THWC 387: Job's Not Finished

What's up? What's up, everybody? I'm with Cage episode 387, brought to you by Arena Club card ladder and Philly show and brought to you today especially for Mailman Matt, longtime listener. You know who you are. You're listening to this, you're walking, you're trying to avoid those crazy dogs. You're like, wow, I just got a shout out because, Matt, it's funny, yesterday I did an episode like, I'm going to keep it short. I'm going to keep it short. And then, you know, you get talking about the hobby, you're talking about the cool things that you're doing in the space. You kind of get excited and then you run into another topic and before you know it, it's 19 and a half minutes long, the short episode you were going to do. And he sent me a message and he's like, if, if only your shortest episode was 19 minutes. Keep the 19 minutes. Episodes come and keep the 20. Make them 45 minutes. I guess, you know, you, you got to take a minute to think about, like, sort of the hobby is all walks of life and, you know, where your voice is kind of teleported out to. You got somebody, you know, walking hours a day delivering mail and, you know, maybe, maybe, maybe I should do like a three hour episode, like a little marathon, you know, something like Jeremy and Adam do on, on Thursday night when the, when the premiere auction ends at fanatics. But I don't have time for that. Try to do these, you know, before work and stuff like that. So it's, it's early morning, May 19th, and you guys, you know, you tuned in today after listening to yesterday's episode on the 18th, where, you know, we did sort of like a, a preview of the Western Conference finals and how, you know, we had Wemby and sga, we had, you know, two of the best players in the league. We have the, you know, the, the repeat MVP against someone who got some MVP votes and somebody who, you know, the vast majority of going to be an MVP in the future, if not next year, you know, defensive player of the year against the overall best player and the two best teams in the league for the, you know, the, the majority of the season, you know, the one and two season, the West. I saw somebody post something yesterday, you know that there are eight or ten guys on the, on the court during, you know, yesterday's game between the spurs and the Thunder who would be the best team. Who'd be the best player on any team in the East Basically, you know, and yeah, it's interesting to say, you know, or maybe they, maybe they're the best team on the one seed in the east, you know, taking a shot at Detroit. You never know what, what people's motives are. But yeah, here's the thing. You guys kind of probably tuned in yesterday and heard me talking up Wemby and you know that I have, you know, a bunch of Wemby stuff. You know, I would say a little investment in Wemby and, you know, heard me talking about how I expect him to have a good game. And he came on here probably expecting me to, you know, to do my victory lap after he won on the road as a seven point underdog and had a game for the ages. I mean, you know, the easy comparison for him is Tim Duncan, right? Everybody loved Tim Duncan. It's the same team, the same, you know, really tall player, you know, post player. Obviously the game has changed a bit since Duncan played because, you know, it's a different player. We'll see what Wemby, you know, evolves into. Kid's only 22 and, you know, he doesn't have the frame that Duncan had. You know, plays with a lot more athleticism. Duncan was more fundamentals, which is, you know, it's a very fun thing, but it's an easy comparison. Do you know how many times Tim Duncan is in his vast career now? And you guys know he played a long time and you know, he played a lot of playoff games because he won a lot of championships with some spurs, played in a lot of finals with the Spurs. Spurs are a dynasty. You know how many times Tim Duncan had a 40.20 rebound game in the playoffs? One less than Wemby after last night because Wemby did that and Tim Duncan never did. David Robinson did it. And you know, obviously it was a, an overtime game and then double overtime game, but, you know, the, the youngest to do that in a playoff game was Kareem, and now it's Wemby. Obviously, a double overtime game kind of helps that, but his numbers are gaudy in regulation. You know, towards the end of the fourth quarter, I remember looking at it and seeing it at 27 and 17. You know, he ended up with, you know, 41 points and 24 rebounds. But it's not just the, the stat line, right, because anybody can put up points. It was the, the way he played, you know, defense when it was necessary, stepping up and going strong when it was necessary, and then in double overtime, putting the game on his back after getting Them there, you know, in overtime, it looked like OKC at home was, you know, was. Was going to take this one. After San Antonio basically led from wire to wire in regulation, it just looked like that was the kind of game we were going to have that, you know, Oklahoma City was going to take San Antonio's best punch and then ultimately find a way to win the game and just have a deflated young San Antonio team, you know, and you can see how the series would probably go from there. It's funny how these really close double overtime matchups kind of change it because now, you know, San Antonio has a lot of momentum. You got young kids excited and believing instead of, you know, had they lost, you could see a situation where San Antonio was. Was, you know, deflated, you know, going back home, going back, you know, to Oklahoma City tomorrow and saying, you know, that was the best we were going to do. Like, they took our best punch and still found a way to beat us. And you could see a young team kind of being beaten up by that. But. But now they believe they can win, you know, because they did win. It wasn't just how they won. Right. I mean, that in that first overtime, you had Oklahoma City looking like they were going to take a commanding lead. You know, you got a defensive stop at 108, 105, and then, you know, they bring the ball down. They got plenty of time. And Wemby just stops, pulls up and hits a logo 3 to tie the game and send him a double overtime. Just not what you're expecting at that moment. And, you know, you have Reggie Miller, who, you know, some people like him, some people hate him. I don't really have much of an opinion on him. I hated him when he played because, you know, he torched the Knicks. But even he was like jumping out of his seat with that shock. That's one of the best shooters to ever shoot, you know, to ever play in the NBA. He was like, whoa, what are we watching here? You know, it looked like when he wanted to take the game over, he could take the game over. And he did. And he did that in double overtime. And if you didn't watch the game, you should. You should watch. The game was a very exciting game. You know, that dispersed young team. They're a good team. You know, I talked about Devin Vassel yesterday. I try to call him Vassal. I don't know why, but Devin Vassell yesterday. And that he was going to play a big role, man, a bunch of big three pointers. He hit. They didn't have the Aaron Fox in the lineup. But. But this kid Harper, man, he's been great in the playoffs. Much better than he was in the regular season. It seems like he can get to the cup whenever he wants to. He can score. And obviously, you know, you got. You got Steph Castle, who I think set a record for turnovers by a Spur in a playoff game. I think no one's ever had more turnovers, but he also played really well in crunch time and, you know, put up some great numbers also. So, I mean, this is not my victory lap. I should be telling you how great I am and how smart I am, and, you know, you guys should have been buying stuff with me. It's not that. It's. I don't know who's gonna win the games. I don't know who's gonna win the series. But if you didn't watch it, at least watch some highlights from the game, because that was fun. That was a fun game to watch. I watched it from beginning to end. So obviously, you know, pulling for Wemby. I was hoping it ended up, you know, in regulation and they won the game and he was up 1 nothing. But, I mean, the way that it turned out was even better, you know, because that's. Those are the games. Those are the times. Those are the moments that, you know, that. That start to build a legacy. You know, if you are a Jordan fan, you can spout off a hundred moments that you remember of Jordan becoming Jordan, you know, being more than what you see in the box score, being more than what you see on the stat sheet. You know, in recent playoffs. You saw, you know, Joker do it during his run, and, you know, you could talk about his moments. You know, if you're a Kobe guy, you can talk about those iconic Kobe moments where he put the team on his shoulders, the staff moments, the step shots. You know, you know, where you were. You know, where he was shooting from. Even, you know, yesterday when Wemby hit that three, they. They mentioned that was right where Steph Curry hit the dagger from, you know, so there are these moments that kind of transcend what's going on in that. In that, you know, point in the game and start to add to a legacy of a player. And, you know, last night was clearly one of those games, and Webby's had a ridiculous playoff run, but to go out there and do what he did in the way that he did it and just on defense also, you know, timely blocks, you know, contesting almost every possession. There were times where, you know, Oklahoma City would dribble in and look like they have a layup and just. They saw him lurking in the paint and just would dribble right back out of the paint, you know, pass it out for three or, you know, or. There were a lot of turnovers because of that. A lot of, you know, cross court passes. The Oklahoma City team, I mean, they played well. They had, you know, ample opportunity to win at the end, but they seemed confused by the zone defense. They seem confused, you know, and had their game altered by what Wimpy was doing. But man, that three pointer, I mean, talk about a clippable moment. You know, the, the many blocks, the dunks, the. Even during the game where he was building up a lead, you know, you just. They threw it up anywhere near the rim and he was catching it, dunking it, you know, not even really catching it, just kind of like guiding it in, you know, like in one motion, jumping to where the ball is and guiding it in to the basket. He played a lot. I'm sure he's going to be tired. He stayed out of foul trouble for the most part. Made a couple silly fouls towards the end of the game when emotion gets the better of you. But, you know, I don't think he got his first foul until either late third or early fourth quarter. It was definitely the second half. And if he could do that, that's going to be a problem for okc. If he gets out of foul trouble and he can, you know, stay in the game as long as he did, Oklahoma City doesn't have anybody who can, you know, do what he does. Nobody does. And that's kind of the point, right, of this. You know, you. We talked about it yesterday. You almost gotta kind of make a bet on somebody, right? You make a bet. And while I didn't bet on the game per se, I know some people did. Somebody sent me a betting slip. Wemby over 25 points. We'll be over 10 rebound spurs, like, you know, a 10 to 1 kind of parlay. And I was like, look at this. And that definitely hit. But I guess I should have done that instead of buying the cards. You know, the cards are fun and, you know, it adds an extra layer of excitement that a lot of, you know, hobbies don't have. I mean, I guess, you know, if you're playing golf, you, you know, you enjoy golf or if you're playing fishing, you watch people fish. But I mean, when you are collecting in our space and you have a stack of 27 WEMBY silver cards Then, you know, you're. You're starting to be more engaged in the game. You, you know, you. You have some skin in the game there because you're pulling for your guy, you know, and, guys, let me. Let me throw it out there this way as well, rather than, you know, victory lap, whatever it is. I don't know what's going to happen in this series, and I don't know what's gonna happen with these cards. You know, I don't know. I imagine. I haven't looked this morning. I imagine a bunch sold last night, probably at Buy it Now or, you know, best offer, that kind of stuff, fixed price. Because people do that, they jump in and they react to a game like that, and. And they pull the trigger and they buy, you know, the ones that are available. We'll see what happens, I'm sure. Game two, game three, these things are all gonna, you know, determine where the price action goes. But as far as, you know, what I'm doing with them, I don't really have, you know, a plan. We talked about it yesterday. It's. There are many different plans. Right. You know, I just know that with yesterday's performance, chances are, no matter what really happens the rest of the series, you have this additional thing. You have this, you know, this thing to build on. I'm not going to go as far as. Jeff Wilson posts on Twitter saying Wemby is going to do for basketball cards what Ohtani just did for baseball cards. I mean, I get it a little different. You know, Otani's crazy run in the last year has followed him. You know, obviously a global sensation and having a 50, 50 season, but also winning four MVPs and two championships. I mean, Wemby hasn't done any of that. He's got a Defensive player of the year and a couple votes for mvp. He goes out there and wins the championship. You know, it's a different story, right? You know, like we talk about with these cards all the time, it kind of. It increases the floor, right? The downside risk. You know, it takes him out of the, oh, wow, great player, Potential player, Potential greatness. But never one, two. Now he's got a ring. You know, I mean, that's a. That's a very different story. I will tell you, because I try to be as honest with you as I can. I am not. I did not purchase the wimpies that I've purchased thinking he's going to win a ring this year. I mean, that would be great. You know, after last night's performance, it wouldn't surprise me, I gotta tell you, you know, if you really are looking forward, looking past Oklahoma City, you probably would rather play the Knicks because the Cavs do have two big guys inside. You know, with Mobley, who is a, you know, a talented defensive player, and, you know, Long and Jared Allen, the two of them, you know, you have a twin tower defense against Wemby there. It's a, you know, it's a better matchup against the Spurs, I would think, but we're really looking forward. I did not buy those with the eye towards, you know, these winning a championship this year. But what you can see there is progress. And if he doesn't win this year, you know, there's going to be excitement for him next year. He's going to come back, he's going to be, you know, in better shape. He's going to be bigger. He's going to be able to take the, you know, the, the 82 game season and the playoff and, you know, he's. He's going to, he's going to put a little more size on him this way. Smaller defenders can't push him out of the paint as easily as they do now because, you know, somebody like that is able to get the ball deep in the paint. You saw when he, when he is able to get it in there, he's almost unstoppable. The only way to stop him is, you know, forcing him to get the ball so far away from the basket that it's. It's harder for him to actually get there and do his thing anyway. You know, I don't have, you know, a rigid plan. And that's fun, right? I mean, my plan is to own these things and, and watch the games and be excited by, by what he does out there. That's. That. That is the, the whole deal. I'm not coming on here and saying, you know, everybody else is wrong. I got a lot of dms telling me I was stupid, a lot of DMS telling me that I'm making the COVID mistake, that my picture of, you know, of the massive amounts of Wemby Silvers that I've amassed are, you know, they're giving back Covid memories of Luca and jaw and Zion, etc. Etc. And I mean, I don't really have a response to that other than to say, I mean, I think he's already done more than, you know, than Zion's ever done. He's already won an individual award, defensive player of the year. Much more fundamentals. I think he has better Upside than any of those guys. Oh, you know, Ja played, you know, played for a championship once, didn't win it. But he's got some other issues. But the difference I have there is, I mean, I remember during that peak Luca, Prism Silver got up to $10,000. These Wendy's are not anywhere near that right now. Anywhere near that. That's, you know, and, and that is kind of the comparison. You know, I don't, I don't know that I would have as many of these as I have. Well, I, I know I wouldn't. What am I saying? If these got up to the prices that Luca was at during peak Covid hysteria for Prism Silvers, I know that if these cards got anywhere near that price, I would definitely sell every single one that I have. So I don't know that that's an apples for apples comparison. I understand what's trying to, you know, what point is trying to be made there. But also a lot of people are buying Luca Silvers and saying, I'm just gonna hold this. This is a great card. It's, it's. You know, there also is a, you know, you know, an analysis to be done here about the current state of the market and if the market right now is being driven by slabs that can put in repacks and people who are moving in and out of cards and going to Dallas and selling cards and going to next week's show and selling cards with momentum, and you could make an argument that a card like that, Wemby Silver, was available, you know, at shows last week, two weeks ago, even maybe at this Dallas show for less than they're going to be available for this week at whatever show you're happening this week. And, you know, if you're a dealer who was at Dallas and could pick these cards up for last week's price and maybe can now sell them this weekend for this week's price. There is a lot of that that goes on. You know, there's a lot of that that goes on. Especially, you know, like I said, I haven't looked at card ladder, but I imagine the price for these cards is going to be significantly higher today than they were yesterday or two days ago. And with that, repackers can put them in with a higher floor. You know, it's more valuable to a repack. And, you know, it's just, you have to realize the ecosystem that we're in now is a little different than it was during COVID And that has to be factored into your equation of what you're buying and what you're selling and when you're buying it and when you're selling it too. So, yeah, there's that. It's a lot of fun. It's no victory lap. I'm no genius, you know. You make a play and sometimes it works. That's it. Matt the Mailman. We got to almost 19 minutes for you. It's 18 and change. Maybe by the time I wrap it up and say thank you to my sponsors and whatnot, we're there. Oh, I will get to 19. How about this? To reward those of you not only who listen and watch, but who get to the end to actually stay here for 19 minutes. This is a one day thing. I'm gonna reward the people who watch to who stay to the end and watch the whole thing. If you want one of these wimbies DM me, I'll sell you one for what I paid while supplies last. And there you go, guys. That's a. That's a full episode of hobby with cage. 387 of these brought to you by Arena Club, by card ladder and by the Philly Show. Talk to you soon. Go wimby.