The Drop | Biggest Surprises, Concerning Starts & NBA Cup Predictions

0:00 Before we bless you with another classic, a quick word from Kelshi. With Kelshi, it's pretty simple. You're trading yes or no on events like sports, movie premieres, you name it. And the price moves based on where the money goes, so it's reflecting public opinion in real time. And new users who use the promo code NODUNKS will receive an extra $ 55 when they trade $ 25. Link is in the show notes. Trade responsibly. JD, hit the horns!

0:27 Ah!

0:32 Good morning, sweet world, and welcome to the No Dunks NBA podcast. It's Friday, October 30th, 2026. This is The Drop.

0:41 I'm J.E.

0:41 Skeets here in the Classic Factory, and alongside me, as always, Tass Millis.

0:44 Podcast listeners, we got a lot to get to. This is for you.

0:47 Next to him, nice little surprise here, it's Chris Webber. Ayo!

0:53 Ayo!

0:54 And over yonder, making the magic happen, super producer J.D.

0:57 Hello.

0:58 There he is. Here we are. Chris Webby? Chris Webber? What's better?

1:03 Well, you know, the Jersey says Weber, so I went with Weber, but we are Webby award winners. I would love to just blast some webs on it and pull it on over and put it at the top of a building or something like that.

1:17 Absolutely. Yes. For the podcast listener, Trey Kirby rocking the Spider-Man outfit with the Chris Webber Warriors jersey. Looking good. How's visibility? 70% visibility right now.

1:30 Not too bad. Better than the meat man costume. I can see better with these eyes.

1:36 They're like plastic.

1:37 They're actually....

1:39 Oh, very cool.

1:39 Yeah, but it does hurt when you punch me, apparently. It's attached to my face. All right.

1:43 Hello, and I guess happy Halloween in advance to everybody joining us live on YouTube. Hit the like button, subscribe, podcast listeners, five-star ratings and reviews. Come on over. Check out Trey Kirby's Halloween costume here. Final few days to go grab the No Dunks reversible jersey at nodunks.com. These disappear at the end of the month. So you've got today and tomorrow. to go to nodunks.com and grab one of our reversible jerseys. They come in red, they come in green. I'm rocking the red today. JD, you saw it for the first time. You're like, ooh. Yeah, it's very nice. Yeah, it is very nice. I'm telling you, it's good quality.

2:18 I'm hitting the beach in a couple of weeks, so I might need one.

2:22 You're going to go red, green, or white as the reversible.

2:26 I mean, every day, different color. I'll get one of each.

2:30 Wow, people are going to think you packed so many. Incredible. We had another wedgie last night. Tess Mellis was in attendance down at the Fortress for wedgie number five, and it was Aaron Wiggins sticking a classic three-point wedgie from the wing test. Did you scream out wedgie?

2:48 I looked around, seeing if anyone noticed what they had to say. It was a little trippy, though, seeing the actual camera angle because I saw from the opposite angle. I don't like seeing that. I don't like the flip. I don't like a reverse angle.

3:02 You were on the other side.

3:03 Yeah, I had a great view. I was right behind Aaron Wiggins' shot.

3:08 That was on your end of the net?

3:10 No, no, no, no. I was on the opposite end. It was perfect. I was right behind it. I saw it into the wedge. It was wonderful. Excellent, excellent.

3:19 All right, we got lots, like you said, Tass. So let's get into it. The NBA season is... 10 days old. So I got some big questions for you guys. And the first one, start with you, Tass. What has surprised you most so far?

3:31 I think the Rockets offense and how good it is. It's the best offense in the league. I know we all said coming in, oh, here comes Fred Van Vliet to write things. They need a point guard. And that is totally true. But to see how it has spread out amongst his teammates is surprising. Everybody is eating on that team. Kevin Durant is getting to the free throw line a ton, the most in years. So there's just some surprises in there. They're just throwing off defenses. We didn't know how much he would weaponize each guy, but everybody's eating. Shangoon, Amin Thompson, KD, Tari Eason, Fred, Jabari Smith, Reid, all in double digits scoring the ball. And as I said about Kevin Durant getting to the free throw line

4:12 a lot, the most in years, technically years. the most since he was a child, since he was 25, like 13 years ago, technically. And the free throw rate is amazing for him. The free throw rate is basically, you know, free throws versus his shot attempts. And he's shooting so much less right now because everybody, everybody gets to touch it, Skeets.

4:33 And we know Fred was going to do that, but just to see the way all these guys are really distributing and Kevin Durant doesn't have to be that, number one guy anymore.

4:42 Yeah, they've taken the ball out of his hands a little bit, and I think this was a team in the Rockets that had sort of floundered near the bottom of the standings when it came to half-court offensive efficiency, and I think they're, like you said, they're third or fourth in half-court offense, but obviously elite when you were adding in sort of the transition game.

4:58 Yeah, they're first.

4:59 It's a great start, perfect start for the Houston Rockets, Spidey.

5:03 Yeah, and the KD part of it is pretty funny, because when you're watching a Rockets game, sometimes it feels like you don't even Notice that Kevin Durant is out there and then I look at the games like wait a second He led the team in scoring at 25 per game very efficiently something like that he just feels like he's gonna keep taking up the score book and then everybody else is has figured out how to improve around them. I'm really impressed by the Rockets. They were high on my list of surprises as well, just to see how they've taken a step forward into the contender status.

5:30 I think they had like a 3% chance coming into the season this morning, more like an 8% chance. According to the trends, I would probably have them a little higher than 8% right now. The Spurs are off to a slow start. Knicks are off to a slow start. The Thunder have taken a bunch of injuries to begin the season here. Detroit has Jalen Duren out. So the Rockets, to me, are the team that has improved their standing the most league-wide so far.

5:55 Right, and the argument against them being a championship contender would be, well, they haven't had a ton of great wins. They beat the Spurs in the last second. And other than that, they beat the Mavs, they beat the Hawks twice, and they beat the Milwaukee Bucks. But I think it is clear how well they are distributed offensively, and that's a weapon. You could see, as you said, Kevin Durant, isn't the guy that they just go to. And I understand why you watch the game and you don't see him because he's shooting only 12 and a half times a game. Like that's not one of the best scores ever.

6:26 That is such a huge deduction from anything that he's done in his career. So it's a surprise right now.

6:33 What about you Webby?

6:37 The Rockets are great, but I think the biggest surprise of the season so far is the Memphis Grizzlies five and oh, after the win last night, their fourth and offense and sixth and defense. And that's what tied Jerome falling off a little bit in the past couple of games. You know, he's not going to put up 45 per night.

6:50 I guess I was wrong about that one. But they're a team that's super deep. We knew that was going to be the case coming in. They've gotten enough good performances from basically 11 guys. They play so many of them. Everybody's empowered to play their game. It feels like they know their roles. These vets that they brought in during the offseason. in Quentin Post, Isaiah Stewart. He was massive last night. I think Jeremy Grant is doing enough. It doesn't matter that his contract is what it is for this team, the way it did for the Trailblazers. I just think that they have been able to show that they've got some youth, they've got some future potential, but they've also improved their current standing right now as well. Eventually,

7:30 Edie's going to get into a bit of a rhythm now that he's able to stay on the court a little bit more, and he'll be putting up some big numbers. Cedric Howard has looked pretty good Oh, he can't miss from three. He can't miss.

7:38 Oh my God.

7:39 He can't miss. That's the thing with the Grizzlies. Like I flashback to last year, the Bulls were six and one after seven games, you know, hot starts can turn into cold finishes. Certainly the Grizzlies aren't going to shoot 45% from three the entire season. Cedric Howard's not going to shoot 75% from three the entire season. How do they win games once they start bricking away? That will be the question for Memphis. They'll hit a cold streak eventually, but they've got enough guys that maybe they'll be able to pull through it. Yeah.

8:04 And Cameron Boozer last night, His first triple-double in his very young NBA career. 18 points, 12 boards, 12 assists in the Grizzlies' win over the Blazers. He's the second youngest player in NBA history to produce a triple-double. Trails only Josh Giddey by like, it was like 20 days, right? Both 19-year-olds when they did it. And we had high expectations for Boozer coming into the season.

8:27 Hell.

8:28 We were debating, like, could he make an all-star team here early? Early as a rook. Not many guys do that. And I don't know if he'll get there, but, like, he's even exceeded expectations. He's not even shooting the ball that well-tasked, but he's, like, the linchpin of this offense that runs deep, like Trey said. I mean, they had eight guys in double figures last night. They have 11 guys playing 15 minutes per game. You've brought up the hockey shift before. He's so low. He plays a lot of guys, and everybody's contributing.

8:53 Yeah, Ken Boozer, maybe he won't average 20 per game, but he makes everybody better because he is just so solid around him. So everybody else performs at their level or a little bit better just because they are so solid. As you said, 15 minutes per game for 11 guys. You get the most out of their guys. Like Zach Eady, he's not playing a lot, but they're keeping him healthy by throwing out Isaiah Stewart. And then if they want to switch up the offense, here comes Quentin Post, a different type of offensive player. So everybody's just playing solid.

9:24 Like every guy that we mentioned, Cedric Coward, really, really solid. Why? I do think because of the rocket in Carlos Boozer in the middle. Carlos, man, it's here. It's already here. It's Gambit. Hey, listen, Carlos was a great dad. Look at this guy. Look at his son. His son has come into the league as a kid. He's 19 years old, barely 19 years old, and could easily be the rookie of the year. Could be an all-star if they can hold out. That is the thing, as you brought up, Trey, if they're, if they're emulating the Chicago Bulls of last year, it's that they're going to cool off a little bit.

9:59 You know, they're shooting 40 points. 40% from three as a team, second best in the league. That's got to slow down, I think. But when you're playing that many guys... Yeah, they could just play to their capabilities.

10:10 Yeah, to double down on the Grizzlies being one of the more surprising things here from early in the season, they're 5-0, which ranks as their second best in franchise history, best start. In 14-15, they won their first six games. And that's in play here if you've seen who the Grizzlies are playing this coming weekend and into the week.

10:25 They have some of the easier teams. So they could get this up to 7-0, 8-0, or something like that to start. But the most eye-opening trend to me with them is in these clutch games that they've played a handful of, Despite being super young, I think they're the second youngest team in the league. They won all of them, obviously, and played really well in the clutch. So that's a great, great sign, again, for a very young team. They're one of only two teams under the salary cap. I think it's them and the Nets, I saw Ziller say. And again, when it comes to being the youngest teams in the league, it's the Jazz, who are 1-4, compared to the Grizzlies here are 5-0. So Yeah, will it cool off? Yes, we already saw it with Ty Jerome. Like you said,

11:03 Trey's back to a more normal sort of scoring output. Even that's probably still high. But I like the depth here because so many guys, like Jalen Wells, trusted. Cedric Coward looks amazing.

11:14 Post, I love.

11:15 Stewart, I love.

11:16 I was watching this game last night, Blazers-Grizz. I'm like, this is really entertaining basketball. I like a lot of these guys on both these squads.

11:23 I like a Cam Spencer. When you don't have to play him a ton, he can be good. A Gigi Jackson, same thing. It's great, as you said, money-wise for a small market team not to have to put in a ton of money into this team, and here you go. Throw 11 guys out there and you get wins. Play-in, I guess, is the ceiling for this team. I mean, play-in and hopefully get into the playoffs, but that's what they should be aspiring to do even after a 5-0 start.

11:50 Is there anything beyond that?

11:52 I mean, that'd be a great season. This is a team, like, not many years ago did a complete... tear down and rebuild. So to get right back into that would be.

12:00 This passed off?

12:01 Really, yeah. To finally get it down, you're right, in the jaw move.

12:06 No, so that'd be.

12:06 Yeah. It'd be amazing. If they actually threw the plan or not and made the playoffs, it'd be incredible.

12:12 We'll be going to Memphis. We'll be getting Spidey in the car.

12:15 Wow. I got to wear this?

12:17 Yeah, in April. Okay. You know, it's so fitting for the South to be a Spider-Man because there's spider webs everywhere.

12:24 Like real ones. Real, real big spiders. I'm a Joro spider today. Scary. Invasive species, but what are we going to do?

12:32 They're here.

12:34 The grizzlies are here and so are the spiders.

12:36 That's exactly right, yeah.

12:37 Memphis also has their own pick in this year's draft. They have the Lakers pick, top four protected. And they get, I believe, the best of the Jazz, Cavs, and Wolves pick. So let's maybe just call it the Jazz pick right now.

12:50 Wow.

12:50 That's three picks.

12:51 That last one was a nice cream on the crop there. That could be a Jazz pick. Yeah. Right now the Jazz are so injured, yeah.

13:00 Shout out to the front office. They're doing a good job. They literally saw that things weren't going anywhere with the Ja Morant, Jaron Jackson Jr., Desmond Bain. Too many injuries to Ja when it was just Bain and Jaron Jackson Jr. Not good enough to be competitive in the Western Conference. So they cut ties with guys who were the next version of.

13:18 Grit and grind, right?

13:19 It's like they had their great run with the Conley Gasol Randolph era. We're thinking... the next big three is the next big three. It didn't end up going that way due to a variety of circumstances and instantly they flipped. And it's pretty realistic. I think that they're like seven through 10 in the Western conference.

13:34 Yeah.

13:35 It feels that way. Any other surprises, maybe small ones. I got a few, but go ahead.

13:39 Yeah.

13:39 I'll go with a small one of TJ Shannon, Taryn Shannon jr. In Minnesota could be most improved player. Now that's a bit of a stretch, but at this point, how polished he looks is a bit surprising. Um, We thought that it might happen last year because they let go of Nikhil Alexander Walker here to Atlanta and they needed somebody to just step in. And he just wasn't as solid as he has been so far to start this season. He just knows when to drive, when to fast break it, know when to cut. So he just looks polished. And I think maybe because Anthony Edwards is out and then the numbers will just organically go up when Anthony Edwards is out and then he comes back to the bench, the numbers change. for the voters, might

14:17 just look juicier as the most improved player option. I think that's legitimate.

14:23 Stiff competition, though, with some guys like, well, Ty Jerome would be one right now, obviously, and Brandon Miller, I think, turning into an all-star.

14:30 The good thing about Shannon is he didn't average a lot last year, so it's one of those 6 to 16 type of guys. I don't have the stats in front of me here, but I'm going to keep talking until I have them. 5.6 last year to 14.2 this year. So it could be one of those.

14:44 And that could go up, like you said. Let me piggyback off, well, this is a bad surprising result here through the first 10 days. Rudy Gobert, have you seen what he's doing on Minnesota? It is miserable. He led the league in field goal percentage last year at 68.2%. When you think Rudy, I mean, I think we all think that. 65 plus percent, he's right around the basket, that's all he's doing. This season, Rudy Gobert. is shooting 37% from the field. What?

15:13 He's must be taking a lot of threes.

15:15 He actually has taken two. But still, a lot of these are layups and right around the rim. And that is really weird. You know, I don't know how, remember we had Kaminga and Lamello sort of yelling at him the other night.

15:28 I don't know.

15:28 We don't really know what exactly it was about. Hey, maybe score, man. Come on. Or catch the ball too. If you've seen him a couple of times here, it's like, oh, come on, Rudy. But that's just weird. It's just surprising. I couldn't believe it. I had to double check that one. 37% for Rudy. It'll go up. I'm not panicking that like if you're a Wilson, but that's just, that's perplexing to me.

15:47 That is very low.

15:48 Yeah, because there's been enough games that he's played in too.

15:50 Yeah.

15:50 The only other one I have here is.

15:51 And he's involved less too as you watch the game.

15:54 Well, sometimes I think that's by choice.

15:56 Yeah, I know.

15:56 Because he has these starts where you're like, he's like bumbling the ball out of bounds. He can't score for some reason right at the rim. So then they start going to him less and less.

16:03 Yeah.

16:04 But this is, it's... reduced the last few years but now we're at you know five shots per game he will get old at some point and so maybe it's happening to some degree but anyway anthony edwards needs to be back and everything will be right but seeing 0.370 as a guy's field goal percentage that's like it's a good baseball player you know that's who's oh man a guy hit 370 in today's day and age tony gwinn style baby ted williams yeah they're dropping off right now uh my final surprising here gary trent jr remember him Oh, yeah.

16:37 Him signing a big old deal. Four years, 64 million. Four DNP coaches' decisions. He's played seven minutes.

16:45 For the Bucs.

16:46 Yeah. He's their fourth highest paid player for a crappy Bucs team.

16:50 Yeah.

16:51 There's got to be more investigation on that happening.

16:54 Just a good veteran presence. Worth every penny.

16:56 Fascinating i mean it was a deal that had a lot of people confused including ourselves but executives around the league too like why why is he getting four years 64 million like you said last we heard they were being investigated oh yeah i guess it's still going on i think so but that's a strange any other surprises.

17:13 Yeah i think it's a surprise that the heat defense has been bad to start the season you know bottom five in the league not surprising that their offense would take a The Hawks game that they switched things up, started playing some more traditional basketball. They looked good. Maybe that changes things. But it felt like they would at least be able to rely on a defensive backbone with Giannis and Bam. I don't think Giannis is necessarily... defender he was when he was a defensive player of the year but still sizable still a playmaker Bam's obviously an anchor and they got Davion Mitchell to be a point of attack defender but it just hasn't translated to a solid defense yet and I'd also say a little bit

17:50 of a surprise that the Spurs came into this season and decided to start the three guard lineup you could kind of see it coming eventually at least but they went with it to begin the year And it's just been.

18:00 Okay, right?

18:02 Like, they kind of need to put Champagny back in the starting lineup, I think, just because he's their quickest trigger three-point shooter. As soon as he touches it, that thing is going up. He's shooting the ball really well to begin the season. I think they miss a little bit of the space and the just instant action that he brings in the starting lineup to give Vick and the drivers a little bit more space.

18:24 Yep, that's a good point.

18:27 All right, next question here. Which newcomer... has made the best first impression.

18:32 This isn't a first impression for Paul George, but with Boston it is. I mean, he looks like the same player that last made an All-Star game, and that was in 2024. He looks just as good. He could be the best player on the floor for the Boston Celtics on any night. Really? With Tatum? Yeah, he did in game number one of this season.

18:53 He has at times.

18:53 I mean, he's not going to be better than Jason Tatum. But he is the guy that Daryl Morey and the Philadelphia 76ers signed a max to. He's that same guy that they stole from the Clippers, they grabbed from the Clippers. He could and should make an all-star game. If they are cooking, he'll be along Jason Tatum. If they're at the top of the Eastern Conference, which is there to be grabbed. So I think he could make it. He's been back to what he was. He was kind of an, air quotes, throw in the Jalen Brown trade. from the Philadelphia 76ers. I think the next question for him is, is he a first ballot Hall of Famer? Because he's a Hall of Famer, clearly. But is he a first ballot?

19:35 These numbers, if they're going to boost themselves up here in his late 30s, I think you could easily make the case that he's a first ballot. But if it's a second or third, he just looks like the guy that he used to be. you know he's not pacer paul george but he's he's clipper paul george uh right at the end.

19:51 Yeah the numbers are very good through four games here 22 6 4 and he's shooting incredible efficiency from three especially shooting 44 from deep and he obviously jacks up a lot at this point of his career so that's i mean i guess aren't they both happy with this trade i mean jillian brown is doing really well he slotted right in sort of perfectly into this super team on the Sixers, and they keep winning all these clutch games.

20:14 He's not lighting it up. He's not putting up the 28-29. He was, Jalen Brown, when Jason Tatum was out last year, but I think he slotted in. There's been no noise outside of the lamb chops and gravy with the Tatum talk, but with the actual Sixers team, it's sort of gone perfectly, at least from him right now and sort of his attitude and all that.

20:34 Celtics front office has to be happy with moving on from the salary of Jalen Brown to Paul George. Everybody in ownership, the book checkers, got to be pretty happy with Paul George. Everybody is at this point, and so is Joe Mazzulli. He's getting a lot out of his team. Again, the number one seed in the East is right there for somebody to go grab it. I can get mad at the Cavs a little bit later, like I do every show, because they could do it. The Raptors have a chance at it. It's up for grabs.

21:06 Okay. Other newcomers that have impressed you?

21:09 I think all of our newest newcomers have been pretty impressive so far. I'm talking about the rookies, most specifically Caleb Wilson, Yaxel Lendeborg, and Cam Boozer, I think are all meeting expectations, if not exceeding expectations. Certainly in the case of Yaxel, leading rookies in scoring and instantly becoming the second best player for the Warriors. I think that's huge.

21:28 You can throw in A.J. DeBonsa. He's only played one game, but it was one very exciting game, so... the definition of a fun first impression. And then Caleb Wilson has been great for the Bulls, putting up huge numbers, dunking all the time. The Bulls are second worst in the league from a margin of victory, net rating standpoint. They're getting smashed a lot. They do have one win, but people still ask me, how excited are you about the Bulls?

21:51 I'm like, have you seen them? They're a terrible team, but it doesn't matter at all. They got Caleb Wilson and that's really the important part. So those guys have been impressive. And I gotta say, I love Darius Acuff, man.

22:02 Yeah, monster game last night.

22:04 Huge game last night. I check his stats every single morning after they play. I just want to see how many shots he takes. 26 again last night. He went 13 of 26, finished with 34 points, and added 14 assists. A whole bunch of turnovers, but definitely his best playmaking game. I thought you can tell the dude is a natural scorer.

22:24 He's got great quickness. He's got some jitterbuggy-ness to him where he's stopping and starting. His change of pace, his change of direction, really impressive. Like, it's actually kind of impressive to be able to take 25 shots a game as a rookie.

22:37 He's got to learn the point guard stuff, for sure. A little later, we'll get to early MVP talk and the way you worded it, Skeets. Hilariously early MVP. I thought you wanted... like way down on the bow, like somebody who could make it, and Darius Acuff is mine.

22:53 What are you talking about?

22:54 Speaker 2: Speaker 2:

22:56 .

23:18 He looks amazing. Acuff can look amazing on some nights. Yeah, I had those two guys in Ty Jerome as guys like, oh, wow, they're the best. But anyway, we'll get to that.

23:31 I did some research. Like I mentioned, Caleb Wilson has been dunking a ton. I've mentioned a few times. He's top five in the league in dunks right now. Can you finish the top five in the league in dunks through five games per basketball reference?

23:44 Holy shit.

23:46 Okay, so Caleb Wilson, you said, is top still.

23:49 I'll tell you, Caleb Wilson is number four. He's got 14 dunks so far this season.

23:53 Don't call me Walker Kessler, Jumper Kessler.

23:56 That's exactly right. Walker Kessler, number two, 21 dunks. Nice.

24:01 Are they all bigs is the question, or do we got some breakout guys in transition? I can't even read his face, unfortunately.

24:10 He said, hmm.

24:10 So there's got to be one or two, yeah.

24:12 Two of them are incredibly obvious. Okay.

24:15 Okay. So it's big guys. It's Giannis.

24:18 Giannis is on the list. He is number three, 19 dunks.

24:22 Okay.

24:23 So he was one of the obvious ones, and there's one more obvious one.

24:26 Yes. You're probably just overlooking, but he might be the hardest guy in the league to overlook.

24:33 Oh, Victor Wambinyama?

24:34 Yeah.

24:34 That's right.

24:35 He had nine dunks in one game.

24:36 You're right.

24:37 He has 25 dunks. Number one. Easiest person in the league to dunk.

24:41 Yeah.

24:41 So he definitely makes the list.

24:43 It's because his dunks are barely dunks.

24:45 Exactly. Do you know what I mean? They just pile up. His dunks are lamps.

24:48 They're like us dunking on a five-foot Fisher price net. So it almost doesn't count. But okay.

24:53 And you need number five. This guy has 13 dunks.

24:55 Okay. Maybe a wing guy? Maybe like a, not a huge big.

25:00 Not a huge big. He's a wing. Okay, okay. He's a wing.

25:04 Ooh.

25:06 Is he good? Like, is he an all-star?

25:07 Brandon Miller?

25:08 Brandon Miller's had some dunks.

25:10 No. Good guess. He may be an all-star. Not yet.

25:14 Maybe, maybe.

25:14 But he got picked in our first-time all-star draft this year.

25:18 Cooper Flack?

25:19 No.

25:20 And last year.

25:21 Last year.

25:22 And let's just say Wemby might have had 26 dunks, if not for this guy.

25:25 Amand Thompson.

25:26 Yeah.

25:26 Amand Thompson. Number 13. So, Wemby, Kessler, Giannis, Caleb Wilson, and Amand Thompson are your top five in dunks.

25:33 Nice.

25:34 Through five games.

25:34 Nice, nice.

25:36 I'll finish off this question with a few other newcomers. And I looked at it from guys sort of changing teams. The two new Hornets, Grayson Allen and Nas Reed, have played really well for the Charlotte Hornets. And they came over in trades for, what, Miles Bridges and LaMelo Ball, respectively, those two guys. And they are letting it rip from three.

25:54 We've talked about the Hornets getting a bunch of three-point attempts up. And that's despite not having Conn Knipple. That's despite not having Kobe White. But Allen and Reed have combined to average 32.2 points per game while making 44% of their threes. Both those guys are like flirting around the top 10 in three-pointers made early in the season.

26:11 So that's just awesome work. Dennis Schroeder's been really good too. The goat journeyman, as we've called him. 14-5-4 as their starting point guard right now with no Kobe White. I don't think you can ask for much better there from Dennis Schroeder at this point in his career. So those three guys all coming over to Charlotte after they made big, decisions here this offseason especially the lamella ball of it all they're winning games and they're contributing.

26:36 Yeah we talked about the memphis grizzlies having their depth i think charles lee and what the hornets are doing emulating that as well with their depth considering they don't have their starting backcourt and i think going into tonight with nas read coming back from that benching in the second half he'll show us that uh he's ready to play i that i just love the whole thing that charles lee set this guy for whatever reason we're still not sure but i think they crush the wizards tonight that's a crazy prediction because the wizards could do it too but this will be a good game all right.

27:07 What's one pre-season prediction you'd like to revise let's start with spider-man oh just one huh yeah you can hang give me a couple yeah i got a lot of quickies here there's a few over unders i would change probably should have taken the king's under.

27:20 Saw Kevin O'Connor tweeting about how they could possibly start the season 0-19, and you're like, yeah, yeah. That's on the table for sure. So whenever it comes the time that I have the option to switch my nut dust bowl pick, I will be doing that 100%.

27:35 Yeah, the Pelicans bench outscored the Kings last night 41-8. Now, there are guys missing on the Kings. I mean, Doug Christie is holding on to his job for dear life. There are missing guys that would probably help maybe win a game or two, but I'm with you, Trey. I have the Kings over 20 and a half. I can't believe we did it.

27:52 The Nut Dust Bowl being the worst team in the NBA, that's what we're fighting for. why do we have the right to just switch it? Is that a thing?

28:01 We switched it. We don't really have the right.

28:04 If somebody offers it, we're going to get to like February and your two teams are going to have so many more wins than the Kings. That you're going to feel bad for me.

28:14 I don't know.

28:14 Do you want another guy? I'll say, yeah, give me the Pelicans.

28:17 We'll see. Yeah, we'll see how many wins the Bucs have. I took the Bucs.

28:20 That's a good point. To be a thriver. The Bucs have one win. The Bucs have one win. So it's not over yet. And I have the Bulls who have one win. Yeah, exactly. It ain't over yet.

28:30 It's a race.

28:31 It's still a race. You're right. Like I mentioned recently, I would lock the Rockets over instead of the Nuggets over. Regrets. that one for sure. And I would remove my lock for the Mavericks under, I still think realistic that they trade Kyrie Irving, but that might not matter. Cooper might just be good enough to get them to 34 wins.

28:50 So those are my big over under regrets. I also, uh, had Ty Jerome on my long list for MIP. I don't think I would change that one though. Cause Brandon Miller still hoop. And I think he's a valid pick as well. And then I had Will Hardy as coach of the year. I would switch that one out for Tommy ice.

29:06 Yes, yes, yes.

29:07 Tommy Ice with the Memphis Grizzlies, as we call him now. I like that.

29:10 Actually a lot. It took me a long time. Were you going back to Tom Thibodeau, who you like to yell.

29:17 Ice, Ice? All right.

29:20 I'm with you on– I'll jump in here. The Jazz over 37.5. I don't feel confident about that now. Part of it, injuries. Just you got to stop. You got to get some stops on the other end and– Not happening. Yeah, like they'll be around there maybe still, but I don't have any confidence in their hitting the 37 and a half over.

29:38 That's a good one. the interesting one is the six man of the year because I had Dylan Harper thinking that he was going to go to that role and that he was going to take on the whole San Antonio Spurs persona listen you come off the bench now you'll start at some point in your career don't worry about that be our man who Ginobili but it he still could win six man of the year. He still could go to the bench. They're kind of slow playing Tobias Harris coming back from a calf injury like they did with Wemby last year, who sat out 12 games in November. So when it'll happen, I don't know. I mean, maybe just slow play and bring Tobias Harris off the bench.

30:13 So that one is, it's, it's a question mark. He still could, but the starting lineup and what it is, is a huge question. As you brought up champagne trip, maybe they could do that at some point. Cause right now it's not, it's not thriving.

30:28 Yeah, I was trying to tell you, man. I was skeptical of that one. We were getting comments from him himself saying, no, I'm a starter, man. Now, you saw me in the finals, start me now. I just didn't think he'll come off the bench enough.

30:41 You don't think they'll change it at some point?

30:43 I mean, I don't think he'll start maybe every game, but I think he's going to start more than enough. Yeah, okay.

30:48 It is funny though because I think our six man of the year picks you were I'm AJ Mitchell and I was IO and they're all starting.

30:55 Yeah.

30:56 Yeah I even said if AJ Mitchell starts I'll switch my six man of the year pick to Jared McCain and he's starting now too Yeah.

31:04 I have it in my notes. I'm looking right at it AJ Mitchell is six man he started the last two games obviously because of all the injuries and Much better chance at winning most improved, actually, AJ Mitchell. I think with the Brandon Millers, Ty Jerome's, I think at least early in the season, he'd be one.

31:16 Of the favorites.

31:17 Yeah.

31:18 Is that the award that has the most ambiguous of odds? Like there's no, there's no favorite. And I guess that would make sense. That was sort of what Trey is saying. Like anybody can win the thing, depending. That's the one, right? Where it's like. No one, there was no standout.

31:32 MIP is like that too.

31:33 Oh, MIP too.

31:34 MIP is pretty wide open.

31:35 Yeah.

31:36 Yeah.

31:36 Uh, I also have the Pistons. I took the under 48 and a half. I'm probably going to hit that. They're, they're still really good. If Kate is playing, they're still really good. These, you know, some of the shooters have helped out with the three point shootings on a pretty good damn good right now. And then I took the Hornets under 38 and a half too. And I'm thinking the more I see them, they're more like a 500 plus team, even in a very loaded Eastern conference. So those are my two other ones. the Kings over, the Jazz over, the Pistons under, and the Hornets under. I'd probably switch up at least three.

32:05 Of those four.

32:06 Yeah. I'm a magic man in terms of my skepticism. That's rough. It's a 43.5 number that I went over on. I still don't know. I still believe. I'll never give up. I still believe that there's a decent team in there, but I don't know if it's going to be a 44-win team at this point.

32:25 All right, the final question here after 10 days of NBA action. Here it is, Tess. Who's your hilariously dash early MVP? So the hilariously early part being 10 days in here, but that allows us to maybe have some funny picks for MVP.

32:42 What do you got?

32:42 Well, we'll start with the actual MVP, and it's Luka right now. It's only been 10 days since. And so this is the time that Luka thrives and will actually win the thing. We'll see how he is in six months, if he can still keep this up, carrying a team.

32:59 If the Lakers can win, too. Yeah, that's a big part of it.

33:03 They're 4-1, right? Yeah, they're 4-1. Haven't had a ridiculously tough schedule to this point. But they are up there with Houston as the best offense in the league, and that's because of this guy. And so if you're voting, I think you're taking him. I think voters would take him.

33:17 That was my preseason pick. I mean, every year somebody has to take Luka to win MVP. And it was my turn this year. And so far, so good because they're winning games and the guy is going to score 35, 36 a game. Like that's not the problem. So just needs the W's as we've talked about, Trey. But who else would be on the shortlist?

33:33 Alperen Shengun is my MVP so far. 25, nine and seven with nearly two steals per game. Shooting 56 from the field. Sorry, 58 from the field. 67 from three. That's a 67%. true shooting percentage. He also has the biggest on-off swing of anybody on the Rockets. They're plus 18.6 points per 100 possessions better when he's on the court, and they're a great team. They're undefeated. I think Shen Goon...

34:00 has been able to focus on what he's best at, which is getting buckets first and foremost, and then being a playmaker. Now that Fred Van Vliet is back, he doesn't have to focus as much on playmaking, so that can just be the supplementary part of his game, which is kind of how it should be. He's Jokic-like, but nobody's actually like Jokic, where he's creating so many looks for everybody. So Shen Goon has just figured out the perfect balance of scoring and passing. And it's because there is better ball handling around for the Rockets. And it's just turned him into an efficient player.

34:32 The MVP award tracker has Shen Goon 1 right now, Luka 2, Ty Jerome 3, Tatum Boozer, because the Grizzlies are 5-0, obviously to go along with Ty Jerome, Durant, Amin Thompson, Denny Avdia, Austin Reeves, and Jabari Smith Jr. So four Rockets in the top 10, a couple of Grizzlies. Again, these are undefeated teams. That's what it's sort of basing itself off.

34:52 Yeah.

34:53 Yeah.

34:54 But I think you named the two right now. It's Luka and Schengen, to me, is the most sort of obvious picks here.

35:00 Basketball reference doesn't like losses, so Darius Acuff isn't on the list. One day, man.

35:06 One of the hottest takes I've ever heard.

35:07 Darius Acuff Jr.

35:09 As a hilariously early MVP with his team not winning a game. That's a hot Mellis take right there.

35:16 Yeah, but imagine how bad they would be without him. That's the question. They would be 0-5 without him probably, too, but.

35:22 It's most valuable player. He's very valuable to them having not on a trope. He was a plus three last night against the Pelicans.

35:30 They were a plus three. He was a plus three. Maybe he should be the MVP because they're the only team worse than the Bulls from a margin of victory. I guess margin of defeat. Yeah. And net rating standpoint.

35:40 Yeah. He was valuable person to me. I want to know how he's doing. I want to know if he could be that guy who shoots 40 times, if he could be a young Allen Iverson. Just let them do it, man. Just go.

35:53 Wobbly, wobbly of the night. Three games on last night. This one's sponsored by Medic B, who I know is in the stream team today. Yesterday, chipping in a little money to sponsor this one. Writing, whoa boy, watch out for the little goblins when driving this weekend. It's the most dangerous time for pedestrians. Y'all are the best. Thank you.

36:15 Nice little tip there.

36:16 That's a good warning.

36:17 Very good tip. Everybody be safe tomorrow night with all the little ones out there But, whoa, boy. Halloween right around the corner, so we got to give it to Jeremiah Fears. It's either Fears or Bones Highland, I guess, when it comes to Halloween. No, Fears, great game. 22 points, 13 assists, career high, as the Pelicans got their first W against the lowly Kings. 9-16 from the floor, 3-5 from deep, 8 rebounds, 4 blocks, 2 steals in 29 minutes played. Damn good game. Okongwu had a great game. Um, obviously Boozer with the triple double, but we'll give it to Fears here as the Pels are off the schneid.

36:57 I was getting ready to take up for Acuff on this, but then I saw like the further down stats for Fears, right? Like he had steals. He had blocks. He had a lot of rebounds. Though, uh, Acuff was rebounding, uh, last night too. I was surprised to hear on the broadcast, this is the first 10 plus assist game of Jeremiah Fears' career.

37:16 He had the ball a lot last season.

37:17 Mm-hmm.

37:19 Yeah, I mean, that is surprising.

37:20 Mm-hmm.

37:20 Well, You need people to also score when they catch said ball, I guess, which can be an issue at times.

37:27 Yeah, the first game this year, if I'm looking at it correctly, where he had more assists than turnovers, too.

37:32 Yeah. He was leading the league.

37:35 Oh, he's been bad. Yeah, he was bad through his first four games.

37:38 Little boy last night. There you go. Congrats to Fears there.

37:41 Pick them.

37:42 Tonight, we're looking ahead here. Friday night, Lakers at the Warriors. nba cup game we're gonna get to cup talk in a second you stayed alive last night the hawks coming.

37:53 Back down big hole to the calves thanks to the calves being the calves oh god was there anything impactful that came from the cleveland cavaliers last night there wasn't.

38:03 It came down to donovan mitchell can you hit shots yeah to get us a win not last.

38:08 Night no i mean they were good in the first quarter but then they saw the the scoreboard and they said no we're good got rebounded by.

38:14 The hawks yeah which is disappointing.

38:16 Yeah Yeah, there's only one lead change yesterday in that game.

38:20 When the Hawks took the lead. Yeah, that's it.

38:22 Because it wasn't a fighting.

38:23 But then the Cavs, I mean, they got close down the stretch.

38:26 They got close. Well, they got close because of those foul calls. Yeah. Those foul calls were weird.

38:31 Anyway.

38:32 Did you stay right to the end?

38:33 Of course.

38:33 He had a good game.

38:34 Close game. Yeah, that was a fun ending.

38:37 So anyway, Tass is still alive here in the short month of October. He needs another win tonight to tie up Spider-Man. And then we'd have a bonus sort of pick maybe on the weekend or something like that.

38:46 I'll be doing the tying up. Am I right?

38:50 Good one.

38:51 So tonight's game, Lakers Warriors, and you see it there on your screen. If you're joining us on YouTube, Tass has taken the dubs. You got a few points to play with at home. on the NBA cup court. And then Trey's taking the Lakers and I'm back in Trey.

39:02 Yeah.

39:03 Nice little month going here.

39:04 Short month.

39:04 So yeah. Now I originally thought this was in LA, but it's in golden state or in San Francisco. So if that matters at all to you.

39:12 What matters is that Yaxel is going to be fighting against Luca.

39:15 Oh boy.

39:16 I like the idea of that.

39:18 Um, yes.

39:19 Yeah.

39:20 Yeah.

39:20 Cause he was asked about it. Are you looking forward to playing Luca again? The guy he, you know, lost quote, lost all respect for after Luka was complaining during the game. Yaxel said, absolutely, absolutely. Yes, I am. I'll talk about that on Friday. So he's ready to bring a good game, too.

39:36 What a tease.

39:36 Yeah, man, he brought it. Stay tuned. He's the best guy on the mic in that Golden State Warriors locker room. He's surpassed Raymond Green. I mean, it's not a race, but I just think he's great. the confidence is there.

39:51 Like i said that is a cup game uh so let's get our predictions on record here because this season's nba cup starts tonight across the league kicking off the start of what the fourth in-season tournament that features wild court designs and a trophy a team can win and a bunch of money these players can win too i always forget the extra cash there the format splits the team up into six groups five teams apiece i'm just refreshing everybody's memory here Those five teams play one game against each of their group opponents. The winner of each group goes to the quarterfinals. One wildcard team from each conference gets a spot. So you could see some teams run up the score tonight. Point differential can matter in

40:33 cup play. Quarterfinals and semifinals will be played at Higher Seeds Barnes, followed by a December 11th championship game at Hinkle Fieldhouse on the campus of Butler University in Indianapolis. No Vegas this year. And those semifinal games at the actual teams, the higher seated teams place, which I think is going to add a nice little element to this. So, you know, look, we're not going through every group. We respect the cup. We have always respected the cup. Let the record show. But I do want you to put it on record here who you think is going to win the whole thing. Tass, I'll start with you.

41:08 Give me the Raptors. They're going to play it like it's their championship. But I do want to point out why they've looked so good so far. this season, they're hell to play against. If you look at all the stats, they make you turn it over 22.4 times per 100 possessions. That is a lot to force other teams into because they're that good. They average 12 more shots than their opponent in four games because they turn it over and they'll offensive rebound pretty, pretty well, which is surprising for a team that's, you know, undersized, Jacoperto as their starter, Colin Murray-Boyles as their backup center, that they're able to go get that many offensive rebounds. Sometimes what it comes down to in the NBA Cup is who wants it more.

41:53 And I think the Toronto Raptors are a who-want-it-more team.

41:58 I will say they're in a pretty favorable group when you look at the group. I like their chances. They're in a group with the Pistons, so I could see one of those two teams, Pistons and Raptors, maybe being a wildcard team because you're playing the Bucs, the Nets. You could run up some scores against those teams. And then the Magic, who I'm not impressed with. Raptors just kick their ass.

42:17 As a team that doesn't win their division but gets an extra wild card.

42:20 Yeah.

42:21 Yeah, so the Pistons could be the.

42:22 I'm saying the Pistons or Raptors, I feel pretty confident, will win the group. One of them.

42:26 Yeah.

42:26 And then the other could have a really good chance to.

42:27 Be the wild card team. To get there.

42:28 Because some of the other groups are a little more difficult, maybe a little more diluted.

42:31 And then that gets you to the quarterfinals because there's the quarterfinals. And then you just have to win three more games.

42:36 But Raptors, okay, you're picking the Raps. What about you, TK?

42:39 Well, I want to pick a good team, right? Like that's the inclination. You're like, maybe I should take the Rockets. They look awesome so far. But then I went and checked the records of the teams that won the cup heading into cup play. Last year, the Knicks were two and two. In 2024, the Bucks were two and eight.

42:55 In 2023, the Lakers were three and five.

42:57 Fascinating. Interesting, right? Well, it's kind of.

43:01 Like teams that are struggling, that are veteran teams, see something to play for. And they're like, This can give us a little juice here. We can turn our season around. So the teams that that made me look at, the Knicks, the Nuggets, the Heat, the Hawks. The Pacers, even though they're missing Halliburton right now, the Warriors, and I even threw in the Wizards. Ultimately, I'm going with the Nuggets over the Pistons.

43:24 Okay, okay.

43:25 For the cup. Okay.

43:26 You're taking the Nuggets winning the whole thing. Yeah. Nuggets, Raptors, all right, I'll take it.

43:30 Nuggets are in a good group, though. They got the Rockets and the Mavs in their group, both playing pretty well right now.

43:36 So they got to get out first.

43:37 Interesting wrinkle, though, or like doing your fact check in there, that teams that were started slow.

43:42 I was surprised to learn that they were struggle mode before they... Hit the gas in the cup?

43:47 Cup started a little bit later.

43:48 For those first two years. The Knicks were 2-2 last year.

43:52 It was a fast.

43:53 Cup last year. Got it in early.

43:56 We're starting the cup before it's even November.

43:58 Which is fine. When's the final in Indiana? December 11th. So like last year.

44:05 I'm taking the Detroit Pistons to win the cup. For one simple reason. And his name is Torian Prince.

44:14 Mr.

44:14 Cup himself. We did a short on it once upon a time. He has appeared in 14 cup games with the Lakers and the Bucs. They went 14-0. He has never lost a cup game when he's been playing. And now I know what you're going to say. You're going to say, well, what about last year? He was on the Bucs. They didn't win the cup. He got injured the game before the cup.

44:31 Wow.

44:31 He had like a herniated spine or neck. The game before the Cup started, before the actual tournament started. So he never played in it, and obviously it didn't do well. But he's on the Pistons this year. He is there. He is healthy, so to speak. So I'll take the good luck of Torian Prince for the Pistons.

44:50 Has he played yet this year? I haven't seen him on the court.

44:52 No, he is. I was going to say hurt.

44:55 No, I thought he did play.

44:56 I think he did. I just haven't seen him.

44:57 I mean, he very well could have.

44:59 Let me check real quick.

45:00 He was on a Who He Played For. He was on the Who He Played For three times. Charles Barkley.

45:04 Yeah, he's played in a couple games.

45:05 Oh, yes.

45:05 Yeah, yeah, but obviously not a lot. But he's a veteran voice in that cup locker room. He knows what it takes to bring the cup home.

45:14 He absolutely does.

45:15 And the Pistons are really good.

45:16 They are. I think they're going to be there. Yeah.

45:19 When Barkley didn't get the team that Torian Prince plays for, I didn't think it was bad.

45:25 That was a tough one. Very tough, man.

45:27 He's deep. He's deep on Raw. Unless you're playing for Doc Rivers, you're not going to play a lot. He played a ton last year.

45:34 I think you've got it up, so I'll ask Spider-Man here. How old do you think Torian Prince is?

45:38 Torian Prince? He's probably like 31. Wow, that's a good guess.

45:43 Very good guess. 32, I believe he is. But I just thought in my head he's way older. I thought he was like 36, 37. He's 31.

45:54 Two, because he's 32 in 222 days. That's why I said it that way. What a weird thing to say. Now, you had me thinking, you said the Halloween names in the NBA. Are there any other good ones? Because I'm pulling out some cheese. Oh, Graves. Very good.

46:11 So we've got Graves, Bones Highland, and Jeremiah Fears is fantastic.

46:15 Devin Booker. But his name's Booker, you know. But it's spelled Booker. Okay, here we go.

46:28 Keep them coming in the stream team while we pivot to worst of the week.

46:32 Ladies and gentlemen, the worst of the week.

46:37 Where was this last week, man? Where was it? I missed it.

46:40 I know.

46:40 It was such a short one and it's too... Because there was only games on Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday. It didn't feel like a full week. And it's positivity time at the beginning of the season. So we didn't pull it out. But this week, we've got three good ones, three nominees. And we'll squeeze some in a little bit later at the end as add-ons. Because there's some good ones out there. First one's great. Bones Highland gets a T for Faking a Toss. To the referee. I mean, he's kind of faking like he's going to rifle it off of Pat Frayer. And Pat Frayer says, well, you're scaring me. I'll give you a technical foul because it does look like he's going to fire.

47:19 It at him.

47:20 Yeah. And you got a technical for kind of, literally he doesn't let it go. He just fakes it. And Pat Frayer says, that's a T. You think that warrants a technical foul?

47:30 No.

47:31 That's stupid.

47:31 Good call. I mean, it was so quick.

47:33 That was in slow-mo and it was quick.

47:35 I wonder if that was rescinded. It should be.

47:39 I hope it will be. He was clearly playing around. You can see the grin on his face.

47:44 I know you can't do the aggressive clapping near a referee right in their face. They're quick to call that one. Okay, that's fine. I guess you're showing them up. But this was literally joking around. He's joking.

47:59 Joking! I'm joking!

48:00 Alright, let us know on the stream team. Are we wrong? Is that stepping across the line of The respect for an official. I don't know. It seemed totally fine to me.

48:09 So we can't joke with officials.

48:10 Well, let's get to this other one. More official talk. The second one is Pistons' J.B. Bickerstaff, their head coach, doesn't like when he got a hand of a referee close to him. Does Zach Zarba touch him? Maybe sort of, but J.B. Bickerstaff gets really angry. He gets so mad and he slaps Zach Zarba's hand away from him, which is a weird thing that Zach Zarba did because Jamie Bickerstaff wasn't in the way of anything. He's far away from the ball, which hasn't even been inbounded. It's not like something was going on. Zach Zarba's... It seems like he's saying, hey, you're close to the sideline.

48:44 Yeah.

48:44 Get off the floor. But he's not even close to anything. He's just having a sip of water and he turns around. All of a sudden, you get a Zach Zarba scare.

48:54 Don't touch my chest.

48:55 See, I think Your read is wrong on this one. I think Bickerstaff is pretty obviously joking, though.

49:01 Oh, I don't think so. Yeah, I think he is. I think he is.

49:04 The way he does the, like, it's like you do with your buddy.

49:07 Like, get off.

49:07 Yeah.

49:08 That's how I read it.

49:09 But I thought there was an anger afterwards. JB's like, you can see. Roll it back, Jeannie.

49:14 I'm not saying he's jokingly angry.

49:17 I know. It's so quick. He's so bad. i think he's mad.

49:23 Do you think that nba referees should be giving given an allotment of exactly one technical file that they can assess to a referee each season like such an egregiously bad call. It's like a little bit level higher than the challenge or something like that. Like, I'm teeing you up. Wow. And now we get to take one free throw because that was ridiculous what you did. I think the other team might not like that.

49:45 No, probably not.

49:45 There's got to be something where the coach can get back at the officials, is what I'm saying.

49:50 That's a good call.

49:51 Try it in the G League first.

49:52 Try it in the G League.

49:53 They'll do anything down there. Don't let us host the game.

49:56 Yeah, that's right. We've got a couple games coming up.

49:58 It's coming next week. I talked about it yesterday at the Hawks game. With our man Jay. Oh, yeah. Jay Winters. Next one here, we had an ethical turnover, we can call it, in OKC, because Jalen Williams goes to grab a rebound, and while that's happening, Isaiah Hartenstein falls out, and he's out of bounds. So while Jalen Williams grabs the rebound, he starts bouncing the ball with one hand and picks up Isaiah Hartenstein with the other hand, and because he's got the ball in one hand and he's touching Isaiah Hartenstein while he's still out of bounds, while that butt is out of bounds... It's a turnover. So we call it the ethical turnover. I don't even know.

50:35 Because he's helping up a teammate.

50:36 I don't even know if you can.

50:37 Just be friendly. Yeah.

50:38 I don't even know if we can call it the worst of the week. It's just, it's a nice one, but it's.

50:43 The worst of the week is on the officials for calling it, I guess.

50:45 You think?

50:46 Well, that's what I would assume while you're including it.

50:48 Yeah. No, I'm assuming because it's a bad turnover. You turn the ball over.

50:52 Which one is it? Is it a bad turnover or not?

50:54 Well, it's a bad turnover, but yeah, it's not the worst. It's just not the worst thing you can do in NBA. It's your segment.

50:59 It's worst of the week.

51:01 It's there because it's fun. Yeah.

51:06 But yeah. What I love about this one is if Jalen Williams in helping Hartenstein up, the ball was not in his hands because he does dribble it, right? The ball is like just bouncing from his hand to the ground. And in that time, He picks up Hartenstein. He is not touching the ball. Therefore, it is not linked from ball to him to man to out of bounds.

51:30 Man, we're getting into the nitty gritty.

51:32 But it does. You see it at one point. It's in his hand while he's helping up a Hartenstein who is out of bounds.

51:38 Yeah.

51:38 So that's fine.

51:39 I get that. If he put the ball on the floor and said, okay, I've got something else to do.

51:42 Yeah.

51:43 And then grabbed him. Yeah.

51:44 Obviously fine. But I'm saying.

51:45 Do a huge bounce, pull him up.

51:47 That's what I'm saying.

51:47 Keep dribbling.

51:48 And they're not touching the ball. I think it's legit. So do I.

51:51 Yeah, yeah.

51:51 I agree. Okay. Yeah, that would be totally fine. OK, so those are our three nominees. I'll throw in a few more here. Darko Ryakovic, it's not a worst of the week for me, but others found it funny that while Kawhi was playing and they had a great defensive performance, he said, Scotty Barnes is going to be on all team first defense. And Colin Murray-Boyles is going to be on the third team.

52:14 Whoops.

52:15 And then Kawhi Leonard's going to be on the second team. He did in that order, which is number one.

52:19 One, three, two.

52:19 Classic Lee Ellis counting.

52:21 Yeah, I think Darko was doing, it was an ethical move for him. He's like, Colin Murray Ball is going to be on a team. Yeah, yeah, he's going to be on a team. Oh, yeah, I should put Kawhi on it. Okay, Kawhi's on it, but he'll be on the second team. So the math was off, and there's only two all-defense teams. But people don't know that, and that's understandable. That's totally fine. You'd think it would match the All-NBA teams, which have three. Wouldn't you think? You should be able to name 15 All-Defensive players instead of just 10?

52:49 Yeah, sure, why not?

52:50 It's strange, I think.

52:52 Don't coaches, aren't they given ballots for these to decide on these teams? All-Defensive, All-NBA? I think so. So just proving our theory that the coaches don't get them, they just hand them to an assistant coach. He doesn't even know there's only two teams on the All-Defensive teams.

53:07 Right, yeah, he did the voting last year. Okay. Last one, you know, a bit of a weird one. I was going to have Trey participate in this one, but because you can't see all that well, I'll just get Skeets to do it.

53:17 Oh, I can see.

53:18 Sure, sure.

53:18 You can see?

53:19 That's okay.

53:20 Okay, go ahead.

53:21 I can't see that.

53:22 You can't see?

53:25 Okay, so it's the Spurs broadcast team.

53:28 I honestly can't see it well either. I'm blind as a bat, man.

53:30 Yeah, I zoomed in.

53:30 You're going to need to zoom in way more.

53:32 There we go.

53:32 I can't zoom in any more than that. We're talking like 99-year-old vision here. For a 99-year-old, man.

53:37 Um, Can you turn up your display light, please?

53:40 Yeah, I can do it. So the Spurs broadcasters, tell me if this warrants worst of the week, okay? This is the Spurs talking about Wemby and food. I'm Jacob Tobey. Skeets is going to be Sean Elliott.

53:53 Say what?

53:54 He had 23 in Dallas. He's already up to 14 in the first quarter. He is eating right now.

54:00 He is feasting.

54:02 On that buffet.

54:05 He's getting fat.

54:07 Yeah, you mentioned that too. You know what? You said eggs, ketchup on it. I also have ketchup on mac and cheese.

54:17 Oh, boy. I had an appetite till I heard that.

54:23 Well, not on baked mac and cheese.

54:26 You put ketchup on your ice cream?

54:28 Levine is fouled. 5.6 left to go.

54:31 Ketchup on a cinnamon roll?

54:33 No, no, no.

54:34 Ketchup on eggs. I think I can accept that because I did that for one part of my life.

54:42 A few minutes later, they get back to it. Jacob Toby says, I'm going to get roasted online for my ketchup takes, but that's okay.

54:50 You do you.

54:52 You still love me, right?

54:53 Yes, you ketchup-eating fool.

54:56 Ha, ha, ha. And scene. And scene. Toby and Sean Elliott.

55:00 That one's real. That one's real.

55:02 That one's real.

55:03 Nice.

55:04 I was watching that, and I had our man, Ash, text me at the same time. Or he texted me. He said, do you guys still do Say What, where you do the broadcaster talk? And I said, what did you see, man? What did you see? I take notes. And he said, the ketchup talk. And I said, I don't know. Then I went back and listened. Yeah. It was worth reading.

55:23 I was too lost in the scene playing my part of Sean Elliott. But he took offense to Jacob putting ketchup on mac and cheese. Is that where he really drew the line? Like he said eggs is one thing.

55:34 Okay.

55:35 That's pretty common. Maybe not as you get older, I understand. Kids, I guess, but fairly common.

55:43 It's nasty.

55:44 I don't think it's that nasty.

55:46 Cinnamon roll. That'd be nasty.

55:47 Of course. Eggs, eggs. I'm good with. Oh yeah.

55:50 Yeah. I actually kind of feel like Sean Elliott found the perfect line where you're like, you're maybe mac and cheese is the first thing you're questioning. Like, Hmm, I can see the argument, but not for me, Doug.

56:01 Yeah. Jacob is, is taking your roles or your opinion skates where he, he said, yeah, a crappy mac and cheese that comes out of a box. Yes.

56:09 Yeah.

56:10 But, uh, a nice mac and cheese, um, with breadcrumbs. It seems like, what are you saying? Not a baked mac and cheese. That's, that's beyond.

56:17 That's exactly right. I think he's got the line. Perfect. I don't want the crappy craft dinner, mac and cheese. I've definitely put ketchup on that before. Cause this is not the greatest food in the world, but you're saying a good mac and cheese. That's completely different. And then you're not putting it on. I'm with them there.

56:33 I hear it.

56:34 Yeah.

56:34 I hear that too. Listen, I'm a vacuum. I won't let my kids mac and cheese go into the garbage. I'm going to eat it. And you're right, and that's not that great sometimes, especially when it's gotten a little cold and my kids are done eating it. Maybe ketchup would help.

56:47 I hear you.

56:47 Yeah? I hear you. Maybe I could change.

56:50 Try a little Sweet Baby Ray's on that. Not to be a Mark Zuckerberg about it, but put a little Sweet Baby Ray's on it.

56:56 Mark Zuckerberg likes Sweet Baby Ray's.

56:57 You don't remember that clip of him saying Sweet Baby Ray barbecue sauce like 10,000 times? Oh, that one.

57:01 He's trying to act like a normal.

57:03 Guy at a barbecue.

57:04 Oh, yeah.

57:05 I love that clip.

57:06 I also like Sweet Baby Ray's. That's a classic.

57:09 That's an oldie, yeah.

57:10 All right, so tell us the worst of the week.

57:13 Tell us.

57:13 Tell us.

57:14 Yeah, tell us.

57:15 It's the drop, so we've got rapid-fire questions for you. I've got them. These guys are answering here. First one, Anthony Edwards went viral this week for naming Michael Jackson, quote, before he bleached his skin, this is what Ant said, as his dream courtside celebrity guest during an NBA Players Association social media segment. Ant just doesn't care, man. He is hilariously unfiltered. But same question for you guys. Which celebrity, dead or alive, would you love to see sitting courtside at an NBA game?

57:44 I was at a Hawks game yesterday, and there just isn't enough famous people that go to games at Hawks. At the Hawks, period. There's just not enough of them.

57:53 They were all going to the Dream Game.

57:55 Yeah, yeah, yeah, they were.

57:56 They were. Just, I want to.

57:58 You know, I know Lil Jon comes and hangs out, Quavo comes and hangs out, but I want a steady guy. I think this is an old head. This is Jermaine Dupri could be what the Knicks have as Spike Lee. Atlanta could have Jermaine Dupri. And I'll hang with him. I'll hang with him. Both short. Both have done a lot of things in their life. And yeah, we just need a rock solid Hawks fan who's there all the time.

58:23 Right now, wouldn't it be, is it Little Boozy?

58:25 Yeah.

58:26 Is it Little or is he just Boozy?

58:28 Sometimes he's a boozy badass.

58:31 Oh, okay. Respectfully, I'm not sure.

58:34 But he's there a lot. There was a Lil Scrappy there yesterday. Another performer. Lil Lilz.

58:41 They always send somebody the Nickelodeon Ultra section and I never know who that person is.

58:46 Ever!

58:48 And then you're like, they probably have a number one hit song or something. Not in my wheelhouse.

58:54 I'll find out in five years. That's what I said. yesterday to my buddy Phil. I know one out of probably 40 people that did.

59:01 Yeah.

59:03 And here's another little fact. Lil Baby is performing at the Hawks Arena in a few weeks. great fact I mean what little facts you got it for you no I don't know we're.

59:17 Good TK celebrity dead or alive you want to see sitting courtside I don't.

59:22 Know if you consider this person a celebrity I don't know if you consider them dead or alive but I would like to see Frankenstein's monster sitting courtside Okay. Okay.

59:31 Just because, like, it looked cool?

59:33 Yeah, well, I mean, specifically it would be good for this weekend, Halloween weekend. I love the look of a Frankenstein monster. And all that this monster wants is to be included in human connection, just like the rest of us.

59:45 Just like Zuckerberg.

59:46 Just let him sit courtside, you know? Put him on a team that's, like, thrown together with a bunch of scraps. Like the Milwaukee Bucks, they should have Frankenstein's monster sitting courtside because it's like he was thrown together by a madman. And so were they. Okay.

1:00:00 Sticking with the Halloween theme. I love it. JD, what about you?

1:00:04 Well, maybe recency biased, but Patrick Stewart. Sir Patrick Stewart.

1:00:09 Yeah.

1:00:11 Rest in peace.

1:00:13 Just to, you know.

1:00:14 So they come along, they offer him a beverage. Make it so. That kind of thing, you know, like all the catchphrases.

1:00:22 Yeah.

1:00:23 That was a sad day for us. That was a sad one. Especially, obviously, the Trekkies, which I have a few in my life. Some of our friends were taking it quite hard.

1:00:32 Yeah.

1:00:33 Captain Picard, for sure.

1:00:34 Yeah.

1:00:35 All right, next one here. The story of the NBA season so far has been injuries. At one point, damn near 20% of the league was listed as out or day to day. One week into the regular season, 20%. But I want to know, because you guys are always here, what's one unorthodox tip you swear by to stay fit and healthy?

1:00:56 Every time I walk by a mirror, I flex. And so your muscle's getting exercise.

1:01:03 Ah, sure.

1:01:03 In my world. And it looks as good as I can ever look when I'm actually flexing. So there we go.

1:01:10 You got a lot of mirrors in the house? Or is this more gym thing?

1:01:14 No, not too many.

1:01:15 Yeah, I've never.

1:01:15 Like, I have a gym in my garage, but I've never been the one that's put mirrors up.

1:01:20 Do you have a mirror in the garage?

1:01:21 No.

1:01:21 Wow.

1:01:22 That would be nice. Yeah, it sort of would. That's where all your equipment is, yeah.

1:01:26 It's a bad form, you know, especially. It's like, oh, yeah, I suck at this. That's why mirrors are good.

1:01:32 Do you have multiple flexes, or are you just going, you know, like standard flexes?

1:01:36 Oh, 100,000 different flexes.

1:01:37 Wow.

1:01:38 Okay.

1:01:40 Easy.

1:01:40 I wish I lifted enough to warrant them. But no, there's lots of fun ones.

1:01:48 What's your go-to pose?

1:01:49 Yeah, go-to pose.

1:01:51 I mean, I got this from my older brother when I was a kid, and I've never let it go because he liked to work out. Fim liked to work out. He would always do the point at his calf and do that.

1:02:04 Yeah, I like this move.

1:02:05 Is that gum on my shoe?

1:02:08 So you're flexing your tricep. You should hopefully see a bottle cap on your tricep. You should see a calf. And you get a laugh.

1:02:18 I'll start doing that. I really like that, actually.

1:02:22 All right, what's a tip you swear by there, Spidey, to stay healthy?

1:02:25 Yeah, after turning 40, I didn't realize how many creams and powders were going to be in my life. But every morning I wake up, two powders to start the day. Creatine powder, protein powder.

1:02:36 Ready to go.

1:02:38 Smearing creams all over my face for various reasons. Skin conditions, if you will. Is that mask going to help her hurt? Okay, I'm a little worried about the contact dermatitis on my forehead. But we got things under control right now thanks to the helps of my creams and my powders. But, yeah, it's like I got so many tubes of ointment in my top drawer that I look at and I'm like, ooh, it's almost like trick or treat. Just take one, rub it on.

1:03:06 Okay, okay, good tips. JD, what about you?

1:03:09 Well, I mentioned it before, but I go from a blazing hot sauna directly into an ice-cold cold plunge. I've heard different things from different people. You shouldn't be doing that. It's bad for your heart. But other people say, oh, yeah, that's how you live to be honored. I feel great after. It's very unpleasant, both parts of it, just because it's so hot in the sauna and then Ice cold.

1:03:36 For sure.

1:03:36 I always think about the Titanic when I'm in there for some reason. Well, not for some reason because that's where they died.

1:03:43 Yeah.

1:03:45 I feel great after.

1:03:46 Do it every time you go to the gym?

1:03:48 Like four or five times a week.

1:03:49 Oh, my goodness.

1:03:50 It's working for you.

1:03:51 Is there one you prefer? Are you more of a sauna or more of a cold plunger?

1:03:55 The sauna is easier just because you're sitting there just, you know. And the cold plunge literally hurts. Like it hurts. It might hurt. I lose all circulation and stuff.

1:04:07 Yeah, that sounds bad.

1:04:09 It's either extending my life or drastically reducing it.

1:04:13 So we'll find out.

1:04:14 We'll find out.

1:04:15 Stay tuned.

1:04:15 Stay tuned.

1:04:17 All right, final one. Halloween Saturday night, October 31st. Here's a classic question. What's the most underrated Halloween candy task?

1:04:28 Butterfinger. I had one recently.

1:04:31 I don't mind a Butterfinger.

1:04:33 It's underrated. It's underrated.

1:04:34 It is underrated. The texture is so good. You get it all. You get a crispiness. Then you get a soft, buttery chocolate. And then right after, you're good. So for older people who don't want to eat a ton of them, I think it does it all. So you just feel like, I don't need a second or a third or 600. Fills you up, I guess. Mm-hmm. I don't know if it really fills you up.

1:04:55 It satisfies the sweet.

1:04:58 I thought that was Snickers.

1:04:58 That's Snickers.

1:04:59 You can't say that. I think that's the worst thing Butterfinger has going for it, personally.

1:05:03 Which part?

1:05:04 The name. I think it's a dumb name. That didn't sound like a great candy to me.

1:05:08 That's a good point.

1:05:08 I've always thought that, but I'm with you when I have one. I'm like, oh, this is pretty good.

1:05:13 Totally, yeah.

1:05:14 They don't have nearly the rep that a Snickers does. Maybe even behind a payday if we're talking about Chocolate and peanut butter are certainly behind the Reese's peanut butter cup, but Butterfinger's delicious. You're right, though, Skeets. It does make it seem like you're going to get dirty from eating it.

1:05:26 It's a dumb name.

1:05:28 It's also, it denotes clumsiness, right? Like Butterfinger. Say Butterfinger's. You dropped that again.

1:05:36 Nobody better lay a hand on my Butterfinger. I remember those Simpsons commercials.

1:05:41 Crispity, crunchity, peanut buttery?

1:05:42 Yeah.

1:05:44 Butterfinger is the only candy that's like an insult. Yeah.

1:05:48 Yeah.

1:05:48 You say it on the basketball court. Okay, Butterfinger.

1:05:51 Come on, man.

1:05:52 Okay, what about you? Underrated Halloween candy.

1:05:54 Yeah, for me, underrated. I'm going to go Smarties, a.k.a. my Canadian friends will know them as Rockets.

1:06:00 Yeah.

1:06:00 The little twisties. They're just very sweet discs. You don't think about these at all. They are a filler candy.

1:06:06 Yeah.

1:06:07 They're always going to be left over. Your kids don't care if you take them. But you eat them, you're like... These are good. You guys are two for two. I agree.

1:06:14 I like rockets. Right?

1:06:15 You're like, it tastes a little bit like the first candy that was ever invented. It's like, we came out with this.

1:06:22 Yeah.

1:06:23 Sugar.

1:06:23 Candy.

1:06:24 We love it. Let's expand the world. Yeah. But you know, sometimes you got to go back to basics.

1:06:29 It's a good sugar.

1:06:30 JD, you don't seem to be on board.

1:06:31 I'm out.

1:06:32 I'm out. I always knew it was pure sugar.

1:06:33 It's just, yeah. No, I can't do it.

1:06:35 Okay.

1:06:36 I'm with you, TK. What about you then?

1:06:38 Well, I think that Reese's Peanut Butter Cups get all the flowers. I think it's the most overrated Halloween treat there is. I'm not saying it's bad. I'm just saying it's overrated. Give me a take five. Reese's take five.

1:06:55 Oh, man. It's rare.

1:06:56 You never see them. I don't think kids love them. It's got like pretzels, peanuts, caramel.

1:07:04 What's the five elements?

1:07:06 That's why they call it take five.

1:07:07 It's chocolate, peanut butter, pretzels, caramel, and peanuts. So peanut butter and peanuts. So it's a little redundant. But it's like the salty and the sweet. Like you can't go wrong with that. And, of course, a Coffee Crisp, but that's Canadian.

1:07:21 That's a delicacy.

1:07:25 Yeah.

1:07:26 I've got a Coffee Crisp bar that I've had for about six months just waiting for me.

1:07:31 Are you going to break it out tomorrow night?

1:07:33 I was going to bring it. The reason why I got it was because I was going to bring it to a Hawks game when Cooper Flagg was there and ask him, hey, have you had one of these? Because you're from Maine. And he has. Yes. We've had no dunks fans because I've asked before they said oh, yeah, he's had it. He's got it guaranteed So should give him this maybe one day.

1:07:56 Pretty weird thing to have Yeah, all right JD Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are getting worse. Oh Even the family is like that's the Hershey's guy chocolate. Mm-hmm like the chocolate. It ain't as good. Yeah, you're on to something and I will agree that I don't have as many memories of the take five, but I do love the Reese's fast break. So for me, I love their, the entire Reese's universe, the expanded universe. Yeah. They got a lot of deep cuts out there that are good.

1:08:24 All right.

1:08:24 That's a question for everybody joining us live or watching later, listening later. Let us know in the comments, most underrated Halloween candy, not the best, most underrated in your opinion. 21 nba games on this weekend so not as many as last weekend game seven of the wmba finals saturday night baby yes 8 p.m eastern uh but p.m is the important part uh as first.

1:08:51 Game seven in wa that's right wmba finals or slash wmba period history that's right amazing that's right.

1:08:57 So our our dream here from atlanta taking on the valkyries and Valhalla on Halloween night of all nights. How many people will be dressed up in Halloween costumes at the game? Yeah, like a lot, I assume.

1:09:10 Well, I don't know.

1:09:10 I actually don't know.

1:09:11 I think a lot.

1:09:13 I mean, what, 5 o'clock?

1:09:14 Yeah.

1:09:15 Fair time?

1:09:15 You go to parties after?

1:09:16 Sure, show up in costume. We're going trick-or-treating after.

1:09:20 Celebration alone, if they win. Yeah.

1:09:21 Because I saw it last night at the Hawks games.

1:09:24 There was a lot?

1:09:24 Yeah, there was a good amount. And some good ones, too.

1:09:27 Any favorites?

1:09:28 I got spooked.

1:09:29 Oh, really? What spooked you?

1:09:33 Well, just people and their makeup. It's just so well done.

1:09:38 Are you allowed to wear masks, though? Probably not, right? Some arenas are against that.

1:09:44 Like full on masks. Some I couldn't even tell just with the makeup. I was like, is that a mask? Is that real? Well done stuff.

1:09:52 All right, everybody have a safe and happy Halloween this weekend. We'll be back on Monday to talk about all the NBA action. Hopefully you'll join us at 10 a.m. Eastern here in the Classic Factory. Until then, Clipper Bros. You heard it here first. Have a great time. Turn up.

1:10:06 Love you guys. Awesome.

1:10:08 Thanks for joining us. And remember, Butterfinger, the most underrated candy. Another reason I think it's not rated very high, the wrapper. I don't think the colors are good.

1:10:18 Yeah.

1:10:20 Yellow.

1:10:20 Yellow and blue.

1:10:21 Blue.

1:10:21 It's like a Wonder Bar. I don't think the Wonder Bar's wrapper is good either. But it's a good chocolate.

1:10:28 What's your favorite color on a Halloween candy bar?

1:10:32 Favorite color on a candy bar, huh?

1:10:34 Just go to Browntown.

1:10:40 That's proud. Snickers, sort of? I guess blue and brown, yeah.

1:10:43 Snickers, yeah. Eminem's like the OG Eminem as a brown rapper, I guess.

1:10:48 Yeah.

1:10:49 Arolo. Wow.

1:10:50 That's a lot more than I thought. Embrace the weekend, people.

1:10:55 Happy Halloween.

1:10:57 Is it black? Is Arolo black?

1:10:59 I don't know.

1:10:59 I don't know.