Howard Beck
Appearances
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
About a month ago, when the Lakers had first gotten off to this hot start and we're still trying to process why, well, you know, they don't have much size and maybe, you know, What is this team now? And there was a coach I was talking to at the time, and I'm like, what is the magic of this going right right now? And he says, don't overthink it.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
The Lakers have two of the top five players in the NBA. It's as simple as that. And I said, wait, wait, wait, hold on. Did you say two of the top five? LeBron's top five? Coach said, yeah. Reeves?
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
He is. I mean, and let's be clear, like he's obviously benefiting quite a bit, too, from the amount of attention that's paid to the two superstars he's playing alongside. Like if you put, you know, Austin Reeves on a team with, you know, zero stars, is he carrying them to 45 wins tomorrow? I don't know if we can go that far yet, but he's been phenomenal. Rui's been fantastic. Gabe Vincent.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
Gabe Vincent shooting lights out a lot of nights, busting his ass defensively, and giving them, like, one of the concerns I think we all had about them after the trade was, all right, well, Anthony Davis was your defensive anchor. You don't have a lot of size. They're playing small ball a lot.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
Do they have enough defense on the perimeter to make up for the fact that they don't have a classic rim protector back there? And yet, for the most part, there's been some dips. But for the most part, the defense has been there. And, you know, there's a temptation, I think, with yesterday's game to look at this and say, Lakers go 22 of 40 from three, right? Season high, 22 three-pointers.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
You love attention so much that you actually warned me before we started recording not to say the thing that I'm about to say, which is welcome the fuck back. My God, it has been way too long. The people missed you. It's my responsibility and honored to be the first guest.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
They hit 20, I think, on two other occasions. So this is an outlier game for them. Their average per game, I think they've been hitting like, I don't know, 13 threes or something a game, and they hit 22. That's that's probably an outlier game, not just, you know, literally, but like you're not you're not reproducing that every night.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
And if you were going in a best of seven series against the Thunder, I don't think you're counting on that. But it is one of those modern day games where we have to sit there and say, well, sometimes the team that just shoots the three better wins it. This is one of those classic cases. The Thunder went 12 of 37 from from three. And then keeping holding shade is zero free throw attempts.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
For the first time since December of 2021 was the last time he played a game without a single free throw attempt. Notably, though, a couple nights earlier against the Rockets, he was held to two free throws. Is Shea downshifting a little bit because they've got such a massive lead? Is he a little tired? Is he saving it for the playoffs?
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
How much do we attribute like obviously, you know, against the Rockets, they've got phenomenal defenses. We were just discussing with them against the Warriors, but I don't know. I'm not sure how much I want to take away from it other than Luca cooked the shit out of them. And he is still just absolutely devastating when he's going to get a big on an island and he can just do whatever he wants.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
My responsibility, Zach, as your friend, as a man of the people, as someone who spends way too much time on social media more than you do, The people missed you. The people are very happy you're back. You didn't want me to say it. I'm saying it anyway. I'm thrilled you're back. We're all thrilled you're back. This is awesome. By the way, I've already cursed at least three times.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
We can do that here. There are no Disney censors killing our F-bombs. So I can now set a new record. I once had the record. I believe I had the F-bomb record. On the low post, which I believe Gino Auriemma or somebody obliterated at some point.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
Yeah. And that's why I'm – I think there's plenty to take out of it, especially if you're the Lakers, maybe less if you're the Thunder. And I think, you know, it's weird to say of a team that has LeBron and Luke on it, but like the Lakers kind of needed this more right now, like literally in the standings, they needed it more. And I think just to kind of, You know, Luka has nothing to prove.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
LeBron has nothing to prove. But together, they have something to prove as the core of this completely reconfigured team.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
And guys like Vanderbilt and Gabe Vincent, who at times have looked like really important pickups for the Lakers over the last couple seasons, but have both been banged up, that they're healthy and thriving and giving them a different defensive dimension and tone is really important. And I think just everything that allows the Lakers to see the full picture of who they can be in the postseason,
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
Um, I think all of that's really significant for them and, you know, and, and I'll, I'll be honest, I have from the moment the trade happened, which we still can't quite put our heads around. Um, and maybe we never will. Uh, I have been skeptical. It looked like a win-now move for the Mavericks by their own definition, which made no sense, of course.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
But it was a for-the-next-10-years move for the Lakers. And I thought there would be some short-term... perhaps. It was short-term take a step back. Our defensive anchor is gone. We've got to incorporate Luka. He's not healthy when he arrives. We've got a supporting cast that's still kind of in flux. We don't have size. We don't have a center. We traded for Mark Williams.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
We rescinded the trade for Mark Williams. And I thought... it doesn't matter. None of this matters. This is about the next 10 years. And lo and behold, here they are, you know, sitting in third in the Western conference and looking very, very potent and very, very ready to make a deep playoff run that I'll be honest.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
I, I was not sure was on the table and they have made, they've made a lot of progress in a lot of places in a very short time.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
Yeah. Yeah. No, that that's frigging huge. Our buddy Mark Stein is like in the midst of like a 17 part series or something. Reviewing how we got here. It's phenomenal.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
I can't even imagine. That's going to be a weird one, right? Just because, like, I was there for LeBron back to Cleveland the first time after he left for Miami, but that was LeBron left. He abandoned you, and so it was like the nastiest, just most intense... atmosphere I've ever been in, in terms of just everybody in the whole building, having it out for one guy.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
And it got really, really ugly at times, but this won't be that because Luca didn't leave them. He didn't abandon them. Like, like the Mavs fans are still just pissed off at, at Nico Harrison and Patrick Dumont. So I assume it's going to be mostly a love fest, but a really awkward kind of like crazy,
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
crappy feeling one right like there i don't i don't know what to expect from that game um i will never say that anybody should shut it down uh on on the on the uh the interviews part of it because as a member of the media by all means keep saying stuff well it's it's it's uh great for us and uh i appreciate the candor even if it makes you look like a complete buffoon it hasn't been great the messaging has has not been great it's not been great um
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
I had a lot of fun. You had a lot of catching up on Bill's pod last week. That was awesome. Two hours of Zach just unloading after six months of pent-up takes. Tremendous.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
It's unbelievable. We will be talking about this for years. The rest of our careers, the rest of our lives, we will still be trying to unpack this puzzle. It'll never make sense.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
Some of the Thunder players said it outright after the game yesterday. I saw some quotes in the Oklahoman to my buddy Joel Lorenzi where they were saying – like, Shea said it, and I think maybe Jalen Williams said it too. Like, you know, yeah, I hate to say it, but – we've got everything locked up. They're playing out the string. So who knows?
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
The rematch tomorrow night may not even... Will everybody play? And how much are these teams showing each other with days to go? So I don't want to put too much on it.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
We did. Yeah, no, we did. We did the whole staff picks thing back in October, and I went Thunder over Celtics on the premise that Like, you know, the obvious for why the two teams would be there, but why Thunder winning? I looked at it in the preseason and said the Celtics are going to have a much tougher road this time. There's the championship hangover possibility.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
Just it's hard to go back to back seasons. It's a ton of games. It's a lot of stress on the body. But on top of that, the East was going to be better this season. Right. I didn't see this coming from the Cavaliers.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
I mean, yes. I mean, my my my rationale was the Celtics are going to have to go through some combination of like Knicks, Philly, Milwaukee, Cleveland, whatever. I probably didn't even put Cleveland that conversation. Apologies, Cleveland. None of us saw this coming. And I don't think I mean, I didn't see this coming, but I was I was telling people Cleveland's could be really good.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
Yeah, but at this level, and I don't think we saw even the most skeptical or the most, you know, PTSD, you know, stricken Sixer fans would not have predicted this is how the Sixer season was going to go. So I thought the Celtics might be more beat up. And I so I went, oh, all right, really deep team, younger legs, you know, spry athletic Thunder team over Celtics.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
So that was that was my prediction back in October. But predictions are stupid. So.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
Thank you. Thank you.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
Thank you. Thank you. We'll see. Yeah. I mean, you know, it's I mean, Steph is the most efficient of the high scoring guards by far still at age 37. And I'm not saying wait it for the age. I'm just saying he's still absolutely incredible. Just just to be clear.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
Yeah. Um, so with Mitchell pencil and on, on the first team, and I, by the way, I still, I'm a creature of habit in part, just because it was easier to organize my thoughts. Zach, I still went two guards and I went, I didn't go two forwards and a center. I went two guards, three front court for each of these.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
And then I gave myself room and I'm giving myself room for the next week as I keep playing with this to then scrap that. If I feel like somebody is just clearly better than somebody at another position, but so that's the first team, second team. Curry, Ant Edwards, Mobley. So we overlap on those three. At the moment, I've got Jaron Jackson Jr. and Carl Anthony Towns. Fair, fair.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
I mean, Jaron Jackson, you just had an outstanding season and in a year where jaw has played what, like half the games less. And they don't really have a lot of places to go for consistent offense, especially in the half court, his defensive presence, all of it combined.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
And then Carl Anthony towns, you know, like there's, there've been times this season where it's been hard to kind of like parse who's been the more important Nick. And that's no disrespect to Brunson, but especially with Brunson having missed a month, You know, and Towns just, you know, kind of was their stabilizing force. So that's where I am right now.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
But the other guys you mentioned are on my third team.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
I have questions. We could get back to the details of Draymond's game. But let me just say, I fucking love that Emi Udoka talks trash like that. We were so far removed from the era of coaches who trash talk and trash talk each other. We're so far removed from Phil Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy calling each other stupid names and stuff. I love it. I want the coaches involved.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
LeBron and Halliburton, right? That's two. LeBron and Halliburton are two. Same as you, I put Brunson if he qualifies. And if he doesn't... I'm assuming his comeback is being timed to qualify.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
It seems so. Right. But who knows? I mean, you know, things happen. You know, he may, you know, bang knees with somebody and like, you know, miss one one of the one last critical game down the stretch. Who knows? Or maybe they decide to rest him because they think it's more important. I don't know. Actually, you've got the whole the whole week off with the plane. Now you guys have time to rest up.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
Cade Cade has been awesome. And I've seriously considered him. But I also I've been weighing whether or not Darius Garland is getting overlooked in all this. He's been outstanding. And obviously, this is Donovan Mitchell's team. And we've already got Mobley on there as well. Or the Cavs good enough for three all NBA players. That feels maybe excessive. But I think Garland's been really good.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
And, and just like with Donovan Mitchell, like Garland's numbers would be higher if not for the fact that both of them have done a phenomenal job of just meshing their games and neither of them needing to dominate. Um, but it does suppress his, his, his raw stats a little bit, I guess. Um, I've kicked around Siakam. I'm not sure. I'm glad you mentioned him. He deserves mention.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
I think he's had a really strong season. And for a team that's like, like the paces are really good, but this is not like some offensive juggernaut in terms of individual talent. You don't look across the board and go like, Ooh, look at all these guys who could just kill you or put up 25, 30 night.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
Yeah, and because of that, because he's more just kind of malleable or just, you know, filling whatever you need in a given moment, it doesn't feel like the prototypical all-NBA case because he's not a go-to player, right? And he's not some superstar dropping 30 on you every night. But he does a lot at both ends. Jalen Williams is in this mishmash of names I've got in front of me.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
I also had Kevin Durant kind of like just with an asterisk there. Yeah. We set out at the beginning and said that it's not about team success for all NBA as much as it is for MVP. But it does affect when you're trying to make a case for a guy like, as you mentioned, Sabonis or Trey Young.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
It's easier to dismiss them because their teams are irrelevant and the Suns have just completely... I'm not going to let you say that about my Atlanta Hawks.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
I want Emi Udoka saying this stuff. I want... Like, we don't have rivalries anymore. We don't have enough tension anymore. Like, amp it up. Fine. Give me all of it. I love it.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
Are we not allowed to mock the Sally Jesse Raphael glasses anymore?
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
I've had glasses most of my adult life in phases. And I always have to go with the darker. I've never even considered, like, the Sally Jesse Raphael red or purple or something. Anyway, you were making an all-NBA argument. Maybe I was. Durant was your... Yeah, no, like, at a certain point...
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
When you have a lot of really good candidates, as we do, we just named a bunch of them, you've got to draw a line somewhere. And sometimes the line is, you had an incredible season, Kevin Durant, but you just barely got to 65 games and your team isn't even making the play-in. And you're part of that. And this is where I think it's okay to kind of bring in intangibles, too.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
And by the way, I think it's okay to bring in intangibles for the MVP discussion, too. There was a great piece in The Athletic last week, I think by Sam Amick, about... you know, Shea Gilders, Alexander's, you know, just his, his general leadership, the way he affects his teammates. Like we can bring in that stuff too. Like there, there are other aspects of this.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
And I think in the case of a, you know, son's team that has absolutely just completely disintegrated. And when you look at the talent, you go, well, that talent's good enough to at least be a playing team. They should at least be better than the Mavericks or the Kings. And they're not, it's because at some point chemistry just went to shit.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
And I think it's okay then to look at it and say, well, you all bear responsibility. Kevin Durant, you're the best player on this team. You're the most decorated player on this team. Like you bear some responsibility.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
I jotted down Zubats. I had Harden on my initial list, crossed him out. The efficiency, I think – When you're comparing everybody, you're right. The case for Harden is he's been as steady as can be.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
He has kept them afloat all season, especially while they were waiting for Kawhi to get back, that they're in this position at all, that we're talking about them as a team that could make the conference finals or who knows beyond, is a huge credit to James Harden. The guy's taken a lot of shit over the years. Some deserved, maybe some exaggerated.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
He's been fantastic for them, and he's been everything they've needed. But we're having to split hairs when you're squeezing guys into the fourth and fifth spots on the third team. And I think the fact that his efficiency numbers are down so far is fair as an eliminating condition.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
Can you indulge me for a minute? Here's the ineligible list based on injuries and 65 game rule. Victor Wembanyama, Luka Doncic, Jimmy Butler, Anthony Davis, Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, Paul George. I know he's having a shitty season anyway.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
Let's move that one to the side. I'm just saying, if a full season of Joel Embiid, last year he was running for MVP until he went down. I'm just saying, these are all guys who in recent years have been- Ramping up, baby. Still ramping up. A lot of ramping. Nobody makes ramps like the NBA. I'm ramping down.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
Rest of the list of guys who normally we would be discussing if not for injuries in 65 game rules. Kyrie Irving, Franz Wagner, Paolo Bancaro, Kawhi Leonard, Zion Williamson.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
uh, Zion, Brandon Ingram, John Morant, Isaiah Hartenstein. Stop. Stop. I'm just saying Chet Holmgren, Damian Lillard, Norm Powell, drew holiday. These are like all guys who have had either had really great seasons or in the past were in these conversations. And so when I'm, when I'm looking at all NBA or, you know, other awards, uh,
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
I'm also looking at the list of like, all right, who have we had recently? Okay. No, no, that guy's out. Put a line through them. Like that is a big block of guys who either are stars or, or were recent stars or had really good seasons, but just didn't play enough games. And it's just an interesting and very kind of sobering list.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
Like there's a, like think about in a normal year where Luca had played enough games, we'd be saying, Oh, wow, what a weird year. He's going to be an MVP, the MVP conversation in all NBA, probably first team, but split among two teams. When has that ever happened? But he didn't play enough games.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
Jimmy Butler, his case would have been on all NBA would have possibly been tanked just by the fact that he tanked his way out of Miami. And there's a price to pay for that. But look at what he's done for the Warriors. Like there's a case for like Jimmy Butler getting honors based on how he is
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
Or Big Face Coffee. Isn't that the name of his coffee company? Yeah. Big Face Coffee. I'll buy stock in Big Face Coffee. I like coffee.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
Probably just to mock one of the many names that's out there.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
Anybody, anybody could play a fourth quarter for the Raptors. We've seen this. It doesn't matter.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
candidacy but i'm open but that's just where i am i have no idea who i'd vote for there's there's been in i feel like in the last decade or so i think there's most there's been kind of this general framework of defensive player of the year where it's kind of been like a big who's an anchor on a top five top 10 defense right that's the rudy gobert model and the dream on green model in the past and on that basis like evan mobley the calves are ninth in defensive rating
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
So not dominant, but very, very good. They've been 15th since the All-Star break. And we talked about this earlier. The Cavs have kind of... But again, it's sometimes hard to put too much weight on the last month of a season or last few weeks of a season where you've got everything locked up and there's not as much to play for. You don't have to come out with the same intensity.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
But Draymond Green fits those parameters, too, for Defensive Player of the Year. The Warriors are 7th in defensive rating, 3rd since the All-Star break. Unejectable, Draymond Green. And by the way...
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
Okay. The flip side of that is, I don't know how people are going to react to this one. I have not heard any discussion of this. I think he's probably one of the only guys who gets called for the flagrant for that elbow. Like that, that, that was a normal, like driving, shooting layup motion. Like what? Let's, let's, let's be honest.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
Cause I agree with you. The crap out of Shingun every other way, the whole game. And so at that point you've lost the benefit of the doubt, but like, I don't know how many other players are getting called for a flagrant for driving to the hoop against a defender who has jumped into you as well. So I don't know. That one was weird. I don't want to be the Draymond Green apologist.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
All right, so the all-defensive team. Draymond, Mobley, Dort are all first team for sure. I think Amin Thompson is first team for sure. I had penciled in Ibika Zubac. Um, the Clippers are number two in defensive rating.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
And again, going back to the defensive player of the year framework where it's, it's, you know, if you are the, the primary reason, overwhelming reason for your team being a dominant defensive team, um, I'm going to give that a lot of weight. So at the moment, Zubach fifth. But that bumps guys who, you know, you discussed.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
Dyson Daniels gets bumped to second team there. And Dyson Daniels has been just freaking awesome. And Jaron Jackson, did he get bumped to second team? Jaron Jackson Jr. also on the second team. So that's the seven that I was sure of. Everything after that, I'm still kind of noodling around. Gobert and Ananobi are guys who I have kind of rotated in and out of those spots.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
Somebody was mentioning me the other day because I'd forgotten about him. Back to the Clippers. Chris Dunn? I don't think he qualifies because of the 20-minute-a-game rule. I think he's ineligible. Again, this 65-game thing with all these freaking sub clauses just drives me absolutely batshit.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
Yeah. Kicked around Derek White. Kicked around Nikhil Alexander-Walker. Bam, obviously, you have to consider every time.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
Yeah. Heat 10th as of this morning in defensive rating. So, yeah, the Heat have fallen apart, although, you know, a little late-season resurgence. But, yeah, they're not great. But defensively, they're still as stout as ever. And Bam – I don't think Bam has lost anything. Do you? I mean, it's been a rough season.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
And the other one that I'm struggling with a little bit here is, like, Rudy Gobert's raw numbers are down, right? The block shots and the rebounds are just down. But the Timberwolves are still, they're sixth as of this morning in defensive rating. And they've got some great wing defenders, you know, Jada McDaniels and the aforementioned Nikhil Alexander-Walker.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
Like, they've got, you know, Anthony Edwards himself. Like, they've got good defenders, but like, The Timberwolves are top six defense because of Gobert and still everything that he deters, dissuades Mr. X. And so the raw numbers don't look as dominant as they did in his defensive player of the year seasons. He's surging, too, toward the end of the season. Yeah, as are the Wolves.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
So I feel like I'm probably going to get him back on there.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
No, no other party thoughts. Just this has been an honor. And again, you don't want to hear it.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
For the longest time, my top three life moments were, yes, marriage, birth of my daughter, and the moment that I got the job at the New York Times was just like this career-altering, life-changing, just this thrill. I can still remember walking across Times Square, where the TKTS booth is and the little police booth, whatever, calling my wife, New York, back to LA, saying... I got it.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
We're moving to New York, and here we are 21 years later still here. In terms of other goofy career honors, though, you and I being animated in Game of Zones, still an all-timer. I even got to do my own line in one of those episodes. So I might have to revive that screenshot for Blue Sky today.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
My Real Ones turn has shifted because I'll be popping on with you now and then. So Friday's now on The Real Ones instead of Tuesday's on The Real Ones. Two pieces I'm cranking on for TheRinger.com that I don't want to –
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
spoiled just yet but a couple things coming at least one of them before the playoffs one of them probably around time of the play-in but yeah dude again just I'm so excited to have you here and and working with you we've never been teammates all this time we have done a thousand podcasts your podcast my podcast drunk with power podcasts all kinds of stuff we're actually teammates this is awesome I love it thank you for being here fun times Howard Beck everybody thank you sir thank you
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
Top of my head, I'm going to guess the Clippers.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
There were two things there, actually, that I thought made it clear why Jaws being singled out. Yeah, of course he's being singled out. One is, yeah, his history and the fact that he was suspended twice for two instances of flashing what appeared to be actual guns on Instagram Live.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
So, yes, the league is, of course, going to be more sensitive to you, just like there are certain guys in the league who are more likely to get rung up for flagrance and text based on their behavior. Like, you have a track record. So that's one. The second is...
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
It seemed to me, Zach, that when Ja did the two finger point gun thingies, it was directly at the Warriors bench, at Buddy Heald, at whoever. So instead of like the McHale Bridges or other guys who are shooting things in the air and they're like skeet shooting and they're shooting flaming arrows and things, this wasn't like a celebration. This looked more threatening.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
And I think the fact that it... And I haven't asked the league on this, but the fact that it was actually aimed at someone... As a threat, plus his history, to me, is probably why, yes, you get the fine. Also, you got the warning first. Then you got the fine because you defied it and did it again. Like, at that point, you're asking for it. You're defying the league.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
You're flipping off the commissioner's office. Like, that's just not smart. And so I have, you know, it's hard for me to hear anybody trying to defend it or making him out to be some sort of victim at this point.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
Easy enough. Yeah. No guns, no fake guns, no real guns, no finger guns, just no guns. How about that?
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
Before I forget, just one quick observation. I can't remember, Zach, and I don't know if you have a thought here. I don't think I can remember any year where in either conference you looked with a week to go and said, there are seven teams that could make the conference finals.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
Like, I don't think I'd rule out anybody except for maybe, like, I'll downgrade Memphis a little bit, just some volatility there. But the top seven in the standings right now, any two of them are in the conference finals. And, of course, we expect the Thunder will be there. But Thunder and whoever, it could be anybody. And given, you know...
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
just given the Thunder's lack of playoff experience, I think people are still kind of waiting to see, like, okay, well, you're 1,000 games ahead of us, but let's see you prove it now in the postseason. But I don't recall... Like, this is the extreme parity that the league absolutely loves.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
Except... No. But the parity is 2 through 7, or 2 through 8, however you want to slice it. Every single one of those teams, I feel like... Look, and it seems...
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
What? The Zach Lowe Show? What's happening? There's a sign? You have a sign. They were quick at Spotify. I don't have any signs. You've got a sign. That's awesome. I love the sign. Um... I think we all love the old name. The new name is fine. It forces you to say your own name every time you open a show, which I know you love that. You love attention.
The Zach Lowe Show
Lakers' Statement Win Over OKC? Plus, Awards Talk With Howard Beck and a Warriors Check-In With Anthony Slater.
What struck me is that Luka still owns the Thunder, number one. This has to be the only bigger nightmare for the Thunder than Luka being on the Mavericks with a full compliment around him is now Luka's on the Lakers and standing there next to LeBron James.