00:00NBA back out to the desert last night.
00:02We just watched the Verbo Fiesta Bowl.
00:04Now we're going to take a look at those Phoenix Suns.
00:06The New York Knicks taking on the Phoenix Suns.
00:08Over that numbers, Joe, minus one and a half.
00:10They still sit there as a minus one and a half point favorite to the road team,
00:13the New York Knicks, and a total of 229 and a half as it sits live.
00:18Give me an update here.
00:19Some spread lines today for you, Joe.
00:20Knicks and the Suns.
00:22Yeah, well, listen, the Suns have been feisty this year
00:25and kind of flying under the radar,
00:28but they have quietly been an ATM machine, Donnie,
00:31against the number this season.
00:33Meanwhile, the Knicks just snapped a, finally, a four-game losing streak,
00:37their longest losing streak of the season,
00:39and now they embark on a nice West Coast trip here
00:42over the next week, week and a half here.
00:45So it shocks me a little bit here that New York is getting,
00:50is the favorite here slightly.
00:52Phoenix has been very good at home,
00:55and now you're getting them at plus money.
00:57The total, a little low for my taste in this one here,
01:01but can the Knicks start a new winning streak
01:04as opposed to, you know, losing games or alternating wins and losses,
01:09which is kind of what they've been doing
01:11ever since they got that NBA Cup in their building?
01:13The NBA people.
01:15We're going to talk a little NBA action right here on a football Friday,
01:17and we're going to get to some games in just a few moments.
01:19But I get angry at this league
01:21because I can see the greatness in the model that they want to be,
01:25and they're never going to make me commissioner
01:26because we would drop it from 80 games down to about 40 games,
01:29spread these games out, no back-to-backs,
01:31where you got actual anticipation for games coming up.
01:34I used to joke here, Joe, doing the early line with Kevin Walsh,
01:37and say, can you imagine the NBA if they had 17 games like the NFL
01:40and all they did was play on Sundays
01:42where you would just wait all week long
01:43and talk about LeBron James matchup going against, you know,
01:46Giannis Antetokounmpo, watching it play out like it was the Super Bowl every week,
01:49and the ratings were behind.
01:50They'd probably make just as much money as the NFL,
01:53but they're still scripted a little bit differently, 82 games on the schedule,
01:56and that's the way it is supposed to be.
01:58But now you take a look and say to yourself,
02:00all right, well, how can the NBA get better?
02:01Well, the superstars don't want to play.
02:03Like, we just had a trade for Trae Young,
02:05who's quote-unquote a superstar in the NBA.
02:08His new team acquires him, Joe, and you know what they said?
02:11You know what?
02:11It might be best if he doesn't even really play down the stretch at this point.
02:14We just sit him on the sideline,
02:15which brings up Giannis, minding a trade request.
02:17So let me get this straight.
02:18Giannis puts in a trade request, but Miami Heat goes to Miami.
02:21Miami goes like, let's not play him this year.
02:23Let's sit him out because we want to protect the draft pick.
02:25This league stinks.
02:26I'm sorry.
02:27I, listen, it's, there's a lot of head-scratching things happening with the NBA
02:33where you go and it shouldn't be this difficult.
02:36Like, it should not be this difficult.
02:39It never was, you know,
02:41and we're dealing with a generation of NBA players that, man, it's,
02:46it's all about, most of the times, Donnie,
02:48it's about anything and everything other than actually playing 82 games of
02:54basketball in a season.
02:55That's basically it right now.
02:57It's unreal.
02:58Let me talk about this next, this next topic, Joe,
03:01because I don't understand how we're misconstruing a lot of things.
03:05If I were to tell you, which everybody in the media knows this,
03:08Hey, by the way, Nielsen's going to change their ratings this year.
03:12Everything is going to be higher.
03:14And yet the national media continues to put out stuff like this.
03:17ESPN is one of its most viewed starts in NBA regular season.
03:21Everybody's watching the game.
03:22No, they're not.
03:23Wait till next year.
03:25Like, why are we missing the caveat here?
03:27And I'm not saying you're not getting more people, which again,
03:29next year you'll be able to tell year over year, but every single sports
03:33league, every tweet is like, Oh my goodness.
03:35And here's where you're going to fall into the trap, Joe.
03:37The WNBA, look at our record ratings.
03:40You better pay us now.
03:41Doesn't the WNBA actually negotiate with the players going like,
03:44there's an automatic bump.
03:45Like sometime when I was in a high school,
03:46like the SAT got a bump of like a hundred points and Hey,
03:49look how much smarter.
03:50No, you just got a free bump here.
03:52Why are we not explaining this with an asterisk saying,
03:55what a great start quote quote year asterisk.
03:58It's really not that hot of a start because we bumped all the ratings up
04:01right now.
04:02Why are we missing this?
04:03I, it's laughable when they promote that without explaining that.
04:09Yeah.
04:09Well, given that this is the first year where now we're just,
04:13we're, we're setting it up where if somebody happens to be changing the
04:16channels and comes across the NBA game and passes all that,
04:20that's a viewer.
04:21We've got viewers now.
04:24That's a four hour viewer.
04:25Where are you getting these numbers from?
04:28And by the way, what, why now?
04:31What all of a sudden decide you needed to change the metrics now.
04:34I, I please, uh, unbelievable to me, uh, Donnie,
04:38how they get away with it.
04:38And by the way,
04:39there's only one company that gives you these numbers.
04:42It's not like you can compare it to anybody else, Donnie,
04:44because they're the only game in town.
04:47It's because I can't wait.
04:49Cause I need this next year when I need the side by side,
04:52like, Oh my, what happened to the WNBA?
04:54They're down 15% across the board,
04:56but they're not really because you got the bump from the year before next year.
04:59If you increase your viewership by 15% next year, year over year,
05:03then you're doing something right.
05:04But please put the asterisk in there at this point,
05:07let's get to some games in the association tonight out on the West coast,
05:10the Milwaukee bucks.
05:10And we keep talking about Giannis Antetokounmpo.
05:12The boys are in town to take on the Lakers.
05:15The Lakers are a slight favorite threes to three and a half in the marketplace in a
05:18total of two 30 and a half.
05:19Do we get the Lakers to rise up and play some defense in this game?
05:23And Hey, LeBron, you're going to play tonight against the bucks.
05:26Defense.
05:27Absolutely not.
05:29There will be no defense here.
05:32This will be the Giannis versus Luca game.
05:34That's exactly what you're going to get here.
05:36These two guys,
05:37I would be going nothing but over props for both of them.
05:41When it comes to points,
05:43just,
05:43just take them all points,
05:45rebounds is take them all over here tonight between these two teams,
05:49because nobody,
05:50neither of these two teams are going to play a ton of defense.
05:53Doc river is going to get the boys to play D out here.
05:56Maybe another tough practice for the Lakers.
05:57If they don't play defense tonight against the Milwaukee bucks,
06:00we'll see how the pro athletes actually like to hear that.
06:02Philadelphia 76ers in the Orlando magic.
06:04We'll get to that's a seven o'clock start down in O town tonight with the
06:08six on the road as a favorite by three points.
06:10Why some key injuries to try to keep an eye on right now.
06:13Obviously Jalen Suggs with the name finds what the Wagner boys here.
06:16We don't know if MV it's going to show up.
06:18Oubre is going to show up.
06:19You got to watch.
06:20You got to watch till like maybe five o'clock before you bet it,
06:22Joe.
06:23Yeah,
06:24no,
06:24you better because I,
06:25again,
06:26especially with these two teams,
06:27no idea who's playing on a night to night basis.
06:31I got an idea about our number two,
06:33Joe and Donnie.
06:34We're probable.
06:35We're ready to go on day to day people.
06:37But for me tonight,
06:38I'm going to go back to the association.
06:40I'm going to told you yesterday.
06:41I was like,
06:41you know,
06:42nobody's betting the Pacers who in their right mind is betting the Pacers
06:46last night.
06:46I told you your boy DRS was taking the Pacers at three and a half.
06:49And it turns out Joe,
06:50I didn't even need the three and a half as they want out right on the road
06:55against Charlotte tonight.
06:56We're going to go to the mile high city,
06:58the Atlanta Hawks who just traded away their superstar taking on the Denver
07:02nuggets.
07:02How about this?
07:03The Hawks are getting points in this game.
07:05Plus one and a half.
07:06But what if I told you,
07:07Joe,
07:0727% of the tickets are coming in on the Hawks.
07:09And we don't really have any line movement early so far.
07:12Nobody wants to take the Hawks.
07:15You know,
07:15who's taking the Hawks.
07:16You boy DRS is taking the Hawks tonight in the mile high city,
07:20Joe,
07:20let's go against the grain again and catch some tickets.
07:23All right.
07:24I don't even ain't broke.
07:25Let's not fix it here.
07:26And listen,
07:28I think Atlanta might have a little bit of juice tonight.
07:31Finally,
07:31they got rid of the cancer in the locker room.
07:33What do you think here with Trey young?
07:35I like the Hawks and I like your pick there.
07:38You know,
07:39but I think już
07:42you know.
07:43All right.
07:43So,
07:44you know,
07:44a helping facility is great.
07:45I don't want to be
07:45aech or Mahler.
07:46A training staff
07:46is great
07:47to share that last time.
07:47All right.
07:48We'll also get,
07:48you know,
07:49all right.
07:49There we go.
07:50All right.
07:51All right.
07:51So,
07:52we should be
07:52before the law of theнит.
07:53So,
07:53we should be
07:55before the law of the law,
07:57we should go
07:58in theredrift.
07:58So,
07:58currently,
07:59we can still get too,
07:59so,
08:00let's go out there.
