Taken on the heat Zions first Christmas Day Action always got the Duke sweatshirt working today as he gets set to take center stage in the first of our five games today and first take will take you right up to tip off.

And here he is, Stephen A.

Smith getting ready to go.

Merry Christmas, my friends.

Great to see you.

Merry Christmas, buddy.

Let me start, though, with something that has been less than the best story in the n b.

A.

This past week.

And that is that James Harden situation.

Because as we get this season underway, it feels to me like the most important thing remains.

When is James Harden going to get traded and where?

So what is your sense after the fine and the suspension and everything else of where things stand right now, with the possibility of hardened getting moved?

Well, I think that we have to take into consideration what James Harden is trying to do here.

The fact of the matter is, he wants out of Houston plain and simple.

He no longer wants to be a Houston rocket.

That's really what this comes down to.

And from the moment that he alerted them that he would like to be moved to Brooklyn.

Obviously, the initial reaction was, Hell, no, we're not letting go over.

God has averaged over 30 the last three years, one of the most prolific scorers this game has ever seen.

But evidently they entertained phone calls and things of that nature, and they're not hearing the kind of office that they want to hear.

I'm sure that they've alerted James Harden about that, and as a result, has given him the impression that obviously we're not gonna let you go for close to nothing.

We want equitable compensation.

And since that's not being offered, you know, in other words, they're saying to him, You're gonna be stuck here.

James Harden, in response, in my opinion, has just basically gone about the business of doing whatever he can to alert the world that he wants out.

James Harden is a professional year.

You've heard the reports about the tardiness and things of that nature let's take into consideration and that the fact that the man never engages in load management.

He's always playing over 35 minutes a night.

He's always dependable.

He shows up game night.

He's always ready to ball.

He doesn't like taking time off.

Doesn't even like coming out of the game, night in, night, out his plays through injuries and everything like that.

So this is a guy that's a baller that wants to play.

Why would he all of a sudden do this?

The only thing that makes sense is the fact that he wants to be disruptive because he wants to force his way out of Houston because he recognizes just being professional and toeing the company line ain't going to get him out of H Town.

In my opinion, that's what this is about.

That's why you've seen some of the things that you've seen from him.

He's trying to force his way out of Houston, and ultimately they will have to capitulate in some way, even though he's under contract for the next two years.

Because you can't have this kind of distraction going on throughout the season, particularly with the first time head coach and Stephen Solace at the helm.

You're not giving him a fair shot.

They know that they're just trying to get the equitable compensation they're looking for.

Yeah, I'm with you completely, I said on the radio.

The day this all started, they've already traded him.

They just don't know it yet.

It's just a question of where he winds up and how it winds up going down.

Okay, so So let's turn our attention to the league big picture because we sometimes call Christmas Day the beginning of the N B a season.

Well, in this case, it practically is.

It just started this week.

So let me start in the West, the Lakers or everybody's favorite.

So if I put the question to you this way, if it's not gonna be the Lakers in the West, who is it gonna be?

It's gonna be the Clippers.

If it's not gonna be the Lakers and don't get me wrong.

It's gonna be the Lakers.

But the Clippers have the best shot of knocking them off.

I understand Dallas, once poor Zynga's get back is a formidable threat.

Portland can't be ignored.

We get all of that.

And since Clay Thompson is not in Golden State, we don't really have to worry about them challenging for the chip this year.

But I think you have to look at the Clippers, not just from the standpoint of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George as players.

Even with Ty Lue as the new coach, Lou Williams and those boys could still play.

Serge Ibaka was a big time pick up.

But let's consider the level of motivation that the Clippers had.

They completely wet the bed in Game seven.

I'm talking about Paul George and Kawhi Leonard.

Paul George had 26 33 in Games five and six, respectively.

Co.

I showed up in those games as well, but they were m I A.

In a Game seven.

Ah, lot of people are looking at Paul.

George is saying he's got to step up.

He's got to play better.

Fair enough, but I'm looking at Kawhi Leonard Yes, your two time champion with a two time NBA Finals M V P.

But last year was the first time that you were in the eye of the storm.

You were the rial, the legitimate face of the franchise.

You had your new balance commercials.

You were driving in your car with a king's crown dangling from your car mirror.

You have L A signs.

Basically, given the indication a new king has arrived in town, I'm here to take over LeBron spot and all of that stuff.

And then you give up a 31 lead.

And what the better the game?

Seven?

Hell, no, we ain't going for that.

Colin has got to show up.

I believe that he's a great player, one of the top five players in the game, so he will show up.

And as a result, with this supplementary parts, I think that makes them the most formidable threat to the Los Angeles Lakers.

I'm not dismissing the Denver Nuggets because we can't ignore Jamal Murray and a joke.

And those boys, please don't get me wrong.

But Kawhi Leonard has got to show up.

I think he knows it.

I think Paul George knows that a matter of fact, he said so, and I consider them the number one threat to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Yeah, I'm with you also, I'm not sleeping on Denver, which is why, as we look on our screen, here are analytics.

Don't put Denver in the top four on that surprises me.

Let's go to the East where it was a very good start, albeit just one game for K D and Kyrie and the Brooklyn Nets.

What are your expectations for them this season?

Trip to the finals?

Um, listen, when Kevin Kevin Durant, if he's healthy, he's unstoppable.

He's one of the greatest offensive forces we've ever seen and he's credit.

He's incredibly efficient.

And Kyrie Irving is just a show stopper.

Let's just call it what it is he is Box office.

You do walk through the turnstiles to see this brother put on the show.

He's that spectacular, but Caris Levert can ball and he's gonna be maybe the sixth man of the year you've got.

Spencer did within that line of Joe Harris can shoot the ball.

I love the pickup of Landry Shaman from the Clippers last year.

He's there now, along with Jeff Green and Taurean Prince and these boys.

They've got a deep team.

They've got an athletic team, they've got some greyhounds, they've got shooters.

The question about them is their defense and obviously their culture, because this is Steve Nash is first year coaching ever on any level, but we respect him.

We know what a savant he is on the basketball court.

So the bottom line is you don't expect the drop off in the coaching ranks when it comes to him.

In the end, though, it comes down to the greatness of K D.

We could look at the Greek freak.

We could look at the Ben Simmons, the Jo Ellen Beads of the world.

We can't ignore Miami.

Jayson Tatum is the real deal.

Along with Jalen Brown, we get all of that.

I don't think Boston is deep enough, and I think when you look at those other parts, none of them can shoot like Kevin Durant can.

And none of them can stop Kevin Durant.

Let's be very, very clear about that when it's time to get buckets.

Kevin Durant could do that against anyone on the Planet Earth, and that's what I think will be.

The difference in the Brooklyn Nets against the Los Angeles Lakers will be our MBA Finals in July.

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