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Speaker 1: Bully Ball presented by Yes Draft Kings. I'm Rachel Nichols.
Speaker 1: This is DeMarcus Cousins. The semi finals of the n
Speaker 1: Season Tournament are set, Buggy. They are in Las Vegas,
Speaker 1: and so were weak. We are here live at the
Speaker 1: Blue Wires Studios at the Wind Resort and Casino. And
Speaker 1: now that we're in it, man, what is your take
Speaker 1: on the midseason tournament?
Speaker 3: Man, it's been actually a lot better than expect. It's
Speaker 3: been super competitive. It's got these guys no competitive nat
Speaker 3: in the season. That's great for the fans, that's great
Speaker 3: for the game. So I think it's been all positives,
Speaker 3: you know, moving forward with this playing that the league
Speaker 3: put in and uh, you know, it's a good thing
Speaker 3: that it worked out in you know, a positive way.
Speaker 4: So I think it's been good for the league.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 1: I mean, look, I think it's done a great job
Speaker 1: like energizing the base, like they say in politics, Like,
Speaker 1: if you're an NBA fan, this has definitely made your
Speaker 1: November and beginning of December much more interesting than in
Speaker 1: previous years. I can't tell because I live in that
Speaker 1: NBA fan world, Like do you think that people who
Speaker 1: are just general sports fans, like, you know, the games
Speaker 1: the other night, we're against football Monday night. Like it's
Speaker 1: it's a little bit hard for me to tell if
Speaker 1: we're talking about it or everyone's talking about it, what
Speaker 1: do you get a sense of?
Speaker 3: Uh?
Speaker 4: I think people are excited about it.
Speaker 3: Yeah, you think it's a main topic usually in your
Speaker 3: local gyms, Yeah, you know, in your local barbershops. So,
Speaker 3: like I said, I think the plan worked out well
Speaker 3: and everybody's favor that you know, was pushing this idea
Speaker 3: and we're getting to results the exact results that we wanted,
Speaker 3: which is high level basketball early in the season.
Speaker 1: Good games in the quarterfinals for sure, and then you
Speaker 1: know they have come in to Vegas. They've got Lebron
Speaker 1: on one side of the bracket and Yanis on the other.
Speaker 1: I know the NBA isn't mad at that, and Willard
Speaker 1: in there. They've got some big stars. They also announced
Speaker 1: what the hardware is going to be for this. In
Speaker 1: addition to the money which we've been talking about the hardware,
Speaker 1: they're gonna give out a trophy to the team that wins.
Speaker 1: There's an MVP trophy, but the MVP trophy appears to
Speaker 1: be for the tournament, not for the game. So that's
Speaker 1: kind of interesting, right, you can have a guy win
Speaker 1: for the tournament but not even be on the winning
Speaker 1: team right for the game. So I don't know how
Speaker 1: that's gonna work out. That's gonna get some cond there's
Speaker 1: gonna be some controversy there.
Speaker 3: Well, in a way, I guess the main result would
Speaker 3: be getting everybody to play at a high level. So regardless,
Speaker 3: you know, a guy may slack back. It's like, man,
Speaker 3: we're down thirty. You know we may not have a
Speaker 3: chance today. Well, you can still get a guy on
Speaker 3: that losing side to go get a fifty ball then night,
Speaker 3: and you know it's it just it's entertained. Obviously, it's
Speaker 3: going to keep these fans entertained.
Speaker 2: That's the name of the game.
Speaker 3: The best of the best, playing the best level of
Speaker 3: basketball thirty games into the season. So you know that's
Speaker 3: a plus, and that's that's exactly what we were looking for.
Speaker 1: There's more hardware, though, but so here we go. The
Speaker 1: winning team every remember the middle, winning team is going
Speaker 1: to get I'm laughing because it seems a little silly
Speaker 1: to me, get a medal placed around his neck like
Speaker 1: Olympic style.
Speaker 2: How do you feel about that?
Speaker 4: No, theatrical maybe.
Speaker 2: Maybe do they do this in soccer?
Speaker 4: I don't know.
Speaker 1: I would not want someone to put a medal around
Speaker 1: my neck unless I want an Olympic games. I feel
Speaker 1: like that's special for that, But I don't know. I
Speaker 1: don't pay attention to the soccer tournaments in Europe that
Speaker 1: this was based on. Maybe they get medals, although soccer
Speaker 1: is different anyway.
Speaker 2: There's all kinds of different things. I don't I feel
Speaker 2: like medals should be for something. I don't know. It's lovely,
Speaker 2: like the more than everyone's happy. If it makes them happy,
Speaker 2: go for it. I wonder if next year we'll also
Speaker 2: see medals. It's a little bit you want to medal,
Speaker 2: you want you want to Yeah, guys, maybe they want medals.
Speaker 2: There you go.
Speaker 1: There is also a basketball made out of solid black crystal.
Speaker 2: And you saw that photo of that. That was nice.
Speaker 1: And this will go to an all tournament team that
Speaker 1: they're also doing. So maybe a guy who got eliminated
Speaker 1: in the corners but will make the all tournament team.
Speaker 1: You know, so they're they're really trying to obviously make
Speaker 1: all these accolades mean something. Do you think that when
Speaker 1: you know, say Lebron, well everybody's a winner, Well, say
Speaker 1: Lebron goes. You know, the Lakers have had the best
Speaker 1: point differential of the tournament so far. He's obviously been
Speaker 1: the player of the on the team, you know, the Lakers.
Speaker 1: So if they went on to win, he would be
Speaker 1: that MVP, right in this scenario, or Yiannis if the
Speaker 1: Buck's gone to win, maybe he's the MVP or Dame's
Speaker 1: the MVP. Is this going to be listed in his
Speaker 1: Hall of Fame? Any of those guys in their Hall
Speaker 1: of Fame accolades that they won.
Speaker 2: I'm not sure that they got a medal that they
Speaker 2: want MVP. I mean, is it? Maybe it is. I
Speaker 2: don't know. I'm gonna make a fun.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm not sure how that will go. I mean,
Speaker 3: if it came down to my legend, I want everything,
Speaker 3: I want everything I earned, I wanted listing.
Speaker 2: You want it on there?
Speaker 1: All right?
Speaker 4: So naked three models?
Speaker 1: Yes, absolutely, see we're learning something apparently, player non player.
Speaker 2: The players want it all, all right. I mean, look,
Speaker 2: here's what I think.
Speaker 1: I don't think if Lebron goes on to win this
Speaker 1: or Yannis or Dame, especially with a guy like Yannis
Speaker 1: or Lebron who's won actual you know, season MVP awards,
Speaker 1: who's won actual you know NBA Championship rings, Like, I
Speaker 1: don't think this is high on the list. But I
Speaker 1: think when we talk about the n season tournament, who
Speaker 1: won it the first time is something we will always
Speaker 1: talk about. And that's what I think Lebron has been
Speaker 1: after because when you hear him talk after games and
Speaker 1: how this has been, you know, from the jump, he
Speaker 1: was the one from the jump who was like, oh, no, no, no,
Speaker 1: we're gonna care in these games. And they were four
Speaker 1: to oh and they had this huge you know, eighteen
Speaker 1: points a game, is what they were averaging their wins by.
Speaker 1: Like it's because he wants to be the first, not
Speaker 1: so much that having it on his resume matters, I think, right.
Speaker 3: I mean being the first is also add into the red.
Speaker 2: There you go.
Speaker 4: I mean we can we can sit here and act
Speaker 4: like we don't know.
Speaker 3: Lebron wants every reward he can get, like leaving out
Speaker 3: of this game, and deservingly so. He wants to be
Speaker 3: known as one of the greatest to ever do it.
Speaker 3: So he's going to do everything he can in his
Speaker 3: power to make that happen. And winning this medal and
Speaker 3: all these new awards that's just added to the list.
Speaker 1: And when they beat the Suns, I'm looking for my
Speaker 1: paper here because I got quotes from the guys when
Speaker 1: they beat the Suns.
Speaker 2: On might be on the back.
Speaker 1: Yeah, when they beat the Suns, we got to talk
Speaker 1: a little bit about how it went down. Lebron thirty
Speaker 1: one points eight and eleven five steals, played forty minutes,
Speaker 1: ridiculous fourth quarter.
Speaker 2: But we can talk about that.
Speaker 1: We can talk more about how he's had a crazy
Speaker 1: year or all season ridiculous.
Speaker 2: He's turning thirty nine two weeks.
Speaker 1: I can't talk about any of that though, until we
Speaker 1: talk about what happened in the final ten seconds of
Speaker 1: the game. Lebron calls the time out. It allows the
Speaker 1: Lakers to maintain possession. Lakers were only up two. The
Speaker 1: Sons would have gotten the ball back with seven seconds
Speaker 1: and two deadly shooters on the court. Instead, Pakers keep
Speaker 1: the ball. What was your take seeing how it played out?
Speaker 4: Business? That was? That was?
Speaker 3: That was Jankie. It's really no explanation. There's no excuse.
Speaker 3: Is you can go back and look at the replay.
Speaker 3: You would literally have to come up with a lot.
Speaker 2: Yeah, excuse I missed it with the referee, mister he was.
Speaker 3: Any others, Yeah, they should have got a ball to Phoenix,
Speaker 3: and you know, whatever happened at that point happens. But
Speaker 3: you can't take the game away from Phoenix the way
Speaker 3: you did.
Speaker 1: Well, Okay, So the guys on the team had very
Speaker 1: different viewpoints of this. After the game. Kdi was more
Speaker 1: like circumspect. He was like, look, he said, quote, that's
Speaker 1: not the ball game. It's one play the forty eight
Speaker 1: minute game. I don't like to complain about calls. Sometimes
Speaker 1: the ref's not going to get it right. Sometimes it's
Speaker 1: on us to play through all that stuff, not worry
Speaker 1: about and putting and not ever putting the game in
Speaker 1: the ref's hands. So that's one take. Book not so much.
Speaker 1: He's like, y'all saw it.
Speaker 2: Y'all saw it.
Speaker 1: And then he's like, we're not asking for favoritism, just
Speaker 1: a fair chance. So who which which would you be
Speaker 1: after that game? Would you be Devin Booker? Would you
Speaker 1: be kd Well?
Speaker 3: It also shows you the difference, you know, it shows
Speaker 3: you who's the champion and who's trying to be a champion.
Speaker 3: So obviously there's nothing but respect for you know, Kevin
Speaker 3: Durant's approach, Like, I think that's as a leader, I
Speaker 3: think that's the right approach to have. You want to
Speaker 3: always keep your guys in a positive space, and you know,
Speaker 3: you don't want to trip off at certain costs because
Speaker 3: it can all those habits built doing that can start
Speaker 3: a habit and then those.
Speaker 2: Habits some long term.
Speaker 3: Yeah, you know, I learned, I learned learn But with
Speaker 3: that being said, I'm not mad at Book either, because
Speaker 3: I was.
Speaker 4: I was the type Book was.
Speaker 3: I'm fiery when when I felt like things were taken
Speaker 3: out of my control when it comes to the game,
Speaker 3: I'm upset about it. So I can totally understand what
Speaker 3: book is coming from. But uh, two different approaches, and
Speaker 3: I believe two different you know roles when it comes
Speaker 3: to that team, and I think both you know, handle
Speaker 3: it in a respectable ways.
Speaker 2: Do go on and win this?
Speaker 1: Will it stick in your mind an asterisk of some
Speaker 1: sort or like I don't know if they should have
Speaker 1: even been there, would it be like that was three
Speaker 1: games ago?
Speaker 3: I mean you also can't look at it that way either,
Speaker 3: because I mean the Lakers didn't force them to call it. Yeah,
Speaker 3: so you can't be mad at the Lakers for and
Speaker 3: win their way something. And that's how the game goes
Speaker 3: sometimes it just happens that way. So you know, it's
Speaker 3: it's really no fairness in the game. It's it's all
Speaker 3: about competing, and you know what happens happened. So no,
Speaker 3: I don't I don't believe it should be an asterisk
Speaker 3: next to their name at all. That stop trying to
Speaker 3: put asterisk next to it.
Speaker 2: I don't look, nobody, nobody get it. It's shouting from
Speaker 2: rooftops more than I that.
Speaker 1: I think the twenty twenty title should count for more,
Speaker 1: not less more, because that bubble was serious business and
Speaker 1: I think that that should that anyone who says that's
Speaker 1: not a real title does not know what they're talking about.
Speaker 4: That or just a.
Speaker 2: Just a hit. But no, I just you know, how
Speaker 2: much do you take this stuff to account? I think
Speaker 2: it happened.
Speaker 1: If it happened in the title game, I think people
Speaker 1: might be a little more coruick to be like, hey,
Speaker 1: how is this? Yes, but it happened what will have
Speaker 1: been three games ago, and they might not even know.
Speaker 2: Lakers might not even.
Speaker 1: Making there because they've got the Pelicans coming up. Anthony
Speaker 1: Davis I doing it before we leave that game. Twenty
Speaker 1: seven points, fifteen rebounds. He was ten or twenty six
Speaker 1: from the field, but really dominated up close. You know
Speaker 1: a d so well you played with him. Why do
Speaker 1: you think he's a target for fans, even fans of
Speaker 1: their own team sometimes?
Speaker 3: Well, one, he's the easiest target. You know, we've watched
Speaker 3: this game long enough, we've been around and long enough.
Speaker 3: It'll never be Lebron's fault. He's the easy target. It's
Speaker 3: always going to be AD's fault. He could have scored fifties, well,
Speaker 3: he didn't score fifty two, right, But you know, it's
Speaker 3: the nature of the beast. You got one guy that's
Speaker 3: established legendary, so he's earned that. He's earned that that
Speaker 3: right to you know, almost never be wrong. So I mean,
Speaker 3: it is what it is, the nature of the beast.
Speaker 3: So eighty is the easiest target. Like and for the
Speaker 3: most part, the people that are complaining or that do
Speaker 3: try to blame, you know, ad for the struggles or
Speaker 3: the lack of the casuals, they don't really understand the
Speaker 3: game and how it's played or you know, this is
Speaker 3: a moving puzzle, so every piece matters.
Speaker 4: So like I said, they're just casuals.
Speaker 3: So they're trying to understand the game on a you know,
Speaker 3: not just a surface level. They'll never be able to
Speaker 3: get to that point.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 1: Well, look, I'm interested to see what happens in this
Speaker 1: next game against the Pelicans because there's been a lot
Speaker 1: of attention on him. We look what the Pelicans did
Speaker 1: to the Kings finally getting healthy, right, they look like
Speaker 1: they're really have all the pieces working.
Speaker 2: Brandon Ingram had a nice strong game.
Speaker 1: CJ McCollum back from that second collapse lung my lord CJ.
Speaker 2: Come on, got to keep you healthy, friend.
Speaker 1: You know, it was interesting Zion didn't play for a
Speaker 1: chunk of the fourth quarter and the Kings were really
Speaker 1: targeting him. And it's an interesting case because he is
Speaker 1: so explosive offensively, even when they try to take his
Speaker 1: game away, he finds a way around it. He's just
Speaker 1: really just been exceptional so many times in this young season.
Speaker 2: But defensively you can pick on him.
Speaker 1: And you know, it seemed like Willie Green had to
Speaker 1: decide at one point, like am I gonna let that
Speaker 1: keep happening?
Speaker 2: Or am I going to take him out for a
Speaker 2: little while?
Speaker 1: But he's can't have one of your best players on
Speaker 1: the bench when it matters. So as a big man,
Speaker 1: what do you see there when you see that breakdown?
Speaker 4: I think that's on management. I don't I don't.
Speaker 3: I don't blame Zion for I mean, you know his strengths,
Speaker 3: you know his weaknesses, So that's management. Management's job to
Speaker 3: put the correct pieces around him to make your star
Speaker 3: be a star play at the highest level and also
Speaker 3: compliment everything that he brings to the game. So if
Speaker 3: you know one of his weaknesses is you know, being
Speaker 3: a defensive lot but you need to make sure it's
Speaker 3: something either in front or behind that's going to protect
Speaker 3: him at all times.
Speaker 4: So I put that on management.
Speaker 3: But regardless of that being said, as a player, you
Speaker 3: also have to hold yourself accountable. If you know these
Speaker 3: are your weaknesses, let's work on it, you know what
Speaker 3: I mean, or or or increase effort in another area
Speaker 3: to you know, make up for that lot. So even
Speaker 3: if it's you know, being the loudest guy on the floor,
Speaker 3: the best communicator on the floor, you always know in
Speaker 3: every rotation you're able to coach your guys through it.
Speaker 3: That can help, you, know what I mean. So it's
Speaker 3: it's a balance of both. I mean, I could look
Speaker 3: at both people in both situations and well in the
Speaker 3: same situation and you can blame either or but uh,
Speaker 3: it's a fixable situation. It's just about everybody getting on
Speaker 3: the same page with fixing that weakness.
Speaker 1: He's in a couple of great fourth quarters this season,
Speaker 1: so it's not like you can't blame in the fourth.
Speaker 1: But I am interested what happens in this game against
Speaker 1: Lakers because this is a size matchup, right this this
Speaker 1: is where the Pelicans are going to bring it with
Speaker 1: their size, the Lakers with their size.
Speaker 2: Lakers are a big team.
Speaker 1: What do you think who wins that aspect of the
Speaker 1: line of the matchup As far as.
Speaker 4: Size, I I would lean towards the Lakers.
Speaker 3: They got a lot of you know, fours around that
Speaker 3: six nine six eight area, so you know, just seeing
Speaker 3: that on a nightly basis is tough for any team.
Speaker 3: So I would lean with, you know, towards the Lakers
Speaker 3: on that part. But I think they have you know,
Speaker 3: I think they have the explosiveness to you know, match
Speaker 3: that height ain'ty given nights. Zion is not a typical sixcess,
Speaker 3: so it's it's like that's kind of leveled out by default,
Speaker 3: you know what I mean. So I think it's a
Speaker 3: great matchup. I think it's going to be the hell
Speaker 3: of the game. So I'm excited for this. You pick,
Speaker 3: My guest's gonna go with the Lakers.
Speaker 1: I just feel like when Lebron wants something, yes, Lebron
Speaker 1: goes and gets it right, and god knows how don't win. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and sometimes look there's a Nicolayo kitchen your way, but
Speaker 1: not this time.
Speaker 4: So yeah, i think I'm gonna go with the experience.
Speaker 1: On this, but you like this Pelicans team, you played
Speaker 1: with a lot of these guys and like Zion Ingram
Speaker 1: c j S, Valoncinis, Murphy Alvarado. Uh, there's there's so
Speaker 1: many guys in the team who I think have talent
Speaker 1: learn ants, like what are.
Speaker 4: You very young talented group?
Speaker 3: Uh, you know a lot of under the radar guys
Speaker 3: that you know, they weren't big names coming out, but
Speaker 3: they're extremely talented, you know in the position they're in now,
Speaker 3: so they're going to always surprise people until those names
Speaker 3: are really established. But I mean as far as talent,
Speaker 3: I think it's a perfect matchup. Both teams are very talented,
Speaker 3: both teams are hungry, and uh you know, once I
Speaker 3: really really has something to prove with being a young
Speaker 3: team and another one has something to prove just because
Speaker 3: they're they're legend.
Speaker 4: So it's gonna be a good one.
Speaker 1: Plus, you got one of the top five nicknames in
Speaker 1: the NBA currently on that roster, Grand Theft of Florado Baby.
Speaker 2: I mean he does that move right?
Speaker 4: You just steal?
Speaker 1: Like sure, Logo Lillard, that's one of my other favorites
Speaker 1: right now. What's on at Logo Lillard for? For like
Speaker 1: current current NBA players nicknames, right, we got your list going.
Speaker 2: I don't know who else we should get on the.
Speaker 4: Red velvet right. Oh god, I'm not calling a.
Speaker 2: Please please, no, that nickname is banned. Let's talk about
Speaker 2: the other side of the bracket.
Speaker 1: Bucks, Pacers, uh Man Tyrese Haliburton came out strong the
Speaker 1: other night.
Speaker 2: Who I mean he was crazy.
Speaker 1: That four point play as things were breaking down the
Speaker 1: last minute and a half was incredible. It was so
Speaker 1: much fun. The environment at the Fieldhouse. I love that
Speaker 1: when basketball's.
Speaker 2: Hype in Indiana, those people know what they're doing like that.
Speaker 1: That building is rocket reminded me of some of those
Speaker 1: Regi Miller days. And I got to tell you, it
Speaker 1: was so fun to see that. And that's one thing
Speaker 1: about this tournament that's great. That fan base had that
Speaker 1: great moment and that would not have existed in a
Speaker 1: random game the beginning in December.
Speaker 2: So I love that.
Speaker 1: Look, they're an offensive wrecking ball, right the defense not
Speaker 1: so much on the defensive side.
Speaker 2: Is that important? Who needs it? I say?
Speaker 1: Given that balance though, given that they you know, put
Speaker 1: the put the gas pedal down. Do you feel that,
Speaker 1: like big picture, no matter what happens here in Vegas.
Speaker 1: Do you think that like this, this team could actually
Speaker 1: contend in the East or they are still some sort
Speaker 1: of defensive stopper away.
Speaker 4: As far as the tournament goes for the East.
Speaker 2: This year, Look, we're saying a team that's I.
Speaker 4: Think there would be a really good team this year.
Speaker 4: I think there will be a.
Speaker 2: Playoffs first round maybe.
Speaker 3: See, I mean, we it's kind of well known. Things
Speaker 3: just change in the playoffs. It's not regular season, So
Speaker 3: I think there'll be a playoff team.
Speaker 4: Will there be a second round team play defense?
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's gonna be a little different when when when
Speaker 3: teams start the key in and scheme and all these things.
Speaker 3: It's a different game.
Speaker 4: So uh. And then also the youth isn't really the
Speaker 4: you know.
Speaker 2: Same fact. Yeah, yeah, yeah, have been there before.
Speaker 1: Look, I mean this was there Tyre's Teliburton. This was
Speaker 1: his first game ever on tn T. When you talk
Speaker 1: about experience, having been there will not.
Speaker 2: Be the last.
Speaker 1: But I mean it was interesting to me too hearing that,
Speaker 1: like you, when you were in Sacramento, did it take
Speaker 1: a while for the national media to recognize that they
Speaker 1: should be putting your guys games on TV?
Speaker 2: Or with the history of Sacramento, it was it was
Speaker 2: good enough.
Speaker 4: They made the right choice. I mean, views would definitely
Speaker 4: be done, but they made it. I mean they got
Speaker 4: the right Sacramento team.
Speaker 2: On TV, not the other one.
Speaker 1: But I mean, if you're a young star, I mean
Speaker 1: you were putting together all Star seasons. Like if you're
Speaker 1: a young star and have your team either because they're
Speaker 1: not playing so well or you know, because they're in
Speaker 1: a smaller market.
Speaker 3: Unless you had a number one pick, like you could
Speaker 3: be as talented as you want.
Speaker 4: Like, it's just not gonna be It's not gonna happen.
Speaker 4: You're not gonna be on.
Speaker 3: TV until you start winning games you actually have a
Speaker 3: good team around you. People want to see good teams,
Speaker 3: they don't just want to see, you know, good players. Yeah,
Speaker 3: so that's kind of what the situation was. So, like
Speaker 3: I said, they got the right Sacramento rolling right now.
Speaker 1: Will be interesting to see them play the Bucks. What's
Speaker 1: your for before we get to the Bucks? What's your
Speaker 1: call there? Run Bucks Pacers.
Speaker 4: I'm gonna go with the Bucks man.
Speaker 3: It's just no, it's no answer for your honest yep,
Speaker 3: Miles Turner, you know, you know say your prayers and
Speaker 3: you know, a little sip of holy water, you're gonna
Speaker 3: need it.
Speaker 4: But yeah, it's no answer. It's literally no answer.
Speaker 2: There's nothing.
Speaker 4: It's nothing there.
Speaker 2: For I was gonna throw you some numbers.
Speaker 4: I'm gonna go. I'm gonna go with bucks.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I was gonna throw you some numbers.
Speaker 1: Two about Damon Giannis together because they were sixty three
Speaker 1: points they put in together combined in that game against
Speaker 1: the next on Tuesday, and when Dame scores twenty or more,
Speaker 1: they are fourteen and one. And the fact that he
Speaker 1: has obviously been able to organize them at the end
Speaker 1: of games in a way that we used to complain
Speaker 1: about them not being able to do before has been
Speaker 1: We've seen it. The thing that they traded for, we've
Speaker 1: seen it. I would say their record is a little
Speaker 1: bit of a mirage, like they haven't won all those
Speaker 1: games in as strong fashion as they should have. But
Speaker 1: I'm willing to give them time to get it together.
Speaker 1: Do you think that they've had some defensive issues? Do
Speaker 1: you think that's going to come into play, If not
Speaker 1: in the Spacers game, then maybe in the final if
Speaker 1: they get that far.
Speaker 3: I think so, But that's kind of expected. This is
Speaker 3: a brand new team, you know. So it's a brand
Speaker 3: new team with a brand new identity. Like you know,
Speaker 3: what they were accustomed to before Dan got there, that's
Speaker 3: you know, that was the old Bucks. So it's going
Speaker 3: to be an adjustment for even the guys that have
Speaker 3: been there five, six, seven years, you know what I mean,
Speaker 3: because this is a whole new system. They brought in
Speaker 3: a major piece that you have to you know, have
Speaker 3: to make work. It has to mesh. So it's going
Speaker 3: to be new for everybody. So for them to still
Speaker 3: be producing like this on a positive.
Speaker 2: Note, even in just a few months in.
Speaker 3: A miss you know, figuring things out and you know,
Speaker 3: still creating the team chemistry, I think they're in the
Speaker 3: great place and this is obviously a good sign that
Speaker 3: they're moving in the right direction.
Speaker 1: Well see, I think it's funny, so we were saying
Speaker 1: about teams in this tournament. You could tell this tournament
Speaker 1: did not matter in the same way to the Denver
Speaker 1: Nuggets that it did to say, the Indiana Pacers, because
Speaker 1: the Denver Nuggets are worried about June. Even the Boston
Speaker 1: Celtics the other night, Boston, I thought played very hard
Speaker 1: in that quarterfinal game. I'm no way saying that they
Speaker 1: were like slacking off at all, but after the game,
Speaker 1: if you listened to their quotes, they were like, oh, yeah,
Speaker 1: it's too bad it didn't work out, Like we got
Speaker 1: another game later this week. Like they you know, they're
Speaker 1: looking at June. The Pacers, this was a huge deal
Speaker 1: for them. I actually think the Bucks, even though they
Speaker 1: were looking at June, they were more in that Nugget's
Speaker 1: Celtics category. I actually think it would be a big
Speaker 1: deal if the Bucks won this because you have a
Speaker 1: bunch of guys who haven't played together and to have
Speaker 1: them accomplish something together in a tournament setting with steaks
Speaker 1: on the line, and if they can put that together
Speaker 1: and win this Cup, I actually think that will leap
Speaker 1: from them a little bit ahead than they would be
Speaker 1: progress wise in their first season together.
Speaker 3: That would definitely be a confidence boost. And I see
Speaker 3: where you're coming from on that note. So and also
Speaker 3: it'll be great for the Raids.
Speaker 1: Yeah, Lakers, Bucks, Johannis Dame, Lebron, Anthony Davis, not bad,
Speaker 1: not bad. Do you know who else is good TV?
Speaker 1: Booky Cousins. Good TV is Steph Curry? Steph Curry is
Speaker 1: good TV Headliners with Rachel Nichols. That's Me is back
Speaker 1: on show Time. We got season two starting this week.
Speaker 1: I'm so excited and the first interview. We killed it
Speaker 1: with the first interview because we sat down with Steph
Speaker 1: and Steve Kerr together, And for me, this was so
Speaker 1: important to get them sitting and talking together book because
Speaker 1: I think this is one of the great coach player
Speaker 1: relationships we have in pro sports right now. I mean
Speaker 1: the way they got these guys have grown together and
Speaker 1: what they put together and we saw that tested right
Speaker 1: with the Jordan Poole to Mark with the show cousins,
Speaker 1: Draymond Green baby, with the Draymond Green situation. Steph, Steph
Speaker 1: ran in there right. He did as much as a
Speaker 1: coach in kind of repairing that. So I was really
Speaker 1: excited to get them together. And one of the things
Speaker 1: we talked about was that they're similar players, and I
Speaker 1: think that helps the relationship too. The most accurate three
Speaker 1: point shooter in NBA history was on that couch during
Speaker 1: this interview, but it was not Steph. Curry is still
Speaker 1: Steve Kerr is still number one, and I asked them
Speaker 1: about that, and Steve he explained why Steph isn't number one.
Speaker 1: He thinks it's because Steph puts himself out there a
Speaker 1: little bit more.
Speaker 2: Take a listen.
Speaker 5: One of my favorite things about Steph. So we had
Speaker 5: a game last night. One second on the clock before halftime.
Speaker 5: We have the ball out under our own basket, ninety
Speaker 5: four feet away. He looks at the defense, he catches it,
Speaker 5: and he flings a shot ninety feet that actually comes
Speaker 5: kind of close, and that shot goes against him in
Speaker 5: the score. Grous that's a missed SERI.
Speaker 4: Right. He takes these shots.
Speaker 5: Every game, every game. And I'll be honest, when I played,
Speaker 5: most players you get that ball, it's like maybe you
Speaker 5: take a drive ball, like, oh, I don't think I.
Speaker 2: You know, you give it to the rookie.
Speaker 4: Right, that's a big movie.
Speaker 5: This guy shoots every one of those shots. And I
Speaker 5: think part of it is he's he's one of the
Speaker 5: greatest showmen like that I've ever seen. Like like you
Speaker 5: love you love the spectacular, and you you love to
Speaker 5: do something that nobody else does. And it took me
Speaker 5: a while to learn that. Like, you know, you're our
Speaker 5: first year together, like you were taking some of those
Speaker 5: threes and you know, I had the voice of every
Speaker 5: coach I ever had saying that's a terrible shot. That's
Speaker 5: a terrible shot. And then I realized, like that was
Speaker 5: as part of your superpowers. You love, you love to
Speaker 5: put on a show. But what I had to piece
Speaker 5: together was part of the show. Is it also wins.
Speaker 5: This is not like just doing crazy stuff for the help.
Speaker 5: This this helps us win. Do you know how many
Speaker 5: like he? He made a whole court shot at the
Speaker 5: end of the Memphis series, our first year together, at
Speaker 5: the end of the third quarter in a brutal six
Speaker 5: game series, he makes an eighty foot shot that basically
Speaker 5: helps us win. So he not only does does he
Speaker 5: love to put on a display for the fans, but
Speaker 5: he knows he's gonna make.
Speaker 4: Some of these.
Speaker 1: I've been having so much fun with these conversations because
Speaker 1: they're just relaxed shooting the ship, as you can tell,
Speaker 1: and you get some of these great stories you played
Speaker 1: on that roster. What is it like watching Steph in
Speaker 1: a game make some of those shots and in practice
Speaker 1: even right, and it's.
Speaker 4: It's pretty sit.
Speaker 3: I mean, I remember days we would just you know,
Speaker 3: we'll be walking into practice to prepare for practice. You know,
Speaker 3: guys would kind of shoot around before and after that,
Speaker 3: you know, we would sit down and watch film, go
Speaker 3: over you know, whatever we're going to go over. But
Speaker 3: you know, Steph had this thing to where he kind
Speaker 3: of walked in the gym in the first basketball you
Speaker 3: can see you would just pick it up.
Speaker 4: He was toss it, and I watched this dude like
Speaker 4: make shot at the shot, at the shot, just.
Speaker 3: Throwing this random basketball like it's just a little tennis
Speaker 3: ball or something, and it's just.
Speaker 4: So to you know, transfer over to the game.
Speaker 3: Like obviously his confidence is through the roof with you know,
Speaker 3: I'm gonna say grenades, like those are grenades great. So
Speaker 3: I mean he makes some time time after time. I
Speaker 3: know his confidence and his you know, his mindset is
Speaker 3: that I know I can make this shot. So it
Speaker 3: makes sense why he shoots those every chance he gets.
Speaker 3: So that's the ultimate greenlight ultimate greenlights. We'll probably never
Speaker 3: see that again in the history of the game.
Speaker 1: Steph keeps teasing Steve. He's like, look, man, you were
Speaker 1: a better three point shooter.
Speaker 2: Than I was. And Steve's like, yeah, no, that's not accurate.
Speaker 1: At all, remotely, Like Headliners is back this This episode
Speaker 1: is gonna date you Thursday evening, just ever seventh Paramount
Speaker 1: Plus with Showtime, So go check that out. We will
Speaker 1: bring you little clips every week from now on. I'm
Speaker 1: very excited about that. I'm also always excited about on
Speaker 1: the Radar presented by DraftKings in season tournament odds, we've
Speaker 1: had those going up. But I want to talk to
Speaker 1: you about the NBA Awards at the end of the season.
Speaker 1: There has been a new award that's relatively recent, the
Speaker 1: Clutch Player of the Year. We voted on that last year,
Speaker 1: and if we look at the odds, three of the
Speaker 1: players who are up for Clutch Player of the Year
Speaker 1: who had the best odds are in This isn't in
Speaker 1: season tournament right now. Do you think if say Lillard
Speaker 1: has a great clutch moment during this tournament game, even
Speaker 1: though they're not going to count in the regular season standings,
Speaker 1: he's just still that should be factored in in voter's minds.
Speaker 4: Absolutely.
Speaker 3: I mean, he has a history of doing this anyway,
Speaker 3: so it's not a far fett thing to you know,
Speaker 3: considered Dame Lither there's you know, one of the clutch
Speaker 3: players of the season. So he's done in time and
Speaker 3: time again, I'm pretty sure finishing out this tournament we're
Speaker 3: going to get a clutch moment from him.
Speaker 4: That's just who he is as a player, So it
Speaker 4: makes sense.
Speaker 1: Yeah, man, I mean look so far, I would give
Speaker 1: it to Dame Willard. I mean he's been he's been
Speaker 1: exceptional in that Milwaukee uniform in that category, and as
Speaker 1: I said, like just changed Milwaukee's sort of you know,
Speaker 1: geometry there. They can do things at the end of
Speaker 1: games they couldn't do before. So be interesting to see
Speaker 1: how that turns out. All right, our friends at all
Speaker 1: the smoke. Speaking of clutch players, matn Stack recently sat
Speaker 1: down with Dirk Novitski.
Speaker 2: I want you to take a look at this clip.
Speaker 3: Twenty eight points were game forty nine percent of field
Speaker 3: goal forty six percent three throw line.
Speaker 4: Geene Woollakers tuts.
Speaker 3: Down Kobe kat and Lebron we call that as you
Speaker 3: know on one, he was definitely on one.
Speaker 4: Well, what mind frame will you win?
Speaker 6: We started a roll, We won game five at home,
Speaker 6: beat them in game six, went straight down to La
Speaker 6: and stole a miracle Game one where Kobe was like hot,
Speaker 6: like forty I think it could seem like he couldn't miss,
Speaker 6: and we basically stole that one at the buzzer and
Speaker 6: from there, I don't know, we just we just got
Speaker 6: confidence was getting better and we had the roles were
Speaker 6: defined perfectly right. You had you had Tricks and Kid
Speaker 6: and Tyson they were the defenders. Right on offense, we
Speaker 6: we knew Jet and I and JJ we were going
Speaker 6: to wheel and deal and do our thing. And obviously
Speaker 6: we had some shooters. But I felt like we're our
Speaker 6: roles were were perfectly defined, and we had, uh you know,
Speaker 6: a great bench that we can change the tempo a
Speaker 6: little bit. So uh yeah, I don't know. It was
Speaker 6: just a magical time.
Speaker 4: To eight points we gain.
Speaker 1: Right, that is serious Steven's point right, that he went
Speaker 1: through Katie, Kobe and Lebron to claim his first title.
Speaker 1: I mean, in the history of the toughest road to
Speaker 1: the final, that's that's pretty good, right, I mean, all right.
Speaker 4: I mean we he got one.
Speaker 3: You know, he took a lot of scrutiny in his
Speaker 3: career for not being able to winep but the one
Speaker 3: he did win, it's not it's not many that may
Speaker 3: even come close. Yeah, So he's solidified in this guy obvious.
Speaker 1: His Hall of Fame induction was so much fun to
Speaker 1: be at this year. I mean it was a crazy
Speaker 1: induction anyway, with doing wait, I mean all the guys
Speaker 1: that they had there, but Dirk just he had such
Speaker 1: a great sense of humor about everything. He playing with
Speaker 1: one team his whole career and how special that turned
Speaker 1: out to be. You know, he told me a great
Speaker 1: story about how Kobe tried to recruit him for the
Speaker 1: Lakers late in his career. He was like, no, no, I'm
Speaker 1: not coming to your team. You can come to my
Speaker 1: team if you want, which I love. But yeah, look,
Speaker 1: if you look at the ninety five Rockets, they won
Speaker 1: the title as the sixth seed. They beat the Jazz, Phoenix, Spurs,
Speaker 1: and Magic who had won fifty seven games. Maybe kind of,
Speaker 1: I maybe in the sixth seed is tough, right, that's tough, right.
Speaker 1: And then to me, the twenty sixteen Cavs are in
Speaker 1: that conversation. They swept Detroit that would you know, they
Speaker 1: swept Atlanta that was supposed to give them a lot
Speaker 1: of trouble and didn't beat the Raptors in six That
Speaker 1: was a little bit of messing around. And then uh,
Speaker 1: you know, obviously we know what happened in the finals.
Speaker 1: You beat a team that makes history for seventy three wins.
Speaker 1: That automatically counts you as having one of the tougher
Speaker 1: roads to a title, right, So yeah, but I don't know.
Speaker 1: I think I think Dirk's got got claim to the
Speaker 1: toughest road, certainly by far.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's the one. All right, that's the one. Check
Speaker 1: out all the smoke. That's a great episode and it's
Speaker 1: up already. It's really really really good. All right, doom scroll.
Speaker 1: We are looking at social media so you don't have to,
Speaker 1: and much of the social media buzz around the NBA
Speaker 1: this morning involved you Boogey cousins. Last day, Kyle Kuzma
Speaker 1: was doing a Q and A from fans on Twitter
Speaker 1: and someone asked, what was your welcome to the NBA moment?
Speaker 1: And Boogie I would like you to read the tweet
Speaker 1: of what he said back.
Speaker 3: Ah, man, let's see. I hit Boogie with a nice
Speaker 3: up and under. Then Bro said he was going to
Speaker 3: close line my life skin ass if I did it again.
Speaker 4: That's how accurate. That's accurate? Yeah, man, that's accurate.
Speaker 2: Strategy there.
Speaker 3: Uh, he hit me with a really nice move. I mean,
Speaker 3: I mean, that's that's kind of where stem from. But uh,
Speaker 3: he was young at the time. You know, I kind
Speaker 3: of throw him off his game. I don't want to
Speaker 3: build confidence off a good move, you know, to keep
Speaker 3: going in the game. So I'm gonna throw his you know,
Speaker 3: his mind. Hey man, do that ship again. I'm right here, Yeah,
Speaker 3: you right here. So uh but nah, it was fun
Speaker 3: and games. We laughed about it causes, you know, that's
Speaker 3: my guys. Uh, you know, still stands though, still.
Speaker 2: Stands by the way. Movagner then chimes in.
Speaker 1: He says, Kevin Durant failed me when I'm talking about
Speaker 1: his his welcome to the NBA moment. He said, Kevin
Speaker 1: Durant failed me, and without knowing it was him, I said,
Speaker 1: you can't guard me. And then it turned out to
Speaker 1: be Kevin Durant and you you were on this team. You,
Speaker 1: Katie and Dramm were all of the free throw line
Speaker 1: talking ship to me. While I was throwing three free throws.
Speaker 1: He said, I was so shook. I made one out
Speaker 1: of three. YEA.
Speaker 3: Remember that moment. And for him to say, yeah, I
Speaker 3: didn't know it was KD. That's cap That's the reason
Speaker 3: you got. You know, we was on his ask the
Speaker 3: way he was after that, so you know he was
Speaker 3: feeling himself. He made a couple of good plays, and
Speaker 3: you know he's a he's a chirper, so he likes
Speaker 3: to get under people's skin. He likes to say off
Speaker 3: the wall, shit, Yeah he did that, and you know
Speaker 3: it bit him in the ass in the end.
Speaker 2: So KD piled onto this.
Speaker 1: Also this morning he said, damn, I remember walking away
Speaker 1: from that game thinking that rookie's an asshole.
Speaker 4: There you go. It makes my point right there.
Speaker 2: I just love the guys are still like, yeah, my welcome.
Speaker 1: To the NBA moment with Boogey Cousins two for one
Speaker 1: on this one hundred percent, I'm sure they are not
Speaker 1: the only ones. Look, let's tackle the NBA expansion, because
Speaker 1: Adam Silver was once again talking about this the Guardian
Speaker 1: newspaper ranking the top five cities that could land a team.
Speaker 2: Number five on the list was Vancouver.
Speaker 1: I would like to see the NBA back in Vancouver personally,
Speaker 1: as a person who visits NBA games, just saying number
Speaker 1: four Montreal, I would also like to say that would
Speaker 1: be phenomenal. I used to cover hockey Montreal fantastic city.
Speaker 1: But let's get more into the realm of reality. Number
Speaker 1: three on this list is Mexico City, number two with Seattle,
Speaker 1: and number one is where we sit here, fabulous Las
Speaker 1: Vegas and look Las Vegas and Seattle.
Speaker 2: We've been talking about for years. This feels like a
Speaker 2: sure thing. Mexico City, though the league is like dabbled
Speaker 2: in being interested in being there.
Speaker 1: They play a game there at least once a year,
Speaker 1: sometimes more often. What would you think about putting an
Speaker 1: actual NBA team in Mexico City?
Speaker 3: It will be interesting, you know, it would be different.
Speaker 3: I don't know how, you know, how comfortable guys would
Speaker 3: be when you know, moving an entire family to Mexico
Speaker 3: and things of that nature. Mexico City is, you know,
Speaker 3: a beautiful city and things like that. It's just it's
Speaker 3: a different world, you know what I mean. It's different
Speaker 3: than where we're accustomed to. So, I don't know, it
Speaker 3: would be interesting. But you know, as far as Seattle
Speaker 3: in Vegas, those make perfect sense.
Speaker 2: Those relax.
Speaker 3: Absolutely, you move two guys to the West, you know,
Speaker 3: and maybe Memphis in New Orleans.
Speaker 2: Yes, exactly, realign where they should be.
Speaker 3: Absolutely so those obviously makes sense.
Speaker 1: So yeah, no, I want to see that. Obviously Seattle
Speaker 1: deserves a team back. I'm not sure it should. You know,
Speaker 1: we moved in the first place, so the Oklahoma cities
Speaker 1: they've shown up for that team, so that's great. Sacramento
Speaker 1: almost moved to Seattle, but having a new, fresh team
Speaker 1: I think would be good for them. Las Vegas absolutely
Speaker 1: be good for them. All right, well, we will see
Speaker 1: what happens with these tournament games. You and I will
Speaker 1: be there, and I'm very interested. When we regather on
Speaker 1: Monday to talk about who won this thing. We will
Speaker 1: be on your airwaves. You can get this podcast wherever
Speaker 1: you get your podcast. You can check us out on
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Speaker 1: to the podcast app, it's on Spotify. If it's on Apple,
Speaker 1: you've got to give us our five star reviews. Otherwise
Speaker 1: Boogie will come closeline your ass. Apparently it helps us
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Speaker 1: give us those good reviews and we will see you
Speaker 1: on Moday.