Jayson Tatum Is Back and the East Might Belong to Boston

Jayson Tatum is officially back and the entire Eastern Conference might have a problem. After nearly ten months away recovering from an Achilles injury, Tatum returned and immediately helped the Boston Celtics beat both the Mavericks and the Cavaliers. The guys break down how impressive Tatum’s return really was and whether Boston just became the most dangerous team in the East again. We also look at what this means for Cleveland and whether their defense can actually slow down the Celtics’ wings in a playoff series. If Boston is getting this version of Tatum back before the postseason, the Eastern Conference race may look very different than it did a week ago. Later in the episode the conversation shifts to the Los Angeles Lakers and whether the current roster actually works around LeBron James and Luka Dončić. There’s also a discussion about Luka’s leadership and defensive concerns, Victor Wembanyama continuing to change how the regular season feels in the NBA, and Bam Adebayo reaching the 10,000 point mark with the Miami Heat. If you enjoy NBA debates, analysis, and playoff conversations, make sure to subscribe and follow The Crossover for new episodes every week.

00:00 Intro
 01:05 Jayson Tatum Returns From Achilles Injury
 03:30 How Dangerous Are the Celtics Now
 07:00 Celtics vs Cavaliers Breakdown
 10:45 Cleveland Defensive Concerns
 15:45 Victor Wembanyama Changing the NBA
 20:45 Lakers Debate Without LeBron
 24:30 Luka Leadership Discussion
 27:10 Bam Adebayo Hits 10,000 Points
 28:30 Final Thoughts

#NBA #JaysonTatum #Celtics #NBAPodcast #LeBronJames #LukaDoncic #VictorWembanyama #BamAdebayo

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Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

We've got a stacked lineup. We're talking Jason Tatum's return to the Celtics. They just beat the Cavs, they beat the Mavericks over the weekend. JT's been playing very well for the fact that he hasn't played basketball in almost a year. We talk about the Cavs and their defensive situation with Donovan Mitchell and with James Harden. We ask if LeBron and the Lakers are headed for divorce and if the Lakers, right now, as presently constituted, are better without LeBron James. KD has some very interesting thoughts on Luca. And we celebrate Bam Adabayo who joins D Wade as the second Miami Heat player score 10k points. All of that on the show coming up next. Make sure that you're subscribing to everything that we do on the crossover on Spotify, on YouTube. Make sure you like and subscribe here too so we can get these numbers up, push the algorithm to have more people enjoy the crossover. Also on locally, if you're watching us here on channel 18 or 18.6 WDFL, thank you for watching us. And with all that said, let's start the show. Katie, probably one of the most impressive comebacks we've seen from an Achilles injury in a while. Uh Jason Tatum has played two games since we've last recorded our uh our show on Thursday. They played the Mavericks on Friday in the W. And then the uh the Cavs, who you like coming out of the East. They played the Cavs yesterday on Sunday, got dubs in both games. JT uh on Friday night has damn near a triple-double, 15, 12, and seven in his first game back in 10 months after an Achilles surgery. And then Sunday uh helps the Celtics beat the surging Cavs and has a 20-point game there as well. Yeah, man. Your thoughts on JT, not only how he's played, but the 10 months that he's been rehabbing, what that finally means for him.

SPEAKER_03 1:46

It says a lot about him. Um too often we like question him, his game, um, his accolades, his impact, his aura, his swag, his confidence, his communication. But the bottom line is like this kid has been like one of the top seven to top ten, top five to top ten players in the NBA for like at least five or fifth seasons. Right. Um, so it's just great to see it's a testament to his work ethic and his discipline to be able to put himself in a position like that, um, to be off that amount of time and to be able to come in and produce and perform at that level. Like I tip my hat to Jason Tatum. Um here's what I thought would happen in this situation, right? Because he'll be on a minute restriction. He came in and he fit in with the team. But by him fitting in, he stands out because he's just that talented. And it's a real testament to him. And I think the same the Celtics are even more dangerous with him on their team, especially if he can stay healthy. Now, I do think like adrenaline had a lot to do with that. So, like once his body kind of settles, right, he'll go through some little bruises in that part and trying to get back. But look, man, Jason Tatum on the Celtics right now, with the way they're playing as a team, is scary in the East.

SPEAKER_02 2:58

And I do want to get to the Celtics' future, but I I do want to talk about the last couple of games here with Jason Tatum. And there was a couple moments where the rust showed a little bit. There was one where he went up for the dunk, didn't get it. It was a front front-rimmed.

SPEAKER_03 3:10

Yeah, he did like a Grant Hill drink sprite commercial type thing. For those of the impressive, it was an impressive move because like the Hezzo, right? The setup, the Hezzo, the big cross to get there with the angle to get to his launching pad, it's just once he gets his legs back under him and he gets more comfortable, it's gonna be scary.

SPEAKER_02 3:29

It was a lot of movements for somebody who had just gotten back to playing basketball again.

SPEAKER_03 3:33

Absolutely. And it had to probably be scary for Celtics fans and Celtics staff. They're like, Yep. Okay, all right, okay. But it's been really impressive to see him, you know, rebounding, assisting the ball, playing on the defensive end, making spot shots, going and knifing and diving, you know, getting to the cup. It's been dope to see him.

SPEAKER_02 3:50

Facilitating is, you know, he's he's one of their better rebounders. He's Daniel 6'10. Absolutely. Cada has been great for them so far, but he came in and had 12 rebounds against a big front line in the Cavaliers. On a minute restriction. On a minute's restriction. Played 20 some 26, 27 minutes somewhere around there. And uh, I want to go really quick back to your playing days and what was the most severe injury that you had to come back from? Honestly, I don't think you had an Achilles or like a knee or something like that.

SPEAKER_03 4:16

I had um I had uh hip surgery, I had ankle surgery. Uh which one was tougher to come back from the hip. The hip was uh once your hip starts degenerating and the cartilage starts going bone on bone, um, even when they clean it out, it's very difficult. They couldn't fix uh the tear in my labrum, so I had to play like three, four years with the tear in my labrum. Um, so that recovery was very tough. Uh it was very painful in the hip. You can't walk. There's a whole bunch of things that go along with your rehab. But uh, yeah, if I could compare the two, I would say the hip was definitely more difficult. I still deal with it to this day.

SPEAKER_02 4:50

How long was that recovery for like when you had the surgery to when you really started playing?

SPEAKER_03 4:54

Hey, what's going on, good people? My name is Keon Doolin, one half of the crossover show. Yeah, I got a comment for you. I need you. I need you to like and subscribe to the channel. A lot of you guys are watching it and we appreciate it. A lot of you guys are commenting and we appreciate it, but we need you guys to like, share, follow the crossover. Once again, my name is Keon Doolin. We need you. So I had the surgery right after the season, and I probably came back like you know, 20, 30 games into the season.

SPEAKER_02 5:22

Maybe a quarter of the way through. Yeah. Somewhere around there. Um, speaking to Jason Tatum in in that situation, knowing what the NBA rigors are, knowing the travel, knowing the sleeping in different beds, the the not being able to run like for such a long time. Um, I don't think people really can wrap their head around how impactful he's been so quickly with such a major surgery. Yeah. Right. Like I'm I'm trying to draw the comparison so people can see, oh, KD went through this, and it's like Jason Tatum went through what used to be a death sentence. Like people didn't come back from Achilles Terrific.

SPEAKER_03 5:53

Yeah, it used to be difficult to come back from. Um, I would say, man, it's it's it's so impressive because um, you know, one, Jason Tate Jason Tatum doesn't just rely on his athleticism, right? He's a real skilled player, he's a ground game player, but in his ground game, there's a lot of thrust and stepbacks. There's a lot of like jab steps. Yeah, there's a lot that kind of comes along with it, but he's not just jumping, even though he can jump and he is athletic and he is wiry, um, but he's really skilled and he's really tall with a handle, right? With a bink bink. Right. Like he can really bounce the ball, he can really shoot the ball, he can get to his mid-range. He's extremely strong, even though he's a slender bill, he's really strong. So he can get to his spots. So I think Jason is gonna, he's in a good position right now because like the one thing is when you're hurt, you can still shoot the ball. Yeah. Right? You can get up jump shots. You might not be able to do it. Right, something. So I think he'll be a better like spot up shooter, right? And so you he doesn't necessarily have to be as aggressive because like the way that the Celtics play, the ball pops, so he gets open shots. And I think he'll shoot at a higher clip because he has gotten a lot of those opportunities. After he gets through that rough spell when your cardio kind of does sit in on you, and you're like, get that second win. But having him in the playoffs, man, it really makes the Celtics a dangerous team.

SPEAKER_02 7:13

And I do want to look at the future of the playoffs uh with the with the Celtics because as we look at the East and the teams ahead of them and below them that are kind of all jocking for position, we look at the Pistons who didn't have K but lost to the Nets. They were up by 24 points, lost to the Nets, who have been tanking since the start of the season. Uh, you've got the Knicks, who just got beat by the Lakers without LeBron. You've got uh New York, obviously, you've got Boston, you've got Miami's in there, you got Toronto, you got Orlando, but all these different teams don't have that extra, that extra juice. The Celtics have been where they've been. The Cavs, obviously, they they just beat on Sunday. Um the cat the the Celtics have been there, but all of a sudden they get this extra juice now. Yeah, where the launching pad for the Celtics to be the team that comes out of the East has now gotten a lot longer and a lot better because when you add somebody of Jason uh Jason Tatum's caliber, that changes the game completely. And they were so good throughout the entire season without him.

SPEAKER_03 8:12

Yeah, they were. Um I would I'd be interested to see what Vegas is about it, like getting Tatum back inserted into the line. Like how those, you know, can shift the odds a little bit. That'll be a little bit of a signal. Um, I think the the Cavs have gotten, you know, uh a little jolt, in my opinion. Um, it just is taking some time to kind of come together. Um, but you're starting to see Evan Mobley get back more healthy. Uh James Harden had a three-quarter quart lob off the bounce that was put right on the money where Evan just kind of so I I still think that the Cavs in the Celtics have made some moves that can make them very dangerous uh in the East.

SPEAKER_02 8:52

So off the heels of the two Jason Tatum games and the way that the Celtics have been playing. You know, obviously Jalen Brown has been damn near an MVP candidate. Uh Derek White, I'm trying to remember who said it. Somebody said Derek White was a top five player in the league. Did you hear that? I did not. Okay, I gotta find see Sean. See if you can find that. A coach said, I'm trying to remember who it was, and I can't remember off the top of my head. There's a lot of stuff up there. Somebody's an anonymous coach.

SPEAKER_03 9:15

Did he put his name on it?

SPEAKER_02 9:16

I don't know if he put his name on it. I don't remember, but look up Derek White, top five player in the league. Somebody said that those words consecutively without getting chopped.

SPEAKER_03 9:23

Hey man, listen, let me tell you, Derek White is not a top five NBA player. He's good, but he's a good role player, but he's definitely a good role player. He's a champion, he's a winner, um, he's a culture shifter. Right. But top five players in the NBA, come on now. I've again biggs, you're gone too far. We're looking that up right now.

SPEAKER_02 9:41

We got the team looking for it. Um Peyton Pritchard has been nice. It's been real nice. Yeah, real nice. He's he's one of the better. I heard uh I heard this stat that he averages the most points per possession on ISOs in the league. He averages one point 1.23 points per possession on isolation ball. That's better than Luca. That's better than you name it, Cade. Uh, but whatever player you like to play ISO ball, Peyton Pritchards had has better advanced stats than any of them. Wow.

SPEAKER_03 10:10

That's that's something, you know, that's rare company, number one. Um, but also like when K when Peyton goes into his ISO mode, he's usually getting to his step back three. So his midi. Yeah, he he can get a nice midi. He does, but like he is a like bucket out there. And his a he's got like that Isaiah Thomas, like Detroit Piston, Isaiah Thomas. Yeah, that Zeke candle where it's like tight and it's quick and it's he can do everything with the ball. Um, and he's got a strong build, so he's able to like kind of create space or hold you on his hip. Like Peyton is really crafty, he's really competitive, he's a coach's kid, and uh it's just great to see you know him developing in the Celtics uh system.

SPEAKER_02 10:50

And when you talk about the Celtic system and how they use that as a launch you pad to win that title a couple of years ago, it's like we're gonna outshoot everybody from three. And when we play our game and we hit a certain number of threes, we're gonna beat you because we're shooting so much, right? And it feels like Missoula's getting back to a lot of that that didn't work the last couple of years, but this year has been working for them. And now on top of that, now you add Jason Tatum. What if I told you that in most sports books on the heels of these last two games, the Celtics are now your odds-on favorite to win the conference at plus 170? Yeah, Tatum is that good. Cavs are plus 340, Pistons plus plus 425, and the Knicks are plus 450.

SPEAKER_03 11:29

Tatum is that good. Tatum, Tatum is a is a total game changer. Um, no matter what Steve Kerr said about him in the summer.

SPEAKER_02 11:37

What what if I told you that on most sports books, the NBA champion right now, sec so first is obviously Oklahoma City. They're you know, you gotta be to be the man, you gotta beat the man. They're at plus 140. How about the second second in the uh in the title chase? Boston Celtics plus 550. Interesting in front of Denver, in front of San Antonio, in front of Cleveland, in front of New York, Detroit, Minnesota, Houston Lakers. Interesting. Like that is that is big time respect from Vegas for a team that has been good, but now adds this guy, and it's like you're you're hoping that this will catapult them into the future in the next you know month or so, get him gearing up and getting ready for the playoffs.

SPEAKER_03 12:17

Yeah, they they are a real legit title contender.

SPEAKER_02 12:20

That's for sure. From the Cavs' point of view, obviously, that's your team to come out of the east. You pick them. We we'll we'll have a you know a couple more shows.

SPEAKER_03 12:27

I mean, look, we got them that yeah, we can recalibrate.

SPEAKER_02 12:30

We can recalibrate. Um, how do you see the Cavs' lack of perimeter defense? Because obviously, when you look at the wings that Boston has, JT, JB, the ability for Derek White to get out there and create Peyton Pritchard, you name it. Do you think that defensively the Cavs have enough on the on the in the backcourt to stop some of those wing players?

SPEAKER_03 12:50

Well, in the backcourt, when you make it that specific, I don't know. Because the front line is good, right?

SPEAKER_02 12:55

Between Jared Allen and Nevin Mobley, you're talking about defense play of the year and a guy who plays good defense at protecting the rim.

SPEAKER_03 13:00

But but here's the thing in order for Donovan Mitchell and uh James Harden to get over the hump, they're gonna have to do some of the dirty work as well. And they don't have to be like outstanding on the defensive end, they just have to be serviceable. They have to just be good team defenders, give effort. And if they can do those things, and they're both capable of it. James Harden low-key is one of the best post-defenders in the game. Like when you see people trying to back him down, he's always they don't move, yeah. Yeah, he's he's very difficult to score on. Uh, like if you're just trying to ISO him. Uh, Donovan has the potential to be one of the best defenders in the NBA if he wanted to. I mean, he's got the size, he's got, you know, damn near seven-foot wingspan, he's got the build. Um, but it's just difficult to do both of them. And you just have to be serviceable enough that you can still have your legs on the offensive end while still not impacting your team in a negative way defensively.

SPEAKER_02 13:56

It just feels like that's why they brought James Harden in, right? So you don't have to carry all that weight on you where you can still get defensively in your bag, but then offensively be okay to get, you know, the 20, 25 points that you need on a given night from that guy. It just feels to me that when those wings are out on the perimeter, it's like they they can kind of do whatever they want. Into walk in the park, huh? Into walk in the park. I don't know about walk in the park, but it's like we saw Jason Tatum on one leg nearly have have 20 and and four. Yeah. And he and he just played a game two nights before that he he hadn't played for 10 months.

SPEAKER_03 14:27

Yeah, yeah, no, I feel you. I think, you know, look, if if the Cavs really want to go all the way, which I do think they have the pieces to be able to like make a run, um, their their backcourt really has to be better defensively. And here's the thing, you know, they can be mediocre defensively and be on point offensively, and that's enough. Yep. They just can't be terrible defensively in the backcourt.

SPEAKER_02 14:49

Agreed.

SPEAKER_01 14:50

Um, while we're talking about the Cavs, talk to me. You know, Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson has publicly labeled Boston Celtics guard Derek White a top five NBA player. Okay, so it's Kenny Atkinson, thank you. Yeah, Kenny.

SPEAKER_03 15:04

Yeah. What are your thoughts on that? I mean, I have no, like, look, the man is entitled to his opinion, but top five, KD. Yeah, I just think that, you know, that was a way of him calling. Was that gamesmanship? No, I just think that, like, you know, coaches respect players who play winning basketball, right? There's a lot of guys who are blue guys who are very important to the team, but that just doesn't mean they're a top five player. Like, Dennis Rodman was really important to what the Pistons did and what the Lakers did and what the Bulls did. Spurs people, yeah. Yeah. All the teams that he went to. Pistons. And he was the best rebounder and considered the best defender, but nobody crowned him top five. Kenny I can say top five. And but Kenny's entitled to that opinion. Maybe that's maybe that's to encourage his own team to defend and be holistic, uh, like a holistic basket, uh complete basketball player, the way Derek White plays the game.

SPEAKER_02 15:55

So uh another guy that is kind of getting up there in terms of not only the respect for people inside and outside of basketball, but his ability to create meaningful games in the regular season. That's Victor Wembanyama. The Spurs came back from 25-point deficit against the Clippers uh over the weekend. And the reason I bring it up, and obviously we talk a lot about Wemby, he's one of the biggest stars in the sport right now. It's completely revolutionizing what what the game looks like from his size and his ability to defend and all these different things. Um he's making the regular season matter again in a way that has been kind of dissolved and diluted for the last 12 to 15 years, where uh almost since the big three, where they were like, all right, we're gonna kind of cruise because we know what we have, we're gonna cruise a little bit in the regular season and then the playoffs, we're gonna really go full steam ahead. He's playing like if it's you know game seven every night. Yeah, it matters to him. How does that feel from like an OG who you saw the game matter on a regular season basis to then it kind of not being that? But now he's kind of trying to bring that back.

SPEAKER_03 16:57

I really love to see it, you know, um, not just in the regular season, like even in his rehab when he goes down with injuries, like he comes back better. He's willing to come off the bench, you know, in order to, you know, get his minute restriction and not disrupt the team and their flow. Um, so the humility that this kid has, the passion that he has, the compassion he has for the game, because when you're crying in a regular season game, that means like you know, like you, yeah, you are connected to this. And don't let nobody tell you that there's not crying in basketball. Like I've seen some grown men cry, especially in the playoffs, when you, you know, when you're chasing that championship and you don't hit it. Hey man, listen, it gets emotional when you put everything into it. Okay. And yeah, man, I I don't have anything negative to say about Wimby. Like the kid is like box office to watch. Um, as a fan, as a trained dye, he's fun to watch. The way the movements that he has, I've never seen anybody with that size and that bill be able to step back or bring up the three or walk into a three or catch a lob or contest the shot. Dude, he could have blocked the shot the other day and he said, you know what, this might be goaltendant. I'm gonna actually put my hand down. Like he is like a cheat code, and it's fun to see, man. Like, I am a big Wimby fan. Big Wimby fan.

SPEAKER_02 18:16

At some point, there's gotta be some sort of flaw, right? Like, because we're just looking around, it's like, nah, it's not this, it's not defensive, it's not offensive, it's not uh team building, it's not loving the game, it's not respecting what it is that we do on a regular season. Like, all these different things are great, but it's like, where's the flaw? Yeah, can we just can we is he just gonna be the best forever? Like there's gonna be no no damage, no, no nothing.

SPEAKER_03 18:36

Yeah, yeah. I mean, I mean, if if I could say that there was a flaw to him, it's it's it's still, you know, like getting stronger, right? Because like when the game slows down and the playoffs happen, you will have some guys that will be able to get under him. And you know, that takes away from your endurance and things like that. So um he just needs time, man. He just got a resume bill, but I don't see a flaw in his game, with the exception of even though he's gotten stronger, he he can he needs to continue to get stronger.

SPEAKER_02 19:06

I think if he if he continues to get some more paint touches and paint shots, I feel like that would also elevate. I feel like he relies a little bit too much on his outside shot once in a while. With his size, like his ability to get into the paint every time and score from there is is the cheat code. Yeah, we saw that a little bit in the beginning of the season, but then after the injuries, try to drift back a little bit and hasn't really wanted to get in the thick of things with the big boys down low because of that build, like we said. But I'm interested to see in the playoffs when it is time for all right, winner go home. You got to do whatever you got to do on a given night to make sure that you you win.

SPEAKER_03 19:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 19:38

I want to see that one because he's got the fire under him.

SPEAKER_03 19:40

Yeah, I feel you. I feel you. I just think that the way that the Spurs play, it's a lot of movement, it's a lot of pick and roll, it's a lot of, you know, zoom action, it's a lot of, you know, kind of reads they play off of one another. Um, you don't see a lot of traditional, like, you know, back to the basket where you just throw it into the five anymore. Like, one, the wear and tear that happens with that, and then two, it doesn't, it minimizes, it kind of puts him in the box. Sure. So I think what he's got to consider doing is that like when he's coming out and he's setting high picking rolls, if he doesn't get it on the lob, he's gonna have to learn how to turn around and plant in the paint with two feet where it's not on the block where you can just catch it and go up for your jump hook. Um, but he'll learn that with time.

SPEAKER_02 20:19

Yeah, yeah, 100%. And and most bigs, in that's how OKC was able to neutralize Jokic last year in the playoffs. But Caruso on him, which is a lower guy, you know, better, better ground control where it's just like, all right, you want to try and back it up, like I'm under you. You know what I mean? They they were able to neutralize him a little bit in that in that respect, enough for the other OKC guys to defend outside of Jokic. And I I want to I'm very interested to see how teams are gonna game plan in the Western Conference for Wemby. Yeah, because you gotta game such an anomaly of is he gonna beat us outside? Is he gonna try and beat us inside? Like, what is his game gonna look like because it's so versatile? Like, how how great defensive coaches, Daginault, uh, you know, Reddick has a lot to come up with because defensively they are struggling big time. Like the Lakers for the offensive firepower that they have, defensively, you look around, it's like uh yeah, who we got playing defense tonight? Yeah, because uh if if we want to go there, obviously the the Lakers lost to the Knicks, or excuse me, beat the Knicks uh on Sunday. No LeBron. So we had AR and we had Luca. The numbers are saying that the Lakers are better when Luca is on the floor and when Austin Reeves is on the floor and when LeBron is not on the floor. Your thoughts on that, KD?

SPEAKER_03 21:33

Ooh, so I'm not gonna fight with the numbers if that if that's what the numbers say. Um, but the numbers also will tell you that that that backcourt is probably the worst defensive backcourt in the league, numbers wise, right? Um, so like the numbers sometimes can not tell the whole story. That's why you have to use the trained eye. Um, there's no team that LeBron has ever been on that that team is better when he's on the bench, and that doesn't Change right now. LeBron James being on the court gives your team a better opportunity to win. That's what history has said.

SPEAKER_02 22:08

I think the the issue is when LeBron's really not interested in playing defense at the moment at this age. Yeah, he can't move like he used to. And when you've got those three guys who obviously you talked about Luca and AR being, you know, defensively one of the more yeah uh easy turn style backcourts. Yeah, when you add LeBron in there, now you got three guys not playing defense and two guys playing defense who are your four and your five. How how are you supposed to get W's in the uh in the playoffs when obviously everything is ratcheted up when defense really matters when you're playing a seven-game series? Like, how do you because when you look at the Western Conference, like there's there's a chance that a lot of these teams are cannibalizing each other, and that the Lakers, if they continue to win and be decent, they're at the five seed right now, but they're separated by a half a game against Houston and a game and a half against Minnesota for the three seed. Yeah, so it's like if they go on a run here and they play some easy teams, all of a sudden the Lakers are a three-seed or a four seed, yeah. It's like you you need to be locked in because you have a legit chance to win a playoff series and then go out, go against either San Antonio or Oklahoma City and like really try to make something of yourself.

SPEAKER_03 23:17

Yeah. Um, listen, I'm gonna say this, and I'm gonna say it with a quiet voice. But as long as Luko Doncic and uh Austin Reeves are in the backcourt on the same team, that team will never get over the hump. Really? Yeah, they are that bad defensively that they will never win. Now, we talked early in the segment about like the Cavaliers, and we talked about like Donovan Mitchell and James Harding and like how they have to be serviceable. Like if those guys can become serviceable, which I don't foresee because Luca has no interest in it, I could see Austin Reeves becoming a more, you know, valuable player on the defensive end. Um, but with the kind of pay grade that he'll get in this next contract, um, you know what I mean? He's gonna pretty much be like what's going on. Why would I do that if he's not getting the background? But I I just don't see it for the Lakers, my friend. I don't see it for him. I just don't think that team is built well enough. And I think this will be LeBron's last year in LA. Agreed. Rightfully so. I don't think that the fan base and the and the organization appreciates and values him, even though he did bring a championship there uh to them. And I think he's gonna go somewhere where he can be celebrated, somewhere where he can be um paid and compensated uh in a way that he still earns. Um so I think this this is inevitable.

SPEAKER_02 24:38

And you don't think with LeBron out of the picture and the money that they'll be able to allocate to different resources, maybe getting another defender, maybe getting another rim protector um and another big, you don't think that a an a Luca-led team can get back to where he was when he had the Mavericks, basically dragging the Mavericks to the Western Conference Finals?

SPEAKER_03 24:54

Yeah, no.

SPEAKER_02 24:54

I don't I don't I don't for Luca. The window's closed.

SPEAKER_03 24:56

No, I don't think the window is closed, but until Luca stops complaining and plays defense, he's not playing winning basketball, right? And that's a real that's a real thing. Um he's beefing with the coaches, he's waving JJ off, he's being disconnected. Like he's too good of a player. And when you talk about leadership, sometimes less is more. There's people who Luca are more talented than that will have better resumes at the end of their career if he doesn't have that mindset shift. Now, if he has that mindset shift, it's limitless. There's no limit on what Luca can become and what he can do. But he has to switch his mentality. Right now, his mentality is fragile, and we're all seeing it, and we're starting to notice it. And it's starting to turn us off. Even the media and even the people who compliment him and celebrate him are being turned off by his constant bickering with the refs, by his, you know, dismissing of his of coaching from his own.

SPEAKER_02 25:54

And it's happened not to JJ, it's also happened to Rick Carlisle. It's also happened to great coaches.

SPEAKER_03 25:57

It's happened to everybody. So, like ultimately, he has the potential and the talent to do it. He just hasn't been willing to do it.

SPEAKER_02 26:05

I 100% agree with you. And and it's one thing to do it in Dallas where people aren't really paying attention, where you're maybe not having games in prime time, where you're playing Portland on the end of a back-to-back at 10:30 at night on TNT and nobody's really watching. So it's like, oh, whatever. You're playing in LA. LA's watching.

SPEAKER_03 26:22

Tone. Everybody. If LeBron leaves there next year and Luca doesn't step up and become the leader and that franchise pillar the way that he that he you know needs to, LA is gonna turn on him. They are gonna turn on them because like they have a history. It's the city of champions. If Luca doesn't tighten up, which he can, he's capable of it, it's very frustrating to see like somebody that talented junk up the game with the refs. Right, right. It's you know, play matador deep. Like, he's too good of a player, he knows better.

SPEAKER_02 26:56

He does, he does know better. That's an interesting take on Luca. I hadn't really thought of if you know, if things don't and he's six, seven years into the NBA. Yeah, this is not like his second season.

SPEAKER_03 27:04

And we want to see him do well, of course. We all want to see him do well.

SPEAKER_02 27:06

He led a Mavericks team that had nobody on it to the finals. He put him on his back and took them there.

SPEAKER_03 27:12

Well, I think Kyrie was on their team.

SPEAKER_02 27:14

Okay, sure.

SPEAKER_03 27:14

Yeah, okay, yeah, yeah. I just had to throw that. You're right, you're right. You're right.

SPEAKER_02 27:19

You'll be like, Okay, all right. Him and Kyrie and a bunch of bodies, he took them to the NBA Finals.

SPEAKER_03 27:25

Facts. We haven't seen something like that since LeBron took that first Cleveland team to the finals.

SPEAKER_02 27:29

Yeah, that was that was a tough team. That was a tough team. That was a tough team. The the Spurs saw them, were like, thank God. We're gonna make quick work of them. Quick 45 seconds. Uh Bam out of bio comes to the second uh Miami Heat player to have 10,000 points in his career for the franchise. Clap it up. One big uh hand of applause for Bam. 30 seconds. What do you think Bam's legacy will be with this uh with this team when it's said and done?

SPEAKER_03 27:55

Bam's legacy is still uh being written. Uh Bam is a guy who's known as a utility player who has 10,000 points. He is more than a utility player, he is a consummate pro. Uh he's a community uh embracer where he's done a lot of great things in the community. He plays on both ends of the floor. Like Bam is doing a fantastic job. He embodies the heat culture. Um he was potty trained by UD and a lot of those guys who came up from that heat culture. And he's he's he's holding down the fort, man. Congratulations to Bam. Keep going, champ.

SPEAKER_02 28:26

Shout out to Bam. 10,000 points in his career. I'm sure that when he started playing in Kentucky, that was a faraway thought. But now he's here. Congrats, Bam. A staple of this community. Like you said, a staple of the Miami Heat franchise. One day that 13 probably gonna be in the Raptors. Not for Dan Marino, because I know they got the 13 somewhere in the corner.

SPEAKER_03 28:43

Bam's Bam will be there.

SPEAKER_02 28:44

He'll be up in the Raptors?

SPEAKER_03 28:45

Oh, for sure. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 28:47

I agree. I agree. All right, that was the crossover. Make sure to like and subscribe wherever it wherever it is that you get us on Spotify, on YouTube, uh, on channel 18.6 WDFL. We're we're worldwide now, baby. Yeah, we we we're here. Let's go. Come on, baby. Good job. All right, we'll see you guys Thursday. Another episode of the crossover. We out. Peace.