 Run it up, they run it back. Run it up, they run it back. Run it up, they run it back. Good Thursday morning. Welcome to Run It Back, Fandall TV. Look at us guys, everyone looks like they got a great night's sleep. We're in good mindsets. Is that, maybe not Chandler, but everyone else looks really, really great. We feeling good? Yes, we're gonna start doing this every morning, I don't care. Stadium Insider, Sean Charania, Chandler P, Lou Will, my name is Michelle and we got a lot of basketball because things are winding down. Everything matters. Everything matters. First up, Timberwolves, Nuggets. This was a big one. Jokic, no surprise here. Leads his team past Minnesota, 116-107. He finished with 41, 11 and seven. Oh, Jamal Murray, 20.6 assist. Anthony Edwards had his 25 and after this one, Mike Malone said that nobody, and I mean nobody can guard Jokic one-on-one. Chandler, you agree? Yeah, that's the most obvious statement ever. Yeah, he's been doing this for years and it really is crazy what he does and look at, we're talking about against Rudy Gobert, most likely the defensive player of the year. And we're talking about the Minnesota Timberwolves who's by far the best defensive team in the NBA. And watching this game, it really was crazy because they're so active, they're flying around, they mix things up a little bit. They started nods, read on them to start the game and it had kind of Rudy Gobert kind of floating and see if he could be more effective, help side. But there's no answer to this, dude. He's too big. He's figured out his angle is so well where you can't put anybody smaller on him because they'll overpower him. You can't put anybody big on him because he comes based on their point guard and can handle the ball and then give him too much space to create for everyone else in that starting lineup. So yeah, there's not one person on the planet that can guard him. Most nights, two people can't guard him because he's so good at seeing the double team coming. He's to get off the ball, to give other guys and his other teammates wide open look. So it really is crazy how much better and how much unbelievably offensively he's gotten over the years to where now he puts every single defense in a bind. He makes them make a decision whether they're gonna double, whether they're gonna play me straight up and I'm just gonna go get 40, 50 points tonight. If you're gonna double team you, triple team me, he's gonna have 15 plus assists. So there's no real recipe besides play physical with him and try and make it as difficult as possible because you look up at the end of the game and the dude is going to get his numbers, he's gonna dominate and there's no real stop in them. I mean, I don't know what to add, Lou. Is there anything to add? Yeah, he's that Tony Cool Coach. Yeah, he's Tony and Kevin Hart and Cedric the Entertainer. Everybody's ballin' up on Yolkage. Kevin Hart, what did Kevin Hart? Anyways, we go down a rabbit hole in Kevin Hart. We're not gonna be Kevin Hart right now. He's a Philly fan, I can't take that seriously anyways. Nuggets are 56 and 24 this season. We all have our opinions on how the West will play out who will go to the finals and all that good stuff. But the question that we can ask is, is this Nuggets team better than the championship team they had together last season, Lou? Absolutely, and they're better because it's basically the same team. So when you have guys that buy into the goal of reaching the championship again and winning the championship again, it's a lot easier for your team to operate. Everybody understands their role on this basketball team. You don't hear any controversy about somebody wanting more touches or asking for trades or any of that. All of these guys have bought into what Coach Mike Malone has put in place for them and they believe in their best player. They believe in Joker. They believe that he's gonna get them to the promised land and it's a total buy-in from top to bottom when you see everything that you get from players on that basketball team from Murray to the KACPs to the Reggie Jacksons, you know, down to the bench and the guys that come in, this team is by far better than they were the last time that we've seen them in a championship run. Yeah, I agree. That's terrifying. And it's simply because it's just another year of knowing their role. Like Michael Porter, you see, he doesn't take as bad of shots anymore. He knows his role. He knows when to take those long threes in transition. He knows when he's hot. He's got a little bit of a longer leash. Peyton Watson, we talked about him a little bit earlier in the season. He's kind of had an up and down and consistent year. The dude had six blocks last night. So if you can get that kind of energy on this team that's already so good offensively and you can plug him into certain stints of the game to have them go block shots, to go rebound, to go lock up another team's offensive score, that's gonna be big. And the one thing I didn't like is them downplaying this game. Everyone knows this was a shit game because home court advantage in a Western conference that's so deep is so, so big. And last year they had home court. They went 10-1 at home going on to win the championship. And just knowing that every round this year there's not gonna probably be any blowouts. There's not gonna be many sweeps. So it's nice knowing that every single game seven is on your home court. So the downplay of this game to me was, I guess, a ploy because I know both teams really wanted this game because home court advantage and this conference this year when it's so stacked is super important. And the nuggets this year, they're 33 and eight this year at home. They have the best home record in the Western conference. They wanted the one seed and now they put themselves in position to really go get it. Yeah, let's manifest that new tweet. It's hard to downplay when your best player got 40. And your team has 31 assists on shared buckets. So you could say what you wanna say, but they cared about this game. They showed up in the play. And then afterwards they went and Malone says, well, we care more about health than seedings. It's like, what? You just played this dude 40 minutes. You wanted that number one seed net, but they're confident they think they can beat anyone else, but they were gonna win this game. Stop it. I like the idea of just like scare everybody else. The fact that we're talking about them being better than their championship version is a little terrifying. I mean, the Timberwolves were in this game. It wasn't a blowout by any stretch of the imagination. Chandler, does anything that happened last night? And reminder, we still don't have cat, but does anything that happened last night change your opinion of Minnesota? Are they still competitive against this Nuggets team if it comes down to that? Where do you put them? Yeah, if anything, I have even more confidence in Minnesota Timberwolves. I think a lot of people, including me, are sleeping on them just because we haven't seen them do it before. And them and OKC kind of came out of nowhere. And they're one of these teams that have on the rise playing against these older proven teams like the Denver Nuggets. But when you watch them play, and that first half especially, their defense is sweltering. They're so long. And it starts with Rudy Gobert, where he can clog the paint. He changes the whole dynamic of teams offensive when he's down there. Jay McDaniel is an unbelievable wing defender. And then when your best player, Anthony Edwards, is busting his ass on both sides of the ball, it doesn't happen anymore. So yeah, I love this team. They're deep. They have really, really good role players. They're well coached by Chris Finch. And I do really, really think they are gonna survive in advance, at least to get out of the first round. And then see what happens. But this is a team that is playing also without their second best player. That's a huge hole to fill. And you're talking about a guy like Carl Anthony Towns, who is their stretch for 20, 25 points a game guy. And without him, they kind of still didn't miss a beat. I think to be elite, they need him. And they need to be fully loaded. But they're still a really good team without Carl Anthony Towns. So you gotta give these other guys credit that are playing for them. Nice surprise. Shams, I'm just gonna throw a name out there. And maybe you could educate the world as to who this dude is and why we should know more about him. Tim Connolly. Tim Connolly spent nine years in Denver. He was an architect of that championship team, this Denver Nuggets championship team. And then he goes to Minnesota in 2022. And you look at the top two teams in the Western Conference right now. His old Nuggets and now the Wolves. And Mark, Lori, Alex Rodriguez, they identified him, they targeted him. It was their vision to bring in Tim Connolly to Minnesota in 2022. And they committed really an unforeseen price in Minnesota in that marketplace. Five years, $40 million to bring in one of the best executives in the NBA. Glenn Taylor had to ultimately sign off on that. But it was really Rodriguez and Lori's vision and ambition and drive to bring an executive of that caliber into Minnesota. And they've given him the free reigns to go and transform this Tim Rolves culture that we're seeing now. He goes out and makes a really go bare trade. Science, Kyle Anderson, free agency, trades for Mike Connolly Jr., trades for Monte Morris. And we know the turbulence that now exists in this war for the Tim Rolves between Glenn Taylor and Alex Rodriguez and Mark Lori. And in all of that, I'm told, Tim Connolly hasn't opt out in his contract after the season. So after year two, it was supposed to line up with this ownership transfer with Alex Rodriguez and Mark Lori taking this team over. But now with what we're seeing playing out between these two sides, I've reported on it. The fact that Glenn Taylor believes that they violated contract and obviously Alex Rodriguez and Mark Lori being firm that they have all the necessary documentations, funding to have complete ownership of this team. There's no sign of this ending here anytime soon. But this is obviously someone the wolves can't afford to lose. And the whole NBA is aware that Tim Connolly in theory could be a free agent and leave the Tim Rolves in theory. But they could also rip his deal up and give him a new extension this off season. Definitely something to keep an eye on. That's crazy. General, even have their own free agency now. Yeah, this is awesome. And also don't forget, remember last year, even us, we were shitting on this trade saying it could go down as one of the worst trades in the history of the NBA. Talking about this, where you go fair trade. So lately Tim Connolly knows more what he's talking about that we do because it seems to be working just fine. I just love the idea that Tim Connolly heard all of everybody. It wasn't just us. It was everybody saying that was possibly the worst trade in the history of all things. And he must have just been, I don't know. Either he's sweating it out or he was sitting back just waiting. Either way, brilliant, brilliant that we have a free agent possibility in the president of NBA teams world. All right, we had another game last night. The Bucks played, of course they don't have Yanis and they won't, playing Orlando. They beat him though, 117.99, Bobby Portis with 39 and five, Dame Lillard with 29 points, Adesis, Paolo Bencaro had 20. And this is now back to back wins for this team after they lost those four straight. Obviously the Yanis Cloud looms, Chandler. But do we feel better, the same? Where are we on Milwaukee? Well, I don't feel better because Yanis' health is up in the air without him on the floor and the playoffs it's going to be tough. Now, can they get by in the first round with whoever they draw if Bobby Portis is playing like this and Dame Lillard's putting up the numbers he's putting up and they're holding teams to 99 points defensively. Yeah, I think they can. I think they can beat whoever gets in that seven spot after the play-in. But no, I think big picture obviously you want Yanis on the floor, you need Yanis on the floor. We talked about yesterday when it's one of those non-contact injuries and I know they're saying everything's good image-wise and the Achilles is all intact but that doesn't just heal overnight. So that is going to take a long time. But when you do have guys like Portis and Connaughton and Crowder and these older guys that can sub in, it's got to be a collective effort. And also Chris Middleton, if Yanis is out, Chris Middleton's got to be in and he's got to be the guy and he's got to be their closer at the end of the games when Dame Lillard is having an off night. So I still have hope for them because again, everyone talks about how good of a season Orlando's have it and right now we'd still take Milwaukee in a series over them right now. It's because of games like last night where they just are way more talented, they're older, they're more experienced and we just believe them more. So the Bucks to me, they're kind of in the same boat as the Phoenix Suns where they're so talented, they have so many players that can go and get buckets and offensively can explode that if they're clicking and they happen to do that for a series, they're going to be a tough out no matter what. Obviously more so with Yanis and the lineup. And there it is Shams Yanis. That's good. I mean, this is obviously going to be a question every single day until we see him back out on a court. Do we have anything update wise for Yanis? Yanis is out the rest of the regular season, the final three games as we expected, he's beginning. He's began yesterday that immediately once he knew it wasn't the Achilles tendon, it is a calf strain. He's beginning around the clock rehab treatment. And so the playoffs are about nine, 10, 11 days away for the Bucks. And there's obviously hope there's, you know, with Yanis, these calf strains, they can be one to two weeks at minimum. But with Yanis, of course, he's superhuman. He's come back from these injuries before way earlier than anyone expected. And so there's obviously going to be that hope that he can do it again. And he's going to do everything he can to try to be out there in game one of the playoffs. And I had someone tell me yesterday, this man will do what he wants and what he feels is right. And even though it is a calf injury, this is something that you don't want to pull again. You don't want to overcompensate. And just on that leg, he's had Achilles tendonitis. He's had a hamstring injury. And now this calf injury. So three injuries over the course of the season on the same leg. We'll see how rehab treatment goes. But he's beginning that process around the clock. It's going to be a lot. I mean, I'm curious from Chandler and Lou's perspective, like, do you guys think he makes it back for game one? Well, listen, these guys are coming back in four weeks from torn MCLs and ACLs. So this should be a three day thing right here. This is nothing. I don't know about ACL, but definitely meniscus. Lou, you know, the calf, the hamstring, these things linger, man, and you can sneeze and you can irritate this thing. So this is something where I'm sure someone's living with him. I'm sure it's, like you said, around the clock, 24-7. But mostly it's just staying off it. So at a time, this is only concern. It's not really on his side with nine, 10 days till the playoff starts. So again, this isn't something with his future is still really bright. He's still got a lot of basketball to play. I don't know if it's worth rushing him back for a first round series, but obviously they know they're a completely different team with him. Can I ask you, like, calf rehab, what is it? Just a lot of machinery, zapping, what are we doing? I think all of this stuff is connected, right? Like it started with his hamstring. And I think sometimes when you're dealing with a hamstring, you're trying to take pressure off of that and you begin to overcompensate and you start bothering with other things. You start bothering with the calf. You start bothering with the killie. So I think some rest, if you give him an opportunity to rest for six to 10 days and get an opportunity to really let everything reset, let his hamstring rest, I think that does him a world of good and it gets him back on his feet. And see the problem is too, yeah, Michelle, it's rest. It's massage, it's ice, it's stem. It's a combination of things. They're probably dry needling it. I mean, they're probably doing a bunch of stuff. But at the same time, how is he also staying in shape when he can't really be on his legs and his feet? So he's probably doing a lot of pull workouts. He's probably doing a lot of stuff on the underwater treadmill, things like that, to where it's not an impact, but he can still get his heart rate up. So when it is healed and somewhat ready to go, he doesn't have to have that whole week, two week period of getting back on shape. This deep in the season though, channel, I think he's all right with his shape, you know? We're what, five, six months in now. He can be our, this is just a long week. This is an all-star weekend. I wouldn't really overreact to it. It is gonna be a little bit, but if this was earlier in the season where he's still working to get himself in tip-top shape, I would have a different opinion. Going into the playoffs, I think he's where he needs to be with his win and his shape. Well, the good news is, Dame Lillard is averaging 32 and eight when Yanis isn't on the court. I guess the question, Lewis, how do you ensure that we can keep that trend going for Lillard, especially until we get Yanis back? And I don't know why I'm saying we, by the way, very odd timing for that. He's gonna play the high clip. You gotta think when Yanis is on the floor, it's just natural to defer to him and try to play through him. If you're Dame Lillard, if you're Chris Middleton, it's just natural. When he's not on the floor, obviously you can be way more aggressive. They can go out there when he's not on the floor, shoot the ball four or five times in a row and nobody would have anything to say or anything. When Yanis is out there, it's quite natural that you're gonna come down the floor up to a three-trips. If you miss a shot, you're gonna look for him. And that's just natural. It's a natural pecking order when you have guys that's so talented in this league, that's had the success and accomplished the things that they had. Yanis is a former MVP. So if you're Dame Lillard, you gotta respect that. So when he's not on the floor, you can go out there and just go do your thing. So that's just a natural difference. I don't know how they get this out of him when Yanis is on the floor. The loss for the Magic, by the way, puts them at the five-spot now and they've got games remaining that are against both the Sixers and once again against the Bucks, Chandler. Do you see, I mean, I'm looking at the standing now, how much further do they go? Do they drop? What are you thinking? I mean, yeah, they could definitely drop. They're tied right now with Indiana, same exact record. Yeah, I can see them definitely drop. Those last two games are not easy and both those teams are kind of fighting for position here. So I think either way, no matter where they fall, Cleveland's not gonna be an easy series for them. And if they fall to six, New York's definitely not gonna be an easy series for them. So I think they're gonna try and win these games. I think you want the highest possibility, especially when you're growing a team. You don't wanna teach habits of doing this or you're watching the standings and you're trying to match up with whoever you want. I think if you're Jamal Mosey right now, you're saying, okay, we've had a great year, we're young, we're building something special here. Let's win out, let's go into the postseason as much as a positive vibe as we can and whoever we get, let's go. But yeah, if I'm them, I wanna stay right there in that five seats. I'd rather play Cleveland than the Knicks. Let's move on to Sun's Clippers because I don't even know anymore what's happening here. Sun's at Los Angeles, no Russ, no PG, no Hardin, no Kawhi. What even is that? The big three though for Phoenix, combines for 87 in the win. Devon Booker with 37, Beal 26, Kevin Durant had his 24. You know, they lost the two straight. Honestly, I think it's safe to say they've just never really found it all season long, but it seems to be the overall consensus that because they are veterans and they are superstars, they can still get it together in the playoffs, Chandler. Do you still stick to that theory? I mean, at what point do we not? When they lose in this season, like when they lose four to one to Minnesota and it's just over for them. We said, damn, what could have been with this big three? Like it is crazy, cause I do still feel like they can put games together like they did last night, which again, they played a team where Brandon Boston and Bones Island took 25 plus shots. So like this one you could throw out, it doesn't even count. That wasn't the clippers they played last night, but my thing with them is I've said it all year long, they're so, they're dangerous offensively because they have the pieces and they have proven scores. They have two of the best scores in the league. So I think any given night, yes, they can go off, but I'm starting to lean the other way. It's crazy. Like they haven't put it together. They haven't done this against good teams consistently. It's crazy looking at the record. They're 47 and 33 and they're seven. I feel like usually that's like a home court advantage. So it is a tough break for them that this year when they did form this big three, the Western Conference is deep as I think I've ever seen it. But it's gonna be tough, man, because no matter where they finish seven, eight, they're still gonna have to beat one of these teams, whether it's gonna be the Thunder or the Timberwolves and how the Timberwolves played last night and how they can defend and they can switch and throw different looks at you. That's gonna be hard. And I can tell you, Oklahoma City, I don't care how young they are, they are confident and they can hit you with the array of things too. So I do like them over both of those teams instead of the nuggets, even instead of the clippers. But yeah, I mean, at what point are we just delusional here? And we're running out of time. Think about it, there's two more games. I'm still sitting here saying, oh, they're gonna figure it out. Like no, they're not. I think this is who they are. I just think who they are can play good on a nightly, on any given night. Just, they don't do it on a nightly basis. So confusing. Nothing. Zero. I'm not feeling it. Like again, usually this is the time where you realize, okay, this team is dangerous and they're showing you that they're dangerous. They're showing that they're gonna be one of those teams to reckon with. I just hadn't felt that from this Phoenix science team yet. I don't know if it's a defensive thing or whether they're still trying to figure out who's gonna be the closer, who's gonna be the person that's gonna get the game going, who's gonna take up the slack in the middle of games. It just seems like something is off there and it's not working, especially with how loaded the West is. Usually, if you got two or three good teams in the West, we can look at it and say, yeah, maybe they'll turn it on. But again, they're almost a 51 team in the seventh place. They can't afford it right now. They can't afford to still be trying to figure it out. So I'm just not feeling it. Lou, let's take a look at the Clippers, because before this one, Ty Lou said that Kauai's absence is really of no concern to him. And I wanna believe him, Lou. Should I? I mean, he knows something that I don't know. So no concern, maybe that he has a timeline that we don't have and he knows when Kauai be back or the severity of the injury and what Kauai is going through. And that's the reason that he's saying that, but if this is something serious and Kauai's not in the line or come play off time, it should be a concern. It should be something that he's worried about. That's one of two of his best players out of the three guys that he has started and Kauai has been the best player coming out of that start lineup. Originally I said it was Paul George as the season went on, Kauai began to separate himself as the go-to guy on his Clippers basketball team. So him saying that, he has to know something that we don't know. I'm sure Kauai will be back soon with him saying that. Yeah, I hope so, because it'll be a rip-off because we now know that the Clippers and the Mavericks are locked into playing one another in the first round. I love that we can at least start looking at this one, Chandler. I know how you feel about Dallas and we're looking at this Clippers team right now. Early thoughts on this one. I like Dallas, because I am concerned about Kauai. That's funny, I'm wearing the hat, didn't even realize. I know, nice hat. Kauai, I mean, maybe Tyron Lue, obviously he knows something we don't know, like Lue said, if he's not concerned, I think I guess we shouldn't be concerned, but if he's missing games this point of the season, clearly something's bothering him enough to kind of get rest and get him prepared for this series. Now, when you look at the series, there's history here. They've had great series and Luka has absolutely dominated this series. And I just think Dallas is the hottest team right now in the NBA. They've won something like 18 of 20 games or something. They're clicking. Luka and Kyrie have found this balance of offense. They've found these great role players with the trades they made with Gafford and PJ Washington and bringing in guys like Derek Jones on a minimum of that minimum contract. Those guys, those three guys have really helped the balance of this team. They've really helped Luka and everyone knows Luka is not a great defender, not one-on-one defender, but when you have those three guys on the floor, he can now become a solid contributor on the defensive end. He knows how to help. He knows his timing. So that alone has helped this team grow. We talk about how deep they are. They have size now with Cleaver and Powell and Lively. So I've always said this is the deepest best team Luka's had and so it would be hard for me not to take them in this series, how well they're playing, especially right now at this point of season and how well Luka, if listen, if they won five more games this year, Luka Donkic is where I was winning the MVP. It just, they happen to be the five, six seed and they're not in the top like SGA, like Luka. So the things he's doing this year are insane and this is the best team Dallas has moving forward, offensively and defensively. Kyrie Irving seems happy. He's straight ballin'. So I like the Mavs in this series. I loved it for this show. It's Lou versus Chandler. This is also Mavs Clippers. Let's continue on because in the playoffs, if they take away some of the things that make Luka comfortable, if they take away some of the things that Kyrie does that makes him comfortable, who's that third guy on the Dallas Mavericks who can carry you to some wins? Who can make big shots for you? Who can carry you down the stretch? Who's that guy with the Clippers? You can go Terrence Mann. You can go Norman Powell. You can go Russell Westbrook. Oh, and you can go James Harden, by the way. You know, even though he's turned himself into a distributor and he's more concerned with those guys, if he wakes up and decides he wants to put a 30 on those guys' head, it's gonna be trouble for the Dallas Mavericks. And we have a rich history of struggling with the Mavericks. I think this is the year that we put that to bed. And I'm saying we because I'm affiliated. So I'm saying I still like the Clippers in this one. Hey, Lou, let me tell you something. Luca is averaging 34, 10, and nine and a half, bro. There is nobody that can give him something that he hasn't seen before. No, but it's like playing the nuggets. You can't take away what Yolkage does. So I agree that who is the third guy is gonna be Tim Hortleway, is gonna be PJ Washington. Those guys really can't create their own shots, but I'm not, there's nobody that, there's no defense in the world that can stop Luca, let alone Luca. Jump the game up, but that's what I'm saying. But if you jump the game up, as soon as Luca cross half court and you wanna throw doubles at him, you wanna throw traps at him every once in a while, after 18 hours. Then Kyrie is going one-on-one. Right, but listen, now you say we trapping Luca, Kyrie is going one-on-one. Now you're running the junk defense at him, you're swinging the ball to who? Like who's gonna be the guy? Yeah, that can work, that can work in a game or two, but for a series to think that Luca's gonna go 35 and 10 for a series from some of the world's best athletes, some of the best defenders that the game has got to offer, we've co-alented this back in Atlanta. I don't know, who's the third guy? So when he comes down to- He's done it before, and now he's got a better team, he'll do it again. He's done it again or two, other than that, he's gonna need somebody to win him a game in these playoff series. But for sure- Shoms, they should bet, right? Like there should be a good bet between you two. Somehow that we all win. There'll be some side action here, you better believe it. Well, we'll be in LA a lot, we gotta have a dinner, one of them is gonna pick up the tab, how about that? I was gonna say, Shoms and I aren't gonna bet, we just get the prizes from you two. Maybe Fando gets us all four courtside for game one, maybe, I don't know. Wow, you could be my agent. That was quick negotiation from Chandler. He went for the big one there. By the way, is the, Luca not getting more love for MVP? Lou, just simply as Chandler said, cause they're in that five seed rather than higher, is that really what we're looking at? No, I just think, I gotta concede, I just think Joker has separated himself from the pack. So I don't think this is a Luca thing, I don't think this is an SGA thing. I think Joker has been playing at a level that's so high, it really doesn't matter who comes in second place. So I don't think this is a personal thing for Luca. I don't think he's being overlooked. I mean, that is quite the list. Quite the graphic to be a part of there. Shoms, what is the big difference with Luca and Kyrie this season? Cause it really, it just looks like two kids having fun. I think it's simple, it's winning. And I think that builds trust and having a full training camp, having a full season to really acclimate themselves, they, it was rushed, right? Like last year, Kyrie Irving came in, made way through the year, they're trying to find a rhythm. It didn't go as well as anyone on that team, that organization wanted. And the fact that Kyrie Irving for the most part has been able to stay healthy, stay on the floor and produce at this significant level. He's playing at an elite level, like he did last year in Brooklyn, like he has over the course of his career. And I think Luca Dantzic's truly seeing the greatness, the brilliance that we know Kyrie Irving is as a player when he's on the floor and realizing both of them, that in order for this team to win, it starts with them, the chemistry that they build, like that video of Luca Dantzic running from the scores table all the way to the other side of the court to pick Kyrie Irving up last night. Obviously we didn't see that last season, but that just to me, looks like two guys that have built a lot of chemistry over the course of the year. And everyone I talked to around that organization, those two are really close now. Wasn't the case last year because of how quick that turnaround came post-trade, but with that training camp with a full season, these two guys are bonded. These two guys are really close. And I think that chemistry is clearly driven, everything this season for them. I just love it. It's like they're getting the best versions of each other. And that's quite fun to watch as a fan. All right, Shoms, love you, mean it. I'll talk to you a little bit later and we'll all be in LA Monday, bright and early. See you then. You guys very soon. Safe travel, sir. We will take a quick break when we come back. Rudy Gay back on the show. Up there he is. He's ready. He's ready. Run it up, run it back, yeah, yeah, run it up, run it back, run it up, run it back, run it up, run it back, run it back. Six, oh my, I'm the man. Oh, that's right. He is back. Rudy Gay joins the show right now. Rudy, good morning and up. He's got the shirt off. He's got it. Of course he's got it. Oh, you notice that? We're starting there, by the way. We will get to the NBA at some point, but yeah, you kind of huskies. First to repeat as champs since 2007. Where are you ranking that team all time? That team, man, that team was, man, that's tough. It's tough to say that, but obviously I'm biased, but that was a really impressive run, man. I haven't seen a team that impressive in a long time. This is not my lifetime. I'm not saying before they didn't have it, but that's an impressive team, man. What about 2007, Rudy, when them Gator boys went back to back, that was your lifetime. Oh, here we go. Here we go. I mean, that was, I don't know, I can't, I can't comment on that. I don't know too much about it, but other than that, you know, this D-Con team was pretty good. They called me crazy. Looking at your 05 and 04 teams, you guys had more, I feel like NBA players, that your team was almost more talented than this team this year, no? Yeah, we did. I think that that team did have more talent. I just don't think we had the coercion like they did, like Coach Hurley, you know, and it's crazy to see that nowadays with what's going on with the Porto and NIL, where kids are gonna leave. Coach Hurley found a way to get this team to jail. Look, if you had to put your Mount Rushmore together of you con players and we can do it, let's do a basketball style. We'll do five spots instead of the four. Give me your Mount Rushmore, you con staff. Damn. My Mount Rushmore, I'd say obviously I've had Ray Allen, Rip Hamilton, Kimberg for sure. And this is just based off of you con or... We got the first top three. We got the first top three. I like the three. I'm with you so far. Ah, man. I'd say Cliff Robinson, because he was one of the first ones. You know, you gotta put them up there. That's four, right? Yeah, that's four. He nailed it. Gordon, you got your bass. I'd say, look, look, look, look, look, look. My Mount Rushmore, I will say then Gordon will be five. Then Gordon to me was, he was a killer, especially in college, he was a killer. Kimber was my personal favorite, coming out of UConn and like yourself. But Cardi at Kimber was something to watch at that time. By the way, Ray, it's a complete Ray Allen question, but is there any way Hurley's gonna leave UConn and take this Kentucky job? Are you hearing anything? Man, I hope not. I mean, the thing about it is, you know, obviously, you know, Kentucky can offer them a lot of money, and but you also have to live in Kentucky. So we'll see. I don't think he's a Kentucky type person, you know what I mean? Hey, we got a thing for, we got a thing for shitting on small towns all this shit. Yeah, that's great. I don't know what you mean. Rudy fits right in. There we go. We just pissed off all of Lexington. Who cares? Moving to the NBA right now. I mean, obviously you play for pop, and why do I always get the Wemby questions? I just want to point out, I did not plan this. It just so happens, Destiny wanted me to do this, but as far as coaches for Wemby, we all talk about how this worked out perfectly, and it wouldn't have been better anywhere else. Do you think that when you see pop coaching Wemby that this was the perfect situation? I'm not sure. I don't know. I don't know what pop, you're getting over there right now. You know, he's a little older now. So, you know, I don't know what's going on. You know, the game has changed a little bit, you know? So I don't know, you know, I haven't been in the locker room or been back, but I know he has the knowledge to help the kid, and obviously he has his guys running away with the rookie of the year, and you know, and also putting up some historic stats. So, you know, it's crazy to see him play. It's crazy just to look at him, but it's also crazy to see him play and be able to move the way he does. I think it's fun because there are lists being put out. Maybe the athletic the other day put out top 20, top 50, whatever. And the fact that they're including a kid that's just barely got here, already on some of these top fill-in-the-blank lists, where would you put him right now if you had to? That gives me all the crazy questions. Don't worry, they have the answer, too. I will put, I'll definitely put him top, top 30 players in the league. Okay. And by the way, and I think next year, he can be as low as top 12. Like, I think he's... I agree, I agree. I said 24 all-stars and plus the back. So he's in the mix right after the 24 all-stars. He's right behind the top 30 as appropriate, yeah. Not bad, not bad. Speaking of all-stars, Rudy, you played with Kawhi Leonard in San Antonio. He's been in and out of the lineup, but now he's played the most game since that 2016-17 season. Now, do the Clippers this year with a healthy Kawhi Leonard have enough to win a championship? I mean, I definitely think they do. They have their leader who is Kawhi, the championship caliber player. If he's on the court, will he be on the court? I think that's internal for them, but I definitely think they have enough. When it comes down to it, play out basketball is totally different than regular season basketball. You're not gonna see those 130-point games between just winning. You might see a couple, but I think when it comes down to it, you have to be able to get a ball to some people and let them do what they do. They have three or four people, maybe five people in that team that can do that. So that's gonna be hard to beat up. Oh, I'm glad you brought that up because it looks like they're probably playing Dallas. And Jamal Crawford said it's... Wait, what? No, I'm trying to... They got a problem with the people they can give the ball to. I turned it around. You did turn it around. Why would you do that right now? That's like... I'm waiting for the right moment. Gotcha. Perfect. Yeah, so there it is. They're probably gonna play Dallas. That's what's happening. Jamal Crawford has made the argument that Luca and Kairi are the most skilled backcourt ever. Would you agree with that? That's a big statement. Ever? Well... Ever. Yeah. That's just... I wish I had never reached that ring a bit. I didn't say it. My bad, Rudy, go ahead. Ever? Ever, ever? Ever, ever? I don't know, man. I should just take, man. I don't know. Like I said, that's his take. There's a lot of duos out there, but... Scott even did that to Wayne. He's not a guard. That's not a backcourt. That's cool. Well, LeBron and Kairi was a better duo. I mean, LeBron and D-Way. By the way, how about Steph and Clay? Yeah, Steph and Clay. Steph and Clay have been... The point is, for him to say ever, it's a little premature for this duo. That's all I'm trying to say. And they haven't won anything yet. So it's like, you will see, we'll see. By the way, not only have they not won anything, they missed the playoffs last year and now they're the fifth seed this year. So that's a bold statement. That's a very bold statement. But with that, Rudy, do you think the Dallas Mavericks out of all of the talent, all these teams that's putting together the bodies of work this year, do you think the Mavericks give Denver the biggest threat in the West or is it somebody else? Who would you like? I know you touched on the Clippers, but who do you think? I think Dallas does. I think Luca is a matchup problem, man. Do you have Kyrie, who is technically a point guard out there doing what he does? So Luca frees up Kyrie to be what he is and what he wants to be, which is a bucket getter. So they have a matchup. And with the trades they made, with Gaffer, Gaffer's playing out of his mind. PJ Washington is knocking down jump shots and playing big on defense. So it's, I think they're definitely a team to watch. They're not a pushover. Not your average five seed, I would say. Rudy, we've been talking all year long about the Warriors. Is this the end of this dynasty? Is, you know, does Steph hate Tramon? Is he overall the antics Steve Kerr over it? But they're eight in one in the last nine games and they look to show some promise here and some confidence going to this play-in tournament. It looks like it's going to be against the Lakers. Do they have enough to not only get through the play-in, but to make a run and survive in advance in the first round of playoffs? I will say, playing games are different. Being in the playing for an older team is not ideal. You know, it's not ideal for them to have to, you know, fight that uphill battle like they're going to have to if they want to continue to do these playoffs. Do I think the dynasty is over? I don't know. I mean, I mean, from the looks of things, you can say that, but you know, you know, if they have some fight in them, we'll see, you know, during these, during these playing games, but, you know, it's going to be fun to watch. You know, to have the Lakers versus the Gold State Warriors in a play-in series is crazy to even think about. And we're getting old fellas, so it is what it is. You know what I'm saying? Start to see that. This is why I love this next question, because y'all are getting old. We all are, but you're still younger than LeBron, which is crazy to me to say out loud sometimes. And we know what he's averaging, the 26 points, all those good things. Is there a world where you see a fifth title in LA for LeBron? These questions for me? Oh yeah. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. Hey listen. Listen, on this side, you can say whatever the hell you want. They're going to get married anyway. Just say it. OK. I don't know, man. They have to do a lot of work at free agency for that to happen. You can't depend on a 48 LeBron to lead you to another challenge at this point. I don't think so. He's put up some crazy numbers. And I mean, it'll be a great end into his career to see him get another one. But it's going to be hard. You're going to have to go into a free agency. You know, there's a lot of big free agents out there or one big free agent that they can get that can help them. But, you know, this year, I don't think so. What do you think is the bigger deal to LeBron? The fact that if he's going for a fifth title or the importance of getting to play at least one season with Brawny, probably an L.A. I mean, with the person with the kind of accolades he has, I think the biggest thing can be to play with his son. Just like any of us with kids, you want to be out there and show him the ropes before you go. So, you know, and I like to see that, to be honest with you. I think people, people, I think he deserves it. He's put enough into this game to be able to play with his son and teach his son before he goes away. I'm like, looking at Chandler and Lou trying to read their faces, like, what do they think about this? I mean, by the way, I think it'd be really, I think it'd be really cool. I just, is he, would he be talking about him if his last name was a James Miley question? But I do think he's got the potential to be a better pro than he was at USC, which obviously is in his favor. And I think it'd be so dope to see him play with LeBron. That'd be awesome. It's definitely, I mean, I've never seen it. I really think the kid can play, man. He can actually play. I don't know if, I don't know if, you know, well, he's also LeBron's son. So people expect him to be, you know, wasn't, you know, LeBron and 03. So 03, 04. And it's not, you know, I don't think any of us basketball players, anybody on this, on this show thought that was going to happen. So it is what it is, man. Just let the kid live his life and live his own, you know, do his own thing. We've got Yolkitch's MVP. We've got SGA's MVP on this show. Who do you have? You gotta answer it. No one will get mad. No, it's like, you can't, you can't deny what Yolkitch has done, what he's been doing for the past couple of years. But to have, to have a number two, three seed in Oklahoma with all the young players, what the average age, I think it was, you know, I think, what was it, North Carolina's team, college team was older than, than Oklahoma Sunday. That's crazy to me. That's crazy to me. That's crazy. And for them to sustain that kind of window percentage over this season, you know, I think, although I love joke, I think you gotta give it to SGA, man, for that, for that matter. Rudy, I appreciate the t-shirt. It's like you, it's like you knew what we wanted. What t-shirt? Oh, this one. Yeah, no, that one's going right there. I appreciate it. Thanks so much for your time. This thing, we'll take a quick break. We'll be back. That man has a family. Run it back, run it back, run it up, run it back, run it up, run it back. For everyone here, if that man does have a family, we start with Gary Payton, the second. We get a lot of those. I like that. But by the, is it a foul? There's a lot of body. I like it. That's a foul. Let him play. What are we doing? I don't care. No more fouls for the rest of the season. Oh, we top it. Oh, we off to it. Oh my gosh. That was so good. Arch head. Weasel. Weasel. That one's angry. That one's angry. Yeah. How many times is Kelly Olinic on that side of a dunk? Do we have a tally? A lot, Michelle. A lot. Let's get stats on that, if we could. Thank you. He's also three feet under the rim. I know. How a dunk. Come on, Jackson. I love when Jared Allen does that. Well, you're on a three on one, Jackson. They always tell you don't get buried under the rim, man. You got to get up to the dot. Tommy's interested in me when they had no chance of actually blocking it. Oh. You don't know it in the moment, maybe. I don't know. This body. Yeah, Jackson. Okay. Okay. Bully ball. Oh. Oh, it's a pass call. Okay. Break your face mask. Why don't you? Yeah. Why are you doing all that? All right. Gigi Jackson. Gigi. What a fun story from the season. They get back on Jared Allen. Ooh. Oh, my gosh. Youngest player at the NBA, Gigi Jackson. I mean, he's gotten a lot of attention. Good, great attention. This has been a positive side note, I suppose. Now, this one right here is insane. Oh, my God. Come here. Oh, my God. Cross. Oh. Mike. Oh, my goodness. You know what, too? Brandon Miller loves and his go is Paul George. This highlight looks just like Paul George. Paul George, yeah. That's fun. George Oberbergman, Pacers versus Heath, where he does absolutely yam and bodies him. All right. This next one was a moment, Christian Brown. That is Rudy Gobert. And I said that. Oh, the left. Hey. The left foot left hand is nice. And a bit of a little stare, sort of. Okay. No? I like this one. Do dudes like Rudy Gobert? I can't tell. Talked about this already, Michelle. Don't open this can. No, I know, but I watched in the game last night and I'm like, I don't think anyone wants to. Don't you stir the pot? Keep a stern pot. There you go. Well, maybe someone's watching for the first time today. So the answer is no. Okay, good. I'm just gonna say it. Lou said no. Oh, take a good break. Break coming up some more. Run it back. Lou hates Rudy. Ooh, to the NBA final starts now. New customers on Fandall can go on their own playoff round with 150 bucks in bonus bets. Win or lose with any $5 bet. Use your bets on same game parlays, live bets, championship futures and so much more. There's no better place to bet all the playoff action than America's number one sports book. Just download the app. Get started. Fandall, official sports betting partner of the NBA. Ah, Chandler, where are you and why? I am in Atlanta, Georgia. And I will be on TNT's alternate broadcast night. True TV is part of a Fandall partner doing the bet cast for the double header tonight. Michelle, thanks for asking. The double header. Are you rested and prepared? Do you have do you have interesting things to say? You know, me just just trying to provide for my family and put food on the table. Just working overtime, Michelle. Lou, are you going to host him at all while he's out there? How does this work? I mean, you guys are so close. I tried. I tried. He's a he's a busy man. So maybe I'll send some some old catering over. You guys like wings over there. We do. We do. I told Lou, I said, hey, I get off at two a.m. That should be your sweet spot. I don't. Right on time. You get off at two. Is that right? Well, I could be one, depending on this game. Hopefully it doesn't go to, you know, the games you do in studio always go to like double overtime. I'll be there till three a.m. Probably the key to doing that, though, doing studio games is you never say the word over time out loud. You just guaranteed it. We'll see you guys Monday.