Why the Raptors' Scottie Barnes Can SHOCK the NBA — Eastern Conference Leap Picks REVEALED!

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1:01Sport clips, it's a game changer, check it online at sportclips.com. On today's show, there are going to be several guys in the NBA this year that take a huge leap forward. Who are they going to be? On today's show, we are going to discuss who we think is going to be that guy in the Eastern Conference next right here on Lockdown and Bay Game Night. When that final buzzer rings, you know it's time for a Lockdown NBA game night. All the post game reactions to every game across the league, every single night, within sight, only the hosts that Lockdown can provide. It's the true NBA fans. One stop for all the action. Every game, every night, it's Lockdown NBA game night tipping off now. What's up everybody? My name is Danny Cunningham from Lockdown Cavs. You swip it from Lockdown nuggets. And this is the latest edition of Lockdown NBA Game Night where we talk about every single game every single night, but it is September 5th. So there are no games happening right now, at least not in the sport that we talk about. So we are talking about a lot of other things happening across the NBA.

2:02So I thought it'd be a fun thing to do today. Talk about guys that are going to take a step forward. Every year it happens and somebody finds themselves in the MVP conversation that maybe we didn't see it coming. And we've got some candidates that we want to talk about. It is going to be interesting to see who can make that next step this year. Every year there's like a couple players that out of nowhere, they seem to get into the MVP conversation. Okay, Cunningham last year or they seem to make it all in the A-Leave, which I think there's one person that made that lead black year, but did not get the just due that they deserve. But I think they will be definitely on the team next year when I can't wait to do this. Is that guy you're talking about Scotty Barnes? I'm not talking about it till we get to it. I'm not talking about it. Okay, you're not talking about it until we get to it. I have a feeling at Scotty Barnes. So the way this is going to work, we've each picked five guys. We've not shared our lists with each other. I have no idea. Well, I kind of now have an idea. I think of who you may have picked. At least for one of your spots, we've not exchanged ideas here.

3:03So we are kind of going into this blind together. We're going to pick five guys from the Eastern Conference on today's show. Normally you're not used to hearing us together on Saturdays. You are used to hearing us together on Sundays. Well, we will be together again on Sunday and we will be talking about the Western Conference. There are five guys that we think can take a leap forward in the Western Conference on Sunday's show. So if you're a fan of a team in the West, how can we not talk about my guy tomorrow? I promise we might be depends on who your guy is. But I'm going to give you the floor. I'm going to let you take the first pick you're going to have. Give me your first pick for a guy that you think is going to take a big leap forward this season in the Eastern Conference. So no, I guess cats on the bag a little bit. I think Scotty Barnes should have been in all of NBA player last year. I don't really know. Well, I can't say that. I know why people did not happen under all NBA team. And I'm not going to say everybody, but I will say a lot of people, including some voters that actually vote that I talk to. They just did not feel like Scotty had the offense about put, which is what it came down

4:03to that is was deserving of some people like Jalen Durin or others, for instance. And I just think that's ridiculous. Scotty was one of the best defenders in the NBA last year. He probably was top three for me. Maybe I don't know. I can't remember who my list was, but Wimby, Jet Rudy, Assar, Scotty, that's probably about like were my four than including like, you know, Stefan or whoever else in there. Like, he was incredible. He that had to deal with like a really weird offensive situation last year. But the offense when he was on the floor was still like performing relatively well. You know, they were essentially like two points better when he was on the floor on the offensive end, but then there are three points better defensively when he was on the floor this last year. And he's not like a jump shooter, but in terms of like his two points scoring, he's a really effective player. He's a very much league average score at this point. But what makes him so good is that he's so big. He's so long that he's such a good driver and passer.

5:05You average last year, personning possession to that 14.8 assist personified last year, which is really good. That's 94% tall in the NBA. So while being one of the best defenders in the sport on the other end as well. So if you just look at how he is able to impact his team on a night and night out basis and what he brings to the table is a defensive player. He literally makes it to the where there are multiple coverages that you can run at one point in time. Even if you're just playing basic man to man, you're going to play drop. You want to play ice. You want to say, has you want to play trap. You want to play slice. You want to play whatever. Like you want to do it. They open up an empty side picking role and you want to like get them trapped in the corner and let's got to do that. Scottie also last year performed really well to which he golfers his guards, wings and then also bigs in the NBA as well. He just is a really, really good player on top of being especially for a wing. He really good room protector as well. So I just think that people just, they just didn't, I think, watch a lot of Raptor games

6:08last year, but you're telling me that this dude last year, I was 18 again, seven and a half a rebound, 5.9 assists, one steal, one and a half blocks per game. And then while he was doing it, he was shooting 56% from two as well, which was a career high. I think he's going to take another leap forward next year. And then if they have Kauai and the trade goes through through, there's a world where you have 19, 20 points of game with around six and a half, seven assists a game last year, with another seven rebounds now. He can become like a kind of a little bit of a bend sentence in some way, not as like athletic and fast, but in a lot of ways, he kind of has a similar archetype, just stronger, slower version of bend. I think anytime Ben gets brought up and I think it's a little dangerous to do so at times, anytime Ben gets brought up, people think about the worst of them. They don't think about like the fact that he was at one point in all NBA player. Like they think about was scared to dunk the basketball against the Atlanta Hawks in the postseason. A guy that is, you know, now back in the NBA side of contract, Kings earlier, or I guess

7:13at the end of this past week. So I think that's like when you hear Ben Simmons, your ears perk up and go, wait, is that a good thing because you don't think of him as the guy who was this all started, this all NBA player, this all defense guy that just kind of do everything for it, even if he couldn't necessarily shoot and Scotty definitely can shoot the basketball better than Ben Simmons ever could from beyond the arc. Like I mean, he was eight of 21. I believe it was in the postseason from free point range, which is way better than Ben Simmons has been at any point in his life. But I had Scotty Barnes on my list too. And he wasn't named all NBA last year. I didn't have like some big issue that he wasn't on it. I felt like I had a vote. I would have had him on the third team, but I was not like up in arms. And maybe that's because I don't cover the Raptors or care about the Raptors. Like I was an up in arms that he didn't make the team. But I also thought that and I was at all seven of his postseason games in person. And I thought his numbers and the first two games were misleading. I didn't think he was good in the first two games. So he had 21 seven.

8:15He had one rebound only in the first game and the Raptors got smoked by the calves. The second game he had 26, 5 and 4. But I think he scored like 15 points in the fourth quarter when the game was out of reach. Like he was not good in either of those two games. And he was out scored by the Raptors were out scored with him on the floor by 22 in the first game and 17 in the second game. Like I just flat out did not think he was good. And then games three through seven. He went game three was I think the best game Scotty Barnes has ever played. Three points 11 assists five rebounds did it on 11 of 17 from the floor plus 23 and 35 minutes on the floor. Game four, which was a hideous game all around the Raptors 19389. It was horrible. 23 points, nine boards, six assists, six of 50. Not great, but like was the best player in what was just not a well played basketball game. Game five, thought he looked not right physically. And I didn't think he looked right physically kind of the rest of the way. Like he was trying to will that Raptors team, even though I do think he was dealing with

9:17something. Go 17 11 and eight game six, which is the RJ Barrett Miracle 3 pointer game winner game. 25 14 and seven and then game seven 24 nine and six. And he played to me in games three through seven. Like the guy that absolutely is going to be the face of a franchise. And if you want to call him like the face of a franchise last year during the regular season, okay, but I think like he's got a level that he can get to where yes, because last year he was the best player on the team. And I think there's a difference between being the best player on a team and being the face of a franchise. And I think that the level he showed in the post season is a guy that can get to the face of the franchise type of stature. And that is what I expect out of Scotty Barnes. Now the quiet Leonard stuff might change what his production looks like. And we don't know like if quiet is there, how many games quiet Leonard is going to play. I would not bet on him playing 70 games for the Raptors, but I do think that there's a world where maybe he suffers a little bit because quiet is taking up oxygen offensively.

10:20But I think he has everything that's everything that you need to be somebody that like I'm not going to say, yes, Scotty Barnes is going to go win the MVP this year. But if Scotty Barnes got MVP votes next year, I think that would kind of qualify for me as okay, he did what I thought he could. Yeah, I think there is a real offensive step for him to take this next season. And I think some of it is just his scoring needs to be better. His scoring package right now is still very inconsistent. And I think in the playoffs, you saw a lot of different things. He was struggling with something that he did really well on the other end. And his shooting is just obviously it's just not not good enough. But he might just be a good enough tweener to where his shooting isn't going to be a detriment to the overall offense. But that also depends on the matchup that he's running into. And I do think Scotty was pretty clearly the best player in that Cleveland series. But I think him having be eye who didn't do anything in that series. There are a bunch of negatives how we're walking around the floor every possession for the Raptors on the other end. So I do think there's a world where hopefully with Kauai being added to the roster,

11:21if that trade does go down, there is just a better flow and synergy. And then defensively what the team is going to be now with RJ Barrett, Kauai, Scotty, Shed, CMB, that's going to be a nightmare to play again. So I'm actually really excited if the trade goes through, he'd all work together. I will say, and we're not going to really talk about this guy other than maybe the minute that we spend right here. I call Murray Boyle was written down in pencil. He didn't make my final list, but like he is a guy that in, you know, him making a leap in year two, obviously looks different than Scotty Barnes making a leap into like, getting MVP votes. But I had him written down as like this guy went from, you know, a good rookie during the season. And then in the post season, he developed into something different. And was that he had a great week at the right time? Or is that no, this guy is like for real, a really good player? I had him written down to somebody that I think could like take a big step for and and somebody that a lot of people aren't going to talk about it.

12:21And if you're just like a casual fan listening to this podcast, you might not even know who Colin Murray Boyle is. But he's somebody that I do think could be a big difference maker there. 100% agree. 100% agree. I think he's going to be really good. He's going to be in all the defense player one day as well. I would not be surprised in the least bit about that. But we had one at least guy in common on our list. We've got four more each to get to. So we will do that next right here. I'm locked in a meaghan. But first today's show is brought to you by Square, the system powering so many of the places that we already know and love, whether you're running a packed game day spot, a local restaurant or a growing business, Square give sellers the tools to run their business without making things more complicated. Square brings payments, inventory payroll, invoices, customer insights and so much more together into one connected system. So maybe you're one location business or maybe you're a business that's growing into multiple locations. Square gives you the tools to sell, manage, and grow without needing an IT team to figure everything out. If you've been to a game day spot, right Saturday, the first college football Saturday of the year,

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14:30Sport clips. It's a game changer, check it online at sportclips.com. Thank you for making this additional lock on NBA game night, your first watch or listen to the day, hit the thumbs up button on YouTube. If you've not done so already, make sure that you were subscribed anywhere you might be getting your podcasts. It does help the show very much if you do so. So we both had Scotty Barnes as a guy that and I didn't put these like one through five. I just kind of wrote down five names that I think qualify here. But Scotty Barnes was a guy on both of our lists. Who is the next guy in your list, Swipe? I am going with mocked house, Buzellus. Oh, I love that one. As you can see, I have an affinity for wings. That's very well known. I think Matz is going to take you another leap. He took it eight point lead basically in just last season. Eight points. That's really good. He shot six trees game last year, 35% does good for you to go. I'll take that. He shot 58% from two on six two point attempts game. I'll also take that. That's good process while I was in six rebounds into assist a game.

15:31I'll also take that. So if you're telling me that I have an Uber athletic wing that is going to grow with the score, grow as a passer, grow as a connector, and then has like some defensive upside as well. And also is taking six trees a game in year two. So what do you get seven and a half next year? And then on top of that, you don't like it is driving and all that to get to the free to line. You have three attempts last year. Let's say it gets with the five attempts this next year. That's how you go from 16 points to like 19, 2021 points. I think that Matz has a great skill set. And now you couple that with Caleb Wilson. Daniel Swain. Nick Clax. Hmm. I think Matz is going to be a dude that takes like a nice, you know, year three. This guy can be like a star kind of player. I don't know. I think he gets there to being a star. He might just end up being like a super, super high level role player in his career. But guess what? Those players make $40 million.

16:32So I think that there's a world where he continues to take a step, man. And by the time we get to the next off season, it's like, you know, the rookie extensions coming up and they're saying, Hey, we might pay this due to 250 million dollars. I think Matz is that kind of player. I think that this year, like a leap from Matz is because as of right now, and the bulls are very clearly in the midst of a rebuild, which is something that was probably a little more overdue than they would have liked to admit. I think right now he's somebody that is thought of as this guy is part of our core. And I think that's an accurate description of him. I think a leap for him is the bulls have to go from thinking this guy is part of our core to this guy is on the inner circle of our core. Maybe he's not the main guy. You know, maybe that is going to be Caleb Wilson. I think they all would hope that is going to be Caleb Wilson, who they took number four overall in this past summer's draft. But I think Buzellis is capable of going out and having that type of year. And I think when you look at what is expected of the bulls this year, not that there are such things as like low pressure situations,

17:34there's pressure everywhere in the league, no matter what your situation is. But I think he's going to have the opportunity. To go out and do that this year. I think that'll be a really, really good thing for him. I mean, I think that's a great pick. He's the guy that didn't have written down, but I wish I would have. I love that pick. Who's your next guy? My next guy is somebody that you're going to say, you know, is that really fair? But I'm going to remind you that this player has never made an all-start team. He was named all rookie all the way back in 2021, 2022. Never made an all-star team. Never made an all-nb team. And that's Franz Wagner. He's a very good basketball player. He's not somebody that's been in all-star. He's not somebody that we've looked at and say, you know what? That guy's gone out there and done it. And part of it's because he hasn't been able to stay healthy. He only played 34 games last year. He played 60 of the year before. Like he's only hit the 65 game threshold in his first three seasons. But I think that in part of this is also betting on Sean Sweeney as being an upgrade to Jamal Moseley in Orlando from a coaching perspective. And I do kind of wonder if part of this for me is coming off

18:39of that playoff series where they go up three one on the pistons and Franz hurts his calf. He misses the final three games. Detroit obviously come back and wins that series. I do wonder if like now the magic are going to go, you know, it probably is a really good player. But for us to be at our best, Franz has to be the center of what we do. And I think there's a world where that's where that happens. And Franz turns into the guy that I think he's shown glimpses of being. Yeah, I mean, Franz, to me, it's like a, he really just needs to be healthy. He played like three shooting games last year, I believe. He already has the all star skill set. And for some people, all pro skill set, I just think he just needs to consistency. He needs to get the outside jumper together. But yeah, there's a world where the all NBA lead Peserra. I mean, he already has the tools, you know, he's obviously played super high level basketball for Germany. And we watched them at the world stage for years now. So I think that's a good thing. I would be, I think if he plays 65 games, and this is where I'm at in front of he plays 65 games, I'd be a little surprised if he's not all NBA.

19:42Like I think he's that type of talent. I think he's shown that he can be that type of guy. He just has to say healthy. And listen, that is something that is easier said than done for like you can say that about a lot of people, right? There are a lot of guys out there. She's, oh yeah, if this guy stays healthy, he's an all star caliber talent. But I think just what Franz has shown and the way that I think he can drive winning in a way that Palo Ben Carroll maybe hasn't been able to show because Palo's game just isn't as as keen at times be a little bit more empty calories. And the year that Palo missed a ton of time back in 24, 25, Franz went out average 24.2 points per game, 5 and a half rebounds. Five assists per game, did it on 46 from the floor, didn't shoot the ball well. Like part of this has to be on his three point form being a little bit better than what it was. So three years ago, he shot 28% two years ago, he shot 29% and everyone thought his shot was broken. And it looks bad like it looks like it had a hitch in it. Last year was up to 34. If he can be at 36 or 37%, which he's been at 36 before, then I think he's somebody that is in all NBA conversations pretty firmly.

20:48Sure. All right. Round to a lot. Who do you have next? Next up, I'm going to go with the probably one of the easiest ones to go to. He has a brand new situation. He's probably going to be the guy on his roster now. And that's B mill, Brandon Miller. Brandon Miller just last year, I was 20 points game. And he had five rebounds, three assists to game. He shot, which is great, you know, for him and the shot diet. Excuse me, 49% for two. Thank you. 38% from three though on eight attempts to game. Do you realize that the last two years, he's taking 11, three to game in 27 games. And then last year in 65 to eight, he's going to be at eight and nine, three to game. Maybe more. And he's probably going to take the most shots on this team next year. And they're going to put up 45, three as a team next season. Brandon Miller is going to make a tangible difference. I think he'll be around 23, 24 points for game.

21:49On just a simple fact, he's going to have the ball in his hands more, which means that history. Three point shot, they're going to go up the amount of three. He's taking, but also free throws. He's averaging three free throws a game as well. And if you just kind of pay attention to how people make that lead from like 20 points to 24 points or 24 points to 28 points, it's just in the composite of there's your three point ability and how many you're putting up. And then how well you get to the free throw line and how often you're driving. And I think B mill is going to take a very natural step into being the star on his team with the ball in his hands. I want to ask you about that situation because I have somebody from Charlotte to, but it's, it's not Brandon Miller. But I, the thing that kind of gave me a little bit of trepidation in thinking about Charlotte. Maybe this is a bit of a preview to the episode we do about guys that could maybe make a leap in the West. Do you have concern about what they're going to look like offensively without Lamello as the guy that kind of drives what they do? I mean, yeah, I mean, I don't want to be disrespectful to Mel, but like not really.

22:51I mean, I think hope he wants to be phenomenal for them. I think that Christian Anderson is going to be really good for them. And they got Haynes, Ninebox, you know, and they also have not read all that. Like I just think that the team they're going to be a really good offense. They're going to miss Lamello passing. I think Lamello was averaging. I think the number that I had yesterday, I mean, I did to show with Hayes a few days ago. I want to say Lamello ball was around like 24 assists points per 75 possession last year, which is insane. I think that's like, so he was at 23 assists points for 75 possession last year, which is 95% hot. So like, yeah, that's going to be a big difference. But I also think that that's going to be more on ball opportunities for some of some people. And there's probably a person on my mind right now that's probably on your list. That would also agree with the content in our league mixture as well. All right. Well, we will see if that person comes up next right here on Lockdown and Meagam Knight. But first today's show is brought to you by Indeed.

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24:54Again, that is indeed.com slash podcast right now and support this show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Once more, that is indeed.com slash podcast terms and conditions do apply. Do you need to hire? Well, this is a job for Indeed sponsor jobs. It's Halloween time at the Disneyland Resort and many has begun to brew up delights and spine tingling fun. Come see what becomes of Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park when Halloween takes hold. Halloween time August 21st through October 31st. Visit Disneyland.com or contact your travel advice for important details. So you had Brandon Miller from Charlotte. I said I had somebody from Charlotte, somebody that you named there and that somebody is Nas Reed. Now, Nas was obviously part of the little Mellibault trade. He goes from Minnesota where it's been his entire career now to Charlotte where something that I think is kind of important to me.

25:58At least in this aspect is that Nas is going to get the opportunity to be a starter for the first time in his seven years in Minnesota. He played 483 games. He only started 77 of them. The most starts that he's had in the season was 17 games started that was a 24 25 season. Nas Reed has never played 30 minutes per game in seven years and part of this like, you know, he was an undrafted for agent like he was not somebody that came into the league is like this lottery pick that got a huge opportunity right away. I mean, when he first signed with the wolves, he was on a two way and they ripped that up and gave him a real contract for every play. He's a game but like he is not somebody that came into the NBA with a huge opportunity afforded to him. He played 26.1 minutes per game last year. He's going to be the starter in Charlotte and I think he's going to be able to play 30 ish minutes tonight and I think that having the basketball in his hands a little bit more getting and he's going to be able to get it up from outside. He's going to take I think probably more than seven, three is a game and he's a 37% shooter.

27:03Nas Reed is going to be looked at totally differently after a year in Charlotte. Not that you're not that people didn't think that he was capable of this, but I think that after a year in Charlotte, you're going to see, okay, this is what this guy can do with the opportunity. The Hornets can give him. Yeah, Roy Solniel is behind him. Diabate. I mean, DFS. Yeah, I mean, I think I can see him playing 30. I'm just really curious about their defense next year because Steinbach, Nas, B-Mill, Khan and Kobe is just starting lineup. Which one of them is a good defender? Is the question maybe Steinbach? So it's really really you know how rare it is for a rookie big to be a good defensive guy like it's tough. So, but who cares right like I don't know what you just explained is why I am lower on the Charlotte Hornets this year than I was last year.

28:04Like why I think they're going to take a step back. It doesn't mean that they're they don't have a good future, but I think they're going to take a step back because of that, but I think Nas Reed's going to be really good. Yeah, yeah, I'm excited to watch him. I like Nas. That's a good pull. Yeah, I like Nas's game. Yeah, I think in a different world like he would have loved to have been a Minnesota his entire career. I think Minnesota would have loved to have him forever, but that's not the way that this business works. I just think that him getting a bigger opportunity. Again, I don't think he's going to be like an MVP conversation, but I think a lot of people are like, how come this guy was not a starter for seven years? I think that people will be talking about that. At least the people that watch the Charlotte Hornets will be talking about that at some point. I believe we each have two guys left. Who's next for you? So I think that this player is going to be somebody that's coming off the bench that has a really good opportunity. And if you ask me, Pella Larson, I think it's going to be a guy that has some real opportunities next year to like that's a very high level contributor as a ball handler, as a shooter,

29:15as a score, he's going to be able to do a lot of things this next year, because he's going to have Tim Hardaway Jr. Clay, Davion, Yannis, and Bam and Wiggins. And I think that if he's able to slot right into that slot to become like their additional wing, additional guard, a contriple pass shoot, there's a world where he can light it up next year. And your best off in Civil Line of is going to include Larson. Put him by me. I think that's a great call. And I think that his skill set is going to be one that is really needed down there. How they look early in the season, I think is going to be a lot different than how they look later in the season. And like that's not something that is unique to them. I think you can say that about a lot of teams, but I think with what you're trying to integrate bringing Yannis in, what they're going to look like. And I like Pella Larson as a young player. I've seen him in moments where he's looked overmatched. I've seen him in moments where he's looked really good. I think that's a great pull man. I really do.

30:17Yeah, who's your next guy? I have a Sarg Thompson written down. And this is all about offense because defensively, he doesn't need to get better. He can get a little bit better. Like I'm sure that there are areas where he feels like he can improve. He's a phenomenal defensive player. But he's also at times a non contributor offensively. And I don't think that's going to be the case issue. He's not going to turn into some great shooter. No one's ever going to confuse him with Ray Allen or Steph Curry from Beyond the Arc. But let's pretend a Sarg Thompson finds a way to shoot 32% on three pointers, which would be a big step up from somebody that was, I think, scared to take them for the most part. He is a career 20% shooter shot 25% on three last year. And the Detroit pistons have basically just tried to break down his shot to the studs. I think he's going to start trending upwards a little bit in that direction. Now we shot 52% from the field because a lot of his shots are dunks and in the paint. Like he does not know we talked about Ben Simmons's offensive shot profile earlier.

31:19That's kind of what a Sarg Thompson's his look like. I just I don't think it's a lack of confidence. I just think that's kind of their plan. I think their plan for him is going to expand a little bit. And I think that while he still might be a little bit behind his brother offensively. If he just takes a step forward on that into the floor, he's an all star. So I've got him written down as my next guy. I think he I don't know that he's ever going to be an MVP conversations. But this past year the pistons had two all NBA guys. They had Kate Cunningham and they had Jail and earn and Kate was awesome the whole way and Jail and earn vanished in the post season. If Detroit has two all NBA players next year, it's going to be Kate and a Sarg not Kate and Jail and earn. Yeah, a Sarg definitely is a great name pool. And I just if he round out his offensive game, I mean, that's just going to bear that's the future for the piss into my estimation. I think the good is Jail and is if a Sar takes that lead and he's next to Kate for the next 10 years. I mean, yeah, good night. That's going to be a crazy deep into dual.

32:21I will be really curious what what the contract extension looks like for him because obviously his brother got an extension earlier this past week. I will be really, really curious what Detroit does there and I do think that the pistons want to they want to wait and see what happened or how the Jail and earn situation gets resolved. And that's a I think a sticky thing to try and figure out. But I am I'm curious what that contract is going to look like. So. I think that's a good one. That's my next one. That's a good one. I like that. So I think that people again, who's who's watching the nets. So like I don't want to know disrespect our our guy airs later over locked on nets. Yeah, that's about it, right? And so if people don't really know who he is and that's perfectly fine. Just know they have a point guard that is good. That took six to three to game last year, like in past. And he has scoring chops and he very much looks like a one of those future.

33:28You know, I don't know. Danny like if I told you one day, he diverging like 18, you know, six and eight, you know, in a few years. Everybody's going to be like, all right, well, this makes sense. And so I just think that it's totally something that I would be looking at personally. If I was somebody that's like looking right at a breakout player, I think he's going to be good. He's the best player on that team and from the prospects. Obviously, Porter's on the team, Randall's on the team, but like he is the best future prospect that they have. And he's the one I think they hit on in the draft last year. Yeah, and I liked what I saw from him. I mean, it is summer league as the second year guy you should kind of stand out. I liked what I saw from him earlier this summer in Vegas as the second year guy. I think that's a great pick. I couldn't. I didn't quite get there. And part of it was I think the nets are going to stink. Like they've got some talent. You mentioned Michael Porter, Jr. You mentioned Julius Randall, like they're not devoid of talent. But I just like, I don't see a world in which they're competitive in the Eastern Conference. And that was kind of my deciding reason as to not have him on. But I really do like that pick on. I like a lot of the pick that you've made.

34:35So for my last one, I'm going to go Alex Sart, who is going into his third year. I think he's had a nice first couple of seasons in the NBA finished fourth for rookie of the year voting as a rookie. He only played 48 games last year dealt with some injuries, but he did go from 13 points of game as a rookie to 16 and a half points per game. As the second year player got way more efficient, shot the ball a little bit better from beyond the arc. Now how this works with Anthony Davis in Washington. I think it's a BD how it works. Trey young in Washington. I think it's TBD, but I'm still kind of a believer in Alex and I think that he's a good defensive player. I think that he has somebody that can take a step forward and be, you know, maybe not a face of the franchise guy, but somebody that you look at. So you know, it made sense that he was the number two overall pick to agree. Yes, or he may major in leaves in his second year and then his jumper started coming along as well. Now you parent him to Anthony Davis and I think Trey young should be a big, big, big ad for him to help him as a basketball player, especially offensively.

35:38I'm with that. I'm cool. I like that name shot a key shot in George, by the way. That's another one's going to take a leap for them. Yeah, I think he's I think he's a really good player. I'm not worried about the I'm not really worried about the fit between him and Trey the way that sorry and you know, Saur has played with other bigs at times. Obviously, they had a ball. They like they've had other big guys on the floor. But how he looks alongside Anthony Davis. I think it's probably going to be the thing that decides whether or not this comes true or not because it just might not work. Like a matchup of a real possibility. But those are the five guys that we've each picked out that we think in the Eastern conference could take a pretty big step forward entering the 2026 2027 NBA season that don't look now is right around six weeks away. So make sure you keep it locked in right here locked on NBA every single day. We've got the Daily Show plus game night coming your way seven days a week. He swiped if you want more of him. Check him out over at lockdown nuggets. If you want more meat over at lockdown calves every single day. And as we get out of here, please do us a favor. Make sure that you subscribe to this show on Apple on Spotify or on YouTube. And if you're watching on YouTube, it's a thumbs up button and click that notification bell.

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