Speaker 1: Welcome to Vulleyball presented by DraftKings. I'm Rachel Nichols and
Speaker 1: live and direct from China, where it is two in
Speaker 1: the morning. We have Demerca's cousins. This is dedication, my friend.
Speaker 1: What are you doing over there?
Speaker 2: Man? It's a huge event over here called Gimo one
Speaker 2: one six. It's basically like a big social media influencer
Speaker 2: thing where you know, guys come together and play the
Speaker 2: game we all love, which is basketball, huge fan interaction
Speaker 2: deal and just coming over here, you know, giving these
Speaker 2: fans a little love and they're going to do the
Speaker 2: same for me. So it's a huge event and I'm
Speaker 2: excited to be a part of it. So that's why
Speaker 2: I'm over here in China right now.
Speaker 1: I've been to China for a few Nike Tour basketball
Speaker 1: event type things and it is bonkers. Like I don't
Speaker 1: think people in the States can quite absorb the crowds
Speaker 1: in the streets, like just shutting down areas wherever you
Speaker 1: guys are. It's a crazy experience. I'm glad you're having
Speaker 1: it out there. But we have tuckle NBA, so I'll
Speaker 1: bring you back to the United States at least digitally.
Speaker 1: Here Boog first up, the Clippers get James Harden, and
Speaker 1: now they are zero and four with the Beard in
Speaker 1: the lineup. Harden has the problem has not been ballhogging.
Speaker 1: He has not shot the ball at a high volume
Speaker 1: at all, eight attempts per game, He's averaging fourteen to
Speaker 1: five and five. Here's really the number that is going
Speaker 1: to stick with us though. With James Harden on the court,
Speaker 1: the Clippers are a minus sixty seven. With Harden on
Speaker 1: the bench, they're plus twenty four, which is the opposite
Speaker 1: of Obviously why they got him. The idea was to
Speaker 1: raise their championship ceiling. That is not happening so far.
Speaker 1: What do you think is the biggest issue so far
Speaker 1: with them struggling to incorporate him.
Speaker 2: I think it's a few issues obviously singling out James
Speaker 2: and putting him on his island. James has to figure
Speaker 2: out how to change his game with him being in
Speaker 2: an addition to this Clippers team who's kind of already
Speaker 2: have they kind of already have a foundation. James has
Speaker 2: to James has to figure out ways of getting back
Speaker 2: in touchs, doing the small things on the court, energy
Speaker 2: and effort, you know, defensive plays, diving on the floor,
Speaker 2: things of that nature. The offense and assists, that's gonna
Speaker 2: come with the floor of the game. But he has
Speaker 2: to fall back in love and understand that the smaller
Speaker 2: detailed parts of the game is what this team needs
Speaker 2: to be successful. It's not necessarily him scoring him assist
Speaker 2: and that's that's an obvious thing. So once he gets
Speaker 2: back to that, I think that plus minus affixed hisself.
Speaker 2: And you also just have to get his team time.
Speaker 2: This is a huge addition to this team. This is
Speaker 2: a huge talent. It's not as simple as just putting
Speaker 2: this guy in the lineup and expecting it to work.
Speaker 2: It's a lot of moving piece with his team. So
Speaker 2: they still have to figure that part out as well,
Speaker 2: and that goes that falls more so on TLU and
Speaker 2: in the front office. So figuring out that and making
Speaker 2: this puzzle come all together, it's gonna take some time.
Speaker 2: And they also have another issue with the team not
Speaker 2: having a backup Big Mason Plumbery missing time that that
Speaker 2: that affects the team. Once Big Zoo leaves out of
Speaker 2: the lineup, they kind of have a downfall when it
Speaker 2: comes to rebounding and protecting the rim. So that's also
Speaker 2: another issue that they're going to have to fix. So
Speaker 2: it's a lot of things going on within that team.
Speaker 2: But it's it's not as obvious as just you know,
Speaker 2: James is now a part of this team and he's
Speaker 2: the problem. That's that's not the case at all. There's
Speaker 2: just some little wrinkles they're going to have to iron out,
Speaker 2: and I think this team will be fine.
Speaker 1: I do agree with that. And look, Paul George was
Speaker 1: really talking about pace being a problem. He said, quote,
Speaker 1: I think the pace is what we haven't figured out yet.
Speaker 1: Tyler's quote went further. He said, quote, we can't just
Speaker 1: fucking walk around offensively. He said, you've got to get
Speaker 1: to the next action. If you don't do that and
Speaker 1: do it hard, you're going to get beat every night.
Speaker 1: We are seeing those results. So so to your point,
Speaker 1: it's it's something they're trying to figure out that has
Speaker 1: a high risk, high reward. Right, this is a high
Speaker 1: degree of difficulty operation, and so far it has just
Speaker 1: looked difficult. But I do think we've got to give
Speaker 1: them time. Tyler said he needed ten games to figure
Speaker 1: it out. Honestly, if he can do it in twenty
Speaker 1: I will applaud him because I think it's just extremely difficult.
Speaker 1: But we'll see. I don't know. And the big as
Speaker 1: you point out, they've got two roster spots. They got
Speaker 1: to fill them. I think by the end of this week, boogie,
Speaker 1: and you know they need a stretch big. But I'm
Speaker 1: not going to talk about that too much. But yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean that's a huge part of it, don't you think.
Speaker 2: I agree like I said, and PG saying bringing up
Speaker 2: the point of you know, the pace, that's that's a
Speaker 2: big thing. And if you if you know what James
Speaker 2: Harden's game is, Jane has the tendency to play at
Speaker 2: his own pace, and that's an okay thing. When it's
Speaker 2: your team and you're the one leading the team, you
Speaker 2: could play at your own pace. But now he's kind
Speaker 2: of fitting into this Clippers team, so he has to
Speaker 2: match their pace or they have to figure out what
Speaker 2: exact pace is going to be. But like I said,
Speaker 2: I think it's more of small detailed things than really
Speaker 2: a bigger issue that obviously, you know, people like us
Speaker 2: and other media members are going to make an issue about.
Speaker 2: But figuring out those small things, I think I think
Speaker 2: this team will be fine. It'll takes some time, but
Speaker 2: I think it's definitely possible to fix.
Speaker 1: I mean, Tyler said that he thought James was being
Speaker 1: a little too polite. He's like, we need to let
Speaker 1: James be James. They had kind of a little team
Speaker 1: meeting about it over the weekend, just talking about you know, hey, James,
Speaker 1: we all want you to step up. I know that
Speaker 1: there's kind of all this media attention of is he
Speaker 1: going to be a ballhog? But the messaging to him
Speaker 1: was do more of what he does. We'll have to
Speaker 1: see if that works. I do know that when they
Speaker 1: had the issues in the last game they played, as
Speaker 1: we sit here, they fell behind by fifteen in the
Speaker 1: third quarter. Then they used PG Westbrook, Norm pal Terrence
Speaker 1: Man and Kawhi that lineup with Harden on the bench.
Speaker 1: That's who got them back into the game. And then
Speaker 1: Harden came back for the last couple minutes. But it
Speaker 1: is interesting they're starting games with all four of them.
Speaker 1: The idea is that Russ won't be there at the
Speaker 1: end of games a lot of the time, but at
Speaker 1: least for his sort of ego and mental state and routine.
Speaker 1: Frankly like, they want to have him start I don't know.
Speaker 1: Do they eventually have to figure out a way to
Speaker 1: put rest Or Harden on the bench when the other
Speaker 1: one is playing, or do you think it can work
Speaker 1: with all four of them.
Speaker 2: We spoke on the last week. It's not really about
Speaker 2: how you start the game. I think it's fine for
Speaker 2: them to start all four, but their issue is going
Speaker 2: to be how they decide to finish games. Yeah, we
Speaker 2: spoke on the last week. It's going to be situation
Speaker 2: where James is on the bench because they need a
Speaker 2: defensive guard in Russ, and it's going to be times
Speaker 2: where they need play making and shooting. And not saying
Speaker 2: that Russ can't play make, but he's obviously not as
Speaker 2: good as a shooter as James Harden. It's going to
Speaker 2: be times where they need playmaking and shooting to finish
Speaker 2: out games. And that's where russip y' all. That's going
Speaker 2: to be their biggest issue is figuring out how they're
Speaker 2: going to finish games. And obviously it's an issue because
Speaker 2: they're on four right now with James being on his team,
Speaker 2: they got a big task in front of them, and
Speaker 2: I think they got the right man for the job
Speaker 2: in t Lou I think I think he's very, very,
Speaker 2: very intelligent when it comes to figuring out these problems.
Speaker 2: I don't think he gets enough credit for being that
Speaker 2: type of a coach, but I think it's more than
Speaker 2: possible and eventually to figure itself out. Yeah.
Speaker 1: I mean, look, it also has got a lot of
Speaker 1: people looking back at how they got here, right, I mean,
Speaker 1: the trade with OKC started this whole era. They got
Speaker 1: Paul George and that helped them sign Kawhi, But just
Speaker 1: remind you, it required them to ship out Shake Eildriss,
Speaker 1: Alexander draft picks that turned into Jalen Williams and Trey
Speaker 1: Man down in Oklahoma City, plus three more first round
Speaker 1: picks still to come out of this deal. I mean,
Speaker 1: I don't know when you look back at it, would
Speaker 1: you do it all over again if you were the
Speaker 1: Clippers or No, would I.
Speaker 2: Do it all over again? Absolutely seeing your foundation around
Speaker 2: Paul George and Kawhi Leonard, I think any team in
Speaker 2: the league, if they had the opportunity to do it,
Speaker 2: would do the same thing. I don't think it's about
Speaker 2: I don't think their issue has ever been about what
Speaker 2: pieces they put around them. It's always been about health.
Speaker 2: They've always been in the They've always had a chance
Speaker 2: every single season. It's just for some reason they can't
Speaker 2: get over this health.
Speaker 3: Book.
Speaker 2: But like I said, I think any organization in the
Speaker 2: league had a chance to do this, they would do it.
Speaker 1: Also, you have to remember, like the Clippers needed to
Speaker 1: have big stars. They're in an LA market. They're competing
Speaker 1: against the Lakers for eyeballs, for seats, for television ratings
Speaker 1: here locally. Like I just think if you look at
Speaker 1: the list of sets that Okac has from that deal,
Speaker 1: of course they're huge, and it's great team building. And
Speaker 1: you know, Sam Presty has been brilliant with all of this,
Speaker 1: but as great as Shay is, and he is fantastic.
Speaker 1: When you look at the other players I just mentioned,
Speaker 1: they're very young, and the draft picks haven't even been
Speaker 1: drafted yet the ones still to come. So that's not
Speaker 1: what the Clippers needed right now. They didn't need a
Speaker 1: bunch of young players. They needed guys who were stars,
Speaker 1: who they could get people into the building with and
Speaker 1: they could energize fans with. So I would do it
Speaker 1: all over again too, Book. I just think that you know,
Speaker 1: they all got to cross their fingers. It does find
Speaker 1: a way to work itself out this year, both with
Speaker 1: hearten and help wise, because all of those guys could
Speaker 1: leave this summer, there's a bunch of player options they
Speaker 1: could be going into this new arena that's extremely nice
Speaker 1: that they've built with nobody of name on the roster.
Speaker 1: So I think it will be interesting. There's a lot
Speaker 1: of pressure and we'll see if Tyl you can work
Speaker 1: his usual magic. I don't know, So let's talk about
Speaker 1: Minnesota book another impressive win on Sunday against the Warriors.
Speaker 1: Have won six games in a row. These wins have
Speaker 1: included the Nuggets, Celtics, and Golden State. They have the
Speaker 1: best defensive rating in the league. They've held opponents under
Speaker 1: one hundred points five times already in this young season.
Speaker 1: That's the most in the NBA. Look, every aspect of
Speaker 1: this team is clicking. Gobert is actually really fitting in
Speaker 1: when last season it didn't look like it was working.
Speaker 1: And then Anthony Edwards man, he looks very good, just
Speaker 1: picking up where he left off over the summer with
Speaker 1: Team USA. So what do you think is more important,
Speaker 1: like sort of how Gobert is fitting in and the
Speaker 1: defense is so strong do you feel like it's just
Speaker 1: ants stepping up to the next level. Is it both
Speaker 1: of it coming together? What do you give their success to.
Speaker 2: I think it's a combination of a lot of things. Obviously,
Speaker 2: Anthony Edwards has found his confidence, he's founding himself in
Speaker 2: his league. He's realizing that the star that he is
Speaker 2: at this point in his career. And I also think
Speaker 2: the Timberwolves organization is realizing the starter that they have
Speaker 2: on their hands. I think they're more into giving him
Speaker 2: the ball and making him the focal point or the offense,
Speaker 2: which is I believe is a smart move on their behalf.
Speaker 2: Another key thing that I think that's been overlooked is
Speaker 2: the fact that Jad McDaniels is back in the lineup.
Speaker 2: He's back from his injury. He's a huge piece to
Speaker 2: that team defensively and offensively. He's going to guard the
Speaker 2: best player every single night. He fits in seamlessly with
Speaker 2: that team, and Kat doing what he does every night,
Speaker 2: shooting sixty percent from the field, He's playing fantastic. I
Speaker 2: believe Kat is now the second on that team to
Speaker 2: Anthony Erwas, which I think works great for that team.
Speaker 2: And it's no knock to Cat I just think that's
Speaker 2: the perfect flow for this team, and Rudy doing what
Speaker 2: he does protects the rim, being that defensive anchor every night.
Speaker 2: I think with the addition of McDaniel's being back in
Speaker 2: the lineup, it makes Rudy's job that much more easier.
Speaker 2: And everything's flowing for that team right now, and I
Speaker 2: think they're in a good place. So I think looking
Speaker 2: back on that trade, you know, everybody looked at it
Speaker 2: as it was a huge mistake, but obviously they had
Speaker 2: a vision and that vision is now coming together, so.
Speaker 1: You yeah, it's huge because that looked like a colossal mistake, right.
Speaker 1: I mean, just look like the game had kind of
Speaker 1: passed Rudy by a little bit, that they gave up
Speaker 1: too much for him, that the fit with Kat wasn't working,
Speaker 1: and things look pretty grim at times last season, and
Speaker 1: the fact that he's gotten more comfortable that they figured
Speaker 1: out a way to work together. The McDaniels point you
Speaker 1: made is so good. The fact that he can lock
Speaker 1: down guys on the perimeter lets Rudy be more roody inside.
Speaker 1: I just think that getting that piece working, even if
Speaker 1: his individual numbers aren't as good as they've been at
Speaker 1: times during his career, Like, clearly the team defense is working,
Speaker 1: they're the best in the league. I think that's huge
Speaker 1: and ant is not afraid of anyone. I just want
Speaker 1: to give you an exchange book from the Warriors game Draymond.
Speaker 1: You know, it kind of gave him a heart fell.
Speaker 1: He's like, what are you going to do about it?
Speaker 1: He used more colorful language than that. I'm just going
Speaker 1: to put that before. But here was Anthony's response. He said,
Speaker 1: nobody is worried about you, bruh hella, and then he
Speaker 1: went out and scored a bunch of points. So I
Speaker 1: think the fact that he's not afraid to mix it up.
Speaker 1: I mean, what trash talk have you had with Draymond
Speaker 1: over the years? Man?
Speaker 2: Me and me and Draymond have had our battles over
Speaker 2: the years. He's one of the best in the business
Speaker 2: when it comes to, you know, talking you out of
Speaker 2: your game, making you feel like shit on the floor,
Speaker 2: or just downright just being disrespectful. So it takes it
Speaker 2: takes a tough minded, tough individual to overlook that and
Speaker 2: still be able to go out and perform at a
Speaker 2: high level. So, like I said, I think Anthony Edwards
Speaker 2: has found himself in his league. He's found his confidence.
Speaker 2: He realizes at the start of the year is and uh,
Speaker 2: you know, these type performances are going to be a
Speaker 2: regular for him, I believe.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Well, look you learned it firsthand. It's much better
Speaker 1: to have Draymond on your team than playing against him.
Speaker 2: With all the absolutely absolutely, there.
Speaker 1: You go another hot team that we maybe didn't expect
Speaker 1: to be this hot. So far, the Rockets have won
Speaker 1: six in a row, book, and that's after an zero
Speaker 1: to three start, So that is a huge turnaround. Houston
Speaker 1: also a very impressive roster of wins. They've beaten the Lakers,
Speaker 1: they've beaten the Nuggets, they've beaten the Pelicans, the Kings.
Speaker 1: Now a bunch of those games have been at home,
Speaker 1: but you got to win the games in front of you,
Speaker 1: and they have won them. And for a team that
Speaker 1: started zwing three, that is huge. They were a bottom
Speaker 1: three defense for three consecutive years and now they are
Speaker 1: a top five defense. Obviously, the coaching has to have
Speaker 1: a big, big element to do with it, right, and
Speaker 1: then the players stepping up. Fred van Vlietz there, now,
Speaker 1: Dylan Brooks is there. Now you know they've got Shngun
Speaker 1: who's been terrific as a big there. Jalen Green has
Speaker 1: really been strong. They've got depth on the wings. What
Speaker 1: do you see when you looked at this team, because
Speaker 1: they were kind of written off even after the first
Speaker 1: week of the season this.
Speaker 2: Year, It's a lot of things I see with this team, obviously,
Speaker 2: I believe with their best player being their best young
Speaker 2: asset being Singong, he's like a combination of some Bonus
Speaker 2: and Jokic. Yeah, he kind of ignites the offense, gets.
Speaker 1: The offense front the ingredients.
Speaker 2: Let me not get ahead of myself say he's young. Yeah,
Speaker 2: I don't want to throw any crazy takes out there,
Speaker 2: but obviously he has the potential to be those caliber players.
Speaker 2: He shows flashes on the nightly basis. He's super young.
Speaker 2: He's twenty one years old, still has a lot of
Speaker 2: room to grow in his game, so I think he
Speaker 2: has a bright future ahead of him. But him being
Speaker 2: the focal point of the offense, keeping the flow of
Speaker 2: the game going for that team, obviously adding a vetting
Speaker 2: frev and Fleet. We know his track work record, we
Speaker 2: know what he brings to the game every night. I
Speaker 2: believe Jalen Green is starting to come into his own.
Speaker 2: He's figuring out the game. The game is slowing down
Speaker 2: for him, and I think the biggest team that's been
Speaker 2: overlooked and we have to get his guy credit. He's
Speaker 2: taking so much shit over the past two years and
Speaker 2: it's it's kind of ironic. Dylan Brooks. Yep, we have
Speaker 2: to give him his credit. Dylan Brooks has come in.
Speaker 2: He's helped his team win games. He's leading this team
Speaker 2: and it's mighty irana that the team he left is
Speaker 2: now struggling without him. He's he's been he's been labeled
Speaker 2: the villain in the league for the past two years,
Speaker 2: but obviously he's showing his impact on what he brings
Speaker 2: the teams with this young Rockets team and it's resulting
Speaker 2: in wins. So you have to give him his credit
Speaker 2: as well. So I think this young team is coming together.
Speaker 2: I think they have a lot of potential. So we'll
Speaker 2: see how this play is out.
Speaker 1: I love the combo of Dylan Brooks and Fred VanVleet
Speaker 1: personality wise, right like Fred is so laid back, He's
Speaker 1: a chill dude, obviously an extremely hard worker. Dylan Brooks
Speaker 1: an extremely hard worker in his own way, I think
Speaker 1: that sometimes gets lost in sort of all the talking
Speaker 1: he does. But those guys have a meeting in the
Speaker 1: minds in terms of how they approach the game. But
Speaker 1: they're very different vocally, and Dylanan can be a little
Speaker 1: bit more of that firebrand it. Let's Fred lean back
Speaker 1: and just run the point and be his own self.
Speaker 1: And if you think this is another team that almost
Speaker 1: went the James Hardenbrute, they definitely had some interest last
Speaker 1: year and there were reports that you know, in some
Speaker 1: of the conversations James had kind of made it clear
Speaker 1: through people or whoever that he wanted to get back
Speaker 1: to sort of that his old Rockets persona and running
Speaker 1: the show. And again the reporting was that Imooduko was like, nope, no,
Speaker 1: thank you, we're good check les, And clearly by going
Speaker 1: out and getting Fred van Vliet instead, you know, it
Speaker 1: was completely the right fit. And I May, who is
Speaker 1: a defensive minded coach who did wonders with the Celtics
Speaker 1: when he was with them, is right back at it
Speaker 1: with the Rockets, and I've just I've been super impressed
Speaker 1: with that team. And it's not easy to dig yourself
Speaker 1: out of the basement, and it just seems like they've
Speaker 1: got ingredients and Shengun's playing great, and I just I'm
Speaker 1: very interested to see what happens because it is a
Speaker 1: tight playoff race in the West bog and that the
Speaker 1: conference is so deep, and we never expected the Rockets
Speaker 1: to even be in the playoff conversation, but I don't
Speaker 1: know they could be there, especially with the play in
Speaker 1: they could be there at the end of the season.
Speaker 2: That's a young, scary team and any veteran team or
Speaker 2: team with championship aspirations would hate to face that young
Speaker 2: athletic team or any given night. So the West is
Speaker 2: definitely wild.
Speaker 1: Hoping there give you problems team, all right, I want
Speaker 1: to look at some of the marquee games this week,
Speaker 1: which is jumping out to you. I'man to give you
Speaker 1: a couple of choices. Timberwolves at Warriors, so we just
Speaker 1: know what happened, and we told you about the little
Speaker 1: Draymond Aunt battle. There, you've got Spurs versus Thunder. I'm
Speaker 1: excited about this because I think it's a Rookie of
Speaker 1: the Year battle chet Holmegren versus Wenby. I think that's
Speaker 1: going to be great. Wednesday, you've got Celtic Sixers, and
Speaker 1: on Thursday Thunder Warriors. And on Saturday you've got MAVs
Speaker 1: at Bucks. Which the way, Luca is playing Lillard Jannis,
Speaker 1: assuming he doesn't get himself ejected again, that could be
Speaker 1: a really good matchup. Also, which is which is your
Speaker 1: sort of one that you're eyeing.
Speaker 2: I'm looking forward to the Tuesdays game the Timberwolves and Warriors.
Speaker 2: They played each other before already, and you know, they've
Speaker 2: already created a little history and animosity amongst each other.
Speaker 2: So I'm interested to see how that game goes. And
Speaker 2: we can see if the Timberwolves can continue to be
Speaker 2: you know, this winning team, and we can see if
Speaker 2: the Warriors can bounce back and hit him back in
Speaker 2: the mouth. So we'll see what happens. I'm interested in
Speaker 2: Tuesday's game for sure.
Speaker 1: I like it. Well, now it's time for On the Radar,
Speaker 1: presented by DraftKings Sportsbook, the only sportsbook you need for
Speaker 1: the NBA season. Let's take a look at the Eastern
Speaker 1: Conference Championship odds. The Celtics still leading the race. They're
Speaker 1: at plus one fifty five. The Bucks, though creeping up there.
Speaker 1: The Sixers they've moved up to plus six hundred, which,
Speaker 1: by the way, that's already better than it was on
Speaker 1: Sunday Night, So they moved up. They were going into
Speaker 1: Sunday's game at seven hundred, and now they're at six hundred.
Speaker 1: And you can make the case, Boogie that the Sixers
Speaker 1: are the best team in the East right now, which
Speaker 1: is not a sentence I expected to say after a
Speaker 1: trade of one of their marquee players. They have the
Speaker 1: best record. They beat the Celtics recently. That game could
Speaker 1: have gone either way, but it went the Sixers way.
Speaker 1: And then Tyrese Maxi dropped fifty points on Sunday Night,
Speaker 1: the first Sixer to do that since the first point
Speaker 1: guard to do that since Alan Iverson in two thousand
Speaker 1: and five. And again, let's just have a moment of
Speaker 1: appreciation for Allen Iverson, our greatest living American Thank you,
Speaker 1: thank you, Angel music here, please all that. But that's
Speaker 1: a huge anytime you're in the same sentence as Alan Iverson,
Speaker 1: if you're a point guard playing for the Sixers, that
Speaker 1: is enormous. He's gonna make the All Star Game at
Speaker 1: this pace. How do you like their chances? I mean,
Speaker 1: could they actually win the East? Do you see that
Speaker 1: as being possible.
Speaker 2: Uh is it possible? Yes? Do I see it happening. No,
Speaker 2: That Celtics team is so well put together. I just
Speaker 2: don't really see any team getting past them. And I
Speaker 2: think at a certain point the Sixers will run out
Speaker 2: of firepower. I could be wrong, but my gut is
Speaker 2: telling me that they will run out of firepower, especially
Speaker 2: during the playoffs when schemes start getting into play and
Speaker 2: adjustments are made on on on the defensive end. So
Speaker 2: but as far as Maxie making an all start, absolutely
Speaker 2: shout out to my UK brother having an incredible year.
Speaker 2: I'm glad he's able to, you know, be put into
Speaker 2: this new position and show all his talents. And I
Speaker 2: think the flow of his Sixer team is perfect. It's
Speaker 2: really no ball dominant guy outside of Joe LMB, which
Speaker 2: is obviously fine with him being the dominant player of
Speaker 2: the he is, but you know, everything else is flows
Speaker 2: around him, and like I said, it's able to open
Speaker 2: up Maxi's game and obviously the pieces around it. So
Speaker 2: I think it's a perfect flow for this team and
Speaker 2: I think they'll have a successful season. But like I said,
Speaker 2: towards playoff time, I think they eventually run out of firepower.
Speaker 1: It's going to be interesting because the idea in making
Speaker 1: the hard and trade was getting a bunch of first
Speaker 1: round draft picks back. They got that they're going to
Speaker 1: be able to package three picks if they want to
Speaker 1: trade for a major player. They've also got a ton
Speaker 1: of salary cap space opening up this summer, so the
Speaker 1: plan has been get another big time major star to
Speaker 1: play alongside em Beats, so that Joelle doesn't want to
Speaker 1: be like, huh, what about the New York Knicks, what
Speaker 1: about the Miami They're playing so well that need is
Speaker 1: not as pressing right now. To your point about the playoffs,
Speaker 1: I still think they should make a decent sized move
Speaker 1: before the deadline because it will put them in better
Speaker 1: position and they will still have that cap room in
Speaker 1: the summer. But it's interesting. Maxi is making this conversation
Speaker 1: more spicy than we thought it was going to be.
Speaker 1: He's so good and he's just a joy on that team. Also,
Speaker 1: I know he's so popular in the locker room, and
Speaker 1: that makes a big difference after kind of all the
Speaker 1: inks that they went through over the last six months.
Speaker 1: So I love watching him succeed. I also want to
Speaker 1: shout out and send our best book to Kelly Ubrey,
Speaker 1: who was struck by a car on Saturday night. Taken
Speaker 1: to the hospital. He is a broken rib, he's got
Speaker 1: injuries to his hip and right leg. The driver fled
Speaker 1: the scene, which don't get me started. But hopefully speedy
Speaker 1: recovery there won't impact his basketball too much throughout this season.
Speaker 1: But that's scary man.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and it sucks as well because he was playing
Speaker 2: so well and at such a high level. So he's
Speaker 2: been a reason that the team has been so successful
Speaker 2: as well. So definitely shout out to Ubery and speedy recovery.
Speaker 3: Bro.
Speaker 1: All right, we got a little social media in here too,
Speaker 1: because it's time for doom scroll. No need to fall
Speaker 1: into the endless scroll of our social apps. We've got you.
Speaker 1: I want to shout out to Boardroom putting together this
Speaker 1: great story about Magic Johnson. Magic said he used to
Speaker 1: call season ticket holders to learn how they became rich.
Speaker 1: But he would look at who was courtside at Laker
Speaker 1: games during the showtime era, and he would get their
Speaker 1: phone numbers from the season ticket office and he'd be like,
Speaker 1: how'd you get season tickets? How did you get rich?
Speaker 1: And of course now he's a billionaire, so I didn't
Speaker 1: know if Look, you played with the Warriors, where those
Speaker 1: Silicon Valley relationships have done very well for Andrea Mudala
Speaker 1: and some of the other guys in the team. Have
Speaker 1: you had any notable relationships with any fans or season
Speaker 1: ticket holders, whether they're financial or not, over your career.
Speaker 2: Absolutely, it's the best way to move forward with after basketball.
Speaker 2: Obviously you can't do this forever. I think Magic Johnson
Speaker 2: was brilliant for that, and obviously it just makes sense.
Speaker 2: You want to keep the company of what you want
Speaker 2: to become, and you know, picking the brands that he's
Speaker 2: millionaires and billionaires and figuring out, you know, the different
Speaker 2: businesses you can be become a part of outside of
Speaker 2: basketball is an obvious thing. So I think I think
Speaker 2: he did the right thing. That's and that's something that
Speaker 2: most veterans now appreciated young guys in this league is
Speaker 2: you want to build those relationships with those people sitting
Speaker 2: on the sidelines because they're fans of you and they
Speaker 2: want to get to know you and they want to help.
Speaker 2: So all it really takes is the conversation and it
Speaker 2: can open many doors for you later on. So I
Speaker 2: think that's brilliant by Magic.
Speaker 1: Yeah. I mean, look, these are some of the most
Speaker 1: successful people in the country, so those relationships are great
Speaker 1: to forge. And clearly Magic did just fine, so.
Speaker 2: Not doing too bad.
Speaker 1: I want to shout out Jaalen Brown. Yeah, exactly, he
Speaker 1: did fine. He did fine. I do want to shout
Speaker 1: out Jaalen Brown. I really appreciate that he and the
Speaker 1: Celtics took time before their game on Friday. They were
Speaker 1: raising awareness for a bill in Massachusetts called Raise the Age,
Speaker 1: and the bill aims to gradually raise the age of
Speaker 1: juveniles the jurisdiction legally so that you are still considered
Speaker 1: juvenile by the court system when you're eighteen nineteen up
Speaker 1: to twenty years old, instead of turning eighteen you're treated
Speaker 1: as an adult before weeks.
Speaker 3: Involved line, I want to recognition to a bailer. Legislation
Speaker 3: that we the subjects are advocating for the name of
Speaker 3: is Fiel is called the Raise the Age Bill. If
Speaker 3: you want to learn more, please visits Celtics dot com
Speaker 3: slash Raise the Age to learn more. Thank you, gods over.
Speaker 1: I think that's so important if you look at the
Speaker 1: numbers of kids who are still teenagers. They're still so young,
Speaker 1: your frontal core texts of your brain is not formed yet,
Speaker 1: making decisions and then being put in jail as adults
Speaker 1: sometimes in life sentences. I think it's very impressive. Jalen
Speaker 1: Brown has been using his pulpit to do things like
Speaker 1: this since entire career. What do you make of this
Speaker 1: big I.
Speaker 2: Think it's dope. Obviously, Jalen is he's more than a
Speaker 2: basketball player. He's advocating for a lot of pilot things
Speaker 2: in our community. I think this move was brilliant. And
Speaker 2: the reason I can say that is basically, I mean,
Speaker 2: even at the age of twenty you're still considered a kid.
Speaker 2: Twenty one, twenty two, twenty three, you're still a kid.
Speaker 2: You're literally graduating college at twenty two's so to be,
Speaker 2: you know, treated as an adult or you know, you
Speaker 2: lose your entire future from a decision you made as
Speaker 2: a child is just completely unfair. So I think this
Speaker 2: is a brilliant move and hopefully hopefully this bill changing
Speaker 2: can you know, change some lives and kids get a
Speaker 2: second chance of life and they make the better, the
Speaker 2: best decision with that second chance. So I think this
Speaker 2: is brilliant.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and the organization too. I mean, this is not
Speaker 1: popular in all corners of Massachusetts, right, not everybody thinks
Speaker 1: this way. So the fact that they're putting themselves out
Speaker 1: there with Jalen, I just appreciate it all. And your
Speaker 1: point is great. We say college kid all the time, right,
Speaker 1: these kids in college when we're watching the NCAA tournament
Speaker 1: any of that stuff. So the kids who go to
Speaker 1: college get to still be kids. And the kids who,
Speaker 1: fortunately because of all of their circus socioeconomic circumstances, don't
Speaker 1: get to go to college, they're not kids anymore. I mean,
Speaker 1: I just I think this is a big deal. So excellent.
Speaker 1: We'll be keeping an eye on that bill thanks to
Speaker 1: Jalen Brown. And I want to get to this one
Speaker 1: last social media thing here because Jay Kudah on Twitter
Speaker 1: made this simple yet effective graphic. But you, cousins, the
Speaker 1: Lakers are the only team in the NBA that has
Speaker 1: not led a game at halftime yet. How concerning is
Speaker 1: this for you?
Speaker 2: It's very concerning, And obviously I've said I've spoken on
Speaker 2: this before. Any team that's depending on the thirty nine
Speaker 2: year old to lead you to every win, it's just
Speaker 2: not going to be much success behind. And no, not
Speaker 2: to Lebron. He's a legend. He's great. He's doing things
Speaker 2: that we've never seen before from a guy his age.
Speaker 2: But just to expect that on a nightly basis from
Speaker 2: this guy, it's one completely unfair to Lebron, and two
Speaker 2: is just not really realistic. You have to put I
Speaker 2: think I think the Lakers need a third star. I
Speaker 2: think Austin Reeves is a great player, which is my point.
Speaker 2: I think Austin has potential. I think he's going to
Speaker 2: be a good player in this league, but as of
Speaker 2: right now, at this stage, he's just not that guy
Speaker 2: for this Lakers team. They have to get a third start.
Speaker 2: They have to get somebody that to accompany Lebron and
Speaker 2: a D. Shout out to a D who's been dominant
Speaker 2: since the beginning of the season. He's not really getting
Speaker 2: a lot of credit.
Speaker 1: Uh.
Speaker 2: And what I hate about this is when he's doing bad,
Speaker 2: they're all over it. They make sure they post every
Speaker 2: stat but him dominating his crickets. So shout out to
Speaker 2: a D. Continue to dominate. Bro Be the person that
Speaker 2: you are, be the player that you are, show the
Speaker 2: world who you are. But with that being said, they
Speaker 2: have to add a third star that can complement these
Speaker 2: two guys and help them win games. As of right now,
Speaker 2: they don't have that third star.
Speaker 1: All right. Our last item of the day here Booi
Speaker 1: is an unhappy Zion Williamson. The quote was, I am
Speaker 1: trying my best to buy in. Here's the full picture,
Speaker 1: he said.
Speaker 2: I gotta said.
Speaker 4: Last year, you know, we had a team meeting and
Speaker 4: it was brought up some things that I could do better,
Speaker 4: especially like with buying into the program. And right now
Speaker 4: it's tough right now. But like I say, right now,
Speaker 4: I'm taking a little back seat right now and I'm
Speaker 4: trusting the process. I'm trying my best to buying right now.
Speaker 1: Do you have any advice for him.
Speaker 2: I'm not understanding what he's frustrated about. The team is
Speaker 2: built arounds on I'm not really understanding how he's frustrated
Speaker 2: or he's taking a back seat. It's hard winning games
Speaker 2: in the NBA, and this is a struggle that most
Speaker 2: athletes have to do with. Professional athletes have to deal
Speaker 2: with and when you're so used to winning your entire life,
Speaker 2: you get to this situation where it's just lost after
Speaker 2: loss after loss, or you feel like things aren't going
Speaker 2: your way. You can you can eventually get to this
Speaker 2: balling point of you know, putting out comments like this.
Speaker 2: Just continue, bro, continue to trust the process, continue to
Speaker 2: trust the coaching stuff, to trust your teammates. You've already
Speaker 2: kind of had a negative you know, look on your
Speaker 2: career with you know, the weight challenges, the injury challenges.
Speaker 2: You now don't want to ask another layer to it
Speaker 2: to where now teams or organizations are looking at you
Speaker 2: as a negative. So just trust this process. Try to
Speaker 2: keep as many of your frustrations to yourself, and if
Speaker 2: there are any frustrations, just put it all out on
Speaker 2: the floor, go rip the rim off on a nightly basis.
Speaker 2: It's hard to win games, it's super hard to win games.
Speaker 2: But adding frustration to that's only going to worsen your problems.
Speaker 2: So just try to be as positive as you can.
Speaker 2: Try to bring as much positivity to this group and
Speaker 2: hopefully it'll write the ship.
Speaker 1: Well, Bugey, I gotta tell you you brought it today energy.
Speaker 1: It's literally the middle of the night there in China.
Speaker 1: We are very very grateful. We're grateful to all of
Speaker 1: you guys for sticking with us. We appreciate you signing on.
Speaker 1: Please subscribe, Please give us those five star reviews. It
Speaker 1: helps with the algorithm, and we will see you next week. Bullyball.
Speaker 1: You can get it on YouTube show Time channel and
Speaker 1: you can also get it wherever you get your podcasts. Apple, Spotify,
Speaker 1: I don't know an actual Apple, you can find us.
Speaker 1: See you soon.