The Apple Watch Series ten is here. It has the biggest display ever. It's also the thinnest Apple Watch ever, making it even more comfortable on your wrist whether you're running, swimming, or sleeping. And it's the fastest charging Apple Watch, getting you eight hours of charge in just fifteen minutes. The Apple Watch Series ten available for the first time in the glossy jet black aluminum compared to previous generations. iPhone
Tennis are later required. Charge time and actual results will vary.
This episode is brought to you by Unstoppable. Discover the inspiring true story about Anthony Roebliss, who defined every expectation to become a national wrestling champion, and Unstoppable, a new original movie from Amazon MGM Studios and director William Goldenberg, Evoking the excitement and camaraderie of classic sports dramas and thrilling wrestling matches. Unstoppable features an all star ensemble cast including Jerrel Jerome, Jennifer Lopez, Don Cheatle, Michael Panya, and
Bobby Canavali. Watch Unstoppable now exclusively on Amazon Prime Video.
Welcome in episode one thirty one, What's Right with Nick Right? The podcast and the YouTube show you can watch us live on YouTube.
If you are doing that right now, we appreciate it. Today's show is a.
Bunch of graphical stuff that'll be cool for the people who are watching instead of just listening to the show. You can also obviously check us out on the YouTube page. By the way, I've been meaning to bring this up off the air. I will now bring it up on the air. But if the folks at YouTube or the folks at Fox, whoever's in charge here, we need that
damn plaque. We got to one hundred thousand subscribers. I have not yet given Demons as cash bonus because I want to present it to him along with the plaque. But the clock is ticking on that we need that plaque forgetting to one hundred thousand subscribers, you know what, And so.
Let's get I'm getting worried that we ordered it.
We ordered it. It shouldn't have had to order it. It should be sent to us as an honor.
I think they sent in an order, did.
Like a request, like, hey, we've gotten there, and send us our damn plaque.
All right.
By the way, speaking of, let's.
Just do this here, because the show's schedule is gonna be a little off the next ten days or so, and so I am doing the show, and I'm going doing TV today, and then I am shortly thereafter flying to Brazil. If you guys, remember I said Brazil's gonna win the World Cup. I was gonna spend the money I made betting on Brazil to win the World Cup on a trip to Brazil. Brazil did not win the World Cup and I lost money betting on Brazil in
the World Cup. But the trip is happening nonetheless, So I am out all of next week and then back on TV a week from Monday. This podcast might be back on a week from Monday, or it might be back two weeks from today, so we're definitely off next week. Demanse will be with us next week, and then Demanse is gonna be in and out for a bit because he's taking a trip to Los Angeles to find an apartment, figure get his life set up out there, and then
eventually he's moving out there. Our plan as of now is as follows that, starting mid March ish, Demanse is going to be on leave from the podcast as he gets set up in Los Angeles. The podcast will still be going two or three times a week as it has you know, for the better part of the year now and it is a family business.
And sitting in for Demanse will be his.
Mother, his little sister you guys haven't seen on the show, the senior in high school, and maybe occasionally the youngest sister who you have seen on the show, Deanna.
Uh.
And so that that'll be the process for call it the next few months, a couple months, and then come in you know, conference finals, NBA playoffs, NBA finals, demone will pop back in and then post finals, pre football we take usually some vacation, not sure exactly what the schedule is going to be like there, and then in August, when we are turning the page fully to football, Demons
will be back. Is our playing in a full time capacity from Los Angeles, so like a split screen thing similar to I think we've done one pod like that with me in La Well yeah, but it was when we were at home.
Yes, it was for a different setup, but we've done it before.
Yeah.
And so because after this year of betting on football and talking football and.
So much of sports media, as much as we both love the NBA, is football with this shows at its best with me and him together, and so prior to football season, he'll be back in the co host chair full time. And then when football season's over, you know, we'll reevaluate and we'll see and see and see everything that's going.
But that is the play in tentatively moving forward.
So we're going this is not like Demanday's last show here sitting with me, but pretty soon he's moving to Los Angeles and he has a real job with Fox in addition to this that he's got to be in person for and all of that. So we're gonna be off next week, and that's the plan. Demonsey and I had a good dinner talking about that and talking about life and everything as he's getting ready to move cross coast, and then also his little sister, Diora, pretty soon's getting ready to move.
Somewhere for college.
We don't yet nowhere, and so so a lot of changes in the right household. But this show will keep going with again a week off coming up and then some time off.
After the NBA Finals.
So now that that has been dealt with, we can get into today's show, which is a very NBA heavy show. We must start with what missed the cut for today's show. Here's what is not on today's show. Aaron Rodgers emerges from Darkness. I have now seen pictures of the place.
Have you that?
Aaron Rodgers was like, I'm spending four days in a darkness retreat and it seemed all weird. Let me just show you real quick the place he stayed at, because it's actually pretty dope. It's called a skycave in Oregon. There are some of the pictures. Kevin Wilds had a great tweet saying, I went from this is incredibly weird to do you have any availability after three days? On the website Now it doesn't look like he made it the full four days, but such as life, Hi, there's
a lot of stuff going on. The room he was in was evan three hundred square feet with a meditation area, a queen size bed, a bathroom when they brought him food, but it was total, complete darkness.
To be with your own thoughts, all right.
Patrick Mahomes, Kirk Cousins, and Marcus Mariota gonna be in a Netflix show And this picture a photoshop thanks to points bet of Luka Doncic.
With long hair and a beard.
That I gotta say, does make him look a lot like me, a lot like me. Yeah, I mean, it's just the hair and the beard they gave him is my hair and beard. So I don't know if points Bet did that on purpose, but that is what happened here, my large adult Slovenian son. He unfortunately, his schedule will not allow him to fill in for you, as we keep this a family operation. All right, let's get to the actual show, demonse, Go ahead.
All right.
So we obviously talked a lot of NFL yesterday. Yeah, let's take a break from the riveting Derek Carr sweepstakes to finally get to some NBA.
Yeah.
Magic Johnson said that nobody wants to see the Lakers in the playoffs, including the Lakers, to be honest. Okay, a few days ago, Lebron said the next twenty three games are the most important of his career, of.
His regular season career, that is what he said. He's not including the playoffs, and we're here to start the pot.
Go ahead, Yeah, go ahead.
He got banged up in the All Star Game, but as we know, he's indestructible.
He's gonna be fine.
Yeah, are we about to see the best Lebron? We've ever seen or is his team.
Toast, Well, we're definitely not suit pardon me, seeing the best Lebron we've ever seen. That ship is sale. There was and we can start the clock. There was a point in time that the twenty what would it have been thirteen Miami Heat, the team that won their second straight title, the Ray Allen year, the team that had twenty seven game winning streak, the year that Lebron was one vote away from being unanimous MVP and also should
have won Defensive Player of the Year. That was This is one of those things that just kills me because the guys who have won MVP and Defensive Player of the Year, it's Jordan Akeem Giannis, Lebron not on that list. And the guy who won Defensive Player of the Year that year, Mark Gasol, was not even first team All Defense, so he won Defensive Player of the Year, but when they voted for the all defensive teams, he wasn't the starting center, and in fact, he tied for second team All Defense.
He almost was third team, which doesn't even exist.
But so it'd be crazy.
It's bizarre.
It's almost like voters some of them had a little, you know, grudge against Lebron, But that's neither here or there. That year, not only was Lebron basically sixty percent from the field as a perimeter player, Zach Low had an amazing article about how some NBA team had developed a computer program that.
Could overlay.
On the court and have instead of like so you would be watching the game and then they would have ghost avatars essentially playing defense, and it would show you where the perfect defensive positioning was, where you should go when the ball moves, so you could judge how good your defenders are. Okay, and that that team, the person who ran that program set for him said, when we do it with Miami Heat games, Lebron beats the ghost
to the spot. That whatever program they had made, Lebron got there faster than what the algorithm said the perfect defender could get there.
That was peak Lebron.
Peak Lebron was the best athlete in the league, the most unstopable offensive force in the league, and the most destructive defensive player in the league. That player is long gone. Now what we get from Lebron is a top eight ish guy in the league who can still control a game offensively and has to really pick his spots defensively, like four minutes left in a close game. I still think he's one of the best defenders in basketball. Over the course of an entire game, he's an average defender.
That's where age is caught up to him. Okay, so that's the Lebron part of it. Now, are the Lakers topes They might be. A lot of that has to do with Anthony Davis. Lebron can't suffer another injury. But here's what is so frustrating, and here's what I talked about on TV yesterday.
A bit.
Lebron has played forty five games this year. Okay, he's played about seventy five percent of his team's games. The Lakers are five games under five hundred. Steph Curry has played thirty nine games. The Warriors are at five hundred. Durant has played thirty eight games. The Nets are ten over five hundred. Kawhi has and I know he's on the Nets anymore, but that's the team he was with. Kawhi has played thirty thirty four games. The Clippers are
five or six games above five hundred. The fact that the Lakers have not been able to field a competent team when Lebron's either sits or misses a game is all on the front office, and the concern a lot of us had when they went into the season with Russ was you might dig yourself too big of a hole. First twelve games, the Lakers were two to ten. Since then they're twenty five and twenty two, which that win percentage would.
Be the five seed.
But you started off so terribly that you are now you have to dig yourself out of a hole and then play single elimination play so they have. It is a massive uphill climb and it starts tonight with a game against the Warriors. With that said, I don't think Denver wants to see him in Round one. If the Lakers end up the nine seed and get into the playing get into the playoffs as the eight seed, they win a couple playing games.
Denver win.
Denver the best they've ever done in the postseason with Yokic just make a conference finals and Anthony Davis severely outplayed him. And that was a Denver team that was fully healthy. That is a team that I so. I think it's a weird spot because the Lakers and I got to see them play with Lebron and all these new pieces, they could be dangerous.
And I suppose this all a ploy to come at Jokic.
No, it's just Denver's the one seed and if you're the Niner the ten the highest you can get is the eight seed.
Well, who's the two seed right now?
I don't think Memphis would be thrilled with the Lakers making the postseason. I like, let's just look at who the other teams could be and let's just be honest here. So, yeah, Memphis is going to be the two, Sacramentos the three. So right now, seven through thirteen is the following New Orleans, Minnesota, Golden State, ok See, and then eleven through thirteen Utah, Portland. The Lakers, Denver, and Memphis are rooting to play anyone in the first round other than the Lakers or the Warriors.
The Warriors with Steph back would be terrifying in round one, and the Lakers because the Lebron and ad I don't care what Minnesota's record is. You would way rather play Minnesota. Yeah, New Orleans because it looks like Zion's done for the year. Maybe New Orleans with Zion would be petrifying, but without him, they ca can't win games. So for Memphis or Denver, neither of Boom have won anything.
You are not.
Rooting to play the Lakers or the Warriors in round one? All right, go ahead, next?
All right?
Everyone is talking about the other Lebron James this week. This is crazy what whereabouts possibility? Yeah, because in ESPN mock draft had Bronni going into the top ten in twenty twenty four. Ron has already said he wants to finish his career playing with Bronnie. What does this mean for the twenty twenty four Lebron's Bronnie Sweepstakes?
Okay, so this is fascinating on a million levels. The first one is this Jonathan Gavoni wrote this, and Jonathan Gavoni.
Is great at this specific thing, like.
Is analysis of the high school player, the young college player and where they fit in the draft. When I saw they had Bronnie at ten, I was like, Oh, they're saying he's saying he's gonna get way overdrafted because Lebron's going to sign up to play with him. That was not the analysis. The analysis was that Bronnie, independent of Lebron, could be the tenth pick of this draft, of the.
A draft a year from now. That's wild.
That is a testament to what the young man's done. And at six to two, it's crazy.
It seems like the best defender.
They said, his defense is amazing. His instincts are amazing. That part's not surprising. The way his body is filled out, and his athleticism. It's not a good shooter, you know, on the on at on that level as far as you know, be a top ten pick. That's as big as weakness. I think this is put is so fascinating because I truly believe Lebron's initial I'm gonna sign with whoever drafts Bron was Lebron's attempt to make sure Bronni got drafted at all.
And we've talked about this before that.
The Knicks once upon a time signed j R. Smith's brother. It's a you know, as a solid to JR. Now he didn't work out in the NBA, Chris, I'm sorry, that was Chris Smith. Seth Curry kept getting chances because of staph eventually turned himself into a really good player. Hell, how many Onpo brothers are in the league, you know. And so the my thought process was Lebron was feeling his feeling was, Bronni might not be right out of
college an NBA guy. But if I get a team to invest a first round pick and a guaranteed contract in him, and then he gets to watch me work, get that development, they the team has a vested interest, and in succeeding three four years into it, he'll be an NBA guy. But if Bronnie is a lottery pick on his own merits, that then also changes this. What if a terrible team takes it? What if Detroit drafts Bronnie with the ninth pick, not because they want Lebron,
but because Bronni they want Bronni? Does Lebron want to then spend the last two years of his career on an awful team. It's a really weird spot. It's a really weird spot. It would be fascinating. And let me ask you this.
If you were Bronni Okay.
And you were a lottery pick on your own merit, now this is not I'm getting drafted because of my dad. Would you want your dad to come play with you or would you not want it? Again, keep in mind, in this situation, your dad's the most famous player ever.
I think i'd want the chance to play against him.
Yeah, or even not only that, like to not have it seem like you're here because of it. Now, if you are here because of him, it's different. And so I think it's a fascinating thing. I also think I gotta tell you, man, I am really really impressed with how this kid has worked and how he's conducted himself. That rich, that famous, that much attention in LA has never and again he's young, and a lot can happen.
But and I hate to sound.
Cliche in the social media world, but in a social media world doesn't have any like oh boy, you know what I mean, like the.
I I think it is. I know we listen, we talked.
A couple of years ago. People were saying that like Ronnie wouldn't.
Was not even close brother over him. Well now, yeah, but because his brother grew so much.
But six ' two in the NBA is a tough putt and it is. It's wild. Said something really funny on the TV show when we talking about the dunk contest, which was Isaiah Ryder won a dunk contest in the early nineties for the between the Like Legs dunk the East Bay Funk and that when that happened. We said that was the greatest dunk that's ever happened, and now Lebron James Junior is doing it. But I I find this to be really fascinating.
And I do.
I I also don't want to overlook as you know, this is a family enterprise and this you know, we talk a lot about family on this show. That part of the story of Lebron James, the not basketball player, but like American dream story is, man, this guy got with Savannah when they were both kids. They have stayed together and they have raised what appears to be three super well adjusted, hard working, sharp kids. And I mean the littlest, the girl, Zuri, is a baby baby, which
just five. But my point is like, and that would be really really hard, man, really hard that that level of fame and the kid who didn't earn the fame and and has all the money, has all of that to work hard is would be difficult, you know what I mean, to be like why you know what I mean, Like I am I'm a billionaire with doing nothing.
Hey, you know what I mean? But you know the and it is.
It's a testament to them. It's something I'm really curious to watch.
Yeah, no, I mean it's it's a story no matter what.
All right next? Uh?
So Katie is now in Phoenix with part time Devin Booker and declining aging c P three ok Kyrie and Luca have played two games together in the MAVs let up one hundred and twenty and a half points per game in those losses.
Yah.
Did those big trades blow up in the faces of the Suns and the MAVs?
Oh? They absolutely could.
The weird thing about KD is we found out today he's playing to make his debut on Wednesday.
So he's not ready to play yet.
What's it's been three two weeks? No three?
He last played January eighth. Oh since the trade?
Oh?
Since the trade?
Yeah no, it's been a couple of weeks since the trade in January January eight, not twenty eight. So he's gonna play on March first. So it's gonna be almost a two month injury. I he had talked during the injury about how much he wanted to play in the All Star So I just assumed their first game is Friday. I just assumed he was playing Friday.
But they don't. They play Oklahoma City in.
Phoenix on Friday, they play Milwaukee on National TV in Milwaukee on Sunday, and then they play Wednesday. That's when he's gonna make his debut. I think the trade was a no brainer for the Suns. I think the trade was very risky for the MAVs. But neither one or anywhere close to sure things. Neither one is anywhere close to a sure thing. And for the MAVs, it's more about it's about defense, and it's about is Kyrie gonna burn the building? Now for the Suns, they're really to me,
are not basketball questions. There are a lot of health questions though that Chris Paul. The only player in the league older than Chris Paul that gets minutes is Lebron and Chris Paul.
I think he is, but.
They're the only two guys in the league, uh, that are over thirty five that are playing real minutes. Yeah, Lebron's older than Chris Paul by.
A few months.
Katie is injury he didn't seem to know was as bad as it was.
Dude, and Katie, listen, this sucks.
Let's talk about how skinny is.
No, I'm just post Achilles.
Oh yeah, he's been hurt a lot the I mean the and I understand guys don't play.
Guys don't play.
Demont's computer's yelling at him. Guys don't play as many games as they used to. I understand that. But here's Kevin Durant's career games played. Okay, by season eighty seventy four, eighty two, seventy eight, sixty six that was in a lockout. Year sixty six was how many games? The year was eighty one point eighty one, twenty seven. He broke his foot in Oklahoma City at the Jones fracture seventy two, sixty two, sixty eight, seventy eight achilles thirty five fifty five, thirty nine.
That's in the thirty nine. He's gonna play more. But t twenty nineteen.
Since since tearing his achilles, and think about how long ago that feels, he has played one hundred and twenty nine regular season games, and he's played in sixteen playoff games, one hundred and forty five games total since tearing his achilles in four seasons now, one season he missed entirely. That's concerning. And obviously the Chris Paul thing. We know Chris Paul's history, so that is concerned as well. All right, next, all.
Right, Speaking of the Suns, they're the favorite to win the title, which means Chris Paul could finally get his ring. You could argue there are a few other big names chasing the same goal, like your guy, joke It, Jokic and James Harden come to mind. Who do you think is under the most pressure to get a ring this year?
Oh, it's without question, it's Jokic.
It has to be you.
No, because Harden is no, not the best player on his own team. Harden's team is not the one seed. Harden, I think people look at it is in a slightly different phase of his career.
He's under a lot of pressure. Go ahead.
So, I mean, so he had those playoff runs with the rockets. He was he was, he was the best player. Yeah, So you don't think since he didn't get them, then there's no pressure for him.
No, I think that, Listen. I think her.
I think Harden's top five. I think you know what I mean. I think he. I think Harden's under Embad's never been to a conference finals, bringing the NBA finals, Harden and beat have a ton of pressure. I think Luke and Kyrie of a ton of pressure. I think there's new pressure on Durant, but because he's on such a good team there, I think there's sneaky pressure on Tatum. Yeah, made the finals last year. Everyone was like, like Tatum, I thought was gonna get in the conversation of like
is he the best player in the league. People won't seem to be having that conversation, you know what I mean, like the But there is no one under more pressure than Yoki Yo Kic.
It would appear as gonna win his third straight MVP.
Yeah, he's minus money minus huge one five MVP.
So for you three straight.
The guys who have three MVPs at any point in their career, this is, I think, blow your mind. So it is Wilt Russell, Kareem, Moses, Bird, Magic, Lebron. There's some I'm obviously leaving out. Oh did I not say MJ. I don't think I said MJ, MJ. So there's the eight, those eight guys. How many championships do you think they have between them?
A lot? Give it a guess. Thirty eight, yeah, thirty eight? They have three times crazy.
Yeah, the numbers are this, Moses has won, Bird has three, Lebron has four, Magic has five, uh, Wilt has two, Kareem has six, Jordan has six.
Russell has eleven. So even if you take Russell out.
Of Sorry about that, guest, guys, that was really bad.
No, no, no, that's alright. It is so bad. No, that's all right.
They average a little over four and a half championships each. Okay, we go to two time MVPs. There are three two time MVPs if we do all the truth, No, just just have won two. Ever, it's those eight guys plus got dog it, Bob Pettitt, Steve Nash, Yeah, but I have to go chronologically or else I won't. Bob Pettitt, Karl Malone, Steve Nash, Duncan, Jannie, Steph Jokic.
Those are those are those guys.
All of them have at least one championship except Steve Nash, Karl Malone and Jokic.
You can't.
I know, nick Y yogis nick you can change the rules on everything for him. And there was massive pressure on Giannis to get it done in the postseason once he won his second MVP, and then he did. There there have been Matt there's Carl Malone got labeled a Choker in the playoffs because he lost to Michael Jordan, and back to back years in the finals, Steve Nash stopped being considered an MVP candidate because his team couldn't get to the finals. None of those guys won three
in a row. None of those guys that I just mentioned one have won three at all. If he's gonna win his third straight MVP with the one seed, that this is the part that kills me about the voters. The voters also, a lot of them are talking had folks or writers and they make predictions. None of them, I shouldn't say none, very few are picking the Nuggets to win the title.
Why not?
The West is wide open, they have the best player, they have home court. Shouldn't they be the title pick? Unless you actually, deep down don't think he's the best player, in which case, stop giving him the MVP every year. It's the answers Jokic, and if I have to single handedly be the one to up that pressure, I'll do it.
We'll take a quick break.
What's right, Hey there, Ryan Reynolds here, it's a new year, and you know what that means. No, not the diet resolutions, a way for us all to try and do a little bit better than we did last year. And my resolution, unlike big wireless, is to not be a raging and raise the price of wireless on you every chance I get. Give it a try at midmoble dot com slash switch forty.
Five dollars up front payment required to fifteen dollars per month new customers on first three month plan only, taxes and fees, extra speeds lower about forty gigabytes on unlimited cementmobile dot com for details.
All right, demon's let's get right to it, all right, without the NFL to gamble on getting a little answer. I know you are, but thankfully we've got the NBA. So let's put some bets on the table between MVP conference or title winners. Yeah, let's lock in some futures here.
Okay, So the MVP odds are that they're showing me? Are Is Jokic minus two seventy five? Embiid five to one, Giannis six to one, Luca twelve to one, Tatum fourteen to one, Lebron sixty six to one.
I think money's on Tatum. So I think they're gonna win the finals, but they're gonna go to the I know it's preest like regular season.
Yeah, I mean they vote on it when this regular season's over.
So that's take that back, Yeah, I take that back that Tate.
You could bet Tatum to win Finals MVP if you could find those odds. Yeah, that'd be better odds than you'd get to It's like Celtics to win the title, but you'd get better odds than that.
Listen, I'm resigned to the fact that Joki is probably gonna win this award.
However, minus two seventy five is way too much to bet. So Jokic at plus two to seventy and minus two seventy five is not good value. Joel Embiid over the list. So Joel Embiid has finished back to back second in MVP voting. The Sixers over the last forty games have I think the best record in basketball. They have a
very tough schedule down the stretch. However, Embiid's numbers this year, He's averaging thirty three, ten and four on fifty four percent shooting and eighty six percent from the line with all world caliber defense. Embid at five to one.
Sounds great, especially considering that my eyebrow raise when you said the back to back snubs the runner up. Yeah, and Jokic is I don't think Jokic it can get at thirty get three in a row.
Well, listen, not if I have anything to say about it, but but I'm not so listen. I think Jokic is probably gonna win. But embid at five to one to me as value all right? In the East? Uh, the Celtics are plus one fifteen, the Bucks are plus two to twenty five. The Sixers are plus five point fifty. None of the other teams matter, right, The Calves aren't ready yet. I respect the heat, They're not gonna win.
I'm gonna go along the same lines there. Five and a half to one on the Sixers, to me, there is value there.
They were my.
Preseason pick, and I'm not gonna act like I feel great about it. But with Yanni's banged up a bit, here would be my real question for Philly. It's probably not gonna happen, but could Philly. They're three games back of Boston for the one seed, two and a half game back of Milwaukee.
Can Philly move up to the one line.
The reason Boston right now is such a heavy favorite is because with Giannis injuring his wrist and then currently being the one seed.
The value of.
Philly, Milwaukee, Boston being the one seed is to make the finals, you only got to beat one of the other three. If you're the two or the three seed, you gotta beat them both. So it's a huge difference there. But Philly at five and a half to one, I don't hate out West, the Sundrad two to one.
We'll go ahead, go ahead.
You said, Phi, Sorry, No, is it philiate five and a half to one? I was confused.
Yeah, that's what they are.
Philly's five and a half to one to win the East, I'm saying, I think there's decent value there.
Oh okay, So out West.
The Suns are two to one, the Nuggets are three to one, the Clippers are five to one, the Warriors seven and a half to one, the MAVs eight and a half to one, the Grizzlies all the way down at eight and a half to one, the Pelicans and the Lakers at eighteen to one.
Fine in the West, though, what'd you say?
Nothing?
Oh about job that will find in the West.
Uh, I'd like to say the MAVs, I don't think you can win three straight rounds in the playoffs with the defense that they have, So.
I'm very worried about them.
The Warriors to me, are a sucker bet. It would be shocking if the Suns don't win the West to me, now if they get hurt and you're not getting great odds there, if they get hurt, there's a real level of concern. Yeah, but I don't believe in the Nuggets in the playoffs. I don't believe in the Clippers' ability to stay healthy.
I believe in Curry. I'd go with the seventy five to one, not half seven, A half to one. Yeah, the Warriors come out of the West.
Wow, that's interesting. I'm worried about the Warriors, Like.
I mean, it's very very hard if you they're gonna be like the seventh seed to you know what I mean. On the way they've been so bad on the road this year. Now you're starting every playoff series on the road. That would concern me. I think the Sons are the bet there, uh title Celtics three to one, Sons and Bucks four to one, Nuggets seven to one, Clippers ten to one, Warriors twelve to one, Maps sixteen to one, Lakers thirty.
Three to one.
If I worry about Chris Paul's ability to be healthy for four rounds. As far as value there, I think the Bucks. I think if you can get the team with the best player at four to one, I think that's real value. Where are you thinking on this? Curry again, the Warriors again, or the Celtics.
The Celtics.
It's just not enough. I know.
It's not the value.
Yeah, it's just the You're just.
It's valuable when you feel like you know they're gonna win. Though.
Well listen, they say, you know, losing bets have no value, so they if they win, there is some value. I just feel like it should be a little better. All right, Let's go to our game.
Moving the needle.
All right, So, in case folks haven't been dialed into the NBA, tell me what direction the needle is going for the following teams. Yeah, we've got like a little graphic up there for you.
So the graphic for the audience is from worst to best five Beverly's tank for wimby a play in team one and done second round at best championship or dynasty. Now our producers instead of you know, evidently we only had room for seven spots on here, and they thought it was more valuable to include Dynasty and five pat BEVs rather than have somewhere in between second round or championship. So I'm gonna have to adjust that on the fly, But go ahead, all right.
First off, we got the Warriors.
Steph Curry is making progress, but it's going to miss at least another week. Everyone assumes they'll turn it on eventually, because you know, they're the Warriors, but they're sixty games. They're fighting the thunder for a play in spot. Where is the Warriors needle movie?
Oh listen, I think they're going to be a play in team, But I yeah, I think they're gonna be a play in team that will will have a chance at winning a round. So a play in team that is also second round at best, does that make sense? I think they're gonna land in the play in and then they could win that first round of the playoffs.
Yeah, that that I think.
But also let's keep in mind that we have seen the Warriors be in the play in and get knocked out with Steph Lebron hit a three in his eye to beat him in the first game, and then job beat him in the second game.
Next, next off, we got the Celts.
Celtics didn't make much noise the deadline, but arguably are the scariest team in the league. I second that Tatum is fresh off in All Star Game MVP and Jalen Brown made an appearance as well. Where's the Celtics needle movie?
So demonte says championship. This is where I would say we need something between second round and championship. To me, they're an Eastern Conference finals team, and I think that either Philly or Milwalk if either of those teams at full strength, I don't think they would have an answer on the inside for Embead or Yannis.
They didn't last year the.
Time or wouldn't really, wouldn't really act.
You love time, Lord, all right? Next us?
Next we got the Bucks. You never discount the Bucks as long as they have Giannis, But now the Greek freak is dealing with hand injuries unfortunately, and Chris Middleton still is fighting his injuries. Geez dude, where's the Bucks needle movie?
Again?
I picked the Sixers to win the East beginning of the year, so I can't move off it, but feels like Yannis should probably win the title again.
I think they would have ramshackled the Warriors in the finals if they had gotten there last year. And I don't love the roster. The Middleton thing scares me. But Yannis is going to go down as one of the twelve greatest players ever.
And this is the time for him to start racking up titles. And I, you know, in a fair not a dynasty. I'm not saying a dynasty because I don't think they have the overall roster for that. But I think that they they should feel like they are championship or bust.
Next my guy Grizzlies John Morana. City's fine in the West, but the Grizzlies have lost nine of their last thirteen games.
Where's the Grizzlies needle moving? You know?
I think they absolutely could be one and done. I think that I think the Grizzlies are.
Not ready for the postseason. I just don't think that they're built for it.
I don't like how much talking they've done. I think that it might be good for them to have a bit of a humbling. They also haven't been the same team since the stuff was Shannon. They just haven't You can call that coincidental but they just haven't been. And then there was that crazy story about the Placers team boss and the oh yeah yeah to me, this is a team that kind of believed its own headlines a little bit too much, too quickly and has a humbling coming to him.
Ever since Dylan Brooks called Shannon Sharp a casual or a pedestrian.
Yeah well, all right, next, all right, so next Cvilion the civilian. Yeah, Clippers, as you predicted, Russell Wilson was traded.
Russell Wilson, Sorry, guys, Russell Westbrook was traded after a bio he is officially an LA Clipper. Where's the Clippers? Needle moving?
The second rounded best the you just this team is not going to be able to stay healthy for six weeks. Kawhi can't listen. I feel terribly for Kawhi, but the guy's body won't allow for him to play consistently and the rust thing is a disaster.
Yes, yes, he can't be a part of winning basketball.
The Clippers somehow come out of the West wow, and go like if that means somebody else don't making I really want the Clippers. I don't think that they will, but I would love if they like spitefully won listen just because of how Westbrook has been done all the players. I feel like Pg's always gotten bs from everybody.
That's all fair, But they have a major health concerning Kawhi and I. Russ was once upon a time one of my favorite players in the league. He's broken. Well, he's still in LA.
The Lakers.
He's broken as a bat. He can't be a part of winning basketball. He just can't be sorry. I I I don't understand why the Clippers made that move, and I think they're second round at best. I don't think he helps them next.
All right, So I got the Bulls here.
Lonzo is out for the season in Chicago, so they brought in a savior at point guard, Patrick Beverley. It's a new goal to knock the Lakers out of the playoffs. Good news, Bulls fans. Where's the Bulls needle moving?
They should totally turn the ship around, try to tank for Windy. So they their first round pick this year goes to Orlando unless it's in the top four. So they desperately need it to be in the top four. And we haven't talked about it.
I know I could do that.
What protect picks Yeah, that's how a lot of these trades work. So it's like, we will trade you our first rounder, but it's lottery.
So's the way. Sometimes it hit eleven lottery protected.
And then if we don't if you don't get it, then the next year it's top eight protected. And then if the next year you still don't get it, the next year it's top three protected, and then it's unprotected. You know what, I can do these types of things. The Lakers in the trade where they got off Us, they traded Utah their twenty twenty seven first round or top four protected, and if it is in the top four,
it just turns into a second round pick. So the so that's them between unprotected picks protected picks because teams are afraid that they're gonna lose out win a lottery and lose out on a Wimby or something in one of the steals. That's why, like when the Suns traded for Durant, all those picks are unprotected. So if Chris Paul retires and Durant gets fickle and leaves and whatever, it's like, oh, that could be really bad for him.
That's how your Celtics got Brown and Tatum they traded KG and Pierce to the Nets and got unprotected picks.
The Nets are like.
Who cares, We're gonna be awesome. The Nets at the time, we're owned by this Russian oligar to Kail Prokoff, and he was spending all this money and then like something happened, like to his actual industry like oil or copper or whatever he had. He's like, I don't want to spend his money on this team anymore. Get rid of all the players. So they were terrible and they didn't have their own picks, and they went to Boston. You guys
got Brown and Tatum out of it. It's pretty unbelievable. Yeah, that's all, so the Bulls should try to get a top four pick. The other thing is this Lonzo's career might be over. It's really sad.
Man. I'm glad he got paid.
He got the four years eighty million, so good for him, but he is a degenerative knee issue and his career might be over. It's really sad. All right, your questions in your comments next?
What's right?
This episode is brought to you by all State. Some people just know they could save hundreds on car insurance by checking all state first, like, you know, to check the date of the big game first before you accidentally buy tickets on your twentieth wedding anniversary and have to spend the next twenty years of your marriage making up for it. Yeah, checking first is smart, So check all state first for a quote that could save you hundreds.
You're in good hands with all States savings. Very terms apply All State Fire and Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates, Northbrook, Illinois.
All right, welcome back in what Dravan mcgright gets you the questions now, demonse, go right ahead.
All right, bravo Sierra seven double O seven. Sorry, buddy, do you have any hilarious pheel help you stories?
I mean the the fact that after we played for six hours and he coolered me in the last hand out of fifty thousand dollars, he then suggested we all go to dinner together, and then he just rehashed the mistakes I made, totally like not aware of how painful it was for me. Was you know, I guess somewhat hilarious.
He's not a bad guy.
He's not like as socially aware as I think a lot of other people are.
But he's not. He means well and his heart's in the right place. He's just like a different type of cat.
It's like almost like a speck.
He's just he's a different He's a different type of cat.
Get is how I would put it. And listen, I mean he mother fed me up and down.
On one hand that he misplayed, but everybody has seen that clip all right.
Next, Foach Mystic said, do you think Lebron and Bronny are on the same bad team would be enough to make them a contender?
No?
Of course not.
No, no, no, like no, listen, Lebron the first of all, Bronni no rookies help you with initially in the NBA much less.
Than it's not like he's women Yama is.
So no, and Lebron is no longer. The difference between Lebron where Lebron is in his career and where Giannie is in his career is put Giannis on any team in the league and they're a contender, right, not the favorite, but a contender. Lebron's not that. He's showing you that right now with the Lakers. He's not that player anymore. He's in your twenty He's not that player.
Anymore. Next, all right, Kurt brawl.
He said, do you think that if Jokich loses in the first round, people will finally realize that he isn't the caliber of player the league is making him out to be.
He lost in the first round last year. Two years ago, he got swept in round two. Last year he lost in round one.
Nobody cares.
Everybody dogs out his box score plus minus and his field goal percentage. The dumbest shit I ever seen my life watching the NBA.
So we only care about stats when they come to Lebron.
No, it's again, and this is what is so frustrating. Everyone's like, oh, Nick, you think Jokic sucks. No, I don't. What I do think is this. I think Giannis is better than him. I think Luke is better than him. I think Kevin Durantz better than him. I think Steph Curry's better than him. I think joellen bead and Jason Tatum have very strong arguments. I think he is, at best the fifth best player in the league, at worst the seventh or eighth.
Best player in the league.
I noticed I didn't say Lebron's better than him, because Jokis plays every night and is available. All that stuff matters, But we're treating him. We're giving him more credit than we gave Michael Jordan or Lebron in the regular season. It's banana next.
All right, Clark never Nebreeze said would you would you do the Kyrie for eighty trade? The Brussard mentioned on the first thing on first things first.
Well, if I were the MAVs in a heartbeat, Anthony Davis is the perfect teammate for Luca, Like the actual perfect.
Teammate for Luca.
If you go on a time machine, is a vintage Kevin Garnett. That Diak the ball, amazing defender. Yeah, can give you twenty anyway, Tim Dunk, you know what I mean. Uh, A gig who doesn't need the ball will dominate on the defensive end. So Anthony Davis checks a lot of those similar boxes. The Lakers would be out of their mind to do that. You might be able to get Kyrie for nothing trade and bring all right?
Next? All right.
Austin tap asked if Demondzi played an individual sport, what sport would he be would he be best at?
So Demonde was a really really good basketball player, A college level basketball player played at some small colleges out in California. Uh, and so, I mean, I aside from basketball, do you ever think about what sport you could be good at, Like you'd be really good at.
I think i'd be pretty good at football at this point in my life. Now I think I understand it, and like I'm probably a lot more physical than I was at the time that.
I played football, which Demandi never really played foot didn't play football past.
Seventh grade or something like that.
Yeah, and uh, I think that I can jump. I think i'd be a pretty tough wide receiver.
I do too. I actually do too.
I think that I always football. You'll never I don't shouldn't say you'll never do it. Maybe when you move to la you will.
No, I do want to get involved in some type of flag football or whatever.
Oh that's all I was going to say though.
But yeah, that there's two sports that you've never played that maybe when you go out to l A you will.
Golf's one of them.
Golf's one of them, I think, because you're I think you'd be a natural golf. But I don't think you'll do that. Beach volleyball, I think you.
Will be de Yeah, I've played I've played volleyball games like it, but.
Like it's so big in l A.
And because of your height and your leaping ability, I think you would with after a couple times playing, once you pick up on it, I think you would be a crushing in.
Saying I feel like that takes a little bit of the bounce off like volleyball on a court.
Well that well, so that's how collegiate volleyball is played played on basketball court, you know what I mean?
Like that's six on six beach volleyball.
Typically it's more two on two. Yeah, but yeah, no, I think you'd crush it that. But Demante was a great, great basketball player. Uh, and that that was really the only sport you played. You could have done track at track les long legs and fast and all that stuff. Uh yeah. I, on the other hand, played basketball on track. Was decent at track, tried hard at basketball. Was not as good as I would like to be. Uh, Gabe,
tex In d join my pickup run. I'm the oldest and worst, but I never guessed, and these young guys get tired.
We can be teammates. That would be great for you to meet people in LA.
No, I'm down, Gabe, is gonna be one of those winded that you're talking about.
Yeah, Mont hasn't necessarily treated his body as well as he showed up, but yeah, but yeah that would be great.
Uh so A right you know who also at least used to.
But maybe still plays a lot of basketball and is good gabe and probably attests to this. Kevin Wilds for real, any Wilds is my height, so he's good enough size. He's actually stockier than me, like he's uh, he's in really good shape. And Kevin Wild's played a lot of basketball. Really Yeah, and you know Brew played college basketball. Now he played it Oberlin, so I don't know if that really but but yeah Brew played college basketball.
All right, good show again.
Reminder off all of next week, potentially back Monday morning, if not definitely back two weeks from today. Uh and DEMONSI will be here for whatever our next show show or a couple shows are, and then we'll start the transition to Los Angeles, or he will.
I should say, all right, there's the show, see you guys on TV at three o'clock Eastern. What's right, sho