PMTPMT DB

NBA with Rachel Nichols + Guys on Chicks with Paige Spiranac And Chase Carter

Wednesday, February 14, 201810 takes

Valentines Day is here and we're doing a bonus Mt Rushmore of things we love about sports (-). Olympic Update (-). Hot Seat/Cool Throne including Esteban Loaiza, CD's, and Papa John (-). Rachel Nichols joins the show to talk about the new look Cavs, who can win the West, Isaiah Thomas, and the wine problem in the NBA (-). Segments include Just Chill Out Man for RGIII having cyber sex in his instagram comments (-). Kickers Psychology Couch for Markelle Fultz, and not to brag but we called it everyone is addicted to the Vino (-). Special Guys on Chicks with SI Swimsuit models Paige Spiranic and Chase Carter to finish off the show (-).

Mount Rushmore

Void
Take Slip·Feb 14, 2018·Mt. Rushmore
#PMT-2018-0214-2711
Big CatBig Cat

Establishing the run game is the foundation of all football success

Mine [Mount Rushmore] is establishing the run game. Love when a team establishes the run game. Just run, run, run, run, run. Because then you get that play-action pass and the cameraman misses. It opens things up. ... Everything starts with establishing the run. That's just a fact.

Analytics has largely debunked the necessity of 'establishing the run' to make play-action effective, but it remains a staple of traditional coaching philosophy.
Void
Take Slip·Feb 14, 2018·Mt. Rushmore
#PMT-2018-0214-2709
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

The first game of the World Cup is the only one everyone genuinely gets up for

That's the one soccer game that everybody gets up for is the first one. And then after that, the novelty kind of dies off. I would say that the championship game is a little bit more fatigue. So, like, everyone's had a month of soccer already. If they're not one of your two teams in the finals, you're like, eh, I can take it or leave it.

This is subjective, but most sports metrics (TV ratings, global betting) show the final is exponentially more popular than the opening match.

Hot Seat Cool Throne

Push
Take Slip·Feb 14, 2018·Hot Seat/Cool Throne
#PMT-2018-0214-2710
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

Colin Kaepernick's lawyers picked a fight they can't win against Roger Goodell and Papa John

My first hot seat is Colin Kaepernick's lawyers. Uh-oh. Because they picked some fights that they can't win. They're going up against Roger Goodell's two favorite people in the world, his wife and Papa John. ... They're going to ask Papa John if he gave instructions or if he was given instructions by Jerry Jones.

The collusion grievance was ultimately settled out of court in 2019, so there was no definitive 'win' or 'loss' in the trial sense, but the lawyers achieved a payout.

Interview

Void
Take Slip·Feb 14, 2018
#PMT-2018-0214-2712
Rachel NicholsRachel Nichols

The dumbest argument in sports is saying 'anybody could coach that team' because they have talent

One of the Suns players took a little shot at Steve Kerr on the way out. He's like, I guess it shows that anybody can coach that team. Oh, yeah, I like that. That's the dumbest argument in all of sports. ... They did it with Spoelstra. They still do it with Phil Jackson. ... if you try to get everyone to get along... look at the Cavs this year. These guys don't get along. They don't play well together just because you have the best player.

This is a long-standing debate in sports media. Nichols' position aligns with most professional basketball analysts.
Win
Take Slip·Feb 14, 2018
#PMT-2018-0214-2713
Rachel NicholsRachel Nichols

Brad Stevens made the Isaiah Thomas 'Brinks truck' conversation possible

Brad Stevens basically has, like, he made Isaiah Thomas. I don't want to say made him who he is, but he made the conversation of a Brinks truck possible. ... Have you seen these other guys after they left Boston? I mean, that's a big case in my point.

History largely supported this take; Isaiah Thomas's career plummeted after leaving Boston (partly due to injury), and other former Celtics struggled to replicate their Boston success elsewhere.
Win
Take Slip·Feb 14, 2018
#PMT-2018-0214-2714
Rachel NicholsRachel Nichols

DeMarcus Cousins will never be the same elite player after his Achilles injury

That Achilles, if you are over 25 years old... the history is bad. Like that you will ever be even close to the player that you are. It's almost, I don't want to be too gloom and doom, but it's pretty gloomy and doomy. Like, you will not be the player you used to be, especially if you're a big guy.

This was unfortunately very accurate. Cousins bounced around the league (Warriors, Lakers, Rockets, Bucks, Nuggets) but never returned to his All-NBA form.
Void
Take Slip·Feb 14, 2018
#PMT-2018-0214-2716
Rachel NicholsRachel Nichols

NBA tampering rules are stupid and assume players are too dumb to understand cap space

Tampering, it is stupid that the NBA even has tampering. Everybody tampers in the league. Tampering in general assumes that NBA players are too stupid to understand cap space or that like, oh, if Magic Johnson doesn't tell you, then there's no way that Paul George would possibly know there's clearing cap room for him.

This is an opinion on league policy, but widely shared by those who cover the 'transactional' side of the NBA.
Loss
Take Slip·Feb 14, 2018
#PMT-2018-0214-2715
Big CatBig Cat

The Bulls would secure the #1 pick if they played Cameron Payne 48 minutes a night

The Bulls have a secret weapon. They're bringing back Cameron Payne, who's the best. If they just play him 48 minutes a night, the Bulls will get the first pick. I'm guaranteeing that.

PredictionBasketballFireSarcastic
The Bulls did not get the #1 pick in 2018 (they got the #7 pick, Wendell Carter Jr.). Payne actually improved later in his career with the Suns.

Kicker Psychology Couch

Loss
Take Slip·Feb 14, 2018·Kicker Psychology Couch
#PMT-2018-0214-2717
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

Markelle Fultz should get drunk to fix his broken shooting hitch

My advice [for Markelle Fultz] would just be get drunk and start practicing. Because some people are better at beer pong when they're drunk. Some people are better at darts when they've had a couple beers in them. Just have a couple of Yeunglings before practice and just see where that goes.

OpinionBasketballHotSarcastic
There is no evidence that alcohol fixes a professional basketball player's shooting form; Fultz eventually left the Sixers and found moderate success in Orlando after being diagnosed with Thoracic Outlet Syndrome.

Not To Brag

Push
Take Slip·Feb 14, 2018·Not To Brag
#PMT-2018-0214-2718
Big CatBig Cat

NBA players are collectively addicted to wine

The NBA has a drinking problem. ... It's come out that every single person in the NBA gets drunk off wine every single night. And Jimmy Butler rolls around like a case of Pinot Noir. Carmelo's a sommelier. ... Kevin Love says that LeBron has a supercomputer in his brain for analyzing wine.

While 'every single person' is an exaggeration, wine culture in the NBA was a massive, documented trend in 2017-2018.