J.E.: WESTBROOK OR CURRY.

WHO WOULD YOU CHOOSE TO BUILD A

FRANCHISE AROUND?

TAS: COULDN'T NCAA TEAM MAKE THE

PLAYOFFS IN THE EASTERN

CONFERENCE?

J.E.: WE WILL COUNT DOWN THE

BEST PLACE FOR THE LAST SEVEN

DAYS.

TAS: IT IS FRIDAY, MARCH 27,

"FOR STARTERS," STARTS NOW.

-- " THE STARTERS" STARTS NOW.

J.E.: GOOD EVENING, SWEET WORD.

WE ARE HAPPY TO HAVE YOU.

ALONGSIDE ME AS TAS MELAS.

TO MY RIGHT, TREY KERBY.

FINALLY, THE INTERNATIONAL MAN

OF MYSTERY, LEIGH ELLIS.

A FUN STORY FOR YOU, THE WORST

OF THE WEEK.

THE TOP 10 PLAYS FOR THE LAST

SEVEN DAYS.

HE WILL GET TO THE UNFORTUNATE

NEWS REGARDING KEVIN DURANT.

LET'S START WITH SOMETHING FUN.

IT COMES FROM ESPN.

HE ASKED A GROUP OF 25 PLAYERS,

COACHES, AND EXECUTIVES TO RANK

THE NBA'S POINT GUARDS 1-30 AND

HERE ARE YOUR TOP FIVE.

WESTBROOK JUST EDGED STEPH CURRY

IN TERMS OF TOTAL POINTS.

HE HAD 13 FIRST PLACE VOTES.

CHRIS PAUL COMING IN THIRD WITH

JUST 3 FIRST PLACE VOTES.

YOU SEE THE AND LILLARD THEY

ARE.

THE QUESTION OF WHO IS REALLY

BETTER BETWEEN WESTBROOK AND

CURRY.

I LIKE TO FORM THE QUESTION IF

YOU ARE BUILDING A FRANCHISE

TODAY, WHO WOULD YOU RATHER PICK

, WESTBROOK OR CURRY?

TAS: WE HAD THE SAME DISCUSSION

SEVEN HOURS AGO ON OUR PODCAST.

I WAS STILL PICK CURRY.

BUT IT IS OH SO CLOSE.

I AM SURPRISED THAT THE FRONT

OFFICES PICKED RUSSELL

WESTBROOK.

IF YOU ARE PICKING RUSSELL

WESTBROOK, YOU ARE GOING ON

POTENTIAL A LITTLE BIT AND THAT

HE BECOMES A BETTER PLAYER.

HE CAN MAKE HIS TEAMMATES BETTER

IS WHAT YOU ARE BANKING ON.

CURRY IS A BETTER PACKAGE IN THE

SECOND.

TREY: HE HAS BEEN THE NUMBER ONE

GUY FOR A WHILE.

RUSSELL WESTBROOK IS FILLING IN

FOR NUMBER ONE GUY BECAUSE KEVIN

DURANT HAS BEEN OUT FOR SOME

TIME.

KERRY HAS ALREADY DONE IT AND I

THINK THE WAY HE SHOOTS THE

BASKETBALL IS THE MOST IMPORTANT

THING.

YOU HAVE TO MAKE SHOTS.

HE CAN MAKE A SHOT FROM ANYWHERE

ON HIS HALF OF THE COURT AND YOU

HAVE AN IMMEDIATELY GREAT

OFFENSE.

J.E.: THEY ARE SUCH DIFFERENT

PLAYERS THE WAY THEY PLAY.

THEY ARE BOTH POINT GUARDS.

WE WILL GET TO CHRIS PAUL, BUT I

THINK HIS AGE HURTS THEM.

THEY ARE SO DIFFERENT.

THE WAY HE JUST ATTACKS THE RIM

AND THE WAY THAT CURRY CAN'T

PULL UP AND JUST -- CAN JUST

PULL UP AND SHOOT YOU INTO A

GAME.

LEIGH: THAT IS ONE OF THE

REASONS WHY HE GOT SO MANY FIRST

PLACE VOTES.

HE FIGHTS FOR POSITION ON BOTH

ENDS OF THE FLOOR.

AT IS NOT TO SAY THAT STEPH

CURRY DOESN'T DEFEND.

RUSSELL WESTBROOK, HE IS OUT

THERE GIVING 100% USING EVERY

SINGLE DROP OF HIS ATHLETICISM

AND IS BASKETBALL IQ.

IF YOU WERE TO LOOK AT THESE

GUYS AND PLAY THEM ONE-ON-ONE,

RUSSELL WESTBROOK HAS AN

ADVANTAGE.

OBVIOUSLY, HE CAN SHOOT FROM

ANYWHERE AND KNOCK IT DOWN.

RUSSELL WESTBROOK PERHAPS A

LITTLE BIT MORE UNPREDICTABLE

BUT THEN STEPH CURRY, HE IS A

LITTLE BIT SMALLER AS WELL.

J.E.: YOU LEAN TOWARDS CURRY?

LEIGH: YES.

I DON'T KNOW WHICH ONE WOULD

SWAY ME BECAUSE THEY HAVE SUCH

STRONG GAMES AND THEY BRING SO

MUCH TO THE GAMES.

J.E.: ANSWER THE QUESTION.

TAS: AS FAR AS THE FUTURE GOES,

I THINK YOU HAVE TO BET ON

CURRY.

NUMBER ONE, BECAUSE HE IS NOT

HAD AS MANY SURGERIES AS RUSSELL

WESTBROOK.

LEIGH: I KNOW HE HAS THOSE ANKLE

CONCERNS.

TAS: YOU HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT

CURRY'S ANKLES.

CURRY PLAYS MORE OF A FLOOR

BOUND GAME.

HE WILL PROBABLY LAST

LONGER IN THIS LEAGUE.

HE DOES NOT RELY ON ATHLETICISM

AS MUCH AS RUSSELL WESTBROOK

DOES.

PLAY END, PLAY OUT, HE BRINGS

THAT ATHLETICISM.

IT WILL NOT LAST UNTIL AGE 40

LIKE CURRY'S SHOT WILL.

J.E.: WHO IS BETTER DEFENSIVELY.

TAS: I THINK IT IS RUSS.

TREY: HE IS ALWAYS GUNNING FOR

STEALS.

HE GETS LIT UP ON THE OTHER

SIDE.

HE IS GIVEN UP HUGE GAMES TO

GUYS LIKE AARON BROOKS, ISAIAH

CANON.

NOT REALLY IMPRESSIVE PLAYERS

AND RUSSELL IS TRYING TO DO

EVERYTHING AND HE FORGETS ABOUT

THE MAN THAT HE IS STICKING.

J.E.: THEY LOOK AT THE TWO GUYS

AND THEY GO, LOOK AT WESTBROOK

AND LOOK AT CURRY.

YOU THINK THAT WESTBROOK IS THE

BETTER DEFENDER.

I AM WITH YOU ON TEAM CURRY,

SPECIALLY OFFENSIVELY.

HE IS ON THE BEST DEFENSE ON THE

LEAGUE.

HE HAS GREAT GUYS AROUND HIM

WITH BOGUT AND DRAYMOND GREEN,

BUT HE IS SOLID.

MAYBE HE WAS A BIT OF A JOKE

DEFENSIVELY WHEN HE FIRST CAME

IN, BUT I THINK HE HAS IMPROVED.

LEIGH: HE HAS SHOWN THEM HOW HE

CAN USE HIS IQ ON DEFENSE AND

NOT GET CAUGHT OUT.

HE PUTS HIS HANDS UP THERE WHICH

A LOT OF GUYS DON'T DO AND THAT

MAKES A HUGE DIFFERENCE, GETTING

IN GUYS LINE OF SIGHT.

MAYBE I WOULD HAVE CHOSEN

WESTBROOK OF THEI -- WESTBROOK

THERE.

A ARE VERY CAPABLE DEFENDERS.

TAS: I LIKE THE WAY THAT CURRY

DIGS DOWN ON THE DOUBLE-TEAM.

YOU ARE GOING TO GET BEAT AT THE

POINT GUARD SPOT.

IF YOU RECOVER AND WORK YOUR BUT

OFF ON THE DEFENSIVE BOARDS AND

BOTHER BIG MEN, THAT IS A HUGE

PART OF BEING A DEFENSIVE POINT

GUARD AND I THINK THAT RUSS DOES

THAT BETTER.

HE RECOVERS A LOT, HE GETS HIS

NOSE DIRTY AND HE GETS HIS

DEFENSE THAT WAY.

HE FIGHTS SORT OF LIKE A FREE

MAN DOES.

I GIVE IT THE EDGE TO HIM.

ALTHOUGH, HE DOES TEND TO GAMBLE

SOMETIMES.

LEIGH: THAT IS PART OF DEFENSE,

YOU HAVE TO TAKE THOSE GAMBLES.

YOU HAVE TO UNSETTLE OTHER

OFFENSES.

THEY DON'T KNOW WHERE YOU'RE

COMING FROM.

J.E.: MAYBE YOU TRY TO MAKE A

CASE FOR CHRIS PAUL.

CHRIS PAUL IS BETTER DEFENSIVELY

THAN BOTH OF THEM.

YOU SEE NUMBERS WERE IT JUST

SAYS THAT PEOPLE DON'T EVEN WANT

TO SHOOT AGAINST CHRIS PAUL THE

COUSINS HE IS ALL OVER THEM.

THEY DON'T SHOOT WELL WHEN HE IS

ON THEM BUT THEY DON'T WANT TO

SHOOT WHEN CHRIS PAUL IS ON

THEM.

BECAUSE OF HIS AGE, THAT YOU

DON'T CONSIDER HIM?

IF YOU WERE BUILDING A FRANCHISE

AS OF TODAY, WOULD YOU PUT

WESTBROOK AND CURRY ABOVE HIM?

TREY: HE IS TURNING 30 AND A

MONTH.

OTHER THAN THAT, HE IS KEY

OSTENSIBLY AND DEFENSIVELY.

YOU HAVE TO PLAY CHRIS PAUL'S

WAY.

HE WILL DRIBBLE THE BALL, HE

WILL PLAY HIGH SCREEN-AND-ROLL.

THAT IS DIFFERENT THAN A GUY

LIKE CURRY.

CHRIS PAUL SEEMS SET IN HIS

WAYS.

HE HAS INCREDIBLE SUCCESS BUT

YOU HAVE TO PLAY THAT WAY.

LEIGH: IF YOU WANT TO DIG INTO

THE STATS, IF YOU LOOK AT --

CHRIS PAUL COME SECOND BEHIND

STEPH CURRY AND THEN RUSSELL

WESTBROOK FALLS BELOW.

IF YOU LOOK AT PLUS MINUS IN BOX

SCORES, CHRIS PAUL IS AHEAD OF

HIM.

I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANT TO USE

THIS AS THE HARD AND FAST RULE

BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT DOESN'T

ALWAYS TRANSLATE TO THE STORY ON

THE COURT.

CHRIS PAUL HAS BEEN A CONSISTENT

PLAYER AND HIS TEAMS ARE FAIRLY

COMPETITIVE.

YOU HAVE NEVER SEEN THEM GET

STUCK FOR THE WHOLE SEASON.

THAT STARTS WITH HIM ON THE

OFFENSE.

J.E.: FIVE YEARS AGO IF WE

PROPOSE TO THIS QUESTION, CHRIS

PAUL.

TREY: NO DOUBT.

TAS: IT IS HIS AGE AND BODY.

YOU DON'T START A FRANCHISE OF

CHRIS PAUL OVER THOSE TWO GUYS.

THEY ARE ONLY EIGHT MONTHS APART

WHICH IS SURPRISING.

IT FELT LIKE STEPH WAS A COUPLE

OF YEARS OLDER.

RUSS HAS TO MAKE HIS TEAM

BETTER.

I DON'T THINK HE MAKES HIS

TEAMMATES BETTER.

FORGET ABOUT THE DOUBLE DIGITS.

TREY: PULLS THEM UP WITH HIS

COMPETITIVENESS.

J.E.: I THINK YOU ARE RIGHT.

IT IS A FUN DEBATE.

LET US KNOW, JUMP ON TWITTER.

WHO DO YOU HAVE?

DO YOU HAVE CURRY, WESTBROOK,

CHRIS PAUL?

WHEN WE COME BACK, TAS AWARDS

IN THE DISHONOR OF THE WORST OF

THE WEEK.

♪

TAS: EVERY SEVEN DAYS, SOMEONE

IN THE NBA FAMILY MAKES A

MISTAKE AND WE JUMP ALL OVER IT.

IT IS TIME FOR WORST OF THE

WEEK.

ANNOUNCER: THE WORST OF THE

WEEK.

TAS: THIS WEEK'S WORST OF THE

WEEK IS LARRY BROWN.

LARRY BROWN DID SOMETHING THAT

EVERYBODY DOES EVERY SINGLE

YEAR.

YOU KNOW, AROUND MARCH MADNESS,

YOU HEAR SOMEBODY SAY SOMETHING

LIKE THE BEST COLLEGE TEAM WOULD

BEAT THE WORST NBA TEAM.

THE EXPANSION RAPTOR TOOK

SOMETHING FROM THE 72-10 BULLS.

BLEDSOE SAID THAT KENTUCKY WOULD

BEAT THE SIXERS IN A SERIES.