Speaker 1: Welcome into what's burning. I'm here with Matt Barnes. And
Speaker 1: Matt my plan today was to come in and not
Speaker 1: speak to you because UCLA beat Northwestern in the NCAA
Speaker 1: tournament over the weekend. But it's only the two of us,
Speaker 1: so that plan actually seems kind of shoddy. I'm still
Speaker 1: very sad though, Rachel. I mean, you guys had a
Speaker 1: brief chance. I mean, you guys had a nice, valiant
Speaker 1: effort half, but you already kind of knew what the
Speaker 1: outcome was gonna. We'll be all right. I hope I
Speaker 1: had hope in that second half. Your voice came out
Speaker 1: tight in the first half, and then we dug our away.
Speaker 1: We caught our way back and it wasn't enough, which
Speaker 1: is kind of the story of my life as a
Speaker 1: fan of Northwestern sports teams. But you know, we got
Speaker 1: back to the tournament second time ever, and I was
Speaker 1: very proud of those boys. So I'm give them a
Speaker 1: little shout out. And you have a sweet sixteen prediction
Speaker 1: for your guys. I mean, Gonzaga, you know we've had
Speaker 1: a you know, I can call it a rivalry, but
Speaker 1: we faced each other enough, and you know, they knocked
Speaker 1: us out in the National Championship a few years ago.
Speaker 1: So obviously health is going to be a big part
Speaker 1: us as it is in the NBA. But definitely looking
Speaker 1: forward to all Right, we'll see what happens. Let's talk
Speaker 1: about MBA in the meantime. John Morant, my friend, is
Speaker 1: expected to play in the Grizzlies game against the Rockets
Speaker 1: on Wednesday night. He was actually eligible to play on
Speaker 1: Monday night, but it has been a while since his
Speaker 1: last game. It was all the way back on March third,
Speaker 1: and the team thought he needed just a little bit
Speaker 1: more conditioning, so instead he was courtside. He did get
Speaker 1: a really nice standing ovation though from the crowdy at
Speaker 1: a nice moment with Kyrie Irving after the game. Matt,
Speaker 1: what do you expect going forward with job? Because Jaren
Speaker 1: Jackson Junior told The Athletic the jaw is quote about
Speaker 1: to come back and run the league. Oh, I believe it.
Speaker 1: I believe the league should be on notice now. I
Speaker 1: think he obviously had a lapse of judgment. Again, I
Speaker 1: don't judge a twenty three old a millionaire too harshly
Speaker 1: because there a few people can speak to what it's
Speaker 1: like to have that kind of money, power and control.
Speaker 1: So I think he had to come back down to
Speaker 1: earth a little bit. He took some personal time, which
Speaker 1: is always important, but I expect him to be a
Speaker 1: minister society in a good way on the court. I
Speaker 1: expect him to come back with a lot of energy.
Speaker 1: You think about it, it was, you know, a two
Speaker 1: and a half week break, someone who's logged a lot
Speaker 1: of menace this season, but a great point of energy
Speaker 1: art And I hope he comes back to not only
Speaker 1: a warm welcome in Memphis, but just around the league
Speaker 1: because I think he's so instrumental to this league as
Speaker 1: far as one of the young up and coming future
Speaker 1: faces of the league. Yeah, I hope so too, and
Speaker 1: I think he will. I mean, this kid did not
Speaker 1: commit a crime against humanity. He made some bad judgment
Speaker 1: errors and certainly took a few weeks to get his
Speaker 1: head straight. Hopefully made some significant changes in the way
Speaker 1: he sort of behaves, runs his life, makes choices about
Speaker 1: who he hangs out with, and maybe it's a wake
Speaker 1: up call that is preventing more negative incident from happening
Speaker 1: in the future. So all those things I think we
Speaker 1: can actually look at as a positive of what Jah
Speaker 1: has been going through and doing over the past couple
Speaker 1: of weeks. I do wonder, and I just don't know
Speaker 1: this because I've never been a professional basketball player. So
Speaker 1: much of his game is based on confidence, right, I mean,
Speaker 1: he's been one of the most confident guys in the league.
Speaker 1: Do you think anything that's happened with him in the
Speaker 1: last month or so will take a little bit of
Speaker 1: the window out of his sales or do you think
Speaker 1: he's going to come back exactly the same kind of guy. Well,
Speaker 1: I think one thing he'll never lack is confidence, and
Speaker 1: I think I agree with you that that's what makes
Speaker 1: him so great. He truly believes every night he steps
Speaker 1: on the floor, he's the best player on the floor,
Speaker 1: and that's how he should think, because the majority of
Speaker 1: the night he is. So I definitely don't think he'll
Speaker 1: lack in confidence. I don't even think he'll be rusty.
Speaker 1: I mean, this is a young twenty three year old
Speaker 1: kid again, with plenty of energy, and I'm excited to
Speaker 1: see what he does the rest of the way. Well,
Speaker 1: I mentioned that athletic story where Jaren Jackson was quoted.
Speaker 1: Here's another interesting detail. We know there have been, of course,
Speaker 1: a number of incidents with Morant prior to this latest one,
Speaker 1: and that in an effort to keep Jah out of
Speaker 1: further trouble. Even before he left for the suspension, the
Speaker 1: Grizzlies had already started changing their travel schedule to quote
Speaker 1: curtail nightlife habits, with the Grizzlies flying out of more
Speaker 1: road cities, especially the glitzier ones like Miami, immediately after
Speaker 1: the game instead of staying overnight. Now, Matt, those overnights
Speaker 1: in Miami, I happen to know you took advantage of
Speaker 1: some of those to have a little fun. I've heard
Speaker 1: you tell the stories. What do you think when you
Speaker 1: hear this? I mean I giggle initially from a standpoint
Speaker 1: of obviously this is a serious matter, But I mean
Speaker 1: that's a part of the best part of being in
Speaker 1: the NBA is being able to hang out in the
Speaker 1: er cities, whether it be off night or after a
Speaker 1: game or whatever the situation is. But I think Memphis
Speaker 1: understands the importance of, you know, putting him, not putting
Speaker 1: him in a situation where he can mess up or
Speaker 1: misstep again, because not only is he important for his team,
Speaker 1: but he's important for the league. So if I'm a teammate,
Speaker 1: I'm a little disappointed, but I also understand the bigger picture.
Speaker 1: You know, this team very talented and have aspirations of
Speaker 1: being an NBA champion, and you want to eliminate for
Speaker 1: the for the shortcoming. You want eliminate, you know, any
Speaker 1: obstacles they may be sitting there and obviously you know,
Speaker 1: hanging out after in New York or Miami. I mean,
Speaker 1: he found something to do in Denver, and that's kind
Speaker 1: of hard to do. So I think they just kind
Speaker 1: of want to eliminate any possible miss this season. And
Speaker 1: you know, I doubt next season they'll do the same thing.
Speaker 1: But right now, it's all about business, and I get it.
Speaker 1: It kind of reminds me of the Lakers, you know,
Speaker 1: had you know, NBA teams used to long ago had
Speaker 1: beer in the locker room after games. And when Kobe
Speaker 1: Bryant got to the Lakers, he was very famously underage, right,
Speaker 1: came straight out of high school, and they had to
Speaker 1: get rid of the beer in the locker room postgame
Speaker 1: because Kobe was on the team, and that actually caused
Speaker 1: some resentment among the older teammates. I think, as you
Speaker 1: point out, Jazz tighter with the guys on this team,
Speaker 1: and I think they'll be a little bit more understanding.
Speaker 1: But does make me think a little bit back in
Speaker 1: the day, did you have beer in the locker room
Speaker 1: when you played at all? Or did that already pass
Speaker 1: before you left? Where we got there, I was that old,
Speaker 1: so yeah, it was still there. I mean smiling to
Speaker 1: the store. I mean, if they're taking the beer out
Speaker 1: and Kybe brought championships, if that means them flying out
Speaker 1: of cities early and I'm bringing them championships, I'm sure
Speaker 1: they'll they'll they'll take that as well. Absolutely all right.
Speaker 1: Before we leave the topic at the Grizzlies, we have
Speaker 1: to discuss Dylan Brooks. You know, earlier this month when
Speaker 1: Memphis played Dallas, Brooks said this about Kyrie Irving. He said, quote,
Speaker 1: I can't wait to pick him up full every time
Speaker 1: and see him get exhausted. Then we get to Monday night,
Speaker 1: because Memphis and Dallas have played like a hundred games
Speaker 1: in the last three weeks. I can't even keep track
Speaker 1: of how many games they've played. But they did play
Speaker 1: again on Monday night. Kyrie came out hot, scored nine
Speaker 1: points in the first quarter, largely guarded by Brooks, and
Speaker 1: they cameras even picked up Kyrie turning to Brooks at
Speaker 1: one point and saying, quote, keep playing that dumbass defense.
Speaker 1: So then we get to the third quarter of this game,
Speaker 1: Dylan Brooks trips Kyrie. Now, the Mavericks said Kyrie was
Speaker 1: not seriously injured. He stayed in the game, but he
Speaker 1: did struggle the rest of the way. He was even
Speaker 1: in a walking boot matt afterward as a precaution, they said. Meanwhile,
Speaker 1: after the buzzer sounds, Brooks still walks up to Kyrie
Speaker 1: and tries to do a jersey swap. Kyrie dig hand
Speaker 1: Brooks's jersey. Kyrie had already taken his jersey off like
Speaker 1: he does after every game, but he just kind of
Speaker 1: ghosted Dylan. He wouldn't take his jersey. He kept walking.
Speaker 1: Kyrie later said that he didn't mean it is disrespect.
Speaker 1: He was just looking for a job. But what do
Speaker 1: you make of the fact that Dylan was talking that
Speaker 1: talk and then try to swap jerseys with kai And
Speaker 1: then Kaya was like, yeah, never mind, classic classic Brooks.
Speaker 1: You know, had love him. He's carved out a niche
Speaker 1: for himself and he's an important part at Memphis Grizzlies team,
Speaker 1: and guys around the league may not like him, but
Speaker 1: I think they respect his efforts because he's going out there,
Speaker 1: he's playing hard, you know, for the most part, outside
Speaker 1: of getting testco fouls, you know, he makes winning plays.
Speaker 1: So I'm sure there's a sour taste in the league
Speaker 1: about someone like him who has so much to say
Speaker 1: that hasn't accomplished much. But I think that's what this
Speaker 1: memphit steam kind of is about. You know, this is
Speaker 1: a team, is a young, very confident team, feels like
Speaker 1: they're the best in the world. And I have no
Speaker 1: issue with that. Just you know what I mean, you
Speaker 1: have to show me you have to be solid and
Speaker 1: the rec then you know, when the real lights turn
Speaker 1: on off time, that's when you have to back your
Speaker 1: talking up. So um, I thought it was hilarious that
Speaker 1: the Kyrie didn't take the jersey again. I mean's just
Speaker 1: out the lot and if for an NBA, you know,
Speaker 1: someone might have to you know, check that, but it's
Speaker 1: you know the league now is that on his mouth?
Speaker 1: And to me, I just you know, he has to
Speaker 1: continue to back up his talking with solid play and
Speaker 1: his team's ability to win when it matters the most.
Speaker 1: Do you think that this is going to hurt like
Speaker 1: because Dylan's kind of picked it guys on multiple multiple teams.
Speaker 1: It's not just Draymond Green, It's not just Kyrie. There's
Speaker 1: guys kind of across the league that he sort of
Speaker 1: started stuff with. He's going to be a free agent.
Speaker 1: Do you think this is going to hurt his bag
Speaker 1: at all? I don't necessarily because again, I mean, his
Speaker 1: numbers are what they are. I think he's, you know,
Speaker 1: with the tenders in the league, and I was who,
Speaker 1: you know, may rub people the wrong soon as I
Speaker 1: got in that locker room. Guy's love out there talking
Speaker 1: as much as he was. I was more with the um.
Speaker 1: But you know, there was a there was kind of
Speaker 1: a stigma on me that you know, I hated to
Speaker 1: play against him, love to have him on the team.
Speaker 1: So hopefully that'll be his stigma because the kid can
Speaker 1: definitely and I like it. I like it. I don't
Speaker 1: know if I would have liked it if he was
Speaker 1: an opponent. You know, I probably would have had to
Speaker 1: say something to do something. You gotta shut that mouth up,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean. So until you can beat them,
Speaker 1: consistently or knock them out of the playoffs or give
Speaker 1: them not a reason to talk. He's gonna talk, and
Speaker 1: even if you do give this talk, he'll probably still
Speaker 1: talk again. This is kind of just who that Memphis
Speaker 1: the team is, and I know he's an important asset
Speaker 1: to that team. So I like what he does for
Speaker 1: his team. I love it as a fan. I mean, look,
Speaker 1: I'm not on the other end of his chirpings, but
Speaker 1: so it's easy for me to sit on the couch
Speaker 1: and say, or sit courtside and say, oh, this is fun,
Speaker 1: but it's so much fun. Like it's so much fun
Speaker 1: to watch this entire Grizzlies team and just sort of
Speaker 1: their confidence, as you said, like I mean, I don't know,
Speaker 1: I think we need more of that kind of stuff.
Speaker 1: The NBA is a sport. Sports are fun. Like, let's
Speaker 1: not take all of this too seriously. I love watching
Speaker 1: the Grizzlies mouth off and kind of go do their thing,
Speaker 1: and I think we need a little more of that
Speaker 1: in the NBA. So I'm all for it. I am
Speaker 1: interested to see how many enemies Dylan Brooks makes or
Speaker 1: whether it's kind of like as you said, like you
Speaker 1: I mean you're a guy that got so much respect
Speaker 1: from other players for the exact reason that you're talking about.
Speaker 1: So we'll have to see if he can pull that
Speaker 1: off as well. I don't know, it's interesting when you
Speaker 1: look at me amphis the go ahead. No, I was
Speaker 1: gonna say, it's just you know, because it's double pronged now, Rachel,
Speaker 1: because now you want to see what he does if
Speaker 1: he come back it up on the corp. I mean
Speaker 1: you also want to hear what kind of wild shit
Speaker 1: he's gonna say in portside or in the lock. I was,
Speaker 1: you know, his little chests hair out with the with
Speaker 1: the no shirt on. So he's again he's creating a
Speaker 1: niche in for himself in this league. And I respect it,
Speaker 1: love it, love it. I Mean it's interesting too when
Speaker 1: you look at Memphis because all the drama. Look, if
Speaker 1: it's a distraction, that's one thing. But the drama has
Speaker 1: not really affected them on the court. They're still the
Speaker 1: number two team in the West. I think they've won
Speaker 1: three in a row as we sit here. Of course,
Speaker 1: the West is a very flawed conference right now. Overall,
Speaker 1: there are plenty of nights. It seems like nobody would
Speaker 1: like to win a basketball game. Memphis is strong. The
Speaker 1: Kings obviously have been steady. We've seen other teams. They'll
Speaker 1: kind of go up and down. If I asked you
Speaker 1: right now, hey, Matt, who is the best team in
Speaker 1: the West, not on paper where injuries don't exist, but
Speaker 1: just in reality, who is the team you would put
Speaker 1: your money on right now? Which team would that be?
Speaker 1: I wouldn't put my money on a team in the West.
Speaker 1: I put my money on a team in the Beats
Speaker 1: because I just feel like the West is literally you
Speaker 1: look at the top three seed them for Memphis and Sacramento,
Speaker 1: they don't have very much playoff history, actual core. You
Speaker 1: can see then the Western Finals in the bubble, but
Speaker 1: that's just a little different kind of situations. So to me,
Speaker 1: as as much as I like or respect Yo Kitchen,
Speaker 1: as much as I love O see, you know working
Speaker 1: for the Kings'm out here in I love together, Rachel.
Speaker 1: So we know the most important thing in the playoffs
Speaker 1: is experience. So then when you come to experience, you
Speaker 1: look at teams that are lower than those seas. So
Speaker 1: you look at the Clippers, who's made a Western Conference
Speaker 1: final run and have a Kawhi Leonard who's won two
Speaker 1: finals MVPs. You look at Golden State, who has the
Speaker 1: most experience in this you know, in the league. You
Speaker 1: look at Phoenix Suns, and if Kevin Durant can come
Speaker 1: back healthy, Devin Booker has been on a terror, Chris
Speaker 1: Paul's a per floor general still though he's a little
Speaker 1: bit older. Uh, they're tough. And then if you look
Speaker 1: to me, I would I'm someone crazy enough to think
Speaker 1: that if lebron can get healthy, no one wants to
Speaker 1: see the Lakers at a one eight or two seven.
Speaker 1: I don't care who you are. So there's team the
Speaker 1: most experience in championship peder Bee towards the bottom. These
Speaker 1: new teams up at the top don't have very much experience.
Speaker 1: So to answer your question, I couldn't really put my
Speaker 1: money on anybody. I mean, it takes the you know,
Speaker 1: the right time to get hot and make a run
Speaker 1: and then health, and and that can be from anyone
Speaker 1: from Sacramento to Memphis to Denver to the teams I
Speaker 1: just mentioned to, you know, Sacramento, Denver and Memphis possibly
Speaker 1: getting bumped in the first round because there's quality seven, six, seven,
Speaker 1: eight seeds. So I'm really excited about the Western Conference.
Speaker 1: There's no clear cut teams in the Eastern Conference. You
Speaker 1: can clearly say that Milwaukee and Boston, and I think
Speaker 1: Philadelphia has played theirself in that top tier in the
Speaker 1: in the Eastern Conference. But in the Western it's literally
Speaker 1: a shootout every single night. You know, Denver's wet five
Speaker 1: and five in their last ten. You know they're they're
Speaker 1: they're in you know, Jeopardy, you're falling out that number
Speaker 1: one seed. I think they have a three game lead.
Speaker 1: So I love the West like this. I think it's
Speaker 1: more competitive and I think we're all going to be
Speaker 1: surprised who comes out the West, and I don't think
Speaker 1: anyone can really painpoint who that is at this point.
Speaker 1: I'm curious what you said about the Lebron thing, because look,
Speaker 1: any Lebron James Anthony Davis team, and they've got more
Speaker 1: shooting around those guys now and after the trade deadline
Speaker 1: and all that. But with Lebron, even if he does
Speaker 1: make it back, and the Lakers gave an injury update
Speaker 1: on Monday saying, you know, it sounded more hopeful that
Speaker 1: he was going to be back by the end of
Speaker 1: the regular season. Even so, don't you think that his
Speaker 1: conditioning and it's been a while, don't you think that
Speaker 1: the conditioning and kind of just having been away is
Speaker 1: going to be an issue. You're not worried about that
Speaker 1: at all, you know, with technology now, Rachel, I'm sure
Speaker 1: he's probably been on that underwater treadmill trying to keep
Speaker 1: his cardio up or on the bike. And obviously you
Speaker 1: can't late NBA movement, you just can't. But I mean,
Speaker 1: he's someone who is professional, and it's I'm kind of
Speaker 1: sad from a standpoint of just being such a fan
Speaker 1: of him that you know, normally this guy is someone
Speaker 1: who sprains his ankle. His ankle bone will hit the
Speaker 1: ground and he'll tighten and shoots up and jump right
Speaker 1: back up. You know, we're starting to see just Lebron
Speaker 1: get old, what's coming to an end. So as a fan,
Speaker 1: I'm sad. I'm sad for that. We know we don't
Speaker 1: have too much more time with him. But again, I
Speaker 1: think conditioning could be an issue. But I wouldn't say, hey,
Speaker 1: they're gonna lose because Lebron's not in shape or Lebron
Speaker 1: has no wind. I think they did a great job
Speaker 1: of bringing quality pieces in and putting role players that
Speaker 1: can be stars in their role around Lebron and Inded.
Speaker 1: But all this is predicated upon those two guys health.
Speaker 1: But if those guys are healthy enough to be out
Speaker 1: there on the floor, I mean, I think they're a
Speaker 1: scary matchup of at seven or eight for a number
Speaker 1: one or two seats. Well, it's gonna be interesting with them.
Speaker 1: It's gonna be interesting with the Warriors. I just want
Speaker 1: to give a quick shout. The Warriors won a road
Speaker 1: game on Monday night. Yea. It was against Houston, the
Speaker 1: worst team in the Western count friends, and it stopped
Speaker 1: an eleven game road skid for Golden State. We'll probably
Speaker 1: address that as we go forward more, but hey, they
Speaker 1: did it so wonderful. I do want to get back
Speaker 1: to the Kings, because you are up in Sack right now.
Speaker 1: Literally have the best offense ever right now. Their O
Speaker 1: rating is one nineteen point four. Very impressive. Also, you
Speaker 1: do have to put this into a little context though,
Speaker 1: because if you look at the twenty teams with the
Speaker 1: best offensive ratings in history, they have all played in
Speaker 1: the last four seasons. Matt, I mean, are we at
Speaker 1: the point with the way the rules have changed the
Speaker 1: three point shot all that. Should we just actually stop
Speaker 1: comparing current teams and stats to historical teams because I
Speaker 1: keep hearing people like, oh my god, King's best offense ever,
Speaker 1: everything changed. I mean it's hard to it's hard to
Speaker 1: know what ground you're standing on. I mean, Rachel, this
Speaker 1: is like, what is it the juice ball era for baseball?
Speaker 1: You know what I mean, where statistically it's hard to do.
Speaker 1: You know what I mean? That baseball was dead and
Speaker 1: they started juicing the balls and juicing themselves and turned
Speaker 1: it into something that we've never seen from a baby.
Speaker 1: So I think it is a little I wouldn't say
Speaker 1: asterisk because you don't diffn't want to disrespect what guys
Speaker 1: are doing. But it's just a different game. The pace,
Speaker 1: the number, the lack of physicality on the defensive end,
Speaker 1: the freedom of movement on the offensive end. It's really
Speaker 1: hard to go out there and play defense, especially with
Speaker 1: these weak ass refs. So um, hats off to the
Speaker 1: Kings and everyone else that that that is really doing things.
Speaker 1: But we also know, you know, no matter how high
Speaker 1: your offensive ratings, you have to be able to play
Speaker 1: defense to win championships. And I think that's something that
Speaker 1: the Kings are starting to understand. As you know, this
Speaker 1: team is a tremendous offensive juggernaut, but lack defense until
Speaker 1: the fourth quarter. So I think if they started understanding,
Speaker 1: we got to start playing defense when the game starts. Uh.
Speaker 1: You know, Sacramento can makes some noise in and although
Speaker 1: they're a high seed, you know, I think as they
Speaker 1: advanced it would be kind of a surprise to a
Speaker 1: lot of people. But they definitely have that type of talent.
Speaker 1: Everyone believes in Mike Brown. I think he's the clear
Speaker 1: cut coach of the year. Daron Fox's you know, and
Speaker 1: Sabonis have cemented themselves. I think those guys are both
Speaker 1: all NBA performers. I'm not sure what tear you want
Speaker 1: to put them on, but but they've been able to
Speaker 1: do to their team individually and statistically has been very impressive.
Speaker 1: So Sachs offense is amazing. I got to get a
Speaker 1: chance to see it often. But if I have one
Speaker 1: area of concern, it's just consistency on the defensive. It Yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean, look, I don't want to by the way,
Speaker 1: I don't want to sound like I'm saying what the
Speaker 1: Kings are doing offensively is nothing. Because if you had
Speaker 1: told anyone Sacramento was at the top of any list
Speaker 1: like this, it would be incredibly impressive. A year or two,
Speaker 1: I mean, nobody would have even believed you. So it
Speaker 1: is awesome what they are doing. It is a thrill
Speaker 1: to behold on offense, it just is not the same
Speaker 1: game as it was ten years ago even, And I
Speaker 1: just wonder if we're at this break point where it's
Speaker 1: hard to see when you're in the middle of it,
Speaker 1: because we're still comparing things even to like, oh, yeah,
Speaker 1: well that's different from when Chack and Kobe played or
Speaker 1: something like that, because it's relatively recent, but it's such
Speaker 1: a different game. It's almost like where we just sort
Speaker 1: of take all of Wilt's records and we say, well, well,
Speaker 1: it played in a different era and the pace was different,
Speaker 1: and you can't really compare, you know, the numbers that
Speaker 1: were being put up then to the numbers going on now.
Speaker 1: And I sort of feel we're going to look back
Speaker 1: in ten fifteen years and see this huge break from
Speaker 1: just a few years ago, and it's going to be
Speaker 1: considered a different era even from the stuff in recent memory,
Speaker 1: even from the Lebron Miami Heat days. Or something like that.
Speaker 1: I feel we're going to see a pretty big distinction,
Speaker 1: and it's weird to be right in the middle of it.
Speaker 1: I just the one thing I hope is again I
Speaker 1: love the OUTFA offensive out poor. I just hope at
Speaker 1: some point they allow the defense to catch up to
Speaker 1: the offense. Just allow a little bit more physicality on
Speaker 1: and the ability to just guard your man without foul
Speaker 1: for breathing on him. But I mean, I love Richie.
Speaker 1: You know, this game continues to grow globally because people
Speaker 1: want to see highlights, they want to see dunks, they
Speaker 1: want to see threes. From having all that is fun,
Speaker 1: you don't want to see, but Detroit Pistons eighty nine game,
Speaker 1: you want to see Steph hit fifteen threes and guys
Speaker 1: dunk and left and right. To me, that's what grows
Speaker 1: the game. But at the same time, as someone who
Speaker 1: played the game it has a defensive mind, I just
Speaker 1: hope at some point, again I love this offensive or
Speaker 1: and I feel like these kids are more skilled now
Speaker 1: than they've ever been. I just hope that the league
Speaker 1: allows the defense to catch up. Well, I'm gonna not
Speaker 1: continue this line of discussion because I think if they
Speaker 1: could find you retroactively for insulting the referees. They would
Speaker 1: reach back into this podcast and do that from your
Speaker 1: playing career. So I'm a saviors of money, but I
Speaker 1: do agree with you, and I think that I think
Speaker 1: we might see a swing. I don't know, maybe at
Speaker 1: some point, I don't know. I want to move on
Speaker 1: to the New Orleans Pelicans because on December thirtieth, this
Speaker 1: team was tied for the top spot in the West.
Speaker 1: It's hard to remember it was only a few months ago.
Speaker 1: They had depth, they had three twenty point a night scorers.
Speaker 1: Now they're sitting outside even at the play in and
Speaker 1: obviously they've had huge injury problems since then. But as
Speaker 1: we look forward on this team at this point, you
Speaker 1: got to just bake injuries into the equation, right, I mean,
Speaker 1: especially where Zion is concerned. We've bent back and did
Speaker 1: the math. There's three hundred and fifteen games the Pelicans
Speaker 1: have had since he was drafted. He has only played
Speaker 1: in a hundred and fourteen of them. Matt, So what
Speaker 1: do you think as you look forward for the Pelicans here?
Speaker 1: I mean, they're a game out of the plan right now,
Speaker 1: so it's only one game. Can they get in and
Speaker 1: do something this season or next year? Can they try
Speaker 1: to do more? They've got some big contracts. I don't know,
Speaker 1: what do you think when you see this team. I
Speaker 1: think injuries are a perfect example of why this team
Speaker 1: kind of is where they are. And it's been as
Speaker 1: great as Zion is when he's on the court, he's
Speaker 1: just not on the court as much. He's played in
Speaker 1: less than half the games allotted to him in his career.
Speaker 1: When he's out there, he's incredible, he's breaking right, but
Speaker 1: they can't get him on the court. And then you
Speaker 1: saw it, you know, brandon Ingram, you know, had a
Speaker 1: long time this year where he was down. CJ McCullum
Speaker 1: has been that consistent. Obviously shout out to my guilt.
Speaker 1: I really greed, and we're just trying to put the
Speaker 1: pieces together and have your guy. But again, you know this,
Speaker 1: the three top contracts they have are going to take
Speaker 1: a lot of cap space, so it doesn't really give
Speaker 1: them much flexibility in the offseason. But I think they
Speaker 1: just everyone in that organization praise every night that Zion
Speaker 1: could be healthy because he is that kind of game changer.
Speaker 1: He is that kind of force, and I love CJ.
Speaker 1: Brandon and Zion together healthy because I don't think there's
Speaker 1: another trio in the league that tough. You know, Brandon
Speaker 1: Ingram is one of my favorite young players. He's got
Speaker 1: a little bit of KD and them. You know. CJ.
Speaker 1: McCollum as a veteran who learned a lot in Portland
Speaker 1: with Dame and can get you a bucket when every
Speaker 1: once and then again, there's nothing Zion can't do out
Speaker 1: there on the court if he's on the court, so
Speaker 1: I think again everything is predicated upon their head. I
Speaker 1: hope that he can get healthy because you know, I
Speaker 1: think he has so much to offer this game and
Speaker 1: so much to offer these fans. So if he's not healthy,
Speaker 1: this is a lower Western Conference team. If he is healthy,
Speaker 1: this is a team that Timmy is right in the
Speaker 1: middle of the pack in the Western Conference. What's tough
Speaker 1: about Zion's health too, to me is that it's such
Speaker 1: the axis that the team rotates on. And look, as
Speaker 1: you said, they've got plenty of other good players, but
Speaker 1: he is the gravitational force, right. I mean, every time
Speaker 1: he's on the court, everyone knows how important he is
Speaker 1: to the squad. So when he's out and right now
Speaker 1: we don't know when he's going to come back from
Speaker 1: that hamstring injury. I would have to think, Matt, it
Speaker 1: affects guys mentally too. I mean, as I said, they're
Speaker 1: only a game out of the play in. But if
Speaker 1: you don't think Zion's coming back or you don't know
Speaker 1: when he's coming back, if you were a teammate, I
Speaker 1: would think that would affect you right that you would
Speaker 1: just sort of been like, yeah, okay, whatever. Well, I mean, obviously,
Speaker 1: you know you need your best player. And then, with
Speaker 1: all due respect to the other guys on the team,
Speaker 1: he is the best player. Uh Si, Rachel gets there.
Speaker 1: One us a chance to show what they got, you know,
Speaker 1: guys that you know that they wouldn't get the minutes
Speaker 1: if he was there, have an opportunity to kind of
Speaker 1: in the organization, gets to kind of see who else
Speaker 1: they have on that front line. Because Zion is so
Speaker 1: dominant when he's in that he takes a lot of
Speaker 1: the you know, the the fame or the lights, so
Speaker 1: they know they go as he goes. And he has
Speaker 1: a baby, so of course see they don't. So um,
Speaker 1: is there a taborturn I had it been home to
Speaker 1: keep up with it, but you know, hopefully there is
Speaker 1: and then and hopefully if he does come back, he's
Speaker 1: able to stay on the court for the rest of
Speaker 1: the season. We shall see. And I want to go
Speaker 1: east for a minute, because we haven't talked about the
Speaker 1: Cleveland Cavaliers that much. They lead the league when you
Speaker 1: look at fewest points allowed. They have the best point
Speaker 1: defferent churl in the game. Are we not paying enough
Speaker 1: attention to this team, Matt? I mean they're slated to
Speaker 1: play the Knicks in the first round if everything holds,
Speaker 1: and then the ideas whoever wins that matchup is kind
Speaker 1: of considered cannon fodder, right for the number one seed
Speaker 1: likely be the Bucks. This point is that not fair
Speaker 1: to the Cabs, And it is fair because you have
Speaker 1: to earn Although we see potential rachel with physical numbers
Speaker 1: on both sides of the ball. We see that. Now
Speaker 1: we see they have Garland who is an all star
Speaker 1: double double guy with Jared Allen and the young boy
Speaker 1: Mobili who whose statistics are nicle if you take a
Speaker 1: look at them, and then they have nice pieces and
Speaker 1: they got a really solid coach, but just stronger than that.
Speaker 1: It has been in the past. So although we may
Speaker 1: be overlooking them, they have to earn our art to
Speaker 1: give them that. You know, the only way to do
Speaker 1: that is to obviously, you know you can. I don't
Speaker 1: see why they wouldn't be favored against the Knicks. I
Speaker 1: liked the nixt and this year, but if the playoffs
Speaker 1: are the start today, I would probably pick Cleveland. And
Speaker 1: then the way you earn that respect is going against
Speaker 1: the Giant in the second round and being a Giant killer.
Speaker 1: You know, can you knock off? Can you knock off?
Speaker 1: Joanna said, Milwaukee fully healthy. That's how you stop being overlooked.
Speaker 1: So they could be overlooked, but you have to earn
Speaker 1: that that that respect to not be overlooked as Gianness
Speaker 1: did it. You know, we were look overlooking the honest
Speaker 1: for a while. You know, he can't get to the
Speaker 1: big game or he can't do this, he can't do that,
Speaker 1: and he's to do everything that everyone said he couldn't.
Speaker 1: That's why he's looked at up here now. So I
Speaker 1: feel like Cleveland is kind of a second tier team.
Speaker 1: And I said back, I think behind Milwaukee, Boston and Philadelphia,
Speaker 1: Cleveland is kind of a second tier team. But the
Speaker 1: only way to get to that top tier because they
Speaker 1: have all the pieces, is to do it in the playoffs. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean, look, I just want to see that Nick's
Speaker 1: Cab series before we even move on to the next round,
Speaker 1: because I'd like to see, you know, Donovan Mitchell in
Speaker 1: the garden with all the stuff for the drama that
Speaker 1: went on over the summer. I think it's going to
Speaker 1: be so hot. And here's a guy who I think
Speaker 1: is totally up to it, right. He's a performer. He
Speaker 1: can take that big stage and the booze of the
Speaker 1: fans and Spike Lee and all of that. I think
Speaker 1: it's gonna be really, really good. So we had some
Speaker 1: good playoff matchups brewing here. I like it. Let's set
Speaker 1: I want to get. I want to give a shout
Speaker 1: out to Julius randall Man. He's been playing his ass off.
Speaker 1: I think he dropped fifty seven the other night in
Speaker 1: a losing effort, but you know, there was he couldn't do.
Speaker 1: And I think the addition of Jelen Brunson's allowed him
Speaker 1: to show the world what kind of offensive machine he is,
Speaker 1: and he's been playing out of his mind. So I
Speaker 1: just definitely wanted to give him a shout out. Although
Speaker 1: I picked if they were going to play Cleveland, I'd
Speaker 1: probably picked Cleveland. But I just love what he's been
Speaker 1: able to do and what that team has been able
Speaker 1: to do. And I'm excited to see, like you said,
Speaker 1: that first round matchup. If that's what it is, it's
Speaker 1: going to be fireworks. You know what I like about
Speaker 1: what Julius Randall has done this season too, is that
Speaker 1: he really took time this past summer to take the
Speaker 1: criticism to heart. So many players sort of just sort
Speaker 1: of brush that stuff off or say that I'm getting
Speaker 1: screwed or they don't understand me, or any of that stuff.
Speaker 1: And he really took Tom Thibodeau's words to heart. He
Speaker 1: took you know, some of the other people elder statesmen
Speaker 1: around him, and changed a little bit the way he
Speaker 1: was approaching the game, even changing the way he approached
Speaker 1: the offseason a little bit. And I think that really
Speaker 1: speaks to we sometimes say players, yeah, they really evolve
Speaker 1: in their first year or their second year, even a
Speaker 1: guy who has been around a few more seasons than that.
Speaker 1: The fact that he was willing to sit there and
Speaker 1: say I could be better and different. I give a
Speaker 1: big shout out to that too, and we're seeing the
Speaker 1: results on the court, which I like. All Right, Next up,
Speaker 1: legendary moments presented by Top Shot all right from March
Speaker 1: twentieth to March thirty first NBA Top Shot and NBA
Speaker 1: fans are going to decide which of the sixty four
Speaker 1: Top Shot debut moments is the most legendary in the
Speaker 1: Top Shot Debut Moment showdown. So basically, in other words,
Speaker 1: this is an nc double a tournament style bracket for
Speaker 1: debut moments. So who do you think, Matt, of all
Speaker 1: the greats, which player had the best debut that should
Speaker 1: win this Top Shot Moment bracket? Best debut Shoot? I
Speaker 1: would just probably say Jaw. I mean, Jaws a must
Speaker 1: watch guy. You know, you can look at stets on
Speaker 1: what he's able to do. There's so many talented players,
Speaker 1: but I just think from Jaw chasing someone down and
Speaker 1: pinning a shot to the top of the backboard to
Speaker 1: dumping on an entire franchise, he's just much watched TV.
Speaker 1: And I think that's I think I speak for everyone.
Speaker 1: Everyone's just so excited to see him back on the
Speaker 1: court because he just is electric. Night in night out,
Speaker 1: So if I had to pick one moment or one player,
Speaker 1: I would definitely pick a job. They better get this
Speaker 1: tournament in now because I think next year, when Victor
Speaker 1: Webbenyama takes the court for the first time, we're going
Speaker 1: to see a possibly a new contender in there. So
Speaker 1: everyone go vote now. You can follow the action on
Speaker 1: NBA top shots website over your favorite tall march by
Speaker 1: following an NBA tap shot on Twitter. Learn more and
Speaker 1: get started ahead to NBA tapshot dot com. Today on
Speaker 1: the Radar, presented by Draft Kings, let's talk about MVP Matt.
Speaker 1: The race had largely been all about Nikolokitch for most
Speaker 1: of the season, but the Nuggets have been struggling, the
Speaker 1: Sixers climbing up the standings, and Joelmbiid has officially taken
Speaker 1: the number one slot. To the odds makers, here they
Speaker 1: are Joel embiad is at minus two forty, Nikoliokich is
Speaker 1: plus two fifty, Yannis is sitting there at plus four fifty,
Speaker 1: and Jason Tatum is at plus ten thousands. So if
Speaker 1: you're a Celtic fan and you want to put some
Speaker 1: money on Jason can get a good return for your
Speaker 1: investment there. Meanwhile, Janni said last week that the whole
Speaker 1: thing is hard for him to navigate since there is
Speaker 1: no agreement on what anyone is voting on, which I mean,
Speaker 1: thank you, Matt, You've had to sit next to me
Speaker 1: four years now talking about this. His point was, I
Speaker 1: don't even know what criteria people are voting for. What
Speaker 1: is your main criteria, Matt when you talk about MVP,
Speaker 1: Let's start there, Let's start with you. I mean, it's
Speaker 1: just unspoken rules that the voters go by, but unspoken
Speaker 1: means no one else knows what the hell is going on.
Speaker 1: You want to obviously want to look at where where
Speaker 1: do you have your team at? You know what seed
Speaker 1: are they sitting, And obviously think that's important. Your ability
Speaker 1: to not only score but affect the game in different ways,
Speaker 1: and I think I think in beads and ability to
Speaker 1: not only score the ball from all three levels very effectively. Uh.
Speaker 1: He also is a solid rebounder and a rim protector.
Speaker 1: So um, you know, you can arguably say, Rachel, every
Speaker 1: single season, there's two or three guys that can win
Speaker 1: it every single year, you know, and I think Jannis
Speaker 1: is one of the once since he's Brian, He's been
Speaker 1: someone who could win it every single year, and that's
Speaker 1: not to take away from Yoki. And you know, obviously
Speaker 1: some people felt that Embiade had won at least one
Speaker 1: of those last two, but they've been yok So his
Speaker 1: numbers solves his ability. He has his team sitting at
Speaker 1: the top of the Western Conference although they've been playing
Speaker 1: you know, five hundred ball of late. That's hurt him.
Speaker 1: But I just think the tear that Embiad has been
Speaker 1: on um. I think the fact that he's been so
Speaker 1: close two years in a row. It could have win
Speaker 1: either way. Literally, I think what he's done this year,
Speaker 1: the tear he's been on, getting hot at the right time,
Speaker 1: getting his team, climbing his team up to you know,
Speaker 1: I think either a half game out of second or
Speaker 1: a game out of second in the Eastern Conference is
Speaker 1: really big. And he deserves it because I was I
Speaker 1: was someone who thought he deserved it last year. So
Speaker 1: I'm glad Oddsmakers kind of see, you know, what everyone
Speaker 1: else has been seeing. But but to your point, Rachel,
Speaker 1: there is no criterion, and I think that's what keeps
Speaker 1: not only players, but fans and possibly voters sometimes confused
Speaker 1: I'm like, what are we really looking at? You know,
Speaker 1: what are we really judging? Is it points per game
Speaker 1: as it wins? Is it defensive efficiency? You know what?
Speaker 1: Is it impact on the team. So I don't really
Speaker 1: know what the criteria is. I just know that I
Speaker 1: feel like, Wellied could possibly already have one MVP under
Speaker 1: his belt, but should definitely get his first this year.
Speaker 1: See that's so you're making the point that he could
Speaker 1: have won previously, he maybe should have won previously in
Speaker 1: the mind of some voters and fans, and that factors
Speaker 1: into your decision. And you're not anywhere near a loan
Speaker 1: booge because and said basically the same thing on this
Speaker 1: podcast last week. And yet that's not who had the
Speaker 1: best stats this season, And which is why I keep
Speaker 1: arguing we need to separate out the idea of who
Speaker 1: has had the best statistical season from who the best
Speaker 1: player is right now, who is the guy you'd least
Speaker 1: want to face, especially since are we talking offensive stats?
Speaker 1: Are we talking defensive stats? And I get the nuance of, hey,
Speaker 1: it shouldn't just be a straight one factor thing. Otherwise
Speaker 1: we don't even need to have a vote. We could
Speaker 1: just sort of do it robotically. But there's a difference
Speaker 1: between having nuance in having an argument over MVP, and
Speaker 1: I like to take into account this, and every voter
Speaker 1: likes to take into account that, and just having it
Speaker 1: be totally scattershot with ten different things coming into the
Speaker 1: equation and nobody being able to even agree on any
Speaker 1: of them. So I just think we've gotten so far
Speaker 1: away from any sort of ability to have a consensus,
Speaker 1: and the tone of the debate has gotten so toxic,
Speaker 1: in part because I mean, part of its Internet culture,
Speaker 1: but part of it is because people are yelling at
Speaker 1: each other or past each other about totally different things.
Speaker 1: So I would, again, as I've said many times, I'd
Speaker 1: like to see a little awards reform here and have
Speaker 1: the NBA join the NFL, to join the NHL, separating
Speaker 1: out some of these awards for best overall player versus
Speaker 1: who's had the best season. But I think we're at
Speaker 1: that point right now where how this vote goes will
Speaker 1: dictate possibly where people see that criteria laying because Nikoliokich
Speaker 1: does have some superior statistical numbers in a lot of
Speaker 1: different categories, but the feeling among a lot of people
Speaker 1: who watch the NBA right now is Hey, if I
Speaker 1: had to face one of them, you know, Joel Embid
Speaker 1: is the guy I fear the most right now of
Speaker 1: those two were honest, by the way, No, I agree
Speaker 1: most of those guys. And I think, you know, the
Speaker 1: NBA is so progressive, and I completely agree, you know,
Speaker 1: with just the offensive MVP. I've excuse me, an offense
Speaker 1: or you know whatever, offensive Player of the Year, you
Speaker 1: know what I mean, and then an MVP. To me,
Speaker 1: those are two sometimes they can be tied in one.
Speaker 1: But I think the one thing that I really like
Speaker 1: that they've been talking about it late is you have
Speaker 1: to play a certain amount of games. And I think
Speaker 1: you and Boogy discuss last show as well. Yeah, and
Speaker 1: I think I wonder what that five seventy games. I mean,
Speaker 1: you think back when we played, I mean it was
Speaker 1: it was a badge of honor to play eighty two games.
Speaker 1: You look at Michael Jordan was making his runs. He
Speaker 1: was playing eighty two plus an in Defensive Player of
Speaker 1: the Year finals MVP. Like, obviously the game has changing
Speaker 1: and I don't want to compare errors, but to win
Speaker 1: such a big award, I think you definitely should have
Speaker 1: to play or to win any award. I feel like
Speaker 1: you should have to play a certain amount of games
Speaker 1: because there are guys out there that are pushing themselves
Speaker 1: to try to get to every single game, to play
Speaker 1: every single game. So I definitely like where that's at.
Speaker 1: I just wonder what that magical number will be, if
Speaker 1: that's something that's implemented. But here's my cynical take on that,
Speaker 1: whatever that magical number is is going to be a
Speaker 1: negotiation between the players Association and the league, and I could,
Speaker 1: pretty much as I sit here guarantee you that that
Speaker 1: number will not be as high as a lot of
Speaker 1: fans will want. So let's say that number ends up
Speaker 1: being sixty sixty five. I mean, is that really going
Speaker 1: to do anything for load management or is that going
Speaker 1: to really do any thing for what you were talking
Speaker 1: about of that badge of honor and kind of, you know,
Speaker 1: spurring guys to play a little bit more. I don't
Speaker 1: think we're going to see a negotiated number between those
Speaker 1: two sides end up in the seventies, do you. I mean,
Speaker 1: I hope the lowest that can go with sixty five?
Speaker 1: You know you think seventy I mean that's missing twelve
Speaker 1: games and that's kind of that's a one sprained ankle
Speaker 1: and maybe a sore knee, a couple sore knees, and
Speaker 1: you know, a season, but sixty five seventeen games that
Speaker 1: you can miss, but you think that you can put
Speaker 1: it to sixty. I mean you can miss twenty two
Speaker 1: games and still win. So whatever it is, I'm glad
Speaker 1: I don't have to make the decision. But I hope
Speaker 1: they said it and stick to it, and hope you
Speaker 1: that'll raise the play guys to want to be out
Speaker 1: there every single night. We shall see. Let's go to
Speaker 1: Chicago for our closing thoughts. Here to start off, Lonzo
Speaker 1: Ball just had a third surgery on his injured knee
Speaker 1: and this was a cartilage transplant math that sounds darly.
Speaker 1: It is a relatively new surgery as opposed to a
Speaker 1: full need replacement, so we've never had an NBA player
Speaker 1: undergo this and return. Honestly, it doesn't sound like even
Speaker 1: his doctors are comfortable saying for sure what his prognosis is.
Speaker 1: They just keep saying this is his quote best hope. So, Matt,
Speaker 1: what do you think, because because it's not just this surgery,
Speaker 1: Lonzo Ball has had a lot of injury issues his
Speaker 1: whole career. What is your gut telling you about whether
Speaker 1: we see Lonzo Ball back on an NBA court again.
Speaker 1: I want to say, my gut is going to tell
Speaker 1: me that it's gonna work. Um. I wanted to work
Speaker 1: as a fan of his, and you know, obviously Edison
Speaker 1: has come so far, Rachel, Remember an acl used to
Speaker 1: be a career ender and a chill. He's definitely used
Speaker 1: to be a career ender. And then you look at
Speaker 1: guys like Clayton back from both you know, Kevin back
Speaker 1: from that belief. Yeah, I want to have that belief
Speaker 1: that you know, medical is as at an all time high.
Speaker 1: But I just I feel bad for him from a
Speaker 1: standpoint of he's a good kid and it's been a
Speaker 1: rough ride since he's stepped in this, you know, partly
Speaker 1: add partly because he hasn't had an opportunity to play.
Speaker 1: But when he's healthy, Rachel, he's one of the best
Speaker 1: court vision guys in the game, and he's someone who
Speaker 1: is old school. From a standpoint, he'll pick you up
Speaker 1: ninety four feet and maybe you work and take the
Speaker 1: ball from you. If he is such an important I
Speaker 1: think his brother's kind of come in and taking that
Speaker 1: flare of obviously the ability to put the ball in
Speaker 1: the basket, but Alonzo was someone who could put the
Speaker 1: ball in the basket, make plays for his team and
Speaker 1: make his teammates better. But then I also really locked
Speaker 1: in on the defensive end, like he was picking when
Speaker 1: he was with you know, picking up ninety four feet.
Speaker 1: I love stuff like that. So I just pray that
Speaker 1: you know, this is a vision to give him a
Speaker 1: chance to get back out there. I hope the medicine
Speaker 1: is you know, again like you said, at an all
Speaker 1: time high, it always continues to but it just sounds scared.
Speaker 1: You know, you said, you know, cartilage instead of a
Speaker 1: knee replacement. To think someone that his age needs a
Speaker 1: whole knee ropsman is is just exactly scarity here. So
Speaker 1: you know, Croston and praying for him and his family
Speaker 1: for his health because he has tremendous talent. Yeah, I
Speaker 1: mean it's it's he's as you said, this whole career
Speaker 1: and it's been all the crazy hoopla with his dad
Speaker 1: starting out and kind of the attention that's been on him.
Speaker 1: He sold it through a lot and I think a
Speaker 1: lot of people around the NBA are hoping this works. Finally,
Speaker 1: maybe we will find out. Let's skip over to Washington, DC,
Speaker 1: my hometown. Magic Johnson looking to extend his team ownership
Speaker 1: portfolio by joining Josh Harris's bid to buy the Washington Commanders. Now. Magic,
Speaker 1: as we know, currently owns the pieces of the Dodgers,
Speaker 1: the Sparks, the LAFC. Harris, of course has a big
Speaker 1: stake in the Sixers. Now Matt Magic would obviously not
Speaker 1: be the majority owner in this situation. But I'm just
Speaker 1: curious for your take. Do you think if this group
Speaker 1: is able to pull off the sale, do you think
Speaker 1: he would have a real voice in the NFL, a
Speaker 1: league that has struggled sometimes with social issues, how players
Speaker 1: are treated overall. Or do you think because he's not
Speaker 1: going to be like the voice, the guy in the
Speaker 1: chair at those league ownership meetings, he won't really be
Speaker 1: able to have that impact. I mean, his name is
Speaker 1: Magic for a reason. You know, whether he's a minority
Speaker 1: owner or you know, whatever bounds a way, he finds
Speaker 1: a way to have his voice heard and it should
Speaker 1: be heard. Question to you, since you know that's your city,
Speaker 1: what is your thought on I mean management and you
Speaker 1: know ownership, there's always been issues with Snyder and management there.
Speaker 1: They're able to put you know, similar to it with
Speaker 1: the Knicks have beenable that they've been able to put
Speaker 1: good talent together, but you know, it always starts at
Speaker 1: the top with that team. So, as someone who is
Speaker 1: a hometown girl there, what is your thought on the
Speaker 1: possibilities of someone like Magic and knowing what he brings
Speaker 1: to our game, have an opportunity to possibly bring that
Speaker 1: to your team in the NFL. I mean, look, Dan
Speaker 1: Snyder cannot sell that team fast enough for me. I mean,
Speaker 1: as far as I'm concerned, he could sell it to
Speaker 1: like the guy on the corner selling newspapers and I
Speaker 1: would be like, awesome, great new team owner, fantastic. So
Speaker 1: Magic Johnson of all people, and Josh Harris by the way,
Speaker 1: who's done great things with the Sixers in conjunction with
Speaker 1: Michael Rubin and their partnership group up there. But um,
Speaker 1: you know, it seems like a good group to me
Speaker 1: in terms of all these guys track record, and I
Speaker 1: would love to see Magic Johnson's voice in the NFL.
Speaker 1: I think that you're Great's your great point. His name
Speaker 1: is Magic, and I think that even if he doesn't
Speaker 1: have an official seat at some of those tables, because
Speaker 1: he wouldn't be the majority owner, his word carries so
Speaker 1: much weight and that he would get quoted in the newspapers.
Speaker 1: I mean, he doesn't need to be the majority stakeholder
Speaker 1: to have a majority style voice. And I think, frankly,
Speaker 1: the NFL could use Magic Johnson. So um, I am
Speaker 1: hopeful that among the many different interesting groups, one of
Speaker 1: them goes through soon and that team can get a
Speaker 1: fresh start because it has been miserable for a long
Speaker 1: time in that city. That is the team that made
Speaker 1: me fall in love with sports. They won three Super
Speaker 1: Bowls during the span of my childhood and college and stuff,
Speaker 1: and I just I it has been hard to watch
Speaker 1: and all the stuff, the allegations and the proven proven
Speaker 1: things that went on in that front office there, and
Speaker 1: just the degradation of women that has gone on there
Speaker 1: has just been It's been just stomach churning. And so
Speaker 1: I would like, I want to buy the team, and uh,
Speaker 1: I hope that Magic Johnson gets to be one of
Speaker 1: those subones. That's all I would say. So that's I
Speaker 1: have some strong feelings. Can you tell Matt, I don't
Speaker 1: know is that coming across it. Luck to you and
Speaker 1: those Commander fans. I would love to see you. Magic
Speaker 1: is the voice for our people. We obviously know that
Speaker 1: that not just our people, but we also know you
Speaker 1: know that the NFL needs some help with just diversity
Speaker 1: and the way they look at things. And like he said,
Speaker 1: although he may not have the biggest seat at the table,
Speaker 1: he definitely has the biggest platform. Bigger platform than Jerry Jones,
Speaker 1: bigger platform than any owner in the NFL. So what Magic.
Speaker 1: When Magic speaks, it's heard. So I would love to
Speaker 1: see someone who I grew up idolizing on the basketball court,
Speaker 1: who's become a business juggernaut, have the ability to cross
Speaker 1: over into the NFL and have a little piece of
Speaker 1: that as well. It's interesting that Magic is talking about
Speaker 1: expanding that presidence in a place like the NFL because
Speaker 1: we've also got news this past week that Michael Jordan
Speaker 1: is exploring selling his stake in the Charlotte Hornets. Mj
Speaker 1: not only the most famous team owner in all of
Speaker 1: professional sports, he is the only black majority owner in
Speaker 1: the NBA. He's actually on a lot of committees within
Speaker 1: the Board of Governors, so it's not symbolic. He has
Speaker 1: a lot of say in a lot of places, Matt,
Speaker 1: what do you think the impact is going to be
Speaker 1: if he does so? Just another good business move. I
Speaker 1: mean I saw the evaluation. I think they're up to
Speaker 1: what one point seven billion, and they were in the
Speaker 1: three hundred millions when he took the team over. So
Speaker 1: another solid because Michael Jordan needs money right right, because
Speaker 1: some people have critiqued his managements, owner skip whatever. But
Speaker 1: at the end of the day, I mean, like you said,
Speaker 1: the only black majority owner in the game, a former
Speaker 1: player who's done so much for the game. I mean,
Speaker 1: he just kind of free will to do what he wants.
Speaker 1: It always seems like somehow he always ends up doing
Speaker 1: something with some good money. This is no difference, so
Speaker 1: it'll be interesting to see. Obviously, Charlotte is just a
Speaker 1: tough place to build something, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1: So whether it's him or somebody else, it's just a
Speaker 1: tough build build. But you know, I'm always going to
Speaker 1: be a fan of MJ So best of luck to them. Well,
Speaker 1: as you say, it's it's tough. The fan base has
Speaker 1: gotten a bit defeated. Two tickets to Monday Night's game
Speaker 1: against the Indiana Pacers. Matt, We're listed on a ticket
Speaker 1: resale website for one dollar each. Of course, they were
Speaker 1: actually fourteen dollars with fees and taxes, because that's our
Speaker 1: ticketing apps work. But a single upper level seat was
Speaker 1: going for three bucks. They do have their work cut
Speaker 1: out for them. We'll see, maybe a new ownership, maybe
Speaker 1: maybe a shake up will happen, although I think who
Speaker 1: he's trying to sell it to is one of the
Speaker 1: current other owners in the Atlanta Hawks, minority owner. Anyway,
Speaker 1: we will keep an eye on mat as well as
Speaker 1: along with everything else in the league. Matt, thank you
Speaker 1: so much for joining me today, even though you were
Speaker 1: brewing and I'm mad at all Bruins right now. I'm
Speaker 1: gonna I'm gonna try to get over that in the
Speaker 1: next couple of days. What Burn and Folks is available
Speaker 1: every week on Showtime Basketball, you Tube, on Twitter, Instagram,
Speaker 1: TikTok at show Basketball Hm, hm,