With the All-Star break in the rear view, the temperature has been turned up on the NBA’s playoff race and Paul Pierce made a guest spot on Rachel Nichols’ Showtime Basketball “What’s Burnin” podcast to discuss the hottest topics.

Chief among them was the surging Milwaukee Bucks, who have won 16 straight games and, by virtue, passed Truth’s Boston Celtics for the top spot in the East. The 2021 NBA Champs appear to have regained their edge after the Celtics sent them home early after an epic series in last year’s conference semifinals.

So who has the edge in the East? Depends who you ask. Paul debated fellow guest Demarcus Cousins on that very topic as the two went down each team’s starting five and picked a Top 10 of all the players therein. The two agreed that Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jayson Tatum are 1 and 2, but things went off the rails after that.

Ultimately, the two put down a steak dinner bet on who will make it further in the playoffs. And we all know who The Truth took in that bet. That was not, however, the only topic of discussion. Among the others? The Dallas Mavericks and the growth they have to do, the Atlanta Hawks and their new coach, and of course the Los Angeles Lakers in the wake of LeBron James’ injury, which Paul believes is a killshot to their playoff hopes.

“LeBron wants to play for championships,” Paul said. “He played through this injury…and he’s at the point, he passed the Kareem record, I know that was an important thing for him, so now he’s at the point in the season where he’s like “I’m not good with fighting [an injury] just to make the play-in game or the playoffs. I’m not going to put my body through this, because he’s looking down the road now…so he’s like “you know what, I’m going to get my body all the way healed, there’s no need for me to push through this just to make the play-in.” They’re not a championship team as constructed.”

Watch the whole episode below.