48 Minutes: The new "Beast of the East," Struggling Clippers, Blazing Suns, Misery in Detroit

0:00 ... Show open and introductions ... the Evan Scott episode (#78)

1:05 ... Bet Online Live commercial read

1:48 ... Bruce's opening comment on Draymond Green's latest selfish antics

4:23... World B's opening comment is on Mark Cuban, who is selling his stake in the Mavericks after owning the team since 2000.

6:10 ... Ross' opening comment is on the Houston Rockets, who are much improved but still winless on the road.

7:32 ... World B gets us going in the first quarter with a breakdown of the Orlando Magic, who are riding an 8 game win streak behind Paolo Banchero and a very deep bench.

9:43 ... Bruce points out that the Magic have owned the Celtics since last season winning four of their last five meetings.

11:20 ... Ross loves Cole Anthony coming off the Magic bench and describes him as a "Bucket." Ross also has praise for Jalen Suggs.

13:57 ... Mo Wagner has really found a great role coming off the bench for the Magic after bouncing around his first three years in the league.

15:06 ... The LA Clippers are imploding and suffered a terrible loss on Monday when they lost to Denver, which was without its top three players (Jokic, Gordon, and Murray).

16:28 ... Russell Westbrook has been negatively affected by James Harden's return. He's coming off the bench and averaging under 10 points a game.

18:53 ... Ross is stunned by how poor the ball movement is for the Clippers and feels they need a better offensive system.

20:00 ... World B explains how no team in the NBA runs as many iso plays as LA and they also make fewer passes per game than any other team.

21:37 ... Bruce says LA lacks chemistry, is an old team, and does nothing particularly well. Bruce also believes Clippers owner Steve Ballmer was behind the Harden deal and forced GM Lawrence Frank to make the trade for marketing reasons.

22:50 .... The Phoenix Suns are on fire behind Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. World B feels Booker is going to be in the MVP discussion and is a true difference maker.

25:07 ... While Book struggled on Wednesday in their loss to Orlando, "Kevin and Devin" are combining for 60 points a game and Booker's return to the lineup has made KD's life easier. Bruce also has love for Grayson Allen, who has filled while Bradley Beal has been injured. Ross agrees 100% on Allen.

28:17 ... Eric Gordon has also been huge in his 16th NBA season for Phoenix averaging nearly 15 a game while shooting over 40% from downtown.

30:35 ... In our "Three Man Weave," we size up the Minnesota Timberwolves after their big win over OKC on Monday. Rudy Gobert had a big game and the Wolves really dug in on defense in the second half. Minnesota overcame the loss of Anthony Edwards, who missed the whole 4th quarter and had two great performances off the bench from Naz Reid and Troy Brown Jr.

35:06 ... Ross wants to see more from Jalen Williams, who was a solid rookie last season but who has struggled early in the season for the Thunder. World B wonders if the arrival of Chet Holmgren has negatively affected Williams' development.

37:55 .... In the second topic of the Three Man Weave, the Pistons are a total mess. Coach Monty Williams' job is not in jeopardy but he might need to shake up his lineup to motivate some of the players who are lacking the ability to battle out there. The Pistons can't shoot and that's a problem.

43:00 ... The final element in the Three Man Weave concerns the Spurs and Victor Wembanyama. He's great, but his team stinks. Bruce compares Spurs coach Gregg Popovich to Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots. When Belichick lost Tom Brady he wasn't such a great coach anymore and when Pop lost Tim Duncan he had the same issue.

46:06 .... Ross shares his "best bets" as he sizes up the four quarterfinal games in the "In Season Tournament" which take place next Monday and Tuesday. He likes the Celtics over the Pacers and the Knicks over the Bucks in the east. Ross likes the Kings over the Pelicans and the Suns over the Lakers out west.

48:35 ... Final Thoughts ... Bruce feels Gregg Popovich was out of line for telling the Spurs fans not to boo Kawhi Leonard last week.

50:31 .... World B has praise for Russell Westbrook, who has turned his image around as a member of the Clippers after a bad experience with the Lakers.

51:31 ... Ross comments on the Chris Paul beef with referee Scott Foster. If Foster said something about one of his kids, as CP3 alleges Ross feels the league needs to step in and change something involving the two men.

53:33 .... Ross says goodbye ...

TRT 53:52

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