Hey everyone, it's your sports friend Bobby Labida and I'm here back for week 12 of NBA
action.
I'm going to get you caught up on the biggest ish that happened this past week.
So if you fell out of a rock and into a window, I got you.
We have a great episode in store for you.
And if not, you get your money back.
This week, we're going to be talking about our three storylines of the week.
I mean, we're talking about some trends.
I'm going to have a new section called boo, you stink.
And we're going to be talking about some news and notes.
But before we get into that, let's hear from our sponsor this week.
Our zebras and no, I'm not talking about the zebras on the court, the referees.
I'm talking about literal zebras because they would be better at the job of roughing a
basketball game than the people we put on the court most of the time.
This week had a lot of rough drama and I'm excited to get into it.
And you know what?
Report your local zoo because maybe one day those zebras could do some good for the world.
Unlike those zebras on the court.
Whoa, whoa, man, that felt so good to just to to release that to just just to be free.
Listen, if you want to be a real sports fan, this is one thing we can all agree upon.
Doesn't matter what color jersey you wear.
Fuck the refs.
Just fuck them.
Fuck them.
I'm going to be a real sports fan.
Normally, I like to keep my audio clip short.
However, if I did that for this clip, that would be a disservice to each and every one
of you.
I don't want to deprive you of this generational coach rant by the Toronto Raptors coach in
a game where he felt the Lakers were getting a lot of calls.
The Raptors weren't outrageous.
What happened tonight?
This is completely beers.
This is shame.
Shame for the referees.
Shame for the league to allow this.
Twenty three free throws for them and we get two free throws in a four quarter.
Like how to play the game.
I understand respect for all stars and all of that, but we have star players on our team
as well.
How is possible as Scotty Barnes, who is all star caliber player in this league, he goes
every single time to the rim with force and trying to get to the rim without flapping
and not trying to get foul calls.
He gets two free throws for the whole game.
How is that possible?
How are you going to explain that to me?
They had to win tonight.
If that's the case, just let us know so we don't show up for the game.
Just give them a win.
But that was not fair tonight.
And this is not happening first time for us.
Scotty Barnes is going to be all star.
He's going to be the face of this league.
And what's happening over here during the whole season, I've been calling you back.
It's a complete crap.
Who you just heard there was Darko Rogovic, the coach of the Toronto Raptors.
We as sports fans have been blessed with some amazing postgame coach rants.
But this one is one of the best one in years.
I love that Darko Rogovic is here going to bat for his players.
And you know, if I'm his player, I'm going to be like, you know, coach has my back.
He's willing to get fined because he got fined $25,000 for that rant.
And he's willing to try to, you know, defend us.
And I think that's a good thing for a coach to do.
Now this is a tough story for me to talk about because I am a Lakers fan.
And for many of you listening, that's probably the worst thing about me.
And you know what I'd say to that?
Fair.
That is a fair criticism.
But you know what?
I'm also just a fan of basketball.
And there's a couple of things that we have to keep in mind.
So it was 23 to 2 in the fourth quarter in terms of the free throw shots.
23 for the Lakers and 2 for the Raptors.
Now the Lakers the last couple of years have gotten the most foul calls.
And I think a lot of people think it's a Lakers whistle.
And I do think there are some elements of it.
I think you need to consider the context.
Anthony Davis draws a lot of fouls because in order to stop him a lot of the time, you
need to foul him.
You have LeBron who can prick and prod in a way and get defenses uneasy and can draw
fouls and Austin Reeves is excellent at making defenders uncomfortable.
But I think the 23 and 2 just like saying, hey, this team had more free throws can be
disingenuous.
Now definitely they missed a couple of calls that I think, you know, a call that the Lakers
got the Raptors didn't get.
There were a couple of those, but you have to keep in mind eight of those free throws
came from intentional fouls in the last minute trying to stop the Lakers on possessions.
The last two minute report came out from the league and said there should have been two
more fouls placed on the Raptors.
So it should have actually been a bigger differential.
The last two minute report, if you're unfamiliar with this, the league releases a report and
says basically if there are any errors in refereeing the last few minutes of the game.
Usually these reports are hard to trust because oftentimes it can feel like a CYA situation
with the league.
And this report said that there were two more fouls that should have been given on the Raptors.
So it should have been 27 to two.
Was there a disparity?
Yes.
Was it as bad as it sounds?
No.
However, regardless of me being a Lakers fan, I think this is an awesome rant.
You know, hopefully Scotty Barnes gets that whistle.
I think refs tend to overcorrect because they're human and when something gets focused on,
they have an overreaction to it, which shouldn't be the case, right?
It should be fair and objective.
And the Raptors definitely missed some calls and that game ended up being very, very close.
It ended up being a one point game.
Though the worst thing about that game was that maybe the free throws, but the fact that
the last minute took like 15 real life minutes.
Basketball.
We got to figure out these endings.
I get it.
We need a foul, but we got to, there's got to be a way to speed this up because it shouldn't
take so freaking long.
But this was not the only ref drama.
There was ref drama involving the Celtics, Jalen Brown against the Indiana Pacers.
He went up for a shot and was very clearly fouled and did not get the call.
It was challenged or reviewed.
And upon being looked at again, they decided, yeah, there was no foul, which listen, I'm
a Lakers fan and I'm here defending a Celtics player saying they should have been fouled.
This is how egregious this is.
This is why refs, you make me say, yeah, the Celtics should have won.
They should have got that.
Look what you did.
Look what you've done to me.
And this is why all of us again, we should see you bros.
I'm Ernie Johnson.
So this game is out of hand, obviously.
One hundred to sixty two is the score in Milwaukee.
Celtics of resting the rest of their starters for the rest of the night.
So we're thinking, let's see what else is going on in the league.
And Oklahoma City, by the way, is up 36.
So we're not going there.
We'll try the Knicks and the Mavs.
And it's a forty seven twenty eight game, but it's closer than what's going on in the
main streets.
January 11th, two thousand twenty four.
The birthday of friend of the show, friend of the pod, Kenny Gunanan.
Shout out to Kenny.
But also the day where the worst basketball took place this season, because every single
game had a disastrous blowout.
And here are just some of the highlights.
The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Celtics 135 to 102.
But that's not as bad as it actually was at halftime.
The Celtics were down 38 to 75.
The Bucks almost had double their score.
This is the largest deficit that the Bucks that the Celtics have had at halftime in the
game since 1967.
We had not been on the moon, y'all, but the Celtics did it.
But they weren't the only ones to have a historically bad day.
The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Portland Trail Blazers 139 to 77.
The 62 point margin of victory is the fifth largest in all of NBA history.
So we got a lot of really bad history happening on this cold, cold January day.
However, pretty much every game was a blowout.
It wasn't even close.
The only game that was close was a game that took place in France.
What is going on?
Well in case you were wondering what is going on, if you've been paying attention recently,
there's been a lot more blowouts than there had been prior to the season.
And I listened to a couple of people on their fears on why this is happening, a couple of
podcasts, and I thought I would share some of this information with all of you of why
this could be happening.
And is this actually a real thing?
And the data shows it is a real thing for a couple of reasons.
First is prior to the end season tournament, games were closer than they typically had
been at that point in the season.
Like historically, there were less blowouts, but since that point, there have been a higher
level of blowouts.
And there are a couple of theories for why this could be the case.
Is first that the threshold for the games in order to win an award this year, you have
to get 65 games in.
And so teams may be more likely to throw in the white flag a little bit earlier.
Throw in the white flag.
You know, you throw in the towel and wave the white flag, whatever you're doing with
the flag, you wave it.
And the reason for that is like, okay, I don't want my players to be hurt.
They have to play a little more than maybe they would in a normal season.
And as a result, you see this being part of the situation.
Another factor is that offenses are better than they have been ever.
We see that some of the highest offensive ratings of all time are happening currently.
And they also did data that right now we're seeing shooting at a very high rate.
Historically, the only other seasons that have as high a free throw percentage or not
free throw percentage, but field goal percentage as this happened like in the seventies.
And the reason for this is that players are getting really good with threes and they're
making really efficient shots.
Like the shot selection that players are doing is better than ever.
They're being more efficient than ever.
And so when you have one team that's on, that's going to be more noticeable, especially when
you have a faster pace of play, which we do right now compared to the historical average.
So teams are playing faster and they're shooting better.
And so when you combine that with maybe a team that is not doing that or is not shooting
well, you're going to see more blowouts.
And many of the people that were talked to as part of these podcasts on people like that
work in the league also pointed to the in season tournament.
It being a new phenomenon that maybe some teams are more sluggish after it.
And some teams, maybe they had that molar earlier than they normally do.
And so they're playing with more cohesion.
And so the highs are high, but the lows are low.
And it led to something I don't think I've ever seen in a basketball game when the Celtics
lost and to give some credit to the Celtics, it was the second day of a back to back and
against the Timberwolves who they beat in overtime.
So it was a very long day the night before and they had to travel.
The Celtics didn't start any other starters in the second half.
And I've never seen that in a blowout.
But I usually see them at least try for the third and then the fourth is when they give
up.
So maybe that even speaks to the credence of what people are saying about that.
We wave the towel faster because we don't want our players to get hurt.
But hopefully we won't see basketball as bad as this going forward.
Bill, they're demoralizing, but he's so long and able to hang in the air.
It looked like it was perfect timing.
Victor Wimbenyano scored the first 13 points in the second half for the Spurs.
And I think we're seeing more and more of just the brilliance of Victor.
And what was so great about these possessions, if you have a chance to watch the highlights,
is Victor's just pretty much in the paint and his players, his teammates are just throwing
the ball to him.
And he's seven foot three, four and can just almost dunk standing.
He doesn't have to jump, which is crazy.
But he can jump and he's very athletic.
And so he's just dunking over these people.
And it's just wild to see.
It just is so easy.
And also the Spurs have won a couple of games by blowouts.
Now, granted, they're against the Hornets and the Pistons.
So they're beating bad teams, but they're beating teams.
And I think that's a good thing.
And they're beating the bad teams very badly.
And so, you know, if they're able to do that, you know, I think no one expected the Spurs
to come into this year, you know, with really strong playoff chances.
But I think, you know, I think that the Spurs, assuming they make some good deals because
in good trades, just because I think they have some players that will not be on, should
not be have a high.
I hate saying these things, but should not be important players on championship level
teams.
I think there's some pieces there that you can work with.
And I think, you know, you assemble even a pretty mediocre and OK cast around Victor,
especially as he gets better at basketball, because he's already so good and he already
feels so polished.
And you know, it doesn't matter that he's like 19 years old.
It's just it's just crazy.
Like, you know, basketball fans, if you're out there, you know, barring something or
for scene, I think we're going to be watching him play basketball for a very long time.
And it always feels cool to me when it feels like we're at the beginning of someone's
long and prolific career, because you can be like, I remember when I was so much younger,
you know, like, I mean, think of like LeBron, you know, you probably some people listen,
this can invoke.
So you have a family like when he entered the league.
And so I think that's just I think that's just really cool.
And I'm hoping that the Spurs can do right by Victor and do some good for San Antonio.
All right, y'all, we're going to talk about some quick news and notes from around the
league first in unfortunate injury news.
John Morant is going to be out for the rest of the year after having shoulder surgery
for a torn labrum in his right shoulder, which is his shooting shoulder.
And this is really unfortunate because he just made a comeback and he was all the things
you expect and hope for John Morant to be.
He's an amazingly physically gifted athlete.
He can jump like I swear, it's like he's jumping off a trampoline.
He can get high in such an interesting and aerodynamic way.
It's just like hard to describe.
It just feels like he's being catapulted off of the ground when he jumps.
But unfortunately, he's out for the rest of the year.
And I think you'll see that the Grizzlies will probably shut this team down and just,
you know, hope to get a decent draft pick and, you know, reload next season when they
don't have their entire team injured, because I feel like almost all of their players are
injured.
And it's unfortunate because I'm a big fan of the Grizzlies coach.
I think he brings an intensity that feels good.
And I feel like the Grizzlies have been a very good team the last couple of years and
they do get slept on just given they haven't placed as high in the playoffs as they should.
But they've put together some really good regular seasons with John and sometimes even
without John in the past.
And I think to be able to do that with and without a star player is a sign of good coaching.
So I wish the Grizzlies good luck as they finish out this year because they'll be going
to Cancun early.
And in opposite news of going to Cancun, the Pistons and Wizards have finalized a deal
to bring Marvin Bagley, Isaiah Livers in two second round picks to the Wizards for Danilo
Gellinari and Mike Mascalla.
Normally at this time of the year, you see trades between a contending team and a non
contending team.
So this is unique to have a trade between two non contending teams.
The reason they're doing this is they've been trying to move Marvin Bagley.
The Pistons have been and so the Wizards are going to accept a salary dump.
And the Pistons had to give up two draft picks to get Marvin Bagley.
And now they have to give up two draft picks to get rid of him.
And when your team is struggling as much as the Pistons, you want draft picks.
You want the ability to refire, reload.
So I think this is a failing of the Pistons for an office that they had to acquire him
with a lot of assets and lose him via a lot of assets.
And so congrats to everyone involved in what will be likely the middest trade of the year.
But introducing our newest segment.
Chicago is a sports town and what we witnessed today when Jerry Krause's name was called
and the people that booed Jerry Krause and his widow who was accepting this honor for
him, it was the worst thing I've ever seen in my life.
I hurt for that lady, brought her to tears and whoever booed her in this arena should
be ashamed of themselves.
It was that's not Chicago.
That's New York, Philly.
Chicago's not like that.
We don't have a reputation of being that way.
And whether you like Jerry Krause or not, that man brought six championships here.
He didn't shoot a basket nor did he get a rebound, but he put six titles up in this
ring.
There's a lot of teams doing that.
In this new segment called Boo You Stink, I will talk about something that stinks and
something that stinks.
Some pungent smell is coming from the city of Chicago.
Now Chicago, I love your city.
It's a beautiful city.
It's a little too cold, but it's a great place.
However, Chicago fans had been criticized this week after booing former general manager
Jerry Krause during his ring ceremony.
What happened was Jerry Krause, who has passed away, was the general manager of the Bulls
predominantly during the Jordan years.
And this is what he's remembered for.
Unfortunately for Jerry, the last dance documentary, and if you're unfamiliar, Michael Jordan
did a 10 part documentary showcasing his last season on the Bulls.
Everyone kind of knew the writing was on the wall.
And part of the reason the writing was on the wall was decisions that Jerry made.
The documentary made Jerry look unfavorable to many and really made Michael Jordan look
good and a lot of other partners on the Bulls.
But it really made Jerry look bad.
And this has made fans turn on Jerry Krause since he's passed away.
The unfortunate thing is his wife was there, Thelma.
And upon the ring ceremony, whose name was announced, and booze filled the stadium, which
led his wife to tears.
And it was really heartbreaking to watch.
And this led to a lot of criticism by the Bulls commentators and other people around
the Bulls basically being like, what are you doing?
This man, it was part and had hand in six championships that were brought to this to
the city, you know, to this team.
And so sports fans, I'm all for booing appropriately, right?
Booing your rival in the fourth quarter at the most important moment.
Good.
Booing a man who is getting awarded who's dead while his elderly wife was there to the
point where she cried.
Greg Popovich said about the situation is that he feels like fans are meaner nowadays.
Fans, I want you to be intense, but not be mean.
I think those are different are different things.
And I like intensity, but I don't like meanness.
And Chicago, that was just mean.
So this is why.
In this week's Streaks and Trends segment, we're going to talk about some trends, a good
one and a bad one.
We're going to start with a bad one.
Historically speaking, this season, the bad teams are worse than ever.
The data that backs us up is net rating.
If you're unfamiliar, net rating basically means how many points do you score more than
your opponent per game?
And so if it shows not only are you winning, but are you winning by a lot or a little?
And sometimes this can show more than actually how many games you've won because it speaks
to how high the highs are and how low the lows are.
And the lows this year are staggering.
Prior to this season, there had only ever been one team with a negative 10 rating in
a single season.
This year there are two and there are three on the cuffs of being there.
And these three teams were just there, but because they pulled out some wins, looking
at you Spurs who were the worst in this category a couple of weeks ago, but after two blowouts
are actually now fifth worse.
But the bottom five teams are so bad compared to everyone else.
And I think what's happening here is that the good in the league, this league, I think
is more talented than ever.
So the good is in a lot of places, but it is not in these places.
And so it makes it more staggering the difference between the good and the bad, because I think
the bad is not necessarily more bad than, you know, some teams of the past.
You know, I think any of these teams could probably be the Sixers who were tanking in
2014, 2015.
However, that doesn't matter when the good in the surrounding environment is stronger
or better than ever.
It just makes you seem worse.
And so for these teams, if you're a fan of these teams, you know, look forward, start
scouting, start watching college basketball, see what player may be on your team in the
future, because it's not going to go far.
I kid you should support your team even when they suck.
But when they suck, at least you don't have to worry about about them, you know, having
hope like I do as a Lakers fan.
I do this thing where I have hope and then they take it away.
As we saw in a game just yesterday where they were beaten by the Utah Jazz and the Utah
Jazz are my good streak.
The Utah Jazz went from pretty well under 500 and nowhere in the playoff conversation
to now they have a winning record and they're in the play in tournament as of today, which
is crazy.
The Utah Jazz are 14 and four in their last 18.
And I think the reason they've been doing it is they're playing like a well run team,
like they seem to be well coached.
And some players have really stepped up.
Colin Sexton has is playing his best season ever.
He's finally healthy.
You have John Collins, who's playing great.
You have Laurie Markkinen, who he was my second round pick in fantasy basketball this year.
And I'm happy with that pick.
He's a great contributor.
He can do all sorts of things.
He shoots the three really well at a high volume for how big he is.
He can get you some defenses fast and rebounds.
And he's just really talented.
And I think with him here, he's able to shine in a way he hasn't been able to in his previous
stops.
And you have Chris Dunn playing really excellent defense.
He's been on every player.
It doesn't matter how good you are.
And sometimes in a single possession, he will move from one defender to another, to another,
to another.
There is one possession that in the Milwaukee game where he literally covered every single
player in one drop in one possession.
That's crazy.
But he's got that motor.
He's got that hustle.
And unfortunately, I think for the Jazz and Jazz fans, you can probably expect at the
trade deadline to lose some players.
Danny Ains, the general manager, he's addicted to trades.
But I think if you're in the Jazz's position, unless you think you have a real chance at
a championship, you're probably kicking the can down the road.
I don't necessarily think teams should do that.
I think if you have a chance to make the playoffs, you should at least always try.
At least try to make the playoffs, especially when they've been playing so well.
And they've been beating really good teams.
It's not like they're beating the bad teams.
And you can be like, oh, OK, cool.
They're beating the best teams in the league and showing that they can hold up.
And so Utah, keep on Utah-ing, jazzing.
Utah, you really should have changed your name when you moved.
Is there jazz in Utah?
Is there happiness in Utah?
Utah is beautiful.
Yeah, I'm going to end it there.
All right.
Thank you for listening to another week of Omni Sports with your host, Bobby Labida.
And as we sign off for the day, I just want to thank you from the bottom of my heart.
If you're still listening, I really appreciate it.
If you look to engage with us a little more, you can find us on TikTok X Instagram.
Feel free to email us at omnisports423 at gmail.com.
Also if you're in the Spotify app, there's now a way to send a voice message to the show.
I don't know how it works, but I trust that you'll figure it out if you want to.
No pressure.
You don't have to talk more than you want to.
This is a podcast.
You thought this would be just a me to you experience.
And now all of a sudden I'm bringing up that it could be a you to me experience and that
seems overwhelming.
I get it.
For my fantasy players out there, don't forget to put your players in your starting lineups
and make your acquisitions.
I'm sorry this week we don't have any tips for you, anything specific.
But if there's any tips you're looking for, again, feel free to reach out and have a great
week.
I'll see you next time.