NBA Western Conference Win Total REACTION - Most Shocking Over/Unders For 2026-27

late night bites with friends already hard to beat that first too hot bite of fries you couldn't wait for followed by ice cold pepsi now that hits different suddenly the energy kicks back in the night goes longer and the laughs don't stop because pepsi brings out more flavor more fun and more of the moment food deserves pepsi grab a pepsi zero sugar today hello welcome to the collective podcast we talk about the nba which we are doing in undisclosed time hello from scotland west scotland uk where i'm at for this podcast joining me back in dallas after his trap trip to the south pacific is band mcmahon howdy partner i'm back in a place where you know what day it is windy yeah so let me just say this recently we were recording a podcast and mcmahon went to a family wedding in i thought it was called samoa but it's they pronounce it i mean i'm not i'm not even probably getting it right they pronounce it samoa samoa more of like an emphasis on the first syllable right so i was i've been in europe and we were scheduling the podcast and i googled what time is if it's 9 p.m in paris on a sunday what time is it in samoa and what time what time is it in new york and it said in samoa it's 9 a.m on monday and in new york it's uh 4 p.m or whatever it was 3 p.m so i said and i said hey jackson how do we feel about 3 p.m in new york 9 p.m in paris and 8 a.m monday in samoa everybody gives a thumbs up we're all good we're all good okay so here we get it's nine o'clock in paris it's three o'clock no mcmahon where's mcmahon where's mcmahon we're texting we're texting we're texting we're calling nothing all right well i guess there's no mcmahon for this podcast like an hour or two later he's like what are you guys talking about it's sunday morning and i'm like no the confusion is there's an american samoa and a western samoa and there's the international part are they uh actually my my in-laws are western samoa now we had to come home because the boys had school starting but it's a 35 minute flight apart but the international date line is in between so i was still on our side of the date line and you thought i was on the other side of the date line but we got it all figured out i mean i literally had the wrong day i woke up the morning after the uh the family wedding that we went to i was in no shape to podcast and i was like oh what's going on what day is it you were getting up the day after the wedding exactly you and slater handled things just fine oh my god he was like what are you guys talking about it's sunday i go how could we have the day wrong and but like okay it's one thing to go 30 minutes away and it'd be a different time in terms like an hour but a different day listen i was i was confused and i'm still confused because when we to get home we got on 11 20 p.m flight and we're flight from america and samoa they have three flights to honolulu a week three flights in three flights out it's 11 20 p.m out that's a five and a half hour flight to get on our eight o'clock flight from honolulu to make a connection in lax to get home we got home about midnight the boys made it to school this morning somehow miraculously i uh i slept for a while yeah well you've land before you take off okay now moving past it it's nobody's fault especially not mine but i had the wrong day that i didn't understand you were in american samoa versus samoa all right now comes the time i know now comes the time where we are friends at draft kings have posted the uh the win totals the majority of the off season we well we think we don't know crazy things happen the lakers get sold twice in a year for example and but for the most part the rosters have largely been set uh i'm not sure if peyton watson or jonathan comingos which teams is going to do that much so we are taking a look at what the over-unders are and we're going to start with the western conference let's start with the oh yeah well let's not start there because the one team that doesn't have the same win total uh posted is the clippers because you know there is an investigation they do have one for the raptors i know yeah and and i guess they figure well the raptors would have brandon ingram if they don't have kawaii so there's at least a kind of a baseline um but obviously will kawaii be playing if so is it in toronto like there's just no way to forecast the clippers right well since you slept since you left that let's say the trade does go through all right so so vegas doesn't have a let's say the trade does go through and brandon ingram ends up as a clipper and look maybe the clippers go out you know we don't know what's happened with benedict mather and maybe they go out and try to acquire another piece but let's just say for the most part that the trade goes through where would you put the clippers with you know trading out getting grady dick and brandon ingram for kawaii leonard i mean not as a playoff team um which according to this tied for eighth or the warriors and sons at 40 and a half wins i don't think the clippers are a top eight team you know they're a losing team with this trade yeah somewhere somewhere in the 30-ish win range and the clippers are going through or trying to get to a pretty major franchise reset that is obviously not about uh winning right now but about moving past a you know a pretty tough chapter as it all turned out in franchise history just because the expectations were so high and then the the payoff was not much but yeah somewhere in the somewhere in the 30s i maybe maybe a play-in team probably not well here's one thing that i think we're going to have to pay attention to when it comes to these win totals is that a bunch of these teams that were tanking last year are no longer tanking and so like a team who last year could be just as good as they were last year or possibly even better and have fewer wins because you're the Grizzlies and the Jazz and the Kings you know in terms of the Western teams they are all trying to win and Portland not that they were tanking last year but Portland is you know Tom Dundon wants to win so keep that in mind yeah Dundon wants to make the playoffs he just doesn't want to give away t-shirts once they get there correct but i mean like you know Portland was a play-in team last year and um uh made the playoffs and you know i think that they intend to be better this year or they're trying to make moves to be better so all right let's start at the top McMahon the Oklahoma City Thunder 2025 NBA champs losers in seven games to the San Antonio Spurs with injuries to their front line um they had some losses this uh this offseason uh Lou Dort Aaron Wiggins uh Isaiah Joe they bring in some draft picks um DraftKings loves them they have the highest win total by um by a game uh over the Spurs we'll talk about in a second they are at 60.5 with the wins are you an over or under on 60.5 i mean i'm i'm an over and i i do think that you know they are a significantly thinner team they don't have the depth that they had last year just because they did lose three quality role players one of whom was a starter but you know they were a 68 win team a couple years ago they were a 64 win team last year i guess you could say if that trend holds up they're a 60 win team this year but really to me this comes down in so much to can Jalen Williams J Dub stay healthy they won 64 games last year and he played like right 30 what was it i think 33 if i'm yeah how many of those regular season close to 100 yeah and so you know i know he's working awfully hard on his body this summer to do everything within his power to position himself to be durable this year you know because the other thing the other question mark with them is just the depth that they at the power forward position chet home runs are starting power forward and then it's like i don't know who like they'll play a lot of four guard stuff like caruso can play a power forward he's not power forward size j-dub can play power forward he's closer caruso guards victor wimben yama for chunks yeah i mean yeah you know so they've got versatility in terms of like their wing players um but look they're they're still an extraordinarily deep team they still have unbelievable high-end talent um you know shea gilchrist alexander's i don't think he'll repeat his mvp again but he's a two-time reigning mvp um you know people are down on chet because he had a really rough conference finals um but trust me if chet home was put on the trade block there It would be a massive – Shed Holmgren was an all-NBA player last year. Yeah, there would be a massive bidding war for him. Holmgren was an all-NBA player last year. Jalen Williams was an all-NBA player the year before. They've got three all-NBA caliber players and a bunch of emerging young talent. We haven't mentioned A.J. Mitchell, who was also – his injury during the playoffs was a killer. He's emerging. Cason Wallace is emerging. They've just got so much talent, obviously an elite coach. I think their culture changed a bit. With the loss of the guys that went out the door, but they still have elite culture. I don't know if they're the best team. Look, I can boil this down. A.J. Mitchell's role is going to be bigger. How do you feel about that? Great. He's a hell of a player. Cason Wallace's role is going to be bigger. Great. I think it would be in their best interest to get him signed to an extension because if not, it would be really expensive. Jared McCain's role is going to be bigger. Good. Yeah, I mean, I'm not bad. Maybe not as excited about Cason Wallace's role growing, but I feel okay about it. And look, they had these guys who were mostly out last year, Tomas Sorber, and then they drafted these guys, Adai Mara and Bennett Sturtz. I don't know. Maybe they have a role. So I also feel good about that being over, despite the challenges in the West. Okay, number two. The defending Western Conference champion, San Antonio Spurs, just was in Paris where the Spurs were men about town. 59 and a half wins over or under McMahon. I'm going over here, too. You know, they went over last year at 62, and you talk about emerging talent. Yeah, I don't. What role should I play here to, like, to fill in for Bontemps to, like, you know, like take a position opposite you on the Spurs? What should I be saying? You could play the role of not paying off your bet yet. Okay? That's the role that you can play, because Bontemps sure as hell hasn't, despite the fact that I think they went, like, 21 and a half games over that over-under. Is that what it ended up being? The over-under, I think, was 40 and a half, and they ended up at 62. I know they made it by, like, mid-January. Yeah, I know. And the thing about them is, you talk about ascending talent. I mean, Wimby, Wimby is just at the launching point. Stephon Castle is launching. Dylan Harper, I think, is going to end up being their second-best player maybe as soon as this year. You could certainly argue that he was in the finals. So their core, I mean, they could have three All-NBA players as soon as this season. I think, you know, obviously, Wimby is, but Wimby's, I expect, to be the MVP frontrunner. Stephon Castle's going to be in the, in the All-NBA conversation if he can stay healthy and keep his trajectory. It might be a little bit early for Harper, but he's on his way. And then. Jackson wants to know if you paid off the Wimby injury amendment, which I don't even remember what it was from the year before. Yes, I paid for. Bontemps went out to. It was a lunch, so I kind of. But yeah, I paid it off. I sure did. Yeah. You know, Bontemps was so determined not to pay off his bet that he left the pod. I know. No kidding. It's one of the. One of his unfinished pieces of business. Now, the Spurs did have one pretty significant loss this offseason. They lost Sean Sweeney, their associate head coach, the architect of their defense. Now, pretty good foundation for a defense, if you're going to be an architect, is to have Victor Wiminyama. But, you know, they brought in Billy Donovan. I'm not sure if Donovan's going to run their defense. I'm not sure exactly how to, you know. A fascinating hire by Mitch Johnson and Billy Donovan. Like, I try to think back to. Something comparable to it. I think Larry Brown came in as an assistant at one point, you know, in his career. But that's an amazing addition to your bench. Yeah. Yeah. And, you know, but again, so much young talent. I think Carter Bryant's got a chance to be a pretty significant contributor this year. Carter was over in Paris with the guys working out. So, yeah, Carter Bryant's got some upside. Talk about a guy who was a big-time athlete who was just beginning to harness what he can do. That is the definition of raw talent right there. So, I agree with you. But, again, they won 62 games last year, and Wimby missed, what did it end up being, 19, I think? Well, he got the exception to. He was a little bit under, right, the 65, and he got the. They kicked it over the edge, right? So, he missed more. The NBA Cup exception, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I agree with you. I hate going over. I don't like that. We're going to have some conflict. I know. Okay. So, Spurs at 60 and a half, or Thunder at 60 and a half, Spurs at 59 and a half. And now we have a moat, a separation, a, you know, a border. Because all the way down, you know, Vegas, you know, DraftKings thinks there's only 250 win teams in the West. And they both are going to win 60, basically. And then all the way down. And I got to be honest with you, this is bullish with some unknowns about the Nuggets. This is bullish. But they have the Nuggets with the third best over-under in the West, 49 and a half. What say you? At some point, I need to go under on some of these teams. But I can't quite yet. But if Joker's healthy, they're a 50-win team. You know? Like, they won 54 last year. Jamal Murray had a good year last year. Jamal Murray had a great year last year. Christian Brown had a bad year last year. I think in large part because of an ankle injury that caused him to miss a ton of time and lingered. But again, Joker. Cam Johnson had a bad year last year. And I think in large part because he was playing in a system they'd never played in before. And I think it affected him. Well, that's interesting. Because typically, the system of, hey, you're a shooter and Joker's going to get you great looks is a pretty good system to play in. I know. I'm not trying to make an excuse for him. I hear you. But what he was being asked to do was something that he had not done before. Yeah. And look, there's a huge question mark here, which is, will Peyton Watson be on the roster? He had a great month that he's hoping to cash in on. And, you know, it's looking very uncertain at this point. There are certainly other teams that are interested. You know, his asking price of basically Christian Brown's contract, I don't think he gets that. I'll also believe that he plays for the qualifying offer when I see it. And, you know what? I'll also believe that they go through the full season with Cam Johnson still on the roster if they keep Peyton Watson. And when I see that, you know, because you can talk about, oh, you know, we've got freedom to spend. The luxury tax payment's not determined when the season starts. That's correct. So. Yeah. And that's the other thing. They may want to just, I mean, I don't have any insight into this, but they may want to see whatever the team is, whether it's with Peyton Watson or whether it's, you know, by the way, like I keep seeing all these, you know, people speculating or reporting on Peyton Watson's sign and trades. There's. The Nuggets are a second apron team and there's restrictions now involved in what you can do. Yeah. Sign and trades. So. And also just like, hey, if they're going to lose them, they don't necessarily want to get salary back. Right. So anyway. But again, I'm just not going under 50 on a Joker team. I agree. If he plays 70 something games, 70 games, you know, they get to play all these games in Denver. They're, you know, they're. They're front six are still really good. After that, you. It gets a little squishy. So they're, you know, they're off season is really, you know, you got to give them an incomplete. But the real question is going to be whether or not they slice any more salary or, you know, or what happens. More Hoop Collective podcast after this. The perfect lunch combo. That first bite of your favorite sub. Followed by ice cold Pepsi. Add a couple of friends. And now that's next level. Suddenly the laughs get louder. The stories keep flowing and the food tastes better because Pepsi brings out more flavor, more fun and more of the moment. Food deserves Pepsi. Grab a Pepsi zero sugar today. Hank joined BJ's Wholesale Club the day he became a father of 30. I coach football. Now Coach Hank saves up to 25% off grocery store prices. 30 pounds of pasta. Three cases of protein. And bars. 75 sports drinks. And that's just pregame. He knows teamwork. And BJ's knows savings. This is your home, coach. Home of the save. Join for just $20 at BJ's.com slash mesquite and save 10 cents per gallon for six months. Open soon. Limited time offer. New members only. BJ's. Home of the save. Yeah. Yeah. Might want to download that Exxon Mobile Rewards Plus app. Yeah. Are you the Exxon Tiger? I am. Yeah. You know, new users can earn $10 in points. Five bucks. your first purchase and five after your second. That's a lot. that's a whole lot it is well hey you get on that download buddy i will loading download the exxon mobile rewards plus app and join today exxon trust the tiger for details visit exxon offer.com all right after them the minnesota timberwolves come in at 48.5 the timberwolves are um all right well let me just ask you this 48.5 on the timberwolves fourth highest uh over under your thoughts i should ask you didn't you just hang out with him in paris too they had basically their whole roster over there in paris oh yeah rudy gobert hosting uh i didn't see that the miller ball and anne edwards apparently uh picked up all the the travel costs you know they had they had like 14 or 15 guys over there yeah they had like a full-blown thing well i do know that i that i walked past a very expensive hotel and there was a whole bunch of sprinter vans there which is usually an indication of nba players about there you go there was one video where rudy pans to the eiffel tower shimmering at night and then you hear anne's voice that looked like walt disney well also did that too on his instagram where he said it's just like the riverwalk yeah yeah um i'm i'm i am a timberwolf skeptic this season i've been a lamello ball skeptic for a while now in his defense he proved me wrong last year and the hornets were so convinced by it they shipped him out the first chance they got um but typically you make a big trade and i've learned this the hard way because remember how high i was on the uh on the dame bucks i think i picked him first in our wins pool draft that year you make a big trade like this it's going to take some time to figure out fit chemistry all those kind of things that's in part why they went over to paris's group start working on the chemistry and all that kind of stuff i know anne lamello spent some time together this summer but i just think playing styles can take some time to figure out and they they don't have a lot of depth and they do have a gaping hole at power forward that they're going to have to fill it appears by playing jayden mcdaniel's out of position so i think when it comes to minnesota there's first off i just want to point out chris finch is a very good coach and he has routinely been able to maximize his team when it matters you know maybe not in november maybe not always in february but he's often been able to maximize his team so i think there's three things that you have to ask yourself with minnesota one is jayden mcdaniel's about to take a leap after the way he played in the playoffs last year is is is this role them clearing out some stuff for him like is this by the way he's extension eligible so that's something to keep a little eye on um is he about to is he about to like leap forward into like being an all-star that's number one number two there's lamello ball getting there and lamello ball's health free up ant in a way that they weren't able to do for the last two seasons um and ever since they traded carl towns where where two work really well together um and the space comes out and ant you know playing off lamello ends up being like an unlocking mechanism well and then have to deal with a million double teams yeah exactly the third thing and i'm you know i i don't have enough information on this but would be interesting to watch is whether johan beringer their first round their their seven footer i guess 6 11 uh this guy that they drafted in 25 um who they really high on it was essentially like off limits and all these trades and they look good in summer league whether or not he's ready to step in and like make a you know a contributing role um so those need him to be a quality they need him to be a quality backup to go bear they need him to give them 16 18 minutes a night and he's the same type of player you know springy rim running rim protecting that type of guy i mean or is he a guy who comes in and like is able to like you know make a he's not just like filling a role like he's able to like be a plus player uh yeah i don't know the answer to that plus players but my point is if rudy's on the roster his role is limited because you don't play those guys aren't playing together probably not i agree but i just you know that's their upside young guy i mean they've had these young guys that that have had upside i mean terrence shannon has a little bit no he's got he's got some but one of these young guys are going to hit and you know they they're really super high on berenger so um i am inclined to go under on this but i am also saying this with these big open questions that i openly admit i don't know well the other thing with the wolves is they aren't as you said always a great regular season team but they are a team that one of the few teams has won playoff series in each of the last few years including a couple trips to the conference finals without question better in the playoffs without question all right houston rockets with the fifth fifth in the over under 47 and a half one of your teams mcmahon yeah i'd go over on this there were 52 win team last year despite the fact that they'd sorely missed fred van vliet and van vliet will be back you know i don't like look van v just hit the ground running i can't guarantee that um but he'll be back you know more than a full year removed um since he tore his acl and apparently did some other damage to the knee when he when he did that by the way but so but more than anything it's not even about like what his numbers are going to be like they have a floor general they have a leader they have a guy to run the offense they have a guy to set a tone for them defensively um so just with the return of van vliet and i don't know uh right now what adam stephen adams um status is entering the season um but they really missed those two guys late in the year they missed van vliet all season long they still won 52 games um i was looking up their numbers remember they were eighth in offense last season despite being a horrible fourth quarter yeah they weren't eight in clutch offense i can at least in clutch play and they were they were bottom five in turnovers and like bottom 10 and assists and in the fourth quarters they were almost worse um look like i'm still not 100 convinced of the durant fit but i am convinced of durant's still ability to be a game-changing player um and look i don't know what they're going to get out of marcus smart um but he was pretty good for the lakers especially in the second half last year yeah they need his toughness though that's what that's what they wanted from him i'm 47 and a half yeah i mean they've got good players they've got really good last year i realized it was a tanking league but i know last year they won 52 last year they've got a good coach and they i i gotta go over on that well and it's over and then they need they need shangoon to be better than he was last year um not necessarily statistically but just overall and they need a min thompson to take a to to take another step if not a leap and they've got some they've got pretty premium talent man we've got pretty premium talent um all right sixth on your scorecard but first in your heart the los angeles lakers um what an insult by draft kings a team that's finished in the top three in the west the last two years dropped him down to 45.5 over under which is probably slightly higher than you'd normally see because you always count the laker fans to bet the over um mcmahon well yeah i was gonna say the fact that draft kings has them this low i'm sure they are expecting the over to be hammered and that kind of tells you what they think look i get why they moved on from lebron or there was the mutual decision or whatever like i get why i don't i don't know i don't know i don't know i don't want to get hung up on that but like okay i get why they were i get why they were prepared to move on from lebron okay because look what they they didn't target walker kessler flippantly and look what they paid him i think they intended now never i don't want to get i i can't i can't have aggregation in my life it's okay my point is just this what they were trying to do was put a long term core in place around luke and austin reeves and to do that you couldn't have lebron making a money now why didn't lebron take the minimum from the lakers that's a whole different story point being is i understand why they decided their future is more important than lebron right now but lebron was a massive contributor to that team last year the kessler thing i do think kessler is a very good fit who upgrades a position that was absolutely necessary especially when you have luke adantich on the roster and luke adantich not on the roster and luke adantich not on the office door saying hey you said you're gonna give me a big um i didn't love the rest of their summer though um I haven't said that honestly, 45 and a half does surprise me. That does surprise me that it's that low. Well, here's the thing. Reeves and Luca are so good. And there is a reasonable sample size that shows that those guys playing together are going to generate a fair amount of wins. Even if you have deficiencies elsewhere. I also think that the cat, you know, here's the thing. When you look at Kessler, so many people are going to focus on the, on the trade cost. And I do think that we could get into a situation in the next, you know, six to 12 months where we say, boy, if the Lakers had just handled that a little differently, they would be able to do whatever that is part of the opportunity cost. But if you look at the actual fit, it's a great fit. Yeah. No. And well, and he needs to be, a first team, all defensive selection. And remember it's positionless. So I'm saying he needs to be first team. I mean, I don't know about first team, Wendy. If he's not a top five defense player in the league, they are going to be abysmal. I'm not going to focus on top five, but he needs to have a good season. He needs to have, he needs to play a lot of games and he needs to fill the role that he, that he's was brought there for, which is to rim run and defend the front of the rim. He needs to clean up a lot of messes on the defensive end of the floor. Well, he can do that. That's what they brought him there for. I, you know, as far as Mammish Cavill, I felt that Rui Hachimura was under valued. Yeah. That was curious to me just from a fit standpoint too. And Colin Sexton over either smart or canard was curious to me. Also, it was a lot, it was a lot to pay for Quentin Grimes. I don't know. I'm going to say I'm going to lean over because I think their three best players are pretty good and I think they fit together and I agree. Walker's got to defend, but I can say that I think they're going to win a lot of games without saying, I think they're going to win the championship. Yeah. So, but you know, Vegas thinks what they think. Okay. This number surprised me a little bit. Portland trailblazers. With the seven at 43 and a half over under. I don't like Portland this year. I think they've got a lot of pretty good players, but the fits are weird. You know, like John Dame is your starting backcourt man. Donovan Klingon better be at one hell of an elite defender too. You know, like I just, I've, I've got chemistry concerns. I've got, I've got, I've got just organizational concerns. I think the whole franchise is a complete mess right now because of all the stuff happening with the arena, the relocation, the owner being a total cheap ass. The coach come in with handcuffs on because the owner is such a cheap ass and the way that the contract was done. I just think there's too much mess around the Blazers right now for them to be a playoff team. I didn't understand how Damian Lillard fit when they signed him a year ago. I understood why they signed him. I didn't understand how he fit. And that was before they traded for John Morant, who I also don't understand how he fits because of drew holiday because of shade and sharp because of scoot Henderson. I, I, I, and here's the thing. There have been times in the past and I always go back. The case I always go back to is when the Rockets had, Chris Paul and James Harden, that trade happened. And I was like, I don't get it. And Daryl Morey said, just watch Kevin McHale, who was the coach said, just watch. Or was it Dan Tony? Dan Tony, Dan Tony, Dan Tony was like, I know whatever I'm getting old. Okay. Um, but I remember like talking to Dan Tony. Like I, I remember talking to Dan Tony, like midway through the season. He's like, he's like, what do you think this is my first year in the league? It's like, I knew what I was doing. I was like, well, you're right. You know what? I remember when, when the, when the wolves traded for, for, uh, you know, they had Carl towns, they traded for Rudy Gobert and I went to training camp and I was like, I don't get it. And Finch was like, just watch. And so, you know, Mike and Nori could say, just watch. And I can, you know why we could be sitting here in mid November going, oh my gosh, this was the vision, but it's, it's, it's hard for me to, to, you know, to get there. And they also, you know, they've been trying to trade Jeremy Grant forever. It seems like, so they finally get that done. And I'm not really sure how their front court rotation all fits. So their best player is not John Moran. It's not Damian Lillard is Denny Abdiah. Correct. And then you've got to Monica Mara, who is one of the better three and D defenders in the league, but is one of those guys come off the bench because you've got three guards that you need, you need to start. Like I don't, I don't know. I don't know who the start, I don't know. The starting line is going to be. And like for all the focus on, Hey, what's the chemistry between jaw and Dane again, their best player is Denny Abdiah. So, you know, he needs the ball in his hands too. Hell yes. And he's a guy who's a high usage player who also needs picks set for him and needs isolation set for him because he gets a large part of his squad. Scoring on bull drives to the brim and you know, you need space and you need the ball and you need potentially guards to set screens. I am fascinated to see, I don't know if we'll talk before then, but if you hadn't talked by media day, Damien Lillard's media day session is going to be fascinating because Dame is one of Portland's favorite sons. And so I would be stunned if he doesn't, I should, let me just be careful what I say. I would, I would expect Dame to have some comments about the Blazers future in Portland. Exactly. So I point out that Dame Lillard has a no trade clause. And, and it's just that, that whole thing is an unhealthy situation. It just is. And it's, it does. So how does that affect the basketball? You black clouds looming over franchises don't tend to benefit the basketball product. I think Portland is going to probably be a play in team. I just will say under 43 and a half, just cause just, just out of general, just out of general principle. All right. We have another gap here. The rest of the league, DraftKings thinks the rest of the conference DraftKings is going to have a losing record. They think there's going to be seven teams with losing records, which starts out with the Warriors and sons, both at 40 and a half. God, the Warriors have taken a lot of criticism. Like as if they're, you know, like if I was in, if I was a Pelicans fan, I'd be like, what do we do this off season? Like, you know, why am I thinking about the thing about the Warriors is they're judged through the prism of a dynasty and the dynasty has been gone for a while, but everybody admits nobody, nobody admits Denny differently. And the, and the Warriors are actively trying to do all these deals. Yeah. But just in terms of the, the over under there were 37 win team last year. You know, when Jimmy coming back, we don't know. It's going to be a while, you know, Steph at this age, it's not fair to expect him to play. I agree. I am taking the under on this, but I also, I'm just sort of reacting to everybody ripping the hell out of. Yeah. And again, I think that is, it's just purely people viewing that franchise through the prism of it's a dynasty and Steph's got to go out winning championships. And it's just like, that's just not a realistic scenario. And in the last week, Mike Dunley, the angel Lake have given interviews sort of like, you know, the Dunleavy said like, you know, trust me, I am out there trying. I, you know, I am making offers. I am not just sitting here going, boy, it's so great. Look at these stuff highlights on a loop in the facility. Like he's trying. So I'm just, the other thing is the warriors spent the concept that the warriors haven't given like Steph enough. Like I agree. Their draft picks didn't work out and they're trying to dig their way out of that. They've, they gave him great teams and they spent extraordinary sums of money to give themselves chances to win. Like, if you want to say you didn't like their off season, that's fine. If you want to say, I don't think this team's going anywhere. That's fine. I don't like the narrative that the warriors haven't done enough or disrespected stuff. Just, just watch and see what happens. Watch him win 37 games next year. That'll disprove it. I know, but I hear what you're saying. But again, is that the, because of all the success, the success that they've had and because of Steph's popularity, they are judged by the public in a different way than any other team than except for maybe the Lakers. That first bite of your favorite sub followed by ice cold Pepsi at a couple of friends. The stories keep flowing and the food tastes better. Because Pepsi brings out more flavor, more fun and more of the moment. Food deserves Pepsi. Grab a Pepsi zero sugar. today tammy regularly hauls stuff to her kids at college that's why she shops at bj's wholesale club saving up to 25 off grocery store prices beef jerky microwave meals laundry pods even they can't screw up have you met my kids and with bj's gas she gets there for less they call me the road warrior this is your home road warrior mom home of the save join for just 20 at bjs.com slash mesquite and save 10 cents per gallon for six months open soon limited time offer new members only bj's home of the save yeah yeah i might want to download that exxon mobile rewards plus app yeah are you the exxon tiger i am yeah you know new users can earn ten dollars and points five bucks after your first purchase and five after your second that's a lot that's a whole lot it is well hey you get on that download buddy i will loading download the exxon mobile rewards plus app and join today exxon trust the tiger for details visit exxon offer.com suns 40 and a half listen the suns i thought really had a hell of a year last year uh to end up at 45 i thought that was overachieving um you know they didn't they didn't make a talent addition with miles bridges um i think they don't win as many as last year but i'll take over i'll i'll say they're a 500 team i'll go barely over 40 and a half devin booker didn't have the greatest season last year i'm not saying devin has to prove anything but their upside is you know i mean come on i could sit here and talk about the nuances of come on mal you watch and obviously it would be really good if he turned into like a defensive playmaker but the truth is like they need devin booker to be a bona fide all-star you're talking about you need walker kessler to make all defense yeah i need a devin booker to be an all-star and you know by the way like he has proven he can play a role and be super effective on teams but you know well devin needs to they need to not bring jaylen or they need to bring jaylen green off the bench and have congolese start so devin booker can be a two guard and not force him to play point guard listen whatever you got to do to get a better production out of devin booker is what you're looking for it wasn't terrible last year that was 26 and six no well look at his shooting very well yeah look at his shooting percentages yeah i didn't shoot the three well other than that he was pretty close to what he'd been they're just a team that has a very uh you know relatively low ceiling and it's going to get lower and lower and lower because the way they've operated giving up all the picks in the future miles bridges did not extend his contract um and my understanding is he's probably going to wait and try to extend it later you may see him come in and really have like you know a sizable role they you know i think they've i think they have a an intent to not only an intent to pay him but they have an intent to really give him a big role so we'll see how that how that goes west maybe yes i go over again because i think they're some of their top intel i guess i go over i i'm squishy yeah um all right intent to jazz 35 and a half now you know how i feel about the flip at jazz the flip is a coming and it's a coming right now um and i think the jazz how many did they win last year a lot less than that so 22 last year all right so they were and and all 22 of them you had the ages just you know cussing up a storm um 22 wins what was their roster assuming you know relative i mean forget their roster what was their injury report i know but i'm saying this let's say they played normal straight up basketball what was that team i mean 30 31 maybe you think so you think it was a lot better than that if they had jaron jackson and walker kessler all year long and then kessler kessler had this shoulder surgery like a weekend of the season i understand their roster last year was like they're over under 35 and a half i think they had a 35 kessler's not there now so who cares about what could have been with kessler okay fine but i think even if they don't do the jaron jackson trade they had a team that could have won 35 games last year we can agree to disagree on that one so you're going over under i'm gonna go under here i i think they're not not by much um but they're playing in the western conference it's tough in the western conference they don't have a starting center on the roster you know they'll they'll go the thunder and lightning yeah and and i love darren peterson how many rookies really impact winning i think he'll score points i think that he's gonna have learned impact winning you know kiante george uh you know it's really kind of a prove it year for him coming off of a massive leap last year but can he you know he's got to be a hell of a lot better defensive too by the way but you know can he influence winning um and again so somebody's got to lose some games in the western conference i agree we can't have all these teams winning 40 plus games not that i think this is going to be a change or to their wins but i really like joshakoji for two years and 12 million i thought that was a good signing yeah um i think though i think though i just also think it's a very young team that's going to lose a lot of close games because they don't know how to win yet they have to learn how to win i'm going over i think they were a 34 35 win team last year if they played their whole team and i think they're going to be better they're going to have jaron jackson and peterson is going to i agree he might not drive winning but he won't necessarily have to and i think will hardy takes the handcuffs off and like actually coaches him up and coaches to win games instead of standing over there with his hands in his pockets like i'm not saying they're going to the conference finals i'm just saying i'm going over well larry markin will be a an effective score for sure number 11 you're dallas mavericks 34 and a half ouch yeah boy i tell you what if it's under this is a tough one man like that's a oof if it's under the flag family is going to be perturbed remember cooper flag came in the league thinking man this is awesome i'm a number one pick who gets to win right away and no you don't now listen the mavericks tanked pretty damn hard last year too they are getting back kairi how do we do don't you think santi aldama was a nice piece of business yeah i think he was a nice piece of business i think the way they got zachary resache was a nice piece of business i'll go over here i think it's going to be tough for them to win i think they're going to be a tough one i think they're going to be tough for them to crack the the playoff picture but i'll go over 34 and a half and again if they have kairi and kairi can stay healthy that's going to solve a whole lot of their offensive issues well absolutely i mean let me tell you when guys do start to impact winning in their second year well and that's the thing for cooper flag i'm really curious about him and you know will it be an all-star this year can he be all nba this year because he's that kind of talent there's no question about that what are we thinking for do we think how much of a role what more is johnson's going to play like is that do you think that's uh that's a great question i i think they got him to to contribute right away and look they've got some major questions at center you know i mean like we have a derrick we need a derrick lively update well and unfortunately like again you know we talked about a little redraft product recently like the potential for lively is still immensely high but unfortunately he just is he just cannot count on him to be on the floor the last update we got at the end of june he hadn't been progressing to running yet do i have a different update that i missed uh i believe he is running now but i don't want to speak with confidence because i've been on vacation well me too just to be real honest with you um this was one of the most surprising numbers on this board but i'm not like saying i vehemently i'm just you know and and if we're being real daniel gafford is still on the roster because they couldn't find the trade market for him and the reason they couldn't find the trade market for him is because there's huge questions and concerns around the league about his health so i'm gonna go over jeez yeah 34 and a half is is pretty low cooper flag come on cooper flag and kairi and the kairi i'm fascinated to see the fit with kairi and i'm fascinated just to see like i don't know man like i am open-minded to mid-season kairi coming to the mavericks and saying hey you know i i would like to go somewhere where i have a chance to contend right now and here's my list of teams i and i think that might be in the best interest of everybody it's been a like everybody here loves kairi but again you're building around a 19 year old prodigy okay but like let's see how kairi looks first before we yeah i hear you people i think you know because just because you didn't play last year people forget this guy is really special and I think Cooper Flagg is really special. Number 12, Memphis Grizzlies, 28-and-a-half. Under. Cameron Boozer. I mean, again, I think he's going to – Prepare to put up some big numbers. I think Boozer will put up big numbers. I think he's going to have a really good career. They're a young team. It's hard for young teams to win, period. It's especially hard when you're dealing with the depth that there is in the Western Conference. I mean, Zach Eady's health is as big of a question mark as any of these big guys. Definitely. You know, but they're teams that's – if your best players are rookie, you're probably not going to win a lot of games. This is the spending at the top of their salaries. So Jeremy Grant, who has two years and $70 million left, I don't think anybody thinks he's a $70 million player at this point, but that's their highest paid. The second highest paid player is Beef Stew Isaiah Stewart, who they traded for this summer, who is a backup. A high-level backup, but has been a backup. Okay. Their third highest paid player is Cameron Boozer, a rookie. Their fourth highest paid player is Tyre Jerome. So, yeah, that sounds like an under to me, with all due respect to everybody. Well, it's not like anybody in Memphis thinks that they're built to win. I agree. And listen, Cam Boozer could average 20 and 10 and win Rookie of the Year. Let's be honest. Well, and Cooper Flag won Rookie of the Year last year, and the Mavericks won 26 games. Number 13, New Orleans Pelicans, 27 and a half. Under. They were trying to win last year. You're darn right they were. You know, they're – They didn't have control of their pick. Yeah. You got to find them with all the tankers, but they sure as hell weren't tanking last year. No, they weren't. In fact, they had a couple of stretches where they won that broke the Hawks' heart. The Hawks were thinking they might get into the top five. Yeah, and they benefited from tanking. To get to 26 wins. You know, so a couple of things. One, there's always Zion. Is he going to be healthy? I don't know. What do you want me to say? Jaunte Murray didn't play the whole year last year. Looked pretty good when he came back. Would you expect him to be stronger this year? They are trying to win, and they have Jamal Mosley, who got a really good bounce when he took over the Magic. That's what you're betting on. You're also betting on Jeremiah Fears and Derrick Queen to have a second-year bounce. That's what you're basically saying is that – I hear you. You're going to take what you had and perform better with what you had. Let me ask you this. What was the major lineup change that James Abrego made? When they were winning games late last year? It was a tank-a-palooza, but they were winning games and disappointing the odds. He took Fears and Queen out of the starting lineup. Yeah. Yep. 28.5 is low, but they're in the West. They won 26 last year. So you're basically saying you're going to think they're going to win three or four more. I don't. Because I think a lot of the 26 that they won were against teams that were – were tanking, and we're happy to let them get one. I know. I agree. Under or – yeah, under. Number 14, Sacramento Kings, 21.5. What about the flip? Not so much. No. The Kings are a complete mess too. I mean – And they're going to be putting the ball – they're going to be putting the ball in the hands of a lottery pick rookie who – you know, Acuff's got talent. I don't want to overreact to a rough summer league, but, like, I just – they're not – they're going to be the worst team in the West next year. Acuff is going to put up numbers. They've got the lowest paid coach in the league, you know. Lower than Mike Inori? That's what I've been told. I don't doubt your reporting, sir. He kept his job, though. Well, thank you, Vivek. Doug Christie kept his job. I think Acuff is going to put up numbers, but they're going to be inefficient, and one of the easiest ways to lose a lot of games is to have young guards. Yep. So, and – And they've got a black cloud with the whole Zach Levine situation. Right, and, you know, I don't even know where Sabonis is at, you know. Yeah, exactly. He was on the trade block. Yeah, I'm going to go under. Okay, so the Clippers are off the board here. They would be the 15th team. You know, it's hard to evaluate the Clippers. The worst-case scenario for the Clippers is Kawhi is suspended and still in the roster, and they just have a $50 million hole in their roster. And if that happens, it's going to be a tough year. Right. Well, what you're looking for is Keaton Wagler to look like he can be your cornerstone of the future. Yep. Regardless of, you know, everything else. So, and, you know, Darius. Darius Garland and Keaton Wagler, can they play together? Does that work? You know, you know, had they signed Rui Hachimura? I thought that was a good value signing. So, yeah. I guess we'll wait and see. It's very hard to evaluate them. You know, it's also – No, I don't want to get into that. But they got Rui Hachimura for $14 million a year. I thought it was a nice value pickup. But if you – If you're facing, like, some sort of probation, I don't know if that matters. But they're off the board. Good work, McMahon. The Eastern Conference is coming up soon. By the way, on the Eastern Conference, to say it's tightly packed is an understatement. There's not these wide gaps like you have in the West. There's a lot more nuance over in the East. So, we'll talk about that soon. Thank you so much to all of our producers, Miles, Jackson, Mark. At all. Thank you to McMahon, as always. Thank you for watching and listening to The Hoop Collective. We'll talk to you soon. Spoiler alert. These Sixers over-under is 81.5. Adios, mate. Tammy regularly hauls stuff to her kids at college. That's why she shops at BJ's Wholesale Club, saving up to 25% off grocery. Store prices, beef jerky, microwave meals, laundry pods, even they can't screw up. Have you met my kids? And with BJ's gas, she gets there for less. They call me the road warrior. This is your home, road warrior mom. Home of the save. Open soon. Limited time offer, new members only. BJ's, home of the save.