 Oh my goodness, it's Wednesday morning, which is a Friday for us, although Chandler lives in a constant state of Fridays, which is my favorite thing about Chandler. I will say this, yesterday we started the show with the pen, you held it for the entire hour and you're starting again with it today. Yeah, of course. Did you write anything now? Not one thing yet. Perfect. This is how I know it's going to be. It's got to be close though. Something comes to my mind. You're a professional. This is run it back, if you haven't figured it out. Shamsuraniya, Michelle Beatle, Chandler Parsons, Eddie G on the end there. And we start with Timberwolves. You had this one. You guys went to the game, right? Couple of you guys went to the game. Amazing game to be at. I mean, it was sloppy at times, but it was a fun game. It looked like the crowd was in on it, but yeah, Wolves big at the half. Lakers came back. They tied things up with a minute left to go. Then a shooter with the go ahead three with 1.4 and then what AD with a foul at the three on Mike Conley. Let's just start there. Surely we're all good with that, Cal, right? That was a foul. Yeah, a hundred percent. And that's just obviously it's fun in games now and he's apologizing to Schroeder after the game that I blew his game winner, but you can't do this. And this could have cost them this game, this could have cost them their season. And by the way, there's probably 20 guys in the NBA that can go to the free throw line right there and make all three of those like Mike Conley did. First one short. First one was. Man. It's way in. That was, that was, this is, this, I love the play in too. I love the play. Yeah, it's fun. And it makes it so special. This game is kind of got a March madness feel, but AD really, really messed up here. First of all, he messed up the switch on top and then he literally doesn't let Conley land and this literally could have been their season. So it obviously didn't work out that way. But yeah, this was a, this was a brain fart as the bronze. Brain fart's a good way to look at it. It's a good call by you about him missing the switch to before the play. I mean, I don't know if they showed on TV, but he was screaming at everybody. Like he wasn't sure exactly how they were covering that. And look, everybody runs that action down into the weak side corner off the inbound from the other side of the court. So he kind of knew and he reacted just a little bit late. And you know, I just said at the game, like, I think it's a flagrant. Like I don't, it wouldn't have made a difference. They could have zazzled him right there. It wouldn't have made a difference with point one, but I thought it was a flagrant. They'd get the ball again. But look, shout to Mike Conley. Like you said, making those shots. That first one. It was a little sketchy and they knocked it down, but tough way to, tough way to lose a win you had in your hands. Being at the game, the Lakers sloppiness down the stretch definitely, I mean, it was evident. They had a chance. I mean, Minnesota gave them the game over and over and the Lakers had 20 turnovers on the night. And when you look into the series against Memphis, if they're going to have 20 turnovers, they're not going to, that series is not going to last long. The Timberholds, it's interesting shot 12 free throws in the first half. Three free throws in the second half, all on Mike Conley's three point foul shot. So, you know, the whistle, you know, they weren't as aggressive as the first half. And the Wolves is a team, seven points in the final 11 minutes of the game, including overtime. So they, they went cold. Anthony Edwards went, you know, clearly he had an off night. So we'll see how Minnesota brings it with Rudy Gobert back in the line up on Friday. Yeah. And it's tough. Anthony Edwards, it's hard to win when you're a star player. It was that inefficient from the field, but me and Eddie, we're talking to, the way he defends and the way he plays, like, I almost give him a, not a pass, but like, he's still competing. He's still playing within the offense. He's still giving effort on both ends. And so someone like this, he's going to fix it on the next game. This is just devastating because they were up the entire game here, right? And they just look like they ran out of gas. And I hate when teams play to win for 46 minutes and they get a lead. And then they just watch the clock. And if you watch the end of this game, their offense completely changed. They got really stagnant. They held the ball. They let the clock just die and the Lakers forced their hand and made them turn the ball over and then got out and transitioned. So they stopped doing what got them the lead in the first place. And that really cost them a game along with towns having one of the worst fifth fouls I've ever seen in a play-in game. I want to, I want to do what a few people do and have done this season. I want to give Darvin Ham some credit. They completely switched up their coverages in the second half on Kat. Obviously the fouls hurt. But yes, he kept Jared Vanderbilt on Anthony Edwards the entire game and helped on his left hand the entire game and just would not let him get in rhythm. But they went to switching everything from switching everything on towns to helping on everything in towns. And he was dominating smaller players in the first half. He dominated it. I couldn't believe that Darvin Ham, he started the second quarter with a lineup with no center. I think it was a Bronnet center. Jared Vanderbilt was out there as well. And Kat just dominated. He got guards on him. He was driving. He was taking threes over guards. Second half completely changed the way they guarded him. AD took the assignment. Other guys were helping. And like Chandler said, that timbre was offense just went completely inept and just stagnant all around. Used a lot of Michael Connelly dribbling at the top of the key, waiting for these guys to come off curls. And Lakers just switched everything and they executed perfectly. That lineup they closed the game with over time and there was a long stretch. They played LeBron, AD, Vanderbilt, Rui and Dennis Schroeder who obviously hit the big shot. That's going to be their defensive lineup going forward. That's going to be the lineup they feel that they can clamp teams with. 12 points in the fourth quarter and three of them were those free throws. Like Sam said, just seven points over the last final 11 minutes. That's what makes the Lakers scary is that they defend. They had all the sloppiness that we mentioned. But when they can sit down on a team like that, that makes you competitive against everybody. So here's the question, right? Because we all know Minnesota is missing three big pieces. This was a close game. Lakers were down as much as 15 at some point in this one. So today, while it was a great win and the building was very, very much alive, it took a lot. It took overtime for them to pull this one out. Is it a good sign that they were able to do that or is a bad sign that it was this close? I mean, I think a little bit of both. I think if they play like this where even the guys on TNT before the game, they're talking, you know, they should win by 30. This should be a statement game. Everybody's taking the Lakers to win this game. And they came out like that. They came out flat. And they came out like this team was short-handed and that they could just go on the floor and Talbot's going to overtake and they're going to win this game. It's not going to be like that going forward. And if they play like this against the Memphis Grizzlies, it's going to be ugly for them. So it showed a lot of heart. It showed that they could fight and they never gave up. Even when Timberwolves, they got it down to like four or six and they'd go to 11 and 12 and they'd go in these runs. The Lakers stuck with it. They defended. They forced them to turn the ball over. But yeah, they can't play like this moving forward because this was a great win. They got the seven seed, but now it's on to a bigger and better team. And they can't afford droughts like this and starts like this. Yeah, I mean, this was the consummate playing game. And credit to Adam Silver. Maybe the tournament in the midseason will work because the play-in works. You don't get the greatest basketball game of all time. There's a little sloppiness, but you get this tension. You get this competitiveness. And the Lakers seem to struggle a little bit with it as it's crazy as it sounds. In the first half, they only shot 3-13 from three. They could not knock down a jumper besides LeBron, ironically, and obviously AD. And in the second half, they picked up their defense. These games just matter. They're a perfect appetizer to the playoffs. And the Lakers just seem more seasoned at the end of the day. They locked in what it mattered most. And it sounds so cliche, but they were just so much better down the stretch. It was the difference of the game. And like I said, I love the play-in. It's the perfect tease right before the real playoffs. And it was fun. That was fun. I just have to say, I've seen LeBron James play twice in the last five days. The level he's playing at at 38, got to give the flowers. I mean, last night, 30, 10, and 6. So shout out LeBron James for the way he's playing. You know what, Shams, I'm glad. Because nobody compliments at all. So I feel like it's going to happen. I haven't seen him play live in a while. Well, actually, I saw him in Chicago. Oh, that's right. It's been a while in LA, Staple Center VOD, or crypto.com. Whatever. Or different. But no, I mean, what he did last night, when they were struggling, AD, I've said, when he's dominant, when he has 30 points or more, last night, he got close. This Lakers team is tough. But he was struggling most of the first three quarters. And for LeBron James, I think to keep the team alive gave AD a chance to contribute down the stretch. Would it have mattered if Gobert had been there? And side note, secretly, was Rudy rooting for a winner or a loss? Let's say. It definitely, he would have made a difference. It definitely would have. They needed him last night. And especially that Townes is in foul trouble. And the game shifted when Townes went to the bench with that fifth foul. And as much as we want to hate on Rudy Gobert, his value is on the defensive end and his size. And he can guard Anthony Davis. So this was a huge hole. And I would assume he feels guilty. I would assume he feels like our team is the seventh seed. And now we're going to play the Memphis Grisly's, who we think we can beat in a series. To now, he better have a big game coming up. Because if not, they could be in Cabo next weekend with me. Because their season could be over. And they might not even make the playoff. I think when you're out and your team loses, I think selfishly you do have a little part of you. Now you guys know I'm with you. If you have any jerk in you at all, which we all do. Which we all do. But also, if you have any respect and integrity, you're like, man, I really could have just blown this for my team. I mean, the game started with a series of offense and rebounds for the Lakers. Very first pedestrian game, three offense rebounds. It was a bad omen. The Lakers had four times as many offense and rebounds as the Timberwolves. They out-rebounded them in general. And yeah, they needed him. If nothing else, they needed a body to put out there that they trusted in the minutes. We were talking earlier, there was a stretch at the end of the third quarter, no Anthony Edwards, no Carthagny Towns in the court. And it just looked like a mess. And they never recovered from that. Obviously, then Cat gets his fifth foul earlier in the fourth quarter. But they needed that body. They needed somebody they could trust out there. And they're going to need them on Friday as well. Same for McDaniel, like we were talking about. Oh, my goodness. It was Noelle McLaughlin, Knight, and like Princeton Anderson were the five on the floor in a play-in game. Claw? I mean, that's tough. The fact that they were even in this game, respect. But now this game's over with, and now they literally have to win a game or they're done. Yeah, how confident are we on that, by the way? Very, not very. They've been through a lot. I mean, we'll see how the Pelicans have a chance for sure to beat Minnesota. I don't know about OKC, but OKC's tough with Shay Gildes. But yeah, I mean, this team, they needed Rudy Gobert last night. They're down Nass read. They're down Jane McDaniels. Like you know what I'm saying, for them to even be in the game and should have won the game potentially, it's a kudos to them. They play hard. And when you talk to people around the Timberwolves, they have to play with a different level of urgency when one of those guys out of the lineup and you could argue they might even more dynamic offensively without Rudy Gobert in the lineup, although Anthony Edwards started last night. I love when tiny refs get in the middle of moments like that. What's the plan here? Look, towards the end of yesterday when we were talking about the Lakers, we basically just told Dylan Brooks and John Morant, whatever you do, say nothing. Speak of this game, not at all. Just wait to see who you're gonna play in the first round. And sure as the sun came up, Dylan Brooks went ahead and opened his big fat mouth. And basically said I wouldn't mind facing LeBron. Not just the Lakers. He specifically said LeBron James, the one guy on this team, you probably shouldn't poke the bear. We need to see that matchup. Yeah, that's it. Dylan Brooks has to be guarding him. He wants to knock him out. No bears, I'm sure. So I ask you this, how we feeling about this now? This stage in LeBron's career, I don't think he needs any extra fuel to our fire. LeBron James, man who remembers everything that's said about him 20 years later. Look at this. Come on. But yeah, this isn't smart. I remember Kevin McKill told me, you never want to give, never want to give a killer a gun. And he just gave LeBron James even more ammo that he didn't even need, but that he's gonna take. And you watch the matchups in the past, he's gotten into it with Bane and he's gotten into it with the Grizzlies. So this is gonna be an exciting series. But don't look now, the Lakers have a chance, Michelle. No, I'm looking. They have a chance. Staring right at it. I hate it and it makes my heart hurt. You feel, how do you feel about, I mean, Dylan Brooks, like could you be more predictable? Look, he said this about Kyrie like a month ago and then he asked for Kyrie's jersey and then Kyrie didn't want his jersey. Maybe humble yourself this much. I know it's the playoffs, but just like Chandler said, we've seen this movie before. We've seen Dishon Stephens and Aegon. We've seen all these, we've seen Nazi Muhammad, Aegon LeBron and they all have losing. So, and that's the problem for the Grizzlies. They can very well lose this series. They can lose game one. And yeah, this quote's gonna be all over the place. LeBron's gonna play Kyrie, but you know, I remember them asking LeBron, yo, Clay said you were sensitive or whatever he called him and Ron laughed and then he didn't lose a playoff game. But he is sensitive though. That's the irony. And is Shannon Sharp courtside? Yeah, is he going on the road? Well, they fly him on the team playing. I put him on the bench. You know how they have the seats right next to the bench? Give me one of those. He has to go with that card again. This is my one question, Chandler. Like when you have a guy like a Dylan Brooks that is just constantly talking, is he telling the team, hey, I'm about to shoot my mouth off again this morning. I just wanna give you guys a heads up. No way. Or he's just doing it and then they deal. He's just doing it. And this is who he's become. And it's funny, I was telling Eddie yesterday that I had him as a rookie in Memphis. This wasn't him. He was a nice, sweet Canadian dude. Yeah, he was a sweet boy. He's a sweet man. And to his credit, he's developed this toughness, this edge, this grit. And he's owning it. Again, we're talking about him again. Oh, God yeah. So it's crazy, but he's not a bad dude. He's just kind of in this, he's in this character now where I don't think he's stopping anytime soon. I love it. I actually love it. I just hope it doesn't backfire and it might very well do that. There was another game, Hawks Heat. I think we all had predictions on what we thought this game was gonna look like and I don't know that any of us were close. No. Atlanta led this one by as many as 24 points at one point. They ended up winning by 11. There was only one lead change in the entire thing. Trey Young, Trey Young to his credit came out with 25 points. The whole day was sort of spent talking about what is his future in Atlanta. What does it look like? There was an article sort of questioning his leadership and that he's now been given the green light, the team to put him on a trade block if necessary. So as far as wins go, how impressive Eddie was this one? Oh, it was a great win. And the fact that it was essentially wire to wire, they just showed up ready to go. They showed up ready to get into the playoffs. It's crazy. It's not like they knocked down a ton of threes. It's not like, you know, they won the rebounding battle. They almost shouldn't have won this game, but they came prepared, the heat can't make a shot. Like the heat, they're one of the worst offensive teams in the league and that's just where they are with it. Had it not been for Kyle Lowry, the greatest game he's had is in Miami Heat maybe. This is like a 40 point loss. This is a drubbing and it already was anyway. So very impressive by Atlanta. You know, good luck with the Celtics. You're probably going home in four, but that was impressive. It's true because when I see this matchup, I think the heats a better team and I think they're tougher and they have more vets and they have better star power and they just, they played so slow last night and they can't score. They couldn't even get bam the ball and the Hawks brought in the fight to them last night. I think all the talk about how they've maintained Trey Young, they were physical with him. Trey Young did a really good job last night, getting off the ball and he set up to the game. Coach Quinn told me to play faster. He played faster last night while doing less, which I think is huge for him because he didn't force things and transition, he kicked it ahead. He still got to his floater. He still made some crazy step back threes and he played very, very well, but it was their bench. Their bench was great. The Hongwu was great. Sadiq Bae was great. They had a collective effort where they had a bunch of guys contribute and this is another team where like, they could get hot like they did a couple years ago and make a run or they could get swept. It's kind of inconsistency of the Atlanta Hawks, but this is a big game for Trey Young and I'm happy for him that he kind of silenced the critics for now. Yeah, and the thing is the timing of the story coming out about the team open now to possibly trading Trey Young. It was weird timing given that they had this game yesterday and we sort of wanted to see what Trey Young would do. What's the pressure for him like right now? Yeah, I mean, when you look at the way he played last night, I mean, when you look at him, his talent and what he does on the floor, outstanding player, 25 points, eight rebounds, seven assists. And the biggest question for the Hawks was when they bring in Quinn Snyder, what was that relationship gonna be like? And from everything I've been told, their rapport, their relationship has been solid. I think there's a level of genuine respect, but there's one thing that's for sure, Michelle. The Hawks are continuing to monitor his behavior, his day-to-day commitment, just as habits on a day-to-day basis. As far as how he wants to be a leader, is he willing to do the things necessary to be the face of the franchise? And there's certainly continued question marks around that. And I think that still exists in Atlanta. And I do think that that will be a conversation that these two sides are gonna have come summertime as far as what does the future look like in Atlanta? But again, if they somehow upset the Celtics, where does that lead things? So you have to see how the playoffs play out. You have to see how everything goes. But I do think, you know, his agent is Rich Paul. I think there's gonna be a level of conversation with ownership as far as where they see things, where they view things, and just the real conversation about where things stand. How do you, I mean, you're not with the guy 24-7, right? So how do you gauge whether or not, does he make his bed in the morning? I know leaders say you should make your bed in the morning, that's what successful people, like what are we doing to figure this out? Again, I think Sean's touched on it. This series coming up. So it's this? This, I mean, it has a lot of weight because you can kind of see if he grows up, if he matures, if he can lead his team in the biggest series of his career and go take down a monster like the Boston Celtics. And again, I think this last night was a good step. He showed signs of progress here. But it's all about what they can also get for him. They have a lot of pieces. They have a lot of things that they can probably, they have a lot of assets, a lot of players they can bring in. A lot of teams would love to have Trey Young on their team. This kid is a generational talent. He can shoot the ball. I swear, I think he would be much better as a second or third option. So I think a lot of weight is on him, but also no one's given them a fighting chance. I do think they have a chance personally, but no one's expecting them to win this series. What's a chance? Like they win one, they win two? Cause Eddie said sweep. Well, I don't want to get to my hot takes, but I actually think out of all the bottom Eastern teams, I think whoever's the AC, I think the Bucks are gonna destroy them. And I think the Philly, no offense to our guests coming on today. Yeah, that's awkward, but yep. They don't have a chance. I think this, with the power they have, with the shooting they have off the bench, with the depth, I think this team could give the Celtics a, you know, a fight. Do I think they're gonna win this series? I don't know. I had to pick a dark course. I'm going with the hot. Interesting. I think the trade thing, you have to examine from a tune building standpoint. How else do they acquire assets on the market? He's their best asset to trade. They tried to trade John Collins for three years running now, right? And they had to continuously say, no, no, we're not trying to trade him, but everybody knows they're trying to trade him. Clint Capella, who had a great game last night, I flubbed it earlier saying he had 21 rebounds himself. Clint Capella has been an interesting asset, bogged him by Donovan, same thing. Every trade deadline, interesting asset, Deandre Hunter. They have guys that are intrigued people, but we're talking about maybe getting a pick back, maybe getting some salary back. But when you trade a Trey young, you can get a bunch of things back and you can go from there. Dejante Murray, their other starter, they just gave up a haul for him. They can't buy out of that already. So I think from that standpoint, yeah, Trey is an interesting asset going forward and you have to consider what the Hawks would think. And look, if your future hinges on one series, a series that you're a massive underdog in, like, is that exactly confidence from the organization? I think it's a buildup, but they've given Trey Young, Trey Young, you were there, he's had the keys to the franchise. Now, are you gonna put in, I think, the level of commitment and work to keep the keys and be that franchise piece? And clearly it seems like the Hawks, their vision for what they view as their franchise cornerstones in their franchise face, I think there are some question marks now. Is this the guy we wanna move forward with? But a lot of that has to play out. This play out series is gonna be big. I don't know if it's a tell-all, but how does the next two weeks go? How do the conversations after that follow as well? Yeah, and it's not just basketball, you know? It takes everything going into a leadership. It takes being early, being less when they're taking the young guys, staying after practice, organizing team events. And I just don't know if Trey Young's got to that point of his career where he's doing that and you can count on him doing that. But basketball-wise, he's gonna produce, he's gonna score a lot of points, but it's all the other things in that culture, in that organization that he needs to do and not be in the headlines for, you know, the coach is getting fired or arguing with this guy or not showing up to a game because he got into it. Like you can't do that as a leader of a team, especially a young team when you've already given so much. So it goes both ways. We have to touch really quickly on Jimmy Butler because Kevin Love loves him and then Jimmy Butler did the self-motivation thing yesterday where he's like, no one's picking us and maybe there was a reason for that. Didn't he say they were gonna win too? Yeah, like some like that. Why do we feel about Jimmy Butler last night? Six for 19, not very efficient. He didn't really show up there in crunch time and again, this is just one game and but that's why the plans are unique, right? Like they had a chance right now. Everyone was taking the heat to win this game. I think they're a better team, but that's what makes this plan so special is that anything can happen and then the Hawks were ready, the Hawks were more physical early on. And again, it's careful what you say in this league. It can come back to bite ya. Even if it's about yourself. Even if it's about yourself, your teammate, anything. People don't forget. Maybe he got a little confused by the fact that this isn't technically a playoff game, but Jimmy, it's time to take it a little serious, my guy. It's time to lock in, but yeah, I mean, they have one more chance and he needs to be better and I don't think you can count on another Kyle Lowry performance like that. So yeah, it's time for him to lock in. Jimmy must get serious, Shum, that's the bottom line. Hey, Jimmy, I saw that trending on Twitter. When we come back, we're taking a quick break here. Spencer Dinwitty will be joining us so that Shailor to his face can tell me he has no shot in the next round. I think that'll be a fun interview. Yeah. When a running back returns. See you, run it back, run it back, run it back, run it back, run it back. But see, now we never sleep, yo, we in the gym, yo, we in the gym. Spencer Dinwitty delivers. Dinwitty, ha ha. Oh yes, our guest today is starting point guard for your Brooklyn Nets playoff bound Brooklyn Nets. Spencer Dinwitty is joining us today. And by before we get started, I know you just turned 30, ah, memories. Happy birthday. Hey, happy birthday. Did you celebrate or are you a birthday person? Like, how does that work? Not really. You don't do playoffs. It was another day of the year. Yes, fair, that's how we're gonna do it. Okay, look, Chandler, I'm throwing you into the best because you did it to yourself, but you guys are playing the Sixers in the first round. Chandler started the day already today with the smack talk, said you don't have a shot, so I'm gonna go right to that. How do you match up against this Philly team? Chandler. I mean, nah, that's understandable, and you hate to see it from a good friend like that. You hate to see it, but you just hate to see it. I mean, MB's the likely MVP, so obviously we're gonna have to give it everything we got in terms of stopping him. But to be honest, I mean, out of the major seeds, we probably match up with him the best if we can limit him not fouling. We feel like defensively there's ways we can attack them as well. Kelsman at a high level, we know they don't necessarily get back in transition. We wanna play fast, we're young, we understand we have no expectations, and we like our chances, to be honest. Spence, you've had an interesting year, the first half of the year, you're playing alongside Luka Dachic, you're one of the leaders in three-point field goals from the corner, and then the second half, you play more isolation basketball, you're one of the league leaders in isolation points per possession, you're up there among the elite players. What was the adjustment like for you mentally, emotionally, and physically, to go from playing alongside Luka and starting next to him, versus being the lead guard again? Emotionally, I'll say it was probably a little bit easier just because I was coming back to a familiar place. So thank God for Brooklyn, I've always said like, Dallas and Brooklyn have been the two spots that I've had a ton of fun in my career. As far as adjusting my game, I think that's kind of been a hallmark in my career, you know, wherever I've gone, I've tried to do whatever was asked of me to help the team win. You know, I mean, right now, I think I'm passing the ball to pretty high clip, which is what this team needs. You know, I've been six-man gunner, I've been, you know, lead a bad team to the playoffs, you know, co-star, or not co-star, but be second under a superstar and catch shoot threes. It's, to me, it's always been about winning and trying to understand just what the team needs at that point in time. So, you know, that's the reason for the adjustment. Yeah, Spence, sorry about my colleague, Michelle. She likes to gas things up quite a bit. You hate to see that, but the next, you guys have been gelling a lot, and very quickly, I only have planned a few months together. How did that develop, and how did you guys do that so quickly? I think it has to do with just being really high quality guys who've experienced winning a little bit. You know, the twins have gone to the finals, me and Dobe in the Western Conference Finals. Nick and Joe are super high character guys and just everybody around, right? So, you know, we've all tried to come together, understand that we have a kind of a daunting task that we haven't been together very long, but, you know, we believe in each other. Yeah, look, you mentioned the twins, you mentioned my Cal Brizzi as your teammate now. I remember you guys getting into it a little bit. Does that stuff carry over? How do you address that when you get the young fella in your locker room with you after all these years? It's actually funny, because we definitely had a little smoke in Phoenix. We actually had some banter during the game, too. But, you know, that's water under the bridge. I think everybody's been surprised with exactly how high level he's been. You know, we all knew he was probably at 20 point a game score, but, you know, to be in that 26, 27 range takes us from, you know, just being a decent team to, you know, a pretty good team. And I think we're gonna need every bit of that in the playoffs, and I think he's ready for it. Spence, you had an exit from Brooklyn signing trade when you went to Washington, through your $60 million deal. Now you're back in Brooklyn. How do you feel as a player? Do you feel more mature? Do you feel like obviously you're a much better player than you were when you left? So you're maturing in that way, but leadership-wise, what has been your focus? Oh, man, I mean, I think I learned a lot in the stops in D.C. and in Dallas as well. You know, when I was in Brooklyn the last time, you know, I was first under kind of D.Lo and then obviously under Katie and Kyrie. So it wasn't really my team, so to speak. Like I said, I learned a lot in the other two stops and then coming back, I knew that in a short time span, we were gonna have to kind of pull the guys together. And so I think just having a little bit of elder statesman knowledge along with Joe Harris as well, just doing whatever I can to learn the guys and try to bring people together. You know, but again, it's a credit to the high character guys that we have, right? And that have experienced winning and are jumping on board and really just following the lead of our coach, Jagvon. So February 5th, you find out, you're going back to Brooklyn, traded for Kyrie Irving. What was that like? Well, how do you find out? And is there something upon your return to Brooklyn immediately that you're like, well, can't wait to do that. Maybe it's food, I hope it's food. Oh, February 5th, I would say my sources probably told me like February 3rd, but I don't wanna take Sam's job and everything. Yeah, I mean, I would say the most exciting part about coming back to Brooklyn was just like the holdovers, you know what I mean? Jagvon, Sean Marks, Joe Harris, Nick Claxton, you know, guys that I've already obviously talked about so far on this interview alone. And then since we wanna talk about food, Julianne's pizza, shout out to them. When I have my cheat days, I like to either get a pizza from them or get a waffle from Clinton Street and then it's back to fruit and steak. Oh, I love it. I need food wrecks always. Yeah. Spence, you gotta be honest here. How do you feel about the Mavs not making the playoffs after trading? Oh, I ain't gonna lie. I mean, there's a certain level of happiness from the pettier sides of my psyche. You know, they're my friends though. So, you know, I didn't wanna see it go down like that. You know, on the other side, you know, Theo, Bullock, you know, Luca, all those guys, I mean, Jivell, we went to war together. They're a playoff-caliber team. Obviously, they had their mishaps and things that didn't allow them to see the postseason. You know, but overall, like, you know, I wanted them to do well, but there is that little piece that I ain't gonna lie, I'm kinda a little bit happy. Yeah, I totally get that. And last thing for me, how's it been with Ben Simmons? Is he around? Is he practicing? Is he working out? What's the status on him? He hasn't been practicing. You know, I know his rehab is, you know, up to him and what he's doing right now. He's gotta do his best for his body. I think we all know the type of explosive and dominant player he can be on both ends of the floor when he's healthy and when he's right. And I think the best thing for his career is to get right. You know, not sacrifice too much for, you know, a playoff run, but he's around the guys. He's being a great teammate. You know, you see a lot of things in the meter, whatever that, you know, he's not necessarily the highest character guy or something like that. So far, that's been furthest from the truth. He's been a locker room every day. He's been, you know, championing the guys on. I've never personally dealt with a back injury. And so it's not really something I can comment on to the older guys that I know that have, they talk about like one of the worst things in the world. You know, so I think in some respects, I have a lot of sympathy for that. And like I said, it's a topic that I don't know well. Well, here's a topic that you know well. Here's a Twitter from earlier this year, you and Kyle Kuzma had a little back. Actually, what do you mean a back and forth? He sort of came at you and you said they're not trying to play winning basketball. He responds on Twitter. The funny thing is they don't play winning basketball, but you didn't do anything else on Twitter. Do you have a response now that it's been some time? Oh man. Didn't I just say I was petty? Yeah, I know. Yes, please. So here's the thing, right? And obviously I spent some time in DC with Kuz. What's that thing? Kuzma just said, where he said, insecurity is loud. So basically here's what happened, right? We lost to them. I was on the Mavericks. And obviously we have a MVP caliber guy and we're trying to be a championship caliber team. Just went to the West Coast finals, et cetera, et cetera. So I make a statement about, you know, we need to be better understanding the culture and how games are kind of played in DC and saying, you know, that's an unacceptable loss in that fashion. You know, he decides to respond because I guess he felt like it was a shot at him. And I wanted to respond. You know, my agent told me to stand down that we had, you know, bigger fish to fry things to do, get to the playoffs, et cetera, et cetera. But, you know, now I'm not in that environment. I'm in the playoffs. He's not. And, you know, to address, no, I'm just saying, to address the socialite, right? Like there's a lot of guys in NBA that really poured their heart and soul into basketball are willing to do whatever it takes to win. There are a lot of guys that have different things that drive them and motivate them. I think if we look at, you know, him and the way he approaches life, fame, all that stuff, that we could see that, you know, his priorities tend to vary, right? Like that's why Dress the way he does. He, you know, approaches basketball the way he does, the comments he makes. And like I said with the Drey Monk quote, insecurity is loud. Like you know that you're there, you know, shooting shots to try to get a contract. You're probably not even a third star really on a good team, because if you were, the legacy would have kept you, right? Part of the reason you left was to try to make more money. Like these are all things that are facts. And so at the end of my career, one thing that I want to be known besides a guy that did whatever it took to win and whatever spot he was at is a guy that was also very honest. And so like my complete response to, you know, coups and all that other stuff, to address it directly, I mean, I played with a guy. You know what I mean? We know what the priorities were. And, you know, a lot of times people thought I was talking about Brad or whatever, anything like that. I look at Brad in the same light as I could dame. I think he's Lord of DC. I think, you know, probably on a championship team, he's probably got to be paired with like a Yanis. He's probably 1B, which is no shot. I know on a championship team, you know, I'm probably the third guy, kind of like a Drew Holiday with a Chris Middleton and, you know, Yanis or whatever. I'm very secure with who I am in my career. I'm, I know on a really good team, I can be a number two, kind of like we are right here with the Brooklyn Nets. We got McKell, we got me, we're still a playoff team. We're able to keep the ship right. But in DC, if you got three Max dudes, Porzingis, Brad and Cool's like, how you missed the playoff? Like he doesn't, none of these things make sense. You know what I'm saying? Unless your priorities aren't in order. And so I would say that's my probably full monologue to that. I hope you guys got everything you need. Oh yeah. Can we record? Thank you, thank you. Do you want to come? I'm not coming all the way. Cut out for a second. We say that again. My feelings are hurt. Hey, here's the thing, look. Like I said, I want to be known as an honest man when it's all said and done. Well said. Well said. And so, you know, if you're going to come at me, and especially, I took the clown emoji personally. I ain't going to lie. That's fair. It bothered me because he knows who he is and he knows who I am. You know what I'm saying? Everybody around the league knows who I am. Look, Spence, we were hoping we were going to get some bulletin board material, but it was about this other topic, but you already gave your answer. Your MVP is Joel and B. Can you tell us why? What do you think of the other candidates? You know, this is the biggest combo going. I guess you're going to be a little more polite. You're about to play this guy. You said you gave us all your hot takes already. So I appreciate that. I mean, like I said, I view myself as honest. I'm not here to be polite. You know, I was hoping I can dunk on him again. Right? But because I'm playing the highlight. But in general, I think it looks to be a three-horse race. I think you look at Yoke, Chambide and Yanis. I personally think Yanis is probably the best player in the league. I think he gets a lot of flak because he's like skinny shack, but people want to see him like play like Katie with like a jumper and stuff. But like if we really appreciate the fact he's skinny shack, then it's like he's dominant as hell. But just looking at the year in beats had, I think it's his second scoring title, his ability to draw fouls like 12 free throws a game, 33 points. He scores in a variety of ways. He's just an ultimate force. I mean, right now we're basically watching his highlight tapes to prepare for, you know, playing. So and we understand it's a daunting task. And obviously Yoke has just went back to back and, you know, we understand media narratives and maybe they don't want to give him three times in a row. All that stuff plays a factor. And so I would just say, like, if I was a betting man, I'd choose Embiid. I think he's up there with the best players in the league. I think Yanis is probably the best. But, you know, that's just kind of our view of the whole race. Spencer, this has been an absolute. I got to add one thing. Spencer, you've been in the playoffs. I see what Western Conference finals. How many of the last years, four, four or five? How many years for you? Playoff years. I mean, if you count the one I was hurt, then you have four, five, four. That's what's up. What? What was it? Chris Farley interview moment? No, no, no, I just wanted to add that context to the conversation. We had the deal year, the sixers, then I took them to the playoffs when the bubble stopped everything. Then, you know, we got the hurt year and then West Conference finals. And now he played the sixers again. And then it begins. By the way, context is important, Michelle. Context is very important. Honesty is very important. And blowing people up is one of my favorite things of all time. Spencer, best of luck in the first round of the playoffs. This has been a pleasure. And we'll be watching Channel One. League assist leader in the second half of the NBA season. That too, assist leader. Exactly. Perfect. Yes, that was awesome. And I enjoy it. I'm watching your faces, by the way. It was fantastic. Thanks. Yeah, thank you. We'll process all that in this break and we come back with preview because we've got more playing games tonight. Also, I'll probably mention that again. That was something. I'll soliloquy, if you will. Well, we do have more games tonight. The plan continues. It's Voles or Raptors. That's the first game of the night. All right, talk to me. I need some reason why each of these teams have a shot at winning Channel or go. Well, I think it's the big three in Chicago. Two of them have to go off, which presents a challenge, though, because Toronto's wing defense is so good. OG has been clamping Damar, Scotty Barnes. They have a very versatile roster that can switch one through five. So it does present a challenge, especially to a team that shoots a lot of mid-ranges. But it's going to be an exciting game. I'd go with Toronto at home. I think Fred and Siakam are, you know, they're kind of finding their rhythm. And again, I think defensive versatility they have is going to give the Bulls little fits. Yeah, look, this is the good part about the plan. We didn't get four bad teams. We got four underachieving teams. Teams that dealt with injuries. Teams that dealt with a bunch of different things. These are two decent teams. We had high hopes for both of these teams coming into the regular season. So I think it's going to be a great game. I do go lean a little bit to home court. And I'm going to just say it. I think whoever wins this game, I also think they're going to beat Miami. Oh, okay. They cannot score. Is that after last night, or you already had thought that? I had already thought that. And well, last night helps because I kind of thought Miami was going to beat Atlanta. So don't take my picks to the bank. You know, our parlays are like the worst. We are not good. Yeah, you're right. But I think they have a fighting chance for sure. The Pat Beverly thing. There was this moment last year at who's ever going to forget it when they got a win. You think they'd won the championship based off the celebration that Pat Beverly gave us and I'm grateful for that as well. But will we see any of that if the Bulls win tonight? Not in Chicago. Not where MJ played. No, not with that history there. There's, this was a big win and buy-in for the Timberwolves. And this was still a lot. But no, you can't do this in Chicago with all the history they have there. No chance. Is Drake going to be there? I feel like that's a little extra fuel for Pat Beverly's fires. Maybe a little, you know, Brujaha with Drake or something, but not this. There's no need for all of this. Really? You think Pat Beverly in the moment will remember, oh, Michael Jordan was here. I cannot behave this way. He should. Yeah. Please do. He needs to. Please do, big fella. But he won't and that's what's great. If you're the heat watching, who do you want to play? I'd rather play the Bulls, because they're not as good defensively. And the heat, we just saw their struggles last night. They would have got routed without the Kyle Lowry 30-point game, so I would rather play the Bulls. I think they're a little more inconsistent. They settle a lot for long mid-range, long two-point jump shots. And Toronto, I think, would give them a lot more trouble. We've scored the ball than they already have. I think Alex Caruso and Pat Bev, defending a point of attack, really bothering Tyler Hero. That scares me a little bit, especially since that's almost all their shot creation. But I still agree with Chandler. I think you would think about how you can attack Vukjevic, what you can do on that end. You would imagine Bam would be a little better on Friday. So I'm going to go with the Bulls. But again, I think they have a puncher's chance as well. I really like Toronto's roster. Like, I think when you yaka-purtle, they've been, you're a guy yaka-purtle. Yeah, yeah. Toronto's been a lot better second half of the season above 500 with him in the lineup. And so I just, from a roster perspective, I think Toronto has it for whatever reason, they have not been able to put it fully together this year. I will say, if Toronto wins this game, I think they beat Miami. If Chicago wins this game, I think Miami beats Chicago. Ooh, too many things to remember. Right. Let's see how that's all. Carry the tune. Math, here's what I find interesting too. Both the Bulls and the Raptors were teams that heading into the trade deadline. We were waiting, seeing what they would do. If either one of these teams lose, can we expect, and Choms will be the busiest if this happens, can we expect the rumors to start that perhaps they start to break things up and rebuild? Well, if you're Chicago, the only, you clearly have decisions, because DeMar DeRozan's going into the last year of his deal next year. So you're gonna have to make a decision. Are you gonna extend him? He's eligible for a massive extension this summer. Do you wanna give him that? Where do you stand on that? He's been the face of this team since he's been there, arguably their best player on a nightly basis. Vucovic also will be a free agent. So in Chicago, they're for sure gonna have decisions to make. Toronto as well. Nick Nurse gonna go into the last year of his deal. One year, eight million dollars left on his deal. Where does he stand? To my knowledge, there have not been extensive extension discussions yet. He's even been open about the fact that he could take time to decide on his future. So where does that stand? He's gonna be one of the leading targets for Houston, for their next head coach. So a lot of question marks in Toronto as well. OG on a newbie, Pascal Siakam, also will be entering the final years of their deal. So both teams, like you said, Michelle, a lot of decisions are gonna come once they're eliminated. I think Chicago's in a little worse position because their big three is older, right? Like this is what, they're prime. They're there in their peak. At least the guys in Toronto, like OG, like Scotty, they have a future and they have a core there that they can grow with and they can get better. This is what they are in Chicago. And so this is a team that had a little bit higher expectations. And now if this is them and their prime, their big three and they're playing as a 10 seed and just fighting to get into the playoffs, that's not very promising for your future. So at least Toronto has these younger assets to kind of build with if you do want to move a Siakam or a Fred or things like that. Yeah, I think Chandler got it. They invested so heavily into that big three and then their head coach in much like the Wizards, completely underachieved when you invested all that capital into three guys and said, this is who we're building around. And then even Fries in addition, it's like Alex Caruso to then do this. Lonzo Ball, obviously huge hit for them and they're still little in with that and they probably won't see him next year as well. If there's a time for that team to rebuild, it is now and it is time to explore what they do with those guys and if they're gonna pay DeMar DeRoz and all that money and if the Zach Levine market and see what they can get, he's starting a massive contract and maybe they want to get off from under that. So a lot to decide this summer. I thought they're gonna do it at the deadline. Yeah, I think we waited. We waited for all of that to happen. There's another game. The later game is Thunder Pelicans and Shams right off the top, Zion. Not playing tonight, but do we have anything? From what I'm told, the Pelicans do not believe he's anywhere close to being back on the floor. There's no expectation that he will be on the floor at any point in their first round series if they are able to advance into the playoffs. This is, he's a very unique spent. We've never seen a player six foot six, six for five. That's able to jump, able to move the way he's able to at his frame. So for him to come back onto the floor from a hamstring injury, he had a setback from it. This guy that's had multiple setbacks. He had a foot fracture, he had a setback from last year. Now you have the hamstring injury, he had a setback with. So clearly when he's progressing one on one, two on two, three on three, there's been setbacks. And so when he gets back on the floor, they want to make sure conditioning wise he's 100%. And he spoke yesterday and he said mentally and just feeling like Zion Williamson, like this guy that we see do these massive dunks with relative ease. He says he just does not feel like he's that guy yet. And he's going to get back on the floor when he does feel like that guy. So, you know, we all want Zion Williamson to play. The game is better when he's playing and the game is the Pelicans have a legitimate chance to advance in the playoffs if he's on the floor. But, you know, the playoffs like he spoke to, it's hard to just jump into the playoffs having not played for since January 2nd. Yeah, I agree. And it's disappointing just because of how good and the potential they have with Zion and the lineup with BI, with CJ McCollum, with these young assets that were so fun early on in the year, they competed and they were to me a top four, top five team in the West when they're fully healthy. But just with the, with BI out and with Zion, I can't see them advancing. I can't, I wouldn't be surprised that they lost tonight. I think they do get tonight, but I don't think they get past Minnesota. But they have a lot to look forward to, but they're obviously their main concern is getting their everything Zion healthy. They have a great coach, I'm really agreeing that we were talking about a possibly coach of the year, you know, a quarter through the season. So they have the pieces, but it's just, it's tough without your main guy pretty much all year long. It's a little disheartening to have Zion say, hey, I'm healthy. I'm just not ready to play. I'm hesitant. I don't feel like I can be me. And, you know, I know these games are important, but I'm not ready to get out there. That doesn't sound like a guy who's going to play basketball anytime soon, even though he's healthy. So you start to worry about the buildup of this. It's just the constant injuries and how long it takes and the consistent setbacks. And if that's bothering him and going forward with what impact that has, I do like the Pelicans as a live underdog, especially if they had Zion, even looking forward to the Nugget series and they have a bunch of bigs. They feel like they can throw out their bodies for Yolk. It's not necessarily stop him, but bodies for him. They can play big, they can play small. They got defenders on the wings. I know CJ McCullum is dealing with some injuries, but Brandon Ingram has been incredible for the last month. So they are a live underdog, but this is going to be a tough game for them tonight. And if they were on to make any noise in this playoffs, they needed Zion. It doesn't sound like they're going to have Zion. Yeah, it is a bummer, especially since we did get a little taste of him earlier in the season. It's almost worse that we did get to see him, and now he's been taken away. SGA, though, averaged almost 34 points against this team. What is the play for him? It's going to be tough. Then they do have some live buys to throw out. Unfortunately, Alvarado, I think, is out tonight as well. But I would look for Herb Jones to guard him. I'd look for Murphy. They would get some size. Some guys that have length and can kind of mess him up a little bit there, push him off the ball a little bit, be physical with him. But this is a guy that's having a career year. He's averaging 31 points for the season. And 33 and a half against them. So it's going to be a tall task. But they have some bodies that are long and lengthy that can hopefully kind of disrupt him a little bit. Yeah, look, he's tough to guard. You like Herb Jones in that matchup, but clearly hasn't worked this season as well. That's a guy that's going to get to the line. That's going to guy that's going to find his shots. I like the matchup for the Thunder. You know, these seven-foot guys, they have Roman in shooting threes. They're a tough team to deal with. Is the lights going to be too bright for them in New Orleans? Maybe, maybe not. But look, they have nothing to lose. Yeah, right. I almost feel like it's better that way. Taking a quick break here when we come back. Chandler and Eddie's bold predictions, which will 100% all be correct. It's from the logo next. Run it back, y'all. Run it up, run it back, y'all. What better time to start with some bold predictions from the logo? Both Eddie and Chandler have put together some nuggets for us. I can't wait, personally. Eddie, you want to start? Yeah, I mean, you know, we're just guessing here. But I think Paul George and Julius Randall, I think they're going to find their way with the court in the first round. I'm not a doctor. I know nothing about what's going on. I trust Shams reporting as well. But a lot on the line for both those guys and both of those teams, they need them bad. Maybe Julius sooner, but I expect to see both. My next one is, I think the Kings are going to win game one. They've been waiting 16 years for this game. I've seen the ticket prices back home. I've seen people so excited. It's going to be a raucous crowd. Look, the Warriors are just, they're always due for a stinker. They've done this before. They lost game one and it is what it is. I think the Warriors still win. My last one is, I think Donovan Mitchell is the leading scorer in the playoffs this year. He's averaging 32 points a game this year against the Knicks so far. A great matchup for him. He's taking it personal. I think he's shooting close to 55% from the floor against them. So he's going to get off on a hot start and we know what he can do in the playoffs. We've seen it before. All right, I like those. Those are good. Two and three, I think actually will happen for you. Those are really good. Thanks, I appreciate it. Mine, I went a little more bold. I got the Hawks last night and they showed me something. They got the talent, they got the scoring, they got the bench. Probably not going to happen, but I went super bold on the Hawks beating the Celtics in the first round. Bold strategy gotten. Second, Drew Holiday wins finals MVP. Wow. This one, honestly, I'm not too sure about. That's the one. Listen, but yeah, he's going to play both sides of the ball. He's going to guard the best player and if he averages, let's say 25 points a game, there's a chance. And again, I shot for the fences here. Swim for the fences. Take that, Michelle. Yep. Lakers beat the Grizzlies in the first round. So you wanted bold. There's some hot takes. Here we go. I went a little measured and you took the bold. Well, Chandler's never been one. I see what she did there. We're going to be back here in LA next week. Evan Turner here on Monday because Chandler apparently would be ODing on glitter bombs from Coachella. I'm sick. I am already sick. He's gonna be taking Clareton. It's too much. Enjoy the rest of the week. See you all Monday. See you. Something's going around.