 Run it up, do run it back, yeah. Run it up, do run it back, run it back, run it up. Good Wednesday morning. Well, welcome to Run It Back on Fan Tool TV. Feeling it. You know what, let's start with Lou Williams on the end. Are you feeling good this morning? I'm having an amazing morning. How are you guys doing? This is weird. Chandler's having his normal morning. Joining us. It's a party under the desk. Something going on under the desk. And Shyam Sharani, of course, the classy one, joining us from his castle. We're getting right into it because it's that time of the year. You know what time of the year it is. It's cryptic tweet time. Lakers, Hawks, Hawks, Handle the Lakers. 138, 122. They had lost four straight, by the way, going into this one. There was no AD. Zeeland Johnson. 26 there. Oh, yeah, you're good. Most improved. Dijonte with 24, 9 and 4. LeBron had 29 and 8. Reeves was there. He had 28 points. I know he's gotten a lot of heat lately. They've lost back to back now to the Rockets and the Hawks. They're officially under 500. And a half game from being outside the play-in. Where do we start? Well, losses like this put more panic and pressure on the front office to make a move. And it just puts more frustration with the guys as we're going to get to with all the cryptic tweets and the comments that we're going to have to break down here. But these aren't good losses. And then you can say it's no AD. And he does change the dynamic of this team's defense. But I think they're starting to realize that this team, as is, it's not enough. It's not enough to compete. It's not enough to win. They're horrible defensively. They're not good on back to backs. They have no energy. They have no guys that come out and just play hard. And these are two really, really big glaring losses to the Rockets and then now the Hawks. So I think this is honestly putting things in perspective with the front office, with Polenka that like, OK, I don't know. All the rumors are swirling. Dijonte Murray, Levine, anybody. It's time to make a move. Because this team, as is, is not a contender in this season. Chandler, I'm disappointed that you didn't realize what was happening here. What is that? Houston and Atlanta, back to back. Oh, I got it, got it, got it. They were outside having a good time. These are teams that they thought that they can win. They can beat with their eyes closed and give themselves an opportunity to win games. And at the same time, have some fun on the road. But they also got to understand anytime you're to the Lakers and you're coming into town, you're marketing, you're targeting. And these are big wins for teams like this. And they got called slipping, both games. Both games. We're going to work backwards on this one with the LeBron stuff. So we will start with the tweet, which was posted, oh, you know, 2 26 AM Eastern time, when you're doing your best thinking. And here it is. That's the Lobos. Piece of art. It's an hourglass, and the time is a ticking. It's very on brand for LeBron James. So let's start with that. If you see this, I mean, I won't get to his actual comments that he had after the game, but this is a chess piece. No, that's an hourglass. That's an hourglass. That means time's up. Like days of our lives. Time's up. I mean, just why? Why? You know why. You know why. He wants some moving. But didn't we do this? Isn't this the team we did this for last time? Well, it worked for them last time, too. And I think that's what they're leaning on is they had the struggles last year. They made big changes, and they think they can just kind of do that again. But I think you see that teams are continuing to get better in the Western Conference. You have these two rising teams with Minnesota and Oklahoma City. You have these two vet teams with the Clippers and the Nuggets, and the Suns are starting to figure it out. So it's getting time is ticking for them. And the Lakers are in a win now situation always. And now they're best player in their whole franchise is tweeting something like that. It's something's happening. Maybe Choms knows. Yeah, I mean, we'll get to that because he did actually say words. Use your words. That's what we always tell people, Choms. Should we do that? We're going to play the words first. And then I want to hear what you think is on the horizon for this Lakers team. But this is immediately after the game, him speaking about it. We could, on any given night, beat any team in NBA. And then on any given night, we get asked to play any team in NBA. That's just the. What's our record? One game under 500. What was it? Under 500? One game under 500. Yeah, 24, 25. That's where we are. He said one game, like he's confused that he knew the exact record. I know. Of course he did. He knows what's going on at all times. But let me ask you, so you've said the words. You've got some young dudes on that team. They hear it, obviously. And then you post later. It's like, who's that for at that point? He looked frustrated last night in Atlanta. It was one particular play. I can remember that he had a chased down blog. Big effort play, only for Atlanta to get the rebound and just lay it back up. Nobody had trailed him down on a defensive end. Those plays like that, I feel like, frustrates him, especially at the stage of his career. And having so many young players on the floor, he's probably feeling like the effort isn't there. You know, if you can go out and get your ass kicked by anybody, like he said, on any given night in the league. But if the effort isn't there, then let's get him out of here. And again, this isn't Anthony Davis didn't play. And he does change their defense. But he's only missed three games. So this isn't like, oh, this team's miserable without him. A lot of these losses are with Anthony Davis, who is an all-world talent. Who is an all-defensive team. So there's more issues than just Anthony Davis's health, LeBron's age. This team, collectively, is not good. And then they have to make a change. They have to do something differently. And again, we'll go back to the energy thing. LeBron can't do it all. He's 39 years old. He can't be the guy that's setting everyone up, scoring. He's doing everything. These other guys, the Ruiz, the Vanderbilt, these guys have to be giving more. And they have to be fully healthy to have a chance. But I can't see anything else other than a move to be made here at ASAP. Potential trades. I don't know. Darvin' Ham on the hot seat. Shams, here we go. We've got a few days left before the trade deadline. What are they considering? The Lakers have been consistently inconsistent. You see it in their record. And we've talked about the disconnect that exists within that locker room. Darvin' Ham, it doesn't seem like that's really gone away. They have not made a coaching change. I think when you look at it, the line of discourse has continued. And so when you look at the roster, you think about what tweaks you could make. They really have two options that they can go for right now. It's either stamp hat and you decide that this is the team that's got to figure it out. Or you feel like there's a move that you can make that can take you to the next level. And you make tweaks to the roster. That's what's easiest. That's what's probably the route that you're looking at if you're the Lakers. Zach Levine is a player they've had interest in. But that three years, $140 million after this season just makes it somewhat unpalatable for the Lakers. So that's why Dejante Murray, he's going to continue to emerge as the top target for the Lakers from what I'm told. The sides, I expect talks to resume before the deadline next Thursday. But then even beyond that, you think about other options. Another scenario to keep an eye on and players that the Lakers do have interest in, I'm told is three guys from the Nets. That's Doreen Finney-Smith, Spencer Dimity, Royce O'Neill, if you can get a guard and some wing depth in your rotation, in your back court, in your front court, I think that's an avenue the Lakers could look into. Guys that can play 3 and D and play multiple positions. But this team is 24 and 25. They're four games out of the sixth seed. They're in the playing right now. So this is a team that just like last season, you're looking at as a potential roster that could have some shuffling. Can you say those names too? I love Doreen Finney-Smith, but he's not the answer to this. They have guys like a Cam Reddish or a Vanderbilt. He's more polished than those guys, but I like Spencer Dimity. I like someone like that that can come and that can relieve pressure, that can go get buckets, that can have 30 points. Not be LeBron, not be Anthony Davis. So when you say those names, to me it's gotta be an impact player like Zac Levine, Murray, Spencer Dimity, Hellfoot, even he doesn't really push the needle to me. I agree, it's just more to say. Yeah. More of the same. Look, the Dijante Murray, that's the lingering name. We'll see what happens come trade deadline, but he and Dila were seen chatting after this game. During the game, however, hawks fans with a little message to D'Angelo Russell. Ready, set, go! He just doesn't hold it? That's so mean! He's calling him home. That really happened. I've never, for the two people that are rumored to get traded to. I've never experienced anything like that before. What happens if that happens? Especially in Atlanta, it's like there's student section. If I'm in Atlanta, I don't even waste my time with bringing that type of attention to my team at this point. You can't bring Dila in now. That changes everything for them. Especially if you're Dila now. You can't get anywhere by here. I don't wanna be nowhere near this. If I'm D'Angelo Russell, I don't wanna be anywhere near this. Come on, E.C. This felt like a college student section chanting to the other team's player that we don't want you or overrated or jingling the keys. By the way, overrated seems less mean than we don't want you to score. That makes me sad, man. That is rude. That makes me sad because narratives are crazy. D'Angelo Russell's a very talented player in his league. They can help a lot of teams win basketball games. The Lakers are just not as fit. I hope he finds somewhere that works out for him. And like he said to the media, at some point y'all gotta talk about me making shots. So they're trying to make him escape goal, trying to make him the fall guy. I don't like this look for it. And he is playing really well, but I don't know if Atlanta also is a fit for him. Like D'Angelo Russell and Trey Young, like it doesn't really make sense for them to do it either, but now that- No more ball dominant cards for them. That's a weird situation. Not like fans have any control, but like the front office there, they don't care that the fans don't want him. They're gonna do what they think is best for the teams. That would be a little unculty. But if you're the front office, especially a new front office in Atlanta, you wanna make decisions that you feel like your fan base is gonna be able to get behind. I don't think now you even entertain this. So you're telling me that tiny section of humans could have completely killed a trade that potentially might have been on the table. That would change the whole game though, for fans and fan bases. They could literally chant things that have it happen. I don't think the front office doesn't even care. This is similar to what the Clevers are trying to do with the wall. You're trying to have a particular fan base there for you. That's Atlanta's six man section and they're considered the section for a little hype. And if that's their message, move it forward for this particular player. I don't think you entertain this if you're the Atlanta hop. Like I said, especially because they have new ownership. They're still in the space of trying to make sure this, especially in a city like Atlanta where everybody's transplants and not really from Atlanta, you wanna get this fan base behind you. So if you're doing this, I don't... So what if they chanted, we want Reeves? Do you think they circle back on the Reeves and give the fans what they want? I mean, that's awesome. It becomes that easy. Wow. I might start buying season tickets and I might start going to games and stuff. I mean, that's a real fan interaction, right? It was so clear. Sometimes the chance aren't clear. That one was very clear. There was a lot of weird drama around this game for no reason. So before this game, the Lakers post, you know, their starting lineup as they do. Christian Wood, who did not start, tweeted, LOL. God, I love that. He later said he intended to quote, tweet, I'd quote, tweet. She'd tweet. No, it didn't. Another post. But mistakenly tweeted, L-O-L. What are you talking about? I got no good thoughts. I got so many issues with this. Number one, why are you on your phone? Like, why are you even on Twitter right before a game? Clearly this dude's not focused and right when it couldn't go worse for the Lakers, let's have some drama from the ninth man on the roster and Salty's not starting. And then backtrack and act like it was something else. When everyone knows you're lying and everyone knows that's what it was, if you just tweet it, stand on it. Don't be passive aggressive. Stand on your business, Michelle. Stand on your business. Stand on your beeswax and claim it. You tweeted it. We all know you're lying now and your team and your agent convinced you to say it was a mistake. Stop, this is so petty. Can I also just say one thing, pet peeve? I hate L-O-L. Really? If somebody texts me that, it's like, just don't text me ever again. Why? I just hate it. I've definitely texted you L-O-L. What about you? Would you rather, ha ha ha? For everyone in my earcon read who's saying, I've texted you L-O-L, just know I hated you in that moment. What do you do, like a crying, laughing face? Or just, I wrote like, ha ha or crying, laughing face. I'm texting you L-O-L. Yeah, I know. I'm here all day. I know. There was no AD last night. I know, it should not matter that big a deal, but Shams, what is the latest on his injury? Like Chandler said, Anthony Davis only missed a few games this year. I think a lot of it has been maintenance. Him and LeBron James, they've been healthy. That's the other part about this Laker season. Last year, at this time, both LeBron James, Anthony Davis had missed significant time, weeks at a time. This year, they've both been healthy. You have both of them missing about a handful of games and still the Lakers are one game under 500. I don't get the sense that this is anything long-term for Anthony Davis, but this is something, he's got a couple of different issues here, right? The groin, the hip, he's managing a foot issue, Killy's soreness as well. So there are multiple things Anthony Davis is battling through, he's playing at a high level. So is LeBron James. And yet still, the Lakers find themselves one game under 500. That's tough. When it rains, it pours. That's a long list of ailments. Again, you can't just point to this. Absolutely not. His team is, his team is in mayhem with Killy. Wasting a good AD, that's what's going on. And a great LeBron year. Exactly. Pacers, Celtics, that happened. Celtics holding them off in Boston, 129, 124. They're pretty good at home. All five starters, 17 or more points. Tatum with 37 and seven. Porzingis, 17 and 12. Siakum, all right. 23 and six, and we got to see Tyrese Halliburton. Only for 22 minutes, but he had 13 and 10. The season series is over now. Boston won that 3-2. Pacers have played the Celtics about as well as anybody else could in the Eastern Conference. Joe Missoula had this to say about them after the game. I felt like we played hard. I just didn't think we like executed. And they put a ton of pressure with your offense. And so like, we'll watch them all. But, you know, 19 offensive rebounds. But, you know, I would say a few of them were effort plays for sure. But the rest of them was a byproduct of their motion offense and us trying to be in shifts and constantly moving us. And then that team, that's a hard playing team. Damn. It's like he was sticking out loud at the last part. Are they, that, you know, there's always that team that no one wants to face. Are they them? I mean, I don't think so. When you look at the Eastern Conference, you see the rise of the Knicks, you see how hot the cast can get and how healthy they can get. I mean, I think they do play at a different speed than most teams. They play up and down. They shoot a lot of threes. They have a stud point guard that can't have that balanced attack and slow it down and play a lot of pick and roll. And clearly they have success against the Bucks. And, you know, they play the Celtic stuff. And they play hard. Carlisle's offensive system has always been great. A lot of spacing, a lot of transition, a lot of, you know, drive and kick threes. So, I mean, I think the Celtics, they tried every way in their power to give this game up at the end of the game last night. And the Patriots do play hard. But there's not going to be an easy out for anybody this year in the Eastern Conference. East looks fun. I mean, you could look at an Orlando Magic team as the HC and they're not just going to lay down. So, I think that I love the depth. We always, I feel like for the last 10 years, the West has been better this year. It's pretty balanced. I feel like I'm more excited about the Eastern Conference in this moment. Could change, but it feels like that right now. Halliburton was back, as we mentioned. He had missed the 13 games and was asked about the rule, the threshold rule about awards. I think it's a stupid rule, is the quote. I memorized it. By the way, he stands to make an extra $41 million if he makes all NBA. Better, she better play some games. That is, that's a lot. Stupid or stupid or not, you better reach that 65. Just drag my body onto the court, make it happen. Lou, is he right? Is it stupid? I'm going to have to agree with him. You know, I think the NBA, they're trying to do diligence and figuring out a way to curve the narrative around low management, all these things. They've implemented the end season tournament, implemented the 65 game threshold. They're even saying publicly, load management doesn't help with anything. And so they're trying to figure out how to get ahead of this storm because the fans hate this whole low management thing. I think it's a stupid rule. Chandler and I have always had this conversation. What happens if a guy plays 64 games? Is he not as worthy for the MVP as a guy that plays 65 games? Is it a one game difference in being eligible for that? So... Is there a number that you would be comfortable with or not that you just don't want a threshold? I don't want a threshold because like the word, then you start... Listen, then it's a reverse effect. You start putting guys out on the floor that really can't play, that physically may not be able to play, but because of that, they're going to try to go out there and play five or six minutes where they can be eligible. So that instills, still puts you in a position where you're not getting the maximum effort. And that's what ultimately this is what this is about. Yeah, I think there's situations where this is going to seem stupid and it's new, right? There's different scenarios where I think they're going to change the end season tournament and make bigger pools, more games. And so there's less draws and you don't have to do the point differential. I think there's going to be changes along the way. And this is something the NBA is trying to do to limit load management and guys resting. And I don't think there's a way to fully do that. Like Luda said, there's going to be okay. You want to give me that? Halibur's just going to start the game, jump ball, and he's going to foul somebody. Like they do in the All-Star game to say they play in the All-Star game. Thanks, Luda. You're welcome, brother. But so there's always going to be certain situations. And we're going to talk about it next with Joel. That's another situation where he wasn't himself last night. And because of this threshold, he went out there and he looked horrible and he played and he wasn't moving the right way. So there is some real issues with this because now, and then he goes out, leaves the game in the fourth quarter. So now instead of missing three or four games, now he can miss three or four weeks because he's trying to reach the 65 game minimum. So there is some real issues with this. I mean, there should be some floor though, right? Because you can't have a guy that plays like half the games and then he's out. Yeah, but that's just up to the voters to decide. Again, like Lou said, if Joel plays 64 games and Yolkich plays 66, he gets the MVP. That's bullshit. No, I do agree. And that's, that is very extreme. Like you guys... But it's going to happen. And then people are going to look at it and be like, oh, this guy didn't make this or this. He lost $40 million because he was actually sick. Is this the first year that his rule has been implemented, right? Yeah. Yeah, and look what we're dealing with. We're talking about a guy that we know for sure is supposed to be an MVP finalist, going to be in that conversation. And he's five games away from being ineligible and he has a realistic injury. Right. So how do we, how do we even get behind it? And then you just, and then it's selfish because then you're just playing and you're ruining the team's flow because you're trying to play or trying to get through it. There is going to be a lot of issues with this new rule in particular. We've talked a lot about the Boston bench. That's obviously going to be an issue. Maybe it's not. You guys can tell me, they only got 16 points from them yesterday and we still have a whole second half of the season and the playoffs. How concerned are you? Who do they go find that's going to get them over the hump? That's going to come off the bench. I think at this point, this is just the MO of this team. They're top heavy and that's how they've been trained. I think that's how they're equipped to play the game. And it's worked for them. They got to the finals with this same group. Back, they're going to be in a mix again with this same group. I don't think they go out and find anybody that makes that bench a little stronger that gets them over the hump. And so any other team, I would say it wouldn't work. But for them, they've shown years and years that they're seven deep and they're cool with it. Yeah, it's no secret that their depth is their issue. They're starting lineups unbelievable. They need to stay healthy because they're a team that can't afford an injury. The Clippers, they can. They're deep. They have the luxury of having the Norman pals off the bench. Sure, would I love to see Jordan Clarkson here coming off the bench and Malik Monk of that type, but that's probably not possible. So it is what it is. They have to continue to go to Hauser, Pertrude, guys like that and get a lot of production from their starting lineup because that is their bread and butter and that's what's going to win them a championship. But does it need to be that way, Shams? Is there a world in which the Celtics are trying to figure out something to fortify what they have? The Celtics are definitely trying. I think they have a couple avenues. You can either go to the trade route. They have a disabled player exception as well at around $6.2 million. They can use it in a trade. The problem with the Celtics is they're top six, seven deep. I mean, clearly top heavy. You'd think about that they're top six guys, probably the best six in terms of depth in the league. But beyond that on their bench, they don't have the salaries to go match out there to go get a difference making player that might be making $18, $20 million. So if you're looking at a disabled player exception at $6.2 million, you can use a few other guys on the bench in terms of salary matching. But I could also see them being a force in the buyout market. You always see that after March 1. Could they be a player for those guys? But they do have picks they can trade. And this is clearly the season where they have to go all in. They have to figure out, could there be one more player to add? But like Lou said, I don't know if that type of guy's out there and they are so top heavy rotations, do shrink, come playoff time. The buyout market, maybe there'll be something. There's always somebody that's gonna come up that they can use on that bench. All right, you mentioned Embiid. We'll get to that game now. Sixers, Warriors, Warriors got a win. So there's a silver lining, 119, 107. Embiid was returning from the two games he missed and you didn't have Tyrese Maxey. But Steph, 37, eight and seven. Komenga, 26, seven and two. Embiid did have 14, seven and two, but eight turnovers in 30 minutes. And as you guys mentioned, left the game in the fourth quarter. This is obviously gonna be the story from this game. Sorry, Warriors. But another injury in the fourth shams. How bad is it? Joel and Embiid will be getting an MRI on that knee. It has to be concerning especially because that's the same left knee. He's been battling soreness with the Sixers and Knickners both claim that this was not related to that soreness that he's been dealing with. This is a different injury. Of course, we see right there. Jonathan Komenga lands on the knee. It's a different type of situation, injury. This wasn't something that was building. But again, you saw him play last night. It didn't look all night like he was himself, whether that's two games off, whether that's still that knee. He's five games away from missed games away from being ineligible for the MVP award. His goal all throughout the season, he's had a couple is trying to compete for a championship and two, the thing that helps him get there is being healthy going into the playoffs. And we're already about the all-star break coming up here and he might be ineligible for the MVP. He's had a couple different injury situations. You have the knee, you have the ankle and how he manages it. He's been trying, but now once the MRI comes, we're gonna get a much better sense at a timetable. Yeah, so the five missed games, that's all he's left. I feel like we're gonna hit that. Like he's gonna be ineligible according to the new rules. It feels like, look, there could be a miracle, but I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that's what's happening. And he didn't look 100% like himself. And I know we've talked about that the rule is stupid, but it is still in place. So how are you supposed to handle these types of moments? You just have to say, oh, well, I guess I won't be MVP. Yeah, this is the issue with this rule that we kind of just touched on on this subject before, but he tried to play. And if no doubt in my mind, if this 65 game minimum wasn't the threshold, Joel and B doesn't play last night. You could tell just the way he was, he wasn't running like he usually runs. He had no pop, he had no energy. He was not the same dominating guy that he's been. And you could see he was basically limping out there and he was only doing that because of this. So now if on the team, if on his agent, I'm saying, okay, listen, I know there's bonuses that you get from your endorsements from one of these awards. I know you want to be the MVP again, which he should be, but he's going to be judged off the postseason. He's going to be judged off winning a championship and that's when they need him the most. So if I had any advice for him, let it go, don't play the game, get healthy as you can. Cause things like this are going to happen. Thank God the injury doesn't look serious. It just looks like he kind of hyper extended it. I don't think it's going to be anything structural after seeing that replay. It's probably in some severe pain, but it's not worth it. Everyone knows you're one of the best players. Everyone knows you're an all NBA caliber team. You're going to get judged off the postseason and wins in the postseason. So let these, let this go and get healthy cause your team is nothing without you. I think, I think this rule is one and done. I think we get this rule out of here because it's going to backfire. You know, I think this puts the NBA at a disadvantage when it comes to this rule, you know, you had, if this guy doesn't qualify for the MVP, these fans are going to go absolutely insane because they know that he's supposed to be in that conversation and they're watching these games. These are actual injuries. You know, this is not him just taking a break. This actually changes the narrative of the Denver game. He's really going through an issue that's been reoccurring for him in his career. And so for him to have the season that he's having and having to miss games based on a legitimate injury, this is going to backfire on the NBA. Yeah, this, you could say to say he's not ducking yokas. This guy is hurt. He's banged up and again on the flip side. Now let's say SGA does play these minimum number of games. Right. Still not going to feel awesome. And when some B played 62 and he doesn't even get to qualify, it's almost janky and taken away from his actual. He looks like he is though. You know what I mean? It's almost taken away. Is he the MVP or is he just the MVP because Joel played 62 games? You know what I mean? There's too many gray areas of this award. And I hope he's not seriously hurt because that would make this rule look even dumber. Yes, I don't know one and done, maybe they tweak it, but there's a lot of tweaking. It would have to be a lot of tweaking. And I have no idea how that would work. Before the game last night, Steve Kerr mentioned his new starting lineup. Kaminga will be a part of that moving forward, of course. And he looks like he's stepping things up. Shams, what has impressed you the most about that? 20 points in the last seven games or more. And he scored double digits in the last 24. I mean, you look at his averages, 25 points a game over the last seven. He's efficient. He's getting to his spots. His usage rating was in the 20s. Last night, you see him get more opportunities, taking advantage of it. Listen, we've spoken about it. He's the future of the Warriors. We're seeing it now. We're seeing how much of a focal point he's going to be. Finally, he's been given that opportunity. And another thing is Dremont Green's return. They've been so stringent in terms of not wanting to play Andrew Wiggins and John and Kaminga together. They have not had success until Dremont Green's been back in lineup. They've been playing small with Dremont Green at the five. Wiggins and Kaminga at the wings. I'm curious from Lou and Chandler's perspective, do you think this is enough? Seeing what Andrew Wiggins and John are coming up done the last couple of games, is that enough to say maybe these two have it? And what could Kaminga's ceiling really be? Yeah, I think he's playing well. But this may have to be their best lineup. You've got to go with your four all-stars and your young guy who's playing, he's turning the corner, playing incredibly well. So if you're going to put your best foot forward and give yourself an opportunity to try to push through all of this adversity, I think you put your best five on the floor now. Yeah, I think this is smart because this is their five best players and this is their five most experienced players. And you can still develop the Pudzinski's and the Trace Jackson's while they are coming off the bench and still playing 20 plus minutes. So kudos to Steve Kerr. He's going through a tough stretch, a tough season here and he's making now the proper adjustments where I'd say this doesn't work and they lose and they don't make the playoffs. At least he made the adjustments and tried everything possible to get the most out of this team. So I do like it. It's their best five players. Let it rip. Let it ride. Shams, love you, mean it. And we will see you bright and early tomorrow. We're taking a quick break. When we come back, Luca and MJ in the same book. Let's talk about it. Cappuccino. It's never too early for lists. I love them. They're amazing. The power rankings. You guys are sort of splitting the duties on this and we'll start at 10 and knock it out. So Chandler, you're kicking this thing off. Yeah. Okay at 10, the Cleveland Cavaliers, they're finally healthy. I think they have a chance to really rise on these rankings and get in that five, six range. I think this is the team we expected to start off this season after a first round exit to the Knicks last year. They're finally healthy. They got Garland back. They got Mowgli back. They're on one of the hotter teams. Them and the Knicks who unfortunately we left off this top. How did you leave the Knicks? They were 11th. There's not enough room on the screen. The Knicks are one eight in a row. Capps have only one two in a row. It's like the Orlando Magic in the beginning of the season power rankings when they were like 11 and four. It's like, do we really think they were 11th, like that team? Same thing with the Knicks. I think they're on the rise. I think they can make it in here but for now we got the Cleveland Cavaliers at the 10 spot with a chance potential to go up. All right. At number nine I'm going with the Sacramento King. Sitting at fifth place in the West. Just middle of the pack team right now hadn't really set themselves apart from the team that they were in these past couple of seasons. And so with that, the eight teams that are ahead of them I don't think they're better. So I got them going at nine. Kings have put four in a row together. Not bad. Not bad. Okay. At eight we have Phoenix Suns. Another team that I think is going to continue to get better when they're healthy. That big three is rolling. They're going to be a team to beat in the Western Conference between them, the Clippers, the Nuggets. I think those are the most poised experience vet teams. You have teams like the Thunder of Minnesota that have great starts. But this team is going to be scary come post season. There's seven games over 500. I think that's going to continue to get better and better. Yeah. I think this is a team. By the next time we do this, they're definitely top five in a power race. That's what I was going to ask. And they start to get going. But right now at present date, I think this is appropriate. So at number seven, I'm going to go with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Even though they're sitting one game out of the one spot, I still feel like this is one of the teams that's still inexperienced when it comes to the playoffs. When it's going to come to a deep playoff run. And I think that's going to bite them in the ass when it comes. When it comes at the time of the matter. So they can't, yeah, they can't crack the top five for me right now. So I got the Thunder at seven. Even though they're having a hell of a season. They are. I expect them to do a lot of work. But I think that inexperience catches up. Yeah. There's just something about obviously this team. It's probably the youth of this team that you just, we don't trust. We don't trust. But they are the brightest future, obviously, in the NBA. Well, could they be disruptors? I mean, it just takes one. I think so. And I think they're going to add some size there to help Chet to move him to the four. But this is an exciting team and they have a bright, bright future. Now, up to seven. Yeah, it will get serious. At six is Philadelphia City Sixers. I'm pretty sure we told Conrad. We wanted him seventh. I don't think he did. Not a big deal, Conrad. I don't think he did. But we'll run with it. We did not. Now the Sixers, this team scares me a little bit. With Joel going down with the, you know, this threshold that he's going to continue to try and play. Maxie being in and out. Maxie being in and out of the lineup. I can see this team sliding a bit. And that's not good. But for them to have a chance, they need fully healthy. They need Tobias Harris, Kelly Ubrini, guys like that to really step up and play well. So they're at six right now, but I do see them. I see all those teams that are 7, 8, 9, 10, kind of leapfrogging them. Wow. That's actually a big statement. But I agree with you. Definitely can agree with Chandler there. At number five, I am going with the Defending Champion, Denver Nuggets. I just feel like this team, they're top five, but I feel like they're cruising right now. They've seen what it takes. They know what it takes to be successful and get to where they need to go. So I just feel like they're not putting a lot of pressure on these teams out here. They're still getting quality wins, but I still feel like their energy, they're just cruising through the regular season, trying to get to the postseason. That's when they turn that knob. So I got them sitting at five. At number four, we have the Milwaukee Bucks. And this is another team to me. It's like a affiliate where they're scary. They can go one of two ways. They can really take off now at Doc Rivers. They can figure out their defensive schemes or coverages. And their offense is always going to be potent. Their offense is always going to be elite. But this team is going to be one of the teams there at the end of the Eastern Conference. They're going to have to battle it out with the Celtics or the Sixers, I think. I feel like we're taking for granted that it's going to be Sixers and Bucks in the end. Well, I wonder. You think the Knicks or the Caz are really going to. I mean, it's hard to tell, but right now they just seem to be having fun. I don't think I said it. I like Celtics Bucks. Yeah, I like Celtics Bucks. We'll see. Maybe we should place a bet on it. Yeah, I think this team, I think they have a chance to continue to get better. They're healthy now. Guys like Jay Crowder, Pat Conten, they're going to really have to defend and continue to play well on that side of the ball. So I see them kind of sticking right here. I do think they'll end up finishing second in the Eastern Conference. I think them sitting at four is based strictly on what the potential of what that team can be. So I think they deserve to be right there at four. Number three, I'm going with the T-Wolves. Sitting number one in the West, playing really good basketball. You got to give this team, this young team a lot of credit, man, with Anthony Edwards. Cat playing well. Rudy Gobert have an opportunity to be defensive player the year again. This is a team that's playing really well. They're actual contenders. I'm still giving them the inexperienced car, as well as the Thunder, even though they're two or three spots behind them. Because I think just with the Eastern Conference, you got to factor them in as well. But I think they have the same problem as the Thunder. A lot of post-season inexperience, but I still got them at number three. Yeah, I got to say, this is a team that I didn't see this happening. I thought that was Svul's goal in a little bit. I thought they were going to kind of tinker up. But this team can defend. This team is great at home. They're 17 and four at home. They get home quarter advantage. I can see them advancing. And they're a real threat. They have size. They have defense. They have an absolute star. And Anthony Edwards and Carlythe Townes has shown he can still go get you 60 on the day of the night in a loss. In a loss. OK, now we're down to the nitty gritty here, Michelle. Oh, yes. Now we're down to the nitty gritty. I preferably would have probably flipped these two again, not to throw anybody under the bus. But I think the Celtics, I think they're the best team in the NBA. But we got them at two right now. They did just lose by 19 to who we have at one. But I think this is the most poised team. I think this is the best duo in the NBA. Everyone knows the depth. They're a little thin. But when they're healthy and they have Prezinga's plan at the level he's playing, Drew Holliday has been a game changer for them. I think this is just their chance. I think this is their year. I think they will be the NBA champions this year. But right now, we've got them at two. Yeah, you got to respect them. Bench or no bench, this team is very consistent. And you just got to go with them and not bet against them. So for my number one spot, it is obviously going to be the Los Angeles Clippers. Sitting at fourth place in the West. But I don't think there's a team in the league that's playing better basketball than them right now. So we talk about power rankings. When we talk about making a real run at a championship, this looks like the team that has all of the components. They can defend. They have four different. They actually have five or six different guys that can put 20 on the board. They have depth. And the most important thing out of everything that Russell Westbrook has brought to the table for the team, they're having a ton of fun. It looks like they actually enjoy playing with each other and building and embracing the process of trying to put together a championship run. So I like the Clippers at number one right now. I can't wait to get where my app works so I can put some money on that plus 700. To me, this is the one team that they really struggle on the road. So getting home court advantage. They're 11-11 on the road and they're 19-4 at home. So home court advantage is a huge, huge priority for this team. So I expect them to continue to play hard, continue to try and get as many ones as possible because they need home court advantage come play off time. If both sides are healthy, it's the best of seven. Celtics or Clippers, who are you taking? Clips. Celtics. Interesting. I feel like I'm with Lou weirdly enough. If you had told me this months ago, no chips. These two teams are actually both two places that I consider my second homes. But I just, I like the Clippers right now. All right. Keep an eye on that. It'll be a hell of a series. Quick break. When we come back a little, you buy in that. We'll run it back. Run it up, run it back, run it back, run it up, run it back. You buy in that. This was a big one yesterday, Chandler. Of course I'm gonna start with you because it involves the Mavs, Jason Kidd, Luca Donchich and Dirk Nibitzky. Because J-Kid said, and it was multiple times, by the way, in the same soundbite, that Luca Donchich is a better player than Nibitzky and in the same atmosphere as an MJ LeBron and Kobe. What do you think about that? I'm not buying it, but because, listen, when you talk MJ and LeBron, they're in a different league of everybody else, in my opinion. And I love Kobe, I love all these other players, but putting Luca in that category is tough. Now, Dirk himself has been on record saying that Luca's a better player than him. Luca is more talented player than him. And again, that's Dirk now retired saying the right things. And this is Jason Kidd who's backing his player, who's all he has this year, basically. So I'm not buying it, but if I'm Luca, man, do I love Jason Kidd, who I also respect as a player and who I also really loved growing up saying this. Man, hell no. You ain't rolling? No. Not buying it. How do we measure the greats, the MJs, the Kobys and LeBrons? How do we measure them? Championships. Dirk Nwitzky has a championship in Dallas. So when it comes, he's not the best player in that franchise. He's gonna be one of those players. He will be though, I think, is important. Absolutely. Today, it's Dirk Nwitzky. Give Dirk Nwitzky his flowers. He's got his own street for God's sakes over there. Yeah, he brought a championship to Dallas against a team that a lot of us didn't think they could be. And they did it. And with Dirk Nwitzky with a chip on his shoulder, sick and all of these other different things. Being mocked. That is correct. Being mocked. And that's the way that we measure the greats. That's what separates them from everybody else. It's championships. Dirk Nwitzky has a championship. Luca will be one of the best players in Dallas Maverick's franchise history. Present date, it's still Dirk Nwitzky. It's the reason he has a street. It's the reason that his logo was on the court. I don't think he will be one of the best players. I think he's either first or second already. So I agree. So I think he's already there. Not another player I can think about. Yeah, the short sample size that he's given us with the stats. With the short samples. Okay. Just throwing all that. Not to laugh at Roy Tarfleet. All right. He's up there. And so I understand it. But again, he's got a lot of time to maybe go into this. But putting him with MJ, Cove, and LeBron, come on. Would have been better if Dirk was like, no, he's not better than me. Yeah, like what's Dirk gonna say? Nah, this kid sucks. He's not there yet. Terry Rogier as a new Miami guard, by the way, says losing in Miami feels different than losing in Charlotte. Quote, in Charlotte, you're kind of used to losing. It's in the DNA. Over here, it's the shuttle opposite. Shots fired. Nobody wants to lose. Nobody is fine with it. Dang. Lou, you buy it all that? Yeah, I'm buying it. I think what he's trying to get across is just his culture. Culture. Miami, he'd love to talk about his culture and mentality. I think when they lose games there, I think the first level of business is trying to figure out what went wrong and how to correct those things moving forward. And they feel like they have a template to being a successful organization. And so I think that's what he was trying to get across. And maybe Charlotte hadn't had the level of success that the Miami Heat has had at this point in franchise history. So they may not have that culture, and I think that's what he was getting across. So I'm buying. All right, speaking of losing in Charlotte, down 25 to the Knicks on Monday night, Lamello Ball was seen laughing with his teammates on the bench. That's probably what Terry Rogier was talking about right there. Are you buying it? That's just a bad look. It's an awful look. And this is what Lou just talked about, where when you are the best player and you're so young and there's no culture and there's no organization in this franchise, this is what you get. And you do get kind of numb to losing. And it just becomes a cycle where these teams, the Detroit's, the Washington's, they're so used to losing that they don't even care. They're gonna go and live their life. They're gonna go to dinner. They're gonna go out that night. And it's just another game where they get the check and then that's it. And maybe we're better next year. So I agree, it sucks to shitty situation, but like that's the situation they're in right now. They're so used to losing and have the worst, they've created the worst habits where like that's just life there. Down 25 too, that's a bad look. Snoop Dogg, yeah. Recently named as top five players in the NBA. He had YoKitchenB, Yanis, SGA, and Anthony Edwards. LeBron comes off the bench here. You buying that, Lou? I like it, I like it. Listen, this is a lot of talent. The guy's playing really good basketball right now. He only had five spots. He threw a Laker in there to give him a six man of the year. So that was cool. But you know, you can interchange, Luca or Tatum with any of these guys. All of them are well deserving of being top five players, but you only get five spots. So I don't think Snoop missed a mark here. I'm buying. Yeah, he's not way off. I would probably, and I love Anthony Edwards, I'd probably change him for Tatum, for Luca, for Steph Curry. But I mean, that five right there is pretty nasty. Yeah, I don't think you can lose with that five. Charles Barkley recently said that Jalen Brunson has made the Knicks relevant for the first time since Patrick Ewing. We're buying that. Wow. Big ol' cap. No, I mean, do you remember those mellow, Amari Stoddmer, the teams were dead nice. But also let's not forget about Lynn Zandie. That was the most poppin' the garden has ever been, but they weren't good. But the garden was buzzing. They were relevant. Everyone was talking about the Knicks, but no. Those JR Smith, Amari Stoddmer. We were in the league when this was happening. Yeah, they were. We hated the go-to-the-garden. They were tough. They were nasty. They were always on national TV. Carmelo Anthony was an absolute problem. I love Jalen Brunson. I love everything they're doing here. I love the trade for OG. But no, they've had their fair share of momentum and highlights. But there's definitely been a big break in between. There's definitely been a big break, but it's, again, back in the day when we had to go to the garden, it wasn't an easy one. It wasn't a Patrick Ewing break. No. No, no, no, that's a really long break. Joe Missoula came up with a nickname for Jalen Brown and Kristops Porzingis. Lou, it's cookies and cream. Oh, take it away. You buying that? This is racist. It is racist. What are they, salt and pepper next? What are they, salt and pepper, chocolate and vanilla? What is that? It's called black and white. Cookies and cream? Yeah. Not rolling, coach. No. But is this guy, he's a quirky guy, that's trying to be on a different floor. He's weird. He's the one that watches the movie, like every five minutes. I am not buying it. His interview yesterday had me cringing earlier. He was a little nerdy. How hard do they play it? Damn. Do you think that Jalen Brown likes this nickname? I don't think he does. I, if I'm a gambling man, in which I am. I wouldn't bet that he's not very excited about being the cookies of this mix. I don't think it sticks. No, it just, it's... It can't stick. All right, we're not buying, nobody's buying that. Kevin Durant says he does not want a video tribute when he returns to Brooklyn tonight to face the Nets because his body of work there just isn't big enough. You buying that he should not get a video? I don't think he should. I don't think he was there long enough, which is what Katie's saying. I still think they'll do it because he was basically their best player. He did recruit those guys there. He did a lot more than Kyrie and James Hardin did, but... And they told him not to, he had .2. Yeah, but yeah, the fact that they said, he said don't do it, I would 1,000% do it. But I'm also very petty. But no, he's a Hall of Fame player. They want to show their respect. They're probably going to do it, I would imagine. I would think so too. Make it really cheesy too, just to make everyone uncomfortable. Should just make it bloopers. Yeah. That's a great idea. Okay, Lou's got the best idea. Devon Booker and Yannis were players of the week last week, which was also the same week in which we had 70 points, Embiid and Luca. And I'm thinking they should have had it more. Are you buying this, Lou? I'm not buying. I think they may have got this wrong. Devon Booker did average 50 on a week, which is nothing to sniff your nose at, but Luca had a triple double almost with his 70. His 70, and Embiid got the 70-point party kicked off with his 72, I believe it was. And I think both of those guys deserve it. So I'm not buying. I'm not even sure what Yannis did that week. I'm sure it was great considering. He got a coach fired. Yeah. I think they just won big games, I guess. Again, imagine having 70 plus points and not winning. I can't imagine it. A player of the week. Yeah, I'm not buying this. You can throw Luca or Embiid in there. I'm buying Devon just because I don't care about the way. He literally averaged 50 points a week. So with Devon averaging 50, then I'd put him. Eliminates Luca. Yeah, so then I'd put it. So I'm putting Embiid in for Yannis. So yeah, I agree. I would go Joelle and Devon there. Chandler Grant Hill said that he left Draymond Green off the Team USA 41 man pool because of the on-court issues this season. You buying that? You shouldn't be on the team? No, I mean, I don't think that helped, but also he's not a top 50 player in the NBA. Why would he be on the Team USA where this is the best 12 to 15, whatever it is, guys? But he's not even on the 41. Like that hurts a little bit. Well, he's not a top 41 player in the NBA. So I don't think he missed here. I also think of the antics and the behavior off the court definitely didn't help putting on that USA jersey. It's more than just basketball and more than your talent. But now there's so many talented guys now in the NBA that have kind of surpassed Draymond. He has done a lot for Team USA. He's done a lot in his career. He's a Hall of Fame career, but right now at this stage of his career, I don't disagree. I mean, when I think USA, I don't think about violence. That's for sure. Yeah, it's really... We're gonna take a quick break when we come back. We're gonna wrap up some run it back right here on Fanville TV. What? We should. Run it off, run it back, yeah, yeah. Run it off, run it back, run it off, run it back. Oh, I miss these fitter break and we got some good ones. Say, we will start with... Oh, no, he didn't. He looks weird. What is that? An astronaut. These guys are getting outrageous with these outfits. It looks like he's trying to lose weight real quick in a sweat box. Is this in Miami, too? Oh, there's four of them. I like this fit. That's not bad. That's not what I was expecting. I was expecting him to be wearing what Tyler Hero had on. Can we pan left? That might be the one. That red thing might be something. Give me a fit, yeah. Jared Vanderbilt. Oh, no leather. I feel like we've seen this one before. It's kind of the... Well, Halliburton does some nerd stuff, too, a lot. I like pieces of this, but not together, you know what I mean? I like the bag. I like the... And the sweater. The hat ain't na. All right. I like this. This is fine. This is cool. My leek muck. My baggy pants. This is great color. Pops. I like this one. All right. James... You know what? I actually like him. No, he's tall. I'm a comfort guy. But he's tall. That's expensive comfort. These Jimmy Jans. How much of those chains cause them up top? He does look comfortable. Couple of little middle class creeps. That Debo? Yeah, you got Debo. Oh, that's awesome. Michelle knows Debo, but not what no cap means. I knew it, no cap, man. I didn't know it was standing on your business. Inside joke, that's DeMars' nickname, Debo. It's a great shirt. That's a good outfit. All right, SG. Okay. This kid just gets it. He's a model. Yeah, he gets it. I'm sorry, he's just a model. I think he has a personal photographer. There's no, there's no way he's the team. Where is he? There's no way this is the team photo. That's not the LeBron I thought we were gonna get. Miss LeBron? You thought you were gonna get the leather. Okay, this is LeBron. The newest Vitton pants. It does it for us. Yeah, we could do those next week. That was a brick, by the way.