NBA March Madness: The Suns' Struggles, The Warriors' New Groove, Lakers vs. Celtics, & More

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
We're in March, which means March madness is on the
way for the NCAA. But don't be mistaken. With the
playoffs around the corner for some and the offseason around
the corner for others, the NBA certainly experiences a March
madness of its own, and low key has been all
over the place, and you know what, I kind of
feel like being all over the place, so much so

(00:20):
that we ain't doing the three verse format this episode.
Nah nah nah. I want to talk a little bit
about everything going on, like maybe how the Suns are
likely gonna look totally different next season, or how I'm
personally struggling to believe in the Indiana Pacers despite their success,
and even assess how realistic a Celtics versus Lakers NBA

(00:42):
Finals might be this season. Okay, I love talking hoops,
so let's talk hoops, man. I definitely gonna be a
good show today with a lot of variety, so as always,
get your popcorn ready for it all coming right now
on H two DG. Welcome to Hip to the Games,
the podcast for you the basketball junkie and the hip
hop hit. I'm your host, Desmond and I too have

(01:04):
had hoop dreams and enjoy the beautiful genre of hip
hop and its history. Together, we will enjoy some of
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much more, while even mixing the two on occasion. All
in my hope that you remember why you love both
or either of these to begin, you'll soon understand that
Hip to the Games is more than just a podcast.

(01:25):
It's a lifestyle. And if you were looking for a
platform that combines both basketball and hip hop, you've come
to the right place. Welcome to this episode of Hip

(01:48):
to the Games. Shout out to you if you are
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(02:09):
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(02:32):
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a lot of stuff going on around Hip to the
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But before we really get into today's episode, you already
know the drill. I gotta give my pregame shoutouts out
the way. You know. The first one always goes to
the creative director Jesus Christ for another H two DG episode,
as it's always a blessing to get in front of

(02:54):
this microphone and do what He's placed in my heart
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(03:17):
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(03:38):
of that support is seen, felt, and appreciated. Now, as
we get into today's hefty episode, I want to start
by tackling this situation that the Phoenix Suns find themselves in.
But before that, real quick as the season gets closer
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Prize picks run your game. It's been no secret that
the Phoenix Suns have underperformed since they formed the trio
of Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal. And I
think there were many of us who knew it was

(05:47):
going to be a rough transition, essentially replacing Chris Paul Write,
a traditional Hall of Fame point guard, with Brad Beal,
another scoring champion. Yet you have the folks out there like, oh,
you know, they'll be fine. It's positionless basketball. They'll figure
it out, right, And and Devin Booker has shown to

(06:09):
play the point guard position just as well as he
plays the two, like, don't get it twisted. And while
I think they've shown flashes of that being the case,
right that that positionless basketball kind of works, it didn't
translate to sustainable basketball. You know. That's the thing. I
feel like sometimes we throw the phrase positionless basketball out there,
and it glorifies the depth of the basketball that we're

(06:34):
seeing nowadays. But a lot of that positionless basketball kind
of isn't isn't always sustainable for a lot of these teams,
and they end up finding out the hard way. Then
they have to rebuild, then they have to make a
trade that they didn't have to want to make, right,
And I think the Suns kind of find themselves in
that situation. But see, the thing that confused me in

(06:55):
the first place is that people like myself lobbied for
them to get a point guard, a true point guard.
And again that doesn't always mean past first, but just
somebody who can run an offense confidently, who knows that
their job, that their first priority isn't to score, right,
It's no matter how many assists they average. I say

(07:17):
this all the time. It's getting guys in proper positions.
It's low key or high key being on the same
page with the coach to where to the point where
you can look over and know that the coach is
thinking the same thing you're thinking, like, I'm talking about
that kind of point guard, right, And they pretty much
got one. They got one of the more efficient ones

(07:38):
over the last few seasons in Tias Jones, and I
was excited for that, and you know what, that's the thing.
The first couple weeks of the season, the Suns actually
looked really good. They were among the tops in the West.
And as somebody again who is a firm believer that
every team, whether they start or come off the bench,
needs at least one point guard, you know, who knows

(07:59):
how to be, a floor general, who knows how to
be at the very least a capable quarterback of the offense.
I was happy that they got tyas Jones. I was
happy that it was translating of better basketball. But suddenly
Kadie missed time. Then there was a time book was out.
Then as the momentum shifted, you could feel it right,
and then it's like, dang, we gotta try something new.

(08:20):
They even try bringing Brad Bale off the bench. They
made trades in the recent trade deadline. You know, they're
trying different lineups. They're starting Bowl Bowl now, you know.
And it seems like no matter what they tried since
those first couple weeks of the season, the Sons couldn't
find any consistency. Now again, the one thing we can't
forget about the Phoenix Suns is just the fact that
they are in a very tough Western conference. We knew

(08:43):
this before the season. I always it's actually kind of
fun to have trouble doing your preseason picks of who's
gonna make the playoffs, because at the end of the day,
you're gonna leave out about two to three teams that
are capable of making the actual playoffs but are literally
gonna not even make the play in because of how
stacked the West is. And then of course there's always

(09:04):
injuries things of that nature that change the whole scenario.
So yeah, it's it's it's we gotta remember that with
the Suns, they're just in a very tough conference. Also,
you know, there are at least eight other teams that
probably have better chemistry and roster makeup than the Suns,
so we can't it's not all the way the Suns fought.
You know, that's certainly gonna make a difference. But I

(09:26):
mentioned this in a video on my YouTube channel. We
are simply in an era also where star power is
not gonna carry a team over the hump the way
it used to. Uh, depth is everything in this era.
Depth is is the new superpower in this era. As
great as Book and KD. R. It's gonna take a
lot more to be to oka see a Denver, a

(09:46):
Houston Rockets the Lakers on a consistent basis, and and
see again. That's why I'm so confused though, because it's like,
why can't a team led by Kevin Durant and Devin
Booker that has solid support pieces in Tyas Jones, Grayson Allen,
Royce O'Neill. Right, Like I said, Bo Bull's getting minutes
and he's contributing Nick Richards. Why can't these dudes win consistently?

(10:10):
Why can't they even be as good as the Los
Angeles Clippers or even the Minnesota Timberwolves, right, teams that
are not that great but have shown to have some
sustainable success over the course of the season. Why can't
even the Suns be as good as those teams? But
after watching their recent I caught their recent overtime loss
versus the Nuggets. That was a great game, by the way.

(10:32):
They showed a lot of fight coming back to obviously
the Nuggets. They had a great first half shooting the three,
and then that trailed off in the second half. That's
partially why the Sons were able to come back. But
it was a good game. But I noticed that there
was a drastic difference between the two teams, especially come overtime.
You saw it the most in overtime. Once overtime hit,

(10:52):
the Nuggets knew what they wanted to do every single
trip down, and the Suns, on the other hand, seem
like they are just trying to They were just trying,
They were just hoping to win. They didn't even have
an agenda in overtime right, and even throughout many of
their games, you can look back and and it just
seems like they are trying to live off Kevin Durant

(11:13):
and Devin Booker mid range jumpers. Like at the end
of the day. That's how I see the Phoenix Suns.
When I watch the Denver Nuggets, I know that they're
gonna play through Yokic in the post. I know you
you they throw about a Yokic and he knows, Hey
this possession. I want to dribble hand off with Jamal Murray.
Hey this possession. I want Aaron Gordon to set a
screen and short roll and then right we'll have another cutter.
Like all those things you know when you watch, I

(11:37):
don't know when you watch. Obviously, the Golden State Warriors
We know that they're gonna use a lot of off
ball actions to get Steph open, but even through those
off ball actions, other guys can get open. They're gonna
have cutters as well. You know. It's it's you see
things with different teams, and you just don't see that
with the Phoenix Suns. It just seems like so Kevin

(11:58):
Durant are just gonna take turns. Kevin Durant and Devin
Brooker are just gonna take turns taking mid range jumpers
and we're just gonna see how it goes. Like that.
That's pretty much what I get when I watch them.
And as if things couldn't get worse, there are strong
beliefs that coach Budenholzer is gonna be out of there,
which will mark three different head coaches in three years

(12:19):
for them, a not a good sign, right, And on
top of that, after throwing his name out in during
the trade deadline, Kevin Durant is likely to be traded
this offseason, right because they can no longer trade for
Brad Beal for a major return because his value is
not nearly the same as it was when they first
got him, and it's definitely not what it was when
he was a scoring champion. So what are they trying

(12:42):
to do? Rebuild, contend, stay afloat? Like, because teams, even
in this mess situation, you're gonna have teams inquiring on
Devin Booker just to see what's up, Like, Hey, you know,
if you don't like it over here no more, come
over to Houston, or hey, come back home to Detroit.
You know we got something building over here. You know.
You know Devin Booker, I think he's been vocal about
how much he wants to stay in Phoenix right a

(13:04):
lot like Damian Lillard. You want to be Kobe Bryant,
you want to be dirt Nowitzky, you want to play
for one team your whole career. But that's just, unfortunately
not the NBA that we're in anymore. Teams are always
looking to try to see what they can do. Nobody
is as patient as they used to be. Nobody wants
to stick it out and really build a core and
have a core for multiple years. You know, we just

(13:25):
don't see a lot of that anymore. And you know,
I think if they keep Devin Booker, well what is
he really gonna do? Average a career high in points
but be twelfth in the West at that point, he'd
be going backwards. And even Kevin Durant, like, what does
he want to do? What does he want the end
of his career to look like? Like? To me, he
needs to get traded to a team that is literally

(13:47):
a shot creator away from a championship, much like he
did in summer twenty sixteen. Right, I would even consider
going back to OKAC maybe Houston. Right. I know the
Spurs were thrown out there there there were some rumors,
but you gotta imagine the Suns are gonna want a
lot in return for KD, so especially younger teams. Right,
they gotta consider sacrificing draft picks or even valuable blossoming

(14:10):
players on their roster already. You know, the Suns might
as well rebuild in my opinion, like, let Book go
back home to a rising Detroit team. You know, give
them an elite shot creator that they'll need if they
want to play for championships. You know, find KD a
suitable situation. Trade bal to a team like Indiana. Shoot.
Utah's got some pieces that they can gather I think

(14:31):
to at least help out in a multi team trade.
You know, I'm not good with the numbers, but at
least to me on paper, Beal just needs to go
to a team where there is less pressure for him
to perform, where he can tap into that role that
he had earlier in his career with the Washington Wizards.
And unfortunately, that might even mean playing for a team
that's outside the playoff conversation. Like, again, I think we

(14:53):
gotta be real sometimes and understand how human these athletes are.
Somebody might hear me say, Dez, why the heck would
Brad Beal want to play for for Utah? And I
understand that, but it's like, at the end of the day,
you want to play basketball. This is what you love doing.
You want to play basketball. Obviously, yes, do you want
to win, absolutely, but it's like, Bro, you're not gonna
be the guy like you could easily go to somewhere

(15:15):
like Milwaukee and have the same experiences you had in Phoenix,
even though I think Milwaukee would be a much better
fit for him compared to Phoenix. But it's just like,
you know, you get into this phase where you're just
hopping from contender to contender and things aren't really sustainable,
or you know, you find yourself unhappy you know. That's
the thing. Like, like I just think again with if

(15:37):
Brad Beal can find a role, like I said, I
would love for him to go somewhere like Indiana. He's
gonna get a lot of shots with Tyreez Haliburton and
that high octane offense, Like that would be fun. I
think that would be really fun. That would get his
joy back, right, Like, you know, if he can stay healthy,
that would be a good situation. He doesn't have to
worry about dropping thirty, dropping forty. You know what I'm saying.
Just get back to how you played in Washington early

(15:58):
in your career with John wall Man, when you were
more of a shooter as opposed to a scorer. Like,
get the pressure off and just find a new situation.
You know. But man, just even talking about this team
just makes my head hurt. Man. One thing's for sure, though.
You know, things are changing in Phoenix and it might
not be the kind of change owner Matt Ihabia wants

(16:20):
to see moving forward. So definitely let me know your
thoughts on what you think about the Phoenix Suns, because
I yeah, I can't talk about them too long. They're
gonna make my head hurt. So With that in mind,
let's just talk about a team that I actually just mentioned.
Let's move on and talk about the Indiana Pacers, because
the biggest question I have for you is why should
I believe in the Indiana Pacers. Okay, this is a

(16:44):
team who has had a much better second part of
the season, thanks thanks to the improved play of Tyreese
Halliburton and the way Pascal Siakam isn't afraid to be
the go to guy a lot of nights. They have
incredible ball of movement and depth. This team truly lives
up to their name. You know, they will literally outpace
you most nights they have. You know, they just got

(17:04):
a lot of guys that can contribute. But I'm having
a really hard time believing in them. Man, I just
really am. Like I've noticed as a basketball fan, right
pay attention to my word choice. As a basketball fan,
I enjoy how they play the game. If I was
reintroducing the NBA to somebody, I would tell them that
the Pacers are the post a child of twenty twenty

(17:27):
five basketball, not just NBA, but literally what the game
of basketball has become. Period play as fast as possible,
run and transition, shoot, threes, encourageball movement, play ten deep,
and make sure seven or eight of those guys score
in double figures. Right, even if it's ugly, that's the
kind of basketball you want to play. Play, that's the
kind of basketball that's popular nowadays. You know, maybe get

(17:50):
you a rim protector, you know, like like a Miles
Turner and a versatile forward like Pascal Siakam to make
up for what you lose in the collective of role
players in rotation. Right. But as a basketball historian, I
can't help but believe I've seen this movie before, and
I'm trying to warn others to not fall for their
regular season showcase. Okay, flow with me. Aside from the

(18:14):
Reggie Miller years in the nineties and the mid two
thousands and the couple Paul George years, the Pacers have
always been a mediocre organization. And that's not a bad thing.
A lot of people we throw this, you know, we
throw that word mediocre out here, and you know, obviously
the term mid has gotten so big among the youth.
It's almost like a diss nowadays. To be mediocre. Some

(18:34):
teams just stay afloat. Some teams just know how to
be good for a long time, but not necessarily get great,
you know. And and you know, I've always said, at best,
the Indiana Pacers, they know how to get really really good,
but they have never been able to be great. In
my opinion, they might be bad for a few years,
but at some point they will be a playoff team

(18:57):
or even a contender again. But at some point that
cycles gonna repeat. They're gonna be bad, then they're gonna
work their way up, then they're gonna be really good,
then they're gonna fall short, then they're gonna be bad,
then they're gonna go right back up. You know, that
cycle's gonna continue. Part of that is because they've lost
to better teams. You know, we have to admit that
as well. The ninety eight Bulls, the two thousand Lakers,

(19:17):
right MVP Shack, two thousand and four Pistons, the twenty
twelve to twenty fourteen Miami Heat, these were all better
teams that they lost to. You know, Reggie's teams were
among the top of the league in offense, you know,
once he got older, defense became their identity. You know.
Very similarly in Paul George's tenure, a lot of those
teams were scrappy. You know, five guys were gonna score

(19:37):
in double digits, but they weren't gonna score one hundred,
you know, but they were gonna hold the other team
to like eighty five. You know. Defense became their identity,
you know, but they failed because they didn't have the
offense to supplement that elite defense. And then even today
it's in reverse, right. They are one of the better
offensive teams in the league, but not great defensively. And

(19:58):
for me, they're formula that's great for regular season basketball,
that is entertaining. It's gonna sell tickets, it's gonna win
you some dope games against a lot of teams. But
come playoff time, when that joint slows down and the
game starts looking a little bit more like twenty fifteen
as opposed to twenty twenty five, you don't know what

(20:19):
to do because that track meet basketball is not flowing
the way it was, you know, Like I always say, man,
things change come April. When teams get that big old binder,
I don't, like I said, I don't even know if
they still do this anymore. But when opposing teams get
that big old binder with everything you did over an

(20:41):
eighty two game season, and especially everything they did against
the three to four games they played against you. When
your matchup knows that they will have at least four
games to focus solely on you, right, guys are gonna sleep.
Different guys are gonna eat a different break. Guys are
gonna watch film to the point where they know your game.

(21:04):
They don't just have an idea of your game. They
know your game. Every time he goes left, he likes
to step back. Every time, oh shoot, every time he's
caught in the post. He don't like spinning. He don't
take advantage of that space. So I can cut that off.
I can cut that off because he's not gonna spin.
Or if I know you know you like to take
two dribbles right and pull up. If I jam you up,

(21:28):
what you're gonna do right? And I question if the
Pacers are gonna be ready for that, because we saw
last season they were able to get past some injury
riddle teams before being swept by the eventual champions in
the Boston Celtics. This is their year to show that
their basketball is legit, because I don't believe it. If
I'm being honest, like I said, I don't believe in

(21:49):
all that track meet basketball from April to June. It
works in spurts, but at some point that game gonna
slow down. That game gonna slow down, And if any
thing when that happens, I'm optimistic solely because of Pascal Siakam.
He has the half court game to kind of balance that. Right.
He's a champion. He was on that twenty nineteen Raptors team.

(22:11):
You know, he came up. He was a rookie, I
believe in twenty sixteen, twenty sixteen, seventeen seasons, so that
was kind of the last year we started to see
the old the NBA. You know, if you're around my age,
the NBA, we grew up loving that style of basketball
started to go down the drain. So he has a
little bit. Pascal knows a little bit what it's like

(22:33):
to kind of be a on a team in an
organization that has won and that you know, that half
court game is still alive. So I have a lot
of optimism of what he brings to the team. But
you know, the thing is, and again I don't want
anybody to confuse me for like sounded like a hater
or something like that, because I want you to understand,

(22:54):
as I say all these things, the thing that has
been in the back of my mind is, well, Desmond,
you realize you grew up watching the San Antonio Spurs,
who played different than anyone else in the league. Sure,
Tim Duncan was their post presence, Tony Parker was the slasher.
Manu Genobili was their go to guy when they really
needed buckets. Right, they have pretty much had one superstar

(23:16):
in the form of three players. Right. If you put
all those three guys together, you have an amazing basketball player.
But they each brought separate strainths to the team that
helped them in the long run. But you know, in
grand scheme, they didn't have a Kobe. The Spurs never
had a Kobe, They never had a Lebron whoever you

(23:37):
want a name. So why can't the Pacers find similar success? Right?
How come the Pacers can't do what the Spurs did?
Who's to say that the Pacers wouldn't be able to
do what the Spurs did back then in this era
and show teams that, hey, you know, Tybreez Halliburton is
a pass first point guard. Miles Turner isn't necessarily a

(23:58):
post presence. He's more of a ace up guy. You know.
Pascal Siakam isn't this crazy superstar. He doesn't have this crazy,
you know, three level scorer type game, but he definitely
has a great repertoire repertoire about him to where he
can show flashes of being that guy. You know, But

(24:21):
everybody else is pretty much a role player. You know.
That's kind of how the Spurs were. You know, you
had your stars, but you had a lot of role
players and it all just worked together. It all, it
all just happened to work together. So why can't the
Pacers do the same thing. That's what pops in my
head in the midst of all these thoughts. And so
I'm not saying last year was a fluke for the Pacers.

(24:41):
I won't go as that far, but they definitely have
something to prove this year. You got to prove that
y'all can still have a deep playoff run and maybe
even show flashes that you can play in June. Obviously,
we don't see them getting past Cleveland. We don't see
them getting past Boston, not even New York, right, maybe

(25:02):
not even Milwaukee. But you know, you you I think
this is their chance for them to show how legit
they can be, or else they're gonna start realizing very
soon that that cycle is gonna repeat. They're gonna say, well,
our our basketball is great for the regular season, but
now we might have to consider making some changes in
some way, shape or form, because it's just not translating

(25:22):
a true contending basketball, you know. And and but that's
the thing you question, do the Pacers if history is
gonna repeat itself? Do you question do the Pacers even
really want to win? I know that's what Paul George
said when he left. He realized they didn't really want
to win like they said they wanted to win, you know,
So yeah, I think I think the Pacers. Man, it's

(25:43):
hard for me to believe in them. They get, they got,
they got a great system about them. But it's hard
for me to believe that the cycle won't repeat itself.
So if you're a Pacer fan, I would love for
you to to give me a pitch as to why
I should believe in them a little bit more because
they're good, good, but I can't help but believe they
just won't really get to the next level of success

(26:04):
because that cycle is just bound to repeat itself. So
the sun seeming to be knocking on the door of
a new era, while the Pacers are looking to prove
that their previous season wasn't a fluke. What are your
thoughts on both situations? What's the ideal move for Phoenix?
How legit are the Pacers? Be sure to share your
thoughts with me down below if you're watching on YouTube
or at me on the Socials, at Hip to the

(26:26):
Games or at Desmond Powell Underscore, to share those thoughts
with me as I would love to read them and
know what you think as well. But I still got
some more NBA madness up for your next But if
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means to be Hip to the Games by cliar in
the link in the episode's description to cop some merch
and represent the H two DG lifestyle. Welcome back to
Hip to the Games, where I'm continuing to share my

(27:08):
thoughts on all the recent madness going on in the NBA,
and Man, somebody tells Stella to move out the way
because it's the Golden State Warriors who got their groove back. Man.
Ever since the Jimmy trade, this team has found their
momentum again. And this is why I was so high
on him going to the Warriors when he first requested
the trade. At that time, I'm pretty sure I was

(27:29):
higher on Phoenix in Dallas. I felt like they needed
him more. But I totally saw the vision with what
he potentially wanted in Golden State. I said it before, Man,
I said it on here when the news broke he
was going for the andre Egadalar role. Right, so many
people were like, how is Jimmy gonna fit? He doesn't
really shoot threes, what is it gonna look like? And

(27:50):
now finally seeing it on the court, it's really like
a Andrew Wiggins and andre Iguodala hybrid role. Right when
the Warriors offense gets flat, he's capable of scoring and
even getting to the free throw line like Andrew Wiggins,
and even at a higher level than Andrew Wiggins. You know,
but he can also focus on being an all court
and on court coach, making the right passes, making the

(28:12):
right cuts, playing good defense, and bringing true, rely fiery
leadership like andre Iguodala did. Right, those are the kinds
of players that helped the Warriors, because shoot, even look
back to twenty fifteen, having Sean Livingston right his mid
range in his post game. Having Leandro Barbosa, even at
his older age, was still a really good shot creator

(28:34):
and a streaky shooter slash scorer for them, you know,
obviously eventually Kevin Durant, Andrew Wiggins. The Warriors are better
when they have guys who create in some kind of
way by themselves. Even when you look at the beginning
of this season before his injury, de Anthony Melton was
like a mini andre Iguodala in a similar way that
Dante Devincenzo was a mini andre Iguodala for them, Right,

(28:57):
somebody who can knock down threes, play combo, rebound their
position pretty well, and lock up defensively. It was no
wonder the Warriors were doing better when Loki de Anthony
Melton was healthy, you had a player like that, right,
So these kind of players are necessary if the Warriors
want to be a threat in the playoffs. So getting

(29:17):
Jimmy Butler obviously takes that aspect to a greater level.
And let's be real, sometimes all it takes is acquiring
a player that is going to fire up the team
simply due to their presence as much as its mental
and physical basketball, Like any career, slash job is about feeling.
Many of us show up to work on Payday with

(29:39):
a little extra bouncing off step compared to Monday. Right,
basketball players are no different. Look at the Lakers since
they got Luca, they playing like their girl is watching. Right,
everybody cheesing everybody playing great basketball. Suddenly everybody's bought into
the program, you know what I mean. The Warriors did
the same thing, man, Like everybody was calling Steph washed.

(30:00):
They said he shouldn't have been an All Star, even
when it was in his home home, you know, it
was in the Bay like dog. Can you imagine how
hard it is to be the focal point of an
offense that revolves around off ball screens and you have
younger teammates who literally don't have the experience to understand

(30:22):
how to get you to basketball. Like, let's be real,
Stephen Curry has been through multiple stages of the NBA,
when it was slower paced, when it was a little
more old school, when it started getting more three point heavy, Like,
he has all that experience that these young guys don't have.
All they know is this NBA and on a basic level,

(30:43):
all they know is gets Steph the basketball, But they
don't know they haven't been through the learning experience to
know to know how to get him the basketball right.
And then on top of that, naturally, being you, you
might be the only player that knows how to create
a shot for themselves. You know, when you have the
ball and all the pressure is on you. Man, no

(31:05):
wonder Steph was scoring thirty points on thirty shots. He
was scoring seventeen on twenty five shots. If you were
paying attention to those Warriors games, there were so many
times he just looked dull in the face because it's
like I got a direct traffic and Draymond's injured. That's
usually his job. Nobody else out here can take take

(31:26):
the scoring load, right because we all are shooters, we
all need somebody to pass us the ball. We can't
really do it ourselves. And even when I do get
the ball to do it myself, I'm getting double teamed.
I'm getting blitzed on picking rolls. I gotta pass to
somebody else, and it's late in the shot clock. They
get a grenade, they gotta throw it up. You know
what I mean. It just created so much dysfunction, right,

(31:47):
Steph Curry is past the stage in his career where
he wants to score fifty every night just to be competitive.
A couple of years ago he probably would have did that,
but now he ain't trying to do all that, so
no wonder he looked washed. He needed help, and a
lot of his help was hurt. So with the addition
of Jimmy Butler, Steph no longer has to just single

(32:09):
handedly babysit them young guys like Moody and Santos and
Quinton Post and try to teach them how to play
Warriors basketball. Now, Steph, and now that Draymond's healthy, and
now you have Jimmy who can do that together and
play off each other and take pressure off each other.
Because Jimmy's drives allow him to kick it to open shooters.
His mid range game brings balance to their three point

(32:32):
heavy offense. He can serve as a lob threat, and
overall just open up the game for Steph in a
variety of ways, even if it isn't really showing up
on the box score. Jimmy Butler has always, at his core,
been a great glue guy. Ever since the Warriors got
Jimmy Butler, they've played the most Warrior basketball I've seen
them play all season, and it has gotten them all

(32:52):
the way up to this, you know, potentially snatching a
sixth seed in the playoffs, ducking the play in. You know,
the Wars aren't necessarily back back, right, I won't go
that far, but their desperation to get Jimmy Butler at
the deadline has certainly paid off. I love what I'm
seeing from them. I've caught a few of the games.
I was actually at the at the game in Chicago

(33:14):
where Jimmy made his debut. Man, it just it's just
like night and day. It's night and day. You know,
I think people forget what makes the Warriors the Warriors.
It's really not the Steph Curry show like we think
it is. Like it takes a lot of specific people
or player types I should say, to fit within that offense,
and they found they they did a good job traded

(33:35):
for Jimmy Butler because he fits that perfectly. Now I
actually want to transition, and I want to talk about
the Lakers because speaking of teams coming back, the Los
Angeles Lakers are low key back in play for the
second seed in the West as as of late after
acquiring Luka Dancic. It hasn't been perfect, right, but dang

(33:55):
have they been balling. The duo of Lebron and Luca
has been mind blowing. To have two guys that have
the same effect on teams on one team is just insane.
There are times I watch and it's like, I literally
forget Lebron is out there with the way Luca plays,
and then there's like vice versa. Lebron will lead a
lineup and then you'll hear the buzzer and here comes
Luka Doncic coming from the scores table. It's like, what

(34:17):
the heck, bro, what the heck? And then on top
of that, Austin reeves as a third option. Man, Oh
my gosh, it's such a cheat code, you know. Dorian
Finney Smith Jared van Vanderbilt. They're locking up even gave Vincent. Man.
Look at Gabe Vincent, you know, playing better as of late.
Jackson Hayes doing his thing, you know, as the big man.

(34:39):
JJ Redick has really made this team click, and so
much so that it makes me wonder how realistic is
another chapter finally a new generation. How realistic is it
that we see Lakers verus Celtics in the NBA Finals.
There was a window when Lebron first got to LA
where I think some of us figured like, Okay, the

(35:01):
Lakers are getting there. It might happen. The Celtics are
getting there. You know there's a chance. But obviously the
Lakers won in twenty twenty. While that was going on,
the Celtics they were still taking their ls, right, and
not necessarily ls as in losses, but ls as in
learning experiences. Right. They went through the storm for some
years before winning in just last season, and then after that, right,

(35:24):
so the Celtics get back on top, but then the
Lakers start falling a little bit, and so now it's
kind of like, eh, I don't think it's gonna happen.
But now though, we are finally in a spot where
today's kids may be able to finally experience the Lakers
Verus Celtics on the final stage. Right, having Luca, having
Lebron Tatum Brown, that's dope. Both teams are in our

(35:47):
tops among their conferences. Now. Granted, the Cleveland Cavaliers have
grown tremendously, right, Darius Garland is healthy. Evan Mobley has
taken a leap that we've been wanting him to take
for the last couple of seasons. Trading for DeAndre Hunter
has worked tremendously in their favor. Right, Ti Jerome is
healthy and he is like the X Factor of the year.

(36:08):
Don't get it twisted. Peyton Pritchard is gonna win six
Man of the Year, but Ti Jerome. They should literally
create an X Factor of the Year award and give
it to Ti Jerome for what he's been able to
do with the healthy season in Cleveland. You know it
ain't gonna be easy for Boston with those guys in mind.
In fact, the Cleveland Cavaliers have had almost two comeback

(36:29):
victories versus Boston this season. All their games have been close.
But if you're a Cavs fan, I want to caution
you when you're thinking about the Boston Celtics. Okay, because
it's fun in the moment, but come April, in May,
the regular season, don't mean jack, I take it from me.
I watched my twenty ten to eleven Bulls beat the
new look Miami Heat. The heatles right, the Miami not five,

(36:53):
not six, not seven Heat. Those guys we beat them
five consecutive games, whether it was NBA, TV, ESPN, TNT,
we beat them every time, close games, games where we
had to rally back four and zero in the season series,
and then we won game one of the Eastern Conference Finals.
You mean to tell me we won against the new

(37:15):
lock Miami Heat five straight times in one season. You
couldn't tell me the Bulls didn't figure it in boys Out.
You couldn't tell me that the NBA Finals wasn't gonna
be Dallas Mavericks and Chicago Bulls. But again, like I
said earlier, it's different when you get to lock in
on a team for say two weeks, and that allowed
the Heat to finally say, oh if we trapped the

(37:38):
Rows and getting everybody else's chest, the Bulls can't do
nothing offensively, and after that it was a wrap. Four
straight losses. Life come at you fast, right. That's why
I ain't been tripping about some of Boston's struggles this year.
You know, if you pay attention, you know to what
I've been saying, like the second ring is always tougher.

(37:59):
The Celtics, I ain't even tripping about them. The Cavs
are gonna be tough. That that's for show. But they
are certainly not in the clear just because they won
some regular season games. And I think it's the same
thing with OKCE. Amazing brand of basketball, probably have the
best group of role players in the league. But bro
Luca is a playoff performer. Lebron been doing this. Lebron

(38:22):
been doing this since I was in grade school. Brouh,
Lebron legit, been doing this since the mid two thousands.
You got those dudes on one team now. And if OKAC,
if they run that small lineup, man, if I'm la,
I'm putting a bigger defender Dorian Finney Smith on Shay right,

(38:43):
I'm probably putting Austin Reeves on Dort or maybe put uh,
you know, Luca on Cason Wallace right that that won't
be a big that won't be a major defensive assignment
for him or or shoot, you could even uh switch
with Reeves, right, maybe you want to put Reeves on
on Wallace and put Luca on Dord. Who knows Bron

(39:05):
on Jdubb right, Hayes on chet slash Hartenstein like as
a bigger team with that two headed monster. Okay, see,
I think would be in trouble because they have a
lot of smaller They have a tendency to run a
lot of smaller lineups. But they were my preseason pick,
so I'm rolling with them, right. I'm still rolling with
Okac to come out the West. They are still a
great team. They could find a way. But the NBA

(39:26):
Finals ain't always the best teams. Man, we know that.
I definite think there's a lane for Lakers versus Celtics,
even if that's not this year, especially considering the size
that like I said, in that Lakers starting five, I
think they would match up solid with Boston, but the
Celtics would definitely give them fits with their depth on
offense and defense. And we really just saw that in

(39:47):
the March eighth game. You know, Lakers verus Celtics. Al Horford, man,
he did a great job. I mean to think how
long Al Horford has been in this league and how
much he's adjusted to this modern NBA to the point
where even at his age, he can hang. He's strong
enough to hang with the Luka Doncic. He's mobile enough
to hang with the Luka Doncic, even if he's not

(40:08):
as quick you think of Lebron. He's strong enough to
hang with Lebron even though he's not as quick, right like,
And then again, I think it's just fundamentals. Man, he
gets in his stance and he decides in his mind,
you're not scoring. That's what a lot of defense is.
And it was so great to see that from a
from a og man, somebody who've been through that NBA.
You know, I love to see that somebody who at

(40:30):
the older age shows these youngons like this is how
you do it. I'm old and I'm hanging on. I'm
I'm guarding Luca better than some of these youngions. I'm
guarding Lebron better than some of these youngions. You know.
I think it's a lot of combination, Like I said, experience,
old man strength. You know, uh, he's he's he's mobile enough.
You know, as an undersized he always was. He always

(40:51):
was an undersized center slash power forward. You know, so
it's it was dope to see. I think it would
be a great next chapter in the Lakers Versus rivalry.
You know, I think some of rivalry, the term rivalry
has lost its its flavor in this era because we
see so much team movement and things of that nature.
But honestly, you know, it would be dope to see.

(41:13):
Like again, the Lakers Verseeltics always had different chapters, so
it would be nice to finally get a chapter where
it matters the most. Right That's where the Lakers vers
Celtics rivalry was built, not just because of Lake, uh,
not just because of the regular season, but because of
their finals battles over the years, over the decades. So
you know, uh, I think it would be also a
great test for Boston as they chase a repeat, like

(41:35):
you know, if they if they have to repeat and
go through the Los Angeles Lakers, knowing what that would
mean to the franchise and the history, that would be dope.
I would love to see Jason Tatum and Jaylen Brown specifically,
you know, get that test. You know, I think that
would be a really dope test for them. But yeah, man,
Lakers are doing their thing. Uh, and you know it's
really dope to see. Uh. You know, a couple of

(41:57):
good organizations right now that are showing flashes of a
return to glory. You know, like I said, the Warriors,
they're looking good. The Lakers seem to be bouncing back.
But are the Lakers a legit finals threat? You know,
what would it take for the Warriors to maybe truly
get back to championship status? You know, talk to me,
let me know, put your GM hat on if you
have to, you know, let me know, drop those thoughts

(42:18):
and opinions in the comments or on socials. But in
the meantime, I actually want to end today's episode with
some rapid fire topics. But in the meantime, with the
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(43:01):
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compensated for your patronage by utilizing the link provided. All Right, So,

(43:24):
I know I said I wanted to talk a little
bit about everything going on in the league, a lot
of random topics today. So before I end today's episode,
there's still so much that I wanted to address. But
like I said, don't want this to be some crazy
two hour long pod, So I figured I could try
my best, because you know, I talked too much to
do a little rapid fire section on some other topics

(43:44):
around the association. And first up, I want to talk
about those Portland Trailblazers. Man. I haven't been able to
talk about them because I wasn't really catching their games,
but I finally caught their recent road game in Cleveland,
versus the Cavaliers that went into you know, that was
a late game. Man, that was a dope game, and
I was impressed. I believe it went into overtime. You know,

(44:05):
they nearly walked away with a W. I mean Denny Avdia, man,
he had a great gaming. You know, it's funny when
I think about him on the Blazers because I was
lobbying for the Blazers to get him as far back
as the twenty twenty two to twenty three season because
admittedly my NBA two K, my career player, was on
the Blazers that year, and I noticed how small their

(44:27):
roster was, and I'm like, man, it would be dope
if they if we got like a Draymond or a
Ben Simmons, you know what I'm saying. And I knew
Denny Avdia was like the great value version of that
at the time, right and he was still developing in Washington.
But fast forward this year, he's been great in Portland.
You know, he can play defense at his size. You know,

(44:48):
he rebounds, and I love how he doesn't play around.
A lot of guys in this league play around with
they food. He is not one of those guys. When
he gets a point guard on him, he immediately tells
his guys to get out the way and he posts
up right. And he drew a lot of files that game.
Like I just like how he plays the game. He
was in attack mode and it was really dope to see.
That's how the game should be played. Keep as simple, man,

(45:11):
don't waste dribbles, don't waste trying to take advantage. You know, you're,
like I said in one of my YouTube videos, a
lot of these guys, I feel like they're so overwhelmed
by the amount of space in this era. They get
like a kid in the candy store and they want
a dribble, dribble, dribble and test their bag. But it's like, nah, man,
just get to it, get to it. And Denny avi
Avdy was doing that all game. It didn't result in

(45:32):
the win, but I saw his efforts. They were they
were dope. It was very very good efforts from him
that game. Likewise, you know, I think I believe if
I'm saying it right Toimani Kamara, you know, the young guy.
You know, he gets praised for his defense, but he
made a lot of good cuts offensively as well. You know,
obviously Ann Simon's you know, he you could tell he's

(45:53):
learned so much from Damian Lillard, so much their their resemblance,
man is uncanny. You know, the side step, step back,
you know, pound dribble, you know the go to move
that we've seen Dame do for years. AT's adapted that
into his game, even you know, the little kind of
stutter steps and change of speeds, like little things you

(46:13):
you won't really notice if you're just watching the game,
but like if you if you really tapped in and
paying attention, a lot of that is what Dame. You know,
he was doing that as a as a young and
because again the lanes were packed and they were tight,
so he had to just do quick moves to just
like find any way to get into the lane. I
see a lot of that with Ant Simon's you know,

(46:33):
shade and sharp. You know, he's growing into a nice score.
You know, Scoot Henderson, he's he's been figuring it out.
You know, it's been great to see them play some
really good basketball. And even like Chauncey Billups man, shout
out Chauncey Billups. I felt like he was on the
hot seat for a real quick second you know, there
was a there was a little bit of time where
I felt like, you know, people were saying his job
was on the line. But they started winning and they

(46:56):
actually look really good, like they got a bright future.
Like I said, I will say in that Cavaliers game, though,
Aunt Simon's shade and sharp and even Denny Avdia, they
seem to be taking turns trying to be the hero
of that game, and it resulted in some tough possessions
to watch down the stretch, and it showed their youth, right,
it showed their immaturity, and you know, those are things

(47:17):
that are just gonna get better by experience. But if
they and Chauncey Billups can iron those situations out, those
games can be winnable. You know, I really thought they
were gonna be able to beat the Cavaliers, but it
was just those little things down the stretch where I
was like, ah, you can't be doing that, you know.
But but Portland, you know, they're on the outside of
the play in right now. But the future looks like it. Listen,

(47:39):
we always talk about the future, but the future for
Portland looks like it's gonna be sooner than we all thought.
So I definitely wanted to give my flowers to them.
And then next in line, man is an individual player,
kind of switching gears here. I need to talk about
this one guy man, And and if you know, you
might have an idea who I'm talking about. But is
John Morant Man. A lot of people have been grieving

(48:01):
the season that he's had this year, mainly because of
his drop off in scoring. And I got something to
say about that because I feel like people ain't really
been paying attention to the people who told him to
stop dunking and to stop playing aggressive. Some would say reckless,
y'all created this. I hope y'all know y'all created this.
Like sure, he made a wise decision to control his

(48:23):
game and play a bit slower. Everybody had to do it. Unfortunately,
it took injuries for Dereck Rose to realize that. At
some point, Russell Westbrook had to realize that, right, but
you know, obviously wanting to play slower because of injuries,
that make sense. But see now when it results in
a drop off in scoring and he doesn't look as

(48:44):
electric and as highlight worthy as he used to be,
everybody's like what happened? I even seen somebody say, oh,
John Moran's already washed, and I hate that term. I
hate that term so much nowadays. And I'm like, he's
doing what y'all wanted him to do. He stopped. He
stopped going one hundred miles per hour, right, going in
a full gear on fast breaks and trying to literally

(49:06):
jump over your seven foot He stopped all that. And
now you wonder why he looks different, right? And see
now because teams are clogging the paint, you know, he's
not able to get in there right And apparently he's
got a shoulder injury, he said, So that's likely why
he hasn't been shooting as well from deep especially, you know,
other than free throws. And he has no other way

(49:28):
to score now right now that he isn't playing the
way he did before, John Moran admittedly is a little
bit more limited than he used to be. And I
think he's going through that phase of trying to figure
that out. You know. Again, he has shown flashes of
an improved mid range game. I will give him that.
I've been lobbying him to get that for since his

(49:48):
rookie year. Let's just be real, and and you know,
I'm glad to see that. But still this is what
I was saying when all you when I'm sorry, not
all you, but some fans were come comparing him to
like Derek Rose and everything like that, because I'm like,
you don't understand that there's a difference now. I hope
y'all are seeing it now if you haven't, there's a

(50:10):
difference between Alan Iverson, Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook, so many
other point guards and what Jah Morant is doing. Right,
Alan Iverson wanted to be like Mike, so he had
all the fadaways and the drifters when he couldn't get
to the rim, and that made him even more of
a cheek code Like some of the shots Alan Iverson
was able to hit at six foot is just insane, insane,

(50:32):
Like you could tell he put in the work to
be able to do that. You know, Derek Rose and
Russell Westbrook, they came up in an era where the
mid range was a necessity. They couldn't rely on their
athleticism and the game wasn't spaced out to where they
could just do it twenty four to seven and not
have no they had a they had a fundamental, a

(50:52):
fundamental brand of basketball. They knew that if I have
to build my game, I need building blocks if I'm
gonna be successful long term. Right, So Derrick Rose used
his handle to get in the lane, but he was
also automatic from the mid range. He had a pull up,
he had a snatch back, he had a step back,
he had a side step. You know, he had pivots

(51:13):
even into his floater. Right, he wasn't just shooting floaters.
He would often pivot into his floater, you know, fake
one way pivot float game. Like Derrick Rose built blocks
on his game. Likewise, I think Russell Westbrook, right, his
pull up, he was different from Derreck Rose because Russ
was never like this half court showman, you know, bucket

(51:34):
getter a lot of his stuff, he gets to it
in one to two dribbles. Right, Russell Westbrook, his pull
up around twenty eleven became automatic. Right. It got to
a point where, okay, now we have to respect that. Right.
We know Russell Westbrook can bulldoze his way through the lane,
but now he's got this pull up. So in transition,

(51:55):
I'm backpedaling preparing for the drive. But dang, now he's
got a pull up, so I have to honor that too, Right,
He became tougher to guard once he did that, and
then obviously that transferred to the half court. He would
hit you with a pull up, he'd hit you with
the bank shot, he'd hit you with the heasy pool,
and then obviously he would sometimes go between the legs
into the heazy pool again, building those counter moves and

(52:18):
building his game more than just dunking and layups. Right,
And that's where John Moran has not been at yet,
because so much of his game was layups and dunks
and floaters and free throws. Right. So my thing is,
if I'm JA, i would have been studied these dudes. Again.
This is why we gotta stop with the analytics and

(52:38):
telling these guys mid range don't matter. This is how
you should play the game. Play fast, even if it
means getting more turnovers. Like nah, bro, just play basketball, man,
play basketball. Build your game the way it's supposed to
be played. You know, This is how John Moran can
get back to being a lethal player offensively without being
limited to layups and floaters. Build your mid get you

(53:01):
a step back or find a go to move, you know,
have something to where when those things when they're jamming
you up and you can't get anything, you have something
else to go to, right, Because if John Morant is
gonna take a step back on his aggression and his athleticism,
then he has to take a step up with his
fundamentals and start adding other skill sets to his game.

(53:25):
That's my thing with John Moran, And I'm speaking with
so much passion because I hate the way everybody started
talking about him. Like That's why I always say, man
play the game. You like to play the game the
way you like to play the game. Everybody's body is different. Yes,
injuries happen. Unfortunately John Moran has had his share that
has kept him out for longer periods of time. But
man play the game the way you want to play.

(53:46):
Because even Russell Westbrook, look how durable he's been, as
athletic as he was and powerful as he was. Everybody said,
oh John Moran, don't be like d Rose. Russell Westbrook's
been durable. We like I said, we watched Alan I
get knocked on his butt every game and that didn't
stop him from playing how he played. Just let players
play the game and let them figure it out. Because

(54:07):
now you've got guys overthinking like, oh, well, they're telling
me to play like this, So I got a stunt man.
So if I'm John Moran, man, I'm building my game.
I'm building my game the way the two thousands point
guards had to build their game because that's what mattered.
That's how you get buckets long term, you know. And
John Moran, I feel like that's hopefully he takes this
offseason to figure those things out. But moving eastward, you know,

(54:30):
NBA fans and media have a way of speaking things
into existence, just like I was talking about with John Moran.
And apparently La melo Balls days as a Hornet may
be numbered. The last few years. He's been a part
of rumors and fan made trades and we know how
that goes. Eventually some at some point those trades are
probably gonna come true. But see, that's interesting to me
because the Hornets would essentially be rebuilding a rebuild. Like

(54:53):
I said before the season, my expectations for the Hornets
were playing right. LaMelo got them there before and I
had faith that he would do it again. But injuries
again it got to them. Man, LaMelo, he's in and
out the lineup. Brandon Miller got the season ending injury.
It just sucks. It sucks. And I think there's still
a lane for a rebuild. But it would be interesting
if they can, if they really were to decide to

(55:15):
move on from LaMelo, or if LaMelo decides to move
on from them, you know, because a lot of people
are saying, oh, like he should go to the Clippers, right,
Steve Balmer, the intoit, nome bright lights, la, He's back home,
YadA YadA, And obviously he gives them a player for
the future that they can rely on long term. But
it's tough, right because of his injury history. You know,

(55:36):
even if he is putting up thirty points, five rebounds,
seven assists, will better teams be willing to break up
established rosters and chemistry for him and his style of play?
You know, again, we you know, I've seen the tweets. Man,
We know that LaMelo ball. As talented as he is.
You know, he takes some bold shots, let's say, you know,

(55:59):
and not everybody he wants to deal with that, you know,
so you know, what's to say, he wouldn't just get
traded to Chicago or Brooklyn, right, teams that are in
similar situations. So you know, I don't know about this one, man,
but I wanted to bring it up just because, like
it's it's something that I saw kind of been out
there the last few months, and I want to know
what you think, because you know, I'm hoping that this

(56:20):
is one of those rumors that die off and they
just figure it out in Charlotte because, like I said,
LaMelo's a fantastic player, Brandon Miller's a fantastic player. He
was looking low key like an All Star at some
points this season. Miles Bridges is still doing what he
can do. Like that's still a solid young trio for
that team. So you know, I think it's more so
about the supporting pieces. But obviously those guys just gotta

(56:41):
stay healthy, man. So you know, like I said, you
can trade LaMelo, but who's to say he would stay healthy,
you know. So it's it's interesting to think about, man,
what Charlotte's gonna do, because, like I said, they've been
trying to rebuild and haven't really hit that breaking point.
So like trying to rebuild the rebuild is just interesting
to me. But you gotta let me know what you think.

(57:02):
And then another team, man, the Orlando Magic. I did
not realize how many of their guys have dropped off
from three point land, I mean kcp Jalen Suggs before
the injury POWLO, Wendell Carter, Anthony Black heat then dropped
from thirty nine from three to twenty nine this season,
Like there is a three point epidemic going on in Orlando, man.

(57:23):
And it's sad to see because they were already dealing
with so many injuries, man, And they ain't been the
same since the first month of the season pretty much.
And that was always their achilles heel Right, like YO
wants the magic gets some shooting is over with because
they got the defense, they got the star power in Poolo.
Franz Wagner was you know, he was building to that point.

(57:46):
But unfortunately, it's just very hard to win in today's
NBA with a slower pace and you're not making threes,
you know. Again, Like I said, I'm waiting on a
team to make slow basketball cool again. If I say,
what's my NBA wish in this era, I want to
see a team play slow and find a way to contend.
That's my dream in this NBA. But you know it's hard, man,

(58:07):
because everybody wants you to play fast and get transition
threes and stuff like that. You know, like I said,
I love the Magic because they defend, and like I said,
they play a slower game. They're not afraid to play
a gritty game. You know. It reminds me of the
NBA I grew up loving, But unfortunately it just doesn't
work in this NBA with the value of the three

(58:28):
ball the way that it is. So the Magic unfortunately, man,
it hurts to see. They ain't been looking good man,
And I think this is their big sign to make
some major moves this offseason, right because I know they've
been lobbying to get a true primary ball handler and
get some actual shooters that might be lurking around the market.
You know, they should have been on Cam Johnson, they

(58:48):
should have been on Quinton Grimes, they should have been
on Ant Simon's or Kobe White, right, and they didn't
make any moves in that regard. So, you know, I
think this is the off season where hopefully the Magic
like wake up and they're like, yo, we need to
make some changes. Like I thought we were chilling, but like, nah,
we need to make some moves, you know. So I'm
rooting for them in that regard because they're this latter

(59:09):
part of the season just hasn't been great for them,
and it's sad to see because we know how good
they can be. And then lastly, man, I want to
end it on a lighter note. Shout out to the Ogs. Well,
one of these guys ain't really a OG yet, but
shout out to these guys getting these milestones. Man. Shout
out Giannis getting twenty thousand points for his career KD

(59:30):
right the trustee OG's KD getting thirty thousand, Lebron hitting
fifty thousand for a regular season and playoff games. And
shout out to Steph. He's likely gonna take his rightful
place as the sole player in that four thousand three
pointers made milestone by the time you hear this episode.
So I want to show some love ahead of time
for him. You know, I feel like milestones aren't appreciated

(59:53):
like they once more, man, because time just I think
in this social media era and everything like time is
just is just like like fast man, Like we're always
fishing for the next thing and I and like I said,
the world just moves fast man, and and we don't
seem to appreciate things the way we once did. So
shout out to these legends man, and we always knew

(01:00:13):
Kevin Durant was gonna hit this point, you know, even
as a young supersonic man. I remember watching him at
Texas when I was a kid, and he was like
the biggest sensation at the time, and you didn't know
if he was a shooting guard or a power forward
or a small forward. And you know, he he turned
out to be the exact bucket getter we all thought
he could be. You know, Lebron obviously just continues to

(01:00:35):
go higher and higher and raise the bar. You know,
Steph is incredible. You know, I think Steph is gonna
be in ten twenty years, Steph Curry is still gonna
be the greatest shooter because of what he how he
did it, you know, how he changed the game. But
even coming up again in an era where the NBA
was still slower paced, like a lot of guys, the

(01:00:57):
the top three point lists is gonna feel weird at
some point because it's gonna be a lot of new
guys because of the volume of threes nowadays. But we're
gonna see a Damian Lillard, a James Harden and obviously
Steph at the top of that list and be like, yo,
I remember you know, those guys were doing it when
it wasn't as cool to do it, so you know
they they get a little extra you know, respect in

(01:01:19):
that regard. So like, shout out Steph Man because he
really changed the game and you know, his his record,
I hope is something that's that's gonna stay for a
long time, even with the three pointer, you know, being
what it is today. And you know, the way I
see it, man, the NBA is a blessing, and you
know these moments help players put that into perspective. You know,
we we simply just want to make the league right.

(01:01:41):
So imagine what these milestones feel like for these guys
who are way past that. Right, they made the league,
they became All Stars, they became Hall of Famers, they
became champions, and they get to enjoy these milestones. So
you know, you gotta show love to these guys because
there ain't no reason to be waiting. Man. Let people
get their flowers while they can smell them. So shout
out to them those guys man continuing to carry that

(01:02:02):
carry that torch. You know, Yann has still got some
work to do, plenty plenty of games left for him.
But you know, shout out to the Ogs and and
everybody hitting they milestones, because I remember when that used
to be a big deal in the NBA, and I
didn't want to just bypass that. So there was some
rapid fire esque topics that came to mind as I
prepared this episode. Definitely be sure to hit me up
on the socials, comment on YouTube, tag me with your

(01:02:23):
thoughts on any of those so I could read your
thoughts on these topics or even others that I may
not have mentioned. As always, you know, feel free to,
you know, throw something else out there, like hey, Dez,
what you think about this person? Or Hey Dez, I
was watching this person and you know, or I was
watching this team and I saw this. What do you think?
You know? I love all that. But with that we
have made it to the end of another Hip to

(01:02:44):
the Game's episode. From the sun struggles to my fears
with the Indiana Pacers, the Warrior's success, the Lakers' chances
that A returned to glory, and other topics. This episode
was loaded, but as always, these were just my thoughts,
so I want to hear from you. You can tweet
the show at Hip to the Games or tag me
directly on Twitter and ig at Desmond Power Underscore and

(01:03:04):
share your thoughts on any of the topics discussed today,
as I would love to hear or read your thoughts.
And I simply want to say thank you for listening
to another episode of H two dg off of the
love of the best combo there is. And of course
here's a huge final shout out to you for being
Hip to the Games. Peace out and God bless Hope
you enjoyed this episode of Hip to the Games and

(01:03:26):
if you enjoyed this episode, be sure to hit up
the socials at Desmond Power Underscore at Hip to the
Games on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok so you don't miss
out on the fund and please follow or subscribe to
the show and leave a review on the podcast platform.
You're all right now as your support is greatly to
appreciate it. Es

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