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You're tuned in to Heat Check with Trista Crick.

Welcome to a bonus episode of the Heat Check.

Today we've got a special interview with NBA insider Bill Ryder.

We conducted this interview last night with my co-host Ryan Horvott and PJ Glasser on BedMGM Tonight to my other show.

Bill hosts a show called Ryiter Than You on CBS Radio, weekdays from 10 to noon, and is an award-winning journalist

who has covered the association for many years. He's really good, and shockingly, he agrees with

me a ton. So do me a favor, Nick, and drop that fucking beat.

In this first clip, Bill decides to give his opinions on who he likes to come out of the east.

I knew we were on the same wavelength as soon as he started saying mean things about the Brooklyn Nets. I do not believe in the Brooklyn Nets. I will fade them at every chance and take the risk. They do come to work and figure it out. I like the Milwaukee bucks. I know that's kind of chalk once they get healthy. I just think it's so easy to look past because they're in the Midwest. I think we take Janus really just for granted how well-run that organization is, how Dominant Janus is. But I saw a lot of cavaliers this year, just bopping around talking to various folks and various teams. I just happen to beat a lot of their games. And I'm starting to talk myself into at least Cleveland overachieving. I know I'm not the only person in the country doing that, but if you think the drama is going to pull down the Celtics and the nets and there might be some injuries elsewhere, if like me you love the Sixers but think Doc Rivers is a walking postseason disaster, I think Cleveland's interesting. We also asked Bill about his thoughts on my dark horse pick to come out of the east, the Toronto Raptors. Listen in.

I'm with you guys on Toronto. I don't have a bet on it, but I was talking to a couple buddies that we pool our resources and bet a little larger than we should every year. We're nibbling on the edges there. I think the Nets are like, look, the Brooklyn Nets could win the whole thing. They're talented enough. I think the likely outcome is they're going to be really underwhelming. We've seen this story before. What a Bill Parcell say. People tell you

who they are. Kyrie Irving, unreliable. I mean, you guys know all the drama. That leaves the Sixers. I think they can be great. I love the moves they made, added some 3&D guys, was around that organization for several days last week. They're actually legitimately confident. But if you think things can go wrong, if you think M.B. can get hurt again. If you think Doc Rivers is the wrong guy I do, and that manifests itself maybe in the regular season instead of the postseason, I think Toronto is really interesting. Nick Nurse is one of the three or four best coaches in the game. They've got a pretty good core. If things go right for

them and have to go badly for those other teams, there's certainly value there. One of the teams

...