 Happy International Women's Day. Now let's talk about dudes. Run it back, starts now. Run it up, do run it back, yeah. Run it up, do run it back, run it back, yeah. Run it up, do run it back, yeah. Good morning and welcome to Run It Back. It is Wednesday morning, which is our Friday morning. I say that every week just to confuse anybody who's figuring this out, but I'd like to introduce the panel today. Stadium Insider Shamsherania, Chandler P with the, I mean, you went from the worst background to the best background, and that's impressive, my friend. And Eddie G coming to us from? Arizona, undisclosed. Yes, undisclosed location in Arizona. All right, good, you're on the West, you're kind of on the West Coast-ish, which is where we are gonna start, unfortunately. The Lakers, yep, they're making me look stupid. Beat the Grizzlies, 112, 103. Last night, AD had 30 and 22 with two blocks. They are now seven in three in their last 10 games, sitting in the nine spot. Chandler, talk to me, give me some good news. Is this going to keep going this way for the Lakers? I mean, listen, there's seven in three in their last 10, and this is the highest spot they've been in the standing since starting off in season two and 10, when we're all kind of crushing them all season long, all the ups and downs, they're finally playing good and they're playing like a real team. They're having a balanced attack. Their role players are contributing, and this is the version that we talked about for those couple of weeks before Ethan Davis got hurt, where he's dominating the game. He's getting to the foul line. He's dominating the defense of him. He's scoring, he's rebounding, he's blocking shots. He's being that franchise, all NBA player right now, while LeBron's out, while Dilo's out. And this was exciting. This was, I watched this game at this dinner party last night with a bunch of Laker people, and they are rallying behind this team. There's obviously no reason for this team to lose. We know the tanking isn't there, and the crowd was into it. They went on this huge run in the fourth quarter, and that's the loudest I've ever seen in that arena in a really long time. It's fun, and look, hopefully they can sustain it because again, everyone either loves or hates the Lakers, right? And it's fun when they're playing like this, and they're very dangerous, and we always talk about the moves they made at the deadline, and they got a lot better. So credit to them on that, and credit to Anthony Davis going on this heater he's on right now, for them to keep succeeding, he's got to be this guy, especially with LeBron out. Yeah, I mean, it's all about AD's health at this point. 34 points a game, almost 14 rebounds a night. He's averaging three blocks a night since LeBron James has been out. So when you think about these last four games, they've needed him to step up. He's done exactly that. They've gotten some good performances. Austin Reeves has really stepped up. Different guys are playing at high levels. And D'Angelo Russell, the expectation is he's going to be back on Friday. I think there was some hope that he'd be back last night. They survived without him. So look for D'Angelo Russell to be back in the lineup for the Lakers on Friday. And then you're really going to get a chance to see this team, LeBron James, still going to be out for the foreseeable future, at least the next couple of weeks. And then, you know, even, I think beyond that is what the Lakers expect. So he's still walking around in a boot. We've seen him in videos on a scooter. We've seen him walk around in a boot. So we'll see once that boot is off and how he's able to manage that injury. Man, I can't wait for all the talking heads, to say, are the Lakers better without LeBron James? What a fun day in sports. Eddie, roleplayers, Shams mentioned a few there. Which ones impressed you the most so far in this run? Well, it's a funny question is, well, maybe they are better than without West or West. But I mean, if you look at the roleplayers, you got to start with Austin Reeves, right? You got to start with all of his heroics late in the game and just as a player who now can handle the ball, can set up the offense and get big shots and cross news over like this, you got to say him. But at the end of the day, they're all stepping up. Brewery Hot Tomorrow had a big game last night. They're stepping up by committee without LeBron. And now you do kind of wonder like, how does this team look with LeBron? How does it, how does Anthony Davis look with LeBron dominating the ball? And where did he slot in? And look, I don't think any team is better without LeBron, but they're different for sure. And then D-Lo will bring some of that when he comes back running pick and roll with AD. But look, they're hitting big shots. And 7th, you know, I was captain Russ all year. I thought he was doing great. He was doing the best he could with a bad situation. But maybe they're better without Russ. Maybe they are. Sorry. Yeah, listen, they're definitely better without Russ. It's not even close. The idea of them being better than LeBron, I don't love that. I think he does need to find a fine balance and a fine roll to allow AD to keep dominating a game like this. Like when he comes back, AD needs to be the first option. LeBron needs to facilitate, do everything, take over games when he needs to, but this needs to be Anthony Davis' team this year and moving forward. Yeah, the role players have been great. Austin Reeves, that little bang bang crossover was Nasty last night. He's been so good offensively. To me, it's Jared Vanderbilt. Ever since they've got this kid, he's this long athletic wing that they can plug in and he does all the little things. He's getting them extra possessions. He locks up defensively. He was a nightmare for Luca a couple of nights ago. He can score the ball, he finishes. So adding guys like that, it's great for just the chemistry of the team and the other guys that necessarily don't show up on the stat sheet that can work hard, play hard, that have a huge role in this team. So Jared Vanderbilt to me has been the biggest addition to them. Honestly, just the way the impact wins. I know that Lakers fans are notoriously late, right? But I started that game last night and because they had all the yellow pal gaussages, it looked so empty for so long, it made me nervous. But they showed up, it was a special moment, retiring his number 16 right next to Kobe's. It was very emotional Chandler. What'd you think about the ceremony? It was beautiful, it was really beautiful with Kobe's family there right next to him. We all know how close they were. The championship runs and listen, pal deserves this. He's a Laker, great. He's an NBA great, one of the best European players of all time. So this was, yeah, I got a little emotional even myself just watching this, just everything that's went into this and the kind of that, their pairing and then their relationship was truly special. And so it was really cool to see them now in the Raptors forever. That shot right there. Eduardo, are you there? I am, I mean, it was tough to see. And obviously it tugs at your heart strings when Kobe comes up, when Vanessa says what she has to say and just as Kobe said, his number was right next to his. Child cramps, the child chants, Kobe, like, it was a lot, but it's dope to see for pal, it's well-deserved. He was one of the greatest Lakers of all time. And now he has his number in the Raptors to signify that. So, you know, I don't know if this is the closing of kind of that era of their team, but it was an emotional night for everybody involved and well-deserved. That was, it was awesome. It was a good moment. I love that night. But got to talk a little bit of Grizzlies there now on a three game losing streak. Look, they got Warriors, Mavs, Atmavs, Heat and Spurs coming up next, but the big question is going to be it is going to remain what's going to happen with Josh Shoms. Anything on the latest with that? Yeah, so right now there are two investigations ongoing. You have one, the NBA's investigation. You have the Colorado police investigation. So, so far it's been two games out for John Morant. There's no timetable on his return. Taylor James has said it multiple times. And from the sense that I gather, the expectation within the team is that this could be an extended absence, something that could be for the foreseeable future. And more stringent penalties could come from the league, could come from the police. And right now, from what I've been told, Morant has been behind the scenes accepting accountability. He's receiving help. It's unclear exactly what that help is. So we'll see how forthright the Grizzlies slash Morant will be in the coming days and weeks, but the Grizzlies are going to support him. It's been a balance of support and also trying to hold this guy, you know, the guy that's the face of your franchise, the guy that means so much to all these players. You've seen players come out and say he's their brother. They have a lot of respect for him. They want to see the best in him. Not really faulting him, really, just really supporting him. There's a balance there between support and accountability. And I think they're trying to figure out exactly how they can do it. Look, the team's fighting. I mean, they're in these games and then they're just not Chandler. But the truth is, had no idea when John Morant's coming back if he's coming back even during the regular season at all. So how does this team tread water the rest of the way without him? They're not a contender without John Morant. John Morant is too important to this team. He's too explosive. He's too valuable to everything they do. And Tyus Jones, a lot of this falls on him. He's got to be that solid backup player that's now being the head of the snake. And you can't have Dylan Brooks going five for 17 and Desmond Bain going three for 17 if they want to be in these games. Those guys are kind of high volume scorers that have to find ways to get better shots and to get to the free throw line more. And they have to be able to be taking better shots at the end of the day. And Jaren Jackson Jr. is their best player now moving forward. He's got to be able to do everything and be the catalyst on the defensive end. But this is a tough blow. He's not going to be back anytime soon. This is too severe. This is too serious of a situation. And I wouldn't be surprised if they lost home court advantage and they took a huge job here looking at the schedule. None of those are Gimmies, Golden State, Dallas, Dallas, Miami and San Antonio. The Spurs might even beat him without John Morant, Michelle. Thank you. Thank you so much for throwing that in there. Shoms. Yeah, I think it's interesting because last year they went 20 and four, I think, or 20 and five without John Morant. This year, they're four and seven without him. And I think there's, you can just tell there's a noticeable difference with this team this year on the road. They have a worse road record for sure. And that's something that we discussed this week as well with the Steven Adams comments in the players only meeting. There's been something. Yes, they've been dominant at home, but there's clearly been something off on the road. And even without John Morant, they've struggled in the lineup. And so to me, culturally, it's a hit for them. It's something that's going to be a distraction for at least a little bit as much as I think they want to, you know, get over it. I mean, I'm curious from chance perspective, like if you were playing that locker room, how would you feel? Would this be a distraction for you? Or would this be something that you try to get over? Like, how do you, how do you even deal with this? I mean, it's a full distraction for sure. But at the same time, like I said, guys like Tyus Jones are now getting that opportunity to show the Grizzlies, other teams that I'm a starting point guard. This now gives Desmond Bain and Dylan Brooks just more opportunities. So as much as it sucks in it, I think they know, wow, we're not, they know they're not a contender without John Moran. He's important to that team. It's kind of like the New Orleans with Zion. Like when there's, there's some teams that have to be fully loaded to be a contender. This is one of them. And their margin for air now is very, very small without him. And when you look at their roster, they don't have the most talented roster. So they're based off toughness. They're based off defense playing hard. And they're still going to win some games, but it's just, it's night and day and the locker room. Yeah. As much as you are pissed off and frustrated that he's kind of let you down and, you know, he could technically ruin this entire season for them. It's also giving guys and other players more opportunity to kind of take that step in their career. So it's kind of 50-50, but most of these guys would rather have their guy and compete for a championship than, you know, average couple more points because he's out. Yeah, I mean, last night is a good example of what Desmond Bain's limitations are. He was scoreless until the fourth quarter. He needs help creating those shots. He's not a great ball handler. He's not going to initiate your offense. Ty Jones is a great backup point guard. He's not necessarily your job or rank replacement. So you need that dynamic offensive player to create offense for the other bucket on his own when need be. Sounds basketball is that simple. Your guy is really good. My guy is really good. Let's see what they both do in this game. And, you know, this is a great example of them needing him late in that game to keep up with everything that the Lakers were in the playoffs. So, yes, they need to get through this. They need to figure out what the ramifications are of Jaws' situation and whether there are legal ramifications or what have you. But if they want to actually contend, if they want to actually be the two seed, well, the three seed now, they need him. And so all the great numbers about when they don't have him and their record without him and all that cool stuff, they need him either way. And it don't matter how you look at it, I'm going to ramp back ASAP. It's so psychologically different. I mean, an injury is nobody's fault. This is all his fault. I imagine there's a lot of anger that's not going away anytime soon. So in obvious news, the Thunder beat the Warriors last night. What is the deal? But you know what? In fairness, we're not even going to start with the Warriors. We need to deal with that in a second. But how about the Oklahoma City Thunder? Their future seems so bright. SGA with 33. Josh Giddy with his seventh triple double of the year. Chandler, look, there's no expectations, right, for this season, but do they have any shot of doing anything with what's left? I mean, yeah, they could sneak in and listen, anything is a positive when you look at a team like this. To me, they have the brightest future in all of the NBA. When you look at SGA, he's an absolute star and you look at the amount of youth and these players on their team that haven't even scratched the surface of how good they can be. They are in a great position. I mean, I do think making that play-in and having some valuable playoff experience would be very beneficial to these guys, but that's not even about that. They have no vets. Can you imagine this young team with like adding on like two or three vets in the locker room and on the court to kind of show these kids the ropes and what to do and kind of be there and crunch time of tough games? These guys are playing hard and Josh Giddy is unbelievable. He's one of the smartest point guards in the league. He said last night, I didn't do much. The guys just made shots, but he makes the right play. He doesn't force anything. He's tall. He's long. He makes the simple pass. And he's a really good point guard. And he's going to be really good for a really long time, but it's this team is special. They have Chet there sitting on the shelf that they can only get better with. They're going to have another pick. The future is very, very bright for these guys and I love everything they're doing. So get to the play-in, don't get to the play-in. Either way, this has been a very successful season for them. Yeah. It feels like things are going to be getting exciting here pretty quickly, Shoms. And you mentioned Chet, Chet Holmgren of course, he's missed the entire season. Let's talk about how bright this team's future is when he gets back and with whatever else happens. Yeah, I mean, that's their version of Victor, William and Yama. They went out and got him last year. He's their version of the unicorn. And I think there's high expectations for Chet Holmgren once he's back in the lineup. I think this year, the thunder being able to be in a position where they can contend for a play-up or contend for a play-in. I think that's probably a little further along than expected. But Shay Gildes Alexander, he's gone through this process, but I think you can tell. He wants to be a part of a team that wins. And Josh Giddy and him, I'm curious to see how they continue to coexist, how they continue to play together, because you look at them play, they both sometimes need the ball in their hands, but they also do other things in slash and Josh Giddy's becoming a much better three-point shooter. Josh Giddy, one of four 20-year-olds in NBA history, average 60 points, seven rebounds, six assists, joining Magic Johnson, LeBron and Luca. So clearly this guy can play, he can pass, he can facilitate, and just how him and Shay continue to get a relationship on the court, off the court, that's gonna be the biggest key, I think, to the Thunderfuture. Eddie, you there? Yeah, that's an insane list of names to be. I think that's sad, got him. Yeah, that's an insane list of names. I mean, three Hall of Famers and Josh Giddy. I think what's always important to note too, with Shay Gildes Alexander, he can't rent a car until July. He won't even be 24, 25 until this summer. So if you're talking about a youth revival and ushering more youth into that team, they have that. And he's having some playoff experience as well. Him and Lou Dort kind of went to war with James Harden in seven-game series in the bubble, but which I know Showns remembers, he was out there. They don't necessarily need to play off this season. They're battle tested in a sense, and they're scrappy. So it's an exciting time out there for them. And next year, really look at them to make the leap, not only with Bringen and Chet, but whoever else they add. And they have a ton of flexibility with all their draft picks, with a ton of cap space. If anybody's gonna add a star and everybody's capable to add a... And they might make that leap top four seed next year and be a true contender. They have all the tools right now. All of those years of tanking will finally show what it was all for. It's kind of exciting. I know people don't want to hear that, but it is. On the other side though, the Warriors, man, those chemistry issues, it's like they never ever went away. Draymond and Jordan Poole, he gets frustrated with him, just basically gives up on the play. That's just, that's not a good moment, Chandler. Look, the reaction from Draymond, and how do you fix it? Like, what are your thoughts on that? Because it just seems like at this point in the season, this should not still be happening. Yeah, I mean, this is a ridiculous reaction. In the middle of a game and a close game, he's not even that open. And even if he catches the ball here, I don't necessarily know what he would even do with the ball in this situation. But this is just a chemistry killer. This is bad for morale. This is bad for, you know, Steve Kerr's going to show this on film today, and Draymond Green is going to be very embarrassed by this reaction. And it's a small play and a big game, but that just speaks volumes of kind of where he is, where him and Jordan Poole was. It seems like a lot of these guys get more frustrated when Jordan Poole does something than when other guys. Because I'm sure Steph, I'm sure Clay, I'm sure Wiggins have missed Draymond, way worse than this situation, but I don't remember seeing him react like this. So this is to do this in the second quarter of a one-point game as well. This is clearly leading up, this is building, and the Warriors didn't look good last night. They got 40 points in the first quarter. And they're a good defensive team. They have all the tools to be a good defensive team, but you can tell there's something going on here, and maybe this is a spiral effect from the events this summer, but this happened earlier this season where Steph threw his mouthpiece because he got pissed off at Jordan Poole for missing him and taking a bad shot. And I don't see this happening with other guys. So maybe this is a Jordan Poole issue, but again, he's also super valuable to this team the success they had this year because they need him to be aggressive. They need him to be, especially now coming off the bench, they need him to go and get 30. So it's a tricky situation. They're definitely seemed like there's some frustration with him. It's tough, and I'm with Chandler. Dremond not nearly as open as he thought he was. I don't like Josh Giddy's right there. He's probably still in that ball. Whatever they have with Jordan Poole, that's a lot of money to pay him. And then Chandler knows the dynamics of the locker room. When somebody's making a lot of money, there's a lot to be asked from that player. Exactly what everybody else is making on the team. So I wonder if the Warriors are looking at that contract or they look at it in a few years and go, did we make a mistake that summer? Did we do too much of that money that summer? Was he deserving? I guess, I mean, he was up for his extension, but that's a lot for a sixth man who a guy who night and night out cannot carry that offense as they need him to. And clearly there's some chemistry issues. He's the young guy amongst the group of vets who won a bunch of titles together and went to war together over and over and over. But I will say one thing, Chandler, Jermon Green is not going to be embarrassed when they run this back and say, if anything, he's going to bite back and say, no, I should have threw me the ball. But yeah, I tweeted last night, I keep saying they're going to be fine, they're going to be fine, but maybe they just all hate each other and they're not going to be fine. Like maybe we're there with them right now. So we'll see. I'm with you Eddie. I've been saying that too. Like this will happen, this will click, but I'm just starting to think it's maybe not click. Look, there's a moment too last night, Jordan Poole, it just keeps piling on, doesn't it? He gets a weird technical foul. I think it's weird. Maybe you guys don't think it's where we'll show it right here, but it's, he drops the bounce pass to the, the RAF after getting called. Did he deserve it, Eddie? Was that a little quick? I don't know if Eddie, Chandler, you hear me? I mean, maybe he said something and it was a little bit aggressive and refs, refs definitely don't like this because you can tell this was a reaction. And, but this is kind of weak. I mean, he literally throws a bounce pass to the dude. Maybe it's a little low at the, at the shins, but I've seen some, some tacky technicals. This is up there, man. This is, you can't do this. It's not like he threw it at his face or his head. Oh my gosh, Trey, Trey Young chiming in. It's the speed in the bounce pass, probably. Did you take him for a bad pass? Like, I guess it's, you guys are out of control. Clearly he's not trying to pass and they're going to tee him up for a bad bounce pass. It's still not Scott Foster, Scotty Barnes bad, but it's, it's a weird moment for them. By the way, buried in all of this is the fact that Steph Curry had 40 points, 10 of those coming from threes. It was only his second game back from injury. I mean, I don't even know what to say about this because it really wasn't even a focal point of this game when it was all said and done, Chandler. But what, what can we say or what can we take from the fact that Curry seems to be right back to normal? Well, this is huge. This is the only bright spot of the game is that they do have their guy back. He looks to be in playoff form. But yeah, we're not going to talk about it a lot when they're losing to the Oklahoma City Thunder who are battling to even get in the play-in. This is the most critical time of the year for teams and for teams are contending. This every game is so important. You're now looking at seedings. You're now following other teams. And this is one of those games where you're going to look back and the Warriors are going to, you know, without home court advantage, if they don't get in there, you're going to be like, wow, well, we lost to the Thunder by 10. And like these are these are bad losses, but there is a bright spot here with Steph Curry being back. Hopefully he misses no more time for the rest of the season and just kind of keeps building and building because they obviously need him mightily. Yeah, it seems to be an imperative. We're taking a quick break here. When we come back, Kairi with 17 points in the fourth quarter, dare I ask, are the Mavs figuring it out when Run It Back returns? Mavs with a win over the Jazz 121-16 last night. Luke and Kairi combine for 62. That's, you know, that's been the story. Irving with 17 in the fourth, like we mentioned, but here's the thing. It's taking a little bit longer than they probably wanted, Chandler, but are you seeing enough now to think, all right, this thing might work and it might work in time? Yeah, of course. And listen, this is going to take some time. It just happens to be getting traded late in the season where they don't really have that much time. So we knew it wasn't going to click right away. And the guys that are this ball dominant and are this offensive, Manda that have never played with each other, they didn't have a training camp. They'd probably have practiced still two, three times together. It's not just going to, you know, click and be there, but you see flashes of it. You can see Kairi Irving is kind of taking over in the fourth quarter of games and he's got that look at his eye in the fourth quarter. He's embracing this challenge and Luke is kind of also doing the same thing and they kind of are taking turns letting each one rock. But at the end of the day, this was against a struggling team who's really been struggling lately. And then they barely squeaked one out here at home. So there's definitely still concerns but how the games have been ending and the close losses. This is a step forward and it's not about these two. These two guys are going to figure it out. They're going to score a lot of points. It's the other guys. Tim Hardaway has been that third guy the last couple of games, but they need more. Josh Green is kind of that guy that they wanted to plug in Doreen Finney-Smith's role. He's been struggling. Jaylen Hardy doesn't even really play anymore. Their bigs aren't giving them a lot of value. Christian Woods coming off the bench again playing 15 minutes a night. So there's a hole there in their depth. And one of those guys are going to have to step. Reggie Bullock, Tim Hardaway, Josh Green, some of these guys are going to have to step up here for this team to even have a chance because you know what you're going to get from Kyrie and Luca. They traded two starters away for one. So you lose a little depth there just by the nature of who you're playing just by the nature of your rotation. So they need to figure out a fifth starter. They're back in there. They need to figure out a consistent third contributor night in, night out. They don't have that extra ball handler and spend three and D. You knew exactly what Doreen Finney-Smith was. And look, he hasn't been shooting lights out in Brooklyn either, but you knew exactly what he was and he was dependable. So they're figuring that out. Unfortunately for them, they have to do it in about three or four weeks to make some real noise in the playoffs. But you can see they're slowly working it out at the end of the day. You know exactly what you're getting from Kyrie. You know exactly what you're getting from Luca. They can play off each other. They can both give you 30, 40 points a night. It's just getting the other 40 points you need to win like they did last night. Yeah, from all those rule players that you guys mentioned. Look, I don't want to get ahead of ourselves, but I'm excited about the playoffs. If they started today, the Mavs would play the Suns in the first round. Oh my God, Eddie. How exciting would this be? Crazy exciting. And it'd be a nice easy flight. Alice to Phoenix a couple of times a week. But it's a great matchup. It's the matchup I think the league wants. I hope it shakes out that way because they obviously have their rivalry. They have their little brouhaha the other night, but they also have the built-ins. Three of just the history of these two teams, playing each other in the playoffs. This goes all the way back to Steve Nasder, and Witzki, this kid, like there's so many layers to this story. So the league needs this bad. I want it back. Yeah, this would be incredible. Obviously everything Eddie just said with Bluka and Devin's little beef there, but this would be a mismatch nightmare, I think, for Dallas that they lack defensive presence. They lack toughness, defense, and this Phoenix Suns can score the ball just as good as anybody now with KD. So if I had to give an advantage here, I think I'd go with Phoenix, but there's a lot of basketball to be played. There's a lot of Dallas got hot a couple of years ago. It made that big run. Who knows, but for the fans, for the ratings, for the league, this would be, I would watch every single game, and this would be the best series, 1,000%. Every second. Oh yeah. Shoms. This would be the one, right? I mean, look, there are a lot of them, but this one's good. Yeah, but I just, I kind of agree with Chandler. I feel like this Mavericks team, I love Luca, I love Kairi. They're clearly some depth issues still there, right? When you think about the wings, the bigs, Phoenix is a little bit more further along when you think about a true title contending team. The pieces that they have, Chris Paul, Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, DeAndre Aiden, and then they're like, those four guys are all eight, you know, B plus eight type starters, and then you have Josh Akogi who can really do a bunch of everything in your starting five, and you have some guys coming off the bench that play roles as well. I don't know if Dallas's depth is quite there as far along as Phoenix's. No, but playoffs are exciting because you never, ever know. Look, Utah started the season off pretty hot, and I think they shocked the world in doing so, but now they've lost their fourth straight. A season low, just kind of crazy to say, four game is under 500. Let me ask you guys this, a successful end to this season, Shoms, for that team would look like what? I think we're seeing it develop right now before eyes, right? When you think about, they got off to a great start, and I think everything they've wanted out of the season, it's happened. They've been competitive. You've had players grow. Guys like Lowry Martin and Emerge's star players. Will Hardy clearly looks like he's gonna be a great coach in this league, but at the end of the day, I think going into the year, you always looked at the jazz as being a team that's gonna be competing for a lottery position. I think they're prioritizing player development, and I'm not sure if winning at the highest of levels is exactly their goal right now. I don't think they have a real problem with staying competitive while night and night out, playing these close games. So they've gotten really everything they want out of the year. They've developed these guys. Walker Kessler looks like he's gonna be a player for the next 15 years in this league. So I do think whether they make the play-in, whether they miss the play-in, I think this is gonna be a successful year for the jazz. Yeah, I agree with Shoms. I mean, this is all about player development now at this point forward. And when they got off to that hot start, we kind of knew it was full as gold, right? We knew it wasn't because of sustain. We knew this wasn't a contending team, but they played hard and they got the crowd. They got that whole city involved early on, and they've truly made a star out of Lori Market and hopefully it's not a one and done and this kid continues to grow. Jordan Clarkson's had a great year. You know, Walker Kessler, like Shoms just said, he's turned out to be an unbelievable draft pick. So I think that what's done is done here. They had a great season. They stayed competitive for a while. Now it's time to lose game from trying to get the best possible pick because they're not gonna make noise in the playoffs. They're not gonna contend. And what's done, like I said, is done. They gave them their all. They played hard, continued to grow their players, stayed healthy, looked forward to free agency, and next to the next. Well, it's like a nice, just wrap it up. We had some fun and now we're moving on to the reality of this situation. I don't hate it. Oh man, this game last night, I was bummed. I was bummed. There was a streak on the line. The Knicks had gone in with a nine game win streak, but the Hornets with the win. Josh Hart afterward asked if fatigue played a factor in their loss. Here's his response. Our job is to play basketball and our job is, and it's, you got people getting up at six a.m., doing 12 hour shifts, those guys are tired. You know, for us, you know, we're playing the game and obviously we're fortunate enough to play a game like this, but we have to keep that perspective. I mean, we got to go out and compete and play again that we love to do and compete at the highest level. So, you know, we got to make sure we're full of energy and lively every time we step on the court. All right, look, we obviously love the answer, right, Eddie? I mean, it's the perfect answer, but just a reminder in Sunday's double overtime when quickly had 55 minutes, Barrett had 50, Randall had 46. The answer is great, but are you buying it? Was fatigue a factor last night? I'm sure it was. And I'm sure Tom Timido loves that answer, but yeah, these guys have played a lot of minutes, they're traveling, they're doing a bunch of stuff. You know, Chandler knows the guys count on schedule losses. Sometimes you just have issues and you just play too much basketball. I love the answer though. And I think it's a sign of things to come with players just mostly buying back at the idea that they're the issue with load management. Now you're seeing a lot of players starting to speak up and say, yo, I want to play. I'm not being allowed to play. And I think it's gonna get louder and louder as we go on. But yeah, I love the answer. Tough loss for those guys, but they're rolling. So they can shake this one off and keep going. Yeah, this is one bad loss after two to three weeks of unreal basketball. So listen, I love the kid, Josh Hart. His answer was so mature and actually real and brilliant. Everyone's tired, all teams are tired right now. This is kind of that grinding part of the season where again, every game matters. But this is also why I'm not really buying the Knicks. They come at, they lose to that home to with no little ball to the Charlotte Hornets. Again, it's one loss after pretty much a very good month. But yeah, I love what he's saying. I love players that take accountability. He's not blaming anything up to you. He knows everybody across the league is tired right now. So that's why would that be an excuse for us in the New York Knicks. So I love what he said, but I'm just extremely distracted by the bunk bed behind Eddie's bunk bed. It's a loft bed, Chandler. It's a loft bed. How is that different from a bunk? I'm gonna have to look that up. I didn't know this was a different thing. It's more mature. It's more mature. It's for adults. It's just double. You're getting out, you're getting out. Shout out to Airbnb for that. Shout out indeed for giving us the distraction. We appreciate you. Look, Chandler, I'm a little bit shocked by your answer because, so the loss to the Hornets is what's giving you doubt about the Knicks, but not the fact that they've had some great wins up until last night. Why, why this loss to this Hornets? This, they've had a, this is one blip on the radar and teams can't go perfect. Every good team this year, you look at the bucks, you look at the Celtics, they lost to the magic. Like every good team has a bad loss, but it's just, this just kind of puts a stamp of approval to me on the Knicks that they're not there yet. They have lapses. They don't have, they're not deep enough. And I just don't think they're a contender in a stacked Eastern conference. And when I watch a game like last night and I see the Charlotte Hornets without their best player and these guys doing whatever they want against this team. Yes, they're tired. Yes, we're talking back to backs. Yes, we're talking high minutes for their players. But this is the, at the end of the day, this is a bad loss to a horrific team that's trying to lose. Trying, well, it did look like they were trying last night. I was taking a quick break here when we come back. Does Hardin deserve more respect as the McKell bridges a number one option? Well, we'll find out when we run it back, returns. Run it back. Run it up. Run it back. Run it up. It's time for a little you buy in that. How about James Hardin? I don't know what they want from me. You know what I mean? I've been doing this for a very long time. I've been one of the most consistent players in the league since I've been in. So Rodney Dangerfield of him. I'm loving that for him. All right, you buy into James Hardin, deserves more respect, Chandler. Yes and no. I think what they want is a championship. They want to see this guy carry a team. And now they want him to win a championship. And he's yet to do that. And I think just all the stuff in the past with his defensive highlights and him kind of getting out of the way and not playing hard at that end, I think kind of lowered the respect for him initially. But listen, we're talking about one of the greatest scores of all time. We're talking about one of the greatest two guards of all time. And we're talking about a first ballot Hall of Famer with or without a championship. So I don't know how much more respect you possibly want. But he's having a great year now. He seems to be finding a rhythm right now with Joellen B, Philly. He's kind of distributing more, playing that point guard role with them. So listen, he has had a great career. And I think now they just want to see a little more effort on the defensive end. And I think a championship would be the cherry on top for kind of his career. And not a championship where he goes in three years and plays, you know, five minutes a game. They want to see him be an impact player like he is right now on the Sixer as a two or three or one option some nights and go and get a championship in Philly this year. That, we can't say anything bad about him if he does that. Chandler said it perfectly. And James knows this too. James knows exactly what people want from him. It's a championship. He knows that. He says that every now and then. I need to win a championship. He went to Brooklyn because he wanted to win a championship with the Philly because he wanted to win a championship. So great quote. It sounds cool and he's getting plenty of respect, but he knows the last hurdle, the last kind of notch on his belt is a championship. And he's probably closer than he's been in since 2018, 17. So this is his time to capitalize. But yeah, that's the answer. It's a championship. Then he'll get way more respect. That seems simple enough. You know, he's easier said than done, Eddie, but is he the best player currently that does not have a ring? I know that list has quite a few names on it right now, but he seems to be one of those. Where is he? Well, I mean, it's an interesting list. Maybe it's Jokic. I mean, there's a lot of guys, as far as guys in their 30s, as far as guys who have won MVPs who have been All-Stars, you know, he's up there, but he does not want to join that Charles Barkley list. I know that much. Yeah, it's Chris Paul. Chris Paul is a winner of the championship, right? So I would put him probably above you. I'd love to see this list because there are probably a lot of really good players that have not won a championship. But yeah, like Eddie said, there's a lot of younger guys that are kind of on the rise right now that also have yet to be a championship. But yeah, someone in their 30s in the latter half of their career that don't have a championship, you gotta put him up there. I mean, there's a two-time now, about to be three-time MVP that has to a championship. So there's a lot of guys on this list and there's still time. But yeah, James is up there and needs that to solidify his greatness. I mean, I know the timing of this was all very weird given the year that Philly's having and that it seems to be they're gelling and they're doing things like they're supposed to be. But then we had that story that came out about James Harden possibly returning to Houston. I mean, I don't know. I guess anything's possible, Chandler. Did you give any weight to that? What did you think about that? It's weird to me because the situation in Philly right now is so good and they actually have a great team and you've got a co-star and Joel and B. Well, he's actually the co-star but he's got a great supporting cast. He seems to be getting along with Doc Rivers and the Rockets suck and have no future. They have nothing going on there. So it's, I don't really get it. I know James loves Houston. He's got his restaurants there. He's got his house there. Like he loves it. I love Houston. It's a great town. But as a career change at this point of your career when people wanna see you win a championship and you wanna go to one of the worst teams in the NBA the math doesn't really add up to me. Maybe he likes the city and the people there that much to just go there and not compete for a championship for however much longer he plays. Yeah, Eddie. I mean, look, if he wins the ring in Philly whatever the odds of that are I guess it would make sense. They go back. They go back. Yeah, but there's no chance. I mean, you don't look I don't know what's in his head but it seems like an odd story to come out period. Yeah, but I think there's it's one of those things where there's so much smoke that I believe there's fire. I don't know that he's already made his decision. I don't know that you do do the Rockets one of my we don't know that they didn't exactly part on good terms but it's been mentioned so much and it seems like such the James Harden thing and maybe that's what he needs to do. Maybe he needs to win a title and then he's just sail off into the sunset in barbecue and strip clubs in Houston. I don't know, but there's a lot of smoke. So you think it's the barbecue in Houston? Probably the latter. Oh, my goodness. Someone call Malaya. Don't get me wrong. All right, we'll change stories real quick. Brooklyn Nets, look, February 9th was the day McKell Bridges goes over there. He has now scored 30 or more points in three straight games, five times overall since going over there. His coach said about him, quote, he is very unselfish. He gives up his time, his knowledge in the locker room during the game. So it's really been a joy to be around and learn from him as an individual. Eduardo, are you buying Bridges as the number one? Yeah, I mean, Nets fans are telling me they traded Katie for Young Katie, which is stretch. Wow. He's 27 years old and I think he's always had this ability. It's something people will say all the time is, you know, the NBA, it's about opportunity and there's a lot of talented guys in this league and if they get enough opportunity, they can perform. I think it's a really great example of that. He's built for the modern NBA. He gots handled, he's tall, he can shoot, he can get to the cup and he plays defense. Like he has the ability to be an all-star if he has the opportunity to be an all-star and I think he will in Brooklyn. So yes, it would be moved him to build around him but they're also set him to get another star and maybe they go get another star is a little bit better than Michael Bridges. And then he's the number two option but he's a great number two if that's where they go with it. He's been great. He's been exactly what they've wanted from that trade and their future's bright. I know it sucks to lose Kyrie, KD and James Hardin in about 12 months, but their future's bright either way. Yeah, to me, he's Paul George with like a little less sauce on the offensive end but still produces and gets those numbers and you look at him in 10 games, he's averaging 27, six, five and shooting 53% from the field and 48% from the three. That's a number one option. Those are great numbers and he's a number one option because he literally is a number one option on this Brooklyn Nets team and he's kind of exceeded expectations and they did trade one of the best players of all time to get this dude and you can see the potential in Phoenix games where he was one of the last three and D guys but now he's expanded his game. Now he's got a little bag to him. Now he's got an ISO. He gets out in transition like Eddie said, there's nothing on the floor that Mikhail Bridges can't do and I know the kid a little bit. He's a great dude and he loves basketball and he loves a good kid and he's someone that you want to be the face of your franchise and are they going to contend if he's a number one seed or number one option? Probably not, but you pair two or three other really good players with him. Now all of a sudden they have a team and they have a championship caliber team but this kid has been nothing shy of great and I hope he can use it for him because he's one of the like we just talked about he's one of the last players that played just as hard on the defensive end as the offensive end and his numbers will lack on the offensive end too. I mean, it's the best case scenario. The net's hand was forced, right? Like those relationships were dead. They had to make these trades. I think it was the best case scenario everything that they got in return moving forward. In the Eastern Conference however, if they want to be contenders, there's one team. There are a few teams, but the Bucks are they're just ridiculous right now. Things are looking very good for them. They beat the Magic by 11. They had no Yanis, no Drew Holiday but the big part that you want to focus on here is that six Milwaukee players scored in double digits. What a great time to be alive if you're a Bucks fan, Chandler. I mean, this is about as good as it gets, right? As we're nearing the end of the regular season. Yeah, they're hitting their stride at the right point and then they're extremely deep. And again, this is a team that can do it all. They play offense, they play on selfish, they move the ball, but then also they're one of the best defensive teams and they have good guard play, they have good wings. And if you look at the kind of the season here, they've been the best team in the NBA without their second best player being who we know he is in Chris Middleton. And then he's going to continue to get better. He's going to get his legs. We all know what Yonis is going to do. But yeah, games like this where you can plug in Javon Carter, Joe Engels, Jay Crowder, Pat Conniton, these guys getting these reps, it's only going to help them. It's only going to help their depth. It's only going to help their experience getting into the playoffs. And this team is super hard to beat right now. Eddie, it's scary, right? I mean, this is the Eastern Conference. Oh, Eddie Froze, this makes me so sad. What are we going to do? Are we going to? I know, well, Chandler, it's you and me then. I guess we can go to Kyle Kuzma and I want to because I haven't been able to mention the words swaggy and pee together in a sentence in quite some time. And now I finally have to do that again. Kyle Kuzma went full swaggy pee last night just with the heave celebrating it before it clanks off. Sir, sir. OK, Chandler, why have guys not learned their lessons? This is not a good move. It never works. You would think with social media and everything, this is not going to be a good look. It wasn't even close either, Michelle. This thing was damning your hairball. It was so short. I mean, listen, they got a little lead. They're playing a not so good team. He's having fun. He's feeling himself. Would it have been way cooler that went in? Yeah. But even the bench, the bench is a complete disarray. And at least they got a good laugh out of this. But if this was a critical part of the game, this is a huge shot. And he did this. This would be exposed a little bit more. But Przingis is over there dying. I mean, it's the reaction is it's worth every second. It's it's it's not even close. Like, what does he see? Take us through it as a shooter. What does he see from his angle that made him think? Yep, make it rain, at least swaggy. He's kind of like went around and popped up this. Listen, he felt it. Maybe he had just hit a couple of shots and part of me. But I didn't want to play this game last night. I don't know if he had to was on a heater right here. And he had, you know, made a couple of shots. But clearly he thought this was cash open look. He got separation right here. The guy bit on the shot fake. And this was this was this is nowhere close. It's beautiful. It's it's it's a long came Pauley, Philip Seymour Hoffman. And every time he would shoot garbage and make it rain. Looks like except for your Kyle, your brother, you can't be doing that. You know, I'm worried about Eddie. But maybe during the break, we can figure out what happened to him. Maybe we'll get him back. Maybe we won't. We need him back for the parlays. And I'm the one that should probably remove myself from the equation. Because when we come back once again, I have failed you, America. But we will once again try to win you back some cash when run it back returns. Welcome back to run it back. Eddie is back much to the joy of all of us. And I'd also like to point out, Eddie, that you've taken us on an emotional roller coaster today with everything you've got going on. But you also educated us. Tell us again, what is behind you? It's not, in fact, a bunk bed. I think it's a loft bed, a sleigh bed. It's an Airbnb thing. It's like it's so the Airbnb can lie and say the 10 people can fit here instead of seven. But it's cozy. It's cozy. It's cozy. Yes, I'm just happy to see your smiling face back with us again. Because well, first, let's go over the bad news for me. Last night's parlay, you guys killed it. Just two professionals doing their thing, looking great. I'm going to probably remove myself from these in the next couple of weeks, because I have not gotten one right quite some time. You guys feel good about this? Like, can you give me some tips? What are we doing here? It's honestly, yeah, I'm doing something way different. Yeah, you need to start start with the money line, start going with the locks, Michelle. OK, that's where I need to start again. OK, fine. All right. So then I have another shot tonight. I already am doubting myself, but the good news is even if I do lose, I don't have to see all faces for four days. But we'll start with that. We'll start with Eddie, who's been on a tear. Talk to me. How do I win money? Go. Look, I'm out here to see Kevin, Kevin Durant's first home game with the Phoenix Suns ticket prices have quadrupled, apparently. I'm going to go with the over. I'm just going to assume he's going to score 39 points tonight. So 20, 26 is nothing. So go with the over bet on the big fella and trust in that home crowd. I like the conservative angle that you're taking. Not 40, which everybody does on a nightly basis, but 39. Well done, sir. And I also love that he said he knows it's going to be loud. It's going to be loud. Chandler, what do you have for me? I'm surprised it's 25 and a half. I feel like 29 and a half. I'd still go over like that would a lot. Here I go again with the with the Clippers. Listen, this team has potential. This team is healthy minus Norman Powell. They've lost a lot of games recently. There's no reason that they shouldn't be the Toronto Raptors by three points tonight. Give me the L.A. Clippers. I mean, that feels fine. I feel like that makes sense. I also feel like mine makes sense. Mavs are just minus one and a half at Pelicans. Pelicans have not been doing much to to be super stoked about. So that feels like a low point total, which means Pelicans will win by 30 and you're welcome. So yeah, put 20 bucks on that. I don't know if you can retire necessarily, but you can certainly buy yourself a meal or something. Good God, you're the most. Michelle, I really do. Then why didn't you take it? No rockets bet. So I think we might win. Thank you. No, I like it so much. I didn't take it, Michelle. Exactly. I hate you. OK, that'll do it for us on this lovely Wednesday. We're going to go out, recoup, figure out our things, come back on Monday, 10 Eastern. See you all then.