Ja Morant & LaMelo Ball Join VERY Different Situations

All right, we had some debuts, some backcourt debuts this week.

We had your guy, my guy, Damian Lillard in, uh, Portland with John Morant.

We had Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball make their debut, um, We'll talk about both, but like, which of those duos working are you most confident about?

Like if you look at Dame and Ja and you look at Aunt and LaMelo, like which of them them are you looking at and going, that's probably going to work.

Sorry if I don't always answer your questions straight.

One, Off rip, I would have to say Minnesota, LaMelo and.

Yeah, of course, 100%.

But I will throw a caveat in that.

I believe in Ja more than most people do.

But, because I, I, I'm OK with being 17, 7, and 5.

Do you understand what I'm saying?

I don't, this, this game has changed since Ja was once reigning.

I think one thing about Ja as well, he's more of a selfless player than you think.

Like, And then when, when we sit there, it's like, hey, this is Dame's on the team, Danny, Danny Avia, like he needs to have a high usage rate.

And then when you sit there, it's hard to say any guard is better than Drew Holiday.

If you're trying, yeah, if you're trying to win, it's hard to literally sit there and, and, and like Drew is arguably, Dame's the best offensive player on the team, but he's 2nd best offensive player on that team if he really wanted to be.

Like, am I wrong for saying that?

I mean, is he more explosive than?

Like, I mean, but not more, but was he ever do we ever know he was explosive?

Like, you know what I mean?

Like I, I guess when I say explosive, I don't mean athletically.

I mean like like offensive bursts, like able to put together the kind of like a 10-point run the way Jaws.

He, he would, but it might only be like he, one thing I always knew about Drew when he played for the Pelicans, he's like, bro, low key, if you pay attention, I, I, I score like the last 4 minutes of the first quarter.

And then like, I'll score like the first few minutes of the second half, and then the last, like stretch when I looked, I said, damn, he gonna get 5 and then I'll go get 3 assists.

Then I'll go get 7.

And I'm just like, all right, so he's just playing a game within a game, but he's had a few years just calmly being top 5 in assists.

So I'm not knocking it .

I, I don't, I don't wanna go away from that.

But man, what LaMelo and and Edwards are able to do right now, bro, is unbelievable.

I think LaMelo is just dynamic.

I think he's elite.

I think his confidence is unreal.

I think When he's on the court in his presence, especially with those.

You, the Minnesota, Atlanta guys, all those dudes are happy to get out and run and play with him.

I think he has people to identify with him and allow him to be himself.

So I think that's gonna be dangerous and anytime Ant-Man was busting your ass being a combo guard last year, and he just got tired.

Like, do you know what I mean?

Like even in an All-Star game, what did he do?

Took out Wimpy, like, damn, Wimby balling, now what?

I'm gonna be Ant-Man.

He just got runner's knee.

So I think anytime you get Baby Jordan, Space, that's, that's impossible.

They're throwing up 50 with, with LaMelo's assists who they might be responsible for 60 points a night, 65 points a night, so, so dynamic offensively.

Just watching clips of that preseason game, um, just LaMelo.

And you, you nailed it.

Like and not having to be on the ball as much.

That's gonna save him so many miles on those tires, and it's gonna free him up to just hang in the perimeter, take more jump shots if he wants to while LaMelo's like going to the basket, playing driving and kick like that.

I think they're dynamic, uh, offensively.

What concerns me though about that team is like just how thin they are up front front.

I'm still worried about their front court.

Like, and I even heard Ant say, I, I read some of the clips from Antt after, um, I guess it was the opener.

And he's like, we got to be better rebounding.

Like they recognize right away, like we got to box out.

We can't just try to out-jump these guys.

Like, and we can't just leave it to Rudy to try to do it all himself.

Like, I just, like, like you're playing Kaminga at power forward and Kainga is a good player, but he's not Julius Randall.

Um, he's not Naz Reed.

Like I think their, their ruggedness takes a hit.

And I'm also, Like LaMelo, can he give you, like, what is there, is there gonna be a minute restriction on LaMelo this year?

Like that's how Charlotte put him in proverbial bubble wrap last year and made sure he never crossed that rarely crossed that thirty-minute threshold and that got him to the finish line at the end of the season.

Like, what does Chris Finch do?

Does he adopt the same philosophy?

Because when he's not, In that type of, of, of strategy or game plan tends to get hurt and he winds up missing chunks of time and they can't afford to lose him for any chunks of time.

Yeah, but I kind of like that thirty-minute cap situation because I feel as though their next best players.

Because they're so thin front court, you have to give them rhythm.

Ayo Deummo, you know what I mean?

I think Terrence Shannon Junior, physically, I think he's a man amongst boys where you might have to be like, hey, he might be the 4 man or whatever.

But I think they have a, a couple of other guys where you wanna make sure their rhythm is ready throughout the season and also throughout the game because what LaMelo can do offensively.

It's going to reflect the, uh, uh, pace of the game and how he plays.

So it's like, I was talking about Bodine, uh, Bodanovich the other day.

I said, man, he's such a baller, but if he, if he played, the game was 1:30 and it was always gonna be exciting because nobody was getting stopped.

Like, you know what I mean?

And with LaMelo, sometimes you start going into these tough games, he might be a 1st 43 minute guy and not the last 5 minutes and you got Ayo on the ball or you got, Di Vincenzo is not coming back, but sometimes that last 5 minutes, you want Anthony Edwards with the ball nonstop, the shooters around him and just guys getting stopped.

So I'm not against that 30 minutes, especially when you gotta know the player like, shit, LaMelo is a good dude.

He can be a little wacky and maybe he just wanna play 30.

Can be a little wacky.

It's like LaMelo, and I've done a story on LaMelo before , but it's like he, he's just some, a lot of guys get the media training.

Like he just doesn't seem, he's just off the cuff, man.

But do you think Kinda like Luca, when I look at Luca and people like, you can't do this, and it's like, bro, Luca's been a rock star since he was a child, like, respectfully, like it's like when you meet Bono or like the, the ugly white dude from, uh, Aerosmith, uh, yep, the sex symbol, um, the irony.

I wish I could describe like the ugly dude, yeah, the sex symbol.

Um, but when you meet them, they're just They are who they are.

They're, they're cool.

It's like Noah Gallagher, even though he's an asshole.

But like, you know what I mean?

Like they're, they're cool and I just feel like LaMelo's like, bro, I've been popping since I was 12.

I started driving Ferraris.

I'm a cultural icon, like.

I'm gonna bring this is LaMelo.

Like, let's just let's sell shoes.

Let me impact the kids.

Let me throw some light in.

And that's, you gotta know your, you gotta know your guys, and that's good enough to be a 2nd or 3rd option and your number one is Jordan.

And I'm not knocking any part of it.

It's just like, this is who this guy, he, he did his job.

Like people have been waiting for him to be a star since he was a kid.

He's the youngest all-star ever, at, right, at 1920.

He's, he's got global soccer player recognition.

Like, rock with him, let him get his 28 minutes.

Let its sponsors be happy and then send it to MJ and I, and I'm not knocking it, it's just like you'd be screaming at these guys and it's like, bro, they don't give a.

Even Chris Mann, you were like one of the biggest deals.

I think Luca might have been like, God damn, I don't wanna meet with Chris.

Like, like, you know what I mean?

Yeah, and, but I'm just saying, but, but like you, you start talking to some of these guys and even like LeBron or MB, it's just like, all right, bro, you know what I'm saying, like, all right, god damn, I was 2 minutes late, shut the fuck up.

Like, like, like, like that's not, that's not going to hit the same because they really, they're different dudes.

MJ stayed out all night.

Charles Barkley is a rock star, like, God touched him twice.

This ain't got shit to do with us.

Am I, am I wrong for saying that?

Talking to me is the price you pay to get to the cover of Sports Illustrated.

Yeah, no, no, no, no, God bless, no, no, that's real.

And like God, and like don't leave me hanging and God bless you.

Like, you know what I mean?

But, but no, you sit there.

I'm just like, man, maybe LaMelo just don't give a fuck.

I think he's like that.

I remember we did, we did our story.

We went to like, and he, this is like 2nd year in the league, I think in Charlotte.

And we met at this like, it's a cereal bar, like where they serve like Fruit Loops and ice cream.

Like we, he apparently goes there and he pulled up in that green Lamborghini that he had, I think he'd just gotten it at that time.

And I'm just like, I remember thinking like, this guy's just different.

This guy is just a little bit different.

And we did a whole interview over like, Cereal ice cream, like, uh, Fruit Loops and vanilla.

I don't know, it was just a weird that place.

But one thing I will say about him, I think when it's all said and done, he knew, he'll, he'll always have a concept of who he is and won't lose it.

And that's, and that's, that's crazy like whether you think so or not, it's like, man, I see superstars, and you'd be like, bro, you don't act like that normally.

Like, does it not drive you crazy?

Like you know what I mean?

He'll be in Minnesota.

It's winter.

You'll be in, you'll be in a lot.

Yeah, I just hope he, um, I just hope he drive better.

Like, like that's it.

Like I just hope he, like the shit in Charlotte when they let the city know he was back driving was, it was funny, but like when you saw, you saw the concerned residences , like, nah, he hit me like.

That was a weird thing to be associated with.

Yeah, that's something like a TV show like some like some.

Some like fucking that's how Kenny dies on South Park, like, you know what I mean?

like LaMelo hit him, you bastard, like that type shit.

LaMelo LeBron's helicopter just helicopters bro, that's shout out to LeBron, bro.

That's absolutely shout out to Mike uh Rubin.

We're just making it happen for lifetime, yeah, just a, just a little, just a little like a, yeah, just like, god damn, shout out to you, Mike Rubin.

Like I would have did the same and just take my, my helicopter.

What is it?

You'd be on there for 18 minutes.

Yeah, I don't really use my spot in Tribeca.

You can have that.

Why not?

All good, all good, um, on, on the Blazers, uh.

I, I think Dame is gonna be Dame.

I, I think he's gonna slide right back into being that great shooter, uh, really good scorer.

Um, watching bits of that game, the, the part where Dame played with Ja, there's obviously gonna be, there's obviously gonna be some things that to be figured out.

Like Dame played a lot off the ball in that game.

Uh, Ja was primarily the point guard.

Like how long does that last?

I honestly think that Ja needs to come off the bench.

I, I think they're better.

I mean, analytically, they're better with Drew and Dame as the starting backcourt.

You got Kamara, all of a sudden you've got two guys in Holiday and Kamara that can really defend.

Uh, you've got Klingon who can backstop the defensive line.

Like you have more balance to your lineup when you've got Drew starting, but that like, Is John Morant, who has been saying all the right things, is he going to embrace being 1/6 man after starting, I think, all but 2 games during his career in Memphis.

That to me is a big question with the Trail Blazers.

I give Ja, I'm not gonna lie to you, bro, I give Ja more credit.

I, I maybe didn't pay attention to him as much as anybody else, but I don't You know, people that keep it P, like, I don't think he's a hater.

Like, do you understand what I'm saying?

Like, even when he was younger in like his high times of, of helping bring that Memphis team, he literally brought that Memphis team with him.

Not like, like Gen, like these are my guys.

This is, I, I think to watch him formulate a culture, even coming from, was it, what school was it?

Murray State or some shit like that.

Yeah, yeah, Racers, like.

I don't think he's that type of an individual where he's going to make it all about him.

I think also too, I can be Hugging him a little bit too much, but when you're in the locker room with Drew Holiday, I think you have to, to say you're better than him or match up better than him is, is, is tough because I think you're thinking about the team first and foremost.

I think when you're John Morant coming off the bench with a Scoot Henderson and, uh, hopefully Shayden Sharp comes back, but that team that makes you a lethal, one of the best second units in the whole league.

I think how you revitalize yourself is maybe being 6th Man of the Year.

But most importantly, do you think that I think so.

I, I, I, I didn't, I've never seen, even in all this goofy stuff that occurred, I've never seen any, I've seen dumb stuff and not selfish stuff.

You understand what I'm saying, or childish stuff or not selfish stuff.

So I, I I'm almost more sure he would, he would do it in my personal opinion.

I think one thing that he, he, as a player, when you get to this level and you start looking at the game, you play at his chest, it's like, man, where, I can play a bunch of different ways.

Where am I most advan advantageous at?

And you gotta be grateful that Dame's just like, hey, bro, while you figure it out, I'm just gonna be the secret weapon and just shoot.

I could have the ball this whole time, but I'm gonna let you rock and do whatever, but make sure you do all that other shit.

I'm gonna make sure You space the, I'm gonna space the floor.

You're gonna at least have one guy or at least 6 ft of space and do that.

And I thought last night, uh, the other game I saw when he's saving balls out of bounds, he's trying to do a little bit of blue-collar collar work.

I thought that was a buy-in for, I'm gonna, get it, uh, how I live and, and figure out who he can play with best.

And I kind of like that situation.

Yeah, he had 4 turnovers in that game, which is, you know, something he's gonna have to work on.

But that may be Russ too didn't play a lot last year and he's just trying to get adjusted to a new system.

Like, I wonder if like, Like I think Mike and Nori gets it and knows that the best starting lineup is probably Drew Holiday or John, but I wonder if he gives him like kind of the token like, here's 4 minutes to start the game, and then we're gonna pull you in and then we start staggering the minutes with Damian Lillard.

Like that.

I wonder if that's the play there or do you just say to John Morant, like, listen, you got 2 years left in your contract.

You're making like 80 million over the next 2 years.

Like this season, Let's go out there and let's win 6th man.

Like, let's be the best reserve you can possibly be.

And let's, and you, you can come in for Dame.

Dame's mid-30s.

He's not gonna play every night.

He's not gonna play the kind of minutes he was playing in the past .

Like you'll get your opportunities, and there will be a lot of games that you'll close, which, yeah, I would presume matters more to a player in a situation, especially in the West, especially in a hunt you need and, um.

Like I said, just not being so close to that situation, um, the alpha there by far is Dame, so it's like you still gotta, man, let's just adjust to what occurs.

Um, you're gonna be elite, and I think he has so many weapons that he can use.

To where it's not gonna be so much pressure when he's in Memphis and it's like, yo, make something happen.

Like, bro, Denny Ivey is still an elite.

You got Kamara that is shocked that he's shooting 38% from the 3 the past couple of years.

Donovan Klingon, one of the best offensive rebounders, developing three-point shooter.

Like I said, Drew Holiday is going to be able to make the game far easier for you.

So I feel as though When it comes down to it, I would like Jos to approach the game as a basketball player, a great basketball mind, and be like, damn, look at these weapons I have for the first time in a while.

And don't, and when I got to, I was never like none of these dudes, but I knew how to play all around and I'm like, hey, I, I comprehend being able to be a jack of trade, master of none.

I'm gonna get the benefit of the doubt and I'm gonna get the low end of the stick because I can do a lot of stuff like, hey bro, you're gonna have to Hey, how, how come I , I don't get post-ups on the 5-10 dude, but I gotta guard the 5-10 dude.

It's like because you're better at that, OK, I know I can distribute.

I know I can do the other stuff that most guys can't and fill in.

And that's why I like him being a six-man kind of, not garbage man guy, but the blue-collar dude that's gonna make something happen because I.e., Russell Westbrook, it could be special.

I mean, you look historically at some of the best 6 men in the NBA, and, and they're all guards.

Like go back to Vinnie Johnson, um, Jamal Crawford, Lou Williams, uh, Peyton Pritchard, more recently, different types of players, but like guards that come off the bench.

Uh, maybe play multiple positions though Jaws pretty much is what he is at the, the one spot.

Like starting level talent.

Like he can come off the bench and going up against second unit guys, he can be cooking, come off the bench with Scoot Henderson or just even play with Drew, stagger with Dame Lillard.

Like there's, I think there's a real opening.

Like if he really wants to rehabilitate his basketball, I'm not talking about the other stuff, no, the basketball image.

Like go out there.

Be a 6th man, be one of the best 6th men in the league.

Like, see your numbers go down, but maybe the win total start to go up.

Like that looks like a playoff team to me.

When I watched them, like Klingen is, is better.

Abdia looked like he was in mid-season form in that opening.

Like he looked great.

Dame is gonna be fine.

Kumar is gonna get even better.

Like they, they've, they've got the pieces to be right back there in that kind of play range, maybe even 78, at the end of the season, but I think he's the guy.

That has to really humble himself in this moment and say, you know, like, Gerald has already been like, you know, I'm, I'm cool with coming off the bench.

Like, he's already, I, I think he's already accepted that .

Uh, I think Jaw's got to be the one going like, you know, we're better when I'm the guy coming off the bench.

And just accept how great you are.

I remember when I, I was nowhere closest, I'm just using as an example as a scale.

When I came from Boston, I know, when I came from Philly and I was averaging 20 on a bad team, you know, let me act like I was killing.

To going to Boston and coming off the bench.

But I remember going to Indiana prior to that, and I remember talking to Andrew Bynes like, bro, we're gonna come off the bench, you, you know how much we're gonna kill these dudes.

And I started looking more and more like in my prime prime it wasn't so much, I thought I was much better, but it's like, I knew how crazy the starting lineup was, and I was like, yo, I might be too good to be playing with some of these.

2nd unit guys on nights where it's like, no, this is the 15th guy, not the 9th guy, because the 9th guy tore his knee up.

Like, you know what I'm saying?

And it allows you to get a rhythm with the mind that, that, that Ja has to watch a game unfold for the 1st 5 or 6 minutes.

You're like, OK, why'd you play so well?

Like, bro, because people were out of breath and I knew how to play and when to attack and saw how to go here and there.

I think Jah's going to be elite.

It's just about dealing with the, the hoopla around his name.

And I, and I, and It's almost like the Joel Embiid effect where it's like you might think he's still an alpha.

His name is so big, even whether you think it might be D Russ or whoever, like you still recognize that name that's like, bro, I have to do something.

So it's all about how he weathers the storm around his name and wondering about like people being like, Yo, I want a job from 2018.

That shit's over.

And it, and it's done and it's cool even .

Even if he was good or not or, or was still hooping somewhere close, that season was so unbelievable.

It's hard to replicate that.

You're averaging 28 a game as a 22-year-old guard or 23-year-old guard.

Yeah, I, I want to see him off the bench.

I want to see those 3-point numbers start to tick up a little bit.

I want to see him be just a weapon.

This team, end of first quarter, early second, and And look, if he's playing well, like I said, end of games, he's out there.

What do you think that, so what do you think that does for Scoot ?

Do you trade Scoot?

I don't know.

I mean, I think they're still talking extension with Scoot.

I don't think you'd do it, um, unless it's under a very team-friendly deal.

What is, uh, do you, do you take Scoot and be like, hey, he's still 21 or 20, and we're going to, maybe we say his next run is.

Three years from now, like he showed things last year.

Like he showed a little bit some stuff.

Yeah, I just get tired after like 3 seasons to show a little bit of some stuff and somebody get hurt.

I'm like, bro, either play till it tear or, or stay the fuck home.

I know.

I thought he'd be a lot better coming out of that, um, it was the G League Ignite.

I thought he was gonna be pretty good, but that's what's the only thing I'll say, and I love Scoot Henderson to death.

Don't ever let me get it wrong.

I love whoever did all the moves to death.

It looked different when it almost looked like it's.

Passing of the torch from being a Scoot and the acceptance of that, not on Scoot because I don't think Scoot knew a lot, but people, I felt as though somebody had to have been like, hey bro, you The underlying tone of this is your shit now from Dame.

And then you realize how big of shoes it is to feel to the point where they're like, yo, come back and help us like.

The difference between star and proving it and what we expect.

I, I don't know why I brought that up.

That was, every time, every time I think of Scoot, I'm like, man, somebody set you up for the trick bag.

Dame back in Blazers uniform.

That was fun to watch.

Yeah, he's gonna be a secret weapon, bro.

Like imagine having like a team where you got a few defenders, you got guys that can actually play without you.

When, when we, when I played with them, like I think I was the only other playmaker.

Obviously, CJ was still a scorer, but We were, we lacked skill-wise.

Imagine it's a team where it's like, hey, we got, I got 4 dudes that can possibly guard and, and, and 1 shooter that can shoot from 35 ft out and it's literally just like, It'll be like playing with your older brother, like, all right, bro, we're gonna do all the dirty work and you're just gonna score, and he, he looked great last night.