FULL NBA Today | Celtics land Ivica Zubac? – Michael Porter Jr. traded to Clippers? – Wemby return?

FULL NBA Today | Celtics land Ivica Zubac? – Michael Porter Jr. traded to Clippers? – Wemby return?

Breaking news here involving Victor Wimbeyama ahead of tomorrow’s matchup against OKC. Shams Shirania joins us now here. Shams, what’s the latest? What can you tell us? George, sources tell me Victor Womanyama is expected to make his return action on Saturday against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Las Vegas in the NBA Cup semi-finals. The timing has worked out perfectly for the Spurs, for WBY to make his return. You have the Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs. Two of the best young teams in the NBA. We against Cadet. And this marks the end of the Spurs’ cautious process ever since Wemanyama sustained this calf strain that he had almost one month ago. He actually wanted to play, I’m told, Wednesday in the cup game against the Lakers, but the Spurs held him out. Both sides made the decision to get him a couple days more of ramp up time, rehab work. He’s checked all the boxes from my understanding, passed all the tests. He’s gone through multiple rounds of five on five sessions as well as he looks to make his return to action on Saturday. Excellent news, Shams. Thank you so much. Appreciate it. All right, welcome to NBA today alongside the Hall of Famer Mark Spears, NBA champion Kendrick Perkins, and of course our front office insider Bobby Marks. I’m George Sedano in for Malikica Andrews. Perk, what do you have to say? What do you think this means for the Spurs and their chances though? A brawl for it all. Look, I’m still I’m still taking the thunder. I’m still taking the thunder. I think we all agree we always are ready to see a a Chet versus Wimby matchup, but I’m looking forward to the perimeter matchup. I’m looking forward to Stefon Castle, De’arra Fox, uh uh Dylan uh Harper against that that those perimeter dogs over there against Oklahoma. That’s what I’m looking forward to. nine and three without Victor. That was the big question if they can keep their head above water. And as Perk said, expect a speed game when you look at certainly with Shay out there, Kase Wallace who was dinged up a little bit and then you add the three guards in San Antonio and now you add Victor into this matchup. Uh this is going to be this is not going to be a running clock type game that we’ve seen a lot for these Oklahoma City opponents. This should be uh one competitive game. Mark, both these teams have looked very good here down the stretch. Obviously OKC historic. They’re looking almost as good as Perk right now today on this set. What do you make of Victor Wyama returning? You know, Mariah Care’s performing there tomorrow. Okay. So was Zack Brown, Barry Manalo, David Copperfield. Okay. But you know what I want for Christmas? What? All I want for Christmas is to see Wimi. Yes, sir. I’m telling y’all. Where’s my camera at? Where’s my camera? If y’all ain’t seen Wimby in person before, which Perk surprisingly hasn’t. I’m telling you, go buy a ticket and see this. There’s nothing in Vegas like it. There’s nothing in the world like it. You got to see the 74 guy. George, you know, we were in Dallas. Oh man, that opener. Yeah. If you have not seen this, get as close as tickets as you can cuz there’s no show like the Wimby show. And And look, I’m I’m going to say this though. Yes, this is a huge stage, right? And the last time we seen Wimby on a big stage Christmas day, I think he put up something like 40 and 18 or some crazy numbers like that. But this is a measuring stick for for the uh uh San Antonio Spurs. They’re trying to get where OKC is at, right? And when you think about how they didn’t built out their roster, right? Trying to get those two-way players trying to be able to compete. So, yes, this does matter cuz you got 500k on the line. Yeah. Right. But also this is a measuring stick because Vic can win beyond but win now. Highest the highest measuring stick. Yeah. I mean the Thunder are running through everybody. Right. They’re on a pace to lead set a new record for for margin of victory like even when they’re hurt. Break their own record. Yeah. Break their own record. So I I know Lakers fans are disappointed but I’m excited about this game. Yeah. Especially with WBY back in tow. That changes the dynamics for sure. There’s another matchup. But I don’t know if you guys realize that in the East as well, the Knicks and the Magic. And let’s take a look at their season series here as this will be the fourth meeting between the Knicks and Magic already with Orlando winning two of the first three. The Magic are one of two teams with multiple wins against New York this season. The Magic are also the only team to win at Madison Square Garden this season. Orlando scored 119 points per game against the Knicks, but they will be without their leading scorer in this matchup. France Vagner, as you see there, who got hurt. As for the Knicks, Jaylen Brunson has starred against the Magic, averaging 31 points and nearly nine assists per game in the matchup. He led them to a win in their most recent meeting on Sunday in the Garden. Now joining us here on NBA Today, Knicks reporter Vincent Goodwill. The Knicks have won eight of their last nine games. Vinnie, what’s been the key to their recent search? Well, if you remember, Mike Brown used to be an assistant coach with the Golden State Warriors and he coached a guy named Andre Egodala and Josh Hart kind of fits the profile of that player according to Mike Brown, a guy who can do a little bit of everything and you kind of have to fit and work your way around him. Since he’s been reinserted back into that starting lineup, the Knicks have gone eight out of nine. He’s averaged 16, 10, and six assists, shooting 45% from three. The teams opposing him are leaving him open. They’re playing it with centers. He’s hitting jump shots. And then he’s turning back to the benches and telling them, “Don’t leave me open.” The Knicks a couple of weeks ago were floundering. We weren’t sure exactly what the injury situation was. Now, they are right back in second in the East, and they are considering themselves right back where they want to be. And a big reason for that is Josh Hart being right back in the starting five. Yeah, Josh Hart certainly fun to watch. He’s worth the price of admission for a number of different reasons as well. All right, Vince, thank you so much. Appreciate it. All right, so look, the Knicks have won, you know, what is it, 59 of their last 19. Perk, what do the Knicks need to prove here to get this thing done and win the NBA Cup? Well, I mean, it it goes through, look, we know what Big Body Bronson is going to do. We know he he going to give you a 30 piece. It don’t matter who in front of him, but it comes down to the most important player on this team and that’s called Anthony Towns. They need him to play like a grown ass man, right? And he’s been doing that. Not just worrying about scoring the basketball. He’s been dominating the glass. He’s second in the league in rebounding and he got to continue to have a defensive presence. And now we’re starting to see that passion from Carl Anthony Towns that needs to travel to Vegas. You know what? I’m I am interested and and Vince talked about Josh Hart here as far as do teams start to game plan him a little bit more. The Knicks are eight and one in their last n in the nine games that Hart has started. He’s shooting 57 and 43 from deep here. Uh I thought he was the X factor in their win against Toronto the other night where he scored 21 points. Now, if you game plan against Josh Hart, then that leaves more shots open for Jaylen Brunson or Muel Bridges or OG Anobi. And I think that’s something to watch uh in this game against Orlando. You know, this is a franchise that hasn’t won a championship since 73. I mean, I don’t know if an NBA cup I wasn’t born, I’ll tell you that. I won’t say I wasn’t, but uh they if they get this, it’s not only good for your fan base. Finally, something to really celebrate. And I don’t know if they’ll put it up in MSG, but I think they have to. I mean, the Lakers did, so they they’ll have to. But this is a statement for them. This is an opportunity to make a statement for the league, a statement with Mike Brown that this franchise is for real. I I know they’re for real, but if you could get through your one of your new rivals, the Magic, who seem like they play him all every other day, but to beat the Thunder or to beat the Spurs, win that half a million and make that statement in Vegas, I think that’d be huge for the Knicks. Perk, you wanted to get you wanted to get back in. No, no, I agree. I agree with Mark, Mike Brown, right? Being able to win and succeed at any level under a new coach is a great is a great thing for any organization, especially the Knicks because the one thing about players is that when you have a new coach, you want to believe in that system. You want to believe so much that you can win at a high level. And here it is with that it’s like this a high level. It’s not the NBA championship, but it is something. And now you can see that, you know, now you could have that trust factor between the players and Mike Brown go to another level. We already see it trending in the right direction, but now it could go a level up. Well, and to your point, Perk, we’ve seen where a team like Indiana went to the NBA Cup and then the next year they were in the finals, right? Like these experiences do matter. That’s for sure. All right. Coming up, the Clippers problems run deeper than just the box scores. by some at this desk are saying it’s time for the team to take a hard look at smooth night at the office for Nikico who scored 36 points on 14 of 16 from the floor in just 29 minutes. The Nuggets went on to blow out the Kings which left Sacramento fans booing and chanting quote sell the team Spears. What can the Kings do with Scott Perry get to work? I mean you got vets that aren’t totally happy with the coaching staff. Um, I think they just need to clean out and the date is come Monday, right, Bobby? Start doing that. Yeah, it’s going to be uh a lot of work there for Scott P. Take it easy on him. Next up, John Morant has been upgraded to probable tonight versus Utah after missing the last 10 games. Bobby, Memphis won seven of those games without him. What does Morant’s return mean for Memphis? Well, I’m interested in what John Morant do we get here? Do we get the John Morant that that they were 4 and8 when he played and he shot 36 from the field and 16% from three. Remember the success with Memphis came with Zack Edy who is now out for an extended period of time. All right. Well, we’ll be glued to see what happens there. Next up, Alurn Shangon had his 12th double double of the season as the Rockets edged out the Clippers. And Shangon was just going to work. You see it there. inside, outside, spin move, turn around, hook shot. He had it all working, okay? Getting his teammates involved. But another big reason was cuz the Clippers, you’ll see this in just a moment, had plays like this three-point game. No one comes back to inbound the ball. And then Nicholas Batum does. He steps in at the end, steps over the line. Perk, what is this, man? A dumbass play. A dumbass play. A dysfunctional organization. A team full of vets. That should never happen. Not not with Kawawaii and James and Nicholas Batoon. Like we’re talking about veterans here. We’re not talking about a young group. And even in AU basketball, they can inbound the damn basketball. But look, let’s let’s get bigger here. When they talk to the Clippers, we got to address the elephant in the room. The elephant in the room is Kawhi Leonard. You know what I mean? And it’s time to move on from Kawhi Leonard. It’s time for the Los Angeles Clippers to trade Kawhi Leonard. They have been trending downward since they signed him. Look at what all they lost. They didn’t lost damn near everything. And look, we know when he’s on the floor, he’s going to perform. We understand that. But the problem is he’s never available. And so when you think about how he’s set this franchise back 10, 15 years and you look at what OKC is doing and all the picks that they own and you look at the decisions behind the scenes that he voices his opinion behind his hand time and time again, they need a reset and that reset starts with moving on from Kawhi Leonard. Bobby, yeah, listen, I think they’re going to need to be open for business when we get closer o over the next two months leading up to February 5th. back me up. Of I mean listen I mean it is you guys are like a good buddy cop movie right now. It is what it is right like and I I I think you know I’m not naive to you know to know that they don’t control their first round picks in the next four years and that we know that pick goes to Oklahoma City and their swap rights next year but I think when you have to in order to go forward you almost have to take two steps backs and what does two steps backs mean? I think you have to look at Kawhi Leonard James Harden as far as on this roster. Both players have two years left on his contract. They’ve got to get the Chris Paul situation resolved here. The player that has the most value on the roster is Zecha Zubach. But goodness gracious, he’s got on a on a great contract here. If you’re going to move off him, you better be hoping to get multiple picks back. But yes, I do think this roster has to take a step back as far as where they’re going. They’re six and 19. Can they get into playing perhaps here, but I think they have to look at the big picture moving forward. Covered is bare right now. Mark, how do you feel about all this? You know, in 2020 in the bubble, I saw the most disappointing Clippers team ever, probably the most disappointing NBA team ever. They could have been champions. They were that talented. This team is a close second. This is a team that went seven games with the Nuggets. Uh, a team that I had big expectations for. I think all of us did, right? And there’s the investigation, then there’s the losing, then there’s a Chris Paul situation. And I’m starting to feel like Chris Paul got a blessing in disguise. assuming he could get somewhere else like to make this his final chapter would have been horrible for him. Hopefully he gets in the right spot, but man, I mean Well, you know, real real quick on it. The one thing the video didn’t show and we we saw Batum go over the line. There was no Clipper player come back for Well, he was the only one that came. Yeah. I mean, yeah. James, nobody came back to make an effort to come get the ball. This is the host of the All-Star game. Like so when All-Star games come, there’s going to be a cloud hanging over into it. Yeah, it’ll be fascinating to see how it all works itself out. Still plenty of time though as deals can be traded soon. All right, the Magic will face the Knicks in the NBA Cup semi-finals. How did they get here? First, they went 4-0 in their group, winning by an average of 16 points per game. In the quarterfinals, Orlando took down the Miami Heat. Desmond Bane led the way, matching a season high with 37 points, while Jaylen Suggs had 20 points for the third time in the last four games. And this continued a hot stretch for the Magic where they’ve won 14 of their last 20 games during the span. They’ve ranked in the top 10 in both offense and defensive efficiency. And now joining us on NBA Today is Jaylen Suggs. Jaylen, listen. I just mentioned you guys have won 14 of the last 20. You guys had a bit of a challenging start to the season. How is it that you guys are here right now? What was said during those times, during the tougher times to get you back to this point? uh trying to stay with the process. Um you know, we understood that it was a long season. We understood that we were still making adjustments. Uh Dez was still, you know, getting welcomed into the city. Um Tai was still getting welcomed to the city. We’re still trying to understand how we wanted to play offensively in terms of our flow, where we’re getting looks, where we’re getting shots. Um and those things just kind of take some time. Uh you know, we did as much as we could through camp and our preseason games, but uh you know, obviously season starts and you know, you want to get off to a hot start. Uh and we we didn’t do it. But um coming together and having the conversations I think that’s where we’ve taken the biggest growth this year is that whenever things go sideways or things go wrong or there’s a a challenge to figure out I think we come together and have really good dialogue in terms of how to move forward past it and uh how to accomplish the task at hand and um that’s exactly what it took you know and then we just put our heads down and you know made it a standard that we’re coming out playing hard uh turning up our defense um and hooping and uh you know it’s led to a lot of good wins. I think we’ve been playing pretty good basketball and uh yeah, we’re just looking to continue to build. You know, Jaylen, you’re you’re you’ve already played New York three times. This is going to be the fourth time you’ve played them in the last two months. And we put up a stat that uh Jaylen Brunson has averaged 32 points. However, he shot five for 20 from three. You don’t have to tell me the secrets as far as guarding him, but what what do you got to do to make life a little bit more difficult for him? Yeah, man. Uh the defending in this league is is already tough just with the amount of talent uh you know that’s that’s in the league. Um especially offensively and the athleticism. Uh Jaylen Brunson’s at the top of that list in terms of bucket getters um and facilitators for their team. Uh so really just trying to make it tough, man. Uh force him into spots, you know, that are tough makes um that he’s been, you know, uncomfortable in. Um and then just guard one uh one on five. You know, it’s not one-on-one. Uh you know, we got gaps. You know, we got our bigs. Dale Gold have done a great job um at being at the rim and uh and giving them different stabs and looks coming off pick and roll. Um then as far as just the guards uh you know trying not to send them to the line as much as we can. Uh you know that’s free rhythm and free buckets uh you know for any hooper especially one with such offensive such offensive load like Brunson has when you can get to the line slow the game down and get your rhythm going uh it’s huge for you uh in terms of what you’re doing that night. So that’s kind of the culmination of things that we’re trying to do. But um you know at the end of the day you got to go strap them up and uh and go choose to play defense. And I think that myself, Dez, Fron, AB, uh and the rest of our squad have have tried to do that. You know, every time that we match up against the Knicks. Hey Jaylen, Mark Spears here. Man, it’s it’s been a tough road for you. You missed last season, I mean a lot of last season. You missed the playoffs. How did you get through it mentally, physically, and how much do you appreciate where you are now being involved? Oh man, uh growing up in this league is so cool. Uh the the NBA is so dope for that just in terms of the things that it exposes you to uh the challenges that it presents to you, especially you know being one and done at a young age. Uh kind of forced you to grow up a little fast. Um which I’ve appreciated. Um hasn’t all been easy. Uh like you’re talking about in terms of the injury. I think that being the hardest part couple years and having missed time and rehab and surgeries and offseason um is definitely a struggle. Um, more so I think mentally, physically, I mean, it’s what we do. We go to work, uh, we’re in the weight room, we’re in the gym. Uh, you know, perfecting our craft every day, uh, in some way, shape, or form. Uh, but mentally, you know, it can definitely get tough, you know, in terms of the amount of time and effort that you have to allocate, uh, you know, to your game, to your craft. Um, and you know, that takes away from, you know, your people, uh, family going different places and doing doing other things. So, um, you know, I think my faith has been the main pillar, uh, that’s helped me, you know, throughout my career. um you know, injuries, ups and downs, uh in terms of playing well and and not playing well, um wins and losses. Um you know, I think my faith has been consistent in all of that. And I’m able to lean on someone bigger than myself. Uh so, you know, my imperfections uh don’t weigh as heavy anymore and and I can put that weight on the on the man above. So, all the credit goes to him. Honestly, my family holds me down and uh we have a great group in Orlando, so it makes coming to work uh you know, and and being on that grind easier every day, for sure. Well, well, young fella, I’m happy to see you back on the floor. I enjoy watching you play, but I always want to look at big picture, right? And and watching watching OKC a young team win the championship last year, watching Indiana make strides and go to the NBA finals. Do y’all have the belief in that locker room that y’all could get it done this year or even next year, but I’m looking at this year. Are y’all preaching championship? Absolutely. Um, absolutely. That’s our standard. Uh, and it’s dope. um that that’s part of the evolution um that that I’ve got to experience in this league, you know, going from, you know, 19 22 win seasons um you know, to actually, you know, purposefully chasing championships um and where we’re at right now. Uh and it’s way more fun, man. You have much more on the line. There’s much more responsibility um not pressure, but just responsibility in terms of holding yourself, you know, to a standard for the goal that you want to achieve. Um you know, and especially seeing OKC go do it. um you know, not only a young team, uh and fully talented with guys who are positionless and can play all over the floor, but you know, having my brother Chad win it, um you know, someone who I grew up with and I got to see every step of his process made it just feel really attainable. You know what I’m saying? That that it’s it can actually be done and um and it’s not too far off. Um so I think all of us are really intentional in terms of we have a chance, you know, a window uh to make a run the same way Indiana took took advantage of theirs last year. Um, and then once you get there, uh, you know, it just comes down to winning four games before the other team does. And, um, we all have, you know, that self-confidence and belief that, uh, we can put it together. And by that that point in the year, um, you know, we’ll be in position to go contend for one. So, you know, I think if you think any anything else, uh, you know, it it’ll be unachievable. So, you know, that that’s what we’re all shooting for for sure. Jaylen, last one for you. We had some fun at your guy Desmond Bane’s expense from that game on Sunday when he threw the ball at OG Anovi. What were you guys thinking when all that was going down? What did you say to him after the game? Cuz even he had to laugh about it later. Bro, I told Dez, bro, I love you, bro. You’re the funniest dude I know. I’ve never seen nothing like that on the basketball court. I’ve never seen nothing like it, man. So funny. But but I’m riding with him, bro. Right, wrong, or indifferent, man. I’m rocking with Dez cuz it’s him, man. He’s authentically himself and passionate even when he playing dodgeball on the hoop court. Yeah, that was crazy, man. That was crazy. You take him in an arm wrestling match or Popeye going to take you down because that man’s got big arms. I don’t wrestle Dez no more. We We had a couple moments during the beginning of the year. He too strong for that. I stay away from him. Good for you. Smart man. Hey, man. Listen, good luck this weekend. The last time you were in a semi-final, you hit a big shot. You ended up on the scorers table like D. Wade many years ago. So, good luck uh to you guys this weekend. Okay. My dog. Appreciate y’all OG’s, man. Yes, sir. Take care. There he is. And then there were four. The NBA Cup spotlight shifts to Vegas with the Knicks and Magic fighting for a chance at the final, followed by the Spurs taking on the scorching hot OKC Thunder looking to continue their historic run. On the Spurs side, we welcome in Michael C. Wright from Las Vegas. So, Michael, all things considered, now how do the Spurs feel about this potential matchup with OKC George, this is their NBA finals. This ain’t football, but it’s their Super Bowl. That’s how important this is for the San Antonio Spurs. You go back and you look at their roster and you look at some of the core guys on it, the Devin Bells, the Kilden Johnson’s, even Victor Womenyama, you know, just some of these young guys, they have not played in any meaningful games during their tenures with the San Antonio Spurs. If you want to go back and find a meaningful game, you got to go all the way back to 2022 when they played the New Orleans Pelicans in the playin tournament. So, you’re talking about a team with a six-year playoff drought. And this team sees this as an opportunity to sort of build that muscle memory that you that you need in meaningful games that will carry you like in the playoffs and things like that. And besides that, Kell Johnson also wants to get a llama with his winnings. You know, he’s got to add to that that that ranch he’s got outside San Antonio. All right, Michael. We’re looking forward to it. Thank you so much. Appreciate it. All right, so the expectation is Victor will be on the floor and despite all the Spurs success without him, it’s safe to say that San Antonio will need if they’re going to have a chance against OKC. Look, the Thunder uh obviously have come into NBA Cup play undefeated here, winning by nearly 25 points per game. That’s right. They’ve outscored teams by 124 points in the five cup games. So, let’s check in with Tim McMahon. All right, Tim. They lost last year. What do they expect out of this experience? Howdy, Georgie. They lost last year to the Bucks in the finals, but the Thunder actually felt like they benefited from that experience and not just playing in the high stakes game, but more being in this atmosphere. It’s a it’s a unique atmosphere. You know, the the practices are everything’s organized by the NBA, the press conference. It’s kind of a circus. And they felt like that prepared them for a little bit of what they were going to face in the finals. And look, they are here as Jayen Williams said, “If we’re going to play in it, we want to win it.” They don’t have some kind of vendetta is the way he put it in terms of like trying to avenge last year’s loss for the Bucks. But the Thunder tried to win every single game they played. They’ve been almost successful in that this year. Obviously 24-1, you’re looking at 72 and 10 over their last 82. And you know, hey, as as much money as these guys have, they’d like to add another 500 and change. So, they’re in it to win it here in Las Vegas. All right, Tim. Appreciate it, brother. I’ll see you in Vegas. All right, this had us looking through today’s thread posts. Content creator Christian Staples posted, “If WMY plays in the Emirates Cup game, I think they’ll upset OKC.” That’s my hot take. And fans, don’t forget to keep the conversation going on thread, scan the QR code, and of course, jump in the conversation. Is anyone here gonna give OKC or anyone other than OKC a chance to win the NBA Cup? What do you think, Big Park? You asking the wrong person? You all over OKC. All over. All over. You want me to go get my jacket out the I know. I seen it. I seen it Wednesday. We can make it Wednesday and Friday, man. Look, listen. I I think it’s going to be high level competition. I think the Spurs are going to put up a fight for about two and a half quarters and then all of a sudden OKC is going to take it to the next level. Cuz remember they lost in the cup last year down in the in the championship, but they didn’t have check. Now they fully loaded. Oh, they coming out there to handle bit. They did get bullied last year, Bobby, against here. Two numbers to watch when we we watch this game on Saturday. Plus five in the first quarter and plus six in the first quarter. That’s the point separation Oklahoma City is. They come out blazing in the first to start the game and they will start playing defense like we saw against Phoenix. and they will start right off the right when the second when the first half is over in that third quarter. Mark, there’s a lot of great matchups in this uh Thunder Spurs game. But Wimby Chat, there’s that rivalry that goes back to when they’re teenagers playing international ball. Something about Cadet that just brings something out of Wimi. I know he’s going to be rusty, but I look forward to seeing them tomorrow and on Christmas. All right, real quick. Nobody’s giving the East a shot. No. Okay, fair enough. I love Big Body Bronson, but Okay, fair enough. All right. Julius Randle has been doing it all for the Timberwolves this season as he’s on pace for just the second 26 and six season in franchise history. He joined Prime 20203 kg. Randall caught up with our Malikica Andrews. Let’s take a listen. Joining us now, Timberwolves forward Julius Randall. Julius, as always, we appreciate you taking the time. Of course. I appreciate you having me. Absolutely. All right, let’s chat a little bit because you arrived right before training camp, right? Your first year in Minnesota. Now you’re settled in with this team. It’s year two. You’re actually outpacing the start you had last year when you went to the conference finals, but you’re just 2 and eight against teams that are 500 and above. So, how do you assess your team’s play in the first quarter of the year here? Uh just a little up and down. You know, obviously we feel like we’ve given away games that we easily could have um at least three or four of them. Uh, and you know, we played well in games and we found and found ways to win when we didn’t play uh when we didn’t play well. So, um, it’s it’s been up and down. Um, you know, we’ve won a good amount of games, but and not and have not played our best basketball. So, yeah, that’s encouraging uh from that standpoint. You know, we got a long way to go. Um, and it’s a long season. So, you just try to take a stride. Anthony Edwards having another fantastic season, but he’s getting doubled quite a bit. And when that happens, when he’s facing that kind of pressure, that’s when you start cooking. How do you look to take advantage of the attention that Ant’s getting there? Um, I mean, it’s it’s us as a collective, like we got to, you know, make sure uh he he’s going to draw a lot of attention and um you know, teams are obviously looking to slow him down. So, it’s up to us as teammates um just to give him outlets to be in the right spots when he gets double team. So, you know, and give him proper spacing uh to work. So maybe he doesn’t get doubles doubled as much. But you know, for me it’s always just being in an aggressive mindset. Um if I can be aggressive and take the pressure off of him where defenses have to give, you know, me a good amount of attention or Jaden or or or Dante, whatever it is, a good amount of attention, it just frees the game up for him. I’m curious when when has aunt made you laugh the hardest maybe over the last couple of months of the season? Uh every day. out there every never know what it’s going to be but you know it’s going to be something so got to brace for it. It’s certainly a fun a lot of fun to watch you all play and the chemistry that you all have been building. And recently Julius you opened up and shared maybe some of the things that you changed when you went to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Things you left behind that’s really allowed you to even elevate your game to another level. Can you just share with us what some of those things were? Yeah, I mean for me it was just about, you know, the life that I wanted to create for myself. Not just basketball, but uh outside of basketball, just being waking up being happy every day. Uh enjoying life. You know, you work so hard to be in this position and you know what’s the point of it? You can’t work hard. I mean, work hard and not enjoy it. So for me, I I worked with uh you know, somebody who’s been great for me and Dr. Aean. And you know, one of the the big things I had to give up was smoking. He was like, “Listen, you want to play another 10 years, you can’t smoking is terrible for your brain, you know, and his he’s big on brain health.” So, it’s obviously big life changes and it’s it’s committing uh to him. But, I’m glad I did because you know, like I said, every day I wake up super excited, happy. I got better relationships in life uh you know, with teammates, you know, my work life is great. So, it’s just a great balance that I have every single day and you know, it comes with with sacrifice, but I love it. I appreciate you sharing that and that’s such a powerful reframe, right? is I remember I would wake up in the morning and my alarm clock would go off and it would be early and the first thing out of my mouth would be not kind word. It’s like gosh I have to get up right now and trying to reframe just that moment so the first thing in my brain every single morning wasn’t something negative. It was how lucky am I I get to whatever the thing is. So I appreciate you sharing that and that that mind body connection. You’re you’re joining us today as a part of a new partnership with Datiz, the ready to go protein shakes. And on Monday, you sent Dylan Brooks to the ground shoulder bump before riding finding Rudy Goar. So, which players do you think you you need that extra protein the most against? Right. Who’s the strongest players that you’re going up against day in and day out? Uh, you know, I don’t I don’t know if it’s anybody particular. You know, I’m not gonna give anybody too much credit, but Diamond Tise definitely helps me, you know, make sure I got the the proper fuel every single night. Yep. Especially I got my my cocoa pebbles uh that I that’s the best one that that I love, you know, taking every single day to make sure I just had that extra protein uh you know and the extra fuel when I go out there. So, I’m not going to give anybody credit, you know, I’ll give Diamond credit for having me ready. Before we go, I wanted to ask you about a Timberwolves super fan, your son Kaiden, because he recently went viral, right? precious courtside reaction on the Dante Devanchenzo 3. I know he gives you a lot of feedback. How is you How have you assessed your game so far? And what did you think of this clip? So cute. Oh man, I love it. I love it. Like he’s been doing this since he’s for knowing the camera him and what to do when the camera’s on him. So I love it. I love it. And I’m kind of getting a little jealous because I hit a three the other day and I ran back and I looked to do the, you know, celebration for him and he wasn’t in his seat. I’m looking at mom like where’s he at? So I got a little jealous. But yeah, he’s he’s a star, man. I love it though. That just means you’re gonna have to run it back so you can get that moment again. Julius, we always appreciate the time. Thank you so much for stopping by NBA today, my friend. Be well and happy holidays. Say happy holidays. All right, great stuff there from Malikica and Julius. It’s now time for Shoot Your Shot brought to you by DraftKings Sportsbook. Check out these notable player props. Watch me shoot my side. I’m going with Julius Randle. 20 and a half points over averaging 22 for the season. He is. You’re right. I’m going to go with the chef’s return. Perk, come on, man. You got to go with the chef coming back. He’s actually had some really good games, too, in Minnesota, too.

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