Nick Wright on LeBron vs. MJ, the NBA’s gambling problem & who is the best team in the East?

Yahoo Sports senior NBA reporter Vincent Goodwill is joined by Nick Wright from FOX Sports for a discussion about LeBron vs. Michael Jordan, the NBA’s gambling problem and more.

00:00 – Welcome to the Good Word
00:50 – Are we done with the 90s? (MJ vs. LeBron)
22:10 – Is Scottie Pippen overrated or overlooked?
31:10 – Is gambling ruining the NBA?
39:20 – Are you optimistic about the Lakers?
47:40 – Who is the best team in the East?

On this episode of the Good Word with Goodwill, Yahoo Sports senior NBA reporter Vincent Goodwill is joined by Nick Wright from FS1’s First Things First show to talk about everyone going on in and around the NBA.

First, social media is going crazy with NBA fans claiming to be “done with the 90s”. That leads to a fun conversation between Nick and Vincent, which essentially turns into a the GOAT debate between Michael Jordan and LeBron James, along with why Scottie Pippin is either overrated or overlooked.

Rudy Gobert was fined by the league for making a gesture and then claiming that the refs are affected by sports gambling. Nick tells his own tale of sports gambling and then explains why he thinks there will be a scandal involving officials in a major sport sometime soon.

Nick is a Lakers fan, so Vinnie asked him if he was worried about the Lakers likely being in the play-in this season. The guys agree that there is a big difference between being in the 7/8 seed against the 9/10 seed, and that the Lakers should do everything they can to avoid the Nuggets.

Finally, Nick says he’s going on TV to predict the Milwaukee Bucks will win the Eastern Conference this year. Vinnie also agrees that the Celtics have some serious flaws that make it hard to pick them despite all of their success. Can Jayson Tatum change their minds?

#nba #lebronjames #michaeljordan #losangeleslakers #milwaukeebucks #denvernuggets #bostonceltics #jaysontatum #scottiepippen #nbabetting

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Welcome to the good word my name is Vincent goodwolf senior NBA reporter for Yahoo sports we are part of the ball don’t live podcast get us wherever you get your podcast and of course we are also on YouTube so you see the gentleman sitting next to me he is a good friend

Of mine he is the host or co-host rather on F Sports 1’s first things first he is the host of what’s right with Nick Wright that he hosts alongside his son Dante bird Nick Wright how you doing what’s up Vinnie thanks for having me on

It’s been too long good to see you good to talk to you uh we got a lot of good stuff to get into I appreciate you having me hey man I have been wanting to have you on for a while so luckily uh you found some time in your schedule to

Come and sit with us um Nick of course right when we’re done with the 90s it’s just perfect just right when we we done with the ’90s so it’s a perfect timing for this I didn’t you know I didn’t cause that I mean I kind of did but I

Didn’t the I I I I don’t I can’t necessarily uh confirm or deny any uh connection I have to that Tik Tock Trend but go ahead B I feel like you did I’m not on Tik Tok I just if I get things I have the app like I’m not real active on

There and that just made me say I’m just really old that’s all yeah just made me say I’m really old and Nick you’re older than me no you’re damn older than you what I found interesting not to hijack it because I know we’re talk about a million things there are prior to this

Whole we’re done with the 90s where people decided to you know go back and actually watch you know basketball from the greatest era ever and draw their own conclusions what uh what I found so interesting is prior to like two weeks ago at least for me many of the most vocal

Jordan uh I don’t know what the right word is sycophants promoters whatever were people younger than both of us were people who you know there obviously is the older guard media but on social media some of the most vocal ones were people younger than both of us who I

Actually think are Kobe fans and they’re and their horse in this race is actually a roundabout defense of Kobe Bryant being the second best player ever to Michael Jordan and I think that’s where it came and now it’s come full circle to where or not Circle but now it’s come to

Where you know so many of the people are like wait a minute this guy didn’t dribble with his left hand are very young people and that maybe has gone a touch too far but who knows but go ahead we can talk about anything you want Nick

It is completely going too far like the way that we can cherry pick Clips like when the day comes that people see LeBron getting torched by JJ Berea and JJ reck baby that’s going to be a tough day for that’s fine you know what and

And here’s the here is I would argue the difference when those days happened in real time he was killed for it that is the distinction between the coverage of LeBron James and the Contemporary coverage of Michael Jordan which was once the Bulls started winning there was there was the only even lightly critical

Coverage of Michael resulted in blackballing of outlets and because of that and everyone was making money off it because of that there was you know not only a kids’s glove treatment but postc career a bit of a airbrushing Kate Middleton style of the record of the

Where you know what we are going to act as if the 1995 season didn’t happen we are going to do things that that are just going to f you know the the end of the story is this guy never failed and was the greatest ever LeBron’s story has

Been far more uh complicated and tumultuous and when J when they lost to the Mavs no one is going to be able to argue when they lost to the Mavs oh that we people didn’t discuss it people said he was cooked he was done he was a fraud

So I don’t know I I I think one guy’s historical record will age quite well but I know that’s not even why you had me on I just had to this is my first opportunity to do any media since this Tik Tock Trend really took off and I

Just I’m also not on Tik Tock but I do you know I do get sent things on Tik Tock and I and these kids the kids are all right as they say the kids are figuring some stuff out no the kids are dumb like there’s a reason that kids are

Kids okay and and I’m not a person that says everything that’s old is great and everything that’s new stinks I don’t sit there nor am I a member of Jordan Hive as people might know I grew up in Detroit okay that means it was ingrained

In my blood that I am not going to be a Michael Jordan sicko fan as you like to say but I do have eyes and I think the great thing about Nick Nick would have been a great lawyer I think Nick you probably could have gotten OJ off with

Johnny Cochran you could have been on that defense team cuz you have a great talent a gift of presenting an argument and making the argument greater than like the actual historical fact like you know what they always say man the truth is the greatest defense people are

Giving me all this credit like I’m I like I’m all of a sudden pulling a rabbit out of a hat I’m just presenting obvious facts that folks have decided to twist their brains around and here’s the other thing if I may that’s happening to Michael that is

Unfair but time comes for everyone and this will if you want to feel old this is going to make you feel old the amount the distance between the Bulls 72 win season I know where you’re going which was the moment I understand the statue said the greatest there ever

Was the greatest there ever will be when he retired the first time I get that part of it but the distance between when they had the 72- win season when he came back and they won the fourth championship that was when Michael was kind of universally regarded as the

Greatest player ever there was no real argument against it publicly at that point the distance in time between that championship and Russell’s last championship is the same amount of time between that championship and right now and that is and so if people were you know in 1996 being like hold on a

Minute what about Bill Russell’s 11 rings and people were like man forget you that was almost 30 years ago as different year of basketball it feels weird to say but the 72- win season was almost 30 years ago and a different year of basketball and so I think that you

Are I I forgot I think Kerman made this point that there are very few things across all of Pop Culture Sports media music anything that lasts longer than the last person who saw it happen you like that one stff and so Babe Ruth is one of those people right right

Beethoven Mozart Shakespeare those are those people in sports like I don’t know like I Bill Russell might be but he might not be like Bill Russell might get a bit of the J now maybe because Russell has the civil rights part of it and the where but Michael Jordan obviously will

He clears that bar right but many of these it gets harder and harder the once you get there’s only a handful of things in pop culture history that have lasted longer than 50 years like in music the Beatles are one of the only you know one of the only things I think Michael

Jackson will be at this point it feels like Taylor Swift might be Beyond but there’s not many we don’t know you know what I mean and so for it is weird to say but we are getting to the point to where the people who actually lived in breathed the full Jordan story are

Getting old I’m damn near 40 and I the you know that means that I was a toddler when he won his first MVP and so that so that is and so I do think there is an element of that happening here which is a unique one well I want to say it’s a

Counter but I think what you just touched on is very few things actually stand as institutions and you can even find it today there’s probably generally less respect for things that we consider institutional we’re more we’re going to challenge more things that we’ve been told more than ever I will say this if

Sports is a level of artistry you find me someone who has sung better than ARA Franklin because they only made one of those they only made one Whitney Houston and we’ve had all the information technology all the blueprints and we haven’t produced anything better than that and not to say that Michael Jordan

Is analogous to that but what I will say is this is as far as eras and I think this is where we have to be really really careful this is kind of where you have to listen to the elders not that I’m an elder but listen to the elders on

This it was a completely different game in the 9s and it was a game with in terms of the rules and the structure and the way teams were built those games were built for seven-footers to dominate and seven Footers to win and this dude was 66 and 195 pounds in that era and

Dominated even through the expansion I’m I’m the biggest person that says Nick expansion might be the greatest impediment to the Jordan argument because you added six teams from 1988 to 1995 and you didn’t have the talent to catch up with the teams and now you have

To add two teams because the talent is so great I’m com that’s the one argument I will give but the argument against that that I will say against LeBron is that LeBron has made the game for him where the Flor is spread and he can bully everybody down the lane and he’s

Bigger and faster than everybody else I won’t say the sliders are there for him but he’s playing this on all maybe all starter not all rookie but all starter and I felt like Jordan was playing on rules on all Madden yeah so I I mean I

That last piece I disagree with I also think LeBron’s career has been so long it has it is it has gone across multiple eras and multiple different versions but in general I agree with you that the greatest athletes ever you drop them in any era and they

Figure it out they adjust they you know there are there are exceptions to it like I do think is the that there are I wonder as great as a true winner and leader as Russell was because of his size you know how much of an impact

Would he have been able to have not not on the same level but he still would have been a great like there are so and I the idea that you know that Magic Johnson wouldn’t have been amazing in any era I think is ludicrous same with Jordan same with LeBron my frustration

Is somewhat twofold one is you are having a levelheaded conversation about this that a l that most people won’t which is most people do it only in One Direction which is they said they act as if everything was harder in the previous era when obviously it was not and when

People bring up things such as hand-checking not recognizing okay well that would mean LeBron would be allowed to do that and what would peak of his powers 68 240 pound LeBron James be like as a Defender with that tool in his toolbox seemed like it would be it would be relevant

And then the the other one that kills me on really kills me and then we can move on on the Jordan thing is everyone seems to agree myself included this was a insanely competitive individual if competitiveness could be measured maybe the alltime most competitive athlete across any sport ever and then in the

Same breath and they’re like but he was even by his era standards a terrible range shooter cuz he didn’t care about it that doesn’t make sense to me the idea that oh if he wanted to be good at three-point shooting he would have been

But he didn’t want to be no I kind of think he wanted to be awesome at everything and that was a tool that was not in his toolbox as evidenced by the fact that when they brought the line in for those two years he was excellent and

Then the moment they moved it back out he was bad again which leads me to believe for now if people want to argue well he would have focused on that more practiced that more and gotten better at it in today’s Ira fine but this idea

That he had that he could have ever been excellent at it I think Michael wanted to be excellent at everything and the best at everything whether it was pitching Nicholls playing baseball playing basketball you know shorting GameStop any of the above I think he

Wanted to be great at all of it and I think it’s unfair to say I think if in 30 years people are like oh if LeBron wanted to be a 90% free throw shooter he would have been that’d be ridiculous it’s like no it’s a he’s not because

He’s not so I just want to have an honest argument that’s all but we can also talk about to I I I do think as a as a postcript to that operating in the Triangle offense which he was in from 1989 until the end of his Bulls career

The three-point shot was still in his infancy and the triangle offense did not was not created for that that offense was created in the 70s there was no three-point shot then so it wasn’t going to be emphasized and the better use of him was going to be from 18 feet in in I

Think I agree with that I agree with that but my point is but that doesn’t change the fact that for that even by the standards and averages of the era he was below average at it so and so that that that’s the only point I agree I’m

Not talking about the volume of it I’m talking purely at if that that I think every shot Michael took he wanted to make for so the ones he missed I don’t think we can be like ah he didn’t care and that’s where a lot of the to me

Mythmaking has come into it where it’s like oh he didn’t he was didn’t want to win championships the years he didn’t no he did and by the way this is also why I’m not a count the Rings person you look back on those last two years the

Bulls didn’t win the title the two Pistons years right that was not because Michael wasn’t good enough that was because there were some bad sobs in Detroit that had a better team and was Michael at that was Michael at that point better than Isaiah he was

But Isaiah had the better team and now you and I are you me Chris brousard there are only a handful of people that I think give Isaiah his due yes because like you said Jordan was one of the reason Jordan was so special is because

He was so small I know he’s not small but compared to everyone who had ever LED their team to a title across NBA history he was the smallest except for Zeke and now we have 80 years of the NBA and we have two guys under 66 under Jordan’s height who have been the

Leading force on Champions a the unquestioned leading force on Champions certainly on multi-time Champions and that’s Zeke and Steph and so there there you yes it has to be acknowledged that there is a reason that AEM and Sam buy went ahead of Michael and it was because well I’m

Going to take the tall guy cuz it’s a league all about tall guys and he changed the math on that listen this is why I’ve always said there’s no shame in being the third greatest ever at something and I don’t know that’s and that’s why I have LeBron as number three

So you completely understand my AR do you have Kareem as to no no I used to have Kareem as two and I think the last time we actually talked about about this on air when I was a guest on on first things first I think it’s like 2018 I

Had LeBron as three and Kareem as two but I think I’m not a big fan of longevity as being the argument for why you are greater than someone but if one of your arguments is longevity with a comparable player LeBron’s back end of his career is greater than Kareem’s back end of his

Career by a country mild I think Kareem’s last great Kareem year was 86 and then they turn the team over to Magic and he won two more titles on the back end of that with with magic as lead Doc and I will say this especially as

Because people who know me know that you know I am a bad a child of the bad boys the greatest Jordan thing CU I’m I’m like you I don’t hold the count the Rings I’m not a count the Rings guy like once you’re a champion you’re a champion

In my book like I don’t view Kobe’s five a different way than I view LeBron’s 4 Jordan’s 6 at least not in a direct way but I will say this those two piston years that they won championships they lost a total of two games in nine bull

Series they went and ran rough shot through the entire playoffs except when they went against Michael Jordan in all those series they lost two games against the Bulls they gave a five like Jordan Jordan stole games that he shouldn’t have stolen that right and so that’s

Where and this is where and this is where I do enjoy not as much as the Jordan versus LeBron conversation but the like actual basketball history conversation like I can you one could make an Jordan I think Jordan’s greatest series ever is the finals against the

Suns but a remove that so let’s now talk second greatest series ever I guess you could make an argument that aside from that sun series two of Jordan’s three best series ever were in losses you can make that argument I don’t you know I I don’t know that it’s necessarily true

But you can make it just like I think you can make an argument the greatest series Braun ever played was the 09 Conference finals against the magic you know what I mean which was which gets forgotten history they lost in six yeah I mean it was and a game with the whole

Thing it was bananas or that the greatest playoff run he ever had was 2018 I actually think that you know what I mean I think that it culminated in the greatest game anyone’s ever played game one of the 2018 finals that game was a loss the FI this playoff run ended in

Being swept in the finals but I watched it and I watched this you know what I mean and so there is an element of nuance that should be uh you know assessed here so is your number three magic my number three is like I’m trying to figure out and Bo bowmani Jones makes

This great point of since when did we know that LeBron actually passed magic and I told him we never contextualized magic Beyond greatest point guard of all time we never actually had a discussion on where magic fit and I know you have a discussion on where magic fit if you

Have not checked out Nick Wright’s greatest 50 players of the last 50 years I think he did I think you did that two years ago and you did individual podcast on every player in the past 50 years that ranked on the list and regrettably Scottie Pippen was one of them um but

Yeah like yes well so that’s going to kill me too so that is going to kill me because I feel like so the reason I asked you so that’s fine M the reason I even asked you is as long as people’s top four is Kareem LeBron magic and Michael

We can have a real conversation about stuff you know what I mean I almost put set set the pre Kareem guys Russell and Wilt aside they they almost belong in a different categorization because of the era um but th those in my opinion have

To be the top four and then we can you know what I mean we can have a discussion from there the the but I must say and I know you want to talk about today’s games and so we can do that the concerted effort to minimize Scotty Pippen in

Service of promoting Michael Jordan is I think grotesque someone explain the 94 season to me explain it to me I will explain here’s the thing this is where I won’t say the Detroit comes into me you explain the 94 season I’ll explain the 95 season before Jordan came back cuz

There are oneyear sample sizes that are total anomalies and I think Pippen while he had a great season cost the Bulls the second round Series against the Knicks and then couldn’t sustain whatever he had going the next year because they were a barely 500 team and then he was

Begging Michael Jordan to come back so hold on wait so they the Bulls you’re saying in 1995 were barely 500 before Jordan came back they were 34 and 31 so three games over Michael Jordan played five seasons of his career without Scotti Pippen how many of those five

Seasons was he above 500 zero zero so do you know how many points do you know how many points Scotty Pippen scored his rookie year I’m just I listen I what all I’m saying is I think it is I think the the idea the the the only reason that

Folks in my opinion would have to try to act like Pippen was not a who would be a good comp right now for Scotty like as I would say it again not similar stylistically at all but similar as far as hierarchy of the league that aack

Apex Scotty was not in in the similar vicinity of a Devin Booker or Jason Tatum is crazy to me where he wasn’t Apex Scotty was somewhere from the fifth to ninth best player in the sport and again they they were not similar players I’m just trying to think of a

Contextualizing of where nobody ever I and maybe Celtics fans will get mad at me I’ve never once watched Jason Tatum been like I think he might be the best player in the league not a day of my life if I thought he’s the best player in the league same with Booker but they

Each have been at their Peak you know clear all NBA guys excellent players and so the idea that now we’re going to act as if Pippen was not that in the early 90s I just I think that’s revisionist history I think acting like Scotty was not considered a

A the maybe the best not maybe the best Wing defender in the league him and Gary pton could you know you argue back and forth one’s a point guard Defender one’s a kind of guard more length and a guy who was a reliable 20 points along with

Being able to uh move the ball and rebound he was wildly important and a great player and then the first year he got a chance to do without Michael they won 54 games like that’s unfair it’s just you’re not you’re not the lead dog on a team with no other all stars and

Win 54 games and be a nobody that’s unfair well Horus Grant was an All-Star in ’94 and they also picked up Tony K coach and people didn’t know who Tony was and Tony was an excellent player to cross off the point cuz you’re you’re right to some degree and actually my

Best friend will be listening to this he was a big Scotty pipping guy he’s probably smiling from ear to ear right but I will say this about Scotty I think Scotty has been overrated and also overlooked if both can be true believe it or not because Scotty Pippin is

Rookie year he averaged 10 points a game and everybody saying Michael Jordan never want to play our series against Scotty without Scotty and Mike averag 45 points a game and that first round 88 playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers if all Mike needed if all Mike

Needed was 10 points a game from Scottie Pippen that meant the Bulls did a terrible job of surrounding him with players because if all he needed was Scotti Pippen they could have they could have came up with something better than that a lot quicker okay well well I mean

They got I mean it was only three years and again this is where and now we’re going to do the whole damn pot on this I’m sorry I no we’re not I but the we can just move on but this is this this is where I think people are somewhat

Disingenuous people are not making the argument that it should be hung around Jordan’s neck that he couldn’t win that didn’t win a championship you know without Scotty if people bring up the point that he played five years without him and never finished a above 500 that is a at least semi-relevant

Data point it’s not that you the and people can say oh and then but then that first year was Scotty when Scotty only averaged 10 points what did the Bulls do that year got cooked in round two it’s not like Scotty got their average 10 and they were contending no it was finally

You’re above 500 for the first time and finally you don’t get swept in round one like those are those it is people can can can get upset about it and this is where now like time comes for everyone Forever The Narrative it was just decided that well anyone who brings up

The Wizard’s years has lost the argument it’s like that’s insane and ludicrous but now when the guy who’s on his heels is older than he than Michael was when he started with the Wizards and folks are killing that guy for getting swept in the Conference Finals well now we

Have to have an honest argument and so I so I I’m not killing Michael for anything I am simply saying it is there is an element of this debate and what frustrates me is there is nothing factually true that you can say about LeBron’s career that if you say it I say

Well that doesn’t count that’s unfair that’s that’s one of those years that we all know was fake but a third of Jordan’s career the the three years pre Scotty and the two years on the back end that is five of his 15 years I’ll add a sixth which was the 95

Season that’s six of 15 if someone brings it up that’s 40% of his career brings up any of those Seasons folks say well that’s ridiculous how can you even talk about those cuz they [ __ ] happened pardon me is how I can talk about them because games were played a

Champion was crowned they had standings they had a playoff series and and so I just think we talk about all of it and let the chips fall where they may and as the smart kids on Tik Tok said we done with the 90s bro yeah here we go that I

Knew Nick was going to I Knew Nick was going to finish it once again it’s I have no problem with presenting a facts I have a issue with ignoring context and I will finish with this that year that Jordan finally didn’t get swept out of the first round he won MVP and defensive

Player of the year something nobody has done oh LeBron LeBron is I mean not LeBron LeBron came close to doing it probably should have done it he should have done it hakee did it and Giannis did it Hakeem and jannis did it and LeBron should have done it in 2013 in

2013 the guy who won defensive player of the year was third Team all defense one of the craziest things that’s ever happened do you you you remember that with Mark Gasol Mark Gasol was Center two other centers tied for first team all defense so then he who finished

Third at his position for all defense got a second team even though there is no such thing as third Team all defense but they gave two First Team all defensive centers because they tied Mark gasa got second Team all defense one defense player of the year yeah no that’s he did

Absolutely Jordan did do that and then and that season that you’re talk this Jordan’s third year you’re talking about right that he did that or was it his fourth year was his first year with Scotty or without was it without Scotty that was his that was his F that was

Scotty Pippen as a rookie Scotty pipp as a rookie that’s when Jordan because the year before is when Jordan averaged 37 yeah in year three when he averaged 37 and then got swept in round one okay yeah got it he did and it’s not fair to say he

Got swept in around one every year he did get a game off mon creef is rookie year he got one game then he got SW the great Nick Wright ladies and gentlemen we’re going to be back right after this break to talk about gambling and the surging Lakers two things I know

Nick is very adep at discussing we’ll be right back with Nick right right back on the good work with Nick right Nick uh patient zero is the anniversary of actually the NBA shutting down its league today from four years ago it’s like amazing that we have come so far

From that day and the day still rings out and Indiana iary of that day Nick patience zero Rudy goar decides to open up a can of worms when he did the uh the money reference to Scott Foster on Friday night and the league hammered him for $100,000 and Nick you are in the

Gambling space and it’s kind of been this taboo discussion because almost everybody has been sort of in bed with the gambling companies y i spin it forward to ask you is it a slippery slope that we are entering is Rudy gobear right message wrong messenger like how does all this hit you because

You’re poker you’re parlays like tell me how this hit you well yeah listen the I I’ve been a gambler my entire life okay I’ll tell a very quick story and I was 11 years old we got a small pool table in the basement of my house and my dad brought

Me down there and we played nine ball $3 on the five $5 on the nine and I won like 28 bucks or something and then he said all right you got to give me a chance to get even let’s up the stakes by the end of the night I owed him

$112 um and I was I think 11 years old and did you have to pay it he made me pay it I didn’t have a job I didn’t really have a way to pay it he was like you’re GNA pay me $11 a month for the

Next year and I did the math in my head I’m like hold on that’s more than I owe you he’s like yeah that’s the jeice you’re going to find you’re going to pay me uh and you know little did I know that my dad before straightening his

Life out getting on the fire department being becoming a kind of a pillar of the Kansas City Community was a professional Gambler uh I think I can say this now it’s 50 years ago but I mean was you know did a lot you know was ran games was in the space on the

Kind of streets of Kanas City and the reason my dad does have the nose I have is because when he was a teenager he hustled a guy in in a pool match and the guy broke his nose with a pull queue and when you break your nose they you know

What I mean that’s basically what a nose job is um and so so I didn’t know so my dad did all this thinking it would teach me that gambling’s risky and bad instead it taught me holy moly you can make a lot of money gam if you know what you’re

Doing so it’s just it’s like the old you’re going to smoke the whole pack of cigarettes and instead of getting sick to your stomach you’re like these things are delicious I’m going to I’m addicted now um so I say all that to say this I don’t think it’s without risk and I do

Think that I think gambling should be legal I think it should I think an adult should be able to go gamble I think there was an unintended consequence with gambling becoming legal at the exact same time everyone does everything on their phones so I think gambling being legal if it were simply

What it was at any point in time prior to 10 years ago where if you wanted to like if they just made it legal everywhere but you had to walk into a brick and mortar casino and place a bet I think there would be a lot I think a

Lot of what people are worried about would be minimized I think the the ease of I can just do everything on my phone is you know is going to be something that can have some unintended consequences like you said the point bman made haralabob made this point you

Know the greatest NBA Gambler of all time and it’s right is that all I say all that while you know making money from gambling and so I the and so I I recognize there is a level of I don’t know folks want to call it hypocrisy but

Us being compromised on it I think is a legitimate piece of it where I think the NBA is RI risky is the wrong word is I don’t I I I think anybody that thinks professional professional players would ever fix a game don’t understand how difficult getting big

Dollars down on any game is and how much money these guys are making so it it is it it is almost impossible unless you are a well-known whale bad Gambler to get more than $40,000 down on any individual basketball game and I understand 40 Grand is a lot of money but not compared

To any NBA contract a 10day in the NBA’s 200 Grand so any player that would have the ball in their hands enough to impact game like that it the risk V reward doesn’t exist so I don’t worry about players fixing games I do think that the

Ref’s part of it is going to be an ongoing question fans have and concern for the league and Scott Foster in particular if you remember when the NBA did have a ref scandal with Tim donie Scott Foster was all over that guy’s call logs and I’m not I’m not making any

Allegations I’m simply saying there is no person Tim donie called more other than the people he was betting with more than Scott Foster so there’s already like a weird feel there I think for certain people and again I I’m not I am not accusing Scott Foster of anything

I’m simply saying that I think there is going to be I there is going to be but you said it’s been four years to the day since the pan since the gobear pandemic day um I think between now and four years from today one of our major sports

Is going to have some type of gambling Scandal and I don’t think it will involve a player I think it will involve an official and It’s just tough like none of the officials make millions of dollars right and so while I said for a player 40 Grand is not going to move the

Needle for someone who makes 150 40 Grand sure is help might you know what I mean pay off your car pay off your mortgage and so I I think it’s a tough spot now I also think that gambling being legal makes it more likely you can catch

Thatc because it’s not being done you know in the shadow yeah it’s been it’s been done done in the light yeah you can catch and so I but I I think that the all of the leagues basically treating gambling as this verboten awful thing and then immediately

Being able to bet in arenas was a very fast I’ve been I started doing I graduated college in 07 when I first got on the radio in can City Vinnie if we made a bet amongst our show hosts we had to we weren’t allowed to say dollars we

Would be like it would be like I’ll bet you 20 Bagels that the Chiefs win this weekend and it was our our bosses were like no you can’t say year to go from that to where all of us are like here’s my same game parlay was a very fast very

Fast change in how we accept it and you know what I mean what everyone thinks is fine that’s definitely true I think the world moves faster than ever quicker than ever and it’s really hard for us to get in front of things and not just Sports and sports gambling but just in

General with the way that we consume information one last thing with Nick right because he’s up against it Nick your Lakers have in in recent week they have beat in the recent last week they beat Oklahoma City the number one seed in the west they beat the Milwaukee

Bucks without LeBron James in a comeback win and last night they beat the Minnesota Timberwolves Sans Carl towns Sans Rudy Gober they’re now six games over 500 but still sitting in ninth a are you resigned to them being in that spot in the play and do you

Think they can get up to six and B how optimistic are you feeling about that all right so I actually don’t think I think the the way the play in is discussed is I don’t want to say misleading I think it I yeah there’s a difference between seven and eight and

Nine and 10 it there is a massive difference it is a enormous difference I don’t view being the seven or the eight as all that risky I understand it feels like it is but certainly the seven I don’t view is that risky being the 910 on the other hand I view as you’re

Screwed your screwed because if you happen to win backto back must-win games the second of which will be a road game if you’re the 10 seed both of which you then have to immediately play the one seed so what you have to do essentially is when six

Out of nine two of which are single elimination um and then then the next seven you’re a massive dog so I think the 910 is just just an impossible spot and I think we’ve only seen one team ever that the Grizzlies team that after after LeBron hit that shot against the

Warriors in the 78 game uh then the Grizzlies beat the Warriors so I I think for the Lakers it is incredibly important to move out of the nine line and I ain’t that the Warriors are going to stay where they’re at and then the qu the Lakers lost to the Kings the other

Day was brutal because now the kings are up three on the season series so you can’t win that tiebreaker and but I think if they get to the 78 line they’re okay here’s what I think about the Lakers and it’s kind of what I think about most teams in the west you’re just

Really hoping someone else can beat Denver for you because you can’t yep you like and so I know that folks will think that this is ah you guys talk too much about the Lakers they’re nine seed okay but they’re three games out of the six seed LeBron is also LeBron was playing

Very well pre-all-star post Allstar LeBron’s been out of his mind and and he’s healthy and seems spry and all of this nobody wants to see the Lakers across from them in the bracket I think they would beat Oklahoma City I do think that yeah they would just beat them up

They’re just bigger and thicker they would just beat them up experience level matters you know what I and so like those things I I think that Minnesota a full strength Minnesota is interesting but I don’t know if they’re going to be full strength and you know and so that’s

That’s a rough spot the problem is everyone in the west their path to the finals is and if someone can just upset Denver like there and so like let’s say on the to speak of the play in stuff let’s say on the last day of the season

And I don’t think this will be the case but Denver is locked into the three and the Lakers are in a spot where they’ve won a bunch of games if we win we move out of the play and into the six if we lose were the seven I’d throw the game

I’ I’d arrest everyone I would opt into being in the playin over opting into playing Denver in round one I I truly would and so assuming Denver’s full strength and fully you know what I mean full nobody’s gotten hurt but I do think the Lakers are dangerous like do you

Think I’m being crazy there like I think the Lakers can beat anyone in the West in a series other than Denver I I tend to agree with you there but I think everything is so closely packed in there’s nobody that can’t beat anybody except for Denver I believe in a seven game

Series so I think I think I think Sacramento can if you get the right matchup Sacramento like we’ve seen Sacramento can beat the Lakers and because of just Styles make fights nobody to deal with the Aon Fox they got nobody to guard the point of attack at all um maybe when Vanderbilt

Comes back back he could help a little but he’s not fat nobody’s fast enough one of my favorite moments of watching basketball ever my son was a high high level high school basketball player in Texas um he played a little college basketball in California and like he’s

Big kid great athlete and played on he played on a a team with Quinton grms uh and so uh Quinton was two years younger than my son was the youngest kid on the team and the best player it’s like oh that guy’s a pro um but regardless uh

When my one summer we were at some a tournament in Houston and in between games I went over to the other gym and there was this kid who was just faster than anyone I’d ever seen up that close on the court and he scored I think 40

Points in the first half of a running clock aou game and it was dearon Fox it dear Fox he was just like I have the ball I have a layup I have the ball I have a layup like you can’t stay in front of me but for the Lakers on the

Good side of it is the only way they could really play the Kings likely it’ be like the Conference Finals because you know what I mean they’re both going to be side of the bracket and so I don’t think they have to worry about the Kings

So I don’t know no they don’t and I just think the Western playoffs which is where I’ll be stationed which means I’ll be standing up late and my body clock will be all all thrown to hell this year I just think it’ll be really interesting because I think the Lakers are built in

Such a way they’re built more for playoff basketball than they are built for regular season basketball just in terms of size and LeBron being able to lock in on the series and I’ll tell you this in the NBA pays me no attention when I say stuff like this the first

Round should be best of five especially with a play in first round should be best of five so I I like that I there are a lot of I also am a huge proponent of being and and I know I said I have a heart out we can maybe go in extra five

Minutes here because there’s a bunch um I’m a huge proponent in all Sports of drafting your opponent so I think if you want to really incentivize uh the regular season you make it so the ones the one and the two get to draft their first round opponent

And the reason that that is awesome is a There’s real Stakes on who gets the one seed who gets the two and also no matter what that first round series it’s like they they disrespected us they picked us like it doesn’t matter how obvious it is

Like that other team is going to be pissed like you want us you got us like uh so I really I I think the drafting your opponent it also totally removes the like oh we’re ducking this team to get this team I I think that that would

Be uh I think that is a more likely change than shortening the series because they don’t want to get rid of the inventory but you want to talk about a ra it would just be a oneoff but that would be a ratings a 30 minute TNT ratings Bonanza would be the playoff

Opponent draft the day after the playin done you have Joker and Tatum and Giannis and it’s like all right here’s who we’re taking one of these teams like pretends they’re doing it randomly but every team’s name is the Atlanta Hawks when they’re drawing it out of it they’re like oh

Who who knew we drew Lo uh I think that would be awesome I want to ask you a question okay uh because on TV today I’m gonna I on Mon so we’re recording this Monday morning so I think people will probably hear it hopefully after the TV

Show on TV today I’m going to pick the Bucks to win the East we’re doing our official playoff predictions today because we kind of waited till post football we cheated a bit I I’m not going to act like I feel great about it but I also feel like the Bucks have been

Undervalued a bit and giannis’s season has been totally disregarded he’s averaging career high in assists almost a career high in points career high in field goal percentage and people are like what’s wrong with Milwaukee and obviously they haven’t looked you know dominant start finish but I I like

Milwaukee a lot and I think it could set up what could be in you know yic Giannis in the finals both have two MVPs both have a Finals MVP both are kind of fighting for play the era and like greatest International player ever other than AEM is I think on

The line and maybe one of them could jump a Keem one day like there’s a lot of stakes there so maybe it’s just kind of what I’m rooting for but I think Milwaukee I know Boston has all the metrics and the record and everything I like Milwaukee man

Nick if you’re asking me am I picking Boston to go to the finals the answer is no and I’ve and we had this discussion I had Jer Greenberg on last week and I said the stink that Giannis has or the stink that the Bucks have on them from

The Adrien Griffin situation has had Giannis in a spot where we’ve completely overlooked how great he’s been individually this year and the fact that Giannis has come up short in the players but he don’t run from the ball he don’t scare like he may miss the free throws

But he ain’t running from anything and Jason Tatum those clutch numbers look ghastly and we’ve seen the Boston Celtics in a way with late games I don’t know if I trust them to get great shots so I don’t trust him to get great shots what’s we so to what’s weird is so the

Giannis discussion has always been weird because we have it on the show and Drew loves Giannis but he’s like but you can’t just give him the ball and say go get me a bucket I’m like well you kind of can the guy averages 30 every year

And scored 50 in the finals you kind kind of can like it I understand it’s not it it’s more sha it’s not the aesthetic it’s not the aesthetic it’s the aesthe the and now to be Yiannis did seem the one time I’ve seen him run from

The ball was the end I don’t know which game it was but round one at the end of that game last year against Miami in round one where he literally game six yeah yeah game five game five yeah that was a weird that was a weird one but I

Don’t think that’s who he’s been through his career Tatum on the other hand went Toe totoe with in that game six a couple years ago in Milwaukee and played the best game of his career saw him score 50 in a game seven so I don’t think the moment I

Don’t think he gets scared I think Tatum’s biggest problem is he’s he’s doing too often a Kobe Bryant impersonation I was about I was about to say it I was about to say it he’s he he does things in the last couple minutes of the game that go completely against

All the other progress that he’s made in his own like theat going go throughly he’s 15 of 48 this year of 16 from this isn’t a one-year sample size Nick last year he was 27 of 77 in he 38% in the clutch effective field goal percentage each of

The last three years habber did a great thing on this on his substack and so I yeah I mean I’m it is a it is uh it’s a weird thing and I do think of it is one of the things that made Kobe special was Kobe was a terrible shot maker but even

Kobe’s efficienc like Kobe took some awful shots but could make them but but Kobe’s efficiency suffered because of it like Kobe has is if you look at the raw data you know missed a lot more of those than people like to remember yes um but Kobe Al like Tatum is excellent but he’s

Not Kobe and Tatum has but he’s 610 he can shoot over the top of people he doesn’t have to do all the Kobe stuff and he can Kobe obviously could get to the basket great but he is bigger than Kobe and can so there is an element of

If the Celtics aren’t blowing you out do you really trust their coaching and execution late in games like that’s where I’ll say in a close game late I trust Miami more now Miami just had another terrible loss like Miami I understand that they’re ready for playoff basketball but you don’t want to

Be the eight seated again like you got to get it together Miami but yeah I don’t and if they and if Boston this year doesn’t win the title to tough spot a really Boston has changed everything over there with the exception of their two tat top players and at some point

You’re gonna start asking yourself questions about not just jayen Brown who’s who was easy to pick on you’re gonna ask if Jason Tatum is the number one player on a championship team in an unforgiving Boston market and I will close with this cuz we brought up Kobe

And we we started with Kobe and we’re going to kind of finish with Kobe in a way cuz you said Kobe missed a lot more shots than he makes and I would say this is the biggest difference I would say probably between Michael and everybody else or even Kobe and everybody else

Kobe could make any shot and he probably missed a lot of shots too Michael finds a way to always get the shot that he wants and I think that is a huge huge difference when we talk about this whole clutch thing not even a goat thing that’s just a a difference in like

Aesthetic and who you trust with the ball in his hands late that dude’s going to pick a spot on the floor and he’s going to get there in a dribble and a half and he’s going to pull up and there’s probably very little you can do

About it there was and so I’ll go all I’ll end where we started in talking about older era basketball there was a I think I read this in Bill Simmons book years ago but Bernard King uh talked about how he only had a handful of dribble moves and he only

Practiced shots from a handful of spots and what Bernard King said was I have a dribble move if you’re guarding me straight up shade left shade right close far so I only have to practice six dribble moves it would shade me right Clos or far straight up you know what I

Mean those six moves yeah yeah and I have six spots in each kind of third of the Court left wing up top rightwing that I practice my shots from you know what I mean short medium far whatever and so all my practice time is spent on those six dribble moves and

Those 18 shots and again I might be misquoting it a bit but this is the get the premise yeah and he looked at it like he didn’t say it like this but almost a math equation okay you are guarding me here my closest spot is there the dribble move I’m comfortable

With is that one and so boom boom I’m there and he said and he talked about that’s why he was such a great scorer is he was more I don’t know if he looked at it like this in his era but efficient with what he worked on like I just need

To know what spot of mind that I’ve drilled 10,000 times I’m closest to and what way to get there and that was something Michael was probably the best ever at which was how can I get to the exact spot I want to get to to get the exact shot I

Want to get like that is UN you know that is unimpeachable and that you know that is from guys not in the 90s the 80s know Bernard King was great before he got hurt in the 80s and Michael was doing that in the 80s um yeah if only put

The Charles I heard I had drinks with Charles Barkley which is always an interesting thing Nick as I’m sure you can imagine and he always say two moves and two counters you a got to do all that dribbling around cones and all that extra stuff two moves and two counters

And you can get anything you want there is an there is an absolute element of Truth to that and that is you know and you you have you’ve seen certain guys that have figured that out um and I’ll say one other thing on T LeBron LeBron

To a point when he was still in his physical prime figured out where his best real estate was going to be on the floor that’s when he reached LeBron so the Brew made a point about Tatum uh that I thought was interesting which is that he watches

Tatum and it just feels to him like so much of what Tatum does is from recreating what he drilled on with a trainer like I’m G to go between my legs here I’m gonna do this I’m then gonna hit my step back as opposed to like feeling the like feeling what reading

Reading the game yeah and I had never thought of that and then I you know again small sample then I started watching it with that in mind maybe it’s confirmation bias I’m like oh that’s right like he’s like oh I have it here I’m going to do this do that and pull up

As opposed to kind of more Artistry of like let me read what’s happening and and read and react so there it is he never changes Direction late he never changes Direction late and that’s how know it’s robotic cuz if you’re changing direction that means you’re reading something in front of you oh Defender

Shading here let me let me go and make maybe turn my hips or something like that he doesn’t do that he goes straight robotic and it goes against him and I think it’s going to cost Boston all right when you guys post this you guys should post it in the reverse order we

Do the real hardcore basketball stuff here and then the LeBron stuff at the end Nick the the plan was to start with the Lakers and then Boston and then gambling and then go done with the 9s but you start where you start and I’m just going to follow you that ladies and

Gentlemen is Nick Wright check him out on Fox Sports ones first things first they got a really cool operation going over there he Kevin Wilds Chris brussard don’t forget he also has what’s Wright with Nick Wright he and his son you can find that on YouTube and wherever you

Get your podcast anything else you got going on Nick you you get another are you getting another Kansas City Chiefs tattoo another never a doubt I don’t know what I’m going to do I’ll be honest you know just resigned Chris Jones uh the dynasty rolls on going for a threee

Uh you know Life’s good I appreciate you Vinnie I’ll see you later bro hey appreciate you one thing we agree on Patrick Mahomes the greatest quarterback I’ve ever seen so there we go thanks to producer John the entire team works hard behind the scenes Dan will be back for

Another episode divine intervention and we will be back right here on Wednesday with a guy that Nick just mentioned Tom habro wi this days with stro for another episode of the good word until then everybody be safe