Best Of Nick Wright - What’s wrong with Luka? LeBron debate over, responding to Draymond Green

Nick Wright explains why LeBron James is more clutch all-time than Kobe Bryant, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, and all your favorite players…and he has the numbers to back it up. Later, Nick breaks down why bashing LeBron for missing the NBA All-Star Game makes no sense, responds to Draymond Green’s criticism of All-Star Weekend, and answers what’s wrong with Luka Doncic since joining the Los Angeles Lakers. #Herd

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Best of the Week for What's Right
with Nick Right the best takes in moments from this
week on the show. Enjoy. I thought the conversation was
gonna be about Luca today because Luca looks unsettled. However

(00:20):
it's not because if people didn't stay up to watch
this game. Let me give you the quick recap. Lakers
were up twenty. They then slowly but surely blew the game.
They then late down four, well actually down two. Ruey
misses back to back free throws with thirty five seconds left,

(00:43):
just a killer, just a good free throw shooter, misses both.
They then find themselves down four after LaMelo kind of
cooks Luca out on the perimeter and they get a layup.
Lebron hits an impossible three to cut it to one
the Hornets. Then LaMelo hits a couple free throws, and
then Lebron has a really good but deep look and

(01:06):
misses it. They get the rebound, gets another decent look
and misses it, and they lose. And I'm like, man,
I was like, we're gonna have to talk about how
sad Luca looks. That to me is the actual story.
Little did I know and this is a bad job

(01:27):
by me, bad media, you know, kind of seeing the
tea leaves. I missed what the obvious story was gonna be.
Lebron missed another clutch shot, which, by the way, he
has been shockingly bad at those in the regular season
since he's been a Laker. Last five second shots to

(01:50):
tie or take the lead as a as a Laker
one of twenty nine, So like, really really bad at
those in the regular season. And that's a legitimate complaint,
I guess, like whatever, But I foolishly thought we were

(02:11):
done with and passed the Lebron clutch geen stuff. I
thought maybe, and you guys know, I, you know, I've
always been pretty respectful uh to my former colleagues Skip baylists,
but I did think that with Skip uh moving to
a different part of his career, maybe the Lebron clutch

(02:34):
gen stuff would you know, wander off into the sunset
as well, because not because it's unfair to talk about
whether or not guys can come through in the clutch,
but because it has always been an empire built on lies.
But you know, you made a mid February regular season

(02:57):
game against the Hornets missed threes. It's like man Kobe
would have made that. So now I have to I
don't want to do this, but now I have to
be the person. And by the way, this is something
that if we edit this properly and because I'm gonna
machine gun you with numbers and put this on the

(03:20):
the TikTok and the Instagram, folks are going to say
these are fake stats because there's such a Mandela effect
of Oh, I know what I remember and what is
true and what isn't. So again, I did this eighteen
months ago, I looked it up in our archives. I

(03:42):
will now do it again with the updated numbers. Thanks
to our friends at Statthead and Basketball Reference. The database
goes back to nineteen ninety seven to now here are
the clutch shooting numbers for Lebron and or all your
favorite players. We will go from the max to the men.

(04:05):
So the set, the setup is this shots to tie
or take the lead in the playoffs final minute Lebron
James twenty three of fifty forty six percent. That is
a better percentage than every player in the database from

(04:26):
ninety seven to now except for Demonse's guy Ray Allen,
who was just an absolute killer. So it's not only
that Lebron has made the most and taken the most
forty six percent. You might be like well and ninety
seven to now that covers Kobe's entire career. Kobe was
assuredly better than Lebron at these again. Playoff games tie

(04:48):
take the lead final minute Lebron twenty three to fifty
forty six percent, Kobe Bryant twelve of forty four twenty
seven percent, Kevin Durant nine of thirty five twenty six percent,
Steph Curry six of twenty five, twenty four percent. You

(05:09):
want to go to We've heard forever, Uh, you know,
Lebron just put his head down, get to the basket.
It doesn't have the bag. What about threes? Lebron final
minute of playoff games to tie or take the lead
four of eleven from three, Kobe Bean Bryant three of seventeen,

(05:33):
Kevin Durant three of sixteen, Steph Curry three of fourteen.
Let's go smaller. Final thirty seconds playoff games, tie or
take the lead Lebron James fourteen of thirty five forty
percent from the field. Kobe mister clutch killer. Kobe Bryant

(05:59):
brono of thirty five forty percent, Kobe eight of thirty
one twenty six percent, Durant six of twenty four twenty
five percent, Steph four of nineteen twenty one percent. Let's
go smaller. Let's go to the stat that we're hearing

(06:22):
about Lebron in the regular season as a Laker final
five seconds tie or take the lead. In the playoffs
Lebron eight of twenty forty percent, Kobe Bryant four of
eighteen twenty two percent, Kevin Durant two of eleven eighteen percent.

(06:47):
Let me, where is Steph on this? I know he's
on this somewhere. I can't even find him. Step maybe
hasn't taken in the final five seconds. Oh, there's Steph
one of six seventeen percent. So the reason the Lebron

(07:07):
clutch thing has always been so such an outrage in
an affront to kind of the way we consume basketball
at large, is it was literally not only was it
never true, the opposite was true. The guy hit a

(07:29):
game winner in the first playoff series of his career
at twenty one years old. And if we go for
again now, I'll just do percentages and show you the
full list of guys in the last thirty years in
the NBA, who have been more clutch in the postseason
final minute. Tire take the lead of every player to

(07:52):
take at least fifteen of those shots. There have been
twenty in twentieth place. This one's rough, So Westbrook three
of twenty four in nineteenth place, Steph Curry six of
twenty five, second place, Lebron James twenty three of fifty
forty six percent. Ray Allen first place by a lot,

(08:14):
eleven of twenty one, fifty two percent. If you want
to do three point percentages, ray Allen sits alone ten
of sixteen, pretty remarkable, ten of sixteen sixty three percent,
Dame five of ten fifty percent, Reggie Miller fairs Fair

(08:36):
six of thirteen forty six percent, and then Lebron four
of eleven thirty six percent. You go down the Russell
Westbrook yikes again, one of fourteen, that's seven percent, Kobe
three of seventeen, that's seventeen percent, Steph three of fourteen again.

(08:59):
If you want to just go raw percentages final thirty
seconds of the playoffs, Tire take the lead. The only
guy ahead of Lebron is ray Allen nine of eighteen
fifty percent Lebron fourteen of thirty five forty percent, Ray
Allen by the way final thirty seconds on threes demons

(09:21):
eight of thirteen to Tire take the lead in the playoffs.
Guy just unbelievable at those on those shots, gen He's
maybe the best ever. His statistically is the best ever.
Now if we expand that to where you don't have
to have taken fifteen of these shots, just to where
you only had to have taken ten, two more guys

(09:44):
jump ahead of Lebron. One is Chris Middleton six of
eleven in the playoffs to Tire take the lead in
the final thirty seconds, and Jimmy Butler six of thirteen
at forty six percent Lebron fourteen to thirty five. But
again the guy in your head that was the ultimate
clutch guy Kobe Bean Bryant on these shots final thirty

(10:07):
seconds Tire take the lead eight of thirty one from
the field and on threes one of twelve final thirty
seconds Tire take the lead in the playoffs and Steph
Curry four of nineteen overall, Again, these numbers are not
very kind to Russell Westbrook Russ one of fourteen from

(10:28):
the field, zero of nine from three and then last
but not least, final five seconds tire take the lead
playoffs if we just make it to where have you
taken five of these shots? Because Lebron's taken twenty. The
only guys with a better percentage Jimmy Butler's three of five,

(10:50):
Reggie's five of nine, Chris Middleton's four of eight. Lebron
Is eight of twenty forty percent, and on threes in
those spots Lebron's two for five forty percent. Kobe, who
everyone remembers as the ultimate clutch killer. Final five seconds

(11:10):
of playoff games to tire or take the lead four
of eighteen twenty two percent, one of seven from three,
Steph one for six, Durant two for eleven from the field.
So I, so the lesson on this is multifaceted. One
is nobody really, aside from Ray Allen shoots an amazing

(11:32):
percentage on these Nobody but shooting more than thirty percent
on him is remarkable, And across every five second, thirty
second minute playoff game, TI take the lead, Lebron's looking
up at one guy, Ray Allen, and again you might

(11:55):
be like, well, Jordan, I know Jordan was eighty percent.
The database only goes back to nine, so I can't
tell you what Jordan was. The NBA is very cagey
about play by play data early in Michael Jordan's career.
Maybe it's because the eighties were a different time, or
maybe they're, you know, protecting a legend. I don't know.
What I do know is this that if you asked

(12:18):
one hundred basketball fans what they thought Kobe or Lebron
or Durant or Lebron or Stephor Lebron's percentages were in
these circumstances, the vast majority would look at Kobe's numbers
and be like, those are Lebron's And look at Lebron's
numbers and say those are Kobe's. And even after I
present this data, you know what folks are gonna say, Ah,

(12:43):
I don't believe it. It didn't feel that way. And
the reason it didn't feel that way, and the reason
I'm doing this today is because no other player ever
could miss a twenty eight footer down three after hitting
the three to cut it to one in a regular

(13:05):
season game against the Hornets when he was the best
player on his team that night, and have that morning
sports television be an indictment on him. The reason you
don't remember the Kobe misses is because every single Kobe
game wasn't a referendum on his clutch or anti clutchness.

(13:29):
There's been one athlete ever that has been treated like this,
and it's the same guy who was criticized for not
playing in his twenty first straight All Star Game and
then was criticized for playing last night. Oh looked awful
healthy last night, didn't he? But he couldn't get it's

(13:50):
the regular You saw that, right, Yeah, he was having
a good time. Good thing. He got that rest on
Sunday for real, it might not have been able to
do it. So I do find these I find this
this stuff fascinating, if for no other reason than how

(14:15):
gas lit kind of sports media has been or sports
fans have been by sports media. Like Chauncey billups Mister
big Shot is his nickname, Chauncey billups On in the
final minute of the playoff games to tire or take
the lead is five of twenty. The exact same five

(14:39):
of twenty is James Harden. But that's it's just not
how we remember it because we remember the moments of it.
So also there's a couple funny names on like, if
you go through the in the last thirty years, the
twenty guys who have taken at least fIF teen shots

(15:01):
in the final minute of playoff games to tire take
the lead. The names it's all names of like Okay stars,
Hall of Famers, all time greats. And then also Haydu Turkalou,
who took sixteen of these, And I just imagine that
was because he was on deep playoff runs with Dwight

(15:21):
and you know, Dwight, you're not going to give the
ball to in the fire. He was the guy who
ended up having to take those shots. Yeah, but it's
it's Ray Allen, Lebron, Jimmy. This is in order of
field goal percentage, descending number one, Ray Allen, then Lebron,
Jimmy Butler, Reggie Miller, Manu Ginobili, Chris Middleton, John Stockton,
Derk Noovitzky, Steve Nash, Damian Lillard, Haydu Turkalou, Tim Duncan,

(15:44):
Dwayne Wade, Kobe Bryant, Paul Piers, Kevin Durant, John t Billis,
James hard and Steph Curry, Russell Westbrook. So Okay seventeen
no doubt Hall of Famers, two borderline Hall of Famers,
and haydo so out to my guy? Heyu Turkle, I
don't know why he's my guy? Who knew? So many

(16:07):
people gave two shits about Norman Powell making the All
Star Game, and the answer is they didn't. The idea
the amount of people that were tweeting about Norman Powell,
because if Lebron had bowed out a week early, Powell
would have gotten the spot. Though the ven diagram of

(16:29):
people who two weeks ago demonse were like these Pro
Bowl alternates. It's such a joke. Drake May gets to
call himself a pro bowler when he didn't actually make
the team and then tweeting this week, why aren't people
thinking about Norman Powell?

Speaker 2 (16:49):
The fans in San Francisco definitely wanted to see him play.
It's disingenuous nonsense, and the idea that there was any
way for Lebron to thread this needle and not end
up being criticized is just disingenuous and not true. So

(17:11):
if he would have a week ago said I'm not playing,
the media cycle would have been this is why nobody
takes the All Star Game Seriously, this is you know,
people are excited and the face of the league doesn't
do it. Lebron gave it to the last possible minute

(17:33):
to figure out can I play?

Speaker 1 (17:36):
And it's not so much can I as much as
it is should I? Like if it were a playoff game,
would Lebron have played? Of course? Does that mean that
when he clearly believes this Lakers team has a real
chance to do something and this Lakers team, because of
the California Wildfires, has the shortest break of any team,

(17:59):
well them and the Hornet because they play Wednesday and
the rest of the league plays Thursday, that he was like,
you know what, not going to push it on this ankle?
That makes total sense to me and the number of
people who failed to acknowledge the following truths. Okay, first
of all, is this Has anyone given more time, effort,

(18:24):
sweat energy to All Star Games in the history of
basketball than Lebron James? The answer is, of course not.
He's played in twenty of them. Kareem played in eighteen,
the next closest or Kobe and Duncan at fifteen. Has
Lebron consistently shown up to this event more than any

(18:46):
player in the history of the league. Yes, by a
massive margin. This broke his streak. And but the other
reason that people are just so out of their damn
minds about this is one criticism of Lebron that I
don't even look at it as a criticism, but is
true is the guy cares about streaks and records and accolades.

(19:11):
He does, and he would have liked to keep this
thing going twenty one straight All Star appearances because the
record prior to Lebron playing in twenty in a row. Again,
twenty in a row was held by John Havlicek and
Bob Coosey, who both played in thirteen in a row.

(19:35):
That was the record. So Lebron set the record for
consecutive All Star Game appearances back let me do them
before he was a Laker, when he was with the Calves,
midway through his second sit with the Calves and has
just been spreading it out. Of all the active players

(19:55):
other than Lebron, Durant is the only one who has
played in ten of these in a row. He did
that pre Achilles. The new active streak for consecutive All
Star Games played is Joker at seven. So this is
the guy that we're gonna say, owed it to everyone

(20:18):
to play, to play. The guy who's played in twenty
straight of these, the oldest player in the league, a
guy who has literally played more professional basketball than any
human being ever to live. We're like, give us more,
and if you don't, you're selfish. It's just so ludicrous.

(20:38):
And then there's this piece of it. And I'll get
to the picture stuff later. There is so Nick Fredell,
who I really like. I really like him. He was
with the ESPN. I think I don't want to speak
for him, but the way I understand it, I think
he was absolutely foolishly a part of their layoffs months back.

(21:03):
He is a great NBA reporter opinionist. Chicago Guy loved
Nick Nick quote tweeted it and said, there is just
absolutely no way mj would do this. He always understood
what his presence to the game meant. Guys, Michael Jordan,

(21:23):
at this point in his career, had quit the game
three times. It meant that his presence to the game
meant so much that he quit the game. He went
and played minor league baseball, then he came back, then
he quit again, then he came back, then he quit again.

(21:44):
Do you know, the most consecutive years that Michael Jordan
played in an All Star Game seven seven years. The
longest streak of consecutive All Star appearances Michael Jordan had
was seven. Well, there's no way mj would do So

(22:07):
this is where the criticism. People just lose their minds.
So if Lebron had just retired four years ago, believed,
no problem, no problem, you win your championship with the Lakers.
You've played at that point eighteen years. You know what,
You've given a lot to the league. But because he

(22:30):
keeps playing, because he's good enough to be a deserving,
top tier All Star, he then to these and I'm
gonna talk about Nick here, talking about the folks at large,
folks that have just become entitled that no, you owe
us this. He he's not allowed to be cautious with

(22:54):
an angle ankle injury? Uh Nick, where did this injury
come from? From Solomon Hill three and a half years ago,
the only real injury he's ever suffered his entire career.
That ankle and foot have been messed up since then.
He's and if you watch the Lakers, Lebron all the

(23:17):
time pops up on a morning of injury report because
the ankle tightened up on it. And do I imagine that
in the days leading up to the All Star Game
he actually took some time, maybe didn't do his regular
every day cryogenic chamber treatment that he would do if

(23:41):
they had actual games coming up, so it was more
likely to tighten up. Of course, of course, this being
such a universally criticized thing that even Shannon and Kendrick
and guys who are normally you know, onlawe Lebron's side
on suffers like, ah, this was this is a bridge

(24:04):
too far from me. What are we talking about?

Speaker 3 (24:06):
And I've seen fans go as far as say is
like Lebron's ruined the game?

Speaker 1 (24:12):
Well, oh yeah, well that's the other piece of it.
The other piece of it is the fall of the
All Star Game is late at the feet of Lebron James.
I mean, it's just again, the All Star Game in
twenty twenty was awesome. The All Star Game in twenty
twenty two was awesome. And this is just it is

(24:35):
just an entitlement from fans and media that a guy.
Can you imagine any of these conversations existing around Tom Brady? Honestly,
could you that if Tom Brady is second to last
year with Tampa was like, guys, which he did do.

(24:57):
By the way, I know I was named a PROB.
I'm not gonna play, and it's not because I'm hurt,
it's just because not interested. It's exactly what happened. Was
there a Could you imagine how stupid folks would look
if they went on TV and they were like, Tom Brady,
this is why it's a flag football game. Now see

(25:20):
this guy, Hey, look at the direct line of the
Pro Bowl's popularity with when Tom entered the league and
where it is now. Blood's on his hands. And then
we get to the photo stuff. Guys, there's like, this

(25:41):
is all documented. Injured players still are in the photo. Oh,
they don't have to be at the middle. You guys.
Go look at the picture of Yao when he was hurt,
and obviously the middle of that picture has to be Lebron, Steph,
KD just has to be. Those are the guys you

(26:02):
and people are like, oh, they'd have criticism if off
to what'd you say, Demonse? First of all, First of all,
the injured players. When Kobe was injured, he didn't suit up.
When other guys were injured, they don't suit up. But
everyone is lying if they are acting like if Lebron

(26:26):
had suited up for the picture, there wouldn't be this
exact criticism. It would just be the exact opposite suited up.
Why he wants people to think he played. This guy's
ankle is so hurt, you don't think he again, none
of this ship is logical. It's just it's Lebron. I'm

(26:50):
going to attack it. If he'd have suited up, he'd
have gotten roasted for it. Jan has suited up, and
again Anthony Edwards, who in the mean time he didn't
play either. He gave less notice than Lebron. We found
out during the game. Anybody crying for Norman Powell with
Anthony Edwards? No, Anthony Edwards allowed to be injured? Why

(27:14):
why is he? He's because he's twenty three at the
peak of his powers, young athletic. No, it's so dumb.
This whole thing is so stupid and it is. I
don't understand how people call this selfish. I don't get that.

Speaker 3 (27:37):
I know, dude, I doesn't really have to be playing
right now.

Speaker 1 (27:40):
It is.

Speaker 3 (27:41):
It is crazy to differ him to get criticized on
anything that he doesn't do because any extra time. At
this point, he's in.

Speaker 1 (27:48):
Year twenty two. He has now played more minutes in
years twenty one and twenty two than every other player
in history of the league who made it to year
twenty one and twenty two combined. So let me say
that again, as of two years ago, if you said,

(28:14):
give me all of the minutes, all of the points,
all of the assists from every player ever in year
twenty one and twenty two and put it in a bucket,
that bucket is now doubled just from what Lebron's done
the last two years. And for it's just folks say, oh,

(28:37):
he's the face of load management. The guy is going
to play more games in more minutes than any player
in the history of the league. And he's the face
of not playing. I mean, give me a fucking break,
this suffs. If people are out of their mind. And
I again, I mean Kendrick saying put your damn uniform on.

(28:58):
He messed up the whole picture. Again. Where was this
for Kobe or for Yow, for Schef?

Speaker 3 (29:04):
His greatness at the end of the day, though, is
really what it is. I feel, what do you mean
people want to see him play people are our age.
It's like, I don't think it's I think people just
want to see Bron.

Speaker 1 (29:15):
Oh. I agree with that piece of it, But the
criticism about the picture and about again, I Lebron cares
about these records, and also he likes the accolades of winning,
and he knew I have the best team by a mile,

(29:37):
like they won it without it, right, So, and it's
two games to forty. He could have like he he
going into Saturday night, I truly believe, did not know
if he was gonna play or not, and woke up
Sunday mornings like I'm not doing it. And so I

(29:58):
just find so much much of this to be, uh
just insane. Now let's talk about the luc apiece of it. Demonse.
I think he's legit sad, and I think he is
really unsettled by this. He looks so unsure of himself.

(30:24):
Go ahead, yeah, yeah, ok, Yes, I think that he
is still in a state of shock that this happened.
And I don't think it's about wanting or not wanting
to be a Laker. I think it's more about this
team that he looked at himself as the leader of

(30:47):
obviously the best player this franchise, that I think he
truly believed he might be able to do what Dirk
did and play with one team forever. That they traded
him under the dark of night, and then have done

(31:08):
everything they can to just tell the world we don't
believe in you. We thought you were a bad leader,
a mediocre teammate, out of shape, all of it. He
seems less confident on the court than at any moment
of his career. And Luca is at his best when

(31:32):
he's like a snarling, angry monster. But he also has
to have that kind of swagger and confidence and I
just haven't seen it. And I don't know what how
long this is gonna this is gonna take. But he

(31:54):
looks he looks relieved when he makes a shot. He
looks unsure of what he wants to do with the ball.
And it's not again. I'm not sure how many people
stayed up late to watch the entirety of Lakers hornets.
I oddly did. Late in the game, he like, there

(32:17):
was I forget I think maybe Bron shot it. I'm
not sure. There's a misshot and Luca is down fighting
on the offensive, Glass gets a rebound and gets a
putback is to tie the game. It's a huge play,
and you saw a shot of him after that, and
it was it wasn't even like it didn't. Again, I'm

(32:38):
not a body language expert, but just from watching this
guy every step of his career, it wasn't excitement as
much as it was relief, like I finally made a
play and I don't know how long this is gonna last.
My hope would be the MAVs game next week snaps

(33:01):
him out of it. That there is that seeing like that,
that is I'm because the Lakers host the MAVs on Tuesday,
so they have the Blazers tonight day a couple in
between that Nuggets Saturday. Yeah, correct, right, and I would
imagine Lebron's not playing tonight, so maybe tonight like with

(33:24):
Luca just running the full show. But so I'm not
I'm not as worried about what these losses mean for
the Lakers in the standings, because I know we talked
about could could they catch Denver climb to the three

(33:45):
and you know, put Denver and Okac on the same
side of the bracket. Losing to Utah and Charlotte probably
made that. I don't want to say, unrealistic because they
could beat Denver on Saturday and then just be a
game back. But I now look at it more like,
just stay the four five, don't fall to the six
where you might have to play Denver in round one.
That sounds awful. Stay in the four five and then

(34:10):
theoretically get Houston or the Clippers in round one and
then take your chances with Oka See And again, okay
See is a great team, great team, But I think
for the team that young, I think they're you know,
playing Luca who beat him last year in the playoffs,
and Lebron could be tough, and then you know, see

(34:31):
what happens with Denver. But Luca is out of sorts,
like really truly out of sorts, and he seems like
he is not yet fully dealt with or is consistently
still dealing with the trade. There's also evidently some breaking

(34:54):
news to him on say you want to share it
with the audience.

Speaker 3 (34:57):
Uh, yeah, Bobby Portis has been suspended twenty five games
for a performance enhancing drugs. Yes, it's the last four
games of the season, so.

Speaker 1 (35:07):
Yeah, I mean there's only twenty nine games left and
the box need him. Let me, I just saw someone
tweeted that his agent. So what his agent is saying
that Bobby unintentionally took a pain medication called tramadoll, thinking
was taking a pain medication called tour it All. Tour

(35:28):
it All's approved, Tramadoll is not approved, was recently out
of the band substance list. Tramadoll. I feel like I've
taken tramad all.

Speaker 3 (35:38):
Yeah, I've heard of tramad all before.

Speaker 1 (35:41):
Yeah, I think tram it all. Uh so it's a painkiller.
Maybe I was wrong. I thought tramad all was like
an anxiety thing, So maybe I haven't taken it. Tour
it All. We all know tour it all. A lot
of football players take tram it All. Oh yeah, trama
All is in a super strong painkiller. It's an opioid.
So everybody always takes steroids by accident. We all know this.

(36:03):
Like nobody's ever actually intentionally violated the performance Answing drug policy.
I don't know, you know. So people can decide whether
or not they want to believe Bobby Portis's agent. That's fine.
What does matter is this bad for the Bucks is
bad for a Bucks team that is trying to climb
the Eastern conference standings now, they I think it's more

(36:26):
important for them to just stay where they're at in
the four or five line rather than move They're not
gonna move up. There's six games behind the Knicks, so
they're not going to catch the Knicks for the three.
But what they don't want to do is fall to
the six and then end up having to play the
Knicks in round one. Like, there's clearly three teams in

(36:49):
the East in Boston, Cleveland, and New York that seem
that are considerably better than everyone else, with Milwaukee lurking
because of Giannis. Milwaukee doesn't want to have to face
one of those three in round one. And you traded Middleton.
Uh you, I know you have Kuzma now Kuzma though,

(37:12):
shout out Kyle Kuzma. Good for him, buddy, congrats engaged
Winnie Harlowe. Unbelievable. I know they've been together for a
long time, but the listen, I Kyle. Kyle was once
upon a time a real pro for that Lakers team.
He was a real pro as the year they won

(37:32):
the championship, did the dirty work, rebounded, defended, did all
that stuff. Then went to the Wizards and just played
nonsense basketball for three years. But maybe now he's with
the Bucks, he'll be a real pro again. But Milwaukee
needs to stay where they are in the in the bracket.
They can't drop down to the six self appointed All

(37:56):
Stars are Draymond Green, who had I mean just a
treasure trove of quotes this weekend.

Speaker 3 (38:02):
Go ahead, So do you do you want me to
just go through all of them?

Speaker 1 (38:05):
And I want you to go through all of them
and then all and then all.

Speaker 3 (38:10):
So so Draymond uh, you know, was talking to him
getting a head coaching gig. He said, I've already been
offered the Golden State Warriors head coaching job when I'm done.
He also said they were gonna win a title. He said, quote,
I said, I think we're gonna win a championship, but
I lied, we are going to win the championship. That's
what's gonna happen. And he caught off the Rising Stars
game and he said that there's some team that no

(38:32):
one wants to see. And his thoughts on the new
format one through ten was a zero. It sucks this
same basketball.

Speaker 1 (38:41):
Okay, So Draymond Green being the head coach in waiting
for the Golden State Warriors is news, and it would
be treated as news if I think people took that seriously.
The Warriors winning the championship. It once again Draymond is

(39:05):
writing checks that Steph is gonna have to cash. I
don't I like Jimmy and but Draymond is nowhere close
to the player he was at the peak of their dynasty,
and Steph is not quite the same player he now.
He came on strong at the end of the before

(39:26):
the break, but I would be they are far far
more likely to lose in round one than they are
to reach the finals. And now let's get to the
other stuff. He's right about the Rising Stars shouldn't be

(39:50):
playing Sunday Night. I actually think that is correct, and
that is a tweak they should make. I get why
they did it to make it to where there was
a real pressure on the Stars, like we can't let
these kids beat us, but it should be a privilege.
But as often happens with Draymond, heat while being correct,

(40:15):
his delivery of the information is so poorly done that
it's lost. And being on the pregame show for an event,
I felt so terribly for my dear friend Adam Lefko,
who is the one who asked him the one to
ten question, and then Draymond says, a zero, this sucks

(40:39):
that buddy, Your job in that moment is to create
excitement for the event. Like that's people like, oh, I
applaud the honesty. I do not do not that gig.

(41:03):
If that's how you feel, I mean this sincerely. Like,
let's say I thought pickleball was the dumbest sport ever,
and then someone comes to me, They're like, hey, crazy thing. Man,
They're asking you to be a part of the Pickleball
World Championship broadcast. It would be my job to be like,

(41:28):
you know what, probably not the place for me not
to be like, yep, I'll take it so I can
tell all these people who are tuning in to watch
it how much this sucks. It's just that's just rude,
and it's it's profession.

Speaker 3 (41:44):
They probably like they reached out to Draymond like, hey,
do you want to do this? How would like if
Draymond has those thoughts in his mind, he knows that's
how he's gonna talk. You're saying he should just not
do it.

Speaker 1 (41:53):
He should be like, no, I think that if when
listen he works for TNT he does stuff for him.
I think that when they're like, hey, just like the
vast majority of years in your career, you did not
make the All Star team, so you're available this weekend.
Would you like to do this? I think that if

(42:16):
you had been like well, I think that if he
had been like sure, But just so you know, I'm
gonna tell the audience how much the game sucks, they
might be like, ooh, all right, maybe we'll find something else.
And this is the other piece of it that I

(42:36):
find really galling. Why is he the the grand PERSONA? Yeah?
Like I Why so? Of NBA history, Draymond Green, there

(42:58):
are one one hundred and forty seven people who have
played in more All Star Games than Draymond Green. One
hundred and forty seven. Like was Chris Webber on that panel?
I can't remember. I don't think he was. Maybe I'm
not sure, because Chris Webber is one of them. Karl

(43:19):
Anthony Towns, who was in the game, is one of them.
Kevin Love, who seems available, is one of them. Like
the Vince was on the stage, Vince has played in
double the All Star Games? Is Draymond Green like who
he is? Not the the the arbiter or the czar

(43:47):
of All Star history. He he just isn't and the
idea that he I just found it really I'm gonna
use a nerd word, uncouth. It would you would not
have before. I mean, Stephen Durant are there and playing

(44:12):
in it. They are taking it seriously and for you
to be like this sucks, it's not basketball. I would
he be feeling that way if he had been selected.
Maybe I don't know.

Speaker 3 (44:30):
I just know that his jersey off and running off
the field, it's just a little.

Speaker 1 (44:37):
Well, no, no, no, it's it's It's not that, but it
would be I'm trying to think of a good comp
for it. It would be as if who is a
like a really good but not all time great NFL player,
If Brandon Graham before this year's Pro Bowl was like

(45:03):
holding court about the way football must be played with
in a game that had all time legends playing in it,
Like Buddy, you you have less experience with the All
Star Game than Demarta Rosen, Like I'm not the you

(45:25):
need to make one more for your career total of
All Star appearances to be the same as Al Horford
or like like what I'm just saying those are five.
I mean, I'm just I'm not taking my All Star

(45:47):
history lesson from a guy who has the same number
of appearances as Otis bird Song. I'm just not. And
so like you can go somewhere with that, and if
you want to do it, that's what the pot is for. Like,
that's what the pot is for, not for the game broadcast.