Takes

Zach Edey will definitely be a first-round NBA draft pick

He'll be drafted for sure and he'll probably be drafted in the first round. Someone will take a shot at it and just be like, what, you know, see if we can work with this.

The NBA investigation into Jontay Porter for prop betting irregularities is a bad look

My Hot Seat is Jontay Porter. Raptors center is under an NBA investigation into irregularities on his prop betting involving him. There was a couple times where he basically started a game, took himself out because of a eye injury. And on those games there was a bunch of action on his prop bets. Unders... This is bad.

Reed Sheppard is a top 8 NBA pick and reminds me of Rex Chapman

He's tremendous. He's a great shooter, great passer... He's got a big decision to make. He's probably a top eight pick in the draft. He's the closest thing to the Pat Riley days... the closest thing to a Rex Chapman for Kentucky.

The 2023-2024 Boston Celtics are in a 'Championship or Bust' year

The Celtics have been, they've been to a final, they've been to some conference finals. You have to win it all this year. Yeah. If you don't, it's a failure.

The Boston Celtics are heavy favorites to win the 2024 NBA championship

I think yeah, they're my favorites... I don't wanna put bad juju on 'em, but Yeah, they're heavy favorites in my mind.

The Dunk Contest is unfixable because we have already seen every possible dunk

There's really no way to fix the Dunk Contest. I think they've jumped over the biggest human they can find... maybe it's just that we've seen every cool Dunk and there's only so many cool dunks that you can do.

I am officially a Caitlin Clark superfan because she agitates people and creates constant debate

I think I'm gonna become a Caitlin Clark super fan because she makes people so, so angry. And I love it... I'm all for anyone who just agitates the world like she does... I'm in on Caitlin Clark all the way.

The Boston Celtics are the NBA championship favorites if Kristaps Porzingis remains healthy

Boston... if Pingus is healthy, they have probably, they're probably still the favorite... Their one through rate is ridiculous.

The heliocentric style of offense led by Luka Doncic is difficult to win with in the playoffs

The history of the heliocentric offenses are really bad in the playoffs. You basically had one NBA finals guy for a top 20 usage rate in the NBA history... It sucks watching somebody else have the ball all the time... whenever they shut off your drive in the playoffs, now I have to shoot.

Victor Wembanyama is already a massive success and will meet every expectation

He's incredible. Everything about him this year individually for him is a massive success... His personality just seems so genuine in that he's been mentally built to take on the responsibility that he's gonna have to take on for a franchise at a young age.

Joel Embiid ducked Nikola Jokic in Denver

We were robbed of Joel Embiid playing in Denver against Jokic. 15 minutes before the game, he's like, no, I don't wanna play. I wanna duck... He hasn't played in Denver since 2019. He likes to play Jokic at home and then he's an 'out' guy... when they get to Denver, his knee hurts.

Adrian Griffin was fired because he failed to make Giannis Antetokounmpo like him

The only reason I don't feel bad for Adrian Griffin... his only job was to make Giannis [Antetokounmpo] like him. And maybe Giannis never gave him a shot. But if you could just get Giannis to like you, you won't get fired.

Joel Embiid will not win MVP this year because he'll miss too many games

He probably won't be able to win MVP 'cause he's gonna miss too many games this year. He's already missed 11 outta 40... it will be very funny if Joel Embiid has like an even better year than last year. But because he plays like 64 games instead of 65, that'll be the quickest that everyone will turn on a rule.

If the Celtics stay healthy, they will win the championship this year

I've said it the whole year. If, if this team is healthy in the Playoffs, they'll win the Championship. Chris Saps has been an amazing addition... Just gotta stay healthy.

Tristan Thompson took cheap steroids intended for physical appearance rather than performance

Tristan Thompson... Got busted for steroids... I went immediately to my number one source of steroids in the world that I know named Billy Football. And he said the craziest thing is that he was taking Broke Boys steroids. Oh. Stuff Frat Boys and Talkers used to bulk up... He was doing it for the look, not for the functionality.

NBA officiating in the Celtics-Pacers game was 'very questionable' after reversing a clear foul

Last night against the Pacers... Jalen Brown had a game tying shot attempt that they call the foul. They reviewed the tape, he clearly got hit in the head. They reversed it, gave the pacers the ball back... very questionable. Very, very questionable.

The NBA In-Season Tournament is a win for Adam Silver

The in season Tournament has been very fun. It is a win for Adam Silver 'cause it's games that no one would care about. And now we care about him. Right. Like I, I watched him, I was like, this is fun.

Nikola Jokic is the best player in the world

Yoic. Did you know that He leads the NBA in points, rebounds, and assists right now. Jesus. It's fucking insane what Yoic is doing. He's so good. I think, I feel like we're in the trap of not appreciating how great Yoic is. Yeah. He's the best player in the world.

The NBA In-Season Tournament is a success

My Cool Throne is the NBA in season tournament because it kind of rocks... It was an awesome crowd. The crowd was awesome... I was critical at first. It didn't make sense in the beginning, but now that it's more organized... I'm a fan.

Dylan Brooks is successfully embracing the villain role in the NBA

My who's back of the week is Dylan Brooks being a villain... I think he's embracing being the villain. I think it's good.

The Celtics are back to being the favorites to win the NBA championship

The Celtics today acquired Jrue Holiday... And they're back to being the favorite to win the NBA championship. It's an elite defensive back court with him and Derrick White. Tatum, Brown, it's gonna be exciting.

Victor Wembanyama is the real deal but will face early growing pains

He got the whole, you know, he's like, kid's the real deal, you know, left pull up everywhere. Left. Right. You know, handle seven foot three. I mean, we haven't seen anything like that. I think there's gonna be, you know, some growing pains. But he got the perfect coach with Pop who's gonna just sit him down and be like, yo young fella, just take it easy.

Jimmy Butler once went an entire summer without watching TV to focus on his game

Jimmy's probably the toughest competitor I've ever been around. And you know, it started right away. He worked his ass off and you know, the sacrifices that he made in the summers were just unbelievable. I mean, people don't know this, but he was going whole summers, no tv.

The massive Jalen Brown and Jayson Tatum contracts will look like great deals in five years

When [Jalen Brown] is making $68 million in four years, it still will be a lot of money. But if we have two or three rings, it's worth it. In five or 10 years, when Jalen Brown and Jayson Tatum are only 30, it's gonna look like two great deals because the cap is going up.

The Jeremy Grant contract was the straw that broke the camel's back for Damian Lillard

The biggest loser in free agency is Jeremy Grant. Jeremy Grant got 150 million to return to the Trailblazers. Now on paper you're like, wow, that's a great deal. But the contract was the straw that broke the camel's back for Dame. He was like, this is, this is what we're doing in free agency. We're resigning Jeremy Grant. Yeah, fuck you guys. I'm out.

I will officially declare Damian Lillard a 'turncoat with no loyalty' the moment he is traded

The only, the only comment I have is when [Lillard] does end up getting traded, I'm just gonna be like, what a turncoat. No loyalty. And just do that and just go, go on that angle. So I I'm I'm just out on the entire storyline as it stands.

Jaime Jaquez Jr. is the perfect fit for the Heat culture

Jaime Jaquez to the Heat, like perfect Heat culture. He's going to have a series probably next NBA playoffs where he somehow averages like 25 points a game out of nowhere... he is the perfect Heat culture guy and he will be a very good player in the NBA because he got drafted by the Heat.

Brandon Miller's involvement in the Alabama shooting won't affect his draft stock

I think there's concern up until they watch the tape, you know, to be realistic about it. ... I just haven't heard anybody say because not that many teams are even in the mix. ... I think we all know with sports... it felt like it kind of went away a little bit too. ... His shot making at that size and what you think you'd be able to do defensively... he's exactly what you want in today's NBA.

Nikola Jokic is the greatest value pick in NBA history

Jokic I think now goes down is the best value pick in NBA history without a doubt... he's a better value than all these [Steve Nash, Giannis] because he went 41st overall in the draft.

Heat culture is dead

Today is Friday, June 9th and heat culture is dead.

The Nuggets will win the NBA Finals in five games

Nugs in five. Nugs in five, I stand by it. That was a nice game that they had the other night. But there's just too much.

Victor Wembanyama will be embarrassed by highlights at times because of his high center of gravity

He is very, very light. He's got a very high center of gravity. It's very easy to get him off balance. So he is going to get embarrassed at times. You know, there will be highlights where people will laugh at him and say, this guy can't play and then he is going to bust your ass.

Victor Wembanyama can defend the basket and the three-point line at the same time

He can defend the basket and the three point line at the same time. And I tell that to people and they go, you are out of your mind. Why would you even bother saying that? Because I'm telling you, I saw it. He'd be in the protecting the front of the rim. Kick it out to the corner and he would get out there in time to block it.

My $10,000 bet on the Heat and Panthers was an investment with a 10% ROI

It was a, it was an investment. Big get. It wasn't a bet. The mission was always to make 10% ROI on your investment. It had never happened before in the history of the nba. And there's a reason why I didn't do this. Bet if it was a six game series, you need seven games. You, you need that extra cushion there to win.

Nikola Jokic is the best basketball player in the world

I agree. I think he is the best basketball player and I think he's proving it every single night... I think he's proving it every single night. And you know, I go back, my first summer in Denver was also Nicole's first summer... In Las Vegas for Summer league in that, not one point in time in Vegas did I say, Hey, we have a franchise player.

My bet on the Heat to win the series while up 3-0 was a 'sharp' bet despite the Celtics winning two games

It was a plus expected value on the bet, by the way... I was getting 10% return on investment. It should have been about 5% given the history of the NBA and three-nothing leads. So it was a sharp bet. I don't regret anything. I'm a process guy, not a results guy.

The Celtics will absolutely not beat the Miami Heat in this series

I am so confident that the Celtics will not beat the heat in this series. It is actually kind of freaking me out how confident I am. ... This team is lifeless. This team hates each other... and they win one game and now we have a series. ... I think the pressure's still on the Celtics.

I bet $1,000 that LeBron James will definitely not retire this off-season

LeBron James does not retire. I bet $1,000 that LeBron James does not retire. Zero percent chance. Zero.

LeBron James is not actually retiring; he is just using the rumor to distract from being swept

Well, he's not gonna retire. That was classic LeBron to basically be like, oh, I got swept. Let me talk about retiring real quick so that the story then becomes LeBron might walk away instead of LeBron got swept.

LeBron James will play at least two more seasons to match up with his retirement tour and Bronny's career

LeBron James, the 2025 All Star game. I'm assuming they'll rename a trophy after him... That will be the LeBron Fest. That's what's gonna happen. He's gonna play two more years. There's no chance.

I will retire from the NBA if LeBron James retires this year

If LeBron James retires from the nba, I will also retire from the nba. ... I wear a LeBron jersey for a year.

Boston as a city does not have what it takes to come back from down 3-0

No teams ever come back down from three-oh in the NBA. I don't think Boston as a city has what it takes to come down from three-oh.

Heat Culture is the strongest strain of culture in the world

Heat culture. I know I declared it dead... ever since that moment, I don't think there's been anything stronger in the world than heat culture. It is the strongest strain of culture out there.

Jamal Murray has officially arrived as a clutch postseason player

Jamal Murray has arrived officially as like a clutch postseason player. That fourth quarter was awesome. Go nuggets.

LeBron James looked old for the first time in these playoffs

The story is LeBron James looking old for the first time cause whether it was the miss dunk, whether it was the flops... he just for the first time this these playoffs, he looked a little off.

Jimmy Butler has more mental toughness than the entire Sixers organization combined

The Heat deserve a ton of credit cause the Heat are better than the Sixers and more than that, the Heat are just tougher, mentally tougher than the Sixers. Jimmy Butler has more mental toughness than the entire Sixers organization combined.

If the Celtics lose Game 2 against the Heat, I will be at the panic button

I think if we lose game two I'll be officially panic button out. But I think if we win game two, we're back.

LeBron James has never played a player like Nikola Jokic in the playoffs

I don't think as great as LeBron James' career has been, he's ever had to play a player like Jokic in the playoffs... Jokic is such a unique force... He's averaging a 30 point triple double in these playoffs, which is insane.

Prediction: The Nuggets will win the NBA Championship

Boston, Denver. They're the most winner teams and I would take Denver dude.

Doc Rivers has the worst record in NBA history with a chance to clinch a series

Doc Rivers is now 17 and 33 straight up with a chance to clinch a series. That means 33 losses is the most of any coach in NBA history with a chance to clinch a series. So 34% when his team has a chance to clinch a series.