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Truth Behind the Numbers
Charles Barkley Can’t Keep The Story Straight
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The “super team” argument is only fun until you ask one simple question: which part are we supposed to believe? Philly is “not a contender,” Jalen Brown is “not that good,” LeBron is “too old,” and then the second those names land in the same place, the story instantly becomes “unfair” and “stacked.” We’re not doing vibes today. We’re doing receipts and numbers.
We walk through how the Jalen Brown discourse flips overnight, then dig into the most overlooked stat in the LeBron James debate: how his teams perform when he doesn’t play. From Cleveland to Miami to the Lakers, the win percentages without him paint a very different picture than the talking-head version of “he always has a loaded roster.” We also bring context from the season before he joins each team, because “stacking the deck” sounds different when the deck was already falling apart.
Then we get to the hypocrisy piece. Charles Barkley has a lot to say about ring chasing and team building, so we line that up against what Barkley said and did when he wanted out, when he demanded an “ideal scenario,” and when he tried to shape rosters himself. From the Bulls adding Dennis Rodman to Hall of Fame-heavy Lakers and Celtics squads to the Celtics Big Three era, we connect the dots on the real history of NBA super teams. We also check modern media narratives, including Tony Allen’s claims and the odd logic behind the Marc Gasol Defensive Player of the Year vote.
If you care about basketball analytics, NBA history, and honest debates about player movement, hit subscribe, share this with a friend who argues about “super teams,” and leave a review so more people can find the numbers.
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No-Intro Agenda And Hot Takes
SPEAKER_00Y'all, this is truth behind numbers. You know, we're coming to talk to you a little bit. This is season two, episode two. Presented by S4G. We're gonna get right into it. I don't got time for all these long intros. We're gonna get right into it. We're gonna start with the first thing on the docket. So, first thing we got is Jalen Brown. We're gonna talk a little bit of Philly before LeBron gets there. Then we're gonna go talk about Charles Barkley and the hypocrisy that spews out of his mouth every time he opens it. Then we're gonna talk about LeBron James teams without him. But it's a big talk about super teams, stacking teams, all that because of Charles Barkley. And then we're gonna talk about the creation of the Super Team. Alright. So then we'll talk about Philly and LeBron on the team together. Alright, to close it all together. So
Jalen Brown And The Super Team Label
SPEAKER_00Jalen Brown is first. I'm old enough to remember the reason they said it was okay to trade Jalen Brown breaks the bag of chips and nobody else was because he wasn't good. He wasn't as good as everyone, as the numbers said. They said he was one of the worst players. They thought Derek White had a better season last year than he did. They thought he wasn't as good. He wasn't a real MVP candidate. Like that was everywhere. But now that he's on Philly and LeBron has joined, this is a super team. But I also remember them saying that Philly wasn't good at all. Joel M was inconsistent. Tyrese Maxie wasn't good enough. VJ Edgecombe is too young. Nick Nurse only got that one championship because the Warriors got hurt. But like there's a bunch of things. And then like when Jay LeBron got traded to Philly before LeBron got there, everyone's like, oh, they're not really a good team. They're not really a contender. They're still worse than the Knicks. They're still worse than the Pacers. They're still worse than uh Miami and all these places. This is what everybody was saying. So I don't get how you can stack a team. I don't get how a team is a super team unless the person you added last is just that darn good. Now, if that's what you're saying, if that's what you're doing, then say that. But don't come on here playing both sides. You can't say Braun's too old and he's not good. This team's not good. This team is never gonna win before he got there. Now he's there, it's a super team. You can't have it both ways. You gotta pick one. Either this team was already good, and you lied about Jalen Brown, you lied about the Philadelphia 76ers, or you truly think they were trash. And you deep down inside believe Braun is that good that wherever he goes, it's a championship team. It's a super team. Because there's a thing about ring chasing, and Derek Fisher said it best. He said, How are you ring chasing when you bring the rings? And this will, you know, I'm gonna get to this, I'm gonna get to Charles Barkley in a little bit. We're gonna
LeBron’s Teams Without Him, By Numbers
SPEAKER_00go to LeBron's teams without him, because you know, I I've known this, but a lot of people just sit there and they don't really know the truth. Let's let's just look at this. It's very eye-opening. So, from 2003 to 2010, his first in Cleveland, LeBron James teams went 10 and 16. That is a 38% win percentage when he missed games. Alright? Missed 26 total games at span time, they were 10 and 16. In Miami, he missed 18 games. They were 9-9. Mind you, that's the Heatles. That's what D. Weed and Chris Bosch and all his players and Pat Riley and the super team. 9-9. Then you go to the Cavs, his second stint, you know, when Charles Burke said, he stacked the deck again. 4-23. That's a 14% win percentage. Then you go to the Lakers, 18-31, which is 36% win percentage. But these are super teams. These are teams that Charles said are stacked. These are teams that he's stacking the dick, right? He's doing all this stuff to get a ring, he ring chasing, but they're not winning. So, obviously, in 2003, before he came as a rookie, the Cavaliers were 17 and 65. The Miami Heat the year before he got there were 47 and 35. Okay, not too bad. The Cavaliers were 33 and 49. And the Los Angeles Lakers were 35 and 47. So, mind you, the Miami Heat was the only team that had made the playoffs the year before. They went to the playoffs. The Cavaliers, when he went back, missed the playoffs four straight years. The Lakers before he went there and missed the playoffs five straight years. So how are you stacking a deck if the year before you got there the teams were trash? When you don't play, the teams are trash. And so this
Charles Barkley’s Ring-Chasing Receipts
SPEAKER_00just gets me to Charles Barkley. Let's just get to the hypocrisy of Charles Barkley and the way he gets on television and just talks. So he goes on there talking to Stephen A, and he's like, LeBron always stacks his team. It's not fair, it's what he's known for, and as old head don't like it. Then Stephen A, tongue in cheek, just asks asks the question because he knows that if he doesn't, people gonna be on him for not asking actual questions because everyone always told us, I mean, has always said, Charles Barkley, you did the same exact thing. So you asked Charles, and Charles was like, the Suns weren't that good before I got there. Uh when I got there, you know, we came with an okay team, you know, and I was old and went to the Rockets. Charles, you weren't 42. So you were not as old as LeBron when he went to Philly. You weren't 42. You weren't in year 23 or 24. And so, but also, why do you hate someone so much that you're willing to downplay your teammate before you got there? Because before he got there, you know, Charles Barclay, three years before he went to the Phoenix Suns, when he forced his way out of Philly. Before again, when he got to Philly, he had Moses Malone and Dr. J. Is that not stacked? Okay, my bad, my bad. What does he do? He forces his way out of Philly. He says, Philly's not good enough anymore. It's time for me to go somewhere. He forced his way to Phoenix. The three years before Charles Barclay got there, the Phoenix Suns won 50 plus games. The three years before he got there, he had people on an all-NBA team. He had all-stars on that team, and they had the coach of the year. The three years before Charles Barclay got to the Phoenix Suns. So, are you stacking the team? But wait, it gets better. So, in 1996, after he lost in the finals, Charles Barkley went on record on video and said he would retire if the Suns did not get him to one of the top five or six teams in the NBA. Well, you know, there's only five or six teams in the NBA that are good. And I'll go home and play golf if they don't want to give me to them of them teams. You can look it up. I'm gonna have this quote down here, too. If I play again, it's gonna have to be an ideal scenario. I don't want to rebuild. That's straight from the horse's mouth. Now watch this. In 1992, this is before he went and played Jordan in the final, before he got MVP in Phoenix. Here it goes. I he he flew himself to Portland behind the Sixers' back to try to get himself traded there. He wanted to go to Portland flirt first. I actually flew to Portland on my own dime and didn't tell anybody, Barkley said. I called the Trailblazers manager and say, hey, can I come to Portland and sit down with you? He says, why? I say, I'll explain when I get there. I say, trade these three or four guys, we'll win a championship. He says, let me think about it. He called me like two or three days later. We're gonna stick with what we got. So I Charles, just shut up. I mean, because at this point, you're talking about both sides of your mouth. You you you you and no one's here to check you on it. And that is where the problem lies. This is what you said. It's on video, it's on record for what you said when you were playing. But you say y'all all heads are mad about stacking the deck. Was Elijah Wan mad that you came? With Scotty. No. I mean, and people forget when the Bulls were winning their championships, they had horse grand. The Detroit Pistons beat was beating the mess out of Jordan before he got Scotty, right? The Detroit Pistons' third best player was Dennis Rodman. Dennis Rodman was not traded to, was not uh drafted by the Bulls. So after the first three people, what did they go do? They go get Dennis Rodman. Is that not stacking the deck? Because you had Jordan who was the best in the league, and Scottie Pippen, who was revered as one of the top five players in the league, and we saw that the year that Jordan retired when he still won 55 plus games and was almost the MVP and almost took the Bulls back to the finals. So what are we talking about? And then you add Dennis Rodman, who's the best at his position in defense and rebounded, so is that not stacking the team? And you have Steve Curry, you have you have Horner's back and all is that not stacking the team in Chuck's eyes? But let's not let's not stop there. Let's keep going to more super teams.
Super Teams Before LeBron’s Era
SPEAKER_00Because when the Lakers have five Hall of Famers in the starting lineup, is that not a super team? And you can't say it's just because they were winning, because we've had teams who've won all the time. You think Andrew Bowie is going to the Hall of Fame? No, he's not. You think Luke Longley's going to the Hall of Fame? No, he's not. You think Tristan Thompson's going to the Hall of Fame? No, he's not. Do you think Chris Birdman Anderson is going to the Hall of Fame? No, he's not. But the Lakers and the Celtics both had teams with five plus Hall of Famers on it. But their teams not stacked. That's not the creation of super teams. Let's keep on moving. Because now you get the Jordan. And then people forget Tim Duncan, Tracy McGrady, and Vince Carter were almost all on Orlando. All of them. If it wasn't for Doc Rivers, who basically went to Tim Duncan's face and was like, we gonna win it with or without you, which was done by Doc Rivers, which we've seen who Doc Rivers is, except for them couple years in Boston. But they were trying to form a super team. And then let's think about this.
Celtics Big Three And The Backstory
SPEAKER_00What summer, because everyone's talking about LeBron building in Miami, what summer did the Boston Celtics big three get put together? Let's think about it. It was the 07 summer because they had 08, 09, 09, 010, they went to the finals. So what summer? Who went to the finals out of the East the year before? In 07. Oh, the guy who was by himself in Cleveland. That's the guy. Okay. So and I'm trying not to get into this totally Tony Allen mess because I can break Tony Allen down to bits and pieces. Because Tony Allen sits there talking about all this stuff, who he is, and he looks like we made Braun. You know what's funny how they say we made Braun. And like, you know who all says that? It's like all the players. So you got Kevin Garnett, who was two to three years removed from MVP. You got Paul Pearce, perennial all-star, you got Ray Allen, perennial all-star, and the Supersonics all get put on to the Boston Celtics. Go get KP out of the draft. Same year. You have Brian been a couple years. He's five years in. You got Tony Allen. You got Ray John Rondo. All on one team. You have four All-Stars. Four Hall of Famers on one team to beat one guy. Because nobody else on that Cleveland team was going to the Hall of Fame, right? And so I find it funny that they say they made Braun leave Cleveland. He made y'all come together. All you superstars had to come together to beat Braun. Because the 23-year-old in his third year, fourth year, was in the NBA Finals, Paul Pierce. And you couldn't beat him, and you knew it. And KG, you knew you couldn't beat Tim Duncan. Reality, you knew you couldn't beat Tim Duncan. You couldn't beat Kobe. You couldn't beat these dudes by yourself. Because y'all not on that level. But then y'all come out here and y'all get in front of a camera and you talk as if he created the super team. No, he made you create yours. So what did he go do? He said, okay, I see you. I'm gonna raise you another one. Week two can play that game. Then he goes and wins. Again, I told you the records without. So how super are they? And you know, these are the things that really drive me insane.
Tony Allen Claims Meet Game Film
SPEAKER_00Because there's there's no there's no factual evidence from anybody. Everyone's just yapping, everyone's just talking and trying to get clickbait. Your podcast not going good, drop Braun's name and make sure it's very hyperbolic. Braun can't play these things. We used to hunt him. Hunt who? Hunt who? Tony Allen. You do know we got film, right? So the time when you talk about Paul Pierce gave Braun 50 on 36 shots. You give give the give the truth, Tony Allen. Because he gave him 56 on 36 shots. What you failed to realize is you didn't say who won the game, and you didn't say what Braun had. So yes, Paul Pierce had 56 on 36 shots. And Braun had 45, 15, and 15 and got the win on higher than 57% from the field. Really? Really? Tony Allen, you're better than this. And then, you know, I'ma hit on this because I gotta break this down. People again, it's just it's the factual inconsistencies with these dude. They pick and choose when they want to use facts, when they want to use feelings. I'ma say what it is. And then you get people around them on a podcast who are just yes, man, they won't check him. Because he says, Oh, when was the last time you seen Braun check somebody to win a game? You just stop. Derek Rose, ask him about it. Tim Duncan, ask him about it. Paul Pierce, ask him about it. Paul George, ask him about it. Kawhi Leonard, ask him about it. Come on, bruh. You gotta be better than this. Let's just let's let's get to the facts, man. Because
How Marc Gasol Won DPOY
SPEAKER_00what Tony Allen got mad about was that Braun came out and said that Marcus Al got his Defensive Player of the Award, Defensive Player of the Year award at his house. And people were like, well, why would we say that? So this is the thing, this is what happened. So Marcus Al was on the all-NBA second team, all defensive second team. Mind you. So that means you're saying there are at least five people, but there were really six. You're saying bare minimum there's five people on each team. It'll be five and five. He was on all NBA second team, but he was the number one defender. That means there was at least one center better than you on the first team, but you're the best defender in the league, but you're not on all NBA first team. It don't make any sense. It's like you're being on all NBA second team and you win in the MVP. Don't add up. So let's break it down even more. Marcus R almost didn't make the any team, not the first team or the second team. People say, why would you say that? So if you go back and look at that year, they put six people on the first team because Tyson Chandler and Sergei Bacca, they uh they tied with 24 points. So they put both of them there, and then Marcus was like 17 or something points, and he got to be on the second team. But if any of them get 25 or one of that 23, Marcusall would not have been on the all-defensive team at all. But you're gonna make him the defensive player of the year. Doesn't make any sense. So you're telling me that 10 guys better than him, but he's the number one defender. It just don't add up. So that's some facts for you, TA. If you ever want to listen to facts, or you know, you're just so far gone, you know, you're more known for saying it's out the mud with Rashad McKinsey than the actual stuff you did on the basketball court. So you trying to re- you're trying to recreate that because that, you know, it's out the mud. Probably got you a bunch of views, got you a lot of clicks, and so then you have to go and try to do that again, and this time you're trying to do it with Brian. Come on, dude. And then you talk about his defense later
Defense Talk And LeBron Support Stats
SPEAKER_00on. TA, do you one second, y'all? This this this is the stuff that I'm talking about. Like guys will talk and say, oh, this person's defense isn't good, all this stuff. But you know, the problem I have with that is that you're not talking about yourself. So TA was drafted in 2005. That's two years after LeBron. TA retired in 2018. In 2018, that's when LeBron went on that run all to the final Cavalier with no Kyle Reed, just Kevin Love. Kevin Love was in and out. When he had more 40-point games in that whole playoff run than Steph Curry has in his career. Think about that. In one playoff run, he had more 40-point games than Steph Curry had in his career. But that's when you retire, Tony Allen. But let's just let's just Tony Allen at the ripe old age of 36. You talking about Braun defense. Played 14 years in the league, seven years with Memphis, six years with Boston, one year with New Orleans. Now TA, look at your defensive, you know, capabilities. When you were in Boston and you said y'all made him do something, hey bro, you have nothing to show for your name. Not man one defensive player of the year vote, not nain one defensive team. That wasn't till you got to Memphis, brother. Memphis. That's when that started. If you didn't know. And then you had one, two, three, four, five, six. So you got six years while you have accolades. Six. Why am I talking about Tony Allen? Let me move on. Let me let me let me move on. And so another thing I want to talk about when it came to the you know realm of super teams, right? And it's I found I find it very funny. Because this is this that blew my mind. So it took LeBron James eight seasons before he had a single team, single teammate, average 18 points per game in a season. Eight years. So his first eight years in Cleveland, he never had someone average more than 18 points per game. This is crazy. The only player out of everyone to play who waited that long, 83.8% of them had a teammate do that in year one. Many had multiple. So, like, I I I don't know what Charles Barkley and Tony Allen, like this hate and this disdain for someone. One person that you willing to sit there and go on national TV and just lie to everyone and not tell the truth. It's cool if that's your game, but don't sit there. Like, I think the easiest way to debate all these guys is to just go pull up the clips of what they said in previous years. They will, and I mean I will, they will every single time. They will contradict themselves. So now let's get into the last part of this. The
Why Philly’s Fit Looks Scary
SPEAKER_00fun part. And I thought to break down all this foolishness that's going on right now in the basketball space, but people are just so disingenuous and so hypocritical. But let's go to next year. I got some stuff here. And it's very mind-boggling. So last year, Tyrese Maxie averaged 28.3, 4.1 rebounds, and 6.6 assists. VJ Edgecomb averaged 16, 5, and 4. Jalen Brown averaged 28, 7, and 5. LeBron averaged 21, 6-7. And Bede averaged 27, 7-4. Anthony Simmons averaged 14, 2, and 2. Dean Wade got you 5-4-2. KCP got you 8-2 and 3. And you got Bona, who averaged 4-4 and a half and assist. Then you got Fylon from Alabama. And Alabama averaged 22, 3, and 5. But I don't think those numbers are really what I'm the best part about this. Let's go down the list and look like the field goal percentage. 54, 51, 52, 56, 53, 54, 57, 55, 50. This might be one of the most efficient field goal percentage shooting teams I've ever seen in a long time. Like every single person is shooting up sub, I mean, above 50%. And you can go to the new like, oh, they need shooters. We got 40%, 36%, 40%, 37%, 37%, got a couple 35s. And these jokers are shooting as rock. And so I I think the fit on Philly is perfect. I think you can put broad at point guard towards the end of the games. You can you can utilize maxi speed. I think they're gonna they have four, I think they had three or four of the top 15 transition players all on one team. They gonna run you out the gym. And then when they slow it down, they have probably the best half-court score you've seen in a long time. Win healthy enjoy all the bead. You got one of the best half-court facilitators of all time, and LeBron James playing with nothing but skill. Because mind you, the last time LeBron played point guard was in 2020 when he won the chip with the Lakers, and he averaged 11 plus uh 10.5 assists, months 11 assists. So I'm letting you guys know right now. You listen to Charles Barkley, and Jay, the last person I'm gonna get to, Jay Will. Come on, bro. Orlando's gonna- and the thing here that I don't like. These people and these talking heads can say something so outlandish, and then when they're wrong, and when they're when they're when they are so far from the truth, they don't ever have to like talk about it again. They don't ever question something. Like, I mean, didn't you say because Jay Will said Orlando's gonna finish higher than the 76ers? So Miami is, Indiana is, the Knicks are, uh the Raptors, they want a whole list. Basically the 76ers are gonna be like a 7th or 8. But when they're not, then what? Then what? Because they won a 7th or AC last year without Joel B not being there. Jalen Brown could team the 50 win of the two seed by himself with no Jason Tatum. But you put that guy on the Philly team and they're gonna be worse with Braun, they're gonna be worse. Come on, bro. At this point, we're not even trying. It's not you're not even trying to hide your hate. But it's cool. That's what I'm here for. That's what the truth behind the numbers is for. If you don't like the numbers, you don't want the truth. If you want the truth, go find the numbers. This is
Season Outlook And Next Episode Tease
SPEAKER_00gonna be a crazy NBA season. Um next episode, I'm probably gonna break down uh power rankings, who I think are gonna be the best teams in the East. Uh, who I have in the finals, get that out there right now. Um Probably wait to see if this Kawhi Linair stuff finishes out, see what's going on with that. Um, and that'll be our next episode, and I might have another hot topic, you know, maybe breaking down something people always said about either the previous generation, who they were playing against, or the lack thereof. But we'll see. But thank you guys again for tuning into this episode, season two, episode two. LeBron's going to Philly. It's gonna be an amazing year. Uh I don't think I've ever been this excited going to an NBA year, probably since I went to LA in 2018. Or maybe even that 2020 year before COVID hit. One of those years. But it's gonna be great. A lot of movement around the NBA. This is why the NBA is amazing, this is why it's unpredictable, this is why it keeps you on your toes, keeps you on edge. But thank you guys again for tuning in. We'll see y'all soon. The truth behind numbers, I'm out.