Pistons Not Satisfied Yet + KD On Team USA’s Future & Jokic Is Looking Human??

- Hello, welcome to Luke lecture five guests. We talk about the NBA,

“which we are doing on Thursday afternoon.”

Joining me from Detroit, Michigan. I think I saw the other day, you're senior, senior, writer, Finn's goodwill. - Yeah, that's one of those things. I'm Junior in real life.

I guess the senior ready is PN. I'm over an open world. - Finn's sick, goodwill, junior. That's what I learned by the way. You two are talking about, you know,

some of these, we're about to talk calves, pists, and y'all can go back to like-- - Excuse me, sir, you've not been introduced yet. - Okay. - Joining us from Sacramento, California, senior writer,

Anthony Slater. - I would question my tag more than these. - Well, you made these Slater senior? - No. - Oh yes.

- It's funny, yes, I guess I am. - I don't know, but I've been thinking about much, but yes, that is, that's the correct.

“- AJ, the junior, and so you're senior, right?”

All right, Vince, you're back home in Detroit because there's a big game on Friday night. You know, like, let's be honest, we're in February, it's not like it's nothing. But, you know, the pists are gonna wanna send a little message

because I know they beat the Thunder on Wednesday night, and the Thunder were missing all their guys. And I could tell they felt a certain way.

Kade was terrible in the second half of that spurs game.

And I could just see in his eyes in the first quarter, last night, he wanted to get that taste out of his mouth. He and Jalen Dern went 23 of 33 or something combined in the game against the Thunder. Of course, it's one thing,

what they'll do is respect to Jalen Williams, Arkansas, Jalen Williams, who had like one of the best offensive games in his career. When Jalen Dern is rolling downhill on the pick and roll, and it's Jalen Williams down there,

and it's not victory women, yama, it's not quite the same, but still, the points count the same. - Yeah, well, air quotes Thunder too, I mean. - Yeah, I know.

“- I think six of their top eight were out.”

So, that felt like the sound pressed special. - Yeah, having said that, the Thunder played until the last minute of the game. And they got a big game of themselves on Friday,

but first, Vince, I want to talk about this.

It's an ESPN all-access game. There was a while, I'd mentioned this in the pot a few months ago. There was a time, which I thought I was gonna be at this game, Vince, and I had actually not been the little series of arena. Well, I better known his LCA, I thought this was gonna be the time,

but just beyond us, like, the ace card came out from inside the NBA and inside the NBA. Charles, Shaq, Kenny, Ernie, they got that gig and Countdowns relegated to the bench. So, I won't be coming to Detroit.

- Wow, is it inside going live from Detroit? - No, I don't think they're going to Detroit. We were gonna go to Detroit. I mean, this is probably pulling back the curtain too much. I probably shouldn't be saying this and I'll get my hands laughs,

but it actually isn't like that. It was just a schedule change. It wasn't like they pulled rank on us, but there was a time, and I just meant to say, 'cause I mentioned it a few months ago,

'cause I'm going to Detroit soon, and then I'm not going to Detroit, but maybe in the playoffs, then, but anyway. - You'll be there in May. - Yeah, listen, so anyway, big game for the Pistons,

calves coming in, they just rested, bunch of guys in Milwaukee on Wednesday night, so those should be rested. So, hey, this is Eastern Conference Showdown here. - Is this like 2006, all over again, Wendy?

Like, it is now, we're not back to those days. - Well, this is Cleveland versus Detroit. Like, you know, this is, you know.

- You guys are always trying to live in those days,

also still, so I mean, you can watch it with that nostalgia. - It's a long time ago. I had a much different haircut. I didn't have a beard, and in 2006, I was a Tinder 21 years old.

So this is a much different ball game. I am fascinated, Wendy. The James Harden thing takes a little bit of sting out of the game, just because you want to see him at a hundred percent no Isaiah Stewart who's serving games six of the seven

games suspension, like, that's the thing. I want to see how Detroit's bigs who function and power deal with Cleveland's bigs who function differently. And Cleveland's bigs were masterful against the nicks on those at Tuesday night, and Cleveland?

- Yes, yes. - They were masterful, and one of my big doubts about Cleveland, as a whole, was Ken Jared Allen and Evan Mobley hold up through the rigors and the physicality of the playoffs.

Detroit majors in physicality. - It's a fair question, as any cast panel tell you. - So I'm fascinated by tomorrow's game, as a whole.

but it could be a second round preview.

Like if you look at the top four teams in the East, Detroit Boston, New York and Cleveland, any iteration could wind up being the case in the second round. Especially if Philadelphia doesn't get there act together. So I am kind of excited for this game, Wendy.

- Can you hear those birds tweeting? It's like the spring has already sprung there in Northern California. - No, man, that is great out today. What is all access?

What is this gonna entail? What does the viewer have to look forward to? - I shouldn't really be pulling the curtain back, but okay, I mean, you know, allegedly we allegedly, we get a little bit more footage behind the scenes footage,

but let's just say some years, y'all access game has more behind the scenes footage than others. I did the all access game last year, which happened to be in Paris. So I get to go to Paris events,

I didn't get to go to Detroit. Got to go to Paris, didn't get to go to Detroit. - Well, do you know they say Detroit is like Paris of the United States? And I mean, I have a real.

“- Paris is Southeast Michigan, that's what that's--”

- No, 'cause a lot of Detroit names are French. The Detroit is a French city, like day 12, like a lot of names are set with a French sort of accent to it. - There's a whole bunch of cities and places in like Western Ohio and in Michigan

that have French names where long ago, they quit pronouncing it with the French names, such as, or you just in the Midwest in general, such as Ilan-Wah, for example. - There's a city in Ohio that if a French person saw it,

they would call it Belafontein. But if you're from there, you call it Belafontein. - Mm, I'll give you one, Wendy. I'll give you one. There's a street in Detroit that if you say it,

it goes from Detroit to the suburbs. If you see it, it looks like gradient. It's pronounced, grasshit. (laughing) I would spell, but I would say,

maybe it would be pronounced gradient. - T-I-O-T. - No, no, T-I-O-T, okay. All right, listen, man, you can't force the culture on the people. - If people do it, they want.

- Wendy is gonna be fun, like the Oklahoma City game took some some sting out of it because so many guys were missing. I wasn't here for a Monday's game against San Antonio, but you could hear through the TV, like the crowd was into it until big slum decided

to send everybody home. But I think there's these sort of, like there's these few games that happens on the calendar. Like we all say that 82 games is 82 games, but there's a few games and slater you use to it,

covering the warriors where the team coming in gets up. The team that's at home gets up. And there's a little extra, you know, whether it's the ESPN game or a T&T game back when they had it, like where you can feel like it's worth more than that.

And I'm sure the cabs want to send a message, that hey, with James Harden here, and down of the Mitchell in the back court, we're a different team than the team that you guys saw a month or so ago,

Detroit Lado, a whopping on Cleveland in Cleveland, J.B. Birkerstaff's old team,

like there's always something extra there,

and now you add to James Harden element to it. And like this is gonna be a heavyweight matchup. Now last time I thought it was gonna be a heavyweight matchup when it was gonna be a Madison Square Garden last week, and Detroit came in, and this mantle with the New York Knicks,

I don't think that the same thing is gonna happen.

“I think this is gonna be a competitive ball game.”

- What's the local belief in these pistons? I feel like it is, it's a good time to be a Detroit fan, right? With what the lines have done in the last couple years, the Tigers have had some runs, like where, 'cause I grew with you, but I don't know what you,

Wendy, why, but I've watched that spurs game, and I was like, man, it's a really good crowd. I felt a little playoffy early. You know, it says first quarter crowds, right? I mean, a lot of these NBA crowds can get into the game.

If it's close late, there's some big plays by stars,

but it was one of those, like, it's 13 to 9 in the first quarter

and the pistons went down early, and then they made it like a little like 8-0 run to make it 14-10. And it was explosive in the arena, I was like, wow. - Lindsey Hunter?

- Yeah, there you go. - John Mason was still on the bike. - Yeah. - What's the vibe there? You know what's funny, there's two segments of fans.

There's the fan that is legitimately happy. Man, we ain't been relevant in damn near 20 years. We can actually participate in NBA conversations, like, we got a guy, you know, we got stability, all this other stuff, right?

Like, happy to be here, fan. Then there's the other fan.

“The other fan is, why didn't we do no next trade deadline?”

Boston's coming, New York's coming, Cleveland's coming. We know what winners look like. This is as such an incomplete team. This team isn't as good as their record. We need to get a guy that can help K-Cunningham.

We're blowing and squandering an opportunity. It's literally those two camps believe it or not. And because the lions have blown opportunities, 'cause the lions are the lions, and they blow every damn thing. Like, there's a battered fan sort of element

to it where from the outside looking in. It's like, oh, man, this team has relevant again. But on the inside, it's like, man, not again. Don't break a heart. Don't bring us to the precipice again only to have something,

'cause a lot of people last year, slater, were despondent

that the pistons lost to the nicks in the first round.

They felt like the nicks were frauds. - Thank you very much for saying that. Okay, let me just say something there. So Mark Spierre's fanscape has a story coming out tomorrow. He was telling me about it today.

And, he thought it was with Jalen Durin. And Durin was talking about how he like still wakes up at night, like upset about losing that series. And I was just say like, okay, they lose in the first round four two. They don't have B-stoo, which everybody knows

would have made a big difference. I mean, he got hurt during the series, but they didn't have it at the end. - No J and Ivy. - J and Ivy.

And like, he's acting like it left like this scar. I mean, I respected, I was just kind of surprised.

“- Well, don't you remember over the course of that series?”

There was multiple times it felt like the pistons were gaining control. Like, I think it's harder for a team, it's just a young team to absorb a series loss when there was some legitimate moments

where they thought they could win it. And the national audience did do, right? - How about that very Sanders pivot? Is that a fair assessment event? The very Sanders pivot that Jalen Brunson put in

to get that, I was not just that. The worst thing was the Tim Hardaway non-file calling game for, where Josh, Josh Hart filed them, the reps admitted it out.

- Yeah. - After they saw the replay, it went bad. They won two games at Madison Square Garden. And when you take two games on the road, you're feeling like, okay, you feel like you're the better team.

And you don't win a game at home. When you don't win a game at home in the series, it leaves a bad tasting in your mouth, especially if you feel like you gave one away. They gave away game six.

- All right, with respect to the Pistons fans, I didn't compute that, I forgot, I know they were probably like, how could you forget that? It was, it was a degree, that was not good.

- That was not good.

“- It was a scarring series within, I think.”

- Clearly, well, I'm saying like it's not up to me, of Jalen says that, he means it. - Can I also go back to one of Vinnie's earlier points? I think the second fan has a point, the second type of Detroit fan.

The, you know, sure it's fun. And, you know, let's say the Pistons just go to the second round or the conference finals this year. Okay, it's just a step ladder. I think the Lions comparison is up.

Didn't Dan Campbell have some like famous quote after that. - Yeah, infamous, I would say it's an infamous quote. - It's quote, yeah, there you go.

This is, we may never get back again, right?

- Yeah, we never get back again. - We never get back again, we never get back again. Jason Tadimentari's Albert, and we'll be back next year. And again, I'm not saying the Pistons won't have more opportunities,

but this is a prime one, and Kevin Hurder was there, big deadline acquisition. I think I saw him enter the game in like the fourth quarter for the first time. - Well, he was a deadline acquisition, I wouldn't say he was a big deadline.

- Well, I'm saying, it wasn't even their biggest one. - He was their only one. - I think I'm with you, Slater. Not on this year, being the only opportunity, but you need to make moves to keep up

with what everybody has coming back. Don't forget, the Pistons are going to have a lottery pick. Who knows that lottery pick is going to play early, but it's a very good draft. It could be a top five pick.

Like Boston's going to be back. The NYX aren't necessarily going anywhere. I think the Eastern Conference as a whole is a force to be reckoned with. So you don't make a move necessarily now

just to try to get to the finals, but maybe you make a move because you realize

“what's only horizon, and you have to make sure”

that, you know, with bizarre Thompson and Ryan Hollin and all these guys who are developing, that you have another guy there, so that K-Cunningham is not by himself, as the only guy that can create or make a shot.

- Well, look, I have been saying on TV this week, because Pistons obviously had a couple of big games already, and they, by the way, they go on a road trip, where they go to San Antonio and to Cleveland next week. So we're going to be talking about him a bit here.

But I've been saying on TV this week that they remind me of the Finisher Breakfast Thunder from two years ago. So that was a team one, 57 games. There was calls during the year to upgrade their roster.

They didn't do it. They ended up trading for Gordon Award, but that was sort of a cap move. It didn't work out.

But they obviously, they didn't get out of the second round.

They lost to Denver in the second round. - No doubt. - No doubt. - That was a cover of that series. A cover of that series. Another series that really could flip either way.

- What the date? - Three, two in it. - Yeah, well, they, they, they had, they, they laid an egg in that one home game.

- They did a game five.

- Two, they had a chance.

They were forwarding game five. And then game six is, remember the foul, shay in the corner. He fouls PJ Washington. It was like this.

“He was despondent about the foul post game.”

Anyway, that was a scoring series. - Young teams have to learn. So but then they went out and they got, they traded for Alexander Rousseau and they signed Isaiah Hartinstein

and they pulled up the trophy. And like, it doesn't, it's not a guaranteed path, but the Thunder had their reasons for finishing their breakfast as it were. I don't, you know, I don't know

if the piston, I did, I made a joke that they were maybe on brunch, but you know, it sounds to me like those dudes are ready for dinner. So I just don't know if organizationally they are.

- Let me ask you. And I don't know if this trade would have been available at the deadline. But let's say instead of flipping Josh Gidey for Alexander Rousseau, that's summer, instead you rewind a few months

and they flip Josh Gidey for Alexander Rousseau at the deadline and you had Alexander Rousseau in that playoff series where Josh Gidey for all of his bonuses, positives that he's added to the bolts in that Dallas Maverick series.

Go look at the plus minus, I mean, by the end there. That's why they call hindsight 2020.

“- Well, I guess my point is as we go back to these pistons.”

- Right, you're saying if they had done it then, maybe they wouldn't have championship two years ago. - I mean, maybe they wouldn't have series. And to the point of like, maybe you know, you can speed up your, you can attempt to speed up your timeline.

I don't even know if I'm arguing for it. I don't know what was available to the pistons. You could make a rash, bad move also, but here's my belief, guys. And I will see where you stand with me on this in general.

And I'm a big, big kiss to you guys. So let me go in a crate full second slater. I know, you know, I'm old, even though black don't crack. - Right, senior writer. - There we go.

- You're trying?

- There is never been unless you add LeBron James

or Kevin Garnett. There has never been a team. And Wendy correct me if I'm wrong. That goes from not winning a playoff series from the year before to going all the way to the NBA finals.

Short of the Orlando Magic in 1985. - That's it. - That's it. - You gotta have some real playoff pain. Which is why I think it's, you know,

I can't remember if it was McMahon or Bond Temps. They said, yeah, they had shack and maybe his spurs, maybe that's Wemby. And that's, you know, maybe that's, you know, maybe that's the outlier.

- More who'd collect it podcast after this? (upbeat music) - But I will say this.

“So I think what you're talking about with the bigs”

is I think the battle of the bigs will be huge in this game and in this series, you know, mentioned Jared Allen. Let me give you Jared Allen's, January numbers in this February numbers

because they sort of, not that the month matters, but in this particular case it does make a difference. So in January, Jared Allen played 30 minutes of game. So I just wanna be clear that the numbers are gonna be same 'cause he also played 29 minutes of game in February.

Average 12 points, eight rebounds, good numbers. Short, 60% from the field.

He's always shot that high.

15% usage rate, good, you know, fine. In February, two things happened. One, Evan Mobile got hurt. He missed a couple of weeks and two James Harden got traded there. Now, Harden's only played in seven of these 10 games,

but they'll affect it. So in the 10 games in February, 22 points again, 12 to 22, 12 rebounds. So same minutes, 22 points, 12 rebounds up from 12 and eight. 73% from the field.

'Cause Harden is getting them the ball at the rim. And the usage rate from 15 to 23. So this is a big topic of conversation in Cleveland. Every time I do Cleveland stuff events, they're like Jared Allen, Jared Allen, Jared Allen, Jared Allen.

And I have to say, like I have to admit, like this is a pretty significant, you know, move here. I just say, listen, don't talk to me about Jared Allen in Evan Mobile until we get to the playoffs because Evan Mobile's value in matchups defensively

in the playoffs is gonna be magnified. So don't pull up the spreadsheet and start talking to me about what Evan's shooting from three. Having said that, like, you know, if this Jared Allen thing is real,

you better show it to me against Jalen Durr. And Jalen Durr is gonna know about this. - How about his numbers lately? - Well, Jalen Durr numbers last night were pretty difficult. - Well, 2019 is 16, some of that.

- Yeah, incredible. - Whoa, glad to hear. - Jalen Durr, 2019 is 13 assists. - Yeah, I mean, we're skipping over Harden a little bit. That's one of the probably the major story line

going into tomorrow. If he derives a jump to play, he's gonna play. - He broke his, the tip of his right thumb. It's not just placed, they showed it to a hand specialist. I, you know, I was told he would have played last night

if the calves weren't in punt formation 'cause there's a fifth game in seven nights. He wants to play. Now, I don't know how it's gonna feel when he's, you know, it's his right hand out his left.

- Let me just tell you right now. He is officially listed as questionable because it is now five p.m. Eastern on the East Coast. So, it's okay. - In your reports, come out, he's questionable.

- Okay, I don't know, maybe you won't play.

Mitchell, right growing strain. - Oh, really?

“- Oh, that's what I'm reading right now.”

- That's breaking news. - So, want, want, want. Cut this whole part of the podcast out. - Yeah. - Well, they play again in two games.

- Yeah. - And I mean, down in the midst of not playing, I guess my general point on the, 'cause at least we're having bigger picture of put conversations about these teams,

not just what's gonna happen tomorrow night, but shouldn't harden just rest right now. Like, I understand that the Cavaliers want to gain a rhythm and there's still some standings jostling, but if he can just rest in, from what I gather,

it's only like a two, three week type injury. Like, don't you want this not lingerie? - So Jeff Stot, so Jeff Stot's industry clothes. He came out with, he said that the average missed games for a players with this, you know, finger tip injury.

Although I would have to assume that it would really depend on the finger, right? Like, if you, if you break their, your pinky finger,

and the thumb would seem like the most important finger, right?

Maybe if you're shooting your middle finger, if you're shooting hand, your middle finger would be an issue, but he said it's an average of six games that his, that's what his database shows. So, this is not like, just necessarily just tape it up

for everybody. - Well, that's what, I guess my point is I understand like, wants to probably show toughness to his new team, right? You know, get some wins, get some rhythm under their belt, but they're not in some dire situation.

Like, they could go into the playoffs as the four, whatever, and then you probably feel comfortable. Like, I, I don't know if pushing it risks either lingering or re-indrior or whatever, but I'm just surprised how quickly he is trying to get back.

- From what I've heard, he's going to see a specialist to see if playing on it will make it worse. And that to me says, I want to play, I just need to make sure that I'm not doing further damage to it, which means he's going to play.

Like, there's a lot of things that people can say about James Harden, and a lot of things will be true. The one thing that you can't really say is that he doesn't play. Like, you can wonder if he shows up, but he plays.

“Like, remember that series, Wendy and Slater, Brooklyn Nets,”

Milwaukee Books, and he had, was it a hamstring? That was really bad.

- Second degree, supposedly.

- And Kyrie was already out with the ankle that he's sprained and game three, I want to say, when Yanis got him a little bit. And as opposed to leaving Kevin Durant all by himself, Harden strapped it up and went out there, and not granted. Different situation is to play off.

It was a dire situation, but Harden shows that he plays. And even when he ain't in shape, he plays. So he probably feels like a Donovan's out. I'm not going to, maybe I'm not going to leave these guys out. I'm left handed, this is a right hand injury.

He can rationalize this whole thing. - And that's one of the things that Kevin Durant said, I mean, I talked about this before, but, you know, obviously that was the toe series where Durant toes on the line. So it's a two, so they go over time, not a three,

and they win the series. And a lot of people felt that, you know, if the net's, if he had been a step back and he'd hit the three that the net's could have won the title that year, 'cause the bucks won the title.

But, and Durant was like, yeah, you guys know that, it like hard and could barely run, right? Like he's give us eight more playoff games. - Yeah, let a Hawks would have won the title that year. That's how legit.

Or Chris Paul would have got his title. - That's so imagine. - In Phoenix Suns, the Phoenix Suns, and Dominate and Deon's are eight, and probably-- - There we go.

- One, there we go. - Phoenix was another way too. - Oh, I covered that series. - How about that feature that our boy Dave McManiman wrote about, Dave McManiman came out today.

There's a lot of interesting stuff in there, but I like that the training staff puts D.A.'s crunk juice. They write that on the side of his water bottle. - Do you all remember, like, yeah, that was a really good playoff run by Deon Draight.

And he like played Yoke, it's really well. - I was convinced that that Sun's team was gonna win the title that year, the net next year. Can Vince, they were gonna win the title. I thought that team had, I was in Phoenix so often,

like, well, the first year was a COVID year.

That was in Phoenix so often the next year that I had to, I've said, I had to file taxes in Arizona. And I felt that that team had everything that you needed to win the whole thing. - Including a dominant rising center,

he really was that after that playoff run. You felt, I mean, look, look at his number. - Supposedly, the word, you know, the lore is that the whole team caught COVID. I think they caught Luca, but, you know,

“the whole team caught, that's what people say.”

Anyway, speaking of Durant to pivot here, Vince, you had an interesting story that came out last week, had been sort of saving it to come out here. Did an interview with Durant, talking about Team USA in 28, where he declared, he'd like to play number one,

he declared some other things, but wonder if you tell us about that interview. - Well, it's funny because the timing of it and for those who don't know, we pull behind the curtain. These features are plants will be released weeks

if not months in advance. So someone put in my mentions.

the burner controversy. Hey, y'all, Kevin Durant did this interview with me in January and Detroit, like literally, like maybe the second and last week in January where you talked about wanting to play,

and he talked about the disparity in the narratives between the American players and the national plays all the type of stuff. So let's get that out the way. The thing that struck me, Wendy, was the passion

in which he said, of course I wanna play. Like, why wouldn't I wanna play? I don't get this last dance stuff that you guys are talking about.

I never said I wasn't going to play.

And I think there's a part of him that A wants to be around these young guys and sort of beat a bridge, 'cause this is going to look like a completely different ball club in 28.

He could wind up being one of maybe three holdovers. Wendy, should you say, like Jason Taynam'll be there and we'll be there and maybe Devon Booker will be there. Maybe like four or five guys. - Devon Booker played a brilliant role.

I would say that I'm gonna talk about the roster in a minute. I want you to be close. - I'm lowering about Devon Booker. - I'll talk to you about the interview.

- I asked you to talk about the interview. - Can I say one more other thing? 'Cause Kevin Durand mentioned it, like Steph Curry, I would be stunned if he plays. He's already said he's highly doubtful.

I think he checked that resume box and he's not feeling quite the way that Katie is. We'll go ahead and then.

“- No, I think Steph and Curry's going to retire after next year.”

That's a whole, that's a story for another day. That's a take. I'm not quite there, but I don't think we'll be in the 20s.

- Side, I always pull these off to the side here.

I saw, I went with my son's basketball team to see the goat movie last weekend. Steph Curry's movie, I don't know, he's as good as producer, I don't know if it's his movie. - But he's heavily involved.

- Awesome. - Yeah, that's what I've heard. Although Wendy loves all the Steph side projects. The D-Champo, that's like one of the top five sporting events.

- Listen, like, with all due respect to space GM2. (laughs) - Wow. - Go, is the goat. It's almost safe.

It's not inspired. - Blue, blue, no, back to Katie. He's funny, he told me that he plays GM sometimes, with the roster and says, who he wants to play with, not like I'm picking the players,

but just who's going to be on his roster? And he said, "Hey, you know, I've called Grant Hale and made suggestions and stuff like that." So, I think it's going to be, like, can you look at the pool?

It's probably easily Wendy a pool about when he guys that have a real case to go. And this is just the younger guys, like the Jalen Williams, if the Chet Home Grins, the Evan Mowblees, like, you have to,

“and for once, I think the U.S. is in this position”

where they have to carefully construct their roster, based on the competition. And I don't just mean getting Joel and B to guard in the Holy Yokeage. I mean, you legitimately have to compile a roster

that has to contend with what Francis is going to do. Or more or less, continue with what Big Slim is going to do. And that's a position that for all iterations of U.S.A. basketball, Wendy. Since the U.S.A. basketball has become to be the thing

that we know it has post 1992,

they've never been in this position where

we can't just try out the best nine and then three, or maybe the best 12, all together, we have to carefully construct the roster because we have to contend with a player for which there is no answer.

- Yeah, okay, so a few things. So first off, Kevin Durant is the greatest Olympian in the history of the sport. And he has a red carpet to play however long you want to play.

He, you know, that is obviously he has to state his intention to want to play, but that is not an issue. He absolutely, you know, it's only memory, you know, the Tokyo Olympic Games, nobody seems to ever talk about them.

I agree, it didn't have the drama of the Paris Games. Durant was, you know, still kind of getting back from the Achilles and was absolutely a killer, brought the U.S. that gold medal period. So that's just wanna say that.

So the thing about the way that the TMUSA structures their team and Durant was funny on this,

“I can't remember if you said this in the documentary”

or if he's gave another interview, but Durant, you know, he, he talked about the Europeans to you Vince. What do he say to you? I don't wanna, Mr. Member, I wanna know. - No, he, he basically just talked about,

he was like defending AU culture and his whole thing is, I don't like the narrative that says, everything that Europeans do is right, everything that the Americans do is wrong. - Right.

- You know, AU culture is, start it out of the eye. He said, he said, Francis, come on for us. We smack the voice. That was exactly the phrase. And as I hold my recorder, I'm like, Jesus, this is gold.

- Like, that's my gold medal, this is gold.

- It took a turn when the, it's took a turn

into racial, not racial, not racial conversation in terms of weird, but it's took a turn that, that, that pool quote has been a lynch pin

“for conversation about, well, what did he mean by this?”

And it's black Americans and it's an all-star game. And it's, it's a, it's a been a bunch of different stuff that's happened since the story is dropped a couple days ago. - It ain't an all-star game, they got to play hard to win, but that's not here and over there.

I love Durant's trash talk during the Olympic stuff because so often it's, it's great. And like I said, he's got an untouchable resume. Like people can like criticize or talk about the war years or whatever, that gets my backup

but forget about all that. Durant's resume in the Olympic basketball is pristine. And, but he has great smack talk. So this was happening before, you know, as is an old trope,

you know, the Europeans, they talk about how they'd get

all this, you know, culture together because they played since they were kids blah, blah, blah. And that's all true, that's, it's real stuff. And Durant was like, how's that gonna, (laughs)

I don't know this is an exact quote, but before the, the Olympic status dude's like,

“that's all great, how is it gonna help you guard stuff?”

How's culture? How's camaraderie gonna help you guard stuff? And that's, that is like, what the Europeans are saying is right, but what he said is right too. And, you know, at the end of the day, Steph is throwing shots in from all over the freaking arena

in Paris and what they gonna do like the French and just what they're gonna do. So, and what was the thing that he said when they, I think it was when they won the semi-finals, somebody said it was at the end of the NBA basketball.

I think it was Schroeder, right? Said it was about entertainment and I don't remember, man, I wish I'm botched in this, but he's, Schroeder said something about like NBA players or about entertainment and then Durant

like puts up the gun, IG said, you know, entertaining, great, and I don't, I've botched it, but like Durant talks back to Schroeder about that. And the thing about it is like I go to these European press conferences and, you know, like what they say is true.

Like when they talk about the European style of basketball, like the way they play, like in a vacuum, like it is correct, like they place sort of a more correct cohesive style of basketball than the Americans do and like, it's like the thing,

like what you're gonna do, like, you know, what you're gonna do when you go up against the guy is just better than you, like your technique can be better, but the other dude's gonna bust you. And like Durant, like believes in that,

he's a baller and he does it and he's done it over and over and it's true and I think it's funny, but the way the Americans play in the Olympics, this is their strategy. I know I'm not breaking any ground,

but sometimes it's helpful to make it reductive. They can't replicate the European teams and specifically, they can't replicate their precision and the way they play with an assistant, that they've played with an assistant for years

and that they can just fall into that. They can't replicate that chemistry. But what Americans can do quite frankly, that no other team in the world as demonstrated they can do, they can defend, duh.

Nobody has the athleticism that the Americans have where they can defend with that athleticism. And so, it is Team USA strategy and has been for decades to have 10 or 11 guys that you play, the 12th is a little bit hard

with the apologies to Mr. Tatum in 24. Tatum was an important member in 21. We'll probably be a vital member in 28, but you know, with 10 or 11 guys and you play to exhaustion on defense.

And then when those five Hall of Famers get whistleed out, here comes five more Hall of Famers who will play to their exhaustion on defense. And you've got Anthony Davis coming off the bench, swatting four or five shots like he did in the gold medal game.

That's basically the US strategy. And so, they want athletes who defend. Yes, you need to have big guards. That was the thing that the US learned before that, you know, there's a lot of big guards in Europe.

They're not always fast, but they're usually bigger.

Yes, you got to have three point shooting because the three point lines are a little bit closer and, you know, the Europeans are gonna, you know, try to play the mathematics game with you. That's all true, but the system that the US has developed

is you've got to have defenders, athletic defenders. So Wendy, two things, the Kevin Durant, Dennis Schroeder, quote, Dennis Schroeder said, "It's no entertainment, straight IQ basketball, straight coaching."

“He said, "That's what European basketball is."”

That's why he tweeted, Katie got on Twitter, of course it's made her past time and said, "Entertainment and the ice." And IQ, they just don't have the European teams, got seven footers who can shoot three, and will come in there and put their backside

in your face and shove you out of the way, but they can't, they don't got ant-edwards. They don't got ant-edwards, you know, running around out there.

Obviously, like the top five in the MVP,

“you know, the last couple years has been all international, right?”

They say, "Yo, kids, y'all on this, Luca." And then when he's rising into it, so I think there's too much of this fear that it's like all these international superstars rising and wares America looking like,

look at these last two drafts, the one that just happened, where who are the top three rookies this year? Cooper, flat, concrete, and Harper, you'd say, all the American. And then this draft that everybody's glowing about,

coming up, it's like, go look at the mocks of the lottery.

I think like the top 10, basically, are all USA.

- All right, well, so let's talk about the 20-adulimics real quick here. So, that's probably more of a $2,000,000, $32 thing, but I'm just saying, there's all, there's a talent pipeline that is still happening

in America, right? - Maybe not. - More who-collective podcast after this. - So, here's the thing. The way you qualify for Olympics,

it is hard to qualify for the Olympics. Only 12 teams make it. Like, 32 or 36 teams make the World Cup. 12 teams make the Olympics. Only two teams from the Americas typically make the Olympics.

Okay? There's a way to get wild cards, but, you know, like, try to think you've got it with wild cards last time. Anyway, it's not easy.

And the way that you do that is through the World Cup.

“You have to be one of the top two finishers”

from the Americas and the World Cup. Now, in the past, you've been fighting with Argentina and Brazil all day down a little bit. But now, you know, Canada, you know, Canada is right there. You know, in Puerto Rico is made the Olympics before

and stuff like that. So, the World Cup, you gotta have a good team, typically for the World Cup. And the US quite frankly has gotten into the last two Olympics by the skin of their teeth at the World Cup,

'cause I haven't met all neither of them, okay? And so, what I would just say is, that a big factor in this cycle is that the US does not have to qualify because as the host nation, they're in.

In fact, France did not qualify at the World Cup in 23 in the Philippines. They got in, I mean, they could have gotten into a wild card

but they got in because they're host status.

It was Serbia and Germany that got the European bids. Now, so that is a factor. And so, what is going to be interesting is the World Cup in 27, it's next year, do you know where it is, Vince? - I do not, guitar.

- In a word, it is, it is guitar, it's in. - It's in Doha. Now, the World Cup is in August, in Doha.

“And like I said, the Americans do not have to qualify, okay?”

And Grant Hill has said he's not gonna make playing for the World Cup team a prerequisite to play for the Olympic team. So, it's gonna be a bit of a call to arms for the US guys like, you know, Grant Hill is gonna say,

who wants to come with us to the World Cup, which the Americans have in one since 2014 and have not metled the last two times. And, you know, by the way, it's gonna be in the Middle East in the summer and it doesn't matter

whether we win or not or, you know, get in or, you know, it doesn't matter whether we finish dead last, we're in the Olympics. That's gonna be a call to arms of who really wants to play. And if you're a young guy, so like, you know,

there's certain guys who have legacy, obviously, you know, Ann Edwards, Jason Tatum. Booker was so good playing the role that he needed to play in Tokyo or in Paris that I would, if he's healthy, there's no,

if he wants to play, there's no way I see him, not thing on the roster. Bam at a bio has been on the last two teams and it's so valuable because he can defend multiple positions. - Or Spulcher's the head coach obviously.

- That's true. - You know, he jumped me, Vince in Paris. - Really? - I was talking on TV. And I've done stuff with Bam in the past,

but I've talked about it before, but I was talking, Tatum was obviously not playing. I was trying to figure out, I was explaining on TV, you know, like if, you know, I don't see how Tatum is gonna play unless like somebody else doesn't play.

And I was like, you know, maybe like Bam at a bio. So I said that on American TV. And the next day we were in Paris. Or actually we were in Leo, France. And Bam is like, really?

I'm not gonna play. I defend one through five, bro. I was like, hey, you're right. And guess what? He played, Tatum did.

- Count me among the people that do not believe this Steve Carhandled that wrong. - Well, that's another story for another day and I'm not gonna get into that today. So, you know, there's some guys who have cornerstone spots,

but look, there's two things I'm gonna say. One, if you wanna prove yourself to Grant Hill and Eric Spulcher, you're gonna go to Qatar next summer and say, all right, I'll go towards 115 degrees and I'll try to win the medal.

And so, you got young guys, Jalen Durin, Chad Holmgren, you know, those are guys who, you know, are gonna be needed against the bigs from Europe, the Victor, at all. And I'll throw, you guys know, I've talked up,

he'd be on the 2018. - He could be.

- His three points shooting could be very valuable.

And Cooper flag, Cooper flag could make 28. Because-- - Oh, I definitely think he's gonna be on the 28. - Yeah, definitely, especially. - 'Cause you gotta have defense.

- Versus. - Yeah, yes. - Also, just like, you know, he's name recognition

“and he's in the past, he was on the select team, right?”

And that was like, is it coming out? - That's when he opened eyes, yeah. - Like, I wish I could tell you that the story is about Nike, you know, Nike guys, like if it's 50/50 and Nike, or it's even if it's 60/40,

Nike guys getting it, there's just a lot of evidence that if you're with Nike, 'cause Nike's wanna team your sales main sponsors and has been for decades, Cooper flag's not Nike. - New balance is under balance, yeah.

- But, you know, that doesn't mean he won't work his way on the team. But I'm just saying, like, if you're a young guy and you wanna, you know, make sure he did you get on the team, especially if you're not with Nike playing in guitar

will be a factor. - But yeah, they're gonna need people to deal with Victor because with all due respect to what Durant says,

and like, here's the thing, Durant.

When Durant talks smack about like the Europeans, when it comes to international basketball, he is on solid ground, because his resume is just amazing. Having said that, he was on the team that lost to the French in Tokyo.

He thought that that came, which was a big factor, but not what it mattered when it mattered he delivered. So that'll be interesting. All right, one more big game that we have on Friday, got him afraid about the injury report on this one,

is the nuggets are playing at the thunder. The Denver, he had got a much needed win over the Celtics at home on Wednesday night. Guys, your pitch just doesn't look right to me. He missed 17 shots in that game.

He doesn't miss 17 shots in five games sometimes. - What are they saying about this wrist? I know you've talked about it a couple times. It's just, you know, it's not bad enough to keep him out, but, you know, he did only have one turnover in that game.

It's previous nine games he was averaging five turnovers. - Which is very rare for him. - So let me give you Yokech's splits. So he missed all of January. I'm gonna give you Yokech's numbers.

- Shooting splits are points, rebounds.

“- I'm gonna give you just like I did with Jared Allen, okay?”

So in December before he got hurt, by 34 minutes, he's played 34 minutes this month too, so it's flat, just so you know. 31 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists, 57% overall, 41% on threes, 85% at the line.

And let's see, he had 45 turnovers in 13 games. Let me do the math on that. - That's a little over three. - Three, a little over three again. All right, in February, which is since he's come back,

he's played 10 games. 34 minutes, like I said, 26 points. So score in six points less, at five points less. Still rebounds are still great. 14 rebounds assists, two less the game, nine assists.

So his numbers are crazy, right, 26, 12 and 26, 14 and nine. So it's still great. Still got percentage from 57 to 48. Three point percentage from 41 to 33, okay? Free throw percentage from 85 to 78.

Obviously 78 is still good. He's missing free throws. He's missing free throws more than he has. Turnovers from three a game to almost five the game. I had a odd viewing experience with him the Sunday afternoon.

I went, they played the Warriors, nobody on the Warriors. The Warriors 4 man guys were all out, including Draymont Green, like, at tip-off was scratched with a back issue and I get that that's, you know, David Almond says post-game was confusing with suddenly Draymont Green and the starting line becomes at a hole for who's the stretch center. They stretch him out.

The Warriors hicked on Yoke it's in the first quarter and it was 3rd and 4 nights and it

was an afternoon game so I can understand some level of fatigue but like he was a defensive problem. I mean, you're mentioned a numbers. I just think defensively he's looked a little slower and a little bit more disengaged lately and Alhorford hit like 3 1st quarter 3s hits 6 3s overall just because like Yoke gets kept

straight into far off of them and then. So that was bad in the first quarter and then in the fourth quarter when he comes back in with 6 minutes left he's like a minus 11 the rest of the game does very little. So post-game, the conversation is about, you know, the risk that you're mentioned has struggled with reintegrating and some of this rhythm stuff but then you look at the

box score 35, 20 and 12 and you're like, you know, again, I agree with you. I'm like, it didn't seem like a Yoke it's game and it felt like he, you know, he was

“at times a negative impact for them but also like I don't what I think I had 35, 20 and”

12 dominated mental order. Yeah. I'm not saying he stinks. I'm just saying like, you know, I just think this injury is still bothering him. I agree with you and what I would ask because, you know, having actually watched it and

else he'll he'll be disqualified for MVP and all NBA and all that.

I mean, if you think there's anything to do with that, like would it, would it be wise

“if he may be sat for a week or two but, you know, and how much is that in fact ringing?”

I don't know. Now that I've said this, he'll probably have 56, 19 and 12 in the next three games. No, it's, but, but you said it. He's human. Does that anyways?

And it's just about is he impact in the game anyway. So go ahead. My general thing with him is not necessarily right now.

I think of the last two times I've seen him around elimination games in the second round

and a game seven, you know, against the team, that sort of gear to stop him. You know, the year before it was Rudy Goldberg and Carl Townsend, Carl Townsend, or Markable Job on him in game seven on the road, Denver being up 20 to the Nuckets running out of gas and Minnesota catching them.

“Last year, Oklahoma City putting Alex Carruso on him and just junking up the defense and”

everything else. My general thing is, maybe this month off is good for him so that he's not to warn down by then because remember, the Nuckets, I've got what gear it was, they pushed himself to the limit to get to the finish line, to get the top seed and the West and it wound up Biden.

Maybe it was two years ago when he lost the Minnesota.

So I wonder with all the injuries that they've had and maybe it's something to it, a slater where, you know, MVP is coming up and he wants to be considered and everything that was in the numbers in the win share say that he's still the best player in the game. Well, I wonder if playing through this is a positive as much as, okay, he missed a month. He missed 10 or 12 games or whatever it is and he still needs to be fresh down the stretch

in addition to Gordon and Peyton Watson and Christian Brown and all those guys, those guys haven't played together at all.

“I think since December one windy, I don't think they're starting five has played to one”

game together. They've played 10 games the whole season and they're eight and two. They're starting. They're opening night. But they're they're core five is played 10 games and I don't think they played a game

together. It's a December or January as a whole. That sounds right. Well, it wasn't January because Yoke had didn't play in January, he played one game in January.

So yeah, I think right as Yoke had came back, Watson went out, Gordon and Watson went out like the next two games. Yeah, they did he hold the Celtics to 82 points and beat them in Denver yesterday. So that's worth mentioning this before we go, are you guys excited about the Atlanta Hawks newest promotion?

I feel like I'm not necessarily either I'm the only person qualified to talk about this around the one person who's unique qualified to not talk about this. The people from the people that brought you swipe right night, Atlanta Hawks bring you Magic City night, which they're playing the magic on. It accomplished what it was intended to.

Got people talking. I'm sure it's going to generate more money for them that night. So are you all right, we're probably going to bring your singles. The entire city of Atlanta and all their employees across Atlanta, where we know where they're in players and, yes, correct.

Come up your clear heels and you get in for half off. These are rejected tag lines that, uh, that Vince is right. All right, thanks, boys. Thank you to Jackson, Mark, and Devon, our producers. Thank you to Vince and Slater.

Thanks for watching and listen to who collective another week of glorious content here on the Internet. We'll talk to you next week.