 Run it up, then run it back. Run it up, then run it back. Run it up, then run it back. Run it up, then run it back. Good Thursday morning and welcome to Run It Back. Thursday's our Friday and that is why we smile bigger on Thursdays. My name is Michelle Beedle, joined by my friends, stadium insiders, Sean Charania, Chandler P, still in Mexico. Still here. And Lou Will with the fancy setup, gotta love it. And guys, there was a late game last night. Felt very late by the time it started. Could have just been me, but it was the heat and the Lakers. And the Lakers fall, 1-10-96. They are now officially below 500. Some points for you. If you're interested in that, Tyler Hero with 21. Anthony Davis, 29-17. The Lakers were 4 of 30 from 3 with 22 turnovers. And LeBron James did not talk to reporters after this one. Look, the Lakers fans at this point, it feels very deja vu to last year. But they're going after Darwin Ham, right? Shams, what are you hearing so far on Coach Ham? I'm told there's a growing, deepening disconnect between Darwin Ham and that Lakers locker room right now. And a lot of it is stemming from extreme rotational changes, lineup changes. There was a change that he made December 23rd in Oklahoma City, putting in Jared Vanderbilt into the starting lineup. So it was LeBron James at the point guard, Cam Reddish, Tori and Prince, Jared Vanderbilt and Anthony Davis. And I'm told that had a lot of head scratching internally within the Lakers. And it's led to several players internally vocalizing, whether it's publicly or behind the scenes, about just the fluctuating rhythm that all these changes have caused this team just won the in-season tournament championship. But now they've lost 9 of 12 games. They've lost 3 in a row. They're now under 500. And Darwin Ham's gone through a lot of adversity in LA to put it lightly. Yeah, the Russell Westbrook situation last year that team started off 2 and 10. Then they make it all the way to the Western Conference finals. So he's shown that he can get his players buying in and on the same page. But just last night, Anthony Davis and Austin Reeves came out and said injuries are not a factor. This team has enough talent to win games and should be playing at a higher level. Whereas Darwin Ham took the other approach, blamed it on injuries, blamed it on a lack of consistency with guys in and out of the lineup. And at the same time, Darwin Ham also said that in his opinion, being without Rui Hachimura, D'Angelo Russell and Gabe Vincent is the same as Miami being without Jimmy Butler. And let's keep in mind, D'Angelo Russell and Rui Hachimura have been in and out of the rotation at different points and out of the starting lineup at different points. And so it's for players right now. There's a lot of head scratching going on based on Darwin Ham's adjustments. He's tried 10 different lineups already this season. And right now with LeBron James being at 39 years old, Anthony Davis playing at the level he's playing, patience clearly seems to be running thin in L.A. This is a very confusing movie that I feel like I've seen before, guys. And they just won the in-season tournament. And one guy's saying there's injuries and teammates are saying it's not that, Chandler. What is happening? The NBA is funny, man. It's crazy. A couple of weeks ago, they were hanging this banner for winning this new fresh tournament that everyone loves and the Lakers are rolling. Now they're talking about firing their coach. It's funny to me. I will say, I don't love... The coaches have to take accountability. The Philadelphia Eagles, I don't know if you guys saw us, their coach the other day completely basically lied and made up this thing saying just to basically take the loss. And Adrian Brown, the receiver was like, that was on us. He literally did that for us. That as a player, you love when your coach does that. When you start talking about injuries and all that stuff and rotations, everyone knows that. Everyone knows that they really need game events. And everyone knows that they can use D'Angelo Russell and Rui. They know that. So as a coach, I think you have to take the accountability first and foremost. And I do agree that they do have enough talent. When you look at this team, other bill, I don't love the starting line. They got to find the lineup and they got to stick with it. They did not learn anything from last year. They need shooting in their starting lineup. So I don't like the in and out. I don't like the switching. Obviously injuries have a big part to play in that, but they definitely have the talent. They can show when they do play and they are healthy that they can play with anybody. And they do want to maximize this LeBron James, Anthony Davis, 2-0 time as much as they can. But it does start with the coach and he does have to take accountability, find a lineup, get rolling, get everybody healthy and play to the best of your abilities. But making up all these excuses and all that I can't roll with. And you're getting good off. You're getting good AD numbers. And like we've said a few times, you don't really want to waste that. Lou, for reference purposes, last night the Lakers rolled out a lineup of LeBron, AD, Austin, Prince, and Reddish. That was their starting lineup for this one. Is that their best five-man starting lineup? What is the best one? And why can't he seem to just give that a little time to marinate? You know, I have no idea what's their best lineup. I don't think they know. You know, they're still trying to figure it out and find five guys that mesh and can get them over that hump. You know, I think this is a Lakers team. That's, you know, they're pretty consistent with where they are in the standings. They're a 500 basketball team and they're learning fast that a lot of good basketball is being played throughout the league. So how this team is built right now, they're competing about consistently at the level that you would expect a lineup like this to compete. You know, as usual, the Lakers are pretty much going to be, they're going to be in a lot of trade talks. You know, they're going to be active at this deadline and trying to patch up some things. And, you know, whether it's injuries or whether they're making excuses or not, you know, right now, there's just not good enough. But I anticipate this team to be very active before the trade deadline. Also, watching this game, watching this game last night, they came out like stagnant. And the vouchers even said like, but Bron James can't be your best player and your energy guy. So they have to find, like Cam Reddish should be playing like his hair is on fire. These guys, they got to be, they got to be flying around. They have to play harder. They know where their points are going to come from. They know how to run their offense. And I do like to start a lineup with Cam Reddish, Tourian Prince. And I think they need, they need another shooting garden there. I think it should be Dave Vincent when he comes back. But I like Dilo because then you keep Reeves on the bench. You keep Ruby off the bench. You keep your rotations there. You keep your team a little bit deeper there. And I also like Max Christie. I know Darvin Ham likes to switch up the rotations. Don't be surprised when you see Max Christie in the starting lineup here just to provide a little bit more shooting. Oh good. So some more changes. Okay. It's a, at least I don't have to memorize it. It's just different every day, which is fun. Sean's on the other side of things. Jimmy Butler, they didn't have him. He's been out with that injury. What's the latest? Jimmy Butler is going to have to take some time here. He dealt with the cast ring on the opposite leg. And now he has a foot issue on the other leg. And Jimmy Butler, this is a guy that we forget. He's advanced in his career. This is a guy that's on the other side of 30. He's played at such a high peak level in his prime. His prime has extended so long, in my opinion. So they're going to be cautious with him. But think about this team this year. They've won six of 10 games without Jimmy Butler this season. Last year they were nine and nine without Jimmy Butler in the lineup. And so they're playing at a much higher level when he's not on the floor, which is a good sign for them going into the second half of the season, going into the playoffs. Bam out of bio. We sung his praises last year, keeping that team afloat when Jimmy Butler wasn't in out of the lineup. He's playing an all-star, all-NBA type of level. You have Tyler Hero back in the lineup the last few weeks. He's starting to get back to that score that 20-25 point per game score that he knows he can be. Kyle Lowry is playing at a good level. Duncan Robinson as well. Let's give Jaime Jaquez a lot of credit. He's been a revelation. He had that fadeaway over LeBron James last night. You have to give Pat Riley, Andy Ellsberg, Adam Simon in that organization a lot of credit for getting him really late in that first round. Yeah, let's talk about that for a second. Jaquez, he was the 18th pick in the draft. He's recently said he's glad the Lakers didn't get him and he's been starting in place of Jimmy Butler-Lew. Is he the best rookie not named Chet or Wimby? I wouldn't say he's the best. He's in a great situation where it's not a lot of pressure on him to be successful as a rookie. So that gives him an opportunity to go out there and compete at a high level, compete freely, not worried about his minutes. He's pretty much going to know the minutes that he's going to play. He knows the position that he's going to be in. And that works wonders on a young guy so early in their career. That gives him the confidence to go out there and just play freely. It's still a handful of guys that I like in that draft class. I still like Derek Lively. I still like Brandon Miller. I still like Skood Henderson. I still like a lot of these guys that eventually are going to turn the corner. But when you're such a young player in this league, it's all about situation. It's all about where you are and what a team expects you to do. And so he's been able to find success and where the Miami he has placed him. Yeah. Look, they say he culture all the time. It's almost become comical. But there is something to it, right, Chandler? I mean, you get this kid later in the draft. He seems to be a perfect fit. It cannot be a coincidence that this keeps happening. How do they do it? Well, you got to give credit to their front office. The guys that Choms just mentioned, these guys, they have great scouts. They have a great, you know, they have a great division where they know what fits. They know a player like Kamehake. And like Lou said, is Kamehake the most talented rookie not named Wimby? No. But he's the most NBA ready rookie in a great situation. Like Lou said, where he he's a four year guy. He's more mature. He can go into any system right now and play on a good team and a bad team. He's more NBA ready than perhaps a one and done 18 year old. The guy's 21 years old, 22 years old. So that's kind of what I mean, Lou. It's funny. We're completely different. So he went straight out of high school at 17 or 18. I stayed all four years. By the time I got there, that was almost like a knock. Like what was wrong with me? I stayed in college for the ceilings, not as high. That doesn't mean you can't get a great seven to 12 years immediately. So it's kind of a, it's a, it's, it's given take a little bit, but this kid is a perfect example of the culture that they have because he's tough. He's our nose. He's versatile. He can shoot the ball. Last time I'm watching all these guys. It was like a wife and see again. There's five white guys on the court. They're just running up and down, shooting the ball. It's, it's, it's insane the way that he plays, but then they have these tough leaders like Bam, like Jimmy Butler, and that's where that culture, like you don is has them that still has a locker in the locker room. It's so that that's where that comes from. But you got to give credit to their front office, but they haven't really had a miss in the draft. I looked it up. I think justice Winslow was a 10th pick. He, I mean, I guess he didn't really pan out the kid. KZ. He was a later round pick up. He didn't really pay up. Besides that, you go and get a bam and a Tyler hero, and Jaime Hockey is mid to late lottery. They're doing something right. So it's, it seems to be a perfect fit. And this is the really the first time I've watched this kid play in the NBA. He just plays the right way. He moves. He cuts. He helps. He takes truck. He does all the little stuff that the Miami Heat love. Jaime Hockey is plus it's fun to say his name. And honestly, that's what it's all about for us. Another game last yesterday. You guys had ranked the Clippers full disclosure during yesterday's hour as the number two in the power rankings. Well, here they are defeating the Suns 131-122 four straight wins for them. Paul George 33 and seven Kawhi with 30 and eight. Devin Booker doing his part with 35 and six, but they are fourth right now in the West. Don't seem to be slowing down all that much. Where do they finish Chandler? You first. Well, home court should be the goal, right? And I think that's going to happen. Who knows who knows what the health and who knows if they end up resting players to try and get the matchup they want. But as long as they have home court advantage going into the playoffs, I think they're going to have a great matchup. They're going to have a huge advantage. When you get the big three playing like this last night, where they're all efficient, they're not turning the ball over as much. They're healthy. They're in rhythm. They're the best team in the West. And there might be the best team in the NBA. And when they get a balanced attack, get Norman Powell, and they get Terence Mann, when they get Russ, when they get everybody contributing, knowing their roles, they're defending. I love when they go small and they switch one through five. It's a tough team to be. And it's just crazy. It just shows you the NBA is nuts. We were talking about this team, how they shouldn't train for James Arden. They lose a couple in a row. Everybody panics. Praising the Lakers or winning the NCAA tournament. LeBron's so good. And then within a couple of weeks, it just flips. So it's crazy. And they're found their rhythm and they are rolling. Yeah, they have the elusive big four. You don't get to see that very often, Lou. If you had to pick the MVP of the Clippers themselves, who's the most important? That's what makes this team so dangerous. On any given Sunday, it can be anybody. You know, I can even make a case that it's Terence Mann, when they need nights, where they need energy, where they need somebody to play hard, knock down open shots. I can make a case for Zubak, you know, pick and roll and protecting their rim for that team. Or Norman Powell, who's a 3 and D guy that also can go out and get a bucket for you. You know, and those are three guys outside of the big four that are very instrumental in the success of the Los Angeles Clippers. And so any given night, it can be Paul George, it can be Russell Westbrook, it can be James Harden, it can be Kawhi Leonard. They don't really care who gets the credit at this point. And that's what you call a good buy-in. You got to give credit to Coach Tai Lu by creating a culture where guys don't really care anymore who's getting what. On any given night, somebody can be the best player on that basketball team. Who's the most important player who knows? At this point, this group is rolling, and they got so much depth, it can be a different guy any night. Oh, I thought Choms were right. I think the fact that, you know, they had hard conversations. Like, let's be real, they had some hard conversations when that trade was made. They lose six in a row. There was a lot of public discourse. And I like what James Harden said last night. Like, people aren't talking about this team anymore. All those naysayers, like, they're not around anymore. And it wasn't all smooth for them early on, but they had those hard conversations early. Now you're starting to see everyone's adjusted to their role. James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, those are your anchors in the starting lineup. And Russell Westbrook, I've been to a few Clippers games over the last month. The role that he's playing, being a spark plug off the bench, anywhere between 16 to 20, 22 plus minutes a night on any given night, he can change the course of a game. And that's not something that we've seen from this Clippers team with Russell Westbrook because he's been the starter. So I think for the Clippers, everything has worked out, you know, in their favor over the last month or so. Yeah, they are letting all the naysayers know. All of us included, because we thought that was going to be a disaster. Before the game, Devin Booker talked about a beef that he had with Paul George that goes way back to the 2021 season, Chandler. So is it good to bring up beefs? Are you motivating the other party involved? Is it smart? I don't think when you're looking at these two guys, they've done so much in their career. It's not like it's a real beef, right? Whether they see each other, they're fighting outside the core. I think it's a mutual respect for each other's game. It's a great matchup. It's fun to watch. They both, by the way, had great games last night. And it's just part of the game. It's what makes it more entertaining. It's the trash talking. It's the physicality of it. And yeah, there's been some social media back and forth. Everyone now has a podcast where they can kind of throw a zinger at somebody and you do take that personal because, you know, you got to play these guys and there's unspoken rules, players that you kind of don't do that. So when it does happen, yeah, there's some beef. There might be a little bit more there, but I think when it comes to this team and this game and this matchup, I don't think there's much here. Two pros. Lou, on the Phoenix side, so amped before the season started for the big three and they've only played four games together so far. They're 18 and 16, 19th or ninth in the West. I know it's just now January, but it does feel like time is trickling. How do you feel about where they are and do they have a chance to bring this thing together? Yeah, that team is training below expectations right now. I wouldn't say time is running out, but it's time to go. I think they got to start putting pressure on some teams, like right now, you know, for them to put themselves in a position where they can be respected going into that postseason and put the fear that they need to put inside of teams. Right now, I think teams are comfortable coming to Phoenix and playing games and feeling pretty good about their chances of coming out of there with a win. I feel like teams feel very comfortable with them coming into their building and still coming out with wins and they got to take that away. They got to take that comfort away from teams. You know, they got to start creating some pressure, creating some momentum going into this All-Star break. Right after that All-Star break, where teams are starting to fear Phoenix and right now, you just don't see that. You don't get that feeling. You don't get that aura about this group. That's just not the vibe. And so I don't think the time is running out, but it's time to show and prove now. It is time. I didn't put any money on it for the season. I was going to. So, yeah, kind of glad I didn't do that. We had another match-up last night. I don't know what it is about the Pacers and the Bucks, but they have their number. Pacers defeat them 142-130. It's their fifth straight win. Tyrese with 31, a measly 12 assist. Giannis 26-11, eight assist. The 15-home winning streak that they had going on is snapped. They won four of their five meetings this season. What is it? It was stylish. Yeah, what is it about this team and that team that they seem to have their number? What do you think is going to be first? There's something here, right, with the whole Giannis ball thing that, you know, Carlisle talking in the press conference. There's a little bit of rivalry here, which, again, I think is so much fun. I think it's great for the game. This is just a clash of styles. We know how fast the Pacers play. They get up and down, and the Bucks have that capability, but it's clearly uncomfortable for them. Tyrese, Albert, has been very good picking them apart in transition. I think for the Pacers, because you see this is a team, everyone's looking at the Bucks and the Celtics. The fact that they have their number this year going into the press, where they could possibly face them in the first round, maybe the second round or even the finals, it's very, very comforting from this team to know that you can play with this team, you can beat this team. You've dominated this team all season long that not many other teams have. So, they could be a clash of styles. It could just be one students, but having four out of five, that's impressive. They clearly have their number. They clearly match up well with them. They clearly put them outside their comfort zone with how they play offense and get up and down at their pace. The Bucks, if they do draw them up, they're going to really have to adapt, slow things down, get in the half court, be more physical and really adjust, because clearly what they're doing is having them working. Yeah, I'm glad you brought that up, Chandler, because on the one hand, for Indiana it probably is comforting. I think it would be a little concerning for the Bucks, Lou. He's talking about what you need to do strategy-wise. What does it do mentally to you as a team if you know these guys seem to just have it? You know, honestly, just from a player's perspective and being in these positions, if I'm the Indiana Pacers, I'm the team that's actually concerned, because how long are you going to go to school and allow somebody to bully you? At some point Milwaukee is going to fight back, and the next time they're going to run into each other, it's going to be playoff basketball and they're going to be tired of it, and that's going to put you on edge a little bit. You know, so a lot of early success that the Indiana Pacers have had, they got to wash that away, close their eyes, and get ready for what's to come next, because the Milwaukee Bucks, they're going to be spitting fire, and they're going to be ready to play this basketball team simply because this team thinks they have their number, and they're going to be ready to play when it counts the most. Well, that's a little bit of a terrifying visual, Lou. Tyrese Halliburton, no secret anymore. The word is out. He's good. He's averaging about 25 points, 15 and a half assists a game. He had those two games in a row with 20 assists. Pick a part of his game that's most impressive to you. He's poised and he's confident, and like you just mentioned, you know, his passing abilities. We all know he can go out and get a bucket. We all know he can go get 30, but the way that he's distributing the basketball, bringing his team along with him, and how that's turning into a lot of wins and a lot of success for this Pacers basketball team, got to give him a lot of credit, man. Having a hell of a year. This is a big time coming out party. We thought this was just a moment that he was having in the end season tournament, and he's carried that over throughout the rest of the course of this season. He's playing a big time basketball. Got to give him a lot of credit. There's this following set of numbers is a little bit mind blowing to me, Chandler. We're talking about benches. That is a big topic anytime we talk basketball, but the Pacers bench outscored the Bucks bench. 129 to 54. Is that right? If I had glasses, I would have to put them on right now. Over their past two. That seems like a problem. That's a big problem. That's a big problem. You see a team with deep benches, team with productive benches, they seem to go further. And they're obviously teams, but and the concerning part for the Bucks is they're pretty healthy. All they're really missing is Jay Crowder, which I will think will help their defense mightily. Pat Compton was out early. He's back now. Bobby Portas, he's got to be better. You're here in all the last couple of years in talks of six man of the year. He's got to continue to be that consistent spark plug kind of physical player off the bench that carries that second unit. The addition of campaign, I thought he would be a lot better early and productive with Dame in and out of lineup early. He struggled a little bit. So they have the pieces are not too concerned. They have that guy that have experienced guys that have played well in seasons, have played great in post seasons. So I think they'll get there. But yeah, these are, these are glaring numbers, especially when you look at the Pacers binks. I mean, Matherine can score, McConnell, guys like that. Obi-Toppe has been good for Andy, but on paper, the Bucks should have a better bench than the Pacers. And they've just been getting dominated in these games. That's a crazy discrepancy. 70 to 16 on Monday. Yeah, that's a mind blowing actually. We had a long game last night. A very, very, very long one. Double overtime as a matter of fact. We're feeding the magic 138-135. The points scored the numbers here. Damana Sabona's 22-23 rebounds, 12 assists. Malik Monk had 37 off the bench. Paolo Bencaro went ahead and threw in his career high of 43 points. I hate to even ask you guys, Lou. We'll start with you, but whose performance last night was most impressive? Come on. You know what my answer is going to be. I'm Mr. Six Man of the Year. It's going to be Malik Monk. Give me 37 and nine off the pine every single time. Give me the big numbers off the bench every single time. Listen, if you need me to get 37 off the bench, you might as well put me in the starting lineup. And so that's who I'm giving my credit to. He's not going to be considered an all-star guy. None of that. But 37 and nine off the bench, give me that every single time. On the pine every time? On the pine every time. So, Lou, it's having that 37 and nine assist. And it's not just numbers. It's the timely shots he hits, the momentum stopping shots he hits when Orlando goes on a run. Malik Monk's arguably the most important player just because he does have those flashes of greatness. He can carry a team, he can carry the load, especially in that second unit. Paolo had a great game, 43 points, but they lost and he had eight turnovers. You can't give it to him. So, Volna's 2020 is unbelievable. Again, he turned the ball over and he kind of disappeared. Malik Monk was the most impressive player. He went, he did it inside out. He's extremely valuable. And I look for him to get a bag from them this summer. Is he the sixth man of the year? Is it close? Is there anyone close behind Lou? It's gotta be him. Simple and plain. Okay. Well, Lou has spoken. So you might as well give the man the award right now. We're going to take a quick break here. When we come back, Shoms is on the spot with the scoops. And a little, that man has a failing. Run it back, returns. You got to love that sound. It means we got some shoms. Scoop shoms. Look, I'm flipping around last night. I see Gary Payton second dunk. I flip back. Next thing I know, you're tweeting about him. I did not care for your tweet, Shoms. What is the latest? Gary Payton the second, he's going to miss several weeks with the left hamstring strain. He just got back in the lineup over the weekend. He played two games after missing a month with a calf injury. And now he's going to be out again for the foreseeable future. He's not going to be back in the lineup anytime soon. I mean, it's just a brutal loss for him and the team. He's only played 18 games this season. He's been a key cog, though, in that rotation. When he is healthy, he just has not been able to stay on the floor consistently. Now the Warriors down Payton, they're still without Jermaine Green. They don't know when Jermaine Green is going to be back. He's still not around the team quite yet. So this is two major rotational losses for the Warriors. Moses Moody, that's a guy that's going to get back in the rotation potentially now. Andrew Wiggins. They're going to rely on him a lot off the bench. And Jonathan Kaminka has been playing heavy minutes anyway. So this is going to be the next man-up mentality in the Golden State. Man, this season for the Golden State Warriors is just a disaster, you guys. Talk about the impact of his being out now for quite some time, Chandler. Yeah. I mean, when it rains, it pours. And this seems to be the trend with them this season. But like Sean just said, this is going to give even more opportunity at which I don't know how that's possible with the way the season's gone for guys like Kaminka, guys like Podzinski, guys like Moody. So these guys are going to have to play. This is Clay Thompson. Now it's going to have to be even more of a leader. Andrew Wiggins is going to have to kind of fire it up and put this team on their backs. It can't just be Steph. And it seems like every week something happens. But collectively, they got to find a way to rally. They got to find a way to start playing some good basketball. Or this season could take an even worse turn. Steph behind closed doors. That must be interesting. You could give him a little truth, Sarah and Lou. He's got to be miserable. But he's never going to tell you that. Yeah, he's never going to tell us. You know, and I'm sure he has emotions like any other athlete. But you know, he has a great poker face. He goes out. He's positive. You don't really feel negative energy coming off him every single time we see Steph. He goes out, compete at the highest level that he can and try to wield his team to as many wins as he can. And so, you know, I got tremendous respect for the guy for not shaking the tree, not having very much to say. Just taking his lumps, taking his ills and trying to make them and turn them into wins and continuing to move forward. Lemons in the lemonade. Shoms, we thank you as always. Next time we see you'll be bright and early in Los Angeles. Travel safe. See you then. All right, guys. We got that man has a family. Honestly, this is the outfit. It's my favorite. Mr. Sharp on Mr. Williamson. Oh, hey, what? Oh, I thought this was going to go completely different. Yes, you did. I want to finally got to the left. Block the left. You beat him to it. Yeah. Yeah. You see those two games. You don't think it's going to play like that. Yeah, that's that's nice. Tell you. Stopper. Oh, all right. Check. We don't have one of these segments without something with chat. Here he is. Oh. Okay. Yeah, I wish. I wish. I wish Tatum would have had a little bit more lift and try to really throw it on him. But it's a good block. I look the laugh after for me is what makes it. I like to take them laugh. What are you going to do? The dudes are from me. That's not a normal person. He's a freak. I think he caught a little break here. Oh, now this is impressive. This is not something we see every day right here. And with the left hand. Little guy on a really good shot blocker too. That one's good. Absolutely. Yeah, dang. That might be the leader in the clubhouse. No way he was banging on him with the left here. I wouldn't mind seeing more of this from Dave. Take that rim, bro. Yeah, that was all right. Here we go. Anthony Davis. Oh, come on. This is not. This is like your elders. That's not right. Watch your head. Get out of there, Caleb. It doesn't help that you're growing the gray hair like that, man. Stay out of that picture, bro. Swipe low. Swipe low, Caleb. Never jump. Oh, man. That one feels wrong. Okay, here we go. This also, this is Zion blocking Anthony. That seems not fair as well. Pretty good block. Surprised Anthony trying to punch on. Right? If it went for that Euro step, he's taken off. That would have been a nice body though. How fun must that be? To just jump high or jump at all, honestly. Must be nice. Jalen Johnson on Jets. I saw a lot of this. Most improved player in the NBA right here. This kid got nicer. I like most improved. I talked to my younger last night. I like most improved for him. Hmm. What about? Keep going, JJ. Meadow's favorite player, Tyrese Maxey. Harry Smacks, the defender on these. Okay, you know what? I'm going to drink my coffee and let you just sit there. Hey, one thing's for sure though. The Knicks are going to win the wet. I hate Chandler Parsons. Write it down. Oh, we're taking a quick break. When we come back, a little say what? Run it back returns. Run it back, run it back, run it up. Playing against him and MJ, I think for me, it's MJ all day long. LeBron is probably one of the best passers that the league has seen. MJ is probably the weakest part of his game. But at the same time, MJ didn't have any other weaknesses in his game. Lou, do you agree with Ray Allen? I don't agree with Ray Allen. I think at this point, LeBron James is the best player of all time in basketball. I also know that this debate is also generational. You have older guys that are going to swear by Michael Jordan. MJ was transcendent in what he did in the 80s and the 90s for the game. He changed everything. He changed the dynamics of the shoes and style and everybody wanted to be like Mike. And with that, LeBron James was one of those guys. And so we're talking about a guy that's number four in all-time assist leaders and he has the big joker. He has the trump card. He's the number one guy in scorn. He went and got a record that we thought would never be broken. We thought it was untouchable. He went out and got it. And not only that, he's still building on it. Every single night, he's still building on his assist. He's still building on his points. And he's right there in that conversation, man. And so I truly think this particular argument is a generational thing. Obviously, there's no right or wrong answer. It's never going to be a right or wrong answer. But I just disagree. I think LeBron James is the best in basketball at this point. Jalen, I wonder what the age cutoff is. I'm 48. For me, it will always be MJ. I don't know where the lowest, where it starts to switch back over into LeBron. It's like early 40s, I feel like. It's starting to switch. Interesting. Okay. And again, it's never, it's going to be either MJ or LeBron, right? There's no wrong answer, but I'm with Lou. I think LeBron, I think he's the greatest of all time. I think people use these certain stats and how he's lost in the championship. And then LeBron fans have their certain stats, but they're better at them than Michael Jackson. It's not a fair argument. Like LeBron has the resources that MJ didn't have. The game's referee different than it was back then. I played golf a job very all the time. He's like, can you imagine Michael Jordan playing today with the foul cause? Which average 60, which you can argue that too. So it's basically two different games. It's two different areas. There's two different, like the medical LeBron has is way better than the technology. So I don't even think it's a really fair argument. I think they're both unbelievable. What they both have done for the league is so incredible. I just got to go with LeBron. I do agree with Ray Allen that he is definitely one of the best passers that we've had. And that is Michael Jordan's weakness, but Michael Jordan's average more points in season before. And even though LeBron has the highest score of all time, so you could go back and forth all day long. I just think when you look at them next to each other, the physicality of LeBron, the IQ of LeBron, the way he could do everything on the floor to me is LeBron. And how old are you Taylor? 35. All right, there's a cutoff. Okay. I didn't play. Jordan, I know I can't compare that to that. I played against LeBron a lot. And that was miserable. Yeah. Right. When listen, and when MJ played, you couldn't even double the post. And where did MJ make all of his money? You were stuck on an island with one of the deadliest bags of all time in basketball. He's going to have a lot of success in that area. And then on the flip side of it, you know, at one point in your life, if you had the pleasure of watching the NBA finals, when lose, whether he won or whether he lost for an entire decade, you had the pleasure of seeing LeBron James every single time match up against, you know, the other top players in the league. And so this debate is ongoing. It's never going to end. They all have unique individual stats that are never going to add up to each other. They're both great. But I think this is a generational conversation. I had the opportunity to compete against LeBron for 17 years. You know, he's my, he's my personal goat. This makes sense. By the way, this argument is my favorite not because I like having it because I know it will go on forever. And some people get so mad about it. And it's quite entertaining. What else can LeBron do to have MJ people say it's LeBron? You know what I mean? I think it's just a personality thing. I think it's a, he's not as likable as MJ was. It's nostalgic for MJ. Like LeBron's done everything possible. Right. So like, I don't know, especially after the last couple of seasons, especially after what he's doing this season at 39 years old, like what I want to know, what can he do to then get to switch over to LeBron as a goat? You know what I mean? Cause I don't know if that's, if there's, that's what I'm saying. Cause I think if you're going to have a change, you're not changing. I'm never going to change. But what else can he do to get your vote? Yeah. I'm a dog person. Never going to want cats. Boom done. Sorry. It's not changing. Michelle, I'll add to the argument. We're talking about what LeBron James is doing as a 39 year old. Remember where this story started? It started as a 14 year old kid on the cover of Sports Illustrator. You know, so here we are 25 years later, still talking about this guy with an expectation level of greatness. Like we're not saying if LeBron plays well tonight, just let's pat him on the back. It's like, no, you got to make the playoffs. You got to wield his team to wins. He's still the best player on that team. And they have championship aspirations to this day. No other player has had that type of pressure on them and dealt with it and got through it like LeBron James has. Not to mention, off the court, this guy's had a camera in his face since he was 15 years old and has not ever made a mistake, never been arrested, never filled a drug test. His resume is squeaky clean, which is almost just more impressive than what he's done on the court. Yeah, but remember what Michael would do off the court and still crush? Also impressive. Two different kinds of impressive. Imagine if there was TMS even after that guy was playing. Ooh, no, I don't think that would have been fun. I think what should happen is we should get a friend of the program. We should get Vince Carter on here and we should just debate this for an entire, we should just debate this for an hour and just get it all out. Will Vince pick a side or will he stay sort of neutral? Vince is going to pick a side. He's a UNC Tarheel at the end of the day. He's going to pick a side. And he's on the older side of this argument. And he's on the older side. Yeah, oldies for the win. Okay, but Chandler's leaving. Let's move on. What are you doing? I was about to deny this heated today. Oh, it's so heated. Atabayo said that Nikola Yolkic is the hardest player to defend in the NBA, Chandler. Do you agree? Oh, Yolkic. I read this as the kid on the heat. I read this as Jovic, like the kid on the heat. It's just funny. No. Wow. Glad we have a day off tomorrow. Yeah, for sure. For the reason, I was so confused. I thought he was talking about this dude. No, let's just take one second here and see what you guys said. What you think you thought you saw. Why would he say that? I thought he was moving up the young kid. How is that good in practice? He's the hardest guy to look on your face. I was like, what is he confused about? Oh, my notes here. He says no. Is he drunk? Because I thought he was saying Jovic. Wow. Anyways, yes. So yes. I did guarding like Steph Curry running off screens. I hated guarding Kevin Durant. He's so good at ISO. This guy is different. He can do a little bit of everything. He can post up. He can handle. He's in all sorts of actions, whether he's the one coming off a handoff. He's the one setting the screen. So, yeah, I do agree that he's just, because there's no solution besides double teaming. You just got to deny him, take the ball out of his hands. But also, I hated guarding KD. If KD is on an island one on one, he's so slippery, and so long and so skilled. I would really struggle. I'd rather guard Jovic in front of post and scream for the double team than be on an island guarding Kevin Durant. Yeah, I'd rather guard Jovic. I feel like I have a better shot than any of it. I'll guard Jovic right now. Me too. I'll give it a shot. Lou Skud Henderson said that the rookie of the year is up for grabs. He's got a shot. Is he crazy? Whoa, what? He tripping. Big-time scoop. Lock in, bro. Don't worry about that trophy. That thing long gone. I want you to focus on your development and continue to get better and better and keep bonding with your teammates so y'all can do something special in the future. In the meantime, that trophy is out the door. That thing got a FedEx sticker on its way to Oklahoma City, bro. Don't worry about that. It is not up in the air. He tripped. He needs different motivation because that's not the one. Chandler, Joel Embiid said that Wemby, speaking of rookies, needs to decide whether he wants to be Katie or him. Does it have to be just those two choices? No, I'm not rolling with this either. I think he's first always got time for whatever the organization coaching staff wants to develop, man. I think he's going to get stronger. I don't think he'll ever be a straight center. I don't think he's going to be a five man. He's more of a Kevin Durant, honest, get downhill once he bulks up a little bit. He doesn't have the frame to be a Joel Embiid, a shack. It's not in the cards for him. I would go the other way more with Kevin Durant and keep your skill set, keep your ISO game, keep your shooting ability. But the beauty is that he's so young. He's got plenty of time to figure that out. The organization, the spurs, pop, they have plenty of time to get him where it needs to be. But he's on the right path. It's a pretty good opportunity. The fact that he's got both these options is an unbelievable place to be in. Yeah, I could rebrand himself from year to year as his body changes. Lou, Doc Rivers says Anthony Davis is more of a Scotty Pippin. Do you agree? I'd have to agree. You know, until Anthony Davis gets to a point where he's demanding that basketball, he's saying publicly this is my basketball team. I'm the best player on this team and everything should be ran through me. He's going to have to be a Scotty Pippin like guy. But, you know, like we just mentioned, LeBron James is a force. When you have somebody like that in your locker room at no matter what age they are in their career, you're going to defer to that person. That's what it is. If Anthony Davis had Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, any of these top three guys that we look at of all time next to them, it's going to be hard for you to even utter the words that this is my basketball team. And so that's not a knock on Anthony Davis. That's just a product of what's going on in LA. And so I don't disagree with this. Okay, Chandler, I need you to listen carefully. I don't want there to be any confusion here. Mike Conley says that Rudy Gobert is their MVP this season. Yes. No. No, I think he's important. But I think if you take Rudy Gobert off that team, I think they still win a lot of games. You take Anthony Edwards off that team, they're fighting for a play-in spot. I think that's the difference in them. I think Anthony Edwards, the way he can play both sides of the ball, the way he can go and get you 40 on any given night. And I do love Rudy. It's finally working with the two big things. He is valuable defensively. You know, it looks like he's probably going to win another defensive play of the year. So his value is high, but not this team. This team goes as Anthony Edwards goes in my opinion. All right, fair enough. We got a game tonight. I was a little shocked this one was on national TV. I think it's on NBA TV, but it is Milwaukee and San Antonio. Look, it will be the first time we get to see Giannis and Wemby, because last time they played each other, it was a difficult situation. So, Chandler, I'll start with you. What are you looking forward to most in this one? I want to see Wemby get up to this. I want to see him be physical. I want to see him show toughness tonight. And on the flip side, I think Giannis goes right at him. Obviously, there's comparison. Giannis was comparisons of him and Kevin Durea. And I think obviously the biggest discrepancy is the physicality. I think that the Bucks will bounce back off of a tough win again, or tough loss to the Pacers last night. So, I like the Bucks in this game, but I think Wemby rises up for the challenge. I think he plays well, but Giannis is too much for him. Fair enough. It's his 20th birthday. Oh, to be 20 again, Lou. What has impressed you most about Wemby so far? Good times. I know good times. You know what? Good times. You know, he's just a unicorn. He's something that we've seen sample sizes in other players, but we've never seen it come to fruition like this. We've always imagined that a 6-3, I'm sorry, 7-3, 7-4 player would do the things that he's doing, and we've never actually seen it. And he goes out there and he gives us these cartoon-like plays every once in a while. I'm most impressed by that. And I'm most impressed by just how poised he carries himself and how mature he is for such a young guy. This next one, tread carefully. Chandler, how many do the Bucks win by tonight? How many do the Bucks win by tonight? Do we know the spread? Nine and a half. They'll cover that, but they won't win by... They'll win by 14 points tonight, Michelle. Wow. So there was almost science involved, Lou. Yeah. I got eight. Eight? No science behind my number. It popped in my head. That's what I'm rolling with. I like that. The other night they were supposed to lose by 12 and they lost by like nine, so I'm 100% in. I like it. I consider it a moral victory. We're going to take a quick break now when we come back, a little prop party. You can choose from the money line, point spread, and over, under, plus player points, props, or even how many threes a player will make. And best of all, you'll get your winnings as soon as the buzzer sounds perfect. Segway into our very own prop party, Chandler. Why don't you kick things off? What do you got? I love your kitsch to have a triple double tonight. I also like the nuggets covering the spread at minus three. I actually had it at minus three and a half, so I gained a half point there at the Warriors. I like that. That one seems doable, Lou. Not too complicated for me. I'm going to go Denver Money Line and I'm going to show love to my hometown hero, Calwell Pope, three made threes tonight. He's going to be big behind the art. Ooh, that's a nice one, plus 350. I'm overlapping a little bit with Lou here. I've got the nuggets, Money Line as well, and Steph, because he has to, over 27 and a half points. I don't like that. Makes sense. Steph goes over, but the Warriors lose. Right? It's fits with the trend that we've seen so far. There's logic. That's it for us on this Thursday. They've travels to everyone as we make our way back out to Los Angeles. Have a great weekend. See you on Monday. Happy birthday, dad.