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Welcome in What's Right with Nick Wright Episode to twenty nine as I send out the link for the show. Huge show today after a massive weekend, so let's just get right into it.
What missed the cut from today's show.
Caitlin Clark goes number one in the WNBA draft of the Indiana Fever. Travis Swift and Travis Swift, What a slip there? Taylor Swift and Travis Kelsey go to Coachella and friend of the Pod Danny Parkins his book Pipeline to the Pros is out today.
The audio book you can download this moment. You can also order.
If you didn't pre order the book, the book can have it delivered to you by tomorrow. How d three college players basically came to run the NBA from a coaching and general managing perspective, it is if you're a hoops fan, there's no better way. How much is the book twenty bucks? I had the link up earlier. There's
no better way to spend a few dollars. And if you want to know about the modern NBA and kind of how the modern NBA came to be, you can get it right now, like, yeah, twenty five bucks on Amazon. Danny parkins Ben kap If you're a fan of this show and a fan of basketball, I strongly encourage.
You to buy it.
And honestly, even if you're a fan of this show and a fan of basketball and you're like, but I don't read books, buy it anyway. It's twenty five bucks. Just buy it anyway. The revenue, the revenue goes. Danny didn't talk about this as much when he was on the show, but while Danny was writing this book, his brother lost a battle after fighting valiantly to glioblastone, which formed brain cancer. So a lot of the money that generate from this book is going to go to brain cancer research.
It's also an awesome book.
Jeff van Gundy is prominently involved, Mike buden Ulter Bred, Stevens ring Vogel, Tom Thibodeau, Sam Presty, Greg Popovich, a lot of big names. So by Danny Parkins book today it is the opening day. Want to move it up those charts as hot as far as we can. Also on today's show, we had quite the weekend because I had it's called a vow renewal, but it appeared to be a wedding because we didn't have an official wedding
eleven years ago. The very quick version of it is to Bonse it was maybe I'm trying to think of him, the best weekend of my life. Certainly, I think it was the best weekend for us collectively as a family.
We'll talk more about it later, but you go ahead.
You were prominently involved, gave got the speeches, kicked off and crushed it. So your thoughts on the wedding weekend that we just had.
Oh, it was amazing. It was amazing, and just being able to see all those people that I haven't seen or maybe you haven't seen in a long time. Do think it was very galvanizing and brought of everybody closer and it was like it wasn't even my wedding, and it was one of the greatest weekends of my life as well. I I'm still feeling so energized from it, and it was just good to see everybody and thank you for having me be one of your groomsmen. Oh yeah, the boot on while I was standing up there, But
it's perfectly fine. Like I said, it was a nice little touch to the wedding or a nice little touch to the outfit, should I say, But yeah, no, it was amazing.
It was great, so unbelievable weekend.
Danny Parkins, who I mentioned before, was another, was co best man along with Demanse. So here's what I want to do, because today is such a big sports day. If you have any wedding, vow, renewal, personal life, weekend thoughts or questions, that's what we'll do in the C block. So I want to respect the audience's busy time because we have an awards ballot, we have the playing games, we have all that.
We'll do all of that for the first couple.
Segments of the show, and then we'll do all things wedding related, weekend related, vow renewal related in.
The sea block.
So let's get to the top of the show and we have win or go home basketball tonight, and then also win and maybe have to go home basketball tonight.
Demands lead us off.
All right, So it seems like everybody in the media has got a really bad case of galaxy brain. Everybody's just pitching the idea that LA should intentionally lose to try to face OKC in round one. But do you think that's LA's best shot considering they haven't beaten Denver since twenty twenty two, but also Denver has also been playing their worst basketball over the last month and a half or so. But yeah, are you confident that this would be yet another Category two take by you? Sorry?
Okay, so let's address all of this. The idea that the Lakers should throw this game to get on the opposite side of the bracket of the as the Nuggets is wrong on every account. Okay, it's wrong on this account because if the way the play in worked was there is no nine to ten and the seven eight game is just four, the winner gets the seven and the loser gets the eight, then I would at least
engage in the thought exercise of it. Where you're locked into the playoffs, it's just for seeding, then I would engage in the thought exercise of it. I still would not endorse it. More on that in a moment, but I would engage in it. But if the Lakers lose this game, which they could do by the way, the idea that they would lose it intentionally to set up a do or die game. That would be either against the Kings who swept them this year, the Kings, who for some reason, Ad has a lot of trouble with
those European centers. Man, now that doesn't bode well for him against yok It's more on that in the moment.
But Sabonus kills him.
The Kings again, the Kings, and I know the Kings don't have Monk, they don't have hurt Her, and the Lakers would be favored. The Kings haven't played great lately, but that's a Doard eye game against a team that has beaten you every time you've played this year, or a Doord eye game against Steph Curry, who you just saw a week ago.
That team can.
Have the greatest shooting night in NBA history, which is what they did to you a week ago when they beat you, when they shot over forty threes and shot over sixty percent on them. The idea that you would opt into that scenario purely because you're so scared of the Nuggets is ludicrous on its face. But the other reason it's ludicrous is this, unless your only hope for making the finals is well, maybe someone on Denver will get hurt, which is a crazy reason to believe you
can do it. Unless that is your hope or your plan, You've got to play them early. Flatly, there is no if ands or butts about this point that I said three weeks ago, and people thought I was going Galaxy brain, But it is any way you slice it logically sound. If you are going to have to play Denver at some point to make the NBA Finals, right now is when you want them.
You win tonight, you.
Will have Wednesday off, Thursday off, Friday off, and then, depending on how the bracket is set, maybe Saturday off, you will have three or four days before Game one. The way the first round is spread out, you will have two or three days between other games. Lebron is currently playing out of his mind. You are healthy, you are rolling, you have all of these things working for you. So again, you might say, Nick, the Lakers cannot beat the Nuggets, and that might be true, okay, but it's
obviously not a zero percent chance. And so the question is does the chance get bigger? And this is what I've been talking about for three weeks. At what point in the postseason would you have the best chance of beating them right now? Because you know what the conference finals are every other day, and that's after thirty nine year old year twenty one. Lebron has already been in
playoff mode for a month and likely exhausted. Why did the Lakers last year lose all four of those games against the Nuggets because they were all close going into the fourth, because Lebron ran out of gas.
Why was that Well, part was.
Because he was dealing with an injury, but another part was because it was six weeks into the playoffs. So if your goal for the Lakers is simply have the playoffs last as long as possible, then yeah, you don't want to play Denver in Round one. But if your goal for the Lakers is to have a chance to actually make the finals and win a championship. Then you have to Then the best thing you can possibly do is beat New Orleans tonight and then take Denver on
and take your chances and the New Orleans. By the way, I want to talk about what this game means for Zion for a moment, because Zion has had some rough moments this year against the Lakers. What a lot of people thought was kind of the low point of his career is too strong, but of his season was that playing game against the Lakers when he had thirteen points, they got annihilated. In the twenty five minutes he was
on the court, he was a minus thirty three. I shouldn't say in the plane in the nd season tournament game, I misspoke. And the other times that Zion has played this year against the Lakers, he played well once or actually played well twice even though they lost one of them got blown out. But then game eighty two, which was a big game for the Pelicans, Lebron locked him
up and that was something else. Man Lebron in year twenty one, age thirty nine, guarding Zion, the athletic phenom, number one pick who should be entering his prime, Lebron having thirteen assists at halftime doing everything he wants and Zion once again looking out of his depth. There's a big moment for Zion. It's a big moment. Now flips it go ahead demands.
Along with Zion playing badly or whatever. Anthony Davis has played the most games of his career in a career this year, but he's been banged up lately. Do you think that's going to be a concern going in to the play and further.
So, so he's been healthy this year. The back spasms are obviously a concern because it happened at the tail end of Game eighty two. But I would expect him to I mean, he said he's gonna play. I would expect him to play. I don't think that he's going to miss this game. And whoever loses this game, obviously we'll have another chance with a home game against either Sacramento or a Golden State. But this could be a
big moment for Zion and the Listen. The Pelicans, much like the Timberwolves, are trying to work in their second best player and brandon Ingram Karl Anthony Towns, and there have been some fits and starts with it. There is one more follow up, Demons, which is kind of about the Denver side of things, So let's get to that before we move on.
Yeah, on the Denver side, was Wimby's upset of Denver the game of the year.
I don't know if it was the game of the year, but it was one of the most impactful and important results and it's one of the reasons why Denver to me, is a little shaky. They win that game, they control their own destiny for the one seed. They're up seventeen in the fourth quarter, and the Spurs without DeVante Grahm or without Sohan, without somebody else come back and beat them. Davante Deavonte Graham obviously he did play. It was Kelten Johnson.
Thank you, Daniel, and so Denver. It's not that Denver's played poorly, but Denver's had some odd losses that one in particular, and so.
You think there's just a chance Denver is kind of just letting off the gas because they, you know, are very doubtful.
No, because they wanted the one seed. They beat Minnesota that was supposed to lock up the one seed. Then all you gotta do is beat the damn Spurs who won twenty games this year and weren't even playing all their best players because they have such a home court advantage with that altitude and all of it. And Denver, I understand Denver rightfully so is not scared of anybody.
Denver does not want the Lakers in Round one, not because they're afraid of them, because that's a pain in the ass matchup, you know what I mean, They're.
Beat them to go into the second round.
Little exactly right and sound no, no, no, it would be the second round you have, right, And so for all those reasons, like I'm just the Lakers need to handle their business. The other reason Lakers need to win tonight is get those extra time off.
You don't want to.
Play tonight, you know, you know, go all out lose it. Then you're playing in a true game seven scenario Joridi Thursday, and then starting off your postseason Sunday. You don't eat with just a couple of days. And so I think Lakers will win tonight. I think Lebron this is the first time Lebron goes into a postseason healthy since they
won the title. They won the title in twenty twenty twenty twenty one, Solomon Hill had done that somersault into his ankle and he was gimpied that old post or that first round, and then Anthony Davis got hurt in that first round disaster. Twenty twenty two, they missed the playoffs. Twenty twenty three, he was wearing a walking boot shortly before the postseason demons dealing with that playanner fascia in
his foot. And if you remember last year, the other story last year with the playoffs, sorry I have some in my eye was Lebron was having his worst three point shooting season in fifteen years. He had a run in the playoffs where he was like one of twenty three from three opposites going on right now where he's having the best three point shooting year of his career and Lebron the last seven games he's played he had
a career high or career high season high forty. He is averaging thirty seven and ten on sixty three percent from the field, fifty one percent from three sow for those reasons like I don't know, man, it is.
This is when.
Were those stats who just ran off? Again? Those are for the last how long?
Or was that the last the last seven games, copy Okay had thirty points, seven rebounds, ten assists, sixty three percent from the field, fifty one percent from three Well that because that includes the nine of ten from three games, and so the and so we'll we'll see. But I am I'm optimistic about the Lakers chances tonight, and and they win tonight, and we'll do a full blown Lakers Nuggets preview on Thursday.
All right.
Next, I'd head over to the East Coast. The Heat headed to the Philly in the seven eight game. Philly's favored, but emb just tweaked his knee and you count, can't count? You can count on playoff, Jimmy. Sorry, who should the Celtics be rooting for? Here? Uh, I'll tell you we want to play the Heat.
You want to, so you go tell me why you want to play? You really want?
Real quick, we should acknowledge it is for whoever loses this game to then lose the next game to Atlanta or Chicago. But we're crossing them out. We're saying Atlanta, Chicago's got no chance. So you're gonna play either Philly or Miami. You say you want Miami?
Why?
Yeah, I just think I think that there's a little bit of truth to the playoff, Jimmie, but that craft that happened last year, Like, come on, I'm not gonna have these guys pop out of the world works and do all the stuff they did last year. And I do think the Celtic can get over the hump this year. They're definitely at least not lose to the Heat. But yeah, I think I think Philly with him be back, is a little dangerous. I think that he would stay healthy
throughout the series. But yeah, no, I'd much I'd much rather play the Heat than than Philly.
Okay, well, so be careful what you wish for there, because, by the way, I think you're right.
I know Philly's playoff experience isn't isn't the best or their playoff performance should I say?
So?
Let me just over the Let me just give you the Celtics with Tatum and Brown, what it's been like in the postseason.
Okay. In twenty eighteen, they beat the Sixers four games to one.
In twenty twenty, they lose to the Heat four games to two.
In twenty twenty.
Two, they eat the Heat four to three in a game that Jimmy Butler in Game seven, had a three pointer to win the game near the buzzer and missed it. And in twenty twenty three they beat the Sixers four to three and then lose to the Heat for to three. So the Heat played them tough every time and beating them twice, the Sixers have.
Never beaten them.
With all that Skow and I left out sorry in twenty twenty when they lost to the Heat, they swept the Sixers in round one, so there since Tatum and Brown been together, they're three and zero in the playoffs against the Sixers and one and two against the Heat. With that said, I think you're right that Philly would that Boston would rather play Miami, especially because Miami has not looked anything like even regl you know, forget playoff Miami, anything like regular season Miami over the last.
Couple of years.
This year they have been They haven't shown you that gear, but the embid thing is tricky and I'm interested to see it tomorrow because his numbers have been awesome since he came back from injury, but he's left a couple of games, like he got hurt again and then came back. Injury has been such a big part of the story of his career. He seems a little heavy right now because of you know, all the time off and you can't do it.
And so let me ask a different question, like I I shouldn't say a different question.
I think it's because it's probably the same answer, like who are the Knicks rooting for tonight because they're gonna play the winner? And the answer that is, they're probably also rooting for Miami. Either way, whether it's Nick's heat, which is old school nineties rivalry or Nick sixers, which is a nice eighties rivalry, we're gonna get a great
round one on that side of it. And if it's Boston Miami that has been the story of the Eastern Conference the last you know, gosh, twenty years, it feels like dating back to Lebron and the Big Three and all of it. Or Boston Philly, which is another all time great NBA rivalry Doctor J and Bird, So that'll be that'll be great. I think Philly has the highest upside of those teams by far. But we've never seen
Embiid make Round three. We've never seen Embiid with a great playoff run, and it seems like it's always been hampered by injury, and so it's just something essentially.
So it sounds like you think Philly's fans should be fairly concerned within beads, within beads health.
Well yeah, yeah, of course.
I mean you're optimistic that he came back a couple weeks for the playoffs. But he he has it as great as his numbers are. If you've watched, there have been some concerning signs. All right, let's go on to the Warriors.
All right, So the Warriors are facing two road elimination games just to make the playoffs. The first comes against Sacramento, and that one's tonight. But win or not, you've got no you've got no faith at Golden State will want to ring. How far do the Warriors have to make it through this playoff run or run it back next year?
Oh that's a great question. So let's just play this out. They beat Sacramento and they beat New Orleans or the Lakers, then they would be playing. Okay, see they beat them, if they do all of that, make it round two like they did last year, but that includes, you know, upsetting the number one seed, then maybe they run it back.
If they do all of that and then beat.
The Clippers or the MAVs in round two and make the conference finals, then they definitely run it back. But none of that matters because they're not winning tonight. Like I'm ok I and the Kings. I understand the Kings have not been good since the injuries. I don't dispute that, But in the Warriors. After the Warriors beat the Lakers, they had it all sitting out there for him. As long as they went three and oh the rest of the way, they were gonna move up to the seven eight.
They were in great position to, you know, I have two chances to win one. And what they did after that was they played a Portland team that was two and twelve in its previous fourteen, that was not tru trying to win games, and that game was tied with
six minutes left. They escape with a victory and have to play STEPH thirty seven minutes to get it, and then the very next night they play a New Orleans team and get beat and now they find themselves as the ten seed going to Sacramento, where if you're a Kings fan, winning tonight and eliminating the Warriors would honestly probably be the best moment for your franchise in twenty years, even if you lose.
In the next round and lose the next game.
Yeah, and because you get to say de moon day, because I.
Think that if the Warriors lose tonight.
Oh this is why we split that team up, right, Yes.
Yes, the last game ever Steph Clay and Draymond together could be.
Yeah.
Think about that, man, that like that.
Is to I don't I don't think this has gotten I shouldn't say enough coverage because we just got set. We just you know, on Friday, as of Friday evening, we thought the Warriors were going to be in the.
Seventy eight potential a lot of time.
I the Warriors are two and a half point favorites to night, So there's this, you know, they're slight favorites. It's not quite a coin flip according to Vegas, but it's close, right.
So.
There is around a coin flip's chance that the final game that Klay Thompson and Steph Curry ever play together as teammates is in ten hours.
They're the biggest time, one of the.
Greatest ds ever, right, Yes, one of the greatest dynasties in NBA history are.
In this order.
The Russell Celtics eleven titles in thirteen years. I'm doing this off the top of my head, but I'll get it. The Russell Celtics eight straight titles, eleven titles in thirteen years. They're number one with a bullet right. The second greatest dynasty ever are Jordan's Bulls six titles in eight years.
The third greatest dynasty ever are the Magic and Kareem Lakers where five titles in a decade, And the fourth greatest dynasty ever are the Steph Clay Draymond Warriors where they won four rings, went to six finals in eight years. And then rounding out the top five would be the Shaq Kobe Lakers. Three straight titles, four finals overall in five years. So the greatest dynasty this league has seen since the nineties. And you could see the final last
gasp of it this evening. And by the way, the other layer to that is.
This, if they get cooked, not if they get cooked. If they lose.
And Clay's a free agent and signs elsewhere, what does Steph do.
What?
And we've talked about this before, like does Steph say and he can do whatever he wants, But does Steph prioritize the best possible chance at winning more championships.
Or goes and plays with Lebron gives them a lethal shooter.
Yeah, well that's yeah, that would be Listen.
I don't want Lebron to stay with the Lakers for the rest of his career, and I don't want Steph stay with the Warriors for the rest of their career. My favorite fantasy scenario is because the only way Stephen Lebron could ever team up is on like neutral ground. Like, Steph's not going to go to Lebron's teaming. Lebron's not gonna go to Steph's team. So the team that makes the most sense demand's for them to do it is the Charlotte Hornets.
And here's why Steph is from there. His dad played there.
Steph gets to do a little homecoming, and Lebron gets to be like, hey, Michael Jordan ran this team for twenty years, made the playoffs once, and we're a trash franchise. All come here at forty years old and show you what winning basketball looks like. That's a dream scenario, not gonna happen. But the point is, does you know what is Steph? What matters the most? Steph and there's no judgment there, but finishing his career with the Warriors and
winning championships are now contradictory ideas. All right, very quickly, let's go on to the Masters corner just for a moment.
All right, it's time for the golf corner. Couldn't they have any corner I'd rather be in? Sure, Scottie Scheffler won the Masters, But could he beat me in Golden te The answer is no. Fill everybody in on what happened this weekend?
Well, I mean what happened this weekend is the best player in the world played like it and ran away with the Masters, and he turned a one shot lead going into Sunday into kind of a snoozer by the second half of the back nine, Birdie's fourteen or fifteen and sixteen other guys kind of fell apart. The non Scheffler stories, of course, Tiger who played a great Friday round, great even part and terrible condition, brutal conditions to break the record for most consecutive made cuts.
And then immediately, you know, you.
Know, his body gave out what he gave it as all that, and then he finished in the last place of all the people who did make the cut. There is a weird Lebron Tiger make the cut at the Masters play the Nuggets in round one corollary of is there a scenario where the Lakers do get the Nuggets in round one? Lebron empties the entire clip, knocks off the Nuggets and then just gets beaten in round two by either Phoenix or Minnesota or who you know what I mean, Like.
Does it like that is the cause?
That's kind of like Tiger played great for the first two rounds and then finished in dead last in the tournament.
Like it was really he clearly had a goal reached it.
And we were watching the Masters up in that room and I saw his name on the thing and I was like, oh, he's placed, but it was just because he was golfing and he was actually like sixty third at the time or something like that.
Exactly, you know, that's exactly right, Demonsi's like, oh, that's the first time I've seen Tiger's name on the leaderboard because we were watching the Masters in the room before the wedding, and I'm like, well, they're just showing his name because he's on screen, but he's actually in last place, which wasn't great, so but listen, Scotty Scheffler is unbelievable. I also would caution folks when it comes to, oh,
how many majors is he gonna win? He's now at two, and I feel like I've been here before with guys that were like, oh my god, how are they not going to win?
Seven? Eight, nine.
Rory had a run like this and then just went away. Rory from twenty eleven to twenty fourteen won four majors. Has not won one since brooks Koepka. At one point in time, it looked like, oh, he's just gonna win the PGA every year, and by the way, he did win it last year. Brooks Koepka from twenty seventeen through twenty nineteen won four majors. Since then, twenty twenty to now has won one.
Like getting to five is wildly difficult.
Modern era golfers with five, I'll tell you who they are and how many they have. Nicholas of course, eighteen, Tiger fifteen, Ben Hogan, if you call him modern era, I will you know what, We'll just go World War two to now. That's a good time frame. So we've got eighty years of golf here's everyone in that timeframe
who has five and Demonsey. You might be like, why are we, you know, going that far back and not just do the whole history, because when you look at all time major championship winners, you get names like this, Tom Morris Senior, who won four British opens from eighteen sixty one to eighteen sixty seven, and then demonse by the way, you know who won four of the next five British opens after Tom Morris Senior from eighteen sixty eight to eighteen seventy two.
Hold on, you can guess this.
I'm gonna say it again, exact same information and I'm just going to change the tone of my voice. From eighteen sixty one to eighteen sixty seven, Tom Morris Senior won four British opens from eighteen sixty eight to eighteen seventy two. Who do you think won four British opens?
Tom Morris, Tom or the junior? Nail it? There you go, you got it exactly right.
So the old golf records we go to and so you have Willie Parks and you got Willie. We're not gonna do those guys, so but nailed at good job. Hell World War two to now. Full list of guys with at least five Nicholas eighteen, Tiger fifteen, Ben Hogan nine, Gary Player nine, Tom Watson eight, Sam Snead seven, Arnold Palmer seven, Lee Trevino six, Nick Foudo and Phil Mickelson six. And then, okay, sorry, Peter Thompson five, seventy five.
Brooks Koepka five. That's it. Oh, that's rude.
Give me a damn history lesson after brooks Kopka's Tom Morris Senior and junior.
So I would say it's interesting.
I would because you like his iced teas. Oh, and shout out to the Blue Dog folks for sending me the iced ts for the wedding.
I appreciate it.
I would set the Scotti Scheffler Career Majors over affair over under at four and a half. It's really hard to get to five guys. All right, my NBA Awards ballot next, what's right?
All right? Welcome back in We'll Driving the right Episode two. Twenty nine.
NBA Awards ballots are due by six pm today. I don't have to worry about that deadline because I don't have one. Honestly, what the come on, NBAPR. I've put my time in, I have shown my expertise and dedication. One hundred and twenty people have a ballot the idea that I don't have one it.
I'm not gonna say hate it with your lebron bias.
Well, you know, so that's interesting. So we're gonna talk about that in a moment, because I do think there's some bias happening here, but not in the direction people think.
But let's get right to it.
Demon's uh so, what's the first award we're gonna start with.
Uh So, we'll hit MVP first, and your ballot is I think for those watching on YouTube, we're gonna show up a little graphic and those listening on the on the app, you got Luke at one. Do you want to go one by one or just go off you five?
No?
You go you?
Ok at two? You got Sga at three, Giannis at four, and Brunson at five.
Okay, So Brunson shout out to him.
The Knicks, despite the injuries, despite not having another in my opinion, all star lovel player, Jalen Brunson, like.
True all star level player, carried them to fifty wins.
He to me is like a better version of the Celtics Isaiah Thomas the year he came in fifth place in MVP voting, Except he's better than the it and sturdier, and I'm okay with him taking Tatum spot on the MVP ballot. Giannis, despite the team being under you know, a little underwhelming his numbers or bananas Sga, had an MVP caliber season, carrying the Thunder to a one seed and being the only superstar on that team. But he dealt with two historic years by two historic players in.
Luke and Jokic. And ultimately.
What broke the tie for me because Lounjokic were that close, was the unprecedented nature of what Luca did this year. The only players since the merger to average more points per game than Luca in any season. Harden did it twice, Kobe did it once, Jordan did it twice. You then add he did it efficiently with nine rebounds and nine assists a game. And and this part is key. We have never seen Kyrie Irving be a consistent part of
winning without Lebron James guiding him. And I thought that this MAVs team was not going to be able to and demon' say that's we have a decade of Kyrie's career before and after Lebron where he just wasn't couldn't be a part of winning, and Luca helped unlock the best of Kyrie. They played excellent too with each other. The last two months of the year, they might have been the best team in the league. So so I gave Luca the slight not over, yo, Kich, go ahead.
I mean a few points with with your list here, So do you think it's fair to give Luca full credit for Kyrie? Also? Along with that, like Luca has Kyrie on his team and like the other guys, and he like a right right, Yeah, he's the two seed with that team. Okay, fair, I understand.
But but they won the same amount of games they both want, you know, and one team, you know, the West was so much tougher, and so the Dallas won fifty and the Knicks one fifty, And so I the I mean, I I shouldn't I want I'm I think Brunson had an amazing year. There's no way you can argue Brunton is the MVP of the league.
But go ahead, keep going.
Yeah, so you're okay with Luca being the five seed, And when a couple of years ago or no, last year, you had issues with Jokic being six.
Two years ago?
Is right?
Hold on, let me let me respond to that. Well, this is now like a circular logic, right, you can't argue the door was open fairly for Jokic, but no one else can walk through it, Like I did not like a six seed winning league MVP a couple of years ago, but now that precedent has been set, Like, so what are we talking about the If if Jokic hadn't won that MVP, then yeah, then Luca maybe would be fairly not really eligible.
But he did. And now two of the last seven.
MVPs have been six seeds because Russ one of those sixth seed and Jokic did. And I will say something else that Jokicic fans might and Daniel might not like, others might not like, but I'm totally comfortable with it. And this is what I said last year about Himbeid. If it is Razor thin, I am totally fine with it going to the guy who hasn't won one yet now, unlike years past, if Jokic wins it, I got no problem with it. The guy has a more than credible
case as the single best player in the league. They're the scariest team in the league. He is the key to everything. The guys with three MVPs are Magic Bird and Moses. Jokich is already better than Moses. Probably he's at least yeah, yeah, yeah, probably he probably is. And so if that he deserves to be in that.
I think where the Nuggets, those two to those two back to back MVPs that you'll get, you got.
So they were the sixth seed for his second MVP and they were the three seed for his first MVP.
So so Lucas sandwiched in between the two.
Of those, correct, and and so. But again, like I I think Luca was had the best season of anybody. I think that Jokic it's like a.
Fifty one forty nine thing.
And SGA is a in my opinion, and I know thunder fans probably be upset with me on this. I think SGA and he won't be clearly he'll get some first place votes, but I think he should be a unanimous third place, meaning there is no way you can vote him lower than third. But I also don't think there you can make a case he was better than Luca or Jokic.
Sorry, ahead, let's go.
They have the best record, and you don't have Tatum on here. Do you have him right outside at six or what's what's.
So he would be right outside at six?
And you'll see on when it comes to first team All NBA, I give Tatum some love. So it's a little contradictory to some people to not have your MVP ballot be the same as your first team All NBA. But I am doing some lifting on Jalen Brunson's value because of what the team situation was versus Tatum's team overall being so dominant and overwhelming, And so I just thought those five guys had better seasons than Tatum. All right, let's go to the defensive player of the year.
For defensive Player of the year, you've got Anthony Davis at one, You've got Wimby at two, and then you've got Gobert at three. Just saw it really sad story about that guy.
So oh, I did two about his family. Now I saw it just briefly. Is that the thing that go Bear's party. I didn't read the whole stories, so I want to miss quote. But it seems like when Rudy was a child, he dealt with some horrible racism from inside his own family, which is just about as sad as it gets. I haven't read that whole story, but I saw it too, all right. So here's the deal. The Lakers team defense has been average this year. Without
Anthony Davis, it's a total and utter train wreck. I think he is the best most impactful defender in the league. And the fact that Gobert's won this award three times already and Wimby's team won two Winny games or twenty one games is enough for me to give it to Anthony Davis and the fact and people can dislike this, but this is part of the math that I have on it. If Anthony Davis doesn't win this year, I don't know when he's gonna win, because as soon as
Wimby's team is decent, he's just gonna win. I don't know, five straight, six straight, Like I don't I don't know what's gonna stop him from winning Defensive Player of the Year. So all three of these guys are more than worthy. I think that because the entirety of the Lakers being passable defensively rests on Anthony Davis's shoulders, I'm gonna give it to him, and.
Yeah on all the follow ups.
Okay, now, before we get to the All NBA teams, by the way, a reminder in the chat if you have any questions about the wedding or vow renewal, anything personal life related, we'll get to those in the C block. But now the really fun stuff, the All NBA teams.
Let's do it, all right, So for your first team, you've got Luca Sga, Eannis, Tatum, Jokic.
All right, so let's start. Oh no, no, no, don't do that.
Let's just so let's just start there and go from go from there. So Luca Sga, Yanni's, Tatum Jokic. To me, that is incredibly easy. Everyone is going to have Luca Sga and Jokic and then Jannis, Tatum and Brunson are going to be the three guys for two spots. But the Celtics were a sixty plus win utter juggernaut, and because of that, in my opinion, they have to have to at least they have to have someone on first
team All NBA. So I kind of split the baby to be fair and put Tatum first Team All NBA and put Brunson second team All NBA, with Brunson getting the fifth MVP spot. All right, now to second team, where I have Brunson and Edwards is my guards. And I know that it can be positionless, but I wanted to at least for the first and second team stick with two guards, two forwards in a center. Brunton and Edwards are my guards. Lebron and Durant are my forwards,
and Anthony Davis is my center. Anthony Edwards, I think it speaks for himself. They were in contented for the one seed. He had some of the moments of the year. His numbers are unbelievable and he more than kept them afloat without Karl Anthony Towns. We already have talked about Brunson, Anthony Davis my defensive player of the years. Offensive numbers are great. So it's really about Lebron, Durant and Kawhi two of those three guys to get the final forward
spot or the final two forward spots. And I think it is crazy how many people have Lebron third team. I understand the case for Durant, I don't understand the case for Kawhi.
I don't know what Kawhi.
Was better at this year than Lebron consistently, so regular numbers or metrics, but so not really though, I mean so the team that the team's overall record the if the Clippers won three more games than the Lakers did, but Kawhi also missed four.
More games than Lebron did.
One of Lebron's wins, the in season tournament win, doesn't count for some reason. It's not it's a game that happened, but it's not in the standings. So if we look at it, Durant played seventy five games, Lebron's seventy one, Kawhi sixty eight. So Durant wins that category. Points a game Durant twenty seven a game, Lebron twenty six, Kawhi twenty four. Durant wins that category. Rebounds Lebron has per game. Lebron wins. Assists, Lebron kills them. Field goal percentage, Lebron
beats them both. Effective field goal percentage, Lebron beats them both. True shooting percentage, Lebron beats them both. You want to go to the Advance Stats box score plus minus.
Lebron beats them both.
VORP Lebron beats them both. Peer Lebron beats them both. They all three have ice, yeah, value, offensive replacement player, no no, no, that's just learned. So for all those things, so I I actually some people. And by the way, as far as defensive rating, they are all tied identically at one fourteen. That's the one category where Kawhi actually and that's kind of team based as well, so you're on the court with where So Lebron I'm sure benefits
from having Anthony Davis on the court. I understand that offensive rating, that's where Kawhi actually shines the most. His is one twenty four, Lebron won twenty, Durant one eighteen. But defensive box plus minus, Lebron beats them both. I don't know that that passes the eye test, but that's what it is.
Win shares co.
Kauhai is at eight point nine, Lebron's at eight point five, Durant at eight point three. So I just think Lebron had a better season than Kawhi Leonard and I don't know the argument against it. And you can say that Anthony Davis is better than than Paul George, sure, but the rest of the Clippers roster is far better than the rest of the Lakers roster. So I think Lebron should be second team All NBA. And what I actually think has happened.
Here is.
There was some concern that, oh, Lebron, even if he has a bad year, because he's Lebron and because he's old, is gonna get graded on a curve. I actually think he was graded down. I think because he's in year twenty one and he's the oldest guy in the league, people have.
Just assigned him. What what'd you.
Say, Oh, sorry, no, I'll say, we don't need to give you more awards, but go ahead, wait.
Yeah, well yeah, and they and it was like, well, last year Lebron was a fringe All NBA guy.
This year it will be worse.
But he's better than he was last year. He's not hurt, he played more games. He's having the best three point shooting year of his career. He's better than Kawhi Leonard. He's just flat Lee better than on Kawhi Leonard.
Go ahead, right.
So with that said, Lebron and eighty both making the second team and then being in the eighth seeds kind of crazy, right, And you've got Brown in your toughest emissions and anyways, so let me explain that and I'll get to the third team in a moment.
I don't have a problem with that because this Lakers team once Darvin ham stopped being a dope, and you know, first fifty games of the year, they're starting their worst lineup and Torrian Prince is prominently involved.
Since then, they've been one of the best.
Teams in the league. They've won eighteen of their last twenty four. Since the twenty four and twenty five start, they've been outstanding.
And I just think they've been two of the best.
Ten players in the league. So people can parse it. That's fine. I think gave Ben two of the best ten players in the league. Third team Steph Booker, Kawhi and Paul George were the easiest ones, and then the final spot came down between these following people, Dearon Fox, Jalen Brown, Tyrese Haliburton, Palo Bancaro, Wimby, Gobert, Demontes, Sabonis and Zion. There's nine guys for one spot. I went with Fox, and I know some Kings fans will say
Sabonis is more deserving than Fox. Maybe I'm holding Sabonis' playoff stuff against him. Halliburton was not the same guy post injury. And I understand the argument. The Celtics won sixty four games, they should have two guys on there. I just thought Fox had a better season than Jalen Brown. So there's the all NBA teams. We do wedding questions. Next quick break, right back, what's right?
All right? Welcome back in what's right with Nick?
Right Demanse, Let's roll through these so if people don't know, Saturday was me and my wife's eleven year wedding anniversary, and we never had a real wedding, didn't have any money. We got married in Reno with Demanse. Wasn't even invited, couldn't afford the plane ticket.
The.
My Danielle and I flew to Sacramento and eleven years ago and drove your grandparents and my mom who flew out there on her own, to a chapelain Reno, and we got married. And we always said on our ten year anniversary we would do a real, big, actual wedding. We ended up doing it on our own eleven years.
Awesome, go ahead. It was awesome that you guys had the foresight to say like ten years. I could see somebody being like, oh and five years, we'll do this, sir, or in a year, two years, whatever it may be. But the patients and it all worked out well.
To be fair to Monsey, the plan was five years and we didn't get it together. And so what happened was we had said, Okay, we're going to do it in five years, and five years and four years after, you know, five four years after we got married, we moved to New York, yes, and so like then we're like, all right, we can't work just now in New York.
Roted in too much. And so then we said, all right, ten years, and we didn't check the calendar properly, and ten years was yours high school graduation, so we had all that going on and so and Trentidge opened all that stuff. But we did it. It was absolutely a perfect weekend. And I didn't want to start the pod with it because it's a little self important. But I know some people, if you're listening an hour into the pod, you care about these things.
So go ahead ask some of these questions to Monsey.
All right, so JD Nobless, what did you wear for your wedding. I enjoy your style fit selections on the show. Shout out to mom. I'm a suit. I'm a suit in Bow's eyes, so I'm curious what you choose.
So I wore Danielle.
Your mom's actually here, she just walked in. I think it was Ralph Laren Purple Label tuxedo. That was purple label is like the brand.
It was a fun but it was.
Also literally purple. It was a purple velvet.
So it was a Ralph Laren purple velvet tuxedo with just a traditional white tuxedo shirt and some traditional I think Hugo Boss tuxedo shoes, all right.
Next, Adrian Z Jackson asked how bad was Nick crying during the vow renule so you.
Can deestify to this. I didn't cry. I was surprised he had the entire time. Oh yeah, saying.
I almost I gave a speech at the rehearsal dinner where I almost cried. I almost cried during your mom's vows to me. And then the part that was the hardest for me not to cry was the speeches, which I'll talk about more in a moment. But I never cried. It was just it was just joyous. Your mom cried a bit, as to be expected, but it was I amazingly didn't cry.
Go ahead, keep going.
Richard Huddnell asked, did you have a bachelor's party?
No, because I'm not a bachelor.
Uh and so I uh no, I didn't have like a wild weekend in Vegas.
No, Uh I did not at all? All right?
Uh different having a bachelor party, you know, with your sons.
Yeah, yeah, you're there and ten years in the marriage, all right?
Next uh, Jay asking Quinn question, what was the most surprising? Did did anything surprise you about the wedding?
My sister shout out to Joanna.
She gave an unbelievable toast at the way the rehearsal dinner worked. Is the best man Danny Parkins and the Maid of Honor, Nicole Brown both gave prepared speeches.
And then we did kind of open mic.
Anyone who wanted to talk could talk, and man, twenty people talked. It was so moving and unbelievable, and my sister and your mom's sister, Deanna kind of stole the show.
Dianna gave one of the best speeches.
I've ever heard, including a quote that I thought was fabricated from me, but evidently true. And my sister said, with some of the nicest things she's ever said to me in our life. And then at the wedding was the damn life of the party. Yeah, and I don't, you know, I don't, I'm not. I don't want to finned her, but it is not. She is one of
the most brilliant litigators in the world. And you know, someone who doesn't do any social media, and I would have you know, I think fairly described her as pretty buttoned down, you know what I mean, not conservative in her politics, but conservative in the apolitical sense.
And she just had the time of her life. It seemed like a.
Ball and was really making everyone have a ball. And so that that was like such a pleasant development. I texted her and staid, she was the MVP of the wedding. Your Grammy's husband, Bernard, gave a speech at the rehearsal dinner, which was shocking and so wonderful.
I mean, it was so wonderful. Uh.
And Danielle's older sister, Divina, who's a semi professional singer, sang two songs at the wedding, the first one of which like kind of got the party started and it was just untouchable.
That was awesome. Floodgates for mom.
Oh her crying, Yeah, all right, go ahead, let's keep going.
So Logan m asked demands. How terrified were you to give a speech? Logan M I was super terrified, if I'm being honest with you. I was very terrified up until the moment that I started speaking, actually up until about like the last hour and a half. Strangely, but uh, but yeah, it was. I was really scared, but I just could not not give a speech. My sisters go out there and do what they do. But no, I was really glad that I ended up giving it. I
thought I thought it went very well. Spilled a glass of wine on the table like five minutes before I gave the speech.
But you know, really I didn't even know. Uh, you did great, pal, and you didn't. I knew you were nervous about it. You had told me, and then I knew you were nervous about it because of how you started. But once you started, you didn't seem nervous at all, you know what I mean.
Smooth.
You seemed totally comfortable and.
Like, you know, everybody here loves each other.
It's it's all good, but also it was weird for you also because some of your coworkers were there. You're like bosses, boss boss is there, So it's a you know what I mean, there's that element of it.
But also one thing that I don't know.
If you gave yourself credit for, because the way the speeches at the wedding worked was it was just our three kids. It was Demond's a do or Indiana who gave speeches. You're the only one of the three who didn't read. You just gave it, you know what I mean, you knew you and you know the story, what story you were gonna what story you were going to tell?
Uh, you be great, all right, Matt's got.
A question which of your kids have the best speech?
So there wasn't a best speech, but they were all it was.
To me, the speeches were the best part of the whole night, uh, because it was so impressive watching the three of you and Demanse relaying a story that I did not remember.
Yeah, I mean, I'm glad that I told it. Yeah, exactly.
Yeah.
Because and it's funny how like life in parenting works is this is like a you know what they call these days a core memory.
For Demanse, it seems like.
Like you can you vividly remember the details of it, what led up to it, all pieces of it. I have no recollection of even the vaguest parts of it.
I just didn't know what happened.
And hearing that Deana Deanna is an impressive ten year old. And Deanna Deanna was saying to me the day before, she was like, I don't think my speech is funny enough. And I'm like, baby, don't go for funny, go for sincere and sweet. And she was like, no, everyone likes funny. And I'm like, it's really hard to be funny, Like being prepared funny is hard, don't She's like, I'm gonna be funny, and she was funny.
Funny.
Well, ten year old gave a funny speech at the wedding, and it was touching what she said at the end about how she looks and how she used to feel about it and how she feels about it now.
And then Diora.
Diora's speech was maybe the most heart wrenching because I knew, and what I don't think the audience knew was a couple lines of her speech were the opening lines of her college application essay. And I won't say what lines they were, but it was I knew that that was kind of a wink and nod to me that I because I knew it, and you know, she and I
knew it. And say one other thing, So Diora talked about some things that she dealt with in middle school from like a bullying perspective, and I didn't know it until hours later, but shortly after the speeches, Deanna was crying, crying,
like really hard. And it was because she didn't know that her big sister had ever been bullied, and it was so like moving and like moving and emotional for her that she started sobbing about it and so like that level of like sibling connectivity and whatever it was. It was really a beautiful.
Part of the experience.
Oh all right, I'll try to go fast through these next week because I gotta get to work.
Go ahead. Jason Lawton asked Nick. When planning such a big event with your partner, how do you collaborate so both of you have aspects of the event you want. Were you both on the same page or did you have conflicts on the plants?
So I didn't have many many like strong takes on what it needed to be. Your mom is a designer, uh, you know, beauty is kind of what She's best in the world at creating, curating, visualizing, and I'm terrible at that stuff, so it would have been ridiculous for me to be like, no, we have to do this. There were a few things I felt strongly about, like that we weren't doing a registry, and we weren't accepting gifts. Some people gave some gifts anyway, and you know, the.
Which they shouldn't have. But he can't be mad because people are trying to be nice. But the the you know, that is what it is. I felt.
I felt strongly about, you know, a couple things, but mostly I followed her lead on it, and that part was easy because she nailed every aspect of it.
It was a gorgeous events. Let's go to Reginald. Let's go to Reginald Pierre, Pierre.
Wilds, Reginald Pierre ass Who's got the better wedding dance moves? Brewer Wilds.
So here's the thing.
Bruce's wife couldn't come, so bru was not gonna be out on the dance floor.
I already knew it.
Wilde's wife was there, Wild's wife was dancing. Wild's is a hip hophead, considers himself super cool and all of that, and this guy was scared to get on the dance floor. I mean really really a tragic performance.
Like his wife was dancing and wild things easy.
He missed her, you know, deep cut hip hophead and this guy couldn't get out on the dance floor.
So you know, that is what it is.
Uh, you know, while I look at him, all moving forward probably, but you know, so be it.
All right, let's on top of the set at the show today.
All right, let's go to Kevin Gillan and then we can wrap it up.
Kevin. Kevin Gillan asked what tips can you offer for a long lasting marriage? What's the secret?
So listen, I don't I don't think there's a secret. I think that uh. And this is not something that you know.
One of my vowels to my wife was that, you know, this time around, to remember that she's always on my side and that we're teammates and we're not in competition. Uh, and to take any what I consider at times maybe incorrectly criticism as not criticism, but at as her you know, efforts to help me.
I also think.
Finding the what has been one of the keys for Danielle and I, aside from the fact like what everyone says is true, like you know, be attracted to each other, make each other laugh, like all those things are obviously like part of any good relationship, right, But I think one of the keys for Danielle and I are we are we have just enough in common to not vehemently
disagree on anything super important. Right Like if she were like, oh my god, I can't wait to go, you know, put on my red hat and campaign for Trump.
I couldn't. I couldn't marry it, I couldn't be with her.
Like we are where that we have enough similar on the important things, but we have enough differences that many of my weaknesses are her strengths, and many of my strengths are her weaknesses. So you know what I mean, like the we can balance out each other's lives in that degree, and like I just I there's I can't see any snapshot of my life where she's not alongside. So I hope that is good, you know, good advice,
good thoughts, That's what I think. All right, great job demanse, I hope you had a wonderful weekend, fun show, great night of basketball to I am on the herd in about an hour.
First things first, in about four hours. See you guys there. What's right? Hey?
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