Speaker 1: What are your expectations for this team? If they're able
Speaker 1: to get a healthy Draymond back, wise men coming back
Speaker 1: and all the young talent they've been able to acquire,
Speaker 1: that's a long ask time that those three that haven't
Speaker 1: played together. But you know, not hear those three names.
Speaker 1: I hear that song. Brothers don't work it out. Brothers
Speaker 1: don't work it out, brothers it out. Welcome back to
Speaker 1: What's burden? I got my U C l A brother
Speaker 1: Jelinnie McCoy's subbing in for Jack today. Jack is shaking
Speaker 1: and bacon out there in the streets. But Gelanti, let's
Speaker 1: get right to it, man. Let's check in in the East,
Speaker 1: the Nets currently on a three game winning streak. Katie
Speaker 1: dropped fifty three, nine and six, and Kyrie was courtside
Speaker 1: to watch it. I don't know which one of those
Speaker 1: stories is a bigger deal, the fact that Katie comes
Speaker 1: back and drops fifty three or Kyie is in the
Speaker 1: building as a fan sitting courtside. I mean they're equally
Speaker 1: both surreal, Like Katie has just been on a tear
Speaker 1: ever since he's came back from injury, passing out fifty balls,
Speaker 1: you know, thirties how whenever he wants to get it,
Speaker 1: And just the fact that I don't know. I played
Speaker 1: in the league a little bit, and I know you
Speaker 1: you have a little bit yourself. Um, have you ever
Speaker 1: seen one of the hommies sitting on the sideline, you
Speaker 1: know what I mean, that you just play with and
Speaker 1: and watch ball while he's sitting across from you on
Speaker 1: the bench. You know what I mean? That was just
Speaker 1: a crazy situation. Yeah, I mean, I've never I've seen, like,
Speaker 1: you know, dudes from other teams come watch our games,
Speaker 1: but I never had to see my teammate as a
Speaker 1: fan in the arena, which was crazy because so he
Speaker 1: was allowed to go to the Duke game the night before,
Speaker 1: within the arena, he can come to his own team's game,
Speaker 1: but he can't play. Like I'm just confused on like
Speaker 1: the nuances of this this policy. You know, obviously everyone
Speaker 1: has a lot to say whether you agree with Kyrie
Speaker 1: not getting vaccinated and having to kind of deal with
Speaker 1: the consequences of not being vaccinated, which I get, But
Speaker 1: if you're gonna let this man in the arena two
Speaker 1: nights in a row for two different sporting events, you
Speaker 1: allow other athletes to come in there who aren't vaccinated.
Speaker 1: But he can't play, he can watch, So like, what
Speaker 1: what's the concern there. I'm like, I'm not you're not
Speaker 1: concerned for the health, because if you're concerned for the health,
Speaker 1: he wouldn't be in the arena to begin with. Other
Speaker 1: people fans are unvaccinated. You're allowing opposing players to come
Speaker 1: in unvaccinated, but Kyrie has to sit and watch. I mean,
Speaker 1: I think just this just embarrassing. And again again it's
Speaker 1: it's the nuances of policy. Obviously, you know you hear
Speaker 1: people talk to mayor talk. I want him to play,
Speaker 1: but I don't want to, you know, adjust a set
Speaker 1: of rules for one one person. But I just think
Speaker 1: the rules are sucked up because this obviously is a
Speaker 1: new situation for the world. But I think they've messed
Speaker 1: up on this rule because if you're gonna allow the
Speaker 1: man courtside in the building, what's the difference if he
Speaker 1: has sneakers in the next Jersey owner if he's just
Speaker 1: sitting there. Shame on New York for this one. You know,
Speaker 1: it's City of New York gotta o this. You know,
Speaker 1: the katie has something point you to say about the mayory.
Speaker 1: But you know, hey, let's figure the ship out. But
Speaker 1: you know that the shame on New York for this way.
Speaker 1: Kybrie has done enough for Brooklyn and the city. I
Speaker 1: feel like for them to be making you know, he
Speaker 1: should be a hometown guy, should get some hometown respect
Speaker 1: at this point. Yeah. Next up, seventies Sixers shout out
Speaker 1: James Harden for passing Reggie Miller and the for third
Speaker 1: on the all time three point list. They took a
Speaker 1: big loss the other night when Ben Simmons returned back
Speaker 1: to Philly um chanting his name, saying all kinds of
Speaker 1: crazy ship. But Katie and then boys went in there
Speaker 1: and smacked them. Is this team a contender? They that
Speaker 1: they started off really hot. Uh, they've been kind of
Speaker 1: brought back down to earth a little bit. They had
Speaker 1: a squeaker Uh the other night against Orlando. Are they
Speaker 1: a contender to represent the Eastern Conference in your opinion?
Speaker 1: I don't know yet. We still have to see and
Speaker 1: they've got some things to figure out. What Tobias Harris,
Speaker 1: I know, Joel Embiad has proven himself not only an
Speaker 1: m v P kinda bit potentially the best center in
Speaker 1: the league, you know, arguably with with the Joker. We've
Speaker 1: seen James show flashes early, you know what I mean,
Speaker 1: tantalize us a little bit with the performance and you know,
Speaker 1: sell performance team. But in a playoff atmosphere, it seems
Speaker 1: like we've just seen the same as James Harden as
Speaker 1: he typically performs in the playoffs, which is sometimes do
Speaker 1: sometimes don't. So you know what I mean. I think
Speaker 1: it's left to be said, left to be said said.
Speaker 1: You know they've got Doc Rivers. You're a guy over
Speaker 1: there in playoff battle, playoff test, the championship coach. I
Speaker 1: just think that they need the rest of the regular
Speaker 1: season to jail and be on the playoff team that
Speaker 1: that we think that that that can become M's trip take.
Speaker 1: I'm glad you said we don't know yet, because I
Speaker 1: get tired of watching this sports show and people jumping
Speaker 1: off the cliff or you know, jumping to the moon
Speaker 1: after one or two games. Like to me, any teams
Speaker 1: that have made significant moves with stars, we just don't
Speaker 1: know what then these teams are gon to be it.
Speaker 1: You're gonna see flashes of brilliance what you saw with
Speaker 1: em beating hardened early on. You're gonna see them come
Speaker 1: back down to earth. You may see a poor shooting
Speaker 1: performance by James, like, it's not the end of the
Speaker 1: world one way or another. This team has about four
Speaker 1: weeks to figure out their chemistry and they're gonna need
Speaker 1: every bit of that four weeks. But the one thing
Speaker 1: that has been consistent is Joel Embiid has been busting
Speaker 1: everybody's ass. He's having a great year. I'd love to
Speaker 1: see it. He's gonna be one of the most unstoppable
Speaker 1: players in the playoffs. And again is Tobias Harris. That
Speaker 1: third option is Tyrese Maxi that third option, Um, it's
Speaker 1: not gonna be able to get over that that hump,
Speaker 1: be able to make these in game adjustments. Uh. That
Speaker 1: this team is gonna need to be able to get
Speaker 1: through the East. All that is yet to be seen.
Speaker 1: But I think said I think they're they're gonna be
Speaker 1: okay regardless because they do have James and and b
Speaker 1: but it we're just yet to see if they're really
Speaker 1: gonna be a contenter. And that as a big, what
Speaker 1: you're saying, what indeed is doing as a big that's
Speaker 1: virtually and stop over the guard is a big. The
Speaker 1: way he's able to move as a guard and do
Speaker 1: wings in a short space. Not sometimes he's just off
Speaker 1: the short corner of the block and then he can
Speaker 1: back you down from the wing. Is just a tricky
Speaker 1: situation for any big much alone a mismatch. If he
Speaker 1: can be dominant like this, they're gonna be They could
Speaker 1: potentially be a problem. I agree, he's again probably the
Speaker 1: front runner for m v p M and again James
Speaker 1: finding his rhythm. James wants to be there, so we
Speaker 1: should probably see the best James Harden. It just has
Speaker 1: to be consistent in the playoffs, and then you know,
Speaker 1: the supporting cast has to be ready to go next up.
Speaker 1: Janice and the Bucks honest has been as dominant as
Speaker 1: we've seen him since he's been in the game. He's
Speaker 1: getting some frontline help and one of the big guys
Speaker 1: that was a big piece of their championship run last year.
Speaker 1: Brook Lopez is returning from back surgery, has been out
Speaker 1: the entire season. We know they picked up Sergey Baka
Speaker 1: for insurance. Gianni, it seems like the Bucks are rounding
Speaker 1: into shape. Obviously sitting up being out the whole season.
Speaker 1: It's gonna be hard for brook Lopez to kind of
Speaker 1: find his footing and he's a big I worry a
Speaker 1: little bit about his back um, so well, it'll be
Speaker 1: interesting to see what he can bring to the table.
Speaker 1: But again, I think that organization is smart enough to
Speaker 1: know they probably have the same concerns as we do,
Speaker 1: and that's why they picked up Sergey Baka. So what
Speaker 1: do you see for the for the Bucks? Kind of
Speaker 1: floating under the radar, playing good basketball, uh, defending champs?
Speaker 1: Do you see them as contenders in the East? I do?
Speaker 1: I do. I think you hit it on the head,
Speaker 1: the floating under the radar factor, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1: Getting Brook Lopez back. He is a member of a
Speaker 1: championship team. He is part of those nitty gritty playoff
Speaker 1: of experiences that you've been a part of you can
Speaker 1: speak to. I think Brooke gives them an extra sense
Speaker 1: of security. Bobby Porters has been playing well and it's absence,
Speaker 1: so he doesn't have to come back and shoulder a
Speaker 1: big offensive love while he's figuring out. I think he
Speaker 1: can take the rest of the regular season, like he said,
Speaker 1: get in shape, figure out where he's at offensively, be
Speaker 1: an extra presence, give him some more size and find
Speaker 1: They're like one of those veteran NBA Championships teams right
Speaker 1: now where they're rounding out towards the end of the season,
Speaker 1: getting healthy, getting their pieces back together, and looking forward
Speaker 1: to the playoffs. Yeah. Man, I think this is going
Speaker 1: to be one of the better East Division playoffs we've
Speaker 1: seen in a while. Like, there's no I mean, some
Speaker 1: people may have favorites, but I mean Brooklyn is at
Speaker 1: the bottom of the East, you know, and in the
Speaker 1: in the eighth position or seventh position somewhere down there.
Speaker 1: So I mean everyone in front of them is playing
Speaker 1: good basketball, man, So I really think the East playoffs
Speaker 1: are going to be dope this year. Moving out west,
Speaker 1: Luca had other plans for kg's retirement night as he
Speaker 1: spoils the Celtics. Uh. This past Sunday, Gelanni Dallas is
Speaker 1: thirteen and two over their last fifteen, with wins over
Speaker 1: Miami l A, the Warriors twice, and the Celtics. Uh.
Speaker 1: You know, Luca looked a little hobbled in that first
Speaker 1: half with the hammy came back dropped eight and eight
Speaker 1: as the Mavericks continue to move up, currently in the
Speaker 1: fifth position. Thoughts on Luca and the Mavericks. I mean,
Speaker 1: we all know that the MAVs go every Superstars. You know,
Speaker 1: health is and and you know indicative of how the
Speaker 1: you know the team is gonna place, especially going to
Speaker 1: the playoffs. But you know that Luca Magic is cracking
Speaker 1: right now. I don't believe he's bought into the J
Speaker 1: Kidds systems. JA Kid is a point guard. He's got
Speaker 1: a capable point guard and Jalen Brunson, you know what
Speaker 1: I mean, with which we both have some familiarity with.
Speaker 1: So I just think it's you know, I think the
Speaker 1: hamstrings are tricky. We all know harm strings are tricky.
Speaker 1: You know, we know Lucas rounding out in the shape,
Speaker 1: but he goes in and out of shape. But it
Speaker 1: looks like he's focused right now. I think even the
Speaker 1: hobble Luca h can get you, but I don't know
Speaker 1: how far that can get you as far in terms
Speaker 1: of a playoff run. M hm. You know, I like
Speaker 1: you touched on J Kid. I think you as a
Speaker 1: new coach with this team, it takes a minute to
Speaker 1: kind of put your your fingerprint or or or or
Speaker 1: stamp on a team. And I think they've definitely embodied
Speaker 1: what he's about they play hard as defense. Uh. He
Speaker 1: challenged Luca to get in shape. Luca took that challenge
Speaker 1: and playing great basketball. Uh really all season, but particularly
Speaker 1: closed All Star. My question is they have a bunch
Speaker 1: of nice pieces around Luca, but they don't have that
Speaker 1: second star. They picked up Spencer Dinwoity, which I think
Speaker 1: was a huge pick pick up. He hit the game
Speaker 1: winning three against Boston the other day. But is he
Speaker 1: going to be that consistent twenty to twenty three point
Speaker 1: a night uh guy in the playoffs? Uh, he has
Speaker 1: that capability. I think he has game, but I don't
Speaker 1: know if he will be So we'll have to sit
Speaker 1: back and see. I think they could be spoilers in
Speaker 1: the first round, you know, a five four matchup. I
Speaker 1: don't see any reason why they couldn't beat the four seed,
Speaker 1: whoever that may be. Um. But as far as making
Speaker 1: a real run, um hell bent on Uni that second
Speaker 1: twenty point of game score in the playoffs. To really
Speaker 1: make a run, you already know what your superstar is
Speaker 1: gonna give you. What is your star going to give you?
Speaker 1: And then what are your role players going to give you?
Speaker 1: Moving on one of the hottest teams in the in
Speaker 1: the league. The Minnesota Timberwolves have won seven other last
Speaker 1: eight games, just beat the Heat, nine games over five hundred,
Speaker 1: currently sitting at seventh in the West. Julyna, can they
Speaker 1: play spoiler this year in the Western Conference? I mean
Speaker 1: another team floating under the radar. This been going silently
Speaker 1: going about their business. Nine games over five hundred at
Speaker 1: this time of the year. I can't remember. I can't
Speaker 1: remember the last time the Wolves have been in this position.
Speaker 1: Um Cat, the defendant NBA All Star Three Point Championship,
Speaker 1: has continued to play well on both ends, and he's
Speaker 1: seen him like he's upsecting a leadership role with that
Speaker 1: team right now. They obviously got the ant man over there.
Speaker 1: D'Angelo is being just a solid NBA guard right now.
Speaker 1: We don't hear a lot about D'Angelo wrestling step him
Speaker 1: consistently being assisting and scoring at a decent high caliber
Speaker 1: NBA guard clip and I think it is simmy start
Speaker 1: talking about Wolves. You know, they've been in the shadow
Speaker 1: of you know, KG losing KG, losing Kevin Love. You know,
Speaker 1: they've been out of winning basketball for a while now,
Speaker 1: and it's good to see them and with young talent
Speaker 1: having since some sas in a in a large jam
Speaker 1: in the West right now, because they're just a couple
Speaker 1: of games removed from snaking up until you know, maybe
Speaker 1: the six or five positions. I think it's gonna take
Speaker 1: a huge performance by Cat in the playoffs. Um, but
Speaker 1: I can easy. I could definitely see them UH being
Speaker 1: someone that makes it to the second round. Two. Um,
Speaker 1: for everything you mentioned, you know, D'Angelo Russell is a
Speaker 1: very solid point guard under the radar, does his job
Speaker 1: night and night out the young fella and he's a killer.
Speaker 1: You know, Anthony Edwards. It'll be interesting to see him
Speaker 1: in his first UH playoff action, how how he raises
Speaker 1: his game and steps up. Pat Beverley Uh just got
Speaker 1: an extension, you know, very solid veteran leader dog that
Speaker 1: you need. Every team needs a Pat bev. So I'm
Speaker 1: excited for them too. You know, they've had a lot
Speaker 1: of losing basketball. They got a great fan base over
Speaker 1: there out there in Minnesota, and it's gonna be fun
Speaker 1: to see what these guys can do come playoff time.
Speaker 1: I got a channel with the enter KG, you know
Speaker 1: what I mean. Cag willed a lot, willed a lot
Speaker 1: of games out there in Minnesota. So you know what
Speaker 1: I mean, he's in the right place for a big
Speaker 1: fellow to make some big time move. Moving on to
Speaker 1: the Lakers, shout out Lebron first and foremost. Thirty thousand points,
Speaker 1: ten thousand rebounds, ten thousand assist There's never been another
Speaker 1: human being on the face of the earth to do
Speaker 1: that tremendous, tremendous accomplishment, and in the midst of a
Speaker 1: losing season. And you know how today, how fans are
Speaker 1: media are you know, he's stat chasing this, this and that,
Speaker 1: but this motherfucker's chasing historical ship. So he's just playing basketball.
Speaker 1: The team ain't playing well, but this guys, you know,
Speaker 1: dropped two fifty point games in their last four games.
Speaker 1: Uh they won both those games, but two and seven
Speaker 1: since the All Star Break, uh, ninth in the West.
Speaker 1: Is it time to stop talking about them? Or is
Speaker 1: that even possible? I don't think it's possible. I think
Speaker 1: the Lakers are you know, primetime basketball, we still talked
Speaker 1: about the Knicks sometimes. You know, the Knicks make ESPN
Speaker 1: every now and then, you know what I mean, So
Speaker 1: I don't think it's stopped talking. It's time to start
Speaker 1: talking about the Lakers, although it's been a difficult season
Speaker 1: as a Laker fan, bronze accomplishment, So you hit it
Speaker 1: on the head. We haven't seen another human being, just
Speaker 1: historical And if you're not, especially in a difficult season,
Speaker 1: if you're not chasing a historical milestone for the Laker fans,
Speaker 1: you know, these these milestons are going to be seen
Speaker 1: in Laker Laker jerseys at the end of the day.
Speaker 1: So if he's not chasing those historical milestones, even in
Speaker 1: a shifty season, what is he doing? You know what
Speaker 1: I mean? He's always stepped up to the moniker of
Speaker 1: the king and if they're keenly task to be you know,
Speaker 1: even in the shitty season, to be knocked off, we
Speaker 1: would be out. He would be out of his mind
Speaker 1: not to be knocking off those most I think with
Speaker 1: all the incredible things he's done over his career, you know,
Speaker 1: let a three run charge against the Warriors to win
Speaker 1: a ring, this might be one of the I don't
Speaker 1: want people to go crazy. Not biggest accomplishment, but maybe
Speaker 1: most challenging tasks ahead because the world is against the
Speaker 1: Lakers right now. Everyone is talking about them. People even
Speaker 1: talking about him with a D coming back, and again
Speaker 1: us both being former athletes, I knew when they said,
Speaker 1: you know, six to eight, it was closer to eight
Speaker 1: to ten. That's a that was a terrible, terrible ankle spray.
Speaker 1: But if a D can come back healthy, can this team,
Speaker 1: in your opinion, make any noise get out of the
Speaker 1: playing or you know, playing, get into the playoffs, but
Speaker 1: then be a tough matchup for a Phoenix or a
Speaker 1: Golden State in the first round. First off, the plan
Speaker 1: gonna be cracking as much as complaining as a bit
Speaker 1: is about the play, and the player ain't gonna be cracking.
Speaker 1: The Nets could possibly be in the playing situation. The
Speaker 1: Lakers could possibly be in the playing situation. Teams that
Speaker 1: were favored to win the championship at the beginning the season.
Speaker 1: They're both in playing. Yeah, so I think, like I
Speaker 1: think they can be a danger out of the playing
Speaker 1: you know, I think if a D comes back, any
Speaker 1: type of a D with the combination of how Lebron
Speaker 1: is playing right now, you know, a D got to
Speaker 1: be on his good and one leg might be good
Speaker 1: for a dub and ten you know what I mean.
Speaker 1: And I think that helps him right now, Rusty, you
Speaker 1: know what I mean. We still can never wait or
Speaker 1: we're waiting around. We still can't come count Russell Westbrook,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean. Yeah, he could turn on
Speaker 1: an average a triple double and to knock you off
Speaker 1: in a seven game series, he can have a brillion.
Speaker 1: He's good for a game or two in the playoffs,
Speaker 1: especially in the playoff with his everybody's been in his
Speaker 1: neck too, so him in the playing game is interesting.
Speaker 1: So I would just love to see that, you know,
Speaker 1: lebron Is is literally leading the league and scoring if
Speaker 1: a d can come back, And again, it's not crazy
Speaker 1: to think that Russ couldn't average eighteen, ten and ten
Speaker 1: in the playoff series, like I really feel like, and
Speaker 1: that would be mild numbers for him, you know what
Speaker 1: I mean, Because this dude has been a killer. So
Speaker 1: I'm still holding out hope because not that I'm really
Speaker 1: I feel bad because it's it's going past basketball, But
Speaker 1: just as a player, you know, as as as as
Speaker 1: a bruin, as someone who just has always laid everything
Speaker 1: out there on the line, I hate to see the
Speaker 1: slander that is being thrown in direction. But that's a
Speaker 1: new day of media, and that's you know, given everyone
Speaker 1: a voice. Everyone doesn't deserve a voice. You know. Social
Speaker 1: media is crazy when you know, and it gives stupid
Speaker 1: people a voice to kind of say reckless ship. But
Speaker 1: I say all that to say, I feel like, you know,
Speaker 1: Russ is, you know, a good couple of days, a
Speaker 1: good week away from just busting out into to showing
Speaker 1: flashes of why he is a Hall of Famer, why
Speaker 1: he's been one of the best players in this League's
Speaker 1: these came in, so you know, I'm keeping my fingers
Speaker 1: crossed for that particular situation. But the Lakers overall, again,
Speaker 1: like for everything every reason you said, if they're playing
Speaker 1: good basketball, they're gonna be a tough out in the
Speaker 1: first round, and it's gonna be you know, it's most
Speaker 1: likely gonna be Phoenix or Golden State. You might be
Speaker 1: able to throw Memphis up in there if they can
Speaker 1: make a move, but it'll be interesting to see what
Speaker 1: happens with them switching gears. The n C Double A
Speaker 1: Tournament is kicking off. Top seeded Gonzaga takes home the
Speaker 1: number one overall seed. Let's take a look at DraftKings
Speaker 1: odds to see what teams they think have the best
Speaker 1: chance of reaching the final four. Gonzaga at minus one sixty,
Speaker 1: Arizona at plus one fifty, Candice at plus one sixty,
Speaker 1: Baylor plus two hundred, Kentucky, same Auburn plus two fifty,
Speaker 1: Iowa plus three thirty. Coach Hey and his Duke Blue
Speaker 1: Devils in his last n C Double A appearance plus
Speaker 1: four hundred. Same with Villa Nova and r U c
Speaker 1: l A Bruins, who are built for this time a
Speaker 1: year under Mick cronin six hundred. Out of all those teams,
Speaker 1: give me the four strongest teams, regardless to me of
Speaker 1: bracket or anything. Who do you feel the most confident
Speaker 1: out of the four all those things we listed again,
Speaker 1: Zagger like big check. You know what I mean, big check?
Speaker 1: Home grant is due for a big tournament. You know.
Speaker 1: Gauzaga is a perenn perennial, you know, site of favorite
Speaker 1: um Like, you know, I'm going with the coaches. I
Speaker 1: like Duke is the sexy pick, of course, but you know,
Speaker 1: I feel like a lot of pressure on them to
Speaker 1: you know, send coach k out the right way. You know,
Speaker 1: I don't know if you know a lot of them.
Speaker 1: I don't know if those guys are built for that.
Speaker 1: That's what That's what I mean. Like if they had
Speaker 1: a lot of three four year guys, I wouldn't be
Speaker 1: able to order stand a little bit. A lot of
Speaker 1: those guys only been there like a couple of months,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean. So I like you hit
Speaker 1: it on the head. I like what Met Crownin does
Speaker 1: in the tournament. They sweat you on defense, you know,
Speaker 1: they allow he allows this player. They can hit you
Speaker 1: from so many different ways on offense, and they're not
Speaker 1: they're non traditional ways and don't really have a big
Speaker 1: guy out there, but they're scoring the post. So Villanova
Speaker 1: is another team. You know, coach the coach over their
Speaker 1: coach right has been a monster for years. They just
Speaker 1: play so damn hard. So those would be my picks.
Speaker 1: I mean, obviously I'm a homer, but I like you
Speaker 1: c late because again the style their play, how intense
Speaker 1: they are, attention to detail. But another thing, they're old.
Speaker 1: They're an older team, you know what I mean that
Speaker 1: they're they're five star recruit. Peyton Watson doesn't really get
Speaker 1: much burned, um so he'll be ready to go his
Speaker 1: next season. But they're an older, veteran driven team who's
Speaker 1: gone to the championship and we're a crazy shot away
Speaker 1: from possibly winning crazy a title, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1: So I like in Zaga. I like Arizona. Arizona is tough, man,
Speaker 1: Arizona is a tough team. And they got some They
Speaker 1: got some boys with some tumbs out there. They did
Speaker 1: in the last game that the Africans that are the
Speaker 1: protecting the ram boy blocking everything. So it's gonna be fun. Man, again,
Speaker 1: this is my favorite time. I'll be so busy with
Speaker 1: life and other ship that I really can't watch college
Speaker 1: basketball as much as I like to, but I make
Speaker 1: it a point to be locked in from March Madness
Speaker 1: fan questions, Let's get right to it. This is talking
Speaker 1: about something we just touched on. But uh, j c
Speaker 1: B Underscore thirty five. Who do you guys have winning
Speaker 1: the n C Double A Tournament this year? And do
Speaker 1: you guys have a dark horse? You know what time
Speaker 1: it is, man, you know, you know, yeah, yeah, this
Speaker 1: is you know, this is the U c L A
Speaker 1: type of thing with me, you know what I mean,
Speaker 1: How I'm gonna take us for for for not only
Speaker 1: for obvious reasons, but for logical ones. Like we said,
Speaker 1: I feel like this team is built for the n
Speaker 1: C Double that tournament And to your point earlier, I
Speaker 1: think this is a good time for Peyton Watson. This
Speaker 1: is what the tournament has made for. If you haven't
Speaker 1: been getting burned all the year, you can come in
Speaker 1: and potentially make a name for your stuff in the
Speaker 1: tournament and be out of here. We've seen it. We
Speaker 1: had some armies that did it. Just have good tournaments
Speaker 1: and get up on out of here and get to
Speaker 1: the league. So this is an excellent opportunity for young
Speaker 1: fella to come in there and get his up. Yeah,
Speaker 1: but I'm going with the Bruins. My dark horse would
Speaker 1: maybe my it wouldn't be would be the Blue Devils
Speaker 1: because I think there's a lot of pressure on them.
Speaker 1: They could easily fold and be out in the first round.
Speaker 1: So I think that's a young group of fellas to
Speaker 1: be under that type of pressure. So I'm actually gonna
Speaker 1: put them in my dark horse spot. Yeah again, I'm
Speaker 1: I'm I'm gonna rival with U C. L A. I
Speaker 1: don't think they've got a proper seed, um, but that
Speaker 1: doesn't matter now. You know, the road to the final
Speaker 1: four starts, um, and it's time to go and I like,
Speaker 1: you know, the veterans. They built Gonzaga as a young,
Speaker 1: fun team to watch, UM, coach you over there has
Speaker 1: been amazing. So and I'd probably say Gonzaga or U
Speaker 1: C l A at Levi McDonald's why hasn't Reggie Jackson?
Speaker 1: Why hasn't Reggie Jackson? WHOA we need to check the grandma.
Speaker 1: Why hasn't Reggie Jackson doesn't come into consideration for most
Speaker 1: improved player. He is carrying the Clippers and his stats
Speaker 1: have jumped massively. Um, I haven't looked at his stats,
Speaker 1: but I've always been a big friend of Reggie Jackson.
Speaker 1: He's been a killer. I remember back in the Okay
Speaker 1: See days when he was like the fourth fiddle, you know,
Speaker 1: coming off the bench, you know, behind Hardening and in
Speaker 1: Westbrook and k D. But I saw talent from him
Speaker 1: back then. So he has. And also shout out Tyler
Speaker 1: Man for your two stars. Not to name another team
Speaker 1: that can take their two stars away. You take Stephen
Speaker 1: Draymond away, with all due respect to Clay, he's been out.
Speaker 1: You take Katie and Kyria where you take Embid and
Speaker 1: you take hard You need to take any of these
Speaker 1: teams CP and Devin Booker. You take any two teams
Speaker 1: stars away the entire season and they would be at
Speaker 1: the bottom of the league. Again, accredit to coach, Accredit
Speaker 1: to Reggie, but this team should be the odds on
Speaker 1: favor next year to win the title when they're both
Speaker 1: their stars return on stof I mean to me, that's
Speaker 1: not autlantist. These guys are in the seventh seed right
Speaker 1: now with no superstar. They've been doing their thing, hard
Speaker 1: nosed team and love what they've been doing. But too,
Speaker 1: to Levi's point, he should definitely be in the consideration.
Speaker 1: He's he's had a great year. Um, he's been the
Speaker 1: star on that team this year and they look good man.
Speaker 1: I mean, you hit that everything right on the head,
Speaker 1: Matt Barnes, I mean, Reggie Jackson has been a Laker killer.
Speaker 1: He's been consistently improving his years in l A uh
Speaker 1: ty Lou should be, you know, up for Coach of
Speaker 1: the Year. There aren't two teams who can lose too,
Speaker 1: especially two wings, you know what I mean, as as
Speaker 1: ball dominant as those two wings are. Um, he's done
Speaker 1: a great job and I only think this just helps
Speaker 1: for the longevity plan of the Los Angeles Clippers. Though,
Speaker 1: at the end of the day, they got a lot
Speaker 1: of the young players getting a lot of experience. They're
Speaker 1: proven that they're building a culture, like you said in
Speaker 1: identity the Tylers, but building there. So um, he should
Speaker 1: be up for you know, consideration, and the Clippers should
Speaker 1: be up for you know, top five title threat for
Speaker 1: next year at least. Again, I think they've built the
Speaker 1: team the right way. You look down the hall at
Speaker 1: the Lakers top heavy. You know, they've had to Reben
Speaker 1: and that's when we talked about you know, obviously this
Speaker 1: is not even part of the question, but the Lakers
Speaker 1: have been top of a conversation all season. But you know,
Speaker 1: as a former after or a former NBA player, you know,
Speaker 1: these motherfuckers are building a team. Every season. They got
Speaker 1: two or three people under contract when that final horn
Speaker 1: of the championship round goes off, whether they're or not,
Speaker 1: when the NBA Finals are done. They only normally have
Speaker 1: tour of this since Lebron has been here, they normally
Speaker 1: have two or three players under contract when that final
Speaker 1: horn buzzes in June. So it's it's it's crazy to
Speaker 1: think that you know, they were able to you know,
Speaker 1: find lightning in the bottle that first year in the
Speaker 1: bubble when they built a team from scratch in one
Speaker 1: but doing that year in year out is hard as
Speaker 1: a motherfucker. And I think the casual fan don't even
Speaker 1: think Laker fans understand how hard it is to build
Speaker 1: a team every single year because they always expect so much.
Speaker 1: But it takes time to build chemistry. And I say
Speaker 1: all that to say, that's what the Clippers are doing.
Speaker 1: The Clippers have built a solid team without stars. So
Speaker 1: imagine you just insert two stars into what these guys
Speaker 1: have been doing, and uh, it's gonna be a fun run.
Speaker 1: So looking forward to what they can uh do next year?
Speaker 1: Next up s j C four four zero one. If
Speaker 1: Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. Come back before the playoffs,
Speaker 1: do you see Denver winning the West? Hey man, That
Speaker 1: ship that the Jugger is doing is impressive, So you
Speaker 1: know what I mean, He's been able to hold it
Speaker 1: down while they've been able to get healthy. I'm a
Speaker 1: big M p J fan. You know that Jamal Mayor
Speaker 1: obviously you know a friend of the program and a
Speaker 1: guest on the show, perhaps of young fella, great energy
Speaker 1: and great uh seemed like he got a good health
Speaker 1: in our shoulders. It's typically about basketball, like he really
Speaker 1: enjoys playing basketball, which you don't see a lot. It's
Speaker 1: easy for a younger player with the money that is
Speaker 1: handing out not to have basketball out the front of
Speaker 1: his mind. But he seems as a player, uh that does.
Speaker 1: They got good coaching, they're hungry. They got Buggy another
Speaker 1: friend of the program out there, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1: At the at the right time, I feel like they
Speaker 1: can do something in the West because again, like they're
Speaker 1: doing this, they're doing the dirt on on the lonely
Speaker 1: right now. So to only get ad help like Miami's
Speaker 1: doing in the East, I feel like that's good money
Speaker 1: for for Denver right now because it's not like they
Speaker 1: got a bunch of subpart NBA talent over there. They
Speaker 1: got a little bit experience. An m v P candidate,
Speaker 1: a candidate, a resurgent uh n v should be m
Speaker 1: VP candidate. Butting Buggie Cousins to if it's career isn't
Speaker 1: drilled by injuries. We were typically talking about him up
Speaker 1: for m v P every year. I think they got
Speaker 1: a really interesting situation in MA High. I know They've
Speaker 1: got an excellent training staff over there. I don't know
Speaker 1: if Steve has to still over there running things in
Speaker 1: the strength of conditioning program, but I think if they
Speaker 1: put all those things together, that can be a real
Speaker 1: problem in the West. Yeah, they got a nice they
Speaker 1: got nice pieces, um and obviously adding two players back
Speaker 1: to that caliber on paper, you would think, yes, they
Speaker 1: can easily come out of the West. Just my concern
Speaker 1: is and as you know, finding your footing. Can you
Speaker 1: find your footing in enough time with the playoffs looming,
Speaker 1: um to get some kind of chemistry and find your
Speaker 1: game in your rhythm. But you know, Aaron Gordon, I
Speaker 1: like the bones out there now this team, Uh, if
Speaker 1: those two that you just mentioned can really get their
Speaker 1: footing back in time and find a rhythm um with
Speaker 1: Joker has been able to do with this team solo,
Speaker 1: you know, quote unquote as far as stars go, has
Speaker 1: been amazing better numbers than he put up last year. Um. Yeah,
Speaker 1: Denver can definitely, They're gonna probably be if if they
Speaker 1: can get healthy, they can be the surprise team to
Speaker 1: come out of the West, definitely easily. A lot of
Speaker 1: injuries too in the West. Still have to figure out
Speaker 1: like we mentionederally a Lucas hand thring CP three's hand.
Speaker 1: They're only getting they're not they're getting a list players
Speaker 1: back healthy. So if anybody's gonna figure it out, you
Speaker 1: want your time and figuring it out at Chloe Money.
Speaker 1: What do you think about Tom Brady coming out of retirement?
Speaker 1: Did you see this coming? I mean at this point,
Speaker 1: you know the goat can do what he wants to do.
Speaker 1: I think his athletes were normally always emotional at the
Speaker 1: end of seasons, whether that be good or bad or emotional.
Speaker 1: You know, this guy has done it at the highest
Speaker 1: level for twenty two years. Um, he takes two months
Speaker 1: off and wants to come back for your twenty three.
Speaker 1: He says he has unfinished business in Tampa Bay. The
Speaker 1: NFL is better when Tom Brady is in it. Um.
Speaker 1: I know Mike Evans is excited. Um, So yeah, I
Speaker 1: definitely love that he's coming back, not that he really left,
Speaker 1: but you know, just excited to see good footb. I mean,
Speaker 1: you need quality quarterbacks in this sleep because I think
Speaker 1: there's so many guys who are being overpaid who aren't quality,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean. So you're happy when you
Speaker 1: see and Aaron Rodgers get his money. We need him
Speaker 1: as long as he can be. We we need time
Speaker 1: as long as we can get him because just as
Speaker 1: a football fan, there's a lot of mediocre play at
Speaker 1: the quarterback position at time. So if you, if you,
Speaker 1: if you have a chance to get a great back,
Speaker 1: we need him back. Thomasin's uh a run got fifty
Speaker 1: got a fifty ball per season, you know what I mean?
Speaker 1: If he getting fifty perceison, how much is Tom Braddy?
Speaker 1: He'll probably end up taking it. You'll probably end up
Speaker 1: taking a discount. So they continue to build around the team.
Speaker 1: Because I don't think it's you know what I mean
Speaker 1: with Tim, It's not the money, you know. I think
Speaker 1: Tim wants to win one more so he'll I mean,
Speaker 1: he probably gonna They're still gonna let him eat. But
Speaker 1: I don't think it's gonna be as high as Rogers
Speaker 1: because I think they're more bit I think his more mindset.
Speaker 1: As you know, this might be my last run. Let's
Speaker 1: get as many pieces around me to win this motherfucking
Speaker 1: super Bowl so I could really retire next year. Jay
Speaker 1: Isabella is the playing worth it when it comes to
Speaker 1: teams fighting for playoffs, spots are ten games under five
Speaker 1: hundred or more, and the plan is going. Like we
Speaker 1: said earlier, the plan. Yeah, I love to play in
Speaker 1: und what the team's records are. The playoffs are all
Speaker 1: about who's getting hout at the right time. But go ahead,
Speaker 1: na you hit you hit it on the head. I'm
Speaker 1: with the playing. We said, it's gonna it's gonna be ill.
Speaker 1: It's gonna be big time basketball. At the end of
Speaker 1: the day, there's gonna be a little desperation with some
Speaker 1: high caliber athletes. That's always good television. So you know
Speaker 1: what I mean. I'm with the playing. I don't know
Speaker 1: the format either, like you said, but whatever it is
Speaker 1: that you know they need to run that, I'm looking
Speaker 1: forward to it. All right, make sure you guys check
Speaker 1: out this week. I've forgotten seasons and we take a
Speaker 1: look back at the two thousand four Los Angeles Lakers
Speaker 1: with Friends of the Program in Bruins Julyannie McCoy and
Speaker 1: Josiah Johnson's They took a lected look at at the
Speaker 1: last year of Shock and Kobe's duo, some of their
Speaker 1: feuds publicly privately. Despite the draping of this team still
Speaker 1: won fifth the six games made it to the finals
Speaker 1: and we're knocked off by the Pistons. You played with
Speaker 1: them and oh two. Just looking back when we talk
Speaker 1: about duos, and you know, obviously Hardening and Beat are
Speaker 1: coming in mind right now, but you've got a chance
Speaker 1: to play with and against arguably one of the greatest
Speaker 1: duels of all time. What comes to mind when you
Speaker 1: think about that Shack and Kobe duo. Man, I wasn't
Speaker 1: on the Chicago teams, but I don't know if Mike
Speaker 1: and Scotty were like the same. We're working in the
Speaker 1: same pot of like Shock and Kobe, But everywhere we
Speaker 1: went to them dudes were like superstars, rock stars, and
Speaker 1: every game they didn't have low management back there. So
Speaker 1: every time we played, unless it was like something bad
Speaker 1: that was gonna affect the playoffs, like Kobe and Shock,
Speaker 1: they showed up in your arena. And you know what
Speaker 1: I mean that everybody hates the Lakers. They got to
Speaker 1: beat the l a chant everywhere they went. You know
Speaker 1: what I mean, We're winning three championships in a rub,
Speaker 1: But I just remember that the fact that they were beefing,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean, At the time, there's only
Speaker 1: a certain amount of stress you can put on two
Speaker 1: outpha males. You know, this is right before being turned
Speaker 1: into Black Mamba, And you know what I mean that
Speaker 1: Shock went his own way, so interesting time. That's what
Speaker 1: the Lakers are built for. You gotta know, if you
Speaker 1: you play for the Lakers, you know when you come
Speaker 1: inside that building, it's drama within within the team, within
Speaker 1: the media. You've got to be really cut out for it.
Speaker 1: So at the same time, I just saw two brothers
Speaker 1: going through it. Brothers go through it, and at the
Speaker 1: end of the day, I know that you know there
Speaker 1: was gonna be back to one at some point. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean, obviously the Laker franchise, it would be a dope,
Speaker 1: like a reality series just to watch and if they're
Speaker 1: just all the curtains were pulled back, and what it's
Speaker 1: like to be a Laker, just the whole absolute dynamic.
Speaker 1: I think it would be dope. Obviously, could have, would have,
Speaker 1: should have? What would have happened if these dudes, you know,
Speaker 1: put egos aside and we're able to play together, you
Speaker 1: know what I mean? That have been unbelievable. Make sure
Speaker 1: you check out Forgotten Seasons on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and
Speaker 1: Google podcasts. We have my Sacramento brethren, the fellow fella Mazzi.
Speaker 1: His episode would dropp this Thursday, March seventeen. Take a
Speaker 1: look at this Upper Cooming episode. Courtside tickets to any
Speaker 1: game in history. All right, So they already had me
Speaker 1: at the Clippers shout out the Clippers didn't put me
Speaker 1: on the court, nigga teen times and they got letter
Speaker 1: Clippers and what I'm saying, uh, but you know I've
Speaker 1: been on court side Sacramento. You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1: I was mad they don't put me on the big screen.
Speaker 1: It was like, wait, hey, nigger nineteen, y'all quit doing that.
Speaker 1: Ship man, one of them guys at them politics. You
Speaker 1: know what I'm saying me, don't do that. Do that.
Speaker 1: But course side course side game in history, any game
Speaker 1: in history. You gotta you gotta shit me on the
Speaker 1: floor with Jordan and them. Yeah, you gotta shot on
Speaker 1: the floor with Jordan and them. Yeah, you got. I
Speaker 1: was around for that. I was, I was paying it.
Speaker 1: You know, I ain't gonna lie. Nick. I wanted to
Speaker 1: play basketball before this rap ship. But I got the
Speaker 1: high school and realized them niggas was Duncan and I
Speaker 1: remember Nigga told me you got handles, Nigga, but your
Speaker 1: jumper off, so he kind of threw the offer there.
Speaker 1: I'm like, I all that, but I thought I was
Speaker 1: hot sauce and that come from the and one era,
Speaker 1: so I thought handles was gonna get me there. I
Speaker 1: thought AI just had handles. I ain't know he had
Speaker 1: thought he was a total package, but not for show.
Speaker 1: But yeah, so yeah, I think I do a Bulls
Speaker 1: gang Bulls. Yeah, I like the Bulls in Utah. Closing thoughts,
Speaker 1: Friend of the program up brother Kevin Garnett has his
Speaker 1: jersey hoisted into the rafters along with so many Boston legends.
Speaker 1: Big story this Ray Allen made an appearance, you know,
Speaker 1: at the reunion for his historical moment. Shout out KG
Speaker 1: uh for that time. I love the fact that Ray
Speaker 1: was able to make it. And I heard there's something
Speaker 1: cooking with KG and Ray for Showtime Basketball. So make
Speaker 1: sure you guys stay locked in Gelannie. Something I'm really
Speaker 1: excited for is Draymond Green's return. It'll be the first
Speaker 1: time we see their Big three play together in three
Speaker 1: years as they take on the Wizards. Uh. Obviously, Draymond's
Speaker 1: health is key for any championship aspirations this team has.
Speaker 1: What are your expectations for this team? If they're able
Speaker 1: to get a healthy Draymond back wise men coming back,
Speaker 1: and all the young talent they've been able to acquire
Speaker 1: since their dynasty run. That's a long as time that
Speaker 1: those three that haven't played together. But you know when
Speaker 1: I hear that, when I hear those three names, I
Speaker 1: hear that song, brothers don't work it out. You know,
Speaker 1: brothers don't work it out out like there neither. That's
Speaker 1: the one thing that like, there's no drama there. Like
Speaker 1: these motherfucker's really like each other and know how important
Speaker 1: each of these guys are to each one of their
Speaker 1: successes and their team success. So I'm excited. Yeah, I'm
Speaker 1: feeling good about it. It's got the old soul brother
Speaker 1: town vibes to it. They're just gonna happen to this
Speaker 1: just gonna happen to go down in the city. So
Speaker 1: I'm here for it. I'm happy for Draymond, I'm happy
Speaker 1: for Clay, I'm happy for step It's time for the
Speaker 1: Worriors to do their things. Absolutely. You can catch What's
Speaker 1: burning available every week on Showtime Basketball YouTube. And on Twitter, Instagram,
Speaker 1: and TikTok at Showtime Basketball. Good work today, bro. We'll
Speaker 1: see y'all next week.