Tom Fantasy Basketball 8-15-23 Central Division

same. Yeah. Ok. Sounded pretty good to me. We're professionals basically. Thank you. How's it going guys? Happy to be here. Talk some hoops. Yeah, so when I first knew we were going to talk about the Central Division and looking at the Bulls, I wasn't very encouraged to talk about them. I think they're a pretty underwhelming team for the amount of talent and I don't know, I think this is a team that's kind of leaning towards blowing it up compared to competing, but what do you think Frank? No, I totally agree with that. I think, well, Chicago, looking at them in real life, they have a lot of money tied up in their players. They've got Zachary and Mark Lewis, they're all gods of being on track, so they're in a tough place to blow it up, but you know, Yeah, and, well, what I was going to say too is one thing I thought of when thinking about the Bulls, and we'll talk about the Pistons and Pacers and younger teams like that later, but as many people expect them to take a step forward and get better, there's also, there has to be teams that take a step backwards and regress. You can't just have every team become good. Teams also have to get worse and I think the Bulls are a big candidate to take a step back and underperform, whether it is injuries or lack of depth or underperforming. DeRozan's getting old, Caruso's good, but I wouldn't be surprised if this team really came in and underwhelmed people this year. Patrick Williams, yeah. But I think, didn't they invest a top-five pick into Patrick Williams? I'm almost positive he was and I think that's another issue with this team is not only do they have a lot of money tied up in these big players, like Frank said, I think they also have just been pretty underwhelming drafting as far as Patrick Williams and Colby White was top ten, Dale and Terry last year, and I think going forward they're going to be too good to get a high lottery pick and they're going to be too poor to compete, so I think they're just kind of in a tough spot where the cup will runneth dry eventually and they'll have to blow it up. I want to ask you, you've got a little bit of bias, you're very quiet, but what's your expectations for this year? 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I don't know if it's a one-sided game all game long. I don't know if it's a one-sided game all game long. I don't know if it's a one-sided game all game long. True. That being said, I mean, James Weiser isn't anyone's point forward over at this point. I don't know what he had in mind last year, but he didn't perform too well. So, you know, Martin Rollins, when he played, I mean, when he played the under-age drop like Dale, he was kind of staggered, but I think in this case, Dirge is a nod as one, as a starter, but no, he's kind of a, he's kind of a, I mean, that's a really good side for a lot of people who are fortunate to get an injury, but I think in the absence of talent, generational talent, I think it's, you know, fans can watch, I think, you know, like, I think the issue is, like, I mean, like, when it was complicated, a lot of guys didn't play, it was like, so, I don't know if that's a one-sided game all game long, but I think it's just a one-sided game all game long. Besides breakout, I mean, like, it's also an expectation that he's a number one pick. I don't know. Yeah. Definitely. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I was going to say, I love the Monty Williams addition in the offseason, too. I know it seemed like he was pretty reluctant to coach there, but they threw a bag of money at him, and he came over, and he's going to help this team get to a lot of wins. And in regard to the expectations for them this year, I think one thing that we kind of forget about is last year they lost all those games with Cade out, and I think Cade returning actually will boost them a little bit more in a sense of win total, and then they'll also take a step as a team. So, I think last year they could have been around, you know what, they won 17 games. They probably could have won 20, 21, 22 games last year alone just with Cade being healthy. So, getting Cade back and taking the next step, yeah, I think, you know, just under 500 is definitely possible for this team, and I wouldn't be surprised there. I think you're right too, Bas, but selfishly I hope the Pistons finish better. Like, I think the Bulls just need to kind of have a bad season and give up on their current roster. Like, I really just am not seeing a path to a successful year, and I think the Pistons have a lot of upside. You know, they're young, they're hungry, and Monty will get them right, and so I think if they get a little momentum this year, that can snowball into becoming a really good team later on in the next couple years. So, I agree. I mean, with all the young talent in the league between Pistons and the Magic and Rockets, Thunder, I love some of these young teams, and the Pistons are one of them. So, like I said earlier, with these teams rising and becoming better, teams also have to get worse, I think it's just about time for the Bulls to blow it up. You know, what I think about it is you have a lot of opportunities, a lot of distractions going on, like with Magic and Rockets, you have a lot of opportunities. Also, it's kind of a waste of time. It's not very successful for anybody in the modern day. But, I mean, Ivy looked okay in this situation, but didn't, like, shine per se. So, I think one of the things you might see, as well as this offseason development, you still don't know that, but you might see it in the future. I'm not sure. It's probably still on the board. But, it's not as big of a chance as we thought it would be. There's a lot of opportunities. Yeah, I don't think Asar will have a super high usage, especially in his rookie year. So, I'm not too worried about him. I think Ivy definitely showed growth the last 40 games of the season, especially once Cade got hurt and he was able to be that primary ball handler. He's not going to do that this year, obviously, with Cade back. And so, I don't think there will be a crazy uptick in usage or anything like that or scoring. But I do think that being the primary ball handler allowed him to grow and see more and to fail a little bit, and he would have bad games and respond with a good game. And I think that was a great opportunity for him to exercise those growing pains a little bit. And so, with that comes a lot of growth, I guess. And so, I think he'll take that next step as a player. And I'm not too worried about him. He's more than capable. He's a great athlete, great flasher. And he'll find a way to play next to Cade, and Cade will find a way to get him some looks and get him some buckets. You're saying he doesn't become a star next year? Or a good player? Okay. Yeah, yeah, I totally agree with that. Totally agree. Yeah, Frank, you can take it. Our entire telemarketing team was out, you know, for a lot of years. And so, what happened here is that Ben, the announcer, was the one that had it right on his hand. He did well. I think he also kind of got interested in the work, you know, based on the weight, taking care of the high-water technique. And I think he was longer, a year longer. You know, I think the work that he's done on the band should be able to do some day one. There's a lot of certainty he's got in here. I think he's got it. He's a long player. I think he's a great athlete. You know, a little bit last year, but I think he's a good manufacturer, too. I think he'll do just as well. And he's quite a deal. He's quite reliable. He's not the most sexy player. You know, he's got the numbers and he's good for a role. Bash, could you give us the projected starting lineup? Sure. Yeah, I like all of what you said, Frank. I totally agree with most of that. What I am kind of stuck on with the Pacers is I don't know how I see them taking a leap this next year, if that makes sense. I think Halliburton is really good. I think he's a star. I think he balled out last year. Does he have another gear to his game? Like, does he have another step? You know, does that make sense to you guys? I don't know if he has that next gear. Yeah. Definitely. Definitely. I feel like with Halliburton, he's kind of, you know, I feel like he's used all of his talent. Like, I think this is kind of what he is, in my opinion. I don't know if there's another level to it. I don't know if I see it. The ceiling is a really good player. The ceiling is a star, obviously. But I don't know if I see that next level where he's able to elevate this team to more wins and to, like, you know, being a higher seed in the playoffs. I just don't know if I see that. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah, I see where you're coming from there. A lot of stats pulled up, and he scored almost, just under 21 points per game. So that's a good point, Frank, and I think he can score more. He had 10 assists per game. I just, I don't know. I have a hard time seeing him becoming that player who leads the Pacers to being, you know, like a four seed in the East. I just don't know if that just doesn't work in my head for me. So maybe he'll prove me wrong. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Um, I think he'll be good. I think he'll be really good. I think, like you said, he was very ready for the NBA. I don't know how much the Pacers paid the Wizards to trade up and draft Kulibaly so they could land Jairus Walker, but I think it's pretty remarkable that he fell that far. I guess that was his draft range, but, I mean, that's still a great value to get him at, what, seven, eight? I mean, exactly. Yeah, no, he's a really good player. I think they made some sneaky good signings with Obie Toppin and Bruce Brown. Both those players can contribute. They can play. Bruce Brown obviously has a ring, so he'll be a really good player. As far as Jairus Walker, I think it'll take him a little bit. I think it'll take him about a year before he's, you know, really gets his feet used to the NBA and the physicality down low, but he's more than capable of becoming a great player in the NBA. So I'm not too worried about him and his progression. I think it'll all come through. We just need to give him some time. He's a good player, for sure. I mean, like, he's a really good player. He's the number one in his class. He's an excellent player. He's, like, you know, on both sides of the board. So he will be a big contributor to the Pacers team, but I think he'll be more than capable of that. Unless you're, like, a C particular talent, I'm sure he'll kind of develop and play in the NBA. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Go ahead, Frank. Okay. Yeah, I agree with all that for fantasy. I think he will have easier paths to score playing with Halliburton, if that makes sense. I think Halliburton can give him some good looks, and he can get easy buckets throughout the game that can get him going. So I'm not as much worried about the streaky playing, but we obviously saw it last year with the hot start, and he was literally in rookie of the year conversations for the first two months of the year. And then he obviously hit a wall, that rookie wall, and then his performance came back to earth, and he had a bad streak of shooting. But, yeah, I think that'll probably be the summary of his career. He'll be an up-and-down scorer, but I'm willing to take the lows with the highs. And so I think the highs are there, and he scored. There were some stats. He scored 20 points in his first five games or within his first five games of playing or something. So I think he's more than capable of scoring at this level. It'll just be how consistent can he get it and how dominant can he be. I think it's there. But like you guys said, there'll be some up-and-downs, but I'm willing to take that gamble, especially when he's playing with Hal Burton. All right. Yeah, I've never seen a weird obsession with a fourth-string center like you do, Bass. You have a weird thing going. I think as I've been thinking about this, my comparison for that love for Isaiah Jackson would probably be your love for Cam Thomas as well. Just a weird… Well, you also traded for him at one point, so don't forget. You also were very in love with him at a point. So I don't know. I think it's kind of odd how you have this thing for backups who don't really actually play. We're going to be in our rocking chairs 80 years old and Bass is going to be going, I told you so. Anyways. Yeah. All right. So I really think they're going to do well this season. That being said, I feel a little personal, because I don't like them to be honest. Dutch beat Boston in that one. He was injured a lot last year. One game he can beat Michael Jordan, another game he can beat third bench. So if I did, I don't really want to rely on him anymore. Bass is a good role player. So looking at it, there's a lot of youngsters watching him all day Yeah. If I had to describe him in three words, it would be old, thin, and Giannis. That's pretty much the sum of this team. I think Frank summed it up a lot. Although I don't know how angry and motivated this Giannis will be. He's always good. He's always really good. So I'm sure he'll come back and be an MVP candidate again. But the questions really aren't with him. It's not really on him. It's up to the supporting cast, like you said. And Middleton's tough to rely on. I think Brooke Lopez had a great year last year. Can he replicate that again? I guess we'll see. I don't really know how this team – I think they're squeezing every ounce of juice they can out of this team. And their window is shrinking right in front of their eyes. The older Giannis gets, the smaller the window is. So I really do think this is maybe their last or second-to-last year seriously competing for a championship. Like I said, with all these other teams taking a step and getting better, and they're younger and they're hungrier, Giannis will still be good. But as far as a complete roster ready to make a push for a championship, I think the bucks are kind of running out here. All right. Yes, sir. Yeah, and I think someone to keep an eye on this year is Marjan Bochamp. He played a lot last year, at least more than I thought he would for a rookie. And he's looked good in the offseason. Obviously, everyone sees the hype videos that players will put out. But I think Bochamp looks really good, and I think this team is so thin, they're going to need some juice fused into that. And one more thing, I wanted to play a fun game and see how well Frank knows his team. So, Frank, if you could go ahead and spell Giannis Onizucumpo for the audience, that would be awesome real quick. So, scouts on or don't pull up your phone, don't look it up. I got it right here in front of me because I would know how to spell it. So, I just want to see if you know your players pretty well. So, let's hear it. Okay. Well, I'll give you a hint and start you off. It starts with an A. Huh? Go ahead. Okay. A-N-T-E-T, that's correct. No, that's incorrect, Frank. You got five out of the 12 letters in his last name. I tip my cap. Bash, do you want a shot? I'd like to. Oh, you have it in front of you? That's cheating. Okay. Scouts on or go ahead. Go ahead. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. No, that's wrong. Oh, my gosh. Bash has five free letters. Ladies and gentlemen, here's your answer. I'm going to read it off. G-I-A-N-N-I-S-A-N-T-E-T-O-K-O-U-N-M-P-O. Nope, you said... You didn't make it to the K. Oh, you said an O. There was no O before the K. Yeah, we got the tapes. Pull up the tapes. Pull up the film. Anyways, good effort, boys. Wait, we don't get who's that Pokemon? Okay. We had our Janus game. Thanks, guys. See you in the next one. Okay, I ended my recording. Nice. That was good. Neither of you guys got Janus. Yeah. No, you said like T-O-U-K. You said T-U-K or something. You said U and there was no U. No. In my defense, I can spell every player on my team's name. So I guess you don't love your team as much, Frank. Well, hey, that's not important. The name's not important. I love my team. I love my team more. That's the bottom line. This one's not that bad. W-E-M-B-A-N-Y-A-M-A. No, and I definitely know there's an N in there because I've suggested it to you and Rylan to pronounce it. Thanks, guys.