On today’s show Andrew and Ben begin with a Joel Embiid interview full of thinly veiled shots at Nikola Jokic and the subsequent news that Embiid would not be playing in Denver Monday night. From there (20:00): A programming note for the next month, and a question about the implications of a Warriors or Lakers run from the play-in round to the NBA Finals. Then (45:00): Extended thoughts on the spiraling Mavericks, the fuzzy logic of the Kyrie trade, and the future of Luka Doncic. At the end (1:10): A Jazz/Thunder tanking hypothetical, a postscript to the Brandon Miller discussion earlier this month, hope for the Washington Wizards, and how Caitlin Clark’s tournament run could affect the all-time Iowan power rankings.