What's Wright - Nick Wright reacts to Jayson Tatum injury, Knicks & Wolves 3-1 lead, Mavericks win NBA Draft lottery

Nick Wright breaks down the New York Knicks taking a commanding 3-1 lead on the Celtics and what Jayson Tatum’s injury means for Boston. Then, Nick recaps Anthony Edwards’ big night for the Minnesota Timberwolves as they push the Golden State Warriors to the brink of elimination. After, Nick previews Game 5 between the Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder and the potential closeout game between the Indiana Pacers and Cleveland Cavaliers. Later, Nick discusses the Dallas Mavericks winning the draft lottery and how it affects Giannis Antetokounmpo and the rest of the league. #Volume

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome in. We'll drive you the great episode three point
thirty after one of the most consequential nights in recent
NBA history, when you combine the draft lottery going the
way it did, the impact that is going to have
on not only the future of three super relevant teams

(00:23):
with respect to the Hornets and the Wizards, who are
bummed today, but in the MAVs, the Sixers, and of
course the San Antonio Spurs, and then also what appears
to be something of a devastating injury for Jason Tatum
and the fact that the New York Knicks We're gonna
win that game even if Tatum didn't get hurt, and

(00:44):
what that meant for the Celtics long term. This is
a night Windy said it right after the first game
that the is gonna have reverberations for honestly for years
to come, and before we get to any of that,
and I'm sure I'll expand on this more later and
before i even bring in Demnsey. And this is something

(01:06):
where I'm probably gonna hurt some people's feelings, and I
Am probably gonna hurt some coworkers feelings, and I don't care.
There are some times we get real, in live action,
in the moment, impromptu IQ tests for the general public,

(01:33):
and one of them is this, do you think the
NBA Draft lottery is rigged? Because if you think it is,
you're kind of dumb. Now you might be like, I'm
not dumb. Explain the odds of these things. And the
answer to that question is go to your local community college.

(01:55):
You can probably get courses for seventy dollars a credit
hour and take in introduction to probability and statistics. And
what you'll learn is the thing about things that have
a one point eight percent chance of occurring, is they
occur one point eight percent of the time. And when
you have a bunch of teams, all of whom have

(02:16):
a like So here is the simplest way to explain it.
And I knew it. I'm not gonna name names, but
I knew there would be people working on this show.
Might be one person co hosting the show I'm going
to bring in a bit who's like, well, obviously it
might be rigged. I know that I'm a jerk for
calling you guys dumb, and I'm not saying you're dumb.

(02:38):
Maybe I did just say that you're just dumber than
you think you are. So here is like the most
simple way to look at it from a probability perspective.
What are the odds of any one person winning the
power ball? Like is it like one point four billion

(03:02):
to one, not one point eight percent, but like point
zero zero one hundred times one percent that someone's going
to win it? But someone always wins it. So how
does that happen? You had one in a billion you
had there are more people, there's not a billion people

(03:24):
in the United States, yet every week someone hits a
billion to one shot. That's how That's how probability and
statistics work. Also, the idea that the firm Ernst and
Young is gonna be like listen, been around for about
one hundred years. We have a super profitable business. We

(03:45):
also have a side business where we rig the NBA
Draft lottery for reasons that aren't totally clear. Like the
latest conspiracy is if you trade with the Lakers, you
get the number one pick. But that of course is

(04:06):
idiotic because Anthony Davis. Because like they traded Davis, they
got Zion. The NBA didn't want Zion to go to
New Orleans. It was a disaster for everyone. The moment
it happened. Well, the the NBA called in is sent in, listen,

(04:27):
trade Luca to the to the Lakers and we'll get
you Cooper Flag. And the part of that story that
folks are ignoring is the Dallas Mavericks were won a
play in game, tried to make the playoffs, and we're
playing the Memphis Grizzlies in a game that if they won,

(04:50):
they don't even have any ping pong balls. That was
so neat, Like how how big does the conspiracy go? Boys?
People are just And there's five teams that if they
would have won it, we would have said. If the
Spurs won it, we would have said rigged, duh, Wimby
and Flag. If the Sixers won it, we'd have said rigged.

(05:12):
Oh you gotta you're you gotta get him be a lifeline.
There's like more teams that you would have called it
rigged than.

Speaker 2 (05:22):
Not would have made people call it the most rigged though,
like that that's the that's the team that.

Speaker 1 (05:28):
But every whoa right. But people did the same ship
with Wimby. Oh of course, the like the Spurs, they
right from Duncan into Wimby. People reverse engineer these conspiracies
here's the problem with the conspiracy. The draft lottery is now. Listen,

(05:49):
all conspiracies are not created equal that. Do I think
forty years ago, when the process was the commissioner picking
his hand into a globe and grabbing an envelope, do
I think that maybe, oh, or freezing one of those envelopes.

(06:09):
That's not idiotic because that's easy to execute and one
person has to be involved. Any conspiracy where it's like, well,
we need a whole lot of the executives and lawyers
at Ernst and Young to be in on it. We
need the league owners to be fine with it. The

(06:30):
Wizard's owners like, God damn it. This conspiracies never works
for me, but I'll keep playing along. We need the
reporters to be in on it. It's so dumb. And
the reason I'm leading the show with it is because
you're I'm just telling you right now. Sometimes it's hard
to tell, like who's smart and who's not. As far
as people who have public platforms and talk about things

(06:52):
for a living. If one of your favorite personalities today
is like hah hah, wink wink, that was gonna happen,
they're just not that they're not as bright as they
think they are, just dock their IQ points. It's it's
like if you saw them, you know, fall off a
twenty foot ledge onto their head, like moving forward to

(07:15):
be like, oh, probably not as smart as they once were.
You now know it. So I'm sorry. And like I said,
I know I'm hurting some people's feelings today and I
know that, but it's just idiotic. Now before we get
to the show, because I did want to start with that,
because today is a tough day for Demandacaus Demonde's a
Celtics fan and that's his team, and that was devastating.

(07:38):
I have one other note which will shock you, pal,
and I think really make you happy. So one of
our neighbors is Michelle Roberts, who you don't know who
that is, but she for years ran the NBA Players Association.

(07:59):
She was the woman in charge of the NBA Players Union.
She's the lady who famously during the lockout, Patrick Beverly
barked at and then all the other players had to
tell him sit down and shut up, be respectful. Very famous,
successful lawyer for a long time, ran the NBA Players Association.

(08:21):
Now retired day before yesterday. Your mom and I are
out front cleaning up our front porch, and she came
by and she and I have talked a few times.
She had never met your mom, and she says to
your mom, she was like, I have to tell you something.

(08:42):
I love your son on the podcast. Oh what you
swear to God? She was like, he's so funny, he's
quick witted, he's he is. And I was. I was stunned.
Not that she liked you, but I would. Whenever someone
important watches the pod, I'm always a little taken aback

(09:05):
because it's not like the TV show that you could
just have it on. You have to like opt into it.
So I find it very touching. But she would, I mean,
she spent I don't know three to five minutes talking
to your mom about you on the podcast. Oh yeah,
that is awesome.

Speaker 2 (09:21):
It certainly shocks me.

Speaker 1 (09:22):
You being the league guy. She goes up, She's like, oh, no, listen, no,
But that was that was I mean, it was great.
That made me very happy. All right, Now to the
news of the day. Here's well, here's what missed the cut.
We'll do in the NFL schedule release stuff on Thursday. Uh,
Philadelphia is gonna open the season against Dallas. The Bears. See,

(09:43):
Chicago got Super Bowl bets increased after the pope was
selected because he's a Chicago guy. I thought the Knicks
would have gotten championship bets increased because he's a Nova
guy and they're the Nova Knicks. And Michael Jordan's gonna
join NBC as a contributor. Listen, you know, I NBC's
a different network, but fair is fair. I got to

(10:04):
give credit where it's due. I mean, if they're gonna
use him the way he should be used, that is
going to be an unbelievable addition. And by that, I
mean he should be their gambling expert. All right, demanse
like rate subscriber view to the pod. Let's get to
the news of the night, which, after we tried to

(10:27):
be a little lighthearted to start, the news of the
night is serious and unfortunate and a lot of tentacles.
So let's get to it.

Speaker 2 (10:36):
Yeah, so we'll get to the game later. But obviously
the Nicks went up three one on the Celtics, but
unfortunately Tatum most likely has like a season ending injury. Yeah,
your thoughts on the Celtics circumstances right now?

Speaker 1 (10:51):
Okay, so it's pretty clearly. And by the way, to
the producers, even the ones I might have unintentionally just
called dumb, please help me out here today. And if
there is breaking news during the pod on Tatum, let
us know everyone is speculating Achilles, and I understand that.

(11:13):
Here's the thing, and throw Demans back on the screen
because demanse like, fourteen months ago, fifteen months ago, you
tore your achilles. Yep, I'm holding out hope, maybe it's naive,
hope that that wasn't an achilles, just because and you

(11:34):
can speak to it from your experience. I've never seen
an achilles injury that had that much seemingly excruciating pain
associated with it. Liked the way he stepped and fell.
Everyone thinks achilles. But when you tour yours playing basketball
similar way, planting and trying to explode, Like I talked

(11:57):
to you thirty minutes later, and you like, was it
was it excruciating pain? It wasn't.

Speaker 2 (12:05):
It wasn't like you're breaking I could feel like breaking
a finger or something or breaking something. It was just
really uncomfortable and it felt like kind of like the
bottom of my foot wasn't hitting the floor.

Speaker 1 (12:17):
Right. But and so I don't know, so I listen,
here's the deal that his reaction, if it was a
visceral reaction to pain, then I would be holding out
hope it's not an achilles. Now it's obviously a serious injury.

(12:38):
The other possibility is his visceral reaction was to emotional
devastation because he knew, he knew he tore his did
something terrible and what it meant for this year and
for moving forward, and it was just overwhelming for him,
Which that's you know, so that and so here's the deal,

(13:03):
and this is this is the cruelty of sports. And
I I try not to complain too much about how
I'm perceived or discussed or anything, but I will say
one thing that I really don't like, just because I think,

(13:26):
and maybe it's my own fault, but I think it's
like almost an indictment on me as a person, not
as a personality, is when people act as if because
I have been on the highest level of basketball terms,
you know, a Tatum skeptic at times as far as
like he'll you know, be the best player in the

(13:47):
league or you know, his place in the NBA hierarchy,
as if that means that there is some joy or
gratification or anything in a guy suffering that type of injury, Like,
that's so obvious, I would hope, obviously untrue or obviously
not what anyone would think. But set that aside, because

(14:08):
I don't think most people think that. I think most
people understand that your analysis of someone as a player,
whether or not you're picking the team, is totally separate
from them suffering a devastating injury. For Jason Tatum individually,
a guy who has been almost historically durable, and by

(14:32):
not his historically is the wrong term, but in the
modern context, he has played eighty seventy nine, sixty six
COVID year, sixty four post COVID year, so those are
both shortened seasons seventy six, seventy four, seventy four, seventy two,

(14:55):
and then in the playoffs nineteen ninety, seventeen five, twenty
four to twenty nineteen eight. Like, he's never suffered a
major injury to knock him out for you know, months
at a time. He now potentially is looking at one
of the worst injuries a basketball player can suffer, and

(15:21):
there are a lot it we don't know. Again, that's
assuming it's an achilles. Assuming if it's not an achilles,
then it's some different type of really rough ankle injury.
But you obviously hope Jason Tatum gets back to the
level he was at. Kevin Durant did I know people

(15:44):
will bring up Clay Thompson. Clay's thing is very unique
because Clay blew out his knee and then when he
was almost recovered from that, then popped his achilles, and
so that was like the double whammy of it. And
so you don't the sober analysis of this for Tatum

(16:11):
individually is you hope he can get back to the
level he was at this year. You have to acknowledge
that that is an unknown and that the other piece
of it that is the extra Yesterday was a really
really bad day for the sports gods and those of

(16:35):
us that want to believe in them, because the Mavericks
did not deserve to win the lottery, and of all
the moments, for Jason Tatum to suffer that injury, for
it to happen in what was looking like one of
the three or four best games of his career is

(16:59):
just cruelty beyond belief in the sports context. And here's
where it gets even tougher. And this is the part
that different people can have different opinions on this, and
I respect them legitimately. Some people might say discussing what

(17:21):
this means for the Celtics in this moment is poor form.
I think it's my job. I think that that it is.
You know, it comes with the territory here. What it
means for the Celtics is last night was the last

(17:44):
time we see the Celtics in that form, And it
is overwhelmingly likely that, let this is Al Horford's last year,
so he's gone. It is to me overwhelmingly likely if

(18:09):
we assume that Jason Tatum is out for next year,
that last night was his last game with Kristaps Porzingis.
And it has to be considered on the board that
last night could have been the last game of Jason

(18:33):
and Jalen together. Because there has been a lot of
discussion and a lot of rumor mill stuff that with
this new ownership group, that bar even if the Celtics
won the championship this year, but certainly if they didn't

(18:55):
and now they won't, that they were going to make
some sick, significant moves, you know, to lower the financial
burden and so Chris STAPs was the number one guy
people were talking about potentially being on the move. But
I don't know if Chris STAPs what real like, we

(19:18):
are you gonna give for him right now? Correct? That's
the problem. That's the problem is Chris STAPs has this
really weird illness that has been months and months that
I think casts a shadow over whatever value he has,
and so it can. It is unbelievable the speed at

(19:44):
which windows can slam shuts the wrong word, but can change.
And a week ago, a week could go. We all
thought the Celtics were about to cruise through round two

(20:09):
and be in really good position to go back to back,
and we were discussing Jason Tatum before he turns twenty eight,
has two rings. If he pulls off a finals, MVP,
four straight, first team All NBAS, all of this, what
does that mean for him in the historical context? And

(20:33):
now you look at it like everything is in flux
and nothing is guaranteed, and it is. There are very
few injuries in recent sports history that feel quite like

(21:00):
this one in that when Durant tore his achilles, you
felt terribly for Kevin Durant, but the mitigating circumstances surrounding
that were as far as for the Warriors, it appeared

(21:24):
that that was coming to an end that era, and
for Durant because he had missed almost a month with
a calf injury, you kind of had in the back
of your mind the concern that that could happen going
into that game. None of that applied to Tatum here,

(21:48):
and so it is the next time. I if we
assume that he's out for next year, the what the
Celtics look like the next time Jason Tatum's on the court.

(22:12):
It's just going to be so drastically different. And I
I just I the only thing, like I can't say
the only thing, but and maybe the if any of
the producers want to type in something they're thinking of

(22:33):
as a comp as far as like a snap, oh
my god. It kind of reminds me of RG three
in the playoff game in Washington, when you have this
rookie of the year. Now, obviously Tatum's a much older player.

(22:54):
D Rose is a good one. D Rose is probably
the right example. D Rose is the right example where
you have this guy, you feel like you have the
championship window and then he hurts his knee now, but
he was already banged up before that. I feel like, no,
maybe I'm wrong. Uh, But and then it's like, oh wait,

(23:17):
this playoff runs over, and so is the next one,
and so listen, I'm hoping we get good news. And
I'm oddly, you know, hoping that this is gonna sound
I almost want to say this because this could be
clipped out of context so terribly. I'm I'm kind of

(23:44):
hoping that they that his reaction was physical pain rather
than emotional pain, because that, to me, would be evidents
that it's not an achilles. And I listen, I'm obviously

(24:04):
no doctor whatever. Well, so that's the other reason that
I'm holding out a little hope that it's Achilles injuries. Right,
it's very diagnosable, right, they always do the MRI to
double check, But every time someone suffers an achilles, it's
like they did, I forget what it's called. I think

(24:26):
it's basically they just put their hand on the back
of your calf, yeah, and they and they check. So
the fact that it's not out maybe is a positive.
I don't know. And maybe I'm painting a little too
bleak of a picture, but that was a the reverberations

(24:47):
that has across the league, Like if I'm now let
me add something to it? Does this This is gonna
sound a little too black and white's the wrong word,

(25:09):
but it's like harsh reality. But when I say the reverberations,
if you're the Milwaukee Bucks right now, do you now
feel like maybe we give it one more year with Giannis?
If the Celtics are just eliminated, you know what I mean?

(25:29):
Like again, I'm sorry to be doing this to Boston fans,
and I'm talking to a Boston fan, but like, I
think those are the kind like if the Celtics are
just eliminated, and you're like, it turns out the Calves
are frauds, Like hold on a second here, Like what
does that mean? I if you are dare I say

(25:52):
it Lebron James and you're like, yeah, I'm just gonna
finish my career with the Lake. But then you're like,
hold on a second. If the Calves are about to
get clocked in round two and they clearly do need
to add something, and I could start where I finished

(26:17):
and in a east where Giannis might be traded the
Celtics are eliminated, you know what I mean, like me
and me, the Pacers and the Knicks, right, I can
give that a look, you know what, Like there's the
draft lottery sending Cooper flag to the West, giving the

(26:41):
Spurs either the second pick or the Amo to potentially
get wimby. And if they don't get wimby, everyone thinking
Houston's gonna get wimby. If the Celtics are knocked out
of contention for a year, are nine of the ten
best teams in the league in the Western Conference? Like
if Tatum's not playing next year and you were to

(27:05):
talk about the fifteen best players in the NBA, does
the East have three Brunson, Mitchell, Halliburton and everyone else
is in the West? If Giannis is gone and Tatum's
out for the year, like this is insanely impactful to

(27:29):
that team. Because while everyone understood all year the West
was better, I think most a lot of people thought, well,
the West has five of the seven best teams, but
the very best teams Boston, they're defending champs and even
though they have the regular season, So it is just

(27:49):
such a such an impactful injury. And I think the
lack of news is positive from an achilles standpoint, But
I don't. I don't know, all right, demon's before we

(28:11):
get to the actual game. Is there anything you want
to add, anything else you want to say?

Speaker 2 (28:17):
If it's a long injury, I hope that he uses
the time to just kind of decompress it. And I
feel like the media has probably been in his head
for a while. Be a time to reanalyze, take a
step back.

Speaker 1 (28:32):
But yeah, it's unfortunate, Like I will say that on
the media front. Again, there's no there's not real silver
linings here, but I'm grasping a bit. He will be
more than a sympathetic figure. He will be he I

(28:54):
think a lot of people feel like he has been
and I'm sure people some people blame, you know, say
I'm part of it. I'm always I always try to
be self aware of it, even if I think, what
is what has caught of me or whatever? It's unfair?
Yeah right, yeah, so I no, so I get it.
He will be considered a little off limits, right, like

(29:17):
you know what I mean, and that maybe there will
be a bit of a what I interrupted myself, but
but a lot I know a lot of people have
thought he has been over criticized given his level of play,
given the team success, but then the not playing his
best dur in the finals, then the Olympics piece of it.
People thought he didn't get enough credit for having such

(29:38):
a dominant right individual regular season, and so maybe that's
a small silver lining that he'll be a guy everyone's
rooting for. I don't know, but this is this tough,
all right. So now let's go to the actual game.

Speaker 2 (29:54):
You were saying that even if Tatum was in the game,
it looks like the Knicks were gonna take that one.
You care to explain on that.

Speaker 1 (30:02):
Yeah, so I I understand it, but I think that again,
if we're going to try to be give honest, sober analysis,
the Tatum injury was the most important thing that happened
in that game. For a long term perspective and for

(30:23):
the you know, all the reasons I gave over the
last twenty minutes, the Tatum injury, in my opinion, pretty
clearly did not have an impact on who was gonna
win that game. I can't prove it to you.

Speaker 2 (30:36):
No, it had the same exact flow as the other
twenty point comebacks that the Knicks had.

Speaker 1 (30:41):
It was the except those other twenty point comebacks. The
Knicks never got a big lead. Yeah, this big lead
the series, right Tatum? When Jason Tatum got hurt, there
was three h four left and and the Knicks were
up nine points. So listen, maybe Boston and Tatum was

(31:06):
playing so great. I'm not gonna act like it's impossible
that Tatum, you know, carries them back. But I think
that the Knicks in that moment, I don't know what
the live betting line would have been, but minus at
least minus two thousand, like they three minutes left, down

(31:28):
nine when Jalen Brunson has been the most clutch player
in the league this year, and you know the Knicks
have at that point to get up one thirteen to
one oh four, they're on a I'm trying to find it.
I mean the exact run they were on to get

(31:52):
up one thirteen to one oh four, they were on
a twenty one? Is that right? That's that's not right.
But whatever they had, they had taken control of the game.
Is the point that I'm making. And so I and
I think, and this is this is where the Knicks

(32:13):
have to be given credit. And this is where the
stuff I've been arguing with Wilds about all series, I
think came into fruition. So much of the series analysis
when the Knicks were up to oh and certainly after
Game three, was the Celtics haven't played well. The Celtics

(32:38):
are missing shots. And what to me that ignored was
a couple of facts. One is, the Knicks had not
played well offensively, and the Celtics not playing well offensively
was attributed just to missing shots, and the Knicks not
playing well offensively was attributed to the Celtics great defense.

(32:58):
Both of those had a shred of truth to them,
but were not entirely true. The other piece of it
that I thought was kind of miss represented in the
discussion of the game was while the Celtics shoot weigh
more threes than the Knicks, they are not a better

(33:20):
from a percentage three point shooting team than the Knicks.
The Celtics this year shot thirty six point eight percent
from three. The Knicks this year shot thirty six point
nine percent from three. The Celtics were the number two offense,
the Knicks were the number five offense. And the Knicks

(33:41):
had not played offensively well in this series. And so
when the going into last night's game, the Celtics in
the series were shooting thirty two percent from three. The
Knicks were shooting thirty three percent from three, and so
both teams were down four or five points off their
season three point percentage. Both team star players Tatum and

(34:04):
Brunson going into last night had not yet had that
awesome game, that explosion game, and so much of analysis was, well,
what's gonna happen when Tatum has this huge game? And
my response to it was, I don't know, but what's
gonna happen when Brunton has his huge game? And then
they happened simultaneously, and the Knicks had control of that game.

(34:29):
And now in the series, the Knicks are shooting thirty
three point nine percent from three and the Celtics are
shooting thirty three point five percent from three, So almost
identical for two teams that shot almost identical for the
regular season. And the Knicks top six guys are all

(34:53):
healthy prior to the Tatum injury, I'm saying, and the
Celtics top six guys, you're missing Christaps essentially, like he
can barely play, and when he plays, he hasn't been effective.
And I thought the Knicks last night, for people that
hadn't watched them throughout the year and I understand all

(35:16):
year long they couldn't beat the best teams, There's no
doubt about that, but they were They weren't last year's
Knicks that were just gonna try to grind you down
when they they were an explosive offense, and Knights when
Michale Bridges and Ognnobi are scoring, that team's got four

(35:42):
legitimate scoring threats. And Brunton was awesome. Towns I thought
was really good. I mean, Towns was eleven of twelve
from two and Bridges in the second half seemingly could
not miss a mid range and the Knicks just looked
freaking awesome. And so the the Tatum injury casts a

(36:09):
pale pal Paul Castle, Paul, What's casts a pale over
the game? I think, is what I'm trying to say.
How about this? Did you say shadow works? Yeah, that's
what I was. I should have just said shadow. I

(36:33):
can pronounce that word, spell it too. The Tatum injury
casts a shadow over the game. But in my opinion,
the one of the underrated stories of the Celtics blowing
the Knicks out in Game three was Peyton Pritchard playing

(36:54):
an a triple plus game, And is that I know, listen,
pay for six Man of the Year is good player,
but twenty three points on like eighty percent from the
field or whatever he was is probably not gonna happen
too many times. And the underrated story to me of
this series that you saw last night was the Celtics.

(37:16):
Two old guys have looked a little old. Yeah in
Alan Drew like they you know what I mean, they
have they just and last night they were both non factors.
You add to that that Jalen Brown little inefficient and
as you you know, as usual loose with the ball,

(37:39):
and you have a game that, after being down big,
the Knicks find themselves up nine with three minutes left.
And so I think the Knicks deserve massive, massive credit
for what they did. And I want to add one
thing before we get to Brunson, and I can't. So

(38:04):
after they went up two, Zho, I came on here
and I said, the Knicks are going to the finals.
I now believe the Knicks have a really good chance
of winning the championship. Demonse, Yeah, I do.

Speaker 2 (38:28):
Well, I show they can get past the Celtics, and
then I certainly think they can get past the Pacers.

Speaker 1 (38:37):
All right, Listen, the Pacers beat them last year in
seven in a game where in that game seven, the
Knicks had four guys out with injury. I I would
certainly pick the Knicks over the Timberwolves. I we'll get
to that series later. The Timberwolves, We'll get to that
series later. I will certainly pick the Knicks over the Timberwolves.

(39:00):
And I want to see what type of condition the
Thunder or Nuggets are after their series, because the Thunder
have the depth that if somebody gets banged up other

(39:20):
than Shay, they can keep it rolling. The Nuggets do not.
And the Nuggets having you know, these seven game wars
potentially in round one and two if they get through it,
and then they have that just pain in the ass

(39:40):
Timbrelves team waiting for him who beat them last year,
that wouldn't be a quick series. You just wonder because
you're already seeing Joker leak a little bit of oil.
And so I the Knicks could win the championship. Oh,
by the way, one last next thing for where you
get to Brunson. So I'm watching the game last night,

(40:05):
so let me give a little So I play in
a relatively speaking, low stakes poker game that uh Hank
Azaria and uh name drop. Apologies, but the guy who
does the voices for two thirds of the Simpsons characters,

(40:26):
great comedian actor all that. I got hooked up with
him through Brian Koppleman, another name drop, the guy who
created Billions and Rounders. And the reason I got hooked
up with any of these guys is because Koppleman is
buddies with Bamani and Koppleman's a huge Jordan fan. And
Koppleman hit up Bamani one night and was like, invite

(40:46):
Nick to dinner. I want to argue with him about
Lebron versus Jordan. And we did, and we became buddies,
and he got me in their poker crew and they're
great guys, like really cool, great guys. And it's a
great poker game because again it's low stakes, so it's
not like high stress. You don't have to worry about
getting cheated. It's not there's none of the a lot

(41:07):
of the New York City home poker games. There's a
lot of a lot of it's also a lot of
sketchy elements, like people go to the games not necessarily
for the poker, for the things around. Yes, and so
this is so this is better. So there's a guy

(41:28):
at the game who's I don't I don't want to
age him, but you know, I think probably late fifties,
maybe early sixties, I'm not sure, but like cool looking,
like wears like cool sunglasses and kind of wears his

(41:49):
hair cool and just kind of One time flippantly talked
about how he had just come back from London. I
was like, oh, why were you in London? And and
again I don't want to give this too much of
this guy's info because there's four huge soccer clubs in London,
maybe more. And he's like, oh, I have a box,

(42:10):
a luxury box at one of the most famous soccer teams.
So I go every weekend they have a game, fly
to London for the game, and fly back because I
have a box at the game. Damn, congrats on all
your success. And he was and he was like, oh, yeah,
you ever want to come? He was like, if you

(42:32):
and your wife want to do a weekend in London, like, come,
we'll go to the game. I'm like, I'm like, I
don't know if that's a real invite or not, but yes,
I'll do it. Never been to London. So I'm watching
the game last night and on the sideline next to
Tibbs is my pal another name drops. Sorry, I sound
like an asshole, Gary Veey, Gary Vee with his two

(42:56):
boys in the best seats in the house and the
only seats better than Gary Vees once seet over, it's
my buddy from the Card Game. So I text another
one of my buddies from the Card Game like, Hey,
is that such and such. He's like, yeah, those are
his season tickets. Like his season tickets. He's like, yeah,

(43:18):
best seats at the house house in MSG. He'll take
you whenever you want. I'm like, okay, I'm not gonna
ask him to take me during the Knicks run to
the finals. But I and and then he was like, yeah,
he gives his pair of tickets to my son and
one of his friends once a year. I'm like, this
guy might be the greatest guy. Why am I? Hey?

(43:42):
Why am I friends with Kevin Wilds and not? This
guy is unbelievable. I couldn't believe. It was truly unbelievable.
All right, yeah, it was great. Ask the Brunton question.

Speaker 2 (43:54):
So Brunson almost shot forty last night. Do you think well,
he's the best Knicks player since who Mellow? Are we
putting him above Mellow because Mellow is just.

Speaker 1 (44:06):
So he is not yet above Mellow.

Speaker 2 (44:10):
In like, Daniel, what in the other room he's Oh,
now he's not better than Mellow.

Speaker 1 (44:17):
Well, so let me finish the thought, Daniel, I guess, Daniel, Well,
I get yeah, I was yeah, uh, he's not above Mellow.
In my if I did a play my player pyramid,
like all time, if if Jalen Brunson retires today, is

(44:39):
he one of the forty five greatest players ever? Like
Carmelo is obviously not right, Like we all agree on
that that he has not yet had a better career
than Carmelo Anthony. But if the question is was he
a better ni the answer to that is yes, yeah

(45:04):
he is. Yeah, so that's why, Yeah, that's that. That's
what I was. I I had to build the whole bridge, Dan,
I think they're now agreeing with me. I I think
that he's pretty clearly the best Knick since Patrick Ewing,

(45:26):
the best not the best player to play for the Knicks,
but the best Nick since Patrick Ewing.

Speaker 2 (45:34):
And if you win the finals this year, like if
you were to win the finals this year.

Speaker 1 (45:45):
Oh wow, probably not yet, but he would be a
favorite to have one if they win.

Speaker 2 (45:56):
I guess if they win the title and he's the lead.

Speaker 1 (45:59):
Guy ship and he's the lead guy, So like what
lead guys on a champion? Do I have mellow ahead
of so Chauncey? Yeah, I mean I the is that

(46:32):
the only one? So? Well, Tatum, I have a mellow
right now? You know what I mean. But again though,
that's kind of let me not do the guys who
are still playing, because they're still kind of you know,
well they're still writing their stories so to speak. But no,
so let no, I'll include them. So let's just oh,

(46:55):
this will be fun? Can I Can I do it again? Demonse?
Remember one who did this five years ago? Was it
fifty or old the top fifty? I think I did?
Did I? I think I did? League MVPs League v
But let's just yeah, let's just see if I can
do it. Just go backwards for Champions twenty four Tatum

(47:21):
and then again. So the question is this question? Is
this uh all right? Because if Brunton wins the title,
does he jump mellow in the all time hierarchy? And
my answer is not yet. But then the question is
lead guy on a champion? Which of these guys do
I have mellow ahead of? So now I'll just try

(47:44):
to go backwards in history and do lead guys on
champions twenty four Tatum Melos ahead of him, twenty three,
Joker No. Twenty two, Steph No. Twenty one, Yannis No.
Twenty Bronz nineteen Kawhi No. It's close though, because Kawhi's

(48:07):
weird career eighteen seventeen Steph kt kt Steph No. No.
Sixteen bron fifteen, Steph No. No. Fourteen Again Kawhi Duncan.
Kawhi wasn't the best player on the team. I should
have just said Duncan but No. Thirteen twelve, Bron No. Eleven,

(48:32):
Dirk No. Ten to nine, Kobe No. Eight, Garnet No.
If you think Pierce my answers, yes, I do have
mellow above Pierce. Sorry, Paul, so that's too maybe, but
I think Garnett was the best player on that team.

(48:56):
Seven Duncan No. Six, Wage Shack No. Five, Duncan No. Four,
Chauncey Yes, so we're three uh three Duncan No. Two
to one zero Again those are the years uh Shack No.

(49:17):
Ninety nine, Duncan No. Ninety eight, ninety seven, ninety six,
Jordan No. Ninety five, ninety four, Akeem No. Ninety three,
ninety two, ninety one, Jordan No. Ninety eighty nine, Isaiah No.
Eighty eight, eighty seven, Uh Magic's slash Kareem No. Uh

(49:43):
eighty six, Bird No. Eighty five, Magic Slash Careem No.
Eighty four, Hold on a second here eighty four, Oh
eighty four Magic Kaream Wait eighty five was magic kaream

(50:10):
eighty four Celtics Bird No. Eighty three, Lakers Right eighty
three Lakers eighty two six ers and seventy six ers
Moses Uh Doctor j No. Eighty one, Celtics No. Eighty

(50:32):
Lakers No. And then you get to seventy nine eighty
and you get to the weird ABA NBA Merger stuff,
and you have the Wizard. So you'd in the last
forty five years, I would. The only guys I had
were Tatum, Pierson Chauncey. So I know my answer is no,

(50:55):
he wouldn't yet be above mellow, but he would be root.
But he's already a better nick and the real like
if here's another question, No, he wouldn't even with a championship.
He's not above viewing either yet. But I mean the
he now is is jailing. Here's another question. God, we're

(51:21):
doing an hour on this game. I gotta get better
at this stuff. Here's a better question. Maybe is Jalen
Brunson now on the mount Rushmore of Knicks read Fraser
Ewing are three locks. I think Brunson's four. Willis Reid's

(51:51):
got finals MVPs. One of the greatest players ever, Walt Fraser.
And again for the kids out there in the Demons,
you've heard of the Willis Reid game. The game Willis
Reid was injured and he came out on one leg,
hit two jumpers, crowd exploded. Thing about that game is

(52:11):
those are the only two shots he made all game.
He was too injured to play. The reason the Knicks
won that game seven of those finals was because Walt
Fraser had thirty six points and nineteen assists thirty six
and nineteen and a game seven of the finals to
win the championship. So Reid and Fraser are on there.

(52:33):
Ewing is on there. I think Brunson's now on there.

Speaker 2 (52:38):
He's got to win the title or something to get there.

Speaker 1 (52:41):
Well, the problem is. But here's the thing, Demons, only
Reid and Fraser have won the title. Yeah, like the guy.
The guy he's competing with is Bernard King. But Bernard King,
who was I think fiftieth on her fifty Greatest Players
of the Last fifty years list, had a shortened career
due to injury, and like the and so yeah, that's

(53:03):
where I've got it. Okay, I was supposed to get
to this DraftKings read forty minutes ago, but I did.
I did forty five minutes on the first topic. NBA
two game grind is done. Now the real fun begins.
NBA Playoffs are here. Time for all the high stakes drama,
clutch moments, and jaw dropping plays. I know you can't wait,
and neither can I. If you're looking to make the
playoffs even more exciting, DraftKings Sportsbook has you covered, an

(53:27):
official sports betting partner of the NBA from the playing
games all the way through to the finals. Now's the
time to back your favorite players and teams as they
chase glory all season long. DraftKings has been the go
to spot for NBA player props and that doesn't stop. Now.
Want to make your playoff experience even more intense. Try
placing a bet on your favorite players performance. Will they

(53:48):
drop thirty, forty or more? It's your call. Ready to
place your first bet? Download the Draftings Sportsbook gap Now
lock in your bets and let's make this playoff run unforgettable,
something special for first timers. New DraftKings customers bet five
dollars to get two hundred dollars in bonus bets. Instantly

(54:09):
make it a playoff run to remember. With DraftKings, download
the DraftKings Sportsbook app. Use code right. That's code right,
Wright code right for new customers to get two hundred
dollars in bonus bets when you bet just five bucks
only on DraftKings. The Crown is yours. Gambling problem call

(54:30):
one eight hundred gambler in New York call eight seven
seven eight hope in why, or text hope in Why,
which is four six seven three six nine. In Connecticut.
Help is available for problem gambling Call eight eight eight.

Speaker 3 (54:46):
Seven eight nine seven seven seven seven or visit CCPG
dot org. Please play responsibly on behalf of Boothill Casino
and Resort in Kansas twenty one plus. Age in eligibility
varies by jurisdiction void in Ontario. Bonus bets expire one
hundred and sixty eight hours after issuance. For additional terms

(55:09):
and responsible gaming resources, see DKNG dot co slash b ball.

Speaker 1 (55:17):
All right, demanse, let's get to the other game from
last night if we can. We still have a lot
to do. This is going a long time, but such
as life, go ahead.

Speaker 2 (55:26):
Yeah, Minnesota's won the third straight with Steph on the
sideline Julius and and coming off thirty point games. But
with seeing how this series has gone, you feel a
little out of line and saying that Minnesota would have
beat them even if they had Steph Curry out there.

Speaker 1 (55:43):
So here's the deal. I have been as unimpressed with
a team that's up three to one in a series
as one can be. So here's what I can't figure out, demonsee.
Did the Timberwolves see Steph was out and just feel

(56:06):
like we're not gonna lose and because of that they
are not playing their best basketball? Or did they? Did
they essentially or were they a specifically bad matchup for

(56:30):
the Lakers, Plus the Lakers making some very odd lineup
decisions and guys running out of gas and all that
and because of that, we o me. I overestimated them,
because I thought that the Timberwolves were going to run
rough shot over the Warriors. And I would love to
sit here and be like, ah, this series would be

(56:53):
the same as Steph Curry was playing. It sure don't
feel like that. It feels like Minnesota has gotten an
absolute gift from the fact that they are able to play.
I think Minnesota, I know there's gonna sound idiotic. I
think Minnesota has played mediocre or worse Demonsey in five

(57:15):
straight games. The close out game against the Lakers, I
didn't think they played that well. And I don't think
they've played great in any game this series, and they
find themselves up three to one. Now where credit is
due is Julius Randall. This entire postseason is rewriting what
playoff Julius means. And Anthony Edwards after a couple shaky performances,

(57:42):
you know it is getting back to being you know,
unequivocally Anthony Edwards. But their role players have been disappointing.
The fact that they are their defense is letting a
Warriors team without Steph Curry stick around in these games. Now,
last night, I give him credit because last night they

(58:03):
slammed the door. I know. They ended up winning only
by seven, and the Warriors almost had another historic back
door cover like if you didn't stay the Warriors back
door cover in Game three, which was truly financially devastating
for me. After taking a break from betting the NBA playoffs,

(58:24):
I got back on the horse four Game three, laid
five and a half with Minnesota, only to see Draymond
Green reportedly allegedly possibly say to his teammates spreads five
and a half, and then they took a totally meaningless
three and then didn't foul and just crushed me. Last night,
though they were up twenty midway through the fourth, so

(58:46):
after you know, not being overwhelming early because it was
what they were forget overwhelming, they were down two at halftime.
They blitzed the Warriors in the third quarter to go
up twenty going into the fourth, and then held that
lead until, of course the very end. When I say devastating,

(59:08):
if you weren't watching the end of this game, the
Timberwolves demanse are up eight with thirty seconds left. Again
they're five point favorites. They then foul the lacrosse kid.
He makes both free throws. I'm sorry they weren't up eight.
They were up Wait, oh no, I this is so

(59:33):
much worse than I was making it sound. Let me
rephrase it. Timberwlves are five point favorites. They are up
twelve with thirty seconds left twelve. They then foul the
lacrosse kid makes both free throws. They then throw the

(59:54):
inbounds away. Guie Santos makes a three. There's now five
seconds left. They're up seven. They then throw the inbounds
pass away again and Quentin Post shoots a three. He
misses it, but that would have been up twelve thirty

(01:00:17):
seconds left. The team just basically dribbling it out to
not covering a five point spread. Now, I didn't bet
last night's game, so I couldn't even take advantage of that.
But whatever set that aside. I have been unimpressed by
Minnesota and they better get up their level of play

(01:00:40):
so dramatically for the next round. Uh. And then I
know you have a Jimmy what's going on with that man?

Speaker 2 (01:00:48):
It's going on with Jimmy Butler?

Speaker 1 (01:00:49):
Does he not know why they said do it every night?
He can't do it every night? And even peak playoff
Jimmy wouldn't do it every night. So that's the So listen,
that's the misnomer about playoff Jimmy that I don't think
people quite remember. So playoff Jimmy even like in the Bubble, Okay,

(01:01:17):
he he had these he would have these huge games,
like en route to the championship. I know it's he's
not just a scorer. But I'm just gonna read you
the year, not the year they made the finals. In
the Bubble. Here were his points twenty eight, eighteen, twenty seven, six,
forty thirteen, thirty, seventeen, seventeen, twenty fourteen, seventeen, twenty four, seventeen,

(01:01:45):
twenty two, and then in the finals twenty three, twenty five, forty,
twenty two, thirty five, twelve, and then two years ago
when they made the finals U well, or even take
that series against Boston that they lost in seven, here

(01:02:05):
were his points forty one, twenty nine, eight, six, thirteen,
forty seven, thirty five. In the finals, he had the
fifty six point game, in the forty two point game.
He was unbelievable. But they I'm sorry that wasn't the finals.
That's the first round. The next year, I because he

(01:02:26):
made the finals that year. He had that unbelievable first
round against Milwaukee where he scored thirty five, twenty five,
thirty fifty six and forty two. The rest of the
playoff run when they made the finals, he scored thirty one.
He scored thirty once. So he has these fluctuations, and

(01:02:48):
he's banged up, and he's older. And so the sneaky
thing for the Golden State that I think is relevant
for them is what version are you getting of Draymond
next year? I think that's a fair question to ask,
all right, and we'll do more of a warrior's autopsy
when their season finally ends. I do want to do

(01:03:09):
the Draymond thing, uh briefly, so go ahead.

Speaker 2 (01:03:15):
After Game two, Draymond had a bone to pick with
the refs in the media, saying that the agendas try
to keep making me look like an angry black man
is crazy. I'm sick of it. It's ridiculous.

Speaker 1 (01:03:28):
Yeah. So I was incredibly bothered by this quote, and
my rationale, I think is very straightforward, which is I

(01:03:49):
think a huge problem with America in general is what
Draymond is describing. So let me explain. I think that

(01:04:12):
black people men and women feeling like they aren't able
to be as expressive, or as emotive or as passionate
as their white counterparts is a real double standard that
exists and has a real day to day impact on

(01:04:35):
how black people the extra kind of onus on black
people and how they carry themselves through the world, and
something that white folks such as myself don't really worry about.
I think that's a real thing and a real problem,
and I have real empathy for kind of the added

(01:05:00):
extra stuff that black men and women in particular have
to kind of think about in how they act in
you know, majority white spaces and stuff like that. And
if people hear this and like, ah, keep your woke
bullshit to yourself, this podcast probably ain't for you if
you can't handle these five minutes here. So I think

(01:05:22):
that's a real thing. And because I think that's a
real thing, I think Draymond Green acting like that is
what's happening to him with his technical and flagrant fouls
is some of the most disingenuous bullshit from a recent

(01:05:48):
NBA player, And I think the way it undercuts valid,
legitimate claims as if the NBA is not as if
there aren't a lot of black men to begin with
in the NBA. There's not a lot of guys that
are passionate in the NBA. And for Draymond to act

(01:06:11):
like he gets unfairly persecuted, when to my eye, it's
the exact opposite. Draymond gets away with more explosions and
eruptions at refs than any other player I can remember.
And while guys like Rashid Wallace the refs had a

(01:06:35):
crazy short temper with essentially they were waiting to give
him a flat technical, Draymond, once he gets his first technical,
is basically allowed to do anything other than dump the
gatorade on the ref's head. And he's not gonna throw
him out. Go ahead, Demonse.

Speaker 2 (01:06:58):
Yeah, And I see Draymond get face to face, like
nose to nose with revs more than anybody. Yeah, dude,
he just acts like the way he hits people. You
would think Rudy Gobert hits people because he's not as coordinated,
but like he acts like he has no control over

(01:07:19):
his limbs and it's just so like it's so might.

Speaker 1 (01:07:24):
Here's the thing. After Game four against Houston, I came
on here and on the TV show and I said,
put that game on Draymond's basketball tombstone. He got a flagrant,
he got a technical, he got the game winning stop.
He was jawing, he was gesticulating, he was hitting people
in the face. Held he won them that game against Houston,

(01:07:46):
because that's who he is. That's how he's got to play,
got it. That's he got the absolute most. He for
a player that's not that great athletically compared to his peers,
shoots like he's wearing a bat with heavy textbooks in it,
and was a second round pick and is not that tall.

(01:08:07):
He reached the absolute peak of what he ever could
have been in this league. And he had to do
it this way, and I respect that. But after Game
seven against Houston, he came out and said, I was
embarrassed about how I was acting. I needed to be better.

(01:08:27):
And then against Game two, it's a conspiracy against him,
and you are invoking real, true, damaging stereotypes as a shield.
I thought was embarrassing. All Right, we need to get
to the other series and we need to get to

(01:08:48):
the draft lottery. But first, guys, I'm going to these
Knicks playoff games. I just am and I went on Saturday,
I went to Game two against a T's right, and
that's why I want to give the sponsor of today's show,
seat Geek a huge shout out. With over twenty eight
million downloads, seat geek is the number one rated ticketing app.

(01:09:10):
There are more than seventy thousand events listed on seat geek,
including concerts, sports festivals, and more. And right now you
can get tickets to the new MLB season and the
NBA and NHL playoffs. I listen. I don't want to
tell you guys all my kind of you know, all
my tricks. But here's what I seat geeks, and here's

(01:09:32):
what I do. I'm just gonna tell you guys.

Speaker 3 (01:09:34):
I don't know.

Speaker 1 (01:09:36):
Yeah, I'll tell you guys. Sea Gek won't seek Ek
will probably like it. I don't know. If I like it,
I might end up ruining my own market. But here's
what I do. If there's a game I know I
want to go to and it is a crazy hot ticket,
I open up seat geek in the morning and I
scan the marketplace. This is what I did Saturday. I

(01:09:58):
was with de with my buddy josh Uh. He was
with me for the last hour, and I scan the marketplace,
and I kind of figure out the market for the tickets. Obviously,
seat geek tells you if it's a good deal or not,
and I'm like, okay, there's like four sets of tickets
that are seats I would like that. I you know,

(01:10:18):
that seem good. And I'm monitor and as we get
closer and closer to the event, I see if one
of these people is like ah Man getting close to tip.
I don't know if these things if someone's gonna buy them.
And then I'm hanging out outside the arena as as

(01:10:40):
an MSG on Saturday, and then I see one of
those seats go from a good deal to a great
deal on the seat geek scale of one to ten,
the biggest, brightest, greenest, dot bang buy it. I bought
my ticket fourteen minutes before tip for Game three of

(01:11:02):
this series. I was in my seat at the National Anthem.
It was that easy. And every ticket is backed by
their buyer guarantee. You know, bet red means bad deals,
bright green mean good deals. So here's here's how you know.
I kind of gave you guys my secrets, so I
tried to come through for you guys. You guys now,

(01:11:24):
also I'll try to come through from you guys again
and this will actually help me. Please, you can use
code write ten for ten percent off your next set
of tickets again, write ten at seat geek for your
next set of tickets. I'm gonna tell you guys something else.
I don't know if I can if you can see
it on here. Uh but I I'm trying to go

(01:11:46):
to my history on seat geek. No oh no, this
is for here we go. This is for Nicks. Uh,
this is for Nick Celtics Game three or Game five?
What would this be? I'm wrong about all of this. Sorry,
Celtics Knicks. Game six is what I'm looking at. Game
three is what I bought. I used my own promo

(01:12:07):
code for my own tickets. Ten percent off any tickets
with promo code RTE ten Wright. Make sure you click
the link in the description of the pod, download the app,
and have the code automatically out into your account so
you can use it later. Thank you to our friends
at seat Geek. All right, demons, let's go to Nuggets
Thunder and then do the draft lottery and then we
got to go because it is a long show and

(01:12:28):
you have to have to work.

Speaker 2 (01:12:29):
So May six, you came on, you gave Yokicic's flowers,
put him in that Lebron s category, and since then
he's averaged twenty one twelve and five on thirty three percent,
shooting in eighteen percent from three. So should we unveil
a new category of takes for you called the jinx?

(01:12:50):
And also what's on the line for Joker this postseason?

Speaker 1 (01:12:54):
Well, so a few things. I didn't quite put Joker
in the Lebron I didn't put him in Lebron tier.
What I said is the gap between him and the
second best player is a Lebron sized gap. And maybe
that was a touchover stated, but I stand by most
of it. What these playoffs have been a reminder that

(01:13:17):
whomever your favorite player in NBA history is, unless their
name is Lebron James or Michael Jordan, their absolute apex
prime is littered with playoff series where they weren't at
their best. Jordan ninety to ninety eight never had a

(01:13:43):
bad series, Lebron twelve to twenty twenty never had a
bad series. Those are the only guys that that applies to.
So it is not an indictment on Joker, and it's
not that he's been bad this series, but that he's
not white playing up to his standards. It is a
bummer because what's on the line for him is immortality,

(01:14:09):
because this championship is wide open and Game four was
there for the taking after scoring eight points in the
first quarter, they were up six late in the third.
And if he could despite the fact that he wasn't
playing great, and if he could have just activated a

(01:14:29):
bit in the fourth quarter and they go up three
to one, they are in great position to potentially win
the championship. They're up three to one on OKC Minnesota.
You can get revenge on them, and then you're staring
at the Knicks. I believe in the finals. So he's
not because listen, Shay has not been unbelievable. Luca is

(01:14:53):
already out, Giannis is out. Nobody's going to dethrone him
this postseason. Is the best player in the league. But
he has a chance to get real immortal status, and

(01:15:20):
that Game four was a missed opportunity, but he can
recapture it. And remember I said for the Nuggets. Now,
they almost overachieved this goal, but I said the goal
just keep shortening the series. You won game one, so
then even if you lose Game two, it's now instead
of a best of seven, it's the best of five.

(01:15:41):
They won game three, so now even though they lost
game four, instead of a best of five, it's a
best of three. Go win tonight. And that way, if
you lose game six, instead of a best of three,
it's a best of one. Keep shortening the series on
Oklahoma City, which has issues of its own. Shay's been

(01:16:02):
good ish, but not great. Jalen and Chet have had
real problems, and so that to me is what needs
to happen. I don't know. I don't really have demonte
a strong lean for tonight. My only lean is, whoever
wins Tonight's gonna lose Game six. I think this thing

(01:16:24):
is going seven, okay, and I am super excited to
see that. All Right, we did the lottery stuff off
the top of the show. Here's what I do want
to say, lottery wise, the most Dallas is going to
take Cooper flag. And if you want to hear about conspiracies,

(01:16:47):
and you know, does the idea does this vindicate Nico.
Nico's plan was not to trade Luca and then get
the number one pick. Nico's plan was to trade Luca
and contend for a championship this year, So it doesn't
vindicate Niko. Was it it might give go ahead? Was
that his goal this year? He said that, Okay, he

(01:17:07):
said it said our championship windows two to three years
and it was including this year. But then Anthony Davis
got hurt. He was saying, like, you know, Ad got
hurt and Kyrie got hurt, but go ahead.

Speaker 2 (01:17:17):
They're gonna kill me for years to come. Like I
was just taking that as you know, trust the process.
It's gonna we're gonna get there, is what it seemed
like to me. But if he said that, well, I
think I think that.

Speaker 1 (01:17:30):
His initial press conference before a d came back and
got hurt again and before Kyrie blew out his knee,
was we think we can contend for a championship this
season and then obviously that all changed. But so this
was not his plan. But the again, they got very
lucky in the lottery. It happens, it does.

Speaker 2 (01:17:52):
Stories is the most spot somebody's ever jumped the conspiracy.

Speaker 1 (01:17:57):
I don't think it's the most spots somebody's ever jumped,
but I don't think it's the most. I think it is.

Speaker 2 (01:18:03):
It's the most ever.

Speaker 1 (01:18:06):
Hold on a second.

Speaker 2 (01:18:08):
So very coincidental.

Speaker 1 (01:18:10):
And what is the what did the Magic jump when
they got Penny the year after they got Shack? The Now,
I gotta look this up. I mean, you guys are
telling me so I believe you. But Penny was in
the ninety three draft. So nineteen ninety two NBA standings Wiki.

(01:18:36):
Let me just check the NBA standings for nineteen ninety two.
I'm doing this on the fly. I apologize, bah blah
blah blah blah. I don't care about the coaching changes.
The Orlando Magic won twenty one games that year. See
you guys, you guys. This is why I need to

(01:18:57):
just trust myself, the Orlando Magic. Wait that's not right. Then,
hold on a second. Maybe I don't need to just
trust myself. Hold on a second. That would make sense.
I thought the Magic it was a huge shocker. When oh,
I have the year, I'm looking at the wrong year.

(01:19:18):
That's the problem. Let me look at that, the top
draft pick Shack. Okay, that's correct. The Magic that year
won forty one games. They of all the teams that
missed the playoffs. Yeah, they had the worst lottery odds.
I knew I was right, So maybe they didn't jump

(01:19:39):
as many spots because how many teams were in the league.
Then I gotta look. But the Orlando Magic, they got
shack by winning the lottery. And then the very next
year they had the worst lottery odds and they got
they won the lottery again, I knew I was right
about that. You guys, how many teams are in the league? Now,

(01:20:03):
you guys are really gonna bother me on this. In
nineteen ninety three, there were seven teams in the Atlantic.
There were seven teams in the Central so were at fourteen? Yeah,
there were twenty eight teams in the league, So they
went the Orlando Magic. It was a twelve team lottery

(01:20:25):
because the Toronto Raptors and the what you McCall, it's
the Vancouver Grizzlies didn't exist yet. It's twenty eight teams
in the league. The Orlando Magic. That year, there are
twelve teams in the lottery and they ended up with

(01:20:46):
the Were there twenty seven teams in the league? What's
the other team? I'm forgetting? Then? What team was added
that didn't exist before? What do I have wrong here?
It doesn't matter teams they went from the So who's
the other team. Now, I'm gonna be really bothered. Who's

(01:21:08):
the team that didn't exist in ninety three other than
the Raptors and the Timberwolves. Because I'm looking at this
and it says there's twenty seven teams. Oh, New Orleans
added a team because there was twenty nine for a
long time. So that's what it was. So those twenty
seven teams. My point remains, not only have we seen

(01:21:29):
a team jump ten spots, we have seen a team
go from the worst lottery odds to winning it. It
was rigged for Orlando, big deal with Disney. They wanted
to everyone's so dumb. I remember these things. See this
is the problem with working with the youth of America.
They weren't around for the ninety three draft lottery. I

(01:21:52):
was it's a big deal. No you weren't. It was like,
oh my god, they're gonna pair up Shack with Chris Webber.
And then they're like, no, we're gonna trade Chris Webber
for Penny Hardaway. The story is, is san Antonio gonna
trade the pick to get whim to get Yannest. That's
the story, and the I don't know what the answer

(01:22:16):
that is, and I wish we had more time on it,
but it's almost noon. I just I spent bad job
by me. I spent about five minutes recounting all of
the best players on a championship team by memory instead
of just looking it up. And then I forgot about
NBA expansion. But that was really your guys fault, because
you guys tried to convince me that this was the
most shocking thing that happened in the lottery history when

(01:22:38):
it obviously wasn't. When obviously it was the Orlando Magic
going from the worst lottery odds to winning the lottery.
And again, that's the thing with things that are one
in one hundred, they they come in sometimes. And the
other thing with the NBA lottery again, if I must
remind you, guys, is Daniel's now texting the Mavericks jumped

(01:23:03):
ten spots, highest highest rise in draft lottery history. That's
from Sports Center, Guys. I'm just here to tell you
just because someone who probably went to this, you know,
same high school class as Daniel tweeted something for ESPN's
Twitter account doesn't mean it we gotta fact check this stuff. Yeah,

(01:23:27):
I'm blaming I'm blaming the youth of America.

Speaker 2 (01:23:29):
On this.

Speaker 1 (01:23:31):
I'm blaming now. Technically I guess did they so did
the MAVs have the eleventh best or eleventh worst lottery odds?
And then they jumped from eleven to one, so it's
tied for the highest rise. Whatever. I gotta go to
work like great subscribe review deman'say, sorry about your team.
Sorry listeners, we'll get your questions tomorrow. It's almost noon,

(01:23:55):
only one hour. First things first today Matt Ford texting.
So you're saying it was rigged. My work here today
is a disaster. Love you guys, Thanks Blue Dog, Thanks Volume,
Thanks DraftKings, thanks Seek Geeks. See you guys. What's right