Speaker 1: Welcome into What's burnon.
Speaker 2: I feel like we need that, like breaking news did,
Speaker 2: because like six seconds ago, the Sixers announced they are
Speaker 2: firing Doc. Rivers one fifty four to eighty two regular
Speaker 2: season record, but twenty.
Speaker 1: And ten in the playoffs.
Speaker 2: Sixers have lost in the second round five the past
Speaker 2: six seasons, so this run actually predates Doc, but also
Speaker 2: speaks to ownerships frustration levels. So just start, Matt, what
Speaker 2: do you make of Doc getting fired?
Speaker 3: Interesting? As someone who played for Doc, uh great motivator.
Speaker 3: I feel like at time struggles with in game adjustments.
Speaker 3: You know, it's been well documented all week before he
Speaker 3: was fired. Just his his his record in closeout games,
Speaker 3: or his team's blowing three to one, up three two
Speaker 3: leads game seven, this last game seven. I mean it's yeah,
Speaker 3: Doc as a coach, but you know, Embiid and Harden
Speaker 3: played piss poor. I think they know that. I think
Speaker 3: the world knows that, but I don't know. Rach. Doc
Speaker 3: has has has been one of those very lucky coaches
Speaker 3: that from the beginning, starting with t mac onto Boston
Speaker 3: with two Hall of Famers, onto the Clippers with Blake
Speaker 3: and Chris, onto seventy six ers, He's always found a
Speaker 3: team that has at least one bona fide superstar, but two,
Speaker 3: but his inability to get them over the hump. You know,
Speaker 3: record very solid, but you know, with teams like that
Speaker 3: and talent like that, you have to win championships or
Speaker 3: at least get to the championship, and I think his
Speaker 3: inability to do that with these very talented teams is
Speaker 3: possibly why he was fired.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean it's interesting you look at him big
Speaker 2: picture and there's a lot of reasons why. Hey, this
Speaker 2: may be justified, But in terms of the specific of
Speaker 2: Game six in Game seven in this series, I mean,
Speaker 2: his key players didn't play well down the stretch in
Speaker 2: Game six, and by the way, if Jason Tatum didn't
Speaker 2: happen to get hot at the end of that game,
Speaker 2: the very big of the fourth quarter, this is a
Speaker 2: different conversation. They win Game six at home, and they're
Speaker 2: in the conference finals, and he still has his job
Speaker 2: and I'm sure has his job for years to come.
Speaker 2: And then game seven, they lose a Game seven on
Speaker 2: the road against the team that made the NBA Finals
Speaker 2: last year, that was the number one seed for much
Speaker 2: of the season this season, with a transcendent performance from
Speaker 2: a legit star in Jason Tatum. I believe, I mean,
Speaker 2: he got over fifty, but I believe the way he
Speaker 2: scored it hadn't ever been done before. I mean, there's
Speaker 2: so many things that had to happen for them to
Speaker 2: get this result.
Speaker 1: It just I don't know.
Speaker 2: I always worry when we just are quick to fi
Speaker 2: our coaches, who are you going to get to replace him?
Speaker 2: Is that person going to actually be better? And we
Speaker 2: at least have a good free agent class of coaches.
Speaker 2: I guess you've got Nick narse MONI Williams out there,
Speaker 2: Mike Budenholtzer. You've also got openings, though it's a little
Speaker 2: bit of musical chairs. Milwaukee, Phoenix, Philly, Detroit, Toronto. Who
Speaker 2: do you think is the best candidate and what do
Speaker 2: you think is the best job?
Speaker 3: Real quick before I get there. It's hard racing because
Speaker 3: I think, like you said, you know, these guys didn't
Speaker 3: show up and play, you know. But I think often
Speaker 3: that the coach is the scapegoat because you're paying James
Speaker 3: and obviously Embiid who is their cornerstone so much money,
Speaker 3: you know what I mean? So I think they think
Speaker 3: that the coach is always going to be a quick fix,
Speaker 3: and sometimes it is, but sometimes it isn't. Back to
Speaker 3: your question, best opening was that the question, Uh, Milwaukee,
Speaker 3: you know you got Jannis, you have your entire core built.
Speaker 3: You know, obviously they have some decisions to make with
Speaker 3: Brook Lopez, but I think these guys have been making
Speaker 3: solid runs the last few years. They've got more time
Speaker 3: to rest this year and come back healthy next year.
Speaker 3: So you know, obviously that Milwaukee job is enticing. The
Speaker 3: Philly jobs enticing. The Phoenix job is enticing. Uh, there's
Speaker 3: a there's a lot of open spots with open talent,
Speaker 3: so it'd be interesting to see who goes where. But
Speaker 3: at the same time, is it is the coach the
Speaker 3: fix or is it the personnel having to do their
Speaker 3: job as players, uh to get themselves there? Yeah?
Speaker 2: Yeah, No, I mean I think we're gonna get to
Speaker 2: Phoenix in a minute, and I think that's a big
Speaker 2: question there. I want to stick with Philly just for
Speaker 2: one more second, though, Because there was speculation that some
Speaker 2: of the Doc move was made in part to please
Speaker 2: James Harden, he made it clear after Game seven he
Speaker 2: wasn't a great fan. He was asked about the relationship
Speaker 2: He fumbled around for a little bit, then he finally
Speaker 2: got into calling it.
Speaker 1: Okay, okay, okay.
Speaker 2: Harden has a player option of thirty five point six million. Remember,
Speaker 2: even if he ops out, he can resign with Philly.
Speaker 2: They could offer him actually the most money of any
Speaker 2: team out there. But Matt, you've heard those persistent rumors
Speaker 2: he's considering a return to Houston. Also, if you're James Harden,
Speaker 2: what would you do?
Speaker 3: I mean, not only Houston, but where he played college
Speaker 3: ball in Phoenix, you know what I mean? And possibly
Speaker 3: teaming up with Kevin duran again without the Kyrie Irvin drama.
Speaker 3: I don't know. You know, again, I don't know this
Speaker 3: Philly trust. The process has been ten years in the
Speaker 3: making and hasn't necessarily came anywhere. And then you know,
Speaker 3: you know Jimmy Butler's you know, they picked Obias Harris
Speaker 3: over me, and you know, personnel decisions left and right
Speaker 3: that haven't necessarily benefited them. Phoenix, Uh, you know, they
Speaker 3: were high on everyone's list this year in the playoffs,
Speaker 3: and you know, even though they had to unload the
Speaker 3: whole house to get Kevin Durant, you know, a healthy
Speaker 3: possibly a healthy Chris Paul could change his dynamics. But
Speaker 3: you think about you slide of James Harden, who's a
Speaker 3: twenty ten guy in Chris Paul's spot that brings a
Speaker 3: whole new dynamic to Philly or excuse me, to Phoenix.
Speaker 3: Houston is a mystery to me. Obviously he had a
Speaker 3: great time there and not only in the community. Excuse me,
Speaker 3: not only on the court was he rocking, but in
Speaker 3: the community from a from a night life standpoint and
Speaker 3: really just giving, getting back in the community and helping people.
Speaker 1: A love the community is Yeah, you.
Speaker 3: Know, he had a good time. But that is a
Speaker 3: team that you know, we'll talk about it later. Could
Speaker 3: possibly get the number one pick with Victor, and you
Speaker 3: add James and Victor with that young core, that'd be
Speaker 3: interesting to see. But I don't know, you know, I
Speaker 3: hate to guess where he would be. But to me,
Speaker 3: it looks like if there's an opportunity to go to Phoenix,
Speaker 3: that would be an amazing, amazing situation for I think
Speaker 3: everyone involved.
Speaker 2: Look, Phoenix to me is the one where I do
Speaker 2: not I just I don't understand what they were doing
Speaker 2: with money.
Speaker 1: Williams. I'm sorry.
Speaker 2: If you look at the roster money was working with,
Speaker 2: especially after Chris Paul went down.
Speaker 1: How do you blame coaching for.
Speaker 2: Them losing to the number one seed in the West
Speaker 2: when they gave away all of their depth to get
Speaker 2: Kevin Durant, which, by the way, I'm fine with. I
Speaker 2: think if you have a chance to go get Kevin Durant,
Speaker 2: you go get Kevin Durant. But then you can't expect
Speaker 2: to win that season before you have the off season
Speaker 2: to sort of retool.
Speaker 1: I don't know, I was. I didn't like that one
Speaker 1: at all.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and I think too. I think his winning percentage
Speaker 3: is over seven hundred, which is insane, and you look
Speaker 3: what he's been able to do with that team. The
Speaker 3: injury to Chris Paul, DeAndre Ayton either quittin or I
Speaker 3: don't even know what you want to call it, but
Speaker 3: you know the way that Book and Kad went out
Speaker 3: there and gave their all. And like you said, Rach,
Speaker 3: you know, a trade mid season and you expected to
Speaker 3: instantly bloom flowers with key guys either being hurt or
Speaker 3: not performing is an unreasonable expectation. So I think out
Speaker 3: of all the coaches who were fired, I'm with you
Speaker 3: that one was the one that made the least amount
Speaker 3: of sense. But you know what we also think, you know,
Speaker 3: Aidan and Mani Williams, that hasn't been no secret they
Speaker 3: have not got along and you know not. You don't
Speaker 3: even have to be in the locker room to know that. Obviously,
Speaker 3: they give Ate and a bunch of money last year
Speaker 3: and again come playoff time, you see this guy not
Speaker 3: slapping people's hands and not performing and on the end
Speaker 3: of the bitch pouting. Maybe that was something to hopefully
Speaker 3: wake Aiden up because they have given him a whole
Speaker 3: bunch of money. Now we got the coach out the way,
Speaker 3: you know, what are you gonna do? So again, I'm
Speaker 3: with you, that was probably the worst, in my opinion,
Speaker 3: firing this offseason.
Speaker 1: It made no sense to me.
Speaker 2: And by the way, there's multiple reports out there that
Speaker 2: they are aggressively shopping Ayton, So in terms of the
Speaker 2: relationship between the two of them, I don't get why
Speaker 2: they would. Certainly, you know, if they want to try
Speaker 2: to keep James Harden in Philly, and this is a
Speaker 2: bid to get rid of Doc Rivers to keep James Harden,
Speaker 2: because you know, it doesn't seem like those two are
Speaker 2: that close that's one thing, But a guy that you're
Speaker 2: supposedly putting on the training block, I just it.
Speaker 1: Doesn't make any sense to me.
Speaker 2: And by the way, it does make sense to get
Speaker 2: rid of Ayton. I still have faith in Ayton as
Speaker 2: a player. I think that somewhere he will find the
Speaker 2: right fit and really be what he was projected to be.
Speaker 1: But it doesn't seem like it's going to be in Phoenix.
Speaker 2: So if that's the case, trade him get back some
Speaker 2: parts that can add depth. Same thing with Chris Paul.
Speaker 2: He's got that balloon payment basically coming right now. Fifty
Speaker 2: million of the salary is guaranteed, but if he gets
Speaker 2: to the end of next month of June, then thirty
Speaker 2: million is guaranteed. Thirty million plus. So they are going
Speaker 2: to be looking to see what they can get for
Speaker 2: him too. And that's the case, by the way, hey,
Speaker 2: where they might get the same amount of salary back.
Speaker 2: But in players who are multiple players role players guys,
Speaker 2: so if one guy has hurt, the other guy might
Speaker 2: still be their depth. It's all crazy idea depth.
Speaker 3: And rach too. You know, if I'm not mistaken, Aiden
Speaker 3: being from Arizona going to school at Arizona now playing
Speaker 3: for the Phoenix Sun. Sometimes you need to get up
Speaker 3: out of that bubble, you know what I mean, Get
Speaker 3: out of the bubble, not have all these yes men
Speaker 3: in your ear telling you it's everyone else's fault but yours.
Speaker 3: Maybe a new situation because I agree. I mean we
Speaker 3: talked about this. I think last week on KG certified.
Speaker 3: Aiden is very, very, very talented and an array of
Speaker 3: moves on the offensive end, someone who can block shots,
Speaker 3: be a rim protector, lob threat, mid range po He
Speaker 3: can do it all. But I just think he's a
Speaker 3: little too comfortable where he's at and there's probably the
Speaker 3: wrong kind of influences in his ear pointing the finger
Speaker 3: at everyone but him. And I think a new surrounding,
Speaker 3: as you said, can can serve him well because he
Speaker 3: is a very talented, young big.
Speaker 2: That team has so much potential to me, I mean,
Speaker 2: you've got Katie and Book, You've already got the secret,
Speaker 2: the thing that's the hardest thing to get in the NBA,
Speaker 2: two legit big time superstars. I think they've got the
Speaker 2: chance to add depth. I know they gave away a
Speaker 2: bunch of stuff when they traded for KD, but they
Speaker 2: do have players that they can move to cash in
Speaker 2: for some depth. And again, I think Manny Williams was
Speaker 2: the guy to bring them along through what's going to
Speaker 2: be a tumultuous off season. He would have been a
Speaker 2: voice of consistency and who are you going to get
Speaker 2: Who's going to be better? I mean, this is the
Speaker 2: question for all of these trigger happy owners is it's
Speaker 2: one thing to get rid of your coach, it's nothing
Speaker 2: to replace him, two different problems.
Speaker 1: I don't know. You didn't tell me by the way
Speaker 1: go ahead.
Speaker 3: No, I was going to say, obviously, you get rid
Speaker 3: of money and then you get rid of your I
Speaker 3: mean you're shopping the coach on the floor too, and
Speaker 3: Chris Paul. Yes, So that's a lot of structure and
Speaker 3: dependency on two guys that really kind of may have
Speaker 3: not have been the main reason the wheel was going,
Speaker 3: but a big part of the reason why the wheel
Speaker 3: was moving. So you get rid of money, you trade CP.
Speaker 3: It is going to be a very interesting to see
Speaker 3: what ownership does over there in Phoenix.
Speaker 1: You didn't tell me who you think the best candidate
Speaker 1: out there is, so.
Speaker 3: Yeah, the best candidate for Phoenix.
Speaker 1: Or just in general, Oh, the best the best.
Speaker 3: I would just love to see rach uh. You saw
Speaker 3: what he did in Golden State with the foundation, and
Speaker 3: there's so many reasons why he hasn't been hired since,
Speaker 3: and you hear stories. I don't know what's true what's not,
Speaker 3: but I love what Mark Jackson was able to bring
Speaker 3: to that core in Golden State. And now, now with
Speaker 3: that said, I mean, some guys are great young team
Speaker 3: coaches because they're very hands on and very this and
Speaker 3: very that, and some guys can coach anywhere. So I'm
Speaker 3: not really sure how he would be, but I mean
Speaker 3: the foundation he helped build over in Golden State before
Speaker 3: this dynasty got going, you could you can arguably say
Speaker 3: that they may not be a dynasty if Mark Jackson
Speaker 3: didn't allow Stephen Clay to play the way they did
Speaker 3: and and everything he you know, instilled in those young guys.
Speaker 3: So I would love to see Mark Jackson get a chance. Obviously,
Speaker 3: this is going to be a huge free agent summer
Speaker 3: for coach, but I would love to see Mark Jackson
Speaker 3: get a you know, get a real shot with the
Speaker 3: team that has everything and then they need a coach
Speaker 3: to kind of guide the ship.
Speaker 2: Well, I know he's been interviewing again that teams have
Speaker 2: been talking to him. I think Mark would really be
Speaker 2: great with some of these teams. And there's enough, there's
Speaker 2: enough openings out there, right, Yeah, so let's see what
Speaker 2: he can do again with.
Speaker 3: Good team rach, I don't recall this many good teams
Speaker 3: having openings Normally it's the bottom of the barrel. Like shit,
Speaker 3: am I risking my coaching career going to this team?
Speaker 3: Like there's a lot of teams that you know, you
Speaker 3: insert a player and a solid coach and their contenders
Speaker 3: in their conference.
Speaker 2: Yep, absolutely, Well, we got another team that is not
Speaker 2: have a coaching void, but may have a superstar void soon.
Speaker 2: We are waiting to see what the league office does
Speaker 2: mat with John Moran yet again flashing a gun on
Speaker 2: IG Live.
Speaker 1: I feel like I've just said this sentence.
Speaker 2: Recently Grizzlies, by the way, suspended him from all team activities.
Speaker 2: But remember he's got a five year, one hundred and
Speaker 2: ninety four million dollar max contract.
Speaker 1: Set to begin this coming season. Just rolled out.
Speaker 2: That's AIG shoe with Nike. I mean, what was your
Speaker 2: first thought when you saw this flash across your phone?
Speaker 3: You can't be this dumb little homie. You just can't.
Speaker 3: You can't. I mean, he already missed out. If I'm
Speaker 3: not mistaken, it was it thirty or thirty nine million
Speaker 3: for not making all NBA, and we all know Rachel.
Speaker 3: To me, in my opinion, I could be wrong. He
Speaker 3: didn't make all NBA not because he wasn't good enough.
Speaker 3: It was because the bullshit off the court. So right there,
Speaker 3: you lost forty let's just say forty million signature shoe.
Speaker 3: We look with Nike and it was crazy because I
Speaker 3: knew two years ago. I was like, he is a
Speaker 3: signature shoe type player. I'm sure a lot of other
Speaker 3: people said that he has the opportunity. You saw Nike
Speaker 3: stand by him the first time around. We're standing strong
Speaker 3: even though you know the Kyrie situation. We know with
Speaker 3: Kyrie the whole, that hole, and they decided to step away.
Speaker 3: So you make the same mistake twice in two months.
Speaker 3: So now you're jeopard Ody's not only money that you
Speaker 3: should have had from being the incredible player you are.
Speaker 3: You're forcing other people's hands. You're forcing Nike sand What
Speaker 3: isn't it? Because I know Nike's taking a lot of
Speaker 3: heat right now for standing by this guy, and then
Speaker 3: you look at Power Aid and the deal he just had,
Speaker 3: and he should have commercials all throughout the playoffs right now,
Speaker 3: but those are being pulled. I've never seen in a
Speaker 3: day and age where camera phones, celebrities, entertainers, athletes really
Speaker 3: have to walk on eggshells. I've never seen a group
Speaker 3: of guys telling themselves so much. Like It's not like
Speaker 3: other people have caught Jaw flashing the gun around or
Speaker 3: you know, people outside of his circle. It's him telling
Speaker 3: on hisself in the strip club and his homie telling
Speaker 3: on him in the car. And if you guys know
Speaker 3: how you move and how you bounce and you get
Speaker 3: height to these songs, you don't have to show the world.
Speaker 3: Just enjoy the moment. I think so often people always
Speaker 3: want to show the moment or show on like look
Speaker 3: at me and my homie, job we acted. We're feeling
Speaker 3: to give that shit up. If you guys can't keep
Speaker 3: to me. It reminds me of you know, someone young
Speaker 3: who got money and it's burning a hole in their pocket.
Speaker 3: They either got to spend it or show and like,
Speaker 3: look at this wad. Like I came up and luckily
Speaker 3: I was never really around guns. A lot, but you know,
Speaker 3: my dad, it was a little active, and I knew
Speaker 3: some people, and the rule was you only pull the
Speaker 3: gun to use it, you know what I mean. And
Speaker 3: you hear a bunch of people saying like, oh, it's
Speaker 3: it's his second Amendment, and then this, this and that.
Speaker 3: That's not what's in question here. I encourage everyone, as
Speaker 3: long as you know how to use it and you
Speaker 3: have it registered, carry a gun if you feel like
Speaker 3: you need it, but you don't, you don't pull it
Speaker 3: out for likes and comments and to show how cool
Speaker 3: you are. Another thing that kind of took me back
Speaker 3: to is a real gang banger out here in LA.
Speaker 3: You know, someone from the Rolling sixties got on social
Speaker 3: media last week and pleaded to job like, this is
Speaker 3: not the path, bro, Like, whether you came from it
Speaker 3: or not, you're not in this, you know, and invited
Speaker 3: him about to LA and and told him come roll
Speaker 3: with him and see what this life is really like.
Speaker 3: And I just think that, you know, everyone that I
Speaker 3: knew that really came from it, you know, the goal
Speaker 3: is to get out of it, not to once you
Speaker 3: get the bread go back to it. So it's just unfortunate.
Speaker 3: I feel like you know to who much is given
Speaker 3: much as ex and this guy has a lot of
Speaker 3: weight on his shoulder from a standpoint of you know,
Speaker 3: you look at him, Tatum Booker. They're the next wave
Speaker 3: of American stars to carry the torch. You know, Lebron
Speaker 3: is on his way out with all due respect, KD.
Speaker 3: Steph have a handful of years left. This next wave
Speaker 3: includes Jah and he has the opportunity to be the face,
Speaker 3: one of the faces of the league. And it's just
Speaker 3: like you want to be something so bad it's it's insane.
Speaker 3: And again I'm not saying don't carry a gun. I'm
Speaker 3: not saying if you feel like you need to carry gun,
Speaker 3: carry that motherfucker. But just you pull it for a reason.
Speaker 3: You don't pull it for likes and comments and dancing
Speaker 3: on social media. That's just not the lifestyle. Rappers can
Speaker 3: do that, and that's glorified for rappers, you know what
Speaker 3: I mean.
Speaker 2: But and even that, by the way, if you look
Speaker 2: at it to the point I mean, you look at
Speaker 2: the gun violence with God in this country, you can
Speaker 2: make an argument with that too, but certainly not with
Speaker 2: the NBA. And by the way, I mean, what you're
Speaker 2: talking about is exactly the thing the League office has
Speaker 2: said it doesn't want right. They're not saying this guy,
Speaker 2: you know, there are any of these guys can't carry
Speaker 2: a gun in their private life if it's legal in
Speaker 2: the state they're supposed to be in. It is about
Speaker 2: making a big show of it. It is about the
Speaker 2: specific thing that he's trying to do that you're talking
Speaker 2: about that he should not do.
Speaker 1: And it's not like he doesn't know. Matt.
Speaker 2: I talked to him after Memphis was eliminated last month.
Speaker 2: I asked him directly, I said, what did you learn
Speaker 2: from this season? Here's his quote back to me. He said,
Speaker 2: I've just got to be better with my decision making.
Speaker 2: That's pretty munch it off. The court issues affected us
Speaker 2: as an organization. Just more discipline, that is what he
Speaker 2: said to me.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, when you look at the Memphis situation,
Speaker 3: I wholeheartedly believe that they got rid of Dylan Brooks
Speaker 3: because Jaw was such a handful. Like if we can't
Speaker 3: handle all these wild cards, Jaw's a superstar, So we're
Speaker 3: going to give you the bit. We're going to keep
Speaker 3: trying to give you the benefit of the doubt. Dylan Brooks,
Speaker 3: although solid second team All Defense. Congratulations, you're not this
Speaker 3: caliber of player. So we can't deal with both of
Speaker 3: you guys, you know what I mean, Like one has
Speaker 3: to go, and obviously it's gonna be the lesser of
Speaker 3: the players. So that's all this this is is, you
Speaker 3: know it kind of what bothers me too, is just
Speaker 3: obviously he's doing it for likes and comments. But what
Speaker 3: trips me out is there's so many people trying to
Speaker 3: justify what he's doing, and obviously he's doing it for
Speaker 3: likes and comments. He's gonna look to see like all
Speaker 3: these all these people are saying it's cool, and I
Speaker 3: should be like, that's not it, man, that's not it.
Speaker 3: So again, if you're his friend, you're in his circle,
Speaker 3: keep the phones down because y'all keep telling on yourself.
Speaker 3: That's like shooting yourself. That's like Cheddarboom from eight Mile,
Speaker 3: Like you keep shooting, you keep telling on yourself like
Speaker 3: no one else has caught you slipping. You've slipped personally
Speaker 3: with selfies and in the car going nothing, and everyone
Speaker 3: has those moments. Everyone is feeling something like rach we
Speaker 3: came up with real gangster music, like the real gangster
Speaker 3: gangster rap started when we were coming up, so we
Speaker 3: know the energy and the feeling. But just imagine on
Speaker 3: the flip side, if you saw a Lebron flash a
Speaker 3: gun while he's reading he loves are wrapping the back
Speaker 3: of his car. Imagine a steph like, although he's not them,
Speaker 3: he's carrying that same torch those guys will be carrying
Speaker 3: once they're gone. So that's why it's just like it's
Speaker 3: a morale clause. It's you know, kids are looking up
Speaker 3: to you. You saw Michael Wilbon say his son is
Speaker 3: not allowed to wear Josh shoe. There's just so much
Speaker 3: at stake, and it's crazy that he is willing to
Speaker 3: risk that for likes and and and cool points. It's
Speaker 3: just fucking insane to me.
Speaker 2: So obviously the accountability isn't there right because, as I said,
Speaker 2: he knows what he should or shouldn't be doing. He
Speaker 2: said it out loud in front of a bunch of people.
Speaker 2: He doesn't feel apparently accountable though to anyone in eight
Speaker 2: game suspension at the end of this past season that
Speaker 2: didn't do it, what would you do if you were
Speaker 2: Adam Silver in the league office?
Speaker 1: What do you think would get the message.
Speaker 3: I would hate to be in this position because I
Speaker 3: think Adam Silver by all means, people thought Adam Silver
Speaker 3: let him off easy the first time with a slap
Speaker 3: on the wrist. He went to this so called rehab
Speaker 3: program that did he really go or not? Is that
Speaker 3: just you know? Is that you know? Is that glittering lights?
Speaker 3: I initially said twenty five to thirty games, but Adam
Speaker 3: Silver may may have to make a statement this time
Speaker 3: and really show him that he's not fucking around. And
Speaker 3: Adam is the one commission that will do that. You know,
Speaker 3: he will make a statement and it'll be unfortunate if
Speaker 3: he goes half a season. I mean, think about again,
Speaker 3: you're losing your own money and endorsements, but now you're
Speaker 3: fucking up your team bro, you know so I don't
Speaker 3: expect it to be any less than thirty games. I
Speaker 3: hope it's in that twenty to thirty range. But again,
Speaker 3: Adam may feel like he has to. You know, Adam
Speaker 3: is a good dude. And if you sit down and
Speaker 3: look him in the eyes and tell him everything you
Speaker 3: you know, he feels you learned and then you you
Speaker 3: basically joh lied to Adam's face.
Speaker 2: So how is they just did that. He just sat
Speaker 2: as complete disrespect.
Speaker 3: So it'll be interesting to see what Adam does. I'm
Speaker 3: hoping for the lesser just because you know, this kid
Speaker 3: has so much potential, you know what I mean. So
Speaker 3: it's gonna be ugly. I think it's going to be
Speaker 3: anywhere from twenty to half the season. I hope it's
Speaker 3: not like a real smack in the face and he
Speaker 3: says you're done for the season, because that would you know,
Speaker 3: that would hurt a lot of a lot of people involved.
Speaker 3: So I'm hoping somewhere in that twenty to forty range,
Speaker 3: but hopefully closer to the twenty side.
Speaker 2: I mean, I want joy out on the court. He's
Speaker 2: one of my favorite players to watch. It sucks for
Speaker 2: all of us, by the way. The fans lose too
Speaker 2: when John Moran is off the court. That is a fun,
Speaker 2: competitive team. He does things every night that are just
Speaker 2: so fucking highlight worthy you want. I mean, it gets
Speaker 2: you up off your couch. But he's the one who's
Speaker 2: taken this away from himself. It's not Adam Silver who's
Speaker 2: going to be taken it away. It's not the people
Speaker 2: out there who are critical of him, who are taken away.
Speaker 1: As you said, he told on himself. He's the one
Speaker 1: making these decisions and.
Speaker 3: He got I mean again, outside of missing forty million,
Speaker 3: which is no one wants to give away, he's got
Speaker 3: to really you know, with me coaching like he's got
Speaker 3: a really dope shoot, you know what I mean, and
Speaker 3: and seeing kids how much they love him and look
Speaker 3: up to him, and knowing that his shoe will go
Speaker 3: quick because Kyrie had a shoot that was going crazy.
Speaker 3: So you saw John that and Jah's that new wave.
Speaker 3: His shoe is gonna go crazy, and you just think
Speaker 3: he's just fucking all this up for look look at
Speaker 3: me type shit. Like again, it's not on the floor
Speaker 3: on the floor, he's incredible, it's off the floor, young
Speaker 3: immature shit. That is going to end up hopefully not
Speaker 3: having this guy out of the league, but just hindering
Speaker 3: him and his team and his family and his community.
Speaker 2: This is gonna be interesting to see what Nike does too,
Speaker 2: by the way, because because of the Kyrie decision, yes,
Speaker 2: they're more dependent on jaw, so I would expect them
Speaker 2: to give him even a little bit more room.
Speaker 1: But we'll have to see. I don't know, sor right,
Speaker 1: let's talk him actual basketball, Matt, I don't know what
Speaker 1: you thinks. Should we do that.
Speaker 2: Celtics heat Eastern Conference Finals repeat from last season? We
Speaker 2: know last year it came down to seven, but right
Speaker 2: to the wire, right, he'd have always played the Celtics tough.
Speaker 1: They're two and two this season.
Speaker 2: Do you think the number eight seed in Miami's unlikely
Speaker 2: postseason run ends here? Or is Butler in company the
Speaker 2: perfect batchup to take out the Celtics.
Speaker 3: It almost seems like Dalton Jimmy Butler and and and
Speaker 3: Don't get this misconstrued, but it's like Doubton Lebron at times,
Speaker 3: like don't ever doubt Lebron. Jimmy Butler has shown I
Speaker 3: mean he's not Lebron. I'm not saying he's Lebron, but
Speaker 3: he's one of the most competitive grinders, blue collar superstars
Speaker 3: we've ever had that can will his team to where
Speaker 3: they need to go. Considering the injuries and and and
Speaker 3: they lost their first game in the playing, didn't they.
Speaker 2: Yes, yeah, I mean the skin of the skin of
Speaker 2: their teeth here right right.
Speaker 3: You know, now they got guys hurt. But to get
Speaker 3: to the series, this team matches up really well with
Speaker 3: with Boston, and you know they've played each other last year,
Speaker 3: and you know, if you recall, you know, Jimmy Butler
Speaker 3: rebound pull up three in transition. You know, if that goes,
Speaker 3: they're going to the finals, you know what I mean.
Speaker 3: So they got guys that can guard Tatum and Brown
Speaker 3: or at least make them work, and they got versatile wings.
Speaker 3: It's gonna be fun. You know, this is this is
Speaker 3: the Bubble matchup, and everyone was talking about the Bubble
Speaker 3: with some bullshit and Bubble was this and that where
Speaker 3: you know we're getting to repeat, you know, two or
Speaker 3: three years later of these Bubble matchups. And I personally
Speaker 3: think that Boston is either the first best or second
Speaker 3: best team left in the playoffs. So I expect them
Speaker 3: to win, but it won't be easy. But again, I
Speaker 3: wouldn't be surprised if Miami kept this this amazing run
Speaker 3: going with the hopes of getting if they can get
Speaker 3: past Boston, getting Tyler Herro back for the finals.
Speaker 2: Well, Boston had those sort of flaky, underperforming moments in
Speaker 2: the series against Philly. I would expect the heat and
Speaker 2: Jimmy Butler to take advantage of that better than the
Speaker 2: Sixers did.
Speaker 3: And Rachel we would call how well they played without
Speaker 3: Jimmy that one game and took Philly to the wire.
Speaker 3: So this is a team that is coach well, that
Speaker 3: is very prepared, and you know, we've sung Coach Bolster's praises.
Speaker 3: One of the best coaches in the game. Will be
Speaker 3: a Hall of Fame coach as soon as he hands
Speaker 3: it up. So, like you said that, this team is
Speaker 3: not going to beat themselves, and you're not going to
Speaker 3: luck up and beat this Miami Heat team. You have
Speaker 3: to literally beat this team. So night, you know, if
Speaker 3: you decide to take games off or slip, Miami's going
Speaker 3: to win that shit. They're not going to be Philly
Speaker 3: and give you a chance to play around and come back.
Speaker 3: So Boston has to play better. Jason Tatum has to
Speaker 3: be very consistent this round, and if they do that,
Speaker 3: to me, I think they should win. But there's a
Speaker 3: lot of you know in the past that you know,
Speaker 3: I feel like Boston is going to keep the window
Speaker 3: open for this team, and that could be dangerous.
Speaker 2: This is great for me because in sports, right, I mean,
Speaker 2: sometimes the team's just much more talented or something, and
Speaker 2: it kind of is an uneven matchup. It's close enough
Speaker 2: here that what we're really testing with Boston is what
Speaker 2: is their mental metal right, because we know that on
Speaker 2: paper the more talented team. Jason Tatum has shown us
Speaker 2: he can be transit I mean he can he can
Speaker 2: just be transcendent. But are they tough enough to get
Speaker 2: through this round?
Speaker 1: I want to see it?
Speaker 3: Yeah, and then you know, obviously hopefully Missoula learned from
Speaker 3: his you know non call in time. You know when
Speaker 3: you look at the coach because you always want to
Speaker 3: look at the coaching matchup too, and to the Spolster
Speaker 3: is night and day and this is not what Yeah,
Speaker 3: they definitely got the advantage on the coaching side too,
Speaker 3: the X and o's and the strategy and the in
Speaker 3: game adjustment. So that's why it makes it even more
Speaker 3: important for those players to come out there and really play.
Speaker 3: It's it's it's do or die every single game. There's
Speaker 3: no games off because Miami is not the kind of
Speaker 3: team that you can mess around with.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's a great point.
Speaker 2: Also, by the way, Tyler Hero was originally projected to
Speaker 2: come back not before what a theoretical NBA Finals run
Speaker 2: would be, but apparently he's a little bit ahead of schedule.
Speaker 2: Reports are that he's doing well, So, I mean, we
Speaker 2: don't know, but it's possible he could come back toward.
Speaker 1: The end of this conference finals. We'll find out. I
Speaker 1: don't know something or what. Get to the West over here.
Speaker 2: Lakers Nuggets another bubble rematch, right, both teams coming in
Speaker 2: a little stronger this time because the Lakers proved in
Speaker 2: the last round. They have defint matter and Anthony Davis
Speaker 2: further along when he was back in the bubble when
Speaker 2: they won the title. They've got Reeves, Lonnie Walker, Dennis,
Speaker 2: the menas all producing when called upon. And look, we
Speaker 2: still saw the toll that the Joker had on eighton,
Speaker 2: So it is going to be rough for Davis.
Speaker 1: But what do you think? What do you think sort
Speaker 1: of what's your overall take up on this matchup?
Speaker 3: Well, I mean to back up a little bit. Just
Speaker 3: as we sung Miami's praises from coming through the play
Speaker 3: in and you know, we're starting to hear whispers that
Speaker 3: you know, Lebron has the last chance guy following him
Speaker 3: around for this amazing run you know that they're making,
Speaker 3: and how great would for these guys to come in
Speaker 3: through the plan and get through the number one seed
Speaker 3: and get to the finals and possibly win it. You know,
Speaker 3: I mean, obviously there's a lot of work to do.
Speaker 3: It's a lot easier said than done. But you know,
Speaker 3: the Lakers have got themselves here. I think the most
Speaker 3: important thing is going to be Anthony Davis' consistency. We
Speaker 3: just spoke about Jason Tatum. I think Jason Tatum is
Speaker 3: more consistent than Anthony Davis. But Anthony Dave this is
Speaker 3: going to have to win the Magic Johnson Western Conference,
Speaker 3: you know, most valuable Player in order for this team
Speaker 3: to win, because this is no longer on Lebron. But
Speaker 3: you know, A just caught up to Lebron, and for
Speaker 3: the first time we've seen it in this playoff run,
Speaker 3: and he is not capable. And again this is not
Speaker 3: a knock. He's done it for goddamn nineteen years. He's
Speaker 3: been able to put the whole franchise in his back
Speaker 3: and run him through everything. Just A just caught up
Speaker 3: to Lebron. So Lebron is wisely picking and choosing his spots.
Speaker 3: But eighty has to be that consistent, consistent piece that
Speaker 3: is going to not only make a Yokic work on
Speaker 3: the defensive, end, but also make Yolkic work on the
Speaker 3: offensive end. And I think one thing, Rachel. They had
Speaker 3: a lot of success with Yokic in the bubble, and
Speaker 3: obviously he's gone on and won two MVP since then,
Speaker 3: but they also had more depth in Dwight Howard and
Speaker 3: Jabelle McGee, those big bodies that they can throw on
Speaker 3: Jokic where he can't bully these guys. You know. So
Speaker 3: you have Tristan Thompson who is a proven winner but
Speaker 3: hasn't got much burn. I heard yesterday that the Mobamba
Speaker 3: is being reevaluated to hopefully have a chance to playing
Speaker 3: this series, to be able to throw some fouls at him.
Speaker 3: But I think it all comes down to ad being
Speaker 3: very consistent, and then the role players. Which role players
Speaker 3: are gonna shine and can those role players shine away?
Speaker 3: You know, you got KCP who is a former Laker
Speaker 3: who is has been played well all these playoffs. Expect
Speaker 3: him to come tough. Aaron Gordon did a good job
Speaker 3: offensive and defense, leave Michael Porter junior, Bruce Brown who's
Speaker 3: been amazing in these playoffs. And then you on the
Speaker 3: flip side, you look at d Loo and Austin Reeves.
Speaker 3: Can these guys, answer the phone. Excuse me, answer the
Speaker 3: bell when it comes to playing on the run, Yeah,
Speaker 3: both both the Lakers. You know, the Lakers haven't gone
Speaker 3: into Memphis and took game one, went into Golden State
Speaker 3: and took game one. Can they go get game one
Speaker 3: in Denver? Denver's favored. We're gonna have to see. But
Speaker 3: A d has to be the superstar Anthony Davis. He
Speaker 3: can't be just Hey, I'm gonna play defense today and
Speaker 3: be great on defense. You've got to be great on
Speaker 3: both ends for this team to have a chance to advance.
Speaker 2: Matt Jokic isn't just sort of one of a better
Speaker 2: version of some of the big men than Anthony Davis's face.
Speaker 2: He's a different version, right, I Mean he's craftier, he's
Speaker 2: the way he passes all the stuff. What is the
Speaker 2: sort of what does Anthony have to do differently than
Speaker 2: just sort of a straight up center that you're banging
Speaker 2: and going against.
Speaker 3: Well, I asked Kevin Garnett this last week, like what
Speaker 3: would you do against you know, A Jokic? And it's
Speaker 3: just give him constantly, give him different looks. It's making
Speaker 3: him works, it's meeting him higher. Don't let it allow
Speaker 3: him to get positioned. You know, once he comes over
Speaker 3: half court, ride and bump him, make it uncomfortable front him.
Speaker 3: Send double team from the baseline, sometimes sometimes send him
Speaker 3: from the middle. Just keep Yokic guessing. And you know,
Speaker 3: I take this back to our we believe here when
Speaker 3: we had to guard Dirt and Nelly put me and
Speaker 3: Jack and sometimes Al Harrington. But the one thing was
Speaker 3: is we always gave Dirk different looks. He never knew
Speaker 3: where we were coming from. And although you know Jokic
Speaker 3: is a great passer, you want to make the other's beach.
Speaker 3: I don't give even if he's passing Jamal Murray. You
Speaker 3: want to make everyone but Jokic come in here and
Speaker 3: beat you. So I say all that to say they
Speaker 3: just have to keep him off balance. They got to
Speaker 3: make him work. And not only do they have to
Speaker 3: give him different looks on the defensive him, but they
Speaker 3: got to keep putting his ass in to pick and
Speaker 3: roll on the offensive end and get him tired and
Speaker 3: make him work. So it's going to be very interesting.
Speaker 3: There's a reason why he's a you know, the reigning
Speaker 3: MVP and arguably one of the greatest centers we've ever seen. So,
Speaker 3: But on the flip side, you know, we can say
Speaker 3: the same thing with the consistently Anthony Davis. He's one
Speaker 3: of the greatest power forwards we've ever seen, so Ad
Speaker 3: has his work cut out on both ends. The one
Speaker 3: thing that scares me is the Lakers' depth in that
Speaker 3: front quart as far as you know, able to put
Speaker 3: big bodies on Jokinch. So we will have to see.
Speaker 1: All right, Let's get on to NBA top Shot.
Speaker 2: The most legendary moments of the twenty twenty three playoffs
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Speaker 2: will also enter you to win a VIP trip to
Speaker 2: the twenty twenty re NBA Draft.
Speaker 1: That's good price. I like that.
Speaker 2: All right, We got a guest question, who do you
Speaker 2: think is going to show up big in the Conference
Speaker 2: finals and win the Larry Bird East MVP. You already
Speaker 2: said that you think that the pressure is on Anthony
Speaker 2: Davis to win the MVP in the West, that that's
Speaker 2: the only way the Lakers are going to win.
Speaker 1: What about the East?
Speaker 3: Same thing. Jason Tatum, he has to be the rain.
Speaker 3: He's the Raining. He won the inaugural Larry Bird. He
Speaker 3: has to win his second straight award for Boston to advance.
Speaker 3: I think there's a lot riding on Anthony Davis and
Speaker 3: Jason Tatum. If they're the best players in these series,
Speaker 3: both their teams advance to the finals. If they don't,
Speaker 3: neither those teams will advance.
Speaker 1: Plus, you know Tatum won last year.
Speaker 2: It was the first time the Larry Bird Trophy was
Speaker 2: named the Larry Bird Trophy.
Speaker 1: I think you got to keep in the Celtics family, right.
Speaker 1: If you're a Boston.
Speaker 3: Fan, keep wondering that you might start calling the Jason
Speaker 3: Tatum Trophy.
Speaker 2: You don't know, so cut out, y'all out there can
Speaker 2: start your NBA Top Shot collection today at NBA topshot
Speaker 2: dot com. Get closer than the game and the players
Speaker 2: you love. Sign up today. All right, Let's get into
Speaker 2: the real meat of it here. Let's pick some winners.
Speaker 2: Let's get into some odds. A The Raider presented by DraftKings,
Speaker 2: the only sportsbook you need this postseason Conference Finals Game
Speaker 2: one Lakers Denver, Give it to me, Mad Nuggets are
Speaker 2: six point favorites.
Speaker 1: Who do you got in Game one?
Speaker 3: I got Denver winning Game one.
Speaker 1: With the spread against the spread? What are we talking?
Speaker 3: You look at the I'm not someone who really looks
Speaker 3: at I just think straight head to head. I think
Speaker 3: Denver WI win, they get a little bit more rest altitude.
Speaker 3: So I'm taking my heart is with the Lakers to
Speaker 3: win the series. But I have Denver in Game one,
Speaker 3: all right?
Speaker 2: And what about Wednesday Night's game? Boston eight point favorites
Speaker 2: over the heat.
Speaker 3: That's a lot.
Speaker 1: It's a lot.
Speaker 3: It's a lot. I'm taking Boston to win Game one
Speaker 3: at home, but I don't know if it's going to
Speaker 3: be by the spread. But I think both these series
Speaker 3: are going to be great. But I think that that
Speaker 3: this Eastern Conference series is going to be just a grind,
Speaker 3: and I'm excited to see it. So I got Boston.
Speaker 3: I got the home teams protecting home court in Game one.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, I mean it's funny.
Speaker 2: I do picks on DraftKings, and I got to say
Speaker 2: I go with the money line more than the spread.
Speaker 2: Usually on games I do player points and rebounds as
Speaker 2: this that kind of thing.
Speaker 1: But like, I don't know, man, those.
Speaker 2: Spreads either Vegas is too good at doing them to
Speaker 2: pick or we talked about.
Speaker 3: This, like I don't understand how how are they so good?
Speaker 3: Like if you watch these games good crazy enough, it's
Speaker 3: probably going to be six and eight points just like
Speaker 3: or five points or seven points? Like what? Like? Who
Speaker 3: are these people?
Speaker 1: They're too good for me? All right, draft lottery on
Speaker 1: Tuesday night.
Speaker 2: We got to get to that before we go, because
Speaker 2: you know, Victor web and Yama the big prize. This
Speaker 2: guy could turn a franchise around. I haven't seen this
Speaker 2: kind of excitement since the Zion draft. And frankly, maybe
Speaker 2: I'm a little bit more because Victor is such a
Speaker 2: sort of interestingly different player. He just he does everything
Speaker 2: a big man does but also takes the ball off
Speaker 2: the floor. I mean, he's just been fantastic. He dazzled
Speaker 2: in Las Vegas when he did some stuff with some
Speaker 2: other prospects. Business perspective, He's gonna bring you a lot
Speaker 2: of money right off the bat. So which team needs
Speaker 2: this guy most?
Speaker 3: Well, I think the worst part about these lotteries is
Speaker 3: you're always going to franchises that have issues and you're right,
Speaker 3: thank you, and winning starts at the top. So you
Speaker 3: look at you know, Detroit, the Rockets in San Antonio.
Speaker 3: You know, San Antonio obviously historically has been great, but
Speaker 3: just of late that they're down. So you look at
Speaker 3: those top three teams and then you throw you know,
Speaker 3: Charlotte and Portland in there at the bottom. I would
Speaker 3: love to see since Dame is such a gun hoer
Speaker 3: for Portland, I would love to see him get a Victor.
Speaker 1: That'd be pretty great.
Speaker 3: And be able to use that and mentor him in
Speaker 3: school him because I feel like, you know, with our
Speaker 3: brother Boogie, Boogie was a high talented obviously, you know
Speaker 3: we're not talking about Victor woman Yama, but Bookie was
Speaker 3: great in his own way. But he went to an
Speaker 3: organization with no structure, no foundations, seven coaches in eight years,
Speaker 3: and that can derail a lot of young great players,
Speaker 3: especially a Florin player who's coming and living in the
Speaker 3: States for the first time and thinking, hey, this is
Speaker 3: how the NBA is, this is how the world is.
Speaker 3: Foundation is very important for these young stars. So hopefully
Speaker 3: he goes somewhere with a little bit of stability and
Speaker 3: some guidance from either you know, veteran players and coaches.
Speaker 3: So off those five I just listed, I would love
Speaker 3: to see if Dame's going to stand poor, then I
Speaker 3: let us see Damon chance to get a big fella.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, that would be the most fun. I'm
Speaker 2: totally with you in terms of just sort of the
Speaker 2: teams of the best odds. I hope he ends up
Speaker 2: in San Antonio of those three bottom teams, just because
Speaker 2: I do think Greg Popovich would give him that structure
Speaker 2: and really teach him the game. Tim Duncan is still
Speaker 2: hanging around that franchise. I just think that that is
Speaker 2: the best incubator for his talents. Houston worries me just
Speaker 2: because of what you just said. I mean, it's a
Speaker 2: very similar situation to what you just describe with Sacramento
Speaker 2: with Boogie. And by the way, if James Harden did
Speaker 2: decide to come back there, it's not like he's known
Speaker 2: for mentoring young players, at least not right on the court.
Speaker 3: Maybe in the community. Maybe in the community. Right in
Speaker 3: the community.
Speaker 2: That's fantastic, by the way, bring that up over and
Speaker 2: over again with you. All right, I'm excited though, over
Speaker 2: the draft, lottery and all we got to have.
Speaker 1: We got a good.
Speaker 2: Month coming up, conference finals and finals. Matt will be
Speaker 2: with you all the way. You got huge all the
Speaker 2: smoke guests coming up, right, You want to plug anything
Speaker 2: before we get We want.
Speaker 3: To surprise people. We got a good variety of championship
Speaker 3: winners and people in the movie business and owners, so
Speaker 3: we're doing a lot of different We're being versatile on
Speaker 3: all the smokes.
Speaker 2: To stay tuned, all right, best showing basketball right now. See,
Speaker 2: I'll be sure to catch that. You can catch what's
Speaker 2: burning is well available every week on Showtime Basketball, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok.
Speaker 1: At Show Basketball.
Speaker 3: See y'all soon, John, Get your shit together, bro,