0:00

Some reflections on a rare

0:03

trip that had both Chris

0:05

Haynes and me Mark Stein in the same

0:07

city. Of course we could not resist.

0:10

We're also going to talk about the Western

0:12

Conference, who is the foremost

0:14

threat to the Denver Nuggets, and the

0:16

Eastern Conference. Name your

0:19

foremost threat to the Boston Celtics.

0:21

We do all that next here on this

0:23

League Uncut.

0:26

Welcome to this League Uncut.

0:29

In the rule of twenty four hour NBA news,

0:32

this news you love, Chris

0:35

Haynes. It's time, Mark

0:37

Stein, It's so time. This

0:43

League Uncut is underway and on fire.

0:47

This should be a good.

0:48

One, the

0:50

new edition of this League

0:53

Uncut. Mark Stein here

0:55

with Chris Haynes. We were actually in the

0:58

same place, same city, say building,

1:02

same Dais in Indianapolis,

1:04

only the second time this season that

1:07

was actually cross pass and seeing

1:09

each other, mister

1:12

Haynes, like obviously

1:14

because last week we all had a circus schedule,

1:17

including Producer Ryan. I

1:19

think Producer Ryan had the longest All Star breakout

1:21

of any of us on this any

1:25

of us in this squad. But uh was

1:28

your All Star Okay? I saw you Sunday morning,

1:30

but then I didn't see you out didn't really get to say goodbye

1:33

to you. So how would you

1:35

rate your All Star experience? Was it okay in the

1:37

end? I know, snowy cold

1:39

Indianapolis is tough for you.

1:42

Yes, not a fan of the snow, but now it

1:45

was. I would just say it was productive.

1:47

I was drained, like I they. You

1:49

know, I had a ton of assignments

1:51

over the weekend. I did not hit

1:53

up one party. I did not hit up

1:56

one brunch, one event.

1:58

Yeah, I'm finally rubbing off

2:00

it.

2:01

It wasn't because it wasn't because of nah,

2:05

nah, I had nothing. I had nothing to do with it. It

2:08

was just all the assignments that I had,

2:10

And I'm not complaining. I enjoyed it. I did

2:12

the Rising Stars game Friday, and

2:14

I had to have rehearsal for the Rising

2:17

Stars m VP and

2:19

Championship presentation that

2:21

I did Saturday night. I had the

2:23

All Star practice that

2:26

morning. Then I had to work the HBCU

2:28

game sidelines. Then I had to work the

2:30

Saturday night sidelines

2:32

for the Dunk Contest three point and all that. So

2:35

my day was pretty much filled up. But no,

2:37

it was cool. I got to hang with you

2:40

know after at you know, at the end of the night, because

2:42

you know, we have our We stayed at the Hilton

2:45

where the T n T employees

2:48

were housed, so got to hang with my

2:50

guys Chuck and Kenny a

2:52

few nights after the games. And uh, it's

2:55

always cool, Uh when when

2:57

you hanging with those guys and they're

3:00

a little bit more looser, a little bit more looser

3:02

at night when you when you get you know, you get to get

3:04

the drinking and you know, I mean, like you

3:07

know how it is, So yeah,

3:09

I had to.

3:10

Say I had a I had a really surprising

3:12

bonus evening with the Chuckster, completely

3:15

unplanned because the

3:17

Hilton, the Turner Hotel was

3:20

right around the corner from the Sheraton

3:22

where the media was and

3:24

on Saturday night after I

3:26

Saturday I hosted a panel with Grant

3:29

Hill and Chelsea Gray and Jim Tooley and Martin

3:31

Dempsey from USA B. That was Saturday

3:34

around five ish. Then I dropped

3:36

in on my pals at Panini

3:38

because they had an awesome

3:40

three story setup that was about

3:43

a mile away from us but also in downtown

3:46

Indy. So Saturday night I

3:48

was not going to go to the dunk contest or the

3:50

three point contest. I was going to watch all that on TV.

3:54

Your wonderful hotel had a McCormick

3:56

and Schmick's restaurant attached to it.

3:58

Saturday night, I go in there to

4:01

meet my friend Lou, who

4:03

is an Indianapolis resident,

4:05

not in the business. Just went to meet him for

4:07

a nice quick bite. And what

4:10

what do I see? Who do I find the Chuckster?

4:13

Because the Chuckster was not on any

4:15

of the Saturday night broadcasts. He

4:17

was all suited and booted. He did something Saturday

4:20

pregamer in the afternoon. But

4:22

I ended up in the same place with the Chuckster for

4:24

a few hours. Nice, completely

4:28

bonus bonus

4:30

evening with Charles Barkley, which

4:33

was great theater. And Sunday morning

4:35

got to hang out with you. We had our nice interview

4:37

with Chris Finch.

4:39

Yeh hit.

4:40

I hit Saint Elmo's three times. The

4:42

over under was two. I

4:45

got to Saint elmos Steakhouse three times,

4:47

three three

4:50

shrimp cocktails I

4:52

got.

4:53

I got there. I got there Thursday night.

4:55

I was able to get in and those

4:57

shrimp cocktails. I didn't try it, but my

4:59

wife is a big shrimp connoisseur,

5:02

so She tried it and staring it

5:04

completely cleared her sinuses up. She started

5:06

coughing, eyes getting watery. What

5:09

is it though, horse radish is That's what?

5:11

Yes, Oh, Perry, spicy horse

5:13

radish sauce glorious,

5:16

the best shrimp cocktail in the United States.

5:19

Had it three times

5:22

tremendous. Also found

5:24

a great coffee place in Indianapolis,

5:26

Tinker Coffee. Went

5:29

there every day, do some work, did

5:31

some writing. So yeah, I had. And let

5:33

me tell you this Friday, it snowed. It

5:36

was freezing Friday, it was cold,

5:38

still cold Saturday, it was still

5:40

cold Sunday. And I did not have the proper

5:42

winter gear with me. But I'll tell you what, I

5:45

still loved it because

5:48

today in Dallas, we're taping this on Monday

5:50

nights in Dallas. Today, on this

5:52

Monday, the temperature

5:55

hit ninety one degrees at DFW

5:57

Airport. Scandalous. It's

6:00

it's till February, so give me that

6:02

winter weather all day long. It's

6:04

gonna be ninety again Tuesday. Ridiculous.

6:07

It's not even March yet.

6:09

Come on, man, crazy, you're crazy.

6:11

Man, you're crazy.

6:12

Give me that, give me give me the snow

6:17

crazy talk all right, let's get to the

6:19

basketball. We are into the

6:21

final third of the season. Now, common

6:24

misconception is that

6:27

the All Star break represents the first

6:29

half. No, not in the NBA. There

6:32

are exactly twelve hundred and

6:34

thirty games in an NBA regular

6:36

season. Amazingly, this

6:38

season, eight hundred and twenty were

6:41

played before the All Star break, exactly

6:45

sixty six point seven percent

6:47

of the season, exactly one

6:50

third remaining when we resume play

6:53

last Thursday. I think the thing we

6:55

can say definitively when you look

6:57

at the standings, I mean, the

7:00

battle for seedings remains feverish

7:03

in both conferences. In the West,

7:07

it goes all the way down to

7:09

ten. Five to ten

7:12

is an almighty jumble. In

7:14

the East, the drama really

7:17

is more. It's

7:21

probably more two to six ish, although

7:24

look, Miami and Orlando aren't far off

7:26

as well. They're still I guess it's two

7:28

to eight in the East.

7:31

But I think the one thing we

7:33

can say for sure in either conference,

7:36

you look at the Boston

7:38

Celtics have clearly established

7:40

themselves as the

7:42

best team in the East. I would

7:44

still argue that the Denver Nuggets, the

7:47

defending champions, are

7:49

the most feared team in the West. On

7:53

this Monday night, the Nuggets

7:55

are only third in the West, Minnesota

7:58

and Oklahoma City a game and a half

8:00

ahead of Denver and the Clippers

8:03

a game behind. But I think based on pedigree,

8:06

based on the way Jokic is playing, we have

8:08

to say that the Nuggets are still the

8:11

favorites to come out of the West. But let's start with

8:13

the East. Who do you like

8:15

the best to possibly

8:18

upset Boston? Who who

8:21

is the biggest threat to the Celtics. The

8:23

Celtics have a seven and a half game

8:25

lead over number two Cleveland.

8:28

Is it the Calves? Is it Number three Milwaukee?

8:30

The Bucks have had a couple of big wins here lately. If

8:33

the Knicks get healthy, are they actually

8:35

the foremost threat to Boston in the East? If

8:38

Philadelphia can get Joelle and bead back,

8:40

are the Sixers the foremost threat

8:43

to Boston in the East? Producer Ryan he

8:45

can I think he can

8:47

guess who you're gonna say, But

8:51

just for.

8:51

Case, why is that?

8:52

Why is that because we know there's

8:55

one team in the East, in particular that you

8:58

are on the record as saying you do not miss

9:00

any of their games. So that's

9:02

my.

9:02

Pers There's a handful of

9:04

teams where I don't miss any of their

9:06

games, but Milwaukee is one of them for sure.

9:09

But I'm yes,

9:12

you're correcting this this time, this

9:14

instance, you're correct, I'm going with Milwaukee.

9:18

I like what Doc Rivers is doing over there. I

9:21

know he got off to a slow start, but

9:23

he's slowly but surely implementing

9:28

his style of play. And

9:31

one thing I do know is that I believe what

9:34

day is this Monday? So last week

9:36

sometime, I know that

9:39

he doing

9:41

a practice session or a shoot around

9:43

or whatever. He went

9:46

individually, play by player and

9:50

went to them and told them what

9:52

he wants them to do and told

9:55

them what he doesn't want them to do. He's

9:58

clearly defining roles and

10:01

for a lot of these guys, they're

10:03

now being asked to do things that that

10:06

they were not doing. You know, in the

10:08

Adrian Griffin era, you

10:12

know some guys who probably had a

10:14

longer rain to do whatever. It's

10:17

over now and there's some then there's

10:20

the other players that they're asking

10:22

for them to do more, and they're

10:24

telling players this

10:27

guy should be doing more. So

10:30

you know they're getting into that. This is Doc

10:33

Rivers right now, if you look at the way they've

10:35

been playing over the last couple of games, you can definitely

10:37

tell that they're

10:40

doing things differently. The offense is

10:43

is moving better. Defensively since Doc

10:45

Rivers has taken over, they are six in defensive

10:48

ratings, so you know they are they

10:50

are getting better there. And I

10:52

just like the trajectory in which

10:54

they are headed, and so no, they're not. I don't

10:56

think any team is going to catch Boston

10:59

for say, you know, before the conclusion

11:01

of the regular season, But if there's a

11:03

team that has a legitimate shot and knocking him off

11:05

in the postseason, I'm going to Milwaukee

11:08

because I think they have the most upside

11:10

because all the changes that they're making and

11:13

it's it's almost like this is a new team.

11:16

And so that's that's why in Philly, I

11:18

mean, you could say Philly could argue for Philly

11:21

with Jorlan bid coming back, But will

11:23

he be healthy once once he comes back?

11:25

Is he coming back? We still don't have official

11:27

We assume he's coming back, but we don't.

11:30

Know for sure. I

11:32

think he will. I don't have any

11:34

concrete evidence, but I think he will come

11:36

back. But I just wonder. You know, he

11:38

would have been set out for months,

11:42

multiple months, Like, do you

11:44

expect him just to come in and play

11:46

at the MVP level he was playing that before the

11:48

injury. I don't. I think that's hard.

11:51

That's a that's a tall task for

11:53

anybody to kind of live up to. But

11:55

uh yeah, I Philly, they give themselves

11:58

a shot. But no, out of all the teams in the right

12:00

now, I give him Milwaukee as the favorites

12:02

to have a shot to take down.

12:04

Boston, I would probably

12:06

have to echo that I was

12:08

super high on Milwaukee coming into the season.

12:11

We haven't really seen this

12:13

team approach

12:16

its ceiling yet, but I

12:19

do think Doc Rivers is making a difference.

12:21

Everyone focused on the three and seven start

12:23

and how bad it was and

12:27

all the comments that Doc was making.

12:29

But you know, I do feel a need to say

12:32

something about that because I

12:34

think there's this perception that Doc Rivers

12:36

was seeking out any reporter he can

12:38

find to make excuses for the three

12:40

and seven start, and that's

12:43

really not the way it was.

12:45

Now. His quotes, what he

12:47

says, his words are his words, and

12:50

some people don't like what he says. Some people

12:53

don't think he's taking enough accountability. I'm

12:55

not going to sit here and defend

12:58

every word he has said about

13:00

his time since he's become the Bucks coach,

13:02

but I would just say, like, this

13:05

is not Doc Rivers on a campaign

13:09

because all of these

13:11

instances, all of these quotes come from

13:13

him taking questions

13:16

from us. And I've said this as I've

13:18

said this many times, but

13:20

just to reiterate, in the modern NBA,

13:24

the way media access has evolved,

13:27

the coach talks more

13:29

than anyone in the organization, more

13:32

than the players, more than the executives. The

13:34

coach talks a ton. And

13:38

then, because of the Riley

13:40

Rule, because Boston's coaching staff

13:42

couldn't go to the All Star Game two years in a row,

13:45

and the Bucks staff had to coach in the All

13:47

Star Game, that had even

13:49

more reporters chasing Doc

13:51

Rivers and stacked more media availabilities

13:55

into his schedule because at All Star he's got to do

13:57

all these interviews. So I

14:00

really think like most

14:04

of this, most of the

14:06

comments we've heard from Doc in recent days, it's

14:08

because he's fielding questions about it. I mean, I

14:12

the MAVs were in Dallas on February third,

14:14

and I couldn't wait to try to corner

14:16

Doc and get a few questions in. And when I

14:18

talked to him, I

14:20

asked him, I said, Doc, I mean, you

14:22

realize that any team you coach at this point,

14:25

it's championship or bust. Those are the expectations,

14:28

and you're you know, he knows

14:30

it. I don't think he's running from it. I think he

14:32

understands that if

14:35

the Bucks don't win, there's gonna

14:37

be harsh criticism for him and for

14:39

Giannis and for Dame and

14:42

with me. Doc

14:44

Rivers was, I thought,

14:48

pretty open about it and pretty humble about it.

14:50

He said, quote, that's a good thing. That

14:53

means you've done a pretty good job as a coach where

14:55

you go and people expect that team to

14:57

win. That's been good for me, and

14:59

that's bad for me. Teams that haven't

15:01

won, then you get the blame for

15:04

that, and that's okay.

15:06

You've got to be willing to put yourself into

15:08

that. So he knows he's

15:11

under the microscope. And you

15:13

know, again in our conversation, which was February

15:15

third, he certainly wasn't running

15:17

from it. But look, I

15:20

like, I really like

15:22

the Knicks went healthy, and

15:25

I still have. I'm

15:28

not writing Miami off either. I know the Heat

15:30

have had a really up and down season, and

15:32

now they're dealing with ninety five suspensions

15:35

and you know they don't have their full team

15:37

again. But you know, Miami is

15:40

in seventh in the East as we're taping

15:42

this, only a half game out of the sixth seed.

15:45

I know you're gonna see the Heat this week in Denver.

15:48

Well, see, I'm gonna see some of them.

15:53

I think you will see Jimmy because he'll

15:55

be back from the one game suspension. But I can't

15:58

keep.

15:58

Up with you. You're right, keep up

16:00

with.

16:00

How many guys you're gonna miss? How many other No?

16:03

Jovis right? He is he he's the one you got

16:05

the three gamer?

16:05

Yeah, he got three games? Correct.

16:08

Thomas Bryant.

16:10

Thomas Bryant three

16:13

games? Yes, So Jimmy will be

16:15

there. Cool cool TNT

16:17

could keep the game.

16:21

Like I said, I somehow, I still think they're

16:23

going to factor into things by the end of the season.

16:25

I know they've been very up and down.

16:27

Of course, I mean, yeah, of course.

16:30

Don you always expect the Miami Heat to be there

16:32

when it's all said and done, even if they are

16:34

a seventh or eighth seed going

16:36

into the playoffs. Therefore, you

16:39

saw what they did last year.

16:41

Like this Knicks team was so

16:43

good in January after getting og Anobi.

16:46

I mean they went fifteen and two after

16:49

that trade. But now we

16:51

just don't know is Julius Randall coming back? And

16:54

Nnoby will come back at some point,

16:57

but are they getting Julius Randall back?

17:00

Yeah, and that's the that's key right

17:02

there. Julius came up. When did Julius come on our

17:04

pod? Was that in January?

17:06

Yeah? Before before the All Star Game?

17:09

Okay, before the All yes, right before the All

17:11

Star Game. Yeah. I mean, he's just so confident

17:13

and he's you know, he's so comfortable,

17:16

I should say, and

17:19

playing in New York now, which we all know that

17:21

is a hard market to perform

17:24

at with all the expectations.

17:26

But so, you know, I definitely feel sorry

17:28

that he had to go down with his

17:30

injury. Now he's losing rhythm and you

17:33

don't have a chance to play in the All Star Game

17:35

as well. So I'm hoping,

17:37

you know, I'm hoping all these teams getting healthy, can't

17:39

get healthy so we can see them at full

17:42

fours come playoff time.

17:50

All right, well, what about the West? If you agree

17:53

with my claim that Denver has to be

17:56

the favorite to win the West? And I think they

17:58

deserve that. And look, Yoki, which has been the

18:01

dude is playing basketball from

18:03

another planet since

18:07

he returned from the All

18:09

Star Break, the first player

18:12

in NBA history to

18:14

record at least eighty points,

18:16

fifty rebounds, and forty five assists

18:19

over a three game span, just the

18:21

second in history, the

18:23

first since Wilt Chamberlain

18:26

way back in March of nineteen

18:29

sixty eight before I was born. So

18:32

Jokich is on an absolute

18:34

heater. But who

18:37

do you like in the West? Who is the

18:39

team that should have

18:41

Denver the most concerned?

18:43

Is it Minnesota?

18:46

Is it Oklahoma City? Is it the Clippers? Is

18:48

it one of these teams in the jumble from I mean

18:51

five to ten, Sacramento,

18:53

Phoenix, New Orleans, Dallas, Lakers,

18:55

Warriors? Who

18:57

should Denver be the most worried about?

19:00

Let me say this, and I

19:04

haven't said this about this team

19:07

in four maybe five years,

19:10

I don't know, just because they've

19:12

always feel short due

19:14

to injuries. But

19:17

it's looking like Stein. It's looking

19:19

like this team that I'm about to mention it's looking

19:21

like they might

19:24

have it together. It's

19:26

looking like injuries

19:29

could be a thing of the past,

19:33

or at least, you know, at

19:35

least some somewhere close to that. Los Angeles

19:38

Clippers. I think if

19:41

they finally go into the postseason

19:43

healthy, which they've never done,

19:46

you know, in this Kawhi Paul George

19:48

Err, they're

19:50

a threat. They are a serious

19:53

threat. And it's hard, like,

19:55

even with me saying this, it's

19:58

hard for me to fully commit to that

20:01

because of just what we've

20:03

seen in recent years, you

20:05

know, a recent time with this team, something

20:07

seems to always happen. But

20:09

stein they're playing good, they're playing really good basketball

20:12

right now. They are you

20:14

know, they got the same amount of losses as

20:17

the Nuggets. They played two less

20:19

games then the Nuggets.

20:22

They're right there. I mean, they

20:24

have a shot to take over, you

20:26

know, at two and a half games behind the

20:28

Timberwolves, who had a number one seed in the Western

20:31

Conference standings. But

20:34

to your point, Dener, Nuggets

20:36

are my favorites now, are

20:40

they?

20:41

Like?

20:43

I think it's a little bit more parody in the West than

20:46

it is in the East. I would say it's Boston

20:49

Celtics. And then you know

20:51

there's a little bit of a gap as of right

20:53

now and that team

20:55

after that gap, I will probably say Milwaukee. But

20:58

over here in the West, you

21:00

know, I still got Denver. But you

21:03

know you got teams right there. You know, I don't

21:05

want to dismiss Minnesota, don't

21:07

want us dismiss OKAYC. But

21:10

Stein, I just I think there's something

21:12

to be said about teams

21:14

having some postseason success

21:17

before we anoint them to that next

21:19

tier of elite teams. And

21:22

you know, most times teams

21:24

have to go through the rigors

21:27

of facing disappointment in the playoffs before

21:29

they reached that hunk. Maybe not maybe Okay,

21:31

maybe this is okay C's year, Maybe this is Minnesota's

21:33

year. I don't know. I'm not not your nostra

21:36

Damas, but right now, you know I'll

21:38

echo what you stated already about

21:40

Denver for sure.

21:41

Well, remember when Chris Finch sat with us in

21:43

Indianapolis. You know, I brought up

21:45

how the Timberwolves as

21:47

a franchise in thirty four

21:50

seasons, they've won all

21:52

of two playoff series, both

21:55

in two thousand and four when they

21:57

went to the conference finals, so twenty years ago.

21:59

The only year that the

22:01

Wolves even won a series. They won two with

22:03

the with Kevin Garnett's best team

22:06

made it to the West Finals. And

22:09

you know, Chris Finch was like, really, I had never

22:11

heard that, obviously, being here's

22:14

that every day.

22:16

So what was that Againsteine? So because I'm trying

22:18

to because I remember when you said that to Finch

22:21

and I was kind of looking at you strange. So

22:23

how did you say it again? What did how

22:25

did you say it to Finch?

22:26

In thirty four prior seasons

22:29

of Minnesota Timberwolves basketball,

22:31

this franchise has only won two

22:33

playoff series and they were both the

22:36

same year. Twenty years ago. Spring

22:39

of two thousand and four, the Wolves

22:41

made it to the West Finals. KG

22:45

your guy Spree, Will Sam

22:48

Cassel, great tough

22:50

team, the best team of cag he ever

22:52

had. Yep, and

22:56

they have not won a playoff series in twenty years.

22:58

So yeah, okay, they

23:00

they they have to prove it in

23:02

the postseason as great as their regular

23:04

season has been. And

23:07

again, as we're taping this, the Wolves are forty

23:09

and seventeen, one of only

23:11

two teams in one of only three teams in the

23:13

league with forty

23:16

wins. But yeah, both

23:18

Minnesota and Oklahoma City have

23:21

to prove it on the big stage.

23:24

So Stein, So I'm glad you repeated

23:26

that because when you said it like that, when

23:28

you phrased it like that to Finch,

23:31

I was looking at you a little crazy because

23:34

when you said that there's only two what

23:36

two teams? Only twice

23:39

since whatever advanced advanced

23:41

to win a series. I

23:44

was just thinking, I'm like, hold on, nah, they did.

23:47

They did this a few years ago. And

23:49

the memory of pet Bab jumping on

23:51

the scorer's table and crying, I

23:53

was like nah. So I was tripping up, like nah,

23:56

because I was just about I was about to interject. I'm

23:58

like, Stein, are you sure that didn't

24:00

hit me off? That was a play

24:06

I swear I forgot. You're just

24:08

thinking that moment, you know, he's busting

24:10

out cry jumping on the scores table.

24:13

That's how bleak it's been in Minneapolis.

24:17

And that's why we're probably gonna

24:19

get an email from our

24:21

boss, Scott Shapiro when

24:23

he hears this podcast, and he

24:25

will not be happy that we have discussed

24:29

the Timberwolves playoff history in such

24:31

painful detail. But it's true and

24:35

just look, you know again, we're

24:37

recording this before

24:42

Miami, a very shorthand in Miami is

24:44

just getting started at Sacramento in Monday night's

24:47

late game, so we do not have that score yet. But

24:49

as we stand as we're doing this pod,

24:52

the playing teams in the West, the

24:55

Pelicans at number seven, the

24:58

MAVs at number eight, the Lakers

25:00

at number nine, and the Warriors at

25:02

number ten. So just the playing round

25:05

in the West is going to

25:07

be great. I mean, if it stayed this way,

25:09

just think about it, Zion

25:13

Williamson, Brandon Ingram CJ McCollum,

25:15

Luka, Doncic, Kyrie Irving, Lebron

25:17

James, Anthony Davis, Stephen

25:19

Curry, all in the playing round,

25:22

if it stays the way it is right.

25:24

Now, it's going to be

25:26

fine regardless, even if you know,

25:28

even if these scenes change a little bit, move

25:30

up, move down pretty much, I

25:32

think I feel confident that those

25:36

teams will be in the equation. Like

25:39

I don't see like

25:41

the bottom let me see

25:44

the bottom five teams, which are Jazz, Rockets,

25:46

Grizzlies, Blazers, and Spurs. I don't see

25:49

them moving into the top ten.

25:50

So that's regardless, I think in the in the West,

25:54

We've got our ten. Yeah,

25:56

we've got our ten that it will at least be in

25:59

the playing round. And you know what, in the East, really

26:03

the only doubt now is I mean, Brooklyn's

26:05

been going in the wrong direction for ages.

26:08

But Toronto now, by

26:11

virtue of Trey Young and

26:13

this injury that's gonna knock Trey Young out

26:15

for a month, Toronto could move

26:17

past Atlanta for number ten. That's

26:21

really I think

26:23

the only mystery

26:25

in terms of top ten in the East.

26:28

But you know, the Warriors also made news the Warriors

26:30

have extended Steve kerrz contract two

26:32

year deal, two extra seasons

26:35

worth thirty five million. I've believed

26:37

all season this was going to happen. I

26:39

didn't think there was any doubt, and you know what, I still

26:41

believe that they're going to find a

26:43

way to get a new deal done with Klay Thompson

26:46

as well. Clay is now the only member,

26:49

the only holdover from

26:51

the Glory days now whose

26:55

future is not secure. Draymond

26:58

Green has a new contract, Stephen

27:00

Curry and Steve kerr both

27:03

have contracts that are aligned now that

27:06

go for two more seasons together.

27:08

So really it's just the Clay

27:10

mystery. I do think in

27:13

the off season they're going to find a way.

27:15

I think they're going to find common ground on

27:18

a new deal because I just look,

27:20

there have been rumbles that Orlando is interested

27:23

in Clay. Certainly, the

27:26

LA teams are always going to be mentioned

27:28

as a potential destination for Clay Thompson

27:31

because of his Southern

27:33

California high school past. But I just

27:36

I think Clay wants to be a Warrior

27:39

start to finish. And I think

27:42

the Warriors key stakeholders, the

27:44

other ones, Curry

27:46

Kerr, Draymond Green, Joe Lacup,

27:48

I think they all want Klay Thompson

27:51

to finish as a Warrior. And somehow,

27:55

I'm not saying there won't be changes to the Warriors roster

27:57

in the off season, but somehow, I just think they will

28:00

find a way to get a new deal

28:02

done with Clay.

28:03

Being that we're recording this February

28:05

twenty sixth, I would agree with you and

28:07

say I would think somehow,

28:10

someway they will work out a deal. But

28:13

I will be remiss if we didn't mention that

28:16

Clay is now coming off the bench. I

28:18

just did their

28:21

game. I came off of their game last week, but was

28:23

that it was the Warriors and Lakers.

28:25

Warriors and Lakers, and Clay

28:27

came off the bench that game. I believe

28:30

that was a second game coming off the

28:32

bench. Didn't have a good shooting

28:34

night. But you

28:37

just gotta wonder throughout this season, like it's

28:39

Clay gonna find a rhythm because they're sticking

28:41

with that lineup. Is Clay gonna find

28:43

a rhythm off of the bench. I know

28:46

its first game, he exploded, went off,

28:48

first game off the bench. But

28:51

is this something he's gonna accept

28:54

embrace, not just for this season

28:56

but next season if he were

28:59

to resign, so things can change,

29:01

is basically what I'm saying. But as of right now, Yeah,

29:03

it's hard to believe that Clay will be playing

29:05

in a different uniform next season.

29:08

And look, yeah, I don't think he loves coming

29:10

off the bench. I

29:12

guess.

29:12

Take hold on, stein stein, hold on,

29:14

hold on, take the think remove think

29:18

remove, think you don't think remove

29:20

it.

29:20

I'm quite sure that

29:23

Clay is not fond of coming off

29:25

the bench. I get it, but

29:30

I just struggle to imagine him

29:34

wanting to go somewhere else. I

29:36

just I'm look, I haven't

29:38

talked to Clay about this. I

29:41

haven't talked to Clay in ages about anything, so

29:43

this is just my read from far away.

29:46

But it's just it's hard for me

29:48

to imagine him wanting

29:50

to be elsewhere. And yeah,

29:53

this is a season of major adjustment.

29:55

He's adjusting to a new role. And

29:58

I guess we'll see, I mean, like you said, I

30:00

guess we'll see over time how

30:02

he really feels about things.

30:05

But it's just I am still struggling

30:07

to imagine a scenario

30:10

in which he's

30:13

angling to go somewhere else because

30:16

that means he can start again. It's just hard

30:18

for me to picture.

30:20

I talked to Brandon Poziski, who who

30:22

is now starting in Clay's place, and I

30:25

asked him about, like, what's

30:27

been the dynamic since

30:29

you've entered the starting lineup, you

30:31

know, between you and Clay, And he said

30:33

it is awkward. He said it's awkward because

30:36

he understands, you know, what Clay

30:38

means to this team and

30:40

the run that they had. But he

30:42

said Clay has been supportive. He said, he's

30:45

you know, helping him, you know, sharing

30:48

with him where he should be at on both ends

30:51

of the court in different sets, you

30:53

know, they do play together. They still play together,

30:56

you know, in the rotations that they use.

30:58

And he said, Clay has made it cla feeding

31:01

the ball, like get me the ball, like

31:03

when I'm in there, So Clay is looking to shoot,

31:05

shoot that bad boy when when he gets in so

31:08

and I think that's a positive for Clay

31:10

right there is just the fact that you know,

31:12

you could come in gun slinging even

31:15

more now. So,

31:17

uh, it's going to be an adjustment period

31:19

for sure. But that's just something that I will

31:21

continue to monitor throughout this season.

31:24

Brandon Pajemski came

31:26

on this pod to

31:29

fuel his bid for

31:31

a spot in the Panini Rising Stars

31:33

Game, and he he got more than that.

31:35

He got a starting job after coming on this

31:37

pod.

31:38

Yeah, there you go, there you

31:40

go. I got the interview.

31:43

Will he get that elusive spot on

31:45

the all Lefty team though, that is the question.

31:47

That's a tough You gotta you know what you gotta

31:49

do. You got to open up more ross

31:52

with spots.

31:53

Well, I thought of a way to add

31:56

one that would be the easiest to just say

31:58

all Lefty Rookie of the Year. And

32:02

if I do that, he's

32:05

got he's got a real chance.

32:07

Now that's a nice one. Yeah, Lefty

32:09

Rookie of the Year, that's a nice one. There

32:13

you go.

32:13

Stein, Yeah,

32:16

I'm trying to I'm trying to be I'm trying to be more

32:18

open minded.

32:19

And that is a and Stein. Yes,

32:21

yes, you know why I like that, Stein, because I'm

32:24

always urging excuse me, I'm always

32:26

urging you and encouraging you to extend

32:28

to the youth. That's why I be telling

32:30

you to come into these locker rooms and

32:33

come meet some of these young guys. You'd be

32:35

like, nah, I want to go in the locker room. But you know what

32:37

this Lefty New Lefty award that

32:40

I advocate for, that is a

32:42

way to have your foot in the door and reaching

32:44

out to the youth. And this could be

32:46

something that each lefty when they're in college

32:49

and high school, you know, they dream. You know,

32:51

there are certain steps you have to have to be

32:53

a not to be, not to

32:55

be, but there's certain steps you that

32:58

people that want to be high

33:00

lottery picks that they want to achieve. One

33:03

is, you know, be a McDonald's All American.

33:06

The other one going to a top flight

33:09

college D one college lately is being

33:11

Kentucky. You go there and start there. You definitely

33:14

going hit the lottery. Next

33:17

on their list needs to be if

33:19

you're lefty, to make the get

33:22

Rookie of the Year and

33:24

to make Stein's Lefty Rookie

33:26

of the Year award list. So

33:29

think about it.

33:30

Stein, I'm always

33:32

thinking about the All Lefty team. It's

33:35

a twenty four to seven three sixty five process.

33:38

It will be announced in August. You'll have to wait

33:40

to August to see what we to see what the committee

33:42

of one decides.

33:44

You know what, we should make this a bigger

33:46

deal. We need to have an award show.

33:49

I don't think anybody would show up, but we need to have an award

33:51

show. Just put it live.

33:56

We can do that in a Yeah,

33:58

you can do it in August. So you're

34:01

going to Denver this week? Where

34:03

does Denver rank on your favorite cities list?

34:06

Oh? Here, you trying to get me in trouble star. You

34:09

have to trying to get me in trouble Listen.

34:12

Not only am I going to Denver this

34:14

week, I got two more

34:16

Denver games next week.

34:18

We were just in Indianapolis, a great

34:21

former ABA city, and now you're going to Denver,

34:23

another great former ABA

34:26

city. I love the ABA stot

34:28

we only have. There are only four, so

34:30

I mean I love to go to these places.

34:33

Yeah, well really.

34:35

There are only three because the

34:37

nets weren't in Brooklyn when they were in the ABA.

34:39

So it's like going to Denver, going

34:41

to Indiana, going to San Antonio.

34:44

That's the last links to the glorious

34:46

ABA. You should be pumped.

34:49

Okay, well, I'm

34:51

find that you have such a such

34:55

a passion for your ABA history. But

34:57

as far as we're Denver ranks on my

35:01

favorite stops, it

35:03

really doesn't rank. I'm sorry.

35:06

You at least have a director of light come on Sacramento

35:08

to Denver camp direct.

35:10

Yeah. Yeah, I have a direct flight

35:13

and it is nothing. Again. The people are cool, The people

35:15

hell are cool. I just you know, for

35:18

a brother like me, I'm not doing no snowing,

35:20

no surfing. You know, I ain't doing no skiing,

35:23

no no sky diving. That's not for

35:25

me. Those sports are not not for me.

35:28

You know what I'm saying?

35:29

Star, Who are

35:31

you on the game? Who are you on the game with?

35:33

Thursday night?

35:34

Thursday night I am with is

35:37

Miami at Denver. It is

35:39

Kevin Harlem, Reggie Miller

35:41

and myself and then start again.

35:45

I told you I'm going to Denver. I got three

35:47

straight Denver games.

35:48

So the week after that Phoenix

35:50

at dem On Tuesday,

35:52

and then that Thursday, Boston at

35:54

Denver. So it's it's some good games.

35:56

I'm a lot in your life.

35:59

NBA potential NBA Finals preview

36:01

Boston at Denver.

36:02

For sure, I could listen. Listen. Mike Malone

36:04

is one of the best. Man, that's my guy. I messed

36:07

with Mike Malone. Yeah,

36:09

it's just you know, it's Denver. Aside

36:11

from that, you.

36:12

Know, and you are hard to please.

36:15

I'm good man. Nothing Listen. I know I'm gonna

36:17

get hate. See, I know I'm gonna get

36:19

Listen. Why do y'all gotta hate people

36:22

who if they don't, you know, if if

36:24

your city is not one of their favorite stops,

36:26

there's nothing wrong with that. I don't hate

36:28

the city of Denver. I don't.

36:31

It's history there. Like

36:33

you said, you know, I'll find something to do.

36:35

All right before we go. Is there anything else you want to get

36:37

off your chest?

36:38

Yes? I do, Starr, thank you for asking

36:41

and listen. This part of the section.

36:44

I think we need to have our social team clip.

36:46

This put it out because

36:49

I need the people's involvement on

36:51

this. I need to know if what I'm about

36:54

to share with youall need to know if my friend

36:57

was out of pocket or not. Was

36:59

was NERVs Ryan and I look right now,

37:02

Well that's that's fine. This is the podcast. We can always

37:04

delete, but I don't think we don't think we'll be deleting

37:06

any of this. This is uncut, This league

37:08

uncut, right, So anyway, start

37:11

let me tell you this story. Everybody listen to me. Let

37:13

me know if my friend is out of pocket or not, because

37:15

I believe he is, so

37:25

y'all. As y'all know, I'm in two basketball leagues.

37:27

My Saturday league is the Filipino League I'm

37:29

in, and then on my Sunday league,

37:32

it's a Sacramento Recreational Recreation

37:34

league. Right, So my Sunday

37:37

Recreation league, I've been playing

37:39

with a group of guys who invited me onto

37:41

their team. I've been playing with them for

37:44

three seasons. Three seasons.

37:46

Now, remember these seasons. These are these

37:48

seasons last two months and then

37:50

they take two weeks off and start the season back

37:52

over. So it's not it's not like three years, but three

37:54

seasons I've been playing with these guys and they

37:56

are a group of they are they are all friends.

37:59

So I'm on their team, right, But

38:02

we've always come up short. You know,

38:04

we get to the final four and we lose.

38:06

Final four, lose, final

38:09

four, lose. As you know, Stein,

38:11

I don't like losing. That's not me. So

38:14

you know what I said. You know what I'm recruiting.

38:16

So I have a friend, a childhood

38:18

friend. His name is Aaron Hayes. We grew up together

38:20

in Fresno. He lives here in Sacramento.

38:23

He played we played college ball together.

38:25

He went and had a Hall of Fame

38:28

overseas career. In Korea. He's

38:31

the number one all time scoring import

38:34

in Korean Basketball League history. He's

38:36

six ' eight. So I said, I'm gonna get

38:38

Aaron on my team and we're gonna kill

38:40

this league. Okay, Stein for

38:43

this season, That's what I did. I got

38:45

Aaron on our team. We're undefeated

38:47

with Aaron Plaine. Okay,

38:50

now, let's get to it. Let's

38:52

get to it. I'll give you

38:54

all the context. I gave you the background.

38:58

So yesterday Aaron

39:00

couldn't make it. We lost.

39:03

So I text Aaron. I said, hey,

39:06

we lost the game, and I

39:08

said, we lost our big

39:11

man. He had a meniscus injury,

39:13

so he's going to be out for the season. And

39:16

remember my friend Aaron. He's only played about

39:18

four games with us so far. And

39:22

he hits me back with a response saying,

39:24

okay, man, all right, Well, I

39:26

got a friend that can replace

39:28

him and he

39:30

can help us out. Can we add

39:32

anybody? I said, you know what, why

39:35

don't you text Gerald? Gerald is one of

39:37

the captains of the team. I said, text

39:39

Gerald if you could add

39:41

a guy, because I don't know if it's too late or not. You

39:43

know what Aaron does? Stein and Ryan

39:46

are producer, Ryan jumping

39:48

him because I'm gonna need your input. Two, Aaron

39:52

texts the team. He

39:54

texted the team this is what he said, Hey,

39:57

now that we have an injury, an injured player,

40:01

can I bring on my friends? And

40:04

so I'm like, hold on, I'm like, oh,

40:06

so he text this to the team.

40:08

I'm like, oh. I text Aaron back

40:11

individually. I say, Aaron, hold on, bro,

40:14

the guy just hurt himself, I

40:16

said he. I said, he's on

40:18

the court right now holding his knee

40:21

and he's getting a text by you talking

40:24

about can't you bring can

40:26

you add another player? Since we got an

40:29

injured guy? You ain't even say hey,

40:31

man, sorry for your injury. Didn't

40:33

there was nothing? And so Aaron

40:36

responds back to me saying, so

40:38

what that's what we're doing overseas. Somebody

40:40

gets hurt and you just you

40:42

just you just replace them. I said,

40:44

bro, this is not overseas.

40:47

This is a rec league that everybody paid

40:49

for. And this is a team again,

40:52

this is a group of guys that they've

40:54

been playing like they're all friends,

40:57

and I've come on to their team and

40:59

I'm brought in my guy on their

41:01

team. And now you're just texting this

41:03

guy in the team chat about

41:06

replacing them soon as he has a moniscus

41:08

injury. So I asked you, guys,

41:11

he didn't see nothing wrong with it. So I

41:13

asked you guys, should he

41:15

have like I told him, just text

41:17

individually to one of the captains,

41:20

asked if you can bring on a replacement

41:22

or was he within his right to text

41:25

in the group saying hey, now

41:27

that we have an injured guy, can I bring

41:29

my guy on to play with us?

41:31

That will have to be classified as an international

41:33

incident. He took.

41:36

He took it to I agree. I

41:39

agree. I'm like, how are you? How

41:41

you going to the dude just suffer the meniscous

41:44

injuries out for the season.

41:45

What did the poor guy who got hurt say?

41:48

He didn't respond, He didn't

41:50

respond. Did anybody response,

41:54

Yeah, they said, one of them said they'll look

41:56

into it. It was just awkward,

41:59

Ryan, What do you think, Chris?

42:00

I gotta be honest. I

42:02

think this is on you, my friend. Wow,

42:05

you brought the guy. I think you brought

42:07

the guy to the party. You gotta

42:09

answer for his behavior. So

42:11

if you bring a guy to a party and

42:13

he makes a mess at the party, everyone's

42:16

looking at you to answer for his behavior.

42:19

Chris.

42:21

You know, look, it's not fair.

42:23

It's not fair. I did not see this

42:25

reaction coming. Yeah, producer

42:28

Ryan, who has never spoken an ill word

42:30

about either of us in thirteen

42:33

months of podcasting. But

42:36

that was a strong take, and I think I'm

42:38

gonna have to agree with him.

42:40

Oh okay, okay, Well it.

42:42

May not be fair. You may not like it, but

42:44

you brought you brought him in and

42:47

he stepped out of line.

42:48

Now it is also on him.

42:51

He did step out line.

42:52

Huh Yeah,

42:55

I mean yeah, guys down on the ground. His

42:57

season just said.

43:02

I told I gave him instructions.

43:04

Hit the captain up individually,

43:06

not in the team. And if

43:09

you and even if you're going to ask in the team

43:11

group text, at least extend

43:14

your condolencens Hey, bro, I'm sorry to

43:16

hear this, but you know what I mean. At least

43:18

do that part right. He just jumped

43:20

in and said, hey, since we have a

43:22

guy injured that can't play, could I bring

43:24

in my guy?

43:25

But you know what, ryanes

43:28

the same way as you.

43:30

Yeah, we spelled the same exact way. No no relation.

43:33

Our families grew up together though, no relation.

43:35

But yeah, let's

43:37

listen when you when you want to start hiring

43:39

mercenaries, the work gets

43:41

dirty, it does, I think the ramifications

43:44

of the game you're trying to play.

43:46

But you know what, Ryan is worth

43:48

it because we're undefeated when he plays. But

43:52

it's just I got I gott so I told

43:54

him I was going to bring him up on this pod. So,

43:57

uh, I said, I'm gonna get some feedback. I want

43:59

to know. I would to. I want to see if I'm not if

44:02

I'm wrong for thinking you out of pockets. I think you

44:04

were out of pocket, buddy. So that's

44:06

all. Yeah, y'all let me viewers, Twitter,

44:08

Instagram, whatever, let me know is Aaron

44:10

Haynes out of pocket for what he did? I

44:13

gave him clear.

44:14

I think what Ryan is saying is the question should

44:16

be, is this Chris Hanes

44:18

not on Aaron Haynes. I think that's what the

44:21

question.

44:21

Needs to be. Well, listen,

44:23

I will say this, even if my

44:26

team felt some type of way by

44:28

that text, we're not cutting

44:30

them. No, nobody's gonna be. Nobody's

44:32

gonna be in a favor of cutting them.

44:37

Maybe you should send a private text to the captain

44:40

saying, hey, I'm really sorry,

44:42

I'm going to have a talk with you.

44:44

What about Yeah,

44:48

maybe what about the poor guy that's injured?

44:50

Does he deserve a text?

44:53

He deserves more than a text, He

44:58

deserves a selfie with you, maybe

45:00

some Twitter love?

45:03

You know, now that I think about, how long has

45:05

it been? When did this all go down?

45:07

This could just happen over the week just happened over the weekend,

45:09

Yes, so, but it's

45:11

it's been this.

45:12

It's Monday, almost almost three

45:14

days, you know, by by tomorrow morning

45:17

too, and he still hasn't said anything.

45:19

You can't say anything now.

45:24

What happened in the game without

45:26

Aaron? Why couldn't Chris Haynes carry

45:28

the squad to victory?

45:29

I scored twenty one. But it's

45:32

just, you know, when you used to having Now

45:34

that we got Aaron on the team, we're

45:37

used to playing at a certain level. Now

45:39

we don't have to do certain things,

45:42

you know, you know, you just get used to playing like

45:44

like the Sixers. You see what the Sixers are going through right.

45:46

Now, so you're Tyrese

45:48

Maxie just trying to keep them afloat.

45:53

It's different. It's different. We run everything.

45:56

Our offensive sets, our defensive sets are

45:58

running through Aaron, and we

46:01

don't have them. We're kind of lost.

46:03

In your advanced age. What you're saying is you need

46:05

to play off an elite big to maximize

46:07

your skills.

46:09

Yeah. I think so. I mean I could still

46:11

get it done on certain nights style I don't

46:13

don't. Don't sleep on me. But you

46:15

know, we we just were not ready yesterday.

46:17

That's all. We lost by six, so we still

46:20

could have won the game. We came back. I

46:23

wasn't mad because this is a season

46:25

where we got airing. Now I

46:28

don't care if we go into the playoffs as the third fourth

46:30

to fifth seed, we're the most dangerous

46:32

third fourth, fifth seed in this playoffs.

46:35

We're good, We're the favorites. We're the

46:37

favorites periods.

46:38

Are not worried any footage anywhere for us to look

46:40

at.

46:41

I would have Footage'm gonna start. I'm gonna start. Uh,

46:44

I'm gonna start documenting,

46:46

you know, video documenting these games, because

46:48

it's serious around here.

46:50

You could at least send it in our group chat, just so Ryan

46:52

and I can look at it and scout you.

46:54

Yeah, well, I'll do that. But I don't have no problem

46:57

showing the world stile. I don't have anything to hide.

46:59

But that's just funny.

47:00

Like the media All Star Game ever, coming

47:03

back.

47:05

We gotta do. I think we have to. Wife

47:07

has been on me about putting it together. We

47:10

have to, and I think I want to do because

47:12

remember I had you

47:14

know, we had real broadcasters, right. I don't know if you're familiar

47:16

with that game, man, it was a

47:18

pretty it was well done.

47:21

Really, you know, we had we

47:23

had those I don't know what you call those cameras

47:25

that that fly in the air, go

47:29

from drones, like we had those type

47:31

of camera drones like going right to

47:33

left and just we had

47:35

all type of aerial footage. It was. It was

47:37

great, man, it was really well put

47:40

together. But no, we we gotta do that for sure.

47:42

I got to are you going to be a part of broadcast

47:44

at least time? Because I'm pretty sure you're not.

47:48

If you organize it, I will not miss it.

47:50

I promise.

47:51

Okay, we'll do that. We'll do that. We'll

47:53

do that, We'll do

47:55

that. It was just really convenient that time

47:57

because I was the finals were

47:59

in the was in the bay and

48:02

I was standing in the bay. But uh,

48:04

we can no excuses. We can put it together

48:06

anywhere.

48:09

All right. I think that's gonna do it for

48:12

this edition of this League Uncut.

48:15

We will get together one more time this

48:17

week. Not exactly sure when that is because

48:20

Chris has the trip to Denver. We're gonna

48:22

have to work around that, but we will figure it out

48:25

and we will have another episode for

48:27

you before weeks. And

48:30

great to be back after

48:34

a very good trip to Indianapolis. Always

48:36

good when we can hang out

48:38

together. But man, some when are we gonna see

48:41

Ryan? When are all three of us going to be somewhere

48:44

I never.

48:45

I don't know how tall Ryan is. I don't

48:47

know how big and wide he is. I've

48:49

never seen the guy in person, have

48:51

you star?

48:54

Now that you mentioned we know this is not an AI.

48:57

We know this is not a AI.

49:01

Because of that last scalding take he

49:03

just gave when you were trying to put three

49:07

two one, When

49:09

you were trying to pin all this on your new teammate

49:12

and producer, Ryan said no, the

49:15

bunk stops first with

49:17

you, Chris Haynes. That's when we knew this

49:20

was not an AI generated producer.

49:22

Well, you would think so, Stan, But these Ais,

49:25

they're very creative. Nowadays, they're

49:27

trying to take over jobs to Stein, so I

49:29

wouldn't put it past them. If these Ais can get

49:31

producer jobs as.

49:32

Well, nobody can

49:35

replicate this podcast. Nobody,

49:38

All right, that will do it.

49:43

He has a nice beard. I give it.

49:47

Podcast by making him turn

49:50

his camera.

49:52

Look at him. He cut thember, he had

49:54

the whole he had the baby face not too long ago.

49:56

Now you got a full beard back. It don't

49:59

take long at all. He's out of control.

50:03

He's out of control. Now.

50:05

You know way more about producer Ryan Music

50:07

than you ever thought you would or ever wanted

50:09

to. I am going to put this edition

50:12

to bed. Please remember follow

50:15

us rate review wherever

50:18

you get your podcasts, Apple, Spotify,

50:21

you know what to do. We would love to get

50:23

a five star rating from you, and we would

50:25

love for you to join us again when we're

50:27

back later this week with

50:29

another edition of This League Uncut.

50:32

For Chris Haynes, I'm Mark Stein and

50:35

producer Ryan Music. For both of

50:37

them, allow me to say farewell and

50:40

we'll be back with you again to see and

50:49

that'll do it for us.

50:50

See you next time. This

50:53

League Uncut is and iHeartRadio production

51:00

Christine and Marks Time