 Run it up, they run it back, run it up, they run it back, run it back, run it up, run it back Good Tuesday morning, welcome to Run It Back, right here on FanDuelTV, we are very bright this morning you guys, we don't match at all, it's like we don't even know each other and I like it, I know Luz the best one, all right Shyam Sharania coming in, Stadium Insider, Chen Lappie and Lou Will on the end and we got Hoops, we got Lakers, they gotta win, we're gonna start there, 116-104 victory for Los Angeles, LeBron with 1911-8, AD 24-12, Dilo, I mean he's doing things 26-6 and four steals, they are now three and one against the Thunder this season, this will be a long stretch of probably talking about the Thunder in this regard but we'll start with the Lakers specifically, Taylor why is this a bad match-up for OKC? Well I think the Lakers is just too physical, I think when you have LeBron James going downhill, when you have Anthony Davis crash in the glass and you know making it a point to get him the ball on the inside, it's a tough match-up, we've been talking about that for Oklahoma City all year long, they're thin up front, they don't really have depth at the five position, they add a guy like Mike Muscala who's really a pick-and-pop shooter guy, I would have probably played Bianbo more in this particular match-up just to kind of have more physicality and they played good, the Lakers played good, Dilo absolutely blacked out late in the game, hit some insane shots and when I'm watching this game it's like Oklahoma City, it got off to a crazy start, it was 11-2 or 13-4 or something like that and they stopped going to what was working, they started settling for bad jumpers, they didn't get to the rim, they didn't get to the foul line as much, kind of took their foot off the gas and the Lakers stuck with it and continued just to pound the ball inside, get out and transition, you know, force some turnovers where they could go get easy buckets and they really took advantage of this, so this is why it's hard to trust this young team, you know what I mean, because this is a team that they're gonna have to play in the playoffs, this could possibly be their 1-8 seed and I don't know who I'd go with, I'd probably give the edge obviously to Oklahoma City but it's not gonna be an easy series no matter who they play, when you look at that Western conference and how deep it is, it's not gonna be an easy matchup for any of these teams, especially the Oklahoma City Thunder, so I think the physicality chat at the 5, that's a real issue and I don't know if Beyondbow and Mascala are the answers. That's where I was gonna start you too, because the, I don't know if the Thunder are just too small, Lou, just to set that up, Lakers out, rebounded on 55-38 and let's not forget, Yusuf Nurkic had those 31 rebounds against them just on Sunday, so it seems like just over simplification but is it just that they are too small? Yeah, they're gonna be targeted, you know, they have a size issue, you know, they brought in Mascala to try to patch that up, they brought in Beyondbow to patch that up, even Gordon Hayward, they're not big enough, AD just exposed that last night, you know, and this is a team that relies a lot on three-point shooting and execution, when they're not shooting threes, they're forced to play inside of the pain and obviously, you know, that's gonna be something that they're gonna have to work out in order for them to be successful coming down the stretch because they just don't have enough size on the inside, on defense or on offense, you know, and last night was one of those games where it was glaring, it kinda got exposed and it showed, and that's something they're gonna have to deal with, like I said, this is a team that likes to play on a perimeter, very good executing team I must add, but they don't have guys that's gonna go in there and finish on an offensive end, that's gonna give them what they need when it comes to point paints, other than Shay and Chet, and then defensively, just too small on an interior, so that's gonna be something that we have to look forward to in the playoffs for this team. So you mentioned the fact that they're gonna have targets on their back, and I couldn't agree more just in the simple sense of they're the new kids and people are gunning for them and they shot 39% last night. Let's talk a little bit about them at home, Lou, because they are 24 and six on their home court and they're young and this will all be new to them. So how important is a home court advantage for them come playoffs? Yeah, they're gonna have home court advantage. I don't see them slipping from all the way up to a five. I think they're gonna be just fine and it's gonna be vital for them. Like we said, this is a young basketball team. They play extremely confident when they're on their home floor, when they have their crowd behind them, when they feel comfortable in their environment, and they're very successful at home. They play really, really good basketball there. If that team is forced to start on the road, say that they have to start and play against the team with some size like a Denver or one of those teams that's gonna have guys on the inside that's gonna create issues for them. This is not gonna go as well as they plan, but I feel really good. I feel really confident about them starting at home, no matter what the matchup is, even though they have some issues with their interior defense. The Lakers have 19 games remaining. It's gonna be a fun 19 games. They are now what? Two games behind the six seed, Chandler? Do you think there's a run in them? I mean, look, it's so jumbled up. It's a tough question, but is there enough in that Lakers tank to jump up to that top six? I don't think so. I think they're destined for the play and I think, which by the way is where they want to be. Look at those rankings. You rather play the Thunder or the Timberwolves than get the six seed, get out of the plan and here congratulations you get to play the Nuggets in the first round. So I think ideally that obviously you want to get to that seven eight seed just to play one game, you know, beat Sacramento or Dallas and get that seven seed, but it's so tight right now. Anything can happen when you look at the two or three game leads and cushions. That's one week. So there's definitely more than enough time and the Lakers seem to be figuring out. I love the way D Lo is playing. I love this line up. They're going to with Rui, Cam British is back, Torian Prince is playing well. So they're getting a little bit from everything from everybody while AD dominates, while LeBron dominates. So are they going to get to the 16? I don't think so just like the Thunder aren't going to lose home court advantage. But I do like them in the play and when you look at the Kings, Mavs, Lakers, Warriors, I think the Kings are probably the best team of those four, but then it's kind of a pick them and it's hard to go against LeBron. It's hard to go against the Lakers, especially just one game to kind of advance and get that spot. Who knows what will happen, but long story short, I think they stand the plant. And we start last night, right, Chandler? That we know what you're going to get out of AD. We know what you're going to get out of LeBron. This is going to come down to the supporting Kags. D Lo is going to have to play at a high clip. The praise for Austin Reeves has gotten a little quiet. He's going to have to step it back up and give them more of those 15 20.9 games. Tori and Prince is playing well. He's playing well on both ends of the floor. And in Rui is playing well as also and you know, we don't know what we're going to get out of Gabe Vincent when he's finally healthy to give this team another ball handler, but it's going to come down to the supporting Kags. And I think that's going to be one of the things that's going to carry them over the top to give them a real push in the playoff series. Yeah, Shoms, you know, I'm about to ask you about Gabe Vincent. Any updates? Is he going to be out there? What are we looking at? Amazing setup there, by Lou, by the way, um, Vincent is doing more and more. Gabe Vincent is doing more and more on the court. The Lakers will know more. I think next week where Gabe Vincent stands, but buying any setbacks, his whole is still mid to late March to get back in the lineup with Lakers that can still use another guard in the back or but I will say last night, Spencer Dunwoody came in there. It's clear that the starting rotation, the starting lineup, there's a lot of usage that's going around right now. D'Angelo Russell, Austin Reeves, the Blond Jeans, obviously the balls in their hands. So Spencer Dunwoody came in last night, defensively stepped up, had that block on Shea, Gilles Alexander had the layup in transition, had a few assists as well in that limited role. I think off the bench, what you're seeing is players are starting to figure out the role. Torian Prince is now coming off the bench playing around 15 to 20 minutes, spotting up, making three. Spencer Dunwoody really serving as the three and deep guard off that bench. And then Gabe Vincent, you want to kind of change the tempo, change the pace. That's why they signed from Miami. So the hope is barring any setbacks or return at some point here over the next few weeks. Keep an eye on that one. Moving on Clippers and Bucks. I did one of those things where you sort of bet something in the middle of the game. I almost got it, guys. I just wanted to share that. They didn't have Yanis and they still beat the Clippers. Didn't matter. Six straight for Milwaukee, Dane, 41, four and four Portis off that bench with 28 and 16. Harden and PG, much better night this time, 29 points of peace, but the Bucks since the all star break are six and oh, and this is a good Clippers team and they didn't have Yanis. So Chandler, if you first, what is what has happened? What is the biggest difference now before we're sort of mocking Milwaukee? Well, I think when you have a team with this much talent, that's why people are rolling their eyes. Dr. Ever says this is the hardest job he's going to take over as no one. I wouldn't wish this upon anybody. I'll take this job. This team is stacked. This team. What's funny is you keep saying no Yanis. There was also no Chris Middleton and they were very shorthanded and then it's Dane said before the game, they were talking about it. They don't even talk about who's in, who's out. They just talked about what they have to do this night to win the game and Bobby Portis went bananas. He looked like the best part of the floor for most times. Dane Lillard, we talked about how great of an all star weekend he had. That looks like it's carried over since then. This is one of those streaks for now all of a sudden instead of talking about how bad of a job Docs do and they shouldn't fire Griffin. Now we're talking about them possibly as contenders and real shots at knocking off the Celtics and getting to the finals. So it's funny how this happens. The league it's got if you got to have a short-term memory just like we have in the Clippers where they made the trade for James Harden and they lose a couple in a row. Everyone panics why they do it and they kind of took off. The Bucks are kind of in that phase right now where they're starting to figure it out. They made great adjustments. I will say Doc, it was Doc, it was Pat. They fell to a zone last night when the Clippers had a lead and they started settling for these long jump shots kind of broke their rhythm offensively and that's the type of adjustment that this team needs and because they know they have guys that can score they have the Dane Lillard. Bobby Portis is giving you 28, 30 point scoring inside out. Guys like Conalton Beasley and those guys are picking up to slack not making big plays down when Chris Middleton's out when Yannis is out. This team is loaded and they're deep and they do have the talent and the potential to defend. So I think they're just starting to kind of create their identity and figure out who they are. This team is a real threat. This team is a real threat. Obviously, with Yannis and the lineup is a whole another level but this team just showed you they can beat one of the better teams without even being fully loaded. You talk about chemistry. Let's give Pat Bevis flowers. I thought he was the MVP last night for that game, right? He was disruptive on defense. He was one of those guys that he was active. He was talkative. He was creating a lot of havoc on the defensive end and he made open shots and he was a threat on the offensive end, you know, and that's something that he's not really known for. That's not really his MO, but he was able to do it on both ends of the floor. So when we started talking about this team's identity and them trying to figure it out, I think now everybody is starting to settle in. Everybody's starting to settle in what needs to be done. Then they're putting it all on a table and they got a big win without two, you know, two of their all star guys, even though they still had an all star in the game, you know, they played with Jess enough and everybody stepped up and played their roles. Guys, is it possible? I mean, I know we just sort of take some of these things that coaches do and I don't know how effective it all is, but Doc did sort of question the toughness of this team right when he got there talking about summer there, summer in Cabo, all that good stuff. Do you guys take that to heart and react to it or nothing, Lou? What did you think? Does this have something to do with it? No, that's not a thing. Chandler will tell you as well, listen, the coaches, before all star break, every coach is going to blame a bad game on guys being checked out for all star break or they'll probably even say before the game, hey, listen, I know you guys are ready to go on break for two and a half hours, just lock in and you can go where and do whatever you want. So this is a this is a normal thing. So him challenging them or saying that they were half of them were checked out, half of them were there. That's the norm. I think Doc has gotten the opportunity to start putting his pieces together. He's starting to find a rhythm with how he want to coach how he thinks this team should play to give them the best opportunity to win games. And I think that's what we're seeing, but I don't I don't think that's that's a big thing. Yeah, every every coach that has a good team that plays a bad team before all star break calls it a trap game because of that reason. They know they're they're figuring out plans. They know they have the next week off their their book and hotels, flights, everything like that. And it's just that that's what a coach does. They try and push you to try and just basically reinforce like, hey, 48 minutes and then go do what you got to do. And now it's hard. It's difficult. A lot of times you say you're going to lock in, but that's that time where everything is kind of getting slower and you don't want to go to shoot around. The film session is pissing you off because it's so long. So that that's to me, I don't think that's like this pivotal moment that Doc Rivers sparked a locker room by challenging their toughness. I just think they're extremely talented. They're extremely good. There was only a matter of time till they started figuring out now. Doc making the adjustments at the ATOs and going to zone and when to play man and when to switch that is that's critical for them going forward. I know, but you guys know as viewers, we love a dramatic locker room speech, at least the idea of it. We live for it. They got the two seed Chandler and you know, calves are there, but they've been a little bit wonky lately. How important is it Milwaukee? Stay there. Well, I think it's important, but also looking at the Eastern Conference, it's not like the West like the Eastern Conference. You get the two seed to play and you're looking at the Miami Heat and the Pacers. So it's important, I guess, and it's hard to predict. But again, it's not like these are going to shuffle around so much. But if I'd rather play the magic than the heat or the paces. So there's so much basketball left that teams are going to prepare to win as many games as possible and then maybe kind of do the more Cuban thing last year and sit and choose and kind of look at matchups. But we can say that now. He's not the owner anymore. He doesn't care, Michelle. It's a great point and they already paid the fine. Yeah. And they got the big. It worked out. I do think there's so much basketball now and I do think the Milwaukee Bucks are a better basketball team than the Cleveland Cavaliers. So I do think they're going to hold on to that two seed, but that might not be a great thing if the three secrets the magic and they end up with the heat in the first round, that'd be a real kick of the day. A kick in the D and D that would suck shams. We saw Yanis out there. He was testing out the Achilles and then it was basically a no go right before game time. Do you have any, any latest news? How's he looking? The Bucks aren't seeming overly worried about this situation. It's Achilles Soreness that they're describing it as he tried to warm up as we see there couldn't play couldn't really manage that pain to be able to get out there and play. But the Bucks have to take a cautious approach. They've already done so with Chris Middleton. He's missed the last month as Chandler just said with that ankle sprain. The hope is that he's going to be back sooner than later, but they're being safe with Chris Middleton. I'm not sure when he's going to be back, hopefully over the next week or so. And then Yanis and through the Coompo obviously sat last night with that Achilles Soreness. We'll see if he'll be out there for the next game. That's such a weird movement. I wasn't, I wasn't worried till I saw that clip. Yeah, that seems worrisome guys. That's just like a normal jumper. And he's doing that. That's, that's, I think it's smart to sit him down again. This is a team that is, there's a real contender with him. And this is, we're getting down in the nitty gritty here where they need him fully healthy. But that, that doesn't look good. There's no, he can't even take a standstill jumper. There was no shot he was playing. Yeah, maybe I'm silly, but Lude, I don't know. That seems like the video is a little bit not great. Yeah, it looks a little, it looks a little alarming, but you know, Chandler, this is also fresh out of the car just now getting your body warmed up. Your adrenaline is not rolling yet. Did you say fresh out of the car? Yes, this is at like 4 p.m. Yeah, this is the bus or his car. Yeah, okay, okay. This is fairly efficient. So before you, before you get going, a lot of times you feel like I might not be able to go tonight, but once you start getting a sway going, your adrenaline is rolling a little bit. I can tough through this and I can fight through this pain. So I think the Milwaukee Bucks, they're just, they're just ironing on the side of caution and just not making this worse. It might not be a big of deal as it looked right there. That clip was kind of alarming, but you know, once you get growing, once you get rolling and ready to go for a game, you probably could have played if you really wanted to. Who knows? Shoms, I think the whole time during the game, that is true and he did walk off and whatever, but I feel like that's for like Shoms, you and I and civilians. Like when you wake up in the morning, the first thing you think of is, I can't face the day and I just want to go back to sleep, but then you get up and the adrenaline starts flowing and you're like, crush that. Okay, okay. I'm with you, Lou. We got you. We faced the day. We faced the day though. We get we get we conquer it. Let's let's talk Clippers for a second and Lou, you've been you've been touting this team. They're on your list. You got them there, but the big three was out there for this one. They had a better production than they did the previous game, but no honest and they still lose. What do we make of that? Like I said, this this team, they can't they can't allow their offensive efficiency to determine whether they're going to guard or not. You know, they were up 12 to 13 points consistently throughout the course of this game when they were when they were able to score and everything was going good on the offensive end. When they start getting into a little rut, they start relying on three point shots that weren't going in. They stopped guarding and Amy and Lilith went into tech mode. You know, he saw red. He saw an opportunity to take over the game and that's what he did. And so, you know, for this Clippers team, like they just had a grind out when the game before, they got to have that identity coming down this stretch, you know, even when we can't score the ball or we're not sure what we're going to get on the offensive end. They have guys that are good enough that can sit down and play defense and defensively they can win games like that. And it showed against the Timberwolves the other night. This night in particular, Dame Lilith saw blood in the water. He took over and was able to give Milwaukee Bucks a good win. So, the Clippers are going to have to be one of those teams when it's not going their way on the offensive end. They got to lock up. I don't even know if they want this channeler, but they're currently two and a half games back of Denver. They're in the four spot. Can they get to three? Do they want to get to three? I guess that's the more important question. I think they're pretty much a lock in the four spot. And you look to two and a half behind the nuggets and three and a half games up onto the five, six seed. Again, that's not that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things here. But you look at that, yeah, I mean, they get to play the New Orleans. But by the way, no one's talking about New Orleans. There's 11 games or 500. And then the five seed of the Western Conference is crazy to me. But yeah, if the season stopped right now, I bet they'd be stoked. I mean, they get to play the New Orleans Pelicans that no one's really talking about that. And that's a great matchup for them. And like Lou said, they had a great night offensively last night. They were up 13 points taken in the last minute of the third quarter. And then they let that determine when they start missing shots, they settle and they go to ISO and James does his bang, bang, bang, bang. And there's no movement. There's no flow. And when it works, it looks great. It looks like they're all dialed. They're all making crazy shots highlight after highlight. When it doesn't, it's just a bunch of lost possessions with long twos and step back threes and nothing down a hill to the basket. So when they're best, they're moving the ball, they're working the clock, and then they attack it whatever that missed batch is, not just right away Kawhi coming down, bringing the ball all the way off a rebound, backing up to a post up and taking the shot. No one else touching the ball. I don't think that's a recipe for any team to win. So I think they do have the talent on both sides of the floor. They're still in good shape. It's just one game. And a lot of teams, guys, teams that play better when their star goes out. It's motivation for Bobby Portas. It's motivation for these guys to step up in their role. So to me, it's just, it's not that big of a deal. Okay, I'm going to take your word for it. Moving on around the league we go. Don't look now, but to honest to bonus, the streak is now 43 straight games with a double double, 56 double doubles overall on the season. We've talked about that. He's not talked about enough, Chandler. So let's talk about him right now. How impressive is the streak? It's insane. He is the closest thing to Yogic that we have. And I say this all the time, and whether it's because he's in Sacramento or they haven't won on a big level, and the guy's unbelievable. The way he plays at the five position has basically another point guard out there. He's unselfish. He's tough. He rebounds. He can dime. He makes, usually senators don't make their teammates better. Yogic is like this anomaly. He's just another one of him. I like St. Goon, him, Yogic. These guys are different. They're unbelievable. The way you can play through them on the post, on the elbow, the way they can get rebounds and bring it down. The guy is truly unbelievable. He's tough. He plays in games. He's always effective. He's a great building block for this team, for this franchise, moving forward. And it's every single night. He's got a shit ton of triple doubles too. I mean, I talked about that, but he's unbelievable. I'm a huge fan. Complete all-star stuff. Him and Fox. The league is so talented right now, and he's one of the more talented guys because the way he plays is beautiful to watch. Here, I'll put you in a weird spot, Lou. You have to pick Sabonis or Fox to build around. What are you doing? I'm going to build around Fox. And honestly, I picked Fox because this is a team that needs to play with pace. They like to play fast. They like to play up and down. And so when that's the identity of your team, I think you have to put the ball in Fox's hands and everybody else got to fall in line. However, half-court offense, defensively, Sabonis is the guy. So I think that's why they're a great one-two punch. But if I'm picking one of the two guys, I'm going to pick Fox simply because of the identity that this team has created for themselves. You see it now, when they have low-scoring games, they're not as effective. They're not as effective. They don't win games when it's a low-scoring, grind-out game. They got to put 120, 130 on the board, for this team to win. And for that to happen, I think they got to play with Pace and that starts with Fox. So we went from greatness to some hot garbage. It's official. Washington Wizards now the crappiest team in the league. Look at that. 9-52. Losers of 15 straight. Look, we just talked about who you're building around in Sacramento. What a lovely problem to have. Let's do the opposite of that. Who are you building around in Washington? Or are you just blowing the entire thing up, Chandler? I mean, they kind of made their bed. They kind of made their bed with bull, with Kozma, right? So it's, it's there. Can you un-make the beds? Can you burn the bed to the ground? What do you do? You do, yeah. Come on, Chandler. I'm honestly looking at their roster. I know people are high. I know people are high on Kubele. I build around that guy. I'm keeping that guy. I think it's tough. What are you going to get for Jordan Poole on that contract and his reputation? Kozma, I think, is probably the best asset because he can play. He's a good dude. He's versatile. I do remember a couple months ago, I had been tweeting, don't be that team to lose to the Pistons. So now it's- Oh, yes they did. It's crazy to me that they're now- That's cold take. That didn't pan out very well, but listen, this, I don't think expectations were very high for this team, but I also don't think they were this low. So when you look at his team, I just don't know what they can get besides maybe some stuff for Kozma. So, yes, I'm just the first time I think in my life, I'm speechless. I wouldn't know what- I wouldn't want the job. I wouldn't know what to do. Lou, what do you do? You call it an opposite? Yeah, blow it up. This team stinks. I don't like- That's- What's funny? You didn't get your ass kicked all like, what's funny? Don't be that mean. Like, make it translate to basketball. Like, go out on the floor and play harder. You know, obviously, you can't do everyone's job, but it's like, none of this shit is funny. You understand what I'm saying? And so with that, this is one of your leaders, and I don't want to be hard on Koz, because I love Koz, and he's had a really good NBA career, but it's just like, you know, this is tone deaf right here. Like, I don't- Why don't we make jokes about? You know what I'm saying? And so with that and that being one of your top two guys, blow this whole thing up. Let's start fresh. All right. So we're going to know- I mean, look, there's no relegation yet in the NBA Shams. I still vote for it, and I pray for it every night, but you heard the guys. They're looking at the roster and they're just sort of lost. What's the plan here? Is there hope anywhere in that organization? I said it, I think, a month ago, and it still remains to Bilal Kulabali, the rookie. He's the only untouchable on this roster. Kyle Kuzma, you look at him. I believe the organization does view him as a building block, a guy that's on a team-controlled contract. And just taking everyone behind the scenes here, the Wizards did have an option to trade Kyle Kuzma at the deadline to the Mavericks for Grant Williams and an unprotected first-time pick. That was the baseline of a package. Maybe another player thrown in there too to make salaries work. And Michael Winger, the president of the organization, of Monumental Basketball, he brought this deal to Kyle Kuzma. And if Kuzma had pushed for it, based on their relationship, based on where their partnership is at, that deal probably gets done. But Kyle Kuzma decided to stay loyal. He wanted to remain and stick it out with the Wizards. There was no deal that happened. But when you look into the summer now, Kyle Kuzma will remain a guy that could be a trade candidate. A deal was potentially close with the Wizards and Mavericks. That was literally based on Kyle Kuzma's word. So I'm curious from Lew and Chandler's perspective, if Kyle Kuzma has moved to summer, where would you want him to be? Where do you think he fits best? Chandler looks skeptical. It's like, why would you say no to that? I love Kuzma. I love Kuzma. I love his smile. Yeah, Sean, where the hell do you want me to go? I like Kuzma to the kids. I wish that would have happened. I like him with Fox. I like him as a bonus, kind of a versatile whore that can handle the ball and shoot the ball. I don't think Dallas Downs is going to be interested with adding PJ Washington. I don't like that trade either. I don't think that's crazy. I don't think it's enough with Grant Williams in one pick. But yeah, I would kind of go to Sacramento. That he could be that piece that kind of meshes well with those guys. He's smart. He knows how to play with talented star type players. He's young enough to build with those three cores. I think Fox and Summers, 26, 27 years old. So it's tough. I don't understand the loyalty thing to the Wizards. He just went there and built something there that was building anything there. So I don't understand that. I probably would have okayed that trade to anywhere else other than stay here. But I love Kuzma. Is it possible he doesn't? Let me ask you, is this even a thing? Because I know dudes can compartmentalize and all that stuff. Is there a world in which Kyle Kuzma doesn't like someone on the Mavericks or something about that he just doesn't have it in him to go there? Because it really is a weird thing to say no to. It's not like Washington was looking ahead at some positive ending to this season. They never have been. It's weird. Yeah, I don't know. And think about it. Washington is entertaining the idea to trade him. So why is he here? They're building there. What do you think? They're literally trying to trade him to Dallas to make this deal work. So it just, it doesn't really add up to me. Maybe there's something there. I'm missing, but he's got a big contract. He's making great money. He's a great player in this league. I don't want to see him rot in DC. I'd rather him go somewhere like the Sacramento. I would have loved to see him in Dallas with Luca and Kyrie. You can be playing in the playoffs, playing on national TV games. You know how much we used to talk about Kyle Koosman when he was on the Lakers? Now all we're doing is we bring his name up. We talk about how bad they are. Stupid tweets like that. It sucks for a guy like him that's so talented. You want to see him play on big stages and he's never going to on this team. He never is. Sacramento or Washington, DC, Lou. You got Pick Wine. Where are you going? I'm me personally. I'm going to watch the DC, but God, I knew it. You're the worst. I don't know. I don't know. I feel like we've been talking about the That's not the question though. Kings or Wizards is the question, Lou. I'm a little nervous. Okay, that's better. It's going to be the Kings. Honestly, I think we've been talking about the Wizards for like one minute too long. They just, it's just a bad team. And what I think is like they should just play basketball. I don't know why Koos has this an infinite love for the Washington Wizards. Maybe he has some, maybe he has some guilt in there that has something to do with how this team was playing. He wants to correct the wrongs. Interesting. I don't know. Final seconds of game last night, we got a Colin Sexton moment. It didn't count, by the way. So go ahead and show you the video, but are you guys good with this? This is a pretty nasty dunk, no? This was better than most. So this is better than most of the dunks we see in the dunk. I just, and by the way, they're faring out right now. So it's not like it was close. It's not like this is disrespectful. It's to just him having fun. And by the way, it was kind of dope. He should get the dunk contest at the rate we're going. I mean, it's kind of fun to watch. Yeah, I don't see a problem with this. It was after it was after the horn. He's having some fun. I don't see anybody should have an issue with this. Also, I'm sorry. Not to be a jerk, but it's a 15 game losing streak on that team over there. And why should I have any respect for the game? If you guys don't seem to have as much respect as the way I'm looking at it. Like I think everything's on the board. I ask you this as guys who've played longest losing streak in NBA history or finishing with a worst record, which is worse? Worst record. Because the worst record is is worse because that's the season. But like, Lou, who had the worst record last year? And then you don't, you don't people remember that, but the history books is there for a really long time. So they both suck. But I think the worst record in the NBA, that's a full season of just ass. You know what I mean? Like that that's that's worse than just like a historic, whatever 25 game losing streak. But that's in that's in the history books, at least this people forget about. No one's going to know unless they get the number one pick, which like never happens anyways. But they both they both are awful. All right. So the history is the worst. Okay, got it. Like I mean, look, it's still on the board that Detroit also finishes with a worse record. So they could have both. Yeah, if they had both, like, so you get the double whammy. Yeah. Almost a perfect season, guys, if Detroit gets both. So we're not done yet. We have plenty of games left for things to move around. Time for some scoops. Timberwolves looking to sign veteran forward TJ Warren. Shoms that happening. TJ Warren will be signing a 10 day contract with the Timberwolves as long as he passes a physical exam today. But this is someone that's a 15 points per game score over his eight year career. He's had some some foot issues over the course of his career, especially with the Pacers. But he did play for the Nets and Sons last year. He's not a lead. He worked out for the Celtics over the summer. He's now on on the verge of getting back in. The Timberwolves have looked for a wing player, someone that brings some size, some insurance in their in their wing course. And they looked at Marcus Morris as well talk to him, but they're going with TJ Warren on a 10 day contract. All right, fair enough. And the Cavs, we saw a little bit about Donovan Mitchell yesterday. So he is going to miss what, the next couple of games Shoms. Yeah, so he Donovan Mitchell has a bone bruise in his knee. He underwent a PRP injection yesterday and he's going to be out through the week. He's going to be reevaluated over the weekend. There doesn't seem to be that much concern about it. Hopefully once the weekend subsides after PRP takes its course, Donovan Mitchell will be on the verge of making a return. The RP is fun, you guys. I've done that. All right, going to take a quick break right now. We're saying goodbye to Shoms. Love you, mean it. Enjoy the rest of your day. We will see you tomorrow. When we come back, we're going to rank stuff on Run It Back. Run it back. Yeah. Run it up. Run it back. Yeah. Run it up. Run it back. Never too late to do another power rankings. Currently, as they stand, Lou, take it away. Top of the list, number 10. I am going with the Dallas Mavericks. Unfortunately for me, I think they've been very just mediocre. Six and four over their last 10 games for the talent that this team has had. I think they should have been in the top five. But right now, just not getting it done. But I think they cracked the top 10. So I'm starting it off with the Dallas Mavericks. At number nine, I'm sticking with the Western Conference. So I got a sneaky suspicion that a lot of these teams are going to come out of the West. I like the Kings. I think we just talked about the bonus, the impact that he has on games, how he can do so much, so many things with the basketball with the unbelievable transition point guard and the Aaron Fox. And they have some pieces around them. I still think they're one piece away from really kind of making that next step, getting in that top tier. But this is who you are. They're a solid team. They're going to be a tough out in the playoffs. And they have a really young dynamic duo that's going to be really, really good for yours to come. I like the Sun. I love the Suns at eight, five and five over their last 10 games. Very much like I just mentioned with Dallas, injuries and inconsistency is what's plagued this team over the course of the season. I feel like the next time we talk about them, they quite possibly can be a little better. But I just hadn't seen this team turn the corner how we've expected with the big three and how this team has played. So I got the Suns at eight. We're finally getting into the Eastern Conference here a little bit. Here we go. We've got the Cleveland Cavaliers. And this is a little worrisome with Donovan Mitchell, Bone Bruce, PRP. You don't know how long that's going to last. He's obviously critical to their success. They've had injuries all year long, whether it was him or Moby or Garland. They've had guys that are in and out of the lineup. Then when they were finally healthy, they made a run and they got hot. They got all the way up to the two seed. Still just don't know if they have enough their youth, their inexperience, their playoffs last year, losing to the Knicks in the first round concerns me. But I think this team is in a good place. And they showed that when they're fully healthy, they're a real threat in the Eastern Conference. So I got them right now at seven. Got you. So let's stay in the Eastern Conference. I like the Milwaukee Bucks at number six, eight and two over their last 10, six to no since the All-Star break. We've been critical of Doc Rivers but he's been, he's had some time now to put his system in and get it going and get some defensive players out on the floor. He went out and got Pat Bev and that's, they looked like it's starting to work for them. Pairing him up with Jake Crowder on the defensive end, both of them being three and D guys at this point in their careers. It's working for them. So I got them at number six. I possibly got them cracking top five by the time next time we talk about them again, but six right now. Yeah, I think the box and I continue to go up and up the way they're playing at five. Smites sound weird. Then the Minnesota Timberwolves, although they got the best record in the Western Conference, they kind of keep flip flopping with Oklahoma City. They're a really solid team and Ant-Man obviously has become an absolute star. The re-signing of Mike currently kind of shows that they are for real, that what doesn't matter is his age. They want to continue to grow this team together. Rodrigo Bears look great, probably the Italians look great. There's seven in three over their last 10 games. They're starting to play really, really well and they're continuing to hold that number one spot. No one thought they'd be here. They've exceeded everyone's expectations. Now what do they do next? Do they hold on to that one seed and can they go and knock off one of these teams that's going to be in the play-in because it's not going to be easy no matter if it's the Mavs, if it's the Lakers, the Warriors, they're going to have to go through a really solid team and prove to us to earn our trust to kind of get up there in the top one, two, three. Yep, I like that. And I also like the Clippers at four. I think this team is sliding a little bit. I think they're allowing their offense to determine how they're going to guard on the other end of the floor. And so that's sliding. Every team, after since the All-Star break, five and five, they were sliding a little bit before that. And like we said, this team is one of those teams that has to be whole. Everybody needs to be in the lineup for this team to get over their hump and give them an opportunity to be a championship caliber team. Still got a lot of talent so I think they stay in the fourth spot. They slid a little bit. I think I had them at one or two the last time. We did the Power Rankings, but I got them at four now, but still a good spot for this Clippers team. We're running out of spots. Yeah, there's some good teams. And the three spots, this one was interesting to me. I put them to now because we're doing current Power Rankings now. I got the Denver Nuggets, which they're up to spots from last time I did it. I truly think they're the best team in the Western Conference, but I just can't look away from what the number two team that we're going to get to has done all year long. But look, these are the defending champs. They have the best player in the NBA. They have the MVP of the NBA. They're seven and three of the last 10. So they're playing well. They're healthy. Guys like Aaron Gordon and KCP are so pivotal in their roles. They know exactly what to do each and every night. Their binge concerns me a little bit, but it could be a different guy every single night. And the health of Jamal Murray is great for these guys too. So I think honestly, that the team to beat in the West, but right now you got to put them at the three, slightly behind the next team coming. At number two, I like the Oklahoma City Thunder. I got to show love to these young guns. I think outside of the obvious number one team, they've been the most consistent. And we got to start showing them respect and we got to start giving them the props that they deserve. You know, even though they're young and some of these young guys are still making their name, collectively as a group, they play really well together and they've got a lot of quality wins. And so it's time to start putting some respect on the name. They're a real team. They're the real deal. They're going to be some, one of those teams that you're really going to have to deal with in the playoffs. So seven and three over that last 10. I like Oklahoma City at number two. Hey, that's crazy. This is the team of the future too. Like this is this is the team that's the youngest and the Bryce future while they're currently winning. Number one here, no surprise, Boston Celtics. They've won 11 straight, hottest team in the NBA, best duo in the NBA. And we've been saying it since training camp. This just seems to be their year. I think guys like Drew Holiday and Kristaps Rosengas that they're healthy. They're playing at an elite level. Derek White is the most solid role player probably in the NBA. So I think the Boston Celtics level straight wins 10 and over their last 10. They're running away with it. It's looking like championship or Oman or bus for this team. They're that good. The expectations are that high. So I think this is definitely the team to beat in the East. And I think this is your odds on favorite to win it all this year. All right. So there's a couple. I'm like looking here going on. Sons have lost two calves are kind of wonky. Let's figure out who's not here. Let's just start with the obvious. We know Joel Embiid's not playing but you don't have sixers in the top 10. At all. So are we just sort of assuming he's not coming back and we've given up Taylor. Well maybe he does come back and then maybe they get back in there because it's a completely different team with or without Joel Embiid. This is this is the Nuggets wouldn't be third if Yolkich was out for you know two months or whatever Joel is going to be out. So I think this is where they are now. I think they still have valuable pieces. I think the Ubreys, the Tobias Harris can still go get you 20-25 points. They have a star in Tyrese Maxi but yeah this team is so dependent on their everything Joel Embiid that now that he's out I think there's a lot of teams in the Eastern Conference. I think the heat are better. I think the Pacers might be better. Like I think there's a lot of teams that are better than this team without Joel Embiid. And for me it's a numbers thing. It's just a numbers thing for me because you know we only have three teams out of the East right. And so six are sitting at five without Joel Embiid and how strong the West is. I just didn't see them cracking the top 10 with how they're playing right now. Okay okay. So then let's get on this one because you got the Kings in the top 10 but Pelicans have a better record. The Knicks have a better record. Why are the Kings getting the love on that one Lou? I just think for me it's just reputation what they've done in the past. You know and again they're in the Western Conference and the Pelicans are just a victim of just being too quiet honestly for me. You know sometimes teams can be successful but they can fly under the radar. They could be a good thing and that could be a bad thing. If I'm the New Orleans Pelicans I'm looking at this and I feel funny. I feel a little disrespected and you should use it as motivation especially when nobody's talking about them and them being able to sit at the five spot. They can crash a lot of parties for a lot of really good teams because they're a good team. You know they got a big three in their own respective rights with Brandon Ingram, McCullum and Zion Williamson. If this team can find a way to stay consistent how they've been. You know this is a team that's 13 games over 500. This is not a bad basketball team but they're just a victim of being quiet. So I don't know if that's by design or if they want more attention they want to make some more noise but it just is what it is for me. Feels to me like people don't watch the Pelicans because the only takes you here like the lazy Zion takes which seem dated at this point but you know whatever that's just my opinion. So that is the rankings as y'all have them now with about 20 games left in the season. We'll be back and when we come back to Paul Pierce poop his pants. Probably but we'll decide together when run it back returns. A little inner out time right now. Lou you're up first. Former Grizzly scorekeeper has admitted stat boosting NBA games during the 90s. Not even sure how this topic comes up now but Lou you in and out as far as this being a major issue for the league. Well I'm in that this has been happening. It's not just the 90s but the 2000s 2010s. You know this is sports and it's business. You've seen a couple guys make a pass and you might head fake pump fake two dribbles still get an assist. You know this is going to know who that player is. If they're they have a reputation of being a high assist guy or a high rebound guy. You know some of those little little stats get a little tricky sometimes when when you can disguise it. So I don't see this as the issue for the league. I don't think fans really care about this type of thing. So I'm in. I totally appreciate him admitting to this. I'd like to see the rest of them admit to it as well. Matter of fact I'm starting to think these Memphis scorekeepers were taking my stats away when I was there. Lou I think they were doing a little reverse instead of boosting. They were hurting the home team. They did it the opposite way. I know they were taking your stats and giving them to somebody else. That's right. That's right. This fits. This checks out Chandler. I actually I'm buying your theory and I I like it. Next up Paul Pierce. Oh wasn't that bad. This this will never die. If I did poop my pants. Why would I sit in a wheelchair. All you little new generation social media gurus who photoshopped the stain on my pants on Twitter. I know a lot of y'all just mad that I busted the Lakers ass that year. I mean I have personally had this conversation with Paul repeatedly. He swears that that ain't pooping his pants. Y'all set the record straight. But didn't he say publicly though he had to go take a shit. Then he had it has. But he has it's very Paul. He has sort of said everything. He's once he's even said yeah. I pooped my pants. It's like he's this will never die. Which I don't want it to Chandler. But in your heart of hearts. Is that crap in his pants. I think it is. And it's tough in the world of AI and all these fake photos. I think he did this. I think it was too dramatic. Again he said before. He had to go to the bathroom. He has once you say it once. You can't backtrack. I can't unhear it. So yeah it happens to all of us. It's happened to me this calendar year. My own home. One could say almost this month. It happened to him. Yeah. Yeah. And it's probably not going to be the last time. So I know I'm not buying it. I think he should have felt it. I think he's backtracking. It's funny that three other adults are talking about another guy pooped in his pants. I will never ever not talk about this topic. He's even gone into detail about what would happen to poop. If it was in your underwear and you sat down. Like there's like a whole science project behind all this. Lou you think yay or nay. Just yeah I just need to know for my own health. Poop or not. I pooped. Yes. Yes. Just wanted Lou to say poop. All right. Moving on. The Sixers announced that Alan Iverson will be getting a statue on Legends Walk at the training facility out there. He'll be joining Barclay Will, Dr. J. Moe Cheeks, and Moses Malone. Just to name a few in or out on it taking this long, Lou. Yeah. That took so long. Well no I'm out because I think the Prex facility is relatively new. I think the Prex facility is new. Well they got to start somewhere right. I know but some of those names I mentioned are before AI. I mean I think it's a pecking order. You start with the Barclays. You start with the Wilts, the Dr. J's, and the Moe Cheeks, the Moses Malone's. AI's only got on this list that's considered a new school guy sort of speak. So you have to start with the guys who paved the way for him and then you put them there. The Prex facility has only been there two or three years. I think this is right on time. Okay. Okay. Chandler and I disagree. I'm just speaking for you. We're taking a quick break. See it took way too long. It should have been like the first or second. Quick break. We come back. We'll wrap things up on a Tuesday. I mean look at that. Cav Celtics tonight. You got the Kelsey Brothers bobbleheads. I mean they are everywhere Chandler. Did you see the press conference yesterday? A lot of crying going on. Is the retirements official for Jason? Thoughts on all that? Yeah that was that was sad. That was crazy. Jason seems like the greatest guy ever. Travis. I golfed with him last week. I set him up with JB Pickerstaff. He's going to fire up those guys tonight and talk to them pre-game. So I got the Cavs. Who the Cavs play tonight? I got them to the guys. The Celtics. The Celtics. Oh never mind. Now you know. Now you know. Perfect. You know what? Run it or run it.