Where Will The Thunder Finish In The West?

0:06 Good morning, sweet world, and welcome to the No Dunks NBA podcast. It's Tuesday, October 27th, 2026. I am J.E. Skeets, here on the Classic Factory, and alongside me, as always, Tass Mellis.

0:18 Podcast listeners, this is for you.

0:20 Next to him, it's my top shot hot boy, Trey Kirby.

0:23 Ayo. Ayo.

0:24 And over yonder, making the magic happen, super producer J.D.

0:27 Hello.

0:28 There he is. Here we are. Hello to everybody on YouTube. Hit the like button, subscribe. Podcast listeners, five-star ratings and reviews. Halloween is this weekend, Saturday night. If you want to be the coolest house on the block, here's what you hand out. Not candy. No Dunks reversible jerseys.

0:47 Whoa.

0:48 Yeah, yeah. Go to nodunks.com, buy a thousand of these jerseys, and then hand them out to the kids. And you can decide, oh, you're a red jersey type of kid tonight. Oh, you're a green jersey type of kid tonight. That'd be awesome.

1:03 That would be awesome.

1:04 They'd be talking about you for decades. Would kids like it? No.

1:09 Get a piece of clothes in the middle of a Halloween basket?

1:12 I don't know.

1:12 Well, I mean, I'm thinking back. Maybe jerseys are cool. I was going to say, when I was 10, 11, 12, like, you handed me a jersey on Halloween night. I guess I'd be pretty pumped.

1:21 They're not going to fit.

1:22 Kids. Kids.

1:23 We swim in these things.

1:25 They do run a little large. Thank you for pointing that out. But, yeah, go to nodunks.com.

1:30 Can you get a youth? Can you get a youth size?

1:31 Don't think so. Not with this run. You can with a lot of our shirts and the sweaters and stuff. But, yeah. Final week here to grab your No Dunks jerseys there. Okay, we got a lot of games, obviously, to address here. We'll touch on as many as possible. But we have an update on the OKC injuries. So, Thunder starters Jalen Williams and Kacen Wallace are will both miss extended time after they undergo surgery to repair injuries they suffered during Sunday's win over the Clippers. J-Dub suffered a fractured fibula and a dislocated left ankle. Wallace suffered a torn labrum in his left shoulder. So both injuries typically require months of rehabilitation. Now, they didn't come out and say, Sam Presti and O.K.C., like, they're done for the season. They

2:18 are probably, I would guess, done for the season, at least in J-Dub's case. But a bunch of questions now to really unpack with this. Tass, I know we talked about it yesterday, but we were still a little unsure of what was going on. You know, how big of a hole are these losses here for OKC? And I know we'll start talking about where they'll be in the Western Conference standings as a team, but like two starters gone for a majority of the season.

2:42 Well, let's start with one in Jalen Williams. Being that he's a big wing... And the way he plays and on this particular roster and how it's made up, he's the one who's not replaceable by just somebody you just shove out there that you have on this team that's supposed to be deep. He's big. He can play really, really good on the defensive end. He likes to cut.

3:03 And so there isn't a guy. The question then becomes, do they trade for somebody? And I think that is definitely possible. We'll get into the numbers a little bit later on. But a guy like Spencer Jones, who they signed to a a contract offer before this season could make sense. Definitely not the player that, uh, Jalen Williams is, or you get into more Jones, your herb Jones from New Orleans Pelicans who they'd be willing to give up.

3:29 Or I saw this thrown out by ESPN, Zach, uh, cram Jaime Hawkins of Milwaukee bucks. I think it makes the most sense on the floor, but will the Milwaukee bucks be willing to give up somebody that talented at this point when they're starting to build? I don't think so. Uh, But I think those are the options, and that's who I start with, thinking of a guy who needs to be replaced on this particular roster.

3:53 The J-Dub of it all.

3:54 Yeah.

3:54 Yeah, I think a lot of people are like, the Thunder probably still have enough scoring trade to get by when you have, first off, you've got the two-time MVP. Then you've got A.J. Mitchell, who had a great game last night. We'll get into that. Jared McCain is there after you picked him up last year. It's maybe defensively where you take J-Dub out, and Cason Wallace, who is an elite perimeter defender. You've got Caruso still, but you sort of went from four awesome perimeter defenders when Dort was there, and now two are injured, Dort's obviously gone, and then there's just Caruso, who's sometimes banged up himself.

4:26 Yeah, I mean, the loss of Jalen Williams is kind of, hard to overestimate. He is a great defensive player, but the guy is like an all NBA offensive player. He's the second best offensive player on the thunder. He, his absence last year is the reason why they lost to the Spurs in this conference finals. There's no doubt about it.

4:46 And like you guys are mentioning, he's an off defense level player. We know that the thunder viewed wings, depth, As a weakness because they tried to sign Spencer Jones, a big defensive wing. That's like the main thing he brings to the table is being able to guard guys the size of a Jalen Williams. And that's what they're going to miss the most because I think they can replace Wallace a little more easily. Like you guys are saying, they're still scoring on the perimeter. They've still got Shea Gildress Alexander, the dude is 35 points a night. and handles most of the possessions. But losing Wallace, you'll lose a little bit of the stopper potential, especially with Dort going out the door in the offseason as well. I

5:23 think Kenrich Williams is like a good spot starter. He's a fine throw-em-in player, but for long-term, he's kind of limited. He'll hit your corner threes. He'll hit your top-of-the-key threes, but he's not putting the ball on the floor and scoring the way J-Dub can. He's not creating for others in the same way that J-Dub can. So this is a huge loss for the Thunder team, Perhaps a title swinging loss.

5:45 Yeah, it could be. It feels like their margin for error is almost entirely gone is how I look at it. Because you're right. Guys can step up in games a week or two, maybe a playoff series. Can you do it for the entirety of the season? And then obviously when you get into the second season being the postseason.

6:01 Because they were, even though guys left this year. because of the, to cook the books and help them out, they still were one of the deepest teams in the league. And now that's really been zapped here. Like that feels like it's gone poof a little bit. So that margin for error is where I sort of zero in on.

6:16 Could they do it? Yeah, they still could. You have Shea and you have a lot of talent, but I mean, J-Dub was so awesome in the championship one year. I mean, he scored 40 in a finals game. It sort of gets forgotten. maybe because of the Shea of it all, I don't know. But he's so good.

6:31 Yeah, and he was so good at cutting off the ball when the guards got attention. That's how he started that 40-point game. I think six of his seven first-half buckets were all on cuts, all because the other guys were getting attention. And you can do that with other guys on this roster, but they don't have the size of Jalen Williams. He's a great finisher, and then he started creating on his own a little bit more. He's a really, really, really, really, really, really talented dude that they can't replicate, that size.

6:55 And his size, I think, takes... a club out of the bag for the Thunder. It's going to be harder for them to play small ball unless they want to try Chet Holmgren as their five. They've kind of gone away from that and it didn't go well in the playoffs last year. That's one of the great strengths of Jalen Williams is that he can play small ball five.

7:14 There was that stretch during the season in 2025 when hartenstein was out when chet was out and they basically were like okay you got to be our center now he finishes all nba all defense that year because he can scale up he can scale down and now they just don't really have that kind of player on the roster.

7:28 They don't and i know everybody's starting to talk about well you're going to play double bigs the entire time and you drafted a die mara so even when one of Holmgren or Hartenstein sits, you can throw Adai Mara out there or the other Jalen Williams out there. So more of that just to have more height along with your smaller guards that we're going to talk about now in A.J. Mitchell and Jared McCain and others. But it's not the same, number one. Jalen Williams can create from the outside. These guys are just bigs who are, yeah, you have more height, but you don't have that same type of finisher. So in addition to that, Adai Mara is young. Um, so you're still lacking in so many ways.

8:05 So AKC, OKC will likely receive a $ 15 million disabled player exception here. Um, the exception would allow the team to sign or trade for a player in the last year of his contract using more than around 7 million though, would cause the Thunder to exceed the second apron. And this goes back to how you started this here test.

8:22 Like we'll stand pressing the Thunder, be aggressive and look to move. And what can they do Because there's some big sexy names that would slot in nicely, but it just might be difficult to do. The Trey Murphys of the world. Maybe it has to be more like a Gary Payton or your boy D'Anthony Melton or something like that.

8:40 A tear down, of course, from a Trey Murphy, but a player that could help out.

8:43 Maybe. Numbers-wise and contract-wise, a Norm Powell could fit as well. That type of player who was basically signed to... be an expiring deal essentially with the Chicago bulls, two big balloon inflated numbers. But the second one, uh, is a team option. So it's really just an expiring deal. I could see that type of thing go down, but.

9:05 Norman Powell really, I mean, that's like sort of the one thing it feels like, again, we're talking about the defense of it all.

9:11 Yeah.

9:11 Yeah.

9:11 Well, it's not good. I mean, it's not, it's not as, I mean, I think, I think the Jaime Hawk is one is a fit, but yeah, listen, he's not replaceable. And if you're talking about a really, really, really good player like Jalen Williams, you're talking about another team that's willing to say, we're not going for it, if they're willing to trade that type of player. So you're lacking here.

9:31 At the same time, they do have a billion draft picks to trade.

9:35 Seven tradable first-round picks, including three in the 27 draft, and then literally a million second-round picks.

9:40 So they can sweeten the pot to say to somebody, like a Trey Murphy, for instance. And that's why I brought up Herb Jones with the New Orleans Pelicans as well. And maybe the Pelicans front office isn't willing to pull the plug on the team by trading Trey Murphy. right yeah so herb john's way further down on the pecking order there but we we do have a few more months and maybe the pelicans at some point or can say all right It's time to do it and trade a Trey Murphy, I suppose.

10:09 It's way past time for the Pelicans to actually make a move. I think it's more likely that the Thunder would chase after a guy like Herb Jones. You see Sam Presti's press conference yesterday. He's talking about J-Dub representing the city, representing the state going forward. That to me says, even though it was floated as a possibility, we're not trading Jalen Williams while he's hurt. The guy's a established here, so that seems off the table to me. But then you look at the contracts that the Thunder have, Caruso 19-5, Hartenstein 23-1, and then 41 for Chet, 40 for SGA, and 41 for J-Dub. They're going to have to cobble together some salaries. Maybe there's somebody out there that still has some hope for Topich, or maybe there's somebody that

10:53 thinks Sorber could be helpful. You package those together with some picks, and you're able to chase a guy who's more you know, less of a big name than Trey Murphy. And that to me is Herb Jones. Maybe it could be Jaime Jaquez as well. I think they would tilt more towards the defensive end, but it feels like Presti wants to still push forward this year, improve the team, which they're going to have to do missing two starters now after saying goodbye to a starter and a couple of rotation guys in the summer as well. But it doesn't feel like he's going to make a panic move that perhaps takes a star off the team. I think it'll be, Let's see what we can do this year, because I do think the Thunder can still win the

11:29 title with the team they have and with whatever sort of improvements they make, as long as they don't suffer another injury to a perimeter guy. Like if McCain or especially Mitchell goes down again, I don't think they have enough. We saw that last year.

11:41 Yeah, they got close last year without those guys. So I totally think I don't know if you're in the same boat. Yeah.

11:47 I think I struggle with that.

11:48 Yeah.

11:49 To win, to win it all, to win a bunch of games. No brainer. Yes, they can do that. They've done that. They had, what were they were like 39 and 10 without J Dub last year.

11:57 Right.

11:57 But I mean, like, again, there's other pieces that have gone as we've gone over a million times. I think it's just such a small margin for, uh, for error here now too. So I'm, I'm less convinced they can win it all without a healthy J Dub. And then especially case of Wallace, who was sort of getting overlooked in all this. I mean, the guy just got a huge contract. Now, looking next year at their books, he jumps from, what, $ 7 million to $ 23 million in addition to SGA's super max kicking in and these other guys making $ 40 million. It's like six guys making 125% of the projected cap. I guess what I'm getting at is I think we've sort of seen this current makeup of the Thunder play their last game altogether if J-Dub's not

12:37 back at all this year. I do believe that because I think there's a decision to be made, be it Hartenstein or be it Caruso, who's more of a $ 21 million guy. I just don't think we'll see it again, which is a bummer for them trying to get another title. Not a dynasty by any means, but one of the best teams in the league for.

12:53 A while now. They should be willing to make a trade, though, for a part. Oh, yeah. They have the draft picks. They definitely have been working on the books to make sure that they don't go up to the second apron, but they're also in a scenario where They're building an arena, and they only have to put in 5% of the cost of that arena. 95% of it is coming from the people of Oklahoma City and the taxes that they have to pay. So they should be willing, and we'll see if Clay Bennett is up for that. But wishful thinking this season, regardless of all the trades, Cason Wallace, maybe this is ultimate wishful thinking, is the guy that could come back because of his torn leg room. Before the playoffs, I suppose.

13:38 I think he'd be late in the regular season or playoffs, yeah. Have you watched Dr. Sutterer break that one down?

13:44 I didn't.

13:45 Has he even?

13:46 I don't know.

13:46 He's been busy, unfortunately.

13:47 A lot of injuries.

13:48 Been a lot of injuries here over the last couple days.

13:50 Yeah. You said you wondered if he was Canadian, and now I'm starting to think maybe he's got relation to the other Sutterers, all the hockey Sutterers, but he's a Sutterer, isn't he?

14:00 Yeah, and he's based in Missouri.

14:02 Oh, right, right, okay. I was looking up his... Clinic. Maybe he likes hockey. Anyway, Missouri's up there. He might be. But they should be willing to pull the plug, to make some sort of trade, right?

14:17 I think they'll... He almost always makes a trade. They'll play this out. They'll see what they have here over these next couple weeks and months. And yes, I would expect them to do something here. And I think it'll be more of a defensive-minded guy like a Herb Jones. Like I said, maybe one of those Warriors guys. You know, ironically, people are throwing out, now it's weird to think about, seeing as they played a part in the injury, but like Derek Jones Jr. with the Clippers, Chris Dunn with the Clippers. It's like those guys actually make a ton of sense, I think. but then they just hurt the guy. Look, it's a basketball play.

14:50 Dennis Rodman smashed Scottie Pippen's head into the stanchion once upon a time and won three titles with the Bulls.

14:56 Right.

14:57 But that's a team that, like, you want to talk about picks, the Clippers will be like, yes, thank you, we'll take some picks for said guys. So, you know, maybe that is a play here from Preston in the Thunder as well.

15:07 But I think.

15:07 It'll be leaned towards that defensive wing type of guy.

15:11 And a large-sized wing. Preferably. You know, I threw out the Norm Powell because he works contract-wise, but... Even going back to when they got Gordon Hayward at the end of his contract. Size-wise, that guy made more sense than a Norm Powell. But I'm just....

15:29 Maybe they want Giddy back, huh?

15:33 Nah.

15:34 Pooze Ellis?

15:36 Pooze Ellis? Oh, my God. Who are you trading for them?

15:40 How about Caruso? Get the picks back. That's not a bad move.

15:47 Where do you think this does on the Western Conference pecking order at all? It sounds like you guys are still high on the Thunder winning a bunch of games and maybe everything clicking and maybe they make a move or don't. They're still going to be good. But are other teams now, like today, going, whoa?

16:01 Oh, absolutely.

16:01 We should even maybe be more aggressive in an opening of some sort here.

16:05 The biggest beneficiary, Drew, is... Biggest beneficiaries.

16:09 There you go.

16:10 Beneficiaries.

16:11 Yeah, that's a tough one.

16:12 Houston Rockets, easily. A, they're the best team in the league right now. B, the other two teams, I think, that are very excited for the opportunity here have to be the Timberwolves and the Lakers. They've traded everything already. The Rockets are already good, and the Rockets can still add to their team. So I think for them, when they see the injury news for the Thunder, they think that their 2% to 3% chance is maybe more like a 12% chance or something today. I think they wake up and see this news and realize there's an opportunity here to really make some noise in the West.

16:46 Yeah, I think in their locker room, they probably are like a 50% chance in their brains that they can do it after beating the Spurs, after Roman Thompson blocked Victor Wambanyama, I think they believe that they can do it. So, absolutely. I think, you know, there's still a spot down to both the Spurs and the Thunder. I think the Thunder, you know, they are the close two to the Spurs.

17:11 And then you have a Rockets team, I think, is the clear third one. But they're very close.

17:16 Definitely feels more open here after these injuries. Unfortunately for Thunder fans, but the rest of the league.

17:22 I think Thunder will still finish top two in the West.

17:24 Yeah.

17:24 Record-wise.

17:25 I agree.

17:26 They dominated last year without Jada.

17:29 It's just going to be can you win four series without him.

17:31 They don't have to play. Maybe they don't have to play against the Spurs.

17:35 Yeah, absolutely. If somebody knocks them off, it helps them out.

17:38 I mean, not every team has Wemby to shut down SGA's mid-range game. It's all about matchups.

17:44 The Thunder played last night, and they won. So they're still undefeated here.

17:48 A.J.

17:48 Mitchell scored a career-high 30 points. SGA added 26. They beat the Suns 125-114. So OKC stays perfect through four games, and this was without J-Dub, without Wallace, last night without Chet Holmgren, who was sidelined with patellar tendonitis in his right knee. Caruso, you did say it there, Trey. He was assisted to the locker room in the second quarter.

18:08 I think it was a sprained right ankle, so he didn't come back, and they still take care of business here.

18:13 Yeah, the biggest story is A.J. Mitchell getting to his career high of 30, and I think you will see him in the starting lineup. But you'll also see him run second units out there, like he started doing the first quarter with Alex Caruso beside him and Bennett Sturtz beside him, where he is the only real creator of those three. And you'll see the herky-jerky. You'll see him get to his left. He'll get a lot of it. Now, a secondary guy who's going to get more minutes is Jared McCain, but he's not the same guy as A.J. Mitchell, who will be herking and jerking out there. And he was able to do it with all those things you mentioned, and Shea got into foul trouble in this game. fifth foul with three minutes left in the third. So AJ

18:53 is going to capitalize on this opportunity. I think he was ready to do it last year. Um, and it didn't work out because he was injured, but yeah, they got the guys to do the ball handling. I think we'll be primarily on him to create on both the starting lineup and the second unit.

19:10 They're still very good. They still got a ton of points off their bench as well. Mara had another good game, 11 points, 10 boards. They gave Bennett Sturtz a real run and he was hitting some shots and As well, this is just how the Thunder are. They're such a deep team that when guys go down with injury, they're like, OK, let's see what you got, young player X. And young player X usually comes through for the team. So, yeah, I think we were talking preseason. Who's even going to start for this team? Is Kaysen Wallace going to be the starter or is it going to be A.J.

19:36 Mitchell?

19:36 This now gives Mitchell the opportunity to be a secondary ball handler, sometimes lead ball handler alongside SGA. SGA obviously will win. do the bulk of the scoring, long term, you know, Mitchell led the team in scoring last night, but their three guards work really well together because McCain is such an awesome off ball player and can get hot basically in a second, screams off screens, catch and shoot attacking like he's just a perfect complement to these guys who are more drive-based than SGA and AJ Mitchell.

20:06 I wonder too, if AJ Mitchell's, his ISO scoring could allow or unlock, I guess is a better way to put it, SGA's potential for off-ball development. Because that was something he talked about a ton in the off-season with Team Canada and stuff like that. I mean, I guess as a two-time MVP player, you're going to have the ball in his hands, but he's like, is there another level to go being off the ball a little bit more?

20:25 I think it's more likely he can develop that when Mitchell is out there alongside him than someone like Cason Wallace. So something to watch. That's the scary part about the Thunder here. Like these are devastating injuries. Again, this is a huge blow, especially J-Dub. Everybody feels for him after coming back and fighting through the wrist surgery and then all the hamstring injuries. But like, they're going to use this like, like now it's like, well, nobody expects us to sort of win a championship or even go all the way again. Like, obviously there's like pressure suddenly taken down, but they're like, they're going to use it as sort of motivation here. I think like you watch next guy up type of thing. That's our whole MO. So it

21:00 could be dangerous from, from that. And you still get SGA. You're going to win a ton of games. You got the two-time MVP. Anything else from that one?

21:08 They held Devin Booker to three points. They did.

21:11 Yeah. Suns are worse than I thought.

21:13 Absolutely. Yeah. They are. It seems like last year's facade, which was they were really good against the teams that were below 500 and not so good against the teams above 500. And we'll talk about the Charlotte Hornets a little bit later, who I think could replicate what the Suns did last year. But There's so many things going on with the Suns in giving up a pick for Miles Bridges. They got their owner coming out and saying, we're going to win a playoff series. And internally, the Dylan Brooks scenario, there's too many. There's too many things, it seems like. Right now, anyway, they're not that good.

21:51 Dylan Brooks had a crazy basket last night.

21:53 It was awesome.

21:54 How would you describe that for the podcast listener, how he scored those two points?

21:58 Uh, that's a skeets horse shot is how I would describe it. Or how about like in between pickup games, you're always trying to throw the ball in off the floor and somehow Dylan Brooks did it in the middle of a play. Yeah. Somebody shoots a three from the corner ball gets deflected and he just like tries to grab the offensive rebound, slams it on the floor, bounces off the floor into the hoop.

22:18 Amazing.

22:19 Hand up right away. That's my two points. Well, that was cool. But yeah, the Booker, uh, one for seven, I think.

22:25 Right.

22:26 Yeah, he was trying to get everybody else involved. He wasn't really trying to do it himself. But they gave up depth for Miles Bridges, and they're not that good.

22:37 I think your guy Gillespie needs to be in the starting lineup for Jalen Green. It's time. They just need somebody who's, they need a scary shooter out there. Because right now it's like, how many two-pointers can we get?

22:46 Yeah.

22:47 Not enough.

22:50 So, Thunderwind, let's get to some other games here. Really entertaining game in Cleveland. Let's start with that one. Donovan Mitchell, 26 points. He had five in overtime as the Cavs beat the Wolves, handed them their first loss of the season. 127-125, despite 47 points from Anthony Edwards. Trey, the shot-making from Ant.

23:09 And Donovan Mitchell and a bunch of other guys contributing. I mean, it was pretty absurd some of the shots these guys were taking and making.

23:15 Yeah.

23:15 If you like a snatchback jumper, this is the game for you. It felt like we saw so many crossovers that turned into step-back threes. But I'm watching this, and I just can't stop thinking. My kids are taking piano right now. Their next performance is going to be Choose Your Favorite Motown Song. So we've been listening to a ton of Motown.

23:33 Okay.

23:33 And this game was four tops mode. Cause it's the same old calves. Like seriously, again, this is the same team. Can Donovan Mitchell make enough tough shots in the fourth quarter to take us over the edge? Last night he did. James Harden I thought was kind of the trigger man for them during the fourth quarter. Set up, set up, set up, get some tough buckets, scoring inside. But then it eventually turned into Mitchell. How many tough shots can you make? And he was making tough shot after tough shot.

24:01 He is a tough shot maker. but it's a tough way to live, I think, for the Cavs. And as we saw in the playoffs, even though they made the conference finals, they were 8-10. They had the worst record you could possibly have and be a conference finalist. A little fraudulent, if you ask me. I just don't know what this team's identity is. They're not a high-powered offensive team like they used to be when they won 64 games and were chucking threes nonstop. They're not a great defensive team because they get lit up on the perimeter, and then it's like, how much can Mobley and Allen...

24:30 handle inside they're just a good team yeah and i don't know what they really hang their hat on except for donovan mitchell making miracles happen he made some crazy shots.

24:40 Yeah i don't think they know who they are either they were lucky to win this game defensively they are not a team that you should be threatened by and you could see the wolves going at the rim over and over and over again and going at Evan Mobley and Jared Allen. And you could see guys on the perimeter like Sam Merrill, Peyton Watson. Hey, Evan, rotate faster.

25:01 And you could see how everybody on the Minnesota Timberwolves, again, was just so confident at going both those guys. And you see Io dunk on Evan Mobley. That was a pretty one there. They don't know who they are. They won the game. Yeah, I know. They did. They were lucky. They were super lucky to win this game. In the first half, They just gave up point after point after point in the paint. Lots of them. And they gave up offensive rebound after offensive rebound. That's what they do.

25:29 They are the 24th best rebounding team coming into this game. You know that the Wolves are really, really good. They're really, really good. They're the second best rebounding team in the NBA. And I marveled at it recently, the recent games, how many of their guys just say, all right, ball's up. I'm going after it. They have one guy that goes after it. And they really, really do. They had 23 second chance points in this game. 17 offensive boards. The Cavs just can't do it. I mean, they don't have, it starts with Donovan Mitchell and James Harden, and then you're trying to make up for it with Peyton Watson on the perimeter, who had a really, really active game.

26:03 I thought that was his best game in a Cavs uniform.

26:05 The motor was going.

26:06 Yes.

26:07 Four big blocks.

26:08 That's like why they traded for him.

26:09 Absolutely.

26:09 This was a good example. I mean, I know there's a lot of point score, but there was moments down the stretch there where he made big plays. His weak side rim protection is pretty elite. But yeah, 15 points, eight boards, four blocks, three steals, and an assist. That's good from Watson. And just an attitude. I sort of even like sometimes when they would score and he'd turn around. Like, what the hell? Come on, I've done my part here.

26:30 Somebody else help me out.

26:31 They need those dudes to help. Peyton Watson can be good, but we need five guys to play some defense a little bit more. And Evan Mobley was just slow. Well, you're getting three.

26:41 That's the problem. You're getting three that are playing defense. And I agree that Watson was pretty good last night, but he's more of a defensive playmaker than he is a clamps guy.

26:49 He's not a clamps guy.

26:50 Yeah, I agree with that.

26:51 But yeah, he was using his length. He contested 14 shots according to the advanced stats. And he does. And the snatchbacks were getting Anthony Edwards, who was incredible. Lots of space. They need more effort. They need more athleticism. And that's why I think they threw out Malik Thomas for his first minutes in the NBA as a second-round pick.

27:12 He's athletic, and he's scored plenty. And you know, even going back to last year, Kenny Atkinson, their head coach, said, okay, we need some athleticism. And so he starts trying stuff, and maybe he's trying stuff a little bit earlier this year, Peyton Watson, Malik Thomas, allowing that. But it's just disappointing to watch their bigs allow bucket after bucket. Like 19 paint buckets for the Wolves in the first half. That's 19 buckets. inside the key because Allen and Mobley aren't doing enough and the rebounding isn't good enough. I also, I don't know who they are. You're right. It's Donovan Mitchell bailing them out at the end of games.

27:46 At least Mobley hit threes last night.

27:48 He's a big ones too.

27:49 He kept coming through with timely threes. I thought, cause it's like, I've talked about it before. Mobley goes missing at times, but he was there. I was noticing, okay, these were big shots. Malik Thomas back to him. Yeah. 16 points in 19 minutes. I mean, he gives them a little bit of outside shooting and that they desperately need here, I think, or are severely lacking at times.

28:06 Kenny Atkinson, he had tried Craig Porter Jr. earlier in the season. He had tried Tyrese Proctor earlier in the season, and he was like, they weren't giving him anything. So he's like, all right, let's try this rook here, who doesn't look at all like he's 20 years old to me. He looks like a 32-year-old man. But he was great. So, you know, Kenny's got to continue to play him here.

28:25 A little spark there off the bench. The big difference for the Cavs in this one, too, turnovers. They took care of them. Starting backcourt, only combined for four giveaways. Whereas the Hornets, they had 11 between their starting backcourt. LaMelo was guilty of a lot of them last night. I think he had seven to Ant's four. And what a weird play at the end where, I mean, of all the shots that he missed, like, like, 47 for Ant.

28:48 He had a wide open look at a three to tie the game. That was off the missed free throws and all that, right?

28:53 Was he too open?

28:54 I mean, he couldn't believe it.

28:56 I think that's part of it. He could not believe he missed it. It was too much space. Honestly needs a Peyton Watson hand sort.

29:02 Of close to him.

29:03 Maybe, but Cavs survived there.

29:05 And it was awesome to watch Anthony Edwards. It was awesome to watch Donovan Mitchell. It was awesome to watch that Io dunk. It was awesome to watch that Jared Allen alley-oop even. which is odd to say it's cool to watch a Jared Allen alley-oop, but it was cool.

29:18 Said no one ever.

29:19 I know, but they picked it up in the third quarter when they started to do stuff defensively. Plays-wise, highlights-wise, a good game.

29:28 Very entertaining.

29:29 I liked when Harden scored a basket inside. He missed the layup, got his own offensive rebound, and finished over the top and punched himself in the head multiple times. It was a crazy move. I also noticed... the Cavs are hiding the diff now. Oh, it's very small. They've got a new score bug. I think it looks nice.

29:46 Very slick. I don't like it.

29:47 But it's still got the diff on there.

29:48 Just very small.

29:49 On the top of it.

29:50 Oh, it's so tiny.

29:51 They heard the feedback, but they still want to know. Yeah, we're not doing the math.

29:55 Man, it must have been really small because I'm watching on a pretty big monitor. You didn't even notice. Really close to me and I'm watching the Cavs broadcast too. Oh, yeah.

30:02 It's right at the top of the scoreboard.

30:04 Like above the clock part of it, I think.

30:06 It's funny when the score is even and they just put two little arrows pointing at each other.

30:12 That's what it does.

30:14 Wow. You noticed everything. I've got to notice what the diff in the diff is. How big is it in comparison to last year? I've got to go back and check. All right.

30:24 Go check the highlights out at the very least of that game. There's some absurd shot making from Ant and Donovan Mitchell. That's what you talked about.

30:31 And I have this one question. I threw it out on Twitter because I'm just curious. Maybe it's nothing. But Peyton Watson at the free throw line in a new arena that he's playing in for the first time. hit a free throw, and blew a kiss to a fan, it looked like. That's nice. Yeah, was it nice? Was it a family member?

30:47 Jeff Hornacek style.

30:50 Yeah. But unlike Jeff Hornacek, who was looking at the free throw when he shoots it, this was directly at somebody after a free throw. It wasn't before. It was like somebody. He's pointing out somebody.

31:00 Was it a family member?

31:01 I don't know. Yeah, maybe.

31:02 But it was just one free throw he did it for. So I thought it was more like, hey, you're talking, I don't know. Was he talking trash? It's a home arena, so probably not. Can't imagine that. But I don't know.

31:12 Something we'll get serena winters on the.

31:14 Case yeah let's get it serena.

31:16 Uh all right let's go to cooper flag with 29 points and 11 assists plus a key block late he closed out on a corner three and got a piece of it as the mavs sent the reeling miami heat to oh and four with the 113 109 win on monday night so yannis and the heat here are still looking for their first w and the mavs cooper was making making the big plays as i just went through down the.

31:41 Stretch Dallas knows that they are the clearly more athletic team. Even though they were down double digits in the third quarter, they just said, all right, let's start to run it down the Miami Heat's throat. And it worked. It worked really well. Cooper, great to see him back. He only missed one game with that shoulder injury. Expected him to miss a few more. Yeah. Because he was going to be evaluated later in the week.

32:02 Totally. I was like, oh, he's back.

32:04 Oh, he's awesome.

32:05 Good.

32:07 But the Heat... just aren't there defensively even, and not even defensively when we expected them to be. Giannis is not quite the defender that he used to be. He doesn't go out and affect shots the same way, especially with how much energy he's burning on the offensive end. The offense is stagnant. I'm just waiting for that Ira Winderman tweet, which says, the Miami Heat are changing their starting lineup tonight. Klay Thompson is out. Pella Larson is in.

32:36 And I say that because they need to just move offensively. They're so stagnant. And Pell Larson, even when he starts, he's not going to have incredible numbers, but he's just going to move the ball. He's going to have it in his hands. He's going to dribble into the paint and they're going to become less of a Giannis from the elbow or Bam from the elbow who's very much struggling.

32:54 They don't know where they're going or where they are while on the other side, at least the Mavs know who they are. It was great to see Cooper finish with his left, the block on Wiggins in the corner, and then Same thing, finished again with the left on that. Flying high in the last minute to the bucket. So they're just more athletic than the Miami Heat.

33:16 This was impressive from Cooper Flagg. He loves going left, and he loves finishing left as well. But Russillo mode, I was actually more impressed with the playmaking from Cooper Flagg. He was in the paint the entire night, finished with 11 assists, like you're saying. He could have had 11 secondary assists as well. He was just driving, drawing two.

33:34 making the smart pass. It reminds me like midway through the season last year, we started talking about how Jalen Johnson seems like he's able to manipulate the floor a little bit better, knows how to draw defenders and then use his vision to create for others. The game really feels like it slowed down for Cooper flag. And then he went superstar style first three quarters. I'm getting people involved.

33:54 Fourth quarter slammed the door. And that's exactly what he did. Potential five-by-five guy. He only came up a couple of blocks short here.

34:01 Oh, wow.

34:02 Five steals, three blocks, six boards, 11 assists, and then all the points as well. He's got a chance to do it because this guy will stuff a stat sheet.

34:10 That's a good point. Didn't even notice he had that many defensive stats there. Five and three.

34:14 The way he plays. That makes sense.

34:18 So when, I mean, maybe you're ready to smash it now. The panic button with the Miami Heat here? Or you're just like, you're waiting for Spoh to put Larson in and then that will be... Solved because, I mean, this is brutal. And the Bam out of bio, I mean, what he is, there's crickets from him.

34:34 Yeah. I think once they insert somebody else into the starting lineups, they'll just know where they're going and know who they are a little bit more.

34:45 But, I mean, the only way I push back a little bit, it's not like Larson's not playing.

34:50 Yeah.

34:50 Clay played like 15 minutes. Larson's playing starter minutes.

34:54 Yep.

34:54 He's just not starting.

34:56 Yeah.

34:56 He's doing the nominal.

34:57 Start for Clay, and then, I don't know.

35:00 Their defense is, you know, they've got to stop giving up 30-point quarters, 30 to 40-point quarters.

35:05 There's a few things. As Trey brought up, they don't know who the Cleveland Cavaliers are. The Miami Heat don't either. They had the fastest pace last year. They've slowed down this year. They can't rebound. They literally can't rebound. And you're thinking, bam, and Giannis and Wiggins should be able to do that. Coming into this game, they're out-rebounded by an average of 10 boards. They're out-rebounded by nine in this one. Overall rebounding, they're the 27th team. They just don't know who they are offensively, too. And I think that's why... Even just somebody out there, again, who can dribble and get into the paint just unlocks it a little bit. Because I think you have guys that are still working hard enough. Like Davion Mitchell is pushing the

35:46 ball really, really hard when he can. And once the ball starts moving, maybe Bam is just unlocked a little bit. And so that's where it has to happen, I think, with the ball handlers on that team.

35:58 Davion Mitchell is innocent. Yeah, he's been playing great for this team and he actually is expanded his game a little bit. I think he's done a pretty good job of actually driving the ball and taking advantage of his opportunities. I also like the leadership after the game. He's like, as the point guard, I got to get Bam involved, but also Bam, stay aggressive and get out of Giannis' way.

36:18 I think it was pretty interesting to hear that from a guy who's the fourth option maybe in their starting lineup. But to me, Mitchell at least has been impressive and he's probably exceeding what was expected from him with the heat. Bam, on the other side, looks completely lost. Part of that's on Bam, I think, but part of it is on Giannis.

36:36 That's something I learned from the Damian Lillard experiment in Milwaukee. Giannis doesn't change his game. He wants to play Giannis style. And that's why the Heat are trying to decide, like, we ran no pick and rolls last year. That's what made us interesting on offense. Giannis wants to run pick and rolls. Giannis wants to have the ball in his hand.

36:53 There's nobody that's scary on the perimeter for the Heat right now. So there's a lot of bodies for Giannis. He's just got a battering ram his way in there. Maybe he'll get some plays. from Mitchell here and there, but they've got a lot of things to iron out. It would be helpful if like Wiggins would wake up and play basketball. How many times will we said that in his career, but he feels a little bit lost as well. They just seem like a team that traded everybody for one player this year. And now they're trying to figure out how they can craft a real squad out of this. And so far, It's not going well.

37:23 A lot of things.

37:23 Three of these have been at home too. Maybe they need to get out on the road. Unlock something there. I wanted to point out Walter Clayton Jr. too for the Mavs, man. Because I know you were high on him, Tass, and were a little perplexed like why this guy was getting waved when he made the trade from obviously to the Jazz to the Grizzlies and then waved. And here he is on Dallas. 15 points last night in 17 minutes.

37:43 2-2 from deep and 6-7 from the field. That can score.

37:47 He looked really, really good. This is just his second game. With Dallas, he was signed hours before his game on Saturday, and he looked good in that one. In this one, he was really good. The 15-4-4. Big fourth quarter, too. He had seven points in that quarter. Good pickup, man. Just a smart one, and it's a bit of a steal, I think, for this team. On the other side, there's so many things. He hit a free throw. I think Orlando's the team. I think Sean Sweeney's been the guy who's been pumping in sound when players are practicing free throws.

38:29 Maybe the Heat have to do that. They were 14 of 25. That's 56%. That is atrocious. Just hit a few. And maybe we're talking about this team totally different. Tim Hardaway can't hit a shot. He hit one, but he's hit 19% of his threes in this season. That's weird. Four of 21. So it's just up and down, man.

38:46 But Giannis keeps on getting those numbers. His 57th triple-double. Yes, he does.

38:51 He also had the second-highest dunk score rating of the season, the young season so far. That was a big-ass dunk. 116.0, of course, on the dunk score scale.

39:01 Yeah, anything over 100 is good.

39:03 That's right.

39:04 I think Koulibaly has the top dunk.

39:07 Still.

39:07 He's been thrown down to start the season.

39:09 So he's got that.

39:10 Playing for a contract, man.

39:11 Brandon Miller scored a career-high 39 points as the Hornets beat Koulibaly's Wizards 110-103 last night, their third win in four games to open the season. Nas Reed finished with 18 points, a majority of those coming in the fourth quarter. So career-high, TK, for Brandon Miller. This is sort of the Brandon Miller I think a lot of us were hoping for in a here as the the alpha on this team now.

39:33 He said Prior to coming into the NBA that his favorite player was Paul George, and the guy looked like Paul George last night.

39:40 It's uncanny.

39:41 Especially wearing the same jersey number. You know, I think Paul George may be a better creator. Like, Brandon Miller is basically a jump shooter, but I love it when he's driving to the hoop and making plays. Nas Reid has been super helpful for this team. Grayson Allen has been awesome for this team. I perhaps underestimated how good a Celtics-style team build works in the regular season. They get a ton of extra possessions, and they chuck a ton of threes. Last night, 20 offensive rebounds for Charlotte Musa Diabate, still making it happen on the offensive glass.

40:08 That turns into 12 extra shots. Hornets aren't even shooting the ball well. Yeah, they're under 30% from three to start the season. That'll increase. If you're able to win the possession game every night and you're able to at least game the numbers and make more three-pointers, you can win a ton of games in the regular season. This is without Kobe White. This is without Khan Knipple.

40:28 That's a lot of threes right there.

40:29 Exactly.

40:29 Grant Williams is a three-point shooter as well. They will continue to add to their team, but it's been a solid, surprising start for the Hornets to keep it up after trading Lomelo.

40:38 Yeah, three and one without their starting backcourt, essentially, and Kobe and Khan. Now, they haven't beat great teams. They've beat the Nets. They've now beat the Wizards, and they beat the Miami Heat. But.

40:49 Well, when you put it that way.

40:51 Yeah, the way they've started. But to me, it's reminiscent of the Phoenix Suns of last year. They beat the bad teams, and they're not so good against the above 500 teams. They're 19-29, the Suns were last year, against the above 500 teams, and 26-18 below 500 teams. So the Charlotte Hornets could be reminiscent of that. They traded for depth. when they traded Miles Bridges for a couple guys and Royce O'Neal and Grayson Allen, Grayson Allen just balling.

41:15 Nas Reed was their leading scorer up until this game. He was scoring 20 per game, and then he had a huge fourth quarter in this one, 16 of his 18 points, to go along with Brandon Millers and Moussa Diabate doing his thing out there. 11 offensive boards. That's awesome. So they got guys participating everywhere. I mean, that's, well, I saw this, the stat came up during the broadcast of the most offensive rebounds in a game because of what Musa Diabate was doing. I don't know if it'll ever be topped. It's way back.

41:48 Is it Bill Russell or Wilt?

41:49 No. Nate Thurman? It's a guy who's known for... Getting his own boards.

41:53 Yeah.

41:54 Oh, Moses Malone. So how many did he get?

41:57 Like 28?

41:57 21.

41:57 Okay. In one game.

41:59 21 offensive rebounds.

42:00 He's got the number one.

42:01 That's a lot of roast beef. Holy crap.

42:03 How many total rebounds did he have?

42:05 I don't know. 40? Jeez. 21 offensive rebounds.

42:09 That's amazing.

42:09 He's number one and number two in offensive rebounds in one game.

42:13 21.

42:13 And then he had 19 in another one. Third, I was shocked that the guys who were tied for third for offensive rebounds, one you'll think of, you've already mentioned a few minutes ago. Dennis Rodman. Rodman, but two other guys.

42:28 Reggie Evans.

42:29 Like Rudy? Rudy Gobert?

42:32 No. A bruiser in the 80s and 90s.

42:34 Okay.

42:35 But not an offensive rebound guy that you don't think of. Maybe a Reggie Evans type of guy. And then a bruiser most recently.

42:44 Bill Lambeer?

42:45 No.

42:46 Ben Wallace.

42:46 Kind of like a Bill Lambeer type. More 90s. I guess he played in the 2000s as well.

42:53 80s, 90s.

42:53 A little like Jeff Foster?

42:55 No.

42:55 He was a good board guy.

42:57 He had some Bulls days. Definitely a lot of Bulls days.

43:00 Oh, this man had a Bulls days?

43:01 Yeah. 90s to 2000s?

43:03 Yeah, 80s, 90s. Tyson Chandler.

43:03 Then early 2000s. He played with, in the 90s, He got to the Raptors. And then into the early 2000s, like late in his career. Davis?

43:16 Antonio Davis?

43:17 No, you're close. We're close. We're a bruiser. We're a bruiser. We're fighting.

43:21 He plays for the Raptors and Bulls.

43:22 He's a scrapper.

43:23 Yeah, he played with the Bulls earlier.

43:27 Charles Oakley.

43:27 Yeah.

43:27 No, sure, sure.

43:28 I didn't mention the Knicks days. And then a guy currently, well, currently, like five years ago, six, seven, more, seven, eight years ago type of guy.

43:37 Good player?

43:38 Played in the 2010s, I guess, mostly.

43:41 Chuck Hayes.

43:42 No. Good player, no. No disrespect to this player, although we disrespected him on one of our NBA TV shows, and we heard about it in a different way. He changed the all-star voting rules, sort of.

43:55 Oh, Zaza Pachulia.

43:58 Wow. 18 offensive rebounds.

43:59 That's a surprising one.

44:00 Yeah, it's a shocker.

44:02 I never really thought of him as a dominant offensive rebounder.

44:06 Nope. I mean, I'm wrong.

44:07 That's awesome. That game, he had 18 offensive rebounds, three on the defensive end. What was he doing? Just boxing out, I guess.

44:14 That's weird.

44:14 I mean, even Moussa Diabate yesterday, 11 offensive boards and six defensive. So mostly on the offense.

44:21 All right.

44:21 So Hornets surprising some people here. Because like we kept saying, yeah, they got no backcourt to start this. They're banged up. It could be a slow start here. And at least they're, you know, against some maybe subpar competition there. They're getting these Ws, but they all matter. 39 for Brandon Miller.

44:35 I mean, How long will that last? I started thinking watching this one. Career high 39? That'll be beaten. He'll beat that this year. He might beat that in the next week or two. I could see.

44:45 He was flowing last night.

44:46 Yeah.

44:49 Cedric Coward tallied 16 points, 11 boards to lead the Grizzlies to the 110-105 victory of the Jazz last night. Their second in four games over Utah. Ty Jerome, who entered the night leading the NBA in scoring, was held to 15 points. So he no longer has that distinction. He passes the baton over to Luka. I think it's Luka one, Ant two now. And Ty Jerome dropping there.

45:12 But the Jazz played most of the game without two of their top scorers. Lowry Markkinen, Jaron Jackson Jr. Both suffered injuries early in the first half and did not return. Any takeaways from the Grizz outlasting the Jazz?

45:23 Yeah, hopefully Jaron Jackson Jr. comes back because Ty Jerome fell into his leg. And the player of the week, unfortunately, took out Jaron Jackson Jr. Ty Jerome was the player of the week. We had an early player of the week.

45:33 Yeah, him and Maxie.

45:35 Barely played a week, I guess. But anyway, a fun ending to this game, as we've said. Jazz Grizzlies are league pass darlings, and this was really fun to watch at the end.

45:47 Yeah, six guys in double digits for the Grizzlies, led by Coward. This was the first game that Ty Jerome was really held in check, but he still dominated the fourth quarter. Nine points and three assists in the fourth quarter. I heard on You Know Ball, they're saying... Does this guy have Jalen Brunson potential?

46:03 Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

46:05 That breakout like leaving.

46:07 Yeah, not necessarily. Like, is he going to lead the Grizzlies in their first franchise championship and be finals MVP?

46:14 Like the go-to guy on an offense?

46:16 Unheralded, yeah.

46:17 And like, he's a clutch guy. His floater, I think, would be the equivalent of Jalen Brunson's little scrappy mid-range game that he's got. They're both good outside shooters. You trust them to be able to get a shot for themselves or for others. Something interesting, I thought. But I mean, the takeaway for sure is Markkinen hurting his wrist, getting pinned in between Jaron Jackson Jr. and Carlos. Finally, first time calling him Carlos. It was a damn loser. And then of course, Jaron Jackson Jr., there's like a clip of Will Hardy talking to Thomas Isolo. after the game, and it looks like he says that Jaron Jackson tore something and he doesn't know about Lowry. That could be bad.

46:53 However, they turned to Mo Bamba.

46:56 Oh my gosh.

46:57 And Mo Bamba was dominating. He was bombinating out there, Tass. 14 points, seven rebounds, four blocks. This was the biggest Mo Bamba moment since one battle after another.

47:08 This was awesome.

47:11 I couldn't believe it. I was like, who is that man? That can't be the real Mo Bamba. He was trying so hard. He had an extendo dunk almost going backwards.

47:19 It was amazing. I was very impressed.

47:21 And he dunked on Zach Eady.

47:22 Yeah.

47:23 Zach Eady, a monster, got caught under the hoop a little bit. But yeah, without Jaron Jackson Jr., Larry Markkinen, and Yusuf Nurkic, and Jackson Hayes, that guy gets his minutes. He was really good on both ends.

47:36 The other games last night, I'm just going to chuck them all at you here. Shen Goon had 29 points. Rockets stay unbeaten, beat the Hawks again. 120 to 110. Wasn't really even all that close.

47:46 In the McDonald uniforms again.

47:48 Yeah, they've gone red every night.

47:51 Unbelievable. Every single night.

47:52 Hell of a getting away with that. Pritchard scored 28 as the Celtics destroyed the Chicago Bulls.

47:58 134-99.

47:58 Hero had 23 points. The Bucs beat the Pacers 110-102. That's their first win of the season. Bucs have a win before the Heat. And then Yaxel Lindenburg, the Rook, 31 points as he helped the Warriors earn their first win of the season. They beat the Nuggets 134-114. You want to touch on any of those?

48:19 We'll start there. Yaxel Lindenburg looked so, so good. And that's why his development, combined with Steph Curry, combined with the solid player in Brandon Pajepsi, combined with Jimmy Butler, who I think is going to return at some point. I know it's It's all wishful thinking, but that guy can fight through things. Makes me believe that they will pull the trigger for a trade that will make him better this season if it's available, even though it seems pretty dire for the Golden State Warriors. I think they will be willing to do that because they're literally turning to Yax Lindenberg as their opposite.

48:46 I know, it's great.

48:48 So good. And I don't mind that he talks trash about Luka Doncic. If you're going to back it up with this type of play, he is a huge man out there and he's not a young rookie. He's an old rookie, and he looks like a center of an offense. I know he's not quite the Ty Jerome will become Jalen Brunson type of guy to lead your offense, but he does it all, man. So it was fun to watch that side of things. While on the other side, the Nuggets.

49:16 This is not a great start to the season for the Nuggets.

49:18 Hey, the fans didn't boo.

49:19 Yeah.

49:20 They got blown out.

49:21 They got blown out.

49:22 Maybe they should have booed.

49:23 Yeah, they would have come back.

49:25 I thought just a very poor defensive effort from the Nuggets.

49:28 No question.

49:29 Sometimes they stop the first action like a drive to the hoop. They can wall it off. But if there's two passes on a possession, last night at least the Warriors were getting wide open shots. I think it's tough. to make the Warriors look like the quicker team out there, but they were just in transition all night against the Nuggets.

49:44 It feels like Denver has no reliable offense except for Jokic and Murray. DeRozan got in a little bit of a flow, but I thought most of that came when he was playing with Jokic or Murray. When it was DeRozan with the rest of the bench, very stagnant, guys just hanging out in the lane saying, can you make a tough jumper over the top? Sometimes they can. You also look at the three-point numbers, 22 for the Warriors, 10 for the Nuggets. We know that's a place that they lack is three-point shooting. They're always a high two-point team, but with no Cam Johnson out there. Aaron Gordon eventually got tossed in this game. They just don't have anybody that wants to take a three right now. Vibes are bad in Denver.

50:20 Yeah, that's the scary thing. Aaron Gordon, frustrated. Nikola Jokic, I don't know. I know he's really, he is Nikola Jokic. But something seems off. The way he's bricking threes, I can literally hear it hit that backboard. I mean, he's shooting 21% from threes, shooting the most threes of his career by far to this point. It's early in the season.

50:40 He's had stretches where he can't hit threes or then he can't miss, but.

50:45 It's not good. Any part of the defense that's not rotating at all. We're just watching you do your thing. And so you're saying, okay, Trevin Brazil, come on in and help. Sure.

50:56 Sure.

50:57 But there's a lack of athleticism in the starting lineup, and maybe Cam Johnson, if he comes back, when he comes back from his injury, can help because it's not a long-term thing, but I'm not buying it. I'm not buying the whole thing. I don't like DeMar DeRozan shooting threes. It's mostly corner threes, and that's the best way DeMar can shoot threes, and he's decent at them, but I just don't like that form. I don't like that. He's a great shooter, but he leaps to get into that three-point shot, and it's just odd. Um, so I don't know.

51:28 There's just so many things on the Denver Nuggets in general. That ain't right.

51:31 Steph, uh, finished eight for eight in this game too from the floor. The perfect game from Steph Curry. And a lot of those coming in the second half.

51:38 I saw LaMurray, uh, tweet that this is Curry's first perfect game across the board. All the shots that he took since 2011. Oh, he does have one, eh?

51:46 Yeah, when he was a kid. Wow, I didn't even know he had one.

51:49 When he was a child.

51:49 Mm.

51:50 Early early early in his career.

51:52 And to go back to Jokic do you think he'd be more pissed off or I don't know if he was even asked it I'm sure he wasn't but uh you know he said I didn't like the fans the home fans booing that last game when they gave up a million points in the first half but this one they just left what is worse they just left early.

52:09 Because they're getting punked I thought this was the traffic I thought this was a Warriors home game it sounded way more like the Warriors fans out there got to Denver to cheer on their team. Honestly, I literally was watching, and I literally had to look at the baseline. Whose court is this? Just to make sure because, man, I understand why they're not happy with their team.

52:32 Anything on the Celtics or the Bucs wins? Because we can save the Rockets for, whoa, boy, it'll tie in nicely.

52:39 No, I hadn't looked yet, but I had to just check. Are the Bulls last in the league in net rating?

52:45 They are.

52:45 Yeah, they are.

52:46 They do have a win this season, but it feels like they've been down by 10 to 15 to 50 points for the entire season so far. I told my dad, you know, he's texting me and my stepbrother. My stepbrother's a big Celtics fan, and they were playing last night. Said, Bulls Celtics tonight. I said, let's keep it under 30.

53:02 They didn't.

53:03 No, 35.

53:05 No, it was pretty.

53:06 Predictable how the way this was going to go. And it went that way.

53:09 Yeah, it was good to see Hugo get on the board for the first time this year. He hadn't scored a point.

53:13 I saw it with my own eyes.

53:14 13 of them. And I was worried about this Pacers team when we covered it on Monday's show from the weekend that they don't have the depth. And that kind of held true in this game against the Bucs going to the fourth quarter. They just kept on coming up empty on their possessions the last six minutes. I think it was 10 missed shots in a row. It's the guards that is the problem. No Andrew Nembhard in this game.

53:39 Ben Shepard's going to be out for a while. T.J. McConnell also out. So they had Quentin Jackson and he couldn't really do all that much in this game. So there's depth problems, especially with the Vita Zubats out. So. The Bucs came through in clutch.

53:54 Miles Turner was everywhere in the fourth quarter.

53:56 Did some shot blocking.

53:57 It was a throwback for Miles Turner.

54:00 Against his old team.

54:01 All right, let's get to Little Bite of the Night. The Fantasy Line of the Night. Actually sponsored for the first time this season from Full Metal HT. here in the stream team gave ten dollars said gonna start the woe boy sponsorship i'm certain it'll go to anthony edwards for his 47 but let's give aj mitchell some love for his first 30 ball prayers up for jw yes prayers up indeed talked about aj talked about ant it goes to elper and shengu and woe boy of the night yeah the hell of a line guys 29 points nine boards nine assists rockets four and oh perfect lp super efficient 11 of 15 from the field six of eight at the line And you see it there. Game High, six steals, also had a block in 37 minutes for

54:46 Elper and Schengen. So I'm giving it to him, even though there was a lot of candidates or potential guys to win this last night.

54:53 And you could also see in that photo the flax. He looks like a superhero.

54:56 You love a woe boy photo, man.

54:57 I do, man.

54:57 You really do.

54:58 I like your tint that you're choosing, the color.

55:01 You like that style?

55:03 He looks scary in that photo. I'm a little, I don't know whether it's just it's morning and I'm not ready for a, An intimidating photo, but I'm a little freaked.

55:13 Any thoughts on the Rockets here with another great offensive game?

55:16 Well, it's official.

55:17 They're better than the Hawks. 2-0, season sweep already. It's done.

55:21 Yeah, it's over.

55:22 I hope you enjoyed it while it lasted. But Shengun is playing incredible right now. He's hitting threes. Which comes and goes for him, but if he's able to stretch the floor like he has to start the season, not that he's going to shoot 66%, but if he can shoot 37%, that would be humongous for the Rockets. And then I think he's given a pretty good effort on the defensive end as well.

55:41 That's the benefit of having a point guard out there with Fred VanVleet. It's more just catch and shoot, because he was the playmaker for this team along with the men Thompson, so it's less... You don't have to think about it as much with Fred VanVleet out there.

55:52 I saw Ziller write this in his newsletter this morning too. Did anyone else or has anyone else noticed that Kevin Durant seems much quicker to celebrate his teammates this season? Ziller pointing that out. I think there might be some truth to that after last year. We had the burner scandal with KD comments said, but I mean, look, everybody's a lot happier when you're winning games too. And everybody's eating and it's flowing and the vibes are high.

56:19 So, Fourth quarter, he was jumpy from the bench because he didn't have to play a lot.

56:24 I don't think he did, did he?

56:25 I don't think he played in the fourth. It wasn't much if he did.

56:28 Because that score seems way closer than it was. They were up a million.

56:32 I think it was the first time Laura had ever seen Alper and Shen Goon because she's like, he has an interesting posture.

56:37 Oh, okay.

56:38 She's like, his chest is up, but his neck is back.

56:42 You're right.

56:43 You're right.

56:43 That's why you got to watch it with your significant other. You're getting different insights that you would never think of.

56:48 That's a great point.

56:49 That's a good point.

56:50 It's like he's always ready for a chest bump.

56:52 Right.

56:53 Give me some.

56:54 And maybe that's why I thought that photo, he kind of looks like a superhero. It's also the tint that you're picking. And it's like, there's a lot going on there. He looks....

57:02 Well, because we're talking about Shen Goon's body, let me bring up this blue sky skeet. Is that what they're called? Named after me. League Pass Delay, listening to the Monday No Dunks, and they're discussing Shen Goon's bottom heaviness. He's what I call a butt bully. The goat butt bully was Moses Malone.

57:23 Oh, my God.

57:24 And then the question was, who's your favorite butt bully, NBA World? He was asking NBA Sky, hashtag NBA Sky. I came back with an Anthony Mason. I was always a Mason fan for a butt bully. Kyle Lowry was an obvious pick.

57:37 Barkley. Barkley.

57:39 Mark Jackson.

57:40 Good one.

57:42 Adrian Dantley, I think, was known for having a powerful posterior.

57:45 Yeah, sure. Somebody said Zach Randolph.

57:49 Yes.

57:49 Absolutely.

57:50 But Shungun's there, man.

57:51 He is. That's a crazy term.

57:55 But fun stuff, fun stuff. All right, so Rockets stay undefeated. Today's episode brought to you by Kelshi. It's an exchange where you can trade on what you actually think is going to happen in sports and culture. You're going up against other traders directly. No house setting the odds here. It's just people putting their own opinions on the line.

58:12 Trade $ 25 with code NODUNKS and they're going to throw in another $ 55 for new users. Trade responsibly. So let's take a look at the Pistons-Knicks market for tonight on Kelshi. Currently 60% of Kelshi users back in the Knicks. Now that confidence has come down a little bit. I was looking at this probably because of the Knicks slow start.

58:33 They're looking for their first W and maybe because of the Pistons good play too. Two days ago, it was high as like 68, 69%. Very nice on the Knicks. So it's come back here. Tass to 60%, and you are one of those people, maybe, because when it comes to the line, Nick's favored by three and a half. You're taking the Pistons.

58:51 Yeah, I'm also one of those people that's on tilt, and I'm losing here. So don't bet with me. I started this season 2-0. I've lost three straight.

59:02 Oh, is that what happened?

59:03 And then I see that, yeah, the Pistons. You were the one putting the games into the documentary. our selection.

59:10 I had been, yeah.

59:11 And then I said, no, I've got to change things.

59:13 I love that. I've done that before too.

59:15 That's going to change anything. And then I picked the team that isn't looking for a win as hard as the Knicks are. But they look great. And they beat them every single game they played last year. They did take them out. So that's why I took him, but this could easily be the Knicks' first win of the season.

59:33 I mean, that's part of my thinking here. Jalen Brunson, I saw his comments too, and he's putting it on his shoulders. You want to hear that from your captain. And they need it.

59:43 They need it.

59:44 They need a win. Breakout game for Mikael Bridges tonight. He's got 10 points this season. Hasn't made a three-pointer yet.

59:51 Is that what he's at? 10 total?

59:53 10 total points. Five for 23 from the field. Okay. You know he ain't taking a free throw.

59:58 No, no, no.

1:00:00 I think he makes a three-pointer and takes a free throw tonight.

1:00:02 I think he scores over 10 points tonight.

1:00:04 No.

1:00:05 Oh, I do, I do.

1:00:06 Yeah, me too.

1:00:06 I hope, I'm praying he does because you and I have the Knicks.

1:00:09 Yeah, I'm with you guys. I think the Knicks are going to win. I don't like what I'm doing here. I don't think I'm going to lose. You were first. I was.

1:00:15 Yeah, I was going to say.

1:00:16 I'm on tilt. I literally, I'm just going to keep losing. And Jalen Dern isn't playing in this game. Last year when he was playing and they were winning games, he was part of that. So now it's Paul Reed. They could get beat.

1:00:29 But, you know.

1:00:30 It's in Madison Square Garden, man. You get a huge Cade game, man.

1:00:33 You could.

1:00:34 Only four games on tonight. Nets, Celtics. That one, Pistons, Knicks. Kings, Spurs. And pretty juicy late game. And when I say late, I don't think this thing tips until like after 11 p.m. Eastern time tonight. Blazers, Lakers. Yeah, it's one of those real late starts for us. So that'll be a morning watch, I believe, for me. coast to coast whatever yeah it's it's it says 11 p.m eastern in the nba schedule that means it doesn't start at 11 it means it starts at 11 maybe 07 maybe 11 10 maybe so that's.

1:01:09 A late win in la get your early games in i guess.

1:01:12 But those are two wait are the blazers undefeated yeah they're two and oh they only played two games.

1:01:17 It's a lot of undefeated teams finally weird Got some good butt bullies here.

1:01:21 Oh, I guess Pistons is the other one.

1:01:22 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

1:01:23 Pistons, people are saying we're not talking about the Pistons.

1:01:25 Yeah, we're talking about tomorrow.

1:01:27 They'll probably leave the show. Unless that 11 o'clocker is crazy. A couple of good butt bullies in the stream team that we forgot about. Boris D out.

1:01:35 Ooh, good one. Good French ass on him.

1:01:41 He has a great French ass on him. Rick Mahorn.

1:01:45 Yeah.

1:01:46 Yeah. He had a gigantic booty and he put it to use. Antoine Carr, the big dog.

1:01:53 With the big butt. Okay.

1:01:54 Not bad.

1:01:54 I wouldn't have thought of him.

1:01:56 Yep.

1:01:56 Lou Dort. Sure.

1:01:58 Yeah.

1:01:59 He's built like a linebacker as everybody always says on a broadcast.

1:02:02 Yeah.

1:02:03 It's impossible not to when you see him. Yeah. He's huge.

1:02:05 Thanks for reminiscing about butts with us.

1:02:06 There you go.

1:02:07 I would say a new butt man. Okay. Mario Hazonia. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.

1:02:12 He's a new butt man.

1:02:13 That's all broadcast talk.

1:02:15 The rare white butt man.

1:02:16 Yeah.

1:02:18 Very rare. Very rare.

1:02:20 All right. We'll call it there. Probably a good spot to call it. Appreciate everybody joining us live or watching, listening later. Please play your part. Help out the show grow by hitting the like button, subscribing. reviews, all the good stuff. Back tomorrow, hopefully talking, if you're a Pistons fan, about Pistons and Knicks. We might do a little no-dunk stock market tomorrow, too. Put you buying and selling on after a week of basketball. Really, you know? They're already doing players of the week, so we can do our stock watch. We can do something like that. So we'll probably do that tomorrow. So we'll have a lot of fun.

1:02:53 Hopefully we'll see you at 10 a.m.

1:02:54 Eastern.

1:02:54 Until then, Clipper, bro.

1:02:56 You heard it here first.

1:02:57 Have a great time. Turn up. Love you guys. Awesome.

1:03:01 Thanks for joining us, and remember, what's up?

1:03:02 Well, I was going to say we didn't talk about all the other sports.

1:03:05 Okay, let's do it.

1:03:06 I mean, Brewers are going to win the World Series.

1:03:08 That's cool.

1:03:08 I'd be shocked if they don't do that.

1:03:09 No one's ever come back from down 3-0 in a World Series.

1:03:13 Okay, Dream, that was rough. And now we could have the Valkyries win the championship at, like, 10 a.m. their time on the West Coast, if you're a fan.

1:03:24 Well, brunch championship.

1:03:25 That'd be strange.

1:03:26 That sucks.

1:03:27 They're playing at 12.30 here.

1:03:28 That sucks for the Dream to be playing at.

1:03:30 A afternoon game.

1:03:31 What else?

1:03:31 How did the football go? Cowboys won, I think.

1:03:33 They did?

1:03:34 Yeah, I think so.

1:03:35 Wow, Eagles.

1:03:36 It's over.

1:03:36 They're brutal, yeah.

1:03:37 They didn't have no hurts, I'm guessing.

1:03:39 I don't think so. What about the Flames-Leafs game?

1:03:41 Oh, I didn't get in. I missed that one.

1:03:43 Oh, Flames crushed.

1:03:44 There you go.

1:03:45 You are a Flames guy, so that's good. Well, I saw they play the Leafs. Yeah. That's where I lived, but I didn't cheer for them. I cheered for the Flames.

1:03:52 Yeah, there we go. We got all the sports in.

1:03:54 Nice sports talk. Kia Stokes, MVP of the finals for me.

1:03:57 She's getting the chance.

1:03:59 She might. Do you think we get a game seven, though? You think the Dream can force game seven?

1:04:02 Yes.

1:04:03 Okay.

1:04:03 Gotta believe.

1:04:04 Gotta score.

1:04:06 Gotta score. They did put up a graphic midway through the second half last night that said that these two teams have... two of like the eight worst combined shooting percentages for the entirety of the WNBA finals. They're both under 40% for the whole finals. Yeah.

1:04:22 It hasn't been the prettiest offense.

1:04:25 It has not been.

1:04:25 Great defense.

1:04:26 It has not been.

1:04:27 Yeah. Shots are just not falling here.

1:04:28 All right.

1:04:28 Hopefully the dream can force game seven.

1:04:30 Are we going tomorrow?

1:04:33 Oh, Thursday.

1:04:33 Thursday.

1:04:34 No, I got no buffs.

1:04:36 Oh, right.

1:04:37 Oh yeah. My bad.

1:04:38 Maybe we can record at the arena. They've got setups there.

1:04:41 We could.

1:04:42 They did Club 520 there once.

1:04:44 You think the barbershop is open during the WNBA games? Sure.

1:04:49 Why not?

1:04:49 I hadn't thought of it until the second.

1:04:51 You don't hear as much about the barbershop anymore. No. They're still cutting hairs.

1:04:56 We'll see you guys tomorrow. Brace the day, people.