Takes

Khris Middleton is not a superstar, but a very good player who is occasionally great

Chris Middleton now has everyone befuddled because we have this rule in media and how we digest all these games... Are you a superstar or not? 40 points, you should be a superstar, but he's not, he's just a guy who's very good and then sometimes great. And I think that's a totally fine place to put him.

Sean Miller would be the greatest used car salesman of all college basketball coaches

The easy answer is going to be Sean Miller on this one. Just because you can see him patrolling the lot out there, sweating through his suit. That's a man that was born to be in a used car commercial.

USA Basketball losing to Nigeria is actually good for the sport

This is good for basketball. I like, I love those people. I don't care. You know, it's, it's, it's shown the, all the good that the United States has done on an international level. The fact that these teams who used to just look up to us and get autographs from our players after the games are now able to compete, it really goes to show you what a great job United States basketball has done in spreading the game.

Suns fans in 8K hit differently and make the viewing experience much better

But they're here for the Suns, and when they're in 8K, it hits different. It hits a little bit different in 8K. It's way different than when they're showing like the British fans in 8K... the Suns fans in 8K, it made the viewing experience that much better.

There is no conclusive evidence that the shortened NBA turnaround caused the recent surge in injuries

I'm just not sure based on everything I've read that we have some conclusive evidence that these injuries have happened just because of what we had in the past year... Silver definitely pushed back on it, which I was just at least I guess I was even surprised because he's been so pro player as a commissioner.

I will not play for the Portland Trail Blazers if Damian Lillard is traded

[Big Cat]: Name five of your favorite cities... Portland. [Drummond]: Dame's not there, though. No. [Big Cat]: Andre Drummond says he will not be going to Portland if Damien Lillard gets traded.

Players who flop should be legally allowed to be shoved on the court

There was a technical debt that had been accrued on the part of Chris Paul over the course of that game with the flops... at that point, you should be allowed to shove him and actually get your jollies in, make contact with him to even up that debt that exists.

The 2021 NBA Playoff injuries are mostly freak occurrences rather than a result of the shortened season

I still believe... that this is the weirdest playoffs ever... a lot of these injuries are kind of freak injuries that I don't know if that has anything to do with playing the season was shortened rests off of the bubble. I just think there's a lot of freak injuries. They've happened all at once.

The Hawks would have beaten the Bucks in Game 4 even if Giannis didn't get hurt

I do think the Hawks would have, they kind of were going to win this game without Giannis getting hurt. Like I know Hank just sitting there just saying 'game' after every made shot, that was pre-injury. The Hawks were playing like a spirited, like, Hey, we're coming out here, everyone in the world thinks we have no chance without Trae Young, fuck the world.

Scotty Pippen is doing a great job promoting his bourbon because his controversial takes are keeping him in the news

I actually think he's doing a great job of pitching this bourbon... because everyone's talking about Scotty Pippen, but calling Phil Jackson racist for drawing up a winning play to Toni Kukoc... it goes against everything that everyone knows... he's on a scorched earth tour just getting back at everybody.

Damian Lillard would not play well with LeBron James

I actually don't think that he [Lillard] would play well with LeBron. I mean, they would just win a title. But it wouldn't be fun for me to watch personally. No, it wouldn't be fun for anyone.

Ben Simmons does not love basketball

I do think Ben Simmons is probably one of those guys who falls in the camp of he's really good at basketball but probably doesn't love basketball. Because you can't love basketball and just never fix the fact that you can't shoot. Right?

Scottie Pippen is not clearly a top 25 NBA player of all time

I'm just still going through my head right now because it feels like Scottie Pippen is not clearly a top 25 NBA player of all time. And I'm doing names. Are you willing to stand by that take? I had a poster when I was a kid... And Scottie Pippen was like controversially on the list of top 50.

DeMarcus Cousins' push on Devin Booker should have been a flagrant foul

Yeah, so that [DeMarcus Cousins pushing Devin Booker] should have been called, that should have been like a flagrant foul, right?

Kevin Durant gained respect and status from this playoff run despite losing.

Weirdly I think Kevin Durant like gained from this. Oh yeah. I mean the shot at the end of regulation was huge and just the way this... Harden going down, Kyrie going down... 48 points where he just was so incredible... I think people appreciate Kevin Durant more than they ever have, watching him play without other players and being as incredible as he is.

Reggie Miller was right about resting Kevin Durant and James Harden in Game 6

Reggie Miller was right. If you forgot, Reggie Miller basically said after game five, rest Kevin Durant, James Harden for game seven. Don't even play them. They played. They lost.

The Hawks might have been right for choosing Trae Young over Luka Doncic

We're seeing now, were the Hawks right for taking Trae Young and not Luka Doncic? Maybe. So there you go. That's really when you know that you got a good one, when we're doing the revisionist history.

Ben Simmons should shoot more in the 4th quarter, even if he misses everything

I actually think if I were Ben Simmons, strategy going into game six, I would just shoot all the time in the fourth quarter. Because I really do believe if Ben Simmons went one for seven in the fourth quarter, it would be better than shooting one time in the last four games in the fourth quarter. That's basically giving up.

LeBron James is not a great dunker because he doesn't hang on the rim

This is why LeBron James is not a great dunker, in my opinion. You have to hang on to the rim for just like a split second. You've got to make the rim move... Sometimes he acts like the rim is like a hot oven rack. He just taps it and pulls his hand away.

Nikola Jokic's ejection in Game 4 was total bullshit

The Jokic ejection was bullshit. It was bullshit. Having that be an ejection was so, so stupid. I don't know if that changes the game... but yes, ejecting the reigning MVP, that's going to have an effect on it.

The Brooklyn Nets are still the best team in the NBA when at full strength

Obviously the Nets at full strength are probably the best team in the NBA and better than the Bucks. But at some point you do have to admit that Kyrie Irving, James Harden, those guys do get injured.

The 2017 Warriors were better than the 2021 Nets because of defense

I don't think so. Those Warriors teams... were defensive juggernauts and offensive juggernauts. I'll take pre-injury KD over post-injury KD... and I'll take Steph over Harden by a narrow margin.

The Nets could win the title if every starter had to score the exact same amount of points every game

I really think they could do it... they're all running plays for Joe Harris in the third quarter. I think they could probably do that. That's how good they are.

In the future, the 2021 MVP will be a difficult trivia question

He's going to be a trivia question down the line. I'm telling the audience right now, there will come a time in your life when you are asked who the 2020-2021 MVP was. And you're going to need to remember this moment when I'm telling you that it's Jokic because it will win you money.

The Nets could beat almost any team if all five starters had to score the exact same amount of points

How many teams do you think that the Nets could beat in a seven-game series if... All five of their starters had to score the exact same amount of points... It's like everyone has to score exactly 14 points. [With Harden healthy], I think they could beat almost everyone.

Kevin Durant is the most 'regular' superstar of all time in the NBA

I also think he's... the most regular superstar of all time in the NBA. He's as close as you can get to normal. He's just like a regular dude, and he thinks like a regular person would, realizes this absurd situation that he's in where hundreds of millions of people have opinions about him who he will never meet in his life. And he's better at basketball than all of them.

I am officially counting LeBron James out

So, well, let's just do a quick straw poll. Are you counting [LeBron] out? ... I want to count him out. Yeah, I'm going to do it. I'm going to count him out.

Kyrie Irving has the most desirable game of any NBA player

I think Kyrie Irving has the number one. If you could pick which game you could have, if you're any NBA player, you'd pick Kyrie Irving. Because his handles are incredible. His finishing at the rim... he's just so goddamn good.

The NBA is a 'sick league' where stars care more about movies than winning

The best player in the world [LeBron James] is walking off the court with 15 minutes left in the game like an asshole. And nobody says a word to him. And then he talks about his fucking cartoon movie after the game. Imagine being on that team. You just lost after being champions and talking about the Monstars.

LeBron James will never be 100% healthy again

He's old. He's 36. He's not as dominant as he used to be. He's never going to be 100% again. He said it himself.

LeBron James quit on his team in Game 5

So game five, he quit on his team. I mean, I don't know how you could see it otherwise. He left the game with five minutes and 40 feet, left the bench.

Repeating as champion is the hardest thing to do in sports

LeBron has done it once. Hardest thing to do in sports is repeat, right?

It is harder to stay at the top than to reach it in professional sports

It's always easy to have the hunger before you get it... But then when you are successful, in our case, when an NBA championship, you know, you understand what it takes to be able to stay at that level. And it's not easy... Now you're not the hunter anymore. You're the hunted.

NBA players leave the bench early to shave time off post-game recovery and travel

Being a vet, former vet, knowing the thing, they wanted to get the treatment because he put in his head... It takes 30, 40 minutes, 45 minutes, and this is after a game, if not an hour. And so he's got to shower. He's got to change. He's got media obligations... and they still have to get on the plane and go back to L.A. Just trying to trim down those minutes.

Jimmy Butler is not a top 15 player in the NBA

I've long said that Jimmy Butler is not a top 15 player in the NBA. He doesn't look at all like he did last year. I don't know what the difference is.

Nike's NBA jerseys are an abomination

What Nike has done with jerseys is an abomination. Whatever the Knicks were wearing was so fucking bad. It was like, it looked like if they made a movie set in the future and like New York City set in like 20, I don't know, 90, this is what the Knicks are wearing.

Home teams should always wear white in every sport

In any sport, one team should wear white... the home team should just wear white. Yes. That's it. And then the away team wears color. They can maybe switch it between a couple different colors. But the home team should always wear white.

The Nets will only lose if their stars have off-nights or are distracted by off-court issues

You have to hope that KD and Kyrie have off nights and that James Harden went out to a strip club... I was thinking I was like, you have to take James Harden out to the club. You have to get a Twitter troll to go after KD. And then you have to have like some type of fact or like, whoa, moment with Kyrie that he just spends the whole time being like, is the world flat or not?

Michael Jordan is the GOAT over LeBron because he has no skill deficiencies

MJ always is going to be there at the forefront... MJ is my guy... for me, [LeBron] can't, it's the skill set. And it's the skill set that separates them from me. And MJ has no deficiencies when it comes to the game of basketball on both ends of the floor.

Ben Simmons is the greatest basketball player who cannot score of all time

He went six points, 15 rebounds, 15 assists. He might be the greatest basketball player who cannot score of all time. He's broken the game. He can't score. You would think that it would be impossible for a guy that is bad at shooting to be an elite basketball player. But he's somehow figured out a way to be insanely good at basketball while also not scoring points.

The NBA Play-In should only be a one-game sudden death between the 8 and 9 seeds

I just think that do 8-9. I'm cool with 8-9. I think the 7-10 thing is stupid. 8-9 sun death. One game. Yes, exactly. Eight, nine, sudden death, one game. Yes, exactly.

The NBA play-in tournament is stupid

I've decided I'm not going to be Mr. No Fun. I'll just let the playing game happen. I'm not going to tweet that this is stupid. I'm just going to sit here and be right in my silence because... This was stupid.

The NBA's current play-in tournament structure for the 7th and 8th seeds is stupid.

I just hate that they — like, they had something good. Eight versus nine is good... When you add the 10th seed, it's stupid. And the fact that the 7th seed could potentially not make the playoffs is even dumber. I just hate the whole thing.

Joel Embiid is the most dominant player in the NBA right now.

Embiid is, you could make the argument, is the most dominant player right now in the NBA... Joel Embiid, when healthy, is the most dominant player in the NBA.

The Wizards are the least consequential team in all of sports

I would make the argument that the Wizards are probably the least consequential team to ever pay attention to in all of sports.

The NBA play-in tournament is stupid because a 7th seed can miss the playoffs

I still think it's stupid that you could finish with the seventh seed and not make the playoffs. That part is very dumb to me.

Luka Doncic is getting very close to being a dirty player

Luka Doncic is getting very close to being, like, a dirty player... And he already gets people mad at him because he complains about every call. So, like, you can't—then you just become Chris Paul.

Lou Dort is the best on-ball defender in the NBA

He is absolutely the best on-ball defender. He will lock you down. Lou Dort, he's the best. Dort-your-chamber.

Joel Embiid's missed full-court heave against the Suns is the best shot in NBA history.

I don't care that it didn't go in. I think that is the best shot... that's the best shot in NBA history. ... The process of that shot, I'm not going to base whether or not it was a good shot off if it went in. ... The most incredible thing I've ever seen on a basketball court.

James Harden is the best player on the Brooklyn Nets

The Brooklyn Nets this year, they are 36-17. They are 27-7 with James Harden playing, and they are 9-10 without. James Harden is the best player in the Brooklyn Nets.