Part 2: Cleveland Survives, Knicks-Sixers, and Whaddya Do for Denver, Houston,  and Atlanta With Zach Lowe

over yet. Fandel wants to bring you closer to the court to make all of that action come to life for you. The basketball fan. Fandel, the best place to bet the teams, players, plays during NBA postseason, build

the same game parlay for a shot at a bigger, payout, or try live betting, and jump into the action. Right after tip off, whatever you want, that's the whole point of live betting. Download the Fandel little sportsbook app right now, and play your game. Twenty-one plus select states are 18 plus DC, contact your Wyoming game, probably called

1-800-Gambar call 8-8879-777 or visit ccpg.org/chat etiquette.

It's Bill Simmons' podcast where live on Netflix for the second time today, Zaclo is here.

New rewatchables for me coming on Monday, we're doing there's something about Mary, which is also available on Netflix along with a whole bunch of comedy movies that I covered in part one. Zaclo is a podcast, Tuesday morning, Thursday morning, and I really hope we have better games to discuss than the two we had today, two, two duds, two game seven duds unless

you were fans of Cleveland and Detroit. This game felt like it had potential, this cab's Raptor's game, heading into halftime. There were some great storylines that are playing, including LeBron. Next year, Cleveland. Oh, boy.

Okay, we're going right here. We're gonna make sure. Got us, like, let's go, and then our Cleveland's like, hold on, hold your horses and take care of business. I mean, you can revisit all those storylines next round if that doesn't go badly for

the Cavaliers. It'd be interesting to see how the cab's end up is coming off just like, gnarly series where they just couldn't get on track, offensively against, you know, particularly,

“I think the cab's against a Raptor scene that just weird and big and super-switchy.”

If they both those teams get to the next round, they're like, "All right, this feels a little bit more conventional basketball to us. We feel a little bit of like a sigh of relief, even though Detroit is a gnarly team themselves, but it's just Toronto is just a different kind of team. They're built differently.

They're a weird team to play against." Missing multiple players that they're paying lots of money to. And this is my first question for you. Is it kind of embarrassing for Cleveland that this went seven games? I don't think so.

Cleveland and seven was my pick, so I'm not surprised at 017. Yeah, but did you know quickly and Ingraham were basically going to be scratched from the series? Quickly scratched the whole series. You knew going into the series that I mean, I mean, I remember saying like, it's probably bad for their offense and good for their defense.

The Ingraham won as he was not exactly letting the world on fire in the series, but there's

“just a certain critical mass of talent you need to be to team like Cleveland four times”

in seven games and as critical as you want to maybe be of the way Ingraham had played.

It's just you're just asking too much of guys like Jamison battle and Mamu and you know, Jamal Shed, God bless met an unbelievable series and then the jumper deserted him in the second half of the game today. It's just like these guys were marginal NBA players going into the season and you're asking to get you over the finish line on the road in game seven against the team that has four

guys who have made all start teams pretty recently. It's a tall order. So is it embarrassing for you? AJ Lawson is furious that you didn't mention him. Well, he's furious at everybody because you look like you wanted to start a fight from

the moment you got into the game. I thought I found the whole thing delightful, but you know, he, who did he flag a really fun? You've wrapped up Jared Allen and threw him to the floor. I called him a flag or a one.

I don't think it's embarrassing. Toronto is a pain in the ass to play against and, you know, Cleveland could have won game six easily. They could have won game four easily. They ran away with it tonight.

In a way, by the way, for, for, look, I don't want to like damn them with fan praise.

But it was nice to see Cleveland come up against the team that basically looked them in the

eye and said, you guys have wilted under physicality in the playoffs before. We don't really have a lot of other ways to beat you, given our talent deficit, other than beating the hell out of you and seeing how you responded and like Jared Allen in particular came for the fight today and took the fight to Toronto.

“I'm like, good sign for the, for the catch, I think I thought Strusu was incredibly important.”

Yeah. So the two guys I had written down, Max Strusu had a shout out to he culture, throw back game and Jared Allen had a shout out to please stop throwing me in trade rumors. I'm happy here. I don't want to be the fall guy this summer kind of game.

I thought he swung it and you know, if you're Toronto and you're looking at a big picture and you just did that crazy extension for Pertle that made kind of no sense what had happened and hasn't even really kicked in yet and seemed either unplayable, semi-playable or sort of playable depending on where you caught him in the series, but Jared Allen was just running a mock and then the other thing hard and wasn't bad, no.

We were headed toward maybe sort of an old school for a back terrible James Sardin playoff game and then actually he got going and then once they had a bigger lead than he looks very comfortable. He got going in a way that, look, we're predisposed to be nervous about James Hardin and big playoff games.

He was three of nine from the floor. He controlled his turn over. He only had two turnovers, which is big. He's had some high turn over games, but he got like, you know, Jacobi Walter stuck his arm in the cookie jar.

Got a free shot foul.

There was that one drive that I think was the third foul on Scotty Barnes where they

were kind of running parallel on a hard and drive into lane and hard and kind of veered sideways into him and Scotty Barnes. And it was, it was, but it just seemed like Hardin had reached the stage where he was saying to himself, I just got a junk my way to 10 free throws.

“That's the only way I'm going to have a productive game.”

And that makes me a little nervous, just a little nervous. He was active defensively for James Hardin. He was. He was bad. And then Mitchell, who finished with 22, nine for 20, he was another one that kind of came

in went. It was, that first half definitely had the makings and the set of makings of a collapse. The crowd was really nervous to recall and read you were on it. They could feel it. And they finished a half strong.

Like I think it was seven points with, I don't know, 90 seconds after something. Then Cleveland made a couple shots and a couple plays and the time we got to halftime

was like, okay, let's take a breath, then top in the third quarter blew them out.

So from a Cleveland standpoint, I don't know what I learned. They're going to be going into this Detroit series, which is, you know, an even more physical athletic version of what we just saw with Toronto with the bonus that they actually have a guy who can create good shots and good shots for other people. Toronto had this weird mix of Barnes who's not quite ready yet as a creator.

And then RJ Barrett, who I thought, I don't know, I thought he increased whatever his trade value was heading into the last year of his deal. I actually liked his competitiveness. He had the big shot and game six, but that was really a cadence of another animal from

“those two guys, I think, as a crunch time guy.”

At the same time, I mean Detroit was a better defense than Toronto this year. There were two of the top five defenses in the league, I think Detroit was second. Toronto was fifth. There's a little, there's just a little bit more conventional than the Raptors are, particularly when they put Sam be at the five and just switch everything and muck your whole life up.

And it's just going to be interesting to see if, like, the cabs offense, even today take away the offensive rebounds, they just didn't look very in sync. Like hard in and Mitchell, they're looking sync with each other. There's just been a lot of dribble dribble dribble dribble dribble dribble. There's sixth rate is way down, they're taking way more pull up threes in this series.

I think a lot of that has to do with Toronto just sort of drags you into that style with their switchiness and the way they play, I bet they feel a little bit looser against Detroit, which sounds paradoxal because Detroit is a nasty physical great defense. I just think they play a little more conventionally, but I think it should be, I think it should be a good, a good series.

Two teams that should be super hungry to get to the next round. All these teams should be super, I mean, the NBA didn't.

The sixers have never made it out of this round in his tenure there.

The nicks have all the pressure on them to duplicate last year's run and get better than that. Check around in these setting, Cleveland, I read bad in them, 60 to 33, both teams shot 28% from three, has you mentioned it was a rock fight that took forever and we had multiple stoppages and reviews and I thought the rest were really, really bad from a one side at

standpoint. I had no dog in the race that I didn't like care who won, but I thought I just felt like to run or didn't get a call for two and a half hours other than a couple on streets, but well, it did a bad, mobly wasn't felt trouble for a lot of the game. Yeah, I didn't love the whistles, but it was a classic road team game seven, you're not

going to probably not get in those calls unless you're Philadelphia and Boston. Okay. All right.

“Do you watching Jalen Brown's Twitch stream during the game?”

Is that what you were doing when this game went to reviews or you watching Jalen on time? I think it was Twitch. I'm not really, I don't really know what's going on there, but it's also some clips on Twitter and he was not happy with the flopping and the officiating I was told.

There was some director's cut Jalen stuff going on. Definitely one of those start getting tax on my own now, oh boy, here we go.

we're not on the level, which I don't know if that how well that's going to go over.

Yeah, does that count? There's Twitch count for NBA like monitoring purposes, there's the legal office gets everything counts. Everything counts, okay. Yeah, they're pretty, they care every time the refs are insulted by players or coaches. So that was going on and then the other thing that happened was inside the NBA ended.

They did the gone fishing for the Celtics. I was proud that I made the boat, so did Matt Damon and Bet Affleck and John Cresinsky. And then at the front, re-enact in the Titanic, back-for-a-able in Diane and Ressini. And they did not acknowledge it, but they were laughing and then now it's a big thing on social media.

So those two events were more, those two social media events were more excited than this game, I think.

So I did see the clip on Twitter of them talking about the boat and Ernie Sainers, our

friend Bill Simmons on the boat and John Cresinsky. And then they were just like, and there's other people on the boat. No matter if people are on there, I don't know, I gotta say, it was really funny. Here's where from Kia, I would love to have been like, when they created it, there had to have been a meeting, it was like, are we doing this, is we're putting them on and

we're doing the Titanic pose, we're good with that. There had to be someone who was like, guys, I don't know. And then someone else who was like, through that, that's funny. We're doing it. And then it got green lip, well, nothing would be more fun than inside the NBA being

in Fucket mode with the SPN over the next couple rounds.

“Just feel like, yeah, push them down below, guys, can you handle it?”

Big, big picture. You mentioned Cleveland versus Detroit, which is our round two matchup now. These teams have played entertaining games during the regular season. I probably have slightly higher hopes for this series than most because I think there's animosity on both sides.

You have the shooter piece where he used to play for the pistons and help me have to stuff. That's every series with. No, when he's played it, yeah, I know he's been on every team in the league, but I wasn't sure that was he, he was on Toronto too, right?

Yes, he was. Yeah, he's, I just figured he's played for every team, but we have that. We have, you know, Max Druce, no stranger to the physicality. We have the beef stew, Jaylen Durran combo battling the two soft spoken calves guys. But I, I thought, I remember watching one of these games and Cleveland seemed really comfortable

“going against Detroit, and I think by lean, even though I don't really like this Cleveland”

team that much at all, and I think they give up a lot of open shots, I'm just not sure to try it's going to be the team to exploit that. So, I got to look at this more, but my lean would be Cleveland in six, and I don't feel good about it. I don't feel good about either of these teams coming off the series.

I'm going to take a lot of tomorrow and go back and watch some of the games that they played and get a sense of who guard two and what the matchups are going to be and strengths and weaknesses of all that. I think it should be a long series. I would probably slightly lean Cleveland, but also performance by Detroit today.

We already talked about that yet they're, and you may, like, streased the streased Dunkin Robertson heat culture cast off battle, is happening for you out about that. That's a good one. I think it would be a funny supply to, like, mild manner Jared Allen, like, if beef stew did something, and he just, like, snaps, just tear it out and just snaps and, like, nose and

nose karate or something, and just we, stuff we didn't know about Jared Allen and it just said, who knows? Anything's possible would beef stew. We have a, we have some open for a reason guys on both teams, a lot of assume I assume the

“calves will probably just put hard and on Thompson, right?”

Maybe, I mean, you could, you could put, you could put Evan Mobile, there if you want to have him as a help defender, I mean, it's one of the reasons why Sugs was guarding a start Thompson is to have your best help defender, you know, be the help guys. So you make some people put their centers on Thompson and sort of risk it, but Jared Allen there and put Mobile on Stewart, there's a lot of different things they could do.

Is that a Kenny Adkinson? I say, by job, game tonight, it would have been interesting off season in Cleveland. I mean, I, you remember we did our draft of all the playoff guys and one of them was hot seats, sneaky hot seat category coach and I said, Kenny Adkinson or Chris Finch and Chris Finch is answered all the questions and I said, by the way, I don't think either of them

should be, but I do think this is a very pressurized season for Cleveland, which is why

that second quarter felt so fraught because you know everything that's at stake, particularly

when you make a trade like Garland for hard and like you're you're messaging to your team is pretty clear. Like, hey, guys, it's kind of now, like let's do it. What do you think LeBron was doing watching that game, like deep down, rooting for Toronto to open up a Cleveland possibility because we still don't have a LeBron team next year?

Don't you, well, I mean, why wouldn't it be the lakers that like, again, a lot of it

comes down to money, right? Like, what kind of deal is you going to be willing to take, but the LeBron that played the last two months of the season with Reeves and Luca, those it worked perfectly fine. Don't you, wouldn't you think LeBron is relaxing and or, I don't know if you've heard this, but he spends a million dollars a year on his body.

So he might be, he might be trying to get ready for the freaking Oklahoma City Thunder.

“I'm, that's what I'm going to assume was happening.”

You know, I think I was Graham zero. He's 41 bill. I don't, like, I don't know if you've looked that up recently, it's 41 years old. Well, the LeBron James, well, this player ever to do name 130 things. I was ground zero for the LeBron spends a million dollars a year on his body story.

Really? Yeah, because I did it in 2016, I did it on a pod, because I spent time with somebody in his circle who was telling me that. So I talked about it and for some reason we got aggregated and became a story. But I'd like to, like to feel like I was Dr. Oppenheimer for that one.

All right, you just kept going for the next nine years.

I always like to throw up at Harvard.

I don't know if you want to keep comparing yourself or other people to Dr. Oppenheimer. You know, he's, now they're making movies about him. Maybe my favorite Christopher Nolan movie, by the way, Oppenheimer. Really? Yeah, I'd be.

Over the dark night.

“Yeah, I loved Oppenheimer, I thought it was, I thought it was a masterpiece.”

I mean, nowhere to go after that. By the way, you just made me think of something that I absolutely loved. Um, no, it's just, just a totally random thing I was going to do later. But somebody, so this guy ate Chester 99 on Twitter. Sure, he, he somehow went through and found the record holder for points for every

point total between 0 and 100. The first, it's Greg Cite has the most zero point games in NBA history at 295. 295, zero point games. This was the one that broke my brain and it might be the greatest that I've ever heard of. One point games.

Somebody had 61 one point games and it's somebody that played in the last 25 years. And you won't guess it because this is impossible. And G Evans had 61 one point games. You know, I was actually going to say it would have to have been like an inferior version of Dennis Rodman.

Like someone who's just, just like that, and that's, because Rodman was too good. It was crowned just way to six or five or eight or whatever, but they would have to be a player like that.

“You're late later with at, for six point games, Michael Cage at 151.”

Similar. He's on the board. Similar guy. Michael, Robert Parish, three different holders at 1416 and 18, our guy Tim Duck and 19 points games.

He had the most at 88. And then, and then our guy, Dr. Kulitsky, bring this up next time you're on the Amazon show. He's the career leader in 21 point games with 82. 82.

What's the biggest number? Like who it? Like so, it's 253 the greatest single number of any kind of games on the list. Harvey catchings at 193 and Greg, that he had 193, 2 point games. Harvey catchings.

Okay. Great kite. 295 for zero and then 25. So Carl Malone is there for 23 and 24. What's weird is, Karim was an on here, which I was surprised.

And then it gets to 25 and LeBron has the record for 25, 26, 27, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, and he's tied at 38 and Jordan only has 38, 39 and 40. And then we move it to like Jordan will tear. So what a crap. I got, you got, I'll send this to you.

I was reading it for literally 45 minutes, I've been more riveted by anything. That's what I heard about it. I mean, it's just, it's a high class, high in a like version of name some guys. Like, oh, back kite. Harvey catchings.

Michael Cage. It's just like, let's name some guys, but it has a math attached to it. So I like it. Derek Fisher has two different ones, five and seven point games. See, as the records for both.

But T.R. Dunne has the four point game. I really love this. I need more content like this in my life. So Cleveland barely beats a team that had settled in crunch time in game six. CMB, Ricky, Jamal Shed, Argya Barrett, Scotty Barnes, and Walter.

That was basically their money lineup in game six, and then they tried to keep coding in today. Probably spent.

I'm going to say 75 million combined on those five guys this year and the growing

a year.

No, boy, effort for Toronto.

What happened? What happens?

“Let's play what do you do with Toronto, what do you do?”

Oh boy, well, I have a lot of different things I could do because I've got all my epics at my roster is too expensive. Let me bring them up their cap sheet here. Yes, sadly they're paying Ingram 40 and 41 next two years and quickly 32.5 each of the next three.

Yeah, I think not to mention the hurdle extension we talked about before that gets ugly. I think all of those guys have now reached this territory of I have to attach something to get off of them. If we're including Ingram, I mean, all star-brain in Ingram, I don't think that player option is maybe he's neutral and you could put it up already.

He just picked it up. The player, nobody likes no teams like player option. I mean, the quickly deal, which I didn't mind when it happened, has not worked out. He just has been healthy enough. I really like it.

You know, Barrett is extendional and you know, he's walking in the door being like, hey, most successful raptor season a little bit here and I was a big part of it, can we work something out? I kind of like his game. The more you watch, he does that crafty lefty stuff.

I thought he matched the intensity athleticism of some of the playoff moments. They're just in a tricky spot because, you know, if they wanted to reach for the stars,

“right, they'd been linked to you on us before, or what's the trade or like, is there a trade?”

Like everyone's going to ask for Scotty Barnes, he's obviously untouchable, is there a trade that they can even do that would satisfy the other team and leave them with enough stuff in the cover to actually win? I think the right move might just be like, look, we know this team probably is a little better than we thought based on our playoff performance.

They're pretty good team. We know what they are. Let's not get too crazy here and just see who can rehab their trade value a little bit. Maybe there is some sort of get out of jail free car with one of these contracts. We've got all our picks, CMB is over here with Scotty Barnes, like that dude is awesome

and I'm not doing anything foolish with him. I want him on my team for a long time. I like Walter too. Walter is good. I think he's a keeper.

Yeah, they learned some good stuff about some of their young players in this series. Walter was totally up for this, made some big shots, had to have a little slump in the middle of the series. He had a nine main rotation guy. Yeah, so they have a couple.

The problem is that Perno extension kills them for a youngest thing because if that was an

attached to the end and when you talked about go crazy, like that was crazy when it happened and now it seems even crazier. But you could have had expirings an RJ expiring in two years left or one year. That would have been expiring for Perno. So basically that would have been your expiring package and they have all their picks.

They have everything. So they can do every combination of picks and swaps. So that if Yama said seven minutes of Toronto, they at least could have had something semi-respectable on that sure they're going to be able to get there the way it is now. Greatie Dick, just not being able to play is a pretty big disappointment to see what happened

that. You liked him for a split second, didn't you? He can do some stuff. He just has him made enough shots and he's not good enough defensively and he's got some, just Walter just passed him and there was only room for one of them in the rotation

“and that's what we do enough that he can get a greatie Dick was a problem Twitter video”

in the 10 years or so. We can make it this week if you wanted to be at least three and a half minutes long. All right, good. I just wanted to make sure he at least had that. Yeah.

Only the half of the video would be Jersey swaps. The other half would be his actual place, sure. The big thing for them was Barnes had a great season. He went up a level. I am not sure he could be the best guy on a championship game but he can definitely be

the second best guy and he might even be able to be the J.L. Brown with his version of Tatum.

I thought, you know, physically, athletically, competitively, he has everything. There's just he, it's really hard for him to create his own offense. He could do it. It never feels great. It's, it's very similar to where Adela was in those philly years and even that one

Denver year where it's like, he can do it. It's probably not a great sign for your team if he's the one doing it and he's so much better if he's kind of over here. So they got to figure that out and I don't know how they figured out with the roster there. I think the mid-rangeer is coming along.

I felt more confident in the series than I had before and I really think he is the guy that would have benefited most from the idea of what Emmanuel quickly was supposed to be for this team. Kind of a, a good shooting, like half point guard, half spot up guy doesn't need the ball, but can work with it, can run, pick and roll both ways with Scotty and just sort of loosen

the defense up in ways that a guy like Shed can't do, and we just like haven't seen quite enough of that combination over the last, you know, two seasons to really see what it could

Scotty left a lot of guys this year, like he left a lot of guys behind him in the NBA player rankings like being careful. It's not close right now.

“What maybe he's close, but like he left a guy, he left a guy like that and he might”

make all NBA and it wouldn't be like illegitimate, he had a great year and Kuff is shit in the playoffs. He was ready for all the played super hard. I'm going to thought bubble a trade that I would love them to do and you're probably going to jerk backwards and then be upset and maybe go deep in the thought for like five seconds.

I'm going to anger him for Kevin Durett, okay, so if I'm the rockets, why am I doing that? I'm getting off a Kevin Durett. Wow, just just I'm just moving on, just a lot of baggage, I'm just going to get out of that one, money's about the same and Durant gets to probably wouldn't be psyched about

going to the team that their fans cheered when he, when he tore his Achilles during the finals. I don't know if he'd be super pumped about that one, but you could, you could work with him. I don't love the anger and fit in Houston with the other pieces that they have.

I'd rather try to trade Durant in Ameloo differently, but how many teams are actually really think going to talk themselves into being the latest team that potentially could become unhappy just by sheer coincidence that Kevin Durant showed up and then things became unhappy. Teams would talk, he's still Kevin Durant, he's going to make an all NBA team this year.

Did you vote them all NBA? I sure did. So I mean, there you go, he will, he's got just next year and then a player option, which is interesting.

“I think I think some good teams would, would kick the tires and give Houston stuff”

that makes more sense. Dimbrenner. But I will say, I don't know if you read the athletic, what, now they tell us story about the rockets yesterday. Did you catch that?

I love that. Well, I mean, but it was, there was nothing in it.

There was particularly revolutionary.

That's a bump in the happen because I think we've all sort of made the calls and made the rounds and had the meetings of like, OK, so no one is really denying that this was actually Kevin Durant on the texts and burners and like, and they had some lines in there, like, source of say, it was a big issue within the organization and, but yeah, it was. And yeah, no one on the record off the record privately publicly has come out and said,

no, no, it was actually wasn't Kevin Durant, which I don't know what else to conclude from that other than it seems like it was Kevin Durant. See, bad. We'll say the rest of it for our deep dive this summer, or can we do disagree? Nobody has come out and denied it, all evidence suggests that it is.

It seemed to have had a before and after impact on the team and it seems like it was him. And they had also, there was also lines in the story that were like, the whole team came together and agreed to just like squash it, keep it in house. We're not talking about it.

Like the whole thing in the, in the athletic story, which I've also heard similar like meetings took place was just like it was, what, it was a huge issue. Whatever it was, it was a big issue. Taking a break for the pod, continuing to go here on Netflix, so we know all the series.

And Lakers, Oklahoma City, you basically can't even bet on Oklahoma City for the series.

“It's like you have to risk $3,000 to win a dollar.”

The odds for the series though, a sweep is plus 125 on Fandel and okay, C4 to 1 is plus 175. And then the odds get progressively more clear. We just had two massive upsets last round with the Lakers upside in the rockets and the Sixers upset in the Celtics, that from a money line standpoint, we're two of the biggest upsets we've had in the last 15 years. I do not think this will be the case, is there any sort of case you could make that doesn't involve

Luka comes back and immediately goes nuts and I don't even know how they would win two games. I mean, Luka comes back plus Jill and Williams remains out would have been an, a roadmap towards an interesting series. Yeah, it doesn't seem like I mean the latest updates on Luka is he's still a bit away. And I just don't know that even with even if Jay Dubb who's, I mean, once the last time they played at this point a week ago if they had a week off now.

Well, I mean, their practices are probably more competitive than first round with us.

There'll be some competitive games little slow it down and play their old man basketball and like whatever, but, you know, it's still you're still asking a lot of Marcus Martin,

“Rui Hachimura and Jay Clarivia and guys that are just like the thunder have just better guys than that.”

Tough series for LeBron coming off a really fun series for him and, you know, being the best guy in a play of series at age 41 all that stuff. And now you have the okay see people is being unleashed on you. Well, it's like it's like the father time, father time and is like the whole metaphor is just this series father time versus LeBron. Here's team father time like a bunch of guys who are 25 and younger and awesome at basketball, you are 41 and just you have had that it. Yeah, you're laughing at father time LeBron, enjoying it for the next two weeks.

Biggest playoff series upsets. The biggest one in the last 30 plus years was that nugget Sonic's one of the nuggets were plus 1400.

But then we had calves, paces last year, paces were plus 425 and then that's number two.

Well, that that recently. Okay. Now number two was we believe 12. Oh, sure. Yeah. And then 2012, both sixers were nine and one, but Rose got heard at the end of the game one that they were winning. And then there's there's a bubble one in here and sell sixers a to one. Books eat from 23. Celtics nix is on here from 25. The nix were plus 550 for some reason. So yeah, I don't think there's a lot to discuss with this one.

It does with that we talked about it briefly in part one about Edwards coming back from Minnesota. Anything intrigued you about Minnesota other than the obvious, which is that there are a bunch of bad asses who are unafraid of everybody. There's some go bare Wemby Edwards maybe convincing selfies the best part in the series. Some of those spurs young guys maybe get a little tight say what what's the road map here. The road map is just underestimate the term. Well, it was that you're on peril like Dave proven it over and over again.

This is like whatever happens in the regular season cool. They go up. They go down. They play up to the competition and down to it. They're really good play off team. They're down one key guy. And we got to see how IO looks and how ant looks like they were down a lot of guys by the end of that series. But they bring a lot to the table in any matchup. They're big. They're strong. They're tough. They're going to defend. And there's a lot of interesting sublots to the series starting with ant and like the ant step castle matchup is just going to be called holacious from step.

We'll get the assignment on him presumably for a lot of the series. You know, I'm just say nobody under 12 court side for the series just to be safe. Somebody found a baby to one of the liquor games. There's like a four month old baby court side.

“I just feel like that's you know, you have to you should have to really answer to”

some sort of parent court for that. And I I was I did spend some time last week watching some spurs wolves. Just a little matchups just to see like who guards when be how did I do that? And there was just guys have been injured. Often on the entire. We barely got to see the real teams play against each other. But go bear did guard when be for the most part when go bear was healthy and when be was healthy and stiff did guardian for the most part. And it's there's just a lot of look spurs are better spurs have come court their healthier. They'll probably win.

But I think Minnesota can make it a long series. And I think they could win the series. When be shooting threes and actually making them versus what Joker did last round would be one way to

mess with go bear a little bit. Yeah. Always zombie by Conley. Can it keep going?

Sure. The zombie that bid him how long are the effects. I mean, he's he just give me 12 minutes. 12 minutes. My 12 good minutes. That was unbelievable. I thought he was washed up two years ago. Minnesota to win in seven is 15 to one. Minnesota win in six is 13 to one.

“First sweep. Two to one spurs sweep. And then spurs in five plus 195, which I think would be the smart.”

So Jenna gentlemen sweep is the is the family. Yeah, maybe Minnesota wins three. I'm going to I'm going to give Minnesota at least another game. I'm going to dig in a little bit more tomorrow. I'm going to dig in a little bit more tomorrow. Watch a little more do a little more research. But my inclination is to not underestimate the rules. Certainly proven it. And they've certainly proven that they've taken the nobody believes in us. And I fell mentality Chris Finch. After the after the win was not shy about saying, hey, they wanted us did that whole thing. I loved it.

I loved it. I'd be those two teams legitimately hate each other. And it's awesome. I just want one. It needs to happen once or ants got a bit over one way. And when these the last line of defense.

rim could break the backboard could break. Fans could be injured. I don't know, but I want to see it.

It's Superman 2 Superman's flying into one of those guys in the air. And there's

“yeah, that's why a puff of smoke. Do you want to guess what the Lofando line is for”

Piston's calves for the series? Because it's out. Who do you think's favorite? I think it's I think the calves are favored by a very small amount. The Piston's are favored by a very small amount. Okay. By a few small beers minus one twenty two. A few small pierces. Caves in seven is six to one. Piston's in seven is four to one. Caves in six is plus three forty. I would probably go exact games over the series betting this. Really tough one. Honestly, this probably a stay away

as a series bet. But we can't stay away tomorrow. I know. I think we're both leaning slightly toward the calves, but I certainly would have bet my life on either one of these. I'm going to do I'm going to do more of my homework tomorrow. I didn't do my homework yet because I wasn't going to do double the homework in the series. Caves raptors just took forever. Piston's magic took forever. So I got to do my homework tomorrow. And then Philly next next minus two sixty over Philly.

Philly's plus two fifteen as underdogs. And then if you want nicks in seven, which would be great. That's plus three eighty. Sixers in seven is eight to one and sixers in six is plus five fifty. And if you wanted to go nuts, you could bet the six are sweep at twenty five to one. That's the bull sweep at plus five fifty. Yeah. That's going to be the best of the four series.

“Unless we get ant really looking like ant again. But I think nicks, all the story lines with”

this next six are series. Real animosity with the nicks and the fans toward and beed for multiple incidents from previous years. The maxi versus Brunson kind of each each side not being able to stop the other. Now they're probably not going to guard each other. The towns and bead, which that rekindled this weekend. I'd forgotten about the the tweets from 2019. What else? And then O.G. and there'll be being the best part in the world. There's a lot

of different story lines we have gone. What else do you like about it? I had forgotten about the cat and bead stuff from all those years ago. So that's very exciting. And I'm glad that everyone has done their job in judging it back up for added added animosity. The Mitchell Robinson and bead stuff is well known. I think it's a big McHale bridges series. Like, you know, good finish to the Hawks series in the last game. Found is equal. There'll be a little bit of

offense. He's going to get, I would guess he'll get the maxi assignment from the jump. He's been there a primary guy. It's a really tough assignment for the nicks. They don't have a great option. I mean, not that many people do. But, you know, Ananobe's tried it hard to try it. They tend to trend bigger defensively and not smaller and quicker. And bridges, it's like, you know,

everyone's going to laugh at that trade forever. As Brian Winhurst, our friend always says,

if you win a championship, every trade's good, every trade's in a plus, every trade's fine. And so like, here's a series that's kind of tailor made for you to you don't have to score 22 points. And I have to run as many pick and rules as you did in Brooklyn. That guy, I find be Phoenix. Be Phoenix McHale bridges and play the best defense you played as a nick and get us 14 points of game. And like, we're all going to be happy. My guess is they use bridges to do the 94 feet

thing on Maxi. And then bring some Josh hard in for that. And then Alvarado for five minutes a half. And just just putting bodies on him, being tire court at all times. It's not always going to

“work. He's going to be faster than everybody's going to get to the basket. But I think that's what”

you're going to have to do. You've to approach it as we got to cut the head off on this one on this team. He's the head. We got to cut it off Alvarado and in beat are going to have a moment at some point of the season where Alvarado is just going to be like annoying him or anything like it and beat's going to be like, what is this thing down here that's annoying me? I don't like it. And Alvarado is going to get all offended by it. That's going to happen. The in beat flopping

at MSG is going to be a point of viewing. They they've already conditioned to really hate it. I know the Celtics fans were not big fans. And then you have the town's piece of a two where you could see a couple double flaps. You could see towns were coiling in horror as in beat is flopping the other way and it's like a flop off. Almost like an eight mile when we had the rap battles. Every team's got a flopper. Okay. There's flopters, floppers everywhere. Gillib Bronson

is not been a first to the occasional head snap floppy. There's like there's there's he's another one.

You're right. He coming around a screen could go fly. That could be another flop off. I mean,

flop. And I just want people to start using the flop sign more often because I think it's really fun to let's bust it out. I loved him be talking shit to the fans in Boston during the game, telling them to be quiet. It was like a kind of a, it was a new level of bravado for him because it was like, could have gone badly. If you blow the game that ends up looking badly and he was

fine with it. And I like to say he's always done it though. Like even in 2018, he was doing it.

We were like, dude, you just got the league. What are you doing? And I like he loves it. It gets him going. And I love that he told Philly fans, don't sell your tickets. Get all the tickets. We can't have these next fans coming down on Amtrak overpaying for our tickets. We don't want to sound like Madison Square Garden. He laid down the gauntlet for the six years fan to have been

“waiting, waiting for this team. So let's do it. Who is this a more painful series loss for?”

I would say the next like for the fan basis. This is like if I'm the next right now, fun and next fan. The seas have parted over the last week. The train looks incredibly vulnerable. So does Cleveland. The Celtics are out. You had this whole Tatum revenge thing lurking. That's gone. You have this Philly team that you've already had a lot of success with. And there's just a clear road map now. Like this is the year. Right? This is the best chance. I think they're

ever going to have in these to win this year right now next four weeks. It's amazing how it's turned from Hawks series is not going well. We got to fire the coach. We're the honest trade to some are what's to move to now. Like, oh, the East is broken, I for us. The more painful series loss is definitely the next. As painful as it would be for Philly and their fans to get a taste of

this and then have the rug pulled out in the same round where the rug is always pulled out for them.

“I think to get that those three games against that team, the Celtics and to vanquish them,”

the way they did and to just get a glimpse of what this team could be. If they continue to play well and lose to the next, I still think it feels like a fun season with some hope for next season for the sixers. Yeah. We got to see him be to play meaningful basketball again. Back to became a guy. We clearly have something pretty special on Edgecom. We'll see how far it goes. And we resuscitated Paul George. And we and we eliminated the number two seed boss and Celtics

are ancient ancient rival for the first time in a long, long time. Yeah, first time for 82. And pretty heartbreaking fashion for them. Like, you got to take some joy out of that fifth, your Philly. Philly is plus 650 to win the conference. The next are plus 145. What's interesting about that is I kind of think whoever wins the series goes to the finals. Because I think if the sixers win the series, that will mean that what we just saw for two and a half games

was actually real for real. And then they ran through the next. And you know, from a talent standpoint, they're top four. If everybody's healthy and Paul George is playing like that. And then beat is fine. Like you'd probably put that against any other top four. I still think the mix are going to win. I would pick the next. But listen, man, the sixers are going to play like they played the last two to half games. It's a hard team to play. Don't question. I will also pick

the mix. I would lean next in seven right now. I'm going to do more work on it tomorrow.

“But I think Cleveland to Detroit should feel exactly the same way. They should have the same attitude”

of like, oh, this is open for us. I know that they haven't, you know, an AC took Detroit to distance, an underband raptor steam took Cleveland the distance. But every matchup is different. Every matchup is going to feel different. And whoever wins that series should not be afraid of the sixers like, who can they stay healthy at this all time the next? I mean, Detroit played the next to the hill last year in the first round. I think both of those seem to feel that way too.

I don't know. I've Detroit going to the death store, basically, in that Orlando series, and having to take every single ounce of everything just to win in seven. I don't think was an awesome sign for them. And then Cleveland against Toronto losing too. Got like, even just not finishing Toronto in six, not a great sign for them either. I got to do a couple more. What do you do is quick? Okay. What do you do if you're Atlanta? And you have Jalen Johnson at 124. Daniels at 100 for four.

A Congua at 16 and 17. Alexander Walker at 14 and 15. You're stuck with Pittsburgh at 13 and 13. You've got Ricochet at 13 next year. Coming as a free agent, CJ is a free agent. And you have that New Orleans first rounder that might be in the top four. You'll be at the lottery away from now.

You could create up to 29 million in cap space to get creative. So you could do something like

or, you know, an onbie a guy or an austar, whether it's Jalen, Yanis, whoever. Or you could just say

“I'd like what we have. Let's re-sign McCollum. Let's try to lowball, Kominga, and maybe bring”

them back for one more year to see what we have. And let's try to nail this pick and look at the

late 2020s for when we make a run. What would you do? Yeah, the first thing I got to do is see what

happens in the lottery and who I can get and where I'm picking. My inclination is almost regardless of that. Given the state of the East in general, I mean, we'll see what the paces are just sort of sitting over here is the forgotten man in the East that's going to come back. You know, we'll hopefully full health. Not if they get a top four pick, they will not be forgotten. Well, that's true too. They'll be adding Halibut and Zubats and one of the four picks in a

generational draft or trading it for who God knows what, but probably knowing Indiana and the way they generally operate, just making the pick and saying we're thrilled to do this. Yeah, my inclination if I were the Hawks would be, let me let this marinate a little bit before I do anything too aggressive depending on where I pick. And I like a Congo, I like Alexander Walker.

“I think Daniels is an interesting player. Obviously, not trading Jill and Johnson.”

Research is the one we just got to figure out how do we revive this and if not, what do we do? But let's see what the lottery bulls fall first. I don't, I mean, what's the aggressive move for them? What's what's the other? What's the the big move? I mean, if I would poke around on things like just, you know, it's not just Janis or Stan Pat, right? Like there's a bunch of middle ground stuff like are there, I'd have to go through the rosters are there. Guys, we could pick off

you know, that are a little bit better than one of the guys we have now. It's there like a Durant like is that interesting to us at all? We mentioned Jill and Brown before that's a little high price, but just these are their smaller moves I can do around the fringes because I don't, you know, and McCollum I think would like to go back there and there's got to be a number of that works. He was so good for them. Yeah, I would say they probably need some size and a point guard

“who could learn under the tutelage of returning free agent CJ McCollum and there's a ton of”

point guards in this draft and they're going to end up with somebody good. So we agree wouldn't do much

there. Portland's a little more interesting. Denny is at 13 million in next season in 12 million

the year after that, which is just probably the best contract in the entire lake, right? I would even have that over the preacher to make it like 7 million year. They have holiday at 34 and 37. They've green at 34 and 36. They have sharp 90 for four and tomorrow 81 for four and they have day in 13 and 14 and they have scooting and still on rookie deals. So they don't, they're going to be a taxing next year and maybe even like bumping toward the second tax that they spend. They have all their

picks from 27 to 30. They have a Milwaukee first swap. They get the best one out of Boston for Milwaukee in 29 and another Milwaukee swap in 30. So they have stuff to trade and they have an owner who is already getting stories about it every day for out sheepiest. So I don't know what to make of this. And he doesn't like it. I don't know if what at first I heard he doesn't care. Who likes that? Who likes being called sheep? Well, that first wave of news was he doesn't care. He reads it

all he doesn't care. And then he then he's being defended by the GM Joe Crohn's title. It's just not accurate with what he's portraying. I look, the stories have not been refuted. Like the guys were in the freaking lobby because they couldn't get laid checkouts. Like this is the thing that happened. He does care. He paid for subs the other day for everybody. Everybody got a roast beef sub. I don't like roast beef. I'll take a turkey, turkey over roast beef. Yeah, turkey.

These words be finturkey and even add a couple tuners. Yeah, I don't, you know, there's this yannus noise that's out there. I started the noise a month ago and then then found out that yannus didn't want to go to the West Coast. I don't, yannus wants to go to the East Coast. I don't really know. I don't know. I don't know. I'm struggling to wrap my brain around that one. Yeah, I don't like, there are weird teams because there's anyone want Jeremy Grant's contract. Even Drew Holiday

was spectacular when he was healthy this year. The player option in 2728 is pretty pricey. I got to figure out scoots, scoots extension eligible. It feels, I mean, every team like Portland is just facing the same dilemmas. Like, yeah, we're pretty good. We're a young rising team with a lot of assets. We don't have anyone on our team nearly as good as anyone that Oklahoma City in San Antonio has at the top of their roster. How are we going to ever compete with those two

teams and how do we get there? I don't know what the answer is for Portland. I do like that

they're building around this defense defense identity and we're at least going to make things hard

Dame contract at all. Why they did it? Why they paid them for a year and that's a play. That was weird. But for the most part, I'm fine with the Drew contract. It's two years. Yeah, he's good. Next year and then the final year is an expire and that's fine. Grants a little tougher. So we don't think this is like, let's go nuts and get somebody awesome, team. This could be another

“Durant destination, by the way. I mean, I think the Durant price point might not be that high”

if he does get traded and I don't know what that is going to get traded. Like, with the Houston half to trade them. Well, let's they were next on my what do you do? KD at 44 and 46 Shengun at 35 37 39 and Jabar is at 23 22 24 at FVV for 25 next year. Fini Smith 39 for the next three atoms for two more and double figures and compete.

Adams, a couple are basically 20 and 18 the next two years. Then they have a tops and extension

and they have reacheper. But the thing with them, they have some really nice picks. They're going to have that swap with Brooklyn next year. They're going to have the Phoenix first. They have their own first nav of Phoenix Dallas swap in 29. The Brooklyn one, I think we have to start really thinking about Brooklyn as a team that might do some dramatic stuff this summer. Because anytime we've seen a team with cap space in the position of this pick could come back to

Honest, they usually get a little more aggressive heading into that season, right? Which maybe

“wonder like could they be a destination for pick somebody who had had an ugly playoff exit? I think”

absolutely they could. I mean, they've been rumored in the Honest, I like on the fringes of the Honest thing and everyone has been like, well, what will I be including me if said why would you Honest go there? Who is he playing with? And I don't know the answer to that question other than I then that's probably the thing. If we get Honest, we can get somebody else. We have infinite

flexibility tons of picks. You know, Wood Shawn marks first got there and they were just in the

in so deep in the hole of picks owed to Boston and other places. They didn't do the thing where they got aggressive because they didn't control their pick and we have to say face a little bit. They did the opposite and just ate it as a sunk cost and I wonder if they have the appetite to do that again. I suspect that you will be right and they'll try to be a little bit more aggressive than that. Because that pick is a big asset and they've got the Phoenix stuff coming as well.

The rockets, you know, there's an argument to be made that they should just sit tight and see what Bambli looks like. See what the team looks like with Bambli, Durant, Steven Adams, keep the pick space what it is and just take another shot at it, next year. Or you can even go further and maybe go, you know what? We are contenders and we're not going to really have a chance here with San Antonio, Noco, homocity and even Minnesota. Maybe we should zag the other way with these

picks coming. We got a bunch of young players reduce the expectations. Hate is anybody want Bambli and I'm expiring. Does anybody want, you know, this pretty decent Adams contract even though

“it gets hurt every year. Is anyone interested in Durant and just zag? I think that's a, I mean,”

the three paths they have to me are stampat trade Durant and or Bambli in a, in deals that sort of just reset your timeline a little bit about around the young guys or find the home run superstar. We're all in now. We trade Shen Goon plus picks plus whatever for Janice or whoever else becomes available and I think that whoever else becomes available thing is a big wild card in that because the other people depending on what happens in the playoffs will become,

I mean, we've already seen. We talked about it in part one, Denver basically letting the world know

everybody but Yokech like our phones are open. So that means Jamal Murray, who else would be, I mean, I don't think Denver wants to trade Jamal Murray, but the fact that his name is omitted from the do not ask list according to Shoms is interesting. And but to be clear, Shoms and say Jamal Murray's name, he just said anybody but Yokech, which obviously includes Jamal Murray. So there'll be other guys like that depending on how the playoffs go. Yeah, there's, you could get like a Durant

Vambli, it's inspiring and some draft stuff for Murray on paper makes sense. I don't know why either team would want to trade with each other. And if I'm, if I'm trading Murray, I probably want two pieces back. I can't remember if I said this in part one, but I was meaning to say this to you. If I'm, if I'm Denver, I'm doing nothing. You didn't know you didn't say that. Oh, I didn't know. All right, I'll say it more in fact, I'm doing nothing. I just had bad luck in a playoffs area at a weird year.

I had Joker playing the best basketball of his entire career getting hurt and then Gordon getting hurt twice and this Minnesota thing just was one of those weird things that happens in the playoffs every once in a while. Only one team can win the title. A lot of teams panic after

more careful. I'd really want to resign Peyton Watson. And even if I have to trade Cam Johnson

to make that, I don't know why they can't just resign Peyton Watson actually spend some fucking money. This crockies are wealthier than just about anybody. Just spend the fucking money of Joker and your team. But I'm bringing back Watson. I'm bringing back all my guys. I got Cam Johnson is an expiring and I have a little flexibility and let's play it out and see where we are in January. That's got to be the move. I wouldn't panic. Well, that was my counter was going to be

“number one. I don't, I just, we talked about this already. I just think you have to assume Aaron Gordon”

is going to be hit or Miss availability wise for the rest of his career. 13th year of his career. This is who he is now. And so I don't, I've got to build my team with that in mind. And counter

number two is Peyton Watson. I think they have to bring him back and that's going to cost you.

It's going to cost you money, which we agree. It would be great if they just paid and they've ducked the apron and stuff before. I don't think that's likely. And so they're going to have to pay something to get off of Christian Brown or Cam Johnson and they already owe some significant draft assets out the door to Oklahoma City of all teams and two separate drafts. So I don't, it would be another reason why they're going to be trying to stay really good.

Christian Brown, I don't really understand. I thought the extension was too pricey, but it was also in the range of all these other guys that he was at least in the ballpark of that were getting between low 20s and 2526. I don't understand why he was so bad. Like, how did he just lose the ability

to play offense and also why did he stop being a shutdown guy and defense? I don't know that he

“was ever a shutdown guy and defense. Well, he was there shutdown guy though. You know what I mean?”

Like, he was the guy they would put on the other team's best perimeter guy and it wasn't glaringly bad like it was this year. He couldn't guard anybody in that series. He's, I think he's just because of the way their team is built and how Gordon has aged and been injured. I think he's just tasked with a role that he's not quite up to. He's a good defense player, not great one. And it all comes down 30% on threes, like 30% on threes, any missed half of season. Like that's

and I do think the Watson thing, although he shot it really well from three of this year, especially from the corners, the two of them playing together is that kind of how viable is that going to be. Because at your best defensive line up is the two of them plus Gordon is that they barely played those three together all season. But to me, Watson, if there's a, if there's a number that makes sense for all parties and I don't know if Peyton Watson is like actually itching to

go to a place where you would have a big role. Like, you know, the lakers are going to be rumored until the end of time. But I want, I want that guy back on my team. And they still are in the driver's seat with it. Yeah, you match any offer. And we, I don't remember the last time somebody just stole or restricted for agent. It was some crazy offer. He was to go back to like the Jermilin Omar Ascich era to, to, creativity. I just, I, Peyton Watson and Gordon together as injuries,

not as impactful from a talent standpoint as Edwards and the sumu. And you could just, you could just stop it Edwards. But yeah, include the other guys too. Obviously not as, but what was interesting about the series was Denver couldn't replace what Gordon gave them at all. Minnesota was somehow able to patch together, you know, they, they lost the three-point shooting completely by losing all those guys. But they were somehow able to patch together the defense and the rim attack

with all the backups for those guys. Denver couldn't replace anything Gordon did. And that was with something, you know. So, so to your point, like, yeah, you can't count on them anymore. But I still don't know who else they could bring in. That could do 75% of what he does. You just have to hope that Watson, although a much different player, stylistically, on both ends of the floor, just gives you enough pop and enough size to mimic it and that Gordon still has enough in the

tank for a big playoff run here and there. But yeah, the Minnesota thing, you can't give them enough credit, they got the big I/O game, and I was really, really good. Conley, Conley was good, Shannon, massive in the elimination game. They just, you know, got contributions from everyone. There was almost a, there was a jail in Clark, Yokech near fight in that game, which is, you know, it is interesting that the hockey mentality started to fight with the other teams best square.

Well, it will be fights back. It's part that, but it is, every time it's going bad for Denver, there seems to be a Yokech event. In which he's a participant in, sometimes not the initiator, but sometimes, yes, the initiator, but I don't really know what to make in that.

“What did you think of the 48-hour celebration that Yokech got bounced in round one?”

Was there, was that, who was celebrating? A lot of people, a lot of people were psyched that

I mean, he had a bad series. He just, like, go bare eight is lunch for a lot of the series. His

jumper wasn't there. His defense was good enough. It was a bad series for him, and it was his first

real postseason clunker against the team that has their number at this point. The three-point shooting was bad. I went back and I looked at his, I went back and I looked at his, his, just his stats in 23 when they won when they went 16 and 4, and basically rolled through everybody. His stats were unbelievable that year. That was, like, one, he was, like, 31, 14, and 10, and he shot, like 47% for 3, you know, it's, you look at that and you're like, oh, his stats are still pretty good this year,

but compared to where he was, they weren't. So the question for me is that age 31 he has he moved into a slightly different echelon of himself as a playoff guy. If the three-point

shooting is just not going to be reliable anymore. I'm not, I'm not going there. I think he's still

“has plenty of time left in his prime and the three-point. That's how I feel, but it's a question now.”

The three-pointer is a fickle animal, right? And so you, let's say this sneak out that round, maybe he has a hot round the next round. I don't worry too much about that. I, it was eye-opening that he didn't have the same level of answers for Gopere that he's had previously. In any, in any, like, in the post on the picking roll and anything, he just didn't have rhythm to his game against Gopere and that we had just not seen him run into a matchup like that before.

When teams don't think he could make the three-pointer, I think it changes how they play him, what they want him to do, and I just think Minnesota was super comfortable with it. One thing did happen from that series. I forgot to tell you. I had to drop Joke or my pyramid, the spots, two spots. Okay. Yeah. What does that mean? Where is he? So there's this center right at the end of the level, the top level, the pantheon.

There's four centers, cluster together, and I've been moving them around. I'm the only one who sees the list. That's not like I'm announcing it. But it's a came and shack and Joke or Moses.

“I think he's right there with Moses, and I think you could, I have Joke or 14 Moses 15.”

You could talk me in a flippin'-it, but I think a came and shack have to be above him at this point. Unless he can rally back with, with some sort of other playoff thing. Like the only one final appearance, one title, even Moses got to two finals. It's hard. So it's hard to do it back to back for a came and when you're in the top 15, you've started to be measured by a different crazy, highest possible level things. You know, a came in 95 with the back to back title and just

beats every team he beats is awesome. Every center he goes against is awesome. He just destroys everybody, and Joke or probably needs one of those, I think, to move up. Well, there's a lot of time, a lot of time left, but I'll tell you. We're all winners off. I'll tell you those, those top two teams

in the west are just like there's always injuries and things go sideways and things are windows

and ever open as long as you think they're going to be open and finances and all that, but it's hard to see a world where the thunder and the spurs are not pretty continuously awesome. For let's just say five years, like we don't have to go too crazy. We don't have to say 10 years, 15 years, whatever, but like barring a catastrophic injury, which could happen. We don't want it to, but it just seems unlikely that they are going to be anything, but like 58 plus wind teams for

“the next five years. Well, that's why for the nuggets, the question is,”

I'm just studying that 22 warriors title run. Okay, that was a team that seemed like their window closed and then it didn't, and they had this transcendent player. A lot of weird shit happened in the lead that year. There are a couple injuries, there's a couple of upsets, and all of the sudden they just swooped in and took it. Could we keep this nucleus together and hang around and hope for a similar situation, the answer would be us. So that's why I don't,

I don't think you can panic. I think you gotta keep it together. Before we go, you want to tell us about your cameo and an Apple TV show? Sure. I was on your friends and neighbors, season two episode five. I'll show I watch. I'll talk about a little more this week, but but it was delightful and I, so it's not bad. People can watch you in a scene. People can watch me and OGN and OB together in a scene at a party to house party scene. One of the

people who watch show know one of the characters is a retired NBA star. Yeah. And so he's hosting

Jamie is just a long time fan listener and was like, let's write Zach Low role and get him in here.

“And I spent a day in a mansion in Long Island last year. Could you have been like somebody who got”

murdered at the beginning of the episode? Like just he could have been a dead body lying in your own blood. Like there was a there were a lot we had a little viewing party at our house on Friday.

And I don't know if you saw the episode there's I haven't seen yet. Even even by

even by the standards of the show, there's a lot of racism material in this. And they're like,

“yeah, you couldn't have you couldn't have been like the random Amanda Pete love interest for”

one that was like, no, I could not. That was not that was not going to be my role on this one. Not to go shit that one with the wife. It was fun. The whole cast was awesome. They were so fun. It was super fun. They made it easy. Because you know when you're a fish out of water like that, it's just too little like, do I belong here? Is anyone like, what do I do? And they were all super

“nice. Well, congratulations. Now I can introduce you as your friends and neighbors, co-stars,”

Zach Low. Yeah, I'm an actor now. I'm an actor acting. You sign up for Zach. I guess I could. You get fees. Oh, that's it. All right. Zach Low. Thanks for hanging out

for the double pod. We're probably not always going to do this, but with two games seven,

so we thought we'd be pretty good. Neither of them were. It's fine. This front two should be fun. I'm looking forward to next six years. Thanks to Gahau and Eduardo, as well. Thanks to everybody behind the scenes at the ringer. Thanks to Netflix. There's something about Mary coming to Maran, the rewatchables and then Zach's back on Tuesday on his podcast, breaking down a whole bunch stuff. Good to see you, buddy. All right, fun. Must be 21 plus and present in select states for

Kansas and affiliation with Kansas star Casino, or 18 plus and present in DC, Kentucky, or well, and game problem caught 100 gambler or 1-800 by reset. Call 888-797777 or visit ccpg.org/chat and Connecticut or mdgamblinghelp.org and Maryland. Hope is here visit gamblinghopline.ma.org or call 800-327-5050 for 24/7 support Massachusetts or call 877-8 hope and why or text hope and why in New York for Louisiana call 877-770-787-867.