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1:00I'm one of those people who will happily eat steak at eggs any time of the day. Breakfast, dinner, it's technically midnight, but I'm still hungry. Doesn't matter, there's just something unbeatable about a good steak hitting a hot pan. That immediate sizzle, the smell filling the kitchen, and then topping it with a fried egg, where the yolk is deep yellow, and just barely runny, unreal. Pure protein heaven. That's also why I love having Omaha steaks on hand. The steaks are incredibly tender, super flavorful, and cook evenly, whether I'm searing them on the stovetop or throwing them on the grill. It's that steakhouse quality bite at home. Omaha steaks has everything from their fan favorite filet mignon. Yes, the USDA certified tender one, to burgers, chicken, pork, seafood, and even fully cooked comfort meals, like beef pot roast, or meat lovers lasagna. For nights when you still want high protein, but zero effort, get 50% off the world's best everyday protein. Go to OmahaStakes.com for 50% off site wide during their semi-annual sale. And for an extra $35 off, use promo code T-bone at checkout. That's 50% off at OmahaStakes.com, and an extra $35 off with promo code T-bone at checkout.

2:00Terms apply. See site for details. Go to DAV.org. This is You Better You Bet, presented by Bet MGM on Westwood One Sports. Jason Tatum back on the floor tonight in Boston for the Celtics. How does that affect the top of the Eastern Conference? Does it make the Celtics the instant team to beat in the East? Does it just throw everything into a blender with those top four teams in the East? We'll get into it in just a moment here on You Better You Bet with Nick Ferdell, Odyssey NBA Insider. Chris Mack, in for Nick Costos today.

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4:02And scrappy little golden state, Nick. Who thought we'd ever talk about the Warriors that way? But scrappy little golden state goes to OT with the Rockets and steals one on the road in Houston. Before I get into the questions about the Rockets and the rest of the Western Conference and everything about Tatum and the East, let's start with golden state. Like, how much noise can they make? Like I said, we've never referred to the Golden State Warriors as those scrappy little warriors, but here they are. With that underachiever drave on, that no one really expects anything from. It just kind of finds his way into some really good games off and on. Now, Chris, this team last night had like a G-League squad off the bench. I mean, they have three two-way guys getting to get minutes. I don't know if they can maintain this, but it all depends the Warriors this year right now

5:03on where the stuff comes back. And it always does with this team. But there's still some uncertainty on actually if that's going to happen this year. The best case scenario for this group is that he's back in a few weeks. He gets a few games going into the play-in. He carries them through the play-in and they get to a first round series. That is absolutely the highest ceiling that they can have in the moment. But he's trying to come back. There's still hope that Porzinga gets back in the next few weeks. Nobody's sure exactly what's going on with his illness. But if they are healthy, you can see at least hope that no team wants to see them in the play-in. And certainly whether it was OKC, Denver, San Antonio, whomever it may be in a first round series. There's nobody that wants to see the scrappy little underdog Warriors with Steph Curry. Yeah. And even if they climb their way up out of the play-in, I think there are five games out now with about 20 to play or so.

6:06So even if they climb their way up out of the play-in, you know, if you're a third seed Minnesota or the Rockets who will get to in a second, the last thing you want to have to do is deal with a fresh Steph Curry in the first round. Especially because they're sitting there listening to everybody saying, oh, they're done. You know, you lose Jimmy Butler. The Porzinga's deal has been a mess for them so far. Kaminga has played well and he's been out there for Atlanta. We don't know what's going on with Steph's knee. Drainmon has had a really rough season aside from a couple performances like last night. But they still have some pretty good talented guys. Al Horford has found his way after a rough few months in an injury. Anthony Melton is playing for a new deal somewhere, whether he stays with the Warriors or somewhere else. They've got a lot of guys who can play. They just don't have a lot of guys who can play together at the same time because of injury. So they could give somebody a real scare.

7:06And that's all they're hoping to do leading into the last couple months of the season here. It's probably not fair to talk about some of those other teams in the West is the mushy middle because they're 12, 14, 15 games over 500. But the rockets are there. They're there in that, say, two to five range. And they're winning games. They're supposed to win over the last few weeks. But are they doing anything in Houston? And now, Azar Thompson, we don't know what's up with him in Detroit, obviously. But you know, Houston to me strikes me as a team that I don't know. Are they going to make it through more than the first couple of rounds of the Western conference side of things? Can they, when they, when they're stacked up against the better teams in the West, can they make some noise? No. As I walked out of there last night, Chris, I sat there and I went, this team, they're just not good enough.

8:07They have no business losing to an injury riddled warrior squad like that. I know the warriors have this like mental edge over Houston after all these years. They've had all these big wins. But when you are as loaded and have as much talent as the rockets do. I mean, you made Udoca what is steaming last night? I mean, during the game during the end of it, I saw the first few minutes of his press conference. He knows this team just does not have the edge. It's going to need to get past the thunder or the nuggets. They could win a series for sure. And I still absolutely believe that Kevin Durant can carry them through at least a couple games in the postseason. But if you're talking about a team that has a legit chance to get out of the West, you are not talking about the Houston rockets. Yeah, and I mentioned Arthasar Thompson. I got ahead of myself, but the Spurs continue to win. You know, when we talk about winning games that you should win.

9:08Okay, that's great. That's all well and good. But winning games against quality opponents. The Spurs did it to Detroit again. Thompson leaves with an ankle injury. But I think this is, you know, we could save the Pistons talk for the Eastern Conference side of things. With the Spurs, this is about, you know, when we complained a couple of weeks ago. No, we're not ahead of schedule. They really don't look like they're ahead of schedule. They look like they are clicking and they are ready to go right now. The most powerful thing to me that a young team can have, especially Chris's belief. And when he gives that team belief every time he goes out there, he doesn't play afraid on the floor. He doesn't speak with any kind of doubt after it's over. I think that kind of stuff permeates in a locker room. I'm still very cautious in believing that the Spurs who really haven't been through it together in the postseason can get all the way through. I mean, I think the last time we saw that was the team I grew up here before. The magic we shack and penny. I mean, they went through one playoff series and came back the next year after getting swept by the Paces and rolled to the finals.

10:15Is it possible with Wendy? Yeah. And I think he's that talented that he could make it happen. I just still believe that the Thunder are a little bit better and the Nuggets are a little bit better with yokets right now. But to the point about the Spurs, their time is coming. They're getting the reps in these bigger games that they're going to need. And the more they keep knocking off teams that matter, the more they're going to walk in the postseason and bring it on. We believe we can beat anybody. And to pivot now to the Eastern Conference, the pistons feel like a team. Not just the two losses to the Spurs, but just some dense in the armor shown up over the last few weeks post all star break. The Assar Thompson injury that I mentioned. Is that a team in the East that should be most fearful of the Jason Tatum return in Boston? Absolutely. Because that team, when you have not been through it in a lot of ways, it ties in what we were talking about with the Spurs. The pistons got in there last year.

11:16They had a hard fought series against the mix, but you weren't walking away going, all right. This team can make the jump from where they're at right now all the way through the East. They play with an edge and they play defense and those are things that you're definitely going to need in the postseason. But if you start getting these injuries that are going to pile up for every team, but especially where Detroit is right now, you're going to need somebody to help take the pressure off Kate County and him. And I've seen it through the years, especially in the postseason, when you're only reliant on one guy mainly offensively, especially late in games. And you don't have that other piece or two that you're going to need. That's where it starts to build up where you go, all right. Maybe they just don't have enough. I think their defense gives them certainly a chance and with where the odds are at right now, I'd take a little small flyer on Detroit being able to get through these because I absolutely still don't believe in Cleveland.

12:21But with the emotional lift that Tatum's going to give Boston and with the way they've played all season without him, you drop him into this. If you can catch that rhythm pretty quickly, then things can turn in and instant. Nick Ferdell, Odyssey NBA Insider with us here on You Better You Bet. Chris Mack, Infinite Costos. Today, check out all of Odyssey's newest sports podcasts on Spotify or Apple podcasts as well. How much do we get Tatum tonight? And for the next couple of weeks, as he works his way back into this thing, you think? I would guess somewhere around 15, 20 minutes, just get his feet wet, get him feeling good again. Because I think the fact that we're having this conversation in the beginning of March is huge. Because nobody was sure exactly when he would come back. Nobody was sure if he was going to come back late. Now it feels like he's back and they're going to find a way to build him up. Because the last thing you want to do is say, all right, Jason, you're back.

13:23Go get him. Not that they were going to run him out there for 35 minutes or anything. But they knew that they had to build him up to get him ready for those big games at the end of April and into May and maybe beyond. So it's a credit to him and the rehab and work he put in to get to this point. But I think it is massive for Boston. If you were believing that they could actually make a run, this is a perfect place to drop him into the schedule. There's not too much pressure in a lot of these games because so many teams around the league are taking. You get him back now. You give him that runway to feel better about where he's coming from. He plays for two months and then maybe he remembers, hey, I'm still one of the best dudes there is playing this game. I'm feeling a lot better about where my body's at. And again, that emotional boost bringing a guy back like this in this moment. I think is huge for the Celtics.

14:24It's going to sound counterintuitive at first because to your point, all the things you just said about Jason Tatum are true. But also, you made a good point. Like what this team has done without him in the lineup is, you know, again, I made the joke about the scrappy young warriors a couple minutes ago. But the Celtics have really scrapped and fought and clawed their way to where they are in the second spot in the Eastern Conference. Jalen Brown has played MVP level ball at times, sure. But, you know, you've got guys like Peyton should stepping up and providing legitimate minutes and in a quality way. Is there any worry at all in Boston about, again, it sounds counterintuitive. You're adding Jason Tatum to the lineup, but upsetting the apple cart just a little bit in the chemistry that they've built over the first season. I think there's certainly a little concern as there should be the chris if the choice is keep the team the way it is and the way they're playing or add Jason Tatum. We know what the answer is going to be and I don't blame the Celtics at all for doing it this way because they know what he represents and they know how good he can make them if he is feeling right.

15:36To your point, when you watch the Celtics, they are very well coached and they are a very well oiled machine, especially offensively. They know exactly where to be and you've given guys like Peyton Pritchard, he's a perfect example. These extra minutes where you go, hey, go do your thing and he has even more confidence now. I know that there is at least always some trepidation within a fan base where you go, we maintain the continuity that we built throughout the season. But you're getting one of the best players in basketball back and you're getting a guy who knows how to fit in with this team specifically because he played with so many of these guys. There will absolutely be a transition period, but again, I think the fact that there's still six weeks or so left in the regular season is very big in how all of this plays out down the line. Nick Ferdell, Odyssey NBA Insider was here on you better, you bet, Chris Mack in for Nick Costos today.

16:38Check out all of Odyssey's newest sports podcasts on Spotify and Apple podcasts. Is there a chance, I mean, they're the hottest team in the East right now. Is there a chance the Hornets could do something out of the play in? I mean, at least put a scare into somebody in the first round, right? It is probably the single biggest question that I'm getting from my friends around the league as I travel through all these different cities, Chris, because nobody in the world expected the Hornets to do what they're doing. But the way they've stacked these wins and the level of confidence with which all these young guys are playing with. It's making everybody sit there and go, can it can it happen this year? Can they click to a point where not only they get in the playoffs, but give somebody a push. I'm very hesitant because I think there's too many young pieces to believe that it can happen right away. But if you were buying stock in any of these young teams that we're talking about, I would buy a hell of a lot of stock in Charlotte because it seems like they've drafted the right players and they're developing them.

17:50And that's what gets lost sometimes in the NBA. You can draft guys, but if you don't have the developmental parts in place in your organization, there's always so far you can go. These guys keep getting better. I mean, Karen Knipple from the beginning of the year to now has gotten a lot better. And when you start piecing them together with Miller and Lamello and they find a way that they know that nobody's going to stop them. I mean, that is tough for any young team. I just don't know if it's going to happen this year. I absolutely believe that they're going to get it together in short order there the next couple of years in Charlotte. All right. It's mandated. We have you on. We have to ask a LeBron question. Past Korean last night for most field goals made in NBA history, but didn't finish the game in their loss to the nuggets on the road at Denver. Just as anything changed in the dynamic there to where we should expect anything different than LeBron leaving LA this summer.

18:52It sure feels that way and I came into the year Chris thinking this was the final year for LeBron. But as time has played out, nobody with an ego that big who has shown that for years and years and years is just going to walk away. I mean, LeBron has always struck me as a guy that was going to say before season, hey, I think that's it. And then go get his rocking chair in every single NBA stopped and there is. So on top of all of that behind the scenes when you start seeing the friction going on with Reddit and Luca and some of the stuff that's happened at various times in LA and absolutely feels like not just to me, but the league that LeBron will probably play at least one more year and it will probably be somewhere else. So I don't do anything that happens in the next few weeks and whatever the hell they do in the playoffs is going to change the fact that at least as we sit here right now.

19:53The odds on LeBron being a Laker again next year, I see much smaller than they would have been to start the season. Nick, I love catching up with you. It's one of my favorite parts of filling in for Nick on a Friday is talking to you Odyssey NBA insider Nick Fridell. Appreciate your time this morning, man. Always good to be with you, buddy. See you. Absolutely. Odyssey NBA insider Nick Fridell, check out all of Odyssey's newest sports podcasts on Spotify or Apple podcasts. Going to be interesting to see the way the Celtics fold in Jason Tatum over the next couple of weeks, but a good point by Nick. They got plenty of time to ramp them up and get him ready for the playoffs and get moving in an Eastern conference. It feels a little bit more shaky at the top, especially than it did just a few weeks ago, going into the All-Star break. Coming up, we've laughed. We've cried. We've talked a whole lot more about DJ more than I thought we ever would on a Friday in early March. We wrap it all up with the best moments of the show.

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