0:00

Welcome to this League Uncut

0:03

in you rule.

0:04

A twenty four hour NBA news.

0:05

This is you, Chris

0:08

Haynes.

0:09

It's time, Mark's time.

0:11

It's some time.

0:17

This league Uncut is underway and on

0:19

fire.

0:21

This should be a good one.

0:25

Hey, everyone, welcome

0:27

in to another edition of

0:29

this League Uncut. Mark

0:32

Stein here with Chris Haynes. Hope

0:35

everybody had a great Saint

0:37

Patrick's Day. I have to say it is

0:39

not a holiday

0:41

that this probably

0:44

won't surprise you, not a holiday that

0:46

I typically participate

0:49

in in any meaningful way. I'm way too

0:51

old to get wild

0:53

and crazy on a Saint Patrick's Day. Did

0:55

not wear any green, Chris Haynes, did you wear any

0:57

green yesterday?

1:00

I didn't.

1:02

I didn't even know it was Saint Patrick's Day till I

1:04

went downtown, went to church.

1:06

And then when I got outside of church, I saw.

1:08

A bunch of people wearing

1:10

green and they were stumbling

1:13

to walk, so they were already drunk

1:15

around noon, one o'clock

1:17

PM.

1:18

That was your conclusive medical diagnosis.

1:20

Oh yeah, it didn't take

1:22

much. You know, you don't need a degree to be able

1:24

to tell if somebody's drunk. You know,

1:27

the church, I go to. It's,

1:30

like you said, right downtown, so there's a bunch of bars

1:33

and everything, so you could you can see people bar

1:35

hopping and wearing green.

1:37

I know that was such a big deal.

1:39

So but no, I don't, you know, I've never I don't

1:41

know if he knows stein, but you know, I don't

1:43

drink, never drink, never smoked.

1:45

I don't you know.

1:46

I took a sip of some wine of

1:48

some people that made me, made

1:51

me consume it because I was around them,

1:53

but I don't so from that, I don't.

1:55

I don't drink, so I wouldn't know.

1:57

Yeah, neither one of us does. He

2:00

never asked, no, Okay.

2:03

On my twenty first birthday, I was forced to

2:05

consume some rum

2:07

and coke.

2:08

Did not go well. I couldn't

2:10

do it. I didn't taste

2:12

it. Awful. Yeah, that's it.

2:16

I'm crazy as it is, starn so

2:18

I felt like, you know, I.

2:19

Don't need liquor anything else to

2:22

make me even crazier.

2:23

So you know, I've been you know, so far, so

2:26

good.

2:26

I don't think and hopefully there's nothing

2:28

that causes me to drink. There's timestinying,

2:31

times in your life where you feel like you need a drink.

2:33

I don't you know what I mean. I don't know what that feeling

2:36

is after you have one, but you know it'd be

2:38

sometimes from like, hey, maybe this.

2:40

Is a good time for a drink, this good time

2:42

for smoke. But I've never I've never done

2:44

done.

2:44

Them so well, we probably should

2:46

have worn something

2:48

green one of us, just to say we like.

2:51

Even your guy Tim McMahon showed

2:53

up for the Mavericks

2:56

Nuggets game Sunday afternoon,

2:58

an incredible Mattene game in Dallas.

3:00

Even your guy McMahon had on a pair of

3:03

green Adidas gazelles that

3:05

I had to say, looked pretty They looked

3:07

pretty good.

3:08

If there was anybody that you can tell me

3:11

who will probably be the

3:13

most excited about yesterday

3:16

in the media corps, Tim will

3:18

probably be a the top of my list.

3:20

I don't know how excited he. I don't know if he gets to

3:22

you know, he's so grumpy. I don't know if he ever

3:24

gets excited. But all of this was my

3:26

preamble to say that I did

3:28

nothing wild and crazy, but I

3:31

certainly saw something absolutely

3:34

wild and still hard

3:36

to believe. Almost twenty four hours later

3:38

that Kyrie Irving game winner,

3:41

leave up looking.

3:42

In curving, curving for the

3:45

wind, just

3:52

ups.

3:54

Going to his left running

3:57

floater hook shot.

4:00

I'm still not sure what to call it, but with his

4:02

left hand a buzzer

4:04

beater.

4:05

And for Dallas, huge

4:08

redemption.

4:10

Because it was just a

4:12

few weeks ago that they lost

4:15

an absolute heartbreaker in Cleveland

4:18

when Max Struce drained a

4:20

sixty footer at

4:22

the buzzer. I thought that was crazy

4:25

this because it was left handed,

4:30

just as wild and

4:34

stunning as what Struce

4:37

did on February twenty seventh, and

4:39

crazily. Kyrie

4:41

Irving has not been a Maverick for a long time.

4:43

It's only been about thirteen months. But

4:46

if you're a calendar nerd like

4:49

me, you know

4:51

that on March seventeenth,

4:53

twenty twenty three,

4:56

Maxi Klieba beat

4:58

the Lakers at the buzzer off

5:00

a cross court Kyrie Irving pass,

5:03

and then March seventeenth, twenty twenty

5:06

four, Saint Patrick's Day twenty twenty

5:08

four, Kyrie Irving only the

5:10

second career buzzer

5:12

beater for

5:14

Kyrie Irving. But man,

5:16

what a shot I mean, and he is I

5:19

mean he is known as a shot maker.

5:21

Your guy Damian Lillard took right to Twitter

5:23

to call him the most skilled player ever.

5:26

I talk about the Mavericks all the time, so I want

5:28

to hear your thoughts not just on the

5:30

game, but what do

5:32

you think of this Mavericks team? What do you think people

5:34

in the West think of

5:37

this Mavericks team. I'll weigh in after you.

5:39

But how good are these guys? How dangerous

5:43

are the Mavericks of Dallas.

5:45

They're definitely a dangerous opponent

5:47

for anybody, particularly in that first

5:49

round. You cannot sleep

5:51

on any time you got a guy

5:54

like Luka Dakich, who's going to be

5:56

in the MVP conversation year

5:58

after year as long as he's healthy. And Kyrie

6:01

Irvin, who we know the

6:03

heroics, you know, the skill said that he brings

6:05

to a team. Anytime you got those two

6:07

guys in the fold and they're healthy, you got

6:09

a shot.

6:10

Just like you know, it's a similar situation with the Phoenix

6:12

Signs.

6:13

Anytime you got healthy KD Devin

6:16

Booker, Bradley beal, you're going to give

6:18

yourself a shot and you're going to be dangerous.

6:21

Now are they going to be the favorites?

6:23

That's a different question and

6:26

most of the times I would probably say probably

6:28

not probably won't be be the favorites.

6:30

But you know, you look at a team

6:32

like the Mavericks, if

6:35

they can get that seventh seed, like

6:37

if they can lock into that seventh seed, you know obviously.

6:39

They need six not seven, but go ahead.

6:41

They need six. Now, Okay, I get you there.

6:43

Well, you're assuming the Nuggets are

6:46

going to Nuggets or Thunder is going to stay at

6:48

one or two.

6:49

Yeah, I mean to me, you

6:52

know, I think Minnesota, because

6:54

they don't have Karl Anthony Towns, is gonna

6:56

end up third and as great

6:59

as season as the Wolves have had, as

7:01

good defensively as the

7:03

Wolves are, And look,

7:06

when the Timberwolves woke up on

7:09

this Monday morning, they were still

7:12

number one in the NBA in defensive rating,

7:14

allowing only one hundred and

7:17

eight point two points per one hundred

7:19

possessions, still ahead

7:22

of the Boston Celtics, who have truly

7:24

been the team

7:27

of the regular season. So look, I'm

7:29

not saying that you want

7:31

to see the Minnesota Timberwolves, but

7:33

if my choices are the

7:36

Denver Nuggets, the defending champions, the

7:39

very frisky Oklahoma City Thunder,

7:41

and Minnesota which is probably gonna

7:44

have to play without Karl Anthony Towns for the rest

7:46

of the regular season, and then

7:48

if they're fortunate enough to get Cat

7:50

back, work him in on the fly for

7:53

the playoffs. And if they don't get Cat

7:55

back from his recent mniscus

7:57

surgery, that

8:00

puts a huge, huge burden

8:02

offensively on Anthony Edwards. Karl

8:05

Anthony Towns was having a great season

8:07

offensively, so to

8:10

me, Dallas and the team

8:12

closest to where you reside, Sacramento,

8:14

these two teams are locked in this battle

8:17

for number six and both

8:20

desperately want it because I think both would

8:23

rather see a less

8:25

than full strength Minnesota in Round one

8:28

than either Denver or Oklahoma City.

8:30

Yeah, I would agree with you on that.

8:34

I'm just not sure Minnesota

8:36

is gonna slide like that without cap.

8:38

That would be my only concern if I'm Dallas or

8:41

any other team that's trying to lock into that sixth

8:43

seed. But even with

8:45

that being said, I still think Dallas

8:47

would like their chances against Minnesota and

8:50

Oka.

8:51

See.

8:52

You know, I think that you're in pretty good

8:54

shape if you could get that

8:57

six or seven seed. And I do

8:59

think Denver. I'm

9:01

not a betting Man. But I would think

9:03

denver By

9:05

seasons in will we'll

9:07

get that number one seed.

9:09

That's what they're going after, and you know.

9:11

They had the championship pedigree, they experience

9:14

to to do what it takes to

9:16

get to that spot.

9:17

So that's the way I see things going.

9:19

Do I know for sure? Hell no, I don't.

9:21

I'd really like to hear more

9:23

of your take on this because I'm always talking

9:25

about the MAVs. As you know, I have a

9:28

Saturday radio show in Dallas which

9:30

is super MAVs heavy.

9:31

So I'm going to follow up after you.

9:33

But I got to ask you now, thirteen months

9:35

into this, when the Mavericks first

9:37

traded for Kyrie Irving, what

9:40

did you think?

9:41

Did you think he and Luca would

9:43

be a good pairing.

9:45

I didn't know. I honestly

9:47

didn't know.

9:48

You know, this is you know,

9:51

Kyrie coming from his other

9:53

two stops in Boston.

9:54

And Brooklyn, and you know it

9:57

didn't go too well there.

9:59

But what I did did it feel like is that Dallas

10:01

did the best that they could and it was

10:03

a good pickup considering they

10:05

lost Jalen Brunson. So

10:08

from that standpoint, I looked at it as it

10:10

was definitely a great pickup.

10:12

How would he and Luca fair and

10:15

messed together?

10:16

I didn't know, but they were definitely talented

10:18

enough to get it

10:20

done.

10:21

And you know, it's always something starting.

10:23

You know, it's like when two stars,

10:25

even three stars team

10:28

up together. You know, people will

10:32

automatically look at, you know, their connection

10:34

on the court. Can they play well when a lot

10:36

of times these coaches they staggered their

10:38

minutes anyways, And so even if they're

10:41

not that good chemistry

10:43

wise between the two, you

10:46

can, you know, you can give one

10:48

of the stars time to shine on the

10:50

floor together singularly and let

10:52

them go at it.

10:53

And that way both both stars.

10:56

Can be in the rhythm, be in the groove,

10:58

because that's why they really do it, son each

11:00

being the rhythm, in the groove.

11:02

Knowing that they're they're at least going to have.

11:03

To play together the last

11:06

six seven minutes of the game, and then

11:09

you're hoping like them being in the groove is

11:11

going to help them play better

11:13

together. And so you know, I thought,

11:15

look, you know, they this is Kyrie.

11:18

You know, we know what he brings to a team, and

11:21

you know, I felt like it was definitely worthwhile

11:25

pick up considering they lost Jalen

11:28

Brusson, and so I still, you

11:30

know today it was definitely

11:32

worth it. Kyrie has been

11:34

a model citizen over there. He

11:37

I mean, like he's doing a good shot. Now. I'm not with that

11:39

team all day, like I mean all

11:41

day every day, like you How has Kyrie

11:43

been with the team, the locker room and everything

11:46

since he's been over there.

11:48

He's beloved in this locker room.

11:49

I mean, you could see it the way this

11:52

team celebrated, how happy it

11:54

was after he made

11:56

this ridiculous shot. And look when

11:59

he first Scott here. The Mavericks

12:01

tried to throw this thing together on

12:04

the fly. Luca

12:06

and Kyrie were five and eleven last

12:08

season in games when both were in uniform.

12:12

It didn't click on the fly. But also,

12:14

you look at the state of the team last

12:16

year.

12:17

You look at the.

12:17

State of the roster, it was

12:20

so much weaker than compared

12:22

to now. But honestly,

12:26

Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving have

12:28

been functioning fantastically well

12:31

as a duo all season long.

12:33

And what's crazy about it is the

12:36

thought was, Okay, they're going to get a training camp

12:38

this time. That's gonna make the big

12:40

difference. They didn't get a training

12:42

camp. They played seven

12:45

ish minutes together in the exhibition

12:47

season. They took the really

12:50

long trip two games in Abu Dhabi

12:53

and then a game in Spain so

12:55

Luca could go back to Real Madrid,

12:58

the club that really helped

13:00

launch him to prominence and where he

13:02

became a EuroLeague MVP, and

13:05

where he began his pro career at sixteen

13:08

with the senior national team. After

13:10

that long trip, both Luca and Kyrie

13:12

came back with injuries, so basically

13:14

they had no training camp. The

13:16

only issue for them as a duo

13:18

this season has been getting them on a

13:20

court.

13:21

Enough.

13:21

Kyrie has had two pretty

13:23

long injury absences, but

13:26

in both cases they were freakish

13:28

injuries. Dwight Powell, his teammate,

13:31

landed on his leg and knocked him out

13:33

early in the season, and then he

13:36

had a thumb injury when he

13:38

got hit on a swipe down. I mean, those

13:41

are both not normal situations.

13:44

When Kyrie Irving has been on the

13:46

floor with Luka Dancic, they have been

13:48

an absolute handful. I don't think anybody

13:51

wants to see these two in

13:54

the playoffs. But what is

13:56

so notable about this win over

13:58

Denver. Denver

14:01

is a very physical team, much more physical

14:04

than the Mavericks, and what

14:06

has been the challenge. You know, people

14:08

want to make the comparison Luca and

14:11

Kyrie have

14:13

echoes of Lebron's partnership

14:15

with Kyrie, but when Lebron was

14:18

playing with Kyrie, Lebron was

14:20

at the height of his powers in terms of

14:22

being a two way defensive force.

14:24

If you've got Luca and Kyrie, they

14:27

are both going to be offensive

14:29

dynamos. The challenges can

14:31

you build a workable

14:33

sustainable defense around the two

14:36

of them when both of them are going to be on the

14:38

court for.

14:40

So many minutes per game.

14:42

Sunday afternoon on Saint Patrick's

14:44

Day afternoon, the Mavericks played

14:46

physical. They pounded Denver

14:48

on the boards. I think it was sixty to thirty

14:51

nine on the boards. The Mavericks are

14:53

not known for out rebounding teams to

14:55

that degree, but it's they have much

14:57

more size now since the trade deadline, bringing

14:59

in Anuel Gafford to play with

15:01

Derek Lively, and you got PJ.

15:04

Washington, Lively, Gafford, Maxi

15:07

Kleiba as a foursome. You

15:09

know, they did as good a job on Jokic

15:11

as you can do. And now

15:13

some of it Jokicic just didn't look into it

15:16

yesterday.

15:16

He was very sleepy in the

15:18

first.

15:19

Half, and you know, sometimes afternoon

15:21

games are weird because of the different

15:23

start time. But you know that game was

15:25

in primetime in both Slovenia

15:28

and Serbia. So I'm sure Jokic

15:30

did not want to deliver a sluggish

15:33

performance because you know that game's in

15:35

primetime back home in Serbia

15:37

for him. But I you know, I thought that you

15:39

could actually say the Mavericks defenders

15:42

were a factor in a

15:44

pretty so so game for Jokic.

15:47

So I think that's what has to encourage

15:49

Dallas the most because their

15:52

defense has been bottom ten all

15:55

season. I always say this with the

15:57

Mavericks and the Kings, and you could

15:59

probably throw this into the same discussion.

16:02

The challenge for these teams, can

16:04

you have a league average defense. If

16:06

the defense is just league you know,

16:09

middle of the pack, the offense

16:11

is gonna be so good that you have a chance. And all

16:14

credit to the Phoenix Suns, even after a

16:16

horrendous showing in Milwaukee on

16:18

Sunday, even after giving up

16:20

one hundred and forty points to the Bucks.

16:23

With no Giannis Antetokumpo in the lineup,

16:26

the Suns are thirteenth in defense

16:28

as of this Monday. That's pretty impressive

16:31

considering they don't have a team full

16:33

of defenders. I think Frank Vogel to

16:35

get that team to thirteenth in

16:38

the defensive rating charts, he's

16:41

probably taking that. But

16:43

Sacramento was twentieth and

16:46

the MAVs are twenty first. So the MAVs are in the

16:48

bottom ten. And the goal is

16:50

for the Kings and the MAVs, can you get to fifteen

16:52

ish defensively, then you know

16:54

you're gonna have a chance in the playoffs. And so for

16:57

Dallas to play such good defense

16:59

and play with such physicality against

17:02

the defending champions and a

17:04

team that has bullied them

17:07

many many times in the past, I think

17:09

that was as encouraging for Dallas as

17:12

the ending was exhilarating.

17:14

And that's why they're a serious threat.

17:16

You know, I look at this team, aside from

17:18

you know, the defensive woes, offensively,

17:21

they have it all. Playmakers,

17:24

they have shooters, they have size,

17:26

they have guys that can guard up multiple

17:29

defenders out on the perimeter. You

17:31

know you got the lob threats. You

17:33

know they got they have everything you know

17:35

that you would need. It's not

17:38

the best team, but again that's why I

17:40

say that they are a threat. And for

17:42

one thing about these teams you want to

17:44

be you know, we're gonna talk about the Bucks let their own.

17:46

But it's one

17:49

thing to catch a stride, but

17:51

it's better when you catch your stride at

17:54

the right time. And when you're catching

17:56

your stride on

17:58

the cusp of entering po season play,

18:02

that's probably the best feeling you can have because

18:05

now you're going into the playoffs feeling good.

18:07

You're going into the playoffs knowing what

18:09

you're going to get from everybody. You know, there's

18:11

certain teams that peak in December and

18:15

then they collapse after that. They still

18:17

make it to the playoffs, but they're

18:19

still searching for an identity or trying

18:22

to find that identity that they had months

18:24

ago. It's a good time to be trying

18:26

to click. So if Dallas, if they can use

18:28

this as motivation is fueled to inspire

18:32

them to go to go on the streak here heading

18:34

in the right direction.

18:35

Ending the postseason, I

18:46

promise we are going to talk some East we

18:49

are going to talk for sure about the Bucks a little

18:51

bit here, but I can't take my eyes off the

18:53

West because no, again,

18:56

there are really three different races

18:59

going on. You've got the

19:01

race for number one OKC

19:04

Awoke Monday with a half game

19:06

lead on the Nuggets and Minnesota

19:09

only a game behind. So even without Cat,

19:12

the Wolves have hung in there and they're still

19:14

very firmly in the race for the

19:16

number one seed in the West. After you

19:19

know again that I referenced in a recent

19:21

podcast that ridiculous stat from

19:23

Alan Horton, the Wolves

19:25

radio guy who keeps

19:28

this stat that in franchise history,

19:30

the Wolves had only led the West for

19:32

ten days in the first thirty

19:34

four years of the franchise, and this season

19:37

it's right around one hundred days. So Minnesota

19:39

is still there. So that's race number one.

19:42

Race number two. New Orleans

19:44

the surging Pelicans, who've

19:47

been probably the

19:49

best team in the West since

19:51

February first, with Zion

19:54

Williamson looking absolutely rejuvenated

19:58

and Trey Murphy also stretching

20:01

the floor, and the Pelicans have just been

20:04

on an absolute tear the last

20:06

six weeks. The Pelicans

20:08

are within a game now of

20:10

bumping the Clippers down to number

20:12

five. So there's the race for

20:15

four or five with the Clippers and the Pelicans,

20:17

and honestly, the Clippers

20:20

without Russell Westbrook, they have not had

20:23

the same zip. Kawhi

20:25

Leonard came back from this

20:28

worrisome back injury that he suffered,

20:30

and you know he was

20:33

there. They had

20:35

Kawhi Leonard and

20:38

losing Sunday to Atlanta,

20:40

a team with really not much to

20:43

play for at this point. Atlanta

20:45

is stuck in a playing spot

20:47

in the East, and I

20:49

think the Hawks will hold on to number

20:52

ten at worse, but it's not like they're gonna climb

20:55

much higher in the standings

20:58

and they're going to be a playing team and really that

21:01

that's all the Hawks are working on right now. So that

21:03

was you know, the Clippers have lost four of five. That

21:05

was pretty brutal. So you got

21:07

that race, and then there's the you know, six

21:09

through ten in the West.

21:12

Sacramento on Monday morning

21:15

leading that race by percentage points. And

21:17

you know, we've talked about why number

21:19

six is so valuable

21:24

if Denver

21:27

ends up winning the top seed in

21:29

the West, which again is not assured,

21:32

but not only does number six put

21:35

you potentially in line to play

21:37

Minnesota in the first round, and it might keep you

21:39

away from the Denver Nuggets until the conference finals.

21:42

That's all TBD.

21:43

But this race six through ten,

21:45

the Kings leaded by percentage points

21:47

as we're recording this, Dallas

21:50

at seven, Phoenix at eight.

21:52

Those teams are tied, but the Mavericks hold

21:54

the tiebreaker. Golden State at nine,

21:57

the Lakers at ten. And so again,

21:59

if the play in tournament where to start today,

22:02

the names that would be in the

22:04

play in tournament, it is ridiculous to

22:06

think about Luka, Doncic, Kyrie

22:09

Irving, Kevin Durant, Devin Booker,

22:11

Bradley Beal, Stephen Curry, Klay

22:13

Thompson, Draymond Green, Lebron

22:15

James, and Anthony Davis as of Monday,

22:18

all are play in tournament

22:20

bound.

22:21

And you know, we could.

22:23

Talk about the Lakers as well, because I

22:26

mean, it's just horrible luck

22:28

for Anthony Davis to get a corneal abrasion,

22:31

which is obviously another freakish

22:33

injury. And you know, he has been so

22:36

ever present for the Lakers, and he's

22:39

done what people have asked. He stayed on

22:41

the floor and he's led this team defensively. All right,

22:44

I've rambled on way too long. Let me ask you. Let's

22:46

start with the Sons, because

22:48

I think you mentioned recently that they should be

22:50

the ones to sign Isaiah Thomas, and now it

22:52

looks like they are going to sign Isaiah

22:54

Thomas to attend Day. But how

22:56

worried should the Sons be to go to Milwaukee

23:00

and get blasted like they did when

23:02

the Bucks didn't have Giannis.

23:05

Let me tell you something about that Stein. So when

23:09

when was that? Was it last week I did the

23:11

Phoenix game? Might have been a week and a half ago. When I

23:13

did that Phoenix game, it was Phoenix Denver,

23:17

and I reported during the game the Sons

23:19

are looking to They're

23:22

looking to add a player for

23:24

the latter part of the season that could

23:26

potentially go into the playoffs

23:28

with you know, looking for a veteran, somebody

23:30

who has some experience, not necessarily

23:32

somebody that's going to play a lot, but just

23:35

a good locker room, postseason experience

23:38

god type of guy. And

23:40

immediately when I said that on air, Isaiah

23:43

Thomas gave me a text,

23:46

Hey tell the Suns to come

23:49

get me. So it me So he was

23:52

watching the Gay Edie said

23:54

that, and so he was the first one that put

23:56

that on my radar. I'm like, man, I might you

23:58

know, we all we've been talking about sons. He the point

24:00

guard anyways, and I'm like, that

24:03

might make sense. And so

24:05

that's when I said. Then I did our podcast

24:07

and then I mentioned Isaiah's name. It's

24:09

Isaiah might be.

24:10

But Isaiah was the one who gave me that

24:12

suggestion of Isaiah. So

24:15

and now it's good.

24:16

He's about to get a ten day with the Suns,

24:19

and so I'm glad it all worked

24:21

out for him.

24:22

So based on what you were hearing, do you think,

24:25

I mean, are they looking for someone

24:27

who's gonna go with it?

24:28

You know not.

24:28

I'm sure Isaiah Thomas wants more than a ten day.

24:30

He's trying to convince them to sign him for the

24:33

rest of the season and bring him along for the playoff

24:35

ride. What kind of chances do you think he has

24:37

of latching on and

24:40

staying there for the rest of the season.

24:42

Yeah, I think it ultimately depends on what

24:44

he does in this ten day. I don't know that

24:46

it's going to I don't know if that he has

24:48

to go out there and just ball out

24:51

but locker room guy. Obviously,

24:54

they want to see if he can steal play.

24:57

I mean, he tore up the G League

24:59

in a handful of that they play this season,

25:01

so he can still play, but the

25:04

Sons want to get a glimpse up close and personal.

25:06

You know.

25:07

I don't know how much playing time he's going to get during

25:09

it during his stint, but I think most

25:11

importantly it's going to be about

25:14

what type of locker room presence is he going

25:16

to provide. Can he help out

25:19

since Phoenix Suns are not really playing

25:21

the traditional point guard, is there

25:24

anything he can instill in

25:26

Bradley Beal, Devin Booker to kind of help

25:29

them see certain things that maybe

25:31

a conventional point guard would see. You

25:33

know, I think that's where he's going to probably help

25:35

more so now if he could go out there and

25:38

if he gets a couple of play playing

25:41

stints and he goes out there and balls

25:43

out, that's that's just extra for him.

25:45

But he has he has an opportunity

25:47

to get signed for the rest of the season and going

25:49

to the playoffs. That's definitely what he wants.

25:52

But the Sons are still giving

25:54

themselves an out just in

25:56

case if they see that this

25:59

is probably not the best fit.

26:01

They can try to go in another direction.

26:04

Yeah, you know, I feel like I say it on every

26:07

single podcast. I have no doubts

26:09

that Isaiah Thomas will fit in locker room

26:11

wise. I mean, he's always been a popular

26:13

teammate pretty much everywhere he's played,

26:16

and I think a lot of people are rooting

26:18

for him on this comeback now, So

26:20

I mean, I can't see any issues there.

26:23

But it's just the Suns this.

26:25

You know, It's not like

26:27

there's anything they could do about it. The injuries

26:29

are what they are. But you know, that game in

26:31

Milwaukee was just the twenty

26:34

seventh time that Durant, Beal, and

26:36

Booker have all played together, and it's just not enough.

26:38

They just have not played.

26:40

Together enough, and so they

26:43

don't have continuity. Defense

26:46

is an issue with this team. Yes,

26:48

Nurkic is going to rack up rebounds, but

26:51

as a defensive center, I mean there

26:53

are question marks there, and so I

26:56

think the sixth spot is going to Sacramento

26:58

or Dallas. The Sons also have a brutal

27:00

schedule the rest of the way.

27:03

According to Tankathon on

27:06

this Monday, Phoenix's

27:08

fourteen games left the

27:10

opponent winning percentage is five sixty

27:13

three, so the second hardest remaining

27:15

schedule in the league

27:18

in terms of opponent

27:20

winning percentage, whereas Dallas,

27:23

for example, Dallas is looking

27:25

at the second easiest

27:27

remaining schedule opponent winning

27:30

percentage of four point fifty five. Sacramento's

27:33

top ten in terms of remaining schedule.

27:36

The Kings, their sixteen

27:38

remaining opponents, have a composite winning percentage

27:40

of five oh seven on this Monday.

27:43

But the point is the Suns don't

27:46

have a lot of continuity. They've got a really

27:48

tough schedule the rest of the way, and

27:51

even if they're fortunate enough to get up

27:53

to number six, that would

27:55

get them out of the plane. But they're going to have to play

27:57

on the road every round in the playoff.

28:00

And so that's why the Sun seem to

28:02

be a popular choice of they're

28:04

the scariest of the

28:06

lower seeds in the West. But I

28:08

just don't feel that way, and

28:11

it's for me just because I haven't

28:13

seen enough of them.

28:14

Yeah, mam b I think you know there's

28:17

teams that fit in that boat where

28:19

the continuity isn't there, and

28:21

you know, they don't win

28:24

games at a consistent clip but

28:27

the players scare you. You

28:29

know, you got a KD who if the game is

28:31

close, KD can get you a bucket

28:34

when you need it. Except similar to the Los

28:36

Angeles Lakers. Nobody wants to see

28:38

the Lakers. Really, I'm not saying anybody's

28:40

scared of them, but you got Lebron there

28:43

and then you know ad depending

28:45

on how with this eye

28:47

injury, how effect

28:50

that he's going to be once he returns, I

28:52

would assume he'll have

28:54

to wear some type of eye protection. I don't

28:56

know, I haven't heard anything, you haven't checked

28:58

in on it to be exact, but you

29:00

know they did Lakers Warriors. These

29:02

are scary team Stephen Curry, you know,

29:05

like these teams that have been there. So but

29:07

stein that play in Man, I maybe

29:09

going out on a limb, but

29:11

I think the player is going to feature Golden State

29:14

and the Lakers, and that's big. That's huge

29:16

now for for even more drama, more

29:19

star power. Phoenixes. They're

29:21

acting like they want to be a part of it. They're

29:23

they're acting like they want it. They want to get in

29:25

that mix. And you know, so

29:28

you know there's still time, but you

29:30

know that playing is going to have a lot

29:33

of star power, and I think it's

29:35

going to start with the Lakers

29:37

and the Warriors, and I think you can't

29:40

ask for a better scenario. Since

29:42

this playing has been implemented over the last few

29:44

years, it has been some entertaining matchups and

29:47

this could has the potential to be the best

29:49

set of games in that play in format.

29:52

Well I mentioned it.

29:53

I genuinely feel sorry for Anthony

29:56

Davis because a corneal abrasion is

29:58

just a brutal, freakish

30:00

injury. To take a scratch to the eye, and again

30:03

he's had to endure a

30:05

ton of criticism, all the street

30:07

closed nonsense from previous seasons.

30:09

But the man has he has played.

30:12

He has been a rock for this

30:14

team. He's going to qualify for all

30:17

NBA and MVP consideration

30:20

based on games played. But it's look

30:22

the most worrisome thing for the Lakers.

30:26

Lebron James has defied Father

30:28

Time and had the best season we've

30:31

ever seen from a player

30:33

his age, and Anthony Davis

30:35

has been there far more often

30:38

than not. And the Lakers

30:40

are even with lots

30:42

of Lebron and lots of ad. On

30:45

this Monday, they woke up number

30:47

ten in the West number eighteenth

30:49

in the league in defense,

30:51

I mean that is stunning when

30:54

you have a defensive anchor

30:57

of Anthony Davis's caliber. And

31:00

yeah, I mean there are a bazillion question

31:03

marks. Again, there are three

31:05

races in the West for me, but

31:09

six through ten is

31:11

my favorite race anywhere

31:13

in the NBA standings.

31:14

To see who's.

31:15

Gonna sneak out with that number

31:17

six spot in the West, and then

31:20

how the play in round shapes up, because the playing

31:22

round is going to be an

31:24

absolute steel cage match.

31:36

Let's switch now to

31:39

the East because

31:42

the team that blasted the Suns, a

31:45

certain Damian Lillard had a field

31:47

day without yannas Ante Decompo.

31:50

What was it thirty one and sixteen Dame had

31:52

in Milwaukee.

31:53

Franchise best thirty

31:56

plus fifteen plus assist.

31:59

And look by all counts.

32:00

Doc Rivers has tried

32:03

to make it clear since he has taken over

32:06

that team that the offense

32:08

needs to start with Damian Lillard.

32:10

That's obviously going to be the case when janis

32:13

on Titokumpo is not on the floor. But

32:15

the Bucks also welcome back Chris

32:17

Middleton. In Sunday's game,

32:19

they went ten to six, without

32:21

Middleton sixteen games lost.

32:23

To an ankle injury, serious ankle injury.

32:26

But Chris Middleton came back a.

32:29

Very sharp twenty two points in his return,

32:32

And once they get Giannis

32:35

Antetokounmpo back, the Bucks will be trending

32:38

towards full strength.

32:39

They're not going to catch the Boston Celtics. The

32:41

East is gone. The Celtics are going to get the top

32:43

seed in the East. Man the Celtics

32:46

lead.

32:46

The Celtics, the first fifty win team

32:49

in this season's NBA, and the Celtics

32:51

on this Monday nine

32:53

and a half game lead

32:56

in the East over the Bucks entering

32:58

Monday Nights game. So the number one

33:00

seed is gone. But give

33:02

me your pulse check on the Bucks,

33:04

who you.

33:06

Know as well as anyone.

33:07

Well, so let me correct you a little

33:10

bit. You said.

33:13

Doc has made sure the offense

33:15

runs through Dame. I don't know if

33:18

it should be phrased that way. I would

33:20

say that he's

33:22

empowered Dame to

33:25

be the point guard to bring the ball up more.

33:27

Before Doc came aboard, it

33:30

was like a point guard by committee.

33:32

Giannis would bring the ball up a lot initiate

33:34

the offense. Chris Middleton would do the same, and

33:37

so Doc has changed that where

33:40

he's allowing Dame to be the point guard

33:42

of the team and you know, primarily

33:45

handled the ball. The office is still

33:47

going through Giannis. That's always going to be the case.

33:49

The Bucks beat they beat

33:52

the Sons, took care of them

33:54

without Giannis, and then the Bucks

33:57

took care of him a week ago, took care

33:59

of the Clippers without Giannis.

34:01

As well, and Dame

34:04

had a big game. And you know, I see

34:06

people kind of overreacting

34:09

to you

34:11

know, Damians can't play together Dame.

34:13

You well, yeah, Dame is, you know, comfortable

34:15

being the league guy, and he is

34:17

comfortable running the team and getting

34:20

guys going that that is true. But

34:22

if you look over the last couple of weeks

34:25

between Dame and Giannis, Dame

34:27

has thrown more love passes

34:30

that have connected with Giannis than he has

34:32

in all this season prior

34:35

to these past couple of weeks. So the

34:37

chemistry is getting there, the continuity

34:39

is getting there. There's more pick and rolls now they're

34:42

playing together. There's more two man action, there's more

34:44

dribble handoffs now. They've

34:47

had a couple of hiccups in between, but

34:50

for the most part, they're playing probably

34:54

the best basketball team wise

34:56

that they played in all year over

34:59

the stretch. So Doc River is doing

35:01

a good job of holding guys accountable

35:04

and establishing

35:08

roles, redefining roles, I should

35:10

say, and clarifying

35:13

what what it is that he needs from the

35:16

players and the coaching staff.

35:19

So when Giannis gets back, Chris Milton, they're

35:21

they're they're they're going to be a threat. You know,

35:23

we want to see you want to see more dominance

35:26

for sure with Dame and

35:28

Giannis together. But you

35:31

know, it's it's been you know, it's been

35:33

a struggle. It's been uh, you know, Dame

35:36

is still adapting, and but that I

35:38

think I think they're starting to slowly turn that

35:40

corner.

35:41

All right, then I stand corrected. The better

35:43

way to phrase it, what I should have said, is

35:46

Damian Lillard orchestrating the offense

35:49

more instead of the offense running through

35:51

him.

35:52

Yeah for sure. All right.

35:54

Well, look, and you know, we

35:56

talk so much about the West, and I think part of it

35:58

is because both you and I live in West Stern conference

36:00

cities. I don't want to completely

36:03

sleep on what's happening in the East

36:05

standings either, because there is plenty of

36:07

intrigue there as well the fact

36:09

that Orlando is

36:12

flirting with the number four spot. Nobody

36:14

saw that coming, and that's why Jamal Moseley

36:17

is firmly entrenched in the

36:19

Coach of the Year race and again

36:21

starting a new week basically four weeks

36:24

to go.

36:24

A month ago.

36:25

In the regular season, Orlando

36:27

and Indiana in the five and six slots,

36:29

Miami and Philly in the play

36:31

in zone. Nick Nurse said over

36:34

the weekend that he does think,

36:37

or he does have a

36:39

level of optimism that

36:41

Joel Embiid is going to make it back into

36:44

the Sixers lineup before the

36:47

end of the regular season.

36:50

They desperately need that badly.

36:53

The Sixers need that.

36:54

I think they're eleven and twenty two without

36:57

Joel Embiid. So the Sixers

37:00

love, of course to haul themselves

37:02

out of the playing zone so they can at least

37:05

ensure that they're in the playoffs when

37:07

Joel Embiid gets back. But as it stands,

37:10

I mean Miami and Philly very

37:12

unexpectedly in

37:14

the playing seven to ten range,

37:16

along with Chicago and

37:19

Atlanta. I got to hang on

37:21

Stein Cry So that means I need to

37:23

pitch the ball back to Fresno's

37:27

finest.

37:28

I cannot let you go without

37:30

getting your thoughts, your

37:32

reaction to

37:35

the jersey swap that

37:38

caught everybody by

37:41

surprise over the weekend.

37:42

Are you familiar with what I'm talking about?

37:44

Stein, is that the Grady Dick Anthony

37:46

Black scenario? Yes, yes,

37:49

I might have heard about it.

37:51

You might have heard about it.

37:52

I might have seen a few I might have seen a few clips.

37:55

Why are you bringing that up?

37:57

I'll bring it. I wouldn't know what you thought about

37:59

what you think this was.

38:02

Obviously it was organized,

38:04

and.

38:05

I'm gonna I'm gonna go out in a very

38:07

very sturdy limit say that it might

38:10

have been premeditated.

38:14

You know what I mean, because they could have They could have,

38:17

you know, switched the order of which which

38:19

they were standing. It could have been Dick

38:23

then Black, but it was the other

38:25

way.

38:28

Yes, it was.

38:31

Premeditated, so

38:34

that their positioning and everything was premeditated.

38:37

It all, okay, I just want to get your thoughts

38:39

started.

38:39

I mean, you don't agree, you think it was just

38:42

you think it was just a coincidence.

38:47

So you're telling me these rookies when

38:50

they knew they were about to play, so they called

38:52

each other up.

38:52

Well, nah, I mean no, I didn't say all that,

38:55

But I mean I think I don't know, baby,

38:57

who knows? I guess it's a story

38:59

we need to dig into and get some answers.

39:02

So my question to you is, start, can

39:06

the league do anything? Because this

39:09

is why?

39:12

Who has What's another name that

39:14

can go with Dick that that can cause

39:16

some problems?

39:17

What's another name out there?

39:19

I mean, I have some ideas, but I'm not

39:23

I don't think I'm gonna throw it out there.

39:26

You can't, you know what I mean.

39:27

You can't see a scenario where everybody start

39:29

wanting to swamp jerseys with mister Grady

39:31

here, and they may have some crazy name

39:34

and it just becomes a phenomenon.

39:35

I you don't think the league will be like a hold old all right?

39:37

All right?

39:39

Now?

39:39

You got me thinking I need to lob a call into the

39:41

league office to see if they're monitoring this situation.

39:45

Is there any is there anybody out there with

39:47

the last name, oh, Kobe White?

39:49

What if Kobe White and Grady Dick

39:53

swamp jerseys.

39:55

Like I said, I've got other ideas.

39:58

I was not going to nominate Kobe white, but

40:00

I'm not. I'm going to keep them to myself.

40:04

Oh, anybody last name Long

40:06

out.

40:06

There, Grant

40:09

Long can make a comeback.

40:15

I'll stop starting thoughts.

40:18

I'll stop.

40:21

Yeah, I think we I think.

40:24

I think, with an abundance of caution, we're

40:26

going to stop and

40:28

put a bow on this edition.

40:30

Although on this.

40:37

There are supposed to be no topics off

40:39

limits, but I think again, I'm going to be

40:42

extra cautions. Let's

40:45

wrap this. Let's wrap this show up before

40:48

we get in any more trouble.

40:50

I'm fine with that, all right.

40:52

That will do it for this edition

40:55

of this League uncut Mark Stein

40:58

with Chris Haynes.

40:59

We will be back with you again

41:01

soon.

41:02

The next time we do this, I think it's time

41:04

to start getting into the

41:07

final few weeks of the MVP

41:09

race. My sources say that

41:12

Chris Haynes will be casting

41:14

an official NBA

41:17

Season ending Awards ballot. I do

41:19

not, but Chris Haynes does, so we

41:21

will get into that the next time.

41:23

As always, friends, please

41:26

follow us, rate, review,

41:30

Spotify, podcast, Apple podcasts,

41:33

wherever you get your podcasts.

41:36

And again, we

41:38

will do this again very very soon.

41:40

Thanks for listening, and

41:43

that'll do it. For us see you next time.

41:46

This League Uncuttage and iHeartRadio production

41:53

Chris Haynes, den Marktime