Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: WVUA FM, Tuscaloosa.
[00:00:09] Speaker B: Hello, everybody. This is WVUA 90.7 FM, the Capstone. And welcome to episode 72 of the full Core press podcast. My name is Jamie Martinez, and I'm joined by Nick Atkinson and Kaden Johnson to stay up to date. Make sure to follow us on igpodcast UAE. With that being said, let's get into it. We got a fun one for y'all this week. We have a little segment we've never done before in the history of this program. And we got that later, so stay tuned. But first of all, let's get to the news. You know it. We're gonna start out with something that came out a little maybe over an hour ago, and that is Jay Crowder is working out with the Sacramento Kings later this week, and we'll see if he lands a roster spot in Sacramento. I think it could be an interesting signing. He's been kind of bouncing around teams ever since that 2020 season, and I don't know, maybe he'll find a home in Sacramento. I doubt it. He seems like he's never happy with any situation. He's not good anymore, either. Yeah. And he's just not the same player he was. So, Jay Crowder with the Kings. So be it. And now we go to Kaden Johnson with the rest of the news.
[00:01:17] Speaker C: All right, so I've got some news to report over the last week or so. As of today, Christian Wood underwent surgery on his left knee. The Lakers say he'll be reevaluated in eight weeks. It was first reported by Shams. Just like all the news I have today. Actually, other than that, a few days ago, Markieff Morris re signed with the Mavs. I don't think the deal is disclosed on how much yet, but I just know they want to keep that veteran presence in the locker room that they had last season.
Taylor Horton Tucker signed with the Chicago Bulls.
This kind of went under the radar a little bit. This is a guy that averaged 10.7 points per game last year. So another decent young piece to go in Chicago. He's actually from Chicago as well. You guys have any insight on that?
[00:02:01] Speaker A: No, not really. I mean, he's. I don't like. I don't think he's that good.
[00:02:05] Speaker B: I mean, but I mean, it's.
[00:02:06] Speaker A: Whatever. He's young.
[00:02:06] Speaker C: Yeah, whatever.
[00:02:07] Speaker B: I think it's crazy how the LA media can kind of blow anybody out of proportion. Cause I remember tht was getting a lot of big talk from LA. He goes to Utah, doesn't really do anything. So, I mean, maybe a fresh start in his hometown could be cool for him, but I. You know, it is what it is.
[00:02:20] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:02:21] Speaker C: Being. Having, like, somewhat potential on the Lakers as a young player, like, sets you up for your whole career. It's like Max Christie. Max Christie's, like a four year deal.
[00:02:29] Speaker B: Kyle Kuzma was getting Kobe comparisons.
[00:02:31] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:02:32] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:02:33] Speaker C: Better than Tatum. All right. And then the big news of the week. Jamal Murray and the Nuggets agreed on a four year, $209 million maximum contract extension.
Jamal Murray is now under contract for $245 million through 2029. So they have him bagged up for a while. Seems like he's probably gonna play out his days, especially his prime in Denver.
[00:02:57] Speaker B: It's pretty crazy. I mean, overpay.
[00:02:59] Speaker C: Yeah, absolutely.
[00:03:01] Speaker B: That's a lot of money for somebody who's never been an all star.
[00:03:03] Speaker C: 52 million a year.
[00:03:04] Speaker B: Yeah. For never being an all star. Yeah. He's got the ring, and he performed well in that playoff series. But for never being an all star, I don't know if that's the type of money I want to be handing out to a yemenite. Not aging yet, but soon to be aging at that point guard. So I don't know. It's interesting for the Nuggets keeping their homeboy around, though.
[00:03:21] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. I don't know. I think, yeah, it's overpay, but I know there's inflation in the NBA compared to, like, ten years ago. But, you know, a guy like the two MVP candidates in 2017, Westbrook and Harden, they got a $205 million extension on both their contracts that year, and now Jamal Murray is making 50 million more than them. So I think that's, like, a little insane.
[00:03:42] Speaker B: Pretty wild. Yeah.
[00:03:43] Speaker C: One thing to know, I think it's easier to pay guys like that or to, like, take a big payment like that whenever they've already brought home a chip to you. Like, I think it's like, I don't think Jamal Murray even gets 40 mil a year if they hadn't won a ring yet. You know, they're not really. They're still in pursuit of other rings, but they're not really as desperate for that ring as they were. As they were. So I think it makes it easier to. To maybe, like, overpay your guys a little bit that, you know, that brought you home a chip.
[00:04:10] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:04:10] Speaker B: Yeah, for sure. And that's all the news we have for y'all this week. So, quick news, let's move on to our brand new segment, hot takes. Defend and destroy. Oh, yeah. That's a really cool name I came up with 30 minutes ago. Defend and destroy. Okay, so here's the rundown each of us have brought. I believe it was five hot takes to the episode. And for every hot take, we will choose one person to defend the take and one person to destroy. Destroy the take. FYI, just because we bring this take does not mean we necessarily agree with the take. Because I have a couple here that I just want to hear my guys defend and destroy them. I want to have some fun today, so I think we can get it started. Hopefully, that kind of all makes sense. So I guess we can start with Nick with his first take, he's going to pick one of me or caden to defend it or destroy it.
[00:05:00] Speaker A: Okay, for my first one, I'll come in heavy on this one. Why is Curry better than Kobe all time? Mmm.
Okay.
Hmm. I want Kaden to destroy it and only you to defend it.
[00:05:15] Speaker B: Okay, so who's gonna start?
[00:05:18] Speaker A: Neither one of y'all two have figured out.
[00:05:19] Speaker B: I don't know. Oh, man, this is tough, because I. I feel like I need to do research to kinda.
[00:05:24] Speaker C: Okay.
[00:05:24] Speaker A: It's just whatever comes to your mind about why Curry is better than Kobe all time or why he's not better.
[00:05:30] Speaker B: Okay, let me pull up the basketball reference real quick, but I guess I'll start two really homegrown type players. Guys that stuck around through the thick and thin with their franchise. But Stephen Curry is a certified winner. He's got the extra MVP over Kobe Bryant. He is the first ever unanimous MVP in the history of basketball. And despite those super team allegations with Kevin Durant, I don't really think you could say Stephen Curry was really in anybody's shadow at any point in his career.
[00:05:58] Speaker C: Career.
[00:05:59] Speaker B: Unlike Kobe, where the argument could be made with him being in Shaquille O'Neal's shadow. Stephen Curry only won finals MVP, but boy, oh, boy, was he great in every single one of them. Two MVP's, ten time all star, two scoring titles. And if you wouldn't have been hurt all those younger years ago, he would be much higher in the all time scoring list. I think he's the greatest point guard of all time, really an all time olympic performance this year as well. So I think it would be safe to say Stephen Curry's over Kobe Bryant all time.
[00:06:27] Speaker C: Not that Curry doesn't have longevity at all, but he doesn't have the longevity that I think Kobe Bryant brought to the table. Kobe was an all star in his second season, and then in his all of his last.
I think it was 17 or 16 seasons. So I think Kobe Bryant, like really, really just kind of was the guy for his entire career. And I know that they had Shaq during those early two thousands runs and that Shaq was their main guy. But as soon as he left, Kobe was the face of the Lakers for 15 years. And in that time span, he averaged 20 points per game from 1999 all the way to 2013.
The next year he averaged 13, and then the year after that he was back up to 22 again. And that was like, as you know, in his 19th, 18th season, something like that. So I think. I think Kobe is better than Curry all time because I think he brings a little bit more to the game, too, as well. From a basketball standpoint, you've got like, defensively, I think Kobe's better on the ball, off the ball, even defensively than Curry is.
Obviously, Curry has the shooting on him, but Kobe has the slashing ability. He's got the mid range ability, in my opinion, as well.
Kobe was kind of like, Kobe's footwork in the paint was so good, too, that he almost looked like a shorter Hakeem Elijah out there at some times. I think his ability to fade away and shoot over bigger defenders to the point that they couldn't block it in the post was really impressive as well. And he could create shots at a level at a. He could create shots at all three levels at a level that, you know, we haven't really seen from anybody else in the game.
[00:08:10] Speaker B: That's true. I do want to bring up one more thing. I think Kobe Bryant worked his career to be the second Michael Jordan. Stephen Curry was the first Stephen Curry and I think he revolutionized the game in a bigger manner than Kobe Bryant did in a way that three point shooting after him has taken, you know, has had such a sharp rise in, you know, how many times people are doing him a game. Stephen Curry was the first of his kind with that shooting ability and how often he shot it. The three pointer was more popular than it ever was after him.
[00:08:40] Speaker C: That's a great point about the shooting, but my argument for that is that Kobe brought the game to an international stage like no one else did before him.
[00:08:50] Speaker B: Not even big China, not Mike.
[00:08:52] Speaker C: You know, Mike kind of made basketball famous in itself, especially in the United States. But I think Kobe, all the work he did over in Europe, I think that kind of brought in a completely different crowd. I don't think we'd even see some of these european players today if it wasn't for Kobe Bryant.
[00:09:10] Speaker B: Real talk.
[00:09:11] Speaker A: So do I pick who I. Yeah, you pick what. What's. What are we supposed. So what do you want? You know, I don't know who.
[00:09:17] Speaker B: I guess. Who brought a better argument?
[00:09:18] Speaker C: Who gave a better argument? It doesn't have to be who you agree with.
[00:09:20] Speaker A: Okay. All right. I think Cade made a better argument, but I do think Curry's better all time, so. Yeah, like, I think cadence points were a little bit better. Yeah.
[00:09:30] Speaker B: Okay, so, Kaden or me, who do you. Who should go?
[00:09:33] Speaker A: Will we just go in, though?
[00:09:34] Speaker B: Yeah. All right, so I'll go next.
I kind of really focused on this season, and I kind of regret that.
[00:09:39] Speaker C: Because I did, too.
[00:09:40] Speaker B: I would have liked to have done all time takes, but my take is the Memphis Grizzlies will finish as a top two seed in the Western Conference this season and reach the Western Conference finals. So, Kaden, I want you to defend that. And Nick, I want you to destroy that.
[00:09:58] Speaker C: Let's go.
[00:09:58] Speaker B: So whoever wants to stay, start.
[00:09:59] Speaker A: Boss man could start.
[00:10:01] Speaker C: All right. I love the Grizzlies as much. I'm going to defend this. This take with my life, but I don't know if they'll be that good. I do think they are going to be really good, from my personal opinion. But as far as being the two seed, it's. The ball's definitely in their court. We saw last year three teams in the west had the same record. Right? Obviously, OKC gets the tiebreaker, but there could be a very similar situation like that again in the west because of the depth. As far as teams go, you know, don't be surprised if other than the thunder, there's a clunk of teams stuck between, you know, 48 to say, 53 wins. I think that's what we're going to see, actually. I think seeds two through, you know, maybe four or five will do that. Memphis wins big games. They have the intensity, the hustle, the defense to win those big games. I trust them in a primetime slot, say, late in the regular season, to beat teams like the Mavericks, to beat teams like the Nuggets. Even if they play good enough, they have depth. They've got Jaron Jackson junior down low. They've got Ja Morant coming back. If he can stay healthy, who knows what he's capable of? He's an all NBA level player. I think when he's healthy, and I mean, I'll let Nick talk just cause I'm yapping, but I can keep going about this grizzly scene.
[00:11:14] Speaker A: Okay.
For me, the biggest, like, hole their. In their team is the fact that they don't have a big man besides Zack ed on the team. You can count Jaron as a big man, but, like, he's an elite, you know, what's it called? An elite paint, remember, protector. Yeah. But every season that they have been good, it's because they had another center download, they had Steven Adams, and they were, they got to the second round playoffs because, you know, Jiren gets to roam out of the paint and he gets to, you know, be Jaron Jackson and. But with now having Zach eady, I think bringing in a rookie, it's not going to.
He's not going to be able to, like, perform up to par compared to like, Stephen Adams or Valentine's or any of the other big men that they had previously. And I also think that with Gigi Jackson potentially supposed to miss, I think, two or three months at the beginning of the season, I think that's a huge hit for them because other than that, then you look again, they don't have much other big man depth aside from Brandon Clark, who's coming back from an injury that put him out all season last year. And then really they're just banking on guys like Luke Kennard, Derrick Rose, who we know can't stay healthy, Marcus Smart and Vince Williams to be standout. And I'd say aside from Marcus Smart, none of them have been able to do that in their career so far. I mean, Vince Williams, he came from being nothing to something last year. But I think that they're going to be really dependent on their young players to provide and I just don't know if they're ready to do that yet.
[00:12:46] Speaker C: Yeah, I think the big three of John Morant, Desmond Bain and JJJ is really complemented well by their young players. I think the Grizzlies will benefit a lot from the experimental kind of style of play they had last year when they had some of their stars injured.
And I think that's going to carry them a lot this season because you've got guys like Vince Williams, like Jake LaRavia, even like Sante Aldama, like guys that aren't your big name guys, but are used to stepping up in big moments that go under the radar because of, you know, their problems with depth last year and injuries. So I think when it comes down to it, these role players are going to get called up and they're going to deliver when asked upon. And then on top of that, to think about all those role players that had small breakout moments throughout the season, they're just bringing back Ja Morant JJ, fully healthy. Desmond Bain, Marcus Smart. And then on top of that, I think Zach, Edie and JJJ, if they go start together, which would be a little clunky down low, but it would also be the best defensive front court in the NBA, I think.
[00:13:50] Speaker A: Yeah, I can. I can definitely agree with that last point that you made, though. Definitely be like, top three minimum.
But, yeah, I just think another point with that is, like, compared to other teams in the Western Conference, I know that we probably shouldn't go off of just other teams, but I think that, like you were kind of saying, I think that they could win games in the regular season against this team and that team, but, you know, I just think that Dallas, maybe not even Dallas. I mean, I think they could be better than Dallas. I think they could be a lot better than Dallas. I think Minnesota, OKC, Denver, those three specifically, I don't think they'll be better than. Just because with those three, they all have, like, I'd say, two guys that can, you know, go for 50 any game, and they could, you know, shut down an entire defense and, you know, make the whole defensive, you know, the whole defensive game plan collapse for each team that they play. Like, you know, the Denver Nuggets, they have Murray and they have Jokic, and then the Thunder have Jalen Williams and Shea Chet. And then, you know, Minnesota has cat and Anthony Edwards. So I just see, has Desmond Bain really been like. I don't think he's been that kind of a score in his career to.
[00:15:04] Speaker C: Where he just goes, I mean, no, not like that, but the Grizzlies have seven players that can go for 25 on any given night. Yeah. Desmond Bain, Jaron Jackson, junior, John Moran, Marcus Marvin, Vince Williams, Marcus.
[00:15:17] Speaker B: 2023 banner.
[00:15:19] Speaker C: Last 30 25. That's what I'm saying. They have scoring options. Every game plan for jaw. Desmond Bain and Marcus Smart are going to attack the wings. Luke Canard is going to be open for three.
[00:15:28] Speaker B: Yeah. Desmond Bane averaged 23.7 points per game last year.
[00:15:31] Speaker A: I just think that, like all those other teams I mentioned, though, they. They have better role players comparably. Like specifically OKC in Minnesota. Those two teams.
[00:15:39] Speaker C: I believe that OKC in Minnesota do, but I don't think Denver does.
[00:15:42] Speaker A: Yeah, they don't. They don't. But, you know, they have the best player in the NBA. That's the only thing that really.
[00:15:46] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah, obviously up there.
[00:15:48] Speaker A: Really.
[00:15:49] Speaker B: Dang, I really got y'all talking on that one. That's a good. That was. That went really well. I appreciate that.
[00:15:53] Speaker A: Cause me and him both really. I really don't think they're gonna be, like, that.
[00:15:57] Speaker C: Good.
[00:15:57] Speaker A: And he does.
[00:15:59] Speaker B: I think because of personal bias, I would lean towards Kaden. But Nick did really make some good points that I didn't think of. So you. But y'all both did a really good job. But cause of bias, I'm gonna lean towards Kaden. So.
[00:16:09] Speaker C: Cause of bias, what is this, Jamie?
[00:16:11] Speaker B: No, because I also believe the Grizzlies will be a top two seed. But it's kind of like how Nick said so. All right, moving on.
[00:16:18] Speaker C: All righty. Okay, first one.
The Suns will make another finals appearance with Devin Booker at the helm. Not this season, but just in general.
Nick, you will be destroying this. Jamie, you will be defending it.
[00:16:31] Speaker B: Oh, man. Okay, I'm defending it.
[00:16:33] Speaker C: Not win, but reach another NBA Finals with a Devin Booker led team.
[00:16:38] Speaker B: Okay, so we've already seen Devin Booker do this before with a very elderly Chris Paul, who was essentially on a walking cane. And Booker dominated in that season.
And he's only gotten better as his career has gone on. Last year, with Kevin Durant on his team, we kind of thought he would take a scoring dip, and he still went out and averaged 27 a game. So who's to say with Kevin Durant this year? And it improved Grayson Allen and everybody else that they brought in that they can't reach that point again as early as maybe this season? Because, yes, we're seeing teams like Oklahoma City who are on the rise, but they're young, they're inexperienced. All these other things are going to factor into that. Memphis, like we had legitimately just talked about, have been dealing with injuries constantly, no matter what. And Dallas was the kind of surprise team last year. Nobody really expected them to be that five seed and jump all the way to the NBA Finals, and they did just that. Phoenix finished the 6th right behind them. So who's to say they can't be that team this year?
[00:17:34] Speaker A: Anthony Edwards.
[00:17:35] Speaker B: Anthony Edwards has been great, but, I mean, he lost to that same Dallas team. So Kevin Durant has been an all time scorer. We know this debatably, the greatest scorer of all time. And as we've seen in this Olympics this past summer, he still has that juice. Devin Booker has been phenomenal, shooting the ball and facilitating. And now they add Bradley Beal, who, assuming he stays healthy alongside guys like Grayson Allen and all these other dudes, I don't see why they can't reach that point once again in the Western Conference, because it may be loaded, but anybody can be upset at any time we saw that with Denver, we saw that with a bunch of other guys. So I don't think it's that crazy to say that Phoenix reaches that, the hilltop once again.
[00:18:14] Speaker A: Okay, so for me, I think one of the biggest things about that season, specifically.
Yeah, for sure, the biggest thing for that season as to why the Suns were successful was because they played a many, many, many injury led teams. The Lakers first team that they played, they had no LeBron. They had no Anthony Davis. Well, they've had LeBron for, like, two games. But, I mean, you know, if you don't have LeBron for seven games and he's fully healthy, you're gonna lose the series.
And, you know, that was whenever DeAndre Ayton was probably considered a top ten center in the NBA, and it was.
[00:18:42] Speaker C: More like top five.
[00:18:43] Speaker A: Yeah, there was no rent protector against him. You have, you know, 35 year old Dwight Howard. He's not gonna be able to guard Deandre Ayton. And so then they go on to play the Denver Nuggets in the second round. No Jamal Murray, no Michael Porter juniore, no Aaron Gordon. Yet it was once again, just nobody to play any sort of defense on them whatsoever. Then they go and play the clippers without Kawhi Leonard, and it's just Paul George, and Paul George takes into game seven by himself. And our game six, one of the two, and then they go in the finals and they just. They win two games at first because they have momentum going into it from Chris Paul and everything like that. Despite what Jamie said, he was old, but Chris Paul was arguably better than Devin Booker during the run. And then the next four games, Devin Booker kind of just turned into.
Kind of just turned into, like a Tim Hartaway junior. Just, you know, can't really get anything going, you know, and they got destroyed defensively. And I think a player like Devin Booker, who has been able to, like, transcend his playing style over the last couple of years into a better playmaker, better defender, better scorer, I don't. I do think that there's, like, a way he could get to a title, but I just think with the way it's currently constructed now, he's 28 years old, and if they don't get anything going this year, then that pushes them back another five years because Bradley Beale's 32, Kevin Durant's 36. If they don't win this year, Kevin Durant's going to want out. And so then Kevin Durant is also not going to get the same pull in terms of picks as he did before. Because of his age and because we've seen that in the last five years, he cannot win. Well, you know, he can't. He hasn't been able to get back to where he was with Golden State. So I think that the pure or the fact that they won't have any draft picks or any long term contracts of role players is what will set them back from being able to get to the finals again or a deep playoff run again.
[00:20:32] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, it's a good point. But another thing that I forgot is they made a couple of very solid signings in the offseason. They added Plumdog millionaire Mason Plumlee, who is, you know, a very solid backup center. But they had Tyus Jones, who I think is one of the more underrated playmakers in the league, averaging twelve and seven. And in a recent game, well, in the third to last game of the season, he went out and had a 16 assist game, which is something that Phoenix didn't really have at all last season. When you're running either Bradley Beal or Devin Booker at the point guard, neither of which have been known as that kind of playmaker that Tyus Jones is. So I think with Tyus on the offense now, he's going to create shots for Booker and Beal and Kevin Durant, and now you're going to have to worry so much more about those guys because there wasn't really a legitimate playmaker for them. So I think Jones was a big, very solid signing and hopefully he stays there and they have, you know, solid enough depth with, you know, bowl bowl and Royce O'Neal. But I think Tyus Jones is a more substantial signing than a lot of people are making it out to be.
[00:21:30] Speaker A: Well, here's the thing about Tyce Jones. He signed for a minimum contract and it does not have bird rights, so he cannot come back next year if he plays good. So unless they give him $5 million, and I think he's a, a $20 million player, I think he's one of the better pure point guards in the NBA. But that just brings my point up again, that they don't have the money to financially build a competent roster. And whenever Kevin Durant is ready to go, they're not, they're still not going to have money.
[00:21:55] Speaker C: So, all right, if you two are done, I'm done.
Not that I disagree with this take entirely because I think Devin Booker is good enough to lead a team to the finals again. I think Nick made some good points about how this really isn't or doesn't feel like the suns year, and then on top of that, they have some mediocre, bad contracts that they're going to have to deal with in the future. So odds wise, it just doesn't look that likely. Not that I'm, I'm not saying that I don't think they will, but I do think Nick made good points about that.
[00:22:31] Speaker A: Back to me.
[00:22:32] Speaker B: Yep.
[00:22:32] Speaker A: Yep. All right.
Why?
Why is Anthony Davis a top 50 player of all time? I want Kane to defend it and I want Jamie to destroy that.
[00:22:50] Speaker B: Okay.
He said top 50 50. Okay.
[00:22:55] Speaker A: He made the NBA 75 list, but I feel like he kind of has a legit argument. Do that.
[00:22:59] Speaker B: So I made 50 instead.
[00:23:02] Speaker C: Yeah, well, I. I'll go ahead and start. I think Anthony Davis is one of the best big man defenders to ever play the game of basketball, really? And that goes as far as not just rim protection, but defending in general. Anthony Davis can, can almost guard one through five unless it's a really quick one because of how quick he is and how athletic he is.
And that's just what he brings to the game defensively, I think he's really good in the passing lanes. Obviously, he's a great rim protector, but he's not like a Rudy Gobert. You can't five wide. You can't go five out on Anthony Davis and expect to swing it around and just cook him in a one on one isolation game. He's too good for that. And I think that element of his game is something that we don't really see in historical great big men of the past, which could give him an edge over them if you want to really compare. And that's just what he brings defensively. Like I was saying, offensively, he's a career 24 points per game scorer on pretty solid shooting, and he's even added a three point shot to his game over the course of his career, which I think is insanely impressive. He's one of the first big men to just say, you know what? I'm going to adapt to the times instead of just trying to force the way that I play. It just kind of felt like one summer he decided, hey, I'm going to learn how to shoot threes. And then he added it to his arsenal, and he's a solid three point shooter in the Lakers title run. He was a great three point shooter. I think he hit a three point buzzer beater in one of the games against Miami.
He's proven that he can shoot threes in big moments. And to have someone that brings the defensive anchor anchorage, like he does, but also is able to play offense at a high level, not just in the pick and roll and lob game, but with expanding his range and shooting. I think he brings more to the table skill wise than a lot of people that you would think from the past would be over him. As far as all time list goes.
[00:24:58] Speaker B: Yeah, you definitely brought up some valid points, and you kind of opened up with how good of an interior defender he was. And I think to be in that top 50, at least for a big man like ad, you have to be one of the all time legitimate best rim protectors of all time. He's a three time block champ, so don't take that away from him. Five times, all defensive, but no defensive player of the years. And I don't think he was the rim protector on the level of a bill Russell or a Tim Duncan, a Kevin Garnett, Hakeem Olajuwon, Shaquille O'Neal, all those top 50s guys. I don't think Anthony Davis hits that level. And you brought up his three point percentage. He was great at one point in his. A solid point in his career. Those last two years in New Orleans, he was shooting phenomenally from three point range, but it's only deteriorated from there in 2021, only shooting 18% from three, and then 25 and 27, which aren't terrible for what he's done, but it's only deteriorated from the 33, the 33, the 34.
And he has LeBron James for that finals run. I know everybody likes to bring up the Mickey Mouse ring, yada, yada, yada. You know all the things about that, but I wouldn't take that away from him. I just don't believe Anthony Davis is in that top 50 because I don't think he's there with a level of talent that is in that top 50.
And injuries has also plagued a lot of his career, so I think that takes away from a little bit of what he has to offer as well.
[00:26:18] Speaker A: Yeah. Y'all done? Yeah. Okay.
Yeah. Jamie, I think I agree with you because I like what you said about the level of talent because, like, when you look at guys that are in the top 50, like, I just don't think that he's on that level a player individually because, like, what he's accomplished individually, he could never get out of the first round as a first option.
[00:26:38] Speaker C: Yeah. Yeah. I tried to take the approach of more, like, skill and talent because you're right, he doesn't have, like, the success accolades.
[00:26:45] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:26:46] Speaker C: Necessarily. I do think he was still a major part of that 2020 championship.
[00:26:50] Speaker A: Oh, he was probably better than LeBron.
[00:26:51] Speaker C: But Jamie brought up a good point too with the injuries. You can't really. I can't argue against the injuries. Obviously. I don't believe he's a top 50 player of all time. Yeah, you just got to defendezhe.
But I do think he's a really great player.
[00:27:03] Speaker B: Yeah, for sure.
Let's move on to mine.
Mine is the Los Angeles Clippers finishes a bottom three team in the Western Conference and they are in contention for the first pick.
[00:27:16] Speaker A: I love that.
[00:27:17] Speaker B: So I'll have Nick defend that and Kaden destroy that.
[00:27:21] Speaker A: I really like that. Okay, so I'll start.
So yeah, I think that they're going to be about. I absolutely 100% think they will be the twelve seed or less.
They do not have the talent aside from Kawhi Leonard on the team. That could be a win. Now team James Harden is not the player he used to be. Average 16 and eight last season and that's not what you pay a guy $50 million to do. He's taken up a bunch of salary cap to play no defense and to turn the ball over three or four times a game.
They also don't have shooting anymore because they've lost Paula George and they replaced him with Nick Batum and Chris Dunn. Derek Jones junior, they don't have any shooting on the team. So Harden's going to be doing all of the moves that he does and he will not be able to get into the paint and create any shots. It's going to lead to a lot of turnovers and a lot of ISO movement by Kawhi Leonard, who is going to end up getting hurt because there is no spacing on the wings and zubos cannot do anything aside from in the ten foot area. Then on top of that, their depth looks good, quote unquote good, but it's all players that are unproven. Chris Dunn, he came back last season. Mo Bamba, he has been a player that has gotten paid big money over the last two years by Philly to do absolutely nothing and really be injured more than Joel's injured and you know, Paul Reed was better in terms of being a backup than him. Then you've got, who else did they get? DJ J that's a very good signing by then Derek Jones junior was a very good signing. But I once again, he can't shoot for nothing. Not for nothing, but he's not. I mean, he, for what you want besides a player like James Harden, he's not going to be sufficient enough for that. Whenever you've got a lineup of Harden, Terrence Mann, Derrick Jones, junior Kawhi and Zubat, that's probably the worst shooting team in the NBA right now. Yeah, because nobody can shoot at an elite level besides James Harden, who his shooting has dipped ever since he lost, left Houston.
[00:29:21] Speaker C: I just disagree with the shooting part. I think Norman Powell, Cape. Oh, I forgot about bones. James Harden, Amir Coffey, Batum, like, they have shooters. Kawhi, obviously, Terrence Mann, they have shooters. I think they have great veteran presences as well. Obviously, Kawhi and James Harden are two all time greats. If Kawhi is healthy, which is what I'm going to base my argument off of, if Kawhi's healthy, if Kawhi can give them 65 to 70 games this season, there's just no way that they're a bottom three seed. If he's healthy. If Kawhi Leonard is healthy, he's still, as a 33 year old, good enough to carry a team to the playoffs, in my opinion. I think he can do that with James Harden. And I do think they have good depth, especially at the wings. They're just loaded on wings. I mean, Amir Coffee, Norman Powell, Terrence Mann, like I was saying, and then you got dj that's going to come in and probably play the four, maybe even a little bit of small ball five because they don't have a lot of depth at big, but they did re sign Evacuzubak. I think he's going to be their franchise center for a while. And I do think that there's just teams that they're better than in the west. That's what it really boils down to. I think even, even like a team that might be as good as, like the spurs. If the Clippers are as healthy, if the Clippers are healthy and they want to win, like they're not wrestling guys, they're not intentionally tanking, then, then they'll be better than teams like the spurs or like the.
Hmm. Maybe, maybe could be better than the warriors potentially. Yeah. Obviously better than Portland.
[00:31:00] Speaker A: Utah.
[00:31:01] Speaker C: Utah, yeah. And could, could maybe see them being better than the Rockets, too. And that, granted, this is if they stay healthy and if they play with the mindset of wanting to win and not tanking, because I do think that's a possibility.
[00:31:13] Speaker A: Yeah. Having, like, I think that what you made some good points about, they have like good wing depth, but like, aside from that, I kind of bring up the point again of them having a lot of players that are unproven, like KPJ, you know, he's a. Every year he had something come up and, you know, he is a great. He's great at basketball, but he just always has some sort of on, off court issue. And then bones Highland, he is maybe one of the worst basketball players I've ever watched in my life.
[00:31:42] Speaker C: But those aren't. I don't think those are guys that are gonna get a lot of minutes in my. I just don't. I just don't think they will.
[00:31:48] Speaker A: Well, I mean, they gotta have a backup point guard. Well, Chris Dunn. Yeah. I mean, I don't. And then Chris Dunn again, I mean, he. Great defender, but he's unproven, like, again, you know, I mean, we haven't seen him do much of nothing on a winning team.
[00:32:00] Speaker C: I think they'll go Bones for backup point guard.
[00:32:03] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:32:03] Speaker C: I mean, and I do agree whether you're saying, like, bones is a terrible defender, but he's been young, he's got room to improve. He's only 21, 23. Yeah. So I don't know. I think Bones will take the backup role just because Chris Dunn was kind of like a long shot signing anyways. But I. You. I don't think, like, KPJ. I don't think Chris Dunn or, you know, I think one of KPJ. Chris Dunn and Bones will get minutes. One of them.
[00:32:29] Speaker A: One, yeah, for sure.
[00:32:29] Speaker C: And it's gonna be whoever's the best out of them. So that would only essentially really throw you, one unproven player into it.
But like I was saying, I think the depth they have at wing will kind of take over the. The lack of depth they have as far as for point guards and centers.
[00:32:50] Speaker A: And I like what you said about the small ball thing with Derek Jones Junior. They're going to run a lot of small ball.
[00:32:56] Speaker C: Exactly. Yeah, because they don't have.
[00:32:57] Speaker A: When that. And last year, they tried to run Harden, Terrence Mann, Paul George Kawhi and PJ Tucker. Yeah, and that. Oh, they have PJ Tucker, too. And he's gonna play a lot.
[00:33:09] Speaker C: I think. I think.
I think DJ Jenna will take some of those PJ Tucker minutes. That's what I was thinking. Like, I think DJ J will fit into that, like, closing lineup, five spot. If small ball has been working for them throughout the game.
[00:33:23] Speaker A: It just was. I mean, it didn't work last. It was.
[00:33:25] Speaker C: Yeah, it was a.
[00:33:25] Speaker A: It was.
I'm trying to put a good way to put it. It's like, it was. Horrible thing to watch, was watching them try to run a small ball. Five. Five. Man, without Westbrook being on the court as the best rebounder on the team, I think, you know, I'm trying to not involve him too much into this, but I just think that they lost a lot and I don't think that they're going to be.
[00:33:49] Speaker B: Okay. That was great. I think I'm going to have to lean towards Nick on this one.
That's why I included the bottom three because I think no matter what, they'll be better than either Portland and Utah.
But I think with Memphis and Houston missing the playoffs last year, they'll obviously, I think they will both make the play in. I think that kind of drops the Clippers down. So health is wealth and Clippers have always had a problem with that. Both of you guys brought up awesome points, but I think I'm going to lead towards Nick on that one.
[00:34:17] Speaker C: All right, I've got Giannis wins both an MVP and the finals again in his career, and it doesn't have to be with the Bucks.
[00:34:25] Speaker A: Oh, I like that.
[00:34:28] Speaker C: Nick, you're going to destroy this. And Jamie, you're going to defend it.
[00:34:31] Speaker A: You're defending, so you go first.
[00:34:34] Speaker B: That's okay.
So you said another MVP and a.
[00:34:37] Speaker C: Final and a finals.
[00:34:39] Speaker B: Okay. So I think the MVP is not far from reality whatsoever. I think within the last. Okay, his last MVP was 2021. Yeah.
And I think the most recent Jokic MVP, let's see, he was third in MVP voting in both 21, 22 and then fourth in 2023. I think in reality, voter fatigue had a heavy take in that and I think he could have been the MVP in every single one of those years. I don't see why he couldn't do that again this year because he's only been improving. Last year averaged 30 points a game, contention for defensive player of the year. His three point shots only getting better. And his free throws, he's only getting better. His blocks are only getting higher, his steals are only getting better. And I think he compliments Damian LillARd well, whenever Dame feels like he wants to play. So I think an MVP is obviously not out of the reality for Giannis because he is that dominant and he's only getting better. He has the defensive stats. He has it all. I think voters fatigue aside, Giannis for sure can win an MVP, but with the current state of the Bucks, I'm not sure if he can win that finals. But it's not crazy to say that he leaves and wins that extra championship because with the way he plays, he's going to be dominant for so, so long. And be able to, you know, be on contending teams for so, so long, especially if he wins that MVP, that would assume that he is a top three, top two seed in whatever conference he's in. I think with that situation that he would be in, he is for sure a lock for another, another championship because he has all that talent in the world. We've seen how hard he can carry a team, especially in that finals against Phoenix. He was ridiculous. He's still young. It's not like he's an old Mandev. What's he, 29, 30? Yeah, 30 years old. Yeah, he's still young in basketball terms. Giannis still has that juice and I for sure can see him winning another MVP and a title. Whether he goes to, I don't even know, Golden State, whatever he wants to do. Chicago, Chicago's young. We'll see with that. But, yeah, I don't think a championship is far from crazy to say.
[00:36:41] Speaker A: Okay, for me. So we've only seen, I think, two guys win an MVP in the thirties of Steve Nash and Michael Jordan. And I don't think Giannis will be the guy to break that with the level of, with how he's, you bring up those points about how he's consistently gotten better, but he's continued to miss more games as the years go on. Last year he played like, I don't know, 60 games, which for him is not a lot.
[00:37:06] Speaker B: 2023. This is 24 this past season. Yeah, 2022, he played 63 and then this year he played 73. So he actually played ten more games.
63.
[00:37:17] Speaker A: Okay, where's games played at? Okay, so, yeah, relatively since, you know, the beginning of him being a real MVP level player, it's slowly gone down from 75 to now, 73 when he.
[00:37:30] Speaker B: Played 63 in his second MVP.
[00:37:33] Speaker A: Yeah. And that's, I mean, now you won't win an MVP off playing 63 games. You have to play 65. So I think that's automatically a thing. You know, the most games the dudes ever played in his career in terms of a being of top ten, five player is six, is 75. So I just don't think that with the, the way that he's been more injury prone as his career has gone on, you know, he didn't play in the playoffs against Miami last two years ago and he didn't play against the Pacers. The pacers this year.
[00:38:03] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:38:04] Speaker A: So, you know, I think that'll be a continuous trend because he's a player that relies on his athletic ability. You see a player like John Wall, Russell Westbrook, Derek Rose all relied on their athleticism. None of them aged too well into their late thirties. Westbrook is the only one that's playing at a semi decent level at this point.
And yeah, his jump shot has gotten a little bit better, but he still is not somebody that I'm going to go on and say, hey, I want you to shoot three or anything like that. But another point, I think that he's loyal to Milwaukee. I don't think he wants to leave. And even if he does leave, he has, like, a couple of teams where he's said some stuff about where he wants to go. He said everybody wants to go play for Chicago. If he goes to Chicago and Cooper flag is not there, they're not going to win anything.
Him by himself with Matis Bozellus and, you know, a couple other guys. But that's no, no better of a situation than what he is in right now or than what he was in two years ago. So I don't think that he's in a position to where he can win a title for the rest of his career. And I think that the MVP is long past him because we have guys like Tatum, Ant, Shay, Wembanyala, four guys that are all going to be in the MVP race for the next five years who are one of, two of those guys are going to get an MVP at some point in the next five years.
[00:39:23] Speaker C: All right, so y'all are both done?
[00:39:25] Speaker A: I'm done.
[00:39:26] Speaker C: All right.
This is a good one. That was probably the most even one. I don't even think either of y'all really wondez, to be honest with you, because I agree with a lot of both of what y'all said. Y'all both made really good arguments, actually, because I, this, I don't, I have a hard time calling Giannis an injury prone player. I guess he is. But some of his injuries just kind of feel like bad luck a lot of the times.
[00:39:50] Speaker B: Like, it just happened at the end of the season.
[00:39:52] Speaker C: He, like, strained his calf just walking up the court against the Celtics right before the playoffs, and that's just kind of like, I'm not going to bank on that happening every year. I'm not going to go into the playoffs expecting Giannis to be banged up, even though it has, like you said, happened the last two years. I just chalk that up to a little bit more bad luck. I think Giannis obviously takes very good care of his body. I mean, you saw the transformation that he had and putting on, like, a healthy, healthy muscle mass and healthy weight, and he's just an absolute beast. He's one of the most dominant players of all time. And then Jamie brought up a really great point about him improving. I think he quietly, like, gets better every year. Like, Giannis is still getting better as a player. Like, last year, you could argue, is the best Giannis that we've seen when he's playing. He really is, like, an all time great. He's really, truly a top 25 player of all time.
[00:40:45] Speaker B: 25?
[00:40:46] Speaker C: Yeah, I think so. And then I like that. On top of that, I think he's a top three player today.
[00:40:52] Speaker B: Yeah, for sure.
[00:40:54] Speaker C: Really close to being top two, probably maybe even is number two. So, with that being said, I'm confident enough that he'll win an MVP for sure. I think he for sure wins another MVP. But finals is going to be a stretch, especially because I don't know if he can do it in Milwaukee. And he brought up a good point about his loyalty. I really do think he loves Milwaukee. So I would even go as far as to say I don't think he'll win a finals unless it's with another team. But y'all both made excellent arguments.
[00:41:22] Speaker A: Okay. For me, why will Victor Wembanyama not win a title in the next eight years?
So it's strong timeline. I'll say five. Five years.
Five years. Okay. So, okay, Jamie, I want you to destroy it, and I want Kaden to defend it.
[00:41:47] Speaker C: Wait, wait, wait.
[00:41:47] Speaker A: No, no. Other way around. I want you to say why he will not win. I want you to.
[00:41:52] Speaker B: Dang it.
[00:41:53] Speaker C: All right, yeah, I'll just. I'll just go straight off the bat, because the. The way that he will win is by being. Living up to that. That hype, like, living up to that all time great height. So, within the next eight years, I believe that Victor Wimanyama will become, like, solidify himself as the best player in the NBA at some point within that timeline, and ultimately is one of the better players to ever play the game. That being said, that that's what it'll take, I think. And I'm confident that he's able to do that. I mean, you saw what he had last year. He's probably the best rookie that I've ever watched. You know, I was one. I was. I was like a newborn whenever LeBron was playing in his rookie year, so I didn't really get to see that. But he's up and away the best rookie that I've ever watched in the NBA.
[00:42:33] Speaker B: I think he had the greatest rookie season ever.
[00:42:34] Speaker C: I think that's a good starting argument. Statistically between him and Paolo, which is awesome. It helps that he plays for the spurs and not the Wizards or the Hornets. This is a franchise that knows how to get players to the championship. They know how to develop players. They know how to build a team around a really good power forward. We've seen them do that a few times with David Robinson and Tim Duncan.
[00:42:55] Speaker B: Yeah. So this is tough. Victor Weminama, we all know what he brings to the table. I think no matter how you look at it, whether you agree or disagree with this take, he's going to go down as one of the all time greats. But I think in time it comes down to what the spurs do for him because I don't know how much time Greg Popovich has left as a coach in the NBA who fills those massive shoes of, you know, one of, if not the greatest head coach in the history of basketball, leaving the spurs, who fills those shoes, they're definitely not winning this year because Chris Paul is, you know, he's not going to be the pippen to Wembonyama's Jordan. I will say that. Especially when he's what, 38 pushing 40. I'll just say that they draft Stefan Castle this year. Stefan Castle, I agree. He's amazing, but he's not that number two option that I think they need right now. He is not a amazing scorer. That makes you just like pop your eyes out, like, whoa, he was great in college as a scorer. He's more of a drew holiday. And I feel like if they want to win a title, as soon as web and Yama wants to, you're going to need a little more than a Stefan castle to develop and become a great, great scorer. They're going to have to make some sort of massive free agency jump, a massive trade because I don't think they're going to land Cooper flag. They're going to be too good for that. Unless they strike gold in the lottery, that's not going to happen. So they're either going to need to hit big in the draft or make a splash in free agency or a trade or else I don't think it will happen because you can already tick a year off with this one and I think you can tick next year off unless they go out and get LeBron or whatever because Wemby's gonna be good. But you need more than one great player on a team. And once Greg Popovich is gone, I don't know if five years is realistic.
[00:44:35] Speaker C: All right, so if my counterpoint to that is that it could almost help them in a way, because of how I think they'll be bad this year. I think they may even, like, intentionally tank a little bit this year. Like, I don't think they'll be as bad as they were last year, but I could see them putting themselves in a position where they get a decently high lottery pick, say, maybe like seven or six again this year.
That will help. And then Wendy's career. Wendy will develop as a player, and San Antonio is not a bad spot for free agents at all, especially with Victor Wimanyama. Aging superstars are going to want to play with Wendy, in my opinion. I mean, I don't see why you wouldn't want to, especially if he continues to develop as fast as he is now. I think one or two more years of them being pretty mediocre will actually help them in a way, help develop Stefan Castle, because I think Stefan Castle could be a drew holiday level player if they are to make championship runs. On top of that, they already have solid scoring depth pieces like Devin Vassell and Kelvin Johnson. I think they're, with what they're paying Devin Vasell, they're pretty confident that he'll be a maybe weak thirds, really strong fourth option moving forward for them, or he'll break out in one of these next two mediocre years and become a very valuable trade asset. So I just think that the spurs draft so well, and then having Victor Wimanyama just creates so much wiggle room for you to do whatever you want, because, who knows? Women Yama could even get to the point where he's good enough to take a mediocre team to a championship.
[00:46:12] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. Are y'all done?
[00:46:14] Speaker B: Mm hmm.
[00:46:17] Speaker A: Yeah. Okay. I'll say that's a tie, too.
I don't know if I think he's gonna win a title in the next five years, because it's just the NBA is really top heavy right now, and I think Boston's got a good hold on the lead for the next three or four years, and then, you know, you also got the Thunder and the Timberwolves in the west that they got to get through.
[00:46:36] Speaker B: So.
Okay, I think it's time to rip the band aid off.
The Oklahoma City Thunder will win the NBA Finals.
I want.
[00:46:47] Speaker A: Do not make me defensive to defend it. I don't agree with.
[00:46:50] Speaker B: This is the thing we said. No matter what, I want Nick to defend it, and I want Kaden to destroy it. The Oklahoma City Thunder will win the NBA.
[00:46:57] Speaker A: I can't defend something that I just disagree with. So, blatantly though, that's like a little.
That's the case. I had something that I could have gave you that was really bad.
[00:47:08] Speaker C: This is kind of like backstabbing because that's just like too messed up.
[00:47:11] Speaker A: That's just like, I can't agree with. I can't even. That's just lying. I can't.
[00:47:15] Speaker B: Fine, fine. I'll switch it up. The New York Knits Knicks have everything go right and finish as the best team in the Eastern Conference. Kayden, I want you to defend that and I want Nick to destroy it.
[00:47:27] Speaker C: Team chemistry. Team chemistry goes a long way in the NBA and I think that that's what they brought in with McCow Bridges now already adding on to the Villanova culture that they already have. On top of that, they have a perfect coach for the guys that they have. Tom Thibodeau coaches very hard and some players don't like that. But the New York Dicks do. They do like that. So with Macau and Jalen Brunson and Devoncenzo, Josh Hart, like a lot of guys that play hard and are willing to play 45 minutes a game come playoff time, I mean, I just think that they're in the perfect situation to build success up in the future, and especially this year. You know, they've seen that they're, or they've already made it clear that they're going all in this season. They traded like everything they have in their future for Macau Bridges.
So I just think that if there is a year for the Knicks, it's going to be within the next two. So it might as well be this year. They brought back Ogn and Ob as well. They have a really good bench. Julius Randall is still back, but, you know, he seems a little unhappy. Could be traded, which, you know, could even be more beneficial for them.
[00:48:35] Speaker A: Okay. Yeah. So for me, I think the biggest, the most glaring thing for why I do not think that they're going to be one of the top two to three teams in the Eastern Conference is because they don't have any backup big men, precious, six eight. So, you know, that automatically puts you at a disadvantage in terms of that. If you want to try and play small ball and run Mitchell Robinson, you know, some backup minutes and run Julius Randall at center, that's not going to work because Julius Randall is not a good, not a great post defender.
And so I think along with that, they lost a lot of depth. They still have good depth, you know, but like Miles McBride, I guess Josh Hart, D Vincenzo and Precious will probably be the bench and that's, you know, that's really good. But I think whenever you look at the core, besides those nine, you need to have at least two more guys that can come in and be okay, and they don't have that. And I think that along with what you said about Tibbs being a hard coach, that has already been non beneficial for them because I think they could have made two conference finals runs in the last two years had they not played their players so hard. I think that the year that the Celtics lost to Miami in the conference finals, I think the Knicks could have been there. I think that the year, I think last year they absolutely, had they been healthy, would have beat the Pacers in maybe five games. And, you know, I think that they're not going to be healthy because he plays them so hard. And then you bring up the point of Julius Randall, you know, going into a season having controversy automatically means that, you know, there's going to be some sort of tension in the locker room, especially between him and Tibbs probably.
[00:50:00] Speaker C: So I think they either straighten that out, though. I'm confident that they either straighten that out or get them traded by the.
[00:50:05] Speaker A: Deadline, which will be more beneficial, in my opinion.
[00:50:08] Speaker C: Yeah, I agree.
But going into the playoffs, I don't think having depth will be as big of a factor as you think it is for them in the playoffs because I think they really want to play those minutes. Some of them do. Josh Hart has made it clear, and that's what Tom Thibodeau has to do a better job of, be more selective with who he plays that with. I think Josh Hart can handle 40, 42, 43, 344 minutes a game. But you're still Brunson. I think Jalen Brunson can handle that low, too, though, because he plays differently than most superstars. You know, he's not your typical superstar. He plays a lot grittier, a lot more slow paced half court offense, and I think that can contribute to helping them play longer because they're not running out in transitions. Like, there's ways for you to get your rest in some of these half court sets if you just slow the game down and play at your own pace. You know, Josh Hart's playing 45 minutes a game. Tell him, okay, for the next two minutes on offense, you're going to just sit in the corner and kind of catch a little bit of a breather. Cavs used to do that with LeBron all the time instead of subbing them out. Hey, let me put you away from the play a little bit, but to the point where you can still make a play if necessary. But I do think that the Knicks have good young guys, too, like Deuce McBride. And then, you know, I mean, some of their guys aren't necessarily young anymore, like Macau and Jalen Brunson, but they're high energy guys and they're. They're in their prime right now. Like OGN and Obi as well. Mitchell Robinson.
[00:51:32] Speaker B: Amen, brothers.
Yeah. I think you guys both killed that.
I think it was a tie because I said, will they finish to the top seed in the east? Kaden brought up amazing points that say they will, and Nick brought up amazing points that say they don't even finish in the top three. So I got to commend both of y'all. I think it's a tie. That was. That was really good. So, Kaden, I think you're the last one. Last one.
[00:51:57] Speaker C: Okay. Yeah. All right. I have a few left, but I'm gonna just go with, like, maybe the most interesting one that I have still. All right. Zion has a huge year. First or second team all NBA leads the Pels to over 50 wins and a Western Conference finals appearance. Nick, you're gonna defend this. And Jamie, you're gonna destroy.
[00:52:20] Speaker A: Alright, so for me, the biggest, the most glaring thing as to why he will be such a good player is because he actually has a real point guard. You look at probably his. This season was probably his best season just in terms of dominating and being available.
It was probably whenever Lonzo Ball was the point guard and he actually had a real playmaker. CJ McCollum is not a playmaker. I've been really wanting them to get a real legit point guard ever since they got CJ. And I think that that's only going to elevate its play and it's going to make, you know, if you're running, you can legit run a small ball five with that, because Zion is so elite defensively that he's going to be able to run big. And, you know, you can run one of the most elite defensive teams in the NBA with Dejante, CJ, Herb Jones, Brandon Ingram, Zion. I mean, that's. Nothing is going in the post. And, you know, if you get anything in the post, Zion and Herb are going to, you know, shut that down. And Zion coming off of at the end of last season, got hurt. And he was playing so good in the playing game. I think he had 50. He's going to go ahead and bring that kind of energy into the. Into this next season and he's going to play better off of that, and he's going to, I think, be the second best power forward in the NBA, if not, maybe potentially first. And I think that he's, you look at what he's done this offseason, he looks like about 25 pounds lighter. He looks more fit, and I think that with this upgraded point guard that he's going to be a whole lot better this season.
[00:53:47] Speaker B: Looking at his basketball reference, and apparently his middle name is Lateef.
Zion Lateef Williamson. Okay, so here's my argument. Zion Williamson, the talent is undeniable. We know how great he is, whether it's in the paint, blocking shots, as an undersized power forward, really, he does it all. But in the game of basketball, health is wealth. He didn't play the entire 2021 to 22 season with an injured foot. He wins rookie of the year only playing 24 games. The season after his broken foot, he only played 29. Last year. He finally placed 70 games, the most of his career, but he wasn't an all star.
After playing all 70 of those games, he averaged 23 a game, but it wasn't enough. And yes, I know they add Dejonte Murray, but you're asking or you're saying they're going to make the Western Conference finals. This Western Conference is top to bottom. Legit loaded. The Oklahoma City Thunder are young and only getting better. Denver has debatably the best player in basketball. Dallas has debatably the best player in basketball. Minnesota has the best up and comer that we've seen in a very long time in Anthony Edwards alongside a former defensive player of the year, alongside the big purr Nas Reed. 6th man of the year, Phoenix Suns. You asked me to make an argument about them earlier. Who's to say with the addition of Tyce Jones, they aren't. So they aren't just amazing with Kevin Durant and Booker and all these other teams, Memphis, Memphis being as amazing as they are and coming back healthy, I think it's going to be extremely difficult for the Pelicans to make the Western Conference finals with that injury plague that they that, you know, has been kind of plaguing them for a very long time, and it really hurt them all of last season. So Zion, I know his, he's amazing. He's a great, great player, but even when he was fully healthy last year, for the most part playing 70 games, he wasn't an all star.
So he's great, DeJonte's great, but I don't know if he can get that far.
[00:55:41] Speaker A: Reason that he wasn't an all star, though, was because he didn't have a playmaker. And, you know, he also had Brandon Ingram, who was in and out of the lineup and just wasn't. Was taking shots away from him. And then he had a very rotational roster and as well as once again, not having a center, he had Cody Zeller, Lance, Larry Nance, and then now I think that he's going to probably take over as the center or Yves Messi or whatever that rookie's name is, who I think is going to be really good for them. And I think that Zion is going to take another step defensively, and I think he's going to be a top five finisher in Depoy.
[00:56:16] Speaker B: Yeah, I think he's great, but I think those injuries, who's to say they don't plague him going to the next season as well? And he doesn't get hit with more because it sucks to see how injury prone he is because he's an amazing basketball player. But, you know, with him, anything's possible.
[00:56:29] Speaker A: And his three point shooting has got a lot better.
[00:56:32] Speaker C: Yeah, I think y'all both brought up really great points. You know, I think Zion could potentially take that next step into being a superstar this year. You know, he's got the driving down. He's got. He's defensively great. He's proven, you know, in the play in last year that he can perform in those big time games. He had like 42 on the Lakers. He he could develop a little bit better as a playmaker out of the post. You know, they have good shooters like Trey Murphy, CJ McCollum, Daquan Cook, Herb Jones. So I do think they have a promising year ahead of them if they can stay healthy.
[00:57:06] Speaker A: Yeah, I agree.
[00:57:08] Speaker B: That's all we got. Just real quick, I want to read the last ones that I didn't get to say. My takes, the ones I didn't say were the Charlotte Hornets play better than expected and finish a top eight seed in the east.
[00:57:19] Speaker C: I thought about doing that one. I really thought about doing that.
[00:57:22] Speaker B: That was my other solidified one. I was gonna ask, and then my two extras were kind of out of just crazy. The Demarteros and experiment fails in Sacramento, and they missed the play in. And then with an increased role on the team, Brandon Podzemski makes the all star team in the west.
[00:57:37] Speaker C: Oh, gosh.
[00:57:39] Speaker A: Okay, man.
[00:57:40] Speaker B: So if we didn't get that far, but that would have been crazy. But I think, barring anything else, that is all we have for you guys this week. Thank you for tuning in. To WVUA 90.7 FM and the full core press podcast to stay up to date. Follow us on Instagram at FTP podcast uh, way. We'll see you all next week.
[00:57:58] Speaker C: Peace.
