Speaker 1: Oh no, the down the passing of time comes for everyone,
Speaker 1: two thousands basketball fans included, as we celebrated just.
Speaker 2: A ton of wonderful human beings being inducted into the
Speaker 2: Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. We're gonna discuss that uh
Speaker 2: incredible headlining class of twenty twenty three, as well as
Speaker 2: continuing our division by division predictions with the Pacific Division
Speaker 2: on this episode with writer and recording artists Claire to Lude.
Speaker 2: On today's episode, I'm Miles Great.
Speaker 3: And I'm Jack O'Brien and this is miss.
Speaker 2: Davis here. You damby driving spinning.
Speaker 4: Curry a three pointer?
Speaker 3: Stop Curry from child again.
Speaker 5: Honest, look out shit time what you get gass?
Speaker 2: Oh clear to Loom, welcome writer for The Guardian. Your
Speaker 2: band Tiny Death has a new single coming out at
Speaker 2: the end of the month, and you have chosen to
Speaker 2: bless us on our podcast. Mother Jack on mat Boostie's.
Speaker 5: Thank you for coming man, thanks for having me. I'm exit.
Speaker 6: I haven't actually been on a podcast to talk basketball
Speaker 6: in several weeks now, because we're in that Douldoms of
Speaker 6: the off season where everyone who works in the NBA
Speaker 6: universe is in like some tropical location with their phones on,
Speaker 6: do not disturb.
Speaker 5: So yeah, getting back in the swing of things.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I haven't been paying any attention. I haven't like
Speaker 3: looked at any news. I'm coming in fresh so I'm
Speaker 3: just opening up my uh days. What is happening?
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, it's.
Speaker 5: Time to take a vacation of disturb if you're a sixer.
Speaker 2: Span yeah, oh boy, I just want to hop right in. Jack,
Speaker 2: you want to rip the band aid off? We're just
Speaker 2: a little ban for up top. What do you say?
Speaker 2: What should we do?
Speaker 3: Yeah? I mean that's it. I thought that, Oh, they're
Speaker 3: just gonna bring him back and it's gonna work out.
Speaker 3: As I was managing on last week's episode, and our
Speaker 3: guest was like, I don't think so that doesn't usually
Speaker 3: work out with James Harden And yeah, it turns out
Speaker 3: doesn't doesn't look doesn't look good. He does not appear
Speaker 3: to want to play for the Philadelphia seventy six ers
Speaker 3: this season, and I don't know who's going to trade
Speaker 3: for him, so I don't know what we're gonna do. Yeah,
Speaker 3: I feel like I feel like Embide's most comfortable when
Speaker 3: like one of his top teammates is sitting out due
Speaker 3: to a contract dispute like that seems to be how
Speaker 3: he likes to play. So I think maybe this is
Speaker 3: all just you know, getting him in his company.
Speaker 6: But did you guys see see the latest goss on
Speaker 6: on Twitter involving Joel embiide.
Speaker 2: That hed yeah gone Philly from the bio gone and.
Speaker 6: The process from his Twitter bio. So yeah, maybe not
Speaker 6: he doesn't like the vibes in Philly.
Speaker 3: Huh why wouldn't be? How could he not.
Speaker 2: Very consistent such a consistent team obviously obviously.
Speaker 6: Yeah, the process has been it's been processing for It's
Speaker 6: like a Dell, It's like a two thousand and one.
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, it is hard to understand what Joel and
Speaker 3: b would be frustrated about for those of us who
Speaker 3: don't understand that somebody there is a viral list going
Speaker 3: around of like just you know, a rundown of what
Speaker 3: the seventy six ers have done each year twenty thirteen
Speaker 3: through the present, and they left out a lot of
Speaker 3: bad stuff on the list. They yeah, they like, so
Speaker 3: they covered you know, traded twenty one year olds. A
Speaker 3: lot of this stuff predates my time as a Sixers fan.
Speaker 3: But once you get right, yeah, once you get into
Speaker 3: the sixteen era.
Speaker 2: Yeah right, yeah, that's what I remember. That was the
Speaker 2: beginnings of me watching you slowly begin to fade.
Speaker 6: Yeah, I mean there were high highs and low low's right,
Speaker 6: like you guys were one game seven collapse away from
Speaker 6: the conference finals.
Speaker 3: Yeah, they didn't. They don't seem to want to.
Speaker 5: Get improbable bounce away as well.
Speaker 3: Oh yeah, I've forgotten about that. That's right. That Yeah,
Speaker 3: I remember remember when I.
Speaker 5: Was watching that.
Speaker 6: I'm surprised that you, as a Sixers fan, that it's
Speaker 6: not like emblazoned in your memory in that way, because
Speaker 6: I remember I was on my friend's couch. It was
Speaker 6: I was on a trip and I was on my
Speaker 6: friend's couch visiting, and I was like kind of reclined
Speaker 6: on the couch, like lying down, and when that shot
Speaker 6: started bouncing off the rim, I like left off the
Speaker 6: couch and I was just standing there watching it bounce,
Speaker 6: like breath suspended, and it was one of the craziest
Speaker 6: endings to a game that I think I've ever seen
Speaker 6: in my life.
Speaker 3: No, it's not ringing a bells. So twenty sixteen. I'm
Speaker 3: not going to go down the list, but here's what
Speaker 3: the here's what the list leaves out.
Speaker 2: Which they have every year. It's saying one decision on
Speaker 2: what terrible decision that are a terrible occurrence.
Speaker 3: Of twenty sixteen hired their advisor's son to run the team,
Speaker 3: which which gave us the line it's a it's a
Speaker 3: normal caller, find a new angle, which we use a
Speaker 3: lot just in our reflex. Twenty seventeen number one pick
Speaker 3: loses the ability to shoot a basketball. Twenty eighteen GM
Speaker 3: trashed star player on Twitter under burner accounts, hired a
Speaker 3: new GM with no experience that that was the it's
Speaker 3: a normal caller, find a new angle drama. Twenty nineteen
Speaker 3: traded Jimmy Butler, twenty twenty fired coach, hired new coach,
Speaker 3: then hired new Twenty twenty one star point guard demands trade.
Speaker 3: Twenty twenty two investigated for tampering. I didn't even remember that.
Speaker 3: Twenty twenty three star point guard demands trade. They did
Speaker 3: leave out that their twenty sixteen number one pick also
Speaker 3: lost the ability to shoot. Yeah, or like kind of
Speaker 3: never had.
Speaker 5: It, or like play basketball in general.
Speaker 3: Yeah, which that's whild Twenty sixteen and twenty seventeen number
Speaker 3: one picks both lost the ability to shoot is like
Speaker 3: more more of a curse than anything that would make sense.
Speaker 3: You know, the twenty sixteen number one pick is a
Speaker 3: better shooter with his right hand, but refuses to shoot
Speaker 3: with his right hand. But and then the twenty seventeen
Speaker 3: pick the lost the ability to shoot a basketball. They
Speaker 3: traded up away from trade from drafting Jason Tatum to
Speaker 3: get him. So I just it's it's important to keep
Speaker 3: in mind that they are currently, you know, two very
Speaker 3: bad moves away from having Jason Tatum, Jimmy Butler, Joel
Speaker 3: Embiid and whatever you could have gotten for Benson, like
Speaker 3: if they had just traded Ben Simmons instead of Jimmy
Speaker 3: Butler at that point when it was like either Butler
Speaker 3: or Simmons, that was like the peak of Ben Simmons's
Speaker 3: like trade value.
Speaker 5: So yeah, do you.
Speaker 6: Think it was like the stubbornness about like that the
Speaker 6: process was worth it that kept because that was kind
Speaker 6: of my interpretation was that Simmons and Embiid were sort
Speaker 6: of like the homegrown stars and sort of the products
Speaker 6: of the process, and that the Philly fans had been
Speaker 6: so long suffering throughout this process that they wanted to say, like, see,
Speaker 6: it was worth it. We got our two Hallmark stars
Speaker 6: out of this versus catering to Jimmy Butler, who, ultimately,
Speaker 6: I think in retrospect it's obviously the better choice. But
Speaker 6: was like they traded for him and he wasn't from there,
Speaker 6: and he hadn't really expressed interest in staying there because
Speaker 6: when he was leaving Minnesota, the heat was actually his
Speaker 6: preferred destination at that time as well.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it might be a little pet to be like
Speaker 3: they could have had Jimmy Butler because Jimmy Butler didn't
Speaker 3: seem that excited to stay. Yeah, there is some reporting
Speaker 3: that like he was like the thing that I don't
Speaker 3: want is to be on Ben Simmons's team, and they
Speaker 3: were like, well, Buster, you're at Well.
Speaker 6: The thing about Jimmy Butler that so Jimmy is my
Speaker 6: I don't know if you guys have ever like even
Speaker 6: scrolled my Twitter, you know, Lebron James is my favorite
Speaker 6: player of all time and currently, but my second favorite
Speaker 6: player is Jimmy Butler. And something I love about Jimmy
Speaker 6: is like when he doesn't get along with people and
Speaker 6: when he doesn't like people, it's because they don't. It's
Speaker 6: because of one thing. It's because they don't grind hard enough.
Speaker 6: They don't have like his work ethic, and they don't
Speaker 6: approach the game in that way. And I feel like
Speaker 6: so that was like the issue that he had with
Speaker 6: Karl Anthony Towns, that was the issue that he had
Speaker 6: with Ben Simmons, and I kind of respect that because
Speaker 6: I feel like he the people he ends up having
Speaker 6: issues with are these guys who were like super high
Speaker 6: draft picks, like physically gifted, who maybe don't have to
Speaker 6: like put forth quite as much effort into their game
Speaker 6: in order to be successful.
Speaker 5: Obviously everybody has to.
Speaker 6: Put forth effort to be successful in the NBA, Like
Speaker 6: it's a very small sample size of human beings who
Speaker 6: get to play at that level. Yeah, but I think
Speaker 6: that's something that people that Jimmy but it heads with
Speaker 6: having comments that they just weren't they weren't like dogs
Speaker 6: in that way, like they weren't willing to like get
Speaker 6: their hands dirty. And I think that's why the Heat
Speaker 6: was always going to be such a great fit for him,
Speaker 6: is because pat Riley has like a zero tolerance policy
Speaker 6: for players like that, So no one's going to survive
Speaker 6: in Miami with or without Jimmy Butler without that mentality.
Speaker 3: Yeah, no, that makes sense. It's it is hard to
Speaker 3: be this physical, physically gifted and you know, maintain a
Speaker 3: strong work ethic I've found.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you took it for granted, man, you took it
Speaker 2: for granted.
Speaker 3: But anyways, it does. It just does feel like they've
Speaker 3: had to work to get themselves, like to dodge really
Speaker 3: great players in a couple. Yeah, it is.
Speaker 5: Kind of fascinating.
Speaker 6: It is kind of fascinating, and like they're always at
Speaker 6: the center of the NBA news cycle drama somehow, Yeah,
Speaker 6: which is kind of amazing, especially when you think of
Speaker 6: like they kind of dodged able in a way with
Speaker 6: like they the way they went out I thought at
Speaker 6: the end of this past season was like quite embarrassing
Speaker 6: because they really had it like in that game six
Speaker 6: and then so but the Celtics found a way to
Speaker 6: like go out in like a more embarrassing fashion, so
Speaker 6: that it kind of buried that in the news cycle,
Speaker 6: like how did you, like, how did the Celtics bumble
Speaker 6: that Eastern Conference Finals? But then the Sixers were like,
Speaker 6: hold my beer, We're running back at it. In the
Speaker 6: news cycle and we're going to be at the center
Speaker 6: of the drama again before you know it, and the
Speaker 6: Celtics are just kind of like quietly figuring out what
Speaker 6: to do about Christa's persuingis and or fascia or whatever.
Speaker 3: So yeah, I don't know a lot. Like the process
Speaker 3: stuff gets a lot of attention, but their other philosophy
Speaker 3: as an organization all press is good Press doesn't get
Speaker 3: as much, but it's definitely important to how they run things,
Speaker 3: and they just like to be messy and get as
Speaker 3: much ink as possible.
Speaker 6: I feel like it's relevant for me to say on
Speaker 6: the record that I do love Daryl Moray because he's
Speaker 6: a fan of my band and has been quite supportive
Speaker 6: of my say so about team Darryl Moury in the
Speaker 6: Darryl Moray versus James Harden. Actually honestly team Daryl Moray
Speaker 6: in general in this scenario, because I feel like the
Speaker 6: hubris of James Harden to be like, because clearly he's
Speaker 6: just mad Darryl. It sounds like, I don't know, I
Speaker 6: wasn't there. This isn't like I'm not reporting anything, but
Speaker 6: it sounds like maybe there was some sort of like
Speaker 6: gentlemen's agreement about a longer contract extension if he agreed
Speaker 6: to take a pay cut last year and that didn't
Speaker 6: end up happening. But it's like, hey, James, maybe that
Speaker 6: didn't end up happening because you were of no show
Speaker 6: in the most important moments of the playoffs again, and
Speaker 6: they realized that they could not pitch their wagon to
Speaker 6: you in good conscience, Like if you showed up in
Speaker 6: big moments, you're one of the most talented NBA players
Speaker 6: of all time, Like the bag would be getting thrown
Speaker 6: at you still, but you fall apart when it really matters.
Speaker 6: And so I think it's like I'm like number one
Speaker 6: player empowerment, Like I feel like the players should have
Speaker 6: the power. They are the talent, they are the reason
Speaker 6: any of us have a job. But at the end
Speaker 6: of the day, like you have to show up in
Speaker 6: the big moments if you want the big paycheck, Like
Speaker 6: that is the correlation, and they'll give you the benefit
Speaker 6: of the doubt for a season, maybe two seasons. But
Speaker 6: James Harden, like year in, year out and the absolute
Speaker 6: biggest moments has found a way to a piano show
Speaker 6: regardless of how much of an MVP season he's had
Speaker 6: the regular season, regardless of how well he's played in
Speaker 6: the first or second round even so, yeah, sorry, dude,
Speaker 6: Like no one's gonna want.
Speaker 2: To pay you, Like where do you go? Like given
Speaker 2: all that too?
Speaker 5: Really, I was trying to think of that today.
Speaker 6: I was like, what team would be because it's this
Speaker 6: is this is the issue with a lot of these
Speaker 6: unhappy superstars that demand trade is like it has to
Speaker 6: be a team that's good enough that they're willing to
Speaker 6: mortgage their future to try and win now, but not
Speaker 6: so good that they have assets that they're not willing
Speaker 6: to give up, which is like I would say maybe
Speaker 6: like two to three teams total for any superstar, like
Speaker 6: that's in that little sweet spot of like we think
Speaker 6: we have a chance, but we clearly need like a
Speaker 6: James Harden level talent to get us over the hump.
Speaker 6: That's like not very many teams, right, And if a
Speaker 6: team is trying to tank, they don't want to bring
Speaker 6: in big talent and they don't want to give up
Speaker 6: draft picks to do it. And if a team is
Speaker 6: really in the championship hunt, they don't really need to
Speaker 6: like roll the dice a player like James Harden, who's
Speaker 6: so mercurial and might you know, be unhappy before the
Speaker 6: trade deadline.
Speaker 2: Mercurial to describe him, I mean, yeah, I think that.
Speaker 6: Yeah, he's just he's in that. I feel like we
Speaker 6: were looking at this exact same scenario when Kyrie was
Speaker 6: demanding out of a trade out of Brooklyn last year.
Speaker 6: It's like, how many teams were in that sweet spot
Speaker 6: of being like, we need Kyrie irving services. We're in
Speaker 6: desperate need of a talent that big, and we're willing
Speaker 6: to mortgage our future to do it, and it doesn't
Speaker 6: really matter what the long term implications are. And I
Speaker 6: feel like Dallas was kind of one of the only
Speaker 6: teams in that spot where it's like, Luca's going to
Speaker 6: demand a trade within the next one to two seasons
Speaker 6: if we don't figure out a way to get him
Speaker 6: some help. And also we're pretty good already and it's
Speaker 6: worth trying, you know, I.
Speaker 3: Don't know what that do, Like just it doesn't make
Speaker 3: sense for anyone, but like, just because the Sixers need
Speaker 3: to get it, like he won't play for them, does
Speaker 3: like would he be a better fit than Kyrie in Dallas?
Speaker 5: I mean, that's a good question. I don't.
Speaker 6: I don't know how bad the Kyrie and Dallas situation is.
Speaker 6: And I know I think something that a lot of
Speaker 6: times NBA fans, when they're trying to predict this stuff
Speaker 6: underestimate is like the egos of the people in charge
Speaker 6: of making the trades. Yeah, and they are really really
Speaker 6: reticent to admit defeat when they made a bad decision.
Speaker 6: And I think signing Kyrie was obviously it didn't even
Speaker 6: make the playoffs slash play in tournament last year, so
Speaker 6: I think that has has not panned out to be
Speaker 6: as what they hoped it would be. I think it
Speaker 6: usually takes another full season before they're willing to admit
Speaker 6: that idea, because they did give up a lot to
Speaker 6: get him, not necessarily in like current, they gave up
Speaker 6: you know, future stuff they gave up I think was
Speaker 6: dinwitty in that trade.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think so.
Speaker 6: And I mean, yeah, so they gave up quite a bit.
Speaker 6: And I think the it's it takes more than he
Speaker 6: would think for these very like stubborn gms to be like,
Speaker 6: oh yeah, my bad.
Speaker 5: Let me fix that real quick.
Speaker 6: You know, I think it takes it takes a lot,
Speaker 6: usually takes at least a full season, right to.
Speaker 3: It, down to down to earth guy.
Speaker 2: So I don't know, well yeah, yeah, from what in
Speaker 2: a shark tank?
Speaker 3: Yeah no, uh as superducer Barry said, we should have
Speaker 3: just put the ether beat under what you just said
Speaker 3: about James Harden. It was hurtful, but I think seventy
Speaker 3: six ers fans and you need to hear it. Yeah,
Speaker 3: come to terms with it.
Speaker 2: Yes, it is what it is. You know tis well
Speaker 2: where has better strip clubs?
Speaker 5: Philly or Dallas.
Speaker 3: Oh, that's a great.
Speaker 5: Fact that we should be including as well.
Speaker 2: We get my spreadsheet out of real quick jack, where's
Speaker 2: that USB thumb drive you have in your kit? Chains?
Speaker 5: Those Southern girls, you know, they look they look good
Speaker 5: in a song.
Speaker 2: Also, you think like Portland per capita, that's also like
Speaker 2: the epicenter of concentration of adults of stripe.
Speaker 6: Like if somehow traded James Lillard for James Harden.
Speaker 5: There would be riots. There would be riot. I can't think.
Speaker 3: He's got a beard, just like all of you people.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, put him on.
Speaker 5: A fix your bike, he'll run right in exactly.
Speaker 2: Yeah, he's late for a shift at Powell's books later.
Speaker 5: Come on, I mean would be a miracle for for Philly.
Speaker 6: I would say because Darryl Moury, like Jamian Lillard is
Speaker 6: Darryl Mory's white whale. He's been trying to get Damian
Speaker 6: Lillard since at least since the Ben Simmons James Harden times,
Speaker 6: maybe longer.
Speaker 5: So I mean, I think Darryl would be thrilled with that.
Speaker 6: But I can't imagine a scenario in which Portland does
Speaker 6: that unless there's like a ton of draft capital that
Speaker 6: Philly has that I'm not privy to.
Speaker 2: Yeah, no, no, Yeah, that's that's for the fantasy books
Speaker 2: for sure.
Speaker 6: Yeah, although maybe, I mean, I don't know, Max, I
Speaker 6: don't know.
Speaker 5: They probably wouldn't.
Speaker 2: No, I feel like because I feel like the fans
Speaker 2: you see, Max is like a franchise player, right, they can't.
Speaker 2: You can't, I know, way him.
Speaker 5: Do you understand how much Darryl loves Samian the Alards
Speaker 5: like that.
Speaker 2: I mean.
Speaker 6: Also, the other thing, the minutia of these trades, right
Speaker 6: is like to like, as we were talking about, like,
Speaker 6: it's about where you're at as a franchise. It's not
Speaker 6: just about like the pieces on the board in general,
Speaker 6: it's about the context in which they exist, which is
Speaker 6: like how likely are you to win right now?
Speaker 5: What's at stake?
Speaker 6: And for Philly, I mean if Joelle is kind of
Speaker 6: like making overtures that he's threatening to also demand a trade,
Speaker 6: like the pressure's on if you're going to keep Joel embid.
Speaker 6: I mean that's another conversation, like do you even want
Speaker 6: to mortgage your future for Joel embiid?
Speaker 5: Is it worth it? He hasn't really shown up in
Speaker 5: big moments either, to be honest.
Speaker 3: So, yeah, I'm having trouble breathing.
Speaker 5: Right now, but I'm sorry, we can move on.
Speaker 3: Uh I think he'll be No, Yeah, I think his
Speaker 3: going off. Are you having some kind of car fall down?
Speaker 5: You're in a very contentious environment. It's like I don't
Speaker 5: even know what had that setting what?
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, you are getting yourself sir.
Speaker 5: You're very unhappy. You're unhappiness ratings through the roof right now.
Speaker 3: But yeah, I don't know. It does seem like they
Speaker 3: don't really have a move at this point. It does.
Speaker 3: It's also wild that Harden went as public as he
Speaker 3: did with that demand, because it like makes it harder
Speaker 3: for them to deal him. Right.
Speaker 6: So one the most awkward videos I've ever seen too,
Speaker 6: because like these he was in China, right, Yeah, like
Speaker 6: that the Chinese kids are just like, we're so happy
Speaker 6: you're here, and he's just as like unwitting ponds in
Speaker 6: this like public meltdown, and I'm just like, that's so
Speaker 6: can you just do that? Like, can you just call
Speaker 6: Malika Andrews and have a sit down if you want to?
Speaker 6: Like do you have to bring these innocent children into
Speaker 6: the equation like they're just trying to be in a
Speaker 6: basketball camp?
Speaker 5: Dude?
Speaker 2: I saw. I mean he's having fun in China. So
Speaker 2: that CLiPPA him sell ten thousand bottles of wine in
Speaker 2: like forty seconds, like on TikTok or whatever, And I.
Speaker 5: Mean maybe he should go play in China.
Speaker 3: Then to what kind of value we can get back?
Speaker 2: Should we break or should we hit the Hall of
Speaker 2: Fame talk? First, let's take a quick break.
Speaker 3: Yeah, we'll come back and talk about an all timer
Speaker 3: Hall of Fame class Hall of Fame ceremony with.
Speaker 2: Your heartwarming moments. Fine, finally, and we're back and over
Speaker 2: the weekend, you know, we had the Hall of Fame
Speaker 2: class inducted the headliners Dirk pal Tony Parker, d Wade Pop,
Speaker 2: Becky Hammon. It was just, it was just it was
Speaker 2: a wonderful moment I think for fans of a certain age,
Speaker 2: especially for me, I was just like wow, Like in
Speaker 2: a way, it didn't make me feel old. I felt
Speaker 2: like proud of them, like as if I was like
Speaker 2: some older sibling, like there you go. I'd love to
Speaker 2: see it. There were some fantastic moments. There was a
Speaker 2: moment in Dirk speech where he's just you know, handed
Speaker 2: some some roses over to Steve Nash that I think
Speaker 2: it was also fantastic because he did take that moment
Speaker 2: to talk about their hairstyles. So let's let's hear from that.
Speaker 4: Creativity is worth nothing without leadership. And the guy that
Speaker 4: comes to my mind is my friend Steve.
Speaker 3: I mean, it would been awkward if you said anyone
Speaker 3: else because Steve Nash was sitting right there.
Speaker 4: I think we came a long way from those two
Speaker 4: brutal haircuts we saw there. You had.
Speaker 3: The frosted tips.
Speaker 4: You had, but you don't would have thought when we
Speaker 4: first started play together that will be on the stage together.
Speaker 4: That means the world to me. And you were a
Speaker 4: great role model to me and and and the best
Speaker 4: teammate ever had so you were always positive, you always
Speaker 4: encouraged me. We worked our butts off at night, went
Speaker 4: back to the gym. So and you became a friend
Speaker 4: for life. So thank you, my friend.
Speaker 2: Oh just watching two greats growing down like that.
Speaker 5: I love a good prodown.
Speaker 3: Yeah, Nash is very shiny these days. I've noticed that's
Speaker 3: my one.
Speaker 2: He's getting some sun you know, yeah, botox more soccer probably,
Speaker 2: you know, just out there on the pitch.
Speaker 3: Just did raise the question to me of like where
Speaker 3: their haircuts, because their haircuts were pretty bad. Like Nash
Speaker 3: when he first came into the league for a long
Speaker 3: but part of his career, he had that like stringy
Speaker 3: like guy who smokes weed on the soccer team, look,
Speaker 3: you know, which was probably really two.
Speaker 6: Thousands were rough rough time for male hairstyles.
Speaker 2: I would say in general, totally.
Speaker 6: A lot of swoopy side, you know, like long things
Speaker 6: going on on, a lot of like skunky highlights and
Speaker 6: dark hair.
Speaker 5: There was like again frosted tips. To Dirk's point, there was.
Speaker 5: It was rough.
Speaker 2: It was a rough time, yet.
Speaker 3: Like a middle part right like he looked like he
Speaker 3: had the middle part Matthews band exactly.
Speaker 2: And then Steve Nash looked like he was like a
Speaker 2: Lance bast.
Speaker 6: From long distance, you guys could see the photo we're
Speaker 6: looking at right now. They looked like members of Backtory Boys.
Speaker 6: And then that's not hyperbole.
Speaker 2: They like the ones that didn't make it. Though, yeah,
Speaker 2: I don't know about them too. Actually we actually.
Speaker 6: Looked at like photos of like boy band members at
Speaker 6: the time, though in retrospect, because they were some of
Speaker 6: them are really like you were hot enough to be
Speaker 6: in a boy band, like Chris kirk.
Speaker 2: I think Chris Kirkpatrick, early Chris Kirkpatrick and sink that
Speaker 2: guy like the heyday when he had like the weird
Speaker 2: Oh Adamurwitz, come on, yeah, the ghast, the locked up
Speaker 2: like Jamaican hair, come on now.
Speaker 6: I remember reading an article like Waiting for the Dentist
Speaker 6: Ones and like one of those tabloids about like all
Speaker 6: the hot celebrity women that Adam Durretz has dated.
Speaker 5: He got to give it up.
Speaker 2: Yeah, no, I mean, for.
Speaker 5: The love of the game. He's just out here.
Speaker 3: It's it's when you theoretical physicists are still trying to
Speaker 3: explain what happened there they are.
Speaker 6: Yeah, But then like my dating life as well, actually
Speaker 6: they're still on the case.
Speaker 2: A lot of white dudes with dreads.
Speaker 5: Huh oh my god.
Speaker 6: No, absolutely not absolutely not, absolutely not, not with a
Speaker 6: ten foot poll, my friend.
Speaker 2: But I mean, I guess speaking of some interesting haircuts,
Speaker 2: oh say, speaking of your day. We've got someone on
Speaker 2: the phone right now, Like, look at vlad Rad when
Speaker 2: he was.
Speaker 3: Where does this rank? Because there was some bad things happening.
Speaker 6: That one is giving Uh yeah.
Speaker 3: I had like tiny little braids.
Speaker 6: All these references are aging me so hard, by the way,
Speaker 6: like backstreet boys, and it's like, I'm not sensy.
Speaker 5: I've outed myself.
Speaker 2: I'm going to stir their back.
Speaker 3: I still remember where I was the first time I
Speaker 3: saw Andre Carolinko when he like stopped using gel like
Speaker 3: he because he just went he was like straight drago
Speaker 3: with like the spike for most of his career, and
Speaker 3: then he like came back and his hair was like
Speaker 3: very soft and like just feathery and.
Speaker 5: Take that's kind of a look like I feel like
Speaker 5: he looks like he could.
Speaker 2: Be on this picture in this version. But at the
Speaker 2: time I was like, what was he an oasis or
Speaker 2: something like that? I don't very.
Speaker 5: Gallagher so far, it's the best one. So not that
Speaker 5: there's the competition, but.
Speaker 3: First of this picture is not doing it justice because
Speaker 3: right now, like this.
Speaker 5: Picture or the goodness, like how bad it was.
Speaker 3: How bad it was because he like had a fade
Speaker 3: with a spike and then like one game he just
Speaker 3: like his hair was just forward and it just for
Speaker 3: for whatever reason, it was around the time that like
Speaker 3: his game started like tapering off a little bit. I
Speaker 3: feel like it.
Speaker 6: Austin Reeves hair kind of looks like that right now.
Speaker 6: Actually kind of grew it out for Team USA.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's definitely. Yeah, it's like it's it's like wave
Speaker 2: he's wavy, dude, he's way he's in his wavy you
Speaker 2: know era right now, I think, and.
Speaker 6: You mean wavey is like a figurative term, not like
Speaker 6: his hairs waiting.
Speaker 2: No, yes, obviously I use that in like the young
Speaker 2: kids version. Yea, oh he's wavy again.
Speaker 5: I told you I'm a millennial.
Speaker 2: I don't know, I don't know, I'm a geriatric millennial.
Speaker 2: But I know how to fit in with them kids,
Speaker 2: you know what I mean, fellow kids? Hello, Yeah, with
Speaker 2: my music band T shirt. And then obviously you know,
Speaker 2: like I mean, I hate to do this to our boy,
Speaker 2: but late stage Caruso came him. Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2: It was even late stage. Chris Cayman was also a
Speaker 2: very interesting hairstyle. But anyway, that was Let's get back
Speaker 2: to another heartwarming moment. Dwayne Wade.
Speaker 5: Oh my god, I literally cried. I cried my eyes.
Speaker 2: Out too, but that's only because his dad's hairline is
Speaker 2: so strong. I couldn't believe it. That's why I was
Speaker 2: in tears. But also the father son dynamic was also touched.
Speaker 7: We had the same exact dream and hairline, and we
Speaker 7: carry the same exact name, Duane to our own way
Speaker 7: to know, we hustle all the way to the Basketball
Speaker 7: Hall of Fame. It's God's will. So Pops, I know
Speaker 7: your knees a little sore, but will you join me
Speaker 7: on stage as we take our rifle step into basketball heaven.
Speaker 2: I mean, it's this next part. It's the next part for.
Speaker 3: This one right here. This one is for my father.
Speaker 7: I love you and I'm thankful for you. We're in
Speaker 7: a Hall of Fame dollar.
Speaker 5: Iconic.
Speaker 6: Okay, this was so touching and moving that my mom,
Speaker 6: who knows nothing about basketball and is on a completely
Speaker 6: different part of Twitter like protected me and was like
Speaker 6: who this was so beautiful, like and I'm like, yeah, mom,
Speaker 6: that's Dwayne Wade. Literally Hall of Famer Dwayne Wade, as
Speaker 6: evidenced by the video, one of the most famous shooting
Speaker 6: guards of all time.
Speaker 5: Oh my god, he doesn't give she doesn't give a
Speaker 5: peep about what I do.
Speaker 2: Oh well, like, yeah, I know it's what I do.
Speaker 2: Oh sure, sure, but this father son relationship was really
Speaker 2: something else. And then finally Becky Hammon, Dude, this was
Speaker 2: another one where it was like in its minimalism made
Speaker 2: it so touching when Becky Hammond is like, you know
Speaker 2: the look on Pop's face was when when she's like,
Speaker 2: I can't look at you, and even he was like
Speaker 2: I can't even look at you right now either. It
Speaker 2: was so beautiful. But here, let I let's let them
Speaker 2: talk for themselves.
Speaker 5: Pop, I'm not gonna look at you.
Speaker 2: Oh that's that part.
Speaker 3: Oh my god.
Speaker 6: Being Pop get emotional is like the world is off
Speaker 6: as access like it's just so intense.
Speaker 2: If I was an actor, I'd use that to motivate
Speaker 2: myself to cry and realize of principle and excellence.
Speaker 6: I know you weren't trying to be courageous when you
Speaker 6: hired me, but you did do something nobody else in
Speaker 6: professional sports has ever done.
Speaker 5: On her voice breaking touis she's trying to.
Speaker 2: Get and yeah, she is such a like legend.
Speaker 6: So tough to see them both get so emotional is
Speaker 6: like I think part of it, Like I wonder if
Speaker 6: someone who doesn't follow the NBA as closely as we do,
Speaker 6: like watching that video, would be as moved by it,
Speaker 6: because I think part of it is the context of like,
Speaker 6: these are two of the toughest, most like unshakable, unmovable characters,
Speaker 6: you know, Yeah, yeah, totally.
Speaker 2: Pop especially because I mean, like I'm I'm like, can
Speaker 2: he be my like parental figure? I like every time
Speaker 2: he talks, like I can't, I hang on to every word,
Speaker 2: and like, yeah, when you see something, when you see
Speaker 2: him being moved, you can't help but understand how like
Speaker 2: monumental that is, just like you're saying, in the context
Speaker 2: of who they are and how typically like unflappable they are,
Speaker 2: you know, mm hmm, Jack was which one which one
Speaker 2: of those three got you the heart?
Speaker 3: The Pop one was a lot, It was a lot. Yeah,
Speaker 3: just like him looking down watching people like try not
Speaker 3: to cry. Wow, Yeah, you know there's there's something about
Speaker 3: that Lane.
Speaker 6: Wade's dad who was trying not to cry. You could tell, yeh,
Speaker 6: his bottle is on, just like ugly crying, gasping for breath.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 3: Like usually what goes viral with Pop is him being
Speaker 3: like is that really your question? That's really where you're
Speaker 3: gonna go with?
Speaker 5: Have you guys been an oppressor with him?
Speaker 4: No?
Speaker 3: Constantly? Yeah, yeah, never, We're not taken very seriously, We're pat.
Speaker 6: I was in a press conference that he did last season,
Speaker 6: and it was like super super super small because like
Speaker 6: the I don't know, the visitors team press conference room
Speaker 6: at Staples is actually quite small, like I'm sure it's
Speaker 6: like the size of whatever rooms you guys are in
Speaker 6: right now, respectively, like the little office. And everyone was
Speaker 6: late to the press conference, so just me and one
Speaker 6: other person were in there waiting for it to start,
Speaker 6: and Pop was just like, so you guys got like
Speaker 6: five questions each or whatever because like apparently no one
Speaker 6: else is coming, and it's just like riffing, and I
Speaker 6: was just like I am having a lucid experience, like
Speaker 6: this is crazy, like top of it just like roasting
Speaker 6: me right now, right, this is the best thing that's
Speaker 6: ever happened.
Speaker 2: Ah, yeah, I can I can only imagine I would.
Speaker 2: I think I would, just like pop. There's a there's
Speaker 2: a meme that we share, like on one of our
Speaker 2: threads for another show we work on of a little
Speaker 2: otter holding a guitar looking so happy. And I don't
Speaker 2: know if that's really for nobody except Jack and some
Speaker 2: of our friends, but I would have been the holding guitar.
Speaker 2: Little do you know the otter holding the guitar?
Speaker 3: Clear?
Speaker 5: I don't think I do.
Speaker 2: Oh it's this one. Must have, simply must this one.
Speaker 6: Oh my, well, you guys have seen otters holding cans
Speaker 6: right the video?
Speaker 5: Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah yeah, my favorite video of all time.
Speaker 2: So that's my comfort video. Okay, so cute.
Speaker 6: He's like, hey, I just I don't know if you're busy,
Speaker 6: but I just dropped the guitar.
Speaker 3: Right right, okay, just showed up at your house and
Speaker 3: you were like, sorry, I don't have time to hang out.
Speaker 3: She's like, oh, no, it's okay, we're good.
Speaker 2: Shall we feast our eyes upon What the Bedding Crew
Speaker 2: says about the performances of next season for the Pacific.
Speaker 3: Yeah, the Pacific Division.
Speaker 6: You know what I was thinking too when Jabari sent
Speaker 6: me the kind of run down that we were going
Speaker 6: to be talking about the Pacific Division. Do you guys
Speaker 6: remember a band called, like a rap group called pak Div.
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, of course, of course.
Speaker 5: I was like, whatever happened to pac Div? Like they
Speaker 5: were great?
Speaker 6: I remember seeing them play at like a block party
Speaker 6: in like probably twenty twelve or something.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't know what happened. I mean it was
Speaker 2: they had their yeah PACTV. Let us know. I mean
Speaker 2: obviously being an LA kid, we were. We we loved
Speaker 2: our pactiv out here.
Speaker 3: The ones in this episode with the episode description for
Speaker 3: this will probably light up there Google Google Alerts because
Speaker 3: it'll stay on the pac dive. So come through, come through, Hi.
Speaker 2: Who do you want to start with the Suns?
Speaker 3: I mean this is a pretty stack division, but it
Speaker 3: so so the Sons are where they have like the
Speaker 3: most improvements happening. The last year they were forty five
Speaker 3: and thirty seven. This year they have them they're over
Speaker 3: under a fifty two and a half. That seems like
Speaker 3: a lot.
Speaker 2: That's a big jump.
Speaker 3: That's a big jump.
Speaker 2: I mean I guess they're looking at the.
Speaker 3: Whole season with KD.
Speaker 2: But right Beal coming in, you got you know, my
Speaker 2: boy Utah coming in. We got big Frank in the building.
Speaker 5: Well, you guys still got the thing.
Speaker 3: I'm I think it like, I don't know. I feel
Speaker 3: like it could go well, but it doesn't feel like
Speaker 3: the safest move to me.
Speaker 6: I'm confused by the faith that people keep because this
Speaker 6: happened when I remember when it's like how quickly people forget.
Speaker 6: But when the Katie trade first happened, even they were like, oh,
Speaker 6: Sons are the favorites to come out of the West,
Speaker 6: Like they could win the championship this year, even though
Speaker 6: Katie got there and literally sprained his ankle, like before
Speaker 6: he even played a game with them, and are a
Speaker 6: home game, And I'm just like, have we not watched
Speaker 6: this movie before? Like teams take time to build chemistry,
Speaker 6: and it's about it's just as much about having some
Speaker 6: depth as it is having like those couple of superstars,
Speaker 6: Yes you do. You can't have one without the other,
Speaker 6: Like you can't get to you can't get past the
Speaker 6: first round of the playoffs without a superstar.
Speaker 5: I really do.
Speaker 6: Believe that, Like It doesn't have to be the best
Speaker 6: player in the league, but you need at least one,
Speaker 6: idea two superstars to make any kind of run in
Speaker 6: the playoffs, because teams can they're giving you their best
Speaker 6: their game planning against you. You have to have someone
Speaker 6: who can just be like, when all of the plans disintegrate,
Speaker 6: put the ball in their hands and they will just
Speaker 6: make magic happen.
Speaker 5: Like you need one of those players.
Speaker 6: That being said, you also need a bench full of
Speaker 6: role players who know their role, are willing to stick
Speaker 6: to it and execute it and play defense and do
Speaker 6: all the dirty work that the aforementioned superstar is not
Speaker 6: going to have like the energy or space to do.
Speaker 6: And I feel like teams keep just focusing on column
Speaker 6: A and completely disregarding Colum B. But if you look
Speaker 6: back through who the last two champions were, even in
Speaker 6: just like the last four or five years, it's that formula,
Speaker 6: Like I know, like I was, this was my biggest
Speaker 6: palm with the Lakers. I was like rioting when they
Speaker 6: traded for Russell Westbrook two years after their championship. So
Speaker 6: I was like, even in the best case scenario of that, right,
Speaker 6: even if Russ had like done what he said he
Speaker 6: was going to do, which is like changed basically his
Speaker 6: entire game to fit into the system with Lebron and
Speaker 6: a D. You traded away all of what made you
Speaker 6: win that championship, which is this like very deep bench
Speaker 6: that was full of like very hard nosed defenders who
Speaker 6: knew their role and were willing to.
Speaker 5: Stick to it.
Speaker 6: I worry about that with the Suns because I don't know,
Speaker 6: like who on that team who are like the dirty
Speaker 6: work players that are going to like show up for
Speaker 6: you in the playoffs when you know, I know that
Speaker 6: having feel Booker and Katie and not having to get
Speaker 6: rid of eight and obviously is huge in that. I
Speaker 6: just I don't personally, I'm not as threatened by them.
Speaker 6: I wouldn't be as threatened by them. If I would say,
Speaker 6: like the Nuggets or even like the Warriors of the
Speaker 6: Lakers or whatever, as the rest of the league seems
Speaker 6: to be. They're not heavy favorites to me. They're like
Speaker 6: in the mix. They're for sure in the mix.
Speaker 2: So you take in the under you think are going
Speaker 2: to be two and a half and a half.
Speaker 5: Oh no, I feel like they'll win fifty two and
Speaker 5: a half games.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I guess I was forgetting that they only hit
Speaker 3: kat for half of the season. Yeah, they'll probably win.
Speaker 6: That many I think they'll win that many games. But
Speaker 6: my thing is, like to what end is more exactly?
Speaker 3: I mean, this just made me realize how stacked the
Speaker 3: Pacific Division is in terms of like how interesting it is.
Speaker 3: Like the Warriors, they're over unders forty eight and a
Speaker 3: half last year they won forty four. That's a lot
Speaker 3: of improvement for just like adding Chris Paul Well.
Speaker 6: But but Andrew Wiggins and stuff Curry both missed a
Speaker 6: ton of time last year, right, so makes sense if
Speaker 6: they're both healthy this.
Speaker 5: Year, that's at least four more games I think.
Speaker 3: Speaking of if they're both healthy this year, the Clippers
Speaker 3: they have winning more three more games than last season.
Speaker 3: Not what, like I'm confused by it on that, Yeah, why.
Speaker 5: What the Clippers? Like who Who's mom?
Speaker 6: The Clippers have like hiding in a closet somewhere like
Speaker 6: that they can get the media to just predict they're
Speaker 6: going to win the championship every single year, regardless of
Speaker 6: the fact that like Kawhi Leonard and Paul George have
Speaker 6: not both been healthy or either been healthy for like
Speaker 6: any time, And like, what has it been now, like
Speaker 6: five years that they've been there, have they done one
Speaker 6: full complete postseason with both of them healthy? No, Like,
Speaker 6: I just don't, I don't get it. I don't understand
Speaker 6: what miracles they think are going to happen. I understand
Speaker 6: that they both have an incredibly high steeling, especially Kawhi
Speaker 6: when he's playing to the best of his capabilities, is
Speaker 6: maybe the best player in the NBA.
Speaker 5: Like incredible? Was he never? But that's it, And that's.
Speaker 6: The Clippers experience to me in a nutshell, and the
Speaker 6: Kawhi Leonard era is like flashes of greatness. But as
Speaker 6: we know, flashes of greatness do not a championship mate
Speaker 6: if you need someone you can depend on. And the
Speaker 6: playoffs are so physical and they're so gritty, and they
Speaker 6: you have to take so much physical contact as a
Speaker 6: superstar in the playoffs. Like I mean, Kawhi is not
Speaker 6: Lebron's age, but he's not in his twenties anymore. Like
Speaker 6: I just I don't, I don't see it. And Paul
Speaker 6: George's how many surgeries now and how many Like I
Speaker 6: don't know, Yeah, I don't see it.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, it's like especially when like all your
Speaker 2: all your hopes and dreams hinge on these two players,
Speaker 2: like you're saying that just aren't gonna really appear when
Speaker 2: the time is needed. So it's funny to watch, like yeah, yeah,
Speaker 2: Like Clippers fans is being like sort of dejected. Have
Speaker 2: one friend who's like, doesn't matter, they don't play. I'm
Speaker 2: just embracing the chaos of whatever this season is gonna be.
Speaker 2: And I'm like, oh, okay, so that's you're hopeful. And
Speaker 2: they're like, well, yeah, maybe you like because you know
Speaker 2: Russ has a good mindset. And I'm like, oh really, hey, okay,
Speaker 2: well off you go, but off we go to Sacramento
Speaker 2: to check out the Kings. They won forty eight last season.
Speaker 2: They're saying forty four and a half right now.
Speaker 3: So this is just basically as well as this team
Speaker 3: can do, and there will be like a progression to
Speaker 3: the mean yeah, because it doesn't it doesn't really make sense.
Speaker 3: They have the same team coming back and they have
Speaker 3: them losing or winning for fewer games.
Speaker 5: I would hit the on that.
Speaker 6: I mean, I understand they're in a really tough division.
Speaker 6: I understand that, you know, like some of the other
Speaker 6: teams are getting better, Like the Lakers will certainly win
Speaker 6: more games this year than they did last year.
Speaker 5: I don't think that's like spoiler alert.
Speaker 6: I don't think that's like a huge prediction, But I
Speaker 6: do think that, like as we bow the Nuggets, we
Speaker 6: have a habit in the media and also as fans
Speaker 6: getting really excited when big names go somewhere and expecting
Speaker 6: that to be a huge impact on winning, and also
Speaker 6: really underestimating teams that have continuity, that are balanced, that
Speaker 6: have good coaching, and those teams do really well. And
Speaker 6: one of those teams just won a freaking championship. So
Speaker 6: I think that the Kings are absolutely going to go
Speaker 6: over forty four games this year.
Speaker 2: Yeah, And I think Dearn Fox is going to go
Speaker 2: up like nine levels this season too.
Speaker 5: He was already so good.
Speaker 6: And I mean, the Warriors had a lot of flaws
Speaker 6: and we saw that obviously in the next round against
Speaker 6: the Lakers, but they were the defending champs and they
Speaker 6: looked for the most part really unafraid during that series.
Speaker 6: And that was all of their first times being in
Speaker 6: the playoffs. All the key players, yeah and deer In
Speaker 6: foxbout toe to toe with stuff. Curry for seven games
Speaker 6: and was amazing and through a hand injury, you know,
Speaker 6: for part of it. So yeah, I absolutely think that
Speaker 6: that's I think that's a little disrespectful.
Speaker 5: Honestly.
Speaker 2: Yeah, they are pretty good for the king I'm like,
Speaker 2: I'm such like a like stealth Kings fan, like as
Speaker 2: a Lakers fan, but I'm like, I really, I really
Speaker 2: I wrote a.
Speaker 6: Piece on them last year kind of breaking down like
Speaker 6: how did they turn it around from being like the
Speaker 6: laughing stock of the NBA to like one of like
Speaker 6: the most exciting teams in the league, And they really
Speaker 6: kind of just they have all of the components, like
Speaker 6: all of the ingredients and a recipe that goes into
Speaker 6: like most successful NBA franchise. They have a great coach,
Speaker 6: they have a good balance of vets and young players.
Speaker 6: They have an emerging superstar in Darren Fox. So yeah,
Speaker 6: I have a lot of faith in them actually.
Speaker 3: And lastly, yeah, lastly, this one's certainly not leastly we
Speaker 3: agree the Lakers are gonna win more games than they
Speaker 3: did last year. They have them forty seven and a
Speaker 3: half like that, that's the overrun last year when they
Speaker 3: spotted the rest of the league a twelve game head start,
Speaker 3: they were forty three and thirty nine. Yeah, it's wild,
Speaker 3: Like I know that. Sometimes I'll be I like look
Speaker 3: at the last half of the previous season and be like, whoa,
Speaker 3: they were amazing, Like the record was incredible during that,
Speaker 3: Like so that's what they're going to be bringing into
Speaker 3: this and like that rarely works out that way. But
Speaker 3: this still feels low especially Yeah. Yeah, like this is
Speaker 3: a public team, so it feels like, you know, it's
Speaker 3: a team that like people bet on more so it's
Speaker 3: wild that they're going so low on it.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and all the moves like we're younger and bigger,
Speaker 2: and I just it, Yeah, it's hard for me to see,
Speaker 2: like you only think we're gonna go we're gonna win
Speaker 2: four more games. But again again it's also like where
Speaker 2: do what where do a D and Lebron fit into
Speaker 2: all this too? And how how much how much can
Speaker 2: we get out of those bodies this season?
Speaker 6: Let me break down why I think that that's super
Speaker 6: wrong and they're going to win substantially more games than
Speaker 6: that creasing number one I do. I think if their
Speaker 6: roster as currently constructed or as constructed during the playoffs,
Speaker 6: was their roster all year. Last year, I think they
Speaker 6: would have been like the four seeds in the West.
Speaker 6: I think they were like the West was a pretty
Speaker 6: weak conference last year all things considered, and you know,
Speaker 6: I think that they were right up there with the
Speaker 6: best teams in the West, and they were the best
Speaker 6: team in the West as far as record goes after
Speaker 6: the trade deadline. They won the most games in the
Speaker 6: West after the trade deadline. So that's one thing. The
Speaker 6: other thing is people forget Lebron and ad both missed
Speaker 6: a lot of time last year, Like they were both
Speaker 6: injured for a month plus each, So that win total
Speaker 6: is considering a way worse roster and even factoring in
Speaker 6: that safety net of like what if Lebron and ad
Speaker 6: eight missed time? So I just don't unless one of
Speaker 6: them misses the whole season, knock on wood, Like, I
Speaker 6: just don't see a scenario in which them both missing
Speaker 6: time and this roster being so much better. And also
Speaker 6: Austin Reeves you know, taking another leap now in the
Speaker 6: USA over the year. He's like he's looking like the
Speaker 6: best player on the floor for Team USA right now
Speaker 6: in a lot of these games. So I really don't
Speaker 6: see I think their over enders should be at least
Speaker 6: like on par with the rest of the good teams
Speaker 6: in the West, maybe besides like the Nuggets.
Speaker 2: But yeah, I mean, what how do you I mean
Speaker 2: just looking at Lebron and you know, they like, where
Speaker 2: do you see him? Like, what's this next iteration of
Speaker 2: him We're going to see this season? How do you
Speaker 2: see that coming together?
Speaker 6: I mean, I think Lebron is aware that this is
Speaker 6: I would say, I don't think it's like controversial to
Speaker 6: say that this is the last chance that he has
Speaker 6: to win a ring as at least as in the
Speaker 6: role he currently has, which is like the first or
Speaker 6: second best player on a team. I mean, I think
Speaker 6: if there's any more rings in his career after this year,
Speaker 6: it's probably going to be if he does the like
Speaker 6: veteran leadership role on a team that's already really good
Speaker 6: and takes like a smaller contract, which I just I
Speaker 6: don't really see happening because I don't think he really
Speaker 6: needs a ring bad enough to do that. I think
Speaker 6: he'd rather just retire than kind of take on that role.
Speaker 6: So I think he's aware that this is kind of
Speaker 6: like his last real chance last year was I think
Speaker 6: that's why he was so upset about what ended up
Speaker 6: happening in the Western Conference Finals last year is that
Speaker 6: last year was like they had a really good shot.
Speaker 5: To win a championship. Against all odds.
Speaker 6: Last year, they were right there with the Nuggets within
Speaker 6: like probably like three to eight point differential for every game,
Speaker 6: even though they got swept. I mean, I'm not trying
Speaker 6: to say, like you know that there are like any
Speaker 6: moral victories, but they were right there in those games.
Speaker 6: And that was the conference finals, and you saw who
Speaker 6: came out of the East. It was the Miami Heat.
Speaker 6: It was an eight seeds. So like they really could have,
Speaker 6: I think, potentially won a championship last year. And I
Speaker 6: think he's that really upset him because he knows how
Speaker 6: close he is to the end of his career and
Speaker 6: how few chances he has like that left. So I
Speaker 6: think this year, I think he's going to leave it
Speaker 6: all on the floor. This year, I think he knows,
Speaker 6: like this is the this is the chance.
Speaker 3: You know, was that he the altitude was hurting him
Speaker 3: because he's old and altitude hurts the I think he's
Speaker 3: been spending the off season training at altitude. That would
Speaker 3: be my guess, and for him next year.
Speaker 6: I just made that up in some sort of altitude
Speaker 6: chamber and so like a hyperbar.
Speaker 5: If anybody have the pressure turned.
Speaker 2: Up, right, that's his MJ lifting weights. After the Pistons
Speaker 2: gave that business look, he was like, yeah, he's oh
Speaker 2: and I got some for you over there in Detroit.
Speaker 2: But yeah, I'm I'm. It was a little bit difficult
Speaker 2: to watch him become look more mortal, uh, towards the
Speaker 2: end of the last season. But but again, I know
Speaker 2: how how much talent and ability is contained within him.
Speaker 2: So like I'm again, I think like last year, I
Speaker 2: was even like, hey we put number eighteen up even
Speaker 2: with the Russells for klin Of, I'll always go into
Speaker 2: the season with that kind of disturbed confidence. But I
Speaker 2: I really would like, but this was a time when
Speaker 2: I'm like, okay, I want like I'm really Lebron, like
Speaker 2: let me see, let me see you get smarter, and
Speaker 2: just like give it, give it, give it to us now,
Speaker 2: because this is the time.
Speaker 5: I mean, that first half of Game four was I
Speaker 5: was there.
Speaker 6: I was at that game, and like that was one
Speaker 6: of the craziest things I've seen in person, like in
Speaker 6: a basketball game. Was what he did in the first
Speaker 6: half of that elimination game, like he wanted that one
Speaker 6: so bad, and if literally anyone else on the Lakers
Speaker 6: roster had showed up in that game in any meaningful
Speaker 6: way on the stat sheeet, they would have won that game.
Speaker 5: Like it was right there, you know. So I think
Speaker 5: it was.
Speaker 3: It was so much closer than it would seem based
Speaker 3: on the fact that it was a sweep.
Speaker 2: I know. I yeh.
Speaker 6: That's the thing is, That's why I say, I understand
Speaker 6: that there's no moral victories, but I do feel like
Speaker 6: it wasn't a sweep in the sense of like it
Speaker 6: was usually a sweep. When you watch a sleep you're like, Okay,
Speaker 6: one of these teams is clearly world better than the
Speaker 6: other one and it's not close, and like, let's just
Speaker 6: put them out of their misery in four games and
Speaker 6: move on. This was like two teams that were I
Speaker 6: think quite close and how good they were, and I
Speaker 6: think basically the difference was the bench, Like the difference
Speaker 6: was I think the Nuggets just had more to get
Speaker 6: them over the hunk when it came to those like
Speaker 6: single possession moments at the end of the games, and
Speaker 6: they had people like KCP showing up, and they had
Speaker 6: people like Michael Porter Junior, Aaron Gordon one game, like
Speaker 6: each of their role players had one game that was
Speaker 6: like their game.
Speaker 5: They had that.
Speaker 6: The Lakers actually had more of that, I think in
Speaker 6: the series against the Warriors.
Speaker 5: But like you had the Lonnie Walker game, you had.
Speaker 2: The fourth quarter, I know exactly, and like.
Speaker 6: The Quorterer game four that was pretty cool that he's
Speaker 6: going to have to frame a whole bunch of things
Speaker 6: from that game. But yeah, so I think I think
Speaker 6: the Lakers made marginal improvements to their bench, and they
Speaker 6: you know, still maintained the I would say, the three
Speaker 6: most important players if they had last off season, and
Speaker 6: so I don't see any reason why they don't have
Speaker 6: just bit of a shot this year. And I don't
Speaker 6: think Lebron is aging so precipitously that like him being
Speaker 6: a year older is going to make or break them.
Speaker 6: I think what they need is they need Anthony Davis
Speaker 6: to be like the player who has the Warriors series
Speaker 6: in the Western Conference finals.
Speaker 2: All right, well it's time for us to take one
Speaker 2: more break, and we're going to come back with the
Speaker 2: rapid fire round of questioning right after this and we're back.
Speaker 3: Oh Claire Claire time.
Speaker 2: Wow, you are now in the firmly in the find
Speaker 2: out phase of being a guest on this podcast, because
Speaker 2: it is time for the rapid fire round of questioning.
Speaker 2: This is the fastest question and answer segment in all
Speaker 2: of sports podcasting history.
Speaker 6: Okay, and I've trained all my life for this moment.
Speaker 2: We know we're going to chest pass you a question.
Speaker 2: Just send it right back, all right.
Speaker 3: New York had On. Take your Minnesota hat off. Yeah exactly, yeah, exactly.
Speaker 3: I'm walking here, just thinking, walking here. That's the kind
Speaker 3: of end.
Speaker 2: I'm walking in. All right, So here we go. Uh
Speaker 2: and also, if one of us start talking, you have
Speaker 2: to cut us off and keep this segment going because
Speaker 2: we do want to maintain our status as a very
Speaker 2: fast paid segment. Okay, all right, Yeah, we're.
Speaker 3: Not really good at being fast, so we just really
Speaker 3: lean on you.
Speaker 2: Yes, yeah, true men. Yeah, we're going to rely on
Speaker 2: the labor of a woman to help us achieve what
Speaker 2: we need to. Here we go, Brian, start.
Speaker 6: The clock.
Speaker 2: You want to go for It's very slow.
Speaker 3: I gotta get myself pumped up.
Speaker 2: We're just we're getting in the blocks.
Speaker 5: Okay, yeah, like here wait go wait, hold on? Who's
Speaker 5: the first question?
Speaker 3: All right? You want me to go? You want to go?
Speaker 2: Who last time?
Speaker 3: Did I ask that I forget? M here I'll go
Speaker 3: this time?
Speaker 2: Okay, okay, yeah yeah, but remember for the next episode,
Speaker 2: I'm gonna go first though.
Speaker 3: Okay, that's how well remember because that'll be an even
Speaker 3: day and exactly Okay, cool all right Claire. ESPN recently
Speaker 3: decided to rework their NBA crew, with Jeff Van Gundy
Speaker 3: and Mark Jackson being let go after covering fifteen NBA
Speaker 3: finals alongside Mike Breen. What is your dream in game
Speaker 3: commentary team?
Speaker 5: Oh?
Speaker 6: I mean, uh, Doris and Mark Jones, who's already in
Speaker 6: game commentary team?
Speaker 5: But just give bring them up?
Speaker 2: M okay?
Speaker 3: Okay?
Speaker 2: Any wild cards like people that you would are not
Speaker 2: currently on. If if you could just say, I want
Speaker 2: to hear these three people go off and giving me
Speaker 2: my in game for your maximum entertainment? Who are those people?
Speaker 5: Chase Erano?
Speaker 2: Yeah me, okay, okay, that was one of our last
Speaker 2: guest answers.
Speaker 6: Also, uh, I don't know I fail this game. Thompson, Oh,
Speaker 6: that would be fun, He's so funny.
Speaker 2: Whether without the captain's hat. Okay, all right, good to know,
Speaker 2: good to know. Here we go, Claire. What is your
Speaker 2: absolutely most bold prediction for the upcoming NBA season? Like
Speaker 2: I want you to swing for the just the pavilion
Speaker 2: at Dodger Stadium.
Speaker 3: The word bold is both bolded and in all caps
Speaker 3: and italicized if that's help, and the italics are from
Speaker 3: how fast?
Speaker 2: The word is like, put your reputation on the line
Speaker 2: with something so bold and it can be funny. Don't worry.
Speaker 2: You know what's going to hold you to this?
Speaker 5: No, I know.
Speaker 3: It is coming off the letters to.
Speaker 6: When you're on, when you're on the spot, it is harder.
Speaker 6: That's just making a noise, like most.
Speaker 5: Prediction female head.
Speaker 2: Oh coming in this season?
Speaker 5: Okay this season?
Speaker 2: Yeah, all right, might yeah boom not funny, just true, Yeah,
Speaker 2: just true. That's let's do I like that needed all right.
Speaker 3: I'm giving you an option here, Okay, which offseason move
Speaker 3: will actually have the greatest impact or which team will
Speaker 3: have the biggest win change, increase or decrease. We're not
Speaker 3: allowed to say the seventy six ers because that's me.
Speaker 3: That's mean, and I don't know if my heart can
Speaker 3: take it medically.
Speaker 5: Oh, maybe this should have been my hottest teak.
Speaker 6: I think when the Miami Heat get Damian the Lollard,
Speaker 6: because I think they will get Damian the Loard when
Speaker 6: they get him, I think they could win the championship
Speaker 6: next year, and I think they will.
Speaker 5: Let's just say it.
Speaker 6: I think the Miami Heat are going to win the
Speaker 6: championship year with Damian Lillard.
Speaker 5: Wow.
Speaker 2: Now, what is it about Damian Lillard exactly that has
Speaker 2: you saying?
Speaker 5: I think Dame's a winner.
Speaker 6: I think he's a winner who's been in a non
Speaker 6: winning scenario. And I think that the Miami Heat are
Speaker 6: the perfect team for him because I think he does
Speaker 6: He's a Heat player. He's much like Jimmy Butler was
Speaker 6: a Heat player playing for non Heat franchises. I think
Speaker 6: Damian Lillard is the same.
Speaker 5: I think.
Speaker 2: Okay, more on that later, Claire, we have to keep
Speaker 2: this segment going. It's not your actually told me to
Speaker 2: be fast. Sorry, but what's the best NBA city in
Speaker 2: terms of food choices? And what's your go to meal
Speaker 2: when you're in that NBA city?
Speaker 3: Oh?
Speaker 6: I mean New Orleans is the best US city?
Speaker 2: And when you're there, what are you eating.
Speaker 6: I mean literally, just like anything. Food in New Orleans
Speaker 6: is so freaking good. I know that's a cop out,
Speaker 6: but just eat anything and it's good.
Speaker 5: You could eat.
Speaker 6: Like like cheap street food, you could eat fancy fine
Speaker 6: dining like food.
Speaker 2: And New Orleans, or maybe I would.
Speaker 6: Say seafood of some kind and something extremely spicy, something
Speaker 6: that's gonna like light your mouth on fire.
Speaker 2: Okay, fried pickles too, also, but I feel like fried
Speaker 2: pickles are everywhere when I go down there and I
Speaker 2: can't stop eating them. Whose fault is this? Oh, it's
Speaker 2: ours Jack, Next.
Speaker 3: Question, h finally, the most important question of the night
Speaker 3: with Jack or Miles. Please the fifth Oh, that is
Speaker 3: unfortunately not allowed. You are in the court of law
Speaker 3: of the rapid fire segment of questioning you.
Speaker 5: I'm gonna go with the die hard Lakers fan.
Speaker 3: Then, come on, Yeah, that's cool.
Speaker 2: That's why I put my Jones. That's why I put
Speaker 2: my Eddie Jones up.
Speaker 5: La Baby, I'm about to go to a Dodgers game
Speaker 5: right after this.
Speaker 2: Hey, you know what time it is? Okay, thank you
Speaker 2: so much. You are one of the.
Speaker 6: Saddest That was the saddest little thing, and you're just
Speaker 6: like quietly dejectedly to yourself, like I also live in La.
Speaker 3: No, that's cool.
Speaker 6: Yeah, but wait, what the podcast audience can't see is
Speaker 6: that Miles, this whole entire like set up, everything is
Speaker 6: LA all day, like Lakers Jersey, Dodger's hat just he's
Speaker 6: really leaning in and a Lebron Lakers jersey. Oh, I
Speaker 6: mean a d He's got them.
Speaker 2: All with the with the with the patch, you know
Speaker 2: what I mean.
Speaker 3: Lakers. It was like, I don't think this guy's good.
Speaker 2: You're like, that is true. That's how much of a
Speaker 2: Laker fan I wasn't like, what's he going to do
Speaker 2: for us?
Speaker 5: You know what I mean?
Speaker 3: That's true?
Speaker 2: Yeah, And then you go there and you're like, anyway,
Speaker 2: thank you guys so much.
Speaker 5: Sometimes okay can change for answer? Is it too late?
Speaker 2: But hey, make sure you follow us on Twitter. I'm
Speaker 2: at Miles of Gray Jack where you at?
Speaker 3: I'm at Jack Underscore, Oh, Brian.
Speaker 2: Follow us up just hashtag mad Boosty's b w ST
Speaker 2: I e s for show links updates and that Claire,
Speaker 2: where can people find you and check you out? Including
Speaker 2: your your music and all that?
Speaker 7: Well?
Speaker 6: I'm also on Twitter at Claire mpls from my Minneapolis
Speaker 6: days and I write for the Guardians, so you can
Speaker 6: check out my work and writing about the NBA on
Speaker 6: the Guardians website. And then my music project is called
Speaker 6: Tiny Death and I have a new single coming out
Speaker 6: August fifth, at the end of this month.
Speaker 2: He well, we look forward to that. Boosty's listeners, please
Speaker 2: make sure you check that out. And uh, you know what,
Speaker 2: We're gonna be back next week with another episode because
Speaker 2: that's what we do.
Speaker 3: Maybe that's what happened. Maybe Darryl Moury is so excited
Speaker 3: about the Tiny Death's new drop that he just took
Speaker 3: his eye off the ball. Maybe on Twitter one.
Speaker 6: So with my vinyl like at the seventy six ers
Speaker 6: practice facility.
Speaker 3: Cool, wow, whoa, Okay, that's.
Speaker 2: Wow. Well another fantastic legendary guest with legendary connections me
Speaker 2: so much, not not really. Yeah, you got to, you
Speaker 2: got to, But we'll see you next time.
Speaker 3: Bye bye,