from the EuroLeague or the G League or whatever. It's just it's just not logistically easy to do. But what I think people are gonna really love is when this thing gets to the final four, especially when we get to Vegas, there are four teams. There are real knockout games eventually down the road. What I really hope, because I'm sorry, these group games just don't do anything
for me. And the courts. It's not about the courts. The courts. There's very mixed opinions about the courts. Some people hate them, some people grudgingly like them. Whether you hate them or like them, they get us talking. But that's just cause medic nonsense. That's not that people. People. People are not gonna watch even if they love the court. They're not gonna watch a bunch of games because they're not gonna go, oh, yes, this is Game three with
our awesome court. It's just that's not gonna happen.
But it's just a differentiate from the regular season games, that's all people.
Well, the reason they need that is because these four group games that everybody plays are regular season games that count twice. And that's the part that I just I just don't like that, and I just hope that in the future down the road, you know, is this something they can actually carve out of the eighty two games? Can they? Because they don't want to add to eighty two. They certainly don't want to make the season longer than it is. So you're not you can't add games to
eighty two. It's already too long. But can they take out a week or two of the regular season? And again, all thirty teams and all of us know it all, and all of us, the old men like me, we all go to Vegas for a week or two and just play a thirty team knockout tournament. Put all the teams in a hat, mix it up, mix up East and West. That's another thing that drives me nuts about this. East and West are kept apart until the championship game.
Why we do that in the playoffs? It would be better if East and West were mixed up here too, so we could just have some variety, something truly different besides courts and uniform. So I just hope down the road that's where we go, because I you know, I know you'll be in Vegas. I'm trying to get myself to Vegas. I do want to see what happens in
Vegas when it's neutral site, true knockout. And you know, I do think players are more excited about the idea of winning five hundred grand each then we probably realize. I think I think guys do care about that, but only the winning team gets that much.
So with your suggestion in carving out another week or two throughout the regular season to do this, right, would those stats go into the regular season stats or it would be separate because if I if you say no, players would not go for that.
Hey, and you just raised a tremendous counterpoint because I say, I would say it should be completely separate. Yeah, that a tournament should be separate. But you're absolutely right. Even if you could do this thing in a week, And I don't think you could do it all in one week. I think it would have to it would have to stretch into a second week because otherwise you'd have you'd have back to backs. So I don't think you want
to just do it in one single week. But yeah, I mean it's four, five, six games or I guess if you if I mean, if it's true single elimination, you might only play one game. Yeah, I mean, I think it needs to be separate. And again it's not that's not easy to do either. You just raised a
great point, and then there's other logistical issues. What happens to the team that lose, you know, six you know, if you have a thirty team tournament, Let's say you give buys to the top two seeds and then twenty eight teams play in the first round, So fourteen teams are only going to play one game. Then a bunch of teams will only play two games. I mean, it does create a whole bunch of issues. But my point is, if we don't have teams from other leagues competing, we
have to emphasize the knockout portion of the show. That's the part that will make it truly different and get people excited if there's a knockout competition, if the Boston Celtics get a terrible draw and have to play a really good team early and then the Celtics are knocked out and that opens it up for somebody else, Like that is more of a true tournament than what this is in year one.
But overall, I think we have to wait until we get to the knockout stage to see just because I think that's where we're really going to see the intensity picked up. Because again, you know that these the group play and these different divisions, nobody really knows who's in what group you know, nobody has that memorize yet exactly.
I don't even know. Yeah, I mean it's really hard to keep track of it.
Yeah, that's that's that's that's why I'm saying, like when it gets to a lot of stages, like that's where you're really going to be able to tell, Okay, this is serious. This is And then I forgot Producer Ryan.
I don't want to stop taping, but Producer Ryan, if you can find there was a player who suggested I think was some star level player this past week suggested that the n season tournament winner should get a free birth to the playoffs, so by him, whoever this individual is they said this past week, I think it was Halliburton.
I think it was I believe it was Halliburton. And if if they're suggesting that Stein, that would lead me to believe that most probably don't think five hundred thousand is enough to be on board and fully, you know, engulfed in this end season tournament. So if they're still coming up with different suggestions, it was Halliburton, Thank you producer, Brian, Thank you Stein. So I don't know, I don't think.
I don't like that, you know, because then you just and the ain't like, why are you even playing the rest of the regular seasons if you are already got to automatically.
And that's that's probably too much. And you know, then there was the you know, whoever wins should get draft compensation for their team, and then you know, why would the players care about getting their team draft picks so they can replace someone who's already on the current roster. So look, you just did it very well where I throughout my scenario and right away you came up with what happens to the stats and that is a big deal.
And so whatever format we propose, whatever changes are thrown out there, there will always be counter arguments to it and logistical problems that the NBA is going to have to smooth over. And I think that's a big reason why they chose this format for year one, because by choosing the way they've done it, by making four group games essentially be regular season games that count twice, the
only schedule gymnastics they have to do. Now there's you know, the week in early December where they've got to come up with games for the team. You know, teams that don't advance to the quarterfinals have to add a couple of games to their schedule because teams were only given eighty games at the beginning of the season rather than
eighty two. But this NBA, the format the NBA has chosen, it only adds one extra game to the schedule for the two teams that make the championship game on December ninth. So I think what really appealed to them was that they could go through this whole experiment in year one without causing a lot of disruption. What I'm proposing would cause more option because even if you go to Vegas for a week and a half. There will be teams that lose home dates. They will not like that. They
don't want to give up. The teams that do well at the gate especially, are not gonna want to forfeit home games because now they're losing revenue. And there will be scheduling nightmares that the NBA would have to confront because with true single elimination, obviously only two teams make the finals, and so all the teams in the tournament, all thirty, are playing a different number of games, and that causes its own share of problems. So I do get all that, But again, to me, why did they
ask ll cool Jy to redo? Mama said, knock you out? Because the knockout part that's the good stuff, you know. That's like group games that aren't really group games, regular season games disguised as group games. They just again, like you said, it's too hard to follow. Who's an A B?
I mean, yeah, that's and let me let me elaborate just so people understand what I'm talking about. With players, most players wouldn't go for not having their stouts their stats accounted for. No player wants to play five games and say that they're on a hot streak in that five games earlier in the season. They don't want those stats just wiped away. Don't count, you know, you know,
don't it matters. You know, it matters. You know, they all you know, their their time and you know, so I know, you know, I spoken to a few players about that already, and that was that was one of their concerns before the season tournament was even implemented. So I know that would be something that they will probably push back on. You know, playoffs that's a different story, you know, playoffs of the playoffs stats, you know, their stats for the playoffs. But that that is that is
something else that they would have an issue with. They tried to just say the stats would not wouldn't go into the regular season numbers.
Now, though, I'm going to pay a compliment to the n season Tournament because I do think this is somewhat of a factor. To me, there's been less MVP chatter in November, which always strikes me as a little too early to get too deep into it. But look, the reason one of the main reasons that this inn season
tournament was conceived by the NBA. Obviously it's about money and about creating content and a product that they can offer up to potential partners in a new media rights deal to maybe sell the tournament separately to a rights holder. So I mean, there's all kinds of financial incentives for potentially doing it, but also something that is long concerned the NBA is trying to make the regular season more meaningful.
And one of the reasons we've talked about this before on this spot, and this is one of my favorite things to kind of remind everyone about, is the reason the NBA never pushes back on heated NBA debate or NBA debates that start really early in the season, probably
earlier than they should. It's because, again, winning the regular season MVP Award probably the highest individual honor that there is in the sport that gives the regular season meaning and the league's hope was that the n season tournament could add to that and become something else that gets people excited in November and December when normally all the
focus is on the NFL and college football. But one of the benefits this season, I think, and maybe it's an unintended benefit, or maybe there's no correlation and I'm just inventing a correlation but I feel like there's been so much focus from the league on marketing the n season tournament and working on n Season tournament awareness that there's somehow been less MVP chatter than we normally get this time of year. And then I kind of violated my own rule to an extent by writing about the
MVP race on Tuesday and my substack. But the point really wasn't to say who is or isn't leading the chase, or you know, it's way too soon for that kind of talk, but really just to kind of bring home the point as something to discuss, something to monitor, something to keep our eyes on, because again, it is amazing that no American player has won the MVP, the regular season MVP award in the NBA. No American has won that since a former Houston Rocket I'm sure you remember,
named James Harden in twenty seventeen eighteen. Since then, it's been Yannis twice, it's been Jokic twice. EMBIID last year, Luka Doncic widely considered a future MVP, he doesn't have one yet. Canada Shay Gilgess, Alexander he ended up on the All NBA First Team last year, so you got those five foreign players having accounted for the last five MVPs, and Doncic and Sga as contenders to join that club in the future. So there's not a lot of room
for new competition. But I wanted to just throw that out there because it's been interesting at the start of the season just to see the various guys who are off the good starts. Jason Tatum is off to a huge start in Boston, and this brings me back to Halliburton, who is you know, if the Pacers can make a run at fifty wins, I mean, Halliburton is gonna He's gonna be in this discussion.
And again, you know this is we're early in the season. With that being said, let me look at some of the players, American players who have a shot. I still think you have to put Joker up there. You gotta put in Bead up there, Johannis for sure, like those are probably the three favorites, the three top favorites to win the award. But what American has a legitimate shot? Tatum possibly Boston got off to a pretty quick quick start.
I still think that's an uphill battle. You know, Kim Minnesota, b is this sustainable, you know, will they remain a top of the West, And if so, Anthony Edwards definitely has to be considered.
Yes, indeed I should have mentioned him, That's my bad.
Yeah, But aside from that stunt, I mean, ty Pacers, I gotta see more. I gotta no question.
But that's why it's too early to get into specifics, like what's Haliburton's chances? But he's played so well and look Maxie too, Tyrese Maxie's now is he going to Is MAXI gonna be able to keep his production where it's been in Philly? And is he ever gonna be able to beat out Joel Embiid on his own team? But you said it. If Minnesota continues to live at the top of the West, the upper tier of the Western Conference, Anthony Edwards is going to be in this discussion.
And if Indiana can make a run at fifty wins, I do think Caliburton will at least get a mention and then then it's you know, but these thirty somethings are just amazing. Lebron turns thirty nine in December, Stephen Curry turns thirty six in March. Kevin Durant just turned thirty five in September. All three of them are playing at an MVP level. Now, will their teams win enough for them to get in the top five. That's something to watch. But there, you know, it's it's just it's
I just threw it out there yesterday. Is just something to monitor and to keep in your mind. It's an interesting thing. It's a fun game to play. Who is the next slash, first American who can and this dominance of international stars and for many of our colleagues, fellow pundits, Jason Tatum was a very popular preseason pick to be the guy and win his first MVP. But yeah, I mean,
I think you said it. I mean, the conversation still starts with Joker, Jannison Embiid and I think you know, Luca not far off depending on how many games the MAVs win and the Thunder have been spectacular early. So I mean, that's certainly going to help SGA's case. And there is a lot of international stardom at the top of this race.
And suppose another question too, Stein, So say we do have an American born MVP coming up, will it be a retread or will it be somebody new? So let me rephrase that. Do you think the chances are higher that the next American MVP is retreat or a new MVP winner?
I think new. And the reason I say that is because we also have to factor in the sixty five game rule. And the reality is Lebron, what he's doing right now is at his at you know, at almost thirty nine has never been seen before. I mean, what the stat came out today's shooting like sixty six percent in fourth quarters. Steph was playing lights out until he had the knee injury that knocked him out for a few games. And Durant is playing second or third most
minutes in the league. They haven't even seen Bradley Beal yet and Durant's been out of this world. So the question the question for those three guys, it's twofold A. Are their teams gonna win enough for them to get up the ladder? Up the MVP ladder? And b will will those three guys play sixty five games?
Because now, correct me if I'm wrong, sty the sixty five game is required even for all NBA teams. Correct, yes, they will if they if they're healthy, They're not a lot. Look, Lebron KD. They're not gonna waste the season, not trying to steal accumulate awards. That that's that's not gonna happen. So if they are healthy enough, they're going for that.
Believe me, those guys it's championship or BUS. So you're telling me they're gonna.
It's still They're still added to their legacy. No, it still matters. It still matters. Lebron is not if he has a chance to add another All NBA to his resume, he's adding it. Kevin Durant, same thing. They are not wasting season. Yes, championship BUS, but no, they're adding to
their legacy right now. That is very important. So I guarantee you whatever maintenance plan they have, intact resting plan or whatever it is taken into consideration on how, you know, how they can get that rest and still get the sixty five games. Now, you can't account for injuries that happen and things like that. But no, Stein, No, they're still trying to add to their resume.
See this is good you on multiple occasions in this festive Thanksgiving pod, you took this conversation into directions that I was not expecting. So kudos to you.
The holiday season. Stein, That's what happens, you know.
And it's funny because it's so funny because obviously we can see each other as we're recording this, and our audience cannot. But it's been funny in this You in this episode, you are the calm. You are the calm one trying to, you know, be the wise old head.
Stein.
Just calm down, let's see. You know you're trying to You're trying to bring a restrained, relaxed tone to the conversation.
Well, I have about twenty five other family members arriving today, so I'm trying to prepare myself.
They're all, it's all today, they're getting today.
Yeah, and most of them get in today. I have already, I got a household of fifteen right now in the house. So it's amazing that you haven't heard any noise, you know, in anything right now.
So I guess my point is, I think you've enjoyed taking the role of the old head in this one. Letting me go off on my on my little n season tournament tangents and well.
Listen, I mean it comes with age. That's what happens, you know what I'm saying, Stein, so I wouldn't you know, I wouldn't say this is the new me. You know, I'll probably go back to my old self in the next episode, but it is what it is right now. Stein, I'm feeling good right now. You know. Sweet potato pie is my favorite pie, my favorite dessert of all time. You got to have your some, Stein, if you've never had any sweeptail pie. Anyway, my mom is down there
and I smell it right now. I smell it coming out the oven right now. So I'm in a good mood, Steyn, So you are.
And you so all this food is being prepared at the Hotel Haynes as we speak.
The desserts right now being made, Yes, and.
You are not going to touch it until tomorrow. You're not going to touch anything till tomorrow.
Oh no, I'm stealing a pie. My mom makes about seven sweep until pies. I'm still in one and I'm hiding it in my room and so I'll be eating that. Yeah, I'm eating that tonight. Yes, you see, I'm trying to try to whisper.
Do you think anyone coming to your house listens to our podcast?
Uh? Yeah, they listened, but they listen. They'll they'll hear it like weeks later at that time.
Cool, you know, missus Haynes won't hear this podcast.
You hear it weeks later, you hear weeks later. Like, girl, I already said that. You know, I was just I'm like, that was just in a moment. Don't worry about it, girl, You know because I told her. I let her know, Hey, occasionally you come up occasionally, our relationship occasionally, you know the struggles we go through. Yeah, see she liked that one. That was cool. She got that way. She said, as long as you let them know that, you're the one to take most of the losses. I'm like, yeah, I
told the truth. Yeah, you take all the laws. I told the truth. That's sure.
You're playing for a tie. Everyone, thanks so much for joining us. I hope you have we Hope you have a tremendous Thanksgiving. Hope you get some good family time again. No NBA games on Thanksgiving, So hopefully if you have some NBA cravings or you find yourself in the midst of a hillacious holiday commute, bring us with you. Listen to us when you're on the man being here in La people. I mean, the talk about Thanksgiving traffic. It
starts on Tuesday. The just shocking images of cars stacked on the freeway and nobody moving.
I have to I have to go shout out to Carlos Garcia. You know, I like to shout out people who reach out and say they've listened to the pod. Carlos Garcia reached out to me on I G I'm showing you right here, Stein, and in it, he says, could I posted a picture? I posted a story of my ham that I purchased from the Honey Baked Ham company that you seem to have no idea about. He says, Mark didn't know nothing about that on the podcast, and he's just lot laughing, dying, laughing. You gotta you gotta
check that. And Michael Wright, my colleague over there at NBA dot com, he sent me a picture. You listened to our pod, sent me a picture of his honey Baked ham that he purchased, and he says, Stein, gotta he gotta get on point. You gotta find out about that now, Stein, you probably don't eat ham? Am I safe? Is that? Is that?
Yeah?
It's not good?
I got it, I get it. I wanted to make that clear.
But but I've been, but as as uh as my dear high school friend Dave Casera's remind me. I've been to many holiday parties of his, back when we were younger, when they had when they had honey baked ham. So I've even been to events where it was served.
I just didn't understood understood, so I would to Hey, I'm doing that for you, Starle, letting the listeners know there's a reason you probably don't not that all.
That, so you already you already posted this IG.
I posted my honey baked ham to IG yesterday on my story, so I want to give it.
You know, I am hopeless. You know I am hopeless when when the initials IG come into the conversation.
I can't wait. I can't wait. Hey, And I wish everybody out there again a non violent Thanksgiving holiday week and weekend, because we know where family gets together, Hey, it gets there's turbulence sometimes. So you know, I just hope that you know all you do is is have peace, love and good food and good companies.
So that will have to get the report. We'll have to get the report next time we do one of these on how it went.
Oh Stan, I'm gonna tell you right now that ain't going down over here. It's going to be Oh, I'll let you know. I'll give you the report. I'll have an update the post Thanksgiving episode on how everything went down.
We need an exact count of how many guests there were.
Yep, how I helped my tongue, didn't say anything, wanted to say something. How I looked at somebody crazy, but I didn't take it to the next level. Those things happen. It's family, you love them, It's family. It's all good, It's all good.
I'm ready, all right, everyone that is going to do it for this Thanksgiving edition of This League Uncut. Chris and I will be back very early next week with our next episode. Of course, if you haven't already, please remember to rate, review, and subscribe to the show. Apple Podcasts, Spotify podcast, wherever, hashtag, wherever you get your pods. You could do it. Happy Thanksgiving everyone. We are very thankful for everyone who listens and joins us every episode. Talk to.
And That'll do it for us. See you next time. This League uncutage an iHeartRadio production Chris Haines and Mark Stein