Ant Edwards and LaMelo Ball AND Marina Mabrey Ties WNBA record with 53 points?!

We react to Marina Mabrey tying the WNBA scoring record with 53 and what that blowout says about the Sparks right now. Then we jump to the NBA offseason and trade ripple effects, from the Heat’s roster questions to the Wolves betting big on a LaMelo Ball and Anthony Edwards backcourt.

• Marina Mabrey’s 53 point night and the shooting splits behind it 
• What went wrong for the Sparks in a 125 to 97 loss 
• Courtney Vandersloot returning to the Chicago Sky and why her playmaking matters 
• How Skylar Diggins and Chicago’s offense could look with a true floor general 
• Heat expectations after missing out on Norman Powell 
• LaMelo Ball to the Timberwolves and how he fits with Anthony Edwards 
• What Minnesota still needs in the frontcourt for depth and rim protection 
• Why the Hornets making this trade feels confusing and what comes next at point guard 
• Early predictions for next season’s West and key matchups like OKC and the Spurs 

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Transcript

Welcome And Quick Special Olympics Note

SPEAKER_00 0:00

What's up, everybody? It's your favorite show. Favorite show, Get a Bucket. I'm your host, Trey, and as usual. Hope you're all having a wonderful, wonderful day. Today we're going to talk about basketball across the board. I'm talking about MBA and WNBA. But before we do that, please make sure to hit that like and subscribe button. Comment on anyone who's anyone about the show. I'm trying to get the ratings up a little bit, you know, just a little bit. And you wonder where you heard this before? Well, you've been listening to me Monday through Friday at 11 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. So I greatly appreciate your support. Now, off top, right? Still at the National Special Olympic Games in Minnesota. You know, it's the final day. It's a little somber. It's a little sad. Oh. But it's been fun, though, ladies and gentlemen. I've been motivated, reinvigorated, inspired. So we got a couple things coming up down the pipeline. So stay tuned, listen out. I'm trying to have a couple interviews for y'all for sure. A couple highlights. But stay tuned. I just wanted to make sure I got that little plug in there before I talked about the topics I want to talk

Marina Mabrey Drops 53

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about. Now, uh WNBA. Right, could we gentlemen right here? We're gonna let the ladies go first. Marina Maybray ties the record for scoring in the WNBA with 53 of them points. I'm talking about 53 of them things, ladies and gentlemen. The definition of getting a bucket, you gotta throw Marina Maybray in that, in that, in that sentence. I'm telling you right now, because that's damn near the most thing she does. But she's solid at it, though. Only problem I all like only problem I have with it is it was against my sparks. Like that's the only problem I have again, ladies and gentlemen. I am not really hype about that part. Now keep in mind, keep in mind, keep in mind. I told y'all this. We were gonna struggle a little bit because Kelsey Plum not playing. Problem is, hell, Kelsey Plum not the defender. You know what I'm saying? Like she not the defender, bro. She's not, she's the scorer. She gets a bucket. So that makes me think, Dag, is our defense really that bad? Was Marina just on point like that? Like, like what happened, ladies? Because this was this was bad. I'm talking about 125 to 97. We lost. I saw the score at like halftime. It was like 63 to 36 or something like that. Something like that. And I'm like, there's no way. NECA Gumake had 21. Derrica Hambey had 21. Ray Burrell, who could be in the running for most improved, she would have been at for sixth woman of the year for sure. But she had 17, quite efficient, by the way. It was a little dicey after that. We had Emma with 10 points. That's cool. Marina Mayberry with 53 points, 17 of 28 from the field, 9 of 18 from three, and then 10 of 12 from the free throw line. Yah. Like Julie Alleman had 13 and 14, 13 points, 14 assists, no turnovers, three steals and a block. Hey, Julie, we may need you on the squad, champ. Like, what are we doing, ladies? That is crazy. Tib of the cat to Marina Maybrae. Tib of the cap, you know what I'm saying? Like, yeah, that's that hurts as a Sparks fan. Like, I wish you did it to somebody else. But it is what it is at the end of the day. You know, you can't crowd over spilled milk. I told y'all we were gonna struggle a little bit. It happens. Now, do I expect the tempo to do anything playoff-wise? I don't know about that. I don't know about that because I don't expect Marina to be carrying a team like that. I remember they are without Britney Sykes for right now. And it's a it's a tough season for folks. I ain't gonna lie to you. It's a tough season. But Marina Mayberry, tip of the cap to you. Also, we

What The Sparks Defense Reveals

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gotta talk about this, right? The Chicago Sky, one of the worst teams in the WNBA currently, right? They're getting Courtney Vandersloot back. Sloot is on the way, ladies and gentlemen. She's about to make her She's in debut. Wait for it. Today, Friday. Hey, hey. Now, why do I note this? Because Sloot is one of the best decision makers that we've seen, right? She's one of the best floor generals that we've had. And it's going to be imperative that she can help lead the team. I'm not talking about to the playoffs. I'm just literally just saying to lead the team. I get it, right? Skylar Diggins Smith, or I'm sorry, Skylar Diggins is on the court. She's been trying to hoop a little bit. And to be honest with you, both of them are a little older nowadays. I'm not saying they're old. I said they're a little older. But you got to rely on them too. Because again, Skylar can get a bucket, but she's also playing point guard because she plays shooting guard potentially. Now, I wonder what that does to the defense, right? But remember, they did lose Rakia Jackson. So maybe bringing Skylar Diggins off ball and allowing someone like Courtney Vandersuit to play point guard, floor general, maybe that might open some things up. Because I mean, it's not like Courtney can't score her daggone self, too, ladies and gentlemen. So I do think while I don't have them going to the NBA or to the WNBA playoffs, I do believe they might be more entertaining. So again, ladies and gentlemen, Courtney Vandersloot back. Huh. That might not be that bad. That might not be that bad. But I'll wait to see though, because again, her debut should be interesting. I'm thinking at least four to five assists, maybe four points. You know, something slightly depending on how much minutes she gets. I don't know if she's gonna be on the minutes restriction, whatever the case may be. But if she's playing full minutes, though, I may jump it up to about six to seven assists, five, six points. You know, it's just how the flow of the game goes. But she don't be looking to score all the time, too. She can get a bucket. She don't look to score all the time. That's the definition of a good point guard. I take that back. As long as you got good decision making, that's the definition of a good point guard for sure. But again, I just wanted to highlight those two because we already talked about the WNBA, ladies and gentlemen. I'm looking forward to watching them as the season goes on. Should be a good one. But yeah, Marina, going back to you real quick. Pineapples. I didn't like it. Like, you didn't have to do us like that. You really didn't have to do us like that. Now, ladies and gentlemen, I gotta talk about a couple things. So we're gonna flip it over to the NBA side. We're gonna make this right fast, real quick. Off top, I mentioned that the Giannis trade won't be bad. Because they had a quality starting five. You just gotta get some veterans to, you know, form around them, some shooters, right? I thought they had Davion Mitchell, Norm Powell, Andrew Higgins, Giannis Dante DeCumbo, and Bam Adabayo. With Bobby Portis coming off the bench. Now, they don't have Norman Powell. That one does hurt a little bit, right? He's an all-star caliber player. Some of these all-star caliber players as well, too. Don't get me wrong. But Norm actually did make the all-star game. He's a professional scorer. The man can professionally get a bucket. All of them in the NBA can get a bucket for sure. But in the NBA scales, in the NBA ranks, Norman Powell's pretty damn good. Matter of fact, knowing that he's not going to be on the Heat champ, you could

Courtney Vandersloot Returns To Chicago

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actually slide over to my Lakers if you want to. Or the Lakers if you want to. I'm not, I don't know if I want to say my Lakers right now, but we'll talk about it a little bit later, right? But again, I just wanted to make that note. I do drop my viewing on the on the Heat just a smidge. I still believe it's a two-year time frame. I'm not going, you know, I don't expect them to win next season. It'd be cool, but I don't expect them to win next season. After this season, so a little bit of pressure will be on the Heat organization. Giannis and them. Because you just expect greatness from a great player and a great organization. So I just want to make sure that was stated, okay? Right? Just, you know, just want to make sure that was cool. Now, we got to talk about here this Lamello Ball trade to the Wolves. I'm not mad at it. I'm not mad at it. The only thing I'm questioning right now is how does LaMelo Ball and Anthony Edwards work as a duo? I'm not talking about on the court, I'm talking about off the court because you gotta have that cohesion. They gotta like each other. That is a thing. Like, Steph and Clay actually liked each other. Draymond Green was annoying as hell. They liked each other. You know what I'm saying? Like it worked. So how does that duo work? I think they're both jovial individuals. Will that get too tiresome? Because again, you know, birds of a feather do flock together. But sometimes when you flock in too much, people can get a little annoying as well, too. Like if you might be liking somebody and they just like you, maybe that can get a little annoying. You know, opposites attract, apparently. So let's see what happens with that dynamic. But on paper, we got LaMelo Ball, Anthony Edwards. I'm gonna put Shannon, you know what I'm saying, in the lineup personally. Jaden McDaniels, Rudy Gobert. And then we got Ayo DeSumo coming off the bench. I'm not mad at that lineup. I'm really not. All they missing is maybe like another rim protector, and then like a stocky forward. Because keep it a buck with you, hell, that's what they lost to Julius Randle and Nas Reed. Like the fact, oh, they did give up some first-round picks now. Like, they did give up some picks, and that is crazy, but it's wild. Because 2020, the NBA draft, right? This is when LaMelo and Anthony Edwards got drafted, if I'm not mistaken. Anthony Edwards went number one, LaMelo Ball went number three. I kind of like that dynamic, Justice Smidge, bro. Because I was thinking that the Warriors back then should have drafted LaMelo Ball, and they would have been back in the running for, you know, potential dynasty talks. Some people said that they should have drafted Anthony Edwards if he was available. Heard you. Heard you. They ended up going with James Wiseman. But now the Wolves get these two wonderful players. And could we also start seeing stuff more like this, too? Like people in the same draft class getting paired together. That could be a wave, especially with the talent emerging in the NBA. You're getting more talent across the board. We could be seeing things like this a little more frequently. But what should be the expectation of these Minnesota Tribal Wolves? Well, for starters, the expectation is I'm a fan because they're doing a little bit better than my Lakers right now. That's right. I said it. I might be rooting for the Wolves over the Lakers. May have to put the Lakers on hiatus right now. Because the Wolves will be entertaining. Like off top, let's just think about this, right? Lamelo Ball, bring the ball up the court. Let me say that again. Lamelo Ball bringing the ball up the court. You know what I mean? Anthony Edwards doesn't have to do that. The defenses cannot now focus solely on Anthony Edwards because LaMelo Ball can at least playmate. He can score. He can get a bucket, ladies and gentlemen. And he's not trash defensively. He's not that bad. So if I got a quality backcourt, 1-6-7. Six, six, and Anthony Edwards, 6'4, but elite level defender. Now he can be offensive-minded and giving you elite level defense without having to worry about playmaking as much. Can he playmake? Sure. He can. He really can. But again, you gotta love the addition of LaMelo Ball. Also, Josh Green. That's helpful. Because Josh Green is a solid two-way player. And again, the Wolves did give up. Okay, let's see now. One, three first rounds, and one, two, three second rounds, all right? Between 2028, 2029, 2030. They said F

Heat Outlook Without Norman Powell

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them picks. But I get it though, because they've already sold Anthony Edwards. Like you brought in help, right? Like, don't get me wrong, Julius Randle was helped for sure. I'm not trying to take a jab at Julius Randle or even Nas Reed. Both of them were solid players. But like LaMelo Ball may have a higher ceiling than those two. You might even be able to argue Nas Reed because Nas might be a better defender if you think about it. On the perimeter, he can move them puppies. He can be a rim protector. He can score. He can play make a little bit. One of my boys on my men's league said that Nas Reed was a top five player in the playoffs remaining in the second round or like when they end up going against Spurs. I thought he was full of, you know what I'm saying? But I do like Nas Reed. So you can try to argue that he has more potential than Lamelo Ball, but Lamelo Ball has shown that he is a quality player. So again, I got LaMelo Ball bringing the ball up to court. I got Anthony Edwards out there doing anything he wants offensively. Floppy action for him. You can get some pinned out. Like, bro, like that's gonna be crazy work. Put him on the ISO. Now you got shooters spaced out. Rudy Gobert is about to be like, hey, you know what I'm saying? All he gotta do is rim protect and rim run. That's it. That's it. Because they have 6'7, 6'4,

LaMelo Ball To Wolves Fit

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6'6, 6'7 defending. Jalen might, yeah, Jaden actually might be 6'8, 6'9. I gotta look back at that. But let's give them 6'7. That's a bunch of versatility right there. They can switch one through four and have Rudy just, you know what I'm saying? Now, again, that's why I say they need a little more rim protection because let's say Rudy gets into foul trouble. All right, where's your bulk? Because everybody is actually a little slim. Hell, Anthony Edwards might be the stockiest in that lineup. Then Shannon. Then Jalen. Jaden, I don't know why I keep saying Jalen. Good lord. Then Jaden. Then Labello. So that's why I say they may need a little stocking. Because again, you lose in Julius Randle. That's some strength right there that you can have. And then Nas Reed for the rim protection. But if they can, if they can adjust that, I think this, I think my Wolves is gonna be okay. But they're definitely gonna be entertaining. Box office. I'm curious how they gel early on, too, though. Young players gotta figure themselves out. But they have a whole offseason to do that. Matter of fact, shoot, I'm in Minnesota right now. I may try to stay a couple extra days just to see how Lamelo Ball and Anthony Edwards work. Now keep in mind, they're on vacation, so I'm joking, right? They're not gonna be here. But I may try to fly back out. Hey, look, I don't mind Minnesota. It's been good to me so far. I may have to come for a game for sure. Matter of fact, let me watch. Let me wait to see when Minnesota played the Lakers. Get my get back because my Lakers have been Lakers have been trash. See, I still gotta work my way out of saying my, you know what I mean? Like, because we yeah, we just not do it well, bro. Like, we we we saw Austin Reeves for a max deal. I don't like it. Pineapples. I granted, I'm trying to give us some, trying to give us some grace. I'm trying to see what we do. But right now, I don't like the start we have. I get it. Some people love Austin Reeves. Hear you. He's a solid six man, quality role player. I hear you on the numbers this season. Heard you. Do let's pump the brakes. All right. Like he's not that great. Let's not act like he's a star. I don't believe he's worth the max deal. But the Wolves are making better moves than my Lakers. So again, I gotta, you know what I'm saying? Now the only thing I one thing, not only, one thing I am curious about is why the hell would the Hornets make this trade, too? Because keep in mind, last season, the Hornets were actually one of the top teams after the all-star break. I was actually making the case that they could even eclipse a team like the Cavs. Currently point in time. Let's see what the Cavs do, too. But that could have happened. Not no mo. Not no mo. Now, I'm curious what they do point guard-wise. Are they gonna try to play Khan at the one? Brandon Miller's not a point guard. Who in the world is left on the team? No, that's a genuine question. Like, as a point guard, who's the g who's left there? Maybe they can sign a point guard, Floor General, but we'll wait and see what happens. But ladies and gentlemen, I was very baffled that that trade happened, to be clear. I was getting ready to go to the National Special Olympic Games to go referee, and I had to take a quick 30 to just to watch and see what in the world happened. Like this has been popping in my group chats. I've been talking about this a couple times. Could the Wolves make the the Western Conference finals next season with this lineup? It'll be

Hornets Side Of The Trade

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interesting. Because you still gotta talk about OKC. Wish they have enough ball handlers now for OKC to actually be spread out, right? They got enough defense to go up against a team like OKC. So it'll be interesting. A team like the Spurs, I don't know. Because Wimby, you know what I'm saying? Like Wimby was uh like I think Jaden can actually guard Chet a little bit. I don't know who on the on the Wolves team is about to guard Wimby, personally. They just lost to them. And I ain't gonna act like the team played bad. They was alright. They was cool. Game six was game six was bad. But I am curious how this team does next season. I'm also curious what in the world the Hornets do, because I mean, what playing maybe? Are we going, are we dipping a little bit? Like what is going on in Charlotte? I may have to go check out Charlotte just to see what's going on, bro. Because this is low-key out of pocket. I do like them getting Nas Reed. I do. Because I did think they needed a little bit more help. I'm curious if Nas Reed finally starts. That'll be enough, that'll be an interesting discussion. Will they let go of Miles Bridges? They traded Miles Bridges before they traded LaMelo ball. Insane. I thought Miles played decently. You can talk about character flaws. I don't know the man personally. I know he had a little court issue. Seemed to be resolved enough for the man to play. So again, I'm very surprised that Miles Bridges didn't get traded before LaMelo Ball. Very surprised. Now the asking around LaMelo Ball is probably more demanding than and active than Miles, but I thought LaMelo was a franchise player. So that's again something to watch out for as well. Will LaMelo Ball be a little bit more serious

Expectations For The West Next Season

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perception-wise going forward? That's something to pay attention to. But, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, this is gonna be an interesting basketball season. Year-round basketball is about to be nice. I mean, shoot, we got summer league coming up because the draft just popped off. You know what I'm saying? I personally don't believe in summer league that much. It can show you sometimes what the potential of players would be like. But keep in mind, the summer league players aren't that great in comparison to the NBA players. Like between with players, like people like you and myself, they may be busting our tail. But amongst the NBA players, no, probably not. But it's gonna be entertaining to watch for shorts. Hoops, end of day. So we got WNBA, we're gonna have Summer League, then we're gonna have NBA preseason, then the NBA season again. Oh man, you gotta love the year. Granted, the season's just ended, so it's a little somber. But there's still fine moments to find throughout the season. And I greatly appreciate it. But ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, that does conclude the end of the episode. So again, just to recap, Marina Mayberry dogmouth sparks with 53 points, tying the WNBA mark. I ain't like it, but it is what it is. Kudos. Kudos to Marina Mayberry. Also, shout out to Sloot. You know what I'm saying? I'm trying to see Slooty on the court. Hey, get an assist, not a bucket. She can get a bucket, but her teammates are gonna get more buckets because she's gonna be making some assists. So I'm waiting to see what Sloot does on that coat. Again, I'm not expecting the Sky to make it to the playoffs, but at least be a little more entertaining now. That can be that could be that could be something. Camilla Cardoza could benefit from Sloot for show. Skylar Diggins can benefit from Sloot for show. It's gonna be a fun time in Chicago. So I think Chicago's gonna be a

Closing Recap And Listener Questions

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little bit better. And then what do you expect of the Wolves next season? What do you expect of the Heat next season? What do you expect of the Hornets next season? Are you happy with the trades? Are you not happy with the trades? Also, where in the world do y'all think Norman Powell should go and will go? I'm curious about that as well, too, because right now I have no idea where Buddy's gonna go. So that's gonna be a nice little storyline to follow, too. I wish he went back to the Heat, because then I could say, well, damn, maybe they might win in the first year. That could be a thing, depending on what their bench looks like. Just saying. But we got to wait to see. So many options, so many possibilities. That's why you gotta love basketball, because you always gotta stay tuned in. But, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, that does conclude the end of the episode. So please make sure to like, subscribe, comment, tell anyone who's anyone about one, the WNBA. And then also to my show. That's right. I said tune in. You gotta tune in. My name is Shrey. I'm the host of Good A Bucket. Hope you're all having a good one. Take care.