SportsPrep Live

Wesley Knight 0:00
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Graydon Prescott 0:17
Hey everybody, and welcome to another episode of sports prep live, sports prep live, where we unbox the bike and talk excellence in athletics.

Graydon Prescott 0:35
What's up everybody? Welcome back to another episode of sports prep live. I'm your host, Graydon Prescott, and today we get to talk about two things, one that we don't really talk about a lot, which is the NBA, and the other of those two things being the WNBA training camp and signings going on so that. So both of those should be interesting. We get to talk a lot about the WNBA on this show. NBA, not as much, but that'll be cool. First and foremost, shout out to Rory McIlroy for winning the masters.

Graydon Prescott 1:02
Nice, yes, I saw that. Yep, my guy. So that's back to back for Rory. He made it interesting. Now he did more interesting than it needed.

K.B. 1:10
Yeah, yes. He just couldn't just walk in, pick up the green jacket, get the trophy.

Graydon Prescott 1:14
He had to, he's not, he's, he's, he's not Tiger, like if Tiger were up by six shots going into Saturday, Saturday, Saturday, he would be up by 11 shots going into Sunday, and then he'd win the darn thing by 15. Rory is not that old time. Yeah, that's not, that's not

K.B. 1:32
Rory, not old Tiger.

Graydon Prescott 1:33
But yeah, yeah, 2000 Yes. Tiger, yes, but that's neither here nor there. Rory has back to back Green Jackets, good for him. Happy to see him, him winning at Augusta National. Finally, after all these years that

K.B. 1:44
not a lot of people have accomplished, right?

Graydon Prescott 1:46
It's It's Jack, Nicklaus, Nick Faldo, Tiger and Rory, and now Rory people. So that's really impressive. So congratulations to Rory. We just had to start there, because last week we didn't get to touch on the masters for a few reasons, but yeah, we had a full plate last week, so shout out to Rory for winning the masters. Now, moving on, let's let's start with the WNBA training camps beginning and the story lines that we may need to watch. First and foremost, I think the Dallas wings are going to be interesting next year with their young stars, Paige and AZ reunited. Enrique is still in the mix, so they could make for a very interesting and small

K.B. 2:27
team, true, but I don't know that page and AZ were never it's not a word, but un united, yeah, like they've been down like four flat tires, whether Paige was out in Dallas and AZ was in

Graydon Prescott 2:40
store, I'm just saying, to see them on the same course, again, yes, like they were at UConn. So I think they're going to be interesting young team to watch. One of the teams that I think everybody should be very interested in is Atlanta with with the new trading for right?

K.B. 2:55
We touched on that a little bit.

Graydon Prescott 2:56
Yes. So Angel was traded to Atlanta. She fits the rebounding and running the floor style of play that Atlanta plays, so she should be a very natural addition to the team. I think that Atlanta was already a fantastic team. Angel is not going to make them worse. I don't know how much she'll add, but if she plays within the system and she doesn't make it about herself like she did in Chicago. Now, granted, there were no real stars with her in Chicago.

K.B. 3:24
Did not have to defer to anybody in Chicago.

Graydon Prescott 3:26
Yeah, she's gonna have to defer to Ryan Howard and Alicia gray. So especially Alicia Gray, yeah, so I think that team could be really good. And that's that is good

K.B. 3:35
for her. That's good for any young athlete coming into, you know, the profession.

Graydon Prescott 3:39
Yeah, I don't, I don't. They're very the man when you arrive. There are very few athletes in any sport that immediately, when they get there, are the man, like even Caitlin. Her rookie year, Caitlin was the man, but last year, she dealt with injuries, and Kelsey Mitchell had the season of a lifetime. So I don't know if Caitlin Clark is the man on the Indiana Fever like Kelsey Mitchell is a real world problem. It may be. It may be one A, 1b and Aliyah, Boston is worth mentioning too, absolutely. So even Caitlin, the only WNBA players that I can really think of that immediately got there and were the man. Paige was the man in Dallas. As soon as she arrived, Sabrina was the man or the woman in New York. But that was before they had Rihanna Stewie was the woman when she got to Seattle, even though Sue bird was there. And of

K.B. 4:26
course, when we say man that is the man

Graydon Prescott 4:29
that's yeah, the number the number one option, yes, the number one option.

K.B. 4:32
It's just a throwaway phrase.

Graydon Prescott 4:33
And then in the NBA, it's like, it's LeBron, it's Wendy Cooper flag. You know, those generational level talents. So Angel, I don't think fits that profile of generational talent, but she is a very solid player, and I think she could fit really well in this kind of third, not third option as in, she'll be the third leading scorer or anything. I don't expect her to be the third leading scorer on that team, but third option is in, she'll probably be the second or third. Most impactful player, sure, sure. Take Alicia gray and Ryan Howard. I think she'll fit well if she just sticks to that. Dennis rod Mini, but score a little bit more, right? She'll be, she'll be good. So I think it's a good fit.

K.B. 5:13
They will be potent if, and I imagine that's why she made the leap. They will be potent if she stays disciplined. Now she has, she has become better in the last couple of years. Offensive, yeah, she's always been a problem on rebounds and rebounding. Yeah, rebounding the ball. She's always been tough. So you add more possessions, and she gets her put backs. She's extended her range a little bit.

Graydon Prescott 5:33
Get an offensive rebound, yeah,

K.B. 5:34
and you've got, you know, Alicia gray and Ryan Howard that you can dump the ball off to. They are going to make some noise. If she plays that role, they're going to make noise.

Graydon Prescott 5:44
Yeah, absolutely. Another team to be on the lookout for is the New York Liberty. Now, last year, they had a disappointing year, but with the addition of satu sabelli, who's tough, yes, yeah, and then, of course, he's still got Jonquil Jones, Brianna and Sabrina, they could still be the most talented roster in the league. On paper, Aces would have something to say about that. The fever may have something to say about that as well, but they're up there, um, and they have a new coach, but the same championship level expectation, sure, sure. Um, now, here's where I here's where I don't have confidence in New York, I think their firing of their coach was preposterous, absolutely terrible. There was no reason, there was no reason that Cindy bondello needed to be correct. They had just wanted a friendship, and they lost by the skin of their teeth in the first round, like there's no reason she should have been fired. So that lowers my expectation for this team and franchise just a little bit, but they're still going to be dangerous.

K.B. 6:38
Yeah, you know, in the family that owns the liberty and the Brooklyn Nets. I think it's Sue Tsu family. I just don't know if they, you know, they had the money to get the team, obviously, but they don't know a lot you can tell about the administration of a professional franchise, from the people they hire to some of the decisions that are made in the front office. I just don't know if they are as plugged in as, say, Joe lakeup from Golden State, like Joe knows what he's doing, right? Right? There are teams, even though he was never the owner of Jerry West, you know, out with La Jerry West, out with Golden State, right? These are guys that know what they're doing, and I'm just not sure that ownership group is all that plugged in, right? I don't know if it's a vanity project for them or what, but you know, the disastrous coach hire for the Brooklyn Nets was, you know, in Steve Nash. Steve Nash just utterly disastrous, you know, the three headed monster that they had there that never worked out. Now, granted, it was, you know,

Graydon Prescott 7:37
covid weighed in that was some injuries and Giannis sliding its foot under Kyrie, and, you know, Kyrie Katie's foot

K.B. 7:45
and hardened. That should have been an automatic championship, I

Graydon Prescott 7:48
mean, but then injuries, that's what we couldn't predict. So I'm gonna give them a pass on that one season. The second year was, well, the coaching mattered. Yeah, I feel like the ownership group thinks if you just throw together a roster of super hyper talented writers without accounting for chemistry, yeah, it's just an automatic it doesn't work. And it barely worked for the Liberty, and it shouldn't have worked for the liberty when they won the championship. Minnesota should have won that championship. Brianna Stewart did not get fouled absolutely, I

K.B. 8:16
remember that yet. No, she did not.

Graydon Prescott 8:18
Yeah, Minnesota should have won that championship. Having said that having

K.B. 8:22
Sandy, Sandy still shouldn't have been fired.

Graydon Prescott 8:24
Yeah, absolutely, that was a ridiculous fire. Okay? And then the other teams that we're gonna be on the lookout for, at least the established teams, are, of course, Indiana, Caitlin Clark, heading into her third season, hopefully she's able to stay I hear Caitlin is looking tough, yeah, hopefully

K.B. 8:39
she's able to stay healthy, not only in terms of the evolution and the progress of her game. Now, she's always been just whip smart on the basketball court. You coined the term the maestro when she was back in high school, for a reason. She's got the basketball IQ thing down in spades, yeah. But she's she. Hasn't always been as fit as she possibly could be, but man, not only is she looking that way now, but also she has elevated the game, right? That is a scary prospect with the way that Mitchell played last year. Alia Boston played last year, Ari McDonald played last year. I'm not sure who's coming back. We can't forget about Lexi and Sophie Cunningham. Lexi and Sophie, you know fearless you know basketball players in their own right. Lexi's a shooter. The I think what endeared Sophie Cunningham, obviously, to that fan base out there is the whole thing with JC Sheldon, when she stood up for her like a teammate should have. And one of the black marks against Alia Boston until this very day, is when Kennedy Carter checked Caitlin Clark in that game, knocked her to the floor. And Aaliyah Boston didn't go over to say anything to Kennedy. She didn't go over to help up Caitlin Clark. I think that. Was a moment of tension there. You know, between those two players, obviously, they're going to, they did, and they were going to figure it out as teammates, but Aaliyah caught a lot of flack for that. Whether you are friends with Kennedy Carter or not, I don't know if she was. That's your teammate, and maybe that's something that you do learn from the men's game. There is a hard line that you do not cross once a person is my teammate. They are my teammate. We are down like four flat tires. And Aliyah did not display that Sophie Cunningham did, and she endeared herself, not only to that fan base, but but to, you know, so many millions of people that were watching that game in general, and that's what should have happened. So look out for the fever. I think there's a lot of chemistry there, right? That's that's another team that we need to keep our eye on. The fever is going to be tough to beat. They're going to be tough to contend

Graydon Prescott 10:43
with this year. Yeah. And then, of course, the the other team, the aces, will, they continue the dynasty. They've got the lat. They've got three of the last four championships. Asia Wilson is best player in the league. She's on the highest per year salary ever now. And the they've brought back their entire core, and they got, they got

K.B. 11:00
Kennedy Carter, and they have Kennedy Carter. Yes, I was waiting for you to drop that,

Graydon Prescott 11:04
man, yeah, they're gonna be probably,

K.B. 11:07
look, Kennedy is a dog.

Graydon Prescott 11:08
She is, yeah, she's just gotta not cause locker room, right?

K.B. 11:13
She does. But I think, you know, in a place like Chicago where there wasn't, like, you said, there was no superstar there, there was, there was, there was a veteran presence, but no veteran presence with any power. And so Angel Reese could. Angel Reese could go in there and kind of throw her weight around, throw her weight around in a way that wasn't constructive for the team, right? And so she ends up getting out of there. They agree to mutually, they mutually agree to separate and go their separate ways. Now with Kennedy Carter in the ACES build, you know, over there in Henderson, yeah,

Graydon Prescott 11:47
it's a different animal. Yeah, she, she not throwing

K.B. 11:48
any weight, or one, you know, Becky Hammon is not look. I got a lot of respect for Theresa Witherspoon as a player. She did the darn thing. But Becky Hammond is another level as a coach, as a coach, fall back. Becky Hammond is another level. And then you got Chelsea gray. You got Chelsea Gray, you got Asia, yeah, yeah, she's not gonna step out of pocket. Yeah, she's definitely not gonna step out of pocket. So she may end up staying there, because I think she's gonna find her lane and stick to it, and if she does, this team is gonna be even more dangerous.

Graydon Prescott 12:15
I'm thinking of a starting five with Chelsea Gray, Kennedy Carter, Jackie, Jewell law and Asia.

K.B. 12:20
Whoa, like, points from anywhere, right? Points from everywhere,

Graydon Prescott 12:25
on the floor. It is utterly ridiculous. I don't see how

K.B. 12:29
anyone in a defensive menace,

Graydon Prescott 12:30
yeah, right. There's no way. There's nothing you can do. There's nothing you can do.

K.B. 12:34
That is a squad, yeah? And I think she was just on maybe a 10 day, a two way contract. So like, if she stays, that means that she's shown them something. Yeah? And you are absolutely right. The only issue with Kennedy, it's not her basketball, right? She has a pit bull. She's fearless. Does she have the discipline to not be a problem in the locker room? Yeah? If she, if she does that, this team is going to get better, and they're already great, yeah?

Graydon Prescott 12:59
And then the expansion teams, of course, the Valkyries last year's expansion team, they shocked everyone by making the playoffs. Yeah, yes. Now they're going to have some expectations. We'll see what we see from them. And then there are two new expansion teams this year in Portland and Toronto. I don't know what to expect based off of the Valkyries success last year. Maybe one of those teams could make that was an aberration, but I but I think that we're going to see a playoffs of teams with experienced players that are already established, like the fever and the aces and the liberty and the links and the dream. And, you know, it's going to be a free and then

K.B. 13:34
Connecticut, right? They've moved in there, yeah, but

Graydon Prescott 13:37
it's going to be a free for all for the last three Eastern I think it'll be a free for all for the last three spots after the fever, Aces links, liberty and dream, hopefully Dallas gets in there, but it's going to be

K.B. 13:47
a free for all after it is. And that's good, that's good for basketball, that's good, you know, for the parody that is going to be in the league this year is going to be really interesting. So yes, I have my favorites. We have the the teams, the squads that we think are going to be, you know, in the hunt come to come the end of the season come playoff time, but you never know. Yeah, there's a lot of parody in league this year, which is which

Graydon Prescott 14:04
is good. Now what we don't get to talk about a lot is the NBA, and with about half of our segment to go today, let's spend a little bit of time talking NBA Playoffs. We'll start with the play in tournament, the winners of the play in tournament, or the teams that advanced in the Eastern Conference. The Philadelphia 70 Sixers advanced as the seventh seed, right? And then the Charlotte Hornets, after a controversial game against Miami, Miami, yes, they won Lamelo ball. I don't think he injured BAM on purpose. He did trip him, buddy. He did triple. I didn't try to hurt him. And then they played out with that left handed trip, yeah. And then they played Orlando and got smacked by 30. Yes. And on the western side of things, Portland upset Phoenix to get the seventh seed. So they're playing against San Antonio. That should have

K.B. 14:51
never happened. You can tell by the ensuing game that Portland played that should have never happened.

Graydon Prescott 14:55
Yeah, Danny had like, 40. It was they still, yeah, they shouldn't be, um. Then the Warriors escaped the clippers, Steph Curry masterclass, and Draymond Green defensive performance unlike anything I've seen in a while, absolutely, except from the guy on the Spurs defender ever. And then the sun smacked the Warriors, already. Huh? Already, already. What the best defensive player? I think he's, I think he's the most talented defensive player of all time. I don't know about he's I don't think He's big. He's not the greatest. He's not the greatest yet. But I think in terms of defensive talent, there's never been a better player or more talented. I don't know about that.

K.B. 15:31
I'm not going to take anything away from Draymond Green. He is a phenomenal defender. He is, I just think, easy to block shots when you are seven,

Graydon Prescott 15:39
six, he's seven, four, and there have been a lot of guys. What is he in shoes? I'm probably 7576, in shoes. It doesn't it doesn't matter the way he moves.

K.B. 15:49
Giving you credit for blocking shots at seven

Graydon Prescott 15:53
point is there have been a lot of guys his height. And this dude, oh sure, is a top three player in the league, and he's 22 okay? But now we're

K.B. 16:00
talking offensively.

Graydon Prescott 16:01
Offensively, there's no top three player in the league, not offensive player. I understand his defense is what elevates him to a top three player in the league. He's so much better at blocking. Listen, he's so much better at everybody else in the league, at defense this year that I guarantee you. I saw the defensive players. I saw the finalists, Asar Thompson, Chet Holmgren and Wendy. I guarantee he's gonna win that unanimously. He should. Nobody's get he if he stays healthy, if he plays all 65 games, he's gonna win defensive player of the year every year. Unless people get tired, people will get

K.B. 16:34
tired of him. If he's winning every year, he's the best going to block shots like I don't take credit away

Graydon Prescott 16:41
from he's no minute

K.B. 16:42
bull true, or Sean Bradley, or

Graydon Prescott 16:45
he's not that, yes, he's like a taller, more wiry version of Hakeem, whoa, and a better shooter that's sacrilegious, not, not as great footwork, whoa, defensively, oh yeah, yeah. I don't know.

K.B. 16:57
I don't know that. Okay, yeah, okay. I see where you're coming from

Graydon Prescott 17:00
Wendy is that guy on defense? I don't, there's no convincing me otherwise. Wendy is the most talented defender in NBA history. And I don't, Wendy is long, and

K.B. 17:10
it's hard to get a shot up over him.

Graydon Prescott 17:12
But I don't think it's close. Dude is. He's on another level. I just, of course he is. He's seven six. There have been seven six guys. None of them won defensively or the it's like it's him, Hakeem, Ben Wallace,

K.B. 17:25
and of course, that might be it for as tall as he is, the alien height that he has, he is coordinated. That is not the reason you just can't get a shot up over this guy. He knocks everything away from the rim. He's pinning things against the rim. He alters shots. There's no

Graydon Prescott 17:40
question about it, fast. He's agile, he can move. He's got impeccable timing. We're not taking credit away from women.

K.B. 17:49
And his math skills are crazy. Did you see what he did in the press press conference?

Graydon Prescott 17:52
His math skills, his math skills are I didn't. Yeah, he's, he's a master chess player, not China.

K.B. 17:57
Evidently, he is, because he he put on a clinic in terms of, like, off the top of his head, look up the, you know, the for the audience listening, look up when the press conference. Math skills. It was pretty impressive.

Graydon Prescott 18:10
Well, yeah, he's a he's a genius, like he's an alien. He can't be real. But I just said he's he can't be real, right? He can't be he's a master chess player. He does kung fu. He's training with monks over the offseason, and it shows up to the NBA season, and he's probably, he's gonna finish in the top two in MVP voting.

Graydon Prescott 18:28
Now, moving on to the to the playoffs themselves, I'll start with the game that's most notable to me, San Antonio against Portland. Yeah, beat down. Yeah. Not only was it a beat down, Wendy is scary. He had, what, 35.8 rebounds, no, five rebounds. He normally gets more. Yeah, I was gonna say this was

K.B. 18:49
a sub par game for him. Yeah, he had

Graydon Prescott 18:50
killed it. He had a sub par game. He did, like, his last few games. He's played in air quotes, right? The last few games he's played where he played fully healthy, 40 points, 13 rebounds, two blocks. 41 points, 18 rebounds, three blocks. There you go. 41 points, 16 rebounds, four assists, three blocks, two steals. This is wimpy. This game. He had 35.5 rebounds, yes, relatively still the four blocks, but it was the way five of six on threes. It was the way he was playing that was just like, Yo five, three pointers, yeah? Like, wow. Like, come on. And if he's playing like that, here's my bold prediction, San Antonio's winning the championship. If when be plays like, when be San Antonio will win the gym. Okay, there's no way anyone can beat Yeah. I mean,

K.B. 19:37
he's got talent around him, right? Yeah? And like,

Graydon Prescott 19:41
Castle castle and Fox and Dylan Harper, like, Yo and

K.B. 19:44
yeah, it's a squad. Yeah, it's a squad. If anybody's gonna beat him, it's going to have to be the thunder. One of the elite, elite teams, there's,

Graydon Prescott 19:53
it has to be the thunder or the nugget.

K.B. 19:54
I think Boston's in Boston is tough.

Graydon Prescott 19:56
Maybe, yeah, Boston could prop Boston.

K.B. 19:58
I would imagine that she. Championship is going to one of those four teams,

Graydon Prescott 20:02
nuggets, burner and Celtics, right? You don't think Detroit, I do not. I mean, they lost their first game. There you go. Yeah, they lost to Orlando. 112 Cunningham

K.B. 20:12
did his thing, 40 points. He played 40 minutes and had 39 points. Yeah. Like, that's insane,

Graydon Prescott 20:19
but that's not normally how the how the pistons play. I'm not okay. He didn't get I'm very, very, very hard to sway after one game in the NBA Playoffs. Like to go back to 2020 the Lakers lost game one against the hot Damian Lillard, sure, and then won the series for right 2019 the Bucks lost game one two series in a row against the Orlando Magic and the Detroit piston. They won both series four games to one. So I'm not gonna get spooked by one law. I agree. Now, if they lose game two, then there's a problem. Well, here's

K.B. 20:55
I'm gonna echo the sentiments that I heard. You know, Steven A talking about on first take. It's not he was, he was talking to Wendy. It's not that they lost, how they lost, it's how they lost. And that is the problem, and that may be something that Orlando can repeat, yeah, if they can't, like Paulo and Carol had maybe 23 points. If I'm not, yeah, they were like, he did not have an but nowhere have an

Graydon Prescott 21:18
exceptional game. But normally, Detroit is super balanced too. Like, Kate's not normally going for 40 He's normally like a 25 points, 12 assists kind of guy. They'll get 20 and 12 out of Jalen during their balance. They got

K.B. 21:33
the year right. That's the danger is that we can let him get his and we can shut down other people if, if that, I

Graydon Prescott 21:39
think it was playoff nerves, because this team hasn't made the playoffs before. Orlando's made it before, at least to the playoffs. I'm not going to be super concerned about Detroit, unless they lose game, unless they lose game too, then I'm very problematic.

K.B. 21:51
I'm nervous because you give you give these young Thundercats down in Orlando, confidence. Yeah, that's true. They played very physical. Detroit is normally the physical correct? And Detroit has known for back since the bad boys days, right? They're known as a physical

Graydon Prescott 22:07
team, and they are still and they

K.B. 22:09
were, they got what they give in this particular outing. So I agree with you, it's not a huge issue if there's a bounce back game and Detroit does what everyone expects them to do, but the confidence that Orlando has gotten. And they repeat that defensive presence, and they get up into these guys, and they turn around and lose this game again. We got it bar the door. We got a problem. Yeah, and

Graydon Prescott 22:30
then I'll breeze past the games that aren't that crazy. Notable, the thunder, who almost won 65 games again, crushed the Suns by 35 that was a clinic. Yeah, that was a clinic. The Celtics also put on a clinic. They beat their Sixers by 32 Yes, I think both of those series are going to be four or five games. So there's, I don't think the Sixers have a chance against the Celtics and Sons don't have a chance against thunder. I don't think the trailblazers have any chance in the world against the Spurs.

K.B. 22:56
Anybody's going to drop a game? It's probably going to be the Celtics. I mean, the Sixers can

Graydon Prescott 23:00
probably get Yeah, the Sixers are the best team, yeah, that any of them are playing against, yes. And the Celtics are the worst of those three teams, in my opinion. But for

K.B. 23:09
the trailblazers and the suns, it's a red, yeah, get out your fishing poles. Summer. Go to Disneyland, whatever

Graydon Prescott 23:14
you because it's it's over. Now, I think the series that has everyone's attention, in the one series that, or one of the two series we haven't mentioned. The other one being Cleveland and Toronto, which I think Cleveland is going to kind of run away. I agree. I agree. The other one is the Lakers and the rockets. Now there are a lot of dynamics with the Lakers. This may be the most

K.B. 23:32
interesting series that is still

Graydon Prescott 23:35
left right. Of course, there's nuggets Timberwolves, which is always going to be a movie with jokic and Anthony Edwards nuggets won Game one. Anthony Edwards walked off the court telling his boys, we're good. I think that's going to be a close series. He's a problem. Yeah, Anthony Edwards isn't going away. He's fearless. And then it's Lakers against rockets. To everyone's surprise. Well, Kevin Durant didn't play, didn't play, so that was huge. And he's questionable for game two. He's having knee problems. Now Kevin Durant missing is bad for the rockets. What's worse is the Lakers missing, Reeves and Luca their two top scorers, and they played game one without those two, and LeBron had one of the best games I've seen him play all year. Well balanced for him, and he had 19 points. Thank you. That's the scary thing. That's why everybody is reacting, okay, this Lakers team right now, if KD doesn't come back for Game Two, and even if he does, the way the Lakers played.

K.B. 24:29
But the question for the Lakers, of course, is not LeBron. We know who LeBron is. We know what this dude is capable. I don't even want to hear his age. This dude

Graydon Prescott 24:39
is, yeah, he's LeBron. Yes, that's not Father Time in the team. That's the thing with the Lakers. If LeBron had 19 points and they played that well, and he just orchestrated everything. He had 13 assists, eight rebounds, no turnovers, he didn't shoot that much, and every shot he took was a great shot. If that's the way LeBron is orchestrating this team, they

K.B. 24:59
may be able to be. The rockets. They may

Graydon Prescott 25:01
be able to be the rockets even if they get KD back, because we know if he

K.B. 25:04
needs to, okay, that I'm not going

Graydon Prescott 25:06
that far. I think they can get him. I'm not going because I think LeBron, if he has to, can turn it up and give you 3540 points. KD has

K.B. 25:15
way too much gravity on the basketball court. I just do not think it's possible. The rockets don't

Graydon Prescott 25:20
even have a point guard. That's the I think the rockets are the better team, but I think LeBron James has enough weight and gravity, yeah, and he does, and in the playoffs too, and the ability to get the most out of a team that nobody else could really get the most out of. He's been doing it his whole career, and Luca could come back,

K.B. 25:40
of course, that that's a game changer. Yeah, you get Luca back, Austin back.

Graydon Prescott 25:44
That changes everything. If the Lakers have, if the Lakers manage, and I think they will, I'm

K.B. 25:49
not going to depend on the role players around them.

Graydon Prescott 25:51
If the lake I don't, I don't care what happens. If the Lakers can get two of the first four, I think they win the series. The rockets have to win the next three for me to think the rockets are going to win the series.

K.B. 26:01
They get maybe they get to it. And If

Graydon Prescott 26:02
Katie doesn't come back for Game Two, let me tell you something. The Lakers are winning game two.

K.B. 26:06
Get to extend their season for a few more games,

Graydon Prescott 26:09
and then it's and Luke. But if Katie comes back and then Luca comes back, I don't expect Luca to come back. I don't either. I don't either. But they're saying,

K.B. 26:19
as a Laker fan, that might be wishful thinking

Graydon Prescott 26:21
on your part, okay, but I'm not speaking as a Lakers fan right now. I'm speaking as an analyst of basketball, and I think the way that LeBron James is able to get the most out of his teams, even when his teams are not stacked up talent wise, take 2018

K.B. 26:36
take 2009 correct, but that's commentary on LeBron again. We know what LeBron brings to the table. The issue is, will that supporting cast do for him night in and night out, what they did for him in this first game? I don't believe that they will.

Graydon Prescott 26:51
I don't think you're going to get almost 30 points out of Luke canard every game, right or but I do think, but here's what I do know, Luke canard can shoot that ball. He can shoot it better than anyone in the league in terms of efficiency, sure, and if he's getting open looks because of LeBron James generating open looks, you get him 10 three point shots in a game, he's gonna get you five of them, 15 points, and LeBron is gonna drill DeAndre eight until the cows come home. Rebound, rebound, rebound, and you're gonna get rewarded well, and DA is gonna give you 15 and 12 a night.

K.B. 27:19
All of this is easier said than done.

Graydon Prescott 27:20
I just do not I saw it in game one, and I've seen and I saw it through the last few games of the regular season. The way that they didn't lose. The only game they lost was when Cooper flag gave them 45 that's it, and LeBron.

K.B. 27:33
LeBron played his rear end off in that game. So again, my question is, never LeBron. It is the supporting cast. And so for the supporting cast to do this night in and night out. I'm just not there. I have no questions about LeBron whatsoever. He is going to be a force to reckon with. He has a lot of gravity when he's on the basketball court, his basket. He is a basketball savant. No question about LeBrons role in this whatsoever. It's the supporting cast, and we depend on them through a seven game series for them to show up for LeBron, and I do not believe that we can.

Graydon Prescott 28:03
Well, no matter who wins that series, they're gonna get to the second round and they're gonna get gentlemen swept by correct? So, you know, that's

K.B. 28:09
why I say you get to extend your season for a

Graydon Prescott 28:10
few more games, yeah, and then you got to play, get your house shoes out, and then you got to play. Yeah, yes. So that's going to conclude this episode of sports prep, live real quick. KB, on the fly. Prediction. Who's going to win the West and who's going to win the east?

K.B. 28:22
I'm going to give the east to Boston. I'm going to give the West. Like, look again. I said this 14. I just cannot go against Shea and this squad that this talent, that team, is loaded, loaded. Yeah, they are. I just can't see anybody beating these guys in a seven game series. I'm sorry.

Graydon Prescott 28:41
Okay, I'm not gonna pick anyone you did. If I were to pick some money, it would probably be Boston, but I'm not gonna make the same pick as you. I'm gonna be interesting and take New York to win. Wow, I want to say Detroit, but I will, for now, I'll take New York. New York is like

K.B. 28:56
Lucy in the football with Charlie Brown. Like every year you think's gonna something's gonna happen, images, they just take it away

Graydon Prescott 29:02
from you. You're right. But still, I'm taking New York, okay? And then I'm gonna take San Antonio. Take San Antonio when be in the squad. That's an interesting pick to come out of the west. San Antonio or New York.

K.B. 29:13
No, interesting and good, like, like San Antonio, that's,

Graydon Prescott 29:17
yeah, okay. Well, thank you everybody for tuning in this episode of sports prep live. It's been a good one. WNBA, NBA Playoffs. I'm Graydon Prescott and we'll be right back here next week on 91.5 key and go Lakers. Thank you for tuning into this episode of sports prep live. I'm Graydon Prescott and don't forget to catch all of our episodes on Apple Spotify or wherever you get your podcast, and be sure to follow us on Instagram or Twitter at sports prep, live. Thank you.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai