Greetings my peeps and welcome to the All Things Basketball Podcast with your boy GD.
In this episode I will be covering several topics.
I'll be talking about the mysterious case of Angel Reese, also talking about James
Hart and the struggles of the LA Clippers and then we'll talk about your buddy and
mine, Draymond Green getting suspended.
So just sit back, relax and enjoy the show.
Okay guys it's your boy GD.
I'm back.
Took a bit of a hiatus there.
Actually part hiatus part I did want to let like the season kind of play out at least
the first month.
You know you can make a lot of snap judgments in a couple of games but I wanted at least
to let about four or five weeks go before I can make assessments and those sort of things
which I will do but I wanted to get to some pertinent news out of the world of basketball
so it's just three news items I want to cover in this episode and then I'll do around the
league I'll do the Eastern Conference and I'll do the Western Conference so I'll probably
do that within the next couple of episodes.
But now I want to hit these news items here.
First we will start with the mysterious case of Angel Reese.
Now back in November 14th, LSU, she plays for LSU, college basketball and LSU played Kent
State and in that game Angel Reese was in the game in the beginning.
She played only 14 minutes in that game.
Actually she was pulled to the bench early right after she launched the ill-advised three
point shot.
Which can Malky pulls her to the bench, puts her back in but in the second half she doesn't
play at all so she plays 14 minutes in that game and actually it was a close game.
It was like a two point lead by LSU but in the second half they blew the doors off of
Kent State in fact outscoring them 70 to 42 and the final score was 109 to 79 but that
was the game where eyebrows were kind of raised because of Angel Reese getting benched.
Then we move on to the next two games and we come to find out Angel Reese is not with
the team.
And then those two games LSU plays southeast Louisiana and they beat them 73 to 50 and
then they played Texas Southern and beat them 106 to 47.
And coming up on their schedule actually they got a bit of an easy one there.
They go to Niagara University and play them on the 24th November 25th.
They play at Virginia University and the big game will be on November 30th where they take
on the ninth ranked Virginia Tech Hokies.
And that team has on it Elizabeth Keatley who when we last saw her playing against LSU
she had a monster game 18 points 12 rebounds and seven blocks.
And also you have Georgia Amor as well so you got a solid team right there that can definitely
give LSU fits.
And LSU right now I mean they have solid players remember they brought in Haley Van Lyft who's
still getting acclimated with the team.
You also have transfer Anisha Morrow she's still playing her way in.
Also Flau J. Johnson who's looking very much improved in her sophomore year.
And then you have the freshman Michaela Williams who's looking really good right now.
And also for the interim you have Samaya Smith holding down the middle until Angel
Reese gets back.
But I want to get back to Angel Reese and the two press conferences following the victories
over Southeast Louisiana and Texas Southern.
And those press conferences Malky she keeps it tight lipped.
She states that Angel Reese is away from the team and that she'll be back sooner than later.
I'm using air quotes guys for sooner than later.
So there's a lot of speculation going on as to what's going on.
Social media oh gosh I continue to say it's going to be the bane of our existence.
Again as I put my episodes on platforms and advertise on social media but that's another
story.
But the speculations have run rampant from bad grades saying that she has a below 2.0
GPA all the way to oh she's pregnant.
And then to add kind of fuel to the fire you have Angel Reese's mom going at it on social
media with Flajaye Johnson's mom.
And then going back and forth back and forth Flajaye's mom even alluded to the angels low
grades which I'm pretty sure puts a strain on the relationship of Angel and Flajaye.
So you have that and then also remember the fact that you know with all these NIL deals
and that's another thing people saying oh the NIL money's getting to her.
Right now she is ranked 7th among all college athletes in terms of NIL earnings.
Also the fact that during the summer you didn't really see her like working on her game so
forth you know she posted everything else, posted the video she did with well she made
an appearance on Cardi B's video so you have that.
You saw her at the SB's, you saw her this place, that place, you saw her hugged up with
the boyfriend so everybody wants to say she's doing everything else but working on her game.
And I did watch the first game and a half or so of her playing and I gotta admit guys
you didn't really see anything added to her game per se.
You like to see a player come back with a little something extra.
I know it's early you know first couple of games but still.
And then of course them losing to Colorado that very first game that didn't help matters
either and of course social media went crazy.
She's overrated this and that.
So you have all this speculation about her.
I'll be honest we have no idea all we could do is speculate.
Could it be the bad grades?
Could be.
I heard Steven A. Smith opine about this and just the young lady grows up which you know
you talk about 21 year old who's getting all this money coming in so it can get to your
head or so forth.
Here's what I will say though if I had an opportunity to speak to Angel Reese.
I tell her there are forces out there that are envious, jealous and pretty much hates
the fact that you're getting a bag at the tender age of 21.
A lot of jealous folks out there.
And not only just people sitting behind computers or behind phones typing not just them.
Athletes as well.
So you have a lot a lot of detractors a lot of haters.
Your best response to haters and detractors is you have to have the attitude of well
I could show you better than I could tell you why I deserve this bag.
In other words, go in there work on your game, work on being a excellent teammate to your
team.
Go and do the things that's necessary for the team success.
Those sort of things.
If you want to give them something less to talk about.
That would be my advice to her and definitely get yourself a trainer this way.
You can be in peak condition.
You can be at your maximum as a player.
So that would be my unsolicited advice to Angel Reese if she was to listen.
And then I gotta say with your mom.
I know she's got a hands full.
She has the son that's playing for the University of Maryland and you have her and they'll list
you.
But mom, you got to talk to your daughter there and you know, express to her the life
lessons that you've come to learn along the way and really encourage her because right
now I mean it's early, but his Yogi Barrow would say it's getting early late.
But yeah, you have to give her talking to pretty stern talking to say you got to get
this train back on the track here because we talk about the NIL deals, but that comes
with performance.
So if you're not out there, these dollars can disappear quite easily.
Just go out there and be the best Angel Reese you can be on the court.
Again, being the ultimate teammate, sacrificing for the team so forth.
Cause like I said, that VAR Tech game coming up, I'm not sure they'll have a chance without
having Angel Reese in the fold that you're going to need her for that game.
That's for sure.
So I say all that to say it's time for you to come in and do what you have to do.
I'll just leave it at that.
So that's the one story there in terms of basketball.
Let's turn our attention to the NBA.
James Harden in the struggling LA Clippers.
James Harden as we know, got traded to the Clippers.
He made his debut November 6th and he did it at Madison Square Garden facing the Knicks.
It's been seven games now that he's played with the Clippers and in those seven games,
they have gone two and five.
When he first started with them, they lost five straight and then they've come to win
two in a row now.
So maybe the tide is turning now.
We'll see.
James Harden so far, he's played about 32 minutes per game, averaging just 16 points,
almost five rebounds and over five assists with a steal per game.
He's shooting the ball well.
Actually 48.6%, which is pretty good for him.
Nearly 36% from three.
You'll take that.
And he's only missed one free throw.
He's taken 27, he's missed only one.
So you like that as well.
And if you guys caught the press conference he had when he arrived at LA where he says,
I'm not a system player, I am the system.
Everybody went crazy over that.
But that's James Harden being James Harden.
And then recently Russell Westbrook, seeing the team being in the doldrums, if you will,
has volunteered to go to the bench in order to acquiesce to his friend, his buddy, James
Harden, which I don't know if it should have been him making the sacrifice.
I'm actually of the mindset it should have been the other way around.
It should have been Harden going to the bench because right now you put Harden on the bench.
He's going to be able to get his numbers against that second unit and I'll give him a bit of
confidence.
And of course you'll end up eventually meshing him in with Kawai, with Paul George and with
Russell Westbrook as well.
So that would be my take on that.
And then also you got to understand too now with the struggles that LA Clippers are facing,
you go to the opposite side here, his old team, the Philadelphia 76ers and they're balling
right now.
Because of this recording here, the 10 and 3, Tyrese Maxi is playing like an all-star
guys.
And then you're also getting contributions from guys like the Anthony Melton, Tobias
Harris is stepping up now.
You got these guys playing and of course, Joel and B being Joel and B. And also the
pieces that you brought over, guys like Robert Covington and now Nicholas Patoumi is reported
to the team now.
So you have some backup help.
A Phil, he's looking good right now.
Can the Clippers turn it around?
Again, like I said when I talked about Angel Reese and the LSU Lady Tigers, it's early.
So you have time to turn this thing around.
You have time to write the ship for guys to get acclimated with one another.
So we might be singing a different tune come the Trey deadline.
Pretty much a little more than mid-season.
So we could see a whole different team and it could be playing well.
This is kind of why I picked them last when I did my pre-season preview for my season
preview, rather.
Because I knew getting heartened is going to take some time for everybody getting on
the same page and you're going to take your lumps along with that.
So that's kind of why I picked them last.
But it's early.
So things can turn around, quick fads in the hurry, especially in the NBA.
And then one final thing I'll say about the Clippers situation is I was listening to Lawrence
Frank because he talked to the media and he basically said, part of business that really
sucks are making trades because you're trading the person that's been in your system.
You know, they got families so far.
If you got to trade them, that means families got to uproot.
Go to another city so forth.
And we've heard these limits before just as recently as a couple of months ago.
In fact, we heard from Drew Holiday's wife about him being traded from Milwaukee.
They thought they were going to be in Milwaukee for the duration.
That didn't happen.
And then you saw Nicholas Patuone's wife actually retweet what Drew Holiday's wife posted in
terms of her husband being traded.
So she reposted the thing to basically standing solidarity with her, being that her husband
now got traded.
But that's what Lawrence Frank said about the deal.
And of course, he's saying, as everyone else is saying in the organization, things are
rough now, but they'll be able to turn things around.
So we'll see what happens in that instance.
So that's the Clippers situation.
And then finally, I want to talk about your friend in mind, Dreymon Green.
Dreymon, Dreymon.
He's been suspended for five games.
And I'll give you the whole timeline how everything has played out.
November 12th in a game versus the Minnesota Timberwolves, a game that was in Golden State,
by the way.
And it's got a little chirpy between the two teams when Dreymon delivered a hard foul to
Anthony Edwards.
And this was with five minutes and 25 seconds left in the fourth quarter in a game where
Minnesota was actually up by 1298 to 86.
They go back and forth.
Dreymon's he's got to portray himself being the tough guy.
Of course, Anthony Edwards ain't having none of that.
And then Anthony Edwards would go on to score 13 points in that quarter and thus putting
the game out of reach.
And the final score was 116 to 110.
It's funny, you know, Dreymon talks all this stuff, but it's not like he has to guard Anthony
Edwards that's left to a guy like Steph Curry or Clay Thompson or someone like that.
Then two days later, the two teams play again.
So this game was in Golden State.
Well, four point was even scored at the 10 minute and 17 mark of the first quarter.
Clay Thompson and Jaten Daniels, they mix it up.
They get tangled up.
The rebound coming off.
They both grabbing each other and Jaten grabs a little bit too long there.
Clay takes exception to it.
There you go.
So you have this skirmish here.
It kind of reminds me of and hockey sometimes you have these rivalries and once the puck
drops, these guys drop the gloves and go at it before you've been going up and down the
ice.
But that's kind of comparison I saw with that.
So in this scuffle, Rudy go bear comes in and he comes in to grab clay Thompson and
pull him away from Jaten McDaniels.
Then Draemon comes in from behind Rudy go bear and puts him in the chokehold in the
headlock and proceeds to drag him several feet while doing so and call Anthony's towns
there trying to get him off him, but to no avail.
Just for some context, Draemon and Rudy go bear has had beef since 2019 when Draemon
talked about it was right around the All-Star game and Rudy go bear thinking he was going
to make it.
He did not.
So he kind of cried actually literally cried and Draemon made fun of them.
Of course, poking fun at his manhood, obviously.
So he drags several feet and after all was said and done, of course, Clay Thompson and
Jaten McDaniels gets ejected from the game, but also Draemon green.
He gets ejected as well.
And again, social media.
It's such a cesspool sometimes.
I'm on there arguing with guys on social media because some people think, oh, he's not going
to get suspended for this.
This happens all the time.
I was like, yo, he's going to get suspended.
They're already talking in the league office about this.
They're doing interviews.
He's going to get suspended.
It's just a matter of how long.
And behold, he does get suspended.
I heard from all the pundits about it, the TNT guys, they were talking about it, Shaq
defending Draemon actually.
But I will say this in terms of go bear going to grab Clay Thompson.
It's like an unwritten rule basically in a scuffle like that.
You grab your guy and not the opposing team's guy.
So in that instance, Rudy go bear was in the wrong.
But maybe it's a French thing.
Maybe that's what they do in France.
I don't know.
But that's kind of the unwritten rule amongst players.
So TNT guys, Barclay, of course, and Draemon was in the wrong and Shaq saying the contrary.
Then on first take, I saw Stephen A. Smith and Matt Dog Russo.
Also J Williams, they were talking about it.
And actually J Williams said he should be suspended 10 games, which Stephen A. took
exception to.
He thought it would be three games.
And then on NBA today, you heard Kendrick Perkins.
I've listened to him as well.
And he said, you know, the league has to make a statement and give him a suspension.
And he actually guessed the amount of days correctly.
And then I just saw a YouTube video with the game time crew, you know, on NBA TV.
Steve Smith was on there.
The ball player Steve Smith and Candice Parker, they were talking about it.
And Steve Smith echoes what I just told you in terms of Rudy Gobiar shouldn't be touching
Clay Thompson, shouldn't be grabbing at him.
And Candice, see, he was more limiting about Draemon and his history of doing these sort
of things, which I'll get into actually now.
Draemon, he gets the five game suspension.
As I said, here's his history, guys.
He's been ejected 18 times in this career.
He's been suspended for nine games, including a crucial game five against the Cleveland
Cavaliers.
He was suspended for a game five there.
And it pretty much cost them the series because that was the series where they were up three
games to one.
And that crucial suspension, I believe, cost them the series.
So he's been suspended nine times, including this five game one that just came up.
And he's paid the league and finds over $2.2 million because of all his shenanigans.
Now I did an episode during the playoffs where I talked about the tale of two villains.
I talked about him and Dylan Brooks.
Well, thankfully we haven't had to talk about Dylan Brooks in this regard, but we are here
talking about Draemon.
And when I talked about it, I re listened to the episode and the word I kept using was
repeat offender.
And I believe that's why he got the five games.
I think if he had a somewhat clean record, it would have been a shorter suspension.
It would have been the three games, probably like Stephen A. Smith says.
But the fact that he's a recidivist, he's done it many times.
He got the five game suspension.
And I think that was a fair suspension.
Ten games that would have been a lot.
That would have been a lot.
Five games seemed about right for what he did.
Because think about it, guys.
He dragged the man while in the chokehold on camera and the NBA is all right now.
They're all about image and way things look while the cameras are rolling.
And you can't have a guy drag another guy in the chokehold for several feet.
You can't have that.
And then think about this with all the ejections and suspensions that Draemon has faced.
When he punched his teammate, Jordan Poole, in practice last year, in fact, he was never
suspended, guys.
He was never suspended by the league.
He was never suspended by his team.
He was just told to go away for a couple of days.
He came back.
He was there for the opener.
I thought he would miss the opener, but he was there for the season opener.
And he pretty much didn't miss a game.
So when you do it like that, you kind of empower the player that this behavior is okay.
It's fine to act like this.
But I think somebody has to eventually have a moment with him where he says, Draemon,
you got an anger problem.
You got an anger problem.
And the older heads will say, oh, this is just child's play compared to back in the
day.
And I get that I understand being as a watcher for as long as I've been, but you have a different
product now than you had 30 some odd years ago.
This is a different product.
Well, even 40 so years ago, this is the whole different product.
So you can't have a guy do this.
So with that said, he'll be back soon.
What he does from here, we'll see what happens, but he's not helping his team with this because
you now have to kind of figure things out without him so forth.
We'll see what happens, but Draemon just being Draemon, but he needs anger management.
That's all I'm gonna say on that.
He needs anger management.
He needs to sit down in somebody's therapy chair or what have you and somebody needs
to talk to him about this.
So that's my take on it.
So I'll just leave it there.
All right, guys.
So that is it for this episode.
I just wanted to touch those three main topics there.
Again, I'm going to have an episode where I go around the league and so forth, and we
will take it from there.
So all right, guys.
So that is it.
I thank you for listening.
I always, much appreciate it.
Always appreciate it, guys.
And again, I have a new call to action that comes right after I speak here.
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All right.
So with that said, I thank you for listening and we'll be talking soon.
Take care.
Hello, my peeps.
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