 Dreymon Green says that if he had to choose between watching LeBron break Kareem's record or play in a game, he would choose watching history. Run it back starts now. Run it up, you run it back, you run it up, you run it back, you run it back, you run it back, you run it back. Well that's a heck of a statement to start the show on guys before I can get your comments, reactions. What have you? I'd like to introduce everyone, a man who's busier than most, especially this week's stadium insider, Shamsharaniya there who's probably going to jet off here any second now with breaking news. Chandler Parsons, Eddie G. We're all wearing the black. It's obviously a Tuesday morning. Does anybody have any reaction to what I just said out loud, Eddie? I'm just mad that the schedule didn't break that way and I really hope that he still needs a point for when they play the Warriors this Saturday and Dreymon just does the Ole and lets him go score. I hope we get there. That's amazing thought, isn't it? I don't get, I don't understand this Dreymon love affair thing, does any, Chandler have you ever loved another player as much as Dreymon loves LeBron? Listen, no, no, not at all. I know they're boys, I know they're with the same agency but no, I'm assuming he's just kind of saying that because the Warriors are not in a position for him just to miss games like this but yeah, I can't see that happening. So it's just, every day there's something come out of his mouth and it's kind of fascinating but we're not going to start with the Lakers and we're not going to start with LeBron. We will start with the other team in Los Angeles, the Clippers and the Nets. How about the Clippers? Cam Thomas with 47 points and somehow the Clippers overcome that, beating them 124-113, PG-29, Kawhi-24 and if you're keeping track as one does, Cam Thomas has 91 points in his last two games. Look, Brooklyn lost last night and there's chaos and we know all about that but Chandler, how optimistic are you for them, life after Kawhi? I mean, listen, they found something here and they've known Cam Thomas can score the ball. This is what he does. This is what he did at LSU. This is what he did last year when he got a chance to play and this is what he does. He's a professional bucket getter. The way they were guarding this dude last night, you would have thought he was a perennial all-star throwing double teams at him at half court and he'd still find a way to get to the basket and get shots out but hey, listen, they have something here with him and they're not going to be able to double team him like they were last night when KD is on the court and one of the guys are on the court. So, Sumner has given him something. I think Nick Claxton has become a legit, real, big, who's defensive mindset, who blocks shots. I can't help but think if Ben Simmons can just somehow start contributing, you know, they need him. They need him a lot. They need everybody on this team and they had no business winning this game last night so at the end of the day, it is a silver lining to see someone like Cam Thomas have these two games, to see Sumner kind of contribute and give them that quickness and transitions because they're going to need them now and they are getting some depth with Dodo and with Spencer and they're going to be a solid team. I just don't see them kind of being that contending team that they were with Kyrie as they are now but these are two really impressive games from Cam. Eddie, I want to ask you this. I know that they've said all the right things, right? Like, oh, we love Kyrie. He was a mentor, all these good things. But secretly, deep down, how much as a player do you think they are driven and motivated by the idea of showing the world? We don't need him. We can do this. I think the guys that came in the trade for sure are. I think a lot of the guys in the locker room echo Nick Claxton sentiments where Ky was a great teammate to them. Ky was a mentor. Ky has this kind of allure as a superstar that a lot of those guys do where guys are just happy to be around them and play with them and learn from him and see his habits. But yeah, of course, a guy asks out while you're a four seed and whatever personal situations he had with the owner and the organization, it's still like, yo, we really could have made a run at this. What's that about? I think games like last night and the previous game as well, they show that there is some depth on this bench. There is some scrappy young guys. Look, Camp Thomas was the first round pick and people thought he could go as high as 10 in that draft and the Nets were able to steal him late and he's been a bucket his entire career, his entire basketball playing life. And we're getting to see that now. He's had 22 points in the first quarter in the first half and he had more in the second half when they were doubling him and throwing Kawhi on him. That was an incredible performance. I like that Chandler mentioned Nick Claxton as well. He's 16 rebounds and 15 points and he's legit. If anybody had gained anything from this month of, first off the month of No KD and then the month of Chaos, it's the Claxton. He's had to open up his offense a little bit more and game in, game out. And he's shown flashes of what he can be for this team. And if I'm the Nets, I'm looking at him and that price tag we got him on and they got him for next year as well. And it's like, this guy has to be untouchable as they're still trying to tinker with this team because he's a fixture for them going forward. And this 47 was different, man. This was Kawhi Leonard. This was, you know, this was Paul George. This was Terence, man. This was a really good defensive team. This man had Nicholas Batum face guarding him 94 feet whenever he was in the game. So the fact that this young kid still has that ability, you know, and he was forcing a little bit and he was putting them up there at the end. But in the game like last night, this is a huge, huge, huge sight to see for the Nets that this kid, I don't think he's going to average 40 points but he is going to be bucket off the bench for them for a long time. I just love that it's another night in the league and another couple guys with 40 plus. It's just, oh, that's what we do now guys. On the other side, the Clippers four and two over their last six, all on the road, by the way, Sean. So I ask you, as we approach deadline quickly, here it comes, where do the Clippers stand? They're aggressive in the marketplace. And I think the position we saw last week, they pursued Kyrie Irving pretty hard. They made a pretty aggressive offer that included draft picks, pick swaps, young players like Terrence Mann, I'm told. So they went out there and they tried to get Kyrie Irving, they missed out on him. I would expect them to continue to be active to try to get a point guard for, you know, for Kauai Leonard and Paul George. They have Reggie Jackson playing limited minutes off the bench right now. Terrence Mann has manned that point guard position. So some names to watch, Mike Conley Jr., Kyle Lowry. Can they try to get one of those guys? And at that point, supplement having those two star players and having a lead guard that can really orchestrate the offense. Kyle Lowry? Yeah, you say Kyle Lowry, it's funny, because a guy like Kyle Lowry on the heat is struggling. We're saying he's boss, not the same player. You kind of mix it up and you put him in a new scenario with a new offense with those two guys with Paul George and Kauai Leonard. I can see a guy like Kyle Lowry kind of playing really good for this team and being a key factor, this team, because they need a point guard. They need someone to initiate the offense. They need their Malcolm Brogdon. They need their Jalen Brunson. They need someone to kind of slow everything down, get their guys to their spots. And I love the roster. We talk about how good they are defensively, how they can switch. ZooBots is an absolute monster. Norman Powell to me is running away with six million a year. They have the talent and they have the pieces. They really just need a point guard. So I love names like Mike Conley. I love Kyle Lowry. They don't need to be the Kyle Lowry of the back in the day. They just need someone solid that's smart that can get them in their spots. That would be, that'd be a nice move for Kyle Lowry. I feel like that would be like, oh, you're doing okay here. They're doing all right. The other half of the chaotic weekend that we just had, the Dallas Mavericks also in action last night, not a bad night for them as well. I think Kau sometimes is good for some. They were at Utah. How about this, Josh Green, Jaden Hardy, that's right. Each scored a career high 29 points leading the Lucalus Mavs over the Jazz, of course on the road. Chandler, look, can they expect more of this from their young guys moving forward? Again, same thing as Cam Thomas. Do I think they're gonna average 25, 30 points a game? No, but this is why Mark was comfortable to pull the trigger on these guys because they are high on Jaden Hardy. They really think he's got a chance. They think he has the most potential of anybody on their team. They think he's gonna be there for a really long time. Josh Green, same thing. When I talked to Mark, listen, he's gonna get those Dorian Finney Smith minutes. We know these guys can score. They are bucket getters. They can do it in a, you know, that's a great move right there. They move without the ball. They can, with the ball in their hands, they can get to the hoop, they can shoot. It's not about that for the Mavs. It is about defensively. It's about kind of getting Kyrie in the rotation, having him mesh with the guys, having Kyrie mentor these two young guys. So it's a combination of everything. We know they can score the ball. We know Luca is gonna demand the ball still, even with Kyrie. But this is a, again, this is a very promising sight to see that Josh Green can go get you 30. Jaden Hardy can score when Luca's out of the game. And it's Jaden Hardy and Kyrie. And then it's Josh and Luca. And they have interchangeable pieces to mix up their rotation with guys that can score the ball and guys that can shoot the ball. They just, I still think they need to add something on the defensive side and then they're right there. Eddie, you agree? Yeah, I mean, Josh Green is a guy I look at who makes $3 million a year. And I wonder if the Nets ever asked about him in that trade. That's the guy I would want back for Kyrie Irving. You know, Dorian Finney and Spencer Dinwiddie is great. But if I can steal this sniper who's still on his rookie deal, who's rookie extension eligible, I'm gonna need that too. But, you know, maybe that was in discussions, maybe it wasn't. But he's been a talent all year long. I actually watched him light up the Nets in Brooklyn this year and it was just masterful. It was great from Luca to just continue to find him looks. But it's dope to see him also get those looks with Luca off the floor with Spencer Dinwiddie off the floor and, you know, kind of be in the centerpiece of that offense. It's gonna be a dangerous team with offense. We're gonna see a lot of high scoring games from this team. It's about how many times they can get stops on the other side, like Chandler said. And with their personnel, they're a little limited and we'll see. Maybe there's a mover or two left for them to go get that wing defender they need to really run that defense. They run and hide Luca, because now they're gonna have to hide Kyrie a little bit as well. And, you know, they really, they really bend their defense a ton in order to keep Luca fresh on offense. And I don't know how much they're gonna be able to do that now without Finney and with Kyrie there as well. It's gonna be interesting, but they're right in the thick of it. And if you can win a title by scoring everybody, they're the roster that has a chance. If you could just out defense me, fans, we don't need that. That's not what we're about anymore. Jason Kidd, by the way, which I find to be an interesting part of all this that will now be in charge of coaching Kyrie Irving and sounded pretty optimistic about it. Here he is. We have a relationship. He's all about basketball. He wants to win and he wants to be coached. And this is, you know, a great opportunity for me to have someone like this to help to split my time between those two and the rest of the team. It's a great challenge and it should be fun. Look, I mean, I was with the Nets and J.K. was a point guard there and he had some moments that were very dramatic and roller coaster-like, although I don't know if they even compare to some of the stuff that we've seen lately, but Eddie, are you buying this? Are you buying that he is underneath all of this chill about what's about to happen? I think so and I think he's looking at it as talent. They needed talent on that roster and he wanted a dynamic score next to Luca. This is the coach that, you know, for as much of a line as Jason Kidd as as a coach in his Brooklyn tenure and then, by the way, his Bucks tenure ended. He's the guy who said, yo, Yannis is a point guard. We need to put the ball in his hands. He's the guy who has been hard on his point guards, demanded a lot, but also got a lot from them and he's one of the greatest point guards of all time. It'd be very interesting to see how he decides to mess the two, but he's familiar and he's familiar with the years he spent coaching LeBron as well with kind of dealing with that heliocentric part of that offense and ways to milk their other guys on the side. I'm interested to see what he does with them and, you know, I think there's only one Luca style, but they got to find a way to get the most out of Kyrie as well if they want to contend and I think they're going to. I actually think it's a really good pairing between player, player and coaches will. God, people seem so sure about this. Maybe I'm just a negative person, Chandler, but I don't necessarily think this is a slam dunk 100%. No, it's not 100%, but, and again, let's not forget. Gary Irving just played for another really good point in the guard and Steve Ness that just got fired. So listen, it's at the end of the day, I think it's worth the risk to go and get a talent like Kyrie Irving. He's a generation talent. He's 30 years old. There is still a lot of basketball to be played. And by the way, they have his bird rights so they can go and sign him for three to five years. If it works out, go get your bag, play well, make a run, mesh, lead these young guys, lead by example, he has the perfect opportunity right now where he doesn't have to be the best player. He's got an XMBA player coach that's so relatable. He's got guys like Nico who he knows from Nike. He's got Michael Finley. He's got Mark Cuban. He's got the coolest staff that you could ever assemble around him to be successful. So if this doesn't work out again, it's probably it for him. No team is gonna take a flyer if he now kind of is a negative addition to another team. Everyone's looking at Kyrie Irving. And so all eyes are on him. And this is his chance to kind of put all the drama behind him finally, which we always say, but go there and play basketball and win games in. And I think he has a lot of basketball to play left. Y'all are so cute. I just love the optimism and the idea that people change. This is a Dorbsies. Part of this show, Shom's final package in the trade included Mark Heath Morris, which I feel like he's not getting enough attention. We haven't even mentioned him. Where do we stand on how people are receiving that part of the trade? I mean, he was a part of the trade to make it a two for two. So he's part of it in that way. But listen, Mark Heath Morris, great veteran player. Him and Kyrie Irving toured the facility yesterday in Dallas. I'm told it was a great meeting for Kyrie Irving with Mark Cuban, with Nico Harrison. I think they all hit it off. I think they all feel very, very optimistic about this partnership and really Kyrie Irving's entry into a new organization, a new culture. It's a totally different dynamic with Mark Cuban as Chandler knows well. Just a really hands-on owner who treats all of his players, I think first and foremost as human beings and trying to relate with them on a daily basis. They're not always gonna agree on everything, I'm sure, as Mark Cuban and Chandler Parsons, I don't think agreed on everything, but I think at the end of the day try to see eye to eye on every single factor. And I think the biggest thing has been how does Luka Donchich feel about the trade of Kyrie Irving? From what I'm told it's been nothing but optimistic feelings and I think just positive vibes from Luka Donchich about the arrival of Kyrie Irving. I think Luka Donchich views Kyrie Irving as a guy that can shoulder a lot of the load, can decrease his minutes at times, decreases his pressure and burden to score and create a lot of the similar to the way that Jalen Brunson did last year for him. But like Jay Kitt said last night, no knock to Jalen Brunson, we're talking about Kyrie Irving. So I think overall there's a lot of optimistic vibes right now in Dallas. I mean, worst case, you get two good months, right? There you go, there's the silver lining. You've just seen a couple really great months in a row and make it work. All right, now we're gonna do it. Now we're gonna talk Lakers, because of course there's a record and impending breaking up a record. LeBron spoke to Michael Wilbonn on Monday, talked about why he wanted to reunite with Kyrie in LA, his disappointment in not being able to be done and how he's refocusing on what matters moving forward. I mean, he said it as though, okay, I'm already over it, I'm moving on. Chandler, do you believe him? Is he really over it? No, cause the trade deadline's not over. And listen, this wasn't a mandatory sit-down. Like, I'm not, this is this. No one asks him to do this interview. This is obviously he had some things to say and he wants to get his message across publicly. Yeah, he could just go to Rob Palinka's office. He just calls his best friend, Rich Paul, who basically runs the team and, you know, and hear him out. He wants it known. And listen, he's having an unbelievable season. He is getting no help in, but it's hard to feel that bad. When I know before the season started, he was in on those calls and he was approving all these deals. So it's, I'm kind of up in the air about it because I do sometimes somehow watch him and I'm like, man, I feel bad for this guy. He needs help. Man, they could just went and got Kyrie, but they didn't put Austin Reeves in. I'd be frustrated. I would be frustrated too if I was him. But at the same time, again, you don't assemble this team without going through LeBron. You don't sign the Lonnie Walkers. You don't sign, you don't bring these people in without getting approval from LeBron James. So it's almost like you made your bed and now sleep in it type of thing. But on the flip side, it's frustrating. And he is ballin', he's healthy and his team is not good and he wants them to upgrade and they had a chance to upgrade and they didn't. Listen, there's still guys out there that they could bring in. There's no Kyrie Irving out there. There's no one that I think is gonna make them a contender but there's still the Bogdanovitches of the world. There's still guys that they can add to let this team have a little hope and make a push. And I think once he breaks the record, I think that's gonna be kind of behind him. And then hopefully they have a couple of new additions and Rui Vans out. But yeah, man, he's pissed. And then like I said, no one made him do this interview. So this is him airing out what's on his mind instead of just going to Rob's office. Yeah, it was random, it was like in a hallway. Like let's just sit down real quick for five minutes and get this off my chest, Choms. I mean, that's it, right? It's a not so subtle nudge towards the front office as the deadline approaches. How much pressure are they feeling in there? I think there's definitely an amount of pressure because you wanna upgrade this team. You had an opportunity to go get Kyrie Irving that would have been in LeBron's eyes, as he said in the interview, a championship type of move, a move that brings you from contending for a play in playoff spot to competing for a championship. They were not able to pull that off. And I think when you look at the marketplace, what move is out there that can really take them to a championship position? Maybe a guy like Boyan Bogdanovich, maybe the Toronto players, as we've been discussing Pascal Siakimoji on a newbie, Fred Van Blee, Gary Trent, couple, you know, one or two players out of that for some mix. But clearly this is a team that needs shooting. They need some more wing depth on this team as well. So how do they find the shooting, the wing depth, the scoring that can add to this team to take it to the next level? That's the challenge that Rob Pollink is gonna have between today and Thursday. Ooh, I wish he would hurry up. I really don't have the attention span for this. Like I'm already over everything that happened over the weekend. I want more stuff to happen. Eddie, I want more stuff to happen. Do you? You don't seem as excited as I am. I love this story. Like I love that LeBron is openly lobbying against the acquisition he openly lobbied for previously. I love that there's an assistant coach who is tweeting eyes at LeBron's eyes to essentially say the same thing. And it's, I understand his frustration. The thing that I kind of look at and kind of side-eye a little bit is it's not like him and Kyrie ended amicably. Like Kyrie didn't question the trade off that team and LeBron at the time could have jumped in front of it and never did. And they had like a little thing for a while and Kyrie came on my show and said, yo, this is the first time I feel like another, my teammate can make the final shot too. And that was a thing. And that was a thing that LeBron didn't like and said publicly. And then Kyrie ended up having to walk back a little bit publicly and on and on and on. I do buy their chemistry on court. I do buy that stylistically, he's a much better fit for that team going forward than Russell Westbrook and maybe culturally and maybe relationship-wise and all that as well. But LeBron dug a little bit of this hole before he fell in it too. But it's just hilarious that he's so openly lobbying for him, so openly frustrated with the front office. And like Chandler said, this was an interview about breaking the record. He wasn't there to talk about Kyrie Irving. Yes, it's the biggest story, it's worse. But he definitely, by all means, could have just not answered it and they could have cut that water clip and moved on. But he wanted it to be heard. He wanted this to be known and he did what LeBron does. And will it work? Will they get them Fred Van Vlieter, whomever else is available? I don't know, but I understand the frustration because that trio going forward and all they lose is Max Christie, who barely plays and I think he's talented and he's promising. Russell Westbrook, who they clearly aren't enjoying playing with, that's a championship team. In this league right now and they're not gonna get that. So I understand the frustration, but hey, some of this is a little on you too LeBron, but don't tell them that, don't get me in trouble. I think that's fair. Look, I can see the romance in sort of wanting to rekindle an old relationship. I can also tell you from personal experience, it's not a good idea. I wouldn't do it, but you know what? Sometimes we do things that don't make sense. All right, we're gonna take a quick break here when we come back. The Bucks have won eight straight. Are they officially the beasts of the East? I know, I know what the standing say, but before all that, here's an extremely, extremely casual deep three from Dane Lillard. Oh, you're not gonna do anything? Sweet. That's cute. How's he so cool about a three from half? Oh my God. Welcome back to Run It Back. There were other games last night. How about the Warriors played a little OKC action, playtime, I love that we can just randomly get these vintage Clay Thompson nights and this was one of those 12 threes, 42 points, blowout win over OKC. So a night like this, knowing that you don't have Steph Curry for a while now, according to Shoms, what does it do for the team and their confidence, Chandler? Yeah, it's huge offensively. I'm sitting here watching this game and they're just trading baskets in the first quarter and they give up 37 points, which is never a good thing, especially to the Thunder, but this is, this is huge. This is why we don't worry about the Warriors. This is because they're capable of going, you know, having Clay Thompson go 12 or 3 and they do have the scoring with Jordan Poole. And it's funny, like Dremont Green saying, Jordan Poole is his best game. That's it's because he passed the ball and he was facilitating and he was becoming more of a playmaker and while Clay had it going. So it's good to see that he has that mindset that other guys got it going. I don't need to be the guy. He didn't take as many long, tough contested shots last night and he was kind of that point guard for them that had a lot of assists. So it was one of the better games he's had. Obviously he's had huge scoring nights, but I think all around this is what they're gonna need him to do in nights that Clay is off and nights that Wiggins isn't scoring. Yeah, Jordan Poole is capable of putting up 40, 50 point games, which that's what makes him so special and valuable that he can do both. He can lead a team and assist and points. He doesn't just need to be the scorer. So this was huge. And again, this is a team that they're supposed to beat. It's just another game on a Monday night that they should have handled and they did. So that's a good sign. And they're gonna need to do this a lot more often the next month with their best player out and showing signs like the way Jordan played last night is huge. And this is exactly who they need to be while they're gone. They need to be balanced. They need to get their shooters going. And this was a big win for them. I love, Clay even talked about the idea of staying in the game and chasing the threes, multiple more threes in one game. But then said, I don't wanna chase records that should happen organically, which I found to be a very interesting quote. Jordan Poole, if you're wondering in what channel we're talking about, scored 21, dished out 12 assists. And Draymond once again did have this reaction. So sorry. Draymond, what did you think of Jordan's facilitating? I thought that's the best game I've ever seen him play. Played a great, he ended with four turnovers. Three of them was this. Him understanding what was going on in the game and trying to get clay shots at the end of the game. So realistically have one turnover. And what, 13 assists or something like that. I thought he played an incredible game on both sides of the ball. I think Draymond's doing yoga or like meditation or I mean, something, right, Eddie? Cause we've come a long way since training camp. I mean, he's well aware of the perception of what happened and there is no perception. He punched his teammate and he said it a few weeks ago. You know, I punched my teammate. So now I can't be the guy I used to be before and holy guys accountable. I mean, I think he's right in a sense that it is nice to see Jordan Poole unlock this element of his play. And you know, I also think it's a little bit of a kind of backhanded swipe at Jordan Poole to let him know this is how you're supposed to play for us young fella. It's interesting and Draymond is absolutely walking on eggshells for this team and he's learning a new way to lead and all of that good stuff. But this is a great win. I mean, they needed this win bad and on the heels of everything that's going on. And there are gonna need a few wins while they wait for a step to come back in this month. And it's been a tumultuous season for them since that punch as it really slowed down since just a bunch of different issues. So everyone they can get is one that they need. And obviously there are much different team at home as well. But I'm wondering, Chandler, have you ever in your life shot 16 threes in a game, in any game? It was so normal that Clay shot 16 threes. That number is absurd. In any level of basketball, 16 threes. Let me tell you something, Eddie. I still hold an NBA record for 10 threes and a half. And I think that game I took 16 threes. But that was when I think I was like 0 for 5 in the first half and Mikhail told me to literally stop shooting. And I went 10, 11 in the second half. So listen to it, you have those type of games you get on those heaters. I was fully blacked out then. I could have shot like this and it would have went in. But listen, this is what they do. This is who they are. And I do think this is kind of a backhanded compliment to Jordan Poole. Like, yeah, it's your best game you ever played. You passed the ball. You were efficient. You didn't take bad shots. So I definitely, I do agree. It was a very good, efficient game that he had. But I also think the way he answered that this was more like do it more often. This is what we need. Not congrats, young fellow, on actually having a good game. You know what? I love about men is when you guys communicate so many secret hidden messages. There's always something else to it. It's just fun to try to figure out. Oh, sticking around on the Western Conference because things are a change in out in Phoenix Shams. What's the latest on new ownership? Yeah, so this is trade deadline week. And I think this is low key big news. Matt Ishvia has taken over ownership of the Suns. It was approved by the NBA's Board of Governors yesterday and by today it should be signed, sealed and delivered. So Matt Ishvia is taking over the Suns. They are gonna be aggressive on trade fronts this week up until that Thursday deadline. I think they're gonna, them and Toronto are the two teams to keep a very close eye on. But one thing that's interesting from this, it was a 29 to zero vote in favor of Matt Ishvia to take over the Suns. The one team that chose not to vote, the Cavaliers and Dan Gilbert, Dan Gilbert and Matt Ishvia, both mortgage lenders, billionaires, they have a big rivalry off the court, off of the NBA. Now it's gonna be brought into the NBA. So you have billionaire on billionaire, crime, rivalry, whatever you wanna call it that happened yesterday on this vote. Is there anything sexier than a mortgage lender rivalry? I ask you that. The answer is no. Shams, get out of here. I know you got stuff to go find out for everybody. We await your news throughout the rest of today. But you guys stick around because we're doing a little, you buying that? We've got some stuff. I'm so obsessed with the last one. But first up, Bucks winning their eight straight game last night, beat the Blazers. They lead the league and wins against above 500 teams. I like that stat, Chandler. Are you buying them as the best team in the East now? Yeah, right now I am. Like you just said, they're getting healthy. They've won eight straight. The Celtics have lost four of six. The Nets kind of don't know who they are yet till they get these two guys in the lineup. The only other team right now that's similar is Philly and they've somehow managed to keep blowing these big leads to bad teams. So yeah, right now I feel like the Bucks would be the safest pick. And this is basically without Chris Middleton being the Chris Middleton that we know. And this is, they have such a good defensive team. They have size, they have shooting. They have the championship DNA and they're peaking right now. And Eddie hit it on a couple of shows ago where we kind of sleep on Yannis and his odds to win this MVP are so high and he just keeps his head down. He puts up crazy numbers and they are winning a lot of games. So listen, it's the NBA. Things change every week. But right now, yeah, I would take the Bucks out of these. It's very look, he referenced Tim Duncan, right? Yannis did. I feel like that's a very Tim Duncan brand. Just sort of put your head down and go and nobody talks about you. Yeah, eight straight wins. This game last night was impressive as well. They really just took control in the third quarter and kept rolling from there. Yannis is rolling. Yannis came back off that minor knee injury and he's been absolutely absurd since then. He was averaging like 45 points last week. And as Middleton slowly works his way back. If they find a way to get one more wing, I know they've been in the talks for Jay Cratter since Jay Cratter's been available. Somebody along those lines that they can add to that rotation and continue to expand their versatility on offense and the amount of wings they can defend with on defense. I agree. I think they're the best team in the East right now. I know the Celtics are kind of off and on and they still have the best record, which is a testament to all they've done this season. But this team is rolling in there and at the perfect time, really, because they go on this all-star break, they do something at this trade deadline. They were the title favorites going in last year. And when Chris Middleton got hurt, they still were right there with everybody else. It still took seven games for Boston. They might be the best team in the league and the favorite for the championship as we sit here right now. It's all about getting hot at the right time. Next up, the only two teams with top 10 offense and defense are quite obviously Oklahoma City and Denver. We've discussed Denver's defensive struggles. That has been a topic for sure. Eddie, are you buying, though, that their defense is good enough? No. I mean, I'm going to keep saying it until they show me. And I think it's just a matter of functionality. Look, Aaron Gordon and Cantevis Call of Hope have been incredible on defense and they represent two very different types of defense archetypes where KCP is chasing around point guards and ball handlers and Aaron Gordon is kind of filling in every other gap on top of that. But I'll just always believe they're going to continue to get exploited in the pick and roll. And I don't know that you can win a championship in the modern NBA playing drop coverage. You look even at that Celtics team, they tried it a little bit and they eventually had to have their big guys jumping out because, yeah, you can't just let Steph and Curry come off a screen and shoot threes. You can't let these modern guys do that. And that's going to be the nuggets issue until they win, until they just out overpower that. And, you know, it's a testament to Jokic and all he's done on offense and to, like I said, Aaron Gordon on defense and all they've done there and Mike Malone helping to plug those holes that they're top 10 in both. But I still don't see a championship defense. I'm sorry, numbers are great. But when I watch basketball, I see what I see. Look, it's that team that everybody's just waiting to see if and when they can do it. Next up, my favorite. I feel blessed that I was able to see this man in a Sixers uniform for the final 38 seconds of their game against the Spurs on Friday because we may not see it again. 76ers reserve guard, Berkan Korkmaz, is demanding a trade according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Now, he's on pace to play the fewest amount of games since his rookie season. Chandler, bench players demanding trades. Are you buying that? I mean, I'm buying it because he did it. I don't know if anybody's listening. I don't know if it's going to happen. Maybe if they're going to make a move anyways. Sure, do they want to disgruntle the employee going there every day? No, but I mean, I feel him. He's had some big games that he can play. He can shoot the ball. He thinks he should be getting more minutes, but they're clearly going in a different direction. But yeah, he can demand all he wants. I just don't know if it's going to happen. If it does, I think obviously he's, I don't think the phones are ringing off the hook for guys, for team calling about this guy. But if there's a situation where they can throw him in a package and get someone that they're actually going to use more than him, sure, why not? I mean, listen, he's already not playing. Why not piss them? Why not say this and let them know publicly LeBron style that you're not happy. So I feel him. He's a hooper and he's not playing. But yeah, I just don't know if anyone's answering that call. Is anyone answering that call, Eddie? Is anyone answering the call? Baby, for a second round, conditional pick or something. I just love that Beto confused me. I have the run sheet. I knew what we were about to talk about. And I'm like, yo, what's Sixer's great? Play 20 seconds the other day. I'm like, get Allen Iverson. You just give it one more run. Like I was very confused. Great job, Michelle. But yeah, trade them, I guess, whatever. Trade him, I guess. You know what, though? We talk about player empowerment. It should include all players. We cannot have a class system. We're making a joke. The Lakers could use this guy right now. He makes shots. Yes, they could. Plus I think saying his name is fun. Yeah, I would like to see it happen just because this just opens up a whole brand new ballgame. Just everybody's demanding trades. And why not? If you don't like where you work, you shouldn't work there anymore. We're going to take a quick break here. When we come back, something near and dear to my heart, obviously as a fashionista, it's fashion time. When we run it back, returns. You see how he arrived today. Oh, wow. That is wow. Oh, please. Oh, man. I'm going to need someone to directly become that. Useless in that pink sweater, though. That right there, that is amazing. Is that like a built-in scarf? You see how he arrived today? Go ahead. The stones to wear this in a game, you knew you weren't going to play in. Like, I don't know the stones TV appropriate, but like, I knew he wasn't playing any war that anyway. Like, incredible. It's high fashion. He has a future in fashion. He needs to, he might need to go do it. He might have more money there. What? They said Giselle has more money than Tom Brady. Maybe Kuz needs to try that. That's insane. I don't know what brand is that, Chandler. You got one of those? Yeah, Chandler. No, listen, this is ridiculous. And I'm all about being swaggy. I'm all about being swaggy, having a vibe, doing you. But God damn. I love it so much. You know what? It reminds me of it. It's like Montclair when Montclair did the high fashion and they went like nuts and it was everywhere. I don't think it is, but it's that kind of vibe. Like, who wears that? He didn't play in this game either, Eddie. No. He did not play in this game. And they lost, by the way. I like how he's doing his catwalk too. Like he's not just like, a lot of guys are just like head down trying to get to the locker room. Kuz did like a, you know, he did like a little zigzag. He was making his faces. Like he did his Zoolander. And they, when you wear that, I guess you got to. But goodness. He takes a model, right? Like this is all very sort of on brand. I, my only question is, does he have any desire to design? Because if he's designing things also, then we really have a future in fashion for him. And I'm excited for it. That's amazing. This is a, this is a finable offense, honestly. Oh, I love it. I love it so much. All right. There's more. I mean, I, you know, he might, he might have stolen the show. We will see because we've got James Harden joining us on the fashion catwalk next. Let's see. It's fine. I just saw that coat yesterday here in Chicago. I mean, anything after Kuz is going to be more subtle. So subtle. Yeah. And he's doing the mile long walk up the garden. Like, whoo, you know, that they can't dress that tunnel up a little bit like we can't get into modern NBA fashion catwalk a little bit. By the way, I'm sick of Rick Owens and I just looked in the Kyle Kuzma jacket, vest, whatever it was. $3,600. 30 sell, you know what? That's kind of a bargain. I would have gone higher. Interesting. If I got to. Yes, clack, clack, clack, clack. I love that. That's the perfect shade of pink. This is like a sheer top, by the way. Oh, it is fabulous. Yeah. If you zoom in a little bit, you can kind of see that this is like Dennis Robin top. Yeah, this is very, very, very dainty. Dainty? How does this dainty? His body is this makes him look super dainty. He looks like a model. This is the thing about being a professional athlete. You can do whatever you want. OK. All right, Jalen Williams with a little joke. Is it Joker, right? Yeah. Red pant. OK. Is it kiss? Is it kiss? Is it kiss? I think it's I think it's sting from wrestling. Oh, it is. Is it? God, we are the worst. This is why we're not cool. Yeah, the fact that we don't know. I think you're right. I think it's saying. You really can't be a red and black color combination, by the way. But yeah, good job. I guess this is better than coos. Is that the bar now? Yes. I mean, yes, again, with the baggy is in. Like I like the pants. I like I like to kind of dress it up with the jacket here. I don't I don't mind. I mean, listen, after what you're showing me, I don't mind this at all. This is like jacket. This is pedestrian, quite frankly. I hate straight out of 2004. I hate that these dudes are like they're making me a hater. And I don't want to be. I don't. But then they were like this. I can't. I have to stop it. Just stop it. Stop fighting. Just fight your inner curmudgeon and embrace what this is. I will say this fashion football because I commit them all the time. You don't ever want to go baggy baggy on top, baggy on bottom because then you just sort of swim in it. Am I right? Yeah, I am. I'm definitely right. Maybe like a little crop jacket next time or something like that. I don't know what we're doing here. OK, let's just get out of the fashion and talk the songs because good news, ladies and gentlemen. Seven Booker expected to return against the Nets tonight. He, of course, has missed 21 games. He could not come back sooner. They're 29, 26, fifth in the West, eight and two over their last 10. It's a bit of a bright light there. And remember, during all of this, CP3 was reportedly offered as part of a trade proposition to the Nets. So we know CP3. We know his vibe, I think, a little bit, Shailor. Do you expect there to be some lingering animosity on his part? I don't think so. At this point in his career, he knows what it is. He knows the business. He knows if he was in the front office, he would trade himself for Kyrie Irving, who's, you know, six years younger. I don't think there's any animosity here. I think on the other side, they're stoked to get Devon Booker back. They're right there in the fifth seed, couple games out of the three seed. The fact that they've gone eight and two last 10 games without him is super impressive. And Mikhail Bridges has been unbelievable to get Cam Johnson back. This team, listen, we kind of wrote this team off when they went on that big losing streak in the stint. But this team is right there. And they have all the pieces. They have their best player coming back. And the fact that they were able to stay afloat and stay right in the thick of things without him is huge. And these other guys got valuable reps. They were playing guys that didn't get the normal minutes. And listen, is Chris Paul maybe a little butthurt that they thought about trading him? But maybe he's, but I don't think it's going to be an issue. And I just think he's stoked to kind of finish this season out with their best player back. You're crazy if you think he's not mad. You are crazy. And is he salty? I don't think he's like mad where he's going to like sit out games, but like sit out. But like, I remember, I'll remember. Yeah, maybe. I mean, he had a great quote last night, essentially saying, yo, he's used to it. He's been traded before. He did the story of when he got traded from the Rockets. It was like, you know, zero notice. He's a vet. He's been here before. He's got a contract that is outrageous. And he's probably just trying to play it out. But I think he's mature. He understands. And at the end of the day, he's still there. He's been playing great ball the last month. And they're on the upswing. And this is a team we recently were talking about. Like, yo, it's over. They got to blow it up. They look awful without book. And now book's back. Of course, Devin Booker would come back against the Nets. Of course. But look, they're a dangerous team. And if they hold intact or what they have, and then maybe they get something for Jay Crowder, they got a playoff-ready team. They got a team we've seen had success in the playoffs. And guys who get it done in big games. So they're dangerous. I mean, we keep talking about the West Andes and how jumbled it is. And they're right there. And they get the right matchups. Look, Chandler, we get the Kings and Sons round one. Are we just absolutely banging the Kings button? Like, no, we're looking at the Suns. And they still home court. They could absolutely win this series. So they're right there. They're dangerous. And they're rolling. Most like the books. They're rolling at the perfect time. And now they get their best player back. They're only going to get better today. I swear if Jay Crowder doesn't move, I'm breaking something. Facts, just write it down. I swear after all of this. Also, the Kings feel good story. They have two good players. But I think right now I would take the Suns in a series against them. Give me Devin. I'll take that. Johnson, a 6-3 seed. I don't even care that the Kings would have home court advantage. I would take the Suns right now. And listen, the Kings have had a great year. They've done a special. The NBA is awesome and happy for them being the playoffs. I hope to make noise. I just think the Suns would be a tough matchup for them in the first round. I hope this happens. And I will take your money on that bet because that would be fun. All right, we made it to the 49 minute mark to discuss the record. Are you ready? LeBron James, here we go. 36 points away from breaking that record. Lakers facing the Thunder tonight at home. The over under 35 and a half points tonight for LeBron. Chandler. Thunder. I think, listen, it's the Lakers Thunder. I don't think as many people will be watching as the next game against LeBron against Giannis. It's, I think it's a bigger game. It's a bigger stage. It's LeBron against the new best player in the NBA. Listen, I think he's going to be gunning for. I think he's going to, I wouldn't be surprised if he got 35 and stopped. And then they had a whole ceremony against the Bucks Thursday when he does it, when he actually breaks it. So I look for him to score a lot and to be aggressive. But I don't think he does it tonight. I think he's saving it for the bigger game, prime time on Thursday against Giannis. I feel like all these games are prime time because every outlet in the world is trying to carry them in some capacity or another. Like C-Span will probably have something on it, Eddie. But you think yes, yes to this or no? Yeah, look, as somebody who bought a $92,000 seat to the game, yeah, I'd love it for running back. I'd love the first segment tomorrow to be 20 minutes of this record for Michelle Beatles' sake. But I think it is. I mean, it's right there for him. He loves theatrics. But Chandler has me wavering a little bit. Like what would be more dramatic than 35 tonight? And then the Bucks game starts with him scoring and getting the record. So I'm wavering a little bit. But I think he goes over tonight. Why waste the opportunity? And they're finally back home. Like let's get it done. And let's have a nice long A-block tomorrow to Michelle Chagrin. Honestly, this feels like the longest ripping off of a band aid in the history of humanity for the love of God. Michelle, you think he does it tonight? Honestly, I could not possibly care less. But what I do care about is making America some money. So we're going to take a quick break when we come back. Oh, man. Well, we'll just pretend we didn't have one yesterday, but we will give you a new parlay. Bet on it. I'm going to run it back, returns. I don't do this very often, but I am going to, with heartfelt apologies right now, because I beg to be a part of these parlays at the beginning of the season. I started out hotter than fire, got cocky, and now I suck. So I apologize to my two friends here and everyone who's listened to us at all. But you guys have crushed. How does it feel to be winners? It's a rare feeling. It's more about you losing than it is about me winning. Because not only did they not cover, they got smoke. They really did. This is a bigger win for me and Eddie that we got it right. You got it wrong than the actual parlay. You know what? And I thought nine and a half's a lot, but I thought, wow, this will be a real ballsy move. It just works and it didn't, so you know what? You didn't see, you didn't picture J.B. Hardy having 29. No, it's the same way I didn't picture Andre Drummond being the star of a game last night, but here we are, America. OK, but I'm just going to have short term memory. We're going to try again. I'm going to try again anyways. You guys are fine. So Eduardo, what do you have for us tonight? I'm betting on the Lakers. I'm sorry. I'm buying into the story. I'm going Lakers. I'm taking their even with the spread. I think, look, honestly, the Thunder coming the second night of back to back and they travel not the longest flight ever, but it matters. So I'm going Lakers. I just think, look, let's just give LeBron his night. God, I mean, oh, because you want to get it over with? Yeah, that makes sense. I can totally see that. Just get it. But I want Oklahoma City to have pride and like, because you don't want to be that team. Now you're part of this history, right, Chandler? Like, don't be that team. All right, what do you got? Yeah, and they said they have defensive guys to stop him down. I just thought that was nice. Why are you laughing? Which makes me now think he's going to go over. But Phoenix, Phoenix, I'm not sure. I think I just panicked here and wanted to be right again. So bad I took money line, but I think they're going to beat the breaks off the nets. I think you can go money line or you can go Phoenix minus five and a half or whatever it is. They get their best player back. The nets played last night. Those two guys, I don't think Cam Thomas is. Mayanna, who knows? Maybe he puts up 60 tonight now. They're at the route he's on. I love the Phoenix sons tonight getting Devon Booker back. I don't know. I do too. But I feel like sometimes when the return of a big superstar, it's like a weird night sometimes. Like, he just has a weird energy to it. He hasn't stopped there yet. But he'd also go six for 24 tonight. And yeah, who knows? I don't know. That's the beauty of it because we don't know. Yeah. All right. I'm going on Nick's at Orlando minus one and a half. If you would have told me before the season started that I would have interest in a Nick's magic game, I would have been like, you're insane. But I actually do. I find this to be an interesting match. Right. Like I feel like this is a good one. One and a half points. Like that's nothing she says as she goes 0 for 100. But that is my leg there. So here you go. 20 bucks. Windy, like 85. I mean, that's something I'm so defeated. You do? I like our odds here. I like our odds. Chandler's a little too confident for me. But I like his reasoning. I'm for it. I think that's the person's way. That's it for us. Peace out. See you, Mianna. I honestly think the only thing I'm going to hit is Eddie's. I think that I think that.