Episode 4 Nico's Sports Insights Podcast

In the latest episode of Unico Sports Insights, the host discusses the recent All-Star Game and Dunk Contest. The dunk contest winner, McClaude, surprised everyone with his incredible dunks, including a 540 dunk and jumping over two grown men. Jason Tatum set a new scoring record in the All-Star Game with 55 points. However, the game was more about having fun than defense. LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo both got injured during the game. The host also discusses upcoming games and the current state of teams like the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, and Dallas Mavericks. The Dallas Mavericks are struggling due to a lack of defense, while the Phoenix Suns are performing well. Welcome to Unico Sports Insights, episode number four with Nicolás Jaramillo. So today our basketball talk will begin with the all-star games. Sure, we will mostly talk about the all-star game, but first of all, let's start with the dunk contest. Four, I believe it's four very unknown people. Not that many people knew how good these people were. Turns out the newest guy, a guy named McClaude, last name is McClaude, just like, he shocked the world. This kid can do a 540 dunk. He can do a 540 in midair and then dunk it, literally. He can do a 540. 540? Yeah. Not a 360, 540. Wow. He can jump over two grown men and dunk it in a split second. Two grown men at the same time. This kid is like... What team does he play? The 76ers. Two weeks before that, he had just signed with the 76ers out of the G League, which is like the youngest players league. I don't even know how to describe his dunks. I don't even know how to describe it. It's just like, I don't know, it's just like hard to explain how these people do it. Like, he's just like doing like 540s like they're easy. He's jumping over two grown men like it's easy. He's making two more unbelievable dunks, four unbelievable dunks, .02 away from a perfect score. The perfect score is, I believe, 150. He got 149.8. Oh wow. Did he win the tournament? Yes, he won. Really, he's just like a really, really good person. And Trey Murphy Jr. also had quite a few good dunks. I mean, he had two of the most impressive dunks. There's this guy, goes by the name of Jose Alvarado, and he's known for hiding behind his coach and running behind the player who has the ball. Hiding behind his coach and just running out of nowhere and just stealing it from them. So, he was on the stand just wearing a hoodie with his kid watching. And then suddenly he put his kid down to his wife and then there he's standing. Trey Murphy's just dribbling it, trying to get the crowd to get louder. And then out of nowhere, Jose Alvarado just comes out of nowhere, just steals it right out of the fans. Then he throws it up against the backboard and then Murphy just slams it. That's... Sounds a little theatrical, huh? I mean, it happened. And then he also made himself his own alley-oop. So, he threw the ball up in the air without letting it bounce once against anything. He threw it up and he caught it and dunked it at the same time. So, essentially, he threw a pass to himself. Not off the backboard, just like, throw it up to yourself and slam it. Oh, talking about this McClaude guy. After he jumped over two grown men, he tapped the ball, still having it in his hand, off the backboard. Still held on. Off backboard and in. No, not like he threw it, like, off the backboard and in. No, he, with his hands fully holding it, slammed it against the rim. Like, dun, dun, and then it went from the rim, boom, and then in. So, boom, boom. Straight in. And that's kind of like, that's really difficult. To do it no stop. Yeah. In one try. One try. Okay. Let's go on to the next topic. The All-Star Game. The All-Star Game. So, we had a new record be set. Jason Tatum set the All-Star Game scoring record as he scored 55 points. I have a question. Is that game a serious game where people just play to mess around? I mean, they honestly, it's kind of like, it's just to have fun because the score, like, the target score was 184 points. The score was like, what, 185? Could they even defend? Barely. I mean, LeBron injured his finger trying to block a shot. I mean, the only defensive player in the game, really, was him blocking a shot and getting his ring into, like, the net and then curled around and then over the rim. And he actually got injured. He missed the whole game. Oh, is he going to be able to play after that? Yes. He's going to be out for no games. Okay. But, like, that was the only defensive player in the game. Was it an interesting game? Was it fun? Yes. In the end, because they were just, like, two points away from getting the target score, it turned into a half-court shooting contest. Oh, really? Damian Lillard, who actually hit a 48-foot shot earlier in the first half, he just went, like, full-on Damian Lillard, Logo Lillard. He just went full-on Logo Lillard from, like, almost out of bounds, 48 feet away, just throws it, and it goes in swish, like it's a layup. That's how easy he makes it look. Wow. Then he tried twice from half-court again. He missed twice. I believe it was Tatum that tried once. He missed. Then Donovan Mitchell tried once, who, by the way, scored the second-most point. Very unexpected. And then, finally, Lillard hit the corner, hit the, like, the top of the ring, three, and that ended it. Oh, by the way, both captains missed the entire second half. Both captains got injured, and both wiped their hands. The Team Giannis captain, Team Giannis, got actually injured his hand. He's actually going to miss a little bit of time. He's going to miss a week, I believe. And he was also coming off, or no, he was coming off a leg injury, which made him miss the skills competition. So it was a leg injury that cost him. And then something that just happened, and I kind of feel like it's sad, is that it turned to both captains being the best into just, like, it being a battle of, like, the people who they chose. And it just, it was kind of, like, disappointing that two of the best players in the entire NBA get injured in the All-Star game. And then, by the way, Jason Tatum, oh my god, 55 points. That's the record, your record. The old record was set by Anthony Davis, 52 points. Then I believe it's Kobe Bryant at 50. Then it's, well, Chamberlain at 42. No, not Michael Jordan. No. Not even. And it's just kind of, like, a little shocking that now it almost, that almost puts Jason Tatum in the GOAT debate because there's so many good players in that list. Yes. And then again, the NBA restart, I believe it was today, the first few games, and then on Saturday, a very, very, it should be a very, very interesting game between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Boston Celtics. It's supposed to be a very interesting game. I can't guarantee that because maybe Joel Embiid is a little bit fatigued because he's been playing really good all season. He's kind of having to lead the team. Then it's James Harden, who, sure, he's averaging 26 and 11, which is very high. But, 26 and 10, I mean. But it just kind of, like, seems that James Harden is not enough. Okay, sure, he makes a really good duo with Joel Embiid, but if you have enough mix to stop Joel Embiid, then you stop the 76ers. If you can defend Embiid, you stop the 66ers. Yeah. If you can successfully guard James Harden, you're dead. Because then Joel Embiid's just going to explode. You cannot double-team James Harden. You cannot. Sure, he's a good shooter, but not anymore like in the 2018 MVP season. He isn't that type of shooter anymore. He isn't that guy who makes every single shot anymore. Now he makes more passes than he scores. So if you double-team him, Joel Embiid is just going to score everything. Everything. But if you guard Embiid, then he's got from average to mediocre players to pass to James Harden. Probably the other best player is this Harris guy, and he only scores inside points. So the other players are all mediocre. So, I'm just saying, it's going to be very easy to stop. But if your target is James Harden, you lost. Almost always you lost. If your target is Joel Embiid, and you successfully do it, almost like 9 out of 10 times you're going to win if you stop Joel Embiid. Situation in Golden State. It's been a long time. Long time since I first mentioned this topic. Nothing, I repeat, they have done nothing about it. Okay, fine, they signed one player. All they did was lose their only 7-foot player on the trade deadline. That's all they did. They lost it on the trade deadline? Yeah, for, what was it, like nothing. A shooting guard. Like, I think it was like a shooting guard. They already have too many guards. They need a center. And now they lost their best center? The exact opposite of what they're supposed to be doing is to be selling or trading their big men. They literally just traded their tallest player. That's like, this is going the wrong way. It doesn't seem like they're going to make the playoffs anymore. Really? I have no idea why ESPN Analytics says that they're the third favorite to win a championship. Because that is clearly wrong. Clearly. Clearly wrong. Now, LeBron James and the Lakers think they can maybe get a play-in spot, but I'm not going to get too confident about the Lakers getting into the playoffs. Just because, I don't know, if LeBron puts on his beast mode, and he puts on his, like, okay I'm in a play mode, 23 out of 24 games I believe they're going to win. And the only game that they lose is going to be like a very nail-biter. Very big nail-biter. But if LeBron still plays the way he's been playing this season, which is still good, they're going to move like, they're going to win 15 out of 24 games. Which is probably not going to be enough with all the competition for the last playoff spots. Now, there's a problem in Dallas. A problem in Dallas. They thought they had a super team. With Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic, just hasn't showed up together. With Kyrie alone, they played really well. With Luka Doncic, they really, really have failed badly. Like, they just have failed. And it's something that's just like, I don't know, it's just like making it, it's a problem almost. As if they focus on their offense too much. And now they barely have any defense. And then when they miss one shot, that gives the other team, almost all the time, an opportunity at points. And then that just starts building up a lead. Because you don't expect them to make every shot. And that just kind of means like, there's a problem. You need defense. You really need your defense. And, as well as that, the Suns, they are a really good team. A really, really good team. Now they have top 50 players in the NBA, four of them. Chris Paul, Kevin Durant, DeAndre Aitken, and Devin Booker. Four players that are all-star caliber. And they're just like, they have a chance at making a run here. But the Suns, do you predict the Suns are going to make it to the playoffs? Yes. I mean, they are, I believe, in a playoff spot already. But just with this, I mean, sure. I don't know why ESPN Analytics says that they're going to win the Western Conference. They are. Because they're not. No? Who is? The Suns. They're not going to win the Western Conference. They can't. Who will win the Western Conference? The Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets? They're going to win. They're going to win it. No doubt about it. Unless Nikola Jokic chokes. Unless Jokic chokes. Unless Nikola Jokic chokes. If he chokes, they're dead. And maybe the Grizzlies win? But definitely not the Suns. I have no idea why they're saying that the Golden State Warriors are going to win. No way in the world that that's happening. Unless they pull off some 24-0 end of the season run. Which is not going to happen. So, well, that's our basketball talk for the day. Now, NFL trade deadline. What is that? No, not the NFL trade deadline. I mean, NFL trades right now. Aaron Rodgers still has not made his decision. Is he going to retire? And still, they have many conversations with the Jets. And now he's going to retire. No, because he did announce that he's not going to retire, but now he's reconsidering that. Now he's thinking, if no team wants me and I have to stay in Green Bay, then I'm going to retire. But now there's talks. Why does he want to be in Green Bay? Because now he knows he's been overthrown by Jordan Love. The benched four-year quarterback that hasn't played in a long time. He's been in this situation. He knows what situation. He was in this situation with Brett Favre, another Packers great. Where he was the starting quarterback and Aaron Rodgers was sitting on the bench for four years. Then Brett Favre retired, but then he came back, like what, four months later and he went to the Jets. Maybe it's going to happen again? But then there's a decision for the Jets. You get a guarantee of at least three more years with Derek Carr, who they're talking with. But you can't guarantee good play. He may throw lots of interceptions, he may throw lots of touchdowns. He may give you a 14-13 win season, he may give you a two-win season. With Aaron Rodgers, the most you can expect is three years. But you can almost always guarantee that he's going to give you at least a 10-win season. At least an 8-win season. And that's just almost saying that, almost a guaranteed playoff. Almost. And now you're thinking you want reliability, but not longevity? Or do you want longevity, but not a guarantee of lots of wins? So what would you go for? What's your opinion about that? Yeah, and that would be the higher option. But then there's the thing that you don't want to spend too much on a player that's only going to play one more season. Or you can also maybe get at least a guaranteed two more years with Derek Carr. But you can maybe get a 15-win season, or you can get a zero-win season out of Derek Carr. There's definitely the longevity, three more years probably. But there's the question about how good he's going to play. And that's why the decisions are coming down now. And if the Jets don't take him, Rodgers is probably going to retire. How about MLS? I'm very curious about your ideas and opinions about the MLS. So, about that. It starts this weekend. Oh yeah, that's true. In the opening between Galaxy and LAFC. Yeah. Here in your hometown of Pasadena. Is it here actually? At the Rose Bowl. True thing that I have to say. LAFC has just lost it this offseason. They literally sold their franchise player Quichuarango for money, that's it. And that's just like the dumbest decision ever. And that's just like the dumbest decision ever. This guy was like so good last season. And then you're going to lose him like that? He was hungry and he was young. And a scorer. Yeah, like last season he scored what? 18 goals. And you sell him? Oh my god. Then Gareth Bale retired. Then they sold Blessing. And now Maxime Krepel isn't good to start because he hasn't recovered from his injury in the MLS Cup Final. So now they're down 40 players. Yeah, but I think Vela is in really good shape. He's been training very hard. And I think Vela is going to surprise us. He's going to come back with... With the eye of the tiger, yes. And you also have Buanga. Oh yeah. Buanga is good. Buanga is very dangerous. There's one problem. And Opoku. There's one big, big problem. You lost the chance at a franchise player Aubameyang. You lost your chance there. Yeah. And now you're stuck with zero players that have proven themselves in Europe. Last season they had that in Gareth Bale. Now they don't. And that's... You don't think Vela is one of those? He did not perform that well in Europe. Zero did Buanga. But all I would say is that... I think you have to find somebody. Some European class player that's on the market. Who do you have in mind? I don't know. Maybe... Maybe I would... Can those deals still be done with Europe? Yeah, they can... With Europe? Is the deadline closed for that? Yeah, but you can still go to the Americas. And what I'm thinking right now is that... Because you lost Aubameyang, there's barely... Oh, I have an idea. Jorginho. The Italian superstar from last season. This year, he's anything but a superstar. He's anything but a good player. So why do you want to bring him? Because he has proven himself. And the only reason that he isn't playing good is because he isn't getting playing time this season. And when he has played, he hasn't really expected it. Because he's only gotten the last minute news. And so he is very good to bring to the MLS. If he can perform average in the Champions League, he's probably going to perform really good in MLS. And that's just something to look at. How old is Jorginho? I believe he's 33. He needs younger players. Do you know that Messi may come to Miami in May? Yeah, he actually has signed officially. Officially he's coming here. So that's going to be a problem. That's going to be big for MLS, right? Yeah, bringing Lionel Messi. That's a problem. That would be fun to watch. Now I have my eye on maybe Luis Suarez. He's almost been completely forgotten. And now he's playing in Uruguay. Really? Yeah, he went on a loan to Uruguay. That's somebody you can maybe try and get. I mean, they almost signed him last summer. Can you imagine Luis Suarez and Chiellini in the same team? I almost forgot about Chiellini. Yeah, we still have him. But the odds of him retiring next season are very high. Yeah, he's getting older. But I think he wants to be a coach in MLS. He is almost like an on-field coach. He's an on-field coach, yeah. Yeah, he's almost like an on-field coach. I don't know why, but now the MLS has so many European players in their primes. Like they got Lorenzo Insigne last season to Toronto. Though he did not make as big of an impact as we thought so. But still a big impact. The Lionel Messi coming over. Oh boy. That's going to be interesting. Very interesting. And he's going to be playing alongside Higuain. Don't forget that. And I don't know. I just feel like MLS is now getting closer to the big leagues. They've had Zlatan, Beckham. In the 70s they had Cruyff and Benet. Now they've gone from a mediocre soccer team that their only win would be against England in the World Cup in the 30s. To now being a popular place. And not like a place where you would go if you're not a good player. I feel like that's something to think about in the next two decades, three decades. Oh well, that concludes this episode. Thank you for listening. That is the end. The end. The end. Until next time.