 The Lakers are making me look stupid and mama doesn't like that. Run it back. Starts now. Happy Wednesday morning or as we hear at Pando like to call it Friday for us. I'd like to introduce you to the beautiful panel this morning. As always, stadium insider Shamsharani with a head full of knowledge. Just waiting to share it all. Chandler P coming to us from our neighbors down the South. Mako and Eddie G on the end there, ready to spout knowledge. You guys, um, it was kind of a decent night in basketball. Would you say we learned a lot? We've changed our minds on some things and we're going to get to it right now. Starting with this game, Celtics and Sixers. Oh, this one was good. Sixers 103, 101 and beat finish this thing with 52 points on 20 to 25. Shooting, which is, uh, it's pretty efficient. Doc River said the MVP race is over. Chandler, did he lock it up last night? Uh, I think he did and, and he made a point last night. So it's probably his last national TV game before the playoffs. Everybody's watching huge matchup, possibly a finals matchup in the Eastern Conference and he absolutely dominated from start to finish. And I remember a couple of weeks ago, a lot of people, a lot of media were talking about, he was ducking Joel, uh, you know, yo kids, he should have played this game. Voters are going to remember that they should remember this game. The guy had 52, 13, six. Again, nobody had any answers for him last night. He scored half of the half of their points. He got zero help really from Dwyer's Harris. Tyrese Max, he had five points each. PJ Tech, Travis hit those three huge threes in the end of the game there. But this was a point proven by Joel Embiid with everybody watching. Meanwhile, on League Pass, the Nuggets were losing to arguably the worst team in the NBA. Uh, and they weren't trying to lose either. They were all playing, they were fully loaded and they're over on the other channel losing to the Rockets. So yes, I think if you're going to remember a game, you remember this game, you remember this performance against arguably the best defense in the NBA and they had nothing to do with Joel Embiid. He should be your MVP. Chandler's 100% right. I mean, this is exactly what you wanted to see. This is an MVP performance. This is exactly that against a team that you're contending against. A team we've argued about weeks and weeks and weeks on end about who is better out of the two. He had to pick his team up. He wasn't getting much help from his guys either. And this is what MVPs do. This is how MVPs look. It's the final national TV game, like Chandler said, and he just stepped up. He just, you could see the demeanor as the game started. It wasn't like this floppy, he shoots 100 free throws game either. He made 20 field goals. Like he looked absolutely dominant against one of the teams. We go, hey, they have the bodies to defend him and they can make it work. And they know they can't. He can just do this. And it's almost frustrating when he does this because then you think of the other games when he doesn't, it's like, yo, he could be scored 35 points a night if he wanted, I guess. But yeah, the MVPs a lot. Doc Rivers is right. Doc Rivers is actually smart to throw that out there too. It's like, let the people know what happened here tonight because they need to know. And then yeah, Denver losing it. He like, all right. Give the man his award. He's earned it. We can stop debating now. I mean, the argument stands if we were going to be victims of recency bias in the other game, then this one should work as well, Shoms. I feel like I know where we're going here and we did hear from Doc. But what are the players saying about the MVP race? It's hard to deny Joel Embiidon. When I talked to players around the league, it's been trending toward Joel Embiid as their pick, as their vote, as the guy that they view as the most dominant, the most valuable on a nightly basis. So I think when you talk to players, the vote is looking at Joel Embiid. And I think when you look at the game that he sat against Denver with the calf injury, he played in the back to back. They said three games and four nights. That's the one thing that you can look at. But I'm told it really was bugging him that cap and then making a prudent decision for him to sit that game. You know, he also has not played in Denver since 2019-20. So I'm not sure how much he loves playing in Denver. But then if you look at it, Nikola Jokic plays that night and then he misses the next three games. He comes back last night. I believe he had eight turnovers last night. They struggled. They lost against Houston. And then on the other end, Joel Embiid is having the performance that he had. So it's, it's brutal right now. The MVP voting, Giannis has a case. I think Nikola Jokic has a case. You can make a case for all three, but it's hard to deny Joel Embiid right now. The fifth game in the last five years with 50 plus points, 10 plus rebounds. Only Giannis has done it with those numbers the last five years. So Joel Embiid is putting up incredible numbers. He's going to lead the league in scoring again back to back for the second straight year. So he's, he's just on another level right now. So I want to ask you, Chandler, we saw a little bit of the Jokic highlights or lowlights depending on how you want to look at them. I still believe that at this point he would rather not get this award and have his team be better. So everyone will shut up. But do you think last night was enough truly for him to be taken out of this competition or is there a shot? We're still going to be surprised come MVP announcement. I think there's still a shot. Let's not be so short-sighted to put the vote on one game. That's why I was so irritated when they were saying, oh, this means a lot. Well, not playing against the Nuggets, even though he destroyed the Nuggets and got the win and killed Jokic the first time they played. You can't put so much weight on one game, but yeah, for a guy to win three in a row, you have to avoid nights like this and all the defensive stats are coming out about Jokic aren't helping his case. And I'm watching Joel last night and a lot of knock on him as many takes plays off. He didn't take any plays off last night. That's what I can tell he was locked in. He was trying, he was playing very aggressive. He was crashing the glass. He was trying to block every shot. He put a complete game there where he was efficient offensively and dominated defensively. So this to me, I don't think it killed Jokic his performance. I think Joel and B dominating last night just helped his performance with on national TV on TNT against the really, really, really good team. I think it should secure it for Joel and B. So let's take a larger view of the game in its entirety, not just a couple guys, but James Harden had 20 points, 10 assists. Tucker, I swear it was right after we all yelled at our TVs, why are you shooting? He then went three from three, from three and it was pretty impressive. You didn't have any Jalen Brown out there of course. Tatum finished with 19 and six. So hopefully we see them again. It looks like we might Eddie your biggest takeaway from this win for the Sixers over Boston. Basically Anna Horford's tweet that they were missing two of their most important players, two starters and maybe their best player as well. And it was tooth and nail. You need some big shots when PJ Tucker down the stretch for the Sixers to truly compete in an absolutely monumental game from the MVP. So if you're the Celtics, you walk away saying whatever, but you still don't want to lose that game. I mean, I talked to guys around that team earlier in the afternoon and they were pretty jacked up for this game and ready to win this game and prove a point. So you still don't want to lose that game. But I think, hey, you go forward. You say, hey, we're going to be the two seed. They're going to have to beat us at home. And I look forward to that second round series. I'm dying to get to that point in the season. Like I look at the Western Conference Playoffs and it's going to be amazing top to bottom every round to play in everything. The East we're going to have to wait till the round two. But when round two starts, we're going to get some real fireworks out there. And I hope it's this series right here. And that's it. They are on track to meet up in round two, as Eddie just said. And the panel after the game, Candice Parker, Jamal Crawford and company, they also seem to trust Boston more when it was all said and done. And you've said that as well, Chandler. Do you still think that 100%? Yeah. And like I said yesterday, I think this is a better team. It's a deeper team. They're a better defensive team. I trust them more in the postseason than the roster that Philly has. That doesn't take anything away from DeWell winning MVP in the season he has. I just think the experience, the DNA, the culture that Boston has in the last couple of years, they're ready in their prime. And like we all just said, they should have won this game if PJ Tucker doesn't go berserk last night. The second best player, Brogdon was great. And I got to give Blake Griffin his flowers. I even tweeted this last night, which I rarely do. This guy didn't play in the first half. Didn't play in the third quarter. Comes in, plays, I think eight or so minutes and does all these, didn't score. And he really impacted this game last night. And Missoula subbed him out and put, put a, what's his name in? Put a Grant Williams back at the end of the game. And I swear that shifted things. He was battling with DeWell. He was getting offensive rebound. He was getting them extra possessions and he's going to play a huge part of them on the roll. If he gives them spot minutes like this, like we did last night. But I think overall the Celtics, they're just too deep. They're too locked in defensively and when Tatum and Brown are on the floor and they're rolling, there's not much to stop them. Well, we've come to that point in the show guys. Let's talk players. Utah Jazz, you break my heart. They went on a 10-0 run, by the way, to end the fourth quarter. It sent this thing to overtime. And I thought, here we go. But nope, LeBron finished with 37. He also had the game winning layup AD with 21-14 and six. Austin Reeves. I mean, I guess we really live in a universe where Austin Reeves is doing things. He had 28 points, shot the ball well. We always are looking for the next big three, Chandler. Do the Lakers have one? And I'm, yes, I'm talking about Austin Reeves and that. No, stop. No, he's a very good player. And this isn't just like a, this isn't a race thing either. Oh, he's like the classic white guy, like the Caruso. And I like, this kid can hoop. He can do everything. He defends. He's got great vision. He's got size. He's athletic. He can shoot the ball. There's nothing really he can't do on the basketball floor. He's thriving in this offense and with these players around him. And he's going to be a huge part of their team going forward. But no, they're going to have to add an actual, you know, top tier player. And Austin Reeves is one of those guys that he's going to be a great role player on a championship team one day, but you can't knock what he's doing now. And I love everything around him. I love Jared Vanderbilt. I love guys like Schroeder coming off the bench that can get buckets. So they really develop this nice team. And they're doing everything they're supposed to do. The real winner in this game last night was Dallas because Utah and Oklahoma City lose last night, which kind of keeps that hope alive for the map. So Lakers helped them out big time last night. But also, don't look now. The Lakers could get out of the play-in if they keep winning games like this. And they're looking good. They're looking tough to beat. Austin Reeves is playing very well. Anthony Davis, LeBron James all back, fully healthy. This team is dangerous. I'm not going to lie, Chandler. I was hoping for the universe where the thunder and the jazz wind and the maverick shut it down just for humor's sake, just for entertainment's sake of the stories that would come out of that. But it all went perfect for the Massey, right? They're going to have to play tonight now. But as far as Austin Reeves, I tune in and I try to hate. I try to go, you know, this is Lakers gas. This is Taylor Horton Tucker all over again. This is Kyle Kuzma. This is all, but he's actually good. Like he's actually, look, he can shoot. He can handle. He can pass. He's scrappy on defense. He's like consummate, coach, his son, white guy, but he really hits good. He does a bunch of stuff and they need him. They need him. You look for, they could possibly be the five sitting by the sons and people are asking me, who's going to guard Devin Booker? That guy's going to guard Devin Booker and he's going to give him hell when he does it. And he's going to be looked at in that situation no matter who they play, whether it's the Kings wet, whether it's the Grizzlies. He's going to be tracking John Moran around the court. Like he's somebody they're actively relying on and who continues to come through for them. He's hitting the three. He keeps getting to the line. Like I don't understand it. I watch him and go, what is he doing? Like, what is his trick? But he just has a real great, like a real great knack for getting under defenders for swiping up through them for, for getting them off balance for, for initiating contact. He's talented, man. I don't know if he's a big three. I think in the ideal world, he's maybe your sixth man. He's maybe your seventh man. He's your second guard off the bench, something along those lines. But man, he can play. And so I had to tip my hat. It's not just Lakers gas. He really has some game. Yeah, if you're the Lakers, I don't know if you want him to be a part of your big three because when they last won the championship in 2019-20, they had LeBron James, they had Anthony Davis, and then they had a bunch of really good role players. So if you have him playing the Kyle Kuzma role, where he's technically your third best player, but he can start and come off the bench. He can do a little bit of everything. That's really the role that they have him in right now. So listen, Austin, he's an amazing player. What he's doing this year, the growth that he's had, because he didn't start the year off as strong. And you look at the last eight games, there's seven in one. He's already 21 points, seven assists, four rebounds, getting in means like this. So Austin Reed is doing a lot of things right. But a lot of this relies on LeBron James and Anthony Davis staying healthy. And so if they're going to make the playoffs outright, will they play tonight? We'll see what happens. LeBron James said he's going to put his feet in a nice bucket and see how he feels the next morning. So we'll see as they go back to LA if he's going to play or not. That is the million dollar question. Darvin Ham, in case you're wondering what his take was on that said, we have our short-term business to take care of and our long-term business to take care of, which is basically like when your dad says we'll see. It means nothing. You have no idea what he's going to do. And now we have to figure out should they. So how about we decide, Chandler, should they rest LeBron and AD against the Clippers? And I hope they do because I have the Clippers. Talk to me. No, all short-term, short-term, long-term. You have a chance to not even be in the play-in and be allowed to play 60. Why on earth would you even consider this? I don't care if they're 50, 60, 70%. You play these guys tonight and you try and win. And not to mention it's a game against Clippers. It's a game against your little brother right down the hallway that's been better than you the last decade. You need to prove something. You could possibly catch these dudes, put them in the play-in and you take their spot. And like Sean said yesterday, I think, the play, just because you're the 70 in the play-in, they could easily lose two in a row to either New Orleans, Minnesota, Oklahoma City or Dallas. Any of those teams, who knows what happens in the play-in tournament? So you have a chance now where you're catching fire. You got guys playing well. Do playing the best. They've played all year long and you're considering sitting. No, absolutely not. You cannot do that. You have a chance to really make a jump here and get out of this eliminating tournament. You got all cards on deck. You got to go for it. I think the running theory was they're waiting to see if the Warriors won. And we're going to talk about that game in a second, but the Warriors won. So you got to get out there. You have to play. Look, I get it. LeBron is 47 years old and AD is AD. And we got to be careful with these guys and great quote by Darwin Ham about long term and all that play the game. You have to play the game. You control your own destiny. You have a chance to get ahead of the Clippers for good and essentially relegate the Clippers to either the play-in or the six seed from there. This game matters. This is what the season is about. This game absolutely matters. And at the end of the day, look, if you're ducking the Suns, if you're ducking the Fae, just say that, guys. Just say that. If you're not ready for the smoke, just say that. Because if they sit this game, they also play the Suns Friday. Suns are on a back-to-back. You really have an opportunity to grab hold of the five seed right here and right now. And if you just say, no, we're cool, that's pretty telling. And I don't know. I don't know how it ends up shaking up. And the Warriors have a couple. They have the Kings who might not be playing anybody. And then they have another gimmie to finish the season. This is your chance. And for you guys to work all this season and say you're all this stuff and then just sit it out now, that'd be pretty embarrassing, in my opinion. Yeah, it would be a little shocking. I think the Warriors, this one was close when I turned it on towards the end. And then it wasn't. They win this thing by 11. You didn't have any play Thompson. It was a late scratch. Curry finished with 34. Pool had a nice night. He had 18 in the fourth to go towards his 30. But they did give up 79 points in the first half and they were down big. So I guess bigger headline here is that they give up 79 or that they score 67 in the second half. I don't know what to do with them or how to categorize this. I think it's giving up 79 points because 90% of teens, if you give up that many points, the game is over and you're not coming back. I don't care if you're the Warriors and you shoot the three ball the way they do. You cannot give up 80 points and a half and still compete, especially in the playoffs, especially with what's coming up here in the postseason. So that's kind of been there. They're not all year long. Usually this happens on the road for this to happen at home against this team who obviously we know they're scrappy. They play well. They play on selfish SGA went off again last night. They have a very talented young team. If you're giving up 79 points to this team, what are they going to go up to the sun? So what are they going to give up to the nuggets? And like, you know, like it's not going to be pretty. And those teams won't allow them to come back from this and those teams will keep their foot on the gas and there's no way they're going to be able to claw back in those games, especially in the postseason. So this has been their knock all year long. I think the best news for them is they got Andrew Wiggins coming back and this and Clay Thompson. Hopefully this is just precautionary and he's back and they're fully healthy going into their playoffs because we've said all year long. We don't worry about this team and I don't think they worry about anybody else, but this is concerning like they're going to watch film today and see again, glaring holes that they've seen all year long on the defensive side, you know, with it's just lack of effort, lack of communication, whatever their problem is. It's a combination of all those things in my eyes, but that's very concerning giving up that many points. I mean, we've seen our, they've had a lot of these games, right, where they had like these 25 point swings. And sometimes they pull it off. I mean, they did last night, I suppose, but it's no matter what happens with this Warriors team, right? Is the fact that if they win it all or they don't win it all, the story will end up being Eddie, their road woes and their home winning record because they're just so contrastly ridiculous. 33 and 8 at home, 9 and 30 on the road. That was their last home game last night. I know you've said you're not worried, but if you're a fan and you're being realistic, you have to worry a little, don't you? I still don't. Like I, they could absolutely win game one against the Kings and then they have home court. They could absolutely win game one against the Suns and then they have home court. The Grizzlies, same thing. I just can't bother myself with this. This just reeks of a team that's been together way too long. It is just like just completely unbothered. They had attention issues before they had championships. They had in the 73 and 9 season they had, they've had lax today's a good moment in NBA finals. Like this is just their temperament, but when it's time to go and when it's time to lock in like the fourth quarter last night, the Warriors just have this thing and they can defend and they know each other so well and they know their system so well, they're just tough to deal with. So no, I don't, I'm sorry, I don't. You would not be, they just want a championship on a road team, on a road court. You would not be pressed if you saw them walking into a game seven on the road. You would not go, man, they lost 30 road games in the season. You go, whoa, the Warriors are dangerous right now. So I'm just not, I'm sorry, I'm not. And Jordan Poo lit up the fourth quarter last night and that's just the roster they have. It's going to be Steph. It's going to be Clay. It's going to be Jordan Poo. And it could be all three of them at once. And then when they need to defend, they're going to defend the way they clamped up the Thunder last night in the fourth quarter. That's championship defense. So I'm sorry, I'm just still not concerned. Yeah, again, it goes both ways with this team. They're so capable offensively and they're capable defensively like the fourth quarter last night when they do lock in. Think of when the championship again this year, no matter what seed they end up with. So we've said it all year long. We don't worry about this team. Now we're getting, this is who they are, right? They can turn it on. They can turn it off. They're very up and down. They're very inconsistent. But when they are on, which has not been often this year, they are arguably the best team in the NBA. And all you have to do in the playoffs is stay healthy and catch fire for a month and a half, two months. And you put yourself in that situation again to hold that trophy. So the way they score the ball, the way they're healthy, the way they're getting everybody back is all a good sign to them. And like Eddie said, they're not, they're bad on the road. But you'd be surprised if they, you know, went into Memphis and won game one and then it flipped. I wouldn't. And all they need to do is win one of those games and then they go back to their home. So they're in a great spot and I think health and confidence-wise, I think they're going to go into the postseason, you know, very, very positive. Let's talk about the team of the future, the OKC Thunder. We can all agree on that. They are hanging on to that 10-spot shams. Best case scenario for this squad this season. I think there's like this theory that the Thunder just want to tank just because what's happened in the last few years that they're just trying to maybe get out of the play-in. But this is a team that is one in four in their last five games, but they want to be in the play-in tournament. I mean, when you think about the development, the growth that would exist and how much they would learn from being in that moment. Shay Gilles Alexander is an All-Star this year. He wants to be in the play-in tournament. You look at this roster, Josh Gady. They have a bunch of young players, Jalen Williams. Both Jalen Williams, they have Jeremiah Robinson Earl. They have a lot of young guys, Chet Holmgren, coming in the pipeline next year that are ready and really want that moment. So you get a play-in game or two and maybe even sneak into the playoffs. The experience that that builds, I think it's invaluable. So this Thunder team, they're gunning for the playoffs. They want to be in the playoffs or the play-in tournament will see if they get there. And if they hold on, Shay's been dealing with ankle issues, different injuries. He's been banged up, but there's a team that very much wants to be in the play-in tournament. They're not trying to drop out. Yeah, I agree. That's all valuable experience. Oh, yeah, that's all valuable experience that they would love to have. Even if they go to the play-in and they do lose and they get eliminated. That's an elimination pressure-packed game that they can get experience that you can't emulate. You can't just practice that. And so for a team that's on the rise like them that's so young, getting that experience is unbelievable for them. And when you look at who they could possibly play, they could win two of those games. And now they're looking at going to play the Nugget two, that would be a series. So it means a lot for them. And they've come this far. They played well this year. They're definitely trying to get into that plan. Yeah, the pipe dream of hosting the 9-10 game is probably out the window at the loss last night. And that sucks, but I'm with Chandler. Like, they learned so much for their development and just playing in one or two of those games and then let them get in a series and play against the one seed. Like, that does wonders for that team and putting them in that one-and-done situation and just that tension and, you know, look, they're struggling over the last week. And these games are must-wins. And that game last night, they looked rattledly, but they need this stuff. And this stuff will all pay dividends later. So, yeah, get in there. And honestly, as a fan, I'd rather see them go against the wolves or the pelicans than the Mavericks. I know what the Mavericks are. Like, the Mavericks are fine. And I love Kyrie Irvin and I love Luka Donchitz. But this will be way more exciting for me as a fan just to see how those guys react and see if they can step up. And so I'm rooting for that. I'm sorry. And not to mention, this then sets the bar higher for next year. If they get into the play-in, they get into the playoffs. Then there's even bigger expectations next year once they are a year older and they have chat. And it's not just let's make the playoffs next year. You did that last year. Like, let's advance. So this is huge for them. By the way, Eddie, completely agree with you. I'd rather watch them in the Mavs. No offense to the Mavs, but yeah, we know what that is. Let's do a little Kings here because they continue to be disrespected. They beat the pelicans. Deer and Fox had 23 and nine and they clinch the Pacific Division for the first time in 21 years. Are we overlooking how good and I'm speaking to Chandler and Eddie specifically how good this team is because, well, we just didn't expect them to be good. Chandler. No, listen, I'm not. And I just think the other teams in the Western Conference have a lot more experience and they are better and they are more built for the postseason. Are we overlooking them? Absolutely not. They have had a great year. They have a great rookie that's sending records on three pointers. They have a duo for the future that's not going anywhere. And they put these roleplayers like Harrison Barnes and Kevin Herter and these other guys that know their role and they know the system and they know their game. These guys, they play hard and they play the right way and they play themselves. They are everything what's right about basketball how they move the ball, how they play. So I'm not overlooking them. It's just when I look at, you know, the potential matchup, it's hard not to go the other way just because of the inexperience and that. But also I wouldn't be surprised if they do advance in the first round if they get, you know, you know, a good matchup. But I hate to like kind of poop on their parade. They've had a great year. They've got the Sacramento Kings back. The streak is over. This is nothing but positive things for the Sacramento Kings. And same thing for Oklahoma City. This year, let's say they do get to the playoffs and they lose first round. Now again, the bar is set. We're not just trying to get there. The streak is over. We're trying to advance. We're trying to actually contend for a championship and they have the roster now that's intriguing to free agents to add a guy that can help put them over the top next year. But I just think they're a little shorthanded this year. I'll poop on the parade like a little bit. They look a little bit. They've been the healthiest team in the league. Like statistically, they've lost the least amount of games to injuries. I think it was them and the Knicks and then obviously they lost Julius Randall and they lost Jonathan Brunson for about a week ago. So they've been the healthiest team in the league and that matters. And look, the best ability is availability. So that's not like, you know, their fault. That's not like something we hold against them. But it has paid dividends for them. Look at everybody below them. The Sons Miss Devon Booker for half the season. The Clippers obviously deal with PG and Kawhi. The Warriors lost Steph for about half the season. LeBron for those many games and AD for as many games. Zion, Brandon Ingram. All these players below them. Carnegie Towns. All these teams we expected to be much better than the Kings suffered injuries and dealt with that. And look, it's not their fault. But I do think it put them, it put them where they're at in the standings and it is a huge difference between what we expected and what we got out of all of those teams. With that said, this is a dangerous team. They are the best offensive league. They're the most explosive offensive league. They're just consistently giving you 125-130. So in order to beat them, you either got to clamp them or you got to outscore them and outscoring them is going to be tough. Look, we got to ask for bold predictions earlier. I don't really have the boldest of predictions, but I think they could beat the Clippers. If they end up with the Clippers in round one, I'm picking the Kings. I'm just going to go for it. No PG. They're going to have to keep up with that offense. The Clippers love to play slow and the Kings love to play fast and that's going to come to a head. We keep, we are overlooking them. There's reasons why, but they are a dangerous, dangerous team. And it's a couple of teams at the bottom of the standings. You don't want to see that team if they have to. My heart belongs to Zachary. And you're playing both sides of the fandom though. Right. Thank you, Shoms. Get him. Both things can be true, guys. Like it doesn't have to be extremes here. It can be a little bit of both. Who gets more credit? The Beam or Mike Brown? I feel like somewhere, some place they're going to talk about that today. And I really am glad I'm not on that show. We're going to take a quick break. When we come back, Eddie and KD sit down talking about some chemistry and his unbeaten record since he went to the desert when Run It Back returns. Huh. You have six games now to work through your stuff? Yeah. That doesn't feel like enough time. Like... Enough time to do what? To build your synergy, right? To... I mean, it's always a work in progress? Yeah, I think it's always a work in progress. I mean, all these teams have been changing and guys have been in and out the lineups. You got to find new identities. I feel like every day, I think you find different ways to play throughout the season. You got different schemes and strategies that you got to implement throughout the whole season. So that may... I mean, that may be a part of, like, chemistry and, you know, changing your team. But as far as, like, us being on the same page, communicating with one another regardless of what we do, scheme strategy-wise, as long as we got that solid, then I feel like we can handle anything. So we all on the same page. We all talk through stuff, man. You know, we'll figure out how to fly again. All right, I love that. And we're going to break down a little more of that. By the way, you learned a knit during COVID? Eddie, is that a COVID project you were wearing on your head? Talk to me. I just, I just wear with the style, with the stylish ladies out for me. That's all. Big time. This man has a stylist. What is going on right here? What is going on? I don't know. We'll talk about it. The Suns did beat the Spurs last, whatever, man. You know, of course they beat the Spurs last night. Katie with 18, Booker with 27, CP3 with 22. I mean, we'll just go down the line up there. They are 7-0, a perfect 7-0 with Katie in the lineup. You seem more worried about chemistry issues, Eddie, than Katie did. Are you really worried? Yeah, I'm calling BS on what he said, by the way. Like, I actually agree with the point that other teams are dealing with the same issue. So that, in a sense, minimizes it. The Lakers had a bunch of additions late. The Clippers had some additions at the trade deadline. But nothing to this effect. Nothing to this impact. And so I do think, yes, there is a little bit of that. Because they kind of rushed him back from his injury. And they were really stressing, getting back on the court, getting everybody together. And you can see Monty Williams toying with everything. He campaigned it in play last night. We're seeing a little bit more Devon Booker at point guard. They're trying to figure out exactly what they want to do. Since Kevin's been there, they're switching way more on defense. So, yeah, they're kind of speedrunning a lot of this stuff. So I do think there's some concern. But I also give some concreteness to what he's saying. Like, he would know better than me. He's in the locker room. He's at the facility. He's dealing with this stuff hands-on. So if he feels like, hey, you know, they're going to figure it out, then I trust them. But I do think there's a little bit of worry there about like, you know, do we have to create this continuity in two weeks, essentially? And they got to be ready for the playoffs. But we'll see. I mean, we're going to find out really, really soon. It's hard for me to imagine them being worried, Chandler. I mean, with KD, I feel like there's no concern. Yeah, listen, I'm more of a talent guy. Like, I'll take the talent over the chemistry for this part of the season any day of the week. And like KD just said, every time he goes to dinner with Tori Craig, they're getting to know each other better. Every shoot around, every time they stay after practice and they're working on their game or playing one-on-one or, you know, shooting with assistant coaches, they're developing that bond and that chemistry on the team playing, playing cards. So there's plenty of time for that. It's just the familiarity of on the court, of the concern of the system, you know, timing of everything. So that obviously there's issues. And like he said, everybody's going through that. But to me, it's their bench. I don't think their bench is deep enough. And when you look across, they have to find even, even not in their bench, their fifth starting guy, who is it going to be? Is going to be Tori Craig? Is it going to be Terrence Ross? Is it going to be a Kogi? That guy, whoever it is, he's got to come up big because in a playoff series, they're going to take away something. They're going to either, they're going to double team KD and make Devin Booker beat you. They're going to double team book, make KDVU. They're going to blitz the pick and roll with CP. Every system or every format is going to be different. But a lot of times it's going to come down to whoever that fourth and fifth guy is on the floor and he's going to have to make shots. So whoever they find should be that guy. It's going to be a critical part in their post-season run. Yeah, that's, that's my biggest concern for the Suns. It's just, do they have enough depth to compete? And when you get into the playoffs, you don't really need to go 10 deep, 11 deep, 12 deep on your bench. But to have guys, whether it's TJ Warren, Tori Craig, you know, it's Bismac-Biambo, your best big coming off the bench. Is that the guy you want to rely on? I'm curious. But when you look at their starters, yeah, I'm good with KD. You have Booker, you have CP3, you have Deion Raiden, and then Josh Kogi has really fit in well. He's shooting the ball solid from three. He's defending. He's playing hard. But my question with the Suns is, do they have enough depth to really compete, you know, deeper and deeper as you go into the playoffs? So is that the biggest flaw then? Is if we look ahead to the playoffs and what other teams are going to do in their scouting reports against the Suns team, is the lack of depth, Chandler, the biggest flaw they're going to try to exploit? I think so, because you know what you're going to get with Kevin Durant and you know you're going to get with Chris Paul, Devon Booker. Obviously, the biggest thing for them is health because if one of those guys go down, put a fork in them. But with these guys all healthy, yeah, it's what are the other guys going to do? It's if Cam Payne gave me a 25-point game in the playoffs, can Damian Lee come in, knock down three big threes? It's going to be someone different every single night because of the way they've created this roster. They don't even know yet. And you can see by their rotation and see by their substitution patterns, it's different. The guy Wayne Wright went from playing a lot to not playing really at all now. And Tori Craig and Kogi have been kind of consistently playing for them and being that fifth, sixth guy. Bianbo and the big white dude, the jock, who's going to be the first big off the bench. So I think they're kind of trying to figure it out themselves. But that's definitely the biggest flaw. But again, I'm like a big three, big four guy. I'll take the Miami big three. I'll take the Phoenix on the big three with a shorter bench in the playoffs because those three guys are extremely dangerous. You want to talk a little bit? Oh, sorry, go ahead, Eddie. I was going to say, you're going to see a lot of ice forcing them to the sideline. You're going to see a lot of double teams for Devin Booker and Katie. You're going to see a lot of just outright tagging the roller from the weak side. All that stuff is designed for them to throw the ball all the way across the court to Tori Craig, to Josh Kogi, to whomever that fifth guy is. And you're going to see a lot of those guys shooting threes. The Suns are going to have to figure out how to overcome that. And those guys are going to have to knock shots down. That's just all there is to it really on their offense. Me, the continuity I'm concerned about is on the defensive end and rebounded because they give a ton of offensive rebounds. And if they see the Warriors, if they see the Clippers, they see the Lakers, all three of those teams are going to pound the glass and they're going to tone theirs into threes and that could be deadly for them. So they have issues. I don't, I don't, I don't agree that they just, they just iron them out by just existing. You would love a little bit more time, but they have issues. But Kevin's right. Every team has issues and it's, you know, we're going to have to figure it out in the court. Eddie, I'm a big believer in just letting issues solve themselves by existing. So I don't know why he just pooped all over that theory that I've lived by my whole life. Cavs Magic last night, Donovan Mitchell. He's so fun. His fourth straight 40 piece is the fifth player in the last 30 years to do that. But here's the thing, the Cavs are two and two in their last four games. So I don't really know how you want to read that. Is it even sustainable to keep this up, this pace during the playoffs, Chandler? I don't know if he's going to average 40 plus. It will be fun to watch him do this in the garden and do this against the Nixon and a series. And I do think he's capable of it. But the thing about them, they have another guard, Daris Garland, that can relieve pressure. They have bigs that can score the ball. They have a lot of ways they can hurt you. So it doesn't necessarily need to be Donovan Mitchell doing what he's doing now. It's fun to watch. He's explosive. He hits to a spot. He's hitting long threes. He's super fun to watch in a playoff series. Again, teams are going to take this away. If I'm the Knicks, I'm looking at the Cavs and I'm looking at what they do offensively. And I am double teaming Donovan Mitchell. I'm not letting him have over 30 points in any of these games. I'm making these other guys liver. I'm making Garland. I'm making these other guys have to go and have big games to beat me because I know how good Donovan Mitchell is. And I'm getting the ball out of his hand as much as I can. Yeah, the Knicks are weirdly equipped to guard him. They have Josh Hart, who they love. They have Emmanuel Quickley, whom they love. And then they have Quentin Grimes, who they look to as an elite defender. And in a lot of ways, they've done all that to kind of hijack the Brunson, which is what they'll do. But they're going to give him a tough time. He's going to have to hunt those mismatches. He's going to have to get those screens. He's going to have to work hard for those buckets. I think he'll get them. I don't think he's going to average 40 for the series. And I think Tom Thibodeau will do everything in his power to make sure he doesn't. But yeah, like Chandler said, a lot then rests on Darius Garland or Evan Mobley or whichever wing they want to start. They started Dean Wade last night. They rotated over and over and over all season long. It's going to rest on those other guys. But look, Mitch is a bucket. He's going to find those points on the board. And two and two over their last four is a little overblown. They've won seven or the last 10 games. One of those was a tough, tough, tough loss to the Hawks at the Puzzer. And so there's a little bit more to that. What's tough for them is they had a real shot at the three seed. And with the Sixers win last night, it's almost out the window now. But yeah, if they don't go two and two over the last week, you know, maybe they're at the three seed and then you're looking at a whole different playoff path for them. So close. So close. Shoms, will you say something? Sorry, I didn't want to cut you off. Yeah, I mean, I think I think Don Vimentel is prime for a massive playoff run. I don't know if he's going to be out 40 points a game, but he's had arguably, you know, one of the best calf seasons ever with the numbers that he's been putting up. This is his first postseason with the Cavs after the trade. He's going to be motivated, I'm sure, by the fact that he's going to be playing the Knicks, who were essentially the runner-ups to get him. They could have gotten him. They had trades that were closed. They didn't get a deal done. He ends up with the Cavs. So there's some great symmetry there now that he's going to go back and play the Knicks in the playoffs, make them feel bad about the fact that they kind of missed out. And overall, I think he also has a chip on his shoulder from last year. He knows last playoffs was probably his worst showing in the postseason. He's the guy that's built his career, his name initially in the NBA off of being a big-time performer. And I think there's a lot of motivation there for Donovan Mitchell this year to have a big postseason. Oh, I can't, I really can't wait till that series. I guess it'll be good. Shoms, thank you. We will see you very bright and early in Los Angeles on Monday. Whoo, it's early. We're going to take a quick break here when we come back, some fits, some soft nuggets, Hawks, bowls. It's all happening when Run It Back returns. Run it back, yeah, run it up, run it back, yeah. Make the rest of the NBA season a slam dunk with FanDuel. Right now, new customers can get a No Sweat bet up to $1,000. That's up to $1,000 back in bonus bets. If your first bet doesn't win, now is the perfect time to join FanDuel. The app, easy to use. They're always great promotions. And when you win, you can get paid instantly. So jump into the action and bet the NBA. Download the app, sign up, get a new No Sweat first bet up to $1,000. FanDuel official sports spending partner of the NBA. It is time for my favorite part of every show, Fitterbrick and yes, of course, Dylan Brooks kicks things off. I mean, he always does. It's what he does. He can do a whole episode on him. Oh, God, yeah. But this is not, this is not even close to his worst. I hate every piece of this. I hate every piece of this. Do you dislike him more than Rudy Gobert or is Rudy Gobert to the top? Nah, he's surpassed them. Like this is part of watches. I don't, I'm sure this is like a really expensive brand of pruneck. It's an awful sweater. The super tight jeans, the glasses. Like, I just hate it all. I like the Louis shoes. I guess they're cool. The ugly clown. But you know what? At least he's wearing pants. Oh, wow. Stelgibaca and his brother. He's so pretty. Straight off the runway. Nice. One of the best dress men in the world. That is an incredible scarf. Yeah, it's, it's everything. Last at a certain spot. Mwah, chef's case. It looks like a model. Well done. Damian Lillard. Like an old school kooky jacket. Yeah, I see what he did. I see what he's going for. You don't love it though, Eddie. Nah, not really. I mean, the glasses, I don't like. Shout out Dame. Shout out to Bay, but love him. But not this one. It's okay. He's a rapper. Can't hold about a thousand. Yeah, that's fine. It can't, it can't be perfect all the time. This man right here, his closet is just full of suits. Yolkich. The suit is fine. The undershirt, the shirt underneath has got to go. The suit, I like it. Take your hero fit. The shirt. I think we agree. I think the suit's good and the shirt sucks. Yeah. I mean, we're good on that. Brian, go back to the turtle neck, Yolk. Whoa, he's trying to be the millennial still while he's being an older guy. He's stuck. I know what that's like. Wow. PJ Tucker. Those look like prison pants. I hate those. They're like. This is more about the car than the outfit. Yeah. Yeah, I noticed the car first and foremost. I was like, who is this? And it's, it's PJ. Look, Peach is going to do. No, he's going to do it. That's an incredible jacket though. I mean, like, he's going to have. He's going to do a lot going on. The orange clashes with the red interior of the car. I'm just going to be the one that says that out loud. And now I'm distracted. He's not probably planted just like that. All right. Oh, yes. I like. Wow. He looks like. He's just been putting it on. James has been putting it on. I love a good flannel. I love a good flannel. Stop it. He looks like me. He basically picked up whatever was on the floor that morning and threw it on. That's what that is. That is a Michelle outfit. The two different greens too. And the shirt and the pants. I just don't know. Maybe they all have style and we don't. I disagree with all of you. By the way, Chandler, it can be true that we, none of us have style that can also be that except for Sergio Baca. Yes. Yes. Except the bull doesn't miss it. He can do it. He can do it. Yo, everything made everything, right? It's exactly about to say that like he can't miss because everything has to be tailored and custom. So it's just going to kill it every time. I love it. I love what he does. The pants. You have to have everything made. I'm six nine and my arms aren't even my arms aren't even that long and I can't be an off the rack. I can't imagine what this cat has to go through. It's like two pairs of pants sewn together. Man, I'll never be cool enough. I'll never be cool enough to dress like Bobo. Oh, I love it so much. Are you buying that? Yes, probably. Here we go. Mike Malone once again calling out his team. This is what he said about him after their loss to the Rockets if that's how we're going to play will be out in the first round and I speak the truth. I just called our team soft and I dare someone to challenge me. No one did because we as a group were soft tonight. I'm not saying we are soft but tonight we were. Chandler, are you buying it? So let me get this straight. One, the two runner-up finalists one coach is telling him telling us that their team is soft. And get a look at the first round. And the other coach is saying that the MVP race is over. So you do the math. Who should be the MVP? By the way, just talk into one game. Just listen to the head coaches, but yeah, they are soft and they don't play defense and they don't play hard and they don't die on the floor. They don't have any guys really besides like Bruce Brown that have that defensive mindset and it's been their issue all year long. We all know how great they are offensively. We all know their best player, Jokic, can pass the ball and plays unselfish and is unbelievable things offensively. We also know that he is a liability defensively and that has hurt them and he's going to be in every pick and roll. And when you think of a good defensive team, that usually means you're tough. When you think of a bad defensive team, that means you're soft and that means it's mostly effort and it's mostly extra effort and it's communication. It's flying around and it's covering for one another. This team doesn't do that. That right there. That's a Deandre Jordan should be there. That should be a family. I'll put that guy on the floor and not an easy layup. This team gives up too many easy buckets and it's going to hurt them in the playoff series. I understand that they have the one seed locked essentially. I mean, there are only two games ahead of the Grizzlies right now, but it's locked essentially. But you've got to win that game. You're the number one seed in the conference. You lose to the lowest team in the conference and Michael almost right. I just saw them in person a week ago against the Suns and Yolkes didn't play and Jamal Murray didn't play. Saw a lot of Christian Brown. That's all a lot of Bruce Brown saw a lot of Aaron Gordon and they were a better defensive team. I know the Suns jumped up on them, but they kept it tight late and they really pressed the Suns on defense. He's right. They're soft and it starts in the middle of their defense. They've had these issues all season long. They will continue to have these issues. Nobody will be shocked if they lose to the Timberwolves or the Pelicans with Zion or whomever they end up locking God forbid they get the Lakers or the Warriors or the Clippers. Then we're all just picking against them, but he's right. They're soft. Their defense is a huge, huge issue in that game last night. That's an awful, awful loss. I don't care if you're on the road and you're saying, Hey, they suck and we don't care. You cannot lose that game as the number one seed in the Western Conference and it's telling. It's telling that their coach is telling you it's telling. So I'm with him. But how frustrating must this be? Because this is not new. This isn't a one-off. This is sort of their identity. And here we are on, you know, a week away from everything starting and you can only call your team out so much. It's not going to change anything, Chandler. This is very irritating and disappointing if you're a Nuggets fan. Also, Mike Malone is smart, right? And there's a method to his madness. And the worst thing as a team or a player, you can be called as soft. So maybe this is him pushing his guys. Maybe this is him, you know, a reality check right before the postseason when it matters that, look, we played soft and we cannot do this. No matter who we draw in that first round, we can't play like this or we will lose or we will get embarrassed and home court number one seed, Yoke at Jimmy P, whatever, maybe that's done once we lose first round. So also just be him lighting a fire under them. But when you watch them play, there's some truth to it as well. It ain't good. It's very Papavitchian, by the way. We're taking a quick break here. When we come back, we're going to make parlays because not because we're good at it. We're just contractually obligated at this point when run it back returns. Well, let's take a look at what we accomplished last night. I would argue that you couldn't be worse if you tried than we are truly really. Bet against us. There's somebody that bet against us all year long and they are rich right now. Oh, yeah, they've purchased their third home already. This is amazing. Okay, let's you know what, but we're stupid enough to try again. Eddie, what do you got? I don't know why the Grizzlies are getting points. So I just picked them. I don't maybe everybody sitting and I forgot but yeah, bet with me. We know nothing. Chandler. I mean, this is it. Mabs, right? This is it. The Jazz Thunder lose. They have a chance. They got to win. I realized the Lakers. Well, you know what? Both of these teams should be desperate going into tonight's game. So I have the Clippers money line, but I wouldn't be shocked if that doesn't guarantee a Lakers win because the universe hates me. Anyways, we'll see you Monday from LA. Boom.