Takes

Kevin Durant's legacy is almost completely destroyed and taking an irreparable hit

Kevin Durant's legacy's taken a hit the last few years. Maybe an irreparable hit because you would think if he's the best player in the nba... you think he'd be able to get it done with a team with Devin Booker and some nice role players on the side. And Kevin Durant... your legacy right now, I'd say it's almost completely destroyed.

The 1990s Rockets would have beaten the Bulls even with Michael Jordan on the court

They would not have won eight in a row. They would have been a small team trying to defend Dream [Hakeem Olajuwon] and us. We would have beat them. Now if you ask me the same question and go, can you beat that first three-peat team or the second? I don't know... But those teams, that how they were constructed and just add Mike to it, we would've beat them for sure.

It is harder to get to the NBA Finals than it is to win them

There is a different, when you're, it's harder to get to the finals than win it. It is, I actually agree with that... there's a threshold in the playoffs that you gotta break through... you can only learn it by experiencing it.

The Celtics players don't like each other

It feels like a team that they don't like each other. The way they play is like something's off and it's not, they are so talented And then you watch that and you're like, what is that?

The Celtics would be playing differently if Ime Udoka was still the coach

It just seemed like, seems like that's not happening this year. And you have, it's having two first year coaches in a row sucks. I do think Ime Udoka would, would they, this team would be playing different cuz then it does feel like their defensive ability and intensity is different and Ime Udoka got the most outta that.

Julius Randle is not a good basketball player

Julius Randle is so bad. He really is like, he's so bad. There were so many times where he was like, either he'd be like, fade away three or just like Lackadaisical Pass. After the game he said maybe the Heat just won it more, which I don't think that's gonna go over well in the New York crowd.

The Phoenix Suns are better without Chris Paul

I think in a sick way they definitely are better without Chris Paul. 100%. Because if you got Devin Booker and Kevin Durant, those guys, they can both create their own shots. They're not really reliant on Chris Paul to run their offense and they get along just fine without him.

Marcus Smart will never have another shooting performance as good as Game 2

Marcus Smart will never shoot like that again. That's fact.

LeBron James might be better as a Robin than a Batman for the Lakers

I think what we're seeing is LeBron might be better as a Robin than he is as a Batman. They've got a true number one option finally on the Lakers in AD who looks healthier than we had predicted.

NBA playoff teams should only wear their classic home and road jerseys

When you're in the playoffs, you wear your jerseys, you wear your classic jerseys, you wear your home, you wear your road. Like don't fuck it up. ... I don't want your city connect. I don't want your 17th Nike jersey. ... I do sound like an old man right now, but I want your classic jersey playing in the playoffs.

Erik Spoelstra is the best coach in the NBA

Spoelstra is the best coach in the league I think. I think he might take over the title. I think he might be—Pop has not been in the playoffs for a few years. I think Spo is the best coach. Like the fact that he had that team almost winning at the garden, missing three guys and having the refs go against you.

Steph Curry is a top 10 player of all-time

I mean, people are saying top 10 all time now. I, I wouldn't disagree with that... and I know I might be in the minority here because I think there's a lot of warriors fatigue... I still love watching the Warriors play basketball and I still love watching Steph Curry.

If Steph Curry beats LeBron James in the second round, he moves to #2 all-time

I'm personally putting LeBron's legacy on the line in this matchup against Steph Curry. So if Steph beats him, Steph goes up to number two all time as far as I'm concerned.

Dillon Brooks has not demonstrated the body of work required to be a real NBA villain

You can't just say like, I'm a villain now. That's too, it's, you have to demonstrate a body of work to become a villain. And he hasn't done that yet. He's not built up the rap sheet necessary to become a true villain.

Draymond Green is on another level defensively and changes games more than people realize

I don't think, because he gets talked about for all the other shit... sometimes we forget how, just how game changing he is defensively and his passing.

Joel Embiid falling down on purpose is better for his body's health

The falling is good. The falling is good. Memes and I were watching a video on it... he chooses to fall because it's better for his body. See, you wouldn't understand.

Game 3 against the Grizzlies is LeBron James' first true legacy game

It is now, I'm gonna say it right now. Game three for LeBron is a legacy game. His first ever legacy game. His entire legacy if he doesn't score 40.

Karl-Anthony Towns is the 'worst best guy' in the NBA

Is Karl Anthony Towns just the, the worst like, best guy in the league. He's gotta be right. He probably the worst, best... He's so good. And he also sucks at the exact same time, right? He's the yeah, he's the best player that sucks.

The Kings winning Game 1 against the Warriors counts as a tournament win for John Calipari

Does this count as a tournament win for Cal? Absolutely. Because De'Aaron Fox and Malik Monk, both in their playoff debut, go for over 30... I think Cal should be like, update the record books. The Kings beat the Warriors game One with two of my guys.

Diar DeRozan is the #1 overall NBA daughter

She's great. She's way better than Riley Curry. Yes. Before ranking NBA daughters, I got her one A in my daughter draft. I think that she was, she was great.

The Minnesota Timberwolves are legitimately better without Rudy Gobert

Lakers in advanced the T-Wolves, let's say, let's do, let's do some positive spin zones for the T-Wolves. Okay. One, I think they're better without Rudy Gobert. Yeah. Like legitimately, you can make the case on defense that they need somebody like that to protect the rim. But on offense, they are like, I don't think it's even a debate right now. They work better... without 'em.

College basketball should have one universal ball for every team to use

It seems like we should have one universal ball for college basketball for every team to use... every game we go to we have to practice a different, we have a closet full basketballs, we have to practice with a different one every week depending on where we're playing. So I would think it's time for, for all of us to come together and... have one basketball for the betterment of the game.

The NBA should bring back the 'one-and-one' free throw rule

When you make millions of dollars to shoot free throws, we, we don't need you to take one-on-one. Yeah. Like bring the one-on-one to the NBA. I think that's one thing we could do to actually increase the risk for some of these these guys.

Players who play in Europe for 15 years often have a better life than fringe NBA players

I would actually say that a lot of players that end up doing the thing where they go to Europe and they play for 12, 15 years and they bounce around Europe all the time, they might have a better life than a guy that makes it to the NBA. Gets paid a shitload of money and maybe doesn't get, you know, doesn't sniff a championship. Maybe you're coming off the bench... going over and playing overseas in Europe or in New Zealand or Australia. That's probably a pretty good life.

Lakers fans are just bandwagon fans

Fuck the Lakers dude. Every time they had fucking playoff games, no one will come out. Could be up three-nothing in the first round as a one seed. And people are like, 'wow, they're such fucking bandwagon fans.' Fuck all of them.

LeBron James is a better Laker than Kobe Bryant

I started just doing a bit that LeBron is the best Laker of all time. And I had like my top fives and Kobe wasn't on it. [Ari: Kobe's the sixth best]. Yeah. It was like Nick Van Exel. It was like Shaq. So all these like... Will Chamberlain, Kareem, Magic, I'll give Worthy. And then LeBron.

Steph Curry ruined basketball by normalizing the three-point shot

Steph Curry ruined basketball. Bob Ryan's kind of right. Bob Ryan's low-key right about this... I like the three point shot, but it has, it's drastically changed the sport and not always for the good. I do miss having a dude having just dudes bang down low.

Adam Silver hates being the disciplinary figure and would much rather be seen as the 'cool' commissioner.

Silver hates this. Silver wants to be the cool guy. He wants to be the cool substitute teacher. He wants to be the cool stepdad. Like, 'Hey, I'm your friend, you can tell me anything.' So whenever he has to actually be the heavy, he absolutely cannot stand that.

The NBA MVP award and the discussion surrounding it are overrated compared to winning a title.

I also have a take: the MVP is just way overrated besides the team... in terms of a league-wide discussion, I just don't care who wins the MVP. I don't care who wins the title. Can you remember every MVP? ... Maybe MVPs aren't overrated, but the discussion about them is overrated because I feel like we spend a shit lot of time talking about an MVP that most people at the end of the day, then the playoffs starts, it's like, 'Yeah, this is what we're playing for.'

Ja Morant's strip club gun was surprisingly small and unimpressive

Outside of the seriousness of what's going on in Ja Morant's life, that was a pussy ass gun to flash. That thing was so small.

Ja Morant is personally responsible for his behavior, not just his 'surroundings'

The line that a lot of people been using is like he's surrounding himself around people. I think that's a lazy take. Like Ja Morant is, I would imagine the alpha of his friend group. He is the guy who has all this talent... you have to pick better choices.

The NBA should award All-Star game winners a year off their contract to hit free agency early

What you should do is you should award the winning team. Every player on the winning team should get one year off their contract to become a free agent. So they hit free agency one year sooner. Yeah. And then that, that would incentivize them.

Kyrie Irving would not have fixed the Lakers because they aren't just one piece away

Was [Kyrie] gonna fucking fix us? I don't think we're one piece away here. So no it wasn't super devastating.

The NBA rigged the 2006 Dunk Contest for Nate Robinson over Andre Iguodala

Nate Robinson was bullshit. He should have lost to Andre Iguodala... well he missed like 32 dunks in a row and then, and then still won. Prince Nate Robinson. That was the biggest NBA rig thing of all time.

The Chicago Bulls should tank the rest of the 2023 season

Pat Bev coming home to Chicago. It's gonna be—I don't know what the Bulls are doing. They should tank... they suck. They should tank. But I agree, make the Bulls fun with Pat Bev.

18-year-old LeBron James could have led Akron to a Final Four

If there's one player, it's him... I think they definitely would've been good enough to make a Final Four. He's that good... the goat 18 year old was definitely LeBron.

LeBron James is the greatest stat compiler of all time

Great job, LeBron. I'm happy for you. You know LeBron, he's had quite a week... kind of a ball hog. But that's fine. You, you are a stat compiler. You're the greatest stat compiler of all time.

Madison Square Garden, Philly, and Capital One Arena are the three best shooters' gyms in the NBA

Personally I think it's the Garden. I think it's Philly. And then as a Wizard, I think it's the Great Capital One Arena. Great spot to watch a game.

The 76ers 'Process' worked; they just drafted the wrong players

I don't know. It kind of worked. They got the guys, they just picked the wrong guys. Picked Markelle Fultz and Ben Simmons and Nerlens Noel. The actual [Process]—and Embiid. Of course. But I'm saying the process, I always am a fan of the process because I always thought the brutal honesty of a team being like, we are trying to suck so that one day we can get good. I actually am a big fan.

The NBA gave LeBron James a 'stimulus package' in the 2016 Finals by suspending Draymond Green

Game four, LeBron and them is about to lose the game. LeBron gets frustrated, he takes Draymond Green, throws him to the floor... Somehow some way revisionist history comes in and the NBA decides to give LeBron James and Cleveland a stimulus package. They suspend Draymond for game five... That is the one final that I will never accept being wrong about because the NBA suspended Draymond Green.

LeBron James is a hypocrite for supporting Shannon Sharpe's courtside behavior

LeBron has talked about fans getting into it with players and how unacceptable it is... if we're being consistent here, which I think LeBron is nothing but consistent. It should be fine next time a fan says anything, he should be okay with it, right?

The Pelicans are the deepest team in basketball

New Orleans has the deepest team in basketball and if Zion's there and ready to go in the playoffs, he's still that hard of a matchup.

LeBron James has never understood how to be a true partner with an organization

I love LeBron as a player... However, he has had it in his head that like he can't be a partner with a team. It's very weird... The way it was explained to me was that LeBron always wants ownership to know that there is pressure that they can never take a day off... it's not necessarily like having a great partner.

Victor Wembanyama is the best draft prospect I've ever seen, but he's not a better prospect than LeBron was

When people say [Victor Wembanyama] is the best prospect they've ever seen, it's not bullshit, it's not hyperbole, but if somebody says he's a better prospect coming into LeBron, it's they're, they're full of shit, right? Because LeBron had the perfect body type immediately.

The NBA Western Conference is trash while the Eastern Conference is stacked

I watched the Nuggets, absolutely smoked the Clippers... damn, the Nuggets are good. The Western conference isn't that great this year. ... The Western conference is trash. The Eastern conference is stacked. Stacked.

Russell Westbrook's shot selection is only getting worse because of the criticism

You know, that old drill tweet like keeps screaming at me. It only makes my opinions worse. Yeah. That's what's happening with Russell Westbrooks jump shot. Yeah. Everyone's telling you, everyone's booing you and trying to get you to stop shooting... it's actually just making Westbrook shoot the ball more often.

Being LeBron James' teammate is the most difficult job in the world

Being LeBron's teammate has to be like the most difficult job in the world. Not on the court because LeBron is obviously one of the best all time on the court... But it's, every time you lose, it's someone else's fault. Every time you win, it's, LeBron did it.

Alternate jerseys are for franchises with no history

Alternate jerseys are for franchises with no history. That's, I'm gonna say that that's a take.

Draymond Green glorified assaulting his teammate in his TNT mini-doc

He managed to turn him almost killing one of his teammates in a disgusting move... and then has a show on TNT where he like made it, he like glorified it. Basically he glorified himself assaulting his teammate and looking so like immature, childish and just bad.

Ben Simmons should stop shooting because every miss becomes a viral mockery

I now am starting to understand why Ben Simmons just doesn't shoot because he, he can't shoot. And every time he does shoot it becomes a viral moment... why would I shoot when I know that it's not gonna go in and people are gonna roast [me]?