porkchop zYngus is ill
December 15 Episode Breakdown: Waiting on Trae and The "Zyngus" Blues
On this week's episode of the Ca-Caw Podcast, we are navigating a rough stretch for the Atlanta Hawks and looking around the league at some surprising developments. Here is a partial, automated transcript.
Jesse: So, you were talking about the "Porkchop Zyngus" thing.
Travis: Yeah.
Jesse: You were talking about how much you miss him. I found out he has POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome) and gets tired all the time.
Travis: It's a syndrome where—I think it might happen with taller people—it’s not just being tired. It’s this fatigue where he’s like, "I can't do anything." It’s one of those autoimmune, misunderstood syndromes. It must be hell for him.
Jesse: I think the Hawks are going to have to make some tough decisions about him this offseason. They obviously can't pay him what Milwaukee is paying him.
Travis: That could be what happens for the Hawks now. He’s just not reliable. But there's a chance he would be good in the playoffs. The problem is he’s not a plug-and-play player.
Jesse: They’ve got to make a decision about him.
Travis: I like the idea that it’s like if Luke Kennard ate a magic power-up. Players are like, "Eat the pork chop and you'll turn into Zingis." He turns into Zingis and wreaks havoc, then shrinks back down into Kennard, who is essentially useless.
Jesse: We’re going to stop talking basketball here and go talk with some friends. We will continue this session when they come back.
[Recording break]
Travis: The loss to the Pistons was a reality check. I felt like they were either going to beat the Pistons because they had played them twice before, or they were just going to get their asses kicked. That they got their asses kicked was not surprising, but it was disappointing. The defense was horrendous.
Travis: Then moving to the Sixers game, it was interesting to watch them without (Tyrese) Maxey. He really is the heart and soul of their team. Embiid is still sad to watch—lurching around and talking shit.
Travis: And Andre Drummond has big-time "wearing the T-shirt to the pool" kid energy. No shade to the kids—I wear a sun rash guard now for health reasons—but Drummond definitely has that energy as a guy who is wearing the T-shirt to the pool but can rebound like a motherfucker.
Jesse: Even back with the Lakers, he was one of the best rebounders in the NBA. He’s got 1.8 rebounds a game, 2.3 assists and 4.6 blocks.
Travis: Okongwu played Embiid really well.
Jesse: The thing that stands out to me is how much more confident he is in his game now than a year ago.
Travis: Paul George, similar to C.J. McCollum, was going off. It points to the fact that the Hawks weirdly have very bad wing defense.
Jesse: There’s a theory that Keaton Wallace is a little like Keaton Young—he has a lot of energy, but maybe shouldn't be getting as many minutes.
Travis: It moves the problem where he shouldn't be playing, but who else are you going to play? You have Jacob Toppin, but he got injured and they cut him. They've got N'Faly Dante, who is a legit center, but he's hurt. Even the defensive specialists you might get at the end of the bench, you don't have.
Travis: Quinn (Snyder) does some weird rotation stuff. Last night, Risacher [transcribed as "Reece Ashby"] was playing really well, and then he just seemed to get benched. It’s almost like he’s on a minutes restriction. He’ll hit three or four jumpers, get a steal, lead the transition, and then—nope, he's out. And Vit [transcribed as "Veet"] is back in.
Jesse: It is funny how they keep switching things around on him.
Travis: It’s a tough situation because they’ve got people out. They have people like Asa Newell who they're trying to coach up. Sometimes he looks great, and other times it's like, "Oh God, you gotta get him off the court."
Jesse: He's a rookie. He’s 22. What do you expect?
Travis: Except Derek Queen (Dyson Daniels/Jalen Johnson context).
Jesse: He is now the leader in steals, even though he's only played 11 games.
Travis: I hate the triple-double focus. On the broadcast, they said, "He doesn't care about those numbers, he just wants to win." I was like, "Pfft, he 100% cares about those numbers." It’s a goofy metric. You get the Russell Westbrook triple-double, which is not what Jalen Johnson is getting.
Jesse: I think it shows he is getting better, but at a very slow pace. He had 10 rebounds and six assists in his first game back.
Travis: I hate the courts [for the NBA Cup]. They’re atrocious.
Jesse: I don't think it's by accident that they always start with LeBron and AD at the point.
Travis: I love the idea that their strategy is for people to see out of the corner of their eye that there's something going on—like a "blind box" visual element where you're like, "What the fuck?"
Jesse: Now that we're into the playoffs, the Lakers and Clippers are still in it.
Travis: I don't think anyone cares about the NBA Cup. It matters more than the All-Star Game, obviously, which is a joke. If you win the NBA Cup and make the Finals, maybe you should get home-court advantage.
Jesse: Even the fact that they're playing each other in the first round is a huge deal.
Travis: There was this narrative of, "How many championships is Oklahoma City going to win? They’re the most dominant team ever." Then they lose to the Spurs. The Thunder are front-runners; they kill people when they’re ahead, but when they get punched in the mouth, they get spooked.
Jesse: The Thunder are going to be that team this year where everyone is expecting them to win, but they just can't do it.
Travis: I would 100% take the field over the Thunder regarding the championship.
Jesse: I’m not buying into this viral hype thing about the Lakers.
Travis: It sounds like you're a long-time, closet Lakers fan. You just needed permission to come out and say you have this horrendous brain rot that makes you think their yellow and purple nonsense is good branding.
Jesse: I’ve never been more happy to be a Laker than I was that day.
Travis: The Lakers fans mean it. They’re insufferable.
Jesse: You mentioned some of the most surprising things around the league.
Travis: People talk about it being a copycat league in terms of play, but it’s also a copycat league in terms of how it's covered. One thing I've seen is people talking about offensive rebounds.
Travis: Fred Katz had reporting in The Athletic about a strategy called "tagging up." Traditionally, the shot goes up and you box out. Tagging up is essentially boxing in because of the longer rebounds. You push the defense in so they can't transition into offense, and you have one guy streak in for the rebound. The Knicks and Celtics are really good at this.
Jesse: Watching the Sixers, they are getting a lot of offensive rebounds because they're putting the defense in.
Travis: I was watching the Sixers last night because they have Drummond, Embiid and Paul George. They were getting a lot of offensive rebounds. They would space people out and have one guy crash the boards. The Hawks don't really do that, but they could because they don't have good rebounders.
Travis: I looked it up; the Hawks are 13th in the league in shots per game. They have a 23% offensive rebounding rate, whereas there are 20 teams now over 30%.
Jesse: They’re 23rd in points, rebounds and assists per game.
Travis: I’m going to see if I can watch a Skyhawks game to see if they're experimenting with this strategy.
Jesse: I think about Philip Rivers and all the kids right now—10 kids, 11 kids.
Travis: I watched the highlight of him throwing a touchdown. I tried to explain to Monica that he has 10 kids. She said, "That's totally normal." I said, "No, 10 is too many."
Jesse: He’s 44 years old.
Travis: A 44-year-old with 10 kids. Either what doesn't kill you makes you stronger and that man is indestructible, or he's going to be crying because he's so tired.
Jesse: And the whole thing about "Mr. Falcon." That’s a nickname, right?
Travis: "Son of a biscuit sugar! You stinking Mr. Falcon!" If you find a supercut of Philip Rivers calling people "Mr. Falcon" or "Mickety Mucks," please let me know.
Jesse: I had a friend, "John." He told me, "I curse a lot. When I was younger, people would curse at me."
Travis: I told Benjamin and Kimberly this story. At my house growing up, there was a lot of cursing. It was not normal cursing; it was deep in the bag of swearing.
Travis: My good friend Brian came over to spend the night. It was the first time. We were being loud. A little after midnight, my stepdad comes stomping down the stairs in tighty-whities—the big power move on the sleepover. He wasn't screaming, but it was a guttural, low, scary version. He said, "It is fucking imperative that you be quiet." Then he walked back upstairs.
Travis: Brian looked at me, white as a sheet, and whispered, "What does imperative mean?" He didn't sleep over again until my third-grade birthday party where we watched "A Nightmare on Elm Street 3," and he got so scared he started crying.
Jesse: That’s really bad.
Travis: So, the Hawks. On Thursday they have the Hornets, and then Friday they are home for the Spurs. We get a little Wemby (Victor Wembanyama) in our lives.
Jesse: When is the Bulls game?
Travis: Monday. I think 2-and-1 would be great. I need to bank them now.
Travis: I saw Wemby two years ago. He wasn't good then, and it was still insane. There's a chance I'm going on Friday.
Travis: My friend Kirby went to the doctor, and they measured him at 6 feet. I told him, "You're done. Never go again. On your tombstone, it will say Kirby Roots Murty was 6-foot-0."
TOP STORY
Headline: Atlanta Hawks lose steam, suffer blowout loss to San Antonio Spurs on Friday | Ajc
What?
The Atlanta Hawks lost 126-98 to the San Antonio Spurs on Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, during their second night of back-to-back games in Atlanta.
So What?
This loss reflects the physical and endurance challenges faced by the Hawks, highlighting the impact of scheduling demands on players' performance and potential vulnerabilities tied to resource and stamina disparities.
Now What?
Watch for how the Hawks manage player health and competitive edge in upcoming games, especially following rest periods, and for further coverage on the implications of back-to-back game schedules on athlete well-being and team dynamics. ESPN Coverage on Back-to-Back Games and Athlete Fatigue
