 Nuggets six years last night that this this was a fun one to watch it was the the battle of the big dudes Yokech versus and bead I Would say it delivered and I would say and bead came out on top on this one Not only did they win but his numbers were incredible the 126 121 victory and bead Maxi and Tobias Harris combined for 90 of their points and and beat himself had 41 7 and 10 guys It's one of the best games to watch so far. I was worried that somebody was gonna sit beforehand, but we got it Who wins the series if this were to actually be our finals Lou? You know this is gonna be a funny answer, but strictly based on last night I would say the sixes man Joe L&B was absolutely dominant to bias Harris was great for them throwing in another 25 points Maxi throwing in 26, you know, these guys were these guys were rolling. They look they look they look good It looked like they were up for the challenge, but if you're asking me about a seven game series, I'm going with the defending champions I like the way that they shared a basketball. They can plug guys into that system. They play well together That ball is moving, you know this the thing that we're gonna talk about is Yokech only having three assists, right? So if your center who's your best passer as well only has three assists That's gonna affect the the ball game tremendously and I thought that's what we saw last night He wasn't allowed to be in the passing lanes and get the ball out to those guys like they wanted But give a lot of credit to the sixes man They played a hell of a game and Joe L&B was the head of that snake But if you're asking me for seven games Give me Denver again I want to ask because you know when we've seen these guys match up and bead has gotten some flak for quote-unquote ducking a Couple of the matchups, but then you watch a game like last night You're like why would this dude ever duck anything Lou? I mean, I mean he was Incredible to walk last night. Are we making too much of that? That's a It's a silly narrative, you know, let's let's let's go way back and do a deep dive into You know his injury history, you know This guy has been a part of low management just as much as any other guys that we talk about when it comes to when it comes To low management, you know, he's had some situations where he's needed to take games off And it listen if he's gonna take games off and come in and give me two back-to-back 40s then take another night All big fella So that's a silly narrative that he's ducking anybody ducking any smoke if you to know Joe L&B It's to know that he's extremely competitive person and he wants all the smoke. Trust me. He ain't ducking nothing Michelle 18th straight 30-point game or more for Joe L&B it's six longest streak in NBA history He has been absolutely dominant and every single game that goes by it's like it's so easy I think Kevin Duran tweeted the other day like it took him three quarters to score 40 points the other night It's just what he's doing right now is is is super impressive And he's only building upon what he did last year He won MVP last year and you have to give the Sixers a lot of credit They're well-balanced Tyrese Max last night 25 points to buy stairs 24 points and This team has a wide range of score scoring ability You have Marcus Morris playing at a good level Kelly Ubre Chipped in with 11 points and we know and beats the dominant force but around him He's got guys playing at a high level two tires max. He should be an all-star this year And when I talked to people around that sixes organization last night getting a sense of like what is Joe L&B's mindset? You know during that game is he talking trash about Yokek is he like what what is his frame of mind? They say honestly, he's quiet He's focused and his biggest things are pointers He has to make like if he wants a guy cutting to the basket if he wants More picking roles if he wants the team to make adjustments. He's gonna speak out that but other than that He's focused on the game. And I think Joel and beat is just Matureing year after year after year Tyrese Max. He told me when he came in as a rookie Joel and be wouldn't even speak and now Joel and beat his leadership and what he brings to the table as a professional As a leader. I think it means a lot to that organization The idea that I that he wasn't even speaking is funny There was a moment last night after the game right after the game with Yokek and and bead Talking to each other covering their mouths the whole nine and then he was asked about it afterwards He said and be did that he was telling Yokek, you know, you're the best player in the league defending champs yada yada And then of course they cut to shack and he's like I don't know about that. So Lou, I ask you who is the most dominant big man in the league You gotta you gotta you gotta put that down the middle 50 50 their impacts are completely different You know joel and beat is a score first guy I feel like Yokek is the past first guy that can also score, you know And so they give you two completely different dynamics If I got the first pick at the park and both of those guys are there I can close my eyes and pick one, you know, it's really that it's really that close to me How they impact the game the way that they impact their teams It's completely different, but it's dominant both are dominant at the same time So I can't I can't call it joel and beat is in a league of his own right now with the streak that he's on But we've also seen the same type of production from yokek just will and so I Honestly can't call it. I like both of these guys Normally, I would give you a hard time, but I actually think this is the right answer and that's what it's too tough They're tied. Um, I well, you know, I maybe this is negative. I don't know But he does lead the league joel and beat does as far as free throw attempts I think he's averaging like 12. He had 15 last night and opposing coaches aren't always pleased with that lue. Are they right? No, tell god stop fouling Tell god stop hacking because you know in my in my career I was a high free throw guy I would pump pump fake gay guys in the air or if your hand your hand is out I'm swinging through and I'm creating that contact because by the time I come into the game Nine times out of 10 our team is already in the bonus and joel and beat He's learned he's learned that part of the game get you two easy free throws Take the pressure off your offense go back down the court and set up, you know And he's like we said we talk about his dominance This guy can he can face up at the three point line You have to respect him shooting at three so he can get you with a head fake at the top of the key Put the ball on the floor a lot of fives not used to a five putting the ball on the floor That's that's when you get in foul trouble when you start using your hands when you post up He's a seven foot 200 some pound guy that can really run through your chest and go lay the ball up You have to guard that so that gives you a that gives you another opportunity He can play with his back to the basket. That's another opportunity to create fouls and so get a man crater He's doing a great job of putting a lot of pressure on defenses every single possession So do coaches is it annoying for a coach? Absolutely, but again, you got to have a better game playing for a guy That's going to give you four or five different looks to score the basketball All right, I just have to add I just I I have to add michelle You know speaking about lu I followed lu's career pretty heavily There was only two players that got the calls that that he got him and james harden lu. How did you do it? I just I've never asked him this question. You were drawing these crazy files So it was jame you and james are the only guys on the perimeter drawing these files. Like I don't I didn't even understand it Yeah, because I think james and I we were going into a lot of situations During games where we were just strictly looking for free throws Like I said, if I'm coming off the bench and the first time I'm getting in a game And it's with three or four minutes left in that first quarter The best thing that I can do to get myself going is to get a couple free throws before we start So soon as I grab the ball, I'm looking at what you're doing Whether your hand is out whether you're a little jumpy or whatever So I'm giving you a pump fake if you go ahead and jump I'm gonna lean in if your hand is out I'm swinging through and I'm gonna get to two easy free throws But it was the gift and the curse, you know james and I we did it so well that they changed the rules because of us You know, so that's how we were able to do it It's just playing chess in the middle of the games giving yourself an opportunity to get two easy points before the game gets going Well, lu let me follow that up. Did you like I was gonna say that the rest loved you And did you like pissing everyone else off because that's what it sounds like to me? Yeah, I remember one game in particular I think it was on the spur of scouting report And this is one of the games that I started on the very first possession. I get a guy in the air Pump fake three Three free throws pop pulls him immediately and he rails him and I told you to stay down on pump fakes So these you know, so trust me these things are points of emphasis when it comes to game planning for teams And so should teams be mad at your lmb for drawing fouls? No, they should be mad at their guys for going for But it's so tempting to you're moving. I have to god. Whatever. All right. Um, it is. It's just it's like Front court depth shampshams shams almost called you shams. What am I a stranger? With three weeks away from the trade deadline Are are we thinking and there are so many teams that we're going to be looking at and I'm so excited for this deadline this year But is Philly going to be active? Are you expecting anything? I think they're gonna be measured I mean the one thing that they have going for them is they have these salaries like Marcus Morris and Robert Covington that are Really in that range of of it's not a major salary You're not going to be bringing back a max contract type of guy, but you're going to be bringing in a You know, you could be in the market to bring back a really good bench piece a really good score. Um I think they're going to be active. I I don't get the sense that they're as engaged right now on Dejante Murray Or Zach Levine or Pascal Siakam. I think those three guys I have not gotten the sense that they are going to pursue those three Aggressively, I think there is a level of interest there for them But not not an aggressive pursuit and so this is a team also Michelle They have max salary space in the summer So if if you want to go and commit yourself to a Zach Levine or Dejante Murray You remove yourself from the free agency conversation in the off season And they already have such a great thing going like could you roll the dice and see what this team could do Maybe add one more piece on the edges and see what this team could do as currently constructed with this core of Tobias Harris maxi Engel and beat and see just how far this group can go before you make a decision in the summer There's going to be options for them in the summer. They have a bunch of assets Remember they got two first round picks from the Clippers. This team is going to have great, uh, I think Ability to go add town if they want in the summer It's this is going to be a phone one Lou. Let me ask you if you if one team had to Strengthen their roster more. Would you think it was Denver or Philly and you got to pick one? And I'm not because I feel Look, I feel like both of these teams Obviously any team that's trying to win a championship They would love to strengthen their bench and give them an opportunity at the top of those second quarters When your starters are out, you know to either increase that lead or get a great plus minus situation going But I like reggie jackson Um coming off the bench for Denver, you know, I like christian brawn to get an opportunity to be a bigger part of what They're doing in Denver as well He's getting a he's getting some quality minutes and getting a quality experience and learning What it's like to be on a championship caliber team and on the flip side of that You got a you got a pat bev and you got a Marcus Morris coming off the bench for the Philadelphia 76ers I like that mix of guys that can hold it down for seven to eight minutes stretches while You know the the starting groups are taking a break and so with both of these teams like to get better on the bench I'm sure but at at what cost and at what position, you know the sixers You can throw that ball to Marcus Morris Five or six times and he's going to give you a bucket who's going to be a better Parameter defender than pat bev You know reggie jackson has proven that he can go out and give you 25 to 30 points a game Christian brawn plays with a lot of energy So it's a lot of guys out there in the market that can strengthen both of these teams But I don't see anything glaring for either one of them It's a nice position to be in. Um, what about on the filly side the maxi harris and b 90 points combined last night Do you envision this as a championship core? It is but listen, that's gonna that's gonna be tough to do consistently You know, we're talking about one guy that had 40 and two other guys 25 plus a piece That's that's just going to be tough to keep up with especially in the play in playoffs Somebody's going to get taken away Somebody is going to get absolutely wiped out of this series and the fans are going to go crazy He's not playing well because they don't understand the tactics that comes with the playoffs You know in order for our team to beat you in a seven game series Something has to be sacrificed and you got to be be willing to give up something And so to expect these guys to play at such a high clip is unrealistic But if they can pull it off, they're going to give themselves a real opportunity to be a championship contending team