FIRST TAKE | “Suns are the biggest sleeper in West” – Stephen A. rips Kevin Durant & Devin Booker

FIRST TAKE | “Suns are the biggest sleeper in West” – Stephen A. rips Kevin Durant & Devin Booker

The top four teams in the west are separated by only two and a half games and then there’s a fight to stay out of the play in tournament with the pels and the Suns currently occupying the last two guaranteed spots all right we got a little NBA Squad here Austin River

Kendrick Perkins and let me lock in let me lock in all right perk I’m going to start with you on this one which team do you have as the biggest sleeper team in the west oh it’s the New Orleans Pelicans and I don’t know if any body on this

Panel is going to disagree with me when you look at this team and look at their depth the only thing that was that had people concerned about the Pelicans is Zion Williamson the mindset of Zion Williamson Zion Williamson is engaged right now he’s he’s available and his

Mentality is there but when I look at the others Brandon Ingram we don’t talk about him enough a certified bucket getter on the offensive end of the floor herb Jones what he brings to the table on both ends of the floor being a guy that’s being able to be a slasher and

Knockdown shots and a hell of a wing Defender when you look at Trey Murphy size length athleticism what he brings to the table and so I look at CJ McCullen as the leader who’s a who’s averaging around about 20 points and I’m looking at this Pelicans team and I’m

Like nobody really want to see them in the west and if they do they go to have to strap their shoes up that’s why I got them as my sleep love your pick perk people don’t talk about New Orleans enough for me though I’m going to go out west

As well and go to Phoenix the Phoenix Suns yes sir we just saw them get a big win versus Denver fully healthy Denver without Devin Booker by the way um listen you talk about their team when we talk about title contention teams we talk about star power they have that

When we talk about role players they have that I’m even willing to say if we’re talking best seven to eight guys they’re probably top two or three in the NBA if we’re talking about roster you have Kevin Durant at the top you got dein Booker there two guys that can

Close games hit clutch shots create their own shot and create for others you have Bradley Bill who I think we have yet has even seen his best play with Phoenix I think he’s still figuring it out as we know that takes time and then also the role players that they have

Grayson Allen having a career year Eric Gordon a a knockdown shooter Royce O’Neil A underrated pickup and then you have nage inside uh to you know throw around and bang around versus guys like jic so they can play multiple lineups I I I think they’re a team that could

Easily easily kind of get creep into the playoffs and cause some problems perk I like your answer because the Pelicans of the last 15 games number four in the league in offense number four in the league in defense that’s excellent uh an excellent spot to be and

But my answer is the Golden State Warriors and it’s really for one basic reason schedule when you look at how tightly packed this is the warrior schedule is a weapon going forward they have the third easiest schedule going down the stretch now look everything that you said Austin about the Suns is

Right but they got the second toughest schedule their last 12 games go take a look at them everybody they’re absolutely brutal the schedule favors the Warriors regardless of everything else because you’re going to have games you win and lose these teams are flawed in certain ways but that is really in

Their favor the team that’s right in front of them Dallas they played them three more times the team you know uh they have a much easier schedule than the Suns and an easier schedule than the Kings I think the schedule is going to be a huge Factor especially in those

Last seven to 10 games the Warriors are going to be in position and if you can get out of that play in if you can avoid that getting that six seed not you know dodging all of that Carnage that’s going to happen over those couple of days in

April that’s a huge win that’s a big winner to me I think the Warriors are best position schedule-wise to do it okay quickly Austin is flying to Durham uh tonight I’m getting there tomorrow morning do you like blue doubles over the Tar Heels this weekend Austin come

On now don’t even ask me something like that you know what it is I mean we saw what happened we saw what happened we saw what happened earlier in the season I’m just Redemption time and I’m coming to town we talk about the mixture right the combination of you with old like some

Would say that Golden State don’t have great depth on the bench but what I’ve been seeing from you know Chris Paul uh Jackson Davis uh you know what theyve been been providing clay Off the Bench they have been rolling and you still got cavon lulen coming in and providing his

Spar what what I’m looking at when I look at the warrior I’m looking at a team that is bought all the way in right a team now that has finally got over that hump that’s saying you know what we we we’re taking ourselves out of the equation and losing ourselves within the

Team when I look at the Lakers I see this a dysfunctional organization right now we don’t know if Darvin ham is going to play DLo in the fourth quarter we don’t know what type of minutes he’s going to get he may go to ig and post something about D loing and all things

To that nature we could tell in Bri body language how frustrated he is at points of time like when at this point of the Season where the Lakers are the playoffs have started already for them and you should be already the the energy on the bench when you’re not on the floor

Should be there the energy on the floor should be great like all across the board so right now it’s not even close the way that the Warriors are playing and I’m with you on this Wendy Draymond Green who is the heart and soul of this team with him coming back has completely

Changed the whole landscape of how I view this team right now I don’t think you guys neither of you had bad takes um you know the Warriors are definitely tapping into something different right now and playing their best basketball of the season but in terms of it being night

And day better than the Lakers I’m not going to go that far um at the end of the day to Wendy’s point if the Lakers play The Warriors in in a you know sudden death match up I’m going with the Lakers still I’m going with ad and

LeBron James I’m not counting them out I know LeBron’s dealing with the ankle issues I know he’s dealing with you know some injuries right now I know that we’ve seen inconsistency in lineups and some of their rooll play but we were talking about this whole season the

Lakers having an upgrade in roster we talked about pinka being executive of the summer putting together this team now I know their record doesn’t reflect that but this is still a team that’s not going to be judged during the regular season and in the postseason is where we judge them unfortunately we’re the

Situation where we might not get them in the postseason neither team might not make it for that matter but if we’re talking between the Warriors and Lakers I’m not about to sit here and just sit that the Lakers just can’t do anything or can’t make a run uh the top seed

Their second best player just possibly might be down for the regular season so what if they remain at the top seed and you have Minnesota facing against the Lakers in the first round or you have an OKC playing the Lakers in the first round inexperience versus experience I’m

Rolling with the Lakers still they have a chance to beat any of those teams and LeBron James on their best night and when they’re rolling and tapped in can beat anybody we saw in the first year that we’ve had the n Season tournament the Lakers went and just got that they

Just went and won it they went and out competed everybody they have a deep roster that I think they’re much deeper of a team than Golden State I have questions about their bench I have questions about the the warrior starting lineup to be quite Frank I love some of the new additions

Of of the young play but these guys don’t have the experience of holding it down in the playoffs we’ve never seen that from them I’ve never seen and again I’m a big fan of Jonathan kaming I just gave flowers a little bit ago we haven’t seen him Park go into the playoffs and

Dominate yet we haven’t seen the other guy uh I can’t even pronounce his last name was it pazinski or pazinski whatever his name is I I we haven’t seen him going these are things that I have to see whereas when we talk the Lakers you know

We talk about and Reeves I’ve seen them play in the playoffs I know uh D’s been up and down but I still seen them compete and play at a high level in some games especially Reeves especially LeBron James especially Anthony Davis those guys are champions I’m going with

The Lakers still and I’ve been back and forth on this because earlier this earlier today I was kind of on the warrior side on the get up when I was on there I was saying you know the Warriors have been playing better maybe they’ve tapped into something I could maybe see

Them finishing and having a better second half have but you know if I’m really going to talk about it right now and put everything out there I’m still rolling with the Lakers deep down yeah but but Austin last year at this time the Lakers were one of the

Best teams in the NBA after the allstar break no LeBron James Anthony Davis was playing at a top five level going into that postseason Austin Reeves didn’t have playoff experience uh ruy hamar didn’t have playoff experience so at the end of the day we saw it when they got

To the postseason but we saw the flashes leading up to the postseason correct and right now when you look across the league is especially in the Western Conference I’m watching a lot of teams play playoff basketball we saw how the game went in Denver two nights ago against the Phoenix Suns that was

Playoff basketball we’re watching playoff basketball and so when I think about you know what’s going on right now it’s no way in hell Austin that you could feel conf confident in the Los Angeles Lakers knowing what you know for as LeBron James being injured and the wonderful Insight that Wendy provided

For us at the start of this show I appreciate Wendy did did did have some good insights but we we not about to sit here and act like we just didn’t watch The Warriors lose by 82 points the other night versus Celtics bro like a come on

Bro like they’ve been just down just the Lakers man like they they both in the same spot of game behind each other like what we doing here for Golden State we doing Austin gold golden state has been one of the best teams in the league since the allstar

Break I’m not about to sit up here and jump the gun because they got they got whooped by the Celtics on the last game of a road trip and then came back home and whooped another team that was one of the hottest teams in the league on the

Back road they’re also the Bucks were on the back end of a road trip too if you going to play that for Fore fore speech foreign spee door first speech foree speech spe for Fore spe speech fore spe speech speee speee that that speeech foree speee look an enemy has been defeated ultimate

Fore fore back speee First Blood okay an enemy this fore defeated an enemy has been defeated an ally has been defeated your tower has destroyed you have been deated an ally has defeated enemy double kill our base is under attack an enemy has been defeated an ally has been defeated enemy double kill

You have been defeated enemy dou kill enemy ultimate our base is under attack this

FIRST TAKE | “Suns are the biggest sleeper in West” – Stephen A. rips Kevin Durant & Devin Booker