February 20, 2020 • 24 mins
The NBA is back for the second half of the season! Chris Welsh previews the night in Association, and looks at some playoff scenarios to open up the final stretch of the year.
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
Lets fly a t s Y and Sports Grid Network
present all in his Hands Game One Body the hard
Hardwood Takeaways. It's Lord, Lord Lor and welcome to Hardwood
(00:25):
Takeaways brought to you by the Sports Grid. Get on
the Grid. I'm your host, Scott bog When you can
follow me on the Twitter at bogging sports and I
am joined by the Welsh. At is it the Welsh?
We had a break. We had the weekend of the
All Star Game, the festivities and all that stuff. The Welsh.
I know that there is nothing that you love more
than all star celebrations. Big Pro Bowl guy, big home
(00:48):
run derby guy, Big MLB, All Star Game guy. You
love the fireworks, All Star Game guy. That's everybody knows
that about me. Welsh. Every listen to me. That give
me the All Star break. It's all that I want now.
It's not what I usually want though, you know it
was definitely spiced up. We're entertainingly enough, Like I'm not
(01:11):
like the NBA does it the best. Well, I think
I said this on here, the NBA does the All
Star games the best. I saw people tweeting over the weekend,
Hey NBA, please teach you know NFL how to do
All Star and you know, they had a lot of
conversation that was kind of the big thing around it. So,
I mean, we could talk about the three point contest,
the dunk contest, the game also some basketball moves happened
(01:33):
right before it. Bob, let's talk about the dunk contest
to start with, because that was where all the controversy started.
And this is the one that is it fair to
say the dunk Did people want the dunk contest more
than anything still or is the three point contest taken
that over? No, No, they still want the dunk contest.
I think the dunk contest is still It's still the
most traditional of all of those things. Right It's you know,
(01:56):
Michael Jordan's and Dwight Howard having a huge room, Blake
Griffin having a huge one. Like we all remember the
dunk contest. It's been just filled with no names recently
and this this year was not too much different. But
but the presumed job that Aaron Gordon took so much
so that Aaron, which I like, this would be a
(02:19):
me move, Aaron Gordon was like, so I'm just not
gonna have I'm gonna wa I'm done, Like you're gonna
take this for me. I should have two of these
crowns under my belt, and you took this away from me.
I'm good. I won't compete it anymore because Eric Gordon
pulled off some business and dunking over Taco Taco Fall
(02:41):
was probably one of the more ridiculous things that we've seen.
I mean, he just pulled off craziness. He pulled up
absolute craziness. And Derrick Jones Jr. Who you know rightful self,
he's not an exciting name or anything like that, but
he's a great dunker. He took the title. And what
I saw Bogs is that the judges they wanted to
tie them off with the score and then they were
(03:05):
going to like, you know, have to dunk battle again.
But one of the judges screwed up the score. So
the judges were trying to be like who was it?
They were trying to figure out who was Yeah, yeah, already,
like I've already seen it. It's like someone has put
like the most amazing, uh whatever it is trick video
(03:28):
of somebody doing something crazy. And then they flashed Dwayne
Wade and he's holding up at nine. You know, like
that that's gonna be a meme forever because that look,
I don't I wasn't. I didn't have the sound on.
I was watching, uh something else that I had the
dunk contests on in the background. Same thing with the
three point contest in the All Star Game, because I'm
with you, I don't necessarily find All Star festivities to
(03:50):
be very exciting. I want to love the dunk contest.
Don't get me wrong. I can didn't get some damn names,
get more than cott intent and more than pretty damn cool.
And he came up dressed as dressed up as what
he Harroldson white men can't chump. That was pretty good,
you know, Uh, that's pretty nice. Uh. Aaron Gordon's dunk
(04:11):
over Taco Fall was insane, but I thought that Derrick
jones Is dunk was better, and I was kind of
I am surprised. There's so much heat, Like, look, he
jump over seven ft five guy, that's pretty much uh
going to do it. He didn't get all the way
over Taco Fall, though, and I think that was the deal,
Like he got over me cleared, I mean taking down
(04:32):
with him or anything but right and definitely things we
can't say on the show going on in that, but
uh yeah, man, so I wasn't surprised to see Derek
Jones Jr. Winning. It just sucks that he's been in
two close ones and because he beat Zach Levine. Like
I love Zach Levine, he beat him in the first one.
I think this one is more contested, So I would
give this one more to Derrek Jones, and I would
(04:54):
give Zach Levine the one that he actually won. But uh,
I mean, I just I can't it over the names,
Like I just can't. I can't get excited about it. And
And that's my problem. Oh my god. They literally they
just lost the best player that they could possibly get
who doesn't want to compete in it anymore because he
got jobbed in Aaron Gordon. What are they gonna do?
Like they can't entice. I don't know if we did
(05:16):
it here what we did on the In This League
Fantasy Basketball podcast, but I gave my suggestion of what
they need to do, and they need to put serious
cash money behind this. They need to get one of
these ridiculous sponsors, these mountains god knows what Mountain dew
or whoever the sponsor was paid to be a part
of the All Star Game. Millions upon millions of dollars.
(05:36):
You're telling me they can't put aside a million dollars,
two million dollars, one million for the dunk contests and
one million for the three point contest. You're telling me
they can't do that. What guy in the league is
not gonna want to play for a million dollars for
fifteen minutes, you know what I mean? Like even le Bron,
like Bron doesn't need it, but fifteen dunks whatever? You
(05:56):
know what, how about this? Have them give a million
dollars a charity in a million dollars to the player,
I mean, do something to entice the players to to
want to go into it, because hey, it's cool. Aaron Gordon,
you know, he got jobs and we're talking about it
and they were over Taco Fall, but nobody cares, and
the numbers could just they could just be so much
(06:17):
better if they actually did something uh fun with it.
But I mean I didn't really pay too much attention
to the Rising Stars game. I mean, thank god, Team
USA barely narrowly beat Team World one one thirty one.
If only they had Jackson Hayes, well, they would have
obviously won by uh seventy five points because he's so amazing,
(06:40):
So I thought that was funny. Look, I'm a Texas guy.
I love Jackson Hayes, but he is being a little
cry baby. So when you is, Buddy healed and he
won the three point contest, so that was disappointing as well.
I was surprised to see Bam uh you know big
Man when the uh uh when the skill versatile Mann is,
(07:03):
BAM's versatile. He's like, you know, triple double one of
those few triple double big Man. He's kind of like
one of the I mean, the Yoki just become the
barometer for triple double big Man, and Bam is kind
of like one of those Yoki lights like him and
Sabonis and um, who's the other one that I always
you oh vous vuk vos Vucci. Man is kind of
(07:23):
one of those guys. I mean, Bam is a talented guy,
and Buddy healed. Uh. He was able to stave off
Devin Booker, who ended up um taking over for Damian Lillard.
David Purton's was in that as well. Joe Harris didn't
move on. I think he was eliminated in the first round.
He had Trey Young. I think Trey had the worst
performance of all of them. I think he only hit
(07:44):
I think at fifteen, and he made up for it
by hitting that uh that half quarter uh in the
All Star Game. So yeah, okay, So then you go
to the All Star Game. I feel looking in an
All Star Game weekend, one fifty seven, team Lebron beat
uh team be honest to one fifty five. And they
had this new thing which they're they're talking about might stick.
(08:07):
It was the target scoring they're saying they might do
for next year, and it had to do with the
Kobe Bryant twenty four and but but people ended on
like a free throw though, yeah, it ended on a
free throw. But the players are playing so much harder
in the third and fourth quarter than they normally would
in an exhibition game. I mean Kyle Lowry was out
(08:27):
there taking charges and stuff, and um, I mean it
was actually really competitive, So that I liked, and I
like the competitiveness of the All Star Game. Even if
it ended on a free throw. I don't care if
it ends on a free throw. I mean, you know,
football games end on field goals. Who cares? So ended
the way you're gonna end it as long as the
guys are playing harder. I like this format. I think
(08:49):
it'll I think they're gonna do the same thing next year.
And obviously they named and I mentioned this on the
Real Big Three over on in this League Welsh with
Jonas and Dan, I said, it's funny that they named
the All Star Game m v P Trophy after Kobe Bryant,
who's the hardest worker in the laziest game that you
could ever play. He's the All Star Game. But I
(09:11):
I understand, but I don't know how much longer the
All Star Game is going to be with us because
Adam Silver has this uh real big dream and wanted
to put a mid season tournament in. He wants to
have it solved by two season because that's the seventy
anniversary of the n b b A. Yeah, they're talking
altar might go away completely. Yeah, here's an article right here.
(09:33):
It's the um the idea. Let's see that this might
be about the targeting thing, because they're saying the idea
is similar to the elam ending using basketball turn a
two million dollar winner take all tournament held over a summer. UM,
let's the main goal is to eliminate intentional faulsy pitch
idea to the NBA finding a willingness. I think this
was about the um hawing I keep talking about basketball, teram.
(09:53):
I think this might have been about the targets scoring
though that they were talking about season tournament, which changed
the whole thing. Yeah, and I think that would get
more eyes on it too, because it would be most
likely to be a mid season tournament. The winner would
get an automatic playoff bid. So you know, if if
you're a bad team and you win that tournament, you're
getting into the playoffs. Now you may only survive four games,
(10:14):
but you're in. You know, I just don't like, I
don't like this math, this stupid math thing they're doing.
They're like a group initially discussed calculating the target score
by ending score by adding thirty eight, which was the
average fourth quarter output per team under the dueling maybe
twenty one, you know what I mean, Just like first
for Kobe, that's fine, Yeah, that's fine, But like they
(10:35):
don't need like a mathematical equation built around all of
this make it something that we're all we all like
really understand, Like if they're gonna do the target sc
wanted to hit whatever you know that that's the one
that wins. Is that the score before the first quarter starts?
Who cares? I actually, you know, I would love if
they would have done I would love if like ice
Cube ice Creabe got involved and they did like a
Big Three tournament but with the All Stars, and it
(10:58):
was like, wouldn't be that would be fun. They've talked
about well one on one tournament and everything, but I
think regardless of it, like we'll get I. I think
it's just a mid season tournament because this is what
they do overseason soccer. They do it a bunch, and
they do it in the professional basketball leagues overseason to
season tournament. But what does that do to stats? And
what does that do? Like are you saying like they're
(11:18):
gonna take the middle twelve games of the season and
they just turn it into a turn like you know
what I'm saying, Like, how does how does one team
get eliminated the first round another team plays seven more games?
How do they calculate stats? Say players suckers bracket? You
like all all the teams have played the same amount
of games, but you would have the round robin tournament,
so like you know, before the championship, the two teams
(11:41):
that lost to go to the championship, they would also
play each other. Uh, so that game would count towards
the regular season stats and everything else. It's just the
winner of that. You know, it's either like every player
gets a million bucks or there's an automatic playoff bid,
so you know the players are gonna get playoff money
for those games at least. So it's just it's something
to make, you know, because you don't You and I
(12:04):
don't enjoy these All Star games. They're lame, Like even
this one, which was probably the best one of all time.
Still I think a regular you know, Thursday night game
between the Bucks and the Celtics way more fun than
the All Star Game. And the All Star Game is fun,
but I would rather watch guys playing at their top level,
at their hardest if they could do it right. Which
(12:25):
that's why I guess my biggest question that they can
really do this right, because like you know, it's something
that wasn't well perceived was when baseball was like, hey,
we got our All Star Game middle of the year,
and by the way, the winner of the All Star
Game that's going to determine if the AL or n
L is the home team in the World Series and
people are like, what like this game that no one
cares about? Like you think this is gonna get people
(12:45):
to care more? And it wasn't well received and guess what,
it's gone. It's gone the way of the Dodo. That
is no longer a thing. So what I worry about?
Like I would a thousand times over rather have some
like cool exciting tournament bracket thing than an All star game,
But like, what, like what are the ramifications? Like how
are you going to make the ramifications really important? Outside
(13:07):
of like there's a little bit of cash, Like are
you gonna give playoff spots to someone that wins? This
is someone going to be you know, an automatic bid.
You know, so if they bomb out the rest of
the season and there you know it's the Orlando Magic
or the Phoenix Suns and they win this tournament and
they bomb out there automatically, um at least the eight seed,
Like is that how you're gonna do it? Yes, yeah,
(13:27):
that's exactly how you do it, which makes getting to
the seven seed way way more important. Uh, if you
know a team has an automatic bid, not only do
you have to leap frog whoever eight is, you have
to get to seven because another team has uh you know,
has the the spot open up. Now, it could be
where the Bucks win the tournament and it's not you know,
(13:49):
that surprising, you know, and there their first and they're
gonna have home court and they have the automatic bid.
So maybe nothing changes. But there could be a year
or two where uh, you know, it's just like watching
March Madness at that point, you know, where a Cinderella team,
like it's clearly not gonna make the playoffs. Let's say
say the Spurs have a great run and win that tournament.
I don't think anybody would be surprised because Pops there,
(14:10):
but that team may make it the playoffs. Like you know,
they could call it like the Kobe Bryant Tournament. Sure, yeah, yeah, Well,
how however they want to deal with with that stuff too.
If they were to do away with the the NBA
All Star Game, it's not like Kobe is gonna be
for God, but uh, I think I think that's a
great idea. So, but we did have some some stuff
happened after the deadline and during or after the All
(14:33):
Star break and during the All Star breaking stuff the
news for the second half, and we had b Line
resigned with the Calves. He's gonna remain with the team.
But there's all kinds of stories now about how after
his slug Slugs Thugs thing, that players were trolling him
by playing a bunch of songs with the word thug
in it a bunch so that that's actually kind of
(14:53):
funny to me. But uh, the he's gone and JB.
Bickerstaff is taking over in our friend on this despised
the JB. Bickerstaff, So that's always funny. Uh, Kyrie is
going to see a specialist after reaggravating his shoulder injury.
Cat is going to be out and definitely hold on.
Let's injury so much stuff. Yeah, let's talk about Kyrie
(15:14):
for a minute because that news is as big and
it's something Bogman I've been talking about on the I
Tell Basketball podcast a lot. Is he's not trustworthy. He
was not trustworthy because even though the team had kept competitive,
this is not a guy that's pushing himself. I don't
think he wants to push himself because Durant is not there.
Though there was video of Durant just the other day
(15:35):
putting up shots and looking pretty good, but he just
he doesn't push like Kyrie Irving is not. I don't
want to call him not a tough player, because maybe
he's a tough player. But if there's any inkling of injury,
he's out. He's gone. And this is a very worrisome
sign for Brooklyn, for fantacy basketball owners, all of that.
It's not the same level as Cat where Cat is
out indefinitely and it it sucks, it's a concern, but
(15:58):
these are like two very I think they're two very
different things. I think Kat wants to play with Angela
Russell and when he's good, he'll be good to go,
where Kyrie is not trustworthy one single bit. And I
think do they have the eight seed right now? I
mean the Nets are in the playoffs and they're probably
seven the playoffs regardless of what Kyrie does and there
(16:19):
they've actually been a better team without Kyrie at this
point in the season, so I think they'll be okay
as far as their standings go and stuff. It's just
not a surprise to see Kyrie reaggregate this injury and
go out of there. He needs to get surgery and
fix it, So just do that, fix it and get
be better for next year when Katie is coming back
(16:40):
hopefully close to if this team was like the ten seed.
I think he does that. I think they just say,
just do this so next year, you know, we can
get one more free agent to come in, and we
got a healthy Durant. We're gonna be competitively. The problem is, man,
look at the teams below them. Look at these teams,
the Pistons, and we're gonna talk about the Pistons. The
(17:01):
Pistons garbage Hornets. I guess they've been on were on
a little bit of a thing for a bit. I
don't know, Loot, it's actually uh an you on two
game winning streak. The Bulls have lost sixth straight going
into the All Star break. The Wizards, okay, there's not
a redeemable team like the wet not saying that. Like
even the Phoenix Suns are you know, I mean, they're
twenty two and thirty three, But the Phoenix Suns are
(17:24):
like the twelfth seed in the West. The Phoenix Suns
are as good or better than the Orlando Magic and
the Magic of the eight seed in the East. So
it's like the Nets, like you just said, the Nets
are gonna walk into a playoff spot. So they're almost
like Hamstrong. It's like the of the San Francisco Giants
from last year where everyone don't sell and they just
are gonna make the playoffs. I don't think they should
be hands strong at all. I think they should just
(17:46):
they should just go ahead. Look, Kyrie get surgery. Even
if they're the seventh seed, whatever eight seed they move
up to six, doesn't really matter. They're gonna get stomped
by one of these top top teams. They can't compete
with the Bucks, raptor Celtics, Heat or Sixers, and probably
not the Pacers either. So it's gonna be a quick
series in the first round for them. The three games
under five hundred, and they're not winning. So just have
(18:08):
Kyrie get his stupid surgery and haven't be good to
go for next year. That's what we want. I know
he doesn't want to have surgery, uh, and that it's
invasive and it sucks and the rehab process is terrible
and going through that too many times is uh why
a guy like Andrew Luck retired in a smart dude
like Irving might uh end up retiring, to which he
(18:28):
said he doesn't want to play into late into his
thirties anyway, So you're right there. They're definitely different between
Kyrie and Cat. But I'm actually way more concerned today
after hearing he's gonna be out indefinitely than I was
a couple of days ago as far as Cat goes, Yeah,
and I buy that a couple other I'm gonna talk
with the big thing that happened, but the other little
(18:49):
tiny notes. Clint Capella is weeks away from joining his
Hawks team. That's kind of the news that's out there.
This is the next year play. Of course, Victor Oladipo
no longer on a minute it's limit going into the
second half, so there's a positive. And Al Horford out
of Philly is expected to stay with the second unit
for the seventies sixers, so that's something into the second Yeah.
(19:11):
But the big piece of news that we got, you know,
call it for however big it really was, was that
the Detroit Pistons came to a buyout agreement with Reggie Jackson,
and I just I gotta tell you how much I
hate but you know what buyouts feel like to me.
Bryouts and basketball are like the non waiver trade deadline
baseball was where baseball had like, hey, look, it's a
(19:34):
trade deadline July thirty one. Now it's over. I guess what.
You can still put them on waivers and you could
still trade players for another month. And it's like, what
are you talking about. That's not real. I hate buyouts
in basketball that they can. I wish they would get
rid of this stuff because it creates such a stupid,
odd situation where playoff teams get such an advantage. Um
(19:56):
it's such a ridiculous advantage by being able to pick
up players on the dirt cheap because the teams are
the other teams are paying for it. The Detroit Pistons
bought out Reggie Jackson and the Los Angeles Clippers. I
was about to say the Lakers. The Clippers are rumored.
The Clippers swoop in and they have come to an
agreement that they're going to sign Reggie Jackson for dirt cheap,
(20:18):
and it completely alters, you know, the playoff structure for
absolutely nothing. So not only does it affect like fantasy
in in little bits, it affects real basketball. But I
hate buy out some basketball. I'm not I don't hate
them with the vitrayol that you you hate them with
because I do think that like Reggie Jackson going to
the Clippers, I mean, he's gonna play, like, you know,
(20:41):
nine minutes a gamer. So it's not so at all.
I think he's gonna play. I think he's gonna be
into the twenties, so that he's just not he won't be.
It is not gonna happen unless Beverly uh missed his
significant time. Like he may get a couple of games
here there where he plays twenty minutes because they do
have some guys sitting. But I can't imagine he's gonna
average much more than ten minutes. I think you might
see some I think this team might run be running
(21:02):
more small ball, where it's George at the four, Leonard
at the three. You might have Reggie Jackson played the
two with Beverly, Lou Williams and Harold come off the bench.
I think you could play some minutes and they're gonna
play more small ball. I just don't I hate the idea.
I think this is because Beverly has been hurt. I
think that's the reason for this pig. So I think
when Beverly plays, Reggie Jackson just doesn't have much. Yeah, yeah,
(21:25):
that's very true because because of stupid what's his name
deciding to stay retired. But Collinson retires and nothing ironically
has been working out for the Lakers. They keep missing
out on these buyout options, right, I mean, but it's
not like Demari Carroll is going to do much with
the Rockets. You know, he's going there too, and another buyout.
I it's just, um, I don't know. I think Reggie
(21:47):
Jackson go to the Clippers is ring chasing, but the
Pistons didn't need him. They agreed on a deal to
buy out, so I don't really care. It's not like,
you know, like Victor Oladipo has become a free agent
or anything. You know, I get that, okay, But like
all the conversation right now is about, like, you know,
will uh will the Calves come to a biodagreement with
Tristin Thompson. Even I know it won't happen, But even
(22:07):
the idea that like it's a possibility, it's just annoying.
It's just it's a it's a way to kurt tail
and skirt around the rules, which guess what the idea is.
When the trade deadline ends, players shouldn't be able to
move teams. But what happens is they come to an agreement,
the other team pays the price, and then these championship
teams can swoop in for absolutely next to nothing, and
(22:29):
then they just it's a manipulation of rosters. I just
don't like it. Not that Reggie Jackson's the superstar, Like
you said, I just don't like that they do this.
It's annoying. Yeah, it's understandable. Uh, And I think Tristan
Thompson getting bought out way bigger news than Reggie Jackson.
So if that happens, I'm more on the fence with
you on him. But even Tristan Thompson not that biggest
(22:54):
and he went to the rock as he would play,
but uh, you know, you know much more than Reggie
jacks And but you know he's still not a huge name.
But guess what. Basketball is officially back today. So they
took their long extended break. They had about three days
off since the All Star Game, and they got kind
of a full slate for you. You're coming back with
a couple of games that are gonna be just on
(23:15):
your package. Deals Bucks at the Pistons, Heat at the Hawks,
Hornets at the Bulls, But here. It should be an
interesting one on T and T nets at the seventies sixers.
Then you get the Grizzlies and Kings, and then Bogman,
this will be just a nice little palate cleanser for
you Rockets on T and T versus the Warriors. So
that should be should I hope it is? I mean
(23:38):
the Warriors play have been playing much better than they
have uh earlier in the season. Wiggans seems to be
in a decent spot with this team. Yeah, yeah, he
seems to be fine. But with all the rests, my
Rockets should be fine here. I get Westy and Harden
playing in that game. Let's go. Yeah, a lot of
a lot of rests, a lot of guys getting back
into its six games slate you're gonna get on Thursday
(24:01):
and we'll be a breakdown for you on Friday. So
thank to everybody for kicking back with us on hardwood takeaways.
That is Bogman. I am welch. We're on sports Grid,
but for now we're out of here. All you
Lets fly a t s Y and Sports Grid Network
present all in his Hands Game One Body the hard
Hardwood Takeaways. It's Lord, Lord Lor and welcome to Hardwood
(00:25):
Takeaways brought to you by the Sports Grid. Get on
the Grid. I'm your host, Scott bog When you can
follow me on the Twitter at bogging sports and I
am joined by the Welsh. At is it the Welsh?
We had a break. We had the weekend of the
All Star Game, the festivities and all that stuff. The Welsh.
I know that there is nothing that you love more
than all star celebrations. Big Pro Bowl guy, big home
(00:48):
run derby guy, Big MLB, All Star Game guy. You
love the fireworks, All Star Game guy. That's everybody knows
that about me. Welsh. Every listen to me. That give
me the All Star break. It's all that I want now.
It's not what I usually want though, you know it
was definitely spiced up. We're entertainingly enough, Like I'm not
(01:11):
like the NBA does it the best. Well, I think
I said this on here, the NBA does the All
Star games the best. I saw people tweeting over the weekend,
Hey NBA, please teach you know NFL how to do
All Star and you know, they had a lot of
conversation that was kind of the big thing around it. So,
I mean, we could talk about the three point contest,
the dunk contest, the game also some basketball moves happened
(01:33):
right before it. Bob, let's talk about the dunk contest
to start with, because that was where all the controversy started.
And this is the one that is it fair to
say the dunk Did people want the dunk contest more
than anything still or is the three point contest taken
that over? No, No, they still want the dunk contest.
I think the dunk contest is still It's still the
most traditional of all of those things. Right It's you know,
(01:56):
Michael Jordan's and Dwight Howard having a huge room, Blake
Griffin having a huge one. Like we all remember the
dunk contest. It's been just filled with no names recently
and this this year was not too much different. But
but the presumed job that Aaron Gordon took so much
so that Aaron, which I like, this would be a
(02:19):
me move, Aaron Gordon was like, so I'm just not
gonna have I'm gonna wa I'm done, Like you're gonna
take this for me. I should have two of these
crowns under my belt, and you took this away from me.
I'm good. I won't compete it anymore because Eric Gordon
pulled off some business and dunking over Taco Taco Fall
(02:41):
was probably one of the more ridiculous things that we've seen.
I mean, he just pulled off craziness. He pulled up
absolute craziness. And Derrick Jones Jr. Who you know rightful self,
he's not an exciting name or anything like that, but
he's a great dunker. He took the title. And what
I saw Bogs is that the judges they wanted to
tie them off with the score and then they were
(03:05):
going to like, you know, have to dunk battle again.
But one of the judges screwed up the score. So
the judges were trying to be like who was it?
They were trying to figure out who was Yeah, yeah, already,
like I've already seen it. It's like someone has put
like the most amazing, uh whatever it is trick video
(03:28):
of somebody doing something crazy. And then they flashed Dwayne
Wade and he's holding up at nine. You know, like
that that's gonna be a meme forever because that look,
I don't I wasn't. I didn't have the sound on.
I was watching, uh something else that I had the
dunk contests on in the background. Same thing with the
three point contest in the All Star Game, because I'm
with you, I don't necessarily find All Star festivities to
(03:50):
be very exciting. I want to love the dunk contest.
Don't get me wrong. I can didn't get some damn names,
get more than cott intent and more than pretty damn cool.
And he came up dressed as dressed up as what
he Harroldson white men can't chump. That was pretty good,
you know, Uh, that's pretty nice. Uh. Aaron Gordon's dunk
(04:11):
over Taco Fall was insane, but I thought that Derrick
jones Is dunk was better, and I was kind of
I am surprised. There's so much heat, Like, look, he
jump over seven ft five guy, that's pretty much uh
going to do it. He didn't get all the way
over Taco Fall, though, and I think that was the deal,
Like he got over me cleared, I mean taking down
(04:32):
with him or anything but right and definitely things we
can't say on the show going on in that, but
uh yeah, man, so I wasn't surprised to see Derek
Jones Jr. Winning. It just sucks that he's been in
two close ones and because he beat Zach Levine. Like
I love Zach Levine, he beat him in the first one.
I think this one is more contested, So I would
give this one more to Derrek Jones, and I would
(04:54):
give Zach Levine the one that he actually won. But uh,
I mean, I just I can't it over the names,
Like I just can't. I can't get excited about it. And
And that's my problem. Oh my god. They literally they
just lost the best player that they could possibly get
who doesn't want to compete in it anymore because he
got jobbed in Aaron Gordon. What are they gonna do?
Like they can't entice. I don't know if we did
(05:16):
it here what we did on the In This League
Fantasy Basketball podcast, but I gave my suggestion of what
they need to do, and they need to put serious
cash money behind this. They need to get one of
these ridiculous sponsors, these mountains god knows what Mountain dew
or whoever the sponsor was paid to be a part
of the All Star Game. Millions upon millions of dollars.
(05:36):
You're telling me they can't put aside a million dollars,
two million dollars, one million for the dunk contests and
one million for the three point contest. You're telling me
they can't do that. What guy in the league is
not gonna want to play for a million dollars for
fifteen minutes, you know what I mean? Like even le Bron,
like Bron doesn't need it, but fifteen dunks whatever? You
(05:56):
know what, how about this? Have them give a million
dollars a charity in a million dollars to the player,
I mean, do something to entice the players to to
want to go into it, because hey, it's cool. Aaron Gordon,
you know, he got jobs and we're talking about it
and they were over Taco Fall, but nobody cares, and
the numbers could just they could just be so much
(06:17):
better if they actually did something uh fun with it.
But I mean I didn't really pay too much attention
to the Rising Stars game. I mean, thank god, Team
USA barely narrowly beat Team World one one thirty one.
If only they had Jackson Hayes, well, they would have
obviously won by uh seventy five points because he's so amazing,
(06:40):
So I thought that was funny. Look, I'm a Texas guy.
I love Jackson Hayes, but he is being a little
cry baby. So when you is, Buddy healed and he
won the three point contest, so that was disappointing as well.
I was surprised to see Bam uh you know big
Man when the uh uh when the skill versatile Mann is,
(07:03):
BAM's versatile. He's like, you know, triple double one of
those few triple double big Man. He's kind of like
one of the I mean, the Yoki just become the
barometer for triple double big Man, and Bam is kind
of like one of those Yoki lights like him and
Sabonis and um, who's the other one that I always
you oh vous vuk vos Vucci. Man is kind of
(07:23):
one of those guys. I mean, Bam is a talented guy,
and Buddy healed. Uh. He was able to stave off
Devin Booker, who ended up um taking over for Damian Lillard.
David Purton's was in that as well. Joe Harris didn't
move on. I think he was eliminated in the first round.
He had Trey Young. I think Trey had the worst
performance of all of them. I think he only hit
(07:44):
I think at fifteen, and he made up for it
by hitting that uh that half quarter uh in the
All Star Game. So yeah, okay, So then you go
to the All Star Game. I feel looking in an
All Star Game weekend, one fifty seven, team Lebron beat
uh team be honest to one fifty five. And they
had this new thing which they're they're talking about might stick.
(08:07):
It was the target scoring they're saying they might do
for next year, and it had to do with the
Kobe Bryant twenty four and but but people ended on
like a free throw though, yeah, it ended on a
free throw. But the players are playing so much harder
in the third and fourth quarter than they normally would
in an exhibition game. I mean Kyle Lowry was out
(08:27):
there taking charges and stuff, and um, I mean it
was actually really competitive, So that I liked, and I
like the competitiveness of the All Star Game. Even if
it ended on a free throw. I don't care if
it ends on a free throw. I mean, you know,
football games end on field goals. Who cares? So ended
the way you're gonna end it as long as the
guys are playing harder. I like this format. I think
(08:49):
it'll I think they're gonna do the same thing next year.
And obviously they named and I mentioned this on the
Real Big Three over on in this League Welsh with
Jonas and Dan, I said, it's funny that they named
the All Star Game m v P Trophy after Kobe Bryant,
who's the hardest worker in the laziest game that you
could ever play. He's the All Star Game. But I
(09:11):
I understand, but I don't know how much longer the
All Star Game is going to be with us because
Adam Silver has this uh real big dream and wanted
to put a mid season tournament in. He wants to
have it solved by two season because that's the seventy
anniversary of the n b b A. Yeah, they're talking
altar might go away completely. Yeah, here's an article right here.
(09:33):
It's the um the idea. Let's see that this might
be about the targeting thing, because they're saying the idea
is similar to the elam ending using basketball turn a
two million dollar winner take all tournament held over a summer. UM,
let's the main goal is to eliminate intentional faulsy pitch
idea to the NBA finding a willingness. I think this
was about the um hawing I keep talking about basketball, teram.
(09:53):
I think this might have been about the targets scoring
though that they were talking about season tournament, which changed
the whole thing. Yeah, and I think that would get
more eyes on it too, because it would be most
likely to be a mid season tournament. The winner would
get an automatic playoff bid. So you know, if if
you're a bad team and you win that tournament, you're
getting into the playoffs. Now you may only survive four games,
(10:14):
but you're in. You know, I just don't like, I
don't like this math, this stupid math thing they're doing.
They're like a group initially discussed calculating the target score
by ending score by adding thirty eight, which was the
average fourth quarter output per team under the dueling maybe
twenty one, you know what I mean, Just like first
for Kobe, that's fine, Yeah, that's fine, But like they
(10:35):
don't need like a mathematical equation built around all of
this make it something that we're all we all like
really understand, Like if they're gonna do the target sc
wanted to hit whatever you know that that's the one
that wins. Is that the score before the first quarter starts?
Who cares? I actually, you know, I would love if
they would have done I would love if like ice
Cube ice Creabe got involved and they did like a
Big Three tournament but with the All Stars, and it
(10:58):
was like, wouldn't be that would be fun. They've talked
about well one on one tournament and everything, but I
think regardless of it, like we'll get I. I think
it's just a mid season tournament because this is what
they do overseason soccer. They do it a bunch, and
they do it in the professional basketball leagues overseason to
season tournament. But what does that do to stats? And
what does that do? Like are you saying like they're
(11:18):
gonna take the middle twelve games of the season and
they just turn it into a turn like you know
what I'm saying, Like, how does how does one team
get eliminated the first round another team plays seven more games?
How do they calculate stats? Say players suckers bracket? You
like all all the teams have played the same amount
of games, but you would have the round robin tournament,
so like you know, before the championship, the two teams
(11:41):
that lost to go to the championship, they would also
play each other. Uh, so that game would count towards
the regular season stats and everything else. It's just the
winner of that. You know, it's either like every player
gets a million bucks or there's an automatic playoff bid,
so you know the players are gonna get playoff money
for those games at least. So it's just it's something
to make, you know, because you don't You and I
(12:04):
don't enjoy these All Star games. They're lame, Like even
this one, which was probably the best one of all time.
Still I think a regular you know, Thursday night game
between the Bucks and the Celtics way more fun than
the All Star Game. And the All Star Game is fun,
but I would rather watch guys playing at their top level,
at their hardest if they could do it right. Which
(12:25):
that's why I guess my biggest question that they can
really do this right, because like you know, it's something
that wasn't well perceived was when baseball was like, hey,
we got our All Star Game middle of the year,
and by the way, the winner of the All Star
Game that's going to determine if the AL or n
L is the home team in the World Series and
people are like, what like this game that no one
cares about? Like you think this is gonna get people
(12:45):
to care more? And it wasn't well received and guess what,
it's gone. It's gone the way of the Dodo. That
is no longer a thing. So what I worry about?
Like I would a thousand times over rather have some
like cool exciting tournament bracket thing than an All star game,
But like, what, like what are the ramifications? Like how
are you going to make the ramifications really important? Outside
(13:07):
of like there's a little bit of cash, Like are
you gonna give playoff spots to someone that wins? This
is someone going to be you know, an automatic bid.
You know, so if they bomb out the rest of
the season and there you know it's the Orlando Magic
or the Phoenix Suns and they win this tournament and
they bomb out there automatically, um at least the eight seed,
Like is that how you're gonna do it? Yes, yeah,
(13:27):
that's exactly how you do it, which makes getting to
the seven seed way way more important. Uh, if you
know a team has an automatic bid, not only do
you have to leap frog whoever eight is, you have
to get to seven because another team has uh you know,
has the the spot open up. Now, it could be
where the Bucks win the tournament and it's not you know,
(13:49):
that surprising, you know, and there their first and they're
gonna have home court and they have the automatic bid.
So maybe nothing changes. But there could be a year
or two where uh, you know, it's just like watching
March Madness at that point, you know, where a Cinderella team,
like it's clearly not gonna make the playoffs. Let's say
say the Spurs have a great run and win that tournament.
I don't think anybody would be surprised because Pops there,
(14:10):
but that team may make it the playoffs. Like you know,
they could call it like the Kobe Bryant Tournament. Sure, yeah, yeah, Well,
how however they want to deal with with that stuff too.
If they were to do away with the the NBA
All Star Game, it's not like Kobe is gonna be
for God, but uh, I think I think that's a
great idea. So, but we did have some some stuff
happened after the deadline and during or after the All
(14:33):
Star break and during the All Star breaking stuff the
news for the second half, and we had b Line
resigned with the Calves. He's gonna remain with the team.
But there's all kinds of stories now about how after
his slug Slugs Thugs thing, that players were trolling him
by playing a bunch of songs with the word thug
in it a bunch so that that's actually kind of
(14:53):
funny to me. But uh, the he's gone and JB.
Bickerstaff is taking over in our friend on this despised
the JB. Bickerstaff, So that's always funny. Uh, Kyrie is
going to see a specialist after reaggravating his shoulder injury.
Cat is going to be out and definitely hold on.
Let's injury so much stuff. Yeah, let's talk about Kyrie
(15:14):
for a minute because that news is as big and
it's something Bogman I've been talking about on the I
Tell Basketball podcast a lot. Is he's not trustworthy. He
was not trustworthy because even though the team had kept competitive,
this is not a guy that's pushing himself. I don't
think he wants to push himself because Durant is not there.
Though there was video of Durant just the other day
(15:35):
putting up shots and looking pretty good, but he just
he doesn't push like Kyrie Irving is not. I don't
want to call him not a tough player, because maybe
he's a tough player. But if there's any inkling of injury,
he's out. He's gone. And this is a very worrisome
sign for Brooklyn, for fantacy basketball owners, all of that.
It's not the same level as Cat where Cat is
out indefinitely and it it sucks, it's a concern, but
(15:58):
these are like two very I think they're two very
different things. I think Kat wants to play with Angela
Russell and when he's good, he'll be good to go,
where Kyrie is not trustworthy one single bit. And I
think do they have the eight seed right now? I
mean the Nets are in the playoffs and they're probably
seven the playoffs regardless of what Kyrie does and there
(16:19):
they've actually been a better team without Kyrie at this
point in the season, so I think they'll be okay
as far as their standings go and stuff. It's just
not a surprise to see Kyrie reaggregate this injury and
go out of there. He needs to get surgery and
fix it, So just do that, fix it and get
be better for next year when Katie is coming back
(16:40):
hopefully close to if this team was like the ten seed.
I think he does that. I think they just say,
just do this so next year, you know, we can
get one more free agent to come in, and we
got a healthy Durant. We're gonna be competitively. The problem is, man,
look at the teams below them. Look at these teams,
the Pistons, and we're gonna talk about the Pistons. The
(17:01):
Pistons garbage Hornets. I guess they've been on were on
a little bit of a thing for a bit. I
don't know, Loot, it's actually uh an you on two
game winning streak. The Bulls have lost sixth straight going
into the All Star break. The Wizards, okay, there's not
a redeemable team like the wet not saying that. Like
even the Phoenix Suns are you know, I mean, they're
twenty two and thirty three, But the Phoenix Suns are
(17:24):
like the twelfth seed in the West. The Phoenix Suns
are as good or better than the Orlando Magic and
the Magic of the eight seed in the East. So
it's like the Nets, like you just said, the Nets
are gonna walk into a playoff spot. So they're almost
like Hamstrong. It's like the of the San Francisco Giants
from last year where everyone don't sell and they just
are gonna make the playoffs. I don't think they should
be hands strong at all. I think they should just
(17:46):
they should just go ahead. Look, Kyrie get surgery. Even
if they're the seventh seed, whatever eight seed they move
up to six, doesn't really matter. They're gonna get stomped
by one of these top top teams. They can't compete
with the Bucks, raptor Celtics, Heat or Sixers, and probably
not the Pacers either. So it's gonna be a quick
series in the first round for them. The three games
under five hundred, and they're not winning. So just have
(18:08):
Kyrie get his stupid surgery and haven't be good to
go for next year. That's what we want. I know
he doesn't want to have surgery, uh, and that it's
invasive and it sucks and the rehab process is terrible
and going through that too many times is uh why
a guy like Andrew Luck retired in a smart dude
like Irving might uh end up retiring, to which he
(18:28):
said he doesn't want to play into late into his
thirties anyway, So you're right there. They're definitely different between
Kyrie and Cat. But I'm actually way more concerned today
after hearing he's gonna be out indefinitely than I was
a couple of days ago as far as Cat goes, Yeah,
and I buy that a couple other I'm gonna talk
with the big thing that happened, but the other little
(18:49):
tiny notes. Clint Capella is weeks away from joining his
Hawks team. That's kind of the news that's out there.
This is the next year play. Of course, Victor Oladipo
no longer on a minute it's limit going into the
second half, so there's a positive. And Al Horford out
of Philly is expected to stay with the second unit
for the seventies sixers, so that's something into the second Yeah.
(19:11):
But the big piece of news that we got, you know,
call it for however big it really was, was that
the Detroit Pistons came to a buyout agreement with Reggie Jackson,
and I just I gotta tell you how much I
hate but you know what buyouts feel like to me.
Bryouts and basketball are like the non waiver trade deadline
baseball was where baseball had like, hey, look, it's a
(19:34):
trade deadline July thirty one. Now it's over. I guess what.
You can still put them on waivers and you could
still trade players for another month. And it's like, what
are you talking about. That's not real. I hate buyouts
in basketball that they can. I wish they would get
rid of this stuff because it creates such a stupid,
odd situation where playoff teams get such an advantage. Um
(19:56):
it's such a ridiculous advantage by being able to pick
up players on the dirt cheap because the teams are
the other teams are paying for it. The Detroit Pistons
bought out Reggie Jackson and the Los Angeles Clippers. I
was about to say the Lakers. The Clippers are rumored.
The Clippers swoop in and they have come to an
agreement that they're going to sign Reggie Jackson for dirt cheap,
(20:18):
and it completely alters, you know, the playoff structure for
absolutely nothing. So not only does it affect like fantasy
in in little bits, it affects real basketball. But I
hate buy out some basketball. I'm not I don't hate
them with the vitrayol that you you hate them with
because I do think that like Reggie Jackson going to
the Clippers, I mean, he's gonna play, like, you know,
(20:41):
nine minutes a gamer. So it's not so at all.
I think he's gonna play. I think he's gonna be
into the twenties, so that he's just not he won't be.
It is not gonna happen unless Beverly uh missed his
significant time. Like he may get a couple of games
here there where he plays twenty minutes because they do
have some guys sitting. But I can't imagine he's gonna
average much more than ten minutes. I think you might
see some I think this team might run be running
(21:02):
more small ball, where it's George at the four, Leonard
at the three. You might have Reggie Jackson played the
two with Beverly, Lou Williams and Harold come off the bench.
I think you could play some minutes and they're gonna
play more small ball. I just don't I hate the idea.
I think this is because Beverly has been hurt. I
think that's the reason for this pig. So I think
when Beverly plays, Reggie Jackson just doesn't have much. Yeah, yeah,
(21:25):
that's very true because because of stupid what's his name
deciding to stay retired. But Collinson retires and nothing ironically
has been working out for the Lakers. They keep missing
out on these buyout options, right, I mean, but it's
not like Demari Carroll is going to do much with
the Rockets. You know, he's going there too, and another buyout.
I it's just, um, I don't know. I think Reggie
(21:47):
Jackson go to the Clippers is ring chasing, but the
Pistons didn't need him. They agreed on a deal to
buy out, so I don't really care. It's not like,
you know, like Victor Oladipo has become a free agent
or anything. You know, I get that, okay, But like
all the conversation right now is about, like, you know,
will uh will the Calves come to a biodagreement with
Tristin Thompson. Even I know it won't happen, But even
(22:07):
the idea that like it's a possibility, it's just annoying.
It's just it's a it's a way to kurt tail
and skirt around the rules, which guess what the idea is.
When the trade deadline ends, players shouldn't be able to
move teams. But what happens is they come to an agreement,
the other team pays the price, and then these championship
teams can swoop in for absolutely next to nothing, and
(22:29):
then they just it's a manipulation of rosters. I just
don't like it. Not that Reggie Jackson's the superstar, Like
you said, I just don't like that they do this.
It's annoying. Yeah, it's understandable. Uh, And I think Tristan
Thompson getting bought out way bigger news than Reggie Jackson.
So if that happens, I'm more on the fence with
you on him. But even Tristan Thompson not that biggest
(22:54):
and he went to the rock as he would play,
but uh, you know, you know much more than Reggie
jacks And but you know he's still not a huge name.
But guess what. Basketball is officially back today. So they
took their long extended break. They had about three days
off since the All Star Game, and they got kind
of a full slate for you. You're coming back with
a couple of games that are gonna be just on
(23:15):
your package. Deals Bucks at the Pistons, Heat at the Hawks,
Hornets at the Bulls, But here. It should be an
interesting one on T and T nets at the seventies sixers.
Then you get the Grizzlies and Kings, and then Bogman,
this will be just a nice little palate cleanser for
you Rockets on T and T versus the Warriors. So
that should be should I hope it is? I mean
(23:38):
the Warriors play have been playing much better than they
have uh earlier in the season. Wiggans seems to be
in a decent spot with this team. Yeah, yeah, he
seems to be fine. But with all the rests, my
Rockets should be fine here. I get Westy and Harden
playing in that game. Let's go. Yeah, a lot of
a lot of rests, a lot of guys getting back
into its six games slate you're gonna get on Thursday
(24:01):
and we'll be a breakdown for you on Friday. So
thank to everybody for kicking back with us on hardwood takeaways.
That is Bogman. I am welch. We're on sports Grid,
but for now we're out of here. All you
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