Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: WVUA FM tuscaloosa.
[00:00:08] Speaker B: Hello, everybody.
This is WVUA 90.7 FM. The capstone. And welcome to episode number 53 of the full Court Press podcast. My name is Jamie Martinez and I'm joined by Alex Chasen. Just out Alex Chase and no Nick today. He's off going home to South Carolina for fall break. We do miss him. And this podcast is for you, my brother, to stay up to date. Make sure to follow us on Instagram at FCP podcast underscore UA. With that being said, let's jump right into it.
[00:00:39] Speaker A: Jumping right into it. The NBA season starts tonight, October 24. You're listening to this on October 25. So you all already know the outcome of the Los Angeles Lakers versus the Denver Nuggets, the Phoenix Suns versus the Golden State Warriors. And Jamie, awesome. I'm going to step on what we agreed to before the show saying we won't give predictions.
[00:01:00] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:01:00] Speaker A: How about this? Let's just give predictions and if we're wrong or we're right, we're wrong or we're right. Obviously the outcome has already come out by this point. But let's start off with the Lakers heading to Denver, the Mile High city, to face the Denver Nuggets. And little quick note here, this would be two years in a row LeBron James has attended a ring ceremony. Last year's game one of the right last year's game one of the season, the Lakers versus the Golden State Warriors. The warriors got their rings. This year LeBron is attending without a choice the Nuggets ceremony because that is who they are facing. So let's start off with this game. Lakers at Nuggets. Who is winning the first game of the 23 24 NBA season?
[00:01:42] Speaker B: The first game of the 2023 to 24 season is going to the Denver Nuggets, the reigning champions. It's in Mile High and I don't see a reason why the Nuggets could lose this game. I really like the additions that the Lakers made. However, the Nuggets are on a hot streak. Nikola Yokich just came out and said that nothing is more important to him than basketball. That is insane to hear from that guy who looks like basketball is his part time job behind horse racing.
[00:02:05] Speaker A: Right on.
[00:02:06] Speaker B: So Jokic to say that, that's a pretty big deal. So I think he's out to win another MVP and I think this could be another Nuggets year, even with the terrifying Celtics out in the Eastern Conference. So I think the Nuggets get it going early against a very stacked Lakers team in the first game of the season.
[00:02:23] Speaker A: So I completely agree on the long term mindset of Jokic could be I think he will be the MVP winner this season. But game one, I don't like the Nuggets bench.
[00:02:33] Speaker B: Wow.
[00:02:34] Speaker A: I do not like the Nuggets bench. I'm going with the Lakers. They lost Bruce Brown. That's a key piece. And with the new CBA, it's not like everyone's bench is going to be great, but you cannot afford those pieces you had. They lost Bruce Brown, and now guys like Christian Brown are supposed to take a major step up where he had a solid role last year, but it was nothing major. They also lost Jeff Green, who played a huge role in their championship run.
[00:02:55] Speaker B: Uncle Jeff.
[00:02:56] Speaker A: Where are the Lakers? They not exploited, but they used the CBA and did everything they could to make a really good team. And I think they did that to the fullest. So I think when it comes to depth on depth in game one playoffs, jokic Murray, MPJ, Aaron Gordon, that team is going to crush a lot of teams. But I think game one tonight, I got to go with the Lakers.
[00:03:19] Speaker B: It's a hot take. I like that. Maybe a little bit in Denver.
[00:03:22] Speaker A: I don't care where it I just their depth is, in my opinion, coming into game one, amazing. And I think it's going to work out. Right now in game one. We'll see what happens as the season goes on. But game one, I think the Lakers, it's going to be a huge advantage for them to start off the season, for sure. Game two of the night of opening night, the Phoenix Suns at Golden State versus the warriors may not seem like, oh, this is a weird matchup, I'm off the whole Kevin Durant to Golden State. Like, that was forever ago. That's like so 2018.
Why is this still like a big rivalry matchup night one? But with that said, it's still a rivalry matchup night one in the NBA. The new look, Phoenix Suns without Bradley Beal. That was reported a few hours ago. No Bradley Beal. So just book Narciss KD. So it's still a new look team. Grayson Allen. Another new guy on the roster versus the Golden State Warriors without Jordan Poole. But they got Chris Paul. Who you got?
[00:04:17] Speaker B: I'm going to take the Phoenix Suns in this one against Golden State. It's going to be a rockin'crowd for the warriors. However, they have KD, and he knows how to silence a crowd. He's done it many times before, and I think he's going to do it again today. Even without Bradley Beal, you're getting a relatively similar Suns team as to last year, which is why I don't think there's going to be any chemistry issues going into this game with Bradley Beal. Nurkic is a little different, but I don't think he's going to be as big of a chemistry disruptor as, say, Bradley Beal would be because that's kind of three ball dominant guys on the roster. Nurkic will spread the ball around. He knows his role. But then you can bring in Grayson Allen. He's a fantastic defender off the bench. I just really like what the Suns have done in the offseason. And I think KD puts up a solid stat line alongside Devin Booker and take out the warriors day one.
[00:05:01] Speaker A: See, for me, I'm a huge hater on the warriors offseason. Yeah, but at home, game one, and you have three guys with the utmost chemistry, clay Curry and Dre. I got to go with Golden State, so maybe two hot takes for me today with the Lakers and warriors.
[00:05:20] Speaker B: Not upsets.
[00:05:21] Speaker A: Two upsets, definitely upsets on paper, but I gotta go with the warriors, and I'm a huge hater of their offseason. I've said it before in every facet of media, from Twitter to my YouTube channel to here on this podcast. I hate that they traded away Jordan Poole, and I will stick with that for this as long as time goes on, but I think the warriors can do it at home. Yeah, I like Chris Paul, not Jordan Pool. But I do like him as much as I hate him.
[00:05:46] Speaker B: The trade.
[00:05:46] Speaker A: I do like Chris Paul, and I think at home in game one without Bradley Beal, and they're still trying to.
[00:05:52] Speaker B: Figure out the whole team.
[00:05:53] Speaker A: Kevin Durant only played eight or nine regular season games with the Suns. I will say, though, he has no losses. Yeah, they're undefeated in the regular season with Kevin Durant, so we'll see how that carries over into this. Regular, they go 82, and Kevin Durant never gets a loss as a Phoenix Sun in the regular season. But, yeah, I'm going to go with the Golden State Warriors at home. If this was in Phoenix, I'd go with the Suns, but it's not. And I think the warriors have one of the biggest home court advantages, definitely. And on top of that, they have three guys who are used to playing together, and they also have home court. So give me the warriors and the Lakers tonight. Moving on to some contract extensions that were signed before the deadline yesterday has to be done before the season starts. And there's a few key guys starting off with that was, I guess that was throughout the season, LaMello ball Tyrese Halliburton, but the recent ones that happened before the deadline yesterday, one of them being Aaron Neesmith, there's obviously some bigger ones. Jamie, you can butt in if you got some ones you want to talk about. But I want to talk about Aaron Neesmith because he was drafted by the Celtics a few years ago, didn't really have a role. He goes to Indiana, finds his spot, finds himself landing in the starting unit a few times throughout last year, and he earned himself a rookie extension for three years, $33 million. Another player who did that same thing, Cole Anthony, really found his role as a really, really good six man. I think that's what his peak might be. I don't really see him being a starting point guard, especially with the abundance of point guards in Orlando. Three years, 39 million. Other guys like Josh Green, three years, 41 million. Got those rookie extensions. You want to talk about who?
[00:07:26] Speaker B: I want to talk about Jaden McDaniels out in Minnesota for the Timberwolves. He has really been one of the most surprising players out of this draft class, the 20 eigth pick in 2020, and he has absolutely blossomed into being one of the best role players or starters in the NBA. There's a lot of talent on that Timberwolves roster. When you're talking about Anthony Edwards, who could make that MVP leap this year? Rudy Gobert and Carl Anthony Towns down low. But Jaden McDaniels has solidified himself as a quintessential piece to that Timberwolves roster. He's one of the top defenders in the NBA. He can get you 20 points a night. I think he's a huge candidate for Most Improved this year. He could really do it all for the Timberwolves. I love that deal. Five years, 136,000,000. I think he's worth every penny. He brings it all three. And D, he can facilitate for himself. I love Jade McDaniel.
[00:08:12] Speaker A: See, I would say it's an overpay, but with the new CBA, it kind of works out, I would say.
[00:08:18] Speaker B: Exactly.
[00:08:18] Speaker A: But let's just listen to the difference here. Someone who was drafted with the 14th pick in that same draft, aaron Nismith is only getting 33 million over three years. And then you got Jade McDaniels for 136,000,003 million more. Yeah, for two more years. But still, the difference there is just insane. And Jade McDaniels only averaged twelve points per game. Five assists, four assists. But it's really his defense.
[00:08:46] Speaker B: He had a phenomenal preseason. I was watching those Timberwolves games, especially early against the Mavericks. He was the one that was turning games around. He was blocking every shot. He was contesting everything. I love what McDaniels brings to the court, and I really love the signing.
[00:08:57] Speaker A: I think he has to prove to me he's worth that much money. A little bit more than to you. Not to speak for Nick, but I know he's a big McDaniels fan as well. To finish this off. There's a flip side to this. There are some notable players who didn't sign extensions, and there's some reasons for that. Maybe they want to wait for more money in the offseason, or maybe they want to see what their market is in the offseason, or whatever the case may be. But I'd say the biggest name here is Tyrese Maxey.
[00:09:21] Speaker B: Yeah, for sure.
[00:09:22] Speaker A: 21St overall pick in the 2020 Draft. All these guys are from the 2020 Draft class because they're all up for their rookie extensions now. But Tyrese Maxey, what do you think his play here is with this?
[00:09:32] Speaker B: This one's weird. He's one of the top players in this 2020 class. It's a very stacked class when you look at it. Sure. But Tyrese Maxi is definitely in that A to S tier of guys in this class. He's one of the best young guards in the NBA.
[00:09:46] Speaker A: He's the best for not getting for not doing a contract.
[00:09:48] Speaker B: Yeah, I would say it's him. And then I think Emmanuel Quickly is pretty high up there, too.
[00:09:51] Speaker A: James wiseman.
[00:09:52] Speaker B: Yeah, wiseman. But Maxi, to me, is above the rest. He's one of the best young guards in the NBA. He could shoot. He could drive to the basket like no other. He was an All Are before his injury last year. I like what Maxie brings to the core, and it's pretty confusing considering the Sixers are a great roster. Maybe he wants to go to his own team, kind of have a bigger he wants more money, maybe.
[00:10:14] Speaker A: And I feel like it's one of those things where let's just see what happens with James Harden and how this franchise is heading. I don't think he's going to leave, though. I think he's going to get his money because if James Harden's out of the picture, it's him and Joel's team. Obviously, it's more Joelle's team because he's the MVP, former MVP. But I think he's a great addition to Joel Embiid for the long run.
[00:10:34] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:10:34] Speaker A: And then yesterday there was some questions. I think it was mostly made up questions, but will Yanis, is he going to go into next offseason and want out and want to go somewhere else? Well, no. He signed a three year, $186,000,000 max maximum contract extension with, of course, the Milwaukee Bucks. He is locked up, and on top of that, he can get locked up again in 2026 for another four year extension with the Milwaukee Bucks because of the new CBA. You can double up on contracts with a certain time period. But Jamie Yanis is telling the Milwaukee Bucks that Damien Lillard was enough to.
[00:11:14] Speaker B: Keep him happy, for sure. Yanis, everybody knows Giannis ANSA De Kumpo, one of the best players not just in the NBA today, but possibly of all time. He is one of the most dominant, and there was a lot of questions surrounding if he wanted to stay in Milwaukee. And the Bucks made a huge deal to acquire Damian Lillard in the offseason, one of the top point guards in the NBA, and I'm sure he heard that. And that was enough for him to sign the extension. That's a lot of money, and I think he's going to be worth every penny.
I mean, come on. He's one of the top two players in the NBA. I love this signing for the Bucks. They retain their star. He's not going to La or the Bulls or whatever he wanted to do. Yanis is a Buck, and I like to see that.
[00:11:51] Speaker A: Definitely. For sure. Moving on.
This is a little different. We never really talk about shoes, per se, but Nike assigned 13 rookies to their rookie shoe deals. Looking at this list, Jamie, I'll name them off. Are there any surprises? Now, this is not for their own signature shoe, but this is just being like an ambassador for the brand, like being sponsored by Nike, of course. Victor Rubin Yama. Makes sense. Brendan Miller. Makes sense. The Thompson Twins. Makes sense. Anthony Black. Sure. He was a lottery pick, but then guys like Kobe Brown, I mean, Balakablay was a lottery pick.
[00:12:25] Speaker B: Yeah, he was in the top seven, I think.
[00:12:26] Speaker A: Yeah, he's a lottery pick, but not like the biggest name.
[00:12:29] Speaker B: Yeah, Balakolobali. He was a Victor Webanyama teammate, so nobody's going to really know who he is, considering he was in Webinar's shadow, but I hope he can make a name for himself.
[00:12:37] Speaker A: But then there's other guys on here, like Keonte, George, Kason Wallace. I love Casey Wallace, but this is their rookie studio class.
[00:12:45] Speaker B: Yeah, it's weird. I'm looking at other names here, like Olivier, Maxim's, Prosper. He was a little lower down in the first round for the Mavericks alongside Derek Lively, who was also a rookie that got signed for the Mavericks. Not sure why they go with two Mavericks there when there's some other rookies out there that could have gotten deals. Like Scoot Henderson, who's not in this class and was the second overall pick.
[00:13:04] Speaker A: You might get a bigger one from somewhere else.
[00:13:07] Speaker B: Yeah, maybe.
But yeah, there's some definitely surprises here, but they're really just kind of banking on at least one of these lower guys to make a splash in the league and kind of pay off.
I like it, giving these young guys a chance.
[00:13:21] Speaker A: And then my final piece of news, which isn't exactly news, it's more of a question for us to talk about before we get into your news is the City Edition jerseys have dropped, and since we're on a podcast, there's really no point to discuss them because the listeners won't know. They can't see it. They won't know what we're talking about. So I came up with this question, and we've talked about this with Nick, you and I, as just in our apartment, as friends. Should Nike make a New Jersey City edition? Jersey every year. Why or why not?
[00:13:50] Speaker B: No, they're coming out with new City Edition jerseys every year right now. And the ones this year, in my opinion, have been the most disappointing of all time. There's a few hits out there for Nike City Edition jerseys. Like, Houston has a good one, detroit has a good one. But, I mean, I've been extremely disappointed with a lot of these jerseys and how they've looked. They're really plain, or they make no sense, or they're just flat out ugly, like the Clippers one. I know Nick was a big fan of them, but they kind of reminded me of a rip off of the 2000s Wizards jerseys.
So I think they should make one really good design that everybody can agree is good and stick with that for maybe four, five, six years. But one a year is not it. Especially when you have one team really likes this jersey. Everybody's cool with it, and now you're getting rid of it.
[00:14:38] Speaker A: I can agree with that. I think maybe five or six years might be too long, because on the business side, of it something new, people are going to buy it.
[00:14:45] Speaker B: It's exactly what I was going to bring up. It's going to bring more money every.
[00:14:47] Speaker A: Time it brings more money. No matter how much most of us hate it, I'm still probably going to buy one. But with that said, I agree every year is too much because there's some Celtics ones that I've loved. I've bought them, and the team never wears them again.
[00:15:03] Speaker B: What do you think about this year's?
[00:15:05] Speaker A: I think they're all right. The Celtics like to keep it simplistic just because of the culture and the history. They don't really have to go too outlandish because they don't need to. They're going to make money either way because it's the Boston Celtics. Same thing for the Lakers. The Lakers ones I feel like were a little different for them.
[00:15:20] Speaker B: They're weird.
[00:15:20] Speaker A: They're a little weird. But I will say I could go with every two years. Yeah, I think two or three years is the prime number there where I think it's a good time span to be like, all right, so for these next two or three years, let's see what they're liking them. Let's see what we can change. Let's see what other because each city edition Jersey is about the culture of the city. So that's why they're each unique to the city themselves or the culture of the team. So I do like that aspect, but it's impossible to figure out what to add or what to make different in.
[00:15:53] Speaker B: A year every single year. Yeah, I get a lot of the themes behind some of them, like the Kings this year is a nod to the Kansas City Royals and the old Sacramento Kings and the Oscar Robertson days. And the Lakers one is a nod to the Minneapolis Lakers in their current colorway, but there's not a point in doing it every year. It's too much.
[00:16:11] Speaker A: I completely agree there.
[00:16:12] Speaker B: Yeah. So let's jump into my news segment for this week, and I have a bit of a weird one. It's not necessarily news, but it's definitely a story. And I have the reason why James Harden showed up to camp. I saw this on a little video on TikTok and it really captured my attention. In the new CBA agreement that was agreed to this year, there is a rule that states if a player does not show up to training camp, the team fully owns that player's rights. Once that team owns the rights to a player, the player can no longer go to a different team ever, unless that team relinquishes their rights. With that being said, Harden showed up to camp for a few days because he had to avoid that entire rule to get around this rule, and now he has a free rein to sit out until he gets his trade wish. So as long as a player shows up to training camp at some point for a certain amount of time, they can kind of get around this rule in that CBA agreement. So Harden, he showed up, he did his time, and now he can go out and I guess sit out and wait for that trade. So I know everybody was like, oh, Harden's at camp now. This is big. He's a 76. Er, Harden was kind of playing with everybody. He was thinking two steps ahead. He got around the CBA deal rule and now it's a waiting game.
[00:17:28] Speaker A: I got two things for that. One of them, I did a bunch of research on that exact thing this summer. So that was very cool to listen to that, because I thought it was you had to play a game in the regular season, no training camp. You just saw it before. You've seen it a lot earlier than so second thing is, James Harden is going to get fined.
[00:17:49] Speaker B: Oh, for sure.
[00:17:50] Speaker A: So either way, you're right with this whole rule thing. But I saw from Woj today when I was making breakfast that it's around $300,000 per game. He can get fined by the team if they want to. The reason right now James Harden is out per Woj, and he said that they're going to try to give him the benefit of doubt is personal reasons. Total BS. In my opinion. I do not think it's personal reasons. The team can say they believe him, but we know his motives. You just explained what he was doing and or you explained what we all believe he was probably doing with the new CBA. He just had to show up, show his face for a few days. That whole rule didn't come down on him. But I think that I just don't see him getting traded.
[00:18:34] Speaker B: I mean, if he's going to continue sitting out games, darryl Maury, the general manager, can hold him out for as long as he wants and keep stacking up those fines on James Harden. Harden has all the money in the world. He can pay a lot of them, but at some point he's going to have to break. So I think they're really going to need to be blown away by a deal if they're going to trade him. And I know there's a bunch of talks going on with the Clippers and the Clippers aren't wanting to make a deal right now.
[00:18:56] Speaker A: They don't want it's just not enough.
[00:18:58] Speaker B: Because they're not wanting to give up, man. And then the picks well, also for.
[00:19:02] Speaker A: The Sixers, that's just not enough.
[00:19:03] Speaker B: Yeah, so it's weird. I'm not sure what team's going to come up with a deal right now. Maybe James Harden says, you know what, let's go to China, because he says he loves it out there and he knows he can make money out there too. So that'd be very interesting.
[00:19:15] Speaker A: He just retires. It'd be very weird.
[00:19:17] Speaker B: That would be crazy.
But moving on, we have some pretty devastating news. Steven Adams. Grizzly.
[00:19:24] Speaker A: Seemed like someone died.
[00:19:25] Speaker B: Yeah, he didn't die, but stephen Adams, one of the most lovable players in the NBA the Australian Aquaman is going under season ending new Zealand same thing. They both got accents. Is undergoing season ending injury. According to the Memphis Grizzlies, the veteran center was unable to get his knee in the right shape through rehab and will now be going through surgery to resolve that per shamsherania. So that is something you really hate to see. One of the most lovable players in the NBA, Stephen Adams, had a pretty big role for that Grizzlies team last year. I looked through some statistics and they had a much higher win percentage with Stephen Adams playing than they did without him. So this sucks to see. He missed a lot of last season with that knee injury, couldn't get it fixed through rehab and now he has to have another surgery on.
[00:20:09] Speaker A: It sounds like lonzo balls issues.
[00:20:10] Speaker B: Exactly.
[00:20:10] Speaker A: Different issues. But it sounds like just not fixing the knee problem the first time and then it gets worse the second time.
[00:20:16] Speaker B: Yeah, you just hate to see it.
[00:20:18] Speaker A: You do. Especially for someone who he's not as old as he looks, but he's getting older for the amount of years he's been in the league.
[00:20:25] Speaker B: And with two back to back knee surgeries, who knows what that could do to a player.
[00:20:28] Speaker A: But I will say though, Triple J Jaron Jackson Jr. And the grizzlies reigning DePoy Xavier Tillman proved he is a very serviceable player. They'll be all right and maybe they'll go out and get someone else. Santia Almada I am all in, which we'll talk about today. I am all in on the Grizzlies not being a top two seed, maybe not top three, but I think they're going to be all right without John Morant for 25 games. But speaking of that, as you can tell by the title of the show today, let's get into our Western Conference final standings predictions just like we did last week. Our predictions for what the entire from 15 to one in the Western Conference will look like by the end of the second week of April when the playoffs start in 2024. So let's start off we're going to be doing a little bit differently. So I kind of have like sections I want to talk about where I could see it fluctuating a little bit or just different areas I want to discuss. But we're pretty much going to do out of the play in. Play in. And then of course, the regular playoff teams, just like we did last week. I just have a little bit of different things I want to bring together to make my point a little more clear. So we'll start off with Jamie because his is not confusing like mine. We'll start off with the teams out of the play in for Jamie.
[00:21:44] Speaker B: All right, let's get started. At my 15 seed, I'm going to start off with the Utah Jazz, and going into the preseason, I would not have said the Jazz were going to be the worst team in the Western Conference, but I saw some things from a certain rookie out in San Antonio that made me kind of change my mind. So, in my opinion, the west got a lot better, and I think the Jazz suffered. I just don't think they made enough moves to get a lot better. They got some rookies in the draft, but I don't think that's going to be enough to win them a ton of games. Laurie Markinen was an All Star last year, but what if that was a one year wonder? This was really his first great year in the NBA, and in years previous with Chicago and Cleveland, we never really saw this out of Laurie Markinen. So I'm really hoping this isn't a one year wonder, because Markinen's awesome. He's one of the most dynamic players in the NBA, standing at seven foot tall. He could shoot the rock from 30ft out, but I just don't think their roster is as stacked as everyone else's. I have them going 29 and 51, which is only a three game difference from my 14 seed, which is the San Antonio Spurs. And this is because Victor Webinar looks like something made from a lab. He has been unbelievable in the preseason and could win this team some games basically on his own. I've seen some incredible things, especially against Golden State. He had that four block game. Andrew Wiggins was guarding him and could not do anything. Been surprising me how good he's been offensively and defensively. Webbinjama is a monster, however, in such a loaded conference and not a ton of talent on the team. I still have him sitting at 14. I like Devin Vassell. They just extended him. Keldon Johnson solid, but they also just extended Zach Collins as well. But that's not enough to win a whole lot of games. So I have him sitting at the 14 seed. Webinar, though, that's my Rookie of the Year pick. I'm sticking with that 13. I have the Houston Rockets.
Another title. I have them being a title contending team in the future, but they're extremely young right now, younger than the Blazers. Jabari Smith could be in for a phenomenal year this year. He was another guy that looked phenomenal in both the summer league and the preseason. I think he's going to be a baller, hoping he makes that sophomore jump. I love the additions of Cam Whitmore and Ayman Thompson in the draft as well. However, the Western Conference, I'm going to keep saying it is stacked. There is so much talent.
[00:23:56] Speaker A: We'll get into it later. But you know how in the east we had one team with 60 plus wins, and then we had a few teams with like, 55 plus wins? I have none of the teams in the Western Conference getting more than 54 wins.
[00:24:10] Speaker B: That's.
[00:24:10] Speaker A: My highest.
[00:24:10] Speaker B: Yeah. Mine's, I think. 53.
[00:24:12] Speaker A: So much more competitive.
[00:24:13] Speaker B: Yeah. It's an extremely tight conference, so there's not really a big difference between the 15 and the ten seed. It's just that side of a conference. So I got Houston at 13.
Go ahead, twelve. I have the Portland Trailblazers at 35 and 47. A very young team that could be a title contender in five years, much like the Houston Rockets second overall pick. Scoot Henderson, point guard out of G League ignite, will have a very solid rookie campaign. And Shaden Sharp, one of my favorite players in the NBA. The shooting guard, who has a 45 inch vertical jump, could average 18 points per game in his sophomore campaign. I think he's going to get a huge jump in minutes and he's going to have a very increased role. And then they also added guys like Robert Williams and DeAndre Ayton, who will be solid, but I just think it's too early for the Blazers right now. A lot of young talent. The bench isn't really there. Anthony Simons is great. He was cool with Damien Lillard.
[00:25:02] Speaker A: I mean, Michael Broughton is your 6th man.
[00:25:04] Speaker B: Yeah, but do you think they keep him the entire year?
[00:25:07] Speaker A: I mean, as of right now, it sounds like he wants to be there. Yeah, just from his interviews.
[00:25:13] Speaker B: Again, that's a really good team at 1235 and 47. But eleven? I have one of my favorite players in the NBA who would be an MVP candidate had he had a better team around him, and that's Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks sitting at the eleven seed. Just the lack of depth and clashing personalities is going to hurt this team. Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving is a lethal combo, one of the best duos in the NBA, but their defense is lackluster and they have a very small supporting cast. If they're going to win some games, they need guys like Grant Williams, who they just acquired from Boston, and Jaden Hardy, rookie last year, who could be 6th man of the year this year. They're going to need to have a big jump, substantial contributors if this team wants to make it any higher than the eleven seed. So I have an eight game difference between the five and the eleven, but eleven through 13 is very 15 and eleven. I'm sorry. Yeah, 15 and eleven. So Dallas, they have Luke and Kyrie.
[00:26:04] Speaker A: But it's how many wins? You got the jazz winning jazz.
[00:26:07] Speaker B: I have a 29, 51.
[00:26:09] Speaker A: Okay, and how many was your 1011 seed?
[00:26:12] Speaker B: Sorry, 37. 45. Okay. So it's an eight game difference.
[00:26:15] Speaker A: So let me go through it through my teams out of the play in we actually have the same exact teams in a little bit of a different order, but I'm going to start it off with the lowest tier, the bottom three teams, 13 to 15. At 15. Give me the San Antonio Spurs. And I agree with Jamie. Victor Abanyama has looked good and the supporting cast isn't as bad as some may say, but I just don't think they're ready to be like a twelve plus seed in the west yet. I actually have them improving, though. I think, though, yes, they'll be the worst team in the Western Conference, but I think they're going to go from 22 wins up to 28. Six wins in the NBA is a lot. There was some points in this where I was like, we'll talk about it later, but I think they could win around like 49 games. But then I'm like it's probably more like 45, which is only a four game difference. But those four games are really hard. It's hard to go from 45 wins to near 50. It doesn't seem far, but that's a really hard task to get to. Like the Thunder, they went 40 and 42 last year. I think they're going to have a positive record. They're going to be close to like 45 wins, but 50 is like a whole other acre to get to. So that's the way I look at it with these records. F 14. Give me the Utah Jazz. I agree with Jamie. I think they're going to take a step back this year and a step back in a way that last year they went 37 and 45. This year I have them going 34 and 48, a three game step back, but I think it mostly seems like a big step back because how hot they started off last year. They started off last year like a top four seed in the west.
[00:27:51] Speaker B: Crazy.
[00:27:52] Speaker A: The first 20 games they were the top four seed and they fell back down to earth, and this year I'm not sure how it's going to play out, but I think they're going to be around the same. I don't have them being too much worse, but I do have them being the 14th seed instead of the twelveTH seed because I think a lot of the teams in the west got better and it's a lot more diverse where the talent is. Like we've mentioned, I think anyone from six to one could fluctuate in some respect, and I think the same thing applies for 15 to eleven. Moving on to 13 with the Portland Trailblazers. Originally in my power rankings, I had them at the bottom of the barrel. I probably would have put them at the 15th seed.
[00:28:28] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:28:29] Speaker A: This offseason gave me hope that they might be able to sneak into my second tier that I'll get to in a second of maybe being around a twelveTH or 11th seed. If it all works out. If Scoot Henderson can play Rookie of the Year, if Jeremy Grant can be that right under All Star player he's kind of been the past four years of his career, if Shaden Sharp can take maybe a little bit of a low level star jump, if DeAndre Ayton can actually turn into a star. If Robert Williams can actually turn into a low level, deploy candidate, this team might win some games. Not games like be a play in team or a playoff team, but games as I have them winning 36 games. Three more games than last year, but they're without Damien Lillard. And the reason I have them winning more is because Dame was out a lot last year anyways. Kind of been his entire career, especially the past few years. And they still won 33 games. I think with an intact, healthy young core, I could see 36 wins. It's probably on the high side because usually things don't work out as good as you think up in your head, but I think they'll be all right. And then I have my second tier in the lower tier, and this is between the twelveTH and the 10th seed, so I'm going to get into my 10th seed, and then we'll move back on to you for your play in teams. But the reason why I have this connected is because I can see the teams from twelve to ten fluctuating. My twelveTH seed, the Houston Rockets, I could see them being the ten seed. I could see them sneaking into there. They're all within two games of each other. The Mavericks, they are my 11th seed. I can see them being the ten seed. Like I said, they're all within two games. But I have to put the Mavericks and Rockets outside of the play in for this very reason.
Young and or inexperienced and or lack of depth, the category that fits the Rockets young, and they do have experienced guys with Fred Van Vliet, obviously a one time champ, but I don't think he's enough to really carry them into the play in. I like Jalen Green, but he's got to prove to me he can be a consistent star. Hasn't really done that yet. I love Albert and Shangoon. I know you do, too, Jamie.
[00:30:26] Speaker B: Yeah, shangoon's awesome.
[00:30:27] Speaker A: I think he'll be great, but I don't think he's enough to do anything. He's a great complimentary piece, but he's not enough to carry you anywhere. What needs to happen for this team to truly jump into a playing spot? Jabari Smith Jr. Flourish like you alluded to earlier. That needs to happen.
[00:30:42] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:30:43] Speaker A: And then the Mavericks, kyrie Luca, I think they got their bench better. I think they added some good depth pieces. Grant Williams. They got Seth Curry back. I think I like their draft class, but I don't think it's enough to beat a team I've been hating on. At the Golden State Warriors at ten. I think they're going to be worse this year. Last year they went 44 and 38. Nothing crazy. I think this year they'll be under 500, around 40 and 42. Because I believe the bottom half of this conference is also close.
And the Warriors, I really want to put them at eleven. I really do. But when you got Curry, Clay and Dre. Andrew Wiggins.
[00:31:19] Speaker B: Exactly.
[00:31:20] Speaker A: I have to give them the benefit of the doubt and put them at the lowest possible chance. Put them at the 10th seed.
[00:31:27] Speaker B: Yes. All right, let's move on to my ten seed. This is where I also have the Golden State Warriors. I have them going 40 and 42. I mean, Steph Curry can 100% lead this team to a higher spot, but with all that age and lack of depth, I think it's harder to go higher. With age comes injuries and who knows what could happen? I know this warriors corps hasn't really had their fair share of injuries in the recent I know Clay Thompson had their most recent big injury with that Achilles injury, but they've been fine, especially all of last season. Come playoff time, though, once this team is in that mode, they're going to dominate the playing and they're going to go to the playoffs. There's no doubt in my mind about that. It's what the warriors do. However, I think this regular season is going to be tough for them. They added Chris Paul, but they lost Jordan Poole. And Jordan Poole, man, he could really flip the switch and turn games upside down, but at the same time, he can go one for 15 and lose in the game. So I like what Pool brings to the table. He's going to do good in Washington, but I think the warriors lost out pretty big and getting rid of him. So I haven't gone 40 and 42. It at nine. I'm sorry, Alex. I have the Oklahoma City Thunder going 42 and 40. It's a two game improvement over what they did last year, and it's only two games out from the playoffs.
So again, I'm telling you, this Western conference is tight. 42 and 40. It's such a loaded conference, and I think it's hard to put this team higher.
I really like SGA. Shay Guzzles, alexander and Josh Giddy, Australian Magic Johnson. But I think this team is still young. Chet Holmgren had a great preseason. He missed his entire rookie year. And now he's, I guess, technically a rookie this year because he didn't play at all. But he's yet to show if that skinny frame can hold in the NBA.
He played against Victor Webanyama. That was a shootout in the preseason that was really cool to see. But I don't know. He hasn't faced Yokich. He hasn't faced embiid. So I think it's definitely going to be interesting to see. 42 and 40, I think is fair. Moving on to eight, I have the New Orleans Pelicans going 43 and 39, just one game ahead of the Thunder, a team that, when healthy, dominated last season. They were the one seed in the Western Conference. They were great. Zion Williamson can be an all NBA player if he stays on the court. That's the big question with the New Orleans Pelicans, who can stay on the court consistently because right now it's nobody. The team is already dealing with a lot of injuries, so let's hope that the Pelicans can stay on a high note this season. They're dealing with injuries with. Guys like Trey Murphy, Jose Alvarado, Najee Marshall, Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson have always proved to be injury prone. So let's not see that this year because this team could be amazing. So I have the Pelicans at 43 and 39, and at my 7th seed I have the Minnesota Timberwolves at 44 and 38, a team with a surefire MVP candidate, in my opinion, in Anthony Edwards. If Carl Anthony Towns can learn that this is not his team anymore and start playing around Anthony Edwards, great things are going to happen. They just signed Jade McDaniels to that big extension. I think that was well worth it. Like we explained earlier, Rudy Gobert had a great preseason. He was blocking a ton of shots, looked like the Rudy Gobert of old in Utah. I'm loving what this team's doing. I have them actually with the same record as my 6th seed in the playoffs, but I think the 6th seed is going to win that season series and sneak into the playoffs. So Minnesota, I think at seven is very fair. I think they're definitely going to be in the playoffs, though.
[00:34:52] Speaker A: All righty, getting into my category three with the rest of the three play in teams, plus the 6th seed in the playoffs starting off at the 9th seed. And again, I have these categories because I could see any of these teams within the categories I'm talking about. It talking about fluctuating. So I got the four teams being the Pelicans at nine, the Timberwolves at eight, the Thunder at seven and the Grizzlies at six.
[00:35:14] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:35:15] Speaker A: The reason why I have the Pelicans at nine is a lot like Jamie said, injuries, they easily could be that six seed where the Grizzlies are. But injuries and always a question mark of who is going to be on the court at the same time together. I don't know the exact stat, but if I had to guess, CJ, McCollum, Bi and Zion, they were probably on the court maybe twelve games altogether, if that maybe you know what I mean. So that's the question mark that for everyone. Logically, that's what knocks them down. The eight seed, the Timberwolves, if Nick was here, he'd probably have them in the top four. Probably would. Like we did last year, though. We were huge believers in them, but they failed us. So I got to put them at eight before I can see what they do. They proved to us last year, they proved to us wrong, what are they going to do this year? So I'm going to go with what they did last year. Now I will say Anthony Edwards I think, will take a step up. I don't believe in him as much as Nick definitely does. Jamie definitely believes in him a lot. Not that I don't believe in him. I just don't see an envy level jump this year. Rudigo Barry and Kat have looked nice. They look like they have been complimentary pieces together versus last year. Not at all. In the preseason they looked pretty good. They handled the Mavericks in the first two preseason games, embarrassed them out in the Middle East, wherever that game was. I think it was Saudi Arabia or something like that. But then at seven, I'm not going to say my Oklahoma City Thunder because I'm not a Thunder fan, but I'm a big SGA fan. I'm a big fan of this young core and I truly believe in them and I don't think I have any bias in saying this. Jamie, tell me if I'm wrong, but I know you don't agree with me fully, but I just believe in this young core so much. I love Mark Dagnall. I think he can win Coach of the Year just even being the 7th seed because I think they're going to flip their record from being sub 500 to around 43, 44 wins. And I don't think out of all these teams in my tier, here my tier three, the Thunder probably my last pick to jump into that 6th seed because of inexperience and lack of star. Proven Star power. Besides SGA. Giddy could turn into a star. Chet Hong room could turn into a star, but proven star power, it's just SGA versus the Grizzlies, Timberwolves and Pelicans having sure fire etched in stone. Proven star power. But I just think the Thunder are going to have a fantastic regular season in this tough Western Conference. 44 wins in this tough Western Conference in my mind is fantastic. What do you think about the Thunder?
[00:37:39] Speaker B: Yeah, like I was saying, I haven't had 42 wins, which is right outside of what you're thinking, and I completely agree with what a lot of you're saying. I think the Pelicans could fall when it comes to the injuries. I think what if Anthony Edwards doesn't prove to be that MVP guy? I could see the Timberwolves falling and I think Mike Diagonal, the Thunder can 100% make that jump up to the seven seed. They have a lot to prove. Shea Gil de Shalixander was fantastic last year. He was an MVP candidate and I think he could do it again this year. And then you have other role playing guys like both Jalen Williams and then Chet Holmgren, who's finally going to play on the court, and Luis Dort, who was one of the top defenders in the NBA. It's all there for the Thunder. I'm not sure if it's going to be this year because I think those guys still need a year to kind of mesh, especially with Chet coming in. But, I mean, they're so young. There's a lot to look forward to with all those draft picks, too. Off the Paul George and Russell Westbrook and all those moves, there's a lot they could do.
[00:38:30] Speaker A: And then my final team in my tier three here just outside of the play in in the playoffs, like I said, this could fluctuate, is the Memphis Grizzlies. I wanted to put them higher. I'm a huge lover of everything the Grizzlies have done this offseason besides John Morant doing what he did to himself, getting himself suspended. If he wasn't suspended, I'd probably put the Grizzlies at one.
[00:38:51] Speaker B: Wow.
[00:38:52] Speaker A: And I think they could be that one team in the Western Conference to get more than 55 wins.
[00:38:57] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:38:57] Speaker A: But since John Morant is out for more than a quarter of the season, I don't think they're necessarily going to struggle, but I think they're not going to be able to obviously be as dominant. But I think having Marcus Smart, derek Rose holds that down with the guard position fantastically. I think Desmond Bain could jump up and average instead of 22 points per game, damn near 28 points per game. I think triple J, of course, will hold down the paint. Yes, the injury, like we talked about previously with Steven Adams, hurts the low post game, but when you got Tillman, who's a proven backup center, I think they'll be all right. But at the end of the day, they're without drama rant. So realistically, I can't have them winning more games than I did last year, so I had to knock them down a little bit. Last year, they won 51 games. This year I have them winning 46 games. Not a huge dip, but as you'll see next after Jamie goes, when I come back to me my five through three, they're like about as neck as neck as neck and neck can be. So that's why I can't put them any higher. Where the grizzlies? If they had drum rant, they'd clear everyone, but they don't.
[00:39:58] Speaker B: All right, let's move on to my playoff teams in number six. Alex just talked about him. It's the Memphis grizzlies. I have him going 44 and 38, same record as the Timberwolves. However, I think Memphis gets the better of the Timberwolves in the regular season, wins out the season series, and I think the Grizzlies secure that playoff spot. Being without star point guard John Moran for 25 games is not as bad as people think. They had a higher win percentage without him last year than they did with him. And with Marcus Smart on the team now, that is phenomenal. He's one of the top, if not the best defender in the NBA on the perimeter, of course.
[00:40:30] Speaker A: You said Drew holiday last week.
[00:40:31] Speaker B: I'm saying one of I mean, it's definitely one of Drew Holiday as a Celtics fan. Here.
[00:40:36] Speaker A: Pick one.
[00:40:37] Speaker B: I'm going to go Marcus Smart because he has the award. He has the smart he's Mr. Celtics, though, so I'm going to go with Smart as a top defender and then you have Derek Rose, who has a lot to play for backing him up. I think it'll be interesting to see how he does. We haven't seen him play a ton in the last two, three years. And so I think it's going to be very fun to see what Drose has left in him, especially because people call John Morant Baby D Rose.
[00:41:00] Speaker A: I love it. I love that he's there.
[00:41:01] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:41:02] Speaker A: He's more of the leader, especially when John Morant comes back, but I love it.
[00:41:05] Speaker B: That's very fun to watch. I would love to see how Derek Rose does. So I have him at 44 and 38. I do think John Morant is going to harm them.
Without John Moran, I think it's going to harm them. I don't know if they're going to be the one seed with John Moran. If they had them all season, I could see a top three. But I think six for right now is fair.
[00:41:22] Speaker A: You want to save your once you get to the top two, and we can just discuss those.
[00:41:25] Speaker B: The top two. Okay. All right. At five, I have the Los Angeles Lakers. That's far 46 and 36. I have a one game difference between them and four. Two game difference between them and three. Basically what it is. Yeah.
[00:41:40] Speaker A: So it's going to be another team.
[00:41:42] Speaker B: Who could be much higher. They made great free agent acquisitions with Jared Vanderbilt, who they got last year.
They signed what's his name, austin Reeves, who had a breakout year last year. It's going to be interesting to see how many games LeBron James plays since he can sit out with no repercussion because of the new CBA. He is one of the players that can sit out whenever he wants, but even without him, this team can win a ton of games. Austin Reeves could be a most improved player candidate. I would like to see how many games Anthony Davis could stick out. He's one of the most injury prone players of all time.
And it definitely harms the Lakers not having their All NBA center. But again, it's going to be a very tough conference because even without Ad and LeBron, they have pieces to win games.
[00:42:26] Speaker A: That's what I was going to say. The reason why when we come to me I have them a little higher is because I think they've built their bench enough. Obviously, you cannot replace what LeBron and Ad do on the court, but if they have to miss not significant time, but miss a week here and there, I think they have enough young firepower plus great depth that they can win games.
[00:42:44] Speaker B: Yeah, 100%. I mean, guys like Christian Wood, who was an all fringe All Star at one point, is their backup center, which is crazy.
So that's why I have the Lakers at five. I just think the Los Angeles Clippers just edged them out with one game ahead. I think they're one of the top rosters in basketball, but health is wealth. When healthy, this team could win 55 or more games. But can Kawhi stay on the court? Kawhi Leonard, one of the all time great basketball players. Top 25 of all time, in my opinion, the six foot seven now playing power forward this season, which is a little weird.
He has always had a struggle staying on the basketball court, but when he does play, he's an absolute game changer. And when you add Fresno State legend Paul George on top of that, and Russell Westbrook, who had a much better season with the Clippers than he did the Lakers, he meshes way better with that crew.
It really benefited the Clippers, that Westbrook move, and you have guys like Terrence Mann, who are still developing. He's going to be great. Bones Highland, who I think because he's only, what, 22, 23.
[00:43:48] Speaker A: He's young.
[00:43:48] Speaker B: Yeah, they were calling him Mediocre when he was in Denver, but he was young. He goes to the Clippers, and now he gets to learn from guys like Kawhi and Westbrook. I think it's going to benefit Bones Highland, and I think he's going to be a very solid six man. So I think the Clippers have a lot to prove. I really like Tyron Lou. He's a great coach. So that's why I have the clippers. One game ahead at 47 and 35 at the four season.
[00:44:09] Speaker A: You like Mike Boudenhoser, too, right?
[00:44:11] Speaker B: Oh, yeah.
Number three, I have the Phoenix Suns, 49 and 33. I mean, come on. You guys know how much I love Kevin Durant. One of the best Big threes in basketball with KD, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal, who they just acquired from the Washington Wizards in the offseason. He's a multi time all star. You could go into him however you want, but can everyone play together the right way? The DeAndre Ayton trade is going to help with the depth on the roster. They traded Ayton away as a part of that Damien Lillard three team deal to acquire, most notably Grayson Allen, who's one of the premier young defenders oh, yeah, sorry. Nurkic, Too, who is a great substitute for Ayton at that center position. It's just, can he stay healthy? But then Grayson Allen, who I actually like more because he's going to come off that bench and really lead that rotation back there. So I think they could very well be better. But they have a ton of star power. They're undefeated when Kevin Durant plays with Devin Booker, so it's definitely going to be fun to watch. At 43 and 33, it's where I have them standing, but I got two teams ahead. Let you go, though.
[00:45:15] Speaker A: All right, so moving on to my fourth tier here, before we get to the top tier with our top two teams, the five through three seed, I have them with all the same record on paper. Will they finish with all the same record? Most likely not. I mean, that'd be very weird. It's very uncommon to see that. But I just couldn't choose who to put at five, who to put at four, and who to put at three. But I will say this, there is a major gap, like a four or five game gap between the three seed and the two seed. So the teams that are going to be five through three are the Los Angeles Clippers, the Phoenix Suns and the Los Angeles Lakers. I have the Lakers at three, I have the Suns at four and the Clippers at five. But like I said, I have them all finishing with the same record, which won't happen. But that was just me saying is I can't choose. I really can't. And it's really hard to pick, but I have them in the order of Lakers at three, Suns at four, Clippers at five, if I had to pick an order. And here's why.
The clippers. I like them a lot. Russell Westbrook, I think, is going to have a great season. He proved last year that when he was on the Clippers versus the Lakers, a much better fit for what they needed. But Kawhi and PG health a lot like the pelicans. That's why they're knocked down a little bit, I think. The Clippers, they don't have that pain as much because Kawhi and PG play more than a lot of the guys on the Pelicans do. But it's also a question mark with the Clippers. Can they stay healthy? I like their depth moves this summer. Not as much as Nick does. He's like they have the best bench in the NBA. I don't know about that one, Nicholas, but I do like their bench pieces they added to help bolster them. When guys like PG. And Kawhi can't play. Then at four, the Phoenix Suns, you got KD, Beal and Booker. That's enough to be a top four seed. Like, I put them in the power rankings. That's enough to be a top five in the power rankings. Those three guys by themselves is enough to be a top five in the conference. So that's like, obviously one reason, but a better reason, because that's whatever is I like the Ayton trade kind of. Nurkic spaces the floor. Ayton couldn't really space the floor, and I think this works well. Ayton was kind of clogging the paint and he plays a very old center role, which is great. I think it might be good for the Trailblazers, but for a team like the Suns, who are going to shoot a lot of threes, having someone like Nurkic Shoe is not the best three point shooter, but he can space the floor far superior than DeAndre Ayton can. And don't get me wrong, Ayton has a pretty good mid range shot. He's gotten better at shooting. But Nurkic has been in the league for a while. He's a seasoned vet and he's not someone who should be a star. Nurkic is a very good center. He's better than a role player, but DeAndre Ayton should be a star NBA center. He was a top four pick, and he's not he hasn't become that yet, and he's probably still working to become that, where Nurkic knows his role as a very good complimentary piece to a very good team. And he'll be that for the Phoenix Suns. I love the Grayson Allen edition as well. I love their entire bench. I think they did all they could to create a fantastic bench with the new CBA. And the same thing goes for my third seed with the Los Angeles Lakers. They have LeBron ad. They somehow managed to keep Austin Reeves rui hutchimore Vanderbilt. They added Christian Wood. They added Cam Reddish, Torion Prince. All these guys. I definitely didn't need to name them all because they added Gabe Vincent.
[00:48:28] Speaker B: It's a big piece.
[00:48:29] Speaker A: That's a huge piece. Gabe Vincent was the spark that helped lead the Heat to the Finals. He didn't lead them, but he was the spark that helped get them there behind Jimmy Butler and Bam and Tyler Hero for, I guess, a second Tyler Hero. But yeah, go ahead.
[00:48:42] Speaker B: Fun facts. My barber actually cuts Gabe Vincent's brother's hair. Just thought I'd throw that out. There no reason.
[00:48:47] Speaker A: That's amazing.
[00:48:48] Speaker B: That's awesome.
[00:48:48] Speaker A: But, yeah, through the playoff run, I'm going to take back the Tyler Hero thing because he played for a minute in those playoffs. But it was basically Gabe Vincent who took that major jump behind Bam and Jimmy, and now he's with the Lakers and he's going to be like their 7th guy in the rotation versus starting like, this is really, really good for Los Angeles Lakers. That's why I have him winning tonight in the first game of the season against the warriors because their depth is impeccable, but it has to all work out. And also another but is that those three teams, it could fluctuate in any way for me. So now the top two, Jamie, obviously we both have the Kings and the Nuggets because those are the only two teams we haven't said in the west. But what's your order and why at two?
[00:49:29] Speaker B: I'm going to have the Sacramento Kings.
[00:49:30] Speaker A: Hating on your own team.
[00:49:32] Speaker B: I mean, I have them as a two seed. I got called crazy for having them as, like, the Six last year, and they ended up as the three. So I'm going to have them at the two this year. I have them going 50 and 31. Last year, they finished with 48 wins. I think they suffered no losses to their roster. They did lose Terrence Davis, which was pretty sad, but they replaced him with Chris Duarte from the Pacers, and I think he's a great young shooting guard who could shoot the rock from wherever. They added Javel McGee, who was that veteran center that I think they needed a lot. And then they added Sasha Vizenkov who in my eyes, is the most underrated signing for a lot of teams in the NBA. He was a Euro League MVP last year, averaging 28 points a game. He was fantastic. He's a stretch four. He's going to play the exact same role Keegan Murray does, but off the bench. It's basically like having two Keegan Murrays on the team, and I think that's very lethal. Speaking of Keegan Murray, I think he's going to take a huge jump in the second year. I could see him hitting around 1820 points a game. Murray had a phenomenal rookie season. He set the all time NBA record for most threes in a season by a rookie, breaking Damien Lillard's record. And that's as a small forward, he's not getting the rock on every possession. So shout out Keegan Murray. He had a phenomenal summer league, phenomenal preseason. He's going to dominate. I think he's going to take a huge jump. And the reason I have him over teams like the Lakers, who improved a ton last year, is because the Kings won their season series against the Lakers last year, three to one, and I think they could do it again. The Kings don't need superstars to win a ton of games. They have a phenomenal coach in Mike Brown. They have Dear and Fox and Sabonas, who were third team All NBA last year, and I think they could do it again. I could see Las Vegas has Dearne Fox as having higher ODS to win MVP than both Zion Williamson and LeBron James, which is pretty crazy when you think about it. But I love Dear and Fox, and I think he has all tools.
[00:51:21] Speaker A: He doesn't get hurt.
[00:51:22] Speaker B: Yeah, he doesn't get hurt.
Yeah. Knock on wood. But Dear Fox has never had an injury in his career. Knock on wood again. I don't want to double jinx it, but he's one of the best slashers. He is the best slasher to me in the NBA. He does it all, one of the best mid range shooters, and then Sabonis is Mini Yokich. It's crazy. I love this Kings roster. I think they improved. They had the Coach of the year last year, and I think it's going to work out well and have them go in 50 wins. But at my one seat, I have the Denver Nuggets, the reigning NBA champions, led by the horse racer himself, Nikola Yokich, coming off of a championship. They still have got the best player in the NBA, and they have Jamal Murray, who showed out a ton last year in the playoffs. He's one of the best all time playoff performers I've ever seen. He was crazy in the bubble. He was crazy last year. He's phenomenal. The roster is going to be great. However, they did lose guys like Bruce Brown and Jeff Green, like we were talking about earlier, but I think their young guys are going to fill that in. Well, guys like Peyton watson and Christian Brown, I think they're going to be just fine. Yeah, Christian Brown had a very good Peyton Watson.
[00:52:25] Speaker A: Like, we expect him to take a major jump when he didn't have a major role last year.
[00:52:28] Speaker B: But their GM said he said Peyton Watson right now is better than Bruce Brown, which the GM was kind of hating on a lot of their guys. He said that Bones Highland and MPJ are both ballhogs, but we're going to disregard that. I hope the Kings beat the Nuggets and become the one seed, but I got to be realistic. I think the Nuggets are going to edge them out just by a little bit. I have them going 53 and 29, and that's my standings. Denver at one, Sacramento at two. Go Kings. Light the beam.
[00:52:52] Speaker A: I think you're being unrealistic, Jamie, because as you know, I have the Kings at one and Nuggets at two. The lack of depth for the Denver Nuggets won't hurt them to the point of being out of the top two, top three. They're still going to be a very good team, the Denver Nuggets, and they're probably going to be the team that makes it to the Western Conference finals and has the best chance to get out of the west like they did last year. But losing Bruce Brown and Jeff Green is a yeah. After the two guys you just mentioned off their bench, zeke Najee, a few other guys, there are a lot of randoms.
[00:53:27] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:53:28] Speaker A: They still got Reggie Jackson. They brought in Justin Holliday, but Justin Holliday is not he's been in the league forever. Yeah, but he's not a huge contributor. So after the guys I just mentioned watson Brown, Reggie Jackson, najee.
Who did I miss? Reggie jackson? Najee.
[00:53:48] Speaker B: Peyton watson?
[00:53:49] Speaker A: Peyton watson? Justin holliday, maybe? There's a couple guys here and there I'm missing. They have a very short bench, but.
[00:53:56] Speaker B: They have a great starting lineup. Yeah, exactly.
[00:53:58] Speaker A: The reason why they're still going to be a top two seed, in my opinion, is because they probably have the most cohesive unit of a starting five in the NBA because they just won the damn championship with this exact starting five of Jamal Murray, KCP, MPJ, Aaron Gordon and Jokic. So that's why they're so high is because they have a proven starting lineup that doesn't just work.
It's a team that's getting their rings tonight. So that's why I have them up top. But their bench, I think, will need some additions and some movement by the traded line to really just because the west is so close, that I think they're going to have to bolster it up in some way because at the end of the day, your starting five can be amazing. But if your bench isn't efficient and sufficient, you're going to lose some games you shouldn't.
[00:54:41] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, this Western Conference is so tight, I can literally see the one through the five seed being mixed up in any order, 1000%. It's crazy.
[00:54:49] Speaker A: I could see the Clippers being the one seed. I could see it mixing around.
[00:54:52] Speaker B: I could see the Nuggets being the five seed just because of that bench.
[00:54:54] Speaker A: But the reason why I have the Kings at one and I do not believe the Kings are Western Conference champions. Sorry, Jamie.
I think they should get to the second round this year, but I don't think they're going to go to the Western Conference finals. I mean, it depends how it finishes and how it flows. But I do think they'll be the best team in the regular season in the Western Conference because they're young and they've already proved to be very good and they won 48 games last year out of nowhere. Surprised me. Not you, Jamie, but it surprised me, and I'll give you credit for that. You did believe in them and you were right. But this is the second year of Fox and and Keegan Murray. This core, that didn't change. Malik Monk, this is their second year.
Kevon Herder, this is their second year altogether. After having one successful season, it's only going to get better. But like I said, I don't see them being the best team in the west when it comes to getting to the finals. But regular season, I think they're going to have a lot of fun. They're going to have a lot of big games. They're going to score a lot of points. They did last year.
Their defense does need to be a little better. Yeah, that was their downfall last year. But with the top two Rays, I believe it was the Celtics and the Kings, I forget who was one, who was two. They still managed 48 wins with terrible defense. So if their defense can be better, I don't see why they can't be the best team in the regular season.
[00:56:20] Speaker B: I mean, the Kings led the NBA in scoring last year as a team and I think it was by like, two or three points. I'm pretty sure it was a pretty big gap. So I think the Kings are going to do that again. They're going to score a lot of.
[00:56:29] Speaker A: Points and now Keegan Murray is going to be even better and Fox are going to be more cohesive.
[00:56:34] Speaker B: They brought a lot of pieces on the bench Chris Duarte could shoot from.
[00:56:37] Speaker A: That's why I'm bought in on the Kings being the ones again. But I don't think they're going to be the one seed as in representing the Western Conference. Yeah, but regular season, I don't see why they can't, so to speak, run through it with 54 wins, which is very low compared to our Eastern Conference.
[00:56:52] Speaker B: Yeah, definitely. For me, it's like an eight game difference, which is insane. But I love what you're bringing. I'm very hopeful that the Kings could be the one seed. I would love for that to happen. But the west, we keep saying it. It's so stacked.
[00:57:06] Speaker A: I do have one little fear about the Kings, though. Yeah, is that maybe it was just like a one year flu.
I don't think it will be, but the only reason why I fear that is because, yes, Dear and Fox and Sabonis prove to be stars, but they don't have that top ten star that you know is going to be good every night. That's my only concern. Like, they don't have one of the top 1012 players in the league. You can make an argument that Sabonus is twelve or he's around the twelve to 15 range. I'd say sabonus. But they're a team that is so well built, so deep with the best coach from last year, coach of the year, going to be a great coach again this year, that they work so well. They kind of remind me of they're way better than this, but they kind of remind me of those Celtics teams with Isaiah Thomas where they have like a star and they have really good pieces around them, like he had Al Horford, Isaiah Thomas, but they're going to be a great regular season team. I believe the Celtics with Isaiah Thomas were a one seed, but then they saw LeBron James and the Cavs and they got beat. That's kind of how I view the Kings. I think Dear and Fox and Sabonis way better than what that was at that time and that team. But that's kind of how I view it. What do you think about that?
[00:58:18] Speaker B: No, I 100% agree. I think the Kings could definitely be a regular season team. I mean, it happened last year. They were the third seed in the Western Conference. They dominated every team they face. Then they faced Stefan Curry, who is one of the all time great playoff performers, and they took him to seven games, which I gotta give the Kings kudos for. You don't really do that with that was the first time Stephen Curry had ever gone to a I think it was the first time he'd ever gone to a game seven or at least been down in a series at some point.
[00:58:46] Speaker A: No, because I mean, he's been to plenty of game seven.
[00:58:48] Speaker B: No, I'm saying there was like some weird statistic that Steph Curry had been in some first ever situation against the Kings. I can't remember exactly what the first.
[00:58:54] Speaker A: Playoff game against the Kings.
[00:58:55] Speaker B: Yeah, it definitely was, but yeah, the Kings will definitely, to me, being a regular season team, I definitely think they're going to win the first round of the playoffs. They have gone through enough pain through warriors fans, and I think they're going to kind of have some sort of vengeance going into that postseason, but I don't think they're going to be representing the west in the finals. There's just too many stars, too many experienced playoff performers. And the Kings are still young even after this year. They're going to have a lot of young pieces. Keegan Murray will only be in his third year. Fox is going to be under a deal. Sabonis is still under contract. There's a lot to look forward to if you're a Kings fan, and I think this year there's a lot to look forward to as well. So shout out to Sacramento. I got him as two seed, but they could definitely be that one. And that is all we have for you guys this week. Thank you all for tuning in to WVUA 90.7 FM and the full core Press podcast. To stay up to date, follow us on Instagram at FCP podcast underscore UA. See you all next week. Peace. See ya.
[00:59:50] Speaker A: The NBA is back, baby.
[00:59:52] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:59:59] Speaker A: W-V-U-A-F-M tuscaloosa.
