WEBVTT - Dame Time 0:00:00.560 --> 0:00:03.480 On this episode of This League, it is the playboy. 0:00:03.600 --> 0:00:07.320 Marty Flugame, my producer, has pulled a muscle in the 0:00:07.360 --> 0:00:10.080 snow in New York City. We also talk about why 0:00:10.160 --> 0:00:13.240 Damian Lillard deserves an MVP, why he should break the 0:00:13.320 --> 0:00:16.320 mold and pull a Russell Westbrook, why the Lakers are 0:00:16.600 --> 0:00:19.919 in serious trouble with this whole Anthony Davis issue and 0:00:19.960 --> 0:00:22.680 his injury. We also break down, we get into a 0:00:22.680 --> 0:00:26.680 little nerd talk why the Utah Jazz are the best 0:00:26.760 --> 0:00:30.000 bet in all of basketball and why, and we continue 0:00:30.000 --> 0:00:33.840 to answer the backlog of dms from our listeners. Marty, 0:00:33.880 --> 0:00:36.320 I know you go to bed early, Homie. I know, 0:00:36.560 --> 0:00:39.559 I know you do. I know you're in bed night 0:00:39.680 --> 0:00:43.520 night at nine thirty pm. But tell me, please tell 0:00:43.560 --> 0:00:47.519 me you stayed up to watch Damian Lillard cook the 0:00:47.560 --> 0:00:48.559 Pelican Oh I did? 0:00:48.600 --> 0:00:50.560 I mean I live with Ben min so best believe 0:00:50.560 --> 0:00:52.720 I was watching the Pelicans game last night, and that's 0:00:52.800 --> 0:00:55.760 usually just Sundays. Second, I go to sleep early, but yeah, 0:00:55.880 --> 0:00:57.040 definitely watched it. What a game. 0:00:57.600 --> 0:01:00.320 Oh my god, that was maybe one of the best 0:01:00.360 --> 0:01:03.880 Damian Lillard performances I've ever seen in my life. Why 0:01:04.080 --> 0:01:08.080 because it was like we were up. We my team 0:01:08.160 --> 0:01:11.920 new Portland Trailblazers were up, and we're up pretty much 0:01:11.959 --> 0:01:13.560 the entire game, and then all of a sudden, the 0:01:13.600 --> 0:01:17.000 Pelicans just kept hitting threes after threes after threes, and 0:01:17.040 --> 0:01:20.880 it didn't really matter what happened. Damien himself would not 0:01:21.040 --> 0:01:24.240 allow them to come back. And even when the Pelicans 0:01:24.240 --> 0:01:27.400 did come back, it was like he had an answer 0:01:28.040 --> 0:01:31.280 every single time when he really should not have been 0:01:31.319 --> 0:01:31.759 the answer. 0:01:31.959 --> 0:01:32.800 Yep, they were. 0:01:32.720 --> 0:01:36.959 All scheming for him that last second lay up as 0:01:37.080 --> 0:01:39.800 everyone has swarmed around him and he still got the 0:01:39.880 --> 0:01:43.080 an one. Oh my god. Yeah. 0:01:43.080 --> 0:01:44.800 And they were trying everything too. They were trying to 0:01:44.840 --> 0:01:47.840 throw everyone at him and then sometimes trying to you know, 0:01:47.960 --> 0:01:49.680 lay off of him, let other people create, and he 0:01:49.760 --> 0:01:51.520 just it didn't matter. He just cooked it And shout 0:01:51.560 --> 0:01:53.120 out to Gary Trent Junior. He played awesome time. 0:01:53.280 --> 0:01:56.520 I love Gary Trent Junior. And Dame has been to 0:01:56.680 --> 0:01:59.919 me this entire season. He's been balling. And the problem 0:02:00.200 --> 0:02:02.800 though with like we've talked about small market teams in 0:02:02.800 --> 0:02:06.960 the past, like when you're balling and you're playing for 0:02:07.080 --> 0:02:10.240 a team that is not a huge market, it doesn't 0:02:10.240 --> 0:02:13.519 get a lot of national attention unless you're doing something 0:02:14.000 --> 0:02:18.359 incredible like Russell Westbrook did in twenty seventeen. So no 0:02:18.360 --> 0:02:21.960 one has been talking about it until right now. Stephen 0:02:22.000 --> 0:02:24.440 A Smith, I think two days ago, three days ago, 0:02:25.600 --> 0:02:29.120 had to apologize. He went on the air and for 0:02:29.240 --> 0:02:33.080 all of national media, him himself, Mark Spears, he named 0:02:33.080 --> 0:02:35.160 like ten guys. He had to say, listen, we're not 0:02:35.200 --> 0:02:38.359 talking about Damian Lillard nearly enough. We watch him, we're 0:02:38.360 --> 0:02:41.400 impressed by him, but for some reason, we don't give 0:02:41.440 --> 0:02:43.960 him his love. And that ends right now. This is 0:02:44.000 --> 0:02:45.919 what stephen A had to say. What did this say 0:02:45.919 --> 0:02:46.880 about Damian Lillard. 0:02:46.960 --> 0:02:49.920 What it says is that we owe him an apology, 0:02:50.800 --> 0:02:54.239 and the number one person on that list would be me. 0:02:54.960 --> 0:02:57.760 I am a huge fan of Damian Lillard, Dame Tom. 0:02:57.840 --> 0:03:01.320 I believe in it. I always have. The NBA reporters, 0:03:01.639 --> 0:03:05.359 we all know how great Damian lild is. We just 0:03:05.440 --> 0:03:08.880 don't talk about it enough, and we don't talk about 0:03:08.919 --> 0:03:11.400 it so much that we have taken this month for granted, 0:03:12.200 --> 0:03:15.040 and as a result, we find ourselves in a situation 0:03:15.120 --> 0:03:18.800 where it's Lebron, it's Joel Embiid, it's even Steph Curry 0:03:19.040 --> 0:03:22.080 that's in the conversation now, et cetera, et cetera. But 0:03:22.240 --> 0:03:25.440 we lose our way, and I'm gonna put myself at 0:03:25.440 --> 0:03:27.800 the top of the list blaming myself. I'm putting myself 0:03:27.840 --> 0:03:29.919 at the top of the list because I have this platform. 0:03:30.040 --> 0:03:32.320 I have first take two hours every day, and I 0:03:32.320 --> 0:03:34.520 got steven A's World, and I got the NBA with 0:03:34.560 --> 0:03:37.200 steven A and all of this other stuff. And I 0:03:37.280 --> 0:03:40.960 haven't talked about Damian lilland enough number one in the 0:03:41.080 --> 0:03:46.720 NBA since twoenty twelve with clutch points, that is, clutch points. 0:03:46.520 --> 0:03:47.960 Last five seconds of the game. 0:03:48.160 --> 0:03:50.320 Don't get me started with the last five minutes. Don't 0:03:50.320 --> 0:03:52.320 get me started with Dame Tom. Don't get me started 0:03:52.320 --> 0:03:55.080 with him averaging twenty nine and how he's been doing 0:03:55.120 --> 0:03:57.840 that for the last three, four five years, right, and 0:03:57.880 --> 0:03:59.760 he's got Portland fifth in the West, and there is 0:03:59.800 --> 0:04:05.880 no game you know it, No yer, kid, it doesn't 0:04:05.280 --> 0:04:07.240 he does. I don't even know who the hell. 0:04:07.240 --> 0:04:11.080 It doesn't matter, doesn't matter, just brother. 0:04:11.520 --> 0:04:12.440 Damian Lillard. 0:04:13.280 --> 0:04:13.640 Tell me. 0:04:13.800 --> 0:04:17.719 And it's a rhetorical question, but I challenge anybody out 0:04:17.760 --> 0:04:21.440 there to tell me who strikes more fear in you 0:04:22.320 --> 0:04:25.280 when crunched Tom arrives to the ball being in his hands. 0:04:27.040 --> 0:04:29.359 I know he said it was a rhetorical question, but 0:04:29.440 --> 0:04:32.080 I'm gonna ask it again, and it's not rhetorical in 0:04:32.120 --> 0:04:36.200 this particular state. Who strikes more fear in you in 0:04:36.240 --> 0:04:40.520 the last few seconds of the game other than Damian Lillard. 0:04:41.320 --> 0:04:45.320 I mean, the answer is no one. Maybe maybe Lebron 0:04:46.040 --> 0:04:48.839 maybe maybe, because he's so big and he can go 0:04:48.880 --> 0:04:50.919 to the rack and you know someone's probably going to 0:04:50.960 --> 0:04:54.120 foul him. But when you're down three with three seconds 0:04:54.200 --> 0:04:57.960 left on the clock, it's only dame time. It's only daytime. 0:04:58.040 --> 0:04:59.960 Yeah easy. I don't want anyone else tecond Yeah no. 0:05:00.680 --> 0:05:03.360 And I know for a lot of people they say, 0:05:03.440 --> 0:05:06.120 you know, Tristy, you're homer, and I am a homer, 0:05:06.560 --> 0:05:08.960 but this isn't me as a homer talking at all. 0:05:09.080 --> 0:05:10.760 I do love Damian Lillard, but this is one of 0:05:10.800 --> 0:05:15.200 those situations where because it is my hometown, I'm like 0:05:15.320 --> 0:05:21.120 the father of a baseball team, and like my team 0:05:21.320 --> 0:05:25.039 is basically like my son, and I won't I won't 0:05:25.080 --> 0:05:28.920 glorify the Blazers. Ever, I always underrate my team and 0:05:28.960 --> 0:05:30.760 the players on my team because I don't want to 0:05:30.760 --> 0:05:33.360 seem bias and I believe in my heart maybe that's 0:05:33.360 --> 0:05:36.839 what my love and my appreciation is coming from. So 0:05:37.760 --> 0:05:39.720 I mean, I love Damian Liller as a human being. 0:05:39.760 --> 0:05:43.040 I think he's the best player ever to be on 0:05:43.080 --> 0:05:46.120 our franchise. And that's saying a lot with Brandon Roy 0:05:46.200 --> 0:05:48.400 and with Clyde the Glyde, but Dame's gonna go down 0:05:48.440 --> 0:05:53.000 as the greatest Blazer in history. And still with all 0:05:53.040 --> 0:05:58.000 of that, he's underrated. That's crazy. That's crazy. That is 0:05:58.080 --> 0:06:01.720 the truth bomb of it all. Damian Lillard bawling this 0:06:01.800 --> 0:06:05.359 year more than ever, not getting any national attention until now, 0:06:06.320 --> 0:06:08.440 and now it's spilled over to the podium to the 0:06:08.440 --> 0:06:12.200 point where Damian Lillard is saying, hey, guys, Hey, hand up, guys. 0:06:12.520 --> 0:06:16.480 I am I am an MVP candidate. I am playing 0:06:16.680 --> 0:06:19.960 just as good as you would expect from someone who 0:06:20.040 --> 0:06:23.360 wins that award. And here's all of the reasons why. 0:06:23.760 --> 0:06:25.039 The best players win MVP. 0:06:25.720 --> 0:06:27.719 Uh. You know, And I think what you see is 0:06:29.160 --> 0:06:32.599 those players have a heavy load. You know, they they 0:06:32.640 --> 0:06:34.800 take a lot of responsibility and wins and losses for 0:06:34.839 --> 0:06:38.320 their team. And you know, they're the players that are 0:06:39.240 --> 0:06:41.599 showing up night after night, you know, the games that 0:06:41.640 --> 0:06:44.839 are on TV, the game is not on TV. Dealing 0:06:44.880 --> 0:06:47.719 with injuries, you know, all those things, and just putting 0:06:47.760 --> 0:06:52.640 together performances and playing at that level, but also empowering 0:06:52.640 --> 0:06:57.160 the team, you know, giving it, giving the team that's sparking, 0:06:57.320 --> 0:06:59.240 you know, pushing the team to win. 0:06:59.600 --> 0:07:03.880 And I think this year, everything that we've been dealing. 0:07:03.600 --> 0:07:08.799 With with injuries and also playing through my own injuries. 0:07:09.440 --> 0:07:13.080 So I think that's what what what you see in MVPs. 0:07:13.120 --> 0:07:15.720 And you know, obviously I think, you know, I see 0:07:15.760 --> 0:07:18.360 myself as the top of the delete. You know, I'm 0:07:18.360 --> 0:07:21.040 one of the best players in this league, and I 0:07:21.080 --> 0:07:24.840 feel like I'm I'm on that level, and the way 0:07:24.880 --> 0:07:28.480 our team is playing, given our circumstances, makes it even 0:07:28.480 --> 0:07:29.240 more obvious to me. 0:07:30.520 --> 0:07:33.440 That's about as blatant as you're gonna get from Damian Willard. 0:07:33.440 --> 0:07:35.400 I would say he's one of the most humble guys 0:07:35.400 --> 0:07:39.120 in the league, and yet he's like, hey, uh, everyone 0:07:39.160 --> 0:07:42.440 on my team is hurt. Three fifths of our starting 0:07:42.520 --> 0:07:48.280 five are gone, three fifths c J McCollum, Yusuf Nurkic, 0:07:48.680 --> 0:07:52.400 and Zach Collins all. Zach Collins hasn't been around all season, 0:07:52.520 --> 0:07:56.360 hasn't even played one game. Nurkic went out really fast, 0:07:56.360 --> 0:07:59.240 and CJ's missed a ton of games, and still you 0:07:59.280 --> 0:08:01.920 would think at that point, oh my god, Portland should 0:08:02.000 --> 0:08:04.640 have fallen off of Cliff. Portland should be like eleventh 0:08:04.640 --> 0:08:07.680 in the West with just Damian Lillard. And we're not 0:08:07.680 --> 0:08:10.120 gonna call I'm not even gonna say what the rest 0:08:10.160 --> 0:08:12.440 of the players are. I love this team. I think 0:08:12.440 --> 0:08:15.200 it's a very complete team. But you can't miss sixty 0:08:15.200 --> 0:08:17.560 percent of your roster and still be number four in 0:08:17.600 --> 0:08:19.640 the West unless you have an MVP on your team. 0:08:19.720 --> 0:08:20.160 That's true. 0:08:20.160 --> 0:08:22.920 That's big facts. Like so I went and looked at 0:08:22.920 --> 0:08:25.720 how much they were all averaging those three guys to 0:08:25.840 --> 0:08:29.160 the tune of fifty five points missing on a night 0:08:29.200 --> 0:08:32.559 to night basis without them just from the starting lineup, 0:08:32.760 --> 0:08:35.199 and you know what, Portland hasn't missed a step there. 0:08:35.200 --> 0:08:38.719 We are fourth, fourth in the West, fifth in the 0:08:38.800 --> 0:08:41.280 league in scoring at one hundred and fifteen points a game. 0:08:41.720 --> 0:08:45.200 Offensive rating is up there with only the Jazz Box 0:08:45.280 --> 0:08:51.400 Nets and Clippers. Incredible, largely because of how good Damian 0:08:51.440 --> 0:08:54.040 Lillard is as shooting the three. This team is third 0:08:54.160 --> 0:08:56.640 in the league and three pointers taken third in the 0:08:56.720 --> 0:09:00.640 league and three pointers made, fifth highest three point percentage 0:09:00.679 --> 0:09:06.760 in the league, fifth highest free throw percentage in the league. Folks, Folks, 0:09:07.200 --> 0:09:12.760 that is all Damian Lillard. That is him. He is 0:09:12.920 --> 0:09:17.960 giving the rock to Carmelo when he's hot. He's facilitating 0:09:18.000 --> 0:09:20.839 and being a leader in big moments. That is what 0:09:20.880 --> 0:09:24.120 you want from your MVP, averaging thirty eight thirty a game. 0:09:24.320 --> 0:09:28.040 But as as Stephen Haso poignantly pointed out, he is 0:09:28.480 --> 0:09:33.079 lethole at the end of games, more clutch points than 0:09:33.120 --> 0:09:37.040 any other player in the NBA since twenty twelve. Did 0:09:37.040 --> 0:09:37.840 you know that, Marty? 0:09:38.080 --> 0:09:40.280 I did not. That's a pretty it's pretty cool stat 0:09:40.280 --> 0:09:40.520 to have. 0:09:40.840 --> 0:09:46.000 That is a I mean ice water, ice water. Four 0:09:46.080 --> 0:09:49.040 seconds are left on the shot clock and averages fifty 0:09:49.080 --> 0:09:51.959 three percentage from the field and forty eight percent from deep. 0:09:53.480 --> 0:09:57.679 Can we just step back and appreciate that for a second? Sure, Yeah, 0:09:57.760 --> 0:10:00.000 you are not giving my man enough respect. 0:10:00.280 --> 0:10:01.960 I am I actually have him twelve to one to 0:10:01.960 --> 0:10:02.480 win MVP. 0:10:02.960 --> 0:10:04.640 How much money did you put on it? 0:10:04.720 --> 0:10:04.880 Like? 0:10:05.800 --> 0:10:05.920 Not? 0:10:06.080 --> 0:10:07.720 Killer? Yeah you weren't. 0:10:07.760 --> 0:10:09.480 You didn't have enough faith. But it made a big 0:10:09.480 --> 0:10:11.120 difference if he wins it, right? 0:10:11.200 --> 0:10:11.880 Yeah? 0:10:12.000 --> 0:10:16.720 Okay, So here's the problem with MVPs and Damian Lillard 0:10:16.800 --> 0:10:19.120 playing at an MVP level. I don't know if you 0:10:19.200 --> 0:10:21.000 know this, Marny, but I went and did a little 0:10:21.000 --> 0:10:22.280 dig and did a little nerd shit. 0:10:22.559 --> 0:10:22.839 Okay. 0:10:23.480 --> 0:10:28.800 Since two thousand and four, eleven MVPs have had the 0:10:28.840 --> 0:10:33.880 best record in basketball. Okay, thirteen MVPs have come from 0:10:33.920 --> 0:10:38.760 the best team in their conference, three from the second 0:10:38.800 --> 0:10:42.880 best team in their conference. And only one player since 0:10:42.920 --> 0:10:46.960 two thousand and four did not fit that mold. Who 0:10:47.120 --> 0:10:48.280 was that player? 0:10:48.760 --> 0:10:52.560 It sounds a lot like Russell Westbrook twenty seventeen. 0:10:52.640 --> 0:10:56.000 That's it. And do you know why? 0:10:56.240 --> 0:10:58.200 I mean, do I know why he won it? 0:10:58.400 --> 0:10:58.679 Yeah? 0:10:58.720 --> 0:11:00.640 I mean the average triple double took over the story 0:11:00.679 --> 0:11:01.120 pretty much. 0:11:01.440 --> 0:11:04.800 Yeah, the storylines. Yeah. The reason why is exactly that 0:11:05.160 --> 0:11:07.960 when you have forty two triple doubles in a year, 0:11:08.640 --> 0:11:10.720 that gets a lot of attention from the national media, 0:11:10.760 --> 0:11:14.640 doesn't it. It became one of those situations where it 0:11:14.840 --> 0:11:19.600 dominated the storyline at night after night after night for months, 0:11:19.640 --> 0:11:22.120 where it was like, oh my god, is this guy Superman? 0:11:23.360 --> 0:11:26.160 And let's be real, Russell Westbrook was stealing rebounds from 0:11:26.160 --> 0:11:29.360 Steven Adams, like stealing them Steven Adams has gone on 0:11:29.360 --> 0:11:31.800 the record and said, I mean sometimes it would be 0:11:31.840 --> 0:11:33.560 both he and I grabbing the ball and he would 0:11:33.559 --> 0:11:36.240 just take it out of my hands to get the rebound. 0:11:36.400 --> 0:11:36.640 Yep. 0:11:37.679 --> 0:11:40.839 So okay, people start talking about it. They can't help it. 0:11:41.080 --> 0:11:43.840 Steven A's doing it. And then that trickles over to 0:11:43.880 --> 0:11:47.160 Colin Cowherd and then onto undisputed, and you know how 0:11:47.200 --> 0:11:51.560 it goes, right, and then the sheeple effect starts to 0:11:51.640 --> 0:11:56.480 click in and then the public starts to be like, yeah, Ross, Russ, Russ, 0:11:56.800 --> 0:11:58.920 and then that's how you get Russell Westbrook winning MVP. 0:11:59.559 --> 0:12:03.679 But the truth is given how the MVP voting usually goes. 0:12:03.840 --> 0:12:05.040 James Harden should have won that. 0:12:05.400 --> 0:12:06.679 Yeah, I was Team Harden that year. 0:12:06.920 --> 0:12:08.760 He was the lone All Star on one of the 0:12:08.760 --> 0:12:11.880 most efficient offenses in the three point era. He led 0:12:11.920 --> 0:12:15.160 the league in win shares, assists, and points generated by 0:12:15.200 --> 0:12:19.440 his assists. He carried Houston to the NBA's third best record, 0:12:19.679 --> 0:12:22.280 second rank offense, and top ranked three point attack. But 0:12:22.400 --> 0:12:27.800 yet Russell Westbrook, dominating the story lines, finished forty seven 0:12:27.920 --> 0:12:31.199 and thirty five, sixth in the West, tenth best team overall. 0:12:31.559 --> 0:12:35.400 As an anomaly, Why because of just media. 0:12:36.600 --> 0:12:39.720 So Andy brooke a stat that people said forever like, oh, no, 0:12:39.720 --> 0:12:40.920 one's ever gonna do that again. 0:12:40.960 --> 0:12:41.440 That's facts. 0:12:41.480 --> 0:12:41.600 Yea. 0:12:41.840 --> 0:12:43.560 I don't think Dame is going to be able to 0:12:43.600 --> 0:12:46.240 break any anybody's like long standing stat for sure. 0:12:46.360 --> 0:12:47.640 Yeah, well there's not many out there. 0:12:48.120 --> 0:12:50.480 Yeah, I mean where they say stats are meant to 0:12:50.480 --> 0:12:52.720 be records are meant to be broken. Yeah. Yeah, it's 0:12:52.720 --> 0:12:56.360 like that. So, no matter how much the Blazers and 0:12:56.440 --> 0:13:01.880 Dame ball out, Dame has to essentially will this team 0:13:02.240 --> 0:13:05.760 to number two in the West in order for him 0:13:05.800 --> 0:13:10.120 to get consideration. That is brutal. It's going to be very, 0:13:10.360 --> 0:13:14.120 very hard for him to take snatch the MVP trophy 0:13:14.120 --> 0:13:17.280 out of Lebron's hands because Lebron is now back into 0:13:17.320 --> 0:13:19.760 the mix of being in vogue. Of course, I mushed 0:13:19.760 --> 0:13:21.840 that by saying he would never win it prior to 0:13:21.880 --> 0:13:25.120 the season starting. Of course, it doesn't really matter how 0:13:25.120 --> 0:13:28.120 many points, how many forty point games Dame has, or 0:13:28.440 --> 0:13:30.960 if he comes around a screen with two seconds left 0:13:31.000 --> 0:13:33.360 on in the game to win it against the Bulls 0:13:33.440 --> 0:13:37.160 or whoever, unless we keep Dame's name in front and 0:13:37.240 --> 0:13:39.640 center of the media every single Blazer game and that 0:13:39.800 --> 0:13:43.280 is Trista Criok's job from now on out. I am 0:13:43.360 --> 0:13:47.079 going to be insufferable about this because if anyone deserves 0:13:47.080 --> 0:13:50.520 an MVP like Russell Westbrook got it, it's Dame. And 0:13:50.559 --> 0:13:54.000 to be honest, I don't know if you're gonna believe 0:13:54.000 --> 0:13:57.800 me or agree with me about this, Marty, but this roster, 0:13:58.520 --> 0:14:03.040 this Portland Trailblaze twenty twenty one roster, without NRK, without 0:14:03.400 --> 0:14:08.720 Zach Collins, without CJ. McCollum, is significantly worse than the 0:14:08.720 --> 0:14:11.920 OKC roster that Russell Westbrook was playing on. Let me 0:14:12.080 --> 0:14:15.480 just give you some of the names, some guys that 0:14:15.760 --> 0:14:18.840 you might be familiar with. Jeremy Grant was on that team. 0:14:19.040 --> 0:14:23.000 Victor Oladipo was on that team, Demontis Sabonis was on 0:14:23.080 --> 0:14:26.040 that team, and his canter on that team. Steven Adams 0:14:26.080 --> 0:14:29.480 was on that team. So Dame is doing more because 0:14:29.520 --> 0:14:31.400 he's fourth in the West, not sixth in the West, 0:14:32.000 --> 0:14:36.640 doing more with a lot less. What Dame does for 0:14:36.720 --> 0:14:40.480 his team in this small ass market that would never 0:14:41.160 --> 0:14:45.920 ever ever attract him unless we drafted him is something 0:14:45.920 --> 0:14:49.040 that I think every fan, casual or not, should take 0:14:49.080 --> 0:14:52.440 notice of, appreciate, and really say, you know, Portland, you 0:14:52.480 --> 0:14:54.880 really just don't deserve this. Be happy with what you get. 0:14:55.080 --> 0:14:58.000 You're probably never getting a championship, but that's okay because 0:14:58.040 --> 0:15:01.480 you have Damian Lillard. Who does that remind you of Marty? 0:15:02.960 --> 0:15:03.760 Uh? 0:15:03.920 --> 0:15:06.280 Doesn't remind me of really anyone right off the top, 0:15:06.320 --> 0:15:07.720 So why don't you tell me yours? 0:15:08.040 --> 0:15:12.520 I think it's Kevin Garnett KG. All right, loyal drafted 0:15:12.520 --> 0:15:14.480 by a small market team that was never gonna win 0:15:14.520 --> 0:15:18.840 a chip, put up MVP numbers on the regular, didn't 0:15:18.840 --> 0:15:23.200 get the respect. But then when the Wolves didn't put 0:15:23.240 --> 0:15:25.320 winning pieces around and he was like, yeah, I gotta 0:15:26.080 --> 0:15:26.640 I gotta go. 0:15:26.960 --> 0:15:27.840 He gave him a lot of time. 0:15:28.000 --> 0:15:30.680 He gave him a lot of time, a lot of time, 0:15:30.720 --> 0:15:34.080 and he was sick. Oh, oh my god, was he sick. 0:15:34.480 --> 0:15:38.400 But the difference, and this is why Damian Lillard is 0:15:38.400 --> 0:15:41.200 is my probably my favorite player in the NBA is 0:15:41.200 --> 0:15:44.520 because Damian Lillard is no KG. He is going to 0:15:44.560 --> 0:15:48.240 stay in Portland for his entire career unless Portland pulls 0:15:48.280 --> 0:15:50.160 a snake move and trades him. 0:15:50.560 --> 0:15:50.680 Uh. 0:15:50.800 --> 0:15:53.120 He was just on the Million Dollars Worth the Game podcast, 0:15:53.120 --> 0:15:55.280 which is in the Barceol Network as well, here's what 0:15:55.320 --> 0:15:56.920 he said. It was just phenomenal. 0:15:57.600 --> 0:15:59.160 I think that's why you see a lot of players 0:15:59.240 --> 0:16:02.560 jumping teams, teaming up with other players because the pressure 0:16:02.600 --> 0:16:04.680 of the media and like the standard that they putting 0:16:04.720 --> 0:16:06.480 out there, like oh, this person don't got a ring, 0:16:06.520 --> 0:16:09.200 and like how they talk crazy to Charles Barkley on 0:16:09.280 --> 0:16:12.240 TV like he ain't Charles Barkley because he didn't win 0:16:12.240 --> 0:16:15.360 a ring, so like you would like that. It's forcing 0:16:15.520 --> 0:16:17.360 dudes to be like, well, I'm gonna go play with 0:16:17.400 --> 0:16:19.160 this person or if I get with this person. But 0:16:19.240 --> 0:16:21.720 to me, like, if that's what they want to do, 0:16:21.760 --> 0:16:23.800 then I'm I don't got no problem with it, like 0:16:24.360 --> 0:16:27.000 it's whatever. But for me personally, that's just not something 0:16:27.040 --> 0:16:28.920 I can do. Like I'd rather go out there and 0:16:29.520 --> 0:16:31.840 put my best foot forward and lose before I do that, 0:16:31.880 --> 0:16:33.600 because I know I can win if I do that. 0:16:33.680 --> 0:16:35.440 Oh my god, we're supposed to win. 0:16:35.360 --> 0:16:36.760 If we all get on the same team and we 0:16:36.840 --> 0:16:38.880 the best players, like, we supposed to win, So you 0:16:38.880 --> 0:16:42.040 would never do it. I would never do that. I mean, 0:16:42.080 --> 0:16:44.040 now I don't control like if the team decide to 0:16:44.040 --> 0:16:45.840 trade me somewhere, and you know what, I'm saying I 0:16:46.080 --> 0:16:49.520 can't control that, but it ain't. It ain't for me 0:16:49.600 --> 0:16:50.480 to just be like, all right, I. 0:16:50.440 --> 0:16:56.120 Want to go fine, so wow, Dame's never gonna chase 0:16:56.120 --> 0:16:59.400 a ring. He's never gonna run from the grind like 0:16:59.480 --> 0:17:04.080 Paul Joey George Ricochet shot to Paul George. He's never 0:17:04.240 --> 0:17:06.440 going to form a super team. He's going to stay 0:17:06.440 --> 0:17:10.360 in Portland and grind it out. He's gonna do as 0:17:10.440 --> 0:17:12.560 much as anybody can in the league to try to 0:17:12.600 --> 0:17:14.960 win a title. But he knows that there's a great 0:17:15.080 --> 0:17:17.840 chance he's probably never going to and he knows it's 0:17:17.840 --> 0:17:20.119 going to affect his legacy, and he knows people are 0:17:20.119 --> 0:17:22.240 gonna shit talk him when he leaves the league because 0:17:22.240 --> 0:17:24.439 he never won a ring most likely. And you know what, 0:17:24.960 --> 0:17:31.840 he doesn't care. This dude is solid. Is there anyone 0:17:31.880 --> 0:17:35.879 more solid? I don't know, unwavering, unbreakable, not going to 0:17:35.920 --> 0:17:38.880 succumb to the storylines in the way of the new 0:17:38.920 --> 0:17:42.760 wave of the NBA, and what everybody's doing doesn't matter 0:17:42.840 --> 0:17:46.520 if he's playing with fans, no fans on National TV 0:17:46.760 --> 0:17:49.200 on a Tuesday, on a Saturday night in the bubble. 0:17:49.240 --> 0:17:53.719 Out of the bubble, this dude is unflappable, unreal and 0:17:53.880 --> 0:17:58.960 all the time on time, Dame time. And so if 0:17:58.960 --> 0:18:01.000 there was this is my point to all of this, 0:18:01.119 --> 0:18:04.600 to there's Damian Lillard's soliloquy, if there was ever a 0:18:04.680 --> 0:18:08.159 year where you would step outside of the traditional bubble 0:18:08.880 --> 0:18:12.040 no pun intended, and the traditional way of giving out 0:18:12.080 --> 0:18:17.119 an MVP and actually give the award to the player 0:18:17.119 --> 0:18:21.440 who's truly the most valuable to their franchise, lifts them 0:18:21.440 --> 0:18:24.280 and elevates them, not just the best player on the 0:18:24.320 --> 0:18:27.719 best team. It's got to be twenty twenty one, and 0:18:27.760 --> 0:18:30.680 that's got to be Damian Lillard. I know I'm biased, 0:18:31.119 --> 0:18:33.480 but I think Dame should be this year's MVP. I've 0:18:33.520 --> 0:18:38.959 had I've torn my achilles before, I've torn my calf before. 0:18:40.400 --> 0:18:42.920 I mean, it's not good. Yeah, I'm injury. I've got 0:18:42.960 --> 0:18:45.400 some injuries. Playing basketball is a dirty game. 0:18:45.480 --> 0:18:47.560 Achilles sounds horrible. That sounds like the most painful thing 0:18:47.560 --> 0:18:48.280 I could imagine. 0:18:48.320 --> 0:18:51.040 You know what's crazy about an achilles pop? It was 0:18:51.080 --> 0:18:53.080 a partial tear, So I'm not like a real hard 0:18:53.160 --> 0:18:55.440 rock I've got my achilles tear in a pair of 0:18:55.520 --> 0:18:58.359 Kobe's which is very very funny, Like two years before 0:18:58.440 --> 0:19:03.640 Kobe tour his his achilles. So it's painful. The pop comes, 0:19:03.800 --> 0:19:07.800 you hear the pop, you don't feel anything, and then 0:19:07.840 --> 0:19:10.960 your whole body goes hot and cold, you get nauseous, 0:19:10.960 --> 0:19:14.800 and then the pain floods in. Right, Oh, it's bad. 0:19:15.520 --> 0:19:21.480 So I've had tendonitis. I've never ever ever had tendonosis though, 0:19:21.600 --> 0:19:25.320 And there's a huge difference between tendonitis and tendonosis. This 0:19:25.359 --> 0:19:30.680 is a nerd episode. This is a nerd episode, all right, 0:19:31.200 --> 0:19:34.240 So let's get get it. Let's break it down. I'm 0:19:34.400 --> 0:19:38.520 really really interested and fascinated with soft tissue and how 0:19:38.520 --> 0:19:41.600 the body moves and how that actually translates into guys 0:19:41.600 --> 0:19:44.919 getting injured and how guys end up being have longevity 0:19:44.920 --> 0:19:47.520 of the league, like like you know, Lebron. So the 0:19:47.560 --> 0:19:54.439 difference is this, Tendonitis is inflammation of the tendon right right. 0:19:54.720 --> 0:20:02.080 Tendonosis is a degenerative condition in the tendon, meaning it 0:20:02.200 --> 0:20:07.640 breaks down over time, often irreversible and involving some sort 0:20:07.680 --> 0:20:10.159 of loss of function. Right. So it's something that doesn't 0:20:10.200 --> 0:20:13.199 get better, It only gets worse. You can manage it, 0:20:13.440 --> 0:20:17.640 but you will never fully recover. Film me. Yeah, sure, 0:20:17.800 --> 0:20:23.440 So Anthony Davis has tendonosis. He has a degenerative problem 0:20:23.520 --> 0:20:26.640 in his achilles tendon that he's had for a while now. 0:20:27.080 --> 0:20:28.840 He had it in the playoffs, you know for sure, 0:20:29.000 --> 0:20:31.399 he missed some games. You could see that he was 0:20:31.400 --> 0:20:35.080 struggling with it. He also has a little bit of 0:20:35.160 --> 0:20:39.639 an issue near his heel and that's where there's like 0:20:39.680 --> 0:20:42.320 a strain. This is according to some soft tissue experts 0:20:42.359 --> 0:20:45.840 that I spoke to. And now what we know is 0:20:45.880 --> 0:20:49.399 that Ad also has a calf strain. He has a 0:20:49.400 --> 0:20:54.879 calf strain and an achilles issue, two different parts of 0:20:54.880 --> 0:20:58.959 the body conflicting against one another, putting a lot of 0:20:59.000 --> 0:21:03.359 strain on the achilles itself. Does that remind you of anyone, 0:21:04.040 --> 0:21:10.800 oh God, who left the playoffs with a calf strain 0:21:11.600 --> 0:21:16.159