Takes

The Sixers are a bad team that loses every game Joel Embiid doesn't play

The Sixers suck. The Sixers are a bad team. Embiid's not playing. They lose—the Sixers are back to losing every game that Embiid doesn't play.

Anthony Edwards is already the face of the NBA, not just the 'future' face

Anthony Edwards is awesome. At what point is Anthony Edwards—can we just say he's the face of the league? I mean, he dropped a 55 piece... dropping 26 in the fourth. Future face, future face—no, at what point is he just it?

Jalen Brown was snubbed from Eastern Conference Player of the Month

My who's back is Jalen Brown. He was snubbed from Eastern Conference Player of the Month for December. He was statistically better than Jalen Brunson. We don't need to get into [it]... but what I loved about it is that he was vocal about it. He was like, 'this is bullshit.'

Victor Wembanyama is an unsolvable problem because you cannot design a system to stop him

Wemby is a problem. You can't design a system to keep the ball away from Wemby. You can't design a system to effectively attack the paint when Wemby's standing there. He's so, so fun to watch.

Zion Williamson looks fantastic after completing the 'Luca diet' and losing significant weight

Zion Williamson has completed the Luca diet and looks like he lost an entire Zion. He looks fantastic.

LeBron James is only playing another season to avoid retiring in the same year as Chris Paul

I think the only reason he is not gonna play, or he is gonna play another year is 'cause Chris Paul's gonna retire. He doesn't wanna retire the same year as Chris Paul because Chris Paul would overshadow his retirement.

The Celtics should give Joe Mazzulla a job for life

Signed a multi-year extension back with the Celtics. They should just give him a job for life.

Nikola Jokic cares more about his horses winning than winning NBA championships

It was abundantly clear that [Jokic] cares more about his horse winning races than he does about winning NBA championships.

LeBron James only releases post-elimination injury reports to build a protective narrative for his legacy

With LeBron it's interesting because the, the whole like you know, build, building in your narrative. Your excuse after the fact. It's something he's done a couple times... but he always has to remind us that he's injured always. And to not play a hypothetical game, it was just so extra to be like, if game six had happened tonight, yeah. He would not be playing.

Ja Morant's addiction to fake guns is the best addiction of all time

Ja Morant can't quit holding fake guns. It's the, it's the best addiction of all time. I respect the hell outta that... the NBA coming down on him for his fake guns is bullshit. Just ignoring all the history of Ja Morant with real guns. I love that shit. It's behavior that like a five-year-old would do.

The NBA needs a Celtics-Lakers Finals for the ratings

The Lakers were scaring me. They've been, you know, they won eight straight. They were playing really well and it, you know the conspiracy of how does Luca end up in la? The NBA needs a Celtics. Lakers NBA finals for ratings. Yep.

The Mavericks are only making their internal situation worse following the 'worst trade ever' of the Luka and Kyrie era.

It's still crazy that they're somehow making it worse. The worst trade ever. They're making it worse. [Context: discussing Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont's statements about team culture and Luka's work ethic].

LeBron James' absence was extremely odd and under-reported

He left the Lakers a few days ago... there was, you know, internet rumors circulating that he was maybe getting arrested. That he was disappearing... it was weird the way it was, you know, he left and with LeBron and the media, they, you know, will talk about him nonstop and it kind of got swept under the rug.

Analytics and the three-point shot have made the NBA tough to watch

It's analytics. I blame analytics... That too. Three point shot. That too. Dunk should be three... Imagine if they made dunks threes. Everyone was just trying to fucking yam on each other constantly. That would be sick.

Eliminating NBA conferences and seeding the top 16 teams regardless of geography would suck

This would fucking suck... I want you winning your conference. I don't know, there's the teams that you play all year getting to play them in the playoffs, fighting through them. I like the idea of the finals [being] the West and the East.

LeBron James wants Coach K to replace JJ Redick as the Lakers' head coach

I think this is LeBron wants Coach K as the coach Lakers and JJ out. Yeah, because it was a dream Coach K. And it was about Duke, JJ's team.

Joel Embiid was justified in shoving the reporter

I am on Joel Embiid's side. This reporter Marcus Hayes wrote an article basically calling Joel Embiid... calling out his dead brother. You don't have to bring up Joel Embiid's family. Talk shit, get hit.

Arikke Ogunbowale and the rookie class proved Team USA made a mistake leaving them off the Olympic roster

Arikke [Ogunbowale]... 34 points, six assists, eight from 13 from three. And she should have been on the team, very much should have been. [Caitlin Clark] got picked up full court by Kelsey Plum, face guarded her, and still got past her and threw a dime. Team USA like took it personally.

Clutch Sports trying to nitpick Michael Jordan's 1988 stats is a desperate admission of defeat in the GOAT debate

I don't understand how you can look at this and not be like, this is the pettiest saddest thing possible. If you have to try to tear down MJ to elevate LeBron, you've already lost in my opinion. If you have to go back in time and trying to nitpick stats, you're essentially admitting that you've lost.

The Pistons getting the fifth pick for the third straight year despite being the worst team is a sick joke

The Detroit Pistons picking fifth in the draft... two years ago, the Pistons won 23 games. They were third worst in the league. They got the fifth pick. Last year, the Pistons won 17 games. Worst in the league. Fifth pick. This year they won 14 games. Worst in the league. Fifth pick. That's insane. That seems like a sick joke against the Pistons.

Caitlin Clark currently faces ten times more hate than Duke.

I don't even know how, how people have found this much hate in their heart for [Caitlin Clark] again. She she has like Duke Times 10 hate. Yeah. It's crazy.

Caitlin Clark's court storming collision was an 'all-time flop'

It was a flop. I saw the alternate angle. Caitlin Clark... she leaned into the contact. The girl was just running, minding her own business, and Caitlin Clark shoved her and then just did a pirouette and fell. It's crazy. This is insane. Justice for the other girl.

Jerry Reinsdorf is a 'half-ass' owner who set the Bulls Ring of Honor up to fail

Jerry Reinsdorf being the absolute worst. ... He's a fucking half-ass owner. He's bullshit. ... he knew that [Jerry Krause] was gonna get booed. ... He set it up. ... I'm not like absolving the fans, but I think that the real blame should be Jerry Reinsdorf for putting together a half-ass thing.

Anthony Davis is a top 3 player in the NBA when he wants to be

Anthony Davis just being like, 'Oh tonight I'm gonna be the best player in the entire world.' He had 41, 20 and five... It was an insane performance. When he's at his peak, he is—yeah, Jokic and Giannis—but like he's up there. When he wants to be, he's one of the top three players in the NBA.

Ime Udoka mentally alpha'd LeBron James during their trash talk exchange.

The fact that Ime [Udoka] got in [LeBron James'] head about this tells me Ime is mentally alpha him... Dylan Brooks, you can say like 10 times worse things to LeBron... the fact that Ime got in his head about this tells me Ime is mentally alpha him.

Greg Popovich's move to stop fans from booing was great sportsmanship

My who's back is sportsmanship. Oh. Last week in San Antonio, Greg Popovich during Kawhi Leonard's free throws... he hopped on the mic and he told the fans to stop booing... It was sportsmanship at its finest.

The NBA mid-season tournament courts are an abomination

I fucking hate the NBA mid-season tournament courts. Hate them. Don't understand why they do it. They all look gross. The suns was one of the most disgusting courts I've ever seen.

I would understand if the 76ers decided to trade Joel Embiid

It's not that I want to trade Embiid, but if we were to get like a very great offer... The Sixers are nowhere near [winning a title] right now... If that did happen, I wouldn't be like devastated. It would make sense to me.

James Harden is still the better option for the Sixers compared to the alternative

I think [Harden] is better than the alternative, but I think Daryl Morey's just gonna do this thing... I'm just going in. We're gonna do the whole Ben Simmons thing again.

Ja Morant's gun flashing isn't a legal issue, just a 'stupidity test' he is failing

I don't think that he was breaking any laws in this video. Was he? He was just being a dumbass, right?... Essentially there's a couple things that happened... it's almost like a stupidity test of like, can you not flash your gun and we'll be cool.

Ben Simmons is the 'Floss God' for stealing $203 million without playing

I'm very close though to flipping and being like Ben Simmons the king of stealing money from teams. He's the Floss God. He's getting, I looked it up, $203 million. He just doesn't play. Good for him. I think I've flipped on him. He's first team money earner in America.

The NBA play-in tournament gives bad teams a false sense of hope that they actually have a chance to win

I'm starting to sour on the play-in game. ... The NBA rigged it so that everyone has a chance so that everyone can stay invested. But it's like, do you really have a chance? ... Nobody really has a chance. ... They are right now two games out of the 10th seed and they're 23 and 27.

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?

LeBron James only played in the Drew League because he wants to be like Kobe Bryant

The Kobe one was awesome when he hit that game winner and everyone just mobbed him and LeBron just wants to be Kobe. So that's why he [played in the Drew League].

LeBron James and Steph Curry would beat Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson in a 2v2 because of the three-point shot

I think Steph Curry, he doesn't let LeBron touch the ball except to rebound. And then Steph, if he hits 40% of his threes, two is 50%... 100% more than one. I think mathematically they would dominate that game.

LeBron James only cares about breaking the NBA scoring record now

LeBron dropped 39 tonight... and they lost... literally all he does is score points for the record... classical LeBron, Hey fellows. Remember one thing a woman will always love and vibe with a real true player.

Kyrie Irving was likely removed from the NBA 75 list at the last minute for 'shady' reasons.

Kyrie was on the list... they made highlight packages for all 75 players and they made one for Kyrie, but then he didn't make the final list. There's some shady shit going on there.

The Utah Jazz is the dumbest team name in sports

The Utah Jazz, it's the dumbest name in sports. It really [is]. ... If it was just the Boston Red Sox, the Knickerbockers... so many team names you're like, 'this doesn't make any sense'.

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.

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?

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, [it's not good].

If you are a dirty player and you complain about every call, you just become Chris Paul

Luka [Doncic] has the double whammy of if he decides to go the dirty route, he already gets people mad at him because he complains about every call. So, like, you can't—then you just become Chris Paul. If you're dirty and you complain about every call, you've got to do one or the other.

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.

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.

Kyrie Irving is the 'basketball Steve Jobs'

I think I've decided to just become a Kyrie guy... what's the harm in going with everything that Kyrie Irving says and believes? I'd rather believe him and have him be wrong than not believe him and have him be right... He thinks he's the basketball Steve Jobs.

I'm officially starting to like Kyrie Irving because he makes everyone so angry

Kyrie is getting dangerously close to that territory where I'm going to start liking him. Because he makes so many people mad. If he continues to get everyone pissed off, I'm just going to be like, I kind of like a disruptor.

Michael Jordan giving Gordon Hayward a $120 million contract is his worst free agent signing as a GM yet.

Michael Jordan, the GM... Gave Gordon Hayward $120 million. Which is probably his worst free agent signing yet.

LeBron James is officially the second-best basketball player of all time

I still think MJ's better but like LeBron is incredible. Yeah, he's won four titles. What can you say? ... He's the second best player of all time. That's really nice honesty.

Erik Spoelstra is the only reason LeBron James won championships in Miami

Spoelstra's a very good coach. Honestly I'm a huge advocate of Spoelstra and he's the only reason that LeBron James ever won those championships in Miami in the first place.