Welcome to hopen floor. I'm your host, John as all as normal. You can hear me as the host of our flagship podcast, Sports Illustrated Weekly, available every Wednesday wherever you get your podcast. Please listen and subscribe. I am filling in for Mike, Chris and Rohan who were unavailable, although I suspect they were ducking me, or at least Mike and Rohan were, which we will get into. But in the interim, very excited to be joined by a special guest. He's one half of the hilarious basketball show pod Don't Lie sta Ros Hockey s is here Stove. Hey, how are you doing? John, dude? I'm thrilled. I'm thrilled to be back. You know, Sports this are this is my second time on Sports Illustrated. You guys are losing credibility by the moment, the fact that the back that I'm back, you had to get the guest. Yeah, exactly, you got it. You had to get a big guest. I'm so thankful that whoever the host are ducking you, whatever guests they were supposed to have, is probably ducking them. And here we are. We're the We're the replacements. Basically, this is there. You know it's next Reeves right now, next man up will come off the bench. I suspect stop, to be honest with you, that they were setting us up, uh for some sort of chaos because you know you're a New York or you're a Knicks fan. I'm from Philly on the Sixers fat. I think that they expect us to war, but little do they know that we have already bonded over many different things, including our hatred of the Celtics the cell. That's the nice thing anyone on the on the mid Atlantic Northeastern corridor, because that's the other thing with me and Sam. So. I am a Knicks fan because I grew up in Baltimore and I would never adopt a d C team, So the Wizards, even though I was, you know, a team when Jordan was playing there and I was watching those games every every night. Um, I never could. I could never adopt the Wizards. Um. And so when I moved to New York and I basically want to be here my whole life, I was like, all right, I'm adopting the Knicks, you know, because I need a team but we don't. That doesn't translate to other fandom where it's like, you know, like Ravens. I'm a Ravens fan. I'm an Orioles fan. So me and am whenever comes to baseball or football, we're at each other's throats. The one thing that always bonds us is, you know, our shared our shared Boston area hatred, whether it's like red Socks, the Patriots, and especially you know, I love rooting against the Celtics. Um, it's tough. I will say this, it's breaking my heart that they are. It's they're threading a weird needle here where they're almost cool, and it's it's really pissing me off. I have to be honest. They were, That's their whole thing. I was behind enemy lines for four years, lived there for four years, and I have a bunch of friends from Boston, and I say this in all sincerity. They're the worst, the absolute worst people. I know. They constantly aren't talking whenever Boston does something successful in sports, which is all the time, and they're just so. But we're gonna get into that. So you and I both East Coast guys at heart. You you physically uh, still on the East Coast. I've moved on. My heart still on the East Coast. So the Eastern Conference is really good and tight and has been all season long, and it's like one of the best Eastern Conference seasons in recent memory, certainly in a very long time. So I thought what we would do is you and I will go through these Eastern Conference teams, break down the state of each of these guys and figure out which ones are actual contenders. I love it because since the knicks are out and look now people are gonna gonna sound since I'm gonna say, and I would, I got plenty of knicks thoughts, don't worry. But I also we The other thing we bonded over is our Greek. You know, I'm Greek. I I grew up between Baltimore and you know, my summers in Greece and you have it. You know, you wrote that great, the great piece about um. I mean when Cali I'm sorry, not Califo. I'm getting my I'm getting my crooked Italian coaches confused. You wrote that incredible Patino piece that I literally read the second it came out. It was my It's my one of my favorite pieces of and you really captured, like you know, what it is to be a Greek. I mean just a Greek sports fan where it's like, yeah, no this American sports as much as we like to you know, rib Boston or whatever, people have gotten stabbed over over like Greek basketball games and they don't even like basketball that much. It's a soccer plays basketball is like they're little, you know, it's like the backup sport. But they will you know, they set off like you know and you can't work how how yeah fireworks inside? I mean it's insane. It makes no sense. I think, uh, and we'll get to this when we get to your when we talk about Janice, Well that's what I'm here. I wanted to prep where it's like I also have been following Janice's career since the Grainy, since the like you know in the gym, in the gym playing against five foot seven guys, those videos. I was he crushed them. I was pumped, I was I was rooting for him. I remember being like upset, no disrespect to Milwaukee when Milwaukee drafted him because I was at the time, I was like send him to Toronto, send him to you know, just send him to like somewhere where they like, you know, exact big city that they that they you know, really were good at developing people. And I'll eat you know, I've eaten crow On that I'm happy. And when he was about to leave Milwaukee, I was like, hell, yeah, I had I had the Miami Heat photoshop Jersey ready to go. I had to Dallas him and Luca photoshop Jersey ready to go. I've eaten my words. I'm a Milwaukee guy, I've eaten you know. I'm there. I'm gonna go. I'm gonna try and go to the playoffs, eat some brat worse and watch him. So I also I am a Jhannest fan. Don't call me a flip flopper here, folks, but I love you honest due to due to our ethnicity, so yeah, that he's your countrymen. All my Greek buddies, uh, you know you and I were bonding over this before the show. But you know, I'm friends with like twenty people who are all Greek Americans and have family and Greece. And I've been to Greece so many times. And you mentioned the Patina story that I wrote, and they're all the same. They have you know, most of them are Philly and New Yorkers, so they root for the sixers of the next but everybody roots for honest. Yeah, he's so much fun. Yeah, all right, so you mentioned the Heat. We're gonna start at the top of the Eastern Conference. As we were cord this, the Heat are nominally in first place. That the only team in the Eastern Conference to clinch a playoff spot so far. But stop. I don't know if you saw what happened against the Golden State Warriors. Not only did the Heat lose at home, but they imploded. No one, they imploded in full public view of everybody. There's a huddle and Udonis has them, gets after it with Jimmy Butler. Jimmy Butler, I guess, was acting up a little bit. Udonis puts him in his place. And the weird thing here, I want to run this past you because so Jimmy was fighting a two front war, which we all know you can't do. Military strategy tells you bet, I guess, But so he hits on an argument signed simultaneously with both Udonis has them and his coach, Erik Spoelstra, and so two things happened. I want to ask you which one you thought was better? Did you like? Udonis has them telling him I'll beat your ass. I'll beat your ass, or Erik Spoelster asking what you want me to bleeping fight you? Yeah, I did like it because I again, I like the idea that the heat are falling apart here. I like it because back to j honest, they seem like the most spiritually together team and we can get we can get into that. But um, I love that spoke. I mean, look, Donnas has them. It's like that's what the guys there for. Like, to me, it was like he he's on call to deal with this exact thing. That's the only thing he gets paid for is to like throw his body in front of the coaching staff. He's basically the coach that will fist fight a player if he gets a little if he gets a little mouthy, right, So to me, that was just that was Danna's going through the motions. If anything, it didn't even feel particularly inspired to me. But but but uh, spo literally like his energy. I mean he was like what you want to fight, but he wasn't backing down. And that was again he's I mean, I think he's the best coach in the league. And he is. And that's part of it too, where It's like, it's not just that he is an incredible you know, I mean, just to get this team to be number one in the East right now, although I think it's gonna fall apart fingers crossed here. This is the closest been in a while. Both both Philly and the Bucks I think are only a game and a half behind them after they after they lost the Warriors. Just what he's done is incredible, but it's also just swag. It's also just he's got the sauce, you know what I mean. He was ready, Yeah, like in a in a in a coaches melee. Um, he's up there again. Probably Email again, I hate to be given accomplished to the Celtics. Probably Email Doca is the number one, uh brawler. Like if I had to pick a coach to defend me in single combat, it would be EMAILA. But suppose they're just for just for feistiness, you know, and inspire. I think, you know, like Pop would have some problems, right, but it's been a long time since West Point for Pop. He's it's it's been a while. He's not You're not He's he's easy, Pope fold quick? Can I tell you that that Jimmy Butler very quickly back down because I mean, and I would too. Here's my list of people I would piss off before Udonis has them. Everybody else. He's the oldest dude in the league, and when he says he'll beat that ass, everybody is like, yep, yes, sorry, please do not beat this ass, Like Jimmy is gonna have to go into witness protection because like, that's the last guy you want to get heated with. Yeah, And it's because and it's that's the thing about him where it's like he is old and look he at this point, he's starting to look like an old man. Like I know, in the grand scheme of things, he's not old, but in the NBA he looks like, you know, yeah, I mean forty one is like and and he's staying in shape obviously because he's still you know, at least probably jogging. I wonder how much practicing he even does. It's hilarious. I mean, I bet you, I mean, but anyway, Yeah, but he's also the kind of guy that, yeah, maybe physically Jimmy is in the prime of his life a little more, but Udonis has him will not lose a fight. He will like he will every inch of his body. He'll you know, break tendons if it if it means he has to beat the hell out of Jimmy Butler to defend the honor of the coaching staff. I mean he's in there just like just a brawl. And yeah, it's that. It's almost that like if a guy is older and he can you think he can beat you up. It's scarier because there's some kind of like weird, like intangible like Dad's strength fear that he strikes into your heart. Whereas like with Jimmy, it's like, you know, as look, he's a tough guy, I guess, but he also has done a lot of like you know, Karl Anthony Towns, He's Andrew Wiggins. Like the guys he's putting their places are not at the time in their career specifically. I mean, Cat seems to be hitting another level. But he kind of found, uh, you know, he found guys that were kind a little a little mentally easy to to to, you know, make fold And it's like I don't think that's the case with either has them or obviously Spolstra. I mean the heat had back when Lebron wanted to get him fired. You think they're gonna fucking I'm sorry, you think they're gonna you're gonna side. You think the Heat are gonna side with u? Um uh Jimmy Butler over over the coach that they said Lebron told Lebron to kick Rocks over no chance. So that's that's another cool thing about the Heat and it is uh, it is a system. I will say, well, Heat culture does not look equal to this challenge, at least not right now, because they have lost two games in a row. So before this like uh intramural warfare that they had full display in front of everybody. They also lost to the Philadelphia seventy six Ers this week. And I bring this up stock because before that game, I wasn't going to name names, so let's just say that the name rhymes with Rohan nod Cny. He totally rhymes with not actually his name, but he texted me right and he's the Heat Family's on this podcast regularly even though I'm filling in for him. Uh, and he was loading and he said to me that Embat and Harden were sitting out because they were ducking the Heat. And what happens the Sixers with like Tyreek, Tyrese Maxie and a bunch of dudes from the South Philly Y roll over the heat and win that game, and it was so satisfying. Stuff. I like to see the heat, you know. One on one hand, just to see the Heat kind of implode this week a little bit, even though they've already clinched the playoffs spot makes me feel really good about it. But compent, of course, you've got you've got on Rohan. But the other the what's annoying about the Heat is I believe they've clinched it because they're a division winner and their division sucks. That's the other thing about like like that's a little something we need to talk about with the heat, where it's like that's a little that's a bit of the reason why they they you know, they get to play the Magic more than other Eastern Conference teams that you know, it's just like the Southeasian Division is the you know, it's just like the Hawks have been, you know, way worse than you thought they were gonna be this year. So that's a there's a little bit there. But that's got to be delicious for you. That's gotta be delicious to get it on Rohan. But I will say, as a nice backer, I that was the best of both worlds for me, because yes, here's the thing, Philly, they've done a couple of cowardice, cowardice things here where they don't seem to want to play Brooklyn right they're sitting and look, it's one thing to rest them beat it's like, but Harden, it's like, I don't know, hard and I feel like should be playing his way into shape a little bit. I feel like he's been resting a little a little much. He's looked a little sluggish, especially I mean especially the honeymoon ended after they beat up on the Knicks back to back, you know what I mean, when they playing that was a real fun stretch. Um. But I think they it seems like they're trying. I mean, they've kind of backed their way into tied for the second seed right now. But I don't know, man, I don't believe they're not exhibiting the kind of like we don't care who we play attitude that you'd like to see from a team like that, from a team that has an m v P and maybe this year's m v P who like all came together you replace having you know, you you replace nobody essentially, or you replace Seth Curry essentially with James Harden, and you should be swaming. I mean, they should be puffing their chest out. They should be and be should be trying to get the scoring title. They should be like destroying everything and figuring figuring out their team on the way to the playoffs. But instead I'm seeing a lot of rest days. I'm seeing Harden duck in the heat twice. You know, And as a Johannese guy, I thought Roe wasn't on the show this week. I'm sorry. It's like talking points straight from Rohan. I'm sorry, Bro, I got my got my pro Jannice cap. Once the Knicks, once the Knicks fell completely out of the plane, it's Bucks time all the way from me right now. Like what you're saying about the Sixers is fair and I and let's bring this up because after the heat, there's three teams punched up them. There's the Bucks and your guy y honest, there's the Sixers and there's the Celtics, and they're all a game and a half as we record this behind the Celtics tied to they were all three of them are a game and a half back as we record this from the heat, so they're lumped up in that group. And yes, I hear what you're saying to the Sixers. Point uh. And there's another guy that I want to bring up because he made the same points that you did about embiid and hardened and not sure being sure like whether or not they'd be dominant together. And I wasn't gonna name any names either. His name rhymes with Mike Peanut. And so this guy who rhymes with Mike Peanuts said that, you know, he wasn't sure how they'd meshed together, and he was also concerned about these rest days. I look at it kind of in the opposite direction, right, where they have had these rest days and there's still only a game and a half hour, right. It's kind of like I like it as a rope a dope situation, where the league is the rope and the Sixers are playing the dopes and they're hanging back a little bit because the real season, as we all know, doesn't start until mid April when the playoffs get going. Okay, that's a that's a fair point. But what if the real season starts and you're playing the nets I mean that's you. You want to be tuned up a little bit if you're gonna play those guys, and you know, if you're the second seed and they get the seventh seed, you know, or or if they weirdly get the eight seed or something, you know, who knows. I mean, you know, I wouldn't put anything past that team. Uh, that's fair. But I also just think, like, because the nets are looming, like, this isn't the past where it's like, you know, you get to play the pistons if you're the one seed or the two or you know what I mean. It's like this is like the nets are really looming out there. If it was just even Toronto, I think would be kind of annoying to play, you know, if you're always annoying. But it's yeah, I mean, I can't believe how good they are this year. I mean, that's another Nurses right up there with Spo. But um, yeah, dude, I don't know. I mean I just think, especially because this team just came together, I think you're right that they've kind of found themselves in you know, almost by accident a game and a half behind. But especially when it's like I hate to be this guy, but it's like Doc. I don't trust Doc in the playoffs. That's that's that's right him. Yeah, nobody, nobody. And I love Hardened because of how hilarious he is, like because I really love someone who squanders their natural ability to go to a strip club. That's my kind of guy. I know all about it. You know, you could check my grades in college, my senior year, as you know how how precipitously they fell when I you know, I was able to know when I had a job and had like money for you know, uh, certain fun activities. Uh. And that's also how I live as a stand up comedian. It's like on the road, it's you know, am I gonna wake up? Or am I gonna go to bed early and go over my act and be fresh for the show? Or am I gonna be hungover until four pm? I'm I'm that's I'm from the Hardened camp of working, where it's like max out your natural ability, have a good as time, you know. And I respect him for that, and I would love to see him win because I love I would love to see um like because everything now has gone to like Lebron spends two million dollars on his oddie Steph Curry sleeps in a in a hyperbaric time chamber, uh to get you know, it's like they're getting Kobe was getting, you know, his own blood spun in Germany to get his knee. It's like we're doing all these crazy things where it's like I would love it if a guy with a little pot belly because he's had Magic City Wings for lunch the day before a playoff series, if he somehow, if someone, if someone drops forty with some with some strip club mac and cheese sloshing around in their guts, that's my guy. On the daytime Tuesday, like like a nighttime weekend, like like a really hardcore not with the executive chef, with with the day whoever is in their work in the day shift. I feel like the day shift. We make a lot of jokes about day shift weekday strippers, but the weekday strip club chef, he can't be much better, you know what I mean. So I was pulling a guy off the street as much as spiritually I am rooting for him to win. All the evidence is showing that it's not. You know, he had the honeymoon, he had that honeymoon in Brooklyn last year where he was you know, people were talking about him as the m v P. That's how much he bounced back from being like the most hated guy in the league for how he was, uh, you know, ruining that situation with the Rockets. He was so good before he heard his U his hamstringers and the I forget that people were people were like, this guy could be m v P because he's carrying these nets. That that was at least like a you know, a three month honeymoon. The honeymoon with the sixer seems to have lasted three games. So it's like and he now he's kind of just kinda you know, back to being James. He's out there, he's at that birthday party after they get which again I love I'm the kind of guy that loves him, but that's not the kind of guy that I would be super. You know, you combine him with Doc, and then you combine the fact that your best player is seven three, you know, you know, just a huge human being who might just break down because you've been riding him hard, hard as hell the whole season. It's like it's just not looking there's a lot of things that aren't looking good for the Sixers, you know, kind of kind of just outside of the court, because I thought the fit on the court has been good. I actually thought that they're playing better than I thought they would together. But it's all the other stuff that I'm worried about. I mean, all the other stuff is the story of the Philadelphia seventy sixers in perpetuity, right, I mean, like they read the league in drama for the last twenty years. So they got guys almost dyeing a peanut allergies, and they draft point guards who forget how to shoot, and they got a GM who's got burner accounts. I mean, like it never stops with them off the court. But again, playoff basketball different thing. I'm they are poised to play a really annoying style to watch, but that might work in the playoffs, right, Like they're poised to be like grinded to a halt. Slow. We're gonna play slow as hell. We're gonna play is a ball. We got two of the best guys in the league. They get to the line, and we've got one of the best defensive and we've got one of the best defensive centers in the game. Maybe the best defensive center. You know, even even taking Gobert into account when when embat is really locked in, he's I think he's just as good. So you could you I absolutely see a path to that. I'm just saying, Man, you got Doc Rivers lurking, you got you got three and one lurk, and you got you got hardens like string of horrific game you know, Game six is lurking. There's a lot of stuff. Man, you just body in the Sixers. I don't know how this happened. Well this is because I I haven't. I am ready to body every single team. All right, Well, let's body because the Sixers have. You've now thoroughly flattened the Sixers. So uh listen, I'm Harden, get over there with glitter in your beard, dropped forward with some with some body glitter in your beard. James. Uh, he's got the singles ready to rock for the playoffs. So that grouping of Bucks, Sixers and Celtics, we've we've gotten your take on the Sixers. The Bucks are the defending champions, and we know your feelings about Jannis, and I think that you know they're obviously going to be right in the next let's together body this next team, the Southern Everybody is high on them right now. They've been on a tear for months nine and one over their last ten. You know, they're point differentials plus six point four best in the conference. I don't have to tell you about their point differential. Stop. New York and Philly hate each other, but our one common bond is our hatred of Boston. I liked them so much better earlier in the season when they were bad, and now all of us they were yeah, yeah, now that never figured it out, Like I hate this. I know I hated too. And it's like, the one thing I'm thinking is, like, was Shrewder this bad? Like it was really like this how bad Dennis Shrewder is like this? Like uh? Because literally, I mean, look, there's other stuff that's happened, and I think a lot of it is just like Udoka in the beginning of the season, I was like, I thought, look again, I think he's cool, He's awesome. He's got that cool story about when he's playing for the Nigeria national team where there's a brawl and he's just knocking guys out. The guys literally married to Nia Long. I mean it doesn't get cooler than that. You know, he's a handsome guy. It sucks. It's all of like I was to me, I was like, this guy is too cool for the Celtics. It won't work, these these chowder chugging dorks. It just won't. It will be incompatible. It'll be like two magnets when you put the two positive events together just bounce back. And that's what I thought was happening. You know, especially when you go from Brad Stevens to Emay where it's like Bred Stevens. You know the guy can you know he's come to life exactly exactly. He's a dork. So I was hoping just spiritually email Duka would not work because because Boston is so lame. But at the same time, clearly what in the beginning of the season looked like, Hey, does this guy like go after his players too much? It's like, because he really was throwing them under the bus in a way that I loved um. But it turns out it worked and it it seems like they needed to hear it, and it seems like they just I mean, swapping out Derek White for Schroeder gives them like a guy who's unselfish and like moves the ball around and you know, I but what I am hoping is that they're just it just I don't know. I still, at the end of the day, don't fully like I think Tatum is. I think people overrate Tatum a little much and I feel he's really good. But he's really good. He's really good. But I think like this is a make or break season for him, where postseason for him, where it's like, look if this guy somehow takes his team, because it's gonna have to be him. I think Jalen Brown is awesome, but I do think like and look, defensively, it annoys me how good they are. I mean, they just spank the Jazz, who are also frauds who I don't believe in their sort of To me, they're they're Boston West as far as I'm concerned. Love that. I love that for so many different reasons, they're possible. I mean, Angel is just over there, I mean he like right, yeah, um, And all I can say is that it's just it's a little too sweet. And I think that Boston is cursed for everything Age has done. The way they treated players, the way they treated Isaiah Thomas. I think it's just all I can say is is that the basketball gods, this is them, uh getting Boston very excited, juicing the whole team, the whole town up, to only break their hearts and to have them lose in the first round to the Nets. That's what I'm saying, is that this is a big spiritual nuts taking out the Celtics and the Sixers in the first round. They're gonna play them everybody, They're just they're gonna play both of them. They're gonna just borrow whoever they play in the first Maybe the Hornets will will be allowed to borrow k D and Kyrie, and that's how it's gonna be done. But one way or another, it's gonna happen. And at the end of the day, I also feel like there's two things that might be destined here. Um, it'll be the Bucks take them out so that it's even sweeter for me. Where Yeah, this absolutely steamrolls them, um And I do think he is the biggest problem for them obviously, and B two will be difficult for them to deal with. But um, I wish I had more I had, I wish I had more tangible reasons why the Celtics are gonna lose other than pure hater pure hater in me, But I think I think the hate is powerful enough that I can will them to lose from the street personally. You know, you had mentioned how like this run has gotten the entire town so jazzed up to believe in the Celtics, and like Celtics fans are coming out of the woodwork. Previously they had like gone off to whatever rocks that they hide under when they weren't playing well, and now all of a sudden they come slithering out to pump up their chests. And these Duncan dorks are everywhere. And I sent you a picture. You and I were talking about this and laughing about it, and I encourage people to go and check this out on s i S Twitter feed at s I now. But some guy somewhere I think it was probably and it rhymes again with Mike Peanut got a tattoo and it says Boston Celtics two World champions and he's already And I just can't tell you how much I hate this. Yeah, I hate it. First of all, I love it because either're not gonna win the championship. I'm I am on record, like they might make a run, it might be annoying, they might you know, feel like they're poised whatever. But look, that's that's been the Celtics the whole time, uh that they've they've always felt like they're on the cusp. And again, I think they've deserved the karma of those those uh you know they got the picks whatever, they bamboozled the nets. But I think they deserve the karma for how they've treated especially as Aiah Thomas. But just like how how Ange just kind of like treated players, is like disposable and they're so close and they almost they never make it, which I think is worse than just being bad, you know, on some level. But this is good because this guy has a tattoo, and it's a disgusting tattoo. It's not like that's the best part. It's not a good tattoo. It's not there. Listen, whatever you want to say about them, they're cool, little Celtic guy who spends the basketball. That's a pretty that's a nice mascot. That's that's good graphic design. This guy got just a block of black ink in horrible writing. That's it. Doesn't. It doesn't even look like official Celtics fun. It looks like a bootleg T shirt you would buy in the stadium next to the outside the stadium. Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah exactly. It looks horrible. Um, you know, I can't wait to see what kind of dropkick Murphy's tattoo he used he covers it up with in six months when they lose to the to either the Nets or the or the I'm hoping it's the Bucks. I would love to vanquish the Celtics personally. Um, but I think it's good because this is you know, uh, it will just this guy will feel even stupider when when the Celtics do lose. I love that. Uh that's something that we can all hope for, is for Boston to feel even stupider. That's what I look for. Frankly, I want to run through a couple more of these Eastern Conference teams. So the next two teams before that, like play in Line, are the Bulls and the Calves, who both started off hot like the Caves, I think, you know, they're kind of playing with house money because nobody expected them to be good at all. Mobile has been a killer. They're playing a really weird style stop where they have like they've got Lori markin in and uh, you know, Jaren Allen got hurt, but before he went down he was playing really great and mobile and also Kevin Love. So they're running like four bigs out there with Darius Garland and they've been good, but they're falling off a little bit. And then the Bulls obviously Alonzo got hurt and you know, injuries have filed them a little bit. But both of those teams I think playing better than we might have expected before the season. Yeah, for sure. And I mean I think again the Calves, I think you're absolutely right where it's like it is house money and it shouldn't work in any way. And they've lost I mean, yeah, we don't even talk about Sexton. We don't even talk about Rubio. I mean, they keep losing huge. Rubio was so important for them. Um. And and then I mean when with Jared Allen, it's like that Jared Allen and Mobley, I think we're the is the reason that you can basically play either Lowry or Kevin Love is like you know, a weird a weird three, you know what I mean, Like just stand in the corner rebound, because those guys are such incredible defenders that you could just mix and match them, you know, you know, with with with a with a more deficient defender at the four spot, or even if at the three spot, they can like really cover up a lot of mistakes. You know, both of them are insanely good defensive centers um and so losing Moble has been tough. But again, I think it is house money, and I think, like, what did Cleveland really think was gonna happen? I mean, this team they have I I know, um, Garland's good, but you know they don't have it. I mean, who else scores? And I mean I guess the Lavert, the LeVert trade, maybe Fencer to that, but it's like, really there's not much scoring punch on the rest of this roster. I mean, you know, I'm so high on Mobile though, and for him to be that good, this absolutely like he's going to be an absolute monster for a very very long time. He's unbelievable. And if I'm them, you know, I'm looking at this season as just like a massive, massive win where you okay, we've got two cornerstones in Mobile and Garland, and you know, we go out and get LeVert and you know I like that trade fine, but just yeah, just just to say, okay, we're positioned now to add in some pieces around these two guys and uh, just to have a home grown, really good Eastern Conference team that came out of nowhere. I mean completely about this stuff. Like you know, people were saying, oh, you know what happens if you know Lebron wouldn't rule it out right he had said, I wouldn't out going back to Cleveland. You know what, if you're Cleveland, you rule that out. You don't want any part of Lebron right now, You've already got a good team. Yeah, I know that is so funny. I mean that is I yes, it makes sense in the way that, like you know, you play a basketball video game, you rule out Brown. But it's like Lebron's farewell tour probably puts more more money back into um, you know, Rock what's his name, Rocket, Dan Gilbert's pocket. He's he's lining his pockets way more with the Lebron Farewell Tour than he is even by you know, for closing on people's homes with predatory loans. So so I think they do it. What I mean, look, you're you're you want the Lebron Farewell Tour, But I know you're saying from a basketball standpoint, they don't want to stay. They don't want to be in this guy's shadows, right, But honestly, in a weird way, he would be. I mean, he's Lebron, old man Lebron with uh with Mobley and with with Garland. I think actually is sick like as a basketball like he's he's running the high post offense type of type of stuff. You know what I'm saying, he would pay that like uh senior emeritus role. Sure, but I seriously doubt he would. I just like I can going back to Cleveland again and being like, yeah, I'm gonna let these two kids be the main guy that I'm gonna just play this like auxiliary role. That's not Yron, that's not Lebron. But man, even he's got age at some point, you know, don't I think. I think, I mean he's thirty seven or whatever. You know, it's like when he Okay, maybe it's not this year, maybe it's not next year. You're telling me when Lebron's forty, he might he doesn't want to come in keep patting his stats, play twenty minutes, I don't know, played twenty minutes, and then like where I would be annoyed if I was them, is he would try and poach a finals m v P from them. He would try and like, you know, that's where he would come alive. But I could see him being like late era Tim Duncan to their Kauai when he's literally forty two years old, you know. But anyway, who, I don't think it's gonna happen. If I'm Kobe Allman, I'm good with what I got now. Um, all right, so I want to run through these last Yeah, let's do let's do bulls. I mean, what how do you feel about? You know, obviously Demartin Rosen has been resurgent that you're not even resurgent, and he's always been good, but really it's been crazy. Yeah, it's it has been. It's not unfair to say resurgent because he was good on those Spurs and it was like he was always a guy that you'd be like, oh, he had a better season than I realized. Every year with the Spurs, be like, oh, yeah, the mare is good, and it's like, oh, look at his assists. You know, it's like, because no one's really watching that, they're kind of boring. I didn't anyway as a more casual fan. Uh, I wasn't watching too much Spurs basketball. But yeah, he's been, you know, out of his mind, and his clutch numbers are hilarious, and his like, you know, just overall demeanor has been wild. But I think, yeah, you are kind of seeing you are kind of seeing the limits of I think what everyone forecasted would happen in the playoffs just has started happening a little earlier. Where it's like without their elite perimeter defense that was kind of holding the rest of it together with glue or with tape. Basically, they're just kind of falling apart. And them thinking Tristan Thompson was going to be the big defensive five upgrade is hysterical, dude. I mean, I want the Bulls just spanked them. I want that game a couple of nights ago, and it was like Janna's put him under the basket, and where I wasn't you know, you're kind of watching and you're paying it, you're doing other stuff, And I just saw Johanna's dunk on somebody and I was like, oh, that must have been a guard and it was Tristan Thompson who had position on him, but there was nothing he can do about it. He has not been the same since those Hooka pictures leaked. I think that that did something to his to his psyche fundamentally. But at the end of the day, I think it really just comes down to without Alonzo especially and with that gaping defensive hole at five, it's like, you're just gonna be able to score on them with even competent, like even competent big man play, and you know, unless they really catch fire and Vosovic has a different level, which I don't think he does, and they just become like a like a really they score more and Lonzo comes back and look, Pat Pat Williams back. You know, that's good he played in that game. I mean, that's solid that they have. But again, this guy is a second year player that missed most of his second year. So what do you really you know he's not gonna be the big wingstop or you don't. You don't throw that guy at Jayson Tatum and expect him to shut him down. So I just think ultimately it is like it's kind of Cleveland dish, but without as Rosie and outlook where it's like this is a good you know, you guys, you guys overperformed. You had a fun season. The Mars probably gonna make at least third team All NBA, even though he kind of slid. People were talking about it was an m v P. He'll probably make at least third team. That's something Levine might stay. And then you know, Karnisovich has proven to be a good GM. Maybe he can find a way to like Flip Vosovic again or something, or like figure out a way to like or maybe Pat Williams next year. Really does you know developed and in this in this little window they can do something. But I think it's a good season. But I think they ultimately will end up being a little more disappointing than they wanted, only because of how high their expectations were. But if you told them you're the five seed at the beginning of the year, I think they they'd have been thrilled with that, right, Yeah, that well, I mean that hots Art. I think it was like a little bit of fool's goal. But despite that, right, I mean, like as we record this through three and seven, over their last ten not great, and yet only four and a half games out of first place. Because the Eastern Conference is so lowly and so packed in tight, I want to throw out these last um, you know, bubble teams for the play in here. So you've got the Raptors, the Hornets, the Hawks below this line, and of course your Nets, who who you have taking out everybody in the first round. Conference will lose unless they get the Bucks, in which case it will be a sweep right of this group. Of this group the Raptors, Nets, Hornets, and Hawks. Who do you like? Obviously obviously the Nets, but um, honestly, it's like, I mean, it's I mean, it's it's kind of a cop out because they're the seven and eight seed, but like, I just don't like the Hawks have just been so bad, Like the Hawks really pulled the rug out from under us. I think where it's like they really felt like they were the like classic h the young team that made a leap that watch out for him next year. That just doesn't happen, you know, And I think that goes back to this is again New York a little bias here, but it's like this is some Trey Young slander that's about to happen where I just feel like it's not his ability, right clearly, he's out of fun. He's out of control, right, Like he is so good, he's you know, he's Steph like with everything except moving moving without the ball, which obviously is one of the huge things that makes step step Don't get me wrong, but a great and insane passer for size and insane shooter all that stuff. Uh, but obviously the defense is a problem. But also I just feel like guys don't like him. Like I feel like there's every year, but dude, even on his own team, it's like every year there's like, oh, there's rumblings of discontent in the in the Hawks locker room, and it's like, you know, they signed John Collins to that big extension. You're like, oh, they probably figured it out, but he had problems with the last coach, and it's like, Okay, maybe he wasn't. He wasn't like, uh, you know, he's not Spoilsterra right like um. But at the same time, it's like this, I thought they were gonna bounce back. I thought they found something with um. Uh their their coach used to coach the Pacers. Uh. Yes, McMillan. I thought they had figured it out with McMillan and they was like, oh, wow, this is a team. But I don't know, man. I think maybe they had like a really well timed dead gat bounce from how much they didn't Trey did not like uh Lloyd Lloyd ps exactly. Uh. I thought they had like ah, I thought they just kind of bounced back because but but maybe it's just that Trey really didn't like him that much that he kind of like it was a good teammate for three months and and things broke the right way and they got to the Fine Eastern Conference finals. But I think, you know all that chatter earlier on where they're already trays already talking about how the regular seasons boring, It's like, well, bro, it's it's clearly not boring enough for you, because it's like you're barely getting out of you you're not getting into the playoffs. I don't see them being able to beat the Raptors. And I think the Hornets in a similar way. I think they're just I don't think it's it's the same thing. I just think they're kind of young and in their development they haven't really put it together, and they have a problem at the center position too, And I just think they're a little erratic. And you can't say that about the Raptors even though you know they're just like a a weird, you know, lucky professional, like straight ahead, they're gonna like grind you down and like you know, aside from Sam and Fred van Vleet, like, I mean, that's just a professional basketball team where you have like a lot of stars, right you just they try hard, they're big, right, They've got they've got they defend, and they just like have the best coach in that in that forsome that we just mentioned, Uh definitely is is Nurse. So and look Sam and e Fleet, we're on that championship team. They have a little bit of that too. So I just still I just can't see it not being Raptors and Nets because I just don't believe in the Hawks, and I think they have something to figure out that. I think it's more personality based than anything. I mean, the Gallop contract is about to be bad. Look, I'm sorry, John, I missed the no. I was saying, No, that's tough with Collins being injured too. I mean, like they're you know, sure. I mean they're missing Collins obviously, but at the same time, when it wasn't one of their big wasn't one of their big things supposed to be depth. I mean going into the season, it was like they have too many guys. So if any team was supposed to be able to weather this kind of with you know, with all these guys that, in theory could create their own shot in theory, could you know whatever? I don't know, man, it's I think it's more personality based because I actually thought they did a good job of building that team and I I laughed, you know five years ago when they were like, We're going to kind of create our own Golden State, you know, and it's like, and which is ridiculous, you don't really have the ability to do that. But at the same time they really did. I thought they did a good job of building around Trey Um and then it just all kind of disappeared this year. I don't know. I really don't know what it is. And I have to, as a hater, attribute that to Young doesn't have the winning mentality. He's a He's a loser in his heart, and that's what he gets for bowing in Madison Square Garden. I think I think that's disappointing to me because you know, we obviously know that they made it to the Eastern Conference Finals last year because Ben Simmons decided to like never shoot and pass up a dunk. Yeah. So if they're that bad and they advanced past the Sixers, like, what does that say about the Sixers? But okay, right, perfectly, just a little bit more. I want to wrap this up because I want to give you a little bit of time to to talk about your New York Knicks, who you know, Trey Young loves to absolutely demolish in their own house and talk trash about. But you know, at the beginning of the season with the next you had the whole bing bong thing excited, and that about a second and a half and one game one, one overtime win. I mean, it's it really is hilarious. Yeah. Um, So, how do you feel about the prospects of your franchise? I mean, you know R. J. Barrett has looked good this year. My thing with the Knicks is, you know, the fish rocks from the head right, it's still got James Dolan and I just like, will never believe the next can be good with James Dolan, sure, and I mean I think that's true. Um, but it's like, you know, let's also not get crazy. It's like all the other owners are like, you know what are they finance guys or like Republican donors? You know what I mean. It's like it's like Dolan is uh definitely about and look me and Sam. I wish Sam was here because you would the the in the lunacy that would be coming out of his mouth right now with this question would be crazy. But we worked for MSG like we had. Sam had a show that I was a writer on, and the the culture permeates through every part of that business. I'll put it that way, where it's like it's just kind of tough to get anything done and it's a little dysfunctional, and um, you know, I think on some level you are right that the fish rocks from the head. But I do think I do think to give him a little ounce of credit. He has shown the willingness to since Phil Jackson um Let a guy I think he learned from like how badly the Mellow thing happened where he overruled Umu the g the you know, I'm so bad with names, but he's the GM used to huh. I'm also he looks like drewpie Dog. He's old as hell. He was the one that did the he was the one that did the Mellow trade because Dolan forced him basically instead of waiting for free. But I think he learned ever since then, it's like, Okay, he just has picked wrong who he's trusted right, because it was Phil Jackson and that was an obvious, glaring error at the time, I thought it was dumb, but he kind of let Phil do whatever he wanted. And now he's kind of doing that with Leon Rose, who I think at first everyone was like, well, he's not trading draft picks, and in New York, if you don't trade your first round draft pick, that basically makes you uh you know that them that makes you uh yeah yeah, that that makes you yeah yeah um. But then very quickly it's turned into the thing where it's like, Okay, let's look at what happened. Uh passed on Haliburton. At the time, that was as much I love Obie, I think he's a fun player and I think and he had a good, nice game yesterday too. Um and if his three ball comes around he can be a really, really nice, like off the bench player, I believe. But at the same time, it's like you pass on Haliburton. That's a that's a glaring error. And it's like, you know, the d Rose thing that happened to be a good trade. In fact, he's too good because it's like we relied on him so much in the year twenty twenty two that when he goes out, our team folds, and that's a that's a huge problem. I thought that. I think, as much I love Julius and that that year that he gave us, you know, will will be special and it matters a lot to Knicks fans, I thought it was a mistake paying him instead of letting making him sort of prove it uh with fans in a regular environment, and they did that. Um I think he should he would The contract would be a lot be a lot lower this year, I'll tell you that much. It wouldn't be what he got. And then I also think that Cam Reddish trade, as you know, as much as I thought Cam Reddish was worth taking a swing on, you look at what the value of a first round pick was in this in this trade deadline, It's like it seemed like you get a lot more for a first rounder than Cam Reddish. And not only that, but you didn't play him like and now he's heard so and we have a couple of interesting younger guys that I think if you know you have, you have Grimes, you have quickly, you have you have r J obviously um, but you know Taj Gibson's out there getting getting thirty minutes. But that's that's a that's a Tips thing, right, I mean, like the Derrick rose Um Taj Gibson component goes traces directly and not playing young guys and not trying out Rabbish and this all traces directly back to Tims, who, if he were allowed, would shorten his rotation to four people would just would be like my team's on the floor, Like that's who he is. Yeah, you're right, you're right. And and I was against I I didn't think that tims hiring was right at the first in the first place. Uh I it took me a while to get swept up into hysteria last year. I mean that was last year's me and Sam's podcast was like he bought in from the second. I mean he does every year every year he's like, this team is good, and he happened to be right last year. I mean, it's just it's he gets no credit for thinking they'd be good because he said that about every every NIXT team. You know, he's he's he's gone on. You know, he's talked. When he was younger, he thought Ronald though Balkman was gonna be the was gonna be the big savior of the Knicks. So he's a lunatic. And it took me a while to get on board. And then I was like, you know what. I went to the playoff game where the one game they won, I was, I was in the garden, and I kind of carried that mental illness through to this season where I was like, no, it's good. We'll get a little something from Kemba. Uh. Well, you know Fournier, Well, I thought I thought the contract was too big, but he's a shooter. That's the that's market rate for a shooter. And and it's just been so clear that like this team, like what made this team special last year was their defense. And I thought it was a big mistake getting rid of Bullock, who has played good for the for the Mavericks and who's relatively cheap and a and a three and D guy. Uh. Even though his his offense wasn't very imaginative, It's like he still could shoot the ball okay, and he played good defense. And I thought we went way too heavy on the offense, and that was clearly what happened. And I feel bad for Kemba because I think in a better situation, he could have been a guy who comes off the bench and you know, just does a little scoring for you. But You've just in a weird spot with us, and I'm not feeling good about it. John, I'll be honest with you. It's not It doesn't I was gonna say, you hide it great. I mean, you just had a very detailed You just had like a ten minute rants on everything that's wrong with the with the Knicks, which you know, even though you destroyed the Sixers, I love for you to destroy your own team the next It's a good place for us to leave it, because look, I don't know what's gonna happen with the Sixers. I don't know what's gonna happen with the Eastern Conference, because honestly, you could put eight teams into a hat and pull out a name you want the conference, and I would believe it. But I love this. If it's not the Sexers, that's a fine team to pick. But I really do like you going. Man, here's seventy two different reasons why the Knicks are still the next U and I could keep going, but you know, and you've only got so much time in the day. An excellent job by you breaking it down before we go. Promote yourself. Where can people find you on? And then what do you have cooking? Work wise? Yeah? Yeah, so I've I've recently started really working. I'm a stand up comic first and foremost. I mean, uh, pod don't lie is a fun? Is a fun? You know? Me and sam Our relationship was based half on stand up comedy, half on talking hoops at shows. So we were like, why don't we just turn the mics on? Why don't we just have these conversations we're having anyway, we do no preparation, We do nothing. But if you like a very stupid show with very vulgar analogies, I had to really button myself up. I had a real Jimmy Butler take that was not appropriate for the s I air waves. But if you want it, if you want let more, a more you know X, you know more sex, joke, more vulgar uh NBA show. Listen to pod Don't Lie with Sam and Stave. We do uh free episode every week and we do an extra Patreon so two episodes a week and then I'm I'm a stand up comic. Like I said, So, my YouTube channel is something I'm really working on right now, and I'm going to release a special next month, uh three hour long special. I just want people to see it. So yeah, I'm building on my It's YouTube dot com, slash stavros halkis um on TikTok, Stavy Baby two. I'm on Instagram Stovy baby two. It's all. It's all. I post a lot of stand up so if you want to see, you know, little stand up clips, I do it one a day and I do longer uh clips on YouTube once or twice a week. And like I said, next month, we'll have a free hour long comedy special that I just want people to go out there and see. So that's that's that's what I got, baby. Go go and check him out, Go watch those go listen to the pod. It's very good. You say you don't do any prepping that. Uh, you know you weren't sure about s I he killed it on Open Floor. I can't be sure after this performance that we just had that Mike and Chris and Rohan are even coming back. I think it's probably Open Floor with Gons and Stove now, and look for the contract we're gonna sign that. I'm John Gonzalez. You can listen to Sports Illustrated Weekly every Wednesday, available wherever you get your podcasts. Please listen to some. We've got a lot of really good stuff. Uh. This week we have Jenny Brentis from the New York Times breaking down the allegations against Deshaun Watson. We have a story about Ukrainian professional athletes who have taken up arms against the Russian invasion. And then we finish it off with something decidedly lighter, where Jerry Rice joins us just to have a good time and laugh a little bit because the first two stories are pretty heavy. But stop. This was so funny, so fun listen to good don't lie. I really enjoyed this, and thanks to all of you for listening to Open Floor. This was a black whoa whoa