Ben Simmons' Torn Achilles & 10 Burning Questions | 2026-27 NBA Season Preview

0:04 Good morning, sweet world, and welcome to No Dunks, the OG NBA podcast. It's Monday, October 19th, 2026. Happy NBA Eve to all that celebrate.

0:18 I'm J.E.

0:18 Skeets here in the Classic Factory, and alongside me, as always, Tass Mellis.

0:22 Podcast listeners, this is for you.

0:24 Next to him is my top shot hot boy, Trey Kirby.

0:27 Ayo!

0:27 Ayo!

0:28 And over yonder, making the magic happen, super producer, JD.

0:31 Hello.

0:31 There he is. Here we are. Hello to everybody joining us live right now on YouTube. Hit the like button, subscribe. Podcast listeners, five-star ratings and reviews. A little housekeeping before we get into it. About a year ago, we launched our No Dunks sub stack page. So I'm sure a lot of you will be up for renewal soon. Times are tough out there. Inflation through the roof. But if you want to support the show and you can, and you got the means to do so, it's a great way.

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1:24 They're only up until the end of October, which is like... 12 days. 12 days. So you're running out of time. If you want to get one of our reversible No Dunks jerseys available in red and green, go to nodunks.com, link in the show notes. Okay, on today's pod, we're going to wrap up our season preview series with 10 burning questions. You know it's hot because we got a unique graphic behind me. It's real hot. It is cold.

1:50 We're finally in Atlanta.

1:51 We had to heat it up.

1:53 Fall has arrived. But we start with some. gut-wrenching news some depressing news i guess the sacramento king's ben simmons suffered a torn right achilles tendon in practice on sunday this happened yesterday he is set to undergo surgery for the injury expected to miss the entire season here tess i mean i think uh espn like two or three hours prior had announced there was like an espn documentary on ben's big comeback to the nba And then this news breaks.

2:25 Yeah, I saw those clips coming out at essentially the exact same time. Yeah, it felt like it. If there was a place Ben Simmons could come back, Sacramento was a good one in that he was under radar there and allowed to go about it to get himself back to where he was. Literally. Five years ago was the good year. 2021 was his last real good year. So I didn't have them as an over 20 and a half wins as you guys did. I didn't see it coming and him being a part of it. But it obviously hurts for everybody involved.

3:01 He looked good in training camp, they said, and obviously preseason performances. Just had a good 14, 8, and 7 game in the last preseason game.

3:09 Yeah, I couldn't say that he was coming back to anything that he was when he was an All-NBA player and an All-Star player. It just doesn't seem like that was going to happen because of the injury right after. And then as soon as he was traded for James Harden, we thought, okay, maybe in Brooklyn things would change. They did not. Things haven't been good for a very long time.

3:29 Things weren't good until he started fishing because there he was successful. There's no doubt about that. But here we are going into 26, 27. We all wanted to watch and see what he could do because he's still in this proverbial prime. He's still young. Didn't happen.

3:43 Yeah.

3:44 And it's too bad.

3:44 He could have helped the Kings. I do think this year they don't have a ton of size. They don't have a ton of playmaking. He would have been able to help likely off the bench with both of those. But just a sad end. to his comeback story. It seems like he had just finally gotten his confidence back. I mean, who knows how things play out once we get to the regular season, different games, of course, but at least he was back on the court and to have it come the same day as the documentary, just crushing for him. I'm sure he's 30 years old. Like could be over, you know, for sure. Waiting to come back from, uh, Achilles injury, which are not the career enders that they used to be, but still, this is

4:19 a guy who is an athleticism based player and this is an athleticism robbing kind of injury it's not like he's going to be falling back on incredible skill uh ben simmons so just not the way you wanted this one to end for.

4:34 Sure no if he does return after this injury right if he does come back he will have missed four entire nba seasons i guess whether or not he does return because he missed the 2016-17 season because of a foot injury. Then he sat out the 21-22 season for physical and mental health reasons. Then he missed all of last season to go, like you said, Taz, deep sea fishing.

5:00 And then he's going to very likely miss this entire upcoming season with the torn ACL. And yeah, he was a good player when he first came in the league with the all NBA selections, obviously a great defensive player. Um, and then gave a go of it. And I thought he was like quite serious about reigniting his career here a little bit when he traveled to Melbourne and played and participated with the Australian national men's team. That was something he had not done in a very long time.

5:25 I don't think he had played since he was like a teenager in 2013. So that to me was like, this is someone that really is giving it a go to get back. And again, looked okay. Yeah, was there going to be, was he going to be starting for the Kings? Okay, maybe, but maybe a backup center, backup point guard. He's sort of this guy that can play a lot of positions and now it's all gone. It's a bummer because I think a lot of us were like, this would be cool. This would be a fun story if he could just get back and get some reps and look okay and be at least a $ 3 million player.

5:53 Maybe not the all-NBA Ben Simmons from early in his career.

5:56 True. Yeah, and I think there was a reason that he did pick Sacramento over other teams that would have given him somewhat of a shot just because it was under the radar. He went away, like you said, across the ocean to play somewhere else for a while to play in Australia just to get it going. So he wasn't under the scrutiny of American media for a while.

6:14 And so, yeah, we wanted to see how it went. Again, it's been a long time since he's been good. It's like a really long time.

6:22 This is our third Achilles injury. The last month here, and the season hasn't even started yet. Ben Simmons, Ariel Huckporty, and then Thunder two-way guard, Otega Owe. These all happened here over the last little bit. So I don't like to see that as well. People are, of course, trying to figure out what does that mean? What's the reason?

6:43 Is there one? Is it just the way the game is played now, the physicality? Is it the shoes people throw out there? Who knows? But not a great trend that we wanted before the season's even started here.

6:53 Nah, it happens sometimes, though. We had three Achilles tears in like two weeks, it felt like, in the playoffs during the Tatum, Halliburton, Lillard era. There was that one season that started with Isaiah Jackson and James Wiseman blowing out their Achilles. Who knows why it's happening? It's happening because the players have very powerful, strong legs and have to move very quickly. The drop, like the zero step, is kind of what leads to a lot of these things.

7:18 Sometimes your legs just aren't supposed to bend that way.

7:20 Let's get to some extension talk here. Thunder All-Defensive Guard Kaysen Wallace has agreed to a five-year, $ 139 million rookie scale contract extension. So that brings us right now to six first-round picks from the 23 NBA draft class who have secured new deals. The buzzer here for rookie scale extensions is today at 6 p.m. Eastern. So we're all waiting on the Brandon Miller of it all and whether he'll get his $ 200 million. But OKC, Cason Wallace, what do you think? Five years, $ 139 million. You like this work from both sides? Who comes out as the winner?

7:57 What do you think?

7:58 I think Cason Wallace is worth every dollar. Even though his numbers aren't all that huge, I think he is going to jump into the starting lineup, and I think he's a big reason why I think OKC is a better team this coming season, even after having lost Lou Dort and Aaron Wiggins, Isaiah Joe. I think he can fill in right quick. And in his exit interview last year, He was asked and it seemed like it was a little peeve that he wasn't starting. And you get this contract extension. I think he literally takes the spot of Lou Dort immediately. You consider him a three and D guy, but I think he's better than that. I think he can finish at the rim. And I think he was better in the mid range shooting his most efficient year

8:36 last year. And he's a guy that, yeah, the pressure is going to be on shades. It's going to be on other guys. He knows that he's not a guy who's going to break down his defender, but when he sees that splinter of space, he's going to take it. And again, he can score. So yeah, of course, an incredible defender can do it on the other side. So I'm excited for him overall. And again, I think the Thunder are better in part. It's because this guy and he got what he wanted. And I think his numbers will go up. And he was my most improved player of the year pick. And I think there's good room for him to jump from about nine points per game last year to 14, 15, 16 this coming year. Sure.

9:09 I think he's a good player. This is a pretty good deal. He is making more than Lou Dort ever did for the Thunder. This is 13 to 15% of the cap for Case and Wallace all going up. Dort was on 12 down to 10%. So he has to perform as well as Dort can. I think that that's a reasonable bet for the Thunder. They literally cleared a spot for him and are now paying him like he's part of their core going forward. But definitely a different player than Dort. Like Case and Wallace is better guarding wings and smalls. Lou Dort guarded up because he was a big, strong dude. You definitely get more self-creation, I think, with Case and Wallace, more playmaking for sure. But I guess you can make up for having a smaller guy

9:51 in your starting lineup when Jalen Williams is coming back because he can guard some of those bigger wings as well. But the Thunder really, really believe in this guy. They are massively into the second eight. for next season, which means clock is ticking for guys like Isaiah Hartenstein, Alex Caruso, and honestly, even maybe J-Dub. Looking further down the future, you're not going to be able to pay huge contracts to four guys. We know that the Thunder are going to run into roster crunches eventually, but It does mean that this is part of their window right now, and I just wonder how many of Shea, J-Dub, Chet, and now Case and Wallace finish these big contracts that they've signed with the Thunder, because eventually they're going to have

10:30 to say goodbye to some people.

10:31 Yeah, with Wallace signed, 13 of the Thunder's current 14 rostered players are under contract for next season, and so they're projected to be around $ 26 million over the second apron that season. This is by way of Bobby Marks here. So that would be like a tax bill that exceeds $ 200 million. So yeah, I mean, they made moves this off season, obviously clearing some space and guys and giving more opportunity, some younger guys coming in, but they believe Wallace is a part of this like core five here and they're going to run it back and try and win another championship. But yeah, it gets, it gets costly.

11:05 I mean, it's, of course it's championship or bus when you're paying this much to these talented guys that they, you know, for the most part, all drafted.

11:13 So, and the continental Coliseum is coming. That they're putting some money into, but the city is also paying lots and lots of money too. So yeah, the bill is high, and they think that they can win with this team, which is a good idea.

11:27 I thought he'd get $ 150 million, you know, the $ 25 million per. So this is like a small discount, I guess, from OKC's side of things. But now he's got to obviously step into the starting role and make it worth their while. Also, Sun Center Oso Iguodaro has agreed to a three-year $ 29 million contract extension. So that deal is not going to kick in until the 28-29 season. So Oso is set to make just $ 2. 2 million this year, and then he will have his team option for next year, $ 2. 4 million picked up. So this is like a future one here, Tass, but you're an Iguodaro fan?

12:00 Yeah, I'm an Iguodaro fan.

12:02 I'm sure you're okay with this.

12:03 Of course. It seems like good deals. Seems like Matt Ishby is signing good deals. And it seems like they've got a good thing going on in their locker room. The whole organization overachieves winning 45 games last year. I do think Cameron Malawach is destined to be their starting center over Osuga Daru, so paying him as a backup would make sense when Malawach is able to grow.

12:24 They also paid Mark Williams. They also paid Mark Williams.

12:27 I think he's bound to leave at some point if somebody else wants him the way that they're going, just because of how many guys they're paying. Because they have a lot of money tied into guys, and the expectations on this team are high. Matt Ishpia went on CNBC, I think, last week and said, We're going to make the playoffs and we're going to win a playoff series this season. No, they're not. That's not right. There's no way they can.

12:53 I don't think there are expectations in Phoenix. I think it's kind of just like we're running everything back because they got Devin Booker on this gigantic contract. Surely they will pay Miles Bridges going forward. Yeah. How did the Suns get better is the question. But also this contract for Iguodaro is basically nothing. He's going to be making 5% of the cap. He's going to have one of the best sub $ 10 million contracts in the league for a guy that's not on his rookie deal. But it's like, You're also paying Mark Williams. You're also telling me that Common Mallow Watch is your center of the future. What's the plan? That's kind of what I've been feeling with the Suns for a little bit here. Apparently the plan

13:26 is like stay competitive, keep making the playoffs, and maybe you get lucky in the playoffs and win one round.

13:31 Yeah, I think the expectations are just high now after going on TV and saying that. That's a weird thing. that Ishby had pulled off.

13:40 It's not really weird for him. Yeah. But, because this is the same interview that then got Kevin Durant all pissed off, right?

13:46 Yeah, it's the same one.

13:47 And he took to Twitter and, you know, about the culture and all that and the reset after he left. And so that got him.

13:53 All fired up. It's just, yeah, it's premature for an NBA owner to just come in and think that they're going to turn into a championship contender. It's wrong. He didn't say that.

14:04 He didn't say that.

14:05 Well, I know, but nobody expects them to win a playoff series. Making the playoffs is another solid year.

14:12 In his defense, though, no owner after winning 45 games is going to come into the season and go, yeah, we're losing less games this year. I mean, you're going to always hope to grow on the year you just had.

14:22 Yeah, but he guaranteed it. He said, here we go.

14:25 We're going to do it. Well, give all the fans their money back if they don't win a playoff series.

14:28 Yeah, he's rough. He made a mistake. But they do expect... the trade was saying about where their money is tied up. They expect to be this team. That's this, this organization, this locker room that comes to play for Jordan, not and be really good every year. And, you know, resemble other good teams that are going extremely deep. The hot word is depth right now amongst every front office out there.

14:49 And we started naming guys like, Oh, so you could Darrow, you know, he's going to be a bench guy, hopefully for them for a long time. And, and so they expect to be good with, you know, one through 13, 14. You had a, Get a Flemings in there. Get a Rashear Fleming in there. You start to think that this team is deep at some point.

15:07 All right, that's the news right now. We'll wait to see if Brandon Miller is probably the final guy to sign that huge rookie contract extension. Sounding like Anthony Black will not be doing that with the Magic. So we probably get Brandon Miller at some point today here before that 6 p.m.

15:21 Deadline.

15:21 But until then, let's get into our 10 burning questions. Oh, yeah. We kept the intro for the burning questions. Yeah, we got 10 in total this year because we've done a lot of season preview work, our over-unders, our award predictions, our tier rankings, our first-time All-Stars draft, and we always save the burning questions till the end here. So first one has to do with something that came out on NBA.com recently. Our guy John Schumann, always putting together the NBA GM survey. So I just wanted to know what your biggest takeaway, if you had one, TK, is. was from the latest NBA GM survey.

16:05 I got a lot of takeaways, but the one that really stuck out to me, a lot of Tobias Harris.

16:10 Fans out there.

16:11 Yeah, there was some Tobias Harris love. 20% of NBA GMs voted for him as the most underrated player acquisition. And I kind of just think of him as a guy on the Spurs, but I'm like, is he going to start?

16:26 I think so. If he's healthy. I think he'll be starting in the playoffs.

16:30 Well, Dylan Harper is starting.

16:32 This is interesting.

16:33 They've said that.

16:33 So then that's a weird combo. Of all these guys.

16:37 Exactly.

16:38 So many guards.

16:39 Because it's like, OK, so if you're starting Dylan Harper, I assume that means you're starting the three guards. So you would like a little bit more size from your four, even though you got a seven foot five guy hanging out back there. Tobias Harris is bigger than Champagny. He's bigger than Devin Vassell, who I thought would probably be the small forward out there. But if he's going to the bench, Harris also does more with the ball than either Vassell or Champagny. But when Champagny stepped into the starting lineup for the Spurs last year, they went 50 and 18. It was a pretty good mix with Vassell and Champagny in there. They went to the NBA finals and they're like, actually, we're going to change out two

17:13 of our starting lineup members. That's a crazy move.

17:15 Yeah.

17:16 And it just made me kind of think like, what was I missing with Tobias Harris? He was good for the Pistons. In the playoffs, but the Sixers and the Pistons have always been like, what can we do to get better than Tobias Harris? And the Spurs who went to the finals are like, we need Tobias Harris to get better.

17:33 Maybe they're like, we're so good that we just need Tobias Harris to put us over the top there.

17:37 So I was like, this is making me think a lot about Tobias Harris. I haven't really done that yet this summer, and now the season starts tomorrow. The Spurs will be out there, and I guess Tobias Harris is going to run out with three guards and Wimby.

17:49 Weird.

17:49 Yeah.

17:51 Everybody has thought of Tobias Harris as just a guy for a long time. But I think people have thought that about plenty of Spurs players. Devin Vassell even. You know, he was out there being good. Julian Champagny even. But then I think the other front offices are saying, with Victor as your centerpiece, everybody becomes better and grows. And Tobias Harris was needed just for height on that team.

18:12 So it is strange to think about De'Aaron Fox and Dylan Harper. Um, and, and of course you got, there's three guards out there.

18:22 Castle.

18:22 Uh, yeah. Although, so, so you have to start your three guards. Who's the fourth? Is it Vassell or is it Tobias Harris?

18:26 Yeah, it could still be Vassell because of the Wemby factor and they try and give that a go. And obviously the three point shooting and he is good and we saw from him. So it could be over, over Tobias, maybe a times Tobias Harris will start, but. Yeah.

18:38 Either way.

18:39 Vassell will continue to start.

18:40 Yeah.

18:41 I definitely made that a note, uh, reading, uh, they have the 20% of front offices saying Tobias Harris is needed. in San Antonio, but they do need height. They were depending on Julian Champagny, who's a three and D guy. And even though he's considered just a guy, as you said, Trey, or an overpaid guy for a long time with the Philadelphia 76ers, he was the Detroit Pistons go-to guy, you know, beside Cade, he, he really was the go-to guy in their short playoff, their two playoff series. He was good.

19:09 He was really good. So he's a different type of score. He's not a three-point shooter, so unlike Vassell, unlike Julian Champagne, he can depend on him in the mid-range to score. So they'll be doing that. Regardless of what they do for these next 82 games, they'll be doing that in the playoffs.

19:24 The player to most likely have a breakout season in 26-27, Dylan Harper, received 27% of the vote there. So he was also included in this. There was, look, a lot of Wemby as answers, of course. MVP, favorite defensive player of the year, all that stuff. Did you have anything else jump out to you?

19:40 Yeah, Scotty Barnes didn't get a vote for best perimeter defender or best interior defender. Not one, but he was the third best. most versatile defender behind Wemby and Thompson. That's something that you can motivate yourself with, Scotty, as he wants to be known as a defensive player of the year. He's using that right now because he wasn't voted to an all-defensive team. He wants to be on the first and all that. So I thought that was weird.

20:08 And the Raptors got a vote for or for best defensive team in the league by somebody. And it wasn't from Bobby Webster or the Raptors front office because you can't vote for your own team. I don't think so. I had to confirm that. Can you vote for your own team on the NBA GM survey? You cannot. So people went or front offices went OKC, San Antonio, Toronto.

20:30 That's it is a scary defense. So, yeah, I thought that was a note.

20:34 Do you think it was OKC or San Antonio that voted for the Raptors? Because they're not voting.

20:37 For each other. Yeah, right. That's a good guess. That's a very good guess.

20:42 And Scottie also got second most, the second most votes for most versatile player in the NBA entirely. Most versatile player entirely, the second most, behind Wemby. That's it. Ahead of Jokic, ahead of Giannis, and others got a ton of votes. But to see him second.

21:00 We always have to say when we say like second, third in the GM survey, even first for that matter, it's like that means most of the time it was like three people. Yes, oftentimes. Because it's such, I mean, we're talking 30 franchises here.

21:11 Even with Tobias at 20%, it's not like that.

21:13 That's what I mean. It's like barely, it's a handful of guys agreed.

21:16 Yeah, it's a fifth. It's a six. Six votes.

21:20 Which active player will make the best head coach someday? Mike Conley got 50% of the vote. Yeah, they're like, he's a coach right now. Yeah, exactly. It's like, that's a good percentage in this GM survey. This one made me laugh. So which player is the most athletic?

21:34 Okay.

21:35 Ahmaud Thompson got 63% of the vote. His twin brother, Azhar Thompson, got another 10%. But I was thinking like, how is this answer actually not Wemby? When you really think about it. Now, I love Ahmaud Thompson. I love both Thompson twins. And they are like, they're extremely fast, obviously dynamic, like incredible defenders too. They've got hops and all that. But I'm like, isn't it not really Wemby?

21:59 The guy is seven foot five.

22:00 He can run.

22:01 Yes, but I don't know. It's just sort of silly, but it doesn't even come up in that athletic sort of terminology or adjective.

22:10 Yeah, I would love to see either of the Thompson twins kick a wedgie out of the rim.

22:14 They can't. That's sort of what I'm saying. Yeah.

22:18 If you're incorporating other sports, Swemby's awesome with his feet. I mean, he does key pops before games a lot of the time.

22:24 I'm just saying. We just don't think of him like that. We think of a bunch of other things, but not that.

22:29 Maybe next year he'll win. Does he incorporate the sidestep? He's incorporating the sidestep three-point shot a little bit. Does that include in athleticism?

22:37 People almost remove him from the equation because they're like, yeah, that's not fair. You're 7'5. That doesn't count.

22:42 It's also you're filling out this entire ballot. And you've already voted for Wembley eight times. Yeah, it's true.

22:49 We'll sprinkle it around. The Thompson twins are super athletic. Yeah, that's true. And then my final one was, I always like to see what they say, like which player is the best leader. And the top three were Jalen Brunson. That makes some sense coming off the championship. Curry is always involved in this. And then SGA was third. And I bring that up. Curry, there was a little scare with him yesterday. I don't know if you guys saw the clip. He rolled his ankle in like a, what is that? I guess it's like a, just an open scrimmage maybe to the, to the fans. And he like, Oh, he hobbles off, goes back to the locker room. Everybody's freaking out. A lot of reports. It was his knee at first, but if you see the clip, his ankle goes, well,

23:25 I guess he's okay. I guess Steve Kerr is saying he's okay. Yeah.

23:29 The question is how many games do they just keep them out because they want to keep them out of games and keep them healthy for later in the year is a real question. And maybe that adds a little something to it, but it's mostly the knee, but yeah. Yeah, because this could be an in-between year. I also noted stuff that Luka is the best small forward in the league.

23:46 What does each position even mean anymore?

23:48 He got votes for point guard and shooting guard as well.

23:51 Yeah, that's pretty funny. I guess the rookie stuff was interesting in that nobody knows who's going to be rookie of the year. It was just spread out everywhere. So a lot of front office guys making mistakes because you just picked the wrong guy. Just like you do in the draft, you pick the wrong guy. But also, it's going to be a good year for Rookie.

24:08 Of the Year.

24:09 Yeah, 50% of GMs responded that Cam Boozer is Rookie of the Year, 20% for Caleb Wilson. And then for Best Rookie in five years, 33% each for DeBonsa and Caleb Wilson. And then Boozer and Wilson both got votes for Biggest Steal in the draft, even though they went third and fourth.

24:24 Yeah, come on.

24:26 Braden Burrys also. That was at least a little further in the draft. That's how it makes some sense.

24:31 It was interesting to see Peterson Boos. dropped below those two guys that you said for best player in five years, that it was Debonza and Caleb Wilson.

24:39 We'll see.

24:40 No Luka MVP picks. I was kind of surprised by it. Not a single player picked him, even for others receiving votes. And the two teams that ranked highest and toughest to predict were the 76ers and the Timberwolves.

24:51 And I was like, agree.

24:53 I agree with what you're saying, GMs.

24:57 All right. Next question and burning questions here, as we're really projecting for the upcoming season. Which player has the most to prove this season? I feel like there's a lot of candidates.

25:07 There is.

25:08 So I don't know where you want to start.

25:09 I'll start with Walker Kessler of the Lakers.

25:11 Yeah, okay.

25:11 A storied franchise gives up everything for you to come around.

25:15 That's a lot.

25:16 You played only five games last year. Now you've got to play a ton, especially with some perimeter defenders and Luke Doncic and Austin Reeves that are going to give guys pathways to the rim. So you've got to be around a lot. A lot of spotlight has just increased. So there's just a huge role for Walker Kessler all of a sudden.

25:32 Mm-hmm.

25:33 There's been years, I think, that we didn't say Walker Kessler all that much on this show. We are going to say him a ton of times.

25:40 You talked about his dad more than himself. Yeah, Chad. Taking a flight with his dad, Chad Kessler. I swear that came up more. Chad.

25:51 Chad Kessler. Chad Kessler. Chad GPT. Either way. Either way. It's also... I mean, this guy now, his... His resume is interesting because he was traded for Rudy Gobert as part of a huge deal right after being drafted. Now he got traded to the Lakers. I mean, this is big for him.

26:12 Yeah.

26:13 And what's also big for him is their depth is lacking at the center spot. I mean, behind him, you're going to have an undersized Mamou. Mamou Kalashvili, we saw it in Toronto. He's not a backup center. He's going to be undersized, so he's going to play a ton. You can try and hope Kevon Looney, like what they hoped in New Orleans last year, that he was going to be sort of the the guy that Zion Williamson could depend on and learn from as a big man at center. He played 20 games last year. Or it could be Jared Vanderbilt. I mean, they're undersized. He's got a huge role. There's a lot of responsibility.

26:43 I have him on my list here for sure. This guy's got a lot to prove this year. All the reasons you just went through. Who you got, TK?

26:49 Got to be guys that dominated over the summer. And for me, it's... very similar to Walker Kessler, Jalen Duren. Hey man, you carried us through September. We appreciate all the shows you gave us, but I think this guy had a ton to prove coming into this season without the contract drama, right? Like his usage was way up last season, rebounding down, passing down, clearly trying to get paid.

27:11 And guess what?

27:11 It worked. He had his best season. He was a first time all-star. He did make third team, all NBA to, uh, possibly because some other guys weren't able to make it. He got Defensive Player of the Year votes. The Pistons had their best season in forever. They won a playoff series for the first time since 2008, but everything over the summer made the spotlight increase on Jalen Duren. When he was going to come in as a guy that we needed to see that, A, last year wasn't a fluke during the regular season, that he is a 20-10 player, that he brings the intensity on the defensive end that helps carry the Pistons. but also that he's able to perform when the lights are brighter in the playoffs. Obviously,

27:49 that question can't be answered for a long time, but this is going to be a year where it's like, are you worth $ 40 million? Are you better than Walker Kessler?

27:56 Let's see it. Yeah, this is great. I wrote down a starting five of players with the most to prove, and you guys have nailed the first two. I had Walker Kessler, and I had Jalen Duren, and to fill out the rest of my starting five, I have LaMelo Ball. Obviously, a big, big move from the Wolves to switch that up, and him coming in there alongside Anthony Edwards. Vibes are great.

28:14 Let's see if it translates into not only wins in the regular season, but obviously him in the postseason. What's that even look like? And how does he play? John Morant trying to like turn around and sort of save his NBA career, at least superstardom career. And then Paolo Bancaro. I mean, at this point, you're sort of running out of excuses with now the coaching change and maybe it'll work, but the him and Franz Wagner experiment and just him as we go. And he is a great, great player.

28:41 He's a one-time all-star player. you know, has had good moments in the postseason, then some clunkers. So those are my five. Anyone else you got on your list?

28:49 Well, I just saw somebody here in the stream team dropping that Dwight Powell of the Dallas Mavericks was waived. I know this is deep, is a deep cut. Not that he is under pressure by any means.

28:59 I don't think so.

29:00 He was under pressure because, I mean, they wanted to keep him around. He was under pressure to being waived and he was waived because they want to hang on to Musa Cisse, who looks good. The other Musa in this league. But, you know, barring some Roster moves, the Lakers could use him. They'd have to give up some stuff, but the Lakers could use Dwight Powell around as a body to back up our man Walker Kessler. But still, I don't know if it's going to work roster-wise, but he was good. Dwight Powell was good.

29:26 He's played like 11 years or something for Dallas Mavericks, right? Yeah, he was the longest tenured Maverick for sure.

29:30 You'd think he was going to be like a Nick Collison, hang around forever, man. And somebody's going to pick him up, so he's going to finish this.

29:35 Could it be a weird situation where he does go back to the Mavs? You know, like that always happens with... like James Johnson and the Pacers like he's like released later in the sea. Yeah Any other coach any other prove it guys, yeah sure Jason Tatum, I think is a prove it guy for me.

29:54 Oh, he played what a 16 games.

29:56 Last year at the end of the season.

29:58 Now he's finally split up from Jalen Brown, unquestioned guy on his team. How far can you take him? Luka Doncic finally has a team built around him in Los Angeles, but we already talked about Walker Kessler's dad, so we can't talk about Susser Doncic.

30:13 Kawhi Leonard.

30:15 Kawhi, sure. He got paid.

30:17 Submarine to franchise and now is going back to the place that loves him to try and win a championship in basically the exact same scenario. As he won a championship in before, you have a good team.

30:27 You added me.

30:28 Is that enough?

30:28 And of course, Hugo Gonzalez is in the mix. Are you good?

30:33 The Beantown boys say yes. Are you good enough?

30:36 Can you score points?

30:38 Let's see. There's a lot. There's probably another 10 names we're missing here. So let us know in the stream team. Players with the most to prove.

30:44 Darren Fox under a different kind of pressure, but it's pressure.

30:47 This is the.

30:48 First time where he's got somebody nipping at his heels to take his job. So that's an interesting starting Dylan Harper opening night here, as you said. Yeah, that's what they're saying. That's interesting stuff. I mean, John Moran is under pressure.

31:01 Yeah.

31:02 Period.

31:03 A lot.

31:05 I mean, he's guaranteed next year, too. So maybe somebody else takes another chance on him. But this is this is his thing. This feels like his reputation is up for grabs now this season.

31:18 All right, next question here. Question number three, which under the radar player will have a big impact? So looking at this another way, name one player who is relatively under the radar, so not an all-star, I think is fair to say, who is such an important X factor that he will play a huge role in his team's success or their failure this season. We can start with you, Trey.

31:40 I like Mitchell Robinson going to the Celtics, and I'm starting to think, does he start?

31:46 Does he come off the bench?

31:47 He's always been a bench guy for the Knicks, but I think he's probably a better player than Namiash Keita, but Keita was great for the Celtics. Regardless, they basically have 48 minutes of guy who plays the way Namiash Keita slash Mitchell Robinson plays. Roll into the rim, offensive rebounding, winning back a bunch of possessions, having size inside, just the perfect kind of player alongside the Celtics. They did have success with Garza as their backup center last year.

32:13 Vooch came in at the end of the year. They wanted to go the stretchy route with their backup guy, but apparently they decided against it and said, let's just stick with what's working. A big dude who rebounds and helps us out maxing out our possessions because that's kind of the Celtics secret sauce. Get as many possessions as possible.

32:30 Shoot as many threes as you can. If you miss, we'll have our big guy grab it. So I think Mitchell Robinson is going to be good for them. I think it doesn't really matter. Ultimately, if Kata or Robinson starts such similar players, they've got 12 fouls, which is great. I would throw Paul.

32:44 George in the mix, too.

32:45 We barely talk about this guy as an actual player on the Celtics, just as the return for Jalen Brown in the trade, but he's going to be helpful. I think the Celtics did a good job of moving on from the era that they felt a little stuck in.

32:58 I think Peyton Watson, I know we've talked about him a ton, but there's a big swing between good Peyton Watson or somebody who's injured potentially because this team is this team. Now they gave up a lot for Peyton Watson. They've got a lot tied in Donovan Mitchell and James Harden, Evan Mobley and Jared Allen, four former all-stars that he's inserted into. Now the upside is that he would be a huge upgrade to the way they started last year with Deandre Hunter at the small four. They're basically mediocre until mid December. They said, okay, Deandre Hunter, you're out of this starting lineup. And that's when things got better with Dean Wade starting. But Peyton Watson has never done it for more than half a season, so there's a

33:38 lot of pressure there. And again, let's say that he doesn't have a good year. Do you just say in February? I mean, that's too soon, but at the end of the year maybe. We've got to make a huge trade. We've got to trade one of our big parts to move on from what we just did because they emptied the cupboard for Peyton Watson. But the upside is awesome.

33:56 And so you may just have to come to a point where you make a decision now, I do like Payne Watson, period. I think he's grown enough to be that small forward on a team that could be the number one seed in the Eastern Conference. He was straightened out, apparently. Michael Malone apparently called him out in a practice way back when that he didn't know the role that he was supposed to have for the scouting report for the other team, just like what the Bulls are doing right now in these social media videos. Oh, I love those clips. Yeah, he didn't know. Right now, the Bulls are being asked.

34:26 How do you guard this guy? And they dropped three lines, and apparently Michael Malone did that to Peyton Watson in Denver, and he had no idea. He's like, who? He called his ass out. I don't even know who we're playing, coach. I think he's capable on the floor, and it looks like he's capable off the floor. There's a big swing.

34:43 Cavs could be, if you're a DeAndre Hunter replica, you're a 48, 49-win team, or you could literally be a 60-win team. So this team could be good. I love Peyton Watson.

34:55 They want him to be OG Ananobi, basically. Can you make your wide-open three-pointers? Can you score when we have some of the starters on the bench? And can you lock down literally anybody? That's the biggest responsibility for Peyton Watson. You're going to get open corner threes with Mitchell and Harden creating, but it's going to be a little clunky with two big guys inside. What they really need from him is perimeter stopper. And that's a big ask for Peyton Watson.

35:20 He can do that.

35:22 It's not like he was a lockdown guy for the nuggets. There were moments when he was, he's more of a playmaker, but they need him to be like clamps mode this entire season.

35:30 Yeah.

35:30 Yeah. The scary part is if he tries to be a little bit more like, Oh, do you try to be when he had a really high role with the Toronto and he, You don't want it to be like a number one guy. Peyton Watson, I think, is a good playmaker. He knows how to slow down.

35:42 He's not going to be a number one guy with Mitchell and Harden.

35:44 No, no, but you try to be a little bit more of that. Yes, he can definitely fall in the order, the pecking order, but I think he also is in control of his bod. He can slow down. He's got the Hezzy, and he can playmake, and I think he's going to be asked to do a lot of that. I know people are saying, oh, Jokic gave him so much space, and he was able to do that, but I think Mitchell and Harden get some. get a lot of gravity going their way. So this guy is just really capable. But again, he played half a season last year.

36:09 So there's a lot, a lot on his shoulders.

36:11 I like the Peyton Watson pick. I'm shocked you didn't take Pella Larson, though. I thought for sure you were coming in here saying him as an under-the-radar guy who could have a big impact on the Heat and their success or maybe their failures.

36:23 100%.

36:23 I just didn't want to repeat myself from the last show. But I probably repeated myself with Peyton Watson. I guess that was two shows ago. But Pella Larson, he's probably their best perimeter player. Yeah. Offensively, not defensively, but yeah, he is.

36:39 Besides Wiggins?

36:41 Yeah. Yeah, he can play, make more. He can put it on the ground more than Wiggy.

36:46 You have a lot of confidence in Pele Larson. I'm sure they do, too, or they're hoping it will be.

36:50 Yeah, there's no other options, really, in Miami anymore. Wiggy is not going to be that guy. He's going to score for himself. Pele can just be that connector. That's what he's there for.

37:00 I like all those picks. I'll throw in Evita Zubats on the Pacers just because I'm fascinated to see how Rick Carlisle and the Pacers, like whether they change like sort of their principles to how they play, because now they have a guy who's an elite offensive rebounder, but this is like never really been their thing. A lot of it because of personnel when Miles Turner was there, but they would like forget the offensive glass, get back, everybody back. uh, in transition and we don't give up easy baskets that way, but now you got big Z there and he's dominant. Like he's one of the best in the league at cleaning up on the glass defensively and offensively. So just, I'm just fascinated to see how it works. And recall is a great coach. I'm sure

37:38 he's going to figure it out and it probably unlocks them when he's grabbing defensive boards and then they're screaming the other way. He'll be the last one down there, but they'll probably have scored half the time. By the time he's getting up there. That's okay. But the crash in the glass, that's the one thing to watch for me.

37:51 Because it's just sort of against what they've done before. But again, that's probably just Rick Carlisle as a coach saying, that's not us. We'll just get killed on the offensive glass. So why wouldn't we just get back and try and limit fast break opportunities? Never an all-star, too. I always have to check with Zubats. I'm always like, was he?

38:09 Did he get in once?

38:10 No.

38:11 He's been, I don't know.

38:12 He had that one good season when Harden was setting him up.

38:15 He had a chance. Yeah, we probably brought him up as a, he was like a snub, an all-star snub, deep down the list. All right, next question here. We'll do an Eastern Conference and a Western Conference. Same question. A question you have about an Eastern Conference team. You can go anywhere with this.

38:31 I'm going to geek it out here. I have a question about Jakob Perl's back. How strong is that turtle shell right now? Literally, that's all I can think of. Did he make it stronger? Because that is the question. That's this report coming from Josh Lewenberg of TSN saying that he changed the way he plays. Previously, Purtle would warm up before his basketball workouts and do a standard lift routine afterwards with the new regimen. He's doing a full activation and targeted lift session before picking up a ball.

39:00 And I say I'm going to geek it out because this guy's extended through 29-30. forever from now but only five million dollars guaranteed that year you know how he guarantees the rest of it he plays a lot each year if you play 1400 minutes this coming season you get an extra five mil if you play 1400 minutes next season you get another five mil guaranteed in 29 30 that's that's a long time from now so that's an interesting inclusion there's another in there you get another two another $ 2, 433, 333 each time you reach 1,400-minute threshold that season.

39:36 And the Raptors make the playoffs in that respective season.

39:39 Team success.

39:40 So the next three years, you start at 5. Next three years, you get bumped up to 20 if you play in all three of those years at 1,400-minutes. And then the $ 2, 400, 000, it gets bumped up to $ 27, 300, 000. You're keeping an eye.

39:53 On Pirtle's wallet.

39:56 It's just an interesting contract that Bobby Webster signed him to. So these last three years, he played a little over half the games. I mean, more than half the games in total. But you want a lot from this guy. So I geeked it out there. How strong are you, Yak? Because of the size.

40:11 How great is that Yak's back?

40:13 The turtle shell. The turtle shell. I could not help but think about it.

40:15 Teenage mutant Yak the Purtle. That's always fun to say. They should play that. It's like that theme song. That'd be good to me. I mean, with the Raptors, for sure, the Purtle. And then I think quickly, too. So at the five and the one position. Quickly looked pretty good in preseason. So they need those two guys to just be, they need them just to be out there. Like they don't need all-star seasons from either of them. They just need them minutes, like you're saying, in game. All right, got your eye on Purtle's turtle shell.

40:43 Purtle's turtle shell.

40:45 What do you got? A question for an Eastern Conference team. This can't be good.

40:48 I'm already down to my fourth choice for a question for an Eastern Conference team. Peyton Watson, fit, talked about it. Heat, fifth starter, talked about it.

40:56 This is crazy.

40:56 Who's starting for the Raptors in the playoffs? Starting?

41:00 Yeah, we already talked about it.

41:01 So I guess what's the Atlanta Hawks guard rotation?

41:06 Okay, good question, man.

41:08 They got seven good guards. They got seven guys who could start. It ain't going to be Kingston Flemings. No offense. We'll see you on the pickleball court, buddy. But like McCollum, Dort, Wiggins, Daniels, Nikhil Alexander-Walker, all of these guys have cases for why they should be starting.

41:27 Yeah.

41:28 And I don't know who actually is the best combination. If you want the best defense, it's probably Dyson Daniels, Dorton, Nikhil Alexander-Walker. If you want somebody who can go and get a basket, CJ McCollum kind of needs to be on the court, I think, and is the best shooter amongst those players. So perhaps the best fit alongside Jalen Johnson.

41:45 I just think the Hawks have a lot of options going forward here. And it's going to be a couple of months before they figure out who actually fits the best together, who's actually willing to take three pointers when they're open, and who's their best combinations of two way play, because it feels like they could put up, put out at the very least, very defense heavy lineups. I would want a little offense in the mix as well. When you consider guys like a Congo is not really going and getting his own baskets, need guys to create for him.

42:14 So I think it'd be interesting to see the way Quinn Snyder breaks things down. And as we get further into the season, how many of those guys actually stick around in Atlanta rather than being packaged with some of the other assets they have to maybe go get a star as well.

42:27 So yeah, I don't know.

42:29 Like, Nikhil Alexander-Walker, that's the only guy I'm like, you have to start. He's the only one I think is locked in amongst particularly Dort, McCollum, and Daniels as well.

42:40 Good stuff. I mean, I'll take another team that we debated alongside the Hawks of where we were going to rank them in the Eastern Conference and, like, which team is ahead of this team. And I'm talking about the Orlando Magic because we had the Hawks, the Magic, the Hawks, the Magic. Like, who's going to be better and all that.

42:55 Can Sean Sweeney unlock this Paolo Bancaro, Franz Wagner offense? That is a huge question for me. I am saying he can't because I took the under. I'm a little fearful that this will be the last year of this experiment. But look, it has done some good things when the two have played. Now, health is the number one factor with them and other guys on their teams. But, you know, they get to the line a lot. They're fairly low turnover.

43:19 They're okay on the glass. That's good. But it's just these lineups, when they're out there, they can't shoot. They're just... It just like really, really hurts them when both of these guys are playing and the other pieces around them. A Paolo Franz Wagner offense, this year, in my opinion, desperately needs to finish above average. So I'm not even saying top 10, top five, above average. In year one of them together, 26th offensive rating. Year two, 22nd. Year three, 27th. Again, injuries come into play. I get all that. And then last year in Desmond Baines, first year in Orlando, they go trade a million draft picks for him, get some shooting in. It was 19th, so it did improve a little bit. Again, that was guys in and out of

44:01 the lineup. So to me, I'm watching that. I'm ready to be proven wrong and get egg on my face with my prediction with the Magic, but it has to now because they've done the coaching swap, and it's like, okay, if he can't figure it out, then I think we've proven that it just doesn't work with the two of you as sort of the main guys.

44:19 Yeah, and then they got to blow it up. I mean, that's what it seems like.

44:24 It does. It does sort of feel like that. Question for the Western Conference.

44:29 I have Western Conference front office guys that I want to ask a question to. If you could give the truth serum to Raphael Stone, who leads the Rockets front office, what's the ceiling of this team? Do you really think that you could win a championship with Alper and Shen Goon and Amin Thompson being really, really big, key, important guys?

44:49 Or does it evolve into... You need something more from Tari Eason and Jabari Smith to really grow. Is it that kind of angle? Or is it Reed Shepard? Is it a collective of all of them? I just need to know. What's going on here? I mean, it's more a truth serum for a lot of guys. Like even the Eastern Conference. Ansi Saleh, as you brought up all those guys on the Hawks roster. Do you know, Ansi Saleh, who you're trading this year? Do you know if you're trading Lou Dort or Jock or CJ McCollum or Darius Finney-Smith?

45:16 Do you know it? Anyways, we're here at the end of the previews and then Just looking for anything. And that's different than the other shows. The Rockets talk, yeah. What's the true peak of this current roster? It's probably those guys all growing and getting better. But do they think they can knock off OKC or Santona? Do they really think that?

45:38 I don't know.

45:39 They got a lot of big fellows, which is good for competing with the Thunder and the Spurs. They also have a ton of assets that they can actually add stuff. I think they want to see what's going on with Fred Van Vliet, but just like what a weird 12 months, I think, for Reed Shepard coming into last year. He was like probably getting picked in an under the radar player who could have an outsized impact because no Fred Van Vliet. We assume this is going to be Reed Shepard starting. He's coming into his second season after being the number three draft pick. He's exactly what they need, a defensive playmaker who bombs threes. he had some decent moments during the regular season, had some really poor moments

46:17 during the playoffs. And now he feels like he's barely even part of the picture for the rap or for the rockets with Van Vliet coming back with Marcus smart being signed. I'm like Reed Shepard, suddenly you're the third best point guard on the rockets. And all we talk about is his mustache and his haircut, not the way he played at all last season. There's no expectations for this guy, even though he was the third draft pick and seemed to be a key player for him last year.

46:41 Yeah. I, I, When I start to think about his ceiling, I start to think about what Raphael Stone has thought that he's articulated or created, I should say, with this roster. I flashback to the 2019 championship with the Raptors where Fred VanVleet wasn't all that good for, was it three weeks of that playoffs? He really wasn't.

46:59 Yeah, he was bad.

47:00 He was super bad. Then he had a baby. Then all of a sudden he was great. So Reed Shepard's expectations have gone down extremely low, kind of like Fred was there. Can he just be... when Fred goes to the bench, be awesome. Essentially like Fred was for that team. If his role is reduced and he's in the proper spot for him, maybe. Maybe that's his destination or his destiny, I should say, as an NBA player off the bench.

47:29 A lot of things will have to go right for the Rockets to really realistically compete for a championship here. Probably includes one of those powerhouse teams, be it the Thunder or Spurs, having a devastating injury to a main guy. Hate to say that, but that's probably a part of it, to go through both of them.

47:43 Good luck.

47:44 And then, like you said, obviously continued health from Durant, Van Vliet playing, Adams playing, and then one, two, three of their younger guys leveling up, be it Ahmaud and Thompson, too. all-star, all-NBA status, you know, Shengun. I always forget about Shengun on the Rockets.

48:00 I'm going to keep doing it.

48:01 Because there's then the Eason and Jabari and Reid, like you guys went, and they could continue to grow. It's a good team. You brought up the whole depth thing that got a lot of guys.

48:09 They got guys.

48:10 So I still, I'm excited to see them this year, especially Van Vliet. I think he just helps them in crunch time, but to get by those other teams can be tough. That's for, you can say that for everybody though, out west. What do you have there, TK, for a Western Conference question?

48:24 Another team that's going to need some help to make it happen in the Western Conference. What are Lomelo Ball and Jonathan Kaminga like when games actually matter? Lomelo, zero playoff games, as we've talked about, but I will give him credit for at least being willing to go out firing in the play-in games that he's been. He's taken like 30 shots a game against the Heat last year.

48:44 I like that.

48:46 But the physicality will increase. The seriousness needs to increase. For Lomelo Ball, Chris Finch has talked about the moodiness versus the giddiness and said we need to find a happy medium. He doesn't want the silliness from Lomelo, and Lomelo probably won't have quite as long of a leash in his second location as he did in the place where he was drafted, Charlotte. Kaminga has generally been his best when his teams are at their worst, which is kind of how he got to Minnesota in the first place, but there are expectations for the Timberwolves having gone to two conference finals and then taking a step back last season.

49:24 It's all tied into as well. I think these deals for LaMelo and Kaminga are both there to help please Anthony Edwards, who not that he's in danger of leaving at any time, but the clock is always ticking with these superstars who haven't had the utmost success in in their location. So I think the Timberwolves bring in LaMelo because Ant wants him. Ant helps recruit Jonathan Kaminga to be the starting power forward. He's never been a starting power forward for anybody. And these are two guys, massive pieces now for Minnesota that need to play well because they're not a super deep team. They also don't have a ton of assets down the line to improve their team.

50:02 So they need.

50:02 The best versions of LaMelo Ball and Jonathan Kaminga, two guys who at best are like dice rolls.

50:09 And this is his Lomelo fan.

50:10 I love Lomelo. I'm always rolling his dice. But sometimes they're coming up balls. I don't know.

50:17 I was cooking for a while. I didn't have it at the end.

50:20 I thought you were going to go snake. Yeah, I did too, but is that good or bad?

50:25 I don't know, man. Two testicles, so it's kind of balls.

50:28 Yeah, that's good.

50:30 The Kaminga part is really interesting too because they do lack the depth, power forward and center, and you hear this quote from their coach saying, we traded moodiness for giddiness. What is Jonathan Kaminga going to be now as a starter? He's literally given up on by two teams. And now he's thrusting into this role. Could you see more of that over-dribbling, bad shots, bad defense? Or is he playing for his career and will somehow turn it around? But there's a lot on him without Nas Reed and without Julius Randle, the moody guy that Chris Finch was pointing at.

51:05 There's pressure, man. And so defensively, I guess there's pressure on Jaden McDaniels and Rudy Gobert, but they'll always come through. But Jaden McDaniels could be playing a ton, too. maybe Kameka won't be maybe Kameka will be off the bench at some point who knows.

51:18 We already talked about the Wolves being a must watch league pass team probably at the top of a lot of people's rankings when they're on LP but I'm so excited to see them just in this first week in these marquee matchups I think they play Wednesday night against the Miami Heat to start their season like wow we got Giannis and the Heat and then this new local Wolves team super super excited to see that I think that's an early start too yeah because it's in Miami so that'll be great that's after Tuesday opening day slash night My question, I'm going to echo a question I saw Ziller ask about the Dallas Mavericks. Can Kyrie unlock another level here for Cooper Flagg? Because the Mavericks had real offensive limitations last year at the point guard position

51:58 without Kyrie. I mean, the D'Angelo Russell experience was not great. Not that fun for Mavs fans. And then there was a lot of Ryan Nembhard, some Brandon Williams. Guys I really like, but you're asking probably way too much for them at this part of their career. So What is Kyrie coming back? Even if Kyrie's at 75-80%, that should be a massive improvement for the Dallas Mavericks offense. Their flow, their structure, and again, what does that do for Cooper Flagg, who had some big, big games and big moments and stretches last year? I'm excited to see, and I know people are a little torn on the Dallas Mavericks this year when it Are they a playing team or fighting for the playoffs or not? Are they still down at

52:41 the bottom? Like, I got some faith here. Kyrie, look, I hope he just can stay healthy and he's there. Man, he just is such a floor raiser, man, for other guys, I think. And especially, especially this Cooper second year. I'm excited to see it. So just a question I have.

52:56 Yeah, they're going to be, they would be one of the highest ranking NBA jam duos. right now. They'd be perfect together. Is this literally true? I'm looking at the Mavericks depth chart right now. Zach research a starting shooting guard.

53:09 Huh?

53:13 What?

53:13 I guess it's max Christie, right?

53:16 I mean, they have him listed as the backup.

53:18 I thought he would be the guy, but I mean, it was a bit of a curious move, I guess for the Mavericks to go and get research a, when they've got so many wings on this team.

53:27 He's not even a shooting guard. I know we don't know what position anybody plays anymore. He doesn't shoot. He's not that kind of guy.

53:33 Unless he's added that to his game. Surprised me.

53:35 Yeah, but there's too many wings. Yeah, that doesn't make sense, though.

53:40 Speaking of shooting, we always do this question. It's a favorite, and I've split it into two questions here. We'll start with first player to score 50 points in a game. Keyword first, okay? Then we'll do some wild card fun. Who do you have scoring 50 first? Does it happen on opening day?

53:57 It's close. Nikola Jokic is going to score 50 on October 27th.

54:01 Okay.

54:02 Who are they playing?

54:03 Excuse me. My bad, my bad. He's going to do it on October 24th.

54:06 Oh, even earlier.

54:07 Yeah, even early Saturday.

54:09 Okay.

54:09 Yeah, yeah, yeah. They're home to New Orleans. Okay. And New Orleans is not the best defense. No one's going to stop this guy. You know, I think he's going to bounce back after last year's playoffs. He did it twice last year.

54:19 Did he score 50 twice? Yeah. Okay, so you're calling Jokic early.

54:23 If he doesn't get it on October 24th, this is where my 27 came in. Friday, November 27th, because I wanted him to do it against Utah early, but then I saw the first time they play is 27th in Utah, Friday, November 27th in Utah. So he'll do it then.

54:38 Hold on, hold on. How can Saturday be the 24th and Friday be the 27th?

54:41 Months. Huh? Friday, November 27th is the second one.

54:46 Gotcha, gotcha.

54:46 Yeah, they change.

54:47 Okay, so you're calling Jokic.

54:49 Yeah, yeah, one of these times. Okay.

54:51 What do you got?

54:51 Well, if Jokic does it on October 24th, you're going to have me scooped because my choice is Giannis Antetokounmpo on November 8th against the Sacramento Kings.

55:00 Oh, okay.

55:01 Hasn't scored 50 or more in a game since November of 2024.

55:03 He's due. Probably. He's doing.

55:06 He says he loves the way the court's spread out for the Miami Heat. He loves the speed with which they're playing.

55:11 Oh, God. That Heat culture, man. He loves it, man. He's so in. He loves it.

55:16 All right.

55:16 Those are great picks. Yo, Kitchen. Giannis. I didn't get as deep into the weeds as you guys picking the opponents or the calendar date, but I like it. But give me Jason Tatum. I'll take Tatum as the first guy to score 50. His season high last year? What do you think it was?

55:32 I don't know.

55:33 32.

55:34 32.

55:35 That's exactly right. In a road win versus Charlotte. He hit seven three-pointers that game. This is the good thing about Tatum. He can have those games where he hits a ton of threes. Obviously, he can get to the line. He can obviously just score with the best of them. I've said this before. I think the comeback last year helps his case this year to come out looking much better from the injury that he suffered months ago at this point. I think Tatum's got a quick 50-burger in him because he'll sort of want to remind everybody Yeah, especially with Jalen Brown gone. I'm the guy. I can do this. He's got 50-point games under his belt. We know he can do it, so I'll say early. I don't think it'll happen in the matinee game tomorrow. Too early.

56:17 It's too early. Yeah, and the Pistons are good defensively. Asar assumes going to be on them, so I don't think it'll happen then, but early in the week, I guess. First week, maybe.

56:25 They have Bulls, Nets, Bulls. Nets, Bulls, October 26th, 27th, and 30th. Those are three good opportunities.

56:32 It's a great time to score 50. All right, then wildcard player to score 50. So we've seen guys like Terrence Ross, Malachi Flynn.

56:40 Sorry, last year the first 25-point game was December 3rd.

56:43 50-point game?

56:46 I'm sorry if I didn't say that correctly. Yeah, that's late, it feels like.

56:49 Yeah, it does feel late.

56:50 Jamal Murray on December 3rd.

56:53 Wow. So we're saying much earlier this year.

56:56 Yeah, yeah.

56:56 Okay, so wildcard player, again, Ross, Malachi Flynn, Corey Brewer. You know, we're looking... I mean, you don't have to go that crazy because he's good luck sort of predicting those guys doing it, but a guy that's not an all-star yet or something like that. Who you got as a wild card? Okay, go ahead.

57:10 Mine's sort of in between.

57:12 All right.

57:12 Former all-star, but he hasn't done this for a long time. Darius Garland.

57:15 Ooh, I thought you were going to say Damian Lillard.

57:17 Yeah, okay. He can drop a 50.

57:20 Oh, Darius Garland.

57:21 But he's done it. The last time he did it was 2022, four years ago.

57:26 He's scored 50 in a game?

57:27 Yeah, he's only done it once in his career. So he can do it again. Clippers is going to get so much opportunity if he wants. And he can. I mean, he's only done 50 once, but I wonder how many times he's done four. He's done it plenty of times. So the guy can do it, and the ball's going to be in his hand. So it's up to him, really.

57:44 You want to score this night, sir? You can do it. Yeah, it's a weird thing to call him sir. Why am I calling Darius Garland? Yeah, that works.

57:51 That works. Sounds actually okay.

57:53 Yeah, that way, yeah.

57:54 All right, I like that wild card pick. Obviously capable. Who are you going to? I got to clarify real quick.

57:58 Aaron Gordon scored 50 points for the Denver Nuggets on October 23rd last year.

58:04 Remember, he had 10 threes.

58:05 Was it?

58:06 Yeah.

58:06 He did hit 10 threes. I remember that.

58:07 Jamal Murray wasn't even the first Denver Nugget to score 50 last year.

58:11 How did you get that?

58:12 He wasn't even the second Denver Nugget to score 50 last year.

58:14 You better not be trusting Chad there.

58:16 I like stat muse, but sometimes it messes with me. Oh, no.

58:18 Stat muse fucking sucks.

58:19 It messes with our dates. Sorry, you're a muse.

58:21 I'm a head. Stat muse is wrong all the time.

58:24 Yes. But I literally... Aaron Gordon, I saw the 50 spot from him. I thought it was in the calendar year of 2026.

58:32 He had 50 the same night that Shea Gildress Alexander had 55.

58:35 So it was early.

58:39 Come on, man.

58:42 Sometimes it's just difficult to read the stats on StatMuse.

58:45 Oh, is it you or StatMuse? Yeah. Okay, okay.

58:47 I got to confirm this. I just can't be wrong.

58:50 Yeah, he did it the frigging first game.

58:51 Yeah. It was an overtime game. That helped. It was. It was OT. It was a 17 for 21 game.

58:57 That counts. It counts.

58:59 Oh, yeah. Against the Rocks.

59:01 All right. So who's your pick here? Am I Rando? Yeah, Rando.

59:04 Yaxel Lendeborg.

59:05 Damn. No, that's Rando.

59:06 Yeah.

59:07 Who are the last three rookies to score 50 or more in a game?

59:10 That's a good question. When be you doing it in a rookie year?

59:13 No. Last three rookies. Damn.

59:17 Do we got to go super, super far back? I mean, Brandon Jennings.

59:20 Brandon Jennings is the second most recent 2009. The one happened last year.

59:26 Oh, okay.

59:27 Cooper's like, yeah. And prior, so Cooper last year, Brandon Jennings in 2009, and this fella.

59:34 I mean, Blake? Many moons ago. Many moons ago.

59:39 Many, many moons.

59:40 Was it Wilt?

59:41 This guy, no.

59:42 He did.

59:42 He did score 50. Michael Jordan? No. Not many moons?

59:46 No. Fewer moons. Fewer moons. This guy is a Hall of Famer. This guy did have a classic moment against Michael Jordan.

59:52 Hmm.

59:54 In his rookie season? In his rookie season, yeah.

59:56 Allen Iverson.

59:57 That's right.

59:58 In 1997.

59:59 Scored 50.

1:00:01 Iverson, Brandon Jennings, and Cooper Flagg.

1:00:03 Those are the three most recent rookies. And you're calling Yaxel, baby. Yeah, but Yaxel's like 24 years old. It's not the same as Iverson, Brandon Jennings, and Cooper Flagg, who Iverson was the oldest of those, and he played two years in college. So Yaxel played like 80 years in college, coming off a championship. The Warriors are going to need him to score.

1:00:22 He looks like At the very least, a good transition score and a streaky three-point shooter. So get hot from three. Aaron Gordon style, hit 10 of them. Get some buckets in transition.

1:00:32 It adds up. That's wild card.

1:00:35 I was thinking him, but they're asking him to shoot, which isn't really in his skin. It's just not him. But that's why I couldn't go with it. But you're right. There's going to be games where Steph doesn't even play. So he's going to be able to shoot a ton.

1:00:52 Okay, that's a crazy pick. I like it. My wild card player to score 50, I'm going to go Keontae George. He has a lot of 30-point games under his belt. I think he's got like 16 or 17 of those in his career. He had 13 last year. Now it's a different jazz team. I get all that. He was like, they were like, go ahead, go nuts, man. We're just playing pure offense here. Shoot as much as you want.

1:01:14 But he scored 43 in late January last year. So I think he can do this. I think he has games where he hits six, seven, something like that, three. So Put me down for a Keontae George.

1:01:24 Yeah.

1:01:24 Just a big explosion. He'll get some sort of cheap free throws at the end, maybe bonus free throws to help him push him over the 50 mark in an overtime win.

1:01:33 They're going to have a lot of high-scoring games.

1:01:36 Yeah.

1:01:36 Both for them and against them. Exactly.

1:01:39 Oh, yeah. I mean, you're helped out if you get an overtime, double overtime game. Obviously, just more minutes, more shots. So maybe that comes for Keontae George.

1:01:46 All right.

1:01:47 Nice picks there. All right. Which NBA coach is on the hottest seat? I have so many picks here.

1:01:54 I'll go with Kenny Atkinson because this is their team. It's sort of like we're talking about with the Orlando Magic and Jamal Mosley being shipped out as that last chance to keep that Magic core together. Here comes a new coach in Sean Sweeney. Same is going to go for Kenny Atkinson. No more of this, hey, we're going to start DeAndre Hunter type of thing or Dean Wade.

1:02:18 We're not going to call a timeout while Dean Wade is guarding Jalen Brunson on the other side in game one of the Western Conference finals, or I'm going to tell people that analytically we beat the New York Knicks in four or five games. I mean, I just throw all those questions.

1:02:31 He's never going to hear the end of that. He never will.

1:02:32 No, he never will. He never should. I thought he was going to be axed more so because of the Dean Wade move, but the DeAndre Hunter move was also a mistake. So I think all of these mistakes, number one, they all add up. But number two, you make a little tiny one here. Yeah, you're probably going to get axed.

1:02:48 But they really believe in him. He's doing push-ups in training camp.

1:02:51 Did you see what he also did?

1:02:52 No.

1:02:52 He hit a half-court shot. That was pretty funny. Yeah, all the guys couldn't do it. I think it's like the end practice type of thing. They're all lining up. Everybody's getting close. Kenny's like, give me the ball. It was baller.

1:03:04 He walked off like he makes it every single time he shoots.

1:03:06 Yeah, he did.

1:03:07 He did.

1:03:07 He's like, I'm shooting 80% from half-court.

1:03:09 Where were they? They were like in an ornate ballroom or something like that.

1:03:12 Yeah, that looked cool.

1:03:13 It did look pretty cool.

1:03:13 Yeah.

1:03:14 Oh. I should play a game there.

1:03:15 Like cool as in you want to play basketball there or you want to just hang out there.

1:03:19 Well, it's just like beautiful.

1:03:21 Yeah. It's like if they had a scrimmage at the Fox Theater or something like that.

1:03:25 Sort of.

1:03:25 It's unusual. Yeah.

1:03:27 Yeah. Let's see what Kenny can do. Okay.

1:03:29 Kenny Atkinson. It's only his third year here with the Cavs. Is it? I think.

1:03:33 Yeah.

1:03:34 Yeah. He hasn't been around as long.

1:03:35 Coach of the year, conference finals, you're gone, buddy. I had him high on my list as well because they are so all in that there's just not other moves they have outside of Cannon the coach.

1:03:47 Who else is on the hot seat, though? Well, Mike Inori is on the hot seat. Literally, he's on the hot seat.

1:03:52 Will he make it through the year, or will he get another year?

1:03:55 Oh, but maybe Tom Dundon says, ah, he's got guaranteed money for the rest of the year. We'll just keep him around so I don't have to pay another guy until the end of the year.

1:04:03 That's a good point.

1:04:03 That's true. Fired in the offseason, maybe, but yeah, not during the season.

1:04:07 That's a great point. But my choice is Nick Nurse, because Skeets, you ran through all of the... interactions LeBron James has had with his coaches after switching teams to his newest super team and as far as I can remember basically only Eric Spolstra survived long term right I mean it took a while for David Blatt to be replaced uh Frank Vogel did win a championship before they eventually said goodbye to him but it's a high pressure situation and Nick Nurse has been in Philadelphia for a little bit already. It seems unlikely that they would want to throw that variable in a coaching change into a team that's already experiencing a lot of change. But if things go poorly, fingers are going to start getting pointed.

1:04:53 And he seems most likely to take the fall for anybody else.

1:04:57 No doubt.

1:04:58 I have three other names. Ime Yudoka with the Rockets, sort of almost along the lines of the Cavaliers to some extent. He's 0-2 in playoff series since he's arrived. They have some really high expectations now, especially with Van Vliet and Adams back. Look, there's some pressure here now. I don't think it probably happens during the season. He's a little ornery, too. But if they get to the postseason and come up short again, I could see maybe Stone in the front office moving off of him. Doug Christie with the Kings will play. He will probably be fired at some point. You think he's in the doghouse? Uh, yeah, he loves it. Call her on baby. Um, and then Brian Keefe with the wizards who first off, a lot

1:05:38 of people forget is the wizards head coach. Like somebody needs to do this. Somebody take this, uh, just go out on the street, do a streeter, have a photo of Brian Keefe.

1:05:48 Okay.

1:05:49 And just show people NBA fans. So you're at an NBA game, obviously maybe not in Washington, anywhere else. Hey, who is this? I would love to know the percentage of people that could say, oh, that's Brian Keefe, Wizards head coach. I think it's like, you did 100 people. I'd be shocked if five people get it. I'm saying like sports fans.

1:06:07 Yeah.

1:06:08 I don't think it'd be very high. Anyway, there's expectations now. AD now, whether he plays, how much he plays. Of course, Trey Young, DeBansa. Like, okay, come on. Now we're ready to be good. Now we're trying to win games. We're just going to find out if he's even a good coach. We don't even know because by no fault of his own, I mean, they've just been garbage and sort of trying to lose for this last couple of years. So those are my three, Yudoka, Christie, and Keefe.

1:06:32 Chief Keefe.

1:06:33 Chief Keefe, yeah. I'll throw in David Adelman in the mix.

1:06:36 Okay.

1:06:37 With the Nuggets. A couple more questions here. Which key player will be traded first? We'll start with you here, Trey.

1:06:46 Look, obviously it's Kyrie Irving. He's the guy who is most likely to me to be traded.

1:06:51 He's 34.

1:06:51 Cooper Flagg is 20 years old. there's a new front office, there's a new coaching staff. Kyrie was part of the Luka Doncic, Nico Harrison era, and that is long gone at this point. So for me, it just doesn't seem to be a marriage that will continue for the entirety of the season, unless the Mavericks come out and exceed expectations and are looking like a top six team in the Western Conference. It would just make sense for them to move off Kyrie to a team like the Pistons or the Raptors who wants to beef up their backcourt, get some picks forward so that you can properly formulate things around Cooper. But another guy I'll throw in the mix, you got to trade Zion Williamson this year.

1:07:32 Just do it, boy.

1:07:32 He played 62 games last year. Nobody would trade for him because surely they would have done it if that was the case. But if he comes out, demonstrates he can stay healthy for another half season, maybe then you're like, wow, two seasons in a row where this guy's able to stay on the court and produce, even if it's not necessarily at the all star level. Like he used to be the Pelicans need to pick a direction, whether they're pushing for the play in, which seems kind of pointless at this point in their tenure, or whether they're trying to truly rebuild around Queens or queen and fears, which I think they should do. And if that's the case, Zion and queen doesn't make sense together.

1:08:11 Ergo move off Zion. He says he's working on his three point shot too. He's going to get up more three point shots this year. He said, good. Do you know how many he took last year? Eight, half that.

1:08:23 He went one for four from three last year. Easy way to improve though.

1:08:28 I know, I agree. Get the 10 attempts, you're killing it, buddy.

1:08:30 It's crazy. All I can think about is the game that he came back from a long injury in January.

1:08:37 And hit four. 2020.

1:08:38 Was he four of four or something? Or four of five?

1:08:41 Something like that. That was a crazy game. I think he's made since. Well, he made since. He's made like, yeah, 17 maybe or something like that. He's made 33 total, hit four in his first game.

1:08:50 Yeah.

1:08:50 The tradability of him increases every year as his contract gets shorter and shorter in terms of how much you have to pay him. And it's just this year and next year. So there's... that, but there is the matching up of salaries, and is it a team that just thinks they're one piece away, one guy who can stay on the floor away? If you're trading for him, you're trading because you've got a number one that's awesome, and Zion is falling into the prior or proper order. right?

1:09:19 That's what it feels like with Zion, but TBD, man.

1:09:22 What other names do you have? Key players that could be traded here?

1:09:25 This ain't all that key, but Daniel Gafford is sticking with Dallas as a guy who should be moved. Now, it's an interesting one because he's getting paid for a few more years. That's a thing with him. This year, plus two more. And so, you kind of have to be a team that thinks they're going to win. And so, that's kind of hard to find throughout the NBA right now to just need that guy because what is Dallas getting back for him? Maybe it's a team like Atlanta.

1:09:54 I know that's kind of a little bit of a stretch. Does Ansi Saleh have such a great start to this season that you think we need Daniel Gafford in there? I don't know if he's even going to start with Onyeka Kongwu, but there'll be a perfect balance, like 24 minutes for him and 24 minutes. And maybe it makes sense if Dallas gets an expiring, because the Hawks have a Doreen Finney-Smith, a Jock Landale, a Lou Dort. Um, there's another, well, CJ McCollum, I don't think that doesn't fit in Dallas. Uh, but that could make sense. Gaffer's going to go somewhere at some point.

1:10:27 Uh, I got some other big names. Demantis Sabonis with the Kings. I mean, they would trade them if they got any sort of package that's enticing enough, I believe. Uh, Darren Fox already brought up that one. Is it a possibility? Eh, probably not, but. He's going to always be in trade rumors, or at least we'll see how the three-headed guard starting lineup works. I've beaten this drum to death, the Paolo Bancaro, Franz Wagner of it all. I think there is a lot of potential that if it does go poorly and it's a rough season with a new coach, that they maybe try and trade one of them. And then, like Kyrie, Anthony Davis with the Wizards, I think, has to be on this list. I'm convinced he comes out and balls

1:11:05 out for a little bit here, and then maybe they start and cash in on that. And the team's like, oh, that guy could get us over the top. Because you can't imagine he's for their long-term plans here.

1:11:15 Yep. I like the Norm Powell.

1:11:18 We'll be trading.

1:11:19 GG Ben Othron. Yeah, they signed him.

1:11:21 To trade him. John Morant.

1:11:22 Hero.

1:11:23 MPJ. Hero, yeah. Zach Levine. Jalen Suggs. These guys are trade bait. All right, final question. Who wins the 2027 NBA Finals? Give me the two teams. Who you got?

1:11:34 Or you need both.

1:11:35 I need both. Tess, I'm going to need both.

1:11:38 All right. Yeah, I didn't even think of the Eastern Conference one. I think the Spurs are going to win it all. It's going to be a fun conference finals again from the Spurs and the Thunder. Spurs get there, they win it.

1:11:48 Okay. Wembe gets his first.

1:11:50 Wembe gets his first. The Eastern Conference team.

1:11:53 Who are they taking on?

1:11:54 They're taking on the Raptors. Why not? Why not?

1:11:56 Literally, why not? It worked last time with Kawhi, why not? But they would win it all if he was there. That's the problem.

1:12:03 Might get hurt. Might get hurt in game four of the NBA Finals. I'll say that. Spurs over Raptors.

1:12:11 Imagine Kawhi Leonard is healthy the entire season. Raptors are in the finals.

1:12:15 2-2.

1:12:16 Finally comes down with a season-ending injury in game five.

1:12:19 Yeah. I mean, it's Halliburton-esque, sort of. But yeah.

1:12:24 All right. So Spurs over Raptors, says Tass. Where are you going?

1:12:27 I like the Thunder to win the championship this year. They would argue they would have been able to take down the Spurs last year if they had Jalen Williams or A.J. Mitchell. They had neither of them. And, you know, they also didn't really have Chet Holmgren. This is a guy that could have definitely come up for player with something to prove early, even though he had a great season, just did not look great against his chief rival and the guy that he's going to have to beat every single year in Victor Wimbledon. I can't wait to see those guys throwing down. So I'll take the thunder over the Sixers in the Eastern Conference. If you're relying on Kawhi Leonard, I'm relying on Joel Embiid.

1:13:02 Why not?

1:13:03 What's the worst thing that could happen?

1:13:04 Oh, they don't play.

1:13:05 They don't play in the playoffs. You're right. That is the worst that could happen, but, uh, it's October. They're both healthy right now.

1:13:13 Very difficult to do.

1:13:14 All right.

1:13:14 I'll split the difference here. Give me a, I guess this would be a full circle moment in a weird way because you just did the, um, what 20 year look back at the 06, 07 season. And how did that end? It ended with the Spurs beating a young LeBron in the finals. So now I have the Spurs beating an old LeBron in the finals. Give me Spurs over LeBron Sixers. Full circle here, baby. Maybe not a sweep this time, but yeah, this is the dumbest question I ask. It's so tough, man.

1:13:42 Who knows?

1:13:43 So many injuries can play. But if you're not taking somebody that's not the Spurs or Thunder, okay, let's hear your reason in the stream team. The East, though. I mean, go nuts, man. You can take... No Knicks picks, huh?

1:13:53 No.

1:13:54 I think it was the perfect storm. So no. You're right. Disease of Morris set in.

1:13:59 It's over 53 years of drought for the.

1:14:00 New York Knicks. Probably with James Dolan. Yeah, but you could talk yourself. Of course, the Knicks, the Raptors, sure. Maybe the Cavs get over the hump. LeBron and the Sixers, Giannis and the Heat.

1:14:13 Celtics.

1:14:14 Celtics are very, very good. The Pacers have gone to a couple conference finals when Halliburton's been healthy. Who am I forgetting? I've listed a lot there. That's probably, well, the Pistons won 60 games last year.

1:14:27 They did.

1:14:27 Okay.

1:14:28 Yeah.

1:14:28 And then had to fight to get out of the first round. Lightning in the bottle for the Hawks or the Magic? Probably unlikely. Okay, we've listed a lot. Let's hear your 2027 NBA Finals winner.

1:14:43 That's it.

1:14:43 Those are the burning questions. It's going to be a great season. I'm excited. Very excited. Well, hey, look, it starts tomorrow. It starts tomorrow. In the afternoon. At 3 or 3.30, whatever time they're tipping this game. It's the weirdest thing.

1:14:57 We're 28 hours from the debut of the NBA season.

1:15:00 Yeah, man.

1:15:00 Celtics Pistons get things started in the afternoon. And then we've got our two big marquee games at night. It's LeBron and the Sixers taking on Jalen Brunson and the Knicks on ring night there in Madison Square Garden. And then the Thunder Spurs.

1:15:16 Oh, boy.

1:15:17 Here you go, Chet. It's all lies on this game, Chet. All the other ones won't matter. It's just against the Spurs. How do you do versus Wemby? So, yeah, that's the opening day, and then we're back the following day to talk about it. Can't wait.

1:15:31 Can't wait.

1:15:32 I just realized. Are we doing a podcast tomorrow?

1:15:36 Yeah, that's what I was.

1:15:37 I didn't even think about that question.

1:15:39 That's what I was going to focus my quote on. So we can talk about.

1:15:42 It after the Clipper roast. Burning questions tomorrow?

1:15:46 No, we'll probably.

1:15:47 Well, maybe. Hey, you know. You never know. You got to subscribe. You have no idea if we're doing a show tomorrow. The only way to find out is if you subscribe to the show on YouTube, on Apple, on Spotify, wherever you download and listen to the show. Until then, Clipper Bros. You heard it here first. Have a great time.

1:16:00 Turn up. Love you guys. Awesome.

1:16:02 Yeah, thanks for joining us. And remember, we don't know what we're doing for our show tomorrow. But a lot of different things happen in this studio. So maybe we try something new. And I just was reminded of that because I just found something on my... Don't even try and close up on me here.

1:16:17 Right.

1:16:17 Because it's too small. jd but like a crumb like sesame seeds stuck together uh and there's you know other people on on the mics jd's kids were doing a dnd was that a a live stream or just hanging out playing together.

1:16:32 Uh just just hanging out just a session yeah just just exploring the space.

1:16:37 Yeah so so that's what we might do yeah dnd and playing with friends online or just uh friends jack was here and.

1:16:45 A I saw you playing with this crumb that you've now brought back. I saw you playing with it earlier in the show. Like I looked over and I saw you like keeping it. I'm like, what is he doing? I thought it was like a earring or something.

1:16:59 Because I knew the boys were watching or playing D & D, but they're eating pizza. Yeah. And I didn't, this is sesame seed based, but maybe it was a... Well, there were tons of snacks. Right.

1:17:10 It's from a pretzel of some sort.

1:17:12 But it stuck so perfectly to the microphone.

1:17:15 Oh, it was on the mic.

1:17:15 That was phenomenal.

1:17:16 You could have like... linked it up.

1:17:18 Anyways to bring that up because maybe we do something different tomorrow we're not playing dnd.

1:17:23 It's very possible i'm not we can just talk about the nathan fielder doc tomorrow sure you can go see it today because i'm going to see it today these guys have seen it so yeah maybe we'll just do 30 minutes on that wma finals tonight game two.

1:17:36 Game two baby yeah is it at night tonight yeah it's yeah it's at night uh got a good game plan for the atlanta dream Going to score in the fourth quarter.

1:17:42 That's a good idea. Make a shot. That's a good idea. That was a low-scoring affair. That was disgusting.

1:17:49 I mean, that was just driving their faces into the lane and hoping for a foul call.

1:17:54 It was not the prettiest game I've ever watched WNBA action. But we'll see if they can bounce back and tie it up in Valhalla there. All right, well, maybe you'll see us tomorrow. If not, you'll see us the following day. Until then, embrace the day, people.