Thinking basketball podcast. My name is Ben. Welcome back to another episode. Cody, welcome back.

I don't think we've talked about basketball for about a month. It feels like a lot has happened in the NBA that we need to

talk about today. We won't get to all of it today. Of course, we'll just try to get to a couple

big things. But man, the Eastern Conference, we got movers and shakers. We got things happening in

the West. As of recording this, the NBA Cup, the actual tournament part of the NBA Cup is about to tip off.

And there's some really interesting teams that I want to see in a like one game.

We're giving you extra scouting report attention, playoff adjacent setting that's going to be really fun.

We've had young teams come out of the NBA Cup with great success, including the Indiana Pacers, who two years ago made it to the finals of the NBA Cup with a great run and then followed that up last year with a run to game seven of the NBA finals, one of the greatest runs in NBA history that will unfortunately probably be forgotten to history, but not here, not on this show. Cody, welcome back. Thank you. You're right. It does feel like it's been a really, really long time. And I think the weird thing about this particular season is you're like, a lot of things have happened. I don't know if in the last couple of weeks of anything like huge and gargantuan have happened where it's like, oh my God, we need to make an emergency pot about this. But there's just so many small things that are happening, especially with some teams, that I would certainly not have circled as being a team that I need to focus on during the season. And at this point, I'm like, wow, I really need to zoom in and, like, figure out what's going on here. Like, why is this team struggling? Why is this team doing better than I expected why like there's a bunch of questions like that so you're right there's a bunch of little things that keep compounding and across these two weeks it's like a mountain bend it's a mountain's worth of stuff we've been talked about yeah I know exactly what you're talking about you're referring to Colin Gillespie aren't you oh my god yeah I think last time I was on here, I called, called out, called him out. That makes it sound like I was mad at him. But like I shouted him out, I should say, because he's on my pantheon for Goat's hustle plays of the year right now. The one, I don't remember who they were playing, but he hustles for the offensive rebound, like dives out of pound, throws it in for the and one layup.

Like that kind of stuff's incredible.

And the three point shots a little bit more dialed in. Phoenix Suns is really fun. I kind of have a point about them. I'm going to bring up, I think, later in the episode. So I'm going to put a little bit of Phoenix Sun's pin into this one right now. Well, of course, since you've been gone and now all this time

has gone by, we absolutely have to start the show. And I think spend at least one hour coming up

with imaginary trade scenarios for Janus Anato Dacupo. Do you have your top three offhand?

Oh, what's the closing time line?

It's like, you don't have to go home, but you can't stay here.

I don't care.

Whatever.

Let the man go free.

I want to see him compete some more.

Like, we got the championship.

Great.

Go on somewhere.

I don't care.

...