Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: WVUA FM, Tuscaloosa.
[00:00:09] Speaker B: Welcome back, everyone, to WVUA 90.7, the Capstone MBA student section. I'm your host, Zachary Elrod. Here with me is Trey Simpson. And we got Drew Williamson, baby. And we're back. We're all together, and we're ready to talk about some quick NBA topics today. Starting things off, LeBron James or the warriors tried and traded for LeBron James before the trade deadline was up. And it was said that the warriors tried to trade for him, but then obviously, Lakers had to say no to that. And then it was also said that President Darryl Mori had talked with the Lakers, the 76 ers president. And then they said that they had talked the 76 ers, and the Lakers had talked with a LeBron James trade. And then it was said that the Lakers followed up by asking, is indeed available. And then as soon as that happened, the conversation was over. So what are you all's reactions to? First things first. The warriors and the LeBron James trade?
[00:01:09] Speaker A: Man, honestly, I don't know how that would have even been pulled through. My first thought about that is, like, who was included in that trading package? Like, what was the warriors about to give up for LeBron James? Because obviously, at that point, the only even trade would be what? Curry. But they're not giving up Curry.
[00:01:30] Speaker B: There's no way they give up Curry.
[00:01:32] Speaker A: What are they giving up? A bunch of picks. And who else? Draymond Clay.
[00:01:36] Speaker B: Because if LeBron's going to the warriors, there's no way he'd go to a Warriors team Curry list. You know what I'm saying? If Curry's not on that team, there's no way he wants to go there.
[00:01:45] Speaker A: Yeah, I couldn't even see them giving Draymond and Clay because their market value obviously isn't even. Like, I could see them being included in the deal, but not just for those two by themselves.
[00:01:55] Speaker B: Yeah, they don't really have anybody tradable.
[00:01:57] Speaker C: What about, I think I know LeBron, who he said he's wanting to play with. There's that one player he hasn't played with that he really wants to play with. It's Curry. But this was just surprising because to make this mean, probably put Wiggins in there, probably put clay in a bunch of picks. I don't know. It's a toss up between Draymond, maybe know Kuminga. I think if you trade Kuminga, though, that they don't realize what they're trading. I think Kaminga is.
[00:02:28] Speaker B: He's been.
[00:02:29] Speaker C: He's been balling so I don't know. That's interesting thought to have to wait. I'm pretty sure Steph said something like it was a surprise to wake up to, to see LeBron was almost a warrior.
[00:02:44] Speaker B: That would have been crazy. Imagine if that.
[00:02:46] Speaker A: Actually they might have gave us some money for it. Maybe like if they didn't have anything else to offer, they could have just changed.
[00:02:55] Speaker C: Does that change things out west, though?
[00:02:57] Speaker B: Oh, for the warriors, for the whole.
[00:03:00] Speaker C: How, how does it.
[00:03:01] Speaker B: I think it changes everything.
[00:03:03] Speaker A: What if LeBron were to go to the warriors? Yeah, that changes a lot.
[00:03:06] Speaker C: Are they immediately, immediately front runners?
[00:03:09] Speaker B: I wouldn't say front runners, but I mean, it's going to definitely to catch.
[00:03:13] Speaker A: Up, but LeBron is still, what, 39?
[00:03:18] Speaker C: Lebron's still Lebron.
[00:03:20] Speaker A: Not 40, but close to it. Like probably 30 points at least. Probably what, eight assists give or take? Definitely about eight boards to nine boards.
Yeah. Pair him with Curry. I think they definitely make a run shoot at that point.
[00:03:37] Speaker B: Yeah, I think Curry on the, or, not Curry on the warriors, but LeBron on the warriors. Him and Curry, I mean, I think that changes everything. I don't think they'd be instant, like finals favorites, winning everything, but I think that changes a lot. I thought the most interesting thing to me was that Darryl Mori for the 76 ers actually came in on the scene and said like, hey, we're interested, too, but the Lakers immediately turned them down and then asked for Embiid. And they're like, okay, no, we're not giving up Embiid. But I just thought that was kind of, like, random because everybody was worried about the warriors and stuff, but nobody really talked about the 76 ers.
[00:04:12] Speaker C: That would be really interesting.
I just don't see how this move would benefit the Sixers at all. Obviously, you get LeBron, but you're 100% giving up maxi.
[00:04:22] Speaker B: If they're not trying to give up Embade.
[00:04:25] Speaker C: Yeah, because they're not trading in bead. So you're giving up Maxi, probably Tobias Harris.
[00:04:31] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:04:33] Speaker C: I don't see how this move would work or be smart for the Sixers.
[00:04:38] Speaker B: But Maxi and ad.
[00:04:42] Speaker A: No, I was saying, I feel like in both situations, whether he went to the warriors or the 76 ers, it would take time for them to figure out how to play with each other because in both situations, well, Embiid is a ball dominant player.
Curry, I mean, he moves without the ball. He gets other teammates involved, but I mean, he's used know in a clutch situation. He's used to having the know want to ride his coattail in that.
[00:05:11] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, it was definitely a big surprise to me. But moving on from this topic, we got Isaiah Stewart for the Detroit veterans. I'm not surprised whatsoever on this. He punched Drew Eubanks before the game even started versus the Suns and was immediately arrested based on assault and stuff. So I'm just not surprised by this. We all know what happened, speaking of LeBron with Isaiah Stewart and LeBron James with that whole controversy and stuff and that game. So for this to happen, and, I mean, he's a clear mean, he acts out of rage with certain things. So what are y'all's thoughts on it?
[00:05:54] Speaker C: I think the funniest part of the whole deal was Drew Eubanks played after getting punched. He played and he said it was a soft punch.
[00:06:04] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:06:06] Speaker C: Because everybody was kind of wondering if he would play or not. And he was like, yeah, it was a soft punch. I'll play.
[00:06:10] Speaker B: Dang.
[00:06:11] Speaker A: So, I mean, what else would he say? Oh, man, he hurt.
[00:06:14] Speaker C: True.
That was the best part, though, in my opinion. But, yeah, Isaiah Stewart, I don't know. Obviously, we talked about him with LeBron, that situation, but he definitely is a. Yeah.
[00:06:27] Speaker B: Yeah. I don't really see how he really benefit to pistons like any. I mean, he's young, but what is he going to provide?
[00:06:35] Speaker A: He's solid on his rebounding, like his defensive role, like, he does the dirty work.
[00:06:39] Speaker B: Yeah, it's just like, at what?
[00:06:41] Speaker A: Yeah, but I mean, shoot, if that's the case, I mean, let's go ahead and punish Draymond, because Draymond's more high headed than him at that point.
[00:06:50] Speaker C: I just want to say something about Draymond, because all the talk about him and Yusuf Nurkich, I don't know if y'all saw.
[00:06:58] Speaker B: Oh, yeah, they're serious beef, man. They're serious beef.
[00:07:01] Speaker C: That was crazy. But I genuinely don't think Draymond learned anything from that suspension. He still plays the exact same.
Like, he plays almost, like, more out, like, landish than he did before the suspension.
[00:07:16] Speaker A: He's over there antagonize people. Yeah, exactly.
[00:07:18] Speaker C: He's over there with the Clippers, like, sticking his tongue out and pointing to.
[00:07:22] Speaker A: His finger about his ring, basically pulling the clay.
[00:07:24] Speaker B: Yeah, he did the Clay Thompson with the four rings. I saw that.
[00:07:28] Speaker C: I don't know, man.
[00:07:30] Speaker A: I don't think Draymond's ever beaten the allegations.
[00:07:32] Speaker C: I don't think he will either. I think, honestly, what Nurkic said, he said it's only a matter of time before he does it again. And I agree with him.
[00:07:40] Speaker B: At this point, he's just digging his own grave. I mean, that's just plain and simple. But shout out to Drew Eubanks, dude, for taking that hit and playing for your team through that. I mean, hey, shout out to Drew, dude. But anyway. And Drew on the show, too.
[00:07:55] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:07:56] Speaker B: Shout out to both Drew's. But anyways, I wanted to get y'all's thoughts on. I don't know if y'all are familiar with this guy, Chris Russo. I don't know if I'm pronouncing it right. You know, the guy on first take, this is the same guy that said Shaq was not a top five center of all time. He said that Kareem was above him. He said that will Chamberlain was above him. He even said that Tim Duncan was above him, and he's not even a center.
[00:08:19] Speaker A: Tim Duncan?
[00:08:21] Speaker B: Yeah. He's not even a center.
[00:08:22] Speaker A: Dominance, bro. It's way too clear that Shaq is the most dominant player to ever play the game. We didn't say the best ever to play the game. But in terms of dominance, who stopped Shaq?
[00:08:33] Speaker B: Nobody.
[00:08:33] Speaker A: Nobody.
[00:08:34] Speaker B: And his prime, dude, we have never seen a guy at that size, at that height, play for that long and be. You know what I'm saying?
[00:08:45] Speaker C: I think, yeah. Chris Russo's got to be a Shaq hater, because in my opinion, he's a top ten player of all time. Like, facts straight up. Not even center. He's a top ten player of all time. 100% is a top five center of all time. He named a couple of people that I would probably put above Shaq. I think he said kareem.
[00:09:04] Speaker B: Yeah. Kareem.
[00:09:04] Speaker C: Kareem.
[00:09:05] Speaker B: And then you mentioned Hakeem.
[00:09:07] Speaker C: Hakeem. I do. Like.
[00:09:09] Speaker B: He's not above Shaq in my tough conversation.
[00:09:12] Speaker C: I don't think he is, either. He put wilt above Shaq. No, I love wilt, but no, he.
[00:09:18] Speaker B: Played against plumbers, dude.
[00:09:19] Speaker C: There's no way. And like you, like Trey said, shaq is the most dominant player of all time. It's not even close.
[00:09:26] Speaker A: You said plumbers. No, that was just funny.
[00:09:29] Speaker B: He did, dude.
[00:09:30] Speaker A: Honestly. Yeah. The only person I would put maybe above Shaq as an overall player, I mean, I guess I can give you Kareem and Hakeem. Those are only two. And then that's about it. Yeah. Was Bill Russell. I'm not putting Bill Russell footage.
[00:09:43] Speaker C: Not putting Bill Russell above him. No way I'm putting Bill Russell above.
[00:09:46] Speaker B: But Bill is up there. I want to give credit to Bill, he did play back in the day with wilt and stuff, but, I mean, it's eleven rings.
That's just insane.
[00:09:55] Speaker C: And Tim Duncan, he's a power forward now for his position as a power forward, number one. I think Tim Duncan may be the best power forward of all time, but me, too.
He's not a center.
[00:10:07] Speaker A: Yeah. Tim Duncan. And then I'll put Dirk second.
[00:10:11] Speaker B: Dirk's up there. Yeah. And then Giannis. He's common.
[00:10:15] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:10:15] Speaker B: You got to consider Yanis. And then I guess you could put like, I don't know, Charles Barkley or.
[00:10:23] Speaker C: To. I'd have to think about it.
[00:10:25] Speaker B: You got to consider Charles. I know he hasn't won a ring, but you know what I'm saying. He was dominant, especially when he is.
[00:10:31] Speaker C: Katie, a power forward or is he a small forward?
[00:10:35] Speaker A: I mean, he was originally a small.
[00:10:36] Speaker B: Forward, but I didn't even get to my main point. Dang. We got on rant because he says that the magic should not have retired Shaq's jersey. Now, I get what we're saying about the shaq, Kate, but to his point, he was talking, know, in the playoffs, they never really made it all the way in the playoffs. And eventually he did leave to go to the Lakers instead of staying and sticking out with them to maybe one day even get to the finals or mean, I kind of see his point there to go hand in hand with. We just talked about how he's a Shaq hater, but with this think, because then it comes up like, hey, shouldn't you retire, like, Paul George's jersey for the Pacers? Because I've seen people talk about that, too.
[00:11:25] Speaker C: And then you have people. Paul George said it himself. He said that I didn't stay in Indiana long enough for you to retire my jersey. So I don't think, and I think that's becoming, feels like a bunch of teams around the league are like, questioning if they should retire people's jerseys or not. I don't know. Shaq with the magic, I feel like, yeah, he didn't win a ring there. I think he got to the finals. Am I correct? Did he get to the finals? But I think he lost Jordan and it was not.
[00:11:53] Speaker B: Yeah. Wait, that is lost.
[00:11:56] Speaker C: But they lost Penny hard away. It's a tough.
[00:11:59] Speaker B: Yeah. Then you got to think about Penny.
[00:12:01] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:12:01] Speaker B: Because if Shaq is retiring Shaq's jersey, then you would think, I mean, Penny Hardaway deserves it just as much as.
[00:12:08] Speaker A: Shaq having Horace Grant on that team because that was before he went to the Bulls.
[00:12:13] Speaker B: Yeah, Horace Grant was an all star then.
[00:12:15] Speaker A: No, after he went to the Bulls. Right? No, yeah, I'm sorry. Horace Grant got traded from the Bulls to the.
[00:12:25] Speaker B: That's right.
[00:12:26] Speaker C: That's right.
[00:12:27] Speaker B: Because Horace Grant was an all star. I think he was only a one time all star and that was for the magic. I believe so.
But yeah, definitely like Horace Grant. People like him. And then, well, I guess you could think about TMAC, but teamk didn't really.
[00:12:42] Speaker A: Do much mean, see, unless they won anything. And like said, like they didn't win anything. So I mean, you don't necessarily need, especially Shaq. Like at that point he already had his jersey retired in what, Miami and Lakers.
[00:12:54] Speaker C: It would be different if he was like a Damien Lillard, where he stayed with them for, I don't know. Obviously Dame didn't win anything, but he deserves to. I still feel like Portland's going to retire his jersey, but yeah, like you said, trey Shaq got his jersey retired by Miami, by lA, which they both won.
[00:13:13] Speaker B: Yeah, that's why. Yeah, I don't know. I see this guy's point. I definitely see his point on that. But to mention all his other points based on Shaq, I just think it's way out of the box, way out of line. But honestly, to his credit, I definitely see where he's going with this. But anyways, that's going to do it for this segment, y'all don't go away. For more NBA news. We'll see y'all.
[00:13:46] Speaker A: Wvuafm Tuscaloosa.
[00:13:55] Speaker B: Welcome back, everyone, to the NBA student section. We're back and we got some more news to talk about. I just wanted to talk to you all about the new MVP straw poll that just came out. And it had Yokich number one shocker with 100 votes, and it had Shay number two with 99 votes, Yanis 387 votes. But the thing I really wanted to highlight is Donovan Mitchell's quote saying that he should be top three in the MVP rankings. So before we go on, do y'all agree, disagree with this statement, y'all's recent twine?
[00:14:32] Speaker A: Honestly, recently, if we're going off wins and losses, then yes, because the Cavs have been on a streak themselves and Donovan Mitchell has been a very big part of that while the Bucks have actually been losing. We're going to get into that later.
But yeah, I think that makes sense. I think that's valid to say. What do you all think?
[00:14:52] Speaker C: 100% agree he should be top three with the way the Cavs are playing and obviously he's the force that's leading them. They're second in the east right now going into the all star break.
Yeah, 100%. Donovan Mitchell should be top three.
[00:15:08] Speaker B: Yeah, the Bucks are stinking right now above. Put it plain, they're stinky. They're stinky.
[00:15:13] Speaker A: And Donovan, since we're on that subject, I mean, we can just go ahead and tie that in there. Since Doc Rivers that's taken over the Bucks are three and.
[00:15:24] Speaker B: He'S the Eastern Conference all star.
[00:15:28] Speaker C: I have always thought that Doc Rivers is a entirely overrated coach. I've always thought Doc Rivers was overrated.
[00:15:39] Speaker B: It's starting to show now.
[00:15:40] Speaker C: Seems like he can't really, which. It's a tough task to just jump on middle of a season.
[00:15:45] Speaker B: True.
[00:15:45] Speaker C: And coach a team which makes zero sense as to why they fired Adrian Griffin. I don't understand why you'd fire a coach. Bucks were second in the east with like a 31 and eleven record when it happened.
I just don't understand why.
[00:15:59] Speaker B: For some reason they hated them. For some reason, I don't know why that's crazy.
[00:16:02] Speaker C: But yeah, no, it's a tough thing, but yeah, Bucks need to figure it out.
[00:16:08] Speaker A: It is tough, but at the same time, we're not cutting them as much slack because they were second in the east and now, whether it's necessarily his fault, we don't honestly care if it's his fault or not. At the end of the day, it's.
[00:16:20] Speaker B: Always on the coach's fault, but not the nascent song.
[00:16:25] Speaker A: He doesn't need to tank their record. You know what mean so.
[00:16:29] Speaker C: And at the end of the day, look at their mean.
[00:16:32] Speaker B: Yeah, their team is loaded.
[00:16:34] Speaker C: Dame Giannis, Chris Middleton, Brooke Lopez.
[00:16:37] Speaker A: Pat Bev.
[00:16:38] Speaker B: Pat Bev. Now they got Bobby Porters coming off the bench. I mean, you know he's going to get buckets.
[00:16:43] Speaker C: Malik Beasley.
[00:16:45] Speaker A: Don't forget about the best one on that team.
[00:16:47] Speaker B: The is like, it is funny how he cannot get like, I forget what they like. He cannot be removed from this. Like, his contract is just set in stone. They cannot trade him. They cannot do anything with that man.
[00:17:04] Speaker C: It's hilarious.
[00:17:06] Speaker B: Oh, yeah, I know. It's just hilarious, dude. I wonder if that's going to be like the same with Bronnie or LeBron James. You can't cut Bronnie James, bro.
[00:17:15] Speaker A: But Bronnie's going to hoop more time in the college. He's averaging five points right now.
[00:17:20] Speaker B: He's going to be good, though.
[00:17:22] Speaker A: We expect enough from him. But obviously the average play you know what I'm saying? They need time to develop.
[00:17:28] Speaker C: He wasn't LeBron's son. He wouldn't even be on draft boards right now.
[00:17:32] Speaker B: He wouldn't. But Bronnie's going to be good. I know that for a fact. If you watch him play. I'm not even trying to be on a bandwagon or anything, at least not for the NBA, but for college. He is a perfect college point guard with his athleticism, with his defense, the way he's able to just pick up guards like full court, and the way he's able to shoot the ball and spread the floor and playmake. I mean, he's literally just a perfect college guard. It's just USC sucks. Bottom line. Anyways, moving back on to the Donovan Mitchell trade, I think he should be top three. The man's averaging 28 points a game, and he's averaging five rebounds, six assists on 47% from the field. I mean, he's hooping the number two in the east. We just talked about it. Everybody always sleeps on Donovan Mitchell, and I don't like it, dude.
[00:18:21] Speaker C: One thing that I think Donovan Mitchell should be top three, but another thing that just, I don't understand how this guy isn't at least top three. Luka doncic.
I don't understand. The man's averaging like 33, 34 points a game with like nine assists and nine rebounds.
[00:18:42] Speaker A: The Mavs top three at one point, but he moved down.
[00:18:45] Speaker C: I don't know why the Mavs are like, 7th in the west right now.
[00:18:49] Speaker B: It's just like, sometimes he's had some bad games, like, very few times, but then he's also been injured and stuff like that, which has caused other people. But, yeah, I agree with you.
I hate it as a Mavs fan because the reason we win is so solely based, like 80% of our points.
Everything is based on Luca. So if Luca is not in the lineup, then Tim Hardaway Jr. Has got to go off.
All the pressure is because he's averaging like 35 a game and he's having all these assists, rebounds. He's literally doing everything for us. So if he's out for a game and he has to not play, then it's just like all the pressures on Kyrie, Tim Hardaway to produce, and it's just like, shoot, we know Kyrie can.
[00:19:37] Speaker A: Handle the pressure, though.
[00:19:39] Speaker B: Yeah, but it's just like, to go from a night to where like, okay, shoot, I won't have to do anything to where it's like, oh, my gosh, we're missing 35 points, you know what I'm saying? That's a lot for everybody.
But yeah, I know Kyrie can handle the pressure.
[00:19:55] Speaker A: Grizzly field.
[00:19:56] Speaker B: True.
[00:19:57] Speaker A: Memphis is going through it right now.
[00:19:59] Speaker B: They just came out with a win though.
[00:20:01] Speaker C: Against the Bucks.
[00:20:04] Speaker B: Against the Bucks. Gigi Jackson, I think he's been hooping lately. He has like think in the last six games he's had like 20 points a game.
[00:20:12] Speaker A: He dropped like 30 something in the win last night.
[00:20:15] Speaker B: GT Jackson's going off too. But anyways, going back to the straw pole, I thought it was interesting, too, because Jalen Brunson got a first place vote too, which I definitely think Jalen should be up there.
I think Jalen Brunson should be top five.
[00:20:33] Speaker C: I agree it's hard because we're naming all these people, but I think the top five in no particular order.
Jokic, definitely SGA just because of how the Thunder have played this season.
[00:20:48] Speaker B: Donovan, Mitchell.
[00:20:49] Speaker C: Donovan Mitchell.
[00:20:50] Speaker B: Luca and then Brunson. But then you're throwing out.
[00:20:54] Speaker C: Why? I don't know. Tatum too.
[00:20:57] Speaker A: Kawhi Leonard.
[00:20:58] Speaker B: I'm not giving it to.
I just don't.
I don't know, dude. It's just like, I don't think you.
[00:21:06] Speaker A: Said Tatum top five. No, I just don't think Tatum's negative.
[00:21:10] Speaker C: They're first in the NBA, but they.
[00:21:12] Speaker B: Have so many people doing so many different things. That is true. And it's different for a team like.
[00:21:18] Speaker C: The Knicks because Jalen Brunson and then Julius Randall's been out. So.
[00:21:23] Speaker B: Yeah, it's just different, dude. Because when Jalen Brunson's out, then you see like Dante DiVincenzo having to drop like 30, which he is not doing. He's averaging like ten a game this season. So Jalen Brunson is very key to their success. But Tatum is good. Don't get me wrong. It's just there's so many people on that team to where if Tatum's out one night, it's going to be a big deal. But obviously Jalen Brown can pick up the slack. You got Drew holiday, you got Porzingis, you got all those guys. Even Peyton Pritchard, he had like 28 the other night.
[00:21:57] Speaker C: Hey, I love Peyton Pritchard.
[00:21:59] Speaker A: Well, I don't know, because see, with that logic, it's like the mavericks would be fine, too. Derek Lively, Kyrie, Tim Hardaway, Grant.
[00:22:11] Speaker B: I guess Grant Williams is out in there. Grant Williams is at Hornets Charlote.
[00:22:16] Speaker C: Yeah, that was a whole situation, too.
[00:22:18] Speaker B: Yeah, but the Celtics, I forgot he got traded. You forgot he got traded.
[00:22:26] Speaker A: Yes. Bro, that was a quiet trade. Yeah, it was that one time, but.
[00:22:30] Speaker B: Yeah, the Celtics, I just think they just have way more talent than us, than the Mavs. I'm just going to go ahead and flat out say it. They have way more talent than us and they're just.
[00:22:38] Speaker C: They have the best starting five in the NBA.
[00:22:40] Speaker B: They're just on a different. I forgot to even mention Derek White.
[00:22:45] Speaker C: Who do you think does.
[00:22:47] Speaker B: Wait, you have an objection, Trey?
[00:22:51] Speaker A: I do, man. The Clippers, bro.
[00:22:57] Speaker C: Okay.
I'll give you that.
[00:22:59] Speaker A: That is the only throwing the suns in there. I think.
[00:23:03] Speaker C: The Suns.
[00:23:04] Speaker B: I don't think the Suns compete with the Celtics, but the Clippers. That's a good statement.
[00:23:08] Speaker A: What?
[00:23:08] Speaker B: Yeah, I don't think the Suns compete with Bradley. Bill Bradley.
[00:23:12] Speaker C: Bill's like Kevin Durant.
[00:23:15] Speaker B: Grayson. Allen's good.
[00:23:16] Speaker C: Katie's good.
[00:23:17] Speaker B: And Nurkic.
[00:23:18] Speaker A: You mean to tell me that's not going.
[00:23:19] Speaker B: But then you got porzingis with Nurkic. Then you got Tatum to KD.
[00:23:24] Speaker A: That's easy. Clincher.
[00:23:25] Speaker C: Katie Brown. Brown to Booker.
[00:23:27] Speaker B: Brown to Booker. It's pretty even so far. Obviously Booker's better than Brown. Booker's better than Brown. But then Tatum and could. Katie's been hooping, but that can go either way.
[00:23:38] Speaker A: Katie's better than Katie's better.
[00:23:39] Speaker B: I think that could go either way.
[00:23:41] Speaker A: Katie's better than Tatum.
[00:23:42] Speaker B: I've been hating on Tatum for the MVP, so I'm going to go with Tatum. It could go either way. And then you got.
Well, it's Drew holiday starting and then Derek White.
[00:23:51] Speaker C: Drew with Derek and then Beal and Grayson Allen.
[00:23:55] Speaker B: Yeah. So Drew holiday is like, grayson Allen's been hooping and stuff, but I'm taking.
[00:24:00] Speaker C: Drew holiday and I'm taking Beal over.
[00:24:04] Speaker B: Derek White's been hooping, though, too, over the Celtics.
[00:24:07] Speaker A: I'm telling you, Katie obviously better than Tatum. Not saying Tatum's bad or nothing. It's just Katie's just better as a.
[00:24:15] Speaker C: I'm the team I worry the most about is the Clippers easily, because I feel like Harden, PG Kawhi, Kawhi Zubach. Who's their Westbrook coming off the bench.
[00:24:28] Speaker B: Who'S their fifth man?
[00:24:31] Speaker A: Paul George. Did you forget him?
[00:24:33] Speaker B: So it's hard or not. Trey, man.
[00:24:34] Speaker C: Terrence.
[00:24:35] Speaker B: I mean, Terrence, man.
[00:24:36] Speaker C: Yeah, it's hard.
[00:24:36] Speaker A: Terrence, man, and Paul George. Yeah.
[00:24:38] Speaker C: You said kawhi. Okay. All right.
[00:24:39] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:24:39] Speaker C: No, that starting lineup, I don't know. It's a tough decision because.
[00:24:46] Speaker B: All three.
[00:24:46] Speaker C: Of those teams have great starting lineups.
[00:24:49] Speaker B: They really did. It's just going to come down to, I don't know, with the playoffs. I just think if I had to put my trust in somebody, I don't know, I think the Suns could make a run. It's just. I just don't know about Bradley Bill in the playoffs.
[00:25:03] Speaker A: Yeah, well, the sun's choking the playoffs, too. They're Loki in the same boat as the Celtics.
[00:25:07] Speaker C: One thing that I know for a fact, if the Suns don't stay healthy, because that's their problem right now. Kevin Durant, fingers crossed, he hasn't had a major injury this season, but Bradley Bill has been in and out of the lineup a bunch, and he just can't seem to stay healthy. But if they can stay healthy, shaping up to be a exciting postseason.
[00:25:30] Speaker B: Yeah. For you Suns fans, like, no disrespect, because when they're healthy, like you're saying, drew, they're like, or I shouldn't say unstoppable because I am going with the Celtics and stuff like that. But they're up there. They can definitely contend now. Like a Celtics and sun series. That would be really interesting to see.
[00:25:52] Speaker A: Celtics got to go through the Bucks.
[00:25:56] Speaker B: If Doc Rivers doesn't, man. Honestly, just like Darvin ham, bro. They're in the same boat.
[00:26:02] Speaker A: This is the time where we're going to see what Damon Yanis have cooking.
[00:26:06] Speaker C: Know what they're made of?
[00:26:07] Speaker A: Because at the end of the day, they're the ones who have to go out on the court and play. They got a who.
[00:26:14] Speaker C: We're forgetting about the Bucks starting lineup when healthy, too. I mean, Damien Lillard, Malik Beasley, Chris Middleton, Yanis and Brooke Lopez, that is a solid start.
I think it's pretty set in stone. No disrespect to the Cavs or the Knicks. I think it's Bucks. Celtics for the east.
[00:26:33] Speaker B: For the east.
[00:26:34] Speaker C: Yeah, one of those.
[00:26:35] Speaker A: I'm not counting the Knicks out.
[00:26:36] Speaker C: I don't think they can compete with the Bucks or the Celtics in a seven game series unless Julius Randall.
[00:26:42] Speaker A: I'm about to say if they're healthy, they have everybody and everybody, then, yeah, I think it'll be a good.
[00:26:48] Speaker B: But y'all forget last year. The Bucks did sell to the.
[00:26:53] Speaker C: That was, I feel like that was the Heat just doing something magical that nobody thought they would do because the Heat ended up making it all the way to the, not the Heat, Jimmy Butler Finals.
[00:27:03] Speaker B: Yeah, Jimmy, did y'all see that set every time the Chiefs won a championship like Super Bowl?
[00:27:08] Speaker C: I did see that.
[00:27:09] Speaker B: The Heat make it to the NBA Finals.
[00:27:12] Speaker C: I did see that.
That was crazy.
[00:27:16] Speaker B: Just saying, you guys. Anyways, on that note, we're going to end this segment. We'll be right back with more NBA news. We'll see y'all.
[00:27:34] Speaker A: WVUA FM, Tuscaloosa.
[00:27:44] Speaker B: Welcome back, everyone, to the NBA student section. We're back and we got some more stuff to talk about since we were on that Celtics train. I really want to talk about their games recently because, I mean, the Celtics destroyed the Nets in back to back nights. Now, I know the Nets are not that good, but I mean, if you destroy a team in back to back nights, I mean, that's pretty disrespectful. They beat the Nets two times in a row. The Nets lost by eight in the first time they played Jason Tatum. We were just talking about him, balled out for 41 points. And then on Tuesday, that was on Tuesday. And then on Wednesday, the Celtics defeat the Nets by 50 and the boy, Peyton Pritchard led the charge with 28 points.
So what's your thoughts on that? Dude, they beat the Nets by 50.
[00:28:35] Speaker A: Yeah.
Let me go ahead and hate on that team a little bit. It's the Nets. Let me see you do that against the Bucks. Knicks Heat 76 ers. Let me see all that.
That's what I got to say about it.
[00:28:50] Speaker C: I agree.
Beating a team by 50 against any team you play. Yeah, that's impressive. But I agree with Trey. I mean, the Nets aren't a good team. And I think when they went by 50, they were at home and Boston at home is so hard to beat. I think they're easily the best team when they play at the Garden. So I don't know.
Like I said earlier, I feel like this is one of the most complete lineups. And I think the biggest thing for them is if Porzingis can stay healthy because it's so hard for him. He's missed so many games throughout his career. If he can stay healthy, watch out.
[00:29:33] Speaker B: Man.
[00:29:33] Speaker A: I got one more point about that, too. Another reason why it's not as impressive is because, like you just said, the Celtics are the number one team in the east. They're literally one of the top picks, if not the top pick, to win a championship or at least win the Eastern Conference finals. So we expect this type of play from them.
[00:29:53] Speaker B: They did it without Jalen Brown, by the way.
[00:29:55] Speaker A: Yeah, we'd be shaking our heads if they didn't perform.
[00:29:57] Speaker C: And Al Horford, they did it without.
[00:30:00] Speaker B: Jalen Brown and then, yeah, Al Horford wasn't even in the lineup and they beat him by 50. But I mean, when Mikhail Bridges. No offense to Mikhail, when Mikhail Bridges is your star player, it's just he's not a number one option, but on any other team because teams are willing to pay like a high price for him because I know to have him on, my mean, that's going to be awesome, dude, as a third option on any team, with the Suns, with the Lakers, I mean, he's going to benefit any team as a big wing.
[00:30:30] Speaker C: I love Mikel Bridges because he's a solid two way. Two way player. He plays great defense, he's one of the best defenders in the league and he can get you a bucket.
[00:30:38] Speaker B: So yeah, I feel like the Nets should really trade Mikhail Bridges because teams are going to overpay for him.
If the Timberwolves overpaid for Rudy Gobert, just for defense and stuff, I mean, how much are teams going to pay? Like you just said, a two way big wing can shoot. It can mean, especially to a contender.
Teams are really going to pay like big bucks for that. But anyways, I don't know, I just thought it was very interesting that the Celtics destroyed the nets, especially in this fashion, especially without Al Horford and Jalen Brown. But yeah. Moving on to the next thing to talk about. Already talked about the Bucks. So we want to talk to y'all today about.
[00:31:22] Speaker A: I mean, we just kind of skipped over the fact that the Bucks lost to the Grizzlies and they didn't have any stars.
[00:31:29] Speaker B: We could expand on that.
[00:31:30] Speaker C: Yeah, that's embarrassing. I don't know if y'all saw the last play, but Brooke Lopez kind of runs into Damian Lillard, causing him to lose the ball and just goes over to the Grizzlies.
[00:31:42] Speaker B: But that's a very close game.
[00:31:45] Speaker C: That's something that cannot happen. You cannot lose to a Grizzlies team who already was without John Morant. Pretty sure they didn't even have no John Morant.
[00:31:54] Speaker B: No triple J. Zyra Williamson went off though, 27.
[00:31:58] Speaker C: No Desmond Bain either.
[00:31:59] Speaker B: So yeah, no this, no Marcus smart. None of those guys, you cannot.
[00:32:04] Speaker C: And the Bucks were at full strength, minus Chris Middleton. Still, you cannot lose that game.
[00:32:11] Speaker B: Zyra Williamson, 27. And then Gigi Jackson, we were just talking about him, 27 off the bench. I mean, they had an even amount of scores. They had some 18. What is that Vince Williams Jr. Yeah, he's in the rising star game, too. So shout out, Vince.
[00:32:27] Speaker C: Dame shooting seven of 21.
[00:32:30] Speaker B: Can't happen.
[00:32:31] Speaker C: Can't happen. I think I saw somewhere where it showed a stat that Yanis was shooting better than Dame this year from three.
[00:32:39] Speaker A: Me and Dame talked about before the game. I told him I wanted a new house, man, he got me.
[00:32:46] Speaker B: But, yeah. Brooke Lopez, five for 14, two for nine from three. I don't know why. Brooke Lopez taking nine. Three.
[00:32:53] Speaker C: No, I'm actually okay with that.
[00:32:55] Speaker B: You're okay with that?
[00:32:56] Speaker C: Yes, because Brooke Lopez. I swear I'm okay with that. Brooke Lopez, I don't know. I've watched a lot of Bucks games recently. He can shoot the three as well as anybody on that team can.
[00:33:09] Speaker B: I know he can.
[00:33:10] Speaker A: But nine, I mean, if you're open, shoot him.
[00:33:13] Speaker B: Yeah, he might have just been open.
[00:33:15] Speaker C: Three point shooter, I'm telling you. But, yeah, no, nine is a little. But that was all of his misses, too. He went five for 14.
[00:33:21] Speaker A: How many rebounds did he have?
[00:33:24] Speaker B: Rebounds?
[00:33:24] Speaker A: Eleven.
[00:33:25] Speaker B: Yeah, eleven.
[00:33:26] Speaker C: All right.
[00:33:26] Speaker B: Brooks got to, though, especially if he's going to Miss like that. He's got to make an impact somehow. And then Malik Beasley, he only was three for ten.
Like, didn't really take that many shots and didn't even make that many shots.
[00:33:38] Speaker A: They might have just thought because it was the Grizzlies who they were playing, they might have. Like Detroit. Yeah, they might have just took a.
[00:33:46] Speaker B: Night off, but see, that's especially mentally.
[00:33:49] Speaker A: In a playoff running that separates everybody. You can't just take nights off just because.
[00:33:55] Speaker B: Very true, very true statement. Bobby Portis was the only thing on the bench, too. He had 15. Good game. But then Pat Bev won. Pat Conniston, too.
You know what I'm saying?
[00:34:08] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:34:09] Speaker C: Nobody's scoring.
[00:34:10] Speaker B: The only person on that bench that scored is Bobby Portis. I mean, he's always good old reliable, though. I love Bobby, especially on this Bucs team. Ever since he joined the Bucs, he's always just been a great option for him. But anyways, do y'all got anything else to say about that game before we move on?
[00:34:27] Speaker A: No, we can go ahead and move on.
[00:34:29] Speaker B: Yeah, but anyways, going to Tucker, like, he had a quote saying he did not ask to be here for the Clippers. And I even saw a thing. I don't know if y'all saw the thing, if he were to get traded and stuff, that the Clippers have so many shoes of his that it would be, like, impossible to move them out in the same day. It's just, like, insane how many shoes of PJ Tucker's they have in storage. It'd be, like, impossible to find them all. But anyways, what do y'all think about the PJ Tucker and Clippers situation?
[00:35:00] Speaker A: So, he only said this quote because him, as well as bones Highland the other night, didn't travel with the team when they played the warriors. So I can understand a player's know. First of all, he felt like he was in a good situation where he was at, and to get traded all of a know it is a business, but to not get used at, like, then what did y'all pick me up for?
[00:35:25] Speaker B: You know what?
[00:35:26] Speaker A: And he's a.
[00:35:27] Speaker C: He's a good, mean, he's a guy that if you leave him in the corner open, I feel like I've never seen PJ Tucker miss a corner three in my life. But he can play defense.
He'll do all the dirty work.
[00:35:41] Speaker B: He'll guard people like k did.
[00:35:42] Speaker C: He'll do everything that doesn't show up on the stat sheet for your team. So if the fact that he's not being used, it would upset me, too. I feel like he's right to be angry about his role with the Clippers.
[00:35:56] Speaker B: But to what y'all were saying to y'all's point earlier, I mean, the Clippers are just so deep. They just have so much talent on that roster. Like a guy like bone Thailand. I mean, not really the greatest defender, but I mean, offensively, that dude, he's a crock pot.
Bro's just like. I don't know if y'all watch bones Highland highlights. I mean, he's like Jamal Crawford mixed with a mini Brandon Ingram. I don't know, dude, that's just insane. Like a mini Brandon Ingram, because he's so skinny.
[00:36:27] Speaker C: He is skinny.
[00:36:28] Speaker B: He looks like a mini Brandon Ingram.
[00:36:30] Speaker A: Well, shoot, maybe looks, but I don't know about playstyle, because Bones is more of, like, a slashing type guy.
[00:36:35] Speaker B: Yeah, that's why I said Jamal Crawford. He probably like, to me, he's like a Jamal Crawford type. Like, shifty and stuff. Kind of like, she's shifty, but I.
[00:36:46] Speaker A: Wouldn'T give him Jamal Crawford level.
But what other up there with Kyrie AI type handles? So, I don't know.
[00:36:53] Speaker B: Who would you say, then? I'm just saying, like, comparison. Not saying he's at that level, but I'm saying, like, if you had to compare him to.
[00:37:03] Speaker A: Shoot, I couldn't even say. I mean, what? Darius Garland kind of reminds me of him a little bit.
[00:37:08] Speaker B: Darius Garland's underrated with that, too, though. Like, if you watch Darius Garland videos, dude, the amount of hesies he does, that's like, it's probably a travel, but not in this league. It's just insane how he gets people off balance.
[00:37:22] Speaker C: I don't know if we talked about this, too, but PJ Tucker was fined $75,000 for publicly expressing that he wants to join another team, which I find 75,075k for. I guess going on there and saying, I don't want to be here.
[00:37:38] Speaker A: That's an expressive.
Expressive. That's an expensive ticket for freedom of speech.
[00:37:44] Speaker B: 75K.
I've heard plenty of players say, I don't want to be like James Harden. How much has he been fined?
He said that about so many teams.
[00:37:55] Speaker C: That's crazy.
[00:37:56] Speaker B: That boy has to be fined like 2.5 million. Like something crazy.
[00:38:01] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:38:02] Speaker A: I don't know. It was kind of ridiculous, though. If you want to find anybody, let's talk about to find these refs.
[00:38:08] Speaker C: No doubts of calls, like, in the.
[00:38:09] Speaker A: Past month and then some. That's been just, like, either game changing or just outright ridiculous.
[00:38:15] Speaker B: Did you see the technical foul on Devin Booker?
[00:38:18] Speaker C: Oh, of course.
[00:38:19] Speaker B: I did send him out of the game. What did he even do? Did you all know? I watched the video over and over, and I saw a guy in the comments, too. He's like, I've watched this video about ten times, and I still don't know what this man's done.
[00:38:30] Speaker C: Okay, so the first technical, Booker didn't agree with a foul that he feel like he should have got. And I remember he yelled at the refs, and they called the first technical on him.
[00:38:45] Speaker B: Goes to break.
[00:38:47] Speaker C: Everything goes to break. Then they come back, resume. Booker said something. He said he was talking to his teammate. Refs didn't see it like that. Refs tossed him right there. Then Frank Vogel got involved. He got a was. It was unreal.
[00:39:05] Speaker B: He must have said something.
[00:39:07] Speaker C: But Booker said he was talking to a teammate, so I don't know.
[00:39:11] Speaker B: It even looked like he was looking at the ref. I don't know if he's complaining or.
[00:39:15] Speaker C: Something, but no idea.
[00:39:16] Speaker B: When I saw it, I was like, why?
[00:39:20] Speaker C: Refs are out of control.
[00:39:21] Speaker B: Refs are out of control. It's just like they're just focused on the wrong things.
You know what I'm saying?
[00:39:27] Speaker C: I agree, man.
[00:39:29] Speaker A: I think they look too deep into responses, and it's almost like they're looking for people to trash talk and just kind of get emotional with it. But they don't understand as fans watching the game, that's what brings excitement to know, because we want to see stuff like that that we don't get to see every day. We don't want to see a fight on the court. But if players are playing with passion and emotion, that's literally what the game is about.
[00:39:55] Speaker B: It's nice to have a story to it, too. Kind of like Dylan Brooks and LeBron, or at least to a modern day era.
[00:40:01] Speaker A: Magic and Bird would have been magic and know, if they didn't have that off the court, like, you know, rivalry, they didn't hate each other. I mean, maybe while they were, but, you know, after they were good, know. So we like seeing that kind of know. Jordan and the bad boy know, all that emotion that is part of the game is a part of the game. It needs to be there.
[00:40:24] Speaker B: Not saying that we want the bad boy pistons to come back, though, because that was just wild Bill Ember. Stay in retirement, please. We don't want you back. No offense to Bill, though. But anyways, moving on to Clay Thompson, we got to talk about Clay. I mean, bro went insane. 35 points.
Season high, season high. He had, what do you have? Seven threes?
[00:40:50] Speaker A: Yeah, seven for eleven from 313 for 18 on field goal. Honestly, I logged in on Instagram one day and I saw that it said Clay Thompson has been benched or whatever for the next game.
[00:41:01] Speaker B: I saw it, too. I wasn't surprised he responded, though.
[00:41:05] Speaker A: But see, this is the thing. He's up and down. He's a very up and down, inconsistent player. This is one of them nights that he goes crazy and then shoot. Next game might have like, I'm taking the under 1012.
[00:41:18] Speaker C: He gets too hard on himself, too. I mean, no player in history is going to tear his ACL in MCL in one leg and then tear his achilles in the other leg and then come back the same player they were before both those injuries, it's impossible. So the fact that he's not prime Clay Thompson and where he was before all the injuries, he's got to, just because I've seen Steph Curry and Kaminga come up to him during the games and be like, hey, you're fine. When he's having one of those terrible games and he'll just ignore him and push him to the side, just getting his little fits.
[00:41:53] Speaker B: And I don't like it exactly because there's upset. It's one thing to beat yourself up and be like, oh, I need to play better. And it's like, okay, we understand that, but it's one thing to keep staying in that area and then just like blocking out your teammates, not wanting to communicate to them, just like putting yourself in this box, you know what I'm saying? Because then you're just shielding yourself out from everyone, and that's not going to help anything. That's not going to help the situation. And Clay should know better for that because he's a veteran. He should be the guy picking up kaminga saying, hey, you're okay, let's keep playing. Because he's the young, you know what.
[00:42:30] Speaker C: Saying with the four championships. Yeah. Like he advertises a lot.
[00:42:35] Speaker A: But then again, I feel like at the same token, though, yeah. He does a bad job of bringing that energy with him to the team. So the rest of the team feels it.
[00:42:43] Speaker B: Exactly.
[00:42:44] Speaker A: Same time. If that's what he needs to do behind closed doors to motivate himself and get himself to do what he just did last night, then by all means, do that.
[00:42:53] Speaker B: Just don't do it in the middle of a game.
[00:42:55] Speaker A: Yeah, don't bring it to the team facts.
[00:42:58] Speaker B: I definitely agree with that.
But, yeah, I mean, Clay, I hope you do good, man, because he went off.
But anyways, before we sign off, we do got to talk about the Washington Wizards with Delon Wright. I did not know about this, but the Wizards just bought out his contract. And the guard, Delon Wright, that used to play for the Wizards, he's now going to play for the heat, which is actually pretty funny because they just got Terry Rosier. So now it looks like they're really trying to load up on the guards and stuff, which is a very good pickup. Good move.
[00:43:31] Speaker A: Yeah, you watch some of the line. Wright's highlights, he's a very good two way. Like, if anything, he's more known as a defensive kind of guy, but he still does very well in transition.
[00:43:41] Speaker B: He could be a great person off the bench coming out for Terry because your starting lineup, you got Terry Rosier, hero, hero. Jimmy bucket and bam.
[00:43:53] Speaker A: Yeah, bam's at five. Who's at the four?
[00:43:55] Speaker B: Bam's at five. And then maybe Haquez, you could do.
[00:44:01] Speaker C: But yeah, no, I think, like Trey said, the line, wright's always been known as a defensive kind of point guard, and I think him and Tyler hero's game kind of offset each other perfectly because I feel like Tyler Hero is more offensive based.
[00:44:15] Speaker B: Oh, yes.
[00:44:15] Speaker C: Definitely can get you a bucket when you need one.
[00:44:19] Speaker B: As long as he's healthy.
[00:44:20] Speaker C: The lawn Wright can clamp any other team's got.
There's some top end guards that you can't guard no matter how hard you try. But he's one of those two way players that can lock in on defense.
[00:44:34] Speaker B: And especially coming off the bench for Terry because Terry is kind of more offensive base and kind of more of a, I guess you could say, undersized guard.
[00:44:42] Speaker A: Yeah, man, Miami's looking scary, man. Like, they're making the right moves. They've made the right moves. This trade deadline, I know for a fact that they're going to have to see New York in the playoffs.
[00:44:53] Speaker B: That's going to be an amazing.
People that just don't watch basketball will be like, eh, but that's going to be a really good playoff. That's going to be something I'm definitely wanting to tune into and that you all should tune into, too. But anyways, that's going to do it for this episode. You all got anything to say before we sign off?
[00:45:14] Speaker A: Honestly? Shoot. Thank you all for listening and hope you all be back next week.
[00:45:19] Speaker C: Same. And I got team west in the all star game.
[00:45:22] Speaker B: Okay. And I got Mac McClung for the dunk contest. But Jame Hawkez is going to do good. But anyways, Sabrina is going to beat.
[00:45:29] Speaker A: Steph in the three point.
[00:45:31] Speaker B: I actually agree with that. I actually agree with that. But anyways, that's going to do it for this episode. Thank you all for tuning in and we'll be back next week. Peace.
