Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: WVUAFM Tuscaloosa.
[00:00:13] Speaker B: Welcome back to WVUAFM 90.7 Capstone's MBA student section. I'm your host, Zachary Elrod and here with me is Trey Simpson. We got a wonderful show for y'all today. We're going to be getting into our NBA news and for our new segment of the week, grade that pick in honor of the NBA cup starting up this week. And we're also going to be giving out our awards for the week in our last segment. So stay tuned and it's going to be a great show. So let's get straight into it. Trey, NBA News.
There's an update on Gregg Popovich saying that he suffered a mild stroke on November 2nd and is expected to make a full recovery. The timeline is not sure on his return, so, you know, very grateful that Greg Popovich was able to make a recovery. Did not know it was a, you know, mild stroke. So I'm glad he's okay though. But it's definitely good for the Spurs. They've been on, I believe they're on a two game win streak right now, so that's good for the interim coach. What do you think about the spurs right now? I know you were talking about it before the show. Victor Wembanyama dropping 50.
[00:01:23] Speaker A: Yeah, the spurs look really good right now. I'm liking what I'm seeing from everybody, specifically Chris, Paul and Wimby. I'm loving their two man game.
I man. So Han was injured so I didn't get to see him play, you know, last night. But he's a key piece that I'm, you know, waiting to return.
Who. What's his first name? Is it Trey Jones? It's not Ty Jones, right?
[00:01:46] Speaker B: Yeah. Tynes.
[00:01:47] Speaker A: Yes. Okay, my bad. Tyus Jones. Yeah, he's been doing pretty good for him. I'm liking what I see from him. Like just as a.
[00:01:56] Speaker B: Or no, it is Trey Jones. Not okay. It's Ty Jones, the guy on the Suns.
[00:02:01] Speaker A: Got you. Yeah. Okay, my bad. Just like for the brand of spurs basketball, like their ball movement and like everybody getting involved, I'm like appreciating it more because, you know, it was a time, you know, in their time period where they kind of weren't passing like as much as they should. I'm not even going to say like specifically Wimby or whatever, but just the ball movement in general wasn't there.
[00:02:23] Speaker B: They're starting to put the pieces together. Yeah.
[00:02:25] Speaker A: Yeah. Everybody was kind of quick to just kind of chuck up threes with like a lot of time on the shot clock, but they're getting more into an offense in the rhythm. I'm liking what I see from everybody. I just want them to keep the momentum going. And like you said, to your point, glad that Coach Pop is okay. You know, we wish you a speedy recovery and we can't wait to have you back out on. Back out there on the court.
[00:02:46] Speaker B: We talked about it in the previous episode last week. You know, it's Greg Popovich, one of the greatest all time head coaches in basketball history. So to have him back will be good for them. But obviously we said we don't know when he's going to return. Don't want to rush that. You know, Greg Popovich, we want him to stay healthy and you know, he's a human being at the end of the day. So outside of basketball, we want him to stay healthy and just be ready to come back when he's ready. But yeah. Victor Wembanyama dropped 50, 18, 29 shooting. He shot and made eight threes. He's eight for 16 from three. I mean, dude, let's just picture that. A seven footer taking 16 threes.
[00:03:29] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:03:30] Speaker B: That's insane. And he made eight of them.
[00:03:32] Speaker A: Yeah. Watching it live, man, like it didn't matter where he like whether he was like right at the three point line or a little bit behind, like about 5, 10ft. He's pulling it because like who can contest him?
[00:03:43] Speaker B: It's a free throw, dude.
[00:03:44] Speaker A: Yeah, like pulling it with confidence. Like I'm liking the confidence I'm seeing from Wemby.
[00:03:49] Speaker B: He's always had that confidence. Rookie year is just whether or not he was going to make that shot, you know, whether it's overshooting under because you know, he's a big. It's. I can't imagine being that tall. It's like shooting on, you know, a mini hoop. You know, you never, you can never really control it. You know what I'm saying? So for him to be able to shoot at a high clip he is shooting at right now, I mean he is scary. Is the least like, you know, the least I could say about Victor webinar dropping 50 against the Washington Wizards. Also shout out to Jordan Poole. I mean, combated that with 42 points. It's a pool party out in Washington. I mean they lost, but you know, it's good to see that he's starting to get back to his old self. What do you think about that, Trey?
[00:04:35] Speaker A: Yeah, I'm gonna be honest. I didn't catch the Wizards game like to Watch it. But I saw the highlights, you know. Of course the highlights made him look polished, but what was the shooting percentage? Right quick.
[00:04:48] Speaker B: 15 for 22, 6 for 9 from 3. So.
[00:04:51] Speaker A: Okay. Yeah, nah, that was. That's a real solid performance. Like, I don't think you could have asked for a better game out of JP that night.
He definitely has to step up because, I mean, I haven't heard a thing from Kuzma. What about you?
[00:05:03] Speaker B: Like, yeah, Kuzma, he had 10 points that night. I haven't really heard much from Kuz either, especially out of last season because he was that star caliber guy. And everybody's saying how Kyle Kuzma is actually stepping up to the plate, but I mean, he's not this year. So it's almost like they're kind of reversing roles from last year, which if you're a Wizards fan, you don't like that. But I mean, they got some things looking up for him. They got cool Bali, the rookie or not the rookie, but I think he's in his third year.
[00:05:31] Speaker A: Alex R. Right, Alex, he had like 22 last night, right?
[00:05:35] Speaker B: Or I don't know if it was.
[00:05:37] Speaker A: 25, maybe not last night, but you.
[00:05:41] Speaker B: Know, when they played he had 12 versus the Spurs. Yeah, so. But I mean he looks really solid. Especially I remember watching Alex Saar, I believe in the Mexico City game, I mean he was the way he can put it on the floor, dude, and just like move like a guard. At his size, I mean that could be invaluable for the Wizards in the future. And then Kou Abali looks really good. You know, he didn't really have the greatest rookie season and they knew he was going to be a project player, but I mean at his size and length with his wingspan, dude. And he's really just starting to, you know, he's starting to come alive. He only had six points in versus spurs, but he's starting to show flashes of what he can really be for this team. So shout out to the Wizards and Spurs. We're going to get on with Assar Thompson finally being cleared to play after being out since March due to a blood clot. So, you know, we haven't really heard much of Assar Thompson due to that. And Eamon Thompson has been pretty solid. So good to see A Sar Thompson back on the court, especially for the Pistons because you know, they could use a high level defender like Assar. You know, especially coming out of last year's draft. Really dynamic him and Aman. Just freakish. Athletes can defend At a high level. So, yeah, I really like what I. I have seen out of Assar Thompson and Aman. It's just been a really big issue of them staying healthy. I know Aman had some ankle problems last year, and then with the SAR and his blood clot, I'm just. I'm excited to see him, and I'm. I can't wait to see him on the court, you know, in a matter of time. So. But going on, talking about injuries, I know the Pelicans, their entire roster's out. Dude, we were just talking about it before the show. What do you think about the Pels right now? I mean.
[00:07:31] Speaker A: Yeah, first of all, Dejounte Murray, he got hurt early.
You know, that was a big hit for them, you know, so that sucks for. For the pills. But McCollum, Herb Jones, Hawk. Yeah, all of that hurts.
[00:07:49] Speaker B: All of that hurts.
[00:07:50] Speaker A: That's, like, almost their whole core.
[00:07:51] Speaker B: And then Zion's. Well, what's new? Zion's out. And then they got Jordan Hawkins out. Jose Alvarado, I mean, he's been out.
[00:08:00] Speaker A: Defense, man, he's the momentum guy for him.
[00:08:02] Speaker B: He is the momentum guy for him. So all they really got on their team right now is, like, Brandon Ingram. I watched him play just the other night versus. I think it was OKC.
[00:08:11] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:08:12] Speaker B: And obviously OKC dominated him, ended up winning 106 to 88. I mean, I saw Jaden Williams had that crazy dunk, too, in traffic.
[00:08:23] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:08:24] Speaker B: I mean, it's that Thunder team stacked. I know they got. They do have some key players missing. Isaiah Hartenstein. Isaiah Hartenstein, Chet. And then they also got Alex Caruso out.
[00:08:36] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:08:36] Speaker B: So we don't even. I mean, this Thunder team isn't even fully healthy either. So they could be even more scary than they were versus the Pels. But this Pelicans team missing six players. I mean, it almost seems like the Memphis Grizzlies last year when you say Trey.
[00:08:52] Speaker A: Yeah. When they were missing Ja, Jerry Jackson. And didn't they miss Gigi Jackson, too, at this all at the same time?
[00:09:01] Speaker B: I don't know if it was last year. Gigi Jackson was healthy. I think it's Marcus Smart. And Desmond Bane was out, too, I think.
[00:09:07] Speaker A: Yeah, he was out the other night. He would know what, he was playing another night or was he?
[00:09:11] Speaker B: Marcus Smart was playing last night, and then Jaren Ja was out.
[00:09:15] Speaker A: Yeah. Jaws out. Desmond Bane. I thought he was playing. I think he was. No, he might have been in street. Let's check. But yeah, to the point of. Okay. The Grizzlies still look solid though. I mean, because we're going to talk about that later. But like just last night when they were playing the Lakers. Now, yes, the Lakers got the win. Kudos to them. Shout out my team. But like, we still almost, you know, lost to a jealous Grizzlies.
[00:09:43] Speaker B: Y'all did. I mean, Jaren Jackson had 29 on the night, Scottie Pippen Jr. 15. But yeah, they were missing a lot of key pieces. Marcus Smart was playing, Desmond Bane was not playing.
[00:09:56] Speaker A: Yeah. So missing Desmond. Yeah. So if they're missing that and we almost lost, like, I mean, hey, that's, that should be a wake up call. Guys like, hey, but yeah, to the Memphis, like, I just want everybody to get back on the court, man, because, you know, we, we all know how entertaining of players those are, but man.
[00:10:18] Speaker B: And can we talk about, can we talk about LeBron James?
[00:10:21] Speaker A: Oh, yeah.
[00:10:22] Speaker B: Three triple doubles in a row. I mean, obviously the oldest in NBA history to do it. I mean, it goes without mentioning, you know What I'm saying?
[00:10:32] Speaker A: 16 and 13 assists too. It's because it was a point that was made that when he was running point guard, you know, in the 2020 season when we won the ring, LeBron was running point guard and that was the year when he let the league in assist. So it's almost like I do remember that he's on the same trend this time.
[00:10:49] Speaker B: It does. And he's just, I mean, I remember watching the first quarter that he had that first quarter buzzer beater and stuff, just heaved it. I mean, just everything he was shooting was really just going in. And like you said, him putting him at that point guard position, it's not a bad move. And I know JJ Redick is really keen on that. And you even got guys like Austin Reeves in the backcourt too. And you know, he's not afraid to handle the rock. And you know, benching D'Angelo Russell for Cam Reddish, you know, seems like the best move for the team. I mean, you really gotta do it, especially with the effort he was giving on both sides of the court, just wasn't really there.
[00:11:28] Speaker A: Yeah, we don't expect DLO to stay on the bench, but it should be a wake up call for him. Yeah, like if you're just going to chuck up shots and then not get back on D, we're not saying you can't shoot, but like get back, hustle back and make the effort play. You're not even making the effort play for us. We don't want that on the court.
[00:11:42] Speaker B: You got to at least slide your feet. You got to at least stay in front.
[00:11:46] Speaker A: Yep.
[00:11:46] Speaker B: You know, I mean, just to let a guy just blow by you or like you said, not even get back on defense, you got to at least give effort, man. I mean, you got to give JJ being, you know, first year coach, he can even see, you know, it doesn't take a lot to see that you're not given effort. And J.J. redick, I really appreciate that he's doing that because he's a legit coach. I mean, he's a legit, you know, he's really trying to put his stamp on this Lakers team. He's not intimidated by any of the fans or any other pre notions of people trying to put input, their idea or their identity on the team. And I really appreciate that from JJ. You know, they're 7 and 4 right now, the Lakers, they look pretty solid, dude, so. And Dalton Canette, I know you love. I know you love Mr. Connect.
[00:12:35] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. He's been on a tear, didn't. Wasn't he?
No, I don't want to say he was perfect from the three, but I saw a stat where it was like.
[00:12:44] Speaker B: Six for, like, he was five for five.
[00:12:46] Speaker A: Okay. Yeah. Okay. That's what it was. Yeah. Five for five from three. Yeah, man. I said in the beginning of the season before we started, man, shout out Connect four, bro. I'm liking what he's. What I see from him. He's going to definitely be like, honestly, I don't know why he's not in the starting spot yet.
[00:13:02] Speaker B: Honestly, you could start him over Cam Reddish. They're probably just doing that just to kind of. He's a rookie. And he also brings that, you know, that firepower off the bench because, I mean, he really has been amazing at his size, you know, being able to shoot the three like that. He's. He's been pretty consistent for them overall. So I. And an absolute steal out of the draft. I mean, for him to fall that far in the first round.
[00:13:29] Speaker A: Yeah, that was a steal.
I got to give props to Anthony Davis, too. You know, I'm always advocating for AD because, I mean, we have to like, when he's performing like he's performing, we got to give him his credit because.
[00:13:40] Speaker B: We never know MVP caliber season, honestly. Yeah, yeah. He's playing at a very high level.
[00:13:46] Speaker A: Yeah. Because like you said, I mean, this is like where the coaching comes in. See, we don't know what Darvin Ham was doing, but JJ has specifically, like, said, okay, we're gonna flip it the offensive load shouldn't be on LeBron. He should be facilitating like he's doing. The offense has to flow through AD first and you know, that's what's creating everything else. But yeah, so good job one coaching Mr. Reddick. Coach Redick.
[00:14:16] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. I mean they look really, really good on, you know, overall. Rui's back too. Shout out Rui. I mean, Rui's just been really invaluable for them, especially that power forward position. I mean, his ability to run the floor, be ready, whether it's dunks, threes. I mean the dude can really just do it all and he's a good guy. That actually came out of Washington. So, you know, just to throw it back to Washington for a little bit. But anyways, that is going to do it. You are listening to the NBA student section on 90.7 the Capstone. And we will be right back after the short break. Don't go away.
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Welcome back to the NBA student section. We're back and we're getting into our grade that pick segment. Now, how this is going to work. We're going to look at the NBA Cup. We're going to look at each group, you know, West A, West B, West C, East. You know how it is. We're going to look at each group of the NBA cup and we're going to also look at the picks made by NBA players themselves. Now we have a variety of NBA players here. We got Ja Morant, we got Victor Wembanyama Dame. So we're going to be going through at least as many as we can this segment. As many of this 15 minutes rely or, you know, give us and we're gonna, you know, grade each pick. We're gonna see, you know, John Morant's picks and we're gonna give it a B plus, you get the gist.
[00:16:17] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:16:18] Speaker B: So going through it, Ja Morantz for West A. Now keep in mind in West A we got the T Wolves, Clippers, Kings, Rockets and Blazers. And for West A, John Morant picked the Sacramento Kings.
Now, T Wolves have been struggling. Blazers. I don't even think we have to get into that discussion. Clippers up and down Rockets.
So what do you think, Trey? How do you think? Do you verify this pick Kings.
[00:16:51] Speaker A: To me, that one could have went either way with the Kings.
[00:16:54] Speaker B: Or the Timberwolves, but Timberwolves have been struggling. I feel like the Rockets are kind of more of a sleeper team when it comes to that.
[00:17:01] Speaker A: Yeah, I can verify that pick. The Kings have been hooping.
[00:17:04] Speaker B: All righty.
[00:17:04] Speaker A: Sabonis and yeah, I second that.
[00:17:08] Speaker B: Now going to West B. Now keep in mind, we got okc, Phoenix, the Phoenix Suns, Trays, Lakers. And then we got the Jazz and the Spurs. Now he picked okc.
Seems like a really fair pick.
[00:17:23] Speaker A: Fair pick.
[00:17:24] Speaker B: The Suns have been. Suns have been hooping.
[00:17:27] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:17:28] Speaker B: Spurs under the radar team. The Jazz don't even need to. Lakers. Hey, NBA Cup.
Reigning NBA cup champions.
I don't know. I feel like I could verify this pick. This under. It seems like an obvious pick, but I think you really. I know the Suns have gone through injuries, but you still can't sleep on them.
[00:17:51] Speaker A: I was just about to say me personally.
Now, like you said, the safe choice is okc, but the way the Suns have been playing. Well, okay, that was before KD got. Well.
Yeah, I was about to say the Suns, but KD just got hurt and that was like basically their momentum. I mean, Bradley Bill's been hooping. Devin, they won their first up and down, but he's been hooping for the most part. Like at the end of the stat line, he might just have crazy shooting percentages.
[00:18:16] Speaker B: True.
[00:18:16] Speaker A: But they still end up, you know, handling business.
[00:18:20] Speaker B: They won their first group game versus the Utah Jazz. Just keep that in mind.
[00:18:25] Speaker A: Yeah, I say to me, it can go. Honestly, I don't even want to sleep on the Lakers either. Like, I'm not even trying to be biased. Like just. Okay, totally. And take myself out of the equation from being a fan.
They've been hooping just as good.
Not just. Well, like almost as good. You know, those two teams before.
[00:18:45] Speaker B: So that's fair.
[00:18:46] Speaker A: I can't even sleep on them. Honestly, it could go either way. But like, the best case though, you can make the best case for the Thunder. Like, they the minimum going into it, but we know when awards are on the line and things like that. Now we know how the Lakers get. We know how we saw them last year. But I'm going be honest.
I'm still not going to pick them right now. I'm going to go with the Thunder. My second choice would have been the Suns because honestly, I think the Lakers. I think we're still kind of figuring it out. Like, you know, especially like with kind of figuring out like our point guard situation. Like, you know, we don't know if it's LeBron or DLO or, you know, whoever. Maybe even Austin Reeves at times, but everybody on it could handle the ball. Like, we're not. I mean, every. We're playing positionless basketball, so to speak. So, yeah, I'm gonna go with the Thunder. I'm going.
[00:19:36] Speaker B: I feel like I can verify that pick. I really like the Kings pick. Now moving on to West C, we got the Nuggets, my Mavericks, which have been thumbs down. A womp womp, if you will. A little sound effect there. But yeah, the maps have not been doing good anyways. We got the Pels, who, you know, injuries, warriors who have been on the rise. Big thumbs up from me. Big thumbs up from Trey. I can see it over there. And then the Memphis Grizzlies, who have gone through injuries too. They're without their star player. But obviously we gotta. I forgot to mention too, knowing NBA players, they're obviously gonna pick their team. So when grading, obviously, John Morant picked. You know, he picked the Memphis Grizzlies. But when grading, let's take that into account. Kind of negate that. So Memphis, we already know that west wild card. He picked the Pelicans.
[00:20:29] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:20:30] Speaker B: Which in his tents, you know, is before injuries happen. But, I mean, Pelicans is still an interesting pick. I know for the West. You could have gone.
I mean, west wild card. You could have gone the T. Wolves. You could have gone the Lakers. You could have gone the Lakers, the Nuggets. I mean, the war. There's so many other picks. I feel like right now I would have gone with probably the warriors or the Lakers.
[00:20:58] Speaker A: Yeah. For a wild card.
[00:21:00] Speaker B: For the wild card, maybe even.
I mean, if we're talking about present tense right now, obviously you would pick the Warriors. But knowing Kim in the past, I would probably.
I think you could go a lot of different ways. But that Lakers, warriors, you know, between them two. I know it's kind of the obvious picks between, you know, the two big names, the league, but like, you really can't go on wrong with either one. And then obviously, I think teams like the Rockets or Clippers could sneak in that conversation. And then the Nuggets are just, you.
[00:21:33] Speaker A: Know, I was just about to say, like, I'm not sleeping on Denver.
Yeah, I'm not sleeping on Denver.
[00:21:42] Speaker B: I think a wild card for me between this. I think I gotta go with the warriors, you know, just to critique a little bit.
[00:21:51] Speaker A: But, like, I don't know, they're 8 and 1, man. I wouldn't give them the wild card. Like, that's what I'm saying I didn't want to give the Lakers wild card either.
[00:21:57] Speaker B: True.
[00:21:57] Speaker A: We're seven and four. We're positive. Three. But yeah, I would say, I mean, the pick like Pelicans, like before injuries. Yeah, I would say they're a good wild card pick because, I mean, I like, they're lethal, bro. I've been to multiple games. Like, they're. When they're on, they're on. They're like, that's every team in the league for, to be honest. But, man, I don't know. The Pelicans are like the sneaky team that's going to sneak up on you because they're not like as big of a name like franchise wise. And the players that are on there, like, I mean, yeah, Brandon Ingram, C.J. mcCollum, but you know, C.J. is hurt right now. BI is going to put a lot of pressure on him, you know, and missing guys like Herb Jones and Jose, man, that hurts him. So, like that full team, healthy. I would give them the wild card just because it's like we're sleeping. Like, we would be more likely to sleep on them before, like the other names.
[00:22:49] Speaker B: Mm.
[00:22:50] Speaker A: So yeah, I agree with that pick, though, the wild card pick. I agree with that. You said the warriors, though.
[00:22:55] Speaker B: I feel like that. Or the Rockets, Honestly, I kind of want to do like more of a sleeper team. I'll get rid of the warriors, just. But like, if I was him, because he picked Memphis, obviously because it's John Morant, but I would have picked the warriors knowing now, I think I would pick the Rockets. Honestly, the Rockets are kind of. They. They have some real talent on that team and I could see them kind of sneaking into the conversation like you were mentioning Tre. I mean, after the group stages, it goes to knockout round, which is, you know, single elimination, so anything can really happen. So if they make it out of this group stage, who knows, they can get hot as of late in the NBA Cup. So moving on to the east now in East A, we got the Knicks, Magic, Sixers, Nets and the Hornets. Now Ja Morant picked the Sixers. That's not looking too hot right now. Obviously they got some good pieces in Jerry McCain. I know today, not today, but Thursday, Joel Embiid and Paul George won't be able to play due to left knee. Left knee issues, both of them. So, you know, kind of a shame there. But for me, I'd pick the Magic because the Magic have been on a tear recently. Four game win streak. I mean, that's me personally. The Hornets I was just about to say, man. You were about to.
[00:24:18] Speaker A: Yeah. Well, not for, like, the pick of, like, out of that group, but, like I say, for the wild card. Like, I would give it to the Hornets just because they're a sleeper.
[00:24:25] Speaker B: What about the Nets, though? No, the Nets have been. They've shown.
[00:24:30] Speaker A: Cam Thomas has been balling glimpses. I need their full piece because Ben Simmons isn't the leader to do it.
[00:24:38] Speaker B: Cam Johnson has been doing his thing. Nick Claxton, Dennis Schroeder, I mean, you can't. That's the man from Germany right there, man. We can't forget about what Dennis did back in the Olympic qualifiers. You remember that?
[00:24:51] Speaker A: Yeah. We can't even forget the role that Dennis played in our 2020 ring for the Lakers. Like, he was him and Rondo, man. Key pieces.
[00:24:58] Speaker B: Yeah.
Anyways, for my pick, I would go with the Magic. Would you say again, Trey, for your pick for East A.
[00:25:05] Speaker A: For that one, I'm gonna go with the Knicks, man. Now, I ain't gonna lie. I do agree with you on the point of, like, the Orlando Magic is probably gonna win it, but, like, my pick, because I kind of want to be different a little bit. I just go with the Knicks. I respect that because, man, they've shown glimpses, too, but, like, they've kind of figured it out.
[00:25:23] Speaker B: Yeah, they got to figure it out. Yeah, they got to figure out the dynamic of the team. Jalen Brunson, they added a lot of key pieces, and it's. Yeah, they need to figure some stuff out over there.
[00:25:33] Speaker A: Shout out my boy Josh Hart.
[00:25:34] Speaker B: Shout out the boy Josh Hart. Going on to East B, we got the Milwaukee Bucks, the Pacers, the Heat, Raptors, and the Pistons. Now, John Morant ended up picking the Bucks, which is, yeah, looking then, I would agree with. But now it's just obviously not a great pick right now. I would pick the Pacers. That's just my personal preference.
[00:26:00] Speaker A: I mean, what do you. I'm not gonna lie, bro.
[00:26:03] Speaker B: The Pacers are. That's just what I think.
[00:26:07] Speaker A: Yeah, I can see that.
I'm already trying to get my wild card, man. I'm already gonna give it to.
[00:26:13] Speaker B: I feel like you're gonna say Miami.
[00:26:14] Speaker A: No, the Pistons.
[00:26:16] Speaker B: Oh, I like that, bro.
[00:26:17] Speaker A: Pistons, bro. I'm gonna be honest, because K. Cunningham like you. What? You. You said Jerry McCain. He's. Yeah.
[00:26:24] Speaker B: No, not Jerry McCain. That's sixer. You mean Jaden Ivey?
[00:26:28] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, Jaden Ivy. Yeah, I get him mixed up. Yeah. Yeah, I'm. I'll take that. As my wild card pick now to win.
I ain't gonna lie out of these choices, man. Like on paper it's supposed to be the Bucks, right? But I can't even say Miami because they've been.
[00:26:47] Speaker B: Yeah, Jimmy Butler has not been a factor. Bam had some great and tower heroes starting to come up. I mean he had a 40 point bomb just the other night. I mean, I don't know Jaime Hawkes.
I just don't really know how to feel about the Heat. Eric Spoelstra with the Heat. I just don't really know how to feel about that anymore. He culture, I don't know if it's still burning, you know.
[00:27:09] Speaker A: I can't sleep on the Raptors though. Like true factor. I haven't mentioned them yet, but like just watching them play in games, like I can't sleep on the Raptors because Scotty Barnes, you know R.J. barrett. Well, I think Scotty Barnes has been outright a little bit. Yeah. So. But RJ Barris though, he's been picking up the Slag and it's a couple other players on there. I can't just remember their names off the top of my head. But I'm not sleep on the Raptors. But I don't think like man, I. It's hard to make a decision right here on these guys. I'm gonna pick though paces. I'll agree with you. Matter of fact, no, now I'm agree with you.
[00:27:44] Speaker B: I want to mention though, the Pistons did beat the Heat in overtime by two points on the opening day for the NBA Cup. Also going back to East A, the Magic beat the Hornets. Both of our picks went at it. Magic beat the Hornets, ended up winning. But I mean Pistons aren't really a bad pick for the esp. But you're going Pacers.
[00:28:06] Speaker A: Yeah. To like to make it out of that group. But like I said, my wild card pick, my sleeper pig is the Pistons.
[00:28:12] Speaker B: Yeah, I had to go, I had to agree with you on the Pacers pick, Trey. So Pacers it is going on to East C. We got the Celtics, the Cavs, who have been, I mean on fire to say the least. 13 game. I mean 13 wins, zero losses. The Bulls, we also got the Bulls, we got the Hawks and we got the Wizards. Now Ja Morant picked the Celtics, which so obvious pick they ended up losing to the Hawks on Tuesday in overtime by one point which is just, I mean credits to the Hawks. Dude, they had all the way down the line. They had people contributing, whether it's Jalen Johnson, Okongu they had Zachary, you know, the rookie contributing and they also had Trey Young doing his thing.
[00:28:59] Speaker A: Is Clint Capella still hurt? I think he is, right?
[00:29:01] Speaker B: Clint Capella? I don't think he is.
Clint Capella was healthy. He had 18, 18 and 9, which is good for Clint. And then Deshari only had eight points. But Dyson Daniels, the man of the night, 28 points. I mean, the man out of Australia, dude, he, you know, he got traded out of, I believe New Orleans. He was traded out of New Orleans to the Hawks. I never, I didn't think he, I didn't know really how it was going to work. I know he was a great, you know, two way player as far as, you know, on the defensive end, but I mean, he's, he's coming alive in Atlanta. And I don't even think they had Trae Young that game. Trae Young did not even play that game. I'm mistaken. That's crazy. Beating the Celtics without your star player.
I mean that's, that's pretty wild. Larry Nance Jr. Shout out to you too. 19 points, 5 for 6 from 3 is just bonkers. Anyways, going to the wild card spot. The Knicks was John Morant's wild card spot for the East. And you said yours is the Pistons, right, Trey?
[00:30:07] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:30:08] Speaker B: All right. I gotta, me personally, I really like that Pistons pick, but I think I have to go with the Nets. I will go with the Nets just because, you know, they've been heating up a little bit. And also to go back to E.C. i know we mentioned that his pick were the Celtics. Now between the Celtics, Cavs, Bulls, Hawks and Wizards, who do you think, Trey, to backtrack a little bit.
[00:30:37] Speaker A: Hey, look unbiased because they're on the crazy run that they're on now. Man, 13 0. I got to go with Cleveland.
[00:30:46] Speaker B: Cleveland.
[00:30:46] Speaker A: Yeah, because I, you know, now I'm not saying that they're going to just beat the Celtics, but at the same time we're just going to have to wait and see. But I got to give the Cavaliers credit, man. I have to.
[00:31:00] Speaker B: I want to pick the Hawks just because they beat the Celtics, but I can't. I feel like I really want to pick this Bulls team. I just, I don't know why. I'm just always attracted to the Chicago Bulls. Maybe it's because one of their guys name is Zach. I don't know, I'm not sure. But I mean that Cavs pick, you really just can't go wrong with it either. So for me, in the spirit of difference oh, yeah. Differentiality.
[00:31:28] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:31:29] Speaker B: I'm going to go with the Bulls.
[00:31:31] Speaker A: And speaking of Zach, you know, I mean, this is off topic to, like, what we were just talking about, but I still want Zach Levine on the Lakers.
[00:31:38] Speaker B: On the Lakers. He's been balling out. He just dropped, like, 31.
[00:31:43] Speaker A: Swap him out for D. Lo, man.
Straight up. Swap him out.
[00:31:47] Speaker B: Straight up.
[00:31:48] Speaker A: Straight up.
[00:31:49] Speaker B: That would be like. That would be the steal of the.
[00:31:52] Speaker A: Yeah. Matter of fact, go ahead and throw. Nah, we can't give up. I ain't gonna lie. No. Mando's been hurt for a minute, bro. I ain't gonna lie. You know I'm always asking for Vanderbilt.
[00:31:59] Speaker B: Chilling.
[00:32:00] Speaker A: Yeah, but, like, we need him on the court, man.
[00:32:03] Speaker B: People have kind of just forgotten about him.
[00:32:05] Speaker A: I have. Like. I mean, I haven't.
[00:32:07] Speaker B: Like, I've tried to. I've tried to remember his name, but I. I can't help for. But forget him either. Well, I mean, he's just not on the court. It's pretty crazy. But, I mean, he's. When he did play, many, many moons ago, he was great for y'all.
[00:32:24] Speaker A: I mean, I was his biggest advocate.
[00:32:26] Speaker B: You were. I mean, I remember last year, dude, you. All you talked about was Jared Vanderbilt.
[00:32:31] Speaker A: Yeah.
So, yeah, I don't want to give him up, but if he's not going, I ain't gonna lie. Let me just stop talking. I'm just yapping right now. Yeah, I'm just yapping.
[00:32:39] Speaker B: We're just yapping about Jared Vanderbilt.
[00:32:42] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:32:43] Speaker B: Anyways. Yeah. John Morant, overall, what do you think? What would you grade his picks solid?
[00:32:50] Speaker A: I'll go ahead and give him a minus because we. To me, he only had a couple, like, picks that I was like, okay, swap this out.
[00:32:58] Speaker B: But, like, I think with the Bucks, and then you got to think.
[00:33:02] Speaker A: He picked the Sixers, though, to make it. Nah. All right.
[00:33:08] Speaker B: Which, you know, you gotta think in context. You know, this is when they're healthy.
[00:33:12] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:33:12] Speaker B: I feel like for an NBA cup setting, I'd give this, like, a B. B minus, maybe. I feel like I'll give him a B, though. I'll give him a B.
[00:33:22] Speaker A: No doubt.
[00:33:23] Speaker B: What about you?
[00:33:24] Speaker A: Yeah, B. I'm gonna change mine to, like, B plus. B. Yeah, B plus B. But, like, I'll go with B plus, since that was, like, my original answer.
[00:33:31] Speaker B: All right. B plus. Anyways, let's get through this one. Victor Wembanyama. I think we have time for one more. I know that took a while, but now that we know the format of the NBA Cup.
So for Victor Wembanyama, for West A, he picked the Clippers.
That's interesting. West B, he picked the spurs, obviously, for West B, Wesley ended up going with the Mavericks. Now for this, as an unbiased fan, that's a huge thumbs down because we are not playing good basketball right now. For his wild card spot for the west, he picked the Nuggets. Thumbs up for me. I mean, you can't go wrong with the Nuggets, East A, the Knicks, I mean, up and down, but at the end of the day, they can make a run. East B, the Pacers ec, the Celtics, which it's not really surprising. Most of the people here pick the Celtics. And then with the east wild card, he picked the Bucs. Now, the Bucs is interesting because, you know, you can't count on Giannis and Dame. So I agree with, I think I could agree with the Bucs. Now for West A, with the Clippers, I thought that was really interesting, especially going away from that Kings pick. But I feel like even the Wolves.
[00:34:45] Speaker A: Like I said, I know you said they've gotten like, you know, they're kind of on a decline right now. I agree with that statement, but. But like, I just don't want to count them out, man, because, you know, just the energy ant's going to bring and like, you know, Nas Reed, even Julius Randall, like, I think they're going to step it up for this tournament. I actually think so. I think they're going to prove some of the critics wrong.
[00:35:05] Speaker B: Now for West C, I can't go like the Mavericks. Nah. I mean, we just, I get, we just, you know, in context, we just came off of a finals appearance. I mean, lost in five games. But I mean, you still got the warriors in there, you got the Pels, you got the, you know, you got all those people and to put them in the front seat behind, you know, in front of the Nuggets.
So for that, as of right now, present day, that's a thumbs down. And then for the west wild card, the Nuggets, you can't go wrong with that. And then for East A, with the Knicks, you could go either way. Right now, I know my pick is, you know, the Orlando Magic just because they've been red hot, especially without Paula Benchero, which, you know, is a very key player for them in his scoring and really everything he does for the Magic.
[00:35:57] Speaker A: Yep.
[00:35:58] Speaker B: So for this, overall, I think it's better than John Morant. So I would probably give it, I'd give it an A minus. I think I'd give it an A minus. I'll be generous. I'll give it an A minus. I think this is for the setting. I think it's a pretty solid pick. Maybe a B plus. I might. I'll go B plus. I'll go B plus because I don't want to be too, too generous.
[00:36:22] Speaker A: I was gonna give him B plus, so, like. Yeah, I'll agree with you on that.
[00:36:25] Speaker B: Agree with the B plus. Now. You think we got time for one more?
[00:36:30] Speaker A: Yeah, we go and knock it.
[00:36:32] Speaker B: Well, I mean, we'll sneak in one more.
[00:36:34] Speaker A: Yeah, we'll sneak in one more.
[00:36:35] Speaker B: Real quick. Now, Damien Lord, he picked for West A. He beat the Kings. West B, okc, you know, you can't really go wrong with that. Wesley Memphis with a wild card for the west, he got the Lakers, so your Lakers Trey, East A, he got the Knicks. East B, no surprise here. He got the Bucks, ec, the Celtics. And for the wild card for the east, he had the 76ers.
[00:37:00] Speaker A: I'm not going to lie. This is a solid list. Just going down everything we just reviewed because we don't have to, like, you know, I ain't going to lie. I'll give it an A. I'll give.
[00:37:08] Speaker B: It an A minus. I think this is better than the list we've seen previously. Kingston, okc, all of that pick Memphis, they're hurt, but you can't really count them out because they're pretty competitive with the Lakers. The Lakers is a wild card pick.
[00:37:22] Speaker A: And that's true because we don't know, you know, what AD we're gonna get. We don't know, like, just the squad we're gonna get. Sometimes they come out flat, other times they come out ready to get it. I can agree with that pick, them being a wild card.
[00:37:34] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:37:34] Speaker A: Unbiased.
[00:37:35] Speaker B: And then East A with the Knicks, I mean, I could agree with that, too, Even though the recent struggles EC with the Celtics, you can't go wrong with that. Bucks now haven't aged right. But that's his team, so we can't really grade it on that because he's obviously going to go with his team. And then with the Sixers as the wild card, I mean, you know, they've had injuries, but I think it's safe to say that's a great pick. So I. I think easy A minus. I think you could even lean towards the A range. I'll go with A minus just to be safe, though. Final picture.
[00:38:04] Speaker A: Yeah, I gave him an A.
[00:38:06] Speaker B: A. Yeah, I gave him a. I think That's a great, you know, great draft choice for Damian Lillard. Now, that's going to do it for the grade the pick segment. We'll be right back with more NBA student section. You are listening to the 90.7, the capstone. And we'll be right back after the short.
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Welcome back to the NBA student section. We're back, and we gotta get it rolling. You know, we're almost out of time, so awards of the week. Let's get straight into it. Trey, you want to go first?
[00:39:27] Speaker A: I know this is probably the obvious pick, but I'm going to have to go ahead and give one of my standout players to Wemby. Victor Wembanyama. He just dropped 50. Thought he was going to crack 60, but they took him out just to, you know, make sure he doesn't get hurt or whatever. And then he kind of, like, got into a shooting slump at the end, so it was just good to take him out. He gets an award.
[00:39:44] Speaker B: What about standout team?
[00:39:46] Speaker A: Standout team.
I'm gonna give it to them.
Oh.
I'm gonna give it to the Warriors.
[00:39:56] Speaker B: Warriors, Yep. I mean, they upset, you know, Klay Thompson's debut back in, what you call it, Golden State. Yeah.
[00:40:06] Speaker A: But, yeah, I gotta give it to the warriors just simply because, like, man, I know Steph is tired of, like, getting his name played with. Like, he's in conversations, but he's always getting. He's always getting bested by somebody. You know what I mean?
[00:40:20] Speaker B: He's always taking a back seat for someone, dude.
[00:40:22] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:40:22] Speaker B: And then when he was yelling at the camera, dude, yeah. You could feel the energy, dude. You could feel it.
[00:40:28] Speaker A: And then, like, that long, you know, that dynasty, that brotherhood, like, it was just a great experience, like, as a fan, like, you know, but, yeah, I got to give it to the Warriors.
[00:40:38] Speaker B: And for my standout player, I got to give it to Jared McCain. I mean, frontrunner for the Rookie of the Year. I know I haven't really been keeping up with the race that much because this rookie class hasn't really been, you know, the most standout rookie class we've ever had. Just a little critical, critical note there. But Jared McCain has been absolutely balling out in the last three games. He's been averaging 28 points, and for the season, he's been averaging 42% from the field and 38% from three. And this is a rookie, mind you. So I did not think, you know, I was unsure of him coming out of high school, being a five star recruit, going to Duke. And then in the beginning of the season he was a little shaky. But then he started to build his confidence and he's showing that in this league right now in the NBA, he's showing what he can really do. And especially with Paul George now out and obviously Joel Embiid's been out and Tyrese Maxey's out too. He's been stepping up in a big way. For him, it hasn't really been resulting in wins. But shout out to you, Jared McCain. And for my standout team, I got to give it to the Magic. They've won all three games this week. Four game win streak in total beating teams like the Indiana Pacers. I believe so. Yeah. And Franz Wagner has been a big key for that. He is nearly averaging 28 in those last four games. 28 points. So yeah, especially being without Paulo Banchero. The fact that the Magic are still finding ways to win and they're third in the east right now. Keep in mind. So yeah, shout out to them. They're just behind the Cavs and the Celtics. So they're in good company right now. So shout out to the Magic.
Overall, that's going to do it for the show. Trey, you got anything else to say?
[00:42:21] Speaker A: I mean, of course, like one more standout team. I mean this is obvious pick. I mean the whole world's on notice for them. If you're paying attention to NBA. I mean we got to give it to the Cavs because they're undefeated. We just like until they lose, they're going to be in. Are standing out our standouts for, you know, until they lose. But even then, like unless they just decline drastically, like I don't even see that happening. Man, they're on such a roll.
[00:42:45] Speaker B: 13. Oh, dude. I mean, yep. Kudos to them.
[00:42:48] Speaker A: Other than that. No, I have.
[00:42:50] Speaker B: But you mentioned how they're going to have a big test this next weekend.
[00:42:54] Speaker A: Yeah. Okay. Yeah. So next week. Yeah, they played the Celtics and Denver in the same week. So I'm just waiting to see what they're going to do with that. Obviously I want the Celtics to lose. I'm be honest.
Cleveland, come on.
[00:43:08] Speaker B: Yeah, they're going to have to play. Their next game is going to be the Bulls, Hornets, Celtics.
And yeah, so they're going to have a big test next week. So we'll give you our reaction to that next Thursday. Thank you all for tuning in. Thank you all for listening. It's been Zach and Trey, and we're out. Peace.
