48 Minutes: All Star Thoughts, Preseason predictions at the Break, Second half thoughts

0:04 ... Ross welcomes everyone to the show and introduces his co-hosts.

0:34 ... Episode #144 is dedicated to the Thunder and Cavs, who lead their respective conferences with 44 wins at the break.

0:47 ... Ross live BetOnLine commercial read

1:20 ... For our YouTube viewers, Bruce is rocking an All-Star hat from the 1996 All Star game in San Antonio where he first crossed paths with future colleague and lifetime pal Tim Legler, who won the Long Distance Shootout that year.

2:09 ... Ross begins his recap of All Star Weekend and Bruce's initial thought is that he wished he had binge watched "The Landman" on Paramount Plus instead of another boring All-Star weekend.

3:13 ... World B was similarly unimpressed with the gimmicks the league tried. If the players don't care, the event will always disappoint.

4:14 ... Bruce wonders if the trade deadline should move closer to All-Star weekend to help juice up interest, but World B offers a good reason why that may not be viable. Ross points out that Damian Lillard had some valid points about player fatigue being a factor in why the game lacks intensity.

6:52 ... Ross recaps the Rising Stars competition and feels that one of the good parts of the weekend was seeing younger guys and G-League players get some exposure. World B agrees and Bruce says a prime example of that was Stephon Castle of the Spurs, who made a major impact in his events.

9:14 ... Ross mentions rookie Reed Shepherd and wonders if we overhyped him. Bruce thinks he may be a late bloomer and World B points out how young he is. World B adds that Houston COULD have drafted Castle and must be kicking themselves over that move.

11:28 ... Ross transitions to the Skills Competition which featured controversy involving an attempt by the Spurs duo of Chris Paul and Victor Wembanyama to exploit a loophole in the rules to gain an unfair advantage. Bruce isn't buying that it was Wemby's idea as he thinks Chris Paul instigated it and made the young dude take the heat for it.

13:58 ... Bruce wonders if these shenanigans chip away at the credibility of the sport.

15:07 ... Tyler Herro beat Buddy Hield in the Long Distance Shootout and the guys discuss how Herro has played through many distractions in Miami and is doing so well.

18:06 ... Mac McClung dominated the Dunk Contest with a variety of cool slams. Bruce wants to give McClung the "Woody Harrelson White Men CAN Jump Award" as he was reminded of other undersized winners from years past like Spud Webb and Nate Robinson. World B thinks the dunk over the car was one of the best dunks ever.

21:50 ... Ross recaps the championship game and Bruce highlights Steph Curry's two showstopping shots that won him the MVP Award. Ross asks World B if the All Star game should have a new gimmick like a 4 of 5 point shot? World B thinks matchup between Teams from the USA and an International team would help drive interest and players effort.

26:03 ... Preseason prediction recaps ... Bruce starts out with his choice of Stephon Castle as his preseason rookie of the year pick and explains how his big weekend at the All Star game makes him the leader in the clubhouse. World B whips through some picks he made and says Jalen Williams would win Most Improved Player. Ross agrees but Bruce likes Cade Cunningham to win the award.

30:37 ... Bruce had Shai Gilgeous Alexander as his MVP pick and he's pretty certain that SGA will win with Nikola Jokic second and Giannis third. World B thinks SGA is deserving but still makes a great case for Joker.

32:58 ... Ross with a gratuitous cheap shot at World B's Orlando Magic team. Bruce praises the brutal coldness of the comment. But Ross's MVP choice of Luka Doncic will not be happening.

34:15 ... The Coach of the Year race? Ross says Kenny Atkinson will win even though his preseason pick was Jamahl Moseley. Bruce liked Ime Udoka prior to the season but feels Atkinson will win it. World B agrees but also gives some flowers to Ty Lue of the Clippers. Bruce and Ross give a little bit of love to JB Bickerstaff in Detroit who has done a tremendous job with a young team.

39:05 ... Ross tees up the OKC vs Boston finals prediction ... Bruce still likes the Celtics to win it, but they have certainly lacked consistency this season. Ross shared this prediction but World B liked Minnesota to come out of the west and play Boston.

41:59 ... Ross begins the discussion on second half predictions and Bruce feels like Minnesota could get themselves on a roll as they begin a stretch of 7 out of their next 9 games on the road. If they can go 6-3, they may be ready to go into the next gear.

43:12 ... World B with some startling facts about Boston's starters and what isn't clicking. He adds that Cleveland is for real and points out the Cavs have some tough matchups with the Knicks coming up.

46:53 ... Ross predicts the Suns will miss the playoffs entirely, which is shocking considering who is on their team. But they have a brutal schedule and Bradley Beal is injured and morale around the team seems low.

48:42 ... Bruce chimes in Denver, whom he expects to peak at the right time. But he does not fully trust Memphis because when Ja Morant plays, they have a much lower winning percentage than they do when he is out of the lineup.

50:22 ... Ross wraps it up and says goodbye.

TRT 50:38

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