 Good morning. I know there weren't any NBA games last night, but do not worry. We will get you your Ben Simmons update. Run it back starts now. Run it up. Run it back. Run it up. Run it back. Run it back. Run it up. Good morning and welcome to Run It Back. I want to introduce my esteemed panel here as always Stadium Insider Shamsherania, NBA vet and fashionista Chandler Parsons and of course cohost of the Etc. Eddie G. All here. Good morning, fellows. How are we feeling? Good. It's Wednesday. I mean, you have the most optimistic hat on Eddie and I will try to glean some of that positive energy from you for this fabulous day. But look, we didn't have any NBA games last night, but we got a ton tonight. We're going to break it down. We're going to start out there in Los Angeles. Lakers, Clippers. I don't have to remind you, but I'd like to that the Lakers are two and eight and have lost three straight. I want to ask if you just could poof and get one of these rosters. Which of the two rosters are you taking in this moment right now, Chandler? I mean, it's it's I don't love any of the rosters, to be honest with you. Neither of them really have young, good cores to build around. So it's kind of who's going to blow it up quicker is who I would want. Currently, obviously, I think the Clippers are a better team. They'll probably be more successful in three years. Kawhi and PG, hopefully Kawhi Leonard is healthy. I think LeBron by then will be on another team or retired. Who knows if AD will still even be playing in three years? It's tough. But as of now, I like the Clippers. I think, you know, with those two guys, the guy to find a way to get Kawhi healthy and going. But yeah, the Lakers, you know, if they're just they've been a mess all season long, they're figuring out the Russell Westbrook thing, but I'd have to go with the Clippers right now. Yeah, I'm going with the Clippers, too. I want to say it's because Terrence Mann and Brandon Boston Jr. They're the most youth on either one of these rosters. It's kind of crazy that we're on year 13 of Paul George. He's he's going to be 33 years old coming up pretty soon. He's dealt with a slew of injuries, shoulders on both surgeries, different issues in both legs. Obviously, you have the issues with Kawhi and his knee. But we've been talking about that Lakers roster since this show began. And we know it has the holes that it has. And it has very little room for improvement. And then you have your head coach coming out yesterday, essentially saying, we're not springing big. Just get used to this team. They don't want to pay the luxury tax anymore. They have cash flow issues. They have a ton of things that not like out there. The Clippers were a lot of people's favorites to play in the finals this year. That's I guess health notwithstanding, but you obviously have to deal with that. But if we're going roster for roster, yeah, they're not. They don't have the best record right now, but they also don't have the Lakers record. So I'm about the Clippers. It seems to be unanimous across the board. Clippers roster is more ideal. So Shams, I ask you, how far is this Lakers team from actually having a roster comparable to their to their in town rivals? I think it is pretty far off. And I definitely agree with what Chandler and Eddie have said. I mean, the Clippers roster doesn't really have this replenishing young talent on the team, but they're really a Kauai Leonard health being away from from being probably stamped as the decontender in the West. But when you look at the Clippers versus Lakers, the Clippers have won eight games in a row against the Lakers. They're 12 and four against the Lakers since LeBron got to LA. So the Lakers do have that 2020 championship. But there's not a move out there right now for the Lakers that makes them a championship contender, whether it's that Indiana deal, a Spurs deal, there's nothing out there that the Lakers believe can make them a championship contender. And that's probably the scary part, because at least the Clippers can say if we have Kauai Leonard healthy, we're right there competing as any team. So that I got killed for this. I got killed for this on Twitter yesterday. And that's fine. Laker fans are sensitive and upset right now. But they've clearly made the decision to not extend contracts beyond the current AD contract, in which was the previous LeBron contract as well. They don't want to dip into the luxury tax anymore. They need to get out of it. They need to maintain all the draft picks they can. And that's a fine organizational choice. They're not going to go all in on your 20 LeBron. And it just is what it is. They're not used to this as the Lakers. But this is the current state of that team. And they're not the richest team in the league as they once were. They're not the most alluring team in the league as they once were. This is what they're going to have to deal with. So if they're going to clear their decks this summer, you know, good luck to them. I don't the the the the unfortunate part for them is this isn't the greatest free agent crop of all time. And then the one free agent that may have been the darling in their eyes is a guy we'll talk about later, Kairi Irving. That's complicated now as well. Yeah, that got a little bit weird. OK, so you know what, if that is the case and the and the future, at least for the next several years is as grim as it sounds like it is for the Lakers. I know it sounds crazy, but why not just blow it up now? Why not see what you can get for AD? Why not see what you can get for LeBron, knowing that if you don't, the next two, three, four years are also going to be garbage. That seems like a really depressing way to sort of lay it out for your fans. Is it just sacrilegious to even mention getting rid of a LeBron James if you could, in fact, get something for him, Chandler? I mean, I think it's getting to the point where they have to take a hard look at that. I mean, this year is pretty much a wash at this point. They're struggling mightily. They can't find it. They don't have the roster. They don't even have the pieces to advance their roster and get better. So it's definitely they're there and they're in disarray and it's got to be frustrating. And I take a serious look at trading Anthony Davis and LeBron and Russ. I would trade anything right now to kind of get a flow in and be able to compete next year because this year seemed like the rush. It seems like it's almost too late. The pick is going to New Orleans. They are going to struggle this year. They're not making the playoffs this year. And so I would I would take a look at all my assets, all my picks and just see how could I just kind of blow this thing up and start over because there's not like we've talked about every day. There's not really a trade out there. There's nothing right now that can fix it immediately. So I would start thinking future for them and it doesn't look right right now. Yeah, I mean, with the 80 trade, they relinquished a ton of debt and obviously draft capital with the rush trade. They relinquished the rest of their debt and even one more draft pick. So you're you're you're banking on the now and you're selling the future. And that's fine. They want a title. It's absolutely worth it. You want the title. You get to go ahead and say that. But this is the back end of those deals. You might now give up the number one overall pick to the Pelicans. You've given up an all star to them. You've given up key role players as well. And you did all that for a title. You've got exactly what you want, but you do have to deal with that now. The thing about trading LeBron is what is the trademarker for him? He's going to be making what? Fifty million dollars pretty soon. He's in year 20. He's clearly taking a slight step back. He's still box office, of course. But what team out there? What contender? You look at the Cavs. Everybody brings the Cavs. The Cavs are going to sell their debt to have LeBron. They're close to being a title contender. So what do you even get? And that's what they have to reckon with. They're probably going to have to stand pat. I think Anthony Davis is their best option, but that doesn't even mean that's a great option. Well, then I feel like I know the answer to this next question of the two teams, which will be more successful in the next three years. I mean, I'm assuming Eddie, you're saying Clippers. No doubt. No hesitation. Yeah, of course. I mean, a lot of that lies on the help of Kauai Leonard as well. And this is another team that sold a ton of draft capital to get Paul George and kind of started the trend of just, you know, we'll get rid of all our picks. It doesn't matter. They're going to suffer a little bit from that as well. But they have a multi-billionaire owner who's building a brand new stadium out his own pocket. And they're going to be willing to go into the luxury tax like the Lakers aren't, you know. And that's, you know, we talked about this a few weeks ago. That's an owner that's going to fight any hard cap as well, because he's obviously willing to go above and beyond for that. So between all of that, it's definitely them. But we're we could be looking at the old Clippers here in a couple of years as PG gets older, as Kauai phases out or ends up doing whatever he's doing. And look at their Ross, Nick, but soon John Wall, they're they're littered with older contracts as well. So, yeah, it could get a little tough for them too. Yeah, look, the Clippers aren't exactly in a great situation either. Like Eddie just said, they don't really have young talent. They're two stars are hurt often. And Kauai has basically been, you know, in and out of the lineup for the last couple of years. They and they're they're just trying to stay afloat right now this season with Kauai littered out. And Paul George has bailed them out a couple of games here with game winners. They're bottom five and assists. They don't really have that true Malcolm Brogdon traditional point guard, too. So they're rolling Reggie Jackson out there. John Wall, I'm hype for him. He's he's back. He's playing well, but they don't really have that offensive point guard to set up their offense to get in sets to initiate offense. And they're counting a lot on Paul George and he's playing well. But yeah, he's he's getting older, too. So like there's really no future there. I think if I'm them, I'm going all in on this year. And like I said, they're trying to stay afloat until Kauai gets back. And when Kauai's back, the guy, we all know what he's capable of. So if he can ever find a way to get healthy, I love the numbers this year, but that's a big one. But no, that's a big one. We I think we could all just get it tattooed somewhere on our bodies if Kauai is healthy, if he's healthy and can play like that's the thing. Everything depends on that. And we don't have any answers. And that's sort of how it's been with Kauai Leonard most of his career. But let's let's take a break here. We're going to go to the East Coast. OK, not the team you think I'm about to bring up, at least not first. Let's address the next, at least just for a second, because they've done OK. And I feel like they've gotten no love and the only love they ever used to get was negative. So as of right now, Brunson, Randall, RJ, all averaging 20 plus points against the T wolves. Is this is there a ceiling? What do you see as the ceiling for this trio and this next team? Chandler, why don't you go first? Yeah, I mean, listen, they have talent. They're younger. I still think the next they're missing a piece. They're missing somebody. And I couldn't help but, you know, think seeing Donovan Mitchell on that roster this year with Jalen Brunson as a backcourt. That they're missing to me. This this this trio here, they're going to win some games or talented. They're fun to watch. Obi Toppin is taking a step forward this year. But they're still missing that guy to really be a contender. Like they're not going to win a series this year against a good team. They're fun to watch the NBA is better when the Knicks are better. But to me, they need a star. They need a Kevin Durant. They need Jimmy Butler. They need someone like that on this roster to take them to the next level, because this trio to me is not going to get it done. Yeah, on on on Twitter, we like to call everything mid. We like to say all the things that we don't like are mid, but they're literally middle of the pack. They're they're five and five. They're all wins the rating is one eleven. Their defense rating is one eleven. They they're they're a perfectly mediocre team. Three guys averaging 20 points a game is great. The the problem is the fourth leading scorer Obi Toppin is averaging 10 points again. Isaiah Hartenstein, their big one of their big offseason pickups, he's averaging points again. I think he's really good. I think he's incredibly helpful for them and makes them better. But yeah, the problem for them is that the top of the east is really good. Title contender teams, the next tier below them, maybe the Phillies and the Atlantis, they're also really good teams. So you have the Knicks that maybe they're not in the play and maybe they're a six seat. Maybe they're just the outright six seed. You're not taking them against any of those teams. I'm personally hoping they see Trey Young again in the first round. So we get to watch the theater that is Trey Young in Madison Square Garden. But yeah, there's a lot to be done. I think they're going to wonder for quite some time if they had done would need it to be done to go get Donovan Mitchell. And Shoms can speak to that. It was there. It was available. They would have had to give up a lot. But that little bit of explosion could have added way more to them and pushed them another tier higher for sure. Well, like Eddie said, I mean, they were literally one first round pick away or a Quinton Grimes away. And Quinton Grimes hasn't played that much this year, but they were literally that close to getting a deal done with Donovan Mitchell. Doesn't happen. I saw a stat last night that the Knicks have given up 1,500 points this season. They've scored 1,500 points. They're four and four against East, one and one against the West. They're five and five on the season. That's middle. I mean, that's basically definition of just mediocre, solid middle of the pack. But, you know, the way I look at the Knicks right now is they've got eight first round picks in their coffers. So when I speak to executives around the league, they're viewing and believing that the Knicks are kind of hoarding those first round picks, just waiting for that next mega star to become available. For whatever reason, they did not believe that Donovan Mitchell was the guy that they wanted to go fully, fully all in on, which is, you know, ironic because when Leon Rose first got the job there, it was Donovan Mitchell, Devin Booker, Karl-Anthony Towns. You have a chance to go get Donovan Mitchell. You choose that you'd rather keep those, you know, all the picks and all the flexibility. And you have to give Leon Rose credit for this. They've built up the assets necessary to when whoever that mega star is, they'll be right there for them. OK, so we have to talk about the Nets. We've talked about them so much in the last several weeks. But I want to ask you this, it's pretty point blank, Eddie. At what point is this just a lost season? We just say that's it. Play it out. I think they're going to play it out as long as they can. That's been the message all season long. That's been the message to Kevin. That's been the understanding for everybody. He's like, yo, let's get everybody back. Let's see how far we can take this. Let's wait until the absolute brink before we just call it in. Now, since all that began, they fired their coach. They've suspended their second best player. They've maybe moved on from the coach they viewed was the replacement. There's a lot happening here. They are 4-7, but their schedule does lighten up just a tad. They have a road heavy schedule in November, but they have a chance to win some games. The last three games have been a revelation for them. They went from having the worst defensive rating in the league to, I think, second in the league that quick. They were playing that well. Their point differential improved. They got a lot going for them now. Whether Ben snaps out of it and gets better or whatever, the problem for them with blowing it up, I think, is it's the nuclear option. They have to trade Kevin. That's the way they blow it up. They're in a similar situation as Lakers. Their assets are depreciating in front of them. And the one they really have is the one that says, OK, we're done. We're completely bottoming out. We're out of here. That's tough to swallow. They didn't want to swallow it this summer. Who knows at the trade deadline? The offer's even getting better, though. That's the crazy part. And remember a couple years ago when James Harden was hobbled, Kyrie Irving was out. Kevin Durant's toe was on the line and they took the box to game seven. That eventually won the championship. So they were that close. So I don't think it's a lost cause this early, especially when you have Kevin Durant on your team and you have that shooting around him and you have this Kyrie Irving situation that I think we all think will get resolved and come back. I don't think it's I think the Lakers are in a much more stickier situation. But yeah, when I have a guy like KD, anything can get me to the playoffs and that guy can win me it around. He can get to advance. So I'm not giving up on the Nets quite yet. Listen, they have a top 10 player just sitting there, like hopefully coming back as well. But I don't think it's a lost season for those guys yet. I can't count KD out that quick. So optimistic. I just love that about you guys. You really are. It balances me out. All right. So the next three seasons, who's the better team? Nicks or Nets? Somebody answer that because that's... What's team is Kevin Durant on? I don't know. Great question. I mean, listen, talking about the future, I got to go with the Nicks just because they do have Brunson and Barrett who are younger guys. They'll be closer to their prime. You gotta imagine they're gonna get a free agent here. They've been struggling for too long. They got to get somebody. I think the Nicks in the next three years with those two guys, they have more younger talent and God knows with the Nets. I mean, Ben Simmons might not be in the NBA anymore. Kyrie might not be playing anymore. And KD's probably not gonna be on the Nets. So I'm going with the Nicks. That is... That's so happy. I love that. Good for Nicks fans. I feel like they've suffered a really, really, really, really long time and they deserve something happy in that building. Guys, we have drama in Minnesota and I am here for all of it. Anthony Edwards. Now he's calling out teammates saying that they are soft every bump. He clues himself in this, but he's saying teams are coming in there and we're gonna take their heart and that's what's going on. We're down 20 every game. We've got to figure it out. So this is just the exchanging of the calling outs. And so Chandler, we've got Edwards now calling out his teammates. What do you make of it? I mean, he's not wrong. And you can tell there's a little bit of beef there and there's some tension going on there. And it's obviously the Popeye's thing earlier on this season, but this is more acceptable to me than calling out someone's diet or calling out someone's private issues like Pounds did. This is... We're all watching them play. We all think they're soft. And he included himself. So I don't think this is necessarily wrong. He's hopefully trying to get them going a little bit. It's never a good sign when a teammate is saying something like this publicly. Again, this is something that he could have just told them privately or had a team players only meeting and got this handled. But he's frustrated and he's young and they definitely need to figure it out. They have one of the few teams playing two centers basically and soft should be the last word to identify a team that's got size like that. But I think frustration is just mounting for them and man, there's definitely beef there with those two kids. Yeah, that's good for us, Shoms. The mindset in the front office about all of this, whether it's public or not, has to be what? Well, I think from a front office perspective, they're going to be patient. They want to see Rudy Gobert call Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards through because you make a trade like that. Like Chandler said, they're one of the few teams in the league that's playing this twin towers type of approach. But it's definitely concerning when you see the body language at times, from what I'm told, the body language has been really, really poor, even in huddles and behind the scenes. So they've got to pick that up. But Chandler knows a guy like Patrick Beverly Weld. He played a big time leadership role last year on that team. He's not there anymore. And so when you bring in talent, you get rid of those kind of young, scrappy, veteran type players that you built organically with and built the right culture and the right philosophy, the right moral values on a daily basis in that organization, those guys are gone now. The Jared Vanderbilt, the Patrick Beverly of the world. So they went all in on talent. We'll see how much they'll be better from it in the long run. It is crazy because it's all situational. Like Patrick Beverly is a huge role for a team like the Timberwolves with that youth, with that immaturity. There's the clip with Anthony Edwards with his hands on his hips. And clearly there's the out of time out play that the ball is going into town or whatever the play was. And he's supposed to be a decoy. And he's clearly upset visibly and acting like he's just not part of the play. That's things that a Patrick Beverly can grab him at a time out and hold him accountable for that he doesn't really have that impact on this Lakers roster. So it's funny because Pat would be good for them right now because they need that, that tough leadership, you know, to enough with these negative headlines. Yeah, I think, you know, we're seeing what people thought we were going to see in Boston. We're seeing two number one overall picks, two guys who want to be the faces of a franchise, maybe not this one, two guys who believe they're the best player on the team. Kat and Carly Downs are separated by a point, one point per game right now as far as been top score on their team. They want to be the guy, it's clear. They're arguing over it. Carly Downs is about to be 27 years old in a few days here. People are still wondering what exactly he is as a player. He's an all-road talent. He should be better than he is at this point. Should be entering his prime. You know, Anthony Edwards looks like a star in the making. If either one of these guys ever hits the open market, it's going to be a fire sale to grab that talent and figure out what to do. Problem is they're not winning games. They haven't figured out the fit. They're five and six. Meanwhile, the Jazz, who they've just given a bunch of picks to are number one seed in the West and salivating at the fact that they might get this free top 10 pick if this goes on how it goes on. I see nothing wrong with Ant said. He said a bunch of truth. I'm with Chandler, like maybe say that in locker room, but maybe he has already. Plus, look, he's been addressed in the public sphere. So now let me address you back in the same form. They got to get something going there. And I think leadership is a great point as well. Rudy was notoriously quiet and kind of aloof and Utah as well. Not really expecting him to do that. Who are the vets left on that team? Slow Mo, Kyle Anderson. Is it Daniel Russell who's having a down season? Who's the person that's going to rally that locker room and say, okay, let's get it together. They're young coaches as well. So they got a lot of things out of patch up and fix. And this is a team that absolutely went all in on the next few years. So they cannot afford to be losing these games. And I'm going to tell you this too, when a guard especially says we're playing soft, he's talking about the bigs. Yeah. Well, and I think it's hurtful. That's the bigs, yeah. It has to be for the bigs. And I think specifically Carl Anthony Towns, if there's one word that's sort of been the knock on him over the last several years, it is that exact word soft. So there has to be a little bit of a personal dagger right there, but they play Phoenix. Oh, what's that? I was going to say a little bit of Russell Wilson to Kat. Like, you know, he thinks he's no more famous than he is. He's got the put on character. He's fraudulent. He's fraudulent. He's the playing game. I could absolutely see a guy like Ant, who is just purely whoever he is. Like he's in every room for good and for better and for worse. Just looking at that guy, I mean, like, oh, no, that's a bad fit then. That is a hard fit. I like how Shoms doesn't comment on when we get going with him. He's like, don't say anything, Shoms. You got a job to do. You came with smoke today. That's all I'm going to say. And also shout out Papa. This is a nice nod. I love it. I always think those two personalities clash so hard. And they play the Suns next. And the Suns, of course, gotten off to a pretty hot start. But they've got the bad news of no Cam Johnson for the foreseeable future. And CP3 dealing with a heel injuries, questionable as of right now for tonight. But can they continue this streak and they continue this hot winning without those two? And let's just assume CP3 is out, if not one game, maybe a couple. But do you think that they're strong enough to make this thing keep going, Chandler? Yeah. I mean, I think Devin Booker is good enough to win them games and keep them afloat with Deondre Aitin. And this is huge for a campaign. I mean, he's kind of thrown into this role now where he's going to have to control the offense. He's going to have to go get some buckets for them. And he's going to have to kind of manage their team with CP3 out. But the big one to me is Cam Johnson. This kid, I think he's one of the oldest first round of lottery picks ever taken. He came in the league ready to go. You can tell he plays the game the right way. He moves without the ball. He cuts. He runs the floor. And the guy can just knock down threes, which is what this league is about now. So they got to find guys to kind of fill that void. And it's interesting because the main guy I think about is Jay Crowder. And if they could find a way to somehow figure that out and plug him in right now for the next four to six weeks that Cam is out, that would be huge. I don't know any details on that. Maybe Sean's does. But that would be a guy that I think would be ideal to plug right in there and kind of keep them going. Yeah, I think campaign and Devin Booker can handle the ball handling duties with CP out. Book is very underrated in the playmaking aspect. He ran point guard on the Mexican side. He did it a ton in Phoenix before Chris Paul got there. He can run a pick and roll really well. Obviously no more as a scorer. But he can still handle those duties when he be. There's a large contingent of people who think like, yo, campaign to be playing more minutes in CP. He's more explosive. He's more this and that. We're going to have to find out a little bit, maybe over the next few weeks. I think the issue, yeah, is Cam Johnson, who was starting, who was starting to flourish in that role as well. They have guys like Toy Craig off the bench or try to fill in. But I thought the same thing as Chandler is the Jay Crowder thing just completely irreconcilable. Is there no way to get this together just to hold the fort? It might help Jay to be on the court as he's trying to get traded. But again, maybe Shams would know better than us. And it seemed to be pretty bad early on. Yeah, as of right now, no plans for Jay Crowder to return to the team, I'm told. So again, does that mean they're still working on it? Does that mean they could trade him here in the near future? We know Milwaukee Atlanta are involved. So just the latest on that front. He's not coming back right now. He's never coming back. Right. This is his chance. And if he doesn't want to, he doesn't. I mean, that is what it is. We're going to take a quick break here coming up next. Shams with the scoop on the Kyrie Adam Silver meeting. Oh, finally. And we got some great video. Luca Zion, you know it. Run it back next. Welcome back to run it back. Oh, Hornets without Lamello ball. Oh, Adam Morrison. That's just a throwback. Shams, it's time for the scoop. And we haven't talked with Lamello ball in a minute. What is the latest? And what's the update with him? So Lamello ball has not played. He suffered a grade two ankle sprain the second week of October. But I'm told he is progressing. He's doing more on the court. He's been doing two on two and three on threes. And a source close to him told me that there's hope that he's going to be returning to the lineup and making his debut very soon. But the Hornets need him bad. They've been dealing with injuries across the roster, not only the Lamello ball. Terry Rozier's missed time. Gordon Hayward is now out. Cody Martin's missed time. So this is a team that's been beat up. They're hopeful that Lamello ball is going to be back in the lineup shortly. So nobody else had any basketball to watch yesterday, but Shom still had to keep it going, had to keep working. The meeting happened yesterday between Kairi and Adam Silver. What can you tell us about it? Yeah, I was told that happened. It lasted for about an hour. And from what I was told on both sides, it was described as productive understanding. But now the real work begins between Kairi Irving and the Nets because there are not only the steps that we discussed, the six items that the actions that they wanted to accomplish. So they got to get going on that and try to figure out a middle ground there. But also, he's got to sort out the relationship, not only between him, the organization, him, the roster. He hasn't been around for about a week now at a high level ever since he was suspended on Thursday. So right now, Kairi Irving is going to go through that process. He's under contract. At the end of the day, the team knows they need him, but in what capacity and how soon? So OK, the list, the Scavenger Hunt Bizarro world list that he's got to do. Do I mean, look, is there a chance? Because I still, maybe I'm the minority, I still think this is all so that he goes somewhere else. I just, I feel like it's broken in Brooklyn, but is there a chance that he checks off this list and then they move him? I mean, could you see a world in which that happens? Eddie, you're there. Can you even picture it? I mean, I don't think anything is off the table as far as the Nets go. I think both sides explored parting ways this summer. That's pretty well known and understood. He came back on a one year deal and the whole road knows that he'll be an unrestricted free agent this summer with the ability to leave. And you have to reckon with that as a franchise to say, hey, do we let him walk for nothing? Did we chance that he walks for nothing? Yet they also assess his value. You might have to let him walk for nothing. I might not have the opportunity if teams aren't exactly kicking down the door. I don't know that this is put in place for the sake of pushing him out the door. They could wave him. They could buy him out. They could kick him out whenever they so choose on that lame duck deal. If anything, I feel like they've been reluctant to do that and need him there as much as possible. There's always kind of the assumption that he's attached to Kevin and they want to maintain that relationship with Kevin as well. I think it's the opposite. I think they actually want to mend fences and keep things cordial, at least until January, at least until trade's really good going. Shoms, as always, appreciate it. Thank you. We'll talk tomorrow. You guys sticking around because we got video. This is the best part, all right? The man has a family for goodness sakes. And these are some videos that we didn't get to that we want to share with you now. And this one, this just felt happiness in my bones. Tate, Tate. Nice revenge, dunk. Not having the greatest season of all time, but that had to feel good. You can tell by his face, so happy. This is a nasty dunk, let alone against your old team that traded you. This had to feel really good for THT. There's nothing better than breakups. Right? Well, end of a blowout dunk is nice and mean. Like, get out of here, get out of here, Damien Lee. But you know what? So many times we run into an ex and we're not showered and we're wearing the worst outfit and we don't have any makeup on and we look disgusting. And this is the opposite of that for him. And I am so happy that he got that moment. Man, this is just a classic. Like, when it rains and pours for the Lakers. Like, of course this would happen. Of course that happens. Don't worry, there's more. This is a, well, this doesn't happen every day. A congle over Yannis? What? Who? What? Yeah, this can be absolutely. Yeah, Yannis kind of didn't know what was going on here. That's cool. I'm taking it anyway. You know that's a dope poster. You know, he's got that picture in IG right now. Like, come on, we're taking that. This is a bouncy guy though. Like Chandler said, Lamello's former high school teammate as many people know he can be something for them as the playoffs come around. Yeah, this isn't a classic body where Yannis is trying to block his shot. He doesn't really see him coming. But like, like I just said, this is a really cool picture for this too. Right? I mean, at the end of the day, it's still Yannis, potentially MVP. Just one of the best. I keep it. How about Luca? This is going to just be a regular thing we see. Oh, unfortunately. Oh, he missed the layup. That's all right. I cannot say this is a wet spot here either. This is just an actual, this is an actual mishap where he just, his knee, his right knee looks like it just straight up gives out right there. Great. Now he's out again for six months. Don't say it. Luca is like the captain of the push-off team and that's okay though. Like everybody pushes off. I don't think I've ever seen a guy sit down Indian style on the court. That's pretty. It's a timeout. Also, sorry it was you, man. You cannot smoke this layup though, if you're Luca. Well, I agree. I know, right? And if you remember, this led to it. This led to a dunk at the other end too. So this actually was a winning, this is a good play for the Nets. Chandler, we do not need the whole story, okay? Just leave it as it is. This was Nets. Yeah, this is okay, Scottie Barnes. Oh my goodness. Who's the best softball dude? This is Nets because I actually thought he was gonna kind of shoot like a running hook shot here. I thought there was no chance he could dunk from outside the arch on a seven footer coming at him. And the way he just hangs at the rim while staring at Boosh is so disrespectful. I love it so much. Yeah, that's a seven footer you do that too. In traffic, that's, I dropped my phone when I seen this. I couldn't believe that happened. Oh. I mean, what's the deal, Zion? Although, you gotta make that. You gotta make that, right? Zion's not gonna get a lot of posters because everybody's gonna jump out the way. And I know it's kind of blasphemous to put a miss dunk. But look, if you attempt murder and get caught, you will go to jail. So this is just as bad, this is, you know, hey. Yeah, and this is Miles Turner who beats up shots all the time. I think he's leading the league in blocked shots. And Zion just does not even see him and was trying to go through him. Oh, his face afterwards too. Just a lot going on. I like this miss dunk more than I like the some of the other dunks we've shot. Now, okay, do you like it more than this one? Ben Carroll versus the Rockets? No, this is the signal. This is a grown man. This is a man's child. This is like, how can he do this? Look at the bump like get out of here. Wow, like the bump while spinning while just finishing, just honestly, it should have been a man one too. This guy hits him right in the face. This is just a man against boy play right here. Get that baby on the street. Dangerous out there in the street. Get him out. That's I love Paolo. I mean, he's running away with rookie of the year. We're not even what we're 10% through the season. It's kind of crazy. We're taking a quick break up next. The watch that we are all on, it's Wemby Watch. Plus no foul calls in overtime. Fans on the court. Why not run it back? Victor Wimba and Yama hit a three off one foot. This is going to be such a fun season as we all wait for that young man to make it into the NBA. Guys, I know this seems like an obvious question, but there's such a long list to it. So Chandler, I'm going to start with you. What makes this guy so unique? First of all, this cat just looks like he's getting bored trying things over there. The ISO one leg, you know, dribble showcase three at some James Harden in the Drew League type shit right there. That's crazy. But I mean, listen, the guy's size is crazy. We've talked about this before. We haven't really seen someone with this length, with this size who is kind of advertised as shorter than he really is. There's nothing he can really, he can't do. And then when you get this guy in an NBA nutrition program in a weight room, this guy's going to be something we've never seen before. He can score in multiple ways. He can take you off the dribble. He can post up. He's so long. He dunks everything. He blocks everything. He handles like a guard. This dude is a unicorn. And I'm excited to see him kind of take that next level and play in the league because he's dominating these men in Europe. He's dominating these kids in Europe. He is, I've never seen anything like this, dude. Okay, Eddie, that's the question. I mean, we've had some prospects in the history of this league. I always get nervous about hyperbole here, but is he the best? I mean, is this the best prospect we've ever seen? Look, the threes are not supposed to be floaters. You know, I blame, I blame Jokic. I blame Kevin, but this is ridiculous. His size, when he sticks the rooty go bare, you really get an idea of that perspective. Yeah, as far as all-time prospects, I mean, you have to go all the way back to Lula Alcindor going to UCLA. You go back to Kevin, I mean, not Kevin LeBron as well. And you wonder, but this package of assets and tools, we've never seen this before, not in this size, not with the level of competition he's played against, not with the amount of publicity he's getting. Everyone in his games is on the NBA app. He'd be playing on Fandall Plus here in a few days. Yep, yep. We're dialed into this. We didn't get to see Lula Alcindor play in high school. We saw LeBron a couple of times, but this, like, we're getting to see everything from when he was a baby to now. I'm excited. I mean, you know, it's crazy is him and Chet are gonna be playing against each other next year. And Chet is just about as much of a unicorn as Wimby. But Wimby's five inches taller, like it's a little insane, it's sick. Yeah, the Chet story has yet to be played out. Well, I guess we'll see that soon. And like I said, I get so nervous for this kid with the height because at some point that's a lot of pressure. And so maybe we could just tone it down a bit, but I know there's zero chance of that happening. And it's time for you buying that. This is where I give you guys some stuff and you tell me if you like it or you don't. And this is what we're starting with because Zubat's Clippers tied for six in the NBA on the rebound side. Are you buying the dominance on the boards here, Chandler? Yeah, he's really their only kind of true center. They are still last in offensive rebounds in the league too. So if he can start grabbing a couple of them, there's no reason why it shouldn't be a top one or two rebounders in the league. Their offense gets a little stagnant. They take a lot of jumpers, they're missing a lot of shots. And so he's got opportunity there on the offensive glass to even get this number high. So yeah, I'm buying it. Thanks for showing all of them from the first game. That was nice. Appreciate it. Eddie, Mavs have won four straight after starting the season two and three this win streak. You buying it? Yeah, absolutely. I mean, if you remember two of those first three losses were at the buzzer. So this is a great team. This is teams who won a lot of games this year. They're gonna push for a top four seed. They have what's looking like the MVP thus far, one of the best players in the world. And they built this team perfectly around him and that they surround him with shooters, surround him with athletic defenders and they made it run in competition finals last year. They're as good as you absolutely think they are. All right, Chandler, LeBron James, 21% from the three, it's the worst of his career. Are you buying this as the decline of his three? I mean, the one thing he's never been as a sniper, 21% is pretty bad. But I think LeBron's problem is he settles for a lot of long contested threes. He goes to that left step back a lot. You never really see LeBron get set up with like a drive kick, swing swing, wide open spot three. All these clips right now, he's way behind the line. They're all contested. They're all kind of rushed shots. So yeah, he's probably not gonna shoot a great number. The one thing you shouldn't lose as you get older is your jump shot and your touch. Like athleticism is the first thing to go. I think he just, he doesn't have a playmaker that's kind of making it easier for him giving them easy looks. So yeah, he's not gonna shoot a high percentage. Desmond Bain, right now, the highest fourth quarter scoring average. You buy him this as his dominance in the fourth, Eddie? No, but I do buy him having success. He's not gonna be top five in four quarter scoring for rest of the league. He's absolutely scorching right now. He's a sniper. He won a three point contest last year. I think what benefits him a ton is exactly what we've just seen. Jogged so much attention in these fourth quarters as teams really dial in that he'll get some weak side threes. He'll get, you know, he'll get the ability to slash coming off a closeout because guys are scrambling after dealing with what Jogged does in the paint. But top five and four quarter points? No, no. Come on. Let's be serious. I feel good about it. I feel good about it. We'll check back in in a couple of months and then we'll periodically do that. All right, Chandler, we just saw it in the last segment. Miles Turner leading the league in blocks per game by a lot, by the way. Do you buy him as the premier shot blocker in this league? Yeah, we just, we saw him just kind of have no fear with that Zion train coming at him. And the guy, listen, he's done this before. He's done it twice before. He led the league in blocks in 2019. He led the league in blocks in 2021. So this is what he does. He's playing with a chip on the shoulder. The guy wants to get traded. He's, this is a team that signed Deandre and another center to a huge deal this summer. It's clearly just kind of motivated him even more. And this guy's going to try and beat up everything. I think he's, he's been doing this for years and this is kind of found his niche here. No reason to stop now. Eddie's favorite segment, convince me. We got some premises. Some are crazy. Some are not. Eddie convinced me teams should be able to dictate the distance on the arc of their court, their home court. I like this idea a lot. I'll tell you why. It's a little crazy, right? Cause why not just make it a 15 footer? Why not? You know, but I like this idea a lot because in other sports, you get real home field advantage. Yo, we have a ton of foul ground. It's 3000 feet in the air in Denver. You know, whatever it is, it snows in Chicago. There's actually differences in home court. Now in basketball, it's like our fans are going to be loud. But your fans might have bought 20,000 tickets on the secondary market and we might be playing on the road. I'm all for some weird stuff like this. Let me make the backboard not clear. Let me, you know, let me do something. Let me play with it a little bit. I don't hate it. It's called evolution. I'm all in. Chandler convinced me that Darwin Ham will win coach of the year. You've been giving me some crazy ones. Listen, a trade goes through. Anthony Davis starts playing like Anthony Davis and LeBron James plays like the best player of all time. And these guys can, they figured out something with Russell Westbrook coming off the bench. If this Lakers roster can somehow get a top four seed and get home court advantage in the playoffs, this man has to win coach of the year. Well, goodness gracious. He should also be given a Nobel Peace Prize if you can figure that out. That's like, that's a miracle waiting to happen. That's the only way he's got to say it. Eddie, I know, I know you love changes. There should be no foul calls in overtime. Commits me because you imagine the disdain on James Harden and Luca Duncett's faces as they can't foul bait. It'll be a lot. No fouls is a lot. Some of these guys would really rebel. But as a guy who in, you know, my very low level pick a career generally doesn't call foul. I would enjoy the amusement of this. This would blow my mind watching this. But there's no way we'd ever finished overtime. There'd be fights. Somebody would tackle somebody and it would be over, which is as a fan. I don't hate it. Chandler, not bad entertainment, right? I feel like it's going to be fun, regardless. Convince me that the Celtics would still make the playoffs with a randomly selected fan playing 30 minutes in every game. This is ridiculous. The Celtics would be the team to do this because they could hide this dude in the corner and have Tatum and Brown score all the points and have Marcus Smart and Robert Williams play all the defense. So I think they could find a way to hide this guy and the Celtics would be the team. I mean, they're playing four on five. They're playing four on five. And hopefully this guy has some sort of skill here. OK, Eddie, as a person who plays pick up basketball on the reg, are you going to take this kind of disrespect to the mere civilians that Chandler is throwing out right now? Well, we're talking like a high school basketball player. We don't know. Yeah, I need to scout and report on the fifth guy. That's fair. That is fair. All right, Brad Stevens used to run a zone when Isaiah Thomas stayed in the corner no matter who else. You might get shocked a little bit. All right, we haven't hit one of these yet. That's not going to stop us. Let's try it one more time. Oh, Harley, after the break, I swear, we'll get it. Running back next. Every day wins make your day so much better. That's why Fandall Casino has a daily free to play game reward machine, a free game that gives players the chance to win up to $2,000 in casino bonus every day. Fandall's reward machine is already given away over 5 million in prizes to over 250,000 winners. To get in on the action, all you have to do is log in daily and spend for a free chance at rewards. Fandall wants you to win. Play reward machine for a free chance that every day wins only on Fandall Casino. All right, no pressure, guys, but it's time for the four leg parlay. Whoo, take a deep breath. We're going to get one of these, I promise. Eddie, your first two are what? OK, I am going, I'm betting on the Nets here, I'm going Nick Klaxid over 12 and a half points. The Tom Tipito is going to double Kevin from the tip off. He might double him on the tip off. Plenty of opportunity for Nick to score at the end of rotations. I got him going over this easily. I think he's going to have a great game. Nick had a great season as well, by the way. I just want to shout him out a little bit. OK, OK, number two. Number two, I have, I wait for the bubble on the screen. I have Jared Allen going over on rebounds against the Kings tonight. The Kings are like a weirdly, weirdly rebounding team. Baby bonus is great, but he is not as big as this front line. They're number one in the league and defensive rebounding percentage, but their third last in offensive rebounding percentage, which basically means like, you know, you don't get to crash the glass on them, but they will let you have your rebounds on the other end. Shout out to my guy Lawrence. He gave me this tip. He said, Jared's been easy money on overs all season long. So I'm going to go with that. Well, that that's a little too confident, considering our record, but Chandler, you got two legs, too. What's the number? What's yours? Yeah, I feel good about yours, Eddie. This is this is this is the one. OK, so my first pick is Celtics Pistons under 22 to 22.5. And this is only because I saw a video on Instagram and it said, pick the widest margin point spread and take the under. It's like 90 percent effective this year. So this is the biggest spread. I don't remember the spread. I think it's like nine or 13 or something and the under is going to hit. I know I like it. Sounds so common. I know I like that you're doing weird research. We're researching now. Yeah, we're at rock bottom now. We got to figure it out. He goes have become involved. All right. What's your second one? Yeah, my next one is just off sheer eyesight that I think no matter who plays should be able to beat the Thunder by seven to cover that spread. Right. That seems that seems low. I mean, there's the best team in the NBA against arguably the worst team in the NBA. Giannis is going to absolutely have his way with these guys. I feel I feel really good about this one, Eddie. OK, well, the good news is if you bet 20 bucks, you can win 255 and you guys seem to feel both very confident. This might very well be our first successful four leg parlay. Am I getting that right? I like this one a lot. Chandler, I'm going to bet the 20. And then when I see you next week, the first round's on me. But we did it. We finally did it. Oh, this is now you all getting out of control. We have got anything. The first to 15, too. We were we were solid. I mean, that one's impossible. That one's really hard. I just love that the spurs were one of the ones that did not do what they were supposed to do. And I take pleasure out of that so much to go. You guys, the good news is, well, we've got the next few days off. But the even better news is when we see each other again, it will actually be in person live in studio in Los Angeles. We're going to stay on the text thread because we can't wear matching outfits. We've already been told that that's a big one. Guys, do we agree to not match a match? And do I need to know anything before I head out that way? No matching. And let's sit Chandler on a really low chair since he's taller than everybody in the room. Sounds like a plan. Basketball's back, baby. You don't have to hang out with your families anymore. We'll see you guys next week. Have a good one.